Building a Harmonious Song Dynasty

Chapter 45

Yelü Huan said angrily, "Look up at Liaoyang City, do you need a reason for this?"

Qin Zhen was shocked. Yelü Huan had never spoken to her so harshly before. But she also realized that this hell on earth in Liaoyang City was the work of Wushuang. She had to take responsibility for the lives of these thousand-plus people!

She looked at Ji Wushuang, who was in a daze, with heartache. She could hardly believe that this scene was the work of Ji Wushuang, but the facts were right in front of her, and she had no choice but to believe it!

"All right……"

Helpless, Qin Zhen had no choice but to hand Ji Wushuang over to the soldiers and let them take her away.

After eliminating the rebels, the Liao soldiers began clearing the city, resettling the people, and assessing the losses. Qin Zhen was sullen in the Tianfu Palace, which had been cleared beforehand. Yelü Huan found her after two days of work and said, "Zhenzhen, your senior brother has a favor to ask of you."

Although she was unhappy, Qin Zhen still said, "Okay, go ahead and tell me. I'll help if I can."

"I don't have enough men to escort the rebels back to the capital. Could you and your Shan Army help us escort Ji Wushuang back first?"

Qin Zhen was somewhat surprised and said, "Of course."

"Very well, I'll arrange for you to depart tomorrow. This person is important. You must deliver her to the Emperor; you cannot act recklessly, understand?"

"I know." Seeing that Yelü Huan was worried that she would let Ji Wushuang go because of personal reasons, Qin Zhen quickly assured him that she wouldn't lose her. This time, Qin Zhen couldn't show favoritism towards Ji Wushuang either; the bloody facts were undeniable.

When returning to the capital, Yue Fei also set off with Qin Zhen. The facts he witnessed made him realize the cruelty of the battlefield and his own shortcomings. He constantly reminded himself that he needed to become stronger!

When Zhongjing received news of the recapture of Tokyo, Yelü Yanxi had fully recovered. He tried several times to reward Ji Wuhuan, who had saved him, but Ji Wuhuan was not very appreciative, and the imperial edicts were never answered. Knowing Ji Wuhuan's cold personality beforehand, Yelü Yanxi did not blame him too much.

When Qin Zhen brought Ji Wushuang back to Zhongjing, Yelü Yanxi hurriedly summoned her to the palace and said, "Quickly tell me about the battle situation at the front. Your father must have been quite valiant in battle, right?"

Qin Zhen shook his head unhappily and said, "War is no good at all..."

Gradually, she told Yelü Yanxi everything that had happened in Tokyo. Yelü Yanxi was furious and said, "How dare such a monster treat the people of my Great Liao like this! Bring her here immediately!"

Qin Zhen watched with worry as the dejected Ji Wushuang was forced onto the main hall, wondering how the Liao Emperor would deal with her...

Yelü Yanxi was stunned the moment he saw Ji Wushuang.

Zhen: "This...isn't this the divine healer you invited?"

The similar appearance led Yelü Yanxi to mistake Ji Wushuang for Ji Wuhuan, but Qin Zhen explained, "This is the divine physician's sister, Ji Wushuang."

"ah?"

Yelü Yanxi suddenly didn't know what to do with her. Ji Wuhuan had saved his life, so would it be inappropriate for him to just kill his sister like this?

After some thought, Yelü Yanxi immediately sent someone to invite Ji Wuhuan to the palace. Unexpectedly, Ji Wuhuan arrived at the palace very quickly, presumably having learned of Ji Wushuang's arrest.

Qin Zhen looked at Ji Wuhuan with remorse, but Ji Wuhuan's gaze remained fixed on the emaciated Wushuang. Before Yelü Yanxi could speak, Ji Wuhuan actually condescended to plead, "Your Majesty, my younger sister has committed a grave error out of ignorance. I know that not killing her would not appease the people of Liaoyang, but she committed this crime because I failed to teach her properly. I am willing to die in her place, I only beg Your Majesty to spare her life!"

This was the first time Qin Zhen had seen Ji Wuhuan like this, and Yelü Yanxi was even more astonished. He said with difficulty, "You saved my life, how can I kill you? Please get up quickly, we need to discuss this further."

Ji Wushuang, who was prostrate on the main hall, seemed to sense something. She turned her wooden face to look at Ji Wuhuan, and suddenly burst into tears, crying bitterly.

