At Xiongzhou, the Zhong family army defeated the Jin army in the east, leaving them in disarray. The Jin army was severely weakened by this battle and temporarily unable to attack the Song.
When Zhong Shidao returned to the capital at the age of over seventy, the people along the way slaughtered cattle and sheep and prepared wine to welcome the triumphant army.
Just as the army was about to return to the capital, Zhong Shidao received an urgent secret order from the capital and frowned slightly.
"Uncle, is there something wrong?" Zhong Hong asked.
Zhong Shidao glared at him and said, "I've told you so many times, there are no uncles in the army."
Zhong Hong was a little ashamed of his slip of the tongue: "Yes, Zhong Shuai."
Zhong Shidao's tone softened: "Your Majesty has issued an urgent secret decree." Then he showed him the secret order.
Zhong Hong took it and looked at it, and was shocked: "Your Majesty, what do you want to do? Why do you want to make peace with Jin again?"
Zhong Shidao sighed: "The power of heaven is unpredictable, and I don't know what your majesty means. The emperor has ordered us to send Wanyan Zongwang's body back to the capital of the Jin Kingdom. This..."
Zhong Hong was furious: "What a shitty emperor! A tyrant, a dog emperor!"
"Zhong Hong!" Zhong Shidao was furious. "How dare you! You are insulting me, the Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty. You are being disrespectful. You will lose your head."
Zhong Hong still refused to accept the fact: "Those summoned by the Emperor to advise His Majesty on his conduct are all innocent."
"How dare you! Are you offering me advice? You are being disrespectful! We, the Zhong Family Army, serve our country and our people. We are loyal to the Song Dynasty and to His Majesty! Others may say this, but we, the Zhong Family Army, cannot. What did your father teach you?"
Zhong Hong recalled his father's daily teachings, but his anger remained lingering. "That bastard Wanyan Zongwang killed my father, and now the Emperor wants us to send his coffin to the Jin capital with royal etiquette, and even wants to make peace with the Jin? I won't do it!"
Zhong Shidao pondered for a moment: "The current emperor may seem dissolute and frivolous, but from what I know about him, this emperor is not ordinary. He must have his reasons for doing this."
"What kind of logic is this!" Zhong Hong was furious. "The Jin thieves killed Qin Fengjun and my father. How can this be justified?! Even if we make peace with the Jin, we still have to pay them annual tribute. Why?!"
Zhong Hong's eyes widened as he pointed to the north: "We won the war, but we still have to pay tribute to the Jin Kingdom and make peace with the Jin. What would happen if these hundreds of thousands of soldiers knew about this? What would they think? Would the heroic souls of the buried Qinfeng Army be chilled?"
"Zhong Hong!" Zhong Shidao also slammed the table, his tone softening. "So this is a secret decree. The emperor must have his reasons for doing this! I trust the emperor. The emperor's secret decree clearly states that Wanyan Zongwang's coffin will be transported to the Jin Kingdom with the courtesy of a prince, and that annual tribute will be paid to the Jin Kingdom! Anyone who disobeys this order will be executed!"
Military orders are as heavy as a mountain. Even if Zhong Hong was unwilling, he had no choice but to rush out of the tent in anger.
Zhong Shidao knew that Zhong Hong had a stubborn temper and was afraid that letting him go would cause trouble, so he sent Kang Sui, a military advisor, to take Wanyan Zongwang's coffin north and gave him detailed instructions on the emperor's secret decree.
Zhao Huan frowned in the Wende Hall, while Li Gang and Cao Dongsheng remained silent.
After a long while, Li Gang said, "Your Majesty, isn't this a bit risky?"
Zhao Huan pinched his fingers until his knuckles turned white. He pursed his lips and exhaled, "There's nothing we can do. Although the Jin have retreated north, they still have their eyes fixed on our Song Dynasty. They're in dire straits. If we don't pay them tribute, they won't be able to survive and will move south again. If the Jin move south again, it will disrupt my plan to recapture the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun."
