29. You must insist on debating this in the imperial court.

What is to be done?

The dilemma remains the same: hold firm. Or rather, from Zhang Xun’s personal perspective, if the Yuan army arrives, I would gladly kneel, kowtow, and beg Bayan to spare the lives of the five hundred thousand folks in my prefecture.

But it would be best if Bayan stayed in Xiangyang fighting for the rest of his life and never made it to the east of the Yangtze River. Then Zhang Xun could spend twenty years eating, drinking, whoring, and gambling, and die satisfied. I wouldn't have to go down in history as a villain, nor would I have any psychological burdens; it would be best to just close my eyes and see nothing at all.

Seeing the situation in Xiangyang deteriorating, one can only hope for a decent performance at Dingjiazhou. What kind of useless trash are Sun Huochen and Fan Wenhu?

Suppose Jia Sidao had appointed Li Tingzhi as the vanguard for both land and water to fight Bayan? Then perhaps they could have put up a fight and achieved a stalemate, rather than a total collapse.

Historically and currently, the situation looks much the same. According to Lu Xiufu, Li Tingzhi is already preparing to seclude himself and wait for punishment. After all, as the Commissioner for the Pacification of the Jinghu region, he is effectively the supreme commander of the entire Jinghu theater. Now that the relief of Xiangyang has failed, he bears at least the responsibility of leadership.

But if he just sits there waiting for punishment, he is finished. Won't the narrative be entirely dictated by Fan Wenhu’s own mouth? Lü Wenhuan is trapped inside Xiangyang and cannot speak, and Commander Zhang Gui has already died in battle. All the other witnesses are unable to speak, and with Li Tingzhi keeping his mouth shut while Fan Wenhu enjoys the protection of Jia Sidao, it is self-evident whose head this blame will fall upon.

What should be done now?

Two things must be done immediately.

First, Li Tingzhi must go to Zhenzhou on the opposite bank and, following Fan Wenhu’s example, do everything in his power to gather the routed troops. It would be best to send ships up the Yangtze; capture as many as possible, and bring every straggler under his command.

No matter how dire the situation in Xiangyang is, it can likely hold for another half a year. After all, Zhang Gui and Zhang Shun risked their lives to deliver a massive amount of ordnance and supplies, and there is no shortage of food in the city for the time being.

With these six months, given Li Tingzhi’s abilities, he can certainly reorganize the routed soldiers into an army and restore their structure. Regardless of their combat effectiveness, at least the facade of an army can be maintained.

By then, when the imperial court sees that Li Tingzhi still has tens of thousands of troops under his command, however reluctant or displeased they may be, they will have to grit their teeth and continue to let him lead.

This does not depend on anyone’s will, because once Xiangyang falls and the court is in danger, the government might even be forced to appoint Zhang Xun as the Commander of Changzhou to lead troops in defense of the throne.

Any organized military force is the lifeline of the Great Song.

Second, Lu Xiufu must immediately replace Li Tingzhi and go to the imperial court to give an honest account of the Xiangyang front, including the truth about the Battle of Longweizhou. He cannot allow Fan Wenhu to be the sole voice.

As long as there are dissenting voices, the court cannot be misled by one-sided reports. The officials are already furious and have long been dissatisfied with Jia Sidao’s monopoly on power. Otherwise, they would not have repeatedly proposed and submitted memorials demanding that Jia Sidao be appointed as Commander-in-Chief to lead troops to the Xiangyang front.

With two different voices, discussion will arise, and given the state of the Hangzhou court, it is impossible for them to reach a conclusion within two or three months.

In tandem with the previous step, by then Li Tingzhi will have gathered his tens of thousands of routed troops. With such a force in his hands, Lu Xiufu’s voice in the court will carry more weight, allowing him to argue more effectively for Li Tingzhi.

At worst, the punishment will be a demotion of two or three ranks, or perhaps being stripped of office but retained in his post to atone for his sins through future service. The feudal court loves this sort of thing—using a man's flaws to drive his merits—what a load of Machiavellian nonsense.

