Chapter 150: The Junior General Han Shizhong

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She learned that Zhao Yu had moved all the memorials to Kunninggong and had been conducting affairs at Zheng Xiansu's residence lately; Zhang Chun genuinely envied and resented Zheng Xiansu.

——How could Zhang Chun not realize that Zhao Yu was protecting Zheng Xiansu? Clearly, even if Zheng Xiansu gave birth to another daughter, he would never let anyone challenge her position?

"I only just came out of confinement to help you with state affairs—why are you not as kind to me as you are to Empress Zheng?"

In truth, Zhang Chun had fully believed that as long as Zheng Xiansu had no son, and she herself had already borne one, she would have a chance to become Empress.

Who knew that Zhao Yu had never once considered replacing Zheng Xiansu with her.

Zhang Chun couldn't understand: "Is Empress Zheng really that good? What exactly do I lack compared to her?"

Zhang Chun wanted to quit—she would no longer assist Zhao Yu with state affairs or offer him strategies; at most, like Ye Shi Yun, she would only act when Zhao Yu summoned her, spending her days eating, drinking, and amusing herself, doing not a single extra task.

Yet Zhang Chun truly could not bear to give up this opportunity to engage in governance.

Though she, Liu Mingda, and Zhang Nan were merely organizing and distilling memorials for Zhao Yu without authority to approve them, this was still an exceedingly rare chance to enter politics—after all, it allowed them to access vast amounts of political affairs, greatly elevating their political acumen.

Moreover, they—especially she—could offer advice directly to Zhao Yu, a significant political asset.

Put simply, if one day she ever gained the chance to rule from behind a curtain, at least she would not be like Consort Zhu, utterly incapable of governing alone.

Furthermore, whether Wu Zetian, Empress Dowager Cixi, Liu E, or any other woman who held supreme power over an empire, all began by assisting the Emperor in reviewing memorials.

In other words, in Zhang Chun's view, what she was doing now was no trivial matter—it was a giant step toward her dream of becoming Empress Dowager.

Tell me, how could Zhang Chun, who had never abandoned her Empress Dowager dream, possibly relinquish this hard-won chance to enter politics?

Crucially, reviewing memorials was not something only she could do. If she refused, countless others would rush to take her place—especially the women eager to draw close to Zhao Yu.

With no alternative, Zhang Chun suppressed her envy and resentment toward Zheng Xiansu and, together with Liu Mingda and Zhang Nan, led her team to move all the memorials to Kunninggong and resumed reviewing them.

Not long after, Zhang Chun came across a memorial requesting rewards…

The first year of Hongwu, eighth month, first day.

Zhong Chuan, disregarding the objections of the generals and strategists of Huanqing Road, insisted on advancing to near the Huluh River and oversaw the construction of the forward stronghold Xiao Pass.

Soon after, this move indeed provoked a major Xia army invasion.

Facing the Xia army's full-scale assault, Zhong Chuan's forces appeared disoriented and indecisive.

Fortunately, Zhang Jie, acting for the greater good, dispatched the general Zhe Keshi to reinforce Zhong Chuan, stabilizing the Xiao Pass front.

Yet Zhong Chuan's accidental move also granted Tao Jiefu of Fuyan Road an opportunity.

Tao Jiefu seized the moment, while Jingyuan and Huanqing Roads were locked in fierce combat with the Xia army, to launch a surprise attack on Western Xia.

In fact, Tao Jiefu had long resolved, even during the construction of Luowu City, to advance further and capture Yinzhou City.

Thus, Tao Jiefu had waited patiently on the sidelines, ready to launch this second offensive.

During the reign of Emperor Shenzong, whether led by Han Jiang and Zhong E in the Luowu Campaign or by Xu Xi in the Yongle Campaign, all were campaigns aimed at controlling Yinzhou City.

But Yinzhou City lay deep within Western Xia territory, heavily fortified; even during Zhao Xu's reign, men as capable and battle-hardened as Lu Huiqing never managed to take that crucial step toward conquering Yinzhou.

Now, under Zhao Yu's reign, things were different.

Compared to Lu Huiqing of that era, Tao Jiefu had advanced further, capturing Luowu City—leaving only a hair's breadth between him and Yinzhou.

Tao Jiefu immediately ordered his troops to march and seize Yinzhou City.

At the time, officials of Fuyan Road expressed doubt. Due to the fog of intelligence, Yan'an Prefecture had detected large Xia troop movements but could not determine whether they were heading toward Jingyuan Road; most still suspected the Xia army was advancing toward Hedong.

If the Xia army attacked Linzhou or Fuzhou—i. e., the territory of the Zha family army—the round trip would take no more than ten days.

Attempting to construct Yinzhou City in such a short time was far too risky.

But Tao Jiefu remained unmoved, confidently declaring: "I have planned this thoroughly! The Xia will head west toward Jingyuan. If you will not follow me, I shall die alongside my two sons and my soldiers!"

Because of Tao Jiefu's insistence, the veteran general Geng Duanyan finally stepped forward and led the Fuyan Road troops straight toward Yinzhou City.

