After Yang Yizhong's betrayal, according to a certain official's self-righteous power grab plan, he should have advanced and retreated with composure, holding the wisdom pearl in his hand. Relying on courage and perseverance, he would have overcome numerous obstacles and, through meticulous planning, gradually gained the initiative in the court. Finally, after several months, before Jin Wushu made the decision to move south, he would have seized control of the government, then with everyone united, he would have fortified Tokyo and achieved a brilliant victory after a year of tenacious defense, thus saving the Central Plains and ushering in a new chapter in history...

However, the hardships and obstacles hadn't even shown their shadows, and the words hadn't even been spoken, when these, whether loyal ministers or clever people, jumped out one by one!

At least Yang Yizhong said something about national and familial hatred that time, but this time he really hadn't said anything at all!

"Minister Zhang, you were the most ardent in impeaching Chancellor Li twice in the past..." Seeing that Kang Lu couldn't hold on any longer and knelt down in the hall with a thud, Zhao Jiu finally came to his senses and pondered his words slightly.

With these words, Kang Lu, who was prostrate on the ground, stopped trembling.

It turned out that until this moment, Kang, the grand official who had been acting as 'Inner Chancellor' for almost ten days, finally woke up from his dream. He realized that under the Song Dynasty's court system, once he was separated from the Emperor and the Chancellor, he couldn't even handle an Imperial Censor! At this moment, Kang had no doubt that as long as the 'changed' Emperor sitting in the hall gave an order, Yang Yizhong, who had been holding an umbrella for him and even standing by when he washed his feet, would drag him out and send two Xue Chao and Dong Ba types to exile him to Shamen Island that very day.

Perhaps, to cover up Yang Yizhong's ugly behavior, he would be given a beating on the road to show his authority, beating him to death and then destroying the evidence.

And in this process, the most terrifying thing was not the possible death, but the fact that this 'ten-day Inner Chancellor' had no means of coping at all, and could only rely on 'divine grace'.

"This is one time, that is another." Zhang Jun stood upright, still calm. "In Your Majesty's eyes, and even in the eyes of those treacherous individuals who isolate the inside from the outside, I have always been opposed to Chancellor Li, seemingly due to personal enmity, irreconcilable like fire and water. Therefore, today's reversal seems like a petty person's behavior..."

The hall was still unusually quiet, with only the Palace Attendant Censor speaking loudly in the hall.

"However, in my opinion, although I have reversed myself, it is not for political or personal strife, but because my own state of mind has changed." Zhang Jun spoke eloquently, as if he had been preparing for this for a long time. "I was orphaned at the age of four, and have not known how to lie since then, which is why I am known in my hometown. I became a Jinshi at the age of twenty-two and entered the officialdom, and I am still the same... During the Jingkang era, I impeached Li Gang for the first time because I saw him lose the battle under the capital city. According to my personal nature, I said what I had to say and impeached him according to the system. But after the Jingkang era, I personally witnessed the sharpness of knives and axes, the horror of national collapse, and the sorrow of chaos in Tokyo. Only then did I realize that in the overall situation, some things must be prioritized. To maintain the overall situation, sometimes one must endure filth and accommodate evil, and tolerate each other for the sake of the country."

Zhao Jiu was slightly moved, but remained noncommittal, while Lü Haowen couldn't help but glance at Zhang Jun, but it was only a glance.

"When I arrived at the temporary capital, Your Majesty wanted to appoint Li Gang as Chancellor. My friends Fan Zongyin and Song Qiyu, who were then Remonstrance Officials, both thought it was not possible and made some suggestions. Although I had personal grievances with Li Gang, I did not say a word, but instead advised them not to cause trouble. Later, Li Gang took office, Fan Zongyin was demoted, and Song Qiyu was killed. I hated it in my heart, but I still did not attack him in my capacity as an Imperial Censor... Because I knew that at that time, the country was ruined and the family was destroyed. Only a strong Chancellor like Li Boji could restore people's hearts and rebuild the court."

"Later, Li Boji succeeded, the court was re-established, and the situation was stabilized. However, he repeatedly treated Your Majesty like a child, acted tyrannically, and used his personal connections to form cliques, which faintly showed a tendency to reverse the order of importance. At that time, although my political views were almost completely in agreement with him, I could not tolerate him ignoring Your Majesty's authority in this way, so I impeached him..."

"Stop..." Zhao Jiu suddenly interrupted and asked, "What political views do you share with Chancellor Li?"

"Your Majesty!" Zhang Jun replied sternly. "I have endured humiliation and survived in Tokyo until now, and I have long had a firm conviction: First, the Jin people are barbaric and cunning, and must never be allowed to make peace! Second, Hebei and Hedong are the foundation of the country and must never be abandoned lightly! Third, although Jiangnan is rich, relying on it will inevitably lead to a state of partial peace. Only by going to Guanzhong to obtain strong soldiers and horses from the Northwest, and controlling the manpower of the Central Plains, can we restore the situation and re-establish our territory! I will answer these three questions once if Your Majesty asks me once, and ten times if Your Majesty asks me ten times. I will never change my tune because of personal grievances with anyone!"

