Chapter 21: Detonating Tokyo City

So far, the situation could be said to have been largely brought under control by Zhao Ning. The surrender faction had temporarily withdrawn, the morale of the imperial guards was lifted, and the defense system leaders were all assigned. This series of maneuvers made the court’s stance known to the public. The atmosphere among the people was being stirred up.

What remained? The rest was to ignite the entire city!

How to ignite the whole city?

As dusk approached, Qin Hui finally arrived.

“Your Majesty, the Tokyo Daily you ordered has been arranged.”

“Good. Early tomorrow morning, the front page must ensure a citywide sellout. The first edition of the Tokyo Daily will publish my article.”

Qin Hui was somewhat surprised. “Your Majesty, will you be writing it yourself?”

“I have already finished it.”

Zhao Ning handed the manuscript to Qin Hui.

“Understood. I will publish it faithfully.”

Zhao Ning then confirmed details with Qin Hui about the newspapers—how the newsboys should sell them, what slogans to shout—going over everything carefully.

After Qin Hui left, Zhao Ning began to read what the emperor had written. Upon reading it, he was instantly shocked.

Early the next morning, just as dawn broke, Zhao Ning dressed in plain clothes and slipped out of the palace.

On the streets, there were a number of youthful voices.

They were children around ten years old, each holding a sheet of paper, loudly shouting: “Extra! Extra! The Imperial Strategy Against the Enemy by Lord Zhao! Come take a look!”

“Hey, kids, what’s this?”

“This is a newspaper—the Tokyo Daily—with Lord Zhao’s article inside.”

“Lord? Kids, are you mistaken? The Lord wrote it himself?”

Several people gathered around.

“Yes!”

“Let me see it.”

“One coin per copy.”

“One coin? I can buy a steamed bun with that! You’re robbing us!”

“Kid, give me one.”

“Me too.”

Most of them were clearly scholars.

Someone exclaimed, “Huh? It’s written in plain, vernacular language!”

“This…this…this is really plain language! So coarse! So unbearable!”

Zhao Ning sat nearby for a while, listening to their discussions, but he was unfazed.

He deliberately chose to write in vernacular so that anyone literate could understand; his goal was rapid dissemination.

He counted and found 38 people had purchased the newspapers from the boy.

Qin Hui had arranged a total of 20 such newsboys.

Today, nearly a thousand copies would surely be sold.

Selling newspapers was not for profit, but for spreading information.

Zhao Ning also instructed Qin Hui to organize storytellers to narrate the contents across the city.

For example, by the heavily trafficked Da Xiangguo Temple, several storytellers were stationed.

Zhao Ning boarded a carriage and wandered through the city, soon arriving near Da Xiangguo Temple.

He began to hear people discussing.

Today’s Tokyo Daily headline was not lengthy; it was simple and divided mainly into two points:

First, an introduction to the Jin army’s tactics: besieging the city while attacking reinforcements on the outskirts, simultaneously besieging and negotiating to annihilate the Song dynasty.

Second, the countermeasures.

Jin army besieging and attacking reinforcements?

Indeed, besieging and attacking reinforcements.

The Jin army had 150,000 troops outside the city, and another 50,000 beyond Tongguan Pass, blocking the eastern advance of the Shaanxi forces coming to the capital’s aid.

Wanyan Loushi and Wanyan Xiyin took turns overseeing the battle beyond Tongguan.

As for besieging while negotiating, Zhao Ning also explained this concept in the newspaper.

Tokyo City was as solid as a fortress, still holding 70,000 defenders inside.

The Jin army’s attempts to forcefully breach the city had proven futile after several attempts since the beginning of the month.

Therefore, the Jin must simultaneously besiege the city to create immense psychological pressure and signal willingness to negotiate, aiming to sow discord within the Song’s united front.

On November 20th, Feng Xie’s envoy mission to the Jin camp was precisely to negotiate peace, but it ended in failure.

Ultimately, Zhao Ning reached a conclusion: the Jin’s purpose was to destroy the Song and annihilate its homeland.

We must fight the Jin to the very end, to the last person, and I swear to live and die with Tokyo City.

In truth, when the Jin army approached the city, most commoners had no concept of the Jin’s tactics, and even many court ministers did not understand the Jin’s true intentions.

The people only knew the Jin wanted to attack, so they must defend.

Officials thought the Jin were merely extorting money—after all, the Song had previously used money to placate Xia and Liao.

Only a very few truly recognized the Jin’s cunning strategy: to intimidate by force and feign negotiation to induce and divide the Song internally.

Were the Jin really so clever?

Indeed, this era was the golden age of the Jurchen people, and the Jin court was not only Jurchen but also included former Liao Khitan ministers and Han officials.

It was a time overflowing with talent.

In contrast, the Song were not only being crushed militarily but also outmaneuvered strategically.

Zhao Ning’s article, “Jin Army’s Siege Tactics,” unmistakably exposed the Jin’s methods to the entire Tokyo City.

This was a preemptive warning, mentally preparing everyone so that when the Jin proposed peace, the people would recognize it as a ruse and not be deceived.

Zhao Ning wanted the populace to deeply understand this point.

Only then, when Wanyan Zonghan next spoke of peace, would the court’s pro-peace faction, pressured by public opinion, dare not act recklessly.

This obviated the need for the emperor to personally confront the treacherous surrender faction.

This was a sword of public opinion held over the surrender faction’s heads, completely cutting off their chances.

Killing the heart and mind—nothing more.

As for the second point, the countermeasures, Zhao Ning highlighted the enemy’s weaknesses.

The enemy’s strength was in field battles, but their weakness was clear: once deep inside Song territory, their logistics faltered.

Thus, the Jin sought a swift decisive battle.

Zhao Ning urged everyone not to engage in quick battles but to endure patiently, waiting for the relief army.

Today’s newspaper spread rapidly.

Qin Hui even arranged for storytellers to narrate the newspaper’s content in the bustling marketplace.

With their homeland’s safety at stake, ordinary people listened attentively.

In front of Da Xiangguo Temple, a middle-aged man, after hearing the storyteller, said, “From what we hear, the Jin deliberately deceive us with promises of peace, hoping to give some inside the city false hope and break our will, right?”

“Yes! Exactly!”

“Then we fight to the death without surrender! Anyone who dares negotiate is to be killed! We’ll patrol the streets; if any damned official dares to negotiate, this club is the first to strike!”

“Right! Beat to death the traitorous peace advocates!”

“The Lord himself said he would swear to defend Tokyo to the death with us! What are we afraid of?”

“The Lord recently executed surrender faction ministers and beheaded several soldiers who robbed commoners—heard he plans to kill some officials involved in this matter too.”

“Long live the Lord!”

“Long live our Sovereign!”

In front of Da Xiangguo Temple, a crowd shouted excitedly.

Initially, only about ten people shouted there, but gradually more voices joined.

The heated discussion spread fast, from one to ten, ten to a hundred.

People began quickly understanding the contents of “Jin Army’s Siege Tactics.”

For the first time, the emperor communicated so closely with the common people of Tokyo City—albeit through the medium of a newspaper.

It bypassed the usual filtering of empty talk, delivering the emperor’s intentions directly to the grassroots.

This scene recalled more than half a month ago, when Tang Ke and Geng Nanzhong sent officials out to surrender but were killed by the people before even leaving Tokyo.

Only this time, the people’s spirits were even higher.

Moreover, the Jin’s deceitful peace intentions began to take deep root in the hearts of the people.

This was what one called a united front.

Just as the emperor’s article topped the Tokyo Daily’s headline, the Jin army launched their military assault on Tokyo City.