The struggle of the reborn prince

Zhao Tong's personal conquest of the Seljuk Empire still failed, but he did not 'lose' because of his own poor planning, but was sniped by court officials and hit the nail on the head.

When the emperor proposed a personal conquest at the court meeting, there was overwhelming opposition and persuasion, even his confidantes Zhao Ren, Xu Jingheng and other ministers in the hidden residence joined in.However, the emperor had made up his mind to fight against all the ministers with his own strength, directly convey orders to the state government and the governors of the towns in the form of imperial edicts and oral orders, and to mobilize the army to do it alone.

Wherever the emperor's edict went, the localities and armies all acted immediately. His tough attitude made everyone dumbfounded, knowing that the emperor's prestige had reached the point of blind obedience.At the same time, they also discovered that the emperor still has a "spare tire". Once there is a change, he can completely activate another system to convey his voice and intentions to every place needed, thereby avoiding the isolation at the level of the central system. They play against themselves.

Everyone now understands that now that the imperial power is alone, what he wants to do cannot be stopped by direct confrontation. Only through devious tactics and targeting the emperor's weakness can he stop his cross-sea conquest.So the courtiers changed from confrontation to "active" cooperation, offering advice and suggestions for the emperor's personal conquest, and trying to find ways to plug all possible loopholes.Zhao Tun was very pleased with the change of attitude of the courtiers, and resumed the court discussion.

The first thing the emperor had to solve when he left the capital was who would stay in the capital to supervise the country and handle state affairs, that is, to find a temporary person in charge.Someone suggested that the emperor supervised the country on the ether. He had experience as an emperor and was familiar with the procedure.And it is trustworthy to be father and son with the emperor.But soon someone raised objections, saying that the Supreme Emperor was old.After many years of ignoring the government, the business has become rusty.Can't take over.In fact, everyone knew that it was true that the Supreme Emperor had been an emperor, but he was the king of a subjugated country, and he had "stains of evil deeds".

Then someone mentioned the Empress Dowager, who was upright and fair in dealing with affairs, and she once listened to the government when the throne was not yet determined in the Jingkang Year, presided over state affairs, and tried her best to save the building from collapse.It can be said that he is highly respected, and he is the best candidate to supervise the country.However, this proposal was rejected by the empress dowager Zheng because she was too old and unable to do what she wanted.Immediately, someone suggested that the queen should supervise the country, and it would be reasonable for the husband to go to war and his wife to guard the house, but Zhao Tuo knew that it was fine for her to recite poems and write poems, and deal with state affairs, so she refused on the grounds that she was ill.

Under such circumstances, someone proposed that one of the many imperial brothers could be chosen to supervise the country, but his words were spoken.Before the emperor could say anything, he was smashed into a pig's head by everyone. Isn't this purely for rebellion?Everyone knows the dangers of the emperor's expedition of thousands of miles.If something goes wrong, he won't use it to usurp the throne!That's an idea that couldn't be more bad.

Four or five days passed after everyone discussed and discussed but couldn't choose a suitable candidate, and Zhao Tun was very anxious.But supervising the country is related to the country's destiny, and we can't be sloppy, and we can only hold meetings and discuss it patiently.It was Li Gang who broke the deadlock.If you propose that the old one is not suitable, then you can only choose a small one!He suggested that this is also risky.The emperor is in his prime, and you proposed to choose an heir for him, saying that it sounds good to be prepared, but the bad word is to curse the emperor that he will never return!

The establishment of the crown prince has always been a headache for Zhao Tong. He now has four sons, the eldest son is born to the empress Zhu, and he should be established as the prince according to the convention and tradition. We all know that because of his involvement in it, he offended the emperor and was left out in the cold.The other three sons were born to noble concubine Yelu, Xian concubine Zhe and Shu concubine Xiao.

The Xiao family is the most favored and trusted by the emperor, and at the same time has good relations with the generals of the Song Dynasty and the inner palace; the imperial concubine Yelu's status was high before the birth of the Liao royal family, so it involved national reconciliation and the stability of the Northwest. Under the premise that the emperor was running the Northwest As his status rises, whether his son is established as the crown prince is naturally eye-catching; the Zhe family was born in a family of military generals in the northwest, and has guarded the northwest frontier for the country since the founding of the Song Dynasty. Most of them are officials in the court, and their strength should not be underestimated.

The selection of the crown prince for the country is related to a century-old plan, and everyone is naturally striving for excellence. It is a pity that the princes are still young, the eldest is only 12 years old, and the younger will leave. It is really difficult to judge which is the Mingjun.But this couldn't stop everyone's enthusiasm. They analyzed and made judgments from the most subtle points, so as to provide the most accurate judgments to the emperor.Even before they were elected, they fought on their own first, and were divided into two factions: Lidi and Lixian.

