Chapter 334

"Father, you need not blame yourself; this is all my own wish."

Seeing Fang La's self-reproach and heartache, Fang Jinzhi rose gracefully, lifted her slender hand slightly,

supported her old father, and comforted him in a soft, gentle, and earnest voice.

"Moreover, that Gan Emperor is a hero of the highest order in this world; I, too, wish to see him."

Immediately, she beamed, her smile charming and radiant.

It is said that heroes love beauties, but how could beauties not love heroes?

If one were to speak of heroes, who in this world today is more qualified than the Gan Emperor,

who first destroyed the Great Song, then broke the Great Liao, and whose mere reputation alone made her father bow and submit?

Such a heroic figure has surely captured the secret hearts of countless daughters across the land; she is naturally no exception.

It is a pity that in the past, she was a princess of the Holy Duke State; even if she admired him in her heart,

due to the difference in status and the opposition of their positions, she could never speak of it.

Today, having finally fulfilled her wish, she felt not the slightest reluctance, but rather a secret sense of joy.

Furthermore, legend has it that the Gan Emperor is not only a man of grand strategy and a hero of the age,

but also highly talented, having once placed third in the imperial examinations as a Tanhualang in the Great Song court.

It is a pity that after he composed the patriotic "Mountain Sheep: Thoughts on Tongguan," he offended the narrow-minded Song Huizong Zhao Ji,

and was humiliated with the "three-no" position of Vice Commandant of the Qingzhou Militia—no money, no power, and no future.

Otherwise, with his talent, he would surely have entered the Han Lin Academy first,

then been sent out as a high-ranking official, and finally entered the Privy Council to govern the world.

There is also the custom passed down from who knows which dynasty, generation, or year,

that a Tanhualang must not only be outstanding in literary talent, capable of being among the top three scholars,

but must also possess unparalleled handsome features, like a gentleman made of jade.

That the Gan Emperor could be named Tanhualang by the Song Huizong Zhao Ji—who loathed him—even while holding his nose,

one can imagine how pleasing his appearance and bearing must be.

At the mere thought that she was about to meet the Gan Emperor, who combined grand strategy with handsome elegance,

a faint blush slowly crept up Fang Jinzhi's pretty face.

Seeing this, how could Fang La not understand the thoughts of his "little cotton-padded jacket"?

His little cotton-padded jacket had grown up and started thinking about men other than her old father.

In short, the cotton-padded jacket was leaking...

He could only sigh in his heart, "A grown daughter cannot be kept," yet he felt inexplicably more relaxed.

It is a good thing that his daughter has a yearning and longing for the Gan Emperor;

in this way, he could not be considered to have completely sacrificed his own daughter.

If his daughter could find her own home with the Son of Heaven, then he would have no more desires in this life.

"Jinzhi, if you are ready, then let us go."

After a moment of reflection, Fang La withdrew his thoughts and spoke.

Even if the Gan Emperor were broad-minded, he would not leave someone like himself,

who has the credentials of having carved out a territory, in his own old lair.

Last night's telegram made it clear that he "hoped" to see them in Bianjing as soon as possible,

to properly discuss the future of the people of the Holy Duke State.

Although the word "discuss" was used, it contained an unquestionable resolution.

Fang La did not mind; since he had already decided to surrender, he naturally would not continue to entrench himself in his old lair.

Leaving Hangzhou, and even Jiangnan, so as not to pose the slightest threat to the Great Gan's rule, was only proper.

To show his sincerity, he decided not to wait even a day and set off immediately today.

……

Several hours later, outside Hangzhou, a fleet consisting of over a dozen ships began to head north along the Grand Canal.

However, because the Great Yuan and Kublai Khan were nowhere to be found,

the Grand Canal they were traveling on was not the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal ordered by Kublai Khan,

but the Sui-Tang Grand Canal built by Emperor Yang of Sui, Yang Guang, who caused the Great Sui—which should have lasted a hundred years—to perish in the second generation.

Introduction to the two Grand Canals: The Sui-Tang version of the Grand Canal: starting from Luoyang, north to Beijing,

and south to Hangzhou, like an unfolded "Ren" (person) character; the capitals of the Great Song and Great Gan, Kaifeng, were on its path.

