Chapter 128 The Emperor's Fury

Zhao Guan’s departure from Yuetai with his officials wasn't to imply that Wang De had achieved great merit deserving of extra courtesy. Rather, it was because the Song Dynasty had a tradition of conducting military parades in the western suburbs during late spring and early summer.

Specifically, every year around late spring, the Zhao Song Emperor would exit through the western gate and, taking advantage of the rising spring waters, inspect the navy at Jinming Pool. Afterwards, he would proceed to the banquet hall between Qionglin Garden and Jinming Pool for a military parade. Throughout the entire event, the various armies would engage in so-called "banner-grabbing and performance contests."

Of course, thanks to the efforts of Grand Commandant Gao Qiu and the personal preferences of the Taoist Emperor, during the era of abundance, this event had largely devolved into a talent show. Soldiers would often dress up as lions, tigers, or ghosts to enter the arena. Those sparring would merely go through the motions, and those forming ranks would wear flowers and dance. Archers would even use people holding five dishes as targets.

There would even be theatrical performances, typically involving village couples fighting, with the routine supposedly only complete when the husband carried the wife offstage.

In addition, young palace women, led by noble consorts, would don male attire and armor, mount horses, and wear colorful cloaks to engage in mounted combat with the imperial guards cavalry. The emphasis was on synchronized movements and beautiful faces, and it went without saying that the palace women would always win.

Essentially, these events were not much different from Indian military parades, and perhaps even worse because there were no motorcycles. In any case, they completely lacked any semblance of military spirit. Of course, it must be said that the common people liked it this way. A more solemn military display would be considered far less entertaining.

As for Zhao Jiu's presence here, it was the result of much deliberation.

Ever since falling ill the previous year, he had learned his lesson and refrained from interfering excessively in state affairs. He further delegated administrative duties to the Capital Province and the Privy Council, while maintaining his attention on personnel matters, the military, and intelligence work. At the same time, he refocused his efforts on his particular strengths, which was to say, engaging in ingenious and elaborate crafts, creating flashy and impractical items.

First, it was hot air balloons, followed by the Zhao-style temperature system. Then he used crystal to grind out monoculars, and after dealing with the personnel issues of the court, he chose to prepare for this military parade.

Calling it a military parade was something he decided to do after reading a memorial in early March regarding the usual "established practices". He decided to take advantage of the situation and hold an all-army martial arts competition.

In fact, accompanying Wang De on his return journey were meritorious soldiers from the Imperial Guard's Left and Rear Armies, as well as a portion of Li Yanxian's Central Army. Meanwhile, elite soldiers from the Imperial Guard's Front and Right Armies, as well as the navy, had already arrived in advance.

Everything was ready, except for Zhao Guan's imperial standard.

On this day, Zhao Guan's imperial standard, as well as the large white yak standards and large black yak standards displayed as war trophies, did not go to Qionglin Garden or Jinming Pool. Instead, they went directly to Yuetai, the latter half of which had been converted into a sacrificial temple.

There, Zhao Guan first received Wang De and his vanguard troops, who had returned from rotation duty. However, instead of rushing to begin the so-called "military parade," he resumed work he hadn’t done in a long time. The Emperor sat in the center of Yuetai, on the throne in front of the sacrificial temple, personally overseeing the Ministry of Revenue officials distributing rewards to the various armies for this rotation duty.

Silks of varying grades, strings of brand new copper coins, shimmering white silver, and the fewest but always most eye-catching gold ingots were poured out of boxes, glittering in the early summer sun. As each person was called forward, military officers and clerks carefully weighed the rewards, meticulously measuring and distributing them to the soldiers according to the documents.

This was the so-called "deciding matters with his own eyes" – a very old and practical method.

The distribution of rewards was continuous and time-consuming, and Zhao Guan sat solemnly in that place. Although the chief ministers were mostly allowed to sit, so they wouldn't be exhausted, the atmosphere was still a bit somber.

Especially since, for some reason, Zhao Guan's expression grew more and more serious as the amount of wealth decreased, and his brow furrowed tighter and tighter. At first glance, one might have thought he was distressed about the cost of these rewards!

