Chapter 103: Li Congyi, Who Lacked a System

In the Eastern Capital, the Khitan had withdrawn, as if a great mountain pressing down on the backs of the imperial capital's subjects had been lifted away. Yet not many felt joy. The city was still the same city, only it had lost its former prosperity and bustle.

Soldiers passing through are like a comb, bandits like a fine-toothed comb—and how much worse the Hu barbarians. What the Khitan left behind in Kaifeng was a wound that cut to the marrow; it would hardly recover fully within three to five years.

Inside Wansui Hall, a youthful-faced boy draped in a dragon robe sat at the head, facing several ministers before the imperial desk. Though he strove to restrain himself, tightening his face to project a hint of majesty, what showed most in his brow was the utterly unconcealable greenness of one unversed in the world.

This youth was naturally Li Congyi, the one Xiao Han had set up as Son of Heaven. His looks were rather ordinary, save for a pair of eyes that held some spark of life—a spark tinged with hope.

When only a few years old, Li Congyi had experienced power struggles within the imperial house, brothers contending and butchering their own flesh and blood, and afterward the fall of his state. Had he not been young, and had Shi Jingtang not been his brother-in-law, he might not even have kept his life.

Through the more than ten years of the Later Jin dynasty, Li Congyi had been kept mostly in Luoyang, tending his father's tomb, living the life of a noble, aloof from worldly strife.

At first, when Xiao Han sent men to summon Li Congyi, intending to entrust him with the affairs of state, his first reaction was to refuse, and he even fled into hiding. But disaster cannot be dodged; under the threat of swords and blades, he was escorted by the Khitan to the Eastern Capital and placed upon the imperial throne.

Once he became emperor, Xiao Han even helped him set up a "court," filling every key post in the central government, even the army. At first, Li Congyi obediently played the puppet, neither making noise nor causing trouble, utterly docile—after all, the Hu barbarians were fierce and menacing and never reasoned with him.

But circumstances changed: the Khitan actually withdrew, returning the state and all power to him. Under such conditions, Li Congyi's mindset shifted as well—after all, it was the imperial throne; even one day as emperor was still being emperor, even if only for self-amusement.

The atmosphere in the hall was oppressively heavy. Gazing at the several great ministers before him, Li Congyi struggled to steady his slightly trembling voice, looked at his ministers with hope, and offered a warming remark: "My dear ministers, the realm is shattered and the altars stand in peril. We can only rely on you all for support."

The several ministers before the imperial desk were old and ugly in turn, but hearing Li Congyi's words, they all fell silent at once. The quiet scene made the youth somewhat embarrassed; he felt his cheeks burn and could neither sit nor stand at ease.

The two chancellors, both advanced in years, each sat on a chair. After a long silence, it was the Left Chancellor Wang Song who spoke up, breaking the quiet: "Your Highness—"

The moment he spoke, the atmosphere veered in a strange direction. From the form of address alone, one could tell these men did not regard Li Congyi as emperor; even the address "Your Highness" was doing him a favor.

"How dare you address His Majesty thus!" A eunuch attending at the side suddenly rebuked.

Li Congyi's expression also turned somewhat sour—the Khitan had barely left, and these men already disregarded him. Yet he dared not speak loudly. Seeing the palace eunuch beside him speak up for him, he felt an inexplicable sense of reassurance, as if he had found support in this hall.

Toward Li Congyi, they could still maintain surface respect, but this eunuch... Wang Song coughed once and coldly rebuked: "Where did this gelded creature come from? On this great hall, what right have you to speak!"

The scourge of eunuchs had existed since antiquity; after the mid-Tang, eunuchs meddling in governance had contributed their share to the Great Tang's decline and fall. Toward eunuchs, Wang Song and the others showed no kindness at all. A merciless dressing-down silenced the eunuch at once—eunuchs of this era truly had no standing to face down great ministers directly.

"Your Highness." Only then did Wang Song turn his attention to the now-tense Li Congyi. After briefly weighing his words, he said: "Since the Khitan have gone, we ministers will naturally do our utmost to maintain order."

"Liu Zhiyuan of Taiyuan has already marched his troops into Luoyang—how should we respond?" Ignoring the slight in Wang Song's form of address, Li Congyi asked expectantly.

Watching the youth's expression, Wang Song exchanged glances with the Right Chancellor Zhao Yuan and the others. They all saw it: this puppet Son of Heaven harbored some unrealistic fantasies.

The Right Chancellor Zhao Yuan was a man of great cultivation. In a kindly manner, he said to Li Congyi: "Your Highness, the situation is now clear—the realm must return to the Liu clan. We should calm the people's hearts and maintain stability in the Eastern Capital, awaiting the arrival of the Son of Heaven."

Though his manner was pleasant, his words chilled Li Congyi to the bone—this was telling him plainly: don't think too much, surrender.

A look of dejection crept over his face. After a silent moment, Li Congyi could not help asking: "Can we truly not resist?"

