Chapter 1 Autumn Cicadas

The autumn cicadas were still chirping.

Upon hearing Grand Prince Wanyan Wuben's question, Qin Hui shivered, but did not reply directly. Instead, he first surveyed the assembled group.

This was the Shangshu Tai (Council of State) in Yanjing. Gathering here cross-legged for meetings was a political custom established during the young Emperor's reign. Although the Emperor was now seventeen, and his political influence was gradually increasing, he was still outmatched by the three Grand Princes.

Furthermore, the Great Jin Dynasty had an old tradition of tribal democracy, so no one questioned this meeting format, which represented the highest political authority of the Jin Dynasty.

Didn't the Southern Song also have something called the Secret Pavilion? To the extent that the Zhao Emperor could be absent for a year without disrupting anything.

It was said that they learned it from the Great Jin.

Today, besides the Emperor, Wanyan Helu, who routinely was not present, Jin Prince leading the Metropolitan Department Premier...that is, the Third Prince Wanyan Eliduo...had also taken some key central figures to Zhending Prefecture to remotely control the situation. Therefore, only a few people were attending this meeting:

Grand Tutor, Prince of Liao, in charge of important military and state affairs, that is, the Grand Prince Wanyan Wuben;

Prince of Wei, Chief of the Privy Council, that is, the Fourth Prince Wanyan Wushu;

Deputy Premier of the Metropolitan Department, the actual promoter of the Sinicization reforms, and the actual administrator of political affairs in the Great Jin, Wanyan Xiyin;

Hanlin Academician and Inner Secretary, actually representing the seventeen-year-old Emperor, and also the leader of the Han people in Yanyun, Han Fang;

Director of the Metropolitan Department, holding the position of Vice Minister of Revenue, Wanyan Xiyin's actual deputy, transferred from Qi State, Hong Ya;

Director of the Privy Council, concurrently Minister of Rites, Wulinda Zanmo;

Left Deputy Commander of the Yanjing New Army, Wanhu (Ten Thousand Households Commander) Wulinda Taiyu;

In addition, there were four others: Wanyan Talai, Wanyan Wuye, Wanyan Yinshu Ke, and Wanyan Pujianu, representing a mix of new and old faces.

Among these four, Wanyan Wuye, the 'scholar' under forty, was a new face, but his rise was expected, as he was the Emperor's Jurchen teacher, a confidant of the Emperor, and also a member of the close imperial clan (Talai's younger brother) and a vanguard of Sinicization. He was considered Wanyan Xiyin's successor… Now, with the Emperor's coming of age, it was natural for this newly appointed Minister of Works to have a seat here.

However, the return of the three old fellows, Wanyan Pujianu, Wanyan Talai, and Wanyan Yinshu Ke, to the periphery of core power was not solely due to the young Emperor wanting to use their abilities to counter his three uncles, but rather the entire ruling group being compelled by the overall situation—at the beginning of this year, just after the New Year, a sudden cold snap directly killed the former Emperor Wuqimai, who was paralyzed in bed, and he went to see the Great Ancestor Wanyan Aguda.

Wuqimai was not the same as his son. He was the second Emperor after the founding of the country, and a pillar of the state during Aguda's time, stabilizing the rear for Aguda. Later, during his reign, he completed the early invasion of Song, causing the Jingkang Incident, which was considered to be the acquisition of the Two Rivers region as the heartland of the Jin Dynasty. At the same time, he also completed the partial centralization of state power during his reign, appeasing and integrating various tribal forces outside the Pass.

Although the political situation was out of control in his later years, it was not his fault. He was paralyzed by the wind on the road leaving Yanjing to return to his political base. Who could he blame?

This was truly unavoidable. Lou Shi made it very clear when he came to the Shangshu Tai that the 'old men' from the founding period, from Aguda onwards, generally suffered enough in their childhood, and then risked their lives on the battlefield in their youth and middle age. They would die when they died. It was truly helpless.

The continuous decline of famous founding princes and generals was an objective fact.

