Yao Pingzhong said, "The Emperor is wise. Wanyan Zonghan's proposal to negotiate peace shows that he has begun to fear. Our army can take advantage of the victory and catch the Jin invaders off guard!"
Zhao Huan said, "Minister Yao's courage is commendable, and I am very pleased. What about the others?"
Zhao Huan looked around and suddenly remembered someone, so he said, "Zhong Qing, send someone to summon Han Shizhong."
"yes!"
Zhong Shidao sent someone to summon Han Shizhong. At yesterday's ceremony to reward the three armies, Han Shizhong was personally granted the title of Marquis of Yongwu by the emperor. This made Yao Pingzhong very unhappy. In Yao Pingzhong's eyes, Han Shizhong was of lowly birth and was just a subordinate general. If it weren't for Zhong Shidao's promotion, he would have had no chance to protect the emperor, let alone have the title of Marquis of Yongwu.
Yao Pingzhong was filled with jealousy and resentment. Zhong Shidao was clearly trying to support someone to oppose their Yao family army!
Zhe Keqiu, standing to the side, was also secretly displeased. These people all came from military families and naturally disdained to be ranked alongside Han Shizhong, who came from humble origins.
However, Zhao Huan did not think so. Han Shizhong was a famous general in later historical records. Although the historical records criticized his character, Zhao Huan did not care. From the perspective of the emperor, no matter how messy Han Shizhong's private life was, as long as he was loyal to the emperor and protected the country, that was enough.
Does the emperor really concern himself with other people's personal lives?
"This humble servant pays his respects to the Emperor!"
"Marquis Yongwu, you may rise." Zhao Huan said, "Marquis Yongwu, I and the other commanders are discussing a matter. Wanyan Zonghan has sent a letter of peace. I remember that you have been fighting the Jin army here the longest and know them best. What is your opinion on this matter?"
"Your Majesty, I have fought against the Jin invaders several times and know that they are determined to destroy our Great Song Dynasty. They will never truly negotiate peace with us. I dare to guess that any peace talks are either a delaying tactic by the Jin invaders or a way to lull our army into a false sense of security!"
Yao Pingzhong scoffed, "So what the Marquis of Valor means is that we should continue to fight the Jin invaders to the death? The Marquis of Valor is unaware of our army's casualties in this battle, which is why he speaks with such righteous indignation! That's right, the Marquis of Valor is the bravest in the army, he even managed to capture Wanyan Loushi alive!"
Zhao Huan watched the show from the sidelines, thinking to himself: It seems that in the Song Dynasty, not only are the civil officials acting impulsively and attacking each other regardless of right or wrong, but the military generals are also like this. Just now, Yao Pingzhong said that he would kill the Jin bandits without leaving a single piece of armor, but now he has turned around and started picking on Han Shizhong.
It is clear that Yao Pingzhong's words are no longer his personal opinion, but rather a direct attack on Han Shizhong.
Zhong Shidao quickly stepped in to smooth things over: "Xiyan, Liangchen is right. The Jin bandits are greedy. If a war could change their minds, Wanyan Zongwang wouldn't have risked his isolated army to besiege Bianjing. I also believe that Wanyan Zonghan's move is just to lull us into a false sense of security, while he may be transferring troops to Huanglong Prefecture in preparation for a larger-scale war!"
Since Zhong Shidao had spoken, even if Yao Pingzhong disliked Han Shizhong, he didn't dare to argue back. After all, Zhong Shidao was the Pacification Commissioner of the Two Rivers and the Commander-in-Chief of the Three Armies!
Zhao Huan asked, "Minister Yao, Minister Zhe, what do you think?"
Yao Gu is a veteran and the pillar of the Yao family. Among those present, only Zhong Shidao has more war experience than him.
After Yao Gu apologized to the emperor and was forgiven last time, he knew that the emperor was indeed a wise and virtuous ruler. His son, Yao Pingzhong, was still too impulsive and showed no restraint in front of the emperor. Fortunately, the emperor was broad-minded.
Since the emperor is a holy emperor, he naturally has to speak the truth, rather than speaking out of anger. He said, "Your Majesty, we can talk to the Jin invaders first. At the same time, our army should continue to repair its weapons and prepare for war at any time!"
Zhe Keqiu replied, “Your Majesty, I believe there is no need to discuss this. Let us fight to the death! All the brave men of the Northwest will be shattered to pieces for Your Majesty!”
Yao Gu cursed inwardly, "Zhe Keqiu, do you think you'd die if you didn't flatter me now? Do you have to force everyone to flatter me? Be careful, you'll be scared when I start flattering you!"
After listening to the words of the commanders, Zhao Huan pretended to ponder for a moment. He was fairly satisfied with their attitude, finding them much more reliable than the civil officials. If it were a group of civil officials, they would have jumped for joy upon hearing that Wanyan Zonghan wanted to negotiate peace.
Although all the generals expressed their willingness to fight, Zhao Huan was still uneasy. What if they couldn't resist the temptation and wavered?
Zhao Huan decided to make his own statement, his tone becoming stern: "I have already executed the peace envoy. I want to tell Wanyan Zonghan that there is no room for peace talks, and none of you should have any thoughts of peace in your hearts, not even the slightest. Otherwise, the morale of the army will waver, and how will we fight Wanyan Zonghan in the future!"
He looked around and said, "Since Emperor Taizong, I have known that the status of military men in the Great Song Dynasty is very low. This time, I did not bring a single civil official with me on this expedition because I did not want to see their faces praising peace negotiations all day long! Your status is low, and I am here to elevate you! But you must also show me the fighting spirit of the Great Song Dynasty! Peace is not achieved through negotiations! Wolves will not negotiate with sheep! I will use the sword in my hand to drive the Jin invaders out of the territory of the Great Song Dynasty!"
The generals hurriedly replied, "Your Majesty is wise! We are willing to die ten thousand deaths for Your Majesty!"
Although Zhao Huan's words sounded eloquent, he was actually calculating in his heart. It was certain that the status of military generals should be elevated, but they should not be suppressed by civil officials. The best situation was for the two to check and balance each other. The reason why he spoke so grandly was, of course, to these military generals, to show them that the emperor valued them the most.
However, it is true that there were indeed strategists among the Jin army. After Wanyan Xiyin's move, if Zhao Huan had not rallied the generals and unified their thinking, the commanders of the Song army might have really started arguing.
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