The Kingdom That Never Sleeps CH 083 Marshal Of The Western Expedition, Li Jingde
In the thirtieth year of Kaiping, in September, the two official roads leading to Youzhou and Cizhou were completed.
Minister of Public Works Yuan Mu and Right Vice Minister of Public Works Su Wenyun returned to the capital together to report to the emperor. The emperor was greatly pleased and generously rewarded the ministers. In fact, the official road to Cizhou should have been completed long ago, but due to the collapse of the Jing River Bridge, no one dared to cut corners when building this road afterward. They worked with utmost precision, which caused the delay.
After Su Wenyun returned to the capital, he held dual positions as the Right Vice Minister of Public Works and the Junior Minister at the Court of Judicial Review. He became the center of attention in Shengjing.
The Su family from Northern Zhili was a prominent and prosperous family in the Song Dynasty, but most of its members were military generals. As a civil official, Su Wenyun held the highest position.
After returning to the capital, Su Wenyun also had to work in Qinzheng Hall.
Tang Shen inevitably saw him a few times, but Su daren, a man of high status, would not bother paying attention to a mere Tang Shen. The two had no further interactions, which suited Tang Shen just fine.
The Junior Minister of the Court of Judicial Review was responsible for overseeing officials guilty of crimes, so no one dared to offend Su Wenyun.
In the imperial court, Wang Zhen held authority over the Silver Pull Division, wielding great power. As Wang Zhen’s junior brother, Tang Shen also rose in status and gained the favor of Zhao Fu. However, Tang Shen ultimately served as an attendant secretary of the Secretariat under Xu Bi.
One day, a eunuch came to Qinzheng Hall to deliver a message. The emperor’s birthday was approaching, and the empress dowager had notified the Ministry of Rites to organize this year's "Longevity Festival."
Minister of Rites Meng Lang received the decree, and the entire court became busy.
As an attendant secretary of the Secretariat, Tang Shen followed Xu Bi's orders to supervise the congratulatory memorials and gifts submitted by local officials. The emperor’s birthday gifts were different from those for common people; officials from all ranks had to present offerings. These gifts had to be “refined, rare, and unique,” a standard that troubled many officials, who struggled to meet such criteria.
Tang Shen soon received countless memorials. The officials wrote their birthday congratulations in flowery language, but their gifts were pitiful.
Left Vice Prime Minister Chen Linghai was also responsible for this year’s "Longevity Festival," so Tang Shen inevitably crossed paths with him.
Chen Linghai summoned Tang Shen to the main hall and asked, "How are the birthday gifts from the local officials this year?"
Tang Shen tried to play dumb for these officials: "In reply to Chen xianggong, officials from Huxi, Jiangnan, the Northern and Southern Zhili regions, and the northwest have already submitted their memorials and gifts. Officials from other regions have also sent in most of their memorials. However, since these areas are far from Shengjing, their gifts are still en route and have not yet arrived."
"Every year it’s the same for the Longevity Festival. I’m well aware," Chen Linghai said, implying that everyone knew officials from remote areas could not offer much, so there was no need to hide it.
Hearing this, Tang Shen forced a smile and said, "I’m still supervising the matter."
Chen Linghai said, "No need to worry too much. His Majesty is occupied daily with state affairs. Although his orders reach all corners of the realm, there are always places his decrees cannot touch. As long as the birthday gifts reach the treasury, that will suffice. His Majesty understands the struggles of local officials and has never been overly harsh."
Upon hearing this, Tang Shen immediately bowed and said, "Thank you, xianggong, for your guidance."
Chen Linghai smiled, stroking his beard. "This is your first year handling the Longevity Festival. There are bound to be things you don’t know, but it’s no trouble. By the way, your teacher and I were old acquaintances. Back when the late emperor was still on the throne, I, along with Fu Xiru, were among the four most esteemed scholars in the realm. Looking back now, those days feel as vivid as ever."
