Chapter 218: Let That Zhao Gou Go Be Your Jin Nation's Ninth Prince

"Can't find him?"

"How could he not be found!"

Mizhou on the Jingdong East Road, at the foot of Mount Langya.

The furious Wanyan Zongbi waved the horse whip in his hand. "Keep searching! Turn over every mountain and drain every sea until you find Zhao Gou!"

Bianliang City was besieged, and Zhao Gou, appointed Grand Marshal of Hebei Army and Horses, had tens of thousands of troops gathered around him.

Yet he merely arranged for Zong Ze to take over ten thousand men to relieve Bianliang City.

As for himself, he led several tens of thousands of troops and fled all the way to Shandong.

Zhao Gou's original plan was that after Bianliang City fell, as the sole surviving Prince, he would inherit the throne.

Unexpectedly, a God Person descended from heaven, crushed the Jin army, and lifted the siege of Bianliang City.

But worse was yet to come.

Wanyan Zongbi refused to withdraw north from Baimai Ford, leading a large cavalry force rushing to Shandong, wanting to recover some face.

He ran straight into Zhao Gou's tens of thousands of troops.

By rights, the Song Army outnumbered the Jin several times over.

And with a famous general like Han Shizhong present, even if they couldn't win, they shouldn't have lost so disastrously.

But the Song Army's Main General was Huang Qianshan, a petty official of no standing.

A civil official skilled at flattery who understood nothing of military affairs serving as Main General — the result was a foregone conclusion.

An army of thirty-eight thousand men collapsed and scattered in a single battle against the Jin.

Zhao Gou fled frantically; Wanyan Zongbi pursued desperately.

In this chase and flight, they actually reached the foot of Mount Langya.

A thousand years ago, the Ancestral Dragon once viewed the sea here and established the Langya Terrace.

Thousands of Jin soldiers truly searched mountains and seas, turning over every area nearby that could hide a person.

"Not found?"

Learning that even searching mountains and seas failed to find Zhao Gou's trail, Wanyan Zongbi cursed violently. "Is this man part dog? How can he escape even this?"

So many people chased for hundreds of li, all the way to the seaside, and still let him get away.

Not to mention anything else, this escaping ability truly commands admiration.

"Wait."

Wanyan Zongbi suddenly recalled something.

"Are there beast dens on the mountain or at its foot?"

"Yes~"

"Go search, go find! Search the bird nests carefully too."

Another round of targeted searching finally located Zhao Gou.

This great coward Kang Prince, Grand Marshal of Hebei Army and Horses, was actually hiding in a dog hole!

When the reeking Zhao Gou was brought over, Wanyan Zongbi immediately covered his nose.

"Truly a disgraceful thing!"

Wanyan Zongbi waved his hand. "Drag him to the seaside and scrub him clean."

Zhao Gou was dragged away; Wanyan Zongbi summoned Wendu Sizhong. "You make a trip to Bianliang City."

"Seek out Lin Dao, tell him to exchange the Second Prince's head for the Song's Kang Prince."

"Order received~~~"

Wendu Sizhong rushed to Bianliang City.

Dozens of li from the city, he was seized by patrolling troops.

Had he not desperately shouted that he was a Shishi, and had they not found the Grand Marshal of Hebei Army and Horses' great seal on him, he would have been beheaded on the spot.

During these days, in the Jingji Region and throughout the East Capital West Route, the captured and executed Jin routed soldiers were countless.

Scattered Soldiers and Rogues who had lost their organization had combat power so weak they couldn't even handle the Elite Men of a village.

Small groups like Wendu Sizhong's had long since been wiped out.

Trussed up, Wendu Sizhong was escorted toward Bianliang City.

Just as they were about to enter the city, he saw the soldiers guarding the City gate — their Armor bright and clear, their Weapons excellent, their Spirit and Energy completely different from the Song Army he had encountered before.

He was greatly surprised.

The Song actually have such elite troops!

