Destroy Jin and conquer Song, and carry the Northern Expedition through to the end

Chapter 704 Life and death are all predestined.

As Shi Hao had predicted, the facts proved correct.

News of Ye Yiwen's serious illness spread quickly, but everyone's attention was not on the old man, but on the position of Jianghuai Pacification Commissioner.

At this time, Zhang Jun, as the Privy Councilor, immediately gained support from all sides, and his momentum became very strong, making him the most prominent figure for a time.

Yu Yunwen's allies in the court could only temporarily avoid Zhang Jun's sharp edge.

Zhao Shen summoned Zhang Jun several times to inquire about the Northern Expedition.

In Zhang Jun's words, the Northern Expedition was naturally a scene of heavenly troops everywhere, invincible, and the people welcoming the royal army with baskets and jugs of water, a vibrant and flourishing scene of all things thriving.

Zhao Shen was easily swayed by words, and upon hearing these words, he was overjoyed and couldn't wait to launch a northern expedition, recover the Central Plains, and achieve unparalleled merit.

On February 10th, just as spring plowing was in full swing, Zhao Shen simply ordered Zhang Jun to visit Ye Yiwen, who was said to be terminally ill. He also secretly gave him an imperial edict that if Ye Yiwen was indeed too ill to be of any use, then he could become the acting Jianghuai Pacification Commissioner in his capacity as Privy Councilor, and take charge of the military and political affairs of the two Huai regions.

Zhang Jun was naturally overjoyed at this. He immediately went to Luzhou and went straight to the office of the Pacification Commissioner.

Zhang Jun originally thought that the rumors in Lin'an were somewhat untrue. Ye Yiwen was at most suffering from some illness, unable to attend to his duties, and yet still greedy for power, so he kept it from the central government and wanted to delay for some time.

But it wasn't until Zhang Jun met Yu Yunwen and followed him to the back hall of the government office, and smelled the strong medicinal odor, that he sensed something was wrong.

If this is acting, then it's too real.

Zhang Jun glanced at the expressionless Yu Yunwen, strode forward, pushed open the door, and entered the largest room in the back hall.

Ye Yiwen lay on the bed with a face as pale as paper. Although he was emaciated and weak, he still struggled to open his eyes and turned to look at the door.

After seeing Zhang Jun's figure clearly, Ye Yiwen gave a bitter laugh: "Master Zhang, I really didn't want you to be here."

Zhang Jun moved a stool over and sat down in front of Ye Yiwen's bed: "Master Ye, why are you unwilling to let it be me?"

As the saying goes, a dying man's words are good, and Ye Yiwen directly replied: "Because Zhang Xianggong and I are both useless."

Zhang Jun was furious upon hearing this, but seeing Ye Yiwen's expression, he managed to suppress his anger.

However, Ye Yiwen was not willing to let Zhang Jun off the hook and continued, "It's just that I am still a bit better than Minister Zhang, because I know my own limitations."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Jun finally lost his patience. He stood up and kicked over the stool to show his anger, displaying agility that belied his age of over sixty.

"Master Ye, I've come to visit a patient, why are you speaking so harshly to me?"

Ye Yiwen shook his head with difficulty: "I am about to die, but as a high-ranking official of the country, how can I not talk about official business in front of Minister Zhang?"

"Lord Zhang, please heed my advice: go home and enjoy your retirement. Do not meddle in the Northern Expedition. It would be a small matter if your achievements were ruined, but it would be too late to regret if you delayed matters of national importance!"

Zhang Jun could no longer contain his anger. He pointed at the silent Yu Yunwen and shouted, "Lord Ye, are you referring to him? Is the future safety of the nation dependent on this one person? Is it because I defeated the Battle of Fuping, while he won the Battle of Chaoxian?"

"But what was the situation during the Battle of Fuping? The generals were scheming against each other, cowardly avoiding battle, and the Jin invaders were at the height of their power. Even if Lord Yu had gone, we might not have been able to win."

"In Chaoxian, renowned masters and generals from all walks of life have gathered. The Jin bandits have had their rear cut off and are at their last gasp. If I were to come, I might not necessarily be defeated."

"Why do you conclude that I lack military strategy just because of the defeat at Fuping? Why do you assume that my Northern Expedition will inevitably fail?!"

Zhang Jun's last few words were spoken in a loud voice, almost like a roar.

Ye Yiwen opened his eyes and looked at Zhang Jun with difficulty, a slight smile tugging at the corner of his mouth: "Prime Minister Zhang, you speak so fluently, have you rehearsed these words in your mind many times? Have you convinced yourself in this way when you are in the middle of the night thinking about the Western Army?"

"I am not at fault, it is all other people's fault, it is all because the weather is too hot, the sandstorm is too strong, and the terrain is too bad."

"Master Zhang, have you ever considered that back then, Master Yu only had some remnants of his army, plus some Shandong rebels? He was able to accomplish such a great feat, can you really do the same, Master Zhang?"

