Simulates history, but Chongzhen is the Divine Emperor at the beginning

Chapter 238 A Night Meeting with Yue Fei, First Encounter with the Song Dynasty!
That night, you pondered for a long time...

The imperial edict of accountability has been issued, and Yue Fei, along with his family, has already boarded a prison cart. They will be transported towards Lin'an tomorrow morning.

If things go as expected, Yue Fei's trip to the capital will certainly not be a good thing. What awaits him is very likely another "Fengbo Pavilion" incident... In other words, this farewell will probably be the last.

Although you don't have any deep personal feelings for him, or even any direct contact with him, you still feel a surge of emotion towards this highly legendary historical figure...

Just as you might hear in the story of Yue Fei, "Yue Fei was murdered at Fengbo Pavilion, crying out before his death: 'Heaven and earth bear witness! Heaven and earth bear witness!'" even if you are just an uninvolved listener, you still can't help but feel indignant, wishing you could personally enter the story to rescue Yue Fei and kill Zhao Gou and Qin Hui, those two treacherous rulers!

Now, the story has truly become reality... Although the turning point of fate was delayed by two hundred years, Yue Fei ultimately could not escape those thirteen destiny-like imperial edicts, and incurred the wrath of "God Zhao Gou" for disobeying the imperial decree and retreating his troops...

At this critical moment, as a witness who saw this event firsthand, were you simply going to stand by and watch Yue Fei die?!

[That's obviously not going to do! If you really watch him die, then you've wasted your life!]

After a brief moment of deliberation, you made a tough decision...

"Prime Minister, I want to save Yue Fei!"

For the first time in your life, with unwavering determination, you took the initiative to make a request to the Prime Minister!

However, the Prime Minister sighed helplessly: "No... The situation is still unclear. If you reveal your strength prematurely, there may be unforeseen dangers..."

"Although you can reincarnate indefinitely, death is a real event... Unless absolutely necessary, you shouldn't actively seek death, because it's not only about being responsible for yourself, but also for this entire simulated world..."

Taking responsibility for the world...

[You paused, for you understood what the Prime Minister meant... As the protagonist of the simulation, you are essentially the anchor point of the simulated world. Therefore, your death signifies the destruction of the entire world. Even if the simulation restarts, it won't be someone else restarting, but only you restarting!]

Based on this, you'd naturally prefer to stay alive if possible...

Therefore, you are extremely disappointed that you could not save Yue Fei.

But then the Prime Minister laughed and said, "Of course, we can't save him, but meeting him privately shouldn't be a problem!"

You were immediately overjoyed: "Thank you, Father Prime Minister!"

The Prime Minister chuckled softly, then slowly placed his hand on your forehead… Accompanied by a gentle, multicolored glow, a power seemingly emanating from nothingness welled up within you!

[Your understanding is shallow; you cannot possibly describe the greatness and vastness of that illusory power. You only think you are invincible and can easily kill the "Divine Zhao Gou" who sits high in Lin'an...]

Just as your ego was swelling with excitement, the Prime Minister's voice rang in your ears: "The power of the Western Paradise is indeed inexhaustible, but because your primordial spirit is inherently flawed, you cannot infinitely borrow its power, and your combat strength is extremely limited, far from achieving the earth-shattering might I would possess after merging with my true form..."

"Therefore, from now on, you can only use this to disguise yourself and have a late-night talk with Yue Fei. Remember this!"

Your father's words jolted you, and you quickly regained your composure, nodding firmly, "I will obey your words, Father!"

Then, in your excitement, you immediately used the power of the Western Paradise to conceal your face and form, and sped towards the Marshal's Mansion in Xiangyang... No matter what, you must see Yue Fei! This is your obsession, and your passion...

【…】

[In the Marshal's Mansion, Yue Fei sat upright in his prison cart with his eyes closed. Even though the imperial envoys had already gone to sleep in their respective rooms and there was no one guarding him, he refused to leave the cart... This might be because of his loyalty to the emperor, or it might be a form of self-punishment.]

After all, no matter what, he disobeyed the emperor's orders, not only directly causing the Northern Expedition to fail, but also openly challenging imperial power... Given his loyal and virtuous nature, it's not surprising that he took this self-punishing action...

This is the first time you've officially met him. In the past, he always concealed his identity and name when meeting you, but this time he made no attempt to hide it, sitting openly in the prison van, right in front of you.

After a moment's thought, you spoke up: "This junior scholar greets Marshal Yue!"

[Yue Fei, inside the prison cart, suddenly opened his eyes, and immediately saw you, whose face and figure were deliberately blurred...]

[Yue Fei was clearly caught off guard by your mysterious late-night visit... and to avoid pointless pre-conversation, you proactively stated that you meant no harm and that you had come solely to have a chat.]

