"It's come to this, that national affairs are actually being discussed with a mere soldier..."

"Even if the war situation is precarious and we must consult a frontline general, why not have Han Shizhong come to the Hall of State Affairs and openly question him in front of the chief ministers of the East and West Secretariats, the scholars, censors, and principal officials of the Six Ministries?"

"This Han Shizhong is unreliable! You all don't know, that fellow is nicknamed 'Rascal Han the Fifth.' Besides his deceased wife, his current wife and concubine are both from the brothels... He's almost forty and doesn't even have a son, so he has to bring his wife on military campaigns day and night, hoping to conceive a child..."

"What are you saying about his personal morals? Han Shizhong is unreliable, not because of his morals. What morals does a soldier need? The key thing is what happened at the beginning of the month... If His Majesty hadn't been so wise and courageous, using both kindness and power to personally intimidate Han Shizhong, we would probably have all died in Shuizi Step Town... In my opinion, this Han Shizhong is not as reliable as Liu Yu!"

"Enough said... The key now is what to do next. What's the use of saying all this?"

"Don't we know that? Isn't it because His Majesty isn't listening to us, but to a mere soldier, that things have come to this? Don't you know how much His Majesty dotes on him? He personally tied the jade belt from the Emperor around that man's waist, while His Majesty came back with only a leather belt. How can this be proper? Not to mention the talk of bestowing a title of Prince!"

"The title of Prince might be acceptable. There's precedent for it in our dynasty. If Han Shizhong can truly hold off the Jurchen's 200,000 iron cavalry in the Central Plains for His Majesty, then he would truly be a second Guo Ziyi. What harm is there in giving him a title of Prince? I'm just afraid that His Majesty is young and fond of war, and has been bewitched by that Han Shizhong, actually preparing to stay in the Central Plains to resist the Jin. If that happens, the Great Song Dynasty will truly..."

"Careful what you say!"

"We came from Dongjing. What have we experienced these past two years? What's there to hide? In my opinion, it's all fate... What is that Huai Xi rebel Ding Jin? If he had appeared two months earlier, he would have been easily suppressed. If he had appeared two months later, he might have delayed the Jin army. Why did he have to appear precisely when Chancellor Li began to consider going to Nanyang? First, he delayed Chancellor Li's journey, and now he's delaying our departure!"

"..."

Inside the government hall of Shunchang Prefecture, the Song Dynasty's senior officials, having somewhat restored their official appearances, were chattering anxiously. Their opinions seemed chaotic and their positions different, but in reality, they were all deeply concerned. It was clear that all factions, whether pro-war or pro-peace, old or new, from Yangzhou or Nanyang, had reached a consensus: they could no longer delay. They had to persuade His Majesty to move to a safe location first!

Otherwise, once the Jin army broke through Liu Guangshi's Jingdong West Road defense line again, they could launch a surprise attack on Shunchang Prefecture within three to five days. Then, His Majesty's best-case scenario would be to follow in the footsteps of Emperor Zhao Lie of Han and flee from Dangyang.

And what would become of the officials in the temporary capital at that time?

"His Majesty has returned!" The Senior Palace Attendant Lan Gui hurried in from outside to announce.

"Silence!" The Vice Director of the Chancellery, Lu Haowen, who had been meditating in silence, suddenly opened his eyes and loudly rebuked the crowd. "Where is the Palace Censor? Prepare to correct court discipline!"

There was no need to correct court discipline. Upon hearing of His Majesty's return, the officials had already fallen silent, holding their breath and waiting for His Majesty to enter the 'hall,' after which they would desperately offer their advice!

A moment later, as Yang Yizhong led the Imperial Guards to a halt in front of the hall door, Emperor Zhao, who had been gone for a long time, finally entered from outside. He went directly to the dais and sat down. The officials, led by Lu Haowen and Wang Boyan, stepped forward and bowed. When the ceremony was over and the emperor and his officials faced each other, the officials realized that His Majesty, who had shown some lively expressions in the past few days, had reverted to his previous wooden demeanor.

Was this a blessing or a curse?

And now, facing this expressionless Emperor, they inexplicably missed Chancellor Li, who was as rough as a soldier... After all, Chancellor Li was a subject, wasn't he? And a subject who could restrain the Emperor!

But regardless, now that the safety of the Great Song Dynasty hung by a thread, there could be no more reservations.

"Your Majesty!"

