Chapter 95: Going as an Envoy

The situation before them was actually quite simple:

Allowing the volunteer army outside the walls to enter the city would, nine times out of ten, secure Ruyang completely, but there was a small chance it could directly doom the fate of the Great Song;

Not allowing the volunteer army to enter the city would, ten times out of ten, keep Ruyang secure, but the volunteer army would face considerable risk, would harbor resentment toward the Zhao Emperor on the wall, and might also be manipulated by the approaching main force of the Jin Army, leading to unforeseen trouble.

At this moment, any course of action could be right, and also wrong. From Zhao Jiu's personal perspective, it was merely a distinction between reason and emotion... Reason told him he absolutely could not let the volunteer army into the city; otherwise, setting aside the fate of the Great Song, it would at the very least be irresponsible toward the lives of the city's populace. But emotion reminded him that if the volunteer army were slaughtered by the Jin outside the walls because they couldn't enter, leading to mutual estrangement, that would be something a transmigrator's soul could never tolerate, because the lives of the volunteer army outside the walls were also lives.

This seemed to form a classic moral paradox.

At such a time, the suggestions of Yan Xiaozhong and Academician Lin proved quite valuable—no matter what, endure for the sake of the nation, and do one's utmost.

"Go take a look first..." Zhao Jiu hesitated, then directly gave the order. "Just find out what Zhai Chong is thinking. You can be frank with this man."

Academician Lin said nothing more, merely clasped his hands in a bow. Then some Personal Guards fetched a large basket and lowered him down the wall... After that, everyone on the wall watched as this Jade Hall Academician, accompanied by the somewhat surprised Yan Xiaozhong, turned into the ranks of the nearby column.

Leaving aside what happened on the wall, Academician Lin followed Yan Xiaozhong, leading a donkey, to meet Zhai Chong and the various leaders. By now, seeing that Yan Xiaozhong hadn't called for the gates to be opened but instead someone had come down in a large basket, they more or less understood the wall's doubts or "caution." The leaders all looked somewhat awkward... Anyone who comes with burning passion only to have cold water thrown on them would feel the same... but surprisingly, there was no resentment or indignation.

To put it bluntly, just as many Song officials and soldiers were terrified at the mere mention of "Jurchens," these local magnates also harbored a trace of inexplicable reverence and fear toward the words "Zhao Emperor," even though these people had previously been factors of instability in the Great Song.

In fact, when the Zhao Emperor had just appeared and conversed with Prefect Yan above and below the gate tower, these people had only watched from a distance, not daring to approach and peek, as if they felt they weren't of sufficient standing.

Only today, the Zhao Emperor, to reassure the people, hadn't worn his red robe and turban, but only ordinary clothes, so they couldn't make out which one he was.

"I am a Hanlin Academician and Drafter of Edicts, commonly known as Lin Jingmo," Academician Lin said, coming among the leaders. After asking who Zhai Chong was, he simply clasped his hands and spoke. "Commonly called a Jade Hall Academician or Inner Court Hanlin—you should know of this."

Who didn't know that?

In the hundred-plus years since the Great Song's founding, the prestige of Hanlin Academicians was known to all. How many imperial decrees were written by such men? Even if this place, Jingxi, was full of local magnates, it still carried the character "Jing" (Capital)! Especially since this Academician Lin was over thirty, tall, with a full, handsome face. Even his beard, though matted with sweat, seemed elegant under the glow of the title "Jade Hall Academician," forming a stark contrast with Yan Xiaozhong, the Prefect of Tangzhou, who was leading the donkey. He looked like a true elite of the Great Song!

Thus, from Zhai Chong on down, the volunteer army leaders immediately became solemn, then clasped their hands in greeting, and one older man even hurriedly tried to kneel.

Academician Lin's expression didn't change. He reached out to support the man, then spoke to the group: "I... I'm not good with words. I think things through before speaking, so please, leaders, don't ask me anything extra for now. Let me finish first, then we can discuss other matters. How about it?"

Zhai Chong and the others naturally agreed hurriedly, then grew solemn.

