It is said that on the third day after the Battle of Yaoshan, which was the beginning of June, as the rain stopped, the war situation quickly developed towards a complete calm.
It is not known whether it was confirmed that Wanyan Wushu had fled to Hedong or that the remaining troops on the southern front had been surrounded and annihilated, but the Jin army, having lost its commander, did not hesitate any longer and marched northward under the leadership of Wanyan Huonu and Wanyan Balisu, and then successively abandoned Fucheng and the camp at the mouth of the Beiluo River, and then watched as the entire Danzhou and Fuzhou were also about to be thrown away...
In response to this, Song military commander Wu Jie did not dare to delay and immediately dispatched troops to attack in multiple directions. While carefully recovering the lost territory, he also monitored and guarded against the main force of the Jin army, which still had considerable combat effectiveness. He himself moved to Fangzhou to take charge of the next step.
Soon, as the troops moved north in batches and most of the wounded were transferred to the Weishui Plain in the rear, the baggage was dispersed, and the Yaoshan Camp was no longer a place where heavy troops were concentrated.
However, because the dragon flag of Emperor Zhao has been flying here all the time, this place is still the focus of world attention and is the real heart of Guanxi.
For several days, Zhao Jiu, the Emperor of Zhao Song, Yuwen Xuzhong, the envoy to Guanxi, Zhang Jun, the transport envoy of the five routes of Bashu, Hu Yin, the actual person in charge of the three routes in northern Shaanxi, as well as Hanlin scholar Lin Jingmo and Privy Councilor Liu Ziwu, led a group of close ministers on their journey to the west and all stayed here.
Among them, Emperor Zhao did not care about other things. Within a few days, he just offered sacrifices to the dead, copied the list of the dead in battle, and carried out large-scale favors and enfeoffments for the dead in battle. Many important military and national affairs in Guanzhong were still handled by the former three officials of Guanxi and their accompanying close ministers.
And here, I have to say specifically that this battle was truly brutal.
In fact, before Loushi launched the assault, the casualties of both sides were still at a normal ratio. Although the battle between the armored troops was fierce and the casualties were severe, both sides had to work hard to completely kill off one of the armored warriors of the other side. However, after Loushi launched the assault, the troops of Jiao Wentong, Li Yongqi, Xihe Road, and Qinfeng Road were truly defeated and slaughtered in person. Coupled with the large-scale trampling after the collapse, the two routes and four troops suffered heavy casualties... In the end, as the victorious side, they collected no less than 10,000 corpses, and the number of disabled and seriously injured who could no longer serve in the army was probably no less than this.
Out of a hundred thousand people, twenty thousand were killed in one battle!
In addition to the deaths of senior generals, if it were not for the final success in beheading Wanyan Loushi, capturing Han Chang alive, and trying to encircle and annihilate Wanyan Wushu's troops, I am afraid that the victory would have seemed forced.
After such a brutal battle, the post-war cleanup was naturally cautious and arduous.
However, that was not all. As the war continued to subside, another piece of news soon arrived that was actually anticipated by many people but was destined to shock the government and the public.
It is said that after Wanyan Wushu crossed the Yellow River on a wooden dragon and arrived at Hezhong Prefecture, he did two things regardless of the consequences:
One thing was that he did not stop at all, and immediately took a small road to Huguan to catch up with the 20,000 Jin troops he had previously separated... Let's not talk about this for now;
The other thing was that before leaving, he urged his brother, the Third Prince Erlido, to quickly order the withdrawal of his troops from Luoyang overnight, which made Li Yanxian's tentative action inevitably fail. With the withdrawal of the two generals Ali and Erlubu, the battle situation in Luoyang was completely revealed, and some things were finally exposed - it was confirmed that the Prime Minister Wang Boyan burned himself to death in the old palace of the abandoned capital after the fall of Luoyang.
This was not the first prime minister-level figure to die after the Jing Kang Incident, but he was the first prime minister to die for his country after the Jing Kang Incident. The significance of this is self-evident.
Up to this point, the only battlefield between the Song and Jin armies that was still worth discussing was the battlefield in Hebei, while the rest were gradually gathering towards the pre-war front.
It was in this situation that in mid-June, Xu Jingheng, the deputy prime minister of the capital province, who had already made preparations, traveled day and night along the main road on the south bank of the Yellow River and arrived in Guanzhong and Yaoshan.
Yuwen Xuzhong and other high officials from Guanxi came out of the camp for more than ten miles to meet them. The two sides talked non-stop, and when they arrived at the camp, it was already noon. As soon as he entered the camp, without waiting for a rest, the governor of the capital came to ask to see the official of Zhao Song.
