Liu Lin knew he was doomed the moment he heard the question.
Frankly, whether the melon was sweet or not was irrelevant... Of course, Liu Lin had just eaten it at noon, so it must be sweet... But the problem wasn't the melon, was it?
The situation was this: one side had won, the other had lost, and it was a total victory and a total defeat. The victor, like Zhang Rong, held the knife, while the defeated, like the melon in the cart, was at his mercy. The two sides were asymmetrical. Once the knife-wielder suspected you weren't sweet, you weren't sweet even if you were, let alone if you weren't in the first place!
Realizing this, Liu Lin became remarkably composed. He calmly rose from the muddy water, cupped his hands in a salute, and faced Zhang Rong squarely. "Chief Zhang, I am Liu Lin, the crown prince of the Qi Dynasty. I was lucky enough to escape from Suotoutan in Liangshan, but I have always remembered Chief Zhang's solitary singing on the boat. Today, I have finally fallen into your hands, and I have nothing to say except to beg you to spare my attendants..."
Hearing this, the attendants all wanted to rise, but were immediately surrounded by the soldiers of Dongping Prefecture with a roar.
In the dim, rainy light, Zhang Rong, who was holding a knife and examining the melon, paused, then chuckled. "As expected of a scholar who has read books, you speak so logically, unlike old Zhang, who can only sing silly fishing songs... But how can a scholar like you surrender to the Jin and become a traitor, making us commoners despise you?"
Liu Lin, dressed in simple clothes, immediately and earnestly replied, cupping his hands in salute. "Surrendering to the Jin is a fact. Chief Zhang, you are a hero, and it is understandable that you despise my father and me. But I, Liu Lin, am unwilling to be called a traitor even in death... Chief, you have been in Liangshan for many years, don't you know what it means when officials force the people to rebel? It was the Zhao family who failed the people of the world first. My father and I rebelled against them, but we are only traitors to the Zhao family, not to the people of the world!"
At this point, Liu Lin sneered and pointed at Zhang Rong, delivering a head-on blow. "Chief Zhang, don't you understand? We are on the same side!"
Zhang Rong nodded repeatedly, but then quickly shook his head. "Crown Prince Liu, your words and demeanor are impressive. If I weren't your neighbor from Jinan in Liangshan, I might have believed you... I'll just ask you this: even if I, Zhang Rong, am useless, I have indeed harmed the local villagers through military defeats, but I have never intentionally bullied the people of Dongping, have I? But after your family became emperor, you implemented large-scale conscription in Jinan and massive plundering in Yanzhou. How many people have fled, almost catching up with those in Hebei. Do you think I'm blind?"
Liu Lin was speechless, because he knew that what Zhang Rong said was undeniable truth.
After the establishment of the puppet Qi state and the Liu family's ascension to the throne, the Liu father and son knew that they were irreconcilable with the Song Dynasty. To protect themselves, they did everything they could: on the one hand, they honored Confucius and held imperial examinations; on the other hand, they issued proclamations denouncing the three living emperors of the Zhao Song Dynasty, and desperately sought military aid from the Jin in Hebei; then, they turned around and massively conscripted soldiers, while accommodating warlords such as Kong Yanzhou and Li Cheng who were recklessly carving out their own territories... Jinan Prefecture, although a famous large prefecture in the world, had suffered several wars, and its population was almost the same as that of Dongping Prefecture. This time, Liu Lin led more than 20,000 soldiers, and his father had more than 10,000 soldiers in Jinan, all of whom were hastily conscripted. Was the burden on the people any lighter than that of the Zhao Song Dynasty?
Moreover, some things couldn't be seen on the surface.
For example, Zhang Rong had also raised more than 20,000 soldiers in Dongping Prefecture, but a considerable part of his troops were fishermen who had abandoned agricultural production, and refugees from Hebei;
And Kong Yanzhou, although he dug three feet into the ground in Yanzhou, probably because of his origins as a rogue, mostly targeted wealthy households and the middle class in his plunder, and rarely ruthlessly exploited the poor;
On the other hand, the Liu family, in order to gain a foundation of rule, treated the scholar-officials and powerful families quite favorably, but they also needed to prepare a large army to show their value to the Jin, which was destined to squeeze the people dry...
