Chapter 65 Torrential Downpour

Liu Wensou understood why Zhao Kuangyin wanted to reprimand his son; it was precisely because of Zhao Kuangyin's explicit command ordering Zhao Dezhao to investigate the case involving Ding Deyu slandering his colleague.

Such an arrangement naturally placed Zhao Dezhao in a difficult dilemma. If he chose to shield and cover for Ding Deyu, he would undoubtedly provide others with leverage and incur the suspicion of buying off military generals. Conversely, if Zhao Dezhao chose to deliver an impartial and just verdict, he would deeply offend Ding Deyu—with whom he had been cooperating quite pleasantly only a short while ago—and shoulder the notorious reputation of casting aside the bridge after crossing the river, or even of gross ingratitude.

Zhao Kuangyin had anticipated this outcome long ago, yet he deliberately made such an arrangement. Apart from serving as a disguised punishment for Zhao Dezhao's offense of missing a prime military opportunity, another obvious purpose was to warn his son and prompt Zhao Dezhao to maintain a proper distance from the military clique.

After all, ever since the An Lushan Rebellion, instances of sons colluding with the army to hollow out or even overthrow their fathers had emerged in endless succession. Zhao Kuangyin had no choice but to draw a lesson from history to prevent his son from truly walking down this path of no return.

If even Liu Wensou could see through Zhao Kuangyin's intentions, it went without saying that Zhao Guangyi, who excelled in political maneuvering, could as well. Therefore, while feeling wildly ecstatic inside, Zhao Guangyi could not help casting a glance at Lu Duoxun, Zhao Kuangyin's current secretary, thinking to himself: "It's up to you now. Press the attack swiftly and turn our advantage into a decisive victory!"

Realizing that Zhao Kuangyin was clearly in a foul mood, the civil and military officials attending the early morning court session naturally dared not court disaster. Even if they had memorials to submit, none dared to bring them forward today, lest they accidentally provoke the imperial wrath. Thus, the morning court session of this day was hastily brought to a close.

Lu Duoxun was also adept at seizing the right moment. On the way accompanying Zhao Kuangyin back to the inner palace, seeing that the Emperor's expression remained consistently displeasure-laden—evidently still harboring simmering resentment—he seized the opportunity to advise: "Your Majesty, there is a matter that this subject has kept bottled up inside. I feared incurring Your Majesty's wrath if I spoke of it, yet failing to speak would mean failing in my duty as a subject. I only wonder if Your Majesty is willing to listen?"

"Speak and let Me hear it," Zhao Kuangyin said expressionlessly and offhandedly.

"As Your Majesty commands," Lu Duoxun acknowledged, then continued cautiously: "This subject has received intelligence that after our Song army breached the outer city of Jinyang, the rebel regime of Northern Han once bribed the Prince with an undisclosed amount of gold."

Having been consumed by profound remorse over missing the precious military opportunity, upon hearing these words from Lu Duoxun, anger finally surfaced on Zhao Kuangyin's face. His complexion turned ashen, and after a long silence, he let out a heavy snort and cursed angrily: "This unfilial wretch!"

Lu Duoxun kept his mouth tightly shut while feeling secretly triumphant inside, thinking: "Second Prince, spending ten thousand guan to buy His Majesty into cursing out these words—wasn't that cheap and well worth it? Remember to send more next time; my humble household has many mouths to feed and heavy expenses, and what I lack most is money."

..........

Meanwhile, Zhao Guangyi had already walked out of the imperial palace gates with secret elation. To his surprise, however, Dou Dang, the judge of Kaifeng Prefecture, was actually waiting for him right outside the palace gates. The moment Dou Dang caught sight of him, he rushed forward impatiently and said with extreme tension in his voice: "Your Highness, that personal attendant of the Prince has broken and confessed! The mole planted by the Prince around us is none other than Houmocheng Liyong, the retainer of Chen Congxin!"

"Turns out to be..."

Just as Zhao Guangyi, currently in high spirits, was about to smile, the expression on his face suddenly froze. Suppressing the shock surging within his heart, he asked in a low, astonished voice: "Houmocheng Liyong? The very same Houmocheng Liyong who helped us smelt glassware?"

Dou Dang nodded heavily in confirmation and lowered his voice further: "Furthermore, that personal attendant named Ma Laifu also confessed that the method for smelting glassware was actually imparted to Houmocheng Liyong personally by the Prince himself. His purpose was to cast a brick to attract jade, tricking us into trusting and heavily employing Houmocheng Liyong!"

