Chapter 252: Chapter Three: Self-Determination

Zhao Ding's rise to power was both unexpected and reasonable.

By reasonable, it meant that Zhao Ding's qualifications, official positions, and age all gave him solid standing. As the oldest among the few who had fled the Imperial Academy during the Jingkang Incident (Zhao Ding, Zhang Jun, and Hu Yin), Zhao Yuanzhen had long been among the first batch of trusted confidants gathered by His Majesty back in Huainan. He had also risen early to become the Fiscal Commissioner for both Huainan circuits, making him one of the top regional officials... this position was essentially second only to the few Grand Councilors with the title of Military Commissioner.

In fact, considering Lu Yihao's unbridled behavior, Xu Jingheng's sudden retirement, and Li Gang being gently set aside once again by His Majesty, along with Hu Yin, Liu Ziyu, and Academician Lin and other potential confidants of His Majesty being kept in Guanxi, everyone realized at the time that among the three chief councilors, there would definitely be a spot for Zhao Ding of Huainan.

But, as the saying goes, it was unexpected.

Clearly, His Majesty Zhao intended to handle affairs personally. The people he used must at least have some connection to him since his ascension—what was called "His Majesty's confidants." From this perspective, Zhang Jun's personal relationship with His Majesty was undoubtedly closer than Zhao Ding's... So, the night before, many still thought Zhang Jun would be the Chancellor of the Secretariat, and Zhao Ding the Commissioner of Military Affairs or even Vice Chancellor. But no one expected that Zhao Ding, who had remained silent a thousand li away, would end up in the top position.

Of course, for a clever man like Mo Qixie, even without knowing about Hu Yin's meddling between his two "elder brothers from the Imperial Academy," he could still guess—regardless, His Majesty needed a Chancellor of the Secretariat who could get things done and had rich grassroots experience. Previously it was Xu Jingheng, and now naturally it was Zhao Ding.

As for Liu Ji, frankly speaking, under the previous abnormal circumstances, no one could be sure whether he was truly capable or just pretending. Moreover, in terms of relationship, this Lord Liu was still a bit more distant from His Majesty. Relatively speaking, Zhao Ding, who had caught His Majesty's eye back when he resettled refugees from north of the Huai in Huainan, and had worked diligently there for years ensuring fiscal supplies, seemed much more reliable.

And this kind of thing, put nicely, was His Majesty Zhao putting official business first and appointing people on merit. Put bluntly, it was His Majesty Zhao lacking experience and feeling insecure!

Of course, it was ultimately a good thing... If a leader doesn't recklessly use his confidants, how could that be bad?

"Who came as the Goryeo envoy?"

This time there was no military review, no ceremony. The last Imperial Guard unit had also been halted at Yuetai west of the city. Zhao Jiu simply entered the city with the Imperial Guard's personal escort. After entering the city, before even resting in the rear palace, this His Majesty gathered all officials at the Wende Hall to inquire about relevant matters within the city.

Lu Haowen was already advanced in years and had always been calm by nature. After advancing to the position of Duke Chancellor, whether feigned or real, he had become even more composed than before. Upon hearing this, he simply stood solemnly without a word.

Soon, seeing that Duke Chancellor Lu Haowen, newly arrived Military Commissioner Zhang Jun, and Vice Commissioner of Military Affairs Chen Gui remained silent in turn, Minister of Rites Zhu Shengfei stepped forward, cupped his hands, and replied: "To report to Your Majesty, the envoy is named Zheng Zhichang. He is a Hanlin Academician and Drafter of Edicts within Goryeo, with excellent literary talent... Does Your Majesty wish to receive him? And when?"

"Not Kim Busik?" Zhao Jiu, seated on the throne, frowned slightly. "Does this man belong to the Kaegyong or Pyongyang factions in Goryeo? Is he for war or peace with the Jin?"

Zhu Shengfei was momentarily speechless. After a brief silence, he cupped his hands and said: "To inform Your Majesty, this man has been hosted by Wang Lun, the Vice Director of the Court of State Ceremonial. As for the Kaegyong and Pyongyang factions, I truly do not know. But previously, after Your Majesty's great victory, he hurried across the sea and composed poems praising Your Majesty's martial prowess, and the poems were indeed quite good... I imagine he should be someone who advocates war against the Jin."

