Chapter 156: You Still Have the Face

Do you dare to propose even more outrageous conditions? Every single one you raise is impossible to accept. You demand our Song State to abandon the imperial title and downgrade all imperial temples to king temples; you are simply treating our face as a shoe insole to trample.

Do you not know that our Song State is held firmly by Empress Yang and Shi Miyuan? You demand the extermination of their ten clans, the Emperor to issue a self-condemnation edict, and Han Tuozhou to be buried with paternal rites. What do you think you are doing to the Lord and Father?

Furthermore, no matter what Zhao Gou did, he is still the Lord; where is the logic of a Lord kneeling to a subject? Once these conditions are presented, the great Confucian scholars in the court will explode. This is simply throwing the Three Bonds and Five Constants of Confucianism into the toilet. Do you have absolutely no sincerity to negotiate peace with us?

"Since your country has no sincerity to negotiate peace with us, simply reject us. Why humiliate the Lord and ministers of Great Song? Secretary Guo was also a Song Ren before; why humiliate your motherland so?" Wang Dan said, weeping uncontrollably.

"Ah, Great Song still has a face? I thought you had long discarded your shame. I was just speaking casually," Zhang Chu'an said, feigning surprise.

"Your Great Song's first Emperor, Zhao Kuangyin, was shameless. He seized power through a military coup, had not unified the world, yet claimed the achievements of the generals in the Martial Temple were flawed."

"Wei Wu Qi, Qi Sun Bin, Zhao Lian Po, Han Han Xin, Peng Yue, Zhou Yafu, Later Han Duan Jiming, Wei Deng Ai, Jin Tao Kan, Shu Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Jin Du Yuankai, Northern Qi Murong Shaozong, Liang Wang Sengbian, Chen Wu Mingche, Sui Yang Su, Huo Ruo Bi, Shi Your Majesty, Tang Li Guangbi, Wang Young Lady, Zhang Qiqiu, Guo Yuanzhen were all kicked out by him. Does an Emperor who did not unify the world like Zhao Kuangyin deserve to sit there?"

"The second generation Song Emperor, Songtai Sect, Zhao Guangyi, actually thought he could be compared to Tanggao Sect. On what grounds? On his superior donkey-cart driving skills?"

"And that Song Zhenzong. I recall that according to the explanation of 'Feng Shan' in the Book of Rites:"

"On Mount Taishan, one builds an earth altar to sacrifice to Heaven, repaying Heaven's merit, hence called 'Feng'. On a small mountain below Mount Taishan, one clears the ground to repay Earth's merit, hence called 'Shan'."

Feng Shan on Mount Taishan means receiving Heaven's blessing at the place closest to Heaven, representing that one has received the Mandate of Heaven.

Qin Shi Huang unified the six states, taking ten years to end two hundred years of chaos caused by feudal lords dividing the land.

During that period, he established the Three Excellencies and Nine Ministers system and carried out a series of major reforms in politics, economy, and culture, unifying currency and weights and measures.

He ordered the construction of the Ling Canal and other major projects.

Han Wu Di drove out the Xiongnu, conquered the Baiyue in the south, opened the Silk Road, and abolished the hundred schools to exclusively honor Confucianism.

Han Guangwu Di, a commoner, rebuilt Great Han.

Tanggao Sect, Li Zhi, saw the territory of Great Tang reach its peak.

Wu Huang, Wu Zetian, a mere woman, ascended the supreme throne, inheriting the Zhenguan era and paving the way for the Kaiyuan era.

When Tangxuan Sect performed Feng Shan, the Kaiyuan Prosperous Age saw ten thousand nations coming to pay homage to Great Tang. Alright, let me ask: what merit did your Song Zhenzong have to perform Feng Shan? Was it based on paying thirty thousand annual tribute coins to Liao and treating Liao as his big brother?" Zhang Chu'an asked curiously.

Wang Dan, overwhelmed by the continuous barrage, stammered, "Standing Committee Member Zhang, Feng Shan sometimes does not require merit; as long as auspicious omens descend from Heaven, it suffices."

