Historically, Du Chong defended Tokyo for a year, the same length as Zong Ze. For this reason, even though he broke the dike of the Yellow River and forced more than half of his troops to rebel, Yue Fei still followed him loyally and the exiled court kept promoting him to higher positions.
In a word, failure and incompetence are not , otherwise the whole court would be killed. And for frontline officials like Du Chong, failure is never a reason to punish them, and a sentence of "If you can do it, you can do it" is enough to shut up everyone in the central government.
Even after Zhao Jiu came here, he successively dealt with Liu Guangshi, Ding Jin and Fan Qiong. The official reason he gave was not defeat or something like that, but rather not fighting or avoiding fighting.
What’s more, these three are all military men, not civil officials of proper origin…Are civil officials and military generals the same thing?
In fact, even for a "model" like Fan Zhixu who was absurd and harmed the country, Zhao Jiu did not dare to risk breaking with the civil officials and kill him directly.
Because this killing meant that many of the things he had worked so hard to build would be wasted.
When Du Chong's letter was delivered, the central government was shocked. After a discussion in the palace, some people thought that Du Chong might be afraid of fighting. In fact, many people thought of this. Some people, including Emperor Zhao, thought of a possibility - Du Chong was so afraid of fighting that he lied to Nanyang!
However, this is just a guess. If it were true, Du Chong would sooner or later suffer the same fate as Fan Zhixu, because this incident has caused panic across the board in Nanyang, and it is likely to lead to more serious consequences for Han Shizhong, making the situation very bad.
But even so, these few people were helpless because they were afraid to act rashly at this time... Besides, it was just a guess, and more than 80% of people believed Du Chong's report.
There is no need to worry in the short term, but soon there will be big problems on the Yanling-Changshe battlefield, which will lead to a complete disaster in the long run. This has become a consensus in Nanyang.
For a time, not to mention that the people of Nanyang were in a panic, according to Yang Yi Zhong's report, bad rumors spread immediately after the discussion in the palace that afternoon... saying that Han Shizhong's previous defeat and Du Chong's predicament today were all caused by the reckless advance of those in power. If they had only defended the cities from the beginning, although there would have been necessary losses, the overall situation would not have been put in danger.
There is no need to say more about who is in power.
This was in stark contrast to the almost dreamlike victory in the artillery battle in the previous half month, which brought great prestige to Emperor Zhao and Lu Yihao.
"Is it accurate?"
On the evening of the day when the news came, Zhao Jiu, who was sitting in the old woods full of wooden stakes between the harem and the front hall, was in a state of panic. Suddenly, he received news that added fuel to the fire.
"It is absolutely correct." Yang Yizhong bowed his head in the corridor. "You can go up to the city to see it."
Zhao Jiu stood up from the wooden stake without saying a word, and followed Yang Yizhong out of the palace to the North City, which was less than three miles away. There were countless officials accompanying them along the way, so there was no need to say more.
When they reached the top of the city, everyone could see what was going on at a glance in the setting sun. Thousands of Jurchen cavalry were gathering openly under the setting sun, and then galloping out of the camp in a shocking scene. They continued to march northeast.
"Are the Jin people withdrawing?" Hu Yin, who came with them, was confused.
"No." Liu Ziyu, the chief secretary of the Privy Council, breathed a sigh of relief and said through gritted teeth, "They are going to support Wanyan Talan, or at least they are deliberately pretending to support Talan."
"What do you mean?" Hu Yin looked at him warily.
"Nothing else." Liu Ziyu glanced at Hu Yin and answered sternly. "Even if Talai was asking for help, it would not have arrived today. The information received today can only be that Deputy Du stayed behind in Yanling and refused to come out. So, it could be a strategy to lure the enemy."
"How can reinforcements lure the enemy?" Hu Yin was still puzzled.
"It's to lure the troops in Nanyang! Or to lure the emperor!" Liu Ziyu was furious. "It's not to lure Yanling! If the people in the city really think that the Jin army has lost a million households and the troops are scarce, and then try to counterattack here, or take the opportunity to send the emperor to Xiangyang, they will definitely be overwhelmed by this army of ten thousand cavalry!"
