Volume 1 Chapter 15 Han Shizhong rebelled!
The news of the sudden appearance of the main force of the Jin army frightened almost all the civil and military officials in the imperial court even though they were six or seven hundred miles away.
Someone cried and asked to see Zhao Jiu, requesting the removal of Li Gang from his position as prime minister, on the grounds that the Jin people were clearly lured in by using the pro-war Li Gang, otherwise why had nothing happened in the previous two months?
Some people even requested that the emperor personally lead the army to fight the Jin Dynasty... However, they wanted Zhao Jiu to personally visit Guangzhou, located in the upper reaches of the Huai River, as the emperor and persuade Ding Jin, who was gathering troops there, to surrender. This way, they could travel quickly and they wouldn't even have to wait for Han Shizhong!
It's not that no one advised Zhao Jiu to turn back, but he only needed to go back to Mingdao Palace because Han Shizhong was there. By then, the emperor and Han Shizhong would have a combined force of 13,000 or 14,000. They could completely abandon Ding Jin, take a detour to Huaidong and go south to Yangzhou, or even Hangzhou!
In short, the four words "true colors revealed" are extremely appropriate at this time.
Regarding this, Zhao Jiu, who was for some reason exceptionally calm and unperturbed, was half worried and half happy.
What worried him was that, although he had been prepared, these civil and military officials looked really decent and capable of both civil and martial arts on a daily basis, so much so that he almost believed in their ghosts. But when the Jin people really came, they finally returned to their original forms. But what made him happy was that, after all, it was only almost, there were still a few people who were not scared, and there were still some people who stood their ground.
Needless to say, Li Gang was almost the only one who remained calm along with Zhao Jiu. At the critical moment, the Shangshu Zuo Pushe temporarily dismissed several people, forcibly expelled those courtiers who went to Zhao Jiu to cry and complain, and demanded to convene a meeting of the Political Affairs Hall the next day on the grounds that the Jin army was very far away... In the end, he actually slept directly in the main hall of the Buddhist temple with his son's service, and opened the door in the middle of winter for people to watch, which barely stabilized people's hearts.
Then, Zhang Jun and the young people recommended by Zhang Jun recently did not disappoint Zhao Jiu. At the critical moment, they did not cause any trouble. Instead, they stood firm and chose to support Li Gang.
What surprised Zhao Jiu the most was Yuwen Xu Zhong, the Grand Secretary who was in charge of peace talks with the Jin people during the Jing Kang period. This time, he showed great restraint and demeanor, but his position was unclear, otherwise Zhao Jiu really wanted to immediately appoint him as prime minister of the East and West Palaces. Yuwen Xu Zhong said that he was in charge of peace talks that day but went to the north to hunt the two emperors, and the country was on the verge of extinction. He often blamed himself, so he asked to go north, firstly to try to delay for a while; secondly, to see if he could persuade the other side to withdraw troops; thirdly, to see if there was any hope of welcoming back the two emperors.
Of course Zhao Jiu refused, and then Yuwen Xuzhong and others were expelled from the back hall by Li Gang.
However, as the saying goes, when you stand on the bridge to enjoy the scenery, you don't realize that you are also a part of the scenery. Since the commotion last night, the most surprising thing for everyone in the entire troop, both civil and military, was not anything else but Zhao Jiu's calmness!
It is even more astonishing when thinking about his previous communication with Zong Ze, that he made an amazing judgment about Jin Wushu leading the main force of the Jin army to move south.
"What's so surprising about that?"
The next morning, another meeting was held in the Imperial Court, the Buddhist Hall, and the Political Affairs Hall. Zhao Jiu was still calm and as numb as Koda duck, and his face was expressionless when he spoke. "The Jin people started from the alliance of fishing and hunting tribes. At that time, they did not know what luxury and frugality were, what power struggle was, and what monarchs and ministers were. They rose up thirteen years ago, and even though they were quickly infected with these things, they were extremely simple... It's not that you don't understand, but you think too much."
"Why Jin Wushu (Wanyan Zongbing)? It's because he is Aguda's fourth son, that's all."
"Think of the Jin Taizu Aguda, a great man of his generation. He died after achieving success, and the throne was passed to his younger brother Wuqimai. However, his prestige as a founder of the Jin Dynasty was truly inviolable. Therefore, although the second prince Wuliebu (Wanyan Zongwang) died, the Jin Dynasty's ruler Wuqimai and the marshal Nianhan (Wanyan Zonghan) were unable to shake the power of Aguda's sons at all."
