Chapter 27 Aftermath of Wang Bolong's Death

It is said that after Wang Bolong's death in battle, the Jin army was shaken and their morale plummeted, to the point where they wanted to avoid battle. Therefore, long before Gao Qingyi came to see Wuzhu, the high-level military council at noon had already had all sorts of discussions from a military point of view.

For example, those who supported sending heavy troops south were not only those who suggested attacking Dongjing, but also some who suggested a long-distance raid to attack Shanluo, cutting off the rear of Zhao Guan's family in Hedong... Of course, compared to the former's straightforwardness and simplicity, the latter was a bit confusing. Firstly, the logistics in Hedong were half in Guanzhong and half in Shanluo. Secondly, a long-distance raid on Shanluo would have a great impact on the Jin's own logistics. Finally, if that were the case, what if the Song army in Hedong, which controlled Zhiguanxing and had a large number of cavalry, directly abandoned Taiyuan and returned to encircle the Jin army?

It could only be said that, fortunately, no one in the southward faction suggested that the entire army should attack Jinan.

Of course, sending heavy troops south, whether to attack Dongjing or directly cut off the Song army's logistics in the Hedong direction, was all about seeking victory by going south, and was essentially a gamble.

They were gambling on their ability to conduct mobile warfare, which would test the Jin army's own logistics supply; gambling on whether the heavens would favor the Great Jin, because once the freezing period ended, the Song army's navy hidden in the belly of the camp under the root of this Yuancheng would swarm out, controlling the Yellow River waterway with absolute superiority; and gambling on the determination of Yue Fei and Zhao Song's official family, because as it stood, Yue Fei had probably stored a large amount of military supplies in his camp, and the Hedong direction simply had two supply directions at the same time. Whether the strategy of "besieging Wei to rescue Zhao" could succeed depended mostly on whether the two supreme commanders would be shaken by the situation.

In addition, how many troops to send south, and how many to leave to monitor Yue Fei, was now a difficult problem.

If there was a southward faction, there was naturally a northward faction. There were two views on going north. One was to suggest retreating to the Zhengging Prefecture and Hejian Prefecture area, building a defense line on the spot, and blocking Jingxing or something; the other was to return to rescue Taiyuan, taking advantage of the fact that the Song army in Hedong had no choice but to gnaw on the Queshu Valley road, and gather heavy troops in Taiyuan to fight a decisive battle with the Song army.

As for going north, it felt a bit like "smashing the pot to pieces"... Going to Zhengding was almost equivalent to directly abandoning Yuancheng and Taiyuan, and saying that they would fight a decisive battle with the Song army in Taiyuan seemed like a pit no matter how one looked at it. Leaving aside other things, if you went to Taiyuan, your troops would be maximized, but the Song army in Hedong would also have more troops, wouldn't they? And what if Yue Fei quickly broke Yuancheng and chased up from behind?

As for staying here, it still seemed to be a way. Indeed, many people hoped to reorganize the attack, but wasn't the army's morale shaken by the setback in the attack? So they had to first restore the army's morale.

However, these plans were just discussions about military affairs. They were analyzing the pros and cons from a military point of view, and they were only making military considerations for the next stage of short-term actions, which was inevitably short-sighted.

In response, Wanyan Wuzhu, who was in charge, could keenly realize that these plans were just superficial disputes, and these things alone were not enough to allow him, the ruling prince who controlled everything on the front line, to make a decision, even though he was almost choked to death by Wang Bolong.

So, Gao Qingyi appeared.

Gao Qingyi's personal purpose was undoubtedly to persuade Wanyan Wuzhu to continue trying to rescue Yuancheng.

But this did not prevent him from being able to lay out the reasoning for Wuzhu... Specifically, this person came, first, to remind Wanyan Wuzhu that when calculating military accounts, he should also calculate political accounts, and he must consider the people's hearts and regional ethnic politics; second, he warned Wanyan Wuzhu militarily that the situation was already very bad. If they really wanted to fight a decisive battle, they must try to lengthen the Song army's supply line as much as possible, shorten their own logistics line as much as possible, and they must let the Yan Yun New Army participate in the battle.

