I am Emperor Shizu of Song

Chapter 154 The Jin army returns; a family must be together.

Zhao Huan racked his brains over how to settle his distant cousin Zhao Zicheng after the Jin army withdrew.

Zhao Zicheng's title is already fixed; he has reached the limit of being enfeoffed as the Prince of Xiu.

In the Northern Song Dynasty, a prince with the character "one" in his name was generally given a prefix of a prefecture or county; he could not be any higher.

For example, Zhao Zicheng's title of Prince Xiu was nominally based in Xiuzhou. Zhao Huan's third younger brother, Zhao Kai, who was one year older than Zhao Zicheng, was the most favored son of the retired emperor, but he was only the Prince of Yun, which was nominally based in Yunzhou, where Song Jiang and other Liangshan bandits had caused trouble.

Zhao Zicheng's official rank was originally that of a fourth-rank official, Tongyi Dafu, when he served as Honglu Shaoqing. Later, when he became Honglu Siqing, he was promoted to Guanglu Dafu, a third-rank official.

Now his official rank will be adjusted again. In order to reward his previous achievements, he will be promoted to at least the second-rank Silver-Green Grand Master of the Palace, or even the second-rank Gold-Purple Grand Master of the Palace.

Considering that his title was already that of a prince, the silver-green rank seemed a bit low-class and shabby. Zhao Huan finally decided to go straight to the rank of Grand Master of the Palace.

After careful consideration, Zhao Huan decided to appoint Zhao Zicheng as the "Pacification Commissioner of Liangzhe Circuit." This position was slightly higher than that of the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies, and its rank and status were absolutely commensurate with Zhao Zicheng's contributions.

Moreover, after becoming the Pacification Commissioner of Liangzhe Circuit, it was convenient for him to send Zhao Zicheng to Liangzhe to "strongly persuade" the retired emperor to return to the capital!

Zhao Huan had a very good plan. If he wanted to invite the retired emperor back to the capital, he had to make a grand enough show. At least one prince, who had to be a nephew or son of the retired emperor, would be sent to "strongly invite" him back.

Zhao Huan felt that none of his brothers seemed to have the same courage. Even after going to Liangzhe and arriving in Zhenjiang Prefecture, they couldn't persuade their father.

In contrast, Zhao Zicheng, as a distant nephew of the emperor, was both close to the emperor and filial, and also assertive enough. Given the many favors Zhao Huan had bestowed upon him, there was no reason for Zhao Zicheng not to perform this task well.

Moreover, he had just broken out of the Jin camp. With that courage alone, I believe that even if the Emperor Emeritus wanted to delay, he would be "like a scholar encountering a soldier, unable to reason with him."

More importantly, after secretly reviewing the situation with Li Bangyan and Bai Shizhong, Zhao Huan discovered an advantage in using Zhao Zicheng to do this: Zhao Zicheng had previously had a bad relationship with the "Five Traitors," and Cai Jing had a strained relationship with Zhao Zicheng because of Zhu Mian's problem. Zhao Zicheng had killed Zhu Mian in the past, which could be considered as removing the retired emperor's trusted local tyrant in Jiangnan.

Therefore, this mission was perfect for Zhao Zicheng. When Zhao Zicheng went, he could also carry the imperial edict to punish the other three traitors, torment Cai Jing to death, and then order the two powerful eunuchs, Tong Guan and Liang Shicheng, to commit suicide.

Historically, Zhao Huan also took advantage of the few months between the first retreat of the Jin army and the second, to intensify the internal strife, kill the remaining members of the Six Traitors in the south one by one, and then bring his father back to Bianjing and immediately place him under house arrest in Longde Palace.

Of course, this cannot be blamed on Zhao Huan's fondness for internal strife. Even if Zhao Huan didn't fight his father, Zhao Ji, Zhao Ji would have found a way to do so. After hearing of the Jin army's retreat, Zhao Ji attempted to use the small court in Zhenjiang to issue edicts to various regions, ordering them to obey the retired emperor's commands again. If Zhao Huan didn't turn against his father, his father would have turned against him.