Tang Shen lowered his gaze and said, “I’ve heard my teacher mention Chen xianggong before. He said that Chen xianggong was especially skilled at painting birds and flowers. Among the blooms, one could see a lively oriole weaving through the flowers, a scene truly worthy of praise."
After leaving Chen Linghai’s office, Tang Shen returned to his room, his eyes flickering slightly, but he showed no unusual expression and continued reviewing the lists of gifts sent by local officials.
More than thirty years ago, four highly respected scholars were revered as the "Four Scholars of the World." These four were Zhong Taisheng, Liang Bowen, Fu Xiru, and Chen Weizhi.
Chen Linghai’s courtesy name was Wei Zhi, taken from The Book of Songs·Xuan Niao.
Boundaries stretch for thousands of miles, where the people reside; it begins with the expanse of the four seas.
Among the four, Zhong Taisheng was famed for his remarkable scholarship and was revered by all. Liang Bowen was known for his vast knowledge and was once called the "living library" of the Song Dynasty. Fu Xiru excelled at calligraphy, while Chen Weizhi was known for painting. At the time, these four were also among the most influential ministers in the court. Unfortunately, Zhong Taisheng and Liang Bowen, members of the Songqing faction, were despised by Zhao Fu after their failed coup, and over the years, only Fu Xiru and Chen Linghai managed to remain in power.
Tang Shen paid close attention to Chen Linghai mainly because when Xu Hui was organizing Liang Song’s belongings, he found a secret letter written by Chen Linghai to Liang Song. In the letter, Chen Linghai advised his friend not to try to rescue Zhong Wei from the prison. The emperor would never allow Zhong Wei to leave the dungeon, and no matter how many memorials Liang Song submitted or how many connections he tried to leverage, it was impossible to succeed.
After Zhao Fu crushed the Songqing faction, only Fu Wei and Chen Linghai had extended help to Liang Song among the prominent figures of Shengjing.
Tang Shen sighed.
A true gentleman knows what must be done and what must not.
Didn’t Liang Song understand?
Knowing something cannot be done but doing it anyway—this was the belief, the right path, that Liang Song and many other scholars held in their hearts!
In October, the Hanlin Academy began revising the History of Song Officials. Fu Wei was deeply interested in this and went to the Hanlin Academy daily for work, becoming increasingly busy. By the sixth of the month, Tang Shen arrived empty-handed at the Minister Residence.
Wang Zhen’s steward was surprised to see Tang Shen come without bringing any gifts. He even looked behind him to make sure.
The steward asked, “Tang gongzi, did you come alone?” There was no carriage in sight!
In Wang Zhen’s residence, the steward and servants didn’t call their master “daren” but instead referred to him as “gongzi.”
Tang Shen smiled wryly, “I didn’t bring anything.”
The steward paused for a moment before leading Tang Shen inside.
When Wang Zhen saw that Tang Shen hadn’t brought anything, he raised an eyebrow and glanced behind him.
Tang Shen coughed and said, “Don’t bother looking, Senior Brother. I didn’t bring any gifts today.”
Wang Zhen instructed the steward, “Bring me this year’s almanac.”
The steward quickly fetched an almanac. Wang Zhen searched through it for a while before pointing at the characters for "October 6th" and said to Tang Shen, "Perhaps I’m mistaken, little Junior Brother. Isn’t the sixth of October my birthday?"
Tang Shen replied, “It is your birthday, Senior Brother.”
Wang Zhen said, “Then surely this almanac is wrong. Every year on New Year’s Day, the Astronomical Bureau calculates the almanac and announces it to the world. I didn’t expect Li daren from the Astronomical Bureau to make such an error. Tomorrow, when I see him at court, I will certainly have a word with him.”
Tang Shen: "..."
Wang Zifeng, you're really good at accusing others of not giving gifts to you in a roundabout way!
The steward, holding a yellow almanac, quietly left the room, and Tang Shen was also feeling huffy. He had known Wang Zifeng for four years, showering him with endless compliments, and had more or less learned how to flatter him. Tang Shen snorted lightly and said, "Who says I didn't prepare a gift for Senior Brother?"
