[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-shao-song":3,"chapter-shao-song-shao-song-chapter-1":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Shao Song",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":18,"prevChapterSlug":19,"totalChapters":20,"novelImage":21},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":12,"translator":16,"content_hash":17},1558167,2024,"Chapter 1: Mingdao Palace","shao-song-chapter-1",1,"\u003Cp>The autumn wind rustled, the sun warm in the slanting rays, and at dusk, the Mingdao Palace in Zhenzhen County (later Luyi), Bozhou, Huainan East Circuit of the Great Song, was a place of shifting light and shadow, crisp and balmy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not only that, at this very moment, within this vast complex that served both as a temple and an imperial palace, fully armed soldiers and nobles in vermilion and purple robes could be seen everywhere, with countless civil and military officials of the Great Song apparently stationed here. And at the highest point, the small hill behind the main hall, the defenses were especially tight and orderly; from a distance, one could even see several dragon banners with three streamers fluttering in the wind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Anyone with a bit of common sense knew that these were called the Golden Wu Imperial Banners, exclusively used for the Son of Heaven's grand procession. With the dragon banners here, it meant that the Zhao Song Emperor was also present.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Such a situation was not particularly rare, after all, the emperors of the Great Song had a tradition of devoutly following Daoism. The previous emperor had even styled himself the Daoist Emperor, and this Mingdao Palace, the original seat of the Daoist founder, was built by Emperor Zhenzong. So it seemed ordinary enough for a Song emperor to come here in person to offer sacrifices.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, unlike the grand spectacle when Emperor Zhenzong came here to sacrifice to the Daoist founder, the atmosphere in this imperial garden at this moment was unavoidably heavy and solemn... the number of fully armed generals and soldiers was far too many, and the Song civil officials, who usually loved to indulge in literary pursuits, showed no sign of sightseeing. Instead, after gathering in twos and threes for a drink, their worried expressions were hard to hide.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hard to hide, indeed!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since the Jingkang Incident, the Jin army had invaded the south, the Two Emperors had been taken north, and rebellions had broken out everywhere. The Great Song had effectively been pushed to the brink of survival, and the fear of national subjugation was no empty talk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What was even more troubling was that, at this critical juncture, the Zhao Emperor, who had only ascended the throne a little over two months ago, had also met with an unexpected misfortune. The Zhao clan had always valued Daoism, so a few days earlier, when the emperor's procession passed this place on its way south to the Huai River region to prepare for resistance against the Jin, he naturally stopped to pay homage to the Daoist founder Li Er at Mingdao Palace. However, after the ceremony, while touring the garden scenery, this young Zhao Emperor, in full view of hundreds of civil and military officials, tumbled headfirst into the Nine-Dragon Well near Mingdao Palace and lost consciousness for a time!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, he only fainted. The Zhao Emperor woke up half a day later, and the two chief councilors had both visited him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the problem was that this young and robust Zhao Emperor, who could normally ride a horse for half a day and draw a five-stone bow, after waking up, though he moved as usual, did not continue southward as originally planned. He had only made one public appearance recently, accompanied by Kang Lü, the Chief Eunuch of the Inner Palace Service, and then stopped all action.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One must understand that two months ago, after the emperor ascended the throne in Nanjing (Shangqiu), the court had been a scene of fierce struggle. It had even cost the lives of one Remonstrance Counselor and two Imperial Academy students, and the dismissal of one Chancellor, before the national policy of moving south to the Huai region and then to Yangzhou was settled. Moreover, for this southern journey, the Empress Dowager had already gone ahead to Yangzhou, many imperial clan members were also traveling, several capable financial ministers had gone to the Huai-Yang and Jiangnan areas to raise funds and supplies, and various imperial generals and commanders had been dispatched to suppress rebellions in the surrounding areas to secure the route. Even most of the Chief Eunuchs of the Inner Palace Service had gone ahead to clear the way... So why had the most essential and fundamental emperor and the court officials, having only traveled a hundred li from Nanjing (Shangqiu), stopped here in Bozhou? What was going on?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, the temporary imperial residence was in a state of panic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There were rumors that the emperor, though not physically injured that day, had damaged his mind. He couldn't even remember Consort Pan or Chief Eunuch Kang, and might even have become like Emperor Hui of Song. That was why the councilors of the Eastern and Western Bureaus and Chief Eunuch Kang of the Inner Palace Service naturally dared not leave. There were also rumors that the emperor, being a Daoist believer, had come to suspect after this incident that falling into the well was a specific warning from the Daoist founder, advising him not to go south. So he had changed his mind and was instead inclined to stay in the Central Plains to resist the Jin, hence his hesitation!