Since yesterday... to be precise, since Prime Minister Qin was imprisoned, ministers in the court have been submitting their resignations, including many high-ranking officials at the level of minister and deputy prime minister.
There was nothing wrong with the civil service. They dismissed their own people. The most indispensable thing in the Song Dynasty was officials.
There are also officials.
In addition, I don't know since when, some people who were released have returned to Lin'an one after another. Although the officials can't figure out the situation... they don't need to figure it out.
The emperor has the final say in everything.
Although today is not a big court meeting, there are still many more people in this Chui Gong Hall than on other days.
Everyone was old acquaintances, and Qin Hui was dead, so the emperor's attitude was quite clear.
Without party strife and with roughly the same goals, the civil servants of the Song Dynasty were actually much more useful than imagined.
Take Hu Quan for example. The emperor originally liked this man's straightforward temperament and asked him to be the financial officer. Not to mention his ability, at least his personal ethics were passable.
More importantly, this boy is different from people like Su Fu. Su Fu only has the master of Heaven and Earth, but this boy advises himself not to follow the way of heaven and listen more to the voices of the people of the world.
He has people in his eyes.
Another example is Liu Ziyu... I originally thought that his family had some kind of reputation as "Southeast Confucianism", and he would probably act in a rigid manner, but he didn't expect that despite his reputation, there really weren't any virtuous scholars. This man had been guarding the banks of the Huaihe River for several years. , He has a thorough understanding of the military defenses of the Huaihe River and Huaihe River, and he also knows that fighting is not a matter of just touching the upper and lower lips. He knows the soldiers deeply, even better than some warriors.
Later I learned that since his father Liu Kai had been in the army since he was a child, he was indeed an all-rounder trained with real swords and guns, whether it was square La or fighting against gold in Zhending Mansion.
The position of Minister of the Ministry of War put Li Qingzhao on the stove. The old woman was good at writing lyrics and embroidering. If she was really asked to take charge of participating in the Northern Expedition, this woman couldn't hold back a word for a long time.
There can't be a group of people here discussing killing people while she frowns and feels miserable, right?
The group of civilian anti-golden people who supported her were either recalled to the court or recruited into the army; only some people who wanted to seek some personal gain in the name of resisting the gold still supported her strongly.
Later, this woman was cornered and the emperor did not see her. She almost died under the imperial city wall, saying something like "women cannot be officials"... She was a woman to begin with, and she had a deep prejudice against women. , but stronger than many men.
After Qin Hui died, Liu Bang comforted her:
"If you don't want to do it, just don't do it. But now I ask you to do it and you don't do it. If you do it secretly in the future, it would be impolite."
How could Li Qingzhao dare to say no? Li Yian had really seen this ridiculous emperor, this emperor Jie and Zhou, this emperor who acted completely without rules.
In this way, the Minister of War fell on Liu Ziyu's head.
Naturally, the harmony on the surface is because everyone wants to resist gold, but privately...
According to the emperor's personnel arrangement, everyone was guessing who would take the position of prime minister. After guessing, there were only two or three candidates.
One is Zhang Jun, a talented man who came to power at the age of thirty-three. He was the first person after Kou Zhun to gain power at such a young age; in addition, both Liu Ziyu and Wu Lin can be said to have been influenced by him. The person who is promoted in one fell swoop has the highest voice.
The other one is, of course, Zhao Ding. This man is indeed talented as a prime minister and assistant, and when Yue Fei went on the Northern Expedition, he had the loudest voice for support. Han Shizhong was also commanded by him. I admire this man very much, but he and Zhang Jun always fought for power, but in the end he got an advantage over Qin Hui... Of course, even if the two didn't fight, Qin Hui would probably win. Who would let him surrender wholeheartedly at that time?
The third one... It's strange to say that in terms of seniority, this person is probably more than ten or twenty years away from the position of prime minister, but according to the emperor's temper...
Xin Ciying, some people say that the emperor once told this person that he could choose the official position in the court as long as he wanted.
