Chapter 58: Lantern Festival (Part One)

"Commander Yue has arrived?"

Near the third watch of the night, the moon was round and cold. When Zong Ze saw his son Zong Ying enter carrying a bloody human head, he couldn't help raising his brows in delight. But when he saw two young men following his son inside, he was even more pleased, to the point of rising directly from his couch to greet them.

"We pay our respects to Lord Zong!"

One of the two young men, the one with unremarkable features and eyes of uneven size—Yue Fei—upon hearing Zong Ze address him personally, naturally dared not be negligent. He immediately stepped forward, bowed, and prostrated himself.

Behind Yue Fei, a tall young man of striking appearance was Ma Kuo, courtesy name Ma Zichong, son of Ma Zheng, who had become famous throughout the realm in earlier years for brokering the Maritime Alliance. Having frequented the imperial palace since his youth, he hurriedly followed suit and knelt in obeisance.

It should be noted that Zong Ze had been granted the title of Commissioner of Military Affairs by Zhao Jiu back in the autumn of the previous year. He was a genuine Grand Lord of the Western Administration, and also the Defender of the Eastern Capital. He was the very heart of the people in Hebei and Central Plains, bearing the weight of a regional lord. Moreover, he was already seventy years old. How could the two men not offer him the grandest of salutations?

However, Zong Ze was not one to care about empty formalities. After they had exchanged greetings, he sat back down on his couch and raised his hand to gesture directly: "Commander Yue, stay. I have something good to show you. You two, go outside and guard the door."

Zong Ying, carrying the human head, and Ma Kuo, who had painstakingly crossed the enemy-occupied territory from the northern section of Mount Taihang a thousand li to reach this place, exchanged bitter glances. But there was nothing they could do. They could only acknowledge the order with a "yes" and then go out together to serve as gatekeepers.

"Pengju," Zong Ze said, once again sitting cross-legged and barefoot on the couch. Only after hearing the sound of the door closing outside did he smile and speak to Yue Fei, who stood before him. "Do you remember my words before you set out on campaign in the twelfth month of last year?"

"I have not forgotten them for a single day!" Yue Fei clasped his hands and replied solemnly. "At that time, I led five hundred cavalry as a reconnaissance officer to Sishui Pass to scout the main force of Wanyan Zonghan. Before departing, Lord Zong's exact words were: 'Your crime deserves death, but I have pardoned you without question. Now you must perform meritorious service for me. Go and observe the enemy's strength, and do not engage them lightly!'"

"Those were the words," Zong Ze continued. "And what did you do?"

"I disobeyed your lordship's military orders, engaged the enemy's main force in battle on the spot, and then returned," Yue Fei answered frankly.

"Indeed," Zong Ze said, wrapping his motley fur robe tighter around himself and letting out a soft sigh. "This was a violation of my command and my military orders..."

Seeing the other's demeanor, Yue Fei rarely felt the urge to proactively explain something.

However, Zong Ze raised his hand slightly to stop the explanation, and continued speaking on his own:

"In truth, by military law, you should have died the very day you first arrived at the Eastern Capital. Because, no matter what, abandoning your commanding general and crossing the river south on your own—killing you with a single stroke of the blade would have been beyond reproach. Even more so since Wang Yan was isolated in the north at the time, and he was the Hebei Pacification Commissioner I had personally appointed. There was absolutely no reason to spare you. Everyone in the entire Defender's Office said you deserved death... But I pardoned you then, only demoting you to a minor rank. And the same goes for that time in the twelfth month of last year. I made it perfectly clear before you set out that you were not to engage lightly, yet you openly defied military orders. And after you returned, I once again ignored military regulations. Not only did I not punish you, I rewarded you heavily and promoted you to commander... Do you know why?"

"Because I can resist the Jin!" Yue Fei answered proudly, his mismatched eyes seeming to glare defiantly. "Before, I served under your lordship in Hebei, and now I serve under your lordship in the Eastern Capital. I have always been the one under your command with the most kills and the most successful campaigns..."

"Correct!" Zong Ze responded with delight. "Exactly that! Everything takes a back seat to resisting the Jin. The rift between you and Wang Yan, in the final analysis, was about whose method was most effective in resisting the Jin. I ordered you not to engage lightly because cavalry are precious and must be reserved for major use on the battlefield, not squandered in vain... And since you have not lost your will to resist the Jin, and possess the means to do so, of course I will employ you generously. Am I right?"

"No!"

Yue Fei continued, still proud and defiant. "If your lordship truly wishes to recover Hebei, you must strictly adhere to military law and enforce military discipline... Your current style, my lord—not just towards me, but towards the entire Eastern Capital Defender's Office—is to be lenient or strict according to the situation. While this can bind people's hearts for a time, it cannot last, nor can it produce a strong army! Moreover, everything hinges on your lordship alone. All favor and authority come from you alone. If your health should fail, this entire grand situation in the Eastern Capital will be lost in a single morning! I daresay half the troops here would scatter and become bandits!"

Zong Ze was silent for a long while before finally managing to speak from his couch: "You should also change this temperament of yours. Otherwise, if any other lord were sitting here, they would have already pointed at your mismatched eyes, accused you of looking down on them, and had you beheaded!"

