Chapter 1 The Yangchun in March

In the third month of Yangchun, the main force of the Jin army's western route army moved south along the Fen River, gathering in the area of ​​Hezhong Prefecture. At the same time, around Daming Prefecture, a major town occupied by the eastern route army, large numbers of troops began to attempt to move east and west respectively.

The latter was not worth paying attention to at all, because they could neither break through Zhang Rong and his Imperial Navy, which directly defended the central section of the Yellow River, nor dare to cross the Yellow River in the densely waterway-filled lower reaches and enter the narrow dead zone between the Yellow River and the Ji River… As long as they went there, they would find the Imperial Right Army deployed on the south side of the Ji River, and then Zhang Rong would advance eastward at all costs to block their retreat. Not only that, but Zhao Guan, the Emperor, would definitely abandon Guanzhong and rush directly to Jingdong!

To hell with Western Xia, swallow this Jin army first and then talk about anything else.

In fact, everyone knew very well that the real pressure the Jin army's response could bring to the Song army was the field army gathered around Hezhong Prefecture.

First of all, as the saying goes, "Eight Rivers surround Chang'an," and the "Yellow River's mouth," the eastern key point of the Guanzhong Plain, was destined to be around the Wei River's mouth where it enters the Yellow River. And there were indeed the traditional "Three Crossings and One Pass" here… namely, Longmen Crossing, Pujin Crossing, Fengling Crossing, and Tong Pass.

However, Tong Pass was too dangerous, and the Xiao-Mian Ancient Road was too easy to block, so few people were willing to advance from the road south of the Yellow River and risk their lives. Or rather, compared to闯百二秦关 (challenging the impregnable Qin Pass), any eastern invader coveting the Guanzhong Plain had no reason not to take the safer waterway.

Then the waterway around the Wei River's mouth was naturally the traditional "Three Great Crossings." Among them, Longmen Crossing still seemed too narrow and the water flow was too rapid; Fengling Crossing was good, but unfortunately, after crossing, one still had to face Tong Pass. Eight out of ten people who went this way were to cover for Pujin and Longmen Crossings, and the other two wanted to scare Tong Pass, hoping to get lucky; only Pujin had excellent geographical conditions. Not only was the water flow gentle enough to lay permanent pontoon bridges, but both sides were plains, which facilitated logistical support. Once crossed, it also facilitated a large-scale advance.

During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, the Qin State almost always gathered its army at Pujin whenever it sent troops to the Three Jin States.

Therefore, no one dared to ignore this place.

This could be seen from the Song army's troop deployment in Tongzhou on the Pujin side. After the Song army had some combat power and began to try to defend Guanzhong, the troops stationed in Tongzhou had always been those of Han Shizhong, the Song Dynasty's first general. And in every battle and danger, Han Shizhong would personally arrive in Tongzhou to take charge, and work with Li Yanxian of Shanzhou to withstand the enemy across the river.

Of course, Longmen also had to be defended, but even Longmen Crossing belonged to the scope of Hezhong Prefecture and Tongzhou. Besides, the last time Wushu advanced at Longmen Crossing with a large number of Jin troops as cover on the opposite bank, he was still discovered by Han Shizhong.

Back to the present, as the Jin army gathered again in Hezhong Prefecture, and the banners of Wanyan Wushu, the Prince of Wei, and Wanyan Balisu, the commander, appeared on the opposite bank of Pujin, the Song army naturally did not dare to be negligent.

However, this time, Han Shizhong's own commander's flag unexpectedly did not come from Danzhou in the north, because the flag that arrived at Pujin Crossing in Tongzhou was one level higher than Han Shizhong's "Peerless in the World"—the Jin Wu Dao Hao (Imperial Guard Standard), which impressed all the Jin generals, especially Wanyan Wushu and the generals of the Western Route Army. Although the specific appearance could not be seen clearly from a distance, its shape was too special, and they recognized it again across the river.

Along with the Dragon Standard, there was also a majestic, gorgeous, orderly, and huge continuous procession. From morning to night, countless people followed the Dragon Standard into the opposite bank, not stopping until midnight.