In short, the people suffer in times of prosperity and decline. Some things cannot be explained by reason and words. Liu Lin's words were certainly deceptive enough, but Zhang Rong lived in Liangshan, bordering Jinan, and knew the truth.
Of course, Liu Lin's performance was also a plan to try again. If he couldn't try again successfully, he would inevitably become frustrated. "Chief Zhang, I have no other intention. I only ask you not to send me to Dongjing... Why not use me to find my father and exchange me for a large sum of gold, silver, and military equipment?"
The visibility was getting darker, but Zhang Rong could still be seen shaking his head in front of the cart. "If it were a month ago, I would definitely agree, but to be honest, Crown Prince Liu, not only have I received a great favor from Marshal Yue, but it's also difficult to refuse the Zhao Song Emperor... If it hadn't been for the Zhao Emperor's Imperial Guards desperately blocking Li Cheng at Beixin Bridge for so long, I would have died under the city of Pingyin first... If you ask me, Crown Prince Liu, since you are so gracious, I will also treat you sincerely. Let's go to Dongjing together. You will at least get a good last meal in Dongjing!"
Hearing this, Liu Lin knew that it couldn't be changed, but he was a man who sought life in death and was unwilling to give up easily. So, in addition to his frustration, he still had a glimmer of hope, thinking that Zhang Rong was just a hastily recruited bandit. If he couldn't persuade him today, he would work harder on the road to persuade him and seek a way out.
So, he temporarily shut up.
Not to mention what Liu Lin, who was being taken away to change clothes, was thinking. Zhang Rong, having captured Liu Lin, had avenged the arrow he took last year, but he didn't show any joy. Moreover, many of the close leaders and generals beside him who had heard their chief's words were also looking serious.
The rain was getting heavier. The Dongping Prefecture-Liangshan troops didn't return to the city, but took advantage of Liu Lin's camp and returned to the original central army camp, then lit torches in the central army tent, prepared fruits, fresh food, wine, meat, and stir-fried dishes to celebrate.
Seeing the leaders of the various sweep troops returning victoriously, they were all initially excited, but after drinking a few cups, they all gradually became unhappy, like Zhang Rong.
Some of them were even crude and unscrupulous, saying whatever came to mind...
"Brother, are you really going to Dongjing to be recruited?" One person, a little drunk, suddenly brought up the matter.
"What's there to be recruited?" Zhang Rong's face didn't change, or rather, it was hard to see his black face change color. "Didn't we accept the recruitment the year before last? I became the Pacification Commissioner, you became the Commanders, and Lao Xiao and his brothers even became County Magistrates."
"Fifth Brother doesn't mean that."
Another person, with a strong smell of alcohol, spoke bluntly, sitting closer to Zhang Rong, almost at his left and right hand. He was Zhang Rong's confidant military advisor, a scholar named You. "Brother, why bother denying it? The year before last, the Song Emperor was only trapped on the Huai River, and the world was in chaos. We borrowed his name to contact the surrounding government troops to drive away the Jin dogs on the edge of the water. Accepting the recruitment was just an expedient measure. But today, the Song Emperor is in Dongjing, and Marshal Yue is leading the army around to our front. If we are slow, they can take Yanzhou and slowly deal with us after surrounding us; if we are quick, we are already in a surrounded situation. What if Marshal Yue is black-hearted and directly eliminates us?"
"You also know that we are surrounded?" Zhang Rong interrupted coldly, who usually loved to laugh. "You said it so clearly, so much, are you advising me to go to Dongjing, or do you not want me to go?"
"Of course I don't want Brother to go!" The scholar You replied sincerely, tears welling up in his eyes. "I just want to say that going to Dongjing this time, the fake recruitment will become a real recruitment. By then, an order will separate our brothers to the ends of the earth, and Brother and us will no longer be able to be so carefree!"
"But that's the situation, what can we do?" Zhang Rong also sighed. "If we really pretend not to understand and refuse to go, if Marshal Yue receives an imperial decree to suppress us, can we really defend Dongping?"
