"Your Majesty, Fan Qiong, the garrison commander of Xiangyang, has yet to arrive. Moreover, he harbored the criminal official Zong Yin, his intentions are treasonous!" At that moment, Hu Yin, the supervising censor of the palace, standing beside Yan Xiaozhong, once again disrupted the occasion and atmosphere with his words.

"Your Majesty!"

Just as Emperor Zhao was about to speak, Liu Ji, who was holding his hand, immediately voiced his opinion. "Fan Qiong is not to be feared. I shall accept the imperial decree and proceed to Xiangyang to assume my post. That mere martial man would never dare to easily cause trouble!"

"Not necessarily..." Zhao Jiu quickly suppressed the old gentleman and immediately looked at Han Shizhong, who was enjoying the spectacle.

Having watched the show for quite some time, Han Shizhong quickly stepped forward, cupped his hands, and bowed. "Your Majesty, once I have deployed my troops to Xiangyang's walls, I will capture Fan Qiong alive within ten days!"

"That's what I was about to say..." Zhao Jiu paused mid-sentence. To outsiders, it seemed the Emperor was moved by the eagerness of his subjects.

Of course, in reality, Emperor Zhao was feeling a little overwhelmed by this personal group he was deliberately cultivating but hadn't yet formed... Just look, compared to those seasoned councilors, none of these individuals seemed like important officials:

Han Shizhong had the personal certification of the Emperor for his courage, but he was still considered a rogue by Song, Jin, Liao, and Xia's international standards;

Zhang Jun, at thirty years old, suddenly rose to the position of Deputy Censor-in-Chief, almost equivalent to half a Prime Minister, and couldn't help but harbor thoughts of breaking records, so he devoted most of his energy to figuring out what the Emperor was thinking;

Hu Yin spoke without regard for the atmosphere and had strong opinions;

Academician Lin was a silent gourd, and lately, it seemed he liked to cry;

Liu Ziyu liked to pretend, looked down on others, and couldn't let go of his pride;

Yan Xiaozhong, whether it was sudden success or his nature, and possibly related to his appearance, liked to shout and interrupt;

Yang Yizhong seemed perfect on the outside but was a smooth operator on the inside;

Even Liu Ji, who was thought to be a mature person who could be won over, just burst into tears and begged to die after a simple handshake. No one could understand what was going on...

At this moment, Emperor Zhao missed Zhao Ding. At least that one acted and spoke normally.

But back to the present, complaints aside, these people were Emperor Zhao's future hope. Because Zhao Jiu knew very well that he was not a legitimate Emperor!

Would a legitimate person secretly record people's good and bad deeds in a small notebook, and study it before every meeting?

Would a legitimate Emperor constantly overact?

Would a legitimate Emperor disregard etiquette, play tricks with ministers, and frequently run into the armies of local bullies, losing his dignity?

More importantly, these people ultimately had some ability or integrity. If he left them, could Zhao Jiu, with his small frame, stand up to the twenty Jin myriads on the east and west routes, or manage the chaotic state of most of China?

So, for the sake of the country, he had to tolerate them. What else could he do?!

"That's what I was about to say." After a pause, Zhao Jiu, back to normal, continued to hold Liu Ji's hand... actually, Liu Ji was holding on too tight for Zhao Jiu to let go... He addressed Han Shizhong seriously. "Lord Han, now that Shanzhou has been recovered, I want you to immediately supervise the army and head north to Xijing. First, cautiously monitor Wanyan Yinshuke and Wanyan Balisu's troop withdrawal; second, quickly defeat the military bandit Yang Jin, who has surrendered to the Jin, and assist Da Zhai and Xiao Zhai in recovering Xijing and re-establishing our foothold; third, try to open the Shanzhou passage and provide assistance to Shanzhou... The Zhai family of Xiping originally belonged to Caizhou, which is under your jurisdiction, and you have close relations with the Da Zhai and Xiao Zhai brothers. After today, take them with you! Once Xijing is stable, you can return to Huaixi to rest and train your troops."

"Your subject obeys." Han Shizhong was clearly surprised by this assignment, but he immediately cupped his hands and accepted the order. However, after accepting the order, he couldn't help but ask seriously, "But since I am going to Xijing, I must ask Your Majesty about two matters..."

"Speak."

"Prefectural Commander of the Imperial Guards Infantry, Lu Qin, is still at Sishui. When I arrive there, whose military orders take precedence?" Han Shizhong asked solemnly.

