[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-shao-song":3,"chapter-shao-song-shao-song-chapter-134":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Shao Song",{"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},1558300,2024,"Chapter 134","shao-song-chapter-134",134,"\u003Cp>The young Dalan, Wanyan Gouying, certainly wanted to get out alive, and he quickly figured out that it must be due to the different heights of the inner and outer walls—not some sorcery, but a simple yet practical trap. Once he understood the principle and shed his fear, this Jin army's youngest *meng'an*, who had a strong desire to perform and to survive, naturally wanted to climb back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two simplest ways were to call for other soldiers who had fallen into the trap to form a human ladder, or to carefully pile up corpses to create a foothold at the base of the wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wanyan Gouying chose the second method, because the first would expose his identity as a frontline general, easily drawing the attention of the Song army crossbowmen on the wall, while the latter seemed much more ordinary... at least, many others were doing it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, it was still difficult. First, most of the corpses had slid to the bottom of the ditch, making them hard to move. Second, the gap between the inner side of the sheep-and-horse wall and the moat was very narrow, making it difficult to stack the bodies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After several failed attempts, with seven or eight crossbow bolts stuck in his iron armor, making him look like a plucked hedgehog, Wanyan Gouying noticed someone else's escape route—a few dozen paces away, a young man, clearly a 'sturdy civilian laborer' from Zhang Yu's unit, was trying a seemingly feasible escape path.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This man was also stacking corpses, but not in the narrow space at the base of the wall; he was doing it at the bottom of the inner moat... because beside him was a scaling ladder. Clearly, he was using the corpses to create a stable base for the ladder on the icy surface, so he could climb over the wall and escape.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without any hesitation, Wanyan Gouying chose to cooperate with this man.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A young Jurchen noble and a young Han commoner from some market town in Jingxi, working together beneath the Song army's city wall, amidst the wails and the whistling of arrows, hauling the corpses of Jurchens, Hans, and others alike, all to escape back to the Jin army camp... There was nothing more absurd, yet more reasonable, in the world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was the powerlessness and helplessness of an individual in total war.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their silent cooperation went smoothly, and they quickly managed to prop up the ladder. But the moment the ladder was raised, a nearby projecting platform on the city wall noticed the commotion. With the shout of the platform commander, their chances of escape plummeted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So, amidst the clamor of the battlefield, Wanyan Gouying unhesitatingly slammed his former collaborator hard onto the icy surface of the ditch bottom, climbed the ladder first, and prepared to escape before the impending volley of arrows... The latter scrambled up and followed, but as both climbed, the already unstable base of the ladder suddenly slipped, threatening to topple.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Furious, Wanyan Gouying reached for the knife at his waist on the ladder, ready to cut down the Han behind him on the spot. But before he could grasp his waist knife, he felt a sharp pain under his armpit... The Jin *meng'an* turned his head and suddenly understood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It turned out that the young Han replacement soldier had keenly sensed Wanyan Gouying's intent, preemptively snatched the strange white blade hanging from the other's waist from below, and then drove it straight up into the gap in his armor from the side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the knife struck, Wanyan Gouying was still enduring, but the Han soldier was the first to panic. He actually abandoned the struggle for the ladder, jumped off in his confusion, and lay flat behind a pile of corpses on the ice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In contrast, the intense pain spurred Wanyan Gouying on. The Han's retreat also meant he no longer had to worry about the ladder's stability. Driven by a strong will to survive, he continued to climb with effort, but the pain under his arm severely hampered his movement. After barely managing three or five more steps, he could go no further. In that pause, multiple arrows flew in with deadly precision. At least four crossbow bolts pierced his weakest point—his arm—causing significant injury.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Overwhelmed by the cumulative pain and the location of his wounds, he could no longer hold the ladder and tumbled down, crashing onto the pile of corpses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Han soldier, still crouching at the base of the ladder with his head covered, saw this and recognized an opportunity. He picked up the knife from the ground a second time, pounced onto the other's back, and plunged the white blade deep into his neck. Only then, under the subtle gaze of the Song crossbowmen on the wall, did he scramble up the ladder and over that deadly sheep-and-horse wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for Wanyan Gouying, who had been stabbed twice and hit by four arrows, he did not make it out alive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the original history, this man lived to be seventy-four. As a rare long-lived imperial clansman and veteran general of the Jin state, he experienced the Jurchens' explosive rise, their internal strife, the Song-Liao war, and all the vicissitudes of war and peace in the Song-Jin conflict. He eventually died of old age at the end of the Shizong era, the most prosperous period of the Jin, holding the same military rank as Dalan—Deputy Marshal of the Jin—and a similarly prominent post as his father, Defender of the Western Capital.