Chapter 91: People's Hearts

Zhang Jun was panicked and at a loss; Feng Yi was at a loss and panicked; the Zhao Emperor's face remained paralyzed as usual.

But soon, Zhang Deyuan still recovered the posture that an elite scholar-official should have. He straightened up and solemnly cupped his hands: "Your Majesty, I am the Censor-in-Chief. How could I not understand the ancestral laws and privately interact with eunuchs? As for Han Shizhong, although I have had some dealings with him recently, he absolutely did not come to my place last night to report any secret military discussions with Your Majesty. It was only this morning that one of Han Shizhong's attendants came to my door and spoke of some miscellaneous trivial matters... If Your Majesty hadn't mentioned it, I wouldn't even have known he came last night and persuaded Your Majesty to change your mind! As for this latter matter, Your Majesty can summon Han Shizhong after the battle for a confrontation. I have absolutely not violated any regulations."

"Deyuan," Zhao Jiu frowned slightly in his seat. "To be honest, I don't believe you would collude with eunuchs to this extent either. As for your close dealings with Han Shizhong, that was something I deliberately indulged, even something I personally hinted at. The reason for this is that Han Shizhong has a roguish temperament, and military officials in our dynasty rarely come to a good end, so I hoped you could protect him at court... But you must understand, yesterday you were still actively following my lead to push for battle, yet today you completely changed your attitude and advised me not to fight. That is truly strange. Moreover, when did you acquire the ability to have such a thorough consideration of military affairs?"

When Zhang Jun heard the Emperor use "I" instead of "We," he breathed a slight sigh of relief. When he heard the end and realized it was purely a misunderstanding, he was even more relieved. Only when he thought that in the Emperor's eyes he was still "a man who knows nothing of military affairs" did he feel somewhat helpless.

Of course, now that things had come to this, he had no way to evade. He bowed and said: "I wonder if Your Majesty knows the anecdote of Ma Zhou from the time of Emperor Taizong of Tang?"

Zhao Jiu looked blank and did not answer.

Zhang Jun could not help but cough awkwardly, then spoke tactfully: "In the Tang dynasty, Emperor Taizong had a minister named Chang He. Chang He was a rough warrior, usually unlettered. But suddenly, for a period, his memorials had substance, over twenty points all hitting the mark. Emperor Taizong found it strange and directly asked him the reason. Chang He directly told Emperor Taizong that the memorial was written by his retainer Ma Zhou... Ma Zhou was thirty years old at the time, and was immediately kept in the Chancellery for consultation. Within a year he was promoted three times, and eventually became a pillar minister in Emperor Taizong's later years."

Zhao Jiu's level of political and historical knowledge was enough to understand even this: "Deyuan means... someone is teaching you from behind?"

"The former Grand Secretary of the Academy of Scholarly Worthies, Liu Ge, died a martyr during the Jingkang Incident. His eldest son, Liu Ziyu, escorted his coffin back to his hometown and has just returned. He is currently staying with me. These words were what he said when I discussed matters with him after returning home." Zhang Jun finally revealed the truth. "Liu Ge served as a military commissioner for much of his life. As early as the reign of Emperor Zhezong, he was the Fiscal Intendant of Shaanxi. Later, he made many achievements in suppressing Fang La and resisting the Jin. Liu Ziyu grew up following his father in the camp, and from an early age gained a reputation for understanding military affairs. It is said that from childhood to adulthood, every morning he would shoot over a hundred arrows in the training ground, just as Your Majesty does every evening. So he is not an ordinary civil official..."

Upon hearing this name and this description, the Zhao Emperor couldn't help but feel like he was reading a poorly written time-travel novel. A yamen clerk background, civil official status, yet knowledgeable in military affairs, and with national and familial grievances... the key point was that the name was too jarring!

However, as Zhang Jun continued his narration, the Zhao Emperor gradually relaxed and realized this was a living historical figure... For example, the name Liu Ziyu was indeed jarring, but that was the fault of a bunch of hack writers later on, not his problem. He had two younger brothers, one named Liu Zihui and the other Liu Ziyi. That sounded perfectly reasonable, didn't it?

Moreover, through Zhang Jun's hints, Zhao Jiu also realized that his father Liu Ge's experiences were similar to those of the old Grand Commandant Yang Weizhong, who had not yet arrived. Both were among that batch of revivalists who rose from the northwest during Emperor Zhezong's reign. During Emperor Huizong's reign, they had always remained on the fringes, never able to become mainstream. This provided the background for Liu Ziyu's youthful military career.