After the greetings, the two sides did not mention anything else. Instead, they chatted for a few minutes and then Zhao Jiu asked about the situation in Tokyo.
"Good instructor, I know." Under the awning behind the military camp overlooking the mountain, Xu Jingheng sat beside Emperor Zhao, holding a cup of warm tea with salt in it. Hearing this, he also put down the tea, showing great emotion. "This trip to Tokyo was a close call..."
"What do you mean?"
Zhao Jiu, who was sitting under the awning, stopped working on the desks in front of him early and turned sideways to face Xu Jingheng, showing enough respect for Xu Jingheng and the civil and military officials in Tokyo behind him.
"First, the commander of the Daming Prefecture, Talan, had tens of thousands of soldiers. He made some unusual movements, as if he was planning to cross the river from the lower reaches and join forces with the pseudo-Qi army. However, the rear army of the imperial camp had not arrived at that time, and the front army of the imperial camp had a very long battle line. The people of the capital were in a panic..."
"We have set up a defense line. How dare Talai come to fight with his temper?" Zhao Jiu sneered. "Even the leaders of the Pseudo-Qi dare not move rashly. And Liu Yu, even if he wanted to avenge his son, would not dare to disobey the leaders and send troops at the same time."
"Yue Pengju also said the same thing." Xu Jingheng laughed. "And it was also at that time that he proposed to cross the river to the north and turn the tables..."
"Were there any obstacles in Tokyo at that time?"
"Of course there is." Xu Jingheng responded sternly. "But it was suppressed by Prime Minister Lu... Prime Minister Lu said that things should be prioritized, and the government's real foundation is in Guanxi. Yue Pengju's actions can be done as long as they can have the effect of slightly affecting the Jin army in Hedong."
"Mr. Lu has never let me down, and neither has the governor." Zhao Jiu sighed. "And Mr. Wang has never let me down either..."
Xu Jingheng was silent for a moment.
"What?" Zhao Jiu immediately noticed something.
"I have a few recent events to discuss with you..." Xu Jingheng became more solemn. "Old Taiwei Yang, the commander of the Imperial Camp's rear army, came to Tokyo to help as quickly as possible, but he fell ill after arriving in Tokyo. He passed away the night before I set out, when the Jin army withdrew from Luoyang."
Zhao Jiu was also silent for a moment.
"There was also one of the generals defending Luoyang, Zhai Xing, the eldest of the two Zhai. When the Jin army withdrew, he handed his subordinates over to his brother, and then led a small force out of Sishui Pass to pursue the Jin army. In the end, he died on the bank of the Yellow River."
"He feels guilty and is paying for his life... It's unnecessary."
"yes……"
"Zhai's soldiers are all from the clan. As an exception, let his son Zhai Cong inherit his position... Is there anything else?"
"Also, we just mentioned Yue Pengju's crossing the river to the north. That was what we said at the time, but now it seems that the fall of Luoyang, the death of Prime Minister Wang, and the death of old Taiwei Yang may not be unrelated to the advance of the Imperial Camp's front army to the north. Even the word "involved" seems a little insufficient..." Xu Jingheng continued to answer seriously. "After all, didn't the Hedong Jin army still have 20,000 troops coming from Longmen in this battle? I heard that the outcome of the decisive battle was almost shaken. Even the stability of Dongjing City was thanks to the timely arrival of the Imperial Camp's rear army, which divided its troops to block Songshan and Sishui Pass. Therefore, before I came here, the people in the capital were excited about your majesty's great victory, and public opinion was vaguely blaming Yue Pengju for the incidents of Prime Minister Wang and Taiwei Yang, and even Prime Minister Lu!"
Zhao Jiu nodded, not surprised, but soon shook his head and formally expressed his position: "In this battle, the victory of Guanxi, the defense of Shanzhou and Tongzhou, the loss of Luoyang, the stability of Dongjing Huaidong, and the advancement of Hebei are all one. In the end, we were able to drive the Jin people back because of the unity of the top and the bottom, the advance and retreat, the gains and losses... If there must be someone who is responsible, it is me. In fact, I knew about Yue Pengju's advance to the north before I set off and made a promise... How can the victory be mine and the loss be the fault of some ministers and generals? What's more, this battle was very dangerous from beginning to end. Even if Ziyu insisted on defending before, after this battle, I also felt that he was very reasonable at the time and fulfilled his duties."
