Chapter 238: Cai Jing

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The imperial palace, the training ground.

Today, Zhao Yu did not train with Li Lin in Prisoner Fitness or Yoga; instead, he learned martial arts from an old man over fifty, an old monk, and an old Daoist priest—more precisely, he learned hand-to-hand combat.

Zhao Yu had originally had no desire to learn martial arts; he was an emperor, and what use would it be? Could he possibly take the battlefield himself?

In Zhao Yu's view, learning martial arts was pure waste of time; with that time, he could do something meaningful—even sleep with more women—wouldn't that be better?

That was why, from the moment he was reincarnated, Zhao Yu had never trained in martial arts; he spent all his spare time conditioning his body.

Until two years ago, when Zhao Yu used Song Jiang's rebel army to exterminate northern gentry and employed ruthless methods to force them to accept the Two New Policies, he feared that although these northern gentry might not know Song Jiang's army was his creation, they certainly resented him for tolerating Song Jiang's slaughter of them and for forcing them to suffer massive economic losses—and might assassinate him. So he repeatedly strengthened his security, paid closer attention to his personal safety, and further empowered the three intelligence agencies: the Imperial Security Bureau, the Eastern Depot, and the Brocade Guard.

Seeing this, Li Lin advised Zhao Yu to learn some self-defense techniques; after all, he was her final line of defense—if he trained himself into a master, he could surely save his life in a crisis.

Zhao Yu thought Li Lin's advice made perfect sense, so he learned many military combat techniques from her: Military Body Boxing, Enemy-Capturing Fist, Prisoner-Catching Fist, Black Dragon Eighteen Hands, Guard Fist, Guard Combat Fist, Riot Control Fist, Power Fist, Bodyguard Fist, as well as combinations of enemy-capturing techniques, one-strike incapacitation combos, and reconnaissance soldier combat techniques.

These military combat techniques absorbed strengths from traditional martial arts like Tai Chi and Shaolin grappling, as well as foreign disciplines like Sanda, kickboxing, and boxing, aiming for rapid subduing of enemies and self-defense—perfect for Zhao Yu's personal protection.

In addition, Zhao Yu learned two foreign military combat systems from Li Lin: Israeli Krav Maga and Russian Sambó.

What surprised Li Lin—though in hindsight it made perfect sense—was that Zhao Yu didn't master these military combat techniques instantly, but he picked them up quickly and grasped their essentials.

In just over three months, Li Lin could no longer defeat Zhao Yu.

This was mainly because Zhao Yu had spent years conditioning his body, bringing his strength, agility, speed, endurance, reflexes, and explosive power to the peak of human capability; even without martial arts training, ordinary cultivators couldn't beat him. Once he added these no-nonsense, efficiency-focused, tactic-integrated, adaptable military combat systems—designed not for points or spectacle but for the shortest path to victory—he became exceptionally formidable, far beyond what Li Lin, a woman, could possibly match.

Of course, this was also because Li Lin gave Zhao Yu everything she knew without holding back; had she kept even a few secret techniques, Zhao Yu could never have defeated her so easily.

Zhao Yu trained with Li Lin for another year, mastering everything she knew.

Feeling he might have a natural talent for martial arts, Zhao Yu did not stop there; he sought out masters to further his training.

So Zhao Yu ordered the Imperial Security Bureau, the Eastern Depot, and the Brocade Guard each to find him ten martial arts masters to teach him combat and serve as his bodyguards.

The old man, the old monk, and the old Daoist priest were among the best.

The old monk was proficient in all Shaolin arts; it was said he was the Shaolin's greatest master, unmatched in close-quarters combat.

The old Daoist excelled particularly in lightness skills; even if the best crossbowman stood three meters away and fired first, he could not hit him.

The old man had less fame in this era than the monk or the Daoist, but in later generations, he was the most renowned martial artist of his time: Zhou Dong, the Iron Arm, master of Yue Fei. In Water Margin, Lu Junyi, Lin Chong, Wu Song, and Shi Wengong were all his disciples. In the Biography of Yue Fei, besides Yue Fei, Niu Gao, Wang Gui, Tang He, and Zhang Xian were also his disciples.

As Zhao Yu practiced the Five Steps Thirteen Spear Thrust Footwork under Zhou Dong's guidance, a messenger suddenly reported: "Your Majesty, disaster! In Qingshi County, Muzhou, the rebel Fang La has gathered a mob and risen in revolt; he has now reached the gates of Hangzhou. The chancellors request Your Majesty's presence in the Chuigong Hall to discuss strategy!"

Zhao Yu did not immediately stop; he calmly completed the Five Steps Thirteen Spear Thrust Footwork before turning to the three masters and saying: "Rest for today, my teachers. I have urgent matters to attend to."

