Just as Zhao Huan and Tong Guan stood side by side and looked at the growing resistance outside the palace city, in Kaifeng City, Prime Minister Bai Shizhong also began to conspire with another important minister of the Song Dynasty.
"How sure are you that you can pull that Tong Guan off his horse this time?"
The old man who spoke was Wang Fu, the young prime minister of the Song Dynasty. This guy's real name was Wang Fu, but when he was studying, he saw that his name was the same as Wang Fu, the eunuch of the Eastern Han Dynasty, so he changed his name in anger. .
It became the current name, Wang Fu.
But although his name has been changed, his character has not changed at all. Tong Guan only has one sentence to comment on Wang Fu.
"This old guy is indeed eloquent. He has outstanding intelligence but no knowledge. He is good at flattery. To put it bluntly, he is just a guy who is used to playing tricks."
Of course, Zhao Huan also disliked him very much, and both parties were about to become mortal enemies. Ultimately, the reason why this happened was because when Wang Fu was one of the six thieves of the Song Dynasty, he did the worst thing he should have done. .
It's just Wang Fu pretending to be peaceful, concealing the battle report and causing Fang La to become a big man is not the most important thing. This guy was involved in establishing the prince in the first place.
He almost really helped King Yun Zhao Kai, Zhao Huan's extremely favored brother, to help him. If it was just like this, both parties would not be able to reach this point, but this guy is the most desperate.
In order to seize Cai Jing's power, he directly targeted Zhao Huan's biological son, who was also the first eldest grandson of a ruler in the history of the Song Dynasty.
This kind of inheritance is of great significance, and Zhao Ji, who was originally elated at the time, wanted to reward him heavily.
After Cai Jing understood this intention, he petitioned to appoint the emperor's grandson as the school's Shaobao, the Changde Army's military commander, and the title of Chong Guogong. To put it bluntly, it was to consolidate Zhao Huan's position and take over the military power.
But the immortal Wang Fu jumped out and said that Cai Jing regarded the Prince of the East Palace, who was originally Zhao Huan, as the emperor. Just because of this sentence, Zhao Ji calmed down, and then his own son was in trouble.
He was directly demoted to Gaozhou Defense Envoy, that's all.
Zhao Huan before his rebirth hated him, and Zhao Huan now hates him too. If this old guy hadn't messed around in the past, wouldn't Zhao Huan even be able to find anyone useful now?
Therefore, under the deadly feud between the two sides, Wang Fu knew very well that he, one of the six thieves among the people, would have had no choice but to escape before.
But now, if His Majesty insists on defying the world and resisting Jin, then he will just stop doing it and pull him down.
And his first target was Zhao Huan's number one confidant in Kaifeng City, Tong Guan, the commander of the Imperial City Division, who was also one of the six thieves.
"I wanted to take advantage of the chaos in the palace to let Tong Guan accept the hot potato, and then let those people die in his hands after he took over, creating the illusion of killing and silencing them.
In the end, this guy didn't fall for the trick, but instead wanted to use this incident to collect money and food.
In this case, I might as well just fulfill his wish, and today is considered a gift to him. "
Bai Shizhong, the Prime Minister of the Great Song Dynasty, sneered directly. In his words, he said that he had no respect for Tong Guan or Zhao Huan.
"The official's house..."
"He is just a substitute, do you really think he is Taizu Taizong?" Bai Shizhong sneered and interrupted Wang Fu's words, "Taizu Taizong is just a person like that.
Who is that official today? Li Gang could lift him up back then, and I can step on him today!
Now that the Cizhou War has stabilized, why doesn't the official from back then want to return to his original position?
This Song Dynasty is the Song Dynasty of our scholar-bureaucrats, and this world is the world we govern. Officials only need to be themselves, and the only thing they have to do is to support us! "
"But after all, there are many loyal people in Kaifeng City... I have military power in their hands..."
"Then do you know why they dare not move?" Bai Shizhong sneered directly, "The military power of the Song Dynasty has never been lost from the hands of the officials, but is it useful?
They only thought about military power, but they forgot that fighting a war depends on more than just soldiers.
What did the soldiers eat? What to take? What do you use to support your family? What to wear to battle? What to use to kill the enemy?
Aren't these all money and food?
Who is in the hands of the money and food of the Song Dynasty? It is in the hands of scholar-bureaucrats like you and me. To put it bluntly, without us, you let those Qiu Ba people go looking for money and food?
I'm afraid they don't even know where the money and grain warehouse is.
