Prime Minister

Chapter 1156: Peak of Reputation (2 updates in 1)

Chapter 1156: Peak of Reputation (Two Updates in One)

"Han Zhen was promoted to head of the Privy Council and appointed as a senior official..."

After Han Zhen received the imperial edict, he smiled.

The officials from the Privy Council and Shaanxi all congratulated Han Zhen, "Congratulations! The Privy Council has been promoted to the head of the Privy Council!"

Han Zhen laughed loudly with great pride when he heard this.

This time, a great victory was won in Lanzhou, Liang Yimai was killed, and more than 100,000 Western Xia troops were forced to cede three states and cease fire.

As a result, Han Zhen was promoted from co-director of the Privy Council to director of the Privy Council, and from deputy to full director, almost on par with Privy Councilor Feng Jing.

Now Han Zhen is holding the imperial edict in his hand. How arrogant and domineering he is.

Han Zhen glanced at everyone, interpreting the words "arrogant and domineering" to the extreme.

Shen Kuo, the governor of Jingyuan Road, had just arrived a few days ago. After learning that Han Zhen had been appointed as the head of the Privy Council, he rushed to Qingzhou without stopping.

There is also Cai Yanqing, the Qinfeng Road Transport Commissioner.

Seeing the two of them, Han Zhen's face was full of smiles and he accepted their congratulations.

The Yongxing Army Transport Officer Zhao Zhan was left aside. Zhao Zhan looked very embarrassed.

On the issue of whether to cross the river to support Lanzhou and cut off the retreat of the Tangut troops, Shen Kuo and Cai Yanqing both supported Han Zhen's proposal, while Zhao Zhan strongly opposed it.

Zhao Zhan believed that the Dangxiang claimed to have 800,000 troops to besiege Lanzhou, and his own troops were already exhausted from dealing with the harassment of the Dangxiang general Liang Yongneng on Huanqing Road and Jingyuan Road. It would be futile to send troops to cross the river to intercept them. It would be better to defend the city.

But Han Zhen was a man of his word, and he was determined to do it. No one could oppose him. Zhao Shan knew it was useless after he opposed it, so he had to supply food and mobilize the people.

Finally, under Han Zhen's insistence, he commanded the troops from Jingyuan Road and Huanqing Road to cross the Yellow River and intercept the enemy, achieving an unprecedented victory.

Zhang Yue presided over the discussion of merits in the Secretariat and directly named Han Zhen as the first. This ranking was higher than Li Xian, who was in charge of the defense of Xihe Road and captured and killed General Peng Sun of Liang Yimai.

A title of "Chief of the Privy Council" fell from the sky, sending Han Zhen into the top five ranking of civil officials today.

Now Han Zhen was so arrogant that he immediately took revenge on Zhao Zhan and humiliated him in public. This was undoubtedly a severe punishment for Zhao Zhan's mistake in choosing the right side.

However, this move also caused dissatisfaction among the civil officials of Yongxing Army including Zhao Zhan.

This is related to Han Zhen's subsequent report of merit. Zhao Zhan was a civil servant from the Yongxing Army Route. They were responsible for the logistics of the army, conscripting civilians for labor, repairing the city, etc.

They think they have made contributions. Are you, Han Zhen, going to turn your back on them after you have achieved success?

Afterwards, Han Zhen hosted a banquet to entertain the Chinese envoy.

The envoy said to Han Zhen: "Your Majesty said that Lu Neihan and the Tanguts have reached a peace agreement within a few days."

"If the two families stop fighting, please ask the Prime Minister to restrain the troops and guard the city carefully!"

Han Zhen asked, "What is Lu Neihan's contribution this time?"

The Chinese envoy said, "It seems that the previous discussion was about the co-director of the Privy Council."

Han Zhen was very dissatisfied when he heard that Lü Gongzhu was going to be appointed as the co-director of the Privy Council. He sneered and said, "Lü Neihan, you have achieved this feat just by talking. Where do you put the soldiers who fought bravely for us?"

The Chinese envoy's face turned pale when he heard the words, but the generals below all agreed.

