Chapter 245 Self-disturbance
The autumn leaves have not yet fallen, and the war has not yet begun.
In the late summer and early autumn of the fourth year of Jianyan, the war between Song and Jin came to an end. As Yue Fei's imperial army escorted a large number of Hebei refugees across the river to Henan, the battle lines of both sides returned to their pre-war positions.
Not only that, as the two armies returned to their respective safe zones, almost at the same time, the Song and Jin sides immediately began to reduce the pressure on each other in an orderly manner on the border.
A large number of field troops withdrew in an orderly manner from the front line, auxiliary troops and civilian laborers were disbanded, and both sides tacitly retained only some garrisons in key locations for surveillance and necessary precautions.
The same thing happened in the rear, where military troops were stationed and civil officials began to take control of the local areas again.
The reason for such tacit understanding is, firstly, that in the just-concluded battle, both sides were inevitably injured, and both sides had a lot of internal problems and troubles to deal with, so they didn't want to waste each other's energy; secondly, after this battle, almost all knowledgeable people realized that the strategic balance between the two sides was officially reversed, and for a period of time, the two countries would not be able to cause a fatal blow to each other... The Jin army had no ability to destroy the Zhao Song or seize large tracts of Zhao Song territory, and the Zhao Song was unlikely to be beaten for the past five or six years and then suddenly turn from defense to offense... The strategic confrontation between the Song and Jin countries across the Yellow River, which had been clamored for for a long time, ended here and was officially formed.
In this case, only Zhang Rong's Imperial Camp Navy was granted the right to "move freely". As for the rest of the places, it was not that they could not engage in large-scale friction, but that it was unnecessary.
What's more, as the old saying goes, things have their priorities, or in other words, one must first stabilize the country before fighting against foreign aggressors. With the achievement of strategic balance, the priority of some things has finally been adjusted.
It is the hottest month of July and we have clearly entered autumn, but the heat is still as intense as before.
On this day, a team consisting of donkey carts and mules arrived at the abandoned city of Luoyang, and then went straight to the ruins of the old palace in the abandoned city... In the garrison living area built against the city, many soldiers and their families had long been accustomed to this, because these days, anyone going from Tokyo to Kansai, or from Kansai to Tokyo, as long as they were an official, whether civil or military, or even scholars and passing merchants, had to go to the place where Prime Minister Wang died for his country, and then burn incense and write poems.
And since this man could gather so many donkey carts and mules, as well as attendants and entourage at this time, it was obvious at first glance that he was a serious civil servant, so he would definitely not miss this trip.
Of course, these people are ignorant, because unlike those passers-by who come here to join in the fun and save face because of Mr. Wang's reputation, the Wanqi Censor who is passing by here today is not a sham, he and Mr. Wang are real colleagues, and Mr. Wang can even be called his "benefactor"... After being appointed as an official in the Nanyang Palace that day, Wanqi Yuanzhong has been working in the Privy Council and is a direct subordinate of Wang Zhongmu.
Therefore, when passing through Luoyang this time, although Wanqi Xie was extremely tired and the journey was urgent, he still had to go to the ruins of the old palace in the abandoned capital to offer incense and candles and pay homage to Prime Minister Wang.
However, after shedding a few lines of tears, it stands to reason that Wanqi Yushi should have followed the example of the scholars and officials and written a mourning poem on the broken eaves and walls that had just been painted. But for some reason, he picked up his pen and dipped it in ink, but he got nothing. Instead, he suddenly remembered the "Ruins" that Emperor Zhao had written for Luoyang in the past. As the saying goes, "Ten thousand palaces have turned to dust. When the country prospers, the people suffer; when the country perishes, the people suffer"... In the end, he could only put down his pen and leave with tears in his eyes.
Not only that, after leaving the abandoned city of Luoyang, Wanqi Xie continued to travel westward, taking the ancient road of Xiaomian, passing Shanzhou, entering Tongguan, and traveling westward along the Wei River without stopping, but he was always depressed, and this depression made him feel unbearable.
Moreover, Wanqi Yuanzhong was such an insightful person that he could see his own thoughts clearly: the so-called depression was caused by what he saw and heard before and after the battle. First, he crossed the river with the vanguard of the imperial camp and saw the "thousands of deserted villages" in Hebei. After returning, he heard about the Prime Minister's behavior. After the sacrifice, he was naturally depressed; and the unbearable thing was that he was always annoyed that he could not get out of this mood.
You have to know that Wanqi Xie wasted his middle age and gradually got his official position by speculating in Nanyang. He just wanted to be a good official and a high-ranking official. He didn't care about his reputation before and after his death. This doesn't mean that he can't have such a depressed mood. After all, people are not plants and trees. But the problem is that, for some reason, time and time again, the higher the official, the easier it is for this kind of meaningless emotion to appear. This time, it was even more obvious.
Only then did I feel unbearable.
Of course, what kind of person is Wanqi Yuanzhong? He felt bad in his heart, but never showed it on his face. That evening, when he arrived at the posthouse outside Linwei City, he heard that someone was visiting. He knew that he was going west to see the emperor to do something big, so he immediately put on an attitude of keeping strangers away:
"No matter who you are, tell the people outside that I am the Imperial Censor, a member of the imperial court, and a close official of the government. I have not had any private contact with anyone before I came to see the emperor on this journey to the west..."
Upon hearing this, the attendant, who was a retired soldier from the front army of the imperial camp, naturally went out to report it properly.
However, after a moment, the servant turned back again.
"The man claims to be from northern Shaanxi?" Wan Qixie hesitated for a moment. "A civil official or a military commander?"
"He didn't bring any attendants. He looked like he was dressed like a civil servant, but he had a strong build and rode a very powerful horse. He spoke in a weird tone..." The attendant who had followed Wanqi Xie only after the battle told everything, as if he didn't recognize the man.
Before he could finish his words, Wanqi Yuanzhong simply laughed and went out to greet him in person.
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