Zhao Zhen and his party left Bianjing City ten miles away.

Zhao Zhen invited Kou Zhun, who was riding hard on horseback, to ride on the dragon.

Kou Zhun refused, so Zhao Zhen had no choice but to have Long Chu removed, replaced it with an ordinary carriage, and invited Kou Zhun to sit on it.

Even if Zhao Zhen changed to an ordinary carriage, the carriage was so big that it was scary, like a moving palace.

The emperor travels with one main car and several auxiliary cars.

The purpose is to deceive the assassin.

Zhao Zhen rarely left the palace, so the auxiliary car was not used much. However, the eunuch in the palace who was responsible for taking care of the auxiliary car, Gong E, still kept the auxiliary car clean and brand new.

All food and drink expenses are provided in the car.

It's summer, the sun is shining brightly and the heat is unbearable.

So in the middle of the car, there is a huge ice mirror.

The ice cubes in the ice mirror exude cold air outside, making the car very cool.

Zhao Zhen and Kou Zhun took off their boots and sat barefoot on the blanket in the car. Zhao Zhen ordered the palace maid to prepare fruits for Kou Zhun, and comforted Kou Zhun in a low voice, "Don't worry, Mr. Kou, there is news coming from the front."

The news is very vague, Kou Ji may be fine. I have sent people to confirm whether Kou Ji is in danger, and I believe there will be news back soon."

Kou Zhun stared at Zhao Zhen solemnly and said in a deep voice: "Do the officials think that the old minister invited the officials to go north for personal reasons?"

Zhao Zhen ordered Gong E to bring a plate of iced melons and fruits to Kou Zhun. He blinked and said nothing.

Seeing this, Kou Zhun continued: "The old minister's grandson was assassinated, and the old minister was naturally sad. However, the old minister asked the official to go north, not because of personal feelings, but out of public concern."

Zhao Zhen was stunned for a moment, stared at Kou Zhun, and gave Kou Zhun a look that wanted to hear more details.

Kou Zhun said solemnly: "The veteran has assisted three officials and won the respect of three officials. The veteran knows that state affairs are greater than family affairs. The war in the Yanyun land has now reached a stalemate, and the government and the opposition are in turmoil.

Now that the old minister's grandson is assassinated in the northwest, the northwest may also fall into a panic.

Under such circumstances, the court should not continue to spend time on the war.

This time, using the excuse that the grandson of an old minister was assassinated in the northwest, the officials and the old minister were angry and raised troops. It can be said that they succeeded in killing several birds with one stone."

Zhao Zhen looked at Kou Zhun doubtfully.

All the civil and military officials in the dynasty felt that his going north was a very stupid thing, but when it came to Kou Zhun's words, it turned out to be a good thing.

Kou Zhun explained: "First of all, it is the war in the Yanyun land. The Song Dynasty will not move in the rear. Cao Wei leads his troops to block the front. The Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu will definitely not act rashly.

Now that the enemy and we have wasted more than half a year, no one can say how long it will take in the future.

If this consumption continues, I am afraid that all the national wealth accumulated in the treasury of the Song Dynasty will be completely consumed.

When the time comes, the government and the public will probably impeach Lu Yijian and Cao Wei as traitors who brought harm to the country.

Lu Yijian and Cao Wei, who were guarding the front, would inevitably have great changes in their thoughts under the impeachment of the Manchu civil and military officials.

If Emperor Yelu Longxu of the Liao Dynasty takes advantage of the situation, Lu Yijian and Cao Wei may not be able to stop him.

Once Lu Yijian and Cao Wei were defeated in Yanyun, the impact on our Song Dynasty would be huge."

Zhao Zhen frowned and said: "As far as I know, Lu Yijian is definitely not a person who likes to sit back and wait for death. With the strength of the disciples accumulated by two generations of the Lu family, he can still compete with the civil and military officials in the court."

Kou Zhun nodded slowly, "The officials are right. They must have seen the past of the disciples of the Lu family and are helping Lu Yijian to quell the impeachment behind the scenes."

Zhao Zhen nodded.

As early as when the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty launched an impeachment battle over the war in Yanyun Land, Gu Jiu, a disciple of the Lu family, had already stepped forward to help Lu Yijian clear his name.

Zhao Zhen had read the memorials submitted to the palace by both parties, so he knew the inside story.

When Kou Zhun saw Zhao Zhen nodding, he continued: "But the officials should understand the reason why everyone is pushing down the wall. The power of disciples and old friends accumulated by two generations of the Lu family is indeed powerful, but it is not enough to face the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty.

.

After the Chanyuan Alliance in the past, the veteran's power in the court was far greater than what the two generations of the Lu family had accumulated.

But the veteran eventually ended up being demoted from the capital.

If the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty sincerely opposed Lu Yijian, they would not be able to stop him with Lu Yijian's little strength alone.

Once Lu Yijian and Cao Wei were defeated in the land of Yanyun.

When the time comes, some of the old disciples of the Lu family may turn against each other and help the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty deal with Lu Yijian and Cao Wei.