Early the next morning, Wanyan Wushu led the generals to climb the Stork Tower to observe the situation. They saw that the military camp originally occupied by Hei Long Wang Sheng (Black Dragon King Sheng), Han Shizhong's beloved general, had become a large construction site overnight, with smoke and flags everywhere, but also dense soldiers and laborers.

They came and went continuously, and under the command of civil officials who could not be distinguished as local officials or Jinshi accompanying the army, they built large-scale camps and trenches. Moreover, soldiers and armored soldiers who could not be distinguished as Unity Society archers also came and went continuously, entering and exiting with the accompanying officials, marching around the surrounding area.

To be honest, this scene made these Jin generals' teeth ache.

"I just don't understand," Wanyan Tuhesuo, a Wanhu (ten-thousand household commander), suddenly said. "With such manpower in Guanzhong, how could Western Xia, with its small population, have survived for nearly a hundred years? Even with the瀚海 (desert), the Heng Mountains, and cavalry, just manpower alone should have been enough to exhaust the Western Xia people, right?"

"Tuhesuo, have you forgotten the past after suffering once at the hands of Wu Jie?" Wanyan Zhehe, another Wanhu of the Western Route Army, sneered directly. "Are the Song people before the Jingkang Incident the same as the Song people now? Wasn't it you who dismounted and fought on foot, wiping out the Song army in the mountains and fields?"

Tuhesuo was slightly startled and immediately woke up, but then shook his head: "Even so, what we are facing now is not the Song people before the Jingkang Incident. The Song people now dare to stand in the阵地 (battle line) and let the Jurchen armored soldiers shoot the Shenbi bows round after round without asking for a reward on the spot. As for that Dragon Standard, although I haven't seen the situation you mentioned with my own eyes, I always know how powerful King Lou Shi was..."

"Alright," Wanyan Wushu, who had been staring at the flag for a long time, suddenly came back to his senses and turned to interrupt the conversation between the two. "Don't boost other people's morale... Maybe it's just a bluff. Who knows if it was just laborers who came from day to night yesterday?"

"I think there must be some bluffing, but not entirely," Wanyan Balisu, the commander of the Western Route Army, who had been watching for half a day, finally spoke.

"How do you mean?"

"This Zhao Song Emperor is quite courageous in using troops, and often entrusts generals with the overall command of one side without interference." Balisu watched the movement on the opposite bank and said seriously, "According to the information 'obtained' by our scouts who worked hard to cross the river, referring to the previous statements of the Western Xia people, the Song army's combat troops in Guanzhong can be roughly divided into five groups. Han, Li, Wu, and Yue each have 30,000, and then Zhao Song Emperor himself should have one or two 10,000 by his side. Among them, Yue Fei and Qu Duan combined their forces of 30,000 in Pingxia City, which is hundreds of miles away, Wu Jie's troops are in the north, and most of Han Shizhong's troops are on the opposite bank, spread along the Yellow River, from Tong Pass in the south to Danzhou in the north. There are about 20,000 in Tongzhou... In other words, since Zhao Song Emperor is here, he should bring the one or two 10,000 troops in Fangzhou with him."

"Seventy to eighty thousand laborers bluffing, with 20,000 combat troops interspersed among them?" Wushu summarized cleanly. "Making us unable to figure out what's going on, not daring to believe too much, nor daring to believe too little?"

"This is what this subordinate also thinks," Yelu Ma Wu interjected. "There are originally 50,000 to 60,000 combat troops from Li Yanxian and Han Shizhong's troops around Hezhong Prefecture. Now that we are going south with six or seven 10,000 households, the Song people want to support them, and Zhao Song Emperor, with 20,000 troops in Fangzhou, originally had the posture of supporting them from the center as a reserve force, so he should come over."

"Not bad," Balisu immediately agreed.

"Can't we get some definite news?" Wanyan Wushu asked seriously. "How many soldiers are there exactly? The only thing we need to worry about is the regular combat troops incorporated into the Imperial Army, and the Song people's Imperial Army must have a fixed number..."

