"What's going on with him? Has he always been like this?"
On the fourteenth day of the first lunar month, only one day before the Shangyuan Festival, in Taiyuan City, Zhao Guanjia, who re-entered the inner city after Wu Jie left, pointed at the people sitting in silence in the hall and asked curious questions.
This person was none other than Wanyan Salihe, Wanhu of the Jin Army who was captured because of the breach of Xihe City the night before yesterday.
"yes."
Dong Xian, the military commander of the imperial camp who was standing aside, looked a little embarrassed and stepped forward to explain. "So that the officials know that this guy has been like this since the city was broken... He will not surrender, he will not die, he will not escape, he will not resist, and he will be given food on the way.
I gave him water, talked to him nicely, and he responded normally, but when it came to political and military intelligence, he was unwilling to say anything, let alone surrender..."
"oh!"
After all, the Zhao Guan family was well-informed, and they immediately realized in their hearts... Isn't this non-violence and non-cooperation?
It is said that it is impossible for the people around to see through Zhao Guanjia's thoughts, but with this "oh", they immediately realized that the official family had given their own judgment on the matter, and since the official family had given their judgment, they
As a minister, naturally you have to try your best to pretend to understand what Zhao Guanjia means.
"What do the officials mean that this person wants to imitate Su Wu?" Fan Zongyin, the chief scholar of Yutang and the most noble and noble official in the army, had something to say when he came out.
"How can it be the same as Su Wu?" Zhao Jiu was almost speechless. "Su Wu was detained as an envoy. He is an envoy. This guy is a general. His mission is to fight and defend the city... The battle was defeated and the city was destroyed. What does he have?
What’s the word for observing the festival?”
Fan Zongyin looked slightly embarrassed.
"Don't worry, officials." Niu Gao stepped out from the side and bowed seriously. "Since this person didn't die at the beginning, he had the intention to survive. He is just pretending at this time, but he has a little bit of the remaining power of the Jin Kingdom in his heart...
Wait for a while and it will naturally drop."
Niu Gao was rough on the outside but delicate on the inside, but after these words, Sa Lihe, who was sitting on the ground and was humiliated, just pretended not to hear, which made Zhao Jiu even more thoughtful.
"Guan family." Dong Xian was also a little impatient. "According to me, it doesn't matter whether he surrenders or not. If the officials don't like him, they can just chop him down. No official wants to obey a prisoner's wishes."
mean……"
"It doesn't matter." Zhao Jiu waved his hand. "The achievements of the two of you are so clear, they will never be lost..."
"I didn't mean that..."
"Let's not talk about this for now." Zhao Jiu finally turned his attention to the people in the hall. "In any case, this Northern Expedition finally has the first ten thousand households in the Jin Kingdom who have abandoned the dark and turned to the light... This is a great good thing.
.”
There was silence in the hall for a moment, even Dong Xian and Niu Gao were stunned. Even Sa Lihe, who had been lowering his head, finally raised his head in confusion, as if he didn't understand what was going on.
"Pass the decree." Zhao Jiu continued to order. "Although Sa Lihe is responsible for the southern invasion and participation in the Jingkang Rebellion, I remember that he is the first member of the Jin Kingdom's clan and a general of ten thousand households, so I should treat him with courtesy as promised...
…Give me a surname…for gold, give me a name without regrets, and return me to the rightful lord, give me a residence in Tokyo, and allow me to attend the official court.”
"I congratulate Your Majesty." Just when Sa Lihe was getting more and more confused and many generals in the hall were still confused, it was Sanzhao Bachelor Fan Zongyin who was the first to wake up and take the initiative to congratulate him. "You think it's such a good thing, of course.
Publish the Di Bao to spread the news to the world. At the same time, we should also take this matter as the criterion and publish articles all over Hebei to urge the recruitment and surrender of Jin Kingdom's counties, divisions and brigade."
"That's good." Zhao Jiu nodded repeatedly, but then turned to look at Dong Xian. "When Xihe was captured, were there any texts by Gui Zhenggong captured in the city?"
Dong Xian was still confused, and it was estimated that no one in Gui Zhenggong could react, but Niu Gao hurriedly reported: "In order to let the officials know, in addition to writing, Gui Zhenggong also wrote a military diary in Khitan.
It should be useful to record his major and minor experiences since joining the army..."
"Then it will be easier. There are Khitan Ban Zhi in my Chixin team. I will ask them to help a group of Gui Zhenggong later to write a few surrender documents in Khitan language and send them out together. Especially don't forget the direction of Jingxing.
I heard that Yelv Mawu is about to retreat, so I don’t expect Yelu Mawu to surrender, but for Ma Wu’s many Khitan-born Meng’an, trying to defeat them may be effective.” Zhao Jiu continued to give instructions as usual. “The letter must be taken seriously.
, the handwriting and tone must match Gui Zhenggong’s military recording habits..."
When everyone heard this, almost everyone woke up and said yes.
And Sa Lihe finally couldn't help but speak: "Why do the officials confuse right and wrong so much? I clearly did not surrender!"
"Whether Duke Gui Zheng surrenders or not is not decided by Duke Gui Zheng himself, but by me." Zhao Jiu said disapprovingly from above. "I tell you clearly, I only need to give an order, and it will not be reported like this by Zhi Di.
, even in the future official history will also record that Duke Gui Zheng has no regrets about surrendering to me today. Even if there are many southeastern princes in the hall today asking for advice, I only need to ask them. When they go back and write their own notes like you write military notes, I am afraid that they will also
Dole wrote that you surrendered to me today... Not only now, but also in the official history and unofficial history in the future, they will all tell the world that I have no regrets about surrendering to me today."
The hall burst into laughter, and many people agreed, but Sa Lihe was already dumbfounded.
The laughter gradually subsided, Zhao Jiu paused, and then continued to say to Sa Lihe, who was already dumbfounded: "Gui Zhenggong... In fact, the root of everything in the world lies in victory or defeat. Since you have lost, you can't be stubborn.