"Then we'll just go back to Liangshan!" The first person to speak slammed down his wine bowl, pulled off his clothes, revealing a tuft of black hair on his chest, and started making a drunken scene in the tent. "Once we enter the water and ascend Liangshan, it will be our territory. Unless they fly over, who can do anything to us?"
Hearing these drunken words, many people in the tent frowned slightly. The scholar You, hearing this, couldn't help but knock on the table with his wine bowl. "Fifth Brother, you bastard, why do you have to say 'unless they fly over'? Don't you know that Yue Fei's name means 'fly'? Saying such a thing, it's likely to come true!"
The tent burst into an uproar, becoming even more chaotic.
Some talked about gods, others about the Dragon King, some drank, others slammed the table, you discussed military affairs, he talked about fate, becoming increasingly unbearable... In the end, those who were crude and arrogant shouted the slogan of attacking Dongjing and making Brother the emperor; while those who were timid and dissatisfied gradually became impatient and started making cold remarks.
Seeing that it was becoming more and more outrageous, Zhang Rong, becoming impatient, suddenly stood up, kicked over the table in front of him, and with a loud crash, he drew his knife and stuck it into the wet ground in front of him.
The tent immediately became quiet, and only the sound of rain and frogs outside the tent could be heard.
"Stop talking nonsense!" Zhang Rong, bare-chested and wearing a silk vest, stood there looking around proudly, replying coldly. "Those who talk about fighting with the government troops and Marshal Yue are all bastards! Ask yourselves honestly, if there was really a chance to win, why would I think about going to Dongjing? This is nonsense, where are you putting the lives of the brothers? If you want to decide on fighting, eliminate me first!"
At least 30% of the people in the tent were awestruck.
"And those who are making strange remarks, don't think that old Zhang doesn't understand... Aren't you all thinking the same thing as those who abandoned me after one defeat last year? After coming out of the water and becoming officials in a county or village, you have ambition and don't want to go back to the hard life in the water." Zhang Rong continued to scan the tent coldly. "So you feel uncomfortable when you hear about going back to Liangshan! But I, old Zhang, also feel uncomfortable looking at you!"
Another 30-40% of the people in the tent were panicked.
"But even though I feel uncomfortable, I don't blame you." Zhang Rong suddenly sighed. "Because you only have this much vision, either only thinking about hiding in Liangshan for pleasure, or thinking about being ennobled and glorifying your ancestors after being recruited... But have you, you birds, ever thought about what old Zhang's vision is?"
Now, even the scholar You and the others became cautious, listening carefully.
"Fifth Brother." Zhang Rong pointed at the person who had taken off his clothes and shouted about attacking Dongjing to change the emperor and said sternly. "You hate the government, hate the Great Song, don't I hate them? Why did I become an outlaw back then? Wasn't it because that Taoist Emperor Zhao in Dongjing wanted to transport what flower and stone tribute from the southeast? So many stones, ship after ship, directly filled the canal. If the canal wasn't enough, they used the Si River, passing through our Liangshan and going past the Ji River. As a result, the mouth of the Si River was narrow and the crossing was extremely slow... For those stones, fishing and ferrying were forbidden, and people were starving for months. So everyone elected me as a leader to talk to the County Magistrate. I didn't meet the County Magistrate, but the on-duty constable met me, and I was beaten with a board and thrown into prison. Everyone couldn't stand it, so they robbed the prison, saved me, killed the officials, and rebelled, and that's how we came to Liangshan! You, Fifth Brother, keep saying that you will never forget this, how can I forget?"
Fifth Brother's face was black and red, wanting to speak but hesitating, and could only lower his head.
"But what makes me stronger than you, stronger than these people who forget their roots after becoming officials, is that I have never forgotten the essence of things." Zhang Rong's tone suddenly became intense again. "I have remembered from the beginning that being the chief of this Liangshan is fundamentally about protecting the surrounding people so they can fish and farm, so they don't lose their lives in vain when some emperor trades countless lives for stones!"
