Chapter 330: Zhao Liren who cannot be provoked

Zeng Bu also changed his face: "Your Majesty, I know that Wang Shi had entrusted his son to Zhao Liren. Your Majesty had a close relationship with Zhao Liren when he was in secret. Even His Majesty's fiefdom was managed by Zhao Liren. However, if Your Majesty ascended the throne and the local towns were in charge of the capital, this is an extremely bad precedent. No matter what excuse Zhao Liren was, it would not take four thousand Suzaku Army to escort the tribute envoy into the capital.

Didn’t Zhao Liren dare to fight against 30,000 Tubo people with twelve servants? He was extremely cruel and buryed 30,000 Tubos. Therefore, based on the number of troops he brought, it is inevitable that he would be suspected of bad intentions. Now that Zhao Liren can tell the truth, he cannot escape the threat of the court. I ask Your Majesty to order Zhao Xing, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, Jie Jian, and accept the court’s consolation."

There was still a stalemate in the palace, and the envoy of the door entered the palace to report: "Tongyi doctor, Zhending stayed at Han Zhongyan and asked for a visit to the palace."

"Xuan", Xiang Empress Dowager answered first.

Han Zhongyan ran into the political affairs hall all the way. When he saw Empress Dowager Xiang, he cried loudly - this was to mourn the previous emperor. After he cried a few times, he stopped his tears, bowed to the little emperor, and congratulated the new emperor on his ascension, and then said: "I want to talk about the four things, saying: Guangren, open the way to speak, go away, be wary of military use, please ask the Empress Dowager and Your Majesty to accept it."

Queen Mother Xiang did not hesitate at all: "Accurate!"

Han Zhongyan bowed again: "Therefore, Wen Yanbo, Wang Gui, Lv Dafang, Liu Zhi, Han Wei, Liang Tao, Sima Guang, Lv Gongzhu, Sun Gu, Fu Yaoyu, Zhao Zhan, Zheng Yong, Wang Yansou, Fan Zuyu, Zhao Yanruo, Qian Xie, Gu Lin, Zhao Junxi, Li Zhichun, Lv Dazhong, Xianyuluo, Kong Wuzhong, Yao Xie, Sheng Tao, Zhao Suen, Sun Jue, Du Chun, Kong Wenzhong, Zhu Guangting, Li Zhou, Zhang Maoze, Gao Shiying, and Sun Sheng. These thirty-three demoted officials may be demoted to Lingnan, or their descendants are shamed, and they are robbed of their favor before their lives. Please ask Your Majesty and the Empress Dowager to return to their favor."

"Accurate!" The Empress Dowager Xiang agreed.

"Only Su Shi and Su Zhe remained among the demoted officials. Please ask the Empress Dowager to take up the appointment!"

Queen Mother Xiang said with a smile: "Han Qing doesn't know that Po Xian has recovered. The imperial edict has been given to Zhao Liren on the edge of the Yellow River. According to Han Qing's wishes, Su Che may not be able to do it."

"This is not enough," Han Zhongyan replied loudly: "The favors of the late thirty-three officials must also be declared immediately."

"allow!"

Han Zhongyan was relieved of the crown and kowtowed: "I am very careful to say that Zhang Dun was in charge of the government for seven years. He followed his joys and angers and acted in a state of power and blessings. He was in trouble to the world, bravely harmed the virtuous, dared to kill people, and faced major changes, and conspired to cover up conspiracies, and made objections. I would like to deal with it."

Zeng Bu sighed: "Zhang Xiang took power alone for a long time and did not harm him. It is also a taboo in the court. Speaking of which, it is time for the court to change his appearance. Duke Han, Your Majesty knows that it is wrong. Yesterday, Zhang Xiang was appointed as the envoy of the mountain tomb."

The prime minister was responsible for the burial of the tomb of the late emperor, which was rare in all dynasties. This behavior also shows that the new emperor began to be suspicious of this domineering old man. This was also Zeng Bu's vague hint just now that Zhang Dun had been in charge of power alone for too long. It was not a disaster. The new emperor had to be on guard against him ascending the throne.

