In early April, the beginning of summer, inside the Wende Hall, the first grand court assembly since the Emperor's return to Tokyo was in a state of disarray.

This chaos mainly stemmed from three issues:

Firstly, the lack of grain and money transportation from the southeast made many things that should have been straightforward difficult to implement, leading to widespread complaints.

Secondly, the situation in Guanzhong was chaotic. With no possibility of a counteroffensive in northern Shaanxi, the debate on how to deal with Qu Duan, Wang Xie, and Wang Shu had reached its peak...

Wang Shu, a civilian official with unwavering pro-war views, was the absolute leader of the civil officials before Yuwen Xuzhong entered Guanzhong, and the representative of the Great Song in that area. This time, he personally led the army to fight the Jin army, only to suffer a crushing defeat, losing both men and territory.

Wang Xie, originally a bandit or rebel, had previously fled at the first sign of trouble. This time, however, he obeyed orders and fought, only to be utterly defeated. After the defeat, he fled all the way from northern Shaanxi to Fengxiang, clearly a good-for-nothing. However, on the surface, he appeared obedient.

As for Qu Duan, he was the most controversial figure. His arrogance and domineering nature were well-known throughout the court. In this battle, he initially refused the summons of his direct superior, Wang Shu, citing inevitable defeat as the reason. He did not participate in the battle at all. However, after Wang Shu's army was annihilated and Wang Xie fled, he single-handedly maintained the defense line, limiting the Jin army's offensive to northern Shaanxi. This prevented Wanyan Loushi from expanding his gains and ultimately allowed them to await the northward retreat of Talan from the Central Plains... In other words, it now seemed that he was the one who had grasped the truth and was misunderstood by everyone.

Under these circumstances, it was no wonder that there was endless debate on how to deal with these three individuals.

While the first two issues were, to some extent, matters of fact, it was undoubtedly the vehement reaction of the civil and military officials to Liu Yu's declaration of emperorship that truly caused the situation to spiral out of control.

Yet, relatively speaking, the Zhao Emperor sitting on the throne seemed overly indifferent.

Truth be told, as he watched the officials in the hall, each one feigning righteous indignation despite knowing his attitude, the Zhao Emperor had drifted into his own thoughts. He kept pondering, what exactly was happening?

The question was simple: Why did he not feel so powerless when he was in such dire straits in Nanyang? Now that he had risked his life to achieve some victories, making the country at least appear like a nation, why did things feel so chaotic?

However, from another perspective, he had unknowingly been the Zhao Song Emperor for nearly two years. From initially wanting to run away and commit suicide to 'return to his position' to now doubting his ability to control the situation, time truly was a cruel mistress.

But thinking about it, how much worse was the current situation compared to Nanyang, or even compared to two years ago?

How much worse could it be?

Back then, the Zhao Song court was merely a small exiled regime, with the danger of national extinction looming.

Back then, he was just a useless person who knew nothing, only able to play the role of a wooden statue and seek help from Li Gang... Of course, he hadn't improved much now... but there was still progress.

But in any case, some things, whether the so-called 'Old Affairs of Hebei' or personal matters like Pan Fei, since he had 'admitted' them wholeheartedly in front of Zong Ze that day, there was no need to hide them anymore... What needed to be faced had to be faced, and some things needed closure.

"Your Majesty... Your Imperial Majesty!"

Zhu Shengfei, the newly appointed Minister of Rites recommended by Lü Yihao, had spoken at length, but received no response from the Zhao Emperor for a long time. Despite this, the good-tempered Zhu Shengfei remained silent, which drew the dissatisfaction of Chancellor Xu Jingheng. "The Minister of the Court is speaking with Your Imperial Majesty!"

"I am guilty." Zhao Jiu, who had been as still as a statue, finally spoke.

Xu Jingheng was stunned, then became embarrassed. "Your servant did not mean that..."

"What was that saying?" Zhao Jiu continued. "I am guilty, insufficient to atone to all regions? If all regions are guilty, the guilt lies solely with me?"

