From a son-in-law to a favorite of the empress

Chapter 316

At dawn, Zhou Yuan and his ministers entered the palace gate and strode towards the Golden Palace.

There was no usual greeting along the way. Everyone's face was heavy. Only some ministers would occasionally look at Zhou Yuan. They all knew the meaning of Zhou Yuan's coming here to attend the court.

Generally speaking, powerful military officers do not attend the court. They all stay in the camp. If they are suddenly called over, there must be something.

And everyone basically knows about this matter.

Zhou Yuan also prepared a set of rhetoric to refute the group of idiots who wanted to request peace.

The atmosphere in the Golden Palace was extremely depressing. The eldest sister had not arrived yet. Everyone lowered their heads, as if thinking about something.

Yang Guozhong stood in the first place, with a gloomy face. From time to time, he glanced at Zhou Yuan. It was unknown what he was planning.

Soon, with a shout from the female guard, Empress Zhaojing strode to the dragon platform in a dragon robe and slowly sat down.

"Open the court!"

"Your Majesty!"

Many ministers bowed down together.

Empress Zhaojing did not speak. Her cold eyes swept around the hall. The dozens of people breathing were extremely silent, without any sound at all, which made people feel depressed.

"Stand up."

Empress Zhaojing finally spoke, but the oppression in the hall did not improve at all, but became more suffocating.

Empress Zhaojing said: "Yang Guozhong, you are the prime minister, you speak."

This time she did not call Yang Qing, but called him by his name.

Yang Guozhong's figure was shocked and he took a deep breath. As the prime minister of the dynasty, he should bear such pressure.

"Your Majesty, on the afternoon of February 27, the Central Plains bandit Zhang Bailong led 70,000 bandit troops to besiege Luoyang and launched a fierce attack."

"The Luoyang defenders were on full alert, fought desperately, and repelled the bandit army."

"At midnight that night, the hard laborers in the city, led by Qiao Sanhuai, gathered into a team of 300 people, set fire to the government office, and attacked the public police with weapons. Then a large number of mobs responded and gathered into a team of tens of thousands of mobs."

"They attacked the city gate regardless of life and death, and finally opened the city gate to welcome the rebels into the city."

"After a night of fierce fighting, Luoyang finally fell."

The Golden Palace was dead silent, with only the heavy breathing of many ministers.

Empress Zhao Jing said in a serious tone: "The Central Plains is the foundation of the Jin Dynasty, and Luoyang is a thousand-year-old capital. Why were the people forced to attack the government and surrender to the bandits? What does the anti-bandit tax mean? How much is collected? You, the Prime Minister, don't know? Your cabinet doesn't know either!"

At the end, her voice was already extremely stern.

Yang Guozhong and other cabinet ministers knelt down in a hurry.

"I have failed to supervise and harm the country. Please punish me, Your Majesty."

Yang Guozhong's face was already sweaty.

Empress Zhaojing narrowed her eyes and said, "Failure to supervise and harm the country? Is it really failure to supervise? Could it be that Yang Ge Lao, who is eighty years old and has experienced three dynasties, is also guilty of deceiving the emperor?"

"Do you dare to say that the memorial from the prefect of Luoyang was not submitted to your cabinet?"

Yang Guozhong's face changed slightly, and he knocked his head on the ground and said in a trembling voice, "This old minister knows his mistake. The prefect of Luoyang did submit a memorial to request the court to allocate silver to support the military pay."

"But at that moment, the treasury was tight and there was really no silver. This old minister asked the prefect of Luoyang to handle it flexibly in the name of the cabinet."

Empress Zhaojing suddenly slammed the table, and She said in a voice: "What a flexible way to deal with it! The people of our Great Jin are like fish and meat, you can slaughter them at will!"

She looked at the Minister of Revenue and said coldly: "Liu Jing, did Yang Guozhong ask you for silver about Luoyang?"

Liu Jing hurriedly said: "In early October last year, Yang Ge Lao did ask the old minister, but there is indeed no silver in the treasury."

Empress Zhao Jing was silent for a long time before slowly saying: "Stand up, you are so old, what's the point of kneeling here?"

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Yang Guozhong and others slowly stood up and waited with their bodies bowed.

Empress Zhaojing said: "Wu Qingrong, tell me about the situation in the Central Plains."

Wu Qingrong's face was solemn, and he said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, now the Central Plains Wancheng, Guangzhou, Runing, Henan and other prefectures have all fallen, and only Shanzhou and Kaifeng are still struggling to hold on."

"Due to geographical reasons, Shanzhou may fall within a few days, and Kaifeng will be the next."