Wang Zifeng smiled, "Then where is it?"
Tang Shen responded, "Bring me some paper and ink. I’ll paint a picture for Senior Brother!"
At the age of sixteen, Tang Shen had already been ranked third in the imperial exams, so there was no doubt about his academic ability. He was a proper jinshi. But when it came to the arts—music, chess, calligraphy, painting—he was sorely lacking and couldn’t produce anything decent. The fact that he declared he would paint made Wang Zifeng smile even more brightly. He immediately instructed the page boy to prepare the ink, paper, and brushes, eager to see what kind of painting Tang Shen would produce for him.
After grinding the ink and dipping the brush, Tang Shen glanced at Wang Zifeng and began to paint.
Initially, Tang Shen was just painting out of spite, but as he continued, he became engrossed.
An hour later, Tang Shen finished the final stroke. Wang Zifeng walked up, observed the painting for a moment, and then looked at him, "How long have you been practicing in secret?"
Tang Shen sighed helplessly, "Senior Brother saw through me. For your birthday this year, I really didn’t know what to give you. After much thought, I decided to paint you a picture. I’m not skilled in painting, so every day after returning from work, I’d picture your face and paint two more images. It took half a month… to reach this level."
Wang Zifeng was touched, his lips moved, but for once, he didn’t know what to say.
Tang Shen said, "But next year, I really don’t know what birthday gift I could give you. If it’s not good, Senior Brother mustn’t blame me."
Wang Zifeng’s tone was light, his mood cheerful, "How could I blame you?"
Tang Shen thought to himself: As long as you don’t blame me, it’s good. I’ve already given you a heads-up a year in advance, so remember what you said today.
After they had dinner, Wang Zifeng said, "Your painting skills still have some gaps. Stay the night, and I’ll give you a bit of guidance."
Tang Shen groaned inwardly, "Senior Brother, three years ago, I passed the imperial exams, I’m not your student anymore!"
"Who said you’re my student?" Wang Zifeng said lazily, "You’re my junior brother."
Tang Shen: "…"
Others might spend the night in conversation, sharing heartfelt words. But for Tang Shen, it became a session where Wang Zifeng taught him how to paint!
Wang Zifeng was good at painting, but what did that have to do with Tang Shen? He couldn’t appreciate the beauty of traditional Chinese paintings at all. Managing to paint Wang Zifeng's portrait was already the result of half a month of private practice. No matter how good Wang Zifeng’s teaching was, Tang Shen was still suffering. In the end, he pretended to be sleepy, "Senior Brother, I want to sleep."
Wang Zifeng couldn't help but laugh.
Taking advantage of the moment, Tang Shen escaped to the guest room, shut the door, and promptly fell into a deep sleep.
Zhao Fu’s birthday was celebrated nationwide, and he pardoned the entire country.
However, only two days later, an urgent military report from the northwest arrived. A war between two nations had broken out, with the Liao army attacking Youzhou City, engulfing the area in flames.
The court was in an uproar.
On the dragon throne, Zhao Fu slowly narrowed his eyes. It wasn’t until the officials one by one stood up to condemn the Liao people for violating the peace agreement and urged the emperor to send troops to fight the Liao that Zhao Fu finally flew into a rage, saying, "The Liao people have gone too far. How can I tolerate this?"
Thus, the Song army marched to war, and the two nations clashed.
The battle lasted for a full month.
At this time, the strategic importance of the Youzhou official road became apparent.
In terms of military strength, the Song dynasty had always been far inferior to the Liao. Twenty years ago, the Liao were forced to sign the peace treaty only because the Song sacrificed everything—nearly gambling away their entire nation for victory. Economically, however, the Song Dynasty was far wealthier than five Liao States combined! With the Youzhou official road, military supplies were more easily transported, allowing the Song army to hold out even if they couldn’t win.
The Liao army initially thought it would be a mere hassle, expecting to capture Youzhou within ten days. But after a month of fighting, though the Song army had yet to secure a victory, the Liao forces still hadn’t managed to take the city either.
