Chapter 5: Visiting Cao Gonggong

  "Yue Yun brought a young scholar?"

  Cao Gonggong was taken aback for a moment, and secretly suspected that perhaps General Yue had come to his senses and sent his son with the money.

  His face twitched with fat, but he still pretended to be nonchalant and said in a flat tone: "Since it's Young Master Yue who has come to see me, please let them in!"

  Yue Yun and Wang Tong walked into the camp, saw Cao Gonggong's appearance, and couldn't help but take a fright. It seems that although it was scorching hot outside, Cao Gonggong was having a rather comfortable time inside the tent.

  Wang Tong couldn't help but furrow his brow. As a scholar, he naturally had no good feelings towards eunuchs, and Cao Gonggong's condescending attitude towards them was extremely rude, clearly not taking them seriously. However, at this moment when they needed Cao Gonggong, he could only force himself to endure it.

  Yue Yun was also unhappy in her heart, but for now she could only pretend she hadn't seen it.

  He stepped forward, bowed and said: "The Military Affairs Officer of the Imperial Army (the official title of the Yue Family Army), Wu Xian Daifu (Yue Yun's official rank) Yue Yun pays his respects to Lord Cao!" After that, he gave a wink to Wang Tong beside him.

  Wang Tong, who was standing beside him, had no choice but to step forward and kneel down, knocking his head on the ground: "A humble citizen of Zhu Xian Town, Wang Tong, pays his respects to Lord Cao!"

  Cao Gong gazed at Yue Yun and Wang Tong with a slanted gaze, then slowly said: "Yue Gongzi's esteemed presence is an honor, I should have gone down to welcome you, but this old man's body is weak, the journey was tiring, and my legs are not very convenient. Please forgive me for any disrespect!"

  Yue Yun knew that this old eunuch was trying to give himself a boost, but the other day in his own camp, he didn't look old and frail at all. Now that he's being asked to do something, he can only force himself to endure it, and on the surface, he still has to pretend to be completely unbothered.

  He secretly congratulated himself that he had been tempered in society for a period of time in his previous life, and was already quite adapted to the situation of speaking human language when seeing people, and speaking ghost language when seeing ghosts. Otherwise, if it were the former Yuke Yunlai with a strong personality and straightforwardness, I'm afraid he would have punched someone after just a few words.

  Yue Yun hastily put on a smiling face and assumed an air of nonchalance, saying: "Eunuch Cao's words have made me blush with shame. This golden plaque from the Imperial Secretariat should have been delivered by a military envoy via express horse relay, but Eunuch Cao, being deeply concerned about military affairs and state matters, personally carried the plaque and rushed here, enduring hardships along the way. His bravery and fortitude are truly admirable... I haven't even had time to express my admiration for you, sir, how could I possibly blame you? Although I haven't met many eunuchs in the palace, I have seen many civil officials in the imperial court. Those officials can talk eloquently and persuasively in the court, but if they were asked to risk their lives by venturing into the front lines, even giving them a few more guts wouldn't make them dare... So, I truly look up to your bravery, sir!"

  At this time, Cao Gonggong's eyes lit up. The ancestral system of the Great Song Dynasty stipulated that eunuchs could not interfere in politics, but it did not mean that these eunuchs thought their level was inferior. They also believed that they were not inferior to those civil officials, but only because of the ancestral system, they had no chance to show off their talents.

  In the Song Dynasty, the status of civil officials was extremely high. As long as they were not treasonous, generally speaking, even if they made mistakes, at most they would only be demoted and not killed. They looked down on military generals and eunuchs, and if they thought that their own abilities were inferior to those of eunuchs, it would be better to kill them.

  Cao Gonggong was also the first time he heard someone praise his bravery, and this was said by Yue Yun, who had repeatedly won battles and defeated the Jin army. This made Cao Gonggong feel even more proud and elated.

  Although Cao Gonggong also knew in his heart, what Yue Yun said was probably 80 or 90% insincere words, but this flattering remark made him feel very fresh and pleasant.

  At this time, he sat up with the support of two small eunuchs on either side, and his expression immediately improved a bit. After returning a courtesy, he said seriously: "Mr. Yue speaks like this, which makes me feel ashamed. Taking care of official business for the imperial court is the duty of an official, it's not about being brave or not. I just don't know what important matter Mr. Yue wants to discuss with me?"

  Yue Yunhu glanced at him, sighed and pointed to Wang Tong beside him: "This is Mr. Wang Tong who came to our military camp on behalf of the people of Zhuxiantown to petition, he has some popular feelings to report to you, sir!"

