I am Emperor Shizu of Song

Chapter 145 Returning to the Central Plains, Awaiting the Start of War

Murong Qiu's mind was already quite quick; she had analyzed one or two usable points from tonight's martial arts experience and subconsciously realized there was an information gap involved. However, as a woman, she ultimately lacked practical experience in how to apply it, unlike those cunning men full of practical tricks.

However, they quickly realized that the assassins might have accomplices and a mastermind behind them, and it was impossible for everyone to participate in the operation. Therefore, they also instructed several of Song Jiang's subordinates to search for them in Kaesong overnight based on the clues.

This matter was relatively easy to resolve, as some of the assassins had already surrendered. The Murong family kept their promise and did not kill those who surrendered. As long as they confessed, they could avoid being beaten. So, someone quickly revealed the hiding place of Han Qinghe and Jia Gu Xie Nu.

With the city gates tightly closed on the night of the city's opening and a coordinated search conducted in different areas, these two men naturally did not escape.

Of course, during the arrest, several soldiers were killed or wounded, as Han Qinghe and Jia Gu Xienu were both fierce generals who chose to resist arrest by force.

Finally, Hua Rong and Wu Song, whom Song Jiang had sent to capture the spies, discussed the matter. Hua Rong led the way, firing several volleys of arrows at the courtyard surrounding the enemy spies. Only then did Wu Song lead his men in with swords and shields to engage in hand-to-hand combat and capture the spies.

Han Qinghe and Jia Gu Xie Nu had both been wounded by arrows and were no match for Wu Song. Even though they were fighting two against one, they were still captured by Wu Song one after the other.

Furthermore, Tuo Junjing, a former Goryeo official who colluded with the Jin, also met a terrible end. It was easy to investigate who allowed the Jin assassins to scale the palace walls that night and which section of the outer city defenses had a breach. However, to avoid injustice and uncovering the truth, Zhao Zicheng's subordinates, after apprehending Tuo Junjing, did not act rashly but simply detained him, waiting for Zhao Zicheng's personal return before conducting a secret trial and sentencing.

After everything was settled, that very night Murong Qiu sent someone to find Zhao Zicheng, who was on his way back, to report that a major incident had occurred in Kaicheng.

Zhao Zicheng and Yue Fei then hurriedly set off ahead. Zhao Zicheng returned to Kaicheng the next day to take charge of the overall situation and devise strategies.

……

"Does my lady mean that Tuo Junjing is colluding with Jin spies to try and find out more about our rule in Goryeo, or even kidnapping Wang Kai and defecting to Jin?"

Upon arriving in Kaesong and settling into the Songaksan Palace, Zhao Zicheng quickly ascertained the enemy's motives and actions, and also learned all the details.

So he quickly realized that it was easy to execute a few traitors, easy to kill assassins, and even easy to carry out an internal purge—but the key was that none of these things solved the problem.

There are priorities, and the most important core issue at present is to prevent the Jin state from drawing their hatred towards us. We must ensure that the Jin state maintains its historical momentum and prioritizes dealing with Zhao Ji.

Therefore, upon learning that the Jurchen leader in charge of monitoring the operation was injured by a "teammate mistake" guided by the "Dou Zhuan Xing Yi" technique, a wicked plan immediately came to Zhao Zicheng's mind.

His greatest advantage over his wife was that he not only understood intrigue and scheming, but also had a premonition of history and an incredibly broad vision, enabling him to connect the big picture of the world.

"Those in charge of the specific actions, as well as those who accidentally injured others, were all Han Chinese from Yanyun, while the ones monitoring them were Jurchens... This ethnic composition is very suitable for sowing discord. Those who are not of our kind will surely have different hearts. The Jurchens certainly know this."

It's possible to lead them to believe that "Han Qinghe and his son have long been plotting to betray the Great Jin, deliberately luring it into a trap for their own selfish gain." The young master Dugu Jian's sword strikes could also be used to mislead them into believing it was a premeditated act of defection...

