The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 456 Such a Brilliant Plan
Qin Hui truly deserves to be called the one who understood Zhao Gou the most!
If he were to speak directly about the Northern Song Dynasty, Zhao Gou might not listen to a single word.

But after he kept repeating "50" three times, Zhao Gou panicked.

Even if he disliked the Northern Song Dynasty, the Jin army of 50 was right in front of him. If this problem was not solved, he would have to abandon Lin'an and flee to Fuzhou in the south.

After a series of rapid eyelid twitches, Zhao Gou finally breathed a sigh of relief: "Qin Hui, tell me what your true thoughts are?"

Qin Hui: "I believe that we should temporarily set aside the differences between the two Song dynasties. Your Majesty can write a letter to Zhao Shi in the name of your elder brother and ask him to send troops to protect the Song. If Zhao Shi is willing to send some troops to restrain the Jin army from the side, we will definitely be able to stop this army of 50."

When Zhao Gou heard the first half of the sentence, he was furious. "You want me to write a letter to that traitor? Don't even think about it!"
But Qin Hui, that wicked fellow, ended up giving another 50.

Upon hearing the price of 50, Zhao Gou immediately suppressed all his previous dissatisfaction.

Yes, 50! Am I supposed to have 50 Jin soldiers above my head? If someone comes to my aid now, even if they're a traitor, I can call them Seventeenth Brother again... Don't be so rigid. A true man should be both gentle and firm.

Qin Hui achieved his goal and chuckled inwardly: "As long as we can openly discuss the affairs of the Northern Song Dynasty in the court, things will be much easier to manipulate in the future. The key is to get the Emperor to change his address. If the Emperor calls Zhao Shi a traitor, everyone will call him a traitor. But if the Emperor calls him 'Seventeenth Brother,' then all the Southern Song officials will have to change their address to 'Seventeenth Prince.'"

This gives us a lot of room to maneuver.

With a passionate expression, Qin Hui began his speech: "Gentlemen! The Jin army wants to destroy our Song Dynasty. We cannot simply retreat. Our army must fight them."

The pro-war faction was overjoyed.

Qin Hui immediately added, "But the Jin army is powerful, and if we really fight, our army has no chance of winning."

The peace faction was overjoyed.

Qin Hui said, "Therefore we must use a plan. We should organize an army to go to the six prefectures of Jing and Xiang to resist the Jin army."

The pro-war faction was overjoyed.

Qin Hui said, "But at the same time, we must also send someone to seek peace with the Jin army in order to lull the Jin army leader into a false sense of security."

The peace faction was overjoyed.

Qin Hui: "While seeking peace, we should send someone to ask the Seventeenth Prince for reinforcements, so that he can restrain the Jin army from the side. If we proceed with these three plans simultaneously, we will surely overcome this difficulty."

Both the pro-war and pro-peace factions were completely bewildered: which faction did Qin Hui belong to?
But whatever, no matter which faction he belongs to, our plan can still be implemented.

Li Gang stepped forward: "Your Majesty, please transfer Han Shizhong and Liu Guangshi to Jingzhou to support Yue Fei, and leave Zhang Jun in Huaidong to monitor the movements of the puppet Song dynasty in Chuzhou."

Wei Liangchen: "I am willing to go north to negotiate peace with the Jin Dynasty and lull the Jin generals into a false sense of security."

Zhao Gou sighed: "Very well, let's do as you ministers say. I will write a letter to my seventeenth brother. He is, after all, a member of the Song imperial family. We cannot stand by and watch the northern barbarians wreak havoc on our people. I will issue an edict ordering him to send troops to help. I am sure he will accept the edict."

He knew perfectly well that Zhao Shi was a fake, but at this moment he could only bite the bullet and say "Seventeenth Brother" in front of all the ministers, and never mention the words "Issuing the decree" or "Receiving the decree" again.

50! Circumstances are beyond our control...