The little emperor spoke: "Are you willing to go and comfort Zhao Liren?"

Han Zhongyan shook his head: "I can't do it. Zhao Liren is currently on the verge of riots. The place where I live is Zhending not far from the Yellow River. I heard that Zhao Liren practices continuously every day, and the sound of cannons rumbling, and the sound of trembling ten miles. I also heard that he had started to unload guns from the boat and set up a base on the shore. But I thought that with Fan Chuncui there, Zhao Liren was unable to advance in advance, but Zhao Liren is currently unaware of the warship, advancing or retreating, and his intentions are unpredictable. Therefore, I think the most urgent thing is to ask Zhao Liren to come ashore to receive comfort, so as to show that the court has no suspicion. I recommend Chen Guan to comfort him and Fan Chunren to return to the court to participate in politics."

Gao Qiu leaned over and whispered. The little emperor interrupted in a depressed manner: "Chen Guan and Zhang Dun have close contact. This person was originally recommended by Zhang Dun as an official."

Han Zhongyan kowtowed again: "I originally thought Fan Chunren could take this position, but Fan Chuncui was already in Shunbao Village. It would be fine if Fan Chunren did not go. Chen Guan's moral articles were always respected by the scholars and the people. I looked at the court everywhere, but this person could make Zhao Li people have some concerns."

Fan Zhongyan had four sons, the eldest son Chunyou, the second son Chunren, the third son Chunli, and the fourth son Chuncui. Among the four sons, Chunren was the most capable. Zhezong had a brief role in serving as a political affairs officer.

Chunren loved reading when he was a teenager. His father recruited many talented young people, such as Hu Yuan, Sun Fu, Shi Jie, etc. Chunren had close contact with them and studied day and night together. When the night was quiet, when all his friends rested, they would light an oil lamp and study in the mosquito net. This has been the case for a long time, Fan Chunren's white mosquito net was smoked black.

When Fan Chunren became famous and became a high-ranking official, his wife took out the mosquito net and often educated his children. She said: "This black mosquito net was blackened by your father when he was studying in the mosquito net. You must study hard like your father."

Fan Chunren, the senior official, was a clean official who cared about the suffering of the people. When he was a county magistrate in Xiangcheng, he learned that the local people were influenced by traditional customs and never raised silkworms and weaving cloth, so few people planted mulberry trees. If he wanted the people to become rich, he had to plant mulberry trees, raise silkworms, and develop the economy. However, the people were afraid that planting mulberry trees would not make money, so Chunren put some prisoners with mild circumstances back home to plant mulberry trees, and reduced their crimes according to the amount of profits made after planting mulberry trees. As a result, the mulberry trees of these prisoners grew very well. Many of these prisoners reduced their sentences, and some were released in advance. From then on, the people also learned to plant mulberry trees and finally benefited a lot.

Han Zhongyan proposed such a candidate, who had served as prime minister, and Zeng Bu also echoed: "In this way, Fan Chunren and Chen Guan are indeed feasible."

The little emperor asked again: "Who can replace Gao Zunhui?"

Han Zhongyan replied: "One person can come out of the Cao family's sect."

Gao Zunhui is a general of the Gao family. The young emperor praised the son-in-law Zhang Dunli, who belonged to the Zhang family. Zhao Xing had a close relationship with the Zhang family. Letting Zhang family send someone to ensure that Zhao Xing was not too much. Han Zhongyan suggested that Cao family members go out to replace Gao Zunhui, and he also thought that the young emperor was more at ease with the children of the generals and asked Cao family to replace Gao Zunhui, even if he could not stop Zhao Xing, the court could understand the dynamics there in time.

Zeng Bu asked again: "Mr. Han left Zhending, and Zhending has no one, so who can succeed him?"

