Chapter 69: The Emperor's Resolve to Wash Away Old Grievances (Part 2)

Lu Gongzhu walked into the Wende Hall with a grim face. The Wende Hall, also known as the Outer Court, was slightly smaller in scale compared to the main hall, the Daqing Hall, but it was still large enough to accommodate over a thousand people. Behind the hall's door, slightly to the southeast, stood a folding chair, the seat of the Chief Censor. According to the court's etiquette, among the civil and military officials attending the court session, only the Chief Censor was allowed to sit, symbolizing his unique position. This tradition of "sitting alone" had been passed down from the Han Dynasty, where only the Chief Censor, along with the Chancellor of the Secretariat and the Inspector General, had this privilege. Now, after a thousand years, only the Chief Censor remained.

Lu Gongzhu stood in front of the folding chair, while two Censors of the Hall stood at two corners of the hall. As they took their positions, the sound of the ceremonial whip echoed, and the musicians at the edge of the hall began to play the Shao music, praising the wise emperor and his virtuous ministers. The gatekeepers then called out the ranks of the officials in time with the music. The two chancellors, Zeng Gongliang and Chen Shengzhi, holding their tablets, led the officials into the hall in order of their ranks and stood in front of the dais.

The ceremonial whip sounded again, and there was movement behind the hall. First, two Attendants of the Imperial Bedchamber, who recorded the emperor's words and actions, walked out and stood at the two corners of the hall, one to the east and one to the west. Then came a group of eunuchs holding fans and swords. Once the eunuchs were in position, the imperial music suddenly rose in pitch, signaling the emperor's entrance.

Emperor Zhaoxu, in his early twenties, walked out from behind the hall, wearing a dark yellow robe and a flat-topped headdress, the attire for the emperor's regular court sessions. The young emperor looked somewhat pale, but by Song Dynasty standards, he was considered handsome. He had a mustache, which added a touch of maturity, though his slender build did not suggest a long life.

As the emperor took his seat, the officials knelt in reverence.

Everything was a repetition of the previous session, and the next one would be no different. Emperor Zhaoxu, sitting on his throne, waited impatiently for the monthly court session to end.

He was concerned about the state of the nation and the military affairs, but he had no interest in the elaborate rituals.

Would the Equal Transport Law affect the people's livelihood? How was the preparation for the Green Sprout Loan program? Had any errors occurred in the newly implemented Agricultural Land Regulations?

Had the situation in the northwest, around Suide City, stabilized? Had the Western Xia invaders in Jingyuan Road retreated or not? Were the Western Xia invaders who attacked Gangu City in Qin-Feng Road planning to return?

And then there was Wang Zhao, who had promised to expand the borders in the Hehuang region. He had done nothing for a year, but now, at the end of the year, he had suddenly submitted a recommendation. What did it mean?

Emperor Zhaoxu, who aspired to be a reviving emperor, was preoccupied with state affairs every day. The Song Dynasty, since its founding, had never been as powerful as the Han and Tang Dynasties. The Khitans in the north had long coveted the Central Plains, frequently invading the south. Emperor Taizong's two northern campaigns ended in disastrous defeats, and he eventually died from the arrow wound he sustained near the Gao Liang River.

During Emperor Renzong's reign, the Khitans were appeased with an annual tribute of 500,000 taels of silver and 100,000 bolts of silk, creating an illusion of peace. However, the Western Xia leader Yuanhao raised the banner of rebellion. After three major defeats, the Western Xia established their kingdom in Lingwu. What was the solution proposed by the famous ministers of Emperor Renzong's court? To buy the Western Xia's nominal submission with 200,000 taels of silver and 100,000 bolts of silk!

The humiliation of the emperor was the death of the minister, yet the emperor of the Central Kingdom had to treat the northern barbarians as equals, sending them the people's wealth. His ministers were not ashamed of this but considered it an honor. They claimed that using a small amount of wealth to spare the people from suffering was the act of a wise emperor.

Emperor Zhaoxu sneered. No wonder they were all graduates of the imperial examinations; they always had something to say! If they had the same talent in action as they did in words, the two enemies would have been eliminated long ago, and the people would not have suffered.

Emperor Renzong could endure, and Emperor Yingzong could endure, but Emperor Zhaoxu could not. Han Qi, Fu Bi, and Wen Yanbo were all old, and the famous ministers left by Emperor Renzong had lost their edge. They only wanted him to avoid military affairs for twenty years, leaving him to bear the heart-wrenching humiliation alone.

Fortunately, there was Wang Anshi.

Many officials in the court were now impeaching Wang Anshi, including some who had previously praised and recommended him, such as Fu Bi and Lu Gongzhu. Was there anyone else who could propose a strategy to enrich the country and strengthen the military like Wang Anshi?

No! Not Sima Guang! Not Wen Yanbo!

Emperor Zhaoxu looked down at the civil and military officials standing in the Wende Hall, as orderly as stone statues on a spirit path. To achieve his ideals, he had only Wang Anshi in the entire court.

The court session proceeded as usual. A few officials who had been transferred to the capital came forward to express their gratitude, and a few who were retiring came to bid farewell. There were no surprises or pleasant surprises, and the session ended. The officials, from the highest to the lowest, filed out of the Wende Hall and returned to their respective offices, while the chancellors, the Three Departments Commissioner, and the two types of officials with the title of "Imperial Draftsman" remained to proceed to the Chongzheng Hall in the rear of the imperial city.

The monthly grand court session was merely a ceremonial event, with four to five hundred people gathered in the Wende Hall. What state affairs could be discussed in such a setting? The true place for handling state affairs was the inner court, the Chui Gong Hall, where only the chancellors and some important officials participated in the regular court sessions, and the Chongzheng Hall, where the emperor reviewed matters after the court session.

