Song Emperor Jiangshan

On the eve of the 11th year of Shaoxing in the Song Dynasty, Lin'an.

The winter of this year was extremely cold, even Lin'an, which was always warm, was no exception. The whole capital city seemed to be covered by dark clouds, and it was impossible for people to take a quick breath.

This kind of atmosphere has shrouded the entire city since Yue Fei was imprisoned three months ago, and today, it is even more sinister and windy, as if it is about to turn the warm town in the south of the Yangtze River into a desert in the northwest.

Among the imperial palaces to the south of Lin'an, there are still some palaces that have not been repaired. At this moment, on New Year's Eve, the craftsmen are going home for a reunion, and the scaffolding is still in midair. .

Emperor Zhao Gou was sitting in front of the desk in the dormitory. Because of the continuous wars and the emptiness of the treasury, the imperial palace had never been expanded. Even the emperor's dormitory was very small. He worked in the front and slept in the back.

On a bronze candle holder in the hall, more than a dozen candles were burning. The candlelight could only illuminate the emperor's desk, but not the flies in the dark.

The ritual of exorcising the evil spirits was overdue, and the time for worshiping the midnight snack had not yet come. Zhao Gou was holding a Huzhou Langhao, facing the flat yellow silk, and had not written for a long time.

It was already New Year's Eve, the death of Yue Fei could not be delayed any longer, if it was after tonight, it would be spring, and it is really unknown that the important ministers of the country will be beheaded in spring.

When thinking this way, Zhao Gou's pen dropped half an inch, but stopped again.A month ago, he had sent people to the Kingdom of Jin to ask for his biological mother, Wei Shi, and there was a bit of confidence in his words at that time: If the Holy Palace is not returned, I will not be afraid to go to war again.

But if Yue Fei dies, I'm afraid I won't have the guts to say such things in my life.

Zhao Gou only felt a headache, put down his pen, and rubbed his temples with his fingers. Before that, he did not treat Yue Fei's affairs separately from the other two generals.

As early as two years ago, Zhao Gou came up with a solution to the problem that the three generals were fighting each other with their heavy troops in their hands—to collect the military power of Han Shizhong, Zhang Jun, and Yue Fei, and transfer these three people back to Lin'an , as privy envoys, let them have high positions and no powers, so that no one will be able to obstruct the peace talks between Song and Jin.

Zhao Gou thought so, and did the same.In April of this year, he had already taken over the military power of the three generals, which was considered a major event on his mind.

But what he never expected was that after he took over the military power of the three generals, the Jinren suddenly said the eight words "If you want to negotiate a peace, you must kill Yue Fei"!

These eight words troubled Zhao Gou's brain.He was determined not to go to the Northern Expedition anymore, so he wanted to negotiate a peace, but he wanted to kill Yue Fei... This really made Zhao Gou difficult.

To be honest, Zhao Gou didn't want to kill Yue Fei.Yue Fei was single-handedly picked up by himself. He is loyal and reliable, and has strong combat effectiveness.Besides, Yue Fei had no military power, so killing him would not do him any good.

But if you don't kill them, won't the peace talks be ruined?Can the Song Dynasty stand up to another fight?

Zhao Gou hesitated in his heart, he knew clearly that Jin Guo didn't want to fight any more, and it was the best opportunity to negotiate a peace at this time!

But is he really going to kill the big officials in the frontiers of the court?It can be said that it is an emperor's mind to gather military power and leave it idle, but if he kills someone, his reputation will be bad after a hundred years!

It was because of Zhao Gou's hesitation that the matter dragged on for more than three months, making the city full of storms and turmoil.

Like Zhao Gou, there is another person who is riding a tiger. At this moment, Qin Hui is in the east wing of his prime minister's mansion, frowning.

When Qin Hui's wife, Mrs. Wang, entered the east room, she saw such a scene: 51-year-old Qin Hui frowned deeply, feeling depressed, and there was a half-peeled citrus on the table in front of him.

Seeing this, Wang asked with a smile: "Master, what else is there to worry about? The fourth prince has already forced the officials to sign the 'no reason not to be dismissed'. Your position as prime minister will be secure, and you will be sad here again. What?"

Qin Hui shook his head and said, "How can it be so easy? If Yue Fei can't be eliminated, there is no guarantee that the emperor will activate it again that day. If there is a Northern Expedition, it will definitely be the day I die!"