In a word, they could gamble, but since they were going to gamble, they had to change their thinking, unite all the forces that could be united, and then press all the forces together in the most suitable place!

They must not gamble in the wrong direction, or even gamble separately.

With this idea, Wuzhu, who was originally a little confused, finally regained his clarity and quickly made a decision... The logic was very simple, and it basically followed Gao Qingyi's intention... In order to ensure that the Yan Yun New Army, which was still preparing and gathering, could also be used when necessary, and to ensure that a decisive battle could be launched in a place favorable to their own logistics supply, the location must be in the north, and for this reason, the southward plan had to be rejected.

While abandoning the southward plan, in order to maintain the morale of the army and the people, they could not just leave and return to the rear. The 'best' plan at the moment seemed to be to continue to agitate the army's morale and continue to try to attack Yue Fei.

And to be honest, the loss of a wanhu (ten thousand households) was indeed shocking, but simply because of this, the position was disrupted and the original strategy was changed, which was even more of a call for chaos.

With the determination made, Wuzhu appointed Gao Qingyi as his direct translator, and also discussed and consulted with Balisu. After the two sides exchanged opinions, Balisu obviously also agreed with Wuzhu's judgment... In fact, Balisu himself also hoped to continue to maintain his strategic plan, rather than completely changing course after just one failure.

This point had already been hinted at by his insistence on attacking that day and his prioritizing of appeasing the army's morale today.

Since the two had agreed, the next step was to greatly stimulate and restore the army's morale.

First, Balisu, in his capacity as marshal, ordered the opening of the military supplies warehouse, including the storage in the surrounding counties, and greatly rewarded the lower-level soldiers.

Immediately afterwards, Prince Wei Wuzhu personally stepped forward, and against the opposition of the crowd, he exceptionally promoted some Han Chinese supplementary army officers who had performed well in the previous battles to the positions of xingjun meng'an and mouke (military titles), and many officers who were originally meng'an and mouke directly obtained the status of hereditary mouke. The xingjun yin pai (military silver plaques) were issued on the spot, and the hereditary documents were written on the spot, and then sent to Yanjing in unison in front of everyone.

The army's morale was actually boosted for a while, and gradually recovered.

Of course, these things alone were destined to take three or four days, and after that, it seemed that they had to reorganize the attack, and even need to re-search for conscripted soldiers.

In a daze, no one cared that it was already the second half of the twelfth month, and the end of the year could be counted on their fingers.

The next year, from the Song people's point of view, was the tenth year of Jianyan, and from the Jin people's point of view, it was the sixth year of Huangtong... However, no one knew whether the two rivers would be Jianyan or Huangtong next year.

Time returned to the day when Gao Qingyi's glib tongue persuaded Prince Wei Wuzhu. While the Jin army was still at a loss due to Wang Bolong's death in battle, in Hedong, Niu Gao's troops under Li Yanxian took the lead in capturing the northern pass of Yangliang.

And this time was actually four or five days later than Balisu's worst-case scenario.

In other words, the Song army in Hedong did not perform any miracles, nor did they screw up. Instead, at an ordinary speed that everyone expected, they steadily opened up Queshu Valley... The whole process took about forty days.

As for the process, it was unremarkable.

From the Jin army's side, they implemented Balisu's arrangements before he left. In addition to defending the southern and northern passes of Yangliang and the Lingshi city in the middle, they also set up camps at many dangerous points along the valley to resist layer by layer. Once they suffered setbacks, they retreated without hesitation, only seeking to delay, not seeking to fight to the death.

As for the Song army, the whole process was a saturated attack mode.

There were paoche (catapults). Zhao Guan's family personally issued an edict, ordering the zhixueshi (academician of imperial decrees) Mei Li to supervise the construction of a batch of small, light paoche. The key was that the size of the parts was standardized. Then they added wheels and used animal power for traction. Starting from the southern pass of Yangliang, these paoche were constantly damaged, and at the same time, they were constantly replenished, ensuring that they continued to play a role.