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now, at the age of twenty-three, because of a moat and a wall, because of his own strong desire to perform and to survive, he died beneath Nanyang city, under the blade of his uncle's saber, at the hands of a Han replacement soldier of a similar age fighting back...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nothing could be more fitting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Otherwise, to whom could the millions of lives lost on this land be attributed, now that the war had progressed this far?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By the afternoon, when the Jin army sounded the gong to withdraw and the Song army came out of the city to clear the battlefield inside the sheep-and-horse wall, none of the Jin generals, who already knew about the inner moat behind the wall, asked why Wanyan Gouying had not returned. Nor did they know that the young *meng'an* had been stripped of everything by the unknowing Song soldiers, even the crossbow bolts pulled out with force, and finally thrown naked over the sheep-and-horse wall along with other Jin armored soldiers, becoming part of the wall's outer obstacle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, everyone thought of similar possibilities, but most didn't care much... As if no Jurchen general had ever died before. Was Wanyan Aguda's charging through arrow fire and taking passes in person a lie?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for how Wanyan Balisu would explain things to his own brother when he returned, that was his own affair, no one else's concern.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact, below Wanyan Wushu, after the Jin generals understood the reason for the failed city capture, they discussed it briefly but were only concerned about two things from that day's battle:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First, the casualties were rather heavy;\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Second, the defenses of Nanyang city were indeed sophisticated, showing that the defenders had some skill and foundation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These two points eventually merged into one question: before setting up a sufficiently large and numerous stone-throwing artillery battery, should they continue this intensity of siege warfare?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The answer was beyond doubt. The Fourth Prince, Wanyan Wushu, had already decided: he wanted the Song people inside the city to not have a moment's respite.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But if that were the case, using the lives of Jurchens, or rather the main Jin army, to probe the path to the city would be somewhat unworthy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So, Zhang Yu was naturally promoted in a flurry. He was now the Grand Supervisor of Henan for the Great Jin, granted a large amount of weapons, armor, and provisions. Furthermore, Wanyan Wushu allowed him to raise a new 'New Army' of ten thousand men! And that wasn't all. The Fourth Prince also promised that once Nanyang was taken, in the Henan region, east of the capital, a Qi state would be established with Dongjing as its capital, and in Henan proper, a Zheng state would be established with Nanyang as its capital. Those who performed meritoriously in this southern campaign might even become rulers themselves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Yu was, of course, overjoyed. He thanked the Fourth Prince profusely for his great kindness, swore oaths, and vowed to do his utmost to capture Nanyang city for the Fourth Prince and take that Zhao Jiu of Cangzhou alive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Fourth Prince also graced him with a rare smile of reassurance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, when this man returned to his own camp on the eastern side and entered his tent, his face suddenly darkened. After a long pause, he summoned his sworn brother and trusted deputy general, Li Dayin, and explained everything to him in the rear tent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This means they're sending us brothers to our deaths!\" Li Dayin slumped down in the tent upon hearing this, his face full of helplessness. \"Three Jurchen *meng'an* came to assist today, and all they did was lose men and generals. They couldn't even get past the sheep-and-horse wall... At this rate, how many days to break the sheep-and-horse wall? How many more to fill the inner moat? And then there's the city wall!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"They said we have to wait for them to set up the artillery,\" Zhang Yu replied, his face dark as he toyed with the dagger in his hand. \"They might not need us to breach the city wall.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Set up the artillery?\" Li Dayin sneered. \"The Jurchens aren't fools. Now that they know the city defenses have some tricks, they'll definitely build enough catapults. In my opinion, they won't move without at least two hundred catapults, maybe even three or four hundred. And we only have fifty in camp now... By the time they're ready, our brothers will all be dead!