"If it weren't for our efforts, would Xixia be willing to cede the three states?" Han Zhen asked.

The Chinese envoy was so embarrassed that he didn't know what to say.

The generals below all agreed unanimously.

……

After the banquet, Han Zhen took Shen Kuo to sit down and asked with a smile: "Cun Zhong, this time thanks to your great help."

"Thank...thank you very much for your kindness." Shen Kuo's stuttering became more serious unconsciously when facing Han Zhen's stuttering problem.

Han Zhen laughed, and then said: "Cun Zhong is a smart man. This time, crossing the Yellow River to intercept the Dangxiang troops' rear is indeed somewhat dangerous. Once Lanzhou is captured, it may be difficult for these troops to return in full force."

"It is thanks to Cun Zhong's courage and insight that this great success was achieved."

Han Zhen immediately tried to win over Shen Kuo, and talked about their friendship. He then talked about the great victory in Lanzhou and how the two of them worked together and cooperated well to achieve this great victory.

Shen Kuo didn't know what to say after hearing this, as he had previously negotiated with the Liao Kingdom on the issue of border transformation.

Shen Kuo and Han Zhen had both been envoys to the Liao Kingdom, but during the negotiations, they had disagreements and tried to sabotage each other. Later, Zhang Yue mediated their conflict.

Shen Kuo knew Han Zhen's character very well. He was a man who would not speak lightly and would always have deep intentions behind his words. He must have a purpose in trying to win him over.

Han Zhen said: "I intend to list Cun Zhong as the first in this meritorious service memorial. If so, it will be no surprise that Cun Zhong will return to the center soon."

Shen Kuo was tempted. He had been demoted all the way from the position of Sansi Shi to this point, so of course he dreamed of returning to the center.

Shen Kuo said quickly: "Shen... Shen doesn't dare to ask for anything extravagant, I just hope... that I can be reinstated."

Han Zhen slapped the table and laughed, "Cunzhong, you are under my command, how can I treat you so badly? Wouldn't it make the world laugh at me?"

After a pause, Han Zhen asked, "What does Cun Zhong think of this peace negotiation?"

Shen Kuo was not a confused man. He suddenly thought of a saying, which was that a general in a foreign battlefield would not obey military orders.

Shen Kuo said: "This is the will of the court. I dare not speculate. I will just follow it."

Han Zhen asked, "Do you think this proposal came from His Majesty or the Secretariat?"

Shen Kuo said, "Perhaps the Secretary."

Han Zhen said, "It is human nature to stop when things are going well. As for Prime Minister Zhang, he was once a guest of our Han family. He was born in a poor family, so it is inevitable that he is too cautious in doing things and lacks a long-term vision."

Although Shen Kuo is dull, he is not stupid.

He knew very well that Han Zhen was an extremely meticulous person and had great ambitions.

He had won a great victory in Lanzhou, so he was unwilling to stop there. He wanted to use this momentum to sweep away the Tanguts in one fell swoop. In this way, he could achieve a greater victory.

In this way, Han Zhen's fame reached its peak.

Previously, the Song Dynasty was on the defensive against the Xia Dynasty, and there was no dispute between war and peace. But now that the situation has reversed and the offense and defense have changed, differences have emerged.

As a result, disagreements arose between Han Zhen, who was in charge of the war on the front line, and Zhang Yue of the Secretariat.

One is to stop here and negotiate peace with Western Xia, and the other is to continue to strive for greater victory.

Han Zhen whispered to Shen Kuo: "At this moment, any minister who dares to speak of peace will be despised by the world."

"We are expanding the territory for the Song Dynasty, which is never wrong."

"Your Majesty and the knowledgeable people in the court will support us."

Having said this, Shen Kuo listened to Han Zhen and felt that what the other party said was right.

After a great victory, it would not be wrong to advocate war. On the contrary, the idea of ​​peace talks would be scorned.

There is zero political risk.

Han Zhen said slowly: "For ministers like Zhao Zhan, not only will I not report their achievements, but I will also report their opposition to crossing the river to the court."

