Chapter 701: Even His Majesty Has to Stay and Defend the City with You

An ugly daughter-in-law still has to face her in-laws sooner or later. This was not something that could be concealed; however difficult it was to say, it still had to be said.

It was simply that the consequences of saying it aloud were rather frightening for everyone present.

Shang Jianxiong's eyes widened. Shang Yongzhong froze. Tian Yu stared in astonishment.

Gao Jiancheng remained expressionless, though his heart gave a jolt as well. Of those present, he was the only one who had been somewhat prepared. Niu Youdao had previously raised the question of whether the prisoners should be killed, so Gao Jiancheng knew he had considered killing them. Even so, he could not help lamenting inwardly now. It seemed Niu Youdao had ultimately decided to kill those captives after all. What was he trying to do?

He did not know that killing the prisoners was Meng Shanming's own decision and assumed it was Niu Youdao's intention.

Tong Mo, however, was plainly dumbfounded. He quickly cried out, "Sect Leader Meng, what do you mean by that?"

Meng Xuan said, "There has been a complication. Meng Shanming's side insists on killing the prisoners."

Tong Mo said furiously, "Why haven't the three major sects stopped him? Don't tell me you can't stop him!"

He could not accept this reality. He had poured no small amount of effort into these negotiations. Song had demanded an outrageous price, and one of its conditions for withdrawing was that Yan hand Shang Chaozong and Meng Shanming over to Song, or simply kill them.

Tong Mo would naturally have loved nothing more than to eliminate those two scourges, but at a time like this there was nothing he could do. Shang Chaozong and Meng Shanming were beyond the court's control, and more importantly, the court could not afford to provoke them now. Tong Mo had therefore rejected Song's demand in the strongest terms and done everything he could to protect the two men.

Never in his life had he spent so much effort and breath trying to protect Shang Chaozong and Meng Shanming, only to have the two men repay him by pushing them all toward ruin!

But how was Meng Xuan supposed to answer that? It was not that the three major sects were incapable of stopping Meng Shanming by force. If they truly chose to intervene, of course they could stop him. The problem was that after hearing Meng Shanming's analysis, they had concluded that they should not stop him, and this was not something they could explain to these people.

The Song army had already surrounded the capital. Ask these men to sacrifice themselves for the greater good? Ask them to stake their own families and fortunes as the sacrifice? How could they possibly accept that?

Usually, it was these men who drew up grand strategies that sacrificed others. Now that they themselves had become sacrifices under Meng Shanming's grand strategy, accepting the reality would be much harder.

The crux of the matter was that, earlier, they had feared that premature flight by the powerful would cause an uncontrollable panic. To steady people's hearts, they had made a show of setting an example and had not evacuated their wives, children, and households from the capital.

They had stayed because they knew that if evacuation came only at the very end, anyone else's family might be abandoned, but theirs never would be. They themselves represented the court.

When the time finally came to leave, they still had not done so because the situation had reversed. Victory had seemed all but certain, and there had no longer been any need to evacuate.

Who could have imagined that Meng Shanming would pull something like this? Now they were trapped. They had been able to leave before and had not; now the Song army had Yanjing under siege, and their families could not leave even if they wanted to.

With a great army encircling the city, the cultivators in the capital could at most protect the highest-ranking members of the court while fighting their way out. There was no way they could take along every member of every senior official's household. These men were precisely the sort with huge clans in the capital; a household of more than a hundred people was nothing unusual. If every cultivator had to carry one or two burdens with them, how were they supposed to break through the encirclement? If they truly tried it, the cultivators themselves might not escape.

Once the city fell, the consequences hardly needed imagining.

Meng Xuan had no wish to trade words with them. He knew better than to spar verbally with men who had spent years sharpening their tongues at court. He did not mention Meng Shanming's grand strategy. The three major sects were sacrificing these men's interests for their own benefit, after all, and it was not exactly something they could say with a straight face. He merely said, "Meng Shanming commands great loyalty among the troops and refuses to yield. Under the present circumstances, forcing him would be unwise."

