Just like that, Zhao Jiu led Scholar Xiao Lin and Canjun Liu with about thirty or forty armored soldiers and walked straight down the city wall. In the street, they ran into Chief Censor Zhang Jun and Imperial Camp Commander Wang Yuan, who came specifically to look for the emperor. They exchanged a few words and then rode along the street together to patrol the people's hearts... But they had just walked one street, and Emperor Zhao had not yet gotten a good chance to perform, when Huyan Tong suddenly sent another team to come, saying that there was serious military information and asked the emperor to go up to the city again.
Zhao Jiu had no choice but to let Zhang Jun take half of the squad to various places to suppress the riots in the name of Chief Censor, while he led the rest to return immediately.
Unexpectedly, this time he did not return to the west wall, but, under the guidance of the guards, directly climbed up the north tower where there was no Ru River blocking the way, and then met Huyan Tong here.
However, as soon as he climbed onto the city wall, Emperor Zhao realized what was going on without Huyan Tong saying anything... because he could see with his own eyes that smoke and dust were rising in the fields to the north, and it seemed that a large army was heading there. According to Emperor Zhao's mediocre eyesight acquired in Mount Bagua, it looked like there were about four to five thousand troops.
"The Jin army was so fast?" Zhao Jiu felt that his opponent was just cheating. "And they crossed the river so early?"
"It's not the Jin people." Liu Ziyu blurted out. "This is not the movement of cavalry..."
Zhao Jiu felt embarrassed for a moment, but couldn't help feeling confused.
"It's definitely not the Jin people," Hu Yantong reported immediately, covering up the emperor's embarrassment. "Good news, your Excellency. I was ordered to send messengers out of the city from this side to spread the message everywhere, but soon after leaving the city, someone encountered this group of soldiers on the north road. The leader claimed to be surnamed Zhai, and was from the Xiping Volunteer Army. Hearing that the Jin people had broken the seal of Zhao Zong in Dengzhou, he guessed that the Jin army might attack here, so he didn't have time to report, and immediately led the northwest tribes of Caizhou to come here to rescue the king..."
"The Xiping Zhai Chong that Yan Xiaozhong mentioned?" Zhao Jiu suddenly realized and was overjoyed. He almost ordered the troops to enter the city, but just as he was about to speak, he stopped himself and asked again with forced calmness. "Is Yan Xiaozhong also in there?"
"I don't know!" Hu Yantong shook his head. "It is precisely because the situation is unclear and the timing is too coincidental that I dare not make a decision on my own. I only ask the emperor to make a clear decision..."
"Send someone to investigate and find out where Yan Xiaozhong is. If he is still there, let him come to the city to see me first!" Zhao Jiu thought about it and could only give such an order.
After receiving the order, Hu Yantong immediately went down to the city to carry out the assignment.
Speaking of which, let's not talk about how Huyan Tong went to find Yan Xiaozhong. Let's just say that as this army gradually approached Ruyang City and revealed the flags of the Song Army, the atmosphere on and off the city had already changed. For example, Yelu Ma Wu had not given up before, and was looking for a shallow place to cross the river along the west. When he saw such a large number of Song troops appearing on the north side of the river, he immediately gave up crossing the river and just gathered in the northwest of the city, and then watched from afar across the Ru River.
On the other hand, the Song army on the city walls were naturally excited when they saw the reinforcements coming. Even as many officials and ministers went up to the city walls to see the situation and report back, the originally turbulent streets gradually calmed down.
After a long time, as the sun was setting, Yelu Mawu on the other side of the river had set up camp. The rebel army that had been visible on the plains before was gradually approaching the city, and Yan Xiaozhong, whose figure and appearance were unforgettable, also appeared in Zhao Jiu's sight again, riding a donkey.
"Mr. Yan, how come you are here?" Zhao Jiu was relieved when he saw this person on the city wall.
"Your Majesty!" Yan Xiaozhong got off the donkey, sweating profusely, and directly pulled the donkey rope to salute under the city, shouting at the other side. "I was a civilian in the Jin army before, so I knew some of the ways the Jin used troops. Then I was in Xiping in the west, and heard that Wuguan was defeated, so I immediately urged Zhai Chong to come here... In addition to Zhai Chong's troops, there are also righteous troops from various places in the northwest of Caizhou that have gathered along the way, totaling no less than 5,000 people, and they just arrived! With these 5,000 people, they are enough to fill the city walls, and Ruyang City will be as solid as a rock!"
Zhao Jiu nodded repeatedly and was about to order the city gate to be opened to let this person in.
But at this moment, Liu Ziyu, who had been silent all this time, suddenly pulled Emperor Zhao's sleeve from behind, and whispered, "Emperor, even if Yan Xiaozhong is here, we can't open the city! This man must have been captured by the Jin army!"
Zhao Jiu's expression remained unchanged, but he was shocked in his heart. However, after a moment of thought, he was about to refute it.
At this time, Wang Yuan on the other side also lowered his voice and said seriously: "Your Majesty, I also think that Yan Zhizhou is reliable, but what about Zhai Chong?"
Zhao Jiu still disagreed: "Yan Xiaozhong's resistance in Tangzhou is definitely not a fiction, and Zhai Chong and Yan Xiaozhong were allied before the arrival of the Jin people. I and the emperor made a temporary decision to come here after the battle of Shouzhou. Could it be that they were spies before Yin Shuke came to Jingxi, and they calculated it until now?"
"I'm not doubting Prefect Yan." Liu Ziyu sighed, helpless. "The key is that what Commander Huyan said before is too right... Your Majesty, the timing is too coincidental! Let's not talk about Prefect Yan or Zhai Chong, there are other people in Zhai Chong's army at this time, are they all reliable? If there are one or two hundred of them arranged by Yin Shuke, can the Song Dynasty bear it? Let's take a step back and say that even if they are all reliable at this time, but after entering the city and seeing that your army is small and surrounded by the Jin people outside, will they still be reliable at that time?"
Zhao Jiu was speechless, but after a moment, he shook his head again: "It's still not right... If I don't allow them to enter the city, what if they leave in anger because I don't trust them? What if they surrender to the Jin army? When the main force of the Jin army arrives at the city and defeats them, what will happen to the morale of the city?"
Liu Ziyu and Wang Yuan were both shocked and speechless. However, it was obvious that no matter what, the two of them were determined not to let the rebels enter the city.
As I said, the arrival of reinforcements is a good thing, but the problem is that, firstly, the timing is too coincidental, which makes people suspicious; secondly, there is an official and four ministers in the city at this time, they should have maintained a solid defense and been conservative, and should not have created unnecessary trouble. In fact, Official Zhao had just sent a messenger asking these people not to come.
But then again, they have already come, and they didn't receive any imperial edict when they came. Should we blame them for coming to rescue the king?
While hesitating, Yan Xiaozhong seemed to have realized something under the tower, and he once again led the donkey and tried to raise his feet to speak: "Sir, I will go and tell Zhai Chong to set up camp on the north side of the city, with his back against the city wall and the river! What do you think?"
Just as Zhao Jiu was about to speak, a man next to him suddenly stepped out and spoke clearly, "The situation today clearly shows that I am not good at riding a horse and have delayed the opportunity, so I, the Hanlin scholar Lin Jingmo, have the audacity to report this and request to leave the city to appease the rebels and atone for my sins!"
PS: A tribute to my new book... "I Want to Be a Prime Minister", a new book by Yixiu Ju, which is about the most exciting period of civil service politics in the Ming Dynasty during the middle and late Jiajing period.
I can’t take it anymore. I feel like a vicious cycle is starting to set in… I’m going to die!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
