In the next two days, Yelu Mawu never returned and Wanyan Yinshu was still nowhere to be seen.

Emperor Zhao sent a new officer, the so-called minor envoy, Zhai Biao, to cross the river to investigate on the other side of the Ru River by taking advantage of the local villagers. However, Zhai Biao came and went in a hurry, and simply brought back the messengers of Han Shizhong, Wang De and others.

Combined with the information brought by the latter, Xingzaisha came to a simple and direct conclusion:

Wanyan Yinshu had indeed marched to the foot of Zhongyang Mountain, less than a hundred miles away from Ruyang. But soon, probably because Yelu Mawu failed to hit the target, and knowing that many reinforcements had arrived in Ruyang City, he made a prompt decision and changed his route to the north with only the main force brought from Taiyuan. While Han Shizhong and Wang De were mobilizing their main forces to return cautiously, he took advantage of the cavalry and crossed Yingchang Prefecture from the gap on the east side of Fangcheng Mountain, and then conquered Ye County in Ruzhou, heading north.

Judging from the route, Wanyan Yinshu should be planning to join forces with his younger brother Wanyan Balisu, and then withdraw together to Hezhong Prefecture (Hedong area, later Linfen area), and then return to his old nest in Taiyuan.

However, this inference was too easy and made people suspicious. The officials in Ruyang City had no intention of acting on their own.

But soon, as more and more messengers came from Han Shizhong, Wang De also returned to Ruyang in person, and the central government accepted the fact that Wanyan Yinshu could withdraw his troops. After Wang De quickly led the main force of the imperial camp to return, Emperor Zhao himself threw away all his confusion and directly ordered the emperor to continue westward.

On this day in mid-March, Xingzai arrived outside Fangcheng at the foot of Fangcheng Mountain, the northernmost part of Tangzhou. Since this place is located at the junction of five states, namely Dengzhou, Ruzhou, Caizhou, Yingchang Prefecture and Tangzhou, it is in an important location. So after Xingzai settled down at the foot of Fangcheng Mountain, he stayed here for a while and then immediately called on his subjects from all sides to gather together.

After receiving the summons, Han Shizhong, who had made arrangements in the north, hurried back with Liu Yan, Yang Yi Zhong, Hu Yin and others. Several important officials from Nanyang also came here to welcome them. With the convergence of information from all sides, Xingzai just extracted an incredible but completely awakening military situation from it - it turned out that just a few days ago, in early March, Li Yanxian almost single-handedly recaptured Shanzhou with the remnants of the troops abandoned by Fan Zhixu in Shanzhou.

Shanzhou is sandwiched between Xijing Luoyang and Jingzhao Chang'an, and has an outstanding strategic location. If Wanyan Yinshu learned about this matter at the foot of Zhongyang Mountain at that time, then his return would be natural.

However, despite Li Yanxian's great contribution, Emperor Zhao did not give him a direct and proper explanation. Instead, he waited for another two days. It was only after the Prime Minister Yuwen Xu Zhong reported the matter publicly that Zhao Jiu gave him the reward.

"Appoint Li Yanxian as the governor of Shanzhou!" Under the slanting sunlight of late spring, Emperor Zhao, dressed in a bright red robe, blurted out without even frowning. "The Privy Council and the Imperial Camp should immediately discuss the relevant official rank and rewards, and they must be delivered as soon as possible!"

Yuwen Xuzhong, dressed in purple robe, stood motionless in front of the emperor. Another senior official in purple robe, who was another prime minister, Wang Boyan, and the fully armed commander of the imperial camp, Wang Yuan, immediately appeared. They paused for a while, and seeing that no one opposed the appointment of the pacification envoy, they solemnly accepted the order, and then the three of them returned to their respective ranks together.

It is said that the meeting held at the foot of Fangcheng Mountain this time was not an ordinary government meeting, but a grand court meeting that brought together the entire civil and military officials in the imperial camp, generals in the imperial camp, and the remaining civil and military officials in the west of Beijing!

In fact, this kind of thing should have been done after the emperor arrived in Nanyang, which was only a hundred miles away, and it should have been held in the palace that Liu Ji (Jingxi Transport Commissioner) had worked so hard to build for the emperor. At that time, everyone would have washed away the dust and refreshed their spirits, and naturally they would be more efficient.

But for some reason, following the emperor's own suggestion, this long-awaited grand court meeting was finally held in the wilderness at the foot of Fangcheng Mountain, with only a curtain on both sides... The emperor even refused to climb the famous golden summit of Fangcheng Mountain and hold the meeting in the temples and Taoist temples in the city, and also declined the proposal to enter the city.

However, the number of armored soldiers in the imperial camp that accompanied the army accumulated to over ten thousand, showing off their might. According to the divisions among the different parts, they almost filled up half of the field under the Fangcheng Mountain. From the small hill on the side of the mountain where the meeting was held, they looked quite imposing.

In fact, there were discussions among the officials of the imperial court. Some idle people would naturally say that the emperor was willful and impatient again. But apart from that, the truly knowledgeable people all thought that the emperor wanted to use the wild land and weapons to remind the officials of the imperial court that although Nanyang was just around the corner, the country was still in danger and they should have a sense of crisis.

However, there are also a very small number of people who believe that the government has always attached great importance to the military, and may just think that the front-line generals should be respected and there is no need to delay time, so the court meeting was held directly in this place with many connections, without any other considerations.

Back to the present, after Li Yanxian's great achievement was agreed upon, the two East Palace ministers, Lu Haowen and Xu Jingheng, came out one after another and took turns to report various matters.

"There are vacancies in various places west of the capital, including Ruzhou, Caizhou, Yingchang Prefecture, Henan Prefecture (where the Western Capital Luoyang is located), as well as Shaanxi Prefecture in Guanzhong and Jingzhao counties. I have been ordered to draw up the appointments for each place, and I hope your Majesty will review them." Lu Haowen was naturally also wearing a purple robe and a stiff-winged fu hat, but he took out a document from his sleeve, and then walked out of the queue for the fourth time with a serious look.

"I trust you gentlemen."

Lan Gui, the chief eunuch of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, ran down to take the document. Zhao Jiu opened it and closed it again, then handed it back to Lan Gui, asking him to put it away carefully. "But there is one thing... For such appointments, we must consider the opinions of the garrisons, governors, and pacification envoys. They are facing the enemy in the front and have the right to make appointments. We cannot replace those who have power at will. And if there is indeed a conflict in the appointment, we must arrange a place for those who have been replaced and appease them... You must know that at this time, everything is done with the anti-Jin in mind, and the rear should not easily compete with those who are facing the battle in the front."

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