Chapter 97

Chapter 97

[Li Erfeng Becomes Wanyan Gou – 17]

Every clause of the Treaty of Jianyan had been accepted. The Jin envoy immediately sent a message to the Supreme Capital informing Emperor Taizong of Jin and the families of the captive imperial clansmen. He thought the matter was settled, but the news instantly unleashed another tremendous storm.

Wanyan Zonggan was especially furious.

Emperor Taizong had promised to return power to the founder’s line. The founder’s legitimate son had died young, while Emperor Taizong had pacified the eldest legitimate grandson. Apart from Zonggan, the eldest son, who could bear the position of heir?

The Jingkang Incident had allowed the Jin to gorge themselves, but too little time had passed for them to digest their gains. Now the Song suddenly punched the Jin in the belly and forced them to vomit up everything they had swallowed. How could Wanyan Zonggan agree?!

In Zonggan’s eyes, he would be the next Jin emperor, while the captives were his rivals. Why should he empty the treasury and nearly melt down every pot and pan to ransom Zongfu, Zongbi, and the others?

Wanyan Zonggan refused to accept this outcome under any circumstances.

The Jin dynasty retained a tribal power structure. Most of the vast wealth looted from Dongjing during the Jingkang Incident had flowed into the imperial clans’ households, while the so-called imperial family was merely the purest-blooded branch within the Wanyan clan.

Zongfu and Zongbi were captives. Zonghan’s sons had been captured, and no fewer than twenty other imperial relatives were trapped in Dongjing. Yet the Supreme Capital contained countless other Wanyan clansmen. How could they willingly pay for the captives by surrendering all the wealth they had joyfully received only months earlier?

Wanyan Zonggan had always been obstinate, arrogant, and ruthless, and the imperial clan disliked him. Yet he used this opportunity to overturn the table, rapidly gathering a group of imperial relatives behind him. Even Empress Tangkuo and Emperor Taizong’s legitimate son Wanyan Zongpan faintly leaned toward his side.

The reason was simple. None of them were Bodhisattvas, and no one wanted to reach into his own pocket to save someone else.

But the opposing force was equally powerful.

The wives of Zongfu and Zongbi absolutely had to bring their husbands home. Zonghan’s wife had already lost her husband, but both her biological sons were captives. Could she truly abandon them, let them die in Dongjing, and allow a concubine-born son to inherit Zonghan’s power?

Impossible!

The families of the other captive clansmen also gritted their teeth and refused to give up.

Zonghan’s father had been State Counselor, while Zonghan himself commanded a great army. Their branch was the strongest outside the direct imperial line. Together with the former subordinates of Zongfu and Zongbi, their forces even faintly surpassed the opposition.

Wanyan Zonggan had heard enough of his fourth uncle’s lofty principles from the throne. The greater situation comes first? Everything is for Great Jin? All of it was bullshit!

The next heir would come from the founder’s line, so Fourth Uncle could righteously utter such easy words. If your own biological son were taking charge after your death, would you still spend the money to ransom those men?!

The Song had an excellent ancient saying: all beneath Heaven bustle for profit, and all beneath Heaven jostle for profit. Everything came down to interests!

Wanyan Zonggan knew his fourth uncle, Emperor Taizong, would never oppose spending heavily to return the imperial captives. He did not waste words before him. After gathering imperial relatives and soldiers loyal to himself, he launched a fierce attack upon the residences of the captive branches-Zongfu, Zongbi, Zonghan, and the others.

Those households were the ones demanding the captives’ return. If they all died, who would still insist upon exchanging for those useless men?

If Zongfu, Zongbi, and the others died in Dongjing, the Jin could avoid an astronomical ransom while eliminating two glaring rivals in a single stroke. Why not?

Not long after Wanyan Zonggan mobilized, news reached the palace. Emperor Taizong had just taken medicine and was sleeping heavily. Empress Tangkuo stood beside him. A faint movement entered her eyes. She acknowledged the report, then dismissed the messenger.

She did not wake Emperor Taizong or tell him.

