Chapter 142: The Candidate

"Does Your Majesty truly intend to use Yue Fei?"

Unexpectedly, after a pause, it was Lü Haowen who spoke this time, not Lü Yihao, whose authority was growing by the day.

"If not him, who else can be used now?" Beneath the falling snow, Zhao Jiu clasped his hands behind his back, turned his head to glance at the Jin army's main camp, which was gradually solidifying to the north, and then sighed.

Lü Haowen and the others were all momentarily stunned, then each showed a trace of emotion... for as His Majesty had said, who else could be used now?

Moreover, there was no need to elaborate on Zhao Jiu's reasons for using Yue Fei. For him, a time-traveler, the two characters 'Yue Fei' were reason enough, just as the three characters 'Han Shizhong' were the basic courage that allowed him to operate in this era. But even setting aside that layer of reasoning, looking at the present situation, who was available?

It must be understood that at this very moment, surveying the entire battlefield, only the Tokyo Rear Area Command still had some surplus troops and could take action.

Therefore, whoever it was would have to go to Tokyo to take charge of the situation.

Zong Ze was certainly usable, but according to Zhao Jiu's estimation, he was likely too ill to manage.

As for Li Gang, after the Jingkang Incident and this recent great chaos in the southeast, everyone had lost confidence in his military abilities.

Li Yanxian was absolutely usable, but Shanzhou was the connecting point between the Central Plains, Guanzhong, and Hebei; it was itself a critical node, and its survival was crucial to whether the Song-Jin front could hold the Yellow River line. Moreover, although the situation in Shanzhou was slightly better now, that was only because the main force of the Western Route Army hadn't targeted Shanzhou. If Li Yanxian were ordered to lead troops to Tokyo, it might immediately provoke Wanyan Loushi or Wanyan Yinshu to counterattack Shanzhou. If that happened, opening a separate front and allowing the Jin army's eastern and western forces to converge would be a sure path to self-destruction.

By the same logic, Zhang Jun could not be easily redeployed either, otherwise the gateway to Jianghuai would be wide open. If a Jin army detachment suddenly marched south to Yangzhou, the trouble would be immense!

And after much deliberation, even in the eyes of the central ministers, the only one in the Jingdong and Jingxi regions who had any battle record and could be somewhat trusted was this Zhenfushi, Yue Fei, who had been a death-row prisoner just a year ago.

Therefore, using him was a must; there were simply not many generals available now. But it was impossible to give him an overly exalted title, or things would truly go wrong.

On this point, one only had to look at Li Yanxian, Han Shizhong, Zhang Jun, Qu Duan, and the rebellion in the southeast.

Why did Li Yanxian change his name to resist the Jin?

Wasn't it because he had been dissatisfied with Li Gang's military strategy from the very beginning, slandering Chancellor Li Gang as a military incompetent, to the point of being wanted?

Han Shizhong, watching the new emperor's enthronement in Nanjing and observing the various troops assembled at the temporary palace, got drunk and spoke his mind: "I am the foremost under heaven!"

What did that mean?

It meant everyone else was useless!

As for Zhang Jun and Qu Duan, they were both veterans of the Western Army, and there was no need to mention them further.

And then there was the rebellion in the southeast. If you put Wang Shunchen in charge, his reputation was certainly great, but he hadn't been near an army for decades. Who would be convinced?

Oh, and there was the deceased Liu Guangshi. He didn't care much about titles and rarely felt dissatisfied, but he simply liked to shift his troubles onto others.

Matters within the military were never that simple. Arrogant soldiers and fierce generals were one thing, but the fundamental issue was that to get so many people to entrust their lives to one man, some proof was needed.

Not to mention that ten or nine out of ten troops in the Tokyo Rear Area Command were Hebei refugees or bandits from the two capitals. If things went wrong, these people would have little psychological burden in turning back into bandits.

However, to be fair, the situation having come to this was somewhat unexpected. Zhao Jiu had racked his brains in Nanyang and had considered such difficult scenarios.

Zhao Jiu didn't know Zong Ze's historical lifespan, but he roughly knew that Zong Ze had died of grief and anger in Tokyo. Coupled with the man's age, he had from the start set up a special safeguard for this matter, and also to ensure Yue Fei's performance.

