novel bin Chapter 51 The Retired Emperors of the Southern Song Dynasty
Chapter 51 The Retired Emperors of the Southern Song Dynasty
The candlelight flickered in the study, casting long, orange shadows of the two people on the wall.
On the table was a defense map of the imperial city of Lin'an, densely marked in vermilion ink with the changing times of guards at each palace gate, the positions of the imperial guards, and the patrol routes of the Imperial City Guard.
Even the height of the palace walls was clearly marked, obviously confidential information from within the Imperial Guards.
Xia Zhen sat at the lower end of the table, pointing to the location of Hening Gate on the map, and earnestly advised Zhao Yu: "Your Highness, you see, in this imperial city, just the four gates of the outer city alone, each gate is guarded day and night by hundreds of elite imperial guards, who take turns in two shifts and never leave without permission."
"Further inside, the Imperial City Guard has several thousand men, divided into twelve shifts to guard the Forbidden City. They are all elite soldiers, and there are even many martial arts masters among them. They only obey the Emperor's orders."
"Then there's the Palace Guard under Yang Cishan's command, who guard the area around Fu Ning Palace day and night. Those people only obey Empress Yang's orders, so I can't get involved at all."
He raised his head and looked at Zhao Yu at the head of the table: "Your Highness, it's not that I'm unwilling to do my best, it's just that this palace coup is too difficult."
"With the men I can muster, plus Your Highness's unparalleled martial arts, even if we manage to sneak into the Forbidden City by surprise, if any link goes wrong and the news leaks out, the Imperial Guards from all sides can surround us instantly, leaving us with no way to escape."
Zhao Yu held his teacup, remaining silent, but his mind was perfectly clear.
Xia Zhen's words seemed to be analyzing the difficulties of the palace coup, but in reality, he was subtly advising him to give up the idea.
After all, Xia Zhen is now the Commander of the Palace Guard, holding the high position of Grand Commandant. He is powerful and influential, with a large family and business empire. He has long lost the courage he once had to risk his life.
If Xia Zhen accompanies Zhao Yu in staging a palace coup, success would be a meritorious act of supporting the emperor, but failure would be a heinous crime that would result in the execution of his entire family and nine generations of relatives. Xia Zhen simply cannot afford to gamble with that.
Zhao Yu didn't expose him, but simply put down his teacup and said calmly, "If I had several hundred highly skilled martial artists at my disposal, who could join me in storming the Forbidden City and taking control of the Funing Palace and Cining Palace before the Imperial Guards could react, what do you think the chances of success would be?"
Xia Zhen was taken aback by these words and subconsciously asked, "Your Highness, where can you find hundreds of highly skilled martial artists? Most of the martial arts sects are scattered in various places. Even a major sect like the Beggars' Sect could never accompany Your Highness on such an important task."
He was halfway through his sentence when he met Zhao Yu's eyes, instantly realizing he had misspoke.
Xia Zhen quickly rose and bowed, pleading for forgiveness: "Your Highness, I misspoke."
"It's alright." Zhao Yu waved his hand, gesturing for him to sit down. "You just need to tell me, with the help of these hundreds of experts, is this feasible?"
Xia Zhen sat back down in his chair, staring at the map of the imperial city's defenses on the table, his brows furrowed. He remained deep in thought for the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea before finally looking up.
His face was full of reluctance, and he spoke hesitantly: "If... if there really were hundreds of top-notch experts who could take on ten men each, and they cooperated with the Imperial Guards under my command, and we chose to strike at the moment when the Imperial Guards changed shifts in the dead of night, catching them off guard, perhaps... perhaps we could have a 30% chance of success, but..."
"Just what?" Zhao Yu pressed.
"But Your Highness, even if we manage to take control of the palace and seize the Emperor and Empress, what then?"
Xia Zhen gave a bitter smile and voiced his concerns: "We have no legitimate cause! Since ancient times, the deposition and installation of an emperor has been a matter of great national importance. Even if we control the palace, how could the entire court of civil and military officials possibly support Your Highness's ascension to the throne?"
