I traveled with them to the Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 336 A Scheme is Plotted Against the Empress Dowager; Prime Minister Zhao Yumeng Enters the Trap
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As mentioned earlier, when Yanfu Palace was being built, Zhao Yu specially ordered the construction of several secret passages, two of which were built from the original palace to Yanfu Palace. One of these passages led from Chongen Palace to Liu Mingjie Palace, while the other led from the palace of Consort Meng and Consort Meng to Qingshou Palace, where Chancellor Meng resided.

Given that Liu Qingjing's secret passage was used by Zhao Yu and Liu Qingjing for their affair, it's not hard to guess that Meng Xiang's secret passage was also used by Zhao Yu and Meng Xiang for their affair.

Hearing this, some impatient people might be wondering, "Zhao Yu and Meng Xiang got together too? When did this happen?"
This actually happened fourteen years ago, specifically, not long after Liu Qingjing became pregnant.

Here's the thing.

At that time, although Zhao Yu had become emperor, the real power was held by Empress Dowager Xiang. To some extent, Zhao Yu was a puppet in the hands of Empress Dowager Xiang.

Of course, this description of the relationship between Empress Dowager Xiang and Zhao Yu is inappropriate, or at least inaccurate.

At that time, the struggle between the conservative old party and the reformist new party intensified. Some officials believed that both the Yuanyou and Shaosheng emperors had made mistakes and that prejudices should be eliminated and contradictions reconciled. As a result, Empress Dowager Xiang, who also felt that Gao Taotao and Zhao Xu had done wrong, advocated for a moderate and balanced approach to governance, that is, taking the middle road.

Therefore, after assuming power, Empress Dowager Xiang frequently summoned ministers from both factions, earnestly persuading them to set aside their prejudices and prioritize national affairs.

However, the old and new parties had long harbored deep resentment, and years of party strife had made them regard each other as mortal enemies. How could they easily listen to the Empress Dowager's advice?

On the surface, the old party ministers were very respectful to Empress Dowager Xiang, but in reality they still resisted the new party's policies and even deliberately created obstacles in the implementation of some policies, making it difficult for the new policies to be implemented smoothly.

The ministers of the New Party already harbored great prejudice against Empress Dowager Xiang. When they saw that Empress Dowager Xiang advocated for the New Party to make concessions to the Old Party, they believed that this was forcing the New Party to compromise with the Old Party and destroying the achievements of the reform. They were indignant and their attacks on the Old Party became even more intense.

In the imperial court, the old and new parties continued to argue, even more fiercely than before.

Empress Dowager Xiang was extremely worried about this and was constantly busy trying to reconcile the conflicts between the old and new factions.

Meanwhile, Zhao Yu was busy making money and engaging in diplomacy during that period.

—Empress Dowager Xiang and Zhao Yu were actually each in charge of their own affairs.

After a long time, Empress Dowager Xiang, exhausted by the factional strife between the old and new parties, finally realized that Zhao Yu was right. Trying to smooth things over and maintain a balance would not solve the problem at all. The only way to resolve the factional strife in the Song Dynasty was to break down factional barriers and rebuild a consensus in the court with national affairs at the core.

in fact--

Not long after Zhao Yu ascended the throne, with the help of Zhang Chun, he provided a solution to the factional strife between the new and old factions in the Song Dynasty.

Furthermore, Zhao Yu analyzed for Empress Dowager Xiang that the root of the factional strife lay in the fact that the old and new parties placed their factional positions above national affairs, opposing whatever the other supported and supporting whatever the other opposed, even deliberately distorting the original intent of policies to attack their opponents. For example, when the new laws were implemented, the old party ignored their partial achievements in enriching the country and strengthening the military, and only accused them of disturbing the people; after the old party was reinstated, the new party completely rejected the reasonable adjustments made during the Yuan You Reforms, falling into a vicious cycle of "either/or".

In response to this situation, Zhao Yu proposed that to break the deadlock, three aspects needed to be addressed:
First, merit should be determined by actual results, not by factional lines. The imperial court should establish an independent evaluation body to quantitatively assess the effectiveness of various policies—for example, whether the Green Sprouts Act truly alleviated the plight of farmers in a certain area, and whether the Exemption from Labor Service Act effectively reduced the burden on the lower classes. This should no longer be a matter of the two parties talking amongst themselves, but rather based on hard indicators such as the people's livelihood and the state treasury's balance. Those with outstanding achievements, regardless of party affiliation, should be promoted; those who make policy mistakes, even if from their own faction, should be held accountable.

