This is so scary!
Before, they were all soldiers and stokers. If Han Qi suddenly showed up, this turn of events would be life-threatening!
Drink some tea quickly to calm down.
While he was catching his breath, Han Zhongyan had already arrived in the court. He bowed slightly and said, "Judge Zhang, I am very sorry. My father wanted to come here to help the imperial court after receiving your invitation. However, due to his advanced age, he was unable to travel such a long distance, so he asked me to come here to testify on his behalf."
Zhang Fei treated everyone equally. He did not stand up to return the greeting. He just sat on the Diaoyutai and smiled, "Actually, I don't want to disturb Han Xianggong. Han Xianggong was deeply involved in the battle of Suizhou. There is a lot of evidence that must be provided by Han Xianggong. Maybe I was not thoughtful enough. I hope Judge Han can convey my apologies to Han Xianggong on my behalf."
Han Zhongyan said: "No, no, this is our job."
"Judge Han, please take a seat."
"Thank you!"
Han Zhongyan sat down.
Zhang Fei asked: "As usual, I have to ask whether Judge Han's next confession can fully represent Mr. Han."
Han Zhongyan nodded and said, "Yes, because my father has told me everything he has seen, heard, known and thought. Every word I say can represent my father."
After hearing this, the distinguished guests present could not help but be stunned again.
Although Han Qi did not come, the shocking effect may be lacking, but Han Zhongyan's words are enough to show Han Qi's respect for the imperial court, which makes everyone look at the imperial court with new eyes!
Wow... What kind of high-level is this imperial court
If even Han Qi had to cooperate with the imperial court, then who else could refuse to cooperate, except perhaps the emperor
In the letters sent from the capital, they were only informed of Zhang Fei's relationship with Sima Guang, Wang Anshi, and Xu Zun, and Han Qi was never mentioned in any letter.
If there was no relationship, Kaifeng Prefecture might not have been able to invite Han Qi to testify.
This is really outrageous!
Wei Yingfang even began to sweat slightly.
Zhang Fei, however, was still concentrating on the trial as before. Xu Zhiqian, who was standing next to him, unfolded a document and placed it in front of Zhang Fei at the right moment.
Zhang Fei lowered his head and looked carefully, then raised his head and asked Han Zhongyan: "Judge Han, according to what I know, after the court learned that Deputy Envoy Zhong occupied Suizhou, it quickly sent Minister Han to govern Shaanxi. Is that right?"
"Yes."
Han Zhongyan nodded and said, "In fact, my father was preparing to leave Beijing to take up his post in Huainan. The day before he left Beijing, the court suddenly received news that Deputy Envoy Zhong had recovered Suizhou, so the government temporarily issued an order to have my father transferred to Yongxing Army and concurrently serve as the General Envoy of the Four Routes in Shaanxi."
Why is this case rather complicated? In fact, there is a very crucial reason, that is, Song Yingzong had just passed away and Zhao Xu had just ascended the throne. The transfer of imperial power is always the most sensitive moment in a feudal dynasty.
At that time, some censors impeached Han Qi for his autocratic and domineering behavior. Han Qi also knew that he was in a high position and that if he continued to stay in the Secretariat, it would affect the imperial power. So after Zhao Xu ascended the throne, he refused to work in the Secretariat and insisted on being transferred to another place.
Zhao Xu didn't know whether he was sincere or insincere, but after trying to persuade him to stay, he appointed him as the Jiedushi of Huainan. But he didn't expect that this incident would happen just before he left.
Zhao Xu immediately transferred Han Qi to Shaanxi to deal with the Suizhou issue.
Han Qi has always been very concerned about the border, and when he was ordered to do so, he immediately rushed to Suizhou.
Therefore, before the troops were dispatched, Lu Shen and Xue Xiang were both key witnesses, and in the middle process, those soldiers were key witnesses. However, after the recovery of Suizhou, Han Qi was the most critical witness because he was the executor of subsequent matters.
Zhang Fei asked again: "When the emperor transferred Han Xianggong to govern Shaanxi, did he let Han Xianggong make all the decisions, or did the court already make the decision?"
This time everyone perked up.
