[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-shao-song":3,"chapter-shao-song-shao-song-chapter-209":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Shao Song",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1558375,2024,"Chapter 209","shao-song-chapter-209",209,"\u003Cp>The suggestion Yu Yunwen had suddenly proposed carried immense risk and was nearly impossible to execute—a textbook wishful thinking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For instance, if the weather suddenly turned cold, it wouldn't even need the Yellow River to freeze; if just the Bian River and the Guangji River froze, the whole plan would become a joke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another example: asking the Liangshanpo bandits, a rebel force that had only recently submitted to the court, to stake their lifeblood—their inland river fleet—on such a high-risk plan was itself a massive practical obstacle. This wasn't just about whether Liangshanpo was willing; the key was that they had to make a decision and act on it in an extremely short time for it to be possible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was a tremendous test for the military bloc of Zhang Rong—Liangshanpo—Dongping Prefecture.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beyond that, with the Eastern Capital now half-open, there were countless problems: how to dig through the Guangji River and the Bian River without alerting those with ill intent, how to give the Liangshanpo ships an excuse to come to Bianliang, and how to let the ships pass unimpeded through the densely built Eastern Capital.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And these matters were all linked in series, not in parallel. If even one part went wrong, the whole plan would be as laughable as a castle in the air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But then again... everyone had to admit that Yu Yunwen's suggestion or plan did, under the current crushing deadlock, point to a theoretically feasible military operation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, if even the planners themselves thought it extremely difficult, then conversely, if the plan succeeded—meaning once the Liangshanpo navy appeared on the Yellow River—the subsequent surprise attack would be almost a sure thing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And it didn't stop there. Even if the subsequent attack failed, even if the Jin army fleet at Xiaowu Sao caught on and fled straight down the old northern course of the Yellow River, as long as the Liangshanpo navy entered the Yellow River, it would completely reverse the strategic situation between Song and Jin in the middle reaches of the Yellow River. For a long time, Liangshanpo's strength had been an objective fact but was confined to that vast lake. Having such a military force, appearing like divine soldiers descending from heaven on the Yellow River, could almost immediately liberate the Henan region beyond the Yellow River's banks from Jin military pressure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What was called optimizing the allocation of forces? This was a textbook example—putting the best steel into the blade's edge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So, the significance of this matter was extraordinary. When Zhao Jiu hurried back to the Eastern Capital on the third day of the twelfth month and told the four Grand Councilors face to face, even though they all knew the risk was enormous, they unanimously agreed to take the gamble.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But that was as far as it went. This matter was top secret, known only to the Grand Councilors and no one else.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That day, the Zhao Emperor sat upright in the palace. With Yu Yunwen and Yang Yizhong presumably already having arrived at Liangshanpo, he originally wanted to write another personal letter to Zhang Rong in earnest terms. But each time he picked up his brush, he ended up just practicing calligraphy instead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He asked himself whether he had done his utmost for these military commanders. The official posts, honors, wealth, and even moral encouragement and personal friendships he could give—he had truly given them all. Under these circumstances, one more letter wouldn't make a difference.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sending it would instead make him seem insecure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next morning, the Department of State Affairs and the Bureau of Military Affairs issued an official order, transmitted through public channels to Liangshanpo. It ordered Liangshanpo to send a fleet down the Guangji River (the Wuzhang River) to the Eastern Capital to receive the next year's military pay, weapons, and grain for the Imperial Navy, and instructed the prefectures along the way to carefully assist with logistics and ensure the dredging of river channels and removal of debris.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the same time, Chen Gui, the Grand Councilor in charge of the overall defense of the Eastern Capital, finally announced his new city defense plan after several months. It involved connecting the Wuzhang River, the Jinshui River, the Bian River, and the Cai River within the city to form an inner moat system surrounding the Imperial City and the Palace City.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This plan sounded reliable at first listen—far more so than any \"river diversion\" scheme.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once the plan was announced, the Bureau of Military Affairs, the Kaifeng Prefecture, and the Department of State Affairs all acted simultaneously. By noon, based on the military ward divisions, they had mobilized tens of thousands of laborers across the city to start work immediately. It was fortunate that the Zhao Emperor and the Grand Councilors hadn't lifted their control over the officers and military wards.