Tong Mo said, "Sect Leader Meng, this concerns peace between two states. It is for the good of Great Yan and even more for the good of the three major sects. The three major sects cannot simply stand by while Meng Shanming acts recklessly!"

Meng Xuan replied, "Stand by? If we push the armies at the front into rebellion and they can no longer threaten Song, the Song army surrounding the capital will have nothing left to fear and will certainly attack. The danger to Yanjing will remain exactly the same. Meng Shanming has military command firmly in his hands. If he insists on doing this, how are the three major sects supposed to force him?"

Shang Jianxiong trembled with rage. "This must be that traitor Shang Chaozong's idea! He means to murder me!"

If Shang Jianxiong insisted on believing that, Meng Xuan could not be bothered to explain. And Shang Jianxiong truly was convinced that Shang Chaozong wanted him dead.

Tong Mo tried again in earnest. "Sect Leader Meng, you may as well warn them that the peace talks are also for their own good. Ruining Yan will do them no good either. If they want something, they can put it on the table and discuss it. In view of their achievements in battle, I am sure His Majesty will not begrudge them a generous reward."

Then he turned and cupped his hands toward Shang Jianxiong. "Your Majesty, Shang Chaozong has indeed rendered great merit in commanding the army. I ask Your Majesty to reward him according to his service. Dingzhou may also be placed under Prince Yong's jurisdiction!"

Shang Yongzhong immediately cupped his hands. "This minister seconds the proposal!"

Gao Jiancheng glanced at the situation. Seeing Tong Mo repeatedly signaling him with his eyes, he also cupped his hands. "This minister seconds the proposal!"

After a brief show of reserve, Shang Jianxiong nodded gravely. "Very well. I approve it!"

Watching this group suddenly become so generous, Meng Xuan sneered inwardly while remaining outwardly unmoved. Before Meng Shanming had laid out the situation for them in detail, perhaps such an offer might have mattered. But now that he had explained all the gains and losses, they already understood the enormous damage that compromising with Song would cause. Whether Dingzhou was added or not could hardly compare with the interests of the three major sects.

It did not matter if these few men agreed. The three major sects would no longer agree!

But Meng Xuan was not about to reveal that the three major sects were sacrificing these men's interests. Someone else could take the blame. He shook his head. "Since Your Majesty already knows what Shang Chaozong intends, why bother with this? You should put all your effort into defending the city. Rest assured, gentlemen: if the situation truly becomes irretrievable, the three major sects will certainly not sit by while you come to harm. We will spare no effort to escort you to safety."

With that, he turned and left at an unhurried pace, ignoring what the others might think. He neither wished nor needed to say anything more.

The men left in the Imperial Study all wore grim expressions, one worse than the next.

Their discussion had to continue. Only now, instead of discussing how to implement the results of the negotiations, they were discussing how to fight desperately to hold the city...

When the Imperial Study had finally emptied, Shang Jianxiong slumped into a chair. The grief, indignation, and sorrow in his eyes were beyond description.

He did not understand how Great Yan had come to this point, or why the court did not have even one general capable of fighting. If it had possessed even one, how could Shang Chaozong and the others ever have forced him into such a state?

In truth, he knew the reason perfectly well. Generals who could fight were not produced by scheming against one another at court. They were tempered in real battles. And those men had either been purged by him or driven by him into the opposing camp. He simply did not wish to face that fact.

Tian Yu stood with his head lowered in silence. As Chief Steward of the Inner Palace, he was calculating matters in the imperial harem. Had they evacuated earlier, they could have killed those who were to be left behind and withdrawn safely. Now that the Song army had surrounded Yanjing, however, it seemed there were still too many people they would have to take. Were they supposed to carry out another purge?

If they killed again, the repercussions would be far greater. The women remaining were either relatives of powerful ministers or women who had borne children for the emperor. Were they really supposed to kill the mothers of the emperor's own sons and daughters?

"Your Highness, you finally got what you wanted."

After the three senior ministers had left the Imperial Study and gone some distance, Tong Mo suddenly cast Shang Yongzhong a sidelong glance and said those words.

