C2

Chapter 2 - Mountainous Mountains Outside the Mountains

The palace's system was different from the others. Even though Zhao Chen was the crown prince, if he wanted to meet his "royal father", he had to go through layers of notifications!

He requested to see the Song Chin Zong in the morning, and only in the afternoon was he led by a head eunuch to the Funing Hall, where the Song Chin Zong was located, and met his own royal father.

Speaking of which, this was the first time he had truly seen the Song Chin Zong! This was the famous Emperor Jingkang in history, and one of the most miserable emperors in history! Historically, women were truly powerful. After they exterminated the entire Profound Sky Continent, they went south to surround Kai Feng! At that time, when Song Huizong was still in power, he panicked and passed the throne down to the unwelcome eldest son, Zhao Huan, and forced Zhao Huan to ascend the throne, to be the Song Chin Zong! It had only been a year since the Song Chin Zong was reigned, but the Jin Army had descended to the south, and once again surrounded Kai Feng! After that, the two emperors were captured and the Song Chin Zong was imprisoned in a world of ice and snow for 30 years. It could be said that other than his youth, this Emperor Jingkang didn't have much joy in his life.

The ancient people got married early, Song Chin Zong already had a crown prince at 17 years old, now Zhao Chen was 10 years old, but Song Chin Zong was not even 30 years old yet. At this moment, Zhao Chen was secretly sizing up Song Chin Zong, he only saw that Song Chin Zong was tall, but his body was thin, his face pale white and his eyes dull. It was obvious that his body was not very well.

"This son greets royal father!" Zhao Chen knelt down and bowed!

Even the crown prince had to kneel before the emperor when he saw him. This was a form of etiquette! After being in the palace for so long, Zhao Chen had learnt the most basic of etiquette.

"So it's Chen Er, hurry up and rise, you stay by the side, I have something to discuss with Zhang Da Ren!" Song Chin Zong said.

It was only then that Zhao Chen realized there was another person in Funing Hall. This person was over forty years old, he was shorter, fatter, and wore a scarlet red official's robe. This man's appearance gave off an extremely wretched feeling. His face was covered in fat and a flattering smile, causing Zhao Chen to frown.

"This humble subject, Zhang Bangchang, greets Your Highness, Crown Prince!" The forty odd year old official bowed towards Zhao Chen.

Hearing the three words "Zhang Bangchang," Zhao Chen couldn't help but be taken aback! This Zhang Bangchang could be considered a famous person in history, he was the famous scoundrel in the last years of the Northern Song Dynasty! During the years of Song Huizong and the Song Chin Zong, he had held the positions of Minister of Imperial House, Minister of Imperial Household, Minister of Imperial Household, Minister of Imperial Household, Minister of Imperial Household and Assistant Minister of Imperial Household. After that, this person became the so-called "Hebei Forsaken land envoy", and was responsible for giving all the land in Hebei to the Nvzhen! Because of "ability", after the Jin Army had retreated, this person was given the title of Puppet Emperor, called "Emperor Chu". On examination, this person was the only Emperor Zhang in all of history. It was just that Zhang Bangchang was incapable of doing anything, regardless of whether it was the citizens or the ministers, no one supported the so called "Emperor Chu". In just a month's time, the Chu Emperor had been overthrown. Only his reputation had been left behind.

"So it's this treacherous official!" Zhao Chen secretly thought.

Zhao Huan and Zhang Bangchang had something important to discuss with each other, so Zhao Chen could only stand at the side and secretly listen to their conversation.

Zhang Bangchang took out a piece of paper and placed it in front of Zhao Huan. Zhao Chen took a glance and realised that this was a map, and on it was actually the Song Dynasty's imperial palace.

"Your Majesty, look north of the palace, there is still a large piece of land here! Right now, the people living here were all lowly commoners. There were no clans, nor were there any ministers! We can expel these lowly commoners and expand the palace here! " Zhang Bangchang said.

Zhao Chen was startled once again, he had not expected that Zhao Huan and Zhang Bangchang would actually be here discussing the expansion of the imperial palace.

"Do these lowly commoners know how to cause trouble?" Zhao Huan said.

"Your Majesty, they are just a group of lowly commoners. How could they dare to cause trouble? At most, we can just take out some gold and silver from the national treasury to pacify the hearts of these lowly commoners! " Zhang Bangchang said.