And this safeguard was precisely Zhang Suo, the Jingdong Circuit Pacification Commissioner.

Zhang Suo had set up a field headquarters in the Huazhou area early on and had gotten along extremely well with Zong Ze. A considerable portion of Zong Ze's subordinate officers had passed through Zhang Suo's hands. More importantly, like Zong Ze, this man was a patron of Yue Fei, and his trust in Yue Fei was beyond doubt... So, according to the original plan, even if something happened to Zong Ze, Zhang Suo, a high official right there in Nanjing, could take over the Tokyo Rear Area Command, and Yue Fei would undoubtedly gain stronger protection and a broader stage to perform.

But all this was useless now... Kong Yanzhou had defected on the battlefield, and Zhang Suo had died for his country!

"This matter is not so simple; it needs more careful consideration." Perhaps after waiting a long time for Lü Yihao to speak, Lü Haowen had to continue somewhat hesitantly. "Your Majesty... have you considered one thing about Nanyang while thinking over the situations elsewhere?"

"What matter?"

"This matter was mentioned by Minister Chen before, and I quite agree with him." Lü Haowen turned his head to look at Chen Gui. This action drew a cold sidelong glance from the other Chancellor Lü, but Lü Haowen, ignoring this, pointed at the shadows and lights to the north under the increasingly dense snowfall and spoke seriously. "The Jin army fears our trebuchets, so they dare not approach the city and have not launched an assault. But are they truly powerless? It's understandable that they besiege on three sides and leave one open, but with so many cavalry, can they really not intercept messengers? Why do they simply allow messengers to come and go freely?"

"I knew their intention that day." Zhao Jiu clasped his hands behind his back, glanced at the Jin army camp outside the city, and replied frankly. "It's a psychological tactic. Since Nanyang's defenses are excellent, they use this strategy to force us to make moves. Once we start maneuvering, we will inevitably reveal flaws, which will be their opportunity... But this is an open scheme. It's not like the situations where Han Shizhong is in dire straits, the Tokyo Rear Area Command is stagnant, and the situation in Guanzhong is worrying are all false, are they?"

Lü Haowen opened his mouth but finally nodded: "Your Majesty understands clearly... But I have another question. Since Your Majesty knows the Jin army outside the city is using a psychological tactic, deliberately sending news of the northern front's predicament, why still forcefully maneuver? What is the purpose of using Yue Fei? Is it merely to take over from Zongze and oversee Tokyo affairs? As it stands, Zongze should only be seriously ill, and Yue Fei doesn't seem to be constrained in Tokyo..."

"Chancellor Lü." Zhao Jiu sighed. "Chen Gui only told you the enemy's scheme is treacherous, but did he tell you that sitting and defending a dead city is a path to ruin? Isn't today's situation in Nanyang thanks to the new trebuchets, a weapon for counterattack?"

Lü Haowen and Chen Gui both slightly cupped their hands but did not refute anything.

And Zhao Jiu made it clear: "I want to save Han Shizhong... Han Liangchen cannot die! He is my backbone! I simply dare not think that if Han Shizhong dies in Changshe, who will be able to hold up the overall situation in the future? Yue Fei is certainly a talent, but as you all said, he is only twenty-seven, and swords and arrows have no eyes. If even Han Shizhong can fall in his prime, who knows what will happen to him in the future?"

On the city wall, everyone looked at each other in silence, but no one found it surprising. Given His Majesty's previous care for Han Shizhong, this reason was absolutely credible.

"It is certainly understandable that Your Majesty wants to save Grand Commandant Han. Han Shizhong is a great general of the state and must be saved. But where are the troops?" At this moment, Lü Yihao suddenly spoke, clasping his hands, beating Lü Haowen to the question. "According to the military intelligence gathered by the Bureau of Military Affairs in recent days, although Wanyan Talai has divided his forces everywhere, he himself should be stationed at Changshe, personally besieging the city. Moreover, with the surrounding troops, from Yelu Ma Wu's force in Zhongmu to the north, to Talai's son-in-law Pucha Hulu in the south, he has a total of forty thousand troops, mostly cavalry... If we cannot lift the siege in three to five days, we will only be annihilated by the main Jin army under the city walls... We need a large army!"