Why do you have the final say in your reputation? I still remember that during the Jingkang Incident, Emperor Taishang Yuansheng entered Jinying for the second time and wanted to return to the city, but Nianhan laughed at him. Since
After losing, how can you expect to be treated with courtesy? Emperor Taishang Yuan Sheng could only remain silent until he was completely captured and was not even allowed to cry during the escort... At this moment, it was exactly like that moment.
…Weren’t you there that day?”
Sa Lihe was dumbfounded, his face gradually turned red, but he said nothing.
Zhao Guanjia also lost interest at this time. He just waved his hand and someone escorted him down, and countless officials followed Zhao Guanjia's words.
However, this matter is just a minor incident and seems not worth mentioning in the great cause of the Northern Expedition.
In fact, Han Shizhong, Prince of Yan'an County, who is also near Taiyuan City, Li Yanxian, Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Camp, Ma Kuo, who is responsible for the supervision of the army's logistics camp, and even President Wang Yanwang, the accompanying chief of staff of Zhao Guan's family, the so-called high-level standards
Almost none of the handsome ministers came to watch the fun... And Zhao Jiu knew what they were busy with.
Let us also say that from the overall situation, Salihe's disposal is not as meaningful as the destruction of Xihe City.
The destruction of Xihe City means that the Song Army, at least the Hedong Front Army, no longer has the large Jin Kingdom strongholds and the established Jin Army to maintain combat effectiveness. Because of this, the logistics line from Henan to Taiyuan is completely worry-free, Hedong
The main force of the Song Army on the other side was also able to calmly gather towards the Taiyuan Basin... Generals Niu Gao and Dong Xian, who gradually rose to prominence during the Northern Expedition, gathered here together with Sa Lihe, which is a clear proof.
At the same time, considering that Datong in the north has been connected, the north and south of Yanmen Mountain, and the front and rear of the Hutuo River have all fallen into the hands of the Song Army, then it can be said that Junduxing, Puyinxing, and Feihuxing are all in the hands of the Song Army.
, even with the advancement of Longde Mansion, Fukouxing should be about to fall into the hands of the Song Army or have already fallen into the hands of the Song Army... The strategic significance of the Jin Army's control of Jingxing is constantly declining.
This seems to have been verified based on the intelligence from the front that Yeluma Wu showed signs of withdrawing troops.
It can only be said that the Black Dragon King was victorious and defeated at Pingxingzhai, but it cannot be said that the military arrangements he made there were worthless.
All in all, the logistics have been cleared, the troops have been regrouped, and the enemy's control of the main military channel in the front has also fallen into a useless situation. At this time, the necessity of the next military action has already become clear.
The only thing to worry about is the decision of Zhao Guan's family.
Many people have guessed that several generals will have to wait until the Shangyuan Festival is over before they join forces to request a war and urge Zhao Guan's family to send troops... In any case, as one of the most important festivals in the Song Dynasty, it can always wait for just one day.
.
"Are you going to make dumplings?"
On the day of the Lantern Festival, Zhao Guan's family did not stay in the city, nor did they go to the Fen River to read newspapers and fish for escape. Instead, they rarely became interested in inspecting the military camp, and after walking around for a while, they set the main destination of the trip.
Went to the cooking camp.
You should lift the lid off the pot first when you enter the house. I have never eaten pork and I have seen pigs running away. When Zhao Guan’s family performs, it always makes the elites of this era extremely ashamed. What’s more, to be honest, those political elites who are really well-informed should stay more at this time.
In Tokyo, with the warriors like Han Shizhong following Zhao Guan's family at the moment, and those "preparing for consultation" from the southeast, it was really unbearable in some aspects.
As for Li Yanxian and Ma Kuo, their relevant ranks may be higher, but they can't bear to say that their time with Zhao Guan's family in private is limited, and to some extent they are quite shameful, so at this time they are also numb and their faces are stiff.
"So that the officials will know."
Poor the hundreds of cooks and thousands of auxiliary civilians in the cooking camp. As early as when Zhao Guan's family was wearing plain robes but leading hundreds of richly dressed and armored civil and military dignitaries, they were stunned. At this time, several
The cooks who were watching the stuffing being chopped were questioned in person, and they were stunned and speechless. The flat-headed monk Dahui who was helping to catch the pig blood had to come over quickly and pick up the conversation. "Isn't this the Lantern Festival?"
? With the military order, General Manager Ma released some meat in the warehouse and made some extra meals... This is exactly what he is doing to make dumplings."
Zhao Jiu didn't recognize the other party at all, he just thought he was a smart and responsible person in the cook camp, so he nodded slightly, but soon shook his head again and again.
Monk Dahui is quite well-informed. He was chatting and laughing with officials as early as in Fenghuang Mountain in Hangzhou. Seeing such a reaction, he just did nothing. On the contrary, Ma Kuo was a little panicked for a moment and hurriedly said: "How dare you
I asked the officials, but what’s wrong?”
"It's really inappropriate."
Zhao Jiu was a little helpless. "How can anyone eat dumplings during the Lantern Festival? During the Chinese New Year, aren't northern dumplings and southern rice cakes distributed together?"
"What the officials said is absolutely true." Ma Kuo was half relieved, half helpless. "But in a hurry, and in a military camp, I really don't know how to comply with the customs..."
"How about setting off 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.
But even though it was Po Han Wu who was Po Han Wu decades ago, he was a little embarrassed at this time and could only talk about it.
However, Zhao Guanjia, who was standing in front of a large pile of stuffing, thought for a moment and nodded: "Yes, and you can also hang some big characters under the hot air balloon... Liangchen will do it himself!"
Han Shizhong was stunned on the spot. After a while, he woke up and asked again: "Do you want me to write poems and make lantern riddles?"
