In the hall, Geng Nanzhong came out and said: "Your Majesty, Xiao Zhonggong, the envoy of the Kingdom of Jin, has led a delegation to come to the court to ask for an audience." Qinzong asked: "Why are the envoys of the Kingdom of Jin coming to court this time?" Geng Nanzhong replied: "Reply to your Majesty. The Jin envoys came to court this time to ask for 5 million taels of gold, 50 million taels of silver, 10,000 taels each of silk and satin, and 10,000 oxen and horses that the court promised to lose to the Jin people. ; Urging the two towns of Zhongshan and Hejian that have not yet been handed over by the imperial court."
Hearing the series of data reported by Geng Nanzhong, Qinzong's heart twitched, there was a dull pain, and his brows furrowed. At that time, the East Route Army of the Kingdom of Jin led by Wanyan Zongwang attacked the city of Bianjing. The situation was critical. In order to allow Wanyan Zongwang to withdraw his troops, Qinzong agreed to the conditions proposed by Wanyan Zongwang. Now, the soldiers and horses of the Kingdom of Jin have withdrawn and returned to the country. Let's talk about these gold silks and the city. At that time, Qinzong felt a faint pain in his heart, and he couldn't bear to leave. He felt very distressed.
Seeing Qin Zong's displeasure, Zhang Bangchang then recited from the side: "Your Majesty. Although the Jin people have withdrawn their troops, their troops and horses are all gathered in Yanjing. They are eyeing the Song Dynasty and the gold and silver city that the imperial court promised to lose." In such a situation, the imperial court must not refute the wishes of the Jin people, so as not to trigger a war. Now, the Jin Dynasty sent envoys to the court, and the Holy Emperor summoned them to comfort them, and promised to pay gold, silver, cattle and horses in batches, and cede Zhongshan , Hejian Second Town."
Qinzong heard the report and said: "Several ministers, when the Jin people withdrew their troops, the imperial court had paid 200,000 taels of gold and 4 million taels of silver. Bianjing city was already empty, and the people's financial resources were also poor. The Jin people were so demanding, and the court was nowhere to be found. To get so much gold and silver? Besides, Zhongshan and Hejian are border towns in the north, how can they be ceded easily? As for the current situation in the court, several ministers also know that it is really difficult to raise so much gold, silver, cattle and horses. The envoys of the Jin people are here I will not summon you to the court for the time being, and I will let a few ministers contact you and handle the matter properly."
Qinzong's words were very clear. He had no money to give the Jin people and was unwilling to cede the towns of Zhongshan and Hejian. As for what to do? You, Grand Master, Dazai, and Tongping Zhang will take care of things.
The conditions proposed by the Jin people at that time were promised by Qin Zong himself. Now that they are no longer fulfilled, I am afraid that Qin Zong himself has to tell the Jin envoys, right? Now, the Holy One is unwilling to fulfill the agreement and has asked us, as ministers, to contact and deal with it. How can we handle this matter? The key point is that the imperial court's refusal to pay compensation and cede the city will trigger a war between the Song and Jin Dynasties. By then, if they can't defeat others, wouldn't it be a disaster? ! Is this kind of responsibility beyond what we, the ministers, can bear?
Therefore, when Qinzong said that, Geng Nanzhong became anxious and hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, the agreement between countries is by no means a casual chat between our monarchs and ministers. It is mandatory. As far as the current situation is concerned, To put it bluntly, the troops of the Jin Kingdom are obviously stronger than the imperial court. If the imperial court insists on breaking the contract, it may lead to another Jin invasion."
Qinzong was silent when he heard the performance.
Geng Nanzhong, Zhang Bangchang, and Tang Ke looked at Qin Zong blankly, waiting for Qin Zong to reply.
After a long time, Qin Zong asked: "Who did the Jin State send to lead the delegation to the Song Dynasty?"
Geng Nanzhong replied: "Reply to Your Majesty. The Jin Kingdom sent Xiao Zhonggong, the minister in charge of the palace, to lead a delegation to the Song Dynasty."
Qinzong nodded and continued to ask: "What is the background of this Xiao Zhonggong? From what I heard from his name, he should be a Khitan."
Zhang Bangchang came out of the class and said: "Return to the Holy Spirit. That Xiao Zhonggong is a Khitan."
"What is this person's background?" Qinzong asked.
Tang Ke replied: "Your Majesty. As far as I know, this person is the consort of the Khitan royal family. Not long ago, when the Jin Kingdom's Western Route Army withdrew from Taiyuan, they took the opportunity to pursue Emperor Tianzuo of Khitan in Jiashan. Xiao Zhonggong and Emperor Tianzuo Yelu Yanxi and his companions were captured by the Jin army."
