I traveled with them to the Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 65 Seal the victory
...

Concubine Zhu thought Empress Dowager Xiang was trying to scare her.

But when she thought about it carefully, Concubine Zhu broke out in a cold sweat.

If Zhao Si really became the emperor.

Considering that Zhao Sicai is only fifteen years old, there must be someone behind the scenes to rule the country.

Who is this guy?
Normally, it should be Empress Dowager Xiang, who has rich political experience.

Well... she also wanted to try the highest authority in the Zhao Song Dynasty, so it would be best if the Queen Mother could take her with her to rule the country from behind the scenes.

But the Empress Dowager Xiang had already made it clear that if Zhao Si really wanted to fight for the throne, she would help the mother and son get married.

That is to say, Empress Dowager Xiang will not rule the country from behind the scenes.

In this way, she can only rule the country from behind the scenes.

She has never been involved in politics. She is just an ordinary woman in the deep palace who has been obedient all her life. How could she rule the country from behind the curtain?

Thinking about the current bad political environment where the old and new parties are fighting each other, and the situation where the Zhao Song Dynasty must be reformed but does not know how to reform, Concubine Zhu panicked!
"If the government can't do it, how can Si'er and I accomplish it?"

These are nothing, they are not urgent matters.

The most pressing issue is how to negotiate peace with the Liao Kingdom and the Western Xia?

If the negotiations fail, not only will the country lose its sovereignty and be humiliated, and be subjected to infamy, but if Liao and Xia countries join forces to attack Song, the Chanyuan Incident may really happen.

Don’t fight, run south?

Song Zhenzong had the same idea at the beginning, but Kou Zhun almost held Song Zhenzong hostage and forced him to the front line.

If the Liao army really launched another large-scale invasion to the south, Zhang Dun, the warmongerer, would definitely follow Kou Zhun's example.

What would we, an orphan and a widow, do then?
"This is bad! I only thought that if my son became emperor again, my mother and I would continue to enjoy supreme glory, but I never considered the heavy burden and thorns hidden behind this glory."

Concubine Zhu's heart was beating like a drum, and her face became paler and paler!
It was not until then that Concubine Zhu remembered that during the reign of Emperor Shenzong of Song and when Zhao Xu was in power, although they were determined to revitalize the government, they were ultimately unable to get rid of the trouble of party struggles. The situation in the court was changing rapidly, and the struggles between the old and new parties were like raging fire, and the situation was as tense as fire. As a result, Emperor Shenzong of Song died in his thirties, and Zhao Xu was terminally ill in his twenties.

If this mess is left to a 15-year-old kid and myself who has no political experience to clean up, it would be like an old man hanging himself because his life is too long, and I would also have to sacrifice my only remaining son.

Concubine Zhu finally realized that the fight for the throne was not just a game of power, but also a major matter concerning the rise and fall of the country and the safety of the people, which ordinary people could not afford.

The most important thing is that even if he wins the throne, it may not be a good thing. His eldest son won it, but what was the result? He was only in his twenties and was almost dying.

Seeing that Concubine Zhu had figured out the key, Empress Dowager Xiang said leisurely, "You already have a son who has become emperor. As long as he doesn't make any mistakes, he will surely live a life of wealth and glory. Not only that, if I die one day, you may become the late emperor's empress. Why insist on doing something you are not qualified for and put everything on the line for yourself and Prince Jian?"

At this point, Queen Mother Xiang concluded, "If you're smart, you can recommend Prince Shen to His Majesty as the governor of Kaifeng. This will provide some security for you and Prince Jian. If you insist on fighting Prince Shen and me, then come on."

Concubine Zhu was horrified! She never expected that Empress Dowager Xiang was really determined to support Zhao Ya.

Concubine Zhu wanted to ask, is Zhao Ya really so much stronger than her?
But before Concubine Zhu could open her mouth, she waved her hand to signal the Empress Dowager to go down.

Concubine Zhu walked out in despair. Empress Dowager Xiang watched her from behind and said silently, "Don't think I'm bullying you. I'm helping you because you've let me do what I want for decades. Prince Shen is determined to seize the throne. Those who obey him will live, and those who disobey him will die. You and your son are too honest. How can you be his opponent?"

There were many things that Empress Dowager Xiang did not tell Concubine Zhu.

For example, she suspected that Zhao Ya approached her on purpose.