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was worth noting that work started at noon, and by the afternoon, a local elder from the Eastern Capital had found several Imperial Academy students to write a petition on his behalf. The elder's point was that the terrain of the Eastern Capital was uneven from north to south, and the riverbeds of the Bian River and the Wuzhang River were at different heights. Even if the moat was dug, it would only be useful for a short time. Once the summer rains came, it would easily cause flooding!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>According to the elder, back in the reign of Emperor Renzong, someone had already tried to connect the rivers, but it had failed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Bureau of Military Affairs received the petition and took it very seriously. That very day, under the pretext of consulting on city defense, they invited the Imperial Academy students and the elder to the Chongwen Institute in the palace, where the current Hall of Governance was located. Then, Chen Gui himself—the project designer, Minister of War, Prefect of Kaifeng, and Signatory of the Bureau of Military Affairs—came down the steps to greet them. He set up a desk in a public office within the Chongwen Institute, listened attentively to the elder's explanation, and had the participating Imperial Academy students help organize the suggestions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A dignified Grand Councilor and court minister, showing such respect for talent, deeply moved those Imperial Academy students. They felt that the accusations of \"book theft\" must be slander, let alone any issues with the current project.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So, they contacted other Imperial Academy students and wholeheartedly assisted Grand Councilor Chen and the elder in their engineering discussions in the western part of the city. They measured elevations, studied water channels, and explored the possibility of sluice gates.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For several days in a row, the Imperial Academy students and the elder were busy both inside and outside the palace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While the top leader was earnestly listening to advice from the common people, in just three days, the tens of thousands of laborers across the city—strongly motivated by the Emperor's distribution of sixty thousand jin of fresh pork for the New Year—had already dug a qualified ditch over two li long along the eastern side of the inner city, through the once-prosperous area of the Eastern Capital, cutting across Niuxing Street.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This speed was actually a bit slow, but it was enough. After returning to the capital and consulting with Chen Gui, the Zhao Emperor calculated clearly: if they spared no expense and chose to connect the two rivers in the most prosperous Niuxing Street area, it would essentially mean digging a ditch over three li long, five to six zhang wide, and three to four zhang deep.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The construction volume for this ditch, averaged over the forty to fifty thousand registered laborers in the Eastern Capital, was only about six or seven cubic fang of earth per person.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Obviously, due to the hasty construction, there was bound to be a lot of wasted labor and redundant work.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But it really didn't matter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After another two or three days of hard work, on the morning of the ninth day of the twelfth month, the ditch was hastily filled with water. The Wuzhang River and the Bian River were temporarily connected!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That evening, the Zhao Emperor hurriedly got up from Consort Pan's bed and went to the Chongwen Institute, where he received definite news: three days earlier, Zhang Rong had already set out from Liangshanpo with thirty steamships and over a hundred flat-bottomed ferries.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Facts proved that Zhang Rong had indeed lived up to Zhao Jiu's long-standing favor and trust. After Yang Yizhong and Yu Yunwen, via Xiao En, brought the secret edict and the marriage-bestowing documents to Zhang Rong, the Liangshanpo chieftain, upon hearing only the secret edict from Yang Yizhong and before even learning of the marriage arrangement, agreed without hesitation and pledged to go to war.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, due to time constraints and the need for secrecy, he couldn't openly reveal the details to everyone. So, after returning to the Liangshanpo water stronghold, Zhang Rong simply mustered only his most core subordinates and most trusted chieftains, taking about three-quarters of Liangshanpo's steamships and only half of the flat-bottomed ferries, and hurriedly set out along the Guangji River.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By now, Zhao Jiu and the duty Grand Councilor Xu Jingheng were both unable to sleep. Of course, the Zhao Emperor pretended to go back to sleep, but he actually didn't fall asleep.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next morning, since it was winter, dawn came very late. When the sky finally cleared, Zhao Jiu, who had endured a long, restless time on the bed, hesitated no longer. He immediately returned to the Chongwen Institute and, in the presence of the four assembled Grand Councilors, issued an order under the dual authority of an imperial edict and a directive from the Hall of Governance: demolish the northeastern Shanli Water Gate (the one directly connecting to Liangshanpo), the western water gate (the Bian River's exit from the outer city), the inner city's southeastern corner gate (the Bian River's entrance into the inner city), and the inner city's western corner gate (the Bian River's exit from the inner city), and also demolish all bridges over the Bian River, both inside and outside the Eastern Capital!