Zhang Jun became even angrier upon hearing this, but after catching his breath, he calmed down and said, "I don't want to argue with a dying man."

As he spoke, Zhang Jun took out a piece of hemp silk from his bosom.

Yu Yunwen recognized this thing because he had seen it before.

When appointing other officials, the imperial edicts of the Song Dynasty were usually written on specially made silk. However, when appointing the prime minister, the edicts were written on hemp cloth.

This is what is meant by "announcing the appointment of a prime minister." "I have here..."

"Prime Minister Zhang!" Ye Yi interrupted Zhang Jun, his voice initially high-pitched but quickly weakening: "Prime Minister Zhang, do you intend to race against time with a dying man like me?"

"You... hum!"

Zhang Jun was speechless and could only stand with his hands behind his back.

Let alone Zhang Jun, even if Emperor Zhao Shen himself came here, he would not interrupt the dying words of a high-ranking official; on the contrary, he would have to listen carefully.

“Lord Yu.” Ye Yiwen extended his hand to Yu Yunwen.

Yu Yunwen stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Please give your orders, Lord Ye."

Ye Yiwen picked up a document from beside his pillow with difficulty and handed it over: "This is my letter of apology, and also my last memorial. I ask you, Minister Yu, to present it to the Emperor. This time, concealing the truth from the court was entirely my fault for being greedy for power, and has nothing to do with anyone else."

Seeing Zhang Jun glance at the document cover, Ye Yiwen shook his head and smiled, "Minister Zhang, this document contains my words of impeachment against you, so I won't show it to you."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Jun turned away with a flick of his sleeve.

Yu Yunwen quickly took the document, nodded and said, "I will present it to His Majesty and will certainly not tarnish Lord Ye's posthumous reputation."

Ye Yiwen shook his head, his voice growing weak: "Lord Yu, I've reached this point, what use is posthumous fame? Just as Lu Wuguan wrote in his last poem to Zhang Rong, 'When I die, I know all things are empty.'"

"The country's situation depends on you to maintain it; you've really suffered a lot."

"The situation in the north is complex, so we must be extremely cautious in our actions, not only towards the Jin invaders, but also towards Shandong."

“The Song Dynasty has its own system of conduct. As long as Liu Dalang is brought under its control, we are not afraid of him doing anything.”

"And also, moving the capital..."

At this point, Ye Yiwen began to breathe heavily.

Zhang Jun, who had turned his back and stood with his hands behind his back, took the opportunity to sneer: "Lord Ye, you were right before. You are indeed shallow in your knowledge and have a good sense of self-awareness."

"If you ask me, the situation in the North is both complicated and simple. As long as we can fight and win against the Jin invaders, all those heroes, like Liu Dalang from Shandong, are nothing but clay chickens and earthen dogs."

"The key is the first few battles."

"But you've lingered in the Huai River region for so long, not even daring to take the first step. You're really too cautious."

"Grand Commandant Wu Lin of Guanzhong has already captured Fengxiang Prefecture; next up is Guanzhong..."

Zhang Jun was speaking eloquently when he heard a voice behind him.

"Master Zhang, Master Zhang..."

Yu Yunwen's voice was somewhat sore: "Don't say anymore, Master Ye is already..."

Zhang Jun hurriedly turned around, only to see that Ye Yiwen had already closed his eyes and was no longer breathing.

On February 10th of the second year of the Longxing era, just as the Song Dynasty's Northern Expedition was about to begin in full swing, Ye Yiwen fell seriously ill and died at the age of sixty-seven.

Ye Yiwen's death was like an autumn leaf falling lightly in the wind, and the series of consequences it caused were only fully summarized by later historians.

The two high-ranking Song officials present felt a sense of impending doom, and even Zhang Jun, who had just been reprimanding them, felt a chill run down his spine.

Although he had long desired the position of Pacification Commissioner of Jianghuai, Zhang Jun did not feel complacent at this great responsibility; instead, he felt inexplicably apprehensive.

However, Zhang Jun had seen his share of storms, and he quickly calmed down. He raised the hemp cloth in his hand and said, "Lord Ye is gone. This is His Majesty's decree. I will temporarily serve as the Pacification Commissioner of Jianghuai. Does Lord Yu accept this or not?"

Yu Yunwen did not accept the imperial edict, but coldly said: "Does it contain the drafting of the edict by the scribe? Does it contain the scribe of the supervising secretary? Does it contain the countersignature of the prime minister? If not, I dare not obey the order."

Zhang Jun naturally knew that what he had in his hand was just a handwritten edict from Zhao Shen, without any formal procedure, so it was normal for Yu Yunwen to reject it on the spot.

"I cannot refute what you say, Prime Minister Yu. Since you want a proper imperial decree, then I will go and request one!"

(End of this chapter)