"The Emperor himself is guilty, insufficient to atone to all regions. If all regions are guilty, the guilt lies solely with the Emperor himself... from *The Analects*, 'Yao Said'." Out of the instinct of a Confucian master, Xu Jingheng offered a correction to the Zhao Emperor, but quickly realized that this was not the time for lecturing, even though the Emperor had refused lectures for a long time. Moreover, this sudden remark from the Emperor made people anxious. "However, the meaning is the same. *Gong* refers to oneself. Your Imperial Majesty need not worry... and what was just discussed was how to refute the rebel Liu, to rectify the situation, which has nothing to do with the Emperor's guilt?"

"It's good that I didn't make a fool of myself." Zhao Jiu was expressionless and spoke calmly, which made the high-ranking officials at the front of the hall, who had been with the Emperor for anywhere from half a year to two years, feel inexplicably apprehensive. "However, I am speaking of Liu's rebellion... He issued a proclamation, but all we do is criticize it back and forth in this hall. What's the point?"

"That is precisely what I mean." Someone behind, obviously not realizing the change in atmosphere, couldn't help but interject. "To deal with the rebel Liu, we should use a large army to annihilate him. After capturing him alive, publicly execute him to rectify the situation. What use are mere words?"

"That is not what I mean." Zhao Jiu slightly raised his voice, but his tone remained calm. "I believe that since Liu Yu issued a proclamation, pointing out my various faults, why shouldn't I issue a decree of self-reproach to actively clarify and rectify the situation?"

Lü Yihao was absent, and it was the first 'regular court' in Tokyo City in many years. There were many people, and everyone was eager to show off, so order was momentarily lost.

Amidst the clamor, some hurriedly knelt down to beg for forgiveness, some were terrified, and some hastily refuted... Even Xu Jingheng was momentarily stunned. He stood there, strongly suspecting that the Zhao Emperor was still holding a grudge against him for the previous matter, and wanted to use this to embarrass the officials present.

After all, a decree of self-reproach was almost the lowest possible political gesture for an emperor. How could one issue a decree of self-reproach simply because the other party issued a proclamation to scold him?

If that were the case, wouldn't it be an admission of guilt?

Even the term 'admission of guilt' was incorrect, because the Emperor had just resisted the Jin army's invasion and returned to the old capital. He had political prestige, so there was no reason to issue a decree of self-reproach at this time, right?

Therefore, if the Emperor issued a decree of self-reproach, how should these civil and military officials conduct themselves? If one were to truly assign blame, Liu Yu, a proper *jinshi* and an elite civil official of the Great Song, had become a traitor and a puppet emperor. What should they, these scholars, do? In fact, among the intensity of everyone's reaction today, how much was truly concerned about Liu Yu, and how much was to prove their own political stance, was probably hard to say.

But soon, Xu Jingheng, as well as Lü Haowen and Wang Boyan, immediately realized a serious problem: whether the Emperor was joking or holding a grudge, if they did not stop him, he might actually have the Junior Academician Lin create a decree of self-reproach! He might even send it directly to the military through his own channels... That would truly be like Bao Longtu, better to 'go home and sell lotus roots'!

"Silence!"

In alarm, Xu Jingheng suddenly turned around and sternly shouted. "Where is the Palace Censor? Immediately record those who are acting inappropriately! Where are Yang Yizhong and Liu Yan? Quickly lead the Imperial Guards to restore order!"

The hall suddenly became noisy, then suddenly silent.

"Your Imperial Majesty."

In this silence, Lü Haowen took the lead, followed by the other two Chief Ministers, to formally bow and salute with solemnity. "The words of the rebel Liu are absurd and not worth a smile. His pseudo-Qi state is not only a puppet state established by the Jin, but also occupies only seven prefectures, and is divided and occupied by the likes of Li Cheng and Kong Yanzhou. Its form is ridiculous... Why would we issue a decree of self-reproach for this?"

Do you also know it's not worth a smile? Do you also know its form is ridiculous?

The Zhao Emperor felt powerless in his heart, but showed nothing on his face. "There is no need to say more, my mind is made up!"

"Your Imperial Majesty!"

Lü Haowen was almost in despair. "The words of the rebel Liu are really not worth refuting..."

