On October 18, in the winter of the ninth year of Jianyan, the Song official Zhao Jiu crossed the Yellow River and landed in Yanqu, Shanzhou.
It was an ordinary day, and Emperor Zhao's action was just an ordinary one that went with the flow. However, it was this action that officially announced the comprehensiveness and in-depth implementation of the Northern Expedition in the ninth year of Jianyan.
At this point, the early raid-style battles officially ended and the Northern Expedition entered a new stage.
That night, when Zhao Jiu set up camp in Yuanqu to rest, he had already caused a stir in the entire Hedong and Henan regions.
After all, where the Zhao Song government is is not just a simple position for everyone, it is also a coordinate system and a bottom line.
This is actually a very subtle psychology.
Before, when Zhao Jiu stayed in Luoyang, the officials and civilians in Henan area felt that they were busy on the front line, and they would be afraid and resistant to the front line. The soldiers on the front line also had a mentality that I am at the front line, I am working hard for the rear, so I can do whatever I want.
However, once Emperor Zhao crossed the river, it was as if a valve had been opened. Officials from top to bottom in Henan and Guanxi immediately became more stable and honest. Even the hastily recruited civilians seemed to have improved their morale and complained less.
As for the frontline troops north of the Yellow River, they felt the pressure first.
Overnight, Emperor Zhao received secret letters from almost all the generals above the rank of commander in chief in the entire Hedong region. For a time, he understood many things on the front line better than a few generals.
This inevitably further strengthened some of his thoughts... but it was still not enough for the official to make a decision.
The next day, the sky became a little gloomy. Emperor Zhao set out from Yuanqu and headed west under the escort of as many as eight commanding officers and their subordinates, as well as the imperial guards. He passed Sanmenxia at noon and arrived in Pinglu in the evening.
Pinglu garrison commander Shao Yun went out of the city to the east to greet him, and was immediately entertained by a banquet specially prepared by Emperor Zhao and given great rewards.
This is what the title implies... Shao Yun, as Li Yanxian's actual deputy, has been stationed in Pinglu, the only large stronghold in Hebei, during Li Yanxian's long-term defense of Shanzhou. Li Yanxian defended Shanzhou for eight or nine years, and Shao Yun also defended Pinglu for eight or nine years.
It can be said that this person has always been on the most dangerous front line of the entire empire. Even before the Battle of Yaoshan, Li Yanxian did not forget to ask for favors from his parents and wife for this person. He was almost prepared to sacrifice himself...but that time, the old partners Erlubu and Ali, under the command of the third prince Erlido, chose the route Zhao Jiu took this time, bypassing Pinglu and heading directly south to raid Luoyang. The people who died became Lord Wang and Da Zhai.
On the contrary, Shao Yun, whose luck was so good, waited until the Northern Expedition and Emperor Zhao's family came.
This kind of person is simply a typical example of resistance against the Jin army and must be highly commended...and at the banquet, Prime Minister Lu really represented the court to formally increase Shao Yun's favor and upgrade Shao Yun's military rank.
Afterwards, Shao Yunfu took the initiative to express his hope to personally lead the army to escort the emperor north.
In response to this, Zhao Jiu hesitated again, but finally nodded and agreed.
Having said that, this matter is certainly more about being aboveboard and doing things in a proper manner between the emperor and his subjects, but there are other explanations as well.
As we all know, Li Yanxian's troops have always been very independent because their positions cannot be easily transferred. This has also led to the uneven quality of their troops and the coexistence of various factions... Although it is embarrassing to say, in fact, the last time the Shaanxi-Luoyang Army Group was integrated on a large scale, it was actually successful due to the opportunity of Da Zhai's martyrdom in the Luoyang direction.
After the death of the eldest Zhai Zhai Xing, Zhao Jiu allowed his son Zhai Cong to take over his father's position, but this did not prevent Zhai Cong from being able to convince the public because his prestige was far inferior to his father's. It was from then on that Li Yanxian completely gained overall control of the army group. In the following years, the Central Government relied on the huge impact of the Battle of Yaoshan and the governance and restoration work of the surrounding areas of Luoyang to gradually digest the Zhai family, a typical regional tyrant rebel group established around Luoyang.
In the later period, as people like Niu Gao and Dong Xian completely broke away from the Zhai family and took the initiative to become directly under the central government, the three existing commanders and one leader of the Zhai family gradually put themselves in the right positions. On the contrary, Li Yanxian and his Shanzhou troops seemed a little far away from the center.
