Chapter 157: The Colossus

What right does a man who leads the empire’s landlords and scholar-gentry to feast on our flesh and drink our blood have to call himself our father-king? Though I lost my father from the moment I was born, I will never recognize this so-called father-king—because I have no father thanks to you.

“This sword is to teach you to think before you speak next time,” Guo Jing said coldly, then immediately ordered the envoy carried away for medical treatment.

“How about that? Feeling a bit calmer now?” Zhang Chu’an handed over a bowl of tea.

After taking the tea from Zhang Chu’an, Guo Jing drained it in one gulp: “It’s not anger—I just can’t bear the thought of countless people shedding blood for such a man. Confucianism has done terrible harm.”

He could not deny Confucianism’s role in unifying Huaxia civilization, but over time its benefits diminished while its poison grew stronger.

When an ideology permits only praise of its virtues and ignores its flaws, it is no longer an ideology—it is a religion. Confucianism is no longer Confucianism; calling it Confucian Religion is more accurate.

Confucian Religion must be overthrown. The rituals that demand people kneel in lofty submission, that constantly remind others of rank and status, must be abolished—because laborers are never base.

Wang Dan returned to Song with one arm severed. Seeing him like this, Emperor Ningzong of Song had no words of blame, only a sigh: “You have suffered greatly, my lord.”

But no sooner had he spoken than someone stepped forward to declare passionately: “Your Majesty, Wang Dan was sent on a mission and had an arm cut off—this shames our state’s dignity and provokes the northern powers to wage war against us. How many of our people will perish then?”

“If such a man is not severely punished, how can we uphold the law of the state?”

Emperor Ningzong looked up at the speaker, his eyes filled with venom. He had already reached a secret agreement with the Mongols and the northern Han rebels to destroy the Jin—and victory was within reach.

Yet at this very moment, Shi Miyuan leapt out, murdered his chancellor, seized control of court politics, and pushed for peace with the Jin.

Had Shi Miyuan not intervened, the worst outcome would have been the northern rebels breaking their alliance.

But Wang Dan said nothing as he watched Shi Miyuan leap forward; he simply handed Shi Miyuan the document from the People’s Government and fell silent.

The document contained not only the People’s Government’s demands, but also a full transcript of their dialogue.

He was certain Shi Miyuan would be stunned upon seeing it.

True to form, when Shi Miyuan glimpsed the document, it struck him like a sudden storm of icy rain; his whole body trembled uncontrollably. Anger and fear pierced his heart like twin arrows.

His face turned pale, his eyes blazing with fury as if to burn the document to ash. Fear, cold as a serpent, coiled around his heart, choking him with suffocating pressure.

“This is outrageous! Those mud-stained peasants think they’ve got us cornered?” Shi Miyuan flung the document to the ground, drawing curious glances from all around—none could fathom what demands the northern rebels had made to provoke such rage from this spineless coward.

Seeing Shi Miyuan’s state, Wang Dan almost laughed, then threw out a question to stoke the fire further: “Master Shi, do you know what the Tenth Clan is?”

What tenth clan? The Nine Clans already wiped out every relative: four paternal clans, three maternal clans, two marital clans.

The four paternal clans: your own lineage, your married aunt and her sons, your married sister and her sons, your married daughter and her grandchildren.

The three maternal clans: your maternal grandfather’s family, your maternal grandmother’s natal family, your aunt and her sons.

The two marital clans: your father-in-law’s family, your mother-in-law’s natal family.

That’s already wiped out every relative—so where does the Tenth Clan come from?

“Your students count as the Tenth Clan. If you have no students, then your teachers and close friends count as the Tenth Clan. Their leaders said they’ll chop down every official who drove their families into exile in the desert. Master Shi, you may punish me all you like—but how will you resist the northern revolutionary army?”

Wang Dan finished and burst into loud laughter. “You’re right—they are outrageous. But what can you do, Master Shi? I suggest you present this document to Your Majesty. Let him see how brazen the revolutionary army has become.” Upon hearing this, Emperor Ningzong immediately ordered a eunuch to pick up the document from the floor—he too wanted to see what it contained.

But when he finished reading it, the emperor, long known for his gentleness and patience, suddenly exploded like a lit firecracker. His calm vanished, replaced by unprecedented rage; his eyes glowed with icy light, as if freezing the air around him.

“These traitors, who defy heaven and reject father-king—how insolent they are! Do they have any respect for ritual or law? What do they think of me? What do they think of Great Song?!” Emperor Ningzong was beside himself. He had seen arrogance before—but never this level.

Even the old Jin had not cursed them so foully. Perhaps because they were barbarians and knew little history.

That Zhang Chu’an, though—he insulted every emperor from Taizu all the way to Zhenzong. Look at the nicknames he gave: “The Chariot God of Gaoliang River”—a single nickname summarizing how Taizong fled in panic on a donkey-cart.

But compared to the nicknames for Emperor Gaozong, that’s nothing: “Invincible in the South,” “Man Who Flew Over the Sea,” “Loyal Minister of Jin,” “Wanyan Gou.”

Yet he understood why Shi Miyuan was so furious—because the northern forces intended to exterminate every peace advocate and surrender faction.

Seeing this demand, Emperor Ningzong felt a flicker of satisfaction: See? You want to surrender? You want peace? Fine—first hand over your Tenth Clan.

“Master Wang, you mean the Mongols and the northern Han rebels have united and are about to establish a government called the People’s Republic of Huaxia?” Emperor Ningzong asked urgently.

Either force alone was stronger than Great Song—or even the former Jin. One crushed Western Xia in three months; the other wiped out the Jin entirely. Even separately, Song paid annual tribute to avoid war. If they unite, how could Song possibly fight?

“Correct. The leaders of both forces have gathered in Zhongdu to form a committee, with Mongol commander Guo Jing as Chairman of the Military Committee and General Secretary. Now Mongolia, Western Xia, and the former Jin have become one nation.”

“All armies answer to this Military Committee, while state governance rests with the People’s Government,” Wang Dan said. The court’s civil and military officials began whispering among themselves—they had never imagined the two forces could merge so completely.

This meant the two forces had likely been allied from the start. Now Great Song faced a colossal entity—uniting the territories and populations of Western Xia, Mongolia, and the former Jin.