However, the Zhao Emperor still maintained a certain rationality... because after yesterday's events, he had developed a certain wariness toward all armchair strategists, including himself. Who knew if this Liu Ziyu had just gotten lucky and guessed correctly? And with such a distinctive name, if he had actually accomplished something in this era, there was no reason for him, the Zhao Emperor, not to remember him, right? He had remembered Niu Gao, hadn't he?!

Of course, regardless, at a time when talent was needed, even if this person was truly an armchair strategist, keeping him around as an advisor would do.

After all, as the saying goes: two Zhao Kuos are worth one Zhuge Liang. If everyone muddled through together, at least it could improve the margin for error, right?

And so, with this thought, Zhao Jiu put on a serious expression again: "With such a talent, why didn't you recommend him? You recommended so many people before, and I appointed them all..."

"Your Majesty." Zhang Jun grew even more helpless. "Liu Ziyu was the person I had written down in my notebook the day before Hu Yin impeached me. How could I dare to act against the wind?"

Zhao Jiu suddenly understood, but told the other to quickly go back and bring this Liu Ziyu. Then he told Feng Yi, who was kneeling there, to rise... Actually, he had wanted to deal with the latter since yesterday, because this eunuch's behavior was too much like the fawning manner of those so-called eunuchs in traditional dramas. But when it came to actually punishing him, he couldn't find a suitable reason. Moreover, since they were on the road, there was no suitable place to send him. So he had to set it aside for now and calmly await Liu Ziyu.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Jun came and went quickly. In a short while, he brought Liu Ziyu.

After the formal greetings were completed, the Zhao Emperor offered him a seat. He casually sized him up and saw that this man had a dignified appearance, a tall stature, and sat with a straight back, exuding an imposing demeanor... If Yang Yizhong was the template for a natural-born military officer's appearance, then this man was the typical posture of a military commissioner... At this, the Zhao Emperor naturally became even more suspicious.

After all, how could there be such a perfect person? If he looked like that Prefect Yan Xiaozhong, then the Zhao Emperor might have believed him a little.

But these were digressions, all just Zhao Jiu's private thoughts. In the end, he still had to ask face-to-face.

However, perhaps due to lack of sleep, when the Zhao Emperor opened his mouth, he didn't know where to start. Not wanting to just sit there with his mouth open, he could only take the opportunity to casually ask Zhang Jun beside him: "Deyuan, how did you return so quickly?"

"Let me inform Your Majesty." Zhang Jun, now that his burden was lifted, answered casually. "As soon as I left Your Majesty's temporary residence, I encountered Liu Yanxiu on the street. He had also heard the news and was looking for Lord Lu Xiang to sign up, preparing to go out and recruit peripheral volunteer armies..."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Jiu grew even more uneasy... He should know that this decision was deliberately made by him. Due to the urgency of the military situation, he had to gamble with the lives of these court officials in the temporary capital in order to seize cities. He had even specifically sent Han Shizhong away overnight for this matter... because if something went wrong, and the news that Han Shizhong had come to see him overnight spread, the civil officials in the temporary capital would likely take their anger out on Han Liangchen.

Returning to the present, for this Liu Ziyu to do this at this time meant either he was a fool who didn't understand the Emperor's intentions, or he was a loyal and devoted person who knew the danger but went anyway. But this last possibility only made this person seem even more unreal.

On the other side, Liu Ziyu sat upright on one side of the rear hall of the Ruyang Prefectural Office. After lowering his head and thinking for a moment, he took the initiative to speak: "I presume to ask, is Your Majesty worried that this recruitment of volunteer armies and seizure of the cities northeast of Nanyang might encounter setbacks?"

Zhao Jiu was silent for a moment, then felt it was better not to risk lying to such a person. He slowly shook his head: "I am worried that the various volunteer armies and bandits have different stances. Among the many people who went today, perhaps not everything will go smoothly. Some may even lose their lives because of it. So I feel quite guilty."

Liu Ziyu immediately stood up, cupped his hands, and said: "Your Majesty is benevolent. But as things stand, our army is weak in field battles. To contend with the Jin iron cavalry, we must quickly occupy cities. Moreover, at a time like this, when the nation is suffering and the Central Plains are in chaos, where do people not die? As ministers, we should not fear danger... Besides, in my opinion, Your Majesty's move is quite clever and not very dangerous!"

Zhao Jiu did not speak. It was unclear whether he disagreed, did not want to comment, or was purely waiting for the other to explain.

