Chapter 279: New Wine

"Yesterday the Emperor's behavior was far too absurd... The Tanguts have been covertly ruling the Hetao region since the Later Tang dynasty, forming their own system. How could it be possible to send fifty thousand elite troops across the Hulu River and take them down steadily and surely?"

"The Emperor's meaning is that our dynasty has never managed to wipe out the Western Xia in a hundred years, but instead has lost troops and generals, leading to today's difficulties. He wasn't saying anything about where to attack."

"In my view, the Emperor wasn't talking about losing troops and generals either. This is Xiang Zhuang performing the sword dance, but his target is the Duke of Pei!"

"What do you mean?"

"The key lies precisely in the four words 'civil-military system'... The Emperor's anger today first erupted over the cavalry, extended to the horse administration, and finally landed on the Western Xia. But those were just leverage points; the real force was directed at civil officials commanding the military, harming the state and the army..."

"That makes sense."

"What is 'leverage point'?"

"A term from the previous official gazette. That article on leverage and the lever principle, 'using four ounces to move a thousand pounds'... I tried it at home."

"Oh..."

"And Qu Duan—that bastard's final words were truly detestable. He must be heavily impeached... 'Be the first to worry about the world's troubles, and the last to enjoy its pleasures.' Fan Wenzheng, a minister renowned through the ages, has become an incompetent?"

"What is Qu Duan? What's the point of impeaching him? That man is nothing but a sharp-tongued brute who has read a few books, not worth mentioning."

"Besides, he holds the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Camp. If the Emperor doesn't move against him, no one can!"

"I still feel the Emperor is indeed Xiang Zhuang performing the sword dance, targeting the Duke of Pei. But that Duke of Pei is not the civil-military system!"

"What do you mean?"

"What else could it mean? Remember the incident when Han Shizhong's troops rioted and murdered the Censor? Councilor Zhao barely escaped with his life from that, and later led the Emperor to meet Han Shizhong, which led to his sudden appointment as Fiscal Commissioner for the two Huainan circuits... And yesterday the Emperor himself said that once the realm is pacified, using civil officials to control the military is correct."

"So what?"

"So what? This shows the Emperor has a plan. He knows military men act absurdly, and his emphasis on the civil-military system now is really about emphasizing wartime conditions. In the end, it's all about the Northern Expedition! Or rather, it's about war versus peace!"

"So there really can be no peace?"

"Not only can there be no peace, but in the future, besides the Jin, we'll likely have to focus on the Western Xia, Dali, and Nanyue, and even Goryeo, perhaps."

"That fits."

"Fits what?"

"The theory of 'One China, Unification of the Nine Provinces' in the official gazette. It roughly means that all territories from ancient times should belong to our dynasty, and failing to take them makes us unfilial descendants... Don't any of you read the official gazette?"

"Of course we read it, but if you hadn't said it, I wouldn't have thought of it that way. Looking at it now, the Emperor has been scheming all along, but it all comes down to one sentence... No matter the countless obstacles, he just wants to keep fighting?!"

"The official gazette is becoming more and more important, but Hu Quan has that kind of temperament."

"Although Hu Quan is a staunch advocate of war, he is still a proper civil official and doesn't like people like Qu Duan. It's like Minister Wang, who also advocates war but is a mortal enemy of Qu Duan... Can we borrow the influence of these two to focus criticism and impeachment on Qu Duan, using the civil-military debate and the Western Xia matter?"

"Maybe we can, but it will be hard to make a difference in the grand scheme. Even Qu Duan might not be shaken, after all, the Emperor is too protective of these military officials."

"Alas, I wonder who can persuade the Emperor?"

"I know the Emperor can't be persuaded, but can we use this to cause internal strife among them? You must understand that even among the war advocates, there are civil and military factions. Not everyone is as pure as Yue Pengju, and not everyone has the monumental achievements of Han Shizhong! Qu Duan is the biggest loophole among the generals..."

