It was the Double Ninth Festival, a day of crisp autumn air.

In the afternoon, Wanqiu Xie, a military advisor from the Privy Council, was ordered to meet Emperor Zhao. However, before he could leave the encampment, his colleague Hu Hongxiu caught up with him. After a brief inquiry, he learned that Chancellor Lü Yihao's words had come true – after the fall of Nanjing, the news reached the southeast, and Li Gang, Duke of Zhao, immediately dispatched the Rear Army of the Imperial Guard to the front lines. However, before the troops could cross the river, a mutiny broke out. Commander Wang Yi directly disobeyed orders, forcibly occupied Jiangning Prefecture, and allowed his troops to plunder. Li Gang had no choice but to first attempt to quell the rebellion.

The news had just arrived by express horse, but the current situation was unknown.

That kind of bad news, like the earlier siege of Tokyo, was something for which they had been mentally prepared. But in reality, when it arrived, it still made one feel powerless. Wanqiu Xie and Hu Hongxiu discussed it for a while, unable to avoid their worries, but they couldn't help but quicken their pace, preparing to report it to the Emperor as soon as possible.

However, when the two of them arrived at Mount Yu with utmost diligence, they did not see the Emperor Zhao displaying the concern for the country and its people that Grand Councilor Wang had warned them about. On the contrary, the Emperor was dressed in casual clothes, without his crown, indulging in pleasure on the mountaintop. His beloved concubine, adorned in military attire, accompanied him on his left, while lyricists raised their cups to drink with him on his right. Even his trusted generals were there, bending over and removing their helmets, with no regard for protocol.

To borrow a famous line from the Tang Dynasty poet Gao Changshi, 'Soldiers fight to the death at the front, while beauties sing and dance in the tent,' would perhaps not be an exaggeration.

Seeing this scene, Hu Hongxiu felt a sense of unease and was about to step forward to offer his advice, but Wanqiu Xie reached out and stopped him.

The Emperor Zhao, sitting cross-legged on the summit, was slightly startled when he saw the two of them, but then smiled again: "Wanqiu Qing and Hu Qing, what brings you here? Is it one of the Grand Councilors Wang or Lü urging me, or is there some military intelligence?"

"Your Majesty," Wanqiu Xie said quickly, putting aside his thoughts and respectfully cupping his hands. "This humble servant was indeed sent by Grand Councilor Wang, but not to urge you, but to attend to your needs. As for Military Advisor Hu, he is here to inform Your Majesty that Commander Wang Yi of the Southeast Rear Army of the Imperial Guard disobeyed orders and instead occupied Jiangning Prefecture and plundered excessively. Chancellor Lü was right."

Emperor Zhao, holding his wine cup, paused for a moment before slowly nodding: "I know. This was expected, so let's not worry about it for now… Since you two are here, that's perfect. Sit down and drink with us."

Of course, Military Advisor Wanqiu, who had just criticized the Emperor in his heart, would not object. He immediately thanked the Emperor, then tidied his appearance before carefully approaching and sitting alongside Liu Yan, and taking the initiative to hold the wine pot after the palace attendants served the wine.

Hu Hongxiu, on the other hand, was flustered by Wanqiu Xie's actions. He hurriedly followed, but seemed neither here nor there, feeling awkward for a moment.

"We were discussing Double Ninth poems. Both of you are from the Imperial Academy, and Wanqiu Qing even used to be a professor. So, although you were granted official positions in the temporary palace examination in the secondary capital, you should both be skilled in literature. Let's hear what you have to say." Emperor Zhao said casually after accepting a cup of wine from Wanqiu Xie.

Hearing Emperor Zhao use 'I' instead of 'We', Wanqiu Xie, who had just poured himself a cup of wine, became even more excited, but he suppressed his emotions and poured a cup of wine for everyone except Wu, who was specifically holding the wine pot. He then said, "May I ask, Your Majesty, Lady Wu, Scholar Lin, and Commander Liu, what have you been discussing?"

