Bad things always seem to come in bunches. In just a few days, Yue Fei had experienced a series of events: the defeat of allied forces, the betrayal of colleagues, the fall of his jurisdiction, and the martyrdom of his benefactor. He had barely suppressed the various激愤 (jīfèn, intense feelings of anger and resentment) in his heart and managed to stabilize the defense line on the edge of his jurisdiction. Then, before reinforcements and instructions arrived, a serious incident that could definitely be called internal strife arose within the Yue Family Army!

It was definitely internal strife because the conflict was between his own maternal uncle, Yao Wang, and his closest little brother, Zhang Xian, the deputy commander of the central army, who actually led the Tabaike (踏白军) army.

As mentioned before, Yue Fei's father died early, and his younger brother, Yue Fan, was young, just a teenager, only a few years older than Yue Yun. In this situation, his maternal uncle, Yao Wang, who had fled from Hebei with his mother, was actually his only blood relative elder... Blood is thicker than water, especially when it comes to family, and even more so in the current situation.

In fact, according to the tradition of "one prospers, all prosper" in those days, Yue Fei had long given his maternal uncle a commander's position, but he had him lead a reserve force to manage the transportation of grain and goods within Jizhou on a daily basis. Only because the military situation was serious this time did he transfer him to the front line, but he was still employed closely by his side, not as a commander of troops.

As for Zhang Xian, there's no need to say more. Along with Wang Gui, Tang Huai, and Yue Fei himself, the four brothers, although young, had advanced and retreated together, living and dying together for many years. They were truly like siblings.

In this situation, Yue Pengju was furious and, of course, wanted to inquire clearly... However, he didn't know until he asked, and after asking, Yue Fei became even more furious!

It turned out that Yue Zhenfu's maternal uncle's hooligan nature had flared up. He had condoned his subordinates to rob the wealth of refugee gentry from Danzhou and Yingtian Prefecture, and Zhang Xian had caught him in the act and was about to take action. However, Yao Wang, relying on the fact that he was Yue Fei's maternal uncle and having received bribes from those soldiers, how could he allow a junior to bully him like this?

In the end, the two sides openly fought each other outside the camp. However, they both remembered that there was still someone above them, so they immediately stopped after others came forward to mediate, and there were not too many casualties. The matter was immediately handed over to Yue Fei for personal handling.

Now, what kind of person was Yue Pengju?

This person was already one of the most disciplined in the world. Moreover, after the Liangshanpo battle, combined with his simple desire to save his hometown in Hebei, he had deeply recognized from the bottom of his heart that an army must have the heart to defend the country and save the people in order to achieve great things! If they plunder without restraint, how are they different from the Jurchens?

Otherwise, how could Zhang Xian have braced himself and opposed Yao Wang, an elder? Wasn't it because Yue Fei reminded him every day?

Therefore, the result of the handling did not exceed the expectations of Zhang Xian and other close generals, but it did exceed the expectations of Yao Wang and all the newly arrived generals... The looted wealth was forced to be returned, Yao Wang was publicly reprimanded, given fifteen strokes of the staff, and stripped of his commander's title, demoted to a preparatory general before the tent, while Zhang Xian was credited with a merit point.

This incident also greatly shocked the newly arrived Li Kui, Xu Qing, and other generals. Afterwards, under the leadership of the two, the newly arrived generals with all sorts of messy command titles jointly requested to have their titles reduced to commanders... This is a side note and doesn't need to be mentioned, and the matter seemed to be put aside.

Thus, in the following days, Yue Fei sat alone in isolation, watching Kong Yanzhou lead an army of ten thousand around Jizhou, following the Jin army's route from Jinan along the Ji River to enter the large city of Nanjing, working with the main Jin force to control the key point of Nanjing. Yue Pengju, who was completely unaware of the situation in the west, was naturally anxious, but he did not dare to act rashly, and did not even dare to touch the Yan Prefecture behind him, which must be empty at this time, only allowing people to retrieve the not-so-many family members of Xu Qing and other Hebei refugees in Yan Prefecture.

As time flowed until nearly September, Yue Fei finally received a piece of news that was neither good nor bad - in the absence of a messenger returning, an army of nearly five thousand was going against the He River, coming from the southeast to this place.

Naturally, Yue Zhenfu had people scout ahead, but the news that came back made it impossible for him to relax.

