Historically, Du Chong guarded Tokyo for a year, the same length as Zong Ze. Therefore, even after he breached the Yellow River dyke and forced more than half of his troops to rebel, Yue Fei remained loyal and followed him, and the exiled court continued to bestow official titles and promotions upon him.

In short, failure and incompetence were never crimes in those days, or else the entire court would have to be executed. And for front-line officials like Du Chong, failure was never a reason for punishment; a simple "you try it then" would silence everyone in the central government.

Even after Zhao Jiu arrived and successively dealt with Liu Guangshi, Ding Jin, and Fan Qiong, the official reason given was not defeat, but the avoidance of battle.

Moreover, these three were all military men, not civil officials from proper backgrounds... Are civil officials and military generals the same?

In fact, even for someone as preposterous and detrimental to the country as Fan Zhixu, Zhao Jiu did not dare risk a break with the civil officials by directly killing him.

Because such a killing would mean that many things he had painstakingly built up would be wasted.

With Du Chong's memorial arriving, the central government was first shaken. After a discussion in the palace, some people suspected that Du Chong was afraid of battle; in fact, many people could see this. Some people, including Zhao Jiu himself, even considered the possibility that Du Chong was so afraid of battle that he was openly lying to Nanyang!

However, this was just a guess. If it were true, Du Chong would eventually meet the same fate as Fan Zhixu, because the matter had already caused chaos in Nanyang and could potentially lead to even more serious consequences on Han Shizhong's side, leading to a disastrous situation.

But even so, these few people were helpless, because now it was a matter of being afraid to hurt the rat for fear of breaking the vase... Besides, it was just a guess, and most people believed Du Chong's report.

There was no immediate worry, but the battlefield at Yanling-Changshe would soon face major problems, leading to a complete disaster in the long run. This had become the consensus in Nanyang.

For a time, not only was Nanyang filled with anxiety, but according to Yang Yizhong's report, bad rumors immediately spread after the palace discussion that afternoon... saying that Han Shizhong's defeat and Du Chong's predicament today were all caused by the current government's rash actions. If they had just held onto the cities from the beginning, although there would have been inevitable losses, the overall situation would not have been in such a precarious state.

Who the current government was, goes without saying.

This was in stark contrast to Zhao Jiu and Lü Yihao's remarkable prestige after the almost dreamlike artillery victory half a month ago.

"Are you certain?"

On the evening the news arrived, amidst the overwhelming workload, Zhao Jiu, who was sitting dejectedly in the old woodland filled with wooden stakes between the rear palace and the front hall, suddenly received more fuel for the fire.

"Absolutely certain." Yang Yizhong stood respectfully under the eaves. "Your Majesty can go to the city wall and see for yourself."

Zhao Jiu said nothing. He immediately rose from the wooden stake and followed Yang Yizhong out of the palace towards the northern city, which was less than three miles away as the crow flies. Needless to say, countless officials followed.

When they reached the city wall and looked out in the setting sun, everyone knew what was happening. In the sunset, thousands upon thousands of Jurchen cavalry were openly gathering, and then galloping out of the camp in an awe-inspiring display, continuously heading northeast.

"Are the Jin withdrawing their troops?" Hu Yin asked, bewildered.

"No." Liu Ziyu, the Deputy Director of the Secretariat of the Privy Council, sighed heavily and said through gritted teeth, "They are going to support Wanyan Talan, or at least pretending to support Talan."

"What do you mean?" Hu Yin asked warily.

"Nothing else." Liu Ziyu glanced at Hu Yin and replied solemnly, "Even if Talan requested reinforcements, they couldn't have arrived today. The information arriving today can only be that Vice-Prefect Du is cautiously holding out in Yanling. Therefore, it must be a strategy to lure the enemy."

"How can reinforcements lure the enemy?" Hu Yin still didn't understand.

"It's to lure the troops from Nanyang! Or to lure Your Majesty!" Liu Ziyu said exasperatedly. "Not to lure Yanling! If the city really thinks that a ten-thousand-man unit of the Jin army has left, and their strength is weakened, and then attempts to counterattack here, or takes the opportunity to send Your Majesty to Xiangyang, they will inevitably be ambushed by this ten-thousand-man army!"

