Zhurou

Chapter 225 Asking for Marriage

"The head is on the way back to Beijing. Once you have examined it, we will know whether it is real or fake!"

The man's tone was full of joy and his roar was loud and sharp. The sound penetrated Zhang Yi's ears and made his blood swell. His face turned blue and white.

  ——Is the only thing I want to ask about this rotten head?

He had previously kept saying that Pei Yong had evil intentions, that he had other agendas, and that the victory report he had reported was false. Now that he was yelling at this eunuch for nothing, he seemed like a sinister villain.

But if you say that my previous words and actions were selfish, of course there were some, but to say that it was all out of selfishness, that's not the case.

Whether in public or private, Jingzhao Prefecture is a serious threat. If the emperor cannot learn the way of checks and balances, I am afraid that summoning the Western Army to expel the Di people this time will become a move of drinking poison to quench thirst.

But in the current situation, it is not appropriate to give advice any more, and his previous act of banging his head against the pillar to defend himself seems like a joke.

He had lost face in front of the censors, and even though he had been cultivating his temper for many years, he still couldn't recover.

And Zhao Hong didn't know what he was thinking. He first glanced at Zhang Yi, with a smile on his face and even his eyes seemed to be smiling. In the latter's eyes, he looked like a completely disgusting frivolous boy.

"It is a blessing for our dynasty to have such a great general! And we will commend Pei Jiedu for his merits. Prime Minister Zhang, I will trouble you with this matter!"

Zhang Yi tried to speak several times but no sound came out. He forced himself to swallow, and inadvertently, the phlegm that was stuck in his throat was swallowed down.

He was quite fond of cleanliness, and when he felt the shape in his throat, he immediately imagined the taste and texture of old phlegm, and suddenly felt nauseous. His eyes went dark, and he felt as if his head weighed a thousand pounds, and his whole body was shaking.

Seeing this, Zhao Mingzhi hurriedly called out, "Director Wang!"

Poor Wang Shu had been standing behind the deputy envoy of the Privy Council since he hit his head against the pillar. He had just taken the opportunity to look through the memorials on the floor to find good news to relieve the emperor's worries, but before he could show his ability, trouble broke out again. He hurriedly turned around to help Zhang Yi and called two eunuchs to fan him.

Zhang Yi, however, tried his best to calm the turmoil in his chest, fearing that others would notice something was wrong. He shook off Zhang Yi's hand, gritted his teeth, stood still, and said with a folded hand, "I'm fine!"

When Zhao Mingzhi first arrived, he saw that his brother was in a bad state and was really worried. How could he not have any opinion about Zhang Yi? Later, when Zhao Hongzhi was venting his resentment, he did not stop him at all.

——You are an old fox who has been in the officialdom for decades, and you used all your tricks to bully a child of eight or nine years old. Your heart is not right. Since you are so shameless, you deserve to be scolded.

But at this time, Zhao Hong was already lively and seemed to be fine. On the contrary, Zhang Yi's face was pale and his lips were even a little black. Zhao Mingzhi became alert again.

Although the other party said that everything was fine, she didn't dare to be truly relieved.

After all, they are old ministers who have served for many years and are the backbone of the country. They have deep roots and branches, and they have countless students and old friends. If they are really angered here, it will be difficult to deal with. No matter how big a storm will be caused in the court, all the actions that the two siblings have done to win people's hearts in the past will be greatly discounted.

My younger brother has always been kind-hearted and soft-hearted. He has a hard time changing his character. He was so angry that he just kept his mouth shut for a while. I'm afraid he will be restless in his dreams in the future. If this is recorded in history books in the future...

Thinking of the countless things that would happen later, Zhao Mingzhi gently tugged at Zhao Hong's sleeve, lowered his head and winked at him, then shouted, "Where is the doctor?!"

He then said to his attendants, "Help Mr. Zhang sit down! Hurry up and call the doctor to treat him!"

Medical officers are available.

