Volume 1 Chapter 17: The government is at its wits’ end! (Part 2)
It should be noted that what Zhao Jiu was talking about was a story about Emperor Xian of Han.
Back then, when Emperor Xian of Han was heading east, he encountered the rebellious army of Guo and Li. In order to escape across the river, Dong Cheng took a knife and chopped the hands of the person who was clinging to the boat. As a result, his fingers were piled up in the boat and could actually be held up with his hands. Although Emperor Xian of Han escaped, the palace ladies, ministers, books, carriages, and treasures that accompanied him were destroyed.
We are all smart people and naturally understand the meaning behind these words, so everyone was speechless.
Besides, Zhao Ding was a man after all. Although he came in a mess and saw his companions being killed, he did not lose his composure completely. Instead, he came to the circle of Zhao Jiu's tent and cried when he saw Zhao Jiu himself. Therefore , at this time, beside the campfire and in the tent, although the core members of the Zhao Song exiled court were completely speechless, the entire camp was unaware of it... On the contrary, because they could enter the state capital in a day or two, and they were having dinner at this time, there was laughter and joy. Inside and outside the tent, in heaven and on earth, the two formed a sharp contrast.
Amid the cheers, the first to break the silence was Li Gang, who was supported by his son: "Your Majesty is kind-hearted, and we have nothing to say. However, I would like to use the story of the Three Kingdoms to advise you... The world can do without us, but it cannot do without your Majesty."
Emperor Zhao shook his head repeatedly. He did not agree with this statement from the bottom of his heart, but the other party's next sentence made him tempted.
"If that's the case, why not just let Yang Yizhong lead a hundred cavalrymen to secretly cross the river and tell the public that Yang Yizhong was sent to support Liu Zhengyan." Li Gang said slowly. "I will immediately call the senior official Lan here to continue to pretend that Your Majesty is here with the other officials behind the curtains. This will not only prevent the people from losing their morale, but also prevent Your Majesty from being at a loss when facing the rebels. And if Your Majesty is quick and sends reinforcements tomorrow, or if Han Shizhong really doesn't rebel, then we can find him and end this matter, and then there will be no danger."
Zhao Jiu remained silent, and the people around him came to their senses and tried to persuade him. There was also a green-robed attendant named Hu Yin, who started to take off his clothes, as if he wanted to exchange clothes with the emperor, but was stopped by Yang Yizhong... It turned out that one side of the curtain faced the Yingshui River bank, and it was dark, so there was no need to pretend in clothing.
In this way, Yang Yi Zhong personally went out to dispatch a hundred cavalrymen, and they pushed the bewildered Zhao Jiu onto his horse. They secretly opened the curtain towards the other side of the Yingshui River, and urged Emperor Zhao to set off quickly and escape from there, looking for Yang Yi Zhong along the river beach.
At this moment, Li Gang could no longer bear it, but he broke away from his son's support, stepped forward again, and then held Zhao Jiu's hand under his horse at the edge of the curtain:
"Your Majesty, I have one more thing to say! The country is in danger, so Your Majesty asked us to be Marquis Wu. We are ashamed... But Your Majesty should not compare yourself to Emperor Xian of Han. I don't ask you to be Wei Wu, but I ask you to be Zhaolie!"
Zhao Jiu's heart moved, and he was about to reply, but unexpectedly, after Li Gang let go of his hand and signaled to someone, someone directly whipped the buttocks of the mount under Zhao Jiu's crotch. The mount felt pain and galloped out of the tent.
Zhao Jiu, with a mixture of desire to survive and shame, half-reluctantly turned and walked out of the curtain, then leaned over the river bank... The wind was cold at dusk in winter, and the feeling on the river bank was needless to say. When the official was blown by the cold wind, goose bumps appeared all over his body, but no matter how he thought about it, it was wrong! No matter how he thought about it, it was ridiculous!
That’s Han Shizhong!
Emperor Zhao actually wanted to avoid Han Shizhong? !
Who is Han Shizhong?
To put it bluntly, Han Shizhong is Zhao Jiu's biggest reliance in maintaining a stable posture since he traveled through time!
Yue Fei was only 24 years old this year, and it was still 13 years before his great victory in Zhuxian Town; Li Gang was a good hand at stabilizing the government, and his role in the anti-Jin banner was irreplaceable, but his military level was obviously questionable; Zong Ze could indeed be trusted unconditionally, but he trusted Zong Ze, and Zong Ze did not trust him, and at this time he really couldn't join forces with the Tokyo Resident Division and cause trouble for Zong Ze...
Therefore, for a long time, the one who has always brought Zhao Jiu a sense of security and has always kept the trump card hidden in Zhao Jiu's heart is none other than Han Shizhong, who has always been acting as a shield in the north!
At this time, Zhao Jiu found out clearly that Han Shizhong was 39 years old this year, experienced in hundreds of battles, and had superb martial arts skills. He was in the golden stage of a famous general in history! This morning, he said that he would listen to Han Shizhong's words about whether he could fight or not. He was not deliberately challenging Li Gang, but the true words of this official!
Moreover, Zhao Jiu knew better than anyone that it was impossible for the world-famous Han Shizhong and the missing Yue Fei to rebel!
Of course, the current situation is very clear. Han Shizhong did not rebel. It was the veteran soldiers among his subordinates who wanted to mutiny... But even so, Zhao Jiu found it ridiculous!