"How can I write poems and lantern riddles?" Zhao Jiu turned around and was speechless. "There are so many words in poems and lantern riddles. If they are written small, they cannot be read clearly, and if they are written large, they will not hang securely... I remember that there are eight hot air balloons in the camp, and they all flew today.
, just go and write eight big characters... May the Yuan Dynasty be healthy, and the world be prosperous... Use a big wooden board to write it, it must be straight and steady, and it must be bigger than the others!"
Po Hanwu traveled all over the world, conquering the world, claiming to be the first in the world, but at this time he could only nod his head blankly, and then turned around and left to work as a laborer.
The Zhao Guan family also turned back to talk to the cooks and cooks again: "Let's go on, I'm not saying that dumplings are bad, I mean mainly about customs... How do I remember that we always eat dumplings and noodles during the Lantern Festival?"
"So that the officials will know." At this time, Ma Kuo had no choice but to appear again. "According to custom, this is indeed the case, but today the army cannot do this, because the rewards in the army must be based on reality. If you have meat, you must give meat.
And it can’t be spread apart, you must see it and believe it... The dumplings are sweet fillings, so it’s not easy to put meat... Put meat in the noodles, and the sergeant can’t see how much meat is in other people’s bowls, so they will be suspicious.”
Zhao Jiu nodded: "This principle is correct, just like the principle that eggs must be placed neatly... But if you put it this way, wouldn't it be impossible to tell the amount of filling in the dumplings?"
"It's true that the officials are wise, and because there are so many people in the army, in order to prevent the pot from rotting, the dumpling wrappers must be extremely thick, so that they cannot be cooked through at all." Ma Kuo responded with a wry smile. "But on the Lantern Festival,
There is always something to say, it’s nothing more than trying to compromise as much as possible.”
"What fillings?" Zhao Jiu put aside the question for the time being, sniffed the mountains of fillings on the chopping board, and continued to ask the cook.
"Half pork, half mules, horses and donkey meat." Monk Dahui explained briefly. "Various offal and a little mutton will be made into soup later, and a very small amount of chicken, duck and fish meat will be provided to the officers... In addition, today's special case, each person
A glass of sweet wine, but drink it in front of me."
Zhao Jiu nodded slightly.
"Pork is bought from surrounding towns and villages, and mules, horses and donkey meat are killed when we transfer supplies." Ma Kuan further added. "These two types are the most common, and the others are incomparable... The turbid wine is all from Hedong.
The private wine collected is not much, and considering that there may be a big war in the future, I don’t dare to release more.”
After hearing the last sentence, many interested people peeked to see Zhao Guan's reaction.
However, after hearing this, Zhao Jiu just nodded and seemed to be leaving, which disappointed many people.
However, after walking a few steps and just urging the crowd to turn back, the official seemed to suddenly think of something and turned back to the flat-headed cook to curiously ask: "Can you make pancakes? The kind that are crispy on the outside and soft in the middle?"
Some are pan-fried, and some are grilled over a fire."
"The officials are joking." Monk Dahui laughed on the spot. "How can this not be the case? Sticky biscuits are also called hard sesame biscuits. During the Han Dynasty, Zhao Qi was selling these in Shandong. As long as there is pasta in the north and south,
I can make this kind of fire-baked shortbread.”
Zhao Jiu heard Zhao Qi's allusion and glanced at the other party. He seemed familiar, but he didn't bother to look into it in detail. He just continued to discuss cooking skills seriously:
"Then divide the meat stuffing into two parts, make dumplings with the pork stuffing, cook the mules, horses and donkey meat, then chop it into fillings, and then when the soldiers are receiving wine, take the hot shortbread directly from the pot, and
How about opening the knife and stuffing the cooked meat stuffing? Isn't it fair to do it this way so that the stuffing is placed in the pancake but can be clearly seen at a glance? Moreover, this fire roasting is also a Hebei specialty, so it is not a wasted holiday.
"
Pancakes are stuffed with fillings...who doesn't understand?
It's just that meat is precious, so a few offal must be boiled into soup, and precious meat must be served carefully. Very few people would treat it like this.
However, as Ma Kuo said before, the military has its own saying that fairness is the most important and real materials are the most important, so it is appropriate to directly heat the pancakes and sandwich the cooked fillings.
Of course, the more important point is that the officials have said so, don’t you have to say it’s inappropriate?
As for talking about fire burning and Hebei characteristics, no one is asking.
So, everyone discussed for a while and agreed one after another.
Among them, after Han Shizhong left, the military generals were led by Li Yanxian, Wang Yan, and Ma Kuo. Li Yanxian was cold and arrogant, Wang Yan was also arrogant, and Ma Kuo was serious and simple. Naturally, the officers below were reluctant to say anything... However, those who came from the southeast were prepared.
Consultants, the first group has already been working in the Hezhong and Linfen areas. Seeing that the appointment of Taiyuan Prefecture is about to come, who would not be considerate of the officials?
This saying that officials distribute rewards is open to the present, which is in line with the style of the ancient Ming Dynasty.
That person said that this is the benevolence of the officials, caring for the soldiers, and integrating the top and bottom, and they will be able to go straight to Huanglong.
Some people say that this is a huge military innovation that will be promoted in the military in the future... I don’t know how the usual sesame seed pancakes with vegetables turned into meat and vegetables.
What's more, an acquaintance from the southeast finally couldn't help but point out Master Dahui, saying that the master killed pigs for the army was a true Buddhist practice, and he would become a Buddha in the future, and the officials personally cared about the meat reward during the Shangyuan Festival.
Governing a big country is like cooking a small dish, with different approaches but the same effect.
This attracted countless people to marvel, and Master Dahui was so panicked that he quickly declared that he was just helping to catch the pig's blood and had no intention of killing.
"Master Dahui, I also remember it."