Balisu shook his head directly: "There are too many laborers on the opposite bank, and the troop deployment is very strict. The scouts have also worked extremely hard. It's not easy to cross the river, but they can only catch some laborers and members of the Unity Society to interrogate, but the information is complicated and difficult to distinguish. They can only do their best. The main thing is to try to use these confessions to verify... For example, the commander of Tong Pass, the scouts interrogated that it was Huyan Tong, and then they went to Fengling Crossing to risk crossing the river to take a look. It was indeed Huyan Tong's flag. Then it can't be too wrong to say that there is an Imperial Commander's army in Tong Pass, with a minimum of 2,000 and a maximum of 3,000, and the general is Huyan Tong."

"It must be true that Huyan Tong is guarding Tong Pass," Wushu nodded immediately, as if enumerating his family's treasures. "This man was once Zhao Song Emperor's personal guard commander in Huaishang and once belonged to the Imperial Central Army. Later, it was said that in order to remind Han Shizhong not to eat empty salaries, he did not change the establishment quota and directly transferred this person and his troops back to the Imperial Left Army... It is of course reasonable for Han Shizhong to use this person to guard Tong Pass in order to reassure Zhao Song Emperor."

The generals seemed to be lost in thought and nodded.

"It is indeed difficult to偵查 (reconnoiter) across the river, and using this method is considered to be doing one's best," Wushu sighed helplessly again. "However, we have only seen the appearance of that Dragon Standard from a distance, but we haven't verified it yet... We have to find a way to verify it!"

Balisu instantly understood Wushu's meaning, but still frowned slightly: "Does the Prince of Wei mean that the Zhao Song Emperor may be fake? In my opinion, it's not to that extent... Wanhu Yelu said it very appropriately. At this time and place, it is reasonable for the Zhao Song Emperor himself to come to support first."

"It's always right to try more," Wanyan Salihe interjected from the side before Wushu could speak. "This Zhao Song Emperor has always been狡猾 (cunning)..."

Seeing this person speak, Balisu and several Wanhu of the Western Route Army, such as Wanyan Zhehe, Yelu Ma Wu, and Wanyan Tuhesuo, almost became disgusted together, but they were helpless... Everyone knew that Salihe had been raised in the Central Army by the Emperor Taizu since he was a child and had a very good relationship with several princes. This was one of the reasons why he and Huo Nu stayed in Yan'an and did not return when Nianhan was in power, and it was also the fundamental reason why he was willing to cooperate with Wushu now.

Moreover, it was foreseeable that if Huo Nu was always entangled in the hatred of killing his father, then after this matter was settled, this person would likely be promoted to deputy commander and work with Wanyan Eluguan, the Left-behind Officer of Xijing, to serve as a check on Balisu.

But frankly speaking, this arrangement was destined to make the Wanhu who had been staying in Hedong feel a sense of shared hatred.

This was because Huo Nu was Huo Nu, and he had already become a commander not long after the start of the Song-Jin War. He also had Lou Shi's legacy. Although there was a division of fields, everyone was convinced. How could this person compare?

However, Wushu didn't seem to notice the attitude of the generals of the Western Route Army, but nodded directly: "This Zhao Jiu of Cangzhou has always been cunning, and it is indeed necessary to try it carefully..."

Before he could finish speaking, there was a sudden commotion on the opposite bank, and the movement became louder and louder. Then, the entire vast and continuous military camp and construction site on the opposite bank began to shake.

At the same time, on the Stork Tower on the east bank of the Great River, whether it was Wanyan Wushu, whose face was originally a little pale, or Balisu, who had been keeping calm, as well as Salihe, Zhehe, Ma Wu, Tuhesuo, Wulibu, Huzhan and other Jin generals, all fell silent for a moment.

For no other reason, everyone saw that the Jin Wu Dao Hao (Imperial Guard Standard) that they had been observing all morning was actively拔起 (raised up) from the platform of the military camp on the opposite bank and was heading towards the riverbank. Not only that, but the accompanying flags, large and small, of various shapes, were also densely packed,蜂拥 (swarming) towards them. The armored soldiers and armored cavalry shining in the sunlight were arranged on both wings, and they were not lacking at all.

Wherever the Dragon Standard went, the mountains and seas cheered. When it reached the riverbank, they could even clearly hear the sound of "ten thousand years" across the river.

