I studied in modern times

Chapter 1049 Yelü Hongji's Proposal

"Legend has it that the palace where the Zhao Feiyan sisters lived had windows made of green glazed tiles, which were so bright that not even a hair could be hidden!"

"Emperor Wu of Jin also used glass screens for his windows. When Man Fen came to pay his respects, he looked troubled upon seeing the glass screens and said to Emperor Wu: 'I am like a Wu ox, panting when I see the moon!'"

As Empress Dowager Xiang looked at the glass windows being installed in Qingshou Palace, she couldn't help but exclaim, "The glassware produced by our Great Song Dynasty today surpasses that of the Han and Jin Dynasties!"

The Empress Dowager was also very satisfied with the glass windows that were being installed, and her smile never stopped.

Even the melancholy of living deep within the palace and not being able to hear about the outside world dissipated considerably.

That's just the kind of person she is.

I can skip a meal, but I can't lose face!

She likes whoever makes her look good.

Seeing this, Zhao Xu chuckled and said, "Your Majesty, in my opinion, after the glazed windows of Qingshou Palace and Baoci Palace are replaced, we should invite all the ladies of the sixth rank and above from the capital to the palace to properly admire the new palaces..."

The Empress Dowager was overjoyed and nodded repeatedly, "Good! Good!"

"That's how it should be!"

A woman's desire to show off is innate.

Moreover, people tend to show off more as they get older; this has been true throughout history.

"Your Majesty is right..." Empress Dowager Xiang and the Grand Empress Dowager had been mother-in-law and daughter-in-law for nearly twenty years, how could she not know this aunt's temperament? Hearing this, she smiled and said, "In my opinion, even now, all the imperial concubines and noble consorts of the palaces and pavilions should come and see..."

The Empress Dowager's eyes lit up immediately, and she said, "Is that so... It's time to invite all the imperial concubines and noble consorts to come and take a look..."

This is a colorless window that is more beautiful and more precious than the glazed windows of the Han and Jin dynasties.

How can we not invite those former imperial concubines and dowager consorts to come and have a look, so they can be envious?!

Upon seeing this, Zhao Xu naturally took his leave and departed.

He's now in puberty, so he should avoid any appearance of impropriety with the Dowager Consorts and Imperial Concubines.

Because the youngest living concubine of Emperor Renmiao is not yet forty years old.

When Emperor Yingzong was seriously ill, the three concubines he took in to bring him good luck were all around thirty years old.

As for his father?

Several beauties who are still under twenty years old have been kept.

Because of Wu Zetian, these young and beautiful concubines of the late emperor were regarded as a scourge by the court officials.

The two empresses, especially Empress Dowager Xiang, were also on high alert regarding this matter.

For their own good, Zhao Xu never met with these people.

Because meeting in person is troublesome.

It could even kill them!
All I can say is that Wu Zetian completely destroyed the path for women to gain power in the palace!
……

After leaving Qingshou Palace, Zhao Xu did not return to Funing Palace, but instead led his men to Jiying Palace.

This is because the renovation of the Funing Hall has not yet been completed.

Conservative estimates suggest it will take another half a month to complete the project.

After that, it will need to be ventilated for at least half a month, which means that Zhao Xu can not move in until at least June.

So he moved to the Jiying Hall to live.

Compared to Funing Hall, Jiying Hall is actually more suitable as an office space.

The main reason is that it is very close to the government offices of the two prefectures and six ministries.

Especially the Academy of Sciences and the Privy Council—you can get there just by opening a door.

Therefore, after Zhao Xu moved to the Jiying Hall, he simply started working there.

Soon, the advantages of working in the Jiying Hall became apparent—the efficiency of communication between the Tongjian Division increased several times over.

Meanwhile, who did Zhao Xu want to see? With whom did he want to discuss state affairs?

Once an order is given, the other party only needs to be working in the capital's government office, and they can arrive in front of Zhao Xu in a maximum of 15 minutes.

However, the shortcomings of using the Jiying Hall for office work are also prominent – ​​there are vulnerabilities in terms of security.

