Song Xiu

Chapter 53 Zhao Guangyi Loses Military Power
The Song Dynasty at that time was completely unlike the sluggish and inefficient administration of later dynasties.

Within a few days, Zhao Kuangyin had discussed the matter of suppressing the rebellion with all his important ministers.

After considering Li Jun's strength, Zhao Kuangyin finally decided to adopt the tactic of "advancing from both the east and west to encircle the enemy army".

Before issuing specific battle orders, Zhao Kuangyin first made a series of adjustments to personnel both inside and outside the court.

First, Wei Renpu was appointed as a Privy Councilor, entering the Council of State Affairs to assist the two prime ministers, Fan and Wang. Given Wei Renpu's prestige, everyone felt that it was only natural for him to be appointed prime minister again.

In addition to making some adjustments to political personnel, Zhao Kuangyin also made some changes to military positions.

The biggest change was that Zhao Kuangyin dismissed Zhao Guangyi from his position as Commander of the Palace Guards.

The person who replaced Zhao Guangyi as the Commander of the Palace Guards was Li Chuyun, the Deputy Commander of the Imperial Guards.

The position of Palace Guard Commander was a very important military post.

The commander of the palace guards did not have much power in commanding troops, but he had the authority to supervise and demote the generals of the imperial guards. This power brought an implicit benefit: "to exclude dissidents and promote cronies."

Zhao Kuangyin held this position in his early years and gradually built his power through it.

Zhao Dexiu was not worried about Zhao Guangyi taking on other positions in the Imperial Guard. Given Zhao Guangyi's military strategy, he was unlikely to achieve any military merits and would not be able to truly establish himself in the Imperial Guard.

Zhao Guangyi's strength lay in "winning people's hearts".

The position of Commander of the Palace Guards made it easy for Zhao Guangyi to quickly cultivate his power within the Imperial Guards, as exemplified by Wang Quanbin, who has recently become increasingly important to him.

Zhao Dexiu, who aspired to the throne, would naturally not allow Zhao Guangyi to expand his power within the Imperial Guards.

In his conversation with Zhao Kuangyin the day before yesterday, Zhao Dexiu had an important goal besides seeking military power: to get Zhao Kuangyin to dismiss Zhao Guangyi from his position as Commander of the Palace Guards.

From Zhao Kuangyin's perspective, he currently only had two members of the imperial clan who could be cultivated.

After deciding to take Zhao Dexiu on the expedition, Zhao Guangyi had to stay in the city to guard the royal family. As a result, Zhao Guangyi was no longer suitable to serve as the Palace Guard Commander.

However, the position of Commander of the Palace Guards was too important, and Zhao Kuangyin, who was not of the same surname, was not at ease handing it over to someone else.

After much deliberation, the only person who could succeed Zhao Guangyi as Commander of the Palace Guards was Li Chuyun, who had just become a relative of the emperor and already had military achievements.

Seeing that everything was progressing according to his plan, Zhao Dexiu turned to look at Zhao Guangyi during the court assembly.

Having practiced riding and archery since childhood, Zhao Dexiu had exceptionally good eyesight, and he clearly saw that Zhao Guangyi's face had darkened.

Zhao Guangyi, who had just been appointed by Zhao Kuangyin as the Grand Inspector of the Imperial Palace, returned to his residence with a dark expression.

After sitting down, Zhao Guangyi, who was getting angrier the more he thought about it, could no longer contain his anger and smashed a piece of celadon porcelain, which was a local tribute, heavily on the ground.

The loud crash of the shattering porcelain startled the servants in the room and attracted Zhao Guangyi's wife, Madam Fu.

As Fu Yanqing's daughter, Fu immediately realized that Zhao Guangyi had suffered a setback at the court meeting.

After dismissing the servants inside with a glance, Madam Fu sat down next to Zhao Guangyi and asked him with concern.

"My lord, has Zhao Pu attacked you in court again?"

When Zhao Pu was mentioned, Zhao Guangyi's expression grew even more gloomy.

Among the officials who served Zhao Kuangyin in his pre-imperial residence, Zhao Guangyi was on good terms with most of them, except for Zhao Pu, with whom he had a strained relationship from the very beginning.

