Chapter 137: Here It Comes

In late November, the cold was biting, and Nanyang City had been under siege for over half a month.

One evening, Mo Qixie, also known as Mo Yuanzhong, a Secretary of the Bureau of Military Affairs serving as a military advisor, came down from the city wall. He had just returned to the Bureau of Military Affairs' directly subordinate military quarter beside the temporary palace, washed his face with cold water, and was about to rest a moment before heading to the palace cafeteria for dinner, when his neighbor, Li Guang, an Imperial Censor of the Palace, suddenly came to his door and actively invited him to go together.

To this, Mo Yuanzhong, who had always been amiable, naturally had no objection, so he mustered his spirits and went along.

Now, as the war had progressed to this point, Nanyang City, which had been prepared for a long time before the fighting began, had long since been completely transformed into a large military camp. All urban areas were divided into military quarters, with walls between each quarter, all under military control. No one could enter or exit without a military pass unless they were an officer.

Moreover, each quarter not only had its own assigned duties to contribute to the city's defense, but also had unified allocation of supplies, unified distribution of housing, and even unified central dining for personnel—truly no different from a military camp.

In normal times, some would surely find this hard to accept.

But at present, for one thing, the old, weak, women, children, and some idle bureaucrats who had initially resisted the decisive battle at Nanyang had long been driven off to Xiangyang, so destabilizing factors were relatively few.

For another, the Zhao Emperor was, after all, somewhat particular. Even the temporary palace was designated as one quarter, with the left hall as the cafeteria and the right hall as the warehouse. The Bureau of Military Affairs and the Central Secretariat were all concentrated to live near the temporary palace. Not only did the Emperor himself share the same standard of living as everyone else in the quarter, but even Lady Wu, only seventeen or eighteen years old and in the prime of her youth, had to spend all day with people like Eunuch Lan Da and Eunuch Feng Er, leading the eunuchs and palace maids in washing clothes and cooking for everyone in the palace quarter.

Not only that, but after the battle began, severely wounded soldiers were also placed in the rear palace area. She had to lead people daily in spreading lime, boiling water, and inspecting medicines for wounds... from morning till night, she was so exhausted she had no strength to speak, far less relaxed than Lady Liang, who had taken over the responsibility of guarding the palace quarter!

She was basically being used like a beast of burden by the Emperor!

And with the Emperor and Lady Wu setting such an example, what could the others do?

As gentlemen who upheld propriety, although they were already accustomed to it, upon encountering Lady Wu and the Chief Eunuch Feng Yi, Mo Qixie and Li Guang first bowed in greeting together, then picked up their meal trays and sat down in a corner of the cafeteria. After sitting down, they had no time for much talk; they first wolfed down a couple of mouthfuls, then gulped down some hot water, only then feeling as if they had come back to life.

It had to be said that the palace quarter did have special treatment. The meals were prepared according to the standard for wounded soldiers, with an extra portion of pickled vegetables compared to outside. Even better, hot water was unlimited, though the ginger and fermented bean meat jelly, a winter delicacy, was not as plentiful as what was rewarded on the city wall!

Back to the present, after the two had revived themselves with hot water, under the dim candlelight, Mo Qixie was the first to smile bitterly and shake his head: "It's a pity that alcohol is now under control, so I can't share a drink with you, Brother Li, to lift our spirits in this hardship..."

"Well said, 'spirits in hardship.'" Li Guang couldn't help but smile at this, but then he composed himself and became serious. "Brother Mo, you've come from the city wall. How goes the battle up there?"

Mo Qixie's heart stirred, but he first slowly took a sip from his water bowl.

To tell the truth, he had originally thought that his growing usefulness had attracted the attention of this powerful neighbor, leading to today's casual invitation. He hadn't expected the other man seemed to have something else to say, so he had to be cautious in his response.

