On the south bank of the West Lake in Hangzhou, on the Sunset Mountain, beside the Lei Feng Pagoda, among the willow trees, and under the long corridor, several ministers of the dynasty gathered around a stone table, drinking tea and writing poems, and had a great time.
The Lei Feng Pagoda was built by King Qian Chu of Wuyue to enshrine the relics of the Buddha and pray for peace and prosperity of the country and the people. It was first built in the second year of Taiping and Xingguo's reign in the Northern Song Dynasty and has a history of more than 200 years.
However, several ministers were looking at the tower by the lake, but their thoughts were not on the water.
"Your Majesty's articles are the best in the country. If he were here, I'm afraid he would be in high spirits again, composing poems by the lake, and leaving behind eternal good verses."
Chen Duanchang, the censor Zhongcheng, was exhausted, shook his head and smiled bitterly.
"His Majesty is now focused on the New Deal and strengthening the military. I'm afraid he no longer has this leisure time."
Wu Jing, the Yin of Lin'an Prefecture, picked up his wine glass and drank slowly. His words were full of bitterness.
"Qia is a classmate of a young man who is in his prime. He is a scholarly scholar and scolds Fang Qiu. He points out the country and inspires writing. Nowadays, the whole dynasty is full of young people in their prime. We and these remnants can only linger and live in panic."
When the emperor was mentioned, everyone fell silent.
Anti-corruption, economic boundary law, abolition of a series of old policies, establishment of three universities, rectification of military equipment, etc., the emperor's new policies are urgent and fierce, drastic and overwhelming, and the implementation of the new policies on Jiangnan East Road seems to be complete.
Nowadays, the New Deal continues to be implemented, and it has reached places such as Liangzhe Road and Sichuan Road. It is still thunderous and daunting.
But in fact, many ministers in the DPRK are dissatisfied with this.
"Brewed tea with spring water, the tea is sweet and fragrant, it is indeed the best in the world. Coupled with the newly produced blue and white porcelain from Jingdezhen, there is new tea between the mountains and rivers, and the tea has its own poetry and artistic conception!"
Ge Hong, the Secretary of the Ministry of Punishment, has white hair and a ruddy face, and drinks slowly with a smile.
He glanced at the gloomy-looking officials, shook his head secretly, but remained calm.
The imperial court implemented the New Deal and repeatedly resorted to the manipulation of scholar-bureaucrats, not only violating the ancestral family laws, but also making all the ministers of the court have trouble sleeping and eating.
"No matter how fragrant the tea is, no matter how sweet the water is, it's hard to quell the anger in your heart! Killing the minister in power when he says to do so is contrary to peace and may not be auspicious."
Sure enough, Liu Bi, the Minister of Household Affairs, said softly, but there was another profound meaning in his words.
Hu Ju, the ruling minister and minister of the Ministry of Industry, had huge corruption and was head of the Eastern Market. The implementation of the New Deal on the West Road of Liangzhe and Zhejiang Provinces was met with thunder and lightning. There were complaints wherever they went, and people in both the government and the public were in panic.
The rabbit dies and the fox is sad, and all the ministers are in mourning.
"The Jinling Martial Arts Lecture Hall and the Jinling University Hall are overcrowded, but the Imperial College is deserted, and the talents are withering. It is sad to think about it."
Censor Tang Lin said in a hesitant voice, but the target of the attack was something else.
"First, it was Gu Song, the general judge of the Jiankang Prefecture, and now it is the ruling minister Hu Ju. The pacification envoys and transfer envoys will be killed whenever they say. Your Majesty is killing chickens and scaring monkeys. Otherwise, can the new policies in Zhejiang, Jiangxi, and Sichuan be implemented? ?”
Chen Duanchang, the censor Zhongcheng, said quietly, seeming a little disappointed.
Speaking of which, he was a close minister of the emperor and had a close relationship with him. When the emperor ascended the throne, he was promoted to the title of censor Zhongcheng, but since he contradicted the emperor and went to court with his sword, he seemed to be left out in the cold.
Although he was still the censor Zhongcheng, he knew very well whether the emperor valued him or not.
"Hu Xianggong and his son were killed, and Hu's house was ransacked. I heard that his family had to rely on relief from the local government. An Gongxing of Sichuan, Pu Hong of Kuizhou, and Zheng Sun, the former Sichuan envoy, had their houses ransacked and exiled. The heads are rolling, and the sky is full of ice and fire. The situation for the scholar-bureaucrats is not easy!"
