White-robed Minister

Chapter 194 0192 [The Right Time, the Right Place, and the Right People]

Based on a great victory, Xu Lai requested the imperial court to allocate funds, grain, and immigrants.

The court's response was that they could allocate some funds and provisions to you, but you shouldn't even think about immigration. Especially since the relocation of the Shandong garrison troops from Shandong to Longyou involved astronomical expenses.

"This Wang Juyuan is simply outrageous!" Zhao Xu said angrily.

As the transport commissioner of Shaanxi, Wang Juyuan consistently refused to provide Xu Lai with provisions, which greatly displeased the emperor. However, Wang Juyuan argued that the entire Shaanxi province was facing a shortage of provisions, leaving the emperor with no choice but to understand his predicament.

Now, Wang Juyuan has come up with a new trick, writing a memorial of several thousand words.

Wang Juyuan first explained the political situation in Western Xia, saying that Empress Dowager Liang and Weiming Langyu were at odds, and as long as the Song Dynasty did not provoke them, the two countries would not go to war in the short term. If the Song Dynasty engaged in an arms race, it would force Western Xia to take action prematurely, and Empress Dowager Liang and Weiming Langyu might unite against a common enemy.

Wang Juyuan then added that in the past year or so, in order to prepare for war against the Western Xia, the Song Dynasty had a serious problem of redundant soldiers and officials in various parts of Shaanxi.

In conclusion, Wang Juyuan offered four suggestions:

First, streamline the number of officials in Shaanxi and reduce the number of soldiers stationed on the border.

Second, strengthen combat readiness. But this strengthening involves quietly stockpiling food supplies and weapons.

Third, stop building fortified villages and watchtowers. This would provoke the Western Xia and force Empress Dowager Liang and Weiming Langyu to cooperate.

Fourth, after Tongyuan Army captures Weiyuan, it should not continue to expand westward, as this would lead to a true alliance between Muzheng and Western Xia.

To be honest, from Wang Juyuan's perspective, these contents are not too outrageous.

Over the past year and a half, various regions in Shaanxi have indeed spent too much money and grain in order to prepare for a possible war between Song and Xia.

Wang Juyuan, the transport commissioner of Shaanxi, was nearly driven mad by the dire financial straits.

If a large-scale war breaks out, Wang Juyuan will not know where to get money and food.

There was one more thing Wang Juyuan couldn't say: that was negotiating peace with the Western Xia.

Only through peace negotiations can trade in the Western Regions be restored, the arms race be stopped, and Shaanxi's finances be able to improve rapidly.

The Northern Song Dynasty had a Silk Road, and the current route was: Kaifeng—Xianyang—Huanqing—Lingzhou (Lingwu).

Liangzhou (Wuwei) — Western Regions.

In other words, they had to go through the territory of Western Xia, bypassing the forces of Dong Zhan, Mu Zheng, and others.

After Zhong E recovered Suizhou, the Silk Road was cut off, and both the Song and Xia states suffered heavy losses.

Wang Juyuan's memorial sparked heated debate among the court officials.

Two-thirds of the ministers who stepped forward to discuss the matter supported Wang Juyuan's suggestion, believing that it would bring various benefits, especially in alleviating financial problems.

However, many ministers also opposed it.

A very small number of more radical individuals simply supported Xu Lai's plan to open up the borders. They argued that as long as the Hehuang and Qinghai-Tibet Plateaus were opened up, they could bypass the Western Xia and reach the Western Regions to open up the Silk Road (Qinghai-Tibet Line).

The chief ministers and privy councilors did not accept Zhu Juyuan's plan. These people had different perspectives and feared that after reducing the number of officials and troops on the border, the Western Xia would suddenly launch a large-scale invasion, causing chaos and disorder.

Therefore, they decided to remove Wang Juyuan.

There was much speculation about who should succeed him. After half a month of debate, only two candidates remained: Cai Ting and Lü Gongru.

Zeng Gongliang recommended Cai Ting.

Because Cai Ting had done an excellent job in recent years, repelling the Western Xia attacks on multiple occasions. Even Li Liangzuo's death was due to a relapse of an old wound inflicted by Cai Ting.

Wen Yanbo recommended Lü Gongru, arguing that Cai Ting needed to avoid suspicion as Cai Kang was serving as the military commissioner of Qin-Feng Road, while his younger brother was appointed as the transport commissioner of Shaanxi. With these two brothers working together, would Shaanxi no longer be Cai family territory?