"The governor also meant the same thing." Xu Jingheng glanced at Liu Ziyu, who looked calm, and was not surprised by Emperor Zhao's response. "How can we use the gains and losses after the battle to calculate the decision at that time? Moreover, Yue Pengju's move did involve the Hedong army, and also made Talan of Daming Prefecture almost unable to do anything. He was said to have made great contributions but no mistakes."
Zhao Jiu nodded, but seemed to be thinking: "Anything else to say?"
"Yes." Xu Jingheng continued to speak, but stood up and bowed solemnly. "Your Majesty, although we won this battle, the Central Plains is exhausted, the Jingxiang rebellion has also swept over more than ten states, and there is also the Wuling Rebellion that has not been dealt with for four or five years... Under such circumstances, Henan, as a place that has suffered repeated wars, can't possibly learn from Guanxi and Bashu to advance the taxes from the people next year, right? Therefore, the provincial government sent me here to congratulate you on your victory, to welcome you back to the throne, and to ask you to formally issue an order to order Yue Pengju to withdraw his troops immediately and return to Henan... In addition, I heard something else on the way and I am just going to discuss it with you."
Zhao Jiu looked at Xu Jingheng who was on high alert, and Yuwen Xuzhong and others who stood up when Xu Jingheng stood up. He hesitated for a moment, then sighed slightly:
"I cannot promise any of these four things!"
Xu Jingheng was stunned for a moment, but then he responded with a serious face: "Please speak frankly, so that I can respond."
"First, although this battle killed Lou Shi, captured Han Chang, annihilated more than 10,000 enemies, forced the Jin army to retreat, and saved Guanzhong, it can be regarded as the first great victory of the dynasty since the Jingkang period. But our army suffered heavy casualties, and the number of martyrs and those who died in battle, from Prime Minister Wang on down, totaled more than 10,000... The so-called great victory was also a tragic victory. I accept condolences but not congratulations!" Zhao Jiu faced the table solemnly. After speaking solemnly, he simply opened the gauze that had been covered after Xu Jingheng came, revealing several piles of names and the like.
Xu Jingheng was slightly startled, then took a few steps back and bowed respectfully: "I am ashamed!"
"Secondly," Zhao Jiu covered the wound with gauze again and continued to face him seriously. "Before the war, I made a promise to the young men of Guanxi and the soldiers of the imperial camp, that they would be granted land in exchange for their military merits... My words are as good as white on soap, and I must not go back on them. When this matter is settled, I will return to Tokyo!"
Xu Jingheng thought about it seriously, turned around and looked at Yuwen Xuzhong, then nodded heavily: "If that's the case, I have nothing to say."
"Third, Yue Pengju is a general who led tens of thousands of people to Hebei. We know nothing about the situation there. He has the power to decide whether to advance or retreat... I think that we should explain the difficulties in Henan to him and let him decide for himself, so there is no need to issue a special decree in my name or in the name of the provincial government or the Privy Council."
Xu Jingheng hesitated for a moment, then nodded slightly: "If so, I'm afraid he has already received the message from Tokyo City. However, I would like to write another letter in my personal name and send it by express horse."
"Okay." Zhao Jiu nodded in agreement.
"There is also a fourth matter..." Xu Jingheng continued. "The government hasn't even asked what it is, so are you going to deny it?"
"Didn't I confer the title of Prince to Han Shizhong on a blank sheet of paper, so that Li Shifu could inherit his father's title?" Zhao Jiu finally smiled. "Or did I guess wrong? Didn't Yuwen Xianggong mention this to Xu Xianggong along the way?"
"It is indeed these two things. Specifically, it is about Li Shifu's succession to the title." Xu Jingheng responded sternly. "Your Majesty, we are not pedantic people. We are not unaware of the agreement of Jingou that day. Han Shizhong's merits in Huaishang, Yanling, and saving the emperor this time are outstanding. His loyalty and bravery are comparable to the famous generals in ancient times. It's fine to make him a prince, which is better than Tong Guan! But I'm sorry that I can't agree to Li Shifu's matter!"
"Because of the system?" Zhao Jiu became serious again.
"That's right." Xu Jingheng responded in a deep voice. "During the Song Dynasty, except for the Chongyi Chai family, the Yansheng Kong family, the Si Pu Wang (the original branch of Song Yingzong), and the Anding County Prince (Zhao Dezhao, the second son of Emperor Taizu), there was no precedent for hereditary titles. Once this precedent is set, many unreasonable things will inevitably arise. If the government really wants to reward the Li father and son, why not posthumously confer the title of Nanyang County Founding Duke on his father, and then give Li Shifu a proper founding duke based on his normal military merits and military positions?"
