Chapter 307 The Emperor and the People Rule the World Together

"The Emperor of the Great Zhou has passed away!"

"Great Zhou."

"."

Angels kept announcing the news of Emperor Zhao Zhen's death.

In the imperial city, the families of officials knelt on the ground, and officials above the third rank went to the Xuanzheng Hall in groups, fearful and terrified.

At this time, Wei Yuan had come behind Wang Anshi.

When he confirmed that Zhao Zhen had passed away, he felt mixed emotions.

Since Daizhou came to Bianjing, although he and Zhao Zhen had mutual suspicion, overall, this monarch and minister still trusted each other.

If it weren't for Zhao Zhen, Wei Yuan would not have been the commander of the Palace Front Department at the age of thirty, and even been conferred a title of marquis.

Now, the monarch who had been kind to him is gone.

Wei Yuan was filled with mixed emotions.

He took a deep breath and knelt in the hall for a long time like Wang Anshi.

When all the officials above the third rank, including the military meritorious officials above the rank of marquis, came to the Xuanzheng Hall, Zhao Xi, with red eyes and lost soul, slowly appeared in front of everyone with the help of Zhu Zongguan.

Then, Zhu Zongguan, who came from the city gate, read out Zhao Zhen's order.

Originally, they thought that after Zhao Zhen died and Zhao Xi ascended the throne, the early assistant ministers must be a group of old ministers.

For example, Han Zhang, Fu Yanguo and Ouyang Yongshu who was demoted to the local area.

But unexpectedly, two young ministers, Wang Anshi and Fan Chunren, became assistant ministers.

Wei Yuan, who was only thirty years old, had surpassed the old Duke Qin Lie in status and became the top leader of the military.

This also indicates that the emperor has his own ministers.

Old ministers like Han Zhang and Zhang Fu are going to withdraw from the political stage.

They will become history.

And Wei Yuan and others will become the existence of opening up history.

As for Qin Lie, the old Duke, he was just a tool for Zhao Zhen to check and balance Wei Yuan.

Even so, Qin Lie was below Wei Yuan, and was only the commander of the Palace Front Department.

After Wu Xianggong and Zhang Fu, Wei Yuan became the third Privy Councilor, that is, the Prime Minister.

Everyone knew that the future political structure of the Great Zhou would be "three prime ministers", namely Wei Yuan, Wang Anshi, and Fan Chunren.

On March 28th, the eighth year of Jiayou, Zhao Xi succeeded to the throne in front of Zhao Zhen's spirit.

Bianjing was full of mourning.

Whether because of the war or because of Zhao Zhen's death, the people spontaneously stopped the market, and the paper money burned to commemorate him seemed to fill the streets of Bianjing.

Green smoke filled the city for a long time, and the sky was dark.

Even the refugees and beggars who fled to Bianjing because of the war in the north burst into tears when they heard the news of Zhao Zhen's death.

Everyone spontaneously put on mourning hats and mourning clothes to mourn for Zhao Zhen.

Even after the Liao army knew about it, Yelu Renxian personally ordered all the soldiers to tie white cloth on their foreheads to commemorate this benevolent monarch.

The era of Zhao Zhen will eventually pass.

April 1, the eighth year of Jiayou.

After Zhao Zhen's funeral was arranged, the new emperor Zhao Xi held a small court meeting in Xuanzheng Hall.

Since leading the army to rescue Bianjing, Wei Yuan has been staying in the palace and has not returned home.

He has a lot of things to deal with and needs to plan a full-scale counterattack.

The more this time, the less he cares about love.

He knows that Zhang Guifen will understand him.

At this time, in Xuanzheng Hall.

Wang Anshi, Wei Yuan, and Fan Chunren stood in the first row, the closest to Zhao Xi.

The rest of the ministers, whether new or old, stood far behind.

From this position, it can be seen that Wei Yuan has successfully stood at the center of the political stage of the Great Zhou.

"Last night, when I was guarding the spirit of my father, Wei Hou came to me and said that he wanted to march north to recover the lost land, and it would be better to do it sooner rather than later."

