Chapter 51 Differential Treatment

As everyone knows, Yuci is a renowned commercial city in the Jinzhong region. However, what many people may not be aware of is that this place was already named Yuci as early as the Warring States period. Thanks to its fertile land, pleasant climate, and fine folk customs, Yuci was not only an important grain-producing region but also a bustling hub where merchants gathered from all directions, creating a deeply thriving commercial atmosphere.

Even the chaos of war failed to plunge Yuci's commerce into complete depression. With the Song army already pressing upon the gates of Jinyang, merchant caravans still traveled to and from the Yuci area, which was not far from Jinyang. Shops within the town remained open for business, buying and selling just as they had always done.

In this era, Yuci, with its large population of merchants, had already established a chamber of commerce. Its current president was He Weikang, one of the foremost tycoon merchants in the Yuci market. He was extremely slick and exceptionally skilled at dealing with government officials and military forces. Not long after the Song army broke through Tuanbai Valley, He Weikang had already organized the merchants of Yuci to offer a batch of military provisions to the Song army as a tribute. He also presented generous gifts to the Song army’s commander-in-chief Li Jixun and deputy commander Ding Deyu, thereby securing a peaceful coexistence between the commercial town of Yuci and the Song army.

However, unexpected events do occur. One day, a detachment of Song cavalry suddenly arrived in Yuci with a carriage. Upon locating He Weikang's commercial firm, the leading Song officer immediately requested a meeting with He Weikang. He revealed his identity as Yu Jingsheng, a commander of the Song army's Iron Cavalry, and stated that he was acting under the orders of Zhao Dezhao, the eldest son of the Song Emperor Zhao Kuangyin, to discuss a matter of great importance with He Weikang.

Well-informed and having already learned that Zhao Dezhao had arrived at the Jinyang battlefield in the capacity of an imperial inspector, He Weikang naturally dared not show the slightest negligence. He hurried over to Yu Jingsheng, bowed deeply, and said with utmost respect, "I, humble merchant He Weikang, pay my respects to General Yu of the Great Song. I deserve death a thousand times over for only just learning that an imperial prince of the Great Song has personally arrived at Jinyang, thus failing to go and pay my respects to Your Highness beforehand. I earnestly beg Your Highness and the General to forgive me."

Having spoken, He Weikang—misunderstanding the purpose of Yu Jingsheng's visit—quickly added, "Furthermore, please rest assured, General. The gifts I prepared to present to Your Highness are already ready and can be taken with you when you return. In addition, I have prepared a modest token of appreciation for you and the brave brothers under your command."

Upon hearing this, Yu Jingsheng smiled and said, "President He, no wonder our Marshal Li personally issued an order strictly forbidding anyone from coming to Yuci to harass the merchants here. It turns out that President He is so adept at handling human relations. I am impressed, truly impressed."

"You flatter me, General. This humble merchant is unworthy of such praise."

He Weikang feigned modest humility. To his surprise, however, Yu Jingsheng smiled again and said, "However, President He, you have misunderstood. The prince of our Great Song court sent me here not to ask for your gifts, but because there is an important matter in which we request President He's help."

"May I ask what important matter this is, General?" He Weikang asked cautiously.

"It is too noisy here with all these people. Let us find a quieter place to talk."

Yu Jingsheng declined to state his purpose directly, and He Weikang certainly dared not be dilatory. He respectfully invited Yu Jingsheng into the back room to be seated and instructed a servant to serve tea. Yu Jingsheng then ordered all other outsiders to leave before speaking to He Weikang alone. "President He, did you see the carriage I brought?"

"Reporting to the General, I saw it." He Weikang nodded hurriedly.

"The wooden chests on the carriage contain thirty bolts of silk," Yu Jingsheng said, first introducing the goods he had brought, before lowering his voice. "Our Highness wishes to ask President He for a favor: to sell these thirty bolts of silk to the Khitan army stationed in Yangqu. Once the deed is done, all the proceeds will belong to you, and we will not take a single coin."

"General, money is a small matter, but this humble merchant does not understand why I must sell these silks to the Khitans?" He Weikang asked with a puzzled expression.

"As for that, President He need not inquire further," Yu Jingsheng said leisurely. "In short, I leave this in your hands. Our Highness believes that President He certainly has a way to sell these silks to the Khitan army."

