Chapter 177 The Beginning

At the Grand Court Assembly on the first day of the sixth month, the court discussed roughly three major issues: one was the arrangement for expanding the army; another was the plan to launch a second round of rotations in Hezhong Prefecture and the lower reaches of the Yellow River, as well as the Bohai Sea, regardless of the summer heat; and the third was the establishment of Six Departments to supervise the Six Ministries... Finally, the court also vaguely hinted at the possibility of the Emperor's southern tour.

Of these, the first issue remained pessimistic.

The military generals in various regions still felt, as before, that it should be their own departments that were expanded, and the local civil officials also said that their areas should not have more troops stationed there. The central officials in the court still insisted on opposing further strengthening the three Guanzhong garrisons, namely Han Shizhong, Li Yanxian, and Wu Jie... Further strengthening them would mean that the military power in Guanzhong would be enough to overturn the entire country.

However, this was contrary to the military plan that had been discussed with the court all along—even though Zhao Jiu believed that Yue Fei was more reliable, everyone, including Yue Fei himself, would say that taking Hedong would lead to the fall of Hebei, and taking Hebei would mean that Hebei could not defend itself.

The geographical conditions of northern China were what they were. In later generations, Shanxi Province had a commanding geographical advantage over Hebei Province, able to take whatever it wanted, and no one could defy the laws of nature.

In response, Zhao Jiu had even considered moving Yue Fei's garrison westward, but the problem was that most of Yue Fei's Imperial Guard Forward Army was composed of refugees from Hebei. It wasn't impossible to have them fight Hedong, but who would take on the combat missions in the Hebei direction?

Most importantly, where should Li Yanxian's Hedong and Shanluo troops be placed? Were these people supposed to abandon Li Yanxian and obey Yue Fei?

Li Yanxian was not the same as Zhang Jun, and his subordinates were not the same as those of the Imperial Guard Right Army.

In the current situation, forcibly breaking the regional attributes of the army groups would probably affect the combat effectiveness of the army far more than a major purge.

Of course, what Zhao Jiu didn't know was that, historically, even when Yue Fei himself launched the Northern Expedition, he first absorbed the Shanluo volunteer army and then tried to gather forces in the Taihang Mountains. At that time, Dong Xian and Niu Gao, major generals under Li Yanxian who were active in the Shanluo area, were Yue Fei's 'outsiders' with special status.

But the problem was that, at that time in that timeline, not only was there no Li Yanxian above these military officers and soldiers from Shanluo and Hedong, but even leading figures like the Zhai brothers had died early. Moreover, because of Qu Duan's evil deeds and the Battle of Fuping, they had no involvement with the Western Army... In that case, heroes and righteous men who still insisted on resisting the Jin could find nowhere to go but to join Yue Fei, who had established a base in Hubei.

The situation was like this: the geographical characteristics of the north could not be shaken by human power, and the major general groups naturally formed in the army based on region and the post-Jingkang political situation were also basically unshakeable:

The Imperial Guard Forward Army was an army composed of Hebei refugee military groups and the Tokyo Garrison Command. They had the strongest desire for the Northern Expedition, and Yue Fei, the commander of the Forward Army, was the leader of the Hebei refugee military officers and the successor of the Tokyo Garrison Command.

Li Qiong, who had not become a Jiedushi (military governor), was the number two figure in this group. He was also a Hebei refugee military officer and one of Zong Ze's legitimate successors. His rise was the result of tacit agreement between the court and Yue Fei, but his army was not directly separated from the Tokyo Garrison Command or Yue Fei, but was the Hebei Eight Character Army under Wang Yan, who had a conflict with Yue Fei... This army itself could not belong to Yue Fei, otherwise there would be great chaos.

In fact, Wang Yan's transfer to the local government and then to the central government had many explanations on the surface, but privately, some people directly muttered that it was the result of the court and Zhao Guan Jia making a choice between this person and Yue Fei.

Li Yanxian was the leader of the Shanluo Hedong righteous army. The Zhai brothers were semi-independent members of this group, but it is worth mentioning that the fundamental army that Li Yanxian used to recover Shanzhou on that day was the remnants of the Western Army after its earlier defeat.

