Chapter 311: Zhajiang Noodles

So, His Majesty Zhao Jiu set out westward on the fifth day of the first month. Although he traveled along what was likely the smoothest road in ancient China, although the route was lined with military stations due to the standoff at the Yellow River, and although nearly half of his escort were cavalry, he still did not arrive in Chang'an until after the Lantern Festival. Once there, he sat idle in the city, waiting for news from all sides.

Among this, the Jurchens' response was concentrated in the latter half of the first month, while the Xia people made a nearly helpless decision as a small state at the end of the first month.

By the time Xue Yuanli, the Xia Chancellor, and the Goryeo envoy Zheng Zhichang arrived in Chang'an, it was already mid-second month. Once the Xia delegation reached this place, they hastily handed over their gifts and were soon set aside.

Of course, they were not restricted from basic personal movement within the city.

Xue Yuanli repeatedly requested an audience and repeatedly inquired with the relevant officials, only to be told that His Majesty Zhao Jiu had gone for a spring outing outside the city, or that the Son of Heaven had gone to the Yan Commandery Prince's residence to see his son-in-law and daughter-in-law, or that he had gone to visit some famous historical site.

The Xia people, far from being anxious about this, were instead pleased.

The reason was simple: if the Zhao Song Son of Heaven was this leisurely and the atmosphere in Chang'an was this casual, it increasingly suggested that this action by the Zhao Song Son of Heaven was likely just a war bluff, and the imagined three-way war would never actually break out.

In fact, as the Xia people continued their inquiries within the city, more and more information validated Xue Yuanli's conjecture.

For instance, not only had the Great Song reinforcements stopped moving after entering Weinan, but even Wu Jie, after recovering Bao'an Army on the front line, had pulled back slightly to Fangzhou. Han Shizhong and Hu Yin had also returned to Chang'an one after another... Seeing this, it seemed even the Jurchens were cursing, hesitating and thinking about whether to withdraw from the Hezhong Prefecture area. Naturally, the Xia people felt somewhat relieved.

Not only that, but Xue Yuanli also found a highly persuasive reason to further validate that the Zhao Song Son of Heaven had no intention of starting a major war at this time: this young Zhao Song Son of Heaven, nearly three years after the death of his only imperial heir, had finally fathered legitimate offspring again—it was known to everyone in Chang'an that Imperial Consort Wu and Imperial Consort Pan, far away in Dongjing, had each given birth to a male child for this Zhao Song Son of Heaven.

The prince with the childhood name Yuanzuo was born to Imperial Consort Wu on the third day of the second month; the prince with the childhood name Dezuo was born to Imperial Consort Pan on the seventh day of the second month.

In other words, it was likely the news of these two princes' births that stopped this Zhao Song Son of Heaven from starting a major war... After all, everyone knew that this Son of Heaven had previously fathered a string of daughters, and his only son had not survived to adulthood. So when he entered the pass, he might not have dared to hope for sons. And since he now had sons, given the extremely low infant survival rate of this era and the experience of his previous heir, there would naturally be all kinds of concerns.

Wasn't it said that this Son of Heaven also revered Buddhism? Wasn't he afraid of retribution?

"So this is Changling?"

On the nineteenth day of the second month, the weather was clear. Thirty-five li north of Chang'an, on the north bank of the Wei River, Zhao Jiu stood thoughtfully before two huge mounds. "The one to the west is the tomb of Han Gaozu, and the one to the east is the tomb of Empress Lü?"

"Yes."

When the Son of Heaven went out, Yuwen Xuzhong, who held the rank of Grand Councilor, had to remain behind in Chang'an. Among the accompanying civil and military officials, Han Shizhong naturally took the lead, but Han Shizhong could not possibly understand such things. The speaker was Hu Yin, the Fiscal Commissioner of the Five Circuits West of the Pass.

"And what are all these buildings in between?" Zhao Jiu was still curious.

"They are the tombs of meritorious officials buried alongside."

"Oh?"

"Starting from the westernmost end of the mausoleum complex, extending eastward fourteen li to the Jing River, all are the tombs of meritorious officials from the founding of the Former Han." Hu Yin's face was expressionless as he answered slowly. "Xiao He, Cao Can, Zhou Bo, Zhou Yafu, Wang Ling, Ji Xin, Zhang Er, Tian Ran, Tian Sheng, and others are all there..."

"No Zhang Liang?" Han Shizhong, who had been reading some books recently, suddenly interjected with curiosity.

