Chapter 208

Zhao Jiu's inspection tour of the Yellow River was, of course, undertaken with public-minded intent.

After all, the central government had long since keenly sensed the current predicament... the Jin forces remained undefeated, yet the Henan region had been under strict military administration for months, causing an imbalance in morale from top to bottom. Thus, the plan for this tour had actually been placed on Zhao Jiu's desk as early as October.

But why now, why immediately after establishing the Imperial Consorts, was a reason that could not be entirely concealed.

It must be understood that having two Imperial Consorts established simultaneously, while approved by the chief ministers, and benefiting from the reckless behavior of the Zhao Song emperors—especially the frivolity of a certain Retired Emperor—meant precedents were never lacking. In particular, Zhao Jiu's proper argument to convince Lu Haowen and others held some logic—he said that if an Empress were established now, what would happen when a royal heir was born? How would the principle of the mother being honored for the son be applied? It might well cause problems.

But setting aside future problems, the immediate issue was that, from Pan Xianfei's perspective, she had suffered a great loss in this matter.

Because there were only two consorts in the palace, and compared to Pan Xianfei, who had twice come within a hair's breadth of the Empress's position, Lady Wu, who had risen to prominence very late, had never held any standing before Pan Xianfei.

Yet fate played tricks—suddenly, the other woman was on equal footing with her.

How could Imperial Consort Pan not be furious?

And knowing full well she would be angry, Zhao Jiu fled at the first opportunity... an inspection of the Yellow River defenses—serving both public and private ends.

In late November, Zhao Jiu first left Bianliang heading north, reached Yangwu (later Yuanyang), then passed through Suanzao, and later turned toward Huazhou... along the way, he randomly entered fortified villages and beacon towers, speaking face-to-face with Imperial Camp soldiers and inquiring about their needs. The accompanying Imperial Camp Commander-in-Chief Wang Yuan, Deputy Commander Qu Duan, and Palace Censor Mo Qixie formed a three-person working group, leading a group of low-ranking officials from the Bureau of Military Affairs and the Department of State Affairs to inspect military pay and supplies along the route.

Here, a digression is necessary: the corruption of the Song army was truly ingrained in its bones, and the practice of skimming soldiers' pay was unavoidable. Zhao Jiu knew this well and never expected such things to be eliminated... but since he was out on inspection and encountered it, he could not pretend ignorance.

Thus, having only traveled through the Yellow River front line of Kaifeng Prefecture, Zhao Jiu had already beheaded seven or eight officers above the rank of Company Commander and dismissed thirteen or fourteen others along the way.

And at the end of November, after the Imperial Guard escorted Zhao Jiu into the territory of Huazhou, an incident of officer defection occurred ahead—a Battalion Commander of Hebei origin, stationed at Linghe Town, panicked, seized a small boat with a few personal guards, fled north, and surrendered to the Jin.

This incident greatly shocked the accompanying central ministers. Many immediately advised Zhao Jiu to return at once, because ahead in Huazhou territory, the river defense zone stretching twenty or thirty li from west of Baima, the prefectural seat of Huazhou, to Linghe Town, was controlled by Li Qiong's unit, a Commander of the Imperial Camp Central Army to which this Battalion Commander belonged.

And Li Qiong's unit was a rather special force within the Imperial Camp Central Army... they were all men of Hebei.

Because Li Qiong came from a prefectural school background, had long been stationed in Huazhou, and was indeed skilled at leading troops, when the Imperial Camp armies were first divided, he was specifically assigned to the Imperial Camp Central Army, still stationed in Huazhou, theoretically under Wang De's command.

Of course, privately, Zhao Jiu often directly meddled in the affairs of the Imperial Camp Central Army's various units. At such close range, it could well be said that they were directly under Zhao Jiu.

In other words, this was an anomalous unit within the Imperial Camp Central Army, with a very strong independent streak.

And at the same time, Huazhou was not far from Great Ming Prefecture and Puyang City in Hebei, and directly across the river was the central stronghold of the Jin army's permanent Yellow River forces.

So, if Li Qiong also harbored treacherous intentions, suddenly colluding with the Jin and letting the Jin army from Great Ming Prefecture cross the river, wouldn't that be a catastrophe of immense proportions?