In short, Wuqimai's political achievements were there, and there was nothing wrong with his virtue. Even if Wanyan Wushu launched a coup, the three brothers did not dare to deny him. Instead, they attributed the loss of control of the political situation to Nianhan. Later, they wanted to eliminate Wuqimai's direct line of power, but they also had to engage in entrapment tactics, and did not dare to touch Wuqimai.

Therefore, Wuqimai's death immediately triggered serious political turmoil.

Specifically, the old forces of the Jin Dynasty outside the Pass, who were already seriously dissatisfied with the relocation of the capital and the heavy use of Han people, immediately lost their patience and launched a non-violent non-cooperation movement outside the Pass...some were simply violent non-cooperation movements...vaguely saying that the old Emperor died because his son was harmed by treacherous officials, and was filled with grief and indignation.

Under such circumstances, Yanjing had to face the pressure from the South, and the ten Yanjing New Army Wanhu (Ten Thousand Households), which the country was vigorously developing, were designed to be half from the tribes outside the Pass and half from the Han people of Yanyun, so it was even more impossible to turn against the outside at this time.

In the end, just like the Zhao Emperor had to appease the so-called Southeast opposition party, the Great Jin also chose to appease the tribes outside the Pass...everyone had their own national conditions...first of all, they recognized Wuqimai's political achievements, posthumously named him Emperor Taizong of the Great Jin, and the specific posthumous title was Emperor Tiyuan Yingyun Shide Zhaogong Zhehui Rensheng Wenlie.

It is worth mentioning that this posthumous title was conceived by Qin Hui himself.

Secondly, they privately abandoned the restrictions on the smuggling of luxury goods from Goryeo, and at the same time greatly rewarded the tribal leaders outside the Pass.

Finally, they had no choice but to re-appoint these old-fashioned figures who did not necessarily represent the interests of the tribes outside the Pass, but could be recognized by them.

Of course, although Wanyan Yinshu Ke was the nominal commander of the Yanjing New Army, the Yanjing New Army was actually divided into two parts, led by Wanyan Talai and Wulinda Taiyu respectively. He could only command his own few thousand old troops.

Wanyan Pujianu became the Deputy Premier of the Metropolitan Department, but in reality, he was just a figurehead. With Wanyan Xiyin there, how could this old fellow possibly interfere in political affairs?

The only thing worth mentioning was Wanyan Talai. This person was previously opportunistic, repeatedly engaged in speculation, and was also influenced by the overall situation this time. In addition, he was ultimately a member of the close imperial clan, especially since there was also a Wanyan Huonv in the old foundation of the Yanjing New Army who could not politically restore his future. This gave him an opportunity, so this time he genuinely returned to the core of central power.

Of course, the Yanjing New Army was full of new recruits. Huonv could not advance, but it did not mean that he was so easy to manipulate. Talai, who had long lost his military claws, probably still needed time to establish his power in the New Army.

Therefore, even after returning to the center of power, Talai was much more honest, following the three Grand Princes in everything and never overstepping his bounds.

Last but not least, of course, there was also Qin Hui, the Deputy Chief of the Privy Council, who actually served as the political and strategic deputy of several Grand Princes, and fully participated in various affairs of the Jin Dynasty.

Putting them together, there were exactly twelve people at this time.

Returning to the present, the cicadas were still chirping. Qin Hui glanced around at everyone, his mind spinning with information, but it was only a moment. After a slight pause, he spoke solemnly to the Grand Prince Wanyan Wuben:

"Your Highness, Prince of Liao, do you want to ask if the things in the Song people's Dibao (official gazette) are true or false, or do you want to ask if the Song people will cross the river?"

"I want to ask both." Wanyan Wuben, who had cultivated an air of authority, urged directly from his futon. "I want to ask about the truth, and I want to ask about crossing the river... First tell me about the truth, then about crossing the river."

Qin Hui nodded and responded calmly: "If that's the case, so that the two Great Princes and all colleagues know, I believe that even the Zhao Song Emperor himself probably doesn't know whether the information in the Dibao is true or false."

