Chapter 95
Chapter 95
[Li Erfeng Becomes Wanyan Gou – 15]
After this battle, the Song army not only cleared every Jin force from Hebei, but also recovered Shandong, Taiyuan, and the three prefectures previously ceded to the Jin in a single stroke. The new ruler Zhao Gou’s prestige soared, and the realm rejoiced.
When the victory reports reached Dongjing, Empress Dowager Meng, Empress Dowager Zheng, and the other women wept. The officials went one after another to the ancestral temple and offered tearful sacrifices to Emperor Taizong, declaring that the royal army had marched north and stabilized the Central Plains, recovering most of the lost northern territory. After a future period of rest and recovery, they could march north to kill the enemy and fully avenge the Humiliation of Jingkang!
Li Shimin had achieved complete victory across three fronts. Though delighted, he did not intend to launch another campaign soon.
Hebei, Taiyuan, and Shandong were manageable. They lay close to the nation’s heartland, so grain and supplies could be transported promptly. But advancing farther north to break the Supreme Capital would not be so simple. Feeding men and horses, together with all the consumption along the road, would require an astronomical amount. Moreover, years of war had left the people unable to focus on farming. It was time to rest, recover, and restore production.
Li Shimin immediately ordered the remaining Jin within the recovered territories cleared out and Song traitors who had served during the occupation executed. He also selected trusted subordinates to guard the three regions, restore livelihoods, and reassure the people. Once every matter was settled, he ordered the army to return to court.
The army had departed in the tenth month, but by the time it returned, it was already the middle of the twelfth. Although Dongjing lay south of the war zone, it still felt the bitter cold of deep winter.
Yet the people’s burning hearts did not fear the frozen weather.
Led by Empress Dowager Meng and Empress Dowager Zheng, the court officials and palace women went out together through the wind and snow to welcome the army. Attendants urged the two Empresses Dowager to wait in their carriages, but both firmly refused.
Empress Dowager Meng said, “His Majesty returns after achieving great deeds and recovering lost territory. What tremendous merit! The soldiers fought bloody battles on the front. We are merely waiting here for a few hours. Why should we be unable to endure it?”
Empress Dowager Zheng had personally experienced the Jingkang Incident. Remembering Dongjing’s misery and darkness then, then comparing it to the confidence of the officials now, she shed tears and sighed. “His Majesty is truly an enlightened ruler. Without such a man, how could this turmoil have been settled?!”
Empress Wei attended beside them with a smile, her eyes filled with pride and reflected glory.
Princess Jinyang tugged her mother’s skirt and asked hopefully, “Mother, now that Father is returning, will he have more time to accompany us?”
Empress Wei smiled. “Why not ask your father yourself later?”
Princess Jinyang nodded happily. “All right!”
Hearing the mother and daughter, Empress Dowager Zheng and Noble Consort Cui inevitably looked over. Their gazes fell upon the young princess’s innocent, adorable face and trembled simultaneously. Grief leaked from their eyes before they turned away.
Noble Consort Cui used a handkerchief to wipe the tears suddenly emerging and sighed with a smile. “The princess is an exalted branch of jade and leaf of gold. It is better for her to remain so innocent and lively.”
Empress Dowager Zheng sighed softly. “Indeed.”
Li Shimin had gained tremendously from this campaign.
On the main front, Zonghan was killed, his generals either slain or captured, and Zongfu and the other two-ransomed only recently-were captured yet again. Vast territory was recovered.
On the western front, an arrow struck Wanyan Loushi’s right eye, and he fled in panic.
On the eastern front, Yue Fei captured the Jin general Wanyan Zongbi and his officers alive and escorted them toward Dongjing.
After reaching Dongjing’s gates and joining the two Empresses Dowager, Li Shimin led the army into the city. He ordered Zongbi, Zongfu, and the other prisoners escorted to the ancestral temple for presentation, followed by a grand parade through the streets.
Zongbi and the others regarded it as a profound humiliation. They clenched their teeth and fists, eyes scarlet. Zongfu and his two companions, however, had already become accustomed through experience. They lay numbly in their prison carts without speaking.
They regretted everything now. Regretted it terribly.
Had they known this day would come, why had they not urged their subordinates to send them back to the Supreme Capital?
But they could not blame others. Their injuries had been too severe, and the physicians advised against long-distance travel.
Who could have guessed that Zonghan, holding a hundred thousand elite Jin troops, would suddenly lose and be killed by the Song emperor?
Their sole consolation was that Qin Hui, who had harmed all three, had already been torn apart by five horses after suffering brutal torture. Otherwise, they truly could not have closed their eyes even in death!
Thinking of this, Wanyan Xiyin laughed mockingly at himself and sighed. “At least Qin Hui is dead.”
Wanyan Zongfu said woodenly, “Do you think we will have a second chance to be ransomed?”
Wanyan Xiyin: “…”
Wanyan Zongbi moved his lips with difficulty. “One must still have dreams. Are those two Song emperors not still in the Supreme Capital?”
Everyone’s eyes brightened simultaneously.
…
The Supreme Capital.
Emperors Qinzong and Huizong had become ninety-percent battered rolls of dough.
