I traveled with them to the Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 118 Taking Back All Imperial Power

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"Wow……"

A loud cry was heard, and Zhao Ya's heart was relieved a little.

To be honest, Zhao Ya really didn’t know whether Li Lin and Ye Shiyun could save Fuling and her son?

In his previous life, Zhao Ya had never heard that Li Lin or Ye Shiyun had any experience in medicine.

However, Zhao Ya had also read the "Barefoot Doctor Manual". Although he did not remember much, he could confirm that what Ye Shiyun was copying was indeed the "Barefoot Doctor Manual".

The key point is that they did develop obstetric tools and medical equipment such as forceps, and there was indeed a possibility of saving Fuling and her child.

Only then did Zhao Yat let them give it a try with a desperate attitude.

Now it turns out that they really might succeed.

"You know what, they really have some good stuff!"

"Fuling and her son are so lucky!"

Soon, a female official came out to announce the good news: "Congratulations, Your Majesty, congratulations, Your Majesty, Concubine Shen and the prince are safe and sound!"

In fact, the female official felt a little guilty when she said this, because Ye Shiyun was still directing the palace maid who was good at needlework to suture Fuling's wound. Ye Shiyun was also saying something inexplicable like, "Now it depends on whether she can withstand the postoperative infection."

But then again, at least Fuling and the little prince seem safe and sound now, especially the little prince, who looks so healthy.

This good news must be reported to Zhao Ya first.

"He's truly a son!!!"

When Zhao Ya heard that Fuling had given birth to a son, he was overjoyed.

Don’t say Zhao Ya is too realistic.

The fact is, in this feudal society, having a son is more useful than having a daughter, especially for the emperor.

It is no exaggeration to say that with this son, Zhao Ya's throne was basically secure.

Let’s put it this way, if there was any unexpected incident that might affect the stability of Zhao Ya’s throne, Zhao Ya could directly appoint his son as the crown prince.

By then, Zhao Ya's son would be the most legitimate heir to the Zhao Song Dynasty, and no one else would dare to easily replace Zhao Ya.

Zhao Ya immediately issued an imperial decree: "The prince has just been born, and the country is prosperous. I wish to celebrate with all the ministers. The civil and military officials will receive different amounts of silk...I will grant amnesty to the whole country, and the whole world will celebrate..."

Zhao Ya also rewarded the midwife, imperial physician, messengers, palace maids, eunuchs, and eunuchs to commend their contributions.

Soon, someone brought Zhao Ya's son to Zhao Ya.

As soon as he picked it up, Zhao Ya found that this guy was very heavy, and estimated that he weighed at least eight kilograms.

Afterwards, Zhao Ya listened to Ye Shiyun's advice and issued a stern imperial edict, stipulating that pregnant concubines should control their diets and eat more high-quality protein foods like lean meat, fish, poultry, eggs, and milk, as well as fiber-rich foods like fruits and vegetables. They should eat small, frequent meals and avoid overeating, which could cause the fetus to become too large and difficult to deliver. Furthermore, pregnant concubines should engage in appropriate exercise, such as walking and climbing stairs, to control their weight, improve their cardiopulmonary function, and strengthen their muscles.

Zhao Ya looked at his son and found that although the boy's face was wrinkled, he could still vaguely see that his facial features had his own shadow.

When looking into his confused and curious eyes, Zhao Ya's heart seemed to be gently brushed by a warm current, an indescribable feeling of blood connection.

Zhao Ya gently touched the tender little hand with his fingers, and the boy's hand moved slightly, as if responding to the joy of first sight.

"You are my prince..."

Zhao Ya whispered softly, with a gentle light in his eyes.

Afterwards, Zhao Ya personally named his son "Zhao Yan".

The character "Yan" is formed by the characters "shui" and "xing", which originally refers to water flowing along the river and converging into the sea. It is extended to mean spreading and expanding.

Zhao Ya hoped that the birth of Zhao Yan would be a good start, allowing him to have more offspring and not have to worry about the issue of heirs in the future.

After Ye Shiyun and others finished stitching Fuling, the servants attentively transferred Fuling to her new residence - a separate small courtyard that Zhao Yagang had just rewarded her with.

If she had given birth to a son for the emperor during the reign of Zhao Xu, she could have at least become a noble concubine, if not the empress.

Even during the reign of Emperor Zhao Ya, if Fuling had given birth to Zhao Ya's eldest son, he would surely have risen to prominence.

This small courtyard was just the first reward Fuling received.

Soon, Zhao Ya went to visit Fuling in person, and for the first time ever, he hugged Fuling and chatted with her for more than an hour.

