Zhao Huan stood up and said, "Kang Huojian, Wang Zongchu, and Wu Ge, the three of you will wait for orders in the Wende Hall. We are dismissed!"
"Dismiss the court!" With Cao Dongsheng's shout, the ministers of the Purple Palace left one after another.
Wende Hall.
King Kang, King Wu and the other two had been waiting for a long time. Zhao Huan walked in with a stack of documents and said, "Cao Dongsheng, you go out first."
Kang Huojian and the other three looked at each other. This was such a big secret that Zhao Huan didn't even let his most trusted eunuch know.
Cao Dongsheng bowed and left. He also knew that the less you know about some things, the longer you will live.
Zhao Huan sat on the imperial chair and looked at the three people: "You three are my confidants, responsible for the important task of defending the capital. I summoned you here because I have an important task for you to do."
Kang Huojian and the other two hurriedly saluted: "Your Majesty, if you have any orders, we will obey them!"
Zhao Huan nodded in satisfaction. "I don't mean to slander Taizu and Taizong. Since the founding of the Song Dynasty, the civil service has been emphasized over the military. You military commanders are constantly being constrained by the civil officials. Do you have any complaints?"
The three of them exchanged glances, feeling resentful that these military generals, who had braved life and death, were always inferior to the scholars when it came to merit. Now, hearing Zhao Huan's words, they were all overjoyed. Could it be that the Emperor wanted to change this situation?
Wang Zongchu bowed and said, "Your Majesty, the complaints of these generals and others are secondary. However, sometimes the civil officials influence the military, and we are helpless."
Wu Ge followed up, "That's right. Civil officials harming the military happens all the time. Not to mention the distant past, if it weren't for Tang Ke and Geng Nanzhong, the Qinfeng Army wouldn't have been completely wiped out, and Zhong Shizhong wouldn't have died fighting for his country."
Zhao Huan frowned and said, "I know all this. I am powerless to change this situation. If I were to issue an edict making military officers and civil officials equal, I daresay all the ministers in the court would die in protest."
The three of them nodded. If you touch the interests of those civil servants, they will join forces to deal with the emperor.
"So I want to establish a new army," Zhao Huan said, "a new army independent of the Imperial Guards."
Wu Ge's mind moved: "What does your majesty mean?"
Zhao Huan smiled. "That's right. I want you to select talents from the Imperial Guard or from all over the country. These people must be loyal to the Song Dynasty, and more importantly, loyal to me. This new army will not be under the control of the Privy Council or the Three Yamen. It will be directly under my command. I wish to lead such an army directly."
The three of them were overjoyed when they heard this. Kang Huojian said, "This way, these civil servants won't be able to do anything to us."
Zhao Huan shook his head: "I not only want to command this new army, I want to use this new army to accomplish something great, something earth-shattering."
Zhao Huan didn't say anything, and the three men didn't dare ask. But they understood one thing: from now on, military generals would never again be suppressed by civil officials.
Kang Huojian said happily: "Your Majesty, how many people do you want? You can choose any of the 50,000 guards."
Wang Zongchu also said: "The imperial guards who followed Your Majesty in the expedition are all loyal to Your Majesty. They can join the new army."
Wu Ge stood up and bowed: "Your Majesty, I would like to lead this new army, even as a deputy."
Zhao Huan smiled and said, "You wish! This new army of mine will not be led by you. Even if you swear allegiance to me till death, I will not agree. I already have the right person."
The three of them felt that the emperor was becoming more and more unfathomable. No matter what, this was a good thing, and they all had happy expressions on their faces.
Zhao Huan then said sternly, "This matter must be kept secret, absolutely secret. No one can reveal it. The three of you will accompany me hunting tomorrow. I will begin implementing this plan when I return from hunting in the western suburbs."
"As you wish!"
After the three men withdrew, Zhao Huan's eyes instantly turned cold. Domestic conflicts were acute, land was being annexed on a large scale, and countless landless refugees poured into Bianjing.
It's time for me to take action. I'm going to implement a reign of terror!
…
Today Zhao Huan is going hunting in the western suburbs. Hunting for the emperor is a big event, and the imperial guards have been preparing for it early in the morning.
The imperial hunting grounds were fifty miles west of Bianjing. After personally leading the expedition, Zhao Huan had become accustomed to riding horses. Although Zhao Huan was not an expert archer or horseman, he could still easily shoot a few hares or elk with a light bow.
The royal hunting grounds housed a variety of animals, including elk, goats, hares, pheasants, and musk deer, all of which were herbivores. For safety reasons, no carnivores were allowed in the royal hunting grounds.
Nangong Lian'er and Li Sisi both clamored to go, but Zhao Huan refused. He was afraid that if he brought them along, he would make a fool of himself and be laughed at by them. The other concubines certainly wouldn't have the guts to laugh at Zhao Huan, but Nangong Lian'er and Li Sisi didn't care.
Zhao Huan rode his horse to the hunting ground. Holding a bow in his hand and a quiver on his back, he rushed into the forest with Kang Huojian and others. Pan Bufeng also followed behind with Wang Zongchu.
More than a thousand guards were beating drums and gongs outside to wake up the animals in the forest.
In an instant, the elk, hares, and goats in the forest scattered and fled. Zhao Huan was overjoyed. At least today he had managed to shoot a dead mouse.
"Gee!" Zhao Huan pulled the reins and everyone entered one after another.
The forest was very dense, and the generals did not want to take credit for it, so they all drove the wild animals towards Zhao Huan.
Unfortunately, our dog emperor’s archery skills are so poor that he shot five arrows in a row but missed the target.
Fortunately, Zhao Huan was thick-skinned and didn't care much. He pulled the sixth arrow from his quiver and aimed at a moose in front of him.
"Whoosh!" The arrow hit the elk's butt.
While most people shoot arrows at their prey's throats, Zhao Huan accidentally shot the elk in the buttocks. The elk, in pain, bolted in terror. However, the injury to its buttocks slowed it down considerably.
When the generals saw Zhao Huan had shot his prey, they were all overjoyed and wanted to chase him. Zhao Huan shouted, "Stop! This deer is mine!" and rushed into the forest on his horse.
The generals looked at each other, but Zhao Huan didn't emerge from the forest for a long time. Kang Huojian and the others felt something was wrong: "Everyone, disperse into the forest and search for His Majesty!"
At Kang Huojian's command, everyone immediately dispersed into the forest to look for the emperor.
Zhao Huan was overjoyed. He could go back and brag about shooting the deer to Nangong Lian'er and the others.
But after he rushed into the woods, he found that the injured elk was gone. Looking around, he saw the dense woods, which looked eerie and scary.
Suddenly, the warhorse beneath him neighed loudly, as if sensing some danger. Zhao Huan's hair stood on end, and he felt a vague sense of unease. He drew his long arrow and placed it on his bow.
"Shh!" There was a whistle.
The leaves above his head moved violently, and six masked men in black clothes, holding shining swords, flew down from the trees and headed straight for Zhao Huan.
Zhao Huan's hand trembled slightly as he aimed at a man in black in front of him and shot. Perhaps due to excessive nervousness or Zhao Huan's poor shooting skills, the arrow flew past the man in black three meters away.
The man in black paused for a moment while holding the branch, then pounced down again.
Six men in black surrounded Zhao Huan. Zhao Huan was secretly shocked. My life is over. Am I going to die here?
"Who are you to assassinate me?"
The men in black didn't answer, but surrounded him and attacked him with their swords. Zhao Huan panicked and fell off his horse, and another man in black chopped him down with his sword.
With a "Swish!", Zhao Huan's left arm was stabbed and blood flowed out.
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