With such a holy family in his body, and the current day's momentum, as long as he nods, the phase is really uncertain.
Speaking of which, except for Xin Ciying who was in Lin'an, both Zhang Jun and Zhao Ding were put outside by the emperor.
Coincidentally, both of them were in the southeast, Zhang Jun was in Fuzhou and Zhao Ding was in Quanzhou.
After all, Zhang Jun had led Qin Hui, and Qin Xiangye didn't do anything ugly. Zhao Ding was different. He was basically the same distance from Su Shi.
Until Qin Hui's death, people from Quanzhou came to spread the news about Zhao Ding. If it hadn't been taken down by Zhong Feng and the people from the Imperial City Division, no one would have known that Prime Minister Qin had been monitoring him.
At today's court meeting, everyone looked for new faces. If they saw someone they didn't see often, a group of people would immediately surround them:
"You were called back too? What kind of job did your Majesty give you?"
This kind of conversation could be seen everywhere on the way to court. Yue Fei, Yue Yun, and several lieutenants watched with indescribable joy... and excitement in his heart.
If people have peaks and valleys, Yue Fei feels that from the time he received twelve gold medals, that was the lowest point in his life, and from the next hundred gold medals, he has already reached the top of the mountain.
Although they no longer have military power, both he and Han Shizhong know that they have a more important and promising alternative than military power.
That is the current emperor.
The door of Chui Gong Hall was slowly opened, and everyone put away their thoughts, each with their own thoughts... Some were hopeful, some were afraid, some were fearful, some were confused, some were excited, some were heroic,
Everyone here has seen the emperor.
But there were many people who saw the emperor for the first time.
The real emperor.
After everyone saluted, they looked up and saw the person standing next to the emperor.
Just an idea that came to mind:
It turned out to be him, it really was him.
When I saw the other one, I was surprised again:
Why is it him? !
The old man on the left was the one who was with the emperor on the Sibei Tower on the day Qin Hui was sentenced. He also thoughtfully answered the question about the people who had wax oil on Qin Hui's body, Zhao Ding and Zhao Yuanzhen.
He stood there and explained the position of the prime minister. The emperor had made his choice.
The journey of more than a thousand miles from Quanzhou to Lin'an, even by water, would take at least ten days and a half, plus the emperor had to send someone to summon him...
Calculating this, before Qin Hui was imprisoned, the officials had already made plans, and Zhang Jun had already been defeated by Zhao Ding!
Although he was surprised, it was still reasonable after all, and no one was too surprised.
Instead, it was the burly man standing on the right...
If not Yang Yizhong, the commander-in-chief of the Palace Front Division, who is he?
If he wasn't the criminal who massacred the court ministers on a rainy night, who was he?
Now that he is standing there, what the official means is...
Even Zhang Jun couldn't help but become confused at this time.
He had tried hard to get rid of the stereotype of the emperor in his mind, but at this time, he was still shocked by Zhao Guan's family.
He thought of many ways to rescue Yang Yizhong, such as finding a scapegoat and letting him return to his own army under a different identity; for example, the emperor secretly operated to tell the public that he was dead, and then imprisoned him for the rest of his life.
But he never expected that the emperor would not even give him an explanation, but would directly let him wear official uniform and stand in the meeting hall.
When Qin Hui was here, the civil servants in the court were easy to deal with. Just scare them and kill them.
But now this group of people... they are not even afraid of the Jin people. They live for a false reputation all their lives. If the emperor threatens to kill them, there may be many people rushing to go there!
Before Zhang Jun could think about it, a group of people quickly came out, including Liu Ziyu, the trusted minister of the Ministry of War... Although he knew that Zhu Song committed suicide, his head was indeed cut off by Yang Yizhong.
His best friend had fallen to this point, and if there was no one to explain to him, Liu Ziyu would be ashamed of himself.
But no one expected that the emperor didn't give them a chance to speak at all.
"Everyone has something to say, please wait a moment until I say what I want to say. It won't be too late for you to speak."
The emperor has said this, and he is not a fool, so he naturally understands the importance.