"That's going a bit too far..."

"I have a thought. Could it be that the Emperor was just hot-tempered from the heat, and when he encountered the warhorse issue, he genuinely got angry and started cursing indiscriminately? Why must it be Xiang Zhuang performing the sword dance, targeting the Duke of Pei?"

"Uh..."

"What's all that noise outside?" Just as the atmosphere was inexplicably cooling down, on the Qingfeng Tower, Minister of Personnel Liu Dazhong suddenly heard a commotion outside the window and asked curiously.

"Minister, don't forget that tomorrow is the Buddha Bathing Festival." Without even looking, Supervising Secretary Li Jing (Li Gang's third brother) blurted out. "Of the ten major temples in the capital, aside from the Xiangguo Temple which cannot hold major ceremonies, the other nine will still do so. The city has been most lively these past few days."

"That's right." Secretariat Drafter Fan Zongyin also smiled. "After the Buddha Bathing Festival, fruits and vegetables will become plentiful. The new wine brewed by the major shops will also go on sale, and the market scene in the Eastern Capital will be renewed... In the old days in the capital, what I liked most was the new wine with fresh apricots at this Qingfeng Tower."

The assembled officials, except for Censor-in-Chief Li Guang, all burst into laughter, saying that on the next day off, they must all come here to taste the new wine with fresh apricots. Some lower-ranking officials who knew the ropes even called over the owner of Qingfeng Tower to pre-order the establishment's new wine.

Amidst the hubbub, they temporarily set aside the Emperor's reckless words from today, took a short rest, and began talking about the various customs of the gradually recovering Eastern Capital. But no matter what they talked about, they inevitably came back to the Emperor.

One said that on the first day of the third month, the Emperor was supposed to inspect Jinming Pool and Qionglin Garden to share joy with the people and the scholars, but instead he went north to the Yellow River to visit Zhang Rong's army and console the Imperial Navy. Another said that during the Cold Food Festival and Qingming Festival in mid-March, the Emperor was supposed to go out of the city to sweep tombs, but he only had Imperial Consort Pan make date swallows to distribute to the officials and various government offices, and still sent the Chief of the Imperial Clan to perform the tomb-sweeping rites instead... His reason was that the north was not yet pacified, and he had no face to sweep the tombs of his ancestors.

However, amidst the noise, Minister of Personnel Liu Dazhong suddenly remembered something and asked curiously again: "Isn't the Buddha Bathing Festival the Buddha's birthday? Then may I ask, what day is the Emperor's actual birthday? And what name has been chosen for the Emperor's birthday festival?"

It turned out that according to Song dynasty custom, the emperor's birthday was called the 'Birth Festival,' and each emperor's Birth Festival had its own unique name.

But interestingly, as soon as this was said, everyone in the room was stunned. Not a single person knew the answer, and they had no choice but to look at Secretariat Drafter Fan Zongyin, who often accompanied the Emperor.

However, Fan Zongyin thought for a moment, broke out in a sweat, and was momentarily speechless.

Seeing this, Chen Gongfu, the Libationer of the Imperial Academy, who had been silent all along, blurted out: "I happen to know this... The new Birth Festival is named the 'Tianshen Festival,' and it should be on the twenty-first day of the fifth month... The reason you all don't know is that of the four Tianshen Festivals since the Emperor ascended the throne, only one was celebrated—the one shortly after his ascension in the first year of Jianyan. As for you all, even Drafter Fan, you arrived in Nanjing after the Tianshen Festival, so you wouldn't know. However, the Tiansheng Festival, which is the birthday of Empress Dowager Yuanyou, still had its regular holidays and rewards during those four years."

On the Qingfeng Tower, these high-ranking officials, whose pockets were now much fuller after receiving their back pay, fell silent for a moment, none knowing how to respond. Even Li Guang, the Censor-in-Chief and the highest-ranking official present, who was also Chen Gongfu's close friend, stroked his beard and remained silent.

