Grenade Fears Water
Chapter 144 Ramblings
Speaking of which, it's this person's name that is too conspicuous and too easy to remember. That's why Zhao Jiu, even if he couldn't remember Du Chong or Zhang Jun, noticed this person's name from the beginning. Otherwise, he wouldn't have sent this person to Dongting Lake.
So, back to the present, this person spoke later with righteous indignation, appearing like a loyal minister in dire straits... But Zhao Guan Jia instinctively realized that this was simply Military Advisor Wan Qixie seeing a golden opportunity to bring down the roadblock in his path to promotion in the Privy Council, and he couldn't resist it for a moment.
Essentially, this fellow was still snitching on his direct superior and colleague, stirring up trouble, and using this excellent opportunity to plant a seed of discord in Zhao Guan Jia's mind regarding Liu Ziyu.
Zhao Jiu was even certain that if Liu Ziyu hadn't recently been promoted to the prominent position of Privy Council Executive Officer (樞密院都承旨) due to the Privy Council's rewarding of merit, causing Wan Qixie to become jealous, this 'Deputy Executive Officer' (副都承旨) definitely wouldn't have come.
Having become the Deputy Executive Officer of the Privy Council, of course he wanted to become the Executive Officer, just like Wang De, having become the Deputy Commander, always wanted to become the Commander, which is understandable.
In short, what Wan Qixie certainly didn't know was that his operation also planted a thorn for himself in the Guan Jia's mind.
However, the problem lies in this 'also'... because Zhao Jiu almost instantly understood that Wan Qixie's accusation might not be entirely false.
It's possible that Liu Ziyu really did deliberately erase the presence of the Hebei volunteer army from the very beginning because of his personal vendetta, because the time when Ma Kuo was imprisoned was when Liu Ziyu and his son were actually in charge of resisting the Jin in Zhending Prefecture... In other words, the personal feud between these two was undoubtedly true.
In fact, Ma Kuo was released by the Jin army. He had been an envoy to the Jin Dynasty in his early years and had close relations with the highest levels of the Jin government.
So, the matter is so absurd that the hero, who was later proven to be willing to abandon his family and property to resist the Jin to the end, was thrown into prison by a colleague who also undoubtedly held an anti-Jin stance, but was released and favored by the enemy.
And this obvious fact made Zhao Jiu a little tired.
Because he knew in his heart that this was destined to be a situation without a happy ending. From a moral point of view, Liu Ziyu can certainly be blamed for putting personal interests above the country, but only morally. You cannot prove on the surface that he really did such a thing. He was not the only one who ignored the Hebei volunteer army.
Liu Ziyu might even think that the Hebei volunteer army was useless because of personal grievances.
And most importantly, this is war, with clear distinctions between us and the enemy. Ma Kuo was the front-line commander resisting the Jin in Hebei. Isn't Liu Ziyu resisting the Jin? He is the actual host of the daily work of the headquarters.
This kind of thing cannot be dealt with and discussed, otherwise, it would really be a case of making loved ones suffer and enemies rejoice.
A similar situation occurred during the dispute in the hall today. There is simply no common ground between military technologists and those who uphold righteousness... Do you have to distinguish between right and wrong?
If you really want to distinguish right from wrong, Hu Yin and Li Guang certainly made a mistake today, but they have always held this position. Hu Yin openly proposed that Zhao Gou should not inherit the throne, but should cross the river to the north and personally fight to the death to welcome back the two emperors... These words are absurd, but they represent the Wang-shih ideology of the restorationist faction within the Confucian officials, which is of great use. Zhao Guan Jia needs to use this stance to control and suppress the so-called 'experienced' among the Confucian officials, so Hu Yin is actually the party that Zhao Guan Jia must protect.
As for Li Guang behind Li Gang...
To be honest, Li Gang has too many problems. Not to mention his military incompetence, the fact that he has the most direct conflict with Li Yanxian, the most outstanding general on the front line, is not an isolated case. It can only be said that he did not do well in uniting the main war faction.
This can be seen from the fact that in the early years of Jianyan, Li Gang and Zong Ze clearly formed the basic foundation of the main war faction to confront the main peace faction represented by Huang Qianshan and Wang Boyan, but ultimately quickly failed... At that time, there was indeed the reason why Emperor Zhao Gou personally intervened, but looking back now, it is not entirely the case.
The biggest problem is that at that time, Wang Boyan was just parroting others in the main peace faction, so Huang Qianshan basically took power alone and led the main peace faction. In other words, the main peace faction was closely united.
On Li Gang's side, he clearly had the support of the world, and he was clearly the unquestionable leader, but he could not unite everyone at all and form a strong political faction.
Li Gang was demoted, and Zong Ze's silence was proof... The two had huge differences in their understanding of the Guan Jia. Zong Ze clearly took into account Zhao Guan Jia's inclination towards peace, so he used a more intense method to force the central government, while Li Gang believed that Zong Ze's doing so affected his authority in the central government.
Until later, Zhao Jiu came, and Li Gang had already been demoted and officially recalled. The two should have learned a lesson from their setbacks and united as one, but until Li Gang came to the palace and reiterated his political program, Zong Ze stopped his words about returning to Luoyang, which was faintly disharmonious.
Not only that, Zong Ze has always advocated offense. He was still contacting the Hebei volunteer army a moment before the Jin army launched a major offensive, while Li Gang has always believed that the situation should be stabilized first, and then a counterattack should be planned after defending the area.
In fact, it is impossible to verify who is right and who is wrong about these issues. It is just a matter of being more radical or more moderate.
But the problem is that Li Gang, as the unquestionable leader, could not restrain Zong Ze, and has been in conflict with so many main war factions until now, which is very embarrassing.