Murong Qiu had just finished reporting the situation to her husband when she heard his plan. She had been thinking about this for almost a whole day, so she had a deep understanding of many of the details and key points. She immediately pointed out several difficulties in her husband's plan:

"I thought so at first, but those people of Yan and Yun lacked a reason and opportunity to betray the Jin Dynasty. We can't say that they are loyal to the Song Dynasty just because they are Han Chinese, can we? If they were loyal to the Song Dynasty, why didn't they surrender to the Song Dynasty immediately when the Liao Dynasty was destroyed, but instead waited two years after the loss of Yan and Yun before surrendering to the Song Dynasty?"

Zhao Zicheng nodded. That's right. Right now, everything else is easy to fabricate, but the motive for betrayal is the most difficult core element to fabricate.

Fortunately, he was a time traveler.

After briefly organizing his thoughts, Zhao Zicheng revealed a calm and confident expression.

"Immediately forge a letter in Khitan script, with the writer named Yelü Dashi. The letter should tell Han Qinghe, 'Since Your Majesty was captured by the Jurchens, the Jurchens have thought that our Great Liao has been completely destroyed and is no longer a threat. However, our Great Liao still has a loyal heart. Now we are rebuilding our state in Qatun City, which is near the Uyghur territory. If you come to our aid, you will surely be rewarded with a fief and important positions.'"

He further implied that former Liao generals who had surrendered to the Song Dynasty, such as Guo Yaoshi, were also among those Yelü Dashi sincerely recruited. The earlier they went, the higher their future rewards would be. As long as they could conquer another territory in the Western Regions and expand the prestige of the Liao Dynasty, the more merits they made, the larger their fiefdom would be. Yelü Dashi was willing to share the world with all the meritorious officials of the Liao Dynasty.

In addition, if handled properly, some persuasive suggestions from Yelü Dashi could be added. For example, Yelü Dashi could ask Guo Yaoshi to entice the Jin state to attack the Song state, or ask Han Qinghe to entice the Jin state to attack Goryeo, so as to tie down the Jin people's military strength and energy, prevent the Jin state from continuing to keep a close eye on the remnants of the Liao state in the Western Regions, and buy the Western Liao a chance to breathe.

Of course, if these words are inconvenient to arrange, writing them in would seem too convincing, so we'll have to consider them further. The core objective is the same: to make the Jin people believe that these former Liao generals' persuasion of their ruler to wage war in other directions is all for the benefit of the Liao Dynasty, a strategy of using one enemy to devour another.

Zhao Zicheng's words finally made Murong Qiu's eyes light up. She also had to admit that her knowledge was far inferior to her husband's.

In the last six months before Emperor Tianzuo of Liao was captured, Yelü Dashi felt that Emperor Tianzuo was determined to fight the Jin people to the death and launch a counterattack, which would lead to no survival for him. So he abandoned Emperor Tianzuo and fled westward to Khatun City with more than 10,000 men.

Counting the days, Yelü Dashi has only recently established and rebuilt the Western Liao Dynasty. Because the city of Qadun is thousands of miles away from the Jin-controlled area, the Jin people really don't have time to chase after him. Even if they think he needs to be eliminated in the future, his priority is definitely very low.

Because of the remote and treacherous geography, people in the Central Plains who are not well-informed are unaware of the recent developments in Yelü Dashi's re-establishment of the state. However, it is reasonable that as long as Yelü Dashi takes the initiative to send someone to inform them, former Liao officials in Yanyun, Liaodong, and even Goryeo would know about this.

More importantly, Zhao Zicheng believed that this news should not be known to anyone who was not a time traveler. Just like none of the civil and military officials in the Song Dynasty today knew that Yelü Dashi had just established a kingdom in the Western Regions.

At this critical juncture, for such a letter to appear in Han Qinghe's hands, if it wasn't sent by Yelü Dashi, then who could it be?
The Jurchens could never have imagined that Zhao Zicheng would fabricate a letter whose contents they could never have guessed.