The female official beside her watched hesitantly and whispered, “Your Majesty, you…”

Empress Tangkuo turned away. Her gaze swept over the curtains hanging above the bed, and she said indifferently, “I do not possess His Majesty’s breadth of mind. I cannot sacrifice everything for the Jurchen realm.”

Intense ambition filled her eyes. “My son Zongpan is better suited than anyone to sit in the heir’s position!”

Let Wanyan Zonggan kill them. Once those families were exterminated, she would send men to clean up the aftermath. Zonggan had slaughtered his imperial brothers. With such a wolf’s heart, how could he bear great responsibility?

Likewise, once the families of Zongfu and Zongbi were dead, no one would support spending heavily to ransom the captives.

Only a few heirs would remain in the founder’s line.

Then she would ask her husband to pardon those who followed Zonggan’s rebellion and abandon the costly exchange for the captive clansmen. With two approaches and two acts of grace, how could her great undertaking fail?

She could also use the opportunity to warn the wavering Tangkuo clan, which sat upon the fence without knowing which way to lean.
Empress Tangkuo was the younger sister of the Tangkuo clan head, while Zongfu’s wife was his daughter. The Tangkuo clan had always wavered between supporting Zongfu and supporting Emperor Taizong’s son Wanyan Zongpan. If Zongfu’s wife died and Zongfu himself perished in Song hands, what would the Tangkuo clan still have to hesitate about?

Empress Tangkuo smiled, not a trace of warmth in her eyes.

Wanyan Zonggan had his private calculations, while Empress Tangkuo believed her own plan flawless. Yet the affair’s final course exceeded everyone’s expectations.

Since many imperial relatives had gathered beneath Wanyan Zonggan, no one could expect his preparations to remain secret. Before he even moved, the wives of Zongfu, Zongbi, and Zonghan detected the danger. Horrified, the three households immediately summoned former subordinates to organize a counterattack and strike first.

Wanyan Zonggan originally intended to catch them unprepared and kill them in one blow. Unexpectedly, those families were ready and transformed his surprise attack into an open battle.

One side consisted of the founder’s eldest son and an alliance of many imperial relatives. The other consisted of the three princely households that had previously commanded most of the Jin army. When the two collided, the entire Supreme Capital shook.

Their interests were fundamentally opposed. Now that weapons had been drawn, each side intended the other’s death. At this stage, the conflict could end only with one side’s destruction.

Empress Tangkuo had planned to let the snipe and clam fight while the fisherman profited. After waiting half an hour, she heard battle cries so loud they reached the palace and abruptly realized the situation was completely out of control. A trusted subordinate reported that ill-intentioned refugees in the Supreme Capital were even attacking princely residences and the palace, hoping to profit from the chaos.

Panic filled her. She hurried inside to wake her husband, only to find Emperor Taizong already roused by the noise outside. He weakly opened his eyes and asked tiredly, “What is happening outside?”

Empress Tangkuo did not dare conceal the matter. Hiding her own role, she cautiously explained what had happened.

“Bastards!”

Emperor Taizong’s face flushed scarlet. Forcing himself upright, he coughed. “With a powerful enemy before them, they still have time for internal conflict. Have they lost their minds?!”

Before he finished, Emperor Taizong turned toward her. His gaze darkened. He slapped her heavily across the face with such force that Empress Tangkuo lost her footing and fell.

“Fool!”

Before Empress Tangkuo could offer an aggrieved defense, Emperor Taizong shouted, “You thought that by hiding the news from me, you could reap the fisherman’s profit and make Zongpan heir? Zongpan is my biological son. If there were truly a chance, do you think I would not want him to achieve his wish?!”

He hammered his chest repeatedly. The mighty ruler wept aged tears. “Those five hundred thousand ingots of gold and five million ingots of silver are not ransom for Zongfu and Zongbi. They are Great Jin’s compensation to Song after losing the war! You think that if I ignore Zongfu and the others, this money will no longer need to be paid? Today, Zonggan and the houses of Zongfu and Zongbi have both suffered. Great Jin’s own limbs are being severed. We are destroying our own Great Wall. If the Song learn of this, they will laugh their teeth out!”

