Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

When the sound of smashing things stopped, Zhu Xiaosun, who was standing outside the palace, dared to say: "Officials, all the princes want to see you."

"What are they here for?" Zhao Huan asked.

Zhu Xiaosun replied: "There are many officials, people and soldiers in the city who want to surrender to thieves. The kings are frightened and ask the officials to come up with regulations."

After a while of silence, Zhao Huan said: "Let them come in."

Zhu Xiaosun bowed and retreated, went outside with the eunuch, and led the kings inside to have an audience.

"Thank you, brother!" Zhao Kai said with cupped hands.

"Alas." Zhu Xiaosun sighed.

Zhu Xiaosun had two sisters. One was married to Emperor Zhao Huan, and the other was married to King Yun Zhao Kai. No matter who became emperor, he would be the uncle of the state.

Zhao Huan didn't trust any general now, so he asked his uncle to take charge of the palace guards.

"Brother Emperor, whether you want to leave or surrender, you have to come up with a charter!"

"The city is about to be destroyed, and we are afraid of being poisoned by the thieves. Wuwuwu..."

When all the princes came to the palace, they immediately started chattering, and some even cried loudly on the spot.

Zhao Huan couldn't understand the situation at all, because everything was fine a few days ago. Even though the Song and Jin coalitions had a strength advantage, the monarchs and ministers were still urging the Jin people to cross the river and suppress the bandits.

How come in the blink of an eye, the whole city is ready to surrender?

Not only Zhao Huan couldn't understand, but ministers such as Geng Nazhong, Bai Shizhong, Zhao Ye, etc. also stretched out their hands and couldn't understand.

When these ministers thought about it, the Jin people were heavily stationed on the north bank of the Yellow River, and there were tens of thousands of Song garrison troops in the city. It was the Zhu thieves who should be put under pressure. Once the Jin people are satisfied, the Song and Jin forces join forces and they will launch a major counterattack.

Soldiers, people, and even officials were all hungry, but they were completely ignored by the monarchs and ministers of the Song Dynasty, as if everyone could skip meals.

Today, the bark of the trees in Tokyo has been stripped off, and even the leaves have been pulled down to make soup. All the cats and dogs in the city have disappeared without a trace, and even the rats have been dug out.

"Stop arguing!" Zhao Huan roared, becoming more and more upset and angry.

Zhao Kai had resentment in his heart because he did not sit on the throne of the emperor. At this moment, he broke the pot and said: "You are so unreasonable. If you don't know how to be the emperor, don't do it. The Song Dynasty will be ruined in a few months. Now the thieves and bandits are approaching the city. , you can’t decide whether to surrender or escape!”

Zhao Huan took off his light yellow dragon-patterned shirt and threw it to Zhao Kai angrily: "I don't know how to be an emperor, so I'll wear it instead!"

Zhao Kai was stunned and speechless for a moment.

"Brothers, what are you arguing about at this time?" Su Wang Zhao Shu said, "Now the whole city wants to surrender the thieves. Even the servants in my house are secretly preparing scarves to tie their arms. I know it. If you want to escape, you should flee now. If you want to surrender, you should surrender before the traitors attack the city. If you don't escape or surrender, your brother will still be able to defend to the death. ?”

Zhao Huan said: "I have sent people to ask the Jin Kingdom to send troops. If the Jin people don't come tonight, they will definitely come tomorrow morning."

King Ji Zhao Xu said: "If the Jin people wanted to send troops, they would have crossed the river long ago. How could they wait until now?"

"Brother, you should surrender to Kaicheng," King Jing Zhao Qi bitterly advised. "By dedicating the city to the throne of Zen, you will not lose the prince of the new dynasty. If you resist stubbornly and anger the red thief, not only will your brother be in danger, but also your brother will be in trouble. Even we princes can hardly survive."

The eighth child, Zhao Chu, and the ninth child, Zhao Gou, are only eighteen years old this year. Their presence is very weak and they just stand aside and say nothing.

As for King Qi, King Xin, King Yi, and King Xu, they are only sixteen or seventeen years old.

Zhao Huan remained silent, struggling in his heart.

On the one hand, he also hoped that the Jin people might send troops to defeat the Zhu thieves.

