What gave Liu Han a small measure of comfort was that the emperor did not rebuke Chancellor Zhao for his sharp and mocking remarks.
When Zhao Kuangyin lowered his head and met Liu Han's expression, which clearly wrote "His Majesty is broad-minded" all over it, he was momentarily at a loss for words.
But if he were to grab Liu Han right now and say that Zhao Gou came from the lineage of the Prince of Jin and had nothing to do with him, no matter how one thought about it, it would still sound rather strange.
So the Zhao Song emperor could only brush it over and say,
"If one wishes to avoid such a calamity, it is actually quite simple. Liu Fengyu should take advantage of this… immortal opportunity, study medicine and refine your medical skills. In this way, you can benefit the Song and allow the future generations of my Song people to avoid such disasters."
Zhao Kuangyin's thinking was simple. As long as he did not die suddenly two years later, he would be able to free up his hands to gradually deal with external threats such as Northern Han, Khitan, Tangut, and Uyghur, and internally to rectify official governance and attempt to resolve the problem of an oversized army.
After all, later generations had made it very clear. Looking across the annals of history, the prosperity of the Song had many commendable aspects. If one only added martial virtue to it, would that not make it another era that could rival the height of the Tang?
Liu Han accepted the order with a clasped fist, but he was not very clear on what His Majesty truly meant. And when he said "avoid such a calamity," was this calamity referring to Zhao Gou, or to the Jin state?
However, Liu Han vaguely recalled that earlier today, the emperor had asked him whether he knew the teachings of Zhang Zhongjing and Sun Simiao.
Then, thinking again of the names of Emperor Zhaolie and Tang Taizong that had appeared on the light screen, Liu Han's heart could not help but give rise to a bold guess. Could it be that…
But immediately afterward, Liu Han also felt puzzled.
Had the Medical Sage Zhang Zhongjing ever served Emperor Zhaolie?
When reading the Records of the Three Kingdoms and the Chronicles of Huayang, he had never seen any such record.
…
"This Zhao Gou really makes me, Old Zhang, furious!"
With a loud shout, Zhang Fei slammed his fist into the ground, causing everyone in the general's residence to feel the same sense of grief and indignation.
To speak of anger, there was actually not that much. From long ago, everyone had already expected Zhao Gou's hopeless nature.
Such a frantic recall with twelve golden command plaques to rescue the Jin state from fire and water was outrageous, but if it was this Wanyan Gou, then it somehow became understandable.
Thus, what filled their hearts even more was regret.
Regret that a great enterprise that could have been grasped was now scattered to the winds.
Regret that the string of victories at Yancheng, Linying, Yingchang, and Zhuxian Town had all been rendered in vain.
Regret for the fierce general who fought to the death at Xiaoshang Bridge. Regret for the bold words at Zhuxian Town about striking straight for Huanglong.
Even more, regret for the soldiers and civilians who died defending Taiyuan, for the volunteer armies that fought in Hebei, and for the people of Kaifeng who had been enslaved for twelve years, all of whom had suffered and died in vain.
Counting days as years, thinking of the imperial army and longing for the Xia banners. As the old territories were gradually recovered, the barbarians fled, and at last they shed their left-lapelled garments.
An urgent edict recalled the army to the capital. Cries rose from north and south, pouring out loyal hearts. The state could not be revived, the enemy escaped from danger, and success failed at the final step.
Even Pang Tong lost the smile on his face and said softly to his old friend from Nanyang beside him,
"Kongming, your Five Zhang Plains can at least be said to be heaven favoring one and slighting another. Though there was much helplessness, it could still be pushed onto fate."
"But this Yue Fei could have restored the realm. In the end, because of one man who disregarded the livelihood of tens of thousands of people and issued an edict to withdraw, all of this trouble was caused by Zhao Gou. This can be called a man-made disaster."
Zhang Fei could hardly agree more. He immediately muttered under his breath,
"In my opinion, it would be better to just bind that Zhao Gou and hand him over to Jin Wushu. Let them kill him if they want. At least he would stop being an eyesore in the south…"
Kongming pretended not to hear and instead spoke from another angle.
"How difficult the northern expeditions are. Yue Fei was able to complete ten years of training and defeat the Jin army to achieve such victories. That was truly unexpected. Withdrawing like this, even if one wants to fight again later, it will certainly not be easy."
Speaking of Kongming, over these years he had first farmed in Nanyang, then followed Lord Xuande south to Jingnan, then west into Yizhou, and finally north again through Hanzhong into Guanzhong.
