Outlaws of the Marsh

Chapter 519 Thunderbolt from the Blue Sky (Please Subscribe!)
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The more than 50 troops of the Song Army were defeated by the Liao Army, with nearly half of the casualties, and then the Liao Army that defeated the Song Army was easily wiped out by the Liangshan Army. The water moored Liangshan, and even Yanjing City became the water moored Liangshan. In addition, the once glorious Daliao Empire was also destroyed by Li Yan.

Song Guo's strategy of locking Li Yan in Yundi to prevent Li Yan from coming out seems to have come to nothing now.

Not only that, but Li Yan, who had many soldiers and great ambitions, became a neighbor of the Song Dynasty.

Things seemed to be developing in the direction that was most unfavorable to Song.

After knowing all this, Zhao Ji aged a lot overnight, and he was no longer as romantic as before.

If Liu Yanqing's reputation is ruined or something, Zhao Ji will let him die.

What worries Zhao Ji is that after this battle, the low combat effectiveness of the Song Army was completely exposed, which made him and Song Dynasty lose face. Let alone, the key is what he will use to defend the vast and rich Song Dynasty in the future. territory?More importantly, what did he use to stifle Li Yan's ambitious ambition?

Zhao Ji called Wang Fu, Li Bangyan and others overnight to discuss countermeasures.

In fact, Wang Fu, Li Bangyan and others knew for a long time that the Song army was defeated, Zhuozhou, Yizhou and other counties were re-occupied by the Liao army, and then captured by the Liangshan army. The Liao Kingdom became their new neighbor of the Great Song Dynasty.

For these emergencies, Wang Fu, Li Bangyan and others were actually caught off guard and did not know how to deal with them.

Zhao Ji walked around and said, "Tong Guan and Liu Yanqing performed very well and bravely when they quelled the civil strife and suppressed Tian Hu, Wang Qing, and Fang La, but this time they faced the Liao army in Hebei. What is so weak, so incompetent?"

Wang Fu was also puzzled, and said: "Yes, it is indeed puzzling. Tong Xuanfu, Cai Vice Xuanfu, and Liu Yanqing, why did they suddenly withdraw their troops? Isn't this confusing?"

Li Bangyan said: "Weichen said long ago that sending troops to the Northern Expedition this time is a risky move, we should not send troops. Now that Tong Guan and Liu Yanqing have lost their teachers and humiliated the country, they must be severely punished!"

"How to deal with Tong Guan, Cai You and Liu Yanqing?"

"What should I do next?"

"..."

Zhao Ji was in a state of disarray—he was unwilling to let Yandi be taken away by Li Yan, and he was also worried that Li Yan would attack Da Song again after he settled Yandi!

For Tong Guan, Zhao Ji was really disappointed, so he took a pen and wrote a letter to Tong Guan, reproaching him: "From now on, I won't trust you any more."

Liang Shicheng volunteered and went to Xiongzhou to personally hand over the letter to Tong Guan.

Tong Guan and Liang Shicheng are the two most powerful eunuchs in this era. Tong Guan has always been called the "Lady Prime Minister", while Liang Shicheng has always been called the "Hidden Prime Minister".

In fact, the power of the two people is about the same, but the division of labor is different.

However, because Liang Shicheng was active beside Zhao Ji every day, and wrote and promulgated edicts on behalf of Zhao Ji, he had a great influence on the outside world, so Tong Guan did not dare to underestimate Liang Shicheng.

Hearing that Liang Shicheng came to Xiongzhou in person, Tong Guan hurriedly went out with Cai You to welcome him.

As soon as they met, Liang Shicheng said in a low voice, "Tong Xuanfu, you will get into big trouble this time."

Tong Guan's heart trembled, and he vaguely guessed that it should be Liu Yanqing's defeat.

Liang Shicheng directly handed Zhao Ji's letter to Tong Guan.

Tong Guan unfolded it for a look, and then his body flickered!
"From now on, I won't trust you anymore." To Tong Guan, these eight short words are like a bolt from the blue!

