"Yesterday, the Emperor's actions were too outrageous... The Tangxiang people have been vaguely seceding from the Hetao area since the Later Tang Dynasty, forming their own system. How could just 50,000 elite soldiers cross the Hulu River and advance steadily downwards?"

"The Emperor meant that the dynasty has failed to destroy Western Xia for a century, and has instead suffered losses, leading to the current predicament. He wasn't necessarily saying to attack from any particular direction."

"In my opinion, the Emperor wasn't really talking about suffering losses either; this was Xiang Zhuang's sword dance, aimed at Duke Pei!"

"How so?"

"The key lies in the four words 'civil and military system'... The Emperor's anger today was initially directed at the cavalry, extended to horse administration, and finally landed on Western Xia, but those were just leverages to exert force, with the ultimate target being the civil officials managing the military, causing the country and the army to suffer..."

"That makes sense."

"What's a 'leverage'?"

"It's a term from the court gazette, 'torque and lever principle,' that original academic article about using four ounces to move a thousand pounds... I tried it at home."

"Oh..."

"And Qu Duan, that fellow's final words were truly hateful; we must impeach him severely... 'Be the first to worry about the world's troubles, and the last to enjoy its pleasures.' Has Fan Wenzhenggong, such a famous minister for all ages, become an incompetent fool?"

"What is Qu Duan? What's the point of impeaching him? This person is just a sharp-tongued warrior who's read a few books; he's not worth mentioning."

"Moreover, this person holds the position of Commander of the Imperial Guards; if the Emperor doesn't move him, no one can!"

"This humble official believes that the Emperor was indeed performing Xiang Zhuang's sword dance aimed at Duke Pei, but this Duke Pei is not the civil and military system!"

"How so?"

"How can I say? Remember the incident when Han Shizhong's troops rioted and playfully killed the censor? Minister Zhao narrowly escaped from that incident and then took the Emperor to see Han Shizhong, which led to his rapid appointment as Transport Commissioner of the Huainan Two Routes... Moreover, the Emperor personally said yesterday that it would be right to use civil officials to control the military after the world is stabilized."

"So what?"

"So what? This shows that the Emperor has a plan in mind, knowing that military men act outrageously, and emphasizing the civil and military system at this time is intended to emphasize wartime. In the end, it's still about the Northern Expedition! Or rather, about war and peace!"

"So, there can be no peace?"

"Not only can there be no peace, but in the future, besides the Jin people, we will also focus on Western Xia, Dali, and Nanyue, and perhaps even Goryeo."

"That fits."

"Fits what?"

"The theories in the court gazette about 'One Chinese Nation, Unified Kyushu,' which roughly mean that places that have been part of us since ancient times should belong to our dynasty, and failing to take them back means we are unworthy descendants... Don't you all read the court gazette?"

"We naturally read the court gazette, but if you didn't say it, I wouldn't have thought of it. Looking at it today, the Emperor's careful planning boils down to one sentence... Despite all the difficulties and obstacles, he wants to fight on?!"

"The court gazette is becoming more and more important, but Hu Quan has that kind of personality."

"Although Hu Quan is a strong advocate for war, he is, after all, a proper civil official and doesn't like people like Qu Duan. It's like Minister Wang is also pro-war, but he's a mortal enemy of Qu Duan... Can we borrow the strength of these two, pointing to the civil-military theory and the Western Xia affair, to concentrate criticism and impeachment on Qu Duan?"

"Perhaps we can, but ultimately it will be difficult to achieve anything significant in the overall situation. Even Qu Duan may not be shaken, as the Emperor is too protective of these military officials."

"Alas, I wonder who can persuade the Emperor?"

"I naturally know that we can't persuade the Emperor, but can we use this to create internal strife among them? Know that those who advocate for war are also divided into civil and military factions. Not everyone is as clean and self-disciplined as Yue Pengju, nor does everyone have the overwhelming merits of Han Shizhong! Qu Duan is the biggest flaw among the generals..."

