Dawn of the Empire

Chapter 34

"Your Majesty, this is a proposal that harms the country. It must not be allowed!" Seeing that the emperor was moved by Cai Jing and Tong Guan's proposal, Shao Wu, the supervisory censor, immediately came out to stop it.

Seeing Shao Wu's remonstrance, Cai Jing's expression was calm, and Tong Guan's eyes showed a slight sternness.Shao Wu still said loudly: "Your Majesty, it costs a lot of money to build a big ship and go to sea. Apart from gaining a false name, it is of no benefit to the country. This is one of them." The people and the roads of the Central Plains cannot be a disaster. Taking envoys into the court this time is like attracting wolves into the house. I fear that there will be no peace in the southeast coast in the future. The two cannot. This dynasty has a long history of trade with foreign countries, and the two sides barter It has been established for a long time that if the imperial court suddenly rewards the countries, it will make the merchants in the southeast unable to make a living, but it will take the benefits of the people and enrich the outsiders, and the wealth and wealth of the counties in the southeast will be depleted.

After Shao Wu finished speaking, he still stood in the hall, staring directly at Tianyan, as if the emperor would never return Cai Jing and Tong Guan's proposal, and even wanted to remonstrate with death.All the officials and relatives were originally in favor of sending a boat to the sea to Huaiyuan country, but after hearing his three must-dos, many of them turned serious.Wealth is one of the most concerned issues of the Song court.It will cost a lot of money to build the ship and go to sea, together with the rewards to the overseas countries. If it leads to corruption in the southeast and only wins a false name, it is indeed a worthless deal.

However, Li Bangyan, the deputy envoy of the Privy Council, speculated in a group: "The Shao family is a well-known maritime merchant on Fujian Road. Take advantage of maritime merchants like the Shao family!"

"You?" Shao Wu was stabbed by him, furious in his heart, and angrily reprimanded: "Successful minister, treat the belly of a gentleman with the heart of a villain, do you think that everyone in the world is as filthy as you?" The two were actually in the Linshui Palace When they started arguing, Cai Jing and Tong Guan, who proposed to build a ship and go to sea, were put aside.

It wasn't until Emperor Zhao You gave a slight "hum" that the two felt impolite, and calmed down, still staring at each other.

At this time, the hall was quiet, and all the officials were waiting for Zhao Yousheng to make a dictatorship.

Zhao You narrowed his eyes slightly, looking at the important minister in front of him.He knew in his heart that Cai Jing was only arbitrarily powerful, while Tong Guan, although he looked mighty and had a sparse beard, was just an eunuch. Extending his palm could make the two of them powerful, and turning his palm could make the two of them never get married. Survival.Although Li Bangyan sometimes helped Cai Jing, it was not just the court's help.Although Shao Wu was a little annoying, but the state has a bright monarch and there are direct ministers, Tang Taizong still tolerated Wei Zheng.

Emperor Zhao You was born with great talent, and his father laid a solid foundation for peace and prosperity. There are hundreds of millions in taxes, and all kinds of money and food are not enough.What Shao Wu said just now did not touch him, only the loss of wealth in the southeast made him somewhat doubtful about building ships and going to sea to reward the countries.

The cheers of the armies and people outside suddenly rose.The cheers broke Zhao You's contemplation. He looked up and saw that three thousand cavalry were passing by in front of the Linshui Hall. These cavalry were all dressed in dark clothes and black armour. When passing Linshui Hall, he raised the big spear obliquely upwards, and the white tassel on the tip of the spear shook, very neatly.In the middle of the front of the three thousand cavalry is a general in silver armor and silver armor, around thirty, with a full beard and a stern expression. A blue flag was raised, and a big "Yang" was written on it.

"This is Yang Hou's son, Yang Zongsi from Shizhen Taiyuan." Zhao Zhifu, the deputy prime minister, saw that the officials were silent, and then looked up to watch the military parade, knowing that the officials did not want to send a fleet to sea at this time to receive rewards. After making a decision on the matter of introducing the vassal state, he tactfully introduced the guards and horses who passed by the Linshui Palace one after another.

The Song Dynasty claimed to have 80 forbidden troops. In addition to stationing the capital, it also established three camps in Hebei, Hedong, and Xijing.The east battalion has 20 troops, guarding the key points between Liao, Xia and Song Dynasties, the Hebei battalion has 15 troops to guard against Khitan's southward movement, and the Xijing camp has [-] troops to guard against the Xia army's attack from Hangu and Guandong to capture the Central Plains.These three camps each have their own hereditary generals, and among them, the east camp is full of cronies of the Yang family and the Zhe family who have been married for generations.At the beginning, these two families made great contributions to supporting Wu Zong Zhao Dezhao's ascension to the throne, and obtained the status of the Shizhen Hedong. Although the troops of the Hedong camp, like other forbidden troops, went to the Bianjing Suwei in turn, they were born in the Zhe family and the Yang family. Under the command of the generals, the Privy Council also arranged for other generals to take important positions in the Hedong army. They were either excluded or died in the border friction with Liao and Xia. The court gradually recognized this situation.Although the Ministry of War and the Privy Council have some complaints about the east camp, the east camp, which strives to ensure a peaceful side, has the best reputation among the people of the Song Dynasty, especially the Yang family army, who is known as the number one strong soldier in the Song Dynasty.

