Chapter 234 My rules are just rules

On November 11, Emperor Qinzong went to the Xuande Hall to share his joy with his ministers.

Sun Fu and Wang Zongchu received instructions in advance, so they came out one after another to petition for rewards. They respectively proposed to confer the title of Grand Marshal of the Army of the World on King Kang, and to confer the title of Grand Marshal on Yang Chang, and to make him the Jiedushi of Weisheng, Pingbei and Luzhou.

After the two of them finished speaking, the huge court fell silent.

Yang Chang's identity as the son-in-law of the emperor is no longer a secret. He previously served as the governor of two towns and had been reported by the censors for his power. If he develops second thoughts, it would be a great disaster.

But Li Gang was in favor at that time, and he did his utmost to protect the generals who could resist the Jin Dynasty, so Yang Chang was not affected. At this moment, Li Gang was not in the court, and no minister spoke for him.

It was a taboo for a prince to be in charge of military intelligence, but according to his closeness to Zhao Huan, even if the court officials had objections, they could only bring up Yang Chang first.

The court officials looked at each other, and finally looked at Tang Ke.

As the prime minister at the time and the emperor's first deputy, he naturally had to take the lead.

Tang Ke noticed that everyone had strange expressions, especially Geng Nanzhong, who was also a peace-seeking person, who was frowning and looking worried.

"Your Majesty, although Yang Chang has made great contributions, it was rare to grant him the power of a military governor of three towns when Taizu founded the country. Therefore, I think it is necessary to consider the proposal made by Wang Taiwei just now."

"Consider? How to consider? No reward for merit?"

Qinzong asked three questions in one sentence, and his stiff tone sent a signal to his ministers that he agreed with the conferment of the title.

Tang Ke's face turned red after being rebuked. Geng Nanzhong, who was also in the peace-seeking camp, immediately stepped forward to help him out.

"Your Majesty, what Prime Minister Tang just said was that Yang Chang should be appointed as the Grand Commandant now. According to the rules, he should be stripped of his military power and recalled to the court to serve as an official. He can no longer stay in Shanxi to defend against the enemy."

"That won't work. Yang Chang was able to stop Nianhan several times. If he is transferred back to the court as an official, who will defend the western route of the Jin army for me?"

Qinzong answered decisively, and found Liu Qian, who had returned to Beijing to apologize after his defeat, among a group of military officers below. Then he stared at Liu Qian and asked: "If you were in Yang Chang's position, could you kill the Jin army general Lou Shi and repel its marshal Nianhan?"

"I am guilty and incompetent"

Liu Qian was so shocked that he hurried out of the class and kowtowed to Emperor Qinzong.

At this moment, among the civil servants on the left, Fan Zongyin, who had agreed to cede land during the exam two days ago and whose words were the most intense, suddenly came out of the group to kowtow and fell to the ground crying.

"The Jin army retreated without gaining any territory, and will surely come back later. Right now, the Song Dynasty's national strength has declined significantly, the people are living in poverty, bandits are everywhere, and all industries are depressed. If Your Majesty confer titles on Yang Chang and Kang Wang, it will inevitably give the Jin people the illusion that we are ready for a decisive battle. This war cannot be fought any longer, and the country will become weaker and weaker."

"Nonsense!"

Mei, the Minister of Revenue, came out of the ranks and stopped Fan Zongyin, and said to Emperor Qinzong: "Your Majesty, since Yang Chang was appointed as the governor of Weisheng and Pingbei, he has never asked the court for a grain of food. This time, Prince Kang defeated the Jin army in the east, and he also gathered the strength of Xiang and Ci states. How can we say that the country is getting weaker and weaker?"

"Minister Mei, didn't you see it during your visit? Is the Imperial Street still the same as before? Is Panlou Street still the same as before? A glimpse of the whole picture reveals the whole picture. Even Tokyo Bianliang is like this, how can the people below have a good life? Just one or two small victories don't mean anything. It's better to defend the Yellow River."

"you"

After hearing what Fan Zongyin said, Mei Zhili was so angry that he blew his beard and glared, and shouted: "How can you win a battle and then take the initiative to cede land? This is just nonsense!"

"Your Majesty, it is easier to negotiate by winning the battle and ceding territory. Please think twice."