"I know. I am no longer the stubborn youth I was in Hebei back then. But because I am especially clear about your lordship's heart, ambition, and spirit, I dared to speak so freely," Yue Fei said, bowing his head. "I beg your lordship to forgive my offense."

"It's fine," Zong Ze waved his hand casually. "Since we both know each other's aspirations and are comrades in spirit, let's not dwell on this. I called you here today for three matters..."

"I await your lordship's command!"

"First, your sortie towards Huazhou in the days after the New Year resulted in the highest number of kills in the Defender's Office again. I hear you and your subordinate Wang Gui jointly killed a Meng'an commander. I've already drafted the documents promoting you to Commander-in-Chief and Wang Gui to Commander. Take them. The Ji Qing unit is also being returned to you. And since Zhang died in battle at Huazhou this time, his remaining thousand men are all grateful that you saved them, so they'll be given to you as well. Tomorrow I'll scrape together a few hundred sets of armor, bows, and arrows for you, to make it a force of about three thousand men." With that, Zong Ze took a sheet of paper from the table, hastily affixed his seal, and handed it directly to the other. "The Defender's Office will handle the formalities properly."

"I thank your lordship!" Yue Fei said, quickly tucking the still-wet document into his sleeve as he bowed his head. In less than three months, he had gotten his Commander-in-Chief rank back—far smoother than someone else's path to being a Grand Marshal.

"Second matter," Zong Ze continued, pointing to a pile on the table. "These edicts have been issued everywhere. You've probably seen them by now, haven't you?"

"I have!" Yue Fei replied bluntly. "The messengers heading to Hebei couldn't get through at all—they were all stopped at Huazhou. I saw many of them while in the army, but I don't know if I've seen them all."

"It doesn't matter," Zong Ze shook his head. "What's your general opinion?"

"It's always a good thing!" Yue Fei remained utterly frank. "To recover Hebei is not something that can be accomplished in a day or a month. It requires several hundred thousand troops to meet the enemy's main force and defeat them before success can be achieved. And to build an elite army of several hundred thousand, His Majesty must come forward with such resolve and strategy, and then gather the full strength of the Southeast, Jingxiang, Bashu, Guanzhong, and even the Lianghuai and Central Plains. Otherwise, it's absolutely impossible!"

Zong Ze seemed about to speak but stopped, merely shaking his head: "These are all a bit far off. Today, let's just talk about one thing among them..."

"Is it that I need to lead troops to Shouzhou to protect His Majesty?" Yue Fei instinctively glanced back towards the door. "Otherwise, there would be no need for Ma Zichong to come here. Everyone in the Defender's Office knows that Ma Zichong has come to seek an audience with His Majesty."

"Correct," Zong Ze let out a rare sigh. "Although the front lines are difficult, His Majesty still needs some protection. If something were to happen, it would be a situation like the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. Then, not to mention the difficulty of seeing the great unification of our ancestors, we might even see a Jurchen Son of Heaven, and our descendants would all have to wear their lapels on the left!"

"That must never be allowed!" Yue Pengju narrowed his eyes and answered instinctively. "Lately, more and more people are fleeing Hebei because the situation there is being ruined worse and worse by the Jurchens!"

"Let's not talk about that," Zong Ze gestured with his chin again. "You understand my meaning. Go back and rest well. Tomorrow, when the military equipment arrives, lead your troops and go. There's also a memorial on the table, urging His Majesty to return to the Eastern Capital for a northern campaign. Take it with you..."

"My lord," Yue Pengju couldn't help himself again. "The Eastern Capital seems able to hold off the main Jurchen army, and the fighting is fierce at Baima Ford in Huazhou. But in truth, the Jin central army's objective is to sweep Hebei, not to cross the river and advance. The Jin's Third Prince, Eriduo, coming south now seems more like cleaning up for the Fourth Prince, Wushu, and he hasn't crossed the river. The troops facing us across the river at Huazhou, all together, are no more than twenty or thirty thousand. Our hundred thousand men, divided into dozens of units, are relieving each other and fighting in rotation, and we're still struggling. How can His Majesty come here? If His Majesty comes, he'll likely draw both the eastern and western Jin armies to the Eastern Capital. What would we use to stop them then?"

"Is that so?" Zong Ze clearly didn't want to delve into this matter with Yue Fei, so he simply pretended. "Just send it over anyway. His Majesty is blocked at Shouzhou and won't be able to get through. Nine times out of ten, he'll have to go to Yangzhou. You go and protect him."

Yue Fei had no choice. He tucked the memorial into his sleeve, carefully fastened the cuff with a leather strap, and was about to clasp his hands and take his leave... But just as he raised his hand, he suddenly remembered something:

"Your lordship mentioned three matters earlier. Is there still one left to clarify?"

"Oh, right!"

Zong Ze also had a sudden realization. He took off his fur robe, climbed back onto the couch, rummaged around in a corner for a while, then pulled out a box. He turned back and beckoned. "Pengju, come up on the couch. I'll show you a treasure! I almost forgot!"

Yue Fei was speechless for a moment and did not step forward.

PS: It's basically confirmed—going on the shelves at the beginning of next month. Also, I saw that investment. It did let everyone recoup their capital... A sense of pride wells up.