After all, in Mo Qixie's view, Li Guang was a staunch supporter of Li Gang, also known as Li Boji, from Yangzhou. And in the current situation, Li Gang had once again proven his magical ability: he was the most reliable minister as long as there was no war, but the moment war started, he was guaranteed to make a mess of things... Before the siege of Nanyang, they hadn't seen Zhong Xiang's rebellion, but they had received new intelligence that the troops Li Gang had sent to suppress the rebellion had mutinied. Not only had the military revolt not been quelled, but it had actually expanded?

So, after this battle, who knew how much trouble Li Boji would be in for messing up such an important matter?

It was unlikely he would be completely ruined, but after the war, Lu Yihao, Lord Lu, was sure to rise greatly. And the temperaments of both Lu and Li were so fierce that there was bound to be a fierce struggle between them... Speaking of which, he, Mo Qixie, was still a man of the Bureau of Military Affairs, theoretically a direct subordinate of Lord Lu?

Of course, at this thought, Mo Qixie found it amusing instead, because he should have been a trusted confidant of Wang Boyan, Lord Wang of the Bureau of Military Affairs. But who could blame Lord Wang for going against the Emperor's wishes this time and being banished to Xiangyang? Still, Lord Wang was a double veteran of both Hebei and the Eight Lords Mountain incident... it seemed he might not necessarily lose power because of this. And his own capital of staying behind in Nanyang might, in the future, earn him Lord Wang's special regard.

In short, a hundred thoughts swirled in his mind, but none of them amounted to anything. On the outside, it was just the time it took to drink two mouthfuls of water. So, setting down his bowl, Mo Yuanzhong was already all smiles: "Since Brother Li asks, how would I dare not answer? But Brother Li is an Imperial Censor of the Palace, with the power of oversight. You could observe the situation on the city wall yourself. Why ask me, a subordinate official, instead?"

Now, Li Guang across from him was a descendant of the former Tang imperial clan, a man of renowned literary family, known for his uprightness. How could he know that in the blink of an eye, the other man's mind had already turned dozens of times? He leaned on the table and spoke frankly:

"To be honest with you, Brother, I am still worried about the war situation..."

Mo Qixie found it amusing. Who in this city wasn't worried about the war situation? But since they had already gambled with the Emperor, what use was worry?

It was simply a matter of whether they would endure or not.

If they endured with the Emperor, it would be a deep capital for the future. Every extra bowl of hot water they drank here today would mean boundless wealth and honor tomorrow. If they couldn't endure, they would just have to take it one step at a time.

However, thinking this in his heart didn't stop Mo Qixie from putting on a serious face: "Let me tell you, Brother Li, the city seems to be safe."

"Oh?"

"Brother Li, let me explain slowly." Mo Qixie continued gravely. "You should be somewhat aware of the attacks and defenses on the city wall these past few days, right?"

"Naturally." Li Guang didn't bother eating, but instead clasped his hands in his sleeves on the table, reciting the details as if he had already inquired thoroughly. "For the first four days of the siege, the Jin army only filled the outer moat. On the fifth day, thinking the moat was useless after freezing, they attacked with scaling ladders, only to suffer a disastrous defeat at the sheep-and-horse wall and the inner moat. On the sixth day, the Jin army suddenly devised a clever plan, building seven covered passageways to attack. When blocked by Controller-General Fu, they simply used five of them as troop transport routes, engaging our troops in hand-to-hand combat at the base of the wall, withdrawing only at dusk. On the seventh day of the siege, they again harassed the base of the wall with the passageways, but were easily defeated by the wall's striking poles and pulley hooks. On the eighth day, they brought out large tunnel carts, three zhang long, one zhang high, and one zhang wide, with solid wooden frames wrapped in leather ropes, covered with wet felt and plastered with mud. Hooks and arrows could barely damage them, so two of them actually reached the city gates—truly a close call..."

"Yes." Mo Qixie couldn't help but sigh. "That day, Minister Chen urged the Emperor to use the trebuchets early on, but the Emperor refused. Fortunately, the city gates also had mechanisms—double-layered gates, plus an exit at the top of the gate tunnel. They poured oil, dropped stones, and finally stuffed gunpowder bundles into the tunnel carts to stop them."

