I traveled with them to the Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 12 Zhang Chun Wants to Become the Queen Mother

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night.

After meeting Zhang Chun, Ye Shiyun, Ma Xiaojiao, and Yuan Qingcheng, Li Lin told them, "I met Zhao Ji."

"So, is there any chance of saving him?" Ye Shiyun asked.

"He lives a life of luxury, is frivolous and dissolute, and gives in to pressure. When the Empress Dowager told him she didn't want to see him, he immediately got out. He has no backbone at all and is far worse than Zhao Ya. No wonder he caused the Jingkang Incident." Li Lin commented mercilessly, even a little harshly.

"I reiterate again, I absolutely do not agree with Zhao Ji being the emperor!" Li Lin said again.

Feeling that this still didn't express her resolute attitude, Li Lin bluntly stated, "I feel that one of my missions here is to prevent Zhao Ji from becoming emperor and to prevent the Jingkang Incident from happening. If, unfortunately, Zhao Ji still becomes emperor, I will go south to join Fang La and help Fang La defeat Zhao Ji, and then help Fang La defeat the Jin people."

"The Fang La uprising was in 1120, which is still more than years away. Are you sure you can wait that long?" Zhang Chun reminded.

Li Lin was disappointed to learn that Fang La would take so long to start an uprising. She asked, "Will Song Jiang start an uprising during this period?"

"Song Jiang's uprising was in 1119, only one year earlier than Fang La's uprising, which was still twenty years earlier," said Zhang Chun.

"What about others? Has there not been a single uprising in recent years?" Li Lin pressed on.

"During the Song Dynasty, there were a total of 433 peasant uprisings, an average of 1.5 per year. There have certainly been uprisings in recent years, but the scale and impact of these uprisings were so small that history books didn't even bother to record them. It can be seen that they never amounted to anything," said Zhang Chun.

After hearing this, Li Lin had no choice but to give up the idea of ​​joining the rebel army: "Then I will support Zhao Ya. If he can replace Zhao Ji and become the emperor, that would be great. If he can't replace Zhao Ji, I will help him rebel."

"The princes of the Song Dynasty had no military power and could not participate in politics, so there was no possibility of rebellion. Besides, even if we wanted to help Zhao Ya rebel, Zhao Ya had to have the intention to rebel first." Zhang Chun said.

"If Zhao Ya is not capable, I will find a way to start an uprising or rebellion myself. Anyway, I will never let Zhao Ji become the emperor." Li Lin said.

Ma Xiaojiao also shouted, "Yes, we would rather overthrow the Northern Song Dynasty than let Zhao Ji become the emperor. The Jingkang Shame was too shameful. If we let it happen, wouldn't our journey through time be in vain?"

Ye Shiyun and Yuan Qingcheng also expressed that Zhao Ji should not be allowed to become the emperor.

Originally, Zhang Chun was still considering whether he should go with the flow and try to accept Zhao Ji, help Zhao Ji change the Jingkang Shame, or even help Zhao Ji achieve true unification under that rare historical opportunity?
Li Lin's four daughters didn't know this, but how could Zhang Chun, a man well-versed in history, not know this? Although Zhao Ji had flaws like extravagance, favoring treacherous officials, stubborn self-righteousness, and a penchant for ostentation, he wasn't actually as bad as many people imagine. At least the Jingkang Incident couldn't be entirely blamed on him.

In Zhang Chun's opinion, the person who should be held most responsible for the Jingkang Shame should be Song Qinzong Zhao Huan. If he had not been so stubborn, stupid, timid, and cowardly, and good at internal fighting but not external fighting, and had not been able to decide between war and peace when the Jin army marched south, which led to the Jin army being at the gates of the city, and had not been selfish and prohibited the royal family from fleeing, the Jingkang Shame would definitely not have happened.

There is also Song Gaozong Zhao Gou. When the Jingkang Incident occurred, he had hundreds of thousands of troops under his command, but he watched helplessly as his father, mother, concubines, five daughters, and entire clansmen were captured by the Jin people and humiliated in every way. He was determined to escape, only caring about his own survival and enjoyment, and did not think about rescuing or taking revenge.

