Volume 1 Chapter 47: Inside the Tent (Part 2)
"Three reasons." Jin Wushu answered proudly. "First, spring has arrived, and the temperature may warm up at any time. By then, the ice in the tributaries of the Huai River will melt, and there may be a spring flood... At that time, it will be difficult to cross the Huai River."
Ali, Olubu and a group of Jurchen men all came to their senses and nodded.
"Secondly," Jin Wushu continued casually. "You have all heard the order of the young man Zhao. It doesn't matter whether we defend the land against the Jin or not to negotiate peace. The only thing you need to pay attention to is the order to recruit volunteer militias and use them for the country's use... For this kind of thing, I am not afraid that the bandits and militias in Lianghuai will hear the message and come to Shouzhou for support, but if they come in waves, we have to fight them back. It is always time-consuming and laborious. It is better to end this matter as soon as possible."
Elubu and others frowned slightly, as if they were thinking of the rebel army in Hebei who had caused trouble, and the bandits in Jingdong who had become the main force in the anti-Jin movement, but they could not refute it.
"Third, General Ali does not understand the cunning of the Zhao family." Jin Wushu continued to speak in the main seat. "For example, the Zhao Song Emperor on the other side was provoked by me and lost control. Although it is true, it does not necessarily mean that he will really defend to the death..."
"What do you mean?" Ali asked with a frown.
"General Ali, have you ever thought about this?" Jin Wushu answered proudly. "Is it possible that the emperor on the other side is really afraid of me? On the surface, he is so firm and fierce, spitting at me, calling for defending the country and fighting, and entrusting the heir to the prime minister, but in fact he is deceiving everyone and taking the opportunity to escape?! What if he is cautious as you said and waits until the boats and supplies are ready before crossing the Yangtze River? What if the emperor of Song Dynasty has already fled across the Yangtze River?"
Ali instinctively wanted to refute, but when he thought about the deeds of the two saints in Tokyo City in the past, he was speechless.
"That's it." Jin Wushu was relieved after refuting Ali, so he simply spread his hands and said, "I have arranged everything. The day after tomorrow, we will start building a floating bridge to cross the river! Do you have any other opinions on this matter?"
Ali and Olubu looked at each other and thought for a while. In addition, their previous objections had been wiped out in the military meeting, so they had nothing to say and nodded.
Since the two generals and the commander-in-chief had already agreed, the people below naturally had nothing to say.
but……
"But beyond the river, there is something we must be wary of." When the show was over, Erlubu, who was the first to stand up, suddenly spoke casually.
"It doesn't matter. General Elubu, if you think it's necessary, just do it!" Jin Wushu was slightly stunned, then he reacted, but with an indifferent look on his face.
Elubu nodded repeatedly and left the tent first, and the military meeting was then completely disbanded.
However, just as Shi Wenbin, who had just controlled his emotions, followed at the end and was about to say goodbye and leave, Jin Wushu suddenly called out to him, "General Shi, you don't have to go to the rear camp tonight. Just find a place in front of my tent to sleep... This is my grace to you!"
Shi Wenbin was confused and puzzled, but there was no way he could refuse. He could only bow his head repeatedly and express his gratitude to the Fourth Prince for his grace. Jin Wushu did not explain much and went back to enjoy himself.
Shi Wenbin stayed in the central army tent, without bedding or a place to wash. He dared not sleep on the fur on the fourth prince's main seat, nor did he dare to use the wine in the seat to keep warm. He could only huddle in the corner and endure the cold and fatigue. Outside the tent, there were the sounds of galloping horses and the sound of armor and swords. There were also singing and dancing in the back tent, and faint voices of women begging. After finally calming down, the soldier thought of the imperial edicts read out at night, his family left in Yishui, the fear and bullying he had suffered in the past few days, and that he had no other way out. He cried secretly for half the night before he could barely fall asleep.
"Is it Zhengfu?" Zhao Jiu sat up in the middle of the night in the Baguashan imperial tent which had become much wider because it was made of wood, and asked casually about a familiar figure near the lights in the direction of the tent door.
"Your Majesty!" Yang Yizhong, who was dozing off on a chair inside the tent door, quickly stood up and responded. "Your Majesty, why are you awake? Is there anything wrong?"
