Chapter 22: What Is the Emperor Really Thinking

For a long time, ever since Zhao Jiu ascended the throne, the core issue at the temporary court had been whether to go to Nanyang or Yangzhou.

To be fair, Nanyang or Yangzhou seemed about the same—both represented a complete abandonment of hope for the Hebei situation and a helpless surrender of most of the Central Plains, then placing hope in a path of recovery from the rear.

Moreover, from a rational perspective, Yangzhou seemed even more suitable than Nanyang, because Yangzhou was the starting point of the Grand Canal, naturally able to gather the wealth of Jiangnan, and there was the Huai River ahead as a barrier; relatively speaking, although the Nanyang Basin had mountains around it, the northeast was flat and open, and aside from the garrison commander there who could muster a million troops at a moment's notice, there wasn't much to rely on.

However, everyone also understood that Yangzhou and Nanyang had a deeper difference—the choice of a fallback route once these places could no longer hold:

Among them, if you went to Yangzhou and couldn't hold it, you could only cross the river. And once you crossed the Great River, anyone with a bit of historical knowledge understood its political meaning—partial peace, nothing to hide. This was also the true thought deep down for many who had experienced the Jingkang Incident; the Jin were truly formidable, so what was wrong with hiding?

Therefore, the seemingly reasonable and most suitable Yangzhou was the unanimous opinion of the peace faction.

So what about going to Nanyang?

Going to Nanyang, one could advance into Guanzhong or retreat into Xiangyang. Not to mention the pro-war implications of entering Guanzhong, even retreating into Xiangyang undoubtedly carried a stronger political signal of restoration than being in Jiangnan. The Marquis Wu's Longzhong strategy back then made this clear—this place was the starting point for restoring the Central Plains!

Therefore, after weighing the balance between survival and restoration, the war faction generally believed that Nanyang should be made the temporary auxiliary capital.

As for Zong Ze's return to the old capital, Yue Fei's crossing north of the river, including Han Shizhong's initially muddled proposal to directly break through the Jin war god Wanyan Loushi's defense zone to reach Chang'an—these were basically dismissed as nonsense by mainstream opinion... Even Zong Ze's intermittent memorials requesting a return to Bianliang, in a certain sense, were probably because he had long recognized certain people's true nature in Hebei, using this to play a double act with Li Gang.

It was forcibly restraining and dragging the Zhao Emperor!

Because under those circumstances, the only thing that could restrain this Zhao Emperor was similar moral blackmail... Didn't you see that even the peace faction only dared to say "go to Yangzhou to resist the Jin," hiding the words "cross the river for partial peace"? Wasn't that because they themselves knew that with the "Two Emperors' northern hunt" and the hearts of the Central Plains and Hebei not yet scattered, saying such things would get them caught by the war faction and cursed to death, then beaten to death by the common people?

Correspondingly, even the war faction dared not speak lightly of war, because that was a reckless way to put the Two Emperors in mortal danger, not a thought befitting a son or a subject... In fact, even Li Gang could only say that if we strengthen ourselves, the Two Emperors would naturally return.

However, wasn't there a problem within this clear, defined logic of confrontation?

Because an unknown but unmistakable fact was that since a certain well-falling incident, at the intersection of all confrontation and alliance, contradiction and tug-of-war, that Zhao Emperor—or rather, our time-traveler Mr. Zhao Jiu—had a completely different logical thread in his mind:

First, Zhao Jiu had never worried about the Two Emperors, nor would he be morally blackmailed by them, because in his eyes they were two burdensome wastes who would be better off dead sooner rather than later, and he didn't even know what they looked like.

Therefore, when he considered problems, he never thought about those people, nor was he interfered with by their existence.

Second, Zhao Jiu's determination to resist the Jin was unquestionable and unshakable.

This wasn't a matter of nationalist sentiment; rather, from the very beginning, this time-traveler Zhao Emperor had analyzed from multiple angles and from a later-era perspective, determining that resisting the Jin was in his absolute self-interest!

Of course, there was probably also a little bit of nationalist sentiment involved.

Moreover, after Li Gang returned and the temporary court began to move, Zhao Jiu gradually came into personal contact with the sights and customs of this era, and clearly developed some unrealistic sense of responsibility due to modern basic moral concepts... He had witnessed many living people at Jiegou, and felt the pressure of that living environment at Shuishizhen, which somewhat dispelled his numbness toward this era.

However, it only dispelled some of it; it still seemed to lack something to completely tear away that thin membrane between the individual and the era.

So, at this point, our Zhao Emperor's thoughts—let alone others—even he himself probably couldn't quite figure them out... The more this was the case, the more he wanted to tear away that membrane without any scruples!