"I know this story. Yuwen Xianggong told me all this in person that day..."
"But the emperor still did it?" Xu Jingheng was not Yuwen Xu Zhong, he interrupted Emperor Zhao in person.
"That's right." Zhao Jiu was quite frank.
"Why?" Mr. Xu, the governor of the capital, kept asking.
"I can't say for sure." Zhao Jiu laughed again, but then asked with a smile. "However, judging from Mr. Xu's intention, does the province want to deny this matter?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere in the pavilion suddenly became even colder.
Speaking of which, although Yuwen Xu Zhong was a man of weak character, he was a minister after all. Although Zhang Jun always followed the emperor's orders, Hu Yin was not one to care about matters. Not to mention Liu Ziyu, who had just dealt with the whole matter in Lantian... But why did these people fail to effectively stop Zhao Jiu's rewards and punishments that were not in line with the system?
It was not that they were unwilling, but when they came to the battlefield, they first helped Emperor Zhao to sort out the post-war affairs, helped him to examine the corpses, helped him to deal with the rewards and punishments in the army, and saw with their own eyes how fierce and earth-shattering the battle was that day. After experiencing the shock and baptism of the battlefield, even those with high qualifications and status like Yuwen Xuzhong and strong points like Hu Yin were temporarily restrained by some emotions and did not dare to forcefully refute the emperor.
After the first battle, not only did the Western Army compete to shoot the eagle, but the entire Guanxi land seemed to dare not disobey the emperor in the slightest.
"Officials!"
Xu Jingheng suddenly laughed. "Your Majesty, do you know that after the great victory at Yaoshan, the news spread to Tokyo, and the whole city went crazy. They all said that your Majesty defeated the Jin army of 200,000 with 400,000 men, and the Jin army was completely wiped out. This battle was comparable to the Battle of Kunyang by Emperor Guangwu, and your Majesty was also the reincarnation of Emperor Guangwu..."
Zhao Jiu also started laughing.
"When I arrived at Sishui Pass, some people said that the emperor and Wanyan Loushi were facing each other with arrows. Loushi drew his bow and drew his arrow first, and the emperor shot his arrow later. He shot Loushi in the shoulder and forced him to abandon his bow and crossbow... As the saying goes, 'The emperor's arrow conquered Yaoshan, and the soldiers sang to recover Hanguan.'"
Zhao Jiu could hardly control his laughter.
"Later, I entered Tongguan. The people along the way all said that the emperor was the true dragon emperor, and he borrowed the power of the Yaoshan Mountain God. When Lou Shi marched down the mountain, the emperor poured the power of Yaoshan down, causing tens of thousands of Jin troops to collapse at once..."
Zhao Jiu suddenly stopped smiling.
"I know that these things are all rumors." Xu Jingheng stopped smiling. "But I think that your victory this time, although tragic, has saved the Song Dynasty from dying, and is no worse than Emperor Guangwu's founding of the country; although he missed the arrows in the battle with Lou Shi, his courage is enough to make the people of the world no longer afraid of the Jin army, which is the so-called bow and arrow of the emperor; and in times of crisis, the emperor came down the mountain to turn the tide, which is enough to compare himself to Mount Tai, and act like Mount Tai pressing down on the top! So after this battle, I dare to ask your Majesty, within the court and the territory of the Song Dynasty, who can really stop you from doing what you want to do? Just a mere inheritance of a title, and a mere founding duke, is it invalid if the capital province does not allow it?"
Zhao Jiu gave a dry laugh.
Then, Xu Jingheng bowed his hands and said, "But as long as I am in the capital, I will not allow it! Because it is against the system! And it is a chaotic order that will cause endless troubles! Once this precedent is set, the title system of the Song Dynasty that has been flawless for more than a hundred years will be abolished overnight."
Zhao Jiu laughed dryly again: "Mr. Xu, wait a minute."
Xu Jingheng bowed and stood solemnly by the side.
Zhao Jiu lifted the gauze on the table and solemnly opened the latest list. Then he personally wrote down the names of Yang Weizhong, the commander of the rear army of the imperial camp, and Zhai Xing, the commander of the central army of the imperial camp. However, he did not close the list in a hurry, as if he wanted to wait for the ink to dry.
Just when Xu Jingheng thought that Zhao Jiu was going to speak, the official took out two pieces of white paper and rewrote the two names he had just written. He then stood up with the two pieces of white paper with the ink still wet, and gestured to Yang Yizhong beside him.
