Moma Liangshan

Chapter 197 Using the pretext of serving the emperor, they paused to observe.

Wang Hao needed the strong support of the Southeastern maritime merchants, who in turn needed a politically influential representative. Although the Song Dynasty's maritime trade was prosperous, it only established maritime trade offices in places like Quanzhou and Mingzhou to collect customs duties, with virtually no protection of maritime routes. After the cooperation between Lin Xiao and Wang Hao was finalized, outsiders perceived the Lin family, the richest family in Quanzhou, as they had completely sided with Wang Hao, since the two only sons of the Lin family patriarch, Lin Wei, had close working relationships with him.

Twenty-three warships sailed into Lushun Port in a grand procession, leaving the Liao officials waiting on the shore utterly astonished. Lushun Port was an autonomous region leased to Wang Hao by the princess of Shu, and Emperor Tianzuo had recently bestowed upon Wang Hao the title of "Duke of Bohai" and appointed him "Governor of Tokyo." Therefore, apart from the princess of Shu, everyone else present was nominally under Wang Hao's control. Seeing Wang Hao disembark, the princess of Shu stood quietly before the crowd, awaiting her audience. Wang Hao walked slowly, gazing at the dense crowd ahead and the rows of tents not far away. He thought to himself, "Didn't the Princess of Shu move the Liaodong army's camp to Lushun Port?" Upon approaching, Wang Hao said, "Greetings, Your Highness!" The Princess of Shu, with her magnanimous manner, replied, "Your Highness, Duke of Bohai, no need for formalities!" Wang Hao, somewhat unaccustomed to his new title, said, "Your Highness, you may simply call me by my name!" The Princess of Shu shook her head, saying, "Your title was personally bestowed by my father, how could I be negligent?" Wang Hao did not argue, saying, "I will obey Your Highness's orders!"

The princess of Shu, gazing at the vast fleet of ships on the sea, asked, "Where did you find these large ships?" Wang Hao replied, "The southeastern coast of the Great Song Dynasty!" The princess then asked, "How many soldiers can they transport at once?" Wang Hao answered, "Five thousand soldiers!" The princess pressed further, "How many days will it take to reach Dagu Port?" Wang Hao replied, "One day and one night." The princess turned to Xiao Shanbie and Gao Que, saying, "Immediately order the palace troops: the first ten battalions to board the ships in two days, and the latter ten battalions to remain in place!" Then, looking at Wang Hao, she said, "I have prepared wine and meat to welcome the Duke of Bohai!"

The banquet hosted by the Shu princess was specially prepared for Wang Hao and his men; no Liao officials attended. Wang Hao and the Shu princess sat in a separate room, while the accompanying soldiers and crew drank outside. With no one else around, the Shu princess said, "News has arrived that the Jurchens have launched a new offensive. Shangjing can only hold out for three more months at most!" Wang Hao put down his chopsticks and asked, "How does your father plan to deal with this?" The Shu princess replied, "My father wants to retreat, but as the ruler of a nation, he cannot disregard imperial dignity!" Wang Hao pondered for a moment and said, "So, your father doesn't want to leave in such a sorry state?" The Shu princess nodded silently. Wang Hao asked, "How many soldiers and civilians are left in Shangjing?" The princess of Shu replied, "Fifty thousand soldiers and fifty thousand civilians in the city, and two hundred thousand troops outside the city!" Wang Hao pondered for a moment and asked, "How many troops does the Jurchen have?" The princess of Shu replied, "Two hundred thousand!" Wang Hao said, "The situation doesn't seem too bad; you still have a numerical advantage!" The princess of Shu shook her head and said, "No! The two hundred thousand troops outside the city belong to various princes and dukes, not to Father Emperor!" Wang Hao was puzzled and asked, "Could it be that they didn't come to support the emperor?" The princess of Shu sneered and said, "Shangjing is the place where the dragon rose to power, and it is also the location of the Liao Dynasty's treasury. Those princes and dukes claim to be supporting the emperor, but in reality, they all have their own ulterior motives! The Jurchens have divided their forces into two groups: one hundred thousand are responsible for containing the two hundred thousand troops outside the city, while the other one hundred thousand are attacking Shangjing with all their might!"

Wang Hao was somewhat surprised that Emperor Tianzuo, with only 50,000 troops, had managed to hold off 100,000 Jurchen soldiers for three months. He asked, "Are there any other reinforcements?" The princess of Shu shook her head and said, "Although the Great Liao is known as a vast country, the various Mongol tribes and the even more distant western tribes are not directly under the jurisdiction of the capital. During the reigns of Emperor Taizu and Emperor Taizong, they only paid tribute annually!" Seeing that Wang Hao did not speak, the princess of Shu hesitated for a long time before saying, "The 50,000 troops in the capital and the 10,000 palace guards in Jinzhou are all my father's personal guards, his last resort." Wang Hao instantly recalled the many palace coups during Emperor Tianzuo's reign and said, "If it weren't for these 60,000..." "Great army, your father's rule is likely to collapse at any moment, isn't it?" The Shu princess, though disliking Wang Hao's tone, was already used to it. A sorrowful feeling welled up within her as she said, "Not only will his throne be unstable, but his life will also be in danger!" Wang Hao asked, somewhat puzzled, "The Jurchen forces in Liaodong have all been deployed to Shangjing. Why didn't you take all 30,000 troops from Jinzhou with you?" The Shu princess shook her head, saying, "Of the 30,000 troops, 10,000 are palace guards brought from Shangjing. Their families are in Shangjing or Zhongjing. Sending them to support Shangjing would be in accordance with the will of the army. But the other 20,000 troops were recruited locally in Liaodong. Sending them away from their homes to fight in the battle for Shangjing would only add fuel to the fire!"

Wang Hao pondered for a moment and said, "What the princess says makes perfect sense, but among these 20,000 people, and even among the hundreds of thousands of people in Liaodong, it's not impossible to select several thousand brave warriors willing to fight in the capital!" The Shu princess asked, "Do you have a plan?" Wang Hao said, "I've mentioned this method before: I will recruit soldiers within Liao territory, and you or your father will pay to hire them!" The Shu princess was somewhat unconvinced and said, "If there are truly brave warriors, why can't I recruit them directly instead of going through you?" Wang Hao said, "Liao is in turmoil and doesn't have a good reputation. The Song Dynasty is prosperous and wealthy, and the hearts of the people are clear. Moreover, serving under me is merely taking money to solve problems; it won't involve us in the life-or-death war between the Khitan and the Jurchen!" The Shu princess suddenly stared at Wang Hao and said, "I'm truly afraid that one day we'll raise a tiger that will turn out to be a threat. We'll defeat the Jurchen, but then face an even greater threat." "A formidable enemy!" Wang Hao didn't argue, saying, "As heaven's movement is ever vigorous, so should a gentleman constantly strive for self-improvement; as earth's condition is receptive, so should a gentleman cultivate virtue and bear all things with magnanimity!" The intelligent princess of Shu said, "Are you trying to tell me that you are a sage, knowing that war is a dangerous undertaking, and only resorting to it as a last resort?" Wang Hao answered without hesitation, "I take the sage as my guide, reminding myself day and night to uphold justice and promote the way of the king!" The princess of Shu looked at Wang Hao in surprise and said, "You've changed. Your ambitions are no longer as narrow as before; your aspirations are finally like an eagle, ready to soar to the heavens!" Wang Hao said, "Do you hope so, or not?" The princess of Shu replied, "Of course I hope so!" Wang Hao asked, "Why?" The princess of Shu replied, "Rather than making you an incompetent disruptor, I'd rather you become a complete disruptor!"

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