Outlaws of the Marsh

Chapter 574 Raising troops to the south (please subscribe!)
...

After Cai Tao was ordered to suspend his post, he could see personally that Cai Jing's position as prime minister had come to an end.

But Cai Jing, who is nostalgic for power, still refuses to take the initiative to withdraw from the position. He very much hopes that he can be the prime minister for a few more years.

After waiting and waiting, Zhao Ji finally couldn't wait any longer, so Zhao Ji asked Tong Guan and Cai You, who had just returned from Yanjing, to go to Cai Jing's house, and asked Cai Jing to thank him.

Cai Jing had no choice but to hand in the prime minister's seal and write a resignation form.

Cai Jing only served as prime minister for only four months this time, and finally stepped down sadly.

Throughout Cai Jing's life, although he could not escape flattery, flattery, manipulation of power, domineering, and domineering, he was still a qualified prime minister.

If Cai Jing can be 20 years younger, even if he is only ten years younger, and Cai Jing, who is experienced and capable, assists Zhao Ji through this most difficult time, it is possible that the subsequent shame of Jingkang will not happen.

Throughout history, Li Bangyan, Bai Shizhong, Cai You and others are really not 01:30 worse than Cai Jing at his peak.

However, time, luck, and fate.

On May [-]th, on the grounds that Tong Guan "recovered Yanshan Prefecture and other prefectures and took over Gaotuo Mountain, etc.", Zhao Ji issued an imperial edict asking the ministers to consider making Tong Guan King of Guangyang County.

On June [-]th, Zhao Ji officially promulgated the imperial edict that Taishi and Tong Guan, Duke of Yu State, were granted the title of King of Guangyang County according to the former Taishi, leader of the Privy Council, and Xuanfu envoy of Hebei, Hedong and Shaanxi.

Zhi said: "The king's affirmation of the prestige of the Nine Expeditions is a great virtue for the people and the peace of the people, and the minister's concern for the four quarters is a great honor for breaking the evil and disgusting..."

Prior to this, in the Song Dynasty, people with different surnames were not relatives, and there was no title of king.

It was a special situation for Li Yan, Zhao Ji was not sealed, and Li Yan himself was banned, and Zhao Ji would have to hold his nose to recognize it, so it is better to be a favor.

In the early days of Cai Jing's administration, in order to adhere to the political needs of Shaoshu's theory, Cai Jing once suggested that Zhao Ji should make Wang Anshi the king of Shu.

Later, He Zhizhong was named King of Qinghe County by Zhao Ji.

But they were all given posthumously.

Tong Guan was the only one who was enshrined as the county king alive, which was unprecedented in the Song Dynasty.

Tong Guan was not only crowned king, but also a eunuch.

This is only three in Chinese history.

The first is Zong Ai, an eunuch in the Northern Wei Dynasty during the Southern and Northern Dynasties.

Zong Ai was a confidant of Tuoba Tao, Emperor Taiwu of the Northern Wei Dynasty, and Emperor Taiwu later died at the hands of Zong Ai.After the death of Emperor Taiwu, Zong Ai made Tuoba Yu the emperor, and Tuoba Yu named him King Feng Yi.Tuobayu later tried to regain the imperial power, but was killed by Zongai.Zong Ai killed two emperors in a row, and was considered the craziest eunuch in Chinese history. Later, he was given five punishments by the new emperor Tuoba Jun.

The second is Li Fuguo, the eunuch in power during the Suzong period of Tang Dynasty.

Li Fuguo was ugly and had helped Emperor Suzong ascend the throne.After Suzong's death, he supported Daizong and became increasingly arrogant, calling himself "an old slave who oppressed the emperor".Daizong named him King Bolu, and soon sent someone to assassinate him.

The third place is Tong Guan.

Tong Guan led his troops to Yanjing in the fifth year of Xuanhe.

Why was it not crowned king at that time, but it happened two years later?Moreover, Tong Guan in the middle has served as an official.

Back then, when Zhao Ji held a ceremony outside the Jinglong Gate to welcome the triumphant return of the Song army, he was very indifferent to Tong Guan, because Yanjing was not recovered by the Song army, but was bought back by Li Yanrang and the imperial court from the Jin army.

