Chapter 89
Chapter 89
[Li Erfeng Becomes Wanyan Gou – 9]
Standing nearby, Li Gang could not conceal his concern. “Your Majesty, this subject does not pity that villain. I only fear the Jin may lose all reason and vent their anger upon the Two Sovereigns, the imperial clan, and the captured officials…”
Li Shimin said, “Do we not also have hostages in our hands?”
Li Gang: “…”
Zong Ze also froze.
Li Shimin looked at them, surprise entering his eyes. “Surely you do not truly intend to send Zongfu and the other two back completely unharmed?”
Li Gang: “…”
Zong Ze: “…”
Li Shimin thought the Great Song officials were far too gentlemanly. No wonder those useless emperors and the Jin had bullied them so badly!
He sighed and patiently guided them. “An exchange naturally involves give and take. It can proceed only after both sides reach terms they find satisfactory, does it not?”
The officials nodded.
Li Gang: “…”
Zong Ze: “…”
Everyone else: “…”
That seemed to make perfect sense!
The Jin court fiercely debated the exchange. By comparison, the dispute within the Song court was far quieter.
Since Li Shimin’s enthronement, the surrender and peace factions had suffered repeated blows and were already incapable of recovering. The court now belonged to the war faction.
Regarding this exchange, every official publicly shouted slogans loud enough to shake the rafters. Every other sentence called for welcoming back the Two Sovereigns or restoring the realm. But each man privately kept his own balance in his heart: everyone else could be brought back, but the Two Sovereigns… better not.
There certainly were loyal ministers. But whether they were loyal to the Two Sovereigns or to Great Song and the lands of the Central Plains was a matter of perspective.
If the Two Sovereigns returned, how should they be handled?
Should they continue ruling as Sons of Heaven, crush the war faction, restore the surrender and peace factions, and grovel before their Jin fathers while asking whether they were kneeling properly?
The war faction would rather die!
The present emperor was wise, mighty, martial, and deeply understood righteousness. True, he was somewhat reckless and rather too radical. But compared with the previous two, they were truly as different as Heaven and earth. The battle of Dongjing had also given the court officials a real taste of success. Why should they abandon such a ruler and eagerly invite those two wretched emperors back?
It was not as though the war faction had water in their brains!
It would be far more worthwhile to ransom the imperial relatives, abducted officials, princesses, imperial clanswomen, and titled ladies.
What? What about leaving the Two Sovereigns there? Would that not disgrace Great Song?
They had already performed the sheep-leading ritual and become the Jin state’s good dogs. Could anything possibly be more disgraceful?!
Besides, when the Retired Emperor previously sent his bloodstained robe home, had he not said that state and family must come first and no one need harbor concerns merely because he remained in the Jin state? The Two Sovereigns had requested this themselves. How could their loyal officials refuse to fulfill their wish?!
The Song officials had decided privately, but naturally would never say so aloud. On the contrary, they loudly built momentum and proclaimed their desire to welcome back the Two Sovereigns and recover the realm.
Most members of the surrender and peace factions were civil officials. Countless had been executed or demoted, and some had even received the rod during court deliberations. Their spines were broken, and they would never stand again.
The enthronement of such an unyielding emperor had naturally stirred controversy outside the court, with complaints that he mistreated civil officials or violated ancestral precepts. But now the war faction could hold up His Majesty’s achievements and openly throw those arguments back in their faces!
His Majesty had accomplished within months what the surrender and peace factions had failed to achieve after years of posturing!
He had driven the Jin villains back north of the Yellow River!
He had captured the three villains led by Zongfu and forced the Jin to bow their heads and negotiate!
They might even welcome back the Two Sovereigns!
When it came to wagging your tongues, you struck with heavy fists. When it came to actual accomplishments, you cowered and stammered. Bah!
The Jin capital of Huining Prefecture-modern Acheng in Heilongjiang-was extremely far from Dongjing. If the situation truly changed, everything would be over before a message could make the round trip. Thus, while Emperor Taizong of Jin sent an envoy south, he also authorized Wanyan Zonghan, Marshal for the Southern Campaign, to handle the matter with full discretionary power.
The Jin deputy envoy fled Dongjing in grief, fury, and fear. After joining Wanyan Zonghan’s forces in Hebei, he asked how the matter should be handled.
