Chapter 9: A Gamble Between Heaven and Earth

  Several days after the list of successful candidates in the imperial examination was posted, on a clear morning when the white mist in the bamboo forest of the Imperial Academy had not yet dispersed, Pei Xuezheng, the supervisor of the National University, hastily found Zhao Xingde who was practicing archery and said, "His Majesty has an edict, ordering Zhao Xingde, a student of the Imperial Academy, to go to the Mingguang Hall in the White Jade Palace for an audience."

  "It's finally here!" With the opportunity to meet the current emperor, Li Ruobing was able to plead his case and explain the pros and cons. Zhao Xingde suppressed the excitement in his heart, hastily packed up his luggage, and under the envious gaze of many Taixue scholars, he rode a high carriage brought by a eunuch who delivered the imperial edict to the front of the White Jade Palace. After passing through layers of guards, bathing and changing clothes, he was finally led by a eunuch to a side hall to wait for an audience with the emperor.

  In the side hall, there were still many officials waiting to be summoned by the emperor. Some had white hair and beard, while others were in their prime, wearing colorful official robes, sitting upright with their eyes cast down, observing the eunuch leading a man named Zhao Xingde into the hall. The man was dressed in a plain, somewhat worn-out Confucian robe. Many people's eyes showed surprise, but they restrained themselves from asking about his background due to etiquette. A few people saw that he was young and thought he must be a civilian scholar summoned by the imperial family, their faces showing disdain.

  It was a great honor for scholars to be summoned by the imperial family, and Zhao Xingde had thought so at first. However, upon seeing over a dozen high-ranking officials waiting in the side hall, he realized how wrong he was. The Song Dynasty was the largest country in the world, with a population of over 60 million and countless officials. Emperor Zhao Yu summoned hundreds of people every day, and as a humble scholar, it was already difficult for him to exchange a few words with the emperor. To speak more and even move the emperor with his words would be as difficult as ascending to heaven.

  Only the eunuchs who were waiting on the officials next door didn't even give him a glance, and there wasn't even a single embroidered stool for him to sit on while he waited. This made him realize his position in the official's mind. If he had followed his usual humble and courteous way of dealing with things, he would have just stood there waiting, but today was different.

  "Ahem—" Zhao Xingde coughed awkwardly, his face somewhat embarrassed, and bowed to the eunuch beside him: "This humble official's legs are a bit weak under the mighty power of Your Excellency; might I be granted a stool to sit upon?"

  His words were soft, but every word was sonorous. The eunuch in charge neither agreed nor disagreed. Since he had been on duty in the side hall of the White Jade Palace, he had arranged seats for waiting officials, first according to their ranks and second according to his own preferences. For low-ranking officials, even those without official positions like Zhao Xingde, to dare ask for a seat was unprecedented.

  In front of the emperor, even the prime minister has no seat, this is a rule set by Emperor Taizu. However, whether officials have seats when waiting for an audience with the emperor or not, there is no fixed rule. After all, eunuchs are just household slaves of the emperor, if courtiers use this to attack and criticize, the imperial family will only kill one or two scapegoats depending on their mood.

  The eunuch's face changed several times, and under the gaze of the waiting officials, he finally instructed a small eunuch to bring over an embroidered stool for Zhao Xingru to sit on. Zhao Xingde thanked him and sat down comfortably.

  Since the Han dynasty, when Zhang Rang and others of the Ten Constant Attendants disrupted the government, the calamity of eunuchs reached its peak in the Tang dynasty. Therefore, this court's vigilance against eunuchs far surpasses that of previous dynasties. Civil officials, known as scholar-officials, who govern the world together with the emperor, also have a deep-seated aversion to eunuchs. However, the current emperor's heavy reliance on powerful eunuchs such as Liang Shi and Tong Guan, who hold power in their hands and enjoy imperial favor, has made even the Chancellor Cai Jing unwilling to easily offend them. As a result, many mid-to-low-ranking eunuchs have become arrogant, which has intensified the psychology of unity against a common enemy among civil officials who are not part of the eunuch faction.

