Why did Emperor Zhao Ji remain silent? Because Emperor Zhao Ji did not want to cede the towns of Zhongshan and Hejian to the Jin people; however, Emperor Zhao Ji returned to Beijing not long ago and did not have a grasp of the external situation and could not predict the consequences of not ceding the towns of Zhongshan and Hejian. , fearing that after expressing his opinion, Zhao Heng, as his son, would not be able to violate it, and he would not cede the towns of Zhongshan and Hejian. If the Jin soldiers were attracted to enter the country again, there would be trouble. Therefore, Zhao Ji remained silent.
Seeing that Zhao Ji was silent, Qinzong Zhao Heng couldn't insist on asking again, so he said goodbye and left the harem.
After Qin Zong left, the Emperor sent a decree ordering Captain Gao Qiu, who was escorting him back to the capital, to immediately enter the palace to pay an audience without any mistake.
Gao Qiu has been serving Zhao Ji since he was still King Duan. Zhao Ji also admired Gao Qiu very much and promoted Gao Qiu to be the Taiwei of the Palace Commander's Palace. Gao Qiu repaid his kindness and was extremely loyal to Emperor Zhao Ji.
Gao Qiu followed the imperial edict and came to the harem to meet Emperor Zhao Ji.
Gao Qiu knelt on the ground and kept slamming his head. Seeing this, Zhao Ji hurriedly said: "The Taiwei is one of our own, so there is no need to be polite. Get up quickly." Gao Qiu got up. Zhao Ji came over, took Gao Qiu's hand, pulled him to a seat next to him, and asked Gao Qiu to sit down. Gao Qiu was so grateful that he burst into tears. Gao Qiu said: "The Emperor has summoned me to the palace for some purpose. I will go through fire and water, even if I die." The Emperor smiled and said: "Gao Qing's words are serious. Now our master and servant are far away from the temple. Let the Emperor and others handle the matter, our family is just talking."
Gao Qiu didn't believe Zhao Ji's words. Gao Qiu knew in his heart that after the Emperor returned to Beijing, his first priority was to alienate his ministers and prevent the Holy Emperor from having any opinions. Now, the reason why the Emperor summoned him urgently must be because of something.
Gao Qiu looked at the Emperor Zhao Ji and said: "The Emperor is above me. I have followed the Emperor since I came out. I am an orphan and I don't know who my parents are. In order to make a living, I have to deal with wealthy families. It was the Emperor who succeeded me. At the bottom, he promoted me to be the prefect of the palace. Over the years, although I had a ganer yamen, they were actually my uncles and brothers. Their intention was also to continue the incense of the Gao family. Unfortunately, the yamen was not useful. In the past few years, due to entanglements, The wife of Yu Lin, the head teacher, was secretly deposed and later died of illness. Today, I am still alone. The Emperor has the virtue of rebirth, and I am grateful for the kindness of reincarnation. Your Majesty, Your Excellency, Since I have received the Emperor's salary, I must bear the Emperor's worries; in this troubled autumn, I will definitely be loyal and filial to repay the kindness to the Emperor."
Gao Qiu's words were so sincere that Zhao Ji was also moved by them. Zhao Ji gently stroked Gao Qiu's hand and said: "Gao Qing! Your loyalty can be seen from heaven and earth, and can be seen from the sun and moon. I know it in my heart. I am really dissatisfied. Gao Qing said that before I abdicated, there were many censors. I have impeached you many times and asked me to remove you from your position as Taiwei. How do these ministers know about the relationship between me and you? I went south to Bozhou to offer incense. After you heard about it, you personally led your troops to protect you. It’s clear evidence.”
Gao Qiu said: "This is my duty. It is my duty and my duty to do so."
The emperor nodded. After nodding, he continued: "Although I surrender to the emperor, I am still in the palace. The emperor often comes to ask for instructions on many things, which makes me a little at a loss." Gao Qiu said: "This is natural. Important matters in the court must be done. The Supreme Emperor makes the decision." Zhao Ji said: "Since I am in Zen position on the Emperor, many things are better decided by the Emperor himself, and I can't interfere anymore; but some ideas still have to be made." Gao Qiujian said, nodding: "The Supreme Emperor indeed."
Zhao Ji nodded, and then said: "Gao Qing! I urgently call you here because there is something I want to hear Gao Qing's opinion on." Gao Qiu said: "Your Majesty, please speak. I am all ears."
