The court discussion was just a message spread by the emperor Zhao Gou to the ministers. He was very concerned about Chen Qing's troops in the Central Plains and hoped that someone could help him make suggestions and solve problems.
It is a must for every minister to figure out the holy will. In just half a month, hundreds of ministers wrote to the emperor, explaining their countermeasures. Even Yue Fei, who was far away in Xiangyang, also wrote to the emperor, suggesting that while the Jin soldiers were in Luobian
Taking advantage of the opportunity to fight the Western Army in this area, he sent troops to the east and occupied most of the state capitals in the east.
Yue Fei's petition was ignored by the emperor Zhao Gou. The armistice agreement is here. He is the emperor of the Song Dynasty. How could he go back on his word and tear up the agreement?
However, Zhao Gou was very tempted by the letter from the censor, Wan Qixi, saying, "All the best soldiers of the Western Army are in the Central Plains, and Chen Qing has no time to go south. It is a good opportunity to recover Jinghu South Road. Now that Jinghu South Road is obtained, why not knock on the door and enter Bashu?"
?'
Zhao Gou immediately summoned his left and right ministers Qin Hui and Zhu Shengfei, as well as the privy envoy Xu Xiantu to discuss the matter.
Wan Qixi was Qin Hui's confidant. How could Qin Hui not know about this letter?
He knew the emperor Zhao Gou too well, he was strict at home but fearful of others, he was servile and humble to the Jin soldiers, but he was ruthless and merciless towards the Song people. If he was not moved, he would not have summoned the three of them to come for discussion.
"Your Majesty, why bother? Just find a suitable excuse to send troops. Even if everyone in the world understands, there is nothing to say."
Zhao Gou nodded, "I understand what Mr. Qin means. The key is that this excuse is hard to find."
Qin Hui smiled slightly and said: "Your Majesty, you can repay others with their own deeds. How did they find an excuse to enter Jinghu South Road in the first place?"
"Xianggong Qin is talking about suppressing bandits?"
Qin Hui nodded, "Suppressing bandits is indeed a good excuse. It can be applied anytime and anywhere. If necessary, you can even send an army to pretend to be bandits and occupy the mountain as king."
Next to him, Zhu Shengfei said: "Your Majesty, Wei Chen thinks that cracking down on private salt dealers is also a good excuse."
Both of their suggestions were good. Zhao Gou nodded and looked at Xu Xiantu again, "What does Xu Aiqing mean?"
Xu Xiantu said calmly: "Jinghu South Road is originally the territory of the imperial court. There is no need to make any excuses. Just send troops there. If there is a conflict between the two sides, then simply drive the Sichuan-Shaanxi Army out of Jinghu South Road. There is no need to make any messy excuses."
, not grand at all, making people laugh."
Qin Hui and Zhu Shengfei's expressions froze, Zhao Gou put his hands on his hands and laughed, "What a direct force to send troops. I wonder who Xu Aiqing recommends to lead the troops to station at Jinghu South Road?"
"Reporting to Your Majesty, I have recommended that Li Gang be appointed as the envoy of Xuanfu to Jinghu and Yue Fei as the deputy envoy to control the capital. We will send troops from Xiangyang to the south. However, there is no rush to send troops now. It depends on the situation of the war in the Central Plains."
Zhao Gou walked a few steps with his hands behind his back, nodded and said, "I'm sure, I'm going to declare Li Gang and Yue Fei to go to Hajj immediately!"
Qin Hui and Zhu Shengfei resigned, and Xu Xiantu was left behind.
The Emperor Zhao Gou stood in front of the window. After a while, he asked calmly: "I heard that Xu Aiqing and Zheng Tongquan have a close relationship. Is this true?"
Xu Xiantu was shocked. Is the emperor going to take action against Zheng Tongquan?
He quickly bowed and said: "Report to your Majesty, in the third year of Shaoxing, Wei Chen's father was seriously ill and dying. Thanks to Zheng Guojiu, he promptly sent a tube of thousand-year-old ginseng he had collected, which saved my father's life. Wei Chen repays his kindness.
, I have always had a good relationship with him.”
"It's that simple?"
"There are also some business dealings."
Zhao Gou nodded and said: "I just found out that Zheng Tongquan actually has 30% of the Beijing News. His relationship with Chen Qing is unusual!"
Xu Xiantu bowed and said: "Your Majesty, there are actually many people who have close relations with Chen Qing, such as Zhang Jun, Li Gang, Zhao Ding, not to mention Lu Yihao, even Wei Chen has served as his matchmaker, Chen Qing and Zheng Ping
With brotherly love, Zheng Tongquan can be said to be Chen Qing's elder, and it is normal for him to have a good personal relationship. However, Wei Chen believes that Zheng Tongquan is just a businessman, not a court official. As long as he does not harm the interests of the court, there is nothing wrong with his personal relationship with Chen Qing."
Zhao Gou sneered twice and said: "Did he really not harm the interests of the imperial court? He has 30% of the "Beijing News". Also, Chen Qingdong came with hundreds of large ships. Don't think that I don't know its origin."