For example, she suspected that Zhao Mao's death, Princess Yang's death, and even Zhao Xu's illness were all related to Zhao Ya.

For example, she suspected that Zhao Ya was using Zhang Chun to deceive her, making her think that Zhao Ya was destined to succeed her. However, even the imperial physician had confirmed that Zhao Mao and Princess Yang died of congenital diseases, and Zhao Xu had been in poor health since childhood. It was too far-fetched to blame Zhao Ya for this.

But perhaps because she had seen too many conspiracies and schemes, Empress Dowager Xiang really felt that the recent events were too coincidental. It was amazing that Zhang Chun could predict that Zhao Mao would die of illness, and that Princess Yang and Zhao Xu would also get into trouble.

Sometimes Empress Dowager Xiang really envied Concubine Zhu. She was silly, but she had a good life. She didn't have to worry about anything in her life and could enjoy wealth and glory. Unlike herself, she had been scheming all her life. When she got old, she didn't know who she was scheming against or who was scheming against her.

"Perhaps I'm overthinking it. Prince Shen is a filial son. Zhang really has the extraordinary experience of entering the divine machine in her dreams and can predict the future. Prince Shen is the chosen one by heaven and the ruler of the revival of our Song Dynasty."

"At least Prince Shen's knowledge and abilities are not fake. He is also calm and reliable. He is indeed the one who is most likely to save our Great Song Dynasty."

"Forget it, it's rare to be confused."

……

Zheng Xiansu had secretly reminded Zhao Ya that he had become suspicious of Empress Dowager Xiang.

To be honest, before this, Zhao Ya was really worried that Empress Dowager Xiang would defect at the last moment.

For this purpose, Zhao Ya also prepared a backup plan.

But now, Empress Dowager Xiang has made her final choice.

That's no problem.

In politics, it’s always like this: it doesn’t matter whether you do something or not, it only matters whether you win or not.

Although there is still nearly a month before the time when Zhao Xu died in history, because the six of them did many things that affected history, history has already changed. In this case, it is possible that Zhao Xu died a few days earlier.

The key point is that the imperial physician has sentenced Zhao Xu to death and determined that he will only live for the next two days.

To put it another way, even if Zhao Xu could hold on for a few more days, because he is now critically ill, his power and his say in choosing the crown prince will certainly be gone.

How many people would truly listen to the orders of an emperor who will not live for many days and block the new emperor's path to the throne?

This is the common fate of people who are involved in politics, especially when no successor is appointed.

Let’s put it this way, even if Zhao Xu thought it through and no longer expected a medical miracle, and wanted to make Zhao Ji or Zhao Si the crown prince, his edict would definitely not be delivered.

Not to mention that Empress Dowager Xiang and Zhao Ya's people had already controlled Zhao Xu. Even Zhao Xu's people, if given the chance, would seize this last opportunity to perform a great deed so as to change their faction, continue to possess power, and enjoy wealth and glory.

The most crucial thing is that Empress Dowager Xiang and the royal family have already made their bet and they cannot afford to lose, so they will never allow anyone other than Zhao Ya to have the opportunity to become the emperor. Otherwise, what awaits them is not the merits of following the emperor and rewards, but a political purge.

It can only be said that because he was too greedy for imperial power, or too unwilling to die young, Zhao Xu missed the initiative to establish a crown prince.

At this stage, if Zhao Xu is not already sick and confused, the smartest thing to do would be to take the initiative to appoint Zhao Ya as the crown prince, or to take the initiative to appoint Zhao Ya as the governor of Kaifeng, to make it clear that Zhao Ya is his successor, to establish a good relationship with Zhao Ya, to save some dignity for himself, and to leave some political legacy to Liu Qingjing, Concubine Zhu, Zhao Si, and his two remaining daughters.

As for what Zhao Xu chose, it no longer mattered because Zhao Ya had already secured victory.

Zhao Ya was even confident that Zhao Xu would give up his position to him today.

It's just not necessary.

After seeing off all the royal family members on behalf of Empress Dowager Xiang, Zhao Ya stood in the courtyard of Cide Palace, looking towards the core area of ​​the palace, and thought to himself with a surge of emotion: "My time is about to come!"

At this moment, taking advantage of the fact that no one was around Zhao Ya, Li Lin came over and said in a low voice: "Congratulations, Your Majesty, on your upcoming ascension to the throne. I wonder if Your Majesty would like a strong army to help you conquer the world..."

……

(End of this chapter)