Chapter 184: Chapter Sixteen: The Benevolent Should Tremble

Many important events occurred in Dongjing during the fifth month.

Such as the Emperor emphasizing the strategy for dealing with the puppet Qi, announcing approval of Lu Yihao's version of the Southeastern Monthly Tribute, and setting troop quotas for the various Imperial Guard armies…

Among these, after the Jiangning army mutiny, the Imperial Guard Rear Army was directly reduced to a quota of fifteen thousand, still stationed in the southeast, mainly to assist Lu Yihao in stabilizing the rear and serving as a necessary reserve force:

The Imperial Guard Left Army, that is, Han Shizhong's Huaixi Army, had a quota of forty-five thousand;

The Imperial Guard Right Army, that is, Zhang Jun's Huaidong Army, had a quota of thirty-five thousand;

The Imperial Guard Vanguard Army, that is, Yue Fei's former Dongjing Rear Area Command and his own troops, totaling fifty-five thousand, required large-scale reductions and eliminations among the Dongjing Rear Area Command's troops, but it was also true that those troops were a mixed bag of the brave and the unworthy;

As for the Imperial Guard Central Army, because Li Yanxian's Shanzhou Army included Hedong volunteer forces, and he was tied up at the front, it was temporarily difficult to set a specific number, but Wang De and Wang Yan together had a quota of thirty-five thousand…

All these together set a quota of two hundred thousand infantry, plus thirty thousand cavalry on paper, but the latter was difficult to realize in the short term and could only be done slowly.

Additionally, there were the appointments in Guanxi.

Due to geographical reasons, Guanxi was truly difficult to separate from Bashu, and considering transport losses, the two naturally formed an independent economic and military system. The most reasonable approach was naturally for Bashu to supply Guanxi directly, and then form armies in Guanxi.

Moreover, Bashu was prosperous, and this time it was the only region unaffected by the war. In fact, judging from Zhao Kai's economic reforms, its economic potential could still be tapped further, so while it was beyond easy reach, it required special attention.

In this regard, the Emperor was as open-minded as ever. He still had Yuwen Xuzhong stationed in Chang'an to coordinate everything; made Zhang Jun the Transport Commissioner for Bashu and the Five Circuits of Xihe, taking overall charge of rear-area finances and grain; and made Hu Yin the Military Commissioner for the Fuyan and Jingyuan Circuits, taking overall charge of the front lines… This formed a three-man team that could ensure loyalty.

After all, the Emperor had considerable trust in Hu Mingzhong. Although this man was militarily incompetent, his character was beyond reproach. Since he said he would only listen to the words of seasoned generals and not interfere in military affairs based on personal opinions, he would certainly do so.

Compared to these major matters, things like appointing Li Guang as Censor-in-Chief, making Mo Qixie as Palace Censor, and sending him on an inspection tour to Nanjing to serve as the "Army Supervisor" for Yue Fei's troop reorganization, seemed trivial.

Finally, although this fifth month was exceptionally busy, the Emperor ultimately decided to personally receive the Goryeo envoy, Kim Bu-sik…

That's right, Zhao Jiu had ended up eating his own words.

Regardless of how Liu Ziyu probed, how could the Goryeo envoy possibly agree to a joint Song-Goryeo resistance against the Jin? This wasn't like the early days when Wanyan Aguda had just raised his army with only a few thousand troops, and Goryeo could still entertain some ideas. Now, Great Jin was a vast state spanning ten thousand li with hundreds of thousands of armored soldiers; it was unrealistic to expect Goryeo's small frame to resist the Jin.

In fact, throughout the process of the Jin's rise, the Khitan's fall, and the Great Song's decline, Goryeo had always acted very pragmatically… After Wanyan Aguda raised his army, seeing them as weak, they sent troops to "suppress the rebellion" under the banner of aiding their suzerain, Great Liao; later, when Wanyan Aguda went on a killing spree in Liaodong, they immediately formed a fraternal alliance with the Jin; and later, when the Jingkang Incident occurred and the Two Emperors were taken north, they were shocked by the news but immediately pledged allegiance and became vassals to the Jin.

