Prime Minister

Chapter 1083: Visit the Thatched Cottage Again

Chapter 1083: Visit the Thatched Cottage Again

Bianliang was still prosperous, and the Ullambana Festival was a grand event in Bianliang. This was also the time when the drama "Mulian Saves His Mother" was performed.

Mulian's mother was in trouble, and although Mulian was an Arhat, he could not save her. The Buddha said to Mulian, you must hold a large number of Ullambana Festivals so that all the hungry ghosts in the world can be fed, and only then can your mother be saved.

It was done by Mulian, and this is also the origin of the Ullambana Festival.

Therefore, every July, the Daxiangguo Temple in Bianjing would perform the drama of Mulian saving his mother. On this day, it was a grand event in Bianjing. The two empress dowagers were both Buddhists, and this drama promoted filial piety and taught people how to be good. From high-ranking officials to ordinary people, everyone loved it.

The wealthy families among the people would also follow the story of Mulian, provide porridge to the poor or hold banquets, and organize various social ceremonies to pray for blessings.

Zhang Yue also likes the story of Mulian saving his mother. He still vaguely remembers the origin of eating Aojiu porridge before he traveled through time, and now he feels it vividly.

He used to think that in a place like Bianjing where the gap between the rich and the poor was so big, the people at the bottom would have a hard time. But in fact, the rich and the poor did not have any problems, the social atmosphere was stable, and some conflicts could be made public. Of course, it was still slightly inferior to the Jiayou era, but it was twice as prosperous.

The people of Bianjing were completely unaware of the Northwest War, as if it were very far away, and were more interested in the variety shows and temple fairs in front of them.

……

This is the advantage of a large territory. The Song army surrounded Lingzhou City. For Xingzhou, which was separated by a river, the ruler and ministers of Western Xia must have been sleepless at night.

But the Song Dynasty had a vast territory, so there was no such worry.

So the Song Dynasty liked to "give".

Emperor Taizong saw that Li Jiqian was difficult to control, so he destroyed Xiazhou City and moved all the people south, allowing Li Jiqian to completely occupy the five states of Dingnan. Later, Li Jiqian and others went a step further and captured Lingzhou. At that time, the emperor and his ministers thought it was nothing, after all, maintaining troops stationed on the border was a huge drain on national strength.

The Song Dynasty thought that peace could be achieved by giving up some territory, but it was a small decision at that time. After Li Yuanhao rose to power, even Chang'an was threatened.

The Treaty of Chanyuan bought peace and completely gave up the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, and life became better.

Especially since the total annual tribute was only one or two percent of the cost of the war with Liao. The ministers slapped their thighs and thought, this is such a good deal.

This is the origin of the theory of abandoning land proposed by Sima Guang and other ministers.

But any gift from fate comes with a hidden price.

……

Zhang Yue has been recuperating at home for more than half a year and has recovered quite well.

Since the emperor personally visited Zhang's thatched cottage, most officials in Bianjing have become familiar with this place again. Especially Cai Jing, who visited three times in ten days, of course, it is not to say that Cai Jing has not come before, but he has come more often.

Officials in the government all have the ability to read the "weather forecast".

This seemed to indicate that Zhang Yue had been reinstated, but the fact that Zhang Yue was still recuperating in his mansion had caused many people to become confused.

'Weather forecast' is just 'weather forecast' after all.

That day, the whole family went to watch the drama about Mulian saving his mother, while Zhang Yue was weaving bamboo strips at home.

At this time, Zhang Yue knew that someone was visiting. When he saw the three words "Zhou Zhongzhen", he immediately had someone lead him to the hall.

Zhang Yue hurried out of the house and immediately saluted Emperor Zhao, who was traveling incognito with only a few people in the hall.

The official smiled and said, "Do you still remember when I went to the master's house to learn calligraphy under the name of Zhou Zhongzhen?"

Zhang Yue laughed awkwardly when he heard this, but was shocked at the same time. The emperor suddenly mentioned that Zhang Zhi learned calligraphy from him. Could it be that something happened during this expedition against Xia?

The emperor said, "I haven't been on a tour incognito for a long time. The ministers are watching me, so it's always inconvenient. But I always think of the time when Emperor Taizu went incognito to Zhao Pu's house on a snowy night and got a brilliant plan to govern the country and the world, and decided to attack the Northern Han. How free he was."