"Otherwise, once the Liao army has gained a foothold, the land occupied by the Liao army today will become another Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures in the future."

Zhao Xi said this, looked at the ministers, and asked again: "What do you think?"

At this time, standing behind Wei Yuan and the other two, several old imperial censors with gray beards and officials from the Ministry of Rites spoke one after another:

"Your Majesty, the late emperor's death is imminent, and it is not appropriate to start a war. The Liao army is now unable to capture our Bianjing. Why not send an envoy to talk about peace?"

"When the late emperor was alive, he was unwilling to start a war. Please think twice before acting."

"Your Majesty, the Liao army only knows how to attack cities and plunder land, but not how to govern the world. After a long time, they will definitely retreat when they know the difficulty."

"."

Hear these voices.

Fan Chunren slowly closed his eyes, as if he didn't want to pay attention to those fools.

Wang Anshi remained calm, as if he had expected those people's voices.

Wei Yuan even cursed in a low voice, "idiot."

What a joke? Not taking the initiative to recover the lost territory, waiting for the Liao army to retreat?

Bianjing had just experienced a dangerous situation where it was almost lost, and now those people said they wanted to make peace with the Liao army?

Those soldiers who died in the battle died in vain?

The people in the north who were slaughtered by the Liao army died in vain?

The local heroes who stood up for the safety of their country died in vain?

Thinking of this, Wei Yuan couldn't help it. Just when he was about to say something, he saw Zhao Xi glanced at those people lightly, and then waved to the guards standing in the hall:

"Let them be buried with the late emperor."

As soon as these words came out, Fan Chunren opened his eyes immediately.

Even Wang Anshi was surprised.

They are the imperial censors, so they can be killed just like that?

After hearing Zhao Xi's order, the imperial censors immediately knelt down and said:

"Your Majesty, I, Taizu Taizu of Zhou Dynasty, once said that I will not kill scholar-bureaucrats."

"In that day, the stone tablet that the emperor and the scholar-bureaucrats jointly ruled the world was still erected in front of the imperial palace. Your Majesty, you can't kill the old minister!"

"I have no examples of killing scholar-bureaucrats in Zhou Dynasty!"

"."

Um?

Zhao Xi stood with his hands behind his back, "Either you three tribes will be destroyed, or you will die, it's up to you."

ah?

Why are they the Yi tribe?

Wang Anshi frowned deeply and advised: "Your Majesty, the late emperor is newly mourned, so it is not appropriate to go to war."

Zhao Xi, who is less than ten years old, still does not understand the importance of human life, especially the life of scholar-bureaucrats.

If he were killed, he would be called a tyrant by the world.

However, Zhao Xi has made up his mind.

"These imperial censors were deeply favored by the late emperor, so they decided to bury the late emperor. Why not?"

As soon as these words came out, no matter what those people said, Zhao Xi still ignored them.

Soon, guards took those people outside the palace and killed them.

He killed the censor as soon as he ascended the throne. This young emperor was trying to show his authority to all the officials!

After the guards pulled those people down.

At this moment, the officials standing in the palace, except for Wei Yuan and a few others, were all frightened.

Only then did they realize that the emperor in front of them was different from the previous emperors of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

"By the way, the late emperor told me before he died that the day I ascend the throne will be the day when I take charge personally."

"My queen mother is in ill health. From now on, instead of listening to government behind the curtain, I will handle the government affairs myself."

Zhao Xi said lightly.

No one knows what means he used to force Empress Cao to listen to politics behind the curtain.

Last night, only the maid serving Empress Cao heard Zhao Xi vaguely say something like this:

"Mother, you listen behind the curtain and listen to the government. The Cao family's children are doing the government, and I have no objections."

"But as long as my son is in charge, I don't know what he will do to the Cao family after waiting for his mother for a hundred years."

If these words get out, it would be disrespectful.

After hearing these words, the maidservant was sentenced to death by Empress Cao before dawn.

One is her son, and some are her family members.