Han Zhongyan shook his head: "Although I left Zhending Mansion, Zhending does not need a successor. If Zhao Li really wants to cause trouble, Gao Zunhui cannot stop him. The 30,000 Tubo people have never stopped Zhao Li, and Gao Zunhui cannot do it. Therefore, it would be useless for the court to send people there.

Daming Prefecture and Zhending Prefecture are two gateways to guard against the Liao Kingdom, one to the north of the Yellow River and the other to the south of the Yellow River. But since Zhao Liren is sitting at the mouth of the Yellow River, do we still need to be afraid of the Liao people? Even if we send one person to Zhending, he cannot stop Zhao Liren. Is there any need to guard against the Liao Kingdom? In this way, why should we waste our efforts? It is better to send a civil servant, preferably an unnecessary person, and it is enough for Zhao Liren to realize that he is unnecessary.

The so-called "can make Zhao Xing feel dispensable" is a tactful statement. In layman's terms, it is "waste snacks" and "pure waste". Han Zhongyan means: Zhao Xing is at the critical point of getting angry, and the court sent a "famous waste" to Zhending, which made Zhao Xing feel bored and disdained to lose his temper at him.

Gao Qiu leaned over and whispered again, the little emperor recommended: "Zhang Shangyingke!"

Zeng Bu slapped his thigh and agreed: "This person is good, this person is not too much, it is just right."

Zeng Bu was deeply impressed by the little emperor's wisdom at this time, but he didn't know that when the little emperor thought of Zhang Shangying, Gao Qiu's explanation to him a few days ago, so he imitated Empress Dowager Xiang's employing strategy.

Zhang Dun was the only minister of the court for seven years, and he was in charge of the whole court. The most important one was Zhang Shangying. Sending Zhang Shangying to not only reduce Zhang Dun's followers in the court, but also let this person cause trouble for Zhao Xing... Or let Zhao Xing cause trouble for this person - isn't Zhao Laohu good at causing trouble? Let's give him one person and let him pass the boring time. Is this okay?!

As we all know, Zhao Xing was extremely dissatisfied with the new party members and made some strange words from time to time in Guangdong. Zhang Shangying, a flatterer, spared no effort when persecuting Su Shi. According to Zhao Xing's personality, the two of them got together, and it would be difficult to get the sky and the earth.

After Zeng Bu agreed with the little emperor's suggestions, he guessed that the little emperor's request had been met at this time. He bowed and asked for instructions again: "I beg your Majesty to issue an order immediately and send a Xuanfu envoy to Xuanfu."

The little emperor was also cheerful this time and nodded gently. Gao Qiu stepped forward and waved his hand to write an edict in Su Shi's handwriting. When Zeng Bu saw this handwriting, he stared at Gao Qiu deeply and asked, "Master Gao, can you go with him?"

The little emperor answered first: "I plan to send Gao Qing as the Zhending Army Envoy later. What do Zeng Qing think?"

After all, the little emperor was unable to hold back. As soon as he said this, he leaked the secrets of heaven. He was always cunning and cunning bureaucrats on the scene. He immediately understood that the little emperor was indeed connected with Zhao Xing, and the key figure among them was Gao Qiu, and Gao Qiu used Su Shi's handwriting to Zhao Xing as a secret code. At this moment, the little emperor would never let such a key figure leave his side to maintain contact with Zhao Xing.

However, Zeng Bu did not break up and expose the truth, and Empress Dowager Xiang was very satisfied with this treatment. She immediately ordered Han Zhongyan, Zeng Bu as the left and right servants. Jiang Qiu was summoned and Jiang Zhiqi was recruited to serve as Privy Councilor. At the same time, she ordered Fan Chunren to be summoned to the court as prime minister and exiled Liu Jieyu and his former favorite minister. Zhang Dun's palace eyes and ears, eunuch Hao Sui and Liu Youduan...

The palace sent a series of envoys to the north and south without stopping. When the ministers heard that Fan Chuncui had arrived at Zhao Xing, they easily took away five hundred soldiers, which made the court relieved half of their hearts. Soon, the news sent by Xuanwei envoy spread throughout the capital. Since then, the people in the capital have calmed down.