In the end, Wushu and others could see with their own eyes that the Dragon Standard was exactly the half-old Dragon Standard they had seen with their own eyes that day. At this time, a rider wearing golden helmet and golden armor leaped out from under the Dragon Standard and came to the riverbank in the midst of countless civil and military officials, looking towards the tower on this side.

The spring day was windy and sunny, and Wanyan Wushu and others could even clearly see that person挥斥方遒 (gesticulating freely), pointing at his family and saying some虚妄 (false) words.

"This saves us the trouble of trying!" A sneer, breaking the silence first, was Wanyan Balisu, the commander of the Western Route Army.

As soon as this statement came out, most of the surrounding Jin military generals burst into laughter, but only Prince Wei Wushu and a few people stood solemnly, staring intently at the opposite scene without saying a word... And after these people finished laughing, they did indeed appear a little pale, just like Wushu.

Because, as Balisu said, it saved them the trouble of trying! Without any doubt, the Zhao Song Emperor on the opposite side had come to the front line again.

And at this time, looking back, the Second Prince Woli Bu died of illness, Lou Shi died in battle, Nianhan was killed by a hammer, and the Emperor Wuqimai was paralyzed on the榻 (couch)... When this group of people tried to find a Ding Hai Shen Zhen (sea-calming needle) who could absolutely overwhelm the Zhao Song Emperor on the opposite side and give themselves confidence, they were shocked to find that at this time, the two military commanders they could rely on, Prince Wei Wushu and Commander Balisu, seemed to lack sufficient persuasion.

Even Prince Wei had always been the defeated general under the banner of that broken Dragon Standard from Huaishang to the opposite bank.

"In any case, this Zhao Song Emperor is always somewhat decisive... We just arrived, our troops are not yet complete, and our ships are not yet gathered, and he has also arrived," Balisu sighed in turn. "Prince Wei, Han Shizhong did not come even though Zhao Song Emperor has arrived first. It could be possible that he is taking the opportunity to capture Yan'an. We cannot hesitate any longer."

"I know," Wanyan Wushu immediately turned around and pointed at a person. "Tuhesuo... you lead your Wanhu as the vanguard to suppress Pinglu first."

Wanyan Tuhesuo immediately stood solemnly with his hands clasped and listened to the order, then limped away in a hurry.

"Wenden Sizhong," Wushu pointed at another person, who was his Privy Council Deputy Chief Administrator brought from Yanjing. "You send someone to write a document, and I will come to affix my seal later. Send Ada and Erda to Longde Prefecture, so that Wanyan Bendo will be the commander of the army, temporarily leading the three Wanhu there, and quickly come to support us!"

"Yes!"

A Jurchen civil official about forty years old, who had not spoken before, responded proudly. Looking at his standing order, he was actually on a par with Wanyan Salihe, almost only slightly behind Balisu, but far ahead of the other Wanhu... And yet everyone was silent.

This was of course.

It must be known that in the early years of the Jurchens, before Wanyan Xiyin invented the writing system, there were no documents or military orders. It was customary for people to dictate orders and pass on edicts, which was called *zha ci*. Wenden Sizhong was the chief *zha ci* in Emperor Taizu Wanyan Aguda's military tent.

In other words, the term *zha ci* was invented specifically for this person.

Before Wulinda Zanmu rose to prominence with his outstanding diplomatic skills, this person monopolized all the internal confidential communications of the Jin Kingdom, as well as foreign diplomatic negotiations... It was precisely because of this that he and Wulinda Zanmu were like mortal enemies, and were recognized as opponents.

Of course, regardless of those messy things, this person's qualifications and status were indeed enough to gain a foothold here. Moreover, it was said that this person was likely to be appointed as the Left-behind Officer of Hezhong Prefecture after this incident, in order to help Yanjing further control the Western Route Army.

"Wait a minute," Wushu suddenly changed his mind after giving the order. "You can just order someone to do this... And take out two of the best Korean ginseng from the ones I usually use and send them across the river to see the Song Emperor and ask him how he is."

Wenden Sizhong responded immediately, and the other generals were silent.