She didn't dare to gamble, so she didn't choose to listen to politics behind the curtain.

Even some old ministers, such as Fu Yanguo and others, went to Zhazi to ask Queen Cao to listen to politics behind the curtain, but they were suppressed by Zhao Xi.

Why do these veterans do this?

The answer is obvious. They hope that by supporting Queen Cao, they can gain status in the court.

He would not be completely squeezed out by rising stars such as Wang Anshi and Wei Yuan.

And Zhao Xi dared to speak like that because he had some support in his heart, and this support came from Wei Yuan.

Today, the troops responsible for guarding the imperial city are the Danglu Army, and the troops responsible for guarding Bianjing are the troops brought by Wei Yuan from the south of the Yangtze River.

The entire Bianjing City is in Zhao Xi's hands.

He had soldiers and became an emperor. What could he not dare to say?

Perhaps even Zhao Zhen did not expect that Zhao Xi, who usually pretended to be harmless to humans and animals, would become so tough after ascending the throne.

"My intention was very clear just now. We must regain the lost ground as soon as possible."

"Gentlemen, the current situation in the country is difficult. I hope that you can loyally assist me."

After a pause, he no longer looked at the ministers, but focused his gaze on Wei Yuan, and asked excitedly:

"Taifu Wei, with you in charge of this battle, can you successfully regain the lost territory and expel the Liao army?"

Last night, Wei Yuan and Zhao Xi talked a lot.

The former also expressed his thoughts.

That is, to annihilate the main force of the Liao army within the territory of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and then take advantage of the situation to launch the Northern Expedition. If the right time, place and people are found, it may be possible to regain the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun once and for all.

This idea made Zhao Xi extremely excited.

He agreed with Wei Yuan's suggestion of the Northern Expedition.

Since the Liao army went south, Zhao Xi has often been thinking about a question.

Why couldn't Zhou's army take the initiative to invade the sixteen states of Yanyun?

Why can we only be passively beaten?

Is it just because of the war horses?

He refused.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, I will have full confidence to regain the lost territory in one fell swoop!"

Wei Yuan spoke firmly.

Zhao Xi said: "Okay! As expected of a health master!"

"From now on, Guardsman, you are the general manager of the Northern Expedition. All armies in various places are under your control."

"I don't care about the process, only the results."

"The Marquis of the Guards Division will be hereditary from today onwards."

"Fight this battle well for me!"

There are roughly two types of titles, one is the title of surname.

If he dies, his heirs cannot inherit the title.

There is another type, the Spyker, which is hereditary. As long as no mistakes are made, the Spyker can generally be as rich and noble as the country.

only

The battle hasn't been fought yet, even if the battle hasn't been won yet, it's a bit inappropriate to give a reward first, isn't it?

Fan Chunren spoke slowly: "Your Majesty, how about waiting for the Marquis of Wei to win the battle before giving him a reward?"

Zhao Xi blinked his eyes, and his fleshy cheeks gradually revealed an unhappy expression.

"Marquis Wei succeeded in relieving the siege of Bianjing. How can it be said that it was a failure? Even if it was a success, how could I not award him a reward?"

Fan Chunren frowned and blurted out: "The late emperor has already awarded the reward."

Zhao Xi stood with his hands behind his back, "You also said that it was a reward from the late emperor, what does it have to do with me?"

Fan Chunren was stunned.

Wang Anshi pretended not to have heard the dispute between the two.

Fan Chunren wanted to say something else, but saw that Zhao Xi's face was already a little impatient.

"When the 100,000 soldiers from Jiangnan arrive, Wei Taifu will be carrying out the Northern Expedition."

After a pause, he looked at Wei Yuan and said with a smile: "Master Wei, during this period, spend more time with your wife."

Wei Yuan was stunned, and then clasped his fists.

Zhao Xi waved his hand, signaling the ministers to withdraw.

At this time, Wang Anshi blinked at him.

Zhao Xi understood and left Wang Anshi alone.

After everyone left the hall.

