vrcanaries Chapter 436 Seeking peace...
Chapter 436 Seeking peace...
"However, the Jurchens probably couldn't have imagined that Zhao Gou, with his brave and capable generals, would be at a disadvantage in the face of the Song Dynasty's favorable military situation."
"His first priority was not to avenge the humiliation of Jingkang, but to undermine the regime from within. No wonder later generations called him Wanyan Gou!"
"Since both sides' leaders are willing to seek peace, that day will come soon after the end of the Huaihe River Campaign."
"First, there was Wanyan Zongbi on the Jin side. When he realized that Yue Fei was difficult to deal with and that the Jin army could not destroy the Song, he tended to seek peace."
"Therefore, Wanyan Zongbi, having realized this, immediately wrote a letter to Qin Hui, a loyal minister of the Jin Dynasty, informing him of the Jin Dynasty's desire for peace!"
"But there was a condition attached to this letter: if the agreement were to be reached, Yue Fei must be killed first!"
"Clearly, after Yue Fei's four Northern Expeditions, the formidable strength of the Yue Family Army had made Wanyan Zongbi particularly wary."
"In particular, Yue Fei's strategy of linking up with Hebei led to the loss of city after city. If Yue Fei were in the Song Dynasty, he would be no less a dangerous figure for the Jin Dynasty!"
"Furthermore, during the Battle of Yingchang, Wanyan Zongbi's son-in-law died at the hands of his wife's family. Both morally and logically, this enmity was bound to be formed!"
General Judy, the Conqueror of the North: I still think that Zhao Gou's decision to kill Yue Fei was a terrible one! Who would do something like that!?
A romantic scholar from the Tang Dynasty: In the end, this person is just afraid of military generals. They have merit and their reputation is stronger than his. But normally, he shouldn't have done this, both publicly and privately!
A bystander from the Ming Dynasty commented: "What's the difference between this and destroying our own Great Wall? With Yue Fei, the Jin people would have been wary. If he had just persisted in resisting the Jin to the end, would we have been afraid of not being able to recover our lost territory?!"
A Han Dynasty official: Clearly, in his view, personal safety is above all else!
……
At this moment, the people in front of the screen were equally puzzled. With Yue Fei as such an ace, even if they didn't go to recover the lost territory, they should still be able to make the Jurchens on the other side feel wary!
Every year during the autumn season, there is the fear that the Jurchens will launch another large-scale invasion southward, not to mention that several military generals are in their prime!
It's not like he's the one charging ahead; it's not his turn to risk his life!
This is truly incomprehensible!
Just as they were feeling sorry for Yue Fei, Lin Ke's voice continued:
"As for the Song court, Zhao Gou had actually been feeling uneasy about the military generals who held great power ever since the Miao-Liu Rebellion!"
"Especially since this military general is skilled in combat, has a great reputation, and is also an obstacle to peace talks between the Song and Jin dynasties."
"The reason why Zhao Gou didn't take drastic measures against Yue Fei before was probably because he needed him in the Song-Jin war. Now that the other side has extended an olive branch for peace, how could Zhao Gou not be happy?!"
"Therefore, given Zhao Gou's personality, it seems that no matter how many times he had to do it all over again, he would always choose the same path."
"There's a saying: 'When the birds are all gone, the good bow is put away.' Since peace talks are a done deal, Zhao Gou should use an ancestral method on the generals who hold great power—'releasing military power over a cup of wine'!"
Zhao Kuangyin, the founding emperor of the Zhao family: |_?)……
"Although in hindsight, the Jurchen threat was never truly resolved, Zhao Gou couldn't care less at that moment and immediately colluded with Qin Hui."
"Under the pretext of rewarding meritorious service in the Battle of Zhegao, the three generals Zhang Jun, Han Shizhong, and Yue Fei were lured to Lin'an."
"Han Shizhong and Zhang Jun were stationed very close to the imperial court in Lin'an, so they quickly arrived at Zhao Gou's side. All that was missing was Yue Fei, the main target of this mission!"
The people in Wanchaozhong: If only they hadn't come...
"If they hadn't known Zhao Gou's purpose this time, Zhang Jun and Han Shizhong would probably have found it hard to believe."
"The person who's been treating them to good food and drink right now is actually having trouble sleeping. His heart is pounding, and he's terrified that Yue Fei, their target, will discover something, leading to the failure of the Song-Jin peace talks!"
"He's overthinking it. Yue Fei is a man of great stature, as everyone knows. Upon receiving the imperial edict, he traveled for five or six days before finally arriving in Lin'an."
"But he didn't know that the monarch he was loyal to was plotting to kill him."
"And his journey from Ezhou to Lin'an was not like usual, where he could simply come and go. This time, the closer he got to Lin'an, the closer he got to his death."
