Chapter 659 0654 [Liu Yu's Ambition]

The pseudo-Song puppet court of Zhending Prefecture had been demoralized since its establishment.

At the beginning, they hoped that Song Huizong would come back from Hangzhou, and after taking Tokyo to restore the Song Dynasty, they would wait for an opportunity to go south and join the old Zhao family.

Anyway, few officials thought that this puppet court could accomplish anything.

Li Bao destroyed the regime of Song Huizong, and Yang Zhi defeated Xixia. When these two pieces of news spread to the north, the pseudo-officials of Zhending Prefecture felt complicated and finally had to face up to the new Ming Dynasty in Kaifeng.

Since last winter, some people have written secret letters to Zong Ze, claiming that they were forced to surrender to the puppet regime.

And Zong Ze didn't care what these guys had done before, anyway, he would stabilize them first. The wording of each reply was the same, claiming that as long as they helped the Ming Dynasty to destroy the Jin Dynasty, they would all be rewarded when the Celestial Dynasty recovered the north.

So in the past six months, Yue Fei and Li Qiong's actions have become more and more smooth.

As long as the Jin soldiers or the puppet army left the city, secret letters would be sent "saturatedly". Yue Fei and Li Qiong would set up ambushes and hit them accurately. Not only officials, but also gentry and merchants hoped that they could make contributions in the new dynasty.

The Jin people were furious and had killed many "internal accomplices", including some unlucky people who were wrongly killed.

Through a series of killings, the number of people who dared to write to Zong Ze really decreased, but the resentment of the officials, gentry, and merchants of the puppet dynasty increased day by day.

"The emperor ascended the throne!"

The little emperor, who was less than ten years old, was supported by eunuchs to sit on the dragon throne.

This dragon throne was a one-to-one copy of the one in Tokyo, with gold-painted dragon heads on the headrest and armrests. But the details were rough. They used copper alloy instead of gold, and the brocade on the backrest was also produced in Jinzhou, which was far better than the original Shu brocade.

Originally, the officials were lying flat, and the puppet court rarely held court meetings, only on major festivals such as New Year's Day and Winter Solstice.

But there will be a big war in the near future, Wanyan Zongwang ordered that it must be regularized.

The imperial lecture, the regular court, the noon court, the grand court... none of them can be missed, to show that the court of Zhending Prefecture is the orthodox one.

The little emperor sat on the dragon throne and yawned continuously.

A curtain was set up and a seat was set up, and the puppet queen mother sat behind the curtain to listen to the government.

Huang Qianshan and Zhang Bangchang, as the left and right prime ministers, came forward to report their work in recent days, and the other officials were looking forward to going home to catch up on their sleep.

Some people with ulterior motives did not collect information at the court meeting, they had their own information channels. Those who dared to write secret letters to Zongze at this time were really righteous men, and most officials chose to hide first.

Just when the court meeting was about to end, Liu Yu suddenly stepped out, holding up the tablet and said: "Your Majesty, I have something to report!"

The little emperor had fallen asleep, lying on the dragon chair and drooling.

The puppet queen mother said, "Liu Qing, please tell me."

Liu Yu said loudly, "Cui Dan, the deputy minister of the Ministry of War, colluded with the enemy and betrayed the country. The evidence is solid. This man asked his servant to send a letter to Deng's rice shop in Gaocheng, and the merchant surnamed Deng sent someone to send a letter to the traitor Zong Ze, spreading all kinds of news about our Song Dynasty court. Cui Dan has confessed that he was instructed to betray the country!"

The puppet queen said casually, "The case can be handled according to the rules."

Liu Yu's tone became higher, almost shouting, "The person who instructed Cui Dan is in a high position and has great power. Please let your majesty and the queen mother decide."

The little emperor was awakened and mistakenly thought that he was calling for the court to be dismissed. He jumped off the dragon chair while rubbing his sleepy eyes.

The eunuch next to him ran over in panic, carried the little emperor to the dragon chair and sat him down, and whispered, "Your Majesty, the court meeting has not yet ended."

The puppet queen subconsciously asked, "Which minister is it?"

Liu Yu shouted, "Grand Chancellor Huang Qianshan!"

There was an uproar in the court.

Even the puppet queen mother was stunned and didn't know how to deal with it.

Huang Qianshan was stunned at first, then shouted angrily: "Liu Yu, don't slander me! As the prime minister of the Song Dynasty, I am already the head of all officials. How can I collaborate with the enemy and sell out the country? What good can I get from collaborating with the enemy? Can I become the emperor after leaving the pseudo-Ming Dynasty?"

Liu Yu said: "You are afraid that the Song-Jin coalition will be defeated in this war, so you collaborate with the enemy and sell out the country to leave yourself a way out. Cui Dan has written a confession, and every sentence says that he was instructed by you!"

Huang Qianshan knew that it would be useless to talk to anyone. He held up the tablet and walked towards Shi Li'ai: "Mr. Shi, Liu Yu is ambitious and wants to frame me for dismissal and then become the prime minister himself."