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Yu sneered as well but remained silent for a moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Elder brother, you're not taken in by that talk of 'becoming a ruler,' are you?\" Li Dayin suddenly thought of something and asked seriously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If I were taken in by them, I wouldn't have called for you today.\" Zhang Yu glanced at him and shook his head repeatedly. \"We know our own situation. How could I have the fate to be a noble? Wasn't I just surrounded by the Jin, driven here all the way?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Dayin finally breathed a sigh of relief and explained further: \"Don't take it to heart, brother. It's just that being under someone else's thumb makes me feel uneasy...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Enough talk.\" Zhang Yu shook his head again. \"I called you here to think of a way to satisfy the Jurchens while preserving as many of our troops as possible... To be honest, I feel the same as you, brother. Being with the Jin is like having a knife held to my throat—I can't relax. For this battle, I don't hope for rewards or a future. I just want to survive until it's over. If we can still have a few thousand troops left in hand, we brothers can find some remote corner and live a few good years!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Dayin nodded repeatedly, then stood up, cupped his hands in salute, and left the tent... He was a carpenter by trade, had been press-ganged into service, served as an artilleryman during the defense of Dongjing, and had previously defended Huazhou. He was an expert in city defense matters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Li Dayin go off to work, Zhang Yu said nothing more. After a brief preparation, he removed his armor, and despite the winter cold, bared his upper body. Carrying only his dagger, he left the tent. He then ordered his subordinates to drive out the 'cudgel men' and 'new recruits' who had just returned from the morning's battlefield, ready to continue expanding his forces.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But clearly, like Zhang Yu and Li Dayin, after experiencing that brutal day's assault, many in this special unit had begun to question and waver about the prospects of the war, or at least their own prospects in it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What did you say?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a moment of silence, in the afternoon sunlight, Zhang Yu, bare-chested and revealing a red flower tattoo on his chest, sat down on the railing of the camp's high platform and asked the first middle-aged civilian laborer who had spoken, with a derisive laugh. \"I'm not making you cudgel men anymore, and you're still not happy?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Grand Commandant.\" The middle-aged man, clearly elected as a representative, quickly kowtowed to Zhang Yu and explained carefully. \"We are naturally grateful for the Grand Commandant's favor and promotion...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Supervisor.\" Zhang Yu fiddled with his dagger and corrected him nonchalantly. \"The Fourth Prince just promoted me to Supervisor of Henan's troops and horses... Where did you get 'Grand Commandant'?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes, Supervisor!\" The middle-aged man continued kowtowing. \"We are grateful for the Supervisor's favor and promotion, but we are not soldiers. We are mostly merchants and farmers. We don't know how to use knives or swords, and we can't kill. Wouldn't going into battle be a waste of our lives? Even if it's just a waste of lives, we're afraid we might mess up the battle and harm the Supervisor's prospects with the Jin.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Yu raised his eyebrows slightly upon hearing this, as if pondering something.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing this, the crowd inside the palisade seemed to take it as encouragement. Under the urging of another group, another person stepped forward. It was the young man who had been promoted to replacement soldier, had carried the scaling ladder out that morning, and had returned alive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unlike the middle-aged man on the ground, who seemed cautious but was actually quite composed, this young man was clearly hesitant at first, but he still managed to kowtow: \"Supervisor, we... we actually want to go back to being laborers. Today, we carried the ladder out. A squad of a hundred men, only eighty-something came back alive, and more than a dozen of those were wounded by arrows. At this rate, with just a wooden board, we can't survive. But as laborers, the officers on the wall seem to let us off more often.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Yu turned his head to look at the dazzling sun, then touched the tattoo on his chest before turning back and nodding: \"What you say makes sense, and it's the truth... When you go into battle, the imperial army naturally shoots at the soldiers first. And farmers and merchants turned soldiers really don't know how to kill. Even if you manage to carry a ladder to the top of the wall, you'll just be cut down by an officer's blade.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two men below kowtowed repeatedly, and the two large groups behind them, seeing hope, also knelt and kowtowed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But there's no way around it.\" Zhang Yu suddenly sighed loudly. \"If you had been soldiers from the start, you'd know how to kill, wouldn't you? Or at least be craftsmen, who don't have to go into battle and eat well... But you're just farmers and merchants! What use are farmers and merchants in this world?