'Since they have such strong soldiers, why did they not take the battlefield when fighting the Great Jin before?'

Harboring deep doubts, Wendu Sizhong was brought into the City Interior.

After layer upon layer of reports upward, he was finally led before Lin Dao.

"It's you."

Inside the Brothel Courtyard, Lin Dao sitting on a stool saw him and smiled. "We meet again."

Last time they met, Wendu Sizhong was high-spirited, demanding gold, silver, silk, mules, horses, and women.

His arrogant posture was more Emperor Emeritus than the Emperor Emeritus himself.

But this time coming~

"Greetings, Immortal Elder~"

Wendu Sizhong smiled obsequiously and immediately knelt to salute.

Lin Dao glanced at the ropes on him but did not call for anyone to untie them. "Speak directly if you have business."

Etiquette is spoken to those who likewise observe etiquette.

During the Jingkang Humiliation, how did the Jin treat Song envoys?

Lin Dao has always insisted on reciprocity.

Whatever the Jin have done, he will surely return it intact.

"The Song's Kang Prince, Grand Marshal of Hebei, Ninth Prince named Gou."

"Defeated and captured alive by the Great Jin's Fourth Prince."

"This humble subject comes on the Fourth Prince's orders, requesting the return of the Second Prince's head, in exchange for Kang Prince Gou."

"Oh?"

Lin Dao appeared slightly surprised. "You captured Zhao Gou?"

"Absolutely true." Wendu Sizhong kowtowed again. "This humble subject carries the Kang Prince's gold seal and gold helmet as verification."

Soldiers stepped forward, presenting the Grand Marshal Seal and Zhao Gou's helmet.

"Wasn't he quite good at running?"

Lin Dao, examining the items, asked casually, "How was he caught?"

"To answer the Immortal Elder." Wendu Sizhong replied respectfully. "After his defeat, he fled wildly for several hundred li, escaping to the seaside to hide."

"Under the Fourth Prince's search of mountains and seas, he was seized from a dog hole."

"A dog hole?" Lin Dao also smiled. "Quite fitting for him, actually."

"Immortal Elder."

Wendu Sizhong saluted again. "Still hoping the Immortal Elder will agree."

"Not agreed."

Lin Dao refused outright. "Can't be exchanged."

Wendu Sizhong was stunned. "But this is the Song's Ninth Prince~~~"

In the Great Jin, this would be a bona fide top-tier figure, how can he not be exchanged?

"How about this."

Lin Dao set down the great seal. "You change his name to Wanyan Gou, and make him your Jin's Ninth Prince."

"In the Central Plains, there is no longer any foothold for him."

Wendu Sizhong was baffled, still wanting to speak further.

Lin Dao's side, however, had already waved his hand. "Send him out of the city."

Not long after Wendu Sizhong was dragged away, Zong Ze came again.

This old man nearing seventy, recently basically comes every day to request an audience with the Immortal Elder.

He opens with a string of praise, a basketful of flattering words.

After the praise, he reaches out to ask for aid.

At the start, he only asked for grain.

Later he began asking for living supplies.

Then he asked for weapons and armor.

Recently he has even set his sights on Lin Dao's thermal weapons.

"Stop."

Zong Ze's flattering words had just begun, and Lin Dao directly raised his hand to halt them.

"Speak directly if you have something to say."

"What do you want this time?"

"The Immortal Elder knows me~" Zong Ze beamed with joy, the wrinkles on his face smoothing out. "Pengju's recruitment already has some prospects."

"A letter has been sent back; in Xiangzhou alone, he has recruited five or six thousand men and horses."

"As the news spreads, many righteous armies in the Northern Lands are also coming to join."

"Estimating within the month, we can gather tens of thousands of troops."

Zong Ze, face full of delight, spoke in a long-winded ramble.

Lin Dao, however, was not annoyed, listening calmly with a placid expression.

"Within three months, we should be able to assemble a ten-thousand-strong army capable of taking the field."

"They also need to be supported by several times that number of civilian laborers for logistics."

