The words of the Imperial Censor He Ye were sharp and incisive, like swords.

Geng Nanzhong's face was ashen. Seeing that the emperor was furious, Wang Boyan dared not persuade him any further. None of these ministers had any backbone. After being killed by the emperor several times, they naturally began to watch the emperor's expression.

“What He Qing said is very true. Guards, throw Geng Nanzhong into the death row.”

"Your Majesty! Please forgive me! Your Majesty..."

The courtiers were all terrified; he was the emperor's teacher, and yet he was thrown into death row without warning.

"Take Liu Yanzong away!"

The court returned to tranquility. The young emperor sat down and surveyed his ministers. The incident with Geng Nanzhong had given Zhao Huan a profound understanding of the corrupt factional strife within the Song Dynasty court, where people would stop at nothing to bring down their opponents.

Zhao Huan angrily said, "Some people, as important officials of the court, are willing to harm national defense and cause the country's downfall for the sake of factional struggles and their own little bit of power! They are utterly shameless! They have read the classics and turned them into dog shit!"

The ministers bowed their heads and cried out in unison, "Your Majesty, we know our crime and beg you to calm your anger!"

Zhao Huan left the court in a huff. After getting angry, Zhao Huan felt that he would die soon if things continued like this, so he simply stopped thinking about these problems and went to the inner palace to find Empress Zhu. Before dawn, Empress Zhu was awakened from her sleep by Zhao Huan. After the two made love, Zhao Huan felt much better after listening to Empress Zhu's gentle words.

After finishing breakfast early in the morning, the emperor went to the imperial prison, where Li Gang was already waiting for him. They had come to see Liu Yanzong.

Liu Yanzong had just finished breakfast. When he saw the emperor arrive, he hurriedly crawled over like a dog: "Your Majesty, this humble subject has a plan to repel the enemy!"

"Liu Yanzong, tell me, how many men did Wanyan Zongwang bring with him?"

"Your Majesty, Wanyan Zongwang brought a total of 30,000 troops, of which only 6,000 were Jurchens, and the rest were Khitans and Han Chinese!"

"How much food do we have? How long can that last?"

"At most two months!"

Zhao Huan and Li Gang exchanged a glance, their hearts filled with joy.

"What about Wanyan Zonghan? How many troops did he actually have?"

“Wanyan Zonghan does indeed have an army of 60,000, each of them strong and fierce,” Liu Yanzong said. “However, Wanyan Zonghan and Wanyan Zongwang are at odds.”

"How can there be discord?"

"Wanyan Zongwang wanted to march straight into the Song capital and force His Majesty to increase the annual tribute and submit to the Song. However, Wanyan Zonghan was determined to destroy the Song Dynasty, so he set his sights on Taiyuan and planned to destroy it one by one!"

Damn it! They're all no good!

Zhao Huan said, "Liu Yanzong, didn't you just say you had a plan to repel the enemy? Come, tell me about it."

"Yes, Your Majesty. The Jin invaders marched south under the pretext of the Zhang Jue incident, but in reality, it was because Guo Yaoshi, Dong Cai, and others revealed the true state of the Song Dynasty to the Jin invaders that Wanyan Zongwang and Wanyan Zonghan dared to be so arrogant. I must emphasize that I was a minister of the Liao Dynasty, not a minister of the Song Dynasty. I was born in the Liao Dynasty, where there are many Han Chinese who yearn to return to the Song Dynasty. However, they cannot return. I am not capable enough to bear watching the Han Chinese suffer, so I became an official of the Liao Dynasty out of necessity. If the Han Chinese were unwilling to serve as officials, the Han Chinese born in the Liao Dynasty would probably be in an even worse situation."

Zhao Huan was somewhat taken aback. Damn, what this guy said actually makes a lot of sense. Does that mean I've wronged him?

Damn it! I was asking about strategies to repel the enemy, but he somehow managed to steer the conversation to his loyalty!

Liu Yanzong, you bastard, you're really no good!

Zhao Huan said with a stern face, "Get to the point."

“This treacherous subject deserves to die! Your Majesty, the Jin invaders are deep in enemy territory and their reinforcements will inevitably be unable to keep up. Your Majesty only needs to implement a scorched-earth policy, and within two months, Wanyan Zongwang and Wanyan Zonghan will surely retreat! However…”

"Just what?"

"The Jin invaders are fierce, but it remains to be seen whether His Majesty's troops can hold out for two months."

Liu Yanzong's doubts were not without merit. The Song Dynasty's army was notoriously weak, and even a nomadic tribe could easily crush it without any resistance.

Zhao Huan was also uncertain. He was quite capable of beheading a few civil officials in the court, and he was also adept at commanding the Imperial City Guard to gather intelligence. But the army outside? Damn it, he had only been here for a short time, and he hadn't even seen the faces of people like Zhong Shidao yet.

The only person who could offer any hope was Zong Ze, who was assigned to Cizhou.

Only now did Zhao Huan realize that his control over the army was actually very weak. This matter needed to be addressed. According to the course of history, Zhong Shidao and Yao Pingzhong's mission to come to the aid of the emperor was imminent, so this was the beginning.

Upon hearing Liu Yanzong's words, Li Gang, lost in his own thoughts, declared, "Our million soldiers of the Great Song Dynasty are all ready to die for their country. We will surely ensure that that little thief Wanyan never returns!"

Liu Yanzong couldn't help but sneer. Li Gang was quite capable in administration, but he knew nothing about military affairs. If he could win a war just by being fearless in the face of death, that would be a miracle! Besides, when the Jin invaders marched south, some of your Great Song forces were faster than rabbits running away! Otherwise, how could Wanyan Zongwang have crossed the Yellow River in one go?

"Liu Yanzong, I'll spare your dog's life for now, so you can see how I'll torment Wanyan Zongwang and Wanyan Zonghan to death!"

After leaving the prison, Zhao Huan asked Li Gang, "Minister Li, do you think we should cut off Liu Yanzong's head and hang it at the city gate, or cast it into a bronze statue and have it kneel in public?"

Li Gang was slightly taken aback, and quickly said, "Your Majesty, what Liu Yanzong said just now makes a lot of sense. He was born in the Liao Kingdom and he is willing to serve the former Liao. There are many Han people there. If the Han people all act impulsively and refuse to serve as officials, the Khitan or Jurchen's poor governance will probably cause many Han people to suffer greatly."

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