When Zhang Zhao returned to Kaifeng Mansion in Tokyo, the ripples he caused did not disappear.
In the Southern Tang Dynasty, Sun Cheng and Han Xizai received a grand welcome from Li Jing as soon as they returned.
Before they returned to Jiangning, these two people were already famous in half of the southern country. After all, Emperor Shaoming's song "Thinking of Loyal Ministers in the Present and Ancient Times" has spread rapidly everywhere.
In the land south of the Yangtze River, culture is prosperous, but this prosperity is equivalent to this time, and it is still far from the heyday of the Tang Dynasty.
This was an era that was still accumulating cultural energy, laying the foundation for the heyday of the literary style of the Northern Song Dynasty.
Therefore, Jiangnan is said to have a prosperous culture, but there are not many poets and poets. Even if there are, they are like Li Jing. "The small building blows through the cold jade pipe, and how many tears are filled with infinite hatred, leaning on the railing."
The wording is extravagant and does not look like the work of an emperor at all.
But when Zhang Zhao arrived, a thousand-mile book carriage was mixed together, and the heroic spirit of the Qin emperor and Han ancestors, who encompassed the world and aspired to unify China and end the troubled times, appeared on the paper.
As for the quality of Lu You and Lu Fangweng's poems, Mu Yong doubted them.
Although the poem "Reading the Book of Tang Zhongyi" copied by Zhang Zhao is not of high standard among his poems, the following sentence, "I miss Gao Qingfa, can be matched with Ji Shaoxue," but the description is very vivid.
In the grand welcome ceremony, Feng Yanji watched Li Jing conferring titles on Sun as Taifu, Duke of Lu, and Han Xizai as Minister of Civil Affairs and Coin Envoy.
The former allowed Sun Cheng to lead the ministers, and the latter allowed Han Xizai to control the promotion and financial power of grassroots officials in the Southern Tang Dynasty.
Wei Cen has completely lost power, and Li Jing has made it clear that he will be released as governor of Yuanzhou soon.
Yuanzhou was Yichun, Jiangxi Province in later generations. It was the southwest border of the Southern Tang Dynasty at this time. As a close court official, once he was sent to Yuanzhou, it would be difficult to come back.
So at this moment, Wei Cen stopped hiding it and sneered.
"Yan Zhong was guarding Changshan in the past, and his father and son died unyieldingly. Passersby shed tears for him. Ji Zhongmu defended the emperor, and his blood splashed on the emperor's clothes, and he has been praised throughout the ages.
How can these two people compare with the sages with their hypocritical pretense?"
Yan Zhongjie is Yan Gaoqing. When the Anshi rebels went south, Yan Gaoqing refused to surrender. His tongue was gouged and he was still scolding the thief. In the end, he was killed together with his youngest son Yan Dan and his nephew Yan Xu, and their bodies were chopped into pieces.
Yan Zhenqing, a loyal minister through the ages, describes this event in his memorial manuscript for his nephew.
Gaoqing's hair refers to the fact that after Yan Gaoqing was killed, a man named Zhang Min got his hair and presented it to the court. It can be regarded as one of Yan Gaoqing's few relics.
And Ji Zhongmu refers to Ji Shao, whose father was Ji Kang who offended the Sima family and was killed.
Later, Ji Shao served as an attendant. During the Eight Kings Rebellion in the Western Jin Dynasty, Emperor Hui of Jin was wounded by three arrows. Hundreds of his followers fled. Only Ji Shao risked his life to protect the emperor. In the end, he was killed by Sima Ying's soldiers, and his blood was all gone.
It splashed on Emperor Hui of Jin's clothes.
This man's loyalty has been praised by people since ancient times. Even a fool like Emperor Hui of the Jin Dynasty, who didn't eat minced meat, knew when he was about to wash his blood-stained clothes, he said: "This servant is bleeding, don't go!"
In an era before Yue Wumu, Wen Zhonglie, and Yu Zhongsu appeared, these two men were models of loyal ministers through the ages.
Therefore, Wei Cencai was very dissatisfied. He felt that Sun and Han were pretentious and could not be compared with Yan Zhongjie and Ji Zhongmu.