Zhao Huan nodded.

"Your Majesty, you have just ascended the throne. Besides expanding the palace, the harem needs to be enriched as well! Your majesty only has the crown prince as your son. What if … If something were to happen to the crown prince, who would be the one to spread the news about the Song Dynasty? Therefore, it was imperative that the harem be filled! This autumn, the imperial government will select talent from all over the country and record it into the harem! " Zhang Bangchang said again.

Zhao Huan nodded again.

Zhao Chen had been listening to the two of them talk the entire time. When he heard this, he could no longer hold it in any longer and suddenly said, "Royal father, Master Zhang, is this the time to expand the imperial palace and expand the harem?"

The Jin Army was nearing the south and the calamity of a nation being exterminated was about to occur. The monarch and prime ministers of a nation were actually discussing the expansion of the imperial palace and the expansion of the imperial harem.

Song Chin Zong Zhao Huan was also stunned. In his mind, the crown prince had always been submissive and did not speak at all. Furthermore, the crown prince was rather respectful, he would never interrupt others to speak! This morning, he had also received news that the crown prince had gradually recovered his memories, but from the looks of it, the situation was somewhat strange! The Crown Prince regained his memories, so why did his temperament change?

"Chen Er, why is it not the time to expand the imperial palace and expand the harem now?" Zhao Huan said.

"Royal Father, Great Master Zhang, the Nvzhen is a wolf in the dark, and may come south at any time! Last year, they had surrounded Kai Feng from the south. This year, if they were to head south again, how should we deal with them? " Zhao Chen said.

Hearing Zhao Chen's words, Zhao Huan was even more shocked in his heart! In the past, Zhao Chen never cared about national affairs. If you were to think about it, a ten year old child, how could he care about national affairs? What happened to Zhao Chen today?

"Last time when the Jin Army went south, didn't she still leave in the end? The reason why the Jin Army went south, was just for some gold and silver! Last time, we already gave them enough gold and silver, but this time they won't go south! " Zhang Bangchang shook his head.

"The reason why the Jin Army left was not because we gave them sufficient gold and silver, but because they lacked manpower at that time. If the Jin Army were to head south again, she would be prepared for it, and would definitely bring all the soldiers of the entire nation here. At that time, the entire Kai Feng City would be in danger of being conquered, and the entire Central Plains would be occupied by the Jin Army! At that time, royal father and I will not be able to escape death! " Zhao Chen looked at Zhang Bangchang, and said coldly.

"Chen Er, you are overthinking it! Master Zhang was right just now, the reason why the Jin Army went south was for gold and silver! If they head south again, we can just give them some gold and silver! "Don't worry!" Zhao Huan said.

"Father, Jin Army will go south, and will definitely exterminate my Song Dynasty, how can this son not be worried?" Zhao Chen said loudly.

"You're just a ten-year old child, what do you know?" Zhao Huan frowned and said.

"Father, think twice!" Zhao Chen said anxiously.

"Men, bring the crown prince away!"

Zhao Huan waved his hand, and two guards ran over, and the two guards grabbed his arms, and dragged him out of Funing Hall.

"Your Majesty, the crown prince is still young, how can he understand these national affairs?" Inside the Funing Hall, Zhang Bangchang slowly said after seeing Zhao Chen being brought out by the guards.

"What do you mean?" Zhao Huan asked with some doubt.

"Someone instigated the crown prince? Who could it be? The crown prince rarely came into contact with ministers... Could it be Li Ruoshui? " Zhao Huan said in shock.

Li Ruoshui was the middle-aged man that Zhao Chen had just arrived at this age with a face full of righteousness. He was originally the master of the crown prince, but because he frightened the crown prince until he lost his memories, he was demoted to the Luoyang.

