I studied in modern times

Chapter 878 An Lushan PTSD Syndrome Outbreak

July Dingmao (18th) of the second year of Yuanyou.

Zhao Xu had just finished his daily morning exercise and was planning to return to the palace to take a shower and change clothes.

Guo Zhongxiao came before him and reported, "Your Majesty, Minister Li of the Privy Council has just handed me a letter begging for an audience with Your Majesty."

Zhao Xu groaned and said, "Please wait for me in the quiet room of the East Pavilion. I will come after I take a bath!"

"promise!"

He returned to the palace, took a bath, changed into clean clothes with the help of the female officials, and then came to the quiet room in the east hall of Funing Palace.

Li Qingchen has been waiting for him here for a long time.

"I, the minister in charge of the Privy Council, respectfully wish His Majesty the Emperor the best of health!"

When Zhao Xu sat on the imperial throne at the head, Li Qingchen stepped forward and bowed to greet him.

"I'm in good health!" Zhao Xu smiled and nodded, then ordered his attendants, "Please give the lord a seat and some tea."

Someone brought a chair and served tea.

After Li Qingchen expressed his gratitude, he sat down.

He is the only one among the current prime ministers who has lived through the Yuanfeng era.

At the same time, he was also an open supporter of the imperial party.

The three people who were most active when the crown prince was chosen were Cai Que, Zhang Dun and Li Qingchen.

It was these three people who coerced Wang Gui, and even forced Wang Gui to say those words in person - the official already has a son.

This finalized the matter and unified the stance of all officials in the capital - there was only one person in the Song Dynasty who was qualified to be appointed crown prince.

That is - the sixth prince, Prince of Yan'an!
Therefore, although there have been many changes in government since Yuanyou.

But Li Qingchen's position is as stable as a rock.

Of course, in the Song Dynasty, there was no one who could stay in one position forever.

Even Yan Shu is no exception!
Therefore, Li Qingchen knew that he had little time left to take the initiative to request the county.

At the latest before the end of the year, he had to take the initiative to submit a petition to request the county.

Otherwise, it might not be very decent.

It is for this reason that Li Qingchen now regards every day he spends in the Privy Council as his last day.

Work hard and reform diligently in the hope of leaving behind a political legacy so that we can make a comeback in the future, or even go further.

But now, he was in trouble, a trouble he couldn't solve on his own.

After Li Qingchen sat down, he cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, I am here to ask for an audience because of the Xihe generals' return to the capital to report on their duties..."

"Hmm?" Zhao Xu frowned slightly. He naturally knew what Li Qingchen was talking about.
"But the upright officials in the court are causing trouble for my husband again?" Zhao Xu asked.

The generals of Xihe won countless victories and made numerous military achievements in last year's war.

In his previous life, Zhao Xu was a monarch who adhered to the principle of "military rewards should not exceed one month".

After studying abroad in modern times and learning from three generations of generals, he went a step further and wished that all the military commanders along the border could feel his kindness and warmth at all times.

Therefore, even during war, the imperial edicts of reward never stopped.

He was not afraid at all. He gave out rewards too quickly and conferred too many titles, resulting in no more rewards to give and no more titles to confer.

As long as the people below dare to report it, he will dare to confer titles and rewards.

As a result, not only Xihe, but also the civil and military officials along the entire border were promoted during that period.

The miracle of the young envoy jumping directly into Yao County after winning a battle happened more than once.

As for the examples of rampant ascension in Yaojun, there were several of them.

For example, the Zhongpu on Xihe Road.

Before the war, he was the Imperial Envoy and Governor of Changzhou, and was appointed as the Governor of Hezhou and the Military Commander of Hezhou.

A standard remote county official.

But after the war, rewards will be given according to merit.

Zhong Pu jumped directly from Yao County to Hengban and was appointed as the Sifangguan Envoy and Suzhou Tuanlian Envoy, which was not far from becoming a full-time official.

Zhong Jianzhong, who was sent by Zhao Xu to gild his reputation, was promoted from a small envoy of the third class to a great envoy and was granted the title of Chongban in the Inner Palace because he followed Zhong Pu to defeat the Tubo at the city of Xige, dispatched various troops, and assisted various parties for his meritorious services.

Zhong Jianzhong's younger brother Zhong Shizhong followed the famous Xihe general, Akmi, the deputy commander of the Lanzhou army, the imperial envoy, and the governor of Langzhou, to rush to the support of Wen Xixin's Miaochuan City. They defeated the invading western bandits outside Miaochuan City, and then pursued the western bandits together with Wen Xixin's troops.

Then they fought a battle in Shuimogou with Zhuo Luo and the troops from the Southern Military Supervision Office who came to support the western bandits.

Although they failed to destroy their stronghold in Shuimogou, they successfully established several bridgeheads in the Shuimogou area.

As long as the imperial court is willing, fortifications can be built there at any time.

And where is Shuimogou?
This is part of the Zhuanglang River Valley and is an absolutely strategic location!

In Zhao Xu's previous life, Zhang Dun had strongly advocated that the Song army march westward from Lanzhou, occupy Kalaochuan, and then march into the Zhuanglang River Valley to seize this strategic location, thereby cutting off the connection between Tubo and Western Xia and isolating these two forces.

Then they could emulate the strategy of Emperor Wu of Han when he deployed troops in Hexi, launching an attack on Ganzhou and Liangzhou from this area, cutting off the connection between the Hexi Corridor and Western Xia and thus destroying one of its arms.

