Chapter 26: Eunuch Accompanying Tong Guan

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Accompanying Tong Guan was a tall, broad-shouldered man with a hawk-like jaw, dark skin, and piercing eyes that glinted with sharpness, radiating competence. Strangely, a few strands of beard grew at the corners of his mouth—utterly devoid of the usual effeminate air of eunuchs.

This unusual appearance set Accompanying Tong Guan apart from ordinary eunuchs, making Zhao Yu wonder:

"Your ability to stir up such massive upheavals in history must be tied to your deviation from the typical eunuch image, to this aura and presence unlike any ordinary eunuch."

As Zhao Yu studied Accompanying Tong Guan, Accompanying Tong Guan was also subtly observing Zhao Yu.

To be honest, Accompanying Tong Guan had been hesitant about whether to join Zhao Yu, this idle prince.

Yes.

Because of his association with Li Xian, Accompanying Tong Guan had been in decline for years.

Yet Accompanying Tong Guan never gave up; every moment, he longed for the days of his past campaigns in the northwest, reminiscing about the clashing weapons and galloping horses, hoping to earn glory through military merit—only then would his life not have been in vain.

That's right.

Accompanying Tong Guan was a man of great ambition.

Could this idle prince, Zhao Yu, provide him with the stage he desired?

Accompanying Tong Guan deeply doubted it.

But Huang Jingchen was Accompanying Tong Guan's closest friend.

Accompanying Tong Guan knew well that Huang Jingchen was loyal and righteous—he would never betray a friend. If he recommended him to Zhao Yu, it must be because he believed Accompanying Tong Guan could achieve something by serving Zhao Yu.

Moreover, Accompanying Tong Guan had learned of the events that transpired in Funing Palace that day, and that Zhao Yu planned to take two of Empress Dowager Xiang's maids as his princess consorts—he found Zhao Yu extraordinary.

So Accompanying Tong Guan had come to test his luck.

Now, the two sat in silence, the atmosphere solemn.

Soon, Zhao Yu broke the silence: "Li Xian served under Wang Shao in opening the western frontier, achieving great military exploits. You once served under him—surely you know the affairs of the northwest inside out. The border remains unsettled; the Tanguts are again greedy, treacherous, and ambitious. This is precisely the time to recruit talent. For now, train my personal guards and retainers. Should opportunity arise, I shall secure for you a posting to the frontier to earn glory."

Historically, with the great military achievements Accompanying Tong Guan had amassed in the preceding decades, he could have rested on his laurels until his natural death.

To be fair, had he not sought to reclaim the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun for the Zhao Song dynasty and establish an unparalleled feat, the sixty-something Accompanying Tong Guan had no reason to incite Zhao Ji to ally with the Jin and destroy the Liao to reclaim those territories.

Had Accompanying Tong Guan not taken that misstep, his reputation—even if inferior to generals like Di Qing, Wang Shao, or Zhang Jie—would never have fallen below that of his adoptive father, Li Xian.

Unfortunately, Accompanying Tong Guan craved even greater accomplishments.

In the entire Song dynasty, no achievement surpassed the recovery of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun.

Had Accompanying Tong Guan truly helped the Zhao Song dynasty reclaim the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun, Di Qing, Wang Shao, Zhang Jie—all would have been relegated to second place.

Yet Accompanying Tong Guan misjudged the situation and overestimated the political, military, and economic strength of the Zhao Song dynasty, already riddled with holes from the emperor and his ministers' misrule.

Thus, step by step, Accompanying Tong Guan earned the infamy of the "Six Evils," nailed forever to the rack of historical shame, never to be removed.

Zhao Yu, intimately familiar with the history of the Northern and Southern Song, could not possibly be unaware of Accompanying Tong Guan's ambition or what he truly desired.

On the other hand, Zhao Yu was an idle prince, barred from participating in Zhao Song politics—but if he sincerely wished to recommend a few men, would that not be effortless?

After all, Zhao Yu was one of the highest-ranking imperial relatives of the Zhao Song dynasty, someone who could speak directly to the Emperor and Empress Dowager.

Thus, in just a few words, Zhao Yu dispelled Accompanying Tong Guan's hesitation, prompting Accompanying Tong Guan to willingly say: "Your servant accepts the order!"

The Shen Wang Fu had no retainers at all—only about twenty guards.

Assigning Accompanying Tong Guan to train these twenty guards was truly wasting a great talent.

