Yingtian Prefecture.
The distant beacon fires have not affected the tranquility of Yingtian Prefecture; it remains in a state of peacefulness.
However, this tranquility is merely a facade.
The undercurrents are continuously brewing beneath the surface.
Beside the Qinhuai River, in a waterside elegant pavilion.
Outside the window, the painted boats are radiant with flowing lights, faint music of silk and bamboo, contrasting the blizzard-stricken Hebei frontline a thousand miles away as if they are worlds apart.
Inside the pavilion, the warm fragrance is overpowering, the brazier burns brightly, and several middle-aged men in ordinary clothes but exuding noble aura sit around, with untouched cold tea before them.
"How many months has it been?" A fair-skinned man with short mustache lightly stirs the floating leaves with the cup lid, his tone carries a hint of barely noticeable irritation, "From autumn to winter, Dingzhou State is still stagnant. I heard they retreated thirty miles again a few days ago?"
He is a Langzhong of one of the Ministry of Revenue bureaus, surnamed Wang, with family ties to the shipping industry.
Opposite him, a slightly chubby, shrewd-eyed man sighed, an official in the transportation department with his family’s business closely tied to North-South trade: "It’s more than just stagnant."
"Brother Wang, you handle internal accounts, you should know better than I do."
"How much loss in winter taxes and commercial duties for Hebei Road this year?"
"Since winter began, shipping has been frequently hindered, though there is Mongol cavalry harassment, this ’harassment’ has lasted too long."
"My ships, which by this time would have already headed south to load goods, are now stuck in Jizhou, unable to move recklessly, losses ever increasing."
"Losses?" In the shadow by the window, a thin man with large knuckles from years of counting on abacus coldly spoke.
He is surnamed Zhou, with the background of eunuchs in the palace, running a business supplying materials to the court.
"Wang Langzhong handles accounts, Brother Li is in charge of shipping, what you’ve seen is only the surface flow."
"My warehouses in Hejian and Zhending, prepared for supplying furs and dried fruits to the palace, were flooded last month, not entirely destroyed, but the winter tribute may not meet the numbers."
"The staff rumors that Mongol cavalry are the cause, yet they haven’t seen a single Mongol shadow, who can bear the loss and the delay in palace needs?"
His words subtly express strong discontent with the prolonged failure to clear the enemy in the battlefield.
Wang Langzhong tightened his brow further, echoing: "What Brother Zhou said is just the tip of the iceberg."
"Do you know, since the autumn defense, how much grain, silver, military supplies, and equipment have been spent from Hebei, Hedong and other roads to support Dingzhou’s army?"
"That’s just what’s visible on account."
"Not to mention this year’s bizarre weather, frequent cold waves in Hebei, Shandong, and even the Huai River regions from October, early frost in many places, fall grain production was already less than previous years, civilians are already worried about freezing and starving."
"The court has repeatedly withheld shipping grain for the frontline, local Changping Granaries are thinning daily, what will be used for relief in case of further disasters?"
"How to calm the displaced?"
He, overseeing part of the finance, feels the financial pressure most keenly.
The slightly chubby Li Transportation Official quickly nods: "Brother Wang has made the point."
"With shipping obstructed, the difficulty in adjusting South-North resources is no longer just an issue for merchants."
"Southern grain and rice are delayed northbound, northern cold disasters lack grain and coal, how can prices not soar?"
"How can people’s minds be at ease?"
"Just dealing with these issues, counties along the route must expend vast amounts of money, grain, and manpower."
"This battle...is fought not just by the frontline soldiers but has drained the vitality of all forces at the rear!"
Zhou, the court merchant, snorted coldly, his voice sharp: "Frontline expenses are enormous, rear disasters frequent, the court’s treasury is not a gold mine."
"I heard there have been reports recently suggesting the need to prepare disaster relief funds due to the abnormal winter."
"But where does the money come from? Increase taxes? Increase commercial duties?"
"Or squeeze another layer of profit from us whose assets are already almost depleted?"
His words bind the war consumption, climatic anomalies, court financial plight, and personal losses all together, with resentment almost overflowing.
Wang Langzhong sighed, his tone filled with deep helplessness and a hint of barely detectable irritation: "The matter of disaster relief is still under discussion."
"But Marshal Gu over there...if he could expedite a decisive battle, eradicate the Mongol threat soon, restore order in Hebei, shipping smooth, commerce revived, court has tax revenues, local disasters can be calmly adjusted."
"Why are we now struggling in a dilemma, hindered everywhere?"
Though he did not directly call Gu Yan incompetent, the meaning behind his words was already clear.
Li Transportation Official lowered his voice: "There are also talks in the streets, saying that Temujin has just tens of thousands of cavalry, elusive."
"Marshal Gu..." he didn’t finish his sentence, but guesses like "fear of the enemy", "sparing troops" and even "raising bandits" quietly pervaded the warm pavilion.
This is not just the sentiment of these men; the entire court shares such an atmosphere.
Compared to the Gu Clan’s offspring of yesteryear.
Gu Qing’s abilities are indeed far inferior.
This makes many people’s hearts unable to settle.
And don’t forget, the reason the Gu Clan must take power is also due to the Northern Border’s movements, easy to connect to many thoughts.
Of course, these men also understand the characteristics of the Mongolian Army.
Knowing they are hardier than the Song Army in cold, able to transport grain, and can survive by hunting.
But these people choose not to speak of it.
This is human nature!
This speculation gradually spreads as time passes.
The most crucial factor is the natural disaster!
Indeed, it is the natural disaster.
Shao Guang’s eighth year, a natural disaster comparable to Deng Sui’s Later Han period descends upon Kyushu once more.
The third day of the first month, Henan Road, Kaifeng Prefecture.
A great earthquake strikes, the sound like thunder, more than ten sections of city wall collapses, thousands of civilian houses are destroyed, crushing over seven hundred officials and civilians, countless wounded.