Chapter 288

Zhao Jiu had sacrificed a white horse to seal the Shaoxing reign, and by leveraging the matter of handling the Two Sages—that hemorrhoid-like nuisance—he had thoroughly purged the central bureaucratic ranks. But that did not mean the affair could be declared a complete success, nor did it mean there were no negative repercussions.

In fact, the true test came only after the political declaration and the great purge.

And that very night, in Zuocheng, which still lay within Huazhou, he encountered the first trouble sparked by this affair.

"Your Majesty."

For some reason, the Jin envoy Wulindazanmo, whom Minister Lu had recalled and brought along, opened his mouth with a reek of fish. "The generals of the Great Jin who have crossed swords with Your Majesty on the northern front all say that Your Majesty's conduct does not resemble that of a blood relative of the Zhao clan. But today, this foreign minister realizes that Your Majesty is indeed a true descendant of Zhao... May I ask Your Majesty, how does your grand act of breaking the covenant today differ from the past conduct of the Two Sages?"

"As I said, I truly haven't broken the covenant..." Zhao Jiu, still in his plain cloth military uniform, replied solemnly from his seat in the Zuocheng county office. "According to the agreement, the return of the Two Sages was to be finalized by the actual handover of the five commanderies in Jingdong. But here I am waiting for you, and you cannot produce those five commanderies."

"This foreign minister can roughly guess what happened." Wulindazanmo flicked his sleeve with a cold laugh. "We had already taken precautions around Jinan. Now I realize Your Majesty deliberately exposed Jinan and Liu Yu as a weakness, then sent Zhang Jun out of Yizhou to attack Li Cheng in Qingzhou—a classic feint to the east while attacking in the west... But Your Majesty, this foreign minister asks only two things. First, has Qingzhou actually been taken at this moment? Does Your Majesty have a confirmed military report? Why would you break the covenant and speak of war to my face? Second, even if we step back ten thousand steps and say Zhang Jun has already taken Qingzhou and we cannot hand over the five commanderies, was it an upright and open act for Your Majesty to send civil officials to negotiate peace while simultaneously dispatching military officers to launch a surprise attack on Qingzhou?"

At these words, several of the attending grand councilors and high officials looked somewhat embarrassed, while the military officers clearly did not take it to heart.

As for Zhao Jiu, he was silent for a moment before nodding in response: "I didn't just send Zhang Jun; I also used Yue Fei... At this very moment, among the three commanderies held by Li Cheng, there are bound to be losses."

Both Wulindazanmo and the assembled civil and military officials showed a slight change in expression.

The Zhao sovereign continued earnestly: "As for the matter of being upright and open, Minister Wulinda, you should be able to see that I have done my utmost."

"How can doing your utmost convince the world?!" Wulindazanmo snapped back to attention, continuing to flick his sleeve in anger.

"Massacring cities and looting, digging up graves and exposing corpses, relocating people to the wilds, enclosing land and enslaving people... Can that convince the world?" Zhao Jiu replied calmly, before several military officers could step forward. "In the end, Minister Wulinda, with such a sea of blood and deep enmity between Song and Jin, where is the need for some treaty to convince the world? Even on the Jin side, wasn't it because those in power, Eriduo and Wushu, had both experienced Yaoshan and knew that after that battle, the Jurchen army's momentum had stopped at the Great River, that they sought peace?"

Wulindazanmo was silent for a moment, skipping over the first half of the Zhao Song sovereign's sentence and responding directly: "The Great Jin army's momentum may have stopped at the Yellow River, but can the Great Song army cross the Yellow River? The current situation is clearly that both states lack the confidence for a major river-crossing battle. We could have taken this opportunity to let both states legitimately rest and recuperate for several years, perhaps even achieving long-term peace. Yet Your Majesty insists on futilely burdening the world for the sake of past grievances... This foreign minister has spent several months in Dongjing and knows something of the gazette reports. But I wonder when the tax burden in the Great Song's south can be reduced?"