"Did everyone hear what Qin Hui said before he died?"
Not only heard it, but who in Lin'an City didn't know about it?
In a few days, Qin Hui's words will spread throughout the world!
Thinking of this, Hu Quan complained... just kill him with one knife. How could so many things happen!
Now that I'm fine, I want to discuss remedial measures. No matter how much I say, this is entirely the emperor's own doing!
Resentment is resentment, but business should not be left behind. Hu Quan bowed and said:
"The officials can send out an edict to dispel this rumor... Qin Hui bit people before he died and said crazy things. The people are not stupid and will never believe it."
"You know the people are not stupid."
Liu Bang glanced at the bearded man: "That's not what I meant. I have already said what I said. I also asked Lu Zai and the others to write it down. If we want to issue an edict, let Lu Zai write it down."
"What I said is not nonsense. I ask everyone to remember this grudge for me, lest I forget it one day."
"Let me ask you the reason for this... In addition to me, didn't I also name some other ministers that day?"
"Who is that, Wang Ciweng, Lin Yifei, Goulong Ruyuan..."
Lin Yifei is not among the people Qin Hui accused, nor among the ministers in today's court meeting, but he is Qin Hui's biological son after all. Your father has done so many bad things, and your son has also enjoyed the blessings. Others can cut it off, but you can Can it be cut?
The minister whose name was called turned pale... Qin Xiangye's meat is still fresh. Could it be that the emperor wants to sit together!
It is natural to sit together in succession, but Liu Bang felt that after reciting "Amitabha" with Daoji for a long time, he seemed to have become more pure and kind.
When I talk about murder, I want to cry.
"Everyone should have no objection to Qin Hui's words, right?"
"After all, what he said about me is true. There is no reason to hide it for you."
"In this case……"
He was like a judge in charge of the book of life and death, scribbling randomly on the paper full of names, without any rules and without listening to anyone's arguments.
"The things circled above... don't do it as an official. Isn't this Taixue still expanding? I want to open a new building. Labor is expensive nowadays, so everyone can help out."
"Amitabha, really Amitabha."
They now know why the officials did not allow them to resign.
It turns out that the emperor is waiting here.
However, many people had the intention to die, and now they came back with their lives, and they were really relieved.
I didn't care at all about the punishment of doing hard labor...
But before they could be happy for long, the emperor's voice rang again:
"Within one month, you can help me expand the Imperial Academy. If it takes more than one day, then..."
He didn't say anything more, but it was more effective than anything he said.
After some of the fence-sitters completely turned to the anti-gold side, Qin Hui's party was left with very few.
Now the Daqing Hall was full of people kneeling down again. At a glance, there was no sign of the Qin Party at all.
After dealing with these people, Liu Bang asked:
"What did you want to say just now? Say it now."
When Liu Ziyu heard this, he immediately stood up and said:
"Your Majesty, may I ask this..." He looked at Yang Yizhong standing beside him: "He is the Commander-in-Chief of the Palace Front Division, Yang Yizhong?"
Liu Bang said without any hesitation: "Yes."
"Please forgive me for being presumptuous! This man is clearly a murderer. Why is he standing in this hall today?!"
"To serve as an official in the same court as someone with such arrogant ambitions, are the officials humiliating their ministers?!"
Liu Bang rolled his eyes at him... You really have the ability to make you run wild.
"Oh, so that's what you're talking about."
Seeing the emperor slap his forehead, as if he just remembered what happened, Liu Ziyu felt the blood rushing to his forehead.
Of course, he's not the first person to feel this way, and he definitely won't be the last.
Just listen to the emperor say again:
"There is some misunderstanding. The murderer who killed that day indeed deserves to die, but he is already dead!"
As soon as these words came out, everyone was slightly choked by the news of this inexplicable death, but they soon came to their senses...
The emperor is telling lies with his eyes open!
Dead, if dead, who is this person standing next to? Could it be that it is haunted during the day?
Many people paused again and again before they could hold back their anger at having their intelligence so insulted by the emperor.
