Fenghou

Chapter 1328 Rupture
Wu Ji is the confidant guard sent by Zhao Gou to Zhangzhou to inquire about Yue Fei. Although Zhao Gou wants to use Yue Fei again, he still has doubts. He always suspects that Yue Fei and Chen Qing are in collusion. He will not enable it.

It's just that Zhao Gou didn't expect Wu Ji to come back so soon, he hurriedly said: "Show him in!"

Not long after, the guard walked into the imperial study room quickly, knelt down on one knee and saluted, "See Your Majesty!"

"Tell me! How's the situation?"

The guard stood up and bowed his head, saying: "The humble officer rushed to Longxi County, Zhangzhou, and the investigation went very smoothly. The investigation was completed in three days, and then he rushed back."

Zhao Gou frowned, "The investigation ended in three days. What happened to you?"

"Exactly! I met the Quanzhou government to send seasonal fruits to Yue's family. I sent a cart of them. Mrs. Yue didn't refuse and accepted them all. Then I spent some money to inquire about the surrounding shops. The Quanzhou government often sent special products to Yue's mansion. , and sometimes send some sheep, but they also said that Yue Zhizhou is very clean and never accepts bribes from any officials, so it is strange to be humble. Since he does not want to accept bribes, why does Yuefu accept everything sent by the Quanzhou government? Isn't that contradictory?"

"Yes! Why?" Zhao Gou also wanted to know the answer.

"I found the answer on the third day. I invited a servant of the Yue Mansion to drink. He told the truth. These things were all rewards from Yue Fei's eldest son, Yue Yun. Yue Yun did a lot of meritorious service on the battlefield. He personally does not want rewards. , asked to transfer the reward to the parents, so the Yue Mansion would gladly accept it."

"Wait a minute!"

Zhao Gou suddenly realized something was wrong and asked, "Is Yue Fei's eldest son under Chen Qing?"

"Exactly, Yue Yun is currently Chen Qing's direct subordinate army, the deputy commander of Hu Benwei. It is said that Chen Qing is highly respected. He must be sent as a vanguard in every battle. He has outstanding military exploits. Yue Fei is also quite proud of his son, and even wrote poems to him. , praised him for recovering Shandong Road and Hebei Road"

"okay!"

Zhao Gou heard it very harshly, and interrupted Wu Ji's narration very unhappy. Wu Ji lowered his head and dared not make a sound.

After a while, Zhao Gou asked again: "Is what you said true?"

"I can guarantee that it is true, not only the narration of Yuefu's servants, I also asked people who are familiar with the situation of Yuefu, and they all got the same answer. Your Majesty can send people to Jingzhao to inquire, and it must be the same answer. "

"I see, I will reward you ten taels of silver, go and rest!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for the reward!"

Wu Ji was really disappointed, His Majesty only rewarded him with ten taels of silver, which was not enough for his various expenses, but he didn't dare to reveal it, he bowed and withdrew.

Zhao Gou walked to the window with his hands behind his back, feeling really disappointed. He thought Yue Fei was capable and could train troops for him, but he didn't expect his son to be a general of the Western Army, and he also accepted all kinds of gifts from the Yong Palace. He would rather Yue Fei be greedy. He didn't want Yue Fei to get so close to Prince Yong's Mansion at all, saying that he colluded with Chen Qing did not wrong him.

Forget it, you can only use Han Shizhong. Although Han Shizhong is not as good as Yue Fei in leading troops, he is loyal to himself. In Zhao Gou's view, compared with his loyalty to himself, everything else is not important.

At Zhang Jun's request, the prelude to the negotiation between the two parties started again. This time, Zhang Jun proposed to compensate 20 taels of silver every year, and at the same time give Donggong treatment in terms of etiquette.

But this condition was still rejected by Hu Yun. The difference in the amount between the two parties was five times, and it was impossible for the Yong Palace to accept it.

"Zhang Xiangguo, it's not that we must force others to make things difficult for us. I really can't see your sincerity. If you refuse to accept our million taels of silver, then both parties can make a concession. 80 taels of silver. I think this is the most A reasonable amount."

