Chapter 336

The grand court assembly at the start of November had turned into a complete mess, with one of the Nine Ministers of the Secret Pavilion—likely the one bearing the heaviest actual responsibilities among them—transformed directly from the presiding judge in the hall into a co-defendant in the same case, leaving everyone utterly astounded.

And at this moment, after his outburst of rage, Zhao Jiu had stormed off, directly departing the capital to inspect river defenses.

Some believed this was His Majesty deliberately avoiding the case proceedings and dodging the Imperial Consort's pleas to reduce unnecessary trouble, while others said it was His Majesty hinting that the Ministry of Justice should act freely and handle the matter strictly and swiftly. Still others were tangled up over issues between the Imperial City Office and the takeout delivery... But regardless, Zhao Jiu's posture of leaving the capital to inspect river defenses was utterly uncompromising, even decisively so.

He said it that day and left the next, with absolutely no room for discussion.

One must understand that the previous few days had seen intermittent snowfall—though no snow accumulated, it left the ground muddy, and it would freeze over in the mornings and evenings, making road conditions quite poor... Yet Zhao Jiu still set out.

Not only that, but on this trip His Majesty had not brought many people—just a thousand troops and four or five attendants, and then he departed directly.

Of the thousand troops, five hundred were Imperial Guard on duty, and five hundred were cavalry from the Yuetai Grand Camp.

Among the attendants, the highest-ranking was Minister of War and concurrently Director of Waterways Liu Hongdao, followed in order by Hanlin Academician Fan Zongyin, the newly promoted Direct Academician Lu Benzhong, plus Palace Receptionist Ren Baozhong, and Imperial Diarist concurrently head of the Military Statistics Office Yu Yunwen.

Truly, throwing caution to the wind, he left as soon as he said so.

This group, after leaving Yuetai, followed the Bian River northwest, first arriving at the key river town of Heyin... This place was both the mouth of the Bian River and the location of the Imperial Navy's shipyard—one could only say that starting the river defense inspection here was not inappropriate.

Turning back to the present, upon reaching Heyin, Imperial Navy Commander-in-Chief Zhang Rong came early to greet them. Zhao Jiu, as consistent as ever in his loyalty, set aside his rank and took Zhang Rong's hand to enter the shipyard together. Once inside, His Majesty made a show of inspecting the steamships under construction, then left the dry dock and went to the military camp.

A brief digression here: as early as the reign of Emperor Shenzong, dry dock technology had become famous throughout the realm through the successful repair of a massive tower ship at Jinming Pool, and was subsequently promoted everywhere.

As for shipbuilding technology itself, whether for sea vessels or river boats, Great Song was essentially at the world's leading level. After all, in another timeline, the rebellion of Zhong Xiang and Yang Yao lasted five or six years, and by the later stages, even the rebel forces on Lake Dongting could mass-produce steamships of various sizes, showing how mature the relevant technology was.

So in the current situation, the Song army, which had burned down Xiao Wusao from the start and controlled the river defenses, naturally had no reason to abandon these excellent surface technologies.

However, according to military intelligence reports, after suffering several losses, the Jurchens—just as they had previously supported the pirates of Qingzhou—were now scouring Hebei for relevant craftsmen, seemingly intending to use the old course of the Yellow River to establish their own shipyards and fleets.

Of course, this was not the time to discuss such matters.

Zhao Jiu left the shipyard and turned into the military camp that was integrated with the shipyard. Inevitably, a midday meal was added, with pigs and sheep bought from Zhengzhou to the south as a reward—from the regular soldiers of the Imperial Camp to the shipyard's craftsmen and laborers, including Zhao Jiu himself, everyone got a bowl of meat and half a cup of wine.

In the afternoon, His Majesty personally went to inspect the winter cloth supplies for the Imperial Navy that had been issued the previous month. He made a long circuit, examining things in detail for over an hour, then, taking advantage of the warm winter afternoon sun, turned toward the river. He personally ascended the main dike and inspected the embankments, fortifications, and river conditions.

One could only say that after being the Emperor for so long, he had perfected the art of putting on a show—anyone who didn't know better would think Zhao Jiu actually understood all this.

