The armored general entered the pass at night, and the court officials waited for the dew in the cold at five o'clock in the morning.
The monks in the mountain temple have not yet woken up. It seems that fame and fortune are not as good as leisure.
"It's really not easy to be the emperor of this lousy Northern Song Dynasty! Every day I get up earlier than the chickens and go to bed later than the dogs. It's all the mess left by my cheap father. There's so much work to do that it's almost overwhelming."
After seeing Cai Jing off, Zhao Huan stretched himself and continued to flip through the mountain of memorials that had piled up. The more he read, the more disheartened he felt.
With an emperor as frivolous and foolish as Emperor Huizong, it's a miracle the Northern Song Dynasty managed to survive to this day. Prime Minister Zhang Dun's comment that "Prince Duan is frivolous and unfit to rule the world" was spot on.
If Empress Dowager Xiang knew about this, she would definitely regret it. Even if she chose the "one-eyed dragon" Prince Shen, he would be better than Emperor Huizong of Song.
Take the incident of Guo Yaoshi's betrayal in the middle of the battle as an example. Zhao Huan was completely unable to understand Song Huizong's way of thinking when employing people.
Guo Yaoshi was originally a general of the Liao Kingdom. The Liao Kingdom trusted him very much and sent him to garrison the Zhuozhou area.
Because the Liao Dynasty was in turmoil and had an uncertain future, when the Song and Jin Dynasties jointly attacked the Liao Dynasty, Guo Yaoshi took the initiative to surrender to the Song Dynasty with his 8,000-strong army, turned the knife inward, and began a crazy massacre.
Normally, even if the Song Dynasty accepted such a traitor, it would have to disband his troops, arrange them in the rear, and send people to monitor them closely.
But Song Huizong did not have this. His first consideration in hiring people was appearance, and appearance was justice. Song Huizong once praised Guo Yaoshi, saying that he had a majestic appearance, calm and resolute, and had the face of a great general.
Not only was he granted a high official position with generous salary, a beautiful wife and concubines, and made him the co-governor of Yanshan Prefecture, but he was also given money and food, and expanded the Ever-Victorious Army from 8,000 to 100,000. The most important thing was that he didn't even send a military supervisor, and everything was decided by Guo Yaoshi.
Tong Guan was jealous of this treatment and repeatedly advised Song Huizong that Guo Yaoshi was a traitor and a fickle villain and it would be better to transfer him to the rear. However, Song Huizong did not comment.
There was also Cai Jing, the prefect of Yanshan Prefecture, who noticed something unusual about Guo Yaoshi while working with him. He submitted several memorials to Song Huizong, saying that Guo Yaoshi was abnormal and hoped that Song Huizong would pay more attention to him.
How many times was this? Zhao Huan counted the memorials that had been preserved and found that Cai Jing had submitted a total of 172 memorials in two years, which was not a small number.
How much did Song Huizong read?
One letter!
When Cai Jing submitted a memorial for the first time, Song Huizong said, "I know what's going on. Just focus on your own work."
When Cai Jing submitted the memorial for the second time, Song Huizong took a look at it and threw it aside. He never looked at the subsequent memorials again.
Later, facts proved that Cai Jing's judgment was correct, but it was too late to regret.
Even if Zhao Huan wanted to compensate Cai Jing, it was too late. Cai Jing was forced to go to the Jin Kingdom by Guo Yaoshi.
"Someone come!"
Just as Zhao Huan opened his mouth, he heard Shao Chengzhang knocking on the door outside the dormitory.
"Your Majesty, I have brought you the letter of commitment."
"Okay, come in."
Shao Chengzhang placed a thick stack of letters of commitment on the desk, and then relayed the factions and attitudes of the court officials in the Daqing Hall to Zhao Huan one by one.
"This is the Imperial Sword, but it's also a death warrant. Life or death depends on their choice.
Now is a critical moment for the survival of the Song Dynasty. I will remember those who are willing to contribute, but I will not be afraid of those who dare to hinder me. "
"Shao'er, today is the 23rd, right? At this time of year in previous years, everyone in Bianliang City would have been celebrating the Little New Year with great joy."
"Alas, the Wanyan family is such a piece of shit, so treacherous!"
Shao Chengzhang avoided the main point and spoke awkwardly.
"You, if you have something to say, just say it directly. The Wanyan family is worthless, and the Zhao family is not much better."
“…”
Life is hard. If you dare to complain, I won’t dare to respond.
"What time is it?"
"Your Majesty, it's just the twilight hour."
"It's getting dark, hurry up and arrange for the meal to be served. No wonder I feel a little hungry."
"Your Majesty, that..."
"Shao Chengzhang, why are you hesitating so much today? Just say what you want to say."
"Well, today is the Queen's birthday. Your Majesty should go to the Renming Hall for dinner today."
"Why didn't you remind me earlier? You knew I had lost my memory. Now it's already this late, I'm empty-handed and completely unprepared. How can I go see Lian'er?"
"The Empress forbad me to say anything. She specifically instructed me to do so. Today is His Majesty's coronation ceremony, and there's a lot going on. We can't let these trivial matters delay His Majesty."
"You're just a eunuch, what do you know about women? Do you think a woman saying no means no? That's just the opposite, don't you understand? Since ancient times, women have been the most tricky, especially beautiful women."
"Your Majesty, I entered the palace later, and I have a wife..."
"How dare you talk back? Is your wife as pretty as my Lian'er?"
“…”
Shao Chengzhang was speechless +1, Your Majesty doesn't allow people to speak.
"Go and ask the Firearms Bureau how many fireworks are left. Take as many as you can and have them set them off for me in the square in front of the Bianjing Palace. Tonight, I want this city of Bianliang to be as bright as day and to never go out."
"Yes." Shao Chengzhang took the order and left. Knowing that this was the birthday gift from His Majesty to the Queen, he did not dare to delay.
"One more thing. Contact the secret agent in the Jin Kingdom and see if there is a chance to rescue Cai Jing."
"yes."
"Is that Cai Jing, the governor of Yanshan Prefecture? He's a great hero. I hope you can hold on for a while longer."
Shao Chengzhang trotted out of the Funing Palace.
Renming Hall.
As soon as Zhao Huan reached the door, the maid Xiao Tao shouted, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, His Majesty has arrived."
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It’s even more exciting later!
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