Chapter 14: The Plan

With his mind made up, Mu Qi spoke decisively:

“Brother Donglou, since you trust me so much, I will be upfront with you. You can rest assured, I will take care of everything.”

Hearing the young lord speak so familiarly, the little pavilion minister smiled broadly and repeatedly urged him to offer guidance.

“Brother Donglou, you may not know this, but while serving in the Western Garden, I heard His Majesty personally issue an edict, which was clear and unambiguous. 

This reform of the tribute process is a state policy that the court cannot tamper with!” Mu Qi said solemnly, “A state policy is a state policy. The Ministry of Rites must either reform it themselves or let others do so. Don’t just make a fuss—no matter if the entire island of Japan perishes, this issue must be addressed!”

His words were firm and resolute, leaving Yan Donglou greatly astonished. He was deeply moved, a warmth rising from the bottom of his heart—although Mu Qi was only relaying the emperor’s command, the willingness to openly express support like this was fraught with immense risk!

The little pavilion minister’s ideas were highly unconventional. Even the conservative scholars of the Ministry of Rites, let alone his own father, would never openly support him. It would only be through behind-the-scenes maneuvering. 

To think that, after encountering so many visible and invisible obstacles, he had actually found support and understanding from Mu Qi, a young noble with whom he had no prior dealings!

The feeling of gratitude in that moment was indescribable. The little pavilion minister grasped Mu Qi’s hand with sincerity and changed his address:

“Mu brother, you understand me! My talents are limited, but I will never let you down. You are right—no matter if the Japanese are wiped out, this issue must be addressed!”

Mu Qi smiled slightly, pulling his hand back without a change in expression. He certainly couldn’t admit that, in reality, he only cared about the eradication of the Japanese pirates. As for the reform of state policies, it wasn’t something he was particularly invested in.

“I’ve heard my family mention that the Japanese are treacherous, petty, and lack great principles, constantly eyeing the Central Plains; they are beasts that fear power but lack virtue. Such people cannot be dealt with softly!” he said seriously. 

“Little pavilion minister, since you have been tasked with hosting them, you must conduct a thorough investigation and guard against any trouble they may cause in secret; this is also an opportunity to push for reform and clear any obstacles. 

This is what I call ‘investigate and reform together, solving the dilemma by itself.’”

Yan Donglou nodded repeatedly, feeling that this visit had been incredibly timely—”Investigate and reform together, solving the dilemma by itself.” Those eight words resonated deeply with him!

The conversation was so harmonious that he cautiously asked, “Of course, I am duty-bound. 

However, such an action is too radical; it may invite public discussion.”

The Ministry of Rites had always regarded the tribute system as a matter of “national protocol,” with strict and archaic rules that would not tolerate Yan Donglou’s bold actions. Even with the protection of his pavilion minister father, a barrage of impeachment would be inevitable. 

To be safe, they would need to have influential noble families vouch for them, shutting the mouths of critics.

Mu Qi smiled. While he didn’t care for the dynasty’s practice of rewarding foreign tribute and allowing foreign territories to profit, he didn’t necessarily have to engage in conflicts with foreign envoys. 

However, if these envoys were somehow connected to the Japanese pirates, he couldn’t be blamed for taking a harder stance.

“Throughout history, how many great accomplishments have been achieved without controversy?” he said calmly. “One or two vassal states, in the emperor’s heart, are nothing compared to the whole of the Nine Provinces. 

This little issue is hardly worth mentioning. Yan brother, to serve the court, to serve the emperor, we should endure any hardship and bear any grievance. 

What does it matter if a few people criticize us? For the sake of national matters, we can take the hardship of dealing with the Japanese pirates. Let the blame fall on us!”

Such a passionate and righteous statement could not help but stir the little pavilion minister’s heart. With a surge of emotion, he suddenly moved forward, tightly grasped Mu Qi’s right hand, and refused to let go.

“Mu brother, your noble intentions, I would never disobey!”
·
Because the conversation had gone so smoothly, Yan Donglou, feeling an immediate bond, insisted on taking Mu Qi to the Sun and Moon Flourishing restaurant, in which he had invested, to drink. He ordered rare Western white wine and a variety of exquisite side dishes. 

Their talk was filled with warmth and friendship, growing ever more intimate. They even began to discuss ways to profit from the tribute system reform—”reform”—with increasing enthusiasm, and the conversation felt as though they had known each other for years.

After a few rounds of drinking, Mu Qi’s ear suddenly rang with a notification. He discreetly opened the message, and upon reading it, his face changed dramatically. Instinctively, he stood up:

“Yan brother, I truly appreciate your kindness, but I have an urgent matter to attend to.”

Yan Donglou was stunned. “What’s the urgent matter?”