"Just chatting nonsense," Emperor Zhao replied casually, pointing to the people beside him. "I am ignorant and unskilled. This Lady Wu is said to be both literary and martial, and has read a lot, but how many years has she actually studied at her age? It's nothing more than Scholar Lin and Pingfu (Liu Yan's courtesy name) having good memories as Jinshi graduates, reciting some Double Ninth poems, and I making some random comments. She has a copy of 'Collected Tang Poems' and flips through it randomly… We were just talking about the best Double Ninth poems. Which poem and which ci do you think is the best?"

It was probably true that Lady Wu hadn't read many books and was temporarily cramming with a book today. But if Wanqiu Xie believed Emperor Zhao's 'ignorant and unskilled' claim, he would be a fool.

In fact, in Wanqiu Xie's opinion, if the Emperor before him, who often mentioned 'the late works of Lay Buddhist Yi'an', was considered ignorant and unskilled, then there wouldn't be many people in the world skilled in poetry… It could only be said that because the image of the late Emperor Daojun being too skilled was so deeply imprinted on people's minds, the new Emperor, who inherited at least five or six layers of ability from the former, clearly had a lot of dissatisfaction with his predecessor and didn't want to show too many similarities, so he deliberately concealed his abilities.

It was just a pity for Lay Buddhist Yi'an and her husband. Approaching fifty years old, they were saddled with this Emperor who made random assignments, causing discord between the couple.

Returning to the present, as Emperor Zhao said, Wanqiu Xie was, after all, a man of culture, and he had some talent in this area. Moreover, he was older than Hu Hongxiu, who liked to wield swords and spears.

Therefore, while lost in his thoughts, he had already gained some insight.

"If I may be so bold… When it comes to poetry, we must look to Tang poetry," Wanqiu Xie glanced at Hu Hongxiu, who was still pondering, then straightened his face slightly and began to speak eloquently. "As the saying goes, 'A lonely stranger in a foreign land, I miss my family all the more on festive days. I know my brothers are climbing the heights far away, Wearing dogwood, one is missing today.' Wang Mojie wrote this poem at the age of seventeen, expressing the feelings of countless travelers. It can be said to be the best of Double Ninth poems."

As soon as these words came out, Liu Yan and Lady Wu laughed together, and Hu Hongxiu also nodded in realization.

As for Emperor Zhao, he also slowly nodded: "Wanqiu Qing speaks very well, which is exactly what we were discussing earlier. Great Scholar Su said that Wang Mojie's poems contain paintings, and his paintings contain poems. This poem was written by Wang Wei at the age of seventeen, but it already has both spirit and form. The poetic meaning is repeated, but the opening is simple. The key is that the homesickness it expresses can be felt by everyone, so it is widely sung and can suppress other Double Ninth poems and stand firm in this position… What about Double Ninth ci?"

Wanqiu Xie naturally echoed Emperor Zhao's brilliant remarks with a few words, and after pausing for a moment, he simply spoke again: "As for Double Ninth ci… Ci is a different form of poetry that flourished in this dynasty. Although there are a few Double Ninth ci, they were only written by famous poets of this dynasty. But as I think about it, I can only think of Lay Buddhist Yi'an's line, 'The curtains are rolled up by the west wind, and I am thinner than the yellow flowers'."

As soon as these words came out, everyone except Little Scholar Lin, including Emperor Zhao, laughed. Even Hu Hongxiu gradually entered the atmosphere and gave a slightly awkward smile.

After Emperor Zhao finished laughing, he nodded again: "That's right. Although this ci is a boudoir complaint, it only mentions the words 'Double Ninth', but it is written to an exquisite degree. With just this one line, not to mention Double Ninth ci, even countless boudoir complaint poems and lyrics from ancient times have been suppressed by this line… In fact, Scholar Lin was just arguing that Lay Buddhist Yi'an's own 'A Spray of Plum Blossoms' can only be compared as a whole, but a single line cannot compare to this one."

