Chapter 82

At this moment, the Dading Hall was so silent.

It was so silent that even the sound of Jia Sidao's skull breaking could be heard.

Since the establishment of the Song Dynasty, such a thing had never happened in broad daylight.

Even during the most intense struggles between the new and old parties in the past, they never crossed the line.

The scholar-official group of the Song Dynasty adhered to a principle: the struggles in the court were limited to the court.

Their weapons were words, not real swords and spears.

Any official who resigned due to political struggles and returned to his hometown was never killed due to relentless attacks by his opponents.

But at this moment, what happened left everyone in the Dading Hall stunned.

The emperor sat high on his throne, with officials lined up on both sides.

The prime minister, Jia Sidao, was directly killed by someone.

The killer was the Crown Prince of the Song Dynasty, Zhao Hao.

It was shocking.

No one could have predicted that this would happen, including Zhao Yun.

Including Jia Sidao.

Zhao Yun still remembered that Shi Miyuan died at the hands of Zhao Hao, but that was when no one was around.

At that time, Zhao Hao still knew how to cover up, and only Zhao Yun and Zhao Ling'er witnessed the entire process.

Zhao Yun never imagined that after not seeing Zhao Hao for years, he would now act so boldly.

Jia Sidao died with his eyes wide open.

How could a normal person ever think that Zhao Hao would dare to kill the prime minister of the Song Dynasty in front of the emperor and all the officials?

So Jia Sidao was completely unprepared and died quickly and cleanly.

Of course, even if he had been prepared, it would have been useless.

When Zhao Hao decided to kill, any resistance from Jia Sidao would have been futile.

From beginning to end, they were not on the same level.

"You... you..."

Behind Jia Sidao, his followers pointed at Zhao Hao but could not utter a complete sentence.

Zhao Hao turned his head, his handsome face wearing a gentle smile.

His hands were still long and clean, not a drop of blood on them.

"Take your time, don't rush, you have time," Zhao Hao's voice was very gentle, without any fluctuation.

"You are cutting yourself off from the court."

A shocked official finally managed to say a complete sentence.

Zhao Hao smiled faintly.

Cutting myself off from the court?

Do I really value this court?

What if I cross the line of the scholar-official group?

What can they do?

Moreover, can Jia Sidao really represent the scholar-official group?

The mainstream scholar-official class has never accepted Jia Sidao.

"You overestimate Jia Sidao. Moreover, what you consider most precious may be insignificant to me," Zhao Hao said calmly.

"Song Rui, read out the information you have gathered to the emperor and all the ministers," Zhao Hao said.

A dignified-looking official stepped out from among the officials.

He did not waste words and loudly read out the prepared memorial.

The Dading Hall was in a long period of turmoil.

Zhao Yun's face turned from shock to iron gray.

By the time Song Rui finished reading, Zhao Yun could no longer suppress his anger.

"Haor, is all of this true?" Zhao Yun asked in a deep voice.

"I dare not deceive Father. Over the years, Ling'er and I, and even the Empress, have been attacked multiple times for no reason. If not for our vigilance, we would have long been dead," Zhao Hao said.

"Why have I never known this?" Zhao Yun asked angrily.

"Some things would only add to Father's worries, and there was no evidence before," Zhao Hao said.

Jia Sidao was never a rule-follower.

To be honest, Jia Sidao was not a major villain; he had some basic talent.

But that was all.

Born into a family of relatives, he did not fit in with the scholar-official group. With limited abilities, Jia Sidao, as prime minister, was ultimately not up to the task.

Moreover, Jia Sidao's character was extremely poor.

In the previous life of Zhao Hao, there was a trend of rehabilitating the reputations of villains, with many people trying to re-evaluate them.

People like Jia Sidao and Qin Hui had some supporters.

Mongke's death had nothing to do with Jia Sidao, but it was falsely credited to him.

Jia Sidao personally went to the front lines to face the Mongols, but ultimately surrendered and signed a peace treaty. In some people's mouths, this became a military achievement.

Zhao Hao felt ashamed of such black-and-white inversion.

Zhao Hao was not interested in arguing. "Defending Xiangyang, Jia Sidao," to anyone with a basic knowledge of history, was a ridiculous claim.

Such a person, in the current situation, was nothing but a disaster.

Zhao Hao was not incapable of playing along, but there was no need.

When it was time to act, he acted.

When it was time to kill, he killed.

Rules were meant to be broken.

Zhao Hao never considered himself part of the scholar-official group, so he never thought he had to follow their rules.

The scholar-officials排斥 me? Oppose me continuing as the Crown Prince?

Ha ha, do they have the ability? Do they have the courage?

How could Zhao Hao give them the chance?

"Haor, you are truly... truly... sigh..." Zhao Yun sighed deeply.

He found himself increasingly unable to control Zhao Hao.

"Father, some things are not suitable for you to handle. They can only be handled by Haor or Ling'er," Zhao Hao said respectfully.

Zhao Yun's expression changed.

"Ling'er?" Zhao Yun asked.

"Ling'er went to visit the Empress and 'visited' Jia Fei," Zhao Hao said calmly.

Zhao Yun closed his eyes helplessly.

"Father, don't worry. Ling'er is not like me; she is not a killer," Zhao Hao said.

Zhao Hao was right; Zhao Ling'er was not a killer.

When Zhao Ling'er stepped out of Jia Fei's palace, the sound of crying could still be heard clearly from inside.

Clearly, Jia Fei was not dead.

Zhao Ling'er had only used her sword to scar Jia Fei's face.

"Father, when there is no more tolerance, there is no need to tolerate. When there is no more retreat, there is no need to retreat. The Song Dynasty is not incapable of competing with the Mongols. Father, do not let Jia Sidao blind you," Zhao Hao said.

"Haor, war is not as simple as you think," Zhao Yun said helplessly.

"Even if it is difficult, some things must be done. Father, you cannot take risks. The war with the Mongols will be my responsibility. As the Crown Prince, I will defend the country, and if I do not die, Xiangyang will not fall," Zhao Hao said solemnly.

"Haor, you..." Zhao Yun's voice trembled.

"Prime Minister Zhang, I will personally go to Xiangyang on behalf of the emperor, vowing to stand or fall with Xiangyang. The logistics and reinforcements will be your responsibility. Is there any problem?" Zhao Hao asked.

"I am willing to serve to the death."

Prime Minister Zhang, the Deputy Chief of the Song Dynasty's Military Council, Zhang Shijie.

PS: There is an interesting saying that Jia Sidao was Meng Gong's student, and Wen Tianxiang was Jia Sidao's student. Of course, each generation was worse than the last. Fairly speaking, Jia Sidao was not a mediocre official, but he was certainly not a good one. History has already made its judgment, and I am not writing a historical novel, so I am not interested in rehabilitating Jia Sidao. Moreover, he was truly useless against the Mongols.

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