"I'm such a fool, truly."

Lu Haowen, the esteemed Chancellor Lu, stood on the summit of the small mountain fort, hands clasped before him, gazing towards a gentle slope on the southern flank of Mount Bagong. A distinct sorrow marked his otherwise stern expression...

There, in a place beyond the full reach of Lu Haowen's vision, Zhao Song's Emperor sat motionless in full armor before a row of wooden poles newly adorned with human heads. Behind the Emperor, separated by the poles and heads, stood sixty or seventy Western Army officers who had endured military floggings yet now held rewards, standing at attention. On either side were two hundred fully armored Imperial Guards. The Zhao Emperor, with this entire retinue, sat in silence, overseeing the distribution of rewards to the entire army.

"I naively believed the Emperor would stop after executing Liu Guangshi yesterday, but I never imagined he would be so brutal today!" Lu Chancellor remained unwilling to turn back, gaining nothing but a sense of order from the scene below. Instead, he continued his self-reproach.

Standing behind Chancellor Lu was the Censor-in-Chief, Zhang Jun, styled De Yuan. Hearing this, he initially intended to remain silent, but something, perhaps the recent events that had severely affected him, prevented him from holding back.

"Chancellor Lu, why deceive yourself? The Emperor's actions were foreshadowed. At noon today, before the Emperor's tent, not only you and I, but even Chancellor Wang and the others suspected as much... But we were all powerless to prevent it!"

This time, it was Lu Haowen's turn to be silent.

And Zhang Jun, having shattered the pretense and reserve expected of an elite scholar-official, took full advantage of the absence of others to speak without restraint: "Of the four key ministers in the 行在 (Xingzai, temporary capital), Chancellor Wang and Grand Commandant Wang had already stumbled badly at the Mingdao Palace. Although they had somewhat recovered in the past few days by exploiting Li Chancellor's (Li Gang's) illness, they are now utterly powerless after last night's events, reduced to careful and obsequious behavior before the Emperor! As for me, I achieved early success solely through the Emperor's patronage. Without his strong support, I fear I wouldn't even hold this position as Censor-in-Chief, and would have been easily disposed of by any Chancellor! Only Chancellor Lu..."

"Only me what?" Lu Haowen turned around helplessly, looking utterly dispirited. "I am someone who was also dealt with by Chancellor Li in the past. I was almost about to leave 行在 (Xingzai, temporary capital) then, no longer involved in the central government. If the Emperor hadn't fallen into the well, and his temperament hadn't changed, seeking an experienced Chancellor..."

"Never mind the falling into the well, let's just say that Chancellor Lu, you are not only the only Eastern Secretariat Chancellor here in 行在 (Xingzai, temporary capital), but also from a family of Chancellors and a renowned scholar of Neo-Confucianism. If anyone here could slightly restrain the Emperor, it would be only you." Zhang Jun's words were sincere, even urging Lu Haowen to step forward.

"Do I cherish my Chancellor's position so much?" Lu Haowen, forced into a corner, finally stated his position. "If the country were peaceful and stable, with everyone vying for power, I would have long abandoned this position to become a Prefect and then gracefully resign to focus on my studies at home. But isn't the country facing imminent peril? The Jurchens are right across the river, and the situation is precarious. If the Emperor and 行在 (Xingzai, temporary capital) are not at peace, I cannot abandon the central government!"

Zhang Jun was momentarily speechless… But wasn't he fully aware that this was precisely the Emperor's strategy? To take advantage of Chancellor Lu's good nature as a moralistic gentleman. Otherwise, wouldn't Xu Da and Zhang Shu, who were sent to Huaidong and behind to handle affairs, be too unfairly treated!

"The Emperor's original intention was to create a small situation in Shouzhou, enticing a small main force of the Jurchen army to come here, defend it in person, without annihilating the enemy, nor achieve a major or minor victory, only to have the Jurchen army exhaust itself and retreat on its own. This would let the world know that the Jurchen army is not invincible, and our army is not incapable of fighting, which would slightly boost morale and calm the people's hearts!" After a long pause, Zhang Jun spoke, proactively defending Zhao Jiu. "It wasn't for executing Liu Guangshi last night and personally killing deserters today!"

