choke element

Chapter 969: Dining Table (Part )

The court system of the Great Zhou Dynasty was a mixture of the foreign customs of Liao and Jin, and the inheritance of Han people of Tang and Song, with the addition of the inevitable and hastily made fragments of a military man in power. Most of the third item was the result of the emperor's own impulse every now and then; and the person responsible for coordinating the affairs and sorting out the major policies was a Khitan who read the books of sages but had no historical baggage.

To be honest, many people feel that the Great Zhou court is like a makeshift team, which is not necessarily wrong. The new dynasty was established hastily, and it takes time to improve the system, so so far, the division of responsibilities in the entire military and political system is not rigorous.

On the other hand, during the establishment of the Xin Dynasty, it was the grassroots warriors who played a major role. Under the emperor's tolerance, the grassroots warriors controlled huge military, political and economic power. Therefore, after several years of establishment, the Great Zhou Dynasty never rested like the Han Dynasty in history books, but instead kept causing trouble.

The strange thing is that these disturbances did not cause any opposition from the government or the public. After each disturbance, there were always people who were excited and celebrated.

When Guo Ning entered Zhongdu Daxing Prefecture this time, his cavalry was still galloping like a dragon with flags fluttering in the wind. He waved happily along the streets as usual and accepted the cheers of the people.

Although the changes in the situation in Goryeo were not as publicized, that is, due to the powerful officials of Goryeo who were unrepentant; although Guo Ning was actually quite tired of this externally glamorous form, these rituals were necessary and were themselves part of the continuous establishment of the orthodox status of the new dynasty.

After returning to the palace, Guo Ning went straight to the Renzheng Hall to meet with the two prime ministers and the high-ranking officials such as the Privy Councilor, the Three Commissioners, and the Censor, and successively summoned the ministers and assistant ministers of various ministries. He was busy for two hours in a row before he cleared up the recent urgent matters and issued many imperial edicts in succession.

At dusk, Guo Ning rushed to his own residence outside the imperial palace, which was previously the Marshal's Mansion close to the city wall of Zhongdu.

Guo Ning had a special team here to collect military secrets or specific matters concerning overseas development. Before the emperor dealt with it directly, it would not be immediately sent to the court or even the Shangshu Province.

Guo Ning would usually come here for a stroll whenever he had something to do. Now he had left the palace and came here again. He happened to smell the aroma of food in the courtyard, and it was time for dinner.

Guo Ning had been dealing with official duties for a while and was already hungry. He usually ate with his subordinates, so he didn't have much chance to eat. He quickly walked to the cook, looked at the food box he carried, and got some food.

He raised his hand to pour a spoonful of meat soup into the bowl, took a few mouthfuls of rice, and then went deeper into the hall. He had changed into his daily robes. There were officials in the hall rushing out to eat. Because he came out from the dark, he couldn't see his backlit figure clearly, so he casually ordered: "Eat outside and then come in!"

Guo Ning responded, and then stood under the eaves and ate voraciously, finishing the bowl of rice in a moment. The attendant asked, "Do you want some more?"

Guo Ning touched his stomach and said, "Ah Han just sent someone to tell me that he has left some food for us. If we eat too much now, wouldn't it be embarrassing if we can't eat anymore later? Just one bowl is enough!"

After saying that, he put the dishes and chopsticks back next to the cook and walked back.

The clerks and officials who came out one after another recognized him and saluted him. Some people didn't even bother to eat and followed him directly, but Guo Ning waved his hand to signal them not to do so.

He stood in the center of the open hall, and in front of him were more than a dozen large tables several meters long. On each table were piles of files. These files corresponded to the various garrisons of the Great Zhou, as well as the focus of special purposes or interests outside the borders.

The most eye-catching thing these days is naturally the big table piled with intelligence about the Kingdom of Goryeo. The latest piece of intelligence on the table brought news of Cui Zhongxian's death.

According to the official statement that will be announced to the court, an inexplicable turmoil broke out in the political arena of Goryeo half a month ago. The cause was that Cui Zhongxian, a powerful official in his twilight years, suddenly had the idea of ​​watching a polo match in front of the Goryeo palace, but he died on the field of a polo match.

After Cui Zhongxian's death, the civil and military officials of Goryeo, who had been suppressed by him, went crazy on the spot. No one knew who started the fight first, but the polo court where the polo competition was held turned into a battlefield in an instant, and the killing and wounding soon spread to the entire Kaesong, involving the Khitan people who were exiled in Goryeo.