In between, he had also gone to Jiangdong as an envoy. Thus, he could be said to have seen the scenery of both north and south, and because of this, he understood even more the weight of the words "northern expedition."
Whether in Jingnan or Yizhou, waterways were everywhere and one could benefit from water transport. With large and small boats, sending one or two detachments of soldiers was enough to transport the grain and supplies needed by a great army.
On the path of northern expedition, after crossing the great rivers, the places where one could rely on water transport sharply decreased. The army then had to assign a considerable portion of manpower to transport and escort supplies. Moreover, marching on foot was far more exhausting for soldiers than traveling by boat in the south.
These added costs in countless small details would ultimately accumulate enough to influence the outcome of a campaign. Therefore, advancing from south to north became an increasingly difficult situation.
In a certain sense, this was why later generations often joked that Sun Quan could never get past Hefei. With the waterways of Jiangnan, whether transporting troops or grain, everything could be considered relatively easy.
On the other hand, if advancing south from the north, one could rely on water transport to rapidly ease logistical pressure, free up more manpower for battle, and make things easier.
For this reason, in Kongming's view, this northern expedition at the very least needed to drive the Jin back to north of the Yellow River. Only then could there be some qualifications for a standoff.
If one allowed the Jin to come and go freely in Henan, grow familiar with water transport and experiment with shipbuilding, then even peace talks would be nothing more than seeking skin from a tiger.
At the head seat, Liu Bei's sense of regret was even deeper. He shook his head.
"If only I could have worked together with Yue Wumu. What a blessing that would have been."
Then he turned his head and said,
"I imagine that Yue Fei must have written a memorial like a 'Memorial on Sending Forth the Troops' to steel his own resolve before this northern expedition."
Everyone was immediately moved.
Thinking of such a man from a farming family, whose mother still insisted on sending her son to join the army to resist the Jin even when their hometown was occupied. This young man had witnessed all kinds of misconduct by the official armies, and even had to serve as a deputy to greedy and despicable men who would dig open the Yellow River and cause a catastrophe that reached the heavens. It could be said that he encountered nothing but misfortune.
After finally breaking away, he spent ten years forging a strong army, only to face a court that chose to cooperate with his blood enemies.
Just when he finally seized the chance to launch a northern expedition and establish merit, twelve golden command plaques wiped it all away in one stroke. No wonder he would write a memorial to send himself off and strengthen his own will.
"The calamity of the Southern Song does not lie with Western Xia, nor with Liao and Jin. It does not lie with the humiliation of Jingkang, nor with the disgrace of searching the mountains and seas."
Liu Bei spoke calmly.
"The thief sits in the center, seated upright upon the imperial throne."
…
"The benevolent and the righteous die side by side on the soil of northern expeditions."
"Foolish rulers and treacherous ministers seek comfort in the splendor of Jiangnan."
Li Shimin was unwilling to waste words on a rotten man like Zhao Gou. He only sighed and said,
"From this point onward, north and south are divided."
Previously, the light screen of later generations had spoken at length about the division between north and south. At that time, they could understand part of it, yet still felt it might be an exaggeration.
But now, seeing with their own eyes that the Song court disregarded the life and death of the people and forcibly recalled the general to halt the northern expedition, the civil and military officials of the Zhenguan era all understood a bit more.
How many times had the Southern Song rulers and ministers betrayed the people of the northern lands?
Twelve years of occupation might still allow people in the south to forget the imperial armies. But what about fifty years? A hundred years?
Even if those who suffered remembered that they were Han by blood, how could the children who grew up under Jin rule still remember where their native tongue and homeland lay?
"Han children all speak barbarian tongues, yet curse the Han from atop the city walls."
"The crimes of this Zhao Gou, even if he were cut down by axes and blades, would still not be enough to redeem them."
Seeing her husband sighing endlessly, Empress Zhangsun smiled and spoke to ease his heart.
"If this light screen were viewed together with a Ming emperor, who knows how many vicious words would be spoken."
Li Shimin stroked his chin, thinking of Zhao Kuangyin's earlier words that the disaster of his younger brother seizing power had already been resolved. Linking this with the timing of his own viewing of the light screen together with Zhuge Wuhou and Zhao Kuangyin's appearance, a guess quickly formed in his heart.
"If Old Zhao moves fast enough to change his history," Li Shimin smiled, "I suspect the day we see the Emperors of the Ming is not far off."