The decisions involving Han Qi were absolutely top secret at the time and represented the court's true intentions at the time. No one present now was qualified to participate.
Although Zheng Xie participated in the whole process, he was only a counselor, not a decision maker. The real decision must have been made by the emperor and the prime ministers.
Han Qi's confession is the most authoritative evidence of the court's decision at that time.
Han Zhongyan thought carefully for a moment before saying, "According to what my father said, there was actually no clear decision within the court at the time, but they were basically planning to give up Suizhou."
Zhang Fei asked, "I don't quite understand what Judge Han said."
Han Zhongyan explained: "When my father learned about this, he initially thought that since Suizhou had been taken, we should not retreat. Not to mention the critical geographical location of Suizhou, the key point is that this would make Xixia think that our Song Dynasty was too weak and might make further advances.
However, some ministers in the court believed that Suizhou was isolated and difficult to defend, and advocated giving it up. Later, my father also agreed to give up Suizhou, but this was not the final decision. The government still asked my father to go to Shaanxi first to find out the situation before making the final decision. "
This is obviously different from Zheng Xie's confession, which shows that different powers lead to different views.
The result of the discussion at that time was that the party advocating giving up gained the upper hand.
But what Zheng Xie saw was that due to financial difficulties, he should not engage in a major war with Western Xia, which would be extremely risky.
However, what Han Qi saw was whether the dispute could be maintained strategically, which was enough to prove that Zheng Xie was not involved in the highest decision-making circle.
Zhang Fei looked down at the document and said, "But in the end the imperial court did not abandon Suizhou."
Han Zhongyan nodded and said, "That's because my father came to Yongxing Army."
At this point, he looked at Guo Kui who was sitting next to him, "Mr. Guo believed that we should not abandon the city and strongly advocated the development of Suizhou. Under Mr. Guo's advice and my father's observation of the war situation at the time, he believed that Suizhou could be defended, so he decided to adopt Mr. Guo's suggestion and mobilize food and grass to support Suizhou."
Zhang Fei asked, "What did Mr. Han observe?"
Han Zhongyan said: "First, it was because General Zhe Jishi deployed elite troops in Dali River in advance and defeated the enemy troops coming to rescue from Yinzhou several times, which made the right wing of Yanzhou worry-free. At that time, General Zhong had already severely damaged the main force of the enemy and arrived at Jinci, occupying the strategic terrain.
Based on these circumstances, my father determined that General Zhe's deployment on the right wing of our army was enough to buy time for Suizhou. As long as we station more troops in Suizhou City and consolidate the natural barrier of Hengshan, there will be no worries, and at the same time we can ensure the safety of Yanzhou."
Zhang Fei asked, "Does Prime Minister Han know what happened before, that is, that Governor Lu ordered Deputy Envoy Zhong to retreat to Qingjian City?"
Han Zhongyan nodded and said, "I know."
Zhang Fei said: "According to Minister Han's judgment, under the circumstances at the time, if General Zhong retreated to Qingjian City, would it have an impact on General Zhe?"
Han Zhongyan said: "My father thinks that it may have an impact."
Zhang Fei asked: "Can you explain it in detail?"
Han Zhongyan said: "If the enemy army stops the offensive immediately after retaking Suizhou, it will not affect General Zhe. But if the enemy army takes advantage of the situation and launches an attack on Yanzhou, then General Zhe may face attacks from both sides, and the situation will be very bad."
Zhang Fei asked again: "According to Han Xianggong's judgment of the situation at that time, if the Xixia leader Li Liangzuo had not died, would it have led to a war between my country and Xixia?"
Han Zhongyan nodded and said, "It is very likely, and my father did not approve of a war with Xixia at that time, but he also believed that the situation at that time was still controllable. After all, we have always had envoys in contact with Xixia.
Even if a war breaks out, as long as we strengthen the natural barrier of Suizhou, the Western Xia will not be able to easily break through our defense line and will have to negotiate in the end. If Suizhou is in our hands, we will be able to gain the advantage in the negotiations.
