Zhang Bangchang was so shocked that he stood frozen on the spot.
His official position was not small. Last year in the first year of Jingkang, when the Jin people just besieged the city, he advocated peace talks with the Jin people. As a result, he and Kang Wang Zhao Gou were sent to the Jin camp as hostages. Later, the Jin people saw that Zhao Gou was good at archery and were suspicious of Zhao Gou. Gou is a fake royal family, because they thought that the Song royal family were idiots who were not familiar with martial arts, so they sent them back.
After Zhang Bangchang returned to the Song Dynasty, his political enemies took the opportunity to attack him for having liaison with the enemy, and he was demoted to a minor official.
Unexpectedly, the world has changed so drastically. Now that the Jin finally captured the capital, they actually gave him the title of emperor.
He had never even thought about this kind of undue blessing, not to mention that this was obviously not a blessing, but a disaster that would rob the family and exterminate the clan!
A group of officials who had secretly made an appointment were already coaxing Zhang Bangchang to take the throne immediately. Even the yellow robe appeared out of nowhere and was draped directly on Zhang Bangchang.
A strange aura surrounded the court, and some officials were frightened to the point of being at a loss. They secretly considered whether they would support it or not. Which side would be more advantageous?
The mountain rain has blown in.
The strong wind blew all over the building, making people panic.
"No! This is against etiquette!" Zhang Bangchang muttered absentmindedly, trying to take off his dragon robe while using his free hand to push away the officials who came up to him.
"Your Majesty!" Wang Shiyong came close to his ear and reminded him, "This has happened since ancient times. Taizu Chen Qiao rebelled and wore yellow robes. Isn't it the same?"
Some officials tried to break through the chaos and shouted: "If you want to elect the emperor, why elect someone with a different surname?" Before he could finish his words, he was drowned out by the frenzied noise.
He remained calm.
His hunch was right, today was indeed a crucial moment.
The scapegoat, he knew that Zhang Bangchang was the scapegoat, and no matter what the consequences were, Zhang Bangchang would be responsible for it alone.
He has not spoken out. He does not want to be a person who recommends people with different surnames, nor does he want to be a loyal minister who sacrifices his life for the Zhao family. He knows that he cannot stop this violent wave. When the huge wave of fate comes, he cannot escape, so he has to follow it. The waves rise and fall.
He made up his mind to take one step, one step at a time.
Although the weather is cool, the crazy atmosphere spreading in the court makes people feel depressed.
At this extraordinary moment, he suddenly thought of someone.
A Taoist priest.
Last year, before the fall of the capital, he went out for a restless walk and saw a wandering Taoist priest.
This Taoist priest is no different from other Taoist priests. He also describes himself as very powerful, "divination and fortune-telling, rare and complicated diseases", it is written on his white sign.
The Taoist priest looked poor, not like a wise man who could cure rare and complicated diseases.
However, he was upset at the time and needed some spiritual comfort from the Taoist priest.
So he walked to the Taoist priest and sat down.
The Taoist priest who was sitting quietly noticed his arrival, opened his eyes and asked calmly: "Sir, what do you want to ask?"
"future."
The Taoist priest glanced at him and his eyes circled around his face before picking up the turtle shell in front of his feet.
"Taoist priest……"
"The clouds are empty."
"Taoist Master Yunkong, were you looking at my Yintang just now?"
Yintang is the flat place between the eyebrows, which is generally used to look at a person's complexion.
"No need to worry," Yun Kong said, "You are no different from anyone else."
"No different?" He became even more irritated, "I'd like to hear the details."
"There are people coming and going here, and everyone is in a dark mood, so it's not that different."
"Will the Jin people attack?" He immediately regretted asking.
"Is this what you want to ask too?"
"No, I just want to ask about my future."
Yunkong looked at his face, then opened his palms to look at him: "You are already a noble man, at least you are also a court official."
He remained calm.
He came out incognito today to go shopping and relax. He didn't want people to know that he was a high official.
"Maybe you can be richer."
"Maybe? The Taoist priest can't be sure?"
Yun Kong unfolded his right hand, pointed to the lines on his palm, and said, "There are obstacles in your official career. If you want to become rich, you must go through extraordinary things."
"Can Taoist Master make it more clear?"
"Let me guess." Yun Kong took out three ancient coins and put them into the turtle shell.
By reading his fortune, you can roughly deduce the trend of his destiny.
The purpose of divination is to determine how the thing he asked about will develop.
Yunkong shook the hexagram carefully and came up with six lines, which coincided with the upper and lower stems: "This is the Tai hexagram."
