The Shouzhou Campaign was about to be won!

After the Liangshanbo victory, this was an undeniable fact... because it was almost common sense. The supporting troops in the rear were surrounded and annihilated, which was equivalent to cutting off the rear, right? And if the rear was cut off, wouldn't that mean the front line couldn't hold out any longer? Once the front line retreated, wouldn't that be a victory, given the current state of the battle where thousands of Jin soldiers had been annihilated and the Jin army couldn't cross the Huai River by half a step?

Which of the officials at the Bagong Mountain temporary palace wasn't well-read in history? Who didn't understand this principle?

Otherwise, the temporary palace wouldn't have been so eager to start warming up for the post-war political struggle after the Liangshanbo victory.

"Wanyan Zongbi's (金兀术) rear hasn't been cut off?" On the fifth day of the second month, outside the imperial tent north of Bagong Mountain, next to the so-called wooden shed and beneath the dragon banner, Zhao Jiu, the Zhao Emperor, turned his head in astonishment.

A group of close ministers such as academicians and attendants also expressed surprise.

"It was never cut off to begin with." Regardless of the strange gazes around him, Han Shizhong, supporting his jade belt, stood tall and answered loudly. "Your Majesty, don't forget that Wanyan Zongbi entered with troops from Yishui. The Yishui passage is east of Mount Tai, while Jizhou is west of Mount Tai... Wanyan Zongbi placed these five thousand soldiers in Jizhou simply because the western route was easier to travel than the eastern route, and to guard against any reversals in the eastern Yishui mountainous area. That's why he fixed the support route on the Jizhou road. But now, there hasn't been any news of reversals from the Yishui side."

Zhao Jiu suddenly felt a little flustered.

"Besides, Liu Tai... Liu Guangshi lost so quickly before, abandoning all the grain and supplies from several captured prefectures. The Jin army won't be short of food for a while!" Han Shizhong continued. "Even if we take a step back, even if the Jin army is about to run out of food, with Wanyan Zongbi's twenty thousand plus Jin troops, what city behind them can't they take down? Surely not every city in Huaibei is garrisoned with tens of thousands of soldiers and equipped with a pile of stone catapults like Xi Cai?"

"Then..." Zhao Jiu finally couldn't help but ask. "What does the Liangshanbo battle amount to?"

"Your Majesty doesn't need to worry." Upon hearing this, Han Shizhong quickly stated his assessment. "The Liangshanbo battle was still useful. How could swallowing five thousand Jin soldiers be useless? It's just not as effective as Your Majesty thinks... After this battle, firstly, Wanyan Zongbi suffered losses; secondly, he's in a dilemma. He can't cross the river in front, can't take down Xi Cai before him, and behind him there's an army that can swallow his five thousand troops, eyeing him like a tiger. Anyone would have to retreat!"

Zhao Jiu suddenly understood. "So, what Liangchen means is that the general threat has arrived, Wanyan Zongbi is indeed at his limit, but he has sufficient troops and strong strength, and a clear rear route, so he still has room for a counterattack. Therefore, even if he really retreats, it should be quite leisurely."

"Your Majesty is truly wise!" Han Shizhong offered a stiff compliment.

"I understand." Zhao Jiu nodded repeatedly. "If it weren't for Liangchen's reminder, I would almost have made a mistake... In that case, let's continue to hold steady and wait for the enemy to retreat on their own, and let's not be careless."

"That's exactly what I mean." Han Shizhong quickly nodded.

"Then..." Zhao Jiu looked again at Tian Shizhong, who was standing behind Han Shizhong. This son-in-law and central army general of Zhang Jun had been bowing respectfully, his entire person covered by Han Shizhong's figure. "What does General Tian say? And what do Zhang Boying and Zhao Yuanzhen mean?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty!" Tian Shizhong quickly came out from behind Han Shizhong and bowed respectfully. "Let Your Majesty know that Grand Commandant Zhang and Grand Overseer Zhao were overjoyed when they heard the news and asked me to congratulate Your Majesty on this great victory! However, Grand Commandant Zhang and Grand Overseer Zhao agree with Han Tai... with General Han that Wanyan Zongbi's power is great and should not be underestimated."

Zhao Jiu nodded slightly, while Han Shizhong paused slightly, but straightened his back even more while holding his belt.