"Official!"
Liu Ziyu's beard was so angry that it looked like Su Fu, and he was blown away.
"If Yang Yizhong dies, then who is this person?"
Liu Bang rolled his eyes at him: "Are you looking for pleasure in me? Didn't I tell you that he is Yang Yizhong?"
I don’t know who is looking for whom’s happiness!
"As I told you, there is some misunderstanding here, and the murderer is indeed dead... Forget it, Yang Yizhong, you can speak for yourself!"
After receiving the order, the wooden man bowed to the emperor, clasped his fists towards the minister, and recalled in his mind the words the emperor had given him.
"I fell ill a few days ago and fell ill at home..."
Seeing the emperor nodding to himself, Yang Dushi received great encouragement:
"Unexpectedly, my brother who was a compatriot at home took my identity..."
Before he finished speaking, Liu Bang interrupted: "Not my brother?"
Yang Yizhong thought for a while and confirmed: "It is indeed my brother...My compatriot brother Yang Cunzhong assumed his identity and did something illegal. I am guilty of negligence and failure to fulfill my duties as a brother. Please punish me." "
Liu Bang sighed softly: "You said you were real, how could someone else take your identity for granted?"
"So many ministers and so many pillars will be gone if they say goodbye. I will always give them an explanation."
The emperor lowered his head and thought: "Well... what about the funeral expenses and pension money?"
Yang Yizhong said nothing, but Zhang Jun was quite decisive: "I will give it to you, I will give it to you!"
"Okay! Why don't you thank Captain Zhang!"
"No, no need!" Zhang Jun waved his hand and said to Yang Yizhong: "Your brother behaves like this, and you must blame yourself a lot. You must take care of yourself..."
Liu Ziyu couldn't bear it any longer: "Your Majesty! I have never heard of any brothers in Yang Yizhong. If you treat him like a deer and protect him, aren't you afraid of chilling the hearts of all the officials in the world?"
Seeing that he had exposed his sophisticated plan, Liu Bang couldn't help but blush and coughed lightly...
Supervisory censor Wan Qixi stood up:
"Liu Yanxiu is a good student and unreasonable. If Yang Dushi has any brothers, why should he tell you that he knows about it?"
"I've made it clear to you, and everyone understands the reason. Why, do you also want to sit together?"
Liu Bang glared at him, what do you mean 'ye'?
"Now that the murderer is dead, Liu Yanxiu is still so unyielding. Is it really just for justice? It is said that you have a close relationship with Zhu Song. Now it seems that our Liu Shangshu is showing favoritism?"
Liu Ziyu, who comes from a literary family, is most afraid of meeting such unreasonable people.
Not only was his face red, but now his neck was also red. He kept pointing at Wan Qixi and said:
"You...I...are talking nonsense..."
I couldn't hold back a complete sentence for a long time.
With Wan Qixi taking the lead, a group of officials and military generals spoke to Yang Yizhong one after another. Those who did not want to be involved remained silent. There were also officials who had just been punished by the emperor to study in Taixue. They did not want to see others good, so they also helped. Silent...
For a time, Liu Ziyu faced thousands of people.
After the boy was scolded for a long time, until tears welled up in his eyes, Liu Bang patted the table to stop them.
"Okay! Isn't Liu Shangshu also out for justice? All of you are bullying other people's scholars!"
The game of referring to Yang as Yang is over. Liu Bang is very satisfied with the current court.
No wonder Zhao Gao wanted to do this back then, it was indeed useful.
Liu Ziyu hadn't recovered yet, but the emperor's next words had to divert his attention.
"This matter has been concluded. Yang Cunzhong, the brother of Yang Yizhong, killed someone. I have cut him up and thrown him into the Qiantang River to feed the fish... You must forgive me. It is really the thief who killed so many of my ministers. I I was so angry that I didn't even give you a body."
"I don't dare, thank you Your Majesty for taking care of me!"
Liu Ziyu was hugged and shouted out.
"In that case, let's talk about business..."
