Chapter 123: Consort Zhang Opened Pandora

…

Li Qingzhao felt a strange magic pervading the imperial harem.

Here, no one cared about their chastity; they cared only about how to offer their chastity to the Emperor.

It seemed every woman in the harem was striving toward this goal.

And once someone succeeded, she could secure a place within this golden and splendid palace, enjoying boundless wealth and honor, becoming the envy of all.

But to Li Qingzhao, this felt like an absurd dream.

Since childhood, she had immersed herself in poetry and prose; her sensitive, sentimental heart had long been steeped in timeless masterpieces.

She longed to admire spring flowers and autumn moons, summer rains and winter snows with the one she loved—not to compete with other women in this deep palace for the Emperor's fleeting favor.

Yet some things are just inexplicable.

Li Qingzhao, who never wanted this, somehow succeeded effortlessly in serving the Emperor's bed.

Moreover, Li Qingzhao succeeded in the most absurd manner possible.

Afterward, Li Qingzhao dared not recall the process—merely thinking of it made her blush and her heart race.

"Why did I walk in the moment Consort Zhang called me? As if possessed by a ghost."

"I heard Consort Zhang practices sorcery—she must have cast a compliance spell on me. Otherwise, why would I have acted like that?"

Li Qingzhao forced herself to forget everything from last night.

But no matter how hard she tried, she could not forget Consort Zhang's words afterward: "You're so seductive," nor Zhao Yu's unrestrained laughter…

When Li Qingzhao awoke, exhausted from Zhao Yu's tossing and turning the night before, Zhao Yu had already left, and even Consort Zhang, who had slept on Zhao Yu's other side, was gone.

Li Qingzhao sat up bewildered, wrapped in the quilt, unsure where to go.

Fortunately, since Zheng Xiansu took charge of the harem, all harem affairs had strict procedures.

Soon after, a maid from Consort Zhang's palace came to Li Qingzhao and said: "Madam, you're awake early—the Shangqin attendants have been waiting for you."

Then, Consort Zhang's maids helped Li Qingzhao rise and wash.

After Li Qingzhao was dressed, a maid brought a bowl of lotus seed soup, urging her to take it for good fortune and nourishment.

After Li Qingzhao finished eating, the Shangqin female official arrived to record Li Qingzhao's information, the time of service, and the details of the encounter—for future verification and harem administration.

The Shangqin official asked in great detail, forcing Li Qingzhao to reveal everything she wished to forget—even the bloodstains on the bed were examined repeatedly, verified, and meticulously documented.

Next, Li Qingzhao's rewards—gold, silver, jewels, clothing, ornaments, daily necessities—were delivered one by one.

Immediately after, Li Qingzhao was summoned to pay respects to Zheng Xiansu and offer her tea.

Zheng Xiansu held a favorable impression of Li Qingzhao and admired her talent, so they chatted at length.

Afterwards, Li Qingzhao was granted the title of Meiren and received lodging and privileges befitting her rank.

Notably, when assigning maids to Li Qingzhao, she requested to bring her own maid, Cuiyu, into the palace—and received Zheng Xiansu's approval.

After this, a physician examined Li Qingzhao's body and provided appropriate tonic prescriptions and dietary arrangements to maintain her health in preparation for possible childbirth.

Finally, a Shangyi female official instructed Li Qingzhao in harem etiquette, helping her adapt to court life and abide by its rules and regulations.

After completing this entire process, Li Qingzhao became one of Zhao Yu's low-ranking concubines.

What Li Qingzhao never expected was that Consort Zhang had opened Pandora's Box—Zhao Yu had grown fond of this style, and for days on end, he summoned Consort Zhang to serve him in precisely this manner.

As a low-ranking concubine, with the Emperor's favor and the Consort's psychological manipulation, Li Qingzhao could only comply.

Later, Consort Zhang further expanded this tactic, bringing in Chao Min, Han Yu, Li Chun, and Zhao Mai to serve Zhao Yu.

The principle was simple: whatever Zhao Yu desired, Consort Zhang provided—utterly treacherous in her cunning.

Under Consort Zhang's scheming, the Old Party achieved a major counteroffensive within the harem politics.

The effect on court was immediate: Zhao Yu approved Chen Guan's memorial and agreed to revise the *Shenzong Veritable Records*, and also to revise the *Zhezong Veritable Records*.

This time, Zhao Yu ordered both the New Party and the Old Party to each nominate three scholars to jointly compile these two histories, using materials gathered independently by each side; after completion, each side would append their sourced references to substantiate their viewpoints, striving for an authentic reconstruction of these two reigns.

Seeing this, the Old Party, previously at a disadvantage, finally exhaled in relief.

Don't think this is a minor matter.

For the Old Party, this was the crucial battle to stabilize their position.

Recall that during the Yuanyou era, a version of the *Shenzong Veritable Records* had already been compiled—using primarily the notes of Old Party ministers like Sima Guang, which heavily vilified Wang Anshi, his reforms, and Emperor Shenzong.

