Zhang Shixun had no soldiers and could only hide in Zhang Xiaozhuang to protect himself.
He originally expected that the Jin soldiers would take retaliatory actions, but he did not expect that there would be no movement for several days.
In fact, Jiemu suffered a big loss in Zhang Xiaozhuang and fled back to the Jin camp in a panic. She told Wuliebu the whole story in detail.
After she finished speaking, Jiemu wiped the sweat off her face and said, "Nianhan, Zhang Tianshi is indeed as powerful as the legend says. Don't mess with him."
Wuli looked at him in surprise.
Jiemu was a fearless man known for his bravery in the Jin Dynasty. How could he be so scared after just a trip to Zhang Xiaozhuang?
However, this is exactly what Walibu wants.
The main target of this attack on the Song Dynasty is Tokyo City. There is no need to get angry with a small figure.
It would be best if we could capture Tokyo, but if we can’t, we must make the Song Dynasty bleed a little.
Since crossing the Yellow River, the Song Dynasty court sent envoys to the Jin camp to negotiate peace.
Wuliebushi made a huge demand, demanding that the Song Dynasty pay 5 million taels of gold, 50 million taels of silver, 10,000 cattle and horses, and 1 million pieces of silk. He also asked Jin to be his uncle, take the prime minister and the prince as hostages, return the people of Yan and Yun within the territory of the Song Dynasty, and cede the three towns of Zhongshan, Taiyuan, and Hejian.
Emperor Zhao Huan was as timid as a mouse and agreed without hesitation.
Wulibu sighed, saying that the southerners were really cowardly.
Once the Song people send the gold and silver and sign the agreement, we can withdraw our troops.
The Jin soldiers are running out of food and supplies and cannot hold out for much longer.
The most serious situation was that the Song Dynasty’s troops from all directions arrived one after another to support the king, and the Western Army led by Zhong Shidao and Yao Pingzhong was about to arrive.
If the delay continues, it will be extremely disadvantageous to the Jin army and even dangerous.
At this critical juncture, we must intensify the siege on the city, put more pressure on the Emperor of Song, and force him to send out the silver as soon as possible.
Wuli didn't know that he was alone and deep in the enemy's territory with less than 100,000 soldiers. The capital city was 80 miles around and the city walls were dozens of feet high. How could he besiege the city with such a small number of soldiers?
Over the past few days, he has been organizing his forces to intensify attacks on the western and northern corners of Tokyo, leaving the south unattended.
There are too few troops.
On the 20th, the Jingnan Army Jiedushi Zhong Shidao and Chengxuanshi Yao Pingzhong led 100,000 Western troops to the capital.
By this time, the Song army had surpassed the Jin army in strength.
Wuliebu withdrew his camp to Mengyang in the northwest corner of Kaifeng.
In the capital, Li Bangyan, the pro-peace faction, issued an imperial decree from the Prime Minister: "The Jin people have reached an agreement on peace. Anyone who dares to talk about war will be killed."
The tone was extremely harsh. Anyone who dared to talk about fighting would have their entire family killed.
Furious, Zhong Shidao went to the palace to confront Emperor Zhao Huan and offered his advice, "Your Majesty, I believe that peace negotiations are absolutely impossible. The Three Garrisons must not be ceded. Furthermore, the capital has ample food reserves and will be able to sustain it for several years. We only need to hold our fortified city and continue to wait for the reinforcements. It won't be long before the Jin army collapses."
In order to get some information, Zhong Shidao sent his men out of the city to capture three Jin soldiers.
After interrogation, the three Jin soldiers were beheaded. Zhong Shidao ordered his men to cut open the Jin soldiers' stomachs and found only black beans in their stomachs.
Zong Shidao announced to the troops that the Jin soldiers had little food, and that they should wait for them to withdraw, and then the troops from all the routes that came to support the king could join forces and fight a decisive battle with the Jin army to destroy it.
Li Gang also offered advice to Song Qinzong: wait until the Jin army runs out of food and is exhausted, let them return north, and then attack them when they are halfway across the river. This is a sure way to win.
