Chapter 356: Chapter Twenty-Two: Intentional

There was no war issue to discuss.

The previous rumors and the matter of establishing a crown prince were a bit too sensitive. The Imperial University political inquiry group, mainly composed of Imperial University students and the elders of the Eastern Capital, still adhered strongly to feudal moral traditions. They couldn't help but consider the dignity of His Majesty, and as a result, found themselves constrained in such a setting.

Thus, as the final major event of the seventh year of the Jianyan era, the Imperial University political inquiry itself proceeded without any waves... The only slight stir occurred during the midday break, when a few commoners from out of town came to kneel outside the Imperial University and submit a direct appeal to the emperor. Choosing this moment to appeal was clearly premeditated, but the court had a well-established system for such matters, and someone was promptly assigned to handle it.

However, just because the others weren't causing trouble for His Majesty and the high ministers of the central government didn't mean His Majesty and the high ministers wouldn't cause trouble for the others.

That afternoon, just as the fourth Imperial University political inquiry was about to conclude successfully, Lu Haowen, Minister Lu, slowly rose, walked to the center of the venue, and with two sentences, announced on behalf of His Majesty Zhao the system of secret establishment of the crown prince.

The so-called 'after joint deliberation between His Majesty and the high ministers of the central government, the crown prince is established but not publicly announced; two copies of the imperial edict are made, one carried by His Majesty personally, the other tied under the beam of the Wende Main Hall; should any unforeseen event occur, the high ministers of the court shall open it together and support the new ruler'... That was all.

After saying this, from His Majesty Zhao on down, everyone dispersed entirely, leaving only countless mid- and low-ranking officials, Imperial University students, and the renowned Confucian elders of the Eastern Capital standing bewildered in the wind.

Many people hadn't even clearly heard what was going on!

However, His Majesty had already left the Imperial University, parted ways with the various high ministers at the university gate, and each went home to their respective wives.

With this, the seventh year of the Jianyan era truly had nothing left to happen; even if there were matters, they would have to wait until the eighth year of Jianyan.

Turning back to the present, after leaving the Imperial University and respectfully seeing off His Majesty Zhao's imperial procession, setting aside others, the seven or eight high-ranking cavalry generals under Qu Duan, Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Camp Cavalry Army, gathered together on the excessively broad Imperial Street, momentarily dazed... Like everyone else, they were also baffled by this secret crown prince establishment system.

But fortunately, as military officers, they were naturally supposed to avoid such matters, and they were too lazy to behave like the other officials—either swarming towards the residences of some superior or high minister, or clustering together for heated discussion.

"What are you still following me for?"

After standing with his hands behind his back looking north for a while, Qu Da suddenly turned around, frowning at his subordinates.

You didn't say we could disperse either?

The crowd was speechless inwardly, but people like Zhang Zhongfu and Zhang Zhongyan, brothers who had followed him for many years, and even Liu Qi and Li Master, who had grown more accustomed to his mouth by now, none of them uttered a word of rebuttal.

"I was just about to ask the Military Governor, it's already the New Year holiday. In the next few days, even soldiers with families near the Eastern Capital will be going home for the New Year... Since there's nothing to do, how about we go have some fun together?" Liu Qi, being from a military family, was the most tactful.

"Go have fun where?" Qu Duan's heart stirred, but catching sight of another group of military officers emerging from the corner of his eye, he immediately changed his tone, standing on the Imperial Street in front of the Imperial University with his hands behind his back, speaking loudly. "And even if we're going to have fun, why do so many people need to gather together? It's the New Year; those in the know would understand it's camaraderie among colleagues, but those who don't might think I, Qu Da, am so narrow-minded that I can't stand to have you off duty unless you're serving me. Worse still, some civil officials might see us from afar and later submit a memorial impeaching me, saying I'm forming factions and dragging you into partisan strife! Don't they know the Great Song was ruined by partisan strife? Without the old and new party struggles, how could the Jingkang Incident have happened?!"

Having said this, Qu Da swept off with an air of righteousness, his sleeves fluttering.

However, Liu Qi, Li Master, the Zhang brothers, and a few other cavalry commanders merely exchanged glances, then ignored their long-accustomed direct superior and went off together towards Maxing Street.