Hu Yin lowered his head and thought for a moment, then glanced at the expressionless Zhao Jiu, and couldn't help but continue to ask Liu Ziyu, "Military Counselor Liu still hasn't said why the Jin aren't withdrawing their troops?"

Liu Ziyu was dumbfounded but felt a sudden pain in the back of his head, so he simply ignored the other man.

"What do you think?" At this moment, Zhao Jiu suddenly turned to look at Yang Yizhong.

"Your subject believes Military Counselor Liu's words are reasonable." Military intelligence was his duty, so Yang Yizhong naturally did not hesitate to report, "Entering the first month, the weather is getting warmer, and the river ice is gradually melting. Nanyang is surrounded by dense water networks... Among them, large rivers like the Bai River, although the surface ice layer has not cracked, only a few places are passable, not enough for a large force of armored cavalry to pass through. At this time, the Jin army divides a ten-thousand-man unit and goes northeast, which can not only serve as a strategy to lure the enemy but also take the opportunity to deploy troops outside the Bai River in advance, to prevent our army from seizing this opportunity, suddenly crossing the river with infantry, and calmly marching south with the river as a barrier."

Zhao Jiu nodded slowly... He knew what Yang Yizhong meant. The so-called 'infantry' calmly marching south with the river as a barrier was not 'infantry', but him, Zhao Jiu.

In fact, after Du Chong's memorial arrived, the reason why there was so much discussion from morning to afternoon was that many civil officials, realizing the dire situation, re-suggested that Zhao Jiu move south to Xiangyang, in order to ensure safety, which led to fierce debates and confrontations with many who still insisted on staying in Nanyang.

Returning to the present, even Liu Ziyu and Yang Yizhong only said that the troops suddenly choosing to leave the Jin army camp might be to lure the enemy, but they did not deny that they might really be going to support Wanyan Talan.

Then it was conceivable that the Nanyang faction and the Xiangyang faction would inevitably continue to clash over the two main possibilities of this event.

At the same time, Zhao Jiu and Chancellor Lü's authority was declining.

"Your Majesty."

Sure enough, Li Guang, the Supervising Secretary of the Palace, who had followed, stepped forward instinctively and spoke sincerely, "Your subject does not know about military matters, but I believe that, in the long term, it is more appropriate to go to Xiangyang... Once we go to Xiangyang, with the strength of Nanyang and the certainty of taking Xiangyang, we can confuse the Jin people."

"How can we abandon Nanyang and flee?" Hu Yin said angrily.

"Nanyang has a strong city and powerful cannons, how can you call that abandoning?" Li Guang was not afraid of his nominal superior.

"If we go to Nanyang, who will guarantee Your Majesty's safety?" Liu Ziyu actually stood on the same side as Hu Yin at this time. "Under the sudden attack of ten thousand cavalry, who can withstand it?"

"Let Wang De, who is already in the east of the city, lead his troops with Zhang Jing to escort you. That would be a ten-thousand-man elite Imperial Guard. Then let Xin Qizong (the two Sins), who is stationed in Rang County (the former prefecture seat of Dengzhou), come to meet us, so we would have sixteen to seventeen thousand troops. With such military strength, plus Wang Yacha's bravery, and the dense river network along the way to slow them down, we can guarantee Your Majesty's safety." It was Fan Zongyin, a Drafter of the Secretariat, who spoke. This was a new ally recently found by Li Guang and Li Ruopu, and was the backbone of the Xiangyang faction during the palace debate today.

"Drafter Fan!" Liu Ziyu, who was already angry, simply broke the rules when he heard this. "Your Excellency is from Dengcheng in Xiangyang! Of course you want Your Majesty to go to Xiangyang. Are you just hoping that Your Majesty will simply stay in Xiangyang and make it the capital?!"

"Am I acting out of personal desire?!" Fan Zongyin also roared. "When it gets hot, the Jin army will withdraw, and Your Majesty can return to Nanyang... But you, Military Counselor Liu, Your Majesty has entrusted all the military advisory affairs of the Privy Council to you. With things in their current state, what do you have to say? Why was Han Shizhong ambushed? Were there any oversights in the matters of Wang Yan, Ma Gao, and Yue Fei?! Moreover, the whole army waited idly for nearly a month before the battle, and then underestimated the enemy, resulting in the sudden death of Senior Counselor Zhang. This matter..."