To be precise, it should be said that the Jingkang Shame was caused by the three father and sons, Zhao Ji, Zhao Huan and Zhao Gou.

But politics is a process of compromise and unity.

Since all four of Li Lin's daughters hated Zhao Ji and were determined to replace him, there was really nothing to regret about Zhao Ji. Zhang Chun made up his mind and said, "Yes! To prevent the Jingkang Shame from happening again, we must replace Zhao Ji, the instigator."

After a pause, Zhang Chun continued, "As for how to change it, I'll discuss it after I meet Zhao Ya."

Then, the five women began to discuss how to meet Zhao Ya. Li Lin said, "Just clean the doorway. That's where Zhao Ji approached me..."

……

In the following days, any of Li Lin's four daughters who was assigned to clean the gate of Cide Palace would switch with Zhang Chun.

Hard work pays off.

Only four days later, Zhang Chun, who was waiting for something, finally saw Zhao Ya.

When Zhao Ya was still some distance away from Cide Palace, Zhang Chun heard the palace maid next to him say, "Look, Prince Shen is here!"

After hearing this, Zhang Chun quickly looked towards Zhao Ya.

Zhao Ya stood tall and straight, his posture like a pine tree, yet with a certain ease. His face was sharply defined, his brows slanting down to his temples. His eyes, deep as the abyss, held an elusive depth within their darkness, as if concealing endless stories and wisdom. Beneath his high nose, his thin lips pursed gently, the corners of his mouth occasionally tilting upwards, revealing a perfectly balanced, reassuring smile. His dark hair was neatly tied back, secured with a single, soft white jade hairpin, a simple yet elegant expression.

Zhao Ya's appearance made Zhang Chun breathe a sigh of relief.

Li Lin's four daughters simply didn't understand that in this feudal society, if a woman wanted to achieve something, she had to rely on a strong man, especially in the early stages.

Which of the most powerful women in history—Fu Hao, Lü Zhi, Wu Zetian, Empress Dowager Dou, Deng Sui, Empress Dowager Xuan of Qin, Empress Dowager Feng, Liu E, Gao Taotao, Xiao Chuo, the Liang and Liang Empress Dowagers, Empress Zhang, and Empress Dowager Cixi—did not gain power by marrying an emperor? And which of them didn't wait until their husbands died and their children and grandchildren became emperors before they could exercise power in the name of empress dowager?

Therefore, unlike Li Lin and her four daughters who were still groping aimlessly for the way forward, Zhang Chun already had a very clear goal to strive for.

Her goal was to marry the emperor.

As for whether this emperor was Zhao Xu, Zhao Ji, or Zhao Ya, to paraphrase Carina Lau's classic line from Let the Bullets Fly: "Anyway, I just want to be the wife of the county magistrate. I don't care who the county magistrate is."

Of course, because Zhao Ji was stubborn and self-righteous, and also because if Zhang Chun wanted to make a big splash here, she would need the help of Li Lin, Ye Shiyun, Ma Xiaojiao, and Yuan Qingcheng. Since they hated Zhao Ji, Zhang Chun had no choice but to give up the shortcut of Zhao Ji.

And Zhao Xu was about to die.

In this case, Zhao Ya is the only one with the greatest hope.

Zhang Chun naturally wanted to come and see for himself whether Zhao Ya was capable or not.
In addition, if Zhao Ya is really capable, Zhang Chun should seize this opportunity, let Zhao Ya see her value, and preferably fall hopelessly in love with her.

In this way, after Zhao Ya ascended the throne, she would become Zhao Ya's queen, give birth to a prince for Zhao Ya, and then outlast Zhao Ya to become the queen mother she most wanted to be, with power over the world, and then realize her grand ambitions step by step.

Now that he saw Zhao Ya's appearance, Zhang Chun thought to himself, "This is my type."

There's just one small problem left.

In her previous life, Zhang Chun spent her days in the library studying historical documents while in school. After graduation, unable to find a suitable job, she stayed at home every day, recording historical videos and answering historical questions through live broadcasts. In her spare time, she read historical novels. She was a true homebody who had never been in a relationship. So, for a while, she was a little unsure how to approach Zhao Ya...

……

(End of this chapter)