"In fact, many generals have already supported me. Cun Zhong, if you are willing, then join me in submitting a petition to oppose the peace talks with Xixia."

Shen Kuo said quickly, "No, no, wouldn't that be an insult to Prime Minister Zhang?"

Han Zhen heard this and said sternly: "Cunzhong, don't you want to make greater achievements? Go straight to the two governments after returning to the court? Think about it clearly. What Zhang Xiang can give you, I can also give you."

"I...I." Shen Kuo was speechless. He also wanted to be among the two governments.

But he is different from Han Zhen.

The Han family had done Zhang Yue a favor, so Han Zhen could not give Zhang Yue face, but Shen Kuo was different. Now he was despised by both the New and Old Parties, and he could only seek shelter under Zhang Yue.

Shen Kuo said, "Sir, I think we should recover the three states before we make further plans."

Han Zhen sneered and said, "Just follow Shen Jinglue's wishes."

……

"Your Majesty, Zhang Dun actually threw his hat and left in public. He was so frivolous and did not behave like a minister. It is not difficult to guess why he refused the imperial edict in the first place."

"At the same time, Zhang Dun was not strict in managing his family, and his father and brother wantonly encroached on the people's land. When the people stopped him on the road to complain, he arrested them and took them to Kaifeng Prefecture."

"The people have filed a complaint in Kaifeng Prefecture, but no official in Kaifeng Prefecture dared to accept it. I don't know how Zhang Dun got such great power that he could make the officials of the court not even accept the complaint. The court must severely punish such ministers."

In his speech before the emperor, Wang Gui told the emperor about Zhang Dun's faults and said, "I request that Zhang Dun be expelled from the court!"

The emperor knew about the quarrel between Zhang Yue and Zhang Dun, and also understood what happened in the Yanhe Hall. The emperor said, "Zhang Dun did make mistakes, but he was still loyal to the country. He advocated continuing to use troops against the Tanguts and not missing the opportunity, but Lu Gongzhu said that the peace talks had been concluded."

"I heard that the Tanguts have been using military force repeatedly, which has caused the country and the people to suffer from poverty. What should I propose?"

Zhang Yue knew what the emperor meant. The pro-war Zhang Dun was demoted, and Zhang Yue also knew what he said to him in public at the end.

Or it may put himself in an unfavorable position in public opinion, just like how later generations viewed the representatives who implemented the appeasement policy, which is how they viewed Zhang Yue.

However, Zhang Yue said, "Your Majesty, it is true that the Tanguts are poor and have few people, but the people in Shaanxi are also exhausted. The hostages around Lanzhou are isolated, Shengru and Erbao are under repair, and there are more than ten forts that have not been built along the line from Huizhou to Tiandu Mountain. The local tribes have not yet been awed by the king and are in a state of rebellion. I estimate that it will take at least some time. Therefore, it is also beneficial for me to negotiate peace with the Tanguts for the time being."

"Although Liang Yimai was killed in the great victory at Lanzhou, most of the defeated were scattered warriors from various tribes, and the elite guards were not damaged much. The Dangxiang may not be afraid to fight, but the king wants to improve internal affairs, so he took the initiative to ask for peace at the cost of ceding land."

"In fact, the attack and defense of the Tanguts are completely in my hands. Your Majesty, since we are using a big country to attack a small country, why should we rush?"

The official asked, "What do you mean?"

Zhang Yue said: "Aligu has already initially subdued the Yellow-headed Uighurs and the Grass-headed Tatars, so we can march north to attack Xixiashazhou, Suzhou, Guazhou, and Ganzhou."

"We can continue to provide Aligu with money, food, weapons and armor, and provide him with trade convenience. As long as he can send troops to cut off the Hexi Corridor of Western Xia, we can even declare himself king."

"Then the Tanguts will certainly not allow him to send out troops again. When Aligu and the Tanguts fight, Liangzhou will be in our hands. We can take advantage of the situation to send troops to conquer Liangzhou and accuse Xixia of breaking the alliance!"

"In this way, both morality and territory will not be lost."