Because the general who came claimed to be a reinforcement sent by Zhang Jun's department, but he was not an officer with a name listed in the Imperial Guard Right Army, or to put it bluntly, this person was one of the military bandits and local tyrants who had previously occupied Yizhou, the local tyrant Hu Cheng of Yizhou who had just surrendered to Grand Commandant Zhang a month ago.

With Kong Yanzhou's mess beforehand, and Hu Cheng's hometown of Yizhou also being on the edge of Song's control, it would be all too reasonable for this person to cause trouble... He didn't know why Grand Commandant Zhang would send this person to assist him?

But after all, it was a proper reinforcement, and he couldn't just ignore it.

Therefore, hearing that Hu Cheng was leading his troops to arrive, for the sake of prudence, Yue Pengju personally led his own central army, the Tabaike army, as well as Wang Gui and Fu Xuan, who had just sorted out their family assets to assist him because of the emptiness of Yan Prefecture behind him, a total of five thousand troops, into Danzhou, waiting at the intersection of the He River and the Henggou River.

On the last day of August, the two armies finally met across the river.

Speaking of which, by this time, Yue Fei's messenger had returned, bringing the news that Hu Cheng was indeed sent by Zhang Jun. At this time, Yue Fei had already let go of thirty percent of his worries. When the other side's army arrived, Yue Fei observed them slightly, and seeing that the other side had no intention of fighting, he let go of another thirty percent of his worries... Therefore, Yue Fei simply didn't wear armor, didn't carry weapons, and didn't ride a horse. He only led Zhang Xian, who was wearing a sword, to take the pontoon bridge he had built in advance on the Henggou River, to meet Hu Cheng.

Hu Cheng did not disappoint Yue Fei. This person also did the same, wearing casual clothes, only taking a confidant general with a sword to protect him, and went up the pontoon bridge to meet.

Up to this point, the hostility between the two sides had basically been eliminated by eighty or ninety percent. After meeting, they exchanged a few polite greetings, and then they each put down their worries, shook hands and made peace, as if the misunderstanding had been completely resolved and there was no intention of defense.

At this time, Yue Fei learned why the other party was here in his capacity.

"Lord Yue doesn't know," Hu Cheng, who was about forty years old, was a military bandit who had occupied a local area, but he seemed to have read some books. Although he had a bitter smile on his face, he spoke in a literary way, which was slightly agreeable to Yue Fei. "My Grand Commandant Zhang was originally stationed in Xiapi under Huaiyang Army. The fall of Nanjing naturally shocked Xiapi. My Grand Commandant received great kindness from the Emperor, how dare he be negligent? He immediately sent Generals Liu Bao and Tian Shizhong to lead a main force of twenty thousand to Xuzhou and Bozhou, trying to move closer to Grand Commandant Han in the west in order to support the Emperor's flanks from the south. But Nanjing fell, and Zhang Zizheng had no news. Grand Commandant Zhang knew that he was one of the closest two sides, and couldn't ignore it, so he had to let me, who was originally in Yizhou, come here to deal with it..."

Yue Fei knew very well that Zhang Jun had clearly guessed that Zhang Suo was likely to have a bad end, that Nanjing was beyond saving, and that he had no hope for himself, Kong Yanzhou, and Zhang Rong, so as soon as he heard the news, he sent a newly surrendered miscellaneous commander to give a perfunctory response.

However, after thinking for a moment, Yue Pengju solemnly nodded: "Grand Commandant Zhang actually did well."

"Who can say there's anything wrong?" Hu Cheng smiled even more bitterly. "But what about Lord Yue and me? I am newly surrendered and have fallen into a hopeless situation where I am surrounded on three sides. And Lord Yue, don't think about having reinforcements from Grand Commandant Zhang anymore... Just now, Lord Yue said that General Zhang was defeated and could only protect Liangshanpo, which obviously meant that he could only support us in Jinan at most. The more than ten thousand Jurchen cavalry and ten thousand Kong Yanzhou's troops in Nanjing are afraid that we can only deal with them together."

"If we can't deal with them, we don't have to deal with them." Seeing that the other party was a little indecisive, but also honest, and that the military situation was urgent, Yue Fei simply grasped the other party's hand and confessed frankly. "I think the Jurchens' posture is to defend Nanjing to the death in order to support the flanks and rear of the western battle. They have no intention of fighting a reckless battle... More than ten thousand Jurchen cavalry, ten thousand Kong Yanzhou's surrendered troops, and a strong city, our two armies combined is twenty thousand. The combat strength is uneven. We can't attack it at all."