"Commander-in-Chief Zhang, I have reviewed the Ministry of War's documents, and there is intelligence vaguely mentioning that the Jurchens also have a dry dock at Great Ming Prefecture? And that they are also building steamships?" The question came from Minister of War and concurrently Director of Waterways Liu Hongdao.

To be fair, as a senior official, Liu Hongdao's entry into the capital seemed somewhat diminished compared to other regional magnates, even bordering on being sidelined. He himself had initially been somewhat disgruntled, but thinking he could enter the central government and gain a Secret Pavilion status, plus being closer to his recently recovered hometown, he had endured it.

But now, following Zhao Jiu here and considering his two concurrent posts, how could Liu Hongdao not realize that His Majesty clearly had specific arrangements for him? The combination of Minister of War and Director of Waterways could very well lead to achievements, and was likely part of Zhao Jiu's overall planning for a future northern expedition.

Therefore, after leaving Yuetai, this Vice Minister Liu had become increasingly attentive day by day, personally handling many routine matters along the way, leaving the three inner court officials—Fan Zongyin, Lu Benzhong, and Ren Baozhong—feeling quite sour... Lu Benzhong had essentially been reduced to the role of reading the official gazette to His Majesty every day.

"There is such a thing."

Zhang Rong, wearing a cotton robe bestowed by the Emperor just last month, stood with his hands clasped, exhaling a puff of white vapor as he spoke. "The Jurchen dogs learn from their mistakes—they've placed their shipyard behind Great Ming Prefecture, making it truly difficult to deal with. But if you ask me... if I may speak directly, the Jurchens putting effort into building steamships is actually a good thing."

"Oh?" Liu Hongdao became even more serious.

"The reasoning is like this." Zhang Rong frowned as he explained. "Vice Minister Liu, think about it—even if they manage to produce steamships up north, how could they possibly assemble water combat experts as skilled as ours? The same archer who shoots accurately on land is a different matter on a boat. And then there's the handling of large and small steamships—a big steamship requires dozens or even hundreds of laborers to work the paddle wheels. How do you coordinate their movements left and right, how do you keep them in sync, large ships and small ships, advancing and retreating—all of it has its own methods. A newly formed navy will never be a match for us!"

"What if the Jurchens have more ships? I am from Qingzhou, and I've heard since childhood that when pirates fight at sea, no matter how skilled the sailors, they can't beat having more ships and bigger ships..." Liu Hongdao remained serious.

"Vice Minister Liu, rest assured." Zhang Rong replied just as promptly. "What you say is absolutely correct, but that's at sea. Here, this is the Yellow River. At sea, it's boundless, with huge waves—in such a place, if a man loses his ship, where can he take shelter? So of course, more ships beat fewer, bigger ships beat smaller. But the Yellow River—Vice Minister Liu, look for yourself—it's only this wide. The old channel over there is even narrower. In such a situation, even if the Jurchens stockpile a nest of steamships, I'm confident that with the Imperial Navy, I can swallow them up on the river for His Majesty."

Liu Hongdao gazed at the glittering golden river surface, quickly coming to understand, and nodded along with everyone around him.

As for Zhao Jiu, he too looked at the sparkling river under the afternoon sun, nodded, and then continued seriously asking questions: "Leave that aside for now. Aside from that, Commander-in-Chief Zhang, do you have any other difficulties? I came out this time to set aside appearances and get a clear understanding of various military matters from all angles... Some things might not affect the war now, but what about in a year or two, or three to five years? Minister Zhang, if you have any thoughts at all, whatever they may be, speak freely."

"To be honest with Your Majesty, I... your servant actually does have some thoughts. For example, even though I'm used to it, I still think the common people along the river have a terribly hard time breaking ice in winter." Zhang Rong listened carefully, then quickly clasped his sleeves and spoke earnestly, but perhaps finding the posture awkward, he lowered his hands after a few words. "Several hundred li, even a thousand li—they have to break ice, and usually every single day. After breaking it for many days, who knows when a cold snap might come and freeze it all overnight, and the Jurchens can still come to harass us if they want."

"There's no helping that."

