Chapter 372 Why Not
Zhao Yulin told Lao Cao about his elder brother Zhao Yuqing's crime and the slow investigation by Cui Hao of Xuzhou. He proposed to transfer Shi Ruyu of Luzhou to Guangnan West Road as the pacification envoy and promote Cui Hao to the position of acting governor of Luzhou.
When Lao Cao heard him say that even the officials had made plans, he knew that he was determined to take over Guangnan East Road. He immediately nodded in agreement and said that the brother had considered it carefully. Shi Ruyu had worked in Renhuai and had a good way of governing the Yi area. That was right. He would inform the officials at the meeting the next day.
The two discussed business and then went to taste the exquisite dishes prepared by Mrs. Cao, and then had a few drinks before leaving.
When Zhao Yulin returned home, Shunzhidi had already returned early. He went over to sit down and talk with her, and together they teased their youngest son, Zhao Guangzhi.
Zhidi didn't tell her much about the Censorate. Every morning, Mr. Ding taught her how to govern a country, just like an old gentleman or a pedant.
Zhao Yulin said with a smile that the old man was well-read and could be called a master. There were many things worth learning from him, and his open-minded mind was unmatched.
He told Zhidi about the strategies and advice that future generations of people's congresses had offered, and the couple went to the study and wrote them down one by one. He told Zhidi to calm down and learn something from Mr. Ding, so that she could become the ruler of the country in the future.
Zhidi was delighted and asked him: Is it true?
It's funny, right?
Can she also be the ruler?
Zhao Yulin smiled faintly and said: The ruler of our New Song Dynasty is neither an emperor nor a king, so why can't he do it? He can do anything.
The woman went up to her, hugged her head and bit it fiercely, and slapped shampoo on his face in excitement.
He carried the woman to sit on a chair, and said with a smile, "It's just a king. It's such a small matter that made her so excited."
He just thinks that our Zhidi is down-to-earth and serious in her work, and will definitely reach a higher level after learning from Mr. Ding.
Shunzhidi thought differently. How happy would a tribal girl who was considered a waste of a minor official position in the eyes of the previous emperor be to hear that she actually had the qualifications to be the leader of a country?
The two were still being intimate in the study when the guards outside shouted, "Third Young Master, Lord Li is here. Lord Li from the Central Court is here to visit you."
What's going on?
Li Zhongmian has always been very rigorous in his work, so why did you come to him without waiting until after get off work?
Zhao Yulin and Shunzhidi quickly stood up, tidied their clothes and went out to greet the guests, and brought Mr. Li into the warm room to talk.
Mr. Li had asthma, which easily flared up in cold weather, so he asked his maid to bring him a thermos to warm him up.
When the old man saw Shunzhidi sitting together, he coughed twice and said with some embarrassment that he wanted to say a few words to his brother.
Shunzhidi immediately stood up, refilled their tea, and left politely.
He asked Mr. Li what urgent matter it was that required the old man to make a trip?
Lord Li looked far into the north and sighed: Alas, time flies. It has been almost five years since the Lin'an Incident. I wonder how the old emperor is doing?
Zhao Yulin was depressed, not knowing what this old man was trying to do.
Why did you come and talk to him about the abducted emperor of the previous dynasty?
Oh, he immediately remembered that the emperor of the previous dynasty was Zhao Feiyan's father, his father-in-law.
He said that the emperor must be living a carefree and comfortable life, but the captured royal women must be suffering.
Li Zhongmian had received the news, and the merchants and knights who traveled back and forth had sent back a lot of information. Someone from Shunfengsi had also inquired about it, and there were various versions of the tragic experiences of the royal officials who were removed from the Song Dynasty circulating among the people:
It is widely rumored among the people that the Mongolian Empire treated prisoners even more cruelly than the Jin people. They beat those who refused to obey and killed them on sight. They also directly distributed them to the princes and nobles as slaves like livestock.
Fortunately for the emperor, he had a few Mongolian women to serve him. They ate and slept with him, so he had no worries about food and clothing.
The women of the royal family were in a miserable state. They were sold like animals for the men to play with and have fun with. Those who were pretty and served well were kept as bed warmers. Those who were not good were thrown into the laundry for the soldiers to play with. Most women could not bear the torture and died of illness or starvation in humiliation and hunger.
Zhao Yulin said calmly that the Shenwei Army was not yet able to attack Huanglong and rescue the officials and compatriots. But if we work hard, we will surely defeat the Mongolian Army and avenge our previous humiliation in due time.
He told Lord Li that the troops stationed in Guangnan East Road had been causing trouble for us recently, even setting up two checkpoints to levy additional taxes. After discussing with Lord Cao, he decided to fight back and ordered the Shenwei Army to enter Guangnan East Road to save the people from the dire straits.
The old man said that how to use troops was the generals' job and he didn't care about it at all.
However, he said tremblingly that he was old and his health was failing, so he wanted to resign and return home, and let Princess Feiyan take over his position as Minister of Rites.
My god, this is where the old man’s point is.
The old man hopes that Zhao Feiyan can move up to the next level and become a Shangshu.
He thought that although Feiyan was the deputy director of the Central Academy, she had no real ministerial position. Ma Linger was the Minister of Transportation, while Zhao Feiyan was still the Director of the Academic Affairs Department, which was obviously far from the same.
Zhao Yulin pretended to look at Li Zhongmian with regret, and after a pause he said that the new Song Dynasty had just been established and there was a lot of work to be done. It was the time to recruit people, and Lord Li was making things difficult for me.
He begged Mr. Li not to resign in a hurry. If he was really tired, he could be the deputy of the Central Council and leave all the affairs of the Ministry of Rites to Feiyan. How about that?
