War years are marked by unexpectedly rapid changes.

For Wan Qixie and his party, it was just a trip to Guanxi, a mere thirty or forty days round trip. But upon their return, the sights along the way had changed drastically... For example, Luoyang, which had been deathly still when they passed through before, now showed signs of repair to the old city site, however slight. Although still desolate, it at least had a hint of life.

Not only that, it was said that the imperial tombs' ancestral halls had also been repaired to a certain extent, and Zhao Shi㒟, the Grand Clan Minister from Yangzhou, was currently offering sacrifices and mourning at the tombs.

As they entered the territory of Zhengzhou, this situation became even more evident, because the number and density of cooking smoke could not be faked.

Wan Qixie was well aware of the reason: the suppression of the rebellion in the Southeast had allowed the previously obstructed financial resources and materials from the Southeast to reach Tokyo along the canal... The Liangzhe and Fujian circuits, before the Jingkang Incident, had a total annual revenue of over twenty million strings of cash and goods. Even with the chaos since Jingkang and the recent consumption from suppressing the rebellion, it should still be at least ten million strings, on par with Bashu... And this wave of wealth, grain, and supplies, delayed for more than half a year, was estimated to be worth well over six million strings in total.

With money and grain, naturally everything was possible.

However, in addition to these tangible conditions, Wan Qiyuanzhong, with his intelligence and current status, vaguely sensed something else from this phenomenon, something he couldn't quite articulate, but which was definitely there.

And this something was constantly influencing the current situation.

It must be known that Wan Qixie, as a concerned party in Nanyang, had already seen it... The situation was so bad at the time, but once the newly enthroned emperor determined the location of the secondary capital, Nanyang was immediately flooded with a large number of dispersed officials, scholars, and merchants. Moreover, the situations in Jingxiang, Bashu, and the Southeast were all instantly affected by Nanyang, gradually tending towards stability.

The rebellions in various parts of the Southeast were pacified through offers of amnesty, Zhong Xiang of Dongting Lake became silent, and Fan Qiong, who possessed great power, could only surrender and be buried alive in a coffin as a warning to others.

It was the same now.

Although the Great Song faced the loss of northern Shaanxi, the emergence of the puppet Qi, and internal rebellions, and its military strength was still unquestionably inferior, coupled with the awkward location of Tokyo, all leading to a great deal of future uncertainty, after Zhao, the Emperor, sat firmly in the old capital for several months, the overall situation rapidly moved towards stability.

It had a bit of a feeling of people's minds settling down.

However, Wan Qiyuanzhong, who was already considered a useful figure in the imperial court, was not pleased with this, because he always felt that so-called people's minds settling down might not be a good thing, because people's minds settling down could easily turn into people's minds becoming complacent... And precisely at this moment, the emperor sitting in Tokyo would absolutely not accept complacency.

Of course, these were all Wan Qixie's own idle thoughts along the way, just thinking about them. There wasn't even a shadow of it yet, and besides, previous events had already proved that with the Jin people in front, you couldn't just settle down if you wanted to.

Getting back to the present, on the last day of mid-May, Wan Qixie, who had been rushing along with someone, finally managed to return to Tokyo. And seemingly reflecting his thoughts, an unbelievable thing happened: he actually encountered a traffic jam in Tokyo.

It really was a traffic jam. Wan Qixie and his people entered the outer city through the Xinzheng Gate in the west, which was fine, but after entering the inner city, they encountered a series of long convoys at the intersection of West Street and Chongming Gate, getting stuck on the spot.

Objectively speaking, this kind of thing would have been absolutely commonplace six or seven years ago. At that time, Tokyo was packed with over a million permanent residents, and high-ranking officials were as numerous as hairs, so carriages and ceremonial guards naturally filled the streets and alleys. Moreover, the freight vehicles needed to transport supplies to support a million people also required an unbelievable number.

But now, it was unusual.

"Whose grand procession is this?"

