Yue's army arrived in Dading and stationed there to strengthen the city walls and pacify the people.
When Dading City fell, the people were in a state of panic. They didn't know if there would be a massacre, but after the city fell, there would be at least three days of rape and looting, which was what almost every enemy army would do.
First, it was to reward their own soldiers and let them have a good time. Second, it was to completely shock and break down the enemy's psychological defenses.
Strangely, when this army entered Dading City, they did not cause any disturbance to the people. These soldiers would rather huddle in the streets at night and endure the cold. When logistics were insufficient, they even ate wild vegetables and tree bark rather than steal from the people.
In that era, logistics support was extremely difficult. When Yue's army captured Dading City, the transportation of food and fodder delayed the battle, and it took half a month for the food and fodder to arrive.
Although Yue Fei killed the grain and grass transport envoy, the soldiers of Yue's army suffered a lot in the past half month.
But this also won the respect of the people of Dading City. These innocent people who had long been groaning under the iron cavalry of the Jin people finally knew what the army of kings and the army of justice were.
The actions of Yue's army were also respected by the enemy. Kong Liang, the Jin army commander in Xingzhong City, voluntarily abandoned the city and surrendered to Yue's army.
…
Purple Palace.
Zhao Huan said, "This time, the Song, Xia, and Mongolian states have formed an alliance to attack the Jin. The Song army cannot be underestimated by other states. Li Gang, He Li, and Meng Gurao, you three will serve as regents. I will personally lead 180,000 imperial guards north to destroy the Jin!"
"Your Majesty, I obey your command!"
Zhao Huan personally led another expedition, heading north to Liaobei at the head of 180,000 imperial guards. These included 10,000 strong crossbowmen and several thousand armored infantry. After nearly a month of preparation, the imperial guards were ready and poised for deployment.
Many of the Imperial Guards were soldiers who had participated in the last war against the Jin Dynasty. The soldiers were in high spirits and wanted to make achievements in this war.
Nangong Lian'er got the news from somewhere, but she insisted on going along, saying that she wanted to protect the emperor. She probably got it from that bastard Cao Dongsheng.
Zhao Huan thought about it again and again, but still refused to agree. Not only did she, but Li Sisi also insisted on going. Ever since she married into the Song Dynasty, she had missed her father constantly. Perhaps she could meet him on the battlefield during this campaign against the Jin Dynasty.
Zhao Huan was aware of his obsession with women. After all, the battlefield was brutal, and while bringing concubines with him was understandable, it would always create a negative influence among the soldiers. For the sake of his grand plan to destroy the Jin Dynasty, he had no choice but to reluctantly let them go.
Unexpectedly, less than half a mile outside the capital, Zhao Huan noticed a group of guards behind him.
The guards in front of the palace were carefully selected from thousands of people, each one of them was vigorous and powerful. These dozen guards were small and thin, and they deliberately avoided him.
Zhao Huan was startled, wondering if another assassin had infiltrated the army to murder him. But who was so bold as to sneak into the palace guards? Were Wu Ge and Wang Zongchu idiots?
"Cao Dongsheng!" Zhao Huan opened the imperial sedan chair.
Cao Dongsheng hurried over: "Your Majesty."
"Call Wu Ge over!"
"What does Your Majesty want?" Wu Ge rode over and asked with a fist clasped.
Zhao Huan pointed at the group of guards behind him and asked, "Who are they? How did they get into the team?"
Unexpectedly, Wu Ge's face was very embarrassed: "Well, Your Majesty, you should go and see it yourself."
"Stop the sedan!" Zhao Huan shouted.
The team stopped immediately, and Zhao Huan got off the imperial sedan and walked to the back.
Seeing that they couldn't escape, the dozen or so guards had no choice but to lower their heads and huddle together.
Zhao Huan was furious when he saw that it was Li Sisi and her maids who were disguised as guards following behind.
"Nonsense! The army's northern expedition is no joke! Why are you following me without permission?"
Li Sisi lowered her head and said aggrievedly: "Your Majesty, we want to protect you. But you didn't let us come, so I had to..."
Now that they were out of the city, Zhao Huan couldn't send them back. In fact, he was also a little surprised deep down. He had to pretend to be cold and waved his hand, saying, "You go to the sedan chair."
Unexpectedly, Li Sisi was not willing to go in, but instead held the hand of a guard next to her. The guard had white and tender hands, and he hid behind Li Sisi and did not dare to show his head.
Zhao Huan pushed Li Sisi away, and the guard raised his head and smiled playfully. It was Nangong Lian'er.
Zhao Huan slapped his forehead: "Both of you get out of here!"
Li Sisi and Nangong Lian'er stuck out their tongues and got into the imperial sedan chair.
The guards beside him didn't dare to laugh. Zhao Huan sighed. To boost morale, he didn't dare to get into the sedan chair with the two concubines. He waved his hand and ordered Cao Dongsheng: "Bring my imperial horse here!"
During the day, Zhao Huan rode with his soldiers, but at night, he was too busy to worry about much. He would either sneak into Li Sisi's tent or Nangong Lian'er's tent. Fortunately, this foolish emperor knew the importance of swiftness in war, so he set up camp early and marched without delay.
After marching for several months, the imperial guards led by Zhao Huan had already reached Juyongguan, and soon arrived in Dading to join Yue's army.
Yue Fei also began to implement his next plan, besieging the city.
Yue Fei planned to use 20,000 men to besiege Zhongjing, the capital of the Jin Dynasty, but not to attack. He would wait for the reinforcements from the Jin army, and then send the imperial guards to block the reinforcements and attack them.
Zhao Huan was overjoyed when he heard this and praised the plan as brilliant.
Zhongjing was an important city in the Jin Dynasty. If Zhongjing was captured, the gateway to the Jin capital Shangjing would be wide open.
Upon hearing that Zhongjing was under siege, Jin lord Wanyan Sheng quickly dispatched Jin Wushu with 20,000 cavalrymen to aid Zhongjing. It's unclear whether the Jin army was simply too powerful to defeat, or whether it was easier to shake a mountain than to shake Yue Fei's army.
…
The Jin Kingdom went to the capital Huining Prefecture.
At this time, the palace was in a panic. The Minister of Rites, Guli Jiadou, was sent as an envoy to the Mongolian Kingdom to seek marriage between the two countries and form a brotherhood.
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