Ji Wuhuan put his arm around his sister's shoulder, pulled her into his arms, and gently comforted her. At this moment, Wushuang only knew how to cry, her mind a complete mess.

The deaths of Maple Leaf and Gao Yongchang tormented her, and the memories of her rampage and killing spree tormented her even more. She couldn't forgive herself, let alone the world! She suddenly realized how terrifying her inner self was! Was that ruthless killer, Wushuang, still herself?

Yelü Yanxi needed to know more specific details, so he decided to postpone Ji Wushuang's case until Yelü Huan returned to the capital and then proceed with the trial.

Trusting Qin Zhen and Ji Wuhuan, Yelü Yanxi agreed to let them take Ji Wushuang back to be looked after while waiting for Yelü Huan to return. So the brother and sister settled down in the back of the Prince's Mansion, but from that day on, neither of them stepped out, and even Qin Zhen was not allowed to visit them.

While Qin Zhen was still troubled by their affairs, the Liao court received another devastating piece of news: Wanyan Aguda had led the Jin army to the gates of Shangjing and had completely surrounded the city!

Before one wave subsided, another attacked. This time, King Yelü Chun of Qin and Jin was prepared to personally lead the army to fight against Wanyan Aguda! However, even though he could still mobilize an army of nearly 80,000 men, food supplies became the biggest problem.

In the recently concluded Tokyo Rebellion, the 50,000 troops consumed more than half of the imperial court's grain reserves in just over a month. Now, where will the grain for more than 80,000 people be obtained?

The impoverished people of Liao had already been thoroughly plundered, so it was unrealistic to expect to find anything more from them. The only option was to borrow grain from neighboring countries.

The Song Dynasty and the Western Xia Dynasty were the Liao Dynasty's potential beneficiaries, and Zhao Gou, who was on a diplomatic mission to Liao, became their first target. The Song delegation, led by Zhao Gou, made their intentions clear: they were willing to lend grain, but only if the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun were returned first!

Yelü Yanxi was furious upon learning this. Wasn't the Song Dynasty taking advantage of his misfortune? Yes, that was exactly what Zhao Gou meant. But what could Yelü Yanxi do? He had no grounds for anger; the entire Liao Dynasty was already teetering on the brink of collapse. He was even relieved that the Song Dynasty hadn't allied with the Jin Dynasty to attack him from both sides!

On the one hand, the Liao Dynasty intensified its efforts to send envoys to the Song Dynasty to negotiate, hoping to reduce the cost of borrowing grain. On the other hand, they sent a fast horse to the Western Xia, with whom they had always had a good relationship, to ask for help.

Misfortunes never come singly, which perfectly describes the situation of the Liao Kingdom at this time. Ten days later, when news came from the Western Xia that there had been a famine last year and they were unable to provide support to the Liao Kingdom, Yelü Yanxi was filled with despair. As expected, when the wall falls, everyone pushes it down!

Negotiations between the Song and Liao dynasties progressed slowly. Although Zhao Gou made some concessions and no longer insisted on Nanjing, which was of vital importance to the Liao, he insisted on taking back Yunzhou and other places, including Xijing, which was equally unacceptable to the Liao.

Faced with this dilemma, Yelü Yanxi and his ministers discussed the matter and ultimately decided to cede Xijing (the western capital) to protect Shangjing (the upper capital), agreeing to sign an agreement with the Song Dynasty. Just as Zhao Gou was happily anticipating the agreement's imminent conclusion, unbelievable news arrived: Princess Dingguo had already escorted a convoy of ten thousand dan (a unit of weight) of grain to Shangjing to support the King of Qin and Jin!

At that moment, Zhao Gou felt dizzy. For the first time, he was so angry with Qin Zhen that he smashed the teacup on the ground!

Volume Two: Eagle Soars Through the Sky 083 Who Sends a Letter from the Clouds?

Liu Qi, grind the ink!

An impatient and irritable Zhao Gou summoned Liu Qi to grind ink for him. He wrote a letter fluently with a large brush, and when he finished writing, he threw the brush on the table with a "thud," splashing a pool of black ink.

He threw down his brush, still seething with anger. Recalling how the agreement he was about to sign had been ruined by Qin Zhen, he was heartbroken! He had planned everything meticulously, but he never expected that it would be ruined at the last step by Qin Zhen. Why was that?

"Send someone to deliver this letter to Qin Zhen immediately. I want an explanation from her!"

