Wang Zhou, among the former Jiedu envoys of the Later Jin Dynasty, had a relatively easy life, because he wanted to commit suicide and die for his country, but was stopped by his family.
Moreover, after Yelu Deguang entered Kaifeng Mansion in Tokyo, he faced great pressure from Zhang Zhao. He had no time to perform a performance to reward loyal ministers as in history, so Wang Zhou was the one who was most closely guarded and was almost killed.
Therefore, at this time, Wang Zhou had a good reputation and was known as a loyal minister. After Zhang Zhao entered Tokyo, most of the Jiedushi envoys of the Later Jin Dynasty could not leave Tokyo, except Wang Zhou.
The world regarded An Shenqi, who had a friendship with Zhang Zhao, as a benchmark for how Zhang Zhao would treat the Jiedushi envoys of the later Jin Dynasty, but in fact Wang Zhou was the one.
At the entrance of the mansion, Wang Zhou and his disciples have been waiting here for a long time.
Wang Zhou adopted a completely different attitude towards Zhang Zhao, because at least Zhang Zhao was from China.
He, Wang Zhou, refused to submit to the Khitan, but he served Zhang Zhao and Zhou without any discomfort.
Zhang Zhao would of course have a completely different attitude towards such a loyal minister, and Wang Zhou's character was indeed quite good.
In the past, when he was appointed as the military envoy of the Changyi Army in Jingyuan, he abolished the harsh government of Zhang Yanze, the previous envoy who was beaten to death by all the people in Tokyo. He also built bridges and roads during his tenure in Dingzhou. To the people.
Although the methods of governance are still very rough, there is still some love for the people.
In the Five Dynasties, it was very good to be able to do this and have a heart of loving the people.
Therefore, Wang Zhou stayed in the local area for several years. Everywhere he went, his household registration was restored, and he became increasingly prosperous and had a good reputation among the people.
This is also the reason why he wanted to commit suicide and die for his country when he was in Dingzhou, but no one suspected that he was putting on a show. If it were someone like Li Shouzhen, everyone would think it was a show.
When the emperor arrived at this time, the etiquette was not complicated. Especially after two hundred years of the late Tang, Later Liang, Later Tang, and later Jin, the emperor's authority had dropped to a very low level. It can be said that this is the first time in Chinese history that the emperor's authority has dropped to a very low level. The emperor's most vulnerable moment.
If according to the standards at this time, when Zhang Zhao arrives, Wang Zhou only needs to simply welcome Zhang Zhao to the door, find a large room, let the emperor sit at the head, and he can even have a drink with the emperor.
But when it comes to Zhang Zhao, that won't work. Sage Zhang is ready, thousands of soldiers clear the way, and they march towards Wang Zhou's house with great force.
When they arrived at the door, the road was paved with loess and incense was burned to guide them. Three generations of Wang Zhou's father, son and grandson came to the door and knelt down to greet him.
After Zhang Shengren said that he was safe, three generations of Wang Zhou's father and son could get up. Then the emperor got off the car, and his troops took over all affairs of Wang Zhou's mansion. As the master, Wang Zhou could only wait outside and could not see him until there was an imperial edict.
It's not that Zhang Zhao insists on doing this, but that he must now raise the emperor's temperament and let everyone realize that An Chongrong's saying, "The emperor will do it to those with strong soldiers and horses" is wrong.
In the royal residence, father and son Wang Zhou were ordered to go to the main room to attend the meeting. Queen Cao Yanxi was pregnant and had difficulty moving, so her sister Cao Guifei Cao Yannai went to the back house to summon Wang's daughter Juan instead.
"Your Majesty, King Zhou, is here to see you!"
In fact, Wang Zhou also felt uncomfortable. Even though he had a reputation as a loyal minister, he was actually a member of the group of later promoted and demoted generals.
Based on Zhang Zhao's current attitude towards the generals who were later promoted and demoted, although Wang Zhou could still live his life, the psychological pressure was also great.
Since Zhang Zhao entered Tokyo in November last year, Wang Zhou can be regarded as the only one among all the former Jiedu envoys of the Later Jin Dynasty who met Zhang Zhao for the first time.
Therefore, when he saw His Majesty, Wang Zhou burst into tears and his voice broke.
"Wang Wang, please get up quickly!" Zhang Zhao finished arranging the ceremonial guard outside, and when he arrived at Wang Zhou's house, of course he stopped arranging it.
After he personally helped Wang Zhou up, the chamberlain beside him came forward, took out an ocher-yellow silk book and read aloud.
"The king of Zhou was a native of Weizhou. He was unyielding to the barbarians and a loyal minister to the country. He served successively in the Jingyuan Zhangyi Army and the Dingzhou Yiwu Army, all with a reputation for benevolence.
In order to reward his loyalty, justice, benevolence and bravery, he was granted the title of Dingzhou Bo, and was given thousands of coins, thousands of pieces of brocade, and one son, Yin Yi, as a member of the army. "
This uncle of Dingzhou does not have the four characters "hereditary", which means that after Wang Zhou's death, if his son inherits, he can only inherit a salary official in the Jinyi army.
He could probably protect the deputy commander, but when Sun Tzu arrived, there were only a thousand households left, and he couldn't manage anything except his salary.
But that's not necessarily the case, because Zhang Zhao had a profound meaning in picking up the Ming Dynasty's guard system and using it in his own Jinyi army.