"It's like this. My late father, Lin Qi, was a Presented Scholar during the Renzong era. He served as Prefect of Kang, Ya, Tai, and Zi prefectures. When in Taizhou, he built a sea wall, reclaiming a thousand qing of fertile land, earning the top merit in Huainan. Then, among my brothers, more than ten of us, eight passed the imperial exams and became Prefects. My eldest brother, Jingyuan, was Prefect of Huizhou; my second brother, Jingwei, was Prefect of Sizhou; my third brother, Jinghui, was Prefect of Xuzhou; my fifth brother, Jingda, was Prefect of Suzhou; my sixth brother, Jingyuan, was Prefect of Changzhou; my seventh brother, Jingzhen, also served as Prefect of Suzhou; my tenth brother, Jingheng, was Prefect of Huazhou; my youngest brother, Jingrui, is currently Prefect of Changzhou. I myself am the ninth, and I was also Prefect of Shouchun..." Academician Lin spoke fluently, but he was talking about seemingly unrelated topics. Yet even so, the local magnates listening were already dumbfounded.

In fact, not just the magnates below Zhai Chong, but even Yan Xiaozhong, who had been calm until now, was a bit stunned... Could the gap between people really be this wide?

Poor Yan had studied hard for years, only passing the imperial exams at thirty, and because of his appearance, he hadn't been favored by one of the Two Sages, so he had toiled up and down for over a decade just to become Prefect of a lowly prefecture like Tangzhou. Meanwhile, this man, since childhood, had a bunch of Presented Scholars teaching him how to study...

Leaving aside Prefect Yan's thoughts, on the other side, having said this much, Academician Lin looked at Zhai Chong and slowly asked a question so blunt it didn't seem fitting for a Jade Hall Academician:

"Commander Zhai, do you think my status is noble? Is my family illustrious?"

"Your status, Academician, is naturally noble. As for your family, it surpasses mine... surpasses mine by a hundred, a thousand times!" Zhai Chong, already in his late forties, sighed.

"Then let me ask you again—all of you, after generations of building up your family estates, risking life and wealth, isn't what you seek exactly for your families to have the same splendor as our Nan'an Lin clan?" Academician Lin said, taking the opportunity to glance at the Khitan cavalry setting up camp far across the river.

"I wouldn't dare to think..." Zhai Chong, following the other's gaze, turned his head to look at the Jin cavalry across the river, then glanced at the few young armored warriors behind him, and finally spoke a great truth in his confusion. "In the next generation of my family, including my sons and nephews, there are eight or nine. But if even one could become a Presented Scholar, wear red and purple, and become a Prefect, their mothers and mine would have been vegetarian and praying to Buddha for a lifetime! But these bird-like fellows only know how to wield spears and clubs, get tattoos, and sing ditties. They can only call themselves the Eight Tigers of Xiping County. The most capable, the ninth, is only called the Ninth Leopard. How can they compare to your family, Academician Lin, which has a whole nest of Prefects?"

"This is what I wanted to say."

Academician Lin let go of the hand of the man who had earlier tried to kneel, then, following the steps he had planned, imitating the Zhao Emperor's stride, stepped forward and grasped Zhai Chong's calloused, hard hands, speaking sincerely. "In times of peace, even if your entire Zhai clan ran rampant locally, you couldn't match a fraction of our Lin clan's elegance. But now? Now the nation is in crisis, and His Majesty has fled here. A literary man like me, accompanying him, can only jolt southward on horseback, and when dismounted, my legs tremble. Hearing of military matters ahead, I panic without restraint. Seeing the horrors on the road, I... lose control and embarrass myself. Truly useless! But you—as the saying goes, 'Learn martial skills well and sell them to the emperor's house.' In the past, the emperor's house wouldn't buy your goods, but today it will... Commander Zhai, you must seize this golden opportunity right before your eyes!"

Hearing this, Zhai Chong felt the words struck exactly the chord in his heart. If not for this, why would he, a local magnate in Xiping, bother getting involved in such matters... He nodded repeatedly.

"But there's a problem now." Academician Lin took another half-step forward, almost pressing against the other's body. "You should know that Grand Commandant Han's fifty-thousand-strong army is outside. Here in the city, His Majesty has only four thousand armored soldiers, who must protect His Majesty, the four Councilors, and several hundred ministers. So just now, when you came over, the difficulties the ministers on the wall had—as an experienced man, you naturally understand..."

"I understand."

