It's very cold, and the snow keeps falling.

A large fire was burning all around, and Zhao Huan sat in front of the fire.

It was quite warm around here.

Wanyan Zonggan was tied to a wooden stake, screaming in pain, his condition extremely miserable.

Liu Ruyi, on the other hand, sat to the side, leisurely sharpening his knife with a bright, sunny smile on his face, looking just like a thoughtful man preparing a small gift for his beloved.

Zhao Huan waited patiently.

Liu Ruyi finally stood up and walked up to Wanyan Zonggan.

His head was also tied up, preventing him from moving, and two people were feeding him ginseng soup.

Liu Ruyi began to act. The sharp knife in his hand seemed to come alive as he gently cut open Wanyan Zonggan's body, and a piece of flesh flew off like silk.

This is only a slight pain.

Liu Ruyi's speed increased significantly, and dozens of pieces of flesh flew through the air in an instant, followed by a spray of blood.

Wanyan Zonggan was in so much pain that his whole body tensed up, but his mouth was covered, and no matter how much he struggled, it was to no avail.

Liu Ruyi's hand speed increased rapidly, leaving onlookers dumbfounded.

Good heavens, that swordsmanship is simply divine.

Moreover, this man surnamed Liu not only showed no nervousness, but actually seemed to be enjoying himself immensely.

Wanyan Zonggan was like a pig, with pieces of flesh being cut off, suffering excruciating pain. The two soldiers who were feeding him ginseng were sweating profusely and kept feeding him soup, fearing that Wanyan Zonggan would die.

Time seemed to slow down. The wind blew for a full two hours, with a short rest in between. In the end, Wanyan Zonggan's originally large body was reduced to a withered skeleton.

He wasn't dead yet; his eyes were wide open.

I probably never imagined in my entire life that I would be skinned alive.

Finally, Liu Ruyi plunged a knife into Wanyan Zonggan's heart, and he died in agony.

Zhao Huan appeared calm and composed, as if he were used to such things.

The surroundings were completely silent. The emperor did not speak, and no one dared to say anything more.

Zhao Huan stood up and said, "Send his head back to the capital, Tokyo, and hang it in front of the archway on the street where the embassies of various countries are located. Let the envoys of all countries see that anyone who dares to be an enemy of my Great Song Dynasty, even if he is thousands of miles away, I can kill him!"

The emperor's words reached the ears of those around him clearly, filled with majesty and awe.

A surge of heroic spirit rose in the hearts of the generals.

Sima Junru, the head of the Imperial City Guard, stepped forward and said in an extremely respectful tone, "Long live the Emperor!"

The surrounding generals couldn't help but shout, "Long live the Emperor!"

This quickly spread to the surrounding area, and everyone began to shout, "Long live the Emperor!"

Like a tidal wave.

Sima Junru cut off Wanyan Zonggan's head, put it in a box, and ordered it to be sent back to Tokyo City as soon as possible.

As night deepened, the shouts of battle within Shenzhou City did not cease.

After the Song army entered the city, they began to quell all resistance within the city with swift and decisive measures.

For example, Li Chongguang's army, after entering the city, began a massacre, killing almost everyone they saw, leaving the streets littered with corpses.

In such situations, the military police of the Control Yuan usually turn a blind eye and don't interfere too much.

After all, it's about killing enemies; even if ordinary civilians are killed, it's impossible to determine who did it.

Moreover, it's uncertain whether ordinary people will resist.

The emperor naturally wouldn't concern himself with such matters. In his eyes, the fall of the city meant that the largest military stronghold in southern Jin had been captured, which meant that the southern gate of Jin had been opened.

This is what the emperor was concerned about.

It can be said that during his ten years as emperor, Zhao Huan became more and more like a competent emperor.

At this time, Zhao Huan had already returned to his tent, where the fire was burning brightly, creating a completely different world from the outside.

Yue Fei, Han Shizhong, and Zhong Shizhong each surrounded the emperor.

In terms of factions, Yue Fei belonged to the Northwest War Zone.

Han Shizhong belonged to the Central Army.

Zhong Shizhong is a big shot in the Yanyun War Zone.

Of the three, Zhong Shizhong was the most senior in the Song army.

Zhong Shizhong was Zhong Shidao's younger brother. When he was commanding the army, Yue Fei and Han Shizhong were just soldiers charging on the front lines.

Zhong Shizhong had been operating in the Yanyun war zone for ten years, and it could be said that he had a wealth of capable generals under his command.

Strictly speaking, Xie Qian, Li Chongguang, and others were all subordinate officers of Zhong Shizhong.

These people were now leading their troops into Shenzhou and clearing out the city.

Why not let the Northwest Army in?

Why not let the Central Army in?

Zhao Huan naturally thought that since the Yan Yun war zone had been stationed in the northern border for ten years, it would be best to let them claim the credit.

When the Yan Yun army entered the city, they naturally looted the place.

By the time dawn broke, the Song army had practically swept through the entire city of Shenzhou, killing all the resistance they could.

In the emperor's tent, after debating the strategic plan for most of the night, some progress was finally made.

Qin Hui of the Censorate believed that the Jin state produced more than half of its grain every year from Shenzhou and the south. With the loss of Shenzhou, the Jin rebels not only lost their southern gateway militarily, but also their southern granary. They no longer needed to rush north. This winter, half of the Jin people in the north might flee south.

"The court only needs to open the door to the south, and the Han people in the north will naturally be eager to return to the embrace of the Holy Emperor."

Qin Hui's words struck a chord with Zhao Huan.

However, Zhao Huan showed no outward change, and no one could discern his thoughts.

Zhong Shizhong said, "This is a critical period for the Northern Expedition. If we open the gates to the north, the people of the north will surely go south to Juyong Pass and try to enter the pass. If a large number of Jin spies enter the pass, it will be detrimental to our Great Song Dynasty. We must not do this!"

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