In 1127 AD, the Northern Song Dynasty fell. Immediately, the ninth imperial prince, Zhao Gou, ascended the throne in Shangqiu amidst widespread anticipation, inheriting the Song imperial line and r...
Back to the present, even Liu Ziyu and Yang Yizhong only said that this army that suddenly chose to leave the Jin army camp might be trying to lure the enemy, but they did not deny that the other side might really go to support Wanyan Talan.
It can be imagined that the Nanyang faction and the Xiangyang faction will inevitably continue to clash due to the two main possibilities of this incident.
At the same time, the authority of Emperor Zhao and Prime Minister Lu was already declining.
"Officials."
Sure enough, Li Guang, the Imperial Censor who followed, stepped forward instinctively and spoke earnestly. "I don't know about military matters, but I think that in the long run, it is better to go to Xiangyang... Once we go to Xiangyang, we can use the solidity of Nanyang and the certainty of taking Xiangyang to make the Jin people panic."
"How can you abandon Nanyang and run away?" Hu Yin was furious.
"Nanyang City is strong and its artillery is powerful. How can we abandon it?" Li Guang showed no fear towards his nominal superior.
"If we go to Nanyang, who will guarantee the safety of the emperor?" Liu Ziyu actually stood on the same side as Hu Yin at this time. "Who can withstand the attack of ten thousand cavalry?"
"Let Wang De, who is already in the east of the city, lead his troops to escort Zhang Jing. There will be 10,000 elite imperial camp troops. Let Xin Qizon (the second Xin) stationed in Rang County (the former capital of Dengzhou) come to support, so there will be 16,000 to 17,000 soldiers and horses. With such a military force, coupled with the bravery of Wang Yasha and the dense network of rivers along the way, it is enough to ensure the peace of the government." The speaker was the Secretary of the Central Secretariat Fan Zongyin, a recent comrade-in-arms found by Li Guang and Li Ruopu, and the backbone of the Xiangyang faction during the debate in the palace today.
"Master Fan!" Liu Ziyu was already angry, and he simply broke the rules after hearing this. "You are from Dengcheng, Xiangyang! Of course you want the emperor to go to Xiangyang. You want the emperor to stay in Xiangyang and build the capital, right?!"
"Am I doing this for selfish reasons?!" Fan Zongyin was also furious. "When the weather gets hot and the Jin army withdraws, the emperor can return to Nanyang... But you, Liu Canjun, the emperor has entrusted all the military affairs of the Privy Council to you. Now that things have come to this, what can you say? Why did Han Shizhong fall into an ambush? Were there any omissions in the affairs of Wang Yan, Ma Gao, and Yue Fei?! Moreover, before the war, the entire army wasted nearly a month waiting, and then underestimated the enemy, so that Zhang Zizheng was suddenly killed. This matter..."
"How is this?"
"Does this have nothing to do with your deliberate neglect of the Wumashan Volunteer Army?" Fan Zongyin, who was only 30 years old, was also pressed into a corner. "Do you think we don't know who imprisoned Ma Kuo Ma, the chief steward, in the Zhending prison because of his stubbornness?"
Liu Ziyu had a splitting headache: "So, I have selfish motives?"
Fan Zongyin was about to speak when suddenly, Emperor Zhao, who was still wearing the red robe he wore this morning, walked straight between the two of them with an expressionless face, his hands supporting his elbows, holding the leather belt around his waist, and then went down the city without saying a word.
The two groups of people on the city wall suddenly fell silent, but they tried their best to keep quiet and then dispersed.
After returning to the palace, Emperor Zhao did not discuss the matter any further. Instead, he had his meal directly and then went to the harem to rest.
The only thing was that he was obviously upset and under great pressure. Seeing this, Wu Yu wanted to take the initiative to comfort him. But she was too young to understand the underlying situation. She could only say that all the ministers in the city were virtuous people, and that the government should open up channels for people to express their opinions and discuss problems with these people.
Little did they know that Emperor Zhao was half worried about the situation, and half was forced by these "virtuous people".
How is this comfort useful?
Fortunately, Wu Yu also saw that Zhao Jiu was getting more and more impatient, so he said what he needed to say and stopped talking...
That night, he slept in silence until the second watch. Suddenly, someone knocked on the door and woke the official up! The last time someone knocked on the door was when Lu Yihao made a private suggestion.
Zhao Jiu got up in a daze and allowed Lan Gui and Feng Yi to come in. However, the two said that it was Yang Yi Zhong, Chen Gui and Lu Haowen who wanted to see him, which made him confused.
Yang Yizhong and Liu Yan took turns to take over Liang Hongyu's charge of the palace ban at night, and Lü Haowen and Lü Yihao also took turns to rest and guard the side room of the front hall. Tonight was Yang Yizhong and Lü Haowen's duty, so no matter what happened, it must have gone through the hands of the two of them, so it couldn't be called "seeking an audience". But it was a bit strange that Chen Gui, who was in charge of the city defense, came at this time.
Could it be that the Jin army outside the city launched a night attack?
Didn’t you hear anything?
Or maybe something went wrong with the city’s defense?
However, this kind of wild thinking was soon put to rest. Chen Gui, Yang Yizhong and Lu Haowen were not the real people seeking an audience. The real person seeking an audience with Emperor Zhao was a young official who had left Nanyang for more than ten days and returned again - Du Chong's second son Du Yan.
He came on a fast horse overnight, which naturally alarmed Chen Gui.
"Officials!"
After requesting that only guards could accompany him, Du Yan, who was in a mess and looked dazed, bowed down in the corridor behind the palace. Under the gaze of Yang Yizhong behind him, he said something earth-shattering to Emperor Zhao. "Your servant, your father and I have communicated with the Right Deputy Marshal of the Jin people, Talan... and agreed not to fight!"
After these words were spoken, Yang Yizhong, who had been on guard, was stunned, while Du Yan, as if he had lost his temper, lay on the cold ground without saying a word.
But unexpectedly, Emperor Zhao's expression did not change at all. If you have to explain it in detail, he seemed relieved. In fact, Zhao Jiu suddenly had an inexplicable and subtle mentality at this moment, which was similar to the period before the war, and he remembered his own idea before the war - huge waves hit the sky, and mud and sand were swept down.
The weather was still cold, and after the air had been frozen for half a minute, Zhao Jiu asked expressionlessly, "So, there is no conflict between Yue Fei and Wang Yan or Ma Gao?"
"No." Du Yan answered on the ground. "Although Wang Yan and Yue Fei did not even talk to each other in private, the three of them did not make any mistakes in military affairs. Before I found out about my father and I, Niu Gao and Li Bao arrived and planned with the three generals and Yanling garrison commander Li Qiong to persuade my father to send troops..."
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