The news of the Jin army's main force suddenly appearing, across a distance of six or seven hundred *li*, nearly shattered the courage of the entire mobile government's civil and military officials.

Some wept and begged to see Zhao Jiu, requesting the dismissal of Li Gang from his position as Prime Minister, arguing that the Jin had clearly been attracted by this advocate of war, Li Gang; otherwise, why had there been no trouble for the past two months?

Others, reckless, requested an immediate personal expedition by the Emperor... but not to fight the Jin, but for Zhao Jiu to personally visit Guang Prefecture, upstream of the Huai River, in his capacity as the Son of Heaven, to induce Ding Jin, who was gathering troops there, to surrender. This way, they could travel quickly and not even need to wait for Han Shizhong!

Still others advised Zhao Jiu to turn back, but only as far as Mingdao Palace, because Han Shizhong was there. At that point, the mobile government could combine forces with Han Shizhong, totaling thirteen or fourteen thousand, and completely abandon Ding Jin. They could then detour around Huaidong, go to the sea, and head directly south to Yangzhou, or even Hangzhou!

In short, the phrase "exposed for what they are" was extremely apt at this moment.

To this, Zhao Jiu, who was inexplicably calm and without much fluctuation, was half-worried and half-pleased.

He was worried because, although he had been prepared for this, these civil and military officials usually seemed so respectable, each capable in both civil and military matters, that he had almost believed their charade. Now that the Jin had really arrived, they had finally reverted to their true forms. He was pleased because it was only *almost* all of them; there were still a few who hadn't lost their nerve, and some who had maintained their stance.

Li Gang, needless to say, was almost the only one besides Zhao Jiu in the mobile government who remained calm. At a critical moment, the Left Minister of the Department of State Affairs temporarily dismissed several people, forcibly drove back the courtiers who had come to Zhao Jiu to cry, and, using the great distance of the Jin army as a reason, demanded that the Political Affairs Hall meeting be held the next day... In the end, he actually slept in the main hall of the Buddhist temple, attended by his son, and opened the doors wide in the dead of winter for people to watch, barely managing to stabilize morale.

Then, Zhang Jun and the young people Zhang Jun had recently recommended also didn't disappoint Zhao Jiu. At a critical moment, they didn't create any trouble, but instead stood firm and chose to support Li Gang.

What surprised Zhao Jiu the most was Yuwen Xuzhong. This grand academician, who had been responsible for negotiating with the Jin during the Jingkang Incident, this time showed great restraint and demeanor. His position alone was unclear; otherwise, Zhao Jiu would have wanted to immediately put him in the East and West Secretariats as Prime Minister. Yuwen Xuzhong claimed that he was responsible for the negotiations that led to the capture of the two Emperors and the near demise of the country, and he often blamed himself. Therefore, he asked to go north, first to try to delay them, second to see if he could persuade the Jin to withdraw their troops, and third to see if there was any hope of bringing back the two Emperors.

Zhao Jiu, of course, didn't allow it, and then Yuwen Xuzhong was driven out of the back hall along with the others by Li Gang.

However, just as you stand on a bridge and look at the scenery, not realizing that you yourself are also scenery, the most surprising thing to everyone in the entire mobile government since the commotion last night wasn't anything else, but precisely Zhao Jiu's calmness!

Coupled with his amazing judgment about Jin Wushu leading the Jin army's main force south, when he communicated with Zong Ze earlier, it was even more astonishing.

"What's so surprising about this?"

The next morning, another imperial court-Buddhist temple-Political Affairs Hall meeting was held. Zhao Jiu was still relaxed and composed, still as numb as a Psyduck, and his words were still expressionless. "The Jin originated from a nomadic tribal alliance. At that time, they didn't know what luxury or frugality was, didn't know what power struggles were, and didn't know what rulers and subjects were. They rose up in thirteen years, quickly becoming infected with these things, but they are also extremely simple... It's not that you gentlemen don't understand, but that you're overthinking it."

"Why is it Jin Wushu (Wanyan Zongbi)? Simply because he is the fourth son of Aguda, that's all."

"Consider that Emperor Taizu Aguda of Jin was a generation of outstanding talents. After he succeeded and died, the throne passed to his brother Wuqimai. However, the prestige of his founding the country was truly unshakeable in the Jin state. Therefore, even though the Second Prince, Wanyan Zongwang, is dead, the Jin Emperor Wuqimai and Marshal Nianhan (Wanyan Zonghan) can't shake Aguda's sons' power at all."