On the other hand, Balisu couldn't help but frown... He always felt that this Prince Wei cared too much about the Zhao Song Emperor himself in his bones. However, Prince Wei did not delay things at all, Tuhesuo had already attacked, and Wanyan Bendo was also going to lead the troops of Longde Prefecture to come to support, so it was not good to say anything.

However, so to speak, but in the morning of March in the spring, the wind was sunny, and the terrain on both sides of Pujin was open, and it was roughly clear at a glance. Balisu, the commander of the Western Route Army, who had been looking at the Dragon Standard with Prince Wei for half a day, had just flashed a trace of dissatisfaction, and in the next moment, he was speechless.

Because just after Prince Wei Wushu decided to send an envoy to the opposite bank, the opposite bank once again抢 (snatched) before Prince Wei—a leaf of a flat boat set off directly from the opposite side, and the person on the boat was dressed gorgeously and was being helped at the bow of the boat, obviously a high-ranking civil official.

It was obvious that the Zhao Song Emperor had sent an envoy first... Pujin was a natural 良渡 (good crossing), and after a while, the person was escorted ashore by the Jurchen knights and changed horses to come here. It was Zheng Zhichang, a famous international friend certified by Zhao Guan himself and famous all over the world, and also a famous poet and Korean minister.

"Is Zhao Guan himself on the opposite bank?" Wushu asked. He knew that it was a Korean, and although it was unexpected, he did not pursue the matter, apparently too lazy to care.

"Yes."

As the largest 'anti-Jin faction' and 'pro-war faction' in Korea, Zheng Zhichang, when he saw the dense cavalry force that was far beyond the imagination of the country, lost the courage to指点江山 (comment on the country) that he had just shown in front of Zhao Guan on the west bank and became honest.

"What did Zhao Guan send you here for?"

"The Emperor thought that it would be appropriate to have a foreign minister with the armies at war. He sent me over to greet Your Highness, the Prince of Wei, and see if it was Your Highness in person."

"Anything else?"

"There's also..." Zheng Zhichang paused slightly before reluctantly facing the Jin generals and said, "The Emperor said that he heard that Your Highness, the Prince of Wei, injured his body riding the wooden Jiaolong (dragon) to cross the river. Fortunately, there was snow lotus from Tibet as tribute. It is said to be very nourishing, so the Emperor let me bring two of the best to nourish Your Highness, so that you don't catch a cold again in the river... The gifts were taken away by the great country's iron cavalry."

On the Stork Tower, Wanyan Wushu opened his mouth to speak, but lost his voice for a moment.

As for the other Jin generals, they just looked at each other... But they didn't know whether to complain about the thoughtfulness of the other side towards their Prince Wei, or to stand up and scold the other side for their sinister intentions and malicious ridicule.

Your Highness was chased by your family and jumped into the Yellow River, escaping with his life, but why do you need to send someone to specially remind him when you meet?

After being stuck for a long time, Wushu was not angry, but sighed in response: "Thank you Zhao Guan for your kindness. Just say that if I want to cross the river again this time, I will definitely lead an army of 200,000 across the river in a堂而皇之 (magnificent) manner, and I will definitely not get wet."

Zheng Zhichang nodded quickly.

Having said that, Wanyan Wushu lost interest.

It was still Balisu who, seeing that the other party was trembling and afraid, probably because he was helped on the boat not because he was not good at swimming, but purely because he was afraid, coldly stepped forward and suddenly took the opportunity to ask sharply:

"Korean hammer, I ask you, where did the Zhao Song Emperor come from?"

"Fangzhou!" Zheng Zhichang was taken aback, but he directly ignored the other party's personal humiliation.

"Did you accompany him from Fangzhou yourself?"

"Exactly."

"How many soldiers did he bring this time?" Balisu asked almost with a dark face.

"There are indeed 100,000 troops," Zheng Zhichang replied sincerely. "Your Majesty can see so clearly from the tower here, why do you need to ask a scholar like me?"

Balisu frowned for a moment and continued to ask: "How many of the 100,000 people are armored?"

"Wherever I looked, accompanying the Song Emperor, all were armored soldiers," Zheng Zhichang almost cried... He couldn't imagine that if Zhao Guan knew that he had revealed military secrets like this, would he still consider him an international friend.

