Prince of Song Dynasty

Chapter 291 Solemn and Serene

The good news that Ye Chen sent eight hundred miles to rush to the capital is still on the way.The court is still gloomy and gloomy.

Kaifeng, Guangde Hall of the Imperial Palace.

The atmosphere at the morning meeting today was better than the previous days, but it was still dignified and solemn.

After the imperial court sent a large army to attack the Southern Han, there was chaos in Sichuan and Shu, and then the always obedient Southern Tang gathered an army of [-] troops to advance to the Southern Han.

On the border between the north and Khitan, the Khitan soldiers and horses were also mobilized. Obviously, after the Khitan people knew the situation in the Song Dynasty, they had a very obvious intention to contain the elite imperial army in the north. There is no doubt that if the Sichuan-Shu riots cannot be quelled within a short period of time, and if the Han army is really attacked by the Southern Han and Southern Tang forces, the Khitan in the north will definitely not miss this opportunity. It is not impossible for a hundred thousand cavalry to go south.If the situation deteriorates to this extent in the end, Song Dynasty will go to war on three sides, and its military, financial and manpower will be unaffordable.Then if you lose a few more battles, it is not impossible to destroy the country.

So far, at the time of internal and external troubles, the surrounding and domestic situation of Song Dynasty has reached an extremely severe moment.Zhao Kuangyin hadn't had a good night's sleep for more than ten days, and Zhao Pu and Zhao Guangyi, who had been fighting secretly, also suspended their fighting and tried their best to find ways to assist the emperor to solve the possible catastrophe of the Song Dynasty.

Until four days ago, there was a good news from the Southern Han Dynasty, the Southern Han Dynasty was destroyed, the ruler of the Southern Han Dynasty Chen Jingyuan was killed by Ye Chen, the Han Emperor Liu Wei was captured by Pan Mei, and the Southern Han Prime Minister Gong Chengshu was killed by Zhao Zan.Maitreya taught Daming King Lou Yanming never thought that Chen Jingyuan would be killed by Ye Chen, and the Southern Tang lord Li Yu and the court did not expect that the Southern Han Dynasty would be destroyed so soon. Under the horror of the Southern Tang Dynasty, the [-] troops just stayed at the same level. At the junction of the original Southern Han Dynasty, I dare not act rashly.

After this good news came, Zhao Kuangyin, the important officials of the two governments and the court all breathed a sigh of relief. The Southern Han Dynasty was destroyed, and the situation where the Southern Han army was pinched by the two countries would not happen again, but the Southern Tang army still did not withdraw. The army of the Southern Han Dynasty still had to be restrained in the south.There is still the possibility of a war.

At this time, whether it was the Southern Tang Dynasty, the Khitan, or the Maitreya Sect who was secretly making waves, including the emperor of the Song Dynasty and the court, everyone's eyes were on Sichuan and Shu.If the situation of the Sichuan and Shu rogue riots continues to deteriorate, the Southern Tang and Khitan may also take advantage of the mobile forces.However, the Great Song Dynasty had just made an expedition to the Southern Han Dynasty. Although the battle was actually very smooth, because of the long distance, the manpower, material resources, and financial resources consumed were not insignificant.In the short term, Song Dynasty can no longer afford to fight a big battle.Until then, the situation is still not optimistic.

At today's court meeting, it was mainly focused on this matter, and a charter was drawn up. The court must prepare in advance according to the worst situation.

Zhao Kuangyin glanced over all the civil and military officials with a little tired eyes, and said, "Zhao Pu! You speak first."

