The Northern Expedition is definitely risky, and whoever launches it must bear responsibility.
The military power of the Song Dynasty was in the hands of the emperor. If it were to be launched, it must be the emperor Zhao Gou who could launch it, and therefore he had to bear the main responsibility.
But Zhao Gou was unwilling to take responsibility.
Then the meaning is clear.
Just maintain the status quo and don't think about anything else.
Such a good opportunity, such a great possibility, just give up like this?
The heroes of the Central Plains rose up to make a comeback, just when they were eagerly waiting for the Nanwang Division to come to their aid, but the Nanwang Division actually turned a blind eye and allowed the Jin army to kill the heroes...
Chen Kangbo could not persuade himself to look at this matter with a normal mind.
"Your Majesty, the heroes of the north are revolting. If we turn a blind eye and stand still, we will lose the hearts of the people. The heroes of the north are revolting and are eagerly awaiting the King's Northern Expedition. They are looking forward to it!
If the Song Dynasty sat back and watched the success or failure and did nothing, the hearts of the people in the Central Plains would be completely lost. The heroes in the north would think that the Song Dynasty did not want to restore the Central Plains at all, and then our dynasty would never have a chance to restore the Central Plains! "
Chen Kangbo burst into tears and his voice choked up.
Human heart?
Can the Central Plains never be restored?
Zhao Gou was stunned for a moment, his heart slightly fluctuating.
He was born in the north, and of course he is a northerner.
But Tang Si retreated and didn't feel this way.
He only felt that Chen Kangbo's remarks were very ridiculous.
"Heroes? If they are really heroes, they should use their own strength to drive away the Jin people, instead of hoping for the king! Since they have decided to start an uprising, they must be determined and prepared to die.
If you don't even have this kind of determination and preparation, and just wait for Master Wang to help them, then this kind of hero is definitely not a hero! There is no need for support, and what is more important to worry about is whether they will drag down the Song Dynasty! "
Tang Situi's words put an end to the slight fluctuation in Zhao Gou's heart.
Zhao Gou suddenly felt that what Tang Situi said made sense.
If you are really a hero, you don't need to expect them to help.
If they weren't heroes, it would be useless for them to help. They would just waste soldiers, horses, food and grass in vain.
So to sum it up...
There's no need to help.
Right, that is it.
So far, Zhao Gou's idea has been basically determined.
However, Chen Kangbo argued hard and was unwilling to give up. He scolded Tang Situi for being shameless.
"Restoring the Central Plains requires the joint efforts of all parties. The Jin Kingdom has a strong military, so it requires the joint efforts of the Song Dynasty's military and civilians to restore the Central Plains. And with your statement, you treat the heroes of the uprising as cowards, and you use yourself to judge others!
Tang Situi, you are timid and you are afraid of the Kingdom of Jin, so don’t think that everyone in the world is afraid of the Kingdom of Jin! There are so many heroes in the world, how can they allow you to slander me like this? brazen! "
Tang Sidei was furious and rebuked Chen Kangbo vigorously. The two almost quarreled, but Zhao Gou finally stopped the dispute.
But Zhao Gou's decision is beyond doubt.
Although Chen Kangbo fought hard to Zhao Gou with tears in his eyes, Zhao Gou remained unmoved.
Chen Chengzhi, the Privy Councilor, looked at Chen Kangbo with tears streaming down his face and choking with sobs. He couldn't bear it.
So he took a step forward and spoke to Zhao Gou.
"Your Majesty, I believe that although sending troops northward is full of dangers, another method may be used, such as sending people northward to grant the leader of the uprising an official position in our dynasty, and recruiting people secretly without letting the Jin people know about it. In this way, even if the uprising is overthrown If it is pacified, our court can sit back and watch the success or failure without any flaws."
Tang Sihui was dissatisfied again.
"This can't be said to be foolproof, right? Officials must be given official uniforms and seals when they are appointed. If these things are discovered after they are pacified by the Jin people, and the Jin people use these things to question our court, how should our court respond?"
Chen Chengzhi was very dissatisfied with Tang Situi's fearful behavior, and had always despised Tang Situi's servility during Qin Hui's administration, so he retorted.
"How do you know that you will definitely be discovered? Besides, you are afraid of this and that when doing things, just like when you drink the water at home, you have to worry about whether the water will be poisonous. Isn't Mr. Tang afraid of dying of thirst?"
Seeing Chen Chengzhi disobeying him, Tang Situi was furious.
"How dare you speak to me like this?"
