"What's wrong with him? Has he always been like this?"
On the fourteenth day of the first lunar month, only one day away from the Lantern Festival, in Taiyuan city, Emperor Zhao, who had re-entered the inner city after Wu Jie left, pointed at the person sitting quietly in the hall and asked curiously.
This person was none other than Wanyan Salihe, the commander of the Jin army who was captured the night before yesterday when Xihe City was broken.
"yes."
Dong Xian, the commander of the imperial army standing at the side, stepped forward with a slightly awkward expression and explained. "Let the emperor know that this guy has been like this since the city was captured... He won't surrender, won't die, won't flee, and won't resist. He was given food and water on the way, and he responded normally when we talked to him. But when it comes to political and military intelligence, he won't say a word, let alone surrender..."
"oh!"
Emperor Zhao was well-informed after all, and he immediately realized in his heart...Isn't this non-violent non-cooperation?
Besides, it was impossible for the people around to see through Emperor Zhao's thoughts, but with this "Oh", they immediately realized that the emperor had already made his own judgment on the matter. Since the emperor had made his judgment, they, as his subjects, naturally had to try hard to pretend to understand what Emperor Zhao meant.
"Your Majesty, do you mean to say that this person wants to emulate Su Wu?" Fan Zongyin, the chief Yutang scholar and the most noble minister accompanying the army, said as he stepped out of the line.
"How can he be the same as Su Wu?" Zhao Jiu was almost speechless. "Su Wu was detained on a diplomatic mission. He was an envoy. This guy is a military commander. His mission is to fight and defend the city... The battle was lost and the city was captured. How can he keep his integrity?"
Fan Zongyin was slightly embarrassed.
"Don't worry, Your Majesty." Niu Gao flashed out from the side and bowed earnestly. "Since this man didn't die at the beginning, he must have wanted to survive. He is pretending now, but he still has some residual power of the Jin Kingdom in his heart... After a while, he will surrender naturally."
Niu Gao appears rough on the outside but is actually a delicate person on the inside, but when he continued to speak, Salihe, who was sitting on the ground feeling humiliated, just pretended not to hear, which made Zhao Jiu even more thoughtful.
"Your Majesty." Dong Xian was also a little impatient. "From my point of view, it doesn't matter whether he surrenders or not. If you don't like him, just kill him. No one in your majesty wants to follow a captive..."
"That's fine." Zhao Jiu waved his hand. "The contributions of the two of you are so clear, they won't go unnoticed..."
"That's not what I meant..."
"Let's not talk about this for now." Zhao Jiu finally turned his gaze to the people in the hall. "In any case, this time the Northern Expedition finally has the first Jin Kingdom Wanhu who has abandoned the dark and joined the light... This is a great thing."
There was a moment of absolute silence in the hall. Even Dong Xian and Niu Gao were stunned. Even Salihe, who had been keeping his head down, finally raised his head in confusion, as if he didn't understand what was going on.
"Deliver the decree." Zhao Jiu continued to order. "Although Salihe was guilty of invading the south and participating in the Jingkang Rebellion, considering that he was the first to surrender, a member of the Jin royal family and a general of ten thousand households, I should treat him with courtesy according to the agreement...Give him the surname... Jin, give him the name Buhui, give him the title of Guizheng Gong, grant him a residence in Tokyo, and allow him to attend the court."
"I congratulate Your Majesty." Just as Salihe was getting more and more flustered and many generals in the hall were still confused, it was the Third Scholar Fan Zongyin who first woke up and took the initiative to congratulate. "And think that such a good thing should be published in the court newspaper and announced to the world. At the same time, we should also use this as a reference to send letters to all places in Hebei to urge the counties and divisions of the Jin Kingdom to surrender."
"Well said." Zhao Jiu nodded repeatedly, but turned to look at Dong Xian. "When we captured Xihe, were there any documents of Guizheng Gong seized in the city?"
Dong Xian was still confused, and probably hadn't figured out who Gui Zheng Gong was. But Niu Gao quickly reported, "Let the emperor know that there are not only texts, but Gui Zheng Gong also wrote a military diary in Khitan language, recording his experiences since he joined the army... It should be useful."
"That's easier. There are Khitan squadrons in my loyal team. I'll ask them to help Guizheng Gong write a few Khitan letters of persuasion and send them out. Especially don't forget the direction of Jingxing. I heard that Yelu Ma Wu is about to retreat. I don't expect Yelu Ma Wu to surrender, but it may have a miraculous effect on the many Khitan-born Meng'an and Mouke under Ma Wu's command." Zhao Jiu continued to give instructions as usual. "The letter must be written carefully, and the handwriting and tone must match Guizheng Gong's military record habits..."
When everyone heard this, almost everyone came to their senses and agreed.
Finally, Salihe couldn't help but speak: "Why are you confusing right and wrong? I clearly didn't surrender!"
"Whether Guizheng Gong surrenders or not is not up to him, but I." Zhao Jiu said disapprovingly. "I'll tell you clearly, I only need to give an order, not only will it be reported in the court, but also in the official history in the future, it will be recorded that Guizheng Gong Jin Buhui surrendered to me today. Even if many Southeast Gongges consulted me today, I only need to ask them a word, and when they go back and write their own notes like you write military notes, I'm afraid they will be happy to write that you surrendered to me today... By then, not only now, but also in the official history and unofficial history in the future, they will all tell the world that Guizheng Gong Jin Buhui surrendered to me today."
There was a burst of laughter in the hall, and many people echoed in the laughter, but Salihe was already stunned.