The ministers' concerns were not unreasonable, but Zhao Jiu was unperturbed.

First, on a personal level, Zhao Jiu did not believe that Li Qiong, who had served as his central army in the Battle of Yanling and maintained regular communication with him, would rebel over such a matter.

Second, on the merits, Zhao Jiu felt he had dealt fairly with military corruption along the way, holding accountability only down to the Battalion Commander level. Li Qiong had no reason to worry about corruption in the army.

Third, from the situation, the fact that this Battalion Commander fled with only his personal guards showed that the six-month effort to fully supply the troops had been effective—this man could not mobilize the lower ranks.

On the contrary, through the Commander's memorandum system, Zhao Jiu communicated frequently with military commanders at that level and had some understanding of Li Qiong as a person... he possessed both the pride of a scholar and a touch of a strongman's willfulness, which together resulted in an excess of self-esteem.

If he hastily turned back now, it would actually provoke him.

But if he could demonstrate sincerity, Li Qiong's scholar mentality would lead him to submit.

"Li Qiong will not betray me." Zhao Jiu made his decision in an instant, then spoke these words publicly, and still ordered the eastward march, while instructing Wang Yuan, Qu Duan, and Mo Qixie to continue their inspections along the way as before.

However, once they set out again, Zhao Jiu and his accompanying Imperial Camp troops did not enter any more fortified villages to console the soldiers. Instead, they galloped along the river, with the central officials abandoning their carriages for horses, heading toward Tiantai Mountain beside Baima Ford in Huazhou.

That was where Li Qiong himself and his unit's main camp were stationed.

At the same time, Zhao Jiu sent a messenger ahead to Tiantai Mountain to inform Li Qiong of his itinerary in advance.

The reasoning was simple... with two thousand Imperial Guards accompanying him, and various Imperial Camp forces standing all around, the only real theoretical danger lay in Li Qiong mobilizing his entire army, colluding with the Jin, and letting the Jin army cross the river. Doing so would require time to coordinate up and down the chain. So as long as Zhao Jiu arrived quickly, the other party could never accomplish it.

This was called taking the offensive by moving against the current.

Relatively speaking, sending a messenger ahead was, in the grand scheme of things, a display of trust—this was an open strategy.

Since the journey was underway, many of the accompanying ministers were inevitably uneasy. But interestingly, some were just as unconcerned as Zhao Jiu... most of these were those who had long followed the imperial carriage from the Huai River and Nanyang. Having witnessed many battles, they were completely accustomed to such situations, even familiar with them, and they knew Zhao Jiu—that he liked to play tricks and find scapegoats for minor matters, but in matters of state and military, he had always been responsible. There were also some newly appointed young officials who, like newborn calves unafraid of tigers, seemed eager and ready for action.

For instance, Hu Quan, a Compilation Editor in the Bureau of Military Affairs, volunteered to go as a messenger to Tiantai Mountain ahead... startling Zhao Jiu into agreeing, but also cautioning him not to speak arrogantly or cause trouble, only to inform Li Qiong of his imminent arrival.

Of course, Hu Quan, a mere messenger, following protocol to deliver a message, was unlikely to provoke a general into rebellion. And on the twenty-eighth of November, when Zhao Jiu arrived at Tiantai Mountain and entered Li Qiong's camp directly, Li Qiong, having received advance notice, indeed came out of camp alone and appeared before the imperial presence.

The earlier fears and suspicions dissipated like a puff of smoke.

In the end, Li Qiong, nominally Wang De's subordinate but actually directly under Zhao Jiu, had no reason to rebel in the current situation... And after entering the Tiantai Mountain camp, Zhao Jiu did not deliberately avoid the topic. He gave a mild reprimand, reduced Li Qiong's military rank by one grade, fined him one month's salary, and promptly sent another envoy across the river to demand that the Jin return the defected Battalion Commander.

This time, it was another newly minted jinshi, Yu Yunwen, who volunteered.

Zhao Jiu naturally accepted this, and after that matter was settled, he issued an edict summoning the eastern defender of the Huazhou region (actually the Henan portion of the former Kaide Prefecture, reclassified under Huazhou after the Song-Jin standoff across the river), Imperial Camp Forward Army Commander Li Bao; the southern defender, Imperial Camp Forward Army Commander Fu Xuan; and the defender of Baima City, the Huazhou prefectural seat, Imperial Camp Central Army Commander Fu Qing, to Tiantai Mountain for a military discussion.