"Your Majesty is absolutely right," Wanqiu Xie said with a smile. "It seems that I agree with Your Majesty, Lady Wu, Scholar Lin, and Commander Liu again."

"Some people say that after the generations of Lord Liuyi, Lord Anshi, and Scholar Su reached their peak, the literary and cultural rhyme of our dynasty ceased twenty years ago, and afterwards, poetry was only produced by people like Ye Mengde," Emperor Zhao said. Perhaps he had drunk some wine, and he was talking a lot today, continuing to chat and laugh constantly. "Isn't this a joke? How can we pretend not to see Lay Buddhist Yi'an just because she is a woman? This person will probably be mentioned in the same breath as those people in the future. I just don't know where the situation in the world will go in the future? Will those people who should follow Lay Buddhist Yi'an be able to emerge again? And after they emerge, will they still be able to write 'sharpening the sword by lamplight'…"

Wanqiu Xie and Hu Hongxiu were confused by these words.

First, out of instinct, neither of them thought that Lay Buddhist Yi'an, a woman, was qualified to be mentioned in the same breath as Ouyang Xiu, Wang Anshi, and Su Shi with just a few poems, even if the Emperor praised her; second, they didn't understand what the Emperor said later. What 'those who should follow Lay Buddhist Yi'an' sounded as if someone would definitely stand up and follow the path of Ouyang Xiu, Wang Anshi, Su Shi, and Lay Buddhist Yi'an… And what 'sharpening the sword by lamplight'?

It seemed that the Emperor was really drunk.

"Wanqiu Qing, what are your opinions? Hu Qing, what do you say?" Emperor Zhao asked, holding up his cup after taking a cup of wine from Lady Wu, who was beside him wearing leather armor sleeves.

"I have nothing to say," Hu Hongxiu hadn't directly offered his advice, only because he was thinking of the nation's peril and wanted to preserve himself for future use. How could he participate in the discussion?

"The poems are all in agreement. It seems that the best of Double Ninth poems and lyrics has been decided," Emperor Zhao clapped his hands after drinking it all in one gulp. "But these two placed here on Mount Yu, at this time of war between the two countries, are a bit inappropriate…"

Isn't that obvious?

Wanqiu Xie and Hu Hongxiu almost simultaneously mocked inwardly.

Hu Hongxiu didn't think much about it, but Wanqiu Xie, after careful consideration, broke out in a cold sweat – Lay Buddhist Yi'an's boudoir complaint was excellent, but it was bound to be inappropriate. And 'Wearing dogwood, one is missing today', in front of Emperor Zhao himself, was not only inappropriate but also a life-threatening remark!

Knowing that my brothers are climbing the heights far away, wearing dogwood, one is missing today… perhaps it should be knowing that my brothers are living in a cellar, sitting in a well and looking at the sky, one is missing?

No, there was also Prince Xin on Mount Wuma, whether real or not, perhaps it should be 'two are missing'. Moreover, no wonder the Little Scholar Lin, who had a very deep mind, had not shown a smile all along. It seemed that it was not that he didn't know how to flatter, but that he had his own plans.

While pondering, Emperor Zhao had already set another question: "Before you two arrived, we were just about to discuss another poem of any theme that would fit this situation perfectly, but we haven't found one yet. Why don't you two try to think of one…"

Wanqiu Xie naturally dared not neglect, but he was also much more alert in his mind, so he carefully responded, lest he make the mistake of 'remembering the brothers in the Five Kingdoms City' again:

"Your Majesty, may I ask, did Your Majesty and the three of you have any ideas before?"

"No," Emperor Zhao replied simply after drinking it, and really took out a copy of 'Collected Tang Poems' from somewhere behind him and threw it to the two newcomers. "We thought of a few poems at first, but they were all wrong. We were just about to flip through Lady Wu's book, and you can flip through it too…"

Hu Hongxiu reached out and took it to look at.