The emperor nodded after listening to this. He originally quite agreed with Zhang Yue's proposal, but after listening to Zhang Dun's advice last time, he felt that Zhang Yue's strategy of "shallow attack and advanced construction" for large-scale civil engineering infrastructure took too long and consumed too much energy, and he had some objections.

I wonder how many more officials will embezzle the imperial money and grain from the construction of the fort.

He was reluctant to buy more clothes or food, but these officials could earn so much money by building a fortress, and their lives were better than his, the emperor. How could he tolerate this?

Zhang Yue sensed the emperor's intention and said, "Your Majesty, I will send someone to supervise the construction of the fort and strengthen the supervision of the frontline's financial expenditures."

"But since your majesty has great ambitions, why bother with such small fees? If you want to do something big, don't seek shortcuts, take the long way."

"Only by taking Liangzhou and cutting off the Hexi Corridor can the dispute between Song and Xia be decided. Everything else can be ignored. I ask Your Majesty to continue to work towards this goal."

The emperor thought about it carefully. Many court officials and generals ridiculed Zhang Yue for using the tortoise-like tactics. Every time he took a step forward, he would retreat into his tortoise shell. When there was no danger, he would take another step forward and then retreat back again.

They never considered launching an active attack against the Western Xia, but instead just worked hard to build forts and wait for the Western Xia to attack.

But it is this fighting method that is looked down upon by countless people that can win!

The emperor said, "Since that is the case, I will do as you say. As for Zhang Dun, I will ask for his help and let him serve as an official nearby!"

Wang Gui and Zhang Yue both agreed.

Zhang Yue thought that the emperor still loved Zhang Dun sincerely, so he should be placed nearby and could be reinstated at any time.

The emperor asked, "Now that Zhang Dun is out of the court, who should be appointed to serve in the imperial court?"

Zhang Yue said directly: "Your Majesty, please appoint Zeng Bu to the imperial court as a Hanlin scholar."

Upon hearing this, Wang Gui immediately argued, "Zeng Bu is not a good person. I would like to replace him with Zhang Xu."

When it comes to handling government affairs, Wang Gui is basically in a trance, but once it comes to personnel matters, Wang Gui immediately becomes lively and energetic.

Zhang Yue and Wang Gui argued for a while, and the emperor finally decided to appoint Zhang Xu to the court.

Zhang Yue cursed in his heart that the government was playing a balancing act again. Just as Zhang Dun, who was at odds with him, left, another Zhang Li, who was also at odds with him, came.

However, his three proposals for Zeng Bu to enter the court were unsuccessful. It seemed that the emperor really hated Zeng Bu, and he had to find someone else next time.

……

Wang Gui showed a smug look on his face. At this moment, the emperor suddenly asked, "Wen Xixin intends to become the ruler of Qing Tang. Do you two know about this?"

After hearing this, Wang Gui looked confused, while Zhang Yue's expression changed slightly.

Zhang Yue asked directly: "Your Majesty, from whom did you learn about this?"

"This..." The official hesitated and said, "Tell me first whether this is true or not!"

Zhang Yue was displeased when he heard this. In the officialdom, he hated people who bypassed their superiors to report matters. But someone bypassed him and reported this matter to the emperor.

However, Zhang Yue said, "Your Majesty, this is true. Dong Jian has a son who will inherit his throne. I have advised Wen Xi to serve Dong Jian and his son with peace of mind and not to think about anything else."

The emperor smiled and said, "Qing Tang values ​​noble races. Wen Xixin has this bloodline and has repeatedly made great contributions to the court, so I asked him a question. In fact, he has no intention of destabilizing the political situation in Qing Tang."

Zhang Yue sneered in his heart and said, "Your Majesty, is there anyone who wants to persuade Your Majesty to depose and establish Wen Xixin as the leader of Qing Tang to further control the Qing Tang tribes?"

Zhang Yue's words really hit the emperor's mind. The emperor said, "Dong Zhen rebelled many times, and he was unwilling to make every effort in the previous attack on Liangzhou. On the other hand, Wen Xi is loyal to the Song Dynasty, and this time he led 50,000 troops to rescue Lanzhou, which led to the great victory."