And since Qu Duan had left alone, Wang Yan, another of the Ten Military Governors in the capital who had just left the Imperial University, could only stand at the gate with a group of high-ranking military officers originally from the Eight-Character Army, their faces pale with anger... It took him half a day to calm down, and then he simply waved his sleeve and went home alone as well.

Even many civil officials, after Qu Da's loud outburst, immediately lost their desire to gather for entertainment and feasting, and dispersed on the spot.

However, Qu Da, chest puffed out, rode his Iron Elephant steed proudly all the way. When he reached the Donghua Gate and continued north, passing between the ruins of Genyue and the Yanfu Palace, just as he was about to reach his residence in Jingyuan, seeing the crowd thin out, he suddenly felt a bit bored... It was a rare holiday, the day was still early, why go home and pretend to be dead when he could go to Maxing Street to find someone for a drink and some fish soup?

But having already come this far, could he really turn back?

Just as he was thinking this, Qu Da suddenly looked up and saw a man riding a mule ahead, dressed in ordinary plain clothes, coming towards him, then veering off the main road into the ruins of Genyue. Naturally, anger surged within him:

"Xiahou! Where are you going dressed like that?"

It turned out that the man trying to avoid Qu Da was none other than Xiahou Yuan, Qu Duan's trusted adjutant, in civilian clothes.

Let me add a note here: in these times, the court could never achieve a thorough purge of feudal elements within the military. Especially at the level of regional commanders down to commanding officers, after His Majesty Zhao turned his attention to the military grassroots, this became arguably the layer with the most obvious feudal elements.

Each regional commander oversaw an army, wielding military power as a senior general, sharing financial and personnel authority with the court, both sides tacitly agreeing not to cause trouble for each other. The commanding officers were one step below, having to navigate between the regional commander and the court, yet still possessing significant say.

In extreme cases like Li Yanxian's special situation, the troops were never inspected for years on end; the court simply provided weapons, grain, and various other military supplies according to a quota of twenty thousand Imperial Camp troops in the past, and now thirty thousand.

How it was divided and allocated was entirely left to Li Yanxian's discretion.

In reality, everyone knew Li Yanxian's forces were split into three parts. He himself had a core force of seven to eight thousand organized under the Imperial Camp system, stationed on both banks of the Yellow River in Shanzhou, given priority supply. The remaining funds and military supplies were split in half—one half went to the Zhai family from Luoyang, and the other half went to various volunteer armies in the Zhongtiao Mountains, the Taihang Mountains, and even further north, from who knows where... Li Yanxian himself probably didn't know the exact numbers, but it was certainly far more than the stated twenty or thirty thousand.

Even when Dong Xian, from within the Zhai system, won a battle and used the opportunity of the full-front offensive to demand promotion to commanding officer, it wasn't so simple. It inherently meant breaking away from the Zhai system and becoming a regular unit.

Only His Majesty Zhao and the court were deliberately vague, happy to see it happen and going along with the flow.

Returning to the present, speaking of trusted adjutants, this was naturally an excellent feudal tradition since ancient times. Even His Majesty Zhao had his trusted commanding officers, so the great marshals, steeped in feudal remnants, naturally had their trusted adjutants. These men were mostly fellow townsmen, personal guards, or junior protégés of the marshals, or all three.

Han Shizhong started with Xie Yuan; after Xie Yuan made a name for himself, he had Cheng Min. Yue Fei also started with Wang Gui, Tang Huai, and Zhang Xian, these three; after they successively made their names and moved up, he had Bi Jin, a trusted adjutant handling miscellaneous affairs and leading the personal guards. Even Wang Yan, whom Qu Duan had just mocked, whose Eight-Character Army started differently from others, had a similar figure by his side, a young staff officer named Fan, who had now also become a commanding officer, but had grown distant from Wang Yan because of it.

As for Qu Duan himself, he was different from the others... He rose to power amidst chaos, but within two years of his rise, His Majesty Zhao sent Hu Yin and Wanqi Xie to haul him back, in a state where he could be killed or spared. Fortunately, he was publicly whipped in front of the Wende Main Hall, then sidelined for a year before finally being allowed to lead troops again. After re-establishing the Imperial Camp Cavalry Army as its Commander-in-Chief, he never managed to fill its full quota. It was only after pacifying the Western Xia that he gradually gained a stronger footing.