"Another reason is that the Jin people's military tactics were passed down from hunting, and the division of troops into left and right wings has become a fixed pattern and tradition, which cannot be easily changed. Aguda's sons are all young, and the second son Wuliebu has died, so there are only three of them... The Jin Kingdom is in power with Bogile, and the eldest son Wuben (Wanyan Zonggan) must continue to be Bogile in the center; and the third son Erliduo (Wanyan Zongyao) was originally under the command of Nianhan of the Western Army and has a lot of foundation. Whether he is independent this time to control the Yanjing Central Army or what, he will never abandon his headquarters; therefore, although Jin Wushu is young, he is the only candidate pushed by his brothers to inherit Aguda's power in the Eastern Army!"
After a long speech, the temple, where the Tathagata Buddha statue had been dismantled (to scrape off the gold powder), was completely silent. After a while, someone exclaimed in admiration:
"Your Majesty is truly as perceptive as seeing through fire, illuminating thousands of miles away!"
Zhao Jiu still had a blank expression on his face, but he couldn't help but secretly complain in his heart - if you knew the answer, you could also deduce such a process, and it might be more reasonable than mine!
"But why did your majesty know that the Jin army would invade again?" Zhang Jun, the Imperial Censor, could not help but ask. "If we count from June, it's only been April, and the Jin army has already returned."
"You have come from Tokyo and have experienced much more than I have. Why do you still have any illusions about the Jin people?" Zhao Jiu was finally moved by this, but he couldn't stop sneering, and his sarcasm was evident in his words. "The Jin people can't be called good or evil, they are just barbaric and cunning, just like wild beasts. How can a wild beast eat meat for free and then never come back?!"
At this point, Zhao Jiu looked at Yuwen Xuzhong again, and his tone became more serious: "And if we don't hurt the beasts, there is no point in reasoning with them!"
After this was said, Yuwen Xuzhong aside, many ministers in the hall also swallowed their words, because they finally confirmed that it was impossible for the emperor to abandon his pro-war thinking for the time being... Of course, if the Jin soldiers really came to the city, it would be hard to say, after all, there was a precedent... Let's wait and see.
It was a rare occasion for Zhao Jiu to lose his temper. Seeing that Li Gang, the Prime Minister, was staring at him with a hint of surprise, he quickly calmed down, then continued to sit under the lotus throne of the Buddha statue and went to install the wood carving.
Li Gang was silent for a moment, then turned around, and when he opened his mouth his voice was no longer as loud as before... It turned out that in order to calm people's hearts, he slept here last night, but left the door open and lit the brazier. As a result, a cold wind blew all night and he caught a cold, and even his throat became hoarse.
"I have made a decision on this matter!"
Li Gang's eyes were full of bloodshot, and his voice was low, but as soon as he opened his mouth, everyone in the hall immediately became serious, vaguely more serious than when he spoke to Emperor Zhao. "Yesterday, there was a series of fast horse reports. There is no doubt that the main force of the Jin army is heading south, with at least 50,000 or 60,000 troops... However, judging from the standing of the Jin army's east and west routes, there must be a follow-up, and the final 100,000 main forces should be undoubtedly, and this time they should be heading towards the two routes of Jingdong (now Shandong Province), so they will not threaten the imperial court... We don't need to worry too much."
"I have objections to this matter."
At this moment, someone suddenly interrupted Mr. Li's calm arrangements, causing everyone to glare at him angrily. After realizing that it was the emperor who interrupted, they simply adjusted their expressions and looked expectant.
"Your Majesty, does your Majesty have any objections?" Li Gang frowned even more. Although the emperor had been obedient in recent days, he had to learn from past experience. In addition, in the past month or two, he had seen that the emperor was very good at winning people's hearts and had a large group of close attendants and military officials gathered around him, so he had to be on guard.
"It is impossible for the Jin people to take only the two routes to Jingdong."
The matter was of great importance, so Zhao Jiu didn't bother to worry about the old minister's heart and whether he was ill, and directly expressed his concerns. "Before, Zong Liushou said that the situation at Sishui Pass was tight, which might not be false. It seems that Nianhan might also send troops south!"
Li Gang was silent for a moment again, then he coughed, and after a while he managed to respond: "Your Majesty, what you said makes sense, and if Nianhan sends the Western Route Army south, he will definitely take Luoyang, Shanzhou, and even Guanzhong..."
Everyone was instantly horrified... If this was the case, not to mention that the 200,000 Jin troops would march south again, the key point was that if they followed the original arrangement and went through Nanyang and then to Luoyang or Chang'an, wouldn't that be like a sheep walking into a tiger's mouth?