"Your subject is being presumptuous, but may I ask if Your Majesty is distressed about these rewards?"

Suddenly, not far from Zhao Guan, a high-ranking official in purple robes stood up and spoke, his voice extremely jarring amidst the shouts calling out names for rewards in the distance.

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice, only to discover that it was the newly appointed Vice Minister of Works, Goulong Ruyuan, which caused a momentary stir of astonishment.

Frankly, even Zhao Jiu was slightly stunned in his heart, because his impression of this person was not deep, and the little impression he had seemed very contradictory. On the one hand, this person was able to maintain his position in the Quanzhou Fan Temple case, and seemed to be an upright minister, but it was also possible that he was an opportunist. Secondly, this person's original surname was Gou, but after the Jianyan era, he changed his surname to Goulong. Although avoiding taboos was a matter of course in this era, his active avoidance to the extent of changing his surname inevitably seemed loyal and somewhat obsequious.

Other than that, it was probably that this person had a clean background and had spent more than ten years in the states and counties, with extremely deep qualifications, so that he was introduced into the court by Zhang Jun, who also came from Sichuan, but no one could object.

With this thought in mind, Zhao Jiu also had a hint of testing intention, but his expression did not change at all, his body did not move at all, and he just frowned in his seat:

"Indeed! What is to be done?"

"In that case, please allow your subject to offer congratulations!" Saying that, without any hesitation, Goulong Ruyuan stood up directly from his seat and danced and bowed in public before the eyes of the officials. "The Emperor loves the people so much, the Northern Expedition will succeed, and the recovery of the two He regions is truly promising."

The officials were even more dumbfounded.

Even Zhao Jiu couldn't help but seriously ask after a moment of silence: "Goulong Qing, what is the reasoning behind this?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, there is no reasoning behind it, just empathy!" Only then did Goulong Ruyuan raise his head from the ground and solemnly answer. "When your subject was in Quanzhou, every time I collected taxes, I saw the people giving every last bit of their savings, so I was always worried that the central government would waste the blood and sweat of the Jiangnan people. It was just as serious. And today, seeing Your Majesty so solemn, I know that the Jiangnan people have not worked hard in vain."

Zhao Jiu was stunned again and did not speak for a while, but many of the surrounding civil and military officials became solemn... at least they had to appear solemn on the surface.

"Your Majesty, this is a flattering villain!" But just as Zhao Guan was slightly pondering, a person behind him couldn't help but blurt out. Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and discovered that it was Lu Benzhong, a Hanlin Academician who had just been promoted thanks to the expansion of the Hanlin Academy, and their expressions varied.

"How can you arbitrarily say that a colleague is a flattering villain?" Zhao Jiu's heart stirred when he heard the voice, but his expression remained unchanged.

"Your Majesty!" Lu Benzhong seemed to regret his words as soon as they were spoken, but since the Emperor had already spoken, he could only bite the bullet and step forward, cupping his hands towards Goulong Ruyuan's side. "Let's not mention that this person changed his surname to avoid taboos. Afterwards, when he was in Quanzhou, he was clearly the prefect of Quanzhou, and he knew about Your Majesty's previous attitude towards foreign merchants, intending to be an opportunist... Today's actions are even more directly flattering, saying what is advantageous. Otherwise, why would he ask Your Majesty first before speaking? Your subject believes that if Your Majesty had said no, he would definitely have said something else!"

Zhao Jiu's expression did not change, but he looked at Goulong Ruyuan, who was silently looking at Lu Benzhong.

"Reporting to Your Majesty." Goulong Ruyuan withdrew his gaze from Lu Benzhong and simply cupped his hands in response. "Hanlin Academician Lu's theory is clearly meant to condemn me, and there is no real evidence. As for my words just now, they were indeed from the bottom of my heart, and there was absolutely no intention of flattering. As for why I had to ask Your Majesty before speaking, there is also a reason... As far as I know, it is not just Your Majesty who frowns and looks serious when distributing military salaries and rewards. Zhang, the military commissioner of the Imperial Guard's Right Army, and Yue, the military commissioner of the Imperial Guard's Front Army, both have this expression, and it is widely known, but I do not think that these two are so serious, but that they have the same idea inside."