During this conversation, Zhao Ya expressed his desire to reward Fuling's family, but unexpectedly, Fuling didn't even know who his family was.

Zhao Ya had no choice but to give up and instead reward Fuling personally.

Then, Zheng Xiansu fulfilled her promise and adopted Fuling as her adopted daughter, ensuring Fuling's full security in the harem.

On the second day after the operation, Fuling developed a high fever.

Ye Shiyun used honeysuckle decoction for Poria cocos to take internally, crushed dandelion for external application, and also asked the imperial physician to give Poria cocos acupuncture to regulate the circulation of qi and blood, dredge the meridians, and harmonize yin and yang.

After all this tinkering, it turned out that Fuling actually managed to get through this ordeal without any major problems.

Li Lin and Ye Shiyun became famous overnight, and their status in the harem soared. Even Zheng Xiansu was very friendly to them and gave them many thank-you gifts on behalf of Fuling.

……

During the reigns of Emperor Taizu and Emperor Taizong of Song, the system still retained the legacy of military politics from the chaotic Five Dynasties period. Both of them had their own political power before ascending the throne. After ascending the throne, they were able to implement their will in the court by relying on their strong style and political tactics.

However, during the reign of Emperor Zhenzong of Song, the emperor's personality was not as strong as his two predecessors. In addition, the policy of respecting literature and suppressing military power that had begun to develop during the reign of Emperor Zhao Kuangyin naturally greatly increased the voice of literati in politics.

As a result, the emperor became more and more humble and respectful in his attitude towards the literati, and in disguise, this also established a new order in which the imperial power and the prime minister's power jointly ruled the world.

Later, with the maturity of the civil service system, the division of power between imperial power and prime ministerial power gradually became normalized.

During the reign of Emperor Renzong of Song, the power of censors was further strengthened.

The imperial power, the power of the prime minister, and the power of remonstration check and balance each other.

On the one hand, this made politics more transparent, and on the other hand, it actually restricted the desire for imperial power.

When Song Zhenzong and Song Renzong, father and son, passed away and the throne was passed to Song Yingzong and Song Shenzong, these two emperors were unwilling to have their imperial power checked and balanced.

Therefore, after they both came to power, one of them started the Puyi Dispute to split the relationship between the prime minister and the scholars of the world, and the other supported Wang Anshi's reforms, which split the scholar-officials into the New Party and the Old Party.

After years of political accumulation, Song Shenzong dismissed Wang Anshi from his position as prime minister and recovered his imperial power.

During the reign of Zhao Xu, the struggle between the old and new parties caused by the reform became more intense, and the scholar-officials continued to fight each other, resulting in losses on both sides.

As a result, the power of the prime minister and the power of remonstration continued to weaken, and the power of the emperor was further enhanced. During the reign of Zhao Ya.

Compared with Song Yingzong, Song Shenzong (including Zhao Xu), Emperor Zhao Ya was actually very weak at the beginning of his reign.

This was mainly because Zhao Ya did not inherit the throne from the crown prince, but "suddenly" obtained the throne from the prince.

This meant that Zhao Ya had almost no close ministers of his own.

——Before Zhao Ya ascended the throne, most of the people he appointed were marginal eunuchs like Huang Jingchen, Liang Shicheng, and Tong Guan, who had low status and lacked political energy. In the power game at the highest level, these little people were not worth mentioning at all.

Therefore, when Zhao Ya first ascended the throne, the only people he could rely on were Empress Dowager Xiang and the old party behind her.

But even if others don't know it, how could Zhao Ya not know that Empress Dowager Xiang and the Old Party are more of Zhao Ya's political allies and cannot be commanded by him?
This meant that after Zhao Ya ascended the throne, he had to treat his ministers with respect as teachers, just like Song Zhenzong and Song Renzong, and share the imperial power with Empress Dowager Xiang, so as to buy time to obtain his own imperial power.

Don't think Zhao Ya is overthinking.

Do you know what political slogans some of the old parties put forward at that time?

——The story of Jiayou.

That is, after Song Renzong passed away, during the Jiayou period, Song Yingzong, who succeeded him, asked Empress Dowager Cao to rule the country from behind the curtain even though he was an adult.

In other words, some members of the old party hope that Empress Dowager Xiang will become Empress Dowager Cao and Gao Taotao, and hope that Zhao Ya will become Emperor Yingzong of Song and Zhao Xu at the beginning of his succession to the throne.

Although Empress Dowager Xiang acted like a calm person who had no interest in political intrigue and was wholeheartedly good to Zhao Ya, and she only ruled the country from behind the scenes for three days before returning power to Zhao Ya.