Of the other eleven people, only Wanyan Xiyin's expression remained unchanged, as if he had realized this long ago. The remaining ten were stunned for a moment, and then became thoughtful.

"To put it bluntly, things are extremely simple." Qin Hui glanced at Wanyan Xiyin, and seeing that he seemed unwilling to do this explanation work, he continued. "That is, documents are documents, and reality is reality... Whether it is Great Song or Great Jin, there are the Metropolitan Department, the Privy Council, the Censorate, the Six Ministries, the Nine Ministers, the Five Directorates, as well as Academicians, Gentlemen, Secretary-Lords, and even the various military departments, Commanderies, Imperial City Divisions, and so on. Thousands of years of institutions are like this, and there is always someone to manage all kinds of things in the world... For example, as early as the reign of Emperor Renzong of Zhao Song, there was a Commissioner of the Three Offices who oversaw financial matters, and the accounts of the Imperial Army for a year could be detailed to a single cash, and it was written into memorials and recorded. But was the military expenditure of Emperor Renzong's reign really so precise and clear?"

The remaining ten people were completely awake.

Wanyan Talai immediately shook his head and chuckled: "I said, how could this Great Song Dynasty be so capable? That Zhao Emperor went to Jiangnan for a year, and only came back after a year. As a result, after returning to the Central Plains, he was able to gather all the national internal affairs, foreign affairs, logistics, and military needs so properly in just half a month from Nanjing to Tokyo? It turns out it's just documents. And documents, with so many yamen (government offices) and officials, only need to be reported according to the rules, and there will always be explanations."

"Even so, we cannot underestimate them." Wanyan Xiyin finally interjected, but solemnly reminded those present. "Let me ask you all, is it better to have documents, or better not to have documents... Is it better to be detailed to a single cash, or is it better to round up to the nearest hundred guan (monetary unit)? With institutions, officials, and documents, we can follow the clues when something goes wrong, and we can directly mobilize when we want to do something, regardless of the consequences. But if there are no documents, then even if the Zhao Song Emperor wants to scare us in the Dibao, he won't know how to scare us!"

Xiyin was so serious that Talai immediately felt embarrassed. The others also felt somewhat dissatisfied when Xiyin seemed to be lecturing everyone like children, but no one expressed it.

"That's right." Qin Hui then slowly interjected. "Moreover, the words of the Zhao Song Emperor in the Dibao, although they are intended to scare us and encourage themselves, are not necessarily false words that are truly scary and deceptive... I just want to say that we can never verify this kind of thing, and the Zhao Song Emperor cannot possibly know the state of national affairs and military affairs as he claims in the Dibao. Let's not take the specific content on it seriously."

Upon hearing this, most people nodded in agreement. Even Hong Ya, after taking a keen look at Qin Hui, immediately nodded repeatedly, as if in thought.

To put it bluntly, there were basically no fools in the Yanjing Shangshu Tai. Even someone as hollow as Wanyan Pujianu had led troops during the Taizu period and had even served as Wanyan Nianhan's deputy, only to be replaced by Xiyin later.

Moreover, Qin Hui and Wanyan Xiyin's analyses were very direct, and the reasoning was very simple, and there was nothing difficult to understand.

That's how it is... otherwise, what else could it be?

You have to know that in this day and age, it is difficult to find idealized, die-hard professional spies. It is not that there are no corresponding patriots, nor that corresponding people cannot be sent to do corresponding activities, but that transportation conditions and information transmission conditions make such actions extremely inefficient and of little significance.

In fact, since ancient times, the concept of a spy has mostly been concurrent... For example, small armed reconnaissance and harassment units, when they go to scout and sabotage, it is a typical 'use of spies'.

For example, state envoys who go to a place to test the other party's political attitude, scout the geography along the way, and observe military deployments are also reasonable spy behavior.

For example, high-ranking civil officials and military leaders with speculative strength, and even tribes or third-party countries that are qualified to sit on the fence, choose to transmit certain information at specific times, or even defect on the spot... These are all standard spy behaviors.