Only by killing Cai Jing and his ilk can we prevent Zhao Ji from returning to power and staging a "coup" to restore the throne.

The infighting between the father and son will never end unless one of them is placed under house arrest or both are captured by the enemy.

The brutal struggle for supreme power has always been a one-way street; once someone is released from the cage, someone else must die, even if they are father and son.

From the day Zhao Ji, out of cowardice, passed the throne to his son, and then refused to die, everything was destined.

Even if the Jin army didn't return so quickly, the central government of the Song Dynasty would continue to be weakened by the infighting and power struggles between the father and son until the Jin army arrived.

……

After much deliberation, Zhao Huan finally received the imperial edict on the fifth day after the Jin army withdrew.

At that time, Zhao Zicheng was still recuperating in the mansion that his elder brother had just given him, and had not done anything recently.

Perhaps it was his actions of "seeking land and houses" and "actively purchasing rare flowers and stones to decorate the garden" during the period after his return from his mission that further reduced his elder brother's fear of him, which led to this imperial decree.

"...Zhao Zicheng is hereby appointed as the Pacification Commissioner of Liangzhe Circuit, promoted to Grand Master of the Golden Purple Light, and sent to Zhenjiang Prefecture to welcome the Emperor Emeritus back to the capital. Anyone who obstructs him may act as he sees fit. Any officials accompanying the Emperor in Jiangnan who disobey the imperial decree shall also be dealt with by Zhao Zicheng."

The official decree did not mention exiling and persecuting Cai Jing, nor did it mention ordering the execution of Tong Guan and Liang Shicheng. Those were separate decrees and had no direct connection to Zhao Zicheng on the surface.

However, the imperial edict to Zhao Zicheng still emphasized several key points.

First, he wanted to "welcome" the retired emperor back to the capital, not by sending him to inform him, but by requesting that he escort the emperor back to the capital. Therefore, Zhao Huan clearly did not intend to let the tiger return to the mountain and allow him, the military commissioner of Liangzhe Circuit, to remain a local tyrant in Jiangnan for a long time. He went there this time, but he still wanted to return first.

Secondly, Zhao Huan granted him the power to act expediently in dealing with those who defied the imperial edicts, namely, to supervise the implementation of the other imperial edicts. If Cai Jing, Tong Guan, Liang Shicheng, or anyone else acted improperly, Zhao Zicheng could help them maintain their dignity.

If the retired emperor is not respectable, there is nothing that can be done but to persuade him to return to the capital. However, if the other people around the retired emperor are not respectable, they can be used as an example to deter others.

This kind of thing is both prestigious and risky.

Zhao Zicheng's reputation is obvious. The "Five Traitors" have aroused great public resentment and have been in power for so long. Countless people in the world want Cai Jing and his associates dead. If Zhao Zicheng were to be in charge of supervising the implementation of these imperial edicts, his prestige and reputation would be greatly enhanced.

The risk, however, is that Zhao Zicheng will become more deeply involved in the feud between Zhao Huan and his son Zhao Ji, and could become a tool for Zhao Huan to kill his own father, drawing in even more enemies within the court.

But Zhao Zicheng clearly had no right to refuse.

He simply accepted the imperial decree and expressed his gratitude.

"Your subject will certainly live up to your mission and welcome the Emperor Emeritus back to the capital safely."

After receiving the imperial decree, he did not delay. He simply took a temporary guard assigned to him, along with his subordinates, and a fine horse, and hurriedly headed towards Jiangnan.

Princes in the Northern Song Dynasty did not have guards. This was because all close relatives of the imperial family were restricted to living together in Bianjing (Kaifeng), and they did not need to raise their own security forces. The daily security of the princes' residences was uniformly handled by the Imperial City Guard and the Palace Guard.

When they traveled, the Palace Guards would arrange for imperial guards to accompany them. However, because Zhao Zicheng was so familiar with Li Gang, and because he had brought his own guards from his hometown before he was even a prince, this was a different story.

After the Battle of Bianjing ended, although Li Gang's power was greatly weakened, he could still easily mobilize a few dozen people, which allowed him to return Zhao Zicheng's original team to him and continue to work for him.

