Chapter 89

Before the Huaixi bandit Ding Jin was discovered using a trip to the latrine to kill himself with a small knife, Palace Censor Hu Yin, styled Hu Mingzhong, had many identities. For instance, he was one of the youngest civil officials in the traveling court, learned, of pure background, with a so-called bright future ahead; for another, he was also the most vehement anti-Jin faction member in the traveling court, always fond of proposing the most radical anti-Jin plans at the most inopportune times; and yet another, he was the shared sworn brother and old junior of both Zhang Jun and Zhao Ding, considered the glue between these two rising nobles who were now subtly drifting apart.

Even if His Majesty the Zhao Emperor employed this man, to be fair, it was partly because of his conspicuous political stance... Just think about it—when someone tried to soften the anti-Jin stance, tried to save the country by a roundabout way, dragging this fellow out, with his talk of welcoming back the Two Emperors, crossing the river to campaign north, and the bonds of ruler and father—who could withstand that? Who dared to speak?

To put it bluntly, before this, he was just a tool and someone else's political appendage, at most with some potential.

However, after Ding Jin was casually buried in a pit, the name Hu Yin no longer needed to be annotated by others or a certain stance. Hu Mingzhong became famous overnight, and the former Censor-in-Chief, now Eastern Administration Chancellor Xu Jingheng, praised him at the time as a "true censor."

Even at His Majesty's end, where everyone knew the score, after awkwardly dodging a round of cold sarcasm, he formally issued a series of edicts the next day upon arriving at Zhugao Town:

First, strip Zhang Jun of his purple robe, demoting him from Censor-in-Chief to Acting Censor-in-Chief, making this man, who was perhaps closest to becoming the youngest Grand Councilor of the Great Song, three steps further from that position;

Second, formally replace Zhang Jun with Hu Yin to specifically handle the matter of Han Shizhong's army harassing civilians along the route, and to take overall charge of military discipline in the traveling court;

Third, using the above two matters, formally acknowledge his own, His Majesty the Zhao Emperor's, mistake, admitting that he had been overly lenient with some meritorious officials while neglecting court institutions, and thereby admonish the entire traveling court to guard against arrogance and impatience...

After the edicts were issued, everyone knew that Hu Yin's impeachment the previous day had already produced tangible results.

But this was not all. After the traveling court continued westward for two more days, arriving at the bank of the Huai River directly north of Dingcheng, the capital of Guangzhou, where they gathered the three generals Miao Fu, Liu Zhengyan, and Liu Yan, and met with Yuwen Xuzhong, His Majesty the Zhao Emperor then formally convened all four chancellors, two from the East and two from the West, to specifically discuss the issue of selecting talent to rebuild the court.

And based on the suggestions of the four chancellors, His Majesty the Zhao Emperor made some minor revisions and ultimately issued another series of new edicts... under the pretext of the current difficulties and the ongoing national crisis, requiring all localities to recommend talent regardless of background.

Among them, each military prefecture in Guanxi, Southeast, Jingxiang, Jingdong, and Bashu was to recommend one civil official, one military officer, and one person of integrity who had distinguished themselves during the national crisis; while each garrison commander and military commissioner was permitted to recommend an additional ten people; the two Huai regions and Jingxi, being close to the traveling court, were specially permitted, in addition to military prefectures, for each county to recommend one person of integrity.

This so-called "person of integrity" was naturally what His Majesty the Zhao Emperor cared about most—"being able to resist the Jin"—and was the private agenda he had forcibly inserted.

Once these people arrived at the southern capital of Nanyang, they would be divided into civil and military groups for a small examination, to serve as a talent supplement for the southern capital. Of course, Zhao Jiu did not yet have the ability to change the huge issue of the civil-military divide.

In addition, His Majesty the Zhao Emperor also issued another edict, granting Li Gang the same discretionary personnel authority as the frontline commander Zong Ze, allowing Chancellor Li to temporarily appoint high-ranking officials in the Southeast, requiring only subsequent reporting and discussion... However, correspondingly, Li Gang's confidant Lin Qi was transferred from the Ministry of Personnel to the Ministry of Revenue.

Returning to the present, through this affair, Censor Hu's great name was elevated another notch in the traveling court. Everyone knew that the deeper meaning of that censor's impeachment that day had been achieved, and this man now had the ability to push forward major political matters.