Zhao You accepted the cheers from the soldiers and horses participating in the review with a rather complicated expression. He suddenly turned his head to King Jing Zhao Qi who was accompanying him and said, "Qi'er, how old is this year? As far as I remember, there is no official concubine yet. Bar?"

"Report to father, after eight months, my son will be 27 years old." Zhao Qi replied respectfully, on such a big occasion, father paid great attention to his own year and marriage.

"Well," Zhao You nodded, and said after a moment of groaning, "I heard that the eldest daughter of Zhangxin Army Jiedu Cao Di's eldest daughter, who is virtuous and virtuous, will marry you and make you a concubine. Bar."

Zhao Qi was overjoyed when he heard the words, and immediately prostrated himself on the ground to thank him, while the expression of Prince Zhao Ke beside him changed suddenly.Zhangxin Army Jiedushi Cao Di is the descendant of Cao Bin, a famous general of the dynasty. He is stationed in the Xijing camp and commanded the 15 forbidden troops stationed near Luoyang.The Xijing camp is the closest to Bianjing among the three major camps. The Cao family has had generals for generations since the famous founding generals Cao Bin and Cao Han. They deployed all over the Xijing camp, but they are the most loyal to the emperor.The emperor gave him Cao Di's daughter in marriage, which gave him great help in fighting for the East Palace and even inheriting the throne in the future.

The official family's preference for the third prince is clearly revealed.Prime Minister Cai Jing, who supported the change of Zhao Qi as the crown prince, exchanged glances with Tong Guan, Liang Shizhong and others, and there was a hint of joy in their respective eyes.However, Zhao Zhifu, the political counselor and Shao Wu, the supervisor and censor who supported the prince Zhao Ke, showed 'concerned' expressions, because the emperor's arrangement of the prince's marriage was a family matter, and it was not easy to object for a while.A marriage involving a dispute over the position of the Eastern Palace was settled just like that.

The Dianqian Division, the Guards Horse Army Division, the Guards Infantry Division, the East Camp, the Hebei Camp, and the Xijing Camp all lined up their guards of honor, and passed through the Linshui Hall to greet the emperor three times.But in the eyes of Yelu Dashi, the envoy of the Liao Kingdom, the iron cavalry from the Hebei camp had a kind of murderous aura, which was not found in the armies of the Hebei and Xijing camps. , is known for the best armor, but there has been no war between Song and Xia for decades, and the troops in the Xijing camp have been affected by the extravagant business atmosphere in Luoyang, and their spirits are the most sluggish.Compared with the elite frontier army of the Three Battalions, the Sanya Forbidden Army, which is stationed in the interior all the year round and guards the border in turn, is even more unbearable.

"If this Xuanjia cavalry of the Yang family and your country's imperial guards meet on the battlefield, who will win?" Yelu Dashi whispered to Xiao Bing, the envoy of Xia Kingdom beside him.Xiao was not provoked by him, and retorted: "Mr. Anton doesn't often go to the Song Dynasty to fight Caogu, but he has never really fought against this Xuanjia cavalry. The Yang family's big guns are powerful. The army of Xijing Road in your country must have a deep understanding. Bar?"

Yelu Dashi smiled slightly, and said: "How can you show your real strength through such small fights. But in my opinion, the Yang family's Xuanjia cavalry seems to be a bit stronger than the Banzhi Suwei army in Bianjing. Li Ruobing, the inspector of the West Station in Duting, heard the meaning of alienation in his words, and although he ignored it on the surface, he was secretly worried, so he returned to Beijing from his post in Pingyang Prefecture, Hebei Province, and confronted the Bianjing Forbidden Army and various camps. They are all familiar with the situation of the army, seeing that the forbidden army is becoming more and more unbearable to fight. Although the generals of the frontier army are the national vassal screen, if things go on like this, they will become more important than the inside and the outside will be more important.

"There is no danger in the north, so the imperial court had to set up Hebei and Hedong camps as horns to counter Liao. The border hoarded heavy troops, and the camps formed their own system, which led to a situation where the frontier generals were weighted. For the current plan, we should recover Youyan As a matter of priority, at that time, the three major camps can be abolished, redundant troops can be reduced, the people can rest, and peace can be achieved in the world. This is also the legacy of Emperor Taizu." Li Ruobing thought to himself, forgetting to pay attention to the envoys of the two countries beside him The verbal war.