"What about this matter?"

"Isn't this matter related to your deliberate neglect of the rebel army of Five Horses Mountain?" Fan Zongyin, who was only thirty years old, was also pushed to the edge. "Do you think we don't know who caused General Manager Ma Kuo to be imprisoned in the Zhen Ding Prefecture prison that day because of his stubbornness?"

Liu Ziyu's head ached terribly: "So, I am acting out of personal desire?"

Fan Zongyin was about to speak when suddenly, Zhao Jiu, still wearing his red robe from the morning, walked expressionlessly between the two men, supporting his waist with his leather belt, and left the city wall without saying a word.

The two groups on the city wall were immediately silenced and grudgingly dispersed.

Back at the palace, Zhao Jiu did not discuss further but went directly to have dinner and then went to rest in the rear palace.

However, he was obviously agitated and under great pressure. Wu Yu, seeing this, wanted to take the initiative to comfort him. But she was young and didn't know the root of the matter, so she could only say that the ministers in the city were all virtuous people and that Your Majesty should listen to all opinions and discuss problems with these people...

Little did she know that Zhao Jiu was half worried about the situation and half being pressured by these 'virtuous people'.

Such comfort was of no use at all.

Fortunately, Wu Yu also saw that Zhao Jiu was becoming more and more impatient, so she stopped talking after saying what she needed to say...

The night passed in silence. While he slept at the second watch, suddenly, someone took the initiative to knock on the door, waking up the Emperor! The last time someone had knocked on the door, it was Lü Yihao who had offered private advice.

Zhao Jiu, groggily got up and allowed Lan Gui and Feng Yi to enter. But the two men claimed that Yang Yizhong, Chen Gui, and Lü Haowen requested an audience, so he felt confused.

Yang Yizhong and Liu Yan took turns with Liang Hongyu to be in charge of palace security at night, and Lü Haowen and Lü Yihao also took turns resting and guarding in the side room of the front hall. Tonight was Yang Yizhong and Lü Haowen's turn, so no matter what happened, it would have to go through them, so it could not be called 'requesting an audience'. But the arrival of Chen Gui, who was responsible for the city defense, was a little strange.

Could it be that the Jin army was attacking the city at night?

But he heard no sound?

Or was there something wrong with the city defense?

However, these wild thoughts were quickly ended. Chen Gui, Yang Yizhong, and Lü Haowen were not the real requesters. The one who really requested an audience with Zhao Jiu was a young official who had left Nanyang for more than ten days and then returned - Du Chong's second son, Du Yan.

He rode a fast horse and hurried over at night, naturally alarming Chen Gui.

"Your Majesty!"

After demanding that he be accompanied only by guards, Du Yan, disheveled and bewildered, bowed in the corridor behind the hall. Under the gaze of Yang Yizhong behind him, he said something shocking to Zhao Jiu, "Your subject... my father is in contact with the Jin Right Deputy Marshal Talan... and they have agreed not to fight!"

As soon as these words came out, Yang Yizhong, who had been carefully guarding, was stunned. Du Yan collapsed on the cold ground and said nothing more, as if he had vented all his energy.

But unexpectedly, Zhao Jiu didn't show any change in expression. If he had to explain it in detail, he did seem somewhat relieved. In fact, Zhao Jiu suddenly had a strange, subtle state of mind similar to the time before the war, and he recalled his own thoughts before the war - a great wave rushes over, bringing both mud and sand.

The weather was still cold, and after the air froze for a moment, Zhao Jiu finally asked expressionlessly, "In that case, Yue Fei and Wang Yan, and Ma Gao did not attack and oppose each other?"

"No." Du Yan replied on the ground, "Although Wang Yan and Yue Fei did not even talk to each other in private, the three did not make mistakes in military affairs. Before your subject discovered this matter of my... my father, after Niu Gao and Li Bao arrived, I also planned with the three generals and Li Qiong, the guard of Yanling, and jointly persuaded my father to send troops..."

Yang Yizhong focused his attention on Zhao Jiu almost strangely, because Zhao Jiu still had no change in expression, which seemed to make him feel more uneasy than Du Chong's collusion with the enemy.