Wanqiu Xie only found it funny. Did scholars from the Imperial Academy need to flip through books to remember poems?

Only this person dared not show any thoughts on his face, so he held his cup while trying hard to think, and soon he thought of a poem that barely fit the occasion.

"Your Majesty," Wanqiu Xie said seriously. "Li Bai has a poem called 'On the Double Ninth Day, Ascending Baling and Setting Up Wine to View the Dongting Naval Fleet'. Today, Your Majesty ascends Mount Yu, although you cannot see the naval fleet, you can fully see the Grand Encampment of Mount Yu! As the saying goes, 'Drunken singing inspires brave men, and can destroy demonic forces.' Isn't that fitting?"

Everyone pondered, unable to say whether it was good or bad… First of all, this Double Ninth poem rarely mentioned wartime or the military, and it had a sense of encouragement, which seemed very fitting. But at the same time, most of the poem clearly talked about the victory of warships and the naval fleet. To say that it could deal with the grand encampment below the mountain was a bit forced.

"What do you think?" After Wanqiu Xie recited the entire poem again, Emperor Zhao took the initiative to point at each person and ask.

"This humble one thinks it's okay," Lady Wu also used a folk address.

"This humble subject thinks it's not appropriate," Liu Yan, who was usually taciturn, finally spoke, directly waving his hand.

"This humble subject also thinks it's not appropriate," Little Scholar Lin also frowned.

Emperor Zhao didn't take it to heart and continued to point at Hu Hongxiu.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, this humble subject also thinks it's not appropriate," Hu Hongxiu, who had been flipping through the book, said, handing over the 'Collected Tang Poems' with the cover facing up. "But this humble subject just saw a poem here that might be suitable…"

Emperor Zhao nodded and casually took it. He couldn't help but laugh after just one glance. Then he read the title of the poem aloud: "This is Cen Shen's 'Accompanying Grand General Feng on the Double Ninth Day Ascending the Heights'… Is Grand General Feng Feng Changqing?"

"Exactly," Little Scholar Lin interjected. "This humble subject remembers this poem. It says, 'On the Double Ninth Day, yellow flowers and wine, Ascending the heights reminds me of the past. The frost's power chases the vice-chancellor, The killing intent is next to the central army. The horizontal flute startles the migrating geese, The delicate songs fall on the border clouds…'"

Having recited this far, Little Scholar Lin suddenly stopped, and Wanqiu Xie's face turned pale, and he looked at Hu Hongxiu, the originator of the idea, who was already somewhat flustered.

Emperor Zhao didn't take it to heart. He picked up the book and examined it carefully, continuing to shake his head and read, "At the frontier, fortunately, there is nothing to do, Drunk, I dance to thank my lord."

Now, Liu Yan and Lady Wu also had strange expressions… somewhat annoyed, and somewhat helpless.

No matter what, the line 'At the frontier, fortunately, there is nothing to do' was too obviously sarcastic. Cen Shen and Feng Changqing were taking a break from their busy schedule to ascend the heights in a situation where 'At the frontier, fortunately, there is nothing to do'. What did Emperor Zhao count as?

However, perhaps because Emperor Zhao, an engineer, had a relatively low cultural level and didn't have the muscle memory foundation for writing and archery, he stared at this damned 'Collected Tang Poems' for a long time after reading it once before he realized: "Military Advisor Hu is advising me?"

Having been ignored for so long, Hu Hongxiu had long been at a loss… After all, he came from a wealthy family. If he had the courage to advise the Emperor to his face, he would have submitted a memorial 'denouncing the imperial chariot' with Chen Dong a long time ago. Why would he be in this state today? Moreover, he had handed over the poem face down, intending to 'implicitly advise', never expecting Emperor Zhao to disregard it and directly say it openly?

"It doesn't matter," Emperor Zhao continued to look at the collection of poems in his hand, obviously not taking it to heart. "Military Advisor Hu also has good intentions… And rest assured, I will make a decision today. I won't make a mistake."