Shi Li'ai is Wanyan Zongwang's strategist. He lives in Zhending Prefecture as a guest. He is the one who can really influence the puppet court.

"This matter should be investigated strictly, and good people will not be wronged." Shi Li'ai said.

Then, Shi Li'ai waved to the etiquette officer, who immediately announced the withdrawal of the court.

Huang Qianshan was also invited to the Dali Temple for tea.

Shi Li'ai walked out of the hall slowly, his face calm as usual, but he was extremely angry in his heart.

He really wanted to assist Wanyan Zongwang in establishing a great cause, migrate Xi people and Bohai people to enrich Youzhou, and consolidate and digest the newly occupied territory first. These were the suggestions given by Shi Li'ai.

According to Shi Li'ai's plan, it would take at least three years to support the people before the army could march south.

But the situation was out of control, and the Jin people were not obedient at all, and insisted on making some order to shave their hair and change clothes. This led to the loss of the people's hearts in the Jin people. Shi Li'ai was so angry that he wanted to vomit blood. After repeated persuasion, he finally stopped shaving his hair and changing clothes, but how could he save the people's hearts?

Shi Li'ai tried his best to remedy the situation, and persuaded Wanyan Zongwang to treat the people well and treat all ethnic groups equally in terms of policy. And he should postpone the march south and wait until the people's strength in the north was restored.

Wanyan Zongmou verbally agreed, but he immediately began to levy heavy taxes, frantically overdrawing the people's strength to gather troops and collect grain.

Now, the pseudo-Song court is also not at peace. In order to climb up, Liu Yu even accused Huang Qianshan of collaborating with the enemy and selling out the country.

One third of the officials in the pseudo-Song Dynasty were recommended and promoted by Huang Qianshan.

If this person is convicted, it will surely cause panic among the people. I don’t know how many officials will want to surrender to the enemy and run away.

“Go slowly, Mr. Shi!” Liu Yu shouted.

Shi Li’ai stopped and turned around, his eyes like knives, and his tone was cold: “Are you tired of living?”

Liu Yu said: “Huang Qianshan may have been framed, but he is a charlatan and should have been dismissed from his position as prime minister. Although the people he recommended have many qualifications and reputations, they are unwilling to work hard for the Jin Kingdom. The officials I promoted are all brave and responsible, and even the marshal often praises them.”

“You are really ambitious.” Shi Li’ai said unhappily.

Liu Yu not only wants to be the prime minister, but also wants to replace all the officials of the pseudo-dynasty, and replace all Huang Qianshan’s people with his own people.

In this way, Liu Yu can truly control the pseudo-dynasty.

Not an emperor, but better than an emperor!

This was also good for the Jin Dynasty, because Huang Qianshan and his gang were indeed all lying down and living a lazy life. If Liu Yu and his cronies were in power, the efficiency of the pseudo-dynasty would be much higher, and they would be able to support the Jin Dynasty's southern expedition with greater strength.

Liu Yu bowed and said, "I have already written a letter to the marshal."

"Then why are you looking for me?" Shi Li'ai was so angry that he walked away.

Liu Yu did not chase him again, but smiled triumphantly.

Shi Li'ai was no longer so favored by Wanyan Zongwang because of his repeated admonitions.

Liu Yu not only wanted to replace Huang Qianshan, but even wanted to replace Shi Li'ai. He wanted to use the power of the Jin people to become the real controller of the north.

This guy was born in a poor gentry family. He was extremely poor when he was a teenager. He was also caught stealing his classmates' white gold bowl and gauze clothes. After he was promoted to the Palace Censor, he was exposed by the censor for stealing things. Song Huizong forgave his past and ordered not to pursue it further.

Song Huizong wanted to consolidate his authority, set up the Yili Bureau, and greatly changed the ritual system of the Song Dynasty.

Honest officials were unwilling to get involved, but Liu Yu wanted to please the emperor and submitted memorials to discuss the etiquette system many times. Because of his poor knowledge, Song Huizong thought he did not understand etiquette, so he demoted him to Zhejiang as an inspector.

When the Jin people came, Liu Yu was serving as an official in Hebei, and he simply abandoned his post and fled.

He wanted to flee back to his hometown in Shandong, but heard that Shandong was full of bandits, so he was scared and wanted to go to Tokyo again. When he heard that the Jin soldiers and Zhu Ming were besieging Kaifeng from the north and south, Liu Yu hurried back and finally surrendered to the puppet court.

This person has a lot of bad things on his body. If you count his deeds in history, even Huang Qianshan and Zhang Bangchang can be compared with him, they can be called true gentlemen.

This guy is completely shameless. Personal reputation, family reputation, people and the country can all be thrown behind his mind.

So what if the Ming Dynasty is strong in military strength?

If he surrenders to the Ming Dynasty, can he hold a high position?

Since he could not obtain wealth and honor by joining the Ming Dynasty, he was determined to be a dog for the Jin Kingdom. If the Jin army won, he could take advantage of the situation to rule the north. If the Jin army lost, he would take the little emperor and retreat with the Jin people.

The most important thing was to be happy, regardless of the life and death of the people in the world!