"But in the following days, the flying bridges, tower carts, and wheeled ladders weren't as dangerous." Li Guang took over the conversation, though it was unclear which of the two was more worried about the city's defenses. "Most of them were stopped between the sheep-and-horse wall and the city wall. It's just that after so many days, the sheep-and-horse wall is full of holes, and both the inner and outer moats are completely lost..."

"That was before today." Mo Qixie smiled wryly. "Today there was another great danger, but it wasn't really a danger."

"Oh?"

"Brother Li, do you still remember the large tunnel carts I just mentioned?"

"Of course. Did the Jin army use them again today?" Li Guang asked curiously.

"Not large tunnel carts—giant tunnel carts!" Mo Qixie shook his head and laughed. "They must have been building them ever since that day, hidden behind their command platform and covered with curtains. Each cart was four zhang high, ten zhang long, and two zhang wide. Five of them were pushed along the old routes of the five passageways, pulled by armored oxen and horses. They were as magnificent as the 'Cloud Ladder Carts' recorded in the histories."

Li Guang was stunned for a moment, then forced himself to ask: "With such an attitude from you, Brother, I take it the city easily broke those 'Cloud Ladders'?"

"We broke them, but in an absurd way." Mo Qixie slapped the table and laughed. "When the carts were halfway there, even the Emperor wavered and was about to order the trebuchets to fire... But those 'Cloud Ladders' were too heavy. Before they even reached the outer moat, the armored oxen and horses pulling them were hit by the city's enemy-defeating bows and fire arrows. They panicked and scattered, and with the pulling in all directions, several of the Cloud Ladders became top-heavy and toppled over. Most were completely disabled. One even flipped over entirely, crushing the countless Jin soldiers hidden inside into meat patties... Today was essentially a victory without a fight."

Li Guang was even more stunned, unsure what to say. After a pause, he asked back: "Is it because the battles these days have been dangerous but not disastrous that you, Brother, believe Nanyang City is safe?"

Of course it was!

Mo Qixie shouted inwardly, but his face was solemn: "No! I believe Nanyang can be held not because of these skirmishes on the walls, but because the Emperor has held back and not fired the trebuchets until now! What restraint! What composure! With the Emperor so resolute, and everyone united behind him, the fortunes of the Great Song are sure to revive! No matter how fierce the Jin army is, how can they touch a single hair of Nanyang?"

These words were spoken very loudly. Although they were in a dimly lit corner of the cafeteria, they still drew the attention of many dining officials and the eunuchs on duty.

Li Guang was visibly startled. Once the onlookers had stopped staring, he stroked his beard and spoke in a low voice: "To be honest with you, Brother, I didn't come to see you today because I was worried about the city's defenses. I came precisely because of the Emperor's restraint... Tell me, things like the passageways, large tunnel carts, and flying bridges could have been dealt with by firing stone projectiles. The city has new-style trebuchets of various sizes, in great numbers, fully prepared. But the Emperor would rather send our elite troops to fight hand-to-hand at the base of the wall than do that. What is he after?"

"He must be after something, but what it is, I truly don't know." Mo Qixie shook his head firmly.

"I don't really care what other schemes the Emperor and Minister Chen have." Li Guang sighed softly, finally voicing his true concern. "I'm just worried about the Emperor..."

Mo Qixie understood in his heart, but his face showed confusion: "Brother Li, what do you mean?"

"In the previous court discussions, the plan was to first use Nanyang's strong walls to exhaust the Jin army. When they were worn out and the surrounding area was relaxed, Zhang Jing would lead reinforcements to support us across the Baihe River to divide the enemy's forces. Then the Emperor would take the opportunity to move south to Xiangyang, leaving the Jin army in a dilemma and forcing them to retreat on their own, correct?" Li Guang continued, lowering his voice and speaking seriously. "But with the Emperor holding back so much, what if he loses his temper at the critical moment and refuses to leave, insisting on staying in the city to fight it out with Wanyan Wushu to the bitter end?"

