Xu Yun hurriedly came to Lu Yihao's official room and said slightly excitedly: "Teacher, look at this!"
He put a joint letter opposing the transaction on the table and pointed to one of the names, "It's actually Fan Zongyin! My mentor, what a surprise!"
Sure enough, it was Fan Zongyin's signature. Lu Yihao narrowed his eyes and asked after a while: "Did he sign the joint letter supporting the transaction?"
"As far as I know, there is no signature!"
Lu Yihao nodded, "This guy is not stupid, he woke up at the critical moment!"
"Teacher, the Tai students have begun to write letters in blood and are preparing to jointly submit a letter."
Lu Yihao frowned and said to Xu Yun: "Go and tell Yu Xiaoliang right away. Don't go too far. Enough is enough!"
Xu Yun also knew that if he put too much pressure on the officials, his mentor would be the unlucky one in the end. He nodded quickly, "I'll go right away!"
Xu Yun ran away in a hurry.
Lu Yihao pondered for a moment, then he wrote a short message and said to an attendant: "You go to Hukou Restaurant to book a private room. I will treat you at noon, and then give this letter to Fan Xianggong."
"Follow the order!"
After the entourage left, Lu Yihao tapped the table lightly with his knuckles, guessing that the eunuch delivering the order had arrived.
At this time, a eunuch appeared at the door led by the officer. The eunuch said with a smile on his face: "Mr. Lu, the officials have summoned you in the inner palace!"
.........
The emperor Zhao Gou met Lu Yihao in the Qinzheng Palace. Zhao Gou was wearing casual clothes and his face was pale, looking like he was just recovering from a serious illness. He knocked on the table with dissatisfaction and said to Lu Yihao: "I have only been ill for two days, and the court has
It’s chaos, how do you, the prime minister, take charge of the overall situation?”
Lu Yihao leaned forward and said: "Reporting to Your Majesty, everything in the court is normal and there is no chaos. Perhaps the demonstration by the imperial students disturbed Your Majesty."
"The Taipei students are demonstrating again, why?" Zhao Gou asked with a confused look on his face.
"Your Majesty, the Imperial College students are opposed to handing over Chen Qing to the Jurchens. Not only the Imperial College students, but also hundreds of thousands of civilians are also opposed."
"Is this matter not over yet? I thought General Chen had returned to the northwest, why are you still fussing over this matter?" Zhao Gou asked Lu Yihao instead of being a guest.
"Your Majesty, Mr. Qin is taking the lead in this matter, and even the ministers don't know much about it."
Zhao Gou sneered, "Is it also Qin Xianggong who is leading the large-scale parade by the Imperial College students?"
Lu Yihao smiled slightly and said: "The Taipei students are easily impulsive and naturally love to fight against injustice, but their essence is out of patriotism. Chen Qing is an anti-Jin general. It is rumored that the imperial court will give him to the Jin Kingdom. Of course, it will arouse public outrage, but we want to
Make it clear to the students that the imperial court has no intention of doing this. Once the misunderstanding is cleared up, the matter will be resolved. Your Majesty, don’t worry too much!"
Zhao Gou faced tremendous pressure not only from the Tai students and the people of Lin'an, but also from the military. Early this morning, he received a call from the military initiated by Han Shizhong, Zhang Jun, Liu Guangshi, Han Shizhong, Yue Fei, Li Heng, Ju Shiran, etc.
A joint letter signed by senior generals.
Several major military generals strongly opposed handing over Chen Qing to the Kingdom of Jin, and pointed out in their letters that once the court made such a decision, it would inevitably cause a serious blow to the morale of the Song Dynasty army and would become a shame for the Song Dynasty military.
The pressure from the military made Zhao Gou hesitate and had to consider this matter carefully.
In fact, compared to the demonstrations by Tai students and ordinary people, the tough attitude of the army put greater pressure on Zhao Gou.
Zhao Gou narrowed his eyes and said slowly: "I have been in poor health these days. I don't understand this matter and have no attitude, but I hope it ends as soon as possible. It is not appropriate to leave this matter entirely to Qin Xianggong.
, let Zhizhengtang decide!”
Lu Yihao understood what the officials meant, and the officials gave in. He would no longer interfere in the matter, leaving it to the Zhizhengtang to decide.
This result was completely expected by Lu Yihao. Even the emperor could not withstand the strong pressure of public opinion. However, the officials were obviously still unwilling to give up and wanted the Zhizhengtang to continue to push forward with this matter. How could this be possible?
...........
At noon, in an elegant room of Hukou Restaurant, Lu Yihao hosted a private banquet for Xianggong Fan Zongyin.
"Juemin, we haven't sat and drank together like this for many years!" Lu Yihao filled Fan Zongyin's wine glass with a glass of wine and said with a smile.