Second, sever the ties between factional strife and power. At the time, censors and remonstrators often became tools of factional struggle, readily impeaching colleagues based on the distinction between "old" and "new." It should be stipulated that censors and remonstrators must address specific administrative errors, strictly prohibiting attacks on officials based on "partisanship," with violators subject to dismissal. Furthermore, the selection of prime ministers should no longer be limited to leaders of the two parties, but should be based on officials with outstanding local performance and no strong factional affiliations. If a prime minister promotes more than a certain proportion of his own party members during his term, he should be subject to questioning by the Censorate, preventing the court from becoming a tool of one party.

Third, resolve differences through the interpretation of the classics, rather than using differences to interpret the classics. The New and Old Parties often use disputes over the interpretation of Confucian classics to intensify their antagonism. For example, Wang Anshi used the *New Interpretation of the Three Classics* as the basis for his reforms, while the Old Party refuted the new laws by adhering to traditional commentaries. The court could convene scholars from both parties and neutral parties to jointly compile *A Comprehensive Study of Confucian Classics*, clarifying the commonalities between the interpretations of "reform" and "maintaining the status quo" in the classics, and clarifying that the core of "there is no single way to govern the world, and no single method to benefit the country" is for the people's livelihood, not for factional victory. This would allow the interpretation of the classics to become a bond that bridges differences, rather than a weapon for partisan struggle.

Ultimately, the essence of factional strife lies in the misalignment of "factional interests" and "national interests." Only when the court officials understand that regardless of whether they are "new" or "old," they are ultimately ministers of the Song Dynasty, and that the standard for policy decisions is never based on the propositions of any particular faction, but rather on whether it is conducive to the stability of the Song Dynasty and the well-being of the people, will the soil for factional strife gradually disintegrate.

Although Empress Dowager Xiang felt that Zhao Yu's words made sense, she had been silently observing the Song Dynasty since Wang Anshi's reforms, or even earlier, and she had her own ideas on how to govern the Song Dynasty.

Empress Dowager Xiang played a crucial role in Zhao Yu's ascension to the throne.

Moreover, Zhao Yu already knew at that time that Empress Dowager Xiang only had a little over a year to live.

Both morally and logically, Zhao Yu had to let Empress Dowager Xiang give it a try.

The key point is that Zhao Yu knew that Empress Dowager Xiang had a stubborn side to her personality. Once she made up her mind, it was difficult to change it. It would be better to let her encounter setbacks in her attempts. In this way, when he pushed forward his reform plan, there would be much less resistance.

Empress Dowager Xiang happily implemented her centrist policy, attempting to find a balance between the old and new parties.

But the results proved that the middle route she wanted to take was simply not feasible.

Fortunately, Empress Dowager Xiang was not as stubborn as Gao Taotao. Seeing that she really couldn't save the Song Dynasty, and given her own failing health, she quickly handed the Song Dynasty over to Zhao Yu, letting him clean up the mess.

After Zhao Yu took over the Song Dynasty, he immediately launched a powerful attack, crushing both the old and new factions.

Seeing that Zhao Yu was indeed more capable than her, Empress Dowager Xiang felt at ease to retire and recuperate.

But at this moment, Empress Dowager Xiang, who had turned her attention back to the inner palace, suddenly discovered that Liu Qingjing was pregnant.

With Empress Dowager Xiang's control over the harem, she easily discovered that the child in Liu Qingjing's womb was Zhao Yu's.

Ok.

Actually, Empress Dowager Xiang didn't need to investigate, because in the entire harem, only Zhao Yu had the ability to impregnate women.

Therefore, even before the investigation, Empress Dowager Xiang suspected that the child in Liu Qingjing's womb was Zhao Yu's.

This infuriated Empress Dowager Xiang.

Empress Dowager Xiang was even somewhat disappointed in him.

It should be noted that if Liu Qingjing's son hadn't suddenly died, and then her patron Zhao Xu hadn't also died, Empress Dowager Xiang and Zhao Yu would have both fallen into Liu Qingjing's hands.

In Empress Dowager Xiang's eyes, Liu Qingjing was an ambitious and harmful woman, just like Daji, Baosi, and Meixi, who brought disaster to the country and its people.

Crucially, at that time, Liu Qingjing had a very close relationship with the New Party.

Empress Dowager Xiang was very worried that if Zhao Yu were to be bewitched by Liu Qingjing like Zhao Xu, the old party would be in danger, and even the Song Dynasty would be in danger.