Empress Tangkuo listened in terror, sitting upon the floor with her head lowered and not daring to speak.

Emperor Taizong was furious. He pulled on his boots and kicked her down. His body swayed, but he still forced himself from the bedchamber and personally rode out to stabilize the Supreme Capital.

The melee lasted more than half a day. Half the Supreme Capital became ruins. Others fished in troubled waters, robbing homes and seizing the people’s property.

Only after the count did Emperor Taizong learn that the situation was far worse than he had imagined.

As the prince second only to Zonggan within the founder’s line, Zongfu’s residence suffered the fiercest attack. Zongfu’s wife, Lady Tangkuo, and all their children were killed. Not even an infant in swaddling clothes was spared.

Zongbi’s wife, Lady Pusan, survived, but an arrow had struck her abdomen, and her condition was grave.

Zonghan’s household contained many trusted generals and was not breached. It even countercharged Zonggan’s residence and captured all his sons…

At this point in the report, Emperor Taizong’s vision darkened, and he could barely stand.

Wanyan Zonggan’s eyes nearly split in rage. Had men not restrained him, he would have rushed forward to fight Zonghan’s wife to the death.

“Enough!”

Emperor Taizong thundered, “How far must this go before you stop?! Will you only be satisfied if Great Jin perishes today?!”

Both sides turned their faces away, eyes filled with hatred, refusing to look at the enemy.

Emperor Taizong held a riding crop. His lips had turned dark purple, and his hand began trembling uncontrollably. He tucked it into his sleeve and calmly ordered, “Imprison Zonggan in the City of Five Nations. He shall not leave until death. Grant Lady Tangkuo and her children grand burials. As for the peace treaty, my decision is final and shall not change!”

Zonggan was exiled to the City of Five Nations. Once intended to imprison Emperors Qinzong and Huizong, it now became his home for the remainder of his life.

Yet neither Zonggan nor the opposing faction was satisfied.

Zonggan believed his imperial uncle was using the opportunity to suppress him and clear the way for his own biological son’s enthronement.

If the founding emperor still lived, such a treacherous man would surely have his heart and liver cut out as offerings to the dead!
Both sides were dissatisfied, but under Emperor Taizong’s forceful command, they could only bow their heads and reluctantly accept the outcome.

Empress Tangkuo was naturally unwilling as well. But after years beside her husband, she could see he was a spent crossbow. Grieving and resentful, she nevertheless did not oppose him.

The next day, Emperor Taizong ordered every household to return the same amount of gold and silver it had received from the Jingkang spoils months earlier. Complaints filled the Supreme Capital, and the people grew unstable. Several imperial households claimed the gold and silver had already been spent and refused to pay.

Upon learning this, Emperor Taizong ordered soldiers to force their way into those homes and search for the wealth. Once it was found, he commanded the entire households executed for defying an imperial order. The imperial relatives trembled and no longer dared evade or resist, but the affair inevitably planted seeds of resentment in their hearts.

Through coercion, Emperor Taizong gathered the amount demanded by the Song within three days. He ordered trusted subordinates to travel south with Emperors Qinzong and Huizong, complete the Treaty of Jianyan in Song territory, and retrieve the captive imperial clan.

They departed in the middle of the first month. By the time the party reached Dongjing and brought Zongfu and the others back to the Supreme Capital, it would probably be the second month.

Emperor Taizong’s health, however, worsened with each day.

Forcing himself out to quell the disorder had nearly consumed his remaining vitality. That evening, he vomited blood. Afterward, it happened intermittently and often. He strictly ordered the Imperial Physicians to remain silent and did not intend to reveal the truth before Zongfu and the others returned.

Empress Tangkuo attended him, her gaze shifting unpredictably.

…

Emperors Qinzong and Huizong had suffered endless torment at Jin hands. Not one patch of their bodies remained uninjured, and every fingernail had been pulled out.

The ten fingers connected to the heart. Even a pinprick hurt. What did it feel like to have the nails forcibly torn away?

