Song Xiu

Chapter 48 Marquis of Taiyuan, what do you say?
Because it was a last-minute summons, there weren't many officials present at the palace gate when Zhao Dexiu arrived outside Xuande Gate.

After the carriage came to a complete stop, Zhao Dexiu slowly stepped down from it.

As soon as he appeared, the officials who were gathered in groups outside the palace gates to discuss matters all turned to look at him.

The Emperor's favor towards Zhao Dexiu is evident from the fact that he issued three imperial edicts in ten days.

Moreover, the fact that princes often reside deep within the palace and that princes establish their own offices to participate in government affairs represent two completely different situations for the officials.

"Your subject is the Marquis of Taiyuan."

Officials would come up from time to time to greet Zhao Dexiu.

Those who took the initiative to greet Zhao Dexiu were mostly officials of low rank. It seemed that some officials who held great power were trying to keep their distance from Zhao Dexiu.

Even though most of the officials who came to greet him were of low rank, Zhao Dexiu would humbly return their greetings.

As Zhao Dexiu and many officials exchanged greetings, the generals and commanders of the Imperial Guards, who had been assigned military duties, also arrived at Xuande Gate one after another.

The first to arrive were the increasingly leisurely officers of the Imperial Guard, among whom was Li Chuyun.

Seeing Zhao Dexiu mingling with many officials, Li Chuyun hesitated for a moment but couldn't help but come up to him.

After Li Chuyun arrived, the surrounding officials gradually and tactfully withdrew.

After Wu Liuer finished speaking, Li Chuyun stepped forward, bowed, and said:
"Those who try to curry favor with the Marquis of Taiyuan nowadays are mostly people seeking personal gain; the Marquis should be careful."

In the past, Li Chuyun, who disliked getting involved in politics, would not have said these words.

However, since Li was already engaged to Zhao Dexiu, he could no longer turn a blind eye to many things.

From the way the surrounding officials addressed Li Chuyun, Zhao Dexiu realized that Li Chuyun was his father-in-law.

Zhao Dexiu has always been a person who respects his elders:
"Don't worry, I won't take their flattery to heart."

After reassuring Li Chuyun, Zhao Dexiu took the opportunity to ask:
"Li Jun has rebelled. His Majesty may ask about the strategy for suppressing the rebels later. How should I respond?"

After learning of his chosen wife, Zhao Dexiu asked Wei Renpu to investigate Li Chuyun's past.

Wei Renpu's investigation revealed that Yan Ming possessed military talent.

Regardless of how profound Li Chuyun's military strategy was, having some knowledge was better than having none, so Zhao Dexiu decided to first seek advice from Li Chuyun.

Li Chuyun had long considered the matter of Li Jun's rebellion and had his own opinion on it.

"Li Jun's forces are mostly stationed in Luzhou, which is strategically important, serving as a shield for Kaifeng to the north and an arm of Huaizhou to the west."

If Li Jun leads his army down the Taihang Mountains and launches a swift and unexpected attack on Huaizhou and Mengzhou, then blocks Hulao Pass and occupies Luoyi, the western part of the country will no longer belong to the Song Dynasty.

If His Majesty were to inquire about the Marquis's strategic acumen later, and the Marquis answered with this concern, he would surely receive His Majesty's praise.

Being able to deduce the enemy's most lethal tactics so that the court could prepare accordingly is already a great achievement.

After explaining his plan, Li Chuyun reminded him again:
"If His Majesty asks about the Marquis's strategy for defeating the enemy, the Marquis can answer by saying that the intelligence is not yet clear."

In matters of great importance to military strategy, knowing oneself and one's enemy is paramount.

Li Chuyun was afraid that Zhao Dexiu would be too eager to show off and would engage in empty talk in front of the ministers, which would not be good.

Li Chuyun's words made Zhao Dexiu thoughtful.

While Li Chuyun was discussing with Zhao Dexiu, Murong Yanzhao, Shi Shouxin and others had already arrived at Xuande Gate.

Zhao Dexiu spotted Zhao Guangyi among the generals and commanders of the Imperial Guard.

The thought of Zhao Guangyi's position as Commander of the Palace Guards made Zhao Dexiu feel uneasy.

After all the officials, both high and low, had arrived, the master of ceremonies instructed them to line up in order of rank.

During this process, a small incident occurred.

Because Zhao Dexiu was the first person to be granted a noble title since the founding of the Song Dynasty, the officials in charge of rites were in a dilemma regarding Zhao Dexiu's position.

Marquis, Duke, and King – this was the route for the advancement of noble titles in the Five Dynasties.

The Marquis of Taiyuan was not as prestigious as a Duke or a King, but Zhao Dexiu was the only Marquis in the entire court.

Considering Zhao Kuangyin's favor towards Zhao Dexiu, the official in charge of rites intended to place Zhao Dexiu after Zhao Pu.