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two men below were about to speak again, but Zhang Yu suddenly turned serious: \"I have a way to make you into soldiers quickly, so you won't shrink from battle anymore. Who knows, you might even earn merit and become officers... Surround these two ringleaders!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two men below looked at each other in confusion. In an instant, dozens of armored soldiers stepped out from both sides, encircling the two leaders. It was clearly a well-practiced routine. At the same time, the outer crowd hastily retreated, but armored soldiers soon emerged from behind to block them in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Get up!\" Zhang Yu paid no attention to this and shouted at the two men before him, raising his hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Both men’s hands and legs were trembling, and the young man even reached out to support the middle-aged man before they both managed to struggle to their feet together.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“State your names.” Zhang Yu squinted and barked the question repeatedly, then suddenly drew his dagger, its blade glinting sharply in the sunlight. “What’s the young fellow called? And that pretentious middle-aged fellow—what’s his name? What are your native places? What do you do?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m from Zhengzhou, a shopkeeper in the city. Because I was a bit plump as a child, I was nicknamed Ma Fei,” the middle-aged man replied tremblingly. “Please, Commander, do spare us.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Zhou Bin—Bin as in fine iron… from Ruzhou.” The young man was also panicked for a moment. “I was originally a scholar.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Yu nodded, then suddenly tossed the dagger in his hand to the ground before the two men, among the armored soldiers. With a half-smile, he spoke casually: “Scholar or merchant, it doesn’t matter. In a moment, I’ll whistle, and you two will fight—but only one can live. The winner will count as knowing how to kill, and will be promoted one grade: a stick-man becomes a replacement soldier, a replacement soldier becomes a proper soldier, and a proper soldier can even rise to an armored soldier. The loser—in this world, he’s useless anyway, better off dead early!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone around was horrified, but Zhang Yu suddenly whistled from atop the fence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two men surrounded instinctively turned to look at each other at the sound, and almost the instant their eyes met, the young man—Zhou Bin of Ruzhou—suddenly grabbed the dagger from the ground. The middle-aged merchant Ma Fei, seeing this, turned to flee.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In a flash, Zhou Bin saw Ma Fei fleeing, lunged forward with all his strength, and tripped him from underfoot. Then he pounced and pinned him down from behind, and finally stabbed the dagger straight into Ma Fei’s neck.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ma Fei lay on his back on the ground, struggling a few times before going still. But even after death, blood still spurted from his neck, staining half of Zhou Bin’s face and half his chest crimson red. Yet Zhou Bin dared not rise easily, only weeping as he let the blood splash over him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing this scene, Zhang Yu above clapped and laughed: “Your moves are crude, but your hand is quick. You’ve killed someone in battle today, haven’t you? And since you couldn’t even get near the government troops today, you must have killed one of your own while fleeing, right?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Bin, covered in blood, looked up dazedly but stammered, not daring to speak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No matter, no matter.” Zhang Yu, sitting on the fence, shook his head and laughed even more. “In this world… back in Dongjing, I couldn’t get along with a commander named Wang Shan. That bastard was from Hedong, and with more troops, he often bullied me. But he had one saying he often repeated that was spot on, and I remember it well… He said, when the world is in chaos, it’s the time for the poor and rich, the noble and lowly, to be reshuffled! Scholar, remember this: from today on, scholars will be trampled underfoot by us tattooed convict soldiers! And since you’ve made a good start today, I’ll make an exception and give you the treatment of an armored soldier. The dagger is yours too, and I’ll have someone tattoo a pattern on you to set your status! From now on, you’re also one of the upper class in this chaotic world!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Bin was still dazed but was dragged away by the surrounding armored soldiers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once Zhou Bin was gone, Zhang Yu looked down from above at the stick-men and replacement soldiers, who were already pale with shock, and no one dared to meet his gaze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Since these two batches of bastards have stepped forward, none of them can escape. Pair them up and let them settle it… As for the rest, measure them with a ruler. The taller ones, the stronger ones, pick out another three thousand. If that’s not enough, send word to the rear camp to fetch some people from the surrounding villages and towns.” After saying this, Zhang Yu jumped straight down from the fence, as if nothing had happened, and walked back to his tent bare-chested.