The rise of the late Song Dynasty reigns supreme

Chapter 42
Song Huizong Zhao Ji agreed to Zhao Gou's request and allowed him to enter the court as an official.Zhao Gou's attitude is clear, as a military commander, no matter how high or low he is, he is fine.At the same time, Zhao Gou discussed with Song Huizong and Zhao Si, and said, "Father, the martial arts assessment will be held soon. My child wants to be the proctor of this martial arts assessment. I don't know what father thinks?"

Song Huizong and Zhao Si looked at each other in dismay, and said suspiciously: "Do you want to be the proctor of this martial arts examination? Then do you know that the martial arts examination and the imperial examination are two important tasks in the Song Dynasty, which are not for ordinary officials. Only people with high morals and high prestige can do it!"

"It is precisely because the martial arts examination is very important that we have the opportunity to really enter the imperial court. My boy's wish is to become a marshal and lead an army to protect our Song Dynasty!" Zhao Gou said calmly, "It's a pity that over the years The proctors of martial arts in the court are all civil servants, with deep selfishness, taking this opportunity to suppress the generals, can't gain the importance of the court, so if you want to change, the only way to balance is to use talents, and those who are ambitious should be eliminated by thunder!"

"In addition, my son wanted to be a martial arts examiner, but he had thought carefully. Since he wanted to be a military officer as an official, he had to get the support of the military commander. Only the martial arts examination was the only way, so that he could show his father and emperor to use talents. People, even though there are marshals like Zong Ze in the court, how can he be able to compete with civil officials when he is not in the court and guarding the border!"

Zhao Gou talked a lot eloquently, then took out the letter that Zhou Tong had handed to him from his bosom, and said, "This letter was handed over to me by Master before he died, and I ask Father and Uncle Wang to have a look at it!"

Song Huizong and Zhao Si opened it curiously. After reading it, Zhao Ji said bitterly: "Under my rule, someone wants to start an uprising. It's my fault!"

Zhao seemed to be silent too, what Zhao Gou showed them both was the letter that Lu Junyi wrote to Zhou Tong earlier, which contained the list of people who gathered together.However, Zhao Gou didn't know that some of these people were officials in the same dynasty as Zhao Si, and they had very close personal relationships.

Zhao Gou reassured him: "Father, don't worry too much about this matter! My son wants to become a martial arts proctor, because he wants to choose talented people, and then personally lead the troops to Shuibo Liangshan. If they can subdue a group of them, they will be recruited to court Among them, it must be a great help. Moreover, nine out of ten of these people have some old feelings with the former teacher. As long as the boy personally leads the army to suppress the border and handles the matter quietly, the common people in the world will not know it. We are beneficial, and the Song Dynasty can be stable, and then we will deal with the forces headed by Gao Li with these people to the end!"

Song Huizong sighed: "Everything will be done according to your wishes, you should rest early, and tomorrow I will issue an edict in the court hall, appointing you as the invigilator of this martial arts assessment!"

Zhao Gou was in a hurry and hurried on his way. He was really tired, so he said goodbye and went back to rest.Along the way, he was careful not to be seen.After a while, Zhao Gou came to the room where he lived for three years. When he came back again, he felt a little more comfortable and peaceful in his heart. He lay comfortably on the bed and fell asleep after a while.

"Brother Huang, have you decided?" Zhao said suddenly.

Song Huizong nodded, and said: "Old Nine is the one who can take on important responsibilities, and the country and society of the Song Dynasty can only be entrusted to him."

Zhao Si nodded in agreement: "Lao Jiu does have this ability. After returning this time, he has become more sophisticated. Even if it is a major event in the court, he can analyze the reasons in an orderly manner. No one among the many nephews can compare with this kind of thinking." However, the Empress Dowager that I am worried about is also a force that should not be underestimated. If there is a real disturbance, the harem may change, which will not be good for Song Dynasty!"

Song Huizong nodded in agreement. He also knew that the queen's power had developed rapidly in recent years. Most ministers in the court stood behind her and supported the eldest son to inherit the throne.The only candidate in Zhao Ji's mind is Zhao Gou, because Zhao Heng, the eldest son of the emperor, has a close relationship with Gao Qiu, and he has already reached the age of being crowned king.