Zhao Pu went out, saluted the emperor, and said, "I report to your Majesty! Now that the 3 troops led by Zhao Zan and Pan Mei are dragged by the Southern Tang to the Southern Han, it is not difficult to move lightly. Although the [-] bandits were firmly trapped in Sichuan and Sichuan, they still failed to hit them hard. The next [-] bandit suppressing troops and the [-] troops brought by Ye Chen from the Southern Han Dynasty were bound to be restrained. As time went on, Fearing that there will be changes, these rogues will flee from Sichuan and Shu, and will cause trouble in other places. Even if these rogues fail to leave Sichuan and Shu, as long as they exist for a day, the daily loss of the [-] troops of the Southern Han Dynasty and the [-] troops of Sichuan and Shu These are not small figures, if this continues, the imperial court’s finances will inevitably be strained.”

When Zhao Pu said this, he paused for a moment, glanced across the audience, and then said: "But the real crisis in the Song Dynasty is still in the northern Khitan. Half a month ago, the Khitan sent another [-] troops to Datong Prefecture. The Khitan border troops in other places There have been many changes, and the number of sentries has also increased. Obviously, the Khitan wolves are ambitious and want to take advantage of the civil strife in the Song Dynasty to make plans. Whether the Khitan army will go south, and whether the [-] troops of the Southern Tang Dynasty dare to attack our Song Dynasty, The key point is when the rogue rebellion in Sichuan and Shu can be put down."

"Thus, I believe that the civil strife in Sichuan and Sichuan must be put down within half a month, otherwise Khitan and Southern Tang, one north and one south, may change. If it is not settled, the consequences will be unimaginable.”

Zhao Pu's words made a thorough analysis of the current situation in the Song Dynasty. Some civil and military ministers who hadn't seen the situation clearly before could not help but look heavy, and Zhao Kuangyin's expression became more serious and ugly.Even Zhao Guangyi frowned, thinking hard about countermeasures.

Zhao Kuangyin said in a deep voice: "Now that Cao Bin is assassinated, life and death are unpredictable. Although I mobilized Ye Chen to lead the bandit suppression army to take charge of the overall situation, those bandits are very cunning and never fight with our army head-on, and there is Maitreya behind them It may be too difficult for Ye Chen to calm down within half a month because of the secret manipulation by the demon monks. Zhao Qing has a half-month strategy to put down the bandits in Sichuan and Sichuan."

Zhao Pu took a deep breath and said: "Your Majesty! If there is no threat from the Southern Tang Dynasty and the Khitan, it is natural that the Sichuan and Shu rogues must be completely wiped out, and the rogue bandits will be cut to pieces. But now the situation is special, the situation is critical, and the so-called extraordinary period As an extraordinary strategy, I dare to ask Your Majesty to send someone to secretly contact the bandit leader, recruit him, and then divide and resettle the bandit, so as to put down the chaos in Sichuan and Shu with a gentle method. At that time, the Southern Tang Dynasty has always been weak. Retreat. The civil strife is settled, the Southern Tang retreats, and the Khitan sees that the Great Song has no opportunity to take advantage of it, so they will retreat."

"This is absolutely impossible! Your Majesty! Recruiting rebels and rogues is an insult to our Great Song court and a disgrace to Your Majesty. Hundreds of millions of people in the world and foreigners from all over the world will definitely look down on us because of this matter." Song." Zhao Guangyi said solemnly without hesitation.

After hesitating for a while, Lu Yuqing also came out of the class and said: "Your Majesty! The so-called recruitment is a compromise with the rebels and rogues. The act of recruiting security will surely be imitated by some criminals and heroes in the world in the future, and it will be a disaster! Your Majesty, please be careful."

As soon as Lu Yuqing's words fell, a civil official came out of the shift immediately, and said: "Master Lu's words are wrong. The so-called extraordinary actions in special times have various disadvantages in recruiting security, but the current situation is so severe and special, we should do this special thing. Law." Apparently this person is from Zhao Pu's lineage.

A few days ago, Wang Yuefeng, who had just been promoted to Yushi Zhongcheng, suddenly left his shift. Instead of looking at the civil servant who had just spoken, he glanced at Zhao Pu, who was always expressionless, with a trace of resentment flashing deep in his eyes, and said in a cold voice: "Mr. As the prime minister, the head of all the officials, there was a riot in Sichuan and Shu, and he was guilty of negligence, and now he still wants to do the thing of recruiting security, which is an act of a traitor."