"Of course, Lord Han's take precedence!" Zhao Jiu blurted out without thinking. After a moment's thought, he solemnly reminded, "But Liangchen must also respect Grand Commandant Lu's years of defending Sishui!"

This was somewhat against the rules, but no one around objected, and it was even unusually quiet.

Speaking of which, Lu Qin's assignment, although somewhat of a high position for his rank, was still a legitimate commander of the Three Armies, the Infantry Commander, and like the famous Mr. Gao, who took the sports route to become the Palace Commander, it was one of the highest military ranks in theory. The Three Armies, along with the Privy Council, formed the two highest power institutions in the Song military, one with military force but no right to deploy troops, and the other with the right to deploy troops but no military force.

However, another obvious fact was that since ascending the throne, this Emperor had restructured the military forces of the Marshal's Office into a Royal Guard, and effectively replaced all the functions of the Three Armies with the Royal Guard. So, on this matter, all the officials in the court, whether civil or military, would support Han Shizhong.

Otherwise, it would be denying the overall legitimacy of the court!

Of course, there was also a point that Emperor Zhao didn't think of at the moment, but everyone below thought was a matter of course – Lu Qin in Sishui had always relied on Zong Ze, the garrison commander of Tokyo, and restricting Zong Ze, who held such great power, was almost an instinct for all the civil officials in the court!

This had nothing to do with morality or political stance; it was truly the instinct of bureaucrats, even if Zong Ze was also a proper civil official.

In fact, the reason why Han Shizhong was able to establish a garrison in Huaixi, taking Caizhou and Shunchang Prefecture (Yingzhou, later Fuyang area) that theoretically belonged to the Jingxi North Road, and why Li Yanxian was appointed Pacification Commissioner of Shanzhou, and even Yue Fei and Zhang Rong were appointed Pacification Commissioners, was so smooth was because in the depths of the hearts of these officials, they all felt that this move had a vaguely correct political sense - Caizhou and Shunchang Prefecture theoretically belonged to the ambiguous power zone of the garrison commander of Tokyo; all of Li Yanxian's previous commendations were carried out through Zong Ze; and the existence of Yue Fei and Zhang Rong could effectively control Zhang Suo and Zhang Jun.

Prevent problems from arising and control them with measures... It hadn't changed for so many years, and Emperor Zhao, who was clamoring to fight against these things, hadn't noticed the intricacies involved.

'Clearly righteous in principle, extremely talented in small matters, sincere to people, and seemingly consistent in actions, with clear beginnings and ends, but rough in the middle, not very careful, and also acting fiercely, this is his illness'... This was how Li Gang, the Duke of State of Lu, evaluated someone in a letter to his confidant and friend, Lin Qi, the secretary of the Ministry of Revenue, a few days ago.

Ignoring the digression and turning back to the front, Han Shizhong immediately accepted the order and was about to continue his presentation.

But at this moment, someone around him couldn't control himself again: "Your Majesty, I, Zhang Jun, the Deputy Censor-in-Chief, take the liberty to speak. The Three Armies system has been in place for a century... Uh, Grand Commandant Lu has merit and no fault, and while Regional Commissioner Han's military strategies are appropriate, he acts rashly and lacks virtue. I fear that Regional Commissioner Han's trip will cause Grand Commandant Lu to be dissatisfied, which may lead to unwarranted disasters."

Listening only to the second half of the sentence, Emperor Zhao almost thought it was Hu Yin who was speaking, because the words were so similar to Hu Yin's style.

However, since Zhang Jun said these words, there was another deeper meaning.

To this, Zhao Jiu remained silent for a moment, and then asked in a deep voice, "What does Lord Zhang want to do?"

"I take the liberty to request to temporarily supervise the military affairs of Xijing from Ruzhou," Zhang Jun replied, bowing his head. "It is the established practice of our dynasty for civil officials to supervise the army... If I go to Ruzhou, I will surely be able to ensure Grand Commandant Lu's peace of mind while also restoring Xijing."

"No need, I will discuss this matter with Garrison Commander Zong myself." Zhao Jiu woke up after this reminder. "Grand Commandant Lu has always relied on Garrison Commander Zong in Sishui. With his mediation, there will surely be no problem."

Zhang Jun retreated awkwardly.

And Emperor Zhao finally took the opportunity to let go of his hand and return to his seat... At the same time, Liu Ji, Yan Xiaozhong, and Hu Yin also returned to their positions.