"No." Hu Yin answered seriously. "Not only is there no Zhang Liang, there is also no Chen Ping, no various Lü clan members, and certainly no Han Xin!"

Han Shizhong clearly did not understand Hu Yin's dry humor and continued to press: "Why not? With Zhang Liang's contributions..."

"Nine times out of ten, they were robbed!" The Zhao Song Son of Heaven, who was observing the scene at Changling with his hands clasped behind his back, seemed unable to bear seeing his beloved general and in-law being teased, and immediately interjected. "What else could it be? The Green Forest and Red Eyebrows didn't recognize the Han dynasty's meritorious officials, just as the Jin army and the bandits and rebel soldiers of the He-Luo region in the early Jianyan years didn't recognize our dynasty's imperial tombs. Of course, they had to rummage through them, take the pearls and jade, and scatter the bones... With over ten li of accompanying tombs, only this many remain, so it's clear that most were robbed or leveled."

Hu Yin nodded in agreement: "Your subject also believes this to be the case. Although there are many different claims about where Zhang Liang was buried, looking at Xiao He, his tomb is indeed at Changling. There are various other far-fetched claims elsewhere, so it seems many meritorious officials should have been buried here. It's just that after the disasters of the Red Eyebrows and Green Forest, even Empress Lü's corpse was dug up, so it's likely that the bones of most of these officials were also scattered."

Having said this, Hu Yin paused briefly and finally showed a mocking expression: "Even Han Xin, with such an ending, still has large tombs and burial mounds in various places. Isn't that ridiculous?"

All the accompanying officials, whether those with lower cultural levels like Han Shizhong, Wang De, and Li Master, or military generals with some learning like Yue Fei, Qu Duan, Liu Qi, Yang Yizhong, and Liu Yan, all sighed deeply.

"Do I have an imperial tomb?" Zhao Jiu glanced at the group's expressions, his mood complicated, and suddenly thought of another matter.

"No..." Hu Yin answered seriously. "But the Retired Daoist Emperor does. It was under construction for decades before the Jingkang era, in Luoyang. Because there was nothing in it, it hasn't been dug up."

Hearing this, Han Shizhong and the others were fine, but several accompanying civil officials couldn't help but feel awkward... Because Hu Mingzhong was essentially telling the Zhao Song Son of Heaven to go seize the Retired Emperor's tomb. Given the current situation, the Retired Daoist Emperor would most likely pass away in the Shaolin Temple, and there might even be a free pagoda thrown in.

However, Zhao Jiu thought for a moment, then looked at the two large mounds before him and shook his head repeatedly: "Thinking about this is too far off. Even if a tomb is built like a mountain, it can't withstand descendants losing the family estate a hundred years later. What happens after death depends, first, on one's life, second, on one's descendants, and third, on the times. All we can manage is this life. As for establishing virtue, establishing merit, and establishing words in life, I don't have high hopes for establishing virtue or words. It's more worthwhile to achieve some eternal merit... The Lingyan Pavilion collapsed, but who can forget Emperor Taizong and his twenty-four meritorious officials? The Later Han fell, but who can forget Emperor Guangwu and his Twenty-Eight Constellations? The Former Han is the same. Xiao He's tomb still stands, and there are still cenotaphs elsewhere. Zhang Liang's tomb is lost, but various places compete to build tombs for him. Han Xin's entire clan was exterminated, but that didn't stop tombs and burial mounds from appearing for him elsewhere... So, if I can restore the achievements of Han Gaozu and Tang Taizong, even if I'm burned to ashes and thrown into the sea after death, would the history books dare to omit my name?"

Hu Yin still wore that stern expression, while Han Shizhong and the other military officials nodded in agreement, presenting a harmonious scene.

Unexpectedly, the Zhao Song Son of Heaven suddenly turned back to look at the people behind him, startling the group of military officers: "Don't nod... I'm talking about myself. As a ruler, as long as you have some concept of the common people in your heart, you are bound to bear the world's criticism and are destined to be unable to establish virtue or words. So you can only seek merit. But it's different for a minister... Isn't it good to learn from Marquis Wu of Zhuge to establish virtue and establish oneself? Is the reputation of Han Gaozu and Tang Taizong really better than that of Marquis Wu of Zhuge, or greater than his?"

"Your Majesty, Marquis Wu of Zhuge was a Grand Councilor." Han Shizhong, feeling uneasy under Zhao Jiu's gaze, quickly stepped forward half a pace to make a joke. "That's naturally the path for the several Grand Councilors. How could we learn that? It's more appropriate for us to follow Your Majesty and be like Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun..."

