Prime Minister

Chapter 1090 Taking orders in times of danger

Chapter 1090 Taking orders in times of danger

Torrential rain.

Shi Deyi sat next to Zhang Yue, while Zhang Yue sat in the carriage with his eyes closed to rest.

When Shi De saw Zhang Yue's calm and composed look, he couldn't help but admire him. It is in the midst of storms and waves that a real man's true character is revealed.

The Fuyan Road army was defeated and lost 70,000 soldiers. At this moment, the world needs to rely on the man in front of him.

However, Shi Deyi had no idea that Mr. Zhang in front of him was thinking about something else.

His inner uneasiness and uncertain future made him think of all kinds of absurd jokes.

He saw a joke that taught American netizens how to write online articles. During the Civil War, Lincoln asked me to come out three times... He wanted to laugh when he saw this joke, but now he can't laugh at all.

This is the reality... After a great defeat on Fuyan Road, will the situation change from [Yuanjia wasted] to [Yuanfeng wasted]?

In the Civil War, you knew in advance who would win, so you joined the victorious side, but there was no precedent for conquering Xia, so that had to wait until Genghis Khan came.

How should I explain this to the emperor now?

The carriage went straight into the imperial city, where Cai Bian, the compiler of the imperial daily records, had already been waiting.

Shi Deyi and Cai Bian helped Zhang Yue get off the carriage, and the people around them hurriedly held up a large blue umbrella to protect Zhang Yue from the rain. Zhang Yue stood under the umbrella and looked at the palaces that seemed to be built by the heavy rain.

The rain was so heavy that mist even appeared on the roof of the palace. Since many emperors of the Song Dynasty worshipped Taoism, the scene looked like a fairyland.

"Your Majesty longs for your husband as much as he longs for a gentle rain!"

Cai Bian said.

Zhang Yue looked at Cai Bian. In the beginning, he had high hopes for Cai Jing, but this time he claimed to be ill, and Cai Jing turned to Wang Gui. A few days ago, the two sides even married their children to each other.

Cai Bian felt deeply sorry for this and visited him many times.

Zhang Yue didn't care about Cai Jing's affairs at first, but after having many conversations with Cai Bian, he felt that the other party was a talented person who could be cultivated.

"Lao Yuandu has been waiting here for a long time!"

"Upon hearing the news of the defeat on Fuyan Road, Your Majesty cried several times a day and refused to take medicine..." Cai Bian said to Zhang Yue anxiously.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yue sighed from the tower.

After a while, Zhang Yue went up the stairs. The eunuchs all held umbrellas for Shi Deyi and Cai Bian and hurriedly followed him to the hall.

Cai Bian was watching from the side. Zhang Yue walked in the palace with such dignity as a mountain. Cai Bian could not help but admire him. However, Cai Bian did not know that Zhang Yue only looked calm on the surface.

When they arrived at the Funing Palace, they saw the inner court official Zhang Maze there. He also greeted Zhang Yue after seeing him.

"The old man knows, no need to be polite."

Zhang Maoze said, "As soon as the Queen Mother left, she knew Mr. Zhang and told us to wait here to see him."

Zhang Yue thought to himself that Empress Dowager Gao was asking him to persuade the emperor to give up the war against Xia and negotiate peace with the Westerners.

Zhang Yue asked solemnly but respectfully, "What is the Queen Mother's order?"

Zhang Maoze said, "The Queen Mother asked me to tell Mr. Zhang that you are the pillar of the country and have received the grace of three dynasties. Now that the country is in danger, you are needed to calm people's hearts and preside over state affairs."

Hearing this, Cai Bian looked at Zhang Yue's expression with excitement. It is said that there is no greater favor than this for a minister.

"Of course, this is just the opinion of the Queen Mother and the Grand Empress Dowager, but whether it is war or peace with Xia this time, she and His Majesty will listen to your decision."

Zhang Yue smiled bitterly in his heart and said, "I am honored by the Empress Dowager's high regard and the Empress Dowager's appreciation. This matter should be discussed by me, Prime Minister Wang, Minister Yuan and other ministers."

Zhang Maoze said, "Mr. Zhang, let me say this because I am old and experienced. The Pillar of Heaven is not for others to occupy."

"What is the so-called 'benevolence'? The character 'benevolence' is derived from 'ren', which means a person standing up. A real man can only stand up for himself, and then others can stand up for him. When it is time to take on the responsibility, you should do it without hesitation!"

"The Queen Mother often talks about the contributions you and Sima Guang made in the late emperor's residence. I have known Mr. Zhang for nearly twenty years, and I admire him very much!"

