However, when Emperor Zhao came into contact with some information in this era, he immediately changed his previous opinion. Because as far as he knew, Zhong Xiang did use religious associations to help the local poor people, but at the same time, he had been calling himself a great sage in Dongting Lake a long time ago. After the Jingkang Incident last year, he even tried to directly imply that he was the "King of Chu" in a mysterious way.
In other words, Zhong Xiang was both a rescuer and an exploiter of the poor, a careerist who spread false rumors to confuse the public, and a profit-seeker. This was the case with many leaders of peasant uprisings, such as Fang La a few years ago and Zhang Jue thousands of years ago.
So, without discussing the legitimacy and limitations of the peasant uprising, Emperor Zhao, as a time traveler and a member of the Zhao family, must have a contradictory mentality.
Of course, a time traveler should have unlimited sympathy for the working people. Who made him come from a poor village in his previous life and receive that kind of education? And as the most idiotic member of the Zhao family here, he can't help but feel a serious threat to a group that is destined to rebel.
This contradictory psychology has recently developed to an extreme...
"Officials."
At this time, Li Gang's other confidant, Li Guang, Lin Qi's biggest political ally in the palace, saw that Lu Yihao was speechless for a moment, and most of the people around him were persuaded. Naturally, he wanted to strike while the iron was hot, so he gritted his teeth and simply bypassed several ministers and directly bowed to the emperor Zhao who was thinking about it. "There is a precedent for this matter, just like Zong Liushou and Li Gongxiang. Before Zong Liushou returned to Tokyo, Tokyo was surrounded by military bandits, but Zong Liushou turned the military bandits back into soldiers of the Song Dynasty; and there were many military riots in the southeast before, but Li Gongxiang was there, and he let bygones be bygones and treated them properly. Didn't he also turn the rebels who might become rebels into regular troops again? So, the solidity of mountains and rivers lies in virtue, not in danger. Even a traitor like Zhong Xiang can't be treated with mercy..."
"But when Prime Minister Li pacified the rebellious army, didn't he also pacify the villain like Fan Qiong?" Suddenly, Scholar Kobayashi, who had been silent all this time, spoke with a solemn expression and directly interrupted Li Guang's words.
As soon as Scholar Kobayashi opened his mouth, the parties involved and the rest of the people in the hall were all stunned and didn't know how to respond.
Everyone knew the importance of Scholar Kobayashi in front of the emperor, but on the one hand, Scholar Kobayashi valued his status and was always very cunning, so he seldom expressed his views publicly in front of the emperor. On the other hand, because of his name, Scholar Kobayashi often deliberately avoided the Minister of Revenue Lin Qi... Therefore, when this person suddenly spoke at this time, everyone misunderstood. Could it be a signal from the emperor?
"Prime Minister Zhong cannot be trusted!"
At this time, Lu Yihao also sorted out his thoughts and immediately took the opportunity to counterattack. "Before the Jingkang Incident, everyone in the world thought that the Jin people were not enough to shake the overall situation, so at that time, Zhong Xiang also sent his son to defend the king; but after the Jingkang Incident, seeing that the Song Dynasty was in danger, this person couldn't wait to let his son reorganize the fishermen in Dongting Lake and form a rebellious army, and also let people spread the rumors of the "King of Chu"; when the secondary capital was set in Nanyang, the government acted vigorously, executed Ding Jin, expelled Wanyan Yinshuke, swept Huaixi, and destroyed Fan Qiong, and the central government also recovered a little vitality through a series of actions, and this person immediately accepted the central government's appeasement; and now that the news of the Jin people's invasion to the south has just spread, he immediately came to ask for food... What is this? Is he asking for food? I clearly only see an ambitious and opportunistic person testing the court! If you give him food today, not to mention that it will stabilize him, I'm afraid he will think that the central government is weak, and then wait for the Jin people to come and take the opportunity to raise troops, right?!"
"Prime Minister Lu Shu." Lin Qi came back to his senses and hurriedly replied. "Can we explain clearly the human heart?"
"Do you dare to guarantee it?!" Lu Yihao responded coldly. "If you dare to guarantee it, I will allow you to release the enemy!"
Lin Qi became more speechless.
"alright."
When the situation in the hall was tense, Emperor Zhao, who had just thrown a Tongbao in his hand, suddenly spoke up. "Isn't it just a gamble? Success or failure has nothing to do with the overall situation... It's as if a Zhong Xiang can poke a hole in the sky. It's a good thing that he doesn't rebel; but even if he rebels, can he still send his navy ashore, defeat Ma Shen and rob Xiangyang?!"
Everyone fell silent.
Emperor Zhao looked at the Jianyan Tongbao coin that he had caught, and suddenly laughed again: "I have made up my mind. I would rather fight with the internal thieves than the external invaders... Just give it to him! Wanqi Qing, you can go again!"
Everyone knew how Emperor Zhao made the decision and thought it was ridiculous, but no one could come up with a better solution. They could only watch Wanqi Xie rush forward and receive the order.
"Starting tomorrow, I will not listen to your discussions in the palace, and you don't have to stay here." Zhao Jiu put away the Tongbao, stood up and continued to speak, which made the ministers in the palace more shocked and panicked. "Since the war has begun, I will go to the Yushan camp to live permanently. From the two ministers of the Privy Council, everyone from the two ministers down will follow me to the army and make preparations quickly. I will see the deployment of the entire army tonight. Don't worry about other things. As for the two prime ministers of the capital, Minister Lu will stay in Nanyang to preside over the overall situation and make a decision with one word. Minister Xu should not delay and go to Xiangyang immediately. If there is a change in Nanyang, Minister Xu can make a decision with Minister Liu of Xiangyang. Anyway, don't quarrel all day... Of course, the officials of each department and temple will be divided into two, and who will go and who will stay will discuss it by themselves, and don't delay."
As he spoke, Emperor Zhao actually tucked his things into his sleeves and went to the harem, leaving the whole room in silence.
"Your Majesty!" In the midst of the silence, the Chief Censor Hu Yin suddenly stepped out and spoke loudly. "The Censorate does not agree with him. I wish to split it into two, half to serve Your Majesty, and the other half to supervise the army! There is no need to go to Xiangyang."
There were countless people in the hall, and their faces turned pale when they heard this, but Emperor Zhao turned around, smiled, and then walked away with his sleeves tucked in without saying a word.
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