The same is true for the remaining ten thousand or so people.
It was precisely because of this that, as soon as Qu Duan arrived, he, Liu Qi and Zhang Zigai clearly stated in front of the emperor that the troops must rest properly before going into battle.
But there is no doubt that the proposal of the three of them encountered unanimous opposition from Han Shizhong, Li Yanxian, Wu Jie, Wang Yan, Wang De, Li Qiong and others... These six people agreed, and they publicly proposed that as soon as the rain stopped, they should go to war.
Emperor Zhao seemed noncommittal about this.
Even at noon, after the dispute lasted for a while, he simply walked out of the lobby of Huolu County Government and disappeared.
However, the quarrel was still settled because in addition to Emperor Zhao, there was another person in Huolu City whose status was obviously higher than that of the other generals and who could easily make everyone shut up.
On the second day after Emperor Zhao moved his garrison to Huolu, Hebei Grand Commander Lu Yihao, regardless of the fact that he had fallen into the water and caught a cold again, hurriedly led the imperial officials to the scene in the rain.
Not long after Emperor Zhao left, the Prime Minister and Grand Commander arrived in the hall, supported by Scholar Mei. After just a few scoldings, Han Shizhong and others retreated in embarrassment… There was no other way. The Basic Law was there. A Prime Minister in the Song Dynasty was a Prime Minister. Even if it was "When the world is at peace, pay attention to the prime minister; when the world is in danger, pay attention to the generals", the status of military men increased dramatically in the ten years of Jianyan, but the political tradition was there, and a Prime Minister was still a Prime Minister.
The most obvious manifestation is that only a military general with merits as high as Han Shizhong can be awarded the title of a prince, and this is unique in the world. However, as long as ministers retire safely, they generally have the title of a prince, and even the chancellor and prime minister can be a prince of the same rank.
Of course, Han Shizhong and Li Yanxian were by no means cowards. They kept silent at this moment, probably for other reasons.
"Mr. Lu!"
Generals Han and Li left immediately. Qu Duan was so exhausted that he left in a panic. Wang Yan, Wang De and others didn't know how to deal with a famous man, so they left in a timid manner. Only Wu Jie waited until everyone had dispersed before he hurried out alone. "Stop for a moment. I have something to say from the bottom of my heart."
The rain was pouring down from the eaves in strings. Lu Yihao, who was standing at the end of the corridor in the back hall of the county government office, looked back and paused for a while, holding his cane. Mei Li, who was standing next to him, also quickly took shelter in the rain with an umbrella.
"Mr. Lu." Wu Jie stepped forward immediately upon seeing this, and then bowed sincerely. "Just listen to what I have to say."
"Go ahead." Although Lu Yihao had fallen into the water and caught a cold, causing his face to be pale, he seemed to be in good spirits.
"Could you please go and persuade the emperor again?" Wu Jie stood up and answered sincerely.
"What do you want to persuade?" Lu Yihao asked seriously. "Why should I persuade?"
"I am worried that the emperor will not be able to decide to go to war because of the rain." Wu Jie said more sincerely. "When we were in Taiyuan before, the emperor was a little hesitant, and now the rain is too obvious... The Taiping River is flooded, the bows and crossbows cannot be used, the logistics are difficult, and Qu Dutong and his troops are indeed in a bad condition..."
Lu Yihao nodded slightly, but just leaned on his cane and said nothing. It was unclear whether he agreed with the other party's concerns or the other party's description.
"My lord... at this moment, if the emperor decides to take advantage of the water's momentum to rest for a while before starting a war because of what Qu Dutong and others said, or even wants to wait for Marshal Yue to go down the river and attack from both sides, then he will miss the opportunity." Having said that, Wu Jie couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
And Lu Yihao also became a little interested: "What do you mean?"
"Mr. Lu, think about it." Wu Jie replied seriously. "It rained, and the bows and crossbows could not be deployed. Our army lost the powerful crossbows, which is indeed a disadvantage, but didn't the Jin army also lose the strong bows? Moreover, the plains are muddy and soft, which is not good for cavalry. The Jin army has a little more cavalry, so they are at a greater disadvantage in this area."
Lu Yihao nodded again immediately.
"As for waiting for Marshal Yue because of the rain, it is even more inappropriate. Because of the rain, Marshal Yue has sent the elite troops to help, and the remaining infantry battalions will only come slower. On the contrary, the more it rains, the more we should give up the idea of waiting for large reinforcements." Wu Jie continued to explain.
Lu Yihao also continued to nod.
"However, these are not the key points. The key point is that our army cannot lose momentum because of the rain." Wu Jie quickly pointed out the key point.
"Oh?" Lu Yihao spoke again.
"Please think about it, sir... Don't think from the perspective of us decision makers, nor from the perspective of the Jin army's decision makers, but only from the perspective of the soldiers below... Since the start of the war, have we won battle after battle, and have we not stopped advancing without any setbacks? And from the perspective of the Jin army's soldiers, have they suffered setbacks one after another, and were overwhelmed, leading to a massive retreat?" At this point, Wu Jie paused for a moment before continuing his explanation. "At this time, if we stop advancing because of the rain and do not launch an attack on the Jin army right in front of us, it will be the first time since the start of the war that our army has obviously shirked its truce... The so-called rest and recuperation theory is only beneficial to Qu Dutong and the reinforcements he brought, but it will inevitably frustrate the 150,000 main forces brought by Hedong, and may even inspire the morale of the Jin army... Sacrificing the morale of 150,000 people for the combat power of more than 10,000 people will do more harm than good."
"I do understand this a little bit... the first effort will lead to the second." Lu Yihao seemed to be completely convinced by the other party, but he leaned on his crutches with one hand and twirled his beard with the other. "Wu Jiedu, what you said makes a lot of sense."
Wu Jie felt relieved for a moment.
"But General Wu..." Lu Yihao put down his hand and sighed. "Why didn't you explain these principles to the emperor directly? Instead, you asked me to convey them on your behalf?"
Wu Jie was speechless for a moment.
"Are you afraid that speaking frankly will displease the government, or are you afraid that saying this in public will offend Qu Duan to death? And then people will bring up old matters and say that you are ungrateful?" Lu Yihao couldn't ask any more.
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