Zhurou

Chapter 258: Meeting

The list of candidates compiled by the Taichang Temple was two thick volumes. Zhang Li was originally just perfunctory and casually copied a few words, but now he became interested and started to look through it carefully. After a while, he found the page about Lu Xianzhang in the second volume.

After all, he was the son-in-law carefully selected by the former prime minister. Lu Xianzhang was a graduate of two lists and was promoted to two ministries at a young age. Now he is also the acting governor of Kyoto Prefecture. He holds a high position and has great power. His character is also well-known to be moderate and peaceful. Even if the words on paper are just plain and straightforward, they are still eye-catching.

Zhang Li couldn't help but frown, and searched for a long time before he found Pei Yong's name at the back.

As a military governor in charge of local military and political affairs, and with numerous military achievements, Pei Yong naturally stood out.

Zhang Li first clamped the two pages with wooden sticks before comparing them with the other candidates. After looking at them for a long time, he felt that Prime Minister Lu was very dangerous.

It's not like he had the leisure to watch Romance of the Three Kingdoms and shed tears, or worry about Lu Xianzhang, but he knew very well that as long as Zhao Mingzhi was in power, she would delay going north to redeem the retired emperor. And if she recruited Lu Xianzhang as her husband, it would not be of any benefit to the current situation. With the help of the Vice Prime Minister, the princess would only become more powerful.

How can this be possible!

Zhang Li knew that he was of low status and his influence was not taken seriously by the court. There were some people in the court who could influence this matter, but they all had their own plans.

The other officials had gained benefits from the current emperor, and were indulging in power and pleasure. They were not willing to do their best for an emperor who might not be able to turn the tables.

But Zhang Li was still concerned about his family. Especially after he had offended the princess and the emperor in power, he knew that if the situation did not change and the emperor could not be replaced, he would have no way out at all.

At this moment, he was holding two booklets in his hands. After looking at all the candidates in them, he had a vague idea in mind.

I am just a powerless ceremonial official and I can't do anything to Zhao, but is it true that everyone in the world can't do anything to Zhao?

  People of insight all knew that the Jiedushi Pei Yong was about to return to Jingzhao Prefecture, and by then, the princess would follow wherever she went. So could she still stay in the capital alone?

Even if she wanted to stay, does it mean that only the Zhao family cares about face, and the Pei family is shameless?

It would be best if the two sides fought. No matter which side won, either the Zhao family would have to move away and go to Jingzhao Prefecture and never interfere in the affairs of the court again. Otherwise, Pei Yong would be suppressed by the royal family and would have to give in, and the Zhao family would have to stay in the capital.

However, this person is arrogant and domineering, and he also holds military power. How could he tolerate such anger? Even if he is not forced to rebel, it will definitely be a bad situation.

No matter what, whether it is for myself or the Emperor of Xiazhou, there are only benefits and no harm.

Zhang Li studied it for a long time. Once he made up his mind, he untied the hemp rope on the spine of the book and started writing on the biographies of Lu and Pei, deleting, modifying, adding, or subtracting.

He was good at writing and had a plan in mind, so he finished revising the biographies of the two men in less than half an hour. As expected, after reading it through again, he found that it was written in the style of the Spring and Autumn Annals. After the arrangement of the text, it made Lu Xianzhang look inferior to him. He also exaggerated his shortcomings, glossed over his outstanding points, and then played up Pei Yong's strengths and avoided his weaknesses.

As the two grew stronger, the other weakened. Sure enough, the Pei man suddenly became outstanding, standing out from the crowd, and seemed to be made for the princess.

Zhang Li read it silently several times in his mind, savoring it over and over again, before he felt that there was no problem. He copied it again, put the two pages of paper back into the book, and then bound it.

The next morning, he went to see the Minister of Rites himself. He did not explain his changes in detail, but just mentioned them briefly and showed them to the other party.

The Minister of Rites took a quick read and discovered the differences. He then found the old manuscript and read it word for word silently. After he finished reading, he just glanced at Zhang Li and said nothing more. He took the new booklet and gave it to the Director of the Imperial Observatory.

The latter did not dare to delay either. He had obtained the list long ago, and had calculated the horoscopes and other matters in advance. He also compiled the results into a book, and after the court meeting that day, he and the other party requested an audience with the emperor.

When the two men met Zhao Hong, they handed over the list and told the truth, briefly introducing the candidates on the list.

Zhao Hong listened and looked at them, flipping through them again and again, only to find that each one was unsuitable and none of them could match his sister. He couldn't help but frown and asked, "Are these the only ones?"

The Minister of Rites said hurriedly, "Because they need officials of similar age, good character and talent, and also have restrictions on height and appearance. After selecting, there are not many left."

Zhao Hong said: "There is no rush for this matter, we need to investigate it carefully..."

