After the court meeting that day, Qin Hui followed Qin Zong's order and took dozens of officials from the court to Ningzhou to welcome Emperor Zhao Ji back to the capital.
Zhao Ji, who was staying in Ningzhou, was already waiting for the court to welcome him back to Beijing. Ever since he heard that the Jin Kingdom had withdrawn its troops, Zhao Ji could not wait to return to Beijing. Qin Zong was busy dealing with the aftermath of the Jin Kingdom's withdrawal and could not attend to welcoming the Emperor back to the capital for the time being. Zhao Ji was extremely anxious, and his heart was on fire, longing for Qin Zong to come personally or to send ministers from the DPRK to welcome him back to the capital. . Because Zhao Ji did not wait for the corresponding news, he discussed with Gao Qiu who was serving him and asked Gao Qiu to send a message to the court so that the court could arrange for his return to Beijing.
When Zhao Jishang was appointed King Duan, Gao Qiu began to serve him. Although Gao Qiu was a bad character, he was good at playing, playing, playing and singing. He was also very skilled with swords, guns and sticks, and he was also a good kicker. He was favored by Zhao Ji and promoted Gao Qiu to the post of Taiwei of the Palace Commander's Palace. Gao Qiu was also loyal to Emperor Zhao Ji. Gao Qiu received instructions from the Emperor Zhao Ji, so he arranged for Zhang Shuye of Kaifeng Mansion, who proposed to the court to welcome the Emperor back to the capital. Zhang Shuye had already been thinking about welcoming the Emperor back to Beijing. After receiving the relevant information reported by Gao Qiu, Zhang Shuye communicated with Li Gang again, and then there was an invitation from Li Gang and Zhang Shuye to welcome Emperor Zhao Ji back to the capital at the court meeting.
After the court meeting that day, Qin Hui began to prepare for the return of Emperor Zhao Ji to Beijing. In Ningzhou, Emperor Zhao Ji first heard that the imperial court was going to welcome him back to the capital, and he was very happy, so he arranged for Gao Qiu to make preparations for his return to the capital. A few days later, Emperor Zhao Ji heard some rumors again, saying that the emperor was He wanted to be restored and ascend to the throne of emperor again. After hearing this rumor, Emperor Zhao Ji became even more anxious.
The invasion of the Jin people broke the dream of Emperor Zhao Ji. Originally, in the eyes of the Taihuang, the Jin people were barbarians, and they formed an alliance with him because they thought highly of him. They wanted to use his power to regain the territory of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun that had been ceded to the Khitan by Shi Jingtang during the Later Jin Dynasty. Talking about the territory of Yanyun's Sixteen Prefectures was a concern of the Later Zhou Dynasty and the Song Dynasty for more than a hundred years.
Chai Rong, the hero of the later Zhou Dynasty, led his army to the Northern Expedition and advanced into Youyan. The Khitan was unable to resist and fled in embarrassment. He was ready to return the sixteen states of Youyan to the Later Zhou Dynasty in exchange for Chai Rong's withdrawal. However, when the situation was excellent, Chai Rong suddenly fell ill and died of the illness on the way to retreat, so that the recovery of Yanyun was in vain.
Taizu Zhao Kuangyin and Taizong Zhao Guangyi also worked hard for the sixteen states of Yanyun, forgetting to eat and sleep, thinking about how to regain the territory of the sixteen states of Yanyun. Taizu even wanted to use gold and silk to redeem the territory of the sixteen states of Yanyun. Compared with Taizu, Taizong Zhao Guangyi was much more violent and took it directly by force. As a result, he did not win the battle and was shot by a Khitan arrow in the buttocks. He fled back in a panic on a donkey cart. In order to regain the territory of Yanyun's sixteen states, general Yang Jiye died on the battlefield. Zhenzong Zhao Heng, accompanied by Prime Minister Kou Zhun, went on a personal expedition with the Khitan in Chanzhou. He did not recapture the territory of the sixteen states of Yanyun. He only signed the Chanzhou Covenant with the Liao Kingdom, barely maintaining a hundred years between Song and Liao. Remaining years of peace.
