Chapter 864: Edict of Self-Reproach

Sounds of fierce fighting rose from the valley behind them.

Hui Qingping did not look back. She continued along the mountain road.

Every disciple traveling with her was uneasy.

Their master had betrayed the sect.

She had betrayed the Tiannü Sect.

Hui Qingping herself remained expressionless.

In the past, even she had never imagined she would come to this point.

Those willing to betray the Tiannü Sect with her had been brought away. Most belonged to her own faction within the sect.

As for those unwilling or too afraid to betray the sect, she had already separated them out beforehand under the pretext of questioning them and led them into a trap.

At this very moment, cultivators from Song's three great sects were surrounding and slaughtering them.

There was no real question of guilt or innocence in Hui Qingping's mind.

She had reasons enough to comfort herself.

The Tiannü Sect had wronged her first.

The Tiannü Sect had sacrificed her first.

She had already thrown in her lot completely with Wu Gongling. Faced with still greater interests, she listened to his urging and coordinated from within with Song's three great sects. Together, they purged the Tiannü Sect's people in this region, clearing the ground so Song's three great sects could take over.

If she and Wu Gongling wanted the realm of Song, then they had to make a clean break and choose a side.

This was the price both of them had to pay.

Song's three great sects would never permit this side to straddle two boats, nor would they allow the Tiannü Sect to continue controlling the region. Only by taking it into their own hands could they feel secure.

The fighting gradually subsided.

Guan Jitai, Sect Leader of Lingxiao Pavilion, had personally come to oversee the operation.

He swept a cold gaze over the corpses of Tiannü Sect disciples scattered throughout the mountains, then turned without expression and flew away.

He crossed the open country back to the prefectural city and headed directly for Wu Gongling's residence.

...

In the courtyard lay a pile of broken sabers and shattered swords.

Wu Gongling held Song's state-protecting divine artifact, the Shang Sword, in both hands.

He stroked it over and over, clicking his tongue in admiration.

"The treasured sword of Shang Song of the Wu Dynasty. Good stuff. It truly is good stuff!"

Standing nearby, Shan Dongxing, now Sect Leader of Tongxian Pavilion, could not help sighing inwardly.

This fellow was actually about to become Emperor of Song.

To confirm that Song's three great sects were not trying to deceive them, Shan Dongxing had personally gone to the Song capital as their representative to observe what happened.

With his own eyes, he had seen Emperor Mu Zhuozhen of Song seized.

With his own eyes, he had watched some of Mu Zhuozhen's sons and daughters killed.

And with his own eyes, he had seen certain loyal ministers who would rather die than submit put to death.

He had witnessed it all himself.

Yet when he thought back over Wu Gongling's entire rise to power, the whole thing still felt absurd, almost dreamlike.

A rebel general from Yan was really about to become Emperor of Song?

Alongside that amazement came a trace of regret.

First there had been the Tiannü Sect. Now there were Song's three great sects.

Tongxian Pavilion still had to stand aside.

There was no helping it.

Tongxian Pavilion was still too weak. It lacked the strength to control the greater situation.

Footsteps approached.

Guan Jitai strode directly into the courtyard with a group of disciples.

Wu Gongling turned and immediately burst out laughing.

"Sect Leader Guan, how did it go? I told you I, Wu Gongling, keep my word. I didn't deceive you, did I?"

Guan Jitai snorted inwardly.

As though this bastard had not swindled and deceived people often enough.

Guan Jitai had long heard about Wu Gongling pretending to be an upright official, holding sham trials, gathering a heap of plaques proclaiming him an "Upright Lord of Justice," and even kneeling before commoners while wiping tears from his face.

He knew perfectly well this was a shameless fellow.

Even Guan Jitai could only sigh inwardly at the situation.

Earlier, he had wanted nothing more than to kill Wu Gongling.

Now he was actually helping support this man onto Song's imperial throne.

The whole thing felt like a dream to him as well.

He had no interest in idle talk.

"You're certain withdrawing the northern armies is workable?"

Wu Gongling asked in return, "What else can we do if we don't withdraw? Luo Zhao refuses to cooperate. With a useless fool like Zhao Zhihuan in command, do you think he can be a match for that old ghost Jin Jue?"

Guan Jitai said, "Aren't you supposed to be skilled at warfare yourself? Why not personally go to the front and take command?"

Wu Gongling waved the Shang Sword in his hand.

"The road is that far. The troops under me can't simply fly over there. What, do you expect me to go command..."