During the punishment, the Two Sovereigns writhed between life and death, convulsing without cease. Cold sweat soaked through the clothes upon their backs. For days afterward, even the slightest touch brought piercing pain deep into their bones.

Those agonizing days continued for a long time. But recently, the Jin’s attitude abruptly improved.

The Two Sovereigns were bewildered and suspicious but dared not ask. Like two wild dogs, they collapsed together for warmth and licked their wounds.

Only three days earlier did they learn that Great Song’s new ruler Zhao Gou had repelled the Jin army, killed the Jin general Wanyan Zonghan, captured Zongfu and Zongbi, and won an unprecedented victory.

Song and Jin had now signed peace terms, one of which required sending both of them home.

After hearing this, Huizong remained stunned for nearly half an hour. Then he looked at his equally tormented eldest son Qinzong. Father and son embraced and wailed.

“We believed we would grow old and die in the northern wilderness. Never did we imagine we would return home!”

The Jin brought fresh robes, headwear, and hot water for them to bathe. After they changed, physicians were solemnly summoned to apply medicine and bandage every wound.

After enduring prolonged torment, the Two Sovereigns’ legs trembled whenever they saw Jin men. The instant someone touched them, they began shuddering uncontrollably.

But these two were not ordinary men. They soon adapted to the Jin’s solicitous concern and extreme respect. In their spare time, they imagined the wonderful lives awaiting them after returning home.

Huizong had never imagined an emperor could behave so forcefully, just as Qinzong had never imagined the Jin could be defeated. Father and son sighed with emotion for a time. Then, recalling the dragon throne in Great Song’s Zichen Hall, their thoughts immediately began to stir.

It was true that Huizong had not wanted to be emperor before and sincerely wished to abdicate and become Retired Emperor. Being emperor meant suffering and constant Jin bullying. What decent person would want the throne?!

It was true that Qinzong had not wanted to be emperor before and sincerely sent a letter to Ninth Brother saying that if he returned south, he wanted only to become a wealthy commoner. He was constantly beaten like a dog by the Jin and had to replace the useless Retired Emperor by leaving the city to surrender. What decent person would want the throne?!

But things were different now!

Old Ninth/Ninth Brother, we are returning. You may retire after achieving your great work.

Emperors Qinzong and Huizong happily began dreaming and again assumed imperial airs. Seeing the Jin treat them with great respect during the journey south, they became increasingly demanding. Today they wanted fresh fish; tomorrow they wanted local delicacies. They ordered the accompanying Jin in circles and thoroughly enjoyed being Sons of Heaven from the suzerain state. A journey that should have taken ten days instead required twenty.

When Li Shimin heard the Two Sovereigns were returning south, he agreed readily. Only after the Jin departed did sorrow enter his face. “The Jin are treacherous and sinister. They have humiliated our dynasty to this extent!”

Li Gang, Zong Ze, and the others also said indignantly, “Why does Your Majesty waste time dealing with them? Simply expose their scheme!”

“No, no.”

Li Shimin shook his head. “When the Empress Dowager and Consorts Dowager returned south, they only said the Two Sovereigns intended to die for the state after their departure. They did not personally witness the Two Sovereigns’ passing. Therefore, how can we guarantee the Jin are not returning the Two Sovereigns themselves? If my father and elder brother still live, would that not be a tremendous joy?”
“Furthermore…” Respect entered his face. “When the Empress Dowager parted from the Two Sovereigns, Imperial Father bit off his finger as proof. When the two sides are compared, truth and falsehood can be determined. Even if the Jin cunningly sever a finger from the double, the Empress Dowager and Consorts Dowager can personally identify him and establish whether he is genuine.”

The officials looked admiring and declared, “Your Majesty is wise!”

Li Shimin smiled without speaking.

…

At the beginning of the second month, the Jin arrived in Dongjing with the Two Sovereigns and members of the Zhao Song imperial clan, accompanied by vast quantities of gold, silver, and goods.