Ge Hong lamented the tragic experience of Hu Ju's family, and was also shocked by the tragic ending of Hu Ju'an Gongxing.
Under the emperor's new policy, great corruption and evil were arrested one after another. Rather than lamenting the fate of Hu Ju and others, Ge Hong was more uneasy about the "experience" of the scholar-bureaucrats.
Fortunately, he stopped earlier. Fortunately, he didn't have the courage of Hu Ju. Otherwise, he might have followed in Hu Ju's footsteps and been demoted or even imprisoned.
"Your Majesty fought against corruption with an iron fist. He used the official's black gauze hat and the head on his neck as the New Deal flag. The censor's platform was in vain, and the scholar-officials were panic-stricken. But this is nothing. It is always the internal affairs of the Song Dynasty, and there is still room for reconciliation. If you are good at it, If we talk about border affairs, it will cause turmoil in the Guanhe River and make the world restless."
After Wu Jing, the Yin of Lin'an Prefecture, finished speaking, he picked up the tea cup and tasted it carefully.
Everyone was shocked. Ge Hong nodded and said something meaningful.
"What Xianggong Wu said is true. The Tatar army is at its peak. Once the two countries fight, life will be devastated. At that time, chaos will arise, and the government and the public will be turbulent. I don't know if I can drink tea comfortably like today?"
As the governor of Lin'an and the pacifier of western Zhejiang, Wu Jing should have implemented the new policy in the two Zhejiang provinces. However, the emperor chose to transfer a black-faced outsider, Gao Dingzi, from Sichuan to implement the New Deal. Isn't this a slap in Wu Jing's face?
It is no wonder that Wu Jing is depressed and dissatisfied.
"The use of troops against the Tatars is just a rumor and cannot be taken seriously. Besides, the court has no usable troops. Everyone, are you too arrogant?"
Chen Duanchang looked at Ge Hong and frowned slightly.
Another "Tatar Policy" was about dispatching troops and generals to the northwest frontier fortress, repairing the fortress, and even visiting the border to strategize. Perhaps everything the emperor did was to use troops abroad.
However, the Song Dynasty's border army was weak, reinforcing Xixia and competing with the Tatar cavalry. Without a hundred thousand elites, what could be done to rescue Xixia?
"Every tree and plant is a soldier?"
Liu Bi, the Minister of Household Affairs, smiled coldly and continued the conversation.
"Xianggong Wu and the Princess of Xixia were brought back to Lin'an City. I'm afraid it is true that the emperor wanted to use troops. The Tatars sent troops to Xixia to attack the city and the territory. They were invincible. Xixia was about to be destroyed. Your majesty got involved at this time, I'm afraid It’s not a blessing to the country!”
It seems that the ministers have also heard about the border affairs in the northwest.
"Princess Xixia is graceful and graceful. She is a great beauty. Your Majesty has great eyesight and is so blessed!"
Wu Jing's eyes were filled with envy, and every man could understand the look on his face.
The reputation of the Xixia princess spread far and wide, and she was as beautiful as a flower. Everyone in Lin'an City knew her, including Wu Jing, Chen Duanchang and others.
"The Tatar cavalry can be compared to the rise of the Jurchens. The Jin people were afraid of their military fronts and avoided the south of the Yellow River. Our soldiers are not as good as those of the Jin Dynasty, but we have to compete with the Tatars. It is not a wise move. I always think about it and worry about it. Come!"
Ge Hong stroked his white beard with a sad expression on his face.
He is over 70 years old and just wants to spend his old age in peace, but does not want to worry about anything.
"The total number of my troops on the northwest frontier is no more than 20,000 to 30,000. They are a mixed bag of good and bad, good and bad. Without more than 100,000 elite troops, how can we rescue Xixia?"
Liu Bi faced Chen Duanchang and said with a dark face:
"Ms. Chen, you are the censor, the chief minister, the chief official. You cannot just sit idly by and let His Majesty do whatever he wants!"
The emperor seemed extremely aggressive, and the only way he could end up doing so was to destroy himself. The emperor has not yet deployed troops abroad, so it is still too late to persuade him.
"Xiangong Liu, your Majesty is only training troops at the border fortress and has not sent any troops out. I am afraid that my rash report will be without aim and will not be effective."
Chen Duanchang was still hesitant.
The emperor hates chasing rumors, and always sticks to bullshit facts in everything. The trick of telling officials to "tell things based on rumors" is no longer popular, let alone abused.
Otherwise, a storm of thunder and dew will only make his situation worse.
