On the afternoon of the last day of the third year of Jianyan (1129), Li Yanxian, the Military Commissioner of Xingning Army and Commander of the Imperial Guards' Central Army, received the New Year's rewards sent by the imperial court in Pinglu City, Shanzhou, as well as the latest issue of the "Dibao" (Official Gazette) delivered by fast horses in the army.

Speaking of which, this "Dibao" was a truly legitimate gazette for Li Yanxian, because the "Di" in "Dibao" originally referred to the residences established in the capital by the prefectures and kingdoms of the Han Dynasty and the vassal towns of the Tang Dynasty. The original meaning of "Dibao" was the process by which the court posted relevant major news, and people in the residences copied and reported it to the local prefectures and kingdoms and vassal towns... Applying it to Li Yanxian, a military commissioner, wasn't it a return to the original meaning?

Enough small talk. Li Yanxian, the Military Commissioner of Xingning Army, who was supervising the southward retreat of soldiers and civilians from northern Hebei in Shanzhou, first carefully accepted the rewards and then ordered people to treat the envoys well. After everything was settled, he ignored the presence of General Shao Yun beside him and the endless stream of soldiers and supplies below the city. He sat directly on the head of Pinglu City and opened the gazette in the sunlight...

There was no other way. This freshly delivered gazette was much thicker than the ones he had received in the past six months, and the paper was particularly wide and sturdy. Combined with the 'thank you list' he had seen in Shanzhou City, Hebei, last time, he thought something earth-shattering had happened.

However, Li Yanxian read it from beginning to end, but he became more and more confused because there was really nothing major beyond his imagination. It was just recorded in more detail, and the layout was more orderly, but he couldn't help but read it carefully.

For example, the first whole sheet was a gazette related to personnel transfers. Besides the transfer of officials in the court, there was actually a battle hero commendation for Zhang Rong's Xiaowusao Battle.

Such as so-and-so took seven heads in one breath; so-and-so took an unnamed head wearing a silk-lined gourd helmet, seemingly a great general; a certain captain drove a small boat carrying gunpowder packs to rush the port first, with the same merit as the vanguard... Anyway, Li Yanxian felt a little uncomfortable because his contribution was greater than Zhang Rong's, his Shanzhou soldiers were braver than the Liangshanpo navy, and they had always been more tragic, but even their names couldn't be recorded in time.

This was a fact.

After the Jingkang Incident, the world collapsed. Even Han Shizhong and Zhang Jun only escaped to find the 'new emperor'. Only Li Yanxian, who had been suppressed, idled, and abandoned by his superiors time and time again, survived the death and led a group of defeated soldiers to take back Shanzhou, a key place in the world, from the Jin army.

And Shanzhou, which is divided by the Shan Mountains on the left and right and sandwiched by rivers on the north and south, is itself a key place in the world. Not to mention, the Song army's main field force was actually divided into the Imperial Guards and the Guanzhong troops, while the Jin people were actually divided into the east and west routes. This led to how important Shanzhou, which was stuck at the intersection of the four major military regions, was.

In fact, if Li Yanxian hadn't recovered Shanzhou on that day, forcing Wanyan Yinshuke to end his rampage in Jingxi ahead of schedule, it would be hard to say whether Zhao Jiu and the small court could have gained a foothold in Nanyang.

To put it bluntly, even if Li Yanxian did nothing from now on, as long as he insisted on guarding Shanzhou, he would definitely be among the top-ranked meritorious officials in the future.

So, to some extent, this Military Commissioner of Xingning Army was absolutely qualified to maintain this arrogant posture in front of all other Song troops.

After a burst of tsk-tsking at the promotion and commendation of Zhang Rong's subordinates, Li Yanxian reluctantly calmed down and went back to read the political documents. He stared at several pieces of information that occupied a large amount of space and shook his head repeatedly. When he flipped to the last two pages, he couldn't help but be stunned.

It turned out that from this point on, the gazette was full of things that had nothing to do with current affairs.

For example, on the penultimate page, there was a "Theory of Qi" by the great scholar Hu Anguo; there was an explanation of the new gazette regulations written by a certain editor Hu; there was also a New Year's greeting issued by the official in the tone of Chancellor Lü; and there was a discussion written by Privy Councilor Chen about why Tokyo City was impregnable...

And the last page was even more absurd.

On this piece of paper, half of it was some dogmatic poetry and prose... This was fine, but the other half was a story like a storyteller's script, but without a signature.

It talked about Zhang Yongzhen, the water god of the Huai River, who in his previous lives was actually a figure from the ancient prehistoric era, from the Yan and Huang tribes. How he met an immortal and was taught immortal magic. Then, when fighting, how easily he could transform into a dharma form twenty zhang high, and how he had slain countless demons and monsters, so that he gathered the weapons of destroyed demons and monsters to create a fourteen-zhang-long greatsword. Finally, on the day the sword was completed, how this person followed the Yellow Emperor and fought Chi You of the Jiuli tribe in Zhuolu, killing five of Chi You's eighty-one brothers in the battle, with immeasurable merit. Therefore, after the war, he was named the Huai River, and so on.