Therefore, this letter could only be Yelü Dashi's secret invitation to Han Qinghe to join in the grand undertaking!

More importantly, in order to avoid Yelü Dashi's words from seeming too fake, Zhao Zicheng deliberately used a bluffing tactic to muddy the waters and maintain impartiality, making Yelü Dashi claim that he "not only sent letters to the generals who surrendered to the Jin and Liao, but also to the generals who surrendered to the Song and Liao, treating Han Qinghe and Guo Yaoshi equally."

The forgery has gone this far; given the Jurchens' cunning and scheming abilities, it would be a miracle if they could see through it.

"After the letter is forged, find an opportunity, whether it's to make the guards watching over Jiagu Atuhan drunk or to provoke them into letting Jiagu Atuhan die knowing why, in any case, let Jiagu Atuhan see this letter."

Then, create an opportunity for Jiagu Atuhan to escape from prison and return to deliver the message to the Jurchens. No one else, except Jiagu Atuhan, should return alive, including the other Jurchen general, Atuhan's uncle, Jiagu Xienu.

The Han family father and son can be detained depending on the situation. Those Yan-Yun swordsmen, who are indeed Han Chinese, should be kept under observation for now; if they can be reformed, then so be it. If the Jin people fall for the trap and truly believe that the Han family father and son were persuaded by Yelü Dashi, then they will likely spread false information to the Jin, making them believe that Goryeo is weak and easily bullied, thus luring the Jin into an eastward war.

Therefore, the Jin state will most likely do the opposite, no longer prioritizing Goryeo, and may even exterminate the Han family members remaining in Xianzhou. At that point, where will the Han father and son find a home?

Did he want to lead the Jin Dynasty and achieve great things?
Then let's use a counter-espionage plot to exterminate his entire family!
……

Zhao Zi said that the plan was finalized, and he didn't need to worry about the specific operational details.

In any case, the overall strategy was very clear: to deliberately spread false information to the "Jurchen supervisor" Jiagu Atuhan, and then cleverly let him escape.

Although Jia Gu Atuhan is a fierce general, he is brave but lacks strategy. Releasing him back will not significantly improve the strength of the Jin Kingdom. Moreover, he has already lost an arm due to Dugu Jian's sword strike; with only one arm, what fighting power can he possibly possess?

After using the plan, there was a long wait.

Of course, Zhao Zicheng was not idle either. Throughout August and September, he continued to worry about political affairs, organizational development, military preparations, and martial arts training in Goryeo.

During this time, he also took the opportunity to learn about the assassins sent by the Jin Kingdom that night. He had already learned from his mother-in-law and wife that a skilled swordsman named Dugu Jian, who was of Han origin from Yanyun, was present that night. Although his martial arts skills were not as good as Zhao Zicheng's mad father-in-law, he was able to hold out for a long time.

The key point is that the opponent was just about to turn twenty, three or four years younger than Zhao Zicheng and Yue Fei. To have such martial arts skills at such a young age is truly a gift.

After investigation, Zhao Zicheng learned that when Dugu Jian was seven or eight years old, he met an elderly martial arts master in his seventies or eighties. The master saw that he had exceptional talent and took him as his disciple, taking him under his wing for several years.

The old man's name was Zhuo Bufan. He spent many years practicing swordsmanship in Changbai Mountain and traveling around the Yan and Yun regions of Hebei. Therefore, it was quite reasonable for him to take a young man from Yan and Yun within the Liao Kingdom as his disciple.

As for the surname Dugu, although it's a Xianbei surname, it's not important anymore. Since the Tang Dynasty, the Xianbei as a distinct ethnic group no longer existed; they had all assimilated into Han Chinese culture. From the Northern Zhou to the Sui and Tang dynasties, the empresses/empress dowagers of these three consecutive dynasties were sisters, all daughters of Dugu Xin. Like the Murong surname, the Dugu surname was incorporated into the Han Chinese culture along with the Tang rulers. By the time of the Liao Dynasty, the Xianbei surnames in Yan and Yun were actually quite similar to those of the Han Chinese.

