Chapter Thirty-Three: Each Seeking Their Own Livelihood (Part I)

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Snow pellets, driven by the wind, pelted the tightly shut carved lattice windows of the Crown Prince’s residence at the southeastern corner of the imperial city. Their rapid, scattered tapping sounded like the iron hooves of the Jin cavalry drawing ever nearer.

Inside, the candle flames were tugged this way and that by the cold draft pouring beneath the door, casting a sickly pallor across Crown Prince Zhao Huan’s face.

Wrapped in a thick brocade fur cloak, he still felt the chill creeping upward from the soles of his feet like a living thing, crawling through the gaps between his bones until every inch of him was steeped in icy cold.

“Your Highness? Your Highness?”

Geng Nanzhong’s low, distinct voice was like a pebble cast into a frozen pool, struggling to stir even the slightest ripple in Zhao Huan’s muddled mind.

The Crown Prince’s Right Junior Guardian, Acting Director of the Crown Prince’s Office, and Academician of the Baozhang Pavilion leaned slightly forward. Candlelight threw shifting shadows across his deeply furrowed face, yet his eyes gleamed with startling intensity.

“Governor of Kaifeng! His Majesty issued an express decree yesterday, appointing you Governor of Kaifeng and placing the entire capital region under your authority! This is no small matter. It is the first sign that you are to inherit the Great Succession!”

He bit down hard on the words “inherit the Great Succession.” By the customs of the Great Song, the heir apparent would serve as governor of Kaifeng for a period of time.

Zhao Huan lifted his eyes and let them wander uneasily across Geng Nanzhong’s face before hurriedly lowering them again.

Everyone knew that the Crown Prince’s old weakness had returned.

At that moment, the Crown Princess approached carrying a bowl of ginseng broth and gently pressed down on his hand.

She wore a plain-colored brocade gown. Her features were gentle and her expression mild, but warmth radiated from her fingertips as she soothed him.

“Your Highness is the Crown Prince of the Great Song. All the officials and common people are watching you. Besides, with Academician Geng here, he will surely find a way.”

“Teacher…”

Zhao Huan’s voice trembled with a faint quaver he himself detested.

“Where… where are the Jin invaders now? Has Zhending Prefecture truly fallen? And what of Zhongshan Prefecture…?”

Already he could see the savage beast-faced helmets of the Jurchen cavalry and their blood-streaked curved sabers.

“Though the Jin invaders are fierce, Kaifeng still has sturdy walls and a million soldiers and civilians!”

The eunuch Shao Chengzhang could not help speaking up. His voice was shrill, yet it possessed a rare vein of steel.

Wearing the blue robes of a palace attendant, he was slight of build, but his eyes were as sharp as a hawk’s. Now he watched anxiously over the Crown Prince he had served for many years.

“Your Highness must not lose your composure before the battle has even begun! If even the heir apparent loses his head, what will the people of this city rely upon?”

Shao Chengzhang’s gaze swept over several Eastern Palace officials standing nearby. All of them lowered their eyes tensely, unwilling to meet his stare.

Geng Nanzhong gave a slight nod, indicating his agreement, but then abruptly changed course.

“Your Highness’s concern over the Jin is only natural. Yet in this old minister’s view, the greater traitors are within the palace itself!”

A sharp glint flashed through his eyes. His fingers unconsciously rubbed the edge of his sleeve.

“His Majesty has already begun secretly summoning Tong Guan and Cai You! The treasury wagons and imperial carriages are being moved constantly! The number of trunks and chests entering and leaving the palace today far exceeds the ordinary measure! Your Highness, what do you suppose they are planning?”

Zhao Huan’s face instantly became paler than the snow outside. His lips quivered.

“Fleeing… south? Father intends to abandon Kaifeng?”

A vast terror seized him. If his father fled south, would he be left behind as Governor of Kaifeng in this isolated city on the verge of falling? Would he not then be nothing more than a sacrificial lamb?

“Precisely!”

Geng Nanzhong’s answer was as sharp as a sword cut. He leaned even farther forward, nearly pressing himself against Zhao Huan, his voice lowered to a whisper, every word striking the Crown Prince’s heart like a hammer.

“Once His Majesty makes his southern journey, Your Highness will be the only pillar of strength left in Kaifeng! This is a heaven-sent opportunity! Yet this opportunity is also a monstrous wave. If mishandled, it will become a disaster that drowns all!”

He paused briefly, then continued with an irresistible, almost hypnotic force.

“Your Highness, only by facing the peril head-on can you turn danger into safety! At tomorrow’s grand court assembly, public feeling will surely run high. The students of the Imperial University and the people of Kaifeng will once again gather at the palace gates and remonstrate unto death! And what will they demand? They will demand that His Majesty remain, reorganize the army, and resist the Jin!

“What will His Majesty do? In this old minister’s judgment, he will be so terrified that his soul will leave his body. He will never dare agree. What he wants is escape! He wants to save his own life!”

Shao Chengzhang nodded repeatedly from the side.

“Academician Geng speaks truly! This old servant heard this evening that the students of the Imperial University are drafting a petition to request that the Crown Prince assume regency!”