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not only that, but there were even more absurd tales, such as Kang Lü taking the opportunity to imprison the emperor and carry out a scheme to replace him with a cat spirit, or the Daoist founder appearing in a dream to guide a divine general to descend and help... All kinds of preposterous stories grew increasingly bizarre as the imperial residence remained stationary at Mingdao Palace in Bozhou.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One could only say that, fortunately, after the Jingkang Incident, this was the only legitimate member of the Song imperial clan; otherwise, who knows what trouble might have arisen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Excellent archery, everyone!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Right in the midst of this widespread panic at the imperial residence, at the highest point, the rear hall, which was also the very center of the storm, the emperor, as usual, had drawn his bow and set up a target under the dragon banners before sunset, shooting through two quivers of arrows before stopping. The waiting Chief Eunuch of the Inner Palace Service, Kang Lü, quickly stepped forward to flatter and inquire. \"Will Your Majesty also be dining with the Imperial Guard today?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Is there any reason not to?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The so-called emperor, dressed in a red round-collared archery shirt, was about twenty years old, tall and handsome, clearly a true descendant of the Zhao clan. Hearing this, he just smiled faintly, seemingly unconcerned. \"Does the Chief Eunuch have something to discuss?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What could I possibly have?\" This Chief Eunuch Kang, about thirty years old, was the only remaining Chief Eunuch of the Inner Palace Service at the imperial residence. He had always been in charge of the secret documents within the palace, an important position equivalent to a later-era Grand Eunuch holding the brush. Hearing this, he couldn't help but clasp his hands and sigh. \"It's just that Lady Pan just sent me to ask, saying she hasn't seen Your Majesty for many days and misses you greatly. I thought...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Zhao Emperor, upon hearing this, gave an awkward smile while gripping his hard bow, made no reply, and instead turned his head away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Moreover, Your Majesty mentioned after your injury that you wanted to eat ice cream, didn't you?\" Seeing this, Kang Lü quickly circled back in front of him, still clasping his sleeves. \"Lady Pan went to the kitchen today and made some herself, especially for Your Majesty. Why not go and see her, and also visit the imperial heir?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Is that so?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The young emperor was slightly startled and hesitated for a moment. But he quickly came to his senses and let out a soft sigh. \"Better not. Just send the ice cream over. I'll share it with the Imperial Guard who are dining with me today...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Your Majesty!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kang Lü, momentarily anxious, even changed his address from the intimate 'Everyone,' which only he was allowed to use at the imperial residence. \"That was made by Lady Pan herself! How can it be given to the Imperial Guard? What kind of propriety is that? Even you, Your Majesty, should not continue dining with the Imperial Guard. If word gets out, it will displease the court officials, who will say Your Majesty looks down on scholars and favors warriors.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Since the Jingkang Incident, has the Great Song really had any propriety left?\" The young emperor, instead of changing his mind, sneered openly. \"If there were even a shred of propriety, how could things have come to this? As for those scholars and their displeasure, I don't see them displeased with the Jin cavalry's iron hooves, so why are they only displeased with me?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With that, the Zhao Emperor ignored him and walked out of the rear hall on his own. Kang Lü was about to follow, but unexpectedly, several sword-bearing Imperial Guards who had been standing by rose and followed, directly blocking the Chief Eunuch's path.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kang Lü, losing his composure for once, quickly signaled to a lightly armored officer standing by the hall's door. This tall, imposing young officer, upon seeing this, lowered his head slightly but ultimately rose and followed the Song Emperor, their nominal sovereign.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for those sword-bearing Imperial Guards, they seemed able to hold their ground against Kang Lü, but they showed significantly more respect to this man. They not only did not block him but directly made way. The Song Emperor Zhao Jiu, who was walking ahead and caught this scene from the corner of his eye, showed no change in expression and continued calmly outward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, once outside the hall, Zhao Jiu did not rush to find someone to dine with. Instead, he stood on the slope where the rear hall was located and gazed at the surroundings for a long time. Only when he judged that Kang Lü had gone to deal with the secret documents did he suddenly turn back and give an order to the young officer following behind him:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Trouble Attendant Yang to make a trip. Fetch Consort Pan's ice cream for me, and also convey my thanks for her trouble.