I studied in modern times

Chapter 497 The rift between the two palaces

The imperial garden behind the Funing Palace.

Zhao Xu walked with Empress Dowager Xiang and admired the beautiful scenery of the Imperial Garden in May.

Butterflies flutter and bees surround you.

Mother and son walked side by side, talking about things in the palace.

There are just concubines on the left and right who want to benefit their own families, or they are relatives of some family who are getting married recently and want something from the palace.

They were all trivial matters. Zhao Xu listened and only agreed.

He has little interest in these things and doesn't bother to pay attention to them.

As they talked, the Queen Mother began to talk about state affairs. These days, Zhao Xu deliberately avoided participating in state affairs and seemed to only read the books of sages.

Empress Dowager Xiang often came to Funing Palace to talk to Zhao Xu, study with Zhao Xu, and communicate with Zhao Xu about some state affairs.

"Sixth brother, Ali Gu of Tubo sent an envoy to write a letter begging Xihe Zhongpu and others not to cross the border to recruit Tibetan people..."

"There were endless discussions in the court, and many ministers thought that Zhong Pu and others should be warned, and more importantly, the guardian Zhao Xi should be strictly ordered to restrain Zhong Pu and others not to rise to the side..."

"What do Sixth Brother think?" As he said that, Queen Mother Xiang looked at Zhao Xu.

Zhao Xu listened, smiled softly, and said: "Mother, I heard that I reported this to my uncle secretly..."

"It is said that Qingyi, the great Tubo leader in Hezhou and Huangzhou, who abused the people under his rule and forced them to have no livelihood, knew that I was a virtuous government, so they came to vote one after another..."

"This is the victory of the saint's teaching of benevolence and righteousness!"

"That Qingyi, who is a ghost seal, does not use benevolence and justice, does not practice etiquette, and cannot calm the people. The people will naturally come to our court. Do they still have the face to come to Bianjing to complain?"

Empress Dowager Xiang was stunned: "Has Xiang Zonghui always reported to Sixth Brother about Xihe?"

Zhao Xu hummed: "Since I went to Xihe, my uncle often rushed to the capital on horseback. He would greet his son, or talk to his son about the customs and customs of Xihe. He only said: I am at the border and see the suffering of the people. The soldiers and the people are in great difficulty, but here are a few tips. I would like your Majesty to investigate in detail..."

"My son has learned a lot about things far away..."

In fact, Zhao Xu probably knows some of the details on Xihe Road.

Xiang Zonghui and Gao Gongji would write to him every three or five times by horse delivery or urgent horse delivery to report on the situation in the cotton fields and Xihe, as well as the horse buying at the horse racing farm.

In addition, the few ministers Li Xian left in Xihe will also report to him regularly.

Zhao Xi and other civil and military ministers in Xihe will also report certain matters to the court regularly according to the system.

Although these people may not tell Zhao Xu and the court the true local situation - deceiving the superiors and concealing the truth from the inferiors is the traditional style of the bureaucracy. Reporting good news but not bad news is a routine operation in the officialdom.

But your words and my words can still outline something.

In addition, Zhao Xu now has old border ministers like Li Xian and Gan Zhaoji as assistants, serving as consultants and staff to help Zhao Xu understand the situation in Xihe, Fuyan, Jingyuan and other places.

As a result, Zhao Xu was able to know things thousands of miles away even though he was in Bianjing.

Based on what Zhao Xu knows now, there should be a shortage of labor in Xihe.

The main reason is that the reclamation and planting area of ​​cotton fields are constantly expanding.

There are many people, although they can’t keep up with this year’s cotton fields.

But when they saw Xiang Zong returning to their cotton fields and heard about the possible expected profits, they all started reclamation work.

There is not much else on the other side of the Xihe River.

There is so much unclaimed wasteland!

Therefore, along with Xihe's civil and military ministers and local powerful Han people, they all began to invest in reclamation and construction.

Xihe's manpower shortage problem began to become apparent.