As for the very few who are in Cao Ying but whose hearts are in Han, they can only mostly become Fa Zheng and Zhang Song, and become Geng Ji and Jin Yi. Even Fa Zheng and Zhang Song need Liu Yuzhou to enter Shu to play a role, and they need a corresponding military and political atmosphere... Now, the Song and Jin dynasties are facing each other across the Yellow River, and the political bases of both sides are thousands of miles apart, basically suppressing purely espionage to an extremely low level.

Before Zheng Yinian left, he must have accepted a so-called standard spy mission, but as soon as he went back, he was the Zhao Emperor's loyal minister. Including Gao Qingyi, who followed him, did nothing and returned honestly. His brother Zheng Xiunian had been registered at the Imperial City Division before he came from the South, and now he is also a high official of the Great Jin Dynasty. Hong Ya, who was also registered, is sitting in this Shangshu Tai, but are they really spies?

They are just preserving a seed, waiting for the situation to promote it.

Returning to the current overall situation of the Song and Jin confrontation... Low-intensity military reconnaissance on the front line has certainly never stopped, and small-scale infiltration is certainly happening, but as long as the Northern Expedition does not suddenly begin, most of the military intelligence along the river will remain useless... because it will soon expire.

Major events cannot be concealed, and minor events are worthless.

As for wanting to obtain high-level political news from the other side's heartland, the Great Song can hardly rely on the Taihang righteous army, so it is better to rely on the Goryeo people. The Great Jin is even more miserable, they might as well read the Dibao of the opposite side.

But now the Dibao cannot be trusted, because the Zhao Song Emperor on the opposite side has set his sights on the fact that the Dibao has formed credibility and public opinion power, so he began to use this to fool people.

Perhaps, this fooling is not entirely aimed at the Jurchens, and perhaps it is also aimed at the Song people themselves.

When the common people in the South see such detailed military deployments, the arrangement of hundreds of thousands of troops, and tens of millions of guan of military reserves... including whether the armor coverage of less than ten percent is considered self-deprecation or boasting is hard to say.

Of course, having said that, the people in the Shangshu Tai still have not solved the most direct problem.

"Then let's move past this matter." Wanyan Wuben was somewhat displeased that Qin Hui had glossed over a question, and continued to press. "Qin Chancellor, just tell me whether Zhao Song will launch a Northern Expedition across the river this time!"

Qin Hui was silent again for a moment, and then answered simply with one word: "Yes."

In the Shangshu Tai hall, the autumn cicadas continued to chirp. Everyone below Wanyan Wuben was speechless, except for Wanyan Wushu, whose expression did not change.

"How do you say that?" After a long while, Han Fang couldn't help but ask. "Didn't Qin Chancellor say that the information in the Dibao is uncertain?"

"What is uncertain is the content, but regardless of the truth, it shows that this Zhao Emperor has put on a posture both internally and externally... Why did he do those things? Isn't it to intimidate you and me? Isn't it to cheer himself up?"

"Since it is intimidation..."

"Lord Han does not understand my meaning... This matter has nothing to do with whether he is intimidating or showing weakness, nor whether the content of the Dibao is true or false. The key is that this Zhao Emperor has not hesitated in his actions since the Huai River in the first year of Jianyan!" Qin Hui suddenly raised his voice, startling the Jin dignitaries in the hall. "He blocked the Eight Gong Mountains on the Huai River to resist the Fourth Prince, in order to survive! He escaped from Nanyang, seized the army in Yanling, and defeated Prince Lu (Wanyan Talai), in order to gain a foothold! The decisive battle at Yaoshan, personally welcoming Prince Yue (Wanyan Lou Shi), was to compete for luck! Destroying Xixia and submitting the Liao and Mongols, was to seize power... Step by step, layer by layer, no matter what he thinks in his heart, and we don't know what he thinks, just say that this person has never hesitated when things come to a head! Has he ever been afraid to gamble! Has he ever pretended to be mysterious and done nothing?!"