However, leaving aside how Censor Hu's reputation grew daily in the traveling court, and leaving aside the new atmosphere in the traveling court, His Majesty the Zhao Emperor still had to continue westward.

At the end of the second month, the traveling court arrived at Guangshan, the westernmost point of the Huai River section in Guangzhou. Because the Huai River ahead was too shallow and narrow, they formally abandoned the boats and proceeded north into Caizhou territory... At this point, bad news came from the south: a mutiny had occurred in Jianzhou (Jian in Fujian). In response, His Majesty the Zhao Emperor dared not be negligent and immediately appointed Generals Miao Fu and Liu Zhengyan as Commander-in-Chief and Vice Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Guard Rear Army, leading troops southeast to assist Li Gang in maintaining order in the Southeast under the pretext of protecting the Empress Dowager.

With the two generals gone, after only another day or two, as they penetrated deeper into Caizhou, Han Shizhong and Wang De, who were clearing the way on the left and right flanks, began encountering various armed forces and engaging in large-scale battles. The traveling court had to enter Ruyang, the capital of Caizhou, which had been breached by the Jin army before, on the first day of the third month, and then use it as a base to recruit volunteer armies, while waiting for Wang De and Han Shizhong to strike out in all directions to annihilate the rebel forces, in order to carve out what was called "room to maneuver."

And it was at this time that the traveling court finally received a series of definite news from the volunteer armies and envoys sent by Zong Ze. It was that last winter's large-scale Jin army southern campaign, just as the eastern route army led by Talan and Wushu had swept through the two Jingdong circuits like autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves, the western route army remotely controlled by Nianhan had also caused extremely severe consequences in the west.

Although they had anticipated this, and even had many uncertain reports as early as at Bagongshan, upon actually hearing this information and connecting it with the current situation of Caizhou being full of rebel troops and bandits, the entire traveling court was shaken and became serious, losing their previous relaxed attitude:

The western capital Luoyang city was breached, and after being plundered by the Jin army, it was set on fire.

Chang'an, which had previously been considered the best choice for a southern capital, had also fallen early, suffering an earthquake and betrayal after being besieged for over ten days... The defector was none other than Fu Liang, one of the two military commissioners Li Gang had set up in Nanjing (Shangqiu) back then, the former Hebei Deputy Military Commissioner.

This man, with several hundred elite troops, seized the gate and surrendered to the Jin, being the chief culprit in the fall of Chang'an.

How ridiculous that His Majesty the Zhao Emperor had previously specifically pardoned him, sought his return, and even worried that he might have died among the routed troops, not knowing that this man had long since hidden himself in Guanzhong and become a blatant traitor.

With Chang'an fallen, almost all the high officials below the Tianzhangge Academician and Jingzhaofu Circuit Military Commissioner Tang Zhong, including the Shaanxi Vice Fiscal Commissioner, Judicial Commissioner, Judge, and Confidential Secretary, died for their country.

Afterwards, the Henan Governor Sun Zhaoyuan, after fleeing south from Luoyang to Caizhou, saw the mountains and fields covered with routed troops and intended to recruit and employ them. He scolded the routed troops for preying on the people and causing trouble in the region. As a result, right below the walls of Ruyang city, he was killed by the enraged routed troops. His corpse was retrieved by His Majesty the Zhao Emperor's men from a wild forest; it was already maggot-ridden.

By this time, the atmosphere in the traveling court had become completely solemn. But after another two days, with a man in coarse cloth clothes being hastily sent by Han Shizhong, from His Majesty the Zhao Emperor on down, no one could sit still any longer.

The newcomer was Yan Xiaozhong, the Prefect of Tangzhou, which was west of Caizhou and east of Dengzhou where Nanyang was located. And he had actually escaped from the Jin army!

Leaving aside the specifics of how he escaped, Yan Xiaozhong reported a piece of news that caught everyone off guard—the Jin army Battalion Commander Niechuhe was still plundering in the Nanyang area!

It turned out that after the former Palace Censor Ma Shen had led Zhang Suo away from the Xiangyang and Nanyang area to go to the traveling court to see His Majesty the Zhao Emperor, the Jin army launched a large-scale southern invasion. The Jin western route army, after capturing Luoyang, specifically dispatched a force of about ten thousand men, led by a Battalion Commander, to march south, successively capturing Ruzhou and Caizhou... The traveling court knew about this, because this Battalion Commander had stopped in Caizhou for a long time, seemingly intending to coordinate with Wanyan Wushu in the east in the Huaixi region.

