Chapter 359: Leader
Zhao Xing saw Hu Zhongyan retreat, then he retracted his gaze and said, "Grand Minister, please go to Jiangzhou on my behalf to appease the people. I will let Ningyuan Marquis lead the troops and go with you to quell the rebellion."
"Your Majesty, Prime Minister Shen is in Jiangzhou, so there is no need to send me there." Han Zhang said.
Zhao Xing was silent for a while and said, "What you said makes sense, Grand Minister. In this case, let Grand Minister Shen be responsible for pacifying the people."
The reason why he wanted to send Han Zhang was to show his importance.
Although Prime Minister Shen is enough to represent the attitude of the court, he also has some responsibility in this matter.
However, among the ministers in the court now, Minister Yu is still in the north checking the land, and Minister Shen is in Jiangzhou.
If Han Zhang leaves again, only Hu Zhongyan and Li Xianggong will be left, which is indeed a bit inappropriate.
Moreover, Mr. Shen should also give him a chance to redeem himself with meritorious service.
Otherwise, when he comes back, the position will be unstable.
Zhao Xing does not have a suitable successor now, so it is better for Prime Minister Shen to continue in this position.
After explaining the troop deployment matters, Zhao Xing asked Han Zhang and others to withdraw.
"Your Majesty, Marquis Ningyuan is already waiting in the side hall." Sanshui reported.
"Spread it." Zhao Xing ordered.
"Yes!"
Sanshui responded and walked out, and soon led Gu Yankai in.
"Your Majesty, I am Gu Yankai, paying my respects to you!" Gu Yankai saluted.
Zhao Xing hadn't seen Gu Yankai for a long time.
Ever since Xiao Qin was punished and sent to the Ministry of Punishment, Gu Yankai resigned from his post due to poor health.
Since then, Zhao Xing never saw him again.
At this time, Gu Yan had some white hair on his head and his overall spirit was very poor.
He looks as if he has aged by ten years.
"No need to be polite." Zhao Xing waved his hand and said, "There is a rebellion in Jiangzhou. I intend to let Gu Aiqing lead the troops to suppress the rebellion. I wonder if Gu Aiqing can still put on armor?"
Gu Yankai smiled bitterly upon hearing this and said, "Your Majesty, I have had an old illness since my early years. Now I can't even ride a horse. I am afraid I can no longer serve Your Majesty. Please forgive me."
"No problem!" Zhao Xing said, "Gu Aiqing's old illness was also left for the Song Dynasty. Sanshui, notify Doctor Wu to treat Gu Aiqing. The necessary medicines will be provided by the palace."
"Yes!" Sanshui replied.
"Thank you very much, Your Majesty, for your grace!" Gu Yankai bowed.
"My dear Gu, there is no need to do this. You have made many contributions to the Song Dynasty. This is what I should do. My dear, you must take good care of your health." Zhao Xing said.
Gu Yankai does have big problems in how he treats Gu Tingye and his mother.
But that was other people's private affairs, and Zhao Xing didn't want to get involved.
However, he taught himself martial arts for many years, and guarded the northwest for many years in his early years, so he can be considered to have made great contributions.
From this point of view, Zhao Xing still hopes that he can take good care of his health.
After chatting with Gu Yan for a while, Zhao Xing let him go back.
Originally, he wanted Gu Yankai to lead the troops to Jiangzhou to quell the rebellion, but now he needs to reconsider the candidate.
It’s not that there is no one available, but suppressing the rebellion is a good opportunity to gain merit, and he still wants to give this opportunity to someone he can trust.
Zhao Xing thought for a long time and asked Sanshui to summon Cao Min, the Duke of Wei.
Although Cao Min has always been in charge of the Dianqian Division, he comes from a prominent family and is also proficient in military strategies, so he should have no problem suppressing the rebellion.
At this time, Cao Min was on duty in the palace. He was summoned and rushed over quickly.
"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you!" Cao Min bowed.