And as they say, glory shared, loss shared. Through all these ups and downs and setbacks, his trusted junior adjutant Xiahou Yuan remained a trusted junior adjutant for years on end.

Back in the day, when Wu Jie arrested Qu Duan, Xiahou Yuan was the one who stayed until the very end. Now, although he had probably weathered the storm, he still needed a major battle to earn military merit before he could leave Qu Duan and become a regular officer.

"Military Governor, why are you back so early?"

Xiahou Yuan, having been called out by Qu Duan, had no choice but to turn back. But he pretended nothing was wrong, calmly dismounted his mule, stood in front of the Iron Elephant steed with clasped hands, and inquired, putting on a perfectly honest look. "Is the Imperial University business already finished?"

Seeing this man's demeanor, Qu Duan's initial urge to mock him vanished... Not that he didn't want to mock him, but he knew that no matter what he said, the other would just play dumb, and neither could do anything to the other. Besides, he was his most trusted confidant, hard to beat or scold... So he simply frowned from atop the Iron Elephant and said: "The Imperial University business is done. I ask you, before you left this morning, I told you to go to Yuetai to verify the duty roster, then privately investigate the New Year's rewards. Did you do all that seriously?"

"I did it seriously, but I couldn't get it done." Seeing his Military Governor asking about official business, Xiahou Yuan replied solemnly. "The Imperial City Department, the Military Command Department, and the Territorial Department all went there together today... I didn't dare make a sound, just accompanied them for half the day, and just got back."

"Oh." Qu Da understood in his heart, but continued with a serious expression. "Did they find anything?"

"There were no problems with Deputy Commander-in-Chief Li's (Li Master) light-armored Fan cavalry; they were all just grateful for His Majesty's generosity. Zhang Da and Zhang Er's (Zhang Zhongfu and Zhang Zhongyan) units, which you personally oversee, were fine too. But in the two armored cavalry units under Deputy Commander-in-Chief Liu (Liu Qi), there seemed to be some issues with accounts and personnel that the Military Command Department managed to expose." Xiahou Yuan reported factually.

Qu Duan frowned again: "Those newly recruited Fan cavalry are all country bumpkins. It's their first year in the Eastern Capital, so of course they think everything is great. That bastard Liu Qi comes from a military family, his men are full of this kind of dirty business. He knows it in his heart but lacks the backbone to change it. A dog can't change its habit of eating shit... All within expectations."

Xiahou Yuan just lowered his head in front of the mule, pretending not to hear.

"Oh well!"

Qu Duan thought for a moment, then shook his head. "His Majesty wants to use the New Year holiday to catch everyone off guard. That means he doesn't want us meddling. Just pretend we don't know... There will be explanations after the New Year."

"The Military Governor is right. That's what I think too." Xiahou Yuan immediately responded.

Qu Duan nodded on his horse, but quickly raised his eyebrows again: "So you were planning to go enjoy yourself? Heading to Maxing Street for a drink?"

Xiahou Yuan had no choice but to confess honestly: "I made plans with a few colleagues while at the camp... Besides, it's already evening. There's no cuju match to watch in the northern part of the city. I'll have to go see the exhibition match tomorrow afternoon."

Qu Duan remained coldly silent throughout.

And Xiahou Yuan, knowing full well what the other meant, wouldn't dare to bring it up even on pain of death... If he actually opened his mouth and invited Qu Duan along, would a group of adjutants be going to have fun or to suffer? Did he, Xiahou Yuan, still want to have a future in the army?... So after fobbing him off with a few words, he could only stand there playing dumb, stubbornly silent.

The two stalemated for a while. Qu Duan, rarely angered to the point of a stomachache by someone else, but utterly helpless, could only flick his sleeves and urge his Iron Elephant steed homeward.

However, just as Xiahou Yuan was climbing onto his mule with relief, he heard a distant shout from behind: "Even if you call for courtesans, you can only listen to songs! Otherwise, if His Majesty finds out from the Imperial City Department, you might never become a commanding officer in this lifetime!"

Xiahou Yuan nodded hastily and hurried off.

Setting aside Xiahou Yuan's trip to Maxing Street for retaliatory spending, on the other side, Qu Duan returned to his home in Jingyuan, where his aging wife, young son, and servants greeted him with beaming faces.