Even if they found the money and grain warehouse, who would tell them that they had money?
Ah ha ha ha ha ha..."
Bai Shizhong's laughter made Wang Fu on the side couldn't help but smile. He couldn't help but sigh, "There are really talented people in this generation. Today, Bai Shizhong has the same demeanor as he did back then, and even has the same style as before." Ever...
"Then what else do I need to do?"
"If we continue to press, we must let the officials and the Jin people negotiate a peace. Only after the peace negotiation will we have enough time, and the Taoist Emperor can really come back to fight for his position with peace of mind.
Only then can we find a way to profit from it. "
"But forcing... His Majesty is not easy to force."
"That's because you don't know how to force. You always force His Majesty to do something. I never thought that he would also be somewhat persistent, but it has no effect.
Send an order to all state capitals, starting from today, Your Majesty will fight to the last moment for the great cause of resisting the Jin Dynasty and the Jin people.
All people’s taxes will be increased by 30%! "
"Oh...if we add another 30%, I'm afraid they won't be able to afford it."
"As a citizen of the Song Dynasty, isn't it a serious crime to be unable to pay taxes?"
"Then what if we can't let them suffer this serious crime?"
"Of course I'll lend them some money so they can pay their taxes."
"Do I need anything to lend money to?"
"Of course it is necessary. It is not impossible to sell land, land, and house titles. It is not impossible to sell children and daughters.
Recently, many dignitaries, gentry and rich people like this kind of taste. If you come across a decent-looking one, you might as well get it in advance, and you can sell it at a good price, right? "
"Hahahaha... Your Majesty's words are very kind."
"Mr. Bai is also a role model for our generation!"
The two important ministers of the Song Dynasty were discussing here happily, and they did not care what would happen to the people of the Song Dynasty after these things were released.
The commotion outside the palace became louder and louder. More and more scholars came to the streets and outside the imperial city, sitting cross-legged, waiting for Zhao Huan to give him an explanation.
Waiting for Tong Guan's head to fall to the ground.
Zhao Huan was still insisting, and at the same time, news continued to arrive. His father had stopped in Bozhou, and he was deciding whether to continue fleeing into Zhenjiang or return to Kaifeng directly.
At the same time, a mutiny had begun in the military camp in Kaifeng, because some people in the DPRK released the news.
This year, due to successive battles, the Song Dynasty's finances completely collapsed. They had no way to get military pay, and they had to go to the battlefield.
After hearing this news, if the military camp of the Song Dynasty has not mutinied yet, it must be said that these people are loyal enough to the Song Dynasty. If it were him, he would have rebelled long ago.
Why would you risk your own death if you don't give money?
In addition, many ministers in the court also began to knock on the door.
If it weren't for the fact that Li Gang had left behind a group of ministers from the main war faction, Zhao Huan's problems would have been even greater at this time.
And so far, Zhao Huan has not shown up or made any moves. He is still waiting.
The hustle and bustle day after day has now reached the top of the hustle and bustle in Kaifeng City. It seems that Zhao Huan will be dragged down from the throne at the next moment. It seems that someone will rush into the palace at the next moment and ask him why he didn't give it to the emperor. Song Huo Road.
Tong Guan is already inseparable from Zhao Huan. This is a way for the two of them to save each other's lives.
Perhaps during this process, Zhao Huan was even more dangerous, because he had begun to hear rumors from the palace.
"As the commander of the Imperial City Department, Tong Guan concealed the situation of the late emperor and did not report it. He still loved the late emperor."
"Tong Guan has ten thousand soldiers guarding the late Emperor. He is only with His Majesty to monitor His Majesty and wait for opportunities to perform meritorious deeds."
"What Your Majesty hates the most is corruption. Back then, Tong Guan, Cai Jing and others jointly created many corruption cases. It is not an exaggeration to sell their official positions and titles. Chen Chaolao, the student at that time, told them about the crimes of several of them. There are really countless people, how can such people be accommodated by His Majesty?"
...
All kinds of rumors made Tong Guan's face become increasingly ugly. He had already cleaned up many people, but he never thought that the palace was still so unclean.
Not only that, but the most important thing was that he couldn't find out these rumors, which meant that the other party had already figured them out.
And now these words are constantly reaching their ears. As the saying goes, three people make a tiger. If you hear this kind of words too many times, there is no guarantee that someone will not think of something, and there is no guarantee that His Majesty will not think of something.