"That's a bit much..."

"This humble official has a suggestion: why can't it be that the Emperor was just overheated due to the weather and the horse affair, and as a result, he truly got angry and scolded recklessly? Why must it be Xiang Zhuang's sword dance aimed at Duke Pei?"

"Uh..."

"What's all the commotion outside?" Just as the scene was gradually freezing for some unknown reason, Liu Dazhong, Minister of Personnel, suddenly heard a commotion outside the window in Qingfeng Tower and curiously inquired.

"Minister, don't forget that tomorrow is the Bathing the Buddha Festival." Without looking, Li Jing (Li Gang's third younger brother), a Supervising Censor, blurted out. "Of the ten major temples in the capital, except for Xiangguo Temple, which cannot hold grand ceremonies, the other nine will still do so. The city is most lively these days."

"Indeed." Fan Zongyin, a Secretariat Drafter, also smiled. "After the Bathing the Buddha Festival, there will be more fruits and vegetables, and the major stores' own brewed new wines will also be on the market. The market scene in Tokyo will be completely refreshed... When I was in the capital, I liked the new wine and fresh apricots of this Qingfeng Tower the most."

Everyone present, except for Li Guang, the Censor-in-Chief, mostly roared with laughter, all saying that they must come here together to taste the new wine and fresh apricots during the next holiday. And some astute lower-level officials directly called the boss of Qingfeng Tower to reserve the tower's new wine.

Amidst the commotion, everyone temporarily put aside the Emperor's arbitrary and unfounded words today, took a short break, and then talked about the gradually restored customs of Tokyo. But in the end, they couldn't help but talk about the Emperor.

One said that the Emperor was supposed to inspect Jinming Pond and Qionglin Garden at the beginning of the third month to enjoy the fun with the people and scholars, but instead went to Zhang Rong's army in the Yellow River in the north to comfort the Imperial Guards' navy. Another said that during the Cold Food Festival and Qingming Festival in mid-March, the Emperor should have gone out of the city to sweep the tombs, but only had Consort Pan distribute date swallows to the officials and various government offices, and still sent the Grand Clan Minister to replace him in sweeping the tombs... The reason was that the north was not settled, and he had no face to worship his ancestors.

However, amidst the commotion, Liu Dazhong, Minister of Personnel, suddenly remembered something and curiously asked again: "Isn't the Bathing the Buddha Festival the Buddha's birthday? Then may I ask, what is the date of the proper birth festival (Emperor's birthday)? And what name has been given to the Emperor's current birth festival?"

Originally, according to Song Dynasty rules, the Emperor's birthday was called the birth festival, and each Emperor's birth festival had its own unique name.

But interestingly, as soon as this was said, everyone in the seat was stunned, and then no one actually knew, but they had to look at Fan Zongyin, the Secretariat Drafter who often accompanied the Emperor.

However, after thinking for a while, Fan Zongyin was also sweating profusely and was speechless for a moment.

Seeing this situation, Chen Gongfu, the Director of the Imperial Academy, who had not spoken all along, blurted out: "This old man knows about this... The new birth festival is named the Tianshen Festival, which should be on the 21st day of the fifth month... The reason why you don't know is because the Emperor has only celebrated the Tianshen Festival once in the four times before and after his ascension to the throne, which was because the birth festival coincided with shortly after his ascension to the throne in the first year of Jianyan. But you, even Secretariat Drafter Fan, only arrived in Nanjing after the Tianshen Festival, so you don't know. As for the Tiansheng Festival, which is Empress Dowager Yuanyou's birthday, there were still regular holidays and rewards during the four years."

In Qingfeng Tower, these court officials, who had become much wealthier due to the back pay, were silent for a while, not knowing how to face each other. Even Li Guang, the Censor-in-Chief, Chen Gongfu's close friend and the highest-ranking official here, stroked his beard and remained silent for a moment.

