In August of the eighth year of Jianwu, the luàn elephant in the court still did not subside. The angry ministers were not relieved by the good news from the front. Although Xu Han Xu Liang and other ministers have come forward to communicate and persuade, but there are still a considerable number of people with a resolute attitude, for several days, Deokshou Palace is full of people, many ministers came to the emperor to complain, accusing the emperor of being uncomplaining and betraying the ancestral family law.

Zhao Huan's reaction was very special, he agreed with the ministers' statement, thinking that the emperor's move was indeed very inappropriate, but at the same time, to the ministers, the Son of Heaven is young and vigorous, and it is inevitable that there will be mistakes when he makes mistakes, which is also impatient, and he must take his time. As a result, these words added fuel to the fire of the courtiers, how can this be slow? The official family launched a brazen northern expedition with more than 100,000 troops, who knows what he will do next?

As a result, the ministers asked the Emperor Taishang to come forward and persuade the Son of Heaven to avoid making a big mistake. Zhao Huan said again at this time, although I am the emperor's father, but he often does not come to visit, can you expect him to listen to my advice? These words irritated the minister even more. They remembered all the things that the officials had been doing since they ascended the throne, such as the previous layoffs of redundant personnel, the reduction of salaries, and the fact that now they have set aside hundreds of officials and directly commanded the front-line generals.

There is a way that anger arises from the heart, and evil is born from the side of the gall! In this atmosphere of fierce opposition to the emperor, someone finally ascended to the heights and shouted! This person, called Luo Ruji, is not a high official rank, and he is serving the imperial history in the Qipin Palace. However, although this position is not important, it is often forbidden, not only to correct the impeachment of hundreds of officials during the court meeting, but also to supervise the responsibility of the Son of Heaven.

Luo Ruji said such a sentence in front of Zhao Huan, he said that today's son is immoral, untrustworthy and discredited. How to say immorality? It is to turn his back on the law of his ancestors, to despise the people, to emphasize the martial arts, and not to listen to the advice, and to go his own way. What's more serious is that he does not have the most basic filial piety for the son of man, and often refuses to visit the emperor in the palace; Loss of etiquette refers to Zhao Chen's behavior on weekdays, which is a loss of royal etiquette; broke his promise, and it was a bit ridiculous, saying that since Zhao Chen had promised to negotiate peace with the Jin State, but in the blink of an eye, he betrayed his promise and raised a large army to go on a northern expedition.

Hearing these words, the faces of several ministers present at the time changed dramatically! But it was in Zhao Huan's arms, but he said to Luo Ruji almost with a "hint": "The words of this Qing family." ”

Luo Ruji has probably been an official for a long time, and he dared to say it, and protested: "Is it the heart of the minister? It is to speak for the Manchu Dynasty! In other words, his words represented the voice of the Manchu ministers.

Zhongshu Province, Political Affairs Hall.

Although it is the highest administrative organ in the country, affected by this turmoil, many officials under the Zhongshu Sect have begged to go and stay at home. As a result, several prime ministers and deputy prime ministers had to do many things themselves. Xu Liang stepped into his office hall with a stack of official documents at this time.

He was followed by an official, about fifty years old, of medium height, somewhat fat, quite strange in appearance, with a few long wisps of beard, which was very attractive. Xu Liang put the official document on his desk, turned around and said, "Sit, you have to make your own tea." ”

"You don't have to be polite to participate in politics, the lower officials really have important things to tell." The official's name is Li Ruopu, a servant of the Ministry of Officials, and he can be regarded as an important minister. Originally, he was also among the ministers who begged to go to the table and stay at home, but he didn't know why he got here?

"Li Shilang, please speak." Xu Liang said politely.

Li Ruopu took a step forward, came to Xu Liu's side, and whispered, "I'm afraid something will happen." ”

Xu Liang didn't care, and said with a wry smile: "It's already like this, what else can I do?" ”

"Xu can't be careless when he participates in politics, and the lower officials have heard that some people are running around Deokshou Palace, and they have repeatedly committed crimes, but Taishang does not blame, but connives. If this continues, won't you be afraid of changing the sky when you participate in politics? Li Ruopu said solemnly.

Xu Liang's brows furrowed, and he hummed suspiciously, and asked, "What do you mean by committing a mistake?" ”

"It is said that some people accused the officials of losing morality, morality, and dishonesty in front of the emperor, and they fabricated all kinds of things that the officials were not doing, and they made a lot of nonsense! Is this a good sign? Li Ruopu said.