The laughter died down, Zhao Jiu paused, and then continued to shout at the already stunned Sali: "Guizhenggong... In fact, the fundamentals of worldly affairs are victory and defeat. Since you have lost and cannot die, why do you have the final say in your reputation? I still remember that during the Jingkang Incident, after our Taishang Yuansheng Emperor entered the Jin camp for the second time, he wanted to return to the city, but Nianhan laughed at him, saying that since he had lost, how could he expect to be treated with courtesy? The Taishang Yuansheng Emperor could only sit there in silence, and was later completely captured. He was not even allowed to cry during the escort... This moment is just like that moment... Weren't you there that day?"
Salihe was stunned, his face gradually turned red, but he just said nothing.
Emperor Zhao also lost interest at this time. He just waved his hand and someone took him away. Countless officials then carried out what Emperor Zhao said.
However, this matter was just a minor episode and did not seem worth mentioning in the great cause of the Northern Expedition.
In fact, Han Shizhong, the Prince of Yan'an, who was also near Taiyuan City, Li Yanxian, the commander-in-chief of the imperial camp, Ma Kuo who was in charge of supervising the logistics camps of the entire army, and even President Wang Yan, the chief of staff accompanying Emperor Zhao, the so-called high-level generals, almost none of them came to watch the fun... and Zhao Jiu knew what they were busy with.
Moreover, from the overall perspective, Salihe's handling of the matter is not as meaningful as the fall of Xihe City.
The fall of Xihe City meant that the Song army, at least the Hedong front army, no longer had a large Jin stronghold or a complete Jin army to maintain its combat effectiveness. Because of this, the logistics line from Henan to Taiyuan was completely worry-free, and the main force of the Song army in Hedong was able to calmly gather in the Taiyuan Basin... The fact that Niu Gao and Dong Xian, two generals who gradually emerged in this Northern Expedition, gathered here with Salihe was a clear proof.
At the same time, considering that Datong in the north has been opened, and the north and south of Yanmen Mountain and the front and back of Hutuo River have all fallen into the hands of the Song army, it can be said that Jundu Xing, Puyin Xing, and Feihu Xing are also in the hands of the Song army. Even with the advancement of Longde Prefecture, Fukou Xing should be about to fall into or has already fallen into the hands of the Song army... The strategic significance of the Jin army's control of Jingxing is constantly weakening.
This seems to have been verified based on the intelligence that Yelu Ma Wu at the front showed signs of withdrawing his troops.
It can only be said that the Black Dragon King won despite his defeat at Pingxing Village, but it cannot be said that his military deployment there is worthless in itself.
In short, logistics have been restored, troops have been regrouped, and the enemy's control over the most important military passages has fallen into a somewhat helpless situation. At this time, the necessity of the next military action has become apparent.
The only thing to worry about is Emperor Zhao's decision.
Many people speculated that several generals would probably wait until the Lantern Festival was over before joining forces to request war and urge Emperor Zhao to send troops... In any case, as one of the most important festivals in the Song Dynasty, they could always wait for just one day.
“Are you going to make dumplings?”
On the day of the Lantern Festival, Emperor Zhao did not stay in the city, nor did he go to the bank of the Fen River to read the newspaper or fish to avoid the danger. Instead, he took the rare opportunity to inspect the military camp, and after a brief tour, he decided to make the kitchen camp his main destination.
As for Li Yanxian and Ma Kuo, their relevant levels might be a little higher, but they had limited time to spend with Emperor Zhao in private, and to some extent they were quite proud, so at this moment they also felt their scalps tingling and their faces stiff.
"So that the officials know."
The poor kitchen camp had hundreds of cooks and thousands of auxiliary civilians. They were already dumbfounded when Zhao Guanjia, dressed in plain robes, led hundreds of civil and military dignitaries in gorgeous clothes and shining armor. At this time, several cooks who were watching the chopping of stuffing were questioned in person, and they were even more stunned and speechless, forcing the flat-headed monk Dahui, who was helping to collect the pig blood, to come over and join in the conversation. "Isn't this the Lantern Festival? General Manager Ma has a military order to release some meat in the warehouse as a snack... This is making dumplings."
Zhao Jiu didn't recognize the other person at all. He just thought he was the smart manager in the cook camp, so he nodded slightly, but soon shook his head again and again.
Monk Dahui was quite knowledgeable. He had been chatting and laughing with the emperor at Phoenix Mountain in Hangzhou. Seeing this reaction, he just did nothing. Ma Kuo was a little flustered and hurriedly turned around and bowed: "Excuse me, emperor, is there anything wrong?"
“It is indeed inappropriate.”
Zhao Jiu was somewhat helpless. "How can we eat dumplings during the Lantern Festival? During the Chinese New Year, don't northern dumplings and southern rice cakes come out together?"
"Your Majesty is right." Ma Kuo was relieved, but helpless. "But in such a hurry, and in the military camp, I really don't know how to follow the customs..."
"How about launching a hot air balloon?" Han Shizhong, who was extremely bored, suddenly interrupted from behind, patting his belt.
Everyone was speechless and turned around to look.
Even though it was Han Wu who was splashed with water decades ago, he still felt a little embarrassed at this moment and could only look on awkwardly.
However, Emperor Zhao, who was standing in front of a pile of stuffing, thought about it and nodded: "Yes, and we can also hang some big words under the hot air balloon... Liangchen will do it himself!"
Han Shizhong was stunned on the spot, and after a while he came to his senses and asked again: "Do you want me to write a poem as a lantern riddle?"
"How can you write a poem or riddle?" Zhao Jiu turned back and was speechless. "There are so many words in the poem or riddle. If you write it small, it's not clear. If you write it big, it won't hang up. I remember there are eight hot air balloons in the camp. They will all fly up today. You can write eight big words... Happy Lantern Festival, good luck to the world... Write it on a big wooden board. It must be neat and stable. It must be as big as a bucket!"
