The review of the troops and distribution of rewards was undoubtedly a demanding task.
From the high-ranking Emperor, Chancellors, and Grand Marshals to the common soldiers below, everyone was working hard, as each had to perform a large number of repetitive tasks.
Of course, the soldiers below might have been in better spirits because they received genuine gold and silver as rewards.
Relatively speaking, from Emperor Zhao's perspective, he should have had some kind of mental satisfaction as compensation… for example, tens of thousands of victorious troops shouting "Long live the Emperor!" as the Emperor rode along the banks of the Bian and Yellow Rivers, filled with a sense of heroic spirit, and thinking, "With a life like this, what more could one ask for?"… This was nonsense!
To be honest, having experienced so many battlefields, especially the grand assault of seventy to eighty thousand troops in the Battle of Yanling, Zhao Jiu no longer felt anything for such military reviews. After a morning and noon, he just felt tired.
The Chancellors and officials of the Secretariat and the Privy Council were even less pleased… because they were the ones handing out the money. Watching the coins and silks almost empty out, everyone felt a bit uneasy.
In fact, logically speaking, the Great Song certainly had money. The Southeast, Jingxiang, Lianghuai, and Bashu were all preserved, and the redundant officials, redundant soldiers, and the wastefulness of the royal family during the Jingkang Incident had all been indirectly resolved by the Jurchens. According to past experience, as long as transportation could be established to these remaining areas, supporting the Imperial Guards of two hundred thousand men shouldn't be a problem… The annual silk production of the Huainan circuits alone was in the millions, wasn't it?
However, one must also see the current reality of the emptiness of Henan and the unrest in the Southeast… If the Southeast could not be stabilized quickly, there would still be financial problems. As for Henan, to put it bluntly, it was a bottomless pit.
Therefore, after all the money and silks accumulated in Xiangyang and Nanyang were spent, there was some inevitable unease from top to bottom.
However, it must be said that this unease was essentially a sign of progress… Previously, when Emperor Zhao had people scrape off the gold from the statue of the Daoist Patriarch in Bozhou, and when the officials in Shunchang Prefecture divided two buckets of 'Vice Minister Jiang,' they were at their wit's end and saw no unease.
But now, this unease was clearly because the Great Song had regained the appearance of a proper court, and these particular worries arose from the idea of running a proper court.
As for the several commanders who had caused a ruckus before the Emperor last night, for some reason, they were all more well-behaved than the others today.
Of course, they didn't skimp on the acting.
Han Shizhong, wearing a jade belt and puffing out his chest, was led by the Emperor to inspect the entire army, and repeatedly took the initiative to hold the Emperor's horse whenever Emperor Zhao got on or off. Zhang Jun, after listening to someone's advice, actually gave half of the Shu brocade he received last night to his own troops who had worked hard in this battle. Li Yanxian hung up the 'Pillar of the Midstream' banner early, and sat like a wooden sculpture under the banner…
While Yue Fei, Wang Yan, Wang De, and Lü Qin were just being honest.
There was a reason for this.
According to Emperor Zhao's words in the south of the city after his arrival yesterday, although it had not yet been specifically implemented, the first three of these generals had no doubts about it, and the order was clear.
Han Shizhong was the Junior Protector and had two military governor titles, ranking first.
Zhang Jun was the Junior Protector and had one military governor title, clearly second.
Li Yanxian only had one military governor title, but he also held the position of Pacification Commissioner of Yongxing Army Circuit, which was not in the military rank sequence, and half of the Yongxing Army Circuit was still under the control of the Great Song, which was much stronger than Yue Fei's nondescript Pacification Commissioner and Wang Yan's Area Commander in the enemy-occupied area, not to mention that he was also the Commander of the Imperial Guards' Central Army?
Therefore, Li Yanxian was undoubtedly third.
