Chapter 143: Wild Thoughts

The sudden appearance of a man like Du Chong, seemingly sent from heaven, brought some comfort to His Majesty Zhao Jiu's mind. In fact, that evening as snow fell, Zhao Jiu returned to his temporary palace, summoned Du Chong's second son Du Yan to issue an edict, and also had Du Chong's son-in-law Han Ru enter the palace. Then, with Academician Lin and Yang Yizhong present, he carefully questioned them about Du Chong's career and background... clearly still somewhat uneasy.

But after roughly hearing them out, he could only nod repeatedly, sighing in speechless admiration.

To be fair, at this point it would be utterly absurd for anyone to point at Du Chong and claim there was something wrong with him. The only issues with Du Chong so far were two: first, his anti-Jin stance in the early period had been too 'fierce'—when guarding the border region of Cangzhou, he had killed commoners fleeing south from the north, mistaking them for Jin spies; second, he had abandoned the city when he was at Great Ming Prefecture.

However, neither of these things really counted for much in these times.

There were plenty of generals within the Song army who were fond of killing. Even if Du Chong drew criticism, it was only because he was a civil official—the label of 'indiscriminate slaughter' was beneath his station. And perhaps the only person in court sensitive to such matters, Zhao Jiu, wasn't very clear on what had happened in the early Jingkang years. Hearing vague accounts three years later, he couldn't really know the truth of the matter.

As for fleeing back from Hebei... to put it bluntly, who hadn't fled back from Hebei?

And in fact, the fact that this man, after fleeing from Great Ming Prefecture to Dongjing, still maintained his rank and was appointed Prefect of the old capital, effectively becoming a senior official of the Dongjing Marshal Command, showed the attitude of superiors and subordinates alike toward him.

Back then, Zhao Jiu had not yet consolidated power, and many matters were entrusted to the four chancellors. Now, looking back, he even suspected that Du Chong's appointment, like his designation of Zhang Suo, had been a backup plan for the Dongjing Marshal Command designated by the Central Secretariat.

Because he was too suitable!

That's right, compared to those two black marks, Du Chong fit the Dongjing Marshal Command in far too many ways.

In terms of seniority, this man was a Presented Scholar from the Zhezong era and had also served as the Marshal of Great Ming Prefecture—his age and career were far too stable. In terms of his native place, his Xiangzhou origin was especially eye-catching...

It must be emphasized here that this native place was eye-catching not because he was a fellow townsman of Yue Fei... Zhao Jiu might notice such things, but men like Lü Haowen wouldn't care... it was mainly that a Hebei Xiangzhou native place held enormous significance for the Dongjing Marshal Command.

You see, the military was divided into factions. For the previous Great Song, it had always been split into three groups by region: the Western Army, the Hebei Imperial Guard, and the Dongjing Direct Imperial Guard.

Han Shizhong, Liu Guangshi, Zhang Jun, and the Xin brothers—Xin Xing and the rest—were all from the Western Army.

As for the troops of the Dongjing Marshal Command, their origins were mixed, held together solely by Zong Ze's personal charisma and ability. Among them were a very small number from the Western Army—for example, the Commander Sang Zhong had been a minor officer under Zhong Shidao. There were also some local Imperial Guards. But the majority who dared to fight and could fight were mainly scattered military bandits, refugees, and volunteer armies from Hebei and Hedong. This group naturally carried a Hebei local character, or rather, it was precisely because they were from Hebei that they dared to fight and could fight—they had a personal blood feud with the Jin.

Yue Fei was the solid backbone of this faction. And Yue Fei had a fellow townsman named Zhang Yong, who also served as a Commander in the Dongjing Marshal Command. If you counted Kong Yanzhou from before, at one point there were as many as four officials at the Commander level or above from Tangyin, Xiangzhou (including Wang Gui).

This shows the importance of native place there.

In other words, once Zong Ze, the de facto founder of the Dongjing Marshal Command, died, only a high-ranking official from Hebei could stabilize this huge refugee military group!

