Chapter 46

Now, regardless of whether Junior Academician Lin had seconded the motion or not, it did not affect Lu Haowen and Wang Boyan, the two chancellors from the Eastern and Western Administrations, finally showing some backbone for once!

After all, the earlier points, including the provision for Li Gang to support the imperial heir to succeed the throne in an emergency, were still open for discussion. After all, as everyone knew full well, the current situation was one of de facto national ruin, with this small court and half the realm on the verge of collapse any day now. Was it false that over twenty thousand Jin troops were camped across the river?

But even so, if words like "the Song may perish, but not the realm" or "seize the rivers and mountains for oneself" could pass through the two Administrations and be issued as a formal imperial edict, then even if Lu Haowen and Wang Boyan managed to survive the Jin offensive alongside Zhao Jiu and walk out of Bagongshan alive, they would deserve to have their heads held under the Huai River by Li Gang, Zhang Que, Xu Jingheng, and those other scholar-officials until they drowned.

In fact, even if Zhao Jiu wanted to privately convey these words to important ministers like Li Gang and Zong Ze via imperial instruction, it was almost impossible. Because aside from Junior Academician Lin, who had seconded the motion, everyone else had reacted most violently after Zhao Jiu's speech. Even Hu Yin, the radical who had always cooperated most closely with Zhao Jiu and served as a Secretariat Drafter, expressed the most direct opposition... The most devastated, Yang Yizhong, simply knelt down and wept!

However, after all this fuss, in the end, aside from that final sentence, everything else that Zhao Jiu, His Majesty, had wanted to say and do was essentially accomplished.

"Therefore, once the war begins, the land knows no north or south, and people, regardless of age or youth, all bear the responsibility of defending the land and resisting the Jin!"

"Read the next one!" Inside the central army tent of the Jin camp north of the Huai, Jin Wushu's face showed impatience. "Staff Officer Shi, you read that one wrong... that was the first one..."

"Yes!"

Staff Officer Shi Wenbin, who had once again narrowly escaped the wrath of the Fourth Prince of the Jin, quickly put down this proclamation, picked up another from the table, and this time he first glanced at it a few times to make sure it wasn't a duplicate before continuing to read. "'I, the Emperor, succeeding to the grand destiny...'"

"Just say what it means! We've heard this kind of talk many times!" This time it wasn't Jin Wushu who was impatient, but the Wanhu Chang, Elubu, who slammed the table and shouted. "Although all the tribes under heaven understand Chinese, what's the point of hearing this roundabout talk over and over again?"

"Yes, yes!"

"This decree is actually about appointing a chief minister, promoting Li Gang, Lord Li, who is training troops in Yangzhou, to the position of Grand Councilor for Military and State Affairs, overseeing the Three Departments..." Shi Wenbin quickly skimmed through it, then explained it to Elubu and all the Jurchen, Khitan, Xi, and Han generals in the tent.

"Wasn't Li Gang already the Song's top chief minister?" someone couldn't help but ask. "Promoting him again now, isn't that just an empty title?"

"It's different."

Now, although there were many Song defectors in the tent, most dared not speak easily. In the end, it was Shi Wenbin who quickly explained. "This decree, combined with the previous one where the Zhao Song Emperor swore never to retreat again, carries the implication of entrusting the orphan... If the Fourth Prince here wins, and the Emperor perishes, then Li Gang can easily support a new emperor in Yangzhou alongside Empress Dowager Meng!"

"That makes sense." Jin Wushu nodded in understanding, but then frowned slightly. "But Staff Officer Shi, what do you mean by 'if I win'?"

Shi Wenbin was so startled that the hairs on his body stood on end, and he fell to his knees with a thud.

"Get up." Before the other could beg forgiveness, Jin Wushu waved his hand impatiently. "I didn't kill you the last two times you brought back those replies, so why would I kill you today for this... If I really wanted to kill you, I'd have to wait until you've finished reading all these seized Song documents!"

"If there are more documents, hurry up and read them!" another general, Ali, also grew impatient. "Don't waste time!"

Shi Wenbin hastily thanked him, scrambled back up, and rummaged through the pile for a long time. He actually found another unread document, but after a quick glance, he couldn't help but burst into tears.

"Why are you crying again?" Jin Wushu was utterly speechless.

"Reporting to the Fourth Prince," Shi Wenbin struggled to stop his tears and reply, but he couldn't stop them from streaming down his face. "This is a document addressed to all those who surrendered from the Jingkang era up to the recent New Year... It says that before the New Year, because the Jin army... because our Great Jin's military strength was overwhelming, and one cannot force the impossible, all Song civil and military officials who were unarmed or had fought to the end, and were compelled by the Jin to temporarily serve in Jin offices or armies, can be pardoned and allowed to return to the Song... But three categories are not to be pardoned!"

"Which three?" Jin Wushu glanced at the tearful Shi Wenbin before his table, then at the considerable number of Song defectors in the tent who were now stirring restlessly, and asked coldly.

"First, Grand Commanders who violated military discipline, falsified military intelligence, or fled without a fight, such as Liu Guangshi; second, those who acted as accomplices to tyranny, with actual records of attacking, killing, and suppressing Song military prefectures and their people, such as Liu Yu, the Prefect of Jinan Prefecture; third... third, those who accepted Jin military positions, offered strategies, and held positions in the enemy state, such as Shi Wenbin, the County Magistrate of Yishui County..." After struggling to finish reading, Shi Wenbin tried to control his emotions, but still couldn't stop the tears from streaming down.

After a moment of thought, Jin Wushu suddenly stroked his beard and laughed heartily. After laughing, he shook his head repeatedly. "Old Shi, I think I get it now... This means everyone else is pardoned, but you three are just too conspicuous, so there's no way you can be pardoned! Otherwise, even though the world is vast, how could the Zhao Song Emperor across the river have ever heard of such 'so-and-sos' like you three?"

Hearing this, Shi Wenbin wept even more.

Jin Wushu found it amusing, but kept urging him to continue reading the decrees... After Shi Wenbin finished reading, gasping for breath, the Fourth Prince waved his hand to dismiss the irrelevant personnel. He then kept Generals Ali and Elubu, along with seventeen or eighteen Jurchen, Khitan, and Xi Meng'an (Chiliarchs), and even retained the officially recognized Song traitor, Staff Officer Shi Wenbin, thus convening an expanded military council.

"Regardless, these documents only prove that my plan succeeded!" Jin Wushu puffed out his chest, showing none of the disgrace from the previous night when he had personally whipped Shi Wenbin over a dozen times after seeing that silk scroll. "The new Song Emperor was provoked by me into issuing chaotic decrees, and more importantly, he's no longer running! The day after tomorrow, we can attempt to build a pontoon bridge and cross the Huai!"

"Why such haste?" General Ali couldn't help but frown and question. "I don't understand the Song Emperor's decrees, but it does seem true that the Fourth Prince's plan succeeded. And since the Song Emperor has issued an open decree saying he will stay put at Bagongshan and not retreat a single step, and has sent his chancellor with the imperial heir to the rear just in case... why the rush to cross the river? Can't we be more cautious and wait until our supplies are more complete and secure?"

"There are three reasons." Jin Wushu replied proudly, with an air of having everything under control.

PS: Thanks to the new alliance leader Jun Yi Xing, no need to say it, this is also an old book friend... But why does the Han former General Who Conquers the West want to be a militia leader?