At the same time, they were recruiting surrendered Han Chinese soldiers, righteous soldiers familiar with the terrain were launching surprise attacks around the back through small paths, the frontal troops were carrying out night attacks, fire attacks, and strong attacks, including the Po Xi army climbing high and using camels as a base to launch small crossbow cannons. All the tactics that should be there were all there.

With all kinds of methods, coupled with the fact that the Song army could rely on its superior strength to take turns in battle, day and night, they finally moved steadily north along the Fen River channel, opened up Queshu Valley, smashed through the two passes, and captured Lingshi City.

Of course, during these forty days, Zhao Guan's family was not purely doing nothing... He and the accompanying Prime Minister Lü Yihao were stationed across the Fen River in Xiangling and Linfen, respectively, and they still needed to appease the people, establish logistics bases, and participate in making decisions about the rear and front lines, which kept them extremely busy.

"What pattern is woven on this carpet?"

At noon on this day, at the same moment that Niu Gao entered the northern pass of Yangliang, in the narrow and cramped county yamen hall of Xiangling City at the foot of Mount Gusheshe, Zhao Guan's family suddenly raised an interesting question in public.

Since the official family had spoken, the people below naturally had to respond. So everyone hurriedly gathered around the luxurious and excessively large red Persian carpet in the hall and began to turn around, trying to distinguish the pattern.

Soon, the lions and antelopes confronting each other at the top of the carpet were immediately identified. Among the four plants below, the rose and other flowers and palm trees that were originally native to northern and central China were of course quickly recognized.

However, no one dared to draw a conclusion about the remaining two plants with obvious characteristics, which were also a flower and a tree.

"Your Majesty," the well-read scholar Fan Zongyin bowed and replied. "This tree looks very much like a lacquer tree, but the fruit that is specially displayed on it is really puzzling..."

Zhao Jiu immediately looked at the Academician of Imperial Decrees, Mei Li.

Mei Li did not dare to be negligent and immediately bowed in response: "Reporting to Your Majesty, I really don't recognize this tree, but I have some guesses about the nuts in the basket under the tree... If I'm not mistaken, this should be a kind of lacquer-like nut native to Persia, called Ayuehunzi (Pistachio), which is clear, moist, oily, and crisp inside, and has a fragrant taste in the mouth when chewed, and is a specialty of Persia... However, this thing is very susceptible to moisture, and once it is damp, it is easy to mold, so it is only occasionally seen in the southeast ports, and is not sold as a commodity, and it is said that this tree is extremely fond of the sun and only grows in the Persian mountains, and once it is transplanted, it will never bear such fruit."

"If that's the case, then it's really like the oranges of Huainan becoming the trifoliate oranges of Huaibei." Fan Zongyin exclaimed loudly. "There are similar relatives among the lacquer trees, but it is the Chinese pistache... The bitterness of the Chinese pistache is famous throughout the world, but I didn't expect it to become the fragrant Ayuehunzi in Persia."

Zhao Jiu nodded slowly. Of course, he knew what this was... pistachios. But he didn't realize that pistachios and Chinese pistache were in the same genus, and were both a type of lacquer tree, which was a bit of an eye-opener.

"What about the last flower?"

After nodding, Zhao Jiu continued to sit in front of the carpet and asked.

"This may just be a common Persian purple-red flower..." Fan Zongyin smiled and replied. "Flowers are too common. There are countless flowers in the world. There is no need to distinguish them clearly."

As soon as these words came out, Mei Li, who was originally going to explain, found it difficult to speak.

"This is Persian safflower." Seeing this, Zhao Jiu finally sat there and said helplessly. "It is one of the most famous specialties of Persia, with purple flowers and red stamens... The most valuable part of it is this red stamen, which is both a gynecological medicine and a top-notch spice and health product... Therefore, although the flower color is white or purple, it is called safflower. Good safflower can be exchanged for its weight in gold."