Liu Qi picked up the letter from the table and carefully put it away. Looking at Zhao Gou's furious appearance, he understood quite well. His grand plan, which he had been so eager to complete, had been ruined by the person he trusted most. How painful that must have been!

Just as Zhao Gou was about to take the letter out, he hesitated and took it back. After rereading it, he felt that the wording was a bit too harsh, so he crumpled the letter, pondered it for a while, and rewrote it. After checking it and feeling that it would not hurt the harmony too much, he handed the letter to Liu Qi to send out.

On the wide, desolate road, a caravan carrying provisions wound its way north. Upon receiving the news, Yelü Chun dispatched a large number of troops early in the morning to receive and escort the supplies, fearing that something might go wrong with this life-saving grain.

The army that was to receive the supplies was led by General Yelü Anxibao. The honest-looking General Anxibao was all smiles as he led his cavalry toward Qin Zhen, who was wearing light armor. He dismounted in front of her and knelt down sincerely: "This humble general is here by order of the King of Qin and Jin to welcome Princess Dingguo!"

Qin Zhen lowered his arm, which was shielding him from the scorching sun, and asked him to stand up, saying, "General, you must be tired from your journey. There's no need for such formalities."

Yelü Anxibao looked at the young woman on horseback with reverence. This was the one who had solved the problem of food supplies for 80,000 soldiers. How could the soldiers, who were fighting on an empty stomach, not be grateful?

After assigning the cavalry to protect the grain convoy, Abaoxi rode behind Qin Zhen, explaining the battle situation at the front lines in Shangjing to her.

"The Jin invaders have completely surrounded Shangjing and are constantly trying to persuade the city to surrender. The city has been without food for dozens of days. Your Majesty has been leading troops to defend the city a hundred miles away but dares not easily advance into battle. Now that you have heard that the princess is bringing supplies, Your Majesty has decided to lead your troops to approach the Jin army. I believe that we will be able to lift the siege of Shangjing!"

Qin Zhen glanced at the long convoy, but was still very worried. With the garrison in the capital city, nearly 100,000 people were waiting for food supplies. How long could this supply of 10,000 dan of grain help them last?

However, Qin Zhen had indeed done her best. This time, she mobilized all the resources from the various circuits in northern Fanlou, and she couldn't produce any more grain. Moreover, although she tried her best to conceal the mobilization, such a large commotion still aroused the vigilance of the Song Dynasty, which must have caused her senior brother Fan Tianxiang a lot of trouble.

Moreover... Zhao Gou would probably resent her...

Just as Qin Zhen had feared, Zhao Gou's letter reached her a few days later. She opened it but hadn't even read it yet. Qin Zhen was already very uneasy; this time, she was on the opposite side of Zhao Gou's interests. She didn't know how to handle the situation.

To Zhen'er:

"It has been many days since I last saw you, and I have not received any news from you. Today, I was suddenly shocked to hear of the grain shipment to the north. The turmoil in Dongjing has subsided, but the siege of Shangjing has begun again. You must know that this is a good opportunity for our dynasty to negotiate with Liao. However, your actions have put us in a dilemma. I wonder what your thoughts are? I await your explanation."

Qin Zhen read the letter several times, then breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to himself: Judging from these words, Zhao Gou doesn't seem to be in a state of extreme anger. A proper explanation should be enough for him to understand!

She was thinking this, unaware that this was a rewritten letter by Zhao Gou after he had tried to calm his anger. If she had seen the sharp words in the first draft, she would probably have cried out of anger.

In the stillness of the night, Qin Zhen picked up his pen and carefully wrote a reply.

During this nearly month-long period, Qin Zhen thought a lot about what kind of world she was pursuing. Although she still didn't have a definitive answer to this question, when she saw the piles of corpses and fireworks in Liaoyang City, she knew very well that it was not the world she wanted!

Whether they were from the Song, Liao, or even Jin dynasties, she did not want to see death again, even though this hope was so ridiculous and unrealistic, she still held onto it.

Tens of thousands of civilians and garrison troops in Shangjing are besieged. If the Liao army cannot provide them with quick and effective support, then given the stubborn character of Tabuye, the garrison commander of Shangjing, he will surely hold the city to the death and refuse to surrender. When the soldiers and food are exhausted, the civilians of Shangjing will be slaughtered by the Jin army. Qin Zhen does not want to see another dead city!