"No, I'm just worried about the war situation... The Jin people are clearly planning to abandon Xiacai City and try to cross the river. According to Han Shizhong's previous arrangements and statements, this should be a good thing, but I still find it unbearable!" Zhao Jiu, sitting on the bed, answered frankly. "You have to know that I have never been to the battlefield and seen a real war?"
Yang Yizhong was obviously hesitant to speak.
"What do you mean?" Zhao Jiu could see clearly with the help of the light, but he asked directly. "Is there anything you and I can't say?"
"In fact, the emperor has been on the battlefield." Yang Yizhong forced a smile. "Before the emperor fell into the well, we were going from Hebei to Nanjing (Shangqiu), and we were blocked by bandits on the road. I fought in the front, covered in blood. The emperor thought I was injured, so he summoned me to ask about it, and then gave me wine as a reward... It was then that the emperor took a fancy to me, and then asked for it from General Zhang."
Zhao Jiu couldn't help but laugh dryly.
Yang Yizhong also quickly explained: "But fighting the Jin people is naturally different... The Jin people are strong and can endure hardship. In a battle with them, unless the enemy retreats voluntarily, we can only win by beheading the enemy's main general, or even killing them all. Not to mention that after the Jingkang Incident, the Jin people took all our armor and seemed to be even stronger than before."
"That's what I'm worried about!" Zhao Jiu shook his head and sighed. "Although I shouted fiercely the day before yesterday, in fact, at this moment, under this situation, the Jin army is strong and our army is weak. This is a reality that cannot be easily reversed. I feel guilty."
"If we can hold on in this battle and wait for the enemy to retreat, the momentum can gradually be reversed." Yang Yizhong hurriedly comforted them.
"Let's not talk about that," Zhao Jiu shook his head quickly. "I know myself well. All I can do in this battle is to sit under the dragon banner of the northern peak of Bagong Mountain to boost morale. The battle still needs Han Shizhong, Zhang Jun, and Wang De to fight... But Zhengfu!"
"I am here!"
"What I said the other night was just to please myself, but it caused you trouble."
"I don't deserve it!"
"But I'm speaking from the heart... Listen to me." Zhao Jiu suddenly added, "I know what you all thought afterwards. You all thought I was retreating to advance. By saying that kind of big words, I meant to force the officials to recognize my bottom line of defending the Huai River... But, that was really what I said from the bottom of my heart."
"Your Majesty!" Yang Yizhong was extremely helpless.
"Zhengfu, think about it... You should have seen clearly after following me for a few months. I am really afraid of death and I dare not end my life by myself!" Several eunuchs nearby poked their heads out from the back door, but then retracted them. Zhao Jiu ignored them and continued to speak frankly. "And the humiliation of being a heavy fool, is it something a person can accept? So if I really lose this time, I sincerely ask you to end my life for me! This is not a request from a monarch to a minister, but a private plea from me to you, Yang Zhengfu! You don't have to agree to leave excuses, just remember it in your heart for the sake of the four words "national hatred and family hatred"!"
Yang Yizhong remained silent.
"From today on, don't stay up late in the imperial tent." Zhao Jiu said with all his strength. "Because we don't know when the war will start, and the Jin army is so powerful. When it comes to last, everyone will have to go to the battlefield . There is no need for a great general like you to be idle... You must recuperate and gather your strength in advance."
"Yes!" Under the light, Yang Yizhong responded reluctantly.
The night passed in silence, and in a blink of an eye it was morning.
At the Jin camp in Huaibei, Shi Wenbin, who had finally survived the night, probably felt that he had completed his mission of "staying overnight", so he hurried out of the tent and prepared to return to the rear camp to make some arrangements. However, as soon as the fourth prince of the Jin Kingdom came out of the central army tent, he was stunned in front of the tent door... It turned out that overnight, dozens of Song surrendered people from the east and west routes of the capital who accompanied the Jin army, that is, Shi Wenbin's rear camp partners, and those former colleagues who were usually jealous and sarcastic, had all been beheaded!
At this time, there were dozens of heads of different shapes, all hung on both sides of the general platform in front of the central military tent, and they were faintly frozen.
Hearing the noise, several soldiers on duty in the central army, who still smelled of blood, all of whom were Jurchens, Xi people, Khitans and , turned around and saw that it was Shi Wenbin who was tied here and whipped the day before but escaped today. They began to point and talk to him for fun.
This time, General Shi fell to the ground, speechless, but he did not cry.