Fan Zongyin was embarrassed for a moment.

Fortunately, Zhao Jiu ignored him and looked directly at a person next to the carpet in the hall: "Lord Xiao, since the Great Stone Forest General has captured the Kara-Khanid Khanate, seizing three thousand miles of land and directly connecting to the Riverlands, there is no reason for him to only send Persian carpets to Us now and not send Persian safflower, is there?"

That person immediately bowed respectfully, and then looked up and smiled. But he spoke with a full Hebei Han accent: "Your Majesty is joking. Since your Majesty's foreign minister offers the specialties of Persia and the Riverlands, how can he not offer Persian safflower?"

As he spoke, this Xiliao official, who was obviously of Khitan origin, picked and chose among the pile of gifts behind him. Then he took out a box and respectfully replied: "To let Your Majesty know, my king sent troops last year, and only in the first half of this year did he stabilize the Kara-Khanid Khanate, ceding its north and attaching its south, and slightly opening the Riverlands. The most precious tributes received this year are nothing more than three kinds: eighty-four catties of Persian safflower, thirteen boxes of green jade, and twenty-four pieces of Persian carpets. My king did not dare to be overbearing in the slightest. Those offered to Your Majesty are all of the best quality, and he took half of each. The green jade was even sent to Your Majesty in its entirety to show his respect... This box contains exactly one catty."

As he spoke, this person carefully presented the wooden box in his hand to a eunuch, who was none other than Shao Chengzhang, one of the three yaban (officials) of the Inner Attendants Bureau.

Shao Chengzhang took it and opened it in public in the hall. As expected, he saw a whole box of dried Persian safflower stamens, which were crystal clear and red, and at the same time had a spicy fragrance. He couldn't help but marvel at it.

Zhao Jiu then smiled and said, "After the envoy returns, you may as well tell your Great Stone Forest General that We are very grateful for his sincerity, and We also know what he wants, but those things can never be bought with treasures... And on the other hand, as long as the two countries are harmonious and share the same civilization, when the western roads are open, there will naturally be silk going west to exchange for them. Why should he scour the world and send them to Us? Of course, if the Great Stone Forest General sends more seeds and Persian techniques next time, We will be happy to see it happen."

The envoy's heart stirred slightly, but it was not appropriate to start a formal topic when the gift had only been presented halfway. He immediately bowed and smiled, repeatedly agreeing.

Seeing this, Zhao Jiu did not care and simply began to distribute the gifts: "That's settled then. Twelve Persian carpets, send the largest one to Commander Zhang (Zhang Jun) of Qingzhou, then send one to Prime Minister Lü (Lü Haowen) of Tokyo, one to King Han (Han Shizhong) at the front, and one to Prime Minister Lü (Lü Yihao) in Linfen City across the Fen River. The remaining eight carpets will be placed in Wende Hall, Jiying Hall, the Secret Archives, the Public Archives, the Department of State Affairs, and the Privy Council... Uh, and one each for the Imperial Academy and the Military Academy."

Yaban Shao Chengzhang was at his side, quickly holding the box of safflower and acknowledging the order.

"As for the forty-two boxes of Persian safflower..." Zhao Jiu looked at the safflower in Shao Chengzhang's arms, lost in thought. "One box each for the three empress dowagers, the noble concubines, and the virtuous concubines in the palace. One box for each of the prime ministers and commanders. Five boxes each for the Secret Archives and the Public Archives. Leave five boxes here for the close officials who are serving We. Distribute them fairly. Give the remaining boxes to the Imperial Father-in-law Wu and let him sell them on his behalf to raise military funds." At this point, Zhao Jiu could not help but look at Fan Zongyin on the side, but then could not help but smile. "Give this box to Academician Fan separately... Although his learning is far away, he should also learn it even in Persia. There is nothing to be ashamed of. In matters of learning, you should strive to learn it."

