In the elegant courtyard by the West Lake, there are scattered peanut trees and flocks of orioles flying around.
It was still dark, but the candles in the attic stayed on all night long, glowing with a little sweet light.
Li Huiniang got up from the cotton couch and saw Jia Sidao who had gotten up at some point and was sitting by the window, staring blankly at the West Lake.
His back was slumped, and his hair was not neatly tied up as usual but scattered there... Li Huiniang discovered for the first time that he had so many gray hairs.
In her eyes, Jia Sidao had always looked young, even youthful, but today she found out that he was already an old man.
Yes, he is forty and seventy years old, almost fifty years old...
A fox fur quilt was draped on Jia Sidao's back.
He didn't look back and sighed, unlike his usual confident self in front of others.
"Why did Alang get up so early?" Li Huiniang held on to the ivory comb and combed Jia Sidao's hair.
"can not fall asleep."
Jia Sidao said dejectedly: "When the late emperor was here, I was too lazy to wake up even for court meetings. Now I can't sleep even if I want to. I'm old."
"Alang is worried?"
"Some people say that I can't save Sheji, but they don't say how to save Sheji. In the end, all they do is start over from scratch...disgusting."
Li Huiniang is just a concubine and doesn't understand this.
She just stood there honestly and responded honestly: "Then this person must be trying to start a new business, so he said that Alang can't save Sheji. Alang should ignore him."
"How can I ignore it? I have to get rid of it, but I don't know how to get rid of it."
Li Huiniang was silent.
He was always like this, always getting rid of this and that, and he didn't know how many enemies he had made.
She no longer dared to persuade him.
"When I first joined the officialdom, I set great aspirations. I knew it would be difficult at that time, but I never imagined that it would be a hundred times, a thousand times, or ten thousand times more difficult along the way."
In this dark night before dawn, Jia Sidao sitting here seems to have not yet put on his shell, and is extremely fragile.
He was talking to himself alone, as if he was missing someone.
"It's always more difficult than expected. They all got timid, ran away, ran away...Zhao Kui, who couldn't get back up after the defeat of Sanjing; Uncle Xie Fang, who talked a lot about the truth but had no actual results, went away in despair, raising cranes to practice Taoism.
; Ding Daquan, who forgot his ambition when he was in Fujian Road when he entered the court; Wu Qian, who was too straight and unwilling to endure for the country, he refused; Cheng Yuanfeng, who was too weak and not straight enough; Ye Mengding, who was old and slow.
…
They all said they wanted to save the Song Dynasty and the Song Dynasty, but they all still wanted to cherish their feathers, thinking that I didn't know what they were thinking. When the country was destroyed, they would have been buried long ago, so what did it have to do with them? They would only shout, "
Jia Sidao, if you can't do it, they can't do it. They will only drag me down with gossip. Twenty years have been spent on such cowardly people.
Only...only Li Xia doesn't have the pedantry of these people. He is tenacious, not timid, and does not run away. He is similar to me. He maintains his will and never changes his mind because of what others say. However, he walks away as soon as he starts.
Wrong. Sheji is like a serious disease. No matter whether it is a symptom or a root cause, the thugs actually rise up with knives and want to cut off the arms of Sheji in an attempt to survive with their arms. How dare they cause such a disaster with a strong captive at their side."
Jia Sidao even cursed until he lost his strength.
What he is talking about is loneliness.
It's extremely cold at high places.
Pingzhang was involved in military and national affairs, and finally got the power he had dreamed of to control the court.
Those who had the same ambition as him were kicked away by him, and all civil and military officials in the dynasty were trampled under his feet.
No one is worthy of standing beside him.
Even what is in my heart can only be said to the concubine who does not understand.
He is also tired, and he also wants to give up, stop doing anything, and live happily until the country is destroyed. It is just surrender or taking poison. Wouldn't it be easy?
…
Mao Shi.
Privy Council.
Jia Pingzhanggong was sitting in the lobby, his expression still confident and high-spirited.
Under the official hat, the hair at the temples is combed meticulously, and it is black and shiny...
"Let's discuss it."
"Mr. Ping Zhang, I am thanking Uncle Fang for coming from Jiangxi to offer auspicious blessings to the officials. I am afraid that he wants to hear the news and understand the situation, so as to become the Prime Minister again."
When Jia Sidao heard this, he raised the corner of his mouth and smiled.
These people are still fighting for power and have not escaped. They are not waiting for the Song Dynasty to fall. They are just not as good as Jia Sidao in their methods.
If Li Xia's contempt for the power of the governor made Jia Sidao feel lonely and frustrated. From Uncle Xie Fang, he once again felt the taste of power.
