Appointed Prime Minister
Just as Zhang Jun was wondering, Zhao Gou on the throne spoke up, "I intend to destroy the pseudo-Qi, and I have assigned the Left Guard to Yue Fei to prepare for the Northern Expedition. What do you think?"
Zhang Jun thought that the government would reward him for his victory over the Pseudo-Qi, but he did not expect that the emperor would use Yue Fei. Although he was the commander-in-chief in charge of various troops, it was actually just an honorary position. Now that Liu Guangshi was in power, he could just assign the Left Guard of the camp to be directly under the command of the Governor-General's Office. However, Cheng Yaojin would appear halfway. Once Yue Fei took charge of the Left Guard, his position as commander-in-chief might fall into Yue Fei's hands.
Thinking about this, Zhang Jun said, "I think it is inappropriate."
Zhao Gou was a little surprised, but pretended to be calm and said, "What's wrong?"
"Your Majesty, the Emperor Taizu has instructed that military commanders should not lead troops. However, the state is in dire straits today. After years of war against the Jin, the generals have become powerful. If Yue Fei were to be placed in charge of the Left Guard, with a hundred thousand soldiers, he would regret it if his achievements became too great to be true. In the past, the Miao and Liu armies could rebel with only a few thousand soldiers. If hundreds of thousands of soldiers rebel, how would Your Majesty respond?"
Zhang Jun just touched Zhao Gou's sore spot with a slight touch. The Miao and Liu mutinies were still vivid in his mind, and he often tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
Zhao Gou was silent for a long time. Zhang Jun looked at him several times. Seeing that Zhao Gou said nothing, he also remained silent.
As soon as Yue Fei arrived at the post station, Zhao Gou's imperial edict arrived. Yue Fei opened it and saw that it read: "The alliance of the Huaixi armies is quite complicated. The imperial edict I gave you before needs the court's approval, and then I will proceed."
After reading it, Yue Fei was so angry that he threw the imperial edict on the ground: "How can a ruler of a country go back on his word?"
So he wrote a memorial overnight:
"I have received the Emperor's grace and have diligently pondered the great Northern Expedition to repay His Majesty's kindness. Now, I have come to court and disagree with the Prime Minister. Since ancient times, disagreements between generals and ministers have been a misfortune for the nation. I request to resign from my post and return to Mount Lushan to mourn for my deceased mother, fulfilling my filial duty."
Zhao Gou knew very well that the time was not yet ripe to remove Yue Fei's military power, so he did not adopt Zhang Jun's proposal.
He issued three imperial edicts in a row, urging Yue Fei to come out of seclusion, and ordered Yue Fei's favorite general Wang Gui and his shogun Li Ruoxu to go to Mount Lushan to invite Yue Fei to come out of seclusion.
When Yue Fei saw the two men coming, he presented Han Shizhong's recent letter to Li Ruoxu, which read:
"I have always heard that the general is loyal and brave. How could you foolishly resign because of a word from the emperor? General, you should know that we military generals have always been suspected by the emperor. If General Yue is so willful, I am afraid that your life will be in danger in the future. If the emperor sends someone to ask you to come, you must sincerely admit your mistakes before the emperor and never act on your own will again."
Li Ruoxu also knew that his general was stubborn by nature and did not understand some of the ways of the officialdom. He was afraid that he would not be able to invite Yue Fei back. When he saw Han Shizhong's letter of persuasion, he breathed a sigh of relief. This time there was hope that the general would come out of retirement. If he and Wang Gui failed to invite Yue Fei back, they would probably be in danger of their lives.
Li Ruoxu saw Yue Fei's serious expression and stepped forward to advise him, "General, the way to be an official is to know the difference between being upright and advancing and retreating. You should not be upright when you should hide, and you should not force yourself to advance when you should retreat. Please forgive me for speaking frankly, but you are too stubborn and reckless. If you don't change, you will suffer a great loss in the end."
After staying at the foot of the mountain for a month, Yue Fei finally decided to return to the palace to apologize to Zhao Gou. He had been quite critical of Han Shizhong for not sending reinforcements last time, but after receiving his letter, he began to have some favorable impressions of Han Shizhong.