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The so-called Attendant Yang, caught off guard, could only acknowledge the order in public and turn to leave. Zhao Jiu, the Zhao Emperor, also headed towards a military camp at the foot of the small slope, from which the neighing of horses could be heard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That's right!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was Zhao Jiu, not Zhao Jiu. This Song Emperor had indeed been possessed by someone else, just as the rumors said! Chief Eunuch Kang and that young officer, Yang Yizhong, the Palace Gate Attendant and de facto captain of the imperial bodyguard—these two powerful figures in the palace, one civil and one military, their 'concern' for this emperor who had 'just recovered from a serious injury' was not overstepping at all; on the contrary, it was truly commendable loyalty!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Zhao Gou's soul were still attached to some object, he would probably be moved to tears.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, the only problem was that the demon who had possessed the Zhao Song Emperor was not some cat spirit, but an ordinary person who felt quite innocent himself—an ordinary person from nine hundred years in the future!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This fellow had merely gone home after graduating from university to register his household registration, and on a whim visited a Daoist temple. He only helped an old Daoist priest rescue a dog from a concrete Nine-Dragon Well, and the next thing he knew, he had become the Zhao Song Emperor... Who could he reason with?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Reason with the Supreme Venerable Sovereign?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Would the Supreme Venerable Sovereign mock him: \"You got into trouble in Li Er's temple; what does that have to do with me, the Supreme Venerable Sovereign?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To be fair, a time traveler who ends up as the Son of Heaven, especially a twenty-one-year-old who has just ascended the throne, if there really is a puppet master behind it all, it's quite a good deal for the time traveler... Sitting on the throne as a peaceful emperor for sixty years, spending twenty years saving money, twenty years inventing the steam engine, and another twenty years colonizing the four seas, while marrying a harem full of women, fathering dozens of children, keeping hundreds of cats and dogs, and designing a zoo—wouldn't that be great?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wouldn't it be wonderful?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wonderful, of course it would be wonderful. Consort Pan also smelled quite wonderful. But the problem was that this emperor was named Zhao Gou, ranked ninth, and later generations called him Zhao the Ninth. And this year's reign title was Jianyan, changed only two months ago when Zhao the Ninth ascended the throne; the previous half year was still called the second year of Jingkang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In other words, the humiliating Jingkang Disgrace had already ended, the Northern Song had completely fallen, and the Hebei and Hedong regions were entirely lost. As for the Southern Song, it had theoretically been established but had not yet gained a foothold... The entire Song court was actually fleeing south with Zhao the Ninth, trying to find a temporary foothold in Yangzhou.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Regarding this, our time traveler, Mr. Zhao Jiu, after personally witnessing thousands of troops and the Huaixi Plain with no electrical facilities, and repeatedly confirming through questioning in a fairly fluent Central Plains accent that he had indeed time-traveled and become Zhao Gou, had been in a pretty bad mood these past few days.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Simply put, not to mention Zhao Gou Zhao the Ninth's terrible reputation, the timing was even worse! In Zhao Jiu's view, if he had traveled two years earlier, before the Jingkang Incident, wouldn't it have been great to pull off a second Xuanwu Gate Incident? Or two years later, traveling directly to Lin'an after things had stabilized—wouldn't that be comfortable?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Did it have to be at this critical moment during the flight?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jin Wushu, who led a hundred-thousand-strong army to 'search the mountains and drag the seas,' was not a fictional character!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, Zhao Jiu's ignorance of history was showing. Two years earlier, he certainly wouldn't have had time to pull off a Xuanwu Gate Incident, and if he had traveled two years later, this body would have been a eunuch—that would have been a fate worse than death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In short, ever since the time travel, this Zhao Emperor, Zhao Gou, Zhao the Ninth, or rather Zhao Jiu, had not had a single good day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At first, it was immense disappointment and irritation... Wasn't having air conditioning, computers, phones, and Haidilao better than being a fleeing emperor? Especially such a disgraceful emperor in history? In fact, despite this body being healthy and young, he, a normal person from a later era, still felt a trace of disgust and discomfort.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And as an ordinary person, didn't he miss home?