He had been poor enough and despised enough, and he had to enjoy power and wealth.

Two days later, Guan Sheng, Yue Fei, Li Qiong, Li Jinyi and others had led their troops to Zhending Prefecture.

Just as the war was about to begin, Liu Yu received a reply from Wanyan Zongwang.

Wanyan Zongwang had long been disgusted with the good-for-nothings in the pseudo-court, and when he heard that Huang Qianshan was good at colluding with the enemy, he directly ordered Liu Yu to have full authority.

In the pseudo-court of Zhending Prefecture, more than 40 officials were arrested in one day.

Liu Yu first let his confidants control the Censorate, the Dali Temple and the Ministry of Justice, impeaching, arresting, interrogating and judging cases.

Once caught, they were tortured severely, and the defendants were induced to identify Liu Yu's political enemies who were traitors.

"I really didn't collaborate with the enemy, wuwuwu..." Huang Qianshan was beaten half to death.

The cruel official said with a sinister look: "Confess quickly, you have those accomplices! If you don't, there will be severe punishment."

Huang Qianshan burst into tears: "I will tell you, I will tell you."

"Write down all your accomplices quickly." The cruel official laughed triumphantly.

Huang Qianshan was dragged to lie on the table, and his whole body was in so much pain that it was difficult to lift a pen. He wrote down all the officials he knew on paper in a daze.

Outside Liu Yu's mansion.

Zhang Bangchang came to see him with all his floating wealth, which he had embezzled when he was an official in the pseudo-dynasty. His hometown was in Yongjing Army, which belonged to Han Shizhong's garrison. All the money he had embezzled before was confiscated.

After waiting for a whole day, he was finally summoned by Liu Yu.

Liu Yu was very proud and asked knowingly: "Mr. Zhang is the young prime minister, and I think he is very busy with official duties. What advice do you have for me?"

Zhang Bangchang had to save face outside, but now he was inside the room, he knelt down with a plop, kowtowed frantically and said: "Mr. Liu, spare my life. I am willing to offer all my property, and I only ask Mr. Liu to allow me to resign and serve the people."

In the Song Dynasty, Liu Yu could only look up to Zhang Bangchang, and he was still inferior to Zhang Bangchang in the pseudo-dynasty.

At this moment, Zhang Bangchang actually knelt down and kowtowed to him, which made Liu Yu feel refreshed, as if he had drunk a big bowl of ice water in the dog days of summer.

This wonderful feeling made Liu Yu feel like he was floating in the air.

Liu Yu deliberately did not speak and let Zhang Bangchang kneel for a while longer. After he had a good time, he smiled and said, "I am only a privy councilor, and Mr. Zhang is the prime minister of the Song Dynasty. I dare not accept Mr. Zhang's kneeling."

Zhang Bangchang was so scared of death that he didn't care about anything else in order to survive. He knelt down and looked up with a smile: "I can accept it, I can accept it. Mr. Liu is indeed a pillar of our Song Dynasty, working diligently day and night. I kneel down not only for myself, but also for the emperor and the queen mother to thank Mr. Liu for his hard work for the country."

Kneel down on behalf of the emperor and the empress dowager?

It would have been better if he hadn't said this, but when Zhang Bangchang said it, Liu Yu seemed to have a flame in his heart.

He seemed to see the emperor of the pseudo dynasty and the empress dowager kneeling in front of him.

Liu Yu began to breathe rapidly. He was now even a powerful official, so why couldn't he go one step further and become the emperor?

God, please bless the marshal to win the battle and occupy Hebei and Shandong. At that time, find an opportunity to abolish the little emperor, and I, Liu Yu, can return to my hometown in Shandong to become the emperor!

"You are also a sensible person. Do you know what to do in the future?" Liu Yu asked.

Zhang Bangchang was already scared out of his wits, and kowtowed again: "I know. I will write a memorial tonight, Huang Qianshan is a traitor, and Liu Gong has made great contributions. For the sake of the Song Dynasty, I will recommend Liu Gong as the prime minister, and my officials will agree."

Liu Yu was very satisfied, nodded and said: "Take back the wealth outside. They are all your treasures, how can I take away someone else's love?"

Zhang Bangchang knew that he could survive and he didn't have to bleed a lot, and he was so excited that he trembled all over: "I have an authentic work of Liu Gongquan, which I got last year. The sword is given to heroes, please accept it with a smile!"

"The authentic work of Liu Gongquan?"

Liu Yu's eyes lit up, and he personally helped Zhang Bangchang up and shouted outside the door: "Why don't you hurry up and give tea to Zhang Gong?"

The two armies were about to fight, but the puppet court was in a bloody storm.

Under Liu Yu's torture, more than a dozen officials who couldn't stand the torture died. More than 40 people were convicted of treason and were waiting for Wanyan Zongwang to come back so that they could be executed.

The people of Zhending City were in a panic.

Shi Liai stood on the city wall, looking at the countryside in the distance, sighing.

He claimed to be the Kong Ming of the time, but from Wanyan Zongwang to Liu Yu, what kind of people were around him?