But now, the country's Northern Expedition has actually captured Hezhong, and Shanzhou has lost its former strategic position. Li Yanxian himself has just suffered heavy casualties in Tieling Pass. As Li Jiedu's most trusted and trusted general, it is naturally worth considering for him to make such a statement.
The most likely possibility is that Li Yanxian secretly instructed this and took the opportunity to admit his mistake and surrender to Emperor Zhao.
Zhao Jiu himself had no hesitation because he was afraid that if he "annexed" Shao Yun at this time, it would cause some rumors in the army.
However, he finally chose to agree, because it was the same sentence... How could the government annex the imperial camp? Some things, if done openly, will naturally become legitimate, but if considered with a cautious mind, it will make things a little strange.
Just like this, Zhao Jiu did not even designate a garrison commander for Pinglu. He just asked Wang Yan to arrange a commander. The next day, he led Shao Yun's troops as the vanguard and headed north from Pinglu, passing through Zhongtiao Mountain from Zhangdian Town, and then arrived at the city of Anyi on the 22nd of that month.
Here, Emperor Zhao and his close ministers, including the top 100 officials in the Southeast, encountered the Northern Expedition for the first time.
That’s right, just as Hedong City, the capital of Hezhong Prefecture, had never fallen, Anyi City, located on the shore of the Hedong Salt Lake, had never been captured by the Song army, which made Li Qiong quite ashamed.
"I am incompetent!"
In the afternoon, beside the red salt pond with a white patch, Li Qiong bowed her head in embarrassment. "With tens of thousands of people, we can't quickly conquer the city. Let the government stay in the city."
"No problem."
Zhao Jiu immediately comforted him and helped him up. "I decided to cross the river because of Han Liangchen's sudden victory. The incident happened suddenly, and Li Qing took over the siege midway, without complete equipment. If I forcefully attacked the city and sacrificed the lives of my soldiers, it would be my fault."
Some polite words still need to be said.
Of course, Zhao Jiu really didn't care about this matter, because he had to respect objective laws... It has been like this since ancient times. In large-scale field battles, there are often confrontations for many days, but the winner will be decided once the battle begins. And a city, especially a famous city and a big city like Anyi with an important location, which has appeared countless times in Chinese history books, as long as the defender is willing to fight to the death, unless some special means are used, otherwise, according to the regulations that Li Qiong had only taken over for ten days, breaking the city is nothing but a pipe dream.
However, there are definitely problems, at least one - that is, except for those specific key cities that have been prepared in advance, there are relatively few people who are determined to defend to the end regardless of the situation.
Why do we have to guard it?
Why should we be loyal to the Great Jin Dynasty?
"But Mr. Li, I remember that Han Liangchen (Han Shizhong's style) and Li Shaoyan (Li Yanxian's style) both fought well, and the Jin army was unable to react. It stands to reason that Hedong City, with Wen Dunsizhong and his main force of the Jin army, should have defended it to the death, but what about Anyi?" On the way into the camp on horseback, Zhao Jiu withdrew his gaze from the top of the city wall, once again swept across the conspicuous salt pond next to it, and finally fell on Li Qiong who was holding his horse. "What is the saying in Anyi City?"
"So that the emperor knows that the reason why Anyi City can be defended is all thanks to one person." Li Qiong, who was leading the horse, hurriedly turned back and explained while retreating. "It was Shi Gao, the governor of Jiezhou in the Jin Dynasty..."
"Is he a Han Chinese?" Zhao Jiu frowned slightly.
"yes."
"Are Yanyun or the Han people from Lianghe?" Prime Minister Lu couldn't help but interrupt.
"People from Dingzhou... Han people from Hebei." Li Qiong answered without hesitation. "However, Dingzhou is close to the border, and was captured by the Jurchens long before the Jingkang period. He was first forced to do hard labor, then became a military officer because he could read, and finally was favored by Aguda's half-brother Wanyan Zhimu and became a member of his staff..."
"Oh." Lu Yihao responded and glanced at Li Qiong, not knowing what he meant.
"What about this person?" Zhao Jiu also glanced at Li Qiong before asking.