Many people whispered:

"Before the war started, he was rewarded. This Marquis Wei really won the emperor's heart."

"Yes, the previous emperor had broken the rule for Marquis Wei before, and now the new emperor has broken it again."

"Everyone, Wei Yuan is now extremely powerful, let's speak in a low voice."

"The emperor's grace is so great, it's really enviable!"

"."

They only knew that Wei Yuan was now extremely powerful, and they only knew to envy Wei Yuan.

But they didn't realize it, or they realized it but didn't want to admit it.

Now, the country can turn the tide, save the turmoil, and support the building from collapse, except Wei Yuan, no one else.

After leaving Xuanzheng Hall, Wei Yuan walked out of the palace and went to the Duke of Ying's Mansion.

Earlier, he received news that Zhang Guifen and others were waiting for Wei Yuan in the Duke of Ying's Mansion.

As for Madam Zhang, she was in front of the tomb of the previous emperor, guarding the spirit with the royal family and a group of concubines of the previous emperor.

According to the rules, when the emperor passed away, officials of the third rank and above, including military honors above the rank of marquis, had to send people to guard the late emperor's body.

Zhang Guifen was devoted to Wei Yuan. When she saw Wei Yuan coming to the imperial city covered in blood that day, she burst into tears and almost fainted.

In addition, Wei Yuan had been guarding the body in the palace for the past few days, so the court did not let Zhang Guifen kneel down.

At this time, in the Xuanzheng Hall.

Wang Anshi bowed to Zhao Xi and said, "Your Majesty, you have been too kind to Marquis Wei."

Zhao Xi asked back, "Master Wang, do you think that I shouldn't have easily awarded Master Wei the title of Marquis?"

Wang Anshi nodded and said earnestly, "With the ability of Marquis Wei, he will definitely be able to recover the lost territory. Moreover, many of the generals who followed Marquis Wei from Daizhou to Bianjing have made military achievements."

"After the lost territory is recovered and the war is over, how many more meritorious officials will there be? As a military general, Marquis Wei has too much power, which is not right after all."

Zhao Xi knew what he was worried about, and said in a deep voice: "I am only ten years old this year, but Marquis Wei is almost thirty years old, and he is nearly twenty years older than me."

"When I am here, Marquis Wei dare not do anything beyond the limit, and I am afraid that Marquis Wei will not live longer than me."

At this point, he looked at Wang Anshi meaningfully, "This also applies to Master Wang."

"When I am here, there will be no powerful ministers, and no ministers who will harm the imperial power."

"It is the same for Wei Yuan and you!"

"To tell you the truth, even if I let Master Wei command the troops of the whole country, Master Wei will not dare, let alone rebel against me!"

What Zhao Xi said was not nonsense.

At least, for now, Zhang Guifen and others are in the capital, and Zhao Xi has the appearance of a heroic leader.

At first glance, if he secretly cultivates some direct troops while in charge of the national army, there is a high probability that he can succeed in the rebellion.

But after careful analysis, Wei Yuan does not think that he can win.

First, Wei Yuan's relatives are under the control of Zhao Xi.

Second, most of the elite troops of the Great Zhou Dynasty are loyal to Zhao Xi.

Third, Zhao Xi is not Zhao Zhen. He is young, but he has an iron-blooded hand. Given time, he will surely dominate the world and win back the hearts of the people.

Fighting against such a hero, Wei Yuan does not know where his chances of winning are.

The best result is probably to secede from one side.

But in this case, wouldn't he become a sinner of this land?

Wei Yuan does not want to do something that will be infamous for thousands of years.

Hearing what Zhao Xi said, Wang Anshi fell silent.

How could he not know in his heart that if Zhao Xi was there, Wei Yuan would not rebel, and there would be no reason to rebel?

But how old is Zhao Xi?

His wisdom is like a demon, and his character is rarely matched.

Such a person is not born to be long-lived!

Even Han Wu and Tang Zong were not as perverted as Zhao Xi when they were young!

Too smart and easy to die, and heaven is jealous of talents, how many things have happened?

