Volume 4 Chapter 65: Famous Envoy (Part 1)
In March, the main forces of the Jin army's western army moved south along the Fen River and gathered in the Hezhong Prefecture area. At the same time, large groups of troops began to try to move eastward and westward around Daming Prefecture, an important town occupied by the eastern army.
The latter don't need to worry at all, because they can neither break through the middle section of the Yellow River where Zhang Rong and his Imperial Camp navy are directly defending, nor dare to cross the Yellow River in the downstream where there are dense waterways, and then enter the narrow death zone between the Yellow River and the Jishui River... As long as they rush over, they will definitely find that the Right Army of the Imperial Camp is deployed on the south side of the Jishui River, and then Zhang Rong will advance eastward at all costs to block their retreat. Not only that, Emperor Zhao will definitely abandon Guanzhong and rush directly to Jingdong!
Damn Xixia, swallow up this Jin army first and then talk about other things.
In fact, everyone knew that among all the responses of the Jin army, what could really put pressure on the Song army was the large field army gathered in the Hezhong Prefecture area.
First of all, as the saying goes, "Chang'an of Eight Rivers", the key point on the east side of the Guanzhong Plain is destined to be around Weikou where the Weishui River flows into the Yellow River. And there are indeed the traditional three crossings and one pass here... namely Longmen Ferry, Pujin Ferry, Fengling Ferry, and Tongguan.
But Tongguan was too dangerous, and the Xiao-Mian Ancient Road was too easily blocked, so few people were willing to fight for their lives by the road south of the Yellow River. In other words, compared to going through the 120 Qin Passes, anyone from the east who coveted the Guanzhong Plain had no reason not to take the more appropriate water route.
The waterways around Weikou are naturally the three traditional ferry crossings. Among them, Longmen Ferry is still narrow and the water flow is fast; Fengling Ferry is very good, but unfortunately you have to face Tongguan after crossing it. Eight out of ten people who pass through here are to cover Puzhou and Longmen Ferry, and the other two want to scare Tongguan to see if they can catch a dead mouse by a blind cat; only Puzhou has very good geographical conditions. Not only is the water flow gentle enough to lay a permanent floating bridge, but there are plains on both sides, which is convenient for logistical supplies. Once you cross the other side, it is also convenient to advance in large strides.
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Qin State gathered its troops at Puzhou almost every time it sent troops to attack the Three Jins.
So no one dares to ignore this place.
This can be seen from the deployment of the Song army's garrison in Tongzhou on the Puzhen side. Ever since the Song army gained some combat power and began to try to defend Guanzhong, the troops stationed in Tongzhou have always been those of Han Shizhong, the first famous general of the Song Dynasty. Whenever there was a war or danger, Han Shizhong would personally arrive in Tongzhou to take charge and hold the opposite side together with Li Yanxian of Shanzhou.
Of course, Longmen also needs to be guarded against, but even Longmen Ferry belongs to Hezhong Prefecture and Tongzhou. Not to mention that the last time Wuzhu marched through Longmen Ferry with a large number of Jin troops on the opposite bank as cover, he was still discovered by Han Shizhong.
Back to the present, as the Jin army gathered in Hezhong Prefecture again, the flags of King Wei Wanyan Wushu, Commander-in-Chief Wanyan Balisu and others appeared on the other side of Puzhou. Of course, the Song army did not dare to be negligent.
But this time, Han Shizhong's own flag unexpectedly did not come from Danzhou in the north, because the flag that arrived at Puzhindu in Tongzhou was a level higher than Han Shizhong's unparalleled flag - the Jinwu flag that impressed all the Jin generals, especially Wanyan Wushu and the generals of the Western Army. Although their specific appearance could not be seen from a distance, because of its special shape, they still recognized it again across the river.
Along with the dragon banner, there was also a majestic, gorgeous, orderly, and large and continuous team. From morning to night, countless people followed the dragon banner to the other side of the river, and did not stop until midnight.
