As Zhao Guan Jia had thought, Scholar Lin's proactive request to go to Wuguan, coupled with Hu Yin's previous actions and Zhao Guan Jia's seemingly joking remark to Fan Zhixu – "I would rather lose the country than spare this man" – greatly motivated the civil officials in the Xingzai (temporary capital), significantly boosting efficiency.
Not only that, but with Yang Yizhong subsequently dispatched by Zhao Guan Jia to pacify Niu Gao, Yan Xiaozhong heading off to find the Zhai clan, and many others, such as censors, imperial secretaries, and various department heads, surprisingly also submitting requests, each wanting to risk going to various places around Caizhou to pacify the rebel armies scattered across the mountains and fields.
However, while Niu Gao was 100% harmless, and the Zhai clan had long been in league with Yan Xiaozhong, Zhao Guan Jia felt somewhat uneasy about the others' eagerness, fearing that they would sacrifice their lives in vain while also demoralizing the people. Therefore, he hesitated for a while.
And just as he was hesitating, that evening, Han Shizhong, who had been suppressing the rebellion in the west, suddenly returned to Ruyang city alone, requesting an audience that very night. He also brought Zhao Guan Jia some new, concrete, and groundbreaking military information and suggestions.
"Wanyan Yinshuke?" Zhao Jiu, who had gotten out of bed less than fifteen minutes before, stared blankly in the rear hall of the Ruyang city government office for a long time before realizing what was going on. It turned out that Yan Xiaozhong's accent had made him think it was just some ordinary ten-thousand-household commander. "Nichuhe... Yinshuke, it's actually him? The second-ranked general under Wanyan Zonghan (Nianhan), second only to Wanyan Loushi, the one who captured the Liao Emperor Tianzuo, and now the defender of Taiyuan?"
"It is indeed him." Han Shizhong stood in the hall, cupping his hands in respect. "Your Majesty, I heard Liu Yan outside say that Your Majesty intends to annihilate his entire ten-thousand-household force, so I immediately returned... Forgive my bluntness, this battle cannot be fought!"
Hearing this, Zhao Guan Jia's heart immediately sank, because if Han Shizhong said it couldn't be fought, then it basically couldn't be fought.
However, Zhao Jiu was, after all, a qualified engineer, and he still had the good habit of getting to the bottom of things: "Is it because Yinshuke himself is good at using troops?"
"That's not really a factor." Han Shizhong revealed a look of disdain upon hearing this, finally showing a bit of his usual fearless demeanor. "If it were just about generals, I wouldn't put Wanyan Loushi in my eyes, let alone Yinshuke, but it's a fact that his troops are elite and valiant. Relatively speaking, the Xingzai now seems to have a lot of soldiers, but they haven't been truly integrated. Those who can truly fight are still the troops who besieged Wanyan Wushu's (Wolibu's) camp that day, but even they are missing Grand Commandant Zhang's three thousand veteran soldiers, as well as the thousands who have died, been injured, or deserted..."
Zhao Guan Jia sighed slightly upon hearing this, immediately understanding his recklessness from a mathematical perspective.
"Besides that, the Dengzhou (Nanyang) area is an open plain, where Jin cavalry can move like the wind, but we don't have a large cavalry force available." Han Shizhong finally seemed helpless at this point. "And according to the military intelligence previously transmitted by the Tokyo Garrison Command, Wanyan Yinshuke's younger brother, Wanyan Balisu, should also be leading a ten-thousand-household force, currently suppressing the elder and younger Zhai clans around Xijing (Luoyang). If we insist on fighting, as long as Yinshuke relies on the Nanyang Basin to maneuver a bit, he can wait for his brother's cavalry reinforcements from Xijing... At that time, the Jin army will rely on its cavalry advantage to form a north-south pincer movement in the flat lands of the Central Plains. Given the fighting strength of the Xingzai, I fear we will be defeated in one battle."