Later, when Zhao Xu assumed personal rule, Cai Bian, in charge of compiling the state annals, attacked the Old Party over the compilation of the *Shenzong Veritable Records*, arguing that Emperor Shenzong's achievements "towered above all ages," yet the Old Party, to slander the New Policies, selectively used negative materials to distort the record, erasing the accomplishments of Emperor Shenzong and Wang Anshi; only a revision could ensure future generations would not be misled.

The Old Party's misdeeds during Yuanyou extended beyond falsifying history.

Emperor Shenzong was a highly ambitious ruler; during his reign, he appointed Wang Anshi to enact reforms aimed at enriching the state and strengthening its military, greatly enhancing the Zhao Song dynasty's martial power.

Not only did the dynasty's finances turn from deficit to surplus, but it also expanded territory in the south and northwest, decisively suppressing the arrogance of the Western Xia.

This period is known as the Xifeng Reforms.

But Emperor Shenzong died at age thirty-eight.

When Gao Taotao assumed regency, she reversed the Xifeng Reforms, changed the era name to Yuanyou, and sought to correct the perceived errors of Emperor Shenzong's reign.

This era is called the Yuanyou Restoration.

At the time, Old Party figures, to purge New Party members, instigated the Chegaiting Poetry Case, demoting and exiling numerous New Party officials—many died in exile, even the loyal chancellor Cai Que, who had served Emperor Shenzong and Zhao Xu, was driven to death.

He was the first chancellor in Zhao Song history to be exiled to death.

During Wang Anshi's tenure, although many Old Party officials were exiled, no political persecution was ever carried out against high-ranking scholar-officials.

It was only during the Yuanyou era that Gao Taotao and Old Party ministers like Sima Guang, fearing a New Party resurgence, struck first with ruthless force.

For this reason, the Old Party's retaliation by the New Party was not unjust.

Worse still, the Old Party assembled for Zhao Xu an elite tutor team of literary giants, philosophers, scientists, historians, and statesmen: Su Shi, Cheng Yi, Su Song, Sima Guang, Fan Zuyu, Lü Princess, Fan Chunren, Han Wei, Fu Yaoyu, and Sun Jue.

Individually, each of these tutors could leave a monumental mark in Chinese history.

Yet for Zhao Xu, they lined up to serve as his teachers—a luxury unparalleled even among emperors of all dynasties.

Yet their method of educating Zhao Xu was beyond description.

To ensure Zhao Xu's scholarly development aligned with the Empress Yuanyou ministers' expectations, they presented only Confucian classics such as the Book of Documents, the Analects, and the Classic of Filial Piety, plus one additional book: The Sacred Learning Deeds of Emperor Renzong.

This was effectively forcing Zhao Xu's head down, molding him into a replica of Emperor Renzong.

When Zhao Xu occasionally expressed interest in reading Mencius, the Empress Yuanyou ministers would carefully select and submit to him the fourteen-volume annotated edition titled Mencius: Selected Excerpts, filtered to match their own ideology.

This was primarily because Wang Anshi himself had risen to prominence by promoting Mencius.

The Empress Yuanyou ministers were determined to guard every single ideological point with ironclad vigilance.

One day, after Fan Zuyu finished teaching Zhao Xu, he discovered that the palace walls bore no paintings of "No Indolence" and "Filial Piety."

One painting depicted the theme: study diligently, abandon amusement; the other depicted filial devotion to elders.

Fan Zuyu feared that without these constant visual admonitions, Zhao Xu might grow into a depraved, foolish emperor.

So Fan Zuyu promptly submitted a memorial to Gao Taotao, stating that during Emperor Renzong's reign, these two paintings had always hung in the palace, which was how Emperor Renzong had been cultivated into a sage ruler; now that they were gone, how could Zhao Xu become Emperor Renzong 2.0?

Gao Taotao said nothing—she immediately sent people to retrieve and hang the two paintings.

When Cheng Yi began teaching Zhao Xu, the demands grew even stricter.

His personal belongings could not be luxurious—they had to be frugal—and the palace maidservants attending him could not be young; they had to be entirely elderly women.

Without exaggeration, the Empress Yuanyou ministers exhausted themselves day and night, tormented by anxiety, all to prevent Zhao Xu from becoming a lecherous little tyrant.

Perhaps Zhao Xu's lifelong childlessness was due to these Empress Yuanyou ministers.

Later, after years of repression, Zhao Xu's resentment toward the Empress Yuanyou ministers and their politics had accumulated beyond measure—he dismissed all talk of becoming a sage ruler like Yao and Shun, and upon assuming personal rule, he utterly purged the Old Party, even approving Cai Bian, who regarded Wang Anshi as a father, to rewrite the Veritable Records of Emperor Shenzong, branding all efforts of the Empress Yuanyou-era Old Party as reversing history and inciting chaos.

Meanwhile, Old Party figures like Su Zhe cited Emperor Zhao Di's correction of Emperor Han Wu Di's late reign harshness as precedent, insisting that the Empress Yuanyou era was about restoring state strength, not causing disorder.

But the New Party seized on this: they accused Su Zhe of equating Emperor Shenzong with Emperor Han Wu Di, and exiled Su Zhe.