But the third line is "Lao Yang". Since the extremes of things must reverse, Lao Yang will "change" into the Yin line, making the Tai hexagram "change" into the Lin hexagram.
"The ninety-third line of this hexagram changes, and the line says: "There is no level or slope, there is no going back, there is no blame for hardship, don't be sorry for the disadvantages, and you will be blessed with food."
"Is this good or bad?"
"It can be bad or good."
He has always been very scheming and usually remains calm. Now that he is upset, he can't help but get angry: "Taoist Priest, please tell me quickly and clearly."
"Literally interpreted, it means that things in the world will not be all lopsided, nor will they be all flat or slanted, nor will they only go in the direction without going back. If you encounter difficulties, you will be fine. If you are captured, there is no need to worry, because in terms of food, Blessed.”
"That's lucky."
"Not necessarily," Yun Kong caressed the ancient coin and put it back in the bag, "According to this hexagram, the ninety-third line is the last yang of the whole hexagram, which is the end of the road. Moreover, it has become yin, indicating that there is still a turning point in the end of the road. However, the three lines are originally It is the yang position. If the yang line is in the yang position, it is the "right position". If it is in the right position but becomes yin, it is unlucky."
The six lines of the hexagram are calculated from bottom to top. The third line of the Tai hexagram is originally the Yang line, which is the lower stem hexagram and the last Yang line of the entire Tai hexagram.
Also, the third Yao is Yang in nature and is called "Yang position". The Yang Yao is exactly in the Yang position, so it is called "living in the upright position".
But just when everything was so right, this yang line turned into yin.
"It's ominous," Yun Kong said, "Things are changing and cannot be predicted by Sir. Good things can turn bad, and bad things can turn good."
"In this case, the Taoist priest can't get a result."
"This is the result."
He gave it to Bu Jin dejectedly, and left even more troubled.
Yun Kong looked at his back and suddenly felt a strange feeling in his heart.
For some reason, he usually wouldn't watch the guests leaving, but today's guest made him feel uncomfortable, as if he had bumped into someone he shouldn't have bumped into.
Yun Kong realized that even if this person touched him, his hands would feel uncomfortable.
I wanted to brush away the weird confusion in my heart, but the more I brushed it away, the more unhappy I became.
This person is like a cold wind that can make people sick.
※※※
Similarly, he didn't like the Taoist priest. Not only did it not relieve his irritability, it actually made him even more irritable.
He was annoyed because he found that as time went by, what the Taoist said became more and more correct.
There seem to be many ghosts in the court, driving the fate of many people.
The city was broken, the Jin people poured in, the two emperors became mortals, and then Zhang Bangchang was promoted to the throne.
All these things happened too quickly and suddenly, making him feel the terrible fate.
He didn't want to wade in this muddy water.
Let others take care of it, and I will still be my Zhongcheng. Anyway, it’s not my place to speak, and if I don’t speak, I won’t cause trouble.
After the morning court session, Zhang Bangchang sat on the throne with trepidation.
The group of people who had been silent in the morning gathered together after the morning meeting. They were representatives of the "loyal ministers" headed by Ma Shen and Guan Gei, the two censors.
Ma Shen, the censor, said: "As a censor, my job is to give outright advice. How can I let the emperor with a different surname sit idly by?"
Ma Shen wrote a petition, Guan Gei also signed it, and then it was passed to him.
He is Zhongcheng, the leader of these censors.
It was not unusual for the motion to reach him. The problem was that it was stated on the motion that he was the one who initiated the motion and his signature must be in the first place.
It turns out that not speaking can bring disaster.
"As a loyal minister, I have no hesitation in my duty!" Their eyes threatened him.
Loyal minister?
He was indeed a loyal minister. When the Jin people had the ambition to conquer the Song Dynasty, he once proposed the "Four Major Strategies" to defend against the Jin Dynasty, but instead he was demoted by the emperor.
This kind of loyal minister is so loyal that it's boring.
But everyone is a colleague of Yushitai. If he does not sign, he will be regarded as a "traitor" immediately and will be criticized so much that he can't even walk. These people know best how to incite Tai students (students from high-end government schools) to help create public opinion. It’s not like they haven’t seen how powerful Tai students are.
As Zhongcheng and Yushi, no matter what, he should sign the petition to preserve the Zhao family. Only those who sign are loyal ministers.
He didn't want to sign, but he couldn't help but sign.
This is the overall situation of the times. Individuals cannot control their own destiny.