But Qu Da himself, after the two incidents earlier, only felt that his home was a bit desolate.

He stood inside the gate looking around for a long time, until his wife was completely bewildered, before he realized that the residence His Majesty had granted him in Jingyuan was exceptionally large, while his family had few members... This was unavoidable. Just as Yue Fei had executed his own uncle to enforce military discipline, Qu Da had also executed his own uncle for the same reason. Thus, unlike other high ministers whose homes were filled with countless nephews and relatives, his place inevitably lacked such a population, with mostly old soldiers instead.

And as for these veterans, those with families naturally went to take care of their own households, while those without families had long since taken advantage of the festivities to go enjoy themselves—why would they still be loafing around the mansion?

Naturally, it seemed quiet and deserted.

And so, Qu Duan grew even more disgruntled. He hurriedly changed his clothes and headed to the study, intending to summarize the key points of today's Academy policy inquiry. But unexpectedly, upon arriving at the study, he suddenly spotted an invitation. Then, as if possessed, he simply told his family a word and went out the door on foot.

Once outside, he took only a couple of turns within the Jingyuan neighborhood before arriving before a residence whose scale was no different from his own. Then, without hesitation, he strode straight in through the main hall.

This turned out to be the home of Zhao Shi, the Grand Master of the Imperial Clan. It turned out that just a few days earlier, Zhao Shi's eldest son, Zhao Bufan, had been suddenly transferred into the Imperial Guard, specifically into the cavalry, becoming Qu Duan's direct subordinate. Hence this ceremonial invitation.

In fact, the day this invitation was sent had itself been chosen with the expectation that after the Academy policy inquiry, there would likely be large gatherings, making it a day Qu Duan would probably never even see the invitation.

But the Zhao family themselves never expected that their careful scheming would coincidentally run into Qu Duan having overplayed his role. One of the Ten Military Governors, a commander of an Imperial Guard army, on the first evening of the New Year holiday, didn't even have a place to go for a drinking party, and in the end, actually ended up stirring things up at their doorstep.

Since he had come, what could they do? Could they throw him out?

And they couldn't beat him either, could they?

And so, the Grand Master, who had also just returned, hurriedly set up a banquet while also sending someone to invite his in-law, Wang Shuzhan, along with his son Wang Ruohai, to come over. The plan was to rely on this father-and-son pair, using the face of the son's brother-in-law, Hu Hongxiu, the Grand Coordinator, as a mediator, to smooth over old grievances.

"So?"

After three rounds of wine, some appetizers, and a couple of sips of hot mutton soup—just as conversation was about to begin—Qu Duan indeed spoke up first. "Zhao Bufan, now do you understand what it means for the wheel of fortune to turn?"

Zhao Bufan looked up in bewilderment, but only glanced at his father-in-law and his own father, unsure how to reply.

"Don't overthink it. I'm not talking about that little drunken incident between you and me. I'm talking about the inner workings of your whole family..." Qu Duan raised his hand and pointed around the table. "Before, among all your family's marriage connections, the one who stood tallest was your father, the esteemed Grand Master. The Wang family, relying on that marriage connection, leaned on your Zhao family. And then Hu Hongxiu, Grand Coordinator Hu, relying on his marriage connection, leaned on the Wang family. And what was the result? The result was that in a single morning, the fortunes of a thousand miles' worth of heroes were reversed. Now, Grand Coordinator Hu is known as one of the 'Three Hus' of the current court. Young as he is, he holds the post of a regional Grand Coordinator, and his future prospects are limitless. Meanwhile, your two families now have to rely on that marriage connection to lean on him instead!"

Not only was Zhao Bufan stunned, but Zhao Shi, Wang Shuzhan, Wang Ruohai, and even Zhao Bufan's several younger brothers, who were seated at a separate table in the outer hall, were all stunned as well.

In the end, it was Zhao Shi who kept his composure. He lightly stroked his beard, then sighed: "This old man's life is about over. For my son to have such a marriage connection is truly his good fortune."