The Wu Jie and Wu Lin brothers were the most legitimate successors of the Western Army remnants, and the Imperial Guard Rear Army was also a unit adapted from the traditional structure of the Western Army.

Qu Duan and the Imperial Guard Cavalry were newly established units, but due to troop problems, they were still connected to the Western Army.

And Han Shizhong, Zhang Jun, Wang De, and the Imperial Guard Left Army, Right Army, and Central Army they led... although they all had very strong Western Army characteristics, they had another very prominent common point, which was that they were the armies that had followed Zhao Guan Jia from the beginning, wandering and fleeing.

Not to mention Han and Zhang, Wang De and his subordinates were basically Liu Guangshi's old troops, and these three families together happened to be the foundation of the Imperial Guard from the beginning.

The affairs of the world were so troublesome. The factions in the army, the personal fame of the generals, the regional characteristics of the army's composition, and the interest groups formed by the current garrison areas... in all aspects, right and wrong, some trade-offs had to be made, some decisions had to be made, and then some people would be happy and some people would be resentful.

It was just that this time, the matter was particularly troublesome.

The matter of expanding the army was still unresolved... Of course, this was also related to the fact that the matter was not urgent. After all, by this time, the first round of expansion plan from the beginning of last year had not yet been fully implemented. Even if a new plan was to be implemented, it would have to wait until after the end of this round of rotations at the very least.

As for the rotations, no one above or below had anything to say.

First, Zhao Guan Jia had never delegated the decision-making power for military operations, and the court naturally lacked the right to speak; second, since the bizarre but reasonable Song-Jin trade had begun in various bizarre ways, the economic leeway in the Song Dynasty's finances was actually far beyond the imagination of the courtiers, including Zhao Guan Jia.

This thing was a financial category that no one had expected before, but in reality was extremely consistent with economic laws and was of a huge amount.

In fact, looking back at the great financial undertaking of the past year or so, a review of the gains would reveal that the Song-Jin luxury goods trade, the Sino-Japanese precious metals trade, the Guangyue cloth-for-rice trade, the Dali mineral trade, the Western Regions Silk Road trade... compared to the benefits brought by these trade agreements, the things that Zhao Guan Jia and the courtiers had racked their brains to create, which were superficially financial innovations but were actually unsustainable, were simply not worth mentioning!

How was that saying?

Globalization and free trade were the only way out in the twelfth century, and engaging in financial innovation was a dead end.

And in the current situation, when money and food gradually seemed not to be a problem, military action would seem natural. This matter was quickly passed in an almost default manner.

As for the establishment of the Six Departments, to be honest, the discussion of this matter was a bit beyond Zhao Jiu's expectations.

Originally, Zhao Jiu thought that although the matter was brought up by Lin Jingmo, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, the other ministers might not agree, because in addition to playing a supervisory role, this kind of thing was obviously beneficial to the prime minister's control over the Six Ministries... However, unexpectedly, the Six Ministries did not have much opposition, but fierce disputes broke out over who would control this new supervisory department.

The Department of State Affairs, the Privy Council, and the Censorate cited classics and argued that they should control it.

For a time, there was a stalemate.

Of course, this was again Zhao Jiu's ignorance... Historically, the establishment of the Six Departments and related assessment and supervisory systems for central officials was in the mid-Ming Dynasty. At that time, the prime minister had the name but not the reality, and the inner cabinet was nominally just the emperor's secretariat, the same as the Hanlin scholars, while the Six Ministries were long-standing departments with real power, so there had always been a struggle between the cabinet and the ministries.

But as far as the Song Dynasty was concerned, it was exactly the opposite. From the perspective of the Song Dynasty's political tradition, the political status of the prime minister was beyond doubt, and the Six Ministries had not gained real power for several years.

Therefore, the current situation has arisen—the Six Ministries themselves did not object, but the two government offices of the East and West, which in fact had prime ministers sitting in them, and the Censorate, which was almost half a prime minister, were fighting fiercely.

This was something that had to be resolved before the southern tour.

But compared to the matter of expanding the army, it should be very simple... Once sorted out, Zhao Guan Jia could make a decision with one sentence.

Finally, there was the southern tour. There was nothing to say about this matter. At the Grand Court Assembly, it was only briefly hinted to everyone through a memorial proposed by the Hanlin scholar Lü Benzhong... There were no strong objections.