Zhao Jiu nodded and then asked again, "Which road did you come from? Did you encounter the Jin army? How long did it take?"

"Your subject dared not take the northern road but detoured through Caizhou, passing through Xiping, crossing Zhongyang Mountain, and returning to Nanyang from Qintai through the Dushui Stone Bridge... This is the road that Yelu Mawu used to raid Ruyang... I did not see the Jin army along the way. As for the time it took..." Du Yan obviously thought for a moment, "It was after seeing my father's memorial to Nanyang, saying that the three generals were attacking each other and the three armies were unstable, that I decided to set out. I did not measure the specific time!"

"That is two and a half days." Zhao Jiu sighed, "Don't go back to your residence. I will have Commander Yang find you a secluded place to live. After this matter is over, I will arrange for you to be a magistrate in Ba Shu..."

Perhaps realizing something, Du Yan suddenly cried, "Thank you for Your Majesty's grace... My father... my father..."

"Go down!" Zhao Jiu rarely sighed.

Du Yan's heart was torn, but he kowtowed and followed Yang Yizhong away.

After a moment, watching Yang Yizhong and Du Yan leave, Zhao Jiu paused for a moment before turning back to the hall. But after he took his seat, facing Lü Haowen and Chen Gui's nervous gazes, he waited for more than a quarter of an hour without saying a word.

Just as Chen Gui was becoming unbearable, Yang Yizhong returned. Zhao Jiu, who had been thinking for a long time, finally spoke slowly again: "Summon Vice-Chancellor of the Privy Council Lü Yihao; Summon Deputy Director of the Secretariat of the Privy Council Liu Ziyu, Compiler of the Privy Council Hu Hongxiu; Summon Supervising Secretary of the Palace Li Guang, Academician of the Hanlin Academy Li Ruopu, Drafter of the Secretariat Fan Zongyin; Summon Censor-in-Chief Hu Yin, Academician of the Hanlin Academy Lin Jingmo, Deputy Commander of the Imperial Guard Liu Yan, Deputy Director of the Secretariat of the Privy Council Wan Qixie; Summon Acting Prefect of Nanyang Yan Xiaozhong, Nanyang Four Walls Defense Commissioner Wang De, Commander Fu Qing, Commander Xin Yongzong... Be careful not to alarm too many people."

Although the order of the summoned list was very strange, basically, a key group of people who could completely decide the fate of the military and the country were all together.

Knowing the inside story, Yang Yizhong dared not neglect and acted immediately. Lü Haowen and Chen Gui became even more serious because this meant that Du Yan must have brought earth-shattering news.

To say that Yan Xiaozhong, who had to take care of the treasury, and the three generals, lived relatively far away, especially Wang De, who was basically outside the city wall in the east... But the other main officials were all in the palace district and quickly gathered properly, but while Yan Xiaozhong and Wang De, etc., had not arrived, they could not help but discuss... They did not even know that Du Yan had arrived.

To say that Zhao Jiu, seeing these people were so noisy, sighed in annoyance and thought of a matter that he had become more and more puzzled about these days - these people, taken out individually, even if they were not all sages, at least had some use, but why did they always make so many messes when they were together?

And why, in terms of overall effect, were they not as useful as imagined?

However, the closer it was to such a critical juncture, the less he could be kidnapped by emotions. Zhao Jiu took a deep breath for a long time but suddenly got up and turned into the back without caring. The people in the hall were stunned for a moment but continued to gradually become noisy... No one could control what the Emperor did. Heaven knows if he went back to the rear palace to drink water or catch up on sleep.

But in fact, Zhao Jiu did not go to the rear palace as these people thought, but came to the place between the rear palace and the front hall.

This place originally had a small forest and a corridor. The forest used to be full of wild pigeons, so that one could always hear cooing sounds while working in the hall, but after Nanyang began to prepare for war, the trees here were all cut down and used as materials and fuel, leaving behind a pile of wooden stakes.

Zhao Jiu simply turned out of the rear hall and came directly to the wooden stake in the middle of this forest without trees, sat down with his hands clasped, and the movement in the front hall could still be heard clearly.

Lan Gui, Feng Yi, and Liu Yan followed smoothly. Seeing that the Emperor had come here again, they were familiar with it - Lan Gui turned back to the front hall, and Feng Yi and Liu Yan stood under the corridor. When Yan Xiaozhong and Wang De, etc., finally arrived, Lan Gui turned back again to ask for instructions, Zhao Jiu had already been blowing cold wind in that place for a while.