However, fortunately, Zhang Jun was present. With a slight gesture from the Censor-in-Chief, Liu Ziyu immediately understood and took the initiative to explain further:

"Your Majesty, in my view, there is not much risk in recruiting the various volunteer armies and bandits at this time... There are three reasons. First, Grand Commandant Han and Vice Commander-in-Chief Wang De have a combined force of forty to fifty thousand men outside, enough to intimidate them. This is authority. Second, Your Majesty underestimates the significance of the Son of Heaven and the temporary capital. With Your Majesty stationed in Runan, personally sending out court officials to pacify them, unless those chaotic elements have truly sky-high ambitions, who would not recognize Your Majesty's words? This is benevolence. Third, as things stand, anyone who would truly rebel or is a great bandit would have already surrendered to the Jin or declared independence. Those who have not surrendered or declared independence can only go with the flow at this point. This is the situation."

These words made sense. Zhao Jiu nodded slightly, but was not too encouraged.

To put it bluntly, this person before him was not Han Shizhong, and could not yet earn the complete trust of the Zhao Emperor. Moreover, after yesterday's reflection, the Zhao Emperor couldn't help but doubt his own "authority and virtue." Or rather, he absolutely could not take this authority and virtue for granted.

After all, since ancient times, which tyrant, before facing death, did not think that his authority and virtue were still abundant?

Just two or three years before the Jingkang Humiliation, wasn't Emperor Huizong of the Two Sages still proclaiming "abundance and prosperity"?

And what was the result?

Liu Ziyu's eloquent speech did not elicit much reaction from the Zhao Emperor. Before he himself showed any sign of discouragement, Zhang Jun on the side grew somewhat anxious and took the opportunity to interject: "As Yanxiu says, won't the fates of Liu Guangshi and Ding Jin have an impact on these people? The temporary capital has been worried about this."

"I believe not." Liu Yanxiu still maintained his imposing posture, but turned to the Zhao Emperor and continued his eloquent speech. "Your Majesty... please think, what kind of person is Liu Guangshi? He comes from a family of generals for generations, and was the first military official to establish a commandery after Your Majesty's ascension. He can be considered the leader of the military men. And what kind of person is Ding Jin? He commanded tens of thousands of troops and even blocked the temporary capital, showing the full attitude of a wolf's ambition. For people like them to meet such an end, not to mention that they brought it upon themselves, even if it causes shock and vigilance, among those around us now, it would only affect Fan Qiong! And those in the capital's western region who command a few thousand or a few hundred men, how can they compare to these two? How can they empathize with these two? And how can they distrust Your Majesty because of this matter?"

Zhao Jiu found this somewhat interesting: "What exactly is the situation with these people in the capital's western region?"

"This is precisely what I wanted to say." Liu Ziyu bowed his head. "Your Majesty, the capital's western region may seem chaotic, with troops everywhere and everyone fighting each other, like the Warring States period. But if you analyze it carefully, there are only four types of people... First, those who have surrendered to the Jin, moving with the Jin forces to plunder. They are currently mostly in Tangzhou and Dengzhou, operating close to the main Jin forces. Second, those who are loyal and serve the country, who are officials by status and wholeheartedly fulfill their duties. There is no need to say more about them. The real distinction lies in the latter two types, which are the two different types of chaotic people that Your Majesty is now going to recruit. I call them the distinction between host and guest!"

Hearing this, Zhao Jiu was finally moved. It was as if he had suddenly been enlightened and understood everything!

To be honest, the Zhao Emperor still didn't know how to combine theory with practice... Previously, when he heard reports, he only thought that the capital's western region was truly in a complete mess. Coupled with the deep impression that Ding Jin, a bandit who had risen from the local area, had left on him, the Zhao Emperor had always believed that the situation in the capital's western region would be similar, with countless people harboring ambitions and no longer taking the Great Song court seriously.

But that was not the case.

Combining the previous intelligence with Liu Ziyu's reminder of "host and guest," how could Zhao Jiu not understand? This chaos in the capital's western region was merely the natural state of affairs during wartime. The reason it looked so frightening was simply because it involved the millennia-old conflict between host and guest that had run through Chinese history.

With war in the north, a large number of refugees and defeated soldiers moved south. Without food supplies, they naturally had to rely on their temporary numerical and combat advantages to plunder. The locals, naturally unwilling to be preyed upon, and with the Jin having just swept through, emptying out the officials and leaving no one to organize and mediate the conflict between the two sides, local strongmen would inevitably rise up, organize troops, and guard against everyone indiscriminately!

In other words, the reason it was so chaotic that everyone seemed like outlaws and everyone was fighting each other was because of the intense conflict between host and guest over the means of production necessary for survival. At such a time, judging by the stances of Song and Jin, or by ambition or lack thereof, would be unfair.