At this time, the traveling court was heading west and arriving in Caizhou. Since there were no Jin troops in Caizhou, they thought he had already withdrawn his troops back to Taiyuan!

In reality, at this very moment, according to continuous information from Zong Ze, Zhang Suo, and Zhang Jun, at the very least, the Jin eastern route army in Jingdong clearly showed signs of withdrawing. The Jin garrisons in the border areas of Qingzhou and Weizhou had already moved north to Hebei. There were even rumors that the surrendered official Liu Yu in Jinan Prefecture had wailed bitterly, begging Talan to leave some Jin troops stationed there.

But no one expected that the Jin western route army would still be so rampant.

"May Your Majesty be informed."

The short-statured Yan Xiaozhong, cupping his hands, reported in the main hall of the Ruyang government office. "Niechuhe marched south after capturing the western capital in the twelfth month of last year. His campaign was originally aimed at Your Majesty and the traveling court. The formal military order he received from Wanyan Loushi was to capture Dengzhou and take Nanyang. His previous move to Caizhou was done on his own initiative after hearing that Your Majesty was on the Huai River!"

In the main hall, many intelligent people, including His Majesty the Zhao Emperor, almost instantly realized the truth, and then their hearts sank—yes, this fits!

One must know that at that time, our His Majesty the Zhao Emperor was preparing to head to Nanyang together with Chancellor Li Gang! The Jin western route army, whether Nianhan or Loushi, could not have failed to notice this. So, after quickly capturing the western capital Luoyang, they naturally intended to wait for the hare by the tree stump.

And if that certain disturbance hadn't happened back then, and the entire traveling court had happily come to Nanyang, with the traveling court's combat strength at the time, wouldn't they have been wiped out in one fell swoop by this Battalion Commander?

Thinking of this, many in the tent turned pale. Even His Majesty the Zhao Emperor suddenly recalled that corpse with the bulging belly—could it be that the Huaixi bandit Ding Jin was actually a meritorious official who saved the Great Song?!

Was this, after Liu Guangshi, another great injustice personally perpetrated by His Majesty the Zhao Emperor?

"Your Majesty." After a moment's hesitation, Yan Xiaozhong took the opportunity to speak somewhat cautiously. "Your subject intended to defend Tangzhou city and await death, but Tangzhou city is small and old, and the Jin army easily dug through its walls. I was powerless. Furthermore, because I am short in stature, dark-skinned, and ugly, like a dwarf, and because I was wearing coarse cloth clothes and carrying earth on the city wall when captured, the Jin army did not take me seriously. They continued to use me as a laborer carrying earth with the army. That's how I got the chance to escape and come see Your Majesty... Your Majesty, my appearance is distinctive. There must be conscripted laborers in the Jin army who have seen me. This matter can be verified with a single inquiry. I have absolutely not lost my integrity!"

"Your Majesty has no doubt about Yan Qing's loyalty. Rest assured and stay with the traveling court. Once the enemy retreats, you will be reappointed." Zhao Jiu quickly nodded to comfort him.

Of course he had to comfort him!

The young Academician Lin, attending at the side, secretly laughed at Yan Xiaozhong for being too cautious.

Just think about it. According to the current intelligence, the high officials in the various Jingxi circuits bordering the Jin army were basically all dead or had surrendered. To have a prefect who dared to defend a city and dared to travel over a hundred li to report the news was already a rare model civil official. How could His Majesty possibly hold Yan Xiaozhong's experience of being captured against him?

However, did this Prefect Yan's appearance have such an advantage?

"But Yan Qing," while Academician Lin was lost in thought, His Majesty the Zhao Emperor continued questioning. "You escaped from Niechuhe's army. Do you know the situation in Dengzhou?"

"Fortunately, Your Majesty arrived quickly. At this moment, the Jingxi South Fiscal Commissioner and Longtuge Academician Liu Ji is still alive... and the Guandian Academician and Prefect of Dengzhou, Fan Zhixu, is also there." Yan Xiaozhong blurted out again. "But these two, I fear, may not last much longer."

