Chapter 115: The Outing (Part 2)

Nanyang was recovering from ruin, and the Jin were strategically retreating. In theory, this was the most critical moment for the newly stabilized Song exile regime—a time to do everything possible to accomplish everything, since there was no shortage of tasks to undertake.

And at this moment, His Majesty suddenly organized an outing under the pretext of entertaining guests... well, of course he was forgiven.

After all, His Majesty had never been known for such behavior before, so it seemed unfair to conclude from this single event that he had succumbed to indulgence in pleasure and beauty.

Besides, sharing joy between ruler and subjects while enjoying nature was itself an act perfectly aligned with Confucian moral pursuits, even politically correct, making it difficult to criticize.

Finally, and most importantly, before the Jin retreated, everyone had been exhausted and tense. Yet His Majesty sat in the hall all day smiling and pressing for reports like a debt collector. Today, he was finally being gracious—why ask for a cart?

Of course, after leaving the hall and returning home, His Majesty suddenly summoned them again, catching everyone off guard—that was also true.

Back to the present, this so-called outing was essentially eating and drinking in the wild. For such a high-standard outing, it was inevitable to add a touch of cultured refinement. But everyone had come from the era of abundance and prosperity, so they were unfazed. Moreover, His Majesty had already set the day's theme... the scholarship of Grand Academician Su was practically mainstream—which literatus of the Great Song hadn't imitated it clumsily?

With this thought, many turned their gaze to the acknowledged foremost poet of the provisional capital, almost a titan of the current poetry world, Minister of Works Ye Mengde... surely today he would shine brilliantly.

In fact, this man was a direct disciple of the Su school—his uncle was one of the Four Scholars of the Su School!

Actually, today's nominal guests of honor were Su Shi's eldest grandson Su Dan, second grandson Su Fu, third grandson Su Yue, and sixth grandson Su Ji, who stood behind Ye Mengde with excited expressions.

Grand Academician Su had lived a romantic life. Back then, the Three Sus stood together in the world, and Su school learning was the nation's mainstream. Yet his three sons, due to the Yuanyou Partisans' Stele, had always lingered at the bottom... The eldest, Su Mai, never took the imperial exams and spent his life as a minor clerk; the third, after failing once, settled for a low-ranking official post, drifting from place to place; the second, Su Dai, was exceptionally learned but in his youth only studied under Zhang Zai, later easily passing the jinshi exam but immediately abandoning officialdom to become a pillar of Daoist learning.

By the time of the grandsons' generation, they had largely faded into obscurity.

"Since we're entertaining guests, there must be wine and food." His Majesty seemed determined to carry on the 'Su Shi' theme. The two drunkards had just been settled, and everyone was still speculating, when he stood on the riverbank and continued his pretense. "But today we have wine without food. I ask you all to personally find something to eat, so we can learn from Grand Academician Su—coarse ingredients but refined preparation... Those without ingredients are absolutely not allowed to join the feast."

As he spoke, palace chefs laid out seasonings nearby, while eunuchs and guards stacked pots and chopped firewood.

Everyone exchanged glances, not expecting to have to work themselves here. But since His Majesty had spoken, and forcefully invoked Grand Academician Su as if it were elegant fun, they had no choice but to drag their tired bodies to pick wild vegetables... Of course, fishing was the most popular option.

By the riverside, at an outing themed around Grand Academician Su, how could they not eat Dongpo fish?

Several enterprising individuals went to find fishing rods and indeed found ones prepared in advance. So a group of scholar-officials, especially the older and more dignified ones, from Prime Minister Lü Haowen on down, each put on airs and played the fisherman by the river.

The sun was setting westward, the breeze gentle and the day bright—truly white water and golden light, ruler and subjects sharing joy, fishing by the river, thoughts lingering on old friends, with perhaps benevolent policies to be announced later... Could it be more delightful?

But in a moment, the assembled scholar-officials by the river were stunned, because they watched as His Majesty, apparently growing impatient, stripped off his linen outer robe, rolled up his trouser legs, waded into the river to pull a net, and then, with several guards and Yang Yizhong who had boarded a boat, cast a huge fishing net. With one pull, they hauled up enough fish to feed everyone present, instantly destroying all elegance.

Seeing this, Chancellor Xu sighed, abandoned his fishing rod, and simply began washing his feet by the river.