Zhang Yue thought that Zhang Maze was indeed an experienced man, and was the only one who could see through his thoughts.

Zhang Yue said: "Thank you very much for your advice, old man!"

Zhang Maoze said: "My family is too nagging, please don't keep Your Majesty waiting for too long!"

Zhang Maonze stepped aside and made way for the entrance to the hall.

After Zhang Yue entered the palace, there were more than ten imperial doctors stationed there.

When the imperial doctors saw Zhang Yue, they all stood up and reported the emperor's condition to him. Soon after, Empress Xiang and Consort Zhu learned that Zhang Yue had arrived, and immediately sent eunuchs to come. Their intentions were two-fold: one was to ask him to take charge of the situation, and the second was to show goodwill.

Zhang Yue didn't know since when he had become the popular choice.

In fact, everyone in the palace could see clearly that even though the emperor had kept Zhang Yue at home idle these days, at this time of great defeat, the emperor did not look for anyone else but Zhang Yue alone to discuss the matter.

From this we can know the weight of the other party.

Cai Bian, holding the lamp, walked in front with Zhang Yue and Shi Deyi from the corridor to the inner hall.

Cai Bian stretched out his hand and pushed open the door of the inner hall. Zhang Yue saw the lifeless emperor lying on the imperial couch through the hanging veil.

The emperor looked extremely haggard, with his eyes closed. Zhang Yue still underestimated the blow that the defeat of the troops in Fuyan Road would bring to the emperor.

Zhang Yue couldn't help feeling sad about the kindness between the emperor and his subjects over the past decade.

The official seemed to have heard the footsteps and asked, "Is it Zhang Qing?"

Hearing the voice, Zhang Yue lifted the veil and stepped forward to salute, saying, "Your Majesty, I, Zhang Yue, greet you!"

But the emperor thumped his head and said, "If I had listened to you earlier, I wouldn't have been defeated today and lost hundreds of thousands of soldiers. How can I face you, the ministers, and the Queen Mother?"

Seeing the official crying bitterly, everyone was at a loss as to what to do.

Zhang Yue leaned on the imperial couch and cried, "Your Majesty, why do you say that? The outcome of the Jingyuan Road battle is unknown, so how can we easily admit defeat? Even if we lose now, we can still try again in the future. I hope Your Majesty will understand."

“Never give up on your long-term plans because of a temporary setback.”

The king and his ministers cried for a long time.

The emperor's expression softened slightly as he asked, "Is this what you really mean?"

Zhang Yue wiped his tears upon hearing this, and asked himself, was he not wrong in attacking Xia this time?

I was also wrong. I thought we couldn't win, so I opposed it from the beginning. If I had supported the government wholeheartedly from the beginning, even if we couldn't win, we wouldn't have lost so miserably.

He just insisted on shallow attack and building, but ignored the emperor's eagerness to become a capable ruler.

Cai Bian, who was standing aside, shed tears and wrote furiously, recording the conversation between Zhang Yue and the emperor in his daily notes.

Zhang Yue said: "Your Majesty is like this, I have made a mistake. I have heard that 'the wise change with the times, the intelligent make decisions according to circumstances'. I always thought that it was not urgent to attack Xia, but I did not know whether it was possible or not."

"This is my inability to adapt."

The emperor sighed and said, "It's not your fault, it's my stupidity. You just talked about the struggle between Liu Bang, Xiang Yu and Chu and Han."

"Liu Bang used hunting as an analogy to conquer the world. The generals were good at hunting and were called meritorious dogs, while Xiao He was good at driving meritorious dogs and was called a meritorious man. That was why Xiao He was able to conquer the world."

"Your talents in civil and military affairs are unmatched in this dynasty. You are my Xiao He."

After a pause, the official said, "I have read poems recently, and I like the line you wrote the most: 'You must know that when you were young, you had lofty ambitions and promised to be the best in the world.'"

"You have made up your mind to help the world since you were young, right?"

You must know that when I was young I had lofty ambitions and promised to be the best in the world.'

Zhang Yue heard this and thought to himself, this was in the past, when he was idle, he was full of negative emotions and even complained about planning to become a palace official and go out to manage the Dongxiao Palace. If the emperor knew his true thoughts, would he be so angry that he died?

At this moment, Zhang Yue bowed and said, "Your Majesty's kindness to me is unprecedented in history. How dare I not use all my strength to serve you like a dog or a horse?"

The emperor was delighted when he heard this and said, "You accepted my order in a time of crisis. I know you will live up to my expectations!"

(End of this chapter)