Zhao Jiu finally chuckled... he even became a little smug in his heart.

The rest of the officials also mostly smiled in realization.

Yue Fei and Zhang Jun were among the most famous military commanders in the world, and they could be considered prominent figures. Moreover, they had been in office for so long, and their temperaments were already widely known.

Yue Pengju himself and his troops were mostly refugees from Hebei. From the beginning, they were often attacked by the southern scholars and people, who said that the court was using all the wealth of the southern people to support the ruffians from Hebei... Yue Fei, who had personally gone south to quell the chaos and had seen the heavy burden on the Jiangnan people, did not complain about this. Instead, he admitted it and often warned his subordinates that military salaries were becoming more and more expensive, and that they were all the wealth of the southern people.

Therefore, almost every time he distributed military salaries, Yue Fei would sit there with a black face. His original intention was probably the same as what Goulong Ruyuan used to flatter Zhao Guan just now.

As for Zhang Jun... everyone was embarrassed to openly mock him, but they all knew in their hearts that this guy was probably really reluctant to part with the money.

At this time, Zhao Jiu was smug in his heart, which was slightly different from what everyone thought... Firstly, this Goulong Ruyuan was able to lump him and Yue Fei together, praising him in disguise, and he was very happy in his heart, although he couldn't say it on his lips. Secondly, others didn't know, but he knew that Zhang Jun never personally attended the distribution of military salaries in the past. It was always himself and his subordinates who intercepted them layer by layer. Now, he personally attended because the money didn't pass through his hands at all, so he simply put on a selfless act, but he felt like his heart was being cut every time, and he couldn't help but take a look every time... Knowing these things in his heart, how could he not be happy?

Of course, at the same time, Zhao Jiu also recognized that this Goulong Ruyuan was a flatterer.

It wasn't just because of his performance today, but because he had that idea from the beginning. What's more, there was Lu Benzhong's words... It must be known that Lu Benzhong was good at writing poems, playing chess, and helping out, but he wasn't so thorough in politics. And this time was different from the last time he confronted Cai Mao. Cai Mao was the son of a prime minister who had been messing around in the capital for decades. He and Lu Benzhong had probably known each other for decades, so Lu Yanei certainly knew the inside story, but this Goulong Ruyuan was unlikely to have any interaction with him, Lu Benzhong.

For Lu Da Yanei to say this, it was most likely that he had inadvertently heard Lu Haowen's words at home and remembered them in his heart.

In other words, it wasn't that Lu Benzhong thought that Goulong Ruyuan was a flattering villain today, but that Lu Haowen thought that this person was this kind of person.

Of course, if Lu Haowen were here, he would never have said it. In fact, it was likely that there were already some of the important officials present who saw Goulong Ruyuan in this way, but they didn't say it... because they knew very well that whether he was flattering or not was not a particularly serious matter for Zhao Guan. As long as this guy didn't mess things up because of flattery, it didn't matter. And if this person could still get things done, it wouldn't matter if he was a little flattering.

Zhang Deyuan was, in a sense, also a flatterer, and his poems were terrible and his writing was crooked. At first glance, his cultural level wasn't even as good as Qu Dalai's... "Instead of starting a career in Guanzhong, he came to the river to float in a fishing boat..." Zhang Jun would definitely not be able to write this kind of poem.

But whether it was Zhang, the Privy Councilor, or Qu, the military commissioner, weren't they now Privy Councilor and military commissioner? And they were right here, up and down Yuetai.

All things considered, Goulong Ruyuan's actions were insignificant in Zhao Guan's eyes compared to his performance in the Quanzhou Fan Temple case and the overall situation of the central government's need for people.

As expected, with Zhao Guan's casual smile and a slight wave of his hand, a small storm easily passed.