Hu Yin lowered his head and thought for a while, then glanced at the expressionless Zhao Guanjia, and couldn't help but continue to ask Liu Ziyu: "Liu Canjun still didn't say, why didn't the Jin army withdraw?"
Liu Ziyu was stunned, but felt a temporary pain at the back of his head, so he simply ignored the other person.
"What do you think?" At this moment, Zhao Jiu suddenly turned around and looked at Yang Yizhong.
"I think what General Liu said makes sense." Military affairs were his responsibility, so Yang Yizhong naturally did not shy away from them, but immediately reported them. "As the first month of the year begins, the weather gradually warms up, and the river ice gradually melts. However, the water network around Nanyang is dense... Among them, although the surface ice of a large river like the Baihe River has not cracked, only a few places are passable, which is not enough for a large group of armored cavalry. The Jin army sent a 10,000-horse force to the northeast at this time, which can not only lure the enemy, but also take the opportunity to deploy troops outside the Baihe River in advance to prevent our army from seizing this opportunity and suddenly crossing the river with infantry, and then using the river as a barrier to calmly move south."
Zhao Jiu nodded slowly... He knew what Yang Yizhong meant. The one who was using the river to block the southward advance was not the "infantry", but him, Emperor Zhao.
In fact, with the arrival of Du Chong's note, the discussion started in the morning and lasted until the afternoon. This was because many civil officials realized that the overall situation was worrying and again suggested that Zhao Jiu go south to Xiangyang to be on the safe side. They had a fierce debate and confrontation with many people who still insisted on the Nanyang faction.
Back to the present, even Liu Ziyu and Yang Yizhong only said that this army that suddenly chose to leave the Jin army camp might be trying to lure the enemy, but they did not deny that the other side might really go to support Wanyan Talan.
It can be imagined that the Nanyang faction and the Xiangyang faction will inevitably continue to clash due to the two main possibilities of this incident.
At the same time, the authority of Emperor Zhao and Prime Minister Lu was already declining.
"Officials."
Sure enough, Li Guang, the Imperial Censor who followed, stepped forward instinctively and spoke earnestly. "I don't know about military matters, but I think that in the long run, it is better to go to Xiangyang... Once we go to Xiangyang, we can use the solidity of Nanyang and the certainty of taking Xiangyang to make the Jin people panic."
"How can you abandon Nanyang and run away?" Hu Yin was furious.
"Nanyang City is strong and its artillery is powerful. Why should we abandon it?" Li Guang showed no fear towards his nominal superior.
"If we go to Nanyang, who will guarantee the safety of the emperor?" Liu Ziyu actually stood on the same side as Hu Yin at this time. "Who can withstand the attack of ten thousand cavalry?"
"Let Wang De, who is already in the east of the city, lead his troops to escort Zhang Jing. There will be 10,000 elite imperial camp troops. Let Xin Qizon (the second Xin) stationed in Rang County (the former capital of Dengzhou) come to support, so there will be 16,000 to 17,000 soldiers and horses. With such a military force, coupled with the bravery of Wang Yasha and the dense network of rivers along the way, it is enough to ensure the peace of the government." The speaker was the Secretary of the Central Secretariat Fan Zongyin, a recent comrade-in-arms found by Li Guang and Li Ruopu, and the backbone of the Xiangyang faction during the debate in the palace today.
"Master Fan!" Liu Ziyu was already angry, and he simply broke the rules after hearing this. "You are from Dengcheng, Xiangyang! Of course you want the emperor to go to Xiangyang. You want the emperor to stay in Xiangyang and build the capital, right?!"
"Am I doing this for selfish reasons?!" Fan Zongyin was also furious. "When the weather gets hot and the Jin army withdraws, the emperor can return to Nanyang... But you, Liu Canjun, the emperor has entrusted all the military affairs of the Privy Council to you. Now that things have come to this, what can you say? Why did Han Shizhong fall into an ambush? Were there any omissions in the affairs of Wang Yan, Ma Gao, and Yue Fei?! Moreover, before the war, the entire army wasted nearly a month waiting, and then underestimated the enemy, so that Zhang Zizheng was suddenly killed. This matter..."
"How is this?"