"Before Li Jiedu marched, this man often said that once the emperor launched a northern expedition, Hezhong would be the first to be attacked, so he always attached great importance to defense." Li Qiong did not notice that the emperor and the husband both looked at him extra, and hurried to speak again. "Because Anyi is located on the east side of the salt lake, facing the Zhongtiao Mountain Pass, he managed it even more carefully. That day when Li Jiedu marched in a hurry, he was in Anyi, so even though the magistrate of Anyi surrendered immediately, he still gathered local soldiers and conscripted civilians to defend the city. On that day, Li Jiedu tried to climb the city in one fell swoop, but after failing, he could not do anything for a while, so he could only leave Niu Gaoniu to besiege the city."
"I know what happened next. Han Liangchen passed by here and tried, but failed. Instead, he took Niu Gao away to lead the way, which delayed the siege until Li Qing crossed the river to take over..."
"yes……"
"But even if this person intends to hold on, from what you said, there are not many regular troops in the city. Instead, most of them are local people and civilians?"
"yes."
"The situation now is that the people in the city are just suffering. After Han Liangchen's several great victories, didn't you try to persuade him to surrender? It's hard to fake flags and armor, right?"
"So that the emperor knows, we have certainly advised him. When Prince Han and General Ma fought against the Kingdom of Jin at Tieling Pass, they did not forget this place. After I took over, I also informed him of the spoils of the battle of Fenshui and the withdrawal of the entire army of Balisu across the Huishui River." Li Qiong seemed bitter for a moment. "He himself and some knowledgeable people in the city should also know the general situation, but every time I sent an envoy, he treated me with courtesy and then refused sternly..."
"How old is he?"
"Thirty-eight or thirty-nine, maybe forty."
"How can he control the entire city?" Lu Yihao suddenly interrupted again, but his words became much colder.
"Let me know, sir. This man has always been known for his integrity and kindness. He has only been in Jiezhou for two years, but he has won the hearts of the people, especially here in Anyi..." Li Qiong immediately answered seriously.
"Oh?" Lu Yihao twirled his beard and sneered.
"Since I am besieging this city, I have inquired about some things..." Li Qiong explained impatiently. "This person has two very famous things. One is when he followed Aguda's half brother Wanyan Jiemu in Hebei in his early years. Wanyan Jiemu was going to give the people of the entire state of Hebei to the army as slaves, and he advised against it. Another time was the local . A hero from Anyi started an uprising and was going to respond to Li Jiedu. The incident was leaked, and the hero was killed. Not to mention that a book with his hometown and names was found in his home. It is said that there are nearly a thousand people in it... Wen Dunsizhong sent someone to ask for it, but he, who arrived in advance, burned it directly..."
“…”
"At that time, Wanyan Jiemu had already died, and he actually had no one to rely on." Li Qiong said with emotion. "For this matter, Wen Dun Sizhong directly tied him and his son together and took them to Hedong City and put them in prison. Fortunately, he had a chief clerk who had just passed the Jin Dynasty Jinshi exam. He admired his character and knowledge and recognized him as his teacher. He was only 20 years old at the time... He ran to Taiyuan alone and asked Balisu to come forward. Balisu then went to the Jin King Erliduo who was inspecting the south, and then he was reinstated."
At this point, Emperor Zhao and his dragon banner had already entered the military camp and the gate, and Li Qiong took the opportunity to loosen the reins. When Zhao Jiu arrived here, he turned over and dismounted, but he was not in a hurry to go to the spacious central army tent that had been prepared long ago. Instead, he led his men directly to the rammed earth platform in front of the central army tent.
The view here is wide and the surroundings are clear at a glance. Zhao Jiu looked around without saying a word. Not to mention that the Hedong Salt Lake, which can almost be called a natural wonder, looks even more magnificent in the afternoon sun, even the movements in Anyi City seem to be clearer... Although the specific figures cannot be seen clearly, there is no doubt that the arrival of the dragon banner and tens of thousands of main forces of the imperial camp still shook this originally suffering city. On the city wall facing the south side towards the central army camp, many figures swayed for a while.
Emperor Zhao glanced at the city wall and gestured with his hand. Yang Yizhong immediately handed over a long silver tube-shaped object, which was the so-called traditional weapon of time travelers... a telescope polished with crystal.
But the funny thing is that Zhao Jiu, the shame of being a time traveler, didn't come up with this thing until seven or eight years after he traveled through time.
Moreover, because this thing has obvious military uses and is far less shocking than a hot air balloon, it can be used as an original specimen, so it has never been made public. If you count carefully, it has only been given to a group of generals and dozens of outstanding commanders, each of whom has one.
