Chapter 407: Chapter Seventy-Two: Confiding

On the twenty-ninth of the twelfth lunar month, it was snowing outside. Wu Jie was eating lamb soup with soaked flatbread in the central army tent north of Taiyuan City, while Zhao Jiu sat expressionlessly at the head, watching Wu Jie eat lamb soup with soaked flatbread.

Things were truly interesting.

This wasn't just about Zhao Jiu lamenting that everyone could bring him surprises and unexpected turns; more importantly, he had discovered that within a complex system, a person who seemed to control everything could actually control very little... This feeling had never changed, from that autumn in the first year of Jianyan all the way to the approaching tenth year of Jianyan.

This had nothing to do with his prestige, nor with his achievements, because strange and inexplicable things always played a role between people. Changes in external circumstances never seemed to bring about any unified direction; behind every good, major change, there were always some negative effects, and behind some bad things, there always seemed to be acceptable reasons and processes.

Just as Zhao Jiu's mind was wandering, Wu Jie had finished three bowls of lamb soup with soaked flatbread. He then stood up and respectfully thanked the Emperor for his grace... This expression of gratitude should have been simple and sincere, because nothing was more comfortable after several days of forced marching in the dead of winter than eating one's fill and getting warm without having to report or think about other things.

And to not talk about business first, but to have hot food brought out—this was something only the Zhao Song Emperor before Wu Jie, who was universally compared to Emperor Guangwu, could think of. In the past, not to mention Qu Duan, any superior, or even Wu Jie's own eternally young-at-heart father, would never have been so meticulous.

"Minister Wu, how did you arrive so quickly?"

Coming back to his senses, Zhao Jiu raised his hand to stop the other man's bow, expressionlessly getting down to business, while simultaneously pointing at the low table in front of him. "Take it away. Bring another bowl of soup."

"To let Your Majesty know, the main reason is that Wanyan Salihai has closed the city and refuses to fight," Wu Jie said cautiously, sitting back down as the Emperor indicated. "So, after I crossed the river at Wubuzhai and induced the defender of Lishi, the capital of Shizhou, to surrender, I found the way ahead completely clear. I then divided my forces, sending five thousand each, under the supervision of Commandant Guan Shigu, to hold the line north at Loufan City in Lanzhou and south at Shipanzhai. Then I personally led only five thousand battle troops and fifteen thousand Tangut auxiliary troops, crossing the mountains lightly... As for my remaining forces, a main body of twenty thousand battle troops, led by Vice Commander-in-Chief Guo Hao, set out from the three prefectures north of the river, advancing through Baode Army into Shuozhou to pressure the southern route of Datong. Yelu Yudu and Huerzhahusi should be emerging from the Yinshan Mountains into Yunnei to pressure the northern route of Datong... Besides this, my younger brother Wu Lin is supervising the remaining troops of the Rear Imperial Guard and thirty thousand Tangut auxiliary troops north of the river, managing the logistics transport for the Shaanxi and Ningxia Circuits."

These were all according to plan. The only thing was that Wanyan Salihai's fear of battle had become a very interesting breakthrough, allowing Wu Jie to pass unhindered through the undefended Jurchen defense zone to reach here.

And sure enough, Zhao Jiu nodded and immediately stopped dwelling on the matter, simply continuing to ask: "Even so, why did you have to come so quickly? It must have been very hard, right?"

At this moment, the lamb soup was brought again. Wu Jie took the opportunity to lean forward slightly over his table: "To serve the country, to be loyal to the sovereign—it is only right for a minister and a general."

Unexpectedly, faced with such a matter-of-fact answer, the Emperor fell silent instead, to the point where the already rather empty tent became quiet for a time, and the perfectly appropriate dialogue between sovereign and minister instantly ceased. For a moment, only the noise and commotion outside the tent were unusually clear.

And this made Wu Jie, who was always tactful and proper in all situations, feel a bit fearful... It had been five years since Yaoshan, and now the Northern Expedition had reached the very walls of Taiyuan. This Emperor's prestige was undoubtedly growing day by day, to the point where no one in the entire realm was qualified to oppose him... No one thought that the young Jin Emperor, or Yelu Dashi, or the two remaining ruling Princes of the Blood of Jin had the qualifications to stand on equal footing with this Emperor. This wasn't a matter of national power, but rather that the young Jin Emperor, plus the two ruling Princes of the Blood, plus a group of Jurchen chiliarchs, might just barely match the weight of this Emperor's single word.

After a long time, the Emperor, whom no one in the world was qualified to oppose, finally spoke, but first let out a sigh: "Minister Wu, is it quite frightening when I am like this?"