"You have been talking for half a day, and I have not spoken, not because I think what you said is bad or wrong." Amidst the silence, Chen Gongfu continued to sigh and face each other. "On the contrary, as a southeasterner, I have always known that the Northern Expedition is indeed a waste of money and manpower, and I do know that the Northern Expedition will have various difficulties, and I also know that the Emperor is indeed willful and does favor military officials, but so what? It all comes down to setting an example. Everyone says that the court now values military affairs over civil affairs, and I also think so. It is certainly wrong to dump 80% of the money into the Imperial Guards! But now that you and I have received back pay and are drinking in Qingfeng Tower, while the Emperor is still gnawing on a sheep's head on the fish pond ridge in the back palace, what face do we have to impeach such things?"

Everyone knew that Chen Gongfu was Li Guang's close friend, the Director of the Imperial Academy, and had a wealth of experience, so they dared not easily refute him, and could only look at Li Guang and Liu Dazhong.

"Let me say one more thing." Just as Li Guang was about to speak but hesitated, Chen Gongfu poured himself a cup of wine and drank it all in one gulp, before coldly facing his old friend. "Do you all think that the several Chancellors are useless? Even if Zhang Jun and Chen Gui are intent on flattering the Emperor, do Zhao Yuanzhen (Zhao Ding) and Liu Zhifu (Liu Ji), the two proper Chancellors of the Secretariat-Chancellery, have any impropriety in their character or affairs of state? And why didn't they refute the horse administration and Western Xia theories today in person? In my opinion, there is indeed the meaning of the Emperor's anger erupting and temporarily avoiding his sharp edge, but Qu Duan's remark that 'the Emperor doesn't eat tens of thousands of sheep now' was also spot on, making it impossible for Chancellor Zhao and Chancellor Liu to speak!"

Li Guang, Liu Dazhong, and many others sighed in response.

"Secretariat Drafter Fan." Chen Gongfu looked at Fan Zongyin again.

"Director Chen." Fan Zongyin quickly cupped his hands in response.

"You are a well-known young talent in the court, with a fair and plump face, without any blemishes. You have to apply powder and face cream every day before going out, and you secretly take out a bronze mirror from your sleeve to look at it several times every time you enter the palace for court. Everyone calls you 'Three Mirrors Secretariat Drafter'..."

Fan Zongyin was extremely embarrassed.

"Moreover, like me, you have been accompanying the Emperor since the first year of Jianyan, starting from Nanyang, and can even be considered a close minister of the Emperor... Then I have a word to ask you today: the Emperor is also known for his dignified appearance. Does he put in three times as much effort in dressing up as you? And would you dare to submit a memorial impeaching the Emperor for being vain and extravagant?"

Fan Zongyin was even more speechless.

And as soon as Chen Gongfu finished speaking, he simply left his seat and got up, then cupped his hands in response, startling everyone to get up together.

Chen Gongfu also calmly stood tall and said: "At least half of the people in this seat today are my old friends and confidants. We should have a pleasant conversation, and even in the future, when we come to drink new wine and taste fresh apricots, I will have no reason to refuse... But I also have a sincere word to say to you all."

The others looked at each other, mostly at a loss.

"Since the Jingkang Incident, I have accompanied the Emperor for four years, from the hasty retreat on the Huai River to the forceful establishment in Nanyang, and then to the restoration of the old capital. I have personally witnessed the emergence of a revival of the country, and I have long had a preconceived notion, which is that the country cannot be secure without the current Emperor!" Chen Gongfu continued to say proudly. "And now that the Emperor is based on the safety of the world's Kyushu and thinks of the two rivers, he is determined to launch the Northern Expedition. Although we have some miscellaneous thoughts, we know that if we cannot change the Emperor's mind on such a major issue, we should each do our duty and do some practical things... I also advise you to discuss matters on their merits. If the Emperor has improprieties or military officials are arrogant, you should offer advice when you should and impeach when you should, but do not try to shake the overall situation, let alone use any sinister means to provoke party strife! Otherwise, it will be both a disservice to the country and the people, and a dead end for yourselves!"

