Great Song Dynasty Writer

Chapter 203 West of the Old Fortress, Zhou Yu Defeates Cao Cao

As dawn broke, the group bid farewell to Wang Tao, the judge of Yuezhou.

Wang Tao personally led his entourage to see them off at the dock, cupping his hands in greeting and saying, "My worthy brothers, on this journey north, you will surely achieve great success. When we meet again in the future, we shall raise a large toast!"

"Thank you, Judge Wang!"

The group boarded the ship and set off, the passenger ship sailing downstream, once again merging into the mighty Yangtze River.

On the ship, Lu Beigu examined the items in his hands.

In addition to dried silverfish from Dongting Lake, Wang Tao also gave each person a basket of early-ripening tangerines, a cage of lake crabs, and two bolts of Yuezhou tribute fine cloth.

The quality of Gongxi cloth is quite good. Although it cannot compare with Shu brocade, it is still a good material for making clothes.

Lu Beigu pondered that this was probably something Wang Tao had originally prepared for Zeng Gong, who was dressed in tattered clothes, but since they had come, he had given it all to them.

"Judge Wang is truly generous," Wang Shao said, peeling a Dongting Lake early-ripening tangerine and chewing it.

Lü Huiqing said nonchalantly, "There is official funding."

Public funds, also known as official expenses, were special expenses incurred by various circuits, prefectures, counties, armies, and supervisory commissions in the Song Dynasty. They were used for banquets and gifts to visiting officials, in addition to the regular expenses. Later, they also included entertaining candidates who had not yet passed the imperial examinations but had potential.

As for the official funds, there was actually a major incident involving them in the past.

Twelve years ago, in the fourth year of the Qingli reign, a famous case broke out, namely the "Ministerial Money Case".

At that time, Zhang Kang, the commander of Jingyuan Road and prefect of Weizhou, and Teng Zongliang, the commander of Huanqing Road and prefect of Qingzhou, recommended by Fan Zhongyan, were in charge of the military and political affairs of Jingyuan and Huanqing Roads on the northwest front. During their tenure, they used a large amount of public funds that should have been used to entertain passing officials and candidates for the imperial examinations, instead using them to entertain heroes, subsidize merchants, raise spies, and reward soldiers.

The newly appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Four Routes of Shaanxi and concurrently the Pacification and Recruiting Commissioner, Zheng Jian, well, he's the one who was a close friend of both the Great and Small Song Dynasties and one of the "Four Friends of Tiansheng," investigated and found out about this matter.

The investigation revealed that the more they investigated, the bigger the problem became. In addition to the normal accounts, there were tens of thousands of strings of cash in public funds that were unaccounted for. Besides Zhang Kang and Teng Zongliang, famous military generals such as Di Qing and Zhong Shiheng were also implicated.

The matter reached Emperor Renzong, who could only send people to investigate the accounts. However, before the investigators even reached the four northwestern routes, Teng Zongliang burned the accounts.

Yes, it was burned.

This matter was rife with shady dealings and caused a huge uproar. As a result, in addition to Zhang Kang being demoted and Teng Zongliang being exiled to Yuezhou, their recommender Fan Zhongyan was also dismissed from his post as prime minister.

The story that followed was that after Teng Zongliang arrived in Yuezhou, he rebuilt Yueyang Tower and asked Fan Zhongyan to write the timeless masterpiece "Record of Yueyang Tower".

However, compared to the widely known fact that "Teng Zijing was demoted to the position of governor of Baling County in the spring of the fourth year of the Qingli era," the major case that truly changed the fate of Fan Zhongyan and others is little known.

As for the official allowance itself, it was not greatly affected. As the most important welfare benefit for the scholar-official class, it simply could not be cut.

Fan Zhongyan's memorial, "Requesting the Reduction of Public Funds in Various Prefectures and the Restoration of the Status Quo," clearly states that "the reason why the state disposes of public funds is because officials and gentry travel back and forth on official missions, which involves the labor of travel. Therefore, it is necessary to order the prefectures and kingdoms to provide them with food and drink, or to hold banquets to reward them. This is a matter of respecting the virtuous and should not be abandoned." Emperor Renzong also clearly stated in his "Imperial Edict to the Military Commissioners of the Four Routes of Shaanxi" that the court would not pursue public funds as long as they were not used for personal enrichment.