Yet Accompanying Tong Guan understood clearly: this was merely Zhao Yu's temporary assignment. If he gained Zhao Yu's approval, the opportunity he sought might come.

These past days, Huang Jingchen, Liang Shicheng, Li Yan, and Accompanying Tong Guan had recommended nearly a hundred talents to Zhao Yu—some were eunuchs, some were junior eunuchs, others were their relatives and friends.

Among them were indeed genuine talents.

For instance, Accompanying Tong Guan had introduced Wang Bin, a renowned general of the Northern Song who served as vanguard in suppressing Fang La's rebellion and led one of the Five Great Defenses of the Song period—the Defense of Taiyuan—to serve as Zhao Yu's retainer.

Normal people like Wang Bin were easy enough; as long as they weren't excessive, Zhao Yu could recruit as many as he wished. But eunuchs and junior eunuchs were more problematic.

Because a prince's use of such men had a strict upper limit.

But it didn't matter.

Zhao Yu first selected a few of the eunuchs and junior eunuchs recommended by Huang Jingchen and others to remain at the Shen Wang Fu.

The remaining eunuchs and junior eunuchs, Zhao Yu promised, would each receive a monthly extra stipend, allowing them to return to their original posts to gather intelligence for him, and he declared that he would not withhold rewards should they accomplish deeds.

Zhao Yu did not merely speak—he promptly prepaid each of them three months' stipend.

Though they could not immediately join the Shen Wang Fu, the prospect of extra income delighted Huang Jingchen's recommended eunuchs and junior eunuchs!

They all swore loyalty to Zhao Yu, vowing to spare no effort in completing their tasks.

After offering them a few words of encouragement, Zhao Yu dismissed them to collect their money.

Having once been among the lower classes, Zhao Yu knew well: the best way to motivate grassroots staff was to pay them—no other nonsense needed. Talk of ideals, patriotism, loyalty—none of it mattered. The only concern was: do you have enough money? Can you secure sufficient material sustenance?

In other words, with these eunuchs and junior eunuchs living at the bottom, do not speak of ideals, morality, vision, or mission—those are all nonsense. First, solve their hunger and shelter, and they will naturally serve you, even with gratitude.

Huang Jingchen and the others who recommended these talents to Zhao Yu recognized Zhao Yu's brilliance, realizing he was meticulous in thought, skillful in managing subordinates, and generous in spending—a man worth following. Thus, they grew even more respectful toward him.

Yet such lavish spending rapidly depleted Zhao Yu's already meager finances.

Fortunately, Ma Xiao Jiao had given Zhao Yu the method to make soap; otherwise, Zhao Yu would have had no immediate solution to his financial crisis.

As a prince, Zhao Yu could not personally develop soap, nor did he have the time.

Zhao Yu entrusted the matter to his most trusted Huang Jingchen, instructing him to personally recruit a group of reliable individuals to develop the soap and maintain strict secrecy.

Seeing Zhao Yu's great emphasis on soap, Huang Jingchen did not dare delay—he personally went to the Military Equipment Supervision to recruit the best craftsmen.

When Emperor Shenzong ascended the throne, he was troubled by the fact that all weapons in Hebei were unusable.

How to effectively supervise arms production and achieve the goal of a strong military became a central issue in Wang Anshi's reforms.

Emphasizing and improving the quality of arms production was precisely a critical point in strengthening the military.

To eliminate the flaws in arms manufacturing institutions, Wang Anshi established the Military Equipment Supervision.

After its establishment, the Military Equipment Supervision not only fulfilled Emperor Shenzong's expectations by greatly improving weapon quality, but also completely ended the Song dynasty's phenomenon of officials having no dedicated responsibility in arms production, ushering the Song into a new era of arms manufacturing.

After its establishment, the Military Equipment Supervision vigorously improved old weapons and continuously developed new ones; among the most famous improvements was the "Divine Arm Crossbow."

This also attracted a large number of the world's most outstanding artisans to the Military Equipment Supervision.

Huang Jingchen went straight to the Military Equipment Supervision to select the best among the best, and following Ma Xiao Jiao's already extremely detailed methods, producing a small bar of soap was surely a cinch.

That day, as Huang Jingchen presented the soap sample to Zhao Yu and awaited his personal inspection, Li Shicheng reported: "The Prince of Duan has sent his servant Gao Qiu to invite the Prince to visit his residence tomorrow for cuju…"

……

(End of Chapter)