Upon learning this information, Zhao Zicheng couldn't help but wonder if Dugu Qiubai was a real person. If so, considering his age, he might be more than ten years older than Wang Chongyang. If he had become invincible before the age of forty and retired from the martial arts world, it would be normal that Wang Chongyang hadn't heard of him by the time he started practicing martial arts. Regardless of whether this person was indeed the young Dugu Qiubai, this incident served as a reminder to Zhao Zicheng to be careful about how he employed and recruited people. After more than a century of assimilation by the Liao people, the Han people of Yanyun had developed very different mindsets and ideologies from the Han people of the Central Plains and southern regions.

To deal with the Han people in these areas, we must pay more attention to clear rewards and punishments, show them the path to advancement, and ensure they don't have to worry about being discriminated against by the Han people in the Central Plains and the South, so that they can make the best use of their talents.

Of course, these are all things for later.

……

More than a month passed in the blink of an eye, and by mid-September, the full consequences of the Jin Dynasty falling for the counter-espionage plot were finally revealed.

As expected, the Jin state believed the false information brought back by Jiagu Atuhan, mistakenly believing that the Han family father and son and Gao Zhen's instigation of attacking Goryeo and their exaggeration of Goryeo's internal instability and weakness were all tricks they used to give their homeland, the Liao, a breather, so that the Jin state's forces would be diverted eastward to devour the enemy.

Since it has been determined that the motives of these people who rebelled against their superiors, acted independently, and deliberately created war were questionable, then the things they were planning were naturally also questionable.

The Jin Dynasty could not afford to miss the opportunity to launch an attack after the autumn harvest each year. Because the Jin Dynasty lacked a mature military logistics system, it relied on looting and pillaging to maintain its military supplies during battles.

This wasn't unique to the Jin Dynasty; it was a common practice among nomadic grassland regimes throughout history. They would launch their attacks when autumn was in full swing and the horses were fat, by which time the Han Chinese in the south had already harvested and stored their autumn crops, making raiding them extremely profitable.

Historically, they launched their attack on the Song Dynasty in October of that year. Now it is September, and they can no longer hesitate. Since the situation in Goryeo is unclear, and although there may indeed be a Han Chinese force behind it that is holding Wang Kai hostage, this Han Chinese force does not seem to have any weaknesses, they should play it safe for now and continue to attack the clearly weak Song Dynasty.

Little did the Jin state know that even if it didn't attack the Han people in Goryeo, the Han people in Goryeo would eventually come to attack it. In fact, the Han people in Goryeo were one with the Song Dynasty.

But if you don't know something, you just don't know it. If you miss the opportunity, you can only miss it.

……

After the hatred of the Jin Kingdom was transferred away, Zhao Zicheng quickly received the news. He then went to the prison and took a look at Han Qinghe and his son Han Chang, as well as a group of imprisoned swordsmen.

"General Han, you are Han Chinese from Yanyun, and you have served the Liao emperor for so many years, so it's fine. Considering that you were born as Liao people, I can't talk to you about the great righteousness between the Han and the Hu people."

However, the Jurchens invaded and destroyed the Liao Dynasty. Now that the Liao Dynasty is gone, you, as Han Chinese from Yan and Yun, instead of submitting to the Song Dynasty, which was also ruled by Han Chinese, rushed to submit to the Jin Dynasty and even acted as their accomplices, inciting the Jin people to invade the south. You shameless villains deserve this retribution!

Han Qinghe and Han Chang both knew they were doomed to die a horrible death, and immediately spat and cursed: "For the past hundred years, do you think we don't know what kind of dog emperors those in the capital have been? We, the heroes of Hebei, would never serve those dog emperors who value civil officials over military ones and don't treat military generals like human beings! Those dogs surnamed Zhao are even more cowardly than eunuchs without testicles!"

