As Zhai Ruwen briefly introduced the progress of the contact with the Jin envoy, there was silence in the secret room for a while.
There were two reasons for the silence. One was that they did not expect the Jin people to be so straightforward and agree to the unconditional return of the two saints so easily; the other was that some topics were too sensitive for them, the ministers.
To be honest, in order to cater to the emperor's selfishness, they deliberately planned to keep the two saints and the royal family... As a minister, can I discuss such things? But the Jin envoy was unwilling to cover up anything and said everything nakedly. It would be self-deception to try to avoid it.
"In that case, there should be no problem in welcoming back the two emperors?" Zhao Ding said helplessly, but then he looked at the Minister of Rites Zhu Shengfei. "If the two emperors return to the south, what kind of etiquette should be used to greet them? And how should they be accommodated? Does the Ministry of Rites have any advice?"
"The Ministry of Rites has no comment." Zhu Shengfei said with a dark face and spread his hands. "This is not a precedent. Please give us an explanation, gentlemen."
This was the first time that several men, including Zhao Ding, discovered that Zhu Shengfei was so annoying?!
"You two are both honored as the Supreme Emperor, and there are also the two Empress Dowagers Zheng and Wei. These are the four honorable positions..." Zhao Ding continued this topic helplessly, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he felt that Zhu Shengfei really had no chance of making a statement, because no one could make a statement.
Putting aside other things, these four people, plus the Empress Yuanyou of Yangzhou, are theoretically above the emperor, but in reality they are only below him. How should they be accommodated?
Empress Dowager Yuanyou has a palace in Yangzhou, but do you dare to let her escape from the government's surveillance?
But if these two plus the two queen dowagers were allowed to stay in the same city with the emperor, Genyue had been abandoned, fish ponds had been dug in the imperial garden, 30% of the spacious Yeonbok Palace had been allocated to the military academy, and the capital and the Privy Council had moved into the palace, how many palaces would be left? Couldn't they really just give them a side palace?
Moreover, the government is so frugal, so what regulations should be used to accommodate these four people?
Of course, the most crucial thing is that no matter whether it is a side hall or a Taoist temple, who can make the decision without the approval of Emperor Zhao by the fish pond?
"How about Yanfu Palace?" Zhao Ding, who had been thinking for half a day, had no choice but to ask around. "Most of Yanfu Palace is unused. Clean it up first, and then use Yanfu Palace as a contingency plan to welcome the emperor. When the two emperors return, the emperor will have to come out eventually. If the emperor has other solutions, we can ask him then."
The other prime ministers looked at each other, and could only nod their heads together, then looked at Zhu Shengfei together.
Zhu Shengfei sighed when he heard this, and could only say: "Whatever the husbands say is what it is."
Zhao Ding and others found this person more and more annoying!
“If the Yeongbok Palace is used to house the two emperors and the two empresses dowagers…should the martial arts academy be moved out?” At this moment, Zhang Jie, the judge of the Shaofu Supervisor, suddenly spoke up.
However, after these words were spoken, they only attracted angry glares from the ministers. Then, the Minister of Justice Wang Shu sneered, "It is precisely because the martial arts are there that the Yanfu Palace can use them. How can they take them back?"
Zhang Jie suddenly realized what was going on, but his face turned red from holding it in.
The ministers glared at Wang Shu again, but Wang Shu remained arrogant and disdainful.
"Does the Honglu Temple have anything else to say?" After Liu Ji glared at Zhai Ruwen, he quickly asked.
Zhai Ruwen hesitated to speak, but still spoke carefully: "There is a clan member..."
Everyone frowned, thinking that one of the emperor's sons was confirmed dead. Liu Ji was even more helpless and urged: "Who?"
"Prince Xin." Zhai Ruwen looked at him carefully. "It is said that Prince Xin is still alive in Wuguo City."
All the senior officials in the secret chamber were puzzled, but then they all came to their senses, and then they all became solemn.
"This is a negotiation tactic to make the imperial court give up the Taihang righteous army." Zhao Ding's face was immediately solemn. "Without seeing Prince Xin who returned with the two saints, this statement cannot be believed, nor can it be spread."
Everyone nodded.
"Is there anything else?" Liu Ji asked helplessly.
"No more." Zhai Ruowen quickly shook his head.
"Okay, let's just arrange the news from the Honglu Temple today, and wait for more news..." Seeing this, Liu Ji concluded helplessly. "Zhai Keqing (another name for the Honglu Temple Minister) continues to talk with Wulinda Zanmo. The emperor's conditions cannot be changed at all."
Zhai Ruwen nodded his head again.
"Do you have any other questions?" After Liu Ji finished giving his instructions, he turned to the others again.
"Apart from the peace talks, what else can we do?" Liu Dazhong, the Minister of Personnel, said with emotion, but he bowed to the people above him. "My dear ministers, Hu Quan, are you really not going to do anything about it? He said in the official newspaper that we are 'evil villains', saying that we are trying to 'privately consolidate our positions as prime minister, minister of most ministries, and vice minister', and that we are leading His Majesty, who has the 'qualities of Yao and Shun', to Shi Jin (Shi Jingtang's Later Jin)'. He almost said that all of us should be beheaded... What on earth is this?"
After Liu Dazhong finished speaking, several prime ministers and the other dozen or so ministers in the secret cabinet all sighed.
To be honest, among the bureaucrats, there are many who agree with peace talks, and there are also many who cooperate silently. However, it cannot be ignored that there are also many people who strongly oppose peace talks.
Previously, Emperor Zhao had been strongly in favor of war, and the people below who advocated peace talks were overwhelming, so it seemed that the people in favor of war could not resist for a while. However, once the emperor gave up on this matter, the court really began to negotiate peace, and these pro-war factions became the opposition, and the public sentiment also seemed overwhelming.
In the past few days, the ministers had to conceal their original positions and try their best to maintain the overall situation because of their connecting roles. However, under the prime minister, the three biggest pro-war representatives have emerged. The Minister of Justice in the Secret Cabinet, Wang Shu, is the biggest pro-war person, and he is the representative of the upper bureaucracy; there are also many among the middle and lower-level officials, especially the young Hu Quan, who is the most active in the court reports, and yesterday he even shouted the slogan "Those who negotiate peace will be beheaded"; as for the people, an unexpected pro-war person has also appeared, and he is Hu Yin's father, Hu Anguo.
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