Chapter 515: Golden Chamber Alliance

The officials of Zhenguan were not surprised by Empress Changsun's words.

Who among the old people in the Qin Wang Mansion didn't know that this couple treated each other as equals?

For example, Fang Xuanling, a close official, knew it very well. When the Qin Wang encountered some difficult decisions, he would even ask Changsun to meet and discuss privately, and Changsun often had unique insights.

And Fang Xuanling privately felt that if Empress Changsun in the history books of later generations had not died early, and Your Majesty was also an outstanding person, I am afraid that Empress Changsun could also become a female politician in later generations like Empress Xiao.

That is why Empress Changsun's sigh did not cause displeasure, but there were many discussions, and even Pei Xingjian couldn't help but express his opinion:

"How can the emperor of Song be compared with Your Majesty when his virtue is so poor?"

For Pei Xingjian, Your Majesty sent him to Hongwenguan, which was a favor.

First destroy the Turks and then pacify Tuyuhun, and want to recover the Western Regions without increasing taxes.

Although he didn't quite understand what the light curtain was, he had heard Zhao Er's deeds clearly, so his thoughts were very simple:

How could such an emperor not be worthy of being a pioneer? Why could the Emperor of Song be compared with him?

Pei Xingjian's undisguised attitude caused laughter in the hall.

The atmosphere gradually became lighter, but unfortunately, Pei Xingjian couldn't understand what these people talked about afterwards.

Wang Zhongsi, Feng Changqing, Gao Xianzhi, Geshu Han, these names that he had never heard of were mentioned one after another.

His Majesty sighed, and the two prime ministers also looked regretful.

This made Pei Xingjian very confused. How come he had never heard of such a name?

Just as he was in a daze, Li Jing suddenly turned around and asked:

"What if Cao Bin is the one who keeps the promise?"

This question attracted Li Shimin's attention. Fortunately, Pei Xingjian did not disappoint him:

"Sun Tzu said that the army should not attack, the city should not be attacked, the land should not be contested, and the king's orders should not be obeyed."

"When you receive orders from outside, you should unite the army and kill those who do not obey orders, so that the upper and lower levels can fight together!"

[If the Battle of Gaoliang River was a waste of Zhao Da's inheritance, then Yongxi's sending of heads was a real loss of his pants.

Although he lost battle after battle, Zhao Er was not in a bad mood at this time, because just two years before Yongxi's Northern Expedition, Zhao Tingmei, who was demoted to the Duke of Fuling County, died of anxiety.

The last heir designated by the Golden Casket Alliance no longer exists, and the two sons of the dead brother are also dead, and the future troubles of the throne have been completely eliminated. 】

"It's not me!"

"It's not me!"

Zhao Guangyi's sharp voice rang out in the hall, but was immediately suppressed by Zhao Kuangyin.

The eunuchs watched as His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin was firmly pinned down on the chair by the emperor, unable to move.

The jade axe that had been used to play with before now rested on the neck of the Prince of Jin, with a cold light flashing.

"Good brother, this light curtain hasn't said anything yet."

"Let's see if your two nephews are both short-lived like Dexiu and Delin."

No one was confused about Zhao Tingmei's name, and changing names to avoid taboos was not a new thing, just like Zhao Guangyi's original name was Zhao Kuangyi, Zhao Tingmei must be Zhao Guangmei.

At this time, Zhao Guangyi was lying on the chair and forced to look up, but his face was pale.

Zhao Kuangyin stood aside, holding his brother tightly with both hands, without saying a word.

【As we said before, Zhao Pu lost power during the reign of Zhao Da, and was oppressed by his political enemies when he rebelled against Bianliang. With nowhere else to go, he returned to his old business and presented Zhao Guangyi with the Golden Casket Alliance, which provided a barely acceptable legal support for his succession.

The content of the Golden Casket Alliance is quite simple. It is roughly about that when Empress Dowager Du, the biological mother of Zhao Da and Zhao Er, was seriously ill, she summoned Zhao Pu to the palace to record and explain the aftermath to her son.

According to the records, Empress Dowager Du believed that her son was able to succeed in the Chenqiao mutiny because Chai Rong had no long-term monarch, so she persuaded Zhao Da to pass the throne to his younger brother after his death. Zhao Da naturally dared not disobey his mother's dying instructions.

So Mrs. Du struck while the iron was hot and asked Zhao Pu to write an oath and record it, and hide it in the golden cabinet. This is commonly known as the Golden Casket Alliance.

Such a great favor can only be repaid by the position of prime minister. After ten years of ups and downs, Zhao Pu was appointed prime minister again.

However, Zhao Pu's Golden Casket Alliance was actually just a pleasant surprise for Zhao Er.

Because before that, Zhao Dezhao and Zhao Defang had passed away one after another.

The history books record Zhao Dezhao's death most clearly:

In the Battle of Gaoliang River, Zhao Er, who led the army in person, ran too fast, leaving the Song army leaderless, and had to elect Zhao Dezhao as the temporary leader. Fighting and retreating, the remnants of the Song army finally successfully retreated to Zhuozhou City.