Before Zhao Jiu could speak, Liu Hongdao immediately interjected. This time it wasn't about showing off, because winter ice-breaking had always been a regular winter corvée labor initiated by the Director of Waterways under the guise of river management. "In my view, breaking ice and not breaking ice are completely different matters... If you don't break the ice, the ice layer thickens day by day, and the Jurchens can prepare well in advance. Once properly prepared, they can launch a major army to attack. But if you break the ice, even if it suddenly thickens, the Jurchens can only take advantage of the opportunity for raids. Moreover, if daily ice-breaking can still result in overnight freezing, it only means those few days were exceptionally cold. And under such extreme cold, even if the Jurchens raid, their strength will be insufficient."

"I naturally understand that reasoning." Zhang Rong shook his head repeatedly. "I just feel that the common people along the river have an extra burden of corvée labor for no reason. In the dead of winter, they even miss out on a few fewer football matches than others—it's hard on them..."

"The people are indeed suffering, but in the current situation, north, south, east, west—where is there no suffering?" Liu Hongdao, upon hearing this, instead became dismissive, even somewhat agitated. "Along the river, they break ice; in the south, taxes are increased; in Bashu, taxes have been paid in advance, almost emptying their coffers, hurting them to the core... And if we're talking about corvée labor, during the recent pacification campaigns, there was plenty of corvée in the south too. It's only been reduced since last year. And not just the south—in the north, the heaviest corvée is in Guanxi, because that's where the main battles of recent years have been fought! Commander-in-Chief Zhang, don't you know that His Majesty mobilized a hundred thousand corvée laborers in Hedong not long ago?!"

This came so unexpectedly that many thought Zhang Rong would fly into a rage. But this Military Governor, who had risen from a water bandit background, showed no anger at all. Instead, after listening carefully, he nodded seriously: "Vice Minister Liu speaks reasonably. I only saw what was right in front of me, but didn't think about how things are even harder elsewhere."

Zhao Jiu was silent for a moment, then asked again: "Regarding ice-breaking—I remember it started right after I first returned to Dongjing. Has the complaining been constant from the beginning, or has it increased over time? Is it the same across the entire lower reaches of the river, or does it vary by location?"

Zhang Rong was somewhat stunned by the question. He lowered his head and thought for a long while before answering seriously: "This question from Your Majesty really is... The number of people complaining has gradually increased over the past few years. And the complaints are louder around Dongjing and the nearby river areas, while upstream from Luoyang and downstream from Shaoxing, there are fewer."

"This is because the situation has calmed down somewhat, and some people have forgotten the atrocities of the Jin, gradually becoming less able to endure hardship." Lu Benzhong finally interjected.

Zhao Jiu sighed inwardly, but showed no extra reaction on his face, merely nodding lightly:

"There's some truth to that, but it's also because Dongjing's economic recovery has driven up prices, making money and grain in the surrounding areas less valuable. Especially in winter, when the common people along the river break ice every day, they miss out on opportunities to work as hired laborers in the city during the slack farming season, naturally breeding resentment... But ice-breaking must still be done—there's no way around it. Besides, once the northern expedition succeeds, this matter will resolve itself... Of course, speaking of this, I've had another idea."

As he spoke, Zhao Jiu glanced at Liu Yan, who understood. The Imperial Guards on duty also took the initiative to grip their swords and form a line, subtly 'pushing' some of the accompanying local officials and low-ranking naval officers back a 'step'.

Those who remained close to Zhao Jiu, from Liu Hongdao down to the other officials, immediately stood at attention. Zhang Rong was startled, looked at the reactions of those around him, and quickly clasped his hands in salute.

"What I mean is, we can make preparations in advance. If the river suddenly freezes over, we can do the opposite—cross the river and stab the Jurchens, turning defense into offense..." Zhao Jiu instructed seriously. "We don't seek victory, we don't seek plunder—only to harass the enemy, then return with the entire force intact."

Upon hearing this, many from Liu Hongdao downward were momentarily stunned, but quickly understood. Even Zhang Rong realized that Zhao Jiu's move was probably not for military gains, but because Zhang Zongyan had just lost a battle after crossing the river, and this was meant to boost morale.

With this thought, everyone from Zhang and Liu downward voiced their agreement.