But after that, Emperor Zhao deliberately blurred the order of Wang Yan and Yue Fei in order to protect Yue Fei, without much discussion, which was the feeling that there must be five people in the so-called Four Heavenly Kings… Therefore, during today's military review, the first three were acting while being honest, while the remaining four were just being honest. Even Wang De, who had caused the most trouble yesterday, seemed to be playing dead today.
In short, in this grand military review held north of He'yin City and south of the Yellow River, due to their different identities, although the people could not be said to have different intentions, their attitudes were also completely different.
However, the protagonists of today were destined to be more than just these people, and the highlight of today was not just the grand military review that lasted from morning to noon.
In the afternoon, the military review ended peacefully. Although there was not enough wine and meat, they still tried their best to hold a full banquet… a reward is a reward, and a good meal is always indispensable.
Emperor Zhao himself also held an imperial banquet on the reviewing stand. Unlike last night's small banquet, this time, all the commanding officers in the army, including Niu Gao, who was specifically promoted to commanding officer by Emperor Zhao, and those generals in Yue Fei's unit who were suppressed at the level of commander, such as Li Kui, Tang Huai, Li Bao, and Li Zhang, that is, the real power officers who were currently leading troops, were all able to attend the banquet in front of the Emperor.
The Emperor sat in the center, the Chancellors on the left, the commanders and the Commander of the Imperial Guards, Wang Yuan, on the right, the Attendant of the Palace of Internal Affairs and the Commanders of the Imperial Guard stood by, and then the principal officials of the Six Ministries, Nine Courts, Five Directorates, and Six Institutes, the Hanlin Academicians, and the important officials of the Censorate were listed after the Chancellors, and dozens of commanding officers and commanders of various departments were arranged after the commanders… All in all, just these powerful civil and military officials numbered over a hundred.
If Wanyan Talan had mustered his remaining courage and launched a counterattack, secretly crossed the Yellow River with a Meng'an, and then traversed the military camp for dozens of miles, finally successfully attacking this place, then the Great Song would really have been destroyed here in He'yin… Of course, fortunately he didn't come.
After three rounds of wine, to celebrate the Emperor's birthday, to celebrate the great victory, and to mourn Chancellor Zong, everyone was slightly tipsy, but instead seemed a little restrained.
Because everyone was a little at a loss… According to the rules of banquets, imperial banquets should have songs, dances, acrobatics, and wrestling. When there were many civil officials, there should naturally be poetry, and when there were many military generals, there should naturally be the kind of commotion and noise from yesterday.
But today's grand banquet, judging by its scale, should have had everything.
But to be honest, Emperor Zhao's "Green Jade Table" had overwhelmed all the Lantern Festival poems of the past and present. Even if the civil officials wanted to show off their literary talent, who wouldn't be a little nervous? The seven commanders who made such a fuss yesterday had already been well-behaved today, and who among the commanding officers and commanders below dared to do anything?
As for acrobatics, songs, dances, and wrestling… who had seen them since the Jingkang Incident?
Could it be that they had to wait for Grand Marshal Wang De to get drunk and invite Madam Liang from Grand Marshal Han's family to perform a dance? Then, regardless of success or failure, they would at least see one of the songs, dances, and wrestling?
Of course, Emperor Zhao was not such a stingy person. Since he had prepared such a grand banquet, he naturally had entertainment to offer.
"The Emperor has spoken, the army lacks dancing and music, so we shall use wrestling to add to the fun." Seizing the opportunity, Attendant Feng Yi suddenly stepped forward and announced loudly.
Exclamations of surprise immediately arose on the reviewing stand, and then almost everyone was excited.
Wrestling has always been a popular sport in the Great Song, suitable for all levels of society. Not only did the common people like it, but scholars, nobles, and the imperial family also liked it. In its heyday, almost every imperial or state banquet had professional royal wrestling performances. As the saying goes, what the superiors like, the subordinates will follow. Before the Jingkang Incident, it had developed to the point where almost every noble, wealthy, and even civil official's house raised wrestlers. Usually, when attending banquets, a row of wrestlers would stand behind them, ready to fight at any time to win face for their master.
