Chapter Eleven: The Number One of Great Song

  Kaifeng, Jingle Hall.

  Song Emperor Shenzong wore a Tongtian crown on his head, dressed in imperial robes, with his eyebrows furrowed together into a "川" shape. He paced back and forth restlessly, his face alternating between indignation and worry, constantly changing between anxiety and anger.

  Eunuch Shao Jing stood quietly beside him, sizing up Emperor Song Zong, wanting to speak but stopping himself several times, with a look of reverence on his face.

  Having followed Emperor Song for a long time, he understood him well. Whenever the emperor looked like this, it meant he was furious. Although an emperor should not show his emotions and maintain a majestic demeanor, humans do get angry, and emperors are no exception. Once Emperor Song got angry, he would lose his temper, and he didn't dare to provoke him further.

  Bang! Bang!

  There was only the sound of Emperor Song's footsteps in the house. Emperor Song was so angry that his footsteps were particularly heavy, and every step he took would make a loud noise, like thunder.

  Shao Jiu heard it in his ears, and was startled in his heart. Every time the footsteps of Emperor Song Zong sounded, it seemed as if they were not treading on the ground, but rather trampling on his heart, and he couldn't help but feel a sudden chill.

  "Sir... sir's house, I'm taking a risk, dare to ask what makes you worried?" Shao Jiu Chang took a deep breath and finally gathered the courage to ask carefully.

  "Hmmph!"

  Song Shen-zong did not speak, but instead let out a heavy cold hum, like a sudden thunderclap on a clear day.

  Shao Jiu heard it in his ears, was shocked in his heart, and couldn't help but tremble. He forcibly endured it, only then did he not lose face.

  "The day of the handover of the imperial seal is approaching, isn't it?" Song Shen-zong suddenly stopped, his eyes bursting with a fierce light, like the scorching sun in the sky, his aura surging, like a volcano on the verge of eruption.

  "Reporting to the official's residence, it's almost time for the annual New Year's gift exchange. After the new year begins..." Shao Jiuqiang replied cautiously, suppressing his shock.

  "Paper money, paper money, the shame of Great Song!" The voice of Emperor Song Zong suddenly rose, somewhat shrill and piercing to the ear. His face turned iron-green, his fists clenched tightly, over-exerting himself, his hands turned pale green, his dragon body slightly trembling, he was furious to the extreme.

  "Since the Three Kings and Five Emperors, China has never been so humiliated!" Emperor Song's voice was shrill and piercing, several degrees higher than that of eunuch Shao Jiu: "The Great Song will be ridiculed for its annual tribute, it will definitely be laughed at by future generations! Future generations will scold the Great Song for being incompetent! Shame! Shame!"

  Shao Jiu swallowed a mouthful of saliva, hesitated for a moment, and said with some trepidation: "Your Excellency, please calm your anger! The matter of the annual tribute is indeed a humiliation for the Great Song, a laughingstock for others. But Han Gao couldn't defeat the Xiongnu, so he had to lower his head and surrender, sending gifts and women to the Xiongnu. The Great Song has not yet sent any women, it hasn't been as humiliated as Han Gao."

  Han Gao refers to Han Gaozu Liu Bang. He was besieged by the Xiongnu chanyu Modun in Pingcheng, and after returning to the court, he began to implement a policy of peace and marriage, sending large amounts of wealth and beautiful women to the Xiongnu. This is the most shameful page in Chinese history.

  "What do you understand?"

  Emperor Song's eyes suddenly widened, staring at Shao Jiu, and he shouted loudly: "Han Gao compromised to buy time for the restoration of the Great Han. Emperors Wen and Jing rested and rejuvenated, restored national strength, and Emperor Wu avenged his hatred and defeated the Xiongnu! The Chanyuan Treaty was also a compromise with the Liao State to buy time for the Song Dynasty. However, the Song Dynasty has many problems that need to be reformed and renovated, eliminating accumulated ills and strengthening national power, in order to avenge the shame of the Chanyuan Treaty. I want to reform vigorously, strike down the Liao State, eliminate Western Xia, wash away the shame, and unify China. But the officials in the court do not share my mind, Sima Guang, Fu Bi, Han Qi, and Lu Gongzhu, they all oppose the new law with one heart, and hypocritically call it 'loyalty to the country'! Bullshit!"

  His words are like thunder, with a shocking and heart-moving power that is already astonishing.

  What made Shao Jiu even more shocked and frightened was that Emperor Song actually burst out with a foul mouth.

  The emperor burst into foul language, which was rarely seen. Shao Jiu seemed to have been struck by lightning, and he was stunned, not knowing what to say.

  Just as Shao Jiu was surprised, Song Shen Zong's voice stabilized and his expression calmed down: "The national strength is not strong, and it cannot be avenged. Paying tribute, sending women, calling oneself a vassal, and compromising to survive are also a strategy. Han Gaoxu made peace through marriage, the previous dynasty called itself a vassal, although it was humiliating, but they all avenged their shame!"

  Han Gaozu implemented the policy of peace and kinship, stabilizing the Xiongnu, and gave the Han Dynasty time to recover its national strength. By the time of Emperor Wu of Han, he defeated the Xiongnu, avenging past humiliations, earning widespread praise.