"What does this mean?" Zhao Jiu sensed something off in the other's tone and was somewhat bewildered. "Has the Jin offensive already been decided?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, it is not that your subject presumes to discuss colleagues without authorization!" Yan Xiaozhong gritted his teeth and spoke indignantly. "I am also a useless man who knows nothing of military affairs, and was even captured alive by the Jin army. But at least I know to defend a city by holding the walls, and I know that defending a city requires carrying earth and using strength. I would never think of using monks and child soldiers! Nor would I build a 'Great Wall' only shoulder-high!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Jiu instinctively recalled the legendary tales of the "Six Ding and Six Jia" and felt a pang of panic. He immediately looked at the several chancellors sitting in attendance: "Who is this about?"

Upon hearing this, the four seated chancellors almost rose together, and then Lu Haowen awkwardly responded: "May Your Majesty be informed. Chancellor Fan's military affairs relied most heavily on one man, a monk with the monastic name Zongyin. Back during the Jingkang incident, when Chancellor Fan was the commander of the Western Army, leading 160,000 troops to relieve the Eastern Capital, he specially selected a unit of monk soldiers, named the 'Zunsheng Army,' and a unit of child soldiers, named the 'Jingsheng Army.' He also built a 'Great Wall' at Tong Pass, connecting Longmen..."

"And how badly were they defeated?" Zhao Jiu could already sense the flavor of the story halfway through and directly interrupted him.

"They were broken by Wanyan Loushi's elite cavalry of ten thousand." After the Battle of Shouzhou, men like Lu Haowen probably felt that some previous matters had been too absurd, and after saying this, they quickly lowered their heads. "Chancellor Fan also lost his position as Shaanxi Pacification Commissioner and was reassigned as Prefect of Dengzhou."

"That the Great Song has survived to this day is truly thanks to the blessings of gods, immortals, and Buddhas together." His Majesty the Zhao Emperor sneered. "If I had actually come to Nanyang back then, I would rather see the nation perish than kill this man with my own hands... Liu Guangshi was truly wronged!"

The civil and military officials in the hall, hearing this wrong note, all lowered their heads and remained silent. Even the short-statured Prefect Yan was momentarily at a loss and quickly bowed his head.

"So, is it too late to save Dengzhou?" Zhao Jiu came back to his senses and continued questioning Yan Xiaozhong.

"Not necessarily." Yan Xiaozhong quickly answered again. "Your Majesty, please allow me to explain. The Fiscal Commissioner, Liu Longtu, is utterly loyal. Back during the Jingkang incident, he went alone to the Eastern Capital to face the crisis. Upon returning, he received the traveling court's edict to fortify Nanyang in preparation for Your Majesty, and has been toiling to maintain it to this day... Lord Liu may be as ignorant of military affairs as your subject, but he would never be as absurd as Chancellor Fan, nor would he easily abandon the city and flee."

Zhao Jiu's spirits lifted, and he quickly asked again: "Do you know the true strength of this so-called Jin Battalion Commander?"

"Five Jurchen commanders, two Khitan commanders, one Xi man commander, one Northern Han'er commander, and one Bohai commander, but it seems because of losses from the great battle at Taiyuan in the past, there are only fifty or sixty company commanders in total!" Yan Xiaozhong immediately replied. "That means five to six thousand main troops! The rest are surrendered Western Army soldiers used as reinforcements. Only he has fought his way through Xijing (Luoyang), Ruzhou, Caizhou, and Tangzhou, and recently many rebel troops have submitted to him!"

Hearing this number, the hall fell silent for a moment. From Zhao Jiu on down, the four ministers, and the several censors below Trial Censor-in-Chief Zhang Jun... in short, except for the more reserved Junior Academician Lin, almost all the key officials of the temporary court who had come together from the east instinctively and tacitly exchanged glances, then simultaneously conceived a bold idea in their hearts... Clearly, after the battle of Shouzhou, at the very least everyone's mindset was completely different from the officials here in Jingxi.

