Fenghou

Chapter 1087 Promotion
The next morning, Emperor Zhao Gou held a debriefing meeting for Han Shizhong, who came to Beijing to report his work, in the side hall of Ziwei Hall. At the beginning, Yue Fei was arrested and placed under house arrest because he failed to pass the debriefing meeting. It’s like a hearing, if you pass it, nothing happens, if you don’t pass it, you will be in trouble.

In addition to the emperor Zhao Gou, there were more than a dozen important officials at the hearing. Due to Han Shizhong's high status, the main questioner was still the right minister Qin Hui.

"Dang!" A crisp sound of cloud board sounded, and the debriefing kicked off.

Qin Hui first brought out an appetizer, and he aggressively asked: "Why didn't Han Dutong report to the court in advance, nor did he notify the commander, and sent troops to the north without authorization on the tenth day of the first lunar month, how does Han Dutong explain?"

Han Shizhong has a way to answer this question, and he has already prepared well. He said in a calm and unhurried way: "I am the deputy commander of the Northern Expedition. When the commander is not in the camp, I can act as the commander-in-chief. I got the news that the general of Pizhou is not here. Suzhou The defenders were extremely lax, so the humble officer seized this opportunity and exercised the power of the commander.

Secondly, the humble official is the Xuanfu envoy of Huaidong, and he has the right to send troops. What's more, the humble official also reported to the imperial court after the fact. "

Han Shizhong answered this question very well. Qin Hui accused him of sending troops without authorization.

"This question passes!"

Zhao Gou spoke up, and the question was passed.

"I'll ask Han Dutong the second question. Why did you disobey the holy will and send troops to intercept the Western Army from crossing the Yellow River? There was a conflict with the Western Army. Please answer Han Dutong!"

Qin Hui's tone became more and more aggressive, and even the atmosphere in the hall became a little tense.

Qin Hui refers to the first conflict with the Western Army. The two sides fought fiercely, and the Western Army lost more than [-] people.

Han Shizhong said calmly: "Our army was originally stationed in Xiao County, and their [-] troops came here, less than three miles away from my army. In terms of military affairs, this is a serious provocation. If my army does not take countermeasures , It is easy to be attacked by the opponent, and the whole army is wiped out. In this fierce battle, the opponent provoked first, and we were actually defending. As a result, the opponent thought we were going to attack, so they launched a bow and arrow attack first."

Xu Xiantu explained from the side: "It's like two strong men with conflicts in the same room. It is inevitable that bumps and collisions will occur. I don't think there is any need to over-interpret it."

Qin Hui looked at the Son of Heaven, and Zhao Gou waved his hand, indicating that the problem was over.

These two questions are just asking for directions. Qin Hui's real trump card is the third question. The third question he originally set was to ask Han Shizhong why he didn't return to Lin'an to report on his duties for four consecutive years, but he received an urgent military report from Zhu Shengfei last night. Han Shizhong actually led an army of [-] to confront Chen Qing's army, and the result was a disastrous defeat. Qin Hui immediately replaced the third question.

Qin Hui bowed to the Son of Heaven and said, "Report to Your Majesty, the third question I want to change, please Your Majesty agree?"

Zhao Gou asked unambiguously, "What question does Qin Xianggong want to change?"

"Your Majesty, I have just received a letter from Zhu Xianggong from Chuzhou. The [-] army led by Han Dutong and the [-] army led by Chen Qing fought in Xiao County. The result was a disastrous defeat and almost the entire army was wiped out."

When these words came out, there was an uproar immediately, Xu Xiantu sighed, and Qin Hui knew about it, Zhao Gou's complexion suddenly became very ugly, he nodded, "Quite!"

Qin Hui couldn't hide his complacency, and asked with a sneer, "May I ask Han Dutong, is what I just said true?"

Han Shizhong said calmly: "It is true!"

Qin Hui finally grasped the handle, and immediately asked: "How many troops have you lost?"

"We had [-] infantry and [-] cavalry, but the opponent had [-] cavalry and [-] infantry. We were quickly defeated, about [-] were killed, and [-] were captured. We took back [-] troops, and even the eldest son of the humble They were also captured, but Chen Qing quickly released all the prisoners, and this is the problem, only dozens of generals and [-] soldiers returned to the camp, and the other nearly [-] soldiers all went home."

Qin Hui continued to ask: "Why did Chen Qing release your eldest son and still have [-] soldiers? Did you reach a compromise with Chen Qing?"