After the Sanya and the battalion elite guards of honor and horses reviewed, the dragon boats of the armies bidding on the water surface had also been evacuated, and then the various painting boats prepared by the armies were brought out of the water again, with various drums, acrobatics, tricks, etc. lined up on it. It is beautiful, and from time to time, the people watching around Jinmingchi burst into bursts of cheers.At the same time, Honglu Temple arranged for envoys from Liao, Xia, Dali, Koryo, Ben and other countries to worship the emperor together with officials of the Song Dynasty.Seeing the officials prostrating, the armies and common people not far away knelt down on their knees and kowtowed to the golden canopy of the Linshui Palace. The prostration of the common people is like waves of water rippling around, and the voices of cheers for long live are getting louder and louder, and the atmosphere of the peaceful and prosperous age has reached its peak.

Zhao You accepted the court congratulatory gifts from his subjects contentedly. He closed his eyes slightly, raised his hands slightly, and was about to signal his body to be flat, but his eyes suddenly froze. He saw Yelu Dashi, the envoy of the Liao Kingdom, standing like a flock of envoys from the kneeling envoys among.Not far away, Wang Heng, the Shaoqing of Honglu Temple who was kneeling on the ground, gave a red-faced wink, but Yelu Dashi calmly bowed and saluted, and the servant behind him followed suit. He bowed and saluted, but did not kowtow to the Emperor of Song Dynasty.

The more calm Yelu Dashi was, the more it seemed that he didn't take the majestic Song Dynasty's imperial prestige seriously.Zhao You's face darkened immediately, and he suppressed his anger to make the subjects calm down, before he asked: "Yelu Dashi, the envoy of the Liao Kingdom, why can't he bow down?"

"Your Majesty, since the alliance of Chanyuan, when envoys from the Southern Dynasties visited our Empress Dowager Chengtian, they only bowed their heads. Since then, my envoys from the Southern Dynasties have also bowed and bowed to Emperor Wuzong without bowing down. The Liao and Song Dynasties are brothers. After the Kingdom of Zhi, the envoys from the north and the south followed this example, and they only bowed instead of prostrating when they met, and the officials just followed the established rules. Don’t the officials of Honglu Temple know about it? Why does your majesty ask so many times?”

Yelu Dashi looked up at the emperor on the dragon chair with some offense. Even though he had lived in Bianjing for several months, this was the first time he saw the emperor of the Song Dynasty.

Zhao You was at a loss for words for a while, but what Yelu Dashi said was indeed true. The envoy represented the country. After the Chanyuan alliance, the three kingdoms of Song, Liao, and Xia had no subordinate relationship, and there was really no need for the envoy of Liao to bow down.The so-called war between the two countries does not cut off the envoy, he couldn't vent his anger to Yelu Dashi, so he had to restrain himself and turned his head to Lin Wenxing, the Minister of Honglu Temple.The ceremonies of the vassal's congratulations were all arranged by Honglu Temple, if something went wrong, someone must be responsible.

Lin Wenxing could not bear the emperor's majesty. Under Zhao You's 'forced' gaze, Lin Wenxing only felt that there were two wars, and the hairs on his back were blown up. If it wasn't for this scene, he would almost have Soft down.According to the report he received, the envoys from the Liao and Xia kingdoms had clearly agreed to bow down to the officials. the benefits of.Seeing that the official's anger was about to erupt, Lin Wenxing immediately looked at Wang Heng, the Shaoqing of Honglu Temple. If Wang Heng could not give a promise, he might have to participate in the performance.

Without even thinking about it, Wang Heng turned his head and glared at Li Ruobing, the supervisor of Duting West Station beside him, and said, "Master Li, didn't you tell me that the envoy of the Liao Kingdom claimed to admire the majesty of the Celestial Dynasty and wanted to bow down to my emperor?" ?"

Li Ruobing was only transferred back to Bianjing from Pingyang half a month ago, and he just got familiar with the desk affairs. Seeing that Wang Heng suddenly pushed the blame on his head, his face changed, and he argued: "My lord, the next official is only Responsible for arranging the audiences of Dali and other vassals of this dynasty, the envoys of such a big country as Liaoxia are personally contacted by the adults, how can the blame be placed on the lower officials."

Wang Heng smiled coldly, and said in a deep voice: "It is clear that you are greedy for credit and falsely reported the words of the envoy of the Liao Kingdom. There are all documents from and to Honglu Temple. When I read the documents for the arrangement of this grand ceremony, how dare you fight with me?" To confront His Majesty?"

Li Ruobing's heart sank when he heard him mention the documents prepared for the ceremony. Many of the documents for this grand ceremony were submitted to Honglu Temple after being handled by him. Among the dozens of documents, many detailed arrangements were made. It turned out that the yamen of all parties reached a tacit agreement verbally, and the scribes of Duting Xiyi took the lead, and Li Ruobing, as a supervisor, could not approve them one by one. .

He consciously fell into someone else's design, and the sweat on his forehead couldn't help falling. He raised his head and looked at Shao Wu, the supervisory censor. On the court, Cai Jing and Zhao Zhifu had their own party members, and Li Ruobing was neither Cai's party nor The Zhao party can only rely on the clean officials who have made friends with them.