[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-i-transmigrated-to-the-northern-song-with-them":3,"chapter-i-transmigrated-to-the-northern-song-with-them-i-transmigrated-to-the-northern-song-with-them-chapter-26":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","I Transmigrated to the Northern Song with Them",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2318916,4535,"Chapter 26: Eunuch Tong Guan","i-transmigrated-to-the-northern-song-with-them-chapter-26",26,"\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tong Guan was a burly man with a hawk-like jaw, dark-skinned and imposing. His eyes burned with sharp brilliance, radiating competence. What struck one as peculiar was the faint beard growing at the corners of his mouth—utterly devoid of the usual effeminate air of eunuchs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This unusual appearance set Tong Guan apart from ordinary eunuchs, causing Zhao Yu to wonder:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Could your ability to stir up such massive upheaval in history be tied to your deviation from the typical eunuch image—to your distinct aura and presence?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Zhao Yu studied Tong Guan, Tong Guan was also subtly observing Zhao Yu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To be honest, Tong Guan had been hesitant about whether to serve Zhao Yu, this idle prince.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because of his association with Li Xian, Tong Guan had been out of favor for years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet Tong Guan never sank into self-pity; every moment, he longed for the days of his campaigns in the northwest, reminiscing about the clashing weapons and galloping steeds, hoping to earn glory through military merit—only then would his life not have been in vain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That’s right.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tong Guan was a man of great ambition.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Could this idle prince, Zhao Yu, provide him with the stage he desired?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tong Guan deeply doubted it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Huang Jingchen was Tong Guan’s closest friend.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tong Guan knew well that Huang Jingchen was loyal and upright—he would never betray a friend. If he recommended Tong Guan to Zhao Yu, it must be because he believed Tong Guan could achieve something under him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, Tong Guan had learned of the events in Funing Palace that day, and of Zhao Yu’s plan to marry two of Empress Dowager Xiang’s maids as his princesses—he found Zhao Yu extraordinary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So Tong Guan had come to test his luck.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, the two sat in silence, the atmosphere heavy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, Zhao Yu broke the quiet: “Li Xian served under Wang Shao in opening the Xihé frontier, achieving great military exploits. You once served under him—you must know the northwest inside out. The borders remain unsettled; the Tanguts are wolf-hearted, greedy, and cunning. 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 on the frontier to earn glory.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Historically, with the monumental military achievements Tong Guan had amassed in his first decades, he could have rested on his laurels until his death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To be fair, had he not sought to reclaim the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun for the Zhao Song dynasty and secure an unparalleled feat, the sixty-something Tong Guan had no reason to urge Zhao Ji to ally with the Jin and destroy the Liao to reclaim those lands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Had Tong Guan not taken that misstep, his reputation, though perhaps not matching that of Di Qing, Wang Shao, or Zhang Jie, would still have surpassed that of his adoptive father, Li Xian.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unfortunately, Tong Guan craved even greater accomplishments.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In all of the Song dynasty, no achievement could rival the recovery of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Had Tong Guan truly helped the Zhao Song dynasty reclaim those lands, Di Qing, Wang Shao, Zhang Jie—all would have been eclipsed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet Tong Guan grossly misjudged the situation and overestimated the political, military, and economic strength of the Zhao Song dynasty, already riddled with holes from his emperor’s and ministers’ misrule.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, step by step, he earned the infamy of the Six Evils, nailed forever to the rack of historical shame.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Yu, intimately familiar with the history of the Two Song periods, could not possibly be unaware of Tong Guan’s ambition or what he truly desired.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>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?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, Zhao Yu was among the highest-ranking imperial relatives of the Zhao Song dynasty, someone who could speak directly to the Emperor and Empress Dowager.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, in just a few words, Zhao Yu dispelled Tong Guan’s hesitation, prompting him to willingly say: “Your servant accepts the order!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Shen Wangfu  had no retainers at all—only about twenty guards.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Assigning Tong Guan to train these twenty guards was truly wasting his talents.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet Tong Guan understood clearly: this was merely a temporary post assigned by Zhao Yu. If he earned Zhao Yu’s approval, the opportunity he sought might come.