"However, I have another good news for Your Majesty on this trip!" Tian Shizhong continued to bow. "The inner crossing and water gate within Xi Cai City have been under repair by us, and by today, they have actually been repaired to a good extent, but we forgot to report it due to the great victory in the cannon battle earlier. Therefore, even if Wanyan Zongbi stubbornly refuses to leave, Xi Cai City will be connected with the Huai River and Bagong Mountain, and the Jin people will have no chance of breaking through the city! The Huai River will naturally be as solid as a rock!"

Zhao Jiu nodded with satisfaction, naturally taking out more good words to encourage the other party, which seemed to be exchanged for money in the future.

After that, since the military situation was still very urgent, Zhao Emperor didn't keep Han Shizhong and Tian Shizhong. One returned to the mountain and water stronghold, and the other went directly back to Xi Cai, which goes without saying... And after a short while, Zhao Jiu conveyed these words as an imperial edict specifically, but it was to knock on the heads of the important officials in the temporary palace, telling them to continue to work diligently and have fewer crooked thoughts!

Or rather, to have those crooked thoughts later!

After all, although Zhao Emperor was young and impetuous, talked about war on paper, he also knew very well that politics followed war, and some things were simply unavoidable:

For example, the destination of the temporary palace after the war would inevitably trigger the resurgence of the debate over the auxiliary capital that day, and this matter was of great importance, affecting the whole body with one move, and must be carefully considered no matter what;

Then there was the unstoppable rise of military officials. Since it had been decided to comprehensively resist the war, then military affairs would be the greatest in the future court structure, and the status of military officials would be difficult to suppress again. In fact, everyone was prepared for this, but Zhao Jiu still hadn't made up his mind about the specific arrangements;

Finally, there was Chancellor Li, Li Gang (李纲), Li Boji (李伯纪), who had deliberately avoided this battle before. Li Gang would inevitably return to the court after the war. At that time, Li, as a public figure and Chancellor, with the name of a guardian and the support of the southeast, and Zhao Emperor, with his irreplaceable legitimacy, absolute advantage in military power, and the prestige after the successful battlefield gamble, once the two met, even slight friction and changes might cause an earthquake in the court...

Thinking of this, Zhao Emperor really couldn't blame those people in the temporary palace for jumping up and down recently... Putting himself in their shoes, with a vast and turbulent road ahead, who wouldn't want to prepare an umbrella in advance?

However, just as Zhao Jiu suppressed all kinds of complex thoughts, based on the advice of Han Shizhong and Zhang Jun, re-stabilized his mentality, and prepared to continue the long-term war of resistance, only one day later, early in the morning of the sixth day of the second month, he was dumbfounded by a new piece of news!

"Your Majesty!"

Yang Yizhong, still in armor, rushed into the imperial tent, knelt on one knee, and reported hastily. "Your Majesty, come and see quickly, the Jin people have actually withdrawn their troops!"

Zhao Jiu, who had told others to deal with it carefully but was sleeping in bed, lost his voice in confusion. It took him a long time to rush out of the imperial tent, and he didn't even have time to put on that iconic round-collared red robe. It was Grand Commander Lan Gui who chased after him and forcibly put it on him under the dragon banner.

However, these details didn't matter, because the visible fact was that Zhao Jiu stood under the Jin Wu banner on the northern slope of Bagong Mountain, looking remotely at the opposite Jin camp, and indeed saw that the entire Jin army camp was busy – it looked like they were indeed retreating!

By noon, the Jin army's retreat was beyond doubt. According to the visual observation results of Yang Yizhong and many soldiers, first a lightly armed elite cavalry unit of four or five hundred people routinely cleared the way to the north, followed by a Jin army cavalry main force of at least seven thousand people, slowly moving north with a few baggage vehicles, and then departed from the camp on the banks of the Huai River.

However, as soon as the army of seven thousand people left, the Jin army camp immediately returned to normal order, but no more troops were seen packing up their luggage and preparing to leave.

"It should be divided into three parts..." Yang Yizhong immediately explained to the civil officials in the temporary palace. "The vanguard, the central army, and the rearguard... The vanguard should depart first and occupy a city to the north, or establish a camp, and then the central army will depart, escorting the supplies away from the camp. Once the central army arrives, the rearguard will then break camp and depart." Speaking to this point, Yang Yizhong paused slightly. "This is also because the Jin army is refined in field battles, boasting that the cavalry is invincible on flat ground, and support is extremely rapid, that they can implement this strategy, otherwise it will inevitably violate the great taboo of military strategy by dividing their forces without authorization. But conversely, precisely because the cavalry is invincible on flat ground and support is effective, the Jin army can naturally preserve their previous gains by retreating in this way."

