Rationally, Zhao Jiu shouldn't have killed Liu Guangshi, because the disadvantages of doing so were too numerous, far beyond the simple fact that it was already done.

First, the Great Song Dynasty treated scholar-officials with great deference, but it never had a tradition of driving generals who voluntarily relinquished military power to their deaths! In fact, it could be said that this was a serious violation of Emperor Taizu of Song's established policy, especially considering the heinous nature of the Emperor personally killing someone.

Therefore, what Lü Haowen said was correct, and this prime minister was indeed doing his job at this moment... Zhao Jiu was personally undermining the Great Song system, and that very system was the true weapon maintaining his authority as Emperor Zhao in this precarious time.

In other words, Zhao Jiu was digging at the roots of the Zhao Song Dynasty, messing with the rotten chair under his butt!

Secondly, from another perspective, the Jin army had already arrived in Huaibei at this time, separated by a river, so what did it mean to kill such a high-ranking general in a state of war?

Wang De and Fu Qing were considered to have been personally manipulated by Emperor Zhao into turning against Liu Guangshi, but what if the manipulation hadn't been successful?

Moreover, Wang De and Fu Qing were different. One of them was a famous general registered with the central government and had many connections with it; the other was a newly surrendered person, and his troops were relatively independent... The relationship between these two and Liu Guangshi wasn't so close as to be bone-deep, otherwise they wouldn't have been manipulated.

But at this moment, since Liu Guangshi was dead, and killed by Emperor Zhao himself, what about the three thousand Western Army troops remaining below the mountain? Qiao Zhongfu and Zhang Jing, both commanders of Western Army origin, were still below the mountain, and heaven knows what the outcome would be?!

What if they rebelled?

If they didn't rebel, what if they mutinied and deserted?

Even if nothing happened, would there be a good outcome when the news spread?

It could be said that after killing Liu Guangshi, at this very moment, among the few armed forces near the Central Plains of the Great Song Dynasty, except for Zong Ze's Tokyo Garrison and Generals Zhang and Han, all the other miscellaneous generals became unreliable!

For example, Fan Qiong, who had a huge dark history, had once forced the two Emperors to surrender by wielding a knife, killing countless Tokyo citizens who blocked the way. He was a Zhang Bangchang among the military officials. He had been appeased by Li Gang with great difficulty before, but now he was leading troops to quell the rebellion in the Xiangyang and Nanyang areas; there was also another commander in the Imperial Guard, named Wang Yi, who was also notoriously undisciplined and arrogant, and was leading troops in Jiangning Prefecture (now Nanjing) behind them to prepare for the Emperor's arrival; and even Liu Zhengyan and Miao Fu, who had spent so long relying on Liu Yan's plan to capture Ding Jin, delaying such a major event, were already uneasy, and as Western Army generals, they couldn't help but overthink...

Speaking of Liu Guangshi's Western Army general status, the remnants of the Western Army were still the main reliance of the Great Song Dynasty. Qu Duan, the Liu brothers, the Wu brothers in Guanxi, and Yang Weizhong in Hebei... Although everyone should be trustworthy, what if someone had second thoughts?

In short, it would be normal for anyone to rebel when the news spread. And what Imperial Censor Zhang Jun said was also pertinent: Zhao Jiu was recklessly causing trouble on the verge of national collapse!

However, hadn't Emperor Zhao said that he would rather the country perish than give up on this matter! In other words, he already knew these dangers, but he still did it! Or, in other words, he knew there would be these dangers when he did it!

In fact, compared to these predictable and logical things, the civil and military officials were more worried about what this Emperor, who was disregarding everything, would do next? If there were a few more instances of 'rather the country perish', what would they say when they saw Li Gang and the other prime ministers?

"What are they saying below the mountain?"

At noon, the sun shone brightly, and the view from the top of Mount Bagong was excellent, making the arrival of the Jin army's large forces impossible to conceal. Almost as if prepared, as the Jin army slowly appeared on the north bank, the foot of Mount Bagong on the south bank, which had been quiet all morning, suddenly became agitated again... Zhao Jiu, who was sitting alone on the northern slope of Mount Bagong, observing the situation, asked without even turning his head when he heard the commotion.

"Reporting to Your Majesty!"

Yang Yizhong, who had returned from below the mountain, first reported the situation to several important civil and military officials in the encampment, and then, reluctantly disregarding the Emperor's orders, lifted the curtain and came here, quickly bowing his head. "To let Your Majesty know, in the morning, thanks to Wang (Wang De) and Fu (Fu Qing) moving their camps in advance, and Qiao (Qiao Zhongfu) and Zhang (Zhang Jing) being able to recognize the greater good, the situation was stabilized after all. But as soon as the main force of the Jin army arrived, the entire camp was in turmoil, and even Wang and Fu's troops showed signs of panic..."