However, among them, the imperial wrestlers raised by the royal family were undoubtedly the most outstanding.
Returning to the present, today, inspecting the three armies, with civil and military officials gathered inside the military camp, what could be a more suitable entertainment program than the wrestling performance of the Zhao Song royal family?
Therefore, as soon as this was said, almost everyone craned their necks in anticipation, preparing to see what level of wrestlers the Emperor had gathered in Tokyo during this period?
The rammed earth reviewing stand, which was already slightly terraced to facilitate the review, naturally formed a viewing platform that everyone could use together without having to stand up. With Feng Yi's words, several hundred Imperial Guards immediately surged up, roughly enclosing a field in the open space in front of the reviewing stand.
Everyone became even more excited, because this was the posture of the Imperial Wrestling. In the past, when the royal family held wrestling matches, there would be armored soldiers surrounding the area, setting up flags and drums, and perhaps even allowing the dignitaries present to place bets on the spot. The winner would not only get money, but might even be rewarded with an official position, while the loser would have nothing to worry about, because the Emperor would pay for the loser.
However, only a moment later, the civil and military officials present all changed color, because Yang Yizhong, the Emperor's confidant who had disappeared without knowing when, suddenly appeared, but he personally brought a group of special 'wrestlers'… At first, some people thought they had seen it wrong, but as Commander Yang, whom no one dared to despise, came to the stage to salute and report, everyone had no doubts. Some commanding officers from the Tokyo Garrison even became somewhat alarmed.
"Your Majesty!"
Yang Yizhong bowed. "The traitor Zhang Yu and his thirty officers have all been brought here."
Around the four fields, the entire military camp was still in an uproar, and the spring breeze was moving, stirred up by the Bian River, which had a whistling sound, but the reviewing stand where the imperial carriage was located had long been silent. Several Chancellors frowned slightly, looking at each other and thinking, but because Emperor Zhao had not clarified the reason, they were not in a hurry to offer advice.
But it was conceivable that if Emperor Zhao really wanted to do something bloody and disgraceful on the spot without any reason, such as forcing Zhang Yu and his subordinates to fight each other for fun, instead of administering justice, then not only them, but all the civil officials here would definitely step forward to protest!
Moreover, did the Emperor not know that this Zhang Yu came from the Tokyo Garrison? Even if he died, making an issue of it in such a setting would only make the officials of the Tokyo Garrison suspicious, wouldn't it?
During the reorganization, these bandit-turned-warlords should not be given any extra stimulation.
"Bring them up." Emperor Zhao, who had changed into a scarlet casual dress after the military review, had a calm expression and directly responded.
Yang Yizhong turned around and simply waved his hand, and armored soldiers dragged dozens of people tied to a long rope onto the stage. The leader was the former commanding officer of the Tokyo Garrison, Zhang Yu, also known as 'Swarm'.
When Zhang Yu came to the stage, he was covered in filth and was in a sorry state, no longer with the prestige of the past, but he still pretended to be calm and looked up without saying a word… In fact, he knew in his heart that if there was a chance to survive, he would definitely kneel down directly and beg for his life by taking advantage of the benefits of his former colleagues in the Tokyo Garrison.
However, wasn't his guilt in the Battle of Nanyang there for all to see? Everyone, including himself, knew that there would be no good outcome today.
As an imperial soldier, he had purged the civil and military officials who resisted the Jurchens in the city, opened the city and surrendered to the Jurchens, directly ruining the Five Rivers defense line; after surrendering to the Jurchens, he coerced the gentry and common people in the city, driving them to attack the accompanying capital where the Emperor of the Great Song was located, and repeatedly fought head-on with the imperial army in Nanyang; after the defeat, he fled west in a mess, but encountered a mutiny and was defeated by Zhai Chong of Xiping, and his troops were also emptied… With all this, he had no possibility of surviving.