On the other side, with the net done and fish and shrimp in hand, His Majesty cared nothing for elegance or vulgarity—he didn't even worry about whether the mercury he'd spilled earlier might cause heavy metal poisoning. So eunuchs and cooks immediately cleaned the fish and shrimp and cooked them on the spot... steaming, roasting, frying, boiling, sautéing, stewing—soon the riverbank was filled with a mix of fragrance and fishy smell.

Zhao Jiu showed no imperial bearing whatsoever, sitting cross-legged on the bank with a large bowl on his knee, eating directly with chopsticks. After a few bites, he even picked out fish bones with his fingers... As for Lady Wu beside him, she wasn't so crude, but held a flask of wine, carefully pouring for His Majesty.

The other officials, most of whom had just returned home from the hall and changed clothes before being summoned, had been hungry all day. Seeing this, how could they resist? Especially those who had experienced the Jingkang disaster—many had gone through hardships and no longer clung to their former refinements. So they followed Chancellor Xu's lead, threw down their fishing rods, washed hands and feet, and then, following His Majesty and Lady Wu, sat casually along the riverbank, enjoying the food right on the ground.

As for the earlier rule about no ingredients meaning no seating, everyone simply ignored it as if His Majesty had been talking nonsense.

Thus, as the sun sank further westward, everyone ate and drank continuously, each harboring their own thoughts—namely, after filling their stomachs, they would compose poems and lyrics... A few clever ones and those in the know had already connected the 'Grand Academician Su themed outing' to the Yuanyou partisans issue that His Majesty had brushed aside several times, suspecting it would be addressed today. Naturally, they were even more attentive.

In fact, even Zhang Jun, who had sobered up a bit, forced himself to stay alert, washed his face with river water, and ate some fish and vegetables to prepare.

And sure enough, once wine was slightly sufficient and fish slightly filling, His Majesty put down his hands and sighed softly... Everyone, who had been keeping an ear on His Majesty, immediately became alert.

"Defender-in-Chief Zong sent another memorial today." Zhao Jiu took a silk cloth from Wu Yu (Lady Wu's name) beside him, wiping the grease from his hands as he sighed softly. "This time he didn't urge me to go to Dongjing, but spoke of serious matters. Roughly, he advised me to take advantage of the Jin retreat to prepare weapons and armor, arrange provisions, and reinforce the major cities along the Nanyang, Fangcheng, and Yancheng line. He also recommended several people as garrison commanders for these cities... This aligns with the court's considerations, but is more detailed."

Hearing this, Yan Xiaozhong, acting Prefect of Nanyang, suddenly stood up and boldly cupped his hands on the riverbank: "Your Majesty, I still recommend Chen Gui, the Acting Dragon Diagram Hall Academician and Prefect of Deanfu. I knew him when he was still a county magistrate and know his abilities. If he can come to manage Nanyang's defenses, I am willing to yield my post."

"His Majesty has already transferred Chen Gui to be Minister of War today." Wang Boyan interjected. "Vice Prefect Yan, please be patient."

Yan Xiaozhong paused briefly, then sat down.

Now, at the start of last year, Chen Gui was only the County Magistrate of Anlu. During the Jingkang crisis, he led troops north to try to rescue the emperor, but reached Caizhou only to learn that the Two Emperors had already been taken north. He had no choice but to turn back.

Upon returning to Anlu, he found that the region had already become a den of dragons and snakes. Various heroes and a flood of defeated soldiers from the north, believing the Great Song had fallen, were eager to act. Meanwhile, the local Prefect of Deanfu, apparently also thinking the Great Song was finished, simply fled... So the local officials loyal to the Great Song jointly pushed Chen Gui, a mere county magistrate, to lead the entire prefecture's work.

Of course, under those circumstances, this was a great act of loyalty. So the provisional court in Nanjing (Shangqiu) immediately granted him the title of Acting Dragon Diagram Hall Academician and Prefect of Deanfu.

And once he took charge, Chen Gui truly shone. Starting from scratch with a group of local archers with no combat experience, he successively defeated Li Xiaoyi's force of over ten thousand (whose brother Li Xiaozhong was then entrenched in Xiangyang); persuaded Yang Jin's force to withdraw (Yang Jin later wandered north, first submitted to Zong Ze, then rebelled to the Jin, and was currently being trounced by Han Shizhong); and absorbed the local strongman Dong Ping, who was skilled with double spears... By the time His Majesty traveled west to Caizhou, Deanfu was entirely pacified, and Chen Gui commanded twenty thousand troops.

In short, such a figure was right next door in Anlu, and a legitimate jinshi graduate at that—the provisional court could not fail to notice him.