Hu Hongxiu could only nod.

"In fact, if it weren't for the last line, this poem by Cen Shen would be extremely fitting," Emperor Zhao continued.

"This poem is indeed somewhat inappropriate," Liu Yan also nodded seriously. "However, this poem and the poem by Li Bai are both inappropriate. What else is appropriate? I really don't know what other poems there are!"

"It's indeed difficult," Little Scholar Lin said faintly. "Right now, it's wartime, in the military. There are not many poems related to wartime, the military, and Double Ninth. These two poems are already the most fitting. As for the current situation where the Jurchens are launching a large-scale attack on Tokyo and the southeast army has caused military chaos as soon as it set off, it is already a critical situation. A critical situation, wartime, the military, plus poems exclusive to Double Ninth… I really can't think of any."

Wanqiu Xie and Liu Yan nodded in unison, and even Lady Wu nodded, as if she really understood. Hearing these words, Emperor Zhao also nodded, as if he really understood too.

However, after nodding, Emperor Zhao reopened the random collection of poems in his hand and placed it in front of him: "What do you think of this poem?"

Everyone looked at it one after another, but they were all silent, and then their hearts stirred slightly. It turned out that this poem was right next to Cen Shen's poem. It was a Double Ninth poem by Gao Shi, but it was only twenty characters long.

As the saying goes: I strongly want to climb the heights, but no one brings wine. From afar, I pity the chrysanthemums of my hometown, They should be blooming beside the battlefield.

While Wanqiu Xie and the others were each thinking about their own things, Emperor Zhao had already stood up with a hint of drunkenness and strode forward, obviously wanting to look out from a high vantage point… Liu Yan and Lady Wu dared not neglect and hurriedly followed him, in case of accidents.

However, under the setting sun, Emperor Zhao stood with his hands behind his back, facing east, looking out from the White River at the foot of the mountain, gradually gazing into the distance until the horizon could no longer be clearly discerned, and he remained silent for a long time.

"Your Majesty!"

Little Scholar Lin had probably thought enough, so he stood up and came behind the Emperor. Then he carefully arranged his words: "Military Advisor Hu did not do it intentionally. He does not know Your Majesty's hard work and difficulties…"

Hu Hongxiu's face turned red behind him, but he did not dare to interrupt at all. And Wanqiu Xie, who also did not want to go through, simply glared at Hu Hongxiu coldly.

After another while, Emperor Zhao came back to his senses, then shook his head slightly and said: "It has nothing to do with Military Advisor Hu. The difficulty in my heart today is actually the same as the difficulties I have encountered in the past two days. They were all expected, but it's still hard to bear when it comes to the point… In fact, ever since I experienced Zhang Yongzhen's desperate battle on the Huai River and then lit a small orange lantern to enter the Huai, I have realized two things: First, the Jurchens will definitely win, and the winners will definitely be us; second, to win against the Jurchens, countless lives must be sacrificed for it! But there is another difficulty, that is, as this Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty, how can I decide who should be sacrificed and who shouldn't? Or who shouldn't be sacrificed and who should be?"

Not to mention the two military advisors behind him, even Little Scholar Lin, who had thought a lot before standing up, couldn't help but be stunned.

"Those who have passed away are gone, so let's not talk about Councilor Zhang and Commander Xin before. Let's just talk about the present. The Defense Commissioner Zong of Tokyo is in extreme difficulty, and the troops in the southeast cannot be used. The Privy Council naturally wants me to make a decision. Should I order Han Shizhong, who is still resting, to immediately go north to Shunchang Prefecture?"