After a full day, on the last day of November, Yu Yunwen had still not returned, his fate unknown. But Zhao Jiu had no time to dwell on it. He ascended Tiantai Mountain with the three hastily arrived defenders and Li Qiong, gazing north across the Yellow River, ready to hear the frontline generals' military opinions.

Now, there are no fewer than dozens of Tiantai Mountains across China, the name referring to peaks with flat, rocky tops resembling terraces... In later times, the one in Zhejiang would be most famous, but at this time, this Tiantai Mountain, only a few hundred meters high and likely to disappear with later Yellow River course changes, was the most renowned of them all.

It held the kingly rank among Tiantai Mountains.

This was because, first, the mountain was very close to the Song capital of Dongjing, with a prosperous surrounding economy; second, it lay beside Baima Ford, the main route from Great Ming Prefecture in Hebei to Dongjing and Nanjing in Henan, with heavy traffic; and third, the Yellow River's main channel at this time, unlike in later eras, happened to pass by the mountain's side. Ascending Tiantai Mountain, one could gaze across both banks of the Yellow River, the fertile lands of the Central Plains and Hebei, making it a renowned scenic spot for its open vistas.

Enough digression—back to the present.

That day, the sky was clear, with even a slight southerly breeze stirring, making it feel somewhat warm. Zhao Jiu led his accompanying ministers and the four Huazhou defenders up to stand on Tiantai. His eyes could see far into the distance, the view open and flat, naturally lifting his spirits... but when he looked toward the Yellow River and turned to the northeast, he fell silent for a long time.

The reason was simple: even someone as dull as Zhao Jiu, upon climbing high and looking far, could not help but recall a strange matter concerning the Yellow River—the river courses on various military maps were all terribly inconsistent. Although from Tiantai Mountain he could not see the situation dozens of li downstream, the military maps he had looked at just yesterday clearly marked three branching channels before and after the downstream stronghold of Puyang.

"I recall the map showing the Yellow River splitting into three branches downstream... why is that?" Zhao Jiu stared for half a day and thought for half a day, before finally turning back to ask with righteous indignation.

However, today's entourage included not only the know-it-all Commander Yang Yizhong. Behind Zhao Jiu, besides Imperial Camp Commander-in-Chief Wang Yuan, Deputy Commander Qu Duan, and Palace Censor Mo Qixie, who were still inspecting fortifications in the rear, there were countless accompanying civil and military officials, as well as the various generals and staff of Huazhou... only the chief ministers and military commissioners were absent.

Thus, upon hearing the question, Fan Zongyin, a Drafter in the Secretariat, stepped forward first and answered solemnly: "May Your Majesty be informed, what lies below is not a branching of the river channel, but rather the result of the precarious war situation since the Jingkang era, the Yellow River's dikes falling into disrepair over the years, and the heavy rains this summer causing the river to overflow into various old courses."

"I see..." Zhao Jiu still frowned, but he rested one hand on his belt and pointed toward the lower reaches of the Yellow River, continuing to press. "But why are there three old courses?"

Fan Zongyin was taken aback and remained silent for a moment.

And Zhao Jiu knew this was something everyone knew, but at this point he had no intention of hiding his ignorance, so he pressed on: "Just explain clearly the origins of these three branches!"

Fan Zongyin grew wary but dared not remain silent: "Your Majesty, this is the result of several 'river-returning' projects in this dynasty..."

"What is 'river-returning'?"

"The Yellow River floods, repeatedly silting up and breaking through... to manage this natural disaster, the policy of diverting the river course has been implemented many times."

"If it's diverting the course, why call it 'returning'?"

"To report to Your Majesty, because since this dynasty began, the Yellow River has been trending northward, and each diversion effort has been an attempt to shift the channel southward. From the perspective of the Henan region around Kaifeng, this is 'returning'..."

"I see. But why must it be shifted southward?" Zhao Jiu was still puzzled. "Water flows naturally downward. If it wants to go north, we should let it follow its course. Why force it south?"