Xu Liang's expression became more and more somber, and he asked again, "What is the attitude of the Emperor Taishang?" ”

"Do your best to instigate yòu to guide the power!" Li Ruopu said sharply. "The ministers are angry in their hearts, and if it is inconvenient to say it, he will guide him; Knowing that the courtiers opposed the official family and insisted on going their own way, leaving aside the officials, Taishang fanned the flames and said the opposite. If it goes on like this, I'm afraid that the old things of Ling Zun in the past will ......" Li Ruopu said this, and stopped abruptly.

Xu Liang listened, gritted his teeth, and asked in a low voice, "Who said that?" ”

"I don't know who it is, but I remind you to participate in politics and take precautions." Li Ruofu said in a deep voice.

Xu Liang knew that he would not say it, since he knew what others said in such detail, how could he not know who it was? He wasn't reluctant. After sending Li Ruopu away, the more Xu Liu thought about it, the more wrong it became, that year, his father united with Zhu Shengfei, Qin Hui, Xu Han and others to launch a coup d'état and force the Emperor Taishang to take the throne. Immediately afterwards, clean Geng Nanzhong. If this happens again, it is clear that he will also be purged.

He is now an official and a governor and a confidential participant, and it is not impossible to find out who said it. Soon, he got a string of names. He reported the matter to Prime Minister Zhu Shengfei and Vice Minister Zhao Ding, and when the two ministers saw that things were not good, they hurriedly played in front of the king.

"Daring!" In the Qinzheng Hall, Zhao Chen was furious, and his face was red with anger!

"The official family is angry, how to stabilize the situation is the most important!" Zhao Dinghong said.

"Zhao Xiangzhi's words are yes, it seems that if it continues to develop like this, it will inevitably change!" Zhu Shengfei also agreed.

Zhao Chen was still resentful, and he started to fight: "I am in the midst of disaster, and over the years, I have always been responsible for restoring the territory and attacking the gold thieves in the north!" Every day, I get up, I lie down in the middle of the night, I don't repair the palace room, I don't love beauty, danqing, calligraphy, music, gardening, nothing good! I can't eat two dishes and one soup, I can't wear it from head to toe, and I think I'm not disappointed in the world! How can in their mouths, they become the lord of immorality, immorality and dishonesty! It's really infuriating! ”

The emperor gritted his teeth, his chest rose and fell, and without waiting for a few prime ministers to speak, he asked in a thunderous voice: "Where is Luo Ruji!" ”

Zhu Shengfei looked at Xu Liang, who shook his head, and he said to the emperor: "Luo Ruji begged to go, it should be, it should be at home." ”

"Humph! I don't think he's at home, right? Eighty percent is in Deoksugung Palace! Go, summon him into the palace, I will question him face to face! Look at how immoral, dishonored, and dishonest I am! Zhao Chen was furious.

Zhu Shengfei saw that the emperor was so angry that he couldn't distinguish between priorities and priorities, so he reminded again and again: "Official, Luo Ruji is just a crazy life, and he doesn't matter at all." Now 100,000 people are anxious, I am afraid that someone with a heart will use people like him to incite it, which will be unfavorable to the official family and the court! ”

Zhao Chen sat down and shook his head: "Then what do you say?" ”

Zhu Shengfei took a breath, thought for a while, and replied: "According to the minister's opinion, the official family should immediately issue an edict to express his stance to appease the resentment of the ministers. ”

"Are you making me soft? Stand corrected? Zhao Chen was angry again.

"Expedient, expedient! Now that the dynasty is raging, if the official family does not lower their figures, how can they step down? Zhu Shengfei said in a hurry.

"What did you say?" Zhao Chen sè changed.

"No, no, no, the minister means to say, how to clean up this situation? Anyway, now that the army of the king of Zhejun has gone north, and it is difficult to collect the water, what does it matter if the official family calms the minister's emotions? Zhu Shengfei hurriedly explained.

Zhao Ding also said: "Zhu Xiang's words are reasonable, no matter what, solving the problem in front of you first is the right way." ”

Xu Liang thought about it again and again, and put forward specific methods: "The official family should summon a few ministers who asked to go to the palace, including Luo Ruji, and tell them that the previous things were indeed a little inappropriate. In this way, the anger of the people can be appeased. ”

"Luo Ruji? Hum! I am the one who called the gate to guard the city, and I don't see him! Zhao Chen's anger was hard to dissipate. Luo Ruji is the imperial history in the palace, he walked around in front of the emperor when he had nothing to do, he was originally an official close to the emperor, but now he said something like that behind Zhao Chen's back in front of the emperor, the resentment in Zhao Chen's heart can be imagined.

"Even if you don't see Luo Ruji, you should arrange for other ministers to enter the palace as soon as possible." Zhao Dingdao.