Zhao Jiu was speechless for a moment.

"As for now," Zhang Jun laid out his political strategy, shocking both the Zhao Emperor and Chancellor Lü, and then slowly discussed his 'one time, another time'. "Now Your Majesty has been injured and forgotten things, and has been isolated by treacherous officials. The imperial heir is only one month old and does not even have a title... At this time, if Your Majesty punishes the treacherous officials Huang, Wang, and Kang, but shows some signs of mental disorder, it will discredit the authority of the central government and cause unrest among the people. If Your Majesty wants to maintain the authority of the temporary capital and restore people's hearts, only hardened ministers like Li Gang and Zong Ze can do it!"

At this point, Zhang Jun looked again at Lü Haowen, who was sitting there stiffly, still with a stern expression: "As for Chancellor Lü, just as Your Majesty has arranged, Chancellor Lü's gentlemanly talent and virtue can be used as a deputy to provide consultation and calm people's hearts, but he cannot be entrusted with the court at this time of turmoil."

Lü Haowen immediately rose and bowed to Zhao Jiu, it was not clear whether he agreed or disagreed.

Zhao Jiu was filled with confusion, and after thinking for a long time, he finally realized something and couldn't help but laugh softly: "After talking for so long, Minister Zhang has actually determined that the crime of isolating the inside from the outside is committed by Chancellor Huang and Grand Official Kang, and only then has he called for the recall of Chancellor Li and Commandant Zong?"

Zhang Jun was still unafraid, but asked back sternly: "If Your Majesty does not think that these people have been isolating the inside from the outside recently, why would Your Majesty, with your grace and favor towards these old ministers, only now question this matter?"

Zhao Jiu had nothing to say, Lü Haowen was horrified, Kang Lu did not say a word, but repeatedly kowtowed, even Yang Yizhong, who was standing inside the hall door, rarely changed his expression.

Speaking of which, this showed the incompetence of Zhao Jiu, an ordinary student. He could share weal and woe with others, put down his status to win people's hearts, and even easily display some petty power schemes from TV dramas, but if he was really asked to order punishment... Especially when he knew very well that the crime of isolating the inside from the outside was a major crime wherever it was placed, and could lead to death... When it came to the moment, he hesitated.

"I just fell into the well, and the chancellors arranged for eunuchs and imperial guards to protect me, which may not have been with bad intentions." At this thought, Zhao Jiu unexpectedly defended those people.

Hearing these words, Kang Lu, who had been tense for half a day, almost collapsed on the ground.

"Whether they had bad intentions can be verified immediately." Zhang Jun was definitely prepared. "Please Your Majesty summon the officials and examine the memorials to see if any memorials from civil and military officials have been intercepted by these rebellious thieves! If so, that is their crime; if not, then I have provoked trouble and slandered the chancellors!"

Zhao Jiu and Lü Haowen, who had originally wanted to speak, were completely speechless, while Kang Lu experienced great ups and downs, and almost broke down.

For Zhao, the official who had just come into contact with the Song Dynasty system, perhaps needed time to understand the intricacies, but Kang, the experienced official, knew that Zhang Jun's final blow was like a decisive goal on the football field, basically declaring the political death sentence for him and that small group. To this extent, the development of the matter was beyond Zhao's control...

In fact, as Yang Yizhong had hinted before, the political system of the Great Song Dynasty was in place, the political functions of the Imperial Censor and the Hanlin Academy were in place, connecting the chief executives, eunuchs, the Privy Council, and the Imperial Camp, one link after another. This Zhao Official was neither stupid nor crazy, and it was like a fantasy for the chancellor and the eunuch to join forces to control the forbidden palace.

Even if this Zhao official was really stupid, Pan Consort would have to bring the imperial heir out to have a one or two percent chance of success.

And returning to the present, what made Kang most indignant was that since things had developed to this point, Wang Yuan and Yang Yizhong might be pardoned because they were 'crude warriors', Huang Qianshan and Wang Boyan might only be expelled because they were chief executives, but Kang Lu was likely to be killed or exiled to Shamen Island simply because he was a eunuch... Because he originally had the emperor's favor, but this favor had disappeared without a trace ten days ago!

The day before yesterday, he was the Inner Chancellor with great power, almost on par with the chief executives; yesterday, he was confident of victory, thinking that everything was under control; today, an Imperial Censor made an impeachment in front of a vice chancellor, and it might cost him his life!

This was the political game of the old era.

Zhao Jiu had also figured out the intricacies, but remained silent, because he began to further weigh and analyze in his heart:

Now, first of all, he had to keep Zhang Jun! He also had to appoint Zhang Jun! Because whether it was speculation or sincerity, this was the first upright minister to publicly issue an anti-Jin political declaration to him. For this, he was mentally prepared to tolerate Li Gang's tyranny, let alone a smart person who was good at guessing his intentions?

