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

Chapter 256 The Four Generals Imprisoned and the Northern Expedition Resumed!
[Your Excellency, have you gone mad?!]

When your false accusation spread throughout the imperial court, even your most loyal henchmen couldn't help but look at you in shock!

[Nothing more than the fact that the person you falsely accused is Han Shizhong, a renowned general of the Song Dynasty who was on par with Yue Fei during the restoration of the Song Dynasty!]

Like Yue Fei, who was stationed in Xiangyang, Han Shizhong also stationed troops in the Huai River region for many years... With Xiangyang and the Huai River as the main forces, and many veteran generals of the Song Dynasty as assistants, these generals together formed the entire defensive line of the northern border of the Song Dynasty.

Because of their command of a large army and their high status, they remained an important political force even though they were not usually present in the Lin'an court.

[These are high-ranking officials whom even the emperor dares not directly convict! But you, having just been appointed "Censor-in-Chief" thanks to the emperor's favor, immediately turned your attention to these high-ranking officials...]

Even though your henchmen know you've always been audacious because of your imperial favor, this direct blow to Han Shizhong is still terrifying!

[This is no joke. If Han Shizhong retaliates in anger, even with government guarantees, you'll definitely be in deep trouble... So everyone is worried: "Director, you're going too far!"]

"Extreme? Ha!"

[Faced with the worried looks on everyone's faces, you waved your hand dismissively: "Are we showing loyalty to the government? What's with the talk of extremes?"]

"Since the Emperor has decided that we should purge the pro-peace faction, how can we betray his trust for the sake of our personal safety?"

In short, you spoke at length about "loyalty" to everyone, elevating your wanton attacks on the pro-peace faction to the level of "serving the master faithfully" and "sharing the ruler's burdens"!

You even left behind a rather meaningful remark...

"Loyalty that isn't absolute is absolute disloyalty!"

Everyone was immediately taken aback upon hearing this!

There are no fools here, everyone's shrewd! So everyone understood your blatant threat: the emperor is testing everyone's loyalty!

Having embarked on this path of subservience to the emperor, there's no turning back...

The emperor is currently suppressing the pro-peace veterans while supporting his own ruthless "imperial faction," his intentions are crystal clear: he intends to use everyone as sacrificial offerings!

Therefore, even though everyone realized that this trend was not right, they could only grit their teeth and continue to bite people as ordered, becoming absolute loyal dogs to the emperor. Although they would most likely be righteously cut off by the emperor afterward, at least they could live now... and not only live, but also wield power like an imperial edict, enjoying the taste of being a treacherous official with great authority!

What else is there to say?

They understood your meaning and silently accepted their fate, instead turning to writing memorials to fabricate charges against Han Shizhong.

Soon, Han Shizhong's image in the memorials became like this: secretly raising three thousand elite soldiers, always keeping ten thousand powerful crossbows at hand, constantly holding banquets in the army, forcibly seizing people's wealth and women, and recklessly criticizing the emperor's policies...

【…】

In the 218th year of the Shaoxing reign, you and your officials lavishly used the privilege of "reporting matters based on hearsay" to viciously slander Han Shizhong and related military and political figures. The scale of this attack was truly appalling!

Your slanderous remarks, riddled with errors, made the officials roll their eyes: Damn it! They're not even going to pretend anymore!

Although everyone knows you're a loyal dog deliberately groomed by the emperor, your sole purpose being to purge dissenting voices from the court and create a one-man show where only the emperor's voice of war is heard... your absurd fabricated charges still make everyone want to complain.

Compared to you, even Lai Junchen of the Tang Dynasty is utterly insignificant. Even if he spent his entire life writing "The Art of Fabricating Charges," he still had to consider logic when concocting charges against people. After all, charges that are too illogical are unlikely to convince the emperor... But you, when concocting charges against people, don't need to consider logic at all; you can write whatever you want!

"Han Shizhong was corrupt and embezzled, once misappropriating 30,000 jin of coal for his own personal enjoyment! He was extremely extravagant!"

"Han Shizhong was a heavy drinker; he once stole leftover imperial wine after a grand banquet at the palace and took it home to drink. He was utterly depraved!"

"Han Shizhong was extremely fond of pleasure. I heard that there were always two boxes of sugar on his bed, one for brown sugar and one for white sugar... He would also eat a white steamed bun before going to bed, and if he wanted white sugar, he would dip it in white sugar, and if he wanted brown sugar, he would dip it in brown sugar!"