No one knows how many people are keen on his position.
"What auspiciousness did you offer?"
"One harp, one crane, one golden elixir."
Jia Sidao held up the teacup, glanced at the group of officials, and said, "What do you think?"
"To seduce the Lord, it is because of the good appearance."
"Purchasing incense on the pretext of buying incense, being good at buying gold utensils, and playing with elixirs to help people live longer, but they have lost the dignity of a minister."
"Having harmed the country and ruining the people, doing business privately, violating laws and regulations without permission, should be severely punished..."
Jia Sidao nodded and said, "Let's do it."
"Pingzhang Gong, Cheng Yuanfeng has recently resigned as prime minister and returned to his hometown. May I ask if he is really allowed to serve as a Shaobao, a bachelor of Guanwen Palace, a Guanshi of Liquan, etc.?"
Jia Sidao pondered for a moment.
This matter has been decided, and it is a question of how much dignity will be left for Cheng Yuanfeng after he returns home.
They only had political disagreements with each other, not a deep personal grudge. Cheng Yuanfeng was not as graceless as Wu Qian, who barked after the party was defeated. He didn't want to go too far.
But, I have to give Li Xia an explanation...
"Dismiss him as Shaobao and accept the post of Grand Scholar of Guanwen Palace." Jia Sidao closed his eyes and spoke coldly.
When I opened my eyes again, I was filled with pride and disdain.
"If it weren't for Cheng Yuanfeng's unwillingness to spend military pay, I would have transferred Lu Wende to Sichuan six months ago. Because of this waste, the situation in Sichuan and Sichuan is like this."
"That's it. Li Ni's disaster was caused by Cheng Yuanfeng."
After all, we still have to deal with Li Xia's matter, and we can't avoid it.
Liao Yingzhong took a step forward and reminded: "Ping Zhanggong, Jiang Chun has submitted another memorial, asking the court for a reward for Li Xia's contribution to pacifying Dali."
Jia Sidao sneered, waved his hand and said: "Summon him to see me, you all go down..."
Jiang Chun walked through the Royal Street with his head raised and entered the Privy Council, attracting the attention of countless officials along the way.
Recently, some people in the court praised him as a hero for his outspokenness, while others scolded him for condoning the troubles of the feudal town.
never mind.
After experiencing these things, he had already figured out clearly that whether Li Xia wanted to stand on his own feet or not, he would have been tied to death on this ship.
Li Xiuruo stood up on his own, and from the day he practiced river patrol in Qingfu County, he, the county magistrate, had been shielding and conniving.
At that time, Jiang Chun was the first person to be punished for the crime of treason.
What saves his life now is Li Xia's strength enough to stand on his own feet...
However, Jiang Chun still felt a little timid when he walked into the lobby and looked at Jia Sidao who was sitting in the chair.
Although Li Xia had made it very clear in his letter, Jiang Chun really did not have the confidence to confront Jia Sidao face to face. After all, Jia Sidao was different from those officials in the Procuratorate.
It was only at the end of the year that I was easily deceived by Cheng Yuanfeng with a few words.
Deal with it carefully.
"I've met Mr. Ping Zhang."
Jia Sidao didn't respond and looked at Jiang Chun coldly.
Jiang Chun was stared at with horror. He suppressed his emotion and said, "I wonder what matter Pingzhang Gong summoned me to inquire about?"
"Talk about your memorial."
"Yes, Jinma Qian..."
"Ma Qian has been killed by Li Xia."
"But the crime has not been determined." Jiang Chun also wanted to show his tough demeanor, and said: "Without fighting, the following committed chaos, this is a major crime of treason! However, the crime has not been determined, and there are a lot of discussions in the court, and even false accusations against Li Jieshuai..."
"Don't do this with me. It's just you and me here. If you have anything to say, you can just say it."
Only then did Jiang Chun find the feeling of speaking confidently and confidently. He was about to continue talking when he was interrupted by Jia Sidao and was stunned for a moment.
Jia Sidao actually smiled, pointed to the chair on the side and ordered: "Sit down."
Jiang Chun hesitated for a moment and sat down.
Jia Sidao played with the tea cup and said, "Tell me what Li Xia wants."
"Shuai Li Jie must be treated fairly..."
"Shut up. I'm in charge of the military and state affairs. I don't have time to chat with you, a petty official. It's a waste of time. Just say it."
Jiang Chun had only entered the door for a moment, but was already knocked dizzy by Jia Sidao's repeated beatings.
