Prime Minister

Chapter 1196: King Wei flees to Song

Chapter 1196: King Wei flees to Song

Nanxun Gate in Bianjing.

Yelu Yixin's carriage was slowly driving in, and his carriage met Li Dingzheng, who was leaving the city and being demoted to Yongzhou.

Li Ding was accused of falsely impeaching the prime minister and of using his private armed forces to search the prime minister's estate without going through Kaifeng Prefecture, which was a crime three times more serious. As a result, he was demoted to Lingnan.

The dignified Chief Censor ended up being exiled to Lingnan.

Li Ding had few good friends among the ministers when he was in office. He always claimed to be a non-partisan. He also got a good official position by relying on Wang Anshi, and he also falsely accused Su Shi of a crime. So few people pleaded for him.

Zhang Yue was a little surprised when he saw that no one pleaded for mercy.

In the end, it was Cai Que who spoke up. He told Zhang Yue that Li Ding was an important official after all, and it would not be a good idea to exile the Chief Censor, one of the four leaders, to Lingnan, as it would set a bad precedent.

Besides, Zheng Xia and Tang Gong, who had previously submitted memorials to the emperor, had already been demoted to Lingnan. After all, Li Ding was an important official and had to save some face. Although Zhang Yue suspected that Cai Que was behind this, he still took his feelings into consideration and sent Li Ding to Yongzhou in Jinghu South Road the day before he left.

This is like sending Li Ding to the mountains to catch snakes. Maybe he will leave behind some legendary articles like Liu Zongyuan.

At this moment, Li Ding was holding a memorial in front of the Nanxun Gate, and he was also filled with mixed feelings. He said to the several sons who followed him: "My father studied and our family was poor and it was difficult to continue. Thanks to the support of the clan, I have been an official for these years. Finally, I have used my salary to pay off my old debts and repay the great kindness of the clan."

"Now we are going to Yongzhou to make a living and earn our own living, which will not be in vain for the Li family's tradition of farming and studying."

After hearing this, Li Dingshuzi bowed and agreed.

Although Li Ding was promoted to the position of Chief Censor, he was a poor official. Not only did his several sons not have the extravagant lifestyle of the officials, but each of them maintained the simplicity of students from poor families.

After saying this, Shuzi got on the donkey cart first.

Li Ding said to the officials who came to see him off: "I don't think I failed because of morality, but because of trickery."

"It's ridiculous that some people keep saying that conspiracy and trickery are the lowest form of trickery, but they actually use that trick themselves."

Li Ding still feels angry when he thinks about it now. Zhang Yue likes to kill people and destroy their hearts. He doesn't have the demeanor of a prime minister at all.

The officials did not dare to answer. If someone told Zhang Yue what they said, it would be bad. It was not easy for them to come and see Li Ding off.

One person said, "The winner is the king and the loser is the bandit. Lord Li, if you still care about this, you are not magnanimous enough."

Li Ding sneered when he heard this and said nothing more.

However, some officials who came to see him off could not help but sigh as they watched Li Ding walking in a cart: "The officials promoted by the Duke of Jing in recent years are all honest in conduct."

Everyone agreed.

Li Ding got on the donkey cart and gazed at the palace for a moment, then whipped the cart and drove away.

When Li Ding was demoted, another censor, He Zhengchen, had also been demoted.

He Zhengchen and Zhang Zhi were both admitted to the imperial examinations in the same year. They had a good relationship. He Zhengchen was also quite upright as an official and was appreciated by Wang Anshi, who later took action against Su Shi in the Li Ding Wudai Poetry Case.

……

At this moment He Zhengchen was on his way to meet Zhang Zhi.

It turned out that before Li Ding impeached Zhang Yue, he had been in contact with Zhang Zhiduo and even tipped off Zhang Yue.

Now Zhang Zhi did not live in the Zhang Mansion. There were many people coming and going in the Zhang Mansion, and there were more than 100 people under Zhang Yue alone, which was not conducive to his recovery. So Zhang Zhi bought a house in Yiqiu Gate, Bianjing, and moved out, becoming a neighbor of Su Che.