"General, the problem is, what would the Khitan army want with these silks?" He Weikang asked, somewhat distressed and wearing a bitter expression. "Even if the Khitan generals usually wear silk garments, they brought their own. It is impossible for them to buy from this humble merchant in the middle of a war!"

"Rest assured," Yu Jingsheng's smile was both enigmatic and grim. "The Khitan army will soon be in urgent need of these silks and will surely find a way to come here and buy them from you."

"What does the General mean by this? This humble merchant does not understand."

He Weikang was completely bewildered. Yu Jingsheng smiled and said, "Rest assured, President He, you will understand soon enough. In short, please remember two things: First, you must never let anyone know that we are the ones who asked you to sell these silks to the Khitans. Second, do not tamper with the silks casually. Opening them to take a look is fine, but you must close the wooden chests immediately afterwards. Do you understand?"

"This humble merchant... understands, I understand."

Though his mind was filled with questions, He Weikang quickly agreed. Yu Jingsheng then issued a warning: "President He, let us make the ugly words clear beforehand. We will be watching this matter in secret. If you dare to play tricks or leak any word to the Khitan army, you will bear full responsibility for all the consequences! Our Marshal Li has issued an order forbidding us from causing trouble here in Yuci, but if my Highness were to say that he wants to exterminate your entire household, even Marshal Li would certainly raise no objection!"

***

Not only Yu Jingsheng and the Song cavalry under his command were busy; Zhao Dezhao had also been exceptionally busy these past few days. Aside from diligently studying military experience and researching the combat characteristics of the Khitan army, he had also taken it upon himself to shoulder a far more important task—the prevention and treatment of smallpox!

As mentioned earlier, even before the Song army breached the outer city of Jinyang, the terrifying smallpox virus had already spread from its epicenter in Shizhou into the city of Jinyang. The Northern Han court attached great importance to this hidden danger and had isolated smallpox patients for centralized treatment early on to prevent the epidemic from breaking out on a large scale within Jinyang.

Unfortunately, this approach failed to achieve a once-and-for-all effect. Amidst the great chaos when the Song army breached the outer city of Jinyang, patients who had already fallen ill and those in the incubation period ran around the streets and alleys of Jinyang to escape the fires of war, inevitably spreading the airborne and contact-transmitted smallpox virus to every corner of Jinyang.

Naturally, many Jinyang citizens with relatively weak immunity soon became infected with this dangerous virus that was ravaging the world. Even among the Song troops stationed in the city of Jinyang, officers and soldiers began to fall victim to the scourge.

During the Eastern Han dynasty, the Han army suffered the loss of more than half its soldiers to smallpox during a southern expedition. With such a painful lesson before them, Li Jixun, Ding Deyu, and others naturally attached great importance to this issue. They had long since issued orders that anyone showing signs of infection must be isolated immediately to prevent the epidemic from spreading further. Zhao Dezhao had also volunteered to handle the matter personally, leading the military and civilians to resist the plague together.

Fearing that something might happen to Zhao Dezhao, Li Jixun naturally dared not let him take such a risk. However, as it happened, after a period of treatment, two of the smallpox patients previously discovered at the Anji Temple had initially recovered their health thanks to Zhao Dezhao's cowpox inoculation method. Having witnessed with his own eyes that Zhao Dezhao could indeed cure smallpox patients, Li Jixun half-doubtfully handed this responsibility over to him.

Thus, Zhao Dezhao became extremely busy. On one hand, he strictly sealed off the process of obtaining toxic fluid from sick cattle, trying every possible means to increase the number of sick cows. On the other hand, he directed Yu Jingsheng's troops to inoculate the military and civilians with cowpox, going all out to rescue those who had unfortunately fallen ill.

In addition, Zhao Dezhao—who had a background in hospital logistics—seemed to have lost his mind, as he vigorously promoted a useless piece of pseudo-science: covering the nose and mouth with silk could prevent smallpox infection. Although Zhao Dezhao was well aware that this preventive measure was entirely useless, he still used his authority as an imperial prince to publicize it until it was known throughout the city.

At this time, the main force of the Khitan reinforcements personally led by Yelu Sha finally arrived at Yangqu to rendezvous with the vanguard forces. After scouts reported this news to Li Jixun, he immediately summoned his principal generals for a meeting to discuss countermeasures.