Just now, Zhao Mingzhi hurriedly summoned the doctors for Zhao Hong's health. At this moment, several people happened to arrive outside the hall. Seeing this situation, everyone naturally hurried into the hall. Before they had time to salute, Zhao Mingzhi pointed them to Zhang Yi's pulse.

Zhang Yi refused several times, but it was useless. Fortunately, after the consultation, it was found that he just had a temporary attack of blood and qi, and there was no serious problem.

After granting him several bottles of Qingxin Pills and urging the doctor to write a prescription, Zhao Mingzhi finally breathed a sigh of relief. He turned around and looked at the people kneeling outside the palace, then led his brother forward and said, "You all are here today to make suggestions for the sake of the court and the people. Your Majesty never sticks to his own opinions. Now that the frontline has received frequent reports of victory, the two governments are about to discuss matters. If you have any suggestions, please submit them in your own memorials and we will discuss them later."

Although all the censors knelt together today, they had different thoughts in their minds. They knelt for half a day but no one paid attention to them. They saw that Zhang Xianggong's famous act of clearing himself by hitting the pillar had become a joke. They mentioned Pei Yong several times, but it was just such a coincidence. It is said that a gentleman's revenge is never too late, even ten years later. The governor from Jingzhao Prefecture was indeed not a good person, let alone a gentleman. He was not there and was thousands of miles away, and he was unwilling to give him a night. He took revenge on the spot with several reports, making Zhang Xianggong, a powerful official who wore a cool umbrella and jade purple, lose face.

Today's development is really unexpected.

And since no result could be achieved, Zhang Yi had already stopped his efforts. Naturally, everyone would not force themselves to take the lead again and just dispersed quietly.

As for Zhang Yi, although Zhao Mingzhi specifically asked Wang Shu to lead people to escort him, he absolutely disagreed and did not want a carriage. He insisted on walking back to the yamen by himself.

Zhao Hong had the upper hand today, although he was still a little unsatisfied. After being reminded twice by Zhao Mingzhi, he knew that he should not go too far, so he hurriedly said: "My husband has been very hard these days, and he was sick for a long time. You should go back and have a good rest. I will summon the doctor tomorrow..."

Zhang Yi naturally refused and said, "I am not ill. The situation on the front line has changed so much today. The Privy Council is about to discuss this and report to Your Majesty. I will not stay any longer!"

Having said that, he left without further ado.

Wang Shu hesitated for a moment, then remembered what Zhao Mingzhi had just instructed, and hurriedly took the two of them to chase after him.

As for the eunuch who had brought the battle report, he was kneeling on the ground packing up the memorials. When he saw Zhang Yi about to step out of the hall, his eyes turned and he caught a glimpse of a square headdress not far away on the ground. For some reason, he suddenly had an idea and jumped up.

He picked up the fu hat, turned around to look at Zhao Mingzhi and Zhao Hong, and without stopping, he screamed, "Mr. Zhang! Mr. Zhang!"

While shouting loudly, he chased forward, and soon arrived in front of the left side of Zhang Yi, and picked up the hat he had just worn. However, when he raised his head, he saw Zhang Yi looking at him expressionlessly, with his eyes wide open as if glaring at him.

Being glared at like that, the man was startled and blurted out again: "Mr. Zhang, you have lost your cap!" His job of delivering messages required quick feet and steady hands as well as a loud voice. Everything needed to be outstanding. At this moment, he was shouting and running, making a huge noise, which attracted many censors who were walking out to look at him.

Zhang Yi was not willing to continue to embarrass himself here, so he snatched the hat from the eunuch's hand and did not ask for help to put it back on. Instead, he clenched his fists and walked out hastily. Somehow, looking from behind, he gave people the feeling that he was fleeing in a panic.

The farce finally ended, leaving the brother and sister standing there. It was not until Zhao Hong could not help but pick up the memorial on the ground and looked up to ask, "Sister, did we really win?" that Zhao Mingzhi finally felt something was real.

