"Guan family, Qin Hui committed suicide in fear of crime yesterday in the Fengbo Pavilion of Yushitai... This is his suicide note!"
Jinling Palace, Chongzheng Hall. Yushi Zhongcheng Yu Wenxuzhong was reporting to Zhao Huan about Qin Hui's suicide, and he thoughtfully prepared a suicide note for Qin Hui.
The content of the suicide note is a confession, admitting that he took refuge with the Jin thieves after being captured and acted as a Jin thieves after being released, and that he wanted to frame Zhongliang and betray the Song Dynasty!
The famous detective Zhao Huan took Qin Hui's suicide note from Yu Wenxuzhong, then read it carefully twice, nodded and said: "It is indeed Qin Hui's handwriting! This is his suicide note... It's really not Come to think of it, Qin Hui is actually the spy of the gold thief! Fortunately, it was discovered early, otherwise the loyal people of the whole dynasty would have been framed by him! "
As he spoke, Zhao Huan put down Qin Hui's suicide note, and then looked with burning eyes at the two rows of well-dressed Zhongliang with solemn expressions in the hall.
Of course all loyalists know who Qin Hui is? It may be unfair to say that he was a spy sent by the golden thieves, but it is not unfair at all to say that he cheated on others, secretly communicated with the Jin Kingdom, and held the lap of the Jin people as an official of the Song Dynasty.
However, the way the official Zhao Huan killed Qin Hui so resolutely exceeded everyone's expectations - did this scare Zhao Kai? Did the officials force Qin Hui, the Minister of Rites, to death just because of Zhao Kai's threats?
Isn’t this too cowardly? That's it... If Zhao Kai comes to fight in the future, why are you still going to resist? Just surrender! Is this official really willing to be empress Chen?
Zhao Huan withdrew his gaze and said calmly: "Since Qin Hui has confessed his crime and committed suicide in fear of crime...there is no need to involve his family. He seems to have no children, so why not just put his wife in a safe place?" Let’s go to Guangnan East Road!”
It doesn't matter if Qin Hui dies, his wife will chase Lingnan!
Fortunately, Qin Hui had no sons (Qin Hui's wife did not give birth to children and was extremely ferocious, so Qin Hui had no offspring), otherwise he would definitely have been killed!
The ministers in the palace trembled in their hearts, remembering how Zhao Huan dealt with Cai Jing and Cai You, their father and son. It seems that this official's cowardice is for his enemies, but he is cruel to his own people, so it's better not to mess with him.
When Zhao Huan saw that all the courtiers in the palace were silent, he smiled bitterly and said: "Once Qin Hui dies, there will be peace in the southeast for a few years... I plan to stop the annual coins to the Northern Dynasty, and then increase the amount to The salary of the emperor’s brother in Luoyang!”
The brothers Zhao Kai and Zhao Huan are quite capable of talking to themselves... Zhao Kai called Zhao Huan King Wu, while Zhao Huan said that Zhao Kai was the emperor's younger brother, and now he still wanted to give it to the emperor. My brother gets a salary!
"How much is appropriate?" Zhao Huan muttered, "The emperor's brother's temperament is similar to that of the late emperor. They both like Fengheng Yuda! Let's do this... give him three million shi a year and let him Eat more! Give me silk, tea, and copper worth three million guan! What do you think?"
Zhao Huan actually completely agreed to all the requests made by Zhao Kai without any bargaining!
Qin Hui killed! The Kingdom of Jin has broken off diplomatic relations! A salary of six million a year...is also given!
The ministers in the Chongzheng Palace said in their hearts: You, Zhao Huan, have become so cowardly, that Zhao Kai should not be able to "first south and then north"... Although after eating the entire Jiangnan, there will be more than this in a year. Six million. But it was not only Zhao Kai who was well-fed during the journey to Jiangnan, but also the elite soldiers and generals under Zhao Kai!
This group of extremely vicious men were elite soldiers and generals before they went to Jiangnan. It is hard to say how much energy they still have to fight evil after returning from a trip to Jiangnan.
Let’s not mention it from afar, let’s just say that Tong Guan’s reasonably usable Western Army was just fine before Square La. The Jin soldiers couldn't defeat them, but they wouldn't be beaten by the Liao army, which had only one breath left!
But after returning from Jiangnan, they fell to this level!
In history, Shizu of the Later Zhou Dynasty also opposed the order of south and then north, and advocated the order of north and south. He was probably afraid that the soldiers would become rich and then fall... Money is a good thing, but it really makes the most vicious and murderous Han people miserable overnight. Getting rich suddenly seems to be quite troublesome.
So your good days are probably still here for you!
Of course, the ministers will not live with their good life... Besides, Qin Hui, who represented the interests of the Jin Kingdom in the Song Dynasty, committed suicide, and now Zhao Kai's "salary" of six million a year has been deducted. , what will happen if Zhao Kai brings his troops back to ask for wages?
Therefore, the loyal people of the Song Dynasty expressed their support one after another!
"The official is a wise man. If the emperor's brother gets this six million salary, he will definitely do his best to guard the border for the court. The court can live in Jinling and sit back and relax!"
"The officials can bring peace to the ten and two states in the southeast with a mere six million salary. It's really brilliant!"
"It is indeed a blessing for the people of the ten and two states in the southeast to have such wise officials!"
"Official sage, my dynasty will be rejuvenated and the world will be at peace, which is just around the corner!"
Listening to everyone's flattery, Zhao Huan always felt bad... He was fine everywhere now, with nothing wrong with him. He was a good official, but he didn't want to be beaten by Zhao Kai one day. This traitorous brother will pull down the throne and then kill him alive!
Thinking of this, Zhao Huan coughed and told the loyal people below to shut up.
