"The emperor has arrived!" Cao Dongsheng's voice came from outside the prison door.
The emperor's personal presence frightened the jailer so much that he knelt down in haste. He Li and Chen Guoting were also stunned. Why would the emperor come here in person?
He Li and Chen Guoting were even more surprised when they came in. Not only Zhao Huan himself came, but all the ministers were there.
"My dear Li, my dear Chen, you have both suffered." When it came to winning people's hearts, Zhao Huan was more enthusiastic than anyone else.
"Open the prison door quickly!" Bai Shizhong and the others would never lag behind when it came to flattery.
The jailer hurriedly took out the key and opened the cell door, and everyone rushed in.
The ministers surrounded He and Chen and chattered non-stop, saying that they would explain everything to them in the future. He Li and Chen Guoting were still in a dream.
After everyone finished explaining, He Li and Chen Guoting finally came to their senses. They immediately knelt before Zhao Huan and apologized.
"Your Majesty, your servant He Li has misunderstood me and deserves death!"
"Chen Guoting is terrified. Your Majesty is a benevolent and holy ruler. We, the ministers, are ashamed!"
Zhao Huan hurriedly helped the two men up and said, "My dear ministers, there is no need for such formalities. If it were not for your righteous words, the old villain Wanyan might not have fallen into his trap. The Great Song has two wise ministers. This is a blessing for the country and the people."
"Your Majesty!" He and Chen knelt on the ground with tears of gratitude, and the gap between the emperor and his subjects suddenly disappeared.
Taiyuan. Wanyan Zonghan was horrified upon receiving news of the Eastern Route Army's defeat. The Jin had been victorious in their campaigns against the Liao and Song dynasties. Unexpectedly, the Eastern Route Army was crippled, with its commander, Wanyan Zongwang, beheaded. This greatly boosted Song morale and severely undermined the Jin's confidence. Unable to invade the south anytime soon, the Jin had no choice but to return to the Jin capital for further deliberation.
"Order! Disband the entire army and retreat north!"
"Deputy Marshal. Taiyuan has not been conquered and we have not achieved any success. If we retreat now, how can we face our fellow countrymen when we go back?" Yin Shu disagreed.
Nianmur was much more rational than him: "Deputy General, I believe we should act sooner rather than later. With Deputy General Zong Wang's army annihilated, the pressure on the Song Dynasty's east has been greatly reduced. If the Zhong family army turns west now and unites with Guo Zixuan's troops in Taiyuan, our Great Jin will be in danger of being attacked from both sides. For now, we can only retreat north to preserve our strength and fight again!"
"Retreat!" Wanyan Zonghan ordered.
"Sir, sir. The Jin soldiers have retreated north!" A soldier from the Taiyuan government office ran over to report.
The appeasement envoy Guo Zixuan was overjoyed: "What! The Jin thieves are retreating?"
The messenger said excitedly, "They've retreated! I saw it clearly. They've already started to move their camp back north."
Lu Pingzhi was even more surprised and delighted: "The Jin thieves have retreated, the Jin thieves have retreated!"
"Let's go, take me to the city wall and watch!" Guo Zixuan shouted excitedly.
Before they even reached the city walls, Guo Zixuan and the others noticed the soldiers on the walls were cheering and jumping for joy. Everyone's face was filled with excitement.
Guo Zixuan and Lu Pingzhi exchanged glances, each noticing a look of joy in the other's eyes. They quickly climbed the city wall and saw that the Jin soldiers on the opposite side had indeed withdrawn their camp and retreated north.
At this time, Yue Fei and several soldiers approached Guo Zixuan. Yue Fei launched a night raid on the Jin camp, and another forged letter dissuaded Wanyan Zonghan from advancing south. Even more remarkable, he escaped unscathed from the Jin camp. His fame had long been legendary within the army, and he was revered and worshipped by everyone in Taiyuan Prefecture, both the military and civilians.
More importantly, everyone knew that he was the one chosen by the emperor to return to Beijing to meet him. It would only take a short time for him to rise to prominence. So even though Yue Fei held no official position at the time, all the generals in the army were waiting for his orders.
Yue Fei clasped his fists towards Guo Zixuan and Lu Pingzhi and said, "Your Excellency, Your Excellency, the Envoy of Appeasement. The Jin bandits are retreating north, and I believe this is a great opportunity to pursue them. Why not send out cavalry to harass them immediately?"
Guo Zixuan frowned. "Well, the Jin troops are retreating north without losing their footing. Wanyan Zonghan, plus those who have arrived, total over 70,000 men. We only have 3,000 cavalry, and that's all we have in Taiyuan. Isn't this too risky?"
Yue Fei said, "The Jin army has returned north, homesick and unwilling to fight. I think we can split our forces into two groups. Send one thousand cavalry to feint and harass their rear guard, and the other two thousand will launch a frontal attack under the banner of the Zhong family army. The Jin army will surely be defeated."
Guo Zixuan remained silent. He looked at Lu Pingzhi and asked, "What do you think, Lord Lu?"
Lu Pingzhi shook his head repeatedly: "No, no, absolutely not. The Jin soldiers have retreated, so we should just wait here."
"Sir!" Yue Fei bowed. "You are the Taiyuan Pacifier. The responsibility of commanding the army lies in your hands. You do not need to pay attention to what others say. I am willing to guarantee with my life that this battle will be a complete victory."
"This..." Guo Zixuan was still a little worried.
Yue Fei said anxiously: "Sir! If we lose this battle, I will return to the capital to see the emperor. You can take charge of today's affairs."
Lu Pingzhi wanted to stop him with words, but seeing that Yue Fei's words implied that he was sure of victory, he had no choice but to remain silent.
Guo Zixuan saw that Lu Pingzhi was silent, and he knew Yue Fei's ability. So he gritted his teeth and said, "Okay! Fuck him!"
Wanyan Zonghan led the Western Route Army to invade the south and was stopped in Taiyuan. However, he had already conquered Shuozhou, Daizhou,
The three counties of Zhongshan. The gold, silver, treasures, skilled craftsmen, and beautiful girls looted from these three counties were taken back north. This caused Wanyan Zonghan's retreat northward to be stretched too far.
"Charge!" The rear of the retreating Jin soldiers was caught up by Yue Fei's 1,000 cavalrymen.
The messenger came to report: "Report! Report to the Marshal, the Taiyuan cavalry has launched an attack on the rear of our team."
Wanyan Zonghan was shocked. Are the Song army crazy? They want to attack us with the limited troops in Taiyuan?
"Explore again!" Wanyan Zonghan would not let the army fight back just for those few hundred tail teams.
"Reporting to the deputy marshal, we have found out everything. It is indeed the Song army cavalry from Taiyuan Prefecture, and the leader is none other than Yue Fei's young general." said the messenger.
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