Therefore, after the war, Zhong Shizhong jumped directly from a small envoy of the third class to the chief and deputy envoy of various departments based on his military merits - although, he was only the deputy envoy of the supply warehouse, the lowest rank among the chief and deputy envoys of various departments.

But it’s still amazing enough!

This is the effect of victory in war.

Since Shang Yang's reforms, military merit has become a powerful weapon to break down all obstacles in this land.

Even in the Northern and Southern Dynasties when clan politics was rampant, military merit could allow a person from a poor family to cross the class barrier.

The Song Dynasty is no exception!

After all, no one wants to see another Six Garrisons Uprising, another Erzhu Rong coming to Beijing and leading everyone to another Yellow River diving competition. But the problem is that the Song Dynasty is special.

The special point is that there are a large number of foreign officials and generals in the Song army, especially in Xihe.

Moreover, these people come from all kinds of backgrounds and have a lot of mixed up connections.

There are all kinds of people, such as Tibetans, Dangxiang people, and Qiang people.

There were even Uighurs, Khotanese, and people who claimed to be descendants of the Tang Dynasty's Guiyi Army mixed in.

The situation was so complicated that even though Li Xian had served in Xihe for a long time, when Zhao Xu asked him about the background of a certain Xihe general, he sometimes couldn't explain it clearly.

If it were in the Tang Dynasty, it wouldn't be a problem if the army had a more complex composition.

It can even be considered an advantage!

Especially at the end of the Tang Dynasty!
Many pure Han vassal states did not care about the life or death of the emperor in Chang'an.

However, the mixed Hu people from the surrounding counties are so loyal to the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty that they can be testified by the sun and the moon!
After the fall of the Tang Dynasty, there were many people who lost their mothers and parents.

It has a kind of beauty that reminds us of the time when Wang Mang usurped the Han Dynasty and the Huns were furious.

However, the special thing about the Song Dynasty is that——

The Song Dynasty not only suffered from late-stage Liao phobia, but also An Lushan PTSD syndrome.

Everyone in the court, from top to bottom, looked at the foreign officials and generals with tinted glasses.

Various PUA people also tried their best to exclude foreign officials and generals from the mainstream circle.

Before Zhao Xu ascended the throne, foreign officials and generals were not even allowed to hold official positions in the inner counties - even if they were demoted, they were not allowed.

He even invented a special grinding system for these people, allowing them to play on their own.

It was not until the first year of Yuanyou that Zhao Xu issued an edict allowing foreign officials and generals to use the same system of examination and approval as Han officials and generals on a voluntary basis.

This decree greatly inspired the morale and fighting spirit of the generals of all ethnic groups in Xihe during last year's war.

Clench the entire Xihe River into a fist.

But now, it has become a big trouble for the court.

because……

There were a large number of foreign officials and generals who made great contributions in the war.

Moreover, Zhao Xu had already issued an edict to fulfill the reward truthfully.

For example, Akmi, who took Zhong Jianzhong to relieve Miaochuan, was promoted three levels after the war because of his military exploits.

His rank was promoted from deputy military commander of Lanzhou to commander-in-chief of Lanzhou military and in charge of pacifying the officials of Miaochuan - a serious and independent official!

As for his military rank, he jumped directly from Yaojun to Hengban - he was appointed as the deputy envoy of Dongshanggemen and the training envoy of Jianning Army.

Although, it is only at the bottom of the class.

But this is still a shocking thing!

Before Akmi, no foreign general under the rule of the imperial court had ever risen to a position of real power.

In the past, the horizontal and regular titles granted by the imperial court to foreign officials were a form of external control and enthronement.

Akmeet broke this precedent.

He became the first foreign official to be appointed as a powerful official in a border county.

At that time, many people in the court were already jumping up and down.

Many people even said that if things continued like this, the An-Shi Rebellion would not be far away.

Akmi had served in the army in Xihe Road for more than ten years, following Li Xian and had made countless contributions.

At the same time, he also went to Beijing many times to report on his work and accepted obedience tests from countless people at all levels of the Song Dynasty court.

He is like this.

After the imperial edicts rewarding other foreign officials were issued, those An Lushan PTSD patients in the court suddenly suffered from collective illness.

Everyone was worried. Looking at the long list of rewards for foreign officials and generals that came out of the Privy Council, they always felt that the An Lushan and Shi Siming of the Song Dynasty were hidden among these people.

Therefore, they firmly demanded that the imperial court revoke the rewards given to these foreign officials and generals.

If it really doesn't work, you can exchange the official title for money!

Don’t the Hu people love money?
Zhao Xu pretended not to notice these noises and simply ordered the Privy Council to execute the imperial edict.

After making a fuss for a while, those people probably felt bored and gradually stopped making trouble.

After all, Xihe Road is far away from them.

The foreign officials and generals of Xihe had never appeared before them.

However, during this Kuncheng Festival, the Xihe generals, led by Zhao Xie, Xiang Zonghui and Gao Gongji, returned to the capital to report on their work, and paid homage to Zhao Xu. They also went to the Privy Council to receive their official certificates and official tokens.

Naturally, those foreign officials and generals who had made military achievements in last year's war and had been rewarded should also do the same.

As a result, these An Lushan PTSD patients were stimulated again and collectively fell ill.

They didn't dare to look for Zhao Xu - because they knew that Zhao Xu was the mastermind behind everything.

So, he simply went to cause trouble for Li Qingchen, who presided over the Privy Council.

All kinds of moral kidnapping, threats, coercion...

Li Qingchen couldn't stand being harassed by these people these days.

At the same time, he did not dare to face those accusations - now some people in the court have compared him to Li Linfu.

There is no other choice but to find Zhao Xu.

(End of this chapter)