Because of this, Zhao Ji was dissatisfied with Tong Guan. Soon, Zhao Ji dismissed Tong Guan from his post and ordered him to retire.

In fact, the reason why Zhao Ji did this inconsistent thing is very simple-now, Zhao Ji cannot do without Tong Guan, and the Song Dynasty, which is precarious in the wind and rain, cannot do without Tong Guan.

Although Zhao Ji is cynical and has done a lot of ridiculous things, he is not a fool.

In the past few years, the country's affairs have been sluggish, and the attitude of the Jin people on the border has become more and more elusive. There is also the hidden danger of Guo Yaoshi and the Changsheng Army in the Yanshan area. Although the peasant riots have subsided for the time being, they may revive at any time.

Therefore, Zhao Ji urgently needs someone like Tong Guan who understands the military and can shake the situation to protect Da Song and let Da Song go through this difficult period smoothly.

Zhao Ji originally thought that Tan Zhen was a good material who could replace Tong Guan, but the practice proved that Tan Zhen was not successful enough to reveal his troubles, and Zhao Ji reused Tong Guan in desperation.

Tong Guan is 72 years old this year, and most of Tong Guan's contemporaries have left the court—Deng Xunwu died four years ago, and Zheng Juzhong also passed away two years ago.

The younger ministers, such as Bai Shizhong, Li Bangyan, Cai You, Yu Wencuizhong, etc., are all literati who don't understand military affairs, and they can't control the scene.

After much deliberation, Zhao Ji felt that no one could replace Tong Guan.

Therefore, if you want to defend the border and maintain the safety of Song Dynasty, you have to rely on Tong Guan.

Therefore, Zhao Ji hopes to win over Tong Guan with the highest reward of being a king, and hopes that Tong Guan can do his best for the stability of the Song Dynasty.

Tong Guan is very happy to be crowned king.

This is also normal, after all, this is the highest honor of a courtier.

With the approval of Zhao Ji, Tong Guan expanded his mansion a lot, making it more magnificent.

It is said that the construction workers congratulated Tong Guan and asked for a reward. Tong Guan was happy and rewarded each craftsman with a golden bowl.

This shows how happy Tong Guan is.

At the same time that Tongguan was made king, Zhao Ji also promoted Cai You as Taibao and let Cai You lead the affairs of the Privy Council.

Taibao, Taishi, and Taifu are collectively called "Three Gongs", and they all belong to the first rank, and they are all added titles to express favor.

Cai You once served as the deputy commander of the Northern Expedition and had contact with the army. In Zhao Ji's eyes, Cai You can also be regarded as a good soldier, and he can be Tong Guan's successor in the future.

Zhao Ji hoped that Tong Guan and Cai You, the young and old, could take on the heavy responsibility of the Song Dynasty's national defense.

But just when Tong Guanhuan was celebrating his winning the throne happily, and when Cai You was using all means to cultivate his own power, Ma Kuo, who was always paying attention to the news in the north, suddenly discovered that Wanyan Zonghan had returned to the cloud and was organizing forces to repair Feihu County And Lingqiu county fortifications.

Ma Kuo was very vigilant, and immediately wrote to Tong Guan to report the situation, and suggested that Tong Guan quickly dispatch elite soldiers from Shaanxi to guard Zhongshan Mansion and Zhending Mansion, and select wise and brave generals to guard the Yizhou area, in case the Jin army suddenly launched a southward invasion .

Neither Tong Guan nor Cai You paid much attention to Ma Kuo's letter.

Tong Guan and Cai You still believe that the Jin Kingdom has just been established, the domestic situation is still unstable, and there is a strong neighbor, Liangshan, at the side. It is impossible to take the risk of sending troops south at this time. In order to blackmail more money from Da Song.

Therefore, Tong Guan and Cai You feel that there is no need to pay attention to this matter.

however--

The development of the matter was completely beyond the expectations of Tong Guan and Cai You—the elites of the Kingdom of Jin far in the northeast are secretly planning to move their troops south at this time...

……

(End of this chapter)