"As long as they don't rebel, what does panic matter?" Zhao Jiu turned around, revealing a hint of sarcasm, and whether it was an illusion or not, this Emperor Zhao actually gave people a feeling of relief and ease at this moment. "And then, Wang and Fu's troops are like this, so what about the three thousand Western Army troops? Are they the ones leading the uproar below?"

"Exactly!"

"They don't rebel, but they only make an uproar, what do they want?" Zhao Jiu seemed increasingly indifferent, not knowing if he had given up all hope or if he had opened a new world after personally killing someone yesterday.

"They want rewards!"

Yang Yizhong, lowering his head, carefully glanced at the Emperor passing in front of him. He had to say that after yesterday, he also felt a little more fear towards Zhao Jiu, because an Emperor Zhao who could personally kill someone was too rare. "They are making an uproar, saying that according to past precedents, the Emperor should give rewards to the Imperial Army upon ascending the throne, but this time, the Emperor has not given any rewards since ascending the throne, yet he wants them to work so hard..."

"At least they didn't directly mention Liu Guangshi's matter." Zhao Jiu sighed slightly as he paced back and forth.

"Generals Qiao Zhongfu and Zhang Jing are both experienced Western Army generals who can recognize the greater good, and wouldn't allow the ruffians below them to be so reckless. But soldiers asking for rewards is a common occurrence in the army, and it is the easiest thing to stir up people's hearts." Saying this, Yang Yizhong, following behind Zhao Jiu, became increasingly cautious in his words. "Your Majesty, several prime ministers and I believe that if this matter cannot be resolved quickly, I am afraid that General Wang and Commander Fu's troops will also be involved, and even Commander Huyan's troops and the Imperial Guards will become unstable..."

"It seems that the people making trouble are all veterans in the army, knowing how to make trouble and when to make trouble." Zhao Jiu continued to pace forward, stopping at the edge of the curtain serving as his Emperor Zhao's temporary palace, and then suddenly turned around and asked with a smile, "So, what if the rewards are not given, and what if they are given?"

"If they are not given, they cannot rebel at the moment without the support of experienced generals at the commander level. But with the Jin army's twenty thousand main forces in Huaibei, they might take the opportunity to stir things up, causing the entire camp to collapse and flee south!" Yang Yizhong replied seriously.

"No!" Zhao Jiu immediately shook his head, then pointed north with his finger. "You also saw that the Jin army's main force has arrived, and it is unknown how long it will take to repair the ferry at Xiacai City. Zhang Jun has become a completely isolated army on the opposite bank. If the Huainan Bagong Mountain camp collapses in front of them at this time, then he will have no room for maneuver... Either the entire city collapses overnight, or he is forced to surrender by his subordinates, which is what can be seen at the moment."

"Then we can only give rewards." Yang Yizhong replied cautiously. "I just reported to several prime ministers, and they all have the same idea. They are waiting for Your Majesty behind the curtain!"

Zhao Jiu nodded, then sighed as he looked up at the clear winter sky, not knowing what he was thinking: "Is there indeed sufficient wealth and goods in the camp?"

"Not sufficient, but the treasuries of Shouchou and Shunchang two large prefectures are here, and it is roughly feasible to reward the entire army." Zhang Jun, the Imperial Censor, who was actually on the other side of the curtain, couldn't help but interject. "Your Majesty, since Your Majesty has appointed me as Imperial Censor, then I must speak frankly... Now that Liu Guangshi has been killed, there is no point in saying more, and Liu Guangshi is only one person after all. But there are thousands, tens of thousands of people below the mountain, and it is impossible to stabilize the situation with punishment alone!"

"You're right, I didn't expect to rely on punishment alone..." Zhao Jiu nodded repeatedly through the curtain.

"Your Majesty, to let Your Majesty know." Another person spoke through the curtain, it was Lü Haowen, the only proper East Mansion Prime Minister in the camp. "Even if the wealth and goods in the encampment are exhausted at this time, Your Majesty does not need to worry about the expenses of the encampment and the camp. You must know that Zhang, the Senior Secretariat Drafter (Zhang Que), is raising salt licenses and monk certificates in Huaidong, and everything is going smoothly; Liang, the Attendant (Liang Yangzu), is handling the wealth and taxes in the southeast in Yangzhou, and there are also results... All of this can be directly supplied here. Even to the west, after Ding Jin surrendered, the roads were restored, and the wealth and materials supplied by Chuzhou and other military prefectures can be delivered immediately." Saying this, Lü Haowen paused slightly, and finally continued. "After Your Majesty's rewards are properly given and the people's hearts are restored, you can rest assured to go south to Yangzhou and temporarily avoid the enemy's advance. Leave this place to Wang De... He should also be promoted to Commander."

