Hefeng Building

Han Shizhong was drinking with his brothers in the compartment at this time, but he heard the words "expel the Jin people and recover lost territories".

He turned around curiously, but saw Liang Hongyu and the young man under her arm arm in arm. He couldn't help but feel a surge of irritability. He stood up and walked to the private room next to him. The other brothers looked at him in confusion.

Liang Hongyu raised her head inadvertently, and their eyes met. She was stunned. Why was he here too?

Han Shizhong smiled slightly and said, "General Liang is here too? Can I sit here?" Without waiting for Liang Hongyu to speak, Han Shizhong took the initiative and sat next to Liang Hongyu.

Liang Hongyu had no choice but to move inside to make room for him. What was General Han up to?

Although Jinxiu and Asen were shocked and embarrassed, they just bowed and didn't say anything.

When the brothers heard the words "General Liang," they glanced at the private room next to them. Could it be that the woman in red, sitting with her back to the emperor, was the newly appointed female general? Because she was sitting with her back to the emperor, no one could see her face clearly. Hu Yantong, seeing his general like this, knew what was going on and knew that he must be jealous of the young man.

So he coughed lightly, raised his glass and said, "Brothers, let's continue drinking."

Han Shizhong raised his glass and smiled at Liang Hongyu, saying, "General Liang, you're so forgetful. If I hadn't saved you at the Zanhua Imperial Banquet, you'd probably be in trouble. So, I'd like to take this opportunity to treat me to a meal." He then took a crab-stuffed orange dish and stuffed it into his mouth, sighing, "It's delicious! I'm indebted to you for a treat today."

"It is said that to make this delicacy, one must scoop out the orange flesh, leaving a little orange juice. Then, take two large crabs, boil them until half-cooked, scoop out the crab roe and meat, and stuff each into an orange. Then, cover the orange lid, securing the lid to the orange with bamboo sticks. Place the orange in a large flat bowl, add appropriate amounts of Shaoxing wine, vinegar, and water, cover the bowl, and steam it in a steamer for about half an hour. After removing it from the steamer, place it on a round official kiln plate and garnish the oranges with clean chrysanthemum flowers and leaves. Once everything is ready, it is served."

After Han Shizhong finished speaking, he glanced meaningfully at Liang Hongyu beside him and said, "General Liang is so extravagant!"

Liang Hongyu was furious when she heard this. It seemed that General Han was here to pick a fight today. She had no recollection of helping her out at the Hairpin Flower Imperial Banquet. So she said, "General Han, please forgive my stupidity. I don't remember this."

Han Shizhong was almost fainted from anger. She had forgotten all about how he had worried about her and fed her a sobering pill. Well, she was already drunk and unconscious at the time, so it was understandable that she didn't remember anything.

He rubbed the veins on the side of his head that had bulged with anger, and patiently explained, "You were drunk that day, and I was afraid you'd embarrass yourself in public, so I stuffed a sobering pill into your mouth. Do you remember?"

Liang Hongyu was furious when she heard this. What did he mean by "afraid she would embarrass herself in public?" Was her drinking behavior really that bad? It seemed that this tall, handsome man was just a pretty face. How could he be so inarticulate? Although she was a girl, she still had to consider her reputation in front of others.

"Thank you for your trouble, General Han. I'll treat you to this meal. You can eat by yourself." Liang Hongyu said angrily.

After that, he said to Asen and Jinxiu: "Let's go, let General Han enjoy the food here alone!"

Jinxiu pursed her lips and said, "Miss, I just started eating, why are you leaving so soon?"

Liang Hongyu said angrily, "Then you accompany General Han to eat. Asen, let's go!"

"Asen will listen to you, Sister Yu." After saying this, Asen glanced at Han Shizhong, who looked confused, with a smile, and followed Liang Hongyu downstairs.