Po Han Wu traveled far and wide, dominated the world, and claimed to be the best in the world, but at this time he could only nod blankly, then turned around and left to work as a laborer.
Emperor Zhao turned back to talk to the cooks and stewards again: "Let's continue. I'm not saying dumplings are bad. I'm talking about customs... Why do I remember eating floating dumplings and noodles during the Lantern Festival?"
"So that the emperor knows." At this time, Ma Kuo was helpless and appeared again. "According to the custom, it is indeed so, but today the army cannot do this, because the rewards in the army must be realistic. If there is meat, it must be given, and it cannot be spread out. It must be seen with the eyes... Floating dumplings are sweet fillings, it is not easy to put meat... Putting meat in noodles, the soldiers can't see how much meat other people have in their bowls, and they will be suspicious."
Zhao Jiu nodded: "This is correct, just like the principle of putting whole eggs in... But if you say that, wouldn't it be impossible to tell how much filling there is in the dumplings?"
"Your Majesty is wise, that's true. And because there are too many soldiers, to prevent the pot from getting rotten, the dumpling skins have to be extra thick, so they can't be cooked through at all." Ma Kuo smiled bitterly. "But there must be some explanation for the Lantern Festival, and it's nothing more than trying to compromise as much as possible."
"What kind of filling?" Zhao Jiu put aside this question for the time being, leaned over to smell the pile of fillings on the chopping board, and continued to ask the cook.
"Half pork, half mule, horse and donkey meat." Monk Dahui explained. "The various offal and a little mutton will be used to make soup later, and a very small amount of chicken, duck and fish will be provided to the officers... In addition, today is a special case, each person will receive a glass of sweet wine, but it must be drunk right in front of you."
Zhao Jiu nodded slightly.
"Pork is bought from surrounding towns and villages, and mule, horse and donkey meat is from animals that died while we were transporting supplies." Ma Kuo added. "These two categories are the most numerous, and the rest are incomparable... The turbid wine is privately brewed from Hedong, and there is not much of it. Considering that there may be a major war in the future, we dare not put too much."
After hearing the last sentence, many people glanced at Emperor Zhao's reaction.
However, after listening to this, Zhao Jiu just nodded and seemed to be leaving, which made many people disappointed.
However, after walking a few steps and urging the crowd to turn around, the official suddenly seemed to have thought of something and turned back to the flat-headed cook to ask curiously, "Can you make pancakes? The kind that's crispy on the outside and soft in the middle? Some are fried in oil, and some are baked in the oven."
"You are joking, sir." Monk Dahui laughed. "How could I not know this? Crispy biscuits, also called hard baked biscuits, were sold in Shandong during the Party Banishment Disaster in the Han Dynasty. All over the country, wherever there is wheaten food, people will make this kind of fire-baked crispy biscuits."
When Zhao Jiu heard Zhao Qi's story, he glanced at him and thought he looked familiar, but he was too lazy to study it in detail. He just continued to discuss cooking seriously:
"Then how about dividing the meat filling into two parts? The pork filling can still be used to make dumplings, and the mule, horse and donkey meat can be cooked and chopped into fillings. Then, when the soldiers are served wine, take the hot crackers directly from the pot, cut them open with a knife, and stuff the cooked meat fillings in. In this way, the fillings can be placed inside the crackers, but they can be clearly seen at a glance. Isn't it fair? Besides, this fire-baked food is also a Hebei specialty, and it is worth celebrating the festival."
Pancakes are filled with stuffing...who doesn't understand that?
It’s just that meat is precious, and even a little bit of offal has to be cooked into soup, and precious meat has to be served with great care, so few people would handle it in this way.
However, as Ma Kuo said before, the army has its own sayings. Fairness is the most important thing, and real ingredients are the most important. Therefore, it is appropriate to directly sandwich the cooked fillings with hot pancakes.
Of course, the more important point is that the government has said so, do you insist that it is inappropriate?
As for the fire and the Hebei characteristics, no one pursued the issue.
So, everyone discussed it for a while and then agreed.
Among them, after Han Shizhong left, the military generals were headed by Li Yanxian, Wang Yan and Ma Kuo. Li Yanxian had a cold and arrogant personality, Wang Yan was also arrogant, and Ma Kuo was serious and simple. Naturally, the officers below did not say anything... However, those who came from the southeast for consultation, the first batch had already served in Hezhong and Linfen areas, and seeing that the appointment from Taiyuan Prefecture was about to come down, who would not be considerate of the emperor?
This means that the government is distributing rewards and distributing them openly, which is in line with the style of ancient wise rulers.
That person said that this was the benevolence of the officials, their consideration for the soldiers, and the unity of the upper and lower levels, which would surely lead to the victory.
Some people also said that this was a huge military innovation and would be promoted in the military in the future... I don't know how it was innovative to change the usual sesame seed buns with vegetables into ones with meat.
What's more, finally an acquaintance in the southeast could not help but point out Master Dahui, saying that the master was practicing true Buddhism by killing pigs for the army and would become a Buddha in the future, and that the government personally cared about the meat rewards for the Lantern Festival, which was like governing a big country like cooking a small fish, and the effect was the same.
This attracted countless people to marvel at it, and Master Dahui was so panicked that he quickly stated that he was just helping to collect the pig's blood and did not kill any animals.
"Master Dahui, I remember that, too."
Zhao Jiu was so excited that he immediately clapped his hands in front of the chopping board, not caring about Master Dahui's explanation. "For such a grand and good event, Master Dahui can kill a pig for practice, so why can't I cook for the soldiers myself? This should be done personally... Those of you with titles can do your own things, I will stay here today to help Master Dahui make potstickers!"
