The people on the city wall were still dumbfounded, but the guards below did not dare to stop them, watching in shock as the Imperial Guards rushed into the city.
"Behead 120,000! Behead 120,000!"
No one dared to block the Imperial Guards' path; people watched in awe as this person rushed in and ran through the street.
When they were almost at the Marshal's Mansion, the horse was exhausted and suddenly collapsed to the ground.
The people above were also injured, but he didn't care at all. He got up and ran towards the marshal's mansion.
The guards at the entrance of the Marshal's Mansion saw someone rushing over and were about to stop him, but when they saw that the person was dressed as a member of the Imperial Guard, they did not stop him and let him rush into the Marshal's Mansion.
Fan Zhixu was pondering how to end this war as soon as possible, or even if there was a way to severely damage Yelü Dashi, it would still force the Mongols to retreat.
But no matter how much I thought about it, I couldn't figure out how to do it in a short time.
Unless the Song Dynasty had figures like Wei Qing and Huo Qubing, even if Di Renjie were alive, he probably couldn't have accomplished it.
"120,000 have been beheaded at the front, and Yelü Dashi's main force has retreated back to the northern desert!"
A hoarse voice came; the voice arrived before the person.
Zhong Shidao and Fan Zhixu were slightly taken aback, and both looked outside.
But then the Imperial Guard rushed in, and because it was so fast, the surrounding guards instinctively surrounded him.
Fan Zhixu quickly went up and dismissed his attendants.
The Imperial Guard almost bumped into Fan Zhixu. He presented the battle report in his hand, but kept saying, "Reporting to Commander Zhong, the Wolf Killing Army has penetrated deep into the northern desert, defeated Yelü Dashi's 300,000-strong army, beheaded 120,000, and forced Yelü Dashi to retreat to a hundred miles north of Langjuxu Mountain in one battle!"
His words left everyone present speechless with shock.
Fan Zhixu, in particular, had just been thinking about how to make the enemy retreat quickly, but after thinking it over and over, he felt it was impossible.
But just as I finished thinking about it, the good news came, it came too suddenly.
So much so that he simply didn't believe it was true.
He stared wide-eyed at the person in front of him. Yes, it was Li Dong from the Imperial City Guard. Fan Zhixu knew this guy.
"What did you say?"
Fearing he had misheard, Fan Zhixu, trembling all over, stared wide-eyed at Li Dong in front of him: "Say it again!"
"Reporting to Commander Zhong, the Wolf Slayer Army has penetrated deep into the northern desert, crushed Yelü Dashi's 300,000-strong army, beheaded 120,000, and forced Yelü Dashi to retreat to a hundred miles north of Langjuxu Mountain in one battle!"
Fan Zhixu was so excited he almost jumped up: "Didn't the Wolf Killing Army head north to support Blackwater City?"
"For some unknown reason, they suddenly appeared in the northern desert twelve days ago!"
Fan Zhixu and Zhong Shidao exchanged a glance. Zhong Shidao looked very calm. He remained seated in the commander's chair, calmly drinking tea, and invited Fan Zhixu to sit down as well, and also invited Li Dong to sit down.
"The food crisis has been resolved," Zhong Shidao asked. "Where is the Wolf Slayer Army now?"
Li Dong replied, "We've already headed south and are currently encamped about ten miles north of Blackwater City!"
Fan Zhixu said, "That Zhang Cai actually has such courage; he is truly a blessing to our Great Song Dynasty!"
Master Zhong said, "I'm afraid it might be Zhang Cai's doing."
Fan Zhixu asked, "Does Commander Zhong perhaps think it is Yue Fei?"
Zhong Shidao nodded, his heart filled with even greater excitement. In this battle, Yue Fei would surely become famous once again, having helped the court officials escape a major predicament.
Fan Zhixu continued, "But Yue Fei is only a captain now, so why would Zhang listen to him?"
"Yue Fei was able to get the Wolf Killing Army to go north to provide support, which must have made Zhang Cai completely convinced."
After calming down and thinking for a moment, Fan Zhixu nodded in agreement, agreeing that Yue Fei indeed possessed such courage.
Zhong Shidao drank a few sips of tea, stood up, returned to his study, and intended to write a memorial to the emperor.
Fan Zhixu saw that Zhong Shidao's right hand was trembling uncontrollably, which showed how excited Zhong Shidao was after hearing the battle report.
On this day, the emperor sat in the court, with ministers lined up on both sides.
Li Gang stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the army's rations at the front are only enough for two months. We need to increase the rations as soon as possible!"
Zhou Chao hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, there is no more grain to be added. If we forcibly transfer more grain now, it will cause famine among the people!"
"Your Majesty, the soldiers on the front lines are fighting valiantly; they cannot afford to run out of food!"
"Your Majesty, the people are the foundation of the nation!"
Li Gang angrily said, "Prime Minister Zhou, if panic is caused on the front lines, can you bear the blame?"
Zhou Chao was equally defiant: "Lord Li, if this sparks uprisings in various places, are you prepared to bear the blame?"
Zhao Huan suddenly said, "Shut up, all of you!"
The court fell silent instantly.
"What about the grain supplies for Champa?"
Zhou Chao said, "Your Majesty, the grain supplies for Champa are being transported, and the first batch has arrived, but it is still not enough to attack the front lines."
"Then increase the number of grain transport ships, send all the ships over there, and bring all the grain from the Kowloon River Plain to me!"
"Your Majesty, it will take a full two months to transport grain from Champa to Hangzhou by sea!"
Seeing that the emperor's face had darkened to the point of being covered in gloom, Liu Yanzong stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I believe that we should suspend the monthly rations for all officials and use the funds to support the front lines!"
As soon as he said this, the faces of all the officials in the court changed.
Li Gang quickly replied, "I think it's feasible!"
feasible?
Peat is feasible!
The officials are going crazy. This month's grain rations were already halved during the royal family case, and now they're going to be completely stopped.
The officials, of course, couldn't stand it.
The monthly salary of Song Dynasty officials was the highest in all dynasties. Not only were monthly rations completely stopped, but even daily necessities such as silk, satin, charcoal, and wine were also cut off, yet the officials still lived very comfortably.
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