Seeing that both of them had left, Jinxiu had no choice but to say to Han Shizhong, "General Han, I will go with the young lady first. You can eat first. It's delicious." After that, she went to chase Liang Hongyu and Asen, not forgetting to look back at the table of uneaten food every few steps.

Han Shizhong lost all interest in his food and put down his chopsticks with a thud. He didn't know what he had said to anger Liang Hongyu and put him in such a difficult position. This woman's mind was truly as the ancients said, like a needle in the sea. And Ah Sen's constant calling him "Sister Yu" was so cheesy, and that last look of his, seemingly full of mockery, made him even more depressed.

He walked to the private room in the compartment and said to his men, "Brothers, let's go to the private room next door. That table of delicious food is for us by General Liang."

The brothers were in disbelief when they heard this. "Is there such a good thing? Let's go and take a look."

"General, this table of delicacies is very expensive! Are you sure General Liang is treating us?" one of them said.

"It was originally a treat for me, but I can't finish it all by myself." Han Shizhong said guiltily.

When the others heard this, they seemed to think something was wrong. One person said, "Who cares? Let's not waste this delicious food."

Everyone then took their seats, and after eating, they all said that they had never eaten such a delicious meal.

Hu Yantong leaned over to Han Shizhong and whispered in his ear, "General, how did you offend General Liang?"

Han Shizhong said depressedly, "Let's talk about it when we get back." After that, he raised his head and drank the wine in one gulp.

After Asen followed Liang Hongyu out of Hefeng Tower, he looked at her with a smile and said, "Sister Hongyu, did General Han's words just now hurt your pride?"

Liang Hongyu stopped walking upon hearing this, turned around and said, "The one who knows me best is Asen! This General Han is too bad at talking. He's such a handsome man, but he has such a big mouth."

Arsen was displeased when he heard this: "Sister Hongyu, is General Han as beautiful as me?"

Liang Hongyu laughed and said, "How can a man like you use the word beautiful to describe yourself?"

Arsen was unwilling to give in, and continued to ask, "Who's better looking, me or General Han?"

Liang Hongyu was a little puzzled when she heard this. Why was this boy so obsessed with this today? But she still answered patiently: "They each have their own beauty. You have a beautiful face and are full of vigor and spirit, while General Han has a tall and handsome figure."

Jinxiu echoed in a baby voice, "Miss, you're right. Everyone has their own beauty."

Asen heard this, and although he didn't compare himself to her, he felt happy. Just now, seeing Han Shizhong's face filled with rage, he was secretly happy. Looking at Liang Hongyu, the tall, slender woman with a rosy face beside him, he thought to himself: No matter what my status, as long as I can stay by her side forever, it is enough for me.

After the brothers from Hefeng Tower had left, Hu Yantong asked, "General, can you tell me what happened between you and General Liang just now?"

Han Shizhong told Hu Yantong everything about his conversation with Liang Hongyu. Hu Yantong almost died of laughter when he heard it. "General, if you talk to a woman like that, I'm afraid you'll never get her in this life."

Hu Yantong analyzed one by one which of his words had made Liang Hongyu unhappy.

Han Shizhong suddenly realized what was going on and said, "Brother, I'm grateful for your advice."

Hu Yantong bowed and said, "General, I don't deserve it."

Ever since Han Shizhong encountered a setback last time, he rarely showed up in front of Liang Hongyu. After all, she was now a general and on equal footing with him, so there was no need for her to look up to him anymore. He thought it would not be too late to express his feelings to her after he had made more military achievements.

In July of the second year of Jianyan, Zong Ze fell ill due to years of fatigue and excessive worry and anger, and died on the 12th at the age of 68. Before his death, he roared three times, "Cross the river! Cross the river! Cross the river!", and he never forgot to avenge his previous humiliation and recover his homeland until his death.

Zhao Gou looked at the memorial about Zong Ze's death and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. No one would ever write to him again asking him to recover his homeland and welcome back the two emperors.

