Chapter 95: Zhao Yu: Your Daughter Is a Fine One

…

Zhao Yu guessed correctly: Zheng Xiansu was indeed different from ordinary women; the experience was beyond words, knowable only to those who had lived it.

To be honest, Zhao Yu was almost reluctant to leave— he didn’t even want to return to Zheng Xiansu’s quarters to rest.

Fortunately, Zhao Yu had not forgotten his promise to Zheng Xiansu.

So, though reluctant, he finally released Guo Ting, returned to Kunninggong, embraced Zheng Xiansu, and fell into a deep sleep, ending his wedding night.

The next day, Zhao Yu took Zheng Xiansu, Wang Yisu, and Guo Ting to Cide Palace to pay respects to Empress Dowager Xiang, completing the final step of his marriage.

Upon returning from Cide Palace, Zhao Yu said to Zheng Xiansu: “I entrust all palace affairs to the Empress.”

Zheng Xiansu nodded gently: “Yes.”

Though Zheng Xiansu merely nodded and replied with a single “Yes,” it was enough to put Zhao Yu at ease.

Zhao Yu firmly believed that no one in the world was better suited to be his Empress than Zheng Xiansu.

Well, he simply couldn’t find a second candidate.

Zhao Yu took no honeymoon leave. The current situation did not permit him to rest…

…

During the Battle of Pingxiacheng, facing a massive offensive of 400,000 (some say 300,000) troops personally led by the Western Xia’s Little Empress Dowager, Guo Cheng, as the city’s defender, remained calm under pressure, skillfully organized the garrison, and repelled wave after wave of Xia Army assaults, holding the city for thirteen straight days without breach.

Guo Cheng did not merely defend passively—he periodically sent troops out at night to harass the Xia Army, disrupting their deployment and rhythm, forcing them into constant reaction and further draining their manpower and morale.

When the Xia Army withdrew due to prolonged failure, the destruction of their siege towers by a violent storm, and supply shortages, Guo Cheng, alongside Zhe Keshi and other generals, led ten thousand elite cavalry on a long-range raid, launching a surprise attack on the Xia command center, capturing their commanders Amai and Meile, taking over three thousand prisoners, seizing no fewer than one hundred thousand cattle and sheep, and delivering a crushing blow to the Xia Army.

From this battle, Guo Cheng proved not only skilled in defense but also in offense, seizing opportunities with remarkable precision.

Moreover, it is worth noting that Guo Cheng—and indeed the entire Guo family—were well-rounded generals. They possessed not only military ability but also exceptional talent in civil administration.

Take Guo Hao, the most renowned figure in the Guo family’s history, as an example:

In the early Southern Song, Jinzhou had been ravaged by repeated struggles between the Song, Jin, the puppet Qi, and bandit forces. When Guo Hao arrived, he vigorously reformed civil governance with remarkable results; so much so that while other units begged the court for funds, Guo Hao voluntarily donated one hundred thousand strings of cash to the Ministry of Revenue. The court, delighted, even assigned Yangzhou and Fangzhou under his command.

By the way, Guo Cheng had three sons (Guo Qin, Guo Hao, Guo Mian). His eldest, Guo Qin, died young; his second son, Guo Hao, and youngest, Guo Mian, had always followed him in military service and now accompanied him to the capital for his official report.

Currently, in the Jingji and Hebei regions, the Song Army had no shortage of capable generals—but lacked someone who could unify these scattered forces, or at least gather them into a semblance of a fighting force.

From this perspective, Guo Cheng and the Guo family might be better suited than Wang Hou, Liu Fa, or Zhong Sida to reorganize the military in Jingji and Hebei.

Remember: if the Liao Army dared to advance deep into Song territory, they would almost certainly be isolated. If a capable defender established a line, held key cities, fortified defenses, evacuated civilians, and cleared the countryside, the Liao Army would be unable to advance or plunder. Once their momentum faded and morale collapsed, the Song Army could repeatedly launch raids to exhaust their strength and will—then the Liao Army might suffer a decisive defeat.

This was precisely the warfare Guo Cheng excelled in.

Moreover, the Western Army now urgently needed to stabilize the Hengshan frontline to block the Xia Army’s desperate attempts to reclaim the region; Zhao Yu could not divert its vital forces.

Furthermore, Guo Cheng was Zhao Yu’s convenient father-in-law; appointing him as “Minister of Defense” would help Zhao Yu secure his throne.

After careful consideration, Zhao Yu ultimately appointed Guo Cheng as Grand Commandant, planning to have him command the combined Jingji and Hebei armies against the Liao when war broke out.

The Guo father and son knew some of Zhao Yu’s intentions, but they did not know how much weight his marriage to Guo Ting carried.

In other words, they did not know whether Zhao Yu’s heavy reliance on Guo Cheng stemmed from recognizing their abilities—or from familial ties.