Arriving at the Daqing Hall, Yue Fei fell to the ground, unable to get up, and wept uncontrollably: "Your Majesty, I have resigned from my post without any reason, which is truly a betrayal of the Emperor's grace. Please calm your anger and punish me with the proper punishment, as an example to the world."
Zhao Gou gazed down at Yue Fei's trembling armor, his fingertips tapping gently on the dragon-patterned armrests. A month's pent-up anger had morphed into a more complex emotion. Such a reckless general was truly difficult to control.
So he offered comfort on the surface, but in reality, his words were filled with murderous intent: "Grand Marshal, your memorial was too rash, but I am not angry about it. If I were angry, according to Taizu's words, those who violate my law will only be punished by the sword. Today, I still let you lead the army and entrust you with the task of the Northern Expedition. You can see that I am not angry with you.
After bidding farewell to Zhao Gou, Yue Fei, Wang Gui, and Li Ruoxu led their personal guards back to the military headquarters, preparing to lead the Northern Expedition. However, they heard reports from the front: a mutiny had occurred in Huaixi.
At this time, Han Shizhong and Liang Hongyu had returned to Chuzhou, and Han Shizhong was practicing swordsmanship in his mansion. He also received the report of the Huaixi mutiny.
When Liang Hongyu was a courtesan, her spies were already spread all over the place, so he went to Liang Hongyu's house to find out the exact news of the Huaixi Rebellion.
Liang Hongyu was reading the newly arrived report in her mansion when Jinxiu came to report, "Miss, General Han is here."
Liang Hongyu looked up to see Han Shizhong striding into her residence. He was dressed in a dark, formal suit, his sword still at his waist, its scabbard still stained with dew from his morning exercises. His brows were solemn, his jaw set in a tense line; it was clear that the news of the Huaixi mutiny had unsettled him.
Liang Hongyu looked up and saw that he was dusty and his temples were slightly damp, having obviously rushed here after practicing swordsmanship. Her lips curled up slightly, and her fingertips gently tapped the report on the table. "General Han is so anxious today that he didn't even have time to put away his sword before barging in here?"
Han Shizhong's eyes were heavy and his voice was low and hoarse: "You should have known about the Huaixi incident."
Liang Hongyu chuckled and raised her fingertips, signaling Jinxiu to leave. After the door closed and they were alone in the room, she lazily stood up, walked over to him, raised her hand to brush a fallen leaf off his shoulder, and her fingertips brushed the side of his neck.
"General Han," she said softly, her eyes flickering, "are you here to gather information?"
Han Shizhong's eyes darkened, he grabbed her wrist, pulled her close, and whispered, "You ask even though you already know the answer."
Liang Hongyu didn't dodge or evade, but instead took advantage of the situation to move closer, looking up at him, her breath warm: "Then the General should at least show some sincerity, otherwise, why would I tell you?"
He stared at her lips, which were so close to him. His Adam's apple moved slightly, and he finally sighed softly. He loosened his grip, but did not let go of her hand. He only said in a deep voice, "Hongyu, this matter is of no small importance."
She chuckled, scratched his palm lightly with her fingertips, and finally took a step back, turned to the table, pulled out a secret letter and threw it to him.
"The Huaixi mutiny was fueled by someone behind the scenes," she said calmly. "Guess who it was?"
Han Shizhong unfolded the secret letter, his brows furrowed tighter and tighter, and finally slammed it shut with a cold glint in his eyes: "Qin Hui?"
Liang Hongyu leaned against the table, her smile gradually fading: "More than that."
"Qin Hui recommended Zhang Jun to appoint Lü Zhi as commander of the Left Guard. However, Lü Zhi was a mere scholar, completely incapable of commanding an army. Following the court's long-standing tradition of prioritizing civil officials over military officers, he treated his generals with arrogance and disrespect, naturally drawing opposition from many. Wang De and Li Qiong, both of equal rank, had a long-standing feud. Lü Zhi promoted Wang De to general and Li Qiong to deputy general, a move he naturally resented. He rallied his fellow generals to kill Lü Zhi and then led 40,000 elite troops to surrender to Liu Yu."