"Good that you understand. So His Majesty specifically sent me down to speak to you from the heart, to ask you, Commander Zhai—can you assist me, this Academician who knows nothing of military affairs, in setting up a camp here outside the city, with our backs to the wall and relying on the river, to guard the north of the city for His Majesty?" Academician Lin finally revealed his true intent.

"Will Academician Lin stay outside the city with us?" Zhai Chong suddenly realized, then immediately knelt while still in the other's grasp. "I am willing to serve His Majesty with loyalty, and to serve the Academician with all my strength!"

The people around also came to their senses and, imitating Zhai Chong, bowed, declaring their service.

At this point, Academician Lin turned to the somewhat stunned Yan Xiaozhong and indicated: "Prefect Yan, I trouble you to go up the wall and report to His Majesty that outside the city are all loyal and filial subjects, fully trustworthy."

Yan Xiaozhong, having already recovered his composure, gave a slight bow and turned to leave.

And so, Academician Lin, having gone down in a single basket, pacified the local magnates, and began setting up a camp and fortifications outside the city—digging trenches and building ramparts. Soon after, with Yan Xiaozhong entering the city, meat, wine, tents, and other supplies were lowered from the wall. By the time Yan Xiaozhong returned at dusk, he brought back a stack of official appointment documents.

At this point, the sudden crisis brought on by the volunteer army and the Jin vanguard arriving simultaneously seemed to have dissipated.

With the matter resolved, the tension within Ruyang had long since faded. The Zhao Emperor naturally returned to the rear courtyard of the government office, preparing to have dinner and then rest early.

However, as the sun set, Zhao Jiu sat on the porch of the beautifully situated rear courtyard, drinking only a few mouthfuls of congee in the spring breeze among the flowering trees, when he suddenly put down his chopsticks and fell silent... In the end, he felt something was off!

Not that sixth-sense crisis awareness, but rather the feeling of facing a math problem with all conditions met, glimpsing part of a concise and effective solution but unable to think of it, and having to resort to a clumsy method he wasn't satisfied with.

Of course, this was the mindset of an engineering dog with straight-man syndrome. If Zhao Jiu, before transmigrating, had been a chef truly serving the people instead of a career student, he might have used the more literary and historically resonant analogy of Cook Ding carving an ox to analyze his actions.

Seeing that His Majesty wasn't eating, Feng Yi, who was always attentive and accommodating, dared not say a word, merely standing with his hands at his sides. This wasn't just because the day's various incidents had made the atmosphere tense, but also because this Eunuch Director of the Palace Domestic Service, whose seniority matched that of Kang Lü and Lan Gui, had quickly adapted to His Majesty's "new temperament."

And unlike Lan Gui, who was already at the highest echelon of eunuchs and thus cautious, this man had swiftly integrated into his role and environment, seeking to advance further and become a proper Chief Eunuch.

He knew how to go along with a person's temperament.

But back to the present—just as killing an ox is hard and solving a math problem is difficult, the Zhao Emperor was no genius. Until sunset, after blowing in the wind all evening, he still gloomily drank his cold congee, then turned and went to his room to rest.

However, in the middle of the night, or perhaps early the next morning—in any case, when it was pitch black outside—Zhao Jiu was awakened again.

"What happened?" The weather was warm, so the Zhao Emperor, wearing only his inner garment and an outer robe, came to the rear hall. There he saw two of the four Councilors, along with Zhang Jun, Wang Yuan, and Liu Ziyu, and even the unexpected Yan Xiaozhong. He was momentarily puzzled.

"Your Majesty, something has happened outside the city," said Yuwen Xuzhong, one of the Privy Councilors, stepping forward with a clasped-hand salute, his expression serious, without time to comment on His Majesty's attire.

"What is it?" The Zhao Emperor's heart sank, and he too grew serious.

"Reporting to Your Majesty," Yan Xiaozhong's dark face seemed to gleam in the candlelight, clearly from sweat. "Your servant doesn't know exactly what happened... It seems some people, eager for merit, saw that the Jin forces were few and all Khitan, so they privately crossed the river at night to raid their camp! In the deep night, your servant can only guess that it might be some of the younger Zhai clan members, stimulated by the day's events, trying to make a move."

Zhao Jiu's heart stirred: "How goes the battle?"