Seeing the youth's lack of tact, one of the ministers stepped forward. Far more fierce in bearing than the two chancellors, he pressed Li Congyi with a piercing gaze: "The Son of Heaven leads a hundred thousand troops into the Central Plains; even the Khitan fled in disgrace. With the Eastern Capital as it is now, how could we resist? The Liao sovereign defied Heaven, proclaimed himself emperor in the Central Plains, and so fled north in defeat, dying in battle. What virtue or talent does Your Highness think you possess, that you dare harbor such ambitions?"

The minister who spoke was named Wang Jingchong, currently holding the office of Commissioner of Palace Attendants. His expression was so cold it made one deeply uncomfortable. His words likewise showed no mercy, leaving Li Congyi both humiliated and furious, yet stammering and unable to speak.

In the end, Li Congyi's goal of "pooling wisdom" was not achieved; instead he was scorned to the bone. All the ministers had already made full preparations to welcome Liu Zhiyuan, leaving him deeply frustrated.

"Your Majesty!" After the ministers dispersed, Li Congyi sat in a daze, tears unworthily streaming down his face. It was only when the voice of the earlier eunuch sounded in his ear that he came back to himself.

"The ministers all want to surrender," Li Congyi said in defeat.

"If the ministers surrender, they can still get high office and rich emoluments under Liu Zhiyuan. But Your Majesty—I fear your very life may not be preserved!"

This eunuch, having learned his rhetoric from who knows where, frightened Li Congyi badly—yet the youth also felt his words made sense, and hastily sought his counsel.

The man had clearly come prepared. With a somewhat self-satisfied air, he laid out his plan: "At present, the only option is to request outside troops. Your Majesty may issue an edict, granting the Military Governor of Guide Army (Songzhou) Gao Xingzhou and the Military Governor of Taining Army (Xuzhou) Fu Yanqing promotion and noble titles—directly enfeoffing them as princes, bestowing fiefs and stipends—and order them to lead troops here to defend the throne against Liu Zhiyuan. These two are both old ministers of the Great Tang, brave and skilled in battle, with resounding reputations. With them, all will be safe!"

The names of Gao Xingzhou and Fu Yanqing were indeed quite illustrious in this era. Li Congyi perked up at once, hastily wiped away his tears, a glimmer of hope rekindling in his eyes, and clapped his hands, declaring loudly: "Then so be it!"

"Congyi, you must not!" At this moment, a gentle yet resolute voice rang out.

Looking up, he saw a plainly dressed middle-aged beauty walking in—a woman past her prime yet still retaining her charm. Though no longer young, she had maintained herself extremely well and remained a beauty one could not forget at a single glance; one could imagine the peerless face of her youth. Most importantly, the gentle, virtuous air she exuded gave one the very comfortable feeling of a wife and mother...

Seeing who had arrived, Li Congyi hurried forward, calling her mother.

The beautiful woman looked at Li Congyi, whose eyes were still red, a flicker of pity passing through her own. Then she drew a deep breath, her chest rising and falling, and glared at the eunuch: "You base slave, are you trying to kill my son and me? Guards! Drag him out and beat him to death!"

Attendants who had come with her immediately seized the man and carried him out of the hall. Li Congyi was somewhat stunned; only upon hearing the cries for mercy did he come to his senses and hurriedly ask: "What is the meaning of this?"

Li Congyi truly could not understand—how could his mother, always gentle, virtuous, lenient, and magnanimous, suddenly become so "cruel"?

Facing the youth, the beautiful woman sighed, a hint of tears glistening in her lovely eyes, and said to him: "Congyi, at Zhenzhou, several hundred thousand Khitan troops were defeated by the Second Prince of the new dynasty. On what grounds can you now resist the Liu clan? The ministers all wish to surrender. If you remain stubborn, I fear they would dare take our heads as tribute to buy their own advancement. As for summoning Gao and Fu—would they obediently heed your commands and offend the Liu clan? You are but a child—on what grounds would they fight for you?"

"This eunuch's scheme is a path to certain death! In this chaotic age, with our status, merely preserving our lives is already a luxury. How can we harbor unrealistic ambitions and invite disaster upon ourselves?"

After hearing the beautiful woman's words, Li Congyi's face paled somewhat. Listening to the eunuch's cries, already dragged out of sight, he stammered: "Then... what should your son do?"

The beautiful woman drew a deep breath, her face utterly grave: "Strip yourself of the imperial title, withdraw from the palace, and immediately send someone to Luoyang to submit to the Liu clan, explaining the full circumstances—that we were compelled by the Khitan. Afterward, in the Eastern Capital, burn incense and bathe, awaiting the imperial carriage. As for whether we can preserve our lives..."

Her voice trailed off at the end, and a trace of sorrow showed on the beautiful woman's face. Li Congyi, evidently obedient to his foster mother's words, did as she said.

In truth, at this moment, had Li Congyi awakened and become the protagonist, this would be a hellish opening setup—perhaps only if a system appeared in his mind would there be any possibility of turning things around.

However, he was not.