In Funing Palace, Zhao Huan stretched comfortably, feeling refreshed. Beside him, Zhu Lian curled up in the middle of the bed like a kitten, a smile on his face, sound asleep.
[The unscrupulous author is talking nonsense: It's clearly about energy, but how come only refreshment remains? I don't understand.]
Zhao Huan walked out of the bedroom and glanced at Wang Huaiji, who was standing outside with a flattering smile on his face. He asked in confusion, "Don't I have more than twenty eunuchs? Why is it always you?"
Wang Huaiji looked embarrassed. "That...that person has limited talent and is not well-trained. He is not qualified for the mission of going out on duty. He spends more time in the palace."
Zhao Huan looked at Wang Huaiji's arms, which were thicker than his own thighs, his bulging tendons, and his large, fan-like feet, and was speechless: "This big guy is no less bulky than Schwarzenegger. This is just a lack of training. How much more abnormal must the other eunuchs be?"
"The rice from the East Palace is no different. How come you are all so strong and muscular? If this can be applied to the army, who will be able to compete with the Song Dynasty?"
A trace of fear flashed across Wang Huaiji's face, and he shook his head like a rattle. "The training process is extremely painful. Not many people can stick with it. Only one in a hundred can make it."
"One in a hundred?" Zhao Huan laughed. "The Song Dynasty has an army of over a million, so at the very least they can muster a force of ten thousand."
"Your Majesty, this cannot be calculated like this. This is for a special group."
"Uh, no way." Zhao Huan was shocked. "To practice divine skills, one must first castrate oneself?"
Seeing Wang Huaiji nod in the affirmative, Zhao Huan gave up the idea decisively: "Eliminate millions of soldiers, even an old man wouldn't dare to commit suicide like that!"
After chatting all the way, they left the Bianliang Palace and rushed straight to the defense line of Bianliang City.
Li Gang and others were having lunch, with the city of Bianliang behind them. Zhao Huan waved his hand and gave out 1 million taels of military pay. The people strongly supported the anti-Jin movement, so the food was quite good.
A large basket of rice cakes, a large bowl of glutinous rice, a vegetarian dish, a wild vegetable, and a meat dish.
[Unofficial knowledge: 1. Because Emperor Huizong of Song was a Taoist who valued the balance of nature, wild vegetables were always a staple of the Song Dynasty's dining tables, regardless of the harvest season, and for both the rich and the poor. This became a custom. 2. Regarding the steamed buns, the ones Wu Dalang sold were actually steamed buns, not sesame cakes.]
Zhao Huan sat down on the small stool cheerfully and shouted, "Bring me another set of bowls and chopsticks. It's just right. I haven't had lunch yet."
"Your Majesty, I greet you!"
Zhao Huan waved his hand and said, "There's no need to be so formal in the military camp. Sit down and eat."
"yes!"
Zhao Huan took the pancake, took a big bite, then drank a mouthful of yellow rice porridge, smacking his lips and saying, "Great! This is the feeling of eating and drinking with big mouthfuls."
"How's the situation in Jin?"
"There are currently no signs of a large-scale siege. That Nari Zahan has challenged us again, saying he wants to fight us one-on-one. Anyone who doesn't dare is a coward."
"How did we cope?"
"I ignored it and just treated it as a monkey show."
"...Okay, this is great."
How could a country that excels at defensive counterattacks be easily provoked?
"Li Gang, what do you think Wanyan Zongwang is thinking? Is there any better strategy than a quick victory for a lone army deep in the enemy's territory?"
"I don't know either. The army to support the king is on the way. Could it be that they are so confident that they can break through the encirclement of the army to support the king?"
"We can't wait for an auspicious day to attack the city."
"Is it possible that Wanyan Zongwang and his men are unfamiliar with Your Majesty and unsure of the extent of His Majesty's preparedness to fight, so they dare not act rashly. This is why they are currently stepping up their intelligence gathering efforts within Bianliang City."
"That's possible. Knowing yourself and your enemy ensures victory in every battle. Even our court doesn't understand your Majesty's style, let alone the Jin Kingdom thousands of miles away. We resisted so firmly last night. If we were to end up in a desperate situation, Wanyan Zonghan wouldn't want that."
"After a lifetime of fighting, doesn't Wanyan Zonghan want to enjoy himself?"
Li Gang and others felt that His Majesty's idea was really shocking.
"Tell the city defenses and the Imperial City Administration to step up patrols and not allow any unauthorized personnel to approach the city walls." Zhao Huan recalled the carrier pigeons from the Red Mansion and added, "Even pigeons are not allowed."
For three consecutive days, the Song and Jin sides were in strange harmony. Except for not being able to leave the city, everything was no different from usual. Zhao Huan was numb from staying on the city wall, and he didn't know how to fight.
"I'm back at the palace. If the Jin Kingdom takes any action, please inform me. I'm starting to suspect Wanyan Zongwang is trying to mess with me. If the Jin Kingdom doesn't take any action, I'll always feel uneasy and think something is going to happen."
…………………………………………
In the Jin army tent, Wanyan Zongmou and Wanyan Zongbing were staring at the map on the table.
Wanyan Zongwang pointed to the location of Funing Hall in the center of the map and said, "This young emperor of the Song Dynasty is nothing like his father, Zhao Ji. He is very devoted to his only woman, Zhu Lian. So at night, Zhao Huan is either in his Funing Hall or in Zhu Lian's Renming Hall."
"Second brother, what are you talking about? Can we sneak into Bianliang City and Bianjing Palace and capture the emperor directly?" Wanyan Zongbing looked at Wanyan Zonghan questioningly, confused.
"Fourth brother!" Wanyan Zongmou looked at Wanyan Zongbing solemnly, his expression firm. "I must avenge your third brother. During the years that my third brother has been in Bianliang City, he has secretly dug a tunnel leading directly to Bianliang City."
"Underground? How come I don't know?"
"You're impatient, aren't you? Third Brother is worried that you might let something slip someday."
"Why didn't Brother San escape from the underground tunnel?"
"My third brother didn't want to expose this passage, so he chose to die heroically in Bianliang City."
"Third brother is really confused. Even without this tunnel, our Jin army could still have taken down Bianliang City. Why would he have sacrificed his life in vain?"
"Third brother, he's idealistic and a bit paranoid. Now that things have come to this, we can't let his blood be shed in vain. The vanguard camp just reported that the young emperor of Song has descended the city walls and returned to the palace."
"Is this the reason why there has been no siege in the past three days?"
"What Pharmacist Guo said makes sense, but it's not entirely true. Two hundred thousand soldiers are on their way to support the emperor. What if they're surrounded? Peace is only temporary. Let's give Pharmacist Guo some time off first, and then let him attack Moutuogang at night. He'll definitely do his best."
"I will stay in the central military tent. You will lead 5,000 elite soldiers through the underground passage directly to the Bianjing Palace and capture the young emperor in one fell swoop. Then, we will attack the city from both inside and outside. Bianliang will surely fall."
"Okay, second brother, I'll go down and arrange someone."
"Don't tell your uncle about this for now."
"????"
"He's old now. He doesn't want to fight anymore. He wants a stable life and wants to enjoy life. He will definitely not agree to such a risky idea."
"Okay, brother."
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