Emperor Zhao Ji then told Gao Qiu about the Jin people's urging to seize Zhongshan and Hejian towns, and finally asked: "What do you think we should do?"
Gao Qiujian said, after thinking for a while he said: "Your Majesty, the two towns of Zhongshan and Hejian must not be ceded to the Jin people unless it is absolutely necessary. What is the basis for fighting? It is geography. In the past few years, Song Jiang occupied Liangshan, and with its eight hundred miles of water, he repeatedly resisted the imperial troops and horses. Finally, he had to recruit troops to solve the problem of Liangshan. Compared with Song Jiang, the Jurchens were much stronger. If there were no northern border towns, the Jurchen soldiers and horses would be If we drive down for a long time, Bianjing will be in danger."
When Zhao Ji saw this, he was greatly panicked.
Gao Qiu consoled him: "Your Majesty, your Majesty. Even if the imperial court and the Jurchens start another war, it is not a big deal. There are millions of soldiers and horses in the imperial court, and there is a natural moat of the Yellow River. The golden soldiers may not be able to break it; even the Jurchen soldiers and horses After breaking through the natural moat of the Yellow River and approaching Bianjing City, the Emperor does not need to worry. I will provide a strong force to escort the Emperor to the south of the Yangtze River. He still has a large area of land, enough to deal with the Jin people."
Emperor Zhao Ji was still panic-stricken and said tremblingly: "It would be better if there was no more war between Song and Jin Dynasty." The last time the Jin soldiers invaded, they came to Bianjing City and frightened Zhao Ji badly. Zhao Ji had already been bitten by a snake. , I have been afraid of well ropes for ten years; therefore, it is almost unacceptable to hear that Gao Qiu once again sent mercenaries to escort him to the south of the Yangtze River.
Gao Qiujian said and explained: "Just in case; the current situation is far from that." Zhao Ji nodded and said: "Yes! Yes! The key is that the Jin people want Zhongshan and Hejian towns. If Zhongshan and Hejian are It is no longer a matter of course that the two towns of Jian and Hejian should be ceded to the Jin; however, I am very reluctant to give up and really do not want to cede the two towns of Zhongshan and Hejian to the Jin."
"Delay!" Gao Qiu said, "Then delay. Wait for change."
Zhao Ji asked: "How to delay? How to wait for change?"
Gao Qiu replied: "If the Jin people come to press for it, they agree to cede the towns of Zhongshan and Hejian to him; but during the execution process, they secretly instructed the commander-in-chief of the magistrates of Zhongshan and Hejian towns to refuse to hand over the city. Now for The Jin people's strategy can only be lip service but not real. If it is repeated many times, the Jin people are helpless. Many opportunities may arise from it. This is what I call 'procrastination' and 'delaying to wait for change.'"
When Zhao Ji saw this, he blinked, looked at Gao Qiu and said, "Is what Gao Qing said feasible?"
Gao Qiu nodded and said: "It's feasible! It's not that our court won't cede Zhongshan and Hejian towns to the Jin people, it's that the local government and the people don't allow it! The local government and the people don't implement it, and the court doesn't have a good way to help him. The golden man just needs to do some work.”
After Zhao Ji thought about it, he felt that it was okay. This was the only way at present not to cede Zhongshan and Hejian to the Jin people.
Zhao Ji and Gao Qiu talked for a while, and Gao Qiu took his leave and left the palace.
On the second day, the Taihuang called Qinzong into the harem and expressed his opinions on the cession of Zhongshan and Hejian towns. After hearing this, Qinzong agreed with him. After talking to the emperor, he also said goodbye and returned to the palace, preparing to send people to Zhongshan and Hejian to convey that he was consistent with the court on the surface but refused to cede the city secretly. the will of.
At this time, a delegation of more than ten people, including Xiao Zhonggong, the envoy of the Kingdom of Jin, came to Bianjing and requested to meet Song Qinzong Zhao Heng, asking for the war compensation agreed upon earlier and the Zhongshan and Hejian areas that the Song Dynasty promised to cede to the Kingdom of Jin. town.
As for Xiao Zhonggong, when his benefactor Wanyan Wu begged to send him to the Song Dynasty as an envoy, he was still murmuring in his heart. Although the two armies are fighting, Bu Zhan is here to envoy, but after all, he is going to the enemy's country, and there are still risks.