Emperor Zhao continued to stand with his hands behind his back, facing away from the crowd, speaking in a low voice, his tone so low that it was like mumbling to himself. "If Han Shizhong goes to Shunchang Prefecture, which is south of Zhengzhou, Wanyan Wushu will definitely have to divide his troops to deal with it. He might even attract the Fourth Prince, who was defeated that day, in advance. Then Tokyo will naturally be much more relaxed… But in that case, what about the sacrifice of Han Shizhong's troops, who have not finished resting? What about the people of Shunchang Prefecture? It's not to say that Zong Ze and Han Shizhong should die, or that the people of Tokyo and Shunchang Prefecture should be saved. It's not a question of choosing one of the two, but that as soon as I say a word, with the slightest emphasis, countless lives will be lost for it."

"Your Majesty is benevolent," Liu Yan sighed. "Commander Yang often told me before that Your Majesty is benevolent. I often countered with the Mingdao Palace incident that day, to show that I already knew, but I didn't expect that… still… I have made Your Majesty laugh."

"This humble subject is ashamed," Lin Jingmo also lowered his head helplessly.

"Let's take it one step at a time!" Emperor Zhao shook his head again. "I'm saying this not for you to praise me, but because my heart is heavy and I hate that I can't lead by example and can only futilely ask others to sacrifice their lives, so I am a little ashamed… Military Advisors!"

"This humble subject is here!"

"Yes!"

Wanqiu Xie and Hu Hongxiu, who had been listening intently, hurriedly stood up in embarrassment.

"Go tell the two Grand Councilors that I have made my decision. Order Han Shizhong to go north to Yancheng!" Emperor Zhao said directly without turning his head. "As for me, I will return later!"

"Yes!"

"Yes!"

The two of them perked up and quickly saluted, then hurried away.

Thus, not to mention the fact that Emperor Zhao, who had seen a lot of military intelligence in the past few days and had also drunk a lot of yellow flower wine, was rarely sentimental, but on the other side, Hu Hongxiu and Wanqiu Xie hurried down the mountain. After turning a bend, they looked up and saw Emperor Zhao still standing with his hands behind his back, looking into the distance, and each had their own thoughts.

For example, Wanqiu Xie, who originally thought that the Emperor was still young after all and was being forced into a state of self-abandonment by the cruel war, and even had a posture of enjoying the moment… This kind of thing has been common throughout history… But he didn't expect that the Emperor had not lost his basic spirit from beginning to end, but was just a bit too kind-hearted.

And this point, for an Emperor who was originally a prince and is only twenty-two years old this year, does not seem to be a problem, but can even be called a 'benevolent ruler'.

As for Han Shizhong going north ahead of schedule, it was a novelty for others, but for the new elites of the Privy Council, it was something they had already participated in discussing a long time ago and was not worth mentioning.

However, there was still a major gain today, that was the 'appropriate' poem that Emperor Zhao pointed out… 'From afar, I pity the chrysanthemums of my hometown, They should be blooming beside the battlefield'… Isn't that exactly what the Tokyo war is about? And Emperor Zhao's final determination to let Han Shizhong lead the Huaixi army into Shunchang Prefecture ahead of schedule is not in line with Emperor Zhao's mentality of caring about the old land of Tokyo?

But the problem is, didn't the Emperor fall into a well and forget everything? How does he still cherish the chrysanthemums of his hometown?

"Brother Yuanzhong (Wanqiu Xie's courtesy name), do you think that the Emperor really forgot the past when he fell into the well that day, or was he pretending to forget?" At this moment, Hu Hongxiu couldn't help but blurt out.

Wanqiu Xie stopped and looked at the person beside him, speechless for a moment… Can these words be said out loud? Can't they be kept in your heart? Haven't you caused enough trouble today?

Seeing this, Hu Hongxiu was about to say something more, but Wanqiu Xie stomped his feet repeatedly and fled down the mountain as if running away.

At the same time, Emperor Zhao was completely unaware that a poem that he had casually pointed out out of emotion about the devastation of the war on people's livelihoods had actually aroused these thoughts in the minds of two Privy Council officials… After watching the horizon for a long time, he only felt a vast expanse, and finally, the alcohol overwhelmed him, so he turned around and slowly went down the mountain.

ps: Good night everyone, eat something good on the weekend…