In the third year of the Xingqing reign of the Song Dynasty, in early February, Lin'an City, the imperial palace.
Outside the south gate, the Imperial Guards stood with guns in hand. Even in the face of the turbulent crowd of imperial students and scholars in front of the palace gate, no matter how they cried and shouted, they remained motionless, like sculptures.
Since the establishment of the Jinling Martial Arts Hall, the emperor has been away from home all year round and does not return to Lin'an City for most of the year. The Lin'an Palace has become much deserted. This time, from the end of April to early February, the emperor stayed in Lin'an most of the time, which was extremely rare.
He established the Naval Academy, the Jinling Martial Arts Lecture Hall and the Jinling University Hall, organized and trained the new army, implemented the New Deal, and inspected the border troops. In the more than two years since he ascended the throne, the emperor's footprints have spread all over the country. A series of dazzling operations were carried out under Zhao Hong's drastic measures. And under the iron-fisted governance, they were pushed down in an orderly manner.
Since the spring and summer of the second year of Xingqing, news spread like wildfire about the Song Dynasty sending troops to summer in order to start a war with the Tatars, causing an uproar in Lin'an City. The tabloids even added fuel to the fire, and people in Lin'an City were panicked.
According to the news in the tabloids, everyone in the government and the public knew that the emperor seemed to be leaving Lin'an City again and going on a tour.
And this "patrol" was to go to Sichuan to lead troops northward to use troops against the Tatars.
He used weapons rashly, started provocations without saying anything, and carried out a series of deviant tyranny. The government and the public were talking about it, and no one could feel at ease.
Outside the north gate of the imperial palace and Ningmen, at the south end of Imperial Street, hundreds of imperial students and scholars sat cross-legged on the ground, holding up papers such as "Qingjun side" and "Abolition of the use of troops", impassioned and looking forward to death.
"The traitors are in power and have deceived Sheng Cong. Please ask the emperor to kill the traitors and stop using foreign troops for the time being!"
"There was a feud between the Song and Jin Dynasties. Why did you want to help the Jin Dynasty attack the Tatars? Your Majesty, please take back your order and don't start the army without permission, causing harm to the country and the people!"
The Tai students were impassioned, shouting loudly, speaking in unison, and all of them looked worried about the country and the people.
At this time, the morning court had not yet ended, it was Chen hour. As the sun rose high, more and more scholars and people gathered, and the momentum of the petitioners became stronger.
Seeing that the crowd of onlookers was getting bigger and bigger, a leader of the Taipei students with a wide robe and big sleeves came out, faced the crowd, and shouted loudly, with concern for the country and the people suddenly appearing on his face.
"...Three trees and three evils. Although the three evils are gone, one tree still remains, and another one is added, which is stupid and incompetent. People's words and records contain evil intentions and harm the country. Apart from these sycophants, people's hearts can be determined, and the welfare of the world and the well-being of all people... …”
The student leader held an admonition in his hand and spoke eloquently. His face was impassioned, like a martyr about to die heroically on the guillotine, fanning the flames of the people who were sitting in silence and watching.
"A hundred years ago, the Yi and Di people went south, the Jingkang disaster, the two emperors hunted north, the country's capital was lost, and the Song Dynasty moved south, which was really a shame and humiliation that had never been seen since the founding of the Song Dynasty. During this period, the Jin Kingdom invaded the Song Dynasty several times, and the common people were in trouble, and the people were in dire straits. Everywhere in our country The people of the Song Dynasty felt the humiliation of their fathers and the pain of destroying their country towards the Jin people. Their hatred was gnashing of teeth, and they thought about it like crazy. How painful it was!
However, today, although he is wise and powerful, he is a declining Xixia who does not care about the hatred of the Jin people and is good at leading the Tatar army. What did he do? The good people of the Tatar country are the enemies of the Jurchen country. The hatred of relatives makes people happy. Good and evil change their place. Isn't it absurd?
The root cause is that treacherous ministers are in power and deceive the saints..."
The leader shouted loudly, shook his fists and roared, while the students and the common people shouted in response, and everyone had a look of determination on their faces.
"The food is here!"
With a shout, the guys from the restaurant came in with "takeaway". The Taipei students stopped worrying about the country and the people, and began to eat and drink one after another to recharge their batteries in preparation for the future war.
The student leader took a bite of jiaozi (dumplings) and frowned.
"Xiaoer, are you jealous? How can you take advantage of the opportunity if you're not jealous?"
"Little man, go and get it now!"
The waiter had an apologetic smile on his face and was about to run away.
"Remember to bring two pots of Longjing tea and a few extra cups and bowls. Boil water and half a stick of incense before making tea. Don't forget it!"
Another student shouted while eating, not forgetting his instructions.
"Don't worry, I won't forget it!"
The waiter turned around and ran away, muttering to himself.
He came to the palace to protest, and he was still thinking about eating and drinking. He took care of everything. He was indeed a student of the Imperial Academy, and he was big-hearted and not afraid of anyone.
"Lao Wang, why do I feel that today's incident is weird? Many people inside don't know each other, so how can it be related to the New Deal?"
Cheng Yuanfeng, a college student, carefully observed the "demonstration sit-in" team and whispered to his friend Wang Ziqiang.
"I'm confused too. There are only three to four hundred people in Taixue. With this huge crowd, I'm afraid there must be thousands of people!"
Wang Ziqiang looked back and saw a huge crowd of people, eating, drinking and laughing. Many of them were unfamiliar faces.
"It's not just about people. We just want to criticize the evils of the times and dissuade the king from using troops abroad. How can it be related to the New Deal? Is there something fishy in this?"
Cheng Yuanfeng whispered, not forgetting to teach his classmates and solve their doubts.