The death of Zong Ze made the Jin people very happy. As soon as Jin Taizong Wanyan Wuqimai received the news, he issued an edict: send troops to pursue Zhao Gou who was hiding in Hangzhou, and completely wipe out Zhao's descendants.

After Zong Ze's death, in order to prevent the Jin army from moving south, Zhao Gou asked Du Chong to take over Zong Ze's position and garrison in Bian Jing, with full authority to be in charge of the defense of Bian Jing and the two river regions. It was this decision that almost pushed the newly established Southern Song Dynasty to destruction.

Although Du Chong was a Jinshi, he was a ruthless character and seemed to have a special hobby for killing people. When he first took office as the governor of Cangzhou, the Jin Kingdom had just occupied the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun and looted, burned and killed the people in Youyun. The Han people living there fled to the land of the two rivers for refuge, and happened to flee to Cangzhou under Du Chong's jurisdiction.

Du Chong said that these people might be spies of the Jin army, and killed all the fleeing civilians, regardless of gender, age or status. However, Zhao Gou praised his behavior and appointed him as the attendant of Tianzhang Pavilion and the governor of Daming Prefecture.

At this time, Wanyan Zongwang attacked Daming Prefecture. Du Chong opened the Yellow River dam, allowing the Yellow River water to block the Jin army's southward advance. The Yellow River water flooded all the way to the Jianghuai area, and 200,000 people on both sides of the Yellow River were drowned.

Furthermore, Du Chong also halted Zong Ze's Northern Expedition. Before his death, Zong Ze had dispatched Commander Xue Guang and others as an advance force to garrison Xiangzhou. However, before the subsequent reinforcements, including Wang Shan and Zhang Yong, had departed, Du Chong simply said they were not needed. As a result, they encountered the Jin army advancing southward, Xue Guang was killed in battle, Xiangzhou fell, and the defending commander committed suicide.

He also ordered the severing of Bianjing and the surrounding areas' links and support for the northern resistance against the Jin forces, completely cutting off the resistance's support in the Mesopotamian region and clearing the way for the Jin army's southward advance. All prefectures and counties, including Daming Prefecture and Wuma Mountain Stronghold, were captured. These areas had been the most active sites of anti-Jin forces during Zong Ze's lifetime, and the Mesopotamian region was ravaged overnight.

Du Chong also forced the bandits Ding Jin and Yang Jin, who had surrendered with great difficulty to Zong Ze, out of the official system, refusing to recognize their identities and forcing them to regroup and become bandits. He also transferred Yue Fei's troops stationed here.

Wang Shan, Zhang Yong and other big bandits who had hundreds of thousands of people under their command found that not everyone would accept their identity as ruffians like Zong Ze, so they led their troops to leave and start a new business.

Du Chong sent Yue Fei to destroy them. Yue Fei, feeling a comradeship with them, declined his proposal. Du Chong asked, "Yue Fei, will you go and destroy them or die?"

Du Chong only gave Yue Fei 800 men to suppress the bandits, but Yue Fei, with only 800 men, wiped out hundreds of thousands of people, which made him famous and he was promoted to Wujing Doctor. He then recruited Zhang Yong and repeatedly defeated Wang Shan's troops, forcing Wang Shan to surrender to the Jin army. Yue Fei was promoted to Wude Doctor again and appointed the post of Yingzhou Governor, a fifth-rank official.

Yue Fei had just returned from suppressing bandits and saw Du Chong packing his bags and trying to escape. He stepped forward, grabbed Du Chong and said earnestly, "Sir, the Central Plains is the foundation of our country. We cannot afford to lose even a single inch of it. If you leave now, it will be extremely difficult to recapture it later!"

Du Chong ignored Yue Fei's advice and insisted on fleeing south. Yue Fei had no choice but to follow Du Chong south. Along the way, all he saw were refugees fleeing after being robbed by the Jin army. What he saw left a deep impression on him.

Du Chong led three thousand soldiers and fled north instead of south, surrendering to the Jin army.