So, back to the present, is Li Gang a traitor, or is Zong Ze a traitor, is Yue Fei a traitor, or is Li Yanxian a traitor? Is Hu Yin a traitor, or is Hu Hongxiu a traitor, is Ma Kuo a traitor, or is Liu Ziyu a traitor?
None of them are. From a traditional moral point of view, Zhao Guan Jia can only determine that Wan Qixie, who came to reveal the truth, is a traitor.
As for the others.
Li Gang is the banner of the main war faction and has the support of the world. With him sitting in the position of prime minister, everyone believes that the imperial court wants to resist the war.
Zong Ze is the actual host of the main war faction on the front line. The Tokyo Garrison Headquarters (東京留守司) he built single-handedly occupies almost half of the current anti-Jin forces' base.
Not to mention Yue Fei and Li Yanxian, these two are heroes who are willing to resist the Jin at all costs, no matter what... They are the most determined and capable anti-Jin generals of this era.
Hu Yin and Hu Hongxiu's positions are also undoubtedly clear.
Even Liu Ziyu, who was just suspected of disregarding the overall situation and had a fierce conflict with Li Gang and Hu Yin, who can say that his anti-Jin stance is unstable?
His father died for his country during the Jingkang Incident, and his brother's family was killed by the Jin people, leaving only one person. This is a national vendetta and a family feud!
But these people are definitely not united. They are still competitors, opponents, and even political offenders and victims.
This is politics, this is reality, this is the naked history that is stripped away from the wishful thinking anti-Jin dramas.
This is also the reason why Zhao Guan Jia suddenly felt tired.
Usually, he can barely mediate and suppress them, but with the Jin army invading and the overall pressure, he feels somewhat powerless in the face of these contradictions.
What can his Guan Jia do? And what should he do?
"Your Majesty!"
Just as Zhao Jiu was standing in the snow, thinking wildly, someone behind him suddenly called out softly.
Zhao Jiu recognized the voice without turning his head: "Grand Official Lan, what is it?"
"Your Majesty," Lan Gui responded carefully. "The two ministers in the hall and all the other ministers are still waiting."
"Let them disperse today. If there is any serious military situation, report it." Zhao Jiu raised his hand in response, but did not turn his head, because he knew that he must be looking tired at this moment.
"Yes!" Lan Gui left in a hurry.
But soon, while Zhao Guan Jia was still standing in the snow full of tree stumps, thinking about something, Grand Official Lan returned, and this time he brought Liu Ziyu, the Executive Officer of the Privy Council, together with Yang Yizhong.
"Your Majesty," Liu Ziyu cupped his hands in response, but did not say any unnecessary words, but directly stated his purpose. "Just now, the Privy Council received a military situation, which was sent by Du Chong, the newly appointed Deputy Defender of Tokyo..."
Zhao Jiu's spirit suddenly lifted: "What did he say? Did he mention Defender Zong's condition? Has he already sent troops?"
Liu Ziyu shook his head repeatedly: "Your Majesty, these reports are likely to be intercepted by the Jin army, so how could he say these things? Even this report is just some bizarre theory to cover it up."
Zhao Jiu suddenly realized and then asked seriously: "What exactly is going on?"
"Deputy Defender Du said that after receiving the edict, he immediately sent a messenger to summon 20,000 troops from the Eight Character Army (八字軍) of the Taihang Mountains in Hebei, preparing to let them cross the river to aid us. At that time, the troops will be even stronger, so that we can go south to gather those defeated soldiers..." Liu Ziyu sighed at this point. "Your Majesty, forgive me for speaking frankly, Deputy Defender Du is afraid and is deliberately using this to delay things."
"What do you mean?" Zhao Jiu's expression remained unchanged, but his tone was slightly puzzled.
"The Eight Character Army has been in Hebei for a year. Although they have a reputation, where have they fought a victorious battle, and how much can they be used?" Liu Ziyu also had a tired look on his face. "And although the Yellow River is frozen now, making it convenient to travel back and forth, Nianhan is in Daming Prefecture and Yelu Mawu is in Zhongmu. The Eight Character Army can only come south through the narrow gap in the Yangwu and Suanzao area... This group of volunteer troops has no combat power at all. Do they have the courage? Are they not afraid of being exposed in the wild and being attacked and defeated by the Jin army? As for Deputy Defender Du, he was originally the Defender of Daming Prefecture before becoming the Prefect of Tokyo. He knows the situation of the Hebei volunteer army better than anyone else, but he insists on waiting for the Eight Character Army. He is just deceiving himself and delaying the dispatch of troops! If he delays until Changshe City is broken and Grand Commandant Han is defeated, he will have no responsibility."
Zhao Jiu was silent, but could only nod slightly: "I understand, you can go now... One thing, Prime Minister Li is the Duke, and Hu Yin is the Censor-in-Chief. Although they are somewhat ignorant of military affairs, just point it out. Do not deliberately attack them again. With a great enemy in front of us, we must prevent the army from being disrupted."
Liu Ziyu was silent for a moment, then said 'Understood', bowed and took his leave.
A hundred miles away, this matter was put aside for the time being. The next day, the Song army sent a small group of troops out of the city to the southeast to meet Zhang Jing, and the Jin army indeed sat idly by.
For a time, the city was completely excited, and more than one person requested to go to battle. Even the generals in the army were interested – Wang De requested an edict to attack Zhang Yu's camp east of the city.
This plan was also approved by several military advisors of the Privy Council... Of course, the reasons for the military advisors were different from the others. They believed that the Jin army was deliberately letting them go, so they focused on the word "test".
If they win, of course, that's even better!
But if they lose, it can also sober up these people in the city!
Zhao Guan Jia hesitated for a long time, and finally nodded in agreement with this plan.