Han Shizhong still calmly said: "When Chen Qing released the eldest son and [-] soldiers, Beizhi was still fleeing in a panic. As for why he released all the prisoners of war, it is probably related to the message he asked Quanzi to bring back afterwards."

"What message?"

"He said that this battle was just a sparring between me and him, there would be no next time, the humble officer thought that he didn't want to make a big deal, and didn't want to turn against the court, so he released all the prisoners of war, and the soldiers went home, That's a humble position that leads troops incompetently, it's a humble position that is incompetent, and has nothing to do with the soldiers."

Zhao Gou breathed a sigh of relief, Chen Qing didn't want to make a big deal, it couldn't be better.

Zhao Gou asked: "When Han Aiqing set off, I repeatedly told him not to conflict with the Western Army. Why couldn't Han Aiqing remember my instructions?"

Han Shizhong got up and bowed to Zhao Gou: "Reporting to Your Majesty, the original idea of ​​the humble officer was just to confront the opponent and prevent the opponent from killing Xuzhou. I thought it was Yang Zaixing's army, but on the battlefield, I found that the opponent's general turned out to be Chen Qing himself. , the blood in my heart boiled, and I wanted to catch Chen Qing and hand it over to His Majesty, but unfortunately, I was incompetent and didn't seize this opportunity to solve problems for His Majesty, and I was incompetent."

At the end, Han Shizhong's voice choked up, his eyes turned red, and he burst into tears.

Zhao Gou was deeply moved and nodded, "Han Aiqing is worthy of being a minister!"

Both Qin Hui and Xu Xiantu were dumbfounded, this turning point was too great.

Zhao Gou then met Han Shizhong in the imperial study, which meant that his debriefing had passed completely, and the debriefing became a bonus item, so the emperor would meet him.

"I brought Aiqing here to ask one thing."

Zhao Gou was hesitant to speak, as if he was still in some kind of meditation. Han Shizhong stood quietly by the side, not disturbing the emperor's meditation.

"You fought fiercely with Chen Qing's main force, how do you feel about his strength?"

Han Shizhong said in a deep voice, "Does Your Majesty want to hear the truth?"

Zhao Gou nodded, "Of course I want to hear the truth."

"His army's combat effectiveness is very strong, very powerful, and the humble army can be regarded as an elite army. The [-] army is against the [-] army. The humble army didn't last for an hour, and it was defeated in half an hour."

"Tell me in detail!"

"Your Majesty, his [-] men are all cavalry. First of all, their horses are far stronger than those of the Song army. Their horses are very tall and majestic. Compared with our horses, they are like a [-]-year-old strong man with a Twelve or thirteen-year-old boys, and their cavalry are very strong, and the weapons they use are heavier than ours. Wei Chen and the other three soldiers are fighting fiercely, and it is a bit difficult, not to mention that they have excellent horse control skills, and all of them Skilled in riding and archery, personally brave and strong, and well-trained, with tacit cooperation, I think that the current Jurchen is not their opponent."

"Is it so powerful?" Zhao Gou asked half-believingly.

"Your Majesty, I am not justifying myself for my failure. I am defeated. It is not difficult to admit it. Even Wanyan Wushu's Tiefutu was defeated by the Western Army. I don't feel ashamed, but I must tell the truth. .”

"Go on!" Zhao Gou felt a little uncomfortable.

"Your Majesty, I think that we should stop training cavalry, and there is no point in spending a lot of money and food. We must give full play to our own advantages and not be led away by the opponent."

Zhao Gou was refreshed, he heard the words pleasing to his ears, and quickly said: "Tell me what you think?"

"The humble official suggested that we concentrate our financial resources to develop the water army. On land, our cavalry is far inferior to the Jin soldiers and the Western army, and our infantry is not as good as the Western army. But in the water, that is not necessarily the case. There are many rivers in the south, and there is a powerful water force." Army, we will be able to contend with the North."

Han Shizhong's words made Zhao Gou fall into deep thought. He is the emperor, and he can't make such an important decision with his head. He needs to think carefully and negotiate with the ministers repeatedly to make a decision.

But there is one thing, Zhao Gou quickly made a decision.

In the evening, Zhao Gou promulgated a decree, granting Han Shizhong the title of King of Xian'an County, Grand Tutor, and Privy Envoy, and at the same time leading the Jiedu Envoy of Henghai, Wuning, and Anhua Towns.

So far, Han Shizhong no longer led the army and became a high-ranking idle official.

(End of this chapter)