Zhao Jiu even suspected that if Zhang Suo had died instead of Zong Ze, Zhang Suo, who was from Jingdong, might not have been able to suppress those troops of the Dongjing Marshal Command. Then Du Chong would have had to step in... Don't you see? At this point, Zong Ze's health had only just started to decline—he wasn't dead yet—and these people were already flocking to the southern part of Dongjing to watch and wait.

The inherent instability of a refugee group was plain to see. Uprooted from their homes, the sense of security that came with the label of 'fellow townsman' was far too important.

As for how compelling His Majesty Zhao's own appeal was?

Well, unless he personally set aside the dignity of the Son of Heaven, it seemed a bit doubtful, because the Dongjing Marshal Command wasn't paid!

That's right, Zhao Jiu could only do his best to supply the Dongjing Marshal Command with grain and money; he simply couldn't give them full pay... With only half the realm, before seeing the results of fiscal reform, being able to support over a hundred thousand troops in the Imperial Guard's Left, Right, and Rear Armies through central finances was already quite impressive.

And even then, the Imperial Guard's Right and Rear Armies were directly supplied from the southeast, merely passing accounts through Nanyang.

Back to the present, for some reason, after thinking it over repeatedly and confirming that Du Chong was indeed suitable, and almost the only choice, His Majesty Zhao returned to his private quarters in the palace. Even after getting into bed, he still found it hard to sleep, still worrying about the current situation.

And faintly mixed in was a certain indescribable yet familiar bizarre emotion.

To be sure, coming to Nanyang in the first place was naturally to keep an eye on Guanzhong... Although he had anticipated this invasion early on and hadn't expected to sort out Guanzhong this year, given the mess that Qu Duan, Wang Xie, Wang Shu, and Zhe Keqiu—the four actual leaders of Guanxi—had made over the past six months, His Majesty Zhao truly had no face to claim he controlled Guanzhong.

Qu Duan was arrogant and haughty to a disgusting degree; Wang Xie (the one who had gone to Hanzhong to invite Zhao Jiu to Sichuan) was clearly incompetent; Wang Shu seemed like a useful civil official, and was the nominal highest political figure in Guanzhong before Yuwen Xuzhong entered it, with no intention of shirking battle. But judging from his previous defeats and his inability to control Qu Duan or manage Wang Xie, he was clearly a figure whose military skill was roughly equal to Li Gang's and political skill roughly equal to Lü Haowen's. His only saving grace was his pro-war stance.

As for Zhe Keqiu, better not to think of him!

Beyond that, looking back at the entire war situation, Zhang Suo's death and Han Shizhong's encirclement both had their reasons... For instance, Zhang Suo was killed by a Jin surprise attack, which involved Kong Yanzhou's sudden rebellion, and even the deeper reason that Jingdong had already been swept through by the Jin army the previous year. Also, for instance, Han Shizhong went to rescue Zong Ze, and at the time Zong Ze's situation looked more dangerous—no one could fault that rescue, just as most people now agreed with rescuing Han Shizhong.

However, in terms of results, they were still two great defeats and tragedies.

Sometimes Zhao Jiu couldn't help but wonder: if, during the time the Jin army was delayed by the Hebei volunteer armies, he had been a bit more tense and careful, and had also told Zhang Suo to be careful, could he have avoided the collapse of the two Jingdong circuits? Could he have kept Zhang Suo alive?

If he had noticed Zong Ze's unusual condition earlier, or had simply established a more candid relationship with Zong Ze before this war, instead of treating him as a mere 'backer,' then perhaps the crisis at the Dongjing Marshal Command, including Han Shizhong's ambush, could have been avoided.

To be fair, for Zhao Jiu, the war had progressed to a point far better than the worst-case scenario he had imagined. Science and technology hadn't deceived him, or rather, even with the Patriarch watching from above, there was still a basic law to follow.