"Actually, there is a major matter that I wanted to discuss last, but since it has already touched on the Three Armies and the Royal Guard, and there are indeed no urgent matters today, then I will speak frankly." Zhao Jiu looked around and raised his voice. The officials of the court understood something in their hearts and stood solemnly. The only one still standing in the middle, Han Shizhong, realized that the situation was not good and quickly retreated.

"The national system is the fundamental task of the country and should not be changed lightly." Emperor Zhao said slowly. "But now is not the same as before. The irreconcilable situation between the Great Song and the Jin Dynasty has become a foregone conclusion. I have already stated this in the Chaoyi of Mount Bagong. Unless one side is destroyed, it will never truly stop. Therefore, we must change the system to adapt to the times..."

Although the officials below were serious, most of them did not change their expressions, because everyone had thought about this topic. In fact, someone had already raised it in Nanjing (Shangqiu). After Mount Bagong, the prefect of Yangzhou, Lü Yihao, even submitted a proposal to the court, outlining a plan involving official system, military affairs, and finance.

Afterward, other important officials from all aspects also put forward their plans. For the past two days, although in a hurry, the ministers who were qualified to attend the imperial meeting had also discussed this issue and proposed some rough plans.

In the end, the overall plan was to simplify and merge in order to facilitate military coordination.

"First, the Central Secretariat, the Department of State Affairs, the Chancellery, and the Imperial Secretariat shall be merged into one. From today onward, there will be no more Deputy Director of the Department of State Affairs, Left or Right... The East Hall Prime Ministers will be proper Prime Ministers and Deputy Prime Ministers. They will oversee all government affairs, command the Six Ministries, Nine Courts, Five Directorates, and Six Institutes, and will be qualified to publicly discuss military and political affairs before the Emperor. In the court, Prime Minister Lü will be the head, and Prime Minister Xu will be the deputy!"

After Emperor Zhao finished speaking, Lü Haowen and Xu Jingheng stepped forward solemnly, bowed and paid their respects.

"Of course," Emperor Zhao quickly added. "Prime Minister Li will still be in charge of major military and national affairs, command the East and West Halls, and oversee all officials, still being higher than all other officials."

No one cared about this nonsense, because no one thought that Li Gang would really come back and that someone like Lü Haowen could compete with him.

"Second, the West Hall will also abolish the additional offices such as Associate Administrator of the Privy Council. Everyone will be called Privy Councilor and Deputy Privy Councilor... The current Privy Councilor is naturally Garrison Commander Zong of Tokyo. Prime Minister Wang, Prime Minister Yuwen, and Prime Minister Zhang (Zhang Que), who is recuperating in Huainan, will be Deputy Privy Councilors. The Privy Councilors and Deputy Privy Councilors, that is, the West Hall's ministers, will still participate in imperial meetings as before."

This Privy Council was almost equivalent to only changing a name... Seeing Wang Boyan and Yuwen Xuzhong stand up, everyone couldn't help but slander in their hearts.

However, Zhao Jiu paused slightly and continued:

"Third, from today onward, the Three Armies will be abolished, and all responsibilities and powers will be transferred to the Royal Guard. Yang Weizhong and Lu Qin will be changed to Deputy Commanders of the Royal Guard, and the Royal Guard will belong to the West Hall's Privy Council. The Bureau of Operations under the Ministry of War, the Three Offices of the Ministry of Personnel, and the Western Tribunal for Examining Officials will all be transferred to the Privy Council. The Bureau of Operations will be in charge of confidential documents and participate in military planning. The Royal Guard's Commanders, Deputy Commanders, and the front-line Garrison Commanders, Regional Commissioners, Military Commissioners, Pacification Commissioners, and Garrison Commanders, as well as the oath-taking generals in the army, can all discuss military matters before the Emperor with the Privy Councilor."

Everyone shuddered slightly. This was the real unification of powers and responsibilities... The design of the Great Song's century-old system of dividing military power was forced to be reunified by the current situation.

If only they had known this earlier, why did they do it in the first place?

"Fourth, the Palace Attendant Bureau and the Palace Interior Attendant Bureau have overlapping responsibilities and powers. In addition, the Six Traitors mostly came from eunuchs. In times of national crisis, it is not appropriate to expand the inner service, so they will be merged into the Palace Attendant Bureau. The Palace Attendant Bureau will also be simpler, with one Chief Supervisor, appointed by Lan Gui, who will continue to be responsible for confidential documents in the forbidden area, and one Deputy Chief Supervisor, appointed by Shao Chengzhang from the Empress Dowager's side in Yangzhou. The rest will be demoted to supervisors, still leading their respective duties as before."