This Li Ruoshui was also a famous person in history, but he was different, he was a famous loyal subject in history! The Kaifeng City was broken, the Song Chin Zong and Song Huizong were captured, the ministers of the Northern Song were afraid of the Jin Army's tyrannical power and did not dare to speak, only Li Ruoshui remained steadfast in defending the two emperors' dignity. Seeing Li Ruoshui's bravery and loyalty, Jinguo Marshal Wanyan Zonghan admired him from the bottom of his heart, wanting to bribe Li Ruoshui. Wanyan Zonghan said to Li Ruoshui, "Today I will obey, tomorrow I will be rich." After that, Wanyan Zonghan threatened Li Ruoshui with the lives of his family members, saying, "My parents are outstanding in Spring and Autumn, if you don't mind, I will pay you my respects". Seeing that and the Song Chin Zong had been humiliated, Li Ruoshui kept scolding and ordering his men to cut off Li Ruoshui's tongue! Li Ruoshui could not use his mouth to curse, he could only glare at them in anger and point with his fingers, thus Wanyan Zonghan ordered people to dig out Li Ruoshui's eyes, cut off both of his hands, and finally, Wanyan Zonghan was going to execute him.

It could be said that Li Ruoshui represented the spirit of ancient Chinese scholars, and he used his life to explain the meaning of the spirit.

"Your majesty, it must be Li Ruoshui who instigated the crown prince to say such preposterous words! We must severely punish Li Ruoshui! " At the moment, in the Song Dynasty's Imperial Palace, Zhang Bangchang was constantly instigating his Song Chin Zong to punish Li Ruoshui.

"Forget it, this person is no longer the Vice Minister of the Department. He's just a mere Luoyang!" It's just a county magistrate, you don't need to go through any more punishments! " Song Chin Zong shook his head and said.

The Song Dynasty's literati held a higher position, the Song Dynasty's monarch also valued the literati, the Northern Song Dynasty did not have the tradition of killing the civil officials. To have an official become a county magistrate was already an extreme punishment, Song Chin Zong felt that there was no need to punish them anymore! Zhang Bangchang and Li Ruoshui had never been on good terms, but when they thought about how Li Ruoshui was now a county magistrate, they no longer took him seriously.

As for the crown prince's "abnormal performance", the two of them now belonged to Li Ruoshui!

As the sun set and the warm wind blew, Zhao Chen walked on the path of the imperial palace.

He looked up and saw a faint green mountain in the distance, surrounded by countless palaces and buildings! The entire palace was exceptionally grand, and in fact, not just the palace, the entire Kaifeng City was exceptionally grand as well.

The Song Dynasty was the most economically developed dynasty in ancient China, and Kaifeng was the most prosperous city in the world. With a population of a million, the scenery was charming and the city was magnificent. The ancient Chinese civilization also reached its peak in this era. Unfortunately, after the peak, it would decline, and the beginning of its decline would be the shame of Jingkang.

The palace was filled with countless maids, concubines, and princesses! Walking within the imperial palace, Zhao Chen could hear the sounds of dancing nonstop, and could see the beautiful girls dancing nonstop!

Looking at the scene in front of him, Zhao Chen suddenly felt that it was ridiculous, a poem appeared in his mind.

"When is the song and dance of the West Lake?" "Warm winds make people drunk, making Hangzhou into a city!"

This poem was written by Lin Sheng, a poet during the Southern Song Dynasty. The people of the monarch and officials of the Southern Song Dynasty were only concerned with peace and security, only concerned with pleasure, and turned a blind eye to the dangerous situation that was about to unfold! Zhao Chen felt that this poem's description of the Northern Song Dynasty's last year was the same as well!

The Nvzhen had risen up into the black water of the white mountain. In ten years, they had become invincible! Under the leadership of the Nvzhen's peerless hero, Wan Yanaguda, in just ten years, they had annihilated the once strongest nation in East Asia, the Liao Country. The territory of the Liao Country was completely occupied by the Nvzhen. The emperor of the Liao Country knelt in front of the female True Emperor and became her prisoner!

Now that the Liao Country was gone, the south of the Nvzhen was still the Song Dynasty, they could go south and eliminate Song at any time! In the face of such a situation, the ruler and subjects of the Song Dynasty were not thinking about how to deal with the Jin Army, but were thinking about how to expand the imperial palace and expand the harem! In the entire imperial palace, the entire Kaifeng City, regardless of whether it was ministers or citizens, they were all immersed in the "magnificent scenery". No one was worried that the south of the Jin Army would completely destroy everything in front of them!

"I am no longer an ordinary third year student, I am the Crown Prince Jing Kang! Song Dynasty has been destroyed, the ordinary people may still be able to live, but I, Prince Jing Kang will not be able to escape death! I must think of a way to escape this place! " Zhao Chen secretly thought.