There was complete silence in the kitchen camp, with only the bubbling of water in the pot.
This is not to say that these people are reluctant to talk back at this time, nor that no one dares to persuade them, but rather, does this official who seems to be completely ignorant really not understand some mundane principles?
The most important point is that if this official wants to do something frivolous and foolish, who can stop him?
Finally, after a lot of trouble, high-ranking officials in the army such as Li Yanxian, Ma Kuo, Wang Yan, and Fan Zongyin were all driven out. The few people who had praised Emperor Zhao before stayed with Emperor Zhao for consultation and started to cook in a daze... But even so, they did not dare to let these famous scholars from the southeast cook the oil pot, so they could only let them cook the soup pot.
I don’t know how these people will write down in their notes how Emperor Zhao was hypocritical and causing trouble when I go back tonight.
However, putting aside these troubles, the fire set by Emperor Zhao did have some miraculous effects... After the news spread, countless officers and soldiers peeked in from the main and back doors of the kitchen camp. From a distance of hundreds of steps, no one knew what these people saw , but they all said they saw it clearly.
One said that he saw with his own eyes that the emperor made the pancakes himself, another said that he saw with his own eyes that the emperor chopped the meat filling himself, and some said that they saw Emperor Zhao tied a cloth around his waist to cover the grease, and personally cut the pancakes and stuffed the fillings in... It seemed that they didn't care that Emperor Zhao was just helping to cook!
By the afternoon, no one knew how the news spread, but before dinner had even started, word had already spread inside and outside Taiyuan city and in various camps within dozens of miles. It was said that Emperor Zhao had teamed up with a great wizard to invent a kind of roasted bread to feast the entire army, and that the roasted bread tasted so good, it was almost like dragon meat from heaven!
"We haven't even started eating yet, how can you tell it tastes so good? It tastes like dragon meat... Who has ever eaten dragon meat? I only know that horse meat is too coarse! Not as good as donkey meat, and not as smooth and tender as dog meat!"
Outside the south gate of Taiyuan City, just north of the main army camp, in a thatched shed beside the road that provided hot water, Wang Yan was furious when he heard the news. "Besides, there are dozens of miles of camps, hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians, and there are 137 cooking camps alone. Is the emperor like the Monkey King in "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons" and has the ability to clone himself? I'm afraid the few pots the emperor cooks are not enough to even keep the shifts."
There were only four people in the shed, including Han Shizhong who had just returned from writing, and the four generals Li Yanxian, Ma Kuo and Wang Yan. No outsiders, even the commanding officers and personal instructors were allowed to approach. When they heard Wang Yan's words, the other three just sat in the shed in silence.
After a long while, Wang Yan could no longer bear it and gritted his teeth and said, "The emperor is avoiding us like this, is he afraid that we will ask for a fight?"
"What else could it be?" Han Shizhong touched his wrist and laughed.
"Isn't this a sign of fear of fighting?" Wang Yan suddenly became angry.
"Of course I am afraid of fighting." Li Yanxian responded calmly. "But this fear is not fear of the enemy, but fear of my own shortcomings... Because once we go east, there will be a decisive battle in nine out of ten cases, and this northern expedition must be thoroughly resolved... It is human nature to want to be more cautious at this time."
"Yes, it would be a joke to say that the emperor is afraid of the enemy's strength." Han Liangchen remained calm. "Since the Huai River, the emperor has never been afraid of difficulties or enemies. Now he is just playing it safe. He should be waiting for Yue Fei's army to push up and the Jin army's morale will be difficult to maintain before joining forces to attack."
"But can we avoid this?" Wang Yan was still a little angry. "At this time, if we leave Jingxing and head east, the Jurchens have not yet gotten rid of the panic of the fall of Taiyuan and Daming. In order to survive, we can only bite the bullet and fight. If we win the battle, we will have enough to sweep the old land of the country after the war. Maybe we can save enough military rations after the withdrawal of the army and leave an elite force of 30,000 to 50,000 to go straight to Yanjing... But if we delay and play it safe, and have to wait for Yue Fei to come, even if we win, we will not have enough logistics by then, and we don’t know how many cities and territories we can capture."
Everyone nodded.
Besides, Wang Yan and Yue Fei had a personal grudge that was difficult to resolve. Even the emperor and the government could not mediate. Everyone knew about this, so it was normal for them not to wait any longer. Actually, not to mention Wang Yan’s unwillingness to wait for Yue Fei to join the battle, how could Han Shizhong and Li Yanxian be willing to wait? Even Wu Jie, who went north to Datong to deal with the Mongols, was in Quduan, Longde Prefecture in the southeast. There were also Wang De, Li Qiong, and Wang Sheng. As a result, among the nearly 200,000 troops in Hedong, who was willing to wait for Yue Fei?
That is Ma Kuo. He had no desire for war at this time, but given the atmosphere around him, how could he possibly offend his colleagues for such a thing?
In addition, the more important point is that, putting aside party background and personal grudges, what Wang Yan said makes sense.
After all, Yue Fei's main force was in Daming Prefecture, and they were all infantry battalions. Facing the main force of the Jin army of more than 100,000, they could not leave their defenses and march forward in large numbers. That would be a waste of time. Therefore, they could only attack cities and strongholds layer by layer and advance northward. Although it was safe to advance in this way and then fight a decisive battle, it was a delay, and the opportunity for war would be lost. Secondly, with hundreds of thousands of troops and civilians here, how could they be calculated if they were consumed like water?
To put it bluntly, if we really wait until the water level of the Yellow River is high, Yue Fei, Zhang Rong, and Tian Shizhong will advance both by land and water to Hejian, and then form a so-called double-sided situation with Hedong to attack Zhending... Even if we win for sure, will the logistics and food supplies be able to support the troops to continue to move north to attack Yanjing?