The Vice Privy Councilor was equivalent to the Vice Chancellor, and given the prestige of a Marquis, it was generally appropriate for him to be ranked after the Vice Chancellor.

Unexpectedly, Zhao Dexiu politely declined the official's arrangement.

"His Majesty has not yet issued a decree to determine whether the Marquis or the Vice Chancellor is more honorable. What merit do I have to be ranked after the Vice Chancellor and before all the other ministers?"
"Just look after me as the Defense Commissioner of Chanzhou."

After saying this, Zhao Dexiu naturally walked to the middle of the military officer sequence.

Zhao Dexiu's actions won the favor of many civil officials, who have always valued their reputation. During the chaotic Five Dynasties period, there were many examples of princes abusing their status to bully civil officials.

The Song Dynasty produced a prince who respected civil officials; in comparison, this was truly a rare occurrence.

As for the Imperial Guard generals such as Murong Yanzhao, most of them smiled when they saw Zhao Dexiu take the initiative to join their ranks.

After hundreds of civil and military officials lined up in order, they proceeded step by step toward the Chongyuan Hall under the guidance of the master of ceremonies.

Soon after, two long dragons surged into the Chongyuan Hall.

Not long after the civil and military officials had taken their positions, Zhao Kuangyin, dressed in a dragon robe and looking majestic, sat on the throne.

As soon as Zhao Kuangyin sat down, his eyes were searching for something.

He only looked away after he saw Zhao Dexiu's figure behind Pan Mei.

Without any warning, Zhao Kuangyin slammed his hand on the imperial desk with a loud "bang".

Zhao Kuangyin was strong and powerful, and his forceful slam made the wooden imperial desk resound with a loud bang.

This loud noise clearly expressed Zhao Kuangyin's "anger".

"I have always treated Li Jun well, so why did he rebel?"
If he truly rebels out of gratitude to Emperor Taizu of Zhou, I would respect him as a true man.

But he accepted my rewards and is now a subject of the Song Dynasty. To be a subject of Song yet betray Song—Li Jun is truly a villain and a traitor!

When sending troops, it is important to have a just cause.

Li Jun rebelled against the Song Dynasty under the banner of "restoring the Zhou Dynasty".

The fact that the Song dynasty replaced the Zhou dynasty certainly attracted some supporters.

In order to prevent Li Jun's power from growing further, Zhao Kuangyin had to refute Li Jun on the grounds of righteousness.

He's truly a loyal minister of the Zhou dynasty. Why didn't he do this earlier?

After Zhao Kuangyin judged Li Jun's actions, Murong Yanzhao, the head of the Imperial Guards, stepped forward and said:
"Your Majesty, I am willing to raise an army to punish the rebels."

As soon as Murong Yanzhao stepped forward, Shi Shouxin, Gao Huaide, and others behind him were also filled with righteous indignation.

Zhao Kuangyin was very pleased with the enthusiastic requests of the Imperial Guard generals to join the battle.

After calming the generals of the Imperial Guards, Zhao Kuangyin revealed his thoughts:

"I intend to personally lead the expedition."

Zhao Kuangyin's words caused an uproar throughout the hall.

Even Murong Yanzhao and others did not expect that Zhao Kuangyin would have this idea.

Soon a minister came forward to dissuade him, saying:

"Your Majesty, I believe this is unacceptable."

Zhao Dexiu looked closely and saw that the minister who had given the advice was none other than Zhao Guangyi.

"The emperor's dignity is like the sun and moon in the sky; he should not leave the capital lightly."

Now that Li Jun has rebelled, there are capable generals leading the troops. With General Murong's courage and strategy, he is capable of patrolling the border on behalf of Heaven and clearing away the dust on the frontier.

With the nation newly established, if Your Majesty were to leave the capital lightly, it would inevitably cause unrest among the people and destabilize the state.

Your Majesty, I implore you to reconsider!

After Zhao Guangyi finished speaking, he bowed deeply to Zhao Kuangyin.

Zhao Guangyi's words resonated with many court officials, who all came out to support his views.

The words of his ministers did not dissuade Zhao Kuangyin from his idea of ​​personally leading the expedition.

Just as Zhao Kuangyin was about to explain, his gaze fell upon a boy who was still standing quietly in the classroom.

After a moment, Zhao Kuangyin had an idea in mind.

Zhao Kuangyin pointed to Zhao Dexiu in the class and said loudly:

"Marquis of Taiyuan, what do you think of what the ministers have said?"

The emperor personally directed all the officials to focus their attention on Zhao Dexiu.

The title "Marquis of Taiyuan" made Zhao Dexiu look at Zhao Kuangyin with even greater surprise:

When you train princes, do you not give newbies a protection period?
(End of this chapter)