Wu Jie was momentarily at a loss, not knowing how to respond. He could only sweep his gaze across the tent, but found that apart from a few guards, not a single close minister was present. Not even the newly prominent iron-faced eunuch Shao Chengzhang was there, nor even Yang Yizhong.

This made Commander-in-Chief Wu even more nervous.

"Actually, I won't hide it from you," Zhao Jiu said, sighing even more deeply, as if expressing an apology or offering an explanation. "Since the Northern Expedition began, I have seemed confident and have tried my best in everything, but inwardly I have grown increasingly anxious and irritable, afraid of losing a battle somewhere, afraid of logistics failing somewhere, to the point of becoming a laughingstock for the world... So, my thoughts have gradually become more complicated, and feelings of suspicion have arisen... When I saw you arrive so quickly today, my first reaction was that you, Wu Jinqing, were just like Han Liangchen, Li Shaoyan, and Qu Shiyin, afraid of missing out on military merit, and so you rushed here recklessly... This makes me seem rather paranoid."

Wu Jie was stunned for a moment, then instead felt relieved: "Is it not natural for Your Majesty to have such a thought? You must know, everyone in the world knows that this Northern Expedition will decide the fate of the realm. Who wouldn't want to establish an unparalleled achievement? And for us subordinates, even if we ourselves don't have such thoughts, how can we withstand the pushing and urging of our own men?"

"Yes," Zhao Jiu said, as if lost in thought. "Like Qu Duan before, he knew it couldn't be done, but was still half-pushed and half-persuaded by his subordinates into coming to request battle. I had to give him a lash so he could give some explanation to those men of the Imperial Guard Cavalry."

Wu Jie hesitated upon hearing this, but after glancing at the Emperor before him, he still replied cautiously: "If it were others, that would be one thing, but I consider myself to know the ins and outs of Commander Qu... He used to boast of being a genius under heaven, but nearly fell into an abyss from which there was no recovery. It was only thanks to Your Majesty's magnanimity. He shouldn't have defied Your Majesty again, but the Imperial Guard Cavalry really does have some issues..."

"I know," Zhao Jiu said, leaning sideways in his seat and propping his head on his hand. "The Imperial Guard Cavalry was formed hastily, with diverse origins. Although he is the Commander-in-Chief and a Military Governor, the Vice Commander-in-Chief Li Master's merits are also extremely high and solid. The loyalty and bravery of father and son are known throughout the land; it's only due to age and background that he is relegated to Vice Commander-in-Chief... What's more critical is that the Tangut light cavalry he leads accounts for almost half of the cavalry force. Even in terms of battlefield experience, the Tangut light cavalry is subtly superior to the newly formed heavy cavalry... The remaining half of the newly formed heavy cavalry is itself split in two, with Liu Qi implicitly leading the Tibetan and Xizhou cavalry, holding up half the sky... To say these men don't listen to Qu Duan's command is nonsense, but to say Qu Duan can properly control them is also unlikely... And with those trusted subordinates of his, like the Zhang brothers and that Xiahou Yuan, once they get the ambition for merit, how can he hold out? So, he has no choice but to grit his teeth and come to take a lash from me, to give his own confidants an explanation."

Now, what kind of person was Wu Da?

This man was probably the most tactful of the military governors, but that didn't mean he lacked decisiveness and courage. Otherwise, he wouldn't have gritted his teeth back then and neatly bound Qu Duan, handing him over to Hu Yin and Wanqi Xie. Or rather, the reason he later appeared so tactful was perhaps precisely because of that incident of being ordered to arrest his superior, making him reluctant to easily show his sharp side.

However, these were old stories. The relationship between Wu Da and the Emperor was also quite interesting... Compared to Han Shizhong, Zhang Jun, Zhang Rong, Yue Fei, or even Qu Duan, Wu Da, as one of the main commanders of the Imperial Guard, had always lacked a distinctive 'fine story' with the Emperor.

That's right, those stories about not fleeing into the camp during a nighttime rebellion, or being whipped in public, and so on.

Wu Da himself had been recommended by Hu Yin to replace Qu Duan, leaping up to become a major general. Then, relying on his talent and interpersonal skills, he stabilized his position, and finally shone brilliantly at Yaoshan, becoming known to the world as a military governor... Between him and the Emperor, there was a lack of personal connection.

And in a sense, Wu Da also very much wanted to have a heart-to-heart with the Emperor and establish some personal relationship. He wasn't just tactful and proper with his colleagues.