"Wang De can indeed be given the title of Commander." Zhao Jiu said again after listening for a long time through the curtain. "But since we are talking about the west, if we reward the troops here, do we not need to reward Liu Zhengyan, Miao Fu, Liu Yan, and even Ding Jin in the west? Moreover, since Liu Guangshi has just been killed, the other side, who are also from the Western Army lineage, must also be appeased, and the whereabouts of Zhang Suo are also unclear... In short, a senior Prime Minister must go to the west to distribute the wealth and goods escorted by Chuzhou on the spot as rewards, and appropriately promote officials to appease people's hearts. Prime Minister Lü, Prime Minister Wang, which of you two will go?"

The other side of the curtain was quiet for a while, but soon Lü Haowen spoke again: "Your Majesty, there must be at least one Prime Minister from the East and West Mansions by Your Majesty's side, otherwise people's hearts will be uneasy... I believe that Yuwen Xuzhong, a Academician of the Zizheng Hall who separated at Yingkou before, should be added as a Assistant Administrator of the Secretarial Council, and transferred to Huaixi to appease Liu and Miao, and to take care of the transportation affairs of several military prefectures in Huaixi."

"That's fine." Zhao Jiu smiled and didn't say much.

"Then below the mountain..."

"Then prepare rewards below the mountain too!" Zhao Jiu continued to smile through the curtain, with his hands behind his back. "Grand Commandant Wang, first go and tell the generals and commanders to appease the people's hearts; then spread the gold, silver, money, cloth, silk, and other wealth and goods on the gentle slope on the southern mountainside so that they can all see them with their own eyes. Grand Councilor Wang should personally supervise it and find experienced people to distribute it fairly..."

"Your Majesty is wise."

Obviously, many people on the other side of the curtain breathed a sigh of relief, but Grand Councilor Wang Boyan still carefully offered a small suggestion. "However, Your Majesty, wealth and goods are not good to be publicly exposed in front of the soldiers, otherwise, once unscrupulous people incite them, it may be the root cause of the chaos."

Zhao Jiu pondered, then slowly nodded, following the good advice: "In that case, then don't publicly display it. Moreover, since we are worried that someone will stir things up again on the spot, why not let the officers below Qiao Zhongfu and Zhang Jing in that Western Army troop... those who are making trouble... go to the small寨 on the top of the mountain, and let Prime Minister Lü and Censor Zhang come forward to reward them more and appease them more. This way, on the one hand, we can save them from making trouble when rewarding the army, and on the other hand, we can see if we can appease this troop from the root."

There was silence outside the curtain, followed by whispering.

However, when Zhao Jiu lowered his head, lifted the curtain, and walked in, the so-called important officials in the entourage, led by Lü Haowen, Wang Boyan, Wang Yuan, and Zhang Jun, as well as these miscellaneous civil and military officials and inner officials such as Hu Yin, Yang Yizhong, and Lan Gui, all fell silent.

Lü Haowen, the leader, no longer hesitated, but immediately nodded: "Your Majesty's words are also experienced, and I think it is worth a try."

Zhao Jiu smiled with his hands behind his back... If it weren't for the bloodstains on the open space in the middle of the curtain, the Jin army's main force and an isolated city on the opposite bank, and the rioting soldiers making an uproar below the mountain, everyone would almost think that the extremely relaxed Emperor in front of them was a benevolent emperor enjoying the mountains and rivers in a peaceful era.

In this way, since everyone had received instructions, they turned around and went to work immediately, but at this time Zhao Jiu suddenly opened his mouth to remind them of one thing: "First, take some wealth and goods, I want to personally reward the Imperial Guards!"

This was something to be expected, and everyone was even more speechless, and then became even busier.

ps: Thanks to Strong Dad and Uncle Ze for the double alliance, thanks to Le Yanshan and Teapot for the upper alliance, and also thanks to Aye, Aunt, and Fireworks for the rewards... In short, thank you for your New Year gifts!

I asked Zhao Xiaojiu to kowtow and say hello to everyone, wishing everyone a happy New Year and everyone to make a fortune in 2020!