Lin'an Never Night

Chapter 862 The way forward
Wu Ting, Xin Qiji, Yang Ze, Jia Rui, Deng Xun, Li Juncheng, An Haotian, Zhao Jinzhu...

These military generals gathered together.

They were clad in armor and helmets, with swords at their sides, and the "Hall of State Affairs" suddenly seemed to have transformed into the commander-in-chief's hall.

Seeing their posture, Yang Yuan vaguely guessed their intentions and couldn't help but laugh.

Yang Yuan joked, "Oh ho, with such a big fuss, are you addicted to forcing the emperor to abdicate? Planning to do it again?"

Upon hearing this, Wu Ting's expression changed drastically.

Although Yang Yuan was just joking, in his eyes it was clearly a warning to him.

Mistake!
I should go see the King of Yan myself first and explain my worries to him.

Why did I suddenly bring so many people here? What else could this be but a power grab?
Wu Ting hurriedly rose from his seat, clasped his hands in apology: "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I was just in a moment of passion, so I invited all my brothers to come with me. I only wanted to ask Your Majesty some questions. I had no intention of coercing you into doing this."

Xin Qiji's eyes lit up upon hearing this. What did Brother Yang say? "A coup?"

Does Your Majesty compare our actions to a "coup"?

It seems we were overthinking things; the king is already considering changing his ruler.

Xin Qiji was overjoyed.

Xin Qiji was born in the Jin Dynasty and was taught by his grandfather, so he always remembered that he was a Han Chinese and wanted to restore the Han people's country.

But he had no feelings for the Zhao family, let alone any loyalty to them.

It's just that the Zhao family originally represented the Han Chinese regime, so he also embraced this banner.

Given the Zhao family's series of inhumane actions towards him, it's impossible to expect him to repay evil with kindness and remain loyal to the Song Dynasty.

Because Wu Ting and Xin Qiji had different levels of familiarity with Yang Yuan and different degrees of friendship, they reacted very differently to a single sentence from Yang Yuan.

Xin Qiji and Yang Yuan had shared life and death, fighting side by side from Shandong Road and Nanjing Road back together. Their bond of life and death was naturally different.

Seeing Wu Ting's panic, Yang Yuan quickly helped him up and said with a smile, "I was just using a metaphor, General Wu, please don't take it to heart."

Yang Yuan took Wu Ting's arm and personally escorted him back to his seat, then lazily sat down in the superior seat herself.

Yang Yuan said, "You must have something to say here. What is it? Tell me now."

Wu Ting, An Haotian, and Zhao Jinzhu were all military personnel, so they naturally knew some of the taboos in officialdom, which made them somewhat constrained.

They were still hesitating, thinking about how to subtly hint at Yang Yuan's intentions.

Yang Yuan needed to consider what he should do to prevent a counterattack after these people forced him to abdicate.

But the rebels had already spoken up indifferently.

It can't be said that the rebels were without guile; at least, Xin Qiji and Yang Ze didn't say anything.

The ones speaking were Jia Rui and Deng Xun, the two henchmen.

Jia Rui solemnly said, "Your Majesty, the emperor is not a human being. We are cleaning up the court of corrupt officials for the sake of the country and for our own sake."

Regardless, the deed is done. We have offended the Zhao family. We await Your Majesty's instructions on what to do next, so that our brothers may have peace of mind.

Yang Yuan glanced at everyone: "You're all worried about this?"

Deng Xun said in a gruff voice, "Brother, we brothers are risking our lives to follow you. We're not afraid of dying, what we're afraid of is dying a pathetic death."

"Okay, that's the situation. Let's be frank and clear about what we should do as brothers from now on."

Yang Yuan pondered for a moment and said, "I can keep it from others, but there's no need to hide it from you brothers."

This emperor must abdicate and someone else must take his place!

Yang Yuan's initial plan was indeed to "purge the court of corrupt officials."

He wanted to sweep away all the rubbish around the young emperor Zhao Qi, so that from then on, the young emperor would just be a powerless and harmless figurehead.

Considering how good the Zhao brothers, Zhao Yuan and Zhao Qu, had been to him, he didn't want to go too far.

This has nothing to do with loyalty.

