Prime Minister

Chapter 952 A minister is in Hebei

In the Chongzheng Hall.

Wang Anshi, Wu Chong, Yuan Jiang, Wang Gui, Deng Wan and others were all discussing in front of the emperor.

The official said: "Wang Anshi asked Zhang Yue to appoint him, and it was agreed that he would be appointed as the Xuanfu envoy to Hedong and Hebei. I agree with this."

During the Qingli period, during the Song-Xia war, Fan Zhongyan and Wen Yanbo were involved in political affairs, Du Yan was the privy envoy, Han Qi, and Fu Bi were the deputy privy envoys respectively.

In addition, Guo Kui served as the Xuanfu envoy as a military general and a member of the Privy Council, as well as Di Qing and others.

Yuan Jiang said: "Your Majesty, in the past, Fan Zhongyan participated in politics and served as the Xuanfu envoy of Shaanxi Road and Hebei Road. The rest of the governors were just the Xuanfu envoy of the First Road. In the third year of Xining, Han Jiang served as the Zhongshu. As a two-pronged pacification envoy, I don’t know what Zhang Yue’s virtues and abilities are, and he can be ranked alongside Fan Zhongyan and Han Jiang.”

Wu Chong glanced at Yuan Jiang.

Wang Gui on the side said: "Yes, you can't add more chapters to make things smooth for Zhongshu."

Everyone can tell that what Wang Gui said is ironic. This sentence can be understood as simply adding more chapters to make things smoother for Zhongshu.

Yuan Jiang's expression changed when he heard this. He regarded himself as the second person in Wang Anshi's reform. How could he tolerate Zhang Yue's rise to a high position? It was himself.

Yuan Jiang said: "It is true that Zhongshu Pingzhangshi is the prime minister and cannot be played with."

Deng Wan, the censor Zhongcheng, said: "It would be better if this were not the case. The edict would not give Zhang Yue the right to 'act expediently'."

Wu Chong looked at Deng Wan and thought to himself, what a thief.

Generally, the edicts of Jiaxuanfu envoys will have the words "acting cheaply" or "accepting the decree", which means that Zhang Yue handles matters on behalf of the emperor, and can kill first and then report without notification.

With this sentence, the Xuanfu envoy is the imperial envoy. Otherwise, which local officials or generals will obey you?

Deng Wan actually petitioned to remove Zhang Yue's "expediency" power. Wu Chong petitioned: "Your Majesty, how can such an arrangement be used to rectify the troops in Hebei and Hedong and prepare for the Khitan invasion? If the Khitan knew this, it would be easy." My envoy."

Deng Wan said calmly: "Although he does not have the right to act expediently, the Xuanfu envoy still has the qualifications to appoint his own staff and promote generals."

Wu Chong sneered, what did Deng Wan say? Xuan Fu was only given half the power to depose Zhi.

Wu Chong said: "Your Majesty, the Xuanfu envoy still has the responsibilities of purchasing military rations, forging weapons, raising military pay, inspecting troops and horses, and repairing the city. Of course, the most important thing is to negotiate with the Liao Dynasty and plan the territory. But if there is no way to do it cheaply, If you have power, there is no need to attach importance to it.”

All in all, the Xuanfu Envoy has a lot to do, but if he doesn't add the words "acting cheaply", it will be in vain, and he will not be able to accomplish anything.

Yuan Jiang said: "It would be better to set up a deputy Xuanfu envoy after Zhang Yue takes up the post of Xuanfu envoy."

What Yuan Jiang didn't know was that in another time and space in history, when Li Gang was appointed as the envoy to Xuanfu in Hebei and Hedong, Song Huizong didn't trust him either, so he arranged for officials such as deputy envoy Liu Kai and institutional envoy Jie Qian to restrict his power. .

It can be seen that after traveling through time and space, the officials still had the same ideas. They were worried that they would not be able to make contributions to the party, so they tried their best to restrain it.

Wu Chong could see clearly that Yuan Jiang and Deng Wan were all colluding and wanted to prevent Zhang Yue from making meritorious deeds. It was unclear whether it was Wang Yu or Wang Anshi who was behind this.

If it was Wang Anshi's order, Wu Chong would not dare to argue, and as for Wang Gui, he would not dare to speak.

When the official saw that Wang Anshi was silent, he asked Wang Anshi, "What do you think of your opinion?"

