Chapter 196: The Newly Married Empress

…

In handling memorials, Xiao Puxian has great talent.

More precisely, Xiao Puxian has great courage.

Many decisions Zhang Chun and other women dare not make, Xiao Puxian dares to make.

Moreover, Xiao Puxian's suggestions and decisions are typically bold, direct, and effective, solving problems efficiently.

Crucially, Xiao Puxian is full of energy. Not only does she finish her assigned memorials quickly, but she also reviews every memorial processed by others, filling gaps and offering systematic advice to Zhao Yu.

Without exaggeration, after acquiring Xiao Puxian, Zhao Yu effectively gained a capable and extraordinarily efficient female secretary.

Because Zhang Chun's pregnancy was advanced, Zhao Yu simply entrusted Xiao Puxian with overseeing the review of memorials.

Xiao Puxian accepted gladly, threw herself into the work with enthusiasm, and never grew tired of it.

Zhang Chun, however, was deeply uneasy. She feared that after giving birth, this responsibility would never return to her.

Yet if she didn't let Xiao Puxian handle it, Zhang Chun simply could not manage it herself anymore.

Thus, Zhang Chun was torn and anxious, terrified that Xiao Puxian would completely replace her.

Zhao Yu comforted Zhang Chun: "When that time comes, you will review every memorial she has processed, to ensure nothing is inappropriate."

Zhang Chun was overjoyed!

She had not expected that despite Xiao Puxian's beauty and competence, Zhao Yu had not grown fickle—he still entrusted her with oversight and review, keeping core power in her hands, balancing and restraining Xiao Puxian, even letting her remain firmly above Xiao Puxian.

In Zhang Chun's gaze at Zhao Yu, there was nothing but deep affection.

To Zhang Chun, Zhao Yu was perfect in every way except for being overly fond of women and too fickle.

As someone familiar with history, Zhang Chun knew well that whether an emperor was lustful had nothing to do with whether he was a good emperor.

Take Han Wu Di Liu Che: he filled his harem with countless beauties, at his peak possessing nearly twenty thousand concubines. Yet politically, he strengthened central authority and implemented the Edict of Extended Grace; economically, he reformed currency and monopolized salt and iron; militarily, he sent Wei Qing and Huo Qubing to strike the Xiongnu northward, expanding territory; culturally, he suppressed all schools of thought except Confucianism, unifying ideology. These measures brought the Han Dynasty to its zenith, demonstrating his exceptional political, military, and leadership abilities.

In contrast, Zhao Huan: upon ascending the throne, Zhu Lian presented him with twelve concubines; by the time he was captured and taken to Jin as a hostage, ten of them were still virgins—he could be called the archetype of an emperor not fond of women. Yet he was weak-willed, indecisive, lacked political conviction, vacillated endlessly between war and peace when the Jin advanced southward, yielding to wind in both directions. In less than two years, he appointed and dismissed twenty-six chancellors and ministers; key figures like Li Gang, Zhong Shidao, and Geng Nanzhong saw their vital state-saving strategies rejected, while disastrous schemes were fully adopted, ultimately leading to the Jingkang Humiliation and the fall of Northern Song, revealing his severe inadequacy in governance.

The primary standard of a good emperor is exceptional ability in governing and managing the state: prioritizing economic development, understanding rational resource allocation, promoting production, and reducing taxes; possessing strategic vision and military decision-making to safeguard national territory and people's safety; caring for the people and attending to livelihood; implementing reforms and innovations according to actual conditions to drive social progress.

Seen this way, his flaws do not obscure his virtues—Zhao Yu accomplishes nearly all of these, and does so excellently; he is a thoroughly good emperor, exactly the emperor Zhang Chun wanted.

Zhang Chun looked at Zhao Yu and thought, "No wonder he's the emperor I chose—he's perfect!"

Zhang Chun adored Zhao Yu more and more, and couldn't help stepping forward to kiss him fiercely on the cheek. Had her pregnancy not been so advanced, she might have even learned from Xiao Sese and properly attended to Zhao Yu…

…

Indeed, this war had terrified Yelu Yanxi so thoroughly that the Zhuhe Sect within Liao gained complete dominance, so much so that when repaying interest, though Liao substituted oxen, sheep, camels, donkeys, and old or pack horses, they delivered them swiftly this time.

—It took less than five days for Liao to fully deliver the interest.

Moreover, Liao sent twelve taels of gold and one million five hundred thousand taels of silver from the Western Capital, and repaid part of the annual tribute.

Yelu Yanxi and his ministers also stated that the remaining tribute was already being transported from the Central Capital, Eastern Capital, and Upper Capital to Yanjing, and they wished to immediately open peace negotiations.