The only thing was that Lu Benzhong was bored, but Goulong Ruyuan didn't get any benefits... After all, not to mention Zhao Guan, not to mention Lu Haowen, who wasn't here today, which of the chief ministers, the inner court, and the outer court were easy to get along with? They had already labeled this person early on, and after this incident, there was no need to say more.

Even his fellow townsman Zhang Jun, who had introduced him to the court, was slightly regretful... His reputation was already not good in the court, and if he brought in such a person, wouldn't it make it seem even more that the opposite side was a gentleman, and his side was a party of villains who were lucky enough to advance?

Of course, in public, no one showed it... especially since Lu Benzhong had just been bored.

On the other side, as the rewards were distributed, the expected situation also appeared - after the rewards were distributed, less than a mere third of the gold, silver, copper, and silk on the stage were gone, and the soldiers below the stage couldn't help but be agitated.

At this time, there was no need for Zhao Guan to speak. Zhang Jun, the Privy Councilor, naturally stood up to explain the situation, and then took the opportunity to announce the start of the "military parade and martial arts performance."

However, for some reason, there were always unexpected events today.

Before Zhang Deyuan could go down to speak, the agitation below the stage suddenly expanded, and then a certain place on the side of Yuetai actually clamored directly, as if someone couldn't bear it any longer and directly made a sound.

The civil officials on the stage looked at each other, and then their faces turned ashen. This was the thing they feared most.

Even Zhao Jiu, whose expression did not change, was a little surprised and angry in his heart.

Fortunately, the clamor came and went quickly. Before Liu Yan could take the Imperial Guards off Yuetai, Wang De brought the troublemaker directly up to ask for forgiveness - it was only when he asked that he learned that it was Wang Shun, the second son of Wang De, who had made the first contribution in the Hezhong Prefecture this time.

It was probably because of this that Wang Shun couldn't help but clamor.

But no matter what, this kind of thing must not be tolerated. Zhao Guan thought for a moment and immediately gave the order, which was to strip him of his military merit, take back the rewards, and drive him out of the army... Although he was extremely angry in his heart, he couldn't really kill someone in front of Wang De.

Moreover, if this kind of thing happened, it wouldn't matter if it was just Wang Shun's personal affliction with the aristocratic disease. He was afraid that it was the problem of the entire army - after one or two years without a real war, not only had the various old problems in the army not been corrected, but a certain arrogance had arisen at the grassroots level.

The latter was what Zhao Jiu was truly surprised and angry about.

After another small storm passed, the emperor and his ministers on Yuetai each forcibly suppressed the huge sense of vigilance that had arisen in their hearts, and the military parade and martial arts performance officially began.

Seeing the glittering rewards, the soldiers naturally jumped at the chance.

And then, as the instructions for the martial arts performance were issued, the accompanying Jinshi explained them as usual. Only then did everyone know that this time the martial arts performance was not as muddled as in the past, but was rather interesting...

For example, the cavalry race was divided into short-distance and long-distance. In the short-distance race, they were allowed to discard their armor and lighten their bodies. It was only a matter of who could complete the fastest lap around Yuetai and Yuetai's camp along the road. In the long-distance race, they had to be fully armed, carrying a day's worth of dry food, a tube of drinking water, and a bag of fodder. They had to start from Yuetai, take the token from Qingcheng outside the south gate of Tokyo City, and then return to Yuetai. They could choose their own route. They were not allowed to lose key items other than food and fodder, and they were not allowed to use food from other places along the way. Whoever came back first would win.

In addition, there was also mixed cavalry training, which was divided into two types. One was a team of fifty people, competing against each other. The other was a mixed training of one hundred people, fighting each other. They all used wooden poles wrapped in cloth to attack on horseback, but they were not allowed to install reins and stirrups. Once they fell off their horses, they would be considered defeated.

As for the infantry, there was also a running race, which was similar to the cavalry race, except that there was no mount.

The mixed infantry training was also similar, but they changed to taking the names on the opponent's vests.