He paused, suddenly unsure what to call the northern forces.

The Song court's army?

"Ah, whatever. In short, I know nothing at all about the condition of the northern troops."

"If I run over there, the soldiers won't know their general and the general won't know his soldiers. How are we supposed to fight like that?"

"I refuse to deliver myself to the enemy just to suffer a defeat."

"Ordering them to withdraw immediately is the best strategy!"

Guan Jitai asked, "Are you afraid of Jin Jue?"

Wu Gongling replied, "Sect Leader Guan, this has nothing to do with fear."

"It's called knowing the times and acting like a wise man."

"Song is already weak after Yan stirred up so much trouble. Even if we combine the northern and southern armies, we may still not be a match for Han."

"Only fools insist on doing what they know cannot be done."

"If we already know something is stupid, why smash ourselves head-on against the Han army?"

Guan Jitai said, "Then we're supposed to watch Han occupy vast stretches of territory?"

Wu Gongling waved a hand.

"Winning or losing for a moment means nothing."

"If they like occupying territory, let them occupy it."

"What they take may not ultimately remain theirs."

"And yielding ground does not necessarily mean losing."

"Have the northern army retreat quickly and let the Han army come in."

"If Jin Jue has the nerve, let him abandon his grain, supplies, and baggage and chase us."

"So long as we preserve our strength, let him try stretching his battle line farther and farther. I don't believe he'll dare!"

"The Han army is not endless. Its manpower is limited."

"Song's enormous strategic depth is our one advantage. We must use our strengths and avoid our weaknesses."

"There is nothing shameful about being unable to win."

"If we can't beat them, then admit we can't beat them. There's no need to fight to the bitter end."

"If we can't win, we can run!"

"What matters is preserving our strength."

"So long as we still have enough power, the deeper the Han army advances, the greater the burden on its logistics and supplies. The longer its line stretches, the more opportunities we have to strike."

"Do not collide head-on."

"When they advance, we retreat. When they stop, we harass them."

"We can make trouble on the left, on the right, behind them, or in front of them."

"Just keep the pressure at a certain intensity at all times."

"Forget about decisive battles."

"That old ghost Jin Jue is not easy to provoke."

"So long as we drag things out, we can afford it. Han cannot."

"Several million Han troops cannot remain deep inside Song indefinitely."

"With so many troops committed here, Han itself won't have enough forces at home."

"Once the Yan-Zhao war ends, let's see whether Han starts panicking."

"So long as we preserve enough strength that Han cannot fully swallow what it has bitten off, Yan will never want to see Han grow too powerful."

"By then, even if Yan only pretends to negotiate an alliance with us, Han will have to withdraw without a fight for the sake of its own security!"

Guan Jitai's expression twisted.

"You're about to become Emperor of Song, and you're really going to stand there and watch Song be smashed to pieces by Han?"

He nearly wanted to curse Wu Gongling's ancestors.

If things proceeded this way, Song would be ruined.

How many years would it take to recover?

The interests of the three great sects would suffer enormous losses.

But Wu Gongling did not care whether Song was wrecked.

He carried no such burden.

Expecting him to risk his life defending Song was even more impossible.

He earnestly tried to reason with Guan Jitai.

"Sect Leader Guan, even if you force me, there's nothing I can do. This is the situation we're facing."

"If we can't win, then we can't win."

"You can force me all you want, but that won't magically make me capable of winning!"

"If Song gets smashed, then it gets smashed. We rebuild afterward."

"So long as the green hills remain, there will be no lack of firewood."

"That's still better than having the state destroyed, isn't it?"

"As long as we preserve our strength and keep Han entangled, that itself is victory!"

"The barefoot man does not fear the one wearing shoes."

"We drag them along with every method we have."

"If I know we can't win and still insist on fighting head-on, I'd have to be sick in the head!"

Guan Jitai clenched his teeth.

"If you do this, countless people will see their families destroyed and their loved ones killed. Aren't you afraid the people of Song will drown you in their spit?"

Wu Gongling replied, "Which matters more, staying alive or getting spat on?"

"Commoners forget quickly."

"Once things pass, they pass."

"As for popular support, we can think of ways to gather it again after the war."

"For now, preserving the foundation that lets us survive and stand on our own is the best strategy!"

...

The Song capital had fallen into complete chaos.

Emperor Mu Zhuozhen had issued an Edict of Self-Reproach and then fled.

In the edict, Mu Zhuozhen spoke of his own incompetence, of how he had failed the people of Song, and so forth.