A man who killed the "founding emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty" and dared to have sex with his concubines by his bedside while he was still breathing...

To say that he was extremely loyal to the royal family is utterly ridiculous.

This guy values ​​brotherhood above all else.

However, when he stormed the city walls of Zongyang Palace and learned that Zhao Qi, that little brat, had actually poisoned Zhao Qu, his thoughts changed.

If Yang Yuan hadn't killed that brat, it would have upset Zhao Qu, and he could have set fire to the Zongyang Palace!

Then, on this New Year's Eve, in front of the largest fireworks display in Lin'an, he announced that the young emperor had committed suicide by self-immolation.

As soon as Yang Yuan said this, everyone's spirits lifted, and when they looked at each other, they couldn't hide the joy in their eyes.

They had obviously discussed it before they came.

The ideal scenario, of course, would be to drape a yellow robe over Yang Yuan and then kindly instruct him, "Brother, the weather is getting chilly; don't catch a cold."

However, those who managed to rise to the position of rebel leaders, even if illiterate, were not brainless.

Needless to say, Wu Ting, Zhao Jinzhu, An Haotian, and others were also involved.

It is unrealistic to expect Yang Yuan to replace the Song dynasty at present.

Yang Yuan had enough prestige, seniority, and the foundation of his faction to be a powerful minister.

However, he was not qualified to be an emperor.

The Zhao Song dynasty still needs to wear its tiger skin.

Their concern was that Yang Yuan lacked ambition and might be a bit dim-witted, trying to retire gracefully after achieving success. Wouldn't that leave the brothers in a mess?
Upon hearing this, he realized that Yang Yuan intended to depose and install the emperor, making it impossible for him to gracefully retire.

To retreat is to die.

Everyone's eyes immediately turned to Yang Yuan.

Yang Yuan said, "It is still uncertain who will be the new emperor. I am currently discussing this with the two palaces."

Of course, the most important reason is that the Prince of Jin has not yet woken up.

However, I can be certain that I, Yang Yuan, will not retire after achieving my goals.

Your efforts will not go unrewarded.

Yang Yuan glanced at everyone: "Last night we just cleaned out the court of corrupt officials, so of course there are no results yet today."

However, there may be no result tomorrow.

Please be patient, everyone. Some things require a graceful process. Understand?

The crowd listened with great excitement. Wu Ting finally couldn't resist asking, "Does Your Majesty have a relatively clear idea? We, your humble servants..."

He rubbed his hands somewhat embarrassedly and said, "If we have a general idea in mind first, we won't worry so much."

Yang Yuan said, "The Three Imperial Guards must be kept in our hands."

"The commanders of the Imperial Guard, the infantry, and the cavalry must all be our men."

The signing room was completely silent.

"We must have our people in the Privy Council, the Ministry of War, the State Affairs Hall, and the Ministry of Personnel!"

Upon hearing this, Wu Ting instinctively gripped the armrests of the chair tightly with both hands.

You already have the "three no-court" rule.

You've already been granted the title of "Great Power," you're already a prince of a different surname!

Brother, why don't you just go for the "Nine Bestowments"?

The three essential elements for a powerful minister to usurp the throne are "granting a large fiefdom," "bestowing the Nine Bestowments," and "not attending court for three reasons"—we can't do without any of them.

Throughout history, powerful ministers have indeed risen to power in just three steps.

Moreover, even though everyone knows that once a minister completes these three steps, the only outcome can be that he becomes emperor.

Later usurpers also repeated these three steps.

The reason is that even if you don't do it, everyone will know you're going to be emperor; how can such a thing be kept secret?

Moreover, these three steps are necessary to allow people around the world to adapt.

It's like the "three refusals and three concessions" – everyone knows it's not a real refusal, but it's a necessary step.

The "three-piece set for usurping the throne" is actually an open secret.

Wu Ting looked around, but unfortunately, he couldn't find his trusted confidant.

Apart from him, all the generals present had followed Yang Yuan back from the Jin Kingdom.

Since there's no substitute for me, I'll just have to do it myself.

Wu Ting stood up, cupped his hands, and solemnly said, "Your Majesty is a meritorious official who saved the country from collapse and prevented the tide from turning."

