Zhang Jun is a die-hard Northern Expeditionist. He is the soul of the Northern Expeditionist who is a minority and unpopular among the main war factions.
Once he gains great power, he will definitely have the highest goal of promoting the Northern Expedition. If he really succeeds, not only the peace faction will be unhappy, but most people in the war faction will also not be happy.
The Northern Expedition faction can be classified as the main war faction, but the mainstream of the main war faction has been an active defensive faction since Yue Fei's death.
The so-called active defensive faction means that they hope that the political and military situation will maintain the status quo.
You don’t need the north, you can give it to the Jin Kingdom, but if the Jin Kingdom still wants to go south and bully the Song Dynasty, then everyone will have to fight with real swords and guns to see who has the tougher neck.
Huainan is the final bottom line.
In fact, the main body of this group of people were southern scholar-bureaucrats with a relatively hot temper who were unwilling to accept the humiliation of the Jin Kingdom.
Like most of the people in the Zhuhe Sect, they are all southerners, but they have different attitudes toward the Jin Kingdom. The Zhuhe Sect is more flexible, and the Warring Faction has a higher bottom line.
The Northern Expeditionists, like the capitulators, were both minority and alternative groups among the main warlords and the two factions.
And compared to the capitulation faction, which is mostly soft-spoken and weak-minded, the Northern Expedition faction, which is stronger in action and generally hard-boned, deserves most people's vigilance.
Because this was a group of people who wanted to sacrifice the interests of the southern scholar-officials to regain the lost land in the north for the Song Emperor. In the eyes of the southern scholar-officials, they were just troublemakers.
Use my financial, material, and manpower to regain lost territory for the emperor, and then give my power to those northerners?
I can't get any benefits from co-authoring, but I still get half of the power?
Then wouldn’t I become a beggar on my knees?
Can this be tolerated?
Of course this cannot be tolerated, so the success of the Northern Expedition is not only something the enemy does not want to see, but our own people may not want to see it either.
At present, Zhang Jun, the soul of the Northern Expedition, is about to return as king, take charge of the powerful, and launch the Northern Expedition project in this unprecedented military crisis. This immediately makes most of the civil and military officials nervous.
Everyone is paying attention to Zhao Gou's final appointment.
However, at the stall that no one noticed, Wang Lun, the new head of the Privy Council, secretly visited Zhao Gou and made statistics on the money and supplies needed for the defensive operations of the Jin soldiers in case they went south, as well as the money and supplies needed once the Northern Expedition was launched. The material statistics comparison was handed over to Zhao Gou.
As soon as the order to summon Zhang Jun back to Lin'an was issued, Wang Lun secretly organized his men to prepare these two documents, because he felt that they would be useful sooner or later.
Sure enough, now it is actually used.
Zhao Gou looked at the two documents and rubbed his swollen temples.
"Deyan, what do you want to say? Just say it."
Wang Lun nodded.
"Thank you, Your Majesty. Your Majesty, I just want to say that the Northern Expedition is Zhang Deyuan's long-cherished wish. Once this person comes to power, he will definitely not be willing to just defend the Jianghuai River. He will definitely take the opportunity to go north to attack the Central Plains. Not to mention whether he can win by then, he won. Naturally, there are a lot of things to do, and if they fail, the situation will only become more serious.
I am not against the imperial court's Northern Expedition. I also hope that the imperial court can succeed in the Northern Expedition and return the old capital. However, Your Majesty, Zhang Jun was repeatedly defeated by the gold thieves. The defeat of Fuping in the past destroyed all the elite Western Army of the Song Dynasty and Guanzhong fell into the hands of the enemy. Now if If you lose again, it will be a big deal. "
Zhao Gou put aside the two documents sent by Wang Lun and looked at Wang Lun with shining eyes.
"Deyan, if you don't let me use Zhang Jun, I will use you. You are the Privy Councilor. Can you advise me, lead the army, and defeat the gold master's southern invasion?"
Zhao Gou's question surprised Wang Lun.
He thought about his abilities and suddenly felt that if he took on this important task, his family would basically be able to line up and wait for a meal.
"Your Majesty, I...I haven't been tempered in battle, and I fear that I will fail your Majesty's trust..."
So he hemmed and hawed, lacked confidence, and made some excuses.
Zhao Gou sneered.
"What about your deputy? Is Ye Yiwen okay? Is Zhou Linzhi okay?"
Wang Lun swallowed.
"They... they are all new to battle and inexperienced, so they may fail His Majesty's trust..."
"snort!"
