Chapter 87
Chapter 87
[Li Erfeng Becomes Wanyan Gou – 7]
With three thrusts of his spear, Li Shimin knocked Wanyan Tuhesu from his horse. He immediately spurred onward and charged into the Jin formation. The sight nearly made Yue Fei’s heart split with terror. Afraid some mishap might befall His Majesty, he hurriedly urged his horse after him, fighting into the enemy ranks at his side so they could support each other.
Whenever the Jin had campaigned within Great Song territory, they had always swept aside all resistance and looked down upon everything in their path. Though Wanyan Zongfu felt considerable apprehension toward the new emperor and Zong Ze, his subordinates inevitably regarded the Song with contempt.
An arrogant army was bound to lose. And now they had run headlong into an SSR-ranked Heavenly Khagan and several of the strongest generals of the age. How could they possibly avoid defeat?
Their commander, Wanyan Tuhesu, had been captured alive and dragged away by the Song army. Jin morale plummeted, and fear had already taken root. Meanwhile, the two young generals had plunged into their formation. Blood sprayed wherever they passed, and no one could stand against them. Then they saw the Song forces advancing in disciplined ranks, the densely packed soldiers in front pressing ever closer. The Jin immediately thought of retreat. After a brief period of confusion, their formation dissolved into utter chaos.
With Wanyan Tuhesu already in Song hands, the other deputy generals accompanying him were frantic. They shouted themselves hoarse trying to restore order, but achieved little.
Anxiety and unease hung over those men like a dark cloud. Li Shimin swept his spear several times and drove away the Jin soldiers around him. He ordered Yue Fei to guard him, then reached back, seized his bow, and drew it. Three arrows flew in succession, each claiming the life of an enemy deputy general.
The Jin had already lost their footing. Now some of their generals had been captured while others were shot dead. How could they have any will left to fight?
Wailing like ghosts, they fled in panic.
Li Shimin moved to pursue the victory, only for Yue Fei, who was on the verge of a breakdown, to seize him. “Your Majesty, stop fighting! Our army has won a great victory. This is enough. Let us hurry back!”
“This is barely a beginning.”
Li Shimin sneered. He narrowed his eyes as he watched the Jin flee in disarray, then glanced at the Commander of the Imperial Guards rapidly approaching. “Did you act according to my instructions?”
The commander gazed at the new ruler as though witnessing a god descend to earth, his eyes overflowing with admiration and reverence. “Everything was done exactly as Your Majesty instructed. I did not dare make the slightest error!”
“Good!” Li Shimin tossed him the bloodstained spear in his hand and took another. He said to Yue Fei, “Pengju, charge out with me. Before this day ends, we will drive the Jin beyond the Yellow River!”
Yue Fei: “…”
He truly wanted to recover the lost territory. He truly wanted to drive out the Jin. But!
Please, Your Majesty, stop being so ferocious. Seriously!!!
His heart full of worry, Yue Fei weakly remonstrated, “Your Majesty, our army has already won a great victory and morale is soaring. Once news of this triumph spreads, the entire realm will surely be inspired…”
Li Shimin declared with heroic confidence, “Today we recover the Yellow River line. After resting for several days, we can press eastward and recover Yizhou and Mizhou!”
Yue Fei continued, “Your Majesty’s person is worth ten thousand pieces of gold, and the fate of the realm rests upon you. Why take such a grave risk by penetrating deep into the enemy formation?”
Li Shimin looked ahead with anticipation. “Once Qilu has been recovered, we can advance west to reclaim Shanxi and the three prefectures previously seized by the Jin!”
Yue Fei: “…”
Yue Fei finally snapped. “Your Majesty, are you listening to anything I say?! This is dangerous! Do you understand that?!!!”
Li Shimin stared at him in disbelief, looking heartbroken. “Pengju, you have changed!”
Yue Fei: “…”
Li Shimin said, “You have disappointed me terribly!”
Yue Fei froze at the accusation and stammered an explanation. “I have not! I am not!”
He continued, “It is only that the Jin are powerful and their arrogance is at its height. I naturally understand Your Majesty’s righteous fury, but for the sake of the greater situation, I ask that you restrain your desire to recover our homeland for a time and conceal your strength while awaiting an opportunity…”
Halfway through speaking, Yue Fei suddenly went blank.