"Because they were worried that if the Yellow River's course continued northward, it would go straight into Khitan territory." Li Qiong, who had been frowning silently behind him for a long time, suddenly spoke out of turn. "The court feared that the Khitan would cross the river directly within their own borders, and then their iron cavalry would ride south, using the Yellow River waterway as a supply line, sailing upstream to sweep across the Central Plains. That's why they were set on returning the river to its old course, hoping not to lose the natural barrier of the Yellow River..."

Zhao Jiu suddenly understood completely, but then immediately laughed at himself... What he understood was that this was indeed a Great Song specialty—to seek psychological comfort, they would go so far as to defy heaven and alter the Yellow River's course, and it seemed they had done it more than once, at who knows what cost in effort. What was laughable was that when the Jin army actually came south, this natural barrier of the Yellow River proved utterly useless.

With this thought, the Imperial Majesty shook his head with another wry laugh: "The lower reaches of the Yellow River stretch for thousands of li. How much money and grain would returning it to its old course cost? With that much manpower and material, you could just take back the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun... But three courses? It should have been returned twice?"

"I don't know how many times..." Li Qiong thought for a moment, then shook his head again. "Your subject only recalls four times during Emperor Shenzong's reign, and one major effort during Emperor Zhezong's reign... Your subject has heard that Grand Commandant Yue's family suffered disaster during that one, losing their property and land, which is why they became tenant farmers for Plum Blossom Han."

"..."

"To be honest with Your Majesty, there seem to have been a few times during Emperor Renzong's reign as well, just not major ones. All together, it must be seven or eight times? If not during Renzong's reign, then at least five or six." Fu Xuan, who had been silent all along, also spoke up. "The main thing is, once the Yellow River floods, the common people south of the river don't know if it's because of too much rain or because the court is changing the course again. And to be honest with Your Majesty, the three courses Your Majesty sees on the map are still rough. Actually, downstream there should be five courses, and they even cross each other... Your subject has walked them all."

Zhao Jiu was stunned, then realized again—these men from north of the river probably all harbored resentment about this matter, otherwise they wouldn't be so eager to talk about it.

And so, after a long moment, the Imperial Majesty composed his expression and asked: "So, if that's the case, with the Yellow River shifting back and forth among these five courses, plus all the flooding, hasn't it turned all the land between the three courses into a flood zone?"

"To answer Your Majesty, if you ask me, the Yellow River's frequent flood areas—while the north suffers disaster, we in Henan don't escape it either. Henan is also a flood zone." Just as Li Qiong and Fu Xuan were about to reply, another man cupped his hands and spoke—it was Li Bao, known as Wild Li the Third, from the Jingdong West Circuit. "I heard from the old folks in my village that once, during a river-returning effort, the court messed things up, and the Yellow River rushed all the way to the Huai River... Six entire prefectures in Jingdong and the Huai region were covered in yellow floodwater. Isn't that also a flood zone?"

Zhao Jiu was completely speechless... Well, according to this, the flood zone these days stretched all the way from Bohai Bay to the Huai River.

In fact, what this Imperial Majesty didn't know was that if he hadn't come here and insisted on resisting the Jin, never going south to the banks of the Yangtze River, then in another timeline, Du Chong, in order to defend against Jin cavalry and rescue the Emperor in Yangzhou, would have displayed the Great Song's traditional skill with the Yellow River, opening the river's southern mouth again, and from then on it would have been impossible to control.

Of course, another man-made problem was the same as now—under the chaos of war, especially once the Yellow River became the frontline, no one had the mind or the ability to repair the river channels. Otherwise, the bizarre sight of three waterways at once wouldn't have appeared.

"Which is the main course right now?" With this thought, the Imperial Majesty temporarily set aside his extra concerns and, relying on his memory, asked seriously about the downstream situation. "The eastern course or the northern course?"

"The middle course." Li Qiong pointed casually to the northeast. "The one that separates Great Ming Prefecture and Puyang to the north of the river... But it's mostly meaningless, because as Your Majesty can see on the map, with the water flooding and no repairs, all three downstream courses currently have flowing water, all are suspended rivers. It's just that the middle course is deeper and wider, convenient for boat travel... And the Jin occupy all the land north of the eastern flow, while using the puppet Qi to control the southern bank downstream. So no matter how you calculate it, the land north of the river is under Jin control."