Never had Zhao Guangyi imagined that his unfilial nephew's methods could be vicious to such an extent. Even more speechless and tongue-tied, he hurriedly asked again: "What about Chen Congxin? Have you informed him of this news?"

"As soon as I extracted the confession, Your Subject immediately sent men to inform Chen Congxin, telling him to arrest that Houmocheng Liyong at once. But I haven't received any news yet; I don't know if the man has been caught."

As fate would have it, just as Dou Dang finished answering this question, a carriage galloped furiously into the vicinity. Before the carriage had even come to a complete halt, a disheveled Chen Congxin tumbled and scrambled down from it, rushing straight toward Zhao Guangyi's retinue. Realizing instantly that the situation was ominous, the moment Chen Congxin arrived before him, Zhao Guangyi demanded, "What is the situation?"

"This humble subordinate deserves death," Chen Congxin replied with a crying tone in his voice. "Not only were we a step too late and failed to apprehend that villain, but my account books have also vanished without a trace."

..........

Plunged into unprecedented darkness before his eyes, Zhao Guangyi nearly staggered and fell to the ground. Catching himself by steadying his hand on Wang Hanzhong, Zhao Guangyi suppressed his inner shock and anger, speaking with extreme difficulty in a low voice: "Return to Kaifeng Prefecture first."

With that, Zhao Guangyi lifted his foot to head toward the carriage. Yet, finding his footing unsteady, he once again nearly tumbled. In the end, with no other choice, Zhao Guangyi managed to board the carriage only with the support of Wang Hanzhong. Daring not to delay any further, the crowd hurriedly escorted Zhao Guangyi as they sped back to Kaifeng Prefecture.

In full view of everyone, Zhao Guangyi's abnormal reaction naturally caught the attention of many, including Liu Wensou, the Chief Censor of the Censorate and Zhao Dezhao's current direct superior in actual rank. Feeling secretly perplexed by this, Liu Wensou thought to himself: "Just what earth-shattering event has occurred to make the Second Prince react like this? Logically speaking, it shouldn't be so."

Liu Wensou's puzzlement was soon resolved. No sooner had he returned to the Censorate than Song Qi, one of the six supervisory censors, hurried forward to meet him. Holding a memorial, Song Qi came straight to the point and said: "Chief Censor, a shocking major case! Chen Congxin, the protocol officer of Kaifeng Prefecture—merely a petty brush-and-ink clerk—possesses assets exceeding one million guan within the city of Kaifeng! This official has already obtained irrefutable evidence. I request the Chief Censor to present this on my behalf to His Majesty, and request permission for this official to thoroughly investigate this case, probing the source of Chen Congxin's family wealth and whether there are any illegal acts."

After taking Song Qi's memorial impeaching Chen Congxin and reading it carefully, then looking at the solemn-faced Song Qi, and finally at Zhao Dezhao who was smiling and waiting nearby, Liu Wensou smiled bitterly in his heart, thinking: "Well, well! The open and covert struggles between the Prince and the Second Prince have already begun to draw blood!"

Dictated by his duties, even though he knew full well that this matter was merely dogs biting dogs between Zhao Guangyi and Zhao Dezhao, Liu Wensou, as the Chief Censor, could not stand idly by in the face of such a colossal case. Therefore, after a brief calculation, Liu Wensou decisively stated: "Censor Song, this case is too vast. Bring your evidence, and this old man will lead you into the palace right now to see His Majesty, present this matter to him face-to-face, and ask His Majesty to personally decide how to dispose of it."

Song Qi, who had long been prepared, immediately consented. However, Liu Wensou did not immediately return to the imperial city; instead, he retrieved Chu Zhaofu's memorial impeaching Ding Deyu and handed it to Zhao Dezhao. After briefly outlining the specific circumstances, he finally said: "His Majesty issued an imperial decree naming the Prince specifically to investigate and handle this case. Therefore, this matter is entrusted to Your Highness."

"Naming me specifically to investigate and handle Ding Deyu? Isn't Imperial Father deliberately creating difficulties for me?"

Hearing this, Zhao Dezhao groaned inwardly, finding it a tremendous headache to deal with this situation. Liu Wensou, however, sneered inwardly, thinking: "Keep fighting. This old man wants to see just to what extent you two uncles and nephews can ultimately fight!"

The oppressive atmosphere akin to dark clouds weighing down upon the city was finally broken. When Liu Wensou led Song Qi to present the memorial impeaching Chen Congxin before Zhao Kuangyin, accompanied by Zhao Kuangyin's long-pent-up roar of rage, a torrential downpour finally poured down from the heavens, instantly shaking the entire city of Bianliang.