Zhao Jiu was so excited when he heard that, he immediately put his palms in front of the chopping board, regardless of Master Dahui's explanation. "And for such a grand event and a good thing, Master Dahui can kill pigs for practice, so why can't I personally cook for the soldiers?"
You should do this yourself personally... Those of you who have titles should go and do your own business, I will stay here today to help Master Dahui bake pot stickers and pancakes!"
There was total silence in the cooking camp, except for the gurgling of boiling water in the pot.
This doesn’t mean that these people can’t slap themselves in the face at this time, nor does it mean that no one dares to persuade them, but it means that this seemingly ignorant official really doesn’t understand some common truths?
The most important point is, if this official is going to do something frivolous and stupid, who can stop him?
Finally, after a lot of trouble, Li Yanxian, Ma Kuo, Wang Yan, Fan Zongyin and other high-ranking officials in the army were all kicked out. The few consultants who had previously spoken highly of Zhao Guan's family stayed with Zhao Guan's family, and started a fire in a daze.
Pot... But even so, these Southeastern celebrities did not dare to let them burn the oil pot, so they could only let them burn the soup pot.
I don’t know how these people will arrange the hypocrisy of Zhao Guan’s family to cause trouble in their notes tonight.
However, putting aside these annoyances, the burning of Zhao Guan's house had some miraculous effects... After the news spread, I don't know how many officers and soldiers peeked out from the back door of the main entrance of the cooking camp. I don't know if these people were watching from hundreds of steps away.
Nothing, but I said I saw it clearly anyway.
One said they saw the officials personally pasting the pancakes, the other said they saw the officials chop the meat fillings with their own hands, and some said they saw Zhao Guan's family tie a cloth around their waists to cover the grease and cut open the stuffing of the pancakes with their own hands.
The stuffing... seems to be ignoring Zhao Guan's family and just helping to cook the pot!
By the afternoon, I don’t know how the news was spread. Before dinner was served, word had already spread in and around Taiyuan City, and in various camps for dozens of miles, that the Zhao Guan family and a great mage had jointly invented a kind of fire.
, If you want to feast the whole army, the fire will taste great, just like dragon meat in the sky!
"We didn't even start the meal, but we knew it tasted great? It was just like dragon meat... Who has ever eaten dragon meat? I only know that horse meat is too thick! It's not as good as donkey meat, and it's not as smooth as dog meat!"
Outside the south gate of Taiyuan City, directly north of the main military camp, in a hut supplying hot water next to the road, Wang Yan was furious after hearing these messages. "Besides, there are dozens of miles of camps, hundreds of thousands of sergeants, and civilians.
, there are one hundred and thirty-seven cooking camps alone. When an official is like the Monkey King in "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons", does he have the art of avatars? The few pots cooked by the official are probably not enough even for Ban Zhi.
point."
There were only four people in the shed, including Han Shizhong, who had just returned from writing, and the four commanders Li Yanxian, Ma Kuo, and Wang Yan. They were just a bunch of people. Even the commander and the principal were not allowed to get close. At this time, it was heard that
After Wang Yan spoke, the other three people just sat in the shed silently.
After a long while, Wang Yan still lacked patience and directly said: "The officials are avoiding us like this, are they afraid that we will ask for a fight?"
"What else could it be?" Han Shizhong touched his wrist and smiled.
"Isn't this fear of war?" Wang Yan suddenly became angry.
"Of course I am afraid of war." Li Yanxian responded calmly. "But this fear is not fear of the enemy, but a lack of fear of oneself... Because once we go east, there will most likely be a decisive battle immediately, and this Northern Expedition will also be completely clear.
...It is human nature to want to be on the safe side at this time."
"Yes, it is a joke to say that the officials are afraid of the enemy's strength." Han Liangchen was still calm. "Since the time of Huaishang, the officials have not been afraid of difficulties or enemies. At this time, they are just seeking stability. They probably want to wait for Yue Fei.
The army is pushing forward, and the morale of the Jin army is difficult to maintain, so let's unite the whole army and take action."
"But can we avoid this?" Wang Yan was still a little angry. "At this time, I was heading east from Jingxing. The Jurchens had not yet escaped from Taiyuan. They were panicking about the fall of the daimyo. In order to survive, they had no choice but to bite the bullet and fight. There will be a battle.
Fortunately, after the war, we can still have enough time to sweep through the old territory of the country. It is impossible to save enough military rations after the army withdraws, leaving an elite force of 30,000 to 50,000 to reach Yanjing... But if we delay for stability, we have to wait.
If Yue Fei's men come over, they will win. If we don't have enough logistics then, we don't know how many cities we can capture and how many lands we can capture?"
Everyone nodded.
Besides, Wang Yan and Yue Fei's personal grudge is difficult. Neither the King of Heaven nor the officials can mediate it. Everyone knows about this matter, so it's normal that he doesn't want to wait any longer... In fact, don't say that Wang Yan doesn't want to wait for Yue Fei to reconcile.
How could Li Yanxian be willing to wait for Han Shizhong to fight? Even Wu Jie, who went north to Datong to deal with the Mongols, was at Quduan of Longde Mansion in the southeast.
Who among the 200,000 troops is willing to wait for Yue Fei?
In other words, Ma Kuo had no desire or desire in the war at this time, but with the atmosphere around him, how could he possibly offend his colleagues for such a thing.
In addition, the more important point is that Wang Yan's words are reasonable, putting aside family feuds and personal grudges.
After all, Yue Fei's main force is in Daming Mansion, and they are all infantry brigades. Facing the Jin Army's main force of hundreds of thousands, it is impossible for them to break away from the protection and advance in large numbers. That would be a waste of money, so they can only attack the city layer by layer and move north
Advance. It is certainly stable to advance steadily and then fight decisively, but firstly, the so-called delay will cause changes, and the fighter planes will be thrown away; secondly, hundreds of thousands of troops are placed here by civilians, and they are consumed like running water, so what?