"Oh!" Qinzong said, thoughtfully.
Geng Nanzhong, Zhang Bangchang, and Tang Ke looked at Qinzong, wondering what Qinzong was thinking.
After a while, Qin Zong said: "So, this Xiao Zhonggong has not been loyal to the Jin people for a long time."
Geng Nanzhong nodded and replied: "Yes, Your Majesty, Xiao Zhonggong has only surrendered to the Jin people for more than a month."
When Qinzong saw this, he was very interested and said: "In that case, why do the Jin people trust Xiao Zhonggong so much? Why did they send this person to the court?"
Tang Ke replied: "Your Majesty, I am always paying attention to the situation of the Jin people. According to my analysis, the reason why the Jin people appointed Xiao Zhonggong as envoy to the court is because Xiao Zhonggong is extremely loyal to Emperor Tianzuo. According to my understanding, the Jin people appointed Xiao Zhonggong as envoy to the court. During the situation, Xiao Zhonggong accompanied Emperor Tianzuo to escape from Jiashan. He also led the military and followed Emperor Tianzuo at all times. On the way to escape, Emperor Tianzuo suddenly encountered heavy snow and lacked cold-proof clothes. Xiao Zhonggong took off his mink coat and hat as a donation; there was no food. Xiao Zhonggong came in and served fried noodles and dates."
Qinzong asked: "Then what does he eat?"
"Eating ice and snow to satisfy hunger." Tang Ke replied.
Qinzong sighed: "In this way, he is considered a loyal minister."
Tang Ke continued: "Emperor Tianzuo wanted to rest, so Xiao Zhonggong knelt on the ground and let Emperor Tianzuo sleep on his body and clothes."
Qinzong further sighed: "You are truly a loyal minister!"
Tang Ke said: "After Xiao Zhonggong was captured, the gold master thought that he was loyal to his master, so he treated him with special courtesy and made him an official in front of the central hall of the court. As for why the gold master sent Xiao Zhonggong, who had recently surrendered, as an envoy to the court, I don't know the truth, so I can only speculate. .”
After hearing about Xiao Zhonggong's situation, Qinzong also appreciated his loyalty to his old master and sighed: "If this is the case, I should treat this person favorably."
Geng Nanzhong, Zhang Bangchang, and Tang Ke heard this and hurriedly said: "Your Majesty is wise! I respectfully ask Your Majesty to summon Xiao Zhonggong to confirm the agreement between Song and Jin."
Qinzong thought for a while, nodded and said, "Please retreat first and let me think about it."
Geng Nanzhong, Zhang Bangchang and Tang Ke resigned from the palace.
Outside the hall, Geng Nanzhong, Zhang Bangchang, and Tang Ke looked at each other with confusion. This time I entered the palace to ask the Holy One to summon the Jin envoys to compensate the Jin Kingdom with gold, silver, cattle and horses as soon as possible, and to cede the two towns of Zhongshan and Hejian. However, after playing for a long time, there was no conclusion. What did the Holy One mean?
Several people discussed in whispers outside the main hall for a while, and decided that Tang Ke would arrange for the yamen of the prime minister's office to dress up as common people and guard outside the palace, paying close attention to the dynamics of the court to see who would enter the palace in the next period of time, and Report the situation at any time without mistakes.
Geng Nanzhong, Zhang Bangchang, Tang Ke and others meant that if the Holy One summoned a few of them, they would naturally have no other intention than to pay compensation to the Jin Kingdom and cut off the city. If the Holy One summoned Qin Hui, Nie Chang, Li Hui and others, the situation would probably be worse. There may be changes, or there may be other meanings, which may cause trouble.
Tang Ke arranged for the officials of the Prime Minister's Office to monitor the palace, in order to understand the relevant situation and arrange for all the officials in the imperial court to enter the palace together to meet with the Holy Emperor and strive for peace to prevent war between the Song and Jin Dynasties.
So, what does Qinzong mean? It turned out that Qinzong suddenly had an idea after hearing about Xiao Zhonggong's situation. Qinzong wanted to use Xiao Zhonggong to cause political chaos in the Jin Kingdom, so he refused to compensate the Jin Kingdom for gold, silver, cattle and horses, and would not cede Zhongshan and Hejian towns to the Jin Kingdom.
