This day is the last day of October and also the last day of the Jianyan Martial Arts Conference.
Everyone knows that today will not be peaceful... not because of the matter of the vegetable-eating demon cult, but because, as Xu Jingheng had worried before, with the free time of the previous two days, plus the fact that they were already familiar with the operation of the conference, and Emperor Zhao finally showed an "attitude of a wise ruler", these scholars and officials finally plucked up the courage to complete the final connection that transcended regions and was centered on political stance.
And these connections were actually semi-public. Those famous scholars in the south of the Yangtze River each occupied a restaurant, quoted scriptures, and jointly recommended who would write the letter on behalf of who else. There was no need for Yang Yi Zhong to investigate, they were so noisy that even the carp under the West Lake knew about it.
Sure enough, not long after that morning, Emperor Zhao received a very interesting letter.
"amnesty?"
On the open ground at the foot of Phoenix Mountain, on the south bank of West Lake, Emperor Zhao, wearing a half-worn red robe, sat with his back to the mountain and facing the lake. His envoy Lu Yihao, as an incumbent prime minister, sat directly on the left side of the desk. Then Li Gang and Xu Jingheng led the way on the left and right, with hundreds of scholars, wealthy businessmen, monks and Taoists "available for consultation" lined up on the left and right, and sat down along the slightly undulating mountain... In addition, there were several close ministers behind the emperor, and hundreds of imperial guards in full armor lined up like a forest, standing solemnly on the periphery... It was clearly divided and looked quite imposing.
"It is the amnesty."
Even though he had been prepared, the middle-aged scholar who was making suggestions could not help but feel a little nervous when he came to this occasion in person. He recalled that he had ridiculed those scholars who were speechless in front of the emperor in the restaurant before, and he felt embarrassed and ashamed... Of course, this man was a bold man after all. After a little pause, he stood firm and made his suggestion. "Your Majesty, I think that it has been seven years since the Jingkang Incident, and the past right and wrong merits and demerits have long been completely changed. At the time of the country's northern expedition, why not put benevolence and forgiveness first and grant amnesty to the world to show the integrity and justice?"
"Jing Kang's merits and demerits... But I have pardoned them before?" Zhao Jiu said in a daze. "The Central Plains bandits were all pardoned after farming for a year, and the Central Plains wasteland was given to them for resettlement... This was the matter that Prime Minister Xu Gong ruled."
Xu Jingheng nodded slightly, twirled his beard and frowned, causing the middle-aged scholar to panic for a moment, but soon, he gritted his teeth and said: "Your Majesty, what I said is not referring to the rebel army in Jingkang!"
"Then they surrendered to the Jin people?" Zhao Jiu replied with a sigh. "I made an oath on Mount Bagong that I will never coexist with them... I will never pardon them!"
The man hesitated for a moment, but continued to bow and said: "Since the Jingkang period, not only those who surrendered to the Jin Dynasty have been convicted..."
Zhao Jiu asked seriously: "If that's the case, why don't you just tell me who they are?"
"Important ministers like Ye Mengde and Huang Qianshan, royal relatives like the emperor's brothers... I think they can all be pardoned to show your majesty's benevolence and forgiveness." The man finally bowed his head and told the truth.
"Then should we pardon Zhang Bangchang and the Supreme Emperor Yuansheng who is in the west of the city?" Several officials frowned and said nothing. Zhao Jiu finally brushed the table and sneered, but this caused hundreds of scholars, wealthy merchants, monks and laymen who were present "for consultation" to be shocked.
All I can say is that this official is a bit like what the rumors say... frivolous and unbecoming of a monarch!
"Zhang Bangchang surrendered to the Jin people, so he cannot be pardoned..." the man hurriedly explained. "As for the Supreme Saint Emperor, he was already well-fed in Dongxiao Palace, so of course he cannot be pardoned. However, if the Supreme Dao Emperor and the Supreme Saint Emperor can be allowed to return to Tokyo, people all over the world will praise your filial piety..."
"You claim to be from Chuzhou, so you are from the same hometown as Ye Mengde." Zhao Jiu suddenly interrupted him. "And I have heard that you are famous for your poetry and you once studied under Ye Mengde..."
The middle-aged scholar was stunned for a moment, then he quickly bowed and explained: "We are all public-spirited."
"You are doing this to plead for Ye Mengde, and I know that Ye Mengde's punishment was not clear, and outsiders feel that he was wronged." Zhao Jiu looked down at the documents on the table, shook his head slightly, and his tone was still calm. If you didn't know, you would think he was talking to himself. Fortunately, the West Lake at the foot of Phoenix Mountain was so quiet that everyone pricked up their ears to listen, and barely understood what he meant. "But since you are pleading for Ye Mengde, why should you spare someone like Huang Qianshan? Do you really think that the more people you drag in, the more selfless you will appear? Or do you think that the more people you drag in, the more you can use the way of benevolence and forgiveness to make me surrender?"
"I dare not."
"Whether you dare or not, some people really cannot be pardoned... For example, Huang Qianshan, although he did not surrender to the Jin Dynasty like Zhang Bangchang, he had the policy of abandoning the land, and even the conspiracy of connecting the eunuchs to isolate the inside and the outside. If I want to pardon him, it is actually simple, because he is just an old scholar now... But once pardoned, may I ask how I should treat Li Gang, the prime minister beside me, who advocated war at the time but was expelled from the court by Huang Qianshan?" As he said this, Emperor Zhao pointed casually.
After the middle-aged scholar glanced at Li Gang, he finally lost control and began to panic. Li Gang himself, on the other hand, just sighed and said nothing.
"It's not just Prime Minister Li. How should I be grateful to Prime Minister Lu Haowen, Prime Minister Zhang Jun, who rescued me from Mingdao Palace that day, and the two commanders Yang Yizhong and Liu Yan who were standing here and had the merit of saving me at that time?" Zhao Jiu raised his head and continued to point behind him, causing Yang and Liu to quickly bow and salute.
The scholar became increasingly flustered and quickly apologized: "I am an ignorant person..."
"And my brothers..." Zhao Jiu ignored him, but looked around and raised his voice slightly to explain. "Of course I can pardon them. Why can't I? But the court has just issued a reform strategy for the royal family to save money. If I pardon them now and restore their royal titles, what will happen to the court's laws? Will the other distant royal families say that I am partial and that the court is targeting them?"
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