Simulates history, but Chongzhen is the Divine Emperor at the beginning

Chapter 242 A Rising Star of the Peace Faction!

In short, you fully utilized the tactics of piggybacking on others' fame and piggybacking on the popularity of Yue Fei, a top star of the Song Dynasty. To boost your own reputation, you even packaged yourself as Yue Fei's disciple!

[Anyway, Yue Fei is already imprisoned in the imperial prison, so he's unlikely to come forward to refute the rumors. You're definitely going to get this attention...]

[However, you're not just riding on Yue Fei's fame for nothing. While you're using Yue Fei's reputation, what you're doing now and will do in the future is exactly what Yue Fei, this pro-peace official, wanted to do!]

He advocates peace, so you should too!

To this end, you first created a target for yourself as an "anonymous, rebellious pro-war faction," using this target to publish various rebellious statements supporting Zhao Gou's Northern Expedition. As long as your statements are rebellious enough, you can damage the public's perception of the "pro-war faction"!

Such statements include, but are not limited to, "The true successor to the Han Dynasty was in the Southern Song Dynasty," "The people of the Central Plains were all barbarians," "The Sui and Tang Dynasties were inhabited by non-Han peoples," and "The people of the Jin Dynasty were all brainless," and "The people of the Song Dynasty were highly intelligent!"

In short, you, using this extraordinary persona, went to great lengths to portray the Song Dynasty as stronger than the Jin Dynasty, arguing from various aspects such as bloodline, culture, wisdom, institutional advancement, and the greatness of the emperor… ultimately concluding that the Song Dynasty was utterly defeated!

Therefore, as long as we launch a northern expedition, the Jin dynasty will be swiftly and decisively destroyed by the valiant elite troops of the Song dynasty. And once the Jin dynasty is defeated, everyone will have a bright future!

Believe that under the leadership of the great Emperor Zhao, the Song Dynasty, led by the pro-war faction, will continue to win until it is completely defeated...

[Because the pro-war faction under Emperor Zhao was acting in an absolutely righteous manner, the pro-peace faction in the court were all treacherous officials against the Song Dynasty who had accepted 500,000 taels of gold from the Jin people. That's why they were frantically trying to sabotage Emperor Zhao, fearing that he would humiliate their Jin father!]

Now, the two biggest traitors among these corrupt officials have revealed themselves: one is Yue Fei! The other is Han Shizhong!

If the Emperor brings all these traitors to justice, the restoration of the Song Dynasty will be just around the corner!

[These are the outrageous statements you deliberately made...]

[And after these outrageous statements completely ruined the reputation of the pro-war faction among the general public, you then used the righteous title of "disciple of Yue Fei" to openly and forcefully refute these outrageous statements!]

[From his writing to his thoughts, you have thoroughly criticized and condemned him, trampling him underfoot a thousand times.]

While criticizing the "anti-war advocates," you will naturally expand the scope of your attack, from criticizing the "anti-war advocates" themselves to attacking the political propositions of the pro-war faction!

Who was the only advocate of war in the Song Dynasty? Clearly, it was "Divine Zhao Gou" (Zhao Gou).

So your final target is the "divine Zhao Gou" in the Lin'an court... but you can't directly criticize the emperor, so you can only use this as a veiled attack.

Even though you've been so careful, criticizing the emperor is still far too risky. If you, as an ordinary mid-level officer, were to make such pro-peace statements, the enraged "God Zhao Gou" might just make you disappear from the face of the earth!

[Therefore, at this point, the title of "disciple of Yue Fei" becomes valuable...]

[Judging from the fact that "Divine Zhao Gou" did not kill Yue Fei, this Zhao emperor was probably not truly insane. Therefore, as long as you wear the skin of "Yue Fei's disciple," he probably won't just make you disappear from the face of the earth. At most, he will put some political pressure on you or demote you back to an ordinary citizen.]

[As long as you don't die, this persecution originating from the emperor will not only not be a bad thing, but it will become your "medal of honor"... When the pro-peace faction in the court once again prevails over the pro-war faction, you, bearing this "medal of honor," will naturally be exonerated and given an important position by the pro-peace faction in power!]