It's no wonder that Empress Dowager Xiang had such concerns.

Indeed, Cai Jing and others, who were particularly favored by Emperor Shenzong at that time, proposed that, under the pretext of "inheriting the new laws of Emperor Shenzong," the old party was the culprit that "sabotaged the reform and shook the foundation of the country," and asked Emperor Shenzong to "inherit the ancestral legacy," thus linking the elimination of the old party with "strengthening the country" and "rectifying the laws and regulations."

At that time, Cai Jing and others exaggerated the fact that the old party was "forming cliques for personal gain" and "plotting rebellion," claiming that if the old party was not eliminated, it would lead to political instability and even threaten the imperial power. They wanted to convince Zhao Yu that cracking down on the old party was a necessary means to maintain his rule.

Cai Jing and others, including the then Prime Minister Zhang Dun and Deputy Prime Minister Cai Bian, constantly attacked the old party in the court, claiming that "the old party colluded with foreign enemies" and "obstructed the new policies," in an attempt to create the illusion that "the elimination of the old party is a consensus between the court and the public," thus forcing Zhao Yu to go along with it.

To this end, Cai Jing and others made many preparations. They listed hundreds of "traitors" from the old party and asked Zhao Yu to dismiss and demote them all. They also stipulated that their descendants could not serve as officials, participate in the imperial examinations, or even live in the capital, thus completely cutting off the political future of the old party members.

Even worse, officials who sympathize with the old party or hold a neutral stance are suppressed on the grounds of "colluding with traitors" or "protecting the party."

Cai Jing and others also wanted Zhao Yu to order the destruction of books and articles by members of the Old Party, including Sima Guang's *Zizhi Tongjian* and Su Shi's poems and essays, strictly prohibiting their dissemination among the people, in an attempt to erase the Old Party's influence ideologically. Cai Jing also proposed to label the Old Party as "treacherous and evil" by erecting monuments and issuing edicts, inciting public disgust towards the Old Party, making it a public enemy, and causing it to lose popular support.

If Cai Jing and his ilk succeed, the old party will be finished, and those associated with the old party will certainly suffer a great misfortune.

More importantly, without the old party checking the new party, the Song Dynasty might have been destroyed by the new party.

In the eyes of Empress Dowager Xiang, an extremely serious political storm was brewing.

Unfortunately, at that crucial moment, Zhao Yu and Liu Qingjing, a woman who was a staunch supporter of the New Party, got together.

Although Liu Qingjing is all looks and no brains, her skills in managing her husband are truly exceptional. Together with the New Party, she's incredibly capable of causing trouble.

Empress Dowager Xiang felt she had to stop Liu Qingjing from causing harm.

However, Empress Dowager Xiang's health was already failing at that time, and she simply did not have the energy to fight against Liu Qingjing.

Empress Dowager Xiang felt that she had to find a rival for Liu Qingjing, and absolutely could not allow Liu Qingjing to turn Zhao Yu into a second Zhao Xu.

The first person Empress Dowager Xiang thought of was Zheng Xiansu.

However, Jeong Hyeon-suk was obedient to Jo Yuk and was not a member of the old party. He would not support the old party when Jo Yuk sided with the new party, nor would he lead the old party to counterbalance the sabotage of the new party like she did.

In fact, Empress Dowager Xiang was not wrong about Zheng Xiansu. Historically, when Emperor Huizong chose to eliminate the old party and retain only the new party, resolutely pursuing the reform path, Zheng Xiansu did not lend a hand to the old party.

Therefore, Empress Dowager Xiang rejected Zheng Xiansu.

The second person Empress Dowager Xiang thought of was Chancellor Meng.

Meng Xiang was chosen by Gao Taotao and her empress. She was labeled as a member of the old party and was also quite conservative. More importantly, she was exceptionally intelligent and politically astute. In short, she was the perfect candidate to be the leader of the old party and succeed Gao Taotao.

However, there is one thing: Meng Xiang is not Zhao Yu's empress, nor even Zhao Xu's empress. She has absolutely no relation to Zhao Yu. If she dares to interfere with Zhao Yu, Zhao Yu can send her back to the cold palace of Yaohua Palace with a single imperial decree.