But...she supported the Liao army to fight against the Jin army, so who should care for the soldiers who died in battle?

Every day, Qin Zhen is torn by this seemingly intractable problem: how can war be eradicated from the world? She hopes to find the key to solving the problem, but so far she doesn't know what to do.

After writing a long reply, Qin Zhen sealed the envelope with wax and sent it back to Zhongjing. At this time, Yue Fei came to find Qin Zhen.

"Hey girl, you're still awake, aren't you? I have something I'd like to talk to you about."

"Okay, please wait a moment, brother."

After tidying her clothes, Qin Zhen came to Yue Fei's side. The two walked aimlessly. Yue Fei thought for a long time before asking, "I've been thinking a lot lately about whether your mission to send grain to the capital was a good thing or a bad thing. I've also heard about the failed negotiations with the Ninth Prince. I want to know what you really think, sister."

Like Zhao Gou, Yue Fei did not understand Qin Zhen because they viewed the matter from the perspective of the Song Dynasty. Using Song Dynasty's grain to save the Liao people would harm their own interests, which Yue Fei, with his loyalty to the emperor, could not understand.

Qin Zhen didn't know how to answer, so he asked Yue Fei, "Brother, last time we witnessed the tragedy in Tokyo. If you had known that Shangjing would suffer the same fate as Tokyo, with countless people dying, would you still have stood by and done nothing?"

Yue Fei, a man of passionate heart, naturally could not bear to see innocent people die tragically. However, thinking of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun being lost again, he said, "The people are innocent, so of course we must save them. But the agreement with the Ninth Prince is about to be reached. As long as he sends the agreement back to the court, the grain will soon be sent to Liao, and we can also reclaim a large area of our land. Why do you want to act on your own, sister?"

Qin Zhen sighed and explained, "Brother, you're thinking too simply. Not to mention that Zhao Gou will return to the country and successfully complete the agreement, it will take forever for the grain to be transported back. It's also uncertain whether Emperor Huizong will even agree to the agreement. Have you forgotten that Prince Yun is currently in the Jin camp? We don't even know what conditions they've negotiated! This journey has been so arduous, but the people of Shangjing can't wait any longer!"

Yue Fei pondered. What Qin Zhen said was true; the battle situation was changing daily, and the soldiers and civilians at the front lines couldn't wait for the officials' slow negotiations. However, the thought of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun, which originally belonged to the Han people and were now lost to the Liao Kingdom, filled Yue Fei with resentment.

Qin Zhen seemed to have seen through his thoughts and explained, "My 10,000 dan of grain can only be used for emergency purposes and cannot solve the fundamental situation of Liao. I believe that the negotiations in Zhongjing will continue, but the bargaining chips will be different."

"Why!"

Yue Fei and Qin Zhen both sighed silently, their expressions heavy. The profound sense of sorrow they felt could probably only be understood when they were on the battlefield.

Recalling the blood and fire of the Battle of Tokyo, Yue Fei firmly thought in his heart that the flames of war must not be allowed to spread to the land of the Song Dynasty. Whether it is the Liao or the Jin Dynasty, if they invade our Song territory, they will be punished!

After receiving Qin Zhen's reply, Zhao Gou pondered for a long time in the darkness. Finally, he understood what Qin Zhen was thinking and realized the gap between him and Qin Zhen.

Qin Zhen was contemplating the life and death of everyone, and he only cared about the people and rights of the Song Dynasty. Zhao Gou was slightly ashamed that this young woman could truly have the world at heart and worry about the common people.

Even though he understood Qin Zhen, Zhao Gou still could not agree with Qin Zhen's actions. Whether for the sake of the foundation of the Song Dynasty or for his future position in the Song Dynasty, he had to return to that crucial land!

Therefore, he needed to increase the leverage he held. To achieve this, the situation in the Liao Kingdom needed to become even worse. Only in this way would the Liao monarch and his ministers lose their sense of self and blindly turn to the Song Dynasty for help!

Just as Zhao Gu was considering what to do next, a crucial message arrived from the Song Dynasty: Consort Wang, the mother of Wang Zhao Kai, had died suddenly from a serious illness!

Zhao Gou struggled to think that once the Prince of Yun learned of this news, he would surely return to the Jin Dynasty sooner, so he had to hurry up as well!

He summoned Liu Qi and instructed him, "Send a message to Wu Shaofen, telling her to act quickly, there's no time to lose!"