Of course, waiting for Yue Fei has its advantages, while advancing eastward immediately without waiting for Yue Fei also has its own arguments. However, no one in Hedong would agree to wait for Yue Fei, but the decision-making power lies only in the hands of Emperor Zhao.
"After all, it's the Lantern Festival." Seeing that everyone agreed, Han Shizhong, as the leader of the group and the nominal marshal, had to express his position. "After today... tomorrow morning, let's go to see the emperor together."
Although the other people had different attitudes, they could only nod at this time.
Just like that, while Emperor Zhao was making fire, several generals began to drink tea out of boredom... preparing to wait for the next wave of fire.
However, just as several generals were drinking tea and waiting for the fire to start, a loyal cavalryman with a hanging bell suddenly came up to report.
"What's the matter? Is there an order from the emperor?" Han Shizhong stood up and asked without hesitation.
"No." Laiqi dismounted and bowed. "Reporting to the prince, the imperial cavalry reported that the commander Zhang Zhongfu was defeated by the Jin cavalry in Shexian County in front of Fukou Pass... Qu Dutong and he jointly wrote a letter to apologize. The emperor heard the news in the kitchen camp, so he asked us to pass it on to the governors."
Having said that, the loyal rider ignored the four generals' changed expressions and walked straight forward to hand over a document. He then turned around, took a basket from his horse, placed a dozen steaming hot roasted meats on the table, then turned around, mounted his horse and left.
As soon as the other party left, Han Shizhong ignored the fire and opened the document to read it first, but after just a few glances, he smashed the document on the table and became furious: "Compared with Zhang Zhongfu, Wang Sheng is considered to have a good reputation in Pingxing Village!"
Li Yanxian and others took turns to look, and they all looked very bad.
There was no other reason. Zhang Zhongfu's defeat three days ago was indeed a great defeat, and it was a great defeat for which there was no reason at all.
According to the military report, the Jin army knew that Longdefu could not be defended, and they gave up the place strategically. However, this place has always been the core area where the five Wanhu of the Jin Kingdom's Eastern Route Army were stationed, and many of the families and property of the Jin Kingdom's senior officers were there.
Therefore, as soon as Daming Prefecture was bombed, Wuzhu immediately responded to the request of the generals of Longde Prefecture and sent out eighty Moukes, totaling eight thousand cavalry, to quickly enter Longde Prefecture, to take away the families and property of the people, and to burn as much remaining property and military supplies as possible.
However, the Jin army moved quickly, and the imperial cavalry originally in the southwest of Longde Prefecture also moved quickly, which delayed them a little at Taihang Xing along the way. By the time the vanguard Zhang Zhongfu led 5,000 cavalry into the heart of the Shangdang Basin where Longde Prefecture was located, the Jin army's evacuation operation had only been completed halfway. When they saw the large group of Song troops at this time, they were even more horrified and simply gave up the evacuation of the surrounding small towns and hastily prepared to evacuate from Fukou Xing.
Seeing this, Zhang Zhongfu did not try to take those big cities, but chose to actively follow and pursue.
The first half of the pursuit went extremely smoothly. The Jin army had no will to fight, and they were divided into small groups at the beginning, so they could only flee in a panic when facing the Song army's iron cavalry brigade... For a time, Zhang Zhongfu's troops suffered heavy casualties and captured a lot of spoils.
However, as Zhang Zhongfu's troops pursued all the way across the Zhuozhang River and arrived at Shexian and Licheng areas between the Qingzhang River and the Zhuozhang River, the various Jin troops naturally gathered together due to the terrain. Seeing the Song cavalry chasing them relentlessly, the Jin cavalry, which had less than 5,000 horses, finally could no longer bear it.
In order to protect their families and property, after discovering that there were only about 4,000 main cavalry of the Song Army left in the rear to maintain the pursuit, the 5,000 Jin cavalry were divided into two. One thousand continued to escort the families and bags to meet up north, while the other 4,000 quickly gathered, turned around and met the Song Army, engaging in a cavalry battle with the same number of Song cavalry on the edge of the Shangdang Basin.
There was no drama or complexity in the battle. Two groups of heavy cavalry with almost the same number of troops met each other, with similar equipment, and theoretically they were completely equal. However, the battle lasted from morning to afternoon, and in the end, the Song cavalry gradually lost their strength and were completely overwhelmed by the Jin army. Zhang Zhongfu fled in embarrassment.
If the Jin army had not been unwilling to fight and did not pursue, the Song cavalry would probably have suffered massive casualties on the banks of the thawed Zhang River.
To be fair, there was nothing unexpected about this battle... There have been a lot of cases of greed and recklessness recently, and this is not the only one.
Moreover, the Imperial Cavalry was considered from the beginning to be less experienced in combat than the Jin Army's Iron Cavalry.
In addition, the Jin army had the reason to fight in order to protect their families, so they were in a state of mourning, so if they were defeated, they were defeated.
However, it is very bad for such a thing to happen at this critical juncture... because it will remind everyone that the main force of the Jin army is still there, and the core cavalry combat power is still there.
What's more, in a field battle, once the combat power of the Jin army's cavalry is gathered to form a heavy force group, its combat effectiveness advantage will be even more obvious.
This battle is likely to further shake Emperor Zhao's determination to launch a decisive battle immediately, and may also greatly boost the morale of the main force of the Jin army which is retreating rapidly to the north at this time.
In fact, considering that Emperor Zhao passed the news to the four generals who were holding a small meeting as soon as he learned of it, it was probably a silent reminder.
That's why Han Shizhong was so furious.