The Jin are powerful and their arrogance is at its height…
For the sake of the greater situation…
Conceal your strength while awaiting an opportunity…
Weren’t these the damned lines of the peace faction and the surrender faction? Why were they coming out of his mouth?!
Oh, Yue Fei, Yue Fei. Never did you imagine that you would become the very kind of person you hated most!
Tears unknowingly began to flow.
Yue Fei, you are tainted!
Li Shimin patted him on the shoulder. “Pengju, the Jin are retreating in defeat and fleeing back to their camp. This is our perfect chance to accomplish great deeds. If we do not pursue them now, when will we?!”
Yue Fei looked conflicted as he raised his head. “But, Your Majesty…”
Li Shimin’s expression darkened. “You are a true man. Why act so hesitantly, like some delicate woman?! I shall wield my bow, and you shall follow with your maces. Even if a million men stand before us, what can they do?”
Heat surged through Yue Fei’s heart. A fierce, soaring passion slowly climbed his spine. Gripping his twin maces, he answered in a resounding voice, “Your Majesty has given the order. How could Fei dare disobey?!”
Li Shimin laughed heartily. Reins in hand, he wheeled his horse around and swept his gaze over the elite Imperial Guards behind him. He called out, “Hear my command! Follow me into the enemy camp at once and capture that old villain Zongfu alive!”
Everyone answered in unison, “We obey Your Majesty’s command!”
…
Zong Ze held the rear. Li Gang stood beside him with one foot still bare, while Zhao Ding, Zhu Shengfei, and the others were galloping over from the city. The assembled court officials could hardly wait to witness this moment that had captured every eye.
Zong Ze’s face glowed red, and even his voice trembled as he said to Li Gang, “Boji, do you see it?”
Li Gang’s eyes burned as tears rolled down his cheeks. “I see it. I see it!”
Their gazes met. The two men burst into tears and dropped to their knees. “May the spirit of Emperor Taizu bear witness! Heaven has bestowed a wise ruler upon us so that our Great Song need no longer fear the destruction of the state!”
It had always been the Jin chasing the Great Song emperor. When had the order ever been reversed, with the Great Song emperor chasing the Jin army?
Heaven had eyes. Great Song was saved!
Zong Ze and Li Gang embraced and wept until tears soaked their robes.
Li Gang said, “His Majesty is wise, mighty, and martial, much like Emperor Taizu. But the Son of Heaven bears the realm upon his shoulders. Going out to confront the enemy as he did today is one thing, but we absolutely cannot allow him to pursue them beyond the city and penetrate deep into their forces!”
Zong Ze smiled. “Do not worry. I sent Yue Pengju to accompany him. He has always been loyal, upright, and steady. He can protect His Majesty in battle, and if His Majesty truly intends to pursue the enemy, he will certainly stop him.”
“What a loyal and dependable minister!”
After offering that praise, Li Gang wiped away his tears and looked around. He asked in confusion, “Huh? Where are His Majesty and Yue Pengju? Have they already returned to the palace?”
The attendants: “…”
One of them whispered, “His Majesty pursued the Jin army.”
Li Gang: “…”
Zong Ze: “…”
Li Gang turned to Zong Ze, suspicion filling his voice. “Where is that loyal and dependable minister?”
Zong Ze wiped the sweat beading on his forehead and asked the attendants, “Yes, where is the loyal and dependable minister?”
They answered, “He pursued the Jin army with His Majesty.”
Li Gang: “…”
Zong Ze: “…”
Li Gang stared expressionlessly at Zong Ze.
Zong Ze scratched his head with difficulty. “Do not look at me like that, Boji. No one wanted this to happen.”
…
Leading the Imperial Guards onward, Li Shimin and Yue Fei soon caught up with Zhang Suo and joined the soldiers who had already marched out in pursuit of the defeated Jin, continuing north together.
By then Zhang Suo had recognized the arrivals. His face changed with shock, and he was about to urge the emperor to return south when Li Shimin gave him a slight nod that carried a hint of approval.
Zhang Suo hurriedly lowered his head in respect. When he raised it again, all he saw were the backs of the emperor and his trusted Imperial Guards galloping ahead.
Zhang Suo: “…”
Great Song had gone from an emperor of extreme surrender to an emperor of extreme militancy. Could things possibly get any better?!