"I will not go to the front hall. I will summon you here." Zhao Jiu looked up and said, "Convey my will, when I summon my officials here, there must be no noise or discussion in the hall."

Lan Gui bowed his head in agreement, but then asked smoothly, "May I ask Your Majesty, which ones will you summon first?"

"Summon Liu Yan first!" Zhao Jiu replied, "Great Official Lan, you and Feng Yi go out and wait first."

Lan and Feng looked at each other but then lowered their heads together, turned around and left, leaving only the somewhat caught-off-guard Liu Yan.

"Pingfu." Hearing the hall quiet down as Lan Gui conveyed the order, Zhao Jiu waved his hand, "You come over, I only have three questions to ask you."

"Yes." Liu Yan quickly came to the 'forest'.

"Are the Red Heart Squad cavalry usable?" Zhao Jiu asked calmly, staring at the other man.

"Willing to die for Your Majesty!" Liu Yan answered frankly.

"Then let me ask you, in your personal judgment, is the Jin army's dispatch of ten thousand cavalry to the north today more to lure Nanyang here or more to support Wanyan Talan?"

"More of a strategy to lure the enemy."

"Is the Jin army's combat power here with Wanyan Wushu stronger, or is the combat power there with Wanyan Talan stronger?"

"If there is indeed no troop support, then the enemy outside Nanyang City is naturally stronger." Liu Yan opened his mouth to answer but then immediately corrected himself. "No... even if there is support, it may not be said that Wanyan Wushu is stronger, because Talan's troops are too scattered, while Wushu's troops have a large camp and were carefully selected."

Zhao Jiu nodded: "You go and call Yang Yizhong over. Remember, no matter what I say when I go out later, do not say a word."

Liu Yan was confused but still followed the order.

In a moment, Yang Yizhong, who had just worked hard to call people back, entered. Before he had time to salute, Zhao Jiu asked head-on, "Zhengfu, no matter what, can you guarantee that there are no spies in the city and no one will escape?"

"Your subject can guarantee it!" Yang Yizhong said solemnly.

"Good, then let me ask you again, the Jin people sent ten thousand cavalry north today, do you think it is more to lure the enemy or really to support? Here with Wanyan Wushu and there with Wanyan Talan, whose combat power is stronger?"

"More to lure the enemy, Wanyan Wushu is stronger!" Yang Yizhong had already given an answer during the day, so he was naturally blunt at this time.

"Go out, call Hu Hongxiu in."

Yang Yizhong was half nervous, half hesitant, but still cupped his hands and left.

In this way, Zhao Jiu chose an absurd method of summoning, in order to obtain some accurate judgments from these elites who were prone to causing trouble once they gathered together:

Liu Yan, Yang Yizhong, Hu Hongxiu, and Liu Ziyu, four people with military advisory talent, entered and exited in turn, giving the judgment that the Jin army's dispatch of ten thousand cavalry in front of them to the north today was to set up an ambush to lure the Nanyang army or to lure him, Zhao Jiu;

Chen Gui, Yan Xiaozhong, Yang Yizhong, Wang De, Fu Qing, and Xin Yongzong gave the judgment and guarantee that Nanyang was absolutely defensible in the short term, even unbreakable;

Wan Qixie and Lin Jingmo gave the judgment that Du Chong's prestige at the Tokyo Stay-Behind Command was neither high nor low, not enough to confuse the public;

Hu Yin insisted on the strategic requirement to be more proactive;

And Li Guang, Li Ruopu, and Fan Zongyin also insisted on their position to withdraw to Xiangyang.

At this point, only the two chancellors in the hall had not moved, and sure enough, next was Chancellor of the Privy Council Lü Yihao being summoned alone.

When Zhao Jiu saw Lü Yihao, before the other man walked through the corridor to the 'forest', he immediately opened his mouth, but he only said one sentence: "Minister Lü, I have just made up my mind to use the advice you gave here that day to deal with the current situation. I ask you to maintain it for me!"

Lü Yihao nodded slightly and turned around and left without looking back. After a moment, Lü Haowen came with him.

