Volume 2 Chapter 23: Return to the City (Part 1)
Now, since Scholar Xiao Lin had issued an imperial decree to find Li Gang and cause trouble, Emperor Zhao went to rest. However, nothing was said the whole night, and Zhao Jiu indeed had a sleepless night in this house where who knows how many wronged souls were locked up.
Of course, fortunately it was only one night.
The next day, Emperor Zhao assigned Qiao Zhongfu to garrison Xiangyang and Zhang Jing to garrison Guanghua Army (now Laohekou), a key road leading to Hanzhong. He then hurriedly sent a letter to Liu Ji, asking him to come here to take up his post immediately, and then ordered the entire army to return... Of course, in order to ensure stability, a large number of surrendered soldiers who had not had time to be digested and reorganized were also taken away, and prepared to be counted and compiled in the Yushan camp in Nanyang. Liu Ziyu also stayed behind to supervise the expansion of the Qiao and Zhang divisions, and to bring back the troop roster. Even Wang Jun was brought back to "report on his work" and receive rewards, and would be released after Liu Ji's side was stabilized.
After all, Zhao Jiu had to respect some of the "fine traditions" of the Song Dynasty's imperial army, and he also had to admit the fact that this was a time of chaos, so he never expected to establish a military supervisory team all at once, but he had to take back some power if possible, and try his best to make some beneficial changes to the army.
However, the generals in the imperial camp who were under the pressure of the emperor's power, the emperor himself who felt uncomfortable after seeing the naked beasts eating people, and even the person directly involved, Mr. Kobayashi, all gradually relaxed on the way back to the army.
After all, no matter what , from any perspective, this expedition was a great victory and a quick victory... It only took a dozen days, and it didn't consume too many supplies, but it was an easy victory. How easy was that? And with the overwhelming force of the heavenly soldiers, tens of thousands of rebels collapsed. What an exciting process!
It should be noted that the attitude of defeating the enemy without fighting is very consistent with the values of this era.
But the most important point is that after this battle, Xiangyang was captured, which completely opened up the maneuvering space behind Nanyang. The southeast, Bashu, Jingxiang, and the entire financial center of the Song Dynasty south of the Yangtze River can be transported all the way to the vicinity of the secondary capital through the natural artery of the Yangtze River... The Yangtze River plus the Han River, and the Baishui River, this waterway is much stronger than the Grand Canal and the Bian River!
This is a strategic victory.
Of course, regarding the point of breaking the deadlock, there is obviously another meaning to the recovery of Xiangyang, which is tacitly known to everyone. That is, once the Jin people launch another large-scale advance, sweep, and pincer attack similar to the previous three times, the Central Plains will not be able to hold on. Nanyang is in danger, and Emperor Zhao and Xingzai can always retreat to the famous city of Xiangyang to hold on a little longer.
Nanyang and Xiangyang are originally one, and the comparison of military strength between Song and Jin is there, so there is nothing shabby about it.
Back to the present, let's not talk about these future topics for now, let's just say that Emperor Zhao led his troops back to Nanyang, but he was caught off guard as soon as he arrived, because Nanyang in late April was much more lively than it was a month ago.
"I don't remember when the Central Government had so many officials?"
East of Nanyang City, by the Baihe River, Emperor Zhao dismounted his horse and laughed at the officials and civilians of the secondary capital who had come out of the city for who knows how many miles to greet him. "Prime Minister Lu, did you drive everyone out of the city? This is not a time of prosperity and happiness. Ordinary people should not be allowed to leave the city to do such things, which would delay production."
"Good, the emperor knows." Lu Haowen answered seriously. "I dare not lie to deceive the emperor. It is true that these days are the time when the talents recommended by various places gather in Nanyang one after another, waiting for the emperor to come in person... Most of these people have some companions, friends, and local officials accompanying them. When they heard that the emperor had returned victorious, they naturally flocked out. I think this is a top-notch event after the emperor's victory, and they should not be stopped from coming to see the emperor. So they are temporarily classified into the official ranks according to their civil and military talents, integrity, recommended sources, and ages, and come here together."