If he directly bestowed it, it would be humiliating. However, after the last sentence was spoken, Fan Zongyin could not argue. He seriously acknowledged the order in public. When he took the whole box of safflower from the stern-faced Shao Chengzhang, he aroused the envy of many people in the hall. Smelling the strange fragrance, he felt that this was not bad.

After the Persian safflower, the envoy also displayed the green jade, and the unique color again aroused marvel.

In fact, carpets were needless to say. Whether it was Persian safflower or emeralds, they were really gifts from heaven to human beings. Because mankind's pursuit of spices and medicine, and their pursuit of gemstones, was basically rooted in mankind's most basic five senses... The former was olfactory and physiological needs, and the latter was visual and aesthetic needs.

Before the Industrial Revolution, their value was unquestionable. They were destined to be hard currency and luxury goods. At this moment in China, on the front line of Hedong, they were even more valuable because of their scarcity.

"The jade is in pieces and in beads." Seeing the thirteen boxes of emeralds, Zhao Jiu was even more delighted. He immediately looked around and smiled. "This will be easier to distribute... Take the best of them and carve them into pieces and give one to the empress dowagers, the noble concubines, the virtuous concubines, the prime ministers, and the commanders. As for the remaining gemstones, give each member of the Secret Archives one piece, and each commander one piece. Everyone in the hall today, including the envoy and the guards, has worked hard, so everyone will get one piece... Take the remaining ones out and display them in the outer camp and the camp across the river. Tell the army that We will use these treasures as rewards for the first to ascend Taiyuan."

As he spoke, this emperor finally got up, walked around the carpet, personally took two Persian turquoise stones, threw one into the box in Fan Zongyin's arms, and held the other in his hand and played with it.

Immediately, Yang Yizhong, Ren Baozhong, Mei Li, and the many civil and military officials stepped forward in order of rank and each took a stone and put it in their sleeves.

However, when it was the envoy's turn, this envoy, whose surname was Xiao, hesitated, bowed to Zhao Guan's family, and did not rush to take the gemstone.

Zhao Jiu understood and did not beat around the bush: "We know what the Great Stone Forest General means. Isn't what he wants people? Khitan people, Xi people, even Han Chinese, he wants them all. Those who want to join him voluntarily, those who are captured after defeat, even those who are exiled for crimes, he doesn't care, does he?"

The envoy recalled his king's instructions and knew that this trip of thousands of miles was for these most crucial words. He did not dare to be negligent in the slightest and immediately replied seriously: "Your Majesty is wise. That is exactly what my king means!"

"That's right." Zhao Jiu no longer beat around the bush. "People themselves are priceless. It is not impossible to want people, but you should not expect to exchange them for these treasures. Instead, you should exchange them for the Kingdom of Liao to abide by the Jin River Alliance and follow the two countries' shared civilization."

The envoy quickly said again: "To let Your Majesty know, thousands of miles apart, my king does not have time to send additional troops to help, but he has already ordered General Yelu of Yinshan to listen to Your Majesty's dispatch."

"We both know the situation in Yinshan." Zhao Jiu shook his head and said. "Even without your king's decree, Yelu Yudu would not dare to disobey Our will... What We are talking about is keeping the alliance within the Kingdom of Liao!"

"Your foreign minister is terrified. Please enlighten Your Majesty," the envoy said more and more seriously.

"Since the Kingdom of Liao has gone to Kara-Khanid again and has more than half of the Western Regions, and its foundation has been established, although it is not a great power of ten thousand miles, it is also a great power of thousands of miles with an army of fifty thousand men... But since the country has been established, has it implemented the imperial examination system? Has it established an official written language? Do you have an edict to transport books on this trip? Have you organized and maintained the east-west avenue? Have you established laws and issued edicts to declare the national system?" Zhao Jiu said seriously. "In theory, We are fighting a war now and should not say too much about matters thousands of miles away. But on the one hand, transportation between the two countries is inconvenient, and it is not easy for you to come. It is better to say some things while the opportunity arises. On the other hand, We and the Great Stone Forest General are considered confidants. As long as We say it, he will naturally understand what We mean. Some things can only be done while he is trying his best to do them... To put it bluntly, if We lose here and he falls ill there, some things will be nothing but bubbles and morning dew."