So Zhao Zicheng, along with Yue Fei, Dugu Jian, and his fifty Yan Yun swordsmen and Murong family retainers, continued their winding journey south.

Yue Fei's assignment has not yet been changed, but because of his minor military achievements in defending the city, and later as the vanguard leading Zhao Zicheng to break through the Jin camp, and the real merit of the Jin army in fiercely attacking his head, Yue Fei's rank has been promoted several times.

It's equivalent to "the same position, but a huge increase in salary".

Before going to fight Goryeo, Yue Fei's official rank was only the 40th rank of Jinyi Xiaowei, out of 53 ranks of military officers. During his two years in Goryeo and Japan, with the help of Zhao Zicheng, he had been promoted to the 33rd rank of Baoyi Lang before coming to Bianjing.

During the defense of Bianjing, Yue Fei finally broke through from the "Lang" level to the "Daifu" level with the help of Li Gang, because he also had the military merit of having two heads of Jurchen Mouke.

At that time, anyone who could kill a Jurchen soldier, a centurion, could essentially be promoted from a junior officer to a senior officer in the Song army. Because it was so incredibly difficult, it relied heavily on the support of allied forces, making it extremely prestigious.

Yue Fei was promoted directly from Baoyi Lang to the twenty-sixth rank of Wude Dafu by taking the heads of two strategists while defending Tokyo.

This time, he followed Zhao Zicheng out of the Jin camp and actually killed two Jin soldiers (commanders of a thousand men, but one of them was shot dead and no head was obtained). Based on his personal bravery in killing the enemy, Li Gang finally acted in an impartial manner and promoted Yue Fei to the nineteenth rank of Yiwei Dafu, which is equivalent to the sixth rank (the previous Wude Dafu was the seventh rank).

However, all of this happened in a hurry. In addition, Li Gang also knew that Yue Fei was brought by Zhao Zicheng. Therefore, when the Privy Council went through the proper procedures, he temporarily only promoted Yue Fei's treatment and did not assign him any duties, so that Zhao Zicheng could continue to mobilize Yue Fei and avoid overstepping his authority.

Given Yue Fei's current rank, nominally, he could become a commander-in-chief in any army, directly commanding a force of 5,000 men. If given a higher rank, it wouldn't be impossible for him to be given two or three armies of 5,000 men each.

However, these are all things for later. In any case, Yue Fei is still just following Zhao Zicheng and is temporarily serving as the captain of the guard, leading his men to ensure that Zhao Zicheng has enough force to carry out the imperial edict.

……

After traveling for more than ten days, Zhao Zicheng and his party finally crossed the Yangtze River at Guazhou Ferry in Yangzhou and headed to Jinshanzhou in Zhenjiang on the other side.

The team that sent the fleet to help Zhao Zicheng cross the river was his old acquaintance, Liang Xin and his son Liang Feng, who had once commanded the river patrol naval forces in Zhenjiang.

Seven years have passed in the blink of an eye. The Liang family father and son should have been executed by Tong Guan for their poor performance in the campaign against Fang La. It was Zhao Zicheng who changed the course of history and saved them from the misfortune of the Fang La Rebellion. Later, they gradually accumulated merits and rose through the ranks.

The Liang family father and son were not particularly capable generals; they were just average. Over the years, Liang Feng rose from battalion commander to commander-in-chief, and his father also received a slight promotion, at least in rank, but his actual military power did not increase.

Even Liang Hongyu, who was only twelve years old back then, is now nineteen. However, because her grandfather and father were not killed, her status is not lowly, and she probably can't become Han Shizhong's concubine, since Han Shizhong's military rank is now lower than Liang Hongyu's father's.

Unless it was a formal marriage, it would be impossible for someone to become a concubine, and Han Shizhong already had a legal wife. Perhaps this was a side effect of changing the fate of the Liang family.

After the retired Emperor Huizong (Zhao Ji) arrived in Zhenjiang and made it his temporary capital, the status of the local river defense commanders in Zhenjiang rose accordingly. These men were no longer considered part of the local militia, but were all incorporated into the Imperial Guard, since they were guarding the prefecture where the retired emperor himself resided.