Throughout this entire process, Goryeo, almost imperceptibly, took advantage of the situation to occupy all the territory east of the Yalu River, expanding its territory by more than half.

In comparison, Xixia was foolish. After the Khitan fell, they fought the Jin over territory, only to have their main mobile forces completely crushed by the Jin's strongest Western Route Army in a massive cavalry battle. After the Jingkang Incident, despite having no strength left for expansion, they still tried to take advantage of the Great Song's borders, only to be hit by a defensive counterattack from Qu Duan and Wu Jie, after which they fell silent until now.

In other words, Goryeo, as the third country (certainly seeing things more clearly than Xixia) that best understood the situation besides Song and Jin, had always had its own judgment. Their sending an envoy to Dongjing this time, regardless of internal debates, was clearly influenced by the shock of the Jin army's fruitless campaign earlier this year. They felt the future situation would likely be a north-south standoff between Song and Jin… Although the Jin was powerful, it might become a stronger version of the Khitan, while the Song, though weakened, could stabilize the situation.

Hence, Goryeo once again engaged in its traditional practice of hedging its bets with both sides, a century-old tradition.

As for why the Emperor broke his promise, the reason was simple.

Chief Minister Lü Haowen personally came to tell the Emperor that although Goryeo couldn't be used to resist the Jin, trade between the two countries was still very friendly. After the Jingkang Incident, because the Qilu region had fallen into enemy hands, economic exchanges had suffered a severe blow. A proper reception, expressing the hope of resuming maritime trade south of Xuzhou, would likely greatly benefit tax revenue.

Faced with this, the Emperor, who was desperate for money, naturally accepted the good advice.

However, when this Emperor sought out merchants in Dongjing who knew the inside story of Goryeo to do his homework in advance, he was astonished to discover… that Goryeo might actually have the possibility of actively attacking the Jin!

This wasn't fantasy, but fact, and the reason lay in Goryeo's internal struggles.

"May Your Majesty know, Goryeo has not been peaceful before."

It was still in that lakeside stone pavilion. The only difference was that after seven or eight days, the wild grass here had grown even more lush, and the snakes and insects in the lake had also become noticeably more abundant. Even in broad daylight, human voices could not drown out the croaking of frogs and the chirping of cicadas… The speaker was a tall, dignified middle-aged man in white robes. He was a former failed scholar named Wang Lun, later a wealthy merchant of the Eastern Sea. Because of his refined demeanor, he had earned the nickname "White-robed Scholar." He was now sitting nervously in the stone pavilion, reporting to the Emperor.

"First, for many years, there was a powerful minister in the country, the maternal grandfather of the current Goryeo king, named Li Ziqian. He held sway over the court and, after serving three reigns, gradually developed the ambition of Wang Mang…"

At this point, the man paused noticeably. Beside him, on another stone stool in the pavilion, another plain-clothed middle-aged man with a dignified appearance and a jade-like demeanor also instinctively showed an awkward expression, because this accompanying man was a standard imperial relative, the head of the so-called Pearl Wu family.

That's right, this plain-clothed man, about forty years old, was naturally Wu Jin, the Wu family father-in-law whom the Emperor constantly talked about borrowing money from. This time, the Emperor had asked him to find the Goryeo maritime merchant, the White-robed Scholar Wang Lun.

"From your words, it must have failed." The Emperor naturally knew what was going on, but he didn't mind and casually urged him on.

"Naturally, it failed." Wang Lun quickly replied. "How could such a thing succeed? The current Goryeo king is also a capable man. Using the tactic of 'Zheng Boke subduing Duan at Yan,' he lured his maternal grandfather's trusted general to his side in the first year of Jingkang, then suddenly eliminated his maternal grandfather and exterminated his entire faction, subsequently exiling his maternal grandfather's trusted general."

Zhao Jiu slowly nodded… This was also an old East Asian routine. It could only be said that Goryeo was a true successor, worthy of being one of the long-standing core civilizations of East Asia.