"What is Deyuan (Zhang Jun's courtesy name) thinking?"

In late November, on the banks of the already frozen Yingshui River, a vast and bloated procession was moving along the river. However, even though it was frozen, as the mother river of Shunchang Prefecture (formerly Yingzhou), the Yingshui still provided great convenience for this migrating procession through its watery nature.

Therefore, during the relatively smooth journey, two leaders of a certain section of the procession still had time to think and converse on horseback.

"To be honest with you, Yuanzhen," Zhang Jun came back to his senses from his contemplation, not hiding anything from Zhao Ding. "I'm thinking about what the Emperor is really thinking..."

"I know what Deyuan means." Zhao Ding smiled bitterly and shook his head, producing a puff of white breath in the cold winter. "We both know the Emperor is unwilling to accept this, and how could you and I be willing? But now that we're about to cross the Huai River to Yangzhou, what use is it even if the Emperor has other ideas? Shunchang Prefecture here is still a node, with options to go to Nanyang or Yangzhou, but once we reach Shouzhou and cross the Huai River, due south-southwest is the Dabie Mountains... What is the Dabie Mountains? It divides the Jiang and Huai in the north-south, and separates Jing and Yang in the east-west. Once we go there, there's only one road southeast!"

Zhang Jun shook his head repeatedly: "This is exactly where my hesitation lies. You must understand, once we cross the Huai, if we keep going, there's only the road south, and the morale of the people under heaven will drain away with it. But the Emperor's resolve that day—how could it be the posture of someone losing morale?"

"Enough!" Zhao Ding was also helpless, but he pointed at the migrating procession of scholars and commoners beside him and sighed. "Let's not talk about the southeast for now, and let you think whatever you want, Deyuan. But look at the current situation... Tell me, the original plan was to send the women, children, and elderly of the temporary court ahead, intending a light transfer. How did it end up like this? Isn't this truly becoming like Han Zhaolie leading the people across the river?"

"This is also unavoidable." Zhang Jun finally became serious and spoke to console him. "During the Jingkang era, the Jin plundered Dongjing without restraint, turning it into a wasteland. Countless Dongjing commoners fled here then... Don't forget how that Jiangchi came about... Now the Jin have again broken through the entire Jingdong East Circuit, still plundering without restraint. Refugees from both Jingdong circuits come again, and the Emperor is leaving, and we have to collect able-bodied men and government stores. The scholars and commoners are panicked and follow in droves. What can we say? Just maintain order as best we can. And when these people reach Huainan, the climate is warmer, or they might scatter into the southeast, where towns and cities stand in rows and it's very prosperous. They'll always find something to eat..."

Zhao Ding also straightened his expression, but lowered his voice: "How could I not understand this reasoning? And we've come all the way from Dongjing, seen worse chaos than this. What I fear is that the commotion here is too great. Once the Jin learn of it, with only five or six hundred li between us... Just as the Emperor said before, it's like a wild beast that eats people and sees blood, yet we turn our backs to it—isn't that inviting the beast to pounce?"

"The Jin will surely pounce!" Zhang Jun immediately responded. "The Emperor's analogy is extremely apt. And from a broader perspective, ever since the temporary court set out from Nanjing (Shangqiu), it was bound to draw Jin pursuers..."

"I'm talking about the immediate situation."

"The big and small don't conflict. Since the Jin are bound to come, why not bring along the scholars and commoners of Shunchang Prefecture?" Zhang Jun grew even more serious. "Besides, if the Jin want to come, they have to get past Liu Guangshi first. Liu Guangshi already has over ten thousand men, and this time he's gained the defense authority over several military prefectures south of Mount Tai—probably no less than thirty to fifty thousand. Even if the Jin really come, as long as he can hold the cities and retreat step by step, he can hold out until spring!"

Zhao Ding shook his head repeatedly, clearly unconvinced, but didn't argue further.

Now, although the two were sworn brothers and ironclad political allies, it was obvious that the younger Zhang Jun had gained power first and was now full of thoughts about how to flatter the Emperor to secure his position; meanwhile, the older Zhao Ding always held cautious thoughts—otherwise, he wouldn't have been the first to step forward as the Emperor's trusted war faction member to advise Zhao Jiu back in Shunchang Prefecture city... And the older man being the direct subordinate of the younger one created some awkwardness in their discourse.

Just like now, although Zhang Jun was responsible for the order of this section of migrating commoners, he kept thinking wildly on horseback, while Zhao Ding, who worried about the trouble these commoners might cause, diligently maintained the migration order himself.