The hall was silent. Even the autumn cicadas outside the hall seemed to be frightened. Only Qin Hui continued to speak loudly:

"If you calculate it carefully, it has been three years since the last war with Xixia, and more than eight years since this person ascended the throne. If we count the war between Song and Jin, it has been a full ten years... Everyone, even if the content of the Dibao is no longer credible, has he not expanded his army and stored grain in three years? Has he not spent a full year in the South appeasing the Southeast? Has he not accumulated eight years of achievements and ten years of shame, and then only waited for the Northern Expedition? If he is only waiting for the Northern Expedition, then we should ask why he does not come, rather than ask why he wants to come! I dare to ask everyone, he has accumulated troops and settled the rear, so why doesn't he come?"

Having said this, Qin Hui's expression was serious. He looked around at everyone, but came to a conclusion among those present: "I only have my wife here, so I will bet our lives to make a conclusion... This Zhao Song Emperor is engaging in empty words and intimidation, but it is to intimidate for the sake of launching a Northern Expedition across the river!"

"If he comes, when will it be?" After a long while, the Fourth Prince, Prince of Wei, Wushu, moved past this question and broke the silence.

"Perhaps he will come tomorrow, perhaps after next spring..." Qin Hui was still unambiguous. "But if there are no events to shake things up, it should be more likely after next spring."

"How do you explain that?" Wushu's expression did not change.

"Although the Dibao is not credible, some things have to be believed... For example, the decree of the Southern Imperial Army to fill its quota of 300,000 troops was only issued in the first half of this year, so if they want to succeed, it will take at least until the beginning of winter after autumn; also, it will only be reassuring when this year's autumn grain is transferred into the warehouses in winter." Qin Hui replied fluently. "Zhao Song cannot hide these two things, and there is no need to hide them."

"That's true... But why not send troops in the winter after filling the quota and entering the warehouses, but after spring?" The Prince of Liao, Wanyan Wuben, sitting at the head, frowned.

"The main reason is the Yellow River." Before Qin Hui could speak, Wushu directly explained. "The Yellow River has two old courses and four branches that penetrate deep into Hebei, and Daming Prefecture is夹住（sandwiched） between two old courses. If the Song army wants to launch a full-scale Northern Expedition, it cannot abandon its naval advantage. The Yellow River generally has two dry seasons, making it impossible for large ships to enter the old course of the Yellow River... One is in the height of summer, when there is often little rain upstream, but whether it dries up depends on luck; and the other is naturally in the depth of winter, not only because of the water depth, but also because of the ice. In addition, spring plowing in the South is earlier than in the North, so if they come after spring, they can also catch a time difference."

Since Wushu spoke, everyone couldn't help but take a closer look at the Prince of Wei... The meaning was very obvious, that for this matter, the Fourth Prince had actually had mature thoughts and opinions long ago, and agreed with Qin Hui.

If that was the case, then it would be even more convincing to those present.

In fact, Wanyan Wuben, who had no experience in using troops in the South, immediately woke up after hearing this, and then summarized it slightly:

"In this way, the Zhao Song Northern Expedition is inevitable, but unless something major happens, they will most likely come after spring plowing next year? The current wave of Dibao is more of an empty threat to make us tired of responding?"

"But we have to guard against it." Talai reiterated his position, but said something useless. "If there is a major leak somewhere, with the personality of this Zhao Emperor in the South, he will definitely cross the river without hesitation..."

Wanyan Wuben nodded: "But we can't be dispatched too much. Everything must be done in moderation. The Third Brother is going to Zhending Prefecture to coordinate Taiyuan, Xijing (Datong), Daming Prefecture, and Longde Prefecture... The key is that we here in Yanjing must make all the preparations. We should collect grain and grass, gather troops, gather tribal leaders, and count military equipment."

"We must prepare the roster in advance and be ready to mobilize the signing army at any time... Half as soldiers to supplement the army, and half as laborers." Wanyan Xiyin sighed and also offered a suggestion.

"And the Mongols and the Goryeo people." Wulinda Zanmo finally spoke. "We can't reach the Western Mongols. The Khitans hate us to the bone, so we don't need to think too much about them. As for the Goryeo people, the current Emperor and Privy Councilor Kim Bu-sik, who are in charge there, have some skills. I think they will never make a decision without authorization until the victory or defeat has been determined... The biggest variable is still Khabul Khan of the Eastern Mongols."