Calculate?
To put it bluntly, if the Yellow River is full of water, Yue Fei, Zhang Rong, and Tian Shizhong can move forward by water and land, reach the river, and then form a so-called flanking situation with the Hedong side... Even if it is a sure win...
By then, will the logistics and food supplies still support the troops to continue marching north to attack Yanjing?
Of course, waiting for Yue Fei has the advantage of waiting for Yue Fei. He also has his own opinions on immediately heading east without waiting for Yue Fei. However, no one in Hedong will agree with waiting for Yue Fei, but the decision-making power only lies in the hands of the Zhao Guan family.
"After all, it is the Lantern Festival." Seeing that everyone was unanimous, Han Shizhong, as the leader of the crowd and the nominal marshal, always had to express his position. "After today... let's go to see the officials together tomorrow morning.
.”
Although the other people had different attitudes, they could only nod at this time.
Just like that, while Zhao Guan's house was doing fire burning, several handsome ministers also began to drink tea out of boredom... getting ready to wait for a wave of fire burning.
However, just as several commanders were drinking tea and waiting for the fire to start, the Chixinqi with Xingling suddenly came forward to report.
"What's the matter? The official has a decree?" Han Shizhong stood up and asked.
"No." Lai dismounted and bowed his hands in worship. "Reporting to the prince, the imperial cavalry came to report that the commander Zhang Zhongfu was severely defeated by the Jin cavalry in Shexian County in front of Fukou County... Qu Dutong jointly issued a letter with him.
I wrote a letter to apologize. The officials heard the news in the cooking camp and asked us to forward it to you for Jiedu to see."
With that said, the Chixin Cavalry ignored the expressions of the four commanders and went straight forward to deliver a document. Then he turned around and took a basket from his horse, placed a dozen steaming fire pots on the table, and then
He turned around, mounted his horse and left.
As soon as the other party left, Han Shizhong ignored the burning, opened the document and read it first, but after only looking at it for a few times, he smashed the document on the table and became furious: "Compared with Zhang Zhongfu, Wang Sheng has a long face even in Pingxing Village!
"
Li Yanxian and others took turns to look at it, and they all looked very bad.
Without him, Zhang Zhongfu's defeat three days ago was indeed a big defeat, and it was a big defeat without any excuse.
Moreover, according to the military newspaper, the Jin Army knew that Longde Mansion could not be defended, as everyone expected, and directly strategically abandoned this place. However, this place has always been the core area where the Jin Kingdom's East Route Army was stationed with 50,000 households.
The families and properties of many senior Jin Kingdom officers are there.
Therefore, as soon as the Daming Mansion over there exploded, Wu Shu immediately responded to the request of the generals in Longde Mansion and sent out eighty soldiers, a total of eight thousand riders, to enter Longde Mansion at high speed, and separated to collect the families, wealth, and silk of the people.
Try to burn the remaining property and military supplies as much as possible.
However, the Jin army moved quickly, and the imperial cavalry originally stationed southwest of Longde Mansion also moved quickly. There was a slight delay at Taihangxing along the way. By the time vanguard Zhang Zhongfu led 5,000 cavalry into Shangde, where Longde Mansion was located,
After entering the hinterland of Dang Basin, the Jin Army's evacuation operation was only more than half complete. When they saw the Song Army brigade, they were even more shocked. They simply gave up the evacuation of the surrounding small towns and hurriedly prepared to evacuate from Fukouxing.
Seeing this, Zhang Zhongfu did not go to capture those big cities, but chose to follow and pursue them.
The first half of the pursuit went extremely smoothly. The Jin army had no fighting spirit and was divided into small groups at the beginning. Therefore, facing the Song army's cavalry brigade, they had no choice but to flee in confusion... For a time, Zhang Zhongfu's troops were killed, wounded, captured and occupied.
.
However, as Zhang Zhongfu's troops pursued all the way across the Zhuozhang River and came to Shexian County between Qingzhang River and Zhuozhang River, and in the Licheng area, the Jin army's various branches naturally gathered together according to the terrain, and saw
The Song Army's cavalry pursued them closely, and the Jin Army's cavalry, which had fewer than 5,000 cavalry, finally couldn't bear it anymore.
In order to protect their families and property, after detecting that there were about 4,000 cavalrymen left in the main cavalry force of the Song Army in the rear to maintain the pursuit, the 5,000 Jin Army cavalry were also divided into two. The 1,000 cavalrymen continued to escort the family members and baggage to the north, while the other four
The Qian cavalry quickly gathered, turned around to meet them, and started 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 met with almost the same number and similar equipment. They were theoretically equivalent. However, the battle lasted from morning to afternoon. In the end, the Song army's cavalry gradually became exhausted and was defeated by the Jin army.
Completely overwhelmed, Zhang Zhongfu walked away in embarrassment.
If the Jin army had not been unwilling to fight and did not pursue pursuit, the Song army's cavalry would probably have suffered a large-scale attrition on the bank of the frozen Zhangshui River in this battle.
To be fair, there is actually nothing unexpected about this battle... There have been a lot of greedy and rash things lately, and this is not the least of them.
Moreover, the imperial cavalry was considered from the beginning to be less experienced in combat than the Jin army's cavalry.
In addition, the Jin army has a reason to fight to protect their families. It can be regarded as a mourning soldier. If they lose, they will lose.
However, it is very bad for something like this to happen at this juncture... because it will remind everyone that the main force of the Jin Army is still there, and the core cavalry strength is still there.
What's even more terrible is that in the field battle, once the combat power of the Jin Army's cavalry is gathered to form a heavy group, the combat effectiveness advantage will be even more obvious.
This battle is likely to further shake the Zhao Guan family's determination to launch a decisive battle immediately, and may also greatly improve the morale and morale of the main force of the Jin Army, which is rapidly retreating northward at this time.
