False Eunuch: With Many Children, I'm as Happy as a Fish in Water

"Now that Lin'an has surrendered, the Emperor of the Song Dynasty has asked for his surrender. I boldly ask His Highness the King of Tang to ascend the throne and proclaim himself emperor in order to appease the people!"

Among these ministers of the Southern Song Dynasty, there were many opportunists and clever talkers.

Now some people have seized the opportunity and plan to compete for the great achievements of this minister of the dragon.

As soon as these words came out, the court hall became quiet.

All the ministers looked at each other one after another, and some even raised their heads vaguely to see the reaction of the person on the throne in the palace.

He just didn't wait for Lin Chen's reaction.

Lu Xiufu, Wen Tianxiang and other ministers who had the Southern Song Dynasty in mind glared angrily.

However, Liu Mengyan, who opened his mouth to contribute, didn't take it seriously. Instead, he was complacent, as if he had the upper hand.

What Liu Mengyan did in the original history can be called a traitor.

According to historical records, this man was smart and studious in his early years, and he also cared about his reputation.

In the same year, he took the imperial examination and became the top scholar in high school. His official career was quite smooth.

From Shaoqing of the Hanlin Academy, he was promoted to counselor of the Privy Council, and later became Prime Minister and Privy Envoy.

Liu Mengyan also had a close relationship with Jia Sidao and called each other good friends.

However, after Jia Sidao and Ding Jiazhou were defeated and returned to Beijing in embarrassment, Liu Mengyan did not help his former friend, but sat back and watched him being demoted until he was killed on the way.

Of course, the reason was that because the Mongolian army was overwhelming, Liu Mengyan was so frightened that he stayed at home due to illness. It was not until Xie Daoqing visited his home in person that he became the Prime Minister of Zuo.

According to the original history, Liu Mengyan would abandon his official position and flee when the Mongolian army approached Lin'an, and then lead the people to surrender in the name of Prime Minister Zuo after the Mongols captured Lin'an.

At the same time, literati only had two sentences to comment on him: he was a cunning man and he could act according to the prevailing circumstances.

In other words, Liu Mengyan was a complete loser.

As for why Liu Mengyan didn't escape home when the Tang army arrived in Lin'an?

The reason is simpler.

Lin Chen arrived so quickly that before the fleeing prime minister could react, he himself became one of the prisoners.

According to Liu Mengyan's character, it is completely normal for Jinyan to let Lin Chen become emperor now.

Lin Chen looked at the expression on the Southern Song Dynasty Prime Minister Zuo's face, and a trace of amusement flashed in his eyes.

Looking at Zhang Shijie again, this old man who had led the army had his eyes wide with anger.

It seemed that he was about to raise his fist to give Liu Mengyan a good beating in the next second, but he was a prisoner and could only hold back.

On the other hand, the other ministers of the Southern Song Dynasty who had similar thoughts to Liu Mengyan in the palace also hurriedly spoke in agreement, fearing that they would be left behind.

Qiao Xuan glanced at his colleagues behind him and took note of the guys who spoke.

Obviously.

As a close confidant who knows his master's thoughts, he disdains any deep friendship with these insects.

"snort."

Wen Tianxiang couldn't help but let out a cold laugh. "Prime Minister, please show some respect when you speak!"

The implication is to remind Liu Mengyan not to be too shameless.

"Brother Song Rui, a certain family is no longer the prime minister of the Southern Song Dynasty."

Liu Mengyan didn't seem to hear the sarcasm in Wen Tianxiang's words, and instead called Wen Tianxiang with a smile.

Seeing Wen Tianxiang's words, some ministers in the palace who were still concerned about the Southern Song Dynasty became full of fire.

certainly.

It's not that there were no ministers of the Southern Song Dynasty who sincerely served Lin Chen.

Chen Yizhong is one of them.

He was also a high official in the imperial court appointed by Xie Daoqing, and he was worshiped as Prime Minister You.

However, since Chen Yizhong went south to Mongolia, apart from engaging in internal fighting with Jia Sidao, he has made no other achievements.

