The struggle of the reborn prince

Now that the return of Zhao Huan caused such a storm in the political arena in the Song Dynasty, Zhao Tong was surprised and helpless. He thought that he had devoted himself to governing the country and improving people's livelihood all these years, and achieved great success in the shortest possible time. Song's rise again, don't ask everyone in the world to say hello, at least they won't rebel against themselves.But this incident sounded the alarm for him—the enemy will never die!But he didn't believe that Zhao Huan, who had just escaped from the cage, dared to challenge his authority before setting foot on the land of the Song Dynasty. No matter how stupid he was, there was a limit. The most important thing at this moment was to find out the truth.

Zhao Tang and his two confidants analyzed for a long time, although they did not find out the mysterious behind-the-scenes pusher, they finally figured out some clues from it.This incident has already threatened the safety of his throne and shaken the foundation of the country's rule. It must not be easily let go. It must be caught and its purpose must be found out.Because this matter may involve the royal family and the ministers of the court, it is not appropriate to conduct it publicly, and the investigation is still carried out secretly by the power of the Imperial City Division.

Zhao Tong ordered Jianxi to continue to investigate the servants in the palace, especially those who were present that day and who they had contacted with, what they had said, and where they had been. identified suspects.And secretly investigated who were the students who incited and instigated the chamber of commerce and the Guozijian to write the letter. At the same time, they asked the intelligence stations in various places to check the source of the news in the local state capital and who they had close contacts with before writing the letter. The key people were the first batch of local officials who wrote the letter He and the general in the army hope to find some clues from their backgrounds and social circles...

In recent days, the ruling and opposition parties have been discussing the matter of "emperor abdicating the throne". However, several chief executives were abnormal and did not express their views, nor did they hold a special meeting on this matter to discuss how to deal with the current chaotic situation.It seems that there is suspicion of condoning the development of events.Their ambiguous attitude has caused dissatisfaction among the 'royalists', and some officials secretly began to join forces to impeach them for disloyalty.Some radicals took advantage of the night to 'dark' the gate of Xu Jingheng's house, chisel out the lion's eyes at the gate of Chen Gongbo's mansion, and spend Zhao Ren's wife's sedan chair.

In fact, it's really not the fault of the ministers.They thought they were the emperor's diehard loyalists, and now they are going to make a joint letter with everyone, but they are inferior.What makes them anxious is that the present tense is developing rapidly and the situation is becoming more and more serious, but the emperor's attitude is not clear, which prevents them from taking decisive measures to deal with it. They can only wait and see the changes and keep abreast of the progress of the incident.

But today the chief executives decided not to wait. The king of Liao will go ashore in Dengzhou in the near future, and the royalists have already released their words.They wanted to intercept and kill the King of Liao along the way and resolutely prevent him from entering the capital. If they really succeeded, a political storm would be inevitable, so everyone decided to 'remind' the emperor at today's court meeting!

"Chen Xiang, how's the peace negotiation going?" Zhao Tang looked at the stern-faced Zai Zhi and asked.

"Your Majesty, the King of Liao has returned to the country. The ministers have reached a consensus with the Kingdom of Jin on some issues according to the agreement. The Song and Jin countries are considered brothers. The status is equal; the two sides do not pay tribute to each other, and open a discussion field on the border between the two countries to conduct transactions. ;Our army withdrew to the north of the ceasefire line to end the hostility. As for the issue of the ownership of the Five Kingdoms and He Landian, we are discussing. I just want to ask your majesty to show me." Chen Gongbo replied hastily when he saw the emperor's question.

"Well, sending the Kingdom of Jin back to the King of Liao is against our army. Do you think it is better to handle the matter of returning the Ministry of the Five Kingdoms to the Song Dynasty?" Zhao Tong nodded and asked.

"Your Majesty, I think that our army has shown sincerity by withdrawing from the land of the Kingdom of Jin to the south bank of the Yalu River. We should not make any more concessions, and we can accept the Ministry of the Five Kingdoms as our state in the Song Dynasty." Chen Gongbo first said .

"Your Majesty, I think it's inappropriate. The Five Kingdoms Department is a branch of the Jurchens. Although its leader A Shu has always taken the overthrow of the Wanyan tribe's rule as his own mission, he has not broken away from the scope of internal affairs. If we rashly accept it, it will easily cause trouble for other kingdoms. I am worried that the rebels in his country will follow his example, so we need to be cautious about accepting the Ministry of Five Kingdoms." Hu Anguo, Minister of the Ministry of Rites, raised objections.

"Your Majesty, I think that if the Five Kingdoms Department returns to the Song Dynasty at this time, it will do more harm than good!" Xu Jingheng said, "The Five Kingdoms Department and the Wanyan Department are feuds, and the two departments are incompatible. If they return to the Song Dynasty, they will definitely fall If we attack with all our strength, our army will have to launch expeditions to support it again and again. This will not only tie down most of our army's strength, but also consume a huge amount of military expenditure. Over time, our Song's national strength will inevitably decline, and we will repeat the mistakes of the Xixia campaign!"

"Well, the ministers are right. Song and Jin are negotiating peace and it is not easy to over-irritate them, but the Ministry of the Five Kingdoms must also stay in Helandian, otherwise the state will not be guaranteed!" Several people are not unreasonable, Zhao Tong thought I want to say.

"Your Majesty wants to rely on Helandian and Shenmi Island to consolidate Baozhou. That is to control the mouth of the Yalu River and gain a bridgehead to attack from the sea. There is no need to rely on Korea for everything, and the Ministry of Five Kingdoms will become our The allied forces can contain the Kingdom of Jin and threaten Goryeo!" Zhao Ren said.