"You've been talking for half a day, and I haven't spoken, not because I think what you've said is wrong or incorrect." Amidst the silence, Chen Gongfu continued with a sigh. "Quite the opposite. As a man from the southeast, I have always known that a Northern Expedition is indeed costly and exhausting, and I am well aware of the various difficulties it entails. I also know that the Emperor is indeed willful and biased towards military officers. But so what? None of that outweighs leading by example. Everyone says the court now values the military over the civil service, and I agree. Spending eighty percent of our money and grain on the Imperial Camp is certainly wrong! But now that you and I have received our back pay and are drinking here at Qingfeng Tower, while the Emperor is still gnawing on a sheep's head by the fish pond in the rear palace, what face do we have to impeach him over such matters?"

Knowing that Chen Gongfu was Li Guang's close friend, the Libationer of the Imperial Academy, and a man of deep seniority, the others dared not easily refute him and could only look to Li Guang and Liu Dazhong.

"Let me say one more thing." Just as Li Guang was about to speak, Chen Gongfu poured himself a cup of wine, drank it down in one gulp, and then spoke coldly to his old friend. "Do you gentlemen think the Councilors are all useless? Even if Zhang Jun and Chen Gui are solely intent on flattering the Emperor, have Zhao Yuanzhen (Zhao Ding) and Liu Prefect (Liu Ji), the legitimate Councilors of the Secretariat-Chancellery, shown any flaw in their virtue or governance? And today, regarding the horse administration and the Western Xia debate, why didn't they refute him to his face? In my view, while part of it was avoiding the Emperor's wrath, Qu Duan's remark—'The Emperor doesn't eat tens of thousands of sheep heads now'—hit the mark, leaving Councilors Zhao and Liu with nothing to say!"

Li Guang, Liu Dazhong, and the others all sighed with emotion.

"Drafter Fan." Chen Gongfu then looked at Fan Zongyin.

"Libationer Chen." Fan Zongyin quickly cupped his hands in response.

"You are known as the court's young and talented star. You are fair and plump, with a flawless face. Every day you go out, you powder and paint your face. Every time you enter the palace for court, you secretly take out your bronze mirror from your sleeve and look at yourself several times. Everyone calls you the 'Three-Glance Drafter'..."

Fan Zongyin was extremely embarrassed.

"And you, like me, have been following the temporary court since the first year of Jianyan. Since Nanyang, you have been considered a close minister of the Son of Heaven. So let me ask you this: the Emperor is also known for his dignified appearance. Does he put in even a third of the effort you do in grooming? And would you dare to submit a memorial impeaching the Emperor for being vain and wasteful?"

Fan Zongyin was even more speechless.

Having said this, Chen Gongfu simply left his seat and stood up, cupping his hands in a salute, startling everyone else into standing up as well.

Chen Gongfu also stood tall and replied calmly: "At least half of the people here today are my old friends and close associates. We should have been having a pleasant conversation. Even in the future, if you come to drink new wine and taste fresh apricots, I would have absolutely no reason to refuse... But I also have a heartfelt word for you all."

The others looked at each other, mostly at a loss.

"Since the Jingkang Incident, I have accompanied the imperial carriage for four years. From the panicked flight on the Huai River, to the forced establishment in Nanyang, to the restoration of the old capital, I have witnessed with my own eyes the nation taking on the air of a resurgence. I have long held the firm belief that this nation cannot be stabilized without the current Emperor!" Chen Gongfu continued, speaking with head held high. "And the current Emperor, with the complete security of the nine provinces of the realm in mind, and with the two rivers in his heart, is determined to launch the Northern Expedition. Although we may have some misgivings, we know that if we cannot change the Emperor's mind on such a major matter, we should each attend to our own duties and do some practical work... I also advise you all to stick to the matter at hand. If the Emperor is wrong, if military officials are overbearing, then remonstrate as you should, impeach as you should. But do not attempt to shake the entire situation, and do not use underhanded means to stir up factional strife! Otherwise, you will not only harm the state and the people, but also be walking to your own doom!"