"Your Majesty is joking," Envoy Xiao pondered for a moment and replied seriously. "My king is thousands of miles away and heard that Your Majesty was on a northern expedition. He still concluded that the national strength of Song and Jin had already reversed. Your Majesty's ten years of achievements are no less than Goujian's efforts. The Jin Kingdom's twenty years of military power has long been exhausted and mediocre... The victory or defeat this time depends on the country, not the army, on the masses, not the soldiers, and on the momentum, not the battle... Your Majesty will definitely achieve complete success! It is precisely because of this that he asked your foreign minister to come and pay respects to Your Majesty without regard to the suddenness of the incident."

"There is still a war to fight." Zhao Jiu shook his head and said. "Fighting well can save several years of work, and if we don't fight well, we may have to start over again in ten years... How can it be so easy?"

The envoy nodded and did not argue. After a slight pause, he continued, "If that's the case, as long as we, the Great Liao, do those things in the Western Regions, will Your Majesty send the Khitan prisoners of war to our country?"

"If the Kingdom of Liao can do that, We will of course send people there," Zhao Jiu replied calmly. "Because as long as you do that, it means that the Kingdom of Liao is determined to become a branch of Chinese civilization. As the Son of Heaven, We have an obligation to stabilize the foundation of the Kingdom of Liao, and We cannot shirk Our responsibility."

The envoy received these words and had no more doubts. He turned around, took a Persian emerald, respectfully bowed to Zhao Guan's family, who was only sitting on a wooden bench, and asked to be excused. He asked to visit Prime Minister Lü on the other side of the Fen River on the grounds that as a foreign envoy, he could not fail to meet the prime minister.

Of course, Zhao Jiu had nothing to say. He simply pointed to Yang Yizhong and asked him to take the carpets, Persian safflower, and gemstone toys with him to escort the envoy to see Lü Yihao.

Just like that, Yang Yizhong left with the Xiliao envoy and several attendants. The scholars such as Mei Li hurriedly copied and collected the Kingdom of Liao's national documents, and the Inner Attendants Bureau Yaban Shao Chengzhang quickly ordered people to dispose of the Persian treasures that filled the hall according to Zhao Guan's family's previous instructions.

The remaining close officials and attendants had obtained a huge profit and were naturally eager to follow Shao Yaban's instructions to assist.

In the afternoon, the Xingzai (temporary imperial residence) again followed the official's instructions and unpacked the remaining seven or eight boxes of emeralds and displayed them in the camp outside the city, explaining the origin, clarifying the official's handling of the matter, and explaining the reward for this trip, which caused a commotion in the huge camp outside the city that was undergoing winter training.

However, things were always endless. Not long after the excitement outside the city subsided, another guest from afar arrived at the cramped Linfen Prefectural Yamen Hall. He was not an unexpected guest.

The visitor was none other than Yuan Weiyi, the leader of the samurai reinforcement force that Japanese Emperor Toba had specially sent to express his friendship. The itinerary of this person and his troops had always been under the control of the Song Dynasty.

It is said that the Great Song and Japan were not allies, and the scale of economic trade between the two countries was very small. The reason why the two sides seemed to be on good terms was mainly because Zhao Guan's family disregarded economic laws and carried out private precious metal trade in order to collect wealth to support military expenses.

In the long run, this kind of trade was actually harmful to both countries, because the Great Song lacked all kinds of precious metals, especially copper coins, which were the main currency of circulation. It should not be taken out for trade. And on the Japanese side, needless to say, the loss of gold was definitely not a good thing.

