Volume 1: Zhu Xian Town Crisis Chapter 5: Standing Up for the People

  Yue Yun led the scholar into his own large tent and instructed his personal soldiers to guard the entrance of the camp, not allowing anyone to enter without his consent.

  "Please sit down, sir!" Yue Yun moved a chair from the corner of the tent and placed it in front of the scholar.

  He then sat down on a chair himself and poured a bowl of tea for the scholar.

  "This is the superior covered bowl tea that my family often drinks, with a refreshing taste. Sir, please have a try!" Yuen Yung smiled lightly and handed the teacup to the scholar.

  Then he asked again: "I haven't had the pleasure of knowing your esteemed surname and given name, may I be so bold as to ask?"

  That scholar saw Yue Yun personally making tea for him, and was a bit surprised to be so honored. He repeatedly thanked him, took the teacup with both hands, and introduced himself: "I am Wang Tong, courtesy name Hanqing."

  At this time, he was somewhat impatient and hastily took a sip of tea before asking: "I wonder what important matter Young Master Yue has brought me here to discuss?"

  Yue Yun nodded, and after a moment's consideration, he furrowed his brow and said with a worried expression: "Mr. Wang, you also know that my father has always loved the people like his own children, and our Yue family army has the reputation of 'freezing to death without dismantling houses, starving to death without plundering'. We are all outraged by the suffering of the people under the rule of the Jin people. The people of Zhu Xian Town asked to return south with the army, and we should grant their request!"

  Although Wang Tong knew that Yue Yun definitely still had half a sentence left unsaid, he still stood up and thanked him: "Yue Gongzi's deep feelings and good intentions towards us ordinary people, Wang Mou will thank Yue Da Gongzi on behalf of all the people in Zhu Xian Town."

  "Ah, Mr. Wang, no need to be so polite. Although my father-in-law's army has been showing mercy to the people and would like to stay in the Central Plains to protect them... unfortunately, the imperial court issued a holy edict and twelve golden plaques yesterday, ordering my father to immediately withdraw his troops and return to the capital. Cao Gonggong, who came to deliver the edict, is also staying in our military camp to supervise, forcing my father to set out immediately. If our army lingers and doesn't withdraw, it would be considered disobedience to the imperial order. Mr. Wang, please understand my father's difficulties." Yue Yun said with a regretful expression on his face. In his heart, he couldn't help but secretly laugh at himself, wondering how he hadn't discovered his own acting talent in his past life.

  Wang Tong heard Yue Yun say this and immediately realized that the key to the problem lay with Cao Gonggong.

  He then asked tentatively: "General Yue, may I be allowed to speak to Lord Cao and tell him of the hardships suffered by the local people, and ask him to report to the imperial court, so that General Yue can delay his withdrawal for a few more days?"

  Yue Yun listened and couldn't help but shake his head slightly, thinking that although Wang Tong was clever and had quickly found the key to the problem, he was still a bookworm who hadn't mixed in official circles and didn't know how to get things done. It seemed that he would have to enlighten him himself.

  Then, Yue Yun said with a helpless expression: "Mr. Wang, since we've met before, I'll be straightforward and say that if you go to see Lord Cao empty-handed like this, he'll probably just give you an official response, saying it's the imperial edict and he's just a messenger who has no authority to make decisions..."

  Wang Tong hurriedly asked: "Young Master Yue, what should we do then?"

  Yue Yun smiled slightly and said: "Although I may not understand many things in the officialdom, but I also know a saying: 'Eating from others' mouths makes one's tongue soft, taking from others' hands makes one's arms short.'"

  He paused for a moment, then continued: "Since ancient times, what men like is nothing more than power, money, and beauty. Power, we can't give; beauty, I'm afraid this Cao Gonggong may not be interested. So, the only thing that can move him is to work hard on the aspect of money. Unfortunately, my father has always lived a simple life, with little wealth, all used for the Northern Expedition, and there's really no money to bribe people!"