Yang Yizhong led the way, followed closely by Zhao Guanjia. Yuwen Xuzhong and others behind him knew where they were going, so they naturally followed in awe. Even Xu Jingheng was pushed by Yuwen Xuzhong and suddenly set off with the Guanjia and his entourage.
Before long, in the afternoon, they arrived at a construction site on a platform on the mountainside not far from the back door of the military camp... Tens of thousands of civilians had been here before, and there was no shortage of materials. The wooden buildings had already taken shape, and now they were just painting the buildings and the carpenters were carving.
When they arrived here, Xu Jingheng, the only one who had doubts, soon became relieved - this was a temple, not much different from the water temple on Bagong Mountain in Huaishang. And soon, the words of Emperor Zhao also verified this.
"This man is called Hou Dan. He is a fellow townsman, comrade-in-arms, and old acquaintance of Zhang Yongzhen of Huaishang. It was he who killed Lou Shi that day and then died in battle. That's why I made him the mountain god of Yaoshan." Stepping into the hall, Zhao Jiu pointed to the unfinished statue in the middle and spoke slowly.
"This achievement is worthy of this reward." Mr. Xu nodded immediately.
At this moment, a young military officer with a wound on his face stepped forward, bowed and greeted, but spoke with a Lingnan accent. Zhao Jiu didn't pay attention to it, but handed over the two pieces of white paper he brought with him: "Give it to the craftsman, I want to talk to Mr. Xu alone..."
The Guangnan assistant official with a wound on his face immediately bowed his head and left. Yuwen Xuzhong and others looked at each other and could only retreat. Suddenly, no one left the hall except the king and his ministers.
But at this time, Zhao Jiu, who wanted to chat, did not speak directly, but turned behind the statue. It turned out that there was another deep space behind the statue. Only the skylight was opened inside, and the light was abundant, so he could see clearly, and it was precisely because he could see clearly that the governor of the capital was stunned and lost his composure as soon as he turned around.
There was nothing else to it. Everywhere you looked, there were densely packed numbers of them, more than tens of thousands of them, all of which were wooden plaques with military ranks and names written on them.
"Mr. Xu should know that I don't like offering sacrifices." Zhao Jiu spoke at this time. "But I have come here countless times these days... When we were on the Huai River, the soldiers gathered in a hurry, and many of them died without leaving any names. Now under Yao Mountain, because the Western Army was organized according to their hometowns, and the Imperial Camp Army had already been registered, I know many names, but it is still not enough... So, I thought, if I really go straight to Huanglong one day, why not erect a big monument in a conspicuous place?"
It took a lot of effort for Xu Xianggong to come back to his senses, and then he whispered: "What the emperor said makes sense, but what does it have to do with Li Shifu inheriting the title of founding duke?"
"Of course it's related." Zhao Jiu said with his hands behind his back. "Mr. Xu, I can't forget these people..."
“It’s natural!”
"I often ask myself, for whom did I go through so much hardship and risk my life to preserve this country? The Zhao family? But the Zhao family is all in the north, and I am the only one left. If I want to enjoy the life of my family, I might as well run to the southeast and end the rest of my life. Believe it or not, even if Concubine Pan is pregnant, I have done so many things for the many people in front of me and behind me..."
"Min Xin."
"Listen to me... So-called, from the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors to the thousands of generations of descendants, from my own personal feelings to the common people of the world, from the sky to the earth... Be it public or private, since I have become the official, the Son of Heaven, the Emperor, I don't ask for thousands of years, but I can't be too embarrassing, right?"
“…”
"After this battle, I couldn't sleep day and night, thinking about many messy things... How to clean up the rebellion in the rear? How to appease the people who have been exploited by the government and harassed by soldiers and bandits in the past few years? How to rectify the government, how to train the troops? Can we make gunpowder bags that are not afraid of water? Can we lay tracks along the Yellow River to transport troops? Can we build sea vessels to attack Liaodong and Bohai? Can we distribute the court bulletin to the whole country? Can we settle the scholars and farmers and enrich the businessmen?"
Mr. Xu hesitated several times to speak, but Zhao Jiu just kept talking with his hands behind his back:
"How many years will it take to launch the Northern Expedition? How many years will it take to attack Huanglong? "
"After the pacification of the Yanyun homeland, should Xixia be recovered? Should Jiaozhi be taken back? Should Dali be dealt with? Aren't these places the homeland of the Han people?"
