Royal study room.
The old Cai Jing and the majestic Tong Guan were kneeling on the ground, trembling with their shoulders together.
The Song Dynasty's courtesy to scholars was the highest in history, and its national policy of "ruling the world with scholar-bureaucrats" was not just a matter of words.
Therefore, no one is asked to kneel down to speak when the emperor and his ministers are answering their questions.
Especially veterans like Cai Jing have extra dignity.
However, at this moment, they were not only kneeling, but also trembling.
Without him, no matter how friendly or even frivolous the officials are on weekdays, when he is angry, he is still the emperor who holds the highest authority in the empire.
Even if you pretend, you have to pretend to be scared.
"Yun'an, Nanfeng, Jingnan! Three prefectures and thirty-five counties! In the heart of this dynasty, the rebels are invading the prefectures and occupying the prefectures, and they are invincible, but I don't know anything! What are you thinking? What do you want to do? Do you want to wait until the rebels arrive outside the imperial city so that I can know about it?"
Zhao Ji's face was livid, his voice was fierce, his saliva was flowing down, and the sour smell of gastrointestinal irritation was sprayed on the faces of Cai Jing and Tong Guan.
The two of them did not blink, and their expressions were as bright as rain, deeply demonstrating the basic qualities of high-ranking officials.
"Your Majesty!" Tong Guan took advantage of his good health and kowtowed heavily. When he raised his face again, tears were streaming down his face: "Your Majesty, I only hate that I have devoted myself to Liao affairs in the past few years. , and cultivated the military affairs of the Qin and Jin Dynasties so intensively that they suddenly lost sight of the basic principles of the country and the dynasty. I really do not deserve the high hopes of your majesty, and deserve to die."
While crying, he glanced at Cai Jing proudly and blinked, which meant: Hey, brother, please carry this pot on your back.
Speaking of these two treacherous ministers, they are not only sons and daughters, but also a pair of happy enemies.
It turns out that when Tong Guan was in the Jinming Bureau of Hangzhou in his early years, he met Cai Jing, who was dismissed from office and returned to his hometown. The two fell in love at first sight and became friends. Cai Jing "accompanied" Tong Guan day and night. Painted screens, fan ribbons and other objects were delivered to the palace at a reasonable price, and were highly praised, which made Zhao Ji's favor towards Cai Jing grow day by day, and paved the way for his return to Beijing and his reinstatement.
After Cai Jing returned to the prime minister, he reciprocated by recommending Tong Guan to supervise the army in the northwest. He strongly supported his strategy of conquering Qingtang, and later promoted him to Jiedushi, which satisfied the eunuch's desire to make contributions.
However, the friendship between villains has never lasted long since ancient times.
Both Cai Jingtong and Cai Jingtong are greedy for power and profit. At first, they supported each other and were as close as sugar to honey. Later, when they each gained power, they had to play the old trick of not allowing two tigers in one mountain.
Cai Jing desperately wanted to gain military power, while Tong Guan continued to support the members of the court, trying to grab meat from the other party's bowl. They were in conflict with each other, and people at the time called Cai Jing the public minister and Tong Guan the female prime minister.
When Cai Jing saw Tong Guan's proud look, he was so angry that he glared, thinking that this old woman really deserves to die. What he said was to retreat in order to make progress, and to be clean, doesn't it mean that it's all my fault?
Sure enough, the emperor listened to Tong Guan's words and just snorted: "Although you are busy, you are the commander-in-chief of the army after all. Wouldn't it be ridiculous if you don't know about such important things?"
Then he glared at Cai Jing angrily: "You old man, I have entrusted the affairs of the country to you, but you dare to cover up such a big thing and deceive the emperor. Is this a sin that cannot be pardoned?"
It's my turn! Cai Jing secretly said: Old woman, please open your eyes wide. I want you to see the supreme method of receiving hair!
In an instant, the old thief had already mobilized all his artistic cells, smiled desolately, looked at the emperor with a pair of old eyes tenderly and helplessly, blinked slightly, and two lines of tears rolled down, and a sad trembling sound came from deep in his throat: "Your Majesty, old minister, A capital crime!" A few unclear syllables rolled out of his throat, as if he was almost speechless due to excessive grief.
Then he shook his head vigorously, as if he wanted to shake off his lifelong regret. Suddenly his neck stiffened, and his voice turned sharp, mourning like a cuckoo crying blood: "Old minister, after all the difficulties and troubles, I finally couldn't hide it. His Majesty was made aware of this matter and was heartbroken and exhausted. This is all the fault of the old minister!"
After saying this, he beat his chest and stamped his feet, crying until he was sweating profusely.
Tong Guanhu stared: Wonderful, I caught it now! This old thief actually frankly admitted his crime of deceiving the king!
But listening to his voice and looking at his expression, every detail says: I have a difficult time.
That invisible spirit of loyalty was probably nothing more than that when Zhuge Wuhou came to serve as his master.
The emperor was also shocked by his behavior: "Slow down, slow down, Lao Qing, do you mean that you really want to hide it from me?"
Cai Jing nodded with tears in his eyes, his eyes seemed self-deprecating but firm at the same time, as if he was saying: I know no one in the world will understand me, but even so, even though there are thousands of people, I will die!