However, Zhao Dezhao, who led the army temporarily, did not receive a reward, but a rebuke from Zhao Er, who drove a donkey cart and returned triumphantly.

After returning to the army, the Song army soon had an opinion: You dog emperor, let alone the defeat in Gaoliang River, but everyone fought hard to take Taiyuan, why haven't you rewarded me yet?

After Zhao Dezhao knew this, he stupidly went to Zhao Er to ask for rewards for the soldiers, which made Zhao Er furious:

"Wait until you become the emperor yourself, then it won't be too late to reward you."

Because of this sentence, Zhao Dezhao was worried and committed suicide, which is of course a euphemism in history books.

In fact, according to Zhao Guangyi's common tricks, the next three steps must be to frame him for treason, provide solid evidence, and exile the whole family.

Zhao Dezhao did not die of fear, but he thought too clearly and had to commit suicide.

Zhao Defang was neither the eldest son nor had Zhao Dezhao's prestige, so his "sensible" was quite simple, and there are only a few records in the history books.

"He died of illness at the age of 23."

In the same year that Zhao Defang died, Zhao Er was both happy and worried when he took the Golden Casket Covenant sent by Zhao Pu. He was happy that he had the support of the legal system to succeed him, but he was worried that he had to deal with one more person.

However, Zhao Er still needed to pretend, holding the covenant in his hand and asked Zhao Pu:

"Should I pass the throne to my younger brother Zhao Tingmei?"

As a result, Zhao Pu gave a dark answer:

"Your brother was blind to let you take the throne, do you want to be blind again?" (Taizu has made a mistake, how can Your Majesty allow another mistake)

So Zhao Guangyi took action and played out the unfinished script on Zhao Dezhao on Zhao Tingmei.

Not long after, someone reported that Zhao Tingmei wanted to rebel and assassinate. Zhao Er said that he was my flesh and blood brother, and he just had to drive him out.

Zhao Tingmei was first moved to Luoyang, and then a group of civil and military officials were accused of having an affair with Zhao Tingmei, and were either exiled or executed. Zhao Tingmei was held accountable and was not allowed to step out of the government office.

Then Zhao Tingmei was demoted to the Duke of Fuling County and sent to Fangzhou, and the prefect of Fangzhou was paid 300 taels of silver to "supervise" Zhao Tingmei.

A year later, Zhao Tingmei "died of anxiety", and Zhao Guangyi's succession to the throne was impeccable in terms of legality.

Since the Song Dynasty, the authenticity of the Golden Casket Alliance has been rampant, and scholars in all dynasties have come out to prove its authenticity. But whether it is true or false, one thing is certain: this golden casket and the alliance book inside it have never been seen in official history, and there has never been a record of Zhao Guangyi taking it out for the ministers to circulate.

And if it is true, Zhao Guangyi could have taken it out directly on the day he ascended the throne to stop the gossip, why wait until six years after he ascended the throne for Zhao Pu to present it?

Another point is that after Zhao Tingmei died, Zhao Guangyi openly said:

Tingmei's mother, Lady Geng of Chen State, was my wet nurse. Later, she married Zhao and gave birth to Tingjun. Because of Tingmei, I ordered Tingjun to be a member of the Qianshou, and Tingjun leaked the imperial secrets to Tingmei.

This is actually patching up Zhao Tingmei's rebellion, but it also leads to another simple and rough judgment:

If Zhao Guangyi's statement is true, then the Golden Casket Alliance will automatically become false, because neither Empress Dowager Du nor Zhao Pu need to worry about a bastard having the right to inherit the throne.

On the contrary, if Zhao Tingmei and Zhao Da and Zhao Er are really brothers from the same mother, then it is unknown whether the Golden Casket Alliance is true, but it is certain that Zhao Er fabricated his own mother and brother, and his character is very questionable. 】

〖Li Shimin: Brother Zhao, just beat him twice, don't beat him too hard.

Zhang Fei: That's right, if you accidentally beat him to death, where can you find evil if you want to beat him again? 〗

Zhao Guangyi now truly understood what it meant to want to cry but not have tears.

He was forced by his brother to look up and read the two lines of words clearly. He instinctively wanted to curse, but reason told him that what Emperor Taizong of Tang and Zhang Fei said was right. If his brother listened to them, he might be able to save his life.

He was tightly held on the chair by his brother. He only needed to raise his eyes slightly to see a face that was trying hard to suppress murderous intent.

Tears and snot flowed from Zhao Guangyi's face, and his voice was no longer as sharp as before, like a broken drum:

"Brother..."

Zhao Kuangyin retracted his hands, knocked the jade axe on Zhao Er's shoulder and said:

"I remember the relationship between brothers, so I share the glory and wealth."

"It's a pity that you, a talkative prisoner who only knows how to eat and drink, regard your brother as an enemy, kill your nephew and harm your brother, and accuse your mother. What's the difference between you and pigs and dogs?"