But in fact, Empress Dowager Xiang has never relaxed her attention to political affairs.

Facts have proved that Empress Dowager Xiang not only had a strong desire for power, but also had sophisticated political tactics, even more so than Gao Taotao.

Let me put it this way, although Empress Dowager Xiang often stated that she had no interest in politics and supported Zhao Ya to rule the country personally, if she encountered something she really cared about, she would definitely express her attitude clearly and would not give in easily. Even when Zhao Ya and Empress Dowager Xiang had disagreements, Empress Dowager Xiang would let Zhao Ya obey her will.

For example, Empress Dowager Xiang was quite fond of Li Xian's adopted son, the eunuch Li Gu, and wanted to promote him, but Li Gu was a complete waste, and all the ministers disagreed. Empress Dowager Xiang went directly to Zhao Ya and asked Zhao Ya in an unquestionable tone to promote Li Gu.

Without saying a word, Zhao Ya promoted Li Gu seven levels in a row.

Afterwards, Zhao Ya also advised the Queen Mother not to argue with the prime minister.

It is worth mentioning that soon after he ascended the throne, Zhao Ya ignored Empress Dowager Xiang’s “opposition” and promoted Empress Dowager Xiang’s brothers Xiang Zonghui and Xiang Zongliang to the position of Jiedushi. Zhao Ya gave official positions to all of Empress Dowager Xiang’s brothers and nephews who did not hold official positions.

It is not difficult to see that during that period, no matter what Empress Dowager Xiang wanted to do, Zhao Ya would fully support her. He would also take the initiative to seek benefits for Empress Dowager Xiang, acting like a true filial son.

At that time, Zhao Ya was always clear-headed. He knew that although he could inherit the throne with the support of Empress Dowager Xiang, his political foundation was too shallow. Rather than saying that he was an emperor, it would be better to say that he was a puppet - a puppet of Empress Dowager Xiang.

To be honest, this was not what Empress Dowager Xiang meant. At least, Empress Dowager Xiang had never expressed such a statement, nor had she even hinted at such a statement. Everything was an active concession made by Zhao Ya.

The reason why Zhao Ya did this was,
One reason is that Empress Dowager Xiang has always had a huge influence on the old party, and Zhao Ya had to use the image of a filial son to win their favor and thus protect himself.

Secondly, it’s not that Zhao Ya has no competitors, nor that he cannot be replaced.

For example, Zhao Si, who once competed with Zhao Ya for the throne, has always been dissatisfied with Zhao Ya's succession.

Zhao Ya, who seized control of the Imperial City Bureau as soon as he ascended the throne, had long known that there were people in Zhao Si's palace who were ready to make moves. For example, Deng Duo, an official in Zhao Si's palace, had been arrogantly planning for his king to usurp the throne. He even wrote in large characters "Sui Longren, Deng Duo, a third-class loanee" with such confidence that he seemed not afraid of any evidence leaking out.

During that period, Concubine Zhu and Zhao Si, mother and son, did pose a threat to Zhao Ya. When Zhao Xu first ascended the throne, it was Concubine Zhu who sent the eunuch Lan Congxi to contact Zhang Dun, who played a significant role in Zhang Dun's appointment as prime minister. This made it possible for Zhang Dun to be wooed by them. Crucially, Liang Congzheng, the eunuch who commanded the imperial guards, had also long since defected to them.

What did Zhao Ya have at that time? Empress Dowager Xiang was not Zhao Ya's biological mother, and none of the ministers in the court were Zhao Ya's confidants, let alone military power.

Zhao Ji, who has been keeping his troops inactive, is also a potential danger.

Who can guarantee that Zhao Ya, who was isolated and helpless at that time, would not be replaced?

Therefore, during that period, Zhao Ya held on tightly to Empress Dowager Xiang, and according to Empress Dowager Xiang's wishes, recalled all the old party members and censors who were driven away by the new party.

After a number of old party members and censors were recalled, Zhao Ya restrained himself and restored propriety, accepted advice with an open mind, and was kind and open-minded, giving them the illusion that he might become Song Renzong.

At the same time, Zhao Ya used the institutional advantages of being an emperor to win over Zhang Dun, Zeng Bu, and Cai Bian, who were very fond of him, and hinted to them that he would inherit Zhao Xu's reforms.

In such a short period of time, Zhao Ya simultaneously seized the three trump cards of Empress Dowager Xiang, the New Party and the Old Party. With their help, he took over the Imperial City Administration and replaced his personal guards with Tong Guan, Wang Bing, He Guan and others. At the same time, he promoted his adoptive father-in-law, the famous general Guo Cheng, to the position of Taiwei to take charge of the imperial guards to counter Liang Congzheng.