The corner of Geng Nanzhong’s mouth curved into a calculating smile.

“Then this is the ladder by which Your Highness may ascend to heaven! This old minister will spend the night rallying Li Gang, Wu Min, and the other upright officials who favor resistance. Tomorrow, within the court, we shall coordinate our efforts inside and out! All of us officials, together with the countless soldiers and civilians crying out beyond the palace gates, shall bow before the throne and remonstrate unto death!

“And what shall we request? Not merely resistance against the Jin. We shall go further and request that His Majesty abdicate in favor of Your Highness!”

“Abdicate… in my favor?”

Zhao Huan’s entire body shook as though struck by rolling thunder. He staggered backward and crashed heavily against the cold back of his chair, producing a dull thud.

The shock blackened his vision. His heart pounded like a war drum, as if it would burst through his chest.

“No… absolutely not.” He murmured instinctively, his voice trembling beyond recognition. “Father is still alive. How could I…? That would be usurpation… It would be…”

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“Your Highness!”

Geng Nanzhong’s voice rose abruptly, instantly overwhelming Zhao Huan’s stammering and the howling wind and snow outside.

“This is not usurpation. It is accepting Heaven’s mandate, following the will of the people, and saving the realm from the brink of collapse! His Majesty has ruled for many years, indulging in pleasure and placing his trust in treacherous men, until the affairs of state have rotted to this point. With a powerful enemy at the gates, he has no plan at all! The people’s hearts have long since turned away! Your Highness, look!”

He suddenly pointed toward the window. Though thick paper stood between them and the outside world, faint cries, like the surge of a distant sea, seemed to pierce the wind and snow.

“This is the will of the people! They cry out not only for resistance against the Jin, but also out of disappointment in His Majesty! What they yearn for is a new sovereign who can shoulder the realm, preserve the land, and lead them in defending their homes against humiliation!”

He spoke faster and faster, a feverish light glittering in his eyes. He could already see the exalted office within his grasp.

“As for the resistance faction—men such as Li Gang, known as Li Bogji—they are fierce in temperament, upright, loyal, and fearless in speech. For years they have been suppressed by the likes of Cai Jing and Wang Fu. Their hearts are clogged with pent-up resentment, and they long to sweep the darkness from the court!

“Such a keen-edged weapon can clear the way for Your Highness’s accession! Tomorrow, all we need do is guide matters ever so slightly, binding the righteous cause of resisting the Jin to the enthronement of a new sovereign. Li Gang will surely raise his arm and call out, and the people will follow in droves!

“This is using borrowed force to strike with force—acting in the name of loyalty and righteousness while carrying out a change of dynasty!”

“As for the peace faction, men such as Bai Shizhong and Li Bangyan, they are short-sighted cowards who know only how to cling to life.

“Now that His Majesty is terrified and eager to flee, this is precisely the moment when they will wag their tails in supplication, trembling for fear of each new day! Your Highness need not hurry to destroy them. Once you ascend the throne, holding the legitimacy of the great cause in your hands and commanding the palace guards, these men will be like grass on a wall, bending whichever way the wind blows. At that time, whether they are demoted or imprisoned will rest entirely in Your Highness’s palm!”

“As for the people’s hearts…”

“Upon ascending the throne, Your Highness’s first decree shall be proclaimed throughout the realm: abolish Zhu Mian’s flower-and-stone tribute convoys and repeal Cai Jing’s ruinous, oppressive policies! Open the state treasuries and reward the soldiers and civilians defending the city! Promote loyal and courageous men such as Li Gang and Zhong Shidao, entrusting them with important commands and placing them in charge of Kaifeng’s defenses! Raise the great banner of resistance against the Jin and summon the armies from every circuit to come to the capital’s aid!

“With this single act, Your Highness will win the hearts of the entire realm! You will become the sage and benevolent sovereign whom all people desire, the ruler who turns back the heavens when they are about to collapse! At that point, let alone the Jin invaders—even His Majesty will have no choice but to accept his fate!”

Geng Nanzhong finished in a single breath. His chest rose and fell faintly, and his eyes burned with an almost maddened excitement.

Zhao Huan’s heart raced. He was frightened, yet secretly thrilled.

He thought of his third brother, Zhao Kai, the Prince of Yun who had been favored by their father above all others. Several years earlier, Zhao Kai had even placed first in the imperial examinations. Whenever he saw Zhao Huan, there was always a trace of disdain in his eyes.

If he became emperor—

Zhao Huan clenched his fists subconsciously, then quickly relaxed them.

“But… Father favors my third brother. What if he intends to pass the throne to Zhao Kai?”

“Impossible!”

Geng Nanzhong’s answer was absolute.

“Zhao Kai is merely a spoiled young nobleman who knows how to compose poetry and prose. The resistance faction will never acknowledge him, and the people will never submit to him. Besides, the moment His Majesty proposes fleeing south in tomorrow’s court, we shall immediately force the issue and compel him to pass the throne to you!”

He counted off the points on his fingers, his reasoning as orderly as a man settling an account.