  At this moment, Zhao Xingde is doing such a thing. In the eyes of several officials who are waiting to cast towards Zhao Xingde, there is a hint of friendliness. The textual eunuch Liang Shizhong, known as "Hidden Prime Minister" for drafting imperial edicts, learned about this and warned his subordinates: "The young can be feared, you should yield."

  An incense stick of time had passed, and Zhao Xingde and the other officials were all respectfully waiting for the emperor's summons, but not a single official was called in. Everyone was putting on a brave face. The dry air in the hall carried the scent of cosmetics and flowers. An hour had passed, and the cool breeze rustled, making Zhao Xingde feel drowsy.

  Inside the Baiyu Palace's Chongwen Hall, all the inner attendants were dismissed and the guards stood outside. Emperor Zhao Yu was discussing matters with his officials. The six people present were Chancellor Cai Jing, Assistant Director of Political Affairs Zhao Zhi-fu, Imperial Secretary Wang Fu, Deputy Imperial Secretary Li Bang-yen, Commander of the Imperial Guard Tong Guan, and Shen Yun, the official in charge of the imperial city, all of whom were Emperor Zhao Yu's most trusted confidants.

  "The Khitan envoy, Yelü Daishi, is extremely rude and often speaks disrespectfully of our dynasty. For decades, the Liao State has been recruiting barbarian tribes as its vassals, and in the 16 states beyond the mountains, they have been replacing the original Han Chinese generals with Northern Chancellor's Khitan soldiers. If our dynasty does not launch a northern campaign against Youyan, I fear that soon they will invade Hebei." Shen Yun, the official in charge of the Imperial City, spoke with a face that was always stern and unyielding in front of other officials and subordinates, but when he stood before Zhao Yu, his expression seemed "woodenly honest". Yelü Daishi was a man of great cunning, and apart from refusing to kneel during the Dragon Boat Festival, which had offended Zhao Yu, he had not made any drastic moves. But in Shen Yun's words, the more he described Yelü Daishi as being full of rebellious bones, the more it pleased Zhao Yu's heart.

  The official frowned, and Zhao Zifu, the participant in political affairs, said: "Although the Liao people are poor and militaristic, among the Liao people, the Khitan tribe is not the majority. In addition to the Khitan tribe, there are many other tribes in the country. In recent years, the Khitans have become more brutal and cruel, and the various barbarian tribes within their country have long been dissatisfied, but they dare not rebel due to the accumulated prestige of the Khitans. Recently, an envoy from the Wanyan Department of the Jurchen tribe in Liao Dong came to the capital, hoping that our dynasty would provide grain, grass, and soldiers from the sea route. The Jurchen tribe is willing to form an alliance with our dynasty to resist the Liao people and hold down the Khitans for our dynasty."

  After Zhao Zifu finished speaking, he glanced at Chancellor Cai Jing unintentionally. Although the two were mutually opposed on the court, they belonged to the same New Party and were consistent in promoting the Northern Song Dynasty's recovery of Youyan. Recently, the Wanyan tribe in the hinterland of Liao hoped to get assistance from the Song Dynasty, Zhao Zifu and Cai Jing had also explored and communicated with each other in different occasions. At this time, Cai Jing remained silent, neither speaking out in support nor opposing it.

  "Oh? Is this really the case?" Zhao You felt interested, he had a talent for remembering everything he saw, and after closing his eyes for a moment, he asked: "The Ryukyu and Japanese envoys said that there are barbarians calling themselves Jurchen who crossed the sea in small boats, roamed along the coast, plundered goods, kidnapped men and women as slaves, and many coastal residents were killed or injured. The Goryeo envoy also reported that the Jurchen tribe had repeatedly crossed the Yalu River to plunder grain. Is this the same thing as what the Prime Minister said about the three vassal states being harassed by the Jurchen tribes?"