In this way, after some deliberation, it was a mess. After the court adjourned, the officials could not help but return to their respective offices with various thoughts.

And it was at this time that Goulong Ruyuan, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, who had just returned to his office, was stunned to find the transfer document from the Department of State Affairs on his desk, as well as Zhao Guan Jia's decree requiring him to strictly investigate the masterminds behind the Hu Yin unfilial trend.

The wording of the decree was激烈, and finally, Zhao Guan Jia's 'Zhao Jiu of Cangzhou' imperial handwriting, plus the proper Son of Heaven seal, and the outer layer of stickers from the Department of State Affairs attached to the decree and documents were all exactly correct.

Of course, Goulong Ruyuan knew what this meant—this decree represented the will of the highest power in the empire.

The imperial power, and the highest representative of the bureaucratic system that could possibly impose slight restrictions on the imperial power in name, had reached an agreement on this issue.

The afternoon in early June was probably the hottest time of the year, and even the wind in the air was hot.

And the former Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, now Grand Justice Goulong Ruyuan, sat withered in his office, first sweating profusely from shock, then pacing back and forth in hesitation and fear, and finally motionless after his whole body turned icy cold... How could he not know that his actions had been exposed?

But even so, this new Grand Justice still spent a whole afternoon forcing himself to recognize reality, because he simply dared not admit that Zhao Guan Jia wanted to kill him.

This conclusion was too sensational.

The sun gradually set in the west, and deep across the street, a bell suddenly rang in the Great Xiangguo Temple, both announcing the end of work for the officials on both sides of the Imperial Street and prompting Goulong Ruyuan, who had been thinking in his office for a long time, to react—he threw down the decree and used reason to force himself to walk out of the office, first came to a certain office in the corridor opposite, called out He Zhu, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, and then, under the gaze of the Ministry of Works officials who were leaving work, entered the central office in the Ministry of Works together.

This office was always open for people to enter and exit at will, because it was the office of Hu Yin, the Minister of the Ministry of Works.

Hu Mingzhong did not intend to go directly home after hearing the bell, but raised his head from the documents on his desk, first looked at Goulong Ruyuan, who was pale, and did not move at all, then looked down at the documents on the table, signed his name, and then raised his head again.

And this time, he saw He Zhu, who was following Goulong Ruyuan and was obviously puzzled, and then bowed slightly to show his respect.

In the office, several clerks who had packed their things neatly placed two chairs opposite Minister Hu's desk, and then left work and returned home knowingly. For a time, only three high-ranking officials were sitting around a table in the office.

Hu Yin remained expressionless, but sat upright and looked at the two people in front of him; He Zhu was puzzled for a moment, so he looked at Goulong Ruyuan, who had called him over.

And Goulong Ruyuan, who was pale, pondered for a moment before slowly opening his mouth: "Minister Hu, the Emperor has a decree to transfer me to Grand Justice to investigate the case of you being falsely accused... The Emperor's meaning is that there must be someone like Wang Ciweng secretly instigating behind this case, and I must find him out and severely punish him without delay."

Vice Minister He was stunned for a moment, and understood why Goulong Ruyuan had called him over, but for a moment he did not know whether to congratulate Goulong Ruyuan, express sympathy to Hu Yin, or express some opinions on the case.

In the end, this Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works simply did not say a word and looked at Hu Yin, the Minister of the Ministry of Works, again.

Unexpectedly, Hu Yin still did not have any change in expression, but nodded slightly... Obviously, like He Zhu thought, this confidant minister whom the Emperor was willing to protect even at the cost of tarnishing himself must have known about this for a long time.

But the next moment, Goulong Ruyuan completely stopped Vice Minister He from thinking: "There is no need to investigate this case, because it was none other than this official who told those Fujian scholars that Minister Hu and Liu Mianzhi had a grudge, and this official did indeed want to drive Minister Hu out to see if he could take another step forward."

He Zhu was completely stunned on the spot, but Hu Yin did not have any extra reaction, but nodded slightly: "I know."

And Goulong Ruyuan pondered for a moment, but sighed slightly in response: "Minister Hu, have you read the *Book of Rites*?"

Vice Minister He, who had just come back to his senses, was stunned again... What kind of words were these?