Zhang Yue thought that Zhao Pu had set two strategies for Zhao Kuangyin, one was to give up the military power over a cup of wine, and the other was to attack Northern Han.

This cup of wine to release military power is a brilliant strategy for governing the country and keeping the world safe, and the emperor also concealed it and spoke directly. What the emperor is looking at today seems to be related to these two things.

"We, the emperor and our subjects, will do the same today. We will roast the meat with charcoal. I have brought mutton and fine wine." The emperor laughed heartily after saying this, but Zhang Yue could hear the desolation and loss in his laughter.

Zhang Yue was moved and said, "As your majesty ordered."

Zhang Yue immediately spread a mattress in the hall, put on the charcoal, and started to roast the mutton. There was also a large pot set up to cook the mutton head, and the eunuch Song Yongchen was serving wine beside them.

In the hall, one can leisurely watch the flowers and leaves in the courtyard being blown down by the south wind. Several plainclothes attendants stand in front of the door, looking around vigilantly.

The first time the official came with great fanfare, this time he came in disguise.

But for the officials, the latter is better than the former. The former is for the government to show to the world.

Lamb, lamb head and fine wine.

The chief bailiff Shi Deyi personally roasted mutton for the official Zhang Yue with an iron skewer. The fat from the mutton fell on the fire, making a sizzling sound.

This scene is quite reminiscent of the scene where Zhao Kuangyin visited Zhao Pu on a snowy night to decide on the plan to attack the Northern Han.

The emperor said, "I admire Emperor Taizu the most, followed by Emperor Taizong of Tang and Emperor Wu of Han. Emperor Wu of Han once said that the Han Dynasty would face six or seven disasters, and that the law should be re-enacted. Who among the descendants of the royal family should be the one to take over? Emperor Wu of Han said that the one who would replace the Han Dynasty should be Tu Gao."

"Yuan Shu thought he had a destiny. His courtesy name, Gonglu, means road, so he thought he had a destiny of being tall. Yuan Shu later became Cao Pi, and Wei means tall and majestic, so he just thought so. Later, someone told Sima Zhao that the person riding a tall horse on the road was Sima."

"The rise and fall of a country, success and failure, is passed down from generation to generation, which is the most important thing in my mind. However, there is no country in the world that will not perish. Even Cao Pi, who replaced the Han Dynasty, once said that from ancient times to the present, there has been no country that will not perish, and no tomb that will not be dug. Even a hero like Emperor Taizu died suddenly, and there was no such thing as pacifying the Northern Han Dynasty."

Zhang Yue had understood what the emperor meant and said, "Your Majesty is blessed by the will of heaven and assisted by good ministers. The throne will surely be passed down from father to son and from generation to generation."

When the official heard Zhang Yue’s implication, he smiled happily.

Shi Deyi had already roasted the mutton and handed it to the emperor and Zhang Yue.

The emperor loved mutton, and after taking a few bites he said, "Good meat, good meat. There are many stories in the palace about Emperor Taizu eating mutton. I like it too."

"Everything I have today is inherited from Taizu. Taizu was the emperor who relied on the strongest soldiers and horses. This time, I took the risk of the world's disapproval to employ Gao Zunyu and Wang Zhongzheng to command the troops. After the implementation of the military strategy, the generals in the northwest have a strong tendency to control the enemy. The troops in the northwest are half Tibetan and half Han. How can we control them on weekdays? Needless to say, if these generals are effective in the battlefield, they can also be rewarded generously. If they encounter a defeat, there is no guarantee that they will not surrender."

"Wang Zhongzheng, no matter how incompetent Gao Zunyu is, at least he can bring the defeated army back here to me and will not surrender to the enemy. I also trust Zhong Yan, but he is ultimately not as good as these two."

Zhang Yue sighed inwardly, knowing that anything that was irrational had its own internal logic behind it.

The civil officials criticized Wang Zhongzheng and Gao Zunyu, a eunuch and a relative of the emperor who led the troops, but they did not see through the logic behind the government.