To stabilize morale, Zhao Ji also gave some last-minute rewards to the troops in Zhenjiang and other places, and these soldiers have been living relatively comfortably lately. If Emperor Zhao Huan insists on issuing an edict to welcome the retired emperor back to the capital, and the retired emperor himself refuses, these soldiers may not necessarily cooperate with the emperor.

However, after Zhao Zicheng arrived, the situation changed completely.

Zhao Ji's last-minute efforts to win people's hearts were completely incomparable to Zhao Zicheng's accumulated prestige and popularity among the Song army in Jiangnan over the years.

Among the generals of Jiangnan, some had been saved by Zhao Zicheng, while most others had fought alongside him, earning merit and rewards. Zhao Zicheng was also exceptionally fair in leading his troops, with clear distinctions between rewards and punishments; how could he not be popular?
Today, Liang Feng personally steered the boat that was crossing the river. While crossing, Zhao Zicheng inquired about the situation of the retired emperor in Zhenjiang from Liang Feng, who answered all his questions without reservation.

"With the Emperor Emeritus in Zhenjiang, quite a few officials from Jiangnan have privately pledged their loyalty to him and are willing to withhold funds from the Zhenjiang temporary capital. It seems unlikely that the Emperor Emeritus will be able to return to the capital smoothly. He can't very well expect the local imperial guards to forcibly relocate him..."

Liang Feng was quite generous to Zhao Zicheng, even revealing such inside information without reservation.

Of course, his statement did not necessarily stem from absolute loyalty to Zhao Zicheng, even more so than to the Emperor Emeritus. He also considered siding with either the Emperor Emeritus or the Emperor himself, and seeking to secure more benefits.

If Zhao Zicheng came representing imperial power and an imperial edict, and the imperial guards in Jiangnan cooperated in carrying out the edict, killing the treacherous officials around the retired emperor who had misled and instigated him to refuse to return to the capital—thus "cleansing the retired emperor's inner circle"—that would be a great achievement. However, they must be careful to maintain a proper balance. If it involves disrespect for the retired emperor himself, and this is discovered later, the emperor will not protect them. They might end up like Cheng Ji.

No matter what, we have to save face.

Fortunately, Zhao Zicheng was there to back him up. He knew history and reviewed the current situation. He immediately decided to create a slight time difference when carrying out Zhao Huan's imperial edict.

Zhao Huan instructed him to deal with Cai Jing, Tong Guan, and Liang Shicheng as soon as he arrived in Zhenjiang, to eliminate all of the Emperor Emeritus's supporters, and to render the Emperor Emeritus powerless to resist.

However, Zhao Zicheng felt that perhaps he could first persuade the retired emperor to set off, and then cut off these supporters, which would look better on the surface.

Historically, Emperor Huizong (Zhao Ji) did have some desire to return the capital, but he was worried about whether the Jin army had completely retreated. If they hadn't, he feared there would be danger after returning the capital. He believed that things could only be done once, and since the southward hunt/return to the capital had already occurred once, doing the same thing again would alienate the people.

Therefore, Zhao Zicheng could use his one-way information transparency advantage to convince the retired emperor that the threat of the Jin army had been completely eliminated.

Once you understand this style of doing things, the subsequent procedures for audiences become logical.

One day in early May, Zhao Zicheng formally entered Zhenjiang City and paid a respectful audience with his distant uncle, the retired Emperor Zhao Ji.

“Your subject, Prince Xiu, pays his respects to the Emperor Emeritus. I have come from afar and am eager to see you. I have not yet changed my clothes. Please forgive me, Your Majesty.”

Zhao Zicheng unusually performed a very thorough ceremony to avoid giving others cause for criticism. However, his demeanor during this audience was actually a blend of gentleness and firmness, as he hadn't even changed his clothes and was still wearing his soft armor with carved feathers and tendon rings.

When meeting the Emperor Emeritus, weapons, including swords, are certainly forbidden. However, wearing soft armor is not taboo, and there is no strict rule against it. Many military generals wear armor when meeting the Emperor, and Zhao Zicheng's armor is merely soft armor made of feather tubes; it could easily be described as a more durable garment.