This answer was clearly flawed, but as Minister of Rites, understanding to this extent was already acceptable. So Zhao Jiu did not press further but simply nodded, then spoke out of turn from the throne: "Where is Wang Lun?"

Wang Lun, the Vice Director of the Court of State Ceremonial, who had been prepared, immediately stepped forward, bowed, and replied crisply: "To report to Your Majesty, this man belongs to the Pyongyang faction, a partisan of the Monk Myocheong. He has always advocated war. He is a genuine ally of Monk Myocheong within the Goryeo court and one of Kim Busik's greatest political enemies in Goryeo at present..."

At this point, Wang Lun paused briefly, then cautiously added: "This man and Kim Busik are not only political enemies but also literary rivals in Goryeo, with deep public grudges and private grievances."

"Still something's off." Zhao Jiu frowned further. "Last time you said that Kim Busik is single-mindedly devoted to serving the powerful—if Song is strong, he follows Song; if Jin is strong, he follows Jin; and with any reversal, he promptly observes and adjusts. On the other hand, Monk Myocheong's faction in Pyongyang has unclear thinking, intending to expand the power of the Pyongyang faction through attacking Jin, hence their advocacy for war against Jin... So this Zheng Zhichang, since he's of Monk Myocheong's faction, why does he also come to 'serve the powerful'?"

"To inform Your Majesty." Wang Lun quickly explained. "Zheng Zhichang is a proper civil official. He formed a faction with Monk Myocheong because they both base themselves in Pyongyang, Goryeo's western capital, opposing the Kaegyong faction. It was impossible for them not to be in the same faction. But when it comes to specific views, they differ..."

At this point, not only did Zhao Jiu understand, but even the Song officials in the hall, who had experienced decades of factional strife between the New and Old Parties, also saw the light.

"I understand." Zhao Jiu indeed smiled in realization. "This is a man who was dragged into advocating war by political struggle. He advocates war only because Kim Busik does not... But if that's the case, since this man both serves the powerful and advocates war, wouldn't he be more beneficial to us than Kim Busik?"

Wang Lun hesitated for a moment, then cautiously replied: "Your Majesty, this man and Kim Busik have always had certain sayings in Goryeo..."

Zhao Jiu laughed even more: "Say whatever it is. What sayings?"

"It's said that Kim Busik named himself after admiring Grand Academician Su Shi, but in his official conduct and actions, he is extremely similar to Prince of Shu [Wang Anshi]. As for Zheng Zhichang, who endlessly feuds with him, he is not like Sima Guang but rather more like Grand Academician Su Shi..."

Zhao Jiu laughed for the third time: "You mean to say this man is a political waste, and if we pin our hopes on him, it might not be useful?"

"The key is that at this moment, it's difficult for us to truly exert force within Goryeo..." Seeing many surrounding officials casting sidelong glances, Wang Lun quickly skipped over this topic.

"How can we truly exert force?" Zhao Jiu pressed on.

"If the lands of Qi and Lu can be recovered and the sea routes are clear, then we can do a little something." Wang Lun replied frankly.

Zhao Jiu nodded, then decisively made a judgment: "Regardless, we still need to do something. We should also invest some effort in Goryeo. After all, it is the only country behind the Jin that we can currently contact, and it is a vast nation a thousand li across. As for this man, I have some views different from Vice Director Wang. I believe that since his relationship with Kim Busik is what it is, exerting effort on this man is no different from exerting effort on Kim Busik. In other words, even if they end up muddle-headedly gone in the future, the effort expended can still be recouped from Kim Busik..."

Many in the hall nodded. When it came to the internal affairs of the small state of Goryeo, these people might not be as clear as Wang Lun, but when it came to these political maneuvers, they were far superior to Wang Lun. At the same time, however, many still frowned.