Having said this, Chen Gongfu turned and left directly, leaving many of the others momentarily stunned.

After a long silence, Li Guang finally smiled bitterly and sighed: "This Chen Guozuo (Chen Gongfu's style name) is still so unrestrained... It makes it seem as if we are all acting out of selfish motives."

Liu Dazhong also shook his head repeatedly: "Actually, after all his talk, doesn't it still mean that the Emperor is set on his own course and cannot be stopped?"

"The Son of Heaven! The Son of Heaven!" someone else sighed and shook their head. "No wonder His Majesty flew into a rage yesterday, and no one dared to speak up..."

"Then should we still push Minister Wang and Hu Quan to jointly impeach Qu Duan?" someone else asked again.

"Qu Duan is insolent and absurd, and he should still be impeached. But as the Censor-in-Chief, I have no need to borrow another's strength!" Li Guang declared with finality.

Most of the crowd nodded in agreement, but no one responded.

On the eighth day of the fourth month, it was the Buddha's Bathing Festival.

Within Dongjingcheng, nine of the ten great temples were celebrating grandly, staging large-scale performances of *Mulian Rescues His Mother*. At the same time, His Majesty Zhao was watching a newly rehearsed play, *The Legend of the White Snake*, at Jingfu Palace.

In the following days, this new play quickly became popular throughout Dongjingcheng. However, because it severely interfered with the ritual activities of the Buddha's Bathing Festival, it drew strong dissatisfaction from the monks.

Finally, led by Fahe, the abbot of the Shaolin Temple branch in Dongjingcheng, the monks submitted a joint petition, requesting the court to stop this play that defamed the Buddhist faith... According to their research, the story of the White Snake clearly originated from the Great Python incident in Luoyang during the Tang Dynasty. In that incident, the great python had clearly wanted to help An Lushan flood Luoyang with water, and was subdued by the eminent monk Shanwuwei. Unexpectedly, the story was twisted through hearsay, turning into a ridiculous play where a Shaolin monk broke up a marriage, the White Snake flooded Shaolin Temple, and the eminent monk Fahai was instead punished and forced to flee into a crab's belly.

In response, His Majesty Zhao, who had always been protective of religious figures, immediately issued a personal reply. The Shaolin Temple had served the country and the people, making many contributions when the court was in difficulty, and should not be slandered lightly. However, he had personally asked the playwright, who said the story's outline came from Daoist priests at the Wuyue Temple. So he promptly ordered the Daoist priests of Wuyue Temple to come out and explain themselves to Fahe.

Thereupon, the abbot of Wuyue Temple personally came forward to explain to Fahe. First, he said that this White Snake was not the great python of the Tang Dynasty, but a disciple of Old Mother Lishan, and so on. He also said that Xu Xuan, who ran a medicine shop in Dongjing in the play, was a real person from the Renzong era. The events of meeting in the rain and borrowing an umbrella at Jinming Pool were all told to his master by Xu Xuan's brother-in-law, Ma Han, the head of the Kaifeng Prefecture yamen runners... Of course, his master, who had only ascended to immortality last year, had lived to be a hundred years old. Finally, he said that the virtuous and eminent monk of Shaolin Temple subduing the snake demon, and having Xu Xuan beg alms to build a pagoda to suppress it, was naturally a great merit and a good deed. As for why, in the end, Xu Xuan's son succeeded in sacrificing at the pagoda to rescue his mother, while the eminent monk Fahai fled five thousand li and could only scurry into a crab's belly in Jiangnan to eke out a miserable existence, it was because Old Mother Lishan's magical powers were boundless. Her disciple Bai Suzhen, having lost all attachment after Xu Xuan's death, was already stronger than the Shaolin monk.