Zhongliang below saw Zhao Huan's expression of disapproval, and he was so wise that he became speechless.
Zhao Huan added: "Although the emperor's brother is now stationed in the Central Plains, we cannot be unprepared for the gold thieves... After all, our country borders the gold thieves in the Huaihe River area, and the defense line is long, and we may be attacked at any time. The gold thief’s sneak attack! What’s your response?”
The ministers were all smart, and they immediately understood that this official still wanted to struggle for survival... Killing Qin Hui and paying Zhao Kai a salary of 6 million should be a delaying strategy.
Those who have been waiting for three to five years can step up their military training!
Nie Shan, the minister of the Privy Council, immediately reported: "I report to the officials, the Huaihe River is long, and the troops are stationed in various places. They all rely on the movement of ships. It is fine during the wet season, but it is difficult to respond when the water is dry. I think we should make another training. A cavalry army does not need to be large in number, as long as ten or twenty thousand people are enough."
"Ten thousand or twenty thousand cavalry?" Zhao Huan frowned, "Where do the horses come from? Where do the soldiers come from?"
Nie Shandao: "I'm sorry to say that among the armies of the four armies, there are many northern soldiers who are good at riding and shooting, and among the people who have fled from the north there are also strong men who are good at riding horses. The imperial court can pay generous salaries to recruit them.
As for war horses... you can ask officials from Ezhou, Guangzhou, Huangzhou, Shouzhou, Bozhou, Haozhou and other border states to try to buy them. As long as you don't hesitate to pay a high price, you should be able to buy a good horse.
In addition, the imperial court could also find sparsely populated land on Jinghu South Road, open a horse farm, and breed fine horses purchased from the border areas. "
Zhao Huan nodded, "That's very good. The East and West governments should come up with specific strategies as soon as possible. The situation is critical now, so we can't neglect it."
After finishing his instructions, Zhao Huan said again: "Do you have any good advice to offer?"
Zhao Mingcheng, who had just been promoted to Tongzhi Privy Councilor, went out to report: "Officials, the north of the western section of the Huaihe River is temporarily unsuitable for troops to enter due to flooding. You can make long-term plans, such as choosing dangerous terrain, building fortresses, and garrisoning new troops. At the same time, Guangzhou, Shouzhou, Haozhou, Sizhou and other prefectures were ordered to recruit rural soldiers and civilians and train them strictly.
However, Chuzhou in the lower reaches of the Huaihe River, Lianshui Army, and Haizhou to the north of Lianshui Army are in urgent need of reinforcement! In particular, the Haizhou and Lianshui armies are both located in the north of Huaihe... If they are abandoned, they will be captured by gold thieves and used as a base to cross Huainan and invade. If we want to maintain the barrier of the Huaihe River, we urgently need to send good generals such as Yuan Shuai, additional troops and horses, and proper defense. "
Zhao Huan thought for a while, "Haizhou and Lianshui Army have their backs to the sea, one side to the Huaihe River, and the other side to the mountains. We really shouldn't give up. Perhaps we can connect the two places to Hebei and set up a Huaibei pacification envoy road... ..I wonder who can be appointed as Huaibei’s pacifier?”
The minister Zuo Cheng is also the minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, and the veteran Zhang Cui came out to report: "In the official family, I recommend Liu Yu to be the pacifier of Huaibei."
"Liu Yu?" Zhao Huan asked with a frown, "Is it the Hebei farmer who served as a prisoner in Hebei and came to Jinling with Li Gang and Li Lu?"
Liu Yu is one of the few Jinshi who came from a peasant family and can truly be regarded as "a farmhouse man in the morning and an emperor in the evening".
It is precisely because of this background that Liu Yu is not very popular in the officialdom and is always the target of people's ridicule. Moreover, when he was young, he stole property from his classmates because his family was too poor, and he was considered to have poor conduct... Both Zhao Ji and Zhao Huan looked down on him, so this guy never got any good after running away to Jinling.
However, Zhang Cui liked this fellow from Hebei very much and knew that he knew soldiers, so he recommended this person to Zhao Huan.
Zhao Huan didn't think much about it... Anyway, the Haizhou and Lianshui armies in Huaibei were not in a good situation, so just send someone randomly to treat the dead horse as a living horse doctor!
After arranging for Liu Yu to go to Huaibei to serve as an official, Zhao Huan saw that the ministers could not come up with any ideas, so he ended the court meeting and then asked people to call the three brothers Zhao Shu, Zhao Qi and Zhao Xu who were recuperating in the mansion. .
"Fifth Brother, Sixth Brother, Seventh Brother, I have already agreed with the ministers that I will give Third Brother a salary!"
When the three kings heard this, they were a little bit dumbfounded. Zhao Kai is already an official, so why does he need you to give him a salary?
"Brother, how much do you give him?" Zhao Shu asked.
Zhao Huan stretched out his right hand and made a "six" gesture.
"Sixty thousand?" Zhao Qi asked with a smile.
"Six million!" Zhao Huan said seriously, "This is the salary for the emperor's younger brother! Is it enough?"
You are referring to annual coins as salary!
The three kings all knew it, but no one pointed it out. They all nodded and said "enough". How could an annual salary of six million not be enough?
You don’t even have this number to be an emperor!
Zhao Huan smiled and said: "I think it's enough...Which one of you is going to do the hard work? Go and tell the third brother the news, and at the same time talk to him about opening a market between the Ezhou and Hanyang armies. Son. If anything happens between the two parties in the future, we will discuss it in this land first, and the six million annual salary given to him will also be delivered in this land."
Zhao Xu was the youngest among the three brothers and the healthiest. He couldn't bear to let his two brothers continue to run around, so he stood up and said: "Brother Emperor, please let me go again!"