Fan Zongyin missed the prosperity of Bianliang and was eager to restore the economy through peace talks. However, he had never served in the Northern Song Dynasty's imperial guards and did not know that prosperity came at a price.

At that time, the Northern Song army, except for the Western Army that fought with Western Xia all year round, was able to maintain its purity and combat effectiveness, while the rest of the imperial guards and wing troops had long since completely degenerated, and most of the troops in various states, from generals to soldiers, were obsessed with making money.

Each army had its own workshop for "making money". The soldiers received a salary from the court, but they were engaged in manual work such as weaving, casting, and carpentry in the army. The goods they produced eventually flowed into the market in Tokyo, contributing to the prosperity of the capital.

If low-level soldiers receive double wages, it will not expose the army's "third industry", and local and court civil servants will receive various tributes on time, so they will naturally not report or impeach.

Soldiers have been working on a piecework basis in the army for a long time. When they meet professional soldiers on the battlefield, how can they have any chance of winning?
Fan Zongyin burst into tears, and Qinzong was upset and turned his head away, asking Prime Minister Tang Ke with empty eyes: "Prime Minister Tang, do you also think that after winning the battle, we still have to cede territory to seek peace?"

"Uh, minister."

Tang Ke pondered over a countermeasure, and suddenly his eyes lit up with inspiration. He immediately clasped his fists and said, "Your Majesty, the matter of ceding land can be discussed again, but Yang Chang must not be given any more titles."

"reason!"

"Your Majesty, have you forgotten Master Guo? The late emperor was very kind to him. Not long after he was promoted to Grand Commandant, he led his people to join the Jin army."

"Bastard!"

Qinzong slapped the armrest and stood up, scolding him. At the same time, he questioned Tang Ke in a deep voice: "One is a slave of three surnames, and the other is the son-in-law of the Song Dynasty. What can Pharmacist Guo use to compare with Yang Chang? If Yang Chang hadn't stopped Nianhan, I'm afraid this Bianliang city would have been lost!"

"minister"

"Well, you don't need to be the prime minister anymore. The governor of Luzhou was killed by rioters. You go to fill this vacancy."

"Ah this."

Tang Ke felt like crying but had no tears. He thought that he had only been the prime minister for a month or so and he hadn't even had time to get comfortable in the position yet he was directly demoted to a prefect. This punishment was too harsh.

He should never, ever mention Huizong in public. This was a thorn in Qinzong's back.

Qinzong demoted Tang Ke in public, so how could the ministers in the palace dare to say anything?

Thus, the matter of conferring titles on Yang Chang and Zhao Gou was settled, and Liu Qian and Fan Zongyin, who were lying on the ground, could only join in the cheers of "Long live the emperor".

The two men gradually stood up and returned to their ranks. Qinzong stared at Fan Zongyin and said coldly, "Li Xie was also killed by the rioters. Since you share the same opinion as Prime Minister Tang, you should go to Luzhou to serve as the Tongpan and help Taiwei Yang share his worries."

"minister"

"Dismiss the dynasty!"

This was the first time since Qinzong became emperor that he turned around so domineeringly. All the ministers in the hall were shocked and surprised, and then they all bowed to see him off.

Tang Ke and Fan Zongyin also experienced for the first time that serving the emperor was like serving a tiger. At this moment, they stood there like clowns, being looked at strangely by their colleagues.

During the reign of Emperor Qinzong, prime ministers changed frequently.

Although Tang Ke was demoted, he quickly calmed down because of the examples of several demoted prime ministers, and made an appointment with Fan Zongyin to take up the post.

Considering that the people of Luzhou were tough and the previous governor Zhang Youji died in a civil uprising, Tang Ke did not dare to bring his family with him.

However, Qinzong had little experience in governing and was easily swayed by his own emotions. It was difficult for demoted officials to return to the court, and Tang Ke's family in the capital became a problem.

He had been an official in Beijing for more than ten years and had accumulated a considerable fortune in Bianliang. After that, his family had no one to protect them and were easily bullied by outsiders.

For example, Cai Jing, who served as prime minister several times, was ordered to retire and return home shortly after he fell out of favor. His property in the capital was confiscated on the pretext of something, and even the natural rockery in his garden was forcibly taken away by Li Gang for use in city defense.