The jade axe hit Zhao Guangyi's shoulder without any mercy. Zhao Guangyi couldn't help but cry out in pain, and slid to the ground with his shoulders wailing.

Zhao Kuangyin took two steps forward slowly and stood in front of his brother.

Seeing that playing misery could not win any sympathy, Zhao Guangyi immediately got up. Although there was still cold sweat on his forehead, he could feel it from his left hand holding his right shoulder, so it should not be broken.

This made sense. After all, the jade axe was not a real iron axe, but just a toy.

Holding his shoulders, Zhao Guangyi jumped up and down angrily:

"Your two sons are alive and well, what else do you want?"

This jumping up and down questioning made Zhao Kuangyin laugh:

"You took in those bandits and told them the will of heaven, and colluded with the eunuchs in the harem to plot evil and wanted to assassinate me."

"The King of Jin wanted to kill the emperor and rebel, but you asked me what else do you want?"

Zhao Guangyi was anxious: "How could I do that?"

Shaking his head, Zhao Kuangyin said calmly:

"When you succeed in killing the emperor and rebelling, you can write a twisted story under the order of the emperor."

"Instead of doing that, it is better for me to discipline you on behalf of your father, deprive you of your title and demote you to a distant place, and let the prefect and the judge discipline you on your behalf, so that you can repent."

"You!" Zhao Guangyi's face flushed red. He didn't expect that he would fall on himself just after hearing about the means a moment ago.

If he could escape back to the King of Jin's mansion, he might be able to make a noise or two with prior preparations, and find an opportunity to escape to the Northern Han or the Khitan, and he would be able to survive.

However, he was unarmed and his martial arts skills were far inferior to Zhao Da.

Moreover, the palace gate was blocked by Zhao Da, not to mention that he was in the palace and surrounded by the imperial guards outside. Even if he was Zhao Zilong resurrected, it would be difficult for him to fight his way out alone.

For a moment, Zhao Guangyi was a little discouraged, but then he looked up and saw the changing scene on the top of the palace. He was furious and turned around to kick him hard:

"You dog, you are ruining my foundation!"

"If I see this thing three years later, I will first destroy the Northern Han and then the Khitan. In this way, why can't we unify China and catch up with the achievements of Emperor Tang and Emperor Wu of Han?"

Zhao Pu, who was standing by, opened his eyes wide. Although he didn't believe that the small body of the King of Jin could cause any damage to a stone table, what if it happened?

Fortunately, Zhao Pu only had time to be surprised, but Zhao Kuangyin had been in the military for a long time, and his body reacted faster than his brain.

"What a dog's courage!"

The loud shout in the small hall made Zhao Guangyi's head "buzz" briefly, and then before his right foot kicked out, his left calf felt a heart-wrenching pain.

So he fell sideways, holding his calf and wailing.

Zhao Kuangyin, who threw the jade axe in an emergency, was relieved when he saw that he succeeded.

After dragging his brother’s clothes and dragging him out for a distance, Zhao Kuangyin squatted down and laughed:

"Do you really think that you can win the favor of the younger generation after you succeed?"

"The warriors on the banks of the Gaoliang River, the dead who fought in the Northern Expedition of Yongxi, the shameful things in Jingkang, asking for peace and ceding land and selling people."

"The younger generation may disdain you, the emperor."

Zhao Kuangyin stopped scolding, but his words hit Zhao Guangyi's heart hard, making him forget the pain temporarily and defended:

"What do the affairs of future generations have to do with me?"

"The first person to make clay figures, will he have no descendants?"

This sentence was not very appropriate, but it also made Zhao Guangyi speechless for a while. For a while, he didn't know whether his brother was referring to the various violent deaths, or the fact that the Song Dynasty suppressed the military with culture, which caused the later generations to resist with reforms.

Just at this time, the imperial guards reported outside, saying that they returned in accordance with the imperial edict.

After receiving the emperor's eye signal, the eunuch who had gone out to report twice was already familiar with the route. He walked to the palace gate quietly and asked the imperial guards outside the door about the result.

After all, whether it was the strange vision of the light curtain or the fact that the current emperor broke the legs of the Prince of Jin, these were not suitable for viewing.

The situation reported by the eunuch was not complicated. Cheng Dexuan was powerless, and a team of soldiers had invited him to come and take him in.

Ma Shao, in the face of the soldiers' request, pretended to agree and then found an opportunity to escape. The imperial guards were searching for him.

Wang Jie'en was even simpler. If he was not ordered, he could not even leave the palace gate. Moreover, he did not know what happened, and he was summoned and arrested by an imperial decree.

The situation in the Prince of Jin's mansion was more complicated. There were sounds of armored men in the mansion, but they did not act rashly. However, the imperial guards were ordered to temporarily surround the mansion, so the two sides were still in a stalemate.

As for the reactions of other civil and military officials in Bianliang City, Zhao Kuangyin could not care about it for the time being.

It is time to cut the Gordian knot.

As for his younger brother... after a moment's hesitation, Zhao Kuangyin sneered:

"Watch it all here, so that I can see how the younger generation views you as an official."