After the fall of Southern Tang in Jiangnan, Pan Mei remained behind to assume overall command of the armies on the spot.
Meanwhile Cao Bin traveled north lightly equipped, bringing only a small contingent of elite imperial guards. With him were the Southern Tang royal family and the King of Wuyue, Qian Chu, all returning together to Bianjing.
What puzzled Cao Bin was this.
He had been commander-in-chief of the campaign. Escorting captives back to court was already his duty.
Why had the emperor sent a special letter reminding him to return? And judging from the tone, there was even a hint of urgency.
The letter also specifically instructed that Qian Chu must come to Bianjing as well. Fortunately, the Wuyue ruler showed no resistance. Otherwise, Cao Bin suspected the matter might have become troublesome.
Then there were the rumors from around the New Year.
Talk of upheaval in the capital.
The Prince of Jin disappearing into monastic life.
The issue of the heir to the throne seemingly settled.
Put together, Cao Bin felt something major must have happened in Bianjing. Even he found himself growing uneasy.
So during the journey, whenever he had spare time between watching Li Yu and Qian Chu trade barbs, he carefully wrote a full campaign report and dispatched it by fast boat and relay horse to the capital.
Even the smallest events aboard ship were recorded and sent north.
The closer they drew to Bianjing, the stronger the sense of unfamiliarity became. Even Li Yu grew quiet. Every day he would stand at the bow gazing north, as if lamenting his fate.
During this time Cao Bin also confirmed another thing.
Li Yu's empress, Lady Zhou, truly was stunningly beautiful.
Still, with a kingdom destroyed, a woman's beauty only added a few lines to gossip. There were far more important matters at hand.
---
When they reached shore, the group changed to horses and carriages.
Cao Bin usually lived quietly in the capital, but many soldiers still recognized him. Several imperial guards rushed forward to take his horse.
The one who succeeded was clearly clever.
While proudly clearing the way for Cao Bin, he leaned back eagerly and began recounting the latest news from the capital.
"Grand Tutor, your timing is perfect. If you had returned two days earlier, you would have found His Majesty absent from the capital."
"The emperor left the capital?" Cao Bin swayed slightly with the horse's motion. That was indeed unusual.
Without even being asked, the guard launched into the full story.
Last month the emperor had dispatched pacification envoys to tour the regions. When one reached Luoyang, commoners filed complaints.
They accused a Luoyang imperial officer named Wang Jixun of rampant lawlessness, even cannibalism.
Acting on imperial authority, the envoy brought Wang Jixun to public trial in the street. His crimes were confirmed, and he was executed on the spot.
The accompanying guards then stormed Changshou Temple, dragging out his monk accomplices. Some were sentenced, others executed. The people of Luoyang applauded.
Cao Bin vaguely remembered Wang Jixun.
He was the younger brother of the late Empress Wang.
Back in Bianjing he had committed many abuses, yet the emperor, perhaps out of regard for the empress, had never punished him.
And now he had been executed?
Pacification envoys were usually capital officials. They would know the situation well. If they dared execute him publicly, it almost certainly meant the emperor had approved it.
As for the emperor leaving the capital, the guard said he had gone to Yong'an Mausoleum.
Cao Bin knew the late Empress Wang had been buried near there. The emperor had likely gone to perform mourning rites.
Too many unusual events.
Cao Bin became convinced something major had happened inside the palace.
What he did not expect was that this "major event" would soon be placed directly into his hands by the emperor himself.
---
Without even returning home, Cao Bin settled Li Yu and Qian Chu, then went straight into the palace.
The emperor received him in Guangzheng Hall.
The moment they met, Zhao Kuangyin tossed a thin booklet at him.
"Take a look at the fine work your descendants have done."
Cao Bin did not open it immediately. Instead he smiled.
"If they committed crimes, Your Majesty may simply execute them in the street. I would bear no resentment."
In that instant many thoughts crossed his mind.
Could it be that the emperor's ruthless execution of Wang Jixun had been preparation for this?
Zhao Kuangyin seemed momentarily caught off guard, then sighed.
"Just open it. Cao Taoguang has not caused trouble."
Only then did Cao Bin flip through the booklet.
There were not many words inside. The recorded events were simple. Yet he read it again and again for quite some time.
Even so, much remained unclear. At last he looked up.
"Where did Your Majesty obtain this strange account?"
Zhao Kuangyin chuckled, pressed his lips together, then abruptly asked something unrelated.
"That trebuchet. Did it serve you well?"
At the mention of it, Cao Bin brightened immediately.
"A true engine for breaching cities. Since Song now has it, we should march north at once and attack Taiyuan."
"If we eliminate Northern Han, Jiangnan will be even easier to intimidate. The weapon is already famous in the south. If Northern Han learns of it, they may prepare defenses and we lose the element of surprise."
The reasoning was sound.
Zhao Kuangyin sighed.
"Song has only had this weapon for half a year. When we obtained it, the Jiangnan campaign had already begun. How could we abandon it midway?"
Cao Bin felt a flicker of regret, then said curiously,
"It is easy to use and extremely effective. That a master craftsman created it proves that the world longs for Song to restore unity."
"Restore unity…" Zhao Kuangyin repeated softly, his expression growing complicated. He shook his head.
"Guohua, does it not strike you as strange? These references to Mongols and Jin?"
"Idle tales recorded by scholars. Why take them seriously?"
"What if I tell you this Cao Youwen truly is your descendant?"
"And that the Mongols and the Jin are not inventions? Song splits in two. The earlier Song falls to Jin, the later Song falls to the Mongols."
Cao Bin watched as the emperor's expression grew increasingly agitated, and the things he said increasingly unbelievable.
Great Song had only just been founded. How could it already be destroyed?
Was the emperor truly planning administrative reform…
or had he lost his mind?
At the center of the hall, Zhao Kuangyin kept talking, visibly stirred.
"You call that trebuchet a weapon… yes, it is a weapon for storming cities. The Mongols destroyed Song using exactly such machines. They smashed our passes, broke our strongholds, and ended our dynasty!"
Hearing this only convinced Cao Bin further of his conclusion.
When the emperor finally calmed and looked at him expectantly, Cao Bin hesitated for a long moment before speaking carefully.
"Does Your Majesty know of the illness called frenzy?"
Zhao Kuangyin's face cycled through several colors before he finally said earnestly,
"Guohua, you do not believe me? Every word I speak is true."
"If you do not believe it, then wait until the beginning of next month. I will let you see it with your own eyes."
Cao Bin sighed. The past year had been exhausting enough already.
Now the Son of Heaven seemed unwell. As a trusted servant of the throne, he could hardly spread rumors or drag ministers into open confrontation.
So he spoke with sincere restraint.
"Southern Tang has fallen. Qian Chu comes to the capital to offer submission. The south is pacified."
"As for the north, even if Northern Han cannot be taken immediately, I am confident we can destroy it within five years."
"With hundreds of thousands of imperial troops, and the treasury holding millions in reserve, if we strengthen the army and restore the prosperity of the Tang, it should be achievable within decades."
"How then could the state fall? Your Majesty should not speak such unfounded words before other ministers."
Zhao Kuangyin stared at him, stunned.
Because… what Cao Bin said actually made a lot of sense.