Cheap labor, in particular, became scarce.

But can a living person still be choked to death by urinating?

The civil and military ministers on the other side of the Xihe River, and even the local powerful Han people, started the Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea, each showing his magical powers.

Although I don’t know, what exactly did they do?

But one obvious fact is that they started to import labor from outside like crazy.

Judging from the reports of Li Xian's old ministries, it seems that they initially recruited labor through pilgrims from Tibet, Dangxiang and Han teams.

However, they soon discovered that this recruitment speed was too slow and unsatisfactory.

So, they started to take the initiative.

The result of these people taking the initiative was that the Dangxiang, Qiang, and Tubo people around Xihe were attracted in large numbers to Xihe Road.

The Xihe Song Army may have carried out several armed escort operations - and may have even teamed up with Tibetan leaders like Wen Xixin and Wen Baxin who were dissatisfied with Ali Gu to do some operations that may not be convenient for the court to know. Many people were 'taken away' from Qingyi Jie Guizhang.

That's probably what happened - even if there was a difference, it probably wouldn't be much different.

So, will the Tubo and Dangxiang people sit back and watch as Xihe sucks blood?

impossible!

Now that the Tubo people have come to Bianjing to file a complaint, it is likely that their inner peace faction is making a final attempt.

Once, Bianjing's reply was not to their liking.

Zhao Xu felt that the war was likely to be brought forward.

Because this year's drought is still continuing and may even expand.

The drought is spreading from Huainan Road to the north, and drought is also occurring in western Beijing.

Under the influence of the global Little Ice Age climate, the Central Plains located within the precipitation line is experiencing drought.

What about Qingtang River, Huanglingxia and Hexi?

I'm afraid the disaster will only get worse.

And under drought, more and more people will be unable to survive.

In order to survive, more and more Tubo, Dangxiang, and Qiang people fled to the Song Dynasty.

It was very convenient for these people to flee to the Song Dynasty.

There is no Great Wall on the other side of Xihe, and there is no concept of border there.

Especially the nomadic people, who live in pursuit of water and grass as the seasons change.

Especially those small tribes, they really come and go at will.

Dang Xiang might be better off and the management should be stricter.

The loose regime of Tubo in the Qing Tang Dynasty could not control the small tribes below.

When people couldn't survive, Run fled to the Song Dynasty without any effort.

In the past, Xihe might have disliked these people.

The poor people from Hehuang came to Song Dynasty to beg for food!

roll!

Now...

I'm afraid it's too late to welcome you.

Where is this begging for food?

He is clearly the boy of the God of Wealth.

So, war is imminent.

Moreover, this is a two-way war.

Zhao Xu could see the hidden eagerness of these guys from the secret reports from Xiang Zonghui and Gao Gongji, as well as the written reports from Zhao Xi, Wang Wenyu, Li Hao and others.

They do it on purpose.

They are provoking!

They are eager to fight!

This is Zhao Xu's experience in his previous life - whether ministers dare to fight or dare not fight can be seen from the words.

As for the Tubo people and the Dangxiang people, even if they don't have these things.

Under the coercion of drought, they would also make the same choice of sending troops south.

In his previous life, the Song Dynasty had made so many concessions, and Sima Guang even ceded territory to pray for peace, but in the end war broke out.

What's more, nowadays, the Song Dynasty is very tough, and Xihe is even actively provoking and intensifying conflicts.

Running in both directions, Zhao Xu knew that the war would definitely break out in advance.

So a few days ago, he decided to arrange for brothers Zhong Jianzhong and Zhong Shizhong to go to Xihe to occupy a pit and gain experience.

Does the Queen Mother know about these twists and turns?

As soon as she heard Zhao Xu's words, she felt happy in her heart.

I am very satisfied with Xiang Zonghui's performance of being respectful, cautious, considerate of the country, and understanding the righteousness.

In her opinion, only in this way can the Xiang family be rich and prosperous for a long time, and this is the right choice for the Maoyan family and its descendants.