And sure enough, Zhao Jiu led the group in further discussion on the dike, finally granting Liu Hongdao, as Minister of War and concurrently Director of Waterways, the overall authority for such operations. He was to coordinate between various units of the Imperial Camp, help select battlefields, and even had the power to stockpile specific military supplies.

Thus the matter was settled. But what caught Zhang Rong off guard was that in the following days, Zhao Jiu, who had already completed his river inspection, showed no intention of moving. He simply stayed put in Heyin, waiting until the documents arrived from Dongjing—Yang Zheng's sentence of immediate execution, along with the Imperial Consort's own uncle and the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review being exiled together. This seemed to truly confirm the claim that Zhao Jiu had specifically come out to avoid the matter.

However, this view soon disappeared, because after personally approving these judgments, Zhao Jiu still did not move. In the dead of winter, this Emperor was simply holed up in a military camp next to a shipyard with a handful of close ministers and a thousand troops?

Truly holed up—he didn't even go to Zhengzhou, just a few dozen li away. When the chief councilors tentatively invited His Majesty to return to the capital, he refused. This left many people feeling quite unsettled...

After all, say what you will about the three major cases and who was giving whom face, but hadn't His Majesty's northwestern campaign destroyed Western Xia, subjugated the Khitans and Mongols, and recovered many prefectures and counties?

Hadn't his authority and prestige only increased?

Hadn't the relationship between ruler and subject remained unchanged?

Under these circumstances, with Zhao Jiu lurking like a tiger by the river, just over a hundred li from the capital, who could sleep soundly?

And finally, after this inexplicable silence and waiting from His Majesty, the first person to crack appeared.

On the eleventh day of the eleventh month—a completely meaningless date—Commander-in-Chief Zhang Rong, who had been on a routine inspection downriver to Shaoxing, could no longer bear it. He suddenly turned back that evening and actively requested an audience with His Majesty.

Although His Majesty had already taken off his shoes and gotten onto the heated brick bed, he immediately agreed to the audience.

"Your Majesty, I didn't mean to hide anything from you. It's just that I couldn't bear to betray my sense of loyalty. But after thinking it over, if I didn't tell Your Majesty, that would also be a betrayal of loyalty, and moreover, it would be disloyal..." Zhang Rong said some utterly baffling words as soon as he entered.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Jiu, who had been lying on the heated bed listening to Lu Benzhong read the official gazette, simply waved his hand. The latter immediately understood and set down the gazette, then left together with several armored soldiers.

Zhao Jiu sat up at this moment but still said nothing. He simply patted the empty spot on the kang where Lu Benzhong had just been sitting, gesturing for the newly arrived Chief Zhang to come sit. Throughout, he showed little surprise, as if he had long known the other would return.

"Your Majesty is indeed just as Scholar You said—you already knew." Zhang Rong stepped aside from the doorway, letting Lu Benzhong leave. He instinctively moved forward a few steps but then stopped mid-stride, halting five or six paces before the kang. He clasped his hands and sighed. "I know shame, so I won't sit. Standing is fine."

"I know, and yet I don't," Zhao Jiu replied without pressing him. Knowing the man's temperament, he spoke with almost excessive candor. "I'll be honest with you. I came to Heyin mainly to wait for someone, not specifically for you…"

Zhang Rong was momentarily stunned.

"But from the very first day I arrived, I knew you, Chief Zhang, must be hiding something from me. Otherwise, with your bold spirit, why would you be so restrained when meeting me? On the riverbank, you didn't even dare to put your hands on your hips—you must have felt you'd done something wrong!"

Zhao Jiu continued with a smile, turning to drag a bamboo basket from the head of the kang. Under the lamplight, he pulled out an unopened envelope and tore it open on the spot. "So these past days, I did have people thoroughly inspect the Imperial Guard River Force. I've received many related reports… local officials around the river force's various posts, several of your commanding officers—all have submitted documents. Beyond that, I had your son-in-law lead men to investigate privately throughout the army, questioning officers, soldiers, accompanying jinshi, even nearby military families and retired veterans—every angle covered. But I didn't read these reports line by line myself. Instead, I had your son-in-law read them all first, then summarize them for me, waiting for when you'd come see me so we could compare notes. So, shall you speak first, Minister Zhang, or shall I?"