Through the Jin Kingdom's destruction of the Liao Dynasty and its attack on the Song Dynasty, Xiao Zhonggong had already seen that the Jin Kingdom's military strength was far superior to that of the Liao Kingdom and the Song Dynasty. As a nomadic nation, the Liao Dynasty was good at cavalry and bows and arrows. Even so, it was unable to withstand the attack of the Jin Dynasty and was exterminated. The Song Dynasty, as an ancient country in the Central Plains, advocated courtesy and governed the country with culture. How could it withstand the Jurchen's barbaric attack? ? Based on this, in Xiao Zhonggong's mind, he has clearly judged who is stronger and who is weaker between Song and Jin Dynasties. After Xiao Zhonggong paid the money, he had already made up his mind to become a minister of the Jin Kingdom, and he could just live in peace and wait for death. What Xiao Zhonggong didn't expect was that the benefactor Wanyan Wu would send him a Khitan who had only surrendered for more than a month. Xiao Zhonggong was worried that if Song was sent to Song Dynasty this time, he would die if he disagreed with him.
After Xiao Zhonggong set out, he sent people to Bianjing to inquire about the situation. While Xiao Zhonggong was marching, the people in front who were looking for information had returned halfway and met Xiao Zhonggong. Xiao Zhonggong learned about the situation of the Song Dynasty court from the person who first inquired about the information. Taishi Geng Nanzhong, Taizai Zhang Bangchang, Tongping Zhangshi Tang Ke and others proposed to cede Zhongshan and Hejian towns as soon as possible to maintain good relations with the Jin Kingdom. relations to avoid war between the two countries; while the main war faction, led by Yushi Zhongcheng Qin Hui and others, opposed the cession of Zhongshan and Hejian towns.
After Xiao Zhonggong grasped this situation, he decided to visit Geng Nanzhong, Zhang Bangchang, and Tang Ke after arriving in Bianjing. They would come forward to recommend him to meet the emperor of the Song Dynasty. This would be safer and would not be punished by the officials of the Song Dynasty who were leading the war. .
Therefore, after Xiao Zhonggong arrived in Bianjing, he first paid a visit to Grand Master Geng Nanzhong.
Geng Nanzhong was extremely enthusiastic towards Xiao Zhonggong and entertained him very well.
In order to cede the two towns of Zhongshan and Hejian, Geng Nanzhong and others had petitioned many times in the palace, but Qinzong did not give them a clear answer. The nights were long and there were many dreams. Geng Nanzhong and others were also afraid that the failure to cede the towns of Zhongshan and Hejian would trigger a war between the Song and Jin Dynasties. They were so anxious that they finally waited for the envoys from the Jin Kingdom. How could this make Geng Nanzhong so unhappy?
Geng Nanzhong held a banquet in honor of Xiao Zhonggong, and his attitude was very humble. Geng Nanzhong said: "The envoy came from afar, and it was a lot of hard work. He is humble and prepares a small amount of wine, which is not respectful. I hope you can forgive me." Xiao Zhonggong said politely: "The Jin and Song Dynasties are connected by mountains and rivers. It is beneficial to establish contracts and friendly exchanges. No matter how hard the people of the two countries work, they dare not complain. I hope that the Grand Master will proceed from the long-term interests of the two countries and petition the emperor to cede the two towns of Zhongshan and Hejian as soon as possible to establish friendly relations between the two countries and benefit them. The people of the two countries." Geng Nanzhong said: "That's natural. I have been looking forward to the arrival of the envoy for a long time. I can definitely answer the envoy. Since the Song and Jin Dynasties have reached an agreement on the cession of Zhongshan and Hejian towns, they will definitely Execution. How come the envoy has just arrived? He needs to rest for a day or two. He will go to see the Holy One tomorrow and ask for the cession of the two towns of Zhongshan and Hejian. He will introduce the envoy to the palace to meet the Holy One." Xiao Zhonggong thanked him and said: "Thank you, Grand Master. . After the humble envoy completes this mission, he and the Grand Master will have a drink and talk about their friendship together."
After the banquet that day, Geng Nanzhong arranged for Xiao Zhonggong to rest.
On the second day, Geng Nanzhong made an appointment with Zhang Bangchang and Tang Ke to enter the palace to meet the emperor. He reported that Xiao Zhonggong, the envoy of the Kingdom of Jin, had arrived in court and urged Zhongshan and Hejian towns.