“The peace faction wants to run, but they dare not bear the disgrace. They will inevitably push you forward as their shield. That is precisely what we need. We shall use their ‘push’ to take the throne by following the current, then firmly claim the mantle of resistance.

“Li Gang and the others lack a leader. Give them authority and send them to defend the city. If they win, the victory will belong to you, the new sovereign. Even if they lose, you will at least possess the people’s support and have a place from which to stand.”

Zhao Huan listened, stunned speechless. Only after a long while did he murmur, “Teacher… might this not be too dangerous?”

“Dangerous?”

Geng Nanzhong gave a cold laugh.

“Does Your Highness believe there is still any road of retreat? If His Majesty flees south and leaves you behind as Governor of Kaifeng, then when the Jin breach the city, you will be the first to die. If you flee with His Majesty, and he is restored once the Jin withdraw, you will still be a Crown Prince forced to endure humiliation. Zhao Kai might even find an excuse to depose you.

“Only by succeeding to the throne, and only by choosing resistance, will you have a single thread of life!”

“Do not hesitate!”

He surveyed the Eastern Palace officials in the room, all of whom had been left dumbfounded by his scheme. His final gaze came to rest on Crown Princess Zhu Lian, who had been standing quietly beside Zhao Huan.

Her expression, too, was grave and anxious. But when she noticed the helpless look Zhao Huan directed toward her—a look like that of a drowning man searching for a floating branch—her heart ached.

She drew a deep breath and gently laid her soft hand over Zhao Huan’s cold, trembling one, giving him all the warmth and strength she possessed.

She said nothing. She merely watched him with clear, resolute eyes and gave a slight nod.

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The faint warmth reaching him through her palm, and his wife’s silent support, finally gave Zhao Huan’s heart—hanging over the edge of a bottomless abyss—a place, however precarious, to stand.

He turned his hand and gripped hers tightly, his icy fingers pressing almost painfully hard.

His lips moved several times before he finally managed to produce a dry, hoarse voice. Every word was burdened with indescribable weight and dependence.

“I shall do everything as you have advised, Teacher.”

He closed his eyes. His long, trembling sigh was swallowed by the sudden intensification of the wind and snow beyond the window.

“This old minister receives your command!”

Zhao Huan nodded, then suddenly caught hold of him.

“Teacher, what if—what if we cannot defeat the Jin?”

Geng Nanzhong’s steps halted. When he turned back, a complicated smile played across his face.

“Your Highness, when one becomes emperor, the contest is not always about whether one can win. Sometimes it is about whether one dares shoulder the burden. So long as you stand firm, the people of the realm will acknowledge you as their emperor.”

His stride was steady, yet carried an indescribable lightness as he turned and left the oppressive, stifling study.

When he pushed open the heavy door, a fierce gust of cold wind laden with snow burst inside, whipping his robes until they cracked in the air.

The icy air invigorated him.

Outside, heaven and earth were a vast, chaotic blur, and the snowstorm raged like an angry beast.

From the direction of the distant imperial avenue came a faint, continuous roar, rolling like thunder:

“We will defend the city to the death! We beg His Majesty to resist the Jin!”

Yet in Geng Nanzhong’s ears, those cries had already become the grandest ceremonial music accompanying the enthronement of a new emperor.

He gazed into the unfathomable night sky. At last, an unreserved smile of triumph blossomed across his face. His low words, audible only to himself, vanished into the wind and snow.

“What fine wind, what fine snow—and what a splendid hour in which to overturn heaven and earth!”

His figure disappeared into the shadows of the residence’s covered walkway. His footprints were quickly buried beneath the fresh snow. Only that blazing ambition remained, quietly spreading like wildfire through the frozen winter night.

Inside the study, the candle flames trembled. Zhao Huan still clutched his wife’s hand tightly, staring blankly into the void. Through the wind and snow, he seemed to glimpse the cold outline of the imperial throne.

Zhu Lian picked up a cloak and gently draped it over his shoulders.

“Your Highness, do not think about it too much. Rest for a while first.”

Zhao Huan did not move. He merely stared absently at the storm outside.

Snow pellets struck the paper window with a dry, rustling sound, like countless fingers scratching against it.

He remembered how, in his childhood, his father had always loved holding Zhao Kai while teaching him to paint, while treating Zhao Huan with cool indifference. He remembered the watchful eyes of the eunuchs after he had been named Crown Prince—especially the gaze of Liang Shicheng. He remembered the words Geng Nanzhong had just spoken:

“Only by succeeding to the throne will you have a single thread of life.”

“A-Zhu…”

He seized his wife’s hand, panic trembling in his voice.

“I’m afraid. I’m truly afraid…”

She gently drew his head down onto her shoulder, soothing him as though he were a child who had been wronged.

“Do not be afraid. I am here with you.”

Amid the wind and snow, Kaifeng’s silhouette appeared and vanished in the darkness, like a sleeping beast on the verge of awakening.

And the new master of that sleeping beast was still trembling in his wife’s arms, utterly unaware of the blood-soaked road onto which he was about to be pushed.

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