Compared with his ancestors, Emperor Zhao Ji seemed to be more ambitious, thinking about regaining the territory of the sixteen states of Yanyun and achieving the glory of an emperor through the ages. It was also a coincidence that at this time, Tong Guan was on his way to the Liao Kingdom as the deputy envoy to celebrate the birthday of the Lord of Liao. He met Ma Zhi, who was idle at home in the Liao Kingdom and had served as Guanglu Qing and deputy magistrate of Ningbian Prefecture in the imperial court. First, as a eunuch, Tong Guan was not qualified to go to other countries; secondly, even if Tong Guan went to other countries as an eunuch, he should not have met Ma Zhi. As a result, both of these things happened by chance, and Ma Zhi proposed a plan to join forces with the Jin Dynasty to destroy the Liao Dynasty and regain the sixteen states of Yanyun. Ma Zhi's plan played into the hands of Emperor Zhao Ji, so Zhao Ji sent people to the Kingdom of Jin, signed a maritime treaty with the Jin people, and jointly destroyed the Liao Kingdom. What Zhao Ji didn't expect was that the Liao Kingdom was destroyed, and the Jin Kingdom had no worries and invaded his Song Dynasty. What Zhao Ji didn't expect was that the Song Dynasty's 800,000-strong imperial army could not withstand the tens of thousands of Jin. The Jin army's attack actually allowed the Jin army to attack Bianjing City and surrounded Bianjing. It was under this situation that Zhao Ji panicked and hurriedly gave up the throne to the prince Zhao Huan. He took refuge in the south with his confidants Tong Guan, Gao Qiu and others.
The Jin people withdrew their troops, and Bianjing was safe and prosperous again. Zhao Ji wanted to return to Bianjing quickly. There were huge palaces there, excellent conditions, and more than ten concubines in the Xinghua Tower. The long Bian River and bustling market. However, at this time, there were suddenly rumors that Zhao Ji wanted to be restored and regain his position as emperor. How could this make Zhao Ji not anxious?
At that time, the invasion of the Jin people really frightened Zhao Ji. The situation was critical. In desperation, he finally passed the throne to the prince Zhao Heng. The prince was still reluctant. How could he be restored to the throne again? Because Zhao Ji was afraid that Qinzong Zhao Heng would be suspicious, he no longer welcomed him back to the capital. After thinking about it, he summoned Gao Qiu to discuss countermeasures.
Gao Qiu heard that Emperor Zhao Ji had summoned him and hurriedly came to Emperor Zhao Ji's palace to see Emperor Zhao Ji.
Gao Qiu entered Zhao Ji's palace, knelt on the ground, kowtowed three times, and shouted loudly: "Long live the Emperor! Long live! Long live!" Zhao Ji hurriedly said: "Gao Qing, please get up quickly, don't ask for so many Literally." Gao Qiucheng got up in fear.
Zhao Ji asked Gao Qiu to sit on the chair next to him. Gao Qiu said hurriedly: "How dare I do it in front of the Emperor? I just stand and listen to the Emperor's orders."
He said anxiously: "Gao Qing is out of sight, what is the relationship between our monarch and his ministers? Ever since Gao Qing entered Prince Duan's Mansion, I have said that Gao Qing regards him as one of his family members. Between us, we talk about everything and everything." There is no need to avoid it. Gao Qing, don’t be too polite, please take a seat quickly.”
Gao Qiu looked at Emperor Zhao Ji, bowed his head, and said, "Even if the Emperor praises me like this, I will sit down."
Zhao Ji hurriedly said: "Sit, sit, sit down quickly."
Gao Qiu then sat down on the chair.
Zhao Ji stood up and came to Gao Qiu's side. Gao Qiu stood up in a hurry. Zhao Ji raised his hand and patted Gao Qiu on the shoulder, telling Gao Qiu not to be polite and just sit down. Gao Qiucheng was frightened, flattered, grateful, and shed tears.