Zhang Rong was already dumbfounded, but when he saw the Zhao Emperor produce his own son-in-law's envelope, he was utterly mortified. He simply clasped his hands and bowed his head. "No wonder my son-in-law wouldn't talk to me. I even cursed him for being useless… Never mind. Let me speak first! Your Majesty, my greatest fault is letting the Vegetable Demon Sect arise within the Imperial Guard River Force! And out of brotherly loyalty, I couldn't bring myself to purge them! That's my biggest mistake, and it's the hurdle I couldn't get past whenever I saw Your Majesty these past days!"

The Zhao Emperor, who had just been so composed, was now frozen on the spot… Liangshan heroes infected by the Manichaean Sect? Wouldn't that make their combat power explode?

But this absurd thought lasted only a moment. The next instant, the Emperor hurriedly turned to the lamplight to read Yu Yunwen's report. Sure enough, in the summary styled like a dispatch, the first line read: "First, the army has been tainted by the Manichaean Sect." He let out a long sigh.

Now, Zhao Jiu had been in power for five or six years, and he had long heard of the Vegetable Demon Sect—or the Vegetarian Demon Sect, or the Manichaean Sect, or the Mazdaen Sect… whatever name it went by. Out of curiosity, he had even looked into it fairly deeply. But the problem was, the deeper he understood it, the more complicated his feelings became.

First, this thing had a long history. Over hundreds and thousands of years, its religious logic had become quite refined, no worse than any public sect. So it was the kind that couldn't be cut off or sorted out, impossible to ban completely… Some Daoist temples and Buddhist monasteries, outwardly practicing Daoism or Buddhism, were actually Manichaean inside.

In a word, it had immense vitality.

Second, its grassroots base was very deep. It emphasized mutual aid within groups, much like the Great Sage of Dongting Lake—it had that flavor of grassroots insurance. In fact, it was possible that the Dongting Lake movement was a variant of Manichaeism… As long as the common people needed spiritual solace and basic economic mutual assistance, it would immediately spring up, spreading far and wide.

But precisely because of its strong grassroots base—or its ability to organize and mobilize the masses—this led to the third obvious characteristic of Manichaeism: a hotbed for rebellion and uprising.

Not to mention anything else, take this Great Song. The two largest and most recent large-scale uprisings—one of peasants and fishermen, one of peasants and urban artisans; one in Jingxiang, one in the Southeast; one led by Zhong Xiang, one by Fang La—were essentially the same, following the same pattern. The only difference was that Fang La's revolutionary nature was much stronger than Zhong Xiang's.

"I know the court bans the Vegetarian Demon Sect," Zhang Rong said, seeing the Zhao Emperor's expression change on the spot, growing even more ashamed. "But when I discovered it, there were already over a hundred people, and I was in a bind… Besides, they only ate vegetables and didn't neglect their duties on the boats. I really couldn't bring myself to act against them!"

"Then expel them!" Zhao Jiu sighed, clutching the letter.

"Don't we need to execute them all?" Zhang Rong was slightly taken aback.

"We didn't execute the surrendered troops from Dongting Lake, and there are still entire villages and towns in the Southeast believing in this. How could we execute them all?" Zhao Jiu smiled bitterly. "Expel them. Don't let them serve as soldiers! Scatter them, send them far away! Besides, this demon sect is just a symptom, not the root cause… Whether it's the demon sect, Buddhism, or Daoism, the reason so many people believe is that they have no spiritual anchor in their hearts. And for poor, small households lacking clan support, the demon sect holds even more meaning. In the end, it's because the north went through chaos, and Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism couldn't cover everything. It's a bit like what we discussed about breaking ice the other day… But no matter what, it cannot remain in the army—especially the Imperial Guard Army! I absolutely cannot tolerate it!"

Zhang Rong understood only half of this, but knowing the Emperor wouldn't kill anyone, he felt a great weight lift from his heart. His hands, which had been clasped at his waist, relaxed. "I have a handle on this matter. Since Your Majesty is so benevolent, I'll clean it up when I return. I'll scatter them and settle them in various villages along the river, making sure they don't reconnect or re-enter the military."