Wan Qixie, only leading his horse, casually summoned a shop assistant who had come out from a nearby building to watch the commotion.

"Has Your Honor just arrived in Tokyo?" The shop assistant, hearing this, showed that he knew his stuff, recognizing at a glance that Wan Qixie and his party were proper officials coming to the capital, so he spoke frankly. "Then naturally you wouldn't know the reason. After Grand Commandant Yue quelled the rebellion in the Southeast, several wealthy families in Yangzhou heard that the emperor had returned to Tokyo, and they also had the idea of returning to their hometowns, so they accompanied the army here... The leaders include the Grand Clan Minister, the Kangxiao Prince of the Zhao family, the family of Consort Pan, the Plum Blossom Han family of Xiangzhou, and the family of the deceased Empress Xing... And the ones blocking the road here are precisely the Pan family and the Plum Blossom Han family. Their old residences are close to each other. The Han family went first, but the Pan family couldn't wait and just cut in line, which made them seem even more imposing. Moreover, there are also many people coming from West Street today, but no one dares to stop these two families from proceeding, so it has become blocked at this intersection."

Wan Qiyuanzhong stroked his beard and smiled.

"When a nation declines, there must be monsters!"

But before Wan Qiyuanzhong could smile, a red-faced, brocade-clad man who had not dismounted spoke out angrily in the street, his voice so loud that it immediately attracted the attention of everyone on the street. "Everywhere I look on my journey, even the imperial tombs in Xijing cannot be protected, yet they only care about mobilizing the masses to receive a concubine from Yangzhou? If she wants to come, she should have traveled lightly to show the virtue of the inner palace, but instead, she is acting like a fox borrowing the tiger's might, a dog relying on its master's power, blocking the road, and making a dignified state minister and a front-line general wait here in vain? Is there such a reason in the world?!"

The shop assistant, hearing this, immediately slipped back into his own building, while everyone on the street stared dumbfounded at this red-faced man.

But after a moment, unexpectedly, the previously unstoppable convoy actively split into two. Those who had already reached the intersection quickly crossed the street, while those who had not reached the intersection obediently stopped at the side of the road... Not only that, after a while, a young man and an elderly steward-like figure came out in person, announced their names, and spoke of feeling ashamed, and so on.

The red-faced man, who was Qu Duan, who had come to the capital 'to take up his post' and had only been untied after reaching Xijing, naturally snorted coldly and ignored them. And Wan Qixie, after casually reporting his name, also chuckled and said nothing.

Moreover, Wan Qiyuanzhong understood clearly in his heart that it wasn't that these prominent families had suddenly changed their nature after seeing the national crisis, but that it was the situation that dictated it.

It must be known that during the Jingkang Incident, when the Two Emperors were captured in the north, Empress Xing was also taken away. Consort Pan was not only one of the few proper female relatives left by the Emperor's side but also pregnant with the imperial seed, so there was once talk that she could be directly made empress. But in the end, Empress Xing's situation was unclear, so at the time, under the persuasion of the ministers, it did not happen.

And now, Empress Xing had been confirmed to have died, and it was said that even her coffin would be sent back soon. Although Consort Pan had lost an imperial seed, it was too common these days to not be able to raise children. On the contrary, because she had lost a child, she was greatly favored by the Emperor and was specially allowed to return to serve him... Therefore, as a result, things became very delicate, because Consort Pan's rank was far higher than everyone else in the harem!

Or rather, as the Emperor repeatedly disbanded palace servants and declined female companions, there were only Lady Wu and Consort Pan in the palace who had a proper status. And Lady Wu was young and of low rank, clearly no match for Consort Pan, so once the position of empress was discussed, it would almost certainly be Consort Pan's.

As for why it was almost and not certain, it was because, in addition to the Emperor's intentions and the seemingly unthreatening Lady Wu, Consort Pan had to face a truly powerful old enemy - the person who had strongly advised the newly enthroned emperor in Nanjing not to make Consort Pan empress was none other than Prime Minister Lü Haowen, the most stable figure in the Department of State Affairs.