So he smiled and said: "Although Xiang Zonghui is not very effective, he still knows how to be loyal to the country and knows how to talk to Sixth Brother about the local situation... This is what a relative should be like!"

Zhao Xu laughed happily after hearing this: "Mother, my uncle is my uncle! Naturally he will help me!"

He smiled and nodded to the Queen Mother: "This is natural!"

"When you treat your family, you will treat your sixth brother!"

While the mother and son were talking, Feng Jing came to report: "The Queen Mother, everyone, Lao Zongyuan from the Qingshou Palace is here. He said that the Qingshou Palace has invited the Queen Mother and everyone to go and discuss it."

"Oh?" After hearing this, Empress Dowager Xiang frowned: "Do you know what happened?" Feng Jingbai said: "I'm telling you, Mrs. Zong Yuanyan, Grand Master Wen seems to have lost his temper... Qingshou Palace was furious. Please, please go to discuss ... "

The Queen Mother immediately let out a deep breath.

Master Wen? !

Wen Yanbo!

Why did he lose his temper? Who dares to offend him?

He was a veteran of the Four Dynasties, a prime minister who had the merit of making decisions and supporting the establishment.

He was also an important military official in the current dynasty - an important minister who was above the prime minister and could pay one homage to the emperor.

He quickly took Zhao Xu to the Qingshou Palace.

……

Empress Dowager Xiang took Zhao Xu to the Qingshou Palace and greeted the Empress Dowager.

The Empress Dowager then said to the Empress Dowager: "Empress Dowager, among the censors in this court, for some reason, someone actually impeached the Grand Master last month."

"Even I don't know about this."

"Today, it suddenly spread in the capital."

"Now Taishi Wen has closed the door to thank guests..."

As she spoke, her face became even more livid.

What annoys her most about this matter is not that someone is impeaching Wen Yanbo, nor is it that Wen Yanbo starts to rely on his old age again.

But - someone was impeaching Wen Yanbo, but she didn't know.

She didn't know there was such a thing until word spread.

This made the Empress Dowager, who had always been powerful and lusty for power and control, really intolerable.

At the same time, she could not help but murmur in her heart - someone who could secretly detain the censor's bullets without telling her.

In addition to her grandson the emperor, there is also Empress Dowager Xiang of Baoci Palace.

After listening to the queen queen, he got up and thanked the sin: "The mother -in -law was angry, but the new woman was not ..."

She glanced at Zhao Xu.

Zhao Xu had already explained it to her on the way to Qingshou Palace.

The purpose of leaving behind the censors' memorial to impeach Taishi Wen was to protect those censors, and even more to give Taishi dignity.

A very reasonable explanation.

It's also in line with Sixth Brother's temperament.

Just ...

Empress Dowager Xiang knew the temperament of the Empress Dowager.

When the late emperor was here, the queen's desire for control was very strong.

The fact that the two kings could not move out of the palace for nineteen years is a clear proof - it should be noted that the four kings, in those nineteen years, begged to move outside the palace dozens of times.

The ministers of the outer court begged the two kings to move there countless times.

The late emperor agreed no less than ten times.

The Qinxian House in Xianyifang has been built for six or seven years.

But the two kings still stayed in the ban.

The reason lies in this concubine.

The late emperor was filial and could only obey his biological mother.

Therefore, when the late emperor became seriously ill after the first lunar month of last year, unhappiness arose, and unusual movements occurred both inside and outside the palace.

As a person who experienced it personally, Queen Mother Xiang naturally remembers it fresh.

She will never forget those days when she prayed to gods and Buddhas day and night in Kunning Hall.

She will never forget the warnings that the Four Great Kings, Mrs. Anren Baoyou, Cai Que and other prime ministers gave her many times.

Thanks to the blessings of the Bodhisattva and the spirit of the ancestors, the Sixth Brother was able to successfully ascend the throne without any danger.

otherwise……

In Bianjing today, it is really unclear who is sitting in the court, who is the queen mother, and who is under house arrest.

