Travel through the heavens

It was the twelfth lunar month, the weather was freezing cold, but there was a roaring charcoal fire burning in the Funing Hall, making it feel like warm spring.

Zhao Xu was lying alone on the dragon couch, his whole body covered by a brocade quilt, sleeping soundly.

Suddenly, a gentle call sounded in my ears.

"His Majesty."

Zhao Xu woke up slowly, opened his sleepy eyes, and looked towards the bedside, but it was empty, without a single eunuch or palace maid.

Looking further away, he saw that the eunuchs and palace maids were all lying on the ground, and he didn't know whether they were dead or alive. Only a man in a blue shirt, with a smile on his face, was sitting in front of the desk.

Fang Muye said: "I just pressed their acupoints and they fell asleep."

Zhao Xu was startled, but he was completely awake, but his face was still calm. He got up from the bed and asked Fang Muye, "Who are you?"

Fang Muye smiled and said, "Han people."

Zhao Xu asked again: "Did the Empress Dowager send you here? Is she finally not satisfied with ruling from behind the scenes and wants to become 'Wu Zetian'?"

Although this sentence was still calm, there was a hint of unresolved resentment in the tone.

The imperial palace was heavily guarded, and even birds could hardly get in. If there wasn't an insider in the palace, who could have come in so quietly and entered the Funing Hall where the emperor slept?

Zhao Xu knew clearly that the commander of the Imperial Guards was a close confidant of the Empress Dowager, and the head of the eunuchs was also a close confidant of the Empress Dowager. If the Empress Dowager wanted to let someone in quietly, it would be very easy.

Zhao Xu had been emperor for nearly seven years, but the one who really called the shots in the court was the Grand Empress Dowager. The civil and military officials in the court were appointed by the Grand Empress Dowager, and the imperial edicts were issued by the Grand Empress Dowager. He had to follow the Grand Empress Dowager's instructions in everything and did not dare to do anything or say anything casually. He had long been extremely angry with the Grand Empress Dowager.

Now, this man in blue who suddenly appeared in his bedroom was most likely sent by the Empress Dowager to murder him. How could Zhao Xu not feel resentment?

Fang Muye seemed to know what Zhao Xu was thinking, and said, "Your grandmother can't control me. Although the palace is heavily guarded, it is like an empty place for me. I come and go as I please, and I don't need anyone to arrange for me."

Zhao Xu frowned and asked again: "Who are you?"

Fang Muye smiled and said, "I have said before that I am a Han Chinese, a Han Chinese who cannot bear to see the land of China torn apart, so I came to see you, the emperor of the Song Dynasty."

Zhao Xu's eyes lit up for a moment, then dimmed again. He said in a low voice, "I also don't want the Han Dynasty to be broken up, and I want to rebuild it, but I'm just a puppet emperor in name only. The one who holds power in the court is the Empress Dowager. What's the point of you coming to see me? You should go find her."

Fang Muye said: "As the Empress Dowager, Gao was in charge of government affairs. People thought she was a female Yao or Shun, but she was just a short-sighted woman who was greedy for power. In the early years, she joined forces with the conservatives to completely abolish the new laws that were beneficial to the people and the country, causing the Song Dynasty to completely lose an opportunity to reverse the financial crisis and ease the contradictions between the court and the people, and also caused the Song Dynasty's economy to begin to collapse. And now the intensified party struggles and chaotic political situation in the court are also caused by her. The court officials are only thinking about how to fight among themselves, and they don't care about how to govern the country. The Song Dynasty, which was once a good dynasty, is now showing signs of decline and corruption in Gao's hands."

At this point, Fang Muye paused, looked at Zhao Xu and continued, "On the contrary, in my opinion, you have the potential to be a great leader who can wipe out the current decline of the Song Dynasty."

Zhao Xu couldn't help but reveal a kind of joy of meeting a soulmate, but then it turned into a feeling of loss and powerlessness, and he said: "Now all the ministers in the court ignore me, and they all follow the orders of the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager also uses my youth as an excuse and refuses to return power to me. How can I have the opportunity to show my talents and accomplish great things?"

Facing Zhao Xu's complaints, Fang Muye smiled but did not respond. He asked, "If you were in power, what would you do?"

Zhao Xu's young face immediately revealed a proud look, and he said proudly: "Of course, I will inherit the will of the late emperor, restart the reform, enrich the country and strengthen the army, restore the national strength, and when the time is right, it will be the time to reappear the glory of our Han family."

Zhao Xu walked to the window and pushed it open. Suddenly a gust of cold wind blew in. Zhao Xu felt the chill and couldn't help coughing twice, but ignored it.

At this time, the Big Dipper was shining in the night sky. He looked towards the north along the direction of the handle of the dipper and said in a deep voice: "The Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun were occupied by the Liao people. We have to pay tribute to them every year. We are like a vassal and a vassal state. As the emperor of the Song Dynasty, how can I swallow this? Are we going to be oppressed by the Liao people forever? The Song Dynasty has rich land, well-trained soldiers, sufficient food, and a large population. Why should we fear the Khitan? I will select generals to train soldiers, feed horses and store food, and then go north to fight them to the death on the battlefield to wash away the shame of our ancestors and enhance the prestige of the Song Dynasty."

His voice became louder and louder, and all he thought about was how to break through the enemy's formation and recapture the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun. He imagined himself riding a tall horse, commanding a million soldiers, breaking through Shangjing, and forcing the Liao ruler to surrender naked.

Fang Muye looked at the passionate young man standing in front of the bed, nodded secretly, then raised his hand and waved it lightly, and the window that Zhao Xu had pushed open was easily closed. Zhao Xu was immediately shocked by this miraculous method, and surprise appeared in his eyes.

Fang Muye smiled and said, "You are weak, don't catch a cold." Then he asked, "What are you going to do with the ministers in the court now?"

Zhao Xu said angrily, "They call themselves gentlemen, they claim to be the most trusted ministers of the court, they are always talking about 'benevolence, righteousness, morality, and the people's country', but in fact they are just cowards who are greedy for life and afraid of death, selfish and self-interested. The affairs of state are all mishandled by these corrupt scholars. If I were in power, I would punish them severely."

Fang Muye smiled slightly and said, "I have some humble opinions. I wonder if you would like to hear them?"

Zhao Xu said seriously, "Sir, please speak."

Fang Muye said, "You want to inherit the legacy of the previous emperor and implement the new laws, which is feasible. But governing a country is no joke. I know that your hatred for the Gao family and the conservatives has been growing over the years, but since the Gao family took over, the people they have employed are also talented pillars of the country, and the policies they have implemented are also commendable. You should not retaliate and dismiss them all just to eliminate the bad feelings in your heart. As a monarch, you should put the country first and yourself second, and put the country first in everything. Use what is beneficial and get rid of what is harmful. Don't lose your mind in anger, don't cause chaos in anger, you should restrain yourself and don't forget your original intention."

According to the original development, Zhao Xu did let go after taking power and started to "vent his anger and take revenge."

He dismissed and rejected all the officials and policies that were appointed during Gao Taotao's regency. He recalled the core reformists such as Zhang Dun and Cai Bian to the court, and demoted almost all conservative officials to remote and desolate places, even the talented Su Shi and Su Zhe were not spared.

Zhao Xu frowned. Although he was unhappy, he listened to it. After thinking for a while, he said to Fang Muye, "Thank you for your advice, sir."

Fang Muye smiled and nodded, saying: "As for Gao's refusal to return power to you, you don't have to worry about it. I will help you get what you want."

Zhao Xu was immediately overwhelmed with excitement and said solemnly: "Sir, if you can help me regain power, I will serve you as my teacher."