Zhao Jiu nodded, then shook his head. "Though the Vegetarian Demon Sect issue isn't fundamentally anyone's fault, still, the fact that it surfaced here in your unit alone isn't without reason… Minister Zhang, being loyal to your subordinates is a good thing. For one thing, ensuring pay and supplies reach the men—that alone puts you above half the commanders in the Imperial Guard. But this loyalty, creating a closed system within the army, and being too protective of your men—that's also a flaw. I've only read the first item about the Vegetarian Demon Sect, but I can already guess there will be complaints about accompanying jinshi being sidelined in the river force. Isn't there talk that accompanying jinshi aren't allowed on the boats…?"

Before Zhang Rong could clasp his hands and admit fault again, Zhao Jiu continued reading, growing more irritated. He slapped Yu Yunwen's summary report onto the table. "Minister Zhang, this says that not only are accompanying jinshi being pushed aside, but your loyalty has a bigger problem—you favor officers and old brothers more than others, to the point that while you don't embezzle military funds, when your subordinate officers do, you rarely take serious action… Is that how loyalty is supposed to be used?"

Zhang Rong was extremely embarrassed. "I know that since I'm in the Imperial Guard, I should follow the law. But they said that's how it is in other Imperial Guard units too—except for Brother Pengju's place… I… Your servant… No matter what, I was wrong, and I've made things difficult for Your Majesty!"

"You haven't made things difficult for me," Zhao Jiu shook his head. "I've made things difficult for you… Back then, you were a hero of Liangshan Marsh, handling your own affairs. And when the nation was in crisis, you led your entire army to resist the Jin, then brought all of Liangshan to guard the Yellow River for me. These acts were true righteousness, and I remember them well… The Imperial Guard River Force has its own system, and everyone knows that. For you to have reached this point, what more can I say?"

"What do you mean by that?" Zhang Rong hurriedly stepped forward half a pace and waved his hands. "Over the years, even without counting the steamships in the docks outside, we've consumed millions of strings of cash in provisions and pay from the court each year. Eating the grain means doing the duty—that's one way to put it. Even by the code of brotherhood in the martial world, once we pledged to Your Majesty, we should follow Your Majesty's rules… Some things, I truly let Your Majesty down!"

"By that same logic, you haven't let me down. You've let down the common people you've never met." Zhao Jiu also waved his hand from the couch. "Minister Zhang, the grain you eat, the pay you use—it comes from the taxes of poor commoners you've never seen. I'm just the big boss, collecting it and passing it along… It's like back when you were on Liangshan. The fishermen and the commoners around Dongping Prefecture gave you grain and fish, and you were just the middleman, passing it on to the brothers who did the fighting. Back then on Liangshan, it wasn't the people of Liangshan who supported you, was it? Did you, Zhang Rong, conjure things out of thin air with magic to feed so many people?"

Zhang Rong was completely stunned.

"Speak to different people in different ways… The Jurchens are tigers and wolves. Don't talk about benevolence and righteousness with them. Just show them your blades and fists. If you're harder than them, they'll naturally go soft on you!"

"And take your son-in-law and those jinshi scholars. They talk about family and state duty, the bonds between ruler and subject. So I talk to them about the two rivers not yet recovered, about the nation's enmity and my personal grievance. Then they have no choice but to work for me."

"As for those military officers from the Western Army, they seek titles for their wives and children, glory and honor. So I give them commandery prince and military governor titles to pursue… But among the military officers, two are different from the rest—you and Yue Fei. You two are a different story."

"It's not about loyalty, or not just about loyalty. Of course I know you're loyal, but that's not it this time… Back when I entrusted the orphan at the Yiyou Gate, I named four commanders. Everyone there wondered why I chose you, a bandit, instead of Zhang Jun. At that time, I valued your loyalty. But this time, it's not that!"

"This time, I put you and Yue Fei together and say these things to you because you two are among the few high-ranking generals who understand the hardships of the common people, who are willing to think from their perspective! Qu Duan managed the people's livelihood well in the northwest, but that wasn't from considering the commoners—it was to maintain order… Only you and Yue Fei can I talk to about the common people's plight. Only when facing you two do I dare speak of this principle."