He abdicated the throne in favor of Wu Gongling.

The civil and military officials in the capital began leaving with their families and heading south.

They had no choice.

Under Wu Gongling's strategy, the capital region would sooner or later be occupied by the Han army.

Once that movement began, wealthy households and ordinary commoners alike started migrating south if they possessed the means.

Amid the vast procession of carriages, Mu Zhuozhen sat dazed inside a swaying coach, slumped against the wall with dull, unfocused eyes.

He did not even know he had issued an Edict of Self-Reproach.

But he understood one thing clearly enough.

At this point, whatever decrees the three great sects and those rebellious ministers wanted drafted would be drafted.

Whatever documents they wanted stamped with his imperial seal would be stamped.

The Empress beside him wiped tears from her eyes from time to time.

Chief Steward Mo Gao, traveling in the same carriage, looked equally desolate.

Song's three great sects had originally intended to kill Mu Zhuozhen.

Wu Gongling had saved him.

Wu Gongling told them to keep the man alive for now, saying he would still be useful later.

Large numbers of palace maids and eunuchs traveled with the procession as well.

There were not enough carriages and horses.

Quite a few imperial consorts could only crowd together on flatbed carts, exposed to the wind and sun and jolted endlessly along the road.

None complained.

Being alive was already fortunate.

No one knew what fate still awaited them.

Their hearts remained full of fear.

All the court officials were present in the procession too.

They handled government affairs directly from inside their carriages.

Trying to work in a moving carriage left Zi Pingxiu slightly dizzy.

He turned his head and glanced outside the window.

Jia Wuqun sat on the carriage shaft outside, one leg dangling idly as he leaned against the door.

Sometimes he watched the driver handle the horses.

At other times, he leisurely admired the scenery along the road.

Zi Pingxiu suddenly asked about Mu Zhuozhen's condition.

When he learned that the former Emperor was very quiet, he still could not help sighing.

Originally, Song's three great sects might have had some reservations about moving against Mu Zhuozhen.

Yet with the civil and military officials cooperating, military and government affairs continued functioning exactly as before.

Everything operated in the same way it always had.

There was no major disorder at all.

And so, with those above and below working together, they simply pulled Mu Zhuozhen—the Emperor himself—out of the machinery of state.

...

At the front, the Song army under Zhao Zhihuan's command began a full retreat.

The Han army pursued for a time, then sensed something was wrong.

Fearing a trap, Jin Jue's cautious nature reasserted itself and he ordered the army to stop.

He summoned his generals to discuss the situation.

They talked and talked, but no one could understand what sort of tactic Luo Zhao was playing.

They still did not know Luo Zhao had suddenly been placed under control and that the Song army's commander had abruptly been changed back to Zhao Zhihuan.

They would never have dreamed of such a possibility.

Who could imagine a frontline commander being changed back and forth like a child's game?

The utterly bewildering situation left Jin Jue completely baffled.

In his entire life, he had never encountered anything like it.

A cry of "Report!" came from outside the tent.

Urgent intelligence had arrived.

They still had not made sense of the Song army's movements when news from the Song capital reached them first.

Emperor Mu Zhuozhen of Song had issued an Edict of Self-Reproach and abdicated.

He had yielded the imperial throne to Wu Gongling.

"Yielded the throne to Wu Gongling?"

Jin Jue snatched the intelligence report and stared at it in disbelief.

Wu Gongling had become Emperor of Song?

The generals looked at one another.

"Report!"

Another urgent military dispatch arrived.

The vanguard had captured several wounded Song soldiers.

According to their statements, the Song army's commander had once again been changed to Zhao Zhihuan.

They were still trying to understand what was happening when a succession of later intelligence finally made the situation clear.

Song's three great sects had deposed Emperor Mu Zhuozhen and supported Wu Gongling onto the throne.

Further reports showed that Song's northern armies were withdrawing south while Wu Gongling's southern forces were assembling and marching north.

In other words, the north-south strategic depth of Song had been opened completely.

The regular Song army and Wu Gongling's forces had joined together.

That would greatly increase the difficulty of Han annexing Song.

Why had Jin Jue forced Wu Gongling to create disorder in Song's rear in the first place?

Precisely to reduce the difficulty of attacking Song and avoid draining too much of Han's national strength.

Bang!

Jin Jue slammed a fist onto the table and roared, "Send word to the imperial court! Ask the Tiannü Sect what the hell is going on!"

[End of Chapter 864]