But the problem was that this transaction was carried out in the form of direct transactions between the Zhao Song royal family and the Japanese royal family... Zhao Jiu belonged to the kind of person who did too many things to drain the pond to catch the fish for military expenses, and did not care about this matter; while the Japanese side was the royal family, specifically Emperor Toba, who had just broken free from his grandfather's shadow and had just taken over the power, and his confidant nobles could bypass other factions of nobles and the country and court, and directly obtain huge profits through this transaction to maintain their power and extravagant life.

Therefore, the two sides hit it off because they had the same smell, especially since Zhao Jiu directly avoided the false name and did not mention any suzerain state or anything like that, which reduced unnecessary obstacles to the transaction between the two sides.

Under the two of them, the person who directly operated this matter was Zhang Jun on the Great Song side, and on the Japanese side, it was Taira Tadamori, who had controlled the Seto Inland Sea after suppressing pirates, and was the father of Taira Kiyomori, who had brought Yuan Weiyi into the country. He was the leader of the powerful Japanese samurai group, the Ise Taira clan.

As for Yuan Weiyi, as the leader of the Kawachi Genji samurai group, which was no less than the Ise Taira clan, this time's reinforcement was not a very glorious trip.

In fact, Yuan Weiyi's performance as an official, in doing things, and in dealing with people was far inferior to his old rival and contemporary Taira Tadamori. While Taira Tadamori's official position was becoming more and more prominent, his family accumulated more and more wealth, and his power was growing day by day, he had been in constant trouble... harboring criminals, squeezing out colleagues, and his subordinates were not good either... Of course, the main thing was that one emperor had one court. Unlike Taira Tadamori, who was constantly favored by the former Retired Emperor Shirakawa and the current Emperor Toba, Yuan Weiyi could maintain some decency when Emperor Shirakawa was alive, only getting an official position one year later than Taira Tadamori. But when he came to Emperor Toba, the latter was simply picking bones out of an egg and extremely disgusted with him.

As a Northern Samurai, what else could he do if he could not be trusted by the retired emperor?

This time, Emperor Toba simply couldn't stand Yuan Weiyi and was preparing to dismiss him and send him home. Coincidentally, such a thing came up, so he gave this person a chance to atone for his sins as if he was being exiled.

Yuan Weiyi came across the sea with cargo ships carrying gold and sulfur. At first, it was also a kind of mentality of treating a dead horse as if it were still alive, plus a little bit of self-abandonment.

However, the richness of Qingzhou, the majesty of Jinan, the beauty of Tokyo City, which was still like a paradise on earth even in the midst of war, the magnificent mountains and rivers when crossing Shanluo, and the vast military strength after arriving in Hedong, all gave Yuan Weiyi an unprecedented shock.

But what shocked him the most was that the emperor of the Great Song, who controlled and owned all of this, actually led the army in person and lived in the government office of a county town.

His mentality has been changing.

Of course, these things have nothing to do with Zhao Jiu. He doesn't care about the mentality and story of any mascot army general. His pressure is already very great, and he has been busy and tired enough since crossing the river. It's just that since people have come, he has to meet them.

"Your Majesty, this person is called Yuan Weiyi..." There was no fundamental conflict between the Yuan and Taira clans at this time, but that didn't mean that the eighteen-year-old Taira Kiyomori would respect the other party very much. So although his tone sounded very formal, there was an implicit disdain in his attitude.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! I am called Yuan Weiyi... Japan... Reinforcement... Leader!" But at this moment, what startled Taira Kiyomori and Zhao Jiu together was that Yuan Weiyi suddenly kowtowed on the ground, and then interrupted Taira Kiyomori in a particularly awkward but definitely Chinese accent, and took the initiative to introduce himself. "Your Majesty! I am under... the retired Emperor's orders to... die for Your Majesty!"

"Yuan Weiyi, how did you learn Chinese?" Zhao Jiu came back to his senses and asked curiously.

"From, from Qingzhou... I, I learned it myself with the people on the ship," Yuan Weiyi replied while kowtowing, explaining with difficulty. "The, the words just now were, were read by someone... I, I memorized them. But, but usually, I can, can understand."