At such a young age, his character, wisdom, and methods are all excellent. How can such a person live long if he is envied by heaven?

Wait until Wang Anshi leaves Xuanzheng Hall.

Zhao Xi ordered someone to find a small iron hammer, and then he held the small iron hammer and sat alone in Xuanzheng Hall in deep thought.

I don’t know how long it took, but his eyes suddenly became extremely firm, and he stood up and went to the court hall.

After a while, he stood in front of the stone tablet that Zhou Taizu had erected.

It was written on the tablet: The emperor and the literati and officials ruled the world together. There was a Zhou Dynasty, and the literati and officials were not killed.

Zhao Xi stared at the stone tablet in a daze.

Then, he made a shocking move.

He personally swung the small iron hammer and smashed the stone tablet over and over again.

I don’t know how many times he smashed it, and the stone tablet was already incomplete.

At this time, there was a strange phenomenon in the sky above the Great Zhou Dynasty Hall.

I saw black clouds covering the top, and lightning and thunder in the clouds, as if God was dissatisfied with what Zhao Xi did.

Zhao Xi's action of smashing the stone tablet frightened the surrounding eunuchs and guards to the point of losing their souls, and they all knelt down for a long time.

At this time, the civil officials who received the news came to the court hall and knelt down to accuse Zhao Xi of wrongdoing.

"Your Majesty, this was decided by Taizu. If you do this, where will our ancestors be placed? It will bring the wrath of heaven!"

"I beg your majesty to admit my mistakes to our ancestors and seek forgiveness from heaven!"

"Your Majesty, this is a sign of the country's demise!"

"."

After Zhao Zhen passed away, the ministers all wore mourning and worked in the palace during the period of mourning.

When they heard that Zhao Xi was smashing the stone tablet that Taizu had erected, they were shocked and angry. On the way here, they had said "the wrath of heaven and the resentment of people" and "a sign of the country's demise" countless times.

Zhao Xi was still too young after all. After swinging the hammer and smashing the stone tablet, he was already exhausted.

When he saw the civil officials kneeling in front of him, including Wang Anshi and Fan Chunren, his brows were faintly disappointed.

Boom!

At this moment, a thunderbolt fell above the court hall.

It hit a tile, burning it and tearing it apart.

The wrath of heaven!

Heavenly punishment!

For a moment, these two words suddenly popped up in the minds of those scholars and officials.

Some old officials were so angry at Zhao Xi's behavior that they vomited blood and fainted.

Before falling asleep, he stood up, pointed at Zhao Xi, and cursed: "The Great Zhou will die in your hands!"

However, Zhao Xi was unmoved in his heart.

He naturally saw the thunder that fell.

To be honest, at that moment, he was a little scared.

But the fear was just a passing moment.

If there is really a heavenly punishment, why not fall directly on himself?

Emperor Zhuanxu could communicate with the sky in the past, which shows that the emperors on earth are not inferior to those in heaven.

Zhao Xi held the small hammer in his hand, looked up at the sky, and said loudly:

"I will decide the affairs of the Great Zhou!"

"Disperse them all for me!"

He didn't know why he suddenly said such a sentence.

Perhaps he wanted to disperse the black clouds covering his head.

The black cloud pressed down on his chest and abdomen, making him feel extremely suffocated, as if he couldn't breathe.

However, an amazing scene appeared.

The endless black clouds gathered above the court hall, after hearing Zhao Xi's words, just like the people receiving the imperial edict, they were really dispersed with fear and trepidation.

A ray of sunlight shone on Zhao Xi's chubby, slightly cute cheeks.

This was the first time Zhao Xi laughed heartily since Zhao Zhen's death.

Then, he looked at the ministers and said loudly:

"Last night, Emperor Taizu came to me in a dream and asked me to smash this stone tablet and change a few words. I think these words should be changed."

"From now on, set up a stone tablet here again, and write, Great Zhou and the people coexist in the world!"

"The powerful and the rich who break the law are guilty of the same crime as the common people!"