Although Empress Dowager Xiang knew these things, she must always bury them in her heart and never tell others.

In order to avoid harming the harmony of the heavenly family and affecting the stability of the country and the country.

But these things were still like thorns piercing her heart.

Let her always subconsciously keep a few hands open, make some precautions, and make some preparations.

and so……

The Queen Mother would never tell the real truth to her concubine.

She said softly: "Your Majesty, the imperial censors' memorial to impeach the grand master was made by the bride who asked Brother Six to stay in the imperial examination."

"But I forgot to tell my queen, I beg your queen to forgive me for this bride's sins."

When Zhao Xu saw this, he also bowed and said, "Sun Chen begs my mother for forgiveness."

The Empress Dowager watched the mother and son apologize in a polite manner in front of her.

There were countless thoughts in my mind, but in the end I could only smile. I stood up and helped the Queen Mother up. I also helped Zhao Xu up and said: "The Queen Mother and the official family are all one family. It doesn't have to be like this. It doesn't have to be like this!"

She knew it very well in her heart.

As long as she keeps the same pace as the Queen Mother and her son, she, the Queen Mother, can be completely ignored.

She also understood that many things were actually clear to the Queen Mother.

Otherwise, Empress Dowager Xiang would not have sent Yan Shouqin to Daxiangguo Temple to pray for the late emperor in the name of an official.

Fortunately, this daughter-in-law does things in a measured way.

Otherwise, I don’t know how many twists and turns there will be.

Then he pulled down the queen mother and Zhao Yan, and said, "The old body knows, the queen mother thinks about it in order to peace."

As of now, that's all it can do.

She looked at Zhao Xu's obedient appearance, reached out her hand gently, touched Zhao Xu's head, and continued: "I don't mean to blame him, but if similar things happen in the future, the Queen Mother should send someone to talk to me."

"The bride understands!" nodded to the Queen Mother.

The Queen Mother nodded, looking understanding. But what is she thinking in her heart? But only she knew it.

"Your Majesty..." asked the Empress Dowager: "Neither the bride nor Sixth Brother have told anyone about this matter..."

On the way, she has asked.

Brother Liu never disclosed it to the outside world, but people outside still knew about it.

This once again proves that Ouchi's secrecy is a joke!

The Queen Mother listened and nodded gently. She believed this.

"This matter needs to be investigated strictly!" The Empress Dowager said seriously: "The internal secrets are often known to outsiders. If this continues, what dignity will the Tian family have?"

"Yeah!" nodded to the Queen Mother.

Although both palaces actually knew that this matter was unsolvable.

But you still have to do it.

Even if it's just a show, catching a few unlucky guys and killing chickens and monkeys is fine.

You can't just do nothing and let the people below talk nonsense!

"What about the Grand Master?" The Empress Dowager said worriedly, "How should we deal with it?"

Wen Yanbo has now closed the door and thanked guests.

If this veteran of the Four Dynasties cannot be appeased quickly, and if he continues to show his temper, if the news spreads to the Liao Kingdom, and the allies are surprised, thinking that the Song Dynasty does not respect the veteran, what should we do?

If the Liao people make another mark on their own history books, the entire Song Dynasty will lose all face.

At this time, Zhao Xu chose to speak and said, "Mother, Queen, how about I go to the Grand Master's residence and visit to express my condolences?"

"It just so happens that I also plan to come to the Grand Master's residence to congratulate him on his birthday this year."

The two palaces looked at each other and then both laughed.

"The official idea is a good one." The Empress Dowager said first.

Now the only one who can coax Wen Yanbo back is the Emperor himself.

And Wen Yanbo was indeed qualified enough to have the emperor come to comfort him in person.

"It's just that if this happens..." said the Queen Mother, "those censors must be dealt with."

The Queen Mother listened and nodded slightly. This was the intended meaning of the question.

Although the imperial dynasty system allowed the imperial censor to hear and report matters.

But if trouble is caused, the censor will have to take care of it himself.

(End of this chapter)