  "What's this?" Grand Councilor Zhao Zifu's face showed an awkward expression. He knew that the northern barbarians were all of a tiger-wolf nature, but he hadn't expected that the Jurchen-led Jin would actually seize control over Ryukyu, Japan, and Goryeo - these few vassal states that still paid homage to the Song Dynasty. He didn't dare speak up for the Wanyan tribe, so he said: "From what I saw when I was a young envoy to Liao, there were many Jurchen tribes, and this Wanyan tribe is just one of them."

  Zhao You hummed discontentedly.

  At this time, Chancellor Cai Jing slowly opened his slightly closed eyes and said slowly: "Your Majesty, the so-called Di Hu Man Yi are all human-faced beasts. This is what people commonly know. Although Zhao Xiang was temporarily neglectful of the inferiority of the Wanyan Department, his intention was to use barbarians to control barbarians, which is still acceptable. If that Jurchen tribe were not fierce and brutal, they would not be enough to be the enemy of the Liao people."

  "What do you think we should do about this matter?" Emperor Zhao Yu asked Grand Chancellor Cai Jing with a hint of courtesy.

  "In my humble opinion, the Khitan and Jurchen are both barbarians. Although our court has provided some military aid and supplies to the Jurchen, we must be cautious not to let them grow too powerful, lest they become like a tiger that devours everything in its path, leaving us to suffer the consequences.

  Cai Jing spoke slowly, "The current plan is to use grain, grass, and military equipment to support the Jurchen, but also to control them with these same resources. Whenever the Jurchen tribe gains the upper hand in their conflicts with the Khitan, we will cut off our supplies, preventing them from expanding their power. On the other hand, if they are struggling, we will increase our aid, thereby allowing us to sit back and watch as these two barbarian tribes exhaust themselves in battle.

  If the Jurchen tribe in Liao's Dongjing Road were to engage in a protracted war, the Liao court would be exhausted from responding to the northeast, inevitably leaving the Nanjing Road and Youyan regions empty. At that time, it would be our court's opportunity to strategize and take control of Youyan."

  Cai Jing said this, and Zhao Yu finally praised: "Prime Minister Cai is indeed a national strategy." He also asked, "Sun Tzu's Art of War says that an army of 100,000 men costs 1,000 taels of gold per day. If I intend to launch a northern expedition against Youyan, how much money and grain do we need to prepare?"

  Li Bangyan, the deputy envoy of the Privy Council, saw through Zhao You's intentions and cupped his hands in respect: "Your Majesty need not worry about the matter of money and grain. The imperial court has a standing army of 830,000 soldiers. Although the cost of maintaining them is as high as over 70 million strings of cash coins during peacetime, since they are all recruited soldiers, even if there is no war, the supply of food and seasonal rewards cannot be cut off. In case of war, only some military equipment will be consumed." He paused for a moment, seeing Zhao You nod slightly, he put his heart at ease and smiled: "The imperial court maintains its army for a thousand days, but if there is no war, it would be a waste of money and grain to have idle soldiers."

  Li Bangyan's tone was somewhat frivolous, and Zhao Zifu's eyebrows furrowed slightly, but he knew that the imperial court always wanted to create a prosperous scene, and had long intended to launch a northern expedition. Now that they had encountered the Khitan envoy's defiance, it seemed that they were determined to punish the Khitan people. However, the imperial court was known for being lenient towards major matters while being strict towards minor ones. Zhao Zifu spoke up to remind them: "The cost of maintaining troops and guarding the borders in Hebei is currently over 20 million guan. If the two countries go to war, I'm afraid the military expenses will increase by at least double."

  However, increasing the military expenses by 20 million guan was still within Zhao Yu's acceptable range. The cost of building the White Jade Palace alone would not be limited to this amount. Although the officials in charge of finance often said that income did not match expenditure, the southeastern provinces were rich and only needed one more tax increase for the money to come out. Then, Zhao Yu hesitated again and asked Wang Fu, the palace gatekeeper: "Since the Khitan people always harbor evil intentions, if our army takes the initiative to attack first, will the northern expedition to Youyan be able to withstand a battle?"