The next morning, Wanyan Wushu led his generals to climb the Stork Tower to look at the situation from afar. They saw that the military camp on the opposite bank where Han Shizhong's favorite general Heilong Wangsheng was stationed had turned into a large construction site overnight. There was smoke and flags everywhere, but it was also filled with densely packed soldiers and civilians.
They kept coming and going, and under the command of civil officials who were not sure whether they were local officials or military scholars, they built camps and trenches on a large scale. And soldiers and armored soldiers who were not sure whether they were archers from the United Society also kept coming and going, following the officers and marching to the surrounding areas.
To be honest, this situation made the Jin generals feel a little jealous.
"I just don't understand." Wanhu Wanyan Tuhesu suddenly spoke up. "How did the Song people in Guanzhong survive for nearly a hundred years with the small population of Xixia? Even if they had the Hanhai, Hengshan, and cavalry, they could have worn out the Xixia people with just manpower, right?"
"Tuhesu, have you forgotten the past after you suffered a loss at the hands of Wu Jie?" Wanyan Zhehe, another commander of the Western Army, sneered. "Are the Song people before Jingkang the same as the Song people now? Wasn't it you who dismounted and fought on foot and annihilated the Song army in the mountains ?"
Tu Hesu was slightly startled, then immediately realized, but shook his head again: "That's right, the people we are facing now are not the Song people before Jingkang. The Song people now dare to stand in the battlefield and lead the Jurchen soldiers to shoot down the divine arm bows one after another without asking for rewards on the spot. As for the dragon flag, although I have not seen the situation you are talking about with my own eyes, I know how powerful King Loushi is..."
"Okay." Wanyan Wushu, who had been staring at the flag for a long time, suddenly came to his senses and turned his head to interrupt the conversation. "Don't boost others' morale... Maybe it's just bluffing. God knows if all those who came from day to night yesterday were just civilians?"
"I think there must be some bluffing, but it's not entirely true." Wanyan Balisu, the commander-in-chief of the Western Army, who had been watching for half a day, finally spoke after hearing this.
"How do you say it?"
"The Zhao Song emperor is quite courageous in employing troops, often appointing generals to take charge of a region without interfering." Balisu looked at the movement on the other side of the river and said seriously. "According to the information our scouts 'got' after crossing the river, and referring to the previous statement given by the Xixia people, the Song soldiers in Guanzhong can be roughly divided into five groups. Han, Li, Wu, and Yue each have 30,000, and the Zhao Song emperor himself should have 10,000 or 20,000 troops. Among them, Yue Fei and Qu Duan have a combined force of 30,000, which is about a few hundred miles away in Pingxia City. Wu Jie's troops are in the north, and most of Han Shizhong's troops are on the opposite bank, spreading all the way along the Yellow River, from Tongguan in the south to Danzhou in the north. There are about 20,000 in Tongzhou... In other words, since the Zhao Song emperor has come, he should bring the 10,000 or 20,000 people from Fangzhou with him."
"Seventy to eighty thousand civilians are just bluffing, and there are twenty thousand soldiers in between?" Wuzhu summed it up. "We are confused, and we dare not believe it more, nor do we dare to believe it less?"
"I think so too," Yelu Ma Wu interrupted. "There are Li Yanxian and Han Shizhong's troops around Hezhong Prefecture, with a total of 50,000 to 60,000 soldiers. We are now heading south with 60,000 to 70,000 soldiers. The Song people want to support us, and the Zhao Song officials are in Fangzhou with 20,000 soldiers. They are already in the middle to provide support as a backup, so they should come over."
"Not bad." Balisu immediately agreed.
"Can't we have some accurate information?" Wanyan Wushu asked seriously. "How many soldiers are there? The only ones we need to consider are the regular soldiers in the Imperial Camp, and the Song Imperial Camp must have a certain number..."