"Civilian laborers just need to be given food."

After rambling for a while, he finally reached the main point. "But regular soldiers need pay."

Lin Dao revealed a smile. "Come to ask for money?"

"Yes~~~"

The Song Dynasty's economy is developed; the circulation and significance of wealth far surpass all previous dynasties.

The fallen Two Rivers region has a population of twenty million; righteous armies are everywhere.

Pulling out one hundred thousand regular soldiers in three months is not difficult.

But merely gathering people is far from enough.

Not to mention weapons, armor, grain and supplies — military pay alone is a massive expenditure.

By formal standards, a single Song Army regular soldier's total annual expenses add up to nearly a hundred guan!

Grain and cloth can replace a portion; previously there was even Jiaozi to substitute.

But now, Jiaozi has long been infamous and no one is willing to use it; real copper cash must be produced.

The Yue Family Army's military discipline is so strict, praised as 'freeze to death without dismantling houses, starve to death without plundering.'

Its root cause, besides Yue Fei's personal charisma and proper training.

What matters more is that the Yue Family Army's military pay is distributed in full, ten-tenths.

Embezzlement has become the prevailing custom in the Song Army.

When military pay reaches the army, the commanding generals take their cut first.

After that, their subordinates — the commanders, controllers, and garrison commanders — each layer embezzles as it passes through their hands.

What finally reaches the soldiers' hands, three-tenths would be considered not bad.

The Imperial Guards of Bianliang City, famed for mastering a hundred crafts from music to acrobatics — are they born willing to do such labor?

It is not so.

The pay they receive makes feeding themselves difficult, let alone feeding their families.

Under such circumstances, if they don't go work as laborers their whole families will starve to death; there is no other choice.

The Imperial Guards of Bianliang City have poor combat strength; tens of thousands of troops were frightened into rout by ten-odd Jurchen cavalry.

In truth they knew that even if those ten-odd Jurchen were each a match for a hundred men, they still could not beat the great army — yet they fled all the same.

The root cause is that the Zhao Song Court, the Court Ministers, and the various General Families never regarded them as human.

Since it is so, who would go sell their lives for these Nobles?

Let everyone be destroyed together!

The Song Army's combat strength follows the military pay.

The Yue Family Army, with the fullest pay distribution, smashed the Jurchen main force head-on — Iron Pagoda Cavalry and all, smashed them all.

They beat the Jurchen until they wailed: "Moving a mountain is easy, moving the Yue Family Army is hard!"

The men of the Central Plains are not incapable of fighting; it depends on whether they are willing to fight.

Seeing Lin Dao fall silent, Zong Ze in his heart still felt somewhat embarrassed.

After all, asking for money and goods — speaking of it always sounds unpleasant, and moreover it is an astronomical sum.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say that giving more grain and cloth would also work, that it could be valued and deducted from the military pay.

Before he could speak, he heard Lin Dao reply.

"It can be done."

"How much do you need?"

He stared blankly for a moment; Zong Ze forcibly collected his emotions and spoke with slight caution.

"Regular Soldiers' monthly salary is one and a half strings; calculating by one hundred thousand men, that is one hundred fifty thousand strings per month; rewards are calculated separately."

In the Modern World, armies pay wages directly in money.

The Ancient world is different; money is only one part.

Take the Great Song's Imperial Guards, for instance — beyond monthly salary, each month they also receive rations rice, the rice to feed their dependents ranging from one shi seven dou to two shi five dou, as well as one jin of salt.

In addition they are issued silk, cloth, cotton, and various other materials.

Other things, Lin Dao had already been selling continuously before.

Now directly asking for copper cash, calculating at seven hundred seventy wen per string, one month requires one hundred fifteen million wen.

This is only one month.

Such enormous expenditure simply makes one's hair stand on end to behold.

Zong Ze looked at Lin Dao full of hope.

And Lin Dao did not disappoint him.

"It can be done."

"According to the previous rules, bring goods to exchange."

End of Chapter