As both an imperial inspector and an imperial prince, Zhao Dezhao naturally attended this important meeting. Unfortunately, during the meeting, several Song generals put forward a proposal that caused Zhao Dezhao great anxiety: they suggested that Li Jixun should take advantage of the Khitan reinforcements' unsteady footing and uncompleted camps to launch troops as soon as possible and force a decisive battle with the Khitan army.

Fearing that Li Jixun might actually follow this suggestion, Zhao Dezhao could only bite the bullet and voice his opposition in person. "Uncle," he said, "this nephew believes that caution should be paramount. The Khitan reinforcements, combined with the Northern Han rebel forces inside the inner city of Jinyang, already outnumber our Great Song army in troop strength. To rashly force a decisive battle offers little certainty of success. Therefore, this nephew suggests that we temporarily remain on the sidelines, wait until we have figured out the enemy's specific situation, and only then consider how to wage a decisive battle."

Fortunately for Zhao Dezhao, Li Jixun was a person of relatively cautious temperament. After pondering for a long time upon hearing Zhao Dezhao's suggestion, he finally nodded and said, "What His Highness says is extremely true. I did not expect the Khitan Liao dogs to send so many reinforcements to the Northern Han rebels. Our army is at a disadvantage in troop strength, and our cavalry is even more inferior in number. We should indeed place caution above all and must not rashly initiate a decisive battle."

Having also failed to anticipate beforehand that the Khitans would attach such great importance to this military campaign and send so many reinforcements to the Northern Han court, deputy commander Ding Deyu chose to support Li Jixun's decision. He further suggested immediately submitting a memorial to Zhao Kuangyin to see if he could dispatch some reinforcements to them. Li Jixun, who was worried about insufficient troop strength, readily agreed.

Once the strategy of cautious decisive battle was finalized, Li Jixun naturally dispatched numerous scouts to gather all kinds of intelligence on the Khitan army. Just at this moment, however, a personal guard reported from outside the tent that Song soldiers responsible for besieging the inner city of Jinyang had discovered—for reasons unknown—that almost all the Northern Han soldiers atop the inner city walls had covered their faces with a layer of cloth.

"The Northern Han rebel soldiers have all covered their faces with a layer of cloth?" Li Jixun was baffled for a moment. But upon second thought, he immediately guessed the reason and said with pleasant surprise, "Wonderful! Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the plague inside the inner city of Jinyang must be extremely severe now, which is why they are imitating us by covering their faces to prevent disease!"

Upon careful reflection, this was indeed the only logical explanation. The Song generals present were naturally overjoyed and broke into rounds of applause, concluding that the chances of the Song army successfully taking the inner city of Jinyang would be much greater as a result. Only Zhao Dezhao remained deep in thought. After pondering carefully for a short while, he spoke up: "Uncle, this nephew has a proposal, and I hope you will permit me to act upon it."

"What proposal does His Highness have?"

"I wonder if Uncle has ever heard the saying: ' attacking the city is the lowest strategy, attacking the heart is the highest.' Since the plague is currently severe in the inner city of Jinyang, this nephew wishes to use this opportunity to dispatch an envoy into the inner city to contact and negotiate with the Northern Han rebel forces..."

***

In the afternoon, in full view of the public, the unscrupulous literatus Liang Zhouhan—who was acting in collusion with Zhao Dezhao—held a white flag and led an ordinary peasant with pockmarks to the base of the inner city walls of Jinyang. He loudly demanded on behalf of Li Jixun and Zhao Dezhao to meet with the decision-making level of the Northern Han military, hoping that the Northern Han forces would allow him and his companion to enter the city.

For various reasons, the Northern Han court did not refuse negotiation and contact with the Song army and quickly made the decision to agree to a meeting. However, due to certain security concerns, Liang Zhouhan and the peasant he brought were hauled up the city wall by Northern Han soldiers using bamboo baskets, and their eyes were immediately covered with black cloth. When the black cloth was finally removed from Liang Zhouhan's face, he found himself directly inside the Northern Han imperial palace.

Shortly thereafter, Liang Zhouhan and his companion were once again brought before the Northern Han rulers and ministers, including Liu Jiyuan, Guo Wuwei, and Yang Ye. Liu Jiyuan then cut straight to the point: "For what purpose has Mister Liang come here? I have this to say in advance: if Mister is here to persuade us to surrender, then please spare your breath. The officials and people of Great Han and I will live and die with Jinyang and will never bow our heads in submission to you Song thieves."

