Chapter 8: The Decisive Strike

After Yang Yizhong switched sides, according to some clever scheme of His Majesty to seize power, he should have advanced and retreated with measure, held wisdom in his grasp, relied on courage and perseverance to pass through countless dangers, and finally, through meticulous planning, step by step gained the initiative at court. Then, after several months, before Jin Wushu could decide to march south, he would have taken control of the government. After that, with everyone united, they would fortify Dongjingcheng and clear the fields, hold out for a year, defend successfully, achieve a glorious victory, thus preserve the Central Plains, and history would turn a new page...

However, before he could even glimpse the hardships and dangers, before he could even speak a word, these men—whether loyal or clever—jumped out one after another!

At least Yang Yizhong had spoken of national enmity and family hatred that time; this time, he hadn't even said a word yet!

"Zhang Qing, back then when Li Xianggong was dismissed from the chancellorship twice, you were the most vehement in your impeachment..." Seeing that Kang Lü could no longer hold himself together and fell to his knees with a thud in the hall, Zhao Jiu finally came to his senses and took a moment to gather his words.

With these words, Kang Lü, prostrate on the ground, finally stopped trembling.

It was only then that this Kang Daguan, who had been the 'Inner Chancellor' for nearly a fortnight, woke from his dream. Under the system of the Great Song court, once separated from the Emperor and the Chancellor, he couldn't even handle a single Censor! And at this moment, this Kang Daguan had no doubt that if the Emperor, who had 'changed his nature,' gave the order, Yang Yizhong—who had always held an umbrella for him and even stood attendance while he washed his feet—would drag him out directly, and that very day send two men like Xue Chao or Dong Ba to exile him to Shamendao.

And to cover up Yang Yizhong's disgraceful behavior, they would likely give him a beating on the road, beat him to death, and then destroy the corpse to hide the evidence.

In this whole process, the most terrifying thing was not the possibility of death, but that he, this 'Inner Chancellor of a fortnight,' had no means to respond and could only rely on 'imperial grace.'

"Times have changed." Zhang Jun stood tall and remained composed. "In Your Majesty's eyes, and even in the eyes of those traitors who isolated the court from the outside, I have always opposed Li Xianggong, seeming to have public enmity and private grudges, irreconcilable as fire and water. So today, my sudden reversal appears quite villainous..."

The hall remained exceptionally quiet, with only this Palace Censor speaking out in opposition.

"However, in my view, although I have reversed my stance, it is not for political struggle or personal disputes, but because my own mindset has changed over time." Zhang Jun spoke eloquently, as if he had prepared for this. "I was an orphan at four years old, and from then on, I never learned to lie, which made me known in my hometown. I passed the imperial examinations at twenty-two and entered officialdom, still the same. During the Jingkang era, I first impeached Li Gang because I saw him lose his army at the capital. I followed my own nature, spoke plainly, and impeached according to the system. But after Jingkang, in Dongjingcheng, I personally witnessed the sharpness of blades, the shock of national destruction, and the sorrow of chaos. Only then did I understand that under the greater situation, some things have priorities. To maintain the greater situation, one must sometimes tolerate filth and endure for the sake of the country."

Zhao Jiu was slightly moved but still noncommittal, while Lü Haowen couldn't help but glance at Zhang Jun, but only a glance.

"When I arrived at the temporary court, Your Majesty wanted to appoint Li Xianggong as Chancellor. My friends Fan Zongyin and Song Qiyu, who were then Remonstrance Officials, both thought it inadvisable and submitted memorials. Although I had personal grievances with Li Xianggong, I said nothing and instead advised them not to stir up trouble. Later, when Li Xianggong took office, Fan Zongyin was demoted and Song Qiyu was killed. I was filled with hatred, but still did not attack him as a Censor... because I knew that at that time, with the country broken and families lost, only a strong Chancellor like Li Boji could rally the people and rebuild the court."

"Later, when Li Boji succeeded and the court was reestablished, the situation had stabilized. But he repeatedly treated Your Majesty like a child, was overbearing without restraint, and filled positions with his own men, gradually reversing the order of importance. At that time, although my political views were almost entirely aligned with his, I could not tolerate him disregarding Your Majesty's authority, so I impeached him..."

"Stop right there..." Zhao Jiu suddenly spoke up to ask. "What political views did you share with Li Xianggong?"

"Your Majesty!" Zhang Jun replied sternly and loudly. "Since I endured humiliation and survived in Dongjingcheng to come here, I have long held firm views: First, the Jin are barbaric, cunning, and fickle, and we must never make peace with them! Second, Hebei and Hedong are the foundation of the state and must never be lightly abandoned! Third, although Jiangnan is wealthy, relying on it will inevitably lead to a situation of partial peace. Only by going to Guanzhong to obtain strong troops and horses from the northwest, and controlling the manpower of the Central Plains, can we restore order and reclaim the rivers and mountains! On these three matters, if Your Majesty asks once, I will answer once; if you ask ten times, I will answer ten times. I will never change my stance because of personal grudges with anyone!"

