Volume 6 Chapter 30 Fear
After the spring of the tenth year of Jianyan ended, a large part of the people in the world, from south to north, from east to west, from Mongolia to Goryeo, from Khitan to the Jurchens themselves, seemed to have reached a consensus.
That is, the Great Jin Dynasty had actually perished.
The ten-year war between Song and Jin has ended.
However, the end of this war, or the so-called landmark event of the demise of the Jin Dynasty, is bound to be controversial.
Some people say that the Jin Dynasty was a tribal alliance established by military force, so when Emperor Zhao ordered the entire army to attack on the third day of February, the country was actually destroyed.
Others say that the reason why the Jin Dynasty was regarded as a legitimate country was because it entered the Han territory and changed certain Han systems. Only when it had a system and people's hearts had a say, could it be considered as the sign of the Jin Dynasty's demise. Therefore, the Jurchens' abandonment of Yanjing, the so-called nation's escape from the Han territory together, and their return to the frontier was considered the sign of the Jin Dynasty's demise.
Of course, some people also say that Wanyan Wushu went south to Cangzhou, but he couldn't even get a chance to be burned, and was beheaded by Emperor Zhao without a word. This was the sign of the demise of the Jin Dynasty... because Wanyan Wushu himself was the last all-round supreme ruler in the Jin Dynasty who had strategic vision, military experience, and political experience, and was also the actual commander of the Jin army in the later period of the Song-Jin War.
However, considering that the Jin Dynasty still had thousands of miles of territory outside the Great Wall, six major and more than two hundred small Jurchen tribes, a certain amount of military equipment reserves and countless gold and silver treasures, and more importantly, they still had a ruler, a ruling prince, two ministers, several chancellors, several generals... and so on... Therefore, there are always some people who pursue procedural justice and think that the Jin Dynasty has not yet perished and the Song-Jin War has not yet ended.
At the end of March and the beginning of April, as Lü Yihao returned to Yanjing surrounded by tens of thousands of soldiers, the Grand Commander of Hebei became the central protagonist of this stage of the Northern Expedition. Qin Wang Han Shizhong, who had taken the lead, voluntarily gave up the former Liao Dynasty's Secretariat, and Grand Commander Lü immediately established a temporary Grand Commander's Office here, and carried out a lot of work in accordance with the previous decrees. Countless administrative orders were issued from here.
Emperor Zhao, who left the Yellow River and slowly headed north along the coastline, also cooperated with the imperial edicts throughout the process and agreed to almost all of Yanjing's requests.
Yanshan Road was re-established, and the new governor was undoubtedly Lu Yihao who concurrently served as the governor; Datong Road was formally established, and Ren Baozhong waited for his official appointment as the governor; and the proposals from Tokyo for governors of Hedong Road, Hebei East Road, and Hebei West Road were all rejected, and military control continued in the name of the Grand Marshal's Office.
The last point caused some waves in Tokyo and local official circles, and they were getting bigger and bigger.
Because soon, with countless appointment and dismissal documents issued directly from the Grand Marshal's Office in Yanjing, surrendered officials in the entire north of the Yellow River began to be formally screened according to their "spring plowing performance". About 40% of them were allowed to remain in office, while those Jinshi who accompanied the army to inspect the spring plowing, those who participated in the Northern Expedition for consultation, and the educated officers in the army also began to be transferred to local areas on a large scale.
This means that the Tokyo officialdom did not gain nearly the most anticipated benefits from the Northern Expedition.
However, the interesting thing is that among the emotions that should have been filled with anger and dissatisfaction, there is obviously a certain sense of panic and fear... Moreover, this fearful emotion seems to be far greater than the dissatisfaction and anger.
To put it bluntly, it took ten years to accomplish this goal, and according to the current understanding of the times, the high-ranking official naturally took away and enjoyed the greatest share of the credit and prestige.
Now, in this feudal empire with a strong Confucian color, no one can question this official anymore. In the era and history, in the power orientation, he, Cangzhou Zhao Jiu, has become an anchor-like existence.
In Tokyo and Hebei, civil officials and military generals can only worry about being abandoned by the government, and have no right to express anger or dissatisfaction.
Perhaps it was precisely because of this that Emperor Zhao was so unscrupulous, allowing Yanjing to encroach on Tokyo's power and responsibilities, while he himself did not even show up, but just went along the river and into the sea, doing some ridiculous things.
On the third day of April, Emperor Zhao, who had paid homage to his ancestors in Cangzhou, continued northward into the area of Yanjing Prefecture (at this time Yanjing included most of Tianjin in later generations). After arriving at Beishui, he immediately issued an edict to abolish the name of Daming Prefecture as Beijing and change Yanjing to Beijing. At the same time, he appointed Yue Fei as the commander-in-chief and Yelu Yudu as the deputy, and commanded the Eastern Mongolian and Goryeo armies to pursue the Jin king out of the border, advance into Liao territory, and sweep beyond the border.