Of course, it was still a wanhu plus a bunch of surrendered troops. The Imperial Majesty thought for a moment, still feeling a bit uneasy, so he composed himself and asked again: "Minister Yan, let alone Fan Qiong in Xiangyang to the south, are there any usable troops in Caizhou, Tangzhou, Ruzhou, and Dengzhou?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, although Jingxi is in shambles, there are still righteous volunteers who dare to fight the Jin Army." Yan Xiaozhong's eyelid twitched. He almost instantly understood the Imperial Majesty's meaning and also grasped the reason for the strange atmosphere in the hall just now, but he felt three parts shock, three parts agitation, three parts hope, plus one part caution. "Tangzhou has little land and few people, and has done its utmost, but here in the far northwest of Caizhou, there is a local strongman named Zhai Chong, who is a distant relative of the two Generals Zhai, the Greater and Lesser Zhai of Xijing. He has considerable strength. My family is placed in his care... I beg Your Majesty to give me a horse and send an inner attendant with an official appointment document back to Tangzhou, and I will surely bring back three thousand elite troops!"

Zhao Jiu, upon hearing it was a relative of the Greater and Lesser Zhai, instinctively believed it three parts... It must be known that Zhai Xing and Zhai Jin, the Zhai brothers, were the true pillars of Xijing Luoyang at this time, almost single-handedly persisting in resisting the Jin in Luoyang. Zhao Jiu had also seen many reports about this family from various sources. And to put it in the Imperial Majesty's own terms, he vaguely associated the foundation of this family's rise with the Zhu Family Village and Zengtou Market in the Water Margin!

In other words, this family was simply a Song dynasty version of a super-powerful local magnate, and one that had risen amid the chaos!

However, from a behavioral standpoint, they were loyal and reliable, and they upheld the great principles of the nation! Not long ago, in the defense of Xijing, it was the Zhai brothers who did it single-handedly, and the second son of the younger brother Zhai Jin died under Jin blades during the breakout battle.

Therefore, under the circumstances where ethnic conflict was the primary contradiction, the Zhai family was unquestionably a good, loyal, and patriotic strongman family!

"As for Ruzhou, I myself am not clear about it, but I heard one thing in the Jin army," while the Imperial Majesty's mind was vaguely drifting to the Water Margin, Yan Xiaozhong continued his earnest account. "There is a warrior there named Niu Gao who rose up when the Jin army passed through, repeatedly fought and won against the Jin, and now has considerable troops..."

Zhao Jiu was suddenly startled, almost not reacting in time... There was no help for it; after more than half a year, he had finally caught another name he recognized, and it caught him off guard. Thinking back on this western journey, he had thought it would be Journey to the West, then discovered it was Water Margin, but in the end, it was still The Complete Story of Yue Fei.

"Your Majesty, I believe a decision can be made to fight this battle!" At this moment, Trial Censor-in-Chief Zhang Jun, who had been staring at the Imperial Majesty and wearing a red robe, suddenly stepped forward. "This is not only because the temporary court must drive out the Jin Army to establish a foothold in Nanyang, but also because Jingxi is in chaos, with dragons and snakes mixed together. The temporary court should take this opportunity to screen the disorderly troops here, gain the loyal and brave for its own use, and drive out and eliminate the dross! This will achieve multiple goals at once!"

Zhao Jiu slowly nodded. The four ministers around him exchanged glances and could not refute him for the moment.

"If Your Majesty wishes to fight this battle, you must be careful of one thing." Seeing no one speak, Yan Xiaozhong had no choice but to remind him cautiously.

"What thing?"

"Let Your Majesty know, there is a critical location at this time, which is Wuguan. The defending general is none other than that monk Zongyin from Academician Fan's staff..."

"Liu Yan!" The Imperial Majesty, without waiting for him to finish, suddenly turned his head and ordered one of the men beside him. "I give you a golden token immediately. No matter how you take your men around or sneak through, you must rush to Wuguan as quickly as possible and seize that monk's military authority before this battle!"

"Your Majesty!" At this moment, Junior Academician Lin suddenly stepped forward. "I am willing, as a close courtier, to go and pacify him!"

Zhao Jiu was stunned for a moment, then felt greatly gratified...

Of course he was gratified!

It must be known that Wuguan was several hundred li behind enemy lines, separated by a main force of a Jin wanhu, and it wasn't a matter of going to Ruzhou to pacify someone like Niu Gao, yet this Junior Academician Lin had actually volunteered... First Hu Yin, now Lin Jingmo, and even Zhang Jun had not become despondent or withdrawn just now because of the setback. This showed that these young civil officials he had promoted were nothing like that kind of goods like Fan Zhixu!

How to put it? Thank heaven and earth, it seemed the Great Song could still be saved!

PS: Thanks to the fifty-third ally, Restless Volcano! At this rate, it feels like we'll enter the Hall of Fame next month.