Chapter 369: Will
On September 18th, the ninth year of Jianyan, it was only eighteen days before Emperor Zhao left Tokyo City again. In the evening of that day, in the Wushan camp in Yanggu County, Dongping Prefecture, Emperor Zhao sat in the first seat, with Lu Yihao and Wang Yan sitting on his left and right, respectively. Below him were countless civil officials, military generals, and attendants, but everyone was solemn and the whole hall was silent.
Everyone was waiting for news from Yue Fei.
Yue Fei did not let these people wait for long. Around sunset, the commander-in-chief of the imperial camp's front army walked directly into the hall and bowed to report.
"So, it is true?" Halfway through listening, Lu Yihao couldn't help but stand up and ask.
"It can't be said to be true," Yue Fei narrowed his eyes, but still maintained a serious attitude. "It's just that the news of the death of the Third Prince of the Jin Kingdom, the King of Jin, Wanyan Erliduo, has spread across the other side of the river. From Damingfu to Liaocheng, everyone in the countryside and the market knows about it. They all say that he had an acute carbuncle and died in Qinghe after two or three days of suffering."
"Are you saying that it is possible that Erlido is faking his death?" Lu Yihao asked without delay, his words full of sarcasm.
"Ridiculous." Wang Yan also stood up and rebuked Yue Fei. "How can one of the ruling kings of a vast country and a commander on the front line fake his death? Why is it necessary? It's simply not worth it."
"That's right." Yue Fei was not annoyed at all, but responded calmly. "I also think that although it is difficult to tell the truth at the moment, there is no need for this person to fake his death. Moreover, in terms of the overall situation, even if he faked his death, it is no different from a real death."
Wang Yan was stunned for a moment. Lu Yihao, who was about to turn around and say something to Emperor Zhao, suddenly turned back to look at Yue Fei, and then seemed to be thinking about something.
But when Prime Minister Lu withdrew his gaze from Yue Fei and looked at Emperor Zhao, the latter was obviously caught off guard.
Moreover, I believe that the people present, not only Zhao Jiu, Lu Yihao, Wang Yan, and Yue Fei, most of them have actually believed the words of the son of the Liaocheng magistrate... This is not only because the founding generals and famous kings of the Jurchens have been dying non-stop in recent years, but more importantly, as Wang Yan said, Erlido has a special identity. He is one of the three ruling kings of the Great Jin Kingdom and the temporary commander-in-chief of the Jin army on the front line. It is ridiculous for such a person to fake his death for a little conspiracy, and it is not worth the loss!
This is a national war!
It was a national war involving hundreds of thousands of people against hundreds of thousands of people and a battle line thousands of miles long. How crazy would the Jurchens have to be to allow their own ruling king to publicly fake his death?
Why doesn't it pretend to surrender across the country?
However, Yue Fei's meaning went a step further. He simply pointed out that even if such a person faked his death, it was a public fake death, and the news of the fake death would cause serious political and military turmoil, and then give the Song army an opportunity to take advantage.
Yue Pengju was hinting... or telling Emperor Zhao explicitly not to waste the opportunity to fight!
Therefore, Zhao Jiu took several breaths to calm down, and then his eyes swept over the three senior officials in the hall who really had the power to speak.
"His Majesty."
Seeing this, Lu Yihao did not hesitate and directly bowed his hands in response. "When Taizu conquered the world in the past, he had only 100,000 elite soldiers. In the first 20 years, although the Jurchens suddenly rose up and established 20,000 households, they were rampant and caused the Jingkang disaster, but after Jianyan, the government worked hard to govern the country and also raised 300,000 troops in the imperial camp... With 300,000 soldiers, what can't be done? Moreover, the generals of the imperial camp, Han Shizhong, Li Yanxian, Yue Fei, Wang Yan, Zhang Jun, Zhang Rong, Wu Jie, Qu Duan, Wang De, Li Qiong, and Li Bao, have all been petitioning for war since last month. Now, the famous king in the north has been punished by heaven. As the saying goes, the soldiers are well-trained and the food is sufficient, and the people are willing to fight. If you don't take this heaven-given opportunity, you will regret it. I hope the government will make a wise decision early and decide to go north without hesitation."
This was the prime minister who came forward and publicly proposed a formal Northern Expedition, but Zhao Jiu remained silent and looked at Wang Yan again.
Wang Yan understood and immediately stood up and walked behind Lu Yihao, bowing and answering: "Your Majesty, the Imperial Camp, the Privy Council, and the Martial Arts School have already made various plans, so we have also prepared for the march at this time. Moreover, fundamentally, the Yellow River has not yet reached the dry season and the ice age has not yet arrived, so there is actually no major military threat. Even if there is, it is not as good as this God-given opportunity. Your Majesty... According to the regulations, the third and fourth princes of the Jin Kingdom are clearly in charge of Hedong and Hebei respectively. Now that Erliduo died in Qinghe, we may know the news as quickly as Yanjing, and take advantage of this opportunity to march. Although only one person died, it is enough to unbalance the Jurchens' east-west strategy! Don't hesitate!"
"So, I will still go to Shaanxi and Luoyang according to the original plan, command all the routes from Guanxi to go out of Hedong, and lead the front army and the right army of the imperial camp to go out of Damingfu?" Zhao Jiu directly spoke out the military secret that was not a secret.
"Yes." Wang Yan said firmly.
Zhao Jiu felt dry in the mouth and looked at Yue Fei again. It was obvious that he still needed a military reassurance, or a basis for military judgment.
Yue Fei narrowed his eyes and took the initiative to stand behind Lu Yihao, but he also bowed and said: "Don't worry, Your Majesty, I have a plan that can test whether the Third Prince of the Jin Kingdom is really dead or fake, or to test whether Hebei is shaken and panicked."
"What do you mean?" Zhao Jiu perked up.
"Send two commanders to lead 5,000 soldiers across the river, and attack Liaocheng according to the intention of the Liaocheng County Magistrate. Judging from the current situation, no matter whether the Third Prince is really dead or not, we will be able to succeed quickly." Yue Fei was not in a hurry. "After taking Liaocheng, we will delay the advance of troops and just lead the army to stay in Henan to see how Daming Prefecture reacts. If Daming Prefecture reacts quickly and immediately sends the elite troops of the Jin Kingdom to quickly encircle Liaocheng, the emperor should not hesitate and immediately allow me to send the front army of the imperial camp, the right army, and the navy to Hebei. If Daming Prefecture is caught off guard and the support is slow and chaotic, then there may be a reason for this matter, and the emperor may be able to slow down the advance."
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It’s even more exciting later!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