In fact, when His Majesty reached Fangcheng, on Wang Boyan's advice, he appointed Chen Gui as the Pacification Commissioner for Deanfu (modern Anlu), Fuzhou (modern Mianyang area), and Hanyang Army (modern Wuhan), tasked with managing the Yangtze River waterway. Chen Gui never complained about the post. Later, during the Xiangyang campaign, he even followed orders from Ma Shen, the Military Commissioner of Jinghu North Circuit, to lead troops to Jingmen and block Fan Qiong's retreat.

This time, in organizing city defenses and establishing gunpowder workshops, Chen Gui was repeatedly recommended by various parties. Zhao Jiu's ears were practically worn out from hearing his name... Understandably, having such a figure among civil officials was truly rare.

Back to the present, His Majesty, interrupted by Yan Xiaozhong, nearly forgot what he was going to say. After thinking for a long while, he remembered, but it came out rather stiff: "Anyway... today isn't about that. What I mean is... I suddenly recalled that in Defender-in-Chief Zong's earlier memorials, he spoke of the 'great unification' of the ancestors... Did the Great Song ever truly achieve great unification?"

"Your Majesty!"

Hearing this, from Lü Haowen on down, countless ministers were startled, quickly moved the plates from their laps, and stood up. Then Chancellor Lü, taking the lead, responded gravely: "The term 'great unification' originates from the Gongyang Commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals. 'Great' does not mean large in size, but rather esteemed and exalted; 'unification' does not mean the unification of all under heaven, but rather the unity of superiors and subordinates! By this reasoning, the Great Song's great unification is by no means an empty claim."

Zhao Jiu shook his head and smiled again: "I asked Academician Lin before coming—that is the ancient meaning, the original meaning... But Chancellor Lü, let me ask you: if we already possessed the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, Liaodong and Liaoxi, had annexed Jiaozhi, Xixia, Dali, and controlled the Western Regions, matching the Han and Tang, then when speaking of great unification, would we still need to trace back to ancient meanings? If not for knowing this in our hearts, why would Emperor Taizong have made such a promise, resulting in Tong Guan, a mere eunuch, being enfeoffed as a king of a different surname? Or do you think that the Daojun Retired Emperor was wrong even in recovering Yanyun?"

Lü Haowen was suddenly at a loss... It wasn't that His Majesty had stumped him; rather, he suddenly realized what His Majesty was about to say today, and he neither dared nor wanted to take on that topic.

"Your Majesty!"

If Lü Haowen dared not take it on, there were those who would, or rather had to. Just as the chancellor hesitated, Vice Chancellor Xu Jingheng suddenly stepped forward and spoke through gritted teeth: "If not for the Maritime Alliance and the unauthorized attack on Liao, how could so many disasters of the Jingkang era have occurred? The Daojun Retired Emperor was deceived by the Six Traitors into committing these two acts."

"I disagree." Zhao Jiu waited quietly for him to finish, then continued with a smile. "Setting aside the question of deception—let's just say it was the Six Traitors' deception! But as for the disasters of Jingkang, I believe they lie in the Flower and Rock Network, in the era of abundance and prosperity, in employing the Six Traitors, in civil indulgence and military laxity—but not in these two matters. Recovering Yanyun and the Maritime Alliance were merely military strategies, like the art of war being deception... What fault is there in that? The shame of Jingkang, when all is said and done, is it not because the Jin were strong and we were weak?!"

Xu Jingheng wanted to speak but stopped. And seeing him at a loss, His Majesty continued speaking with a raised voice and a smile:

"Given the Jin's barbarism and the Liao's weakness, even without the Maritime Alliance, if the Jin couldn't see the Song's weakness for a time, would they not have attacked later? To push the great internal trend onto one or two superficial causes... that is hardly the sort of pragmatic talk befitting Chancellor Xu, is it?"

Xu Jingheng was silent for a long time and ultimately did not refute. But when His Majesty gestured for everyone to sit, he did not sit down either, standing there motionless.

Zhao Jiu naturally understood his meaning... After nearly a year here, his political discernment was no longer as rudimentary as at the start.

Take this topic, for instance. From the perspective of character and conduct, the pragmatic Xu Jingheng was the least likely to step forward and refute. But a person, especially a chancellor, has complex traits that cannot be simply labeled by mere character, morality, or a few positions.

Take Xu Jingheng as an example again:

First, he was a war advocate. In the initial struggle between Li Gang and Huang Qianshan, he unhesitatingly chose to support Li Gang, showing no wavering on the most critical matters of principle.

