Looking back at the Battle of Diaoyu City, the watchtower collapsed, Meng Ge was seriously injured, and he would die sooner or later.
But at that time Li Xia was determined to defeat the Mongolian army, firstly to regain Hanzhong, and secondly to inspire people.
This battle also changed one thing...that is, the Mongolian army was unable to conceal the death of Meng Ge.
Meng Ge died in early November. When Song Ting received the battle report from Diaoyu City on November 20, he already knew that Meng Ge was dead.
Ding Daquan even wanted to use his merits to appoint Li Xia as the commander-in-chief of all the armies in front of the imperial court, the deputy envoy to appease Chengdu, and the governor of Jiading Prefecture.
Under such circumstances, when Kublai Khan's army came to kill him, Song Ting was still shocked.
The reason for this was discussed by Li Xia and Zhang Jue.
The Central Committee of the Song Dynasty had some understanding of the secret disputes in the Mongolian Khan's court, and there were no officials who could point them out.
Moreover, Jia Sidao not only wanted to achieve great achievements, but also tried his best to arrange...
Some wise people, such as Jiang Wanzai, Gao Da, Zhang Shijie... have been transferred to Jinghu by him.
The rest have been squeezed out from the official family by the all-powerful Ding Daquan.
Who else can remind the officials?
~~
Although Zhao Yun has become increasingly greedy for pleasure and lazy in politics recently, he is not stupid after all.
When he returned to Xuande Hall, he had calmed down.
"Tell me, are you sure that Kublai Khan will definitely return to fight for the throne?"
"My lord...it's certain."
Ding Daquan prostrated himself and placed his bet.
He could only trust Li Xia.
This is the only life-saving straw.
Zhao Yun didn't quite believe it and said: "Tell me the reason, I won't listen to lies."
"Since I joined the Privy Council, I have been studying the Mongolian intelligence that Li Xia brought back day and night, and I have a little understanding of the struggle for the throne of Mobei Khan. Brother Meng has eight brothers, three of whom are the same mother and brother..."
Ding Daquan not only received the letter, but also met Lin Zi, so he was not afraid to speak.
"...The barbarians are like this, so I concluded that if Meng Ge died, his younger brother would fight for the throne. Therefore, the Privy Council ordered the Sichuan system envoy Lu Wende to provoke Mongolian disputes and regain Hanzhong in one fell swoop!"
Zhao Yun gradually began to regain his senses and said: "That's not what you said in the daytime."
"Your Majesty, it is clear that the Privy Council's order to Lu Wende is absolutely true and well-documented. Please verify it. I just don't understand why Lu Wende would reject the great achievement of regaining Hanzhong... so I dare not refute it."
"Don't you dare to refute?" Zhao Yun asked, "Are you afraid of Lu Wende, the powerful Prime Minister?"
"I deserve to die."
Ding Daquan prostrated himself on the ground and said: "There is a gap between me and Jia Sidao. No matter what I say, I feel that I am slandering."
Zhao Yun wanted to ask.
“‘Mr. Jia will make great achievements in Jinghu’. What does this mean?”
"I dare not speak."
"I grant you no guilt, please."
Ding Daquan was silent for a long time and said slowly: "Jia Sidao expected that Kublai Khan would retreat, so... he wanted to make a great contribution."
"Why didn't he report it to me?"
"I have not reported it to Your Majesty." Ding Daquan said: "After Meng Ge's death, I speculated that there might be a dispute in Mongolia. But this matter is groundless, and I will never dare to confirm it. Otherwise, if the soldiers are slack, I will be a sinner through the ages!"
Zhao Yun snorted coldly.
Ding Daquan added: "It wasn't until the news of the recapture of Hanzhong came that the tens of thousands of Mongolian troops did not dare to fight with the thousands of people from the Song Dynasty and retreated to Guanlong, did I dare to tell your Majesty my guess..."
"You mean, Jia Sidao thinks like you do?"
"yes."
"I want to hear the truth."
Ding Daquan prostrated again and said, "I dare not say anything."
"explain."
"Huaixi was defeated too quickly, something fishy happened."
Zhao Yun was furious.
He stared at Ding Daquan coldly for a long time, but did not express his anger, and asked again: "Li Xia and Lu Wende are very close?"
"I...I heard...that after the battle in Diaoyu City, Li Xia and Lu Wende fell asleep next to each other, as close as golden orchids."