Hearing about the great victory at the front and the death of Di Bing Marshal Zong Mao - at this point, things were completely different from before.

Zhao Mingzhi was deeply moved and wanted to flip through all the memorials to confirm the information and learn more details.

The reports came too hastily and were delivered directly to the emperor, without any signatures from the various ministries. The brother and sister read them one by one and found them very different from the past. In the past, they were all bad news, and the bad was only worse. Although today is not all good news, a careful analysis of many of the bad news shows that they are already as good as can be compared to the past.

The battle went very smoothly, as confirmed by several things. Although some of the officers who were far away were not very clear about the situation on the front line, there was no doubt that the Jin army won a great victory and the Di army was defeated.

The reason why no accurate battle reports had been sent back from the front line for a long time was mostly because there were many bandit problems on the way, and the defeated Di people had scattered soldiers, making the road difficult to pass. In the end, they took a fast road but were still nowhere to be seen. Instead, they returned first via Jingzhao Prefecture, Dengzhou, and Caizhou. Because of continuous rain in Caizhou, the floating bridge on the only way was broken, blocking the road, which resulted in many reports sent at different times arriving at the same time.

Sandwiched among these important contents was a sentence in Pei Yong's memorial, saying that the speed of the Di soldiers' defeat was far beyond expectations, and there might be changes in Xingqing Prefecture.

In addition to the war situation, Daming Prefecture requested the court to allocate silver and grain to provide relief to those returning. Xuzhou, which rarely had a Tongpan holding on, requested to recruit civilians to clear the roads, and also asked the court to reduce taxes this year. Each and every one of them revealed that all places were working hard to revive.

Zhao Mingzhi picked up a few important memorials and was about to put them aside when he turned around. He saw Zhao Hong holding a few memorials in his hands. He didn't even sit down, but leaned against a pillar beside him, staring at the contents over and over again, muttering to himself. While reading, he raised his head and tiptoed to look at the corner.

She followed his gaze and saw the map she had asked someone to place in the corner.

Zhao Mingzhi turned around and with just a glance recognized that the three or four books in his brother's hand were all memorials sent by Pei Yong. He then looked at the page he had opened, which was all about the number of prisoners captured, the number of enemies killed, the places recovered, and so on.

He was just looking at it, but as he looked at it, Zhao Mingzhi felt inexplicably excited.

  ——Is there anyone in the world who doesn’t like to win?

Ever since my younger brother voluntarily sat on the throne, he has never escaped or run away. He is often seen with a sad face. Even when he smiles, his smile often reveals reluctance, and he has never looked so excited as he does now.

Zhao Mingzhi calmed down for a while, but Zhao Hong finally came to his senses, still holding the memorials and refusing to let go, asking: "Sister, you said Pei Yong is so powerful, the Di people went all the way south, and they attacked other counties like cutting melons and vegetables, but when they fell into his hands, he chased them away, drove them away, and killed them at will - but why do Zhang Xianggong and the others hate him so much?"

As he spoke, he frowned into a small, shallow “川” shape and said, “Why are Mr. Zhang and his gang so annoying? They don’t seem to have any skills, they can only shout and run away. Even in this situation, when they are teaching, they know to tell me to ‘examine myself three times a day,’ but when it’s their turn, they refuse to reflect. How dare they teach me a lesson and say bad things about Pei Yong?”

Zhao Hong was a child after all, and his words were sometimes mature and sometimes childish. Zhao Mingzhi couldn't help laughing when he heard this, but after a long silence, he said, "It's the four words 'weighing' and 'cliques'."

Zhao Hong was stunned and thought seriously for half a day.

Zhao Mingzhi continued, "Although I don't understand the principles of being a monarch, there are always fish in clear water. People are not saints, and there are always strengths and weaknesses. No one is immune. You are the emperor, so you should be able to use officials like Pei Jiedu and ministers like Zhang Xianggong."

