"The main force of our army was lured to pass through the Pingxing Village, and the rear guard was killed by the Jin army at the mouth of the Ping. All the baggage was lost. As a result, Wang Sheng turned back, and the Jin army was in chaos again." Zhao Jiu finally raised his head from the official report, but he looked around at the close ministers and guards who were accompanying him, and finally fell on Yang Yizhong. "Why do I feel a little strange? Zhengfu, you are from Daizhou, and you are most familiar with Pingxing Village. What do you think is going on?"

Yang Yizhong had a lot of military experience, so he certainly knew the situation. In addition, there were no important people around today, so he did not hide anything and directly responded with his hands clasped:

"I'm sorry... the Jin army was in retreat, so they were hasty in preparing for battle, or they had few soldiers, so their fighting power was extremely weak... After the hasty ambush, they succeeded in one attack, which meant they had already used all their strength, so they didn't dare to fight and just fled. Otherwise, if they still had the strength to fight, the Jin army would have locked up the Pingxing Village, and Deputy Commander Wang, who had lost his baggage, would have been suffocated to death in Puyin Pass."

"That's the truth." Zhao Jiu nodded slowly, as if thinking about something.

Perhaps because of his identity as a Daizhou native, Yang Yizhong paused for a moment, but he couldn't help but say a few more words: "Your Majesty, if my guess is correct, even if Yelu Mawu is willing, he may not be able to reach out so far and so quickly... This battle is more like the Daizhou defenders were forced into a desperate situation when they fled in a hurry, so they just turned back. And the reason why Deputy Governor Wang said that it was Yelu Mawu who did it is, firstly, because Yelu Mawu is a Wanhu, a famous general who has experienced Nanyang and Yaoshan, and it is not too embarrassing to lose to him; secondly, it is because Daizhou was conquered by another Deputy Governor Wang (Wang De), and the other Deputy Governor Wang (Wang De) reported a victory before, but said that he wiped out the defenders in the city... If I force this matter, I am afraid it will come to your Majesty to judge again."

"You are right." Zhao Jiu replied with a sigh. "A sudden counterattack killed nearly a thousand people... Two deputy governors, one underestimated the enemy and rushed forward rashly, and the other exaggerated the victory... Did they think I would not know these things?"

"Everyone has a lucky heart." Yang Yizhong was helpless to answer, half explaining, half persuading. "Moreover, when Wang De reported the victory, the few remaining soldiers fled. According to common sense, they should have been defeated directly. Even if the defeated soldiers organized themselves later, it would not have delayed his overall achievement of pacifying Xinzhou, Daizhou, and Ninghuajun within ten days and threatening Yanmen Pass. For example, when Wang Sheng apologized for his defeat, he did not dare to cover up the losses and the process of defeat. He just made a note of the attribution of the enemy army to save face and smoothness... What if the emperor knew about it? Would he punish him beyond the limit for such a small matter? Besides, didn't the emperor order Wu Dutong to temporarily take charge of the imperial military affairs and discuss everything with the governors? He always has to consider the faces of the governors."

Zhao Jiu glanced at the other person and said nothing.

Yang Yizhong suddenly realized and stopped talking... The official's meaning was very clear, and those words were exactly what he wanted to say.

On the other side, Ping Qingsheng waited on the ground for a while. Seeing that Emperor Zhao didn't say anything and Yang Yizhong just waved his hand, he finally came to his senses and went back to report.

However, when Taira no Kiyomori turned around to leave, he met another fellow officer from the Red Heart Team. It was Prince Toli of Western Mongolia. In the afternoon light, his face was as dark as the bottom of a pot. Taira no Kiyomori was puzzled, but he didn't ask any more questions. He just nodded and rode away in a hurry.

Tuoli came to the willow tree, bowed his head, and just like Taira no Kiyomori, informed Emperor Zhao of several matters that Wu Jie had handled on his behalf, and then received a message that had just been filed in the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

"The Jin army in Datong Prefecture retreated voluntarily, and Yanmen Pass was breached... Then your father marched from the north as the vanguard, and first plundered Dezhou under the Jinhe Mountain, and then wanted to plunder Datong Prefecture. Unexpectedly, when they were halfway through the looting, Guo Hao, the deputy commander of the rear army of the imperial camp, and Wang De led the army along the Sanggan River. The two sides quarreled over this matter... Is this what you mean?" Zhao Jiu thought for a while while holding the official report on his stool, and looked at Tuoli with a normal expression.

"Yes." Tuoli's face turned even darker... Wu Jie asked him to come and deliver the message, which clearly showed that he had bad intentions.

"This is a good thing." Zhao Jiu sneered. "After all, the Jin army in Datong has withdrawn, the north is stable, and the Puyin Xing army is in my hands... What do these small details matter?"

Tuoli just felt his scalp tingling.

He was a prince of Western Mongolia and had been with Emperor Zhao for three or four years. He was no longer the wild man who only knew how to ride horses, drink and find women on the grassland... He understood that if the previous incident between Wang De and Wang Sheng was called a minor matter, it might be okay, but the current issue was a major and serious military and political issue.

Especially since he was a squad leader of the Red Heart Team and had always served this official, he knew that the other party would never tolerate such a thing.

As for the gains and losses of Datong Prefecture, to put it bluntly, even the dumbest person would realize after the fall of Taiyuan City that it was only a matter of time before the entire area west of Taihang Mountain fell into the hands of the Song Army, and it was not a military issue.

"Touli..." Zhao Jiu was silent for a moment, still holding the official report, but with one hand hanging down to one side. Then he leaned forward to call the other party.

"I'm here." Tuoli responded quickly and lowered his head.

"Raise your head." Emperor Zhao seemed a little impatient.

Tuoli did not hesitate at all and looked up again to meet Emperor Zhao's gaze.

"I am actually furious." Zhao Jiu responded calmly. "But I know that you Mongolians came south with the intention of plundering and making money... and there will be a war soon, and I will use the cavalry of Western Mongolia... so I can't lose my temper at this time. And you, Toli, have been by my side for a long time, and you know my taboos... If I say I am not angry, it will make you suspicious... right or not?"

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It’s even more exciting later!