Zhang Deyuan knew that the emperor had summoned him for something, so he said no more. Instead, he dismounted and took out a small notebook from the backpack on the horse's buttocks. He picked up a small piece of fine charcoal from it and spread it out on the saddle. He leaned over to record and asked, "Liu Ziyu, a native of Jianzhou. May I ask what your name is? How old are you? And your father's name?"
"My name is Yanxiu, I am 32 years old, and my father is Liu Huiqian, the former Grand Secretary of the Council of State Affairs!"
Zhang Jun, who was lying there, looked up in astonishment: "You are actually Liu Zhongyan's eldest son?!"
Just as Liu Ziyu was about to say something else, the eunuch's boat on the river approached, and Zhang Xiantai hurriedly put away his notebook, carried his backpack and went down. When he reached the river, he hurriedly turned back and said, "Brother Yanxiu is a man of great talent, and a descendant of a loyal and honest man. Please be patient. When there is a chance, I will recommend you to the emperor! I will definitely give you a good assignment where you can display your talents!"
After saying this, without waiting for Liu Ziyu to react, Zhang Jun carried his bag and boarded the boat to the other side to look for Emperor Zhao.
After Zhang Jun left, they knew that Liu Ziwu was a person with a strong foundation, so the group of people looked at each other and simply dispersed. However, before leaving, they could not help but leave behind some ridiculous remarks such as "The Grand Secretary of the Zizheng Palace will also look for connections with the Xiantai in the future" and "It is actually this person who is on the Xiantai's promotion list today".
Not to mention the disturbances outside, on this afternoon, Emperor Zhao suddenly stopped the big ship and convened an impromptu imperial meeting in Guangzhou on the south bank of the Huai River. However, the atmosphere of this meeting, which was held in a tent in the wild, was obviously no longer as festive and peaceful as before.
The reason is actually very simple. The so-called "insignificant" matter that Liu Ziyu just mentioned is already imminent.
"I'd like to let you know that Ding Jin is making unusual movements ahead."
The first to speak and introduce the problem was the Prime Minister Wang Boyan. After deciding to make Nanyang the secondary capital, he became more active and no longer cautious. I don't know if it was an illusion, but although he was introducing a difficult matter, he always looked very energetic, as if he was talking about something happy. "When the emperor entered Guangzhou, the Privy Council summoned this person to the emperor, but he was hesitant and didn't dare to come easily. Finally, the emperor issued an order and he set off. He actually brought 30,000 people to see the emperor. At this time, he was stationed in Zhugao Town, 40 miles ahead, and seemed to be the host."
"Ding Jinben can't be trusted."
After everyone heard this, the prime minister naturally spoke first, and probably because Li Gang didn't have to come, Lu Haowen seemed to be more energetic. "He was originally a bandit who took advantage of the chaos and was forced to surrender before the war. It's not surprising that he behaved like this."
"That's right." The third official Xu Jingheng also took the opportunity to speak. "If I remember correctly, this guy was supposed to be stationed in Zhugao Town. He was summoned here just now. It seems that he had retreated before. It can be seen that not all warriors are like Zhang Jun and Han Shizhong. Yue Fei and Zhang Rong are even rarer..."
The three prime ministers were talking about some opening nonsense, but Chief Censor Zhang Jun, who was still carrying a backpack, couldn't help squinting at Emperor Zhao who was sitting still. Then he couldn't help but feel a jump in his heart... It turned out that Emperor Zhao, who was sitting under a peach tree with fallen petals everywhere, was motionless and had a calm expression. If it weren't for the red robe he was wearing, he would have been like a Taoist cultivator, seeming to be oblivious to everything.
However, Zhang Xiantai, who was good at observing people's words and expressions, understood that the emperor was waiting for someone to say something really useful - what Emperor Zhao wanted was how to deal with Ding Jin, not what Ding Jin should have done!
However, Zhang Xiantai understood that this time it was the old problem of the emperor that he did not understand what everyone said, because the two Dongfu officials had clearly expressed their solutions. And now was the time for him to come out and help the emperor explain.
But then again, Zhang Deyuan was about to speak, but he couldn't help but look at the silent scholar Xiao Lin. After spending a long time with this cunning scholar Yu Tang, he always felt that he was being too aggressive...
Of course, human nature is hard to change. More importantly, Zhang Xiantai knew where his status and power came from, so he didn't dare to neglect it. While he was hesitating, he stepped out and asked:
"May I ask you two gentlemen, do you think that Ding Jin is just a warrior who came from a bandit background? There is no need to worry too much about these things, but it is enough to pacify and settle him and keep him useful? So there is no need to use force?"
Emperor Zhao was finally slightly moved, as if he had come to his senses.
"I don't think this man is innocent, but if we can control him with the power of the court, why do we have to make trouble for him?" Xu Jingheng seemed to have not understood why the Chief Censor said such nonsense, but Lu Haowen had been in front of Emperor Zhao for a long time, and suddenly realized it. He couldn't help but explain to Zhang Jun and Emperor Zhao in a serious tone. "Your Majesty, I think Ding Jin can be shown some leniency, a little reward, and let him withdraw his troops... There are three reasons."
"Tell me." Zhao Jiu finally spoke after thinking for a while.
"First, the most important thing to do now is to quickly reach Nanyang to calm people's hearts. Everything else can be considered after we have established a foothold in Nanyang. We should not get involved in disputes on the road and waste time."
"That makes sense." Zhao Jiu nodded slowly.
"Secondly, Ding Jin still has 30,000 soldiers, which is slightly more than the total number of soldiers in the imperial court. Moreover, our army is divided on both sides, and the strong soldiers are all on the north bank. Therefore, even if the imperial court wants to deal with it by force, it may not succeed. And even if it succeeds, if it is not handled properly, 30,000 defeated soldiers will scatter into Guangzhou, which will also harm the people."
"That makes sense." Zhao Jiu continued thoughtfully.
"Third, in Huaixi, Jingxi, Jingxiang, and after Jingkang, there are many bandits, rebels, vagrants, tyrants, defeated soldiers, and those who are unstable after being recruited, just like Ding Jin, who took advantage of the situation to rise up around Nanyang. We are dealing with Ding Jin today, but we don't know how to recruit the bandits who are everywhere. The key is, if we take drastic measures now, how will Fan Qiong, who has the best troops of the court and is in Xiangyang, respond?"
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