Situ Heng felt that the Jin Kingdom's spies were very skilled. If it weren't for Sima Junru's brilliant strategy and Liu Qingqing's death, there would have been no way to verify the truth. They could only target that idiot Zhou Ling.

Seemingly sensing Situ Heng's thoughts, Sima Junru said, "Don't worry, we'll fight a brilliant battle next and let the Jurchens know the consequences of challenging our Great Song!"

"This subordinate will obey the master's orders!"

Next came the interrogation of the man in black, Liu Qingqing, and Zhou Ling.

Zhou Ling's interrogation ended the fastest. This guy had been drinking and had somehow brought along a bunch of thugs, shouting that he was going to avenge Liu Qingqing.

I heard that Liu Yu was cursing and beating Liu Qingqing. Of course Zhou Ling was angry. How dare he touch my woman? If I don't kill him, how can I stand in Youzhou?

Adding to the fact that Liu Qingqing cried, made a scene, and even threatened to hang herself, Zhou Ling simply decided to go all the way and killed Liu Yu.

How was he killed?

Liu Qingqing arranged to meet Liu Yu outside the city.

Why was Liu Qingqing able to get a date with Liu Yu?

Because Liu Qingqing was a spy planted by the Jin Kingdom in Wangyue Pavilion, just as the Imperial City Guard had planted Xue Lan in Wangyue Pavilion.

Xuelan's death is most directly related to Liu Qingqing.

Liu Qingqing was present when they were drinking that night, and she knew exactly what Liu Yu said.

Xue Lan was actually killed by Liu Qingqing. Liu Qingqing also planned to kill Liu Yu, but before she could do so, Liu Yu had already left.

Why did Liu Qingqing want to kill Liu Yu and Xue Lan?

This brings us to the man in black; he's the one who gives all the orders.

It was Liu Yu's fault for saying the wrong thing.

When people later summarized this history, they called it "a spy war triggered by alcohol"!

They had no idea that Xue Lan was someone planted there by the Imperial City Guard, and they certainly didn't expect that Xue Lan, after drinking, would draw a picture and record what Liu Yu had said.

That's how we ended up in the current situation.

The man in black is named Ma Jingfei. He is fifty years old and is a charcoal seller in the east of the city. He carries his charcoal around the streets every day.

He was the most ordinary person in the crowd, and no one would pay attention to him.

Ma Jingfei can no longer commit suicide; Situ Heng has a hundred ways to make him wish he were dead.

These one hundred methods all challenge the limits of the human body, and a person's willpower will quickly collapse, at which point they will say what needs to be said.

When it comes to torture, the north is no match for the Song Dynasty.

Torture has a long and rich history in China.

Ma Jingfei also knew that if he were captured by the Imperial City Guard, death would be a better relief, but he couldn't die now.

After several rounds of torture, he confessed everything he was supposed to.

Next, Situ Heng was tasked with arresting people.

These people were all refugees, hiding in the lower echelons of Youzhou. They gathered once a month, but their identities were all registered with the government.

Recognizing him wouldn't be difficult; the difficulty lies in the fact that Ma Jingfei's arrest has already made the other party frightened and hiding.

However, since we have a name and a likeness, it's only a matter of time before we catch them.

Sima Junru ordered his men to hurry and report the progress to the emperor, knowing that the emperor must be very eager and he couldn't keep the emperor waiting too long.

However, for safety's sake, he did not report the plan to counterattack the Jin Kingdom, but only told the emperor that the counterattack had begun and that the spies in Tokyo would soon be found.

Upon seeing the letter, Zhao Huan was naturally delighted, more than just delighted; he was practically thrilled.

The matter of being a spy had always been a thorn in his side.

Do not underestimate your opponent. As a great man of later generations once said, "Despise the enemy strategically, but take the enemy seriously tactically."

In terms of grand strategy, Zhao Huan was able to look down on all the heads of state of this era.

However, we must not be careless in our approach to solving the problem.

How did the Jingkang Incident, a historical humiliation, come about?

One detail in "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" illustrates a lot: the city gates are unguarded.

Zhao Huan could not fathom the extent of Zhao Ji's and his ministers' ambitions, but for Zhao Huan, matters concerning national defense and the people's livelihood were of utmost importance.

The Jurchens were not simply barbaric and good at fighting!

How did the Khitan rise to power?

During the chaos of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, many Han Chinese fled north to escape the war and entered Khitan territory, bringing with them advanced management techniques, culture, and science and technology.

Before the Song Dynasty, no northern nomadic peoples, before conquering the Central Plains, had ever had a well-developed bureaucratic system, a flourishing culture, and advanced methods of governance like the Khitan.

The Jin dynasty can be said to have inherited the entire legacy of the Liao dynasty. Moreover, the Jin dynasty had only been established for a short time, and its court was full of elite and ambitious people. After ceasing the war against the Song dynasty, the Jin began to assimilate its land and population.

Zhao Huan remembered that in history, the Jin Dynasty not only suppressed the Southern Song Dynasty militarily, but also defeated it strategically.

The idea was to keep Emperors Huizong and Qinzong hanging without killing them, thus making Zhao Xiaojiu want to launch a northern expedition but dare not.

That wasn't enough; Jin spies also infiltrated the Southern Song Dynasty and even stole a large number of military secrets.

Therefore, the Jin Dynasty that Zhao Huan faced was by no means a group of barbarians who only knew how to raid the south, like the Xiongnu, the Five Barbarians, and the Turks in history. It was a truly organized, well-systematic, and powerful empire with a gathering of elite troops at the top.

However, since we should despise the enemy strategically, the Song Dynasty cannot destroy the mere Jin state now. Once Zhao Huan's reforms are fully implemented, wouldn't it be a piece of cake to crush the Jin state?

The Jin capital, Shangjing, was even colder than Youzhou. By modern temperature standards, Shangjing is still below minus ten degrees Celsius.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!