The three masters replied in unison: "Yes!"

Under Li Lin's service, Zhao Yu changed into clean robes and then proceeded unhurriedly to the Chuigong Hall to meet Zhang Dun and the others.

Zhao Yu had long known about Fang La's rebellion.

No.

He should say: this nuclear bomb was ignited by Zhao Yu himself.

Otherwise, why do you think Wu Yong went to Qingshi County to incite Fang La to rebel?

To be honest, Zhao Yu had long hesitated whether to detonate the nuclear bomb of Fang La and the Moni Sect.

The south was the Song Dynasty's largest, most vital power base—without exception—especially before Zhao Yu's ascension.

If Fang La's rebellion erupted, it would unleash an unprecedented storm across the south, sweeping through its prosperous lands, plunging the region into chaos, damaging its economy, devastating its people, and shaking the very foundations of Song rule.

For any emperor, this was a high-stakes gamble.

If he lost, Zhao Yu would be finished—his fate and reputation would be no better than Emperor Xuanzong of Tang's.

The safe course would be to maintain this decay, allow southern gentry to continue exploiting the people, let social tensions grow, perhaps delaying the storm until the Song Dynasty rotted completely and collapsed on its own.

But Zhao Yu did not want to live like this; such a life held no meaning.

More importantly, over the past two years, most southern gentry had become insolent—no longer even pretending to comply, adamantly resisting the Two New Policies, adopting a "rather die than give up wealth" stance, convinced the Song Dynasty was ruled jointly by emperor and scholar-officials, certain Zhao Yu dared not oppose them, utterly indifferent to southern development or the dynasty's strength, refusing all reform, making Zhao Yu seethe with hatred.

On the other hand, the north, after enduring its pain, had developed far beyond Zhao Yu's expectations, giving him confidence that even if he reduced the south to ruins, he could still salvage the situation.

Most crucially, whether during Huang Chao's time or the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, southern aristocratic clans suffered far less damage than northern ones, leaving southern gentry still powerful and deeply entrenched, firmly controlling the south's economic lifelines and political resources, posing a latent threat to imperial authority. Unless an external force shattered this stalemate, the south would forever remain a feast for the few, stalling the Song Dynasty's overall development.

That was why Zhao Yu finally decided to accelerate Fang La's rebellion.

Of course, Zhao Yu could not allow Fang La's rebel army to run rampant—if the ambitious Fang La seized the south and stole half his empire.

For safety, Zhao Yu instructed Yuwen Xuzhong to order Song Jiang to lead his rebel army southward to confront Fang La's forces, restraining Fang La's expansion.

Still not reassured, Zhao Yu had long stationed the Southern Auxiliary Army in Huaiyang Army, ready to seize Zhenjiang immediately if Fang La's army (or Song Jiang's) attempted to blockade the Yangtze, ensuring Song troops could cross the river at any time to suppress rebels. He also stationed the Western Auxiliary Army in Nanyang.

Without Nanyang, there is no Huai; as long as Nanyang remained under Song control, even if Fang La's army occupied the south, Song forces could advance down the Han River to the Yangtze, then sail downstream past the Huai defenses to strike directly into the south.

Historically, the Mongols conquered the Southern Song by precisely this route.

For safety, Zhao Yu personally appointed Chen Gou and Han Shizhong to lead a detachment to garrison Xiangyang.

Thus, if events turned sour, Song forces could advance through Xiangyang, Ezhou, Huangzhou, Shuzhou, Wuhu, and Jiankang, then strike directly south toward Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

Additionally, Zhao Yu appointed Zhan Du and Zhang Jun to lead a detachment to defend Hongzhou.

Hongzhou lies in the central-northern part of the southern west, at the lower reaches of the Gan and Fu rivers, beside Poyang Lake, surrounded by three mountains—a classic defensible stronghold.

Historically, during the late Yuan civil wars, if Zhu Wenzheng had not held Hongzhou city, Chen Youliang's army could have sent troops through Hongzhou into the Zhejiang-Gansu corridor to strike directly at Zhu Yuanzhang's rear.

Had that happened, it would have been uncertain who ultimately won the empire—Zhu Yuanzhang or Chen Youliang.

Thus, Hongzhou was critically important to any regime controlling the Jiangdong region; controlling its terrain meant locking the western gate of Jiangdong. If Hongzhou fell out of their hands, Jiangdong's western gate stood wide open, and Song forces could enter Jiangdong at any time.

In short, while releasing Fang La and the Moni Sect like a vicious dog, Zhao Yu had tied it with multiple chains, preventing it from going out of control and turning into a monster too large to manage—turning on its creator.