"I really want to reward it."

Zhang Yue said: "Your Majesty, it is true that Wen Xixin is loyal to our Song Dynasty, but he was pro-Song before because Aligu was pro-Xia."

"We failed to attack Liangzhou before, but now we are able to rescue Lanzhou, all thanks to Aligu."

"Your Majesty, please think carefully about this."

The official suddenly realized what was going on and said, "So that's how it is."

Zhang Yue said: "Although the Tanguts are barbarians, they also know etiquette and gratitude. How can we control them with force alone? Therefore, I think that expanding the border and defending the territory should go hand in hand with upholding the agreement and strengthening trust. This is the way to win people over."

"I did not report this matter to Your Majesty to avoid any suspicion. I do not know how this minister who was promoted could bypass me and report this to Your Majesty privately, in an attempt to sow discord between the monarch and his ministers. I ask Your Majesty to punish this man!"

The official looked a little unnatural when he heard this, and said with a smile: "Forget it here."

But Zhang Yue said again: "Your Majesty, if this person is not removed, there will be others who will follow his example. It will be difficult for me to serve Your Majesty sincerely!"

Seeing Zhang Yue's firm attitude, the emperor hesitated for a moment and said, "Can't I have someone to tip me off? I also need the emperor's party!"

Zhang Yue rebuked him in the palace: "Your Majesty, all the people in the world are your subjects. I have never heard that the emperor also cultivates his followers!"

"If Your Majesty wants followers, then I am not in Your Majesty's party. I wonder which party the Emperor belongs to? And which party do I belong to?"

"I am devoted to the public and loyal to Your Majesty, and so are all the officials. In the ordinary world, just one party of mine is enough. If Your Majesty wants a party, just one party of mine is enough. And I am the party of mine!"

The official was scolded by Zhang Yue and couldn't say a word.

Wang Gui looked at Zhang Yue who was so aggressive and didn't know what to say. He just pretended not to see it and continued to rest.

The emperor finally said, "I trust you. This matter... this matter was reported to me by Sun Lu, the judge of Shaanxi Transportation, through a horse."

Zhang Yue's eyes shone. Sun Lu and Zhang Dun were both from the same group, both were interested in expanding the frontier. In another time and space, he seemed to have made considerable contributions in expanding the frontier, and even opposed Sima Guang's decision to keep Xihe Road and cede the land. Now...

Zhang Yue thought to himself that if Li Xian was in Xihe Road, this would never have happened. As soon as Li Xian left, Sun Lu had other ideas and dared to report to me without my permission.

Zhang Yue walked out of the hall and said to Cai Bian who was waiting there, "Immediately draft a letter to dismiss Sun Lu from his post as the magistrate of the Shaanxi Transportation Office."

Cai Bian did not ask any questions and immediately returned to the Council of State to draft a petition for Zhang Yue.

Zhang Yue looked at this scene and felt that it seemed familiar.

He suddenly remembered that someone had also reported to the emperor without knowing Wang Anshi. When Wang Anshi found out, he forced the emperor to tell him who the person was.

At that time, he also mocked Wang Anshi for being domineering and calling him a powerful prime minister.

Life is about slapping yourself in the face over and over again.

Zhang Yue rubbed his brows, adjusted his official hat and thought, "Your Majesty is using me now, so I tolerate it. But if the three-province system is implemented in the future, the Secretariat will be divided into two, and I'm afraid it won't be as powerful as it is today."

……

A few days later, Li Xian, Peng Sun and others escorted hundreds of Dangxiang generals and leaders of various tribes to the capital to present their captives.

At the same time, the great victory in Lanzhou and the defeat of the Dangxiang also shook the Western Regions.

Khotan and all the Uighur tribes sent envoys to the capital to pay tribute.

On the day of the captive presentation, more than 100,000 people in Bianjing crowded on both sides of the Imperial Road to watch.

Guan Jia and Zhang Yue stood on the Xuande Gate Tower, watching the people cheering.

And the emperor achieved his wish and reached the highest level of reputation since he ascended the throne.