But Hu Yin still remained calm: "I read it when I was six years old."

"The *Book of Rites* says: *Fu Lu You Chu* (Everything in Lu has a beginning). And your father also quoted the words of *Liezi* when he lectured: *Taichu* (The Great Beginning) is the beginning of Qi... Minister Hu should know the meaning of this 'beginning', right?" Goulong Ruyuan continued to ask seriously.

"I know, it means that everything has a cause and a beginning." Hu Mingzhong still responded calmly.

It was from this time that He Zhu, who was completely confused, wisely gave up the intention of interjecting and sat there honestly listening to the conversation between the two.

"Minister Hu, before knowing the truth of 'everything must have a beginning', this official floated in the prefectures and counties for more than ten years..." Goulong Ruyuan said with emotion. "I clearly did things seriously, and I clearly tried to figure out what the superiors meant, but I was always unable to make progress because of this and that, and instead sank to the bottom again and again. Later, as I grew older, I gradually figured out this truth. Although I was still unable to rise to prominence for a time due to the Jingkang Incident and being trapped by the overall situation, I was finally able to glimpse the true meaning of the court situation, and was not so confused."

Hu Yin looked at the other party and said seriously again: "Is this 'beginning' so powerful?"

"Everything must have a beginning. If you can act according to the 'beginning' of things, then things will always be simple. Conversely, if you don't understand where or what the real 'beginning' of things is, you will definitely fall into a difficult place."

Goulong Ruyuan ignored the other party's sarcasm, but became more and more emotional. "Speaking of small things, the beginning of the Quanzhou Fan Temple case was that the Emperor had long ago shown a vigilant attitude towards the foreign merchants and was unwilling to give them royal documents and flags. It is ridiculous that the other officials all thought that the court would indulge evil for a little commercial tax, but they never thought that the Emperor's temper had always been the same. From the perspective of the overall situation, the beginning of the court lies in the Jingkang Incident... With this 'beginning', it is natural to understand why there are no longer new and old parties in the court's personnel, but rather disputes over war and peace, offense and defense, and urgency and slowness; it is also natural to realize why the Emperor and the two Supreme Emperors have such disagreements; and it is even clearer why the court's major policies are all focused on the Song-Jin War."

"That's right." Hu Yin nodded immediately. "What you said makes sense... Since the Jianyan era, the country's politics, atmosphere, and personnel have changed completely, and the root cause lies in Jingkang. Even the Quanzhou Fan Temple case was because you, thousands of miles away, saw the original beginning."

"Also, why is it war between war and peace? Offense between offense and defense? Urgency between urgency and slowness? In fact, they all have 'beginnings'." Goulong Ruyuan raised his left hand and counted his left hand fingers with his right hand, speaking seriously, and did not relax at all because of the other party's recognition. "For example, when His Majesty ascended the throne, this was the first 'beginning'. He gained the throne unexpectedly, so he must speak of war to justify his name, and he has also suffered unexpected changes, so he often takes extraordinary actions..."

"Garrisoning the Huai River is the second 'beginning'. Once the Jurchen exhausted soldiers are slightly blocked, it is known that the Jurchen also has a state of exhaustion, and it is clear that the greatness of China may not be indefensible..."

"Moving to Nanyang is the third 'beginning', making it clear to those inside and outside that the Zhao family will never be content with a temporary peace..."

"Returning to Tokyo is the fourth 'beginning', making it clear to the world that Song is not dead..."

"Fighting to the death at Yaoshan is the fifth 'beginning', letting the world know that there is still hope for China..."

"One beginning疊one beginning. After Yaoshan, the general trend of the Northern Expedition has become irreversible. It is ridiculous that some people still want to surrender, want peace, want to defend, want to slow down, but they don't know that things have long been destined." Goulong Ruyuan put away the hand he used for counting and shook his head in response. "It was from that time that this official had no more scruples, so that all his actions could be in line with the central strategy... Therefore, the transfer to a new official position was smooth... However, this official knew this 'one beginning疊one beginning', knew where the Emperor's 'beginning' for employing people was, but was still bewitched and did such a thing, which is also equally ridiculous!"

"What exactly do you want to say?" Hu Mingzhong finally became impatient.