So, the new-style catapults based on the lever principle had done great service.

But the current situation was also far worse than the best-case scenario he had imagined... Zong Ze's poor health wasn't really his fault, but Zhang Suo's death was hard for him to let go. Han Shizhong's encirclement gave him a strong sense of contrast and shock. He absolutely could not accept that his 'scientific' efforts had instead caused this unforeseen loss.

Moreover, Han Shizhong himself was his greatest reliance since coming to this world. Although the two could not be called friends, they were still rare acquaintances.

However, these were all just reflections, a common sort of emotion, not yet 'bizarre.' In fact, at this very moment, watching the shadows of falling snow outside the door, Zhao Jiu had two final emotions in his heart, and it was these two emotions that made him 'bizarre.'

One was a cliché yet lingering thing... Zhao Jiu was still jealous of Yue Fei.

Despite having provided maximum support in action, this time-traveler still felt jealousy in his heart toward that son of the era he had never met.

As for the reason, after thinking about it for so long, Zhao Jiu could probably list a few points.

But overall, it was nothing more than the combination of a time-traveler's identity and that of the Son of Heaven, which gave this young man a strong desire... He wanted to replace Yue Fei and become the one to hold up the collapsing sky!

A normal His Majesty Zhao wouldn't have this desire, nor should a time-traveler, but combined, it seemed so natural.

It was also hard to characterize this desire. To put it vulgarly, it was not knowing one's place, even a bit politically incorrect. But if one insisted on elevating it, it could be called a kind of sense of mission.

If he didn't want to do something for this country and its people, how could he have such a desire?

How simple it would be to just lie flat in Hangzhou, with at most one extra sea voyage in between, then wait a dozen years until Yue Fei entered his golden age, his Yue Family Army reaching a hundred thousand men, seventy to eighty thousand armored, and then send twelve golden plaques to the front lines urging an advance just for fun... How clean and simple?

But if he could take the initiative to do something, why must he lie flat?

Ending the war a year earlier—how many people like Zhang Yongzhen would not have to die, and how many Zhang Yongzhens would successfully return home? Wasn't Yue Fei's simple patriotism born from his attachment to his hometown? Wouldn't it be better to prevent Yue Fei from becoming a hero, to let him retire at thirty as a Pacification Commissioner and go back to his hometown?

If one could enjoy peace and be a wealthy man in peaceful times, why leave one's hometown and face death to live?

In fact, the reason this jealous emotion lingered so persistently was that Zhao Jiu had found this twisted logic for himself. Following this line of thought, the more he reflected, the more proud Zhao Jiu became... as if this were an emotion worthy of pride.

But this pride, combined with the immense pressure of the current large-scale Jin invasion, brought Zhao Jiu another, final bizarre emotion—overthinking, plus the gap between the ideal and the reality when explaining his jealousy to himself, made him start to doubt his own efforts.

These days, Zhao Jiu sometimes thought: compared to the man who had given him this body, he had clearly done so much more—that man had only fled, all the way to Yangzhou, then to the southeast, then to the sea, while he, Zhao Jiu, had held the Huai River, ensuring the southeast and the two Huai regions at least hadn't collapsed; that man had abandoned the Central Plains, only knowing pleasure in Yangzhou, while he, Zhao Jiu, had chosen Nanyang, personally defended the city, and presided over the resistance in the Central Plains; that man had only known how to hold back the front lines, while he, Zhao Jiu, had given such great support to Li Gang, Zong Ze, Li Yanxian, Han Shizhong, Yue Fei, and other anti-Jin heroes who had been suppressed and abandoned in another time...

But why was the situation still so difficult? And why had something unexpected like Han Shizhong's encirclement happened?

Where exactly had he gone wrong?

Could it be that fleeing was more reasonable than fighting?

"What do you think," Zhao Jiu suddenly turned his head and asked the person beside his pillow, "what if I had gone to Yangzhou from the start?"

No one answered.