Because the Southern Dibao changed to Mongol, the Jurchens also called them Mongols.

"Then send envoys there again." Wanyan Wuben thought for a moment, pinched his chin, and made a decision. "Show sincerity, we can promise him gold, silver, and wealth. Not to mention the Eastern Mongol King, we can promise him the position of Khan of the entire Mongol! We can even give him some tribes and stockades on the border! We must distinguish between priorities at critical moments!"

As soon as these words came out, Wushu, Xiyin, Qin Hui, Han Fang, Hong Ya, Talai, Yinshu Ke, Wuye, plus the Wulinda brothers, including Pujianu, almost all nodded.

"I think the key to this battle is still the New Army." Seeing that the atmosphere was gradually improving and his brother's opinion was supported, Wulinda Taiyu also spoke in a timely manner. He was the Right Deputy Commander of the Yanjing New Army. "Here in the New Army, the local Han Chinese in Yanjing are still very enthusiastic, but the soldiers from outside the Pass are slow to arrive... What should we do?"

"The Prince of Liao just said that we should hold a special meeting with the tribal leaders outside the Pass." Wanyan Xiyin interjected and scolded. "We have to spend a lot of money on Khabul, let alone our own people?"

"Would it be better to send someone out of the Pass to handle this matter?" Wulinda Zanmo asked before his brother could say anything else. "That would be faster."

"But who should go?" Xiyin still frowned. "The tribal leaders outside the Pass are no small matter, and must be a truly ruling Great Prince. The Prince of Jin (Eliduo) has gone to Zhending Prefecture to sit in town and respond to the South; in case of a sudden attack by the Song, the Prince of Wei (Wushu) must also immediately go south to share the command with the Prince of Jin; and His Highness, the Prince of Liao, must sit in Yanjing..."

"What about letting the Emperor take a trip?" Qin Hui suddenly interrupted Xiyin. "The Emperor is seventeen years old and inspected the outside of the Pass last year, and dealt with Pulu Hu's rebellion. If the Emperor personally goes, the tribes outside the Pass will definitely be delighted!"

Xiyin was stunned for a moment and immediately looked at Wanyan Wuben, his meaning being that he agreed with Qin Hui. Wuben was obviously somewhat hesitant... because doing so undoubtedly had political risks.

But at this moment, Wanyan Yinshu Ke, who had not spoken before, was moved and couldn't help but speak: "Since it is for the New Army, and the three Great Princes cannot leave the interior of the Pass for a moment, why don't I, the commander of the New Army, escort the Emperor for a trip?"

Upon hearing this, Wanyan Pujianu immediately chimed in: "I am also willing to escort the Emperor out of the Pass. I, Pujianu, still have some face among the tribes outside the Pass."

The crowd looked at each other, of course knowing that these two were unwilling to be lonely, wanted to make use of the Emperor, and even had the intention of using this opportunity to re-emerge with the assembly and appointment of the New Army. But at the same time, everyone had to admit that letting the Emperor go out of the Pass to unite the Liaodong tribes at this time was the best choice. Letting these two accompany the Emperor out of the Pass to urge the tribes to send troops to Yanjing in a timely manner could also be considered their using their residual heat for the sake of the overall situation.

Sure enough, after a moment, after exchanging glances with his fourth brother Wushu, the Grand Prince finally nodded his teeth: "In that case, you two must take good care of the Emperor... As for Academician Han, Yanjing needs you to assist here, so you cannot accompany the Emperor out of the Pass."

Yinshu Ke and Pujianu were secretly delighted and immediately bowed to obey. Han Fang hesitated for a moment and also bowed in his seat along with the two former people... He knew what Wuben meant. Once the Zhao Song launched the Northern Expedition, it would be a war of the entire country. The Great Jin not only needed the power of Liaodong, but also the power of the Han people of Yanyun. Their Han clan was the most influential representative of the Han people of Yanyun in the high levels of the Jin Dynasty, so they could not easily leave Yanjing at this time.