Such an absurd story was actually placed in the gazette. Li Yanxian, who was both civil and military, naturally disdained it, but he couldn't help but read it two or three times in a row, and then mentally compared it to the city wall to see how long a fourteen-zhang-long greatsword was. Only then did he reluctantly put away the gazette and hand it over to his staff members beside him, asking them to copy a few copies and distribute them to the subordinate civil and military officials.

However, so far, the army, supplies, and people pouring into the city were still endless. Li Yanxian had no choice but to continue sitting on the city wall and continue to talk with Shao Yun, the garrison general of Pinglu, who had been standing there for a long time.

"Lord Commissioner, is there anything said in the report?" Shao Yun inevitably asked this question.

"There are not many major events, that is, the official has inspected the Imperial College, Xiangguo Temple Military Workshop, and comforted the elders of Tokyo these days." Li Yanxian continued to sit still, just smiled lightly to his confidant general beside him. "In addition, he also commended the Liangshanpo bandits... It's like connecting with those nobles who borrowed money last time."

Shao Yun nodded repeatedly: "The official is working hard... But I still think borrowing money is absurd. I asked several staff members around me many times before I believed it."

Li Yanxian shook his head, but casually asked back: "Do you think it's absurd for the official to borrow money from others, or do you think it's absurd that these nobles actually lend money to the official to pay for military expenses?"

"Both." Shao Yun replied sincerely.

"I don't think either is absurd." Li Yanxian smiled frankly. "Although the official is young and acts a little frivolously, his intention to resist the Jin is firm and resolute. He usually has the appearance of enduring hardship and making determined efforts. In order to raise military expenses, the palace has almost stopped receiving income... I have entered and exited the palace several times, and I can see clearly that it can't be fake... And now Tokyo is gradually improving, and wealthy people are bringing money back. How can he not save face to borrow money?"

"The official is indeed a good official." Hearing this, Shao Yun exclaimed with his hand on his sword. "I often think that the official is very similar to you, Lord Commissioner..."

"What are you talking about?" Li Yanxian was rarely stunned: "Not to mention how can you compare between the monarch and his ministers, not to mention these superficial things, the official and I are different in age, experience, and habits..."

"I don't mean that." Shao Yun immediately explained seriously. "I just think that the Lord Commissioner and the official are the same. Not only are they never ambiguous about resisting the Jin, but they are also very good to their subordinates... After the Yima (Horse) Alliance in Heyin, the official promised that the military commanders' notes could be sent directly to the palace. My brother (Shao Long) and I discussed that even if we couldn't write a few words, we should ask the official for safety every month. As a result, the official's reply was very detailed every time, asking if we were short of money in the army, or short of military equipment? Whether the soldiers' families had a place to settle down? How were my family members? Were the children married? Whether it was public or private, was there anything to worry about? These are the same as you, Lord Commissioner, usually."

Li Yanxian nodded slightly, but then smiled again: "Since you know that the official is a good official, why do you think it's a little absurd for him to borrow money?"

"Because I have always thought of the official as being very similar to you, Lord Commissioner, and I also know that if it were you, Lord Commissioner, you would rather starve to death than borrow money from those high-ranking officials and nobles, because you, Lord Commissioner, are arrogant to superiors, and the higher the officials and nobles, the more you want to give them a cold shoulder..."

"..."

Since Li Yanxian was silent, Shao Yun only thought that he had said something wrong, and did not dare to say more for a while. Therefore, there was silence on the city tower for a while, with only a slight breeze blowing from the south, plus the noise below as usual.

After a while, the military commissioner smiled again and again: "It may be that you, Commander Shao, have sharper eyes... The official and I are really a bit similar, but those nobles are nobles to me, but they are just idlers in the eyes of the official, so the official doesn't care and borrows from them at will."

Shao Yun did not understand for a while, just nodded.

Li Yanxian also continued to sigh: "As for how those nobles are willing to serve the country, it is actually still on the official, because the official is, after all, the official, and the people below are watching him... If the official wants to resist the Jin, even if the people below don't want to resist the Jin, they will slowly resist the Jin; if the official values military affairs, even if the people below look down on military officers and soldiers, they will slowly value military officers and soldiers... It is reasonable to donate money this time."

Shao Yun nodded even more: "I know this principle... It's like marrying a wife. The wife has one personality when she enters the house, but slowly, the final personality depends on the temperaments of the mother-in-law and her husband in the family before she can finally settle down."