However, as they fell silent, before Zhao Ding could turn to continue inspecting the procession, several horsemen suddenly rode carefully along the riverbank. The two saw clearly that one of them was Hu Yin, a Secretariat Drafter who should have been by the Emperor's side and their own brother. They almost simultaneously called out to him.

Hearing the call, Hu Yin didn't stop but bluntly told them: "A minor officer of Hu Yantong's unit and a Vice Prefect who just fled from the north were seizing and fighting over commoners' property among the scholar-commoner procession led by Grand Counselor Xu. They were arrested by Commander Hu. The Emperor is furious and sent me with a golden tablet to see Hu Yantong—they are to be executed together!"

By the end of his words, Hu Yin didn't pause at all and disappeared directly over the embankment... Zhang Jun and Zhao Ding were both horrified!

Now, Hu Yantong's unit was a reliable force of about a thousand men that Han Shizhong had left for Zhao Jiu before heading to Huaidong. As for Grand Counselor Xu, that referred to Xu Jingheng, who had been the Censor-in-Chief before Zhang Jun. At the time, Zhao Jiu didn't know his stance, and only because he had repeatedly defended Zong Ze did he not treat him as a member of Huang Qianshan's faction. But he was still treated as a tool, casually thrown into the Six Ministries to idle.

Later, when Li Gang returned, he knew the inside story and brought him in as an ally. Only then did the Zhao Emperor realize this was a core figure of the war faction who had endured in silence.

Therefore, this time, when Li Gang went ahead, leaving the temporary court, to reassure people, Zhao Jiu specifically made Lü Haowen the Left Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs and promoted this man to Right Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs, also a Participating in Deliberations of Government Affairs—that is, formally entering the Eastern Administration as a vice chancellor. This was also meant to show that his trust in Li Gang remained unchanged.

There were many similar arrangements, such as the Minister of Revenue, Manager of Revenue and Finance, Vice Commissioner of the Imperial Camp, and Co-Knower of the Bureau of Military Affairs, Zhang Que. This man had originally been treated by Zhao Jiu as a tool sent everywhere to scrape Buddha statues, and was said to have uttered resentful words. Now he too had returned to the core power structure... And these old officials who had returned due to the needs of the situation were precisely one reason why Zhang Jun was anxious and always thinking about the Emperor's intentions.

But regardless, the problem now wasn't these chaotic personnel changes due to the migration, but another piece of information revealed in Hu Yin's words just now—the Emperor had taken the initiative to kill people! And killing both civil and military officials together!

What did this mean?

What was the Emperor thinking at this moment?

"It can't be that he's thinking about Red Cliffs, can it?" After a long pause, Zhao Ding, who had come to his senses, finally spoke, but couldn't help laughing and mocking himself.

Zhang Jun still remained silent.

And so, the two continued urging the procession forward. Two more days and nights passed, with bad news coming constantly. Then, on the morning of that day, there was another commotion at the front of the procession. Listening carefully, it turned out to be cheers. Upon inquiry, it was discovered that the front of the procession had found the ice gradually disappearing, and realized that the mouth of the Huai River was not far—in other words, the border between Shunchang Prefecture and Shouzhou was about to be reached...

Hearing this news, Zhao Ding, who had endured the hardship of the journey, instantly breathed a sigh of relief, and all his previous worries vanished.

After all, according to the plan, the temporary court would undergo another separation here. Most of the civil officials would cross the Huai River here with the commoners, successfully escorting the scholars and commoners who had followed from Shunchang Prefecture to the Huainan region. At the same time, the Emperor, along with a small number of core personnel of the temporary court, would continue east along the Huai River with several thousand able-bodied men from Shunchang and the money, grain, cloth, and military equipment from the Shunchang Prefecture treasury, to go to Shouzhou to meet the major general who was the Surveillance Commissioner of Xuzhou and one of the Imperial Camp Commanders—Zhang Jun's destined benefactor, Zhang Jun, courtesy name Boying.

In other words, after a series of scares and chaos, the destination was finally about to be reached, and the Jin hadn't pursued yet. Could there be a better situation than this?

"Brother Yuanzhen..."

On the cold, biting north bank of the Huai River, at the ferry crossing of the unfrozen great river, at the moment of parting, Zhang Jun, with dark circles under his eyes, suddenly spoke to advise. "After crossing the river, settle things quickly. Don't be tempted by the prosperity and stability of Huainan, and don't accept any appointments in Huainan. Come to the temporary court immediately... I tell you, after half a year of wandering, the affairs of the world might just start to become clear from the Huai River."

Zhao Ding was half-convinced, but he nodded heavily.

PS: In poor condition, only a rushed single chapter today. Let me build up some momentum.