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for the group of laborers and the group of replacement soldiers behind him, they were nearly in despair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As dusk fell, setting aside what was happening outside the city, the atmosphere inside the Nanyang temporary palace after the victory was somewhat strange… It turned out that after returning to the palace from the battle, Yang Yizhong, the Imperial Guard Commander in charge of the Imperial City Bureau, who had been missing earlier, finally appeared. But instead of reporting on the number of kills, he rambled on about some odd matters—from the morning meal of the soldiers on the wall, to the consumption of coal stored in ice water, to the soldiers’ cotton-padded clothes. It covered everything, all in the specific numbers the Zhao Emperor loved, making it utterly tedious to listen to.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Zhao Emperor listened quietly to Yang Yizhong’s report, then nodded: “Hard work, Zhengfu. But I just remembered, there’s one more thing I need you to investigate…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Majesty, please command me.” Yang Yizhong quickly bowed his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The soldiers on the wall should be eating now, and the stoves in the various military wards below the wall should be boiling water for washing feet. Go see if there’s enough hot water for the wall. If not, take the gold token immediately and find Vice Prefect Yan to have him prepare it properly.” The Zhao Emperor said sternly. “Then come back here to reconcile the coal figures.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yang Yizhong was silent for a moment, but still bowed in acceptance and immediately left the palace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once Yang Yizhong had left, the remaining high officials in the hall exchanged glances. Then Imperial Censor Hu Yin stepped forward and said: “Your Majesty, if you care about the soldiers on the wall, why not go up to the wall yourself and see? Sending personal troops to check on washing water like this—the soldiers may not be grateful!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Indeed.” Lu Haowen, Lord Lu, who was unusually spirited after today’s battle, also rarely stepped forward. “In my opinion, Your Majesty should personally go to the wall right now, reward those with outstanding merits, and thereby display the imperial grace and authority!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“During the Jingkang era, in the bitter cold, the soldiers on the wall of Dongjing lacked supplies, and many often deserted. So the Departed Sage (Song Qinzong) ordered that from the Empress down, thousands of palace women personally embroider silk neck warmers and send them to the wall. The soldiers were deeply grateful, but they said, ‘The neck warmers are fine, but we lack winter clothes and coal—it’s truly hard to hold on.’ And the desertions continued…” The Zhao Emperor kept his head down, reading documents, then called out to another person. “Staff Officer Hu (Hu Hongxiu), you were on the wall that day. Do you know about this?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Reporting to Your Majesty, it is indeed true.” Hu Hongxiu quickly stepped forward. “And not only that—the number of palace nobles was limited, so the neck warmers were insufficient. When sent to the wall, they could only be given to the Imperial Guard first. That day, the relief troops who didn’t receive neck warmers simply disbanded as a whole unit, and some even surrendered directly to the Jin. Your Majesty not going to the wall to console a few exemplary soldiers, but instead caring whether the soldiers on the wall can get enough hot water—in my view, that is truly appropriate.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hu Yin was left speechless, and Lu Haowen was also silent for a moment… After all, this was far from their understanding of the values of war, yet it seemed to make perfect sense, especially with the lesson of Jingkang right there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But there was always someone a cut above. Just then, Lu Yihao, Lord Lu the Privy Councilor, suddenly stepped forward: “Your Majesty, if that’s the case, then why not have Your Majesty personally don armor and go into battle tomorrow, drawing a bow and killing enemies? The soldiers will surely be grateful, and it won’t interfere with Your Majesty ensuring fair logistics for the soldiers after the battle…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Zhao Emperor put down his documents, lost in thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the other officials all turned pale. Lu Haowen, disregarding protocol, directly turned his head to look at several censors, signaling them to come out and stop this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, Imperial Censor Hu Yin, who had been in an awkward position just moments ago, was overjoyed at this and directly cupped his hands in agreement: “I believe what Lord Lu the Privy Councilor said makes excellent sense.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon hearing this, Zhao Jiu finally nodded heavily, while Lu Haowen and the other officials were left dumbfounded… This temporary court in Nanyang was probably even less reliable than that group at Bagongshan back then!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What was the Zhao Emperor thinking when he assigned personnel back then?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>ps: Still being a person.\u003C\u002Fp>",4188,"2026-06-06T07:45:46.639Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","05d28f8bfe31ab1ff2be5aa984e76db8a66ff1375e4d0656349f132b032c90d6","shao-song-chapter-135","shao-song-chapter-133",489,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fshao-song-cover.jpg"]