"In that case, isn't it good to sit here peacefully?" Hu Cheng was instead moved by the words.

"My intention is to ask Commander Hu to sit here peacefully for me," Yue Fei said bluntly. "And I myself have received great kindness from Zhang Zizheng, Grand Commander Zong, and the Emperor, and I must not sit here and wait quietly..."

Hu Cheng's heart stirred, and he instantly understood what the other party meant, and then he was slightly moved: "Lord Yue wants to entrust Jizhou to me and lead his troops to the west? Lord's loyalty is truly admirable, but brothers are meeting for the first time. I really can't bear such trust."

Yue Fei sighed slightly: "The situation is like this. Instead, I'm causing trouble for Commander Hu... To be honest, I've been sitting in a desperate situation these days, and I've been thinking about it for a long time. I originally had 13,000 troops, and recently Li Kui led 5,000 troops, and Xu Qing led 3,000 troops to join me, totaling about 21,000 troops. And since Commander Hu has come, I'll let my commander Wang Gui lead six or seven thousand troops to stay, and eliminate some of the old and weak, putting together seven or eight thousand to assist Commander Hu in defending the city. In this way, you will have 12,000 or 13,000 soldiers, and I will lead the remaining 12,000 or 13,000 elite troops through Puzhou to find Grand Commander Zong in the direction of Tokyo in the west... What do you think?"

Hu Cheng thought for a moment, and it was clear that he still felt it was difficult to bear, so he wanted to decline again.

Seeing this, Yue Fei quickly said again: "If the military situation changes and Jizhou can't be defended, Commander Hu doesn't need to worry about it. I only ask you to try your best to protect the family members of my soldiers and evacuate to Xuzhou and Yizhou. I will be very grateful."

Hu Cheng had been shocked when he heard that the other party was going to actively seek battle. Now, seeing that the other party was so sincere, entrusting everything at their first meeting, and had such righteousness, he thought for a moment, then simply gritted his teeth and agreed. He held the other party's hand with one hand and pointed back at the person who had followed him with the other:

"Lord is so unafraid of danger. How can I refuse again? This is my brother Li Zhang, nicknamed Soaring Sky Eagle (扑天雕, Pū Tiān Diāo). I am a scholar and don't understand military affairs. I was only pushed to be the leader because my family is quite famous in my hometown. The affairs of marching, fighting, and charging into battle all depend on this brother... Let him lead the only two hundred cavalry in my department to take a trip with the Lord."

Yue Fei had long seen that the general behind the other party was strong, and hearing these words, how could he not be happy? He immediately let go of Hu Cheng's hand, stepped forward, and shook the hand of this Soaring Sky Eagle.

However, as soon as the two sides shook hands, Soaring Sky Eagle's face changed, and he directly exerted force on his hand, trying to pull Yue Fei down! However, Yue Pengju was born with divine strength, and his basic skills were even more excellent. In a hurry, he had already braced himself firmly, and did not move at all. Instead, this Soaring Sky Eagle almost fell down.

But at this moment, hearing a sound that was all too familiar from behind his ear, Yue Fei suddenly realized, but it was already too late.

In an instant, the sound of an arrow entering flesh was clearly heard. Yue Fei turned around and saw that his brother Zhang Xian had already been shot in the shoulder. Obviously, he didn't have time to draw his sword, so he could only hurriedly use his arm to protect himself.

Slightly relieved, Yue Fei looked back and was rarely distraught because he saw Wang Gui and others capturing a person from the bank of the Henggou River, and then directly removing his helmet, revealing the appearance of his own maternal uncle. He was naturally saddened.

"Let Commander Hu see a joke," Yue Fei said after looking there for a long time before turning his head back, revealing the first bitter smile of his meeting on the bridge today. "I'll be right back..."

Hu Cheng didn't know Yao Wang's identity, so naturally he had nothing to say.

After a while, Yue Fei and Zhang Xian returned. He first had the military doctor take care of Zhang Xian, publicly cut open his clothes, cut off the arrow shaft, and sprayed the wound with strong wine and dug out the arrowhead using the "Military Hygiene Regulations" passed down by Emperor Zhao. Seeing that there should be no serious problem, he turned to look at his maternal uncle, Yao Wang, who was already pale.