"What are you worried about? I am completely powerless. I am grateful to God that you don't plan to kill the king. Could it be that I will do something to you at this time?"
The words that summoned the chuckle reached Tong Guan's ears. The words were hard to hear, but Tong Guan let out a sigh of relief.
"Your Majesty is quite calm. Even now, your Majesty is still so calm and understanding."
"As a king, it's okay if you can't go into battle to kill the enemy. You can't fail to understand your own situation. If you can't even understand this, wouldn't you become a foolish king?"
"Your Majesty is wise, but the situation is so corrupt now. Your Majesty still hasn't taken any action, but what are you waiting for?" Tong Guan said hesitantly, "If we just wait for Yao Pingzhong, although this man is brave, he does not have the ability to turn things around... "
"I, it's been a long time since I received a battle report from the front line. How do you think Cizhou is doing now?"
"Cizhou?" Tong Guan was really surprised at this time, "If your majesty thinks that Cizhou can be stabilized, I'm afraid you will be really disappointed. Although I don't know what the battle situation in Cizhou is, I know that Zongze is not strong enough.
It is already rare for him to be able to defend Cizhou now. If he still wants to create a better situation, then I am afraid..."
"You may be right, but you underestimated Zongze. I believe him."
Tong Guan looked at the majesty next to him who was calmly reading the memorial, and once again felt that this majesty was indeed extraordinary.
He had also heard of Zongze's reputation, but...
"His Majesty has so much trust in Zongze. It's really Zongze's good luck."
"On the contrary, I feel that it is my honor to be able to receive Tong Qing, Zong Qing and Li Qing's help in such a desperate situation."
"His Majesty....."
"Don't talk about useless things, just do your own thing honestly. Keep waiting until the time comes. As long as I am still alive, still living in this palace, and still the emperor of the Song Dynasty, this There is no battle lost.”
"My lord, take the order!"
Two days later, when the sky in Kaifeng City became more and more depressing, and when Zhao Huan faced a drama of forcing the emperor into the palace, what he wanted finally appeared.
"A certain Yao Pingzhong has received His Majesty's decree and wants to come to remonstrate with His Majesty. How reasonable is it for you to obstruct him like this!"
A roar came from outside the palace, and a fierce conflict broke out with some people as soon as Yao Pingzhong, the general of the Western Frontier, entered Kaifeng.
Fortunately, Tong Guan had been prepared and someone had been waiting here. He immediately informed Tong Guan before Yao Zhongping made the matter a big deal, and then he and Zhao Huan personally came forward to bring this guy in.
The first time he saw Zhao Huan, Yao Zhongping couldn't restrain his impulse and directly admonished Zhao Huan.
"Your Majesty, the situation of the Song Dynasty is now in danger. We have no choice but to fight against the Jin to protect the country. I also hope that your majesty will allow the troops of King Qin from all over the world to station in Kaifeng and fight to the death with the Jin!"
He dared to fight to the death. To be honest, this was the biggest headache for Zhao Huan.
In the Song Dynasty, the civil and military families were separated. One was only responsible for fighting, and the other was only responsible for money and food. They didn't care that I didn't have enough money and food and needed to fight to plunder and fight for it. They also didn't care whether I had money or food to support me after winning this battle.
In other words, the Song Dynasty obviously only had enough money and food to fight the first war.
But part of me told myself that the Song Dynasty was incapable of fighting a battle because its soldiers were unreliable.
The other part told myself that the Song Dynasty would definitely perish if it didn't fight, so regardless of whether it could win or not, it had to fight first.
The second one is better than the first one, but isn’t it all nonsense!
"What Aiqing said makes sense, but now there is another thing that Aiqing needs to do!"
"Your Majesty, please tell me, I will never give up until I die!"
"need...."
"Your Majesty, Cizhou battle report, Cizhou is here to report!" Before Zhao Huan could finish his words, Tong Guan had already rushed in with the battle report held high.
At the same time, Zhao Huan also let out a sigh of relief.
"We convened the imperial magistrate Cao Zhao Ding, the secretary and provincial secretary Hu Yin, Taichang Temple Bo Zhang Jun, Zhongshu Assistant Secretary Xu Churen... and the Imperial Academy Xuezheng Qin Hui came to the court!"
Zhao Huan gave a direct order and began a real counterattack. This time, many ministers he found were all representatives of the main war faction who were in the capital at this time.
Hmm...Although I don't want to admit it, Qin Hui is really the main militant now, not only, but also a representative...