  Yue Yun's words left Wang Tong speechless, and somewhat overturned his understanding of Yue Yun. He no longer thought that Yue Yun was just a brave warrior who only knew how to wield a spear and charge into battle.

  Wang Tong is not that kind of bookworm who thinks he's superior and looks down on money, previously he didn't think of bribery, but when Yue Yun mentioned it, he immediately understood.

  Although he had never been an official, he also knew that officials who were not greedy for wealth were rare, at least those he had seen in the Jin and Qi dynasties were all money-eyed. The eunuchs in the Song Dynasty palace were notorious for their greed for wealth, which was well-known among the people. As a eunuch with physical defects, they could not pursue beauty, had no hope of promotion, and had no descendants, so they were even more greedy for money than ordinary people.

  King Tong's eyebrows furrowed, and he had already made up his mind.

  He nodded immediately, stood up and said: "What Mr. Yue said is very true, but I was a bit rash, didn't think... didn't think of this layer. This matter of smoothing things over... should be handled by me. As it happens, I know several merchants in the town who have quite a lot of land, they are very concerned about the army's withdrawal to the south. They are currently outside the camp, and it shouldn't be difficult to collect some silver from them. I will go and discuss with them now, and soon I will be able to give Mr. Yue an answer!"

  "Good! But this matter must be done quickly, otherwise if the great army has already set out, it will be too late!" At this time, Yue Yun also took advantage of the situation and stood up to send Wang Tong away.

  Wang Tong thanked him and was about to bid farewell and leave the tent.

  Yue Yun suddenly remembered something and hastily called out to him in a low voice, saying: "Mr. Wang, this matter still needs to be kept secret. Although the matter of persuading and bribing is for the sake of the people, we are clear in our conscience, but if it gets out, it won't look good. And my father is a person who hates evil and will not bend or yield, so if he finds out that we used this method to get Official Cao to agree to delay the withdrawal of the army, although he won't blame us, he will still be unhappy in his heart. Therefore..."

  Wang Tong was even more moved, and immediately kowtowed and said: "Young Master Yue's filial piety is truly admirable, making me feel ashamed. I will definitely inform only a few relevant merchants about this matter and instruct them to keep it confidential, not letting others know."

  After he bid farewell, he immediately walked to the camp gate and summoned several merchants wearing brocade robes to a quiet place to start negotiating.

  Wang Tong's eloquence was indeed impressive, but it took only half an hour to persuade these people, and then he let the few merchants immediately return to the town to prepare silver coins.

  When night fell, Wang Tong came to see Yue Yun again, saying that he had already collected 50,000 taels of copper coins, but didn't know if this amount of money was enough to meet the requirements of Cao Gonggong.

  Yue Yun was amazed at Wang Tong's efficiency and had a new appreciation for his abilities. However, when Wang Tong asked if the money he had raised was enough, Yue Yun found himself in a difficult position because he didn't know how big of an appetite Cao Gonggong had, and what the standard was for bribing officials in this era.

  After a moment of hesitation, Yue Yun decided to first use a sack to pack 20,000 copper coins and go to meet him. The remaining 30,000 copper coins were packed in another sack and placed outside the account, guarded by his personal soldiers, waiting at any time. He and Wang Tong then went in to talk to Cao Gonggong and test his tone.

  In a quiet tent in the big camp of the Yue Family Army, Cao Gonggong had just finished his dinner and was feeling extremely comfortable inside the tent, while the soldiers outside were sweating profusely.

  Director Cao was half-closing his eyes, reclining on a white iron chair. He only wore a thin red silk undershirt, with his legs and arms exposed outside, revealing a wrinkled white flesh. However, this undershirt was surprisingly made in the shape of an apron, which left people speechless.

  By his side were three handsome young eunuchs serving him. One fanned him, one massaged his back, and another held a basin of cool water to soak his feet, the icy coolness spreading from the basin through the water into his body, dissolving the heat and anxiety in his heart.