[Although Yue Fei had many doubts about this, since you had said so, he didn't say anything more... After a moment's thought, he asked about your purpose.] [And you spoke frankly: "I want to ask, why did the Marshal insist on launching the Northern Expedition even though he knew it would be fruitless? And since the Northern Expedition had already begun, why did he refuse to obey the Emperor's decree to advance and instead forcibly retreat?"]

Yue Fei narrowed his eyes: "How much do you know?"

You shake your head: "I know nothing..."

"However, I suspect this might be related to the Emperor?"

Hearing your words, Yue Fei hesitated for a moment... but in the end he did not hide anything, only sighing, "Then you guessed right, this matter did indeed originate from the Emperor..."

"I myself did not want the Northern Expedition. This Northern Expedition was originally the Emperor's idea... or rather, the Emperor has wanted to launch a Northern Expedition for the past two hundred years, but he has not forced it due to the unanimous advice of us pro-peace officials..."

Well, Yue Fei really was a proponent of peace!

When your suspicions are confirmed by the person themselves, even if you were mentally prepared, it's still hard to stay calm...

As Yue Fei recounts his story in a calm and understated manner, a political landscape of the Southern Song Dynasty—both strange and normal—emerges before you.

【…】

[In the original historical timeline, the Southern Song Dynasty's political policy towards the Jin Dynasty was constantly wavering. Three political forces with differing demands intertwined within the court, influencing the Southern Song's strategy towards the Jin.]

These three political forces are: the "pro-war faction," the "pro-peace faction," and the "pro-surrender faction."

Among them, the strongest advocates of war were generals like Yue Fei and Han Shizhong, who strongly advocated a hardline stance against the Jin dynasty and proposed using military means to launch a northern expedition against the Jin to reclaim the vast Central Plains.

The biggest advocate for peace was Zhao Gou himself… Although he was originally a proponent of war, for various reasons, his strategy towards the Jin gradually shifted from hardline to weak, until he advocated for peace talks with the Jin in order to maintain the rule of the Southern Song through a coexistence of the Jin and Song dynasties.

As for the surrender faction, a typical example is Qin Hui... These people were already terrified of the Jurchens. Even though the chances of winning the Northern Expedition were high, they still advocated surrendering, fearing that the Jurchens would march south and kill them...

[In the current historical timeline, the political forces in the imperial court are still divided into three factions: "pro-war," "pro-peace," and "pro-surrender," although the corresponding figures and reasons for their positions have changed to some extent.]

First, there was the pro-peace faction, represented by frontline generals like Yue Fei. Although they had initially advocated for a northern expedition, the complete imbalance of power between the Jin and Song dynasties due to the "celestial upheaval" made them acutely aware that with the Song Dynasty's current military capabilities, a direct attack on the Jin would be futile, a futile attempt to defeat the Jin. The only outcome of such a war would be a pointless waste of manpower and resources, ultimately yielding no benefit whatsoever!

[Moreover, it wasn't just a military disadvantage; there was also the issue of the common people: although the Jurchens would become mindless monsters when facing the Song people, they were essentially ordinary people from the Central Plains in peacetime. If the Song army forcibly launched a northern expedition, then the entire population of the Central Plains would have to be slaughtered… Leaving aside whether the Song army could actually do it, just hearing about it is incredibly brutal!]

Therefore, influenced by the above issues, Yue Fei and his comrades changed from advocates of war to advocates of peace, and tried their best to prevent "Divine Zhao Gou" from launching such an absurd Northern Expedition...

[But "Divine Zhao Gou" didn't care about all that. Since ascending to godhood, he had consistently advocated for a northern expedition! His fervor was so intense that not only Yue Fei, but every official in the court was terrified... Therefore, "Divine Zhao Gou" was the only pro-war figure in the ruling class of the Song Dynasty!]

As for the "surrender faction"...

[I'm sorry, but those who advocate surrender have absolutely no place in this kind of court environment. There may be many officials and commoners who adhere to surrenderism, but they would never dare to reveal their political leanings, otherwise they would suffer the same fate as their predecessor Qin Hui in no time—not only would their entire family be killed by the emperor, this warmonger, but they would also be utterly disgraced!]

[The above describes the three political forces in the Southern Song Dynasty: the court full of pro-peace ministers and a pro-war emperor who were constantly engaged in verbal battles in the court, while the surrender faction trembled and squatted in the distance, not daring to utter a sound...]

After listening, you fell into deep thought for a moment.

[Actually, none of the above information is difficult to understand, but there is one hidden piece of information that will leave you completely puzzled: Was Zhao Gou insane? Why did he insist on war even though he knew the Northern Expedition would be fruitless?]

This doesn't make any sense at all!

[In a state of utter confusion, this mystery keeps churning in your mind... Your intuition tells you that this question is the key to everything!]

So you once again turned your expectant gaze to Yue Fei...

……

(End of this chapter)