In other words, the Pan family knew that the timing was sensitive, so they were pretending, and Wan Qixie also knew that the Pan family would never offend any ministers at this time, so he was fearless.

As for Qu Duan... to be honest, General Qu had figured it out along the way. This time, he would probably keep his life and his official position, but wanting to lead a force on the front line again was a pipe dream. He would probably be placed in a leisurely position to account for his old Guanxi troops... Therefore, General Qu was acting according to his nature and also had a "break the pot" mentality!

What does the Empress's family or the number one family in the world have to do with me?!

Enough idle talk, back to the present. In addition to some other thoughts, the most important thing was that Wan Qiyuanzhong had clearly performed meritorious service on this trip to the west, so he was self-assured. And Qu Da was determined not to give face to anyone. As a result, the two of them were so arrogant that they really didn't put the Pan family in their eyes. Despite the personal apologies from the Pan family's children and stewards, Wan Qixie only slightly cupped his hands in response, and then the two of them led their subordinates and followers and confidently passed through the Pan family's convoy, heading towards the old Department of State Affairs and the imperial city.

And after the two of them left, the Pan family, who had accumulated half a belly of anger, seeing that no one else dared to actively pass through the Pan family's carriages, continued to block West Street. Only countless idlers on the roadside watched the distant backs of Wan Qixie and Qu Duan, secretly sighing... Tokyo had only been lively for a few days, but unexpectedly, it had already fostered such extravagant figures.

Leaving aside this minor interlude, let's just say that Wan Qixie and Qu Duan turned south onto Imperial Street and entered the former site of the Department of State Affairs, which was jointly occupied by the Department of State Affairs and the Privy Council. However, they did not see Privy Council Vice-Envoy Wang Boyan and the two Prime Ministers of the Department of State Affairs. Only Liu Ziyu, the Chief Secretary of the Privy Council, was there handling military affairs... Since the He'yin incident, the two sides had become increasingly estranged, with only polite official business... However, this matter was ultimately of great importance. Although the central government had already received Yuwen Xuzhong's urgent report from Guanzhong via fast horse, the arrival of the main figures required a personal report to the Emperor. Liu Ziyu did not dare to neglect this and immediately sent the message into the palace.

Soon, an imperial edict came from the Xuande Gate, saying that several prime ministers and the Grand Commandant were discussing matters before the Emperor, and they should let Military Advisor Wan and Military Commissioner Qu directly enter the palace and consult on military affairs.

Everyone naturally had no objections. Only Qu Duan, who was truly gutsy, although it was his first time coming to the palace and his first time meeting the Emperor, walked all the way from the front of the Xuande Tower to the back of the Xuande Tower with his head held high and his posture imposing... In this state, he might continue to cause trouble when he met the Emperor and the several prime ministers and the Grand Commandant in person.

One can only say that he was worthy of being the man who had openly written poems ridiculing the entire Nanyang court and then bullied the entire Guanzhong region.

After entering the inner palace, they turned west at the Daqing Hall, a large courtyard with a bell tower and a drum tower guarding the Wende Hall, which was the place where people usually went to court and handle affairs. It was also the first place to be cleaned up. After entering the Wende Hall area, only the two of them could enter, and they also had to be searched and disarmed.

After the search, Wan Qixie was summoned to enter first, and Qu Duan remained waiting under the steps of the drum tower.

Of course, Qu Da was mentally prepared for this. The things he had done in Guanzhong were there for all to see. After coming here, he would ultimately not be regarded as one of their own by the central government... And at this time, thinking back, Qu Duan was somewhat regretful, but he did not show it on his face at all. Instead, he felt that since he had come here, he should be even more tough when he met the Emperor, to show his style. Otherwise, wouldn't he become a joke?

But just as Qu Duan was lost in thought, accompanied by the chirping of insects on a summer's day, suddenly, the sound of armor clashing broke the chirping of insects in front of the Wende Hall and interrupted Qu Duan's thoughts.