Here, Empress Dowager Xiang guessed correctly again. Historically, when Emperor Huizong (Zhao Ji) was about to take action against the old faction, Chancellor Meng was implicated again, deposed for the second time, and returned to Yaohua Palace. She was given the title "Xiwei Yuantong Zhihe Miaojing Xianshi" and stayed in Yaohua Palace for more than 20 years, wasting all her youth.

What troubled Empress Dowager Xiang even more was that Liu Qingjing was already pregnant with Zhao Yu's child, far ahead of them.

After much deliberation, Empress Dowager Xiang felt that for the sake of the old party and the Song Dynasty, she had to do something outrageous.

Empress Dowager Xiang said to herself, "Compared to the fate of my Great Song Dynasty, what does it matter if I am truly burdened with some infamy?"

Then, Empress Dowager Xiang added in her mind, "Besides, this matter may not be leaked."

Therefore, Empress Dowager Xiang, having made up her mind, prepared a trap for Zhao Yu and sent someone to invite him to her Cide Palace.

Zhao Yu visited the Cide Palace frequently, not only before he ascended the throne but also afterward. For him, visiting the Cide Palace was almost like coming home.

Moreover, Zhao Yu calculated that Empress Dowager Xiang's time was almost up, so he naturally had to come and properly send her off, thus solidifying his reputation as a filial son.

When Zhao Yu arrived at Cide Palace, he discovered that Prime Minister Meng was also there.

Meng Xiang was the daughter-in-law recognized by Empress Dowager Xiang, and it was Empress Dowager Xiang who rescued Meng Xiang from Yaohua Palace. At this time, Empress Dowager Xiang was already on her deathbed, so it was normal for her to call Meng Xiang over to make arrangements for her affairs.

Therefore, Zhao Yu did not think much of it.

Empress Dowager Xiang prepared a sumptuous meal for Zhao Yu, just as he used to eat at her place whenever he did.

Upon seeing Zhao Yu arrive, Empress Dowager Xiang struggled to sit up.

Upon seeing this, Zhao Yu and Meng Xiang quickly went to help Empress Dowager Xiang.

Empress Dowager Xiang said to Zhao Yu and Chancellor Meng, "You two will have a meal with me. Everyone else, please leave and go away."

Zhao Yu guessed that Empress Dowager Xiang must have some important matters to instruct him and Chancellor Meng. Without suspecting anything, he waved his hand and dismissed everyone.

After only Zhao Yu, Empress Dowager Xiang, and Prime Minister Meng remained in the room, Empress Dowager Xiang said weakly, "You two should have one last meal with me. I'm afraid my health won't hold up."

Zhao Yu also comforted the Empress Dowager, saying, "Empress Dowager, please don't say such unlucky things. The imperial physicians will surely cure you. The Song Dynasty cannot do without you."

Meng Xiang also said, "Good people are blessed by Heaven, and the Empress Dowager will surely recover soon."

Empress Dowager Xiang smiled magnanimously and said, "You two keep me company for a drink. I wonder if there's wine in the other world?"

Since Empress Dowager Xiang has said these words, how could Zhao Yu and Chancellor Meng not drink this cup of wine with her?
After Zhao Yu and Meng Xiang finished their wine, Xiang Taihou smiled slightly and then began to give instructions for her funeral.

Zhao Yu and Meng Xiang listened from the side.

As Zhao Yu listened, he felt his body getting hot. At the same time, he thought that the flushed-faced Prime Minister Meng was incredibly charming. He even thought that the old and sickly face of Empress Dowager Xiang was quite dignified, and wondered if she must have been a beauty when she was young.

To be honest, Zhao Yu didn't realize until then that he had been outmaneuvered by Empress Dowager Xiang.

This was not only because the aphrodisiac given by the Empress Dowager was too domineering, making Zhao Yu lose his mind and only think about matters between men and women, but also because he never expected that an empress dowager would do something like giving aphrodisiacs to the emperor and the former empress.

Later, Empress Dowager Xiang said that she was going to fetch some things for Zhao Yu and Prime Minister Meng, and asked them to wait for her there. Then she went to the inner room.

No sooner had Empress Dowager Xiang left than Zhao Yu, who was in a daze, grabbed Prime Minister Meng in a hug.

The conservative Prime Minister Meng, at that time, still wanted to resist, saying to Zhao Yu, "Your Majesty, you mustn't!"

But Meng Xiang's soft, yielding movements suggested that she was playing hard to get.

This undoubtedly increased Zhao Yu's interest even more.

Without saying a word, Zhao Yu carried Prime Minister Meng to the bed beside him...

……

(End of this chapter)