Chapter 99

Chapter 98: Do You Dare to Kill Me?

"This is truly driving the wolf into the tiger's den, utterly foolish!" Chen Xiliang said with a shudder. "The lesson from the Tang Dynasty borrowing troops from Tubo is still vivid. Those who are not of our race will surely harm our people!"

"How laughable that Yu Wuxi, with such a great reputation, is so muddled. Hmm, I have already sternly ordered Yu Jing that the moment the Jiaozhi people step into our territory, it will be the day his head falls!" Di Qing said proudly. "This is a matter for the Song Dynasty, and the barbarians have no right to interfere!"

"Right!" Chen Ke couldn't help but clap in approval. "Those monkeys don't even deserve to know!"

"Ha ha ha." Di Qing burst out laughing. "Well said!" He then stood up, walked to the desk, picked up an appointment letter, and looked at Chen Xiliang. "I wish to appoint Chen Daling as a military advisor. Would you be willing to take on this role?" The position of military advisor is not an official post. It is set up when the commander establishes his headquarters and is disbanded when the army returns to the capital.

But when the army returns to the capital, it will be the basis for rewards and honors.

Di Qing's good intentions were not lost on Chen Xiliang, but he was very honest. "I am completely ignorant of military strategy and fear I might mislead the commander."

"Understanding can come with time," Di Qing said, not expecting much from him. "Although our Song Dynasty's military men have no status, literati who understand military affairs have a much better career path..." This was naturally true. Without going into the distant past, the current chancellor Pang Ji and the chief military commissioner Han Qi both had military experience in the northwest.

"In the future, I hope the commander will teach me more." Thus, Chen Xiliang gladly accepted the appointment.

Di Qing then looked at Chen Ke and said, "You want to beat up Yu Wuxi, and I support you, but his reputation is too great, and it might damage your own."

"I'm best at this," Chen Ke said with a smile. "I'll make sure he can't say a word."

"Good, go and convince your father," Di Qing said with a smile. "As long as he agrees, I'll let you go south with the army."

"Understood." Chen Ke and his father rose and took their leave.

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That night, Chen Xiliang couldn't sleep and saw that Chen Ke wasn't sleeping either. "What's wrong?"

"Feeling stifled." Chen Ke said gloomily.

"Me too," Chen Xiliang nodded, looking at the dark ceiling.

"The emperor is indeed benevolent, as his reputation suggests, but I can't agree with his words." The equal communication between father and son had been going on for many years.

"Right," Chen Xiliang said softly. "The problems of the Song Dynasty are more transparent to the emperor than to us, but he fears making things worse and thus tolerates them. This way, there won't be major chaos, but the excess of officials, soldiers, and expenses will only increase, and eventually, it will become unsustainable."

"I've heard that when a country faces such systemic crises, three scenarios can occur," Chen Ke said softly. "One is a targeted reform that helps the country overcome its difficulties and sets it on a path to prosperity, like the reforms of Shang Yang and King Wuling of Zhao. Another is to try to ease the tensions, delaying the outbreak of conflicts and extending the life of the state. The third is to make things worse, leading to self-destruction."

"The first scenario is, of course, the best. But unfortunately, the larger the country and the more complex its structure, the harder it is to achieve such reforms," Chen Ke continued. "So, after the Qin Dynasty, there have been no successful reforms."

"Right. Now it seems that those so-called successful reforms are merely the second type," Chen Xiliang nodded. "But that's still better than the third."

"The emperor has this mindset," Chen Ke said. "He has tried the first type, as evidenced by the Qingli Reforms. But the reforms were too disappointing, and continuing them would only lead to the third result, so he decisively stopped them and firmly chose the second path... The handling of this incident and previous issues all reflect this attitude."

"Well said, my heart is now clear," Chen Xiliang nodded. "The emperor is not unwilling to change, but he lacks a good strategy. He would rather not change at all."

"..." Chen Ke was speechless, thinking, 'He's really a loyalist.' But talking about it made him feel better... The rise and fall of the nation are the emperor's and the prime minister's concerns. Why should a commoner like me worry so much? After beating Yu Wuxi, I'll go to Ouyang Xiu to polish my reputation, and life will be much smoother. Maybe I won't even have to pay for brothels... Speaking of brothels, I'm almost eighteen, and according to traditional Chinese medicine, my essence is now solid, and I can start. ... Haha, should I use my first time to save a fallen woman of the Song Dynasty? That's a real question..."

All sorts of messy thoughts flooded his mind, instantly pushing aside any concerns for the country and its people.

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In Binyang, Guangnan West Road, only a hundred miles from Nong Zhigao's stronghold in Yongzhou.

Now, this place has been 'reclaimed' by the Song army, and a victory report has been sent to the capital. In reality, Nong Zhigao's army, having plundered and played enough in Guangnan, and hearing that the famous tattooed general Di Qing was leading the Song elite, retreated to Yongzhou to regroup, allowing the Southern army to reclaim a large area.

