Where are my confidants?

The sudden appearance of Yang Yizhong put the young Zhao Jiu on high alert. The constant sense of being watched grated on his nerves.

That night, Zhao Jiu, like a cat whose fur had been ruffled, erupted in frustration. He ordered the snow cream painstakingly made by Lady Pan—essentially just a sweet dairy dessert—to be distributed among the soldiers of the Chi Xin Battalion. Then, in a show of defiance, he insisted on staying the night in their camp.

Kang Lu sent messengers multiple times to request his return, but they were all sent away. Even Yang Yizhong, who had arrived early alongside Battalion Commander Liu Yan, knelt and pleaded in vain to change Zhao Jiu's mind.

In the end, there was no choice but to let the emperor have his way.

That evening, the autumn wind howled through the camp. Sometime past midnight, Zhao Jiu was startled awake by a commotion outside his tent. Flickering firelight seeped through the fabric, casting shadows across the interior. He sat up, puzzled.

"What's going on?"

Zhao Jiu was about to step outside when he noticed a familiar silhouette projected against the tent by the firelight. With a sigh, he lay back down on his couch.

"Your Majesty," came Yang Yizhong's voice from outside the tent, soft yet clear. "Some traitors among the Chi Xin Battalion misunderstood your earlier remarks. They believed that a Jin army was imminent and plotted rebellion, intending to abduct you and defect to the Jin."

"..."

"But Your Majesty need not worry. Most soldiers are loyal and mindful of your kindness, and Commander Liu Yan has the battalion's firm support. It was only three or five conspirators who were swiftly subdued by their comrades before they could act."

"I'm not worried," Zhao Jiu replied wearily, exhaling heavily from his couch. "I just don't know where this path leads."

"If Your Majesty truly does not wish to go to Yangzhou, perhaps you could discuss alternatives with the ministers again." Yang Yizhong waited a moment before tentatively suggesting.

But the emperor's response was only silence.

The truth was, Zhao Jiu wasn't fearful, nor did he feel particularly angry that a few soldiers who had earlier professed loyalty had turned traitor. His indifference wasn't due to inner strength, wisdom, or magnanimity. It was simply that he still didn't feel fully connected to this body or his current circumstances. He remained an outsider looking in.

This sense of disconnection wasn't just a matter of time or adjustment; it stemmed largely from his lack of direction.

Logically, as a time-traveler in this era, his duty was clear: resist the Jin. It was the right thing to do, both morally and strategically. After all, who would want to go down in history with the same reputation as Zhao Gou? At the very least, even if he chose the path of inaction, he could enjoy the luxuries of Lin'an while backing Yue Fei in his campaigns.

From a practical standpoint, resistance was also necessary. Even with his limited historical knowledge, Zhao Jiu, a product of modern education, understood that appeasing the Jin would never work. A barbaric power like theirs would attack again whenever they felt capable. The more you yielded, the more they would exploit you.

Historically, even Zhao Gou's eventual truce with the Jin wasn't achieved without Yue Fei and Han Shizhong fighting tooth and nail on the frontlines.

And if the divine were real, resistance was still the only logical path. He had fallen into the Nine Dragon Well at a Daoist temple, after all. If there truly were gods and spirits, why would Laozi send him here to surrender the Song dynasty and accelerate cultural integration with the Jin?

Resistance was, without a doubt, his main quest.

Yet despite this clarity of purpose, Zhao Jiu had no idea where to start.

Over the past days, despite being deliberately kept in the dark by the court, he had gleaned some information from the guards and soldiers. The state of affairs was worse than dire. The Song military had suffered consecutive defeats, starting from their failed attempt to reclaim the Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures.

Twenty thousand elite troops had been sent north under Tong Guan and lost in the attempt to capture You and Yan.During the Jin's first southern invasion, Liang Shicheng lost tens of thousands more in Hebei.At the sieges of Taiyuan and Kaifeng, the inept leadership of Emperor Huizong and Emperor Qinzong had cost another 200,000 lives.

The defeat had been compounded by the central government's incompetence. After barely surviving the Jin's first invasion thanks to ad-hoc forces, the Song rulers had disbanded their troops, leaving Kaifeng defenseless when the Jin launched their second invasion.

