The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 523 The First Parliament

Wu Jialiang and Zhang Xiaochun are actually old friends.

In recent years, Zhang Xiaochun frequently sent his servants to deliver secret letters to Wu Jialiang, secretly informing him of the military deployments of the puppet Qi state and the troop movements of the Jin state. He even helped cover for the spies of the Northern Song Dynasty on several occasions, saving their lives.

The puppet state of Qi never imagined that its prime minister was a spy, so no matter how hard they investigated, they couldn't trace him back to Qi.

Wu Jialiang picked up the secret letter handed to him by Yang Zaixing, glanced at it, and his expression immediately became strange: "Zhang Xiaochun said that Jin Wuzhu went to Daming Prefecture, the capital of the pseudo-Qi Kingdom, and his attitude towards Liu Yu was very bad. It seems that he wants to take action against Liu Yu."

Li Gang: "Huh? I'll come and take a look too."

Li Gang leaned over to read the letter and immediately noticed that it read: "Jin Wuzhu said to Liu Yu, 'You have established your own state, and after six years, you are still busy fighting against me. What use is a state to you?'"

(PS: The original timeline is the eighth year of the reign of the Lord of the Dead, but this world is two years earlier due to the protagonist's intervention.)
Upon seeing this, Li Gang couldn't help but smile: "Jin Wuzhu is just making conversation out of nothing. If the Jin state wants to control the puppet Qi, it can't allow the puppet Qi's military to be strong. If the puppet Qi's military is weak, it can't fight well, so it has to rely on the Jin army to fight. Now that Jin Wuzhu is saying this, he's obviously nitpicking."

As soon as he finished speaking, a man squeezed in through the door. It was Yue Wenxuan, who also had a smile on his face: "Yes, Jin Wuzhu was instructed by Talan to come here specifically to cripple Liu Yu."

Li Gang: "What is Talan doing?"

Yue Wenxuan: "It's obvious, it's a rebellion! Emperor Taizong of Jin is dead, Wanyan Zongfu and Wanyan Zonghan are all dead, and there are very few important generals left in Jin. At this time, Talan has become the 'last remaining' veteran figure. He needs to start clearing the way for his rebellion. First, he needs to eliminate 'small fry' like the puppet Qi regime, testing the waters. If the newly enthroned Wanyan Dan shows weakness and doesn't lend a hand to Liu Yu, it means that this new emperor is weak and easy to bully. Talan will continue to eliminate Wanyan Dan's supporters until Wanyan Dan is completely crippled, and then launch a rebellion to seize the throne."

Li Gang and Wu Jialiang were both shocked: "Ah? This... how did Young Master Yue know about this? He can deduce so much just from Jin Wuzhu's arrival in Daming Prefecture? Talan has not shown any intention to rebel."

Han Shizhong yawned and said, "Ugh, political struggles are so boring!"

Yue Wenxuan didn't explain how he deduced this, but said, "Let's continue reading Zhang Xiaochun's letter. I guess Zhang Xiaochun wrote this letter because he needs our help. Once Liu Yu is deposed, the pseudo-Qi state will perish. What will Zhang Xiaochun do then? Of course, he will want to surrender to the Northern Song."

Wu Jialiang and Li Gang continued reading the letter. After a few dozen seconds, they looked up and said, "Young Master Yue is truly a genius. Zhang Xiaochun said in the letter that he has contacted some generals who are loyal to the Song Dynasty and is preparing to act as our inside agents. When the pseudo-Qi Kingdom is abolished, there will inevitably be chaos. Our Northern Song Dynasty can take the opportunity to send troops, and with Zhang Xiaochun and others as inside agents, we can immediately recover a large area of ​​land."

The moment Yue Wenxuan heard the words "My heart is in the Song Kingdom," the first person he thought of was Pang Di. (For those who have forgotten this person, please see Chapter 280.)
When the Northern Song Dynasty recovered Yizhou, it fought against Pang Di.

This Pang Di is a typical example of someone who is physically in Cao Cao's camp but mentally in Han.

There must have been many such people in the puppet state of Qi. The reason they could not join the Song Dynasty was mostly because their hometowns were located within the territory of the puppet state of Qi, and the lives of their entire families were in the hands of the puppet state of Qi or the Jurchens.

I couldn't help them before, but this time, it's a good opportunity to help them.

Li Gang said, "Our last peace talks with the Jin state were in winter, and the ceasefire was for one year. Now it is winter again, and the one-year period has expired. We can send troops at any time without violating the peace terms."

Yue Wenxuan nodded: "That's right!"

Li Gang was a little excited. The thought of immediately marching into Hebei and recovering the territories of Shanxi and Hebei made him jump for joy: "Then let's make arrangements immediately..."

"Wait a minute!" Yue Wenxuan said, "Launching a war is the most important matter for the country. It's not something I or you can decide on our own. We must hold a meeting of the regents and have everyone vote on it." Li Gang: "Huh? Do we really need a meeting? I bet it will pass unanimously."

Yue Wenxuan smiled: "Even if we know it will pass unanimously, we still have to cast the vote. The process must be followed. Only by ensuring the justice of the process can we get a just result. If we do not respect the process, the system of deliberation by the regents will soon be distorted and eventually become a one-man show by powerful ministers."

Li Gang found his words to be very reasonable.

The longer you spend with Yue Wenxuan, the more theories you learn that send shivers down your spine. Sometimes you don't understand them at first, but upon reflection, you realize their profound mysteries.

However, at that moment, Han Shizhong suddenly raised his hand and said, "I abstain!"

Li Gang: "?"

Yue Wenxuan laughed and scolded, "Marshal Han, those old-fashioned military tactics don't work anymore. Don't think you can stay out of politics! You're also one of the regents, and you have a part in politics too."

Han Shizhong muttered to himself, "Military generals interfering in politics is a dead end."

Yue Wenxuan: "Let's change our thinking! You're not a military general now, you're a regent, and you only have one vote, so you can't play a decisive role. The final voting result will be the responsibility of the majority, not you alone."

Han Shizhong: "Huh? That's right! With many people sharing the responsibility, there's nothing to be afraid of, hahaha."

Yue Wenxuan shrugged.

Soon, the twenty regents arrived at the palace one after another, preparing to hold the first formal and proper regent meeting of the new Song Dynasty.

Even the young Emperor Zhao Bocong was invited to serve as a mascot, placed on the dragon throne in the center of the Regent's Hall.

The twenty regents, along with Yue Wenxuan, who held the final vote, sat around a large round table in the center of the Regents' Hall.

This large round table was also proposed by Yue Wenxuan. With a round table, there is no question of which of the four directions is larger, nor is there a question of the center or the corners of the table. When everyone sits around the round table, it means that everyone is on equal footing and their status is generally equal.

The chief eunuch, the Thirty-Second Eunuch, announced in a soft, effeminate tone: "The council of regents before the Emperor is now officially beginning. The topic of this meeting is: the issue of launching a war against the puppet state of Qi. First, please have the regents Li Gang, Wu Jialiang, and Han Shizhong, who are on duty in the Hall of Regents, report on the intelligence they have just received."

The formality made the twenty ministers present a little confused.

The young emperor Zhao Bocong also felt his bottom getting hot and couldn't sit still on the dragon throne.

Li Gang readily complied, standing up abruptly and beginning to loudly read the letter sent by Zhang Xiaochun.

(End of this chapter)