If it were the former, then even if Zhao Yu disliked Guo Ting, he would still treat her well to secure the loyalty of the Guo family.

But if it were the latter, then the power they held would vanish as quickly as it came—if Zhao Yu lost interest in Guo Ting, or even suspected Guo Cheng of deceiving him, the Guo family would swiftly lose their newly acquired authority and be cast back into obscurity.

Precisely because of this uncertainty, early this morning, an eunuch arrived at the Guo residence to notify Guo Cheng that he must report to Chuigong Palace that afternoon; the Guo father and son’s hearts immediately tightened.

The youngest, Guo Mian, could not hold his nerves: “Could the Emperor be planning to punish us for deceiving him?”

Guo Cheng’s face darkened: “My son and I have remained utterly loyal to Great Song—how can you speak of deception?”

Guo Mian thought to himself: ‘My sister is taller than most men—even taller than me—and you sent her to become an Imperial Consort—isn’t that deception?’

Guo Hao added: “The Emperor will surely inquire about the military situation in Jingji and Hebei. Do not panic. Remain calm and composed.”

Guo Cheng agreed with Guo Hao’s reasoning, prepared himself, and entered the palace to meet the Emperor.

When Guo Cheng arrived at Chuigong Palace, the chancellors Zhang Dun, Cai Bian, Han Zhongyan, Ceng Bu, Su Zhe, Cai Jing, Zhang Shangying, Li Qingchen, and Su Shi were all present.

The reformist ministers Lü Huiqing and Liang Zimei, recently transferred to the capital from Great Ming Prefecture, were also there.

After the chancellors completed their reports, Zhao Yu dismissed them to their duties.

Then Lü Huiqing and Liang Zimei stepped forward to report.

Lü Huiqing spoke the longest—he detailed his years of observations in the provinces and his latest insights into reform, leaving nothing out.

Zhao Yu promptly promoted Lü Huiqing to Vice Minister of the Central Secretariat, making him a new chancellor.

When it came to Liang Zimei, Zhao Yu primarily asked about military equipment and grain reserves in Hebei.

By the time all these reports concluded, night was nearly fallen.

Now, only Guo Cheng remained in the hall.

Guo Cheng’s heart tightened, yet he stepped forward and bowed: “Your servant Guo Cheng pays homage to Your Majesty.”

Zhao Yu smiled: “We are not strangers. No need for formalities.”

At these words, Guo Cheng relaxed inwardly: ‘It seems the Emperor bears me no ill will?’

Zhao Yu cut straight to the point: “I ask you: how are the armies of Jingji and Hebei? Are they fit for battle?”

Guo Cheng realized Guo Hao had guessed right, and immediately gave Zhao Yu a detailed account of the military deployments in Jingji and Hebei, which he and his sons had thoroughly investigated.

Through Guo Cheng’s explanation, combined with information Zhao Yu had gathered from other sources (mainly reviewing official reports and memorials and dispatching the Imperial City Surveillance to conduct covert investigations), Zhao Yu now had a general understanding of the military situation in Jingji and Hebei.

The Zhao Song Dynasty now faced the same problem as other feudal dynasties in their twilight: the transformation of the army’s role.

Once a feudal dynasty secured its rule, its army inevitably had to shift roles—from a field force into a defensive and local policing force.

Zhao Song was no exception. After the Song and Liao signed the Treaty of Chanzhou, with virtually no major wars in Jingji and Hebei, the once-legendary Jingji Imperial Guards and Hebei Imperial Guards who had once matched the Liao in battle gradually fragmented into scattered local units, becoming little different from the Garrison and Village Militias.

In peacetime, these units managed their own territories, handled minor security duties, and suppressed bandits—tasks they could barely manage.

But when a major interstate war erupted, they had to be hastily assembled.

Since they had long lacked cooperation and large-scale combined training, their combat effectiveness was already low.

Worse still, many Song units were listed as ten thousand strong, yet only a few thousand showed up; of those, only a few hundred could form orderly ranks; and only about a hundred could actually pick up weapons and fight on the front lines.

Ridiculous, isn’t it?

Yet this was the true state of the Jingji and Hebei Imperial Guards—effectively no better than the Garrison and Village Militias, and in actual combat, often worse.

This was no longer a problem that could be solved by simply paying full military wages.

Furthermore, the main forces—the Jingji and Hebei Imperial Guards—had been scattered: ten thousand in Bazhou, ten thousand in Xiongzhou, ten thousand in Guangxin Army, five thousand in Xin’an Army…

This made the Zhao Song Dynasty appear to have troops everywhere—yet none capable of bearing serious weight.

Guo Cheng declared that, given the current military situation in Jingji and Hebei, the region could not possibly resist a Liao invasion; if the Liao advanced south, they might cross the Yellow River within days and reach the capital’s gates.