"Minister of Rites Zhu Shengfei, Chief Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial Zhai Ruwen, Vice Director Wang Lun." Zhao Jiu said solemnly. "Treat this Goryeo 'Grand Academician Su Shi' well, with treatment above his rank. You, a Minister and Chief Minister of a great nation, go together to accompany him in composing poetry and drinking, make him feel at home. Then clearly tell him that I detest Kim Busik but admire Zheng Zhichang's poetry. Prepare additional rewards as well. Finally, arrange a formal banquet—I will personally receive and reward him... Don't begrudge spending money, and don't feel it's beneath your dignity. As long as it can cause a few more Jin soldiers to die, or even tie down one or two Jin *meng'an* when we truly march north, it's worth ten thousand gold. Besides, on the day we truly storm the Yellow Dragon [the Jin capital], however much money we spend, we can get it all back!"

The crowd listened with varied expressions.

Some nodded repeatedly, some looked thoughtful, some showed no change in expression, and some frowned continuously.

Now, the Goryeo issue could certainly be important, because as His Majesty Zhao said, Goryeo was the only country the Great Song could currently contact and could visibly exert a substantial check on the Jin in the foreseeable future—a vast nation a thousand li across.

After six or seven years of war, everyone understood that anything involving the Jin was worth it.

But the problem was that His Majesty Zhao's blatant talk of "deceiving" and "using" the Goryeo envoy, along with the words about "getting it back" in the future, sounded off no matter how you heard it.

Especially at this moment, with all civil and military officials solemnly assembled, and moreover in the dignified Wende Hall.

Therefore, a considerable number of moral gentlemen could not help but feel worried and uncomfortable.

In fact, in the past, these people would have already come forward to remonstrate, because they were genuine moral gentlemen who truly felt it was improper and indeed were not afraid of any monarch's wrath... But the problem was, when these people thought of the Prosperous and Great Era, the supremely dignified Retired Emperor Daojun who had twice abandoned the state and ended up as the Duke of Faint Virtue, while the current utilitarian Son of Heaven, full of talk of profit and loss and utterly undignified, was truly the one who had restored the Song dynasty, they found it hard to open their mouths and keep up.

If they really came forward to remonstrate, and this His Majesty simply brought up the Retired Emperor Daojun, wouldn't that be uncomfortable?

Therefore, although Censor-in-Chief Li Guang, Minister of Rites Zhu Shengfei, and others felt quite awkward, they forcibly endured it. Zhu Shengfei even had to step forward to receive the edict and go do this undignified task.

"Alright." Having finished with the Goryeo envoy, Zhao Jiu did not pause but immediately asked about another major matter. "What's this about Nianhan arriving at Great Ming Prefecture?"

At this, the many figures in the hall looked at each other, then shook their heads one after another, with no one able to answer.

After waiting for a long while, it was Chen Gui, bound by his duties, who helplessly spoke a few words: "Your Majesty, your subjects truly do not know the actual situation there. We can only make rough conjectures..."

"Conjectures are fine too." Zhao Jiu laughed in response. "With such a major matter, we can't just leave it hanging without even a conjecture, can we?"

"Your subjects have discussed it." Chen Gui said, his expression turning serious. "After Nianhan suffered a major defeat at Yaoshan, he suddenly came to Great Ming Prefecture. It is not to deal with Dongjing, but to control the troops at Great Ming Prefecture in order to deal with Yanjing, and to deal with the Jin state's ruler Wuqimai and the Grand Prince Wanyan Woben to the north."

Zhao Jiu nodded. This was also the conclusion reached by the civil and military officials in Guanxi.

You see, in the Battle of Yaoshan, although the Jin army suffered considerable losses, because Wanyan Wushu's relief force was annihilated, Nianhan's foundation—the Western Route Army—might not have lost as many men as the Eastern Route Army... But the problem was, at the highest level, Nianhan, as the state chancellor, was the supreme commander of this battle and ultimately had to take responsibility for this major defeat.

This defeat and Loushi's death caused Nianhan to lose a large amount of political prestige. This was the most critical difficulty facing this powerful Jin minister at present, especially since he had previously staged a coup d'état scene... After Loushi's defeat, some things were no longer secrets. The Zhao Song court had long since learned the full story from the Goryeo envoy and Han Chinese officials who had fled from Hebei.

