Inheriting the Song Dynasty

In 1127 AD, the Northern Song Dynasty fell. Immediately, the ninth imperial prince, Zhao Gou, ascended the throne in Shangqiu amidst widespread anticipation, inheriting the Song imperial line and r...

Chapter 43 Documents (Part 2)

In a word, everyone knew what Emperor Zhao was thinking, but no one said it out loud.

Back to the present, after most of the civil and military officials had gone to their busy work, a few important ministers and close officials sat under the wooden shed in front of the imperial tent according to their rank. Only Shi Wenbin stood in the empty middle circle, trembling with fear, not knowing where his life would be today.

But after a long time, the emperor still did not come out to give an immediate answer, and everyone gradually became impatient. If it were not for the fact that Emperor Zhao's prestige had been rising these days and the matter was too sensitive, Lu Haowen and others would have almost rushed in to ask him in person. But there was no need to do so. As the sun gradually set in the west, Hu Yin hurried back from the other side of the river, giving everyone a legitimate reason to ask for a meeting.

Zhao Jiu, who had been lying in the tent for almost the entire day and had been daydreaming all day, heard Hu Yin asking to see him outside the tent. He knew that he could not delay any longer. In addition, he did have some practical ideas, so he simply got up and took the initiative to go out of the tent.

"Officials!"

Lu Haowen and others all stood up to greet him, with expectant looks on their faces.

"The Jin people are barbaric and shameless. We cannot lower ourselves to be equal to beasts." Zhao Jiu glanced at the bleak Shi Wenbin and was too lazy to argue with him. "Who among you can write a letter in my personal name to inform the fourth prince of the Jin Kingdom, Wanyan Wushu, so that the envoy can take it back!"

Everyone looked at each other in silence, but Hu Yin, who had always been radical on this issue, ignored the fact that he had no other tasks to answer and directly said, "I am the Secretary of the Central Secretariat, and I am taking the liberty to write for Your Majesty."

Zhao Jiu had no objection.

Anyway, writing is a basic operation for a person who was a Jinshi in the Song Dynasty, not to mention that Hu Yin himself was a famous talent, so it only took a moment for him to finish writing... According to the letter format of that year, the heading and signature were all complete, and the content was also four-six parallel prose. The language was gorgeous but not without grace, the allusions were rich but not without accuracy, and there was no problem with the stance, which was to scold and condemn the other party's barbarity and shamelessness, and demanded the other party to return the two saints as a parent and son.

However, after the letter was written, Hu Yin read it aloud in public. Everyone thought it was appropriate, but Zhao Jiu frowned for a long time without saying anything... After all, he really wanted to say directly "please give me a share of the pie", so how could he be interested in such a document?

But he knew in his heart that if he did that, he would be in big trouble. Not to mention that Lu Haowen, Zhang Jun, Hu Yin and others would die for their advice, but Li Gang, who had just arrived in Yangzhou, might even come and settle accounts with him.

So, after hesitating for a long time, Zhao Jiu finally had no choice but to suppress his resentment and take the document. Then he turned his head and looked at the Jin army envoy: "Your name is Shi Wenbin?"

“Your Majesty… Your Majesty is Shi Wenbin!” At that time, Wenbin had been standing here for almost a whole day. Not only had he not eaten or drunk anything, he had also been pushed and shoved by military officials and scolded and mocked by civil officials the entire day. He was already exhausted. Upon hearing the words, his legs softened instinctively, and he knelt on the ground, ready to surrender. However, he realized after he had already said this… With his current actions and identity, it would be impossible for him to become a Song citizen again in his lifetime.

"Where did you work before?" Zhao Jiu didn't know whether he was in no hurry or was unwilling to hand over the document, but he took the opportunity to ask some small questions.

"I used to be the magistrate of Yuncheng, and then transferred to the assistant magistrate of Weizhou. When I was about to serve as the assistant magistrate for the second time, I was implicated in the rebellion of Song Jiang, a former official of Yuncheng. The rebellion was defeated by Zhang Shuye and Zhang Longtu. I lost my future and was demoted for a long time. A few years ago, Prime Minister Li took power and recruited people to serve as the chief officers of the military prefectures and counties in Jingdong. Then I was appointed the magistrate of Yishui again. As a result, only one month after I took office, the Fourth Prince of Jin... led his troops south, passed the army through Yishui and headed south. The magistrate fled south, and I... followed the assistant magistrate and followed the Fourth Prince." Shi Wenbin knelt on the ground and spoke carefully and intermittently, and finally told the story roughly under Zhao Jiu's strange gaze.

"I see." Zhao Jiu sighed after hearing this. "In fact, when the Jin army marched south, your Yishui County was the first to bear the brunt of the attack. Under the pressure of the army, I can't blame you..."

"I thank the emperor for his understanding." Shi Wenbin actually burst into tears upon hearing this.

"But, Magistrate Shi, I can be sympathetic, but since you have surrendered to the Jin people and come out to do things, you are no longer our enemy in the future, so don't expect anything in the future." Zhao Jiu continued with emotion. "Otherwise, how can I, as an official, deal with the minister you just mentioned, Zhang Shuye? You were under the Jin people's command, and Zhang Shuye died of starvation. He died when he crossed the Song border. You should know whether it is true or not, right?"

Shi Wenbin said nothing, but just kowtowed and cried.

Zhao Jiu felt powerless and a little irritated, so he handed the document over and went to do the work he wanted to do.

However, for some unknown reason, just as Shi Wenbin stood up and was about to take the document, suddenly, Emperor Zhao did something that no one expected - he sighed suddenly, then withdrew his hand and angrily tore up the document in front of everyone!

"Officials!"

The important ministers and close officials around were all shocked. Even Yang Yizhong, who had been following Zhao Jiu all day and had not said a word, was stunned.

"Your Majesty...but what was wrong with my words?" The matter was of great importance, so Hu Yin quickly bowed his head and apologized.

"It's none of your business." Zhao Jiu felt like something stuck in his throat. "I just feel that if this document is sent to the other side, it will certainly be worthy of the two saints, but how can it be worthy of Li Ruoshui, Zhang Shuye and others? How can it be worthy of the people of Lianghe who have lost their homes and lives? How can it be worthy of the 30,000 soldiers of Xiacai who are alone on the other side of the river?"

"I am ashamed!" Hu Yin was speechless.

And Lu Haowen and others could only bow their heads and express shame.

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