Balisu shook his head directly. "There are too many civilians on the other side, and the troops are well deployed. The scouts are also very tired. After a lot of effort to cross the river, they can only capture some civilians and people from the Tuanjie Society to interrogate. The information is complicated and difficult to distinguish. We can only do our best. The main thing is to try to verify these confessions... For example, the commander of Tongguan, the scouts interrogated and found that it was Huyan Tong, and then went to Fenglingdu to risk crossing the river. To see, it was indeed Huyan Tong's flag. It is said that there is an imperial camp commanding army in Tongguan, with at least 2,000 and at most 3,000 soldiers. The general is Huyan Tong, which can't be wrong."
"It must be true that Hu Yantong guarded Tongguan." Wushu nodded immediately, listing all the details. "This man served as the personal guard commander of the Zhao Song emperor for a while when he was in Huaishang. He was once assigned to the Central Army of the Imperial Camp. Later, it was said that in order to remind Han Shizhong not to eat empty salaries, he was transferred back to the Left Army of the Imperial Camp without reorganizing the personnel... So, in order to reassure the Zhao Song emperor, it was natural for Han Shizhong to use this man to guard Tongguan."
The generals nodded in agreement, seeming to be thinking about something.
"It is indeed difficult to conduct reconnaissance across the river, and this method is our best effort." Wushu sighed helplessly again. "However, we have only seen the dragon banner from a distance, but have not yet verified it... We must find a way to verify it!"
Balisu understood Wuzhu's meaning instantly, but still frowned: "King Wei means that the Zhao Song official might be fake? In my opinion, it is not that serious... What Yelu Wanhu said is very appropriate. At this time and place, it is reasonable for the Zhao Song official to come to support first."
"It's always a good idea to test more." Before Wuzhu could speak, Wanyan Salihe interrupted. "The Emperor of Zhao Song has always been cunning..."
Seeing that it was this person who spoke, Balisu and several commanders of the Western Army, such as Wanyan Zhehe, Yelu Mawu, and Wanyan Tuhesu, almost started to get annoyed with each other, but they were helpless... Everyone knew that Salihe was raised in the central army by Taizu since he was a child, and had a very good relationship with several princes. This was one of the reasons why he stayed in Yan'an with Huo Nu when Nianhan was in power, and it was also the reason why he was willing to cooperate with Wuzhu now.
It can also be imagined that if Huo Nu continues to be obsessed with the revenge for her father's murder, then after the dust settles, this person will most likely be promoted to deputy governor-general, and together with Wanyan Eluguan, the governor of Xijing, he will serve as a constraint on Balisu.
But to be honest, this arrangement was bound to make the several Wanhu who had remained in Hedong feel a sense of common hatred for the enemy.
This is because Huo Nu is a Huo Nu. She was promoted to the position of commander-in-chief shortly after the war between Song and Jin broke out. She also had the influence of Lou Shi. Although they were divided, everyone was convinced of her. How could she be compared with this person?
However, Wushu did not seem to notice the attitude of the generals of the Western Army. Instead, he nodded directly: "This Zhao Jiu from Cangzhou has always been cunning. We should really test him a little bit..."
Before he finished speaking, there was a sudden commotion on the other side of the river , which became louder and louder, and then the entire huge military camp and construction site on the other side of the river began to shake.
At the same time, on the Stork Tower on the east bank of the river, Wanyan Wushu, whose face was already a little pale, Balisu, who had remained calm, as well as Salihe, Zhehe, Ma Wu, Tuhesu, Wulibu, Huzhan and other Jin generals, all fell silent for a moment.
There was no other reason. As far as everyone could see, the Jinwu banner that they had been observing for the whole morning was automatically pulled up from the general platform of the military camp on the opposite bank and headed towards the river. Not only that, but the accompanying flags of different sizes and shapes were also densely packed and swarming. The dazzling armored soldiers and armored cavalry on both wings were also not missing.