Due to the order of precedence, the other military officials could not say much... they could only chime in agreement.

There was no help for it. Who could argue that Han Shizhong was a Commandery Prince?

Who could argue that he was unmatched under heaven?

Lady Liang giving birth to a pair of dragon-and-phoenix twins was also unmatched under heaven, because being a double in-law with the imperial family was unique, with no other like it. Yue Pengju had only formed one marriage alliance.

Therefore, Qu Duan, who had tasted Han Shizhong's whip, was completely docile. Wang De, who was convinced that Han Shizhong had ruined his career as a Commander-in-Chief with a single sentence, was also completely docile. Yue Fei, who had long passed the stage of youthfully worshipping Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, was even more docile... There was no help for it. Everyone knew what Han Shizhong had returned for this time—it was to prevent Yue Pengju from snatching the position of commander-in-chief this time. He was the Yan Commandery Prince's target this time.

Zhao Jiu, dressed in plain civilian clothes, let his gaze sweep across Han Shizhong's face once more, then finally broke into a smile. He turned back around and walked forward with his hands clasped behind his back. The civil and military officials behind him hurriedly surged forward, chasing after him under the protection of more Imperial Bodyguards.

Zhao Jiu walked straight ahead along the centerline between the two large, identical burial mounds, stopping and starting again. It was clear he was looking for something... In fact, many of his attendants also realized the Zhao Song Son of Heaven's goal: he seemed to want to find the central connecting point between the burial mounds of Han Gaozu and Empress Lü.

But unfortunately, the two mounds appeared identical but were actually slightly different. Empress Lü's mound was somewhat smaller. At the same time, Empress Lü's mound had likely indeed suffered damage, its shape incomplete. The Zhao Song Son of Heaven walked around but could never find a perfect point of symmetry.

The civil and military officials behind him seemed to sense something and made no extra noise, with only Han Shizhong moving lightly back and forth.

Finally, as the sun moved westward and afternoon arrived, Zhao Jiu gave up. He casually found a building in the mausoleum complex—a sacrificial hall in front of the tombs of Zhou Bo and his son Zhou Yafu—and sat down there.

"Hu Yin."

After Zhao Jiu arrived in front of the hall and casually sat down on a stone stool, he called out to someone past Han Shizhong and spoke seriously: "You have been in the region west of the Pass for many years now, and you must be familiar with military affairs. I ask you, if we were to implement the strategy for attacking Xia that was discussed in Chang'an, are there any key points you would need to remind me of?"

From Han Shizhong on down, many of the military commanders were stunned and found it inappropriate to interrupt.

"There are." Hu Yin, still with a stern face, immediately cupped his hands in front of the sacrificial hall.

"Speak."

"The foundation of attacking Xia is not in troops and horses. It never was before, and it isn't this time either. It lies in logistics."

"Well said!" Zhao Jiu was pleasantly surprised for a moment.

"To ensure proper logistics, there must be a proper route of advance. Looking at past campaigns, there are three proper routes: one slow, one moderate, and one fast. The slow one is in Hexi—take Hehuang, occupy Hexi, and cut off Xia's arm. The moderate one is in Hengshan—attack cities and strongholds, advance steadily. Once Hongzhou and Xiazhou are successfully taken, Xia's gate will be wide open and its vital points exposed. The fast one is to exit Pingxia City, follow the Hulu River, drive straight into the Xingling heartland, and win in one stroke..."

"In short, no matter what, we can't go through the Gobi Desert, right?"

"Right!"

Hearing this, Han Shizhong was about to praise his old friend, Fiscal Commissioner Hu, for his pertinent remarks, showing he was no longer the naive youth of Nanyang.

Unexpectedly, the Zhao Song Son of Heaven simply continued to press on, not giving Han Shizhong a chance to speak: "What else?"

"Another thing is that we must have cavalry!" Hu Yin continued, his expression serious. "And we must have a large amount of cavalry! Cavalry has two uses. One is that the Xia heartland is blocked by mountains, deserts, and large rivers. Once we enter the Xia heartland, the terrain will be completely unfamiliar. We need enough cavalry to spread out around us, acting as scouts to reconnoiter the terrain. The other is well-known: Xia has many cavalry, not just the six thousand Iron Vultures, but also many tribal barbarian horsemen. Since we are attacking their heartland, we must be wary of being besieged under a city while Xia cavalry that has come to reinforce cuts off our grain and retreat. To counter this, we need enough cavalry to block the Xia cavalry, or simply use cavalry to force the Xia into a field battle."

