The emperor Zhao Gou was also afraid of Chen Qing's secession and self-reliance. Not only was he afraid of losing Sichuan and Shaanxi, but he was also afraid that Chen Qing would form an alliance with the Jin State and launch an attack on the Song Dynasty at the same time. Then the Song Dynasty would really be over.
Therefore, he did not need anyone to remind him, and regardless of the resolute objections of the Queen Mother and Qin Hui, he still decisively canonized Chen Qing as the King of Lingwu County. This also contained his expectation that Chen Qing would simply establish the country in Xixia and bring Sichuan and Shaanxi to his country.
Give it back to yourself, and he will definitely support you.
This expectation is of course unrealistic, and Zhao Gou also knew that he would only return Sichuan and Shaanxi to him unless Chen Qing's head was kicked by a horse.
In addition to Chen Qing, Zhao Gou also had a lot of worries. The first was that the censor Zhang Zhiyuan impeached Zhang Jun for embezzling military salaries and secretly dividing the spoils.
It took Zhang Jun more than half a year to destroy Liu Guangshi. He spent eight million gu on the military and millions of dan on food. However, Zhang Jun and Liu Guangshi did not fight. They secretly spoke against Liu Guangshi's two confidant generals.
When Li Qiong and Wang De turned against each other, Liu Guangshi's situation was over and he had to surrender.
The content of Zhang Zhiyuan's impeachment was very sharp. "If the First World War was not fought, how could there be one million guan in compensation for casualties? All 200,000 rebels were organized into the Song Army. How could there be 800,000 guan in repatriation money for the rebels? One hundred thousand troops were stationed there."
How can you eat millions of shi of food in half a year?'
Also, three thousand guan of money and nine thousand shi of food were seized from Liu Guangshi's treasury. How is it possible to say that Liu Guangshi ran out of money and food? Where have the hundreds of large ships gone? Where have Liu Guangshi's personal belongings gone?
?
Even though the contents of the impeachment document even a three-year-old child knew what Zhang Jun had done? Zhao Gou could not approve the impeachment document. Could he approve Zhang Jun's dismissal from office? Zhang Jun had an army of 300,000 men, which triggered a mutiny.
what to do?
Chen Qing's army is still separated from Lin'an by thousands of mountains and rivers, but Zhang Jun's army is right next to Lin'an!
What's more, although Zhang Jun is a little greedy, he is loyal to himself, but Chen Qing is incorruptible and not greedy. Is he loyal to himself?
Zhao Gou is the emperor, and he views the loyalty and corruption of his officials with the eyes of an emperor.
It doesn't matter that Zhang Jun is greedy for money. I'm afraid he is not greedy for money. A warlord who is not greedy for money will definitely be greedy for power. A warlord who is neither greedy for money nor greedy for power will definitely be greedy for the country.
It's a pity that these censors don't understand! Supervising warlords is to see whether they have ambitions and whether they have overstepped their bounds. This is the key point. Supervising civil servants is to look at corruption and bribery.
Zhao Gou made a cross on the impeachment document and rejected it.
Immediately afterwards, another thing that troubled him extremely came. It was the memorial from Lu Qingshan, the Minister of Household Affairs. The imperial court was in a serious financial crisis. The inventory was less than 500,000 guan, and it was no longer possible to pay the 3 million guan next month.
Military salary, I hope to allocate money and food from various places urgently.
Financial resources are scarce, and the huge military salary has been weighing down the court. In the past, there were finances and taxes in Sichuan and Jingxiang, but now Sichuan's finances and taxes are gone. Jingxiang is in chaos, and hungry people are everywhere. Not only does there not be a penny of finances and taxes, but also
The court needs to allocate money and food for relief.
However, there were still hungry people in Jianghuai. The imperial government's recovery of Jianghuai not only did not bring any benefits. On the contrary, hungry people were everywhere, and thieves were everywhere, like a bottomless pit. Every year, the imperial court had to spend a huge amount of money and food to fill it.
No wonder more and more ministers are opposing the recovery of the Central Plains. The Jianghuai River alone has overwhelmed the imperial court. Coupled with the Central Plains, which is devastated and destitute, can the imperial court still survive?
What to do? Zhao Gou didn’t know what to do.
"Go and find Mr. Qin and Mr. Zhang!"
Zhao Gou didn't know what to do, but he could blame it on the prime minister. If there was a financial crisis, wasn't it the prime minister's business? They could learn from how Lu Yihao solved serious financial problems back then!
Not long after, Qin Hui and Zhang Jun walked into the imperial study one after another, bowed and saluted, "See your majesty!"
Zhao Gou waved his hand, "I came to you for two things. The first is about the envoy to Jingzhao. It must be confirmed immediately. This matter cannot be delayed. It is best to confirm it now."
