Water Margin begins as a captain in Yanggu County

Chapter 376 Duke, do you think... I'm up to the task?

The next day, in Bianjing, the city was still the same Bianjing. As soon as the city gates opened, peddlers and laborers entered, and then all sorts of goods were transported...

The shops on the street were already open, and steam was rising everywhere from the street corners and alleys. However, there were an unusually large number of vehicles on the street today, far more than usual, and traffic jams occurred from time to time...

There were many pedestrians on the road, and many well-informed people knew that today, many court officials and the Prince of Yan were going to Jinghu to welcome the Emperor back to the capital...

The topic was naturally the subject of much discussion in the streets and alleys, and even the various tabloids early in the morning were talking about it, about the war against the Jurchens, about the Prince of Yan's disobedience, and about the current troubles in the capital...

No one gave any orders, at least Su Wu didn't give any instructions on this matter, but someone did handle it. Perhaps Wu Yong did it privately, or perhaps many people knew how to do it, such as Wang Zhongshan...

The Prince of Yan left the city early, and after touring the military camp, he found everyone busy preparing to break camp and set off.

This time there's no rush, we'll take our time. We still need to wait for all of you gentlemen to come along. You gentlemen are naturally slow, it's not just a matter of one carriage, we also need to bring all kinds of guards and servants to serve you.

Duke Rongguo, Qian Chen, arrived extremely quickly. He was skilled at riding a horse; for him, this wasn't a combat skill, but rather a skill for driving a sports car. He rode around the capital on horseback, and in the past, everyone who encountered him would give way...

It is said that the Duke of Qian's family has no real power, but his political influence is obviously enormous. As for money and property, they have countless properties. In Bianjing City, the largest landlord is the Zhao family, and the second largest is the Qian family, with properties all over the place.

More importantly, the Qian family's marriage alliances over the years, such as Qian Chen's own mother, were the tenth daughter of Emperor Renzong of Song, with the honorific title of Lingde Jingxing Da Chang Di Ji. Although Emperor Renzong had children, they all died young, making it rare for one of them to survive.

This eldest princess is still alive at this time, and she is several decades old. She is practically the oldest aunt or ancestor of the royal family at this moment.

It is also said that the Qian family has snatched sons-in-law, the ones who became Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations), when the results were announced at Donghua Gate over the years. This has continued generation after generation.

Besides, whenever there were any major events in the court or the royal family, whether it was a sacrifice, a wedding, or a funeral, their family was always involved, and their ancestors were always enshrined in the ancestral temple...

Therefore, as the army marched towards Jinghu, Qian Chen accompanied Su Wu on horseback at the head of the army.

They're really heading to Jinghu!
Qian Chen also chimed in, "It's been many years since I've traveled far. When I was young, I loved riding fine horses. There was no place around the capital that I hadn't been. In Su Shi's poems, he describes himself as 'leading a yellow dog on the left and holding a falcon on the right, wearing a brocade hat and a sable coat, with a thousand horsemen sweeping across the plains.' That's exactly what I longed for. Speaking of which, I actually met Su Shi when I was young..."

Su Wu smiled and said, "Lord Su must be an extremely unrestrained and carefree person!"

"That's right, that's right!" Qian Chen nodded repeatedly, then said, "You also have the surname Su, so you must be related to Su Zi..."

Su Wu shook his head: "I would like to, but unfortunately, he is in Shu, and I am in Jingdong. Perhaps two or three hundred years ago we could climb up to him, but now it's impossible..."

"Alas... things are getting worse year by year. My mother sometimes says that when she was young, Bianjing was full of brilliant talents, as dazzling as the stars. She also said that when she was young, she loved to hide behind the main hall to listen to the court assemblies, and she would also hide behind the study wall to listen to the ministers talking. She had seen and heard all of them... Haha..."

Qian Chen laughed as he spoke.

Su Wu also wondered, "Which gentlemen are they?"
Fu Bi, Han Qi, Ouyang Xiu, Fan Zhongyan, Wang Anshi, Zeng Gong, Su Shi, Su Zhe, Zeng Bu...

Su Wu did not answer...

"Now, among all the officials in the court, is there really one who can speak up? Will future generations remember him fondly? Do you think that's why I left the city less often in the future?" Qian Chen asked.

“I don’t know…” Su Wu shook his head.