Hearing what Zhao Hong said, the Minister of Rites could not help but change color, and said, "Your Majesty, this matter may not be urgent. Your Highness is in the prime of life. Even if there is another special examination this year, the palace examination will be held next year. By then, who knows how many unmarried talents will be there... If his family is too humble, he will definitely not be suitable. There are not many suitable people now, let alone next year? With the increase and decrease offsetting each other, it may be better to choose now."

Zhao Hong was very unhappy and said, "Do I have to choose from these people? If I can't find a suitable one, do I have to marry her? I have no choice but to marry..."

However, he did not finish what he said. Thinking about how many times everyone had said that increasing the population would promote marriage, Zhao Hong finally shut up. But he still felt very uncomfortable in his heart.

The director of the Imperial Observatory and the minister of the Ministry of Rites who were standing below pretended not to hear anything and played deaf and dumb.

Zhao Hong flipped through the pages for a long time and finally finished. As expected, Lu and Pei stood out and were the few who left a deep impression on him. After reading the two pages carefully, he couldn't help but exclaimed, "Huh?" and asked, "Has Lu Canzheng been engaged twice before?"

The Minister of the Ministry of Rites immediately stepped forward and told him about Lü Xianzhang's engagements with the granddaughter and daughter of Prime Minister Peng. He then said, "Although there are reasons for this, I have to make it clear so that Your Majesty and Your Highness know what is going on. I heard that people in the court often say that Mr. Lu is a man of loyalty and righteousness, especially that Prime Minister Peng's disciples praised him a lot in the past..."

Zhao Hong had a good impression of Lu Xianzhang, so he didn't think much about it. He just kept reading and asked, "What does this eight characters mean?"

The director of the Imperial Observatory had to come forward to explain, saying that Lv Xianzhang's horoscope had a lot of wood in it, so it would be better if he could be matched with someone of the water and earth element. He then said, "Although your Highness also has a lot of wood in his horoscope, he would be matched with someone of the metal and fire element. It's not a perfect match, but it's not necessarily impossible..."

There was a sense of reluctance in the words.

Although the two did not mention Pei Yong's name, both on the list and in their words, they implicitly suppressed Lu Xianzhang and contrasted with Pei Yong.

Zhao Hong had been alert for a long time. The more he listened, the more he felt the bias. He asked a few more questions. Seeing that it was getting late, he circled a few candidates and asked the two to leave. He went to inquire more carefully. After the two left, they saw Zhang Yi, the deputy envoy of the Privy Council, who was waiting for the emperor's lecture outside the palace. Naturally, they had to pay respect to him and then leave.

The hour had come, and Zhang Yi entered the palace as expected. After the lecture, he was in no hurry to leave, but only asked, "I just met the Director of the Imperial Observatory and the Minister of Rites outside the palace. I think they came for the princess's selection of a consort. I wonder what the situation is?"

Although Zhao Hong was not very willing, he still briefly explained what he had just learned, trying to be as impartial as possible.

After listening to this, Zhang Yi suddenly asked, "Your Majesty, are you dissatisfied with Pei Jiedu?"

Zhao Hong had been sitting for half a day, his hips and legs were sore, and he felt dizzy. He was shocked when he heard this, and asked in surprise, "Why do you say that, Mr. Zhang?"

Zhang Yi said: "Your Majesty rarely mentioned Pei Jiedu in his speech. But in terms of official position and talent, is he any worse than others? I'm afraid he is the only one who won."

He added: "With the princess's status and appearance, whoever can stand out and become her consort will naturally be envied by thousands of people. If Pei Jiedu is among the candidates but is not chosen, I am afraid that he will be dissatisfied. The rewards from the court were not great when the Western Army returned this time. If they can be compensated a little this time..."

Zhao Hong held back for a long time before refraining from cursing. Finally, he said, "My elder sister is a royal family. When we went south, she made contributions while defending the city. Not only did she receive praise from the court, but she was also praised by the people. Could it be that in Zhang Qing's eyes, she was just a subsidy?"

Zhang Yi said sternly, "I will just talk about the facts. Your Majesty, please do not take my words out of context or let your emotions get the better of you. Your Majesty, you can ask Your Highness again about the old examples of going out to the frontier, marrying people, and making peace with foreigners. Didn't they include royal bloodlines?"

"Your Highness has always put the overall situation first. If you knew the reason, you would definitely agree and not object." He paused, and then asked again, "Besides, considering Pei Yong's behavior and achievements, it would not be a disgrace to Your Highness - just looking at all the candidates for the Prince Consort, isn't he the best among them?"

Zhao Hong didn't want to listen anymore, frowned and wanted to ask the person to leave the palace.

Zhang Yi hadn't finished speaking yet, and continued, "Although the court intends to have Pei Yong join the Privy Council, if he refuses and insists on returning to Jingzhao Prefecture, are we really going to let him return to his old place and occupy a place?"

"This person returns to the court with his merits. No matter what measures the court takes, whether it is to immediately reduce the military power or arrange for new people to travel west, it is too obvious. If the news spreads, Your Majesty will be ashamed. It is better to use the name of the princess, so that the imperial guards can guard her. It is legitimate and no one can say anything."