He just didn't know how he would die!
"Are you Zhang Yu, 'Swarm'?" Zhao Jiu asked calmly. "The one who drove the people to fill the trenches in Nanyang City, and then built the tunnel?"
Zhang Yu looked at the young Emperor in the scarlet robe in the seat and said nothing.
"You people, and these subordinates of yours, originally deserve to be punished, but today, the court is reviewing the troops and giving rewards, and there may be an opportunity for you." Zhao Jiu ignored the other party's rudeness, and also ignored the countless 'admonishing officials' on the left who were raising their eyebrows and preparing to step forward, and continued to say to himself. "I heard that in your army, you drove the gentry and common people to be soldiers, and if the gentry and common people refused, you would have them fight each other to determine life and death, and then the dead would be abandoned and the survivors would become soldiers… Today, I shall repay you in your own coin!"
Zhang Yu was finally moved, but also had an unbelievable look, and the thirty officers behind him also showed surprise.
The civil officials were naturally also surprised. It wasn't that they didn't want to offer advice, but they were caught off guard by the reversal… Originally, they wanted to advise Emperor Zhao not to be too disgraceful, but now they were worried that if Zhang Yu could survive, it would backfire!
Could it be that because of Emperor Zhao's whim, such a vile traitor could be spared? This was the traitor who had made the officials of Nanyang suffer so much!
This was too much!
However, for some reason, everyone was a little cautious today. Until Emperor Zhao finally said something like "the survivor shall be pardoned," no one actually stepped forward. Especially when they saw that Hu Yin, the Censor-in-Chief, and Lin Jingmo, the Hanlin Academician, who had come to He'yin with the Emperor, were silent and sitting quietly, they were even more cautious.
While the civil and military officials below had different thoughts, Zhao Jiu had already pointed to the prisoners behind Zhang Yu and asked: "You thirty people were specially selected by Commander Yang, all of whom were selected by Zhang Yu using that method. You have all gone through this kind of thing once, so you should know the rules, right?"
The officers of Zhang Yu's unit naturally bowed in response, but they were completely different. Some begged for mercy in confusion, while others praised the Emperor's kindness, and Zhang Yu, who was standing in front, also showed a slight smile.
"Then go down!" Zhao Jiu didn't delay any longer, but waved his hand to dismiss them. "You thirty people are considered a nest, and Zhang Yu is a 'Swarm'. Today, only one side can survive between this 'Swarm' and this 'nest'… The survivor shall be pardoned!"
As soon as these words came out, everyone on the reviewing stand changed color.
The civil officials and most of the military officials were whispering to each other, showing a 'as expected' look. Some even laughed. The thirty people were overjoyed, but some of the military generals, especially those from the Tokyo Garrison, couldn't help but become serious and then cautious.
Of course, Zhang Yu himself also instantly lost the color in his face. He knew that it was over today and wanted to take the opportunity to scold a few words on this stage to embolden himself, but as soon as he opened his mouth, the thirty subordinates tied to him couldn't wait to go down, actually dragging him down and then forcibly dragging him rolling down the reviewing stand.
After getting off the stage and entering the armored soldiers' formation, the guards threw down some short knives, daggers, and sticks. The thirty people either got weapons and cut the ropes, or didn't have time to grab weapons and directly held down Zhang Yu with the ropes.
Then everyone swarmed up, like a pack of wolves devouring meat, and almost in an instant, they stabbed this 'Swarm' into a 'hornet's nest'!
Zhang Yu, from beginning to end, didn't even have time to say a word or shout half a sound before he was reduced to a piece of rotten meat.
The thirty people were pardoned and returned to the army, and they were naturally grateful and left, but the rotten meat on the ground inevitably affected everyone's appetite.
After a moment of strange silence on the reviewing stand, just as Ma Gao, a commanding officer of the Tokyo Garrison, was about to step forward in the eye contact of several colleagues, suddenly, a person next to him gritted his teeth and stepped forward earlier than him.