"I think we still need to refute them." The Zhao Emperor replied calmly from his throne. "Liu Yu's proclamation probably criticized me on two levels... one is 'entrusted with the mission of peace, plotting to save himself; leading troops to defend, using it to protect himself', and the other is 'enduring the sight of his father and brothers'... The former is his forced speculation about my intentions before ascending the throne, which is certainly not worth mentioning, but the latter is a fact known to everyone in the world. I must give an explanation to the world."

Lü Haowen and the other elite officials of the Great Song almost immediately understood, but their reactions differed.

The middle and lower ranks, or the relatively middle and lower ranks, and most of the newly arrived officials, generally breathed a sigh of relief... Because according to their understanding, the Zhao Emperor was using a clever trick to avoid the real issue. He first ignored the most serious moral accusation (that is, 'entrusted with the mission of peace, plotting to save himself; leading troops to defend, using it to protect himself'), and focused the issue on filial piety, appealing to the world, so as to win public support... After all, everyone knew that the abduction of the two Emperors was an objective reality, and the Zhao Emperor's 'enduring the sight of his father and brothers' was also a very helpless objective difficulty.

But some people, especially those who had been in contact with the Zhao Emperor for a long time, from the Chief Ministers to Hu Yin and others, almost immediately understood and turned pale. Because they understood better than anyone the Emperor's true attitude towards his 'father and brothers'.

Not to mention anything else, the Emperor's words at the ruins of Genyue about the imperial heir a few days ago, although they had the suspicion of buying people's hearts, the disgust and resentment towards the two Emperors were undeniable.

In other words, once the Emperor issued a decree of self-reproach to explain the problem of 'enduring the sight of his father and brothers', according to his character and his resentful state of mind after losing his wife and son, there was an eighty or ninety percent chance that he would use the name of the decree of self-reproach to completely settle the score for the Jingkang Incident, and then officially and publicly push the responsibility for the Jingkang Incident onto the 'two Emperors'!

Of course, the word 'push' seemed a bit inappropriate.

After hesitating for a moment, Hu Yin almost gritted his teeth as he stepped forward and bowed, then trembled, "Your Majesty... Your servant... Your servant..."

"What is it, Minister Hu?" Zhao Jiu looked calmly at this young Confucian master, who had followed him for the second longest time, after Lü Haowen and Zhang Jun.

"Your servant... begs Your Majesty to withdraw your order." Hu Yin was almost in tears.

"My mind is made up." Zhao Jiu sighed. "Minister Hu, you have been with me for nearly two years. You should understand that some things cannot be avoided."

Hu Yin was completely helpless, but tears streamed down his face.

Most of the people around still thought that Vice Minister Hu was commendably loyal and unwilling for the Emperor to damage his reputation... But people like the Chief Ministers and Junior Academician Lin knew very well that Hu Mingzhong, this young master who had a very deep understanding of Confucianism, Neo-Confucianism, and Taoism, was being forced into a corner by the Emperor.

Previously, Liu Yu's declaration of emperorship was what he reacted the most strongly to, because it was a minister rebelling against his ruler, which was a serious insult to his faith. Now, the Emperor wanted to publicly assign responsibility, even if it was through a 'decree of self-reproach', but in reality, it would inevitably touch upon the 'two Emperors'. This was equally unacceptable to Hu Yin.

After all, the words 'moral principles' were the theoretical basis for Hu Yin and his group's vehement resistance against the Jin.

Because of the moral principles, there was a great hatred after the 'father and brothers, the two Emperors' were captured, so they should resist the Jin with the most intense attitude.

But now, the Zhao Emperor used this way of self-reproach to superficially bypass the moral principles. By including himself in the ranks of 'guilt', he gave most Confucian civil officials a plausible explanation, so it was not fair to say that he was purely 'criticizing his father as a son, and criticizing his brother as a younger brother'... Moreover, those two were rulers, but wasn't the one in front of him a ruler too? It had come to this, what else did they want? Therefore, many people present understood, but none were as intense as this.

Only Hu Yin was too straightforward and could not get around this issue for a while.