Northern Song Dynasty: Why Are the Military Officials Still So Arrogant?

Defiant. Ba means to overturn; hu means a fence. The year 1019 AD, the third year of the Tianxi era. The Chanyuan Treaty had long been signed, and talk of the Fengshan sacrifices and heavenly texts was everywhere. The Great Song seemed peaceful and prosperous. Yet deep within the imperial palace, Empress Liu was gradually consolidating her power. At court, military families faced repeated suspicion, while the policy of favoring civil officials over the military grew ever more entrenched. Military men along the borders of Hebei and the northwest were bound hand and foot. Trade markets were rife with undercurrents, and Liao spies had already slipped quietly into the southern kingdom... Li Zhaoyi, son of the famed general Li Jilong, was a military heir with no mention in the history books. Yet he bore the suspicion left behind by the Li family’s past involvement in the succession struggle. He should have kept a low profile, avoided trouble, and settled into some sinecure. Instead, he acted recklessly and let his subordinates run wild. “Cousin, if my father hadn’t stayed behind to fight to the death, not even the late emperor’s hardest whipping could have made that donkey run any faster.” “Cousin, I’d only just learned to walk when I held Lady Liu’s hand. It was so soft.” “Cousin, my older brother can serve you. Why are you meddling with me?” “Cousin, if my father’s blade hadn’t been dull back then, and my aunt hadn’t been so soft-hearted, would you ever have gotten to go to Mount Tai?” “You charlatan! You’re just an adopted son. How dare you stop me!”