"This official wants to ask Minister Hu to tell the Emperor a few things..."

"Speak."

"First, this official understands the country's major policies. Once I did such a dirty thing, it was really that my eyes were blinded by power. I hope that the Emperor can leave this official with a useful body."

Hu Yin did not say a word, but looked at the other party coldly. Even He Zhu, who had not said a word, could not help but squint at this colleague.

"Second, the establishment of the Six Departments is necessary, but the focus should be on the supervision and assessment of the Six Ministries, rather than supervising and spying on people's hearts... Because I, Goulong Ruyuan, am just a villain who has only entered the capital for more than a month. It is very common for the court to be temporarily negligent and not see through me. Please do not suspect that the central officials have deteriorated so quickly because of this."

Hu Yin finally nodded, but his face did not change at all: "I will definitely speak to the Emperor about this matter."

"Third." Goulong Ruyuan continued to be serious. "Since the Six Departments have been established, they are themselves a continuation of the Censorate. The beginning of the system lies in the remonstrance court and should belong to the Censorate."

Hu Yin's face finally softened slightly.

"Fourth, it is right for the Emperor to go to the south of the Yangtze River, because the hearts of the people in the region are the real beginning, but since you are going to the south of the Yangtze River, it is better to hold the power of thunder than to hold the heart of rain and dew; it is better to ask about customs and morale than to explore the hearts of the gentry; it is better to look at rural fields than to visit famous cities and large counties; it is better to examine field taxes and labor than to look at commercial taxes and minerals..."

"Is this string of things behind also the study of 'beginning'?" Hu Yin finally spoke.

"Yes." Goulong Ruyuan bowed slightly in response. "The former is the end, and the latter is the beginning... If you can follow the beginning, you don't have to worry about the end!"

"Then the 'beginning' of your words is actually still the first one?" Hu Mingzhong asked frankly. "After realizing the truth of 'beginning', your own 'beginning' is to rise to prominence?"

Goulong Ruyuan was silent for a moment and nodded in response: "Yes... But as far as the Emperor is concerned, as far as the court is concerned, this official's beginning is actually just the end, and this official's end may become the Emperor's beginning... Please Minister Hu be sure to convey this official's words."

"I will go to see the Emperor with Vice Minister He now." Hu Mingzhong was silent for a moment and got up in response. "I have been able to remember everything I have seen and heard since I was a child. I will not change a word of what you said, and Vice Minister He will be a witness as you wish... Are you waiting here or waiting at home?"

He Zhu completely understood and quickly got up.

And Goulong Ruyuan thought for a while, and also got up and earnestly cupped his hands: "This official will wait here."

Hu Yin nodded, and then left the office with the silent He Zhu and strode away.

After about half an hour, He Zhu did not come back, nor did Hu Yin come back, but Da Yaban (Grand Supervisor) Lan Gui arrived at the Ministry of Works with several Imperial Guards... The latter entered the Minister's office and spoke to Goulong Ruyuan, who was trembling all over:

"The Emperor's oral decree: Since Goulong Qing knows朕's (I, the Emperor's) beginning, he should also know that 朕 has always liked to be unrestrained and boundless, abandoning the beginning and keeping the end."

After saying that, the Da Yaban (Grand Supervisor) of the Inner Attendant Province turned around and left without looking back, leaving Goulong Ruyuan completely speechless in the room... How could he not know that his last bit of struggle had not succeeded?

However, Goulong Ruyuan still retained a trace of desire to survive. On this day, he waited in the office until dark, hoping that there would be a turnaround in front of the Emperor, and that Hu Yin and He Zhu could come back and say a word to him.

However, until it was so dark that he could not see anymore, no one returned, and Goulong Ruyuan could only return home in despair under the gaze of the two Imperial Guards in front of the door.

Back in the new house issued by the court, this new Grand Justice summoned his wives, concubines, and children, and said frankly that he would not live long. He divided up the national debt, gold, and silver stored in the house and asked these people to go out early tomorrow morning and return to their hometown in Sichuan... And when the next day dawned, the wives, concubines, and children were driven out of the house by the servants, covering their faces and leaving. Goulong Ruyuan himself wanted to die several times to seek decency, but he could not do it several times.

In the end, he could only be trapped at home, waiting for death.