Qin Hui's worries were not unreasonable. The reason why he was able to become prime minister so quickly was entirely because Zhao Gou didn't want to fight, so he was appointed as an official who was "closely related" to the Jin people. I'm about to make up my mind, and I am afraid that my "prime minister who is liked by the golden man" will come to an end!Just like ten years ago——Ten years ago, Qin Hui had just returned from the Kingdom of Jin to the Southern Song Dynasty. Zhao Gou appointed him as the prime minister. The prime minister who advocated peace talks was dismissed in less than eight months, and was thrown to a remote area for six years.You must not fall twice in the same place, as long as the Song army can continue to fight, as long as Yue Fei is not dead, Qin Hui will not be able to sleep well all day!

Seeing Qin Hui sighing, Wang thought about it, and said, "You guys are really useless. Yue Fei has been imprisoned in Dali Temple for four months, and he can't even find a crime? Isn't he Yue Fei a human being? As long as he is a human being, he must You will be able to find the crime!"

Qin Hui was annoyed at being ridiculed by Wang, but he didn't dare to lose his temper, so he had to explain patiently: "There are two crimes, but those are two complaints he said after drinking, and this alone cannot be convicted. !"

Sitting down on the chair, Mrs. Wang saw the citrus on the table, peeled it, ate it and said slowly: "So you men are useless things, you can't catch wind and shadow! Yue Fei can't find it. See, other people may not be clean! Put his son on the charge of treason, can he escape as a father?"

Qin Hui sighed, and said: "I thought the same way, that's why I ordered people to sue Yue Yun and Zhang Xian for treason. A few days ago, Han Shizhong came to question me, but I sent him back as 'unnecessary'. I also followed the example to get Yue Fei accused of treason, not to mention that others ridiculed me for having no means, I am afraid that even the Holy Majesty will blame me for being unfavorable in handling affairs, and refuses to entrust important matters anymore! The most hateful thing is that I have exhausted all means, but no one I am willing to sue Yue Fei for treason!"

Wang rolled her eyes at Qin Hui, contemptuously in her heart, rolled her eyes, and said, "I see you men have read a hundred books! I have a way to make Yue Fei speechless!"

Hearing what Wang said, Qin Hui's spirits were lifted, and he hurriedly asked, "Ma'am, what can I do? I hope you can teach me!"

Mrs. Wang calmly stood up, "Sir, do you still remember the Battle of Huaixi in February this year? The emperor once sent fifteen letters asking Yue Fei to send troops to assist Huaixi. He held grudges about the withdrawal of the Dao Jin Zi Pai, this time the troops were procrastinated, after two months the battle was over and they still hadn't arrived, all of the [-] soldiers of the Holy Lord were wiped out..."

Qin Hui was at a loss: "But he did send troops, and he has all the official documents, and he didn't deliberately delay the time. Besides, if he hadn't rushed to the battlefield at the end, how could the Fourth Prince retreat? He has nothing to do! There are all evidences, how to make a fuss?"

Mrs. Wang snorted, and pointed Qin Hui's head with her finger: "Fool! You just need to burn those official documents, and then put the blame on Yue Fei, isn't it over? Yue Fei is in prison now, so he is You are so talented, how can you still keep these official documents? Do you want me to teach you about fire?"

Qin Hui was enlightened immediately, as if he saw a bright light while sailing in the dark, and bowed deeply to Mrs. Wang, saying: "Madam is really resourceful, Zhuge, the girl! Hui is ashamed, it's not too late , just do it!"

Mrs. Wang smiled complacently, and saw that Qin Hui was writing the order to execute Yue Fei on a blank sheet of paper. She was taken aback and asked, "My lord, you...don't go into the palace to discuss with the officials? If the officials find out about this, kill them first. , aren't you afraid that he will blame you..."

Qin Hui laughed out loud, his eyes gleaming: "Once Yue Fei dies, the Yue family's army will be disbanded. Is there any choice for the officials? He can only rely on me! What's more, I have done this matter in a leak-proof manner, and the officials can't find out He never dared to find fault with me. Could he still use his troops for the Northern Expedition? Who should he send to the Northern Expedition? The dead Yue Fei? Or the disheartened Han Shizhong? He can only negotiate peace wholeheartedly! My day is coming!"

While Qin Hui was speaking, he had already written the Baitiao official document from the Prime Minister's Mansion and sent it to Dali Temple.

When Qin Hui came out of Dali Temple, there was a coaxing sound, and the New Year's Eve firecrackers scattered behind him, one after another, and the firelight shone on his face, making him look even more sinister.

In the Lin'an Imperial Palace, Zhao Gou wrote and wrote several times, but he couldn't make up his mind to kill Yue Fei. At this moment, the sound of firecrackers sounded in the distance, and it was already a new year.

Zhao Gou breathed a sigh of relief almost imperceptibly, put down his pen and walked out of the hall, looked up at the fireworks all over the sky slightly, thinking of the time he spent with his mother in Bianjing City that day, and thinking of fleeing for several years , was chased by the golden soldiers to the embarrassment of the sea.