Zeng Bu left the palace, and the old servant was waiting at the gate of the palace to raise a glass lantern to welcome him, explaining with sincerity: "Mr., just now, Ma Mengde, the Ma in Shengxuan, came to the palace gate to ask, and after asking us that we were the family of the Zeng family, he left this glass lantern, saying that it was "the sky was dark, and the Guangnan Transportation Commissioner gave him a bright light to make the adults illuminate the road in front of him."

My husband, this person speaks strangely, but the lantern is really exquisitely made - a wick inside, which is made of hot tin oil as the combustion material, and a glass wind shield on the outside, which does not go out when it encounters strong wind. It is really a good thing that shines the way."

Zeng Bu smiled: "Beijing Lantern! Interesting! It's so interesting! I just went to the Privy Council and said that Zhang Xiang had just returned home alone. When Zhang Xiang left the palace, did that horse have ever met?"

The old family members who could be trusted by Zeng Bu were also mature. He replied meaningfully: "I have seen it. The horses were asked one by one. After knowing that we were the Zeng family, this bright lamp was left behind. Zhang Xiang's family was there at that time, but the only horse lantern they sent was only one, and there was no other."

Zeng Bu immediately understood, and he ordered: "Light up the 'beacon' and send someone to tell Ma Du to me. I understand what he meant, thank him for his kindness."

When he got into the sedan chair, Zeng Bu smiled slightly and said to himself: "Zhao Liren does things, but then he keeps his hands on his hands. Now he knows one move after another, and depends on the situation. He knows the dynamics in the capital well, but he doesn't know what he plans to do next - whether to enter the court further or retreat to Lingnan and be the king of the south with peace of mind."

The orders in the palace were very urgent, and before he could catch up by land, the son-in-law Zhang Duli temporarily used his personal relationship and rented a sea loach speedboat from Ma Mengde. He rushed from Liudongshui River to the eastern tributary of the Yellow River. When boarding the ship, the censor, Zuo Zhengyan, Chen Guan, had just heard that Han Zhongyan had served as the left prime minister, and he stomped his feet and said annoyedly: "Han Zhongyan is a relative of the country, and such a person serves as the left prime minister. He set a bad precedent. From now on, I am afraid that the royal relatives will be spread all over the court."

Chen Guan was about to get off the boat and entered the palace to persuade him. Zhang Dunli grabbed him and made a gentle suggestion: "Mr. Chen, it is a big deal to comfort Zhao Li, so we should follow the order quickly."

Chen Guan stomped his feet and said, "It's still time to advise, and the imperial edict has not been announced yet. When the appointment is announced tomorrow, everything will be too late. Zhao Liren stopped in the Yellow River. As soon as Fan Chuncui rushed over, he gave up five hundred soldiers - this is not a rebellion, is there such a rebellion in the world? Therefore, Zhao Liren is not in a hurry, and the country and relatives joining the court is a major event that has been involved in the past generations. How about not being in a hurry?"

Zhang Dunli calmly persuaded: "The new emperor ascended the throne. People's minds were settled. Guangnan was a place of important taxes in the world, but now Guangnan's troops were divided into two groups, north and south. They were pressing on the left and right sides of the capital. Regardless of what Lord Zhao intended, lifting the tribute blockade was the main business. Lord Chen, if the tribute was one day late, the court would be in chaos, and the country and relatives entered the court, which was a small chaos, and later chaos, and between the rush and urgent, I hope Lord Chen could clearly distinguish it."

Chen Guan thought for a moment, sighed, and boarded the boat again.

When the group arrived at Zhending Mansion, they first received news of the local incident Gao Zunhui's death. Everyone was shocked and sweated in cold sweat. They quickly accelerated their journey and rushed to Daming Mansion. They found that Zhao Xing, who was stranded in the middle of the Yellow River, seemed to have encountered danger. On the opposite river, a group of Liao soldiers were galloping. Some of the Liao soldiers had already wade into the shallow water, as if they were planning to force the boat and rob.