Zhao Jiu and below, Lü Haowen, Wang Boyan, and a large group of people understood and didn't understand.

"Then, are they withdrawing from the eastern Yishui direction or from the western Jizhou direction?" Zhao Jiu suddenly remembered what Han Shizhong said yesterday, and couldn't help but ask again. "Why are they going due north?"

"Hard to say!" This time it wasn't Yang Yizhong, but Wang Yuan, the Royal Camp Commander who had recently begun to be active again, answering eagerly. "Reporting to Your Majesty, whether they go east or west depends on whether the Jin army crosses the Wo River to the east. This place is due north, which is Mengcheng. Mengcheng is located on the Wo River, and it will be clear only when the Jin army reaches there..."

Everyone nodded in understanding.

Zhao Jiu asked again before it was too late: "Is it possible to send out scouting cavalry to monitor?"

"Of course!" Wang Yuan immediately responded. "But we must wait for the rearguard to break camp."

Zhao Jiu finally didn't ask any more questions.

However, someone couldn't help but interject even though Zhao Jiu didn't ask: "Your Majesty, I, the Imperial Secretariat Drafter Hu Yin, venture to ask, Han Shizhong and Zhang Jun just said yesterday that the Liangshanbo victory was not enough to quickly shake Wanyan Zongbi, so may I ask, why did Wanyan Zongbi leave in such a hurry today?"

"I, Hanlin Academician Lin Jingmo, have the same question." Little Academician Lin also quickly spoke out, and said it even more directly and more impolitely. "Is it that Han and Zhang heard that Yue (Yue Fei) and Zhang (Zhang Rong) and other generals had this great victory, and were rewarded with pacification commissioner, and were jealous in their hearts, deliberately downplaying the Liangshanbo victory?"

Zhao Jiu's heart stirred slightly.

To be honest, Zhao Emperor also understood in his heart that it was normal for Han Shizhong and Zhang Jun, old ruffians of the Western Army, to do this kind of thing, and Little Academician Lin and Drafter Hu's questioning was reasonable. Of course, he was even more clear that Little Academician Lin and Hu Yin actually didn't have any malice. They were just learning from Zhao Ding and Zhang Jun, speaking for the military officials they had each recommended, and wanted to remind him, Zhao Emperor, that Wanyan Zongbi's retreat was directly related to the Liangshanbo victory, and the credit should still be attributed to Yue Fei and Zhang Rong!

However, understanding was understanding. Hu Yin was okay, but this Little Academician Lin spoke so directly, and the Emperor didn't know how to respond for a moment... Should he admit that Han and Zhang were shameless, or deny the merits of Yue Fei and Zhang Rong?

"Let Academician Lin and Drafter Hu know." At this time, Censor-in-chief Zhang Jun suddenly spoke out in a timely manner. "The reason why there was a misjudgment in this matter is not because Han and Zhang are jealous of the worthy and able, but because their strength is insufficient... You must know that although Chief Han who spoke yesterday is familiar with military affairs, he does not understand the hearts of the people in politics."

Zhao Jiu raised his eyebrows slightly, and Hu Yin and Lin Jingmo also listened quietly.

"Especially Academician Lin, you entered the temporary palace a little later and don't know. This time, Wanyan Zongbi's dispatch of troops was induced by Your Majesty personally coming to Huaidian to sit in command, which can be regarded as dispatching troops without authorization! From a military strategy point of view, Chief Han did not misjudge, but he forgot that although Wanyan Zongbi is a dignified fourth prince of the Jin Kingdom, he is also subject to the current direct descendant of the Jin Kingdom's lord, Wanyan Talan. This time, after such a major event occurred behind him, although it may not be enough to retreat urgently from a military strategy point of view, shouldn't we consider Talan's urging from behind? Moreover, after losing seven thousand soldiers before and after, and staying in Huaidian for almost two months without any progress, shouldn't we worry about being blamed by the Jin Kingdom's lord and Wanyan Zonghan, and even his two elder brothers, after returning home? Are you afraid of losing the military power that you finally fought for?"

Zhang Jun spoke eloquently, Hu Yin remained silent, Little Academician Lin wanted to refute several times but had nothing to say. As for the other important officials of the temporary palace, they all nodded, recognizing Zhang Jun's deduction of the Jin people's retreat, which was very consistent with their understanding.

