"Chen Kangbo, why is it you?"
Zhao Ding was sitting in the middle of the table, and when he saw that the official representative who came up was actually Zuo Langzhong, one of his right-hand men in the capital, he was a little confused for a moment. "You are usually calm, serious and smart in the capital, and you never speak without thinking. Why are you involved in this matter?"
"So that you know, sir, I don't say anything carelessly in the past, but I need to speak with certainty at this moment to win people's trust." Chen Kangbo, who was also in his thirties, the same age as Zhang Jun, but entered the officialdom a few years later, bowed his hands and responded without any panic. "Sir Zhao, I represent the capital province, the Privy Council, the six ministries, nine temples, and five bureaus, a total of 73 officials. I have some 'concerns' to tell you, and I also have 'doubts' to ask you... May I speak?"
Zhao Ding sighed, but before the angry officials could speak, he nodded and said, "Tell me."
"Seventy-three of us, plus one hundred and twenty-five students, are all against peace talks." Chen Kangbo started by stating the purpose, and then went on to elaborate. "First, we are concerned about the story of Shi Jin (Shi Jingtang's Later Jin)..."
"No." Before Zhao Ding could say anything, Minister of Rites Zhu Shengfei stood up and answered like a cat whose tail was stepped on. "The country will not have any etiquette with the Jin people. Neither of our brother countries will allow it... Doctor Chen, you are not the only ones who know the 'story'. We know it too."
Chen Kangbo nodded slightly to Zhu Shengfei, then turned his head and continued: "The second is that the court is worried that they will abandon the people of Lianghe; the third is that the court is worried that they will forget the shame of Jingkang... These are the three concerns."
"No." Zhao Ding sighed and quickly answered in a serious tone. "Don't forget, I am from Hedong... The court is negotiating peace this time just to welcome back the two saints, take back Jingdong, and recuperate for a while. There is no intention to continue the peace talks. After recuperating for three to five years, the military resources will be sufficient, and the Northern Expedition will definitely be launched."
"Once these two concerns are gone, two new concerns arise." Chen Kangbo listened carefully, calmly, and continued to speak with his hands clasped. "Sir, the Jingkang incident, the two emperors were hunted in the north, which is unprecedented in history. The shame of a great country can only be washed away by war. Therefore, even if we want to bring back the two emperors, we should do so with war. If we bring them back with peace talks, aren't you afraid of being laughed at?"
Zhao Ding paused, but Zhang Jun on the side took over the conversation: "Doctor Chen is worrying too much. In fact, the two saints can return this time because of the victory of the emperor at Yaoshan. It can be regarded as welcoming them back with swords... The Jin people's initiative to negotiate peace is a clear proof. Who dares to laugh?"
Chen Kangbo nodded, but continued; "In this case, why not continue to respond with swords and weapons? You must know that the last concern of this subordinate and others is that a sudden peace agreement will destroy the morale of the people... Today, if we covet the benefits of Jingdong and the two saints, how can we explain to the righteous army and the people of the two rivers once we negotiate peace? And after a few years, the people will be at ease and the army will lose morale. What if the Northern Expedition cannot be accomplished? Who will be responsible? If..."
"I will take responsibility!" Hearing this, several ministers were in doubt. The Censor-in-Chief Li Guang, who was increasingly unable to listen, suddenly shouted at the people present. "You can tell the world that if we cannot launch an expedition to the north in three to five years, I will crash into the ground and die in front of the Xuande Tower to restore the country's blood!"
"But if Li Zhongcheng dies, we still can't continue the country's vitality, we still can't launch the Northern Expedition, or if the Northern Expedition fails... then what should we do?" Chen Kangbo didn't care at all that the other party was the Censor Zhongcheng who had the power of supervision.
"Do you want me to die right now to prove my innocence?" Li Guang recalled the ridicule he received in front of the emperor that day, and was completely furious. "After so much chaos, doesn't the country need to recover? The people of Lianghe are people, but the lives of the people of Jingdong are not lives? Only you young people are loyal to the emperor and love the country, and we are the fools and selfish thieves?!"
Li Guang's words immediately attracted many important officials to sigh with emotion... There were still many people who advocated peace, and most of them were angry with Li Guang. Even a few ministers and important officials who advocated war actually believed in Li Guang's personal morality, and then sighed with emotion.
"I never said that." Chen Kangbo continued to bow without any haste. "I am here to speak for many people, and there is no need for Li Zhongcheng to shoulder such a big responsibility alone."
"That's right." Zhang Jun, who was somewhat sensitive to the word "young", also coughed dryly, but urged Chen Kangbo. "Doctor Chen, no matter what you said about the concerns of the people downstairs, we already know it. If you still have any 'doubts', continue to talk."
"Yes." Chen Kangbo bowed slightly to the prime minister who was the same age as him, and then continued calmly. "The so-called doubts are actually only two... First, if we negotiate peace in this way, I don't know how to appease the several places in the imperial camp where there are many refugees from Hebei. If we can't handle it properly and there is a mutiny, what should we do?"
"We have already discussed this matter and were just about to send Minister Hu of the Ministry of War to meet with Deputy Commander Li." Chen Gui finally interrupted. "The Privy Council is also preparing to make some arrangements for defense."
Chen Kangbo nodded, and finally showed a hint of hesitation, but still spoke seriously: "The last question... May I ask all the ministers, ministers, assistant ministers, and chancellors, how is the emperor?"
The whole room was in complete silence.
After a long while, Zhao Ding finally sighed: "What do you think of us?"
"We know it's absurd, but this time the students and colleagues want to see the emperor's face in person. At the very least, we want to see the memorials personally approved by the emperor." Chen Kangbo said proudly.
"What if they saw him? It will only embarrass the emperor again." Zhao Ding said earnestly. "Doctor Chen, do you really think that we can isolate the inside and the outside? Or do you really think that the people who advocate peace before the emperor have fewer people than you? Even in this secret cabinet, among the prime ministers and ministers, there are also people who advocate war. It's just that everyone can focus on the overall situation and perform their duties!"
"We actually understand what Prime Minister Zhao said." Chen Kangbo remained neither humble nor arrogant, just raised his voice. "But our action today is just to let the emperor know that there are still some young and ignorant people in this world who don't know the overall situation and are willing to follow the emperor to fight the Jin people to the end out of recklessness and blood... Not all civil officials are so thoughtful and cautious, and only think about the old rules of prosperity and wealth."
In the secret chamber, Lü Haowen, Zhao Ding, Zhang Jun, Liu Ji, Chen Gui, Li Guang, Liu Dazhong, Wang Shu, Zhu Shengfei, Hu Shijiang, Lin Qi, Liang Yangzu, Lü Zhi, Zhai Ruwen... and many more, even the chief minister Zhao Shizhen, whose nose was bleeding, all stared at this man, but each of them was silent, with different expressions.
Some sighed, some laughed, some were angry, some were sad, but more people just watched seriously.
After a long time, Zhao Ding finally calmed down and nodded slowly: "I understand. I will ask Officer Lan to come over. Doctor... wait a moment!"
PS: Linghu appeared in No. 6 Middle School!
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