Feng Yanji slowly shook his head, nothing else mattered, but Sun Cheng and Han Xizai's high positions immediately broke the balance between the two parties.
With the addition of Emperor Shaoming's poems, everyone in the world thought that it was Sun Cheng and Han Xizai who saved the country and were rare loyal ministers.
And the party struggle in the Southern Tang Dynasty was so fierce, and Sun and Han were so favored. Will Feng Yanji still have a place in the Jiangning court in the future?
Wei Cen only saw the superficial beauty of Sun and Han, because he had fallen out of favor and wanted to go to Yuanzhou, and the affairs of the court had nothing to do with him.
But Feng Yanji was not! So he looked at Wei Cen and whispered.
"You only saw that Sun and Han were favored for their poem about the Son of Heaven. Didn't you realize that there was another meaning in it?"
Wei Cen thought for a while, then slowly shook his head, then moved a little closer to Feng Yanji and asked in a low voice: "Please ask Mr. Feng to clarify his doubts."
"Look who are the people paying homage to Emperor Shaoming at Jilong Mountain? They are Huangfu Yu, Wang Qing, Liang Hanzhang and Guo Lin.
These people died loyally in the battle against the Khitan's march south, but was any of them a Zhou minister?
And who are Yan Zhongjie and Ji Zhongmu loyal to?"
After finishing speaking, without waiting for Wei Cen to answer, Feng Yan continued speaking on his own.
"Huangfu Yu, Wang Qing and other generals were ministers of the Jin Dynasty, but Emperor Shao Ming was paying homage to them, and he was also granting royal titles and preferential treatment to his descendants. What is this? This is honoring the heroes who resisted the Hulu as the lord of the world.
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Looking at Yan Zhongjie again, he died resisting the rebels and was loyal to the country. Ji Zhongmu was caught in the Eight Kings Rebellion and fought tooth and nail to protect the Emperor of the Central Plains.
Based on this view, did the envoy to the camp still think that Emperor Shao Ming was praising Sun and Han?
No! Emperor Shaoming is praising loyalty as the lord of the world. This is to let the loyal and righteous people in the world know that to be loyal, which one should be loyal to the lord of the separatist regime? Or is he a real lord with the attitude of unifying the world?"
Wei Cen was shocked and froze on the spot. After a while, he nodded thoughtfully. A smart person would naturally know what it meant without making it too obvious.
Feng Yanji's heart was not in this grand occasion dedicated to welcoming Sun Cheng and Han Xizai. What he wanted was to have a good talk between the two brothers after his brother Feng Yanlu returned home.
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Jiangling, Nanping Royal City, Gao Congjie's body was getting worse day by day, and he could clearly feel that the vitality of life was draining from his body.
At this time, Gao Congjie was looking at the river in the distance from a high building in the royal city. A simple and honest voice came from behind him. It was his third son Gao Baorong.
"My lord, are you waiting for Juro to come back again? Juro left early today, so he will definitely come back early."
Shilang refers to Gao Congjie’s tenth son and Gao Baorong’s half-brother Gao Baoxu.
Gao Congjie loved this son the most. No matter how angry he was, his anger would definitely dissipate as soon as he saw Gao Baoxu.
Therefore, everyone in Nanping called Gao Baoxu "Everything is over", which means that as long as he is here, there is nothing to worry about.
Gao Congjie smiled bitterly. Gao Baorong was a loyal and cowardly person. He was not interested in military affairs but he still liked to read classics and historical works, so he was a bit pedantic.
He is a good son and brother, but not a good successor.
He thought he was waiting for Gao Baoxu to return, but in fact Gao Congjie was waiting for news from the Southern Tang Dynasty.
Even when Gao Baoxu went to the riverside every day, he didn't go to play, but to wait for news.
Regarding the new Zhou Kingdom, Gao Congjie and Gao Baoxu, their father and son, knew how powerful they were more than anyone else.
Because the father and son wanted to take advantage of the Khitan's entry into the Central Plains to capture Yingzhou and other places, but they were defeated by Yinshi, the governor of Yingzhou, who mobilized state and county soldiers to defeat them.