"After we recover the Han homeland, will the Xiongnu and Xianbei appear again on the northern grasslands? Should we annex the Western Regions and sandwich the northern desert? I heard that Yelu Dashi mobilized more than ten tribes, claiming to restore the country, but he actually went west. Will we run into them again? And there's Goryeo. If we fight to the death with the Jurchens, don't we have to worry about Goryeo?"
"These tablets are here not to persuade me to stop fighting, but to persuade me not to let them down, not to forget them, to destroy the enemy outside, and not to let Guanzhong, Luoyang, Henan, Huaishang, the heartland of our country, fall into such tragic places again! I have never expected to live forever, but I can't let Guanzhong suffer such a war again in just a few decades, right?"
Mr. Xu sighed slightly. He wanted to speak several times but kept silent.
"Han Shizhong was directly crowned as a king, bypassing the title of Duke, and he inherited the title at the same time as Li Shifu... I intend to establish a real title in the border areas to deal with the Western Regions, Dali, and Jiaozhi." Zhao Jiu finally told the truth. "But can I say this outside? Wouldn't it be ridiculous to say it? Even the rebellion behind me has not been quelled. And I really don't know whether the real title is effective, but since I have thought about these things, I have to have some ideas, right?"
Xu Jingheng finally spoke reluctantly: "The government has great ambitions..."
"I am not ambitious. I am only in my twenties this year. What I am talking about is only the homeland of the Han and Tang Dynasties. It's just that the Song Dynasty occupied half of the country for more than a hundred years. I am used to being a coward and I still want to deceive myself... For more than a hundred years, the Han people in Yanyun no longer recognize the southerners as their fellow tribesmen! This is even more true in Jiaozhi!"
Xu Jingheng's expression changed slightly, but he still responded with an effort: "But we still have to stabilize the country before we can resist foreign aggression."
"I know!" Zhao Jiu turned his head back. "But I am limited to the Western Regions and Jiaozhi. It is inappropriate to try to inherit the title, but it can't be said to be making trouble without reason, right?"
Xu Jingheng nodded helplessly: "Although I think it is indeed a bit far-fetched and may not be appropriate, but if there is a reason, it may not be impossible to try to discuss it."
"But it's the same thing." Zhao Jiu suddenly turned around and stared at the other person. "This kind of thing cannot be said... Last time, when I talked to Uncle Zongzheng about things that could not be said, we could only hide in the Great Hall... But Mr. Xu, where in the world are there so many temples and monasteries for us, the monarch and his subjects, to go in and talk about these things anytime and anywhere?"
Xu Jingheng was silent for a while, and Zhao Jiu also stopped talking. The king and his subject stared at each other for a long time behind the tablets filled with statues of gods.
Finally, Xu Xianggong bowed and said, "After this battle, when the emperor has cleaned up Guanxi and returned to Tokyo, will he recall the envoys from all over the country?"
"Yes." Zhao Jiu stood with his hands behind his back and spoke to the other party very straightforwardly.
"After suppressing the rebellion, should we integrate the Western Army into the Imperial Camp?"
"yes!"
“Should we clarify the old and new parties and re-establish academia?”
"yes!"
"Should we all work together as one, serve the government as if it were our own arm, and implement the new policies?"
"Yes!" Zhao Jiu was still straightforward.
"So, I understand." Xu Jingheng bowed his head solemnly. "I would like to resign and let you take over."
"Do the work of granting land to the meritorious officials of the imperial camp in Henan for me, and then resign on the grounds of illness. We, the monarch and the minister, must see things through to the end." Zhao Jiu still stood with his hands behind his back, without the slightest hesitation. "And we, the monarch and the minister, deserve to see things through to the end, both in terms of merit and virtue."
"I understand." Xu Jingheng looked calm and bowed.
Zhao Jiu nodded and took the initiative to ask again: "Do you have any questions?"
"I have a question and a discussion." After thinking for a moment, Xu Jingheng took the initiative to respond.
"Tell me."
"Sir, I'm sorry to ask you how Mr. Lu is doing."
"Prime Minister Lu has made outstanding contributions. He should be appointed as prime minister and take charge of important military and national affairs!" Zhao Jiu said without any hesitation.
Xu Jingheng was immediately relieved, and bowed again: "That's good, but I have one more thing to say... Lu Yihao cannot be used!"
Emperor Zhao was stunned for a moment, but didn't say anything. He turned around and walked out. Mr. Xu didn't say anything more either, and followed him away.
But when the two of them walked out of the statue, passed in front of the hall, pushed open the door and were about to go out, Xu Jingheng suddenly seemed to have thought of something, and before Emperor Zhao stepped out of the door, he bowed and said, "Emperor!"