Li Yanxian was at a loss for a while, but after a little thought, he nodded repeatedly, because Shao Yun's analogy made a lot of sense.

People will change, whether by hearing and seeing, or by flattering against their will, they will unconsciously change. What's more, they were talking about the official, the Emperor... King Chu loved slender waists, and many starved to death in the palace. If the official wanted to resist the Jin, the entire court would naturally be 'righteous men'!

In this way, the two sighed for a while, talked for a while, and put aside the gazette for a while, but in the end, they still returned to military affairs.

"Lord Commissioner, I wanted to ask before, if the people from Liangshanpo really settled down on the Yellow River, then the merits of Xiaowusao are not fake. Wouldn't we have no worries on the river in the future?" Shao Yun asked first. "Can our Shanzhou side be more peaceful?"

Li Yanxian came back to his senses and shook his head repeatedly: "How much of the river surface can be controlled by thirty-odd paddle-wheel ships and a hundred-odd small boats? It's nothing more than protecting the river section in front of Tokyo. Even if they want to support us, it's difficult to pass the Sanmenxia... And don't forget, the Pujin pontoon bridge in Hecheng Prefecture is still in the hands of the Jin people. It's useless to come to support us."

Shao Yun was slightly disappointed.

"It's not just like this." Li Yanxian stared at the tail of the team that was already visible in the distance, and sighed again quietly. "Have you ever thought about it? If the river in front of Tokyo is controlled by Zhang Rong, and the Jin army loses this channel for advance, they will instead attack from both sides. Maybe our side will be attacked by the Jin army with heavy troops... And once they attack, if it's someone else, it's fine, but Wanyan Loushi is not so easy to deal with."

Shao Yun was slightly stunned, and then turned his gaze to the team below the city. Only then did he say in a low voice, "So, Lord Commissioner, you disregarded the New Year and abandoned many towns in the north, and issued an urgent order to let everyone retreat as much as possible?"

"That's right. I always thought that the Jin people would still go south, and Wanyan Loushi would definitely come." Li Yanxian finally got up from the city wall, but stood with his hands behind his back facing the wind and looking north. "Today is the New Year, so let's slow down for a while, but only today. Tomorrow, I will personally take the old, weak, women, and children, and part of the troops directly back to Henan... Here, I will leave you with five thousand people and enough food and grass. When the Jin army attacks, you will be in Pinglu, and I will be in Shanzhou City. Let's try to stand facing each other across the river. That's the best; but if the Jin army is powerful, you don't have to be afraid. Defend if you can defend, and if you can't defend, cross the river back to Henan, or turn into the Zhongtiao Mountains, it's all a way!"

Shao Yun was silent for a moment, and solemnly saluted on the city.

In this way, due to the New Year's Day, as the only military commissioner in the Imperial Guards who had no organizational restrictions and freely controlled the fixed quota of 30,000 cash and grain, Li Yanxian naturally decided to issue rewards and grain to appease the many retreating soldiers and civilians inside and outside the city. Pinglu and the surrounding areas were rarely lively and joyful, which was considered a relatively stable New Year's Day in the turmoil.

However, at the fourth watch of the night (between 1 and 3 am), Li Yanxian, who was staying up late in the prefectural government, suddenly received an urgent report from scouts - the main force of the Jin army, tens of thousands of soldiers, divided into multiple routes, suddenly launched a large-scale southward raid last night to night.

Among them, Wanyan Saba broke through Jijin, an important town on the east side of the northern Hebei part of Shanzhou with a partial division of 5,000 troops, and Wanyan Loushi's own banner suddenly appeared in Tongguan, the westernmost part of the southern Henan part of Shanzhou.

It was not a military miracle that Wanyan Loushi captured Tongguan, after all, it was not the first time he had captured Tongguan, and Tongguan had been destroyed and damaged several times in several Song-Jin wars. It was no longer an impregnable pass that could resist ten thousand enemies, but purely a key stronghold with defensive functions.

Li Yanxian could even imagine Wanyan Loushi's specific marching route this time, which was nothing more than crossing the river at Pujin and then launching a sudden southward raid.

Only this true military commander of the Jin's Western Route Army was so deliberate, personally leading the cavalry to launch this surprise attack on the New Year's Day... He was clearly prepared and would be difficult to deal with.

But the heavens will rain and the mother will marry, what could the Song army, which had no strategic initiative, do when the Jin people came? Moreover, Li Yanxian had long guessed that this person would come.

If he had to sigh, he could only say that no matter what, the war had started again, and the Jin people launched this surprise attack one day before the arrival of the fourth year of Jianyan, which was considered to have maintained their military tradition of invading south every year.

The news spread, and in the first month of the fourth year of Jianyan, Henan and Guanzhong were shaken.

ps: Thanks to the 76th Moe, Beef Jerky~ classmate!

Is this ~ a cow's tail?