"Fifth, the Imperial Bodyguard will be listed separately, with an Imperial Commander appointed by Yang Yizhong, and a Deputy Commander appointed by Liu Yan, directly under my command along with the Royal Guard."

There was nothing more to say about these two. Only Feng Yi's return without shaking Lan Gui's position was interesting.

"These are some major issues that have been discussed. As for the Censorate and the Imperial Academy, they are already simple and will naturally not change, still being directly under my command along with the East and West Halls." Zhao Jiu's tone slowed down, and he seemed to be lost in thought. "In fact, there are still the Military Commissioners, Prefects, and Vice Prefects of various military prefectures, the Commandants and City Lords of border prefectures, and the Transport Commissioners, Military Commissioners, Pacification Commissioners, Regional Commissioners, and Garrison Commanders of various circuits, who still have unclear powers and responsibilities, pay too much attention to seniority, resulting in inconsistent names and overlapping functions. I also intend to change them. However, time is short, and the court has just settled down, so it is not appropriate to shake the local areas. We can only discuss it slowly in the future... For now, that's it."

Everyone no longer hesitated and immediately stepped forward. Under the leadership of the four ministers, they bowed their heads solemnly and performed the grand ceremony, while the Chief Supervisor of the Palace Attendant Bureau, Lan Gui, immediately called for the ceremony to be completed.

"Everyone, wait a moment, I have a few words from the bottom of my heart that I want to say to you." Just as Lan Gui finished speaking, Emperor Zhao in the throne saw everyone getting up, but he did not let them return to their positions, but spoke again, which was quite unexpected.

"The first thing, the reason why I insisted on holding the court meeting at Fangcheng Mountain, rather than waiting until we entered Nanyang, which is just around the corner, is actually for one purpose, and that is to cut the knot quickly and cleanly, hoping that you will cut off all the rights and wrongs, grievances, political disputes, rewards, and punishments in the court since the Jingkang Incident." Zhao Jiu sighed slowly, but tried to raise his tone. "We must travel light and start anew in Nanyang... It is precisely for this reason that we must deal with Fan Zhixu here and ensure that the Prime Ministers of the East and West Halls are in their proper positions."

"Your Majesty has put in painstaking efforts, but we have not considered it thoroughly." Lü Haowen, who had previously felt that Emperor Zhao was acting rashly, was slightly stunned, and then quickly admitted his mistake.

Wang Boyan and Wang Yuan were completely relieved.

"Let me finish." Zhao Jiu raised his hand to stop them. "Next, regarding the war and peace between Song and Jin, I have already said it at Mount Bagong. No peace talks are allowed until one side is destroyed... But based on this, there are two more sentences that must be said seriously to everyone... So that you will know that the Jin only used one myriad to turn Jingxi into such a state, and now there are more than twenty Jin myriads stationed there, so the Jin's army is strong and powerful, which is a real thing; at the same time, the Great Song has been defeated repeatedly, first losing Hebei and Hedong, and then the shame of the Jingkang Incident. Previously, Jingdong, Jingxi, and Guanzhong all collapsed again, and our army is weak and unable to fight in the field, which is also a fact."

"Not only that, the Jin Dynasty has only been established for seventeen years, and it has conquered the vast countries of Liao and Song, becoming the hegemon of the world for a time, with arrogant ambitions, as if invincible; and our Great Song lost its capital last year, losing a century of accumulation, and even the emperor was captured. I have traveled to various places and seen how many prosperous military prefectures have become dilapidated after the war. Countless people have been displaced and scattered, and there have been countless deaths and injuries everywhere. There are also countless ambitious people who have taken advantage of the situation to shake the local areas. The danger of national subjugation is not a false statement."

The tent was instantly silent, with only the south wind rolling through the tent, bringing the sound of rustling, which was consistent with Emperor Zhao's words.

"However, Garrison Commander Zong resisted the enemy at Huazhou, Yue Fei and Zhang Rong defeated the enemy at Liangshanbo, Han Shizhong and Zhang Jun resisted the enemy on the Huai River, and Li Yanxian has just recovered Shanzhou. It has finally made the people of the world see clearly that the Jin are also human beings, with the same shape as the Song, and if they are human, they can be defeated... At the same time, our population, wealth, culture, and system are far superior to the opponent, which is beyond doubt!"