Wherever the dragon flag went, the mountains roared and the sea roared. When it reached the riverside, the shouts of "Long live the dragon" could be clearly heard across the river.
In the end, Wuzhu and others could see with their own eyes that the dragon banner was the half-old dragon banner they had seen that day. At this moment, a rider wearing a golden helmet and golden armor jumped out on his horse under the dragon banner, and came to the riverside surrounded by countless civil and military officials, and looked towards the building above.
It was a beautiful spring day, and Wanyan Wushu and others could even clearly see that man arguing in public and pointing at their family and saying some nonsense.
"This saves us the trouble of testing!" With a sneer, the first person to break the silence was the commander-in-chief of the Western Army, Wanyan Balisu.
After these words were spoken, most of the surrounding Jin army generals burst into laughter, except for Wei Wang Wushu and a few others who stood still, staring at the scene opposite them without saying a word... and after these people finished laughing, they looked pale again, just like Wushu.
Because just as Balisu said, there is no need to test! Without any doubt, the Zhao Song officials on the opposite side came to the front line again.
At this time, looking back, the second prince Wuliebu died of illness, Lou Shi died in battle, Nianhan was killed with a hammer, and the king Wuqimai collapsed on the couch... When this group of people tried to find a magic needle that could absolutely suppress the Zhao Song emperor and give themselves confidence, they were shocked to find that the two military commanders they could rely on at this time, one was Wei Wang Wushu, and the other was the commander-in-chief Balisu, did not seem to be convincing enough.
Even His Royal Highness the King of Wei, from the Huai River to the other side, had always been a defeated general under the Broken Dragon Banner on the opposite side.
"No matter what, the Zhao Song official is always decisive... We just arrived, the troops are not complete, the ships are not gathered, and he also arrived." Balisu sighed. "King Wei, the Zhao Song official arrived first, but Han Shizhong did not come. It is possible that he is taking the opportunity to attack Yan'an. We can't hesitate."
"I know." Wanyan Wushu turned around and pointed at someone. "Tuhesu... You lead our army as the vanguard and suppress Pinglu first."
Wanyan Tuhesu immediately folded his hands and listened to the order solemnly, then limped away in a hurry.
"Wen Dun Sizhong." Wuzhu named another person, who was the Privy Council member he brought from Beijing. "You ask someone to write a document, and I will sign it later. Ask Ada and Aer to deliver it to Longde Mansion. It means that Wanyan Bendu will be the marching commander, temporarily commanding three thousand households there, and quickly come here to help!"
“Yes!”
A Jurchen civil servant in his forties who had not spoken before responded proudly. Looking at his standing order, he was actually standing side by side with Wanyan Salihe, just slightly behind Balisu, but far ahead of the other Wanhu... and everyone was speechless.
Of course.
It should be noted that in the early years of the Jurchens, before Wanyan Xiyin invented writing, there were no written military orders. Orders and decrees were always given orally, and they were called Zhachi. Wendun Sizhong was the chief Zhachi in the military tent of Wanyan Aguda, the first emperor of the Jin Dynasty.
In other words, the term "闸刺" was invented specifically for this person.
Before Wulindazanmo rose to prominence with his outstanding diplomatic talents, this man was in charge of all the confidential communications within the Jin Dynasty and all the external diplomatic negotiations... It was precisely because of this that he and Wulindazanmo were like mortal enemies and were recognized rivals.
Of course, regardless of all that mess, this person's qualifications and status are indeed enough to gain a foothold here. And it is said that this person is likely to serve as the governor of Hezhong Prefecture after this incident to help Yanjing further control the Western Route Army.
"Wait a minute." Wuzhu gave the order, but suddenly changed his mind. "You can tell someone to do this... and pick up two of the best Korean ginseng I usually use, and go across the river to see the Emperor of Song and say hello to him."
Wen Dunsizhong responded immediately, and the other generals were also speechless.
