kingnovel Chapter 374 Li Gang Becomes Prime Minister
Chapter 374 Li Gang Becomes Prime Minister
Lin Ke couldn't help but laugh when she saw the comments!
Zhao Gou's fundamental policy of punishing loyal ministers and appointing treacherous officials was already showing signs of that at that time!
That's just Zhao Gou's nature!
Lin Ke then continued, "And this incident also had a negative impact."
"The situation had improved; goods were flowing freely, and people's lives were back on track."
"However, the Central Plains, now out of control, have returned to the state of the late period, with bandits rampant and the people suffering."
"It is obvious that without Li Gang, the court has been turned into a mess by Wang Boyan and Huang Qianshan."
"At the time, it was obvious to anyone with eyes to see that the newly restored government would, in less than a year, revert to its original state of being riddled with problems!"
"Is this what those courtiers wanted to see???"
"What's utterly ridiculous is that the vast Southern Song court couldn't tolerate loyal ministers and generals, but only treacherous villains like Wang Boyan!!"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Kuangyin, Zhao Xu, and Zhao Zhen from another timeline decided to stay in Bengbu!
They all wanted nothing more than to chop someone up on the spot!
They said that Emperor Huizong's children were all terrible, how could they be so shameless as to pass on their lineage like this!?
Can't he tell if he's good or bad, loyal or treacherous? What is he trying to do?!
Before they could calm down, Lin Ke said, "Zhao Gou, as the supreme leader, was completely unaware of this situation in the Song court. No, it should be said that..."
Zhao Gou might not be unaware of the situation in various places, but he only cared about himself, indulging in the pleasures of the inner palace.
"They'd rather waste their energy on these trivial matters than pretend to do something good!"
"Later on, this guy even went to Yangzhou for sightseeing, showing no signs of his former youth. He even told Emperor Qinzong not to interfere with him and to oppose the Jurchens."
"Moreover, even if he doesn't consider others, he should think about when the Jurchens will start their operations. After suffering so many losses, they should have learned their lesson by now!"
"How can a person repeatedly suffer losses at the hands of the same person?!"
Everyone in the Song Dynasty era: This last sentence is a bit heartbreaking...
Emperor Zhu Zhanji of the Ming Dynasty: This doesn't look like a newly built court; it seems more like a sign of a country's impending doom!
Li Erfeng of the Tang Dynasty: It is different from others because the Eastern Han Dynasty was newly established, while the Song Dynasty was a continuation of what followed!
Cheng Yaojin of the Tang Dynasty: So one after another they're all rotten!
A bystander in the Ming Dynasty commented: "All of Emperor Huizong's children are equally terrible, and they are all pretty much the same in handling political affairs!"
An official from the Han Dynasty: It seems that Li Gang is really useful; there's a huge difference between having him and not having him!
……
"Emperor Gaozong of Song, Zhao Gou, ascended the throne in May, while the Jurchen invasions always occurred in autumn and winter. At this time, Zhao Gou was already indulging in pleasure and was completely unaware of the Jurchens' ambitions."
"That's right, the Jurchens are coming to see their little brother—the Song Dynasty—again. I just wonder how the Song court will react this time!"
"As mentioned earlier, the Southern Song Dynasty controlled half of the country. After the Jingkang Incident, the Song Dynasty's territory shrank to the south of the Yellow River, but in fact, the Song court had the possibility of successfully launching a northern expedition."
"The following story is about Zong Ze. He was still concerned about crossing the river before he died, and that's why."
"After Li Gang left office, Zhao Gou moved the palace to Yangzhou. Zong Ze wrote to the emperor many times about this, hoping that Zhao Gou would take the affairs of the country as his own responsibility."
"After all, there were still places in the Central Plains that were resisting foreign enemies at that time. Zhao Gou, as the emperor, was actually indulging in drinking and merrymaking all day long. He was even more incompetent than a tyrant!"
Zhao Gou's absurd behavior infuriated people in other timelines. With soldiers and civilians resisting him, how could he have the audacity to indulge in wine and women?!
Are the descendants of the Zhao family truly incapable of standing up, destined to end up like Emperors Huizong and Qinzong, only to regret it too late?
His father, his brother, and a whole bunch of relatives have been arrested. The country has already lost half its territory. Can't they remember this humiliation?!
No matter how resentful other timelines may be, they cannot stop Zhao Gou's desire to roam.
In the live stream, Lin Ke continued, "Now all we can do is sigh, Zhao Gou truly lived up to his reputation as the son of Zhao Ji and the brother of Zhao Huan."
"Despite the Jurchen invasion, they remained obstinate and continued their southward flight."
"At that time, the common people's homes were destroyed by the Jurchen invasion."
"As a result, the desire to resist the Jin grew stronger, and people spontaneously organized volunteer armies, especially in the northern regions that were attacked by the Jin people, where the number of volunteer armies reached tens of thousands."
"Zong Ze's advice to Emperor Gaozong was in vain, but he did not give up. While making arrangements to resist the Jin, he contacted these righteous armies to fight against the Jin together."