On the one hand, he planned to dedicate his Zen position to the city, but he was also afraid of dying unexpectedly afterwards.

Anyway, I can’t make up my mind and can’t make a decision.

Suddenly, Zhao Huan asked: "Which of you is willing to go to the bandit camp to talk with the red bandit about ceding land and negotiating peace?"

"I'll go." Zhao Kai said.

"You are not allowed to go!" Zhao Huan immediately objected.

He was afraid that his younger brother would collude with the red thieves and seize the throne from him before giving in. They would join forces to trap him to death.

Zhao Huan glanced over, all the princes bowed their heads, but Zhao Gou held his head high.

"Ninth brother, you can go and leave the city with that Li Bangyan!" Zhao Huan called his name.

Zhao Gou asked: "Where does the emperor want to cut?"

Zhao Huan said: "All the areas south of the Yangtze River and Shaanxi will be ceded to the Red Thief. The rest of the land must be returned to the imperial court."

"What should I do if Zhu Thief doesn't agree?" Zhao Gou asked again.

"Then cut two more Huai rivers." Zhao Huan said.

Zhao Gou continued to ask: "Isn't the Zhu Thief not enough?"

Zhao Huan was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, and screamed: "I've cut off so much and it's not enough!"

Zhao Gou advised: "Brother, it is better to abdicate the country. Zhu Chenggong has a reputation for benevolence and righteousness. We will not be princes, but maybe we can become rich men."

Zhao Huan sat down slowly and patiently said to his brothers: "Some time ago, I asked Yu Wen Youcheng (Yu Wen Cuizhong) for advice. He is quite proficient in the historical materials and classics of this dynasty. I asked him what happened to the Chai brothers... "

With some fear on his face, Zhao Huan's voice began to tremble: "He said that Chai Rong had four sons. King Ji Chai Xijin died at the age of six or seven. King Cao Chai Xirang and King Qi Chai Xihui died after King Ji After that, he disappeared without a trace, neither alive nor dead. Chai Zongxun, who was in charge of Zen and the Song Dynasty, was imprisoned in Fangling for eleven years, and he died of illness five months before he reached the age of 18. "

After hearing this, the princes were all surprised, because in Zhao Song's propaganda, the Song Dynasty gave special treatment to the descendants of the Chai family.

Zhao Huan was already crying and wiped his tears and said: "If the Zen position is given to Zhu Thief, I will be Emperor Gong Chai Zongxun, and you will be King Cao, King Ji and King Qi of Chai Zhou. Even if Zhu Thief wants to show his benevolence and righteousness, he will not He will let the prince live, he will kill all the princes, and then give preferential treatment to other clans."

Zhao Gou, who was quite courageous at first, became frightened after hearing this, worried that he would be killed if he went to the bandit camp.

Zhao Huan said to Zhao Gou: "If the Zhu thieves are still not satisfied, they will cut off Xuzhou, Yingchang, Caizhou and Yingzhou again. I would like to respect Zhu Guoxiang as my father and serve Zhu Ming as my brother. If they found a country and proclaimed themselves emperors, it would be great for the Han Dynasty as well." , the Shu Kingdom, is a country of father and son with the Song Dynasty. Every year, I will offer another 500,000 yuan of annual coins and 30,000 bolts of silk. My imperial sisters can all marry Zhu Ming, so as to bring good relations between the two countries, Qin and Jin."

"According to the order!" Zhao Gou felt that these conditions were not bad, at least he would not anger the red thieves and chop him down.

The kings dispersed, and Zhao Gou went out of the palace to find Li Bangyan. The two left the city overnight to negotiate with Zhuying.

Before the two of them left the city, envoys from the Kingdom of Jin arrived.

Zhao Huan was full of expectations: "Will the second prince of your country send troops?"

Wang Jun said: "If the Song Kingdom does not keep its promise, the Jin Kingdom will naturally not send troops. But since the two countries have formed an alliance, His Majesty the Emperor can abandon the city and escape, and our army is willing to escort His Majesty to the north to proclaim himself emperor."

"Where can we go to the north to proclaim ourselves emperor?" Zhao Huan's thoughts were opened.