"What?" Zhao Jiu stopped in surprise.
"Just now in the straw hut in the camp, I was not joking just to make a sarcastic remonstration, but speaking from the bottom of my heart." Xu Jingheng bowed to the bottom in the surprised eyes of the ministers at the steps in the distance. "Your Majesty has achieved the achievements of Guangwu with the spirit of Zhaolie, but in the future, please keep the virtue of Guangwu and the righteousness of Zhaolie... Not only should you be consistent with me, but you should also be consistent with yourself."
"I will never forget what Mr. Xu said today." Zhao Jiu was silent for a moment, but responded solemnly.
In this way, the king and his minister went out of the door and slowly returned to the camp. At this time, the sun had already set and hid behind Yao Mountain, but the red rays of light shone through the mountains, still illuminating the military camp on the mountain and the Huangyuan battlefield at the foot of the mountain. Together, they were colorful and made people lost in thought.
Zhao Jiu originally wanted to return to the camp, but when he saw this scene, he stopped and pondered for a moment.
Zhang Jun saw that Emperor Zhao and Minister Xu were both calm, and knew that they didn't know how to end it, but he couldn't help but stepped forward to join in the fun: "Is your Majesty thinking of poetry?"
"That's right." Zhao Jiu couldn't help but laugh. "Thinking of the great battle that day, and seeing that the battlefield had been deserted after just ten days, I really couldn't help but want to write a poem, but I was at a loss for words..."
The people present were not only several high officials, but also many of the attendants and the military scholars who followed the army were experts. When they heard the words, they wanted to take the opportunity to write a few poems to suit the occasion. However, when they thought of those "Old Works of Yi'an Jushi" and "Qingyu Case", they gave up the idea of ​​writing poems one after another and kept silent.
I was just accompanying this official, looking at the colorful battlefield and thinking for a while.
Following the eastward gaze of Emperor Zhao, all the way eastward for more than a thousand miles, there were soldiers and pillars on the mountain. There was also a man sitting in a pavilion by the mountain, looking out, and sighing.
It was none other than the fully armed commander of the front army of the imperial camp, Yue Fei, Yue Pengju, and beside him was the sullen-faced commander Tang Huai.
"Brother, don't you want to go take a look?" Even though Tang Huai was always serious, he couldn't help but speak up. "Go down the mountain from this pavilion and you will find Tang Yin."
"Where are we going?" Yue Fei, wearing armor, looked at the plains on the east side of the mountain. There were countless soldiers and horses there, marching south in an orderly manner. They were the troops of the Imperial Camp who had withdrawn from the west side of the Yellow River in Daming Prefecture. "It would only make me sad if I went there. I can just look at them."
Tang Huai frowned when he heard this: "Although the Central Plains is in trouble and Jingxiang is in chaos, you gentlemen are pushing us too hard. Talai is hiding in Daming Prefecture and dares not go south. Wuzhu's 20,000 soldiers are in Longde Prefecture (Shangdang in later generations). If we can lure them out, we may be able to win a great victory."
"It's useless. Wanyan Wushu came here in a hurry just to stabilize the 20,000 troops and prevent them from going out to fight." Yue Fei narrowed his eyes and sighed. "As for you saying that the ministers are pushing too hard, it's even more unfair to them... After the emperor won a great victory, Minister Lu just told me the difficulties and took the initiative to ask me how to deal with it, but didn't push me."
"So this provincial decree is fake?"
"It's true!" Yue Pengju finally narrowed his eyes and looked at his confidant brother. "But it was because I submitted a memorial to the capital and the Guanxi officials..."
Tang Huai was puzzled: "Brother, are you asking to withdraw your troops?"
"good."
"Why?"
"First, to resist foreign aggression, we must first stabilize the internal affairs. The victory of our army at Yaoshan means that the Jin army can no longer easily move south. We should turn around and put down the rebellion of Zhong Xiang and the Miao people in Wuling, and restore the economy and people's livelihood." Yue Pengju answered calmly. "Second, if we want to go to Hebei, we should first cut off the two wings, recover northern Shaanxi and eastern Beijing, and weaken their power. Third, if we want to settle Hebei and take Yanyun, we should first take Hedong, recover Taiyuan, live in Shanxi, control Yanmen, rely on Taihang, and sweep North China from a high position. Fourth, if we want to attack Huanglong directly, we should first settle Yanyun, then restrain the Mongols and divide Goryeo, so that we can succeed in one fell swoop!"