Zhao Gou sneered and said: "When you are not needed, you all talk eloquently and have great minds. You are all the reincarnations of Wuhou and Zhuge's descendants. When we need you to go to the front line, you are all inexperienced. I'm afraid Disappointment!"
"His Majesty……"
Wang Lun was a little scared.
"Although Zhang Jun has many problems and has lost battles, there is only one thing that makes him stronger than you. If I ask him to go to the battlefield, he will not shirk."
Zhao Gou said dissatisfiedly: "When the benefactor's army is pressing down on the border, you want me not to use Zhang Jun. That's fine. I don't need Zhang Jun. Which of you will do it? Huh?"
Wang Lun plopped on his knees and begged Zhao Gou.
"Your Majesty, forgive me! I was confused!"
"You are confused!"
Zhao Gou said angrily: "Who do you think spread the content of the conversation between me and Zhang Jun? Who do you think let everyone know that I want to reuse Zhang Jun?"
Wang Lun was stunned, raised his head and looked at Zhao Gou in astonishment.
"Your Majesty, you..."
"Confused! So confused!"
Zhao Gou stood up and walked to Wang Lun, stared at him and said: "You think I don't know how dangerous and troublesome the Northern Expedition is? You think I don't know what Zhang Jun is thinking? Do you think I don't know what Zhang Jun will do? Danger?
I remember every scene of the defeat of Fuping and the military coup in Huaixi. I was not kidding when I said I would rather subjugate the country than use Zhang Jun, but at least give me more choices!
As long as there is a reliable person, I will not use him! But only he dares to lead troops north to fight the enemy for me. I hope you can stand up, can you? Do you dare? I'm afraid I won't be captured by the money master by then, and all of you will be kneeling on the ground and become loyal ministers of the money! "
The more Zhao Gou talked, the angrier he became, and by the end he was just yelling.
Wang Lun was horrified. He was so frightened that he knelt on the ground and kowtowed: "Your Majesty! I am loyal to the Song Dynasty and to Your Majesty! There is no second heart! There is no second heart!"
"When did I say you had second thoughts?"
Zhao Gou rolled his eyes and sighed: "I'm just telling you, I know everything you think, and I know it very clearly."
"That……"
Wang Lun raised his head and looked at Zhao Gou carefully: "Your Majesty, Zhang Deyuan's matter..."
"Even you, the Prime Minister, are not willing to let him succeed, so what else do I have to worry about?"
Zhao Gou sighed, walked back to his throne and sat down: "Zhang Jun has no foundation in the court. Although he has many supporters, he does not hold great power. After I tested him, all of you panicked. He was careless and fearful that his Northern Expedition would succeed.
If you, who are in charge of the Privy Council, are like this, what will happen to others? How many people will cooperate with him? How many people would work in secret to ruin his affairs? With you here, what else do I have to worry about? Deyan, what do you think? "
Looking at Zhao Gou's half-smiling expression, Wang Lun felt like ten thousand alpacas were rushing past in his heart.
These words seemed to be acknowledging their professional capabilities, but somehow they sounded like a curse.
The emperor is scolding me?
Wang Lun didn't want to admit it, but he didn't dare to react.
After a while, he chuckled and said, "Your Majesty is right."
"Go ahead."
Zhao Gou waved his hand: "Remember, if the gold master goes south, at least don't cause trouble until Zhang Jun defeats the gold master."
"I...know."
Wang Lun bowed again and then slowly exited the palace.
After leaving the palace, he was faced with a gust of cold wind that made Wang Lun tighten his official uniform involuntarily.
After walking a few steps, Wang Lun slowed down when he reached the entrance of the palace.
A strange feeling gradually began to permeate the depths of his heart.
He realized that Zhang Jun was a tool in Zhao Gou's heart, an emergency tool. If the Jin army hadn't pushed too hard this time and Zhao Gou was too frightened by the hundreds of thousands of troops going south to threaten him, he would not have let him go. Zhang Jun comes back.
Zhang Jun was never the person he needed, but he had to make some use of Zhang Jun's rich military experience.
Despite this, he was very careful with Zhang Jun. Before appointing him, he first gave him shackles to make everyone wary of him and be prepared to do bad things to him, and even completely removed himself.
His Majesty, the Emperor, was able to maintain a firm position on the throne despite decades of ups and downs. After all, he was somewhat capable, even if his thoughts were a bit too sinister.
Poor Zhang Jun thought he had scored twice and had a chance to avenge his past humiliation, but he didn't know that his comeback was a conspiracy and a tragedy from beginning to end.