After a whole day of chaos, many well-known Goryeo nobles died. Fortunately, Yin Chang, the former Nanjing governor who was exiled by Guo Ning, was on business in Kaesong with a caravan. Yin Chang went through hardships in the chaos and saved Wang Zhao, the king of Goryeo, and Cui Zhongxian's eldest son Cui Yu. He also arranged for capable people to take the two out of Kaesong and settle in Licheng Port, where Han merchants gathered.

When Cui Zhongxian was alive, he was definitely a local hero. He stood behind the maritime merchants of Goryeo and had considerable influence on maritime trade. Over the years, the Goryeo regime he controlled had cooperated with the Great Zhou more than confronted it, and there was often a tacit understanding that they should join forces, and they could not let the Southern Dynasty take all the benefits.

From the perspective of human feelings and common sense, the Great Zhou had no reason to attack Goryeo. Unfortunately, the relationship between countries is only about interests, nothing else. No matter how loudly the Great Zhou sang about benevolence, justice and morality, it could not take too many precautions in practice; the cold-bloodedness and cruelty in it were no different from the fighting and oppression among the military groups in the grassroots.

The Great Zhou's warrior group was just in its infancy, just like a growing beast that needed to be devoured to fill its stomach. Since Cui Zhongxian chose to suppress the scale of cooperation with the Great Zhou, it meant that he had to stand under the bloody mouth of the beast, and from then on there was only one way out.

Fortunately, although Guo Ning was a warrior, he was not a war maniac. He had been constantly suppressing the military group's desire to use large-scale force. Otherwise, the sea of ​​blood and corpses that Goryeo faced would not be limited to a polo field, and more than a group of military officials and nobles would have died.

The group of people headed by Cui Zhongxian had long been despised and would be worthless once they died. Although Yin Chang retreated to Licheng Port, he left a few Goryeo civil nobles to maintain the situation in Kaesong. The first thing the civil officials did after taking office was to send envoys to Ziyan Island to welcome back the previous Goryeo King Wang Yan.

This king was Wang Zhao's uncle. He was young and hot-tempered when he was in power in his early years, and had a deep conflict with Cui Zhongxian. So he recruited a dozen armed monks to ambush in the palace, lured Cui Zhongxian in under the pretext of giving him wine and food, and then attacked him.

Cui Zhongxian sensed something was wrong and called out to Wang Yan in panic for help. Wang Yan closed the door in front of him and blocked Cui Zhongxian outside. However, Cui's followers were numerous, and the six private soldiers of the capital entered the palace to capture and kill monks upon hearing the news. They also deposed Wang Yan and exiled him to an island.

During the twenty years of Cui Zhongxian's reign, the royal family members of Goryeo with the surname Wang moved back and forth between various islands and the Kaesong Palace like a revolving lantern, and Wang Yeon was not the only one left.

A few years later, one of Cui Zhongxian's subordinates said that Wang Yan's family only had six stone of rice per year on the island, which was too difficult. Cui Zhongxian angrily scolded him, saying that if it weren't for my kindness, this family would have lost their heads long ago. Now when I think back to the time when they were attacked, I still feel my hair stand on end!

This shows that Wang Yan and Cui's relationship was irreconcilable. The Wenban nobles of Goryeo welcomed this prince back, which showed their determination to overthrow Cui's bad policies and start anew. After that, the power of the Great Zhou Dynasty would no longer be hindered from fully penetrating Goryeo.

Yin Chang felt more at ease keeping Wang Chao and Cui Yu in his custody, and sent a letter to the central government asking how to deal with them.

A deposed king and a deputy privy envoy whose entire family was killed, the best fate for him in Goryeo would be exile, and if he was unlucky, he would be beheaded immediately. But if the Great Zhou controlled him, it might be a good thing to keep a rare treasure.

"Send a team to Licheng Port and bring Wang Zhao here politely. Give him a nominal title and let him stay in Zhongdu."

Guo Ning gave an order casually, paused and said, "Put Cui Yu in a good place. However, he cannot be placed in Zhongdu... He can be placed in Yidu. Then, let the left and right offices send reliable people to keep an eye on Cui Yu, and help him relieve his depression."

"Yes, sir." Immediately a clerk stood by and wrote it down.

If the situation in Goryeo can be stabilized quickly, the benefits to Da Zhou will be obvious. Not to mention the celadon workshops, or local Goryeo specialties such as ginseng, medicinal herbs, and sesame oil, the most important resource that this country can provide to Da Zhou is actually people.

(End of this chapter)