"Bandits, though there have always been bandits, now they're everywhere, even in the capital region... Bianjing is prosperous, but if you leave the city even for a short while, it changes completely... I told my mother this, saying there are bandits in the capital region, murdering, robbing, raping, and kidnapping. My mother didn't believe me. She said it was nonsense, that the people of the Song Dynasty are very wealthy, and while there might be bandits, they must be in some poor, remote place. The capital region is the richest place in the world, how could there be bandits there! I just laughed and said that I was talking nonsense, that I was just believing whatever I heard, there could never be bandits in the capital region... Haha..."

Su Wu understood some of the tone in the conversation and asked, "Does the Duke miss the past?"

Qian Chen nodded: "My family is from the Wu-Yue Kingdom. In ancient times, the Wu-Yue Kingdom was actually a barbarian land. Later, Sima Yi brought chaos to the world, and the Sixteen Kingdoms of the Five Barbarians came into being one after another. The elites fled south, and scholars from all over the country went to Jiangnan and Zhejiang. My family lived in Wu-Yue during that era. How many years has it been?"

"Nine hundred years, I guess..." Su Wu answered casually.

Qian Chen nodded, slowly stroking the neck of the BMW beneath him, and continued, "Yes, over nine hundred years. In these nine hundred years, Wu and Yue have transformed from barbarian lands into a land of plenty. The Tang Dynasty rose and fell, and the Five Dynasties period was filled with chaos. My ancestors managed to protect the peace of this region. Our ancestral teachings have endured for a long time: the Central Plains have a worthy ruler, so why start another war? Wu and Yue, by the time of the Song Dynasty, were even more prosperous, a place where talented people emerged and where the literary spirit of the world gathered. It is said that in this world, some people are scholars, like the scholars of Jiangnan and Zhejiang, while others are soldiers, like His Highness the Prince of Yan, who is a master of the military. What am I trying to say... Oh, I remember now, I wanted to say something... that even in such a place as Jiangnan and Zhejiang, a million-strong band of rebels could rise up. Alas... that was entrusted to us by our ancestors, and in just over a hundred years, it has become a scorched earth..."

“In the past two years, Xu has recovered some of his strength…” Su Wu replied.

Qian Chen seemed not to hear Su Wu's words, and asked himself, "Why is that? For nine hundred years, no matter how hungry the world was, it never reached the Jiangnan and Liangzhe regions! Even with major or minor disasters, whether it was wind or flood, it never reached the point where people would rise up in rebellion! Why is that?"

Su Wu did not answer, but instead lowered his head and stroked the neck of the black horse, Ta Xue Wu Zhui, several times.

But Su Wu actually knew one thing: in Jiangnan and Zhejiang, especially in Hangzhou, the Qian family owned countless properties. During the Fang La incident, they suffered heavy losses, and many of the Qian family's branches and collateral relatives also suffered heavy casualties.

There are actually some things that Su Wu didn't know. In fact, during the Southern Song Dynasty, a large part of the financial support for the Southern Song court's relocation to the south came from the Qian family's assets in Zhejiang and Jiangsu.

Therefore, Emperor Gaozong of Song, Zhao Gou, granted this Grand Princess's every request, bestowing upon her titles beyond measure, all the way up to Grand Princess of Qin and Lu. Qian Chen also continued to bestow titles upon her.

Seeing that Su Wu didn't answer and was only looking ahead as he walked slowly, Qian Chen said, "If you won't answer, I won't answer either, but my mother once said something: 'Don't act recklessly!'"

What's causing this chaos? It's the Flower and Stone Tribute that's causing chaos, Zhu Mian that's causing chaos, and even the Emperor himself is causing chaos.

Others may not know the details of Jiangnan and Liangzhe, but how could the people of Wu and Yue not know? At that time, they were also bullied, and letters of complaint and pleas for help flew to the capital like snowflakes, but what could they do?

People say that Zhao Ji was a deposed emperor and that he was incompetent, but looking at it from another perspective, was there anything Zhao Ji wanted to do that he couldn't accomplish?
In this court, who holds power and who doesn't, Zhao Ji decides with a single word. Is he an incompetent person? At least, Zhao Ji is very capable in controlling the court, which is why he can do whatever he wants and even go so far as to do it.

Su Wu overheard Qian Chen's words, glanced at him, and sensed something clearly, but couldn't quite put his finger on it...

Su Wu immediately asked, "Has the Duke remembered the ancestral precepts again?"

Qian Chen smiled and said, "Your Highness, the Prince of Yan, only thinks I am... fickle, or perhaps seeking long-term wealth and power..."