Tao Jiefu's two sons also resolutely joined the expedition.

In just five days, the Fuyan Road Song army crushed over ten thousand Xia defenders and successfully captured Yinzhou City.

And the Xia army's main force, as Tao Jiefu had predicted, had rushed to Xiao Pass, between Jingyuan and Huanqing Roads.

By the time the Xia main force returned to rescue, Yinzhou City's defenses had been fully reinforced over months of repair—the Xia had lost all strategic opportunity.

Though Geng Duanyan was not well-known, he was a valiant general who had fought on the Song-Xia frontline since Emperor Shenzong's reign.

More than twenty years ago, during the Yuanfeng era, he had served under Zhao Xie in defending Huanqing Road and led four thousand armored troops to a great victory against the Xia at Heluoping.

In that battle, the Song army captured over thirty thousand cattle, sheep, and elderly civilians, seven hundred warhorses, and took prisoner a senior Xia royal general—truly a glorious achievement.

Now, Geng Duanyan had once again followed Tao Jiefu in completing this deep incursion into the Hengshan region to capture Yinzhou—truly an old steed still dreaming of a thousand li.

This battle had occurred recently; Zhao Yu had already rewarded all those who earned merit—Tao Jiefu and his three sons were each promoted three ranks, and Geng Duanyan was elevated to Defense Commissioner.

But the reward memorial Zhang Chun saw was not for these men—it was for a junior officer.

To the people of this era, this junior officer was merely a greenhorn, insignificant and unworthy of mention.

Yet when Zhang Chun saw the junior officer's name, she leapt straight out of her seat!

Zhang Chun reacted so wildly only because the junior officer's name was: Han Shizhong!!!

That's right.

During the Yinzhou Campaign, Han Shizhong—one of the four great generals who revived the Southern Song in history—first rose to prominence.

When the Fuyan Road Song army first arrived beneath Yinzhou City, the Xia, knowing their numbers were few, planned to fortify the walls and await reinforcements.

Geng Duanyan then ordered a full-scale assault on Dengcheng.

Han Shizhong scaled the city wall in one bold surge, slaughtering wildly with unmatched ferocity, severing the head of the Xia commander and hurling it below the ramparts—the Song troops' morale surged, and they seized the city in one charge.

After Yinzhou City's defenses were strengthened, it immediately faced a massive Xia counterattack.

The Song army marched out, and the two sides clashed at Songping Ridge.

Han Shizhong again followed the commander Dang Wan into battle, repelling the enemy.

Unexpectedly, as the Song army withdrew, they were ambushed by the Xia; a leading enemy general, claiming to be the Xia prince consort, proved exceptionally fierce.

Yet no matter how fierce the enemy general, to the teenage Han Shizhong, he was merely a source of adrenaline and a chance for military glory.

Han Shizhong said nothing, leapt onto his horse, and rode out to battle; within a few exchanges, he indeed severed the enemy's head and returned.

But when Geng Duanyan submitted this first-class merit to Accompanying Tong Guan, Accompanying Tong Guan merely thought it was some low-ranking soldier boasting—how could a mere private possibly achieve such great merit? In the end, he only recorded a trivial amount of merit for Han Shizhong, leaving the entire army furious.

Unlike in history, when Zhao Ji allowed only officials of a certain rank to submit memorials to him, Zhao Yu, from the very start of his reign, permitted all ranks of officials to secretly submit memorials to him.

——After all, Zhao Yu had numerous officials, eunuchs, and female officials, equivalent to countless secretaries; Zhao Yu merely needed to read their summarized and simplified memorials, and they could also separately report to Zhao Yu whatever they deemed important.

Because of this mechanism, it became much harder for local authorities and the front lines to conceal anything from Zhao Yu.

This time, Zhang Chun learned of the memorial requesting merit for Han Shizhong through this channel.

Zhang Chun did not immediately go to Zhao Yu; instead, she asked Liu Mingda and Zhang Nan for all secret memorials requesting merit for Han Shizhong.

She had no idea what she was in for—once she looked, she was stunned.

Zhang Chun tallied them up: there were fifteen memorials altogether requesting merit for Han Shizhong.

Zhang Chun had every reason to believe Han Shizhong deserved such merit.

But it was well known that Accompanying Tong Guan had been with Zhao Yu since Zhao Yu was Prince Shen, and he had even contributed to Zhao Yu's ascension to emperor—he was unquestionably a founding loyalist.

Therefore, even Zhang Chun, if she wished to move against Accompanying Tong Guan, needed solid evidence; otherwise, success was not guaranteed.

Otherwise, how else do you explain why these memorials reached Zhang Chun's hands? Isn't it because everyone believed it was unnecessary to offend Accompanying Tong Guan, Zhao Yu's favored eunuch, over a mere frontline private?

Now, having obtained fifteen memorials requesting merit for Han Shizhong, Zhang Chun finally had the resolve to deal with Accompanying Tong Guan.

So Zhang Chun went to Zhao Yu, who was discussing names for their son with Zheng Xiansu, and said: "Your concubine has an urgent matter to report to Your Majesty."

