"What kind of trouble could possibly happen?" Zhang Jun was still somewhat puzzled. "Didn't the White Horse Shaoxing incident and the Southeast Wulin meeting all go through properly? The prestige of the government is here."
"It's a different time now." Lin Jingmo remained calm. "Prime Minister Zhang... When we followed the emperor from Bagong Mountain to Huaixi, I thought that this was a time of chaos. We must not be bound by the rules of the world in the future, and we should not be shaken by seeing anything extraordinary. When I heard about the great victory of Huolu today, I also had only one thought, that is, the world is really going to be peaceful... May I ask, Prime Minister, can chaos and peace be compared? Can we continue to act as we did before?"
"What should we do then?" Zhang Jun remained silent, yet he could not help feeling a little uneasy.
In the turbulent times, Zhang Deyuan can rely on his status as Emperor Zhao's confidant to become the emperor's spokesperson in the court and the capital, obey the emperor's wishes to participate in daily military affairs, and even compete with Zhao Ding calmly. But will the turbulent times be settled?
"After so many years, how come my husband is still so confused?" Lin Jingmo finally laughed again. "The emperor wants to promote Yang and Liu. Is he the kind of emperor who doesn't care about the past and pretends to be profound? Where should I go? Why not ask honestly?"
Having said that, the Minister of Revenue stood up and bowed, as if he was leaving and going home.
Zhang Jun also smiled and stood up, saying, "Yes, I am grateful to Minister Lin for reminding me today... Tomorrow I will recommend Minister Lu (Lu Zhi) to the north to comfort the troops in the secret cabinet, and ask him to write a secret letter to the emperor on my behalf."
Lin Jingmo nodded slightly, then said goodbye and left.
Zhang Deyuan did not see her off. He returned to a two-story attic in the backyard and looked at the still obvious lights in Tokyo city. He was stunned for a while and then went back to the room, spread out his pen and ink, and then pressed the paper against the table, preparing to write this secret letter.
"Officials."
Just as Zhang Jun returned to his study and picked up his pen to write a secret letter, at almost the same time, in a spacious courtyard in Zhending City, under the lights, during a banquet, someone suddenly pressed down on the table in front of him, but then stood up abruptly. "I have something to say!"
The spring breeze blew the twilight away. Seeing this man stand up, the dozen or so "princes" present around him all changed color and then became solemn.
There was no other reason. This person was none other than the guest of honor at today's banquet, the Minister of Works Hu Yin, Hu Mingzhong, who had rushed over from the rear... He was famous, especially in the military. No matter if they were princes, dukes, or other close ministers, there were few who were not afraid of him.
Only Lu Yihao, the deputy envoy of the Privy Council, who sat beside the chairman together with Qin Wang Han Shizhong, remained calm and did not take it seriously.
"If I tell Mingzhong to talk tomorrow, I'm afraid Mingzhong won't listen." As for Emperor Zhao, he was stunned for a moment, but still shook his head and smiled at the table. "Go ahead... I'm prepared."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Hu Yin responded solemnly, then stepped out of the line and bowed. "First of all, isn't it suspected that the emperor's awarding of titles this time is excessive?"
There was an awkward silence for a moment. Although some of them were obviously drunk and were about to stand up to refute, they were glared at coldly by Han Shizhong and other princes.
After a long while, Zhao Jiu chuckled and replied: "Mingzhong, you are overthinking. The country will be able to restore the country and redeem the old shame. The country will reward the meritorious service. What are a few prince titles?"
Hu Yin immediately shook his head: "Let the emperor know that it has always been difficult to raise meritorious officials... Today, the kings are here, and it seems that they can restrain themselves for a while, but in the future, if they enjoy such merits for a long time, they will surely become arrogant. When the day comes that they become a disaster, the emperor will have to personally eliminate them sooner or later, and by then, it will damage the favor between the emperor and his subjects."
"Well said." Zhao Jiu actually nodded in agreement, causing the kings present to tense for a moment. "The human heart is hard to predict... It is too difficult to expect a long-term relationship between the monarch and his subjects."
After hearing this, all the kings seemed to sober up, and then Han Shizhong took the lead and stepped out one after another.
Then, the King of Qin took the lead and said, "Good instructor, I know that the emperor is so powerful and the minister is so vigilant, who dares to be unpredictable... Please relax, the emperor and the minister."
Hu Yin was too lazy to pay attention.
Zhao Jiu, however, looked at the kings in front of him with a smile on his face. "I don't mean to use Mingzhong's words to warn you, nor is there any need. I am just expressing my feelings, because some things are unavoidable...Emperor Taizong of Tang, who was the most considerate to his meritorious officials, could not avoid the incident with Hou Junji. We, the king and his subjects, are not born saints, so how can we avoid it? The only thing we can hope for is that if something really happens in the future, we can still do what Emperor Taizong of Tang and Hou Junji did."
Han Shizhong was now well-educated and knew what Emperor Zhao meant, so it was difficult for him to refute it.
It was just a small episode, not worth mentioning. Zhao Jiu waved his hand to signal everyone to return to their seats, and then looked at Hu Yin: "Mingzhong, although it is said that people who do not think about the future will have immediate worries, it is not the behavior of a wise ruler to do something narrow-minded now because of possible worries in the future. The eighteen princes have been determined, and their merits and rewards have been appropriate. There is no point in saying more."
"Yes." Hu Yin did not argue, but continued to bow. "Your Majesty, I have another question... It is a very good idea to have the military scholars inspect the spring plowing, but what about after the spring plowing? Should we let them take over the matter of confiscating the property of the rebels and granting land for military merit?"
"That's right." Zhao Jiu nodded. "Is it not possible?"
"It's not impossible, but where will this move put Tokyo?" Hu Mingzhong asked directly.
Zhao Jiu finally frowned: "I have no intention of ignoring the two prefectures and six ministries in Tokyo, but the military here has not stopped, so what's the point of going around in circles? Moreover, I will not hide it from Mr. Hu, I do want to give the scholars with military experience a result of their origins, and I also want to clean up Hebei more thoroughly, and I don't want Tokyo to be involved and squeeze us too much."
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