Wang Jun said: "It can be in Youzhou, it can be in Taiyuan, it can be in Zhongshan, it can be in Daming."

This is to turn Zhao Huan into a puppet emperor, and the entire north will be controlled by the Jin people from now on. Zhao Huan was a legitimate emperor, and having him act as a puppet was much more convenient than the Jin people directly occupying or plundering.

Even Yanjing could be taken out and handed over to Zhao Huan as the capital.

Wanyan Zonghan was delayed in coming, and Wanyan Zongwang was unwilling to fight Ju Ming at all because he was afraid of being tricked to death by Song's friendly forces.

The Song army, which has run out of food and grass, is very likely to collapse or defect!

Zhao Huan was a little moved after hearing this. It was better to be a puppet for the Jin people than to be killed by the Zhu thieves.

But he couldn't make a decision for the time being. What if the Ninth Brother's negotiation was successful and the Zhu Thief gained the territory and was willing to withdraw his troops?

Being so indecisive is such a traitor to the country that even selling at a disadvantage.

"Your Majesty, please go and have a rest. Please allow me to think twice before proceeding." Zhao Huan decided to wait.

But Zhao Gou followed Li Bangyan to Zhu Ying and asked on the way: "Is Li Xiang familiar with Zhu Chenggong?"

Li Bangyan said proudly: "Both of us were officials in Tokyo in the past. Brother Chenggong and I have a close friendship and are brothers."

Zhao Gou's body suddenly shrunk by three points, and he deliberately said to please: "I'm going to talk to Marshal Zhu about the land cession now. Please give me some advice from Prime Minister Li."

"Don't worry," Li Bangyan said, "King Kang will be safe."

Zhao Gou added: "I wonder what Marshal Zhu likes? Although I have no spare money, I still have a few calligraphy and paintings hidden in my house. If... if the emperor offers his country the Zen throne, I will not ask for anything else and stay in Bianliang. Just be a rich man."

Li Bangyan said with a smile: "This matter is easy to hear, it all depends on how King Kang expresses it."

Zhao Gou said: "I would like to donate half of my family property to Prime Minister Li."

Zhao Gou was not very favored and had no wealth at all. In Li Bangyan's eyes, he was just a poor man.

Li Bangyan said: "The house in Prince Kang's Mansion is pretty good."

Zhao Gou said quickly: "Prince Kang's palace is too big and it is really inconvenient to live in. I plan to find a small house where I can live without attracting anyone's attention."

"King Kang is smart and will die a good death." Li Bangyan was very satisfied.

Zhao Gou said flatteringly: "It all depends on Prime Minister Li."

Zhao Gou originally thought he was very courageous, but after hearing what happened to the descendants of the Chai family, he was completely frightened.

When the two of them arrived outside the camp, it was already dark.

After being passed through and allowed to enter, Zhao Gou looked around in the darkness.

In the camp at night, bright lights can be seen from time to time, as if there are beasts hiding in the dark, their eyes emitting frightening fluorescence.

The more Zhao Gou looked, the more frightened he became, and gradually began to tremble all over.

Not long after, Zhao Gou was brought to Zhu Ming's account, and he knelt down directly: "Little king Zhao Gou, please pay homage to your Excellency, Marshal Zhu Langjun!"

Ju Ming's expression was wonderful, and he smiled and said: "Raise your head."

Zhao Gou quickly raised his head, not daring to look at Ju Ming, and looked over Ju Ming's head.

Ju Ming muttered: "You are Jiu Mei. I have never seen her before. You are actually weak and pretty."

Ninth sister?

Handsome?

Zhao Gou's chrysanthemum tightened and he began to doubt Ju Ming's sexual orientation.

Then he was overjoyed again and showed a charming smile: "Marshal Sir, I am happy to sing and dance, and the little king is willing to sing for me."

"Forget about singing, tell me, what did Zhao Huan send you to do?" Ju Ming suddenly felt that it was meaningless.

Zhao Gou lay on the ground and said: "Brother, the emperor is willing to cut off the land and offer it as a gift. He will serve the emperor as a brother and worship Xianggong Zhu as his father. I will donate coins and silk every year. The state of Song Dynasty will always be the northern border of Lang Jun and his son!"