"So if the Jin really want to cross the river downstream, we can't stop them?" Zhao Jiu followed up.

"In principle, yes, but the Jin may not be willing to cross there." Fu Xuan suddenly interrupted again. "Especially now."

"Why is that?"

"Let Your Majesty know, your subject is from the Yongjing Army and knows the downstream situation..." Fu Xuan made a slight bow before continuing. "The lower reaches of the Yellow River have been neglected for years. Although the river has split into shallow branches due to loss of control, there is also a great deal of silt deposited, and there are few good fords. So if the Jin cross there, aside from the varying depths, sometimes the riverbed is full of mud. Once men and horses sink in, it's a dead end... And this kind of situation would require the Jin cavalry to cross three or four times before it's workable. How could that compare to the deep water and level banks at Baima, where they can cross at leisure? That's why the Jin were so determined to hold Great Ming Prefecture before, and why they repeatedly crossed the river properly by boat around Puyang."

Zhao Jiu nodded slightly, then felt a stir: "So, the reason the Jin haven't come south yet is also what you several men mentioned in your memorial—that this winter is warm, and although there are ice floes, the Yellow River is vast and has never frozen solid?"

"Your subject believes that is exactly the case." Li Qiong, who was certainly one of 'the several,' answered frankly. "The weather is what it is. If the Jin army wants to cross with a large force, they have to do it here or upstream to be convenient. But along this stretch of the Yellow River, the Imperial Camp's two hundred thousand troops are already arrayed densely. How could they cross easily?"

"So, doesn't that mean heaven is blessing the Imperial Song this year?" Someone couldn't help but speak up joyfully.

"You could say that." Li Qiong paused for a moment, feeling it was awkward, but still nodded.

However, the Imperial Majesty, who had turned back to look at the river, disagreed: "The meal is prepared, but the guest doesn't come—that's not necessarily a good thing... If they don't come, we can't fight our way across for now. We've been at war for four or five years—when will the land north of the river be recovered?"

Those around him each had their own thoughts, but Liu Ziyu finally couldn't hold back. He stepped forward and cupped his hands: "Your Majesty, recovering the north is not something that can be done in a day or two. We have to wait until the Imperial Song has several hundred thousand elite troops who can cross the river and fight the Jin's hundreds of thousands in the field before it can be accomplished. There's no need to fret over the short term... In the long run, our army will surely prevail."

"Your subject also believes this." Hu Quan, the newly appointed Compiling Editor of the Bureau of Military Affairs, couldn't help but support his superior, or rather, support 'his own argument.'

The other civil and military officials, including several generals from north of the river, also cupped their hands in agreement.

But Zhao Jiu still shook his head, though he didn't speak.

The assembled officials didn't know what he meant, so they didn't dare say much.

In truth, the Imperial Majesty was very confused at this moment... Because he always felt that after four or five years of war, having reached this state, the Jin, who still maintained a considerable military advantage, had no reason to give up that advantage.

Because that would be irrational!

Zhao Jiu didn't believe that the Jin decision-making layer, which had only risen to power for twenty-odd years, had degenerated to the point where there was no heroic figure who could see through the current situation. He also didn't believe the Jin didn't know the Song army would only grow stronger, and he certainly didn't believe the Jin hadn't noticed their own army was gradually degenerating... So under these circumstances, if he were in the Jin decision-making layer, he would not only avoid battle, but would definitely, while they could still maintain a military strength gap, launch a large-scale invasion as much as possible to secure a strategic advantage.

In other words, the Imperial Majesty firmly believed the Jin would definitely come, and this time it would inevitably be an unprecedented great battle, a battle that couldn't be avoided!

So, even though many reasons were laid out before him—that this was a warm winter, the Yellow River hadn't frozen, the Jin had no confidence in crossing; that after the great defeat at Yanling and the setback at Dongping, the Jin and puppet Qi had lost their will to fight; that the defensive line along the river was solid, and the Jin would retreat from difficulty; that the Jin's high-level succession struggle was fierce, leaving them no time to look south...

