Chapter 248: Coming and Going (Part 1)
In the high sky of September, Zhao Jiu personally went out of the city twenty miles to see off the Goryeo envoy Zheng Zhichang on his return to the east. He also held banquets along the way and asked civil and military officials to accompany him. Every time they traveled a mile, Emperor Zhao would personally raise a cup to toast, and he would also ask a minister who was famous for poetry and prose to compose poems and lyrics to see him off.
When they said goodbye for the last time, Emperor Zhao even held Scholar Zheng's hand and called him an international friend... "Ji" means between each other, which means that Scholar Zheng is worthy of being the weight of the two countries and maintaining friendship for the countries... Besides, Zheng Zhichang had already been intoxicated by all the previous courtesies, and when he received this title when they said goodbye for the last time, he burst into tears and kept calling for the emperor's grace.
It can be said that, apart from the fact that Emperor Zhao happened to have no poetic mood today, which was an extremely regrettable thing, Zheng Xueshi's mission after the situation between Song and Jin was settled was almost perfect.
After returning, he will be able to surpass Jin Fushi by seven or eight heads.
However, when the international friend Zheng Zhichang left accompanied by the envoy Wang Lun, Emperor Zhao turned around and had a rare dark look on his face... and many of the accompanying ministers were also very worried.
There was no other reason. Everyone knew what was going on. Zheng Zhichang had been drunk too much and had already left, but he actually came back and held the emperor's hand, saying that he was grateful for the emperor's kindness and that after returning to Goryeo, he must find out the situation of Wuguo City for the emperor, try his best to redeem the nobles and noble ladies of the Song Dynasty, and try his best to negotiate with the Jin people about the matter of the two saints...
Others may not know, but when Emperor Zhao entrusted his son to the care of Yiyoumen, he had already made his attitude towards Emperor Taishang Daojun clear. So although he could not say it openly, all the important officials knew Emperor Zhao's intentions:
The so-called Northern Hunting Two Saints, the attitude of the Emperor Zhao was not at all "give me a share" when facing the threat of the enemy. That was an open explanation. From the bottom of his heart, he obviously had resentment! It can be said that he was directly looking forward to the other party to quickly give him a "share".
Therefore, how could the official not be annoyed after hearing Zheng Zhichang's superfluous words?
However, it was just an episode after all. Zhao Jiu returned to the city in anger, and the situation gradually calmed down after two or three days. After all, life still had to go on. Then Zhao Ding from Huaishang and Liu Ji from Xiangyang arrived one after another, and so far, the prime ministers in the city were ready, which made the atmosphere more lively.
For example, as soon as Liu Ji arrived, he publicly wrote a letter, pointing out that the situation in Tokyo was different from before, and that the many assignments held by Chen Gui, the Co-director of the Privy Council and Minister of War and Prefect of Kaifeng, were also made during wartime, and should be abolished in imitation of the envoys and ministers in the south... At the same time, he also proposed that Chen Gui had worked hard and made great contributions, and had never made any mistakes in his overall management of military industry and logistics, and that he should be dismissed from the inappropriate position of Co-director of the Privy Council and directly promoted to Deputy Privy Envoy.
Chen Gui was of course happy about this. He came from a Ming Dynasty law family and had even committed such misdeeds as robbing books from the homes of celebrities. He thought he had no hope of becoming a prime minister in this life and could only hang around like this. Now that he could become a prime minister with a legitimate title, he was happy to do anything.
And it wasn't just Chen Gui. Zhao Jiu also agreed almost immediately. Even the civil and military officials in the court had nothing to say... Because everyone knew without the official saying it that he didn't promote Chen Gui a long time ago only because he was worried that there would be too much resistance and it would seem too drastic, which would be embarrassing if obstacles arose.
In fact, the official had no fundamental reason to object to this matter. In fact, in the official's mind, Chen Gui had already been a prime minister, only lacking the official title.
Therefore, it was almost effortless and natural that as soon as Liu Ji, the deputy prime minister of the capital province, took office, he pushed his old subordinate Chen Gui, who had served for a short time but was unquestionable, to the position of deputy privy envoy.
That's not all. After being "promoted" to a regular position and giving up the posts of prefect of Kaifeng and minister of the Ministry of War, Chen Gui immediately recommended Yan Xiaozhong, the prefect of Nanyang Prefecture, as prefect of Kaifeng, and was immediately recognized by Zhao Jiu.
Now, many people began to look with admiration at Liu Ji, the former Jingxi Transport Commissioner and later Xiangyang Envoy... because both of Liu Ji's personnel suggestions were extremely clever.
To be specific, on the one hand, it took the emperor's wishes into consideration... because everyone knew that both Chen Gui and Yan Xiaozhong were the people favored by the emperor; on the other hand, it used Nanyang, the secondary capital during this special period, to lay the foundation for Prime Minister Liu.
You must know that Liu Ji, Chen Gui and Yan Xiaozhong were all pillars of the court when it was exiled to Nanyang. Moreover, they were all native officials from the area around Nanyang who rose to prominence in the same batch after the imperial court moved to Nanyang. They came together and naturally formed a so-called Nanyang faction.
It can only be said that Prime Minister Liu Ji, if he did not make a move, would have made a stunning debut. He completed his layout in Tokyo quickly before Zhao Ding and Zhang Jun, who were more favored by everyone, made their move, and laid a solid foundation for himself.
But that was where the talk ended. A night later, early the next morning, Zhao Ding and Zhang Jun, who had reacted, almost simultaneously proposed their respective candidates for the Minister of War. Zhao Ding recommended Hu Shijiang, the prefect of Zhenjiang Prefecture. Apparently, Hu Shijiang had work contact with Zhao Ding, who had long served in Huainan, due to issues concerning the transportation of materials and finances. According to Prime Minister Zhao, Hu Shijiang was extremely good at military logistics. Zhang Jun recommended Lü Zhi, the prefect of Jiangning Prefecture. The reason was that after the great victory at Yaoshan, Lü Zhi had sent a booklet he had written to the Privy Council. It was a comprehensive national strategy, covering everything from how to quell the Dongting Lake rebellion to how to manage the entire south and how to destroy the Jin Kingdom step by step. It was written in a vivid and colorful manner, and Zhang Jun, who had just taken over the Privy Council, believed that Lü Zhi was a genius.
In response to this, Zhao Jiu immediately made a decision and appointed Hu Shijiang as the Minister of War.
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