The tone gradually became more generous and sonorous: "Yes! This is exactly what I want to hide from Your Majesty. Your Majesty, the emperor enjoys the worship of the world and is the rightful master of the world. When the emperor is worried, the world is worried; when the emperor is happy, the world is happy. Since I am the emperor, Prime Minister, on behalf of your majesty's herdsmen, you tolerate small things and burn your majesty's mood, so that the whole world is worried and all the people find it difficult to be happy? Therefore, you decided to hide it for the time being, hoping to calm down the traitor Wang Qing, and then inform your majesty again, in order to gain the emperor's heart. Peace. Alas..."
Speaking of this, he let out a long, long sigh.
It’s coming, it’s about to melt! Tong Guan held his breath and looked forward to Master Cai's performance with reverence.
A very bitter smile appeared on the corner of Cai Jing's old mouth: "It's a pity that I didn't expect that there are very few capable men in the army now, and there are no men who dare to die. Several encirclement and suppression campaigns were unsuccessful, so that the thieves became more powerful and even disrupted the capital. Kidnapping the emperor's concubine, killing my son, giving away the white-haired man to the black-haired man, this is the retribution of an old minister who has done nothing to harm the country..."
At this point, his figure was shaky and he seemed to be extremely sad.
"Alas..." The emperor had already entered Cai Jing's rhythm, and he couldn't help but sigh deeply. He thought of Cai Jing, who was very old. Last year, his ninth son died, and this year his fifth son died. Every year, his son died. It's really pitiful. . His artistic temperament began to take hold, and he began to sympathize with Cai Jing: "Old Ai Qing has good intentions, but she doesn't know anything about military affairs..."
When Cai Jing heard this, he burst into tears and cried out pitifully: "At this age, veteran minister, don't you know your own parents' shortcomings? Therefore, in sending troops and everything, they obey the arrangements of Captain Gao. Now it seems that Captain Gao is also unreliable. Fortunately, God bless the Song Dynasty. At this juncture, Taifu Tong returned to the court. He was known as a wise soldier. He fought in Xixia and Liao Dynasties, demonstrating the country's prestige. If he went to suppress Wang Qing, he would definitely be like a plow in the court and sweep holes. The three states in Huaixi can be peaceful overnight."
Damn it, this old dog actually sent it to me! Tong Guan's eyes widened and he was deeply shocked by Cai Jing's Jiehua technique.
However, Cai Jing really had no choice but to catch this shot.
Tong Guan firmly believed that as long as he showed the slightest reluctance, Cai Jing would immediately recommend his confidant to take command. If he won the battle, he would receive all the benefits, but even if he lost, he would have an excuse: Tong Taifu is the best at knowing soldiers. It was because he refused to contribute, so we tried our best, and ended up failing like this.
What a great set of hair extensions! Tong learned the lesson!
Tong Guan glared at Cai Jing bitterly, and when he looked at the emperor, the words "loyal to the liver, righteous and courageous, and killing thieves with a heart" were written all over his face. He clasped his fists tightly and said in a loud voice: "Your Majesty, Tong didn't know before, so he did something small. Da, now that Tong is still in court, how can he be allowed to be arrogant? I beg Your Majesty to allow me to summon the army and horses, and defeat this thief with one blow, then you will win my heart!"
Cai Jing rolled his eyes and hurriedly said: "There is no more handsome man in this dynasty than the Taifu. However, it is difficult for a famous commander to succeed without the help of brave generals. Although there are many elite soldiers and generals under the Taifu, they have to guard the border. For a moment, they are afraid. It's difficult to transfer them. There are a few in my pocket who are capable of fighting and dare to fight. I would like to recommend them all as generals to help the young master build his career and relieve the king's worries."
Tong Guan didn't expect Cai Jing to have another patch, and was stunned for a moment: "If we lose, my commander is incompetent, but if we win, you have merit in recommending me, old dog, you are so scheming!"
Just as he was looking for an excuse to refuse, a general from the imperial camp suddenly came running towards him: "Report to your majesty - Lieutenant Gao led his troops to chase the thieves. They were ambushed forty miles away by Liangshan soldiers and horses, and were severely defeated. The Taiwei died on the spot, and most of his generals died in the battle. The imperial camp went to rescue them, but they were also defeated. Generals Long and Tiger were killed in battle, and the instructor of the Golden Spear Squadron was nowhere to be found."
This news stunned the officials. The enemy troops killed and dispersed the imperial army and the imperial camp forty miles outside the capital. Doesn't it mean that the capital is also in danger? It took him a moment to react, but a blush suddenly appeared on his face, and he exclaimed: "Master Tong, quickly, hurry up and order the troops, and protect me from going to Jinling for inspection."
Cai Jing quickly stood up and said: "Yes, yes, Master Tong, I will wait for the Holy Protector to patrol the south, and then mobilize the troops from all over the world to suppress Liangshan!"
When Tong Guan saw this, the emperor and his ministers had no masters. Tong Guan raised his thick eyebrows and said something unhurriedly!
As the saying goes: eunuchs compete to be at the top of their game, and ladies and gentlemen compete for the upper hand. The attack was as fast as lightning, and Privy Tong took command and held the whip.
(End of chapter)