The audience suddenly fell silent, and everyone looked at Zhao Pu.

Zhao Pu's face changed slightly, and he glanced at Wang Yuefeng coldly. The latter did not back down, even provocative.More than a month ago, Zhao Kuangyin saw more than a dozen cans of melon seeds in Zhao Pu's mansion. I don't know who finally leaked it. Although Zhao Kuangyin did not punish Zhao Pu for this matter, but within a few days, he will have a grudge with Zhao Pu. Wang Yuefeng was promoted to Yushi Zhongcheng, and Zhao Kuangyin's move made many people see that the emperor was finally dissatisfied with Zhao Pu and lost the previous trust.

However, only a few people know that Wang Yuefeng was placed in the position of Yushi Zhongcheng not only for Zhao Pu, but also for the increasingly powerful Huaxia Weifu.Wang Yuefeng, Ye Chen, and Zhao Pu are all feuds, so it would be best to put them in this position.

Of course Zhao Pu knew the various disadvantages of Zhao'an, and he had already expected that Zhao Guangyi's family would take the opportunity to embarrass him in front of the emperor, but he did not expect that Wang Yuefeng would dare to speak so blatantly and meanly.He has not encountered such a thing for many years.

However, although Zhao Pu was angry in his heart, he was also a little happy immediately afterward. He didn't hesitate to splash dirty water on himself and raise the issue of security. For him, he could kill two birds with one stone.Not to mention that he is very clear about the current general situation, except for the strategy of recruiting security, it is too difficult to get rid of the current predicament of Song Dynasty, unless Ye Chen creates another miracle.But the so-called miracle itself is something that is very difficult to happen, so how can it happen so easily.

Therefore, he believed that with the emperor's pragmatism and rationality, his heart and character in the world, he would definitely adopt the strategy of recruiting security.But he had to bear the reputation of humiliating the imperial court. Zhao Kuangyin would naturally remember this great favor and credit for this matter.In addition, through this matter, he can leave a critical moment in the emperor's heart, and he will not hesitate to sacrifice his personal reputation for the sake of state affairs.After he believed this, most of the trust and estrangement lost in the emperor's heart due to the melon seed gold incident some time ago will surely be restored.

Having said so much, in fact, Zhao Pu has recognized one point, his power and status must be built on the emperor's trust in him.

These thoughts flashed through Zhao Pu's mind. Zhao Pu ignored Wang Yuefeng and others, but bowed deeply to Zhao Kuangyin and said, "Your Majesty! As the prime minister, I am the head of all officials. During this severe period of the Song Dynasty, for the sake of My Great Song Dynasty can pass through safely, so what if I do this treacherous thing? I ask your Majesty to issue a decree for peace."

All civil and military officials in the audience cheered up, but they didn't expect Zhao Pu to say such decisive and loyal words.Some people slowly recalled it in their hearts, and couldn't help secretly cursing Zhao Pu for being really good at it.

Zhao Guangyi looked at Zhao Pu, slowly recollecting what Zhao Pu said just now, and suddenly understood Zhao Pu's purpose, he couldn't help but squint his eyes, and regretted making the arrangements in advance, he even suspected that Zhao Pu would propose an offer of security at the court meeting today that he received last night Everything was leaked by Zhao Pu on purpose, so that he could prepare himself, and lead him to cooperate with him today to be a loyal minister for the safety of Song Dynasty, regardless of personal gain or loss.

In fact, Zhao Kuangyin has also thought of a strategy for recruiting security these days, but although he has a pragmatic and rational side, after sitting in the position of emperor for a long time, his personal dignity and pride will also grow accordingly, just as Zhao Guangyi said just now, It is a great shame and humiliation to him to bow down to the rebels and rogues. Such a decision is not easy to make.

(End of this chapter)