Seeing that the two Grand Princes were so frank and the meeting was so pragmatic, Wulinda Taiyu, who had been blocked by his brother before, finally couldn't help but say: "In the New Army, not only is the number of soldiers insufficient, but the key is that most of them are new recruits who have never seen a battle..."

"How can we let them see a battle in such a hurry?" Wuben finally became impatient after agreeing to many things. "Even the newly replenished soldiers in the Song people's Imperial Army haven't seen a battle, right? Everyone has to see blood when they fight."

"What I mean is, can we transfer some old soldiers from the East and West Roads and exchange them?" Wulinda Taiyu quickly explained. "For example, transfer two Wanhu (Ten Thousand Households) of old troops from Taiyuan and Longde, and send out two New Army Wanhu at the same time?"

Talai instinctively wanted to agree, but ultimately chose to remain silent, only looking at the two Grand Princes and the others present.

That's right, just like Yinshu Ke just now, everyone actually knew that Wulinda Taiyu wanted to take the opportunity to expand the strength of his troops, but they had to admit that from the perspective of the overall situation, doing so would be more beneficial to the possible all-out war.

Therefore, many people in the hall were temporarily tempted, and then inevitably turned their eyes back to Wanyan Wuben, who had fallen silent, and Wuben then looked at his fourth brother Wushu, which led others to look at Wushu as well.

There was no way, there was really no way. Even though Wushu seemed a little embarrassed in the Xixia incident, now that Eliduo was not there, who could they listen to if they didn't listen to him, considering his relationship and experience in war? Listen to Wanyan Talai?

They would like to listen to Wanyan Aguda, Wanyan Wuqimai, Wanyan Nianhan, Wanyan Wolibu, and Wanyan Loushi... Where were these people?

Wushu, stared at by everyone, also sighed, and nodded after a long while.

The Fourth Prince was not hesitating whether this matter was feasible or not, because in his opinion, as long as it had a positive impact on the outcome of the war, no matter who was conveniently inserting their own selfishness, it was acceptable... The key was to help the overall situation.

The reason he sighed was more to lament that Wulinda Taiyu's words made clear an unfortunate fact, that just like the South had to rely on those commanders and commanding officers, the Great Jin, despite its reforms, still had no way to bypass those Wanhu generals and those hereditary Meng'an (tribal military units), so that military deployments of this level had to be carried out from the Wanhu level.

In fact, the reason why another Yanjing New Army was formed was because the reforms of the East and West Roads armies could not overcome those generals.

Of course, now that things had come to this, it was meaningless to say this. The Zhao Emperor had already crossed the Yellow River, so why bother with so much?

The autumn cicadas outside the hall continued to chirp, and the meeting in the hall continued... It can only be said that at this moment, although the high levels of the Great Jin Dynasty were showing signs of decline, the people who could make decisions were still the remnants of the founding period, and these people had no naive or confused ideas about war.

Once they were sure that the Zhao Song Emperor in the South would launch a full-scale war at any time, or at the latest within six months, they immediately made political compromises with each other and unhesitatingly passed a series of response measures from internal affairs to diplomacy, from military supplies to soldiers.

And they were implemented immediately after the meeting.

Compared to the united will of the people in Yanjing, the Zhao Song Emperor, who was treated as a formidable enemy on the south side of the Yellow River, was not as comfortable as imagined these days, and did not show much of the domineering spirit of whipping the world as shown on the Dibao.

In fact, after this Zhao Emperor returned to Tokyo, troubles continued.

The problem still lay in military preparations and Lu Yihao.

Among them, there was no need to mention military preparations. The South had indeed suffered some losses, and it was always a troublesome matter to complete the equipment of the army. On the other hand, Premier Lu stayed in Tokyo for half a month, and directly caused the court to be in chaos, unable to compare with the unity and determination of the North to resist the Zhao Emperor.

On the one hand, the temperament of this Premier was really unbearable for those above and below. Not only did Zhang Jun suddenly find that he could not make decisions on anything, but even the Metropolitan Department was uncomfortable.