Seeing this scene, Chen Guan did not dare to move forward. Zhang Dunli was from a general family, and Tong Guan and Kong Wu were powerful, and Cao's family were also in trouble. The three of them turned over and entered Shunbao Village to visit Fan Chuncui. At this time, Fan Chuncui was bored. When he saw these two people coming, he was overjoyed: "It's just right. I still have 500 soldiers on hand, but unfortunately I have only soldiers and no generals - Zhang Prince Consort, Cao Prince Consort, all of these 500 soldiers are given to you. Go to the shore to disperse the Liao soldiers and rescue Zhao Liren to land."

Tong Guan was already drawing his knife in his hand. He walked forward a few steps quickly and found that no one followed him. He turned back and heard Mr. Zhang’s gentle questioning Fan Chuncui: “Master Fan, is Zhao Xing and Zhao Liren still on the boat?”

Fan Chuncui was infected by Zhang Dunli's calm attitude and replied: "That's right! Zhao Liren said, 'I dare not land until he was ordered,' so he stayed on the ship. Yesterday, his large group of people had begun to move towards the estuary of the sea. There were several large ships who wanted to drag two stranded ships, but unfortunately they failed to get what they wanted. Later, Zhao Liren and Shuai Meizhou each led half of the commanded people to board the two stranded ships, but I don't know what the situation is now."

The hesitant Chen Guan was also panting at this time under the protection of the imperial guards, and the imperial guards - that is, the "armed actors" - looked pale, which made Chen Guan pale. He asked calmly: "Mr. Fan, how long has this situation lasted?"

As soon as Chen Guan finished speaking, two military horns rang out on the two stranded ships one after another. Then, a thick voice floated on the shallow river water: "All the troops, check the firearms!"

Chen Guan's face changed: "No, the new country is in a state of funeral, Zhao Liren should not open a border quarrel privately."

Zhang Dunli said calmly: "It's too late, Zhao Liren has been angered."

Sure enough, Zhao Xing's voice sounded: "Get on the bullet! The troops used two as a scattered line and formed five columns..."

Immediately afterwards, a loud voice sounded from the other boat. In addition, a long whistle sounded from the belly of the two boats. With this whistle, many small portholes were pushed open in the belly of the boat, and countless black tube-like objects appeared on the window, and some vague words came from inside - shotgun... ruler... flat shot...

Chen Guan stomped his feet and opened his mouth as soon as he opened his mouth, two roars sounded on the two stranded boats, covering the sound in Chen Guan's mouth—

"Open fire!"

With this command, waves of roars resounded throughout the world. Huge roars of gunfire continued. After the roars, even louder roars came from the belly of the ship. The entire river was covered with smoke and fire. At this time, no one could hear what Chen Guan wanted to say.

After the first round of gunfire sounded, the shooting accuracy was not very high. Only a few Liao people who were slightly closer to the warship were shot by gunfires. The rest of the Liao people shouted and urged their horses to run towards the shallow waters of the river. With the sound of gunfire, Chen Guan calmed down. He narrowed his eyes and looked at the warships in the water, and said leisurely: "Every time I heard that Zhao Li people like to set off firecrackers at the Nanyang people. In order to scare them to surrender... Lord Fan, this is Zhao Li people's demonic firefighting team, right? I heard that you want to ask for three thousand people from him, are they these demons?"

Fan Chuncui winked at Chen Guan because at this time, the musketeers of the Zhuque Army who were staying in Shunbao Village had gathered and were guarding with guns behind the ministers. However, Chen Guan ignored him and did not look back at all. While looking at the warship stranded in the river, he spoke casually and sarcastically: "The firecrackers are loud enough, well, they are louder than the firecrackers set in the New Year..."