The Song's century-old "bureaucratic bloat" problem, which even reformist efforts like Wang Anshi's had failed to solve, had been "resolved" by the combined might of the Khitan and the Jurchen. But this "solution" had also destroyed the dynasty. The state's finances, military, and governing apparatus had all collapsed along with its capital.

As a result, despite ascending the throne in Nanjing (Shangqiu), Zhao Jiu was regarded not as the continuation of the Northern Song but as the founder of a new regime.

At present, the only organized and professional army left in the Song dynasty was the remnants of the Western Army in Guanzhong, cut off by Jin forces under Wanyan Lou'shi. Meanwhile, the prosperous Jiangnan and Sichuan regions needed time to mobilize their resources.

The imperial court traveling with him could barely muster 10,000 troops, many of whom were untrained conscripts. The Central Plains were riddled with rebel bands, some of which had declared themselves emperors. Financially, the court relied on looting Daoist temples to scrape by. And looming on the horizon was Wanyan Wuzhu and his 100,000-strong Jin army, ready to scour the land for any remnants of Song resistance.

Despite these challenges, Zhao Jiu's deepest frustration was his isolation. Kang Lu and Yang Yizhong treated him like a suspect under surveillance. The chancellors, Huang Qianshan and Wang Boyan, merely urged him to head south whenever they met. And as for the civil officials accompanying the court? Zhao Jiu held little hope for them. To him, they were just officials in purple, red, or green robes, distinguished only by their ranks.

After all, if Song's bureaucracy had been competent, would the Jingkang Incident have occurred?

Moreover, the few pro-resistance officials had long since been purged. Li Gang had been dismissed; Zong Ze was stranded in Kaifeng; even civilian resistance leaders like Chen Dong had been executed in Nanjing just two months ago.

Who could he rely on? Who would listen to him? Even if they did, what could he tell them? He had no answers to these questions.

Small wonder, then, that some Chi Xin soldiers, fearing the imminent arrival of the Jin army, had considered defection.

"Your Majesty," Yang Yizhong's voice cut through the wind, breaking the silence. "Liu Yan, Commander of the Chi Xin Battalion, awaits outside to plead for forgiveness."

"It's not his fault. Release the conspirators and let them go," Zhao Jiu said indifferently. "They're Liao people. Let them choose their own path. I don't need to see them in person."

"As you command." Yang Yizhong hesitated briefly before bowing and leaving.

The shadow of his armored figure remained visible against the tent's walls, sitting motionless with his sword at his side. After a long silence, Yang unexpectedly spoke again.

"Your Majesty was looking for Yue Fei, styled Pengju?"

"You know him?" Zhao Jiu raised an eyebrow, momentarily forgetting his irritation at Yang's constant surveillance.

"A native of Xiangzhou in Hebei, known for his martial prowess. He once served under Liu, a Deputy Commander of the Marshal's Office. I drank with him before; I believe he's the man you're seeking."

"Where is he now?"

"Two months ago, after Your Majesty's ascension, Yue Fei wrote a memorial criticizing the ministers for urging the court to retreat south. He was dismissed from his post and expelled from the army."

"Dismissed for criticizing the ministers?" Zhao Jiu was incredulous. "Both he and Li Gang are supposed to be pro-resistance, yet he was punished?"

"Yes."

"Do you know where he went?"

"Likely back to Hebei to join local militias. But with Hebei overrun, finding him will be difficult."

Zhao Jiu fell silent again.

"I heard his memorial urged Your Majesty to lead six armies north to resist the Jin."

"Six armies?" Zhao Jiu chuckled bitterly. "Where would I even find six armies?"

Yang Yizhong did not reply.

Finally, after a long pause, Zhao Jiu sighed. "I want to stay and fight in the Central Plains. That's why I sought him out."

Yang hesitated before asking, "But wasn't heading to Yangzhou Your Majesty's decision after much deliberation?"

Zhao Jiu laughed coldly. "Why does everyone assume I want to flee? I'm the emperor. Isn't it my duty to resist the Jin? Does no one understand 'revenge for the nation and the family'?"

The autumn wind howled as night turned to dawn. Neither man spoke another word.