Became a feudal lord in the late Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 287 The Imperial Seal
Liu Ling often saves money when he can. He had previously considered that if he really became emperor, he would have to have a palace. Coincidentally, the old imperial city of the Liao Kingdom was located within the city of Yanjing, so he settled there without allocating much money for repairs. That was how he lived anyway.

But when the Han army went south last time, Han Fang was stationed in Yanjing, and he still tried to find a way to get some money to repair the imperial city, thinking that it would not be so shabby when the lord ascended the throne in the future.

After Liu Ling returned to Yandi this time, Yanjing didn't immediately become restless. After all, some things and processes couldn't be omitted.

In the morning, ministers wearing various official robes stood in front of the main hall, waiting for the door to open. Special officials checked the names and official positions one by one on both sides of the team and in the crowd.

Han Fang was wearing a black official robe, and standing next to him was Shi Liai, who was also dressed in black.

The latter looked towards the main hall, a trace of desolation flashed in his eyes.

He couldn't remember how many years ago it was. On the day when he was granted the title of Jiedushi of a town, he stood in front of this hall like everyone else, waiting to see the emperor.

Now he is the Emperor of Han Dynasty.

"The envoy from the Song Dynasty has arrived?" he asked after calming down.

"Here we come." Han Fang nodded, "The Xia Kingdom is in ruins. Three envoys came at once. The Jin people also sent envoys to congratulate us."

"Walk."

Just when everyone was having their own thoughts, there was a slight sound at the palace door. Suddenly, all the movements in the ranks of officials disappeared. Everyone quickly adjusted their official robes and expressions at extremely fast speeds, and stood silently in the ranks. middle.

"The Lord has spoken his word, and all the officials have come to see him!"

The drum is the gathering drum in the army.

Although Liu Ling forbade the eunuchs to enter the palace again, he kept all these old eunuchs in the palace to serve and support them. However, no one was allowed to enter the palace to become eunuchs through self-castration in the future.

The crowd began to move forward slowly with him. The first row of officials wore purple official robes, followed by bright red, and finally cyan. Only the leading ministers wore black official robes.

"quiet!"

Han Shizhong stood at the door of the palace and looked at everyone. After all the officials entered the palace, he also stepped into the palace.

Previously, it was Wanyan Loushi who died in the Tianshan battle, with no body left; then Wanyan Gao died in the battle in front of Songting Pass. The Jin Kingdom lost not only two senior generals, but also the Jin Dynasty was buried with them. There are tens of thousands of elites in the country and a group of outstanding mid-level and high-level generals.

Han Fang was filled with joy. He had witnessed the demise of his motherland before, but fortunately, he had witnessed the rapid decline of the enemy country due to his own efforts.

Han Fang said.

He was the only person in the court who entered the palace in armor.

The palace people and the honor guards stood on both sides. All the rituals had been finalized and rehearsed in advance. Now they looked like they were showing the official dignity of the court. For a time, there were many Liao officials in the team. Everyone's eyes were red and they couldn't help but wipe the tears from the corners of their eyes.

The one who finally shouted was an old eunuch, shouting at the top of his lungs.

Later, Han Chang was captured, which prompted his father Han Qinghe to surrender directly to the Han people with more than 10,000 soldiers and horses under careful persuasion. At the same time, it also triggered a wave of Liaodong Han people to go south to surrender.

The palace door slowly opened, and a general wearing golden armor stepped out. The armor shone in the sunlight, making everyone squint their eyes slightly.

The drums were beating loudly, and many of them had followed the King of Han in his expeditions to the north and south. For a moment, they seemed to be in the army again. It seemed that everyone was still standing in front of the commander's tent, waiting for the military meeting to hear the King of Han's order. Which target should I defeat next time?

After Han Shizhong finished shouting, the same two generals in golden armor climbed onto the high platform, stood in front of the military drum, and began to beat the drum with all their strength according to the rhythm.

Yanyun is short of people, but that was only in the past. Liu Ling began to try his best to fill Yanyun with the population five years ago. Now it has become saturated. Therefore, even after the Han people from Liaodong surrendered, they were often placed near the Great Wall. They must Only by establishing meritorious deeds can their family members live in Yanyun,

On the east side of the square in front of the main hall, two military drums were placed unknown when.

Han Shizhong said loudly.

Han Shizhong looked intently and suddenly couldn't hold back his smile - the old eunuch who was shouting was clearly none other than Tong Guan.

After Tong Guan shouted, the ministers waited quietly. There were slight footsteps at the back of the hall. Immediately, Liu Ling stepped out, wearing a black robe and a soaring crown, and walked slowly to the dragon chair. , shook off his long sleeves, and then sat down on the dragon chair, looking at the crowd below.

"Greetings to the king!"

Tong Guan shook the fly whisk in his arms and said loudly,

Immediately, more than 200 civil and military officials, large and small, bowed down to Liu Ling in the court hall.

“The Lord is a thousand years old!”

Liu Ling glanced at Tong Guan next to him playfully, and said softly: "Master Tong, are you still used to it?"