"Does this have nothing to do with your deliberate neglect of the Wumashan Volunteer Army?" Fan Zongyin, who was only 30 years old, was also pressed into a corner. "Do you think we don't know who imprisoned Ma Kuo Ma, the chief steward, in the Zhending prison because of his stubbornness?"
Liu Ziyu had a splitting headache: "So, I have selfish motives?"
Fan Zongyin was about to speak when suddenly, Emperor Zhao, who was still wearing the red robe he wore this morning, walked straight between the two of them with an expressionless face, his hands supporting his elbows, holding the leather belt around his waist, and then went down the city without saying a word.
The two groups of people on the city wall suddenly fell silent, but they tried their best to keep quiet and then dispersed.
After returning to the palace, Emperor Zhao did not discuss the matter any further. Instead, he had his meal directly and then went to the harem to rest.
The only thing was that he was obviously upset and under great pressure. Seeing this, Wu Yu wanted to take the initiative to comfort him. But she was too young to understand the underlying situation. She could only say that all the ministers in the city were virtuous people, and that the government should open up channels for people to express their opinions and discuss problems with these people.
Little did they know that Emperor Zhao was half worried about the situation, and half was forced by these "virtuous people".
How is this comfort useful?
Fortunately, Wu Yu also saw that Zhao Jiu was getting more and more impatient, so he said what he needed to say and stopped talking...
That night, he slept in silence until the second watch. Suddenly, someone knocked on the door and woke the official up! The last time someone knocked on the door was when Lu Yihao made a private suggestion.
Zhao Jiu got up in a daze and allowed Lan Gui and Feng Yi to come in. However, the two said that it was Yang Yi Zhong, Chen Gui and Lu Haowen who wanted to see him, which made him confused.
Yang Yizhong and Liu Yan took turns to take over Liang Hongyu's charge of the palace ban at night, and Lü Haowen and Lü Yihao also took turns to rest and guard the side room of the front hall. Tonight was Yang Yizhong and Lü Haowen's duty, so no matter what happened, it must have gone through the hands of the two of them, so it couldn't be called "seeking an audience". But it was a bit strange that Chen Gui, who was in charge of the city defense, came at this time.
Could it be that the Jin army outside the city launched a night attack?
Didn’t you hear anything?
Or maybe something went wrong with the city’s defense?
However, this kind of wild thinking was soon put to rest. Chen Gui, Yang Yizhong and Lu Haowen were not the real people seeking an audience. The real person seeking an audience with Emperor Zhao was a young official who had left Nanyang for more than ten days and returned again - Du Chong's second son Du Yan.
He came on a fast horse overnight, which naturally alarmed Chen Gui.
"Officials!"
After requesting that only guards could accompany him, Du Yan, who was in a mess and looked dazed, bowed down in the corridor behind the palace. Under the gaze of Yang Yizhong behind him, he said something earth-shattering to Emperor Zhao. "Your servant, your father and I have communicated with the Right Deputy Marshal of the Jin people, Talan... and agreed not to fight!"
After these words were spoken, Yang Yizhong, who had been on guard, was stunned, while Du Yan, as if he had lost his temper, lay on the cold ground without saying a word.
But unexpectedly, Emperor Zhao's expression did not change at all. If you have to explain it in detail, he seemed relieved. In fact, Zhao Jiu suddenly had an inexplicable and subtle mentality at this moment, which was similar to the period before the war, and he remembered his own idea before the war - huge waves hit the sky, and mud and sand were swept down.
The weather was still cold, and after the air had been frozen for half a minute, Zhao Jiu asked expressionlessly, "So, there is no conflict between Yue Fei and Wang Yan or Ma Gao?"
"No." Du Yan answered on the ground. "Although Wang Yan and Yue Fei did not even talk to each other in private, the three of them did not make any mistakes in military affairs. Before I found out about my father and I, Niu Gao and Li Bao arrived and planned with the three generals and Yanling garrison commander Li Qiong to persuade my father to send troops..."
Lieutenant General Yang Yi's attention was strangely focused on Emperor Zhao, because Zhao Jiu's expression did not change at this time. Compared with Du Chong's collusion with the enemy, this matter seemed to make him more inexplicably uneasy.