  When Li Yuan rose in rebellion at Taiyuan, he sought to stabilize the situation with the Turks by declaring himself a vassal of the Turks and gaining their support. This greatly increased his strength and gave him a stable rear flank, which played a crucial role in the establishment of the Tang Dynasty.

  At the beginning of Emperor Taizong of Tang's reign, Yi'nan Khan led a large army of 100,000 soldiers to the Wei River and attempted to extort money from him, but was defeated by Emperor Taizong.

  These were shameful, and Emperor Taizong of Tang was determined to wipe out the shame. He actively prepared for it, and eventually, Li Jing launched a surprise attack on Yin Mountain at night, defeating the Turks in a magnificent feat, thus washing away the shame of the Tang Dynasty.

  "The alliance of the deep pool, although the Song Dynasty lost the annual tribute, still had a few points of face. That was a gift, brotherly affection, without the dignity of monarch and subject. During the reign of Emperor Renzong, Fu Bi was an envoy, he could not argue strongly, and actually said that paying annual tribute was equivalent to presenting annual tribute. Listen, it's the word 'present', one word 'present' made the Song Dynasty lose all face! The voice of Emperor Shenzong, who had just calmed down, rose again: "This is a great shame, a great shame! If the Song Dynasty cannot clear this shame, it will be ridiculed by future generations! I must clear this shame!"

  After a brief pause, Song Shenong's face slightly distorted: "It is said that Han Wu was exhausted and brutal, cruel and inhumane, without regard for national strength. If I can avenge myself, how can I be cruel and inhumane?"

  The tone of this sentence is not high, but it is firm and unshakeable.

  "With this ambition, you will surely wash away the shame of the great Song and restore the prosperity of the Han and Tang dynasties!" Shao Jiu knew about Emperor Song's ambition and hastily consoled him: "Your Majesty, please calm down! Anger hurts the body. Your Majesty should take care of your dragon body, there will be a day for revenge!"

  "The day of the annual tribute payment is approaching, and the Khitan people will surely cause trouble before the handover, trying to get me to increase the tribute. Hmph! Who can help me foil the Khitan's sinister plot this time?"

  Song God Emperor faced north, his eyes flashing with divine light, and he was lost in thought.

  Every time the New Year's Eve is approaching, Liao will make trouble, send envoys to extort, dispatch troops to attack, and use all available means, which makes the Song Dynasty headache.

  Just then, a eunuch hastily came in, handed a copper tube to Shao Jiu, and quickly retreated. Shao Jiu took it over, pulled out a stack of paper from the copper tube, held it high with both hands in front of his forehead, and said: "Report to the official residence, there is a major secret matter."

  "Speak." Song Shen Zong did not turn his head back but replied coldly.

  "It's about Wu Ji," replied Shao Jiu hastily.

  "Ah!" Emperor Song Shenzong exclaimed, very interested, turned around, took the secret report, unfolded it and took a look. His eyes widened in surprise and he said: "Tsk! This Wu Jie is interesting, very interesting, extremely interesting!"

  Song Emperor just scolded his eldest son severely, and Shao Jiu wanted to please him, so he smiled and asked: "May I ask, Your Majesty, what do you mean?"

  "Look! Look!"

  Song Emperor smiled with joy, waving the secret report in his hand: "This Wu Ji not only has courage and wisdom, knows how to adapt to changing circumstances, can control the enemy's situation, and is quite skilled at training soldiers. Do you know how he trains his soldiers? The gunners no longer play tricks with their guns, but instead practice thrusting and stabbing, which conforms to the principles of war. He also wants all soldiers to practice hand-to-hand combat and archery. The soldiers of the Great Song Dynasty have a single way of fighting, I've wanted to change this for a long time, but it hasn't been implemented yet, he's taken the lead in doing so, hmm, not bad! Not bad!"

  Emperor Song Shenzong was overjoyed and praised Wu Jie highly. However, the most impressive thing was yet to come. He looked at Shaoling and smiled: "Wu Jie did something that made Pan Mei and Cao Bin ashamed! He abolished the 'Hui Yi', not a single soldier was kept! What he abolished was indeed the 'Hui Yi'! The 'Hui Yi' originated in the Five Dynasties period, when the world was in chaos, there was no military salary, and it had to be implemented to meet military needs. Taizu ascended to the throne and wanted to abolish it but failed. Even famous generals like Pan Mei and Cao Bin could not avoid the 'Hui Yi'. Wu Jie, a small commander of a camp, actually abolished the 'Hui Yi', what great courage! What great courage!"

  "Haha!" Song Shen-zong was extremely delighted and burst out laughing loudly.

  The origin of the Huiyi system dates back to a long time ago. Throughout the Song Dynasty, emperors and famous generals wanted to abolish it, but none succeeded until the end of the dynasty. Not only was it not abolished, but it became even more intense. Wu Zhen's abolition of the Huiyi system is worthy of great praise.

  "Shao Jiu, do you know what this means? This is the first of Great Song! The first of Great Song!"

  Emperor Song Shenzong's face lit up with joy, and he gave a thumbs-up: "This matter alone is enough for me to issue an imperial edict of praise. However, I won't issue the edict yet. If Wu Jie can achieve great merit in this dispute over the annual grant, I will reward him together!"