Coming back to the present, Zhao Jiu raised the telescope and glanced at the movements on the city. Then he felt a little bored, but changed direction and roughly glanced around the camp... from the hot air balloon used for reconnaissance hanging high in the sky, to the dozens of half-built artillery vehicles in the civilian camp in the rear , and then he couldn't help but frowned slightly.
Finally, I couldn't help but go to see the beautiful salt pond - the weather has turned cold in the past few days, and the salt pond has seen a unique winter landscape, namely the nitrate rime phenomenon.
However, this saltpeter is Glauber's salt and cannot be used to make gunpowder.
Emperor Zhao behaved a little strangely. Except for Wang De and Zhang Jing, the veteran generals and warriors around him, including Lu Yihao, were too lazy to think about these things, but the others who were a little attentive could probably guess what the emperor was thinking... Just think about it, he was so relaxed before entering the military camp, but he became so uncomfortable after Li Qiong finished telling the story of this guarding official. It must be because of the person Li Qiong mentioned.
Even Li Qiong gradually realized something and began to feel uneasy.
"His Majesty."
Lu Yihao was a little tired from riding for days and didn't want to say much, but seeing the attitude of Emperor Zhao, as the prime minister, he couldn't help but express his opinion. "This Shi Gao is just a traitor who deceives the world and steals the name... Why bother?"
"Yeah?"
Zhao Jiu finally put away the telescope and turned to face him calmly. "How do you see that?"
"Just look at the two things that made him famous." Lu Yihao sneered and waved his sleeves. "He persuaded the Jurchens not to sell the people into slavery, and burned the list to prevent the Jurchens from implicating them. It seems like he was doing good deeds, but in fact, these good deeds were just to make up for the evil of the Jurchens. Could it change the basic evil of the Jurchens? Did it change the fact that he possessed the Jurchens and was a great evil? Now, he uses the reputation he gained by doing good in evil to deceive the people into defending the evil Jurchens... What kind of true Confucian scholar is he? He is just a corrupt Confucian and a traitor who helps the tyrant for his own fame!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the surrounding civil and military officials echoed them, and Li Qiong also came to his senses and quickly denounced them.
After handing the telescope to Yang Yizhong, Zhao Jiu nodded repeatedly:
"What Prime Minister Lu said hits the nail on the head... In the past ten years, there have been great disasters, including the tax dispute in the south, the displacement of the remnants in the north, the wars and disputes in the court, and the tragedy of the rebel army swarming up at the beginning, but then turning around to riot and plunder... No matter how much our own people make trouble, they can't blame it on the invasion of the Jurchens. This is why I have been on the throne for nine years, and I have always been concerned about the two words of resisting the Jin Dynasty... I have allowed those people to look down on me, deceive me, and even become arrogant, greedy, and lustful, appointing people based on personal connections, forming cliques, being ambitious but incompetent, and stubborn... But as long as they are willing to resist the Jin Dynasty, I will regard them as useful people! Because I have determined from the beginning that the fundamental contradiction in this world, at least the fundamental contradiction since the Jingkang period to the present, is the war between the Song and Jin Dynasties! Everything else must give way!"
The close ministers around Emperor Zhao had long been aware of the reasoning and attitude. In fact, if they were not clear and did not agree with it, they would not have been able to get the positions of important ministers and close ministers in front of the emperor... Listening to it now, it seemed a bit long-winded. It was the words that Emperor Zhao blurted out and the slightly resentful emotions that made them think.
In sharp contrast to this are the "Top 100" public pavilions in the southeast that accompanied them.
These people left the southeast and went north in person. They first saw the clear traces of war in the Central Plains, and then saw the people of the Central Plains mobilized in a militarized manner to fight in large numbers. Then they followed Emperor Zhao across the river to see the scenery of the two rivers. After hearing these deeds and words, they felt refreshed and shocked.
"However." After Zhao Jiu set the tone, he still shook his head. "Besides these words, there are still some reasons... For example, in Anyi City, don't the people know that the Jurchens are the worst? But why are they still willing to respect this governor and follow him to resist the king's army? I can't say that the people are ignorant."
"Please give me some advice, Your Majesty." Lu Yihao frowned slightly.