"Your Majesty has misunderstood. This humble envoy is not here to persuade you to surrender." Liang Zhouhan smiled, then turned to the pockmarked peasant he had brought and instructed, "Tell His Majesty: What is your name? Where do you live? Where are your family members currently living?"

The pockmarked peasant replied in an authentic Jinyang accent, then bowed to Liu Jiyuan and said, "Your Majesty, this humble subject is a resident of Jinxing Lane in the inner city of Jinyang. My surname is Dong, given name Da. My wife, children, and elderly dependents currently still live in Jinxing Lane within the inner city."

"You are a resident of the inner city of Jinyang?" Liu Jiyuan was greatly astonished and asked hastily, "Then why are you with the Song envoy?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, it happened like this," explained the peasant named Dong Da. "Some time ago, this humble subject accidentally contracted the smallpox plague. Fearing that I would spread it to others, the officials took me to the Anji Temple and isolated me from the rest. Later, when the Great Song army breached the outer city, they did not kill this humble subject. On the contrary, they used a miraculous medicine to save my life when I was nearly on the verge of death, and they also saved the lives of many Jinyang patients who had been confined in the Anji Temple."

"You are someone who once had smallpox?" Liu Jiyuan and the others were utterly shocked upon hearing this.

Dong Da nodded and, pointing to the pockmarks on his face, said, "Your Majesty, please look. These are the marks left on this humble subject by smallpox."

"Then why have you come here?" Liu Jiyuan hurriedly pursued the question.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, it was like this," Dong Da explained. "Just now, this Grand Scholar Liang found us Jinyang commoners who had been cured by them and asked if any of us lived in the inner city and if we wanted to come with him to the inner city of Jinyang. Because this humble subject missed my family, I agreed to accompany Grand Scholar Liang to the inner city of Jinyang to serve as a living witness for the Great Song army."

Liu Jiyuan and Guo Wuwei exchanged skeptical glances, after which Guo Wuwei asked, "What witness?"

"To prove that our Great Song army is capable of curing smallpox!"

Liang Zhouhan took over the conversation and said in a clear, resonant voice, "Your Majesty, Commissioner Li and the Prince of our dynasty have asked this humble envoy to bring you a message. They know that the smallpox epidemic is currently raging in the inner city of Jinyang, and many military officers and civilians must have already fallen dangerously ill. If Your Majesty is willing, you can send people to escort these critically ill patients who are at death's door out of the city, and our Great Song army will take charge of their treatment."

Liu Jiyuan, Guo Wuwei, and the others all dropped their jaws, staring at Liang Zhouhan as if he were an alien. After pinching his thigh to confirm he was not dreaming, Liu Jiyuan could not help asking, "Did I hear correctly? Your Song thief army is willing to treat our citizens who have contracted the plague?"

"Your Majesty, you did not hear incorrectly," Liang Zhouhan said with a calm expression. "Furthermore, it is not just the commoners. Your military officers, subordinate officials, and soldiers—anyone who has contracted the smallpox plague—may all leave the city to receive our treatment, and we will not charge a single coin."

Having said this, Liang Zhouhan added a final proviso: "Of course, these people must temporarily lose their freedom and must wait until the war between us and you is concluded before they can freely choose whether to stay or leave."

The expression on Liu Jiyuan's face turned somewhat sluggish. After a long pause, he asked, "Why on earth would you Song people do such a thing?"

"Your Majesty, these are the very words of our Highness: Because you are all Han people and descendants of the Flame and Yellow Emperors, no matter how fiercely we fight among ourselves in an internal feud, when a life-or-death moment arrives, help must be given when it is needed."

The Golden Luang Palace of the Northern Han imperial palace fell dead silent. Liu Jiyuan, Guo Wuwei, and the other Northern Han monarchs and ministers looked at each other in dismay. A moment later, Liu Jiyuan asked in astonishment, "You Song people can be this benevolent?"

"If Your Majesty does not believe it," Liang Zhouhan said, his tone filled with provocation, "you can hand over some patients infected with smallpox to this humble envoy right now, and let me take them out of the city for treatment. Then Your Majesty will know whether our Highness is a benevolent person or not."