Believe it or not, Su Wu really thought so... but Qian Chen's words were incredibly clever.

Su Wu turned his head and thought for a moment. The Qian family was neither a scholar-official class nor a military family. They were the real partners of the Zhao family. They had actually invested an entire country directly into the Zhao family's company.

Whether people want to invest, withdraw, or even hedge their bets, there's nothing to criticize.

The people of Wu and Yue are truly intelligent! They have an innate gene for intelligence!

Su Wu suddenly squeezed the horse's flanks, causing it to turn its hooves and gallop several steps forward.

Qian Chen urged his horse on and followed beside Su Wu.

Su Wu suddenly asked, "Duke, do you think... I'm up to the task?"

Qian Chen suddenly became serious and stroked his beard: "It's better than what we have now... In recent years, His Majesty has been talking to people from time to time about restoring the Han and Tang dynasties. He even said it once before, I heard it from you. It seems as if the Han and Tang dynasties are really coming back. Such a vast territory, from Hexi to the Western Regions, from Yan and Yun to the grasslands, how exactly will the Han and Tang dynasties return? I often think about this too..."

As he spoke, Qian Chen glanced at Su Wu…

Su Wu smiled slightly: "Let's give it a try..."

"Haha..." Qian Chen laughed, only saying one sentence: "Last time, when the Jurchens besieged the city, there were over a million people in Bianjing, and not a single one was a man... I thought, if the Jurchens enter Bianjing, what will become of my life and fortune? I also thought, if something like this happens again, the first thing I will do is run, take my old mother and run! I will definitely run faster than the emperor! I will go to Wuyue, and I will still have face, and my family business will still be there..."

"Then why didn't you run away this time?" Su Wu asked with a smile.

"Isn't this strange? I was going to run away, but my news came too slowly. I only saw that the Emperor had run away first. I sat down and thought about it. The Prince of Yan isn't a Jurchen. He wouldn't want to beat or kill me. Hey, after thinking it through, I decided not to run away! My mother is old. If something bad happens to her while I'm running away, that would be terrible. I'll just stay at home and wait for the Prince of Yan to summon me. I will go and sit down with the Prince of Yan in person!"

Qian Chen was still laughing heartily...

"Before entering the city, I thought I should find someone in the city who could still speak to me. After searching around, I realized that only the Duke was suitable. If there wasn't such a person, it would be troublesome if everyone started talking at once..."

Su Wu spoke very seriously.

"I knew about your post as soon as it came in..." Qian Chen said seriously, clearly indicating that his stance was not aligned with anyone else's and that he had his own perspective.

Su Wu suddenly asked, "Duke, tell me... tell me, will the Emperor run away again this time?"

"This time? This time in Jinghu? I still have to run..." Qian Chen seemed to have seen through everything, like a fortune teller.

Su Wu muttered to himself, "Then we can't let him run around like that anymore..."

Qian Chen seemed to have heard him and said softly, "I think so too!"

Suddenly, Su Wu slowed his pace, and Qian Chen slowed his pace as well. The two returned to the front of the line, but said nothing more.

Qian Chen said, "I'm getting old, and I can't ride a horse as well as I used to when I was young. I can't handle the bumps. I'll take a soft carriage. Please forgive me, Your Highness!"

Su Wu nodded: "Please do as you please, Duke..."

Su Wu felt a great sense of relief and just wanted to hurry on his way to Xiangyang City.

Cheng Hao had already set off earlier, and now that Zong Ze was not by his side, Cheng Hao had to take over. Xiangyang City was south of the Han River, which was a major river, so they needed a boat.

Cheng Hao went ahead, leading a group of men to intercept and confiscate ships at various locations.

Su Wu also had a fleet of ships, but there was no time to allocate them now. He would just wait and see. Unless there was a stalemate, he wouldn't need to use his own fleet.

The Han River must be bustling with activity right now.
Many Northwest Army troops arrived, but the main army was still slow. However, the Emperor's decree urged them on in countless ways. Zhong Shizhong had already traveled lightly and simply by boat from Hanzhong down the river. He had already passed Xiangyang. The Hanyang army seemed far away, but in fact, it was only a matter of a day and a night.

Zhong Shizhong had already knelt before the emperor. The emperor, having regained his composure in the main hall of the Hanyang military and state government office, hurriedly went forward to help the travel-worn Zhong Shizhong.

He exclaimed, "Good, good, good, you've come quickly, you've come well. With the old prime minister here, I can rest assured that you're in charge of the army..." The emperor was moved and even shed tears. At this time, he was in dire straits, and Zhong Shizhong had come so quickly. How could the emperor not be moved?