On the other side, Balisu asked a few questions and also felt a little speechless, because he could also see that how could a Korean civil official who was good at writing poetry, a so-called international friend or something, really know those specific situations?

So, he was about to wave his hand to dismiss him.

But at this moment, Wenden Sizhong, who had been proud, suddenly seemed to be lost in thought, stepped forward and smiled: "Scholar Zheng, how is the morale on the opposite bank?"

"Of course, everyone is excited," Zheng Zhichang breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that he was not armored. "To tell you the truth, the nobles of the great country, just now, the Emperor Zhao personally came to the riverbank, and some of the generals even asked to fight."

Wenden Sizhong smiled slightly, and suddenly changed his expression: "You are by the side of this Zhao Song Emperor, do you know if he has調度 (transferred) other troops from other places here?"

As soon as this statement came out, Balisu and Wushu Qi Qi woke up and looked over with their hands clasped.

Zheng Zhichang's face was pale, and he hesitated for a moment.

"Block the west, and then扒 (strip) off his robe!" Wenden Sizhong ordered coldly.

Zheng Zhichang was dumbfounded, and although the surrounding Jurchens were strange, they still followed the order in the silence of Prince Wei and others... A team of armored soldiers lined up in a row to block the west, and several other armored soldiers stepped forward to take this man's hands and feet and directly扒 (stripped) the robe of the dignified Korean minister and a generation of poetry masters in public, leaving only a pair of pants on his body.

Moreover, the spring weather was sunny, but Zheng Zhichang, who suddenly woke up from his dream, felt cold all over... He had just remembered that the Jurchens would randomly虐杀 (torture and kill) ministers of other countries if they disagreed, and Li Ruoshui was a clear proof.

As for now, what was it to just扒 (strip) clothes?

"Tell me honestly," Wenden Sizhong sneered at the other party. "If you don't answer again, I won't kill you, I'll just扒 (strip) off your pants directly, and then lift them up to the side of the tower, so that the Song civil and military officials on the opposite bank can see clearly..."

Zheng Zhichang was dumbfounded, and then blood rushed to his head. The other kind of fear caused by shame in his heart temporarily suppressed his fear of death.

"Take it off!" Wenden Sizhong ordered directly when he saw this.

And the Jurchen soldiers first looked at Prince Wei Wushu and Commander Balisu, and seeing that the two frowned together, but did not stop them, they no longer hesitated... The two grabbed his limbs, and one held a knife and stepped forward, directly划 (cutting) through his pants from top to bottom.

"Yue Fei!" Feeling the cold wind attacking his crotch, Zheng Zhichang trembled slightly and blurted out in the midst of the pulling of the Jurchen soldiers on both sides, obviously unable to bear it anymore.

"What?" Wenden Sizhong was overjoyed for a moment.

"Please give me some face and let me down," Zheng Zhichang's legs were stiff and raised, his face was red, and he begged bitterly for a moment.

"You speak first!" Wenden Sizhong scolded sternly immediately.

"Although His Majesty personally led the army here, it seems that it is still not enough," Zheng Zhichang blurted out, replying in a hurry at a very fast speed. "This morning, he also specially issued an order to let the generals Yue Fei and Qu Duan, who had already captured Pingxia City, leave a few troops to guard the city, and then lead 30,000 troops to come to support at top speed regardless of falling behind. It was to let these people quickly return to the hinterland of Jingzhao and behind Tongzhou as a necessary backhand, but he did not intend to let Han Shizhong come to support."

This was a reasonable arrangement... Didn't Wushu let Wanyan Bendo come here just now? It was natural for the Song people to do this. And Wanyan Wushu and Balisu looked at each other and also nodded slightly imperceptibly.

"This is a good thing."

After a while, watching Wenden Sizhong, carrying two Korean ginseng, and the Korean who had changed his clothes, return together by boat, Balisu finally said his judgment. "Our 合军 (combined army) has come here, after all, it has had an effect. Although the Song people are still unwilling to let go of the Hengshan side for a while, the withdrawal of troops from Pingxia City is enough to let the Western Xia people breathe a sigh of relief. When the three Wanhu from Longde Prefecture arrive here, I am afraid that Han Shizhong and Wu Jie will also retreat slightly. Huo Nu in Yan'an will also be relieved... If we drag on like this, everything can be resolved."