Chen Chengzhi sneered.
"I am your Majesty's minister and I only believe in justice. Does Mr. Tang want to imitate Qin Hui and not even give me a chance to tell the truth?"
Chen Chengzhi took a peaceful stance on the war and did not support the war, but he was very dissatisfied with Qin Hui's behavior of covering the sky with one hand. During Qin Hui's reign, he disobeyed Qin Hui many times and was ostracized and suppressed. He was promoted only after Qin Hui's death.
So he is quite sensitive to this kind of thing and is not afraid at all.
And he knew that Zhao Gou would never allow another Qin Hui to appear.
As expected, the mention of Qin Hui touched the most sensitive part of Zhao Gou's heart, and he immediately frowned.
"Ms. Tang, it's better not to say any more. Some people hold different opinions, which is a good thing. It would not be a good thing if the court became a monologue."
Hearing Zhao Gou's cold warning, Tang Sigui was shocked, and quickly confessed to Zhao Gou, took three steps back, and did not dare to speak any more.
Zhao Gou finally breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Chen Chengzhi.
"Zi Ming, what do you mean, our court can send someone to contact the people who are in trouble in Shandong, appoint them as officials, and confirm their status?"
"Exactly, Your Majesty, the righteous title of a monarch and his ministers is very important. With this title, if he wins, the Central Plains can naturally recover. If he loses, as long as our country does not actually send troops, the Jin people will not be able to control our country. , it does not count as sabotaging the peace agreement."
Chen Chengzhi gave his own suggestions.
This suggestion made Zhao Gou nodded slightly, thinking it was feasible.
Shen Gai, who had been silent just now, expressed his opinion again.
"Your Majesty, in order to completely eliminate future troubles, I think it is okay to confer officials, but things that represent our dynasty, such as official uniforms, seals and ribbons, can be slightly manipulated and slightly changed in places they are not clear about, so that even if these things fall into the hands of the Jin people, In future confrontations, there will be room for maneuver."
Shen Gai's thoughts hit what Zhao Gou was most worried about.
In this way, all the problems were solved, and Zhao Gou could finally sit back and relax and watch the fight between tigers and tigers.
"Very good, let's do it this way. Since this is a serious matter, you should send reliable personnel to handle it directly. Be careful not to leak the information. The fewer people who know, the better. You will be directly responsible."
"I obey the decree."
Chen Chengzhi took Zhao Gou's order.
So Zhao Gou happily continued to enjoy his life.
Chen Kangbo obviously wanted to say something more, but he didn't say it out loud. He just left the palace helplessly.
On the way out of the palace, Chen Chengzhi caught up with Chen Kangbo.
"What the Prime Minister said just now was really too radical and made the officials unhappy. I thought that the Prime Minister should be cautious about his words and deeds in the future and not say anything about sending troops to the Northern Expedition in front of the officials."
Chen Kangbo was not unable to understand Chen Chengzhi's kind words.
So he shook his head helplessly.
"How can I not understand the truth of this? As the officials get older, they want a stable situation more and more, and they don't want the chaos of war. I understand, but the Song Dynasty can't just be like this. We are trapped in a corner of the south of the Yangtze River, why don’t we try to restore the Central Plains?”
Chen Chengzhi sighed.
"The slogan of restoring the Central Plains has been shouted every year, but can it really be achieved? Maybe there was some chance at the beginning? But now, is there really still a chance? Judging from the facts I have seen in the past few days when I have been serving as the Privy Councilor, the difficulty is It’s huge.”
Chen Kangbo looked at Chen Chengzhi.
"The army is useless?"
"Hmph, not only are they useless, neglected in training, free of charge, running industries, doing some sneaky things in private, there are even people selling smuggled salt. There are many such people in the army, and they are full of thoughts. How can you still have the courage to fight in a business world?"
Chen Chengzhi said with a look of disdain: "All of these military generals are greedy for life and afraid of death. Even some courageous ones died before Qin Hui came to power. What kind of good generals can the rest be?"
Chen Kangbo was speechless after hearing this.
It's not like he didn't know some things, and he wanted to change them, but he couldn't.
The Privy Council has the power to mobilize troops, but not to command them, and it has no control over the daily training of soldiers. These powers do not belong to the Privy Council. Although Chen Chengzhi knew that the army was decayed and unusable, he did not know what to do to change the situation.
Similarly, Chen Kangbogui was involved in political affairs and had no control over this aspect.
And in his opinion, the official Zhao Gou may not have the intention to restrain and reform the army.