Tang Kesi came to this realization and could only ask his family to keep a low profile, and wait until he had established a firm foothold in Luzhou, and then bring his family over depending on the situation, or he could sell his property in Beijing and return directly to his hometown of Hangzhou to buy land.

If you ask why I dared to return to Hangzhou, isn’t that place occupied by Fang La?

This moment, that moment.

In the past few years, Hangzhou was occupied by Fang La. Later, Song Jiang was ordered to go to Jiangnan to suppress the rebellion. He was seriously injured in the battle with Fang La in Suzhou and Hangzhou. When Song Jiang led his troops to move to Hebei, Liu Yanqing and Zhang Shuye continued to suppress the rebellion. At the beginning of the year, Huizong fled to Runzhou for refuge, and Tong Guan and other important civil and military officials also went with him. Huizong set up a small court in the southeast. The first thing he did was to remove Fang La, who was a thorn in his side. Later, he used Zhu Yan's money and food to recruit soldiers and once again cleared out Fang La's forces.

Fang La was defeated one after another and had to give up Suzhou and Hangzhou. He led his troops back to his base in Muzhou and waited for changes in the world to expand again. Hangzhou thus returned to the control of the court.

Of course, returning to his hometown to buy a house is Tang Ke’s last resort and his final destination after leaving the center of power. He would not choose this path unless it is absolutely necessary.

Being an official and holding power is addictive.

Tang Ke was not a scheming and incompetent person. He had rich political experience and was quite capable. He was a scholar who advanced through hard work. He had served as the prefect of Zizhou, Cangzhou, Yangzhou, Chuzhou, Tanzhou, Hangzhou and many other places.

On his way to take up his post, Tang Ke thought that he had the talent to be a prime minister, so he went to Luzhou to be a small prefect, and Yang Changding treated him as a guest of honor.

In late November, Tang Ke, Fan Zongyin and imperial envoy Sun Fu arrived in Shangdang together.

Yang Chang was recently inspecting Luzhou. He received a letter from Lei Zhen in advance to remind him, so he made a special trip to the provincial government office to meet him.

Although this guy lacked civil servants, he disdained to use spineless people who only sought peace, so he was not enthusiastic when they met. He mainly exchanged greetings with Sun Fu, while Tang and Fan were received by Wen Huanzhang.

Yang Chang thinks it is troublesome to take care of his beard, so he has not grown a beard in recent years, so he looks very young.

Later at the reception banquet, Master Sun thought for a long time and finally couldn't help asking in a joking tone: "The general is very handsome. If he walked on the streets of Tokyo, he would definitely be mistaken for a nobleman. I wonder how young he is now?"

"Excuse me, Master, I am only twenty-six years old."

"Twenty-six?"

Before Yang Chang finished speaking, he was interrupted by the excited Fan Zongyin, who stood up and muttered, "Could the Taiwei be born in the third year of Yuanfu?"

"Ok?"

Seeing everyone looking at him, Fan Zongyin pointed at himself and explained, "To be honest, I was born in the fourth year of Yuanfu. I thought I was older than the Taiwei, but I didn't expect that I am one year younger."

He had just been deliberately rude in order to remind Yang Chang that they were the same age as him, hoping to gain his care. However, he did not expect any response, which made the atmosphere in the venue extremely awkward.

As a general fighting against the Jin army in the border town, Yang Chang naturally did not like the peace-seeking faction to try to build relationships with them, but Fan Zongyin just flattered him and showed his goodwill.

Seeing that Fan Zongyin was in trouble, Tang Ke secretly cursed the young man for being so scheming, but after all, he came here with him, so he smiled and offered to help him out.

"As Sun Shumi said, Yang Taiwei was reluctant to grow a beard because he was born handsome. However, he has reached the pinnacle of military officer at the age of 26, which is rare since the founding of the country."

"Qinsou (Tang Ke's courtesy name), that's true, but General Yang has repelled the Jin army many times, preventing Shanxi from falling. He deserves to be named Taiwei."

Being praised by Tang Ke and Sun Fu, Yang Chang instinctively clasped his fists and responded modestly: "Young Master, you are praising me too much. I am just lucky."

"It's not luck. According to your majesty's original words, if you and King Kang hadn't worked together, Hedong and Hebei might not have been saved. The Jin Kingdom has Nianhan and Hanlibu, and we in the Song Dynasty have you and King Kang. This is God's will!"

"Kang Wang?"