Li Shimin and Yue Fei charged at the very front of the pursuit, almost riding on the heels of the Jin and herding them like chickens back into their camp.
After Wanyan Tuhesu departed, Wanyan Zongfu had felt restless. He mentioned it to Army Supervisor Wanyan Xiyin, but the latter said he was being overly suspicious. The Song had always been weak. What was there to fear?
Wanyan Zongfu could only comfort himself with those words. He waited uneasily in the camp for an hour, until turmoil suddenly erupted outside and clamor rose on every side. His heart lurched. He stood and went out to investigate.
Wanyan Xiyin also left the command tent, his face full of alarm and doubt. “What happened?”
Their men rushed over to report that Wanyan Tuhesu had been defeated and captured alive by the Song army. Their forces had fled in panic, and the Song had followed the routed soldiers all the way to the camp. The precise state of the battle, however, remained unclear.
Wanyan Zongfu was horrified. Unable to remain still, he immediately ordered the drums beaten to stabilize morale and commanded that soldiers who had fled back to camp be brought in for questioning.
The troops had run the whole way, abandoning helmets and armor. They were already in a wretched state, their faces smeared in patches of black and white until their features were almost impossible to distinguish.
Army Supervisor Wanyan Xiyin glanced at the group and felt that something was wrong.
He had seen defeated soldiers before. Once they returned to their own camp, they would always breathe a sigh of relief. Yet these men had not relaxed in the slightest. Their muscles remained taut, poised as though they might strike at any moment.
Alarm bells rang in Wanyan Xiyin’s mind. He shouted sharply, “No, this is a trap! Seize these men at once, then inspect the returning soldiers carefully for Song spies!”
But by the time the words left his mouth, it was already too late.
Battle cries erupted at the camp gate. Imperial Guards who had infiltrated alongside the fleeing Jin soldiers were creating chaos. After killing the Jin guarding the entrance, they opened the way for their own troops.
At the same moment, Wanyan Xiyin heard a thunderous explosion beside him. The signal went off, briefly drowning out every other sound.
After a moment of shock, he immediately realized the danger. Before he could turn to flee, a shout rang in his ear: “The Jin commanders are here! Seize them at once!”
Once the camp gates opened, nothing could halt the Song offensive. Li Shimin led from the front and charged at the very head of the army. Yue Fei watched in terror, but did not dare shout loudly and reveal His Majesty’s identity to the Jin. He could only grit his teeth and charge after him, supporting him as before while the two advanced together.
Wanyan Zongfu saw that battle cries filled the camp and fires soon sprang up. Unable even to find a horse amid the confusion, he rushed back to the command tent and seized his twin sabers. When he emerged, he found two young generals charging toward him. Both radiated imposing martial valor and moved through the disordered army as though no one else were there. Blood sprayed everywhere, and not a single man could stand against them!
How strange! Since when had the Song possessed such fierce generals?!
Wanyan Zongfu was still wondering when his eyes suddenly met those of the younger general. The instant their gazes locked, he inwardly cried out in alarm and turned to flee. But the young general galloped after him and caught the armor at the back of his neck with his spear. With a surge of strength, he lifted Wanyan Zongfu bodily into the air and displayed him to the army. “Zongfu is here! Why have you not surrendered at once?!”
The Song army had arrived with overwhelming momentum, and the Jin were already uneasy. The earlier rout had further crushed their morale. Now that they saw their commander captured alive, they lost all will to fight. They wheeled their horses and fled toward the Yellow River, intending to cross north by boat.
Li Shimin smiled faintly when he saw this and ceased pursuing the routed remnants. Turning, he saw that Yue Fei had captured Wanyan Xiyin. He lowered his long spear, flung Wanyan Zongfu from the horse, and ordered the Three Armies to clean up the battlefield.
The Imperial Guards quickly came forward, restrained Wanyan Zongfu, bound his hands and feet, and placed him beside Wanyan Xiyin.
Flushed with excitement, Zhang Suo approached and said, “Why does Your Majesty not pursue the victory and beat those drowning dogs?!”
Li Shimin smiled and shook his head. “Do not pursue a desperate enemy.”
He looked with a smile at the ashen-faced Jin marshal and army supervisor under Imperial Guard watch. “Those Jin soldiers are nothing to worry about. These two are the greatest prize of our campaign.”
Wanyan Zongfu.