"Another point is that the Jin people's military tactics are derived from hunting, and the division of troops into left and right wings has become a fixed pattern and tradition, which cannot be easily changed. And Aguda's sons were young for many years. Now that the second son, Wanyan Zongwang, is dead, there are only three of them left... The Jin use the Bojilie system to control power. The eldest son, Wanyan Zonggan, must continue to be his Bojilie in the central government. And the third son, Eliduo (Wanyan Zongyao), originally had many foundations under Marshal Nianhan in the Western Route Army. This time, whether he independently controls the Central Army in Yanjing or whatever, he absolutely won't abandon his headquarters. Therefore, although Jin Wushu is young, he is the only candidate who has been pushed out by his brothers to inherit the direct line of Aguda's power in the Eastern Route Army!"

After a long speech, the Buddhist temple, which had already been stripped of its Buddha statues (taken to scrape gold powder), was silent. After a moment, someone couldn't help but praise:

"Your Majesty is truly insightful and illuminates everything!"

Zhao Jiu remained expressionless, but couldn't help but secretly complain - if you knew the answer, you could also deduce such a process, probably even more logically than me!

"But why was Your Majesty so sure that the Jin army would immediately invade the south again?" Vice Censor-in-Chief Zhang Jun couldn't help but ask. "If calculated from June, it's only been four months, and the Jin have actually returned after leaving."

"You gentlemen come from Tokyo and have much more experience than I do, so why do you still have some illusions about the Jin?" Hearing this, Zhao Jiu finally moved, but only to sneer, the sarcasm overflowing. "The Jin can't be called good or evil, they are just barbaric and cunning, like wild beasts. What wild beast eats a meal of meat and doesn't come back?!"

Speaking to this point, Zhao Jiu looked at Yuwen Xuzhong again, and his tone became much heavier: "And if you don't hurt the wild beasts, there's even less of a way to reason with them!"

As soon as these words came out, not to mention Yuwen Xuzhong, many ministers in the hall swallowed the words in their stomachs, because they finally determined that His Majesty was currently unlikely to abandon his advocacy of war... Of course, if the Jin soldiers were to approach the city, that would be hard to say, after all, there was a precedent... Let's wait and see.

Zhao Jiu rarely lost his temper once, and seeing Li Gang, the Prime Minister, staring at him with a slightly surprised look, he quickly became solemn, and then continued to sit upright under the lotus throne where the Buddha statue had been removed, pretending to be a wooden sculpture.

Li Gang was silent for a moment, then turned around, but his voice was no longer as loud as it used to be... It turned out that he had deliberately slept here last night to stabilize morale, but he had opened the hall door and lit a brazier. As a result, a cold wind blew all night, directly catching a cold, and even his voice became hoarse.

"I have already made a decision on this matter!"

Li Gang's eyes were bloodshot, and his voice was low, but as soon as he spoke, everyone in the hall immediately became serious, vaguely more serious than before when dealing with Zhao Jiu's speech. "Yesterday's continuous rapid horse military reports confirmed that the military situation is undoubtedly that the main force of the Jin army is marching south, at least fifty or sixty thousand... However, judging from the Jin army's usual deployment of the East and West Route Armies, there must be a follow-up, and the final hundred thousand main force should be certain. And this time, they should be aiming at the two Jingdong circuits (now Shandong Province), not threatening the mobile government... We don't need to worry too much."

"I have a different opinion on this matter."

Just then, someone ignorant interrupted Prime Minister Li's calm arrangements, causing everyone to glare angrily. After discovering that it was His Majesty who had interrupted, they simply adjusted their expressions and looked expectant.

"What is Your Majesty's different opinion?" Li Gang frowned even more. Although His Majesty had been obedient in recent days, there was, after all, a precedent, and in the past month or two, seeing that he was very good at winning people's hearts and had gathered a group of close civil and military attendants around him, he had to be guarded against.

"The Jin cannot only take the two Jingdong circuits."

Since the matter was of great importance, Zhao Jiu didn't bother to care about what the three-dynasty veteran thought, or whether the old minister was sick, and directly expressed his worries. "Earlier, Prefect Zong said that the Sisui Pass was tight, which may not be false, indicating that Nianhan may also send troops south!"

Li Gang was silent again for a moment, then coughed to stop himself, and after a while, he reluctantly responded: "What Your Majesty said makes sense, and if Nianhan sends the West Route Army south, he will definitely take Luoyang, Shanzhou, and even Guanzhong..."

Everyone instantly became frightened... If that was the case, not to mention that 200,000 Jin troops would invade the south again, the key was that if the mobile government followed the original plan to go to Nanyang and then to Luoyang or Chang'an, wouldn't it be like a sheep entering a tiger's mouth?

Then the Jingkang Incident would be repeated?!