Reaching this point, Han Shizhong rarely showed a serious expression: "Your Majesty, how many cavalry do we have? My Beiwei Army is only eight hundred riders, and Liu Yan's Red Heart Team has six hundred riders, just two Meng'an (companies) of the Jin army... What are we going to fight Yinshuke with?"
Hearing this, Zhao Jiu, sitting in the rear hall in the slightly sultry late night, fell into complete silence, actually seriously reflecting on himself... It was laughable that he, Zhao Guan Jia, had been advised by Hu Yin and realized his political arrogance, and had even pretended to make a self-criticism, but in reality?
In reality, he had not truly changed from the bottom of his heart the adventurous mentality he developed after the Shouzhou victory.
The only reason was that he, Zhao Jiu, had completely integrated into or accepted this era after the Shouzhou battle, forgetting that he was now Zhao Guan Jia... And Zhao Guan Jia had always been a true autocrat, openly wielding core power, and now that it was wartime, he had also gained some so-called prestige through the sacrifice of thousands of soldiers, so no one could truly supervise him at this time.
Thinking carefully, he was the only one who had made a mistake in this rashly proposed military plan from beginning to end.
Otherwise?
The Xingzai civil officials were enthusiastic, but he didn't blame them; they were political creatures who would only follow Guan Jia's lead. And others didn't know, but did he, Zhao Jiu, not know the military capabilities of the Song civil officials?
From Li Gang to Fan Zhixu, from Yan Xiaozhong to Hu Yin, from Lü Haowen to Zhang Jun, no matter their positions or moral standards, it didn't change the fact that they were military failures, only differing in the degree of failure... Looking at it now, Grandfather Zong Ze was simply a war god among the Song civil officials!
He, Zhao Jiu, had known these things for a long time, yet he actually mocked Fan Zhixu while confusedly following Zhang Jun and the others to pass an unrealistic military resolution... The Jin army's main cavalry force was invincible on flat ground, which was the fundamental reason why Han Shizhong and he, Zhao Guan Jia, initially chose to launch the campaign in Shouzhou along the Huai River, wasn't it?! Had he forgotten it in the blink of an eye?
As for the military officials, Han Shizhong, the only one he could rely on, had been so arrogant before, but he had still specifically returned overnight to advise him, hadn't he? Even Liu Yan had obviously realized the risk in his, Zhao Guan Jia's, plan, but the man was usually taciturn and had just returned, so he didn't dare to advise him. That was why he had chosen to go to Wuguan to see Han Shizhong, so that this person who could persuade him, Zhao Jiu, would return. As for Yang Yizhong, perhaps Liu Yan's actions were instigated by him...
In any case, whether it was Liu Yan or Yang Yizhong who did this, being able to force a loyal subject to remind himself in this way showed that he, Zhao Guan Jia, really should reflect deeply.
And once Zhao Jiu reflected, he realized that he seemed to have been somewhat 'frivolous and rash' ever since he left Shouzhou, and had become increasingly arrogant... Not to mention anything else, from the perspective of a transmigrator, the careful service of the newly arrived flattering attendants like Feng Yi and the flattery of the increasingly large bureaucratic system were all too obvious... Clearly, someone had lost their revolutionary vigilance!
Of course, returning to the present, Zhao Guan Jia, who was sitting there expressionlessly in the dark, having only lit a candle, didn't look like he was reflecting at all, but rather like he was sulking, which made Han Shizhong and Feng Yi, the only attendant in the hall, uneasy... Even Feng Yi, the Inner Attendant Supervisor, started winking at Han Shizhong, seemingly wanting Han Shizhong to comfort Guan Jia.
And Han Shizhong, seeing that Guan Jia hadn't spoken for a long time, was also thinking about how to turn things around and comfort him, so as to save Guan Jia some face... But Han Liangchen thought long and hard, but couldn't think of any reason at all, because they really couldn't fight Wanyan Yinshuke right now. Fighting him would likely result in defeat, and he, Han Wu, couldn't needlessly sacrifice the little foundation and prestige that this Guan Jia had managed to accumulate after receiving so much favor from him.
