Zhang Fei lifted the cup in his hand and cupped his fists toward the glowing curtain.
"Old General Zong, magnificent."
After speaking, he tilted the rim of the cup slightly. A thin line of tea fell to the ground, touching it for an instant before stopping.
He raised the cup again and took a small sip, then muttered softly,
"Old General, do not dislike this coarse tea. I have already promised the military advisor that until we recover the Central Plains, I will not drink wine."
After saying this, he then drank it all in one go.
Liu Bei's expression was full of approval. He followed and did the same, though his words of tribute and muttered phrases were not the same.
Everyone seated felt this was only natural. After all, this was the four step drinking ritual of bowing, offering, spitting, and finishing the cup that they were most familiar with, used either to remember close friends and relatives, or to worship heroic ministers and fallen generals. General Yide using tea in place of wine was also appropriate.
Kongming's expression held much satisfaction. Previously, Yide's promise to him had seemed like a joke, but thinking carefully, Yide truly had not drunk wine for a long time.
Looking east to relieve the people's suffering, to build merit and establish achievement in this very age.
He had just nodded slightly in his heart when he turned his head and saw Pang Tong over there sighing.
"Since ancient times, among those who claimed the throne, I have never seen one as cowardly as Gou."
Beside him, Fa Zheng agreed.
"Indeed."
The two of them were both rather informal. They even began to exchange opinions on the spot about whether Zhao Gou or Emperor Xuanzong was the supreme example of a foolish ruler.
Fa Zheng felt this was simply absurd.
"Although Xuanzong was muddle headed in his later years, looking at the Tanglong Coup and the Xiantian Coup, he executed traitors and supported the proper line. In his early years he also had outstanding achievements in governance. What does Zhao Gou have that can be praised?"
Pang Tong shook his head to show disagreement, which made Fa Zheng immediately frown.
"Could it be that Shiyuan thinks Zhao Gou surpasses Li Longji?"
Pang Tong laughed loudly.
"If we speak of the supreme example of a foolish ruler, then that person must first be a foolish and muddled ruler."
"But in my view, Zhao Gou is not a foolish ruler."
Seeing Fa Zheng's surprised expression, Pang Tong slowly said,
"This man has the heart of a beast, the cunning of a jackal, the cowardice of a fox slave. His wisdom is short and he is weak. Fierce in appearance, timid in courage."
"When great matters arrive, he does not forget to fight for power and profit and to harm the people. He can be called a lone tyrant and a bandit of the people."
Fa Zheng immediately understood. Thinking carefully, Pang Tong's words did make sense. Xuanzong in his later years could still be said to be stupid and muddled, but Zhao Gou from beginning to end was simply and clearly bad.
These were only casual remarks. After adding a few more evaluations, they set it aside. Fa Zheng could not help but sigh.
"Yue Fei's fate is so full of hardship. He truly deserves pity."
The Fufeng Fa clan had previously fled into Shu. Later, Fa Zheng also learned through later generations of his own early death, and so he could somewhat savor the meaning of fate's tricks.
An ordinary man, after suffering once, would be discouraged. After twice, his will would be exhausted. Yue Fei could truly be called unyielding.
Pang Tong's expression also softened slightly, and he said with some helplessness,
"Such a man carries the fate of the world on his shoulders. We may pity his life, but that man himself only sees his own resolve."
He knew Kongming's stubbornness well, and at this moment, through the brief account of later generations, he faintly saw the same shadow of stubborn resolve in Yue Fei.
"What supreme Son of Heaven. He is nothing but a thieving, dog born, despicable rotten man."
Zhao Kuangyin could no longer remember how many times he had cursed today. Only vulgar words could vent the evil anger in his chest.
If he were to say things like "debauched and immoral," it almost felt like he was praising that Wanyan Gou instead.
Such words made Liu Han frown. Zhao Pu pretended not to hear. The eunuchs nearby did not even dare to glance sideways.
It was only natural. To these eunuchs busy taking notes, the Great Song ruler before them was the Son of Heaven, but that Zhao Gou was also a Son of Heaven.
It was fine for the current emperor to curse, but if they followed along and echoed him, would that not be a sign of rebelling against superiors. Thus, one by one, they were like quails with their heads tucked in, saying nothing and only focusing on the work in their hands.
Seeing that Zhao Kuangyin had vented his anger, Zhao Pu advised,
"Why should Your Majesty be angry. Once Prince Kang receives tonsure certificates and eats vegetarian food to pray for Jingkang and dispel disasters, such things will surely not happen again."
At present, Zhao Pu was not worried at all about the matter of the Prince of Jin. There was no need for him to exert any effort. Each appearance of the glowing curtain was the best assist. Just this alone was enough to remind His Majesty not to perform any acts to display imperial grace.
And as long as the Prince of Jin received the tonsure certificate, even if afterward there truly were some unknown so called Golden Coffer Alliance or similar matters, the court officials would turn that thing into a fake.