"Look at these people. Although some are well-dressed and some are dressed like imperial students, many of them speak vulgarly and behave frivolously. They seem to have other backgrounds and do not look like scholars. These people are in groups. Will we be taken advantage of? Already?"
There are currently three to four hundred people in Taixue, and most of them know each other. Now there are many faces here, and they seem to have their own gangs, which makes people suspicious.
"What?"
Wang Ziqiang turned around and looked carefully. After a long time, he turned around and frowned.
It seemed that he also noticed something was wrong.
"These people are probably soldiers and civilians who are concerned about the country and the people. They can't have ulterior motives, right?"
After a long while, Wang Ziqiang finally uttered a sentence in a low voice.
"I hope so. Otherwise, you and I will be taken advantage of, which is not a good thing."
Cheng Yuanfeng nodded, secretly suspicious in his heart.
Although Tai students were favored by the Song Dynasty court, there were many enlightened scholars among them, and many of them were well aware of the sufferings of the people. Unlike most court officials, they also have the interests of ordinary people in their eyes. They see the many benefits brought by the New Deal and appreciate and agree with them.
For example, when the anti-corruption law is implemented, most Tai students support it. The reason is that bribery is rampant in the officialdom and there are too many corrupt officials, which has left them with no hope of clarifying officialdom.
Another example is the abolition of official and prostitute status. Many Tai students also think it is good governance. This kind of exclusive "welfare" for officials, especially senior officials, really cannot see any benefit to the country and the people, so it is better to abolish it.
"Is it really necessary for the emperor to use troops abroad?"
Wang Ziqiang looked around, whispered, and returned to the opinions of the students.
"Military information in the northwest, the Tatars are attacking the Jin people. Think about it, our Song Dynasty borders the Jin Kingdom, and the Tatar army is at its peak. If they attack cities and territories in the Jin Kingdom, wouldn't they invade our Song Dynasty's border fortress?"
Wang Ziqiang's words made Cheng Yuanfeng nodded slightly and frowned.
"Having said that, the emperor has lightly activated his swords and the Tatars have strong troops and horses. Once the two sides fight, it will be a loss of life and turmoil for the mountains and rivers. At that time, it will be too late to regret it."
"But have you ever thought about it, if the Tatar army openly invaded our Song Dynasty, wouldn't the Li people suffer? If our Song Dynasty border army did not deploy defenses early and take precautions, would we have to watch the Tatar army massacre our Song people? Are you cramming?"
As the two talked, their hearts began to feel heavy.
Everything is done in advance, otherwise it will be ruined. Now it seems that it is necessary for the emperor to deploy defenses in the northwest.
"Don't worry! The emperor loves his people like his own children, and has sent so many officers to the northwest frontier to train troops in Sichuan. Nothing will happen to the frontier."
Cheng Yuanfeng suddenly became full of confidence in the emperor again, and became hesitant to prevent the emperor from using troops.
"Brother Cheng, you change so quickly!"
Wang Ziqiang chuckled, and a big question mark suddenly appeared in his heart.
"Brother Cheng, Xianggong Chen, Xianggong Wu, and Xianggong Ge seem to be very dissatisfied with the New Deal. They are all members of the Qing Dynasty. They will not fall out with the emperor, right? If this is the case, the emperor will not be able to go to the northwest. What if? If there is a war, what should we do?”
Wu Jing, the governor of Lin'an, Chen Duanchang, the imperial censor, and Liu Bi, the minister of household affairs, all of them were clean-blooded people who served the country and the people. Why did they have trouble with the emperor's new policy?
In those New Deals, there were many good deeds that enriched the country, strengthened the military, and benefited the people, which was of great benefit to the Song Dynasty.
"Qingliu? Bullshit!"
Cheng Yuanfeng smiled coldly and shook his head.
"Qingliu will report directly to the emperor, be frank and honest, and will not obstruct the New Deal, nor will he fan the flames and be the enemy of good governance. In today's dynasty, the truth is so sloppy. Except for Liu Shilang, most of the officials are sanctimonious, and Ge Hong is even more so. You old man, it’s hard to say enough.”
"It seems that the people of this Great Song Dynasty are unpredictable and people are at a loss as to what to do."
Wang Ziqiang was shocked and couldn't help but sigh.
He also heard some of the misdeeds of Wu Jing, Chen Duanchang and others, and thought they were just minor flaws or slander. Now from what Cheng Yuanfeng said, it seems that Wu Chen did have bad moral character.
Cheng Yuanfeng was a good-natured man, from a family of officials, and had some contacts with high-ranking officials in the court. The news he got was overwhelming.
"Brother Cheng, I am hesitant and feel like I am too impulsive."
Seeing that Wang Ziqiang was restless and seemed to be blaming himself, Cheng Yuanfeng smiled and comforted his friend.
"Old Wang, you and I are Tai students. Protests are for the country and the people, and there is no selfish intention in anything. Just sit down and wait with peace of mind. When we meet the emperor in person, we can naturally express our feelings and clearly distinguish right from wrong."
"Will the emperor meet us?"
Wang Ziqiang was stunned and immediately became happy.
The emperor of the Song Dynasty governed the country with his articles and had great influence among the imperial students. If you can meet the emperor, this trip will be worthwhile.
"There is such a big commotion outside, how could the emperor not know about it? With the emperor's nature, he will definitely be honest. If you have any questions, just face the emperor directly."
Cheng Yuanfeng smiled slightly, but actually he was worried about whether the emperor would meet them.
He glanced at the crowd of people who were eating and drinking, and frowned again.
If the emperor summoned him in person, many of these guys might slip away.
"Brother Cheng, let's also order a pot of tea and some food. Please feel free to demonstrate."
Wang Ziqiang was full of expectations and said with a smile.