Mo Qixie shared this worry, because the Zhao Emperor's behavior on the city wall these past few days really made one think so.

However, Mo Yuanzhong was, after all, Mo Yuanzhong. At this thought, he shook his head firmly: "If you, Brother Li, came to me with this doubt, then I'll tell you straight. I have been attending the Emperor on the city wall, and I see clearly. The Emperor's recent actions are not just a futile contest of wills with the Jin commander. He has a complete plan and decisive judgment. When the critical moment comes, I believe the Emperor will absolutely not act stubbornly!"

Hearing this, Li Guang was momentarily relieved and thanked him, while Mo Qixie quickly declined the thanks.

And so, having talked this far, their food had long gone cold. They poured hot water over it to warm it up, roughly finished their dinner together, and then took their leave of each other.

Not to mention Mo Qixie, who spoke differently to different people, easily fobbed him off, and then went back to rest. On the other side, Imperial Censor of the Palace Li Guang, also known as Li Taifa, was slightly encouraged by the other's words. He took his hot water flask back to his quarters, first soaked his feet, then went to bed early. But once in bed, he tossed and turned, unable to sleep. He tried to read a book, but found it all a blur.

After all, Mo Qixie's recent display, though seemingly principled, was actually just empty words and evasion. So although Li Guang was momentarily comforted, the doubts deep in his heart had never been dispelled. In fact, this Censor Li's mind was still full of the thought that Nanyang was fine, but the Zhao Emperor was being reckless and messing things up, leading to the collapse of the entire situation.

This wasn't a thought that had arisen only recently. It had been discussed with friends like Lin Qi before the siege, and had been prompted by a letter of warning from his mentor Li Gang, far away in the southeast. But now, most of the people like Lin Qi had been driven to Xiangyang by the angry Zhao Emperor and Lu Yihao. Then the city was besieged, correspondence was cut off, and Li Guang was the only high-ranking minister of Li Gang's faction left in the city. Seeing the Zhao Emperor's recent erratic behavior, he was truly worried and fearful, which is why he had been forced to discuss it with others.

However, lying on his bed, Censor Li thought and thought, his worries unceasing, yet he couldn't figure it out... Although he had told Mo Qixie today that he was worried the Emperor wouldn't go to Xiangyang, in truth, if the Emperor really didn't go to Xiangyang and just held out in Nanyang, he didn't think that was necessarily a bad idea either.

After all, as an Imperial Censor of the Palace with oversight powers, Li Guang was well aware of the current situation in Nanyang. Supplies were ample, the city's defenses had room to spare, and the Zhao Emperor and Minister of War Chen Gui had prepared for everything imaginable and unimaginable... For instance, Li Guang had been a veteran official of the Jingkang era who had participated in the siege of Dongjing, but he had never imagined that the Zhao Emperor would be so thorough as to dig reservoirs inside the city beforehand to store coal?

Not to mention the practice of evacuating excess residents early and turning the city into a large military camp.

And these past few days, watching the Jin army's various ingenious siege methods repeatedly fail, this Censor sometimes even felt that even if the city walls were completely gone, relying on these military quarters inside the city, Nanyang could still hold out against the Jin army! And the Great Song would never repeat the shame of Jingkang or fall into the danger of national subjugation again!

That's right, even Li Guang now vaguely felt that if they just kept dragging it out like this, even if both Dongjing and Changshe were completely lost, and the Jin troops had several thousand more reinforcements, they would still inevitably be worn down by the scorching heat and casualties, and finally retreat in disarray.

Or rather, just now when facing Moqi Xie, Li Guang of course had to express himself based on political stance, but deep down, over these days he had already come to somewhat admire this young monarch before him, and was no longer so pessimistic about the situation... It was just that, as an old minister and a typical Confucian official, he had a certain instinctive fear of His Majesty Zhao acting so far outside normal bureaucratic procedures.

