At this point, Emperor Zhao and his dragon banner had already entered the military camp and the gate, and Li Qiong took the opportunity to loosen the reins. When Zhao Jiu arrived here, he turned over and dismounted, but he was not in a hurry to go to the spacious central army tent that had been prepared long ago. Instead, he led his men directly to the rammed earth platform in front of the central army tent.
The view here is wide and the surroundings are clear at a glance. Zhao Jiu looked around without saying a word. Not to mention that the Hedong Salt Lake, which can almost be called a natural wonder, looks even more magnificent in the afternoon sun, even the movements in Anyi City seem to be clearer... Although the specific figures cannot be seen clearly, there is no doubt that the arrival of the dragon banner and tens of thousands of main forces of the imperial camp still shook this city that was originally just enduring. On the city wall facing the south side towards the central army camp, many figures swayed for a while.
Emperor Zhao glanced at the city wall and gestured with his hand. Yang Yizhong immediately handed over a long silver tube-shaped object, which was the so-called traditional weapon of time travelers... a telescope polished with crystal.
But the funny thing is that Zhao Jiu, the shame of being a time traveler, didn't come up with this thing until seven or eight years after he traveled through time.
Moreover, because this thing has obvious military uses and is far less shocking than a hot air balloon, it can be used as an original specimen, so it has never been made public. If you count carefully, it has only been given to a group of generals and dozens of outstanding commanders, each of whom has one.
Coming back to the present, Zhao Jiu raised the telescope and glanced at the movements on the city wall. Then he felt a little bored, but changed direction and roughly glanced around the camp... from the hot air balloon used for reconnaissance hanging high in the sky, to the dozens of half-built artillery carts in the civilian camp in the rear, and then he couldn't help but frowned slightly.
Finally, I couldn't help but go to see the beautiful salt pond - the weather has turned cold in the past few days, and the salt pond has seen a unique winter landscape, namely the nitrate rime phenomenon.
However, this saltpeter is Glauber's salt and cannot be used to make gunpowder.
Emperor Zhao behaved a little strangely. Except for Wang De and Zhang Jing, the veteran generals and warriors around him, including Lu Yihao, were too lazy to think about these things, but the others who were a little attentive could probably guess what the emperor was thinking... Just think about it, he was so relaxed before entering the military camp, but he became so uncomfortable after Li Qiong finished telling the story of this guarding official. It must be because of the person Li Qiong mentioned.
Even Li Qiong gradually realized something and began to feel uneasy.
"His Majesty."
Lu Yihao was a little tired from riding for days and didn't want to say much, but seeing the attitude of Emperor Zhao, as the prime minister, he couldn't help but express his opinion. "This Shi Gao is just a traitor who deceives the world and steals the name... Why bother?"
"Yeah?"
Zhao Jiu finally put away the telescope and turned to face him calmly. "How do you see that?"
"Just look at the two things that made him famous." Lu Yihao sneered and waved his sleeves. "He persuaded the Jurchens not to sell the people into slavery, and burned the list to prevent the Jurchens from implicating them. It seems like he was doing good deeds, but in fact, these good deeds were just to make up for the evil of the Jurchens. Could it change the basic evil of the Jurchens? Did it change the fact that he possessed the Jurchens and was a great evil? Now, he uses the reputation he gained by doing good in evil to deceive the people into defending the evil Jurchens... What kind of true Confucian scholar is he? He is just a corrupt Confucian and a traitor who helps the tyrant for his own fame!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the surrounding civil and military officials echoed them, and Li Qiong also came to his senses and quickly denounced them.
After handing the telescope to Yang Yizhong, Zhao Jiu nodded repeatedly:
"What Prime Minister Lu said hits the nail on the head... In the past ten years, there have been great disasters, including the tax dispute in the south, the displacement of the remnants in the north, the wars and disputes in the court, and the tragedy of the rebel army swarming up at the beginning, but then turning around to riot and plunder... No matter how much our own people make trouble, they can't blame it on the invasion of the Jurchens. This is why I have been on the throne for nine years, and I have always been concerned about the two words of resisting the Jin Dynasty... I have allowed those people to look down on me, deceive me, and even become arrogant, greedy, and lustful, appointing people based on personal connections, forming cliques, being ambitious but incompetent, and stubborn... But as long as they are willing to resist the Jin Dynasty, I will regard them as useful people! Because I have determined from the beginning that the fundamental contradiction in this world, at least the fundamental contradiction since the Jingkang period to the present, is the war between the Song and Jin Dynasties! Everything else must give way!"
The close ministers around Emperor Zhao had long been aware of the reasoning and attitude. In fact, if they were not clear and did not agree with it, they would not have been able to get the positions of important ministers and close ministers in front of the emperor... Listening to it now, it seemed a bit long-winded. It was the words that Emperor Zhao blurted out and the slightly resentful emotions that made them think.
In sharp contrast to this are the "Top 100" public pavilions in the southeast that accompanied them.
These people left the southeast and went north in person. They first saw the clear traces of war in the Central Plains, and then saw the people of the Central Plains mobilized in a militarized manner to fight in large numbers. Then they followed Emperor Zhao across the river to see the scenery of the two rivers. After hearing these deeds and words, they felt refreshed and shocked.
"However." After Zhao Jiu set the tone, he still shook his head. "Besides these words, there are still some reasons... For example, in Anyi City, don't the people know that the Jurchens are the worst? But why are they still willing to respect this governor and follow him to resist the king's army? I can't say that the people are ignorant."
"Please give me some advice, Your Majesty." Lu Yihao frowned slightly.
"I don't need your advice. It's not a big deal." Zhao Jiu sighed. "It's nothing more than that when the Jurchens wanted to sell them as slaves and punish them collectively, we, the royal army, were nowhere to be seen, and Shi Gao, a man who was good in an evil way, was their only support when they were struggling to survive... We can blame Shi Gao, and we can also deal with the soldiers and civilians defending the city according to military law, but it is impossible to be so open... If it weren't for the morale of the Northern Expedition, in fact, I should have issued a self-blame edict first."
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