"Is there any difference?" Lu Haowen became even more disheartened. "Is the country's decline to its current state something that can be remedied overnight? Even if Shouzhou is currently untenable, even without Liu Guangshi's matter, even if Shouzhou were defended, so what? If defended, the morale would certainly improve, but what if the Jurchen army prepares a large army, a hundred thousand strong, and comes again? The fundamental issue of the country's turmoil lies in the instability of 行在 (Xingzai, temporary capital). Instead of striving for a moment of glory here, why not establish a foothold in Nanyang or Yangzhou as soon as possible! Once established, morale will naturally rise!"

"But can't we say that the Emperor is doing something useless for the country?" Zhang Jun asked, pointing to the scene at the mountainside.

"It's not useless." Lu Haowen turned to Zhang Jun, took his hand, and said, "It's making us useless… Now that the country is collapsing, bandits are rising, and the imperial army is incompetent, would anything the Emperor does make the situation worse? But the key is that the Emperor's actions are choosing personal impulse over the overall situation; choosing military officials over civil officials; choosing self-interest over public interest..."

"How can you say it's self-interest?" Zhang Jun was momentarily puzzled and couldn't help but interrupt him. "Since the Emperor's exile, he hasn't even used a bite of ginger or fermented soybeans, and his diet is simple beyond imagination. Now, he is personally facing danger, personally luring the enemy to reorganize the army, and is completely different from the two Emperors..."

"But Zhao Song's bloodline now only consists of him!" Lu Haowen exhaled a white breath and suddenly interrupted him. "If he's gone, Zhao Song will truly perish!"

Zhang Jun was immediately speechless.

"In the eyes of this Emperor, there is only himself: gathering troops, tying up generals, and winning over the people. If he succeeds, it will all be his credit; but if he fails, the world will be buried with him!" Lu Haowen's eyes filled with tears as he spoke. "Abandoning a proper path, abandoning the ancestral system and family laws, acting arbitrarily is only because if the path were successful, it would be to the credit of the Chancellors, and it wouldn't have much to do with him, right? Before falling into the well, he was so selfish, but it was selfish in a cowardly way. After falling into the well, I once thought he had changed, but unexpectedly, in just a few months, the old habits resurfaced, only in another kind of selfishness, the so-called selfishness in recklessness!"

Zhang Jun couldn't refute it and could only hold the other's hand, comforting him in a low voice: "Chancellor Lu, the Emperor is young after all, and suffering such a great change, it's normal for his mood to be unbalanced... Even for us, after experiencing the Jingkang Incident and escaping from Tokyo, haven't we changed our previous character?"

"It's different." Lu Haowen sighed again. "I am old and declining, incompetent in my duties, and rose through inherited privilege, without great ambitions. After suffering this great change, I can only use my seniority and reputation to help the Emperor patch things up as much as possible. But you are not even thirty years old. In the past, it would have been a blessing to be a seventh-rank official in the capital, and everything is possible in the future... Therefore, De Yuan must listen to me: the ability to recognize people, employ people, store experience, and gain staff members, all of these can come slowly, but you must have your own opinions, your own convictions, and your own decisions. Otherwise, even if you enter the Eastern and Western Secretariats and become a Chancellor, you will only end up like me!"

Zhang Jun was immensely grateful but forgot that he originally wanted to persuade the Eastern Secretariat Chancellor to step forward, but now he was infected by the other.

Chancellor Lu's words became even more agitated, and he continued to grab the other's hands and said, "De Yuan, it's useless for you and me to say more now. It's just that the military situation is dangerous, and the Emperor is acting arbitrarily, and it looks like we can't persuade him to retreat. But if the Jurchen army really crosses the river and causes chaos, I am old and weak and afraid it will be difficult to escape Mount Bagong. At that time, nothing else matters, only the documents I carry with me in 行在 (Xingzai, temporary capital) are my meticulous work of many years. Starting tonight, I will entrust them to you to keep safe, not to promote them, but only hope that you can sort them out for me in the future..."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Jun was almost moved to tears.

The two senior ministers, a hundred times smarter than Zhao Jiu, held hands with tears in their eyes on the small fort on the summit, sincerely discussing the broken rivers and mountains, the fate of the country, the future of the individuals, and entrusting the future, seemingly developing from a temporary political alliance towards a friendship of forgetful years. However, before the two could say more and settle this admirable friendship between feudal scholar-officials, suddenly, there was a commotion at the mountainside, apparently something had happened, startling the two to quickly let go and send Imperial Guards to ask, only to learn that the Jurchens had taken the opportunity to cross the river!