And it was precisely because of this contradictory mindset that he was so easily brushed off by Moqi Xie.

In fact, it wasn't just Li Guang whose thoughts were conflicted. Right across from Li Guang's lodgings, in a room where the lamp had long been extinguished, Moqi Xie, staring at the pitch-black ceiling, had also, after a string of wild thoughts, arrived at the same conclusion as Li Guang—he now also believed that compared to Dongjing, Nanyang was absolutely defensible; and compared to the Two Emperors, His Majesty Zhao was absolutely a monarch who could be relied upon.

Otherwise, given his character, he wouldn't have followed this monarch to stay in Nanyang and gamble on this in the first place.

Moreover, unlike Li Guang, who had a clear Confucian minister demeanor and distinct factional alignment as a righteous gentleman and grand official, Moqi Xie's thoughts were much more open-minded. In this man's view, who dared to think anything, the previous loss of Dongjing and the Jingkang Incident were actually largely the fault of the Two Emperors.

Among them, the Retired Daoist Emperor (Song Huizong) was cowardly and incompetent, fleeing at the sight of the enemy, first abandoning the main army in Hebei, then abdicating and fleeing south, shaking military morale and popular sentiment; while Yuansheng (Song Qinzong) was a typical weathervane, listening to one person today and another tomorrow, weak and spineless when the Jin army arrived at the city walls, but then, once the Jin army left, acting on wishful thinking and taking reckless risks... ultimately causing the situation to deteriorate completely!

But in any case, although this monarch in Nanyang city today had clearly been somewhat flustered at first, having just ascended the throne, after the Jin invasion south last year, he had quickly made decisive judgments and effectively learned from the lessons of the Two Emperors:

First, he led by example, resolutely resisting the Jin, and never once mentioned any talk of peace negotiations;

Second, his stance was firm. Whether in appointing people or handling affairs, he saw things through from start to finish. Li Gang Li Boji, who looked down on him; Zong Ze Zong Rulin, who clearly didn't trust him; Lü Haowen, who was somewhat incompetent; Han Shizhong, who had many faults—he basically set aside past grievances with all of them and let them serve to the end!

As for that earlier incident with Xu Jingheng and the New and Old Faction political strife, although he hadn't entered officialdom at the time, after Moqi Xie later heard the full story, he actually felt that this monarch had a bit of a sage-king demeanor.

Even now, it seemed that this monarch had not let these ministers down, and individually, none of these ministers had any intention of betraying His Majesty Zhao. Yet looking at the results, it seemed as if these people had still let His Majesty Zhao down. No one knew how that had happened.

Was it the times? Or was it the lingering aftershocks of the de facto destruction of the state and the court's displacement after the Jingkang Incident? Or was it simply that the Jin state was too powerful at this time?

Speaking of which, that Zhong Xiang from Dongting Lake in the south was a universally acknowledged rebel. Everyone knew he was going to revolt, but at this moment he hadn't actually rebelled, which seemed to count as not letting His Majesty Zhao down. This was rather baffling.

And so, Moqi Xie, with his devious mind and utter lack of principle, after reaching this strange conclusion from the perspective of selfish human nature, let his thoughts wander endlessly, and he didn't know when he finally fell asleep.

The next morning, he was suddenly startled awake by a roaring sound. He scrambled up, dressed himself in a fluster, and went out to investigate.

Stepping out the door, he ran straight into Li Guang, who was equally flustered. The two of them then realized that the sun was already high in the sky. There was no one else in this ward; they were the only two who hadn't gotten up yet, and both had bloodshot eyes, making it clear that the other had also been lost in wild thoughts the night before.

They exchanged awkward smiles, hurriedly clasped their hands in greeting, and then together went to find their respective donkeys—this was standard equipment for civil officials in the city. Horses were for the army, mules were for transporting supplies, only donkeys were available for civil officials to ride around.