  Cao Gonggong was slightly surprised, how could the people's feelings be reported to him? He is now at most a supervisor of the army, neither a local official nor an imperial envoy. It seems that what Wang Sheng wants to report is likely related to the withdrawal of troops.

  Wang Tong stepped forward and bowed respectfully, then said with tears in his eyes: "Your Excellency, I am Wang Tong, a scholar from Zhuxiantown, representing thousands of people from the town. We hope that you can report to the imperial court about our hardships under the rule of the Jin bandits and allow us to follow the army back south!"

  After that, Wang Tong began to recount the crimes of the Jurchen people one by one. He spoke with gritted teeth, clearly filled with hatred. Letting Yue Yun and Cao Gonggong, as well as the three small eunuchs, all hear something that made their hair stand on end.

  Originally, after the Jurchen people occupied the Central Plains, they seized large tracts of good land from Han civilians and turned them into pastures to raise horses. The civilians who lost their land were feared by the Jurchen people to cause trouble, so all young and strong men and old people were killed, while women and children became slaves. Whether it was a wealthy family or an ordinary tenant farmer, none of those left behind could escape.

  The Jurchen people were worried that the Han civilians would run away under the harsh oppression, so they carved characters on the foreheads of these enslaved Han civilians to catch them.

  Young and beautiful Han women, without exception, became tools for the Jurchen nobility to satisfy their lust. After they got tired of them, they were either sent to become official prostitutes or casually given to their own soldiers or transferred to others.

  This situation did not change until three years ago when the Jin Dynasty abolished the pseudo-Qi regime and sent a large number of Han Chinese officials from Qi to serve in occupied Shaanxi, Henan, Huai Bei, Shanxi and other places.

  When conflicts arose between the Jurchen and Han people, regardless of right or wrong, local officials of the Jin Dynasty always sided with the Jurchen. If a Jurchen killed a Han person, they only needed to pay a fine to get away with it, while if a Han person killed a Jurchen, they would be beheaded, and even their family members would be enslaved as government slaves.

  At the same time, as the Jin army occupied the Central Plains, a large number of Jurchen people also moved to the North China region. The Jurchen people were worried that they would be assimilated by the Han people in the Central Plains where the Han people had a numerical advantage, and lose their riding and shooting advantages, so they regularly carried out "reduction" policies against the Han people. This so-called "reduction" was actually just slaughter.

  "Your Excellency! Take Zhu Xian Town and its surrounding villages as an example. In the first year of Jingkang, there were still over 20,000 people in Zhu Xian Town, but now there are less than 5,000. Seven or eight out of ten have died in the wars with the Jin army over the years. We commoners have long wanted to return south to the Song Dynasty, but the Jin bandits have set up checkpoints and heavily guarded all roads and important passes. If we are caught, not only will we lose our lives, but also implicate our families... We don't know how much longer we can survive in this desperate situation. Now that the great army is about to return, I, a humble commoner, dare to ask Your Excellency to show mercy and allow the army to delay its withdrawal for a few days, so that we can pack up our belongings and return south to the Song Dynasty!"

  At this point, Wang Tong knelt down on the ground with a serious face.

  Then "thud, thud, thud" Cao Gonggong knocked three loud heads in a row.

  Wang Tong finished speaking, and Yue Yun, Cao Gonggong, and the three small eunuchs were all moved.

  Those three young eunuchs were apparently hearing these things for the first time, all with a look of shock and unease, even with a fearful expression.

  Yue Yun heard of the brutal acts of the Jurchen people, and in his heart he was furious. Having traveled through time to this era, Wang Tong's words made him feel like killing someone for the first time.

  Cao Gonggong had followed Zhao Gou into exile more than a decade ago, so he naturally understood the brutality of the Jurchen people very well. Therefore, although he was somewhat startled, he did not show an extremely agitated appearance.

  Cao Gonggong fell silent for a moment before speaking slowly: "This seat personally experienced the Jingkang Incident fifteen years ago, and those Jurchen people were indeed extremely cruel. However..." He glanced at Yue Yun before responding: "Wang Xiucan, this seat also sympathizes with your commoner's plight, but you've come to the wrong person! This seat is just a supervisor of the army, as for returning south, you should go speak with Commander Yue, what use is it speaking with this seat?"

