Although I was quite touched in my heart, my two years of life as an emperor still taught me to keep my joy hidden. I smiled calmly and said: "Mother, please don't worry, my child has grown up."
Xie Daoqing nodded slightly and said: "Well, the queen mother knows that the Guan family has grown up. Okay, Guan family, you have just come back. Tomorrow is the day off for the morning and evening again. Let's have a good rest tonight. In the past month or so, the family has been in the morning." Everything is fine,”
"I understand, Queen Mother, I will take a rest early after meeting Wen Tianxiang and Lu Xiufu."
Xie Daoqing saw that I had made an appointment to meet with the ministers as soon as I came back, and said verbosely: "Why, you have to meet with ministers and officials just after I come back. You have to take care of your health. You must know that you are not only the emperor of millions of people in the Song Dynasty, but also the queen mother. The only child,"
"Don't worry, mother, I know how to take care of my body,"
While he was talking, Xiao Qi came to report: "The official family, Mr. Wen and Mr. Lu are here,"
"Okay, Xuan,"
"Guan family, the queen mother will return to the palace first,"
"Well, Jiu'er, you send your mother off. Queen mother, tomorrow night, Jiu'er and I will visit Ningkun Palace."
After a while, Wen Tianxiang and Lu Xiufu followed Xiaoqi to the imperial study. They had not seen each other for more than a month. When they saw me, they were naturally very excited. After entering the room, they immediately bowed and bowed: "My lord, Wen Tianxiang, my lord, Lu Xiufu. His Majesty,"
"Without courtesy, dear ladies, please take a seat."
"Thank you, Your Majesty,"
"To make a long story short, what are the major events in North Korea, China and Mongolia during this period,"
Lu Xiufu first said: "Your Majesty, the news from Mongolia is that the Mongolian army has been fully organized since the establishment of the Eastern, Central and Western armies in the first half of the year. The three armies are respectively in the northern provinces of Shandong and Henan. The province and central Sichuan area gathered together and launched large-scale military training activities. The Mongolian Privy Council publicized to the outside world that the three-pronged army went south and could defeat our country in just two years."
"Two years," I smiled, "Kublai Khan is very bold."
Lu Xiufu said: "According to your Majesty's estimate, the Mongols will launch an attack at the end of next year or the beginning of the next year. Then this will be the Mongols' third large-scale southern invasion. As the saying goes, things can only come in threes. It seems that Kublai Khan will gather together." Strength, trying to conquer my country in one fell swoop,"
"Well, that's right. For Kublai Khan, the independence of the four major Western Khanates is basically a foregone conclusion. The wars in other regions have also ended. This time when they go south, they will definitely go all out to have a showdown with us. This time It will be a life-and-death war, Lu Aiqing, we will hold a meeting on military affairs after the meeting between the DPRK and China, and what about the government affairs between the DPRK and China, Song Rui,"
Wen Tianxiang said: "Your Majesty, the affairs of the DPRK and China are basically normal. Everything is proceeding in an orderly manner according to Your Majesty's expectations. As of the end of last month, 90% of this year's tax collection has been completed. There is no doubt that the tax collection will be exceeded."
"Okay, dig deep holes, accumulate grain widely, and financial resources are the prerequisite and guarantee for the victory or defeat of future wars. They are the key to government affairs this year and next. By the way, where is Jia Sidao? What are the recent developments?"
"Back to Your Majesty, Jia Sidao is still very low-key. The recent court meetings have been presided over by the Queen Mother. Jia Sidao has expressed support for the Queen Mother's will." Wen Tianxiang hesitated for a moment and then asked, "Your Majesty, I have a question. I don’t know whether to ask or not.”
I smiled: "Song Rui, tell me."
Wen Tianxiang said cautiously: "Your Majesty, since Your Majesty is able to fully control the overall situation, why not wipe out the Jia Party and the Jia Party in one fell swoop?"
I thought for a while and said: "Two dear friends, you are not outsiders. Since Song Rui asked this question today, I will tell you what I really think. First of all, Jia Sidao's gang members are spread all over our country and we want to catch them all. , it involves too many areas. As Jia Sidao keeps a low profile, these people also know that the direction of the wind has changed. They are all political veterans. In the past year or so, they have been adhering to my will. I don’t want to conduct a large-scale purge. As for the second point, to put it simply, in my dynasty, there can be many No. 3 figures at the same time. Although there will be no substantive No. 2 person, I think there is nothing wrong with Jia Sidao as the virtual No. 2 person."
Let’s not make a conclusion about Jia Sidao’s merits and demerits. No matter which emperor he is, he does not like ministers to form cliques for personal gain. However, partisanship has never stopped in history. Even heroes like Tang Zong and Song Zu, His courtiers are not all divided into cliques.
Throughout the history of the Song Dynasty, there has often been a situation where the prime minister has overwhelming power. The reason is that the prime minister, as the number two figure, has too much power. As the emperor, I will not allow this phenomenon to exist, whether it is Jia Dang or others. No party can dominate.
Many people inside and outside the court are speculating on who will succeed Jia Sidao as the new prime minister of my dynasty. I have seriously thought about this matter. In my dynasty, there will no longer be a person with real power. Jia Sidao is not qualified for the post of Prime Minister, nor are Wen Tianxiang and others. I can allow several people to coexist in the phase, but I will not give anyone the power of Prime Minister. Therefore, retaining Jia Sidao as Prime Minister without power is also a good idea. I can accept it.