Even if we had to abandon the defense, my father thought that it was not the best time to do so, because the Western Xia had already launched an offensive. If we abandoned the defense, we would not know whether the Western Xia would stop or take advantage of the situation to launch an offensive, which would also seriously affect the morale of our army. "
Zhang Fei continued to ask: "Do you think that the previous plan of Vice Envoy Zhong to recapture Suizhou was a perfect one, or was it a risky move?"
Han Zhongyan hesitated for a moment and said, "My father thinks that from a strategic point of view, Deputy Envoy Zhong's move was rather risky, because it was indeed not appropriate to go to war with Xixia at that time. But from the perspective of tactical deployment, it was very perfect, and General Zhong and General Zhe were also very well prepared."
Hearing this, Wang Shao, Guo Kui, Yuan Jiang and others could not help but feel admiration.
As expected of Han Qi, his answer was flawless.
It is truly impartial, supporting both sides and not offending either side. You can't find any fault with it.
According to him, abandoning Suizhou was not impossible, but the timing was not right.
In fact, this is the truth. You have already taken it, and then you go back directly. Who can guarantee that Xixia will stop? Seeing that you are so cowardly, I have to go to your house to show my respect. What if I open a gap
Han Qi was also an experienced diplomat. He chose to hold on to Suizhou. If a war really broke out, he believed that the Western Xia would certainly consider it, and there would definitely be some diplomatic negotiations in the middle. It would still be time to discuss whether to abandon it or not. Suizhou was still an important bargaining chip.
This judgment was agreed upon by not only the military generals but also the civil officials with a little foresight.
"last question."
Zhang Fei asked, "I wonder what Mr. Han thinks of Prefect Lu's administration after he came to Shaanxi?"
When these words were spoken, many people were shocked.
Even Zhong Yan and Lu Shen were stunned.
Is this aimed at Lu Shen
This change of topic is really unexpected!
Because all the previous questions were directed at Zhong Yan, this was the first question directly directed at Lu Shen.
But there had been no previous confessions pointing to Lu Shen.
Could it be... Could it be that he is inclined to be a traitor
It’s hidden deeply enough!
Even Han Zhongyan hesitated a little, thinking, Fortunately, my father explained this, otherwise, I really don't know how to answer this question. He asked cautiously, "I wonder what Judge Zhang is asking about?"
Zhang Fei asked calmly, "When Han Xianggong arrived in Yanzhou, what did he think of the deployment in Yanzhou?"
Han Zhongyan said: "According to my father's observation, Yanzhou was also ready for battle at that time."
Zhang Fei asked again: "Can you provide help to Deputy Envoy Zhong?"
Something is wrong! Something is wrong!
Zheng Xie began to sweat, worried about his old friend.
Lu Shen himself also had a solemn expression.
Han Zhongyan shook his head and said, "That's not the case. Without the imperial edict, there is actually very little that Prefect Lu can do. My father is still needed to coordinate and mobilize."
Zhang Fei suddenly turned his head to look at Zhong Yan and asked, "After Vice Envoy Zhong recovered Suizhou, did he seek assistance from Yanzhou?"
Zhong Yan was still in a daze. This question was too weird. Why was he suddenly directing his criticism at Lu Shen
Zhang Fei asked, "Deputy Envoy Zhong?"
"oh."
Zhong Yan came back to his senses and shook his head, "No... No."
At that time, he hoped that Lu Shen would not disturb him, so he didn't dare to contact Lu Shen actively.
Zhang Fei then asked Han Zhongyan: "After Han Xianggong decided to hold on to Suizhou, did Yanzhou fully cooperate?"
Han Zhongyan thought for a moment and said, "When my father arrived in Yanzhou, Prefect Lu did complain to my father about what Deputy Envoy Zhong did, but Prefect Lu still followed my father's orders and did not refuse to cooperate."
"Thank you very much, Judge Han, for taking the trouble to come here to testify."
Zhang Fei smiled and nodded, then said loudly: "Today's trial ends here. Since this case is quite complicated, this judge will have to carefully review today's confession. If there is anything to add, the court will open the court on a later date. If not, the verdict will be announced on a later date."
At this point, he tapped the gavel lightly and said, "Court is adjourned."
He stood up, nodded slightly, and then left, leaving a group of stunned guests.
That's it