In other words, after this battle, Wanyan Nianhan had lost his dignity in the political game on the table. He had to resort to the very effective but extremely undignified, even desperate, method of seizing military power to maintain his authority.

To be fair, Nianhan's sudden move south to Great Ming Prefecture, suppressing the cowardly Talan and seizing military power there, was indeed a clever tactic in terms of internal effect, even a stroke of genius. But from an external perspective, it undoubtedly exposed the internal contradictions of the Jin state.

"In that case, let's cast a stone to clear the path... or beat the grass to startle the snake!" After a brief discussion among the officials, all held similar views. After a moment's thought, Zhao Jiu also made a decision. "Have Zhang Rong take the old course of the Yellow River and send a letter of indictment directly to Great Ming Prefecture, calling Nianhan to account! Demand that he quickly return the previously detained envoy (Han Xiaozhou) and set a deadline for his surrender! Otherwise, I will turn Great Ming Prefecture into a second Yaoshan!"

Many hesitated for a moment.

"It's just beating the grass to startle the snake..." Zhao Jiu quickly explained. "Just teasing him a bit. The greatest hope is to add fuel to the internal situation in Jin, not to actually send troops."

Only then did Chen Gui and the others relax.

After all, it was understandable that these people were nervous. Since ancient times, there had been plenty of emperors who got cocky after winning one battle, and some had even lost their state and died!

Of course, Zhao Jiu also realized this and couldn't help but say a few more words: "Ministers need not worry. Although we won at Yaoshan, it was extremely perilous. After this battle, I have not become contemptuous of the enemy; on the contrary, I feel some lingering fear. Liu Ziyu, who had urged me to hold fast and not sally forth before the battle, has received rewards and military merits and been transferred to become a Grand Coordinator of a circuit—that already represents my intent... And I can say it again today: after experiencing this battle, I truly cannot imagine how our troops could face the Jin iron cavalry on the Hebei plains. We must conserve our strength, build our forces step by step, and advance cautiously before we can annihilate the Jin."

Only then did the hall fully relax.

Now, Zhao Jiu had after all traveled a long distance and just returned. So after asking two questions that could not be delayed any further, he also inquired about the progress of institutionalizing the Three Hall System, gave a few instructions to the officials, and finally announced the dissolution of this "welcoming the imperial carriage" assembly.

But as everyone dispersed, the Duke of the Realm, Lu Haowen, who had not participated in the discussions at all, was separately invited to the rear palace by the Chief Eunuch, Lan Gui.

The assembled officials said nothing about this... After all, he was the Duke of the Realm, with a transcendent status, and this was not a sensitive period; the positions of chief ministers had already been distributed, so there was no precedent of a private audience to drag up.

It was nothing more than His Majesty wanting to show favor to an old and important minister, a routine inquiry.

And sure enough, after the crowd dispersed, Zhao Jiu waited in a small pavilion in the rear palace. When he saw Lu Haowen, he immediately rose to greet him and asked directly outside the pavilion: "Lord Lu, why do I always feel the atmosphere in the hall today was off?"

"In reply to Your Majesty, this old minister believes there are multiple reasons."

The autumn sky was clear and the air crisp. Lu Haowen's gaze moved over the yellow chrysanthemums around the pavilion, then he slightly raised his head, just in time to see a line of wild geese heading south. The Duke of the Realm looked up, thought seriously for a moment, and unexpectedly did not brush the question off. "First, Your Majesty's great victory at Yaoshan, returning with an eagle shot, shook the realm, and civil and military officials are in awe. Although this matter has passed several months, and Your Majesty has long adapted to it in Guanxi, for the civil and military officials of Dongjing, this is the first time meeting Your Majesty after the war, so they cannot help but be somewhat nervous..."

Even though Zhao Jiu knew he should not be complacent, he could not help but smile slightly before nodding.

"Second, Your Majesty's intention to overhaul the chief ministers and reform the political situation is now beyond doubt. The officials, not knowing Your Majesty's true intentions, cannot help but adopt a wait-and-see attitude." Lu Haowen spoke unhurriedly, clasping his hands.