The Lidi faction thinks that it has a historical tradition. Since it is impossible to judge which prince is wise, they can only abide by the tradition and choose the eldest son; while the opposing side thinks that Lidi has a lesson from the past, and the Supreme Emperor chooses Lidi as the eldest son. Zhao Huan was the reserve, and the result was that the country was ruined and the family was destroyed. In the end, it was the second child who turned the tide and saved and rejuvenated the Song Dynasty. Only then did everyone have a happy life today.Therefore, it is determined that because it is impossible to determine which prince is wise, one should not establish a heir, so as not to harm the country.

The two sides refused to make concessions to each other, and they had been arguing endlessly for the establishment of a heir and a virtuous man, and the memorials on Zhao Tun's case were several feet thicker, trying to persuade the emperor to agree with his own point of view.What is even more irritating is that this debate seems to be indistinguishable, and it is getting more and more intense. If it goes on like this, I am afraid that there will be no result in two or three years. What is even more disturbing is that everyone is involved in the debate. As for national affairs, now is the right time to the end of the year, which is a critical moment to sum up the gains and losses of this year and plan the blueprint for next year!

"There is a country in the Western Regions called Seljuk. The lord of the country, Sanjar, is tyrannical and unjust, and perverts. He gathers all the countries to block our business routes, slaughter our people, and plunder our merchant ships... Now the emperor of Song Dynasty walks on behalf of the heavens, eliminates evil and defends the way, To send troops to attack, I hereby order Cheng Xishou, the commander of the water army of the Privy Council, to deploy as the capital of the war against thieves. Set sail immediately!"

On the [-]th day of the [-]th month, during the Wangri Dynasty, Emperor Zhao Tun of the Great Song Dynasty promulgated an imperial decree, bestowing treasured swords and array maps, the Privy Council and the Ministry of War issued tiger charms and rosters, and the Minister of Shangshu issued a circular order to all states and their vassal states.Cheng Xishou immediately left the palace after receiving the order, and ordered all the troops to prepare for departure, and the ministers sent him to board a boat outside Jinshuimen and head south to Quanzhou to lead the army.At this time, the voice of establishing a reserve suddenly disappeared, and the Ministry of Rites invited the emperor to go out of Beijing to worship the ancestors. The emperor is too busy...

Zhao Tun knew that he would not be able to leave at the voice of Li Chu, and these courtiers saw that they were too tough, so they played tricks on him.The combined power of these people should not be underestimated. They quickly realized that what they need most now is time. If they miss the monsoon, they will have to wait until next year. Going to sea is not something that can be done in a day or two, so as long as it takes ten days and a half a month, it will be too late for him to leave.

Don’t talk about the emperor’s personal conquest on weekdays, even if you leave Beijing for a long time, you must arrange the funeral to prevent accidents, so the courtiers seized the procedural problems and played games with Zhao Tun, and they were meticulous and orderly. , There is nothing you can do to make you anxious, you can't punish everyone for taking things too seriously!And Zhao Tong also realized that even if he solved the prince's problem decisively, there would still be more problems waiting for him.

Among other things, the emperor had to choose a good day for his own conquest, and there were many places where he could do something wrong. Qin Tianjian's left one was not suitable, and the right one could delay the time until next year.You say you don't believe this, but you can't stand everyone believing it, and the army believes this even more, especially the navy.If you go out forcibly, the morale of the army will be greatly reduced. If something goes wrong, you will think about it and how to fight the battle.

Zhao Tang finally figured it out, don't look at them who are usually low-browed and loyal to the emperor, once united, even if he is the emperor, he can't beat them. After soaking, I don't know what other "harmful tricks" are waiting for me if I continue to toss it!The front yard was uneasy, and the backyard was on fire, not to mention his own wives, and even the empress dowager was mobilized.

The old man invited Zhao Tun to the palace every day to teach, and explained the reasoning to him. He also gave an example that he had traveled to the south of the Yangtze River and Hebei once, and never left the capital. These two outings proved it, and Zhao Tang knew that he could settle him as long as he sent a few antiques; but the old lady was not easy to fool, she lay on the bed and complained of illness.She claims to be benevolent and filial. If your mother is sick and you travel far away without waiting on her bed, wouldn’t that be a big disfilial act? How can she order the world, rule the officials, and educate the people in the future? She is going to "death" to punish herself. !

Zhao Tun had no choice but to raise the white flag. He knew that no matter whether he fought in person or not, as long as there were no major accidents, he would win the battle, and he just wanted to fulfill his dream of being a hero.Thinking about leading thousands of warships across thousands of miles of ocean, commanding the army to march forward, capturing the flag, and capturing the enemy chieftain is enough to make a soldier excited, and passing this opportunity is enough to make people frustrated and annoyed.

But in the end, reason still prevailed, and Zhao Tuo understood that the ministers stopped him from conquering himself not only for their fame and fortune, but also for the sake of the country.Now the Song Dynasty is in a period of upward development, but the transition from old to new has not yet been completed, and it still needs to be suppressed by the emperor's prestige and means.And this expedition is thousands of miles away from the country, maybe there is no news for several years, maybe there is no possibility, they don't want to lose a rare emperor at this moment, and lose a powerful Song Dynasty... (to be continued...)