Mu Qi’s mind was completely occupied with the notification, leaving him no room to come up with an excuse. In his panic, he blurted out nonsense:

“My cat is about to give birth!”

With that, he hurriedly crossed the long bench, cupped his hands, and quickly left the private room, heading straight downstairs.

Yan Xiao, the old official, held the wine cup in his hand, stunned. It took him a long time to process what had just happened.

“… Truly unreasonable,” he muttered to himself.

Mu Qi rode his horse at full speed into the mansion, quickly dismissed everyone, and opened the system interface. Sure enough, Zhao Fei’s avatar, labeled “The Abandoned Emperor Rubbing Hemp,” was blinking, and a chat window popped up:

【The Abandoned Emperor Rubbing Hemp: We’ve lifted the siege of Bianjing and entered the inner city!】

Although Mu Qi had expected this news on the way, seeing it firsthand still made his heart race with excitement. He nearly cheered aloud!

After enduring so much, he had finally won big!

No wonder he was so excited. The three of them—big troublemakers—had been drafted by the system to various worlds to put out fires, and while each faced different circumstances, Zhao Fei had it the worst. 

At least Mu Qi had the peace of the world and Liu Li, who had his back. But Zhao Fei had been thrown into the terrifying pit of history—she was the posthumous daughter of Emperor Zhezong, a noble princess; but when she opened her eyes, it was only three years until Jingkang.

Zhao Fei had been utterly devastated at the time, and the struggles that followed could only be described as futile. No matter how hard she tried, history’s course could not be diverted; years later, Bianjing was lost, and Zhao Fei barely escaped with her life, fleeing from the Jin army, homeless and struggling in every way. In her words, “More pitiful than a stray dog.” In troubled times, the life of a commoner was no better than that of a peaceful dog.

To be honest, if Mu Qi and Liu Li hadn’t stood firm and spent their last strength across time and space to help their bloodied companion, Zhao Fei might have had no choice but to consider suicide, wondering whether to jump into the Yangtze River or the Yellow River.

After selling blood for aid for two or three years, Zhao Fei had exhausted herself and finally, in this collapsing world, managed to stabilize her footing. She had survived the initial time of fear, like a stray dog, and had gathered enough military power to protect herself. 

This year, seizing the opportunity from the Jin dynasty’s rapid expansion and the internal strife within the Yan clan, Zhao Fei coordinated with the rebel forces in the two rivers and with Yue Fei and others, making significant progress on the battlefield.

From Mu Qi’s estimate, this was probably the crucial moment for the Song army, after its fall, to transition from defense to stalemate. But even though they had some victories, taking Bianjing so easily still far exceeded his expectations—this was going too smoothly!

Such an unexpected turn of events was enough to change the situation between the Song and Jin armies. 

As one of Zhao Fei’s original supporters, how could Mu Qi and Liu Li not be ecstatic? When the video window popped up on the system screen, Mu Qi immediately stood up and clapped along with Liu Li, their applause loud and enthusiastic, truly relieving their long-held frustrations!

Zhao Fei, in a red robe, stood in the video, her face bright with smiles, bowing to them repeatedly to express her gratitude.

“Thank you, everyone! Thank you all! I just arrived in Bianjing and immediately came to share the good news with everyone. I’m really grateful for everyone’s support and help. I truly don’t know how to repay you…”

Her hair was slightly disheveled, her red robe stained, yet her eyes and brows radiated joy, clearly just coming down from the battlefield and too busy to even freshen up before sending the video.

On the other side of the video, there was a lot of noise. Zhao Fei looked outward and laughed. “Yue… several generals are sending people to maintain order and capture prisoners. I can only talk for a little while more before heading to the post-battle meeting.”

To show consideration for Mu Qi, she swallowed the word “General Yue,” but Mu Qi’s lips still curled in displeasure.

Liu Li was thrilled: “’Reviving the Han Dynasty and returning to the old capital,’ I didn’t expect it to be you, Feifei! This is a great joy, a great joy! Once Bianjing is recovered, the situation will completely change—both in terms of the people’s hearts and the military strategy!”

Sure enough, the child of a high-ranking official was a treasure. Liu Li had struggled with reading military maps at first, but after a few years of training, he could now analyze strategic situations.

Mu Qi felt increasingly bitter, and for a moment, he couldn’t find the words.

However, unexpectedly, Zhao Fei paused for a moment, then shook her head. “It’s hard to say. When Han, Yue, and Li discussed with me, the plan was to use Bianjing to lure the enemy’s main forces, take advantage of the terrain, and conduct several large-scale annihilations, causing a dramatic shift in the situation. 

But given the current circumstances, although we’ve had some victories, the Jin army’s main forces likely haven’t suffered significant losses. They retreated on their own.”