"However, the Song court is in political turmoil, and the Jin state is also experiencing internal disagreements."
"The debate over whether to fight Wanyan Zongwang of the Song court and Wanyan Zonghan (also known as Nianhan) or not to fight them for the time being continues."
"However, Wanyan Zongwang, a proponent of Sinicization, soon contracted a serious illness and died (around May 1127 AD)."
"No one objected. The entire Jin state hated the Song court to the core and was unanimously determined to beat this little brother up!"
"So around November of the first year of Jianyan, the Jin army split into three routes and invaded southward again."
With things having developed to this point, what else could Zhao Kuangyin from another timeline not understand!
Zhao Gou is exactly the same as the previous two!
Hoping he would save the Song Dynasty is less desirable than hoping Zhu Yuanzhang would be born sooner!
Are you expecting me, your ancestor, to jump out of my coffin and keep carrying the Song Dynasty on?!
Zhao Kuangyin: To be an ancestor to this extent, there's really no one else like him!
……
Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty
Zhu Yuanzhang snorted coldly, then turned to Empress Ma and said, "If we had descendants like this, they would jump out of their coffins and never rest in peace!"
Empress Ma rolled her eyes at him: "How could we have such descendants? How could someone who is praised by later generations as wise and upright be as spineless as Emperors Huizong and Qinzong?!"
Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang laughed heartily, then declared with pride, "Our Great Ming Dynasty doesn't engage in marriage alliances, pay tribute, acknowledge vassalage, or cede territory. Even the later Qing Dynasty wasn't as powerful as us!!"
Empress Ma smiled but did not speak.
……
During the reign of Emperor Zhezong of the Song Dynasty
Zhao Xu's face was ashen, his eyes blazing with anger, and the anger in his chest surged wildly!
He realized that either Lin Ke should stop talking about Song Dynasty history, or he would be driven to his death by Emperor Huizong and his ilk sooner or later!
Zhao Ji, trembling with fear, thought: Why are you angry again! I wasn't included in this part!
Immediately afterwards, Zhao Xu's fists cracked as he grabbed Zhao Ji and started beating him, yelling: "Your son only cares about enjoying himself! You've made your son perform shamanistic rituals!"
Zhao Ji, who was being brutally beaten, was inwardly groaning. Everyone says that raising sons is for old age security, but his two sons were really letting him down!
Why should he, as the father, have to pay for the mess they made?!
If those two weren't still nowhere to be seen, he would definitely go back and beat those two "ancestors" up!
……
In the live broadcast room at this time.
Lin Ke couldn't help but shake his head and sigh. After a moment, he continued, "The Jin army advanced with unstoppable momentum. In February of the second year of Jianyan, places such as Luoyang and Zhengzhou were successively captured."
"At the same time, Wanyan Loushi, appointed by Zonghan, attacked Shaanxi and successively captured Tongzhou, Fengxiang, and other places."
"News of the Jurchen invasion quickly spread throughout the Central Plains, especially the Guanzhong and Shaanxi regions that were attacked. Some of them surrendered upon hearing the news."
"Wanyan Loushi had a smooth journey without encountering any obstacles. Perhaps it was because Emperors Huizong and Qinzong had already been captured by them and they underestimated the Song court. At that time, he was somewhat arrogant."
"As the saying goes, when nothing unexpected happens, something unexpected does happen. When Wanyan Loushi marched to Gongzhou, he did not take much precaution against the Song army and instead advanced recklessly."
"Zhang Shen, the deputy transport commissioner of Shaanxi, had already received word of this and, before Wanyan Loushi arrived, sent several hundred elite cavalry under Liu Weifu to set up an ambush at Xindian."
"Who would have thought that Wanyan Loushi was completely unprepared? This was undoubtedly a golden opportunity for the Song army."
"This time, nothing unexpected happened; the Jin army entered the Song army's ambush without any knowledge of it."
"When Liu Weifu saw the Jurchens enter the encirclement, he thought to himself: The opportunity for revenge has arrived. In the blink of an eye, he immediately led his men to launch a fierce offensive."
"Amidst the fierce battle, Liu Weifu charged in, wielding a horse lance (an ancient cold weapon, a weapon used by heavy cavalry)."
"They assassinated the Jin commander-in-chief on the spot, and the rest of the Jin army fled in disarray! Seeing the unfavorable situation, Lou Shi dared not advance any further!"
Emperor Shenzong of Song, Zhao Xu: A rare victory for the Song court!
Zhu Baba of the Ming Dynasty: Alas, so when fighting, never get cocky. These are lessons learned through blood and sweat!
Li Erfeng of the Tang Dynasty: As it turns out, complacency leads to a loss of half the battle!
Liu Zhuzhu: I just don't know if this is temporary or will last forever. Song Ting, sigh, it's exhausting to even think about it!
Emperor Zhao Kuangyin of the Song Dynasty (sighs): Even as an ancestor, I'm embarrassed to say this thing is good!
……