If you want your troops to be able to fight, you have to be a vassal, and your troops have to be loyal. If the soldiers don't know their generals, and the generals don't know their soldiers, this is a dilemma.

For example, the Hunan Army, which undertook the task of restoring the country, and Yue's Army were all soldiers recruited by the generals themselves. As for the soldiers originally raised by the court, they were useless except for their high loyalty.

This was especially true for the Song army, where even the imperial guards were busy working for their generals. The border troops were fairly capable, but the Song army inland was known for being proficient in everything except fighting.

The strategy of generals is to make the northwestern armies become vassal states. In order to make up for the decline in loyalty, the government sent Wang Zhongzheng and Gao Zunyu to lead the troops. These two people would not surrender even if the Xixia people put a knife to their necks.

The emperor immediately nodded to Song Yongchen. After pouring wine for the emperor, Song Yongchen took out a letter and handed it to Zhang Yue respectfully.

The official pointed at the letter and said, "This letter was written by Zhang Zhi, the governor of Xihe Road."

Zhang Yue read the letter and said, "Your Majesty..."

The emperor said, "Zhang Zhi is your nephew and also my playmate in those days. I still trust his words. I think that Prince Dao is upright and loyal. Even if he doesn't know military affairs, it won't affect the overall situation."

Zhang Yue said, "Your Majesty, I know Wang Zhongzheng. When he was in Xihe, he was shallow and shallow, and he often missed opportunities. He was also arrogant and humiliated officials and did not care about military commanders. This is a disease. Zhang Zhi is my nephew, but I am not partial. This matter is mostly Wang Zhongzheng's fault."

The emperor looked up to the sky and said, "Now that the Fuyan Road army has entered the vast sea, there has been no news. Gao Zunyu is the only one among the generals who knows a little about military affairs, but he has repeatedly competed with Zhong Yan for credit. This time, Zhong Yan's contribution to killing the Xia bandits was obviously the greatest, but he suppressed it and did not report it. He also repeatedly humiliated him with words. On the contrary, those nephews and nieces of the Beijing camp who have never been on the battlefield have all received rewards."

"It is so unfair. No wonder Zhong Yan was so angry that he led his troops away. I am worried that they will be drowned in the vast sea by the Xia bandits..."

Zhang Yue said: "I dare not make a decision on my own about the matter of Fuyan Road, but the army of Jingyuan Road is in a very bad situation. If they are trapped under the strong city and refuse to retreat after running out of food, then..."

When Zhang Yue saw the pain on the official's face, he stopped talking.

Zhang Yue said: "The only strategy now is to let Zhang Zhi replace Wang Zhongzheng to control the troops in Xihe and Jingyuan! He will decide whether to return to the court at the appropriate time!"

The official drank a cup of wine and sighed, "I failed to supervise my staff. I had already done this before I came to you. I don't know if it's too late."

The emperor said to Zhang Yue, "If this attack on Xia fails, what should I do next?"

Zhang Yue said without hesitation: "Your Majesty, if we fail in this attack on Xia, we should continue to fight..."

"Why do you say that?" the official asked sternly.

Zhang Yue said, "Your Majesty, I didn't want to fight before because once the Song and Xia started fighting, the two sides couldn't stop. If the Western Xia wins, the court will definitely make further advances, and use aggression to force us to pay tribute as before, and even intend to attack Chang'an again."

"And the court officials will certainly oppose the fact that we have been expanding the border for many years. The court's management of Xihe and Qingtang in these years may even fail. Dong Jian will definitely surrender and then rebel again, and the leaders of the foreign tribes in Xihe Road will also be ready to make a move."

"The most important thing is the prestige of the court. Since Yuanfeng, the court's factional strife has only been slightly eliminated. Once the attack on Xia fails, it will inevitably re-emerge. If we don't continue to fight, there will be concerns about the court's division."

Using foreign troops was a way to establish the emperor's prestige and suppress conflicts within the court. The war against Xia was initiated by the Song Dynasty. Once the emperor admitted defeat, it would be a real defeat, and the prestige that had been hard to establish would be gone. So at this time, no matter what, he had to grit his teeth and continue to fight, no matter how difficult it was.

Upon hearing this, the official closed his eyes and remained silent, with a gloomy expression.

(End of this chapter)