Chapter 378 Walk and Watch

Emperor Zhao was reluctant to cross the river so early at first. In fact, after arriving in Luoyang and setting up a large camp in Beimang Mountain, he behaved a little strangely, basically maintaining a conservative attitude that was rarely seen before.

No one knows exactly why?

But there are always reasons, such as worrying about the chaos caused by mobilization behind him, or worrying about the logistical blockage between Luoyang and Hedong caused by the Shanzhou River. It is also possible that the official simply trusted the moral qualities and abilities of several commanders too much, as well as the combat effectiveness of his own imperial camp army.

However, after Han Shizhong showed his power three times and actually captured the Hezhong Basin (Yuncheng Basin), the two highest-ranking civil and military officials accompanying the emperor, Lu Yihao, Prime Minister Lu, and Wang Yan, President Wang, expressed their concerns about the Hedong battlefield at the same time, and then suggested that Emperor Zhao personally cross the river, rectify the situation, and restrain the generals.

According to Lu Yihao, in the current situation, although the Hezhong Basin was actually seized, generally speaking, it was nothing more than a surprise attack taking advantage of the sudden death of the third prince Erlido, the commander-in-chief of the Jin Dynasty's front line.

Using the prepared to defeat the unprepared is a result that should have resulted in this level of victory. It is not something to be proud of.

However, in the process, the generals and ministers, for their own selfish reasons, either competed for merit and advanced recklessly, or used their power to overwhelm others, or were perfunctory and timid. Among the generals at the higher level, there emerged people like Guo Zhen, who could not be thanked to the world without being killed... It can be seen that although the 300,000 soldiers in the imperial camp gradually became more combat-ready because of the grace of the court, and they also showed the confidence to march north in the clash with the Jin army, but everyone from top to bottom still could not get rid of those old ways.

This requires Emperor Zhao to take the lead and use both kindness and power.

Once Emperor Zhao himself crosses the river, no one can say how quickly he can act. However, based on his usual control over the generals and his grasp of the officers at the first level, it will at least have a deterrent effect on the high-ranking officers in the imperial camps.

In addition, let’s talk about the overall situation.

Lu Yihao's summary was still beautiful - in the current situation, since Hedong has actually captured Hezhong, the benefits brought by the death of the third prince of the Jin Dynasty have come to an end, and what lies ahead will be a tough battle and a hard fight.

At this time, the two sides were wrestling with each other, and it was just a matter of me advancing and you retreating.

At this moment, we should make every effort. In the rear, "men should fight and women should transport troops". In the front, of course, we should just follow the example of Emperor Zhaolie and advance into Hanzhong. "Why hesitate to send troops?"

This analysis was well-founded. Zhao Jiu, who was originally hesitant, was immediately persuaded by Lu Yihao. He immediately summoned civil and military officials and publicly issued an order to cross the river.

This is how the scene where the Buddha gave the monks opportunities came about.

However, although he had decided to cross the river, it was impossible for Zhao Jiu to just hang up the hot air balloon and cross the river in a small boat after seeing that the other side of the river was safe... Because he was the official of Zhao Song and the current emperor. Once he crossed the river to the north, the political and military significance would be too great to be surpassed.

This is because tens of thousands of troops have already crossed the river before, so there will be no delay.

Therefore, we must be fully prepared and take advantage of the situation to carry out sufficient political propaganda.

In this regard, no matter what, we must first put together a Northern Expedition manifesto.

The reason why I say "make up" is because this thing is simple, but also difficult... It is simple because it is just an article. The Song Dynasty has no shortage of people who can write articles. If it really doesn't work, let the group of people from the Imperial Camp Cavalry write it. When the time comes, Zhao Jiu can add a few sentences like "expel the Tartars, restore China, establish rules and regulations, and save the people", and it may be remembered as a great article by future generations.

But the difficulty lies in that the manifesto is not just a simple formal declaration of war, but also involves real political strategies.

For example, once this manifesto is written, people all over the world can read it.

When the document is presented to the rear, it should be written to tell them why the Northern Expedition is necessary and what price can be paid for the Northern Expedition.

To show it to the frontline soldiers, we need to tell them in the manifesto how many soldiers we have, what our strategic goals are, and what military disciplines and principles we must follow.

To show it to the Jin Kingdom, it was also necessary to make it clear in the manifesto who the enemy was that was being attacked. Who would not be pardoned? Who could be accepted with some limitations? Would the Khitan and Jurchen people agree with this?

What's more, these specific issues need to be divided into whether to be theoretical or practical... or simply to tell the truth or not?

Therefore, Emperor Zhao must think carefully and answer these questions seriously one by one, so that this manifesto, which is destined to appear in the official gazette and on the wooden boards in front of the military camps, can become worthy of its name.

"You need to tell all the civil and military officials and make it clear."

That afternoon, the generals and soldiers in the camp had already gone to pack their luggage, but Zhao Jiu was still sitting in the central army camp, directing Fan Zongyin, the scholar, to write this manifesto, which was either too late or too early. "If the shame of Jingkang cannot be avenged, and if the two rivers cannot be recovered, then the country has no qualifications to claim to be the Mandate of Heaven. Even if it is a small and isolated situation, the court will only be a small court. By then, I will not be qualified to be the Son of Heaven, and they will not be qualified to be Han ministers... The Northern Expedition is related to the orthodoxy of the country. If we cannot even pacify the two rivers and Yanyun, how can we claim to be the successor of the Han and Tang dynasties? Moreover, even from a personal perspective, since I have sworn an oath to the Prime Minister, I cannot pretend that I did not say those words."

Fan Zongyin, who had just started writing, was stunned for a moment.

To be honest, if he were to write about the necessity of the Northern Expedition, he could write 10,000 words in front of the mirror without taking a breath, because they are all discussions of clichés.

But even so, this official always manages to bring surprises to himself.

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