Qu Duan set down his self-poured wine cup, shook his head, and laughed scornfully: "Grand Master, don't try to beat around the bush here. Rest assured a thousand times over. I, Qu Da, may occasionally act and speak absurdly, and I've done wrong things, but first, I am arrogant toward superiors but not rude to inferiors; second, I bully outsiders but not those within my circle... I don't know who stuffed your son into my cavalry unit, but since he's been stuffed in, it's turned out to be a happy accident. Hoping that I'll show favor because of Grand Coordinator Hu's face would be completely missing the mark!"

The several people at the table all perked up, and Wang Shuzhan even shot a meaningful glance at his eldest son-in-law. The latter understood and immediately rose, respectfully coming to offer wine to his direct superior, Governor Qu.

And Qu Duan, without any pretense, accepted the cup of wine from him. Then he pointed at the other man and laughed again: "Since I've accepted your wine, you're no longer an outsider. Tell me the truth—at first, weren't you a bit uneasy about joining the cavalry? But then, when you thought of your brother-in-law's achievements, didn't it feel like a hundred claws scratching at your heart, making it impossible to let go? Is that why you've been so awkward?"

Zhao Bufan looked slightly embarrassed, but still nodded slightly: "That thought did cross my mind... Governor, you don't understand. The prospects for imperial clan members are inherently awkward. And not everyone can study and advance like that top scholar. When such an opportunity comes, no matter what, one can't bear to let it go... Besides, as you said, Governor, my brother-in-law's achievements are right before my eyes. I've also trained with swords and horses since childhood—how could I not envy that?"

"Actually, His Majesty isn't that harsh on you imperial clan members," Qu Duan replied casually. "Whether it's pursuing studies or joining the military, His Majesty is happy to see it. He just doesn't want you to occupy official posts and noble titles without serving the state..."

"Who doesn't want to serve the state?" Upon hearing this, Wang Shuzhan, the former Grand Master of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices who still had no official post, finally broke down. He set down his wine cup and lamented repeatedly: "Governor, we have a burning passion to serve the state, but we have no way to do so!"

"You call that serving the state?" Qu Duan took a couple of sips of mutton soup and sneered even more coldly. "His Majesty likes the Yuan School. Why? Isn't it because he values principles like seeking truth from facts and utilitarianism? But you, on the other hand, went and hired alchemists. That thing is utilitarian, sure, but does it count as seeking truth from facts? You deserve what you got!"

Wang Shuzhan's face instantly turned deathly pale... It turned out that earlier in the second half of the year, His Majesty had published a short article in Lu Benzhong's tabloid. Using that alchemy incident as an example, he explained the principle of dissolving gold in mercury and then precipitating it out. Then, taking the opportunity, he proposed conjectures about the solid, liquid, and gaseous states of matter changing with temperature, as well as the mutual solubility or insolubility of various substances. Finally, he encouraged everyone to compile experimental information on this subject in the tabloid. After reading that tabloid, Wang Shuzhan himself conducted the experiment. When he saw with his own eyes that the gold really did dissolve into the liquid mercury, he was as dejected as if struck by a thunderbolt from a clear sky.

Even now, whenever he thinks back to how His Majesty had long seen through the alchemist's scam but still held back and didn't expose it, Wang Shuzhan can't help but want to slap himself twice... Everyone knows that because of this one lousy affair, he'll never be able to turn things around in his lifetime.

"That matter was also a moment of carelessness on Zhidao's (Wang Shuzhan's style name) part, falling for a swindler's trick," the Grand Master said, unable to bear seeing his in-law's old wound reopened, and so he interjected.

"If we're talking about carelessness, Grand Master, what about your repeatedly urging His Majesty to go and offer sacrifices at the Eight Imperial Tombs?" Qu Duan turned back to look at the Grand Master, still sneering. "His Majesty harbors a deep hatred for the Two Emperors because of the Jingkang Incident. His lifelong pursuit is nothing more than a successful Northern Expedition, to unify the Nine Provinces, and to draw a clear line with the Former Song. When did you come to realize that, Grand Master?"

"No matter when I realized it, even if it once conflicted with His Majesty's intentions, at that time I had a clear conscience, and today I am open and aboveboard. Why bring up old matters again?" Zhao Shi stroked his beard and replied calmly.