Right now, the two of you standing here weeping and wailing is useless; sooner or later, you will be destroyed by Fan Wenhu. Get moving; there is still a chance to fight, otherwise, you are all doomed.

These words stopped Lu Xiufu’s tears. He looked at Zhang Xun steadily for a moment, then immediately declared that he would go find Li Tingzhi to discuss this. He asked Zhang Xun to remain where he was, promising to return shortly.

Before long, Lu Xiufu returned.

He raised two issues: first, as for money, Huai Dong can manage for now, but there is no grain. Second, Lu Xiufu’s status is insufficient; if Jia Sidao blocks him from seeing the Emperor, the current sovereign, Zhao Qi, will remain ignorant of the reality in Xiangyang and will still side with Fan Wenhu.

Grain is easy. Zhang Xun will write a letter now, instructing the grain transport ships in Huai Dong to go directly to Changzhou to load supplies. Yangzhou is a prosperous land; you can just pay me back next year. Whether it is fifty thousand or one hundred thousand bushels, it can be obtained in a day.

As for the second point, Zhang Xun really wanted to curse: why are you scholars so pretentious?

You haven't even tried, and you are already saying it cannot be done. How can you say it is impossible without even attempting it? Ten-tenths certainty? Even in this world, there is no such thing as ten-tenths pure gold; do you really expect ten-tenths certainty?

If you cannot see Zhao Qi, can’t you go to the palace and weep? Can’t you kneel at the gate? Can’t you strike the drum for justice?

There are plenty of ways. As long as Zhao Qi asks, you have a chance. In Runzhou, you have zero chance; only in Hangzhou is it possible to contend with Fan Wenhu.

A few short sentences actually made Lu Xiufu lower his head, and he immediately agreed to proceed. Wen Tianxiang, standing to the side, watched Zhang Xun handle the situation with composure and nodded slightly.

Soon, two of Li Tingzhi’s clerks arrived with signed and sealed documents and over a hundred ships to borrow grain from Zhang Xun. Lu Xiufu traveled through the night toward the temporary capital of Hangzhou, carrying Li Tingzhi’s memorial, prepared to clarify the truth of the Xiangyang battle to the court.

Finally, regarding Wen Tianxiang and his family, Zhang Xun ordered two hundred archers to continue using the boats to escort them back to Jiujiang. Wen Tianxiang staying in Runzhou would be useless; his literary fame is real, but literary fame cannot conjure an army of thousands.

Knowing that Zhang Xun had to return to Changzhou immediately, Wen Tianxiang did not hesitate or decline further. He only told Zhang Xun to hold fast to his loyalty and integrity, and to keep in mind the three hundred years of favor the Song dynasty had shown the Zhang family.

Fine, fine, I’ve got it. Please, hurry back.

After seeing Wen Tianxiang off, Zhang Xun set out overnight for Changzhou. Runzhou was still in chaos. The grain transport ships arriving from Suzhou, Huzhou, Jiaozhou, Jiangyin, and Tongzhou were being "looted" by both Fan Wenhu and Li Tingzhi.

As soon as a ship arrived, it was intercepted by one side or the other. Even the soldiers and civilians transporting the grain were often detained in Runzhou and Zhenzhou, or directly conscripted into the army.

Although these supplies were intended for their use anyway, the current situation is best left unsaid.

Upon returning to Changzhou, Zhang Xun’s mother repeatedly asked about Lu Xiufu. The news of the defeat at Xiangyang, along with the news of the routed imperial guards fleeing to Hangzhou and the laborers returning to Changzhou, had already spread throughout the city.

Only after learning that Lu Xiufu was safe and had already departed for Hangzhou did Zhang Xun’s mother feel at ease. She then asked Zhang Xun what this business was about the Marshal from Huai Dong borrowing fifty thousand bushels of grain.

Don’t ask, don’t ask. I promised my brother-in-law I would lend it to him; let’s just turn the page on this matter.