"I don't need your advice. It's not a big deal." Zhao Jiu sighed. "It's nothing more than that when the Jurchens wanted to sell them as slaves and punish them collectively, we, the royal army, were nowhere to be seen, and Shi Gao, a man who was good in an evil way, was their only support when they were struggling to survive... We can blame Shi Gao, and we can also deal with the soldiers and civilians defending the city according to military law, but it is impossible to be so open... If it weren't for the morale of the Northern Expedition, in fact, I should have issued a self-blame edict first."
Lu Yihao shook his head, obviously opposing Emperor Zhao's opinion.
However, this Lu Xianggong was harsh to his subordinates and colleagues, but was obviously accommodating to the emperor. So, probably to save face for Emperor Zhao, Lu Yihao shook his head, turned around and glared at Li Qiong, who had previously taken a clear stand, and scolded him in public:
"Li Qiong, as a general in charge of tens of thousands of troops, when you are about to fight, are you thinking about how you are also from Hebei and how pitiful the people of Hebei are? Are you grateful to this man on behalf of the people of the two rivers? Do you want to send more medicine and weapons to the city?! The morale of 300,000 soldiers, the great grace of the emperor, and the manpower of 500,000 people from Henan and Guanxi, what are they in the eyes of you, the deputy governor?! If you really care about the people of the two rivers, you should rack your brains to think about how to attack the city and how to cut Shi Gao into pieces to deter future generations!"
Li Qiong was frightened for a moment, and hurriedly bowed to Prime Minister Lu, and then knelt down in the direction of Emperor Zhao to apologize.
This time, Zhao Jiu did not have the same rapport with his subjects as he did in front of the military camp. Instead, he simply nodded with his hands behind his back, approving of Lu Yihao's words to Li Qiong and also reprimanding himself: "Li Qiong... Prime Minister Lu's words were a bit excessive, but his meaning was right. There are millions of people in Lianghe, and everyone can have grievances and be bewitched by such people, so that they can appreciate his virtues... Only you, the frontline generals, who are also from Lianghe, have many feelings, but you have to keep them in your hearts... You should never, ever, say those words in public as a general in that situation."
"I am ashamed." Li Qiong became more and more embarrassed.
"Judging from the tone of your words just now, you have communicated with Shi Gao a lot, right?" Zhao Jiu finally turned around.
“Yes, yes…”
"Send him my manifesto." Zhao Jiu responded calmly. "Also, give him the list of sixty or so war criminals I drew up on the way. Also send him the words I discussed with Prime Minister Lu today... Tell him clearly that I am here, but I will never pardon him... Not only that, by noon tomorrow, all those who serve as officers and officials of the pseudo-Jin army in this city will not be pardoned if they do not surrender. As the saying goes, regardless of whether they are Han or Yi, we only judge by obedience and rebellion and by the law!"
Li Qiong nodded in agreement, feeling relieved for a moment. The emperor sent over the "edict of guilt", which, although it said no pardon, was actually a pardon. And since Zhao Jiu had been dealt with, he went straight past him and headed for the central army tent.
There was silence all night, and the next morning, the role of Emperor Zhao and Long Fu finally became apparent.
Just when Li Qiong was hesitating whether he should rush to attack the city in the absence of sufficient artillery if the city still wanted to hold out, in order to prove his and the Eight Character Army's determination, Shi Gao, the governor of Anyi and the governor of Jiezhou of the Jin Kingdom, finally gave up the idea of ​​resistance after reading a series of manuscripts and letters sent by Li Qiong the previous evening, and after seeing the dragon banner and the captured black and white banners in broad daylight, as well as the countless elite soldiers of the imperial camp that arrived with the dragon banner.
Early in the morning, he summoned his student and chief clerk Liang Su, as well as the leaders of the civilians and officers of the provincial army in the city, and asked them to give up resistance, open the city and surrender. He also asked Liang Su to meet with Emperor Zhao and beg him to pardon the innocent people in the city.
In addition, he also asked his son Shi Ju, who had followed him to take office, to visit Li Qiong in person to express his gratitude.
Seeing that Shi Gao decided to surrender, all the officers and civilian leaders in the city were relieved... These people were willing to follow Shi Gao, not because they were loyal to the Jin Dynasty, but because Shi Gao had always been kind to them. They were tied down by Shi Gao himself layer by layer, and even so, they were completely shaken yesterday, and there was already a situation of collusion and loss of control from top to bottom.
Now that Shi Gao was willing to let go, they naturally felt relieved.
