Zhao Jiu nodded and said, "Go ahead and call Yang Yizhong over. Remember, no matter what I say later, you must not say a word."
Liu Yan was confused, but still followed the order.
Soon, Yang Yizhong, who had just worked hard to call back someone, came in. Before he could greet him, Zhao Jiu asked him, "Zhengfu, no matter what, can you guarantee that there are no spies in the city and that no one will escape?"
"I can guarantee it!" Yang Yizhong said seriously.
"Well, let me ask you again. Today, the Jin army sent 10,000 cavalrymen to the north. Do you think it was more to lure the enemy or to really support them? Whose fighting power is stronger, Wanyan Wushu or Wanyan Talan?"
"Lure more enemies, Wanyan Wushu is stronger!" Yang Yizhong had already given an answer during the day, so it was natural to be straightforward now.
"Go out and call Hu Hongxiu in."
Yang Yizhong was half nervous and half hesitant, but he still bowed and left.
In this way, Zhao Jiu chose an incredible way to summon them, in order to obtain some accurate judgments from these elites who were prone to chaos once they gathered together:
Liu Yan, Yang Yizhong, Hu Hongxiu, and Liu Ziyu, four talented military advisors, came in and out one after another, and gave their conclusions that the Jin army's sending 10,000 cavalry to march north today was to set up an ambush to lure the Nanyang troops or to lure Emperor Zhao.
Chen Gui, Yan Xiaozhong, Yang Yizhong, Wang De, Fu Qing, and Xin Yongzong gave the judgment and guarantee that Nanyang was absolutely defensible and even unbreakable in the short term;
Wanqi Xie and Lin Jingmo concluded that Du Chong's prestige in the Tokyo Resident Office was neither high nor low, and was not high enough to confuse the public.
Hu Yin insisted on the strategic requirement of being more proactive;
Li Guang, Li Ruopu and Fan Zongyin also insisted that the army should withdraw to Xiangyang.
At this point, there were only two prime ministers in the hall who had not left, and as expected, the next one to be summoned in was Prime Minister Lu Yihao.
When Zhao Jiu saw Lu Yihao, he spoke immediately without waiting for him to walk down the corridor and into the forest. He only said one sentence: "Mr. Lu, I have just made up my mind to use your advice here that day to deal with the current situation. Please be sure to maintain it for me!"
Lu Yihao nodded slightly, then turned around and left without looking back. A moment later, Lu Haowen followed.
"Mr. Lu," Zhao Jiu still used this address, but his tone was much softer. "Since I fell into the well, from Mingdao Palace to here, I have been troubled by you to mend the wound for me..."
When Lu Haowen heard this, he was not happy but shocked. The hairs on his body stood up, as if he realized something.
But before he could open his mouth, Emperor Zhao continued, "If you trust me, please don't ask too many questions and try your best to help me accomplish a great task."
Lü Haowen was in a state of panic and thought for a long time. However, under the silent gaze of the young official who was sitting upright on the wooden stake opposite him, he chose to sigh: "It's all up to the official. Anyway, Prime Minister Lü Shu must have discussed it with the official... I only ask the official to take care of himself!"
Zhao Jiu was startled for a moment, but quickly regained his composure, nodded again, gave some instructions, and then set off with Lu Haowen back to the hall.
No one spoke in the hall, and there were no wild pigeons to add to the fun, so the term "complete silence" would be more appropriate.
Just as the civil and military officials were thinking about different things, Emperor Zhao really spoke up and revealed the answer: "Just now, a messenger from Yanling arrived, saying that Yue Fei and Wang Yan had an open fight, and then Wang Yan was defeated and secretly retreated to Tokyo. In addition, today, 10,000 Jurchen cavalry went north to aid Talan, which shows that the overall situation in Wuhe has been decided and it is useless... I have made up my mind to go to Xiangyang to divide the enemy's forces!"
There was a slight commotion throughout the crowd. Hu Yin, Liu Ziyu and Hu Hongxiu almost instinctively wanted to step forward and give stern advice, but like everyone else, when they were summoned privately, they received serious or sincere instructions from Emperor Zhao, which was not to say anything today no matter what.
Of course, objections are also verbal.
Hu Yin should have been the person who reacted most strongly to this decision, but when Emperor Zhao summoned him before, he specifically asked him to learn from Zhang Jun for a day. Thinking of Zhang Jun and the things Emperor Zhao had done in the past, Hu Mingzhong was so upset that he bit his tongue.
The whole hall was silent, but Prime Minister Lu Haowen and Privy Minister Lu Yihao took the initiative to step forward and express their agreement.
It seems that these two people were also persuaded one by one.
Since the two ministers agreed, this matter became the so-called East and West governments discussing politics in front of the king, and it became a legitimate major policy.
Immediately, Emperor Zhao and Lu Haowen exchanged questions fluently, and Lu Yihao nodded repeatedly, passing a series of specific measures:
Among them, Chen Gui, Yan Xiaozhong, Fu Qing, and Xin Yongzong left first to ensure the city defense without alerting everyone;
Yang Yizhong and Liu Yan were ordered to prepare a group of elite soldiers to escort Emperor Zhao out of the city.
Wang De immediately left the city to meet Zhang Jing at the big camp east of the city, and then they made preparations together in the camp, trying to set out at night to avoid the sight of the Jin army.
Hanlin scholar Lin Jingmo, Chief Censor Hu Yin, Deputy Secretary of the Privy Council Wanqi Xie, and Chief Eunuch Lan Gui were asked to accompany Xiangyang, while the two husbands and the rest were asked to stay behind... As for Madam Wu, Emperor Zhao did not mention her, so she would naturally be abandoned in her sleep and exhaustion.
Thanks to the private summons, inquiries, and even requests or orders from Emperor Zhao, things unfolded at a lightning speed without any arguments. And thanks to Yang Yizhong leading many imperial guards to personally carry out the arrangements, there were almost no unnecessary incidents throughout the process.
The reason why I say almost is that when Emperor Zhao was about to leave the palace, he suddenly stopped and asked someone to take down the Jinwu banner in front of the palace, which was obviously much dimmer than many similar ones on the city wall, and asked Wanqi Xie to carry it personally... This took quite a while.
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It’s even more exciting later!
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