Zhao Jiu suddenly realized that this was one of the notes he left before going to the battle, so he didn't care about it anymore.
And then, without waiting for Emperor Zhao to say anything, Yang Yi, who was following the other ministers on the flank, suddenly stepped aside, and then Feng Yi led a soldier who was not very strong in physique to come forward. The soldier was holding a tray with a cup on it. The mouth of the cup was as square as a lotus root node, and the cup was full of wine... The soldier came directly in front of Zhao Jiu, knelt on one knee and offered the wine, and not a drop of it was spilled .
Emperor Zhao lowered his head to take a look, then turned his head to look at Feng Yi.
Feng Yi quickly lowered his head and smiled softly, "Your Majesty, this is the yellow plum wine sent by the Queen Mother of Yangzhou in the southeast a few days ago. I asked a few gentlemen and brought it to celebrate your victory."
Zhao Jiu, who was still wearing armor, smiled and looked at Yang Yizhong again.
When Yang Zhengfu saw the emperor coming to see him, he nodded slightly, almost imperceptibly, but then lowered his head.
Emperor Zhao sighed, and took up the wine. As expected, he saw a yellow plum blossom clearly visible at the bottom of the cup. He then held it to his nose and smelled it, and it was fragrant...
But unfortunately, Emperor Zhao didn't want to drink so much wine today. He just sniffed it a little, then took a sip, then turned around and gently poured the wine on the ground in front of countless officials and soldiers, and raised his voice again, saying:
"With the Queen Mother's grace, I will feed the souls who died in the battle in the imperial camp under Dengzhou City!"
Feng Yi did not dare to say much, but Lu Haowen and the other four ministers hurriedly bowed and saluted, and then led the front, back, left, and right, civil and military officials, noble and humble to salute together.
Even though the wine had been spilled, some of the yellow plums were still stuck in the cup. Emperor Zhao took advantage of the fact that no one had time to look up, pinched some of them and put them into his mouth before putting the glass back.
It was a small episode, not worth mentioning. Emperor Zhao put the cup back, and Lu Haowen also led all the officials to stand up. There were other procedures waiting for Zhao Jiu to go through here again. After finally finishing these tedious procedures, Wang Yuan and Wang De led the imperial camp to the Yushan camp, and Emperor Zhao also changed his clothes... But when he walked out of the curtain and was about to leave for the city, Lu Xianggong made a suggestion that Emperor Zhao couldn't refuse.
"Your Majesty." Lu Haowen responded sternly. "Your Majesty has fought hard, and the roads are muddy and dusty all the way. You should rest. But among the talented people who are coming out to welcome you today, there is a hermit who fled from Guanxi to Junzhou in the west of Beijing to avoid the chaos. He was first recommended by the local magistrate as a man of integrity. After arriving in Nanyang, he was particularly appreciated by Wang Shuzhan, the Minister of the Ministry of Rites, who was there to assess him. Then he wrote a letter to the province to recommend him, saying that he has a strategy to help the people... The key is that this person is over 60 years old. Why doesn't your Majesty publicly summon him here, observe his character and knowledge, and then grant him an official position to show your respect for the elderly and love for talents?"
Zhao Jiu certainly had nothing to say about this matter, and immediately ordered to summon this "recluse".
After a moment, a white-haired man came forward to pay a visit to Emperor Zhao. He was dressed in wealthy attire, performed formal etiquette, and had a calm demeanor, looking like an old man who had seen the world.
In response, Emperor Zhao spoke gently and in a gentle tone. He personally stepped forward to help the man up, and then asked cautiously: "May I ask what your surname is, what your name is, and what you are good at? It doesn't matter if you are a civil servant, a military officer, a worker, or a farmer. As long as you have a talent, I will reward you generously."
The old man raised his head and said sternly: "Good instructor, as you know, my surname is Wang. I have lived in seclusion for many years and have forgotten my real name, but I am good at alchemy."
Zhao Jiu held Old Wang's hand and didn't react for a moment.