"My beloved, speak freely," Zhao Yu said.

Zhang Chun did not fear Accompanying Tong Guan learning she was accusing him; on the contrary, she welcomed the chance to build her own reputation through this, so she spoke bluntly:

"Accompanying Tong Guan concealed the great merits of frontline generals during merit verification, causing frontline soldiers to be deeply resentful and inflicting serious harm. May Your Majesty scrutinize this matter carefully, grant deserving generals their due rewards, lest the frontline troops grow disheartened, and severely punish Accompanying Tong Guan as a warning to others."

In truth, Zhao Yu did not even need to read the memorials—he knew Zhang Chun's accusation was nearly certainly true.

Historically, Accompanying Tong Guan's high prestige among the Western Army stemmed not only from his position and personality, but also from two other crucial factors:

First, he spent money freely—he gave generous pensions to fallen soldiers.

Second, he valued loyalty—he adopted the sons of fallen officers, provided for their food, clothing, shelter, ensured them a good education, and arranged suitable positions for them.

But all this applied only to Accompanying Tong Guan's inner circle.

For those outside his inner circle, Accompanying Tong Guan shared the common vice of all Western Army commanders: suppression.

When the Jingkang Humiliation occurred historically, the Zhao Song court had no capable generals left; it resorted to using Zhong Shidao, an old-fashioned officer who opposed war against the Liao, and Liu Yanqing, a timid man, as commanders—a situation deeply tied to Accompanying Tong Guan's personnel practices in the northwest.

——Of course, objectively speaking, at that time, the Zhao Song court's troops and equipment in Hebei were truly unfit for combat; one could say the Zhao Song court had simply not prepared for that war at all, which explains why Zhong Shidao and Liu Yanqing dared not engage the Liao army lightly. Later battles proved Zhong Shidao and Liu Yanqing still had merit—yet the Zhao Song court, exhausted by Zhao Ji and his ministers, left Zhong Shidao and Liu Yanqing unable to demonstrate their true abilities.

Zhao Yu had long wanted to reform this风气 in the Western Army.

Thus, even before reading the memorials Zhang Chun brought, Zhao Yu had already resolved to give Accompanying Tong Guan a stern warning—to kill the chicken to scare the monkeys.

Then, when Zhao Yu opened the memorials and saw Han Shizhong's name, he immediately understood why Zhang Chun had chosen to confront Accompanying Tong Guan.

Although Zhao Yu already knew who was right and who was wrong, he still read all fifteen memorials carefully before saying:

"Go draft the edict: have Ceng Bu personally investigate this matter on the front lines. If verified, punish Accompanying Tong Guan for negligence—demote him three ranks, fine him fifty catties of copper, administer twenty lashes publicly, retain him in office to redeem himself; grant Han Shizhong his rightful promotion, plus three additional ranks as a reward for his extraordinary bravery; similarly correct all other such cases, hold all responsible parties accountable, regardless of who they are, and punish them severely—do not let frontline soldiers shed blood and then tears."

Zhang Chun was satisfied with Zhao Yu's decisiveness.

In Zhang Chun's view, Zhao Yu should be like Qianlong: reward generously if you perform well, never stingy; if you fail, then—sorry, your life is forfeit without hesitation.

Nen Qin was Qianlong's childhood friend, a favorite minister; during the Qing-Burmese War, his poor frontline command led Qianlong to send Fu Heng with the golden knife of Nen Qin's grandfather, E Bi Long, to execute Nen Qin—cold, ruthless, utterly merciless.

Also, in Qianlong's early reign, there was a eunuch named Gao Yuncong, who had grown up with Qianlong; Qianlong treated him exceptionally well. Once, Gao Yuncong shattered a priceless glass bed-screen in the Yangxin Palace; Qianlong did not punish him, saying, "He didn't do it on purpose—forget it."

But this wastrel, ungrateful and reckless, leaked Qianlong's vermilion-edited personnel appointments to the Grand Councilor Yu Minzhong—just to offer early congratulations. When Qianlong found out, he flew into a thunderous rage and executed Gao Yuncong by dismemberment.

Zhang Chun thought: 'Without such resolve, how could one be a good emperor?'

Zhang Chun made no effort to conceal her admiration for Zhao Yu and replied loudly: "Your concubine obeys."

After Zhang Chun left, Empress Zheng asked: "Will this punishment of Accompanying Tong Guan cause Your Majesty's trusted servants to feel disheartened?"

Zhao Yu shook his head: "The greatest danger for a ruler is unclear rewards and punishments. If Accompanying Tong Guan understands my intentions, he may still serve; if not, I shall assign him a civilian post in the palace to spend his remaining years."

Zheng Xiansu said no more. She knew Zhao Yu was wise, discerning, and skilled in selecting talent—his actions must have reason. She had merely offered a timely reminder, not pleaded for Accompanying Tong Guan.

And dealing with Accompanying Tong Guan and promoting Han Shizhong was only Zhao Yu's second goal; his other goal was: 'The total annihilation of the Western Xia is imminent—we must thoroughly assess the front lines…'

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(End of Chapter)