Tong Guan has followed Zhao Ji for more than 20 years, and this is the first time he has received a letter written by Zhao Ji in such a harsh tone.

Looking at the familiar handwriting, Tong Guan could feel Zhao Ji's anger and disappointment when he wrote this letter without carefully pondering it.

If an eunuch is not trusted by the emperor and is told clearly, what does it mean?

Means out of favor, means everything is over!

Tong Guan was terrified, and a layer of cold sweat appeared on his forehead unknowingly!
Cai You didn't see the contents of the letter, but from Tong Guan's expression, he almost guessed that the officials must have known about the rout of the army, so they were furious.

Cai You was not afraid of this. He had a tacit understanding with Zhao Ji and knew that Zhao Ji would not blame him for this. He came here to watch Tong Guan, not to fight, so he was not worried.

Tong Guan hurriedly asked Liang Shicheng for help: "Teacher, you have to help me. You are the person who knows the official family best. In your opinion, what does the official family mean?"

Liang Shicheng beckoned to Tong Guan, and Tong Guan hurried to Liang Shicheng to listen.

Liang Shicheng said in a low voice, "Now you have only one way to go."

Tong Guan hurriedly asked: "Which way? I also ask the Taifu to enlighten me."

Liang Shicheng said: "Completely solve Li Yan's disaster, and then regain Yanjing."

After hearing this, Tong Guan couldn't help smiling bitterly, if he had this ability, how could the situation have come to this point?
After Liang Shicheng left, Tong Guan handed Zhao Ji's letter to Cai You and said, "Look, the officials are really angry this time, we have to find a way to get rid of Li Yan, and then regain Yanjing, otherwise, We will all be impeached... I am old, and I will retire at worst. You are still young and have a long political life. If this matter cannot be resolved satisfactorily, it may affect your future career."

Cai You smiled, and said: "The officials should be angry. An army of more than 50 was defeated by more than 2 Liao troops. Then Liu Yanqing is really a stupid pig, extremely incompetent... In my opinion, we should wait for Zhao Liangsi After returning from Bei'an Prefecture, we will study how to eliminate Li Yan and how to recover Yanjing."

Tong Guan nodded in agreement on the surface, but secretly smiled bitterly in his heart, "We can't even beat the Liao army, how can we beat the Liangshan army that defeated the Liao army?"

Tong Guan had a premonition that his fame might be ruined by recovering Yanjing.

Tong Guan's heart was so heavy that he didn't think about tea or food.

Seeing this, Wang Huan, a staff member of the Xuanfu Department, said to Tong Guan: "This defeat was all caused by Liu Yanqing's incompetence in command. You can't blame you for this. You have served the officials for many years and made many military exploits. It shouldn't be your fault."

Wang Huan is the son of Wang Shizhong, the magistrate of Dengzhou. He once followed Zhao Liangsi across the sea to the northeast as a deputy envoy, and signed a maritime alliance with the Jurchens.

Later, Wang Huan followed Tong Guan to Hebei Xuanfu Department as an aide.

Tong Guan sighed and said, "You are still young, and you don't understand the heat and coolness."

Wang Huan thought for a while, and then suggested to Tong Guan: "Master, I think we might as well send people to Bei'an Prefecture directly, and then ask the Emperor of the Kingdom of Jin to abide by the covenant, send troops into the pass, and attack Yanjing with us from the north to the south. Maybe we can defeat Li Yan and regain Yanjing in one fell swoop."

Cai You listened, and said: "I think this method can be used. Now the only way to defeat Li Yan is to fight with the Jurchens from the north to the south. Besides, Zhao Liangsi has not returned for a long time, and he doesn't know the result of the negotiation. We can’t just wait passively like this forever.”

Tong Guan pondered for a while, and then said to Wang Huan: "You have been to the Kingdom of Jin and met the emperor of the Kingdom of Jin, then you will work hard again, go to Bei'an Prefecture, and then on behalf of Tong Guan, invite the King of Jin The emperor decides a date, and sends troops to the east to attack Yanjing together with Song Dynasty..."

……

(End of this chapter)