big song poppi

Chapter 368 0364 [Revisiting Chenqiaoyi from the old place]

Xie Ding and Zhao Ting did not go far and were waiting outside the government office.

Seeing Shi Wenhui coming out, Zhao Ting immediately went to greet him and lowered his voice: "How is it?"

Shi Wenhui smiled and replied: "The county magistrate reprimanded me and told me not to mention this matter again."

After hearing this, Xie Ding and Zhao Ting, instead of being disappointed, looked excited.

They are all old-fashioned officials, how can they not distinguish between true and false?

If the official resists sincerely, it will be more than just a reprimand.

……

Han Zhen did not immediately go south to the capital. Instead, he stayed in Yuancheng County and waited for the arrival of firearms and gunpowder.

This time on the northward journey, a lot of firearms and gunpowder were consumed. After capturing Yuancheng County, there was not much left.

Although Han Zhen had already ordered Wei Da to transport a batch of firearms and gunpowder when he was in Jizhou.

But gunpowder cannot be transported quickly.

Especially as the weather gets hotter and hotter, something could easily happen if it gets too hot.

Tokyo City is the most majestic city in the world. Since the beginning of Zhou Shizong Chai Rong, the city walls have been continuously repaired and reinforced.

After Zhao Da came to power, he continued to practice it intermittently until the reign of Shenzong.

It took hundreds of years and several generations of emperors, which is enough to imagine how strong the city of Tokyo is.

The thousand-jin gate in the outer city alone weighs eight thousand eight hundred kilograms, let alone the inner city and the imperial city.

In such a fortified city, if you want to open a thousand-pound gate, you will have to fire at least a dozen rounds.

As for the siege equipment in Wanyan Zonghan's hands, if they could be knocked down in a short time, Han Zhen would unscrew their heads and play them as balls for him.

Therefore, Han Zhen was not in a hurry at all.

Besides, it would also be beneficial to him to let the Jin Army go first to deplete Tokyo City's morale.

While waiting for the delivery of firearms and gunpowder, Han Zhen was not idle and took the opportunity to reorganize more than 30,000 Zhao and Song surrender troops.

There are more than 36,000 people. After excluding the old, weak, sick and disabled, only 20,000 are left.

Including the Song army previously collected, the number was close to 40,000.

In Han Zhen's eyes, these Song troops were weak in combat power, had low morale, and had almost no discipline. They could only be used as auxiliary troops at present.

The incident in Tianjiazhai was just an exception and should not be regarded as the norm.

The Zhao and Song dynasties were different from other dynasties. They had been tortured by civilian officials for more than a hundred years. The military system and even the grassroots soldiers had actually been completely ruined.

Qiu Ba, a thief with the army... These extremely insulting words, coupled with the tattoos on his face, broke the soldier's spine.

At the end of other dynasties, when the army fought, it was often the soldiers at the bottom who fought bravely to kill the enemy, but the generals were afraid of the battle and ran away first.

In Zhao Song, it was the other way around. Except for a few eunuchs and internal servants, the generals often fought bravely to kill the enemy, and the soldiers under their command were routed thousands of miles away.

May thirty.

Firearms and gunpowder finally arrived.

In the White Tiger Hall of the military camp, Han Zhen looked at the map in front of him and asked, "How is the exploration going?"

The commander of the scout battalion, Luo Jing, replied: "Reporting to the county magistrate, Wanyan Zonghan has left Jin troops stationed at the passes in Liyang, Wei County, Tangyin and other counties and towns, and the number is about 50,000."

"Be cautious!"

Han Zhen was not surprised. Wanyan Zonghan was bold and careful with his troops. How could he not leave troops behind at the retreat this time when he went deep alone.

Yue Fei asked for orders: "The final general is willing to cut off the Jin army's retreat."

"no need."

Han Zhen shook his head.

The Jin army has more than one way to retreat. Even if all the Jin troops stationed near Liyang are wiped out, Wanyan Zonghan can break out from Zhengzhou, Henan Prefecture and other places in the west.

Nowadays, they have limited firearms and gunpowder, and they have to use them in key places.

Han Zhen continued to ask: "What about Kaifeng Mansion?"

Luo Jing replied: "After Wanyan Zonghan led a hundred thousand gold troops to Tokyo City, he immediately ordered an attack on the city. The attack lasted for several days and was changed to a siege. At the same time, he sent his generals to plunder the west and south of Kaifeng Mansion."

Hearing this, Han Shizhong sneered: "This Wanyan Zonghan is also a man who bullies the weak and fears the strong. He knows that Wudu Tong has stationed troops in Wanting and does not dare to plunder eastward."

Han Zhen said loudly: "Generals, listen to your orders!"

Everyone looked stern and looked at Han Zhen with burning eyes.

"Prepare the army for war and set off at 00:00 tomorrow, heading south to Kaifeng Mansion!"