In fact, although the northern tributaries of the Yellow River in this era were cut off, they still could not look at this famous river from a modern perspective. In the Song Dynasty, it was still a turbulent river.

At present, the deepest part of the Yellow River Beishui River channel is two meters deep, plus two meters thick silt. Zhao Xing's warship was stranded in such a deep river, you can imagine how huge the body of this warship is.

The sea ships in Song Dynasty were about 500 tons, which was also confirmed by the modern seabed salvage results. However, the two stranded ships on the site of Zhao Xing had a displacement of 700 tons. They were obviously a circle larger than the Song ship.

Five hundred years later, Western sea ships barely reached a displacement of 500 tons, and China had already entered the ranks of 500 tons in the Song Dynasty. However, most Chinese ships in this era also had obvious Chinese characteristics, that is, the length and width ratio were too small, and they looked like a large round wooden barrel. However, Zhao Xing's two warships were in the row, and they did not know what materials were used as keels, so that the length and width ratio was close to the shuttle, with a clear sense of streamlined lines.

Amid the sound of cannons, Chen Guan looked at the giant boat stranded in the river. He saw that the two warships were nearly 100 meters long and only more than ten meters wide. At this moment, they were parked in the water. Originally, their underwater parts were also exposed to the air. Standing on the shore, the underwater parts of the warship seemed extremely narrow. Amid the sound of cannons, the hull seemed very unstable, shaking, and bumping very hard - this is also the reason why the accuracy of shooting on the ship was not high.

Looking up along the waterline, you can see the shells and oysters densely covered with waterline at the bottom of the ship. These marine creatures suddenly stopped when they arrived at a clear white seal on the hull. On the white seal, the hull looked very clean and the paint was very bright. Even Chen Guan, a man who didn't know how to navigate, knew that the white line was the original waterline of the warship.

The eyes extend outward along the waterline, and you can find the footprints of Liao soldiers on the other side.

The slope of the river that was broken was very slow. The Liao people had not renovated it, and the riverbed that had been exposed to the outside for a year seemed dry. The Liao soldiers followed this shallow slope to the warships to harass the warships - this is also the customary tactic of the Liao people. They often deliberately make loud noises before and after the target, making arrogant actions, attracting the Song people to start fire first, and then attribute the responsibility for the exchange of fire between the two sides to the Song people.

This time they were the same, but in fact, they could not get close to the warship at all. The deep mud not only trapped the warship, but also protected the warship from being approached by the Liao people.

Above the waterline, about one meter high is a row of portholes, with one porthole being distributed at a distance of about one meter and five meters apart. Above the porthole, there is a female wall similar to a city wall on the deck. However, the female wall on the ship is only about the height of the knees. Due to the existence of the female wall, several people on the riverside cannot see the movements on the deck clearly.

The deck was now filled with smoke, and the white smoke wrapped around the upper part of the ship like a ball of cotton. Only the officers were heard in the smoke. After a while, the sound of guns and cannons stopped and some of the smoke dissipated. People on the shore found that the boat was lowering the boat, and everyone could only see the crane on the boat being lowered. The boat was under the boat and was covered by the huge hull. People on the river judged by the command that it was probably Zhao Xing who issued a pursuit order, ordering the soldiers to chase the Liao soldiers on a boat.

With the power of gunpowder in the Song Dynasty, it was impossible to attack the Liao soldiers on the shore. This led to Zhao Xing opening fire on the warship, just hearing the sound. Chen Guan said that Zhao Xing was amplifying the firecrackers, which was an appropriate description.

Generally speaking, the Khitans like to use the tactic of teasing their opponents first, then snatching the horse back and seducing people to chase them, and then returning to the horse to eat the pursuit. At first, the Liao soldiers provoked Zhao Xing to do something for this purpose, and Zhao Xing seemed to respond too enthusiastically, and even took the bait readily and sent the pursuers happily. Chen Guan, who was standing on the shore, was not optimistic about the pursuit. He looked at Fan Chuncui, hoping that the latter could stop it.
Chapter completed!