"Zhang Zhongfu deserves to be killed!"
Wang Yan, who was holding a piece of horse meat rotten meat, became more and more angry. Finally, he threw the rotten meat onto the table in a rage, and the meat filling immediately fell apart.
The other three people also looked embarrassed, but after looking at each other, they remained calm.
"How can you treat the food given by the emperor like this?" Han Shizhong responded coldly.
Li Yanxian also frowned and looked at Wang Yan.
"President Wang, even if it is not a gift from the emperor, you and I were unable to sleep or eat well in the Taihang Mountains in the past. Now we are sitting here peacefully, how can we waste meat?" Ma Kuo rarely gave a serious advice, and he took the initiative to put down the fire in his hand and carefully gathered the scattered meat fillings.
Wang Yan was embarrassed for a moment and could only turn sideways and lower his head in silence. After a while, he picked up the steamed bun on the table and swallowed it in two bites.
But it seems that things are not over yet.
As the four of them ate a basket of more than a dozen steamed buns, the atmosphere eased a little. Just as they were about to drink some hot water and talk, they heard bells ringing again. This time, the sound came from the direction of the city... The four of them looked up and were even more puzzled when they saw that it was not the Red Heart Riders.
However, those who could be bell-bearing knights were at least smart people with good eyesight. When they saw the four governors and their subordinates sitting in the thatched huts beside the road, they turned around and made their reports.
"Prince, governors!"
The knight dismounted without panicking. "Nothing serious, but Salihe hanged himself with his belt in the room at some point... He left a Khitan suicide note, which said that the rise of the Jin Dynasty over 20 years ago was a destiny of heaven, and that Jin Taizu Aguda was also divine. As a member of the royal family, he was greatly favored by Jin Taizu Emperor and raised under his tent. Now that the army has been defeated and the city has been broken, although he has the intention to live in disgrace, he thinks that he cannot be the first person to surrender to the Jin Dynasty, as he would be unworthy of Taizu's kindness... There are some dirty words that I won't say... My commander Zhang only asked me to go to the central army tent to find Yutang Xueshi, a subordinate of the official family, to make a report."
After saying this, the knight bowed slightly and left calmly.
Except for Han Shizhong, everyone was stunned. They felt more and more helpless but could only remain silent.
No one spoke of it on the spot. That evening, it was the Lantern Festival, the moon was bright and the stars were clear. The generals thought that there would be an imperial banquet with the participation of senior officers, but there were no senior officers... Later, there were rumors that the Lantern Festival was almost the same as the anniversary of Zong Zhongwu's death, and it was normal for the emperor to feel sad at this time, given the current situation.
The generals were slightly relieved.
In fact, it seemed to be true. That evening, the moon was high in the sky. Emperor Zhao, who had been busy all day, went out under the moon, but did not summon his ministers to a banquet. Instead, he led only a few close confidants to sit in front of the central military tent where he lived, which was also the open space where they usually shot targets, to admire the moon, as if nothing had happened.
At this time, there were many similar situations in the camp because of the curfew.
Many generals went out of the camp to watch the moon. There was no big banquet, but there were many small banquets. As the saying goes, a pot of muddy wine, a basket of fire, old friends and colleagues, civil officials and military generals, superiors and subordinates, were all busy. Even the soldiers were chatting with each other more smoothly than in the daytime. On the side of the camp facing Taiyuan City, under the eight huge hot air balloons, many people from the surrounding areas of Taiyuan Prefecture who gradually turned back to the villages came to watch... Because the government had issued an order not to offend anyone, the army did not prohibit it.
However, it is a military camp after all. Although the ban has been lifted and there are many people coming and going, there is always a sense of "not daring to speak loudly for fear of disturbing the gods in heaven."
One clear proof of this is that the camp was large, and there were many old soldiers and scholars playing flutes and pipes to express their nostalgia, and no matter how noisy the crowd was, they could not hear the sounds of these flutes and pipes.
"A cup of muddy wine, my home is thousands of miles away, and I have no way to return until Yanran is engraved.
The Qiang flute plays slowly, the ground is covered with frost, people are sleepless, the general’s hair is white and the soldiers are crying.
In this situation, it would be strange if Emperor Zhao could not remember this poem.
"Since the official has recited this poem, he should know that it has always been difficult to send troops. Now that he has captured Long, he should look to Shu. What else is there to doubt?"
At this moment, a loud voice suddenly came from the back door of Zhao Guanjia’s camp, that is, from the south.
When Emperor Zhao heard this, he did not look surprised at all. He stood up calmly, turned around and walked dozens of steps before meeting this person at the corner of his camp. He then reached out his hand to support the other person, which was very courteous.
"Mr. Lu has worked hard."
It turned out that this person was Lu Yihao, the deputy envoy of the Privy Council who had been facing Fen in the south. He came at night, and Emperor Zhao seemed to have been waiting for this person.
Lu Yihao and Emperor Zhao walked to the front of the tent hand in hand. Seeing the elegant and simple scene in front of the tent, he couldn't help but sigh: "I am willful... I shouldn't have insisted on rushing on the road and made the emperor wait so hard... If I had rested for a night on the road, the emperor could at least gather the civil and military forces today and have a peaceful Lantern Festival gathering."
"Those are just empty things. Since the Prime Minister is coming, how can I care about them?" Zhao Jiu laughed. "Besides, if Prime Minister Lu doesn't come, I will never feel at ease."
Lu Yihao also laughed.
The emperor and his ministers immediately sat down in front of the tent. Zhao Jiu also specifically instructed Yang Yizhong to get some "turbid wine" to respond to Fan Wenzheng's words.