The fact that Guo Cheng could speak these words to Zhao Yu confirmed that Zhao Yu had chosen correctly: Guo Cheng at least understood the problem, its dire consequences, and offered a reasonable solution.

—Guo Cheng’s proposal was: if war with Liao truly broke out, the Song must immediately mobilize troops, rapidly select and train two or three ten thousand elite soldiers, or else this war would surely end in defeat; meanwhile, prepare contingency plans to evacuate south to Jiangnan or west to Guanzhong if defense failed.

Zhao Yu did not think Guo Cheng was exaggerating.

Through the reconnaissance conducted by Li Yan’s spies, Zhao Yu learned that in Hebei, only a few military strongholds had three to five thousand fully manned Hebei Imperial Guards; other cities, even important ones, had at most seven or eight hundred, or as few as two or three hundred. In Jingji, the situation was worse—within a short time, they could not even muster five units exceeding one thousand men.

Some might wonder: the Jingji and Hebei Imperial Guards together numbered over three hundred thousand on paper; adding Garrison and Village Militias, nearly seven hundred thousand—where had all these troops gone?

The main reason: the Zhao Song Dynasty imposed excessive corvée labor—everywhere needed manpower.

Because Jingji and Hebei had enjoyed peace for too long, their armies—including the elite Imperial Guards—had stopped training entirely. They were broken into small units and assigned to menial tasks: maintaining local order, farming, gardening, raising livestock and poultry, fishing, guarding forests and graveyards, repairing bridges and roads, managing the Yellow River, and large-scale construction.

For example:

This morning, Zhao Yu received a memorial from Cao Biao, Prefect of Hejian, urging him not to wage war against Liao.

In his memorial, Cao Biao stated that Hejian City currently had only 3,200 troops; after subtracting those guarding granaries, prisons, and essential garrisons, he could only spare 1,900 for battle.

Where were the missing troops?

Cao Biao listed them clearly in his memorial.

In short: aside from those performing corvée, the rest were all assigned to maintaining local order.

—In this era, there was no police system; local security was entirely maintained by the army, so troops had to be dispersed into villages, streets, and towns to patrol.

Remember: Hejian’s official troop strength was thirty thousand.

Yet when needed, only 1,900 could be mustered—less than one-fifteenth.

Of course, this was because defenders could not deploy all their forces.

But even so, the number of combat-ready troops was far too small.

Crucially, Hejian was not an isolated case.

These past days, Zhao Yu had received too many such memorials—local governors all urged him not to rashly start a war; some even dared to say, “If we fight, Great Song will perish.”

This was the fate of feudal dynasties: prolonged peace rendered armies useless.

Fortunately, Zhao Song had been at war with Western Xia for years, so the Western Army (Xijun) remained relatively combat-effective.

Otherwise, Zhao Song would have had no hope at all.

Now, aside from the Western Army, whether Jingji Imperial Guards, Hebei Imperial Guards, or Jiangnan Imperial Guards, they had fought only small bands of bandits or minor peasant uprisings—combat effectiveness was predictable.

The Bureau of Military Affairs had already calculated for Zhao Yu: if war with Liao truly broke out, Jingji and Hebei could muster at most seventy thousand troops—only one-tenth of their paper strength.

And of those seventy thousand, perhaps only seven thousand could immediately pick up weapons and fight; the rest would mostly serve as cheerleaders.

Based on current conditions, Guo Cheng advised Zhao Yu: continue mobilizing troops from other regions to Hebei, and issue orders that all arriving units must deploy in loose formations and publicly inflate their numbers by at least tenfold—create an illusion of overwhelming force.

Zhao Yu adopted Guo Cheng’s advice.

Before Guo Cheng withdrew, Zhao Yu promoted Guo Hao to Gate Attendant and praised Guo Ting as virtuous and gentle, saying to Guo Cheng: “Your daughter is a fine one.”

Guo Cheng inwardly praised Zhao Yu as a sage monarch—for the sake of pacifying him and his son, Zhao Yu could utter such insincere words, and clearly intended to favor Guo Ting.

Guo Cheng swore in his heart: even if not for the rise of the Guo clan, merely to ensure his daughter’s happiness in the harem, he would devote himself wholeheartedly to serving Zhao Yu.

After Guo Cheng left, Zhao Yu fell into deep thought: “The military has serious problems. When demanding pay, every man is accounted for; when war comes, there are no troops. If no one is scheming, that would be truly miraculous… Hmm… What if I gradually withdraw the elite troops from Jingji, Hebei, and Jiangnan to form a new Imperial Guard, and reassign the rest to a police system—turning the capable ones into police and handing them over to local authorities, thus solving the problem of excessive military?”

…

(End of Chapter)