He has never been a high-ranking official and a minister, so he doesn't know whether he can really speak frankly when discussing private matters.
Thinking about it again, no wonder Li Xia was straightforward when he was the county captain...
"Then let's just say that I want to be granted the title of king and have the power to build a palace."
"Ha, he can't even think about it."
Jiang Chun also smiled and chanted nonchalantly: "White Emperor Gao was the Three Gorges Town, and Qutang narrowly crossed Bailao Pass."
Jia Sidao didn't smile, but looked straight at Jiang Chun, as if looking at a fool, and said, "Give me Li Xia's letter and stop talking nonsense."
"Li Jieshuai had nothing else to say to Duke Ping Zhang. He only said this to make him a king and build a palace."
"How else?"
Jiang Chun finally dared not threaten the court, so he responded with poetry.
"The White Emperor has different cities in Kuizhou, and the Shu River and Chu Gorge have different names. It is not God's will to separate the heroes, and the overlords annex them due to material conditions."
The poems before and after are all from Du Fu's "Ten Quatrains of Kuizhou Song", and the meaning is very clear even if it goes without saying.
Otherwise, if you raise a flag to rebel, can you survive?
The reason why Kuizhou Road is not called Chongqingfu Road is because of the natural danger of Kuimen Three Gorges.
Jia Sidao sneered and said, "I told him, don't even think about it."
Jiang Chundao: "Being a king is at least a title of king of the Song Dynasty. It's not that Li Jieshuai wants the title of king of the Song Dynasty, it's just to protect the Mongolian captives..."
"Jiang Chun! You are so brave!"
Jiang Chun was startled by the loud shouting. He turned around and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw no soldiers rushing in from the door.
Jia Sidao had already stood up and advanced step by step.
Jiang Chun then remembered that the Pingzhang Gong in front of him was not a weak scholar-official, but also a general who fought hard on the Jinghu battlefield.
"You are determined to rebel? How dare you?"
Jiang Chun finally couldn't hold on any longer and leaned back.
Jia Sidao, however, was still moving forward, his eyes filled with murderous intent, almost touching Jiang Chun's face.
"You keep talking about the Three Gorges, but the imperial court dares not send troops to quell the rebellion? I might as well tell you that now I have ordered Lu Wende to enter the Yangtze River, Gao Gao to enter the Han River, and Li Zengbo to detour to Dali, marching in three directions..."
"Li Jieshuai may not be able to resist the attack..."
"But you can go die."
Jiang Chun didn't expect Jia Sidao to be so courageous. He was so excited that his expression changed with horror.
Jia Sidao saw this and sneered.
"waste."
He finally stopped staring at Jiang Chun and sat back on the Grand Master's chair, adjusting his sleeves with noble and elegant movements.
I did lose to Li Xia once.
However, it's not like Li Xia can just randomly send someone to manipulate him.
The ruler of a country has his own dignity.
"You are not worthy of talking to me, go away and let Li Xia send someone else."
Jiang Chun is still in panic.
He stood up and was about to leave, but suddenly stopped, swallowed, and spoke again.
"Ping Zhanggong scared me...but...it's useless to scare me..."
Jiang Chun turned around and looked at Jia Sidao.
If he can't handle this even well and wants to send someone else, then he will leave the future to others.
"Kill me if you can. Li Jieshuai is just a man of his own."
"He dares!"
"He dares." Jiang Chun did not hesitate.
Although his momentum was not strong, his tone was firm.
"There is no need to chat anymore... Ping Zhanggong neither agrees nor kills me, so I will write back to Li Jieshuai, saying that the imperial court has refused to reward me."
After Jiang Chun said this, he turned around and walked away as if he was exhausted.
Only then did he remember that there were still many things he had not said to threaten Jia Sidao.
For example, if Li Xia is not rewarded generously, the mastermind behind Ma Qian's conspiracy will be blamed on Jia Sidao. After all, Guande is already in Jiang Fan's hands, and there are many ways to do it.
There is no need to say anything, Jia Sidao understands in his heart.
Suffice to say, the most powerful point is strength...
Show strength and show attitude.
Jieshuai only asked him to do this.
He reached out to push the door open and heard Jia Sidao's voice coming from behind him.
"Wait a minute."
…
Jiang Chun then knew that the matter of being crowned king had been decided.
For the rest, Jia Sidao had to argue with the court.
Of course the courtiers would not agree, but their ability to handle important military and state affairs in a dignified manner is still convincing.
But Jieshuai doesn't care at all how they split things, Sichuan and Shu are the foundation.
As for Jia Sidao's shattered dignity, Jiang Chun had nothing to do with it.