Although Zhao Chen was angry, he still knew that if he continued to fight, even if he was the emperor, he might not be able to bargain much. Anyway, the goal has been achieved, be soft, admit your mistakes, and there will be no less ròu. After careful consideration, he said: "Well, you draw up a few candidates, and summon them to the palace tomorrow, I have my own explanation." ”

Seeing that the emperor gave in, the four prime ministers breathed a sigh of relief, and when they looked at each other, they were quite pleased, and then heard the emperor say: "Luo Ruji slandered the king, if he doesn't deal with it, where is the law of the country?" When his remarks are investigated, Jiaotong Dali Temple will punish crimes! ”

The four prime ministers really looked at each other, Luo Ruji's words were indeed too much, and some of them were indeed made out of nothing, reversing right and wrong, and if he wanted to punish him, it would be done. But the question is, the current political climate is so tense, and he is another leader who beats him, and this does not cause a backlash from a certain person? To put it bluntly, if he hit him, isn't it equivalent to a slap in the face of the emperor?

Zhu Shengfei is a pro-minister, but he can say what these prime ministers are inconvenient to say, so he said: "Official, I'm afraid it's better to turn a big matter into a small matter and a small matter." Thinking that he is just a palace servant, the official family doesn't want to see him, so he needs to be sent differently, and he doesn't have to worry about him. ”

Zhao Chen got up and said: "Zhu Qing, all the virtuous people, I am not intolerant!" If Luo Ruji is dissatisfied with me and goes directly to the book, or points out my mistakes to my face, even if he speaks fiercely and loses the courtesy of the monarch and ministers, I will not blame him. There are loyal ministers in the court who dare to speak out, which is a blessing for the Son of Heaven! Loss of morality, loss of honor, and dishonesty, if he said these three points directly to me, even if I was angry, at most I would just walk away, and I would not listen to his noise. ”

"But I hate! He actually went to Deoksugung Palace to make such a statement, how sinister his intentions were! He is not speaking outright at all, he is moving nòng right and wrong, inciting elephants! How can I tolerate him! ”

When the emperor said this, several prime ministers couldn't argue, Xu Liu thought about it and suggested: "Even so, we must first summon the ministers to calm the anger of the people, and then cure Luo Ruji's crimes." ”

"Yes, yes, Xu is thoughtful in participating in politics, and he is very right." Zhu Shengfei echoed.

Zhao Chen breathed a sigh of relief, nodded and said, "Just according to Xu Qing's words!" ”

Within a few days, Zhu Shengfei arranged for several representative ministers, including the main peace faction, the main battle faction, and the pro-Taishang faction, to be summoned by the Son of Heaven in the Vertical Arch Palace. Zhao Chen held back the fire in his belly, and said to several ministers with a smile on his face that it was indeed against the system of the ancestors and my fault to directly issue an order to the front-line commander to go on the Northern Expedition without setting aside the imperial court. Don't make a fuss, let's all go back to work.

Most of the courtiers were originally just to fight for a breath, but now that the emperor has admitted his mistake, that tone has disappeared. So as soon as these people went back to preach, many ministers felt that the army had set off anyway, and the emperor had admitted his mistake, so let's do it, what should we do.

But in this way, it made the Emperor Taishang panic. finally seized such an opportunity, seeing that the ministers of the Manchu Dynasty were all against the emperor, as long as he worked harder, he would go all the way back to the palace to sit. Now that the son admits his mistake, the opposition ministers immediately ran away for most of the time, how can this be good?

Of course, it is impossible for him to continue to instigate the ministers to accuse and oppose the emperor, he came up with another way, instructing Luo Ruji, saying that the emperor can only verbally admit his mistakes, and if he knows his mistakes, he must correct them, and you bypass the hundred officials of the imperial court and directly order the front-line commander of the Northern Expedition, and this matter must be fundamentally corrected.

Luo Ruji is very good at speaking officially, he dares to speak, he doesn't dare to say it in front of anyone, and he doesn't have a long brain. He didn't know that he was about to come to disaster, not only did he not go back to work, but he also took a book in a solemn manner, crackling a lot anyway, and finally asked the emperor to withdraw all the troops and maintain the peace with the Jin State.

That's why this person has no brains, is bookish, and doesn't even understand basic common sense. If it is not a major change, how can the army withdraw halfway? Can the arrows that shè go out fly back?

When Zhao Chen saw his notebook, he was so angry that he couldn't wait to throw this guy to Dali Temple to ask for the guilt. Fortunately, under the persuasion of Xu Liang and others, he held back for the time being.