Qu Duan glanced at the Grand Master and couldn't help but feel a bit of respect. So he bypassed the man and turned to give Zhao Bufan new instructions: "Your father's bearing—if you can learn even a tenth of it, it will benefit you in the military. And as your father said, the past is over. Your family's situation is still excellent. And no matter what happened before, the first great strategy going forward is the Northern Expedition. With your background, no one would dare to tamper with your achievements. As long as you give it your all, how could you not compete for a future?"

"What you say is very true, Governor," Zhao Bufan quickly rose, preparing to refill the wine.

"Even dying wouldn't matter," Qu Duan took the wine, glanced at the scene in the outer hall, and laughed even more. "Anyway, your father has a bunch of sons. He's just using you to make a statement about turning over a new leaf..."

Zhao Bufan, who had just downed a cup of wine, immediately turned red in the face from holding back, and even the Grand Master Zhao Shi was momentarily embarrassed.

Qu Duan drank his own wine, then looked back at the father-and-son pair of Wang Shuzhan and Wang Ruohai across from him, and fell into thought for a moment.

Wang Shuzhan was startled. His heart stirred, and he actually took the initiative to rise. Disregarding his status, he personally went around to the other side to refill Qu Duan's wine, then spoke: "Governor Qu, do you have some advice for me?"

"I just remembered something."

Qu Duan calmly accepted the wine from him, downed it in one gulp. By now, he was clearly showing signs of drunkenness. He raised an eyebrow slightly, then directly grabbed the other man's sleeve and asked teasingly: "Grand Master Wang, do you still wish to enter the Imperial Library in this lifetime? Or can your son enter the Imperial Library in this lifetime?"

Wang Shuzhan was excited inside and immediately replied earnestly: "If that could be achieved, I would never in this life betray Governor Qu's kindness and righteousness."

Hearing this, his son Wang Ruohai also quickly came around, listening intently.

"No need to remember me. This matter benefits both sides." Qu Duan shook his head and laughed in response. The Zhao father and son beside him hurriedly busied themselves with the dishes, pretending not to see. "The current grand strategy is the Northern Expedition. The achievements of the Northern Expedition are either sought in military strategy, like your two sons-in-law, or in financial matters—this is common knowledge. Actually, back then, Grand Coordinator Moqi once came up with an idea, but His Majesty made the first move, and the opportunity was missed. Now there's still a chance. Are you father and son not interested?"

"If there is an opportunity, we would naturally be willing to give it our all," Wang Shuzhan said, momentarily puzzled. "But the court has already exhausted every means to open up new revenue sources. Where is there any room left for us to serve?"

"I'm not asking you to serve, and I'm not talking about methods. I'm talking about people's hearts." Qu Duan gave a half-smile. "Think about it, Duke Wang... Your two sons-in-law and several sons are all talented. Normally, you can't tell who is stronger than whom. So why was it Grand Coordinator Hu who achieved the great merit first?"

Wang Shuzhan was about to speak, but Qu Duan had already answered himself from his seat: "It was because, back in the Jingkang era, he abandoned his pen to join the army, took up arms to fight the Jin, and on the city walls, on the front line, he saw life and death everywhere with his own eyes. In his heart, he knew this was a chaotic age, and he threw himself headlong into military affairs... Then, though he stumbled along and was too honest by half, he was still among the first batch of scholars in the realm who understood soldiers and the military. This is what is called acting in accordance with the times. So by last year, the things he had accumulated in his heart over seven or eight years, the temperament he had tempered, finally paid off. This is called responding to the times, following the great tide, and accumulating thickly to burst forth. So it was only a matter of time before this happened."

Wang Shuzhan nodded sincerely, a rare occurrence, and even the Grand Master and his son, who had been pretending to eat, felt a bit of emotion.

"And don't ever underestimate the difference between one day earlier and one day later, one year earlier and one year later. One day earlier is the difference between heaven and earth; one year earlier is the difference between life and death." Qu Duan was clearly drunk. "Han Shizhong was one year earlier than me, and he became number one under heaven. Yue Pengju joined the army as soon as the Jurchens started marching south. Even if he was just a dare-to-die soldier under Liu Ziyu's father, he still experienced the entire Song-Jin war without missing a beat. Without that experience, how could he have become number two under heaven? Even I, Qu Da, if I hadn't been muddleheaded and wasted a year in between, I wouldn't dare say I could have kept these two from climbing above me, but how could I have let Li Yanxian get ahead of me?"

