Zhao Song: My father was Emperor Taizu of Song

Chapter 25 Father Emperor 1 Stone So Many Birds

At Chenshi (7-9 AM), Zhao Dezhao, as usual, paid his respects to Empress Wang and Empress Dowager Du before arriving at the Imperial Library.

Today, Zhao Pu is still teaching him.

Led by the gatekeeper, Zhao Dezhao ascended the steps and arrived at the quiet room on the top floor of the Imperial Library, where Zhao Pu had been waiting for a long time.

"Dezhao greets you, sir."

After exchanging greetings, the two sat facing each other at the table. Zhao Pu got straight to the point, his tone full of undisguised praise: "Your Highness has truly handed His Majesty a fine weapon!"

He immediately recounted everything that had happened in the court that day to Zhao Dezhao.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Dezhao was terrified.

What is political maneuvering?!

This is textbook-perfect political maneuvering!

Thinking of this, he sighed sincerely, "It's not that the knife is good, but that the swordsman's skill is superb..."

"Oh? Your Highness, why don't you tell me what makes His Majesty's swordsmanship so good?"

Zhao Pu also had the intention of testing Zhao Dezhao. Although Zhao Dezhao could be called a child prodigy, he was brilliant in his childhood but not so great in adulthood. If he was not guided, even the most talented child prodigy would eventually fall from grace.

"Firstly, the Emperor used this weapon to warn those arrogant and powerful generals, making them realize that the majesty of the royal family is inviolable, thus serving as a warning to others."

Zhao Dezhao frowned slightly, pondering as he slowly said:

"Secondly, by having Li Chuyun stab him, Father Emperor will not be accused of discarding his tools after the birds are all gone, and it will also create a rift between Li Chuyun and Wang Shenqi, putting them at check and balance. Father Emperor can then sit back and watch the tigers fight, reaping the benefits of their conflict."

Thirdly, by abandoning the sword, the Emperor not only demonstrated his benevolence and appeased the founding heroes, but also served as a warning to those arrogant generals who disregarded imperial authority.

The balance was struck perfectly, intimidating the troops without provoking them to overreact...

"Fourth, the Emperor's eventual pardon of Wang Chengyan was also a way to win over the hearts of the people, which made Wang Shenqi extremely grateful to the Emperor."

Fifthly, what appears to be Li Chuyun's stab at Wang Shenqi is actually also a stab at himself...

"By falsely accusing a high-ranking official, with such a weakness in hand, it would only take a word from Father Emperor to deal with Li Chuyun..."

"Father truly used this knife to its fullest potential!"

In the end, Zhao Dezhao couldn't help but shake his head and sigh, a look of admiration appearing on his face.

He did hand over the knife, but he never expected that his cheapskate father would use it to kill so many birds with one stone.

His cheapskate father's trick alone is enough for him to learn.

A look of satisfaction appeared in Zhao Pu's eyes. Recalling that domineering figure in the Golden Hall, his tone carried a hint of pride and respect:

"People only know that His Majesty is unparalleled in martial arts and military strategy, but they overlook His Majesty's imperial mind."

"Your Majesty is not only capable of taking the head of a general amidst a vast army, but also of strategizing effectively in the court. Only someone like you is worthy of ruling this land!"

Zhao Dezhao couldn't help but nod. How could someone who could pull off the "releasing military power over a cup of wine" scheme during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period be an easy person to deal with?

Without some tricks up your sleeve, why would anyone obediently hand over their military power?

The world has truly underestimated the wisdom of my cheap father!

"Sir, there is still one thing that I don't understand."

As if remembering something, Zhao Dezhao quickly asked, "Why don't the ministers suspect that the Emperor tampered with Li Chuyun's knife?"

He really doesn't understand this.

"They might suspect that Li Chuyun has someone backing him, but they certainly won't suspect His Majesty."

Seeing this, Zhao Pu's lips twitched twice more. He wanted to laugh, but his expressionless face wouldn't allow him to do so, so he could only say expressionlessly:

"May I ask Your Highness, if Your Highness were in Shi Shouxin's shoes, would you believe that His Majesty would turn against the founding heroes when the country is instable internally?"

"No," Zhao Dezhao replied obediently.

"That's why Shi Shouxin and the others don't suspect His Majesty," Zhao Pu said quietly.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Dezhao was stunned and fell into deep thought.

A moment later, it was as if a bolt of lightning had struck him, and he blurted out instinctively, "It's just habitual thinking!"

"Inertia? That word... is quite fitting." Zhao Pu glanced at Zhao Dezhao with surprise.

At this moment, Zhao Dezhao's eyes were filled only with admiration for his father.

That's how normal people think; even if all the birds are gone and the bow is put away, they wouldn't choose this time.

It should be noted that the two Lis were still eyeing Lu and Yang provinces with covetous intent, and the Song Dynasty was surrounded by various countries. If the court were to be unstable at this time, wouldn't it lead to a sudden collapse?

Therefore, they all believed that Li Chuyun had taken it upon himself to hand over the knife in order to gain the emperor's favor.

But the emperor doesn't play by the rules.

Who could have imagined this?

Moreover, Li Chuyun's character and personality are consistent with his actions today. The only loophole in the whole plan is Wang Chengyan.

But who would take the words of a naughty child to heart?

Under the influence of conventional thinking, even if someone were to stand up and say that all of this was Zhao Kuangyin's doing, they would probably scoff and dismiss it.

Just as Zhao Dezhao was about to give his father a thumbs up in his mind and praise him as "Dad's awesome," his palms suddenly started sweating profusely.

He couldn't help but ask himself that question.

"Even with Father's methods, that good uncle was still able to control the entire court right under Father's nose..."

"Would I really be a match for that good uncle...?"

……

"The world has underestimated my elder brother!"

After returning to his residence from the morning court session, Zhao Guangyi finally understood everything and couldn't help but sigh to the heavens.

Although he didn't know the secrets behind this matter, he had already guessed that Zhao Kuangyin must be involved.

It must be said that Zhao Er is Zhao Er after all; he is indeed extremely politically astute and a natural-born master of political maneuvering.

He figured out problems that most people would find difficult to understand in just half a day.

"But after this incident, Wang Shenqi will definitely be very careful. It will be difficult to get more people into the Imperial Guard through him..."

Thinking of this, Zhao Guangyi frowned, then turned around to look at a middle-aged scholar behind him:

"Ningji, have you found anything about the list of palace eunuchs I asked you to inquire about before?"

This middle-aged scholar was named Shi Zaixi, who was famous in Kaifeng for his refined manners and adherence to etiquette in his early years.

At that time, Zhao Guangyi saw that he was a promising talent, so he relied on his elder brother's connections to help Shi Zaixi pass the imperial examination during the Xiande era.

From then on, Shi Zaixi regarded Zhao Guangyi as his mentor and became his trusted advisor, and the two became increasingly close as a result.

Just the day before yesterday, Zhao Guangyi was appointed as the Commander of the Palace Guards, and he appointed Shi Zaixi as his chief secretary. Their relationship was no different from that of Zhao Pu and Zhao Kuangyin back then.

Upon hearing Zhao Guangyi inquire about this matter, Shi Zaixi quickly took out a list from his pocket and handed it to Zhao Guangyi.

After receiving the list, Zhao Guangyi carefully examined it.

"Han Tuili, Tong Gu, Yang Zi, Zhang Dejun..."