Wanyan Zonghan naturally supported the exchange.
First, he was personally close to Wanyan Xiyin and Wanyan Tuhesu. Second, Emperor Taizong of Jin had dumped responsibility upon him early on. If his delay cost Zongfu and the others their lives, would the relatives and followers of those three within the Jin state not tear him apart?
As for the chief envoy’s death…
Forget it. Dead was dead. Better to finish this affair quickly. He had no desire to take the blame for the emperor!
Before the deputy envoy’s seat had even grown warm, Wanyan Zonghan drove him out and ordered him south to continue negotiations over the hostage exchange.
Meanwhile, Emperors Qinzong and Huizong and the other captives held in the Jin state finally learned of the Song army’s great victory, the capture of Wanyan Zongfu and the other two, and the negotiations between Song and Jin over an exchange of hostages.
The loyal and upright officials raised their faces to Heaven and sighed. They wept together, then kowtowed toward the south with tears streaming endlessly. The officials who had changed allegiance, however, felt anxious and afraid.
The princesses, imperial clanswomen, and titled ladies who had been scattered into the rear courtyards of Jin imperial relatives and nobles as concubines soaked their robes with tears. They all prayed that they could be exchanged back home and escape their miserable lives without daylight.
When Duke Hunde heard the news, he was both shocked and frightened. Afraid the Jin would fly into a rage and blame him, he sent word through his guards that he was willing to write a letter urging his son to cease resisting. He promised that his descendants would honor the Jin dynasty’s reign forever and continue paying tribute.
Marquis Chonghun secretly summoned a trusted subordinate and ordered him to escape south with a letter for Ninth Brother. “I do not ask to ascend the throne again. If I can return south, I will be content to live as a wealthy commoner!”
Qin Hui was then in Yanshan Prefecture, serving as an adviser on military affairs.
After the Jingkang Incident, he had quickly changed allegiance, trimming his sails to the wind and throwing himself behind Wanyan Zonghan. Zonghan admired him greatly. In the end, the other Song captives were all sent north to continue their lives as prisoners, while he, having sold out his country more thoroughly than anyone else, remained in Yanshan Prefecture as an official. Before long, he went south to help Wanyan Zonghan plan military operations against the Song and write letters urging former colleagues to submit to the Jin. His days were very full indeed.
When news of the battle at Dongjing arrived, the Jin flew into a rage, and Qin Hui inevitably grew uneasy. Hearing that Song and Jin intended to exchange captives made him even more frightened. He feared being sent back with the others and seeing himself executed and his clan exterminated. He also feared he had boarded the wrong ship, and that if the Song marched north and destroyed the Jin in the future, he would still meet a bad end.
When the Jin had been powerful, he swiftly changed course toward them. Now that the Song was rising, doubts inevitably stirred in his mind. His eyes darted about. After discussing the matter with his wife, Lady Wang, for an entire night, he soon reached a decision. He went to Zonghan, explained the advantages and disadvantages, and volunteered to return south to Dongjing as a Jin agent. Inwardly, however, he planned to become a double agent.
If the Jin won, he would side with the Jin. If the Song won, he would side with the Song. No matter how the war developed, he could remain securely undefeated.
Wanyan Zonghan gladly agreed and personally poured wine to send him on his way.
After Qin Hui departed, Zonghan’s attendants showed contempt. One asked in confusion, “Marshal, this man is a Song subject, yet he betrayed his country for power and profit. How can we trust him to remain loyal to Great Jin?”
Another said, “I think he must feel Great Song has grown strong and regret his surrender. He wants to turn his coat! Rather than spare such a treacherous man, we should behead him today!”
Zonghan watched Qin Hui disappear. The smile slowly faded from his face, and his gaze turned cold and sinister, like that of a tiger or wolf. “He is nothing but a dog who wags his tail at whichever side is stronger. Your task is to make good use of this dog, not grow angry with an animal.”
He slowly sat and swept his gaze around. No one in the command tent made another sound. “The Song won a single battle, and already he has little schemes and wants to abandon the Jin for the south. Once we march out and crush the Song, his thoughts will immediately settle. In the blink of an eye, he will be a good dog again!”