Imperialism is a science of balance. For rulers, no matter which faction is too powerful, it is not a good thing. During the two years in the Song Dynasty, I deeply realized that Yue Fei was the leader with great achievements, military power, and The inability to make gestures to reassure Emperor Gaozong would naturally become a bone thorn in Gaozong's heart. This is how Qin Hui used the traitor, and Gaozong pushed the situation along the way, and unjust imprisonment occurred.
In the past two years, I have become accustomed to many things in the officialdom, even injustices. If these things were placed in later generations, I would angrily denounce them, just like Jia Sidao, if I had the power in later generations. , I would probably kill him directly, but now I will think more about it, not about justice or injustice, but more about whether it is beneficial to me.
If the emperor is weak and his ministers are strong, the emperor will always be wary of his ministers, fearing that they will rebel or be "rebelled", so he would rather kill them by mistake than let them go. As for the surrounding enemies, he will put them aside for the time being. , If the monarch is strong and the ministers are weak, it will lead to the entire management being unable to implement the emperor's policy program. In the end, it will only make the emperor think that the ministers are all incompetent. Therefore, only the unity of the monarch and his ministers can make the country truly prosperous and strong.
I don't care whether Wen Tianxiang or Lu Xiufu understands, he smiled and said: "Okay, there is no need to discuss this matter anymore, Jia Sidao, I know it well."
"Yes, Your Majesty, I have one more thing to do, Lu Xiufu,"
"Lu Aiqing, please speak,"
Lu Xiufu said directly: "Your Majesty, your Majesty has been out for too long this year, which has caused the ministers to speculate. I think it is appropriate for your Majesty to do so."
"This matter, Junshi, Songrui, I believe that governing the country should be based on the system and laws. My task is to determine the direction and national plans, and the specific implementation depends on the ministers working together and executing in accordance with the system. "At the same time, there must be laws as supervision. If I have to do everything myself, it will lead to an unfavorable situation in which the king is strong and the ministers are weak, which is not a good thing for the long-term development of a country."
"Yes, Your Majesty,"
"My dear friends, we are here today. We will discuss it later at the DPRK meeting."
I looked at the dozens of memorials left by Quan Jiu in the Imperial Study Room and asked, "Jiu'er, are these memorials urgent?"
"The official family is not in a hurry, but both Jiu'er and the Queen Mother think it is necessary for the official family to review it. For example, one of them is a memorial from Zhao Kui, the Minister of Agriculture. The content is that Mr. Zhao requested to resign from the post of Minister because of his poor health."
I couldn't remember the time of Zhao Kui's death in history, so I was stunned and said: "Jiu'er, has the palace doctor examined Zhao Aiqing?"
"Guan Jia, in the middle of last month, Mr. Zhao occasionally caught wind and cold. After that, his bowel movements were good and bad. After examination by the imperial doctor, he thought that it was due to his old age and damaged body functions. It is difficult for his physical condition to recover. It may not take long. Well, even the Queen Mother went to visit Mr. Zhao in person,"
"Jiu'er, find Zhao Aiqing's memorial. I want to see it."
"The official just returned to the palace. He was tired from the journey. It's getting late today. Maybe we'll see you tomorrow."
"It's okay, I will only read this one tonight,"
Zhao Kui's memorial reads: "Your Majesty, I have been in the army since I was a child. I have been fighting on the battlefield for five or sixty years. I have fought dozens of times with the Jin Kingdom and the Mongolia Kingdom, with mixed success and failure. However, after entering Luoyang in Duanping, the Mongols became more victorious. The stronger the fight, the more our country can only switch from offense to defense. The veteran is deeply ashamed and ashamed to be a soldier. Since His Majesty ascended the throne, the veteran has been highly regarded by His Majesty and became the Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture at the age of eighty. Although he was transferred to a civilian position, the veteran became the minister of your Majesty. Through his actions, we can see the dawn of the revival of the Song Dynasty again. It is a pity that I am old and cannot follow your Majesty in the Northern Expedition to the Central Plains. I cannot see with my own eyes your Majesty's feat of regaining the mountains and rivers. It is a pity that I feel that my time is short. Today I have two things to report to Your Majesty. One is to recommend to His Majesty Mr. Yang Dong, Minister of Agriculture. Mr. Yang is young, powerful and upright, and can succeed the old minister. The other is to hope that on the day when His Majesty sends troops to march north, he will not forget to have people burn books to inform him. In order to let the old minister cheer for His Majesty under the Nine Springs, the veteran Zhao Kui will play on October 11th, "
"Jiu'er, how has Zhao Aiqing been doing these past two days?"
"The official family, according to the imperial doctor, goes from good to bad sometimes."
I sighed: "The Zhao Kui family has been important ministers of our dynasty for four generations since their great-grandfather, the 'Iron-faced Censor' Zhao Pian. Their contribution is really to the country. I will go to the Zhao Mansion early tomorrow morning to see Zhao Aiqing and Xiaoqi. "
"The little one is here,"
"Xiao Qi, have you made arrangements to go to Qiandao Lake tomorrow morning?"
"Back to Your Majesty, the arrangements have been made,"
"Okay, you leave on time tomorrow morning. In addition, you go and notify the attending medical officer in the imperial doctor and ask them to follow Shen Mo to Shifeng Commercial Bank at noon tomorrow (1 p.m.). If I have anything to do, I can see them."
"Yes, official family,"
"Okay, Xiao Qi, you go and rest, Jiu'er, let's go back to the palace,"
The next morning, instead of sleeping in, I went to Zhao Kui's mansion, accompanied by Yuan Ji, Lan Yu and twenty imperial guards.