"It was my mistake." After an unknown amount of time, Zhao Jiu suddenly sighed, making Han Shizhong feel relieved. "But Liangchen, you are my courage. Today you must give me the bottom line... If we can't fight Wanyan Yinshuke, then isn't Dengzhou doomed? Tens of thousands of troops have come, are we going to sit and watch Yinshuke swallow the already-unlost secondary capital? There's something you may not know. According to Prefect Yan Xiaozhong of Tangzhou, Commissioner Liu Ji of Jingxi has been working hard these days to gather many warehouses and craftsmen from the Sichuan region and Jingxi itself in Nanyang city. If we lose it and Wanyan Yinshuke burns down the city, won't we have to turn around and go back to Yangzhou?"
"So Your Majesty knows." Han Shizhong, relieved, became quite confident when faced with these questions. "I only said that we have few cavalry and few elite soldiers, and that we can't take the initiative to fight Yinshuke in the field, but I didn't say that we can't force Wanyan Yinshuke to retreat! Nor did I say that we can't defend Nanyang!"
Zhao Jiu's heart lifted: "How should we fight?"
"Your Majesty," Han Shizhong said frankly. "There's no need to fight. Right now, there are only two things to do... One is to 'beat the grass to scare the snake,' making a big commotion to tell Yinshuke that our Xingzai's army has arrived, and that it's large in number and strong in strength; the other is to quickly seize and pacify the key cities of Ruzhou, Caizhou, Tangzhou, and Yingchang Prefecture! Of course, Wuguan is also very important, so after hearing Liu Yan out, I still urged him to go to Wuguan as before..."
Zhao Jiu was thoughtful, immediately waking up: "This is feigning strength, forcing him to turn back?"
"It's not feigning strength." In the dark hall, Han Shizhong's eyes were like lightning, and his mouth curled in a grimace. "It's just a necessary measure to protect Dengzhou. Otherwise, if he really dares to sit back and watch me take all the dozen or so cities on the northeastern passages of Nanyang, then he can wait to be trapped to death in Nanyang! Only Yinshuke is an experienced user of troops, definitely not a fool like Wanyan Wushu who is just starting out on the battlefield, so I'm convinced that he will actively abandon the meat at his mouth and immediately retreat! And if that's the case..." Reaching this point, Han Shizhong added a bit of caution. "As long as Yinshuke retreats, Jingxi can also claim that he retreated due to being unable to resist."
This was lying about military achievements for political propaganda.
However, considering that it could protect Dengzhou and force this person to retreat, Zhao Jiu, having calmed down, could accept it.
So, he slowly nodded, then seriously asked: "In that case, what is the key to this battle?"
"Speed!" Han Shizhong said decisively. "A slight delay, and either Nanyang will fall, or Yinshuke will turn around and seize Tangzhou and Ruzhou, turning around to press the Xingzai. So we must seize those cities as soon as possible!"
Zhao Jiu nodded heavily again.
There was no need to say more about the night. The next morning, Zhao Guan Jia, who had just set the grand plan the day before, seemed to have undiminished enthusiasm and gathered his ministers early in the morning to discuss the war.
The Xingzai ministers, impacted by a certain special atmosphere, seemed very cooperative.
"Here's the thing, yesterday weren't there quite a few ministers who volunteered, saying they wanted to go and gather the righteous armies and bandits in various places in Caizhou?" Zhao Guan Jia got straight to the point. "And after thinking about it last night, I feel that I can't dampen everyone's spirits... So today I'm here to tell you that I've granted all your requests from yesterday!"
Among the many Xingzai officials in the hall, apart from a few Chancellors who valued their status and one red-robed official who seemed to remain calm, most of the others were overjoyed.
Not only that, but seeing that Zhao Guan Jia's face was calm and his words were smooth, but his eyes were bloodshot and his tone was slightly trembling, seemingly because he hadn't rested well last night and was a bit irritated... As a result, quite a few well-meaning people were secretly considering whether to select a few concubines for Guan Jia after the war.