If Cai Bian's revised Veritable Records of Emperor Shenzong were not changed, all the Old Party's decades of effort would become worthless, and they would be branded as traitors.

Now, Zhao Yu clearly intended to inherit his father and brother's legacy and continue reform.

Under this political backdrop, for Zhao Yu to agree to a third revision of the Veritable Records of Emperor Shenzong—from a fair, neutral perspective, confronting this history—was truly unprecedented for the Old Party.

Moreover, after years of reflection, many Old Party figures had come to realize that their "persecution" of Zhao Xu during the Empress Yuanyou era had made the emperor wary of them.

Under these circumstances, Zhao Yu still offering the Old Party another chance proves he possesses a broad and inclusive spirit.

Let us return to Zhao Yu.

He clearly understood that the Old Party figures only clung to tradition, even to the point of internal squabbling, and would never develop the Zhao Song dynasty.

Moreover, the Old Party's goal was precisely to restrict imperial power and chancellor authority to realize their political ideals.

Seen this way, crushing the Old Party seemed almost reasonable.

But Zhao Yu was utterly clear-eyed: without the Old Party, the New Party would fracture and infight—they would never unite to develop the Zhao Song dynasty.

This was the true, unchanging pattern throughout human history, across all dynasties and nations, impossible to eradicate.

Moreover, if ministers truly ceased fighting, the emperor might become endangered—for then, they might unite to oppose him.

Crucially, history records that Zhao Ji and Cai Jing once attempted to eliminate all Old Party members and even New Party members who disagreed with them; the result was not the end of factional strife, but the Jingkang Humiliation.

So Zhao Yu believed that keeping the Old Party alive—to monitor the New Party, to monitor the New Policies reforms, even to monitor himself—might not be a bad thing.

…

After nearly a year of diplomatic maneuvering, Yelu Hongji, whose health was worsening, and Li Qianshun, trapped in stabilizing his internal politics, grew restless.

This was mainly because Zhao Yu was genuinely mobilizing troops, seemingly willing to wage war against Liao.

Meanwhile, Lu Huiqing, stationed in Fuyan Road, while receiving diplomatic envoys from Xixia for negotiations, continued dispatching troops to recruit tribes fleeing from Xixia to defect.

Seeing this, Xixia sent General Lingji Eyu to intercept these tribes.

Lu Huiqing seized the opportunity and dispatched General Liu An to counterattack Lingji Eyu.

In this battle, Liu An displayed extraordinary combat prowess: on the fourth day of his advance, he encountered three thousand Xixia iron cavalry at Shenji Liu and shattered them; on the sixth day, at Bojilielike, he defeated another five thousand Xixia troops; on the seventh day, at Lusun Maidale, he crushed seven thousand Xixia cavalry. In these successive battles, he beheaded over four thousand, captured over five hundred, and seized more than one hundred thousand weapons, cattle, and sheep.

After this battle, Zhao Yu recalled Lu Huiqing to court and, alongside Guo Cheng, organized the Hebei and Capital Garrison Armies to concentrate in Hebei, preparing—if war with Liao became unavoidable—to appoint Guo Cheng as general and Lu Huiqing as commander-in-chief, while Zhao Yu himself led the campaign in person.

Pressured by Zhao Yu's strength (and aided by Ceng Bu's skillful diplomacy), Yelu Hongji, sensing his days were numbered, finally abandoned all talk of redrawing the border.

Meanwhile, Lu Huiqing directed Liu An to continue sweeping operations along Xixia's frontier, further eroding Xixia's territory.

Seeing Liao had caved, unable to bear further pressure, Li Qianshun decided to abandon claims to territories seized by the Zhao Song dynasty.

In his memorial to Zhao Yu, Li Qianshun blamed all provocations against Zhao Song on his mother, the Little Empress Liang, and explicitly declared that Xixia would henceforth serve Zhao Song as a vassal, that all border demarcations would follow Zhao Yu's edicts, and that all other stipulations would be based on the oath-ordinance of Emperor Renzong's Qingli Fifth Year.

Zhang Dun did not soften his stance toward Xixia because of their deference; he instructed frontier officials to draw the border at the deepest Zhao Song fortresses, then push it another hundred li beyond.

Unexpectedly, despite Zhao Song's "unreasonable demands," Xixia still accepted these grossly unequal terms.

Lu Huiqing, having crushed the Xixia army, advised Zhao Yu: "The war has dragged on; the realm is exhausted. It is time for peace."

Zhang Wu Jie, overall commander of the northwestern front, also urged Zhao Yu to cease fighting, arguing that the border regions needed rest and recovery.

Zhang Dun had wished to annihilate Xixia outright, but Xixia's extreme deference left him satisfied with the peace, and given the Zhao Song dynasty's internal problems, he reluctantly accepted Xixia's plea for truce.

Thus, after nearly forty years of war since Emperor Yingzong, the Song-Xia conflict ended temporarily with Xixia's retreat.

Zhao Yu's correct response and steadfastness ensured that Zhao Song did not lose the decades of effort by Zhao Xu and his ministers, securing a decisive, total victory in this war…

…

(End of Chapter)