As the instigator and with perfect preparations, why should Zhao Yu panic?

Zhao Yu arrived at the Chuigong Hall unhurriedly.

As expected, all the chancellors waited for him in the Chuigong Hall.

Fang La had gathered a million rebels at the gates of Hangzhou, the south's political, economic, and cultural center—about to fall. How could these chancellors remain seated?

Besides, do you think the southern gentry group dared to be so arrogant, even toward Zhao Yu, without reason? Isn't it because these southern gentry had deep, tangled ties with these chancellors and court ministers?

—These chancellors, at least their relatives, clansmen, students, and former subordinates, were southern gentry themselves, owning vast tracts of southern land.

Historically, Zhu Mian was only the lowest of the Six Villains, and at his highest he only reached the rank of Weiyuan Military Commissioner — a From-Second-Class military official. At that time the appointment of Military Commissioners was rather indiscriminate, with roughly sixty of them across the whole country.

Above the Military Commissioner rank there were many high officials — at least a hundred or two would certainly exist.

Moreover, high officials of the Song dynasty, once retired, all liked to flee southward, where great clans and aristocratic families stood in great numbers, and great gentry were everywhere to be found.

The Zhu family alone, in a mere twenty-odd years, had managed to annex more than three hundred thousand mu of land.

How much more so those high-official families whose rank exceeded Zhu Mian's, and those great clans whose foundations ran deeper than the Zhu family's?

Zhao Yu had always been very clear that his true enemies were never those gentry at all, but rather the officials and scholar-officials he had to rely on.

In recent years, Zhao Yu had genuinely promoted quite a number of sons of poor households, and had given many officials opportunities and time to cut themselves off from land.

Only thus did today's decisive battle come about.

After so many years of dealing with him, not a single one of these chief ministers dared any longer to underestimate Zhao Yu. They all knew that although Zhao Yu was young, he was wise, sagacious, and far-sighted, possessing a depth and resourcefulness beyond his years; behind every one of his decisions there was almost always an unfathomably deep scheme and calculation hidden away.

The key was that in recent years the southern gentry had truly offended Zhao Yu quite gravely.

The key of keys was that one need only look at the development of the north in recent years to see without difficulty how greatly the southern gentry had held back the development of the Zhao Song dynasty.

Even more critical was that now, at present, the southern gentry had driven Fang La into rebellion, which was bound to inflict a grievous blow on the south and shake the very foundations of Zhao Song rule — how could this not make Zhao Yu hate the southern gentry to the bone?

Under such circumstances, the enormity of the difficulty in trying to persuade Zhao Yu to dispatch a great army to reinforce the southern gentry could well be imagined.

After ruler and ministers had exchanged the customary greetings, before Prime Minister Zhang Dun could come forward to speak, Left Vice Minister of the Department of State Affairs Cai Jing went "thud" and dropped to his knees before Zhao Yu, weeping: "This minister is guilty, I beg Your Majesty to punish me heavily!"

Zhao Yu asked coolly: "What crime have you committed?"

Cai Jing confessed in a thoroughly shameless manner:

"In my early years while serving in Suzhou, I befriended father and son Zhu Chong and Zhu Mian. Seeing that the two of them had quite the talent for getting things done, I relied on them heavily. I never imagined that father and son would use my name to harm their home district, bullying men and seizing women, arousing the people's wrath, and causing the Qingxi man Fang La to rise in revolt, lumping me together with father and son as birds of a feather."

"I dare not cry injustice, for indeed I failed to judge men aright, betrayed Your Majesty's grace, brought great turmoil to the south, caused the court to suffer losses, and brought calamity upon the common people. I deserve to be punished."

"For generations my forebears have all received the vast grace of the throne, so much so that we have accumulated considerable family wealth. Over several generations my family has together amassed two hundred and thirty-eight thousand six hundred and thirty-three mu of fine land. This is the figure from two years ago, when I instructed my household to invite the local officials to re-measure the land. My family has paid the land tax in full, and the proof is here."

At this point, Cai Jing actually produced a thick stack of land deeds and tax-payment receipts and laid them before him.

Cai Jing continued: "I am willing to donate every last one of my family's fields to the court for the planting of cotton, sugarcane, and the like, to aid the court's reforms and atone for my former crimes."

"I further beg Your Majesty to grant me a residential plot in the north. I wish to move my entire clan northward, to make a clean break with the southern gentry, and devote myself wholly to carrying out the new policies in the south on the court's behalf."

"I beg Your Majesty to grant my request, and again I beg Your Majesty to impose heavy punishment upon me, as a warning to others…"

……

(End of chapter)