Today was the day of the monthly grand court session, so there was no regular court session. After the session ended, Emperor Zhaoxu went directly to the Chongzheng Hall to handle state affairs. With the participation of the Two Councils, matters requiring the emperor's approval were reported one by one. Among them, the emperor was most concerned about the situation in the northwest. The offensive centered around Suide City and the expansion in the Hehuang region, supported by the Qin-Feng region, were crucial for the success or failure of the future campaign against the Western Xia, and could not afford any mistakes.

The battle around Suide City in the Fuyan Road had calmed down, and the Tangut plan to exchange Suide for several abandoned old forts had failed. The situation in the Hengshan region was now tilting in favor of the Song Dynasty. As long as Suide City could be held, the Song could gradually expand and annex the entire Hengshan region. The loss of Hengshan would destroy the southeastern barrier of the Western Xia, and they would lose an important recruitment area. The natural barrier of the desert would then be shared by both the Western Xia and the Song, making the Western Xia as vulnerable as the southern regimes that lost the Huai River and the Yangtze River as natural defenses.

The Empress Dowager Liang and her brother, the Chancellor Liang Yimai, who governed the Western Xia, understood this clearly. They followed the Song Dynasty's example and began constructing forts north of Suide City, building as many as eight! They hoped to use a cluster of forts to offset the strategic advantage the Song army was gradually gaining in the Suide region.

Emperor Zhaoxu was deeply concerned about this. He not only accelerated the transportation of troops and supplies to the Fuyan Road but also transferred one of the few experienced generals, Guo Kui, to the Fuyan Road, appointing him as the Governor of Yan Prefecture (now Yan'an) and the Commander of the Fuyan Road Military Commission, to take full charge of Suide City. Guo Kui had previously served as a Deputy Chief of the Military Council, and in recent decades, he was the highest-ranking military official after Di Qing, who had once served as the Chief of the Military Council. His appointment to the Fuyan Road demonstrated the emperor's high regard for Suide City.

Emperor Zhaoxu was concerned about the situation in Shaanxi, but he did not ask the Chief of the Military Council, Wen Yanbo, or the Chancellor, Lu Gongbi; instead, he directly asked Wang Anshi, "Minister Wang, are there any new reports from the Fuyan Road and Suide City?"

Wang Anshi stepped forward and replied, "Guo Kui is an experienced general. As long as he is there, Suide will be safe. Your Majesty need not be overly concerned."

How could Emperor Zhaoxu not be concerned? The secret reports from the imperial envoys in the Fuyan Road troubled him. The imperial envoys, mostly eunuchs, were the emperor's eyes and ears, and their reports were more credible than the memorials from local officials. "But Guo Kui and Zhong E do not get along. Zhong E was recently reinstated from Suizhou, and Guo Kui has already criticized him as a reckless man, saying that he is only appointed because of his family background and will surely cause trouble. How can they work together if the generals are at odds?"

"Guo Kui is old and cautious, while Zhong E is in his prime and full of vigor. It is natural that they do not get along. Guo Kui's dislike of Zhong E is understandable. Your Majesty need not worry."

In the conflict between the generals in the Fuyan Road, Wang Anshi unhesitatingly supported Zhong E. Guo Kui was not bad, but the one who had opened up the situation in Suide was Zhong E. He was brave and strategic, and his father, Zhong Shiheng, had a strong influence in the Fuyan Road. Wang Anshi firmly believed that the one who would expand the Song's territory and defeat the Western Xia in the future would not be old generals like Guo Kui, whose vigor had faded, but new talents like Zhong E.

"Your Majesty, Guo Kui is known for his ability to recognize talent. When Ge Huaimin was widely praised for his reputation, only Guo Kui said he was 'eager for success and reckless, brave but without strategy,' and he was later proven right with the defeat at Dingchuan Fort. His judgment of people's success and failure is sound and should not be dismissed as a grudge held by a military man." Wang Anshi's support for Zhong E naturally led the Chief of the Military Council, Wen Yanbo, to support Guo Kui. Despite Guo Kui's opposition to his proposal to return Suide and his exposure of the Western Xia's plan to exchange abandoned forts for Suide, which embarrassed Wen Yanbo, he had to support Guo Kui to counter Wang Anshi.

Wen Yanbo's argument seemed reasonable, and Emperor Zhaoxu turned to Wang Anshi for his opinion.

Wang Anshi countered, "When Guo Kui was in Yan Prefecture, he had a conflict with Zhong Shiheng over a dispute between the Loyal and Righteous Society and the surrendered Qiang people. Can it be said that there is no old grudge?"

"Is that so..." Emperor Zhaoxu heard this for the first time and pondered for a moment before asking Wang Anshi, "Minister Wang, in your opinion, should Zhong E be transferred to another route?"

Wang Anshi shook his head. "Guo Kui is experienced and cautious. Although there is an old grudge, it should only affect their words, not their public duties. Guo Kui previously exposed the Western Xia's plot and advised against exchanging Suide for the abandoned forts of Saimen and Anyuan. The Military Council has yet to determine the rewards. In my humble opinion, Your Majesty should personally issue an edict to commend him and send an eunuch to Yan Prefecture under the pretext of rewarding him, to secretly advise him. This should resolve the issue."

Wang Anshi's words not only addressed the problem but also pointed out the Military Council's two mistakes, leaving Wen Yanbo speechless. Opposing was not an option, and agreeing was even worse. Emperor Zhaoxu, still young and having only been on the throne for three years, did not see through the undercurrents between the two ministers. He felt that Wang Anshi's solution respected the old general Guo Kui's dignity and would also make him more cautious, so he nodded and said, "I will follow Minister Wang's advice."

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