  He was the deputy leader of the inner court in Lin'an, and more than ten years ago, he followed Emperor Gaozong of Song to escape, experiencing the "searching mountains and seas" capture action by Jin troops against Zhao Gou. He and Zhao Gou are old men who have been through thick and thin together, so they are deeply trusted by Zhao Gou. This time, he was unexpectedly sent to deliver the imperial edict, which also shows the importance that Zhao Gou attaches to Yue Fei's withdrawal of troops.

  At this time, the little eunuch who was fanning said with a gloomy expression: "Your Excellency, this General Yue's attitude is really too arrogant. Except for when he came to announce the imperial edict and saw you briefly, he hasn't come to pay his respects to you all day, clearly not taking us seriously!"

  Tsao Gong's small eyes narrowed into a slit, and he snorted in his nose after listening. He spoke slowly and deliberately: "General Yue is the commander of an army, and military affairs are naturally busy. Moreover, we are people from the inner court, originally not to be taken seriously by outsiders. It's reasonable that he can't spare time. Xiao Shunzi, let's just do what we need to do. General Yue is a famous general of our dynasty, holding heavy troops, and it's not something you can criticize!"

  That little eunuch named Xiaoshunzi had followed Cao Gonggong for a long time, and naturally heard that Cao Gonggong was actually extremely dissatisfied in his heart. He immediately added fuel to the fire and said: "Gonggong, what's the use of being a famous general? When an imperial edict comes down, won't he still have to obey it with a fart and urine flow? Moreover, the official family has long been displeased with him, why do we need to...

  "Shut up! The official's intentions are not something we can speculate about!" Cao Gonggong immediately interrupted Xiaoshunzi's words.

  He was a person in the inner court, and the news in the palace was well-informed. Naturally, he knew that the imperial family and Prime Minister Qin Hui intended to take advantage of this victory to negotiate with the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty again, and incidentally cut off the military power of the three major generals. However, although Prime Minister Qin's power was overwhelming, he had not yet been able to monopolize state politics. Zhao Ding and Zhang Jun, two former prime ministers who were always at odds with Prime Minister Qin, strongly opposed the peace talks. At present, the two factions in the court were fiercely competing. Why bother to get involved in this muddy water?

  That little Shunzi continued with a wronged expression: "Your Excellency, you are a magnanimous person who doesn't bother with trivial matters, but those martial artists don't even put you in their eyes. Look at me, I've accompanied you on many official trips outside, and locally, it's not necessary to mention that those magistrates and county officials always present gifts of silver money as soon as they see Your Excellency arrive..."

  After a pause, he continued: "It's just that at General Zhang's place, you are also very respectful to him, and even more generous than those local officials. But when it comes to General Yue, his troops are twice as many as General Zhang's, and the territory under his control is much larger, including the unbreachable Jingzhou region... That's a land of plenty! Not a war-torn area! Logically speaking, General Yue's wealth should be more abundant than General Zhang's, but why does he always pretend to be poor, as if afraid that we'll ask him for money?"

  Xiao Shunzi's words had struck a chord with Cao Gonggong. As the most trusted deputy leader of the inner court eunuchs under Zhao Gou, he was used to being treated with great hospitality by local officials whenever he went on business trips to various places. Not only did they provide him with good food and comfortable accommodations, but also offered him silver, local specialties, and other gifts.

  Having arrived at the military camp of the Yue family, it had already been a whole day. Except for arranging a quiet tent as his own residence, Yue Fei only provided one day's worth of three meals, which were extremely ordinary dishes. As for offering silver and money to show respect, not even a single cent was seen. Compared to his usual situation when visiting other places, the difference was really huge.

  Zhang Jun and Yue Fei were both powerful generals with military power, Zhang Jun's jurisdiction was still the war-torn Huai West for many years, and his economic situation was far worse than that of Yue Fei's Jingzhou region. However, when he went to Zhang Jun's place, Zhang Jun presented him with a full 30,000 taels of copper coins! And yet, Yue Fei really didn't know how to behave properly and just lingered around here?

  Just as Cao Gonggong was feeling anxious, the attendant guard at the door reported: "Sir, General Yue's eldest son, Yue Yun, has brought a young scholar to request an audience!"

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