"If you hadn't mentioned this, it would have been swept under the rug. This fellow Song Zhenzong, worried that Prime Minister Wang Dan would not agree to the matter, actually committed bribery against his own Prime Minister. He invited Wang Dan over for drinks and even sent a jar of wine for Wang Dan to take home. When Wang Dan opened it, he found it was full of treasures."

"The Emperor, for the sake of Feng Shan, actually bribed his own Prime Minister. What a bizarre freak is this?"

"Was that auspicious omen that Song Zhenzong was just about to sleep when a divine person appeared, saying he would soon present a Heavenly Book to Song Zhenzong? Therefore, Song Zhenzong fasted and bathed for a whole month before this Heavenly Book finally arrived."

"To pull off this Feng Shan, he spent over eight million guan. The western sacrifice at Fen Yin cost another two hundred thousand guan. The expenses for constructing over 2,600 buildings were countless. In addition, he made a bunch of statues. The assets accumulated by the two generations of Song Taizu and Songtai Sect over several decades were basically spent by the time of Song Zhenzong. Conservative estimates say he spent fifty million guan. How sick must one be to do this?"

Wang Dan broke out in cold sweat from being spoken to. As the saying goes, one is not afraid of dirty insults, but of accurate ones. Clearly, not a single word Zhang Chu'an cursed was made up on the spot.

"Of course, the above are just small matters. Compared to Emperors Huizong and Qin, aren't they all small matters? Do I need to list his messes one by one to you? The Empress and Princesses were auctioned off; the death of Princess Zhao Fukin. I have Jin Ren records here; let me read them to you." As Zhang Chu'an spoke, he ordered someone to search, but Wang Dan stopped him.

"Standing Committee Member, no need. These matters have nothing to do with today's negotiations. Why must the Standing Committee Member speak of these things?" Wang Dan's heart was filled with bitterness.

Damn it, in Great Song, no one dared to speak these words; those who did would be arrested and thrown in prison. But the person before him need not care; if he wants to speak, he speaks.

But the person before him did not intend to stop and continued speaking: "Finally, there is you, the undefeated Southerner, the Flying Man of the Sea, the Loyal Subject of Great Jin, the Strange Knight resisting Song, Wanyan Gou."

Hearing these titles, Wang Dan nearly fainted. None of these titles contained a single dirty word, yet they cursed so dirtily.

"I recall during the Jingkang Incident, the Jin State captured his brother and father to the north. Songhui Sect was even refined into corpse oil. His mother, Empress Wei, received two hundred clients a day in the Jin State. I have Jin Ren records here; you can go take a look."

"His original wife could not bear the humiliation and committed suicide; this is also recorded. Yet he could still hold his nose and submit as a vassal to the Jin State. How did he manage that? It is truly amazing. It rivals King Goujian of Yue. The only difference is that Goujian destroyed the State of Wu, while Wanyan Gou submitted as a vassal to the Jin State until his death."

"Sorry, Envoy. We thought that after doing so many shameless things, you had long discarded your shame." Zhang Chu'an's tone was full of apology, yet his words contained no apology whatsoever.

"You all were previously Song Ren and subjects of Great Song. Seeing the Lord and Father of Great Song suffer such great humiliation, how can you mock the Lord and Father with such a joking attitude?" Wang Dan's voice trembled and choked, as if tightly bound by invisible shackles, every word squeezed out with difficulty from the depths of his heart.

His eyes were bloodshot, tears swirling in his eye sockets, finally turning into crystal pearls that slid down his sorrowful face. He bit his lower lip hard, trying to control his emotions, but the pain within surged like a tide, impossible to suppress.

"Repeat what you just said," Guo Jing said coldly.

"You were previously subjects of Great Song; why mock the Lord with such a joking attitude, ah." Before the last character 'Father' could leave his lips, Guo Jing instantly drew his sharp precious sword and swung it at Wang Dan's arm without hesitation. A miserable wail rang out. Wang Dan's arm was severed like a kite with a broken string, blood spraying out and staining the surrounding ground red.

Intense pain instantly swept over Wang Dan's entire body. He was in such agony he could barely breathe, let alone speak. He lay on the ground, twisting his body frantically, trying to alleviate the unbearable agony.