"In short, Han Shizhong embezzled a total of 23,662 taels of gold... The evidence of his crimes is irrefutable!"

Zhao Gou: ...

[Officials: ...]

[In the imperial court, Zhao Gou held the false accusations presented by these officials, speechless for a long time…] [Finally, He had to admit: No wonder you're such a popular celebrity; with this level of science fiction writing, you should be ranked first among the Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties!]

[Of course, it's all nonsense, but you were sent by Him to frame Han Shizhong, so although He also wanted to complain, He ultimately put on a "furious" look...]

Thus, the classic thirteen imperial edicts were issued and sent to the garrison in Lianghuai. Soon after, a helpless Han Shizhong was escorted back to Lin'an!

For some reason, faced with the joint accusations from the emperor and your censors, Han Shizhong not only did not argue his case, but instead lowered his head and confessed to all the charges...

Since he cooperated so readily, Zhao Gou didn't waste any more words and directly imprisoned him, placing him in the imperial prison to keep Yue Fei company!

And so, the two brothers in misfortune were reunited...

[However, before Han Shizhong was imprisoned, he turned his helpless gaze to you... He first properly introduced you to this newly promoted "standard-bearer of the pro-war faction," "leader of the imperial party," and "treacherous sycophant," and then asked you a question in a strange tone.]

Is it worth it?

His words seemed disjointed, yet you felt you understood them... You nodded matter-of-factly: "Serving one's master faithfully is certainly worthwhile!"

Upon hearing this, the old general sighed deeply and said nothing more...

【…】

In the 218th year of the Shaoxing era, veteran general Han Shizhong was impeached by the newly appointed Censor-in-Chief Zhou Hui. After being falsely accused, General Han was forced to imprisoned, joining Yue Fei in the imperial prison!

[Through this incident, you, already a favorite of the emperor, have become famous overnight!]

Now everyone in the court and among the people knew: a treacherous minister, whose name contained the same character "Hui" as Qin Hui, had seized power. He deceived his superiors, abused his authority, and relentlessly persecuted the pillars of the court… He was truly a modern-day Lai Junchen! A modern-day Qin Hui!

[And so your negative reputation began to grow...]

Such a negative reputation is naturally detrimental to an official's career. If left to fester, you will eventually be discarded by the emperor after he has squeezed out all your remaining value, leaving you disgraced and infamous for eternity!

But you paid no attention to this, only concerned with catering to the emperor's needs, and continued to launch wicked accusations against the pro-peace officials...

That year, following Yue Fei and Han Xin, Liu Guangshi, also hailed as one of the "Four Generals of the Restoration," also fell victim to your wickedness. After you fabricated a series of sci-fi charges against him, he was imprisoned by the emperor!

The following year, the last of the "Four Generals of the Restoration," Zhang Jun, also met his end. He was captured from the border army by you two, the emperor and your minister, and imprisoned in the imperial jail!

[From this point on, all four generals of the "Restoration Army" were imprisoned, and the pro-peace faction suffered an unprecedented and heavy blow, utterly defeated by the pro-war faction...]

Thus, a "one-man show" dominated by "God Zhao Gou" was established in a seemingly legitimate manner!

[Taking advantage of this opportunity, "Divine Zhao Gou" (Zhao Gou) expedited the replacement of four old generals from the million-strong garrison in the northern frontier, supporting newcomers eager to make a name for themselves. At the same time, he ordered you to leverage the influence of internet celebrities, writing various short articles among the public to tout the benefits of the Northern Expedition to the Central Plains!]

Under these two combined effects, the Song Dynasty, which had been operating smoothly for over two hundred years, quickly became swept up in a wave of warlike enthusiasm... From the army to the common people, from the imperial court to the local governments, everywhere was filled with the desire to achieve great deeds and establish merit.

[After a while, this trend finally developed to the extent that Zhao Gou had anticipated...]

[Taking advantage of this opportunity, Zhao Gou will no longer put on an act!]

In the 220th year of the Shaoxing era, Emperor Zhao waved his hand and announced the resumption of the Northern Expedition!

[And this time it's no longer a small-scale campaign like Yue Fei's, but a full-scale northern expedition from the three defense lines of the Yangtze, Han, and Huai rivers, with a total of over a million troops deployed!]

[A million-strong army marched north to conquer the Central Plains; such a grand military expedition is unprecedented in recent history!]

Just like Emperor Yang of Sui's northern expedition against Goguryeo, its outcome was likely similar...

……

(End of this chapter)