Or rather, by opening the Grand Canal, it became more convenient and efficient to transport supplies, transmit information, and conduct military campaigns;

only as a north-south transportation hub could Kaifeng be qualified to be the premier city of the nation.

The Beijing-Hangzhou version of the Grand Canal is very simple: from Beijing to Hangzhou,

although it still winds, in terms of north-south direction, it is a straight "Yi" (one) character shape.

Although Emperor Yang ruined himself and earned the evil posthumous title of "Yang Emperor," which is almost cursed as "When will this sun perish,

we are willing to perish with you" (When will this sun disappear?

We are willing to perish together with you) like Xia Jie,

the Grand Canal he ordered to be built was indeed a great project that harmed the present but benefited a thousand generations.

This Grand Canal connected the north and south of the Chinese land,

greatly ensuring the smooth transport of supplies, information, and even the movement of troops,

making an indelible contribution to all the dynasties that followed.

……

While Fang La was setting off immediately to show his sincerity, Zhang Jie was deploying his Jiangnan strategy.

Although Fang La was the largest "rebel king" in the Jiangnan region at this time,

since he couldn't even handle Song Jiang's Liang Shan and the Great Song's Imperial Guards, and was instead handled by the Great Song and Song Heizi,

how could he be kept in Zhang Jie's mind at all times?

It was only because he somewhat appreciated this Fang La's character of pleading for the people,

otherwise, any random detachment under his command sailing down the Grand Canal

would have taught Fang La to kneel and sing "Conquer," while leading sheep to Bianliang to offer up his old chrysanthemum.

After all, a fleet equipped with 20th-century artillery was simply a "Star-Level" fleet in this era, sufficient to run rampant!

Inside the Great Gan Five Armies Commandery operation room, a huge map covering the detailed terrain, mountains, and rivers of the Great Song, Great Liao, Western Xia,

and Dali was hung on the wall.

Zhang Jie, dressed in casual clothes, stood beneath this map.

His figure was extremely small compared to this map,

but the eyes of everyone in the room were focused on him.

"Notify Song Wan to set off from Xiangyang immediately and take this place for Me!"

Zhang Jie waved the command baton in his hand and pointed it at a city located in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

This city was none other than Jiangning!

Jiangning means "Jiangnan is peaceful," just like Beiping, Xijing, and Dong'an.

Of course, this place was anciently called Jin Ling or Jiankang,

and in the 21st century, it had a more widely known name—Nanjing!

Jiangning, or Nanjing, has been one of the most important cities in the south since ancient times.

Six southern regimes—the Three Kingdoms' Wu, Eastern Jin, and the Southern Dynasties' Song, Qi, Liang, and Chen—

all established their capitals here; even during the Tang Dynasty, it was called the "Ancient Capital of Six Dynasties."

If one counts the Southern Tang before the Northern Song, it would be the ancient capital of seven dynasties.

If one looks further ahead and focuses on the future, later there would be the Ming,

the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and the Republic of China successively establishing their capitals in Nanjing, making it a capital of ten dynasties.

It was only during the Southern Song, even though all the ministers argued for Jiankang to be the capital to show the plan to recover the Central Plains,

that they were unfortunately completely terrified by his Jin uncles; Zhao Jiumei, who no longer had the youth to draw a heavy bow,

or ride a fast horse to shoot arrows, dared not launch a Northern Expedition at all,

choosing to set the temporary capital in Hangzhou, preventing Nanjing from becoming the capital of the Southern Song.

But even so, pressured by public opinion, Wanyan Gou could only designate Jin Ling as the temporary capital.

From this, one can see the high status and strategic importance of Nanjing in Jiangnan.

It can be said that in the eyes of the Jiangnan regime and the people,

Nanjing was like Chang'an before the Sui and Tang, symbolizing the hearts of the people and legitimacy.

During the Three Kingdoms period, there was a rumor that "If you obtain either Crouching Dragon or Young Phoenix, you can pacify the world,"

but when applied to Jin Ling, it was almost "whoever obtains Jin Ling obtains Jiangnan."