The two of them rode their donkeys out of the ward and hadn't gone more than a few steps before they realized what had happened. Because all along the way, the several hundred new-style trebuchets that had been prepared in the city were now being fully activated, each adjusting its position.

Clearly, the Jin army outside the city had formed their trebuchet batteries, and what had just happened was the Jin army test-firing.

At this point in the battle, the most difficult stage of defending the city, and also the most critical stage—the artillery duel—had finally arrived.

"Are you ready?" Still on the northern city wall, looking across the ground that had long been flattened by the fighting, His Majesty Zhao squinted at the command platform opposite, then suddenly turned around and asked.

"We've already adjusted the direction and power based on observations from the wall," Chen Gui said, sweating profusely despite it being winter. "Your Majesty, please go take shelter in the temporary palace. I will handle things on the wall myself..."

"It's fine." Zhao Jiu shook his head with a wry smile. "Isn't it what you said? Your city wall is the best at withstanding artillery fire. I'll go down below the wall to take shelter later."

"Please go down now, Your Majesty!" Chen Gui urged again with difficulty. "The enemy has been setting up their positions all night. Two hundred trebuchets are arrayed in four batteries facing us. They've finished test-firing and could volley at any moment..."

"No need to wait for them!" Zhao Jiu continued with a smile, pointing at the command platform to the north. "I'll stay on the wall until you fire this first volley of stones, then I'll go down!"

Chen Gui understood what he meant, so he stopped urging and simply turned around to give orders immediately. In an instant, flags waved at various points on the city wall, sending signals to the various trebuchet positions already prepared inside the city, telling them to prepare a volley according to the pre-calculated trajectories and strike first!

"I don't believe it!" On the Jin army's command platform, Wanyan Wushu finally showed a hint of a smile again. "With the situation like this today, can he still hold back from firing?"

"Exactly!" Chizhan Hui stroked his beard and chimed in. "I also want to see what's so strange about those trebuchets hidden inside Nanyang city, that they've held out until today!"

"Open fire!"

Just as Wanyan Wushu and the others were eagerly waiting, on the city wall, His Majesty Zhao, after hearing Chen Gui's words, used a rather peculiar term to give the final military order.

But everyone from Chen Gui on down understood it anyway.

"Open fire!" Chen Gui raised his voice and passed the order to the signal officer beside him.

The signal officer said nothing, just waved a flag that hadn't been moved in the half-month of defending the city. Countless flags on the city wall, seeing this one move, also began to wave in succession. And the laborers at the various trebuchet bases of the Song army below the wall, upon seeing the flags, did not, like those outside the city, use a dozen or even several dozen men to pull and haul with great effort. Instead, they just had one strong laborer pick up a large wooden mallet and give a vigorous strike to the strange 'crotch' of the trebuchet each was responsible for!

With just one strike, the latch mechanism in the trebuchet's crotch opened, and the large basket filled with counterweight stones fell straight down, then lifted the throwing arm, loaded with different 'ammunition' at its tail end, high into the air.

Next, several hundred projectiles flew out of Nanyang city together, large and small, some polished stone balls, and some surprisingly made of mud. It was truly a spectacular sight... Li Guang and Moqi Xie, seeing this, simply stopped their donkeys to watch.

However, the two of them only thought it was spectacular; they didn't know that after the projectiles flew out of the city together... the former, the stone balls, mostly headed straight for the corresponding Jin army trebuchet positions, while the latter, the head-sized mud balls, about several dozen of them, were fired from high platforms close to the city wall, arcing high over the wall with an astonishing range, directly hurling towards the Jin army command platform to the due north.

And there, under the mild winter sun, the words of the Jin veteran general and Battalion Commander Chizhan Hui had just landed, drawing echoes of agreement from countless meng'an and mouke commanders.

PS: Here it comes, here it comes... Sorry, sorry, everyone, good night... The stock market is risky, enter with caution.