As Zhong Shizhong rose, he said, "I have received boundless grace from the Emperor, and I will repay this kindness with my life!"

"Good, good! My lord, please sit down, sit beside me. And tell me about military matters, tell me about military matters quickly!" Zhao Ji was anxious; he wanted to hear one sentence that would guarantee victory in this battle!

Zhong Shizhong had arrived, but he was completely clueless about the current situation. He could only ask, "Your Majesty, please bring me the maps of the various armies so I can take a look."

"A diagram? What diagram? A battle formation diagram?" the emperor asked.

“Oh… it’s a map. His Majesty has gathered all the armies. Where are they now? How many soldiers and weapons do they have…” Zhong Shizhong asked.

"This... there are so many letters and messages that we haven't been able to prepare yet. It's just in time that you've come, sir. Please just take over!" the emperor said.

Zhong Shizhong frowned. What kind of battle was this? Who were the people surrounding the Emperor?

Can't you even do this basic work properly? Where is each vehicle? How many people have arrived? There's no overall planning or coordination.

"Very well," Zhong Shizhong nodded, "Then this old minister will get to work. This old minister has also brought some men with him. Let's see where all the official documents are..."

"Oh, at... the office of Qin Hui, the Censor-in-Chief."

Zhong Shizhong immediately stood up and bowed: "Then I will go find the Imperial Censor and get the job done!"

"Very well, very well. A banquet will be prepared tonight. Please take your seat, sir!" The emperor rose to see him off, showing him exceptional hospitality.

Zhong Shizhong hurriedly went to find Qin Hui, who was also in the prefectural government office.

Qin Hui was indeed a capable official; he categorized all kinds of official documents neatly and organized them properly.

After Zhong Shizhong came in and found the place, he started working. He first brought a map and then marked the movements of all kinds of official documents on it.

He then asked Qin Hui, "Minister Qin, what should be done about the matter of money and provisions?"

"Yes, yes, yes, they're all here, there's a whole pile over here..." Qin Hui gestured to the mountain of official documents, adding, "I've already cataloged and checked these several times..."

"Who is in charge of overall management?" Zhong Shizhong asked again.

"Huh? Then I... I'll take care of it?" Qin Hui was stumped by the question, but he was capable of doing the work and running errands.

"Then you'll be in charge. All the accounts and supplies must be accounted for meticulously, without any discrepancies. You'll lead the team to handle this. Also, the storage locations must be carefully chosen. It's the height of summer, and the area is prone to flooding, so it goes without saying that they mustn't get moldy. The military rations must be stored separately, not all in one place..."

Master Zhong explains everything in great detail, whether it's necessary to teach or not, because these people would never be able to handle these details well.

"Understood, understood... Then I'll go?" Qin Hui nodded.

Zhong Shizhong waved his hand without saying a word and continued marking the map, too busy to do anything else.

First, we need to understand the situation on the battlefield. On paper, Hanyang has already gathered 60,000 troops, while across the Yangtze River, in Ezhou and Jiangxia, there are 70,000 to 80,000 troops, and in Xiangyang, there are 40,000...

The force from the Northwest numbers approximately 26,000 to 27,000, led personally by the old man Zhong Shidao, with Wang Yuan as his deputy. They are still en route and have not yet arrived.

That adds up to 200,000 soldiers!

As for what kind of troops the 200,000 were, Zhong Shizhong didn't bother to look into it. There was no room for wishful thinking. Even the Hebei army and the troops in the capital region were so corrupt; what hope could there be for the troops from the southern and northern routes of Jingzhou and the western and southern routes of Jingzhou? He'd even heard that some of them came from the western route of Jiangnan...

Ugh……

A hodgepodge.

And look at those account books: grain, money... money... a total of over a million strings of cash. This prefecture received seventy or eighty thousand, that prefecture sixty or seventy thousand...

Zhong Shizhong frowned as he continued flipping through the grain. Fortunately, the food supply seemed to be doing alright for now. Jinghu was a land of plenty, enough to sustain them for the time being...

Looking at the map again, without needing to look at it for long, just a few glances were enough for Zhong Shizhong's eyes to fix on Xiangyang.

That's the key!

Zhong Shizhong hurriedly got up and went outside, but as soon as he stepped out, it was already completely dark. He asked, "What time is it?"

A servant outside the door answered, "It's almost midnight!"