Zhao Jiu nodded and asked again: "Which road did you come from? Did you encounter the Jin army? How long did it take you to walk?"
"I dare not take the northern route, so I took a detour from Caizhou, went through Xiping, passed Zhongyang Mountain, and went back to Nanyang from Qingtai across the Dushui Stone Bridge... This is the route that Yelu Mawu used to attack Ruyang... I did not see the Jin army along the way. As for the time it took..." Du Yan obviously thought for a moment. "I decided to leave after seeing my father report to Nanyang that the three generals were attacking each other and the three armies were unstable. I have not calculated the specific time!"
"It's only two and a half days." Zhao Jiu sighed. "Don't go back to your residence. I'll ask General Yang to find you a secluded place to live immediately. When this matter is settled, I'll arrange for you to go to Bashu to be a county magistrate..."
Perhaps he realized something, but Du Yan suddenly started crying: “Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty… Your father… Your father…”
"Go down!" Zhao Jiu sighed rarely.
Du Yan felt as if his heart was being cut by a knife, but he kowtowed and followed Yang Yizhong away.
After a while, seeing Yang Yi Zhong and Du Yan leave, Emperor Zhao paused for a moment before turning back to the hall. But when he took his seat, facing the nervous reception of Lu Haowen and Chen Gui, he waited for more than a quarter of an hour without saying a word.
Just when Chen Gui was becoming increasingly intolerable, Yang Yizhong turned back, and Emperor Zhao, who had been thinking for a long time, finally spoke again slowly: "Call the Deputy Envoy of the Privy Council, Lü Yihao; call the Privy Council's Chief Secretary Liu Ziyu, the Privy Council's Editor Hu Hongxiu; call the Palace Attendant Censor Li Guang, the Imperial Academy Scholar Li Ruopu, the Secretary of the Central Secretariat Fan Zongyin; call the Chief Censor Hu Yin, the Imperial Academy Scholar Lin Jingmo, the Deputy Commander of the Imperial Guard Liu Yan, the Deputy Commissioner of the Privy Council Wanqi Xie; call the Acting Governor of Nanyang Prefecture Yan Xiaozhong, the Nanyang Four Wall Defense Envoy Wang De, the Commander Fu Qing, the Commander Xin Yongzong... Be careful, and tell them not to alarm too many people."
Although the order of the call-up list was very strange, basically all the key figures who could make final decisions on military and national affairs were present.
Yang Yizhong, who knew the inside story, did not dare to delay and took action immediately, but Lu Haowen and Chen Gui became more serious because it meant that Du Yan must have brought great news.
It is said that Yan Xiaozhong and the three generals who were in charge of the treasury lived quite far away, especially Wang De, who lived outside the east city wall... But the other main officials were all in the palace square, and they gathered quickly. While Yan Xiaozhong, Wang De and others were not there yet, there was naturally a lot of discussion... They didn't even know that Du Yan had arrived.
Besides, Emperor Zhao was annoyed and sighing when he saw these people making so much noise. At the same time, he was reminded of something that had puzzled him more and more these days - if these people were taken out individually, they might not all be wise men, but at least they were all useful. But why was it that when they got together, there were always troubles of one kind or another?
And why is it not as useful as imagined in terms of overall effect?
However, the closer it was to such a critical moment, the more he should not be held hostage by his emotions. Zhao Jiu took a deep breath for a long time, but suddenly stood up and went to the back without caring about anything. The palace was stunned for a moment, but it continued to become noisy... No one could control what happened to the emperor. God knows whether he went back to the harem to drink water or catch up on his sleep.
But in fact, Zhao Jiu did not go to the harem as these people thought, but came to the area between the harem and the front hall.
Originally there was a small forest and a corridor in this place. The forest was full of wild pigeons, so much so that one could always hear the cooing sounds when working in the palace. After Nanyang began to prepare for war, all the trees in this place were cut down and used as materials and fuel, but a pile of wood piles were left behind.
Emperor Zhao simply walked out of the back hall and came directly to the wooden stake in the middle of the treeless forest. He sat down with his hands clasped together. He could still clearly hear the movements in the front hall.