The emperor winked at Huang Yanjie, who understood and ordered a group of eunuchs to 'invite' the irrelevant people out.
They are all members of Qin Hui's party. After leaving this door, they have only one place to go.
Too learned.
When many seats in the hall were empty, Liu Bang asked people to close the door again... In this way, he really looked like he was going to talk about something important.
Everyone is looking forward to the emperor saying what they have been waiting for for a long time.
Clearing his throat, Liu Bang pointed at Zhao Ding and said:
"Do you know him?"
This is nonsense, but everyone still gives me face:
"know."
"That's good," the emperor nodded, "if you know each other, it will save you a lot of effort."
"From today on, he is our prime minister."
Everyone has made preparations. Although some ministers promoted by Zhang Jun feel it is a pity, at this juncture, fighting against gold is the common goal of everyone.
Besides, Zhao Ding also recommended Zhang Jun back then. Unlike Qin Hui, they were a true gentleman's battle!
In fact, it was not that Liu Bang had not considered Zhang Jun. After all, among the ministers of the Song Dynasty that he knew, this one was really too dazzling.
But because Yaoshi Guo once said that Zhang Junshi is the kind of person who is dedicated to fighting against gold but has little ability...he had to pay more attention.
The more I got to know him, I found that there was indeed something wrong with this person.
To say that the Jin people can fight, they are only those who took the lead in destroying the Liao Dynasty and attacking the Song Dynasty.
But the number one general outside the royal family of the Jin Kingdom was none other than Wanyan Loushi, who captured Emperor Tianzuo of the Liao Kingdom alive.
Zhang Jun has been running Sichuan and Shaanxi for many years and promoted the two brothers Wu Jie and Liu Ziyu. This is his credit.
But in the Battle of Fuping, he gathered five Song armies, with 50,000 cavalry and 120,000 infantry, and was completely defeated by Wanyan Loushi's men.
When the Song and Jin Dynasties were confronting each other in the western border, the reward Zhang Jun offered to Wanyan Lou's room was:
Anyone who captures Yan Lou's house alive will be rewarded with 10,000 pieces of silver and silk each, and will be given the title of Jiedu Envoy.
And the reward offered to him by Wanyan Lou's room...if he captures Zhang Jun alive, he will be rewarded with a piece of cloth and a donkey.
As a result, although he saved Wanyan Lou's donkey, he defeated the main force of the Western Division and the Sixth Route of Shaanxi.
One is that he has great ambition but few talents; the other is that this person can compromise anything for the sake of power.
From the beginning, he followed Qin Hui's senior Huang Qianshan to start his career. Later, he clearly knew Qin Hui's temperament, but in order to attack Zhao Ding, he was still left in the center of the court. Later, Qin Hui took advantage of him and started the Huaixi military coup, which made several people suffer. Thousands of people defected to the North.
With these two items in mind, Liu Bang was very benevolent in not killing him.
There is no need to fight and distinguish between loyal and traitor, which can actually be exchanged. After all, Qin Hui is dead.
It is more in line with the current court that there is no need to fight and distinguish between mediocrity and mediocrity.
Seeing that everyone didn't say much, Liu Bang didn't talk nonsense and said to Zhao Ding:
"Tell them the strategies for governing the country that you told me today."
Zhao Ding nodded... A month ago, he was still thinking about where Qin Hui would put him.
One month later, he returned here and returned to the position of prime minister.
If we say who is the happiest person in the world, he may be even happier than Yue Fei.
"Juan collects taxes to cultivate idle fields, and eliminates cowards to save military expenses;"
"Stop adding errands to clear up redundant staff; stop issuing ultimatums to increase the population;"
"Confining tenants and rents to prevent them from being expropriated, and appointing planners to control the state;"
If you want people to listen carefully and hear your voice, the best way is not to speak loudly.
But like Zhao Ding, he spoke slowly and without haste.
His voice was very low, even deliberately kept low.
But no one wanted to be distracted, everyone listened attentively.
Just the first six points... are very correct, so correct that they are a bit nonsense.