"The Lord is joking."

Tong Guanqi smiled and said: "Old slave doesn't know how to do other things. The Lord can reward me for having an errand here. It's too late for me to be happy."

Liu Ling withdrew his gaze and waited quietly for Bai Guan Shan's call to end.

This can be regarded as his first morning court in a proper manner. Today's rituals and ceremonies were all ordered in advance. He specially asked the Confucian scholar to lead a group of civil servants to study for more than ten days and figure out a set of solemn and not cumbersome procedures. .

After the thousand-year-old Shanhu was over, Tong Guan once again said loudly: "The Lord of the country has an order, and the country will prepare for the war."

Han Fang had known this for a long time, so he immediately took out a few documents. A eunuch came over, took them from his hands, and then put them on the desk in front of Liu Ling.

Immediately afterwards, Han Fang said loudly: "I have three things to report today. First, I am reporting to Wu La Haicheng that the Yellow River river project is about to be completed. However, I recently reviewed the account books and found that the money and food used for the river construction project were seriously corrupted. I begged the Lord. Come on, investigate this matter strictly and don’t let this kind of evil trend run rampant in the country!”

Building rivers and cities requires a large number of civilians, as well as a lot of money and food. If it weren't for the river workers in the Houtao area of ​​the Yellow River that spent too much money and food, Liu Ling would have had enough energy to continue attacking south when he went south.

Hearing this, Liu Ling lowered his head and read the first document, and then replied: "Those who are corrupt, regardless of their status, will be convicted according to the degree of the crime, and no extrajudicial mercy will be allowed. The matter was handed over to Cai Jing, the prefect of Yinshan Prefecture, for investigation and handling."

In addition, Wu Lahaicheng was under the rule of Cai Jing. The lax supervision and corruption were Cai Jing's fault. The Zhongshu Province drafted official Chinese documents to hold Cai Jing accountable! "

Han Fang immediately bowed and saluted.

There was a slight commotion in the crowd of officials. Cai Jing was the first to follow the King of Han, and now he was considered a high official in the border areas. One of the descendants of the Cai family was still in the academy, studying with the prince.

Now, he is the first minister ordered to be held accountable in the morning.

Yan Yun's habit of being greedy has never diminished, because Liu Ling started his career in the military, and most of the officials and generals left behind were "old people" who often acted recklessly based on their seniority. Obviously, the King of Han decided to punish Yan Yun severely after he returned to Yanjing. Get rid of this unhealthy trend.

"Secondly, the Jurchens repeatedly violated the borders. The Northern Commander Zhong Shidao and the general manager of Liaodong Zhang Wu sent people to report three times, saying that the Jurchens had repeatedly made moves in Liaodong and had evil intentions."

Han Fang spoke again. The expressions of the officials suddenly became subtle, and many people looked directly at the golden envoy present with a playful look on their faces.

This morning, the Jin envoy came to express his congratulations, but in fact, he wanted to reopen the border trade with the Han Dynasty, because after Wanyan Gao's defeat at Songting Pass last time, Han Fang took the initiative to cut off the trade with the Jin Kingdom. contacts.

The merchants in the Yan region had a deep foundation and were supported by the imperial government. However, the merchants in the Jin Kingdom suddenly had no choice but to take risks and choose smuggling.

Even though Emperor Wanyan Wu Qimai of the Jin Kingdom felt that he had found an opportunity at this time and wanted to imitate Liu Ling in supporting domestic merchants, the Jin Kingdom's treasury could not get much money. Secondly, even if he could provide financial support, the Jin Kingdom's merchants would not be able to provide financial support. In the mall, all the capital was quickly stolen by Yandi merchants, and even the pants were lost.

Liu Ling was silent for a while, seeming to be thinking, and then said casually: "Didn't the Jinren envoy arrive today? Come on, I want an explanation."

After a brief silence, the Jin envoy came out, endured the humiliation, and knelt down directly to him.

"The emperor of our country is also helpless. The people's livelihood in the country is in decline and traitors are rampant. The emperor of our country does not know about this and has no way to control these soldiers who are causing chaos without authorization. Please forgive me, the great man."

"What if I don't understand?"

Liu Ling sat up slightly, stared at the envoy of the Kingdom of Jin who was kneeling on the ground, and said with a smile: "Come, raise your head and tell me, how old is your emperor Wanyan Wu Qimai?"

This was tantamount to face-to-face humiliation, but the Jin envoy hesitated for a moment and had to swallow his anger:
"Returning to the country, the emperor of our country is now fifty-three."

"It is not easy for a fifty-three-year-old person to become an emperor." Liu Ling smiled and said: "Gu Ping always respects the elderly, but if Wanyan Wu Qingmai is too old and confused, even his several dogs If he can't control it, then why should he be an emperor? If he can't sit still, just give up the throne.

There is a good candidate here. Gu's father-in-law used to be the general marshal of your Jurchens. Now why don't your Jin country recommend him as emperor? "

The Jin envoy immediately cursed in his heart.