But Balisu couldn't help but frown... He always felt that the Prince of Wei was too concerned about the Zhao Song government. But the Prince of Wei didn't delay anything at all. Tuhesu had already attacked, and Wanyan Bendu was about to lead the Longde Prefecture's troops to support him, so it was hard to say anything.
But, so I said but, it was a sunny morning in March, the terrain on both sides of Puzhou was open and the view was generally unobstructed. The commander-in-chief of the Western Army, Balisu, who had accompanied His Royal Highness the King of Wei to watch the dragon flag for half a day, just had a flash of dissatisfaction in his mind, and the next moment he was speechless.
Because not long after King Wushu of Wei decided to send an envoy to the other side, the other side once again got ahead of King Wei - a small boat set off directly from the opposite side, and a man on the boat was dressed in gorgeous clothes and was supported by someone at the bow. He was obviously a senior civil servant.
Obviously, the Zhao Song official had sent an envoy first... Puzhou was a natural ferry. A moment later, the messenger went ashore to change horses under the escort of Jurchen knights. The person who came here was Zheng Zhichang, a famous international friend who was personally certified by the Zhao official and was also a famous poet and minister of Goryeo.
"Is it Emperor Zhao on the other side?" Wuzhu asked. He found out that it was a Korean. Although it was unexpected, he did not seem to be asking for responsibility. It was obvious that he was too lazy to care.
"yes."
As the largest "anti-Jin faction" and "pro-war faction" in Goryeo, Zheng Zhichang saw with his own eyes the dense cavalry brigade that was far beyond the imagination of the country, but he no longer had the courage to give orders to the country in front of Zhao Guanjia on the west bank, and he became obedient.
"Why did Lord Zhao send you here?"
"The emperor said that the two armies were at war, and the status of a foreign minister was appropriate, so he came to greet His Royal Highness the King of Wei and see if it was the King of Wei who was in person?"
"What else?"
"And there is..." Zheng Zhichang paused for a moment, and then tried to answer in front of the Jin generals. "The emperor said that the King of Wei was injured while riding a wooden dragon across the river. It happened that there were snow lotus tributes from the Tibetans, which are said to be very nutritious, so he asked the foreign ministers to bring two of the best ones to the King of Wei to replenish his body, so that he would not catch a cold in the river again... The gift was taken away by the iron cavalry of the great country."
On the Stork Tower, Wanyan Wushu opened his mouth to speak, but lost his voice for a moment.
As for the rest of the Jin generals, they just looked at each other... They didn't know whether they should complain about the man opposite them for being so close to their own King Wei, or stand up and scold him for his sinister intentions and malicious ridicule.
His Royal Highness the Prince of Wei was chased by your family and jumped into the Yellow River, escaping death by a hair's breadth. Why would he need you to send someone to remind him specifically every time you meet him?
After a long pause, Wuzhu was not angry at all. Instead, he said, "Thank you for your kindness, Lord Zhao. I will cross the river with an army of 200,000 men this time. I will not get wet."
Zheng Zhichang nodded quickly.
At this point, Wanyan Wushu lost interest.
It was Ba Lisu who saw that the other party was trembling with fear. He was afraid that he was not unfamiliar with the water because he was supported by someone on the boat before, but was simply afraid. He stepped forward with a cold face and suddenly took advantage of the situation to ask:
"Gao Lie, I want to ask you, where did the Zhao Song officials come from?"
"Fangzhou!" Zheng Zhichang was shocked, but he even ignored the other party's personal humiliation.
"You came here with him from Fangzhou?"
"Exactly."
"How many soldiers did he bring this time?" Balisu asked with an almost dark face.
"We do have a hundred thousand troops," Zheng Zhichang replied earnestly. "Your Majesty can see it clearly from upstairs here, why would you need to ask a scholar like me?"
Balisu frowned for a moment and continued to ask: "How many of the 100,000 people are wearing armor?"
