The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 273 Everyone's Doing Their Own Quirky Things

Upon hearing this, Qi Chongli's expression turned serious.

Most members of the Qi clan are unwilling to leave Gaomi.

They could accept moving to a neighboring county to hide until things calmed down before returning to Gaomi, but most of the clansmen would not agree to completely abandon their homeland and flee to the south bank of the Yangtze River.

Actually, the Qi family members had already argued about this once when the Jin invaders came.

At that time, the Qi family held a family meeting!
At the meeting, Qi Chongli stated that he should go south to follow Zhao Gou.

However, most of the Qi clan members disagreed; they preferred to be Jin citizens rather than leave their homeland.

The current situation is just like a replay of that time.

If Zhao Shi and Gong Yishi really accepted the imperial decree and left for Jiangnan, the Qi clan would never go with them. They would stay here and wait for the Jin Kingdom to attack, becoming Jin citizens instead.

My country abandoned me, so why should I be loyal to it?
Qi Chongli sighed deeply. After his men brought the horse, he mounted it and spurred it on. His old bones were almost broken from the effort as he galloped towards Jiaoshui County...

At the same time, both the Ji and Ma families sent people to Jiaoshui County at all costs.

People from all four prefectures and sixteen counties, all those of any standing, quickly gathered at the glue shop.

The next day, Qi Chongli personally wrote a memorial, in which he vehemently argued the seriousness of the situation and explained the importance of Zhao Shi and Guan Yi to the Shandong region. He stated that with them, Shandong could be protected, and without them, Shandong would surely fall into the hands of the Jin invaders. He earnestly requested the Emperor to rescind his order.

The memorial was followed by signatures from the Ji family, the Ma family, and hundreds of other gentry from four prefectures and sixteen counties.

Such a joint letter is not much different from a "coup d'état." If the officials do not agree to their demands, these gentry will surely rebel. This is something even a fool can see.

The local gentry had no other choice but to resort to this desperate method of resisting Zhao Gou.

Qi Chongli handed the joint memorial to the thirty-second eunuch: "Eunuch, this memorial is the lifeblood of all the people in Shandong. Please be sure to hand it to the Emperor personally, and also say a few good words for the people of Shandong."

The thirty-second eunuch took the memorial, carefully put it away, and then whispered, "My lord, I'm afraid... His Majesty will find it difficult to change his mind."

Qi Chongli: "Why do you say that, Father-in-law?"

The thirty-second eunuch whispered, "When His Majesty abandoned Kaifeng, he didn't even blink. At that time, countless ministers petitioned His Majesty to rescind his order, but it was to no avail."

Qi Chongli's expression turned ugly upon hearing this.

What kind of place is Kaifeng? The capital of the Song Dynasty!

Zhao Gou said he didn't want it, and that was that.

What kind of place is Shandong? Can it compare to Beijing?
The thirty-second eunuch lowered his voice again and said, "My lord, you may not know this! The Emperor summoned the Prince back not just to abandon Shandong, but the real reason is that the Prince is too good at fighting."

Qi Chongli: "Isn't being able to fight a good thing?"

Thirty-two-year-old eunuch: "It's good that you can fight, but it's not good if you're too good at fighting."

Qi Chongli: “…”

Thirty-two Eunuch: "Lord Marquis, do you still remember the Miao-Liu Mutiny? Ever since that mutiny, the Emperor has been very wary of anyone with troops under his command." (For those who have forgotten, please see Chapter 216)
Upon hearing this, Qi Chongli turned ashen-faced.

Thirty-two-year-old eunuch: "No matter what, we will deliver this memorial."

Qi Chongli could only say, "Then I'll have to trouble you, sir."
-
While the rebel army was making a fuss over Zhao Gou's "foolish imperial edict," the Jin state was also in turmoil.

Liu Yu's enormous eel is now laid out before a large group of Jin Dynasty leaders.

Emperor Taizong looked at the eel with a strange expression: "Does having this mean Liu Yu should be emperor? Talan, are you kidding me?"

Talan remained calm: "I'm not joking, Your Majesty. We should appoint Liu Yu as Emperor."

Emperor Taizong of Jin said, "Explain your reasoning to everyone. If they all agree with it, I will consider it further."

So, Talai began to reason with the large group of Jin Dynasty leaders...

The internal affairs of the Jin Kingdom are now in a precarious state.

The reason is simple: since the Jin dynasty destroyed the Bohai Kingdom, it had been engaged in continuous warfare, with virtually no rest. One day it would crush the Tieli Kingdom, the next the Liao Dynasty, and the day after that the Song Dynasty. Not content with just one defeat, it attacked the Song Dynasty five times in just a few years. Then it relentlessly pursued the remnants of the Liao Dynasty, Yelü Dashi, forcing him to flee westward. Simultaneously, the Jin army also attacked the Western Xia…

This madman who hammers heaven, earth, and people, has been hammering away until now, and his domestic affairs are a complete mess.

The vast territories they seized were all in ruins; to describe them as a living hell would be an understatement.

“We’ve conquered such a vast territory, but we haven’t had time to develop it properly,” Talan said. “We can’t afford to continue our military campaigns. We need to calm down and focus on domestic affairs for a few years.”

Emperor Taizong nodded slightly, finding the idea reasonable.

The marshals all nodded in agreement.

Talan added, "Furthermore, the Song Dynasty is not so easy to conquer. In the battles of Huangtiandang, Suotouhu, and Jiaoshui County, our Jin army suffered heavy defeats and losses. The plan to quickly destroy the Song Dynasty has failed."

The generals: "..."

This was the truth. Everyone present was a renowned general of the Jin Dynasty, with an extremely clear understanding of strategy. They could all see that a swift annihilation of the Song Dynasty was no longer possible. The Jin Dynasty's prized cavalry, once it crossed the Yangtze River, would have to fight the Song army in all sorts of inexplicable rivers, lakes, and seas. Cavalry were truly not suited to fighting in those kinds of environments.

Talan: "If we cannot quickly destroy the Song Dynasty, then there is no point in continuing to wage war against it. Winning a few more battles is easy, but it has no strategic significance."

Emperor Taizong of Jin: "That makes sense! If we can't destroy the Song Dynasty, and we only capture one city or one hamlet and then abandon it, then it's of no use."

Talan continued, "There is another problem. The policy of shaving heads and changing clothes that we implemented in Han Chinese territory has aroused fierce resistance. The Han people composed a song, 'You can cut off my head, but you can't mess up my hairstyle.' Bandits rose up everywhere in Jiangbei and opposed us. We killed so many people that we couldn't kill them all."

The generals: "..."

Talan: "We should support a Han Chinese emperor to govern the Jiangbei region, just like we supported Zhang Bangchang. This way, the Han people's resistance won't be so strong, and he can help us develop the Jiangbei region properly. Once the Jiangbei region has abundant grain fields, then we can move there. Wouldn't that be better?"

Emperor Taizong of Jin thought about it carefully.

A large group of generals and marshals of the Jin Kingdom also tried their best to think about it.

After thinking it over, they all realized that Talan's words made sense.

After fighting for so many years, shouldn't we enjoy ourselves a bit?

“Alright!” Emperor Taizong of Jin said, “Let’s put Liu Yu on the throne and let him manage the Jiangbei region on our behalf. Let’s take this time to sort out the internal affairs of the Hebei region and let it recuperate.”

(End of this chapter)