So, when the Emperor rambled on for a while, this Commander-in-Chief of the Rear Imperial Guard immediately realized that this was an opportunity... He believed that the other military governors must have, like him, keenly sensed the Emperor's pre-battle tension and suspicion, because it was indeed very normal and hard to hide from those shrewd military governors, or even the close ministers.

But it was clear that arriving early was not as good as arriving at the right time. Only he, Wu Da, had encountered this opportunity for the Emperor to try and confide.

"To let Your Majesty know, I heard about Commander Qu getting whipped on the road," Wu Da directly picked up the Emperor's thread, his mind racing but not delaying his response. "But in my humble opinion, everyone has their own difficulties and thoughts. Commander Qu was not only being pushed by his subordinates, but wasn't he also testing the waters by going with the flow? But what does it matter? Who doesn't have their own little schemes? Who dares to claim they are completely selfless?"

His mind raced with a hundred thoughts, but that didn't stop Wu Da from directly picking up the Emperor's words. "But in your servant's view, everyone has their own difficulties and ideas. Commander Qu was being pushed from below, and wasn't he also taking the opportunity to test the waters? But what harm is there in that? Who doesn't have their own private thoughts? And who dares claim to be completely selfless?"

"Take Prince of Commandery Han, for example. He has reached the pinnacle for a military man in this dynasty. If he still seeks merit now, it's only to secure his position as number one in merit. Perhaps he also just wants to fight to his heart's content, which is why he made that desperate leap at Hezhong Prefecture, truly not caring about his subordinates," Wu Jie spoke freely, as if he hadn't noticed the Emperor's strange look. "But take Military Governor Li. His struggle for merit at Tieling Pass was, on the one hand, due to eight years of hardship in Shanzhou, which was indeed stifling. On the other hand, it was because his troops were mostly from the Shaan-Luo region, and the army was of mixed origins, so he inevitably had the intention of gaining proper recognition for his men... As for Chief Commander Ma, Chief Commander Ma appears not to contend, and indeed cannot contend, but that's because what he wants to contend for is not his own achievements, but entirely for the results his subordinates can obtain after this battle. So, his not contending is actually contending for his subordinates."

Having said this, Wu Jie saw that the Emperor had no intention of stopping him, so he continued without pause: "However, even these three, along with Commander Qu, although they all have the heart to contend for merit and gain recognition, when they encounter Your Majesty, they can stop upon hearing their faults, restrain their thoughts, and instead obey orders strictly. What harm is there in a little selfishness?"

"Minister Wu," Zhao Jiu finally smiled. "You're trying to comfort me in a roundabout way, saying that I, like those four, although I am anxious and uncertain before battle, and a little worried and suspicious, have yet to make any missteps. So, even if I have some thoughts, what harm is there... Am I right?"

"Your Majesty is perceptive," Wu Jie stood up and bowed his head in response. By this time, the steam had long since stopped rising from the soup bowl before him.

"I appreciate your kind intentions, Minister Wu," Zhao Jiu shook his head, his smile not fading. "But Minister Wu, I am truly different from them..."

What Wu Jie thought in his heart was unknown, but on his face, he immediately became solemn: "I understand Your Majesty's difficulties, which are millions of times more troublesome than ours, your ministers... The overall situation of the realm, north and south, east and west, every aspect, is all within Your Majesty's considerations. We only need to look after what is right in front of us. How can it be the same?"

"Logistics consumption is too fast," Zhao Jiu shook his head even more. "Armor and routine military supplies are sufficient, but for grain, carts and horses, clothing, and such things, the court roughly prepared for a year's consumption for three hundred thousand battle troops and five hundred thousand laborers. But there are too many variables... Laborer consumption is much higher than imagined. Moreover, over a hundred thousand refugees suddenly appeared in Hebei, and then Yue Pengju suddenly wanted to establish a camp dozens of li wide at Great Ming Prefecture. All of this requires a flowing stream of logistics... Here in Hedong, besides the original quotas, there are only a few tens of thousands more people, but the consumption before and after has multiplied. Ma Kuo's troops are also more numerous than imagined. Add to that your arrival here, with the Tangut people behind you, and the Khitan and Mongol reinforcements, all of whom we have to pay for with money and grain. And even then, we don't know if we can stop them from taking the opportunity to plunder the countryside... It's really too difficult. I am truly worried."

For now, not counting the consumption and casualties since the start of the war, just the Imperial Guard battle troops numbered three hundred thousand: ninety thousand in Hebei, two hundred and ten thousand in Hedong. Now, you also had to add fifteen thousand Khitan reinforcements and twenty thousand Western Mongol reinforcements. There were initially five hundred thousand laborers; now, according to the Emperor, it was probably no less than six or seven hundred thousand. Besides this, there were fifty or sixty thousand Tangut auxiliary troops, whose consumption was greater than laborers but less than battle troops... Wu Jie didn't need to calculate; he could probably tell in his heart that the Emperor's words were not an exaggeration in the slightest.