Han Shizhong sighed and said, "In this way, the good situation that the Southern Song Dynasty has built up over the past few years will be ruined."
After Zhang Jun returned to the court, those who supported Zhao Ding and Qin Hui submitted memorials to criticize Zhang Jun.
Zhang Jun was dismissed from his position as prime minister, and Zhao Ding was appointed as the left prime minister. Zhao Ding then recommended Qin Hui. Zhao Gou was secretly shocked. He didn't know how Qin Hui had managed to make Zhang Jun and Zhao Ding fight each other so badly, while he was able to get the best of both sides.
Zhao Gou was secretly delighted. He had originally planned to persuade Zhao Ding to keep Qin Hui, but now it seemed that he no longer needed to talk too much. When the Song and Jin countries negotiated peace, Qin Hui would be able to mediate and contribute to the peace talks.
In the seventh year of Shaoxing, Jin's deputy marshals Dalan and Wanyan Zongbing suddenly led their troops to Bian Jing and deposed Liu Yu.
Upon hearing the news, the Southern Song Dynasty was filled with jubilation. Anti-war generals wrote letters requesting to take advantage of the enemy's confusion to launch a large-scale northern expedition. The military and civilians in Huaibei also moved south. The situation was very good for the Southern Song Dynasty.
Yue Fei and Han Shizhong also submitted memorials requesting a Northern Expedition.
Zhao Gou looked at the memorials piled up more than half a foot high and said angrily, "It's all about war, war, war. Is there any talk of peace?"
"There is one, from the Privy Councilor Qin."
As he spoke, the eunuch placed Qin Hui's memorial on the table. Zhao Gou looked at the memorial lying alone beside all the memorials on war, and a pang of sorrow welled up in his heart. He ordered, "Send the imperial decree; summon Qin Hui to the court."
Zhao Gou looked at Qin Hui, who was sitting upright, and said, "My dear Qin, there is a lot of discussion in the country right now, and some people are urging us to take advantage of the chaos in the Central Plains and launch a northern expedition. What do you think?"
Qin Hui said, "Your Majesty, the Jin have abandoned the pseudo-Qi, and must be interested in peace talks with us. If we can reply, it will show our sincerity to the Jin. In the past, Zhang Jun instigated your northern expedition, which ultimately led to disaster. Your Majesty, please reconsider."
Zhao Gou sighed and said, "Generals Yue Fei and Han Shizhong are all loyal and righteous men. They are wholeheartedly devoted to the country. I commend their loyalty, but governing a country requires both civil and military efforts. The best strategy is to slowly plan."
Suddenly, a eunuch came forward and said, "Your Majesty, the envoy, Lord Wang, has returned and is requesting an audience outside the palace."
Zhao Gou was overjoyed and said hurriedly, "Summon him in quickly."
"Is there any good news on this trip north?"
Wang Lun smiled and said, "Your Majesty, the situation in the Jin Kingdom has changed dramatically. A new ruler has been established, Nianhan is dead, and Dalan, who was friendly to me, has become prime minister. This time, when I met with Dalan, he told me personally that he wanted to negotiate peace with our court and promised to return the coffin of the retired emperor and the empress dowager, as well as the various prefectures in Henan."
Zhao Gou was very satisfied and said, "Three days later, you will go to Jin again to bring the Empress Dowager and her coffin back to the court."
"Lord Qin, immediately convey my order to all commanders along the Huai River, prohibiting them from sending troops across the Huai River without authorization and causing trouble."
After this, Zhao Gou appointed Qin Hui as the right prime minister in order to facilitate peace talks.
The envoys sent by Jin were about to arrive in Lin'an, and the voices against peace talks in the court were growing louder and louder, but Zhao Gou ignored them and was determined to promote peace talks.
In early June, the Jin envoys prepared to cross the river and arrived at Han Shizhong's defense zone.
Liang Hongyu was patrolling the riverbank when she saw a messenger hurrying up and reporting, "General, the Jin envoys have arrived at the riverbank."
Liang Hongyu replied: "Send troops to stop him first and wait for further military orders."
"yes.".
After the messenger left, Liang Hongyu mounted her horse and rode towards Han's residence.
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