Having said this, Zhao Jiu was about to continue his rambling, but seeing Zhang Rong standing there stunned, he felt a bit deflated. He cut himself off, stood up, picked up Yu Yunwen's summary report, and walked barefoot over to the still-dazed Zhang Rong, stuffing it into his arms:

"I won't read it. Take it back and find your Scholar You… whether he's Scholar You or Secretary You, have him explain it to you! If that doesn't work, drag your son-in-law over and have him, the original author, explain it!"

Zhang Rong took the document. Unlike other ministers who would put on a show of gratitude and tears over the ruler's trust, he simply made a deep bow to the Zhao Emperor, then lowered his head and walked out.

But as he reached the camp gate, this Liangshan hero—who in history had nearly saved the Great Song dynasty at a critical moment—turned back and asked seriously:

"Your Majesty! You, a Son of Heaven, do you also know the hardships of the common people?"

Zhao Jiu was momentarily taken aback, then felt a sting in his nose. But he held it in and just gave a wry smile. "When I was being chased all over by the Jurchens, I saw a bit…"

Zhang Rong nodded. He was about to leave but couldn't help turning back again. "Your Majesty, before, my vision was narrow. I only saw the commoners of Liangshan, never thought about those in the south or west of the Pass, let alone the principle of where the money and grain come from… I accepted Vice Minister Liu's lecture that day, and today I accept Your Majesty's lecture—both with respect. But after accepting, I still want to ask one more thing: when will the hardships of the common people under heaven lessen a bit?"

Zhao Jiu was stunned and did not reply.

"After we destroy the Jurchens?" Zhang Rong couldn't help pressing.

"Destroying the Jurchens will certainly make things much better," Zhao Jiu nodded in agreement.

"That's true." Zhang Rong nodded too, seeming somewhat relieved, and finally turned and left.

Leaving Zhang Rong aside, Zhao Jiu stood barefoot on the ground, dazed for a long time. Only when armored guards outside turned did he climb back onto the kang, lie down, and stare at the ceiling.

Now, the Emperor knew clearly that by applying pressure at the right time, he had successfully tightened his grip on this semi-independent force considerably. From a monarch's perspective, this was undoubtedly a great victory… After all, whether it was the Manichaean Sect or favoring old brothers, one must not forget the premise: this army was originally a peasant army built by Zhang Rong himself, with its own internal system. The army still bore Zhang's stamp more than anyone else's.

As for the private calculations of interest between him, the Emperor, and Zhang Rong, there was no fault either. He, Zhao Jiu, had the emperor's title and could wave the banner of resisting the Jin. But Zhang Rong, whether with his great victory at Suotou Beach or his later initiative to lead his entire army through the Eastern Capital to guard the river for the nation, had more than repaid his debt to Zhao Jiu.

Yet despite this, the Zhao Emperor, having won a great victory today, lay on the kang, his thoughts a tangled mess. He thought of the root causes of the Manichaean Sect's rise, the impact of the northern expedition's success or failure, finances and military spending, the expansion plans he had vaguely conceived, the rising prices from economic recovery around the capital that effectively devalued soldiers' pay, dampening morale and public sentiment… All left a bitter taste in his mouth.

Fortunately, thinking back to the empty cities he had seen on his journey from Nanyang back to the Eastern Capital, the desolate scenes from Yanling to Yaoshan, and even the severed limbs, rotting flesh, and decaying bodies he had seen at the foot of the Yinshan Mountains before—these thoughts, which should have been suppressed years ago, were once again pushed down.

The next day, the Zhao Emperor slept until noon before rising. When he heard that Zhang Rong had begun a large-scale expulsion of officers and soldiers from Heyin, confiscating their property, his mood lightened somewhat. But what truly lifted his spirits was another piece of news—that afternoon, a routine patrol boat of the Imperial Guard River Force docked early, bringing the person the Zhao Emperor had been waiting for all these days.

Wang Yan, the Imperial Guard Commander-in-Chief who had crossed the river from Shanzhou, had finally brought back Ma Kuo, the Northern Circuit Governor.

PS: The 150th Patron has appeared—Cultivator Luo Xiao, a thunderous praise!