"The Jin, seeing the thousands of volunteer troops unable to enter the city and the wall's defenders staying put, had grown arrogant, even taunting across the river during the day. Now, caught off guard and outnumbered, they are shaken. It seems not to be a feint."

"How did Zhai Chong react?" the Zhao Emperor asked again.

"It happened suddenly; he was hesitant!"

"You came from the city. How did Hu Yantong react?" Zhao Jiu continued.

"General Hu was clearly tempted, but due to his responsibility for defending the city, he dared not act rashly." It was Wang Yuan who answered Zhao Jiu. It was clear that this man had been very active lately.

Zhao Jiu pondered for a moment and was about to speak when Lü Haowen, who had hurried over, stepped through the door and called out directly: "Hu Yantong cannot go out! The city defense cannot be altered for even a moment! Your Majesty, your servants discussed it repeatedly last night and all agreed this is the bottom line! We absolutely must not recklessly dispatch troops and ruin the stable situation!"

Zhao Jiu's expression was blank as he slowly nodded: "I deeply agree!"

Everyone was momentarily stunned, clearly not having expected this. But when they came to their senses, they all sighed with relief.

"Therefore, we cannot move Hu Yantong's troops. Instead, we should urge Zhai Chong to deploy his forces, cross the river, and crush those five hundred cavalry that are already wavering!" Zhao Jiu continued speaking slowly.

Lü Haowen and the others exchanged glances, all feeling that this reasoning seemed sound.

"But this happened suddenly, and the situation is unclear. Both Zhai Chong and the other volunteer forces are local strongmen by origin, naturally inclined to preserve their strength, so they hesitate and waver... At this point, someone must go down there and urge Zhai Chong to act!" By the candlelight, the Imperial Lord continued speaking calmly. "Don't you all agree?"

At this moment, Wang Boyan also arrived hastily. All four lords were now present. From these four lords on down, everyone looked around but remained silent, instead nodding hurriedly... Only Zhang Jun seemed about to speak but stopped, meeting the Imperial Lord's gaze before ultimately choosing to keep quiet.

"However, Academician Lin went out of the city as a hostage in his capacity as a Hanlin Academician, and Prefect Yan followed as an old acquaintance. I even gave him the rank of Commander before this, yet he still refuses to move. What should be done?" Zhao Jiu withdrew his gaze from Zhang Deyuan and continued looking around inquiringly.

"There's no way around this kind of thing," said Wang Boyan, who had arrived last and was also the oldest, with a sigh. "This is the nature of these volunteer forces. They have no grudge against the Jin army. They're just watching the main imperial army being strong and knowing the Jin will leave sooner or later, so they've come to earn themselves a position."

"Correct." Xu Jingheng finally spoke up as well. "These people seem honest, but they won't stir without profit. For the sake of their military capital, they won't even care for their own sons and nephews. How could Academician Lin and Prefect Yan possibly move them?"

"Indeed. That's why only if I personally leave the city can I force him to deploy his troops." Zhao Jiu nodded casually, then turned to Feng Yi, who was standing in attendance, and gave an order. "Fetch my red robe, my headwrap, and that gold belt!"

Feng Yi hesitated for a moment, glanced at the several lords and senior ministers in the hall, then hurried away.

The hall fell into dead silence. Clearly, many among them hadn't reacted at first, but once they did, they found it utterly absurd.

"Your Majesty, what kind of joke is this?!" Xu Jingheng nearly jumped up.

"When have I ever joked?" Zhao Jiu replied calmly. "Isn't the logic right here?"

"The logic before was indeed logic, but where does Your Majesty's safety lie?" Lord Xu erupted in fury. After questioning Zhao Jiu, he turned to look at the somewhat flustered Lü Haowen and Wang Boyan. "Is this how you served as lords in Shouzhou?!"

"Lord Xu, please calm down." Zhao Jiu quickly raised his hand to stop him. "I'm not deliberately taking risks. I've only just realized that going out this time actually poses no danger at all. It's completely different from that urgent situation in Xiacai when I was forced to go!"

Xu Jingheng was so angry he laughed: "I wasn't on the city wall during the day, but I know what was discussed there. It was clearly deemed unacceptable even for the volunteer forces to enter the city. How can it be acceptable for Your Majesty to leave the city?"