However, though he advocated war, he leaned conservative. Initially, he wanted the provisional court to go to Yangzhou rather than supporting Li Gang's move to Nanyang, and he was certainly firmly opposed to crossing the Yangtze to the southeast.

At the same time, he was a pragmatist. He remained silent after Li Gang was dismissed as chancellor, thereby firmly holding onto his position as Censor-in-Chief, to the point that Huang Qianshan overlooked him. Throughout this process, he had been doing his best to protect Li Gang and Zong Ze... until someone climbed out of a well and suddenly kicked him down, replacing him with Zhang Jun.

Moreover, he was a rare capable minister, hardworking and uncomplaining, bearing immense burdens without ever voicing hardship—truly useful.

Finally, Xu Jingheng, along with Lü Haowen and Ma Shen, the Military Commissioner of Jinghu North Circuit, were all disciples of Cheng learning, or Luoxue. And Luoyang was the former stronghold of the old faction; Cheng learning itself had risen by critiquing Wang Anshi's New Learning.

Understanding this, one would understand why Xu Jingheng reacted so fiercely. The reason was self-evident... On ordinary days, His Majesty's casual remarks were one thing, but today His Majesty was likely to express his stance on the core issue of the Yuanyou partisans, the heart of the old and new faction conflict. So, with Lü Haowen hesitating, Xu naturally had to step forward, using the strongest means to preemptively signal and apply pressure, so that His Majesty and the assembled officials would have some reservations.

As for the entry point somewhat violating his usual principles, and being blocked by His Majesty's words, that was not his fault. Since the Xining reforms under Emperor Shenzong, the two factions had clashed repeatedly, becoming irreconcilable... The matter was too important; Chancellor Xu couldn't afford to worry about such things.

In fact, Xu Jingheng's move had succeeded. Regardless of whether His Majesty was intimidated, at the very least, after this standoff, no official dared to risk outright opposition to a powerful chancellor by stepping forward to seize an opportunity.

"Alright." Zhao Jiu gestured for everyone to sit down, but when he saw Xu Jingheng standing stiff-necked and unmoving, he couldn't help but laugh again. "I only brought up the phrase 'great unification' to casually make a jest. Why must you gentlemen be so serious, dragging it so far afield…"

Who were they trying to fool?

At these words, countless people on the riverbank silently cursed in their hearts. If you, Lord Zhao, were just making a casual jest, why bother asking Academician Lin specifically about the meaning? Clearly you wanted to use it as a probe, and only after being rebuffed by Lord Xu did it become a 'casual jest.'

"What I meant to say," Zhao Jiu continued, ignoring Lord Xu standing there unmoving, "is that compared to the Han and Tang dynasties, our dynasty is truly lacking in territory, scholarly spirit, and military achievement—otherwise we wouldn't have been called the 'Southern Court' by the Liao for so many years… But in terms of literary refinement, our dynasty is no less than the Han and Tang."

The crowd's expressions eased slightly, then they were startled again, because the next few words from Lord Zhao seemed to be making history:

"Not to mention Tang poetry and Song lyrics—just on fundamental prose: since the Tang, prose has swept away the frivolity of parallel prose. Among prose writers from top to bottom, the Tang and Song have eight great masters, and our dynasty alone claims six of them… In the Tang, Han Yu and Liu Zongyuan had the merit of founding the style, but our dynasty's Wang Shuwang (Wang Anshi), Ouyang Xiu, the Three Sus, and Zeng Gong reached the pinnacle and definitively set the pattern."

"Your Majesty's words are incisive." Su Shi's four grandsons bowed together in thanks, while Minister of Works Ye Mengde also weighed in cautiously. "These eight men are enough to anchor the throne of prose… But if arranged by era, how could Wang Shuwang come before Lord Ouyang? If arranged by achievement, how could he come before Grand Academician Su?"

"True." Zhao Jiu readily agreed. "In terms of prose achievement, Grand Academician Su and Ouyang Xiu are the true peaks, worthy of being ranked with the founders Han Yu and Liu Zongyuan. The other four are slightly inferior."

At these words, the crowd soon fell into heated discussion… Some felt Zeng Gong's essays were better, others said Wang Anshi's essays were no weaker than Ouyang Xiu's, but broadly speaking, most acknowledged Ouyang Xiu and Su Shi as the best—meaning His Majesty's summary was quite insightful?

Of course, Zhao Jiu's thinking was simple here… How would he know who was superior? But he had often heard the saying of the 'Eight Great Masters of Tang and Song' alongside the 'Four Great Masters of Eternal Prose.'