In China, no matter how many patches you put on the Wei Suo thing, it is inevitable to decline, because Shangguan has no one to exploit, so naturally he can only exploit his soldiers.
But it is different when used abroad. Because the Xiajun Yi people are exploited by others, it is very likely that the system of guards will mutate into the eight banners system.
Zhang Zhao was going to do this. Of course, he would not use the Manchu Qing Dynasty's perverted method of not intermarriage and building a city full of people to trap people.
From this point of view, in the next few decades, as long as the family is willing to spend money, the official position of the royal bodyguard can be turned into a real job.
Of course Wang Zhou didn't know what was going on in Zhang Zhao's heart. He didn't care about the fact that counts could not be hereditary. Zhang Zhao was still willing to reward them, which meant that he was still prepared to forgive them, the ministers who had surrendered to the Khitan.
"My lord, thank you for your grace!" Wang Zhou was overjoyed and thanked him again.
"Your Majesty, please rise. You are a loyal minister, unlike others."
Zhang Zhao said with emotion, but in fact he said this on purpose to lead the topic in this direction so as to take the opportunity to summon other Jiedu envoys of the later Jin Dynasty.
Sure enough, after hearing what Zhang Zhao said, Wang Zhou hesitated to speak, and finally plucked up the courage to speak to Zhang Zhao.
"The saint is over-reputed. He who bends his knees is not a loyal minister. There is someone else who is truly loyal!"
Zhang Zhao did not expect that Wang Zhou did not talk about Fu Yanqing and others, but said that there were loyal ministers.
Are you talking about Huangfu Yu? He was indeed a loyal minister, but Huangfu Yu's son and wife Zhang Zhao had already sent people to look for him, and his nephew Huangfu Chong also took him with him as a personal guard.
"Who is the loyal minister that Wang Weng mentioned?"
"Former Beizhou Yongqing Army Jiedushi Liang Hanzhang died heroically as a pioneer of the army, and he can be regarded as a loyal minister.
Wang Qingli, who was under the command of the national army, died in battle. From sundown to the end of the day, not a single soldier in his unit bowed his knee, so he could be considered a loyal minister.
Guo Lin, the governor of Yizhou, still refused to surrender after his retreat was cut off. He cursed the thief and died, so he could be regarded as a loyal minister. "
It turns out that Wang Zhou was talking about Liang Hanzhang, Wang Qing, and Guo Lin. They were indeed loyal ministers, and they all died bravely and unyieldingly in the battle with the Khitans.
Zhang Zhao nodded deeply, "These three people are indeed loyal ministers and righteous men. Minister Dou, please quickly send people to investigate the whereabouts of the descendants of these three loyal ministers and righteous men. I will reward them heavily."
The official minister who followed Zhang Zhao was called Dou Yi. Most people were unfamiliar with this name.
But Dou Yanshan has a righteous prescription and teaches the five sons. They are all famous and many people can memorize it.
This Dou Yanshan is Dou Yi's father. The five brothers are all famous Confucian scholars and civil servants.
But before Dou Yi went down to handle the matter, Wang Zhou spoke.
"After these three loyal ministers, they were in the mansion of Chen and others. After the three loyal ministers died in the battle, I and others were afraid that the Khitans would harm the family, so they hid them."
After Wang Zhou finished speaking, he anxiously waited for Zhang Zhao's reaction.
Zhang Zhao's eyes also became sharper. The word "chenwai" definitely did not refer to Wang Zhou himself.
Thinking of this, Zhang Zhao looked at Huangfu Chong beside him. His uncle Huangfu Yu was the only Jin general who committed suicide and died for his country.
From Huangfuchong's attitude, Zhang Zhao could roughly judge whether these Jiedu envoys of the later Jin Dynasty still had popularity and prestige.
Huangfuchong went through a lot of hardships to find Zhang Zhao, and was introduced by Zhang Zhao as the head of the army, following the emperor closely. This position was very special.
Normally, if Zhang Zhao didn't ask him about these things, he would never tell him. Now when Zhang Zhao asked, Huangfuchong immediately kowtowed to the ground and answered.
"Sage, Taifu An and Taibao Fu are both famous generals. Your Majesty wants to conquer Hebei and needs their help.
Before taking refuge with the Khitan in the past, they did not avoid losing stones on the battlefield. They only hated Du Chongwei and Li Shouzhen for colluding and surrendered, and had no choice but to obey.
In today's world, how many loyal ministers can there be like my uncle Huangfu Gong? Please ask the saint to be open to Taifu An and others. "
Zhang Zhao nodded after hearing this. What Huangfu Chong said made sense. How many truly loyal ministers like Huangfu Yu, Wang Qing, Guo Lin, and Liang Hanzhang could be found in the world?
What most people care about most is definitely their own lives and the safety of their wives, children, and children. Those who can persevere to the end and bend the knee when they have no choice are actually considered okay.
Moreover, Zhang Zhao has always understood in his heart that Fu Yanqing, Gao Xingzhou, Yao Yuanfu, Xue Huairang and others suppressed and suppressed, and put pressure on his heart but he still had to use it.
There will be a step down, he said after pretending to think for a moment.
"Tomorrow I will drive to Taiwei Kang's house and order An Shenqi, Fu Yanqing and other generals to come and see him!"
Wang Zhou and Huangfu breathed a long sigh of relief, and they immediately took orders and prepared to go to the others.