After all, how unreliable brother succeeding brother was was well known, and monks interfering in royal affairs was even more absurd.
Zhao Kuangyin was even less worried. The Prince of Jin now had nothing left except a title. His faction had scattered like monkeys when the tree fell. Those who had acted improperly had all been arrested and were only waiting for the Court of Judicial Review to determine their crimes.
Sometimes Zhao Kuangyin was even more glad that this glowing curtain existed. If not for this thing, how would Zhao Guangyi have been unable to restrain his curiosity, entered the palace, and been captured by him with a single hand.
But thinking of the methods Yue Fei used to suppress bandits on the glowing curtain earlier, Zhao Kuangyin suddenly felt a bit of regret.
Why did he not try whether those big slaps to the face were useful?
On the glowing curtain:
[Lightscreen]
[After Zong Ze fell ill and passed away, the position of Tokyo Retention Commissioner of Bianliang needed Zhao Gou to designate and appoint someone. In this situation, without surprise, those sent were all people in collusion with him.
Thus, Du Chong, described as "cruel in nature and fond of killing, short in strategy," took office and became the new Tokyo Retention Commissioner.
As expected, Du Chong adopted actions completely opposite to Zong Ze's active support and coordination with the Hebei militia. He changed to ignoring the Hebei militia entirely, causing the active anti Jin heroes among the people of Hebei to directly lose their rear support.
In the autumn of the same year, the Jin again invaded south. This time, they openly raised the banner of capturing Zhao Gou and destroying Zhao Song, and also attacked Shaanxi along the way.
The familiar plot of "he runs, they chase, he cannot escape even with wings" played out. Zhao Gou had already seen danger and fled to Yangzhou. Upon hearing of the Jin army's southern advance, he fled again to Hangzhou. After staying two months, he went to Jiankang, present day Nanjing.
Du Chong, under the banner of answering the imperial call to arms, directly abandoned Bianliang and also went to Jiankang. Yue Fei, as Du Chong's subordinate, could only follow helplessly.
What Yue Fei did not expect was that Zhao Gou greatly praised Du Chong's actions and promoted him to Right Chancellor, placing him in charge of Yangtze River defenses.
At the same time, in what could be called a continuation of the same pattern, Zhao Gou sent another peace begging letter to the Jin, titled Letter from Song Prince Kang Zhao Gou Respectfully to the Marshal.
"I am willing to cut away the old title. Under Heaven and Earth all is Great Jin's land, and there is no second supreme. Why must you trouble the army to come from afar, and only then feel satisfied?"
This letter did nothing except make the Jin laugh at the envoy and further despise Southern Song. Seeing this, Zhao Gou continued to flee in panic.
In September he fled to Yuezhou, present day Shaoxing. In November, upon hearing of defeats at the front, he fled again to Mingzhou, present day Ningbo.
In December, Lin'an fell. Zhao Gou boarded a ship and fled to Dinghai County, then from there crossed the sea to Changguo County.
Afterward, Yuezhou and Mingzhou fell one after another. The Jin army also took ships out to sea in pursuit, but encountered a storm, and their ships were inferior in size to the Song navy, so they could only stop.
Of course, the more important reason was that Zhao Gou fled like a lone horse far ahead and had already run to Taizhou and Wenzhou. The Jin truly could not reach him and could only choose to withdraw, ending the searching of mountains and seas.
In a certain sense, Zhao Gou truly was a blood descendant of Zhao Guangyi. This level of fleeing skill was not something ordinary people could master.
Throughout the chase and escape, Zhao Gou never stopped thinking of acting like a dog to the Jin. He sent three batches of envoys in total to beg for peace, but the only replies he received were Jin mockery and insults.
However, during the pursuit of Zhao Gou, the Jin had gone too deep into the south. Under these circumstances, the revitalizing martial generals finally stepped onto their own stage.
After the Jin captured Jiankang, Du Chong surrendered to the enemy. Yue Fei broke out of encirclement, gathered the routed soldiers, trained them strictly, and fought across Guangde territory, winning six consecutive battles.
After the Jin troops finished searching mountains and seas and withdrew, when they passed Changzhou they were intercepted again, and Yue Fei won four consecutive victories.
When the Jin troops retreated to Zhenjiang Prefecture, they split into two routes. The water route army was trapped by Han Shizhong at Huangtiandang for over forty days. The land route army was intercepted by Yue Fei and suffered the great victory at Qing Shui Pavilion.
Finally, in May, Song and Jin fought at Jiankang. Han Shizhong used large ships to block the waterways. Yue Fei relied on the terrain of Niushou Mountain and led three hundred cavalry and two thousand infantry to charge the enemy formation and break it. Jiankang was recovered.
This could be considered Southern Song's first tragic and bitter victory against the Jin.]