Relatively speaking, Liang Su and Shi Ju had similar thoughts...but everything they started from was based entirely on Shi Gao, so they had an extra layer of concern.
"Then Zhao Song... will Emperor Zhao pardon the teacher?" Liang Su looked at him seriously. "Did General Li say anything?"
"No." Shi Gao smiled as he spread his hands behind the county court. "I guess the death penalty is waived, but the punishment is not... But the most embarrassing thing is hard labor in the army. It's not something we haven't done before when the Jin Dynasty first moved south."
"If that's the case." Liang Su was relieved. "I will do it with my teacher... When this matter is settled, I will return to my hometown to study and never take up an official post again."
Shi Gao seemed to be thinking about something, then nodded and smiled: "Yes, I will not serve as an official after I return, and so will my elder brother... We can study peacefully... But no one will kidnap us and force us into hard labor again."
Shi Ju nodded excitedly: "I am not afraid of hard labor!"
Shi Gao nodded slightly to his son, then turned his head and reminded his student sternly: "But Meng Rong (Liang Su's courtesy name), if Emperor Zhao sees that you are young and grants you an official position..."
"I know." Liang Su quickly responded with a smile. "It concerns the life and death of the whole city, and whether our teachers and students should do hard labor... I will not be pedantic."
"Then don't delay." Shi Gao nodded, and then urged the two to hurry up. "The deadline is noon, and I am a criminal... You should hurry up, especially because we are worried that someone in the city will see the dragon flag arrive yesterday and will not be able to hold back and start a fight first, which will cost everyone's lives in vain."
Liang and Shi responded quickly and then left in a hurry.
Just like that, in the morning, they arrived at the camp outside the city. When they heard that the people in the city had surrendered, everyone was naturally excited.
However, when they saw that the people who came to surrender were two young men, although others were fine, Lu Yihao's face immediately became gloomy... Several close ministers, such as Yang Yizhong, Ren Baozhong, Yu Yunwen, Mei Li, etc., also felt a little uncomfortable, and then they all stole glances at Emperor Zhao.
However, Emperor Zhao's expression remained unchanged. He responded calmly and even appointed the adult Liang Su as his secretary.
According to the rules set before crossing the river, people could be pardoned and employed before the age of thirty.
Since the army had accepted the surrender, there was no need to say more about what happened next. The city gates were opened as agreed, and veteran general Zhang Jing personally led his subordinates to rush in. They then quickly took control of the city defenses, cleared the streets, and resettled and disarmed the soldiers and civilians in the city... It was a very efficient operation.
Then, Emperor Zhao, accompanied by his close ministers, went directly to the city.
After entering the city and reaching the intersection, Zhang Jing, who was dressed neatly, came hurriedly to meet him. He then bowed his hands and apologized in public: "I am ashamed. Please don't enter the county government office..."
"Is that guy dead?"
Before Emperor Zhao could say anything, Lu Yihao, who was riding a horse behind him, became furious, but it was obvious that he was just angry and there was no surprise on his face.
At the same time, Emperor Zhao looked the same as many smart people, that is, his expression did not change at all. People like Li Qiong, Fan Zongyin, and even the ordinary Southeast Gongge attendants all realized what was going on after a moment.
However, these people from the southeast had never thought that the Confucian scholars in the occupied areas of the two rivers would live in such a state. Even if they woke up, they were still shocked. Li Qiong, Fan Zongyin and others could not help but feel a little emotional, but because of Lu Xianggong's outburst yesterday, they dared not show it.
That is to say, people like Wang De thought it was none of their business and never cared about it from beginning to end. They were just a little confused at this moment.
As for Liang Su, who had just been appointed as a secretary, he also shook on his horse under the gaze of Yu Yunwen, Mei Li and others. Then his face changed drastically, and he jumped off the horse and knelt behind Emperor Zhao.
As a result, he was surrounded by several soldiers.
As for Shi Ju, he almost fell off his horse after his senior brother bowed to him, and was surrounded by several Red Heart Team cavalrymen.
"He's dead." Zhang Jing was a little confused by this scene, but he still hurriedly bowed. "He committed suicide by hanging himself... He also left four words, which read 'no regrets'."
"I have no regrets." Just as Lu Yihao was about to get angry again, Emperor Zhao suddenly spoke coldly. "Behead his body and display it to the public!"
Zhang Jing was a military man, so there was no way he would think too much. Seeing that the emperor and the prime minister had the same attitude, and he had received the imperial decree and the explanation , he immediately turned around and went to deal with the body.