What Zhao Xi was worried about was not unreasonable. Even Zhao Ji, as the emperor himself, sometimes couldn't help himself.Without the support of these ministers, he would be a bare-bones commander without any real power. Frowning, he said in a deep voice, "The Queen's affairs are indeed troublesome. Proposing to appoint a crown prince, I am also very troubled!"

"Since that's the case, what should we do?" Zhao Si said, "Brother Huang, there is one more thing! Lao Jiu asked me about the villa on the way back to the palace, but I shrugged it off. I think it's time to tell him."

Song Huizong shook his head and sighed: "Let's not mention this matter for the time being, the time is not yet ripe. If you tell me rashly, or if you let the old nine hold too much power, you won't understand the sinister human heart, let him hone his talents more. Okay, after the coronation, I will talk to him again, it must be much better than telling him now."

Zhao Xi nodded, after thinking about it, he felt that what Zhao Ji said was right, and was about to continue talking, angry and bloody, he hurriedly covered his chest with his hands, his face was pale, and there were traces of blood on his face.

"Ahem!..."

Song Huizong said: "Have you not fully recovered from your injury?"

Zhao Si wiped off the blood on his face, and said calmly: "It's been so long, this injury will always stay on my body, I'm used to it!"

"Thirteenth brother, thanks to you for being here these years. If it weren't for you, I would be alone!" Song Huizong sighed.

"Brother Huang, you don't have to worry about your younger brother's injury!" Zhao Si smiled and said, "No matter what, I have to last until that time, otherwise I will have no face to meet my father!"

Song Huizong and Cai Wang were not born to the same mother, but also brothers from the same father.The two share the same ambition, but Zhao Si was seriously ill last time and almost died. Although he didn't die that time, he still left old troubles.Every time the weather is cloudy and rainy, there will be a dull pain, and this time I don't know why, why it happened. If Zhao Si hadn't learned martial arts and his body was different from ordinary people, he might have died already.It's just that his strong body has become weaker and weaker in recent years. Song Huizong knew that going on like this was not an option, and he had no choice.

The next day, Song Huizong changed his previous style, no longer immersed in calligraphy and painting, and went to court early.The civil and military ministers were astonished. Song Huizong, who had not been in court for several months, appeared in front of everyone again. Even Gao Qiu was a little surprised: "Why is the emperor listening to the court today?"

Song Huizong reused Gao Qiu and made him rise to the top.Gao Qiu did not live up to the high expectations, and took charge of the government as a Taiwei.No matter how big or small, he will handle everything on behalf of the emperor, just like Cai Jing, even surpassing the original Cai Jing.Moreover, many civil and military ministers followed Gao Qiu's lead. What Cai Jing failed to do, Gao Qiu did.

At the beginning, Cai Jing was so powerful that even Emperor Huizong of Song Dynasty was too afraid to do too much. When he couldn't bear it, he used the hands of other ministers to remove him.Cai Jing is leading the way, making everyone fearful. If he makes too many enemies in the court, the trees will fall and the monkeys will disperse.

Gao Qiu learns from Cai Jing's failed experience and shares it with everyone, taking a tactful path.Moreover, Gao Qiu was loyal to Song Huizong and never cared about personal gains or losses, which made him have a good reputation among the officials, and there were very few people who opposed him. Even Song Huizong couldn't catch him. There is no way to deal with him, and there is no excuse. He can only let Gao Li's power expand day by day.

If only Gao Qiu was dealt with alone, Song Huizong could still do it.However, it is easy to deal with him alone, but it is difficult to uproot his power.If it is not handled properly, it will be revived, the government will be shaken, and even the people will say that he is a faint king. At that time, the Song Dynasty will inevitably experience a big cholera. Uneasy.

Song Huizong sat on the dragon chair, dressed in a golden dragon robe, majestic in all directions, with his head held high and his chest held high. He glanced at the ministers lightly, saw their dumbfounded expressions, and said majesticly: "Go to court!"

(End of this chapter)