Yang Xin, the commander of the Imperial Guards who had been rendered mute by illness, personally led a contingent of soldiers charging into the offices of Kaifeng Prefecture. Right before the eyes of Zhao Guangyi and others, under the charge of possessing massive unexplained wealth, they directly arrested Chen Congxin, whose official post was merely that of Kaifeng Prefecture protocol officer. Zhao Guangyi's complexion remained ashen throughout the entire process, yet daring not to offer the slightest resistance, he could only watch helplessly as his most trusted and favored subordinate was arrested.

Meanwhile, other Imperial Guard commanders led separate contingents to seal off over sixty formidable commercial firms, taverns, and shops in one fell swoop, detaining more than two hundred managers and staff members, which sent shockwaves through the whole of Kaifeng. Furthermore, the officials of the Censorate poured out in full force, interrogating these involved individuals day and night, forcing them to disclose Chen Congxin's shareholdings, his unlawful acts of abusing power for personal gain, and whether any other Kaifeng Prefecture officials or runners were implicated.

More than twenty Kaifeng Prefecture runners and scribes were arrested in succession. Zhao Guangyi's private treasury was basically wiped out in one net, while Zhao Pu's faction seized the opportunity to kick a man while he was down, directly or indirectly denouncing and exposing other power-abusing runners and clerks of Kaifeng Prefecture. This led to even more personnel from the Kaifeng Prefecture offices being imprisoned, while the reputation and authority of the Kaifeng Prefecture offices suffered a massive blow.

In view of these circumstances, Zhao Guangyi naturally had no choice but to proactively confess his guilt before everyone during the court session, forced to admit that it was due to his lax supervision that so many giant embezzlers and corrupt officials had been nurtured. The primary culprit, Chen Congxin, also swallowed poison he had previously hidden in the heavenly prison, ending his own life to prevent the Censorate from digging deeper into the case.

In the end, the massive fortune that Chen Congxin had kept in custody for Zhao Guangyi was naturally confiscated and turned over to the state. Zhao Pu's faction also took advantage of the internal personnel reshuffle within Kaifeng Prefecture to plant many of their own men inside. The pitiful Zhao Guangyi faction suffered heavy losses not only in financial terms, but their very foundation was severely shaken, making it impossible for them to continue expanding as they had in history, right up until completely controlling the entire Eastern Capital of Bianliang.

However, Zhao Guangyi was not without gains during this period. First, he successfully turned Ma Laifu, the trusted personal attendant of Zhao Dezhao, thereby planting a mole right beside Zhao Dezhao. Second, Wang Ji'en's faction proved that Lu Duoxun—who had seized the benefits first—did indeed honor his promise, reporting to Zhao Kuangyin the fact that Zhao Dezhao had once accepted gold bribes from the Northern Han regime, which successfully provoked Zhao Kuangyin's dissatisfaction toward his biological son.

Regarding this, the heavily battered Zhao Guangyi could only console himself with bloodshot eyes, thinking: "Don't rush, the matter isn't over yet. Imperial Elder Brother ordered him to investigate Ding Deyu; if he dares to shield and protect him, Imperial Elder Brother will certainly not spare him! If he casts aside the bridge after crossing it, this Prince will seize the opportunity to step in and contend with him for military support! We shall wait and see!"

..........

Indeed, the case of Ding Deyu did pose a formidable dilemma for Zhao Dezhao.

Initially, Zhao Dezhao had briefly pinned his hopes on a miracle—that Chu Zhaofu's impeachment was merely slanderous framing, sparing him from such a difficult predicament. However, after investigating for several days, Zhao Dezhao had no choice but to bite the bullet, go to Ding Deyu's residence, and have a showdown with him face-to-face.

Ding Deyu was remarkably straightforward. No sooner had he invited Zhao Dezhao into his home and seated him than he came straight to the point: "Your Highness, you need not be troubled. I have caught wind of it long ago, and before you I shall speak no falsehoods: I did indeed slander and frame Li Han, and Chu Zhaofu's impeachment of me is entirely true. I am truly guilty as charged."

Having candidly admitted his fault, Ding Deyu continued: "Yet, Your Highness, you witnessed it with your own eyes—what condition our army was in after the city was breached. Li Han is not as reasonable as you; he could not understand the difficulties we commanding generals faced, so I had no choice but to strike first to take him down. Otherwise, had he kept tangling over the matter, I would have only brought disaster upon myself."