Zhao Jiu nodded repeatedly: "Anything else?"

"Yes." Hu Yin calmly responded under the slightly tense gazes of the military officials. "We must choose a commander who better understands advance and retreat, who is more competent in calculating provisions and managing logistics, who is neither arrogant in victory nor disheartened in defeat... Compared to this, outstanding bravery or exceptional strategy are not worth mentioning."

Zhao Jiu finally clapped his hands and laughed: "A scholar who has been away for three days must be looked at with new eyes. The former Censor-in-Chief now understands military affairs."

"Your subject still does not understand military affairs." Hu Yin raised his head and cupped his hands. "These words of mine are merely a summary of a century of campaigns against Western Xia... For nearly a hundred years, the Great Song's campaigns against Xia have never ceased, nor have the debates on how to wage them. I picked out the actions that made progress, found their commonalities, and also picked out the actions that ended in total defeat, found their commonalities, and naturally arrived at some conclusions... but in the end, it is only armchair strategy!"

"Being able to discuss strategy on paper is already not bad." Zhao Jiu continued smiling. "You just mentioned the commander-in-chief. It seemed you had someone specific in mind?"

"Yes." Hu Yin suddenly raised his hand and pointed at Han Shizhong beside him, still without changing expression. "Your Majesty, your subject was like Xiang Zhuang performing the sword dance—his true target was the Duke of Pei. All my words were actually a veiled remonstrance to Your Majesty: the Yan'an Commandery Prince can serve as the nominal commander for the campaign against Xia, but the truly decisive blow must not be entrusted to him, or this campaign will surely fail!"

Han Shizhong was dumbfounded. He was about to flare up, but when he saw Hu Mingzhong standing tall and straight before him, exactly as he had at Zhugao Town on the Huai River, his heart suddenly faltered, he grew flustered, and he dared not interrupt to refute.

"How so?" The curious Zhao official pressed without pause.

"Let Your Majesty know: Han Shizhong has always been unable to conceal his arrogance. It is in his nature. With the slightest achievement, he becomes smug and looks down on the entire world. This has happened more than once or twice. He only has his current position thanks to Your Majesty's indulgence." Hu Yin did not look at the dumbfounded Han Shizhong, nor at the many military officers below Yue Fei, but spoke sternly to the Zhao official. "And since he rescued Your Majesty at Yaoshan and was made Yan'an Commandery Prince, his old illness has naturally recurred. This time, when Your Majesty entered Guanzhong, you granted him a double marriage alliance, bestowed a commander's banner, and this has made him so arrogant he has forgotten himself..."

"Your subject has not..." Han Shizhong could no longer bear it and hurriedly spoke to Zhao Jiu.

But as soon as he opened his mouth and met Zhao Jiu's half-smiling expression, his heart turned cold and he immediately fell silent.

"Forgotten himself how?" After glancing at Han Shizhong, Zhao Jiu shifted his position on the stone stool, putting one leg up on another stone stool in front of him and casually brushing off dust.

"Your subject will mention just one thing. Your Majesty had long made arrangements for this Western Xia matter—troops, commander-in-chief, and deputy commanders were all assigned. Yet he, a subject, insisted on demanding the commander's position. This is nothing short of treason!"

"Your subject did not!" Han Shizhong's face turned pale, and he knelt directly before the shrine. "Your subject did not know..."

"Rise." Zhao Jiu spoke immediately, all trace of a smile gone from his face.

Han Shizhong rose at once, his heart even more alarmed. As for the others: Yue Fei stood with his hands clasped, expressionless; Qu Duan could not help turning back to smile, then quickly looked up at the sky to control his expression; Wang De, for some reason, began breathing heavily; while Liu Qi, Li Master, Yang Yizhong, and the others simply bowed their heads.

"Continue." Zhao Jiu raised his hand in a gesture to Hu Yin.

"Yes." Hu Mingzhong cupped his hands again. "Your subject believes that Your Majesty's arrangements for this western journey were already well-prepared. It was clearly intended that Military Governor Yue would be the commander, with Commander Qu and Deputy Commander Wang as his deputies, to deliver the final blow. The Yan'an Commandery Prince, knowing full well the military plan, still used the opportunity of redeploying cavalry back to Chang'an to request an audience and seek the command. That is the first point!"