If someone were to attempt to assassinate the emperor, then assassinating the Zhao Emperor residing in the Funing Palace and assassinating the Zhao Emperor residing in the Jiying Palace are two completely different things.

The former requires passing through numerous palaces, with several palace gates blocking the way.

And the latter?
Passing through the gate of the Capital Hall, you will find yourself at the Hall of Gathering Heroes!

It should be noted that just a few decades ago, in the eighth year of the Qingli reign, there was a major treason case in which four officials of the Imperial City Guard killed their superiors in the dead of night, seized weapons and armor, and then fought their way through most of the Imperial City, all the way to the front of the Temple of Benevolence's sleeping quarters!
If it weren't for Cisheng Guangxian's unwavering composure and calm command in the face of danger, the four rebel soldiers would not have been able to be stopped at the entrance of the sleeping quarters.

If Renmiao had been residing in Jiying Hall at that time, those four rebel soldiers could have reached Renmiao at top speed and carried out a legendary regicide.

What happened after that?
It was after learning from this lesson that Emperor Zhao strengthened palace security. After the palace gates were locked, no one was allowed to cross the palace walls without an imperial edict.

Anyone who disobeys will be executed without mercy!

In Zhao Xu's previous life, in the eighth year of the Yuanfeng era, Zhao Xu's younger sister, the fifth princess Huiguo, died because she fell seriously ill in the middle of the night but could not receive timely treatment due to the palace restrictions.

In this life, thanks to Zhao Xu's intervention, Qian Yi managed to obtain an imperial decree during a visit to the Empress Dowager, allowing him to spend the night in the palace. This was how the life of his poor, sensible younger sister was extended.

However, after Zhao Xu came to power, he did not make any humane reforms to the old palace regulations.

On the contrary, for the sake of his own life, he emphasized strengthening the discipline of the palace!
This makes it even more inhumane!
At the same time, except when he was sleeping, he was always surrounded by a loyal squad of imperial guards.

Even when discussing matters in secret with his ministers, he would always have the Yan brothers lead the Imperial Guards.

At the same time, he will always have a fully armed Imperial Guard by his side to shield him from gunfire.

Currently, the Yan Yuan brothers, who have been tested and proven their abilities, are doing this work.

Besides, Zhao Xu has always been very kind to the people around him.

Those who do well are always rewarded and promoted.

She speaks softly to almost everyone around her, and even if someone makes a mistake, she will not scold them or punish them further.

They might even offer reassurance—of course, there's no slack in punishment either.

However, usually, these people are either not punished, or they are directly expelled!
This nipps the danger in the bud!

Give no assassin a chance!

These are all lessons Zhao Xu learned from the experiences of countless unfortunate men in history who were assassinated.

But that alone is not enough.

Therefore, anyone around him, even a court official, had to be vetted.

He must have parents, uncles, and aunts!

Furthermore, one must have a relatively close emotional connection with these relatives.

At the same time, they also had to be observed by the Inner Palace Attendants Bureau.

Only those who are honest, hardworking, and grateful will be employed.

These measures, like a net, surrounded Zhao Xu with loyal ministers and righteous men!

It's not that Zhao Xu was suspicious; in fact, monarchs have always been suspicious.

This was especially true of the Zhao officials!

Everyone looks like a traitor to him.

They were constantly on guard against rebellions by civil officials, military officials, relatives of the emperor, and nobles!

To be honest, Zhao Xu only harassed those around him, and was a monarch who delegated power to civil and military officials within reasonable limits.

He was already an anomaly among the Zhao emperors!

……

Back at the Jiying Hall, Zhao Xu had just rested for a while when Zhang Shuye, the Palace Attendant, delivered the prepared list of those to be received.

Zhao Xu took it, glanced at it, and then narrowed his eyes.

"Yelü Ju wants to see me?"

Do you know what it is?

Zhang Shuye bowed and replied, "Your Majesty, it seems that the Academician of the Ministry of Justice is related to the Liao Emperor!"

Zhao Xu gave an "oh" and rubbed his hands together expressionlessly.

At the end of April, Yelü Hongji sent men to escort the annual tribute from Goryeo to Bianjing.