This was the absolute truth!

But Zhao Bufan and his father exchanged a glance and said nothing.

On the other side, although Wang Shuzhan and his son were already getting anxious inside, they could only nod repeatedly: "As the Governor says, you, Governor, should also have had a four-character banner of your own!"

Hearing this, Qu Duan let go of the other man's sleeve and stomped his foot... Although he usually couldn't be bothered to put on airs, this drunken loss of composure was indeed rare:

"A true man born into this world cares about ten thousand generations, not just one! After the realm fell into chaos, I was determined to achieve great things, to leave a name for eternity. But I thought too highly of myself, feeling that everything should be done by me, seeing others only as obstacles. I didn't even put His Majesty or the court in my eyes. Outsiders say I am domineering—I admit it. They say I harbored disloyal intentions—I dare not deny it either."

"That's all in the past," even the Grand Master hurriedly tried to console him.

But Qu Duan paid him no attention. Having said this much, he simply picked up the Blue Bridge Moon wine flask at his side, tilted his head back, and gulped down several mouthfuls. Then he threw it to the ground and continued, his breath thick with wine:

"But who would have thought that someone as arrogant as me would actually meet the current His Majesty? His Majesty's strength lies not in his talent or virtue, but in his ability to always be tolerant of others, to draw the heroes of the realm to his service... I never said I was convinced that His Majesty could use Han Shizhong, Yue Fei, or even Li Yanxian. These men—everyone knows they are the heroes of the realm. But what I never expected was that His Majesty could also use that old money-grubber Zhang Jun, could use a water bandit like Zhang Rong, could use a crude brute like Wang De, could tolerate useless trash like you lot without finding an excuse to cut you down and confiscate your property, and in the end, could even overlook the past and use a domineering bastard like me! So I have no choice but to be convinced!"

The two father-and-son pairs around him felt like cursing when they heard "useless trash," but then, upon hearing his final sentence, they didn't know what to say.

"Duke Wang." Qu Duan, having spoken his piece in one breath, felt much more at ease. He grabbed Wang Shuzhan's sleeve again and said to him: "Just now I was saying, whether you know or don't know, whether you've experienced it or not, makes a world of difference. Have you considered this? The Dowager Empress Yuanyou is coming. Those people from Yangzhou will probably be unable to sit still there. These people have hidden in the rear for many years, enjoying wealth and honor, never having seen a single weapon or obstacle. Aren't they just a flock of fat sheep waiting to be slaughtered? Not like here in Dongjing, where even a honest old man like the Grand Master has been tempered until he's slippery as an eel, so slippery that even His Majesty can't hook him."

"Governor Qu, you mean..."

"I mean... His Majesty has never let anyone down. As long as you don't get involved with the Dowager Empress, no matter how you arrange it, if you can hand over the leverage of those people to His Majesty, so that His Majesty can make another windfall, then are you still worried about your father and son's future? Even if His Majesty still remembers that alchemist nonsense, he'll credit it to your son! He will definitely not sell you out!" Having said this, Qu Duan couldn't help but flick the other man's already potbellied midsection. "If you can rake in money for His Majesty, it's equivalent to presenting His Majesty with a real alchemist... Would that old affair still count as anything?"

Wang Shuzhan and Wang Ruohai, father and son, both fell into thought.

Beside them, Zhao Shi and his son wanted to speak, but in the end, they remained silent.

After a drunken night, everyone went home.

A few days later, the New Year arrived, and the eighth year of the Jianyan era arrived on schedule. Before the Lantern Festival, the Dowager Empress Yuanyou, who had played a huge role in supporting the Zhao-Song Emperor's ascension, finally arrived in Dongjing. Accompanying her were countless powerful officials and wealthy nobles who had fled south to Yangzhou during the Jingkang Incident.

The last batch of people from the bygone era of abundance and prosperity, also the most conservative and cowardly lot, finally returned to the bustling Dongjing after seven or eight years.

Say what you will—perhaps because it was filled with feudalism and imperial authority—the air in Dongjing actually seemed so sweet and fresh.

PS: Thanks to Uncle Xiong for the reward, thanks to classmate it6 from the Stable for the new patron. This book has been written for a year and already has 160 patrons.

Continuing to wish everyone a happy New Year!