"Uncle, there's no need to be so polite." Zhao Xing waved his hand and said with a smile, "Come on, please take a seat!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
After the eunuchs came to the stool, Zhao Xing told Cao Min the news of the civil unrest in Jiangzhou, and then said: "I want the Duke of Wei to lead the troops to Jiangzhou to quell the rebellion. Is the Duke of Wei willing?" "If your majesty orders me, I will obey your orders. It's just that I have a leg disease, which often relapses in recent years as I get older. I originally wanted to resign and cultivate myself recently. I am afraid of disappointing your majesty's trust. Your majesty should choose another virtuous person." Cao Min bowed.
Ever since Zhao Xing ascended the throne, Cao Min has been planning to resign.
Firstly, his identity is sensitive, and secondly, he wants to make way for his children.
However, Zhao Xing had just ascended the throne, and if he resigned immediately, it would inevitably cause people to think too much.
Now it’s almost time. After returning from Luoyang, he planned to resign.
However, he did not expect that Zhao Xing would ask him to lead troops to quell the rebellion. After hesitating for a while, Cao Min still refused.
Zhao Xing frowned slightly when he heard this, he knew a little about Cao Min's thoughts.
But there is no one available now, and he hopes that Cao Min can resign after suppressing the rebellion.
It’s not that the Song Dynasty is so short of military generals.
There were quite a few military generals in the Western Suburbs Camp, but the Song Dynasty had not fought a war for many years, and Zhao Xing did not understand their abilities.
The rebellion must be suppressed quickly. Once the commander suffers a defeat, it will be a huge blow to the prestige of the imperial court.
Just as Zhao Xing was about to speak to persuade him, Cao Min bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I have a suitable candidate."
"Oh?" Zhao Xing asked, "Who is the person that uncle wants to recommend?"
"Song Chaozhong, the commander-in-chief of the Shen Ce Army!" Cao Min said, "He is from a military family and is proficient in military tactics. If he leads the troops to suppress the rebellion, the rebellion will surely be quelled quickly."
When Zhao Xing heard this, information about the Song Dynasty appeared in his mind.
In addition to the nobles, the Song Dynasty also had generals.
The honors of a lord are divided into military honors and civil honors. The military honors are regarded as military families, but families are not equal to military honors.
The so-called generals are actually those military generals who did not receive titles or rewards during the founding period of the country.
Although there are many things that are criticized about the Song Dynasty, it must be said that it treated royal family members and nobles better than any other dynasty.
They were very stingy in conferring titles, so although the number of nobles in the Song Dynasty seemed quite large, it was actually very rare compared to other dynasties.
Although those generals did not receive titles, they were still given great preferential treatment.
The descendants of the family can receive titles just like the noble families.
In fact, among the generals of the Song Dynasty today, those above the fifth rank are almost all from noble families or military families, and there are very few children from poor families who have been promoted based on their merits.
This is also the reason why Zhao Xing does not trust him.
Zhao Xing was not worried that they would rebel, but that he did not trust their abilities.
This faction belonged to the Ningyuan Marquisate during the Song Dynasty.
In the original drama, Gu Tingye went to the western suburbs camp to mobilize troops with the military order and the blood edict, and it was this person who first agreed to send troops.
Gu Tingyu said that it was not an exaggeration at all when he said that the reason why Gu Tingye was able to mobilize troops from the western suburbs camp so quickly was mainly due to the reputation of the Gu family.
The situation in Bian Jing was unclear at that time, although Gu Tingye had the military token and the blood edict.
But no one knows whether Prince Yan has received the imperial edict.
Once Prince Yan forces the emperor to write an edict of succession, the outcome will be decided.
The blood edict was not written with a pen, and the handwriting was somewhat different from that written with a brush, so it could not be regarded as a real edict.
Therefore, agreeing to send troops also involves great risks.
However, the reason why the Song Dynasty sent troops was not entirely for the sake of the Gu family's face, but also definitely because of his handwriting.
From this perspective, the Song Dynasty still had some capabilities.
Moreover, Zhao Zongquan was able to quell the rebellion quickly, and it was also under the command of the Song Dynasty.
Although the rebels in the city were in a panic at the time, the fact that the rebellion was put down so quickly shows that the command ability of the Song Dynasty was not bad, which was enough to quell the civil unrest.
What satisfied Zhao Xing was that Cao Min did not recommend any generals from the Cao family faction.
Zhao Xing pondered for a while and said, "Since my uncle recommended this person, it means that this person must have outstanding qualities. Let him lead the army."
(End of this chapter)