Thinking of this, Wang Lun felt the cold wind more and more, tightened his tight clothes and accelerated his departure.
On the very next day, Zhao Gou issued an order to appoint Zhang Jun, a distinguished veteran, as the counselor of political affairs. He partnered with Chen Kangbo and entered the highest decision-making level of the Southern Song Dynasty.
In one day, Zhang Jun rose from a marginal man exiled in a remote place to the sky, completed a magnificent counterattack, and became one of the most powerful figures in the Song Empire.
Zhao Gou gave Zhang Jun a mansion in the city of Lin'an, where land was extremely valuable. He also gave him professional servants, gardeners, housekeepers, and cooks, and equipped him with top-notch living facilities. He was just waiting for Zhang Jun's family to move in and become that house. The owner of the game enjoys a happy life.
And when Zhang Jun and his family arrived at the door of the mansion in a car, how could they not feel emotional when they looked at the luxurious and high-end mansion, the majestic front entrance and the housekeepers with their chests and heads raised?
Zhang Jun's eyes were red, with tears in his eyes. He knelt down in the direction of the palace with the support of his family, kowtowed three times, and said in a trembling voice: "Your Majesty, Zhang Jun, thank you for your grace. Your Majesty treats me so kindly. How can I do this?" Dare you not serve His Majesty to the death?"
Then Zhang Jun's family knelt down in front of the palace to express gratitude in full view of the public, showing off their political posture. Then, surrounded by people who were like-minded with Zhang Jun or from the war faction who admired him, they entered this luxurious house together. Di.
At noon that day, Zhang Jun held a banquet in the large living room to entertain the attending militants.
They were either old or young, and they had different views on the main war and the Northern Expedition, but at this moment, when Wan Yanliang insulted the Southern Song Dynasty and threatened to attack the Southern Song Dynasty, they all had the same opinion.
Fight back resolutely, defend the dignity of the Song Dynasty and all people with lofty ideals, and let the benefactor Wan Yanliang know that the officials of the Song Dynasty are not cowards!
With Zhang Jun's leadership, the people with lofty ideals felt as if they had reached the pinnacle of their lives. Among the attendees, some with outstanding literary talent wrote poems on the spot, praising that this grand event of the warring faction would be the beginning of the great Song Dynasty's national destiny. turning point.
Zhang Jun was very happy, laughed loudly, drank a lot of wine, and finally became extremely drunk.
The relevant news was sent to the palace. After Zhao Gou found out, he just smiled and didn't take it seriously.
When relevant news was sent to other imperial agencies, there was of course a situation where some people were happy and some were worried.
In the Privy Council, Ye Yiwen and Zhou Linzhi were quite sour about this.
"Due to a crime, he was demoted and moved to the left for more than ten years. Not long after he returned to the court, he was directly appointed as a counselor and minister, and ranked as prime minister. Your majesty's favor for Zhang Jun is too much."
Ye Yiwen expressed his position on this while reviewing the documents submitted to the Privy Council. His words were full of sourness.
Zhou Linzhi was not much better.
"It is estimated that participating in political affairs is not the final result. We all know that the officials hope that Mr. Zhang can lead the troops in war, and may even give him a higher position. To say the least, it is not impossible to take charge of the Privy Council. I'm afraid the three of us will have to abdicate in favor of someone else!"
The words are so sinister that anyone can smell the lemon flavor in them.
Each of the two people kept talking sarcastic words, but Wang Lun, the serious and well-known Privy Councilor, didn't say anything. He just looked like he was lost in thought, which surprised the other two people.
"Prime Minister?"
"Prime Minister?"
Ye Yiwen and Zhou Linzhi looked at Wang Lun strangely and asked about his background.
Only then did Wang Lun come back to his senses.
"Ah? What's wrong?"
"Prime Minister, Zhang Jun is so favored that he can ascend to the sky in one day. That is really like being a farmer in the morning and ascending to the emperor's hall in the evening. Aren't you worried? The officials called Zhang Jun back because of the war. The three of us are not If you are studying military affairs, I am afraid that you will have to give up your position and make way for someone more worthy!"
Zhou Linzhi looked at Wang Lun with an unhappy expression, as if "your house is about to be stolen and you don't care yet".
But he didn't expect Wang Lun's reaction to be very indifferent. He just nodded slightly, sighed "Thunder and rain are a gift from heaven", and then continued to deal with the affairs of the Privy Council.
This made Ye Yiwen and Zhou Lin look confused and confused.