"Your Majesty, the "Beijing News" is a newspaper established by His Majesty. It was registered with the Ministry of Rites and the Yuan of Admonition. Although it promoted Chen Qing too much, the newspaper never criticized the imperial court. Zheng Tongquan took only three-thirds of the "Beijing News" and it was also
Just to take care of the lives of newspaper staff, he could not interfere with the Beijing News' reports. Chen Qing would not allow anyone to interfere with the content of the newspaper. Everyone knew this. As for the ship matter, Wei Chen specifically asked Zheng Tongquan.
.”
"How did he say?"
"He said that the ship was not owned by him. It was a business jointly established by Chen Qing and Zheng Ping, and it was just owned by the Zheng family."
"But he still protected Chen Qing after all. Hundreds of ships at sea made me suffer humiliation. Shouldn't this debt be settled with him?"
Xu Xiantu sighed and said: "Your Majesty has not broken up with Chen Qing yet. Chen Qing is still a minister of the Song Dynasty. It is normal for Chen Qing to have power in Lin'an. Your Majesty can also send people to Jingzhao to run newspapers or do business, and Chen Qing will not interfere.
, If Your Majesty wants to take action against Zheng Tongquan, it will be equivalent to breaking up with Chen Qing, and the consequences that will follow, has Qin Xianggong told Your Majesty?"
Zhao Gou sneered and said: "Killing a mere businessman will make you angry. Can he really be so naive?"
"Your Majesty, Weichen knows Chen Qing very well. Your Majesty wants to seize Jinghu South Road. Weichen has no objection because Weichen knows that Chen Qing will not fight for territory with the imperial court. But Zheng Tong is completely different. He is Chen Qing's elder.
, Chen Qing has no parents or brothers. Killing Zheng Tongquan is like killing his father. He will definitely break with the Song Dynasty completely. I hope Your Majesty will think twice!"
Zhao Gou said for a long time: "That's all. The imperial court is in financial difficulty, but Zheng Tongquan is extremely wealthy. Let him donate some money to the imperial court. I will let him go this time."
Qin Hui persuaded Zhao Gou to kill Zheng Tongquan on the pretext of collaborating with the enemy and seize all the Zheng family's wealth to enrich the national treasury. Zhao Gou was really tempted, but Xu Xiantu's words made him hesitate again, especially the consequences of breaking up with Chen Qing.
He really couldn't afford it.
But Zhao Gou was unwilling to give up, so let Zheng Tongquan pay a sum of money to atone for his sin!
Xu Xiantu also knew that reporting to the office was a trivial matter. The key was that the hundreds of large ships made the emperor resentful. With the emperor's will to retaliate, he would never let go of the Zheng family. Sooner or later, he would take action against the Zheng family. If Zheng Tongquan didn't shed some blood
, I’m afraid it will be difficult to pass this level.
Xu Xiantu nodded, "I'm humble enough to persuade him and let him do his best for the court!"
Zheng Tongquan has been busy reporting to the library these days, and the deputy director You Zhongwen was forcibly evicted. This was Zheng Tongquan's intercession, otherwise You Zhongwen would really go back to his hometown.
Under Zheng Tongwen's intervention, the newspaper's position returned to what it was before the adjustment. The duplicitous Cheng Jinshen was fired. Zheng Tongquan simply selected a capable manager from the Zheng Family Trading Company as the deputy director. Anyway, the content was not involved, and he was only responsible for printing and distribution.
He is equally competent as a manager and yet loyal.
Wang Mu continues to serve as editor, but he can no longer keep a low profile. Everyone in the newspaper knows that he is the supervisor of the newspaper. His real power is even higher than that of the newspaper owner. Even the library owner has no power to veto the draft, but he
This editor can do it.
After finishing the newspaper business, Zheng Tongquan was just about to leave for Mingzhou overnight, when Xu Xiantu's family sent a greeting card. Xu Xiantu would come to visit him tonight, so Zheng Tongquan could only change his plan and set off again early tomorrow morning.
As soon as night fell, Xu Xiantu's carriage arrived at the Zheng Mansion under the escort of dozens of warriors. Zheng Tongquan personally greeted Xu Xiantu's arrival in front of the mansion.
Last year Zheng Tongquan was still Zheng Guojiu, but this year not many people call him Zheng Guojiu. The reason is that Empress Dowager Zheng died of illness at the end of last year. The Empress Dowager Zheng who maintained Zheng Tongquan's status passed away, so Zheng Guojiu became Zheng Dongzhu.
Fortunately, Zheng Tongquan still had some background in Lin'an, including Xu Xiantu and the Qian family. But what Zheng Tongquan himself did not realize was that his real background was Chen Qing, and even the emperor Zhao Gou did not dare to touch him.
Xu Xiantu and the Zheng family are related from a thousand-year-old ginseng tree. In the many profitable industries of the Zheng family, Xu Xiantu and the Qian family each have about 10% of the shares. It is this community of interests that maintains the security of the Zheng family. Most people do not
Dare to touch them, but if the emperor wants to touch the Zheng family, Xu Xiantu and the Qian family will not be able to protect them.
The two exchanged pleasantries in front of the door, and Zheng Tongquan invited Xu Xiantu to the guest room.