At this time, everyone finally knew the last tolerance that Emperor Zhao gave to the Jin Kingdom after Wuzhu's death - the King of Liao and the eldest prince Wanyan Ouben must die.
After you die, you can give the Jurchens another chance to come and listen to the conditions.
"Wanyan Wushu knelt for the entire afternoon and didn't even dare to ask for fire, and this is the result?"
In the city of Yanjing, in the Shangshutai, the King of Qin Han Shizhong finished reading the relevant documents behind the case, suddenly let go, then turned his head and smiled at the people beside him. "Once Wanyan Wuben dies, won't Erluguan and Talan take over? Then the Jin Kingdom can do whatever it wants to do with it?"
“That’s not all.”
King Xing Ma Kuo shook his head. "Now that the Jin Kingdom has abandoned the Yanyun clan and sent them out to the border, if there is still a court structure, it is Wanyan Obon who has the final say, but the military power has been divided into the direct line of the Wanyan clan and other Jurchen tribes... The emperor's original intention is probably to continue to dig out the hearts and bones, force chaos, and get rid of the Wanyan clan from the Jin Kingdom."
"If that were the case, the Jin Dynasty would be destroyed from the inside out." Han Shizhong sighed inexplicably.
"Wouldn't it be nice if we died from the inside out?"
At this moment, Lu Yihao's voice suddenly came from outside the hall. Han Shizhong and other generals looked back and saw General Lu, who looked much brighter in recent days, walking in with a cane. Behind him were the Minister of Works Hu Yin and Hu Mingzhong, as well as civil officials such as Fan Zongyin and Yu Yunwen. They all stepped forward to greet them and saluted.
It was not so unexpected. Lu Yihao treated Han Shizhong, Ma Kuo and others with courtesy, and then walked to the main seat slowly. He waited until the commander-in-chief directly opened the documents that had been placed on the table for a long time and took up his pen to make instructions. Then Han, Hu and other civil and military officials took their seats one after another and continued the previous topic.
"What are you thinking about, Mr. Lu?" Han Shizhong sighed, holding his belt. "I was just thinking about Wanyan Wushu's appearance before his death... According to what Cheng Min told me when he came back, Wanyan Wushu, the ruling prince of a country, knelt in front of the emperor for half a day and didn't dare to say a word, and didn't even dare to ask for a fire in person... He said he didn't want to ask, and didn't dare to ask... It's really ridiculous!"
"What's so funny? Isn't that human nature?"
Hu Yin continued with a blank expression . "He was somewhat unwilling to accept the defeat, and he was still a bit fearless, so he was unwilling to beg for food, nor did he want to beg for mercy on behalf of the Jin Kingdom... But after all, he came to surrender when he was at his wit's end, and he was willing to sacrifice his life for a chance of survival, so he didn't dare to express anything extra, fearing that if things went wrong, he would end up with his life being spared in vain... He was so afraid of the future of the Jin Kingdom that he couldn't even think about it."
"really."
Ma Kuo nodded heavily. "If that's the case, the emperor actually understands Wushu's intentions and is just waiting for Wushu to speak..."
"Waited for more than an hour?"
Lu Yihao flipped through some documents on the table in front of him and suddenly sneered. "You are both princes and ministers, but you all have this kind of knowledge?"
Ma Kuo immediately shut up, Han and Hu were helpless too, even Fan Zongyin and others who were about to speak up remained silent... They knew of course that Lu Yihao had no ill intentions, he was just used to it... But fortunately for them, it was still the final stage of the Northern Expedition. If Wang Yan was here, if it was normal, this mere sentence would have made a pair of enemies come out.
"What do you think the emperor is worried about, Mr. Lu?"
After a moment, Han Shizhong spoke again with a strong sense of ownership... After all, although the other party was his husband, the Grand Commander, and was old and in poor health and needed respect, at this point, he was really not afraid of him.
"What can the government think about?"
Lu Yihao continued to look through the documents and shook his head. "It's nothing more than knowing what Wushu was thinking from the beginning, as you said, and preparing to wait for a while, but then after waiting for a long time, he was reminded of his feelings and felt the same as the other party, and he became afraid of the future..."
After hearing the last words, Hu Yin's heart moved slightly, while everyone else was stunned.
"What is the emperor afraid of?" Han Shizhong was stunned and felt inexplicably panicked.
"Your Highness the Prince of Qin, Marshal Han, and the Emperor, what are you afraid of?" Lu Yihao suddenly looked up and stared at the number one military official with a smile.
Han Shizhong immediately held his belt and straightened his chest and laughed: "Look at what Mr. Lu said, how come even I am afraid?"
But after laughing, for some reason, Han Shizhong became even more flustered and even his smile gradually disappeared.