"Then why don't we stay in Nanyang for the time being and observe the situation?" Someone suggested.

"That's the only way... If things really go wrong, why don't we go south from Nanyang and enter Xiangyang?" Someone was even more conservative.

"Can't we fight a battle?" Zhao Jiu clearly had a lot to say today.

As soon as these words came out, the Buddhist temple was immediately silent.

Without anyone else needing to speak, Li Gang, the number one advocate of war, sighed softly, and then, with his rare hoarse voice, gently persuaded His Majesty Zhao:

"Your Majesty, everyone in the world knows that I have always advocated war with all my strength. Therefore, if there was really a force in the Central Plains that could fight with even a little strength, how could I possibly let Your Majesty go to Nanyang? Even now, not to mention Guanzhong, in the two Jingdong circuits, there are only over ten thousand men under Liu Guangshi, and the rest are all bandits, local prefectural soldiers, and newly recruited Ding Zhuang archers. Based on my speculation about the Jin army's combat strength, I'm afraid that before the end of the year, everything north of Mount Tai will be completely lost."

"If that's the case, then there's no need to think about where to go." Zhao Jiu also sighed. "Since the Jin can quickly break through the two Jingdong circuits, they can immediately know the strengths and weaknesses and location of the mobile government. What reason would they have not to chase after us?"

Li Gang was about to comfort Zhao Jiu, but he didn't expect His Majesty Zhao to continue speaking:

"Prime Minister Li, I said before that the Jin are like wild beasts. You said that when wild beasts see prey turning their backs and running away, how can they bear it? The current situation has nothing to do with your decision. It was already doomed from the day the mobile government marched south from Nanjing (Shangqiu). Since the Jin have broken through the Jingdong defense line, know the strengths and weaknesses of the Central Plains, and see the mobile government fleeing south, and Jin Wushu is young and vigorous and has just taken command of a large army, he will inevitably be contemptuous and want to establish immortal merit to compete with Nianhan. Nine times out of ten, I'm afraid he will abandon everything and directly chase after me."

"Then what does Your Majesty think we should do?" Li Gang frowned even more. He seemed to be lacking energy and needed to pinch himself to stay awake, because the hard wings on both sides of his futou were clearly trembling slightly.

"I have been thinking about it for a long time these days, and there is only one response... If we can fight, we will fight, not seeking a great victory, but seeking a small victory to boost morale and reassure the world. If we can't fight, we will defend, trying our best to deploy troops and defend against the enemy in the Jianghuai river network, slightly protecting the rear. As for if we can't defend..." Zhao Jiu, wearing a round-necked red robe, didn't continue speaking at this point.

However, everyone in the hall had read a lot and understood what he meant, knowing that these were Sima Yi's words on military affairs: if we can win, we will fight; if we can't fight, we will defend; if we can't defend, we will flee. But if we can't escape, we can only die or surrender.

Hearing these words, Li Gang thought for a moment, but shook his head: "I understand what Your Majesty means, but I have also said that the Central Plains is really not suitable for battle! However, Zong Ze is in Tokyo and Liu Guangshi is in Mount Tai, so perhaps we can defend for a while."

"Whether we can fight or not is not up to Prime Minister Li to decide." Zhao Jiu seemed to have a tendency to disagree with Li Gang today, which made many people in the hall feel active. "Prime Minister Li himself once submitted a memorial stating that he did not know military affairs..."

Perhaps because a great enemy was at hand, or perhaps because Zhao Jiu's position was good after all, or perhaps because he was sick, Li Gang didn't get angry or flare up, but bitterly retorted: "If I don't know military affairs and what I say doesn't count, then who can decide? Your Majesty, you also don't know military affairs and have never been on the battlefield..."

"I know that I don't understand military affairs, so I believe that whether we can fight or not should be asked of Han Shizhong!" Zhao Jiu finally revealed his true request today. "Han Shizhong is a famous general in the world, and the country has been lost to this point. Could it be that there is no war, and we don't ask the generals, but rely on the central government's civil officials from thousands of miles away? In my opinion, if four *fanzhen* had been established in Hebei earlier, how could the Jin have grazed their horses in the Yellow River and caused the Jingkang Incident?!"

This topic was particularly sensitive, but Li Gang still immediately responded: "Your Majesty can use military officials when the country is in chaos, but you cannot give them power! Today's words are even more absurd! As for the lesson of the central government's civil officials being the mainstay from thousands of miles away, I also know that, so I made Zong Ze and Zhang Suo commanders to lead the generals to fight."

Zhao Jiu didn't argue with him, but simply bowed slightly in response: "But from now on, should we always consult with the generals at the front on military matters?"