Anti-Jin was the most important task, the core contradiction!

Secondly, if he retained Zhang Jun, then he could not stop the attack launched by Zhang Jun this time. If so, he had to protect Yang Yizhong. For the same reason, even if the 'national and familial hatred' was a pretense, this Yang Family Tiger General was his reliance for his personal safety at this time.

But at the same time, Zhao Jiu had to worry about one person, that was Kang Lu, the grand official who was sitting on the ground in confusion... At this point, it was not just a simple matter of a modern person not daring to kill, but he also had to worry about whether he had left any handle in this person's hands when he came from the well, and what was Yang Yizhong's attitude towards this person?

Thinking of this, Zhao Jiu couldn't help but look up at Yang Yizhong, who was standing inside the hall door... But unexpectedly, at this moment, the other party was also staring at him nervously.

The emperor and his subject looked at each other for a while, and while both sides were silently trying to guess each other's intentions, Kang Lu on the ground noticed this scene, and then completely lost his composure, and directly turned over and kowtowed:

"Your Majesty, do not trust Yang Yizhong and Zhang Jun, these two are birds of a feather. On the surface, they are awe-inspiring, but in fact, they are just flattering villains! They are just pretending because they see that Your Majesty has changed your mind! Let Your Majesty know that Zhang Jun was greedy for life and afraid of death in Tokyo. When the country was destroyed, he could not die for his integrity, but could only hide in the Imperial Academy and pretend to be dead! Yang Yizhong was very respectful to me in private, even standing by when I washed my feet! How can Your Majesty trust such a villain?!"

Hearing these words, Zhao Jiu made up his mind instead, and directly waved to Yang Yizhong to signal. Seeing the clear instructions, Yang Yizhong, who had also made up his mind, dared not delay and immediately stepped forward to hold down Kang Lu, who did not know what else he could say, and then pretended to drag him out of the hall.

After being held down, Kang Lu reacted and almost burst into tears, forcibly suppressing his body and kowtowing to the Zhao Official sitting on the throne in the hall, wailing continuously: "Your Majesty, save me, I was confused! I only ask to serve by your side, I dare not be greedy for power again!"

Zhao Jiu instinctively opened his mouth to speak, but finally held back, and instead gave Yang Yizhong another wink, intending to have him quickly take the person down.

Leaving aside what Yang Yizhong understood from this scene, Kang Lu completely collapsed, but instead of begging the Zhao Official sitting in the hall for mercy, he grabbed the corner of Lü Haowen's clothes beside him and spoke absurd words:

"Chancellor Lü! It's really not this servant who isolated the inside from the outside, but Your Majesty is really possessed by some evil spirit!"

Lü Haowen was stunned, and Yang Yizhong actually drew his knife in panic.

"Let him speak!" Zhao Jiu suddenly said. "I want to know what happened to me that day!"

Kang Lu turned his head back in hatred, but he was filled with indignation: "Now, what is there to be afraid to say? That day in the well, Your Majesty saw an object at the bottom of the well, which resembled a dog but was not a dog, resembled a civet but was not a civet. Your Majesty looked down to see it, but in an instant, the monster disappeared, and Your Majesty fell into the well and was unconscious. After waking up for half a day, you seemed to have become a different person! Chancellor Huang and the others all said that I was seeing things, but I often followed Your Majesty and knew that Your Majesty was really replaced by a monster!"

Hearing these words in the hall, Zhao Jiu instead sighed in relief and lightly threw out a sentence that he had prepared in his heart for a long time in public: "Grand Official, we have known each other for so many years. I followed your request to enjoy wealth and glory together in Yangzhou, and that was the wise ruler; but now I have decided to organize the defense and stay in the north to fight the Jin with hardship, and I have become a civet demon, a dog demon... How did we come to this?"

Hearing these words, not only did Zhang Jun coldly glance at Kang Lu, but even Lü Haowen glared at this person: "Kang Lu, are you so madly out of your mind?!"

Kang Lu was extremely terrified, but there was no other way. He could only let go and let the guards on both sides follow up and take him away completely. Yang Yizhong also completely relaxed and looked at the Zhao Official.

"I wanted to spare his life!" Zhao Jiu hesitated for a moment, and reluctantly raised his hand and said softly.

Yang Yizhong understood, but did something that caught Zhao Jiu off guard – since he had a blade in his hand, he accepted the order, and without waiting for Kang Lu to say anything more, he directly inserted the knife into the back of Kang Lu's neck in front of everyone, between the two guards.

In an instant, blood splattered five steps, and the hall was filled with a bloody smell.

However, everyone in the hall, except for Zhao Jiu, who was greatly shocked, did not show any reaction, including Lü Haowen and Zhang Jun, two civil officials.

Zhao Jiu's mind was blank, but he still had an instinctive thought: These people must have seen more cruel, more direct, and larger-scale killings and violence, otherwise they would never be so calm... I am still far from integrating into this era!