Chapter 422 Security
Emperor Zhao kept his word. After Li Qiong, Wu Lin and others retreated with the captives and part of the troops, and Li Yanxian returned to Taiyuan, the emperor started the procession and the accompanying troops down the Hutuo River to Hejian Prefecture.
Along the way, he went to Dingzhou, Qizhou, and Shenzhou, pacified the local areas, inspected spring ploughing, buried corpses, and appointed and dismissed officials.
It was during this process of Emperor Zhao's eastward advance that, as the captives moved south one after another, a large number of troops withdrew, and at the same time Yue Fei's troops advanced to the old Song-Liao border. The impact of this war finally broke out without any hindrance.
The most obvious feedback to Zhao Jiu was that he received a constant stream of congratulatory messages along the way.
"One battle will destroy the enemy and bring peace to the universe!"
These are the words spoken by Mao Shuo, the newly surrendered governor of Dingzhou, when he paid a visit to the emperor. His desire for progress is fully displayed through these two words, "universe."
"To slaughter millions of people in a short time is a great pleasure that has never been seen before in the history."
This is a sentence from a memorial submitted by a famous scholar from Qizhou. It is the original text of the scholar Su Shi's evaluation of the Battle of Kunyang. It not only quotes from classics, but also secretly compares Emperor Zhao to Emperor Guangwu as a model for the restoration of the country. It can be said to be of excellent standard.
However, Zhao Jiu was really uneducated and, among the seven or eight people who reviewed the article, only he and Han Shizhong did not know that this sentence was a double allusion. As a result, not only did he fail to appreciate the deep meaning of the other person, he also pointed out very clearly that only 30,000 to 40,000 people were killed and 70,000 to 80,000 were captured in the Battle of Huolu. It was obvious that he wanted to maintain his image of being pragmatic.
However, Wanqi Xie probably understood Emperor Zhao's character, so the memorial he received when he arrived in Hejian seemed somewhat plain and simple, and Zhao Jiu particularly liked one sentence in it.
As the saying goes:
"In the Battle of Huolu, our emperor's power shook the world, and the cause of the revival of the country was set from then on!"
Of course, these things, as well as the gratitude expressed by Tian Shizhong, the Prince of Fengxiang, could not cover up the increasingly awkward and uneasy attitude of Emperor Zhao... The reason was simple. Zhao Jiu had been on the road, and everything was in place in the rear. The people, especially the big cities in the Central Plains and the south, gradually put aside their doubts and were quite encouraged. Cities of the level of Dongjing City were gradually boiling. But at the same time, Emperor Zhao's previous tricks had never appeared. In front of Yanjing, the Jin Kingdom was busy deploying defenses, and the garrison troops outside the Great Wall and the local conscripted troops were constantly gathering. There was panic, and even rebellion, but there was no feeling of collapse that was out of control.
Having no other choice, when he arrived at Hejian Prefecture, in order not to delay the military progress, Emperor Zhao had to abandon his so-called insightful personality and directly issued the order.
"In theory, I shouldn't interfere with your use of troops." Zhao Jiu pointed out to Han Shizhong. "But this time is really different... If the Jin army shows any flaws this time, you can certainly swallow up these new Jin troops, but there is no need to rush to attack Yanjing. And if the Jin army does not show any major flaws, although you have the right to deploy the troops of the two rivers north of Hejian, you should be more cautious, press from three sides, and take every step carefully... Yanjing will be taken sooner or later, but there is no rush... Do you understand what I mean?"
What's not to understand?
Encircle but do not attack, exert full pressure, coordinate with the official's backup plan to seize the outside of the Great Wall, wait for the enemy to be caught in a dilemma, and then collapse...The only serious problem is that after winning the battle, the arrogance in the army will inevitably become worse. In addition, there are a few senior generals like Wang Sheng who missed the opportunity to fight and the reward. He, the number one person in the army, needs to come out to strictly restrain them to avoid a reckless battle, so as to avoid a capsize in the ditch in the end.
Of course, in addition to this, it also means to fulfill the previous promise and give the honor of capturing Yanjing to the generals of Hedong headed by Han Liangchen.
Therefore, Han Shizhong did not say anything extra and just bowed and left.
After Han Shizhong left with the generals, Emperor Zhao continued to make assignments, but he officially established a presence in Hejian Prefecture, leaving Lu Yihao and Wu Jie in Hejian City to take over the civil and military affairs in the rear of the Hebei front line, and Tian Shizhong to lead the defense around Hejian. Then he actually took a few close ministers and half of his squad, plus the Minister of Works Hu Yin, and went to the Yellow River.
He arrived in Jingcheng on February 27 and met Prince of Lu Zhang Rong.
The king and his ministers had not seen each other for a long time, and the atmosphere during their conversation by the river was much more relaxed than before. However, even Zhang Rong was no exception. He felt uneasy and grateful about being crowned king, and it took Zhao Jiu a lot of effort to appease him.
Zhang Rong was not idle either. He was waiting here for Emperor Zhao. After meeting the emperor, he set out again the next day and urged the navy to continue downstream to advance to Cangzhou and participate in the attack on Yanjing.
Besides, it was ridiculous for Zhao Jiu to survey the hydrology of the Yellow River at this time. Even if the Yellow River needed to be repaired now, it would not be the turn of an outsider like him to survey it... The trip to Hejian was essentially to meet with the Hebei Front Army and then supervise the generals to advance to Yanjing.
Therefore, once Zhang Rong left, the official was completely free of trouble.
However, it may be because he had just met Zhang Rong that the official was extremely bored and suddenly remembered that he seemed to have delayed for a long time, so he actually started to type by the river.
"Excuse me...but why not "Water Margin"?"
On the last day of February, the spring breeze touched the heart of the people by the Yellow River. In the evening, Hu Yin, who came out from Jingcheng to welcome the emperor, took the manuscript handed over by Emperor Zhao from the table in front of the seat on the river bank. He felt a little strange after just one look. "Is "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons" also acceptable?"
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