Volume One

Chapter One: Mingdao Palace

　　The autumn wind rustled, the sun was warm and slanting, and at dusk, Mingdao Palace in Weizhen County, Bozhou, Huainan East Circuit of the Great Song (later known as Luyi), was a place where light and shadow intertwined, the air was fresh and warm.

　　Not only that, at this very moment, within this vast complex that served as both temple and imperial residence, fully armed soldiers and nobles in crimson and purple robes could be seen everywhere. Countless civil and military officials of the Song court were stationed here. Among them, the highest point, the rear hall atop a small hill, was even more tightly guarded and orderly. From afar, several three-tailed dragon banners could be seen fluttering in the wind.

　　Anyone with a bit of common sense knew that these were called Jinwu dragon banners, used exclusively for the emperor’s grand processions. Where the dragon banners were, Mr. Harrison was also present.

　　Such a scene was not exactly rare. After all, the emperors of the Song Dynasty had always been devout Daoists. The previous emperor was even known as the Daoist Emperor, and this Mingdao Palace, the seat of the Daoist Patriarch, was built by Emperor Zhenzong. So, it seemed quite normal for the Song emperor to come here personally to perform sacrifices.

　　However, unlike the grand occasion when Emperor Zhenzong came to worship the Daoist Patriarch, the atmosphere in this imperial garden at this moment was rather heavy and solemn... The number of fully armed generals and soldiers was simply too great, and the Song civil officials, who usually loved literary pursuits, showed no interest in leisure. Instead, after meeting in small groups for a drink, their worries were hard to conceal.

　　Of course they were worried!

　　Ever since the Jingkang Incident, the Jin army had invaded south, the two emperors had been taken north, and rebellions broke out everywhere. The Song Dynasty had been pushed to the brink of life and death; the fear of national extinction was no exaggeration.

　　What made things worse was that, in this time of crisis, the newly enthroned Mr. Harrison, who had been on the throne for just over two months, had suffered a bizarre mishap—The Harrison Family had always valued Daoism, so a few days ago, as Mr. Harrison's procession passed by here on the way south to Huai to resist the Jin, he naturally stopped to pay respects to the Daoist Patriarch Benjamin Thompson at Mingdao Palace. However, after the young Mr. Harrison finished the ceremony and was touring the gardens, he suddenly, in front of hundreds of officials, fell headfirst into the Nine-Dragon Well near Mingdao Palace and then lost consciousness!

　　Of course, it was just a fainting spell. Mr. Harrison woke up after half a day, and both chief ministers had visited him.

　　But the problem was, although the young and robust Mr. Harrison, who had always been able to ride for half a day and draw a five-stone bow, seemed to act as usual after waking, he did not continue south as planned. Recently, he had only made a public appearance accompanied by the chief eunuch Henry Carter, and then took no further action.

　　You should know, two months ago, after Mr. Harrison ascended the throne in Nanjing (Shangqiu), there had been fierce power struggles at court, resulting in the death of a remonstrance official, two students, and the dismissal of a prime minister, before finally deciding on the policy of moving south to Huai and then to Yangzhou. For this southern journey, the Empress Dowager had already gone ahead to Yangzhou, many members of the imperial clan were traveling together, several capable ministers had gone to Huaiyang and Jiangnan to raise funds and supplies, the imperial generals and commanders had gone to suppress rebellions and secure the roads, and even most of the chief eunuchs had gone ahead to clear the way... Yet the most important person, Mr. Harrison, and the court officials had only traveled a hundred li from Nanjing (Shangqiu) before stopping in Bozhou. What was going on?

　　As a result, anxiety spread among the traveling court.

　　Rumors spread that, although Mr. Harrison was not physically injured that day, his mind was damaged—he could not even remember Emily Parker and William Carter, and might have become another James Madison. So, the ministers of the Eastern and Western Palaces and the chief eunuch of the Inner Service naturally dared not leave; other rumors said that, since Mr. Harrison was a Daoist believer, he suspected that falling into the well was a warning from the Daoist Patriarch, advising him not to go south, so he was reconsidering and might stay in the Central Plains to resist the Jin, hence the indecision!

　　Not only that, but there were also rumors that Henry Carter had taken the opportunity to imprison Mr. Harrison, plotting to replace him with a doppelganger; or that the Daoist Patriarch had appeared in a dream to send a divine general to help... All sorts of absurd stories grew ever more bizarre as the court remained stalled at Mingdao Palace in Bozhou.

　　It could only be said that, fortunately, after the Jingkang Incident, there was only this one legitimate Song royal left, or who knows what kind of chaos might have broken out.

　　“Everyone, excellent archery!”