"Foreign ministers have always been accompanying the Emperor of the Song Dynasty, and all they see are soldiers." Zheng Zhichang almost cried... He simply couldn't imagine that if Emperor Zhao knew that he had revealed military intelligence in this way when he returned, would he still be regarded as an international friend.
On the other hand, after asking some questions, Balisu also felt a little speechless, because he also realized that how could the other party, a Goryeo scholar who was good at writing poems and the so-called international friend, really know those specific situations?
So, he waved his hand to chase him away.
But at this moment, Wen Dunsizhong, who had been so proud all the time, suddenly seemed to be thinking about something. He took a step forward and smiled and said, "Mr. Zheng, how is the morale on the other side?"
"Of course everyone is excited." Zheng Zhichang was relieved when he saw that the man was not wearing armor. "To be honest, the Emperor Zhao came to the riverside in person just now, and some of the generals even asked to fight."
Wen Dunsizhong smiled slightly, then suddenly changed color: "You are by the side of the Zhao Song official. Did you know that he has dispatched troops from other places here?"
After these words were spoken, Balisu and Wuzhu woke up at the same time and looked over with their hands behind their backs.
Zheng Zhichang's face turned pale and he hesitated for a moment.
"Block the west and take off his robe!" Wen Dunsizhong ordered coldly.
Zheng Zhichang was stunned. Although the Jurchens around him were surprised, they still followed the orders under the silence of King Wei and others... A team of armored soldiers lined up to block the west, and several other armored soldiers stepped forward to take out the man's hands and feet. They directly stripped the robe of the Goryeo minister and a great poet in public, leaving only his trousers on.
It was a warm spring day, but Zheng Zhichang, who had just woken up from a dream, felt cold all over... He just remembered that the Jurchens would arbitrarily kill ministers of other countries just because of a disagreement, and Li Ruoshui was a clear example.
As for now, what’s the big deal about just taking off clothes?
"Tell me the truth." Wen Dunsizhong sneered at him. "If you don't respond, I won't kill you, but I will take off your pants and carry you to the side of the building so that Song Renwen and Wenwu can see clearly..."
Zheng Zhichang was stunned, and then blood rushed to his head. The alternative fear caused by the shame in his heart actually overwhelmed the fear of death for a moment.
"Take it off!" Wen Dunsizhong gave the order directly upon seeing this.
The Jurchen soldiers on both sides first glanced at Wei Wang Wushu and the commander-in-chief Balisu, and seeing that they both frowned but did not stop them, they no longer hesitated... Two of them grabbed each other's limbs, and one of them stepped forward with a knife and slashed the other's pants from top to bottom.
"Yue Fei!" Zheng Zhichang shuddered slightly as he felt a cool breeze blowing into his crotch. He blurted out the answer amid the tug of the Jurchen soldiers on both sides, obviously unable to bear it any longer.
"What?" Wen Dunsizhong was overjoyed.
"Please give me some grace and let me down." Zheng Zhichang crossed his legs stiffly, his face flushed, and begged bitterly.
"You speak first!" Wen Dunsizhong immediately shouted.
"Even though your majesty has personally led a large army here, it still seems insufficient." Zheng Zhichang blurted out, responding hastily at an extremely fast speed. "Early this morning, a special decree was issued to have Yue Fei and Qu Duan, who had already captured Pingxia City, leave a few soldiers to defend the city, and then lead 30,000 people to rush to the rescue, regardless of being left behind. This meant that these people had to quickly return to the hinterland of Jingzhao and Tongzhou to prepare for the necessary backup, but they were not prepared to let Han Shizhong come to the rescue."
This is a reasonable arrangement... Didn't you see that Wushu had Wanyan run to this point just now? The Song people's actions were natural. Wanyan Wushu and Balisu looked at each other and nodded in a subtle and imperceptible manner.
“That’s a good thing.”