"Correct." Lü Haowen also nodded repeatedly and seriously.

"There are twenty to thirty thousand in Tokyo city, and thirty to forty thousand south of Kaifeng Prefecture. If we order Li Yanxian to abandon Hebei and only hold Shanzhou, we might gather a few more. Add the remnants of Liu Bao and Tian Shizhong's forces... gather them all. One hundred thousand is unlikely, but seventy to eighty thousand should be possible, right?" Zhao Jiu replied seriously.

"What about Tokyo?" Minister of War Chen Gui immediately responded anxiously.

"If you hold ground but lose men, you lose both ground and men. If you hold men but lose ground, you can regain both ground and men." It was Chancellor of the Bureau of Military Affairs Lü Yihao who answered Chen Gui. "Tokyo city is certainly important, but not as important as Han Liangchen... If we save Han Liangchen, even if Tokyo is lost, we can retake it sooner or later! But if we drag things out like this, the cities along the Five Rivers will fall one by one, and then what will we use to defend Tokyo?"

Chen Gui was momentarily speechless.

"I have thought this over carefully." Zhao Jiu quickly stopped the two from arguing. "Tokyo is only two hundred li from Changshe. The Jin force closest to Tokyo is Yelu Ma Wu's ten-thousand-man unit in Zhongmu, fifty li away... Attacking a city and lifting a siege are different. If we can gather troops to rescue Han Shizhong and then return to Tokyo to rest, Yelu Ma Wu won't have time to capture Tokyo."

Everyone fell into thought again.

And after a moment, it was Hu Yin who spoke seriously: "Your Majesty's reasoning is sound. Han Shizhong is a famous general of our dynasty; he must be saved!"

Then, Academician Lin also broke his silence: "Han Shizhong must indeed be saved!"

"I also believe we should save him!" Yan Xiaozhong, who had been silent all along, finally ignored his friendship with Chen Gui and cupped his hands without hesitation. "Otherwise, how would the world see Your Majesty's sincerity?"

On the city wall, one Chancellor, one Imperial Drafter, one Nanyang Prefect, and one Censor-in-Chief together expressed their agreement with the Son of Heaven. This matter was now irreversible.

In fact, Lü Haowen no longer insisted either. Instead, he cupped his hands and returned to the key issue: "If so, and since Zongze's illness cannot be made public, we can only find a high minister to serve as Zongze's deputy, then supervise Yue Fei's march south to integrate the Tokyo Rear Area Command."

"It can only be so." Zhao Jiu was silent for a moment, finally giving up the possibility of making Yue Fei the commander directly, but he was still worried. "But I'm afraid that among those near Tokyo who could serve as commander, none will be willing to give Yue Fei free rein."

"Your Majesty need not worry." Lü Haowen sighed slightly. "I have thought it over. There is still a good candidate... Currently, Tokyo Vice Commissioner Quan Bangyan is trapped in Huazhou, and Grand Commandant Lü Qing is trapped in Xiangcheng. That leaves only two candidates. And since Your Majesty wants someone to look after Yue Fei, we must remove Wang Yan, who has a grudge against Yue Fei. That leaves only one person, and this person happens to be just right."

Zhao Jiu's heart stirred slightly, but he didn't have time to think much before blurting out: "I know who you mean. The last one is naturally Du Chong, the former Grand Administrator of Great Ming Prefecture and current Prefect of Kaifeng... But didn't he flee back from Great Ming Prefecture? Is he usable? Will he dare to fight? I've vaguely heard people say he is given to indiscriminate killing?"

"Your Majesty, the situation now is that there are only a few people with the necessary seniority, and this man is just right for the task." Lü Haowen explained unhurriedly. "Most crucially, this man is a fellow townsman of Yue Fei."