Qin Hui and his wife hurried with all their strength and finally crossed the Yellow River one day earlier than they had in the original timeline. Song soldiers escorted them to Dongjing, and someone soon reported the news to Zong Ze, the Defender of Dongjing.
The moment Zong Ze heard the account, he sensed something wrong. “He claims he killed the Jin assigned to watch him, stole a small boat, and escaped south to the capital? Utter nonsense!”
He sneered. “Was he not imprisoned with several other officials? How could he alone return south? The journey from the Jin state to Dongjing is tremendously long and crosses rivers and seas. How could husband and wife return so smoothly? Moreover, if the Jin granted him freedom, they would surely use his wife to restrain him. How could they break free and escape south together?!”
Zong Ze immediately ordered Qin Hui and Lady Wang detained, then entered the palace to report. “Your Majesty! Qin Hui and his wife have returned to the Song at this particular moment under deeply suspicious circumstances. Your Majesty must never trust them!”
Empress Wei stood nearby grinding ink while Li Shimin practiced calligraphy. Without raising his head, he said, “Release the husband and wife. I have a use for them.”
“Your Majesty!” Zong Ze cried sorrowfully. “Qin Hui harbors sinister motives. Your Majesty must never be deceived by this villain!”
Zong Ze: “…”
He silently wiped away the tears that had surged out in his agitation, then lit three sticks of incense for Qin Hui and his wife.
The day Qin Hui returned to Dongjing, he was appointed a ministry gentleman in the Ministry of Justice. After he assumed office, Vice Minister Zhou Jun invited him to drink. After three rounds of wine, Zhou Jun said in distress, “We have several prisoners with extraordinarily tight lips. They refuse to say anything, but we cannot casually take their lives. What do you think we should do?”
Zhou Jun invited him to the Ministry of Justice prison and ordered tables and chairs set out so they could sit opposite each other and talk.
Before long, a subordinate came to report. “Those men keep shouting abuse and spewing filthy insults. They refuse to confess…”
Zhou Jun looked furious. “How dare they? Beat them again! Beat them until they cannot speak!”
“Come now.” Qin Hui smiled and tugged his sleeve. “Why should Lord Zhou grow angry with mere convicts? If you truly flog them a hundred times, their bodies will be ruined. How could they survive?”
Zhou Jun’s eyes lit up. “May I ask Brother Qin to enlighten me?”
“I would not dare call it enlightenment, but I do have a method.” Seeing that Zhou Jun asked sincerely, Qin Hui held nothing back. “Take a ball of cotton roughly the size of the prisoner’s mouth. Push fine needles through it so that only their tips protrude, then stuff it into the mouths of those stubborn wretches. When their lips and tongues exert force, the needles will pierce through the undersides of their tongues. I guarantee they will fall silent. It works even better than a bridle!”
Zhou Jun clapped his hands and laughed. “Brother Qin truly possesses great talent!”
Qin Hui modestly waved his hand. “Merely a paltry trick. Do not praise it so highly!”
Then he described several more brutal punishments for Zhou Jun.
Zhou Jun treated them like priceless treasures and hurriedly ordered his men to try each one. Before long, the subordinates returned with reports.
“Following Lord Qin’s instructions, we applied the water torture three times, but they still refuse to yield!”
“Following Lord Qin’s instructions, we poured ten jin of chili water down their throats, but they still refuse to yield!”
“Following Lord Qin’s instructions, we pulled out all ten fingernails, but they still refuse to yield!”
“Following Lord Qin’s instructions, we raised the tiger bench three levels, but they still refuse to yield!”
Zhou Jun flew into a rage. “The villains are arrogant and incorrigible! Continue the torture. Do not let them have an easy moment!”
Qin Hui: “…”
Qin Hui sensed something amiss. Sitting upright, he patted his cheeks to clear his mind. “Seriously? They endured all that and still did not confess?!”
The subordinate said indignantly, “Those men spout nothing but nonsense. They speak some incomprehensible bird language to confuse us and have no intention of confessing! Detestable!!!”
Qin Hui: “…”
Qin Hui: “…………”
Qin Hui: “Are you sure they are not speaking the Jin language?”
The subordinate: “…”
The subordinate scratched his head with difficulty. “Th-that cannot be, can it?”
Qin Hui: “…”