The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 520 further divided the country into two parties.
Seeing the attitude of the border soldiers and the common people, Li Gang couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

It turns out that not only the common people of the Southern Song Dynasty, but even the soldiers wanted to flee to the Northern Song Dynasty.

If he hadn't traveled to the Northern Song Dynasty, he certainly wouldn't have understood. But having personally visited the Northern Song and witnessed its political, economic, and military affairs, he could now fully understand and accept the choices made by the common people.

If the Northern and Southern Song dynasties had not united, half of the people would have fled without the Northern Song even having to intervene.

Li Gang sighed deeply as he continued his journey to Lin'an.

Along the way, the official road was lined with people, young and old, migrating northward.

No, it wasn't just civilians; a large number of soldiers were also mingling with the civilians.

Li Gang spotted a somewhat familiar face in the crowd. It was a minor commander of the Imperial Guards in Lin'an, whose official rank was either fifth or sixth, Li Gang couldn't quite remember.

The junior commander was not wearing official robes, but rather civilian clothes. He was surrounded by a group of imperial guards in civilian clothes, and behind him was a string of carriages and horses, presumably his family and subordinates. The procession was large, but very low-key, and the entire group remained quiet.

Li Gang blocked the way in front of the procession, and the junior commander of the Imperial Guards was startled: "Eh? Prime Minister Li...!"

Li Gang: "Are you going to the Northern Song Dynasty?"

The junior commander looked embarrassed: "Please don't be offended, Your Excellency. Lin'an is in complete chaos right now, and I was afraid my wife and children would be implicated, so I had no choice..."

Li Gang sighed deeply: "How chaotic is it?"

The junior commander lowered his voice and said, "Lin'an is now divided into two factions, and they are arguing endlessly."

Li Gang didn't know whether he should curse or not, and sighed, "Two more parties have appeared?"

The junior commander whispered, "First is the Empress Dowager Meng's faction, also known as the Zhao Bocong faction. This faction is led by Empress Dowager Meng and has a large number of eunuchs as its assistants. They want to support the Duke of Jian (Zhao Bocong) to ascend to the throne. Second is the Beitou faction, which is basically composed of civil officials. They want to invite the seventeenth prince of the Northern Song Dynasty to ascend to the throne and promote the unification of the two Song Dynasties."

Li Gang frowned deeply: "What about the attitude of the military generals? Without the support of the military generals, any party is just a joke."

The junior commander shook his head: "My boss, Yang Yizhong, the commander of the Imperial Guards, failed to protect the emperor properly and has locked himself up in the imperial prison. He keeps shouting that everyone should execute him. But the Southern Song Dynasty doesn't even have an emperor now, so who can issue an edict to execute him?"

Li Gang: "..."

The junior commander continued, "With Yang Yizhong no longer in charge, the Imperial Guards are leaderless. They all went to find their own masters. Some Imperial Guards followed Zhao Bozong's faction, and some followed Beitou's faction. The two sides argued fiercely, but no one drew their knives..." When he said the last sentence, his expression became very strange.

Li Gang understood from his expression: both sides were intimidated and neither dared to make a move.

Because if you don't fight, you can still argue, but if you fight, it's a matter of life and death.

Both sides are afraid of death, so how can you tell who is alive and who is dead?
Hearing these cowardly stories, Li Gang was truly at a loss for words, both amused and exasperated.

The junior commander said, "I don't have any special skills and I don't dare to get involved in this. So I took some brothers who didn't want to get involved and wanted to escape to the Northern Song Dynasty."

Li Gang: "Sigh! You should go now."

The young commander and his family fled quickly, while Li Gang accelerated his journey, and within a few days, Lin'an City was in sight.

When Lin'an was at its most prosperous, the streets were packed with people.

But when Li Gang returned this time, he found the streets deserted. Most shops were closed, and there were hardly any pedestrians or carriages. Occasionally, he would hear footsteps, but when he turned around, he would see a large troop of imperial guards. Had the population dwindled to this extent?
Li Gang felt heavy-hearted and hurried towards the palace.

Upon reaching the palace gate, one sees a large contingent of imperial guards standing watch, with marks of swords and spears still visible on the gate.

The Imperial Guards immediately recognized Li Gang, and many of them saluted, saying, "Prime Minister Li."

Li Gang said, "I am now just an instructor in Huizhou, Lingnan. Please don't call me Prime Minister."

But the soldiers remained very respectful and no one stopped him, allowing him to enter the palace.

Li Gang ran wildly towards the palace, and when he reached the outside of the main hall, he heard an argument taking place inside.

A soft, feminine voice loudly proclaimed, "Before the late emperor passed away, although he did not establish the Duke of Jian (Zhao Bocong) as the crown prince, all the officials knew that the late emperor intended to make him the crown prince, but he just didn't have the time to do so. Letting the Duke of Jian ascend the throne would be in accordance with the late emperor's wishes."

Immediately, a middle-aged man's voice rang out: "Nonsense! Everyone knows that when the late emperor was alive, he refused to make Zhao Bocong the crown prince because he was not very satisfied with Zhao Bocong."

A soft, feminine voice: "Hmph, how did you come to know the late emperor's thoughts?"

The middle-aged man said, "I don't know what the late emperor thought, but I do know who would be better for the Song Dynasty to be emperor now. The Seventeenth Prince, who has shaken up Jiaodong and swept away the arrogance of the Jin invaders, is the most suitable emperor for our Song Dynasty."

A soft, feminine voice said, "The Seventeenth Prince has declared himself emperor, disrupting the established order..."

The middle-aged man said, "Aren't you afraid that if the Northern Song Dynasty attacks one day, they'll use you as a sacrifice to their flag?"

A soft, feminine voice: "..."

The hall fell silent instantly.

Li Gang shook his head and strode into the main hall.

His entrance was truly dazzling; all eyes in the hall turned and locked onto him, utterly astonished: "Prime Minister Li!"

Zhao Bocong's faction was overjoyed, thinking: Li Gang has always been a hardliner! He will not be afraid of the Northern Song's military power and will definitely help us ensure Zhao Bocong's ascension to the throne.

Those from Beitou were somewhat uneasy, because Beitou's core ideology wasn't much different from the pro-peace faction of yesteryear—they were all cowards. Cowards are bound to be a little afraid of Li Gang.

It wasn't that they were afraid of Li Gang's fighting prowess, but rather that they feared Li Gang's return and rallying of the Imperial Guards would cause them to all side with Zhao Bozong's faction, which would then lead to the complete demise of the Beitou Party.

Both parties' eyes were fixed on Li Gang, waiting for him to speak.

Li Gang's gaze swept over everyone's faces, and he let out a long sigh. He slowly said, "Zhao Shi cannot ascend the throne! He is not the real Seventeenth Prince at all. I have seen him with my own eyes and confirmed that he is a fake."

His words shocked the Beitou Party and delighted the Zhao Bozong Party.

In this way, apart from Zhao Bocong, no one else in the world was qualified to ascend the throne and become emperor.

But their joy lasted only a couple of seconds before Li Gang's gaze swept over the group of Zhao Bozong's supporters, his expression turning hostile: "I support the Duke of Jian Guo's ascension to the throne, but... I cannot allow you to assist the Duke of Jian Guo, otherwise, the Great Song Dynasty will surely perish."

This left both parties completely stunned. Had Li Gang gone mad? You came up here all by yourself to take on both parties?
Both parties had a portion of the Imperial Guards backing them up. Seeing that Li Gang, a commander without any troops, dared to be arrogant, the eunuchs couldn't help but start giving winks to the few Imperial Guards soldiers standing in the hall.

(End of this chapter)