"That is not something Minister Wulinda needs to worry about..." Zhao Jiu finally grew impatient. "You dragged Nianhan to the steps of the Minister Platform and beat him to death, but have you thought about how Xixia, which had always been currying favor with Nianhan, will react? What will his old subordinates think? And with Nianhan fallen, the line of Wuqimai has received no explanation, instead being driven out beyond the passes—they won't stay quiet either... Are we writing 'Ten Victories, Ten Defeats' here or what?"

Wulindazanmo opened his mouth, then could only sigh: "Regardless, after this affair between the two states, unless there is some great military or political upheaval, regaining mutual trust will be as difficult as reaching heaven. And this situation is entirely the doing of the Zhao sovereign!"

"Then let it be!" Zhao Jiu replied bluntly. "Sooner or later, I will plow the court and sweep the lair, and strike straight to the Yellow Dragon... Has Minister Wulinda, having personally experienced the Jingkang Incident, still not realized that you cannot serve as an envoy seven times between Song and Jin and make a name for yourself across the seas?"

At this point, Wulindazanmo shook his head even more, but said no more.

"Minister Zhai." Zhao Jiu turned his head to look at Zhai Ruwen, the Chief Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial, who had been standing beside Wulindazanmo all along. "Arrange for Minister Wulinda's return north properly."

Zhai Ruwen understood and immediately acknowledged, then carefully escorted Wulindazanmo out.

As the man departed, the reactions of those present varied.

"I didn't expect this man to be interesting too." Watching Wulindazanmo leave without a word, Qu Duan couldn't help but remark. "We humiliated him for no reason during the day, and he didn't even mention it. I wonder if he's putting on a strong front or if he truly has backbone..."

Zhao Ding, the Chief Councilor of the Capital Secretariat, frowned slightly upon hearing this: "Since things have come to this, what's the point of saying such things!"

Qu Duan gave an awkward laugh and fell silent.

"Your Majesty..." Zhao Ding thought for a moment, then still cupped his hands in salute. "With so many things happening today, I shouldn't be asking at this time, but some matters are directly related to today's events, and I cannot avoid asking."

"I know what you want to ask." Zhao Jiu replied solemnly. "Go ahead and speak."

"May I ask Your Majesty, when did Yue and Zhang set out? With how many troops?" Seeing the other's candor, Zhao Ding relaxed slightly, for the sovereign's residual authority from the day was still present. "Did they indeed set out from Xuzhou, pass through Yizhou, enter Qingzhou, and engage Li Cheng in battle?"

"I don't know the exact time." Zhao Jiu answered bluntly. "For the sake of secrecy... I only roughly told them that the Two Sages would return at the end of the month, and let them decide for themselves without reporting back. As for troop numbers, I can only say that to avoid alerting the Jin forces around Jinan, the two armies together could field at most fifty thousand men. I don't know the exact numbers either. As for the attack route, yes, they set out from Yizhou to attack Li Cheng in Qingzhou."

That was three questions with two unknowns.

Zhao Ding frowned, glanced back at Military Commissioner Zhang Jun, then continued with a cupped-hand salute: "Then may I ask Your Majesty, how was the deployment of the Imperial Camp Forward Army kept secret from the Bureau of Military Affairs?"

"It was not concealed from the Bureau of Military Affairs." Zhao Jiu glanced at Commissioner Zhang Jun, who seemed about to speak but held back, and answered bluntly. "Originally, I intended to have the Imperial Camp Right Army under Zhang Jun launch a surprise attack independently, with the Imperial Camp Cavalry and Imperial Camp Central Army in support. But Yue Fei returned too quickly—he had already crossed the river by mid-fifth month—so I changed my mind at the last minute and included him. All I did was have the Bureau of Military Affairs be cautious about the Jingdong situation, allocate more military supplies toward Xuzhou, and arrange for the Imperial Camp Forward Army to take the Xuzhou route..."