At this very moment, Lu Beigu, who had set off from Yuezhou, held the gifts that Wang Tao had purchased for them with official funds. He felt a strange mix of history and reality in his heart.

Cui Wenjing changed the subject and asked, "Where are Brother Zigu's family members waiting?"

During our conversation last night, Zeng Gong mentioned that several of his family members were waiting for him elsewhere. He had come to Yuezhou with his younger brother Zeng Bu because he had received an invitation from Wang Tao. Zeng Gong replied, "My younger brothers Zeng Mou and Zeng Fu, and my brothers-in-law Wang Ji and Wang Wujiu, are waiting for me in Yangzhou."

Zeng Bu then interjected, "Although Judge Wang sent travel expenses, we feel it's better to go."

Before the honest child could finish speaking, Zeng Gong interrupted him with a cough.

Clearly, Zeng Gong was embarrassed to take advantage of his friend and felt that having too many people would cost Wang Tao money, so he only brought Zeng Bu. However, since they happened to meet Lü Huiqing and his three companions, Wang Tao still ended up spending money.

Although Wang Tao might not care at all, and the four of them meeting was just a coincidence, it was still not very good to say these words in front of the four of them.

"Let's go for a walk and enjoy the scenery," Lu Beigu suggested.

His suggestion came at just the right time, and the group tacitly took a few tangerines each and left the cabin.

After the passenger ship left the mouth of Dongting Lake, the river surface remained wide, but the terrain on both banks was quietly changing.

The boundless expanse of the Jianghan Plain gradually recedes, replaced by undulating hills, and the river seems to quicken its pace, carrying an eagerness to rush towards the sea.

In late autumn, the mountains and forests on both sides of the river are ablaze with color, with maple leaves turning fiery red and maple leaves turning golden yellow, interspersed with evergreen pines and cypresses, creating a vibrant oil painting under the morning light.

The boat sailed smoothly, with occasional finless porpoises playing and chasing the waves beside the boat, attracting everyone to lean on the railing and watch, and tossing down two segments of tangerines, not knowing whether the other party would eat them.

Small towns and ferry crossings occasionally appear along the way. Although they are not as prosperous as Jiangling and Yuezhou, they are still densely populated, revealing the wealth of the heartland of Jingchu.

On the river, large fleets of cargo ships began to increase, fully loaded with grain, bamboo, wood, porcelain and other goods. Occasionally, official ships would sail by, their flags fluttering.

Several more hours passed.

"Puqikou is just ahead," the boatman pointed to a fork in the river ahead. "Not far downstream is the territory of Chibi."

Following the boat captain's directions, everyone's gaze turned to the distance.

The river seems to be subject to some invisible constraint here, with the mountains on both sides suddenly narrowing to form a natural pass.

At the same time, the river wind became fierce, carrying moisture and the chill of late autumn, and the air seemed to be filled with a subtle sense of desolation.

"West of the old fortress, Zhou Yu defeated Cao Cao! The enemy's ships and towers were reduced to ashes, how magnificent! Truly a model of a great man establishing merit and achieving great things!" said Lü Huiqing.

After resting in Yuezhou, he had recovered from the shock of leaving Jiangling. Now, facing this ancient and famous place, his literary sentiments welled up in his heart.

Wang Shao, however, was more concerned with the strategic location. He pointed to the north bank and said, "We're not far from Wulin now."

"In the past, Cao Mengde stationed hundreds of thousands of troops here, with camps stretching for hundreds of miles. He thought he was unstoppable, but unexpectedly, a great fire destroyed them all. This is a military stronghold, and the importance of terrain cannot be overstated!"

The Battle of Red Cliffs, a major battle that left a deep mark on Chinese history, was actually fought not at the famous Red Cliffs on the south bank, but at the hilly area on the north bank—Wulin!
Lu Beigu gazed at the distant, somber rolling hills on the north bank, bathed in the autumn sun, as if he could see through time and witness the earth-shattering fire.

(End of this chapter)