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Shangtu Bridge, the Xiatu Bridge, the left and right Bian Bridges, the Jinliang Bridge, including the grand and magnificent Zhou Bridge on the Imperial Way—these famous bridges, familiar and associated with the Eastern Capital for decades or even a century—all demolished!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That's right.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To carry out this surprise attack, the Zhao Emperor had completely destroyed the splendid scene depicted in Along the River During the Qingming Festival. Of course, he wasn't the only one to blame. During the Jingkang Incident, the two Emperors who chose to surrender had already destroyed eighty percent of the living people in the painting. Zhao Jiu only destroyed the bridges in the painting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, the Zhao Emperor's demolition of the city gates wasn't unprecedented. Long before this, one of the two Emperors, the Retired Daoist Emperor, had already demolished the northeastern Shanli Water Gate once to allow a huge ornamental rock to enter the city from the Guangji River and be placed at Genyue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So today, Zhao Jiu was just demolishing it again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Let me add a note here: Zhao Jiu had seen that huge ornamental rock at Genyue more than once. When the Abyssal Sage (Song Qinzong) tried to smash all the scenic rocks at Genyue during the siege, he clearly encountered difficulties with this large rock. He only managed to smash half of it and then pushed the main body over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But truly, thanks to the Retired Daoist Emperor. If not for that magnificent ornamental rock lying there collapsed, Zhao Jiu, as a time traveler, would never have realized the feasibility of Yu Yunwen's plan so quickly. If such a huge rock could be transported into the Eastern Capital, there was no reason Liangshanpo's large ships couldn't enter!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One could only say that, in terms of frivolity and the courage to put whimsical ideas into practice, the Retired Daoist Emperor truly lived up to his title. He was always ahead of his time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back to the present. Once this order was issued, the Zhao Emperor and the four Grand Councilors in the Hall of Governance knew that the entire city would be shaken. The previous words, notices, and fake projects used to cover up the truth could no longer serve as a disguise. There was a sense of no turning back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But what could be said?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Jiu didn't care anymore. There was even a sense of relief and anticipation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, it must be emphasized that although they were all sitting in the Chongwen Institute, the Zhao Emperor's relief and anticipation were definitely not the same as those of the Grand Councilors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Grand Councilors' relief and anticipation were pinned on the hope that the Liangshanpo navy would perform a great spatial shift, appear on the Yellow River, destroy the Jin army's inland river vessels, and completely move the defensive line to the natural barrier of the Yellow River, securing the rear. Zhao Jiu's relief and anticipation, however, were pinned on this strike gaining a slight advantage for the inevitable great battle to come.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Zhao Emperor still firmly believed that a great battle was imminent and unstoppable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And so, a few more days passed. On the morning of the twelfth day of the twelfth month, the Eastern Capital, which had had its city gates closed for two days, causing widespread anxiety, finally saw the long-awaited fleet. But only a dozen or so steamships arrived first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no help for it; a problem had occurred on the way. Two steamships had gotten stuck in the river channel. Yang Yizhong, holding a golden tablet, immediately arrested the county magistrate who had failed to clear the river channel as ordered by the Department of State Affairs. After great effort, they managed to tow the two steamships into a side harbor ahead before continuing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was an accident, but an expected one. A whole day had been wasted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, by evening, the subsequent ships finally entered the city one after another. The flat-bottomed ferries and fishing boats didn't matter; they waited outside the city. But the following dozen or so steamships, brightly lit by fire basins on both banks, carefully followed the path of the first dozen steamships through the newly dug ditch and into the wide channel of the Bian River.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Over at the Daxiangguo Temple, small counterweight trebuchets and gunpowder packages had already been transported overnight to the banks of the Bian River.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They would be loaded onto the ships and set out at dawn the next day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Rong, seeing the small catapult carts on the ships for the first time, had gone early with Grand Councilor Chen Gui to the Daxiangguo Temple to observe and learn. The Zhao Emperor, however, stood on the north bank of the Bian River, staring blankly at the continuous line of dozens of dark ships before him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So these are the steamships?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Jiu, with his hands behind his back, looked for a long time by the light of the fire basins before speaking. He actually felt these ships, only two or three zhang wide and ten or so zhang long, were too small. It was imaginable that such ships could only mount the smallest counterweight catapult cart at the bow at most. Of course, he was judging by later standards. In essence, he understood that these were the top-notch weapons on inland rivers in this era.