Son of the Jin founder Wanyan Aguda, nephew of Emperor Taizong of Jin, Wanyan Sheng, and father of Emperor Shizong of Jin, Wanyan Yong. He had always commanded great prestige within the Jin dynasty.
Wanyan Xiyin.
A veteran minister of three reigns, the historical creator of the Jurchen script, and a chancellor of the Jin dynasty.
With these two in his hands, how could his great undertaking fail?
Wanyan Zongfu and Wanyan Xiyin stared in astonishment. They looked at Li Shimin, then turned toward Zhang Suo in disbelief and cried in alarm, “What did you call him?!”
Your Majesty?!
Could this young general be Zhao Gou, the newly enthroned Song emperor?!
The son of that spineless Duke Hunde and the younger brother of that spineless Marquis Chonghun?!
Zhang Suo sighed regretfully. “Such an opportunity is rare. What a pity.”
Li Shimin smiled. “Do not worry. We will have more opportunities like this in the future.”
Yue Fei was exhilarated, his eyes full of admiration. He nodded firmly. “We will have them often!”
Wanyan Zongfu and Wanyan Xiyin: “???”
Did anyone hear their question?!
No one paid them any attention. Moreover, because the two men were too noisy, someone soon gagged them and dragged them straight back to Dongjing (Kaifeng), where they would be paraded through the streets the next day.
The soldiers busied themselves cleaning the battlefield. Those still breathing received a finishing blow, while those already dead were buried in pits. This was not done out of humanitarian concern, but from fear that the corpses would spread disease. Army inspectors separately counted the spoils and enemy casualties.
Morale soared, and the soldiers reveled in victory. From commanders to common troops, every gaze fixed upon the emperor brimmed with reverence and admiration, as though he were no longer a mortal Son of Heaven but a god descended to earth.
…
Li Shimin had just turned to speak with Yue Fei when a cry came from the distance. “Ninth Brother!”
He paused and looked toward the voice. Several frail young women stood not far away. The girl at their head was still very young, with scarcely any color in her face, yet her eyes shone with delighted excitement.
Tears streamed down her face as she ran forward crying and shouted once more, “Ninth Brother!”
Searching the original owner’s memories, Li Shimin recognized her only with difficulty.
She was Duke Hunde’s twenty-sixth daughter, Princess Yongfu, Zhao Fobao.
It was difficult to recognize her because mere months of torment had transformed Princess Yongfu into a different person. If the contours of her face had not remained, no one could have connected her to the sweet, innocent imperial princess who once lived in the Song court.
Princess Yongfu was the daughter of Noble Consort Cui. Her health had been poor from birth. At the time, Noble Consort Cui enjoyed great favor, and Duke Hunde also doted upon this daughter. He therefore chose the title Yongfu, “Eternal Blessing,” for her and gave her the personal name Fobao, “Buddha’s Protection,” hoping wholeheartedly that the Buddha would protect this frail princess. Yet unexpectedly…
Princess Yongfu had been only fourteen during the Jingkang Incident!
Li Shimin sighed inwardly, dismounted, and went to meet her. Princess Yongfu suddenly threw herself into his arms and wailed, as though pouring out all the humiliation and agony she had endured over the past few months.
“Ninth Brother, Ninth Brother!” Princess Yongfu sobbed uncontrollably. “Elder Sisters Baofu and Renfu are both dead, and so is Jin’er! The Jin forced us to pour wine and entertain them. Afterward, every general at the banquet was allowed to take two women away. The two elder sisters and Jin’er were tortured to death by them. Those beasts possess not the slightest shred of humanity…”
Yue Fei burned with fury as he listened. Tears filled his eyes. He clenched his fists and silently turned his face away.
Li Shimin was also weeping. He gently stroked the poor girl’s back and comforted her. “It is over now. You are home, and that is what matters. You are home.”
“Ninth Brother, do not forget what Fobao said today!”
Princess Yongfu stared intently at her brother, her eyes brimming with tears and hatred. “March north to wash away our humiliation and restore the rivers and mountains of Great Song!”
Li Shimin nodded solemnly and promised, “Until the Jin state is destroyed, I will remember those words forever!”
…
When Zhao Ding, Zhu Shengfei, Zhang Jun, and the other court officials heard of the great victory at Bianjing, they were both astonished and delighted. They galloped beyond the city, only to learn that while victory had indeed been won, His Majesty was not there. He had gone with the soldiers to pursue the Jin. They immediately fell silent.