Zhao Jiu was momentarily speechless.

"As for now." After stating his political strategy and stunning both the Emperor and Lü Xianggong, Zhang Jun continued to calmly discuss his 'times have changed.' "Now that Your Majesty has fallen into a well and been injured, forgotten past events, and been isolated by treacherous ministers, and the Imperial Heir is only a month old without even a title... At this time, if Your Majesty, after dealing with traitors like Huang, Wang, and Kang, makes even a slight misstep, it will cause the authority of the central government to collapse, leading to instability among the people. For Your Majesty to maintain the authority of the temporary court and rally the people again, it is essential to have strong ministers like Li Gang and Zong Ze!"

Having said this, Zhang Jun turned to look at Lü Haowen, who was sitting silently to the side, still with a stern demeanor: "As for Lü Xianggong, just as Your Majesty has arranged, with his gentlemanly virtue and talent, he can serve as a deputy, to be consulted and to reassure the people, but he cannot be entrusted with the court in these turbulent times."

Lü Haowen immediately rose and bowed to Zhao Jiu, whether in agreement or disagreement was unclear.

Zhao Jiu was utterly at a loss. After thinking for a long time, he finally realized one thing and couldn't help but chuckle lightly: "After all this talk, Zhang Qing has first confirmed the crime of Huang Xianggong and Kang Daguan isolating the court from the outside, and only then spoke of recalling Li Xianggong and Zong Liushou?"

Zhang Jun remained unafraid and asked back boldly: "If Your Majesty does not believe that these men have been isolating the court recently, then given Your Majesty's favor toward these old ministers, why are you only now questioning this matter?"

Zhao Jiu had no reply, Lü Haowen was greatly startled, Kang Lü said nothing but only kowtowed repeatedly, and even Yang Yizhong, standing inside the hall door, rarely changed expression.

At this point, Zhao Jiu's incompetence as an ordinary student showed. He could share hardships and lower himself to win people over, and he could casually use small tricks of power like in TV dramas. But if it came to actually ordering punishment... especially when he knew full well that the crime of isolating the court was a major offense anywhere, likely to cost lives... when it came down to it, he hesitated.

"I just fell into the well. The Chancellors arranging for eunuchs and imperial guards to shield me may not have had ill intentions." With this thought, as if possessed, Zhao Jiu began to cover for them.

Hearing this, Kang Lü, who had been tense all day, almost collapsed to the ground.

"Whether they had ill intentions or not, it can be verified with one test." Zhang Jun was clearly well-prepared. "Please, Your Majesty, summon all the officials and inspect the memorials to see if any civil or military memorials have been intercepted by these traitors! If there are, that is their crime; if not, then I have stirred up trouble without cause and slandered the Chancellors!"

Zhao Jiu and Lü Haowen, who had been about to speak, were completely silenced, while Kang Lü, experiencing a dramatic reversal, was nearly broken.

Simply put, the newly arrived Emperor might still need time to figure out the intricacies of the Great Song system, but the experienced Kang Daguan knew that Zhang Jun's final blow, like a decisive strike on a football field, had essentially pronounced political death on him and his small clique. At this point, even the Emperor could no longer control the direction of events...

In fact, as Yang Yizhong had hinted earlier, the political system of the Great Song was set up this way, with the political functions of Censors and Hanlin Academicians in place, linked in a chain with the Chancellors, Eunuchs, the Bureau of Military Affairs, and the Imperial Camp. Since the Emperor was neither stupid nor mad, it was a fantasy for the Chancellor and eunuchs to join hands and control the inner court.

Even if the Emperor had truly gone mad, they would have needed Pan Xianfei to appear with the Imperial Heir to have even a slim chance of success.

Returning to the present, what made Kang Daguan even more indignant was that, since things had come to this, Wang Yuan and Yang Yizhong might be pardoned as 'rough warriors,' Huang Qianshan and Wang Boyan might be merely expelled as Chancellors, but he, Kang Daguan, would likely be killed or exiled to Shamendao simply because he was a eunuch... because he had once had the Emperor's favor, and that favor had vanished without a trace a dozen days ago!

The day before yesterday, he was the Inner Chancellor with great power, almost on equal footing with the Chancellors; yesterday, he was confident, thinking everything was under control; today, a single Censor's impeachment in front of a Vice Chancellor could cost him his life!

This was the political game of the old era.

Zhao Jiu had also figured out the intricacies but remained silent, as he began to weigh and analyze further in his mind:

At this point, first, he had to keep Zhang Jun! And appoint Zhang Jun! Because whether out of opportunism or sincerity, this was the first serious minister to publicly declare his political stance against the Jin. For this, he was even prepared to tolerate Li Gang's overbearingness, let alone a clever man who was good at discerning his intentions.