Lan Gui, Feng Yi, and Liu Yan followed suit and saw the emperor coming here again. They looked familiar with each other. Lan Gui returned to the front hall, while Feng Yi and Liu Yan stood in the corridor. As Yan Xiaozhong, Wang De and others finally arrived, Lan Gui turned back to ask for instructions. Emperor Zhao had been there for a long time.
"I will not go to the front hall, I will summon you here." Zhao Jiu looked up and said, "Pass on my order. When I summon my ministers here, no noise or discussion is allowed in the hall."
Lan Gui bowed his head and said yes, but then he asked, "May I ask, sir, which ones do you want to summon first?"
"Summon Liu Yan first!" Zhao Jiu responded. "Master Lan, you and Feng Yi should go out and wait first."
Lan and Feng looked at each other, but then lowered their heads together, turned around and left, leaving Liu Yan .
"Pingfu." Zhao Jiu waved as the palace fell silent after Lan Gui announced the order. "Come here. I only have three questions for you."
"Yes." Liu Yan hurried forward and came to the forest.
"Are the Red Heart Team's cavalry available?" Zhao Jiu stared at the other party and asked calmly.
"I am willing to die for the government!" Liu Yan answered frankly.
"Then let me ask you again, in your opinion, is the Jin army's 10,000 cavalrymen heading north today to lure Nanyang more or to support Wanyan Talan more?"
"There are more strategies to lure the enemy."
"Is the Jin army stronger here with Wanyan Wushu, or is the Jin army stronger here with Wanyan Talan?"
"If there really was no reinforcement, then the enemy outside Nanyang City would naturally be stronger." Liu Yan answered immediately, but then corrected himself. "No... Even if they did, it doesn't mean that Wanyan Wushu's side is stronger, because Talai's troops are too scattered, while Wushu's side has a large camp, and his troops are carefully selected."
Zhao Jiu nodded and said, "Go ahead and call Yang Yizhong over. Remember, no matter what I say later, you must not say a word."
Liu Yan was confused, but still followed the order.
Soon, Yang Yizhong, who had just worked hard to call back someone, came in. Before he could greet him, Zhao Jiu asked him, "Zhengfu, no matter what, can you guarantee that there are no spies in the city and that no one will escape?"
"I can guarantee it!" Yang Yizhong said seriously.
"Well, let me ask you again. Today, the Jin army sent 10,000 cavalrymen to the north. Do you think it was more to lure the enemy or to really support them? Whose fighting power is stronger, Wanyan Wushu or Wanyan Talan?"
"Lure more enemies, Wanyan Wushu is stronger!" Yang Yizhong had already given an answer during the day, so it was natural to be straightforward now.
"Go out and call Hu Hongxiu in."
Yang Yizhong was half nervous and half hesitant, but he still bowed and left.
In this way, Zhao Jiu chose an incredible way to summon them, in order to obtain some accurate judgments from these elites who were prone to chaos once they gathered together:
Liu Yan, Yang Yizhong, Hu Hongxiu, and Liu Ziyu, four talented military advisors, came in and out one after another, and gave their conclusions that the Jin army's sending 10,000 cavalry to march north today was to set up an ambush to lure the Nanyang troops or to lure Emperor Zhao.
Chen Gui, Yan Xiaozhong, Yang Yizhong, Wang De, Fu Qing, and Xin Yongzong gave the judgment and guarantee that Nanyang was absolutely defensible and even unbreakable in the short term;
Wanqi Xie and Lin Jingmo concluded that Du Chong's prestige in the Tokyo Resident Office was neither high nor low, and was not high enough to confuse the public.
Hu Yin insisted on the strategic requirement of being more proactive;
Li Guang, Li Ruopu and Fan Zongyin also insisted that the army should withdraw to Xiangyang.
At this point, there were only two prime ministers in the hall who had not left, and as expected, the next one to be summoned in was Prime Minister Lu Yihao.
When Zhao Jiu saw Lu Yihao, he spoke immediately without waiting for him to walk down the corridor and into the forest. He only said one sentence : "Mr. Lu, I have just made up my mind to use your advice here that day to deal with the current situation. Please be sure to maintain it for me!"
Lu Yihao nodded slightly, then turned around and left without looking back. A moment later, Lu Haowen followed.