And Liang Su, looking blankly through the soldiers around him at his junior brother who was surrounded and controlled by the knights, suddenly kowtowed on the ground.
"I will not change my order. If you have anything to say, you have to say it after the corpse is slaughtered." Zhao Jiu rode on the horse without turning his head.
"I...I would like to collect the body later." Liang Su raised his head, his forehead was purple and his face was pale. He tried to think for a while before speaking with difficulty. "I also ask Your Majesty to allow me to resign from my post...My junior brother is young, and the two countries are at war, so I am afraid it will be difficult to do so. I...I would like to escort my teacher's coffin back to Dingzhou for burial in the name of a commoner."
Zhao Jiu turned around to look at this person, and felt a ball of anger in his heart that had been suppressed for a long time and was gradually burning.
Everyone around looked uneasy, especially the several imperial guards who had been accompanying the emperor for a long time. They simply held their swords in hand just in case. Even people like Yang Yizhong, Ren Baozhong, Yu Yunwen, and Mei Li became nervous and prepared to deal with a possible outburst by Emperor Zhao.
However, Zhao Jiu stared at this man, and although his anger gradually rose, he could not vent it... because he had realized that the object of his anger was not this person, nor was it the Han governor Shi Gao who had been loyal to the Great Jin Kingdom and still boasted that he had a "clear conscience."
Including yesterday's dissatisfaction, it was not directed at Li Qiong.
Moreover, he knew that there must be some silent people at this time who were moved by Shi Gao and the young man in their hearts, thinking that "Confucians teach by their own actions" and that no matter whether Shi Gao violated the law or not, he was a "good Confucian" who had no regrets.
And this anger is not directed at those who remain silent.
It is a broad and complex emotion, which may contain some elements such as pity for their misfortune and anger at their lack of resistance, but it is definitely more than that. It is also mixed with a sense of grievance and anger and shame for one's own incompetence.
There is a kind of feeling that even though I have done so much and worked so hard in the Northern Expedition, there are still so many people who follow that confused logic to think and do things, as if my efforts are not worth it, and as if my efforts are not enough.
This is an emotion that comes with a reflective mindset.
But no matter what, contrary to everyone's expectations, Emperor Zhao actually calmed down this time. He did not issue any manifesto-like rebuke, nor did he take the opportunity to say any lofty words to scold anyone or express his mood... He endured it.
The only reason he was able to endure it was not because of the complexity of these complex emotions themselves, but because he realized that, in the final analysis, just as all the conflicts were caused by the Song-Jin War, these emotions and events, numbness and ignorance, passion and silence, and even justice and evil, ultimately all needed to be underpinned and determined by the success of the Northern Expedition.
Everything is for military victory itself, everything is for the success of the Northern Expedition.
Before that, there is no point in saying anything.
This battle in people's hearts is itself a part of the Northern Expedition. Since it is a war, do we have to win by talking nonsense? !
"That's it."
To the surprise of many of his close ministers, who did not realize that they had missed two famous prime ministers of the Jin Dynasty in history, or rather, who would not care even if they knew, Emperor Zhao calmly threw out this sentence, then rode his horse forward, and crossed the intersection under the escort of the densely packed soldiers on the street.
As soon as Emperor Zhao left, the two young men, who also had no idea that they would become famous prime ministers of the Great Jin Dynasty in another time and space, got rid of their fear. But then, they could not help but burst into tears in the street under the gaze of all the soldiers in the city.
Confucians teach others by their own actions.
Regardless of how the Zhao Song court evaluated Shi Gao, in the eyes of these two people, he conveyed their ideas to them.
Have a clear conscience!
In the afternoon, in the county government office of Anyi City where a man had just been hanged, the newly arrived Zhao Guanjia released the restraints without hesitation and issued an order on the spot to require Henan craftsmen to rush to make a large banner with the words "Sparks of a Wilderness" and prepare to give it to Ma Kuo. At the same time, he sent a letter to Tieling Pass, requiring Han, Li, and Ma to strictly enforce military discipline and strictly investigate the incidents of disobeying orders, looting and rioting since the start of the war, and directly named Liang Xingliang and Zhao Cheng who was injured.
Finally, Emperor Zhao did not forget to directly issue an imperial edict to question Wu Jie in northern Shaanxi, asking him whether he wanted to go there in person to take Guo Zhen's head?