"What's the use of someone who can only talk..." Although Zhao Hong didn't dare to refute it completely, he couldn't help but mutter to himself.

  After attending imperial lectures for a long time, he felt that he had seen through these so-called "old ministers". They could speak very eloquently, but when it came to doing things - they knew nothing at all and could only hold back those who were doing the work!

If I hadn't trusted the Jiedushi Pei Yong and returned to the capital with him this time, it would have been all thanks to him that I went north to drive out the Di people. I might still be hiding in Caizhou now, or maybe I have been forced to Hangzhou!

Hearing his brother's thoughts, Zhao Mingzhi felt very complicated.

Between myself and Pei Yong... trust between the two of us goes without saying, but that's another matter, but I can't let my brother think in black and white like this.

"Mr. Zhang is not someone who only knows how to talk - how can anyone who can enter the two palaces be mediocre?" She paused, "As for Pei Yong, regardless of his ability and character, many things in the court require checks and balances, and cannot be entirely entrusted to one person's character."

"When Xiazhou was young, everyone praised him for his excellent qualities. When he ascended the throne, everyone in the court and the public praised him as a wise ruler. Times change, people's minds change, and not everyone can remain consistent..."

"I won't change! My sister and I won't change!" Zhao Hong suddenly said.

Zhao Mingzhi was stunned for a moment, but then he smiled and pointed at the many memorials on the ground and said, "There are a lot of things to do today. When you have time, why not find the records of the officials from the two governments and take a closer look..."

Zhao Hong nodded immediately.

Although things were in disarray, like a full tank of water pouring down on one's head, Zhao Mingzhi was tired but his heart was still very hot.

Such a lot of good news meant that not only had the situation on the front line been reversed and most of the north had been recovered, the court also had to make adjustments in response to the situation. Not to mention that the Privy Council had to redeploy troops accordingly, but it also had to work with the Transport Bureau to arrange for the supply of baggage and fodder: as the saying goes, "the army does not move before the food and fodder must go first." The more lost territory the front line recovered, the longer the supply transportation line would be, and the other government offices would have more things to do.

——Many cities and counties had been in the hands of the Di people for a long time, and the people of Jin fled south one after another. Now that they have regained their homeland, even if the court does not mobilize them, they are eager to go back as soon as possible while the spring plowing season is not over. They want to plant some wheat or grain so that they will not starve to death in the autumn and winter of next year.

And who would take care of the local public security when arranging for so many people to return to the north? What if there were fights, robberies, or casualties? The officials in charge, the clerks, the patrol officers, and the village heads, etc., might not seem to be a big deal on weekdays, but when they are really needed, it would be troublesome if any of them are missing.

Just as the whole court was in a state of chaos, the head of Di army marshal Zong Mao was sent to the capital along with two pieces of news that shocked the court and the public - Di leader Qimu was killed in a fall, and his brother Zonggu succeeded him. He planned to negotiate peace with the Jin Dynasty and wanted to ask for the eldest princess Zhao Mingzhi in marriage.

  Thank you Sherri for personally giving me the Zuojue Heshi Bi and the sachet. We agreed not to give large rewards, so don't break the agreement!

Thank you Ni Zao for giving me two sachets and three amulets, Angelica for hanging two sachets for me, and Zhe Yangchun for giving me a sachet and amulet, and Hallelujah, Annieie, and Tingyu xlh for giving me one sachet each~

Thank you to book friends 20200606081347166 and Xianlin for the amulet~

I have been recuperating for a long time, and I am still slowly getting used to it. I am very grateful for the rewards you gave me during the long hiatus last year. Due to space limitations, I will not list the IDs one by one. I have carefully collected all the kindness QAQ

I am not too confident to read the comments yet. I can only take a sneak peek at the chapter reviews. I am too embarrassed to say anything else. I will try my best to update QAQ. Thank you to everyone who has been waiting for a long time and has not given up on the article~