Then the Jingkang Incident will happen again?!
"How about we stay in Nanyang for the time being and wait and see?" someone suggested.
"This is the only way... If something really goes wrong, why not go south from Nanyang and enter Xiangyang?" Someone was more conservative.
"Can't we just fight a battle?" Zhao Jiu was obviously talkative today.
As soon as these words were spoken, the Buddhist hall fell silent.
Without anyone else saying anything, Li Gang, the number one advocate of war, sighed softly, and then used a rare hoarse accent to persuade the Emperor Zhao:
"Your Majesty, everyone in the world knows that I have always advocated war. So if there were really one or two people in the Central Plains who could fight, how could I let Your Majesty go to Nanyang? Even now, not to mention Guanzhong, there are only Liu Guangshi's 10,000 people in Jingdong, and the rest are bandits and newly recruited archers from local state armies. Based on my guess about the combat power of the Jin army, I am afraid that the entire area north of Mount Tai will fall before the end of the year."
"If that's the case, then there's no need to think about where to go." Zhao Jiu also sighed. "Since the Jin army can immediately break through the two routes in Jingdong, they will immediately know the real situation and location of the enemy. Then why wouldn't they chase us?"
Li Gang was about to comfort Zhao Jiu, but unexpectedly, the Emperor Zhao continued to speak:
"Mr. Li, I said before that the Jin people are like wild beasts. You said that when a wild beast sees its prey turning its back on it and fleeing, how can it endure it? The current situation has nothing to do with your decision. It was destined when the emperor moved camp from Nanjing (Shangqiu) to the south. Since the Jin people have broken through the defense line of Jingdong and know the strength of the Central Plains, and seeing the emperor fleeing south, and Jin Wushu is young and energetic and has just taken charge of the army, he will definitely look down on me. He also wants to create unprecedented achievements and compete with Nianhan for supremacy. I am afraid that he will abandon everything and come directly to chase me."
"Then what does Your Majesty think?" Li Gang frowned even more. He didn't know if it was an illusion, but he seemed to be in low spirits and needed to frown and exert himself to refresh himself, because the hard wings on both sides of his fu hat were obviously trembling slightly.
"I have been thinking about this for a long time these days, and this is the only solution... If we can fight, then fight. We don't seek a big victory, but a small victory to boost the morale of the people will be enough to comfort the world; if we can't fight, then defend. We must deploy troops and horses as much as possible to resist the enemy in the Yangtze and Huaihe River networks and ensure the safety of the rear; as for not being able to defend..." Zhao Jiu, who was wearing a round-necked red robe, said this but did not continue.
However, everyone in the hall was well-read, and they understood what he meant when they heard it. They knew that this was Sima Yi's words on the military that day, which was to fight if you can win, defend if you can't fight, and flee if you can't defend. But if you can't escape, you can only die or surrender.
Li Gang thought about it for a moment, then shook his head: "Your Majesty, I understand what you mean, but I also said that the Central Plains cannot be fought! However, Zong Ze is in Tokyo and Liu Guangshi is in Mount Tai, so maybe we can still hold on."
"Whether we can fight or not is not up to Li Xianggong to decide." Zhao Jiu seemed to be showing some signs of being at odds with Li Gang today, which made many people in the hall excited. "That day, Li Xianggong himself wrote a letter saying that he didn't know how to fight..."
Maybe it was because of the powerful enemy, or maybe it was because Zhao Jiu's position was good after all, or maybe it was because he was sick, so Li Gang was not angry, nor did he lose his temper. He just said to him earnestly: " If I don't know military affairs, my words don't count. Who can have the final say? Your Majesty, you don't know military affairs, and you have never been on the battlefield..."
"I know I don't understand war, so I think that whether to fight or not should be asked to Han Shizhong!" Zhao Jiu finally said what he really wanted today. "Han Shizhong is a famous general in the world, but the country has fallen to this point. Isn't it because the central government officials who are thousands of miles away are the main ones in the war? In my opinion, if four vassal states were set up in Hebei in the early years, why would the Jin people drink from the Yellow River and cause the Jingkang Incident?!"
This topic was extremely sensitive, but Li Gang still responded immediately: "The country is in chaos, Your Majesty can use military men, but you cannot let them take power! Today's words are even more absurd! As for the lesson that the central civil officials are thousands of miles away from the master, I also know it, so I sent Zong Ze and Zhang Suo to lead the army and lead the generals to fight."
Zhao Jiu did not argue with him, but just slightly restrained his expression and said: "But from now on, we should consult the generals on the front line about the war, right?"