As the saying goes, the Buddha's Dharma is boundless. Fahe naturally did not accept this explanation! So the two sides went back and forth, debating all day long. One side spoke of the three thousand worlds in the Buddha's palm, the other of the Patriarch's purple qi coming from the east for thirty thousand li, providing endless fodder for gossip.

However, Fahe and the monks of the city's temples were sensible enough to only settle scores with the Daoist priests of Wuyue Temple. But that didn't mean others were sensible. Moreover, a play was trivial; the monks were just seeking attention. It was essentially a joke. In comparison, some court policies could not be treated so lightly... For instance, after the Buddha's Bathing Festival, His Majesty Zhao sat idle in the palace for several days and received quite a few memorials regarding the matter at Yutai that day.

These memorials, broadly speaking, could be divided into three categories.

The first category was naturally from remonstrance officials like Li Guang. They mainly admonished His Majesty and impeached Qu Duan, urging His Majesty to maintain the demeanor of a ruler and not lose his composure as he did at Yutai that day, while Qu Duan had maliciously slandered the virtuous and worthy... Among them, the descendants of Fan Zhongyan, the young Controller-General Fan, and the Plum Blossom Han family, descendants of Han Qi, also submitted memorials requesting the court to restore their ancestors' good names... That was one thing.

But the latter two categories were interesting.

One category was represented by the Chancellor of the Capital Secretariat Zhao Ding, Vice Chancellor Liu Ji, Minister of War Hu Shijiang, and Chief Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial Zhai Ruwen. These people each submitted memorials, elaborating in detail on the rise of Western Xia from the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, describing the process and current state of the 'barbarization' of the Hetao region. They stated bluntly that Western Xia's founding was not a matter of luck; rather, any attempt to opportunistically scheme against Western Xia would only result in losses of troops and generals, needlessly thwarting the true Northern Expedition.

The other category was led by Privy Council Director Zhang Jun, Vice Privy Council Director Chen Gui, Minister of Justice Wang Shu, Imperial Camp Cavalry Commander-in-Chief Qu Duan, Deputy Commander-in-Chief Liu Qi, and Deputy Commander-in-Chief Li Master. They submitted memorials arguing that attacking Western Xia could enrich the Song, and the Imperial Camp Cavalry's shortage of horses would then be resolved without a fight.

These two sets of memorials, with almost opposite opinions and views, immediately plunged His Majesty Zhao into a dilemma, to the point where the blisters at the corners of his mouth worsened.

It must be known, frankly speaking, after being backed into a corner by the cavalry's horse shortage, Zhao Jiu had entertained the thought of first destroying Western Xia. But the problem was, according to current intelligence, Li Qianshun was not a waste, and even though Western Xia had lost thirty thousand cavalry under Loushi's command, it still retained sufficient combat power.

It didn't seem like a soft target.

So, Zhao Jiu simply called both groups to the Wende Hall and had them debate publicly. But the debate in the hall between these two groups, much like the debate between the Buddhists and Daoists in the city, quickly fell into a dead loop.

The situation was like this... Zhao Ding's group believed that if the dynasty couldn't conquer Western Xia in a hundred years, then trying to rush it this time would certainly fail. And failure would setback the overall situation, making the loss outweigh the gain. Zhang Jun's group, on the other hand, believed that times had changed. After being tempered by fighting the Jin, the army's combat power was simply incomparable to that of the previous hundred years. Therefore, there was a high probability of success. Chen Gui, in particular, proposed that with the current sealing and power of gunpowder packs, as long as the main army pressed up to the gates of Lingzhou, they could breach the city immediately without even needing to set up cannons.

However, as the saying goes, practice is the sole criterion for testing truth. For the time being, such an intangible indicator as combat power couldn't be quantified. Only by personally probing Western Xia could they verify who was right and who was wrong.