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So, on the second night after the time travel, this Zhao Emperor physically attempted to jump back into the Nine-Dragon Well in the Daoist temple, hoping the Daoist founder would show mercy. He just failed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After confirming he couldn't go back, the next stage was naturally self-pity!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A young man, also twenty-one before the time travel, just graduated from university, not even started a job—how mature could he be? So he started secretly crying at night, started saying he wanted to eat ice cream, started losing his temper and cursing... acting as aggrieved as someone on a reality show transformation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And it was probably because of these persistent abnormalities that this time traveler naturally aroused the vigilance of Kang Lü and Yang Yizhong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, after a few days, when he had finally resigned himself to his fate and was ready to live on as a different person, this freshly emerged-from-the-well Song Emperor Zhao Jiu had to face a very awkward and tense situation:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not to mention those Song officials in hard-winged black hats and round-collared purple, red, and green robes, the main figures around him—Kang Lü, the Chief Eunuch of the Inner Palace Service, roughly equivalent to a later-era Grand Eunuch holding the brush; Yang Yizhong, the so-called Palace Gate Attendant, actually the captain of the imperial bodyguard; the two chief councilors, Huang Qianshan, the formal Chancellor of the Eastern Bureau, the Secretariat-Chancellery; and Wang Boyan, the Privy Councilor of the Western Bureau, the Bureau of Military Affairs; plus Wang Yuan, the Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Camp, equivalent to the commander of the imperial army—he didn't know a single one! Had never even heard of them!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, considering these were Zhao Gou's trusted men, and that they had previously assisted Zhao Gou in initiating and leading the flight south, they must be the capitulationist faction that persecuted loyal officials resisting the Jin and were bent on fleeing!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not only that, but because of this time traveler's earlier loss of composure, these people were clearly somewhat suspicious. Whether out of concern or vigilance, under Kang Lü's direction these days, someone had always been carefully watching him, this Zhao Emperor. And apart from that one public appearance on the second day after his arrival to reassure people, Zhao Jiu had not had full access to memorials or court officials.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clearly, he had been deliberately isolated by others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides that, that Zhao Jiu had also left Zhao Jiu a Pan Fei and a newborn baby... well... this matter was a bit awkward, but it was merely awkward, and it couldn't be said who was taking advantage of whom, because Zhao Jiu himself was most likely no longer in this world, while this newcomer was clearly a pure soul transmigrator, completely unburdened!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Actually, after learning that this body's principal wife and two consorts had all been captured by the Jin, aside from inwardly mocking Zhao Gou for not being a man, Zhao Jiu felt no empathy whatsoever (in fact, they were all already dead by now, but historically Zhao Gou only learned of it over a decade later—which, conversely, also proved he wasn't a man), because he remembered nothing at all, with no memory fusion whatsoever.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Or rather, in Zhao Jiu's view, he could simply raise this Pan Fei and that baby properly south of the Yangtze, and if the chance ever came to retrieve Zhao Gou's captured family members, he could also raise them south of the Yangtze, and that would be enough to satisfy heaven and earth and his conscience... it would also count as repaying the favor of this body, which Zhao Gou had gifted him and which was fairly accomplished in both civil and martial arts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides, with idle thoughts like these, it would be better to seize the time to build good relations with the grassroots soldiers and win over their hearts. This way, first, when necessary, there would be people willing to block blades for him; second, it could break the soft control of Kang Lü and Yang Yizhong; third, he could thereby learn and seek out some necessary information...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for maintaining the mystery of the Imperial Majesty's identity to preserve authority—it wasn't that this was wrong, but rather, as Zhao Jiu had said earlier when being sarcastic to Kang Lü, since the Jingkang Incident, could the Zhao Song Imperial Majesty possibly be any more disgraceful?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And finally, at the very end, there was still one enormous matter facing this freshly emerged-from-the-well Zhao Imperial Majesty—if one transmigrated into Zhao Gou, could one possibly not resist the Jin?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>PS: A new book has arrived... However, there's only ten thousand words of draft saved, and half of that has been posted... Same old rules, I'll write slowly, and everyone can read slowly...\u003C\u002Fp>",3279,"2026-06-06T07:45:46.639Z","Novelzhen Translator","8cf54e6dc31e6ac1b451be0b90c11e57f80b5f5e80b4994f57370100f63cfb51","shao-song-chapter-2",null,489,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fshao-song-cover.jpg"]