"Of course... Of course there must be," Zhao Jiu smiled to himself before continuing. "Mr. Li lacks military and financial strategies, but it's not his fault, because he was originally here to lead the scholars to hold up the pressure, and that's what he was destined to do, and scholars are supposed to hold up the pressure and then become exhausted... So he is only a role model for the time being, not a pillar of support for the long term... Nothing in the world can be accomplished by scholars alone! Then, Mr. Zhang, do you know who became the role model and pillar of the time after Mr. Li?"
Zhang Jiucheng's face turned pale. He had already thought of the answer and understood why Emperor Zhao suddenly left the original issue under discussion and started with Li Gang.
"Who are the people who stand out behind Li Gang and serve as role models for the world and pillars of the country?" Zhao Jiu's tone became increasingly higher, as if he had never spoken so fiercely and firmly in his life.
"He spent half his life as a traitor, had a terrible reputation in the officialdom, and only ascended to the position of a prefect when he was nearly seventy years old. Then, he carried the pot and straw on his back and lay on a donkey cart to retake Tokyo!
"It was because he impeached Li Gang for not understanding military affairs that he changed his name and fled, but he still donated money to fight the war, and was defeated in the war. He had to regroup his troops and recapture the border tyrant Li Yanxian in Shanzhou!
"After their hometown was looted and many famous Luoxue scholars fled, they were determined to fight the Jin people to the end even if their families were destroyed!
"He is a rogue general of the Western Army, Han Shizhong, who has always behaved in an unruly manner and possesses all five poisons. However, he has fought against almost all enemies in the entire Song Dynasty, and he has fought bravely every time, having personally experienced the battles!
"He was born a bandit, and he only wanted to protect his hometown. He might even be the leader of the Liangshanpo bandits, Zhang Rong, who was forced to go against them!
"It was Ma Kuo, the 'villain who allied with the Jin' who was imprisoned because of someone's anger, and even after being released by his old Jurchen friends, he still wanted to flee to the Taihang Mountains to fight against the Jin!
"He was born in a humble family. He experienced almost the entire Song-Jin War and almost every brutal battle. However, he still knew the hardships of the people in the south of the Yangtze River and the difficulties of farming. He was so reluctant to eat even a chicken. He was the former commander-in-chief Yue Fei!
"Who are these people? They are the sideline officials that you scholars look down upon, the powerful landlords who are usually lawless, the rogues who are full of evil, the fishermen and tenants who just want to live in shame... But it is these people who have stood up one by one when you are sitting in the south with your hands folded, drinking tea and discussing Zen all day long! They have contributed to China, and are no less than the prime ministers such as Li, Xu, Zhao, Zhang, Er, and Lu... You point to the black spots on these people and say they have no virtue? Then who has virtue? You are a bunch of idiots who sit by the West Lake and listen to me speak?!"
At this point, Emperor Zhao's tone suddenly lost control, frightening those who were "for consultation" around him. They wanted to stand up and apologize, but they didn't dare to move.
"You say I'm too impatient! Don't I want to slow down? But can a mere emperor like me make the final decision on all the affairs of the world? I'm just a floating duckweed in front of these people I just mentioned! I'm basically being led by someone in front and chased by someone behind! Everyone has to carry something! I'm the emperor, but I carry even more!
"Li Gang flashed by, so he can sit in Jiangnan for nothing. I can also let him go, but what about Chen Dong who was executed by Huang Qianshan? If I don't quickly launch the Northern Expedition, how can I deal with Chen Dong? How can I deal with Zong Zhongwu who was exhausted to death in Tokyo? How can I deal with Li Yanxian who gritted his teeth in Shanzhou for seven years? How can I talk to Yue Fei, Zhang Rong and Ma Kuo? Even after my death today, there is Lu Yihao who bears the grievances of millions of people in the southeast for me. If I don't quickly launch the Northern Expedition, how can I be worthy of him? And if I don't quickly launch the Northern Expedition, how can I face the millions of people in the two rivers? You say that I am too hasty and I am sorry for the scholars and people in Jiangnan. In my opinion, if I don't quickly launch the Northern Expedition and delay it, I will be really sorry for the scholars and people in Jiangnan! I am sorry for the hundreds of millions of poor and voiceless people in the north, south, east and west!
"Those people are not like you. You can come to me and tell me how to speed up or slow down, but they can't even speak!"
Emperor Zhao was furious and kept making inappropriate remarks. Li Gang, who had always been in control of his character, had already completely lost his composure when the name Chen Dong, which made him a little dazed, appeared, and his eyes were wandering. Zong Ying was standing there, and tears were streaming down his face without him knowing when. Even Lu Yihao, who had a stern face like Li Gang, was finally stunned when Emperor Zhao mentioned him.
"It's Mr. Xu. Have you ever thought about why he didn't speak up for you?" Zhao Jiu turned around, panting. Seeing that there was still a Mr. Xu who was maintaining his dignity, he just said a few words to break the other party's defense. "Because even if it was him, he also had to think about Mr. Zhang Que who died of illness on the road!"
Since Xu Jingheng had lost his composure, Zhao Jiu didn't bother to pay attention to it and turned back to look at Zhang Jiuchen.
As the saying goes, a master can be killed by a random punch, and a gentleman can be deceived by a trick... Up to this point, Mr. Wuqiu, who had just met the moody Zhao Guanjia, had never thought that things would develop to this point. He had already been forced into a panic by the Zhao Guanjia, who had no manners of a king. When he met the other party's gaze at this time, he dodged for a moment.
However, Zhao Jiu had no intention of letting him go. Instead, he took a few steps forward, grabbed his shoulder, and said earnestly, "You must be sincere. I have been sincere today... But it is not enough, Mr. Zhang, let's go back to the beginning. I said I was a little disappointed in you, but in fact, Mr. Zhang is still the most gentlemanly and moral scholar I have seen in these five days. This is also the most rewarding political question in these five days... Do you know what happened?"
Zhang Jiucheng was actually a little scared for a moment: "Bai Shen... Bai Shen doesn't know."
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