After all, no one had ever tried to prepare for a war on this scale... The Five Circuits' campaign against Xia was one instance, but that time, the logistics collapsed halfway through. Wu Da was quite familiar with that.

With this thought, Wu Jie also became completely serious: "May I ask Your Majesty, with this in mind, how much longer can the grain and fodder actually last?"

"I can't give you an exact number right now, but the consumption so far has been fifty percent more than originally estimated. With the Rear Imperial Guard and the northern reinforcements on the move, it's almost doubled," Zhao Jiu gave a very terrifying and intuitive result.

"That means, originally a year, now it's estimated to be just over half a year," Wu Jie calculated quickly in his mind, almost blurting it out. "The war has already been going on for almost three months... We must cease hostilities before the Cold Food Festival next year?"

"More or less!" Zhao Jiu sighed from his seat. "By then, even if we still have troops and some money and grain, we'll have to stop fighting and conserve our strength... Otherwise, later on, it won't just be the Jurchens; the Mongols and Koreans will also cause us big trouble. Sometimes I really don't understand how the Jurchens and Mongols can hold out."

Because they weren't a righteous imperial army, because they signed contracts with disposable laborers, because they were fighting on interior lines, because they brought their livestock herds with them and drank goat's and cow's milk—how could it be the same?

Wu Jie was speechless in his heart, but didn't say this out loud. Instead, he skipped over it and continued to ask: "Then may I ask Your Majesty... is this the reason why Your Majesty wants to break Taiyuan City quickly?"

"Yes," Zhao Jiu nodded in agreement. "If we can break Taiyuan City quickly, we might be able to take advantage of the spring to fight a decisive battle in Hebei, seeking complete success."

"But if I may say one thing, since I am here, I must say it... I have been to Taiyuan City before. This city may look small, but it has almost no military weaknesses... Especially since the Fenshui River is about to thaw," Wu Jie said sincerely, cupping his hands. "Your Majesty, haste makes waste."

"I know," Zhao Jiu nodded again, but then suddenly changed the subject. "Jinqing... You just spent a long time talking about the selfish motives of the other military governors, and you half-admitted to having your own selfish motives, but you never said what your selfish motive actually is... You came here so quickly, partly because you heard some rumors that I was planning to repeat the story of Yaoshan and entrust the overall command of the Hedong war situation to you, so you couldn't wait to get here, right?"

Wu Jie looked slightly embarrassed, but he knew well that hiding things from this Emperor was pointless.

So, after a slight pause, he bowed his head and admitted: "I am ashamed, Your Majesty."

"It's fine," Zhao Jie sighed again, then finally stood up, clasped his hands behind his back, and walked out. "I do have that intention. I've more or less hinted at it to Han Liangchen and Li Yanxian. Minister Wu can also prepare appropriately... However, before that, I have a pact with Yue Pengju. Tomorrow, we will try to break the city together... So, you need to make two preparations: the overall preparations for after the city is broken, or the overall preparations for if the city is not broken. Because no matter which, after tomorrow, I will hand over the overall situation here to you. It will be like the story of Yaoshan; you will take charge of the overall situation, and I will also relax a bit."

"No matter." Zhao Jiu sighed again, then finally stood up and walked out with his hands clasped behind his back. "I do have that intention. I've already hinted at it to Han Liangchen and Li Yanxian. Minister Wu can also make appropriate preparations... However, before that, I have a pact with Yue Pengju — tomorrow we'll try to breach the city together. So you need to prepare for two scenarios: preparations for overall coordination after the city falls, or preparations for overall coordination if it doesn't fall. Because regardless of which, after tomorrow, I will entrust the entire situation here to you, just like at Yaoshan — you'll handle the overall coordination, and I'll relax a bit."

After saying this, the Emperor directly lifted the tent flap, only to find that it was still quite bright outside. It turned out that during the conversation between sovereign and minister inside the tent, although the snowflakes outside had never been heavy, they had been falling steadily, and without anyone noticing, they had already spread a faint white over the ninth year of Jianyan.

As the Emperor finished speaking and lifted the tent flap, he saw that outside it was still quite bright. It turned out that while the sovereign and minister had been conversing inside the tent, snowflakes — though never heavy — had been falling steadily outside, and without anyone noticing, they had already spread a faint white over the ninth year of Jianyan.

PS: Thanks to the new alliance leader, Big Shot sjhunter.