"Mr. Lu," Zhao Jiu still used this address, but his tone was much softer. "Since I fell into the well, from Mingdao Palace to here, I have been troubled by you to mend the wound for me..."
When Lu Haowen heard this, he was not happy but shocked. The hairs on his body stood up, as if he realized something.
But before he could open his mouth, Emperor Zhao continued, "If you trust me, please don't ask too many questions and try your best to help me accomplish a great task."
Lü Haowen was in a state of panic and thought for a long time. However, under the silent gaze of the young official who was sitting upright on the wooden stake opposite him, he chose to sigh: "It's all up to the official. Anyway, Prime Minister Lü Shu must have discussed it with the official... I only ask the official to take care of himself!"
Zhao Jiu was startled for a moment, but quickly regained his composure, nodded again, gave some instructions, and then set off with Lu Haowen back to the hall.
No one spoke in the hall, and there were no wild pigeons to add to the fun, so the term "complete silence" would be more appropriate.
Just as the civil and military officials were thinking about different things, Emperor Zhao really spoke up and revealed the answer: "Just now, a messenger from Yanling arrived, saying that Yue Fei and Wang Yan had an open fight, and then Wang Yan was defeated and secretly retreated to Tokyo. In addition, today, 10,000 Jurchen cavalry went north to aid Talan, which shows that the overall situation in Wuhe has been decided and it is useless... I have made up my mind to go to Xiangyang to divide the enemy's forces!"
There was a slight commotion throughout the crowd. Hu Yin, Liu Ziyu and Hu Hongxiu almost instinctively wanted to step forward and give stern advice, but like everyone else, when they were summoned privately, they received serious or sincere instructions from Emperor Zhao, which was not to say anything today no matter what.
Of course, objections are also verbal.
Hu Yin should have been the person who reacted most strongly to this decision, but when Emperor Zhao summoned him before, he specifically asked him to learn from Zhang Jun for a day. Thinking of Zhang Jun and the things Emperor Zhao had done in the past, Hu Mingzhong was so upset that he bit his tongue.
The whole hall was silent, but Prime Minister Lu Haowen and Privy Minister Lu Yihao took the initiative to step forward and express their agreement.
It seems that these two people were also persuaded one by one.
Since the two ministers agreed, this matter became the so-called East and West governments discussing politics in front of the king, and it became a legitimate major policy.
Immediately, Emperor Zhao and Lu Haowen exchanged questions fluently, and Lu Yihao nodded repeatedly, passing a series of specific measures:
Among them, Chen Gui, Yan Xiaozhong, Fu Qing, and Xin Yongzong left first to ensure the city defense without alerting everyone;
Yang Yizhong and Liu Yan were ordered to prepare a group of elite soldiers to escort Emperor Zhao out of the city.
Wang De immediately left the city to meet Zhang Jing at the big camp east of the city, and then they made preparations together in the camp, trying to set out at night to avoid the sight of the Jin army.
Hanlin scholar Lin Jingmo, Chief Censor Hu Yin, Deputy Secretary of the Privy Council Wanqi Xie, and Chief Eunuch Lan Gui were asked to accompany Xiangyang, while the two husbands and the rest were asked to stay behind... As for Madam Wu, Emperor Zhao did not mention her, so she would naturally be abandoned in her sleep and exhaustion.
Thanks to the private summons, inquiries, and even requests or orders from Emperor Zhao, things unfolded at a lightning speed without any arguments. And thanks to Yang Yizhong leading many imperial guards to personally carry out the arrangements, there were almost no unnecessary incidents throughout the process.
The reason why I say almost is that when Emperor Zhao was about to leave the palace, he suddenly stopped and asked someone to take down the Jinwu banner in front of the palace, which was obviously much dimmer than many similar ones on the city wall, and asked Wanqi Xie to carry it personally... This took quite a while.
But no matter what, about four o'clock in the morning, Emperor Zhao finally led the main force of the imperial guard out of Nanyang City through a secret door in the east of the city, and entered the big camp in the east, where he met Wang De and Zhang Jing in the dark.