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These past days, Huang Jingchen, Liang Shicheng, Li Yan, and Tong Guan had recommended nearly a hundred talents to Zhao Yu—some eunuchs, some junior eunuchs, others their relatives and friends.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among them were indeed genuine talents.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For instance, Tong Guan had recommended Wang Bin, a renowned general of the Northern Song who had served as vanguard in suppressing Fang La’s rebellion and led one of the Five Great Defenses of the Two Song periods—the Defense of Taiyuan—into Zhao Yu’s service as a retainer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For ordinary men like Wang Bin, it was simple: as long as they weren’t excessive, Zhao Yu could recruit as many as he wished. But eunuchs and junior eunuchs were problematic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a prince to employ such men had its limits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But it didn’t matter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Yu first selected a few from the eunuchs and junior eunuchs recommended by Huang Jingchen and others to remain in the Shen Wangfu .\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The remaining eunuchs and junior eunuchs, Zhao Yu promised, would each receive a monthly stipend beyond their regular pay, to return to their original posts and gather intelligence for him, with the assurance that he would not withhold rewards should they succeed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Yu did not merely speak—he promptly prepaid each of them three months’ salary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though they could not immediately join the Shen Wangfu , the prospect of extra income delighted all the eunuchs and junior eunuchs recommended by Huang Jingchen and others!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They all swore loyalty to Zhao Yu, vowing to give their utmost to fulfill their tasks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After offering them a few words of encouragement, Zhao Yu dismissed them to collect their money.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having once been among the lower ranks, Zhao Yu knew well: the best way to motivate grassroots staff was money—no other nonsense mattered. No talk of ideals, no talk of serving the state—only one concern: whether you had enough money to live, whether you could secure sufficient material sustenance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In other words, with these eunuchs and junior eunuchs living at society’s bottom, do not speak of ideals, morality, vision, or mission—those are nonsense. First, solve their hunger and shelter, and they will naturally serve you faithfully—even with gratitude.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Jingchen and the others who recommended these talents to Zhao Yu recognized his brilliance: they realized Zhao Yu was meticulous in thought, skillful in managing subordinates, and generous in reward—a man worth following. Thus, their respect for him deepened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet such lavish spending rapidly depleted Zhao Yu’s already meager finances.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, Ma Xiao Jiao had given Zhao Yu the method to make soap—otherwise, he would have had no immediate solution to his fiscal crisis.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As a prince, Zhao Yu could not personally develop soap, nor did he have the time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He entrusted the matter to his most trusted ally, Huang Jingchen, instructing him to recruit reliable artisans to develop the soap and maintain strict secrecy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>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 finest craftsmen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Emperor Shenzong ascended the throne, he was troubled by the poor quality of northern military equipment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How to effectively supervise arms production and achieve military strength became a central issue in Wang Anshi’s reforms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Emphasizing and improving the quality of arms production was a crucial point in strengthening the army.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To eliminate the flaws in arms manufacturing institutions, Wang Anshi established the Military Equipment Supervision.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After its establishment, the Military Equipment Supervision not only fulfilled Emperor Shenzong’s expectations by greatly improving arms quality, but also ended the era of unassigned, non-specialized officials overseeing arms production in the Song, ushering in a new phase for the dynasty’s arms manufacturing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After its founding, the Military Equipment Supervision vigorously improved old weapons and continuously developed new ones—among the most famous improvements was the “Divine Arm Crossbow.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This attracted a large number of the world’s most outstanding artisans to the Supervision.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Jingchen directly went to the Military Equipment Supervision and selected the best among the best, following Ma Xiao Jiao’s already meticulously detailed method—making a simple soap would be child’s play.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That day, as Huang Jingchen presented the soap sample to Zhao Yu, awaiting his personal inspection, Liang Shicheng reported: “Prince Duan has sent his servant Gao Qiu to invite Your Highness to his residence tomorrow for a game of cuju…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1461,"2026-06-20T15:06:47.302Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","e9bc70d33d92ac50405df2e6b70f7b9c64c8f31be209a26e991e03d08552dba2","i-transmigrated-to-the-northern-song-with-them-chapter-27","i-transmigrated-to-the-northern-song-with-them-chapter-25",348,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fi-transmigrated-to-the-northern-song-with-them-cover.jpg"]