Wushu nodded hurriedly: "But we have to make enough gestures so that the opposite bank doesn't have any侥幸 (luck). Let Longde Prefecture speed up, don't worry about falling behind and attrition, the faster they come, the better. Let Tuhesuo also speed up, we don't expect him to break Pinglu City immediately, but he must fight Shao Yun as soon as possible... Then immediately send a message by fast horse to let Huo Nu and the Western Xia people know the news here."

Others behind him agreed one by one.

In this way, not to mention how Wushu and Balisu acted, on the other side, Zheng Zhichang, who had experienced an embarrassing journey, returned to the west bank, but it took a lot of effort to straighten his back, but for some reason, the closer this person got to Zhao Guan, the more昂然 (proud) he became. In the end, he even gradually showed a bit of趾高气扬 (arrogance)... This made Wenden Sizhong, who followed him,啧啧称奇 (click his tongue in wonder).

Moreover, Wenden Sizhong used a dirty method to obtain information just now, but it was still not enough. He said that Koreans were only guests in front of the Song people, and they relied entirely on face to survive, so they would definitely not dare to cry and ask the Song people to take charge, so he had to follow the Koreans again... After all, since Wulinda Zanmu snatched his diplomatic work, he had always been one step behind the other party. Even after Nianhan's death, the Wulinda clan did not decline. Wulinda Taiyu was still proper in the Eastern Route Army, and Wulinda Zanmu even became the backbone of the capital along with Wanyan Xiyin. In contrast, although Wenden Sizhong gradually gained power because he was a direct descendant of the Wanyan clan, he always failed to surpass the other party.

Therefore, he just ignored Wushu's and Balisu's frowning and directly拍了胸膛 (beat his chest), that he must be an envoy once and make enough of a scene to show his talent.

When the two sides met, Zhao Guan carefully asked the envoy's name, origin, and background on the opposite bank, and then坦然 (calmly) accepted the gift. And Zheng Zhichang, who had obviously changed his clothes, did remain silent.

Immediately, Wenden Sizhong昂然四顾 (looked around proudly), waiting for the other party to ask about the Jin army's military situation, and then humiliate him with the old affairs of the Jingkang Incident...

However, Zhao Jiu, wearing golden helmet and golden armor, looked at this person, thought about it, but suddenly smiled at the international friend who had already made great contributions: "Today, the spring is sunny, and the two countries' combined army of 300,000 will会猎 (hunt) at Pujin. It is impossible to have no poetry. Let's hold a poetry meeting by the river, with spring as the theme and no limit to rhyme... Scholar Zheng, come first as a lead!"

Wenden Sizhong was dumbfounded, while Zheng Zhichang was overjoyed.

Not to mention that Wenden Sizhong left in shame and anger that day, early the next morning, Zhao Guan suddenly summoned Zheng Zhichang again, but asked the other party to wait in the central army for a long time before showing a smile to this person again: "Scholar Zheng came well... Yesterday's poetry meeting has been整理 (organized), and I personally affixed my seal. Now I have to trouble the scholar to take a trip to the opposite bank and send the collection of poems to the Prince of Wei of Jin."

Zheng Zhichang was slightly startled, his heart was bleeding, but he still smiled on his face, and then bowed his hands to each other. Looking at his demeanor, he was a figure of style for a while: "This move of the Emperor truly has the style of ancient sage emperors' elegant music... Zhichang is willing to serve."

Zhao Jiu smiled and said: "As for Scholar Zheng, as a famous Korean minister, in the midst of the great country of 20,000 li, transmitting civilization across the Yellow River, you are also the style of an ancient famous minister."

Zheng Zhichang smiled for a moment, but there was a strange blush on his face... It seemed that he was too thin-skinned and was a little embarrassed to be praised for a while.

ps: Continue to offer a sacrifice to the new book...《胜诉才是正义》(Winning the Case is Justice), 《在群里拉家常的皇帝们》(The Emperors Who Chat in the Group).