Zhong Shizhong nodded, seemingly remembering something: the Emperor had invited him to a banquet that evening. "Eh...did he come to invite him?" he thought, as if he'd casually replied...

Enough, enough. It's all for official business. I'll go see the Emperor again.

The emperor wanted to go to bed early, but the eunuchs at the gate wouldn't allow it. Helpless, Zhong Shizhong returned home and found a place to sleep.

When I opened my eyes again, it was already dawn, and I went to the sect again.

After waiting at the door for a while, they finally met the emperor.

The emperor was overjoyed and exclaimed, "The old prime minister must have devised a winning strategy!"

Zhong Shizhong frowned slightly, wondering if he should go along with it, but instead said, "Your Majesty, victory is truly difficult!"

"How could it be difficult? Su Wu had tens of thousands of soldiers. I have hundreds of thousands of soldiers here. How could it be difficult?" the emperor asked repeatedly.

“Your Majesty, the immediate priority is to begin setting up defenses. The most important city is Xiangyang. If Xiangyang is defended, Jinghu will be safe; if Xiangyang falls, Jinghu will be in grave danger.” Zhong Shizhong avoided addressing the emperor’s question.

"Then make the arrangements quickly. I... I hereby appoint you as General of the Cavalry, to command the imperial army, and to be fully responsible for this campaign to quell the rebellion!"

At this moment, Zhao Ji suddenly became spirited and confident, and his trust in Zhong Shizhong was beyond question.

"Your Majesty, please reserve this official position for my elder brother. He is on his way," Zhong Shizhong said, sighing for his elder brother.

The elder brother sighed: How could it be so fast? I'm not even dead yet, how could it have started?

For the sake of that name of loyalty and righteousness, Zhong Shidao had no choice but to come...

"Oh, Old Master Zhong has come too? Very well, then he shall also be appointed as General of the Cavalry, just like you. He shall be the chief commander, and you shall be the deputy commander!"

Emperor Huizong was overjoyed.

“My brother will arrive in two or three days. Your Majesty, please wait a moment. I… I have already paid my respects to Your Majesty. I shall head north first, to Xiangyang!” Zhong Shizhong bowed, preparing to leave, not wanting to linger.

"Alright, go quickly, go quickly. With two ministers from the Zhong family, I have no worries, and the Great Song Dynasty has no worries!" The emperor seemed to be encouraging himself, clenching one fist and waving it in the air.

"Your Majesty, please take care!" Zhong Shizhong bowed deeply as he said this, his voice filled with emotion, and his eyes welled up with tears.

The emperor was deeply moved, but said, "I haven't even had a drink with the old minister yet... Well, let's wait until we win and celebrate before we drink!"

Master Zhong bowed deeply!
Moved, the emperor nodded and said to himself, "This time, I will definitely capture that traitor alive and bring him to me. I want to ask him properly why he is so heartless!"

Zhong Shizhong, whose arms and legs were also old and frail, was getting up when he heard this and simply replied, "Your subject will do his best!"

As he spoke, Master Zhong slowly retreated.

Emperor Zhao Ji felt a surge of excitement. Finally, his pillar of support had arrived. With an army several times larger than his own and such a renowned veteran general in command, victory was assured!
Turning his head, the Emperor entered his chambers. Suddenly, he remembered someone and muttered, "Shishi didn't come with me. Alas... I was just in too much of a hurry..."

A few days later, in Xiangyang City, across the Han River.

Zhong Shizhong was already on the city wall, across the river, and he had truly arrived!
Su Wu stood on the bank of the Han River and looked into the distance. What he saw was indeed a large banner with the character "种" (zhong, meaning seed).

Su Wu was speechless with a sigh...

Around the water's edge, all sorts of boats were being prepared, but it was far from enough. Cheng Hao was busy everywhere, but his busyness was all for show on the other side; the place to cross the river was definitely not here.

Su Wu also thought of sending a letter to Zhong Shizhong. The letter contained a lot of words, and at the end, he asked if it would be nice to meet him.
So the letter was sent, and a small boat rocked across.

The reply came quickly; a small boat rowed back with only four words: "It's better not to see it..."

Su Wu was still by the water, still sighing...

It was Wu Yong who said, "Your Majesty, let's go back..."

Let's go back to camp. The military conference is about to start; winning shouldn't be difficult...

Even more difficult than winning is figuring out how to deal with the emperor. Wang Fu has come along, and we'll have to see what he does next...

(End of this chapter)