Later, Zhao Ya took advantage of the party struggles between the old and new parties to gradually regain his imperial power and take the initiative.

To be honest, this was mainly due to the fact that, unlike Gao Taotao, although Empress Dowager Xiang had the intention to revive the Old Party and did not like the New Party, she knew very well that if the Zhao Song Dynasty wanted to survive, it was inseparable from reforms, and the Old Party would not reform at all. If they wanted to reform, they could only rely on the New Party. Therefore, when Zhao Ya intended to protect Zhang Dun and other members of the New Party, Empress Dowager Xiang chose to give in and did not liquidate the New Party. Instead, she hoped to reconcile the contradictions between the New Party and the Old Party.

During that period, Empress Dowager Xiang personally issued an imperial decree stating: "Throughout the Xining, Yuanfeng, Yuanyou, and Shaosheng eras, those who are suitable will be employed, and those who are not suitable will not be employed, and there is no need to distinguish between this time and that time."

Regarding the reforms carried out by Emperor Shenzong of Song, Empress Dowager Xiang also emphasized: "How could you deliberately destroy them?" "Emperor Shenzong was wise and sage, and no ruler of recent times could compare. However, in his later years, he made mistakes in employing people, which led to public discussion."

There were both praises and criticisms for the Empress Dowager, but in short, she was always calm and not extreme.

From this perspective, Empress Dowager Xiang is much smarter than that idiot Gao Taotao.

Now, after half a year of bargaining, as Zhao Ya showed that he was capable of being an emperor, as Zhang Dun completely turned to Zhao Ya, as all the ministers married into Zhao Ya's family, and as Zhao Ya had a son, Zhao Ya's throne was basically secure.

Seeing that Zhao Ya had grown stronger, some ministers began to impeach people around Empress Dowager Xiang, and even began to impeach Empress Dowager Xiang herself.

Chief Censor Feng Ji, Palace Censor Chen Shixi and others pointed out that although Empress Dowager Xiang had returned power to Zhao Ya on the surface, she was still interfering in state affairs in secret.

Empress Dowager Xiang understood the current situation and felt that Zhao Ya had the potential to become a good emperor, so she completely returned the imperial power to Zhao Ya.

As a result, Zhao Ya would visit Empress Dowager Xiang from time to time, and Zheng Xiansu and Wang Yisu would always go to Cide Palace, but they all tacitly agreed not to talk about politics anymore.

At this point, Zhao Ya took back all imperial power.

Immediately afterwards, Zhao Ya began to target Concubine Zhu and Zhao Si, mother and son.

Zhao Ya first sent Tong Guan to lead the Shen Ji Left Army and the Shen Ji Right Army to surround the royal army, and captured the eunuch Liang Congzheng who controlled the royal army and was affiliated with Concubine Zhu. He was executed on the spot and his property was confiscated and his family was interrogated.

Guo Cheng divided his personal army into six parts and sent them to six routes in the northwest, under the pretext of going to the front line for rotation training.

Immediately afterwards, Deng Duo, who had intended to rebel, was reported and sentenced to death, and his three clans were exterminated.

The censor Jiang Gongwang and the attendant Zhu Fu were worried that the situation would turn into a fratricide and a large-scale imprisonment, so they wrote letters to rescue Concubine Zhu and Zhao Si, mother and son, hoping that Zhao Ya would stop at the time and not investigate the matter further. As a result, they were exiled by Zhao Ya.

The censor Liu Zhengfu then submitted a memorial to persuade Zhao Ya to show mercy to others, but was exiled by Zhao Ya again.

After understanding Zhao Ya's intentions, how could the people handling the case not know what to do?
Soon, all of Zhao Si's gang members were arrested, their properties were searched, and their families were interrogated. Those who committed serious crimes were all executed.

Just when everyone thought that Zhao Ya would completely get rid of Concubine Zhu and Zhao Si, unexpectedly, Zhao Ya took the initiative to pardon them from death. He only stripped Zhao Si of his princely title, demoted him to Duke of Run, and confined him to his home for life. He also stripped Concubine Zhu of her title of Concubine Dowager, demoted her to Concubine Dowager, and imprisoned her in a side hall.

After this case, Zhao Ji took the initiative to expel most of his subordinates, including his playing partner Li Bangyan, leaving only a few playmates like Gao Qiu. He spent his days in debauchery and decadence, and was often punished by the Grand Zongzheng Temple for visiting brothels, making money by any means necessary, and allowing his evil servants to stir up public resentment...

……

(End of this chapter)