After provoking Wanyan Zongwang, Zhao Huan hid in the deep palace to continue reading and catching up on his knowledge. In the past few days, the Jin army launched several rounds of attacks on the city, from the initial probing to the later large-scale sieges, all of which were thwarted by Li Gang's meticulous organization.
At this point, Zhao Huan had to look at Li Gang with new respect. Although this guy didn't have great military talent, his organizational skills and meticulousness were absolutely unmatched by ordinary people.
Moreover, Li Gang is a man of strong character who focuses on the issue, not the person, making him a sharp weapon for reform!
With this in mind, Zhao Huan secretly made a plan.
At this moment, in the Jin army camp, Wanyan Zongwang sat in the main seat, and Wanyan Chamu looked at Guo Yaoshi and roared, "Guo! Didn't you say that the Song emperor was a coward? I think you're the coward!"
Guo Yaoshi didn't dare utter a word after being scolded by Wanyan Chamu. As a surrendered general, he could only keep a low profile here.
Wanyan Zongwang's face darkened: "Shut up! Mother! I'm warning you again! You're not allowed to speak to General Guo like that!"
Wanyan Chamu snorted coldly and said no more.
Guo Yaoshi said, "General, it was my failure in attacking the city that caused this general's poor performance. Please punish me!"
"This matter cannot be entirely blamed on you. Our army marched south too hastily and did not bring large-scale siege equipment. The Song capital is no ordinary capital."
Wanyan Chamu said anxiously, "What should we do now? If we fight for a long time, it will definitely be at our disadvantage!"
Liu Yanzong gently waved his feather fan and said unhurriedly, "General, I have a plan."
Guo the Pharmacist scoffed: "Sir, Zhao Huan is no longer intimidated. If we go to negotiate peace now, they might not agree!"
Liu Yanzong said, "The emperor's unwillingness to negotiate peace does not mean that the ministers of the Song Dynasty are unwilling to negotiate peace. As far as I know, most ministers in the Song court are willing to negotiate peace."
Guo Yaoshi was even more disdainful. He had suffered a defeat, so naturally he wouldn't let Liu Yanzong show off here. For every suggestion Liu Yanzong made, he would criticize it: "All the ministers of the Song Dynasty who proposed peace talks were killed by that brat Zhao Huan. You must know that, sir!"
Despite Guo Yaoshi's sarcastic remarks, Liu Yanzong remained unperturbed. He always wore a smile, and his expression towards Guo Yaoshi seemed to say, "You idiot, I don't bother arguing with you."
"The Southern Emperor has the confidence to wage war because he relies on Li Gang. Without Li Gang, the Southern Emperor has no one to rely on. Therefore, we only need to get rid of Li Gang. Li Gang has a grudge against the pro-peace ministers. We only need to use the pro-peace ministers to get rid of Li Gang. We are not afraid that the Southern Emperor will not negotiate peace. As long as Zhao Huan has the idea of negotiating peace, we will invest a large force to attack the city and put pressure on him until he knows the power of our Great Jin. At that time, we will agree to his peace negotiations and make him cede Hebei and Hedong!"
"Then how do we get rid of Li Gang?"
"That's simple. The Song emperor is most wary of ministers who wield too much power, whether they are civil or military officials. That's why there's a co-chief of the Privy Council next to the chief privy councilor. As long as we make the Song emperor think that Li Gang's power and prestige are too great and that he might overshadow the emperor, the emperor will inevitably harbor resentment towards Li Gang. Then, with the pro-peace faction adding fuel to the fire, the relationship between the Song emperor and Li Gang will inevitably deteriorate!"
Wanyan Zongwang was overjoyed upon hearing this and praised, "Sir, you truly possess the talent of Zhuge Liang!"
Like a diligent and inquisitive primary school student, Guo Yaoshi continued, asking, "How can we make the Song emperor believe that Li Gang wields too much power?"
Liu Yanzong shook his head, as if to say that you are hopelessly stupid. He continued, "In my early years, I had a past relationship with Geng Nanzhong, the Junior Tutor to the Crown Prince of Song. Today, he has been appointed as a member of the Secretariat and is in charge of the Council of State Affairs."
Wanyan Zongwang said, "Then I'll have to trouble you, sir."
"It is my honor to serve the Commander-in-Chief."
Seeing Liu Yanzong successfully show off, Guo Yaoshi was extremely displeased. If anyone deserved the greatest credit, it should be Guo Yaoshi. It was because he led Wanyan Zongwang south that they were able to reach Bianjing so quickly. It was also because he was familiar with the situation in the Song Dynasty that the Jin army was able to advance so swiftly.
On the tenth day of the siege of Bianjing (Kaifeng), the Jin army finally retreated and camped a few dozen miles away from the city.
As night fell and light snow fell, this was the residence of Geng Nanzhong, the current prime minister. Geng Nanzhong had once been Zhao Huan's teacher, so in addition to his position as the Vice Minister of the Chancellery, he also held another, even more prestigious, title: Imperial Tutor.
That night, a guest came to Geng Nanzhong's residence. This person was none other than Liu Yanzong.
Geng Nanzhong dismissed his attendants and led Liu Yanzong into the room.
While brewing tea, Geng Nanzhong said, "Brother Lu Kai, it's been a long time."
"Lord Geng, to be honest, I am here today on the orders of Commander Wanyan Zongwang to have a private talk with you."
Geng Nanzhong was slightly startled, so much so that he almost knocked over the teapot. However, Liu Yanzong could tell that this guy was acting. As soon as he stepped into the gate of his mansion, he knew his purpose.
"Brother Lu Kai, we are friends of the highest order. Now that our armies are at war, we must not damage our friendship."
Geng Nanzhong's words were also very simple: We are friends, but since you are here today, we will only talk about friendship, not national affairs, otherwise it will damage our friendship.
Liu Yanzong cursed inwardly, "I don't believe your nonsense! You know perfectly well why I'm here, but you keep pretending!"
Although he was dissatisfied, his face was full of smiles: "Lord Geng, we both hold important positions and are no longer as carefree as we used to be. I have come here to discuss something important. This matter concerns the lives of millions of people in the capital. Does Lord Geng intend to sit idly by?"
Geng Nanzhong feigned great surprise: "Please tell me quickly, Brother Lu Kai."
Liu Yanzong couldn't help but despise Geng Nanzhong. These gentlemen from the South were utterly hypocritical. They clearly wanted to negotiate and make peace, but they refused to say so themselves. They insisted on finding an excuse to save the people before they would put on a savior's face and talk to him.
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