As for who was right and who was wrong... From an ordinary person's moral sense, one would naturally think that the refugees and defeated soldiers from the north were the ones causing trouble, that the guests were at fault. And in fact, upon closer thought, Zhai Chong, Zhai Xing, Zhai Jin, and even Niu Gao, these forces that currently seemed most trustworthy, were all local forces. Meanwhile, those who caused trouble and harbored ambitions were mostly defeated soldiers from Dongjing and the Western Army. They had weapons in their hands from the very beginning.

But in truth, everyone was essentially just trying to survive. The only ones at fault were the Two Sages and the Jin! However, this reasoning might only be something the Zhao Emperor dared to say. Those who were paying for the mistakes of the Two Sages with their lives might not have this awareness. Even Zhao Jiu himself could only say a few words about it in the temporary capital. When it was actually announced, it would still have to temporarily stop at blaming the Jin, calling for everyone to unite against the external enemy.

Therefore, at this time, when the Zhao Emperor stepped forward to pacify them, although they seemed to have different personalities and different ways of doing things, fundamentally, they had no reason to refuse.

Especially under the pressure of the official forces of both Song and Jin, there was currently no one in the capital's western region who had the kind of power that Ding Jin had to become a third party and waver... In the western capital of Luoyang, there was a great bandit named Yang Jin, but he had also formally surrendered to the Jin and was used by them to encircle and suppress the two Zhais.

In summary, Liu Ziyu's single statement made the Zhao Emperor completely recognize that this man had some real ability. He gradually relaxed... If this was the case, as long as the pacification went smoothly and Han Shizhong could advance quickly, then this Wanyan Yinshu would only be a false alarm.

With this thought, the Zhao Emperor's brow relaxed slightly. Ignoring the fact that the other was still speaking eloquently, he directly said: "Minister Liu, I see that you speak impressively and are the descendant of a loyal subject. Moreover, the temporary capital is in need of people who understand military affairs. Why don't you come to the Ministry of War to serve as Director of the Bureau of Operations..."

"Your Majesty!" Zhang Jun suddenly interrupted Zhao Jiu. Even Liu Ziyu suddenly cupped his hands and bowed.

"What is it?" Zhao Jiu was momentarily puzzled.

"Liu Yanxiu is already a fifth-rank civil official with a titular post... Under normal circumstances, he could directly serve as a Prefect without any issue. The assignment seems a bit light." Zhang Jun reminded him cautiously. "If Your Majesty wants to keep him as a military advisor, why not add a higher but leisurely assignment?"

Zhao Jiu suddenly understood, realizing he had made another mistake. He followed the advice and gave the other an additional assignment in the Directorate of Education, thus settling the matter.

And so, Zhao Jiu, having been enlightened by this Liu Ziyu, was somewhat less worried about the prospects in the capital's western region. He then had Feng Yi take Liu Ziyu to receive some rewards, exchanged a few private words with Zhang Jun, and then had Feng Yi see the two out. Finally, feeling tired and weak, he went to catch up on sleep.

Not to mention how the Zhao Emperor went to sleep, let us speak of Zhang and Liu as they left the Ruyang Prefectural Office and turned onto the street outside. They rode side by side under the bright morning sun. Liu Ziyu could no longer hold back and questioned: "Censor-in-Chief, why did you just now not let me request to go out and pacify, or to serve in a frontline military prefecture? Being a military advisor at the Emperor's side is certainly a close position, but being confined to the central government, I truly do not wish to do it."

"Because the most difficult place in the world right now is right here with the Emperor." Zhang Jun sighed. "Staying here, enlightening the Emperor, and offering him advice is the most appropriate thing for you to do... Ziyu, you are excellent in every way, but your vision is limited. You do not understand the bigger picture."

Liu Ziyu opened his mouth as if to speak, but said nothing, still looking somewhat unconvinced.

"Yanxiu, do you know what His Majesty just told me while you and Feng Yi went out together to receive the rewards?" Zhang Jun, seeing this, could only rein in his horse and ask solemnly.

"How could I possibly know?"

"He asked me how to drive out the innocent Feng Yi!" Zhang Jun sighed. "And when I asked His Majesty why he wanted to expel someone who was innocent, His Majesty said that Feng Yi served him too well... In this time of national crisis, he feared he might indulge in pleasure too deeply!"

Liu Ziyu was momentarily stunned: "I never expected His Majesty to be so self-disciplined."

"It's not just that!" Zhang Jun shook his head again. "There is another matter..."

PS: Thanks to Little Flying Carpet for the tip... One more thing — although I'm naturally a homebody, under these circumstances, I'm still growing more and more depressed and irritable... Am I the only one?

Regardless, I still hope everyone can steady their mindset, wash hands often, drink plenty of water, maintain good sleep — we will surely get through this.