Today, the forces of Zhao Ji and the Prime Minister are evenly matched, and there is only a not-so-big stream between the armies.

Zhao Ji had already sent assassins and spies to spy on the other side.

Soon the person who sent out received a reply.

"The situation on the Prime Minister's side is a bit complicated. First of all, there are a lot of soldiers on the Prime Minister's side. Although many of them are unofficial, they seem to be quite loyal to the Prime Minister..."

Zhao Ji frowned slightly when he heard this and asked, "Why are they so loyal to the traitor Prime Minister?"

The intelligence officer on Zhao Ji's side thought for a moment and said, "The prime minister seems to have given them very generous rewards. If they join the army normally, they will get ten taels of silver a year, but if they succeed, they will get twenty taels of silver."

After hearing this, it is not difficult to understand why the people on the Prime Minister's side are so loyal.

After all, birds die for food and people die for money.

For those who join the army, not everyone understands the greater good of their country and family, and most of them just want to earn some food and property for their families.

"But how can the Prime Minister have so much money? You know, his army is estimated to have about 70,000 to 80,000 people, which is a considerable expense every year. Where does the money come from?"

Zhao Ji was puzzled and called a secret guard who was following him: "Go quietly to the other side and find out the reason."

When it was late at night and everyone was asleep, the secret guards went straight to the other side.

When he came back, he told Zhao Ji directly: "I beat him up a little bit. The reason why the prime minister has so much money seems to be because there is a traitor in the court who has been supplying him with gold and silver. In addition, the prime minister seems to have discovered a gold mine in a city in the south..."

"The Prime Minister was not shy about it and directly spread the news of his discovery of the gold mine among his army. That's why these people are so determined to believe it because they think the Prime Minister can give out the money!"

After listening to it, Zhao Ji understood.

Zhao Ji lowered his head and pondered for a moment, then suddenly smiled nonchalantly: "If you say there are traitors in the court, I believe it. There are always people who blindly want to win the credit of following the dragon. But if you say there is a gold mine in the south, and it is in the hands of the prime minister... this is a bit too fake!"

"I guess this is just a gimmick made up by the Prime Minister to confuse the source of gold and silver in the court with physics and chemistry!"

The secret guards at the side lowered their heads and said nothing, but Zhao Ji stretched out his hand and called people over: "You were able to sneak in here, is their military defense lax?"

The secret guard shook his head and said, "I have encountered more than a dozen secret sentries along the way. The closer to the core position, the more people are hiding. I just disguised myself as a sergeant and mixed into the army to gather information!"

Zhao Ji touched the cup thoughtfully: "It seems that the Prime Minister cherishes his life very much. Notify everyone to prepare for a surprise attack tonight. With the two armies facing each other like this, I can wait, but the injured emperor in the palace can't!"

There was a hint of viciousness in Zhao Ji's eyes.

As the night deepened, Zhao Ji also began to move. He put on a black nightgown, led the secret guards and elite soldiers, quietly crossed the stream, and launched a surprise attack on the prime minister's army.

However, the prime minister's army did not relax as expected, and Zhao Ji and his men encountered strong resistance. For a moment, there were flashes of swords, flames soaring into the sky, and shouts of killing shook the sky.

Zhao Ji was on the battlefield, and every attack was extremely swift, as if he wanted to swallow up the whole world. There was a cold light flashing in his eyes, as if he wanted to defeat all enemies.

However, the prime minister's army was not an easy target, as they were numerous and extremely loyal to the prime minister. They fought desperately, so Zhao Ji's attack did not achieve the desired effect.

However, at this moment, Zhao Ji discovered a fatal fact - the prime minister's army was not flawless. When they faced Zhao Ji's attack, their morale and organization level did not reach the level that the prime minister said.

Zhao Ji sneered in his heart, and he began to understand the prime minister's intention. In order to delay time, he deliberately released false news to make Zhao Ji's army waste time here.

However, Zhao Ji did not give up, and he began to use his wisdom and strategy. He ordered the secret guards and elite soldiers to disperse and attack the prime minister's army from all directions. At the same time, he also sent messengers to request support from the troops in other places.

On this night, the battle between the two sides was extremely fierce. However, as time went on, Zhao Ji's army gradually gained the upper hand. Although their number was small, each soldier had excellent fighting power and willpower.

The Prime Minister's army began to show signs of confusion and collapse. Their resistance gradually became weak, while Zhao Ji's army became more and more courageous and launched a fierce attack on the enemy like a wolf.

That night, Zhao Ji swung his sword until his hand almost lost all feeling. However, he did not stop, he still swung his weapon on the battlefield and attacked the enemy.

Finally, as the morning sun rose, the battle ended.

Because Zhao Ji's army took the enemy by surprise and caught them off guard, this sneak attack was a complete victory.

However, the prime minister was no pushover. When daybreak approached, he realized that defeat was inevitable, and immediately withdrew most of his troops to retreat and flee.

It was equivalent to a heroic act of self-sacrifice. A part of the army was left here to delay Zhao Ji, and the rest of the army was taken away to retain the core strength.

"The bastard actually let him escape..." By the time Zhao Ji realized it, the prime minister had already escaped.

"No wonder he is such a cunning fox. He is more sensitive than anyone else when faced with danger!"

Zhao Ji spat on the ground and called off the attack.

However, when Zhao Ji was halfway there, he suddenly realized something was wrong.

That is, in the previous battles, the Prime Minister's troops were very powerful, but this time they were clearly weak.

Even the intelligence said that the Prime Minister had at least 80,000 troops at his disposal, and Zhao Ji estimated that in today's war, that was the maximum number of troops that could be deployed. If it weren't for the shortage of troops, the Prime Minister would not have died of illness so quickly.

Zhao Ji suddenly thought of something, and immediately turned around and mobilized a large number of troops. With these troops, he changed the direction of march and quickly rushed towards the imperial city.

In the imperial city, there is an emperor who is still seriously ill, and there is also a traitor in the court who has not yet been investigated and is secretly transferring money to the prime minister!

During the march, Zhao Ji indeed found traces of the prime minister's soldiers walking on this road.

"Sure enough, their goal is not to fight us on the battlefield, but to find the emperor in the imperial city!"

At this moment, Zhao Ji's expression was no longer as relaxed as before. He knew very well that if the prime minister took the emperor hostage in advance, things would get bad.