Zhao Huan still harbors resentment over that battle from back then!

He couldn't sleep lately, thinking every day about when Yue Fei could destroy Jiaozhi!

Back then, Jiaozhi (Vietnam) pretended to be a vassal state while simultaneously sending troops to invade the southwest of the Song Dynasty.

The massacre of 300,000 people in Guangnan West Road turned the entire area into a hellish place, with blood falling from the sky and corpses piled up like mountains!

After four military strongholds within Yongzhou were successively captured by the Vietnamese army.

The prefect of Yongzhou, Su Jian, gathered all 2,800 imperial guards and local militia within the prefecture and assigned them to guard key locations.

They also recruited several hundred daredevils to meet the Vietnamese army on the Yong River!

They killed more than two hundred enemy soldiers and more than ten war elephants, and then defended the city.

They used crossbows to shoot down enemy soldiers and elephants attacking the city, and used rockets to burn the Vietnamese army's specially made siege equipment, such as ladders and siege tunnels made of cowhide.

They killed or wounded more than 15,000 enemy soldiers and countless war elephants.

Unfortunately, Yongzhou was eventually captured.

Su Jian was not convinced!

He and Prefect Tang Zizheng continued to lead the soldiers and civilians in street fighting until the last soldier was left.

To prevent his family from being humiliated by the Jiaozhi rebels, he ordered all 36 members of his family to commit suicide for their country, and then he set himself on fire and died.

They are truly loyal and courageous!

Upon learning of the invasion by Jiaozhi, Emperor Shenzong of Song, who had once been ambitious, was furious and dispatched an army of 300,000 to reclaim Jiaozhi.

Unfortunately, they only managed to repel the Jiaozhi army. When the Song army entered Jiaozhi territory to fight, they encountered problems due to the unfamiliar climate and miasma, and had to retreat.

In the end, the two sides reached a peace agreement!

The young Emperor Shenzong of Song was sleepless all night. The Song Dynasty, with its vast territory and abundant resources, was unable to avenge the deaths of its people.

Zhao Huan could understand Emperor Shenzong's feelings very well. As an ambitious emperor himself, Zhao Huan wished he could immediately order Yue Fei to flatten Jiaozhi and execute the entire Jiaozhi royal family on the spot!

He gave Zong Ze an ironclad order: all surrenders and peace negotiations would be invalid until I agreed to their surrender!

On this day, Qin Hui hurriedly set off from Tokyo and headed south.

As the emperor's special envoy, he was tasked with comforting all the soldiers and civilians of Guangnan West Circuit, assisting Zhang Jun in infiltrating Jiaozhi, and most importantly, preventing Jiaozhi from surrendering and negotiating peace.

The emperor gave Qin Hui a death order: he must personally witness the execution of the Jiaozhi royal family and bring the enemy chieftain's head back to Tokyo; there could be no mistakes in this matter.

Otherwise, Qin Hui would be dead!

The reason he sent Qin Hui again was because he was worried that Zhang Jun would be too lenient in dealing with the royal family of Jiaozhi.

But Qin Hui wouldn't do that. To be precise, Qin Hui is now Zhao Huan's dog. He will never refuse to do whatever Zhao Huan asks him to do!

Qin Hui is a very capable man; entrusting this matter to him will ensure that nothing goes wrong.

As for Zhang Jun, after the pacification of Jiaozhi, he will serve as the military commissioner to appease the people there on behalf of the emperor.

Zhao Huan not only sent Qin Hui to take the head of the royal family of Jiaozhi, but also sent people to Yongzhou to build a shrine for Su Jian. He also had a stone statue of Su Jian carved in the Martyrs' Shrine in Dongjing City and welcomed Su Jian into the Martyrs' Shrine with a grand ceremony.

The emperor himself appeared and wrote a poem for Su Jian: "A body of unyielding integrity, a heart as vast as the Kunlun Mountains!"

Furthermore, the war from fifty-one years ago was brought up again by the imperial court and spread throughout Guangnan West Circuit.

In recent days, storytellers have been recounting the battle that took place 51 years ago in Qinzhou, Yongzhou, and Lianzhou.

The people of Guangnan West Road were all furious. How could such a bloody history be allowed to be buried in the dust?

Blood debts must be repaid in blood!

Do you know that beneath the walls of Qinzhou lie countless withered bones, and within the walls of Yongzhou lie mournful souls?

Although the advance mobilization had stirred up the patriotism of the people of Guangnan West Road, it was said that the imperial court had only sent 10,000 troops this time, and the general leading the army was only a 25-year-old young man.

Anxiety is beginning to spread.

At that time, the prefects of Yongzhou, Qinzhou and Lianzhou jointly petitioned the emperor, requesting the court to send 300,000 troops to defend against the enemy!

Some citizens even knelt down in front of the Qinzhou Prefectural Government Office and loudly petitioned: "Please allow us to enlist in the army to serve our country!"

In order to defend their homeland, within just half a month, all the soldiers and civilians in Qinzhou spontaneously organized themselves and began to train the troops temporarily formed by the people.

March 9th, the second year of the Jingkang era.

Yue Fei and Zhang Jun returned to the military camp outside Qinzhou City, where they were greeted by Zhou Chuanli, the transport commissioner of Guangnan West Circuit.

More than a month ago, Zhou Chuanli received instructions from Privy Councilor Li Gang to organize the various prefectures and counties of Guangnan West Circuit to prepare provisions for the army.

At the same time, various military equipment were being transported to the southwest day and night.

At this time, Zong Ze was in the military camp outside Qinzhou City.

As soon as Yue Fei and Zhang Jun entered, they heard Zhou Chuanli reporting to Zong Ze: "Lord Zong, the enemy has an army of 100,000. To ensure the safety of Guangnan West Road, let's request reinforcements from the Emperor!"

In fact, like the prefects of the three prefectures, Zhou Chuanli had already requested reinforcements from the emperor. However, since the commander-in-chief of the campaign against Jiaozhi was Zong Ze, the probability of reinforcements being sent by Zong Ze himself was much higher.

Upon hearing this, Yue Fei and Zhang Jun exchanged a glance, understanding the situation perfectly.

Zhou Chuanli's concerns were understandable, given the vast disparity in strength between the two armies.

Upon seeing Zhang Jun return, Zhou Chuanli quickly bowed to Zhang Jun and said, "Greetings, General Zhang, Commander Yue."

Zhang Jun said, "You are courteous, Zhou Cao (the Song Dynasty term for the transport commissioner)."

Zong Ze then asked, "I have heard that before the new military system was implemented, there were still 12,000 Imperial Guards in Guangnan West Circuit. Where is Cao Xingyun, the military commissioner of Guangnan West Circuit?"

Zhou Chuanli said, "Commander Cao is preparing the army and civilians to defend Lianzhou and Yongzhou."

Zong Ze continued, "Why have I not seen Cao Xingyun for more than half a month since I arrived?"

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