This is the wisdom of choosing sides...

In short, this whole incident is actually a political stunt orchestrated by you, playing two roles, directing and acting in your own scheme, and making your own targets for attack!

[You've really sacrificed a lot of brain cells in your pursuit of progress...]

As for whether this political grandstanding will be effective, and how effective it will be, we can only wait patiently to find out.

"Let the bullets fly for a while..."

【…】

[So in the days that followed, you continued to play two roles: one day you used the power of the Western Paradise to conceal your identity and make defiant pro-war statements, and the next day you, under the guise of "Yue Fei's disciple," vehemently criticized your own defiant statements from the previous day!]

That was like a double-edged sword! That was like jumping back and forth!

Over time, both of your identities became well-known in Xiangyang...

At first, everyone was surprised by your claim of being a "disciple of Yue Fei," since no one had ever heard of Marshal Yue Fei taking on any disciples, and now a "disciple of Yue Fei" had suddenly appeared... It's hard not to be surprised, and with surprise comes skepticism!

[You claim to be Marshal Yue's disciple, then produce the proof!]

[Evidence? You smiled inwardly...]

[Then you showed off your expert-level spear skills in front of everyone. Watching your spear move so nimbly and gracefully like a dragon, everyone was amazed and subconsciously believed you to be quite right... After all, Marshal Yue's spear skills were widely known, and since you were so skilled, it was highly likely that you had received careful training from Marshal Yue.]

[However, marksmanship alone cannot be used as conclusive evidence, so you then invoked your title as a "top lecturer on loving the Song Dynasty," claiming that your "The Story of Yue Fei" is an adaptation of Yue Fei's autobiographical account, such as the four characters "Serve the country with utmost loyalty" on his back, which he personally told you... If you weren't his disciple, how would you know such personal details about him?]

[Furthermore, how could such adaptations based on Marshal Yue Fei be legally written and circulated without his consent?]

See, even Yue Fei didn't say anything...

[In this way, you've presented evidence from both the literary and physical perspectives. Even if others still have some doubts, they won't question you to your face anymore.]

[And in this way, your title of "disciple of Yue Fei" is basically confirmed, as long as Yue Fei doesn't escape from prison to refute the rumors...]

[And so, your fame grew and spread far and wide!]

From Xiangyang to the Huai River and then to Jiangnan, your reputation spread rapidly and gained momentum, attracting the attention of the military, the common people, and the scholar-official class!

[Regardless of social status, everyone is talking about the articles and deeds of "Yue Fei's disciple" criticizing the pro-war faction's ideology. People are extremely curious about you, this "Cheng Yaojin" who suddenly appeared out of nowhere... Some are praising you, some are surprised, some are sympathetic... Of course, there are also those who question and disdain you, but these are not the mainstream, so they are not worth mentioning.]

When these events reached the imperial court, and even the ears of "Divine Zhao Gou," they enraged Him beyond measure!

As a shrewd and politically astute emperor, He naturally understood your veiled criticism… While ostensibly criticizing the rebellious and pro-war ideology of those who defy Heaven, He was in reality targeting Him, the greatest advocate of war in the land!

[Looking at your sharp articles criticizing the pro-war faction's ideology, "God Zhao Gou" trembled with anger, and your glaring name as "Yue Fei's disciple" only fueled his rage...]

[What a Yue Fei! Not only did he defy the imperial decree, but he also took on a disciple who was specifically there to challenge me! After a few articles, he completely discredited me, the advocate of war, making me a nobody...]

[So He immediately found Yue Fei in the imperial prison and questioned him about why he had another disciple criticizing the pro-war faction!]

Yue Fei: ...

After a brainstorming session, Yue Fei, seemingly enlightened, couldn't help but smile helplessly... and then he earnestly acknowledged you as his disciple!

【Kid, I really have no objection!】

【…】

From that moment on, you truly became a genuine "disciple of Yue Fei"!

[Thus, you successfully entered the highest political arena of the Southern Song Dynasty, obtaining the minimum qualification to perform on that stage...]

[As a "disciple of Yue Fei"! As a "rising star of the pro-peace faction!"]

……

(End of this chapter)