At this point, Ding Daquan shouted again: "Your Majesty clearly knows that when I serve Li Xia, I only cherish his talent and support him once. He is definitely not a party member. Li Xia sent a letter to the minister and said, 'This is what I said', which is true."
I want to take refuge in Lu Wende."
Zhao Yun's face turned cold and he didn't speak for a long time.
Outside the hall, Rao Huchen was still shouting.
"Your Majesty, I have something urgent to ask for..."
Zhao Yun was mixed in mood and mood, and finally spoke to Ding Daquan: "Go to the main hall and lead the officials to wait."
"Officials obey orders."
"Pass on Rao Huchen..."
~~
"Your Majesty! I believe that when the army is in danger and the war is fierce, we must not leave the important matter of bringing in reinforcements to Li Xia!"
Rao Huchen had just entered the palace and had already presented a letter with both hands and said: "Yesterday, someone sent a letter to the admonishment platform. I invite your Majesty to read it!"
Zhao Yun read the letter without showing any emotion.
"What does Aiqing think of this matter?"
"Your Majesty, impeach Lu Buma of Chengdu Prefecture..."
Zhao Yun interrupted: "The deputy envoy to appease Chengdu."
Rao Huchen was stunned.
"Due to Yutai's military exploits, a few days ago I moved Li Xia to serve as deputy envoy to pacify Chengdu, and also to inform Jiading Prefecture."
"I impeach Li Xia, the deputy envoy to pacify Chengdu, for having a personal relationship with an important minister and accepting bribes! I impeach Lu Wende, the envoy of Sichuan Zhizhi, for secretly communicating with Mongolia!"
Zhao Yun stepped back and said, "I ask you, what do you think of this matter?"
Rao Huchen took a step forward and said in a low voice: "Your Majesty clearly knows that Li Xia and Lu Wende colluded in private and were collusive and lawless. We must not allow these two to continue like this..."
Zhao Yun did not speak immediately.
His eyes fell on the letter in his hand.
This is a letter that someone copied from Li Xia to Lu Wende.
There aren't many words that make Zhao Yun feel angry.
It is commonplace to say "I only want to live in Fengyuan and seek 10% profit from Hanzhong".
There was only one sentence that made Zhao Yun extremely concerned.
"I am willing to be transferred to Ezhou to serve the country loyally..."
Why did he want to go to Ezhou? Obviously, Li Xiaji was sure that Kublai Khan would withdraw his troops, and he was eager to go to Jinghu to perform meritorious service.
Follow Jia Sidao.
These ministers had calculated in their hearts that there was no danger, but they deliberately frightened their king, just for the sake of great achievements that day.
Thinking of this, there was no anger in Zhao Yun's eyes, only loneliness.
The emperor is indeed a loner...
Oh, by the way, only Lu Wende doesn't want this big credit.
Because the woodcutter is honest and kind?
No, because Lu Wende wanted to stay in Sichuan and Shu in order to trade with the Mongols in Hanzhong.
From then on, the bowls were full and there was no need to rely on the court to arrange food and grass.
In this way, the Lu Family Army truly became the Lu Family Army.
…
"You see, everyone has their own plans for Yang Yan." Zhao Yun opened his mouth and let out a long sigh.
Rao Huchen cried loudly and prostrated, saying: "Your Majesty! Your Majesty must not be sad. At this time of crisis, I accuse the general. I am guilty!"
He kowtowed and said: "Of course, we must not entrust Li Xia with the important affairs of the country. I ask you to transfer Yaojun regiment training envoy Gao Gao to assist Ezhou and help Jia Sidao relieve the siege of Ezhou..."
Zhao Yun had completely restored his royal bearing, stood up in person, and helped Rao Huchen up.
"Get up and wait in the main hall."
~~
In the distance, the court drums were ringing, but Zhao Yun was not in a hurry to go to the court meeting.
Zhao Yun thought for a long time and summoned Dong Songchen.
"Has the order to mobilize Li Xia's reinforcements been issued?"
"Your Majesty, you are still in Zhongshu Province, just waiting for dawn..."
"Take it back." Zhao Yun said.
Dong Songchen responded quickly.
Zhao Yun stood up and took a few steps.
"Draft an order...to dispatch Lu Wende to rush to Ezhou's aid quickly."
In just one sentence, Dong Songchen added the rest.
Zhao Yun watched him write the imperial edict and said, "Seal it."
He was still thinking in his eyes.
Since Lu Wende and Li Xiaqi are as good as each other and have such a good relationship...the two of them must not stay in Sichuan at the same time.