On the other hand, those above and below who were uncomfortable were certainly unwilling to accept it. Especially since the Zhao Emperor had been gone for a year, and brought back a Lu Yihao plus a hundred reserve officials, who dared to relax? Moreover, Lu Yihao didn't have any weaknesses... Not to mention anything else, in the matter of the Guide Army Jiedushi (military governor), if the Emperor gave it to you, you had to take it?

Therefore, accusations flew back and forth, only they were not put on the Dibao.

Of course, what was Premier Lu afraid of? Moreover, he asked himself to be worthy of his heart. Could it be that he could really rebel after taking this Jiedushi? Therefore, whoever impeached him was naturally a villain who was disturbing the court with selfishness, and then whoever would be given a hard time that day.

For the great officials who could not be given a hard time, he would scold and refute them in front of the Zhao Emperor and all the chancellors!

The Zhao Emperor left Tokyo with Lu Yihao on September 1 to inspect the river defenses, more like Dayu passing by his home without entering, rather than showing signs of fleeing with his head in his hands.

After all, just as Qin Hui had judged, Zhao Jiu needed time to make final preparations for the Imperial Army, and it would also take time to transfer the autumn grain into the warehouses along the Yellow River. Therefore, Wang Yan's military plan had already been arranged clearly, and it was only to launch a formal Northern Expedition after the ice melted and the water rose in the spring, unless there was a major unexpected event.

The current actions and publicity were indeed to intimidate the enemy and fatigue them.

In short, in the autumn, both sides were conducting large-scale military deployments and preparations. Although small-scale battles were everywhere, because the Yellow River had not yet entered its dry season, and the existence of the Imperial Navy allowed the Song army to maintain strategic initiative, nothing suddenly out of control had happened.

On September 13, thirteen days since the Zhao Emperor left Beijing again, and ten days since the meeting of the Great Jin Shangshu Tai... In the early morning, within the territory of Enzhou in Hebei, on the old course of the Yellow River, a group of elite Jurchen cavalry hurriedly crossed a shoal. The horses' hooves splashed countless water, covering these elite Jurchen knights with water.

However, after landing on the east bank, no one cared about the water stains on their bodies, but hurried on, escorting a middle-aged Jurchen nobleman, about forty years old, with a sallow complexion, to Qinghe City, several miles away.

By the time they arrived at Qinghe City, it was already dawn. A group of knights galloped ahead, whipping open the gate soldiers, and then rushed into the city, directly to the county government office, startling the county magistrate to greet them in a panic. Then, he personally took the yamen runners to Wu Dalang's shaobing (baked flatbread) shop in the county and brought over all the freshly baked shaobing from this family to offer to the Jurchen nobleman to eat.

Wu Dalang's shaobing were famous throughout Hebei, and their quality was naturally beyond question. However, when this group saw so many steaming shaobing, they did not stay long. Instead, they divided and packaged the shaobing, loaded them with clean water, and left in a hurry.

At this time, the people in the county knew that the person who had just come was the Prince of Jin, the Grand Marshal Wanyan Eliduo, commonly known as the Third Prince. Because the Zhao Emperor's Dragon Banner had arrived at Yanggu, opposite Liaocheng, this Grand Marshal did not dare to neglect it and immediately rushed from Zhending Prefecture to sit in Daming Prefecture to confront the Zhao Emperor.

Not to mention that this news made the people in the county panic and discuss it endlessly. Even Wu Dalang's family did not dare to ask for money for the shaobing, only saying that Wanyan Eliduo had traveled all night, and his breakfast was shaobing eaten on horseback. As a result, he galloped non-stop, obviously wanting to reach Daming Prefecture today.

As a result of this abuse of his body, he was finally punished - four large shaobing plus cold water went down, and Eliduo felt some pain in his abdomen.

At this time, the Third Prince did not pay attention to it. Eating on horseback, constantly bumping along the way, and drinking cold water, these things were common. He had not experienced it before, and he was tired all night? Besides, the military situation was