It was the first day of April in the ninth year of Jingkang in the Song Dynasty.
Nanjing.
In the Political Hall in the Imperial City of Jinling, a group of high-ranking officials in red and purple robes were breathing in the cold air while holding copies of military reports sent by the Huaidong General Manager. Everyone's faces are not very pretty. You look at me, I look at you.
Geng Nanzhong, the Prime Minister of the East Mansion, was sitting on the chair at the top, not speaking, just holding a copy and reading it over and over.
The leaders below began to discuss in low voices.
"...Kang Kang is considered the ninth son of the late emperor, and he was kidnapped by the temptress Wanyan Yan and became a pseudo-official. It is understandable that General Tian Ce will kill him at will. .....Why don’t you miss brotherhood at all?”
"It's the house of an emperor... But what are the consequences for those scholar-bureaucrats who were forced to become thieves? They refused to let go. They were detained in Pizhou City and forced to donate money and pay them. They were asked to pay for their sins. If they didn't have the money, they would be arrested. Build the new Shuntian City! He wants to make enemies of the scholars in the world!"
"Aren't you just going to make enemies of the scholars in the world? In Jingdong and Hebei, even the gentry who were not thieves had their land confiscated..."
"Well, General Tiance didn't want to share the world with the scholar-bureaucrats. Without sharing the world, isn't it natural that we can't keep our land and property?"
"Now that King Kang is finished, there is no buffer between the imperial court and General Tiance..."
"King Kang is dead, but King Kang's army is still there! According to the military report, Princess Kang is taking King Kang's two sons to escape to Yuzhou Island, and they also occupy Qushan, Donghai, Chenjia Island, Dengzhou, etc. There are no less than tens of thousands of capable warriors under his command... If the imperial court can contact him and send troops to support by sea, it may not be impossible to drag General Tiance to Jingdong Road!"
Hearing someone making such a self-inflicted suggestion, Geng Nanzhong finally stopped being silent. He snorted coldly, put down the newspaper copy in his hand, and slowly raised his head: "What nonsense are you talking about? Who is Princess Kang? She? Is she the daughter of the golden thief Emperor Wanyan Wu, or is she the temptress who kidnapped King Kang to proclaim himself emperor? She has committed a heinous crime and should be cut into pieces if caught...joining forces with her? Don't we also join hands with Li Cheng, Kong Yanzhou, Are they the same as Liu Lin and others?"
The person who made this suggestion was Zhang Zongyuan, who had just been appointed as the Minister of War. This Zhang Zongyuan had previously served as the magistrate of the Guangdong and Guangxi Propaganda, and was promoted to the Minister of War because of the glory of the Champa-Annan battle. Now is the time to be high-spirited.
He was still unconvinced after being scolded by Geng Nazhong and wanted to reply, but Zhang Bangchang, who was sitting next to Geng Nazhong, preempted his words: "The dispute between General Tiance and King Kang is a matter of heaven. Princess Kang, Li Cheng, Kong Yanzhou , Liu Lin and his like join in, but they are enemies of the country and the family, and there is no possibility of change... If the court now unites with Princess Kang and the others, what kind of situation will the official family be in? "
The more Zhang Zongyuan listened, the more confused he became. What kind of hatred between the country and the family? Why is there no possibility of turning around? Can brothers Zhao Huan and Zhao Kai be as good as brothers?
Seeing the confusion on his face, all the ministers present shook their heads. Wu Min, the deputy political advisor, coughed and said: "In times of national crisis, the government takes the position of emperor as the foundation of the country... General Tiance did not know about this because of the news barrier, so he reopened the palace. Song, who was supported by thousands of troops as the king. Although there was a situation of one country and two masters, neither party made a big mistake. But Princess Kang was guilty of the most evil! If we are involved with her, there will be no way to survive! "
No way to survive?
For this reason, if Zhang Zongyuan can't understand it, he will be too stupid to pass the Jinshi exam!
The bickering between brothers Zhao Kai and Zhao Huan is all the family affairs of the Zhao family!
What does the dog-eating behavior in your family have to do with the people below? Moreover, Zhao Huan was originally the prince. If the emperor died, his subordinates would support the prince's accession to the throne. What's wrong with that?
Moreover, when the "Donghua Gate Incident" occurred in Kaifeng Mansion, the big guys didn't object to Zhao Kai becoming an official. It was because he acted inappropriately...
Therefore, even if Zhao Kai pacified Jiangnan, he could not kill the senior officials of the Jinling court.
Although Zhao Kai did not share the world with the scholar-bureaucrats, he was generally quite reasonable.
And the face between him and Zhao Huan and Queen Zhu was not completely broken!
But once these treacherous officials from the Jinling court colluded with Princess Kang Wanyanyan, their nature would immediately change!
This is betraying the country and surrendering to the enemy! Can we still expect Zhao Kai to spare them?
Therefore, although it is beneficial to the Jinling court to unite Wanyan Yan's forces now, it is not good for these high-ranking officials of the Jinling court... That is seeking death!
The Jinling court is full of people who are making small calculations every day. How could they not understand this truth?
Besides, Wanyan Yan doesn’t have much strength, otherwise she wouldn’t end up hiding on an island!
How long can Zhao Kai be held back by joining forces with her?
Zhao Kai must come as he should!
Zhang Zongyuan understood now and quickly lowered his head without saying anything.
At this moment, I heard the sound of footsteps outside the door, and then I saw Zhao Qi, the sexton of Panyintai, striding in.
After Zhao Huan "abolition of military force", he suddenly felt that the bureaucracy was extremely difficult to control, so he began to let the princes participate in government affairs to contain officials.