Actually, Wen Yanbo also had his own motives. He had a good relationship with Lü Gongbi, the Vice Privy Councilor, so he recommended Lü Gongbi's younger brother.

The two sides were at loggerheads.

During the court assembly, Zhao Xu asked Wang Anshi, who had remained silent until now, "Whom do you think should be appointed as the Transport Commissioner of Shaanxi?"

Wang Anshi suggested a third candidate: "Shen Qi, the Transport Commissioner of Hunan!"

Sima Guang immediately objected: "Your Majesty, Shen Qi is not qualified enough. This man was previously the Judicial Commissioner of Jingdong Circuit, then transferred to the Prefectural Vice Prefect of Kaifeng, and then to the Transport Commissioner of Hunan Circuit."

Although both were transport commissioners, the Hunan transport commissioner was far less capable than the Shaanxi transport commissioner.

Following the normal promotion path, Shen Qi really wasn't qualified to take the position.

However, Wang Anshi opened Zhao Xu's mind: Shen Qi and Xu Lai cooperated very well when they were in Yingtian Prefecture. If they continued to cooperate in Shaanxi, wouldn't their expansion be divinely aided? Moreover, Wang Anshi had a good relationship with Shen Qi. With Shen Qi as the link, Xu Lai and Wang Anshi could also strengthen their relationship, thus ensuring a harmonious relationship between the two talented individuals he valued.

Zhao Xu said, "I know Shen Qi. All the official positions he has held have yielded outstanding results. Although his seniority is somewhat limited, he is certainly capable of shouldering heavy responsibilities. What does Prime Minister Fu think?"

Fu Bi has not yet strongly opposed the reforms; as prime minister, he only wants to smooth things over and ease tensions between the various factions in the court.

Now Zeng Gongliang, Wen Yanbo, Wang Anshi, and Sima Guang are arguing over the selection of the Shaanxi Transport Commissioner, and Fu Bi doesn't know who to support.

He simply didn't bother to get involved: "Your Majesty, I have been retired for many years due to illness and do not know much about Shen Qi."

Zhao Xu then asked Chen Xu, "What does Minister Chen think?"

Chen Xu replied, "Shen Qi is very suitable."

Wen Yanbo and Lü Gongbi were furious upon hearing this, because Chen Xu, also a Privy Councilor, had been trying his best to curry favor with Wang Anshi. Even the newly established "Regulations Office for the Administration of the Three Departments" was jointly managed by Wang Anshi and Chen Xu.

To put it another way, Chen Xu, as the Vice Privy Councilor, effectively became the number two figure in the reform faction.

The matter is not over yet.

Vice Chancellor Tang Jie also joined in. This old man was seriously ill and attended the court assembly despite his illness. He had a grudge against Chen Xu and had even caused Chen Xu to be demoted. Moreover, he strongly opposed the appointment of Wang Anshi.

Tang Jie said, "Your Majesty, Shen Qi is still relatively inexperienced. I believe that Lü Gongru is more capable of taking on the role."

Zeng Gongliang was extremely dissatisfied upon hearing this: "You, as a vice prime minister, can oppose Wang Anshi, but why don't you support me? You actually went and supported Wen Yanbo!"

Both the Secretariat and the Privy Council had "traitors" among themselves.

Compared to Wen Yanbo, Zeng Gongliang preferred Wang Anshi.

Zeng Gongliang and Wang Anshi only had minor disagreements; in general, Zeng Gongliang still supported Wang Anshi. After all, it was Zeng Gongliang who recommended Wang Anshi to return to the capital in the first place.

Now that Tang Jie has jumped out and caused trouble, Zeng Gongliang simply abandoned his own opinion and agreed with Wang Anshi's choice: "Your Majesty, I believe that both Cai Ting and Shen Qi are suitable. Either one will suffice."

Tang Jie then angrily rebuked Zeng Gongliang: "As prime minister, how can you be so inconsistent in your words? What kind of responsibility do you have?"

Zhao Xu, his head throbbing from their arguing, immediately made a decision: "Alright, stop arguing. Shen Qi has outstanding political achievements and is both virtuous and capable; let him be the Transport Commissioner of Shaanxi."

Last year, Censor-in-Chief Lü Hui, who had returned to the capital, stepped forward and said: "Your Majesty, I impeach Wang Anshi. Since assuming the position of Vice Chancellor, Wang Anshi has been domineering and nepotistic. Most of the people he has promoted are wicked and treacherous. Even those who are not wicked or treacherous are promoted beyond their rank due to insufficient qualifications. If this continues, it will inevitably corrupt the administration."