If he was surrendering to Mongolia, maybe the name Chen Yizhong would be listed with Liu Mengyan.

However, after the fall of Lin'an, Chen Yizhong defected to the new king of Yi, supported him as the leader, and became the prime minister of Zuo again.

King Yi died of illness, and he went to Guangzhou to serve King Wei.

Until the Battle of Yashan, Chen Yizhong, who saw that the situation was over, fled to Siam and never entered the Central Plains again in his life.

It can be seen that this person has some integrity, but not much.

After Lin Chen entered Lin'an and saw that the common people and scholars had not been massacred, he willingly obeyed the new king.

"Your Highness, the various places are still unstable. We should send troops to capture them, and we should also be wary of the barbarians in the north. The matter of proclaiming the emperor needs to be discussed separately."

Chen Yizhong's advice is quite reasonable.

Although Lin'an surrendered, the Southern Song Dynasty was legally destroyed.

But to the south of Lin'an, there were still many state capitals still in the hands of the old officials of the Southern Song Dynasty and had not yet surrendered to the Tang army.

No matter how you look at it, you should send troops to recruit and surrender these places, and then be wary of northern Mongolia.

Only when the south is completely stabilized will it be a good time for Lin Chen to proclaim himself emperor.

Chen Yizhong's words were also approved by many courtiers.

As for the die-hard elements such as Wen Tianxiang and Lu Xiufu, they pretended to close their eyes and rest, focusing on not cooperating or resisting.

Lin Chen looked at the expressions of the ministers in the palace and shook his head imperceptibly.

How could he not know the principle of accumulating food and becoming king slowly?

He had no intention of discussing proclaiming himself emperor today.

For Lin Chen, proclaiming himself king or emperor was nothing more than a ritual.

It's just that Liu Mengyan is smart.

Just when Liu Mengyan was about to argue with Chen Yizhong, he saw Lin Chen's slightly cold eyes sweeping across the hall.

Then, an overwhelming pressure spread throughout the palace!

Immediately, the hall became silent.

"This matter will be discussed later."

Lin Chen spoke slowly, making a final decision on proclaiming himself emperor.

"Where is Junshi?"

Junshi, also named after Lu Xiufu.

When Lu Xiufu heard Lin Chen's summons, he had to open his eyes and bowed out of the queue.

He never expected that he would be detained by Lin Chen that day, and he would not regain his personal freedom until the end of the Southern Song Dynasty.

What puzzled Lu Xiufu even more.

This Tang King seemed to value him quite a bit.

really.

The ministers in the palace noticed Lin Chen's friendly attitude towards Lu Xiufu and couldn't help but look over.

Lu Xiufu was angry in his heart, but his face remained calm.

He made up his mind not to do anything for King Tang.

However.

What Lin Chen said next made him look stunned.

"I heard that the people are still practicing the policy of buying public land?"

The so-called buying of public land means that the government forcibly purchases the land of ordinary people and gives them worthless banknotes!

In other words.

This strategy of buying public land is no different from robbing it from the hands of the people!

The policy of purchasing public land must be attributed to Jia Sidao.

When he controlled the court of the Southern Song Dynasty, the national treasury was in serious deficit, so he came up with this method like a ghost.

When the government seizes land from ordinary people, powerful households can take the opportunity to conceal their land and pay less taxes in the coming year.

Nowadays, refugees are everywhere in the Southern Song Dynasty, and Jia Sidao is indispensable.

As an ambitious man, how could Lu Xiufu not know the harm that buying public land would do to the common people?

But he knew it, but couldn't do anything.

Now that Lu Xiufu heard Lin Chen mention this matter, he was surprised and wondered what the other party had planned?

What does Lin Chen mean?

Of course, he planned to let a pure minister like Lu Xiufu sort out the mess.

without any exaggeration.

Under the rule of the Southern Song Dynasty, it had long been exploited by moths headed by Jia Sidao.

If left unchecked, peasant uprisings would probably break out in various parts of the south before Kublai Khan could attack.

…