Resisting the Jin was the primary task, the core contradiction!

Second, if he kept Zhang Jun, then he could hardly stop this attack launched by Zhang Jun. In that case, he also had to protect Yang Yizhong. By the same logic, even if the 'national enmity and family hatred' was feigned, this general of the Yang family was still his guarantee of personal safety at this moment.

However, at the same time, Zhao Jiu couldn't help but worry about one person: Kang Lü, the Kang Daguan, who was sitting slumped on the ground in a daze. At this point, it wasn't just that a modern person dared not kill; he also had to worry whether this man had any leverage over him from when he came out of the well, and what Yang Yizhong's attitude toward this man was.

Thinking of this, Zhao Jiu couldn't help but look up at Yang Yizhong, who was standing inside the hall door... but unexpectedly, at that very moment, the other man was also staring at him nervously.

The lord and his minister stared at each other for a while, still silently trying to gauge each other's intentions, when Kang Lü on the ground noticed this scene. He then completely lost his composure, turned over, and kowtowed:

"Your Majesty, do not be misled by Yang Yizhong and Zhang Jun! These two are cut from the same cloth! On the surface, they are righteous, but in truth, they are nothing but sycophantic villains! They are only putting on an act because they see that Your Majesty has changed your mind! Let Your Majesty know: Zhang Jun, in Dongjingcheng, was a coward who feared death. When the country was broken, he could not die for honor and could only hide in the Imperial Academy and play dead! Yang Yizhong was extremely respectful to me in private, even standing attendance while I washed my feet! How can Your Majesty trust such villains?!"

Hearing this, Zhao Jiu instead made up his mind and directly waved to Yang Yizhong. Seeing the clear instruction, Yang Yizhong, who had also made up his mind, dared not delay. He stepped forward, grabbed Kang Lü—who might have said anything else—and pinned him down, then made to drag him out of the hall.

As he was seized, Kang Lü came to his senses. Almost in tears, he forced himself to kowtow to the Emperor seated in the hall, wailing repeatedly: "Your Majesty, save me! I was foolish! I only ask to serve by your side; I dare not covet power again!"

Zhao Jiu instinctively opened his mouth to speak but held back, instead giving Yang Yizhong another glance, intending for him to take the man away quickly.

Seeing this, whatever Yang Yizhong understood, Kang Lü completely broke down. Instead of begging the Emperor seated in the hall, he grabbed the hem of Lü Haowen's robe beside him and spoke wildly:

"Lü Xianggong! It really wasn't me who isolated the court! It's that His Majesty has truly been possessed by some evil spirit!"

Lü Haowen was stunned, and Yang Yizhong, in his panic, actually drew his sword.

"Let him speak!" Zhao Jiu suddenly spoke up. "I also want to know what exactly happened to me that day!"

Kang Lü turned back with hatred, his agitation hard to contain: "At this point, what is there to fear in speaking? That day in the well, Your Majesty saw something at the bottom, like a dog but not a dog, like a fox but not a fox. You bent down to look, but in an instant, the creature disappeared, and Your Majesty fell into the well and lost consciousness. When you woke up half a day later, it was as if you had become a different person! Huang Xianggong and the others all said I was seeing things, but I alone have always attended Your Majesty, and I know that Your Majesty has truly been swapped out by a demon!"

Hearing this, Zhao Jiu instead seemed relieved and let out a long sigh. He lightly tossed out a sentence he had long prepared in his heart: "Daguan, you and I have known each other for so many years. When I agreed to your request to go to Yangzhou and enjoy wealth and honor, I was a wise and sage Emperor. When I decided to organize defenses and stay in the north to endure hardship and resist the Jin, I became a fox demon or a dog demon... Between us, how did it come to this?"

Hearing this, not only did Zhang Jun coldly glare at Kang Lü, but even Lü Haowen looked at him with angry eyes: "Kang Lü, have you lost your mind to such an extent?!"

Kang Lü was terrified to the extreme, but had no other recourse. He could only let go and allow the guards on both sides to step forward and take him completely into custody. Yang Yizhong also finally relaxed and looked toward the Emperor.

"I had intended to spare his life!" Zhao Jiu hesitated for a moment, then helplessly raised his hand and said softly.

Yang Yizhong understood, but then did something that caught Zhao Jiu off guard—his blade was already in hand. Upon receiving the order, without waiting for Kang Lü to speak again, right before everyone's eyes, between the two guards, he drove the knife straight into the back of Kang Daguan's neck.

In an instant, blood splattered five steps, and the hall was filled with a bloody stench.

However, aside from Zhao Jiu, who was greatly startled, everyone else in the hall—including the two civil officials Lü Haowen and Zhang Jun—showed no reaction at all.

Zhao Jiu's mind went blank, but a primal thought still arose: These people must have seen more brutal, more direct, and larger-scale killing and violence before; otherwise, they would never be so calm... He was still far from integrating into this era!