Everyone understands the truth, but no matter how good the strategy of governing the country is, it must be implemented.
Zhao Ding did not stop:
"Reward meritorious service to strengthen generals, recruit archers to preserve old records;"
"Strict and harmonious policies can eliminate harm, and simple laws can eliminate disasters."
…
The next four items...
Everyone just chewed it for a while and then realized it.
Of Zhao Ding's ten strategies for governing the country, only the last four are the most important.
What matters is not its content, but... what it stands for.
"Reward meritorious generals with merit, and recruit archers to preserve old records." There has been no uprising among the people for three years...compared with the several uprisings a year when we just crossed south, it is indeed much more peaceful now.
Since he was born in the year of Taiping, it is self-evident where to get the word "merit" for "meritorious merit".
The last two sentences, "Strict and strict laws can eliminate the disadvantages, and simple laws can alleviate the disasters" are clearly about post-war governance.
Zhao Ding's suggestions did not represent the emperor's determination.
Otherwise, why would the officials let him speak out in front of everyone.
Liu Bang clapped his hands: "Well said!"
Then he looked at the people below: "Do you know why I want to call you back?"
"Yes, everyone is not stupid. There are many reasons why you can come back. Maybe you are really talented, maybe you are suitable to come back, but the most important thing is, there is, and there is only one..."
"You all want to fight back."
"My attitude is clear enough. We must fight. As for where we will fight... it all depends on the performance of our generals."
Seeing that everyone had something to say, Liu Bang directly said it for them:
"There is no doubt that I am going to betray my alliance."
"Everyone knows the benefits of betraying an alliance, and there is no need to worry about it... If anyone has any objections, I will treat them as if they are blocking me from taking revenge. Everyone knows the fate of the last person who blocked me in this way."
Faced with this naked threat, everyone remained silent.
"Besides, it is enough for everyone to hear what I said today in this hall. If someone spreads it... humph, those who don't believe it can try it."
Except for Yue Fei, who was already prepared, the other generals were very excited, especially Han Shizhong and Zhang Jun. Both of them had white hair. They had been looking forward to becoming emperor for so many years, and finally waited for this. Talk.
I guessed it, but hearing the emperor admit it himself was a different feeling.
"In short, I won't tell you so much. You just need to understand one thing..."
"You have only one mission when you come back. No matter what your official position is or how bad you are, there is only one mission."
"With all my heart, with all my heart, with all my strength..."
"Assist in the Northern Expedition!"
The emperor said this very firmly. This was not a discussion tone, he was informing everyone.
Speaking of which, Liu Bang didn't intend to discuss it with them when he called them back to the center.
"Put everything aside first. Even if there is your father-killing enemy in this court, you have to endure it for me first."
"If there is someone who is unwilling to do it, it is still too late to quit now; but for those who are unwilling to quit now, it will be a hindrance when the time comes. Don't worry about me telling the ugly things up front."
He looked at these people, and as expected, the first one to be praised was Yue Pengju.
"Chen Yuefei, I am willing!"
Zhang Jun was angry that he didn't know how to respect his elders. He glared at him fiercely and stood up immediately:
"I am also willing! I am the first to be willing!"
"Han Shizhong is willing!"
"Xin Ciying is willing!"
…
Even the eunuch Huang Yanjie on the side, even though he knew that no one was listening to him, he whispered:
"Huang Yanjie is also willing."
After a while, everyone in the Chuigong Hall expressed their feelings.
Liu Bang sat on the chair with one foot on it. He leaned on his own leg and looked at the people below.
He opened his mouth and smiled.
This volume has come to an end. I have deleted a lot, but it is still not finished. I won’t be able to tie the end of this volume until tomorrow.
There is also Chapter 109. The last two sentences were cut out by the review. I just realized it now and was speechless. I changed it again and added it in.
I wish everyone who is going to take the college entrance examination, as well as friends at home who are going to take the college entrance examination, get a good score, get satisfactory scores, go to the university you like, fall in love with the person you like, and everything you wish for will come true.
(End of chapter)