"Councilor Zhao." Zhang Jun also argued helplessly. "Yue Fei returning north and passing through Xuzhou wasn't off course. The increase in military supplies toward Xuzhou to guard against Liu Yu was something you approved in the Secret Pavilion as well... The key point is, ever since Yue Pengju crossed the river and returned north, who cared which route he took? At that time, even those who paid attention to him only cared about his memorial! If you ask me, stop asking these questions now. We should quickly follow Your Majesty's earlier plan, dispatch the Imperial Camp Central Army and Imperial Camp Cavalry toward Jinan as a diversion, and have the Imperial Camp Navy go downstream to block the Great River as a seal."

"No." Li Qiong, Deputy Commander of the Imperial Camp Central Army, suddenly interjected solemnly between the two powerful councilors, then apologized. "I presume to speak out of turn..."

"No matter." Zhao Ding maintained his prime ministerial composure. "Go ahead and speak."

"Let the councilors know." Li Qiong said earnestly. "According to military intelligence from the Taihang Mountains, in the Hebei direction, divided east and west by the old course of the Yellow River, the Jin forces have main armies stationed at Great Ming Prefecture in the east and Longde Prefecture (Huguan) in the west. To prevent the Jin from besieging Wei to rescue Zhao, the Imperial Camp Navy absolutely must not go downstream. Moreover, Qingzhou is a surprise attack, separated by Jinan—it can only serve as a diversion and cannot affect the true outcome... Your Majesty." At this point, Li Qiong cupped his hands toward Zhao Jiu. "I am willing to lead my troops and the Eight-Character Army toward Dongping Prefecture for a feint attack on Jingdong. That will be enough to tie down Jinan. The Imperial Camp Cavalry must also be kept in reserve as a fallback. As for the Xuzhou direction, the logistics must not be cut short."

Zhao Jiu glanced around at the other military officers in the hall and, seeing no one object, nodded in approval: "Let it be arranged this way... Set out at dawn tomorrow."

Li Qiong cupped his hands and withdrew.

"That will do." Zhao Ding let out a long sigh, knowing it was not worth pursuing further, but still shook his head. "Regarding the military situation in Qingzhou, aside from the urgent need for rapid support and diversion, there is one more matter... Your Majesty, regardless of whether Yue Fei and Zhang Jun have succeeded at this moment, and regardless of whether we know the actual battle situation, the gazette must be published first. Say that Qingzhou has already changed hands, and Li Cheng has suffered a great defeat and retreated! And that the Jin envoy Wulindazanmo, knowing full well that Jin could no longer produce the five commanderies, simply stormed off in a rage and returned north on his own!"

Zhao Jiu was slightly taken aback... Could it really be done this way?

To be honest, he had already prepared himself for the penalty of losing credibility and three hundred points of prestige.

"Why not say that in his fury, he also praised Your Majesty's skill, and specially left a letter in Zuocheng stating that he was completely convinced this time." Qu Duan finally couldn't help but interject again, drawing sidelong glances from the many military officers around him, from Han Shizhong on down, who had also wanted to speak. "Have the gazette publish his letter... He can't refute it anyway."

Wouldn't that be improper?

Zhao Jiu instinctively wanted to reject it.

"You write it!" Zhao Ding turned back and said coldly to Qu Duan. "Write it quickly before midnight tonight, or the fast horses won't wait! And if there's the slightest flaw in the text, making us lose face, I'll hold you accountable!"

Qu Duan actually nodded in agreement... And Zhao Jiu never even had a chance to interject throughout the whole exchange.

But this was ultimately a minor matter. Soon, Commissioner Zhang Jun also hurriedly presented a memorial: "Your Majesty, there is another matter that requires prompt handling..."

Zhao Jiu knew it in his heart, but couldn't help frowning slightly: "In truth, I know full well that after today's events, there will be more matters, not fewer. I fear there is more than one thing to handle."

"But some matters are more urgent than others." Zhang Jun said earnestly.