When these words were spoken, and seeing Zhao Jiu nod slightly, Han Shizhong's heart grew even colder, while Yue Fei and the others breathed a slight sigh of relief.

"And since Your Majesty had already made a decision but never announced it directly, it was clearly out of consideration for the Yan'an Commandery Prince's dignity as the realm's foremost general. Yet he, blinded by gain, took Your Majesty's consideration for indulgence and pestered for half a month without end..." Hu Yin continued in a raised voice, then suddenly turned to Han Shizhong. "Han Liangchen, I ask you: you dawdled in Chang'an for half a month. If Your Majesty wanted you as commander, he would have announced it long ago. The delay was deliberate. Did you truly not understand, or were you pretending not to?! Your Majesty, that is the second point!"

Han Shizhong opened his mouth to speak, but found nothing to say, and gradually began to sweat.

"As for today, Your Majesty's patience had run out, and we subjects could no longer bear it. First I used Han Xin to admonish him, then Your Majesty urged him to cultivate virtue, and after much more time, all the way until we came to the tombs of Zhou Bo and Zhou Yafu, he still did not awaken..." At this point, Hu Yin could no longer contain himself a second time, and turned to Han Shizhong again. "Yan'an Commandery Prince, I ask you again... Do you truly not know the stories of Han Xin and the father and son Zhou Bo?"

Han Shizhong had surely figured it out by now. His face turned ashen, and he was about to seek an explanation from Zhao Jiu.

But at the same time, Hu Mingzhong continued his relentless rebuke:

"Under an ordinary emperor, with your arrogant behavior today, it would be nonsense to say you'd be killed outright. But if at tonight's banquet, you were simply not given chopsticks, how would you have handled yourself?"

"Your Majesty told you to study, to cultivate virtue. What have you studied? What have you cultivated?!"

"It was like this on the Huai, and it's still like this today! Do you truly believe that everything in this realm is about us civil officials deliberately suppressing you military men? When Prime Minister Zhao was nearly shot dead by your subordinates, were you truly without any responsibility? At Zhugao, your arrogance and wanton slaughter of surrendered generals—who were you trying to intimidate? 'Master, child'—who were you speaking to?!"

"Your Majesty promised you the rank of Commandery Prince at Jingou Town—did he break his word? The jade belt and bestowed banner—what honor! Your children are only a few months old, not yet raised, yet he already promised that the Crown Prince would marry your eldest daughter, and the Yiyou Princess would marry your eldest son... This is smoothing over even your posthumous concerns. And yet you still pester and cling. Those who know you understand it's just your nature, accustomed to putting yourself first! Those who don't—why wouldn't they worry that you might rebel in the future?!"

"Relying on favor to be arrogant! Arrogant and insolent toward your superior!" Hu Yin was almost gnashing his teeth by the end. Not only Han Shizhong, but every military officer present was terrified. "If not for Your Majesty protecting you, and the need to prioritize the greater situation, how would it come to me impeaching you in this wilderness? In Chang'an city, I would have long thrown my cap to the ground, sacrificed this post of Guanzhong Five-Circuit Transport Commissioner, and driven you all out publicly! Han Liangchen!"

"He's calling you!" Zhao Jiu suddenly interjected.

"Yes." Han Shizhong answered flusteredly, then steeled himself to cup his hands toward Hu Yin. "Brother Hu... Commissioner Hu!"

"If you continue like this," Hu Yin flicked his sleeve, almost with a sense of frustration, "no matter how much effort Your Majesty puts into protecting you, it will be useless... because Han Xin sought his own death! And Zhou Bo deserved to learn the harshness of prison guards! Read some books seriously!"

"Certainly, certainly. Brother Hu, don't be angry." Han Shizhong quickly replied, then turned to Zhao Jiu. "Your Majesty, don't be angry either. Your subject truly was out of his mind."

"I am not angry." Zhao Jiu gave a derisive laugh, then stood up. "If I were truly angry, would I have had Minister Hu speak with you?"

Han Shizhong let out a long breath. He looked back at the other commanders he had been suppressing, and could not help feeling somewhat embarrassed.

"Don't feel embarrassed either." As if sensing Han Shizhong's thoughts, Zhao Jiu, who had walked a few steps ahead, suddenly turned back and grasped the other's hand, speaking lightly. "With a great battle imminent, conflicts between ruler and subject, between commanders, between civil and military officials, should not be intensified... But such frictions are inevitably unavoidable. Speaking them out is not necessarily a bad thing—better than harboring resentment on the battlefield!"