Could it be that they really want to kill me?

Qu Da became alert in his heart and then immediately lamented... Death is death. He had licked blood from the edge of a knife for twenty years. Was he really afraid of death? It was just a pity that the Iron Elephant had not been sent out in Guanzhong. It had followed him all the way here, but he wondered if it would be embezzled by that Wan Qiyuanzhong?

"Qu Da!"

Dozens of armored soldiers poured out from the hall and came to Qu Duan in front of the steps. The leader was of great stature but was wearing a brocade robe and a jade belt. From a distance, he shouted Qu Duan's nickname from above. "Do you still recognize me?"

Qu Duan was stunned for a long time... At first glance, he thought it was the Emperor himself who had come out to see him, but when the other party opened his mouth and heard that familiar accent, Qu Da suddenly realized that this must be Han Shizhong, the First General among current Martial Men and Grand Commandant with two Regional Military Commissioner positions, who was an old acquaintance from the Western Army, Han Wu.

However, these words did not seem like they were here to kill him, right?

"Grand Commandant Han." Facing such a figure, Qu Duan hesitated and reluctantly gave a formal salute.

"You still know to salute me, Han Wu?" Han Shizhong stood on the steps, sneering. "I heard people say that of the hundreds of thousands of mouths in our Western Army, those who died, those who left, those who fled, and those who disappeared, you've actually become the number one general in Guanzhong, isn't that a joke? What did the Emperor say, 'In the mountains where there are no tigers, wild cats call themselves kings'?"

Yang Yizhong, who was at the side, wanted to remind him to correct himself but was too lazy to say more. Qu Duan, who was under the steps, opened his mouth to speak, but facing this person, he really didn't know where to start to refute him.

"I'm not going to talk about the dead Liu Guangshi today, or the Old Grand Commandant Yang who is retiring in Yangzhou, and I'm not going to mention Zhang Jun, the petty person who is flattering the Emperor in the hall." Han Shizhong continued to sneer. "Today, the guards who came out with me are all experienced figures selected from the Western Army. In front of everyone, I ask you, just talking about Qu Da and Han Shizhong, who is one year older?"

Qu Duan pursed his lips and did not speak.

"I'm asking you!" Han Shizhong said coldly, holding his waistband. "Don't you even know the difference between big and small?"

"It's the Grand Commandant." Under the gaze of dozens of people on the steps, Qu Duan finally helplessly cupped his hands. "The Grand Commandant is one year older than me."

"Who joined the army earlier?"

"It's the Grand Commandant."

"Whose qualifications are deeper?"

"..." Qu Duan finally stopped speaking.

"Whose merits are greater?" Han Shizhong no longer cared, but continued to ask.

"..."

"Am I not from the Western Army? Or are you saying that your Jingyuan Circuit is the Western Army, but our Yanfu Circuit is not?"

"..."

"Then I'm the Grand Commandant now, and you're not. Why are you unconvinced?"

"I don't mean to be unconvinced by the Grand Commandant..." Qu Duan was inexplicably frustrated... Releasing map attacks from afar was one thing, but meeting this kind of person face-to-face was another. From a military perspective, he really couldn't think of any area where Han Shizhong was worse than him.

"That's good." Han Shizhong suddenly pouted. "Little Yang... This is Yang Yizhong, the grandson of your old superior, Old General Manager Yang... Little Yang, go down and strip him of this brocade robe!"

Yang Yizhong had been waiting for these words for a long time. He directly surged forward with several guards, pressed Qu Da down under the drum tower in front of the Wende Hall, and then randomly tore off his clothes, revealing a white back full of muscles and scars.

At this time, another person presented a horse whip to Han Shizhong with both hands.

"I'm not convinced... I'm a general of the imperial court. A scholar can be killed, but not humiliated!" Qu Duan, seeing this, did not understand what was going on. Han Shizhong was going to give him a "deterrent whip," but he struggled even more violently. "Although you, Han Wu, are stronger than me in everything, you can't humiliate me for no reason!"