The King of Han also had many father-in-laws, but the one he was talking about now was of course the Wanyan Queen Mother. The envoy from the Kingdom of Jin did not dare to say anything more on this matter, so he had to kowtow and said loudly: "Da Jin and Da Han have always been In a country of brothers, if a younger brother offends his elder brother, he should be punished!
But I ask the Lord of the Han Dynasty to consider the brotherhood, and the Jin Dynasty is willing to follow the example of the Song Dynasty, cede the land, compensate the yearly coins, and send another princess."

The envoy from the Kingdom of Jin read to the end and then said loudly: "Please, the Lord of the Han Dynasty, please reopen the border customs market, and I, Da Jinyuan, will open a horse market."

"horse?"

Liu Ling leaned back and said casually: "I have Pingzhou, grasslands, and the Western Regions in my hands. I have no shortage of horses."

"Then please tell me, the Lord of the Kingdom, that you must measure the material resources of the Kingdom of Jin and win the favor of the great man!"

Liu Ling ignored him, but looked at Han Fang standing next to him and said:
"Prime Minister, come on, you said there are three things you are going to report today. You have already mentioned the first two things. What is the third thing?"

"minister"

Han Fang took a step forward and suddenly knelt down as well.

"The leader of the country Kaiyuan Qianwu established the cauldron of Yanyun, inherited the ancient Han Dynasty Zuo, and brought peace and stability to the people below. The contribution is in the contemporary era!
And after six years of fighting, the country is now peaceful and the people are safe, and the world is surrendered, all because of one person.
I have the courage to die, and beg the king to ascend the throne and act as the supreme king, so as to calm the hearts of all the surnames in Yanyun! "

When Han Fang finished shouting these words, more than 200 civil and military officials behind him also knelt down. Next to the team, three Xia envoys had already knelt down. The Song envoy gritted his teeth and finally had no choice. Kneel down.

Beside him, there were waves of shouts.

"I second the proposal!"

"I second the proposal!"

"presumptuous!"

Liu Ling's face darkened, he patted the armrest of the dragon chair and said coldly:

"I only wanted to avenge my motherland. When I started my career, I only relied on you and the soldiers and civilians under my rule for assistance. How can I be so virtuous and capable?
Now it is to protect the country and the people. Now that the war has subsided, it is time for the world to be peaceful. I am just a warrior in Yanjing. How dare I claim to be the emperor?

When the time comes, the surrounding countries will ask questions, but how will I deal with myself?
Sirs, you should choose a gentleman and a good master. How dare you think that you are superior to others? "

Han Fang shouted again: "All the people in the world only obey the lord of the country. If there are disobedient people within the four seas, I am willing to be the first to do so and clear the sea for the lord!"

"I second the proposal!"

"I am willing to follow you!"

The court hall was filled with uniform voices urging people to come in. The Song envoy stood alone beside the court hall. Suddenly he felt that it was time for him to kneel down too.

Once he had this idea in his mind, he immediately couldn't stand up. After all, making three concessions and three concessions can only be regarded as a fixed process, but if anyone dares to foolishly sing the opposite during this process, the end will be natural.
"Oh?"

Liu Ling sighed, looked at the only Song envoy still standing in the court hall, and said with a smile: "Song Dynasty, it seems that you are not convinced."

"When I started my family alone, I often accepted the good intentions of the officials of the Song Dynasty and gave money and food to my concubines. If the officials refused, I would not dare to show my respect."

Liu Ling lowered his head in embarrassment. The envoy from the Song Dynasty suddenly became frightened and said quickly: "I have come today on the orders of our Song Dynasty official family. Now, as the Lord of the country said, it should be a time when both Haiyan, Heqing and the Qing Dynasty are safe." , please also ask the king to show mercy and allow the Han and Song Dynasties to build up the Qin and Jin Dynasties again.

For this reason, our officials are willing to donate all the land thousands of miles north of Jizhou and Yan'an Prefecture to celebrate the birthday of the country's leader! "

"This is my country, the Han Dynasty. Is the Song envoy confused?"

Han Fang immediately said loudly.

There was another burst of approval behind and around him, and the Han ministers immediately agreed:
"The Prime Minister is right!"

"I second the proposal!"

The Song envoy's face turned dark and he had to say again: "All the land north of the Yellow River and Hebei can be given to the Han Dynasty."

"Listen, what a good person this Song Dynasty official is."

Liu Ling laughed. Seeing his smile, the envoy from the Song Dynasty finally breathed a sigh of relief. He cursed in his heart that Yan Land was full of evil and greedy beasts from top to bottom.

"It would be nice to build a relationship with you again. It's not impossible."

"But if you ask me, I will do whatever the king says. I, the Song Dynasty, will have no reason to regret it!"

"The people in the official family of the Great Song Dynasty are indeed excellent."

Liu Ling nodded and repeated, and then he said helplessly: "I don't want to embarrass the officials. As long as I give you the imperial seal, I will have an explanation for my ministers, right?"

(End of this chapter)