I studied in modern times

Chapter 306
When Zhao Xu led people to Baoci Palace, the two palaces were sighing.

The lack of snow has caused huge psychological pressure on them.

"Your Majesty, how about sending your ministers to the northern suburbs to offer sacrifices to the sky and pray for snow?" he suggested to the Queen Mother.

The Empress Dowager nodded: "This is the only way!"

"If it doesn't snow by the first lunar month, I'm afraid I and the officials will have to pray for snow!"

This was the case in the Song Dynasty.

God it won't rain/it rains too much, the sun doesn't come out/the sun stays out, it snows/it doesn't snow.

They all had to send their prime minister to the northern suburbs to pray to heaven and earth. If the prime minister couldn't do it, the emperor himself had to go out and pray sincerely.

This is determined by the times.

Although the scholar-bureaucrats have commented on the classics and meanings of the Han and Tang Confucian scholars, they have all been criticized as worthless.

But the people still believe it.

Therefore, there are these operations.

First, send the prime minister to pray for snow. If it snows, everything will be fine. If not, you can delay it. After ten days and a half, the emperor will be safe again.

In this way, the emperor's sanctity can basically be maintained and the people below can be fooled.

As for your question: What if the emperor goes to pray for snow/rain and it doesn’t work?

You have encountered a once-in-a-hundred-year disaster. Consider yourself unlucky and just punish yourself!

This is what the two palaces are worried about!
When a new official takes the throne, if there is no snow in the first year, the impact will be very bad.

Maybe the people below will think that it won't snow this year because the two palaces are in charge of politics, and the Yin energy interferes with the Yang energy!

So, I was worried.

When Zhao Xu arrived, he managed to squeeze out a smile.

"Mother, mother, are you worried that it won't snow for a long time?" Zhao Xu asked after saying goodbye, and then sat down skillfully between the two palaces.

"Alas!" The Empress Dowager sighed and said, "The officials must have also read the memorials that were handed over to the local government..."

"Yongxing Army, Jingzhao Prefecture, Henan Prefecture and Kaifeng Prefecture have not seen any snow since December..."

"The government and the public are talking a lot about it!"

Zhao Xu nodded and replied: "Sun Chen is also worried about this!"

"There may be a reason for this warning from God..."

Didn’t the scholar-bureaucrats want him to believe in the telepathy between heaven and man?

Zhao Xu said: I believe it now!

There is no point in debating this kind of thing. ,

This is not only because both palaces are superstitious people, but also because the scholar-bureaucrats actually do not believe in Dong Zhongshu's divine connection.

Zhao Xu simply couldn't do it, not only to convince the two palaces, but also to silence the scholar-bureaucrats.

Simply open your mind - I believe it!

Not only did I believe it, but I also made a fuss about it.

"Mother and Queen, Sun Chen thought that the lack of snow might be related to the grievances in prison..."

"Why don't we issue an edict to the Yongxing Army and other places, and order all the criminal officials and state and county judges to inspect the prisons in various places, try to close the backlog of cases, and strive to empty the prisons!"

"As for the capital, we should pay more attention to it. We should not only ask the Kaifeng Prefecture to supervise the division and close the old cases, but also review the three courts to see if there are any unjust cases..."

Both palaces nodded, they had the same idea.

Regardless of whether what the ministers said makes sense or not, it is clear now that God will not let it snow.

In the eyes of the superstitious two palaces, this is a warning from God.

Why the warning?
Either there is an unjust case, and it involves a wide range of unjust cases.

Either there is a treacherous official in the government!

Of course, the two palaces refused to admit that there were treacherous ministers in the court.

Because these prime ministers are either the auxiliary ministers left by the late emperor, or the prime ministers appointed by the two palaces themselves.

If there are treacherous ministers among these people, it is either because the late emperor hired people improperly, or the two palaces themselves did not know the people well.

This... is unacceptable to both palaces now.

The former disagreed with the Queen Mother, and the latter was unwilling to admit it.

Therefore, it can only be an unjust case.

Zhao Xu took the opportunity to quietly light a cold stove and said in a pretense of worry: "Mother-in-law, Queen Mother, and Sun Chen are still worried for some reason!"

"What if God warns us that it is not just an unjust case, but also a military disaster?"

The two palaces suddenly became nervous.

"Military disaster? What's the explanation for this?" Queen Mother Xiang asked quickly.

Zhao Xu sighed and said, "Sun Chen heard that before the rebellion of the Western thief Yuan Hao, there were also natural disasters in the Song Dynasty!"

"Sun Chen was in Jiying Hall. The gentlemen once said that they would compile a "Three Dynasties Treasures" and teach it to Sun Chen through Renmiao, Yingmiao and Huangkao..."

"In the past few days, Sun Chen has been in Funing Palace, ordering people to take various precious teachings and virtuous notes from Zhongren Temple in Chongwen Academy for self-examination..."

"Unintentionally, I learned that in the first year of Renmiao Baoyuan, before the rebellion of the Western thief Yuan Hao, Song Qi, the then Tongzhi Liyuan, wrote a letter..."

"At the time of Song Qi, just like today's imperial censors, he wrote a letter to advise, saying that natural disasters had occurred frequently in recent years. This might be a warning from God, so he asked Renmiao for a seal of self-cultivation..."

As he spoke, Zhao Xu took out the copy of Song Qi's Memorials from Chongwen Academy and handed it to the two palaces: "The mother-in-law and the queen can take a look..."