Leaving aside Li Xia, Lu Wende must be transferred.
Zhao Yun will not punish Lu Wende, but he will never allow the Lu family army to control financial resources and gradually escape from the control of the court.
There is no doubt about this and there is no need to hesitate.
After handling this matter, Zhao Yun continued to pace.
"Draft the decree again, move Gao Gao to the town of Chongqing, and move Li Xia... that's all."
Dong Songchen was stunned and stopped writing.
"His Majesty?"
Zhao Yun waved his hand and said nothing more.
After Lu Wende is transferred away, who will guard Sichuan and Shu is a question.
But we can't change generals so easily. Xiangyang is also an important town, so Gundam cannot be lightly transferred. Moreover, the situation in Ezhou is not clear yet, so Gundam reinforcements must be transferred at any time.
In addition, Hanzhong had only been recovered not long ago, and Lu Wende and Wang Jian had already been transferred, and it was not appropriate to transfer Li Xia again.
The choice of Shu commander has once again become a problem...
Let Li Xia control Hanzhong first and then talk. This guy is at least not as strong as Lu Wende, and he also loves doing business.
Oh, should I follow the example of Di Qing, fight against the enemy, assist the saints and promote loyalty?
~~
The sky is slightly bright.
As the emperor entered the palace, the great court meeting had already begun.
In the Shouli Hall of the inner palace, Yan Rong drank a bowl of medicinal soup and his face looked bright again.
Not long ago, she was so frightened that she wished she could die on the spot, but when she heard that the Mongolian army would retreat, she immediately became arrogant again.
Zhao Jin couldn't help but disparage her and said: "She is a complete villain."
"Yes, yes, please go and have a rest first, Princess Rui. I am an unintelligent man who wants to gain power and want to cause trouble again."
Yan Rong smiled lazily, waved and called a palace attendant.
…
After hearing the report, a proud cold snort sounded.
"Ha, after all, I am the one who has the ability. All the scholar-bureaucrats in the dynasty are like lackeys, who can have my vision?"
"What the noble concubine said is absolutely true..."
Then Sun An, the little yellow gatekeeper, hurried over.
"Your Majesty, the high official has sent a slave to bring you a message."
"Um?"
"The position of Commander-in-Chief of Shu belongs to us. Now there is only one step left. The imperial concubine only needs to say a word to the officials..."
Yan Rong squinted his eyes and was lost in thought.
Then, Sun An handed over a small box.
Yan Rong didn't answer and asked: "What is it?"
"The imperial concubine is joking. Naturally, this is the example for foreign ministers to ask for an official position."
This is customary.
People say "Yan Martin is the one", but in fact, Yan Guifei and Dong Daguan can represent part of the emperor's attitude, while Ding Daquan and Ma Tianji only serve them in the outer court.
When ordinary people seek an official position, they are given to Ding Daquan according to the rules, and they pay filial piety to Yan and Dong at regular intervals.
But sometimes even Ding Daquan couldn't deal with it, so the benefits had to be given to Concubine Yan.
For example, how much does it cost to find a Sichuan pacification envoy?
"Li Xia is filial?"
"yes."
"Open."
Sun An was the most greedy of money among the eunuchs. As he slowly opened the small box, he couldn't help but look forward to it.
Commander Shu, there has never been such a big official in this palace. How many Lin'an house deeds must be packed into such a small box...
"despair."
Sun An was stunned and disappointed.
In that box was a small gold cup.
The craftsmanship is very beautiful, is it worthy of being an official?
"This...is plated...gold-plated. You can tell by looking at it."
Yan Rong smiled, waved, asked the maid to bring a purse, and threw a silver ingot to Sun An.
"Take it, running around to spread the word is risky."
"Thank you, Concubine!" Sun An was overjoyed and said, "Didn't the Concubine pay compensation?"
Yan Rong said leisurely: "Isn't it just compensation? A gold-plated cup is exchanged for such a big official position."
"Concubine, there are two of them."
"Two?" Yan Rong looked into the box again, and there was indeed only one cup.
"I'm afraid your concubine didn't hear clearly." Sun An reminded: "In addition to Li Xia, who is appointed as the envoy of the Sichuan pacification system, and also knows the Xingyuan Mansion, there is also Zhang Jue, who is the deputy envoy of the Sichuan pacification system, and also knows the Chengdu Mansion. Hey, there really is him
Yes, such a worthless thing can be exchanged for two high-ranking officials..."