"Minister Lü," Zhao Jiu still used this title, but his tone was much gentler. "Since I fell into the well, from the Mingdao Palace to here, I have troubled you to stitch and mend for me..."

Lü Haowen was not happy but frightened when he heard these words, and his whole body was standing on end, as if he had realized something.

But before he could speak, Zhao Jiu had already continued, "If you trust me, please do not ask more questions and try to help me do a great thing."

Lü Haowen was very troubled. He panicked for a long time and thought for a while before choosing to sigh under the silent gaze of the young Emperor sitting on the wooden stake opposite him: "I will do whatever Your Majesty orders. Anyway, Chancellor Lü must have discussed it with Your Majesty... I only ask that Your Majesty take care of yourself!"

Zhao Jiu was slightly stunned but then recovered his composure and nodded again. He explained something and moved with Lü Haowen back to the hall.

There was no one speaking in the hall, and there were no wild pigeons to join in the fun. Silent as crows was more appropriate.

While the civil and military officials had different thoughts, Zhao Jiu finally revealed the answer: "Just now, another messenger from Yanling arrived, saying that Yue Fei and Wang Yan openly fought, and then Wang Yan was defeated and withdrew to Tokyo on his own. Plus, the Jurchen cavalry went north to help Talan today. It can be seen that the overall situation of the Five Rivers has been decided and is useless... I have made up my mind to go to Xiangyang to divide the enemy's forces!"

There was a slight commotion above and below. Hu Yin, Liu Ziyu, and Hu Hongxiu almost instinctively wanted to step forward and strongly advise against it, but like everyone else, they had been given serious or sincere instructions by Zhao Jiu when they were summoned in private, that is, no matter what, they should not say anything today.

Opposition was also speech.

Hu Yin should have been the most vehemently opposed to this decision, but Zhao Jiu specifically asked him to learn from Zhang Jun for a day. At this time, thinking of Zhang Jun and Zhao Jiu's various actions in the past, Hu Mingzhong actually struggled to the point of biting the tip of his tongue.

The hall was silent, but Prime Minister Lü Haowen and Chancellor of the Privy Council Lü Yihao took the initiative to step forward and express their approval.

It seemed that these two had also been persuaded in turn.

Since the two chancellors agreed, this matter became a legitimate policy of the so-called East and West Secretariats discussing politics before the Emperor.

Immediately, Zhao Jiu and Lü Haowen answered fluently, and Lü Yihao nodded repeatedly, and a series of specific measures were passed:

Among them, Chen Gui, Yan Xiaozhong, Fu Qing, and Xin Yongzong left first to ensure that the city defense was guaranteed without alarming anyone;

Yang Yizhong and Liu Yan were ordered to prepare an elite force to escort Zhao Jiu out of the city;

Wang De immediately left the city to go to Zhang Jing at the camp in the east of the city, and then prepared properly together in the camp, trying to set off at night to avoid the Jin army's sight;

And Academician of the Hanlin Academy Lin Jingmo, Censor-in-Chief Hu Yin, Deputy Director of the Secretariat of the Privy Council Wan Qixie, and Chief Attendant Lan Gui were required to follow to Xiangyang. The two chancellors and the others were required to stay behind... As for Madam Wu, Zhao Jiu did not mention her, so naturally, she was going to be abandoned in her sleep and fatigue.

Thanks to Zhao Jiu's private summons, inquiries, and even requests or orders, the matter unfolded almost at lightning speed without any dispute. And thanks to Yang Yizhong's leadership of many Imperial Guards to personally execute the arrangements, almost no extra incidents occurred throughout the entire process.

The reason why it was said almost was that Zhao Jiu suddenly stopped when he was about to leave the palace gate and had someone take down the Jinwu banner in front of the palace, which was obviously much dimmer than the many similar banners on the city wall, and even had Wan Qixie carry it on his back... This took a lot of time.

But in any case, before about the fourth watch, Zhao Jiu finally left Nanyang City with the main force of the Imperial Guard from a secret door in the east of the city and entered the eastern camp, where he saw Wang De and Zhang Jing in the dark.

To say that Zhang Jing's trip was originally ordered by Xu Jingheng, Wang Boyan, Liu Ji, and others to come here to meet Zhao Jiu and go south to Xiangyang. Even counting further back, this was originally the Privy Council's plan. Plus, he had not been in contact with the disputes in the city, so there was nothing extra to say.