When the head of the Censorate took charge, a whole host of officials followed suit.

The main reason was that Wang Anshi himself had relatively little experience and had not cultivated enough supporters before. When he suddenly became the vice prime minister, he had no choice but to start from scratch and appoint "new people," resulting in the promotion of too many officials in a short period of time.

How can the officials in charge of criticism turn a blind eye to such behavior?

When Wang Anshi was impeached for being domineering and arrogant, he immediately fell silent.

In the imperial court, only the censors launched an attack on Wang Anshi.

Zhao Xu could no longer stand it. His trusted vice prime minister was being attacked by the crowd, and the officials were trying to sabotage the reforms.

Zhao Xu said, "Stop talking. Shen Qi should be appointed as the Transport Commissioner of Shaanxi."

Lü Hui, however, refused to give up: "Your Majesty, the previous attempt by Zhang Biguang to sow discord between Your Majesty and your brothers was orchestrated by Wang Anshi and Lü Huiqing. Zhang Biguang even privately boasted that even if the court punished him, he would not implicate Wang Anshi and Lü Huiqing."

However, it was Zhao Hao, the second younger brother of Zhao Xu and the Prince of Qi, who lived in the palace and never moved out.

More than two years ago, Zhang Biguang submitted a memorial stating that it was inappropriate for Prince Qi to live in the palace and that he should move to an outer residence.

This matter was recently brought up again, and Empress Dowager Gao Taotao was furious. Emperor Zhao Xu, out of respect for his mother, wanted to punish Zhang Piguang for sowing discord. However, Wang Anshi strongly defended Zhang Piguang, and the matter was dropped.

When Zeng Gongliang saw Lü Hui bring up the matter again, he immediately retorted angrily, "Zhang Piguang submitted a memorial two years ago. At that time, Wang Anshi was in Nanjing, and Lü Huiqing was in Hangzhou. How could they have instructed Zhang Piguang to sow discord between His Majesty and his brothers? It's utterly absurd!"

Zeng Gongliang has completely put aside his minor conflict with Wang Anshi. After all, Wang Anshi is a prime minister, so how could he allow those guys from the Privy Council and the Censorate to slander him for no reason?

Knowing he couldn't win the argument, Lü Hui resorted to personal attacks: "Your Majesty, Wang Anshi is a great villain who appears loyal, a great flatterer who appears trustworthy—he outwardly appears simple and rustic, but inwardly he is cunning and deceitful—he deceives superiors and inferiors, uses flowery language to cover up his mistakes, and misleads the people of the world; he is surely such a person—"

Before Lü Hui could finish speaking, Zhao Xu stood up and announced, "Court adjourned!"

After returning home, Lü Hui continued to submit memorials impeaching Wang Anshi. His repeated impeachments proved ineffective, so he wrote a letter of resignation.

Zhao Xu worried that directly demoting Lü Hui would put Wang Anshi in an awkward position.

This is because it is normal for censors to impeach the prime minister. If the censors are demoted for this, it would only confirm the prime minister's arrogance.

But Wang Anshi approached the emperor and said, "I have dedicated myself to the country; what do I have to fear from criticism?"

This stubborn prime minister is truly unafraid of criticism.

He believes he is doing the right thing, and he remains unmoved even if everyone criticizes him.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xu was deeply moved and demoted Lü Hui to the position of prefect of Dengzhou. Furthermore, he accepted Wang Anshi's suggestion and appointed Shen Qi to replace Wang Juyuan as the transport commissioner of Shaanxi.

Xu Lai was overjoyed upon hearing the appointment.

Wang Anshi was incredibly capable.

Regardless of the merits of Wang Anshi's reforms, Xu Lai was genuinely grateful for his willingness to support the expansion of the Hehuang region and for bringing Shen Qi over to help.

Li Shizhong and Wang Juyuan, who were both dragging their feet, left their posts one after another, and were replaced by Li Yi and Shen Qi, who were willing to provide money and provisions.

With the help of his immediate superior Cai Kang and the support of his former superior Gong Dingchen.

The military commissioner of Jingyuan Road next door is Cai Kang's brother, Cai Ting. In a crucial moment, one could persuade Cai Ting to join forces against the Western Xia.

These are all our own people.

On the other hand, both Mu Zheng and Xi Xia were internally unstable and had no way to mobilize their troops at full strength.

With favorable timing, location, and human factors all on his side, Xu Lai felt he could accelerate the process.

As long as Shen Qi brings enough money and supplies, Xu Lai will dare to send troops all the way to Mu Zheng's stronghold, Ta Bai City!

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