The civil officials in the hall discussed it, but the several military officers who accompanied the mobile government showed no expression, as if this debate had nothing to do with them. Li Gang also made a slight concession: "If it's just consulting, Your Majesty can summon them privately, or temporarily summon them to ask in front of the Prime Minister. But regarding the earlier theory of *fanzhen* and the theory of civil and military officials, I hope that Your Majesty will respect your position and not say too much. The way of using civil officials to control military officials is the foundation of national stability... And once it is lifted, with the lack of virtue of military officials, I'm afraid they may become accomplices, and we may not be able to stop the Jin, but instead ruin the overall situation."

Zhao Jiu got Li Gang's permission, so he naturally wouldn't say these emotional words again, and simply nodded.

Having said that, Zhao Jiu and Prime Minister Li each withdrew their supernatural powers, and the rest of the matter naturally went smoothly. Soon, the hall decided on a strategy, or rather, passed Prime Minister Li's strategy:

First, since Zhang Suo didn't have time to go to the two Jingdong circuits, he could only send a fast horse to inform Zong Ze and Liu Guangshi to carefully deploy defenses in the two places. A distant water can't quench a nearby thirst, so he could only treat it as a dead horse and let them handle it themselves;

Second, although the Jin soldiers were six or seven hundred *li* away and their offensive was aimed at Qingzhou, Zizhou, Qizhou, and other places, now that the mobile government had Jin troops behind them and bandits in front of them, they should immediately move into the prefectural city to reassure the people... Because Chen Prefecture in the north had experienced a small rebellion once, and it was difficult to persuade the civil and military officials to go north at this time, and the rebel army was heavily garrisoned in the southwest, they immediately decided to move to Shunchang Prefecture in the south-east (later Fuyang, originally named Yingzhou) to settle down;

Third, regardless of whether the Jin would chase after them, the Huai West bandit Ding Jin had to be dealt with immediately and quickly... To this end, the mobile government set a decisive and bold strategy: on the one hand, sending local officials to pacify them, and on the other hand, using the originally appointed Liu Zhengyan as a general, leading three thousand elite soldiers, plus the original troops of Miao Fu and Liu Yan, totaling more than four thousand soldiers, directly crossing the Ying River, approaching forward behind the envoy, and immediately changing to a military strategy if the surrender failed.

Doing so was of course very bold, but not referring to Ding Jin's side, but saying that if this was the case, the mobile government would have a window period in the short term, with only Yang Yizhong leading hundreds of imperial guards for protection.

However, no one opposed it, because don't forget, today was already the second day of November. The vanguard of Han Shizhong's troops had definitely entered the scope of the two Jingdong circuits. Even if the mobile government took the initiative to move to Shunchang Prefecture (originally named Yingzhou, later Fuyang), he would definitely be able to reach the mobile government to protect His Majesty and the civil and military officials as early as today or as late as the next day.

In other words, even if Liu Zhengyan led his troops away, the mobile government was under the circular protection of two of the most reliable imperial troops, only slightly further away.

After all, Prime Minister Li may say that military officials are immoral, but he still trusted Han Shizhong very much... That was nonsense, if Han Shizhong couldn't be trusted, who else could be trusted in the current situation?

Of course, this strategy also had a little careful thought that Zhao Jiu didn't understand and the others didn't say, that since they were going to enter the prefectural city, it wasn't good to bring too many troops in, otherwise it would cause trouble. It was best for the civil and military officials of the mobile government to enter the city first, and then Han Shizhong would lead his troops to surround the city.

Since the matter was decided, with Prime Minister Li's swift action, it was immediately implemented.

All kinds of complicated things were not mentioned, anyway, it was none of Zhao Jiu's business. That afternoon, Zhao Jiu began another migration, and he, who was used to riding a horse, didn't care at all.

However, that evening, the mobile government, with only hundreds of guards and hundreds of civil and military officials and their families, went south along the Ying River, trudged all the way, and temporarily settled down in Shuizi Bu Town (northern part of Taihe County in later generations). Just as they were preparing to have dinner, someone suddenly came from the northeast... It was none other than Zhao Ding, one of the two Palace Attendants who had been responsible for welcoming and contacting Han Shizhong after the strategy was decided this morning!

Zhao Ding, covered in mud and in a disheveled state, jumped off his horse and brought a thunderbolt-like message to the numb Zhao Jiu:

"Your Majesty, that Han Shizhong has rebelled!"

His Majesty Zhao, who had just picked up a bowl of rice, was dumbfounded and speechless for a long time... Han Shizhong has rebelled?

ps: A 5,000-word chapter to celebrate the appearance of the new group - Shaosong Book Friends Group 875387356... Welcome to chat.