Currently, the silver is being inspected at the Ministry of Revenue to confirm its purity and weight. Along with the tribute from Goryeo, there are also legends of Liao people making a fortune in gold and silver mines in Japan.

It is said that Xiao Buda, a general of the Liao Dynasty, obtained nearly 100,000 taels of silver from Japan in just one month!
This shocked the world!

The entire Song Dynasty was dumbfounded and speechless.

Many scholars and officials were becoming somewhat incoherent.

Especially after the Liao people spread the word that the gold and silver mines Xiao Buda found in Japan were found in the Chongwen Hall of the Song Dynasty, based on the oral account of Cheng Xun, who had come to Song to seek Buddhist teachings.

The scholar-officials beat their chests and stamped their feet in frustration.

They all rushed to Chongwen Hall to look it up, and then...

They indeed found the "Japanese mountains and rivers geography" and "strange tales" that Cheng Xun had dictated back then.

Immediately, they all looked as if they had lost their parents, cursing Cheng Xun as a scourge to the world and a traitor to Japan!
How could you so casually write down your country's secrets and then tell others?

This child is carrying gold in the bustling city!

It's okay now!
The Northern barbarians have found us by following the clues!
From then on, the nation was lost, and the state collapsed!
Cheng Xun deserves to die a thousand deaths!
Of course, what they hate even more is—why didn't they notice?

This is really not right!
Immediately afterwards, these people turned their guns on Xing Shu and began to verbally and in writing attack him.

They all swore that Xing Shu must have colluded with the Northern barbarians.

The secret files of Chongwen Hall must have been sold to the Northern Barbarians by Xing Shu!

Therefore—please execute him but pardon him to appease the world!
Xing Shu was like a mute eating bitter herbs, unable to express his suffering.

The only option is to close the door to visitors.

Because, in essence, these people are not wrong.

The documents of the Japanese monk Seijin in Chongwen Hall were indeed sent to the Northern Barbarians by his uncle, Xing Shu.

but……

He was acting on imperial orders.

But would he dare to say it?

No, I wouldn't dare!
They could only silently shoulder the blame and endure the criticism from the world.

Zhao Xu had only one attitude towards these noises—ignore them!
This incident also made Zhao Xu somewhat disappointed with the mainstream scholar-officials of the Song Dynasty—their first reaction was to condemn Xing Shu for betraying the country.

Instead of being like the scholars of the Han and Tang dynasties who considered mountains of gold and silver as a gift from heaven!
The northern barbarians have now seized power; it is truly a case of the sword being held upside down!

We humbly request Your Majesty to send a large army to seize it!
The emperors and ministers of the Han and Tang dynasties would certainly have mobilized a million troops to punish them.

It can only be said that Song Dynasty Confucian scholars were indeed no longer the same species as Han Dynasty and Tang Dynasty Confucian scholars.

But, it doesn't matter.

The Liao people will continue to provoke them.

Zhao Xu refused to believe it!

When the Liao people became rich in Japan, they began to go on a shopping spree in the Song Dynasty.

Could the scholar-officials of the Song Dynasty sit still?

Don't they want to expand outwards?
If they can't defeat the Liao people, how could they not defeat the Southeast Asian countries?
Once they start expanding outwards, they can't stop.

After considering these things, Zhao Xu nodded and said, "Alright!"

"Zhang Sheren, arrange for the Liao envoy to be the first to pay homage!"

Come to think of it, it had been a while since he had a proper heart-to-heart talk with Yelü Ju.

Zhao Xu still cared for Yelü Ju.

After all, the Liao Dynasty was so vast that it was no easy feat to cultivate someone like Yelü Ju.

……

An hour later, Yelü Ju was brought before Zhao Xu.

Zhao Xu became serious upon seeing his attire.

Because today Yelü Ju is wearing the formal official robes of a Liao Dynasty minister.

He wore a narrow-hemmed purple robe, a headscarf, and a red undershirt.

This is an exhibition!

The Liao people developed their official robes by incorporating some Khitan ethnic characteristics into the Hanfu (traditional Han clothing).