Yet Zhao Yu's stance remained firm: no negotiations until all tribute was fully returned, not an inch of concession.

After securing the tribute and interest, Zhao Yu issued an edict to transport all war spoils—especially those utterly useless—to the Zhao Song Dynasty.

To conserve transport capacity, some hard-to-move goods, like lower-quality silk, were sold in the Three Towns of Hebei and Great Ming Prefecture at thirty percent below market price, exchanged for easily transportable gold and silver to be stored in the imperial treasury of Dongjing Bianliang.

As for the better-quality silk, it was transported to Dongjing Bianliang and sold below market price, its proceeds added to the imperial treasury.

As for the recovered gold and silver, they were directly transported to Dongjing Bianliang and stored in the imperial treasury.

Moreover, Hebei's cool climate and abundant grassland, its proximity to Dongjing to the south and the frontier to the north, made it the Zhao Song Dynasty's largest official horse-breeding region. The Group Pasture Office oversaw over ten pastures in Hebei, scattered between Luo, Wei, Xiang, Chan, Ying, Dingzhou, and Great Ming Prefecture, with vast grasslands ideal for raising horses.

Zhao Yu ordered Zhang Dun to distribute the excess horses, oxen, sheep, camels, donkeys among these pasture lands for temporary grazing, or sell them at slightly below market price to the people.

Notably, as these spoils continuously flowed back into the Zhao Song Dynasty, and as they were sold to the populace below market price, nearly everyone learned that Zhao Yu had won a great victory on the front, reclaiming the tribute owed by Liao—principal and interest alike.

These rumors spread like spring wind across every corner of the Zhao Song Dynasty; the people rejoiced, and in streets, alleys, over tea and meals, all talk centered on Zhao Yu's bravery, wisdom, and how he had avenged decades of Liao oppression in a single stroke.

Scholars and poets alike wielded brush and ink, filling poetry and verse with praise and reverence for Zhao Yu.

Zhao Yu's consort Li Qingzhao composed over a dozen fine lyrics, expressing her profound admiration and love for Zhao Yu. Her verses contained both the grandeur of "Iron horses and icy rivers enter my dreams," depicting Zhao Yu's fearless charge on the battlefield; and the tenderness of "Soft affection like water, a beautiful rendezvous like a dream," conveying a wife's deep longing for her husband. Each line brimmed with emotion, every word a pearl, intertwining Zhao Yu's heroic spirit with the tender bond of marriage—these lyrics swiftly spread, becoming cherished tales over tea and meals.

In court, Zhao Yu's prestige soared to its peak. Many ministers submitted memorials, earnestly urging Zhao Yu to seize this great victory and fully reclaim Yan-Yun Sixteen Prefectures, completing the unfulfilled ambition of all Zhao Song emperors.

This was also because the Propaganda Department had been vigorously promoting Zhao Yu's achievements to build his reputation.

This elevated Zhao Yu's prestige to an all-time high, surpassing all Zhao Song emperors except Zhao Kuangyin.

Zhang Dun, while marveling at Zhao Yu's brilliant campaign, was also growing desperate.

The Zhao Song Dynasty's long-established grand strategy was to first reclaim Xi Xia, not Yan-Yun Sixteen Prefectures or Pingluan Sanzhou.

Yet now it seemed the priorities were reversed.

Zhao Yu was succeeding effortlessly in Yan, giving the impression that with one more push, he could reclaim Yan-Yun Sixteen Prefectures and Pingluan Sanzhou.

In the northwest, progress was not absent, but Zhang Jie was methodical, strictly adhering to the "shallow advance and fortify" strategy to slowly erode Xi Xia, showing no haste whatsoever, fighting like a dull, risk-averse campaign.

This made Zhang Dun want to replace his cousin with a more decisive supreme military commander.

Yet Zhao Yu consistently refused, saying: "If there is one man in Great Song who can reclaim Xi Xia, it is none other than Zhang Jie."

Zhao Yu's support for Zhang Jie was not merely verbal—it was demonstrated in action: granting power, money, resources, giving whatever was requested, and even giving what was not requested.

Regarding power, Zhang Jie now held full military and administrative authority over the Six Routes of the Northwest; calling him the "King of the Northwest" would not be an exaggeration.

Regarding money, half of the funds Zhao Yu brought back from his personal campaign went to Zhang Jie.

This does not include the horses, camels, mules, donkeys, weapons, and strategic supplies Zhao Yu gave him.