But the problem then arose. If the verification was wrong, the result would be a loss outweighing the gain, and it could even push the currently cautious and neutral Western Xia entirely into the Jin's arms. Once Western Xia allied with the Jin, considering that Yan'an was still in Jin hands, the Jin and Xia would be connected in the north, forming immense military pressure on the Guanzhong direction... At that point, forget about warhorses; even crossing the river into Hedong would be difficult.

In a word, although practice is the sole criterion for testing truth, the cost of this particular practice was too high. It was high enough to gamble on the entire Song-Jin situation. No one could make a decision based on the words of a few ministers.

Therefore, this matter quickly reached an impasse.

But soon, something came to break the deadlock... In late April, while *Mulian Rescues His Mother* and *The Legend of the White Snake* were still in full swing in Dongjingcheng, and newly arrived fruits and freshly brewed wines from various shops had just hit the market, just as Dongjing's vitality was climbing another step with the change of seasons, the Jin envoy Wulinda Zanmo arrived once again in Dongjingcheng.

Accompanying him was Han Xiaozhou, the head of the Plum Blossom Han family and a former envoy, who had been detained by Nianhan in Great Ming Prefecture for nearly half a year.

Not only that, but also included were Shunde Princess Zhao Yingluo, who had been forcibly taken by Wanyan Nianhan; Jiade Princess Zhao Yupan, taken as a concubine by Wuqimai's eldest son Puluhu; Rongde Princess Zhao Jinnu, taken as a concubine by Talan; Xunde Princess Zhao Fujin, taken as a concubine by Nianhan's eldest son Sheyema; Yifu Princess Zhao Yuanzhu, taken as a concubine by Wushu; Ningfu Princess Zhao Chuanzhu, taken as a concubine by Eluguan (Wushu's sixth brother); and Roufu Princess Zhao Duofu, who was in Wuqimai's palace. A total of over a hundred captured imperial clanswomen, noblewomen, and commoner women were also brought back... These were likely all the women captured during the Jingkang Incident who could be found in the mansions of Jin dignitaries within Yancheng.

Zhao Jiu had no reason to refuse to let these people return, nor any reason to refuse Wulinda Zanmo, who had brought them back.

After Wulinda Zanmo entered Dongjing, a piece of news quickly spread along with the resettlement and return of these captured imperial clanswomen and commoner women... The Jin wanted to negotiate peace, and they were willing to unconditionally return the Two Sages and all captured imperial relatives, nobles, imperial consorts, and princesses below the various princes first, as a sign of good faith.

As for the Two Sages and the various princes, they could also be released on the very day a peace agreement was reached... Then, following the precedent of the Liao, they would form a brotherly pact.

The Ministry of Rites, still unaware of this, hastily made contact. Wulinda Zanmo not only proactively announced this news but further stated that the new Great Jin Emperor was willing to sign a secret pact with the Great Song to depose the self-proclaimed emperor Liu Yu... in order to reach a peace treaty between the two nations.

When the news reached the Capital Secretariat, the empire's elites almost instantly understood... Mentioning the abolition of Liu Yu's imperial title at this point meant that the several prefectures in Jingdong were entirely negotiable... This time, the north truly had immense sincerity for peace!

Consequently, both inside and outside the court, and among the common people, almost everyone was shaken.

It was like that certain effect—the more you feared something, the more it came. The long-dreaded strategic peace enticement had finally appeared. Therefore, when the news reached the palace, His Majesty Zhao, who had not yet had time to receive Han Xiaozhou and those princesses, predictably fell into a state of impotent rage... What Western Xia? What cavalry? How could he care about that now?

After all, for Zhao Jiu, once a peace agreement was reached, he had no idea if he could ever mobilize this crippled nation again for a Northern Expedition... This matter was precisely what he feared most. Hence, the moment the news arrived, Zhao Jiu immediately felt a bizarre sense of frustration, as if he had failed a main quest!

PS: Thanks to classmate slyshen for becoming a new patron, this is the 117th patron... And then, as usual, I'll offer up a new book, *Six Doors 2077*... Doesn't the name sound exciting?