  Yue Yun hastily interjected, "General Cao, our army will set out immediately, but the townspeople who want to head south still need to gather their families, pack their belongings, and some wealthy households even need to sell off their assets. All these matters require a certain amount of time. Moreover, there is currently a shortage of food in the military, and if we are to take the civilians with us on our retreat, we will also need to make arrangements for provisions. In this case, the timing of our withdrawal may not be easily arranged... Sir, as an official close to the imperial family, you must have more influence than my father..."

  Cao Gong heard this and a hint of a triumphant smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. Before leaving the palace, the official had already instructed him that if Yue Fei was really unwilling to withdraw, he could give him an extension of no more than two months. Once the two-month deadline passed, if Yue Fei still refused to retreat, Cao Gong would immediately report back to Lin'an and the court would come up with another plan. Therefore, even if he only delayed the withdrawal for a few days, he actually had some authority in his hands.

  But such a clever person would not agree so easily. Cao Gong made a pitiful and difficult expression, saying: "The officials of the Great Song Dynasty have always loved the people like their children, and the people of Zhu Xian Town are living in distress under the rule of the Jin people. Choosing to return south is also acceptable. However, the withdrawal of troops is an order from the imperial court, and now that the imperial edict has been issued, this seat also has no right to change it!"

  Yue Yun listened to his tone and knew that this matter was not hopeless. He thought: This old fox's face work is done thoroughly, but what he said is still wanting money. So, he threw a glance at Wang Tong.

  Wang Tong agreed and took out the stack of 20,000 taels of copper coins from his bosom and placed it on the table in front of Cao Gonggong.

  Yue Yun then cupped his hands and bowed, saying: "Your Excellency! Here is a voucher for 20,000 taels of copper coins, collected by the people of Zhu Xian Town. They are all issued by the Da Tong Money House and can be exchanged as soon as you return to Song territory. I know that Your Excellency is honest and self-disciplined, and will not accept money from the common people. However, if you want to report to temporarily delay the withdrawal of troops, it must be reported to the Imperial Secretariat for a decision. I also know that this back-and-forth process takes time and effort, and it's inevitable that there will be some expenses in smoothing out the various connections. After all, not everyone in the imperial court is as sympathetic to the people as Your Excellency is. Therefore, I beg you to accept these 20,000 taels to use for smoothing out the connections."

  At this time, Cao Gong only felt that his mouth was like eating honey, and he felt extremely comfortable with Yue Yun's words. In the past, others had also given him money, but they were all to comfort him. Although no one else was present when giving money except for his three inner servants, if it was exposed, it would be unavoidable to bribe.

  Yue Yun handed over the money, claiming it was for the people's petition and to grease the wheels. After taking the money himself, who would know whether he actually used it to grease the wheels or not? It still ended up in his own pocket, but this way, he gained a good reputation, being both honest and serving the people.

  Cao Gonggong suddenly had a good impression of Yue Yun, feeling that this little general was much easier to get along with than his old father who didn't understand human emotions.

  Cao Gonggong narrowed his eyes and looked at the 20,000 copper coins in front of him, thinking that this was not a small amount. However, he couldn't readily agree to extend the deadline by two months; he had to leave some room for maneuvering. He decided to tell him to extend it by one month instead.

  And delaying withdrawal for a month only requires sending a secret letter to the government and the Privy Council, no need for further discussion. These 20,000 taels of copper coins are simply picked up for free.

  Although he was still pretending to be embarrassed, he hesitated and refused for half a day before finally ordering two small eunuchs to accept the gifts under the strong persuasion of Yue Yun and Wang Tong. With a serious face, he said: "Since Master Yue is so considerate of the people, this seat naturally cannot stand by and do nothing!"

  He then turned to the little eunuch who was massaging his back and said, "Xiao Anzi, go prepare brush, ink, paper and inkstone. I will write a secret letter to the officials and the Imperial Secretariat immediately, explaining the hardships of the common people here, asking them to show mercy and allow the army to withdraw in a month!"

  Xiao Anzi hastily agreed and then went aside to start grinding ink.

  Yue Yun and Wang Tong saw this, knowing that everything was settled, they both bowed their heads in thanks.

  Cao Gong hastily helped the two up, then with a polite expression said: "Please get up! According to the official's trust in me, I believe that delaying for another month will not be a big problem. But if you want to delay any further, it will be hopeless. You two can go back and inform the people to quickly pack their bags and hurry up to prepare to follow the army south!"

  Yue Yun and Wang Tong thanked him again, then Cao Gong announced his departure and left the camp.