"Your Majesty has been on the throne for many years. Once news of the palace coup spreads, if someone raises an army and marches towards Lin'an, the military governors of Lianghuai, Jinghu, and even Sichuan will lead their troops back, causing chaos throughout the land. Even if Your Highness occupies the palace, you will not be able to hold onto this empire."
That makes sense.
Since ancient times, the most important thing in rebellion is to have a legitimate reason for the uprising. If the reason is not legitimate, the words will not be proper, and if the words are not proper, the uprising will not succeed.
Even if Zhao Yu could seize the palace by force, without a righteous cause, he would ultimately be a traitor and rebel. Would the people of the world accept him?
Upon hearing this, Zhao Yu simply replied calmly, "Who said we don't have a legitimate reason to stand up for ourselves?"
Xia Zhen was taken aback, looking at Zhao Yu with a puzzled expression: "What does Your Highness mean?"
"I ask you, did the Guangmiao Temple willingly abdicate to the current emperor?" Zhao Yu picked up his teacup, took a slow sip, and spoke calmly.
However, his words gave Xia Zhen a jolt.
Guangmiao refers to Zhao Yu and Emperor Ningzong of Song, Zhao Kuo's biological father, Emperor Guangzong of Song, Zhao Dun.
Back then, Emperor Guangzong of Song was afraid of his wife and had a falling out with the retired Emperor Xiaozong of Song. He even refused to preside over the funeral when Xiaozong passed away, causing panic throughout the court and the country.
Ultimately, it was the imperial clansman Zhao Ruyu and Han Tuozhou who joined forces to launch the "Shaoxi Abdication," forcing Emperor Guangzong to abdicate and enthroning Prince Jia, Zhao Kuo, as Emperor Ningzong of Song.
To the outside world, the official claim was that Emperor Guangzong had abdicated voluntarily, but who in the court and among the people did not know the inside story?
Xia Zhen was naturally aware of this palace secret. Back then, he was just a minor commander in the Palace Guard and personally experienced the abdication of Emperor Shaoxi.
Upon hearing Zhao Yu bring up this matter, he quickly said, "Your Highness, this...this cannot be compared, can it? Back then, it was Emperor Guangzong who violated filial piety, causing unrest throughout the court and among the people, which led to the abdication. But now the Emperor has been in power for many years and has not committed any major offenses, so we..."
"How can they not be compared?" Zhao Yu slammed down his teacup, interrupting Xia Zhen.
"Since the Southern Song Dynasty moved south, the Gao Temple abdicated to the Xiao Temple, the Xiao Temple abdicated to the Guang Temple, and the Guang Temple, in turn, outwardly also abdicated to the current emperor."
"This act of abdication is a common practice in our Great Song Dynasty. Times change, and now the Emperor is weak and sickly, and has been misled by Shi Miyuan, signing a humiliating peace treaty that has betrayed the nation and its sovereignty. He has failed our ancestors and is willingly abdicating the throne to his own younger brother. What is wrong with that?"
Xia Zhen opened his mouth, wanting to refute, but when the words reached his lips, he couldn't utter a single word.
He was stunned by Zhao Yu's words.
Thinking about it carefully, it does seem to make sense.
Since the founding of the Southern Song Dynasty, starting with Zhao Gou, there have been three retired emperors in a row, and abdication had long become commonplace.
Now that we've added one more, it doesn't seem... strange at all?
Seeing his changing expression, Zhao Yu pressed on, saying, "As long as we control the Forbidden City and obtain the Emperor's abdication edict, then I will be the rightful Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty."
"When the time comes, I will announce to the world that I, as the emperor's younger brother, have rightfully inherited the throne. What reason will the officials have to oppose me? What reason will the officials of all the states have to raise an army?"
Xia Zhen sat in the chair, silent for a long time, his mind in turmoil.
On one hand, there's the risk of his entire family being wiped out for plotting to usurp the throne; on the other hand, there's the immense wealth and honor of supporting the emperor. Does he have a choice?