"Fifth Master, your uncle was confused for a moment!" After so long, Yao Wang had already calmed down. Seeing Yue Fei coming to see him, if Wang Gui and others hadn't held him down, he would have immediately kowtowed and begged for mercy, regardless of etiquette. "Please forgive your uncle once and let him return to Jizhou City to be a cart driver for your mother. He won't join the army or think about wealth anymore..."

"Uncle was indeed confused," Yue Fei said slowly, squinting at his maternal uncle. "If you had said earlier that you joined the army to seek wealth, how could I have let you join the army? But since Uncle insists on saying 'for a moment', Fifth Master, I can't believe it... Isn't your behavior today because I publicly punished you and stripped you of your official position last time, and then you were resentful? Isn't today's behavior inspired by Xu Qing's story, thinking of killing me and shifting the blame onto Hu Cheng, causing the armies to fight each other, and then taking advantage of the situation to support Yue Yun or Sixth Master (Yue Fan) as my uncle, or even seizing power yourself?"

Yao Wang opened his mouth to speak, but he didn't know how to refute. In the end, he could only grit his teeth and say: "The confused thing has already been done. How are you going to deal with me?"

"In terms of your identity as a soldier, today you were a subordinate assassinating the commander; in terms of your identity as an uncle, you wanted to kill your nephew and steal your nephew's foundation; in terms of your identity as a Song person, at this time, regardless of the Jurchens being nearby, you provoked a battle between two friendly armies. You're a thorough traitor..."

"I just wanted to vent my anger!" Hearing how serious it was, Yao Wang immediately tried to explain at all costs. "I didn't have such malicious intentions! Think about it, when others become great generals, the army is their private property, and the soldiers can build houses and do business for their families! When they become Pacification Commissioners and military governors, they treat the entire military prefecture as their private property. Why is it that only here with Fifth Master is it different? Gold, silver, money, silk, and grain flow through your hands like water, but they are all thrown into the army. Your old mother doesn't even have a few servants to serve her! I..."

"There's no need to say more." At first, Yue Fei stood there quietly listening for a few sentences, but later he just felt impatient. "The country is in such a crisis, tens of thousands of people in Hebei are dying, and Zhang Zizheng in Nanjing has even died for his country. Even dudes like Xin Daozong haven't lost face. You clearly came from Hebei and saw those tragic things with your own eyes, but you're only saying these things here? It's my fault. I should have made the rules in my army clear to you from the beginning... Wang Gui, Fu Xuan, you two commanders each hold down his two hands!"

Wang Gui was already holding down Yao Wang, and upon hearing this, he pressed down instinctively. Fu Xuan, who had originally dodged away, also instinctively stepped forward to replace Tang Huai, but the two of them each stopped halfway and looked up in dismay.

"I'll handle it for my brother!" Zhang Xian, who had just finished bandaging, jumped up with a whoosh, holding his saber forward. "Brother doesn't need to ruin his reputation for nothing!"

Tang Huai didn't say a word, but he also looked up in astonishment.

"Brother," Wang Gui also held down Yao Wang, and his forehead was covered in sweat as he looked up to劝告 (quàn gào, advise). "Yao Wang's guilt today is definitely punishable by death, but you don't need to do it yourself and bear this bad reputation!"

"What reputation is there that I shouldn't bear? If there is one, the Emperor shouldn't have personally killed Liu Guangshi either, but if the Emperor hadn't personally killed Liu Guangshi, Great Song would have been destroyed last year!" Yue Fei pushed away Zhang Xian and drew the saber from the other party's waist that he hadn't had time to draw on the bridge earlier. Then, he went behind his maternal uncle and glared at Fu Xuan and Tang Huai.

Fu Xuan and Tang Huai were helpless and could only grit their teeth and switch positions. Then, the former exerted force and held down Yao Wang.

"Fifth Master, you dare to kill me?" Even at this time, Yao Wang still couldn't believe it. "How will you explain it to your old mother..."

Then, halfway through his words, Yue Fei didn't hesitate at all, and with just one stroke, he pierced the neck of his own maternal uncle in front of the two armies.

The two armies across the river stirred together, but after a moment, as Yue Fei turned and mounted his horse with his saber in hand, the Yue Family Army on the north bank of the Henggou River instantly became solemn. Thousands of soldiers all fell silent, and then affected the Yizhou troops of Hu Cheng on the opposite bank.

As for Wang Gui, Fu Xuan, and others in front of him, they were completely panicked and lost their composure.