Zhao Dezhao did not argue with Ding Deyu. After a moment of silence, he said: "Nevertheless, regarding this matter, I must also give Imperial Father an explanation."

"Then do whatever must be done!" Ding Deyu said, his tone clearly tinged with a defiant petulance. "This subject will not make things difficult for you; dispose of me according to the law. I do not blame you. Who told me to be so unlucky as to run into a pedantic bookworm, and then run into such a wretched stroke of bad fortune? I admit my defeat!"

If he did not need to consider his own reputation, Zhao Dezhao certainly would not have sacrificed a Ding Deyu just to give Zhao Kuangyin an explanation. However, Zhao Dezhao had just fought a major campaign commanding troops in alliance with Ding Deyu, and they definitely showed mutual respect and gave each other face. To turn around and instantly disown Ding Deyu now would saddle Zhao Dezhao with the notorious reputation of casting aside the bridge after crossing the river, even with a clear conscience. This would be detrimental to his future efforts to unite civil and military officials and gain the trust and reliance of his subordinates.

Precisely because of this, Zhao Dezhao had to adopt a different approach, saying to Ding Deyu: "General Ding, I have considered this carefully. How about this: I will truthfully report your fault to Imperial Father, and you shall write a memorial confessing your guilt and asking for forgiveness. I will submit it to Imperial Father alongside the memorial impeaching you, and then seize the opportunity to intercede on your behalf, asking Imperial Father to grant you a chance to redeem yourself through meritorious service and exempt you from punishment."

"That is a good plan," Ding Deyu said with a bitter smile. "But where on earth am I to find a chance to redeem myself through meritorious service on such short notice?"

"Destroy Southern Han!" Zhao Dezhao uttered these astonishing words, saying in a deep voice: "We shall join forces once more to march south, campaigning against Southern Han on behalf of the court, destroying its state and annexing its territory. In this way, not only can you redeem yourself through meritorious service, but even our previous fault of missing the rare military opportunity during the Khitan civil strife can be wiped clean in one stroke!"

After putting forward this astonishing proposal, Zhao Dezhao added: "I only dared to speak thus after carefully comparing the strength gap between us and Southern Han. Southern Han's territory is indeed much larger than Northern Han's, and its population and military forces surpass those of Northern Han; however, their ruler Liu Chang is muddle-headed, cruel, and devoid of popular support. Furthermore, they have no powerful ally like the Khitan Liao dynasty to depend upon, and their cavalry is pitifully scarce. Therefore, our chances of annihilating Southern Han in one fell swoop are actually much easier than conquering Northern Han!"

Hearing this, Ding Deyu smiled and said: "Your Highness, then this subject must boldly say that your words are somewhat too detached from reality. It is true that Southern Han's actual strength is inferior to Northern Han's, but they possess the advantages of terrain and climate."

"Especially the climate!" Ding Deyu pointed out: "It is already March now. Even if His Majesty agrees to our dispatch of troops to subjugate Southern Han, by the time we lead our forces to the southern theater, we will precisely encounter the scorching hot weather of June and July. Not only is the climate exceptionally sweltering, but we will also have to face the even more severe threat of miasma."

Fearing that Zhao Dezhao might not understand what miasma was, Ding Deyu added: "Miasma, in particular, can be found almost everywhere in the Lingnan region. Even the locals encounter near-certain death upon running into this poisonous vapor, let alone our soldiers from the Central Plains."

Hearing this, Zhao Dezhao smiled and said: "General Ding, then why did you forget to ask this humble prince whether I have a way to counter miasma?"

Noticing something amiss in Zhao Dezhao's tone, Ding Deyu hurriedly asked: "Your Highness, you have a way to counter the miasma of Lingnan?"

"I am not even afraid of Northern Han's smallpox, let alone mere miasma!" Zhao Dezhao smiled and said, "Rest assured, General Ding, if Imperial Father truly agrees to our dispatch of troops to conquer Southern Han, I am confident I can make our soldiers unafraid of the Lingnan miasma. Moreover, even for soldiers struck down by the miasma's poison, I have an eighty to ninety percent confidence of saving them!"

Having witnessed with his own eyes Zhao Dezhao's miraculous performance during the smallpox epidemic, and now hearing Zhao Dezhao make such a pledge, Ding Deyu hesitated no longer. He immediately stood up and declared: "If that is truly the case, then annihilating Southern Han will be as easy as turning over one's hand!"