"True." Zhao Jiu sighed softly, no longer displaying the fierce demeanor of the day. "We must quickly fill the official vacancies, and then return to Dongjing to discuss the southern economy and the burden on the people..."

Zhang Jun was taken aback... Not just Zhang Jun, but also Zhao Ding, and Lu Haowen, who had been drooping his eyelids, and the silent Liu Ji, Chen Gui, Li Guang, and even Qu Duan, who had just stepped back, were all equally startled.

"Have I forgotten something?" Zhao Jiu immediately sensed something was off, then pointed to an unexpected name. "Qu Da! Since you're capable in both civil and military affairs, you should understand things. You speak!"

"Your Majesty..." Qu Duan, under the cold stares of all the civil and military officials in the hall, forced himself to raise his head. "Your Majesty's concern for the burden on the south is correct, but I have also handled people's livelihoods in Guanxi, and I know that no matter how hard life gets, commoners dare not rebel, nor can they make their voices heard. At most, they might compose a folk song! Whenever there is a popular uprising, it is either because they truly cannot survive, with nothing to eat, or because someone agitates and gathers them together. Now that the south has just been pacified, rebellion certainly won't happen, and the newly added taxes won't be resisted. At most, we need to guard against the spread of things like the Vegetarian Demon Sect. What we truly need to worry about, instead, are those seventy or eighty officials who were dismissed today..."

Zhao Jiu thought for a moment, immediately understood, but then fell into confusion.

The reasoning was simple: in this era, limited by basic transportation and communication, the common people of the south could not bypass the government to form a large-scale, organized 'southern tax-resistance bloc.' Someone would need to organize them using an organizational structure beyond the basic feudal framework to create a risk of rebellion.

For instance, the earlier Fang La was a famous demon sect in Chinese history, the predecessor of the Manichaeans, combined with the devastation of the southeast by the Flower and Stone Network. The Zhong Xiang and Yang Yao rebellion pacified earlier this year also used local religion and the fishing insurance business, leveraging the administrative loophole of Dongting Lake to organize people. As for Qianzhou, it seemed to be a region that had always been difficult to govern, forming a tradition of anarchy.

In other words, as cruel as it sounded, the fact was that although the tax burden in the south was heavy, it was impossible for the people to organize themselves again in a short time to form an uprising like Fang La's or Zhong Xiang's in opposition to the northern expedition... because no one was organizing them.

However, Zhao Jiu, on the other hand, could not understand why they needed to guard against those dismissed officials.

After all, if the productive forces limited the common people's ability to organize, what about the dismissed officials? Wouldn't it take them a month to send a letter? With such efficiency, could they form some kind of 'southern bureaucratic landlord bloc'?

This kind of forced, class-based 'large vested interest group' in an ancient setting... even the lowest-tier web novels in the era Zhao Jiu had come from would disdain writing about it. Only high-end strategy games, constrained by their gameplay mechanics, had to invent some phantom groups.

And Zhao Jiu had actually thought about this matter. The reason he had insisted on purging these people during the day was that he had figured it out earlier in the rear palace: these people had been able to form a public opinion and political force precisely because they had used the existing Zhao Song central bureaucratic system—the largest, most convenient, and most authoritative organizational system—to complete their communication and organization.

And now, they have left their posts.

Then, may I ask how they can still obstruct policy?

Seeming to perceive the Imperial Lord's confusion, Lü Haowen, who had remained silent all along, slowly stepped forward, bowed his head, and replied: "Imperial Lord, ever since the factional strife between the Old and New Parties began, the senior officials have used the great cities as their bases, studying scholarship and compiling classics and histories. The younger men travel back and forth seeking connections, and it is still very easy for them to network through giving lectures and going on study tours."

Li Guang let out a sigh beside him, while Zhao Jiu was suddenly startled.

And Privy Councilor Zhang Jun also bowed his head and replied, further revealing some things: "Imperial Lord, I take the liberty. Today, Your Majesty has indeed been somewhat hasty and improper. The Central Plains and Guanzhong are one thing, but we must especially guard against these dismissed officials, after they go to the various regions of the Southeast, merging with the various Daoist schools there, especially the Luoxue school of the Cheng brothers."