After speaking, Chen Gongfu turned around and left directly, leaving many people momentarily discolored.

After a long time, Li Guang smiled bitterly and sighed: "This Chen Guozuo (Chen Gongfu) character is still so unrestrained... It makes it seem like we are all acting out of selfishness."

Liu Dazhong also shook his head repeatedly: "Actually, what he said for half a day still means that the Emperor is acting arbitrarily and cannot be restrained, doesn't it?"

"The Emperor! The Emperor!" Someone sighed and shook his head again. "No wonder no one dared to speak when the Emperor was angry yesterday..."

"Then should we still push Minister Wang and Hu Quan to impeach Qu Duan together?" Someone asked again.

"Qu Duan is rude and outrageous, and we should still impeach him, but I, as the Censor-in-Chief, do not need to borrow the strength of others!" Li Guang decided in one word.

Many people nodded in agreement, but no one responded.

April 8th, the Bathing the Buddha Festival.

In Tokyo, nine of the ten major temples were celebrating extravagantly and performing "Mulian Saves His Mother" on a large scale. At the same time, Emperor Zhao was watching a newly rehearsed "Legend of the White Snake" in Jingfu Palace.

In the following days, this new drama quickly became popular in Tokyo, but it also aroused strong dissatisfaction from the monks because it seriously affected the Buddhist ceremonies of the Bathing the Buddha Festival.

Finally, led by Abbot Faha of the Shaolin Temple branch in Tokyo, the monks jointly petitioned the court to stop this drama that slandered Buddhism... Because according to their research, the story of the White Snake clearly originated from the giant python incident in Luoyang during the Tang Dynasty. In that incident, it was clearly the giant python who wanted to assist An Lushan in flooding Luoyang, but was subdued by the eminent monk Shan Wuwai. However, it was mistakenly spread that a Shaolin Temple monk broke up human relationships, the White Snake flooded Shaolin Temple, and finally the eminent monk Fahai suffered retribution and escaped into the belly of a crab, which was an absurd drama.

In response, Emperor Zhao, who always cherished religious figures, immediately personally approved that Shaolin Temple had made many contributions to the country and the people, and should not be slandered easily. However, he personally asked the person who wrote the drama, who said that the story was roughly derived from a Taoist of the Five Mountains Temple, so he immediately ordered the Taoist of the Five Mountains Temple to come out and explain to Faha.

Immediately, the abbot of the Five Mountains Temple personally came forward to explain to Faha, first saying that this White Snake was not the giant python of the Tang Dynasty, but a disciple of the Old Mother of Lishan, etc. He also said that Xu Xuan, who opened a pharmacy in Tokyo in the play, also existed, and was a person from the Renzong Dynasty. Ma Han, Xu Xuan's brother-in-law and the head of the Kaifeng Prefecture Yamen, personally told his master about the umbrella borrowing incident at Jinming Pond... Of course, his master, who ascended to immortality last year, lived to be a hundred years old. Finally, he also said that the eminent monks of Shaolin Temple subdued the snake demon and made Xu Xuan raise money to build a pagoda to suppress the snake demon, which was naturally a great merit and a good thing. As for why Xu Xuan's son successfully saved his mother by worshiping the pagoda, and the eminent monk Fahai escaped five thousand miles, only able to escape into the crab's belly in Jiangnan to eke out a living, it was because the Old Mother of Lishan had boundless magic power, and her disciple Bai Suzhen, because Xu Xuan died, had no more attachments, which was originally better than the Shaolin Temple monk.