"It's rare that Lord Yuan has a heart."

Zhao Jiu suddenly understood, then squeezed out a stiff smile and looked around for something, but after scanning around, he suddenly realized something, then only took out a Persian emerald from his arms, walked down, bent down, held the other party's hand, and stuffed the gemstone into it. "You have come from afar, and We should have bestowed something on you, but there is nothing around. Consider this a token of Our appreciation... I hope you will work hard to kill the enemy and live up to your name of martial valor... You may rest now."

Yuan Weiyi didn't dare to look up at all, but he glanced at the gemstone in his hand, and then kowtowed repeatedly and didn't try to say anything more.

Zhao Jiu nodded and looked at Taira Kiyomori, who was also somewhat dazed. After a long while, he came back to his senses and hurriedly took Yuan Weiyi down... According to Taira Kiyomori's own suggestions and discussions, they would be given appropriate armor, and then they would be incorporated into the reserve of the Imperial Guards. When necessary, they would have to go into battle... This was called making the best use of everything. A few hundred people were also a force.

But things were not over yet.

After Yuan Weiyi left, someone sent a document containing intelligence. Zhao Jiu only looked at it with fatigue--it turned out that the Mongols had finally sent troops, but unlike Huer Zahu Si, the Mongol king of the west, who directly led his troops into Yinshan and sent messengers to Wu Jie and Hu Shijiang to express his willingness to obey orders, Habule, the Mongol king of the east, led his troops to the Heishui area north of Yunnei and did not make many statements.

"What do you think?" Zhao Jiu handed the document to Ren Baozhong.

Ren Baozhong, wearing a futou (turban), scanned it roughly and immediately said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, this is not unexpected... Habule's mentality at this time is actually very simple. It is cold in the winter, and he should have sent troops south, and this battle is so big that he must participate in it, so he will inevitably waver and make a decision based on the situation."

Zhao Jiu nodded.

In these days, with the increase in intelligence, his understanding of Borjigin Habule has changed slightly, that is, Habule, as a Khan king, did not unify eastern Mongolia through war, but was a leader elected by the eastern Mongolian tribes under the coercion of the Jin Kingdom. He is not yet qualified to be a hero. Many of his actions still need to take into account the opinions and mentality of the eastern Mongolian tribal leaders.

However, this does not mean that he cannot waver, because after the Jin River Alliance, the entire eastern Mongolia is in the middle of the forces of the two countries.

In other words, it is not necessarily that Habule is wavering, but that dozens of tribes in eastern Mongolia are wavering together.

"Actually," Ren Baozhong glanced at the cramped hall, saw that several Mongolian princes were not there, and then said in a low voice. "Your Majesty, let me say one more thing... Huer Zahu Si should also have this mentality, but his Kereit tribe is in the west and is sandwiched between the Khitan and the Great Song. That's all."

Zhao Jiu nodded, then did not give any extra words.

Just like that, Ren Baozhong continued to say a few words while holding the document, but suddenly found that this emperor did not know when he had changed from supporting his forehead with his elbow to resting his head on his arm, and closed his eyes without saying a word... He didn't know if he was dozing off or really asleep.

But in either case, Ren Baozhong could only carefully put down the document, then looked around to remind others. After the people around him realized what had happened, they carefully put down the things in their hands and then exited the hall one by one.

At the same time, they did not forget to pull up the curtain in front of the hall to cover it.

It was in this situation that the military report of Niu Gao's capture of the northern pass of Yangliang was sent here in the evening.

This made the guards and close officials guarding the government office hesitate... Because according to the rules, someone should wake up Zhao Guan's family at this time, but Yang Yizhong had gone to escort the Xiliao envoy to Linfen and had not returned, and Liu Yan and Shao Chengzhang were arranging those emeralds for the commanders. Also, the news was not big news.

No one wanted to be the bad guy. Because of this, Zhao Jiu did not see the document until after sunset when Yang Yizhong returned.

"Prepare decrees and documents, and inform Tokyo,