Among them, Su Wang Zhao Shu was promoted to become a navy boss, while Jing Wang Zhao Qi was sent by Zhao Huan to take charge of the Tongjin Yintai Department in the name of "Shuo He Bei Nan" - this was an yamen affiliated to the Privy Council and also accepted subordinates. The main responsibility of the provincial supervisor is to receive the documents and documents of the imperial court, as well as the memorials of civil and military ministers, and to promulgate matters. He is an official in charge of "express delivery".
Seeing King Jing come in, a group of ministers stood up to welcome him, while Zhao Qi bowed his hands to them: "I just received a report from the Jinghu Chief Supervisor, saying that King Shen has arrived at the Hanyang Army."
Geng Nanzhong raised his head with a nervous look on his face: "How many troops did you bring?"
Zhao Qi said: "I didn't lead any troops, but I came to Jinling to persuade you to surrender!"
Persuade to surrender? Does that mean a war is about to begin?
The expressions of all the ministers in the political hall changed!
Zhao Qi said again: "The Gu family will go to the palace to report to the officials... Let's discuss it carefully and see if we should let King Shen come to Jinling?"
Geng Nanzhong and Zhang Bangchang looked at each other, and both of them understood Zhao Qi's intention... The king wanted Zhao Zhi to come to Jinling to persuade him to surrender!
No, maybe he wants the Jinling officials to surrender!
It’s just that everyone in the southeast can submit regular script, but only the Emperor of Jinling cannot do so!
...
"Brother, sister-in-law...this is the third brother's handwritten letter."
What Zhao Qi brought into the palace was not only the report from the Jinghu Chief Supervisor, but also a handwritten letter from Zhao Kai. In fact, the report was not important at all. These two handwritten letters were the reason why Zhao Qi entered the palace in person.
The place where Zhao Huan and Zhu Lian met Zhao Qi was not in Chongzheng Hall, but in the Beiyuan Imperial Garden at the foot of Lion Mountain.
The reason why Empress Zhu was present was because Zhao Kai never wrote directly to Zhao Huan, but to his sister-in-law Zhu Lian - the eldest brother Zhao Huan is not a good brother, but the sister-in-law Zhu Lian is still a good sister-in-law!
It was not convenient for Zhao Huan to communicate directly with Zhao Kai, so he asked Zhu Lian to communicate with Zhao Kai.
Although Zhao Huan had previously removed Zhao Kai's crown prince and suspended Zhao Kai's annual salary of 6 million.
But Zhu Lian still kept in touch with Zhao Kai, and he also expressed comfort in his letters, and expressed his willingness to lend money to Zhao Kaihua... What a good sister-in-law!
Zhao Kai is not polite either... I feel confident borrowing my sister-in-law's money!
So in this letter that was just sent to Nanjing, there was a big ask, asking for a loan of 10 million yuan!
Zhao Kai is poor! And there are too many places to spend money... Those places that are recovered must be fortified!
There is also an unfortunate Yellow River that needs to be managed!
It's impossible not to manage the Yellow River, and it's impossible to ask places in the north that have been impoverished by war to provide the money.
So he could only borrow money from his good sister-in-law Zhu Lian.
"Guan family, third uncle wants to borrow money..." Zhu Lian took the letter and read it, feeling a little dumbfounded.
Zhao Huan has been sick these two days - he fell ill after learning that Zhao Gou was killed! And I always have nightmares at night, dreaming that I was also caught by Zhao Kai and was strangling him with a rope...
The combination of being frightened, scared and sick made Zhao Huan, who was originally in good health, suddenly fall ill. The imperial doctor was unable to do anything after seeing it. They all said it was a heart disease - I don't know if it was a heart disease or a coward?
In short, it’s not that good!
"How much do you want to borrow?" Zhao Huan's voice was hoarse and his face was very ugly.
"10 million yuan..." Zhu Lian was bold and not afraid of being captured alive by Zhao Kai... and humiliated!
"10 million..." Zhao Huan gritted his teeth, "No money!"
"Guan family, our family is rich!" Zhu Lian said with a smile, "The property stored in the sealing pile library is almost 10 million guan!"
Zhao Huan glanced at his wife, "You want to lend him money?"
Zhu Lian shook his head.
Zhao Huan breathed a sigh of relief.
Zhu Lian added: "Third uncle doesn't know how to manage money at all... He will never be able to repay the 10 million he borrowed in his lifetime."
"Sister-in-law, third brother will pay you back soon..." Zhao Qi was a little anxious. He was worried that the two sides would really fight, so he hurriedly spoke for Zhao Kai.
Zhu Lian glared at Zhao Qi angrily, thinking: The third uncle has only one way to repay the 10 million, which is to rob my good sister-in-law!
"He can't afford it!" Zhu Lian said, "It's better to do this... As an official, let's make him the emperor's younger brother and increase his annual salary to 10 million. This way we can get the best of both worlds."
When Zhao Huan heard this suggestion, his heart ached - he was so angry that he had a heart attack!
Zhao Kai only wants to borrow 10 million, but it would be better for you to give him 10 million, and you have to give it to him every year!
Your sister-in-law is too kind, right?
"Sister-in-law is still considerate!" Zhao Qi said to Zhao Huan with a smile, "Brother, why don't you just follow what sister-in-law wants!"
Zhao Huan's face turned pale with anger, and he said in a gloomy tone: "If I give him money, will he not want my country?"
He only spoke half of his words, and the other half was his life! Zhao Kai not only wants the country, but also his life! Zhao Gou is dead, and Zhao Huan is next!
When Zhao Qi heard this, he immediately became silent and had no choice but to wink at Zhu Lian.
Zhu Lian said with a smile: "It's not like that... What the third uncle wants is nothing more than wealth. We have plenty of wealth. Can't we just give him some? Brothers, fighting for a little money, let everyone How bad it would be for all the people in the world to suffer hardships!"
