met free Page 1387
Page 1387
On this day, while Emperor Huizong was reviewing memorials in his study,
Upon hearing that Cai You had returned...
My wrist trembled involuntarily.
The emperor then drew a line on the memorial.
Emperor Huizong placed the imperial brush on the brush holder and said in a deep voice,
"Let him in."
As the door opened, Cai You, wrapped in a white cloth, crawled in from the ground.
As he crawled, he cried out.
"Your Majesty, I am incompetent and beg for punishment."
When Zhao Ji heard Cai You say this,
Startled, he stood up abruptly and exclaimed,
"Has the army been defeated by the Liangshan bandits again?"
"Ouch!"
Cai You seemed to have touched his injury as he crawled.
He cried out in pain and reported...
"On the day of the great battle, your humble servant went to the front lines to assess the strength and weaknesses of the Liangshan bandits,"
"I didn't want to be shot by an arrow from the bandits,"
"Therefore, there was a slight setback."
"Your humble servant originally intended to gather troops and then wipe out the Liangshan bandits,"
"I didn't want my injuries to get too bad, so I passed out."
"When I woke up, I found that I had been taken back to Tokyo by my personal attendants to treat my injuries."
"Your humble servant is guilty; I have neglected matters of great importance to the military and the state."
When Zhao Ji heard that Cai You had escaped back alone,
He exclaimed in surprise, "What about my army?"
Cai You hurriedly replied, "I felt my injuries were severe before I fainted."
"Therefore, Li Congji, the military governor of Hanyang in Longxi, was put in charge of the army."
"Your humble servant originally thought that once I recovered from my injuries, I could wipe out the Liangshan bandits,"
"But unexpectedly, she fainted,"
He was taken back to Tokyo by his personal attendants.
Zhao Ji heard that someone was giving instructions on his behalf.
Only then did I feel a little relieved.
"I ask you, how many soldiers did you lose in this battle?"
Cai You didn't actually know how many soldiers were captured or killed by Liangshan.
All that is known is that more than 30,000 people returned to the camp that day.
But he didn't dare tell Zhao Ji the truth.
"More than 10,000 people were killed."
Liang Shicheng, who was serving Emperor Huizong by reviewing memorials, said...
"If there are still more than 80,000 people,"
"We should still be able to wipe out the Liangshan bandits."
"However, Li Congji was also originally a bandit,"
"If he were given military power, he might develop disloyal intentions."
Zhao Ji nodded and said, "But who in the court can still lead troops?"
Liang Shicheng originally wanted Wang Fu to achieve merit.
But seeing Cai You's miserable state,
But then I felt things weren't that simple.
They didn't dare to make a sound for a moment.
Chapter 1673 Gold Medal
Zhao Ji thought for a while,
They haven't come up with a suitable candidate yet.
"The situation is tense now, and changing commanders on the eve of battle would likely delay the war effort,"
"Then Li Congji will continue to be the commander."
"I will send a military supervisor to oversee military affairs."
Emperor Taizong of Song released his military commanders from their command over a cup of wine.
The Zhao family's constant defense against rebellions by military generals has been that...
If there is war
They all appointed their trusted ministers as commanders.
Moreover, most of them were civil officials.
Occasionally, military generals are appointed as commanders.
Then a military supervisor would be sent to keep them in check.
To prevent military generals from amassing troops and causing chaos.
Emperor Huizong had made up his mind.
He then picked up a pen.
Liang Shicheng hurriedly ground ink for Zhao Ji and served him.
Cai You lay on the ground, drenched in cold sweat.
He led the troops guarding the rear camp to flee that day.
The army is bound to suffer another defeat.
Li Congji didn't know whether they had escaped or not.
If Li Congji hadn't escaped,
When the Emperor issues this edict,
That might actually delay military operations.
But if we were to say it out loud...
He couldn't explain it.
Cai You thought for a while,
Ultimately, I still felt that my life was more important.
Emperor Huizong (Zhao Ji) issued an imperial edict in one go.
Hand it over to Liang Shicheng.
"Have someone deliver the gold plaque to Xingren Prefecture, and then forward it to the army."
"The military supervisor shall depart today without delay."
The "golden plaques" are the twelve imperial edicts that Yue Fei later received.
But this gold medal isn't a real gold medal.
It is merely a communication credential.
During the reign of Emperor Taizu of Song, postal coupons were used as proof of postal communication.
What is written on paper is also called the "head."
With this voucher, one can travel freely along the post road.
But by the time of Emperor Taizong of Song...
An incident occurred where someone attempted to smuggle a horse under false pretenses.
There was an official's son who forged post station tickets.
He tricked many post horses.
Emperor Taizong of Song then changed the postal vouchers to silver tokens as proof of postal service.
This silver plaque is two and a half inches wide and six inches long.
It is written in clerical script and engraved with images of flying phoenixes and qilin, with the date and month on both sides.
The practice of using gold-lettered plaques originated during the reign of Emperor Shenzong of Song.
It is designated for use as an express delivery service.
At that time, the Song Dynasty was engaged in fierce fighting with the Western Xia.
The Western Xia army launched an attack on Lanzhou.
In order to transmit military intelligence quickly,
Emperor Shenzong of Song then ordered that a gold-lettered plaque be used to directly communicate with the emperor.
Unlike ordinary documents, these were delivered to the post station.
The gold-lettered plaque was a wooden communication plaque over a foot long.
It is one foot long, with gold inscriptions carved on a vermilion lacquer background.
The letter contained eight characters: "Imperial documents are not permitted to be sold in shops."
It means official documents and letters that come from the emperor's side in the imperial court.
Officials were not allowed to exchange duties inside the post stations.
It could only be passed from horseback to horseback.
This makes it much faster.
This kind of gold-lettered plaque is used to send documents.
The requirement was to travel 500 li per day, without stopping day or night.
It passed by as swiftly as lightning, and all who saw it avoided it.
Later, during the Southern Song Dynasty...
Besides the gold plaque,
They also set up blue and red plaques.
The "Qing" character plaque has a yellow background with blue characters.
Also made of wood,
The rule states that one must travel 350 li.
It is also a type of communication credential used for express delivery.
The red-lettered plaque has black paint and red lettering.
The daily travel limit is 300 li.
Liang Shicheng took the memorial and went out.
Zhao Ji then remembered Cai You on the ground.