It was the fourth day of February in the eighth year of Xuanhe in the Song Dynasty.
Bianliang, Tokyo.
Outside the Shangshu Provincial Office on Imperial Street outside Xuandemen, many officials wearing scarlet and green official uniforms lined up in a long queue after noon. The faces of the officials in line were all pale. You looked at me and I looked at you, and they all sighed.
These officials all came here to beg for release!
According to the edict issued by Zhao Kai through the Zhengshitang before leaving Kaifeng Mansion, if officials in Beijing want to serve in the Southeast Taishang Palace, they can apply to the Shangshu Provincial Yamen where the Zhengshitang is located. The Political Affairs Hall, which is responsible for approving this matter, must approve the official's application for transfer as soon as possible after arranging the successor official. If the official who submitted the application has no official position, or holds a dispensable sinecure, the Political Affairs Hall should approve it immediately!
This edict was written for the smart people in the officialdom. Of course, these smart people can read its meaning - going to the Taishang Palace to serve is just an excuse for everyone to run away!
This is a favor from the government, allowing officials to run away reasonably and legally!
However, the clever officials of the Song Dynasty also understood that when the officials gave them permission to run away, they would also write down the names of the running officials in a small notebook... There would be no chance of promotion or wealth in the future. Good thing it will be their turn!
Therefore, for a long time after this edict was issued, the people who queued up outside Shangshu Province were all relatives and clan officials who were not on official missions. The Northern Song Dynasty had a tradition of despising noble relatives and imprisoning clan members. Although these noble clan members could use the power of their ancestors to get into official positions, it was difficult for them to get hired by stewards, and they basically had to wait to die.
These people staying in Kaifeng Prefecture are wasting food rations. If they take a large family and run to the southeast, they can save Kaifeng Prefecture's food consumption and contribute to the fight against gold... So this group of people There was nothing to worry about. After seeing the edict, he went to the Shangshu Province and lined up.
By mid-January, the Wuzhang River, Bian River, Jinshui River, Huimin River, and Cai River, which connect Tokyo Bianliang and Tianxia Sifang, are all open to navigation (due to freezing or shallow water in winter, these waterways (difficult to navigate), this group of people received the transfer order "Mi Chongguan" from the political affairs hall, took their family members, servants and friends, hired guards and boats, and ran away happily.
And those civil servants who finally got into the imperial examination and became officials were still carrying it after seeing the "escape edict"... until the official family "lost contact" at the end of January and early February (Zhao Kai was at that time) Yuncheng resisted the Jin Dynasty), and then some people couldn't help themselves and went to Shangshu Province to queue up to be released.
However, these officials all had official duties, and the political affairs hall had to arrange the successor officials, and then seek approval from Empress Zhu, who was in charge of the government, before issuing transfer orders to the officials below. This process is quite long. An official who applies for transfer has to queue up at least twice before he can successfully get the transfer order.
And these civil servants who were queuing up were also quick-witted, asking each other about the situation on the front line while queuing up... In case the officials were lucky, they could fight their way back from the siege of hundreds of thousands of gold soldiers. What about Kaifeng Mansion? That big guy needs to think carefully about whether he wants to run away.
How difficult is it to pass the Jinshi exam? After passing the Jinshi examination and then climbing up from being a candidate to becoming a Beijing official or a court official, the joys and hardships involved are really hard to describe!
If you are on the "blacklist", then your career in this life will be over... Maybe you will become the target of impeachment by Yushitai in the future. All the bad things that you have done in the past, including corruption and perversion of the law, will be handed over to you. If you find out, it's not that you won't get promoted, but that you will have to live your whole life in the ends of the earth!
I don’t know what the big guys in the Political Affairs Hall are busy with today? It’s almost time to apply, why haven’t you started processing the “escape application” yet?
Is there any bad news coming back from the front line?
Thinking of this, the civil servants, whose backs and legs ached in line, began to talk about it.
"...There has been no news for seven or eight days. Could it be that the official is Long Yubin?"
"No, it's not... The officials had already arrived at Yuncheng County before there was no news. Yuncheng is right next to Liangshan. The officials couldn't bear it anymore and went to Liangshan. Where would the gold thief go? Looking for him?"
"That's right, that Liangshan Port has thousands of branches crisscrossing the harbor and is eight hundred miles in all directions! As long as the officials go up to Liangshan, the golden thieves can only look at the water and sigh!"
"But several prefectures and counties around Liangshanbo have been captured by gold thieves. The officials should let the gold thieves trap them in Liangshan. How long can this last?"
"Yes! These gold thieves are not landlubbers. I heard that they are a fishing and hunting clan..."
"I heard that there have been quarrels about this matter every day in Chongzheng Hall for the past two days..."
"What's the noise about?"
"What else is there to argue about? Of course it's about sending troops to Liangshanbo and asking the king of Luoyang County to return the favor!"
Now that Zhao Kai is not in Kaifeng Mansion, the government, according to the edict issued by Zhao Kai, has four people, Li Gang, Yu Wen Cuizhong, Li Bangyan, and Bai Shizhong, assisting Queen Zhu Fengying in handling military and state affairs.
The place where Zhu Fengying listened to politics behind the curtain was in Chongzheng Hall... After Zhao Kai left, the Northern Song Dynasty court no longer held any major meetings, but held small meetings in Chongzheng Hall every day.