"A master who never forgets the past!" Zhao Xu sighed: "Since the past ten months, disasters have continued... Heavy rains in October, Daming Prefecture called the police... Now there is no snow in Yongxing, Jingzhao, Henan, Kaifeng, etc. …”

"Sun Chen, I am really worried. There will be a war and Li Shu will be injured!" The two palaces listened to Zhao Xu's words and then looked at the memorials from the Fengren Temple era in their hands.

My heart was beating loudly.

In the first year of Baoyuan, Yuan Hao rebelled, and immediately there were wars!
The Great Song Dynasty suffered successive defeats in Sanchuankou, Haoshuichuan and Dingchuan Village, and almost every family in Bianjing was in a state of poverty.

"How could this happen?" The Queen Mother was confused at first and was frightened.

"Isn't the Western Thief very respectful now?" Xiang Taihou said.

"Mother, before Yuan Hao rebelled, no one knew he would rebel!"

"In the first year of Baoyuan, Yuan Hao even sent envoys to pay tribute!"

"Besides, he may not be a Western thief..."

"To be honest with my mother and queen...Sun Chen has been waking up in the middle of the night these days...very uneasy..."

"Brother Six, why didn't you tell me?" Empress Dowager Xiang immediately grabbed Zhao Xu's hand.

"How dare your son make his mother worried?"

"If a minister hadn't mentioned this today, I wouldn't be willing to talk about these things..."

Seeing the sincere expression on Zhao Xu's face and the uneasiness in his eyes, the two palaces also sighed.

"If this is indeed the case, what should we do?" the Empress Dowager sighed.

"We can only prepare the army for war!" Zhao Xu said.

He looked at the Empress Dowager and said softly: "Mother, the person Sun Chen is worried about is not a Western traitor..."

"On the border between our country and the Western Bandits, all the ministers along the border reported: The city defense is strong and the military morale is available. Even if the Western Bandits invade, we can deal with it calmly..."

"Beibei is now friendly with our country and is unlikely to join the invaders..."

"Sun Chen is worried about another Yuan Hao!"

"If there is another Yuan Hao, the country will be in trouble from now on!"

The two palaces were immediately frightened by Zhao Xu's words.

A single Western thief had already made three generations of the Song Dynasty miserable.

Another Western thief?
terrible!

However, after Lianggong thought about it carefully, he felt that it might be the official (sixth brother) who scared him.

After all, there were only a few bordering countries around the Song Dynasty.

Let’s put aside the Northern and Western bandits.

Only Dali, Jiaozhi, Tubo and Song Dynasty have land borders.

Dali Kingdom has been invisible for a long time and doesn't look like someone who can cause trouble.

The remaining Jiaozhi were also defeated by the late emperor.

Could it be Tubo?

The two palaces were worried as they thought about it.

They have read history books and naturally know how powerful Tubo was during the Tang Dynasty!
At the end of the Tang Dynasty, when Tubo declined, it gradually lost its danger, but no one knew the situation on the snowy mountains.

In case, the Tubo people on the snow-capped mountains were unified again, and then went straight down the Qingtang.

This Song Dynasty border defense really needs another powerful enemy!

Therefore, both palaces agreed to Zhao Xu's proposal.

First prepare for war in Bianjing and prepare a large army in advance that can put out fires in emergencies!
It's called being prepared.

It is also something that the two palaces will do - the empress dowager and empress dowager who live deep in the palace do not know much about economics and finance.

In their eyes, spending a little money is nothing!
Even if it turns out that the money was wasted, it doesn't matter.

As long as you have peace of mind, just have peace of mind!

But, where can we mobilize such an army that can respond to changes in all directions at any time?
This made both palaces somewhat hesitant.

It should be noted that Bianjing's imperial army has almost been mobilized now.

The palace commanders, bodyguards, and horse infantry troops that once surrounded the military camps inside and outside Bianjing are all now empty.

These forbidden troops were gradually transferred to the northwest border after the Song-Xia War and never came back.

Today's Bianjing Forbidden Army is actually very empty.

The total number of the three yamen, including the troops of Kaifeng Mansion, is only about [-].

This is also the reason why Wang Anshi implemented a defense method in the capital - the capital is empty. If there is a change, the northern captives or someone marches straight in. It will be difficult for King Qin's army to arrive for a while, and it will be over.

However, as Han Jiang came to power, he gradually abolished the Baojia Law except along the border, Hebei, and Hedong. In a few years, there were not even a few Baojia militia available in Bianjing City.

Zhao Xu looked at the two palaces and suggested softly: "The mother-in-law and the queen mother, why not send an imperial edict to transfer [-] stationed imperial troops from Hebei back to Beijing..."

"At the same time, from the Forbidden Army in Bianjing, ten commanders who had been garrisoning along the border were selected and handed over to the general to organize the army and practice martial arts in preparation for emergencies..."

"With [-] battle-hardened warriors at hand, even if the police suddenly arrive, we won't be caught off guard by the bandits!"

After hearing this, the Empress Dowager asked: "Hebei has mobilized [-] forbidden troops. If something happens to Hebei..."

Zhao Xu smiled and said: "No!"

"The current master of Beilu has something to ask for from our court. What's more, the emperor's grandson of Beilu and Sun Chen are 'confidant classmates' and have exchanged articles and notes many times!"

"It can be seen from this that the Lord of Beilu and his grandson should be people who observe etiquette and will not rashly turn against our court... Since Beilu is untrustworthy, the imperial army in Beijing can also rush to help immediately..."

The two palaces were finally convinced. The Queen Mother and Queen Mother Xiang looked at each other and said to Zhao Xu, "The officials are still thoughtful!"

Queen Mother Xiang followed: "Sixth brother is indeed a smart and handsome man!"

(End of this chapter)