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Let Your Majesty know,\" replied Yang Yizhong, the know-it-all who had returned with the subsequent fleet. \"These ships are named for the water wheels in their holds. They are propelled by men treading, allowing easy turning, advancing, and retreating. The lower deck is dedicated to operating the ship, and the upper deck to fighting, far superior to ordinary inland river vessels. The only thing is, they need open waters to be effective. So, entering the Guangji River channel this time, we were very careful along the way. But rest assured, Your Majesty, once we entered the Bian River, which is wide, things became more stable. Entering the Yellow River will be like a fish entering water. And from there, it's all downstream. The Jin army will certainly be caught off guard.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Jiu shook his head, clearly not focused on this nonsense he had already heard from Chen Gui: \"How did Mount Shuipo get so many steamships... can they build them themselves?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"They were all left behind when the imperial army besieged them back then... It's said there were originally fifty or sixty ships; after the defeat, about forty were left, and this time thirty were dispatched.\" Yang Yizhong said, somewhat embarrassed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"At least they did one good thing.\" Zhao Jiu sighed softly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I recall you arrested a County Magistrate on the road?\" Zhao Jiu suddenly turned back to ask.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes.\" Yang Yizhong quickly replied. \"It was a matter of expediency. I had to do it to clear the waterway as soon as possible.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I know what happened... A newly minted *jinshi*, only cared about being an official, forgot to do his job... I'm asking you, where is he now?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Still being escorted in the rear, about to be handed over to the Chancellery for punishment.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Behead him.\" Zhao Jiu said abruptly and decisively.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yang Yizhong was stunned for a moment: \"...Your Majesty?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Behead him.\" Zhao Jiu repeated. \"Whether it's internal or external, true or false, this is serious military business, not civil affairs. We can't indulge them. No need to send him to the Chancellery. I am the Marshal of All Under Heaven's Armies. Beheading him today is enforcing military law! It doesn't violate the system!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yang Yizhong still hesitated: \"Your Majesty, he is a newly minted *jinshi*...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then he must be beheaded too.\" Zhao Jiu repeated again. \"Why was it permissible to behead a Company Commander, a Reserve Commander, and a Commander for embezzlement when inspecting the fortress defense line before, but now we can't behead a County Magistrate who has actually delayed military intelligence? Behead him precisely because he is a newly minted *jinshi*!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yang Yizhong slowly nodded, turned back and specifically called over that brute Zhai Biao to relay the order. After explaining clearly, he turned back, looking as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Say what you want to say...\" Zhao Jiu was momentarily impatient.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Your Majesty, I previously heard Your Majesty speaking with Grand Defender Zhang at the Daxiangguo Temple. I wanted to offer advice then, but my position was awkward, so I hesitated...\" Yang Yizhong actively paused for a moment, then spoke frankly. \"Your Majesty, I believe Your Majesty has been overly lenient towards the several field commanders.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Isn't being lenient towards you good?\" Zhao Jiu said after a moment of silence. \"In times of war, we need them to risk their lives...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Of course it's good, but too much is as bad as too little.\" Yang Yizhong replied earnestly. \"Moreover, Your Majesty seems to be somewhat harsh towards the civil officials...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Is that what you really wanted to say?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I... I believe that Your Majesty's desire to value both civil and military is a good thing, but it's been a tradition for over a hundred years. Even the military officers themselves are already accustomed to the separation of civil and military. So, in some matters, Your Majesty thinks you are treating both sides equally, but the whole world feels Your Majesty is deliberately mistreating one side.\" Yang Yizhong became even more earnest. \"Your Majesty is lenient towards field commanders and generals because we are at war and need them to fight. That's fine. But in wartime, don't civil officials also have to work hard? Moreover, the court has its own system for rewards and punishments. When giving rewards, Your Majesty's exceptional leniency towards field commanders naturally wins their loyalty. But when punishing, you shouldn't arbitrarily increase the severity for one side, causing misunderstandings... This is my humble opinion. I hope Your Majesty won't be angry.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Saying things like this, one after another, you must have rehearsed it in your head, right? Are you, Yang Yizhong, trying to become a famous minister?\" Zhao Jiu finally laughed. \"But why choose the middle of the night to say it?