"I'm following the Emperor's decree, specially to give you these twenty deterrent whips!" Han Shizhong did not panic, holding his waistband with one hand and lifting the whip with the other, going behind the other party and loudly saying, "The Emperor told me to tell you that the Censor-in-chief is a state minister, and Hu Mingzhong is his envoy. He was whipped in your defense zone. Regardless of whether you knew about it or not, or whether you participated in it or not, you should personally pay it back today! Because among all the Grand Commandants in the hall, only Han Wu is qualified and has enough merit to make it up to you, so the Emperor specially gave me this opportunity to shine!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Han Shizhong directly flicked his wrist and struck Qu Duan on the back.

The whip landed on his body, causing excruciating pain. Qu Duan clenched his teeth and swallowed his words... It was clear that Han Wu was an expert in this. One could only say that he was worthy of being a direct descendant of the Western Army.

And that wasn't all. While Han Shizhong was whipping him, he was also scolding him:

"I just don't understand, what do you have to be proud of? What do you have to be overbearing about? I, Han Wu, have never been overbearing? Are you going to be overbearing again in front of me?

"A commander dares to wantonly annex his colleagues?

"A prefect of Yan'an dares to kill the Pacification Commissioner who is his direct superior?

"A newly appointed Commandant-General, who hasn't even been in office for three months, dares to disregard the Censor-in-chief?

"Censor Hu says you don't have rebellious intentions, but according to me, even if you don't have rebellious intentions, you deserve to be killed! Is that right?

"Only you in Guanzhong are working hard? Everyone else is enjoying themselves? The Emperor is on the Huai River, not even willing to light a candle, and living in the palace, he shoots rabbits to eat every day!

"I, Old Han, am only just learning to read, and you're already writing poems? And writing poems to ridicule the Emperor and the various prime ministers and ministers?

"How did the Emperor and the ministers you ridiculed drive away the Jin army?

"Do you know that the scars on your back are not even one-tenth as many as I, Han Wu, have?

"And Censor Hu, such a good person, how did he get beaten in your defense zone? That was an envoy of the Emperor!"

Han Shizhong scolded him constantly, whipping him without stopping, but Qu Duan clenched his teeth and did not say a word, just like when Hu Yin was beaten.

After he finished whipping him, Han Shizhong put away the whip, walked to the other person's front, without panting or hurrying, and coldly said, "What about it, do you have anything to say? Let me say this first, if you dare to have any complaints about the Emperor, I will risk my two Regional Military Commissioner positions today and kill you personally in front of this Wende Hall!"

"I do!"

Qu Duan's teeth trembled slightly, and his back was covered in blood, but he struggled to say, "The Emperor's decree was to give me twenty deterrent whips... But you, Han Wu, abused your power and gave me twenty-one whips!"

"It was twenty-two, and the last two were what I personally added because Censor Hu is a brother I recognize, and I just wanted to settle a private score..." Saying this, Han Shizhong added another whip to his face before continuing to grin, "Or are you, Qu Da, only finding out today that my name is 'Ruffian Han Wu'? If you're not convinced, we'll be spending a lot of time together in the future. You can come find me whenever you want. I'll be waiting for you!"

Blood marks were cut into Qu Duan's face, but he finally clenched his teeth and said nothing.

"Give him his clothes and bring him in." Han Shizhong no longer paid attention to this person, directly threw down the horse whip, and went back to the hall holding his waistband. "The Emperor is discussing military affairs. According to the rules, he, as the Deputy Military Commissioner of the Imperial Guard, should be present to listen and participate in the discussions!"

Qu Duan was slightly stunned, but he still clenched his teeth and said nothing. Suddenly, a tear fell and he quickly wiped it away.

ps: My cold has gotten worse... I feel like I need someone to whip me twenty times to recover.