In fact, considering that after Zhao Guan's family learned of the news, they immediately handed it over to the four commanders who held a small meeting, I am afraid it was already a silent reminder.
That's why Han Shizhong was so angry.
"Zhang Zhongfu deserves to be killed!"
Wang Yan, who was holding a piece of horse meat on fire, became more and more angry as he thought about it. Finally, he got angry and smashed the piece of horse meat directly on the table, and the meat stuffing spread out immediately.
The other three looked equally embarrassed, but after looking at each other, they maintained a certain calmness.
"How can we treat him like this when he is given food by the emperor?" Han Shizhong responded coldly.
Li Yanxian also frowned and looked at Wang Yan.
"President Wang, it is not a gift from the emperor. In the past in the Taihang Mountains, you and I had trouble sleeping and eating. How can we waste meat when we are sitting here like this?" Ma Kuo rarely gave serious advice, and took the initiative to put down the fire in his hand and carefully gathered the people.
Spread out meat filling.
Wang Yan was embarrassed for a moment. He could only turn his head and said nothing. After a while, he picked up the Huo Shao on the table and swallowed it in two mouthfuls.
But things seem to be unfinished.
As the four of them ate a basket of more than a dozen fire-roasted dishes, the atmosphere calmed down a bit. Just when they were about to drink some more hot water and talk some words, a bell rang again, and this time, it was actually coming from the direction of the city...
…The four of them looked up and saw that it was not Chixinqi, and they were even more puzzled.
However, any bell-passing knight must at least be a smart person with discernment. When he saw the four Jiedu and subordinate officials sitting in a hut beside the road, he turned around directly to report.
"Prince, everyone, Jiedu!"
The knight turned over and dismounted, not panicking. "It's nothing serious. It's just that Sa Lihe hanged himself with a belt in the room at some time... leaving a Khitan suicide note, to the effect that it had been more than 20 years since the rise of the Jin Dynasty.
, has its own destiny, and Aguda, the Taizu of the Jin Kingdom, is also like a god. He received the great kindness of the Emperor Taizu of the Jin Kingdom as a clan and raised him under his tent. Now that the army has been defeated and the city has been destroyed, although he has the intention of being content, after thinking about it, no matter what,
If I can't be the first person to surrender to the Jin Dynasty, what kind of kindness will I owe to the great ancestor... There are some nasty things that I won't say... My family, Zhang Tongzhi, only asked me to go to the Chinese army's tent to find a Yutang bachelor who was subordinate to the official family.
A report.”
After speaking, the knight bowed slightly and left calmly.
As for Han Shizhong and below, everyone was stunned for a moment, feeling increasingly helpless but speechless.
Nothing was said on the spot. That night, it was the Shangyuan Festival, and the moon was shining brightly. The generals thought that there would be an imperial banquet attended by senior officers, but there was no... Later there were rumors that the Shangyuan Festival was almost the same.
On the anniversary of Zong Zhongwu's death, the official family felt sometimes sad, which was normal in response to the current situation.
The generals felt a little relieved.
In fact, it seems to be the case. That night, the bright moon hung high, and Zhao Guan's house, which had been burned for a day, came out under the moon. However, he did not summon his officials to have a banquet. Instead, he led only a few close friends to the central army where he lived.
In front of the big tent, in the open space where he usually shoots targets, he sat and admired the moon, as if nothing had happened.
At this time in the camp, there were many similar situations because of a special curfew.
Many generals came out of camp to look at the moon. There was no big banquet, but there were many small banquets. There was a pot of wine and a basket of fire. Therefore, old colleagues, civil servants and military generals, superiors and subordinates, there were some interactions between them. It was the soldiers.
Talking back and forth was easier than during the day. On the side of the camp facing Taiyuan City, under eight huge hot air balloons, many people from the surrounding Taiyuan Prefecture who gradually boldly returned to the villages and towns came to watch... In the military
Because the official family has no orders to violate it, it actually doesn't prohibit it.
However, it is a military camp after all. Although the ban is open and there are many people coming and going, there is always a sense of "don't dare to speak loudly for fear of frightening the people in heaven".
A clear proof is that the camp is vast and there are many old soldiers. The scholars play flutes and flutes as a way of reminiscing, but no matter how noisy the people are, they can never get over the sound of these flutes.
"A glass of turbid wine can lead to a home thousands of miles away, but there is no way for Yan to return home before he is able to stop him.
The Qiang pipes are covered with frost, people are sleepless, and the generals' hair is gray and their husbands are weeping."
In this situation, it would be strange if Zhao Guanjia could not recall this poem.
"Since the officials chanted this poem, they should know that it has been difficult to send troops since ancient times. Now that they have captured Long, they should look back at Shu. Why do you have any doubts?"
At this moment, a loud voice suddenly came from the back door of Zhao Guan's camp, that is, from the south.
When Zhao Guanjia heard this, his expression was not surprised at all, but he stood up calmly, turned to the side in person, and walked dozens of steps before he met this person at the corner of his camp, and then directly reached out to support him.
It’s truly a courtesy:
"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. At this time, he arrived at night, and the Zhao family seemed to be waiting for this person.
Lu Yihao and Zhao Guan's family walked hand in hand to the tent. When they saw the elegance in front of the tent, they couldn't help but exclaimed: "I am so willful... I shouldn't insist on rushing on my way and let the officials wait so hard... If I had to rest all night on the way,
, the officials can at least convene the civil and military personnel of the army today to have a peaceful Shangyuan gathering."
"Those are all frivolous things. Since the Prime Minister is coming, how can I care about them?" Zhao Jiu immediately laughed. "Besides, if Mr. Lu doesn't come, my heart will not be at peace after all."
Lu Yihao also laughed.
The emperor and his ministers immediately sat down in front of the tent, and Zhao Jiu specially ordered Yang Yizhong to get some "turbid wine" to respond to Fan Wenzheng's words.