"That's right, Taiwei, you don't know that you were able to successfully recapture Luzhou because of King Kang's harassment of the grain route, forcing the Jin army out of Luzhou, and then ambushing and winning a small victory in Cizhou. Only then did Han Libu withdraw to Zhending."

"and many more."

Yang Chang was bewildered when he heard this. He interrupted Sun Fu and asked in surprise, "Are you saying that the Jin army withdrew from Luzhou because King Kang disturbed the grain route? Where did you get this information?"

"hehe."

Sun Fu smiled and responded, "Taiwei Yang, don't get excited. Taiwei Wang and I have also read the letter the princess wrote to your majesty. After all, Weisheng's troops are insufficient, so how can they force back Hanli's army of less than 100,000? You killed Lou Shi and stopped Nianhan, which is an unprecedented achievement. You don't need to argue, and you deserve this title."

"Fight?"

Yang Chang smiled bitterly and was speechless. He did not expect that King Kang would come to pick peaches. He immediately asked: "Master, do you know the reason why the Jin army in the east retreated?"

"Isn't it King Kang?"

"King Kang may have attacked the grain route and ambushed the Jin army, but the Jin army on the east route retreated because Han Libu was dead."

"what?"

This time not only Sun Fu was shocked, Tang Ke and Fan Zongyin also showed surprised expressions, wondering how old Han Li was this year?

This fellow led his troops to Bianliang at the beginning of the year. It was said that he often had sex with several women in the camp at night. He was as strong as an ox. How could he suddenly die?

Did he contract some serious disease, or was Yang Chang just exaggerating?

"really?"

"Don't be so surprised. My information is absolutely true. You can send someone to Hebei to find out whether Han Li is dead or alive. Isn't it obvious at a glance?"

“It’s not surprising, it’s incredible”

Sun Fu swallowed his saliva, nodded and said affirmatively: "If he is really dead, it is his retribution. This guy surrounded Bianliang at the beginning of the year and allowed his soldiers to dig into the imperial tomb and steal treasures. I will report to Your Majesty when I return to the capital. However, King Kang did contain the Jin army. The officials and people of Xiangzhou and Cizhou can prove it, as can the members of the envoys."

"Master, no need to explain."

After hearing this, Yang Chang waved his hands and said, "I don't doubt that King Kang has made contributions, but the Jin army in the east took the initiative to retreat, and the real reason was not to contain them."

"Haha, that's good, that's right."

Sun Fu changed the subject and reminded, "Your Majesty has appointed King Kang as the Grand Marshal of the Army. He will be responsible for resisting the Jin army in the east, while General Yang will be responsible for the enemy in Shanxi. You may fight together in the future, so you should get along well."

"Coordinated operations? Yang is not strong enough. He is lucky to be able to defend Shanxi. He should not be able to take care of Hebei. By the way, I also want to listen to the orders of the Grand Marshal."

"It should be so, but His Majesty is very optimistic about you. If you have any questions, you can report to him directly."

"That's good."

Yang Chang took a reassurance pill, remembering that year at Tang Mazi Teahouse, he had dribbled the ball and knocked King Kang away. That defiant expression was still unforgettable to this day.

He is not Yue Fei and will not obey Zhao Gou's orders.

Upon learning the news of Han Libu's death, Sun Fu was anxious to return to the capital to report, so he simply had two rounds of wine, said goodbye to Yang Chang and returned to the capital that day.

As soon as Sun Fu left, Tang Ke and Fan Zongyin gradually took out their certificates and handed them to Yang Chang to formally sign him off.

Yang Chang took a quick look and handed Fan Zongyin's letter to Wen Huanzhang, saying lazily, "The imperial edict came too late. I have asked Wen Huanzhang to act as the prefect, Fan Tongpan will stay in Luzhou to assist, and Tang Xiang will follow me back to Weisheng to serve."

"Wen Huanzhang seems to be the prefect of Pingbei, why is he asked to act as the prefect of Luzhou? This..."

"Mr. Wen is not familiar with Pingbei, so I temporarily replaced him with someone else."

Tang Ke saw that Yang Chang was speaking calmly, so he cupped his hands and gently reminded him, "The court asked me to govern Luzhou, but Yang Taiwei privately changed the position, which seems to be against the rules."

"Rules? My rules are the rules."

(End of this chapter)