As the saying goes, the Buddha's power is boundless, so Faha naturally did not accept this explanation! So the two sides debated back and forth all day long, with one saying that my Buddha holds three thousand worlds in his palm, and the other saying that the Taoist Patriarch's purple energy comes three thousand miles from the east, attracting countless topics of conversation.

However, Faha and the monks of the various temples in the city knew better and only sought to settle accounts with the Taoists of the Five Mountains Temple. This did not mean that others knew better. Moreover, a drama was insignificant, and the monks were just looking for a sense of existence, which was originally a joke. Compared with this, some court strategies could not be so easily ignored... For example, after the Bathing the Buddha Festival, Emperor Zhao had been sitting alone in the palace for the past few days, and he had received many memorials about the Yue Terrace incident that day.

And these memorials, roughly divided, could be divided into three categories.

The first category was naturally submitted by censors such as Li Guang. They mainly advised the Emperor and impeached Qu Duan, urging Emperor Zhao to maintain the demeanor of a monarch and avoid being as失态 as he was that day at Yue Terrace. At the same time, Qu Duan maliciously smeared the worthy... Among them, Xiao Fan Commander, a descendant of Fan Zhongyan, and the Meihua Han clan, a descendant of Han Qi, also submitted memorials, requesting the court to restore the reputation of their ancestors... This was all right.

But the latter two categories were interesting.

One category was represented by Zhao Ding, the Chancellor of the Secretariat-Chancellery, Vice Chancellor Liu Ji, Minister of War Hu Shijiang, and Minister of the Court of State Ceremonials Zhai Ruwen. These people each submitted memorials, detailing the rise of Western Xia from the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, and describing the process and current situation of the 'sinicization' of the Hetao area, directly stating that the establishment of Western Xia was not accidental. On the contrary, attempting to侥幸谋图 Western Xia would only result in the loss of troops and setbacks, causing the real Northern Expedition to be unduly frustrated.

The other category was headed by Zhang Jun, the Chief Administrator of Military Affairs, Deputy Chief Administrator of Military Affairs Chen Gui, Minister of Justice Wang Shu, Imperial Guard Cavalry Commander Qu Duan, Deputy Commander Liu Qi, and Deputy Commander Li Shifu, who submitted memorials stating that attacking Western Xia could enrich the country, and the Imperial Guard Cavalry's lack of horses would be solved without attacking.

These two memorials with almost contradictory opinions and views immediately put Emperor Zhao in a difficult position, causing the blisters on the corners of his mouth to become more serious.

It must be known that, frankly speaking, Zhao Jiu had considered the idea of destroying Western Xia first after being cornered by the lack of horses for the cavalry. However, the problem was that, according to the current intelligence, Li Ganshun was not a waste, and even though Western Xia had lost 30,000 cavalry under Lou Shi, it still retained sufficient combat power.

It didn't seem to be an easy target.

Therefore, Zhao Jiu simply called the two groups of people to Wende Hall and had them debate in public. However, the debate between these two groups in the hall, like the debate between the Buddhist and Taoist families in the city, quickly fell into a dead end.

The matter was like this... Zhao Ding and his group believed that the dynasty had not been able to conquer Western Xia for a hundred years, so trying to achieve quick success this time would inevitably fail, and once it failed, it would frustrate the overall situation and outweigh the gains; while Zhang Jun and his group believed that this time was different from that time. After the tempering of fighting with the Jin people, the army's combat power was fundamentally different from what it was a hundred years ago, so there was a high probability of success. Chen Gui especially proposed that with the current sealing and power of gunpowder bags, as long as the army pressed against Lingzhou City, it would be able to break the city immediately without firing cannons.

However, as the saying goes, practice is the only standard for testing truth. In the current situation, combat power, such a vague indicator, cannot be quantified, unless one personally touches Western Xia to verify who is right and who is wrong.