It was really waiting for death... On this day, He Zhu, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, went to the Department of State Affairs, the Privy Council, the Censorate, and the Ministry of Justice in turn, and publicly testified that Goulong Ruyuan, the Grand Justice, framed his colleagues, alienated the monarch and his ministers, blamed it on the Supreme Taoist Emperor, separated the heavenly family, deceived the monarch and deceived those above him, and his sins were unforgivable.

For a time, the court was in an uproar.

And because it was the Grand Justice who committed the crime, it was directly transferred to the Ministry of Justice for handling. That afternoon, two minor officials from the Ministry of Justice took two jailers to the Goulong Mansion, directly dragged Goulong Ruyuan out of the mansion, and sent him to the prison of the Ministry of Justice.

The so-called taking down a Secretarial Pavilion Minister was like pulling a chicken or dog.

This time, there was an uproar in the court and the public.

The matter was of great importance, and no one dared to be negligent. Only one day later, Ma Shen, the Minister of the Ministry of Justice, with the Censor-in-Chief as the witness and three censors as assistants, personally opened the court to inquire, and summoned Hu Yin, the Minister of the Ministry of Works, He Zhu, the Vice Minister, and the intercepted Fujian villagers on the spot to compare and 'investigate (investigate and interrogate)'.

After obtaining the confession was correct, before noon, he directly sent three copies to the Censorate, the Department of State Affairs, and to the Privy Council for transfer to the Imperial Court.

Zhao Guan Jia immediately replied without stopping:

"Goulong Ruyuan harbored malice, deceiving the monarch and those above him, framing his colleagues, and disrupting the country with selfishness, and without the restraint of a human minister, the friendship of colleagues, and the integrity of his official position, there has never been such a person! In this time of war, military law should be enforced, all his writings since his origin should be destroyed, and he should be beheaded immediately!"

The reply was quickly transferred back from the Inner Attendant Province, and the Department of State Affairs and the Privy Council directly added the seals of the East and West Governments to the document outside the reply, as if they were dealing with some ordinary decree.

At the same time, the Censorate, which was completely unaware of the reaction of the Chongwen Institute, clearly hesitated after learning the news of the Emperor's reply, and then held an internal meeting at the Censorate. It was not until the evening that they reached a consensus, which was to suggest that Zhao Guan Jia take this matter to the next court meeting for public discussion.

Immediately, Li Guang personally took the document to the Chongwen Institute, found the duty officer of the Privy Council, and asked the official on duty to immediately transfer the document to the Inner Attendant Province early tomorrow morning.

Unexpectedly, the next morning, when this document, which was the only one to publicly refute the Emperor's decree, was still in the process, a team of Imperial Guards directly entered the prison of the Ministry of Justice, first showed all the legal documents, dragged out Goulong Ruyuan, who had collapsed into a pile of flesh, and carried him to the front of the Xuande Tower, and then publicly announced his crimes in public. Then, one person held him down, and another person wielded a knife, as neatly as killing that imperial horse here before, and directly beheaded this former Secretarial Pavilion Minister in public to show the public.

When Ma Shen, the Minister of the Ministry of Justice, and Li Guang, the Censor-in-Chief, learned the news and rushed to the scene hand in hand, they were shocked to find that even the bloodstains on the ground had been washed away. Only the horse's head, which had long been rotten to only bones, hung on the Xuande Tower, and was blown by the hot wind, and it actually made a whirring sound for a while.

The two, who were still discussing whether to let Goulong Ruyuan 'move to a distant place, without pardon', were also completely silent.

Several days later, the court released the conclusion of the Emperor and the Prime Minister's joint discussion through internal documents and Dibao (official gazette): the establishment of the Six Departments was intended for assessment, not for supervision, and was placed under the Remonstrance Court of the Censorate.

Several days later, just as the front line launched another round of rotations, the Dibao published another decree from Zhao Guan Jia, which said that 'everything must have a beginning. The beginning of the court's restoration is not in the Central Plains, not in war, but in the south of the Yangtze River, in the scholar-officials and the people'... The Emperor will set off in July, leading 1,500 Imperial Guards and 2,000 Imperial Cavalry, to inspect Jingxiang and the southeast, and entrust the national government to the Prime Ministers and the Secretarial Pavilion.