However, since they were about to go to war, it was best to put some things on hold for now.
Of course, Zhao Guan Jia, who was calm on the outside but nervous and helpless on the inside, didn't know what these people were thinking. Even if he knew, he wouldn't care, because right now he really wasn't in the mood to consider concubines, nor was he in the mood to consider these people.
"Not only that, but according to what I know," Zhao Guan Jia continued to speak eloquently, looking relaxed and at ease, but secretly gritting his teeth in his heart. "Since the Xingzai traveled west from Shouzhou, there have been many officials without assignments following along. We should give them an opportunity as well. And right now, the southern parts of Tangzhou, Ruzhou, and Yingchang Prefecture have been basically emptied since that Yin... that Nichuhe trampled through them. They are mostly occupied by bandits and righteous armies, with only a few still in the hands of government troops... In that case, why not let these people go further and recruit and pacify these few states in Jingxi? That way, we can resettle these people locally, and also make them a reserve for Han Shizhong's five thousand troops to advance into Nanyang and besiege Nichuhe's few thousand soldiers?!"
As soon as these words were spoken, Zhao Jiu looked around the hall, and sure enough, he saw that people, including several Chancellors, were moved... After all, who didn't have relatives, old friends, protégés, or classmates following along recently?
As for the only red-robed official who hadn't shown any joy before, who was none other than Censor Zhang Jun, he hesitated for a moment, wanting to say something, but didn't dare to open his mouth for a while.
And seeing that no one objected, and several people actively jumped out to express their approval, this matter was passed without any hitches.
According to the discussions of Zhao Guan Jia and several Chancellors, Chancellor Lü would take overall responsibility and quickly allocate the assignments. According to their official rank, whoever recruited and stabilized which city could be the corresponding magistrate; there would also be corresponding merit for pacifying a certain number of troops. And if anyone could pacify Xiangcheng, Wuyang, Yancheng, and Fangcheng, the four major cities on the northeastern passages of Nanyang, they could temporarily be assigned to command the military and civil affairs of a prefecture!
Therefore, the morning meeting was hastily dismissed, and almost everyone in the Xingzai and even Ruyang city celebrated, not knowing that a certain Guan Jia was completely disregarding their lives, using them to seize cities.
However, at this moment, Zhao Guan Jia's number one confidant civil official, the Trial Censor Zhang Jun, who was serving his sentence, returned and took the initiative to see Guan Jia... In a situation where the number of personnel in the Xingzai was increasing day by day, this was a very bold move, and was bound to be criticized.
However, Zhao Jiu had no reason to refuse.
"I risk my life to request that Your Majesty withdraw the order and stop seeking to annihilate the enemy in Nanyang!" As soon as Zhang Jun saw Zhao Guan Jia in the rear hall, although he didn't learn from those military officials and kneel down with a thud, his immediate prostration and words were extremely similar. "Nanyang is a flat plain, where the Jin cavalry roam freely. Our army may not be able to win quickly, and if we can't win quickly, Xijing is still in enemy hands, and I fear that a large force of Jin reinforcements will come to attack. At that time, the Jin cavalry will pincer us from the north and south, and I fear our army will be unable to resist... Your Majesty, I made a big mistake yesterday. Please punish me!"
Unexpectedly, this Zhao Guan Jia, who had given himself a one-man literary classic living meeting last night, sat still in his seat in the rear hall, remained silent for a long time, and then suddenly spoke: "De Yuan, did you bribe Feng Yi, or did Han Shizhong not forget to give you a heads-up when he left last night?"
Zhang Jun looked up in surprise, at a loss for words for a moment. Feng Yi, who was next to him, was even more frightened and knelt down directly.
ps: I'm a bit stuck on the writing, mainly because I've been reading the Song History of this period in Jingxi recently, and it's been really confusing... I'm very sorry, today's chapter is only four thousand words.