The old man was immediately delighted, and kept saying "good, very good". He wanted to speak out in person what the officials had discussed.
It doesn't matter whether Zhao Yulin speaks in person or asks someone to speak for him, as long as he is not as stubborn as Mr. Ding and wants to resign.
At this time, Shunzhidi came in and said that the food was ready, and the two of them got up and went to the restaurant to eat.
Zhao Yulin's family had no gender distinction when eating, and the whole family sat at the same table to eat, which was very lively. He invited Mr. Li to sit next to his mother in the main seat, and Ma Ling'er asked him to open a jar of Shaoxing Nv'erhong.
The old man was delighted, and even praised his mother's wives as talented women and heroines who were as good as any men.
Her mother felt very honored to meet Mr. Li at the same table for dinner. She was as happy as if she had drunk honey. She took the wine glass offered by her daughter-in-law without hesitation, invited him to drink with a smile on her face, and toasted frequently.
After seeing Li Zhongmian off, everyone went back to the house and sat down. He told Yangjin about Shi Ruyu going to Guangnan West Road to serve as the pacification envoy and Cui Hao going to Luzhou.
Yangjin asked him who would hand over Xuzhou to?
Master Lu?
Zhao Yulin nodded. Everyone felt that only Master Lu could control Cuiping Mountain in Xuzhou.
The Shenwei Army originated from Cuiping Mountain in Yibin. Currently, there are numerous family members of senior military generals and officials living there. When ordinary new officials see that there are family members of senior officials and children of high-ranking officials everywhere, how dare they take action to manage them?
This will instead encourage bureaucratic privileges for a few people, harm their families, and ruin the good atmosphere of Cuiping Mountain.
His mother also thinks that Master Lu is capable.
This man is an old member of the Shenwei Army and is Zhao Yulin's support. Only Master Lu can keep an eye on a bully like Zhao Yuqing.
The next day, Lao Cao summoned everyone to discuss matters. They first praised the Shenwei Army for its frequent victories and Zhao Yulin's fruitful trip to the northern border before getting down to business.
The first thing Lao Cao did was to say that the small court in Lin'an instigated the border troops to cause trouble, and he had ordered the Shenwei Army to launch a military operation to enter Guangnan East Road.
The meeting room immediately fell silent.
The Minister of Personnel Fan Zhong asked: May I ask if this means declaring war on Lin'an?
The Shenwei Army said that Song people would not fight Song people, so they are going to go back on their word and resort to force?
Be careful.
Zhao Yulin introduced to everyone the situation on the border that he had learned in Changsha. He believed that Jiangdong now only controlled four routes but had to maintain the huge expenses of their corrupt court, causing the people to bear a heavy burden and suffer terribly.
In order to save the people from danger, the most direct way is to overthrow the small court in Lin'an.
But we have set a rule that Song people cannot fight Song people, and the swords and guns of the Shenwei Army will not be aimed at their own people. At present, they are only stationed in Guangnan East Road to gradually reduce the living space of the Lin'an pseudo-imperial court, prompting its internal division and disintegration to eliminate this scourge.
He then told everyone that we now have 100,000 troops stationed in Jinghu South and Guangnan West to deal with possible threats from the small court in Lin'an. If we can solve the problem in Lin'an, we will be able to withdraw more than 100,000 soldiers to fight against the Mongolian troops.
If that were the case, the speed of defeating the Mongolian army and recovering the country would be greatly accelerated.
Zhao Yulin estimated that Cao Youliang's march into Guangnan East Road had already begun, and the news would come soon, so he had to explain it clearly to everyone.
Li Zhongmian coughed twice and then spoke, supporting the Ministry of War to send troops to Guangnan East Road. He also wanted to write an open letter to his former colleagues in the small court in Lin'an, advising them to sympathize with the people and follow the will of heaven to withdraw the pseudo-court.
Zhao Yulin applauded Mr. Li and was very happy with his move.
Everyone followed suit and applauded the old man.
Then, Lord Li told everyone that he would no longer be the Minister of Rites and recommended Princess Feiyan to take over the position of Minister and asked for their help.
Lao Cao immediately expressed his support with a laugh, saying that even if Lord Li did not become the Minister, he could still be the Deputy Director of the Central Council. The little princess was very talented and would be able to do well with the support of Lord Li and everyone else.
Zhao Feiyan had already stood up to decline, but the meeting room was filled with congratulations. I had no choice but to accept and thank you all for your advice and kindness.
Lao Cao went on to say that Guangnan West Road had been stabilized and a pacification envoy should be sent there to take charge of the situation. He proposed that Luzhou prefect Shi Ruyu be promoted to the position of pacification envoy of Guangnan West Road.
Zhao Yulin immediately seconded the motion, saying that the prefect of Luzhou had worked in Renhuai for many years and had rich experience in governing the Yi areas, making him an excellent candidate.
Everyone knew that this was the result of their discussion, and they all expressed their support.
Fan Zhong had already received the news through Yangjin, and then said that it was proposed that Cui Hao from Xuzhou take over the vacant position of the Ministry of Personnel in Luzhou, and how about Shunfeng's Lu Youpeng temporarily take over the post of Xuzhou prefect?
Only Zhao Yulin can explain this.
He directly told everyone about the crime committed by his elder brother Zhao Yuqing, hoping that everyone would agree to the Ministry of Personnel's arrangement to let an old man like Lu Youpeng guard Xuzhou and prevent similar crimes.
After hearing his explanation, the officials were naturally speechless, and they were busy recommending candidates to Guangnan West Road. The Shenwei Army cancelled the military control of Guangnan West Road and returned power to the people, so officials from all over the country were needed.
Someone suggested: The Guangnan East Road in the future will still need people, and will need many talented people, so why not hold another imperial examination?