"But..." Fifth Brother, who was below, finally couldn't help but interrupt.
"But today, it's not the emperor in Dongjing who is preventing the people around Liangshan from living in peace, it's the Jin people from the north!" Zhang Rong roared, his voice filled with anger. "Why can't you understand? Why have you forgotten who used the people of Jizhou as targets to practice archery the year before last south of the water? Who slaughtered more than a dozen towns in Jingxi last year east of the water? Even if you haven't been to Jingxi, so many brothers from Hebei say that the Jin people treat the people of Hebei as livestock and distribute them to the Meng'an and Mouke as private slaves, is everyone lying? If we let the Jin people cross the Yellow River again, what will happen to the many villagers in Dongping Prefecture if we hide in the water? You can hide, but I, the chief and Pacification Commissioner, can't hide anymore! In this situation, what do we do if we don't go to Dongjing to be recruited?!"
The entire camp was silent.
Zhang Rong, after shouting this long speech, which was somewhat illogical, was already hoarse and his veins were bulging, but he was still indignant.
He took off his silk vest, picked up the knife in front of him, and walked out with his dark arms. At the door, he couldn't help but turn around and add:
"A bunch of fucking thieving birds!"
After angrily cursing these words, he left alone in the rain.
Zhang Rong was the chief of Liangshan for many years. In another timeline, when the Jin people fully controlled Jingdong, he simply led his entire group to protect countless Liangshan fishermen as they went south along the Si River, forcibly moving the entire Liangshan to the Huainan area. What prestige was that?
Therefore, since this chief had truly become angry and left, all the leaders and officers in the tent were embarrassed. For half a day, no one dared to move, and they could only look at the scholar You. The scholar You reluctantly got up and chased after him.
He went out and asked, only to find that the chief had left the central army camp and gone to the place where he had captured Liu Lin. He chased after him and found that he was holding a crispy melon, bare-chested, enjoying it in the rain. He even broke off a piece and gave it to him when he saw his scholar coming:
"Are they all at peace?"
"They are at peace." The scholar squatted under the cart like his chief, eating the melon in the rain.
"I'll go to Jingdong myself, and you will lead them to listen to Marshal Yue temporarily..." Zhang Rong had obviously calmed down, but he ordered while eating the melon. "Marshal Yue has been getting along for a long time and is a trustworthy person, but if I don't come back for a day, you must hold on to the top and bottom for me for a day, so that Marshal Yue doesn't take away the hearts of the people, and don't let this group of people mix together and cause trouble."
"Yes." The scholar nodded while holding the crispy melon. "Brother must also be careful. First, be careful that Liu Lin doesn't cause any more trouble on the road, and second, be careful that the officials in Dongjing are not good people, and don't harm Brother."
"I'm not afraid of the former. The words I said in the tent just now were all from the bottom of my heart, how can he deceive me?" Zhang Rong shook his head repeatedly. "It's just the latter. If they really want to harm me in Dongjing, I can only say that it's fate!"
The scholar You sighed faintly: "These words, I didn't dare to say in the tent just now, saying them would definitely cause trouble."
Zhang Rong continued to shake his head: "So I'm not reconciled... I still want to see the sincerity of these government troops."
"What does Brother mean...?"
"I'll wait another day before setting off to see if Yue Pengju can come and see me in person." Zhang Rong finished eating half of the crispy melon, sucked his fingers, and then replied calmly in the rain. "Of course I also know that thinking like this is a bit unreasonable, but Yue Pengju daring to come to the tent alone to see me can at least put my mind at ease, right? However, even if he doesn't come, we can't do anything about it."
The scholar You hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
Zhang Rong was about to take out a second melon from under the cart, but suddenly heard a slight tremor on the ground, followed by a commotion at what used to be the back door of Liu Lin's rear camp, but is now the front door of the front camp... This seemed like a night raid and was a complete mess.
Fortunately, it wasn't a night raid. After a while, someone reported that Yue Pengju, the commander of the vanguard of the Great Song Imperial Army, an old friend, had come to see him.
Zhang Rong and the scholar You looked at each other, speechless for a moment... Then, Zhang Rong went to greet him in front, while the scholar You returned to the central army camp to tidy up the dirty mess.