Lin Ke let out a few sighs, as if those who were loyal to the emperor and loved their country rarely had a happy ending in history, and then continued:
"After Yue Fei arrived, the black hearts of Zhao Gou and Qin Hui, which had been pounding incessantly, finally calmed down a little."
"Because the two men had the same goal, there was no need for them to discuss it, so the three generals were not given a chance to adjust."
"Zhao Gou immediately promoted Zhang Jun and Han Shizhong to Privy Councilors, and Yue Fei to Deputy Privy Councilors, all to remain in the capital. Furthermore, the Pacification Commissions of these three generals were dissolved at that moment."
"With this approach, even those who didn't know the secret letters between the Jurchens and Qin Hui understood that Zhao Gou was ostensibly promoting but actually demoting these three men, thus stripping them of their military power."
"However, even after dealing with the titles of the three generals, Zhao Gou was still dissatisfied. He had already been unhappy about the earlier uprising led by Yue Fei, where civilian forces had joined the rebellion."
"Not to mention the Han family army and the Zhang family army, so while he takes away the military power of the three generals, we can also solve the problem of the ownership of these soldiers."
"Therefore, Zhao Gou added the words 'Imperial Guard' before the titles of the various commanders' units, meaning that these soldiers were directly under his command, Zhao Gou, and not the three generals."
"Among the three generals, Zhang Jun reacted the fastest and was the most pragmatic in his decision to relinquish military power over a cup of wine. Of course, he had his reasons for doing so."
"This is naturally related to Qin Hui, a loyal minister of the Jin Dynasty. In order to facilitate the peace talks between the Song and Jin Dynasties, Qin Hui and Zhang Jun had long been in cahoots."
"They agreed that after dismissing all the generals, they would give him full military power. With such a great temptation in front of him, how could Zhang Jun not agree quickly? How could he not know when to back down?"
"It's quite obvious that Zhang Jun has been completely misled by Qin Hui's empty promises and can't even see the bigger picture."
"Firstly, his superior was Zhao Gou; secondly, his personality was such that he was wary of military generals wielding power, yet he tolerated you holding great authority."
"Has he forgotten that during the Miao-Liu Rebellion, Zhao Gou was forced to become the Retired Emperor? Remember how Han Shizhong saved him back then, yet he didn't let him off the hook later!"
Zhu Baba of the Ming Dynasty: Old Zhao is killing the donkey after it has served its purpose. No, the problem hasn't even been solved yet, and he's already killing the donkey!
Li Erfeng of the Tang Dynasty: It's less about the peace treaty between Song and Jin, and more about her own selfish motives!
Cheng Yaojin of the Tang Dynasty: |?'-'?)??Our Emperor is still the best! These antics are making me want to punch someone!
The optimist Su Dongpo: Indeed, Emperor Taizong's Emperor Yang was the most rare…
Meng Yi of Qin: To be fair, even our Emperor isn't this inhuman!
Zhu Bajie of the Ming Dynasty: (?°?д°?) Why is nobody saying anything about me! Am I not good enough!?
Ming Dynasty officials (stammering): Your Majesty... and the Empress (emphasis added) are doing very well!!!
……
In another time and space, Zhang Jun's expression was extremely complicated. He was torn between having his secrets exposed and offending his superiors, causing his heart to rise and fall continuously in a very short period of time.
Those present all turned their attention to Zhao Gou and Qin Hui.
At this moment, their hearts were filled with shock and disbelief. They never expected that the Emperor and Qin Hui would conspire together!
Ostensibly it was for peace talks between the Song and Jin dynasties, but it was probably actually for Yue Fei's life!
No wonder later generations felt resentful when they spoke of Yue Fei, and even used fabricated charges to frame meritorious officials!
While Zhao Gou, sitting upright above, and Qin Hui, being stared at with condemning gazes below, maintained solemn expressions, they were actually seething with rage inside!
Lin Ke, a person from later generations, has exposed their true colors again. In this way, won't everyone in the world know that they are heartless and ungrateful people? How can they continue to live like this in the future?
……
The live broadcast continues.
Lin Ke continued, "As for Yue Fei, he had no objection to the court taking away his military power. After all, after four Northern Expeditions, his passionate heart had been thoroughly cooled by Zhao Gou's cold water!"
"As the saying goes, there is no greater sorrow than a broken heart. Although Yue Fei did not expect that Zhao Gou and his men would target him this time, and that they would pull such a stunt."
"But he truly had no desire for the military power he held; if the court wanted to take it away, so be it, there was no need for further discussion."
"Therefore, the handover was completed very quickly, and a replacement, Song Ting, was also chosen."
"Wang Gui, a general under Yue Fei, was appointed as the Commander-in-Chief, and Zhang Xian was appointed as the Deputy Commander-in-Chief."
"But this is just the beginning. Zhao Gou and Qin Hui will never let these three generals off so easily."