"Your subject absolutely has no resentment." Han Shizhong quickly declared. "Commissioner Hu's lesson today was correct. Your subject was somewhat unaware of proper boundaries..."

Zhao Jiu held his hand and smiled, then walked forward. After a few steps, he seemed to remember something and gave a brief instruction to Yang Yizhong, who had remained silent: "Use the Jinghe estuary for tonight's banquet. Have that dish prepared. And have Liu Yan bring the Western Xia envoy delegation—give them their last meal."

Yang Yizhong cupped his hands and left. Yue Fei, beside him, suddenly realized: "May I ask Your Majesty, has word come from the west?"

"Correct." Zhao Jiu continued holding Han Shizhong's hands and nodded frankly. "Vice Minister Hu has persuaded Yelu Dashi. The Khitan, under the guise of an envoy delegation, brought Vice Minister Hu openly from Hexi. They could have come directly from Zhuoluo City north of Lanzhou, but Vice Minister Hu thought: first, Yelu Dashi had a condition—that we attack first to draw their forces, so he could urge the Khitan to send word back and dispatch troops; second, he wanted to familiarize himself with the terrain around Xingling and spy on their dispositions... So he only sent someone back to report, while he himself continued with the Khitan to Xingqing Prefecture."

Yue Fei bowed heavily. The others also immediately understood why they had come to see the Changling today... And Zhao Jiu's leisurely manner in Chang'an was also out of necessity—they had to wait for word from Yelu Dashi before proceeding to the next step. This was forced upon them... And Han Shizhong was even more embarrassed, because it showed that Your Majesty had tolerated him until the very last moment.

To make a long story short, Zhao Jiu, using Hu Yin to thoroughly humble Han Shizhong's arrogance, settled on Yue Fei as the one to deliver the decisive blow, and then went with all the civil and military officials to the Jinghe estuary, a dozen li away. Meanwhile, Xue Yuanli and his party in the Western Xia city could not help but hurry. Fortunately, even the civil officials among these Western Xia people were accustomed to riding horses, so they galloped swiftly and arrived at the Jinghe estuary, a full forty or fifty li from Chang'an city, where Zhao Jiu had indeed prepared a picnic.

Of course, chopsticks had also been placed on everyone's table, including the Yan'an Commandery Prince's, to avoid any misunderstandings.

As for Xue Yuanli and the other Western Xia envoys, they were half-pleased, half-worried, half-alarmed, and half-hopeful... Suddenly summoned, who knew what kind of explanation awaited them? They could only hope it was just to enjoy the scenery.

After all, the Jing and Wei rivers were clearly distinct!

"Minister Xue, look—the Jing and Wei are clearly distinct!" Moments later, under the setting sun, Xue Yuanli, meeting the Zhao Song emperor for the first time, found himself somewhat bewildered as the overly enthusiastic Zhao Jiu grabbed his hands and dragged him directly onto the river embankment.

To be honest, if not for the glaringly conspicuous bright red robe and headwrap the other wore, he would have thought he was dreaming... Was it really just to enjoy the scenery?

"Indeed, the Jing and Wei are clearly distinct!" Xue Yuanli replied with great effort in standard Guanzhong Chinese, but his mind was on high alert.

What did this mean? Was it a hint that the Great Song and the Great White High State were irreconcilable?

After all, the upper reaches of the Jing River were called the White Horse River, and the end of the White Horse River was entirely within the territory of the Great White High State.

Unexpectedly, Zhao Jiu simply held Xue Yuanli's hand, looked at the waters of the Jing and Wei, then let go and returned to sit below the embankment, leaving Xue Yuanli anxious and bewildered... But no matter how bewildered, this man was still the Son of Heaven of Zhao Song. Xue Yuanli dared not be remiss, and neither did the others. From Han Shizhong among the military to Hu Yin among the civil officials, and Xue Yuanli among the foreign envoys, they all took their seats.

However, after sitting down, before the dishes were served or the wine was set out, Zhao Jiu suddenly looked puzzled: "Was it the Jing that was muddy and the Wei that was clear just now?"

"Yes." Hu Yin cupped his hands. "Naturally, the Jing is muddy and the Wei is clear..."

Xue Yuanli was about to chime in with some classical references or poems.

But Zhao Jiu directly shook his head, no longer pretending, and sighed bluntly: "The Jing being muddy and the Wei clear—it's all the fault of Western Xia!"