Zhao Ji touched Gao Qiu's shoulder again and said in a gentle voice: "Gao Qing's loyalty can be judged by the sun and the moon." Gao Qiu said: "This is the duty of a slave." Zhao Ji said: "Don't call him a slave. The relationship between our monarch and his ministers is Relationship is better than brotherly love." After Gao Qiu heard this, he stood up in a hurry, slipped to the ground, knelt down and buckled his head, tears streaming down his face, and cried out: "How can I be so virtuous, how can I dare to treat each other like the emperor's brothers?! Tai Huang The emperor has summoned his servants to come and tell me what he has ordered. I will go through fire and water without hesitation."
Zhao Ji bent down, helped Gao Qiu up, and moved him to his seat. Zhao Ji said: "I summoned you mainly because there have been rumors recently that I am involved in the restoration and want to ascend the throne after returning to Beijing to carry out the restoration." Gao Qiu was surprised: "Where did this rumor come from?! The emperor wants to restore the throne. , what should the emperor do? This is nonsense!" Zhao Ji said: "Yes! It is really nonsense. However, the rumors are vague and uncertain. I don't know where they come from and I don't know where they are going. When the emperor heard about it, I must have an idea. Gao Qing, now is the critical moment for the court to welcome me back to the capital. If this rumor comes out at this moment, someone in the court must be alienating the relationship between my father and son and does not want me to return to the capital." Gao Qiu raised his eyes and looked at Zhao Ji asked, "Since this is the case, what should we do?" Zhao Ji thought for a while and said, "This is the purpose of calling you into the palace." Gao Ji said, "What is the emperor's decree? I will obey the decree." Zhao Ji said: "Gao Qing has to make another hard trip and rush back to Bianjing overnight to go to Hajj to see the Holy One. This shows that I have no intention of restoration. I just want to return to Bianjing and enjoy the happiness of family. That's enough."
Hearing this, Gao Qiu stood up in a hurry, bowed to Zhao Ji, and said loudly: "The Emperor's decree, I will do it now." After saying that, Gao Qiu bowed to Zhao Ji again and walked out of the palace. Zhao Ji shouted: "Gao Qing, please be patient." Gao Ji stood up, looked at Zhao Ji and said, "What else does the Emperor have to say?" Zhao Ji said, "Gao Qiu has a heavy responsibility when he returns to Beijing this time, so he can bring more troops and horses. , just in case." Gao Qiu bent down and said: "The matter is urgent, so it will be inconvenient to bring more people and horses. In response to the Emperor, I will only bring more than ten horses with me when I return to the capital this time. The Emperor is on top, I set off at night, worked hard, and soon arrived in the capital to pay homage to the Holy One and convey the Emperor's will."
Zhao Ji was overjoyed and hurriedly said to Gao Qiu: "Thank you for your hard work, Qing Gao. I am looking forward to your reply."
Gao Qiu said goodbye to Emperor Zhao Ji, left the palace, selected more than ten elite cavalry generals, and set off overnight to Bianjing.
Along the way, Gao Qiu led more than ten elite cavalry generals, riding fast and whipping forward rapidly.
In the early morning of the next day, as the sun was rising in the east, Gao Qiu had already left Ningjiang for more than a hundred miles. Gao Qiu sat on his horse and looked around. He saw the winding river, undulating hills, the rising red sun, the shrouded clouds and mist, and a small calm standing by the river. He then turned to the general next to him and said: "We will set off overnight, and the stars will We are on our way, more than a hundred miles away from Ningjiang. It is already dawn, you have worked hard waiting, take a rest, have some breakfast, and then hurry up and rush to Bianjing. You arrange for someone to buy some food." The general shouted loudly. He replied: "I will obey the order, general!" The general then arranged for his men to go to the town and be on duty for meals.
Gao Qiu got off his horse and sat on a stone, looking at the official road by the river, calculating his trip and how many days it would take to reach Bianjing.
At this time, a team appeared in the distance, coming in earnest.
Gao Qiu was suspicious and quickly ordered his generals to go and check. A general beside him galloped forward to meet the group of people.
Gao Qiu stood up and mounted his horse again. Other generals also mounted their horses. Gao Qiu turned to the generals around him and said: "I don't know who the team on the opposite side is, nor what the situation is. If the situation changes, we will rush over and don't stop fighting." The generals replied loudly: "I will obey this. Taiwei’s order.”
Gao Qiu sat on his horse and looked at the situation in the distance.