By that time, all the officials in the government and the public will be impeaching the two of them, and even if the officials are willing to protect them, they may not be able to protect their status and titles."

Now that Kou Zhun has retired and left the central government, he has no way to gain power again and cannot threaten Zhao Zhen's throne, so he is not afraid of saying taboo words in front of Zhao Zhen.

In order for Zhao Zhen to see the situation clearly, he analyzed it thoroughly.

After hearing what Kou Zhun said, Zhao Zhen frowned.

Zhao Zhen wanted to refute, but couldn't say anything to refute.

It was a very common thing in the Great Song Dynasty to have the wall fall down and everyone push it down.

When an official is in trouble, not many people will come up to help him out, but many people will step up and step on him, completely trampling him into a pulp.

If Lu Yijian and Cao Wei really reached the point where everyone pushed them against them, then he might not be able to protect them.

When Li Di fell, he failed to protect him.

At that time, Kou Ji went into a rage in the court, which shocked the officials and saved Li Di's life.

But now Kou Ji's life and death are unknown, and no one can help him to scare the officials.

Kou Zhun has left the center and often appears in the court, interfering in government affairs, and intervening in government affairs, which will have an impact on both the monarch and his ministers, whether it is reputation or majesty.

Unless his throne was threatened, Kou Zhun would never appear in the court to help him frighten the officials.

Kou Zhun intervened in government affairs this time because it involved Kou Zhun's only grandson. Kou Zhun was able to intervene both emotionally and rationally.

Wang Zeng's reputation and majesty have always been somewhat inferior.

Zhang Zhibai was a little too honest, which led to the pity that he had few followers.

Zhang Zhibai's delay in being promoted to political affairs is not because of insufficient merit or qualifications.

But when he spoke out in the court, not many people supported him.

Therefore, he could not intimidate the ministers.

No one helped Zhao Zhen to intimidate the officials. It was difficult for Zhao Zhen to convince the officials with his voice alone.

Under the pampering of Taizu, Taizong and Zhenzong.

The official servants in the Great Song Dynasty were not afraid of their masters.

On the contrary, he is even more afraid of the cruel and prestigious housekeeper.

Compared with Kou Zhun, Lu Yijian is not a qualified housekeeper.

Li Di, Wang Zeng, Lu Yijian and others helped pave the way for Kou Ji and determined that Kou Ji could enter the inner court to replace them because Kou Ji had the potential to become a ruthless and prestigious steward.

When Kou Ji was in the Sixth Department, he could intimidate hundreds of officials.

Once he entered the inner court, it would be easier to overwhelm all the officials.

Therefore, when Kou Ji's life and death were unknown and Kou Zhun could not come out, Zhao Zhen could not save Lu Yijian and Cao Wei under the impeachment of the Manchu Dynasty civil and military officials.

Zhao Zhen knew the serious connection, so after hearing Kou Zhun's words, he pondered: "I am going north, but what does this have to do with it?"

Kou Zhun said frankly: "If our Song Dynasty rear area does not move, Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu will naturally remain motionless. Now that our Song Dynasty rear area moves, Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu will naturally follow suit."

Now, taking advantage of the assassination of the old minister's grandson, the officials have transferred all the troops from the north to the northwest.

Emperor Yelu Longxu of the Liao Dynasty must have lost his patience and would challenge Cao Wei.

If Cao Wei were defeated, the officials could send heavy troops to invade the Liao Kingdom from Ningbian Prefecture and Yanmen Pass.

The Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu and Cao Wei spent so long and spent a lot of national power in the Liao Kingdom.

Even if he defeated Cao Wei, he would still be injured.

Facing the heavy invasion of Song Dynasty again, his biggest possibility is to ask for peace from Song Dynasty.

Once the situation develops to this point.

If you use Da Song, you can take advantage of the opportunity for the lion to open its mouth.

Not only can we, the Song Dynasty, be exempted from paying tribute to the Liao Kingdom every year, but we can also ask for the territory of three or five states from the Liao Kingdom and appease our anger."

When Zhao Zhen heard this, he said with a bitter face: "How could Emperor Liao agree to such ridiculous conditions?"

Kou Zhun's face straightened, he stared at Zhao Zhen and said in a deep voice: "Guan Jia, you have to face up to our Song Dynasty. Our Song Dynasty is not inferior to the Liao Kingdom in all aspects. Even in its weakest period, our Song Dynasty was still able to

A head-on battle with the Liao Kingdom.

Now that the Song Dynasty has become stronger, it is qualified to suppress the Liao Kingdom.

The late emperor paid tribute to the Liao people because he did not like war and hoped that the Song Dynasty would be peaceful and the people could live and work in peace and contentment.

But it does not mean that the Song Dynasty is weaker than the Liao Kingdom.

When Taizong was in power, he conquered the Liao Kingdom three times, and although they all ended in disastrous defeats, Emperor Taizong never felt that the Song Dynasty was weaker than the Liao Kingdom."
To be continued...