After the establishment of the new dynasty, Zhao Pu and he had frequent friction over political views.

Seeing that Zhao Guangyi did not respond, Madam Fu reached out and gently patted Zhao Guangyi's chest, saying:

"When Empress Xiaohui was alive, she had shown kindness to Zhao Pu, so it was normal for him to favor Dexiu politically."

Empress Xiaohui refers to Lady He, the first wife of Emperor Zhao Kuangyin.

After Zhao Kuangyin became emperor, he posthumously honored Lady He as Empress Xiaohui according to the established rites and sent people to select a new burial site for her.

Zhao Guangyi once witnessed Zhao Kuangyin sadly pointing towards the new mausoleum site and saying, "After the Emperor's death, we shall be buried here together!" Fu's words reminded Zhao Guangyi of the scene when he was a child, enjoying the company of Empress Xiaohui.

If she were still alive
Although he had some longing in his heart, Zhao Guangyi was a man of firm will, and he quickly dispelled all the distracting thoughts in his mind.

"It is not Zhao Pu. At today's court meeting, His Majesty will reassign my husband to the position of Grand Inspector of the Imperial Palace."

When Zhao Guangyi was told the reason by Fu, the slight affection he felt for his family was overwhelmed by his resentment.

"Li Chuyun has been appointed as the Commander of the Palace Guards. His Majesty is far too biased towards him!"

It goes without saying who Zhao Guangyi was referring to as "him".

Upon hearing Zhao Guangyi's words, Madam Fu was greatly alarmed.

Born into a military family, how could she not know the importance of the position of Commander of the Palace Guard?

The Imperial Palace Inspector, as the name suggests, was responsible for patrolling the palace, a position that was somewhat difficult to evaluate.

After her initial shock, Madam Fu quickly regained some composure, and an idea formed in her mind:
"The current commander of the Palace Guards is Zhang Qiong. He has always been at odds with you, sir. Why don't you take advantage of your position as the Grand Inspector of the Palace to secretly gather evidence against him?"

Upon hearing Fu's words, Zhao Guangyi's resentment gradually subsided.

“Li Chuyun is His Majesty’s maternal relative, and so is my Fu family.”

If Zhang Qiong can be dismissed on charges of wrongdoing, then with some clandestine planning, my elder brother Zhaoshou might well be able to take on the position of Commander of the Palace Guards.

The more Fu spoke, the brighter Zhao Guangyi's eyes became.

Having the Fu family as his backer has always been a major asset to him.

After regaining his composure, Zhao Guangyi, knowing Zhao Kuangyin's personality, immediately added:

“Dismissing Zhang Qiong from his post is not enough; His Majesty is a wise man who values ​​loyalty and righteousness.”

If Zhang Qiong is alive, he will inevitably be reinstated in the future.

"If you're going to do something, do it thoroughly!"

As he pondered, a plan began to unfold in Zhao Guangyi's mind.

A person with a wicked heart can use any position as a platform to plot and scheme.

Back at his residence, Zhao Dexiu, feeling he had won a small victory, did not relax.

After dismissing everyone, Zhao Dexiu went to his study.

Since establishing his residence, Zhao Dexiu had strictly ordered that no one was allowed to enter the study, a highly sensitive area.

Zhao Dexiu valued his study so much because it contained the most precious treasure of his life.

After sitting down at his desk, Zhao Dexiu continued to recall some excellent systems and historical events he knew from his previous life, recording them in a book using a special method.

A good memory is not as good as a bad writing.

Zhao Dexiu does not yet have enough capital to carry out reforms, but he is worried that the memories in his mind will gradually fade over time, so he wants to record them first.

To prevent the secret from being leaked, Zhao Dexiu added a final layer of protection by recording the information using Morse code and Chinese-language linguistics.

After recording his general understanding of the "Jinyiwei" (Imperial Bodyguards), Zhao Dexiu turned to recording another matter:

It seems that after the rebellion of the two Lis was quelled, Zhao Guangyi wanted to continue to exert his influence over the Imperial Guard through the Fu family.

Zhao Dexiu felt that this matter was very important, so after recording it, she drew five small stars.

After finishing the painting, Zhao Dexiu, who felt he had considerable artistic talent, nodded in satisfaction.

(End of this chapter)