Since the new Song ruler’s enthronement, the Jin had repeatedly lost soldiers and generals on the battlefield. The women previously used as objects upon whom the Jin vented their rage had already been sent back to Dongjing. Only Emperors Qinzong and Huizong and the imperial clan’s male descendants remained for them to abuse.
The Jin were barbarians by nature, their savagery untamed. The Two Sovereigns suffered every hardship after falling into their hands.
Whips lashed them from head to toe. Once their skin split and flesh tore, they were soaked in salt water. Then their fingernails were pulled out…
When had Emperors Qinzong and Huizong ever suffered such torment?
They began crying for their parents and begging for mercy as soon as the flogging started. In the end, they even called upon their ancestors, but received not the slightest leniency. Half dead, they heard the Jin speak of the Song’s repeated victories and the extraordinary ability of its newly enthroned Son of Heaven. Rather than feeling any comfort, they began resenting their son and younger brother far away in Dongjing.
If he had not caused such an enormous commotion, why would the Jin be so furious and torment the two of them?!
That unfilial son had never intended anything good!
Huizong had lived in pampered luxury since childhood. Even scraping his skin had been a tremendous disaster. Now the Jin suspended him like an animal and tortured him half to death. He begged pitifully, “Stop beating me! I… I am a Son of Heaven! Give me paper and brush. I will write to my son Zhao Gou and order him to submit to Great Jin and pay tribute every year. I am his Imperial Father and Great Song’s Son of Heaven. Once I give the order, how could he dare disobey?”
Qinzong weakly agreed. “Yes. What benefit would killing us bring the Jin? That villain Zhao Gou is determined to resist Great Jin. If Imperial Father and I die, would that not give him even more reason to march north?”
“On the contrary…” He smiled ingratiatingly and groveled. “If Great Jin permits me to return and ascend the throne again, I will serve Jin as a son serves his father. Not only will I submit, I can offer gold, silver, silk, and beautiful women every year…”
Huizong exclaimed, “Do you remember I am your biological father? Even if one of us returns south, it should be me. When would your turn ever come?!”
Qinzong argued, “Imperial Father is elderly. I am younger and can serve Great Jin for longer!”
Huizong could scarcely believe his ears. He flew into a rage. “You shameless wretch! How could I have a son like you? You have utterly disgraced the Zhao ancestors!”
Qinzong laughed coldly. “Imperial Father, do you know the meaning of taking fifty steps and laughing at one who took a hundred?”
Father and son hung from the beam like two slabs of rotting pork, competing for the chance to become Jin dogs. The Jin watched coldly and occasionally scoffed with their companions.
Someone reported their conversation to Emperor Taizong of Jin, who did not know whether to laugh or cry. After sharing it as a joke with his confidants, he said disdainfully, “Return south? Do they truly believe they can still return and continue as emperors? That brat Zhao Gou is no easy opponent. If they remain in the Jin state, they can preserve their lives and cling to existence. But if they reach the Song… Ha!”
Barely a month later, Emperor Taizong of Jin received a dispatch from the front. He opened it and read that Wanyan Zongbi’s Shandong force had been defeated by Zong Ze and Yue Fei, while Zongbi himself had been captured alive. His vision went black, and his body swayed until he could barely stand.
Forcing himself to continue, he encountered one terrible report after another. The Jin had lost the three prefectures around Taiyuan. An arrow struck Wanyan Loushi’s right eye, forcing him into a wretched retreat north. In Hebei, the Jin’s greatest general, Wanyan Zonghan, had died in battle. Not one of his subordinate generals returned, and only thirty thousand of his hundred thousand troops escaped…
At this point, Emperor Taizong of Jin felt violent emotion surging within him. Shock and fury mingled. The muscles in his cheeks twitched fiercely. He suddenly spat blood and collapsed!
His attendants were horrified, though they did not know what the dispatch contained. Some hurriedly supported Emperor Taizong of Jin, while others summoned an Imperial Physician.
Wanyan Zongpan, Emperor Taizong of Jin’s eldest legitimate son, stepped forward and picked up the blood-spattered dispatch from the ground. After reading it from beginning to end, his face instantly turned deathly pale.
He woodenly passed the dispatch to the next man.
Before long, fear and despair engulfed the Jin great hall.
The Imperial Physician arrived quickly. After hearing the attendants describe the situation, he took Emperor Taizong of Jin’s pulse and inserted several silver needles. Emperor Taizong slowly regained consciousness.
“Send an order to Wanyan Loushi. Every army must retreat, withdraw from Hebei, Shandong, and the Taiyuan region, and avoid further engagement with the Song…”
At this point, he coughed violently, and blood again spilled from his lips. “Hold funeral rites for Zonghan. Grant rich rewards to his wife, children, and family. Reassure the imperial clan. Do not allow disorder in the Supreme Capital!”
His confidants obeyed. Grief filled every surrounding face.