At this moment, there was a small yellow door coming quickly, saluted Zhao Gou, bowed and said: "Officials, Mr. Qin, please see me!"

Zhao Gou's heart skipped a beat, and he suddenly realized that something might be out of his control.

After a while, he said blankly, "Xuan!"

Qin Hui came quickly and followed Zhao Gou into the Hall of Qinzheng. Zhao Gouping went to guard the eunuchs, but before he could speak, he saw Qin Hui kneeling on the ground with a thud.

Zhao Gou felt more and more uneasy, and hurriedly asked, "Why is Qin Xianggong like this?"

Qin Hui raised his head, with annoyed expression on his face: "Official, Yue Fei... is dead!"

Zhao Gou slumped back into his dragon chair, unable to think for a while: "Dead? When did it happen? How did he die?"

Qin Hui knelt on the ground and buried his head: "Today, I thought about Huaixi, so I went to Dali Temple to ask Yue Fei why he didn't send troops to rescue him after receiving fifteen letters. Unexpectedly, he was speechless. Suicide in fear of crime!"

Zhao Gou was silent, but his mind was spinning quickly.As the emperor, Zhao Gou knew the ins and outs of the whole matter. The defeat in Huaixi had nothing to do with Yue Fei, and it was impossible for Yue Fei to "suicide".

But no matter what, Yue Fei finally died, which saved him a lot of entanglement.This result should be happy, but it can only make him feel guilty.

Qin Hui quietly raised his head to check Zhao Gou's face, only to see that Zhao Gou's face was uncertain.

Qin Hui thought to himself: I am afraid that the official has a slight sense of blaming me, so at least I will make this matter real, so that he will not be able to go back on his word in the future!

Thinking of this, Qin Hui took a step forward and said: "Yue Fei disobeyed the edict by not not sending troops for three days, which is already a capital crime, and death is not a pity. It's a pity that his son Yue Yun is still young, and I can't bear to put him to death. It's better to be exiled." Three thousand miles, what do the officials think?"

Zhao Gou's thoughts were flying about this matter, how Yue Fei died is no longer important, the important thing is that he has died and must have died unjustly.When weeds are cut, the roots must be removed, otherwise there will be endless troubles!Yue Fei's confidantes Zhang Xian and Yue Yun must not stay, otherwise it will be difficult for him to sleep soundly!

Thinking of this, the original hesitation was swept away, Zhao Gou's face was gloomy, and he mentioned the imperial brush that weighed as much as a thousand catties a moment ago. , Yue Yun and enforce it in accordance with the military law." After writing this, Zhao Gou began to think, who would he send to kill Yue Yun and Zhang Xian?He only paused for a moment, and then selected another candidate, "To order Yang Yizhong to be executed, and he still needs to send soldiers to protect him." After writing here, he thought that there were still many aftermath matters, so he continued to write down to deal with Yue Fei. The rest of the department "removed Yu Peng, Sun Ge, Wang Churen, and Jiang Shixiong, Seng Ze made a decisive battle with twenty sticks, and sent two thousand miles away to the regiment of the prefectural army..."

He wrote down more than a hundred words of will in one breath. After finishing writing, he put away the pen and closed his eyes slightly.This decision is difficult, but it must be so!

Thinking of this, he got off the dragon chair, walked towards Qin Hui, helped Qin Hui up with both hands, and said word by word: "Qin Qing doesn't need to blame himself, the country can be saved today, it all depends on your decision, today's Gong, you should be No.1! I am grateful to you in my heart, and I will definitely live up to you in this life!"

Yue Fei finally died unjustly in prison, becoming a famous "unnecessary" unjust prison in history.After Yue Fei's case, Qin Hui's power expanded rapidly, and all the powers in the court were attached to him. Zhao Gou relied on him as the commander of the country, and he firmly believed in one thing in his heart: Qin Hui was here, peace was here, and Song Dynasty was here.

In this unjust case of Yue Fei, Qin Hui established his unshakable position as "National Prime Minister". From then on, he promoted the literary inquisition and arbitrarily denounced officials. Since then, Shaoxing's cultural prohibition began. The darkest era in the history of the Song Dynasty, slowly The curtain was drawn.

On the eve of the 11th year of Shaoxing, in the prison of Dali Temple in Lin’an, a bow fell in front of a corpse. The corpse’s complexion was blue, and there was a deep mark on the neck that was drawn by the bowstring, and the confession letter in front of him was sprayed with black blood. On the page, I saw that where the signature should have been on the confession, there were eight big characters written: "The sky is clear, the sky is clear."