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I can only be a treacherous minister in this life; how could I become a famous one?\" Yang Yizhong finally said helplessly. \"These words shouldn't have been said by me anyway. It's just that today I took the liberty, feeling that Your Majesty's attitude suggests you have grand ambitions. Since you will need people in the future, I came to say them.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Jiu nodded: \"Having heard your words, we must tolerate each other for the sake of the country. I will endure for now... Send that County Magistrate to the Chancellery for disposal!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yang Yizhong immediately acknowledged and left.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To this, Zhao Jiu just shook his head... To be honest, the Zhao Emperor didn't think Yang Yizhong's words were very reasonable. Compared to before the Jingkang Incident, he indeed hadn't been particularly lenient towards civil officials. But the problem was, compared to the Jin people on the other side, the treatment of Great Song's civil officials was always heavenly. He really wasn't afraid of anyone harboring resentment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, he felt he had been equally lenient towards those civil officials who cooperated with him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for why he still went along with Yang Yizhong's utterly nonsensical advice, it was still that same point: in wartime, field commanders and generals are needed to risk their lives, so they should be treated leniently. Zhao Jiu wasn't being lenient towards that County Magistrate, but towards Yang Yizhong, the number one figure in his imperial guard force.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yang Yizhong, while being a military officer, also naturally held a third kind of power as the head of the secret service. It was also a fact that he was usually attacked by the entire outer court, and it was also a fact that he had taken the blame for the Zhao Emperor many times. If that County Magistrate were killed tonight, the one under the most pressure wouldn't be Zhao Jiu, but Yang Zhengfu, who had arrested the man in the first place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, around noon, upon hearing that over thirty small gun carriages had all been successfully loaded onto the ships, the Zhao Emperor, who had pretended to go back to sleep the night before, returned to the bank of the Bianhe River. There, he led the ministers in the capital to bid farewell to Zhang Rong, who had worked hard all night, and several Mount Shuipo naval commanders participating in this campaign.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Victory or defeat in this battle is not a major concern. I won't go to the front line to cheer for Grand Defender Zhang.\" Zhao Jiu held Zhang Rong's hand and said with a relaxed smile. \"Let the newly minted *jinshi* Yu Yunwen accompany you. He will go with the Grand Defender on the river to observe success or failure on my behalf. I will wait for news in the capital. You all fight hard.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Rong didn't put his hands on his hips, nor did he smile. Instead, he replied solemnly: \"Not to mention that blocking the Jin people on the Yellow River would be a better method, just the fact that Your Majesty treats us with such loyalty means we should risk our lives for Your Majesty and fight with all our might.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Many of the high ministers and officials by the river couldn't help but look at each other and smile upon hearing this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Zhao Jiu just nodded repeatedly, let go of the other's hands, and said nothing more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Rong didn't want to say much either. He just turned around, jumped onto the first large steamship flying his banner, and ordered the ship's paddle wheels to be turned. As the ship slowly started and gained speed, he suddenly thought of something, made a bow towards the riverbank from the deck: \"Your Majesty, I see that the common people of Dongjing are greatly inconvenienced. After we pass through, let's repair the water gates and bridges, and fill in the ditches too!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before Zhao Jiu could respond, the steamship was already unstoppable and sailing away. Then, dozens of steamships started in sequence in front, followed by over a hundred small boats behind. They sailed majestically down the river in the waterway before them, directly out of the city.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the fleet passed the city wall and entered the Jinming Pool outside the city, even their flags could no longer be seen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Make a banner in the same style as Li Yanxian's 'Midstream Pillar' flag, but with the words 'Acting on Behalf of Heaven's Will'.\" Zhao Jiu turned back and ordered without any lingering attachment. \"After this battle, regardless of the outcome, send it to Grand Defender Zhang.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>PS: Offering up a new book, *The First Ruthless Man of the Southern Ming*.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thank you to the seventy-third sprout, classmate 'Noble Self-Knowledge', and the third alliance from the big shot 'Deng Ren'.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just rambling. You probably think this chapter was written in advance since it's posted at this time... Actually, the weather in Beijing today was too comfortable. I wrote 4,500 words from around 7:30 AM, then slept intermittently for five hours, during which I intermittently wrote the last thousand words.\u003C\u002Fp>",4238,"2026-06-06T07:46:04.529Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","8eec95423fd15d92def9a3eeea33abd2bacd4fd955b380ced26359e94948ee77","shao-song-chapter-210","shao-song-chapter-208",489,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fshao-song-cover.jpg"]