After an eerie silence, just as Lu Haowen, as the Deputy Chief Minister of the East Secretariat, was about to step forward to preside over the meeting, explain the situation, and present the officials' intentions at this critical moment, the Palace Censor Zhao Ding stepped forward first with a serious expression, preempting everyone. "The situation is very urgent. Your subject requests that Your Majesty inspect Huai Dian and temporarily relocate to Yangzhou!"

Seeing this, Lu Haowen immediately swallowed the words he was about to say... He was never the type to seize power, and although Zhao Ding's intention to curry favor was a bit too eager, it was ultimately in line with everyone's intentions.

Zhao Jiu sighed slightly upon hearing this: "I remember that Zhao Qing used to say that there should be no peace with the Jin, and that it was necessary to recover our lost territories..."

"To let Your Majesty know my true feelings, Your subject still holds the same view today." Zhao Ding's words became even more earnest, even somewhat frantic. "Your subject is from Hedong. As soon as the Jin arrived, my whole family was displaced. My old wife and young children went from Hedong to Dongjing, and then followed me out of Dongjing, wandering here and there until now. Your subject has never forgotten the old land of Hedong, and my determination to resist the Jin has never wavered! But Your Majesty, to resist the Jin, one must first have the strength to resist, the foundation to resist... These days, I have had the honor of serving Your Majesty and know that Your Majesty is concerned about the people of the Central Plains, fearing that they will suffer the same fate as the scholars and commoners of Hebei, and even more worried that a retreat this time will lead to the complete loss of the hearts of the people of Hebei and the Central Plains..."

"Isn't that so?" Zhao Jiu's tone was calm.

"That is so." Zhao Ding responded immediately. "But if Your Majesty and the temporary capital were to suffer any mishap, and the world were to revert to the fragmented state of the Five Dynasties and the Later Tang, then may I ask Your Majesty, who would be able to organize the southern half of Jiangnan, Sichuan, Jingxiang, and Guanzhong to face the Jin's 200,000 iron cavalry? Furthermore, is it Your Majesty's fault that the country has fallen to this state, that the two He regions have been lost, and that there are no soldiers in the Central Plains?"

Zhao Jiu was slightly moved.

"Your Majesty!"

Unexpectedly, just as Zhao Ding finished speaking, the nominal head of the military officials, Military Commissioner Wang Yuan, who had been excluded from the inner circle for months, suddenly stepped forward and burst into tears on the spot. "Your subject has received great grace from Your Majesty, from a mere soldier to this position. I am constantly mindful of Your Majesty's kindness. Today, I risk my life to offer a suggestion. Please, Your Majesty, do not have any wishful thinking at this time! You must know that our army, since the Jingkang Incident, has suffered defeat after defeat, with almost no usable troops. At this time, we are like a piece of rotten wood, while the Jin army is full of vigor, having just come out of Hebei. At this time, they are like an arrow released from a bow... If we force ourselves to meet them head-on, we will only be pierced! But if we can retreat to the southeast and establish defenses layer by layer, then even rotten wood can defend against a long arrow. When we have prepared and planned for the future, we can turn around and face them! At that time, restoring the Central Plains, and even Hebei, will not be empty talk!"

Zhao Jiu stared at the other party for a moment, then suddenly looked up and surveyed the other civil and military officials in the hall.

Seeing His Majesty's expression, how could the seasoned officials of the temporary capital not understand? This meant that His Majesty was not prepared to wait for them to step forward one by one, but wanted everyone to express their positions outright.

Therefore, starting with Lu Haowen, the Vice Director of the Chancellery of the East Secretariat, followed by Wang Boyan, the Joint Administrator of the Military Affairs Bureau, and Military Commissioner Wang Yuan, all stepped forward in order. Even Zhang Jun, the young Censor-in-Chief, after a slight hesitation, carefully lowered his head and stepped forward.

At this point, the remaining officials no longer hesitated and, led by Yuwen Xuzhong, the Senior Scholar of the Zizheng Hall, who had the most seniority, stepped forward one after another.

Then, Lu Haowen bowed his head and spoke: "Your Majesty, as Censor Zhao said, the situation has reached a critical point. Please, Your Majesty, do not hesitate any longer. Temporarily avoiding the situation is the only way to plan for the overall situation in the future... As for whether to relocate to Nanyang or Xiangyang after going to Yangzhou, that can be discussed later. The only hope is that Your Majesty will make a firm decision!"

"Please, Your Majesty, make a firm decision!" Wang Boyan immediately followed, gritting his teeth.