The Imperial Majesty knew these reasons were all reasonable, knew these things all truly existed, and even the fact that the Jin had shown no movement at all was right before his eyes—yet he still couldn't accept it.

Because, setting aside these trivial details that clouded the eyes, from the grand strategic situation of Song and Jin, looking at it from the height of both nations, it was illogical for the Jin not to come.

The times were calling for a great battle, an unprecedented great battle, a battle that would determine whether the Great Song could establish itself in the Yellow River basin.

Zhao Jiu had always believed this.

In fact, this time Zhao Jiu had come to the front line, naturally to avoid the troubles of the rear palace and to calm the restless hearts of the people, but wasn't he also trying to calm the most restless heart of all... his own heart?

This time, summoning the generals to Mount Tiantai was largely because this Imperial Majesty wanted these frontline generals to give him a definite answer... Would the Jin army come or not?

And it was very clear—there was no need to ask anymore. Based on their own observations, these men had reached a clear conclusion—they all felt that if the Yellow River didn't freeze, the Jin probably wouldn't come.

But it was also very clear that the Imperial Majesty hadn't been calmed. On the surface, he said nothing, but in his heart, he was forcibly suppressing this restlessness and unease.

But no matter what, that day's mountain climb, though seemingly successful, was in fact fruitless for the Imperial Majesty... The several local officers from Huazhou only thought the Imperial Majesty's trip was a routine inspection and said nothing. Only close figures like Academician Lin and Yang Yizhong vaguely guessed something of the Imperial Majesty's thoughts, but they didn't dare say much.

And on the second day, the first day of the twelfth month, just as dawn broke, the restless Imperial Majesty got up early and went to the archery range to shoot arrows... Archery was one of the few things that could help him suppress his restless mood. After finishing one quiver of arrows, the Imperial Majesty had already decided that after he finished shooting, he would wipe his face, then summon the four officers again for breakfast, send them off, and then return to the capital... After all, his own judgment was his own judgment. As the Imperial Majesty, he always had to maintain a surface composure.

After shooting three arrows from the second quiver, Yang Yizhong reported that Yu Yunwen had returned from across the river.

The envoy had worked hard. Zhao Jiu didn't hesitate to receive him directly at the archery range.

"What did the Jin say?" As soon as the man came before him, the Imperial Majesty, who had just stopped exercising and was wiping his face with a hot towel, asked proactively.

"The Jin didn't take it seriously. They didn't even let your subject enter Great Ming Prefecture. They dismissed me directly at Puyang. Your subject is ashamed to have failed the mission." Though his words said shame, Yu Yunwen, standing with cupped hands at the archery range, had a ruddy complexion and looked quite excited.

This was natural. No one had expected to actually get the defecting general back. The Jin would have to be crazy to hand him over. It was just a show of force. So Yu Yunwen, who had 'failed the mission,' couldn't actually have 'failed the mission'... He came back alive, which made it a successful embassy.

"Expected." The Imperial Majesty naturally didn't care either.

But just as the Imperial Majesty put down the hot towel and was about to continue with kind words of praise and encouragement, this new jinshi couldn't hold back for even a moment and took the opportunity to interject: "Your Majesty, the Jin were careless! Your subject spied out secret military intelligence!"

Zhao Jiu was startled, then stood solemnly at the archery range, holding his bow: "Speak."

"Your subject was in Puyang and saw no Jin army boats. I was suspicious and kept it in mind. So on the way back, I used seasickness as an excuse and begged the accompanying Jin mouke who was escorting me to let me cross at an upstream ferry as much as possible... Your subject followed him twenty li west of Puyang, to the old northern course mouth of the Yellow River at Xiaowu Sao, before boarding a boat. Behind Xiaowu Sao, I saw countless river boats!" Yu Yunwen was excited for a moment.

A sao was a thing made of straw woven together, wrapped around stones and wood, with long ropes on either side, specially used for river control. Just hearing the name, one knew this place was perfectly suited to an old Yellow River course mouth.

And the fact that boats could gather behind Xiaowu Sao was clearly because the Yellow River had flooded, rushing into the old course, and Xiaowu Sao had naturally formed a port sheltered by an old dike.

Of course, the Imperial Majesty's cultural level was low, and he didn't know which character this 'sao' was, but that didn't stop him from roughly guessing the other's meaning from his words, understanding that there were large numbers of Jin army boats in that place.