Among them, Li and Bai are the Dazai and Shaozai left by Zhao Ji, that is, the left and right prime ministers. Li Gang and Yu Wencuizhong were appointed to know the Privy Council and to serve as business envoys, and to know the Kaifeng Prefecture and to serve as business envoys respectively.
In addition, there was Zhang Shuye who arrived at Kaifeng Mansion with Zhao Kai's imperial edict before Zhao Kai "lost contact". He served as Tongzhi Privy Councilor and Executive Envoy, and also joined the team of important ministers assisting Zhu Fengying.
At this time, five important ministers, several deputy prime ministers, a Shiren, a Hanlin, two old men Zongze and Zhongshidao who had come from Sichuan and Shaanxi, and a palace attendant Qin Hui were sitting together. My son is discussing military and national affairs!
"Reporting to the saint, although the number of rebels gathered in Bianliang, Tokyo, is large, most of them are temporary militiamen. If they are not strictly trained, they can only be used to defend the city and cannot be used in field battles... If we force the old ministers to lead them into battle, I'm afraid they will lose more than they win. Once King Qin's army is defeated in the wild, it will be difficult to defend Kaifeng Mansion. Please think twice, saint."
The person who was talking was a skinny old man, a little sickly, and looked like he was not doing well... However, such an old man was regarded as the pillar of the country by Zhu Fengying, Li Gang, Yu Wencui and others. exist!
Because this old man’s name is Zhong Shidao. He is 76 years old this year. He is the veteran of the Western Army of the Song Dynasty, the leader of the Zhong family generals, and the disciple of the Kansai scholar Zhang Zai... But in fact, he is not a person. A veteran of many battles, he was a military minister who became a monk on the way. For most of his official career, he was a civil servant.
Zhongshidao was first a military attache born in Yinbu. This kind of military attache did not actually lead troops, but was a rank officer. After he really became an official, he changed his literary qualifications and served as an official in Xizhou. He then served as a local official in the northwest until he was promoted to the general magistrate of Yuanzhou and promoted Qin Feng to Changping. Later, he was dismissed from office for disobeying Cai Jing and was included in the "traitor party". After being idle for ten years, he was activated by Zhao Ji, and was transferred to the military attaché to lead troops in the northwest. At this time, Zhongshi Dao is quite old, he should be fifty-seven or eighteen years old if not sixty years old.
Therefore, Zhong Shidao, a veteran general, had not been in the army and led troops for as long as Han Shizhong, who was in his thirties, let alone had actual combat experience. Han Shizhong joined the army at the age of 15 and has been fighting on the front line for 20 years. He is truly experienced in hundreds of battles!
In fact, Zhong Shidao has never been on the battlefield...but his appearance and aura seem to be very reliable, and he has also defeated powerful people like Cai Jing and Tong Guan, so he was very popular in the Song Dynasty. Very popular. After Zhao Kai "lost contact", Li Gang immediately summoned him to Kaifeng Mansion, hoping that he would lead troops to "rescue" him.
However, although this kind of teacher does not have much actual combat experience, he still knows how cowardly the soldiers of the Song Dynasty will be... He has too much say in this aspect! Even the so-called elite Western Army has attacked, can those rebels still be relied on? Therefore, he refused to lead troops to Liangshanbo to rescue Zhao Kai.
Zhu Fengying had naturally heard of the name Zhongshi Dao. Now that she heard what he said, her beautiful eyebrows frowned even more tightly, and her eyes were still shining with tears.
Seeing that the saint was about to cry, Li Gang quickly stood up and said: "Sage, don't worry, I can lead 100,000 elite soldiers from the capital to march eastward. I will help you rescue the official family no matter what!"
When Zhu Fengying heard this, she immediately felt hopeful. She nodded with tears in her eyes and said, "Then I'll leave it to the Privy Councilor."
This was her final word!
Although many ministers in the Chongzheng Palace felt that this matter was inappropriate, they did not dare to raise objections, so they all turned their attention to Qin Hui, the palace censor. Etiquette, that is, maintaining the discipline of the court. Li Gang's decision to lead the army on his own can barely be justified as a breach of etiquette... He is a civil servant, and he is also the head of the four ministers designated by the government to assist the government. How can he lead the army out of the city himself? So Qin Hui, a small official, can take the lead in this matter.
Qin Hui was stabbed by several glances, so he had no choice but to go out and pay homage to the saint Zhu Fengying, "Sage, Qin Hui, the imperial censor in the palace, has something to report."
Zhu Fengying glanced at Qin Hui, and her face slowly darkened... Getting the official back was a top priority. If Qin Hui dared to object, he would be a traitor and must be sent to Qiongzhou immediately!
"I..." Qin Hui was still very clever. After being glared at by Zhu Fengying, he already knew what to say, "I suggest you recall the King of Luoyang County, just in case!"
The king of Luoyang County is Zhao Lun, Zhao Kai's son. If Zhao Kai dies, he will be the only heir, and of course the new official family.
Although Zhu Fengying is not Zhao Lun's biological mother, she is her legitimate mother. As long as she makes Zhao Lun the new king, she can continue to handle military and state affairs, that is, listen to politics behind the curtain!
Zhu Fengying breathed a sigh of relief, her face softened, she nodded and said, "Now is indeed the time to recall Lun'er!"