Zhao Jiu looked thoughtful, his smile fading considerably.

"Third," Lu Haowen sighed softly. "Your Majesty should not have analyzed the Goryeo envoy and the matter of Wolgin in terms of 'interests' so publicly in court today... It was improper."

Zhao Jiu finally frowned: "I know these matters are a bit too calculating in terms of interests, but since they concern friend and foe, is it wrong to use military strategy and employ deception?"

"Your servant did not say Your Majesty handled these two matters incorrectly." Lu Haowen remained composed. "But since they concern friend and foe, why not summon the chief ministers, the Privy Council, and the Imperial Camp generals for a private discussion? Your Majesty, the Jin are brutal and barbaric, known to all under heaven. In this extraordinary time, we servants do not require Your Majesty to be a sage who rules by non-action. But even a horse-riding emperor, as weighty as Mount Tai, must still maintain an outer sage and inner king... And today, both civil and military were present, arrayed in the Great Hall of Wende!"

Zhao Jiu fell silent, and Lu Haowen also stood with his hands at his sides, saying nothing. Beside them, Lan Gui had already begun counting his own heartbeats, but after counting to over a hundred, Zhao Jiu finally spoke: "Lord Lu is absolutely right. I was too hasty!"

Lu Haowen's expression was calm, but Lan Gui clearly breathed a sigh of relief first.

"Does Your Majesty have any other matters?" Lu Haowen asked after nodding.

Zhao Jiu hesitated for a moment, then spoke frankly: "I originally wanted to discuss some old matters with Lord Lu, but as Lord Lu reminded me, I was too hasty. Let's talk in a couple of days..."

Lu Haowen finally smiled, then stepped back twice, bowed with clasped hands, and said: "Your Majesty has labored hard to stabilize the realm, gone for half a year. You should rest early."

Zhao Jiu said no more, but personally escorted the other out of the rear palace precincts, then had Lan Gui follow him before turning back, only to see Feng Yi already waiting behind him.

"Did Imperial Consort Pan send you?" Zhao Jiu asked as he approached.

"Yes." Feng Yi was obsequious.

"And all these chrysanthemums by the pavilion—did Imperial Consort Pan arrange them?" Zhao Jiu continued, standing still.

"Lady Pan had them placed," Feng Yi replied immediately. "But no public funds were used. They were sent by the womenfolk of wealthy households and high officials who had returned from Yangzhou... They came to the palace to pay respects to Lady Pan, saw the dilapidated state of this place, and voluntarily pooled money to send many flowers and furniture into the palace."

Zhao Jiu nodded: "I am going to see Imperial Consort Pan now. From today until tomorrow, I will accompany her. But before I come out to work tomorrow, you must send all these gifts back. Whoever dares not accept, you personally carry them to his home... Understood?"

Feng Yi was stunned for a moment, then immediately nodded repeatedly.

"Oh, and one more thing." Zhao Jiu turned and walked a few steps, then looked back. "Don't touch the furnishings inside Imperial Consort Pan's rooms... Go to Imperial Consort Wu's family and ask for some money to compensate those people. Tell the Duke of Wu that I won't take his money for nothing. His family's home-brewed 'Blue Bridge Wind and Moon' will henceforth be the national wine. Starting with the reception for the Goryeo envoy, I will use only his family's wine."

Feng Yi was stunned again, and it took him a long time to catch on before nodding, but Zhao Jiu had already walked away with his hands behind his back.

PS: Blue Bridge Wind and Moon was indeed a brand wine from Wu Yu's family in history... The Song dynasty's monopoly on liquor was based on the monopoly of yeast. In theory, anyone who bought yeast could brew their own wine. The fact that high officials and nobles brewed their own wine and formed brands was strong evidence of the commodity economy's development at the time... The trend was strongest during Emperor Huizong's reign, with the most wine brands, but it was largely destroyed in the Jingkang Incident. It was rare after the Southern Song, but Blue Bridge Wind and Moon still appeared, showing the wealth and power of the 'Pearl Wu' family.