Probably tired from cooking during the day, Wu Yu had already fallen asleep. Zhao Jiu wasn't surprised at all. In fact, if he hadn't known she was already asleep, His Majesty wouldn't have asked that question.

And this was precisely His Majesty's greatest anguish. He had so many things in his heart, so many thoughts, that he couldn't tell anyone. So these emotions accumulated in his heart, day after day, becoming complex and obscure as the situation grew difficult, to the point where he would often indulge in such wild thoughts for half the night.

But after asking, His Majesty finally gave up on his wild thoughts for the night, blew out the candle, turned around, and hugged the already sleeping Wu Yu, preparing to rest.

But no sooner had the candle flame been extinguished than a series of urgent yet restrained knocks came from outside the door.

"Everyone! Is everyone asleep?"

"Your Majesty! Please rise, Your Majesty."

The former was Feng Yi, who oversaw the rear palace; the latter was Yang Yizhong. For the two of them to come calling together, something must have happened.

"What is it?" Zhao Jiu was far from asleep anyway, and upon hearing their voices, he quickly got up and fumbled for his clothes in the dark. "Has Du Yan been captured the moment he went out?"

"No... it's that Lord Lu has suddenly arrived, saying he wishes to have a private audience with Your Majesty." Another voice rang out, unmistakably Lan Gui, the senior eunuch in charge of confidential documents in the front hall.

And as Lan Gui spoke, the door was carefully opened and then closed again, as Lan Gui and Feng Yi entered together to personally light the lamp and attend to His Majesty's dressing.

However, upon hearing this, Zhao Jiu felt his mind churn like a pot of paste, utterly baffled. He shielded the newly lit lamp and frowned. "Which Lord Lu?"

"Naturally, it is Lu Yihao, the Privy Council Lord Lu," Lan Gui replied carefully. "Lord Lu was on night duty in the main hall tonight."

"I see." Zhao Jiu shook his head in sudden realization, then glanced back at Wu Yu, who was sleeping like a log, and stood up, putting on his shoes. "I should have known Lord Lu was capable of something like this..."

Lan Gui immediately bowed his head and said nothing.

And so, Zhao Jiu threw on his clothes, hurried out the door, and braved the snow with Yang Yizhong and the others, crossing the open ground behind the rear palace where the trees had long been felled, preparing to turn into the front hall. But just as he reached the corner, he saw Lu Yihao standing there alone, hands clasped behind his back, head held high.

Zhao Jiu had no choice. He dismissed even Yang Yizhong and went forward alone.

"Your Majesty!" Lu Yihao bowed slightly. "Let Your Majesty know that I have just thought of a path that concerns the overall situation. Though it is only a rough idea, it might be feasible. So I hurriedly summoned Your Majesty to rise, hoping Your Majesty might consider it..."

"Please speak, Lord Lu." Zhao Jiu naturally understood his meaning and suppressed his weariness to respond. "If the matter cannot be accomplished, I will never speak of it."

Lu Yihao bowed slightly, then spoke only a single sentence and said no more.

Zhao Jiu was momentarily stunned, then jolted awake, but he did not reply either. The two merely nodded slightly to confirm that the information had been exchanged without error, then took their leave at the boundary between the front hall and the rear palace, each returning to rest... Lord Lu also had his own room in the side chambers of the front hall.

Not to mention whether the nearly sixty-year-old Lord Lu could sleep well after returning, but the young Emperor Zhao Jiu, upon returning this time, fell into wild thoughts again, tossing and turning, unable to sleep for a long time.

Clearly, the suggestion Lu Yihao had just made stirred something in him... but there was simply no reason to act on it at the moment.

PS: Thanks to the 57th sponsor, lin!

Is this a fan of Scholar Lin?

By the way, when I was doing laundry today, I don't know how Xiao Jiu got in... As soon as I turned on the water, I heard meowing... It scared me to death. After I fished him out, he even clawed a bloody gash across my chest through my clothes.

Well... good night.