Even the two, who declared themselves the pillars of the Great Song, couldn't help but panic at this moment… This is not their fault. In fact, even Zhao Jiu, who had recently been 'bursting with heroic spirit' on the mountainside, was terrified and unable to control himself, otherwise he wouldn't have caused the commotion.

However, when the two, disregarding everything, hurriedly set off and arrived at the mountainside, they found that the Zhao Emperor had personally led Chancellor Wang, Grand Commandant Wang, and a group of generals and core elites to the foot of the mountain. The two, horrified and yet not surprised, hurriedly caught up again, only to hear a cheer like a mountain roar and tsunami erupting from the wilderness east of the mountain foot ferry.

The two key officials of 行在 (Xingzai, temporary capital) inquired again and learned the details.

It turned out that the Jurchens had no organized ferries at all, nor could they have been fully prepared to cross the river. But the Jurchen commander, the Fourth Prince of Jin, Wuzhu, personally came, noticed the unusual movements in Henan, and then personally stood on the river embankment on the north bank and issued a military order to cross the river for reconnaissance. The Jurchen scouts, relying on their arrogance in recent years, and wanting to show off their prestige in front of the commander, brazenly crossed the river on two small boats they had somehow found!

There were only twenty or thirty people!

As for Zhao Jiu, after learning the specific information, he naturally regained his composure, then personally went down the mountain, and then took the opportunity to summon Wang De, pointing at the boat and promising him the position of Imperial Camp Commander, wanting to see what Wang Yacha could do!

And who was Wang De? He dared to kick the camp and arrest people even when the Jurchen army was a hundred thousand strong. How could he fear only twenty or thirty people today? He immediately mounted his horse, didn't use a large army, didn't use bows and crossbows, but under the watchful eyes of the crowd, led dozens of his own personal troops out of the fort, and on the frozen, hard river bank, he beat a dozen Jurchen soldiers who dared to land alive on the shore with melee combat, shocking the boat behind them to turn around directly from the river and go back!

And the Song army rarely gathered together for a riotous cheering session.

Lu Haowen and Zhang Jun were soaked with fright, looking at each other speechlessly... On the other side of the river, someone who remotely saw this scene and waited for the report was also stunned.

"The people on the boat that escaped back said that Wang Yacha was on the other side. I have nothing to say about the death of a boatload of people, but they said they saw the Emperor's entourage on the other side of the river. The new Zhao Song Emperor didn't run at all, and Wang Yacha was ordered to fight..." Wuzhu sat on his horse and stood on the river bank for a while, then couldn't help but turn around and ask a Song defector beside him, "Is it true?"

"He probably didn't run." The defector beside him was originally a Vice Prefect of Jingdong East Road, and was now in favor, and because he was not afraid of hardship along the way, pointing out roads, cities, and granaries, he had become a Staff Officer. Hearing this, he naturally quickly explained, "First, our Great Jin's advance is rapid. In haste, the Song army can hardly do a complete cover-up; second, Fourth Prince, please look there… On the northern hills of Mount Bagong opposite, is there a flag standing high?"

"What about the flag?" Wuzhu was momentarily puzzled.

"To inform the Fourth Prince, anyone with common sense should recognize that it is the Jin Wu Dao Shao, which is exclusively used for the Emperor's retinue. The Dragon Flag is here, which means that the Zhao Song Emperor must also be here!" The man quickly explained, "The two corroborate each other, which further proves that the Zhao Song Emperor didn't run… Allow me to congratulate the Fourth Prince here first!"

Wuzhu was stunned for a moment, then suddenly waved his hand behind him: "Cut this bastard's throat!"

The man was stunned for a moment, but before he could react, Jurchen soldiers stepped forward, grabbed the man on horseback, easily cut his throat with a knife, and the man struggled for a moment, then immediately fell from his horse.

Wuzhu didn't even look at the still twitching body under the horse, but shook his head repeatedly: "These Song people only know how to show off… What does it mean that anyone with common sense should recognize it? I don't recognize it, so what? Falling into the land of a subjugated defector, still showing off, truly laughable!"

After speaking, he turned around and returned to camp, leaving only the defector's corpse, who didn't even know why he died, freezing on the river bank.

ps: Happy New Year everyone! I woke up at 4:45 PM, what about you guys?