Zhao Zi said that this set of armor had been cleaned and maintained, but the bloodstains of the Xiongnu that had seeped deep into the feather tubes could not be completely removed. At most, an oily protective coating could be used to prevent acid corrosion.

After repeated handling and polishing, just like playing with beads, walnuts, or jade bracelets, it develops a patina. This patina is the result of repeated handling with the blood of hundreds of Jin soldiers; the sense of historical depth is completely different.

Although Emperor Huizong was old and experienced, he had never seen such a bloody and grim scene before, having lived in the deep palace for so long. When he saw this distant nephew come to invite him on behalf of his own son, Emperor Huizong actually became somewhat intimidated, and his words of comfort were hesitant and flimsy.

After exchanging pleasantries, Zhao Zicheng went straight to the point, inviting the emperor: "Thanks to the blessings of the Emperor Emeritus and Your Majesty, we fought to the death and argued with reason, using both kindness and force to force the Jin people to retreat. Now the Jin people have signed a ceasefire agreement with our Great Song Dynasty and dare not covet the Central Plains again. Your Majesty requests that the Emperor Emeritus return to the capital to comfort Your Majesty's filial piety and to facilitate Your Majesty's daily instruction to the court."

Looking at his distant nephew whom he hadn't seen for several years, Zhao Ji suddenly felt a sense of unfamiliarity, as if he didn't recognize him at all.

His understanding of Zhao Zicheng was still that of a refined and scholarly student who could command the country. How could he have been unaware that his nephew had become a fierce general who could kill hundreds and defeat thousands of enemies in the fierce Jin camp?
After a long moment of stunned silence, Zhao Ji finally came to his senses and asked the question that concerned him most: "Have the Jin soldiers really all retreated? Won't they return?"

Zhao Zicheng dared not deceive the emperor, and immediately said selectively: "Whether they will return or not, no one can guarantee, and I cannot deceive the emperor with false words. However, the Jin army has suffered heavy losses in this retreat and should be unable to fight again."

The Jin army commander-in-chief who attacked Bianjing, Wanyan Zongwang, was fatally wounded by an arrow shot from amidst thousands of soldiers, and subsequently died. With their commander gone, how could the morale of the Jin army be easily restored?

Zhao Ji's eyes widened to their limit. He asked for more details, and finally seemed to recall a possibility. He actually began to hint and make empty promises to Zhao Zicheng.

The implication was simply, "If Zhao Zicheng escorts the emperor back to the capital, can you help him regain power?"

It has to be said that Emperor Huizong of Tang (Zhao Ji) would use such unorthodox tactics on any high-ranking official he could find.

Many later generations, focusing on the outcome, believe that Zhao Ji was tricked back to Bianjing by his son and then placed under house arrest in Longde Palace until the fall of Bianjing. However, in reality, there's no smoke without fire. If Zhao Ji had no ambition to regain power and had simply stayed in Zhenjiang, Zhao Huan would have been powerless to stop him.

It was Zhao Ji's own greed that made him blinded by self-interest.

Zhao Zicheng never expected such a good opportunity to come to him, so he naturally chose to "flirt with the emperor as ordered," pretending to be flattered and even talking about his past encounter with the retired emperor in Tokyo and being appreciated by the emperor's uncle.

As they chatted, Zhao Zicheng even squeezed out some tears, seemingly moved by genuine gratitude.

Emperor Huizong thought he was very good at playing power games and that he had definitely got his distant nephew under control. He promised him a lot of wealth and honor, and finally decided to return the capital and seize power.

To ensure the smooth succession of the power grab, and considering that they would have to travel along the Grand Canal, Zhao Ji ordered the two local naval commanders of Zhenjiang Prefecture to accompany him on his journey. He also transferred some cavalry and infantry from Suzhou and Hangzhou, along with other miscellaneous troops, to form a force of 20,000 to 30,000 men to escort the retired emperor back to the capital.