Everyone was dumbfounded. Not only Hu Yin and the other civil officials, but even Han Shizhong, Qu Duan, Wang De, Liu Qi, Li Master, and other generals from Guanzhong were shocked. Even Yue Fei, usually of a deep and steady temperament, was startled.

"Your Majesty!" Xue Yuanli sensed trouble and stood up tremblingly to fulfill his duty. "What does the clarity or muddiness of the river have to do with our Great White High State?"

"Of course it has to do with you!" Zhao Jiu replied sternly. "The clarity or muddiness of water depends on the sediment in it. How much sediment enters the river depends on the vegetation in the river basin... If vegetation is lush, it retains the soil, preventing it from entering the water. If the upstream soil does not enter the water, the river is naturally clear. Conversely, the river is naturally muddy... The reason the Jing River is so muddy now is fundamentally because you Western Xia people have been building extensively upstream, clearing land for cultivation, causing soil erosion into the river."

This reasoning seemed to have some plausibility... Everyone was momentarily dazed.

And Zhao Jiu continued with his twisted logic: "And the harm of muddy water is well known. More sediment in the water means more siltation. More siltation raises the riverbed, making floods more likely..."

"Your Majesty!" Xue Yuanli could no longer bear it. "Even Du Fu of the Tang Dynasty wrote a poem: 'When will the muddy Jing and clear Wei be distinguished?' The Jing River has been muddy since ancient times, long before our Great White High State existed. How can you blame us?"

"The Jing River of the Tang Dynasty was definitely not as muddy as it is now!" Zhao Jiu insisted. "And I'm not just talking about the Jing River. Your Western Xia people's greatest crime is actually the Yellow River!"

"Yellow...?"

"The upper reaches of the Yellow River are under your control, and the Yellow River's water has become increasingly turbid since the Western Xia established its state. The repeated disasters downstream are all caused by your land reclamation and city building upstream!"

"Your Majesty!" Xue Yuanli was almost indignant.

"Think carefully, even the decline of the Great Tang was probably related to Li Yuanhao's clan establishing a foothold in the Hetao region back then and then launching massive construction projects," Zhao Jiu said with growing emotion. "It was your ancestors' massive construction that caused a grain shortage in Guanzhong. And if Guanzhong hadn't lacked grain, how could the Great Tang have weakened? Previously, Minister Hu (Hu Yin) and Minister Zhao (Zhao Kai) told me that since the large-scale renovation of the Zheng-Bai Canal during the Daguan era, Guanzhong actually no longer suffered from severe grain shortages... But in my view, this kind of water conservancy project only treats the symptoms, not the root cause. If we cannot annihilate the Western Xia and restore the upstream soil and water, the people of Guanzhong will ultimately have no good days, and the lower reaches of the Yellow River will continue to flood!"

Hearing the word "annihilate," Xue Yuanli completely lost confidence in maintaining peace and finally understood what being summoned this time meant. He simply flicked his sleeve in the middle of the feast:

"Your Majesty! How is your statement any different from 'pointing at a deer and calling it a horse'?! You blame my Great White High State for the water being clear or muddy?!"

"How dare you!"

"Absurd!"

"Villain!"

From the military officials' seats opposite, many people stood up instantly.

"Every word I speak comes from the bottom of my heart!" Zhao Jiu, while signaling his own generals not to make a scene, remained calm and composed, looking as if he truly spoke from the heart. "As for Minister Xue, being as shallow in learning as your own ruler, not recognizing truth and justice, I am too lazy to argue."

Xue Yuanli's earlier shout of 'pointing at a deer and calling it a horse,' made at the risk of death, had already fulfilled his duty as a minister. But after all, he was a chief minister of a state and still had considerable poise, so he continued to do his utmost:

"Why must Your Majesty provoke like this? Why not just speak plainly about Yan'an? But Your Majesty, I have repeatedly told Minister Yuwen before, and I will say it again today: our Great White High State truly has no intention of taking Yan'an from the Jin... However, with the three states now contending, Your Majesty's action is no different from pushing the two hundred thousand elite troops of the Great White High State over to the Jin side!"

"Where do you have two hundred thousand elite troops?" Zhao Jiu laughed scornfully. "The Iron Vultures are no more than six thousand, and the Splashing Joy Army no more than two hundred... But speaking of this, regardless, Minister Xue's visit to see me this time is proper in terms of etiquette. Fifty camels and a hundred fine horses are also the greatest courtesy your Western Xia can manage on the surface... I will distribute all these things to Commander Qu for use by the Imperial Camp Cavalry."