"It is indeed secret military intelligence. Are you saying that the Jin will still launch a large-scale southward attack this time?" After a moment's thought, the Imperial Majesty's expression didn't change as he continued to ask.

Yu Yunwen was taken aback, then looked somewhat bewildered and shook his head repeatedly: "Your subject didn't mean that... Your Majesty, before, the Jin controlled both banks of the Yellow River, and all the boats on the river were gathered by the Jin. They should naturally have had that many ferry boats."

"Then what do you mean?" Zhao Jiu was also puzzled upon hearing this... He still couldn't let go of the question of the Jin attacking.

"Your Majesty, what your subject means is... why not strike first and burn Xiaowu Sao to the ground?" Yu Yunwen came back to his senses and continued with that eager look.

The Imperial Majesty also came back to his senses with these words, and his heart stirred... He was right. Instead of guessing here whether the Jin would come or when, why not just burn their boats first and proactively seize control of the middle reaches of the Yellow River?

As the saying goes, if the bandits won't come, we can go to them!

With this thought, Zhao Jiu suddenly turned to look at Yang Yizhong: "I recall that Li Bao was originally a hero from the Yellow River waters?"

"That is correct."

"Summon him."

Yang Yizhong left without a word, and within half an hour, he returned with a somewhat bewildered Li Bao. His Majesty the Emperor then had Yu Yunwen recount the matter again.

"What do you think?" Zhao Jiu asked with anticipation.

"I won't hide it from Your Majesty, I think this matter is extremely difficult!" Li Bao hesitated for a moment, then still cupped his hands in reply.

"Why?" Zhao Jiu was momentarily puzzled. "The Jin people should not be skilled in naval warfare, and I have stored many gunpowder bundles in Dongjing, plenty of incendiary materials..."

Li Bao still shook his head: "Your Majesty... I have been on both rivers and seas. To my mind, while water battles depend on a man's swimming ability and experience, in the end, it comes down to the ships—big ships beat small ships, many ships beat few ships... Gunpowder bundles are good things, but without ships, how can we raid Xiaowusao? And I also know that place, Xiaowusao. As I see it now, to take it, we must have big ships, because only big ships can mount those small trebuchets Your Majesty had refitted in Nanyang to launch gunpowder bundles, shooting them over the dike into the harbor. We also need small boats to charge into the harbor and fight, to prevent the enemy ships from scattering and evading."

Zhao Jiu calmed down for a moment... He just remembered that Yu Yunwen had also said that after the Jingkang Incident and at the beginning of the Jianyan era, the Jin people gradually took control of the Yellow River channel, and most of the Yellow River ferries were under Jin control.

And since the Jin people controlled most of the ferries, conversely, the Song army had very few ships.

"And even with ships, it won't work without good sailors... According to this tall jinshi, at Xiaowusao there are no less than hundreds or thousands of large and small ferries, but I only have one or two thousand good watermen here. Without ships and without men, what can we use to raid Xiaowusao?"

Zhao Jiu grew even calmer.

Just as His Majesty was about to give up, he suddenly caught sight of that 'tall jinshi' from the corner of his eye, who seemed eager to speak again.

"You want to say something?" His Majesty the Emperor's expression did not change, but a flicker of hope stirred in his heart.

"Your Majesty, I know where there are ships, and I know where there are naval troops..." Yu Yunwen said impatiently. "Your Majesty currently has twenty thousand imperial naval troops, and there are countless ships available in Liangshan Marsh!"

Zhao Jiu's face showed nothing, but inwardly he was disappointed. Li Bao, however, let out a dry laugh.

"This jinshi of yours doesn't understand things at all." Li Bao crossed his arms and sneered in response. "I, Li San, am from Puzhou. I know Liangshan Marsh's strength better than you... Even if the heroes of Liangshan came, they'd at most have sailors, but still no ships..."

"Liangshan Marsh has ships." Yu Yunwen earnestly interrupted him. "Both big and small. Chief Zhang told me that altogether there are several hundred."