Even his preparations here were very proper.

But unfortunately, Zhang Jing had nothing extra to say, but Zhao Jiu did:

"The most hardworking people in today's event are Commander Wang and Commander Zhang."

Wang De and Zhang Jing quickly knelt down together, saying that they dared not.

"Is the pontoon bridge ready?" Zhao Jiu continued to ask.

"There are three large pontoon bridges built on the Zheng Nan side of the Bai River taking advantage of the previous floating ice. There will be no mistakes due to the melting of ice and snow..." Zhang Jing said seriously.

"What about the east side? You advanced from the southeast and moved camp from there. You should also have corresponding preparations, right?" In the dark night, Zhao Jiu stared at Zhang Jing and asked earnestly, with white breath filling the night sky.

"There is also a pontoon bridge, but the bridge is smaller. It was only built as a simple pontoon bridge because the ice layer was about to melt, in order to facilitate the transportation of the remaining timber from the old camp." Zhang Jing quickly answered.

"That is enough."

"But Your Majesty, with all due respect, going from the east will inevitably waste time, and if the Jin army has an ambush, it must be the force from this evening, and they must be waiting on the northern side of the east... Perhaps Your Majesty wants to divide a force as a feint?" Zhang Jing wanted to refute but woke up midway.

"That's right." Zhao Jiu sighed faintly and directly stepped forward to help up Wang De and Zhang Jing, who were still waiting. "Generals, I just said that the two of you are the most hardworking today... because I want you to join forces to lead the army south as quickly as possible... and after your entire army crosses the Bai River, the ten thousand cavalry of the Jin army left outside the Bai River will inevitably attack with all their strength. At that time, please retreat back here as quickly as possible, and if this place cannot be established, then directly enter the city."

Wang De and Zhang Jing were momentarily dazed and did not understand. Wan Qixie, who was carrying a package, was greatly disturbed and could not help but adjust the package on his back... This was in stark contrast to the silence of Yang Yizhong, Hu Yin, Lin Jingmo, Lan Gui, and Liu Yan.

Of course, the silence of these five people was completely different. Yang Yizhong seemed to know from the beginning what the Emperor was going to do and what he was going to do himself, and he just silently executed it. In addition, he also had a sense of supervision and scrutiny of the two generals and the people beside him;

Liu Yan was quite simple. He had made up his mind when he parted ways with Guo Yaoshi before the Jingkang incident, and there was no reason to go back on his word. After the Jingkang incident, he had made up his mind even more. Even if he died, he would never hesitate;

Lin Jingmo was the one who got the least information today and instinctively began to routinely speculate and analyze the situation;

Lan Gui, as a eunuch, was destined to only follow Zhao Jiu, so there was nothing to think about;

And Hu Yin was still feeling puzzled and angry about Zhao Jiu's sudden decision to go south;

"Is Your Majesty trying to lure the enemy?" After a moment, Zhang Jing asked blankly.

"Is Your Majesty not going to Xiangyang?" Wang De was also at a loss for a moment.

"I am going to Xiangyang, but I also want to lure the enemy." Zhao Jiu replied calmly. "However, it is you who are luring the enemy. I want to use your more than ten thousand people as a feint to lure out the Jin army's ambushes on the other side of the river, to cover the eight hundred Red Heart Squad members escorting me across the river from the east, and then... go south! In short, the two of you, and Commander Yang, have worked hard today. He is also leading the Imperial Guard to go with you to act as a feint!"

Under the firelight in the camp, Yang Yizhong was still silent, just staring at Wang De and Zhang Jing without saying a word. It was impossible to tell whether he was happy or angry. Wang De and Zhang Jing, who were being held by Zhao Jiu, looked at each other and did not have time to think too much, so they could only grit their teeth and bow: "Yes!"

Behind them, Hu Yin, who had once thought that the Emperor was going to change his mind, was disappointed again, but Wan Qixie had already become silent with the others - as a bold guess emerged from his mind, his heart beat faster.

At the fourth watch, in late winter and early spring, the sun had not risen, and the sky was still dark, but the Song army had already begun to move.

ps: Still 25k short