Just now, Li Gang probably felt that this time they might really be separated by life and death, so he told him to learn from Liu Bei. He probably wanted to persuade him to be patient for a while, or to persuade him to learn from Liu Bei and not be ashamed to run away... However, if Emperor Zhao is Liu Bei, then Yue Fei and Han Shizhong are exactly Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, right?
Well, Zhang Fei's men rebelled, forcing Liu Bei to abandon his wife and children...
When Zhao Jiu thought of this, he was in a trance, but suddenly he woke up. He finally understood why this path seemed reasonable, but he had always found it difficult to accept it!
It was not a problem for these important officials to worry, because they did not know that Han Shizhong himself was completely reliable. They, the civil officials, including the military general Yang Yizhong, still believed that Han Shizhong himself might mutiny or rebel, and then passively or actively participate in it... However, Zhao Jiu knew that this person would not do so, because this person was his Zhang Fei! He was the confidant of his Emperor Zhao!
So the question is, Liu Bei waited for Zhang Fei to come and see him, but Zhang Fei's front army rioted (this is a very normal thing in troubled times), so what should Liu Bei choose at this time?
Abandoning everyone and wading through the ice-covered river in the cold winter wind to look for Meng Da and Wei Yan?
That's not right!
Although these thoughts are complicated, they have actually been circling in the mind of our Emperor Zhao for a long time. It is just that they were suddenly stirred by the cold winter wind and became smooth.
With this thought in mind, Zhao Jiu no longer hesitated and rode back to the tent along the same route. He glanced at the stunned people in the tent and immediately pointed at one of them:
"Zhao Ding! You said that you had inquired about the news with Han Shizhong's front scouts, and that the mutiny began when you met the commander in the town, is that correct?"
"Yes..." Zhao Ding, who had stopped crying a long time ago, stood up suddenly.
"Then let me ask you, where is Han Shizhong himself?" Zhao Jiu held a horsewhip in his hand, his face looking slightly ferocious under the firelight.
"In...Jingou Town behind Wanshou County!"
"How far is it from here?"
"Forty miles!"
Zhao Jiu rode away after hearing this, but turned back a moment later, and pointed his whip at Zhao Ding in front of all the bewildered officials, "I don't know the road, and I'm afraid we'll run into the rebels. Ban Zhi must be a little confused, too. How about Censor Zhao be my guide?"
After saying this, perhaps because he was worried that Li Gang would stop him, or perhaps he realized that he could find other guides on the way. In short, as soon as Zhao Jiu finished speaking, he hurriedly rode away, leaving behind the stunned ministers.
Faced with this situation, Zhao Ding, whose body was already covered in mud, opened his mouth to speak , but no sound came out. Only the image of his colleague who had died tragically in the icy river before, and the image of his wife and children who were there, suddenly came to his mind, urging him to escape.
But for some reason, a feeling as if a blessing had come to his mind came to his heart. This man, who was over forty years old and had wasted half his life with Emperor Daojun, turned over and jumped onto a horse beside the campfire almost out of control. Then he climbed up the river bank through the gap in the curtain and chased after him!
Following closely behind him were Chief Censor Zhang Jun and Grand Secretary of the Council of State, Yuwen Xuzhong, who was nearly fifty years old.
The forty-mile journey across the plain took only half an hour for a fast horse that did not spare its horsepower.
However, traveling at night and being unfamiliar with the road, the speed was naturally much slower; plus, the accompanying guards were all wearing armor, and although the civil officials were courageous and loyal, their horse-riding skills were clearly not as good as Zhao Jiu and the cavalrymen, so they were even slower.
Therefore, Zhao Jiu and his party spent nearly two hours, and it was almost three o'clock in the morning before they arrived at Jingou Town, and they went all the way to Han Shizhong's "central army tent" in the name of envoys.
The town had been quiet, but now it was bustling with activity and bright lights.
On the street in the center of the town, several civil officials were panting and almost falling on their saddles, but Zhao Jiu managed to stay upright on his horse with his physical strength advantage.
As for Yang Yizhong, the best warrior in the server, he no longer had his former dignity and composure. Instead, he was sweating profusely, looking left and right, and clenched his spears in front of him at the countless knights, armored soldiers, and archers who were all curious on all sides... but his hands were shaking slightly!
You must know that if Han Powu really rebels, the current situation will never be reversed!
God bless you, it's not that Yang Yizhong didn't want to stop the official, but he once again verified his thoughts. The official's horsemanship is really amazing! At least he can't catch !
After waiting for about half an incense stick of time, a two-story inn on the side of the road, which was the main military tent of General Han, finally opened its door. Then, before anyone could be seen, a burst of cursing was heard first, and then a person wearing only a silk shirt and shorts, and a white cloak , staggered out of the door.
The light was flickering, making it difficult to see the man's specific features. One could only see that he had an extremely large frame, a very strong body, and there was a faint smell of alcohol.
Zhao Jiu looked back at Yang Yizhong, who nodded repeatedly while looking nervous.
At this point, Emperor Zhao was completely relieved, and he shouted from afar, his voice so loud that it echoed throughout the entire street: "Good minister! Han Qing! The front troops under the command of Han Shizhong, the commander of the left army of the imperial camp, rebelled and killed my censor. I was forced to do nothing but abandon my wife and children, and my civil and military officials to come to you!"
Poor Han Shizhong was first woken up from Madam Liang's arms in the middle of the night. When he heard these words, he raised his head again to look at the man in the round-collared red robe on the horse, and was so frightened that his cloak fell to the ground.
