Chapter 159: Asking Things (Part 2)
The king and his minister exchanged a few words, which was considered as the end of their "greetings", and then they slowly walked into the hall together.
At this time, Zhao Jiu finally sensed the weakness of the other person's body and determined that he was probably just in a state of last breath. Because when he supported this person who had traveled around the world for ten years when he was young and was famous for his strong body and rough words and deeds, he could hardly feel the weight of his hands.
However, the more this happened, the more cautious Zhao Jiu became... because at this time, 'Grandpa Zong' was actually 'invincible' to him, an official.
In fact, it was not just Zhao Jiu. People like Hu Yin, the Chief Censor who was known as half-prime minister, Lin Jingmo, the internal confidant of the government officials, and Lan Gui, the chief escort of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, all became cautious after seeing the scene just now and understanding the connection. People like Wanqi Xie, Wang Shan, Guo Zhongxun, etc. were even a little terrified.
But no matter what, now that they were here, they had no choice but to look at each other and then carefully enter the hall.
"Why are you all so careful?" Zong Ze sat down in the first seat on the left hand with the help of Zhao Guanjia, and called his son to serve him. Seeing Zhao Guanjia sitting down, but the others did not dare to move, he could not help but laugh again. "Do you think I am not treating you well enough? Today is just a private banquet, don't be restrained just because the emperor is here."
The government has no constraints!
Hu Yin and others became more and more helpless, but they had no choice but to sit down. And then, since the prime minister had spoken publicly, they did not dare to follow the rules of public banquets and rank the guests according to their official positions. Instead, they followed the customs of private banquets in the officialdom in previous years and arranged the seats according to their seniority and background. In the end, the four Jinshi candidates, Guo Zhongxun, Lin Jingmo, and Hu Yin, sat on the left according to their seniority, while Lan Gui, Wanqi Xie, Liu Yan, Wang Shan and a bunch of other people carefully sat opposite.
The banquet was very crude, the wine was not good, and there were not many dishes. Of course, everyone was so nervous that they had no mood to enjoy it.
"I heard that the official Yanling won the battle?"
As expected, after everyone was seated, they reluctantly ate some dishes, but before the wine was poured, Zong Ze, who had just said that it was a private banquet, started asking questions again.
"Let the garrison commander know that Yanling was indeed victorious." Guo Zhongxun, who was standing beside him, was invigorated when he heard this and quickly spoke up. "More than a dozen Meng'an were completely wiped out, Wanhu Pucha Hubalu was also killed, the enemy in Zhongmu retreated, and Wanyan Talan..."
"I'm asking the emperor." Zong Ze tried hard to turn his head and look at his prosecutor, who just lowered his head and dared not speak after being looked at by him.
"That's true." Zhao Jiu was straightforward. "But this battle was forced into a desperate situation, and we had no choice but to fight for our lives. Since it was a desperate move, the cause is not worthy of praise, and the result is still unknown."
"Let's not talk about the cause for now, but the result is still worth talking about." Under the candlelight in the room, Zong Ze squinted his eyes and looked at Emperor Zhao carefully, then shook his head slowly. "Song and Jin have been fighting for five years, with few victories and many defeats. Every victory is worthy of praise, let alone such a big victory? In my opinion, after Changsha is recovered, the Wuhe area will return to the hands of the royal army, and the Jin army will be separated from the north and the south. This situation has already come to life..."
"I beg to differ." Zhao Jiu also shook his head. "The Jin army has more than 200,000 households in the east and west, and the whole country probably has 300,000 people. A dozen or so Meng An are not enough to shake the overall situation. Moreover, the final outcome of this battle still depends on the situation of Han Shizhong and Yue Fei in the next few days."
"Then what does it mean to have a result?" Zong Ze lowered his head and thought for a moment, then asked again with a serious expression.
"In fact, in my opinion, regardless of victory or defeat, the only priority is to force the Jin army across the Yellow River as soon as possible." Zhao Jiu was still straightforward. "Just try not to delay the spring farming in Henan..."
"That's true." Zong Ze leaned on his son's arm, thinking. "Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven, so you should be looking at things from a higher perspective... But after all, it's a great victory for the Royal Army, so it can't be faked. Besides, Han Shizhong and Yue Fei are both talented generals, so I think the overall situation will not be delayed... Let's drink a cup of victory and congratulate the Royal Army."
Everyone in the hall breathed a sigh of relief, and then quickly raised their glasses. Even Zong Ze himself reluctantly took a sip from the glass his son raised.
However, as everyone put down their cups, the next moment, as the clan minister continued to speak, everyone became nervous again:
"Your Majesty, Du Chong was a great minister, why was he killed by your own hands in the hall?"
"His son Du Yan personally reported to the Prime Minister that Du Chong and Talai agreed not to fight, which violated the previous edict of Bagong Mountain..." Zhao Jiu had already replied concisely, but at this point, he sighed. "In fact, even if it is based on this, it is still possible to kill him or not. However, if he is not killed, firstly, I cannot properly obtain the military power and intimidate the commanders of the Tokyo garrison to ask for an immediate dispatch of troops; secondly, I will not be at peace!"
"The emperor is really frank today." Zong Ze couldn't help but smile.
"I dare not be disrespectful to my superior, Lord Prime Minister." Zhao Jiu bowed calmly.
"In this case, I am still curious about one thing...Why can't the emperor settle this matter?" Zong Ze smiled.
"We fled from Nanyang to Yanling to gather troops, and suffered heavy casualties along the way." Zhao Jiu answered patiently.
"I don't believe it." Zong Ze suddenly shook his head.
"Why?"
"In the past in Hebei, the emperor didn't even take care of his own father, brother, mother and sister. How could he sympathize with and care about ordinary soldiers?" Zong Ze's tone was still flat, but there was a hint of awe in his words.
If anyone else in the hall had a heart disease, they would have had a heart attack on the spot and died even faster than Mr. Zong. But even if they were not sick, many people wanted to cover their ears immediately. As for Hu Yin, who always had his own opinions and expressed them without restraint, he could hardly bear it at this moment.
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