"That's right, that's exactly what I meant. When we first discussed with the Kingdom of Jin, we had left some room. As long as we make good use of it, the problem can be properly resolved!" Zhao Tong said with a smile.

"Oh, Your Majesty is wise. Back then we only promised the Jurchens that they could mediate with the Ministry of the Five Kingdoms, but we did not promise to return He Landian to him and guarantee the withdrawal of the Ministry of the Five Kingdoms, so it is not a breach of contract!" Chen Gongbo immediately remembered the initial discussion. There is indeed such a thing, praising the emperor's sage in his mouth, but in his heart he can't help but feel that his majesty is a fucking chicken thief, who has long foreshadowed today's dispute.

"Hehe, I just kept an eye out!" Zhao Tong said modestly, "Now Jin Guo is very aware of our relationship with the Ministry of Five Kingdoms, and understands that we need to nod if we want the Ministry of Five Kingdoms to let go of He Landian, so they It's just a matter of saving face, as long as Helandian is still the territory of the Kingdom of Jin, the rest will not be considered. Therefore, we only need to let the Kingdom of Jin agree to give the Ministry of the Five Kingdoms full autonomy in Helandian, and we must retain the right of supervision! "

"Your Majesty said that I understand that the Ministry of the Five Kingdoms can collect and distribute taxes on their own in Helandian, and they can keep their own armed forces. The Kingdom of Jin only has sovereignty over Helandian, but it cannot send officials and troops. The Ministry of the Five Kingdoms exercises management power. The Ministry of the Five Kingdoms only needs to admit that they are citizens of the Kingdom of Jin, and this does not violate their purpose of opposing the Wanyan Department, and we can justifiably protect them." Chen Gongbo said.

"Well, you'll have to worry about these things when you come down!" Zhao Tang nodded and said, he made up his own mind for them, and they will bargain for the specifics.

"Your Majesty, it is now rumored that His Majesty will give way to the King of Liao, causing large-scale disturbances from all walks of life, and the people's hearts are unstable. Please also issue an order to clarify this matter as soon as possible, so as to set the record straight and stabilize the hearts of the army and the people!" Chen who was speechless for a long time Dong finally waited until he had finished talking about the peace talks, and he played impatiently.

"I already know about this matter, what do you think about it?" Zhao Tuo asked after glancing at everyone in the hall.

"Your Majesty, I think that Your Majesty cannot abdicate!" Xu Jingheng said first.

"Your Majesty, the ministers and others all agree, Your Majesty cannot abdicate!" All the people in the hall knelt down and said.

"Well, I heard that someone wanted to harm the King of Liao, is there such a thing?" Zhao Tang asked with a vague snort, and raised his hand for everyone to stand up.

"Your Majesty, yes!" Zhang Shuye, Shangshu of the Ministry of Punishments, stepped forward and replied, "Now the students of the Imperial College have contacted the students from various prefectures and counties in the west of Beijing to stop the king of Liao from driving on the road, and the detectives of the Ministry of Punishments have found out that there are big merchants plotting to buy the murderer." On the way to assassinate the King of Liao, there seems to be a local garrison involved, and the situation is critical!"

"Master Chen, Zhao Ren, you must restrain all the troops. The King of Liao has a problem, but you two are the only ones to ask!" After hearing this, Zhao Tuo turned to Chen Guoting, Minister of the Ministry of War, and Zhao Ren, the privy envoy, and said solemnly.

"Minister Zunzhi!" The emperor's expression was taken aback by both of them, and they hurriedly came out and replied in unison.

"I think this matter has become more and more serious, and it seems that it has gone beyond the scope of remonstrance. What do you think?" Zhao Tong waved his hand to let the two enter the line and asked again.

"Your Majesty's words are very true. I think that this matter seems to be planned by someone behind the scenes, taking advantage of public opinion to do wrong things, so I ask your Majesty to mobilize troops to suppress it immediately, so as not to get out of hand!" Zhao Tun just finished speaking, Zhang Shuye said Going out to play the road, as an important minister of the former court, he expressed his attitude. He firmly supported the emperor.

"Your Majesty, I think you should use your troops with caution. The situation of this matter has not yet been clarified, but the people, students, and even local officials and soldiers who are leading the way are all loyal to His Majesty. They are only worried about His Majesty's abdication. Therefore, His Majesty only needs to issue an order to calm the matter, so that the people behind the scenes will not be able to use their strength!" Obviously, Hu Anguo did not want the emperor to abdicate, but he did not agree to resolve the matter by force.

"Your Majesty, I also think that appeasement should be the priority in resolving this matter, and it is not appropriate to use weapons rashly. Now that the people's hearts are in the favor, those young people can't shake Your Majesty!" Chen Gongbo said.

"Oh, I'm afraid this matter is out of my control!" Zhao Tang suddenly sighed, "When I took the throne, I was questioned. Dabao was also forced by the situation that day, and he had no choice but to do it. Now that he has been in charge of the government for more than ten years, he feels tired and exhausted. The Liao king has returned to the country, so I should abdicate to let the virtuous, so as to calm the doubts of the day, I can also Abandon the prince and go back to seclusion, cultivate the land and cultivate the fields, take a boat to the sea to see the world, and be a common people who have nothing to do with the world!"

"Your Majesty must never have the intention of retiring. The Song Dynasty cannot live without His Majesty!" The emperor's words made everyone in the hall turn pale with astonishment. Xu Jingheng was the first to react and knelt down and said.

"Your Majesty's succession to the throne is the return of all people. Now that you have abandoned the subjects of the Song Dynasty, why should you cherish this body..." Chen Dong said as he rushed to the dragon pillar closest to him, wanting to admonish him with death... (To be continued ..)