Upon hearing this, Qu Duan instinctively wanted to rise and taunt the Western Xia envoy, but he caught sight of the two biggest figures in the seats besides the Emperor—Hu Yin and Han Shizhong—both staring at him in unison. He stiffened his face and dared not move.

"Your Majesty may do as you please!" Xue Yuanli flicked his sleeve and sat back down. "I, the foreign minister, have only one question now... May I be permitted to return to my country properly and report to my ruler, so as to fulfill my duty as an envoy?"

"Of course you may." Zhao Jiu smiled in response. "But I haven't finished speaking yet... I also liked that white parrot very much."

"I am glad Your Majesty likes it..."

"You should know, back in Dongjing, a Daoist from Shaoxing told me a story. He said there is Chang'e in the moon, who was Hou Yi's wife. Because she could only eat crow zhajiangmian every day in Hou Yi's home, she stole Hou Yi's elixir of immortality and fled to the moon." Zhao Jiu smiled at the ministers and Xue Yuanli. The ministers, not understanding, could only force a smile, while Xue Yuanli's expression remained cold and unchanged. "His meaning wasn't to coax me with some elixir of immortality, but probably to tell me to treat my two Imperial Consorts better. Later, I forgot all about the elixir of immortality in the story, only remembering that bowl of crow zhajiangmian. But I haven't had crow zhajiangmian today... However, since Minister Xue is about to return to his country, it is fitting to invite Minister Xue to first have a bowl of parrot zhajiangmian, as a token of my regard."

As Emperor Zhao narrated slowly, Yang Yizhong waved his hand, and indeed a fully armed Imperial Guard brought up a single bowl of noodles with shredded meat and sauce, placing it directly before Xue Yuanli... The crowd was even more dumbfounded. Not to mention the Western Xia people, even several of the military commanders felt a chill in their hearts.

"Has Your Majesty made a firm decision to start a war?" Xue Yuanli, forcing himself to endure the discomfort, barely managed to avoid the bowl of noodles before him. He looked up to the sky and closed his eyes for a moment before opening them helplessly to question.

"I have just decided at Changling to appoint Han Shizhong, the Commandery Prince of Yan'an, as commander, Hu Yin as Viceroy of Logistics, and Yue Fei, Qu Duan, and Wu Jie as deputies, to dispatch the entire army to take Hengshan!" Zhao Jiu pointed casually. "Our army is small, only a little over a hundred thousand!"

Upon hearing this, Han Shizhong, who had just sat down, immediately rose, and together with Yue Fei and Qu Duan, casually clasped their hands in a distant salute to Xue Yuanli.

Xue Yuanli's face flushed red. He lowered his head, forced himself to take a bite of the noodles on the table, then rose to take his leave and depart. Zhao Jiu showed no reaction, simply letting him leave. Unexpectedly, this Western Xia chief minister had only taken a few steps before he covered his mouth, unable to hold back. He could only grip the hand of the accompanying Western Xia official, force himself to hurry down the riverbank, and then began to dry heave on the spot... But in the end, he did not look back and hurried away.

After he had been gone for a long time, the feast remained quiet for a long time. Han Shizhong and the others several times seemed about to speak but stopped.

It was Hu Yin who frowned slightly, then directly clasped his hands and asked: "Your Majesty had the envoy's gift killed and then made the envoy eat it?"

Zhao Jiu finally spread his hands: "How could I possibly do such a thing? That parrot was so cute; it was already sent to Dongjing to the Empress Dowager. I just wanted to anger the Western Xia. Besides, I didn't force him to eat it; he ate it himself..."

Only then did the crowd, following Hu Yin, feel slightly relieved... This was the familiar Emperor Zhao.

However, Emperor Zhao also sighed for a moment: "There's no helping it. I spoke from the heart to make my determination to attack the Xia clear, and he didn't believe a word. I coaxed him with a bowl of noodles, and he reacted like this. I can only say that this man is inherently willing to believe I am a cruel person... But, Zhengfu, what kind of meat is this exactly?"

The crowd once again looked at Yang Yizhong in unison.

Yang Yizhong had no choice but to clasp his hands and tell the truth: "Your Majesty's order was urgent, and in haste, I had no choice but to temporarily take people to shoot a few crows from Changling... It is indeed crow zhajiangmian."

Emperor Zhao's heart stirred.

PS: Continue to offer sacrifices for the new books "This Is My Planet" and "Entertainment Starting from Failing the College Entrance Exam."