Besides, Zhang Jing was ordered by Xu Jingheng, Wang Boyan, Liu Ji and others to come here to meet Emperor Zhao who was heading south to Xiangyang. In fact, considering the past, this was the original plan of the Privy Council. In addition, he had no contact with the disputes in the city, so he didn't have anything extra to say.
Even his preparations here were very thorough.
But unfortunately, Zhang Jing had no extra words, but Emperor Zhao did:
"The ones who have worked the hardest on this matter today are Wang Qing and Zhang Qing."
Wang De and Zhang Jing quickly knelt down together and said they dared not.
"Is the floating bridge ready?" Zhao Jiu continued.
"We built three large floating bridges on the Baihe River to the south early on when the ice was floating. There will be no mistakes due to the melting of ice and snow..." Zhang Jing said seriously.
"What about the east? You marched here from the southeast and moved your camp there. You should have made corresponding preparations, right?" In the dark night, Zhao Jiu stared at Zhang Jing and asked seriously, with white air coming out of his mouth filling the night sky.
"There is a floating bridge, but it is relatively small. As the ice is about to melt, we built a simple floating bridge to facilitate the transportation of remaining wood from the old camp." Zhang Jing answered quickly.
"That's enough."
"But Your Majesty, please forgive me for being frank, but it will be a waste of time to go from the east. Moreover, if the Jin army has an ambush, it must be the one we saw this evening, and it must be waiting in the northeast... Perhaps Your Majesty wants to send out a decoy force?" Zhang Jing wanted to refute, but he realized it halfway.
"That's right." Zhao Jiu sighed, and stepped forward to help Wang De and Zhang Jing, who were still waiting, up. "Generals, I just said that you two are the ones who have worked the hardest today... because I want you to work together to lead the army south as quickly as possible... and after your entire army crosses the Baihe River, the 10,000 cavalrymen of the Jin army left outside the Baihe River will surely attack with all their strength. At that time, please retreat here as quickly as possible, and if you can't gain a foothold here, enter the city directly."
Wang De and Zhang Jing were confused for a moment, while Wanqi Xie, who was carrying a package, was so confused that he couldn't help but tidy up the package on his back... This formed a sharp contrast with the silence of Yang Yizhong, Hu Yin, Lin Jingmo, Lan Gui, and Liu Yan.
Of course, the silence of these five people was completely different. Yang Yizhong seemed to know from the beginning what the official would do and what he was going to do, but he just carried out the execution in silence. In addition to that, he also had a hint of supervision and scrutiny on the second general and the people around him.
Liu Yan was quite simple. He had made up his mind when he parted ways with Guo Yaoshi before Jingkang, and there was no reason to change his mind. After Jingkang, he was even more determined, and he had no hesitation even if he was going to die.
Lin Jingmo received less information today, so he instinctively began to think about things and analyze the situation;
As a eunuch, Lan Gui was destined to follow Emperor Zhao, so there was nothing he could do.
Hu Yin was still confused and angry about Emperor Zhao's sudden decision to move south.
"Is the emperor trying to lure the enemy?" After a moment, Zhang Jing looked at him in confusion.
"The emperor is not going to Xiangyang?" Wang De was also at a loss for a moment.
"We will go to Xiangyang, but we must also lure the enemy." Zhao Jiu answered calmly. "However, it is you who are going to lure the enemy. I will use more than 10,000 of you to act as a decoy for me, to lure out the Jin army's ambush on the other side of the river, to cover the 800 Red Heart Team to escort me across the river from the east, and then... to the south! Anyway, thank you two for your hard work today, and Commander Yang, he will also lead the Imperial Guard to follow you to act as a decoy!"
Under the firelight in the camp, Yang Yizhong remained silent, just staring at Wang De and Zhang Jing without saying a word. It was hard to tell whether he was happy or angry. Wang De and Zhang Jing, whose hands were held by Emperor Zhao, looked at each other, but they had no time to think about it. They could only grit their teeth and bow their heads: "Yes!"
Behind him, Hu Yin, who had once thought that the emperor was going to change his mind, was disappointed again, but Wanqi Xie had fallen silent along with the others - as a bold guess popped up in his mind, his heart beat faster.
It was the fourth watch, late winter and early spring, the sun had not risen and the sky was still dark, but the Song army had already begun to move.