There was no need to think about the future. Zhao Hong had nothing to say to the other party at this moment. He almost used up all his self-control to not leave in anger.

He could no longer suppress his anger and said, "If what Zhang Qing said is true, if my sister marries him, she will be living in the same bed but different dreams, and her life will be very unfair. Pei Yong is not a fool, how could he not be on guard, and how could he agree to it?"

Zhang Yi said: "The royal family is looking for a prince consort, how can they allow rejection? If you really dare to refuse, then we need to find out the reason."

He added: "As for the follow-up - if Pei Yong goes against His Highness's wishes, wouldn't that be disrespecting the royal family? This is really disrespectful and should be punished."

At this point, he kindly reminded: "This is a rare opportunity. Your Majesty should summon Pei Yong to meet him and ask him what he really thinks. If you refuse now, the court must be more careful."

  ***

At the imperial lecture that day, Zhao Hong and Zhang Yi parted on bad terms.

  But the latter knew that the emperor hated what he said, but the arrow was on the string and had to be shot. If his own interests were at stake this time, if he didn't take the lead, who else could he expect?

In Zhang Yi's opinion, it was fortunate that Zhao Hong was still young and there was still a day when he could change his mind. Moreover, the young emperor was reasonable in character, which was very different from the retired emperor of Xiazhou. As long as the court officials argued with reason, they would always have the upper hand.

——There have always been many people in the Jin Dynasty who have strong prime ministers and weak emperors. No matter how ugly the quarrels between the emperor and his ministers will be in the future, as long as I have the power in my hands and can connect with the two governments, I can always win over the west wind. I can't give up because of fear. I should first distinguish between minor illnesses and serious problems.

Zhang Yi left the palace and went back to the Privy Council, where he worked for half a day. After leaving the office, he had to send someone to inquire about the news in private.

Han Yichang, the retainer, had been busy for many days and knew the master's intention. After replying that day, he hesitated for a moment and asked, "Master, you are only trying to do something else. If Pei Yong refuses to agree, won't it be a waste of effort?"

Zhang Yi just sneered and said, "He is not stupid. When he is hung up, he will still use the delaying tactic. When he returns to Jingzhao Prefecture, let alone this princess on earth, even if she is a princess in heaven, once the emperor is far away, she will not care about so many things, let alone such an emperor..."

He spoke out of turn for a moment, but he didn't take it too seriously and just urged his men to do their part.

Sure enough, from that day on, countless memorials were delivered to the emperor's desk like snowflakes. Some were worried that the northwest would not obey the orders of the court, and reminded the emperor that he must exercise strict control; some said that chaos was spreading and recommended Pei Jiedu to go and quell the rebellion; some requested to be an official in Jingzhao Prefecture to share the emperor's worries; and there were even some who suggested immediately changing the garrison and transferring the northwest and southeast troops.

Box after box of memorials were carried into the Chuigong Hall. Although Zhao Hong could not even read them all, after flipping through them so many times, he vaguely realized who these memorials were directed at.

Apart from memorials submitted to the court, ministers would always give advice whenever the two ministries discussed matters or when the imperial lectures were held several times a day.

People either asked the princess about the candidate for a prince consort, or the progress of the recruitment, or mentioned the dangers of Jingzhao Prefecture, or talked about the prestige of Prime Minister Peng in the past, and some even told many stories of the previous dynasties as if unintentionally, all about how the emperor used his tactics, how he borrowed power, how he balanced the civil and military affairs, how he used his confidants, how he used royal relatives, how he should restrain the power of his mother's family and his wife's family, how he should balance them, and so on.

No matter how people go around in circles, the essence remains the same. As long as you pay attention, you can always see the intention.

Zhao Hong was not a fool, so he naturally knew that these people's words and actions were just expressing their opinions. They wanted the Zhao and Pei families to get married. He felt aggrieved and ridiculous for a moment, but Zhao Mingzhi was listening to the doctor's instructions to take medicine and recuperate, and he didn't want to disturb her. After thinking about it, although he had no idea how to deal with it, he decided to summon Lu and Pei into the palace one after another and question them one by one.

Because he had been with Lu Xianzhang for a long time, he knew that he was a man of deep character. Also, because Zhao Hong was just a little boy, he had no way of asking about such matters as marriage between men and women. After all the talk, he just got a brief understanding and verification of the behavior and then let the man go.

When he summoned Pei Yong again, he did the same thing. However, he was only halfway through the question when he thought of what Zhang Yi had said before. He hesitated for a moment and thought to himself: If this person really doesn't want to, wouldn't it be embarrassing for my sister if I asked again? Besides, my sister doesn't know about this yet. Is it okay for me to make such a decision on my own?

For a moment, there was silence.

"Your Majesty, are you so concerned about the matter of selecting a prince consort?"

Zhao Hong was stunned and felt embarrassed when he heard the man opposite him say, "Since it is a recruitment, why not ask the person who is recruiting first? I am just waiting to be summoned, so I don't want to brag too much."