"Once Kaifeng falls, the entire Central Plains will completely become a place of bandits and pseudo-dynasty, and it will be difficult to recover it. . ”

Empress Zhaojing frowned and said, "Who is the prefect of Shanzhou? Xu Shigong, do you know?"

Xu Shigong said hurriedly, "Your Majesty, the prefect of Shanzhou is Xiang Yun, a second-class Jinshi in the first year of Zhaojing. Later, he was appointed as a scholar by your majesty and sent to Kaifeng Prefecture to serve as a co-magistrate. In the fifth year of Zhaojing, he was transferred to Shanzhou to serve as the prefect. It has been four years now. ”

Empress Zhaojing said, "I remember how many garrisons there are in Shanzhou, Wu Qingrong."

Wu Qingrong said hurriedly, "The local constable and cityDefending the reserve camp, a total of 4,000 people. "

Empress Zhaojing said in a deep voice: "How long can 4,000 people hold out?"

Wu Qingrong looked very unhappy, and whispered: "Logically speaking, they can't hold out for two days. There are too many bandits, and there are supplies from Luoyang..."

Empress Zhaojing sneered: "So my Great Jin Shanzhou will also be handed over to the bandits? You bunch of Beijing officials, it really has nothing to do with you!"

The ministers did not dare to speak, but just lowered their heads.

At this time, the cabinet must stand up.

Zeng Cheng, the Right Censor-in-Chief and the Grand Secretary of Wenhua Pavilion, stood up and bowed: "Your Majesty, the Central Plains is in danger, Kaifeng is in danger, and we can no longer sit idly by and watch the bandits expand. Please draft an order to send troops to suppress the bandits and recover the Central Plains."

"I second the motion!"

Xu Shigong stood up quickly.

"The old minister reconsiders!"

"Reconsider! "

Yang Guozhong and Deng Bochi also held up signs.

Minister of Works Wang Duo said in a deep voice: "I also reconsider and send troops to support Kaifeng, eliminate bandits and recover the Central Plains."

The five cabinet ministers all reconsidered and supported sending troops.

Zhou Yuan was a little confused. He didn't expect that no one would mention peace or amnesty. This was not in line with the weak personalities of these court officials.

But the next moment, he figured it out. Bandits and Eastern Tartars are different after all.

Zhang Bailong should never divide the land. This is equivalent to digging up the ancestral graves of the gentry, and he has an irreconcilable relationship with these court officials.

Therefore, the front line of court officials and civil servants can reach a rare unity with Zhou Yuan.

Empress Zhaojing said: "Do you have a suitable candidate in your cabinet? Are you going to let the governor of the Beijing camp go to war? What about Qiu Huan?"

Yang Guozhong whispered: "Your Majesty, Qiu Huan is recuperating at home and was unable to attend the court. ”

Empress Zhaojing sneered: "Oh! It's time to get down to business, but he is sick."

Deng Bochi said: "Your Majesty, the young and promising Zhongwu Bo is proficient in military affairs. Why not let Zhongwu Bo lead the five military camps to go to war."

"I second the proposal!"

Yang Guozhong spoke immediately.

Several cabinet ministers looked at each other, their eyes met, and it seemed that they had already reached a tacit understanding.

Now that the Central Plains is in such a mess, I'm afraid no one can do anything, after all, the bandits have become powerful.

Let Zhou Yuan go to fight first. If he loses, it will also consume the vitality of the bandits.

On the one hand, Zhou Yuan can be punished, and on the other hand, Qiu Huan can pick up the advantage, which is the best of both worlds.

Empress Zhaojing naturally knew their thoughts and said immediately: "The five military camps have been reorganized for only two months, and their combat effectiveness has not yet recovered. It is not suitable for the expedition for the time being."

"Let Qiu Huan go, and he can also recuperate on the way. "

The cabinet ministers looked unhappy, thinking that His Majesty was too protective of Zhou Yuan, and they could not compromise.

At this moment, Zhou Yuan suddenly stood up and said loudly: "Your Majesty, I have something to report."

Empress Zhaojing's heart skipped a beat, thinking that it was bad, and the junior brother was impulsive.

She narrowed her eyes and said: "What is it?"

Zhou Yuan said in a deep voice: "Luoyang has fallen, and there are only two prefectures in the Central Plains, Shanzhou and Kaifeng. It can be said that it is in danger. The Kaidai pseudo-dynasty has become a trend and must be immediately destroyed, otherwise it will become a major threat to the Jin Dynasty."

"Although I am not talented, I am willing to take the initiative to volunteer to lead the five military camps to suppress the bandits in the Central Plains. If I fail, I will not return to Beijing."

The words were sonorous and powerful, shocking the people, and everyone in the Golden Palace could not help but be stunned.