After a while, watching Wen Dunsizhong, who was carrying two Korean ginsengs, and the Koreans who had changed their clothes, return by boat, Balisu finally expressed his judgment. "Our combined forces have finally worked. Although the Song people in Hengshan are still reluctant to let go for a while, the withdrawal of troops from Pingxia City is enough to give the Xixia people a breather. When the three Wanhu of Longde Prefecture arrive here, I'm afraid Han Shizhong and Wu Jie will also give in a little, and the siege of Yan'an Huonu will be lifted... If this drags on, everything will be resolved."
Wushu nodded in a hurry: "But we must make a good gesture, not to let the other side get lucky, let Longde Prefecture speed up, don't worry about falling behind or losing people, the sooner the better, let Tuhesu speed up as well, don't expect him to break Pinglu City immediately, but we must fight Shao Yun as soon as possible... and then send a message immediately, let Huo Nu and the Xixia people know the news here."
There were others behind him who agreed one by one.
Just like that, not to mention how Wuzhu and Balisu acted, on the other side, Zheng Zhichang, who had experienced an embarrassing journey, returned to the west bank with great effort and just straightened his back. But for some reason, the closer he got to Emperor Zhao, the more proud he became. In the end, he even gradually became a little arrogant... This made Wen Dunsizhong who followed him marvel at it.
Moreover, the information that Wen Dunsizhong had just obtained using a despicable method was still not enough. It was that the Koreans were just guests in front of the Song people, and they lived on their face. They would definitely not dare to cry and ask the Song people to make the decision, so they had to follow the Koreans here again... After all, ever since this person's diplomatic job was snatched away by Wulin Da Zanmo, he has always lagged behind the other party. Even after the death of Nianhan, the Wulinda clan did not decline. Wulin Datai was still in power in the Eastern Route Army, and Wulin Da Zanmo and Wanyan Xiyin became the backbone of the capital province. Relatively speaking, although Wen Dunsizhong was gradually used because he was considered a direct descendant of the Wanyan clan, he could never surpass the other party.
Therefore, he ignored the frowns of Wuzhu and Balisu and patted his chest, determined to be an envoy and make a big show of himself to demonstrate his talents.
When the two sides met, Emperor Zhao asked the envoy's name, origin, and family background in detail on the other side of the river, and then accepted the gift calmly. Zheng Zhichang, who had obviously changed his clothes, did not say a word.
Immediately, Wen Dunsizhong looked around proudly, waiting for the other party to ask about the military situation of the Jin army, and then humiliated him in person with the old story of Jingkang...
However, Zhao Jiu, who was wearing a golden helmet and armor, looked at this person, thought for a moment, and suddenly smiled at his international friend He Yan, who had already made great contributions: "Today is a beautiful spring day. The two countries have a combined army of 300,000 to hunt in Pujin. Poetry is indispensable. Let's hold a poetry meeting by the river, with spring as the theme, and no limit to rhyme... Scholar Zheng will come first to lead the way!"
Wen Dunsizhong was stunned, while Zheng Zhichang was overjoyed.
Wen Dunsizhong left in shame and anger that day. The next morning, Emperor Zhao suddenly summoned Zheng Zhichang again, but made him wait in the central army for a long time before smiling at him again: "It's good that you came... Yesterday's poetry gathering has been organized and I signed it myself. Now I have to trouble you to go to the other side and deliver the collection of poems to King Wei of Jin."
Zheng Zhichang was slightly startled, his heart was bleeding, but he smiled, then he bowed proudly and responded. Judging from his demeanor, he was indeed a romantic figure of the time: "Your Majesty's behavior this time is really like the elegant music of ancient sages... Zhichang is happy to serve."
Zhao Jiu smiled and replied: "For example, Zheng Xueshi, a famous minister of Goryeo, was in a country of 20,000 miles, and he crossed the Yellow River to spread civilization. This is also the style of a famous minister in ancient times."
Zheng Zhichang smiled apologetically, but there was a strange blush on his face... It seemed that he was too thin-skinned and felt a little embarrassed by the praise.