However, the problem also came, Once the verification was wrong, it would be a result that outweighed the gains, and it was even very likely to push Western Xia, which was currently cautiously neutral, entirely to the Jin people. Once Western Xia joined forces with the Jin people, considering that Yan'an was still in the hands of the Jin people, the Jin and Xia would be connected in the north, which would form a huge military pressure on the Guanzhong direction... At that time, let alone war horses, it would be difficult to cross the river into Hedong.

In a word, although practice is the only standard for testing truth, the cost of this practice was too high, so high that it would gamble on the overall situation of the Song and Jin, and no one could make a decision based on the words of a few ministers.

Therefore, this matter quickly fell into a stalemate.

But soon, something happened that broke the stalemate... In late April, "Mulian Saves His Mother" and "Legend of the White Snake" were still in full swing in Tokyo. The newly上市 fruits and the new wines brewed by various shops had just been上市. Just as the vitality of Tokyo reached a new level with this seasonal change, the Jin envoy Wulindazanamo came to Tokyo again.

Accompanied by him was Han Xiaozhou, the head of the Meihua Han clan and former envoy, who had been detained in Daming Prefecture by Nianhan for nearly half a year.

Not only that, but also included the Shunde Princess Zhao Yingluo, who was forcibly occupied by Wanyan Nianhan, the Jiade Princess Zhao Yupan, who was taken as a concubine by Wugumai's eldest son Puluhu, the Rongde Princess Zhao Jinnu, who was taken as a concubine by Talan, the Xunde Princess Zhao Fujin, who was taken as a concubine by Nianhan's eldest son Sheyema, the Yifu Princess Zhao Yuanzhu, who was taken as a concubine by Wushu, the Ningfu Princess Zhao Chuanzhu, who was taken as a concubine by Eluguan (Wushu's sixth younger brother), and the Roufu Princess Zhao Duofu, who was currently in Wugumai's palace. A large number of more than a hundred abducted imperial women, noble women, and common women were also brought back... This should be all the Jingkang women who were looted in Yanjing City who could be found in the mansions of Jin dignitaries.

Zhao Jiu had no reason not to allow these people to return, nor did he have any reason to refuse Wulindazanamo, who had sent these people back.

And after Wulindazanamo entered Tokyo, a message quickly spread with the resettlement and return of these abducted imperial women and common women... The Jin Dynasty wanted to negotiate peace, and was willing to unconditionally return all the looted imperial relatives, concubines, and imperial women below the two Emperors and princes as a sign of sincerity.

Even the two Emperors and princes could be released immediately after the peace negotiation was successful... And then, like the Liao Dynasty, form a fraternal relationship.

After the Ministry of Rites, which was still unaware of this, hurriedly contacted him, Wulindazanamo not only proactively said this news, but also further stated that the new Great Jin Emperor was willing to sign a secret treaty with the Great Song Dynasty to abolish Liu Yu, who had proclaimed himself Emperor... In order to achieve a peace treaty between the two countries.

As the news entered the Secretariat-Chancellery, the empire's elites almost instantly understood... Directly saying to abolish Liu Yu's throne at this time meant that the several counties of Jingdong were completely negotiable... This peace negotiation, the north really had great sincerity!

Therefore, the court inside and outside, and the people above and below, almost moved together.

Like that certain something effect, the more you worry about something, the more it comes, and the long-feared strategic誘和 finally appeared. Therefore, when the news reached the palace, Zhao Jiu, who had not yet had time to meet Han Xiaozhou and those princesses, unexpectedly fell into a state of impotent rage... What Western Xia, what cavalry, where could he care about them at this time?

After all, for Zhao Jiu, once the peace negotiation was reached, he根本不知道 whether he could mobilize this lame country again and carry out the Northern Expedition... This matter was the thing he feared most. Therefore, the moment the news came, Zhao Jiu immediately had a strange sense of frustration that the main mission had failed!

ps: Thanks to slyshen classmate for being a Meng, this is the 117th Meng... Then, as usual, dedicate a new book, "Six Doors 2077"... Does the name sound exciting?