Li Gang again took charge. Register in hand, he checked the maps, documents, vessels, carriages, and other property looted during the Jingkang Incident item by item and ordered his subordinates to record everything anew.

Li Gang and the other officials of the war faction had long decided: whether Emperors Qinzong and Huizong were genuine or not, they had to be fakes!

Since they were fakes, they could go somewhere cool and stay there. What could be more important than counting the wealth?

After stepping upon Song soil, Emperors Qinzong and Huizong felt their bodies lighten, and even the air seemed sweet. As they approached Dongjing, their excitement grew. They ordered the Jin to change their clothes, then sat in their carriage waiting for Zhao Gou to receive them. Yet after waiting and waiting, not the slightest movement came. No one paid them any attention.

What did this mean? A display of authority?

Coldness flashed through the Two Sovereigns’ hearts. They exchanged a glance and lost patience with waiting in the carriage. They ordered the Jin to help them down and walked directly toward the most heavily guarded area of the Song camp.

Li Gang thought, Whose wild dogs were left untied? So noisy!

Then he continued reading. “One pair of gold-inlaid ruby wine cups for ritual sacrifices.”

His subordinate nodded and recorded them.

Qinzong called again. Li Gang appeared not to hear and continued reading the inventory presented by the Jin while comparing it with the Song’s own list. He was extremely busy.

Qinzong inevitably grew angry. Drawing a deep breath, he stepped forward and tugged Li Gang’s sleeve. “Li Gang!”

Only then did Li Gang turn. But he did not look at Qinzong. He looked at Huizong.

More precisely, at Huizong’s two hands.

Although his fingertips remained tightly wrapped, it was clear all ten fingers were present.

Li Gang rejoiced wildly.

Oh-ho, a fake!!!

Excellent! There was no need to turn the genuine article into a fake!!!

Arrange ten thousand cuts for the two Jin-dog impostors, then rapidly give the Two Sovereigns center position at their funeral!!!

Hahahahahahahahaha!!!!!

Huizong had imagined his return would empty the streets and set the whole nation rejoicing, with Zhao Gou personally leading every official to kneel before the city gates. Instead, he and his son arrived in a carriage and saw no one besides battle-ready soldiers and Li Gang, who cared only about counting money. Not even a wild dog appeared. It was desolate beyond words.

Qinzong had called Li Gang several times without making him turn. Huizong was angry and planned to demote the bastard to Hainan to fight monkeys for bananas.

But after Li Gang turned, his first glance fell upon Huizong. Several moments later, he widened his eyes in disbelief, his face overflowing with delight. After a brief stupor, Huizong suddenly felt moved.

Li Gang usually appeared hard and utterly without warmth. Who could have imagined he valued this emperor so deeply in his heart?

Look how happy he was after seeing him!

He covered his mouth in surprise. Tears surged into his eyes, and he could not even speak!

Earlier, he had ignored Qinzong not because he did not care, but because he had heard imaginary voices too many times and did not dare believe this was real!

Even knowing they returned today, fear of approaching home kept him from visiting, so he numbed himself with work!

Heavens, what divine affection between ruler and minister!

Waaaaah, beloved minister, I will treat you well from now on!!!

Crystal tears emerged from Huizong’s eyes, softening his expression. He stepped forward and called in a trembling voice, “Boji…”

Li Gang’s fist answered him.

Caught unprepared, Huizong took the punch and fell heavily. Before he could recover, Li Gang raised a foot and ground it forcefully into his face!

“Damned Jin dog! You harmed our Emperors Qinzong and Huizong, yet dare impersonate the Two Sons of Heaven and attempt to disrupt Great Song’s imperial succession. Your heart deserves execution!”

Huizong: “????”

Qinzong: “????”

The two froze, staring like wooden donkeys.

Li Gang did not freeze. He ordered the attendants to gag them and escort them into the palace. Then, tears streaming and his face filled with agony, he said, “Go into the capital and tell Marshal Zong and the others that two Jin dogs have arrived. The Two Sovereigns were already murdered by the Jin… Puhahahahahahaha!!!!!”

Huizong: “?????”

Qinzong: “?????”