Chapter 231 Accounts (7.5k barely two-in-one)

After arriving in Chang'an, or even from the moment he left Tokyo, Zhao Jiu has been in a very depressed mood. If you are not in his situation, it is hard to imagine how much pressure he is under... The life and death of hundreds of thousands of people, the gains and losses of tens of millions of people, may all be decided in a battle, and the victory or defeat of this battle will largely depend on the choices and judgments of him as an official.

But at the same time, apart from the names of Yue Fei, Han Shizhong, Zhang Rong and Li Yanxian, everything looks and sounds unreliable.

Even the things that Zhao Jiu had done personally, or the results of all the hard work of this time traveler in the past three years, now made people feel doubtful under the upcoming test.

Would it really improve the efficiency of military construction if the southern fiscal revenue was directly diverted to the various generals? Were the materials that almost exhausted the blood and sweat of the people of Henan really used by these people for military purposes? With 200,000 soldiers in the imperial camp, would the high-ranking officers really fight bravely just because of those notes, and would the soldiers really fight bravely just because of those military pay and the last-minute reports? Did the scholars sent to the army really not complain all day long, wasting money and staff?

And this is just the Imperial Camp Army. They have worked hard for a long time and invested a lot. It is very likely that they only account for half of the combat power in the decisive battle. As for the other half of the Western Army, Zhao Jiu can't find any problems at all, because he doesn't even know where the problem might lie!

But isn’t this having a child? Isn’t this doubly anchored in this world?

Isn't it that, regardless of selfishness or justice, regardless of future expectations or previous experiences, it ultimately brings together a sense of responsibility that he has to face?

So he has held on until now, and will continue to hold on in the future.

"The official has great archery skills!"

Seeing that Emperor Zhao shot several arrows in succession, almost every one of them hit the target, Zhang Jun, the transport envoy of the five routes of Bashu, was sincerely impressed.

However, in the comfortable temperature of the morning, Zhao Jiu, who had only shot half a barrel of arrows without even breaking a sweat, put away his bow and arrows, but he did not think much of it: "My archery skills are only practiced at the shooting range and hunting ground. They look fancy, but when I really get to the battlefield and face the Jin people, I might not even be able to pull the bow open... Let's not talk about this. Deyuan came to see me so early in the morning. Is there any news?"

"Fangzhou has reported to the Chang'an garrison." Zhang Jun immediately became serious and replied with a folded hand. "Your Majesty, this time it is Wu Jie's own report..."

Zhao Jiu nodded and sat down in the corridor without any unnecessary expression: "Wu Jie is still in Fangzhou? It's actually quite good that he can resist layer by layer. Then, according to the previous statement, we should send reinforcements to Yaozhou Tongguan (Tongchuan in later generations) next to Fangzhou to provide support, so that he can retreat when necessary..."

"It's not any other city in Fangzhou Prefecture, it's Fangzhou City." Zhang Jun, who followed to the corridor, waited patiently for Emperor Zhao to finish speaking before explaining.

Zhao Jiu obviously didn't react at first, but after a moment he was stunned: "Is Wu Dashang still in Fangzhou City?"

"Yes!" Zhang Jun responded earnestly. "He had never been a military governor before, and he didn't know the emperor was in Chang'an, so naturally he had to report everything to Hu Jinglüe in Ningzhou. But this time it was different, so he reported to Ningzhou while sending a message to the Chang'an Resident Office."

Zhao Jiu ignored the fact that it was Zhang Jun who sent the message to Chang'an garrison instead of Yuwen Xuzhong. He still found it hard to believe: "If he sent the message directly from Fangzhou City, wouldn't it be much faster than Ningzhou? The message sent this morning might be from the day before yesterday. It should be two days faster than Hu Yin's report last night."

"yes!"

"He was still in Fangzhou the day before yesterday?"

"yes!"

"Hold it?"

"Not only did they hold on, but they also won three consecutive battles, wounded 10,000 enemy soldiers, forced the enemy to change their generals, and fought back the day before yesterday, beheading 500 people and wounding thousands!" Zhang Jun stepped forward, unable to suppress his excitement. "Your Majesty, you should know Hu Yin. He is a rigid person. He must be particularly angry about his subordinates' false reports. Wu Jie may not dare to make false reports."

Zhao Jiu was completely stunned, and so was Liu Yan, who was beside him. If I remember correctly, this was probably the first time that the Song and Jin forces won a local battle with fewer troops, which was a miracle! Even when Li Yanxian recaptured Shanzhou, it was more of a strategic miracle.

So, it's simply unbelievable.

But then again, in this situation, whether it was winning consecutive victories, shooting and wounding tens of thousands of people, or going out of the city to counterattack and beheading five hundred people... In short, it didn't matter if these details were all fake, because the key issue was that it was difficult to fake the fact that Wu Jie was still in Fangzhou City the day before! It was probably true!

And those previous details seemed insignificant in the face of the overall situation where Fangzhou City was still controlled by Wu Jie.

By the same token, five hundred is a very strange number and is not in line with the tradition of the Western Army, but the key lies in another set of numbers.

"It is said that Wu Jie had four to five thousand soldiers when he retreated into Fangzhou City?" Zhao Jiu pondered over Hu Yin's daily report from the past few days and the geographical information he had seen on the map these days, slowly comparing them.

"Yes." Zhang Jun, who was standing aside, had an excellent memory.

"What does it mean that Lou Shi sent troops south to Baihe when Fangzhou City was so stable?" Zhao Jiu continued to think. "Is he sending troops to Baihe to prepare for Han Shizhong's northward support, so that he can attack the city with all his strength? Or is he abandoning Fangzhou City and going south directly along Baihe City? If so, how many troops should he leave to contain him?"

"No matter which one it is." Zhang Jun responded earnestly. "Your Majesty, Lou Shi has already divided his troops. At least one Wan Hu and four to five thousand real captives are missing! Moreover, the news will be verified within a few days!"

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