Wanyan Zongpan watched the father who had shielded him from wind and rain reduced to this, seemingly ready to die at any moment. Remembering that the succession remained unsettled, he inevitably hesitated in fear. “Imperial Father, the Song are powerful now. Will they…”
“They will not!” Emperor Taizong of Jin said decisively. “Years of war have greatly consumed the Song’s strength, while our army plundered Dongjing until almost nothing remained. I expect the Song emperor will not march north now. Only…”
Grief entered his face. Recalling the contents of the dispatch, he still felt unbearable shock and pain. He said bleakly, “Only this crisis will be difficult to survive.”
The attendants looked desolate. No one spoke.
Emperor Taizong of Jin certainly felt no better, but he could only force himself to control the situation. “Our dynasty lost this battle, and many imperial clansmen were captured. Zongfu, Zongbi, and Zongmin are all sons of the founding emperor. They cannot remain in Song hands and must be ransomed… Are those two Song emperors dead?”
An attendant answered softly, “Not yet.”
“Bring them here.”
Emperor Taizong of Jin smiled bitterly. “I hope those two are valuable enough to exchange for the warriors of our Jin state who fell into enemy hands.”
When Emperor Taizong said many imperial clansmen had been captured, he was not joking. Three sons of the Jin founder alone-Zongfu, Zongbi, and Zongmin-were prisoners, together with no fewer than twenty other imperial descendants.
The Jin state had existed for only a little more than ten years and retained the old customs of a tribal alliance. Military and political power had not yet been completely separated. Emperor Taizong of Jin could not and had no means to discard those imperial clansmen as abandoned pieces. He could only ransom them.
Otherwise, a bloody coup would be imminent. Blood flowing through the Supreme Capital would not be an empty threat.
The moment had come to test the value of Emperors Qinzong and Huizong.
This was the Jin state’s third delegation south within a few months.
The envoy entered Dongjing with reverence and unprecedented humility. After a Censor of Ceremonial Propriety taught him the rules, he followed Song rites to Zichen Hall, paid respects to the Song Son of Heaven, and requested peace between Song and Jin.
The Great Song officials discovered in surprise that these Jin could understand the Song court language and learn Song rules after all. The only difference was that Great Song had once been too weak to make the barbarians bow. Now that the Song had won repeated victories, it had also broken the Jin’s spine.
Sure enough, being an exalted celestial empire felt far better!
Inside Zichen Hall, the Jin envoy humbly conveyed the greetings and concern of Emperor Taizong of Jin, Wanyan Sheng, to Li Shimin. He expressed regret and apology for the earlier friction and disputes between the two states. Then he voluntarily proposed returning the Two Sovereigns south in exchange for the Song releasing the Jin imperial clansmen captured in the recent battles.
Before the campaign, every official in the hall had tearfully worshiped at the Two Sovereigns’ cenotaphs. After the army returned, Li Shimin had even led them there for another hypocritical round of weeping. Now the officials heard the shameless Jin had still not abandoned their plan to impersonate the Two Sovereigns with Jin men, disrupt Great Song, and demand the captured imperial generals in exchange. They immediately wanted to laugh three times and spit the envoy all the way back to the Supreme Capital!
Caught completely unprepared, the Jin envoy took a heavy punch. His mind went blank. Only after a long while did he recover and force out a smile. With a pleasant expression, he told Li Gang, “Lord Li, please be careful not to hurt your hand.”
Then he continued, “What does Your Majesty think of my proposal?”
Li Shimin smiled faintly and gestured for Zhu Shengfei to read the prepared peace treaty to the Jin envoy.
“The Treaty of Jianyan reads as follows.”
“First: Jin shall become a vassal of Song. The two states shall stand as father and son, and the Jin emperor shall address the Son of Heaven of our dynasty as Father.”
“Second: Jin shall annually present Song with three hundred thousand taels of gold, one million taels of silver, and one hundred thousand fine horses.”
“Third: Jin shall return Youzhou, Shunzhou, Ruzhou, and all remaining lands of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun not yet controlled by Great Song.”
“Fourth: Jin shall compensate our army for the cost of mobilization, totaling five million taels of gold, fifty million taels of silver, ten thousand cattle and horses, and one million bolts of silk…”
After reading the clauses, Zhu Shengfei smiled and asked, “Those are our terms for now. Jin envoy, do you have any questions?”
Before coming, the Jin envoy had known the Song would demand an enormous price. Never had he imagined they would truly open their mouths this wide.
He felt as though he had been slapped several times before the crowd, spat in the face, and trampled for good measure.
His face turned livid with obvious anger. But remembering the fate of the previous envoy beheaded by the Great Song Son of Heaven, he forced himself not to erupt and barely argued, “The compensation is somewhat too high…”
Zhu Shengfei smiled without warmth. “Then use Jin imperial clansmen to repay the debt. Would you like us to prepare a price list?”
The Jin envoy felt as though he had been slapped again.
The corners of his mouth twitched. He forced a stiff smile. “Our ruler is elderly, while the Song Son of Heaven is young. Would it not be inappropriate for the states to stand as father and son?”
“Oh, that is nothing.” Zhu Shengfei said cheerfully, “Our emperor may be young, but his ambition is great.”
The Jin envoy: “…”
The Jin envoy could no longer force out even a smile. “Lord Zhu, are the terms you propose not asking too much of us?”
“Are they? I do not think so!”