Son of Song Dynasty

Chapter 18 The Alliance of the Golden Chamber
The so-called internal treasury is the emperor's private small treasury, which is completely different from the imperial treasury in charge of the household department.

If the emperor wants to use the national treasury to engage in private enjoyment projects, such as building palaces and gardens, he must first have a good lawsuit with the ministers, and it is likely to be pushed back, so it is far inferior to the internal treasury. Money is easy to spend.

But the plate in the inner treasury was so big, and Zhao Kuangyin spent a large sum of money out of his own pocket to build a new house for his son, so his own expenses in the palace would have to be reduced a lot.

Zhao Dezhao suddenly thought of his old father who was an ordinary teacher in his previous life, who spent all his pension money to make up the down payment for his new house.

It seems that there is no difference in the way fathers treat their sons throughout the ages, no matter if they are ordinary teacher fathers or the most honorable emperor fathers.

His eyes were suddenly moist, and his nose was slightly sour.

Zhao Dezhao turned around and wiped the corners of his eyes, and sincerely declined:

"The puppet court of the Northern Han Dynasty is still lingering, and Yanyun has not recovered. Khitan dogs break through our border every year, kill my border people, and take my people away...the court still needs money. The son's current mansion is enough. I don’t dare to accept such a generous gift anymore.”

"You never forget Taiyuan and Yanyun, and Khitan's troubles, that's naturally very good, it's rare that you have such a heart..."

Zhao Kuangyin showed approval on his face, then got up and strode out of the imperial study.

Zhao Dezhao hurriedly followed behind.

Zhao Kuangyin stood in the courtyard with his hands behind his back, looking up at the northern sky, in a daze.

Zhao Dezhao stared at his father's side face, noticing that his expression gradually became resolute, revealing the heroic spirit of being a king who established the foundation.

"I am in great trouble, and the first is in the north!"

"If we don't conquer Taiyuan, don't return to Yanyun, and just stick to peace in the Central Plains, wouldn't I, Zhao Da, become like Shi Jingtang?"

Shi Jingtang, the culprit who betrayed the "Sixteen States of Yanyun" to Khitan, is one of the top three famous traitors in Chinese history.

Zhao Dezhao added silently in his heart: "We also have to add the Khitan in the north, Dali and Vietnam in the southwest, all of which are not good friends; we have to step up in the northwest direction, and Dangxiang Li who is entrenched in that corner. In a few years, the family will establish a foundation and establish a country... The founding of the Great Song Dynasty is not congenitally deficient, and our old Zhao family needs to do too much work!"

Zhao Kuangyin spoke up, became more heroic, pointed to the sky, and said loudly: "If the sky is a holiday, give me another 20 years to build up national power and teach the soldiers a lesson. I will definitely be able to command the army and wipe out the north!"

"Father, it's a pity that you don't even have two years left."

Zhao Dezhao sighed secretly in his heart, and slapped a flattery with a smile on his lips: "Daddy is a hero and invincible. Sooner or later, he will be able to pacify the world and restore the old frontiers of the Han and Tang Dynasties!"

"Restore the old borders of the Han and Tang Dynasties? Hehe, a war will surely perish. The Tang Dynasty tried its best to expand its borders, and finally caused the disaster of a feudal town. The lessons are not far away, and the Song Dynasty cannot repeat the same mistakes."

Zhao Kuangyin shook his head with a complicated expression.

Zhao Dezhao felt that Dad seemed to have limited interest in restoring the old borders of the Han and Tang Dynasties. This may be due to the consideration of the current objective conditions, and it cannot be said to be wrong.

But Zhao Kuangyin obviously didn't speak to death, he paused, and said slowly: "One generation does the work of one generation, and many important things may only be left to the later generations."

Hearing his father suddenly mentioning the word "later", Zhao Dezhao couldn't help but feel his heart tremble, but he didn't dare to show it on his face.

Zhao Kuangyin turned around, stared deeply at his son, and said after a while, "Go, I'm tired."

……

into the night.

A young eunuch in Tsing Yi quietly left Funing Palace, hurried through the streets and alleys after leaving the imperial city, and rushed to the back door of Prince Jin's Mansion, knocked a secret signal on the door, the door opened quickly, and the little eunuch immediately He was led to Jin Wang Zhao Guangyi himself.

A moment later, in the inner room of the Jin Palace, Zhao Guangyi summoned his advisers for a secret meeting.

"The king just received the news from the palace: the boy entered the palace today to thank you, and he found a chance to show his face in front of the Holy Majesty. The Holy Majesty was very happy and even wanted to build a new county palace for him as a reward. How do you do it?" Waiting for this?"

"My lord, this is an opportunity. As usual, the new palace is handed over to the Ministry of Industry."

The young strategist thought he had a plan, and talked eloquently:

"Therefore, the prince may wish to secretly instruct the officials of the Ministry of Industry not to be stingy about the cost, and to build the king of Tianshui County according to the exceeding specifications. Naturally, a bunch of officials and censors will rush to find fault and scold people. We can take advantage of the opportunity to pour dirty water to Tianshui County. Wang's reputation will be completely ruined, and he may be charged with 'exceeding the system'."

"Okay!" Zhao Guangyi interrupted impatiently, "Your little tricks are useless, the Holy One is planning to pay his own money from the inner treasury, and let the palace's production supervisor be in charge of the construction. Can you speak?"

The young counselor shut up resentfully.

At this time, an old counselor spoke, and the old voice slowly echoed in the secret room:

"How can an old father not pity his son? The Holy One is also pity for his son, and he just wants his son to live in a decent and comfortable place, not because he has moved Li Chu's mind."

"Parents' love for their son is nothing more than a far-reaching plan and a long-term consideration for their son."

"Let the son practice his skills, instead of building a new house for the son, it seems to be thinking about the long-term for the son."

"So, this old man thinks that the prince doesn't need to worry about this trivial matter."

After hearing this, Zhao Guangyi laughed out loud, very happy.

……

At the same moment when Jin King Zhao Guangyi was conferring with his advisers, a tall and burly figure was wandering in the bedroom of Funing Palace. It was Zhao Kuangyin, the Emperor of the Song Dynasty.

At this moment, Zhao Kuangyin frowned, full of worries, and recalled the "Alliance of the Golden Chamber" in his mind.

The "Golden Chamber Alliance" was made by his mother, Empress Dowager Du, with Guangyi and Tingmei brothers when she was dying. It was a secret agreement for the future succession of the Song Dynasty throne, and it was placed in a golden chamber in the palace ( gold cabinet).

It is stated in the covenant that after his death, the throne of the Great Song Dynasty was passed on to Zhao Guangyi and Zhao Tingmei in turn, and finally passed back to his own son Zhao Dezhao from Zhao Tingmei.

The mother, Empress Dowager Du, was the proposer and host of this covenant.

Empress Dowager Du felt that Zhao Kuangyin was able to win the world because Zhou Shizong let a child succeed him. If the older emperor was in power at that time, the world would not fall into Zhao Kuangyin's hands.
Therefore, Empress Dowager Du asked Zhao Kuangyin to learn from Zhou Shizong's lessons and pass it on to his second brother Zhao Guangyi after he was a hundred years old, so that the country will have an elder king, which is a blessing for the community.

Zhao Kuangyin agreed to his mother and made an oath, which was witnessed by Prime Minister Zhao Pu and recorded.

This is the origin of the "Alliance of the Golden Chamber".

The existence of this covenant is the main reason why Zhao Kuangyin has not officially registered as the crown prince even though he is over fifty now.

(End of this chapter)