The civil officials in the hall were discussing a lot, but the military officers who were accompanying the emperor had no expression on their faces, as if this debate had nothing to do with them. Li Gang also gave in a little, "If you just want to consult, Your Majesty can summon him privately, or you can summon him to the Prime Minister for questioning. But as for the previous discussion about the vassal states and the discussion about the civil and military, Your Majesty, please respect your status and don't say too much. The way of controlling the military with the civil is the foundation of national stability... Once the ban is lifted, the lack of morality of the military officers may make them accomplices to the tiger. By then, the Jin people will not be able to stop them, and it will only ruin the overall situation."
After getting Li Gang's permission, Zhao Jiu naturally stopped saying these emotional words and just nodded.
After Emperor Zhao and Li Xianggong had put away their magical powers, the rest of the things went smoothly. Soon, a strategy was agreed upon in the hall, or rather, Li Xianggong's strategy was approved:
First, since Zhang Suo was too late to go to Jingdong and Jingdong, he could only send a message by express horse, asking Zong Ze and Liu Guangshi to carefully arrange the defense of the two places. Far water cannot quench near thirst, so he could only give them a last-ditch effort and let them handle it themselves;
Secondly, although the Jin soldiers were six or seven hundred miles away and were targeting Qingzhou, Zibo, Qizhou and other places, the imperial court had the Jin army behind them and bandits in front of them, so they should immediately move to the city to calm people's hearts... Because there had been a small rebellion in Chenzhou in the north, and it was difficult to persuade the imperial court to move north at this time, and there were heavy rebel troops in the southwest, so they immediately decided to settle in Shunchang Prefecture in the south and east (Fuyang in later generations, originally named Yingzhou);
Third, regardless of whether the Jin army was chasing them or not, the Huaixi bandit Ding Jin in front had to be dealt with immediately and quickly... In this regard, the emperor formulated a decisive and bold strategy. On the one hand, he sent local officials to persuade them to surrender, and on the other hand, he appointed the originally designated Liu Zhengyan as the general, leading 3,000 elite soldiers, plus the troops of Miao Fu and Liu Yan, totaling more than 4,000 soldiers and horses, to directly cross the Yingshui River and follow the envoys forward. If surrender failed, he would immediately change to a military strategy.
This is certainly a very bold move, but it does not refer to Ding Jin. Rather, if this happens, there will be a short-term window period here, with only Yang Yizhong leading hundreds of imperial guards to provide direct protection.
However, no one objected, because everyone should forget that today was already the second day of November, and the vanguard of Han Shizhong's troops had definitely entered the Jingdong Road. Even if the emperor took the initiative to move to Shunchang Prefecture (formerly Yingzhou, later Fuyang), he would definitely be able to arrive today or the day after tomorrow to protect the emperor and the civil and military officials.
In other words, even if Liu Zhengyan led his troops away, the imperial court was still under the circular protection of the two most reliable imperial camp troops, just a little further away.
After all, even though Prime Minister Li always says that military officials are immoral, he still trusts Han Shizhong very much... This is nonsense. If Han Shizhong cannot be trusted, who can be trusted in the current situation?
Of course, there is a little trick to this strategy, which Zhao Jiu did not understand and no one else mentioned. That is, since we are going to enter the provincial city, it is not good to bring too many troops in, otherwise there will be chaos. It is best for the civil and military officials to enter the city first, and then Han Shizhong will lead the troops to the city for sanitation.
Now that the matter had been agreed upon, with Prime Minister Li's swift and decisive character, it was immediately executed.
Let’s not talk about all the complicated things, as they were none of Emperor Zhao’s business. In the afternoon of that day, Zhao Jiu started to move again. He was used to riding a horse and didn’t care at all.
However, in the evening of that day, only a few hundred guards, a few hundred civil and military officials and their families were left, heading south along the Ying River. They trudged all the way to Shuizibu Town (the northern part of Taihe County in later generations) to temporarily settle down. Just as they were preparing to have dinner, someone suddenly came from the northeast... It was none other than Zhao Ding, one of the two palace imperial censors who was responsible for meeting and contacting Han Shizhong after the strategy was agreed upon this morning!
As soon as Zhao Dingfu, who was covered in mud and in a state of disgrace, jumped off his horse, he brought a bolt of news to the indifferent Emperor Zhao:
"Your Majesty, Han Shizhong has rebelled!"
Emperor Zhao, who had just picked up a bowl of rice, was stunned and speechless for a long time... Is it okay if Han Shizhong has rebelled?
