The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 274 Who will prepare the dragon robe?

The thirty-second-ranking official was also destined for a life of toil. He had just made a round trip to Jiangnan and brought back the imperial edict. He was about to send it back to Jiangnan again, this time with a joint memorial signed by more than a hundred local gentry, written by Qi Chongli himself.

However, my father-in-law is in excellent spirits now.

Because he was someone who had grown up in the palace, he was extremely politically astute. He didn't even need to deliver the letter to the palace; he could already guess what kind of chain reaction it would cause.

"Your Highness, after delivering this memorial, the Emperor will surely send me back to Jiaodong with an imperial edict. At that time, I do not intend to return to Jiangnan. I wish to follow Your Highness." The Thirty-Two Eunuch bowed his head and expressed his loyalty to Yue Wenxuan.

Yue Wenxuan laughed: "Alright! I promised you last time, and I keep my word."

The thirty-second eunuch was overjoyed: "Thank you for your guidance, Your Highness."

Yue Wenxuan: "Aren't you afraid that I'll end up being killed by Zhao Gou?"

The thirty-second eunuch wore a strange expression: "Your Highness, you may not know this, but His Majesty has been begging for peace all along. When the Jin army invaded Jiangnan and searched the mountains and seas for him, he still sent civil officials to beg for peace with the Jin. Even when he was being pursued to Taizhou, he was still begging for peace. After the Jin army withdrew, His Majesty sent envoys again to beg for peace with the Jin... Right now, as we are talking, the envoys begging for peace are probably playing the subservient role in Yanjing."

Yue Wenxuan: “…”

The thirty-second eunuch said, "I dare to make a bold guess: no matter what the prince does on the Jiaole Peninsula, the emperor will not send troops to attack. He simply does not dare to set foot on the north bank of the Yangtze River again."

Yue Wenxuan smiled and said, "Alright, your guess is the same as mine, which is why I've done so much in the Jiaodong Peninsula."

The thirty-second eunuch's face lit up with joy: "Your Highness's words truly show you don't consider me an outsider."

Yue Wenxuan: "Go, this is the last time you'll deliver the message. If you do it well, come back and you'll be mine."

Thirty-two-year-old Grandpa was beaming with joy and quickly prepared to set off.

He slipped out of the temporary palace, his joy vanishing instantly, replaced by a look of distress. A large group of people, led by Qi, Ji, and Ma, were watching him with worried expressions. Many of them had prepared gifts and slipped them into the hands of the thirty-second eunuch, whispering, "Take this money, Eunuch, and use it to bribe some people in the palace. Please ask them to put in a good word for the Emperor and make sure he retracts his decree."

The thirty-second eunuch chuckled inwardly: A bunch of fools! You're all about to become ministers who follow the emperor, yet you all look so worried. I wonder what you're so worried about.

It's money from fools, why not take it if you can?

The thirty-two eunuchs accepted all the gifts and valuables offered, but still feigned a worried expression: "Gentlemen, I must make this clear beforehand. Although I will do my best to speak on your behalf, getting the Emperor to rescind the decree will be extremely difficult. Gentlemen, you must be prepared..."

Qi Chongli: "What preparations?"

His four-word question was completely pointless, because he already knew what preparations to make without even asking.

The thirty-second eunuch bowed and led his entourage out of the city toward the sea.

As soon as he left, the local gentry glared at each other, exchanging glances...

An hour later, a large group of local gentry gathered in the woods not far from the city.

The servants dispersed, making sure no one was around. The group of country gentry then began an awkward conversation…

The man at the head of the group was none other than Master Ma's father, Ma Banzhou. He glanced at the faces of the local gentry present and asked with a hint of nervousness, "Lord Qi is not here, is he?"

"Don't worry, my brother isn't here." A man stepped out from the crowd; it was Qi Chongwen, Qi Chongli's younger brother.

Qi Chongwen is different from Qi Chongli; he is a "hometown faction," meaning he believes "I would rather die than leave my hometown."

Within the Qi clan, there were two factions. One faction was the "southern migration faction" led by Qi Chongli. When the Jin army first came, Qi Chongli expressed his intention to follow Zhao Gou south to re-establish the Qi clan in the Jiangnan region.

The "homeland faction," represented by Qi Chongwen, refused to leave their hometowns even at the cost of their lives. They planned to become citizens of whichever country occupied their hometowns.

In fact, the idea of ​​"homeland faction" is the mainstream thought of the Qi family descendants!

In real history, Qi Chongli eventually went south alone to follow Zhao Gou, while everyone else stayed behind and became Jin people.

Ma Banzhou glanced at Qi Chongwen and said, "Is it alright to keep this from your brother?"

Qi Chongwen said, "Don't worry, there's no problem! Most of the Qi family members are on my side. In fact, not a single one is willing to follow my brother."

Everyone: "..."

Ji Menghan's father, the head of the Ji family, also emerged from the crowd and whispered, "Since that's the case, the Marquis's thoughts alone are no longer important. Let's talk about what to do next. Before the Thirty-Second Eunuch left, he advised us to make preparations as soon as possible. Guess what he meant by 'preparations'?"

Ma Banzhou shrugged and said, "What else could it be? Preparing to enthrone a new emperor!"

Upon hearing this, everyone raised their eyebrows slightly.

Ma Banzhou: "The Emperor will not retract his decree. You are not ordinary commoners; you should all know a great deal about court affairs. Since the founding of our Great Song Dynasty, we have always placed many restrictions on military generals with real power. After the Miao-Liu Rebellion, the current Emperor is like a frightened bird. This time, he issued an edict ordering the Prince and Gong Yishi to go to Jiangnan, clearly intending to seize their military power. So, do you think we can make him retract his decree with our joint memorial? That's nothing but wishful thinking!"

Qi Chongwen: "Yes, that's what I think too. The Emperor can't take back his order. The Thirty-Second Eunuch's trip south to deliver the memorial can only buy us a month or two. In the end, the Prince and Gong Yishi will have to make a choice: either obediently go south or rise up in rebellion."

The head of the Ji family snorted and said, "Only a fool would obediently go south. Given the Prince's previous actions, such as privately holding imperial examinations and setting up government offices, how could such a daring person obediently go south? The Prince is bound to rebel."

Everyone agreed with this statement!
Qi Chongwen said, "Even if the prince wants to go south, we can't let him. If he leaves, the Jin army will come in no time, and then we will have no choice but to surrender to the Jin invaders."

The gentry whispered among themselves. In fact, ever since the Second Song-Jin War, they had been prepared to surrender to the Jin Dynasty at any time. However, if they could avoid surrendering, that would be better. Who the hell liked the Mediterranean hairstyle?

Ma Banzhou: "Even if the prince is willing to go south, we can't let him. We're locals, we can't afford to gamble!"

The head of the Ji family said, "Who will prepare the dragon robe? Let's follow the example of Emperor Taizu and give the prince a yellow robe."

Just then, Qi Chongwen suddenly spoke up: "Wait a minute! Have you forgotten something? Who should be wearing the yellow robe, the Prince, or Gong Yi? Or is it that young master Yue who has been hiding behind Gong Yi all along, and who actually listens to Gong Yi in everything?"

(End of this chapter)