"Yes! I miss the life in Bianliang very much. It was really elegant and leisurely at that time. Lu Xianggong, some people say that if we agree to the Jin people's hostage exchange request, it is very likely that the two sides will discuss peace in the next step. What do you think?
is it possible?"
Lu Yihao sneered and said: "We have been dealing with the Jin Kingdom for so many years, but we still don't understand each other? Now that the Jin Kingdom has a strong military, who will negotiate with us? They can only have peace talks if they completely defeat the Jin soldiers on the battlefield.
Only sincere peace talks will truly bring the Queen Mother back. Believe it or not, even if Chen Qing is handed over to the Jin people, the Queen Mother will not come back."
Fan Zongyin nodded silently and sighed: "You are right, how can a small commander win back the Queen Mother? Jurchens will not do such a loss-making thing."
"Do you know why I want to launch a joint signature?"
Fan Zongyin picked up the wine cup and said calmly: "Don't just sign it! Is it possible that Mr. Lu can get away with this student parade?"
Lu Yihao avoided his question and said with a smile: "The official received me today and has made it clear that he will no longer interfere with Chen Qing's affairs."
"It seems that Mr. Lu has won."
"Not yet, the Zhizhengtang still needs to make a formal resolution."
"So my husband invites me to drink?"
Lu Yihao looked at him for a while and said: "If Juemin votes against it this afternoon and we discuss the reform of the imperial examination system next month, I will support you with one vote."
Fan Zongyin picked up the wine cup and said with a smile: "It's rare that Mr. Lu is so straightforward, so let's make an agreement!"
...........
In the afternoon, Qin Hui hurried to the meeting hall of Zhizhengtang. He got the news that Lu Yihao, in order to quell the demonstrations of imperial students and hundreds of thousands of people, decided to discuss Chen Qing's proposal to exchange the Queen Mother's proposal, which was actually another vote.
At the same time, Qin Hui received instructions from the palace, 'Everything shall be subject to the decision of Zhizhengtang!'
This means that the officials have given up intervention, but Qin Hui is very sensitive. He still understands the emperor's intention. It is best for Zhizhengtang to pass, and all consequences and responsibilities will be borne by Zhizhengtang.
Qin Hui knew the official's intentions very well. This was his opportunity. Once the proposal was passed and the official's wish to take back the Queen Mother was fulfilled, he would make great achievements and he would definitely go further.
At this time, in order to appease the military, the officials would definitely fight back and strongly criticize Zhizhengtang for betraying the anti-golden generals. It was inevitable that Lu Yihao would be dismissed as prime minister, clearing the way for him to ascend to power.
But now only he and Fan Zongyin support it, while Lu Yihao and Zhao Ding oppose it. The key is the ambiguous Li Hui. If he is willing to vote in favor, it will be a certainty.
Qin Hui secretly regretted it. He had known that he should have visited Li Hui yesterday, promised him some benefits, and won his vote. Now it seems a bit late.
Anyway, if there is another draw today, I must visit Li Hui in the evening.
Qin Hui walked into the meeting hall quickly and saw that several other prime ministers had arrived. He quickly apologized: "I went to the Yushitai, which delayed me for a while and kept you waiting for a long time."
Lu Yihao smiled and said: "It doesn't matter, we just arrived. Mr. Qin, please take a seat!"
Qin Hui sat down, and Lu Yihao took a look at the crowd and said: "Since everyone is here, let's make a long story short. Regarding the plan proposed by the envoy of the Kingdom of Jin, Commander Chen Qing was exchanged for the return of the Queen Mother. It happened that the official was ill and he could not take care of it.
The matter can only be decided by our Zhizhengtang. The previous vote was too hasty. After a few days, everyone has thought carefully about it and voted again!"
Lu Yihao turned over the jade certificate in front of him and said, "I vote against handing over Chen Qing to the Kingdom of Jin."
Zhao Ding also turned over the jade ultimatum, "I object too!"
Qin Hui pushed the jade certificate forward and said with a faint smile: "I think we should consider the reputation of the court and exchange Chen Qing for the Queen Mother!"
The next one was Li Hui. Li Hui hesitated for a while and said: "It's a very important matter. I need to think about it again. I'd better abstain from voting this time!"
As expected, Li Hui was still being careless. At this time, everyone's eyes turned to Fan Zongyin. He had voted in favor before. I wonder what his vote would be this time.
Fan Zongyin smiled slightly and said: "As Lu Xianggong said, I really didn't understand the rules before. After a few days of careful consideration, I feel that even if I hand over Chen Qing, I may not be able to get the Queen Mother back, but it will make people criticized, so I
Opposing Chen Qing to replace the Queen Mother."
After saying that, he turned over the jade certificate in front of him.
Qin Hui's eyes suddenly widened. He really didn't expect that Fan Zongyin would betray him at the critical moment.