There was also archery, but it wasn't about who had more tricks. They just set up a target, and the target was drawn into ten circles from the inside to the outside. After shooting a tube of arrows, they were all the same bows, the same distance, the same time, and the same target. It was clear at a glance who was the most accurate.

But shooting crossbows was different from archery. It wasn't about accuracy, but about using a divine arm crossbow. They had to load the crossbow themselves and ensure that the crossbow arrows shot a certain distance before they were effective. They were competing to see who could shoot twenty standard crossbow arrows in the shortest time.

There were other things, from throwing iron balls to tug-of-war, to weightlifting, to javelin throwing, and even military football.

There were many events, and the schedule was arranged for more than ten days... That day, they just announced the matter, and from the evening onwards, the officials returned, but only Zhao Guan and the Imperial Guards, as well as relevant officials from the Ministry of War, stayed at Yuetai Camp to observe and handle the matter.

In the following days, officials occasionally came over, but they were all casual.

Regardless of other things, after several days in a row, thanks to Zhao Guan's presence and the fairness of this martial arts performance, the matter finally gradually got on the right track, and it did indeed arouse the spirit of competition among the various units in the army. The scene became more and more exciting, and even attracted a large number of people to watch every day... These scenes more or less allowed Zhao Guan to temporarily put down the matter of Wang Shun, and his mood gradually improved day by day.

By the end of April, although there were some flaws due to the first time it was held, the martial arts competition was still considered a successful end. After all the rewards were distributed, Zhao Guan finally returned with the civil and military officials who left the city again... According to Zhao Jiu's plan, this time when he went back, he would thoroughly and widely promote the simplified Arabic numerals that he had already begun to use (Arabic numerals in this year were actually completely different from those of later generations, and even a little strange), and then connect them to the chart system, and incorporate them into government work and even the imperial examination.

In this way, Zhao Jiu, who was in a good mood, took the lead and returned with the civil and military officials, but he encountered another accident at the Kaiyuan Gate (the west gate of Tokyo City facing the Xuande Building) - there were still people kneeling to submit memorials to the Emperor.

Of course, it was a bit inappropriate to say it was an accident. This was too common, and even had a tradition. Zhao Jiu didn't take it seriously. As before, relevant people would handle it according to the established procedure - since it was a memorial and not advice for the Emperor, the Imperial Guards would naturally take the person to the side of the road, and then the officials from the Ministry of Justice would step forward to take the documents, and other officials would step forward to comfort and inquire.

At the same time, the main force continued to set off, still slowly returning to the city.

No one took this matter seriously. Zhao Jiu, who had watched a military sports meet and had new plans in his heart, took it even less seriously... until Ma Shen, the Minister of Justice, whose face was ashen, suddenly stepped forward and, bypassing the four chief ministers, handed a document to Zhao Guan in public.

Obviously, this was the memorial he had just received.

Zhao Jiu didn't take it seriously at first, so he took it on horseback and opened it to read it directly, but after only a glance, his heart instantly woke up to Ma Shen's actions at the same time, and he was completely shocked and angry! And this time, the anger was even greater than the anger caused by Wang Shun's actions a few days ago!

But after all, he was the Emperor for many years, and he had been trained. His face still didn't show it, he just casually put away the documents in public, and then glanced at Ma Shen lightly before continuing to ride forward.

According to political rules, he should have handed the documents to the chief ministers to look at, but none of the chief ministers took the initiative to ask for them. Even Ma Shen unexpectedly didn't say anything, but slightly slowed down the speed of the mule under his crotch and returned to the queue behind the chief ministers... and then his face was still uncertain.

At this moment, not looking at the Emperor and the chief ministers, but only looking at Minister Ma's expression, the important officials in the front row knew that something had happened, but they could only pretend not to know, and then cheer up and urge the mounts under their crotches to follow Zhao Guan back to the east... As long as they arrived at Xuande Building and entered Xuande Gate, they could take the opportunity to disband, and then secretly inquire and ask about it.

However, as the Imperial Guard proceeded to the front of Xuande Building, another small accident happened.

