Chapter 1: The Jingkang Emperor

Kaifeng, Imperial Palace, midnight...

An elderly eunuch rushed in, his steps hurried and his expression flustered. As soon as he entered, he saw a figure pacing in a robe, not yet asleep. He immediately hurried forward and fell to the ground in a panic.

"Your Majesty, I shouldn't disturb your rest, but there is something I must report. Please, Your Majesty, do not be angry!"

The old eunuch's voice was mournful. The young emperor stopped in his tracks but did not turn around, only saying calmly, "I expected this. What is there to be angry about? Did the Military Commissioner Franklin Lane lose? Or did he flee at the first sign of trouble, right? Brian Carter?"

It turned out the old eunuch was named David Carter, a chief attendant of the Inner Palace and close to the emperor. David Carter nodded with a bitter smile and said, "Your Majesty is truly prescient. Indeed, we lost—not only Franklin Lane, but also the veteran general Henry Howard. Seven thousand cavalry and twenty thousand infantry scattered like birds and beasts!" As he spoke, the old eunuch's voice trembled; he could not help but be afraid!

The young emperor, however, remained composed. He sighed helplessly, "The retired emperor and his people are only capable of this much." With that, the young emperor suddenly turned, striding to the desk where a square-foot map was laid out.

"Bring the candles."

Hearing the emperor's order, David Carter quickly fetched the candlestick and hurried over.

"Come closer."

David Carter wiped the sweat from his forehead and carefully approached. The emperor's gaze was fixed on the map. Pointing at it, he said angrily, "Franklin Lane ran, Henry Howard ran too, Junzhou and Huazhou have both fallen, the Jin army is swaggering to the banks of the Yellow River, and they're about to cross straight for Kaifeng."

"Ah!"

David Carter cried out in fright, his hand trembling so much he nearly dropped the candle.

"Your Majesty, is this... is this even more dangerous than the Treaty of Chanyuan?"

"The Treaty of Chanyuan?" The emperor sneered lightly, "Mr. Carter, during the Treaty of Chanyuan, the Liao never crossed the Yellow River. There was still Mr. Cooper in the court, and no matter what, Emperor Zhenzong himself dared to go north to Chanzhou to encourage the troops... How can today's Song compare to over a hundred years ago!"

The old eunuch understood but dared not speak words of discouragement. He could only say earnestly, "Your Majesty is wise and farsighted, a master of foresight. Now, newly ascended to the throne, all subjects look up to you. You will surely surpass Emperor Zhenzong a thousandfold!"

"Nice words!" The young emperor shook his head and laughed mockingly. "Mr. Carter, never mind whether I can compare to Emperor Zhenzong—do you think I can surpass the retired emperor? Not be a mere puppet?"

This time, the old eunuch couldn't hold on—the candlestick fell, and he knelt down, kowtowing, "Your Majesty, please don't frighten your servant! The retired emperor, after all, did abdicate the throne to you. You must not turn against your father!"

"Was that really abdication? He clearly wants me to be the emperor who loses the country, to pin all the blame on me. Truly, in Great Song, fatherly kindness and filial piety!" The emperor spoke mercilessly, revealing the harsh truth.

David Carter was speechless, only shaking his head repeatedly, feeling wronged for the emperor. The retired emperor's actions were truly underhanded!

The so-called retired emperor was the eighth emperor of Song, Charles Harris, famed for his "Slender Gold" calligraphy, an artist-emperor remembered by later generations, and one of the "Two Sages" whom General Yue longed to rescue.

As for the other, it was naturally the young emperor before him, William Harris... Of course, by convention, William Harris was no longer the same as before. Since crossing over during a coma last December, it had been nearly ten days, and he was mostly familiar with the situation.

Though full of grievances, he had indeed become the ninth emperor of Song, the newly enthroned Jingkang Emperor William Harris!

If he couldn't defy fate, in a little over a year, he would have to spend the rest of his life in the Five Nations City.

In his previous life, William Harris had read some history books and was a half-baked history enthusiast.

No dynasty is immune to destruction, and the manner of a dynasty's fall can be bizarre in countless ways. Yet, few are branded with the character "shame" as the Northern Song was. This was not due to historians' harshness, but because the Song, especially the Zhao family, were truly extraordinary!

William Harris felt this pain deeply.

Last October, over a hundred thousand Jin troops advanced south in two columns. The Yan Mountains, bought at great expense, were lost before they even warmed the seat, along with tens of thousands of puppet soldiers.

The Jin army, with defectors like Edward Grant as vanguard, swept south, crushing all resistance, invincible in every battle. The entire north collapsed.

Facing this disastrous situation, Emperor Charles Harris gathered his confidants for lengthy discussions and came up with the bizarre move of internal abdication—putting his son William Harris on the throne to take the brunt.

Charles Harris then retired to the Longde Palace as the retired emperor.