Wars are costly affairs, and the Liao State never intended to swallow the Song Dynasty at this point; they merely wanted to extract tribute through conflict. Now, seeing that Youzhou still hadn’t fallen, the Liao emperor, in a show of magnanimity, announced a temporary halt to the battle and set up camp fifty miles outside Youzhou, sending envoys to Shengjing to negotiate peace with the Song emperor.
When news reached Shengjing, the court was abuzz with discussion.
Minister of Rites Meng Lang presented a memorial: "The Liao people have treacherous intentions, and they must be here to demand money!"
Minister of Justice Shen Yun countered, "Not necessarily. I’ve heard the Liao emperor intends to propose a marriage alliance."
This statement landed like a thunderbolt, shocking the entire court, and even those royal relatives who weren’t present felt the blow, crying out in dismay.
A marriage alliance?
The Liao emperor was thirty-four years old, in his prime, and, in theory, a suitable groom. But he was notoriously cruel! Apart from his empress, Empress Xiao, at least ten concubines per year died in his palace—each one tortured to death by the emperor. Sending a princess to marry him would be a death sentence, a slow and agonizing one at that!
Worst of all, Zhao Fu didn’t have any unmarried princesses of age!
If there were no princesses, who could they marry off?
First, select among the sons and daughters of the royal family, then the daughters of the officials.
For a time, crying echoed throughout the city of Shengjing, as no one was willing to send their precious daughters to the Liao State to suffer.
Although these matters had nothing to do with Tang Shen, several ministers in Qinzheng Hall had daughters of the right age, and in recent days they all wore worried expressions, sighing continuously. When one sighed, others followed, and the gloom deepened.
Tang Shen carried memorials to the office of the Minister of Works, and as he was leaving, he ran into Su Wenyun.
As the two of them stood outside they could still hear the sighs coming from inside the room.
Yuan Mu didn’t have a daughter of the right age, but he did have a granddaughter who was.
Su Wenyun chuckled, “The Liao delegation hasn’t even arrived, and the court is already in chaos. What will happen when they actually come?”
Tang Shen remained silent, bowed, and was about to leave.
At that moment, a soldier in military attire jogged into Ji Wengji’s office. Both Tang Shen and Su Wenyun glanced at him. Tang Shen noticed that the soldier’s armor was somewhat unusual, bearing a golden insignia on the arm.
Tang Shen asked, puzzled, “I’ve never seen a soldier wearing such armor before.”
Su Wenyun scoffed, “From the northwest, part of the Feilong Army.”
Tang Shen’s heart jolted.
Feilong Army?
He glanced at Su Wenyun but said nothing, turning to leave.
Later that evening, just as he was about to leave the office, Tang Shen finally learned why the Feilong Army soldier had rushed all the way from the northwest to Shengjing. As it happened, the officials had been discussing the arrival of the Liao delegation, which was coming to arrange a political marriage, with the emperor of Liao seeking to marry a princess. Meanwhile, General Li Jingde, who was fighting against the Liao forces in Youzhou City, had just lost his wife three days ago, leaving behind a four-year-old child.
Li Jingde was on the front lines, but his family remained in Shengjing. Now that the two armies had ceased hostilities and the Liao delegation was coming to the capital, Li Jingde seized the opportunity to return home under the pretext of attending his wife’s funeral, all the while keeping a close watch on the Liao envoys.
At that moment, Tang Shen suddenly recalled something he had once said when he was a junior chamberlain: Zhao Fu had three most trusted confidants in court.
The Minister of Revenue, Wang Zhen; the Junior Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, Su Wenyun; and the Marshal of the Western Expedition, Li Jingde!
It turns out Li Jingde had long since married and even had a child.
But General Li was 32 this year, so it was perfectly normal for him to have married and had children.
Suddenly, Tang Shen froze, recalling something...
Wait, wasn't Wang Zifeng already 28? Why hadn’t he married yet?!