When Ruan Jinghe led his personal guards to meet Yue Fei in battle, Yue Fei had already led the Divine Martial Army through numerous enemy camps and descended upon him like a god of war.
Ruan Jinghe's legs went weak on the spot, and he almost collapsed.
This is an instinctive reverence for the strong!
On the battlefield, Yue Fei exuded the aura of an unparalleled expert.
He was clad in silver infantry armor, his red cloak billowing, his eyebrows sharp and fierce, and he held a spear in his left hand, thrusting it forward.
In a panic, Ruan Jinghe used his shield to block, but Yue Fei's spear seemed to have the force of ten thousand pounds, causing him to stagger back more than ten steps before regaining his balance. His right hand immediately lost all feeling.
Just as he was greatly alarmed, Yue Fei's warhorse neighed, and Yue Fei threw the Li Quan Spear directly.
Ruan Jinghe had just blocked Yue Fei's spear, and since he had been drinking, he couldn't dodge Yue Fei's second spear.
His guards tried to block Yue Fei for him, but the Shenwu Army cavalry behind Yue Fei charged up, and with a swift stroke of their sabers, heads fell to the ground, cut off like radishes and cabbages.
Ruan Jinghe let out a strange cry and tried to block again, but found that he couldn't even lift his arm to protect himself.
The Liquan Spear pierced Ruan Jinghe's chest like a streak of lightning, pinning him to the ground and killing him instantly.
Upon seeing their commander dead, the surrounding Jiaozhi soldiers' morale collapsed, and they turned and ran.
"Run! Run!"
The main force of the Jiaozhi army scattered and began to retreat like a tide.
Yue Fei stopped and left the rest to his subordinates, who needed credit.
An hour later, the former Jiaozhi army camp had been reduced to a mess.
The resistance of the Jiaozhi navy on the riverbank has entered its final stage, and Wang Gui, Zhang Xian, and Yang Zaixing have come to report on the battle situation.
The Battle of Fuliangjiang ended with the collapse of 50,000 troops from Jiaozhi.
This morning at court, Zhou Chao, the Minister of the Three Departments, stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I have something to report."
"What brings you here, Minister Zhou?"
"The price of grain in Tokyo has returned to four strings of cash per shi (a unit of dry measure)."
Zhao Huan's eyelids twitched, and he asked, "Why is that?"
"I believe this is all because of the war in the southwest, which led many grain merchants to hoard grain."
"What solution do you have, my dear minister?"
"Your Majesty, the 100,000-strong army of Jiaozhi has been defeated by our dynasty. The might of our celestial empire has spread far and wide to the surrounding small countries. For the sake of the people, please withdraw your troops!"
Zhao Huan said, "The Li family of Jiaozhi is cunning and once slaughtered the people of my Great Song Dynasty. If I do not help them escape and seek justice, I will not be able to offer sacrifices to the ancestral temples and will have no face to see Emperor Taizu!"
Zhou Chao continued, "Your Majesty, both the Central Plains and the South have experienced rebellions. The most important thing now is to allow the people to recuperate and rebuild. We must not wage war again. For the sake of the Emperor and the nation, I implore Your Majesty to withdraw your troops!"
His words were indeed sincere; the Song Dynasty, under the emperor's mismanagement, was on the verge of collapse.
The Central Plains were purged, the South was purged, food supplies were scarce, but military spending increased month by month.
As the person in charge of finances, Zhou Chao could hardly sleep at night looking at the numbers in the accounts.
Although the imperial court issued paper money, it failed to lower prices in the capital city of Tokyo.
The emperor's idea was wonderful: to conquer Jiaozhi and turn it into a granary, but who knew how long the war would last?
During the reign of Emperor Shenzong, half of the 300,000-strong Song army contracted disease there and were eventually forced to withdraw.
If this dynasty continues fighting like this, it will surely end up like the Shenzong era.
From the perspective of those in charge of finances, sending so many soldiers to the battlefield is a waste of money. Not only does sending them to the battlefield cost money, but sending them back when they get sick also costs a lot of money.
In this way, grain prices will only continue to rise, and he, as the Minister of the Three Departments, will eventually lose his head.
Rather than doing that, it's better to tell the emperor now.
Zhao Huan was certainly aware of the pressure on the Zhou Dynasty, as he himself checked the accounts every month and was filled with trepidation; one can only imagine how anxious the Zhou Dynasty must have been.
But it was absolutely impossible for Zhao Huan to withdraw his troops. Jiaozhi should never be allowed to become independent again. Zhao Huan wanted to make it an inseparable part of China. Anyone who dared to divide the land should die!
Not only that, but they will also be recorded in the annals of Chinese history and become sinners for all time!
Xu Churen also stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I also believe that we should withdraw our troops. We must not harm the common people for the sake of the small country of Jiaozhi."
Next, more ministers stepped forward and requested Zhao Huan to withdraw his troops.
As previously stated, the ministers did indeed support Zhao Huan's attack on Jiaozhi.
But as time went on, various conflicts emerged.
The most acute issue is the conflict over grain prices.
The Song Dynasty was already experiencing severe inflation, but now the emperor not only does not curb military spending, but continues to increase it.
This meant that more food would have to be used for the army. The total amount of food was limited, and the reduced production due to the turmoil in the south and the central plains only made things worse.
The ministers had been thinking it over and over and felt it was not a good idea to continue the war against Jiaozhi.
Otherwise, it will inevitably cause a chain reaction. Many merchants in the private sector have already stockpiled grain, taking advantage of the emperor's love of war, and will sell the grain at a high price when the time comes.
This would cause even more people to starve to death. If this situation could not be controlled, the emperor would be furious, and the prime ministers would inevitably suffer.
Therefore, Zhou Chao and Xu Churen were now forced into a corner, so they mustered their courage and stepped forward.
As is customary, Liu Yanzong, He Ye, and others should step in to criticize people at this point.
In fact, they were prepared to come out and confront people.
The emperor's will must be carried through to the end.
But suddenly a horse's neighing came from outside the court.
The courtiers were immediately shocked. Who had the audacity to ride a horse into the palace and even to the front of the court?
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