A flying bird was startled by the ceremonial guard and flew out of the archway of Xuande Building, almost skimming past Zhao Guan. This didn't matter, the key was that the horse under Zhao Guan's crotch was not a famous horse, but just an ordinary horse. At this time, it was startled by the flying bird. Although there was no scene of a startled horse getting out of control, it actually staggered for a while and didn't dare to enter the archway.

Zhao Jiu urged it several times, but the horse couldn't move forward, and he became a little annoyed. He simply dismounted and prepared to enter the palace on foot. The rest of the officials had no choice but to dismount from their mules and horses as well.

At this time, perhaps his old problem had recurred, and after dismounting, Goulong Ruyuan, the Vice Minister of Works, couldn't help but smile and say, "Your Majesty, this Imperial Horse is probably asking for a reward or even a background after seeing Your Majesty give so many rewards at Yuetai..."

Stupid!

He's gone too far!

Countless people coldly ridiculed this newly promoted minister in their hearts.

As expected, Zhao Jiu finally turned his head indifferently, glanced at Goulong Ruyuan, then looked at the horse, but then his eyes swept over several chief ministers and ministers, and finally looked at Yang Yizhong, who was on the side, and coldly gave an order:

"A mere horse, asking for rewards for no reason, where does that leave the Imperial Guard's generals and soldiers? Chop up this horse and display its head to the public!"

After saying that, the Emperor directly flung his sleeves and entered the palace.

Seeing this situation, Goulong Ruyuan was dumbfounded, then his face turned pale, and he stood there in shock, and the rest of the important officials also changed color... They did see that the Emperor was in a bad mood, and they also saw that Goulong Ruyuan had gone too far and had offended the Emperor, but no matter what, they didn't expect things to reach this point.

The Emperor directly disappeared into the huge gatehouse, leaving only the ceremonial guard and the officials outside the gate. Yang Yizhong and Liu Yan, who was beside him, looked at each other and were also helpless. They called two Imperial Guards to remove the saddle and stirrups first, and then Liu Yan personally grabbed the horse's head, and Yang Yizhong personally drew his sword. With a wave of his hand, he beheaded the Imperial Horse in front of Xuande Building.

The horse's head rolled, blood flowed all over the ground, and the Imperial Guards stepped forward to 'display its head to the public'. Seeing Yang Liu and the two of them salute the chief ministers with blood stains and then hurriedly enter the palace, the officials were shocked and increasingly speculated about what had happened... On the other side, Zhao Jiu returned to the palace, but he didn't go to the harem to rest. Instead, he went to the stone pavilion in the backyard, where he opened the documents that Ma Shen had handed him with a livid face, and then looked at them carefully.

The matter in the documents was actually very, very simple. Zhao Jiu had known it after reading it twice before. There was nothing new to see at this time... It was nothing more than a few Fujian scholars in the capital being greatly encouraged after the Fan Temple issue was resolved by submitting memorials to the Emperor last time. Then, they continued their efforts and carried forward the Song Dynasty's tradition of submitting memorials to the Emperor without being punished for their words, and once again impeached a very famous unfilial son in their Fujian.

According to the documents, this unfilial son had achieved success and fame early on and had reached the highest position in the court, but he never supported his father or mother, and even often said words of resentment to his parents. He was an extremely unfilial person and should be removed from office to correct the situation.

Ethics and filial piety have always been things that these scholars like to discuss. The local gentry has its own tradition of maintaining the order of things. This is also a common thing, and impeaching high-ranking officials for unfilial piety... as long as they are not retaliated against, they can gain fame regardless of success or failure, so there is no need to say more.

But these were not the key. The key was that this unfilial son was named Hu Yin, who was the current Minister of Works, the tail of the former Three Heroes of Taixue, and Zhao Guan's confidant minister.

In addition, Zhao Jiu had roughly guessed from the beginning that the contents of this impeachment from the folk villagers of Fujian were probably true - Hu Yin's stinky temper and his stinky face looked like an 'unfilial son'.

ps: Routine sacrifice to 《Actor Has No Holiday》