Tang Huai nodded: "Brother, are you proposing a plan to the emperor?"
"good."
"That makes sense." Tang Huai sighed. "But isn't it sad that my brother has to die again and again in his hometown?"
"How can I not be sad?" Yue Fei laughed at himself, but then became serious. "But there is another reason..."
"What's the reason?"
"The people of Hebei are my fellow countrymen, and so are the people of Henan." Yue Fei answered slowly while looking to the north. "Why should the people of Henan give their blood and sweat to us, and then we squander it in Hebei? In the current situation, what's the point of fighting one or two battles in Hebei and going back to our hometown once or twice? If the Jin army in Luoyang withdraws in time, the Jin army in Hedong can send reinforcements here at any time. When that happens, we will be caught between the two Jin armies, so won't we have to leave?"
Tang Huai opened his mouth to speak, but finally said no more.
Just like that, as it was getting dark, Yue Fei stood up, picked up his spear and carried his bow and arrows, ready to go down the mountain and follow the army south. But suddenly his heart moved, and he called for someone to bring him pen and ink, and he wrote a poem on the white wall of the pavilion.
Words:
Returning to Hebei, I saw many cities beyond the desolate smoke.
Thinking back to the days when flowers shaded the willows and there were red buildings and green pavilions.
There is gold and jade all around in front of Daming Prefecture, and there is music and singing in Zhending City.
Until now, cavalry has filled the suburbs, and the wind and dust are nasty.
Where are the soldiers? Oil their swords. Where are the people? Fill the ditches.
I sigh that the mountains and rivers remain the same, but the thousands of villages are deserted.
When will I be able to lead an elite brigade and cross the Qinghe River again?
But I return and continue to tour the old city without letting down my weapons.
After finishing writing, Yue Fei sighed slightly, threw down his pen, put down his gun, turned around and went down the mountain without looking back.
It was already late in the evening. In the Yaoshan camp, Xu Jingheng finished writing a letter to Yue Fei and sent it off on a fast horse. Then he turned around to see Emperor Zhao. But as soon as he entered the tent, he saw that all the people there were there, but they were just holding some pieces of white paper and talking. Emperor Zhao was the only one missing.
When everyone saw Mr. Xu coming, they all greeted him and said frankly that the emperor was tired after days of work and should have gone back to his tent to read by lamplight. However, the emperor had left a matter on the table as usual and asked everyone to discuss it, and it was Mr. Xu who should make the decision.
Xu Jingheng took the lead without hesitation, and when he got there, he realized that Emperor Zhao was planning to make plans for the post-war military arrangements, with the intention of strengthening the rear army of the Imperial Camp and forming an Imperial Camp cavalry.
Among them, strengthening the rear army of the Imperial Camp was probably to let Wu Jie be the commander-in-chief and reintegrate the various western armies into the camp, while the original rear army of the Imperial Camp would be directly reorganized under the central army of the Imperial Camp... This was a complicated matter, and no one knew how many incidents would be involved, and it was impossible to discuss it for the time being.
As for the Imperial Cavalry, the emperor intended to appoint Qu Duan as the commander-in-chief, and Liu Qi and Li Shifu as deputy commanders-in-chief...Among them, the others were fine, except that Li Shifu was too young. Some people thought that he could just be an ordinary commander, which caused some controversy.
Xu Jingheng was a capable man. He came up with a decision while holding a piece of paper. In view of Li Shifu's great achievements, he should be appointed as the deputy commander of the imperial cavalry. It was a unanimous decision made by the emperor and his subjects.
However, after this matter was settled, when everyone was talking about the complicated matter of the Western Army's transfer to the Imperial Camp, Xu Xianggong sat under the lamp, looking at the white paper in his hand, but he felt a little strange. It turned out that there were a few lines of small characters on the blank space of the paper, which were obviously official handwriting, and were heavy marks left through the paper. When it was slightly illuminated by the lamp, it looked like a poem or something.
Mr. Xu thought of what happened before and was also curious, so he just read it carefully.
However, after reading it over and over again, Mr. Xu was still confused, because the situation and objects in it did not match the current situation in any way. Only the second stanza had an extraordinary artistic conception and touched people's hearts, which made him sure that the emperor wrote it because of his feelings today.
Words:
The west wind is strong,
The sky is filled with geese calling under the frosty morning moon.
Frosty morning moon,
The sound of horse hooves
The trumpet sounded choked.
The long road to the pass is as hard as iron.
Now I start again from the beginning.
From the beginning,
The mountains are like the sea,
The setting sun is blood-red.
(End of Volume 3)