However, just as he was almost done tidying up, he didn't see the two big figures coming to the tent to drink. The scholar You had no choice but to look for them again, only to find Zhang Rong still at the melon cart where the rear camp had become the front camp... He was simply squatting on the ground eating the melon as before. If it weren't for the brazier in the side camp illuminating the muddy water beside the chief's side and revealing a bloody head, the scholar would have almost thought he was having a hallucination.
"So?" The scholar asked sincerely.
"Since he's here, what else can I say?" Zhang Rong didn't care, and seemed to be in a much better mood. He spat out melon seeds towards the head at his feet before continuing. "Little Yue is still sentimental. He came in person, left the Beiwei Army outside, entered the camp alone, held my hand and said some sincere words, and sent Kong Yanzhou's head over to be sent to Dongjing as well, so that I could explain things to the officials in Dongjing..."
"That's certainly excellent." The scholar You had long guessed that the head was Kong Yanzhou's, but he hurriedly asked. "The key is, going to Dongjing this time, does Marshal Yue have any other instructions?"
"Yes!" Zhang Rong stood up, threw away the melon that he had only eaten two or three bites of, but also looked a bit strange. "He said that when I get to Dongjing, don't go to the Department of State Affairs and the Privy Council, just go and find Scholar Lin. He said that this person was my guarantor when I was the Pacification Commissioner, and is also a reliable and powerful person. If I can meet the Emperor directly through Scholar Lin, then it will be settled..."
"He only said to find someone, didn't say what would happen if you met the Emperor?" The scholar was still puzzled.
"I asked him that too." Zhang Rong's face became even stranger. "Little Yue said that as long as I meet the Emperor, it will be done, because the Emperor is a righteous person like me."
The scholar You was also at a loss... No one could imagine what kind of image a righteous Emperor would be?
But despite being at a loss, as Zhang Rong had said in his speech in the tent earlier, the current political and military situation did not allow Liangshan and Dongping Prefecture to continue to maintain a semi-independent situation. And Zhang Rong was a person who could see through the overall situation with the simplest logic, knowing that the Jin people were the great enemy, so going to Dongjing was inevitable.
In addition, Yue Fei had also expressed his sincerity at the first opportunity. Therefore, early the next morning, Zhang Rong, having made up his mind, found some cavalry from his troops, took Liu Lin and the head with some melon seeds stuck to it, and went west along the Ji River, heading directly to Dongjing.
Moreover, Zhang Rong was an impatient person. Since he had made up his mind, he didn't hesitate or waver. He didn't greet the local officials along the way, but only focused on riding lightly and quickly, directly tying Liu Lin to the back of his horse and galloping non-stop... Pingyin was exactly 500 li away from Dongjing, and Zhang Rong was a fisherman by origin and had only become proficient in riding horses in recent years, so he was a bit awkward and took three and a half days to reach Dongjing.
On this day at noon, the group arrived at the famous Nanxun Gate in Dongjing. Because Emperor Zhao had been here for half a year, the population and trade had recovered rapidly, so-called recovery speed gets faster and faster, and coupled with the recent opening of the Imperial Examinations, which attracted countless scholars and wealthy households from the south, it had indeed recovered some of its liveliness, which made Zhang Rong and others speechless in disbelief, unable to believe that this was the Great Song capital, which had been almost an empty city a year ago.
But no matter what, after reporting his name and official position, taking out his official seal, showing Liu Lin, who was lying dying on the back of the horse, and displaying the head, which was a bit smelly in the fishing net, Bei Yan, the gatekeeper of Nanxun Gate, who often boasted that he knew Marshal Yue, of course dared not neglect him. He quickly patted his chest and said that he would personally lead Pacification Commissioner Zhang to report to the Department of State Affairs and the Privy Council.
But Zhang Rong, having received Yue Fei's instructions, was unwilling to go to the Department of State Affairs or see the Privy Council at all. He only wanted to see Scholar Lin... Bei Yan, a gatekeeper, had no choice but to arrange for the group and the head to be placed in the Daxiangguo Temple, which was under military control, while personally leading Zhang Rong's subordinates to find Scholar Lin's residence. At the same time, he didn't forget to have his subordinates report to the Department of State Affairs and the Kaifeng Prefecture.