Zhao Gou's greatest skill was that he never cared about saving face, all for the sake of his own life!
Back then, when the Jin dynasty was chasing and attacking him, he would run away while begging for peace and shouting, "Dad, don't fight!"

When Miao Liu staged a coup demanding his abdication, he obediently relinquished the throne to a young child.

Now that the Jin dynasty is chasing after him again, he immediately reinstated the traitor as his seventeenth brother. What does he care about saving face? Is face more important than his life?

Write a letter, write a letter right now...
-
The next day, the sun shone brightly!

In a small pavilion in Xixi Wetland, Qin Hui and his cronies were sitting together, engaging in lively discussions.

They had been chatting about ordinary things, but then Qin Hui suddenly spoke up, saying, "After this battle, the Emperor will recognize the Seventeenth Prince as a member of the Song Dynasty's imperial family. Even if the Seventeenth Prince is actually a warlord who controls his own territory, it will be a legitimate recognition. We can talk about it in court and with other officials in private."

Before he could finish speaking, his trusted aide Gao Yigong immediately interjected, "My lord, you mean..."

Qin Hui chuckled, "Since everyone here is on our side, I might as well speak frankly. The current emperor, during his escape south, was so frightened that... hehehehe..."

The officials immediately realized that Zhao Gou couldn't get an erection! This was no secret; many people in the court knew it.

Qin Hui continued, "During the Miao-Liu Rebellion, the Emperor lost his only son."

His words made the officials understand even better: "Sir, are you referring to the matter of establishing the heir apparent?"

Qin Hui: "That's right, it's about this!"

Since Zhao Gou had no sons and could not have any more, two years earlier, in 1132, he first selected ten children from the many descendants of Emperor Taizu with the character "Bo" in their names. Later, he selected two more, Zhao Bo Cong (later Zhao Shen) and Zhao Boyi, to be his heirs. Because Zhao Bo Cong remained calm when a kitten passed by, while Zhao Boyi kicked the cat, Zhao Gou eliminated Zhao Bo Cong and kept only Zhao Bo Cong.

Zhao Bocong was an adopted child, so Zhao Gou didn't particularly like him; he was just kept as a backup.

But everyone knows that this person will eventually be made crown prince.

Qin Hui was surrounded by his confidants, so he didn't hold back and said in a deep voice, "I want to make something clear to you all: if our Great Song Dynasty wants to preserve its national destiny and not be destroyed by the Jin people, the only hope does not lie with Your Majesty, but with the Seventeenth Prince, Zhao Shi!"

Upon hearing this, his two most trusted confidants, Gao Yigong and Weng Shun, were not surprised at all.

But Wan Qixie, He Zhu, Luo Ruji and others who were attached to him were startled: "Ah? What... what does Prime Minister Qin mean by this? Does he mean that the Emperor should pass the throne to his younger brother? But how can there be a reason for an elder brother to pass it on to his younger brother?"

Qin Hui: "No? Didn't our founding emperor pass the throne to his younger brother?"

After thinking about it carefully, everyone realized, "Hey? That's right, there are ancestral laws to follow!"

Having ancestral laws to rely on is a powerful weapon in our great Celestial Empire. With this weapon, one can silence other officials.

Qin Hui continued, "But this must never be said in front of the Emperor; whoever says it will be doomed."

Everyone present understood this principle!

They're all treacherous officials, and every single one of them is incredibly shrewd.

After a moment's thought, this large group of treacherous officials realized: "This matter can only be carried out in secret, not in the open."

Wang Ciweng, a relative of Qin Hui by marriage—that is, a member of his wife Wang's family—stepped forward: "That's right! We can only advance secretly, but how can we advance secretly?"

Qin Hui: "The best way is to interfere with the succession decision. We will use every means at our disposal to prevent the Emperor from appointing Zhao Bocong as Crown Prince. As long as there is no Crown Prince in the Southern Song Dynasty, the succession from brother to brother will proceed naturally."

(End of this chapter)