Liu Li was stunned. “Why?”

“From the prisoners’ reports, the reasons vary,” Zhao Fei said. “One is bad timing; the Jin army was hit by an epidemic, and they had no will to fight. The other is that the Jin general, Yan Lou, suddenly fell seriously ill and couldn’t attend to military affairs. The army’s morale scattered, and they couldn’t continue.”

At this point, Liu Li understood and turned to Mu Qi with a knowing wink—although illness could strike unexpectedly, Yan Lou’s sickness may not have been purely coincidental. When Zhao Fei had been pursued to the south, her troops had been defeated time and again, on the brink of collapse. 

To survive, she had to offer treasures to Jin nobles. Mu Qi had then made a decisive move and used large sums of money to buy glowing night pearls from Western merchants, along with dozens of longevity pills previously given by Lao Deng, and sent them over.

Now it seemed that the combination of the pills and the radiant pearls had worked wonders at the critical moment.

Zhao Fei continued, “However, the Jin army is now determined to abandon Bianjing.”

It was almost laughable. The Jin army had initially planned to invade the south, just to pillage and leave quickly. 

However, the operations of the two emperors were too excessive, leading to the downfall of the country. Now that the Song army had regained strength and Zhao Fei had prepared well, the Jin army seemed to have taken what they wanted and decided to withdraw, which was not so surprising.

Mu Qi still had some concerns. “Could it be a trick?”

“It shouldn’t be a problem,” Zhao Fei said with a slight smile. “Our scouts have checked, and the main force of the Jin army has already retreated past the Yellow River. They’ve burned all the boats and bridges needed to cross it, so it won’t be possible to repair them in the short term.”

It was now mid-spring, with the Yellow River thawed and its flow greatly increased, creating a natural barrier. Once the Jin army destroyed the tools for crossing, it would be impossible to cross the river and launch an attack for months.

Mu Qi and Liu Li both smiled at the same time.

“But speaking of the Yellow River, it makes me angry again,” Zhao Fei suddenly sighed. “You know that filthy bastard, Du Chong, right?”

Princess Zhao had lived a life of luxury during the peak of the Northern Song, and no matter what, she would never resort to foul language. But now, calling someone a “filthy bastard” showed just how enraged she was. 

However, the system, which usually monitored and enforced civil language, didn’t stop her—perhaps because, in its view, Du Chong truly deserved such a description, merely being realistic and not insulting.

“After Duke Zongze fell ill, it was that bastard who took over the northern defense,” Zhao Fei said coldly. “He was too cowardly to face the Jin army, and as a result, vast territories were lost. 

Later, when the situation became dire, he even considered digging up the Yellow River levee to use water as a substitute for soldiers…”

Mu Qi and Liu Li gasped in shock, muttering expletives.

“Surprised, huh? I also wonder if he’s someone’s reincarnation,” Zhao Fei said with a chilling tone. “But fortunately, the siege of Bianjing was resolved quickly, and he didn’t get the chance to breach the levee. After I entered the city, I immediately had him arrested and thrown into prison.

 But this dog actually poisoned himself to death in the government office before we could even execute him!”

“Goddammit! It’s already frustrating enough that this dog died so easily. But then there are these naive Confucian scholars crying over his death, saying that Du Chong was a high-ranking official and should have been executed with justice, not secretly killed. 

These idiots! I even had torture instruments ready to deal with him! But now I couldn’t even get the chance, and they’re gathering at his house, wailing and making a scene, just trying to disgust me…”

She shook her head, seemingly not wanting to think about it anymore, her emotions quickly calming down.

“Never mind. It’s not too late to deal with these fools later. This time, the army’s departure consumed a lot. I still have to attend a financial meeting this afternoon to figure out how to plug the holes in the national treasury… Duke Zongze is now bedridden at home, so I should visit him. 

But since I just came from the battlefield, I’m worried I might bring some bacteria and harm the elderly man. After I clean up and disinfect myself in a few days, I’ll visit in person and consider his treatment plan. I’ll send you all photos of the visit!”

With that, Zhao Fei smiled gracefully, and with a few envious and jealous exclamations from Mu Qi and Liu Li, she gracefully logged off.

Mu Qi muttered under his breath, complaining about Zhao Fei’s annoying arrogance, and casually turned off the video. However, when logging out of the account, a red dot suddenly flashed at the bottom of the system, emitting a sharp, beeping sound—which they both ignored, as it was a common, meaningless bug they had grown accustomed to.

However, if Mu Qi had taken the time to read the system’s thousand-page manual, he would have understood that such sounds were significant warnings of historical changes—an unusual occurrence indeed.

Looking back at the events that followed, they surely should have paid more attention.