Zhao Yu's overwhelming support moved Zhang Jie to submit a memorial: "Your Majesty has spared no effort in employing me, entrusted me with exclusive authority. Now, having been given the heavy responsibility of managing Xi Xia, granted the power to command independently, supplied with elite troops and capable generals, and granted discretionary authority—this is truly the moment for me to sacrifice my life for the state. How could I fail to emulate Geng Gong's loyalty at Shule, or Ban Chao's ambition to pacify the Western Regions? I shall surely polish my horses, sharpen my weapons, muster my troops, follow Your Majesty's divine strategy as my guide, and let the loyalty of the court be my whip—I shall surely reclaim Xi Xia for Your Majesty…"

Yet for all his eloquent words, Zhang Jie moved with glacial slowness, like an elderly man nearing his end.

Indeed, Zhang Jie was already seventy-six years old this year—he truly was an old man.

This caused many to worry: could Zhao Yu really entrust the monumental task of reclaiming Xi Xia to such an aged man?

To this, criticism had never ceased.

Yet Zhao Yu remained unmoved by public opinion, steadfastly supporting Zhang Jie—even Zhang Dun, the chancellor, could not dislodge the frontline commander. No matter how Zhang Jie fought, Zhang Dun could only grit his teeth and cooperate.

Now that it had entered deep autumn, it was clearly unsuitable to launch further campaigns against Western Xia.

Moreover, after Emperor Shenzong's five-pronged campaign against Xia ended in failure, everyone knew the best time to reclaim Western Xia was spring.

Given Zhang Jie's cautious, methodical tactics, who could fail to see he intended to delay the campaign to reclaim Western Xia until next spring?

This year?

At most, they'd build a few more fortresses and outposts.

Yet just as everyone held this view, after over a year of preparation, Zhang Jie had gathered everything needed to reclaim Western Xia—especially after receiving the fifty thousand warhorses sent by Zhao Yu—giving him the opportunity to reclaim Western Xia.

On the fifteenth day of the tenth month, the Lower Yuan Festival.

Ignoring the approaching winter, Zhang Jie suddenly launched a coordinated attack along all border fronts, striking Western Xia simultaneously to scatter its attention.

The Huanqing army struck first; taking the Western Xia forces by surprise, they captured Yanzhou City and immediately fortified its walls, clearly intending to hold it permanently.

The Fuyan army then seized Hongzhou City during this window, and with support from the Hedong army, captured Youzhou City, seizing one hundred thousand shi of grain and tens of thousands of cattle and sheep.

This unexpected, scattered assault by multiple armies caught the Xia forces completely off guard and effectively divided their attention, leaving them utterly uncertain which direction was the true Song offensive.

Yet Zhang Jie still felt it wasn't enough—he had long spread rumors of his own old age and frailty, claiming he feared another war with the Xia.

This not only deceived the Western Xia, but even the ministers of the Zhao Song court genuinely believed Zhang Jie had grown timid in battle, and they submitted memorials denouncing him.

This was exactly the effect Zhang Jie wanted.

On the twentieth day of the tenth month, Zhang Jie seized the moment when Xia forces were dispersed, assembling troops from all Shaanxi routes into a force of over one hundred thousand, advancing along the Huluh River into enemy territory—including the now-famous Divine Mechanism Army—and swiftly heading toward Mount Tiandou.

Upon hearing this news, Li Qianshun and his court were not alarmed—they rejoiced.

Many ministers of the Zhao Song court did not believe in Zhang Jie's abilities.

But the Western Xia, who had suffered great defeats at Zhang Jie's hands five or six years prior, would never forget how he had used the same tactic then: building fortifications on Mount Tiandou, seizing its critical pass, slaughtering tens of thousands of Xia troops, and forcing them to retreat to Xingqing Prefecture.

In that battle, Zhang Jie's name became a cold star in the night sky over Western Xia territory—terrifying to all.

Now, Zhang Jie was repeating the same trick; Li Qianshun and his court wrongly assumed the Song army again intended to use Mount Tiandou as their base of advance.

Thus, though Li Qianshun scattered troops to rescue various regions, he deliberately retained thirty thousand elite troops at Mount Tiandou, determined to block this Song assault—and ideally avenge the past humiliation.

To this end, Li Qianshun had barely married Yelu Nanxian when he parted from his new Empress, personally traveling to Mount Tiandou to oversee the battle, resolved to defeat Zhang Jie, survive the winter, and await the Liao's recovery so they could once again ally with them against the Zhao Song court.

…

At the same time, Jingyuan Road, Shaanxi and Western Xia Pacification Commission.

Zhang Jie was counting on his fingers over a massive sand table.

"Seventy to eighty thousand below Yanzhou City."

"Fifty to sixty thousand below Youzhou City."

"Twenty to thirty thousand below Hongzhou City."

"One hundred fifty thousand at Xiazhou."

"Forty to fifty thousand at Xiliang Prefecture."

"Three hundred eleven thousand at Mount Tiandou."

"Enough. Time for a decisive battle…"

…

(End of Chapter)