Prior to this, the Anyuan army in Yingzhou and other places had long been transferred to the north to resist the Khitan, and was finally defeated by the Khitan at the Hutuo River.
Therefore, the Gao family and his son believed that the Anyuan army was more powerful than the prefecture and county soldiers, and the Khitan army was more powerful than the Anyuan army.
Zhang Zhao killed 30,000 to 40,000 Khitan people in one battle, and killed the Khitan leader Yelv Deguang in battle, which shows his ferocity and prowess.
Therefore, Gao Congjie has always been frightened since Zhang Zhao entered Kaifeng Mansion in Tokyo. He was afraid that Zhang Zhao would use his attack on Yingzhou as an excuse to accuse him.
Especially since Zhang Zhao transferred his confidant Liu Zaisheng to Xiangzhou to serve as the governor of Shannan East Road, Gao Congjie became even more afraid.
When Liu Zaisheng was in Hexi, he was a powerful man who stood alone. In addition, Er Zhujing, the governor of Dengzhou's Weisheng Army, was also a brave general from Hexi.
This did not require Zhang Zhao to mobilize troops from the Central Plains. The Wei Sheng army from Shannan East Road and Dengzhou alone was enough to suppress Nanping.
Therefore, Gao Congjie paid special attention to the war between Zhang Zhou and the Tang State. Even when Zhang Zhao was blocked from forcing Li Jing to surrender in Yangzhou, Gao Congjie was very excited when it was reported that he planned to mobilize the Nanping navy to attack Ezhou.
As long as the Tang State withstood the extreme pressure from the Zhou State and did not give in, then the value of Nanping would increase, and there was no possibility that they would be able to swallow up Ezhou.
If the Zhou State cannot defeat the Tang State, it will be even more difficult for the Zhou State to face Liu Zhiyuan and Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures. At that time, the Central Plains will once again fall into turmoil, and Nanping will be safe.
Gao Congjie was looking forward to it day and night! He was hoping that Zhang Zhao would send an envoy to ask him to raise troops out of Xiakou to attack Ezhou.
Gao Congjie had even thought about how he was going to show off in front of the envoy, and now he was waiting for the angel of Zhou to arrive.
Soon, very soon!
Just when Gao Congjie was looking forward to it, someone did come, but it was not the messenger, but the pale Gao Baoxu.
"Sir, Master Zhou has landed at Caishiji. The Lord of the Tang Dynasty, Li Jing, has sent the emperor's younger brother Li Jingsui to beg for peace."
Gao Congjie's face instantly turned pale. He grabbed Gao Baoxu's arm and held it with almost all his strength. The pain caused the weak Gao Baoxu's face to twist.
After a long while, Gao Congjie let out a long breath, sighed dejectedly, and then looked at Gao Baorong, who was concentrating on decoction for him.
Gao Baorong saw Gao Congjie's pale face and hurriedly came over to hold his father's face full of worry, "Sir, if you feel unwell, please don't blow the river wind. The decoction will be good soon."
Gao Congjie's face changed several times. To be fair, he had the intention of making Gao Baoxu his successor.
But now it seems that for a small country like Nanping, it may not be a good thing to establish a leader as enterprising as Gao Baoxu.
"My son is filial! I heard that Emperor Shaoming rules the world with loyalty and filial piety. My son's pure filial piety will protect the foundation of my Gao family."
With that said, Gao Congjie handed a key to Gao Baorong.
"The Emperor Shao will be happy to have won this battle. It is better for my son to go to Tokyo to pay homage in person, present this object to the Emperor, tell me that the Nanping Kingdom is respectful, and ask the Emperor to forgive us for attacking Xiang and Ying."
Gao Baorong didn't know what was in the treasure chest that could be opened with this key, but Gao Baorong knew it, and he looked at Gao Congjie with great reluctance.
"Sir, this is a treasure that cannot be exchanged for any money."
Gao Congjie waved his hand, "This thing is the treasure of De Zetian. You and I have locked it in a high cabinet for more than ten years. The late king also regarded it as an immortal book with the flesh and bones of the living dead. This has already harmed benevolence and virtue."
Already.
Now that the Holy Emperor has come out, let’s use it to buy the peace of our brothers.”