The retired emperor traveled slowly and could not exert himself, so the army could only travel forty li a day. When Zhao Zicheng went south to welcome the emperor, it took him about ten days to arrive, but it would take him a full forty days to return.

But there was no other way; in order to bring Zhao Ji back to Bianjing, this little bit of time had to be wasted.

From mid-May to the end of June, right up to the hottest part of summer, the soldiers were exhausted and abandoned their armor on the ships, traveling light. Along the way, many suffered from heatstroke, injuries, or even died from heat exhaustion.

These imperial guards, conscripted from Jiangnan, were extremely resentful of the Emperor Emeritus Zhao Ji's reckless actions and had absolutely no loyalty to him.

In the eyes of these soldiers, the retired emperor was nothing more than a trivial matter between the royal father and son. Was it really necessary to bring 30,000 regular troops with him when he was being mobilized in the heartland of the Song Dynasty, where the rule was stable? Wasn't that just a waste of resources and manpower, forcing the soldiers to suffer without any real hardship?
Fortunately, the Military Commissioner of Liangzhe Circuit, His Highness Prince Xiu, was very considerate of the situation. Although he did not have much power at the moment and had little autonomy when accompanying the emperor, he still strictly inspected the food and supplies of ordinary soldiers and the logistics of the army within his power.

For example, every day when the soldiers ate their meals, Zhao Zicheng would go to inspect and randomly check each camp to ensure that the soldiers' rations and pickled vegetables were not cut off. He would eat with the ordinary soldiers of the camp he selected each time.

The soldiers all knew of Zhao Zicheng's deeds, and many of them had fought alongside him against Fang La years ago. Now, seeing a prince eating and enduring hardship alongside his soldiers, they were naturally filled with gratitude.

However, Zhao Zicheng's actions also aroused suspicion from some people.

Some clear-headed people around Zhao Ji, such as Cai Jing, Tong Guan, and Liang Shicheng, also noticed that Zhao Zicheng was being overly considerate of his subordinates.

Cai Jing was relatively loyal to Emperor Huizong (Zhao Ji), after all, they had worked together for so many years, and now he was attempting a fourth comeback to help the retired emperor regain power. Cai Jing secretly sought opportunities to slander Zhao Ji, hoping that Zhao Ji would be wary of whether Zhao Zicheng (Zhao Ji's son) harbored any disloyalty.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ji also became somewhat suspicious, but he knew that now was not the time to break off relations. If anyone should be worried, it should be his son, Zhao Huan, who should be concerned about this issue. Zhao Ji needed to ensure that he had regained power from his son before considering anything else.

However, Zhao Zicheng soon learned about Cai Jing's "slanderous words" during his private audience with Cai Jing. Zhao Zicheng was very popular among the veteran soldiers of the Jiangnan Imperial Guards, and he had been secretly watching Cai Jing's actions on the way back to the capital.

Although Zhao Zicheng did not know the specifics of what Cai Jing and the retired emperor discussed, he believed that as long as he caught Cai Jing having a private meeting with the retired emperor, that would be enough.

Then, when the army was halfway there and still several hundred miles from Bianjing, Zhao Zicheng, while setting up camp one night, hinted to the messenger who was traveling with him to suddenly produce the imperial edict that had not been read aloud before. The content of the edict, of course, was that the emperor wanted to severely punish the "three traitors".

This decision to "postpone the imperial edict" was not made unilaterally by Zhao Zicheng, but rather the result of discussions between him and the minister in charge of the edict's delivery. The minister was also willing to take some responsibility, as everything depended on "tricking the retired emperor from leaving Zhenjiang and setting off."

Once he was on the road, the retired emperor had no choice but to stop!
This time, because Cai Jing violated regulations by secretly meeting with the retired emperor to discuss matters, the imperial envoy finally revealed the emperor's decree.

Cai Jing was exiled to a remote area, and Tong Guan and Liang Shicheng were ordered to commit suicide!
Zhao Zicheng immediately announced that he would obey the imperial decree. When any of the accompanying generals had questions, Zhao Zicheng succinctly explained two points:
First of all, this matter was handled in accordance with the Emperor's orders!
Secondly, Cai Jing and others misled the emperor, slandered the retired emperor, and sowed discord between the retired emperor and the emperor's father and son!
Tong Guan and Liang Shicheng had some connection with Zhao Zicheng back then. When Zhao Zicheng ordered them to commit suicide halfway through the journey, Tong Guan and Liang Shicheng couldn't help but show their resentment.