Zhang Shi and Yu also moved here.

In this way, the first and third branches of the Zhang family officially separated.

Now Zhang Zhi was half lying on the bed. After nearly two years of recuperation, he could only barely get out of bed.

"The matter is finally settled. You have been banished from the capital this time, but I believe you will be reinstated in the future." Zhang Zhi's face was a little pale, and he spoke to He Zhengchen weakly.

"That's what I said, but I'd like Zizheng to speak well of me to the Prime Minister. To be honest, I'm still unsure."

Zhang Zhi was silent for a moment and said, "You bet on both sides. Although you have the merit of tipping off the prime minister, the prime minister may not remember it in his heart. I am now like a half-useless person and have not been involved in government affairs for a long time. Even the prime minister rarely visits."

He Zhengchen was silent for a moment, and finally stood up and said goodbye.

Mrs. Lu walked out from behind the screen. She heard everything He Zhengchen said just now clearly.

"He Zhengchen is so humble, why don't you ask your uncle and do him a favor."

Zhang Zhi said: "I am now far away from the government, so it is not appropriate for me to ask about these things. Besides, Third Uncle must have his own arrangements."

Lu said, "Your third uncle is now the prime minister, and you have been serving him."

Hearing what Lu meant, Zhang Zhi smiled and said, "In the past, I wanted to die on the battlefield, but now I want to live in seclusion in the city."

After hearing what Zhang Zhi said, Mrs. Lu suppressed her resentment. Mrs. Lu said, "Now my father and Mr. Zhang have different opinions on the Tangut conquest. Wouldn't you like to be caught in the middle?"

Zhang Zhi smiled and said, "I am not in good health. You see, our life is pretty good like this."

Mrs. Lu still said with resentment: "It's a pity that I have to sit on the bench."

Zhang Zhi laughed and hugged Lu, saying, "It is enough for me to come back alive and see you. As for other things, why should I ask for more."

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Lu looked happy and thought, Yes, sir, you are right.

She raised her head and saw that Zhang Zhi looked very unhappy after he finished speaking. Knowing that his old injury had relapsed, she quickly helped him lie back on the bed.

……

After Li Ding and He Zhengchen were dismissed, Zhang Yue exiled several of Li Ding's followers. The people who had provided military force to Li Ding to capture Yelu Hong were uprooted and wiped out by Kaifeng Prefecture Governor Su Song before Zhang Yue could take action.

If you offend the powerful prime minister of the dynasty, not only will the law be followed, but even without Zhang Yue giving a signal, the people below will rush to do the work.

The government temporarily did not appoint a Chief Censor. Chen Mu changed it to the Temporary Academy of Scholars and appointed Shu Tan as the Attending Censor in charge of miscellaneous affairs, making him the head of the Censorate.

When Yelu Yixin entered the city, he had no idea that the person leaving the city on the other side was Li Ding, who had been dismissed from office because of him.

After Yelu Yixin arrived in Bian Jing secretly, he was settled in a secret place.

The emperor kept sending trusted ministers and eunuchs to ask Yelu Yixin about his attitude, but Yelu Yixin refused to answer no matter what.

Finally, Li Xian came down in person. After hearing that it was Li Xian, Yelu Yixin was moved and said, "I know you."

Li Xian smiled and said, "Thank you for the high regard of the King of Wei. I wonder who murdered the King of Wei?"

Yelu Yixin sighed, "It's hard to put it into words."

Li Xian ordered someone to serve wine, and after personally pouring a glass for Yelu Yixin, he said, "King Wei, please speak."

Yelu Yixin drank the wine in one gulp and then said, "After Zhang Xiaojie and I were dismissed, we were replaced by Liang Ying, the former Privy Councilor."

"Liang Ying?" Li Xian had a questioning look on his face. The envoy next to him said, "This person came as an envoy to congratulate the Emperor on his birthday in the sixth year of Xining."

"Afterwards, he participated in the Hedong land exploration negotiations with Xiao Su. According to Shen Kuo, this person was quite strong and had several disputes with us. There is no further record."