Zhao Jiu suddenly understood. In this era, being a fellow townsman was a huge layer of private relationship guarantee. Moreover, and more importantly, an implicit meaning that Lü Haowen hadn't stated was that the officers and men of the Tokyo Rear Area Command were mostly Hebei refugees themselves. So, Du Chong's native place was also a guarantee for those in Tokyo. If you sent a high official who wasn't from Hebei, those officers might not be convinced... However, Zhao Jiu clearly had no impression of the name Du Chong and didn't know his historical image. So he quickly turned his head to look at Yang Yizhong.

Yang Yizhong had no room to interject in such an occasion, but as Zhao Jiu's dedicated information retrieval tool, Commander Yang, ignoring the thin layer of snow that had already accumulated on his shoulders, very quickly bowed and gave the answer:

"To report to Your Majesty, Chancellor Lü is not mistaken. The two are fellow townsmen and have a good relationship... Yue Fei is one of the few military men who is studious and ambitious. Prefect Du once said in Tokyo that there were many heroes in Xiangzhou, but most were crude fellows. The only one from his hometown with whom he could associate was Yue Pengju... Although this remark might have been more of a jab at Zhang Yong, a Controller-in-Chief of the Tokyo Rear Area Command who was also from Xiangzhou, it still shows that Du Chong and Yue Fei got along well."

Having said this, Yang Yizhong paused slightly before speaking in a low voice: "Not only that, Prefect Du's eldest son, Du Song, and third son, Du Kun, are both in Xiangyang. His son-in-law, Han Ru, and second son, Du Yan, are both in the city at this moment."

This meant there were hostages to ensure reliability.

Zhao Jiu felt a momentary relief, but then he shook his head slightly.

By now, he fully understood that there was such a ready and suitable candidate in Dongjing—one who was almost the obvious choice, with the most fitting qualifications, current official position, and native place. It was understandable that Lü Yihao, new to Nanyang, was unfamiliar with the personnel, but Lü Haowen, who oversaw the entire Secretariat and had personally arranged official appointments for the past half year, had delayed providing this name until now. This clearly showed his conservative mindset, unwilling to take the initiative and stir up trouble.

Of course, as the saying goes, having a plan is better than having none. And since Lü Haowen had finally, under his pressure, provided such a suitable candidate, why overthink it?

If not him, then who else could be used?

His Majesty did not repeat this line he had said before. Instead, with a trace of relief and some weariness, he made the decision on the spot: "Then send an envoy to Dongjing. Do not use letters or imperial decrees, lest they be intercepted by the Jin Army. Let the envoy enter Dongjing to see Zong Ze and report this matter in person!"

"Your Majesty!" Lü Yihao quickly interjected to add a supplement. "We can issue an irrelevant decree promoting Yue Fei's rank, and then send Du Chong's second son, Du Yan, as the envoy. The decree will be given to the Dongjing Marshal's Office to verify its authenticity. This way, whether Zong Ze is conscious or not, the entire Dongjing Marshal's Office will understand Your Majesty's intent. And when Du Chong sees his own son, his gratitude will naturally make him grasp Your Majesty's intent. Even if he harbors reluctance, his son can clearly convey Your Majesty's will. He will surely not dare to refuse to march south to rescue Han Liangchen, nor will he fail to give Yue Fei an important post."

Hearing this, Zhao Jiu almost completely relaxed: "In that case, we can look forward to something! Act quickly. Have Du Yan leave the city tonight without a moment's delay!"

Everyone clasped their hands in salute and said no more.

PS: Upon closer examination, Du Chong had served as Zong Ze's deputy since moving south from Great Ming Prefecture. Moreover, the Dongjing Marshal's Office itself was a special faction composed of refugees from Hebei. At that time, only high-ranking officials from Hebei were qualified to succeed Zong Ze, the founder who commanded immense prestige. Therefore, given his qualifications and native place, Du Chong's succession to Zong Ze was a matter of course, not something the fleeing Southern Song court could easily overturn.

As for Yue Fei being called Du Chong's favorite general by contemporaries... it's not hard to understand. Under this fellow townsman's command for about a year, the roc was promoted nine consecutive ranks. In terms of personal favor, as outsiders saw it, Du Chong was no worse to Yue Fei than Zong Ze was.