As for Zhao Jiu, although he was relieved, he surprisingly didn't say much.

In this way, everyone dispersed. Xi Cai City, Bagong Mountain, and the Huai River Navy were all cheering and jumping for joy when they saw the Jin army retreating, which goes without saying. It only said that on the evening of that day, Zhao Jiu had dinner, first looked at the lights of the Jin camp on the opposite bank under the dragon banner for a long time, and pondered for a long time, then returned to the tent to rest, but after lying down for a full quarter of an hour, he finally couldn't suppress the doubts in his heart, so he got up temporarily and summoned Yang Yizhong on the couch.

"Zhengfu!" Under the lights, Zhao Jiu, draped in his outer robe, sat upright on the couch, facing each other solemnly. "Regarding the matter of Wanyan Zongbi's retreat, who do you think was right among the people today?"

"I am just a mere attendant and should not discuss this matter..."

"This is a matter of military strategy, don't delay!"

"I think Censor Zhang's words are very reasonable!" Yang Yizhong's expression became slightly solemn. "I actually thought Chief Han's words yesterday were very reasonable, and I was also temporarily confused when Wanyan Zongbi really started to retreat today. It was Censor Zhang who made me suddenly enlightened... I really didn't think about things outside of military strategy before."

Zhao Jiu slowly nodded: "So, if Han Shizhong's remarks yesterday were from a military point of view, there was actually nothing wrong? There was no ulterior motive or jealousy of Yue Fei and Zhang Rong's military achievements?"

Yang Yizhong quickly shook his head: "I'm just saying that my views happen to be similar to Chief Han's, I dare not say there was no mistake."

Zhao Jiu hesitated, but still said solemnly: "Call Zhang Jun, Hu Yin, and Lin Jingmo. You four come with me to the mountain and water stronghold. I want to ask Han Shizhong clearly face to face!"

Yang Yizhong was obviously stunned: "Your Majesty, no matter what, the Jin army has retreated, why bother with this matter?"

Zhao Jiu got up directly, putting on his clothes and answering: "The most fearful thing in the world is taking things too seriously. Is retreating when you can retreat or not, and retreating because you have to retreat the same thing?"

Helpless, Yang Yizhong could only go out to call people, and the eunuch of attendant rank standing next to him also quickly stepped forward to help Zhao Jiu put on his clothes.

After a short while, Zhao Emperor came out of the door, directly met the four people in front of the small village gate on the top of the mountain, but took the four people with different thoughts directly to the mountain and water stronghold at night to see Han Shizhong.

It must be said that Chief Han bringing his wife with the army was probably also a traditional skill. Then suddenly hearing that the Emperor was coming, he was embarrassed and helpless... Who told this Zhao Emperor to always look for important ministers in the middle of the night?

It can only be said that this is at least where the temporary palace is located, and Zhao Emperor doesn't have to pretend to be an envoy to scare Han Shizhong when he comes out again.

Or rather, this time he entered the door, sat down, drank a cup of tea, and then grabbed people's hands to scare them:

"Liangchen, today Jade Hall Academician Lin Jingmo, Imperial Secretariat Drafter Hu Yin, jointly impeached you, saying that your words yesterday were just out of jealousy for Yue Fei and Zhang Rong, and were really motivated by personal interests. In fact, after the Jin people suffered this Liangshanbo battle, the trend of retreat was inevitable... Tell me the truth, tell me standing straight! Were the words yesterday based on a public-minded judgment, or were they nonsense with ulterior motives? Is the Jin army's retreat this time inevitable or not?"

Han Shizhong was grabbed by the hand by Zhao Emperor, so he could only turn his head to hatefully look at Little Academician Lin and Hu Yin, but seeing that both of them were expressionless and each were lost in thought, he was finally helpless and could only reluctantly hold his waist and sincerely say to Zhao Jiu in front of him:

"Your Majesty! Let Your Majesty know that since I had this jade belt, I have long stopped caring about any official position. What is Yue Fei, a small garrison commander, I haven't even heard of his name before, is he worth my envy, Han Wu? The words yesterday were really out of public interest! I really didn't expect the Jin army to retreat suddenly today!"

Zhao Jiu slowly nodded... He believed it!

ps: On the twenty-eighth, make steamed buns with flower patterns… Everyone honestly knead dough at home, don't go out randomly!