"What can I be afraid of?"
Lu Yihao picked up the pen and continued to read the documents, then shook his head again. "He is the most powerful official in the world, the best in the world, not even worthy of the title of King of Qin, but he wants to give his brothers in the army the title of Prince of a County... Isn't this enough to make people fear him?"
Han Shizhong wanted to say something but stopped himself, Ma Kuo also came to his senses slightly, and even Fan Zongyin, Yu Yunwen and others lowered their heads.
And Lu Yihao continued to mutter to himself, babbling on:
"Besides this worldly wealth, there are also the names of meritorious service, and the so-called 'drunk under the lamplight looking at the sword'...
"You, Han Liangchen, are well educated, and you should know that if the History of Song is compiled in the future, your biography will probably be listed separately. If it is divided into the History of Southern Song and the History of Northern Song, then you may be ranked among the top three biographies in the History of Northern Song..."
"Top five at most..." Han Shizhong couldn't help but interrupt.
"The top five is fine." Lu Yihao said indifferently. "But whether it's the top three or the top five, can such wealth and fame really be properly maintained until death?
"Don't you know how much you have in your stomach?
"What if my descendants do something bad? What if I fail to keep up with the Shangguan family's footsteps in the next thirty years and lose my integrity in my later years? What should I do?
"It's lonely up there...King Qin, Marshal Han, are you really not afraid?"
Han Shizhong wanted to interrupt at first, but he remained silent for a while. Then he slowly put down his hand that was holding his belt, stroked his knees and said embarrassedly: "Mr. Lu's words are very clear. How can Shizhong not be afraid?"
Upon hearing this, Yu Yunwen, who had arrived here the day before to convey an imperial edict, lowered his head even lower.
"Look...you are afraid of such a great achievement, what about the emperor? The emperor's achievements are even more important than Mount Tai? How can he not be afraid?" Yu Yunwen was afraid, but someone else was not. Lu Yihao did not even raise his head and responded calmly, as if it was just a casual remark.
Little did they know that several high-ranking civil and military officials in the palace, as well as clerks and other middle-level officials, had already held their breath and dared not make any unnecessary movements.
"But I am afraid of leaving the government. What are the government afraid of?" Han Shizhong paused for a moment and asked actively. He was really curious.
"The emperor is also afraid of being separated from you." Hu Yin suddenly interrupted. "Too close will bring disaster, too far will cause suspicion, making the emperor and his subjects feel uneasy... So, if the emperor does something crazy one day, don't be suspicious, maybe he just lost his mind out of fear."
"Indeed." Ma Kuo seemed to have remembered something and sighed. "Some things are destined to be unclear... and 300,000 imperial troops are still a bit too many. After the incident with the Jin Kingdom, I'm afraid they will have to make a painful decision."
Han Shizhong also nodded slightly.
"This has been the case since ancient times." Fan Zongyin could not help but say, "It is being rumored that the King of Qin, King of Jin or King of Wei may become the Prime Minister and enter the Secret Council. The position of Marshal is one of them. There seems to be some rumors about the King of Zhenrong, King of Longde and King of Longxi as well."
This remark immediately caused a noisy sound in the hall.
"You underestimate the emperor." Lu Yihao let the palace be in chaos for a while, and just lowered his head to deal with the last remaining document. He waited until he finished his instructions and put down his pen, then he spoke with emotion in the audience. As soon as he opened his mouth, the whole palace fell silent. "The emperor is of course afraid of not being able to maintain the friendship between the monarch and his subjects, but isn't the emperor afraid of how to govern, how to discuss the two rivers with Tokyo? Isn't he afraid of how to deal with the devastated land in Hebei? Isn't he afraid of how to explain to the southeast that he will wait until Hebei is stable and the Jin Kingdom is completely destroyed before increasing taxes? If he is not afraid, why did he hide and repair the Yellow River?"
"Repair the Yellow River..." Han Shizhong said half of the sentence and seemed not to react.
"Repairing the Yellow River... means being so afraid that you dare not do anything right, because repairing the Yellow River will definitely not go wrong." Lu Yihao explained seriously. "Just like the emperor raising fish and planting mulberry trees in the harem before... Raising fish and planting mulberry trees will definitely not go wrong."
"This is a bit... a bit unbelievable, right?" Ma Kuo also became a little uneasy.
"What's so incredible?"
Lu Yihao glanced at the group. "You are the ministers and close officials who have been with the emperor for a long time. Many of you know what the emperor means. Didn't you see that Minister Hu has been silent for a long time?"
Everyone looked at Hu Yin in surprise, and when they saw that he had no intention of refutation at all, they became even more stern.