But Luo Ruji saw that the emperor didn't care, and felt that he didn't have enough weight alone? So he contacted a number of officials, fired cannons to the emperor, and even threatened that if the emperor did not change the edict and withdraw the troops, I was afraid that the ministers would have to "stay at home" again.

The change in the DPRK and China, although it was not provoked by Zhi Yanzhi, but it had a lot to do with him. But the king of the county knew nothing about this, and was concentrating on fighting. After repelling Chizhan Hui, the Zhejia army continued to attack Caizhou, but the Jin army held on to the city for many days. After the Huaixi Army was divided to attack the Huainan East Road (referred to as Huaidong), there were less than 40,000 men and horses in the hands of Zheyanzhi. With less than 40,000 men, it was obviously difficult to attack a large city.

At this time, the king of Zhejun was a little annoyed, and he sent an envoy to Gangneung Mansion again. This time there was no flattery, no appeasement, but a cold and hard order. He strictly ordered He Ji to immediately send troops north! If you refuse to listen to moderation, you will be punished for delaying the military aircraft!

Ordered to Jiangling, He Ji was still scared in the end. For a person like him who relied on the grace of his father to enter the officialdom, although talent is important, it is equally important to fight for his father. Now that his father has become a "county king", Zhao Huan, who favors them from the He family, has also abdicated, and if he loses his backer, if something goes wrong, I'm afraid there will be no one to intercede. But he was really unwilling to drag the Shenwu rear army out to accompany Zheyan to play, and in the end, he discounted the order of the king of Zhejun and asked Yue Fei, who was stationed in Suizhou, Yingzhou, to lead his headquarters to attack in the north. At the same time, he also sent a message to Han Shizhong, the deputy commander of the Jinghu Xuanfu Division stationed in Xiangzhou, asking him to keep an eye on Yue Pengju and not let him run too far too far.

Yue Fei was a straight man, and after receiving the order, he was overjoyed, thinking that the time to restore the Central Plains had finally come! He was sure that Han Shizhong would definitely act with him. So, he happily sent a letter to Han Shizhong, asking him when he would send troops and how to arrange it.

Han Shizhong is already a senior general in the Shenwu Rear Army, with the rank of deputy commander. Yue Fei was only in command in the army, but he also served as the governor of Yingzhou. It's just that Han Shizhong rose fast, but the people were tall, and when Xu Wei was still the leader of the township soldiers, he was already a celebrity who had captured Fang La alive.

Therefore, the letter that Yue Fei went to can be regarded as a request for instructions. He and Han Shizhong have ambitions and have a good relationship. After Han Liangchen received the letter, he was very embarrassed, he actually wanted to send troops with Yue Fei and actively respond to Zhe Yanzhi's Northern Expedition. But soldiers take serving orders as their duty, He Ji is not only the son of King He Jun, but also the commander of the Shenwu Rear Army, how dare he send troops without his orders?

So he replied to Yue Fei, you arch forward, just make a errand, don't take it seriously.

Yue Fei's whole army was only more than 10,000 people, but after receiving the reply, he resolutely sent troops north to attack Tangzhou. At this time, Chi Zhanhui had just been repelled by the Zhejia brothers, preparing for war in Tangzhou, and when he saw that the Song army of Xianghan had come out again, he did not dare to engage in the battle again, closed the city gate, and urged reinforcements from Tokyo.

It was impossible for Yue Fei to attack the city, so he turned around and captured Huyang County, and then set up here and reported to He Ji, saying that he was outnumbered and difficult to carry out siege warfare, and the gold thief closed his door and asked for reinforcements.

He Ji ignored it, and instead instructed Han Shizhong, saying that Xiangyang City was very important and the garrison should not be moved lightly. It was precisely because of his delay that Chi Zhanhui and others came to the 40,000 soldiers and horses led by Wuyan Puluhun himself. After Pu Luhun arrived in Tangzhou, he immediately joined forces with Chizhan Hui and went south to Huyang County, where Yue Fei was stationed.

Yue Pengju knew that there was a huge disparity in strength and it was difficult to resist, so he retreated to Suizhou. The more he thought about it, the more annoyed he became, and wrote to Han Shizhong and He Ji again, urging the troops.

Han Shizhong thought about his friendship with Yue Fei, and finally replied to tell the truth. said that He Dutong was dissatisfied with his father being forced to become a prince because of the king of Zhejun, which was intended to hinder the king of Zhejun, you and I are under his command, don't cause more trouble.

Is Yue Fei a person who is afraid of right and wrong? He was dissatisfied with He Ji's abolition of justice due to personal grudges, so he sent his general Wang Gui to Jiangling Mansion in person to plead his case to He Ji. Helpless, He Ji still didn't allow it