In my humble opinion, Your Majesty's bestowal of the Nine Bestowments is entirely justified.

This humble general wishes to petition the court to grant His Majesty the "Nine Bestowments."

Yang Yuan was startled.

The last person to be asked to be granted the Nine Bestowments was Qin Hui. If he had done so, what would the Goose King have thought?
Yang Yuan's face darkened, and he said sternly, "Don't even mention this matter, don't even think about it."

Wu Ting was about to speak again when Xin Qiji across from him quickly gave him a wink.

Wu Ting immediately realized that he had indeed acted a bit too hastily.

At present, the "purging of corrupt officials" and the abdication of the emperor are enough to shock the world.

At this moment, bestowing the Nine Bestowments upon the King of Yan is surely an obvious move, isn't it?

As long as the Three Imperial Guards are in hand, and the Ministry of Personnel, the Privy Council, the Ministry of War, and the Council of State Affairs are under our control, it's only a matter of time before we give the Prince of Yan a new robe.

Thinking of this, Wu Ting immediately agreed.

Anyway, I was the one who first proposed it.

No one can take this credit away from us.

Yang Yuan said, "Alright, I've told you everything I needed to. Are you relieved now?"

Seeing the relieved smiles on Wu Ting, Xin Qiji and the others' faces, Yang Yuan waved his hand and said, "Now, you will have to work harder and hold your positions firmly to avoid any unforeseen events."

The generals immediately stood up and bowed to Yang Yuan with clasped hands.

Xin Qiji spoke with great artistry: "Your Majesty, rest assured, we will certainly protect this land and its people, and will not allow it to fall!"

Inside the Hall of State Affairs, Wei Liangchen, Chen Junqing, and Chen Kangbo were just preparing to finish their shift and return home.

As a result, a group of military officers rushed into Yang Yuan's signing room.

Upon seeing this, Chen Junqing and Chen Kangbo turned around and went from what they were about to leave to Wei Liangchen's signing room.

The three of them stood at the window, watching the commotion on Yang Yuan's side from afar, until Wu Ting, Xin Qiji, and the others left in high spirits.

The three prime ministers stood there silently without uttering a word.

They had no way of analyzing Yang Yuan's state of mind at that moment, nor did they need to.

At their age, they understand this principle all too well.

Many times, many things, and many people are beyond our control.

Chen Junqing remained silent for a long time before asking, "What does Prime Minister Wei think?"

Wei Liangchen slowly said, "I am sixty-seven years old this year. I am old and frail and can no longer bear heavy responsibilities. I have asked to retire more than once."

But given the current state of the country, I have no choice but to persevere, even with my advanced age, and work for a few more years!

The old prime minister's words made his attitude very clear.

Chen Kangbo said, "I wonder what Mr. Ziyan's thoughts are?"

The Mr. Ziyan he mentioned is Zhang Jun.

Zhang Jun, courtesy name Deyuan, sobriquet Ziyan Xiansheng.

Wei Liangchen smiled slightly and said, "Deyuan is sixty-four years old. He is a little younger than me, but not by much."

However, he has always been loyal and upright, and it is unlikely that he would abandon his country in this time of crisis.

Chen Kangbo nodded, glanced at Chen Junqing, and smiled faintly: "I am the same age as Deyuan. Since Prime Minister Wei and Prime Minister Zhang are willing to serve the country with their old age, I naturally have no choice but to do so as well."

Chen Junqing chuckled and said, "Why are you looking at me, Brother Changqing? I am younger than you gentlemen, so I will not easily ask to leave."

These two Chens were both prime ministers, but in recent years their political views have become somewhat divergent.

Chen Kangbo was more radical, while Chen Junqing was more conservative; naturally, their conflict gradually arose when dealing with important national affairs.

Historically, Yu Yunwen was highly regarded and promoted by Chen Kangbo. However, when Chen Junqing later became the Left Chancellor, he had a fierce conflict with the Right Chancellor Yu Yunwen, and they were not on good terms.

That is the reason.

However, it seems that a fierce and ominous star is about to rise, so they must put aside their past grievances and join hands to protect the Song Dynasty!
(End of this chapter)