"Later," seeing the Emperor nod, Wang Lun gradually shed his initial nervousness at meeting the Emperor and became smoother. "Although the Li clan fell, the military and financial powers were temporarily left unmanaged, which instead triggered an internal struggle between the two factions of nobles in Gaegyeong and Seogyeong within Goryeo…"

Zhao Jiu found it boring to listen to. This kind of thing was far too reasonable, wasn't it?

As a learned wealthy merchant, Wang Lun naturally knew how to read people. Sensing the Emperor's impatience with this, he quickly skipped over these messy affairs and got to the point:

"May Your Majesty know, the two factions of nobles, having started factional infighting based on regional lines, gave the Goryeo king an opportunity to promote his own confidants. To personally seize power, he did not hesitate to break conventions and appoint the monk Myocheong, along with some newly promoted trusted ministers like Jeong Ji-sang, to govern. These people were all staunch advocates of attacking the Jin, and during the Jingkang era, they even orchestrated one campaign against the Jin. It was only because the current envoy, Kim Bu-sik, had just returned from Dongjing at the time and warned them about the Jingkang disaster, explaining the Jin's strength, that the plan was halted."

Zhao Jiu's heart stirred slightly; he finally became a bit interested.

"Your Majesty." Having finished his introduction, Wang Lun cautiously offered his own opinion. "Your Majesty asked me about Goryeo's internal affairs, and I must dare to speak my mind… In my view, the upper and lower classes of Goryeo generally still look down on the Jin's barbaric posture, and there is considerable resentment in the court and among the people about being a vassal to the Jin. However, a group led by this envoy, Kim Bu-sik, specializes in serving the powerful, regardless of whether they are barbarians or civilized. They serve whoever is strong, never hesitating to switch allegiances, and they don't care about face. It was Kim Bu-sik who previously submitted a memorial acknowledging vassalage to the Jin, and now, seeing Your Majesty's might resurgent in the Central Plains, it is still Kim Bu-sik who has taken the initiative to send an envoy."

Zhao Jiu thought for a moment, then slowly nodded and expressed his gratitude for the hard work.

Wang Lun was startled and immediately rose to bow.

"How about this," Zhao Jiu said after a brief thought. "If you still want to do business, then go do business, and consider this trip a wasted one. But if you are interested, I can send a note to ask Minister Lü. Since the country is in need of talent, could I ask you to temporarily enter the Court of State Ceremonial and serve as Kim Bu-sik's escort-attendant… Then, if you do well this time, I will grant you an official status and let you handle this matter properly?"

Wang Lun was originally a failed scholar who became a maritime merchant. Having this audience, he already harbored some expectations, so how could he be unwilling? But he also knew that he still had to pass Lü Haowen's scrutiny, so he dared not show too much emotion and simply bowed his head to express gratitude.

After expressing his thanks, Wang and Wu knew the matter was concluded and dared not linger. They cupped their hands and took their leave.

The Emperor didn't mind and even personally saw Wu Jin off for several dozen paces before returning to the pavilion to think.

Leaving aside what Zhao Jiu was thinking about and how he planned to deal with the Goryeo envoy, Wang Lun and Wu Jin walked out together. After many steps, seeing the desolate wild grass around them and not a trace of human habitation, Wang Lun felt increasingly emotional but dared not say much.

But as they turned a corner, they were met by a small procession. Calling it a procession, there were no animals or carriages, just four or five palace maids and eunuchs surrounding a palace-dressed beauty walking towards them. The beauty herself was carrying a plate of ice cream, gracefully heading in the direction of the Emperor.

Wang Lun was still confused, but Wu Jin was greatly troubled. He bowed from a distance, but the beauty didn't even look at him, didn't say a word, and simply passed by.

After she had passed, Wang Lun suddenly realized: "Is that Lady Pan? And where is your wife?"

Wu Jin looked at the sun, also feeling frustrated, but only shook his head: "She should be studying or practicing martial arts now… Anyway, she's in class."

The White-robed Scholar was dumbfounded.

PS: Thanks to the book's sixty-seventh sponsor, classmate Qingteng Laoren!