After a while, everything was ready. After Lu Yihao ate two hot roasts, drank a cup of wine to warm himself up, and stretched himself a little, Zhao Jiu spoke:
"Is my husband really feeling better?"
"Not much better." Lu Yihao shook his head repeatedly, not hiding anything. "I am already sixty-six years old this year. At this age, I have been riding horses since autumn, from Jiangnan to Henan, and from Henan to Hedong. I have been exhausted for several months, and then I caught a cold in winter... Anyone with a little common sense knows that this is half of my life gone. I look relieved now, but I am weak inside. I am destined to not get better... In the future, it will only get worse day by day... But the more this happens, the more I feel like I can't catch up, so I hurried to see you."
Zhao Jiu nodded without any surprise or doubt.
"Your Majesty, I think you already know the purpose of my visit, but please allow me to answer your questions in person." Lu Yihao changed the subject and went straight to the point.
"Please speak, sir." Zhao Jiu's expression remained unchanged, as if he was well prepared.
"I heard that the emperor was worried and anxious during his stay in Taiyuan. I don't know if it's true or not. If it's true, then I would like to ask the emperor, what exactly are you worried about these days?" Lu Yihao took the third donkey meat hot pot served by Yang Yizhong and asked seriously. "Why are you reluctant to send troops to advance again?"
"I am indeed worried, but specifically, I am more worried about how to deal with the situation after the war." Zhao Jiu answered calmly. "As for the war itself, although I am a little bit worried and hesitant, I will not let it delay the progress of the war."
Lu Yihao nodded slightly, not showing any surprise. Instead, he asked earnestly, "May I ask, Your Majesty, are you worried about the spring ploughing in Henan, the refugees in Hebei, and the burden on Hedong after the war?"
"Yes, but not entirely." Zhao Jiu shook his head. "Although these things are troublesome, can they be more troublesome than the situation after Jing Kang ten years ago? Man can conquer nature. No matter how bad the situation is, we just need to clean it up seriously... The people are more capable than we think."
Lu Yihao finally showed some surprise, but asked seriously: "Then may I ask, what are you worried about, sir?"
"What I am worried about is that if we win this war, will the people of the country lose the pressure of the Jin Kingdom?" Zhao Jiu smiled and spoke casually. "For example, will there be another party struggle? Will some people only want to recover the old territory and not even want to contribute to the attack on Yanjing?"
"Of course there is." Lu Yihao thought for a moment and laughed. "But it doesn't matter. People like this are just empty talkers and will never amount to anything."
"But the people's hearts are scattered and chaotic." Zhao Jiu nodded and continued. "I am also worried that if we win this war, the north will be liberated, and refugees will be everywhere. The land in the north will have to be redistributed. Who will get it then? Will a family like the Meihua Han family come up with solid evidence dating back hundreds of years and demand the restoration of their ancestral property? Will the refugees in the north still have no place to live?"
The answer to this question is also very simple - Meihua Han is nothing! How many control departments does he have?
However, Lu Yihao did not directly answer this simple question. Instead, he became a little serious, because he realized that Emperor Zhao's "worry" must be more than that, so he simply lowered his head to eat the still hot steamed bun.
Sure enough, Zhao Jiu saw that the other party was silent, but he continued to chatter:
"I am also worried that after the war, the North will not be able to resume production for a while, and will then need blood transfusions from the South for assistance. Will the South be able to tolerate this? Will there be another division between the North and the South? Will the people in the South feel that I am deceiving them and lose confidence in the court?"
"What I am worried about is that Yanjing is fine, but the land outside the Great Wall is the foundation of the Jin Kingdom. If Hebei can win, can we win outside the Great Wall? If we go out of the Great Wall to pursue and lose in one battle, will the Jin Kingdom rise again and fight against the Song Dynasty repeatedly?"
"What I am also worried about is that Dali and Nanyue are fine, but how can we maintain the balance between the Song Dynasty and Western Liao, Eastern and Western Mongolia, and Goryeo after the war? If we cannot directly attack Huanglong, will Goryeo turn around and form an alliance with the Jurchens to be hostile to us? And if we wipe out the Jin people in one go, but cannot control the areas outside the Great Wall, will Mongolia...especially Eastern Mongolia, take the Khitan Dasonglin and Huangshui old lands, and rise from the north for the third time after the Khitan and Jurchens, and become the new major concern of the Song Dynasty?"
At this point, Zhao Jiu finally sighed, "Prince Lu, of course I know your character, and I also know that you came here to persuade me to send troops. I also know that you came here because you learned about the Hebei announcement and knew that the Jin Kingdom had tried to dig up the river bank... But how could I not know what you know? In fact, I have decided to send troops after hearing about this from Qu Duan this afternoon. Datong Prefecture also has an urgent matter, asking Wu Jie to make a prompt decision and try to bring as many trustworthy troops as possible to quickly join us in the south... However, my decision to send troops does not mean that I cannot be worried, and I should not be worried...Prince Lu, how do you think these things should be handled?"
After finishing the third roasted bread, Lu Yihao was silent for a long time before he bowed his hands and said, "Your Majesty's thoughts are deeper than I thought... This time I was reckless... But please forgive me for being frank. All the post-war internal and external affairs are worth worrying about, but as long as Your Majesty grasps one point, none of them are worth worrying about."
"Please give me some advice, sir." Zhao Jiu remained calm.
"As long as the emperor still has 300,000 soldiers in the imperial camp, he will be able to look down on the world and suppress the people." At this point, Lu Yihao raised a cup of wine to the emperor, and then drank it all. "By then, the emperor will have the power to destroy the Jin Dynasty and control the elite forces in the world. What does it matter if there are some problems?"