Li Xian couldn't help but shake his head. Such an important figure who was able to overthrow Yelu Yixin, yet the people in the Song Dynasty court knew very little about him.

Yelu Yixin said: "Liang Ying is a Han Chinese and was a fellow Jinshi with Zhang Xiaojie. Although Liang Ying is a Han Chinese, he is attached to Xiao Su, the envoy of the Northern Privy Council. This person is exactly my great enemy."

"But I didn't care about these Han officials at the time. My biggest enemy was the Khitan royal family and the descendants who were attached to the crown prince. The Han officials had no foundation and were not to be feared. Who would have thought that the one who advocated against me in the end was this Han official Liang Ying. After I lost power, this person tried his best to deal with me, the remnant of Zhang Xiaojie. It was he who advocated the exile of Zhang Xiaojie. If I hadn't fled to Song, I would have no choice but to die."

"To use the words of you Han people, it's like you've been hunting geese all your life, only to get your eyes pecked by them."

Li Xian smiled and said, "The King of Wei was born in a poor family, but he was able to rise above ten thousand people, which shows the King of Wei's ability."

"From ancient times to the present, when the poor have failed in challenging the aristocratic families, the old poor are often replaced by new poor, not the old aristocratic families. Even if the poor succeed in their challenge, they will become the new aristocratic families."

Yelu Yixin said: "You are right. The person in power in Liao is Liang Ying, the Northern Privy Councilor, but he is not trusted by your majesty... The Liao Lord does not trust him as much as I did in the beginning."

Li Xian asked: "Why does the Liao ruler like to employ Han officials?"

Yelu Yixin said: "Your Han system is indeed worthy of reference for our Liao Kingdom. For example, our Northern and Southern Privy Councils and Northern and Southern Secretariats are all based on your Han system. The ministers of this dynasty are skilled in archery and horse riding, but they are indeed not as knowledgeable about cultural relics and rules as you Han people."

"But the Zhongshumenxia of our Liao Kingdom cannot be informed of political affairs unless they are also Privy Councilors. They are just Han prime ministers, not real prime ministers."

After hearing what Yelu Yixin said, the accompanying envoy hurriedly took out a pen and paper and wrote down that the Song Dynasty really knew nothing about the official system of the Liao Dynasty.

Li Xian said: "As far as I know, the current Han prime ministers of Liao are Liang Ying and Yang Zunxu. He is also a real prime minister, right?"

Yelu Yixin said: "This man and Liang Ying are in-laws, but he is not as brave as the other. When I killed the crown prince, this man said nothing. Now he has been ignored by the Liao Lord."

Li Xian was overjoyed, but at the same time he pretended to sigh and said, "Since ancient times, every emperor who rose to power must have a famous minister. Now that the King of Wei is gone, the Lord of Liao has no one to use. Why can't we just give up?"

Yelu Yixin laughed and said, "At that time, Emperor Taizu had a strong army and horses, so he wanted to spy on the Central Plains. He told the Tang envoys that if you give us the north of the Yellow River, we will not invade the south again."

"Now that you Han people have reformed and strengthened your power, after seizing Xihe Road, you have forced the Tanguts to cede land, almost forcing Li Bingchang and Liang's mother and son into danger. Have you not recovered the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun in the future?"

Li Xian smiled and said, "King Wei, our Song Dynasty is recovering Xihe Road instead of seizing it."

Yelu Yixin said: "Do you find it interesting to play these word games? Land can be ownerless, only the strong can occupy it, while the weak will lose it or crawl before the strong."

Li Xian asked: "So who are the people in Liao who are advocating to attack Song?"

Upon hearing this, Yelu Yixin smiled and said, "I want to see the emperor of your Song Dynasty!"

Li Xian said: "We will make arrangements for the King of Wei!"

Yelu Yixin nodded, closed his eyes and said no more. Li Xian stood up, said goodbye and returned to the palace to report to the emperor.

Ps: According to the History of Liao, Prime Minister Liang Yijie (Liang Ying) killed Yingbi (Yixin), resulting in the death of a thousand people, and established Yanxi (Emperor Tianzuo) as the Crown Prince.