"Zhao Zicheng! If it weren't for our family speaking well of you back then and helping you in several matters such as the Flower Stone Tribute and the Genyue Garden, how could you be where you are today!"

"Zhao Zicheng! You were able to rise to the position of Vice Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies because of my support in helping you participate in the negotiations with the Jurchens and redeem Yanjing. Yet you repay kindness with enmity!"

Zhao Zicheng didn't bother with any more words: "Gentlemen, you should have already heard that the scholars of the world have listed you as one of the Five Traitors."

Prime Minister Tong, you were so incompetent back then, yet you were so eager to negotiate with the Jin people to redeem Yanjing for the sake of your own face and achievements. Because of your haste, how much money and grain did the people of our Great Song Dynasty have to pay?

If we hadn't had to consider your feelings back then and had negotiated according to my plan, we might have been able to take advantage of the Jurchens' desperation and Wanyan Aguda's impending death to get our Song Dynasty to pay more than half less of the ransom!

As for you, Liang Xiangong, you did introduce me, but only because you knew Zhu Mian had amassed too much wealth, and you thought introducing me would allow me to better serve the Emperor Emeritus! Later, I was framed by Zhu Mian and imprisoned for a time, and you didn't side with me instead of Zhu Mian. We were merely using each other!

"Now, if you have someone to blame, blame Cai Jing for instigating the father-son relationship between the Emperor Emeritus and the Emperor even on his deathbed, plunging our Great Song Dynasty back into internal strife during this turbulent time! As long as I, Zhao Zicheng, live, I will not tolerate anyone instigating internal strife in our Great Song Dynasty! You can all be considered as being buried with Cai Jing!"

To be honest, Zhao Zicheng didn't care who was right or wrong between Zhao Ji and Zhao Huan.

All he cared about was that Zhao Ji and Zhao Huan had to decide the winner as quickly as possible, and the loser had to be eliminated completely and as soon as possible.

It doesn't matter which of the two dies, but it's crucial that one dies as quickly as possible, at least to ensure a complete end to their political life. Their physical bodies, however, can be allowed to live a few more days under house arrest.

Zhao Zicheng has a clear conscience; all of this was for the sake of the country.

Tong Guan and Liang Shicheng knew they couldn't avoid this attention. With their shrewdness, they could easily understand the subtext behind Zhao Zicheng's words.

That evening, Tong Guan and Liang Shicheng were forced to commit suicide under the watchful eyes of Zhao Zicheng.

Cai Jing, after being repeatedly tormented and exiled, soon fell seriously ill and died. Three of Cai Jing's eight sons were also killed, but those less involved in politics were spared the extermination of their families, indicating that Song Dynasty politics was relatively lenient.

With the last three of the "Five Traitors" dealt with, Emperor Emeritus Zhao Ji was "welcomed" back to Bianjing by Zhao Zicheng at the end of June.

Emperor Zhao Huan personally went out to greet his father, appearing to be a loving and filial son. However, as soon as he returned to the palace, Zhao Huan immediately changed his tune, imprisoning his father in Longde Palace and severing all communication between Longde Palace and the outside world through his trusted confidants.

Emperor Huizong of Song (Zhao Ji) finally became his son's prisoner.

Shortly after Zhao Ji was tricked back to his hometown by his son and placed under house arrest, the Jin army had already begun planning their second invasion of the south.

The troops that Wanyan Zongwang withdrew from have already merged with Wanyan Zonghan's troops who retreated from Taiyuan.

Emperor Wanyan Wugumai of the Jin Dynasty had already made adjustments, appointing Wanyan Zonghan as the commander-in-chief of the merged army, and appointing Wanyan Zongbi and other core princes as his deputies.

However, neither the Zhao family emperor nor his son knew any of this.

(End of this chapter)