"Because having the volunteer forces enter the city does carry risks, but me leaving the city does not..." At this point, Zhao Jiu unhurriedly pointed at Wang Yuan and Liu Ziyu. "Minister Wang, Minister Liu, do you still remember the real reason you refused to let the volunteer forces enter the city at noon today? Was it because Zhai Chong and Prefect Yan were unreliable? It was simply that the timing was sensitive, and outside the city, besides Zhai Chong, there were various other units mixed in, making it impossible to screen them in time. Am I correct?"

Liu Ziyu and Wang Yuan exchanged a glance, their hearts stirring slightly as they fell into thought.

But before the two could speak, the Imperial Lord rose abruptly, draped in his robe, and calmly addressed the ministers below the hall: "To be honest with you all, I felt something was off during the day, and I've only just figured out the reasoning... Not letting the volunteer forces enter the city was because the timing was too sensitive. With the Jin army outside as a distraction, if even a small faction of ill-intentioned men among the volunteer forces colluded with the Jin, attacked from both inside and out, and opened the city gates, the city would be in danger of falling. And once the city fell, you and I would be like eggs under an overturned nest. In other words, the danger of the volunteer forces entering the city was never about me personally! No one is plotting to assassinate the emperor. Zhai Chong and Prefect Yan certainly wouldn't do such a thing! In fact, think about it—if anyone truly believed these two were untrustworthy, they would have driven them to garrison another city this afternoon before the main Jin force arrived. Why keep them here as a forward reliance instead? Isn't it because you all felt that Prefect Yan and Zhai Chong were, after all, reliable and usable?!"

At these words, many fell silent. Even Xu Jingheng was momentarily taken aback, his indignation fading as he turned with the others to look at Yan Xiaozhong, who was short in stature but stood with a straight back.

"In short, if Zhai Chong is reliable, then I ask you—what harm is there in my simply going down to his central camp headquarters to sit for an hour, urging him to deploy troops to crush Yelu Ma Wu, who has only five hundred cavalry?" Zhao Jiu finally showed a slight smile as he spoke. "If it doesn't work out, I'll just come back... And once Yelu Ma Wu is crushed, with no Jin army to distract us, we can have Zhai Chong lead reliable elites into the city before Wanyan Yinshu's main force arrives, then dispatch the remaining units to garrison the surrounding cities. That would be truly foolproof. You tell me, my lords—is this analysis of mine correct or not?"

The crowd was dazed and did not answer.

"Let it be so. You all sit tight in the city and wait for me to go and return shortly." Seeing this, the Imperial Lord, with a hint of the joy of solving a problem and an engineer's obsession with logical rigor, simply shed the casual robe he had been wearing over his shoulders, took the round-collared red robe from the returning Feng Yi, put it on in the hall, calmly donned his hard-winged headwrap, fastened his gold belt, and finally changed into leather boots for ease of movement, then strode away directly.

The civil and military officials in the hall split in two. Yuwen Xuzhong, Wang Yuan, Zhang Jun, Yan Xiaozhong, Liu Ziyu, and Feng Yi quickly turned to follow, while Lü Haowen, Xu Jingheng, and Wang Boyan remained motionless.

When the Imperial Lord stepped out the door and mounted his horse on the street outside, he looked back at those following him and was momentarily taken aback, but said nothing more.

It could only be said that matters of stance in the world were never settled with a single stroke. After the Imperial Lord had made a clean cut between the war and peace factions, they had now split again into conservatives and radicals... Among them, the conservatives were destined to be powerful, while among the radicals, due to the Imperial Lord's presence, there were bound to be opportunists joining in, or perhaps most of them were opportunists. In contrast, the opposing conservatives were mostly trustworthy in both morality and conduct.

The Imperial Lord had known this principle since he was fifteen years old, reading a high school history textbook, so he paid it no mind.

Back to the present. Because the Imperial Lord had previously ordered that lights should not be easily extinguished on the streets, it was actually quite bright now. As Zhao Jiu galloped forward, the spring wind billowed against him, and he felt increasingly certain that Yelu Ma Wu's small camp was about to be lost.

PS: Zhao Xiaojiu bit through the fiber optic cable right in front of me... No one answered, so I had to use my phone as a hotspot... I truly feel this is adding insult to injury, and for the first time, I want to sell it for fifty yuan with free shipping.