As Han Qinghe was spitting and cursing, Yue Fei, who was inspecting the prisoners with Zhao Zicheng, couldn't hold back any longer: "Outrageous! Duke Xiu is a hero of the world, who doesn't admire him! Five years ago I was just a new recruit, but I was fortunate enough to be recognized and rewarded by Duke Xiu for his talent and merits. Now I'm almost a commander-in-chief!"

"Would you have such meritocratic systems, where military achievements guarantee promotions, with no exceptions for the Liao or Jin people? You might want to be a dog for the Khitan and Jurchens, but their thinking is that those who are not of our race are bound to have different hearts!"

Yue Fei's words shocked the Han family father and son to some extent. Although they did not completely believe them, the fact that a young military officer could give such a detailed account must mean that there was some truth to it.

Zhao Zicheng remained remarkably calm and unconcerned about the insults hurled at him by the Han family. He knew the Han family was uncontrollable, and even if he did, it wouldn't make much difference—there weren't many Qin Mings in this world who would risk their lives for Song Jiang after their families were killed by his double-dealing schemes. A normal Qin Ming would certainly hate both Song Jiang and Murong Yanda, not just Murong Yanda.

Zhao Zicheng said that at most he would use his reputation for both kindness and power to win over some Han people in Yanyun in the future, but he would never win over the Han family members themselves.

He waited until the Han family father and son were tired of cursing before he smiled calmly: "Think whatever you want. Anyway, you have shot yourselves in the foot. Because of Dugu Jian's sword that day, the Jin people believed that you were people who surrendered to Liao and were traitors planted by Yelü Dashi in Jin.
The Jin people no longer believe your instigation and have slaughtered all your clansmen left in Xianzhou! Now only you and your son are left in the Han family, and I don't expect to subdue two useless people whose entire families have been wiped out.

However, I pity you all and am too lazy to kill you. I'll give you two choices: either stay here and spend the rest of your days in prison, or try to escape. I'll give you a sword; defeat me and you can leave. I'll keep my word—even father and son can come at me.”

Upon hearing this, Han Qinghe's eyes widened in surprise, but he quickly realized that this fellow surnamed Zhao, supposedly a member of the Song Dynasty's imperial family, was trying to establish his authority among the prisoners. When the time was right and this story spread, it would naturally earn him a good reputation among the chivalrous Han people of Yan and Yun, making it easier for Zhao Zicheng to recruit them for his own use.

Although they saw through Zhao Zicheng's "sinister intentions," they believed that Zhao Zicheng would keep his promise, and the Han family father and son were also willing to give it a try. Anyway, they had no family left, and being locked up here for a lifetime would only lead to the extinction of their lineage. They would not have any women or descendants, so they might as well fight to their hearts' content and die if necessary.

"Good! It's rare to find a hero among those surnamed Zhao. We in the North have been ignorant of such things. I agree to this condition. Listen carefully: if Young Master Zhao can kill my father and me in a fair fight, you should all wholeheartedly submit to him."

Our Han family was wiped out by the Jurchens, so there was nothing left for us to cherish. Although the Jurchens fell into a trap, ultimately it was because they believed that "those who are not of our race must have different hearts." As Han Chinese, our Han family refused to submit to the Song Dynasty precisely because the Song emperor, that dog of an emperor, suppressed military men and had unclear rewards and punishments!
"You also bear the surname Zhao. If you are truly a hero, then these swordsmen of Yan and Yun will serve you, which would be a good use of your talents! You are all widows and orphans who joined the army, with no relatives to settle scores with. If you were to surrender to the Song Dynasty, you would have no weaknesses that the Jin people could exploit."

Han Qinghe turned to the dozens of captured swordsmen who were also imprisoned in the latter half of his speech. Upon hearing this, the twenty Yan Yun swordsmen also silently shed tears, but they felt no hatred in their hearts.

Since ancient times, heroes and chivalrous men from Yan and Zhao have been known for their generosity and righteous indignation. Zhao Zicheng's desire to fight the Han family father and son fairly proves that the Zhao family also values ​​heroes and valiant men. If Zhao Zicheng kills Han Qinghe fairly, then there is nothing to hold a grudge against. It is the Han family who are less skilled than him. Moreover, it was the Han family who first organized people to infiltrate Songyue Mountain with the intention of committing treason.