The Daxiangguo Temple was quiet and secluded. The monks, who had been under military control for many days, heard that a Pacification Commissioner was entering the temple and naturally did their best, even pretending not to have heard of the head.
Zhang Rong took a cool bath in the temple, ate some meat buns sent by the monks, and sat in the quiet courtyard away from the workshops to rest for a moment. After washing away the dust, he gradually became uneasy.
He really didn't know what to do if Scholar Lin hadn't arrived yet and the people from the Department of State Affairs and the Privy Council came first?
Only his scholar was not by his side, and there was no one to talk to. So the Pacification Commissioner had to put Kong Yanzhou's head and the fishing net on the stone table under the shade of the tree in the courtyard, and then summon Liu Lin, who had recovered a bit of his spirit.
"Let Chief Zhang know that I don't know who will come first." Liu Lin replied with a pale face. "Logically speaking, the Department of State Affairs is governed by the Chancellor, who handles everything, and the Privy Council is governed by the Privy Councillor, who mostly handles military affairs, so this matter should be fought over by the Department of State Affairs and the Privy Council... But as you saw in front of the city gate, the Imperial Examinations are being held now, and the Department of State Affairs and the Privy Council may neglect you, and it may really be Scholar Lin who comes first."
"Isn't that a good thing?" Zhang Rong, who had changed into a loose silk robe but still felt awkward, was relieved to hear this. "But Crown Prince Liu, you have been bumped around like that all the way, and now you have arrived in the capital. You are bound to die, so why are you still putting on a show?"
Liu Lin, who had also taken a bath and eaten buns, became even more serious: "Death is death, but I, Liu Lin, must save enough strength to publicly scold the Zhao Song Emperor in the Department of State Affairs and die generously, to be recorded in history."
Zhang Rong nodded repeatedly, but was too lazy to pay attention to him. He just sat quietly in a courtyard in the slightly smelly Daxiangguo Temple, waiting for news.
As the sun began to set, just as Zhang Rong was getting anxious, suddenly, the confidant who had gone with the gatekeeper Bei of Nanxun Gate to find Scholar Lin finally returned, followed by two people who were dressed casually but had an air of wealth, one young and one slightly older, which made Zhang Rong hesitate, unsure which one was the real scholar.
But before he could think too much, after the two entered, suddenly two armored generals, disregarding the summer heat, forcibly entered with dozens of fully armed soldiers, immediately locking down the courtyard, causing Zhang Rong to become nervous.
"Greetings, Your Majesty!"
At this moment, Crown Prince Liu Lin of Qi suddenly prostrated himself in front of the stone table, and when he looked up, he was actually crying. "Your Majesty, you are wise. My father and I were forced by the Jin to become emperors, and it was not our real wish! Your Majesty can pardon Qu Da, why can't you pardon me and use me as a horse's bone?"
The young man, Zhao Jiu, didn't speak, but just raised his hand to signal, and one of the armored generals with an angry expression personally stepped forward and dragged Liu Lin out.
Liu Lin was completely desperate, but he shouted desperately while being dragged away: "Born to such a father, what can I do?!"
He shouted it once, and wanted to shout it a second time, but he was directly punched in the stomach by the armored general from above, and even the buns he had just eaten spewed out, and he had to stop abruptly.
At the same time, this Emperor Zhao had already arrived at the stone table without saying a word or stopping, He first looked at the rather smelly head with interest, and then reached out and shook the hands of the somewhat flustered Zhang, saying sincerely:
"Chief Zhang, I have long admired your name, I have been longing for you!"
Qu Duan, who had just dragged Liu Lin out, returned to the courtyard and heard these words. He instantly felt extremely aggrieved... Why, when both were arrogant people entering the capital, he received twenty disciplinary whips in front of the palace, but this guy was proactively met and shook hands at the Daxiangguo Temple?
The Emperor is unfair!