Zhao Jiu nodded blankly.

However, after pondering for a long time under the complex gazes of the few top-ranking officials in the hall, this Imperial Lord ultimately shook his head: "Lord Lu's original school has a saying: practice is the first principle. If today's actions, the state's grand strategy, and even the principles of the original school are correct, we will eventually prove them one by one for them to see, making them convinced and obedient... I will not erect any 'Shaoxing Party Members' Stele,' nor will I ban Luoxue, nor will I even interfere with their freedom to pursue scholarship and seek truth. But I will definitely have Yang Yizhong exert some effort in the Southeast to keep a slight watch... In the end, we must contend openly and fairly, not use drastic measures, otherwise it would contradict the main theme of today's daylight session."

The officials below all sighed in unison... whether in regret or relief, followed by a rare moment of silence.

"To put it this way in detail, it is to fill the vacant official posts, wait for news from Qingzhou, and then discuss the restoration of the Southern economy and the reduction of the people's burdens." Prime Minister Zhao Ding made the formal summary, but having said this, he again turned serious. "Imperial Lord... I take the liberty, there is one final question."

"Speak, Lord."

"The Imperial Lord is benevolent, thinking of the Southern people and seeking a perfect solution. But if we ministers are truly powerless and cannot achieve both in a short time," Zhao Ding bowed his head and replied. "At that time, if the restoration of the Southern economy and the reduction of the people's burdens still conflict with crossing the river to campaign northward—that is, if the finances still cannot stretch—what should be done?"

Several military commanders and generals furrowed their brows, feeling that this Lord Zhao was indeed somewhat off track. What else could be done? Had the Imperial Lord's boldness during the day been forgotten by him?

However, Zhao Jiu in the hall, without a moment's hesitation, directly gave an unexpected answer: "I have thought much about this in the rear palace these past days... My goal is that we cannot negotiate peace, but that does not mean we cannot slow down a little. If it truly comes to the situation you describe, then we will drag it out! For instance, the fertile lands of Jingdong, being right beside the capital, not only must be taken, but taking them can also slightly enrich ourselves, so they must be recovered quickly. But northern Shanbei can be delayed a little..."

Having said this, the civil and military officials in the hall could clearly feel the Imperial Lord's tone sink: "At that time, we will wear down the Jin in northern Shanbei, letting the various units from Guanzhong take turns facing Huonü, only doing rotational battles, not using large armies. Let's see who spends more, us or the Jin. And if he abandons it voluntarily, we'll go to Shanzhou to maintain the rotational battles. I don't believe they can keep abandoning territory forever... Anyway, we'll just keep at it until we have the strength to cross the river and campaign northward."

Having spoken, Zhao Jiu directly looked at one person in the hall, and the others also followed the Imperial Lord's gaze to this person, who was none other than the Commandery Prince of Yan'an, Han Shizhong.

Han Shizhong gave an awkward laugh, finally supporting his waist as he stepped forward, then raised his head and cupped his hands, speaking his first words of the night: "Ever since the Huai River, the soldiers of northern Shanbei have trusted the Imperial Lord just as I do. They all believe that the one who can let us return to our hometowns is none other than the Imperial Lord!"

"The soldiers of Hebei feel the same." Li Qiong also quickly bowed his head and stepped forward again.

"The people of Hedong also think so." Zhao Ding, who had turned to look at Han Shizhong, turned back and likewise gave a bow.

Zhao Jiu felt relieved for a moment... At least the four years of hardship, plus that one ordeal during the day, had not been in vain.

PS: Thanks to Chief An's Fifth Meng and Brother Yun's Fans for the double Meng.

Then, as usual, a ritual offering for the new book — "I'm Really Not Her Disciple": The protagonist, Yishanjin, becomes a disciple of the number one immortal, Bai Zirou. The author is a serious person, no brakes.