Because this idea was not yet mature, and Xiao Zhonggong's details and background were not yet known, so in front of Geng Nanzhong, Zhang Bangchang, and Tang Ke who advocated compensation and ceding the city. Qinzong couldn't bear to reveal too much information, so he asked them to leave the palace.
Qin Zong wanted to listen to the opinions of Qin Hui and other main war factions, and see if Xiao Zhonggong could use Xiao Zhonggong to drive a wedge between the Jin Kingdom and the Khitan people, causing civil strife in the Jin Dynasty, and making the Jin Kingdom no longer have the energy to take care of other things, especially the court's compensation. and ceded the towns of Zhongshan and Hejian.
At that time, the main fighting factions in the court were Li Gang, Zhong Shidao, Zhong Shizhong, Wang Zhen, Zhang Shuye, Qin Hui, Nie Chang, Li Hui, Fan Youna, Zhan Du, Chen Tao and other border town officials. Zhong Shidao, Zhong Shizhong, Wang Zhen and others from the main fighting faction were all killed in the battle; Li Gang and Zhang Shuye were demoted from the capital; the only ones left in the court were Yushi Zhongcheng Qin Hui, Kaifeng Prefecture Yin Nie Chang, Privy Councilor Li Hui, Hedong Xuanfu envoy Fan Youna and others. Among these people, Qin Hui was especially important because of his official position, literary talent, and strategy. Qin Hui naturally became the leader of the main war faction in the court.
Qin Zong then ordered Qin Hui, Nie Chang, Li Hui, Fan Youna and others to enter the palace to consult the Jin envoys on their strategy.
Qin Hui, Nie Chang, Li Hui, Fan Youna and others followed the imperial edict and entered the palace to meet Emperor Qinzong.
Qin Hui, Nie Chang, Li Hui, Fan Youna and others entered the palace, knelt on the ground and paid their respects to Qin Zong. Qin Zong ordered everyone to stand up. Qin Hui and others got up.
Qin Hui came out of the class and said: "The Holy One has ordered the ministers to enter the palace. What is the decree to be issued? The ministers will obey the imperial decree and carry out the orders."
Qin Zong said: "There is nothing specific. I just want to know someone like Qing."
Qin Hui said: "Who do you want to know, Your Majesty?"
Qin Zong said: "Xiao Zhonggong?"
"Xiao Zhonggong?" Qin Hui asked: "Why did the Holy One want to know this person?"
Qin Zong said: "This man is a Khitan. He was appointed by the gold master and came to the court to demand compensation of gold and silver and the cession of the city."
Qin Hui said: "Let me tell you, Your Majesty. The Xiao Zhonggong whom Your Majesty knows is well known to me."
"You know Xiao Zhonggong well?" Qinzong opened his eyes in surprise and asked Qin Hui: "How do you know Xiao Zhonggong so well?"
Qin Hui replied: "Your Majesty. During the Xuanhe period, I was ordered to go to Liao as an envoy to discuss border trade matters. The person who came out to receive me was Xiao Zhonggong, who was the deputy envoy of the Liao Dynasty at that time. Because of his Her grandmother and mother are both Emperor Tianzuo's aunts, and she is Emperor Tianzuo's cousin, so she is trusted by Emperor Tianzuo and entrusted with important responsibilities."
Qin Hui's words confused Qin Zong. Why was Xiao Zhonggong's grandmother and mother both the aunts of Yelu Yanxi, Emperor Tianzuo of the Liao Kingdom?
Qinzong opened his eyes wide and looked at Qin Hui.
Qin Hui bent down and worshiped again, and said: "Your Majesty. Xiao Zhonggong's grandfather Xiao Tabu also served as the privy envoy of the Liao Kingdom and married Princess Yelu Jiuli of the Zhao Kingdom, the second daughter of the Liao Daozong Yelu Hongji; his father Xiao Te Muzeng served as the secretary of the Khitan court and married the third eldest princess Yelu Tri, the third daughter of Yelu Hongji, the Daozong of the Liao Dynasty. According to the Holy Spirit, this is the popular uncle-nephew and aunt-nephew marriage in the Khitan. In other words, Xiao Zhonggong's father Xiao Temu married his aunt Yelutri."
"Strange talk! Strange talk!" Qin Zong said repeatedly: "Strange thing! Strange thing! Regarding the situation of Xiao Zhonggong, the Jin envoy, please tell me as much detail as possible."
Qin Hui bowed and replied: "Yes, Your Majesty."
Therefore, Qin Hui told the relevant situation of Jin envoy Xiao Zhonggong in detail.