"From the beginning, the emperor was afraid to do things, but the situation at that time was there, and he had to do it... This was the nightmare caused by the Jingkang Incident that year, when the emperor had to take on the responsibility of the world... It has always been like this!" At this point, Lu Yihao seemed to be thinking about something. "I have always believed that the emperor did not lose his memory of the incident in Mingdao Palace that day, but after he mustered up his courage, he needed an explanation to fool the world! After all, although the emperor is the Son of Heaven, he is also a mortal... It is very hard."
No one objected, because ten years had passed and no one believed that Emperor Zhao had lost his memory. In fact, Lu Yihao's statement was a private consensus among the people and officials. However, since this matter involved the emperor, people were reluctant to talk about it openly. However, in private discussions, even the common people in Tokyo thought this topic was too ridiculous.
However, talking about it now does prove that Emperor Zhao has always been afraid of doing things, afraid of taking responsibilities, and afraid of dealing with chaotic situations.
Even Hu Yin fell into almost confused memories… It’s not that Hu Mingzhong had other ideas, but he suddenly realized that he was actually the same as the emperor back then, and was also afraid of some things.
"I know you have to be cautious, but I am an old man waiting to die, so I don't have to worry about anything. The government won't bother with me about this." Lu Yihao looked at the reactions of the people around him and suddenly laughed. "Besides, I have something even more outrageous to do... Do you think I invited you here today just to chat?"
Han Shizhong and Ma Kuo quickly stood up, and Hu Yin, who had come to his senses, stood up calmly. Fan Zongyin hesitated for a moment before standing up, and then Yu Yunwen quickly followed.
"Marshal Han...there is something the emperor wants to do but is afraid of getting his hands dirty. I also want to do it, but I don't care. I wonder if you care or not?" Lu Yihao responded with a smile.
"It's Mr. Lu's order." Han Shizhong was a little embarrassed and bowed quickly.
"Searching homes and killing people."
Lu Yihao spoke calmly. "The city defenses and checkpoints of Yanyun Prefecture are all in our hands... The local big families are either the governors of the late Tang Dynasty or the governors of the Five Dynasties. Each family has a foundation of hundreds of years. Each of them has countless private soldiers and servants. It is possible that they also have hidden weapons... And now they want to grant land for military merit. It's fine for the other four routes, but where can we get land in Yanshan Road? Moreover, the two rivers are devastated, and we need to provide relief and control the rivers. There is no such thing as too much money and grain!"
Han Shizhong came to his senses instantly. Hu Yin wanted to say something but in the end he didn't.
"First, point out the matter of the new army and make them surrender their weapons, then inspect the land, check the hidden population, release the slaves, and finally purge the big families in the name of treason..." Lu Yihao glanced at Hu Mingzhong and continued. "If anyone dares to disobey, you will directly send troops to dig up their property that has been there for hundreds of years!"
"Don't worry, Mr. Lu."
Han Liangchen patted his chest quickly. "Since the emperor and the minister have such intentions, is Shizhong afraid of losing his reputation?"
"Minister Hu will take care of the sword granting and land inspection, and the others will have to work harder." Lu Yihao then looked at the person who was in theory responsible for this matter again. "If you don't know the details, ask Zheng Xiunian... I will handle the final investigation of the rebellion myself."
Hu Yin nodded with all his might.
"General Manager Ma." Lu Yihao finally looked at Ma Kuo. "There are quite a few military supplies captured in Yanjing and Fanyang... You have to work hard to supply Marshal Yue to go out of the border and conquer Liao territory."
"Of course." Ma Kuo certainly didn't have anything extra to say about this task.
"I have another private matter for you to ask for your help, Master Yu."
As he spoke, Lu Yihao suddenly stood up with the help of a cane, and then narrowed his eyes to look at Yu Yunwen who was hiding behind Fan Zongyin. "Please inform the King of Wei privately on my behalf, and I will not show up... Ask him to send someone to Jinzhou... Either to Peach Blossom Island or Chrysanthemum Island (Juehua Island)... Anyway, capture Guo Yaoshi who heard my message and fled to the island... It is said that I will not hold grudges overnight, but I have remembered this matter for twelve years! It is not good for me, the Grand Commander of Hebei, to die with regrets, right?"
Yu Yunwen was stunned for a moment, then immediately bowed his head and replied: "This matter is simple... Please wait for good news, Grand Commander."
Only then did Lu Yihao nodded with satisfaction.
Two days later, Yue Fei, who had already left Yuguan, received a message from Emperor Zhao and his loyal troops. Without much hesitation, he stopped by the road and called two people over: "Guo Jin, Yang Zaixing... This matter needs to be reported to the emperor. You two have been to the emperor, so I'll leave it to you. It's enough to bring people from the two capitals... Deputy Governor Li (Li Bao) will send a boat to pick you up! Try to capture them alive!"
The military order had been issued, and given Yue Fei's strict military discipline, although Guo and Yang were unwilling to go to any Chrysanthemum Island or Peach Blossom Island, they had nothing to say.