Zhang Jun shook his head, "80 taels of silver is still too much for the strong, accounting for half of our tax revenue, 20 taels of silver is already the limit we can spend, to be honest, we all think that 20 taels of silver will be a big mountain on our heads , it will overwhelm us, and it will only make the people more miserable, after all, the 20 taels of silver will be borne by the people in the end, if His Royal Highness King Yong really cares about the people, then don't agree to this condition."

Hu Yun smiled slightly: "We won't agree, but it's not because of the people, but because the amount is too small. I might as well tell you the bottom line. Our bottom line is 60 taels of silver per year, and even one tael less won't work."

After a pause, Hu Yun said again: "Or we can make it flexible. We agree to sign once a year, and you don't need His Royal Highness Yong Wang to make a permanent promise. We will make another concession, 50 taels of silver per year, sign for one year, and the next Let's talk again next year, how about it?"

Zhang Jun shook his head, "I can't even get 50 taels, not to mention that what the emperor wants is a permanent promise, it's meaningless to sign one year!"

"In this case, it can't be less than 60 taels of silver per year. I have already shown my sincerity, and I will not give up on the amount of silver!"

Zhang Jun spread his hands, "Then there is nothing to talk about in terms of compensation. We really can't afford 60 taels of silver. Let's talk about other things! Does His Royal Highness King Yong have any other conditions?"

Hu Yun was silent for a moment and said: "If money compensation cannot be negotiated, then the only thing left is land!"

Zhang Jun's heart sank. He had a clear intuition that this was Chen Qing's real condition. If he guessed correctly, Chen Qing wanted Fujian Road.

Zhang Jun waved his hand to stop Wan Qixi, who was about to jump up, and pretended to be relaxed and said with a smile: "Since it is a negotiation, you can put forward any conditions. As for whether to agree or not, it is another matter, but maybe we Consensus can be found from it, so don’t have any worries, Special Envoy Hu just put forward the conditions.”

Hu Yun said slowly: "If the imperial court is willing to hand over Fujian Road to the jurisdiction of Prince Yong's Mansion, then King Yong will not consider overstepping, and will wholeheartedly govern the country for the Song Dynasty."

Sure enough, it is Fujian Road.

Zhang Jun naturally couldn't agree to the other party. They had to go back and ask the emperor for instructions. In fact, even if the emperor agreed, the Zhizheng Hall had to agree. Only Jianghuai and Jiangnan West Road were completely occupied by Chen Qing before. There is no way to disagree.

Just as Hu Yun left the Zhizheng Hall, Wan Qixi said anxiously: "How can we exchange land for a promise, the promise can be overturned at any time, but once the land is lost, it can never be taken back."

Zhang Jun said indifferently: "Fujian Road is already a favorite of the Western Army. They just want to look better. If you don't give it, they will still take Fujian Road."

Wan Qixi was silent for a while and said, "No matter how good Zhang Xiangguo's reasons are, I believe Zhizhengtang will not agree this time."

Zhang Jun laughed and said, "Actually, I wouldn't agree either!"

The conditions proposed by Chen Qing were rejected by both Emperor Zhao Gou and Zhizhengtang. At this point, the negotiations could no longer go on, and actually broke down.

Chen Qing doesn't want silver and copper coins. The reason why he asks the price is that the other party can't afford it. Otherwise, he can negotiate a price that the other party can accept. Once an agreement is reached, the huge compensation will eventually fall on the heads of the people in the south of the Yangtze River. Chen Qinghui was hated by the entire Jiangnan people, he would not do such a stupid thing.

What Chen Qing really wants is Fujian Road. He is determined to get Fujian Road. As Zhang Jun said, Chen Qing just wants to look good, that’s all. As for the permanent promise, it is meaningless in front of Jiangshan Sheji. Back then, Zhao Kuangyin also vowed to protect the great Zhou country forever, but what happened?
What's more, even if Chen Qing agreed, his subordinates, officials and generals would not agree. Everyone has been fighting for this for many years, how could they give up for a false name.

Only the strong can live in the country, and it is too naive for Zhao Gou to restrain the other party through a promise.

At this time, Chen Qing had returned to Jingzhao, and the next step was to embark on an important reform of official positions, completely decoupling magistrates from the court in terms of jurisprudence.

This is a reform he has been brewing for many years, and now he is finally about to implement it.

(End of this chapter)