The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 478 One link after another

The imperial boat began its return journey, bobbing gently on the river.

Zhao Gou stared blankly at the bow of the boat as the calm river surface was parted, lost in thought.

Qin Hui, however, could guess what was going on. He quietly walked behind Zhao Gou and stood still, whispering, "Your Majesty, are you considering the matter of establishing a legitimate heir?"

Zhao Gou grunted and said, "Qin Aiqing, you haven't sided with Zhao Bozong like other officials, and you've always opposed the matter of establishing the heir apparent. I've seen your loyalty to me! So I can only ask you this question; I don't trust anyone else... There's something I've always found strange. You said so many ministers in the court are speaking up for Zhao Bozong, wanting me to make him the crown prince. What is their true purpose?"

Qin Hui gave a low hum and said slowly, "Your Majesty, you are the Emperor and never need to consider who you depend on, but it's different for us officials."

Zhao Gou: "Oh?"

Qin Hui: "Your Majesty, I should not say these things, but since Your Majesty has asked, I will answer whatever you ask."

He feigned a moment's hesitation, gathering his thoughts, before speaking in a low voice: "As a subject, one must have the Emperor's favor to pave a smooth path in one's career. But how does one gain the Emperor's favor? By performing one's duties well? By desperately sharing the Emperor's burdens? These are methods only capable officials can employ. But what about officials who lack ability, who cannot perform their duties well, or share the Emperor's burdens, yet still wish to gain the Emperor's favor?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Gou also became curious: "Yes, what should we do?"

Qin Hui chuckled: "Of course, it's about doing everything we can to please the Emperor before he even ascends the throne."

Zhao Gou: “!”

Qin Hui: "For example, right now, as long as everyone tries their best to please Zhao Bocong, won't we gain the emperor's favor when he becomes emperor? If we put in more effort into Zhao Bocong's ascension to the throne and desperately persuade the emperor to quickly make Zhao Bocong the crown prince, he will surely remember the kindness of these civil officials who helped him become the crown prince and will promote and appoint them."

Zhao Gou: "!!"

At this point, Qin Hui suddenly changed the subject, a strange smile appearing on his face: "What's described above are the tactics commonly used by civil officials, but what about the ways military officials curry favor with Zhao Bocong..."

He dragged out the last syllable, deliberately leaving it unsaid for Zhao Gou to figure out.

As soon as Zhao Gou thought about it, he immediately thought of the Miao-Liu mutiny!

That was the greatest pain of his life!
In that mutiny, he was dethroned and the throne was passed to his two-year-old son, Zhao Fu.

Zhao Gou was also very good at drawing inferences from one instance. He immediately thought that if a military officer wanted to curry favor with Zhao Bocong and gain the new emperor's favor, what would be the best way? It certainly wouldn't be like a civil official, offering advice, advice, and more advice.

Military officers can stage a coup!

He directly ousted himself from the throne and then personally helped Zhao Bocong onto the imperial throne.

Wouldn't that mean the emperor's favor would be at its maximum?

Zhao Gou trembled all over: "Qin Aiqing, do you mean... Yue Fei asked me to make Zhao Bocong the crown prince, because he has..."

Qin Hui immediately put on a "I didn't say that" expression, spread his hands and said, "Your Majesty, I only mentioned one possibility. I did not mean to slander anyone. Everything I said was for Your Majesty's sake, and Heaven and Earth can bear witness."

Zhao Gou remained silent, merely watching the ripples on the river, his expression shifting constantly.

He traveled south along the river and soon encountered Han Shizhong on the way.

After the Jin army retreated to Kaifeng, the southward march of 50 troops was basically over. Han Shizhong could not stay here indefinitely. Zhao Gou still wanted to transfer Han Shizhong back to Jiangnan to protect him, so he asked Han Shizhong to hand over Ye County to someone else to guard and return to Lin'an with him.

Han Shizhong boarded the boat with a grin, and upon seeing Zhao Gou, he immediately put on a fawning face and said, "Your Majesty, after we return to Lin'an, will you immediately bestow that piece of land by West Lake upon me? I can't wait to build a lakeside house." Hearing him speak, Zhao Gou relaxed. This guy has no ambition, how wonderful!

But Zhao Gou couldn't help but ask, "Minister Han, have you heard that the Jin state intends to release Crown Prince Zhao Chen?"

Han Shizhong: "Ah? Is that so? This humble general has no idea! Where did this intelligence come from?"

Zhao Gou: "Never mind where it came from, what do you think of this matter?"

Han Shizhong scratched his head, looking completely bewildered: "This... this is really difficult for a rough man like me... What can a prince captured by the Jin Kingdom do after he comes back? I don't understand! I don't understand at all. Oh, Your Majesty, let's talk about the land around West Lake instead. You promised to reward me, you can't go back on your word."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Gou felt a great sense of relief. Han Shizhong was truly a good general. He had shown no reaction to the news of Zhao Chen's impending return, nor had he urged the emperor to hastily establish a legitimate heir. That was a truly good military commander! As for Yue Fei… just as Qin Hui had said, he was undoubtedly trying to curry favor with Zhao Bocong to secure future imperial favor. He held considerable military power; if he were to emulate the Miao-Liu rebellion, then…

Unbeknownst to him, a nail had already been driven into Zhao Gou's heart.

Zhao Gou chatted with Han Shizhong for a while, laughing, about the land by West Lake and how to build beautiful lake-view houses. After the chat, he said he was tired.

Han Shizhong understood and retreated to his own army.

As soon as he entered the tent, he took off his clothes, revealing that his back was covered in sweat.

"Damn it!" Han Shizhong cursed under his breath, "He's testing me again. This bastard has never trusted us generals fighting on the front lines. Luckily, I was quick-witted and kept mentioning the West Lake area in my conversation."

"Who exactly provoked him?"

Han Shizhong quickly sent his trusted confidants to investigate.

Several days later, a trusted confidant reported that Yue Fei had received a secret report from the Jin state that they intended to release the former crown prince Zhao Chen. He then advised Zhao Gou to quickly establish Zhao Bocong as the crown prince to prevent the released crown prince from causing chaos in the court.

Upon hearing this, Han Shizhong couldn't help but sigh, "Yue Fei was really too young! Did you really say that? Alas!"

Not only did the Jin Kingdom have spies from the Song Dynasty, but the Song Dynasty also had spies from the Jin Kingdom.

Just as Han Shizhong was figuring out what had happened...

In Kaifeng, a secret report was also placed in front of Jin Wuzhu and Talan.

Jin Wuzhu: "Our plan to release the Crown Prince has been leaked! We deserve to die!"

Talan: "Don't be so quick to get angry, this might be a good thing."

Jin Wuzhu: "Good news?"

Talan: "Yue Fei misspoke and gave a bad idea, which has now aroused Zhao Gou's suspicion. Let's just play along and drop the matter of releasing Zhao Chen, instead of letting him go back."

Jin Wuzhu: "Huh?"

Talan said, "In this way, the news that 'Zhao Chen wants to go back' will become false, and Yue Fei, who told Zhao Gou about it, will be seen as a treacherous minister who fabricated rumors and tried to profit from them. We can then send a message to the Song Dynasty that we want to negotiate peace. Yue Fei has just won a great victory and will definitely want to take advantage of the situation to seize Kaifeng. He wants to launch a large-scale military campaign while he is under suspicion, which will make Zhao Gou even more wary. At that time, we won't even need to do anything; Zhao Gou will kill Yue Fei and remove a powerful enemy for our Great Jin Dynasty."

Jin Wuzhu: "Huh? This is... a brilliant plan!"

(End of this chapter)