"Being a king is no small matter. Your Majesty, please think twice."
Qin Hui was still unwilling to give in and tried to persuade Zhao Gou again. He knew that the officials were not willing to canonize Chen Qing.
Zhao Gou was in a bad mood and interrupted him impatiently, "If I don't make him the king of Qin, what should I do if he makes himself King of Qin?"
"Your Majesty can declare him a traitor and call on the world to punish him."
Zhang Jun behind him sneered, "Qin Xianggong is a dignified prime minister, how can he think as childishly and ridiculously as a three-year-old child?"
Qin Hui turned around and glared at Zhang Jun, "Mr. Zhang should not talk nonsense in front of the Emperor."
"I'm not talking nonsense. If the imperial court and Chen Qing turn hostile, the Kingdom of Jin will welcome it most. Without Chen Qing's army to contain it from the side, the Kingdom of Jin will attack the Song Dynasty without hesitation. Wanyan Wushu will come again to search the mountains.
Hai, what should we do? If Chen Qing colludes with the Jin State and attacks the Song Dynasty from both sides at the same time, how should we resist it?"
Qin Hui snorted and said to Zhao Gou: "If the enemy comes to attack, our army will resist it. Our soldiers are all brave and good at fighting, and they can annihilate the invading enemy. No need."
"Xianggong Qin, I have already issued an order."
"Your Majesty can add conditions to force him to give up."
"Xianggong Qin!"
Zhao Gou was really annoyed. Every time it came to Chen Qing, Qin Hui behaved in an unusually naive and stupid manner.
Qin Hui did not dare to persist anymore, so he had to bow and said: "If your Majesty has made a decision, I will support it. I will recommend Tongzhi Privy Councilor Zhe Yanzhi to go on another mission!"
Zhao Gou glared at him and asked Zhang Jun: "What is Mr. Zhang's opinion?"
"Wei Chen also agrees that Zheyanzhi will be sent as an envoy again!"
"Then it's time to leave Yanzhi as an envoy to Jingzhao. Let me talk about the second thing today, which is to talk about financial issues. The imperial court has a heavy burden and can no longer make ends meet. There is a huge financial gap in Jingxiang. Jianghuai has become our filler of money and grain.
There is a bottomless pit, there are hungry people everywhere, thieves are rampant, and there is a monthly military salary of 3 million yuan. If this continues, the court will not even have the money to pay the salaries to the officials. My two husbands want to think of a way for me.
"
As the right prime minister, Qin Hui had already considered this issue. He bowed and said: "The problem in Jingxiang is not big. It can be restored by reducing taxes and recuperating in a few years. The key is Jianghuai. The two sides are constantly fighting, so that
The people cannot farm. Once they miss farming, it means that they will be without food for half a year, and the court will have to continue to pay for subsidies. This is just like the human body. Wounds will not heal and bleeding will not stop. The pressure on military salaries is also due to the war. Your Majesty, please forgive me.
The minister bluntly said that when our national strength cannot afford the war, it is best to stop the war and negotiate peace with the Jin Kingdom."
In the end, we still have to negotiate a peace.
Zhang Jun wanted to object to the peace proposal, but he didn't know how to object. Qin Hui was right. Since the financial resources could not support the war, the war had to be stopped, otherwise it would be a militancy. Zhang Jun remained silent.
Zhao Gou paced back and forth with his hands behind his back. It was absolutely a lie to say that he did not want to negotiate peace. His requirements for the northern attack were very simple. To seize Jianghuai and make Jianghuai a buffer zone for the Yangtze River and even the south of the Yangtze River. Now that the goal has been achieved, he did not want to go north again.
Attack, especially when he thought of the devastation in the Central Plains and how the people in the Central Plains were in dire straits and would be burdened with a heavy financial burden, he became even more unwilling. At this critical moment, he would certainly like to be able to negotiate peace.
"Can the peace negotiation succeed?" Zhao Gou asked.
"Your Majesty, I think we can succeed!"
"Tell me why."
Qin Hui said confidently: "Wei Chen believes that there are two reasons. First, Wan Yanchang is currently in power in the Jin Kingdom. Wan Yanchang is a moderate and has always advocated peace and truce;
Second, if the Western Army attacks Xixia, the next step will inevitably threaten the Central Plains and Hedong. The Jin army will be severely constrained and unable to attack the south, and the Jin court will also consider negotiating peace with us."
Zhang Jun rolled his eyes, Qin Hui knew it very well! Chen Qing's army restrained Jin Bing, and he thought he really didn't know anything.
Zhao Gou glanced at Zhang Jun and asked, "Does Mr. Zhang agree to negotiate peace?"
"Your Majesty, I suggest that we discuss it at the high court. If all the officials do not object, then the peace negotiation will be what everyone wants."