Wang Anshi said: "I have always advocated not to undermine the great righteousness by being small and solid. The most important thing now is to rectify Hebei and Hedong and deal with the Khitan. The rest of the etiquette can be put aside."

"Zhang Yue is well known to his ministers. If he is a loyal and talented minister, he does not need to take care of him too much. However, Zhang Yue has served as the two propaganda envoys, and since Hebei is closer to Bianjing than Hedong, he is the confidant of Wan. If the Liao army really goes south, there must be important officials stationed here. His Majesty ordered Zhang Yue to be stationed in Hebei. There is no need to go to Hedong. He only needs to communicate with Hedong Yiwen." Wu Chong was relieved after hearing this. It seems that Wang Anshi and The idea of ​​suppressing Zhang Yue was actually Deng Wan and Yuan Jiang's idea.

Wang Anshi's words were rich in meaning. They not only affirmed the power given to Zhang Yue, but also restricted his power to intervene in the military affairs in Hedong.He can mobilize troops and horses from Hedong, but he cannot go to the border of Hedong. Instead, he can only deploy to Hebei.

The officials were right when they heard it. The Liao Kingdom had to take a long detour to attack Hedong. If it attacked Hebei, it could go straight to Bianjing. Once the Liao Kingdom's cavalry reached the Yellow River, they would either lead the army to conquer in person or they could only grease their feet, abandon the capital and flee.

So Zhang Yue must be in Hebei.

The official said: "Just follow what you said! How about using Lu Gong's writings to learn about the Heyang army?"

The Heyang Army refers to the three cities of Heyang, which are key places on the Yellow River, and they all send important ministers to garrison them.Knowing Lu Gongzhu's character, the emperor proposed a candidate to Wang Anshi, and Wang Anshi agreed. '

It was immediately agreed upon in the palace and everyone withdrew.

Yuan Jiang and Deng Wan were both with Wang Anshi.

Wang Anshi said to them: "I told you before that you should not engage in party strife again. Why didn't you listen?"

Deng Wan said: "Prime Minister, it's not like we judge a gentleman with a villain's heart. Hebei already has Han Qi and Wen Yanbo, and now Zhang Yue has gone. In addition, the officials have asked Lu Gong to know the city of Heyang." , these people are flooding the court, and they seem to be making a comeback, and their momentum is directed at the Prime Minister."

Yuan Jiang said: "Prime Minister, after Lu Jifu was demoted from Beijing, many people who originally opposed the new law returned to the court. If Zhang Duzhi is allowed to propagate Hebei so smoothly again, his power will be even more rampant!"

Wang Anshi also used Zeng Bu, Lu Huiqing, and Shen Kuo, but they all betrayed him, which caused a great loss to his prestige.This made him reflect on the shortcomings of employing only talents in the past, and instead consider employing talents.

Wang Anshi said: "Zhang Duzhi is no better than Lu Gongzhu, Han Qi and others, you must tolerate him. I tell you again, you are not allowed to do things that unite the party and oppose those who are different."

Deng Wan asked anxiously: "Prime Minister Ruo Zhangyue went to Hebei and colluded with Han Qi and Wen Yanbo to oppose the new law. What should we do?"

Wang Anshi said: "You recommend a person to his tent and follow him to Hebei. Otherwise, no more restrictions can be imposed."

After hearing this, Deng Wan and Yuan Jiang agreed.

After the appointment of the Xuanfu envoy was issued, Zhang Yue heard from Wu Chong that there was such a turmoil.

Then the official family held an imperial banquet to honor Zhang Yue.

The Xuanfu envoy was on one side, and Zhang Yue was also the Xuanfu envoy on both sides, so the officials had to be polite to him.

At the banquet, Zhang Yue said to the officials: "Your Majesty, if you are not determined to fight with the Liao Kingdom, then this negotiation will definitely be at a disadvantage. I ask your Majesty to take this matter seriously."

The official said: "It's not that we are afraid of war with the Liao Kingdom, but that it has been difficult to operate in these years. Once the Liao Kingdom enters the country, the people will suffer."

Zhang Yue said: "Your Majesty, please hit me with one punch to avoid hundreds of punches coming. I ask your Majesty to delegate this matter to me!"

After hearing this, the official hesitated and said, "Can we really fight against the Liao Kingdom?"

Zhang Yue said: "Your Majesty, you can resist!"

The official said: "Are you telling the truth?"

Zhang Yue said: "Your Majesty, don't worry, you will not lose to Liao in Hebei!"