"Please, Your Majesty, make a firm decision!" After Wang Boyan, all the senior officials in the hall repeated the same words.

"I understand everyone's intentions." Zhao Jiu said with a straight face. "But I have one more question... Does Chancellor Li have anything to say? Although he is ill, he is still the current chancellor, and he has not yet lost his mind. Have you asked him about such a major matter?"

"We just asked him." Lu Haowen was prepared. "Chancellor Li said that if he could get up and govern, he would certainly have his own plans and ideas. But now that he is bedridden and unable to rise, and Your Majesty is heroic and has the aura to quell chaos, then if Your Majesty has already made a decision in your heart, he is willing to temporarily yield to it!"

Zhao Jiu was rarely stunned for a moment, but then slowly nodded.

In fact, he could sense Li Gang's 'yielding,' and had noticed it as early as after meeting with Li Gang in the Mingdao Palace... This Chancellor Li blocked the affairs of the court and handled all personnel, political, and military affairs, but he did not touch the Taixue system, which posed the greatest threat to him but was also the confidant of Emperor Zhao. This was equivalent to handing a knife to Emperor Zhao. From that moment on, there was already some tacit understanding between the ruler and his subject.

However, even so, Zhao Jiu was deeply grateful that the other party could 'yield' again at this crucial moment.

"Actually, I just went to ask Military Commissioner Han, asking him if he could fight..." Zhao Jiu came back to his senses and did not allow the officials below to return to their ranks. Instead, he directly responded formally. "As a result, even he said that the Central Plains is flat and difficult to fight, and advised me to prioritize preservation and temporarily move to the Jianghuai region."

The hall first stirred slightly, then calmed down, and then fell silent again with a light cough from Lu Haowen. Everyone waited quietly for the Emperor's subsequent words.

"I have also thought it through. Today's disaster was caused by my own indecision, and as the saying goes, 'learn from your mistakes'... I can no longer be so indecisive!"

Zhao Jiu sat upright, expressionless, and spoke calmly. His tone was so firm that even Yang Yizhong, who was standing in front of the hall door, could not help but secretly glance at him. It was clear that he had truly made up his mind. "I have made my decision. Dispatch Chancellor Li, Concubine Pan, and the imperial heir, as well as the elderly and young in the temporary capital, and set off tomorrow to Yangzhou for resettlement, to join the Empress Dowager (Empress Dowager Meng)! As for the military situation, I have already sent Han Shizhong to the Sishui and Chu areas of Huaidong to make arrangements, so that he and Zhang Jun can jointly deploy defenses along the Huai River to serve as a cornerstone with Liu Guangshi to the north in order to defend against possible enemies from the north! Then I and all of you... may as well first gather the local militia, treasuries, and armaments of Shunchang, and then inspect Shouzhou and approach the Huai Dian region in order to make preparations for resisting the enemy!"

It is said that Shouzhou is the first important town on the Huai River. General Zhang Jun, another veteran whose reputation is even greater than Han Shizhong's, should have already gone there to deploy defenses. Although the Emperor's words were still veiled, saying that he was going to Huai Dian to resist the Jin, hadn't the Emperor also said he was going to Huai Dian to resist the Jin a few months ago when he was not in dire straits? These words were only to allay the concerns of the people between the Yellow and Huai Rivers, as a disguise.

Furthermore, the imperial heir, the prime minister, and the imperial heir's mother, as well as the family members in the temporary capital, are all going to Yangzhou. How could the Emperor not go? At most, he will observe the situation on the Huai River. If the Jin army does not pursue, he will turn back. If the Jin army attacks, he can calmly retreat to Yangzhou, or even the southeast, relying on the great rivers as protection.

In short, with Emperor Taizu and Emperor Taizong above, after half a year of setbacks, the Emperor has finally come to his senses and is finally going to Yangzhou! And this time, even that villain Li Gang has nothing to say!

With this in mind, many of the old officials in the temporary capital were so excited that they shed tears. Even some of the pro-war factions felt relieved at this time, as if the Emperor had drained all the energy from their bodies.

ps: Happy Christmas everyone, Happy Pikachu Birthday! Happy Brother Birthday! Happy birthday to the King of Changing Homes who suddenly came on with double cuteness too (no matter when the latter two celebrate their birthdays)!

I'm really curious, why are you all so happy at the end of the year? It seems like there's a constant stream of holidays, birthdays, and celebrations, while my life is so plain and boring?