Although the number of enemies killed on the merit list is still zero, the civil and military officials in Binyang's camp do not believe that the current situation is due to Nong Zhigao's strategic retreat. Instead, they call it a significant victory and are celebrating extensively.

The highest-ranking official in the camp, Yu Jing, rarely put aside his airs and joined the generals in celebration. However, his unpredictable expression revealed his current gloom...

The court had not relieved him of his duties as the安抚使 (pacification commissioner) of Hunan and Guangdong, but it had sent a fully authorized commander, Di Qing, and explicitly ordered Southern officials that all military and political matters were to be decided by Di Qing alone. Where does this leave him, the civil commander?

This seat under his buttocks felt like it had thorns.

For nearly a hundred years, the Song Dynasty had been ruled by literati over the military. How could it be reversed in his case? Yu Jing felt deeply ashamed.

What made him even angrier were the two harsh military orders from Di Qing— one ordering him to immediately prevent the Jiaozhi people from entering the territory, or face military law, and the other ordering the commander not to engage in battle, or face military law.

What is military law? It means beheading!

You, Di Qing, are just a criminal soldier, yet you dare to bark at the sun like a mad dog!

Do you not know that the Song Dynasty does not execute literati? I want to see how you will execute me, one of the four famous advisors of the Qingli era!

'The great southern victory should be mine, Yu Jing. Why should it go to a criminal soldier?' Anger and jealousy completely clouded Yu Jing's mind. At the banquet, he looked at the main commander of the Lingnan army, the military governor of Guangnan, Chen Shu, and raised his cup. "General Chen, you have been fighting the Nong rebels for a hundred days, haven't you?"

"Reporting to the civil commander, it's almost four months."

"How have you fared?"

Chen Shu said with a hint of pride, "In these four months, I have led the army to fight in Guangdong and Guangxi, reclaiming thirteen states. Only Yongzhou remains to be taken!"

"Unfortunately, the credit for pacifying Guangdong and Guangxi will be taken by someone else." The sharp tongue of the four famous advisors of the Qingli era was indeed well-known.

Chen Shu's face immediately changed... Before Yu Jing's arrival, he had been appointed as the main commander of the rebellion suppression. Because he successfully lifted the siege of Guangzhou and Nong Zhigao quickly withdrew from Guangdong, he not only kept his position but also became the military governor of Guangnan West Road, the top military figure in Lingnan. Strangely, when he slowly moved his troops from Guangdong to Guangxi, Nong Zhigao began a large-scale retreat, eventually retreating to Yongzhou, and people started calling him a 'famous general of the era.'

However, this famous general had never fought a hard battle.

In the midst of the flattery, Chen Shu began to lose himself... He believed that as long as he captured Yongzhou, the credit for reclaiming Guangdong and Guangxi would be his. Despite Di Qing's great reputation, he had no such achievements— who captured Yongzhou would be the top military figure in the Song Dynasty.

Thinking of Di Qing's great honors, Chen Shu was consumed by jealousy and sighed heavily. "He is the grand commander, openly using his power to suppress me. What can I do?"

"His vanguard has just reached Guilin. You still have time to engage in battle now," Yu Jing said softly.

"Engage in battle..." Chen Shu's heart skipped a beat. He had such thoughts, but he was afraid of the strict military law. Now, hearing the civil commander's order, his desire for credit could no longer be contained.

Chen Shu's mind raced. The civil commander's order was also a military order. What was there to worry about? As long as he won this battle and reclaimed Guangdong and Guangxi, he would become a national hero, and Di Qing wouldn't dare touch him.

Even if he lost, it wouldn't be a big deal. Since Emperor Taizong's reign, there have been no reports of military law being enforced. Besides, there would be the civil commander's order to back him up. How could a mere military man like Di Qing dare to defy such a high-ranking literati?

After much consideration, Chen Shu felt the plan was feasible. Once the plan was set, he wasted no time. Two days later, he gathered his troops, bringing all the available soldiers, totaling fifty thousand... claiming to have one hundred and fifty thousand, and launched a full-scale attack.

The result was that he never even saw Yongzhou and was routed by Nong Zhigao, fleeing back to Binyang with his remaining troops.

Two days later, Di Qing's army, after a long march, also arrived in Binyang.

Before entering the city, Di Qing learned of the army's unauthorized engagement and the disastrous defeat. His expression was cold, showing no anger, but his large hand gripped the hilt of his sword.

At the city gate, the civil and military officials waiting to welcome him received his order: "The grand commander is in the tent. All civil and military officials, meet at the camp outside the city!"

Chen Shu was already uneasy and became even more frightened. He looked at Yu Jing and said, "Civil Commander..."

"Is it a dragon's den or a tiger's lair?" Yu Jing sneered. "What are you afraid of? I'm here to handle everything!"

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There are two more chapters left.

I'm not slandering Civil Commander Yu. The things he did are all historically documented.

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