After about a while, everything was ready. After Lu Yihao had eaten two hot dishes, drank a glass of turbid wine to warm himself up, and relaxed a little, Zhao Jiu spoke:
"Is your husband really in good health?"
"It's not great." Lu Yihao kept shaking his head, not hiding anything. "I am already sixty-six this year. At this age, I have been working hard since autumn, from Jiangnan to Henan, and then from Henan to Hedong. In a few months
It has been unbearable for a long time, and then comes the cold wind in winter... Anyone with a little common sense will know that this is half a life gone. At this time, the face is relaxed, but the inside is also weak, and it is destined not to be a good one...
It will only get worse day by day in the future... But the more this happens, the more I feel like I can't make it in time, so I hurriedly came to see the official."
Zhao Jiu nodded without any surprise.
"Your Majesty, your Majesty should already know the purpose of my visit, but please let me tell you in person." Lu Yihao changed the subject and went directly to the topic.
"My lord, please speak." Zhao Jiu's expression remained unchanged, as if he had already prepared.
"I heard that when the official was in Taiyuan, he was very worried and worried. I don't know whether it is true or not. If it is true, then I dare to ask the official, what are he worried about these days?" Lu Yihao took Yang Yi.
The third piece of donkey meat offered by Zhong was burned on fire, and he asked seriously, "So that you are still reluctant to send troops to advance?"
"I am indeed worried, but specifically, what I am more worried about is how to clean up the situation after the war." Zhao Jiu answered calmly. "As for the war itself, although there is some doubt and fear, I will not worry about it.
This delays the progress of the war."
Lu Yihao nodded slightly, not surprised, but asked seriously: "Dare I ask the officials, are they worried about the spring plowing in Henan, the refugees in Hebei, and the burden on Hedong after the war?"
"Yes, but not necessarily." Zhao Jiu shook his head. "Although these things are troublesome, can they be more troublesome than the situation after Jingkang ten years ago? Man can defeat nature. No matter how bad the situation is, we just have to deal with it seriously... The ability of ordinary people is better than that of the situation after Jingkang ten years ago.
We want to be strong.”
Lu Yihao finally felt a little strange, but he asked seriously: "Then I dare to ask the officials, what are they worried about?"
"What I'm worried about is that if we win this battle, then the whole country won't have the Jin Kingdom weighing on them. Will the people's hearts be scattered?" Zhao Jiu smiled and said casually. "For example, will there be another party dispute?
?Is there someone who will stop at regaining the old territory and even be unwilling to contribute to the attack on Yanjing?"
"It must be all of them." Lu Yihao thought for a moment and then laughed. "But it doesn't matter, these kind of people are all empty talkers and will never make a difference."
"But what's more than just the scattered people?" Zhao Jiu nodded and continued. "I am also worried that if we win this battle and the north is restored, and at the same time refugees are everywhere, the land in the north will inevitably be re-divided, and who will be divided at that time?
?Will there be a family like the Plum Blossom Han family that can produce hundreds of years of conclusive evidence and demand the restoration of their ancestral property? So that the refugees in the north still have no place to stand?"
The answer to this question is also very simple - Meihua Han is nothing! How many control departments does his family have?
However, Lu Yihao did not directly reply to this simple question. Instead, he became a little more serious because he realized that Zhao Guan's family's 'worry' must not stop there, so he simply lowered his head to eat the still-warm huoshao.
Sure enough, Zhao Jiu was speechless when he saw the other party, but he still kept talking:
"What I am also worried about is that after the war, the North will not be able to resume production for a while, and the South will need blood transfusions and rescue. Will the South be able to bear it? Will there be another North-South divide? Will there be people in the South who feel that I am deceiving them?
Has the court lost confidence?"
"What I am also worried about is that Yanjing is not the only place. The land outside the Great Wall is the foundation of the Jin Kingdom. If Hebei can win, can it be won outside the Great Wall? If we go out to pursue it and lose in one battle, will the Jin Kingdom rise again and compete with us?
Did the Song Dynasty repeatedly see-saw?"
"What I'm also worried about is, let alone Dali and South Vietnam, how can we maintain the balance between the Song Dynasty and Western Liao, Eastern and Western Mongolia, and Goryeo after the war? If we can't attack Huanglong directly, will Goryeo form an alliance with the Jurchens in turn?
Are you hostile to us? And if you wipe out the Jin people in one breath, you are unable to control Mongolia outside the Pass...especially Eastern Mongolia. Will it take the Khitan pine forest and the hometown of Huangshui, and rise from the north for the third time after the Khitan and Jurchens?
, becoming a new and serious problem for the Song Dynasty?"
At this point, Zhao Jiu finally exclaimed: "Ms. Lu, of course I know your temperament, and I also know that you are here to persuade me to send troops. I also know that you came here to learn about the Hebei Notice and that the Jin Kingdom had tried to dig out the land.
River embankment... But what you know about, how come I don't know about it? In fact, after I heard about it from Qu Duan this afternoon, I have already decided to send troops. There is also an emergency in Datong Mansion, and I want Wu Jie to make a decisive decision and lead as many troops as possible.
It is believed that the soldiers and horses quickly moved south to join together... However, just because I am determined to send troops does not mean that I cannot be worried or should not be worried... Mr. Lu, how should we deal with these things you mentioned?"
Lu Yihao, who had finished eating the third dish, was silent for a long time before handing over his hand: "The officials' concerns are deeper than what I thought... This time it's the minister Meng Lang... But with all due respect, all kinds of things internal and external after the war, all of which can be said
It is worth worrying about, but as long as the officials grasp a little bit, it is not worth worrying about."
"Please give me some advice." Zhao Jiu remained calm.
"As long as the official family still has 300,000 imperial soldiers, it will be enough to look down on the world externally and subdue all kinds of internal pressure." At this point, Lu Yihao raised a glass of turbid wine to the official family, and then drank it all. "By then.