"Today's matter, it was said that this uncle of mine ambushed me, but the root cause was still the matter of him looting people that day," Yue Fei said loudly to the soldiers in front of him, raising the bloody saber. "In order to prevent any of you from misunderstanding and making this old mistake again, I will tell you all again in public today... I, Yue Fei, have joined the army four times. The first time was to make a living! The second time, in addition to making a living, I also had some intention of getting promoted and gaining fame! But from the third time onwards, after experiencing the Battle of Taiyuan and seeing with my own eyes the entire fall of Hebei and Hedong, the Jurchens killed and plundered without restraint, slaughtering cities and looting at will, from that time on, I have been wholeheartedly wanting to drive out the Jurchen dogs and restore the two rivers! I no longer have any intention of using this to get promoted and make a fortune! As for you, as for you, if you want to get promoted and make a fortune, go somewhere else, just don't join my, Yue Fei's, command!!"

Yue Pengju's words, at the end, echoed like thunder with the howling autumn wind.

The entire army was not only shocked, but even Hu Cheng and Li Zhang, who were curiously looking over from the bridge, were also discolored upon hearing these words, and in addition to their previous goodwill, they also had a heart of awe.

After Yue Fei finished speaking, he looked at Zhang Xian beside him, raised his saber and said: "You come here!"

Zhang Xian quickly dragged his newly bandaged arm forward, preparing to take the saber, but Yue Fei wasn't in a hurry to give it to him. Instead, he said solemnly on his horse: "There can be no reward without punishment... Last time, you stopped this person from looting the people, and this time you saved my life and avoided a great disaster. I'm promoting you to commander of the vanguard!"

"Yes..." Zhang Xian quickly responded and then took the saber.

"There's one more thing," Yue Pengju said, looking at his little brother, but lowered his voice. "I originally thought you were the youngest and most ignorant of our brothers, but recently I've seen that your behavior has a trend of becoming a great man... As a Pacification Commissioner, naturally I'm promoting your official position, but as an elder brother, I can't help but show some indication... I'll use this matter to change your name!"

"I'll do whatever my brother says," Zhang Xian was still a little confused, so of course he had nothing to say.

"Zhang Zizheng immolated himself. I don't know if his son Zhang Xian has returned to Nanyang, and Zhang Xian happens to have a similar name to you... Naturally, I'm not telling you to be adopted or anything like that, but I'm saying that the character 宪 (xiàn, constitution/law) is better than 显 (xiǎn, obvious/manifest), because 宪 means law, and you correcting Yao Wang earlier was precisely enforcing the law like a mountain, so I want to change your name to Zhang Xian," Yue Fei said slowly. "I hope that you can remember what happened these days in the future, and that everything doesn't lose the law, then you will surely become a great man!"

Zhang Xian... that is, Zhang Xian now, always let this brother make the decisions, and what's more, it was just changing a homophonic name, hoping to encourage himself through this? He immediately bowed down under the horse to accept it.

Yue Fei also quickly dismounted and helped Zhang Xian up, and then had the medical officer come forward to bandage him again properly.

Thus, a few days later, on the third day of September, Yue Fei, the Pacification Commissioner of Jizhou, who had received a small number of reinforcements, left Wang Gui and Hu Cheng and others to guard Jizhou. He hurriedly led 12,000 well-chosen troops, including Generals Fu Xuan, Zhang Xian, Tang Huai, Li Kui, Li Zhang, Xu Qing, and countless large and small envoys, and hurriedly crossed the Ji River north of Liangshanpo, trying to pass through Puzhou to assist Tokyo.

As soon as the Yue Family Army arrived in Puzhou, they encountered Li Bao, a local hero who roamed the Yellow River, leading 3,000 sailors ashore, trying to capture Puzhou, which was occupied by the Jurchens. The two sides joined forces and easily took the empty Puzhou, and Yue Fei learned at this time that the other Wanhu, Elubu, was crossing the river from Puyang to the west and heading south through here. He also learned from Li Bao that the Jin's Grand Marshal Wanyan Zonghan was currently sitting in Daming Prefecture behind Puyang, and that countless armies were constantly gathering there, and that Li Bao was unable to gain a foothold upstream before coming here.

Puyang is a famous city in the world, with a solid city wall, and due to the special geographical situation of the Yellow River at this time (the lower reaches branching into four or five channels), it is connected to Daming Prefecture, and the Jurchens can firmly control the main route of the Yellow River by occupying these two places. In this situation, the loss or gain of Puzhou, which is adjacent to the Yellow River, is actually meaningless.