Everyone looked, but it was Wang Shan, a commanding officer of the Tokyo Garrison… Then, everyone's hearts stirred.
"Commander Wang has something to say?" Zhao Jiu asked with a smile.
"Your Majesty!" On the afternoon of spring, the wind was gradually rising, and Wang Shan's forehead was slightly sweating, but he tried hard to face him. "Your Majesty, Zhang Yu's crimes are extremely serious, and he deserves this end! But in the past, he was also a person who called us brothers. Now that he is dead, I want to collect his body!"
"You are quite righteous." Zhao Jiu sighed softly, but then looked at Wan Qixie, who had already stood up without knowing when. "Does Vice Minister Wan also have something to say?"
"Your Majesty!"
Wan Qixie quickly stepped forward and came to Wang Shan's side. After cupping his hands and saluting, he looked up with a solemn expression, looking upright and awe-inspiring. "I think Commander Wang's words are extremely absurd. This thief, Zhang Yu, is originally unforgivable, and he forced good gentry and common people to fight each other to the death, and drove the people to fill the trenches as a one-trickster, which has already violated humanity and can be described as tragic… Therefore, in my opinion, although the Emperor's way of repaying him in his own coin today is excellent, it is still not enough! He should hang his body and send it to the armies as a warning!"
Wang Shan opened his mouth to speak, but made no sound.
As soon as Wan Qixie's words fell, he continued to point and criticize, with a dignified manner: "Not only that, people like Wang Shan, who were thieves in the past, also have many evils in the lack of military discipline. Although Commander Zong later gave words of recruitment, so it should not be pursued, but today, he is protecting such an evil thief, obviously his thieving nature has not changed. I think he should be dismissed from his military post, his troops taken away, and demoted to a commoner as a warning!"
Wang Shan quickly knelt down and lowered his head to beg for forgiveness.
Everyone around was listening, and the four Chancellors took the lead, each sitting in his seat like a wooden sculpture, causing all the civil officials to be in awe. On the other side, several commanders looked at each other, wanting to speak, but after stealing a glance at Emperor Zhao, each was as well-behaved as usual. Seeing that their commander-in-chief was silent, the units of Han, Zhang, Li, Yue, and the two Wangs were also silent.
Only a group of confused officials from the Tokyo Garrison exchanged many glances and became increasingly panicked. Then, Ma Gao took the lead, and except for Li Qiong, more than a dozen commanders stepped forward together to kowtow, but they were all begging for Wang Shan to be forgiven, claiming that they would use military exploits to exchange for the Emperor's forgiveness… startling the civil officials of the Tokyo Garrison, such as Quan Bangyan and Guo Zhongxun, into an awkward and fearful situation.
Zhao Jiu smiled slightly and was about to speak.
Unexpectedly, Wan Qixie was not afraid of such a scene at all. Instead, he stood there and continued to look solemn: "Your Majesty! You must not be deceived by these military ruffians. As far as I know, Ma Gao and the other ten commanders did not think about sending troops to rescue Grand Marshal Han when the country was in trouble. Instead, they privately contacted each other, withdrew their troops and merged with them in Fugou, and then imitated Emperor Taizu's behavior that day, formed sworn brothers, and agreed to share life and death and wealth… Your Majesty, these people not only have not changed their thieving nature, but they all have ulterior motives!"
The wind was blowing and the flags were flying. The reviewing stand became more and more quiet. Among the kneeling commanders, some even instinctively touched their waists, and then suddenly realized that they were at an imperial banquet, and all their weapons were removed. At the same time, the Imperial Guards on and off the stage were all wearing armor and holding weapons, and along with the civil and military officials on the left and right, they coldly looked at this group of people… and occasionally glanced at the pile of rotten meat under the stage.
ps: Thanks to the new fan of Cute Cloud Brother… Thank you very much… This is the 66th Cute in this book.