Officials use the power of gold to control the world's elite, so what if there are some difficulties?"
"If you say this, I still have one worry." Zhao Jiu suddenly laughed again. "Lv Xianggong, you said that if this battle is won, the Jin country is weak, why should the country use up its annual income to continue to maintain the 300,000 imperial camp?
What about the generals? I am threatening to destroy the power of gold and control the world's elite. Three hundred thousand people are too many. I will definitely reduce the army and withdraw the generals, right? Will it cause riots by then? Will it cause disunity in the army?"
Lu Yihao also laughed again: "This is what I really want to say... In the official family, I would like to ask, no matter how difficult the post-war situation is, is it as difficult as the post-Jingkang situation ten years ago?"
"Of course not." Zhao Jiu smiled at him.
"At that time, even the imperial army was not organized. Even Han Shizhong's subordinates almost killed Xianggong Zhao, which made the official family almost run away in embarrassment... I dare to ask the official family, people's doubts after the war, will it be better than
Was it serious then?"
"Of course not."
"Then what did the official family rely on to survive that day?" Lu Yihao suddenly looked serious.
"It's just that I feel that there are still some trustworthy and respectable people in this world." Zhao Jiu responded fluently.
"Yes, there are always some people like Zong Zhongwu who go upstream and become famous throughout the ages." Lu Yihao thought thoughtfully. "Moreover, I also understand the meaning of the official family. As the saying goes, we can share hardships but not wealth... It is credible today.
People, if the situation changes tomorrow, will it become untrustworthy?"
"Will there be one?" Zhao Jiu couldn't ask further.
"There will be, but after all, they are a minority." After saying this, Lu Yihao raised his head and looked at the bright moon in the sky and sighed quietly. "I would like to ask more about the official family, such as Zong Zhongwu, King Han, and Li Jiedu.
, of course it is difficult to find in the world, but the rest of the officials and other people... I will not say those big and general words, only talk about the hundreds of thousands of people inside and outside Taiyuan today... these hundreds of thousands of people, gathered together
Why did they want to attack the Jin, Shao and Song Dynasties under the official dragon banner, regardless of their wealth and life? Are they all the kind of heroes from ancient times, and are they all figures like the Prince of Yan'an and Zong Zhongwu?
"
"Of course not."
"Then can they be trusted?"
"Of course it's credible."
"Are they respectable?"
"Of course respectable?"
"Why are they trustworthy and respectable?"
Zhao Jiu suddenly fell silent.
"It's as bright as the moon, when can it be decorated? The worry that comes from it cannot be cut off." Lu Yihao pointed to the bright moon in the sky with his finger, but then lowered his head to look at Zhao Guanjia and spoke seriously. "That's because the Guanjia family, the supreme authority in the world,
It took ten years to prove again and again that they are trustworthy and respectable to them... It is precisely because the officials treat people with sincerity and are trustworthy to them that they will treat the officials
Believable; it is precisely because the officials followed the general trend of Shao, Song and extermination of the Jin Dynasty that they were respectable to them, so they were respectable to the officials... Even Zong Zhongwu, if it wasn't because he trusted his majesty, so what?
Can it be effective on the same day?"
Under the bright moon, Zhao Jiu was in a daze for a moment...Is that so?
"It's Lu Haowen, Li Gang, Xu Jingheng, even Zhao Zhang and others, the military, Han Li Yue, Wu Mawang, and ministers... Isn't it because of the trust of the officials that we have the favor of the emperor and ministers today?" Lu Yihao
Putting down his fingers, he sighed quietly. "Your Majesty, with your dignity, is thinking about the world. It is normal to have those worries. But if the officials do not change their sincerity after the war, they do not rebel against the public and enrich themselves, and they have nothing to share in the troubles with."
If we cannot live in peace and happiness together, how can the people of the world change? The mountains never get too high, the sea never gets too deep, the Duke of Zhou vomits food, and the world returns to its heart... Things in the world are generally like this, so please relax your mind."
Zhao Jiu was stunned for a long time, and finally laughed again: "In the past, when Wu Qi and Wei Wuhou came down the West River, they said that the strength of mountains and rivers lies in virtue and not in danger. Is that what Mr. Lu meant when he came to see me at night today?"
Lu Yihao shook his head and laughed: "I am only as cruel as Wu Qi, but not as godly as Wu Qi in using troops."
Zhao Jiu nodded and turned around to look at the tent behind him: "Wu Qizhi's military skills are like a god, have you heard this clearly?"
Lv Yihao looked around in surprise, only to see Han Shizhong, the leader, and four handsome ministers moving out of Zhao Guan's tent. Under the moonlight, it was clearly visible that all four of them looked embarrassed, but they couldn't help but wake up and immediately laughed again.
The four of them were becoming more and more embarrassed, so they could only bow down together, salute Zhao Jiu, and say they understood.
Zhao Jiu didn't say much, just nodded: "Since you understand, let's sit down together and drink a glass of wine... You said you guys, talk about things when they have something to say, one after another come to see me, but they bump into each other one after another...
...Where can he be so magnanimous and calm as Mr. Lu?"
The four of them were simply a little embarrassed.
The next day, on the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, Zhao Guanjia issued an order, with Dong Xian and Zhang Qi as the vanguard, and the troops were sent to Jingxing. At the same time, the order was made to dispatch Qu Duan, Wu Jie, Yelu Yujian, and the two kings of the East and West Mongolia, Wang
Sheng, Wang De and Li Qiong each joined forces and either returned to Taiyuan, or left the Taihang roads for spying, or approached Jingxing from the north and south.
After the decree was issued, hundreds of thousands of troops surrounding the north and south of Taiyuan moved with great force, but they were clenched like a fist.
For a time, everyone knew that just like the attack on Taiyuan that day, the Zhao Guan family's determination to use a large army to suppress Hebei was irreversible.