"Your Majesty, reclaiming the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun is no easy task. Even Taizu and Taizong were unable to accomplish it."
Zhao Huan sighed and said, "I know that there are plenty of people to fight easy battles. As human beings, we fight the most difficult battles. I will personally lead the army to conquer the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun."
Cao Dongsheng was unhappy when he heard this: "Your Majesty, your safety..."
"Get lost, Li Gang and I were discussing government affairs. When did it become your business?"
Cao Dongsheng had no choice but to stop talking.
Li Gang smiled slightly. "Your Majesty has already secretly ordered Zhong Shidao to send people to sue for peace with Jin. This will soon become known to the world, and I'm afraid those scholars will verbally attack Your Majesty again."
Zhao Huan was overwhelmed by the thought: "Go ahead and curse me! These scholars and officials will not stop until they curse me to death. Dongsheng!"
Cao Dongsheng didn't expect Zhao Huan to suddenly speak to him while he was talking to Li Gang. He was stunned for a moment before hurriedly answering, "What are your instructions, Your Majesty?"
"Yao Pingzhong's raid on the camp failed, and the Qin Feng army was completely wiped out. What was the reason?"
Cao Dongsheng was puzzled, but he dared not disobey the emperor's words: "It was all due to the betrayal of the spies."
Zhao Huan smiled and looked at Li Gang: "Did you hear that? Intelligence is crucial to the outcome of a war. I am sending annual tribute to the Jin people to maintain peace with them. This is to paralyze the enemy. Once I have deployed my army, I will definitely incorporate the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun into the territory of the Great Song."
Li Gang thought of something: "But, apart from military expenses, I'm afraid it will be difficult to raise the annual tribute we promised to the Jin people."
Zhao Huan smiled and said, "Li Gang, when did you become so stupid? I promised to send annual tribute to Jin, but I didn't promise when to send it."
Li Gang was delighted: "Your Majesty, what do you mean?"
Zhao Huan was smug: "In three months at the earliest, or half a year at the most, I can deploy my troops in the north. As for the annual tribute, it has to be paid by the end of the year. It's urgent."
Li Gang said, "But if the Jin people don't see the annual tribute for a long time, I'm afraid they will become suspicious."
"That's easy. Let's say the Song Dynasty is short of money. We can't raise that much money all at once, so we can provide it monthly. Didn't I promise to pay them an annual tribute of 200,000 taels and 100,000 pieces of silk? Give them 10,000 taels first. Besides, we can open up trade. A Jin warhorse can be exchanged for double the Song Dynasty's market price. With warhorses, we will have our own cavalry."
Li Gang said worriedly, "But if we openly purchase horses, I'm afraid it will arouse the suspicion of the Jin thieves."
Zhao Huan smiled and said, "You don't understand this. When it comes to profit, everything is meaningless. Double the price is enough to make them take such a risk."
Li Gang frowned. "But this will also encourage the Song Dynasty's smugglers to take risks. They will smuggle the Song Dynasty's war horses out of the picture and then sell them to us in the name of the Jin thieves."
Zhao Huan stood up confidently and said, "So we must crack down on smuggling along the border. Especially war horses. Anyone caught will be killed without mercy!"
"Your Majesty, I still think that horse trading requires caution."
Zhao Huan pondered for a moment and said, "Well, then, let's change the pretext for collecting horses. Let's say we want to open up the Silk Road and need a large number of horses. Even if the Jin bandits become suspicious, so what? Their economic lifeline is in the hands of the Song Dynasty. As long as we close off trade, the Jin people will be unable to obtain the silk, tea, and silk they need, even the iron pots for cooking."
This is the truth. For thousands of years, the northern nomadic peoples have been invading the Central Plains. Because they have abundant cattle, sheep, horses, ginseng, and deer antlers. But they also lack gold, silver, copper, iron, firewood, rice, oil, salt, grain, cotton, cloth, and silk, all the essential daily necessities. If trade is not open, they will resort to plunder, and thus war will ensue.
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