"So, in a thousand words, there are only two sentences." Zhao Jiu said solemnly and loudly. "First, no matter how difficult the situation is, the Great Song always has a way! Never give up! Second, although the Song and Jin have been at war for three years, from me down, you must be prepared and have the ambition to succeed after ten or eight years, or even after death! This is a national war, and we must not hope for luck!"

The four ministers remained silent, leading the way by bowing their heads again.

After saying these two sentences, Emperor Zhao seemed to be tired, so he simply got up and waved his hand: "That's all for today. We'll distribute the rest of the miscellaneous matters on the way to Nanyang tomorrow!"

After speaking, Emperor Zhao, ignoring the ministers who had not yet gotten up, directly supported his belt and walked out of the tent with Lan Gui, Yang Yizhong, and others.

However, when passing by Han Shizhong, the Emperor stopped again, as if he had remembered something: "Liangchen, you seemed to have something unfinished?"

"Yes..." Han Shizhong quickly straightened up and answered carefully.

"I also have two things to tell you." Zhao Jiu said seriously. "After you arrive in Xijing, you will inevitably see the ancestral tombs of the Great Song... Protecting the tombs is naturally something to be done with all our strength. But as Prime Minister Li said when discussing the two emperors, to retrieve the two emperors, we must militarily defeat the Jin. The same is true, to protect the tombs for a long time, the land of Xijing must be completely stable. So after you arrive, you must tell Grand Commandant Lu and the generals Da Zhai and Xiao Zhai not to force military actions because of the tombs, lest they lose soldiers and generals, which would be putting the cart before the horse. If there is any damage in the battle, that is naturally because I and the two emperors were unfilial descendants of the Zhao family, which has nothing to do with them!"

Around Han Shizhong, the ministers were agitated for a moment, but soon calmed down. Han Shizhong also nodded after being stunned for a moment.

"The second thing... I heard that you like to give nicknames to scholars. You used to call them Ziyue, but suddenly changed it?" Zhao Jiu frowned and asked, still supporting his belt.

As Emperor Zhao asked this, Academician Lin suddenly raised his head and stared at this place.

"Yes, I now call them 'Meng'er'!" Han Shizhong did not dare to lie, but as soon as he said it, the surrounding ministers, regardless of the solemn atmosphere, laughed out loud together.

Only Emperor Zhao still supported his belt and faced him solemnly: "I know little, may I ask Grand Commandant Han, what is 'Meng'er'?"

Han Shizhong, no matter how roguish he was, could see the Emperor's displeasure, but he couldn't not answer, so he could only blush and explain a little: "Let Your Majesty know, 'Meng'er' refers to a man who has not experienced carnal knowledge, just like calling a woman 'virgin'... I recently heard people say that some civil officials are not good at riding horses, and after riding a few hundred miles, their crotches can't even close..."

Four or five censors around, from Zhang Jun to Hu Yin, couldn't bear it and were ready to get up and impeach this rogue.

However, Emperor Zhao spoke first and treated him severely: "This is the second thing I want to tell Lord Han. Lord Han, you are my courage, but the 'Meng'er' in your mouth are also my confidants! They say you are a military hooligan, and you say they are 'Meng'er'. Aren't you both scolding me?!"

Han Shizhong was ashamed, and several censors suddenly felt relieved. Academician Lin secretly shed tears for a moment, which made Yan Shao Yin, the acting prefect of Nanyang, who was watching coldly from the sidelines, completely wake up... It turned out that the Emperor was venting his anger for this person.

"It's your turn to speak." After venting his anger for Academician Lin, Zhao Jiu softened his voice and continued to speak. "What did you want to say?"

"I just wanted to say that Wang Yecha is brave, but he is only a general and cannot be a commander..." Han Shizhong said quickly, and then saw Wang De, who was beside him, raise his head and look at him angrily, but he quickly explained. "I'm really not slandering or belittling my colleagues, this is the truth... So I am really worried, if I go to Xijing, who will deal with that bandit Fan Qiong for Your Majesty?!"

Wang De became more and more angry after hearing the explanation. If it wasn't for Emperor Zhao being on the side, he would have fought someone to the death here.

"A mere Fan Qiong, I, this Meng'er, can supervise the army and deal with him myself!" Zhao Jiu answered simply, and then walked away, supporting his slightly too wide belt.

As soon as the Emperor left, the officials dispersed, leaving only Han Shizhong and Wang De facing each other, but they did not dare to fight.