"If that's the case, I have one last worry." Zhao Jiu suddenly laughed again. "Prime Minister Lu, if we win this battle, the Jin Kingdom will be weak. Why should the country use up all its annual revenue to maintain 300,000 troops in the imperial camp? Even if I want to control the elite forces of the world by threatening to destroy the Jin Kingdom, 300,000 troops are too many. It would be better to reduce the troops and withdraw the generals, right? Would it cause riots? Would it cause disunity in the army?"
Lu Yihao also laughed again: "This is what I really want to say... Your Majesty, I would like to ask, no matter how difficult the post-war situation is, is it as difficult as the situation after Jingkang ten years ago?"
"Of course not." Zhao Jiu smiled.
"At that time, even the imperial camp was not organized, and even Han Shizhong's subordinates almost killed Prime Minister Zhao, causing the emperor to almost flee in embarrassment... Then, may I ask the emperor, will the suspicion among the people after the war be more serious than it was then?"
"Of course not."
"Then how did the emperor survive back then?" Lu Yihao suddenly became serious.
"It's nothing more than the feeling that there are still some trustworthy and respectable people in this world." Zhao Jiu answered fluently.
"Yes, there are always some people like Zong Zhongwu who go against the tide and go down in history." Lu Yihao thought. "Moreover, I also understand what the emperor means. As the saying goes, we can share adversity, but not wealth... People who are trustworthy today may not be trustworthy tomorrow when the situation changes."
"Will there be one?" Zhao Jiu asked without further ado.
"There will be some, but they are few after all." Having said this, Lu Yihao raised his head, looked at the bright moon in the sky and sighed. "Your Majesty, I want to ask you one more question. People like Zong Zhongwu, Han Junwang, and Li Jiedu are of course hard to find in the world, but the rest of the people around you... I won't say those general words, just say that today, there are hundreds of thousands of people in and outside Taiyuan... These hundreds of thousands of people gathered under your dragon flag, not hesitating their lives, to attack Jin and Song, why? Are they all the heroes of ancient times, are they all the same as Yan'an Junwang and Zong Zhongwu?"
"Of course not."
“So can they be trusted?”
"Of course it's credible."
“Are they respectable?”
"Of course it's respectable?"
“Why are they trustworthy and respectable?”
Zhao Jiu suddenly fell silent.
"When can you pick the moon? Worry comes from it, and it cannot be stopped." Lu Yihao pointed to the moon in the sky, but lowered his head to look at Emperor Zhao, and spoke seriously. "That's because you, the supreme ruler who holds the power of the world, have spent ten years proving again and again that they can trust you and respect you... It is because you treat people with sincerity that they can trust you, and they can trust you; it is because you follow the trend of the Song Dynasty to destroy the Jin Dynasty and remain unshakable that you can respect them, and they can respect you... Even Zong Zhongwu, if he didn't trust Your Majesty, how could he have entrusted you with the task that day?"
Under the bright moon, Zhao Jiu was in a trance for a moment... Is that so?
"Even Lü Haowen, Li Gang, Xu Jingheng, and even the likes of Zhao Zhang, Han Li Yue, Wu Ma Wang in the army, and me... Isn't it because of your trust that we have the grace of the monarch and his subjects today?" Lü Yihao put down his fingers and sighed. "Your Majesty, as the emperor, is concerned about the world, and it is normal to have those worries, but if you yourself have not changed your sincere heart after the war, if you have not betrayed the public and enriched yourself, if you can share hardships but not happiness, how can the people of the world change? The mountains are never too high, the sea is never too deep, Zhou Gong spits out food for food, and the world is at peace... The world is like this, please relax."
Zhao Jiu was stunned for a long time, and finally laughed again: "In the past, Wu Qi and Wei Wuhou floated down the West River, saying that the strength of mountains and rivers lies in virtue rather than danger. Isn't it just what Prime Minister Lu meant when he came to see me at night today?"
Lu Yihao shook his head and laughed: "I only have Wu Qi's harshness, but not Wu Qi's mastery of military strategy."
Zhao Jiu nodded, turned around and looked at the tent behind him: "There are several people who are as good at using troops as Wu Qi, did you understand?"
Lu Yihao looked surprised, only to see four generals, led by Han Shizhong, coming out of Emperor Zhao's tent. Under the moonlight, it was clearly visible that all four of them looked embarrassed, but they couldn't help but come to their senses and laughed again.
The four of them became increasingly embarrassed and could only bow together. They saluted Zhao Jiu, saying they understood, and saluted Lu Yihao, saying that his husband was very insightful.
Zhao Jiu didn't say much, just nodded: "Since you understand, let's sit down together and have a glass of wine... You said that you all came to see me one after another, but bumped into me one after another... How could you be as frank and calm as Mr. Lu? And the words you said were all the same, what soldiers and generals... How could you be as to-the-point as Mr. Lu? How could I care about those things?"
The four of them were simply a little embarrassed... Fortunately, Emperor Zhao didn't know that they had agreed to come together, otherwise, even if it was Han Wu who was splashing water, he would have to cover his face and leave.
There was no talk that night. On the next day, the 16th day of the first lunar month, Emperor Zhao issued an order to dispatch Generals Dong Xian and Zhang Qi as the vanguard to attack Jingxing. At the same time, he ordered Qu Duan, Wu Jie, Yelu Yudu, the two kings of the East and West Mongolia, Wang Sheng, Wang De, and Li Qiong to join forces, either return to Taiyuan, or go out of Taihang to spy, or approach Jingxing from the south and north.
After the order was issued, hundreds of thousands of troops surrounding Taiyuan to the north and south began to move again, but they clenched their fists tightly.
At one time, everyone knew that Emperor Zhao's determination to send a large army to attack Hebei was irreversible, just like the day he attacked Taiyuan.