"I know that, but they can't get here. You can't just drag hundreds of big and small ships overland across the Yellow River, can you?" Li Bao grew even more exasperated. "Unless you want to dig a river several dozen li long, connecting the Yellow River to the Ji River, and then to Liangshan Marsh? If you do that, I'm afraid you'll change the river's course again."

"There's no need to dig several dozen li—just two li would be enough to connect Liangshan Marsh to the Yellow River!" Yu Yunwen didn't know what 'changing the river's course' meant, but he clearly had his own idea. "And if we actually dig, we won't lack manpower right now, and the Jin people won't discover it!"

Li Bao was still laughing, but he couldn't be bothered to pay any more attention to this tall young jinshi who only talked about tactics on paper.

But at the same time, His Majesty the Emperor suddenly froze, because he almost instantly understood what Yu Yunwen meant—after all, part of the Flower and Stone Network had come through Liangshan Marsh back in the day! It went via the Guangji River! That is, the Wuzhang River!

And the Bian River, which directly reached the Yellow River, also passed through Dongjing City...

The closest point was indeed just two li away, wasn't it?

With this thought, His Majesty the Emperor's expression did not change, but his chest began to pound.

"You just heard what Commander Li said—for battle we need big ships. Can the great tower ships of Liangshan Marsh also pass through there?" Zhao Jiu asked cautiously, his expression unchanged.

Li Bao and Yang Yizhong were both momentarily puzzled, but that didn't stop them from catching the implication in His Majesty's words. So when this was said, Yang Yizhong, who had been expressionless all along, showed a slight change of expression, while Li Bao also became completely serious.

"The newly widened channel is definitely sufficient, but the water gate will need to be dismantled." Under His Majesty's encouraging gaze, Yu Yunwen forced himself to speak further.

Yang Yizhong, who was familiar with Dongjing's layout, immediately confirmed his conjecture upon hearing the words 'water gate,' but he grew somewhat uneasy: "Your Majesty, dismantling the water gate is naturally quick, but rebuilding it may not be easy... If the plan fails and the Jin people instead cross the river, I fear it will leave a defensive weakness in the city."

"If it can be dismantled quickly, that's fine." Zhao Jiu's expression was calm. "How can one begrudge a few pots and pans when waging war? But I still have one concern... If Liangshan Marsh's warships pass through Dongjing, as long as I lock the water gate, those several hundred warships will no longer belong to Liangshan Marsh. That's the foundation of many years—on what grounds should I make Grand Defender Zhang trust me?"

At this point, Li Bao finally understood, and he rubbed his hands together excitedly: "Your Majesty, if the Liangshan Marsh army can truly appear unexpectedly on the Yellow River, then this matter is already eighty percent accomplished! I am willing to serve as the vanguard for Chief Zhang!"

Meanwhile, Yang Yizhong and Yu Yunwen each seemed about to speak.

"I know what you both want to say. Commander Li, don't be impatient either." Zhao Jiu raised his hand to stop the three of them, then leaned forward, hand on the bow and arrows at his waist, and continued, "Even if Grand Defender Zhang trusts me, Liangshan Marsh is not his personal property alone. How can he make his subordinates trust the court? How can he send out all the ships that are their very foundation to Dongjing?"

"I am willing to go to Liangshan Marsh." Yang Yizhong cupped his hands in reply. "I have had some dealings with Xiao En, the leader of Liangshan Marsh. He is a man of honor and can be used..."

Yu Yunwen's lips trembled, and then he suddenly spoke with a solemn expression: "For the sake of the nation, I am willing to go on another mission and accompany Commander Yang to Liangshan Marsh!"

"For the sake of the nation." As Zhao Jiu said this, he actually drew an arrow, stared at Yu Yunwen, snapped it in two on the spot, and threw the broken arrow to the ground. "Whether this matter succeeds or not, I will first bestow a marriage upon you, uniting you with the Zhang family! No refusal!"

Yu Yunwen gritted his teeth and made a deep bow, lowering his head directly toward the broken arrow, his blood nearly boiling: "Your Majesty, return to Dongjing and prepare. I will go through fire and water for you!"

Li Bao was momentarily puzzled: "Isn't a bestowed marriage a good thing? Why does the jinshi look like he's going to the execution ground?"

Yu Yunwen was embarrassed for a moment, then quickly made another deep bow: "I thank Your Majesty for the grace."