According to the city wall present at the scene, the atmosphere at the time was grave. Extremely grave.
The core members of the war faction sent everyone else away and whispered many remarks that amounted to the Crime of Great Disrespect.
“It almost seems to make a little sense?”
“But His Majesty looks quite like the Retired Emperor did when he was young…”
“A mutation?”
“We could not survive an emperor who favored peace. Why do I feel we cannot survive an emperor who favors war either?!”
“Indeed.” Zhao Ding sighed deeply. “The Crown Prince is still young. If anything happens to His Majesty and he falls into Jin hands, what will become of Great Song’s state and altars?!”
At that very moment, a soldier galloped from the distance with a report, his voice ringing with excitement. “Great victory at the Yellow River! His Majesty captured the Jin marshal Wanyan Zongfu and Army Supervisor Wanyan Xiyin alive. He also secretly ordered their boats sabotaged. Ten thousand enemies were slain, tens of thousands of Jin drowned, and we seized seventy thousand horses and countless supplies!”
Zhao Ding: “…”
The other members of the war faction: “…”
Zhao Ding backhanded himself across the face.
Li Gang’s cheek twitched. He quietly advised, “There is no need to go that far.”
Expressionless, Zhao Ding murmured, “So I was the clown all along.”
The other members of the war faction: “…”
However arrogant and triumphant Wanyan Zongfu and Wanyan Xiyin had been when marching south, they were now every bit as wretched and dejected. Their hands and feet were bound and their mouths gagged. The two were loaded into prison carts and transported to Dongjing (Kaifeng) amid the rumble of wooden wheels.
They had also entered Dongjing during the Jingkang Incident. How imperious had they been then, and what was their state now?
The Jin had burned, killed, pillaged, and committed every evil within Dongjing. Every young woman in the city had been abducted. How could such profound hatred ever fade with time?
Before the two men even reached Dongjing, soldiers burning with hatred gathered to watch. They hurled stones into the prison carts and spat upon the prisoners. Had guards not surrounded them, they would likely have been dragged out, torn apart, and eaten alive on the spot.
It was not only the common soldiers. When the court officials heard that these two had been captured, they flocked over to see them as well. After checking off the attraction, their morale rose by leaps and bounds, while their loyalty and favor toward the new emperor instantly hit max.
Yes, the young emperor might be a little reckless and a little radical. But he let his ability speak for itself. In his first action, he crushed the Jin army and brought back Wanyan Zongfu and Wanyan Xiyin as prisoners. Still unconvinced?
Then you do it!
That night, Dongjing rejoiced. Lanterns and decorations hung everywhere, court officials celebrated together, and commoners went in groups to kowtow before the palace gate, hoping the enlightened Son of Heaven would swiftly recover the lost territory and bring peace to the realm.
Wanyan Zongfu and Wanyan Xiyin were stripped of their armor and imprisoned for a night in a freezing cell without food or water. The next day, they were dragged out and paraded through the streets.
Once, they had cracked their whips and strutted proudly along these roads. Now they were prisoners with ropes around their necks. Their parade began before dawn. In the afternoon, they were taken to bow before the Song ancestral temple, given a bowl of rice broth, and then dragged out for another parade the following day.
The wheel of fate had reversed. The humiliations they once inflicted upon the Song had now fallen upon them.
In the seventh month, the Fire Star declines; in the ninth, winter clothes are issued. The weather had already grown somewhat cold, and at night the northwestern wind easily pierced their garments.
Wanyan Zongfu lay collapsed in the dilapidated punishment chamber. Enduring the hunger in his belly, he combed bits of vegetables and sticky egg slime from his hair. From time to time he caught a louse and tried in vain to flick it out through the drafty window.
A single lamp flickered dimly, offering them not the slightest warmth.
Wanyan Xiyin lay woodenly to one side, listening to the northwestern wind howl. Thinking back toward the Jin homeland in the north, his eyes filled with desolation and tears slid down his face.
His expression stricken, he choked out a verse: “All night the west wind shakes the broken door; in the desolate lodge, one lonely lamp burns dim. I turn toward my homeland three thousand li away, gaze south beyond the mountains… yet no wild goose flies!”