Zhao Huan's confidence increased greatly.
But he did not want to follow the strategy of Zhong Shidao and Li Gang, but wanted to fight the Jin people himself.
From one extreme to another.
He summoned Yao Pingzhong into the palace and gave him instructions in person.
Yao Pingzhong came from another military family and was a prominent family in Hedong, just like the Zhong family.
This time when he went to Beijing to defend the king, he was worried that the credit for the victory would go to Zong Shidao alone, so he strongly advocated a quick victory.
Zhao Huan and Yao Pingzhong discussed the matter for a whole morning, and finally ordered him to lead 10,000 infantry and cavalry to attack the Jin camp.
In order to make this sneak attack successful, Zhao Huan began a mysterious operation.
He found a "virtuous and noble man" from somewhere, selected the date for the expedition, and erected three large flags in Kaibao Temple with four big characters "Reporting Victory to the Emperor" written on them.
After finishing what he had to do, Yao Pingzhong led 7,000 elite troops that night to "sneak attack" the Jin army's Moutuogang camp.
He realized he had fallen into a trap when he broke into the empty camp, but it was too late. The Jin army surrounded the Song army and defeated it.
Yao Pingzhong escaped by chance, but he was afraid that the court would chop off his head, so he did not dare to return to Tokyo City and ran away on a black mule.
It is said that he traveled 750 miles day and night without eating or drinking, and only ate and rested when he reached Dengzhou. Then he continued to escape and eventually came to Wanyuan, Sichuan, where he lived in seclusion in a place where few outstanding people were found.
When the news of the Song army's failed raid on the camp reached the city, the peace faction once again clamored for peace.
Zhao Huan made a bad move, but he used Li Gang and Zhong Shidao as scapegoats, put the blame for the defeat on them, and dismissed them from their posts.
The peace faction even wanted to tie Li Gang and others up and send them to the Jin camp to appease the anger of the Jin people.
Unexpectedly, this series of actions angered a group of people.
Angry young people including Taixue student Chen Dong led the other Taixue students to submit a petition to the imperial court, denouncing the peace faction.
Tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians in the city sought justice for Li Gang and Zhong Shidao. They protested outside the palace gate and beat to death more than 30 eunuchs.
Emperor Zhao Huan panicked and quickly reinstated Li and Zhong.
The common people strongly demanded to see Zong Shidao before they would leave.
In order to stabilize the people's hearts, Zhao Huan had to let Zhong Shidao drive into the city and show up in public. Only then did the patriotic petition movement gradually subside.
Zhang Shixun and Wang Dong kept a close eye on the developments in the capital.
The two sat in Wang Dong's living room, drinking tea and chatting.
"Shixun, do you know? Chen Dong, the one who started the riot, is Chen Erniang's younger brother."
"Which Chen Erniang?"
"Chen Erniang, the one who sells suao bing (snail cakes)." Wang Dong said proudly, "That's my future brother-in-law."
"Oh my god! This world is so small. Chen Dong is actually her younger brother. I can't believe it." Zhang Shixun was very surprised.
"He also wrote to the emperor, requesting the execution of the six thieves."
Wang Dong said as he handed over a piece of paper.
Zhang Shixun took it and saw the inscription: "...Today's events are the product of Cai Jing's chaos in the front, Liang Shicheng's plot in the back, Li Yan's enmity with the northwest, Zhu Jie's enmity with the southeast, and Wang Fu and Tong Guan's enmity with the Liao and Jin, thus creating border conflicts. It is appropriate to execute the six thieves and send their heads to all directions as a token of our gratitude to the world."
Zhang Shixun smiled and said, "These guys are not far from death."
"It's called 'you reap what you sow.' If you do too much evil, there will definitely be retribution."
Wang Dong sighed as he spoke, "We two traveled to the Song Dynasty and caused such a big commotion, but there was no historical process. What was supposed to happen still happened. It seems that the so-called butterfly effect is all nonsense."
Zhang Shixun said, "Don't jump to conclusions. I firmly believe that the course of history will definitely change. It's just that the time has not yet come."
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