Shang Yongzhong stared at him in surprise. "Grand Minister of Works, what do you mean by that? How could I possibly have wanted matters to come to this?"

Tong Mo sneered. "If Your Highness hadn't done everything possible to drag out the court's departure, how would the court have ended up trapped by an enemy army? Now even His Majesty has to stay and defend the city with you. Isn't that exactly what you wanted?"

Shang Yongzhong said sternly, "Grand Minister of Works, I cannot agree with that. My own family is trapped in the city as well. Do you think I am pleased to see that? Besides, who was it that advised His Majesty to keep me here in the first place? Do you really think I didn't know?"

Tong Mo replied, "You are the Grand Marshal of Yan. The capital is in peril and an enemy army has come against us. If the Grand Marshal responsible for military affairs does not remain to take command, are we supposed to have civil officials lead the troops into battle? If not you, then who?"

Gao Jiancheng sighed. "Enough, both of you. Look at the situation we're in. What meaning is there in shifting blame now? We should be thinking about how to defend the city."

That old bastard Tong Mo was the one who brought it up first. How can he blame me? Shang Yongzhong cursed inwardly. Still, before things reached the absolute end, he did not dare offend Tong Mo too deeply for fear the man might find a way to have him killed later. He quickly agreed aloud, "Yes, yes. The Grand Minister of the Masses is right. Chancellor, this is no time to argue over that. All our families are in the city. Once the city falls, every one of us will suffer. We can't trust a word from the three major sects. At most they can take us out; with all the old and young in every household, it would be very difficult for them to bring so many people through the encirclement at once. If matters truly reach that point, the three major sects will not care whether our families live or die. Finding a way to hold the city is the only sensible course."

He pointed back the way they had come. "Forget us for a moment. If things really come to that, there will still be too many people in the imperial harem. I'm afraid another batch will have to be killed. Are our own households supposed to come to that as well?"

At those words, the two great court ministers could only sigh and shake their heads.

Tian Yu had indeed issued a strict prohibition against discussing the matter, but it depended on who was doing the discussing. A conversation among these men could hardly be called idle gossip. Even if Tian Yu learned of it, he would have to close one eye and let it pass.

As they walked, Gao Jiancheng cupped his hands toward Tong Mo and asked, "Chancellor, now that matters have come to this, how should we respond?"

Tong Mo sighed. "What else can we do? Tell the court officials to go home."

"What?" Shang Yongzhong was startled. "Chancellor, do you mean every household should sweep the snow from its own doorstep? Are we... giving up?"

Tong Mo shot him a look. "What are you thinking? I mean that every household is to go back and bring out every servant who can be of use and every able-bodied household guard, then send them to the walls to help defend the city. The palace eunuchs as well. Any capable hands among them are not to sit idle. I will notify Tian Yu later. And tell everyone to use every connection they can call upon and summon every cultivator contact willing to come and help!"

He continued, "In addition, every household and everyone connected to them is to bring out all the grain they have stockpiled. First, we must ensure military provisions. Second, we must keep the people in the city steady. With a great enemy at our gates, there can be no disorder inside the capital. Tell them that if the city falls, it won't matter how much grain they hoarded; it will all belong to someone else. Tell them I have a ledger in my head of who has what. If anyone still dares hide private stores now, don't say I failed to warn them. When the time comes, don't blame me for showing no mercy, kin or no kin!"

Gao Jiancheng nodded in agreement, and Shang Yongzhong repeatedly did the same.

Meng Shanming's hard-handed move had forced them all to this point and stripped away every road of retreat. Just as his decision to kill the prisoners was meant to drive up the army's fighting spirit, the private interests of everyone at court had now been forced into the open. With nowhere left to hide, they had no choice but to unite and stake everything on defending the city.

Once these men reached a common position, the defensive strength Yanjing could unleash was not to be underestimated. This was, after all, one of the seven great capitals beneath Heaven. It still had deep foundations to draw upon.

[End of Chapter 701]