Zhao Zicheng tossed two swords to Han Qinghe and Han Chang, and he himself drew his sword and calmly assumed a starting stance.

The Han father and son were ultimately too ashamed to fight together, and they also felt that Zhao Zicheng's martial arts were far inferior to that of the mad old man from that night. In the end, it was the younger Han Chang who made the first move to test the waters, thrusting his sword forward. Han Qinghe merely set up a defensive stance, observing the situation from the sidelines.

"You're courting death. You're being coy when I call on you father and son together." Zhao Zicheng looked at Han Chang's aggressive and desperate fighting style, a cold smile appearing on his lips.

With a practiced and fluid move, he directly blocked Han Chang's sword strike and then subtly led him towards Han Qinghe, who was standing to the side.

Han Qinghe was shocked, but fortunately he was already on guard and quickly drew his sword to block his son's sword.

But just as Han Qinghe thought he could parry successfully, Zhao Zicheng's sword moved away from Han Chang's sword spine with lightning speed, and then moved to the spine of Han Qinghe's longsword, making another inexplicable and clever block.

Han Qinghe felt as if a thousand-pound weight had been added to his sword-wielding arm. The blade, which had been raised, involuntarily sank downwards. At the same time, with the acceleration of gravity as it sank, the speed of the forward thrust increased even more.

In the end, Han Qinghe did not block the sword thrust from his son Han Chang. Instead, the sword passed under his son's blade. With two muffled "thuds," Han Chang's sword pierced his father's chest, while Han Qinghe's sword pierced his son's abdomen.

Zhao Zicheng's sword only made contact with the swords of the Han family father and son twice throughout the entire process.

First time playing, zero kills.

The second encounter resulted in a double kill.

Zhao Zicheng returned his sword to its sheath. His sword was not stained with any blood at all; it merely guided Han's father's sword to kill his son and Han's sword to kill his father.

These past two years, I've been in seclusion, diligently studying the teachings of Dou Zhuan Xing Yi, Mani Nuo Yi, and Wan Shou Dao Zang, and integrating these three methods into my understanding. This is why I've achieved such amazing results.

He hadn't realized how powerful Yue Fei was when they fought before, because Yue Fei had also trained hard with him and received all his true teachings. It was only when he fought against outsiders that he realized just how strong he truly was.

"What a fine sword..." Han Qinghe and Han Chang were both filled with disbelief. Before they breathed their last, they gave Zhao Zicheng a high praise for his mysterious technique of using the opponent's force against them.

That scene was exactly the same as in the CCTV version of Water Margin, where Niu Er, after being stabbed by Yang Zhi, praised the "good knife" before dying.

The remaining captured Yan and Yun swordsmen were completely convinced of this scene. The heroes of Yan and Zhao naturally believed in the law of the jungle and the supremacy of the strong. In addition, they grew up in the Liao Kingdom and did not have as many rules and regulations of propriety and shame as those in the Central Plains.

Zhao Zicheng was powerful, and he was fair in rewarding and punishing and kept his word. The Han family, on the other hand, were greedy and used tricks, and ended up being devoured and killed. They died in a fair fight, so what is there to complain about?
Ultimately, the Jurchens would not treat them as their own people and give them important positions.

So all the Yan Yun swordsmen knelt down and begged to serve Zhao Zicheng, willing to be the vanguard in battle.

Zhao Zicheng, of course, would not immediately and unconditionally trust them. He would first organize them into an organization similar to a "resentful army/punishment battalion," allowing them to prove themselves on the battlefield and kill some enemies to pledge their loyalty.

After finishing all this, Zhao Zicheng mentally calculated the days. Considering that nomads traditionally migrated south to gather grass and grain during the autumn harvest, there were only one or two months left. It was about time for him to return to the Central Plains and make thorough preparations.

(End of this chapter)