Therefore, Yue Fei strongly invited Li Bao to abandon Puzhou with him and take the opportunity to support the uncertain situation in Huazhou and Tokyo in the west. Li Bao, as a local hero from Jingdong who made a living on the Yellow River, hated the Jurchens to the extreme, and seeing that Yue Fei's army was not bad, he also agreed generously.

Speaking of which, Yue Fei led his army westward with all his heart, but he didn't know much about the situation west of Puyang, and he was really risking his life. As for Emperor Zhao, who was far away in Nanyang, after the initial chaos, he had finally learned a rough situation from the information collected from all over the place.

"So, the Jurchens are dividing into five routes, attacking across the river together?"

In the Yushan camp, Zhao Jiu looked at the rough map for a long time, and then tentatively groped on the map and asked Liu Ziyu.

"The two routes in the east, Ali sneaking across Jinan and Elubu forcibly crossing Puzhou, were all successful, and they attacked and broke Nanjing (Shangqiu), and Zhang Zizheng died for his country. Not to mention that the two routes in Jingdong were once again lost, they were also effectively cut off from Yingtian Prefecture (Shangqiu); the two routes in the middle, Yelu Mawan from Huazhou and Wanyan Balisu from the Sisui Pass west of Zhengzhou, attacked together, trying to encircle Tokyo, but were blocked; The most western route, Wanyan Saba, tried to attack Li Yanxian, but was discovered in advance by the Hedong Red Turban Army, who instead joined forces with Da and Xiao Zhai to lure the enemy deep into Jiezhou, and successfully ambushed and directly defeated the other party?"

"It should be like this," Liu Ziyu was silent for a moment and said frankly. "In fact, most of it was as the Privy Council expected. Zhang Zizheng's place in Jingdong was the weakest, while Zong Liu's place in Tokyo was the strongest... The only exception was that Zhang Zizheng was attacked and died in a hurry, which was a major loss; and that Li Jinglue was able to force back the other party was a pleasant surprise. And the key now is where are Wanyan Zonghan, Wanyan Lou Shi, Wanyan Wushu, and Wanyan Talon? Will they cross the river? And when and where will they cross the river? We must seriously investigate clearly!"

"That's right, this matter is the most important! And apart from this matter, the two Privy Councilors must quickly discuss the military merits of Li Yanxian and the Da and Xiao Zhai, as well as the three Shao (Shao Yun, Shao Xing, Shao Long) under Li Yanxian. At this time, we must give them extra and heavy rewards; and then send a note to Prime Minister Lu in the city, asking him to discuss the posthumous titles and other matters of Zhang Zizheng, and also treat his family members remaining in Nanyang well. Actually..." Zhao Jiu responded solemnly, but when he reached the end, he couldn't help but stop for a moment before continuing to sigh. "Actually, I should have told Zhang Zizheng not to care about the imperial palace. I really forgot about this."

"Yes!" Liu Ziyu responded solemnly and then said seriously: "Your Majesty, please don't be entangled in the affairs of Nanjing. Zhang Zizheng served as a minister and upheld the principles of a minister. This is what he voluntarily did. We should encourage him, not grieve for him."

"I also think so," Lu Yihao stepped forward, rarely agreeing with Liu Ziyu. "Zhang Zizheng is a model of a great minister. His actions are precisely to tell the world that Great Song also has a Death-Defying Commissioner! Just like Scholar Li (Li Ruopu)'s brother (Li Ruoshui) and Military Counselor Liu's father (Liu Ge) in the Jingkang period, they are all such heroes. And in the face of war, Your Majesty's posture, if these people knew in the underworld, they might feel it's not worth it!"

Hearing these words, Li Ruopu and Liu Ziyu each solemnly saluted again.

"I know," Zhao Jiu looked down at the map, guessing the location of the main Jin force, and waved his hand repeatedly. "I'm not so ignorant of the severity, and I just paused because I haven't met Zhang Zizheng many times, and I can't even remember his appearance for a moment, so I can't help but feel saddened."

Everyone in the military tent below Lu Yihao almost stopped together, just like Emperor Zhao had just shown, because they also couldn't remember him much.

ps: To add a little more, Li Zhang, as a famous突将 (tū jiàng, assault general) in the 背嵬军 (Bèi Wéi Jūn, Yue Fei's elite personal guard), was originally from Hu Cheng's department...