In terms of style, it is seven or eight parts similar to the official robes of the Tang Dynasty!
The emperors of the Zhao dynasty were not pleased to see the Liao people dressed like this—damn it! What do you mean by dressing like this for me?
Are you trying to tell me that you are the rightful successors of the Tang Dynasty?!

The Liao people were extremely excited when they learned of this: "We heard that the Bian bandits dislike us wearing the Liao official robes?"
very good!

I'm going to wear it and show you!

The pirates of Bian!

Since Zhu Wen, you have usurped the throne and wreaked havoc on China!
The sacred instruments of state should be held by those of virtue!
Therefore, when Yelü Ju first entered the court, he wore a long robe.

Later, as relations between the Song and Liao dynasties warmed up, and Yelü Ju was dragged into the mess by Xing Shu, he gradually stopped wearing it.

Today, however, Yelü Ju chose to wear it.

This in itself conveys a lot of information.

Zhao Xu was fairly familiar with Yelü Ju.

Although this Liao nobleman now owns property and businesses in the Song Dynasty, his interests and foundation also depend on the trade between the Song and Liao Dynasties.

Therefore, he was very close to the Song Dynasty.

In some instances, they would even proactively consider things from the perspective of the Song Dynasty.

His niche has become incredibly close to that of a comprador!

But he is a smart man.

How could he not know that only by maintaining the current balance between the Song and Liao dynasties could he and those behind him seize the greatest benefits?

and so……

Zhao Xu understood that when Yelü Ju put on the official robes of the Liao Dynasty, it was tantamount to announcing that he was there on official business.

This piqued Zhao Xu's curiosity—what could possibly make Yelü Ju adopt such a businesslike attitude in front of his patron?
Some time ago, in addition to sending annual tribute from Goryeo, the Liao emperor probably also brought him a secret order that he could not refuse!

Yelü Ju arrived at the hall and bowed deeply: "Your subject Ju greets His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty and respectfully wishes Your Majesty a long and healthy life!"

"Please have a seat, Minister Yelü!"

After Yelü Ju sat down, he readily bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I have come to see you today on the orders of my lord, to discuss with Your Majesty the matter of jointly attacking the Dangxiang..."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xu's eyes immediately flashed with a fierce light.

"Jointly attack the Tanguts?!" He suddenly stood up.

"Yes!" Yelü Ju bowed and said, "The Dangxiang people are tyrannical and cruel, leading beasts to devour people. They are not only a scourge to the Song Dynasty, but also a threat to the Liao Dynasty!"

"My lord wishes to lead an army of a million to hunt with Your Majesty in the lands of Lingxia and Hexi!"

"After the Tanguts are destroyed, the Tangut lands will be divided equally between the Song and Liao dynasties!"

"The lands of Hexi and Hetao shall belong to the Great Liao!"

"And the former territory of the Dingnan Army will belong to the Great Song Dynasty!"

"In this way, both Song and Liao will be at peace, and the people of both countries can share in peace!"

Zhao Xu's breathing quickened as he listened—the Song-Liao allied forces had jointly annihilated the Tanguts.

This was a military strategy proposed by Emperor Xingzong of Liao, Yelü Zongzhen, to the Song Dynasty.

But Inmyo Temple rejected it without hesitation!
Just kidding—if the Tanguts had been destroyed by the Liao, then the Song and Liao dynasties wouldn't have only shared a border in Hebei!
The Liao cavalry had more than one breakthrough point in Hebei!
Therefore, Emperor Renmiao not only rejected Emperor Xingzong of Liao's proposal, but also secretly informed the Tangut people of the news.

They even provided the Tanguts with considerable economic and military assistance!
This is the geopolitical situation in East Asia today.

The Western Xia, established by the Tangut people, was the weakest among the three kingdoms of Song, Liao, and Xia.

But whether the Song Dynasty or the Liao Dynasty wanted to destroy it, it was still a formidable threat.

On the other hand, they will do their utmost to provide support and assistance!

Now, Yelü Hongji has brought this matter up again...

What does he want to do?
Zhao Xu had to think about this problem!
(End of this chapter)