"The last general takes command!"

Liu Qi and others shouted in unison.

The next day.

The sky was bright and the army was moving.

Yu Jun led 20,000 elite Qingzhou troops to open the way ahead.

Han Zhen led the Chinese army and the Song army led by Yue Fei followed closely behind with food, grass and baggage. Behind them were the 10,000 Qingzhou army led by Zhang He and Liu Qi's cavalry battalion.

This is a standard marching formation. Even if it encounters an ambush, it can quickly form a military formation to meet the enemy.

Wanyan Zonghan led an army of 150,000 gold here and had to be on guard.

Although he was very confident in the scout battalion under his command, he could not make too many mistakes.

……

……

Just as he was leading his army all the way south, Wanyan Zonghan also received information from spies.

Inside the commander's tent, Wanyan Zonghan said solemnly: "The Korean thieves are here, with a total of 80,000 troops."

Wanyan Xiyin frowned and said, "The Korean thief took a detour?"

Wanyan Zonghan shook his head: "No, we captured Daming Mansion."

"This is impossible!"

Gao Qingyi rejected it with a firm tone.

It was said that Daming Mansion had 40,000 defenders and more than 200,000 civilians in the city. He could not believe that Daming Mansion was captured in just a few days.

Think about it, in Taiyuan City, there were only 4,000 victorious troops, plus 70,000 to 80,000 civilians, but they were able to hold back their 60,000 elite Jin troops for half a month.

Seeing that it was impossible to attack, Wanyan Zonghan chose to let Yin Shuke continue the siege, while he led his troops deep in.

Wanyan Zonghan said: "Whether you believe it or not, the information returned by the spies is indeed true."

"Are firearms really so sharp?" Xiao Qing frowned, eyes in disbelief.

Wanyan Xiyin reminded: "Maybe it was a trick."

Wanyan Zonghan waved his hand to stop their argument and said in a deep voice: "This is not the important point. In five days at the latest, the Korean thieves will lead an army to Tokyo City. Whether to fight or to leave, there must be an explanation."

At this time, he was also hesitant in his heart.

Rationally speaking, fighting the Korean thieves would not benefit them at all, and it would be a completely thankless task.

But in the long run, the Kingdom of Jin will sooner or later fight the Korean thieves.

Gao Qingyi was the first to speak: "Of course it's a war!"

"There's always a fight."

Xiao Qing echoed.

Wanyan Zonghan looked at Wanyan Xiyin, waiting for his suggestion.

Wanyan Xiyin was a rare wise counselor among the Jurchens. When Aguda was still alive, he valued him very much and ordered him to compile the Jurchens' own writings.

"The rise of the Korean bandits is rapid, even worse than that of our Jin Kingdom. The one who will replace the Song Kingdom must be the Korean bandits. There will be a battle between our Jin Kingdom and the Korean bandits. But..."

Wanyan Xiyin paused, then changed his voice and said meaningfully: "But I think this battle is not now. The situation is delicate at the moment. Orulubu returned with a disastrous defeat, and his power and reputation have plummeted. No matter whether he wins or loses in this battle, None of this is a good thing!”

Wanyan Zonghan thought for a moment and then understood the meaning of the other party's words.

With the fighting power shown by the Korean thief, even if he could win, it would be a miserable victory.

Regardless of whether he wins or loses in this battle, Wanyan Wu will be begging for money in the end.

The best option is to return to Xijing with the looted grain, gold and silver.

With an army of 150,000 under his command, he had plundered so much food and money, and he had good ministers and strong generals, he was a well-deserved emperor in Shanxi.

By then, even if Wu Qimai and Orulubu join forces, they will not be able to check and balance him.

Moreover, the disastrous defeat of Orulubu made Wanyan Wu Qimai unable to fall out with him no matter how fearful he was, but instead would respect him even more.

Thinking of this, Wanyan Zonghan did not hesitate at all and ordered: "Withdraw the troops and return to Xijing (Datong)!"

Hearing the words "return to Xijing", Xiao Qing and Gao Qingyi also came back to their senses. A trace of excitement flashed in their eyes and they responded loudly: "I will obey your orders!"

The Jin army withdrew.

We evacuated quickly, without any delay, and left happily.

"Prime Minister Li, the Jin army has withdrawn!"

The guard immediately sent someone to pass the news to Li Gang.

After receiving the news, Li Gang and Sun Fu hurriedly climbed onto the tower and looked at the Jin army retreating away from the stronghold. They were overjoyed.

When the people in the city found out, they cheered and jumped for joy.

The hall was full of courtiers, popping their crowns to celebrate.

However, this joy did not last long before it was shattered by another news.

The Korean thieves came, leading an army of 80,000 people. They had passed Wei City and headed straight for Tokyo City.

Just as the hungry wolf left, the tiger arrived again.

Zhao Huan immediately ordered a group of ministers to enter the palace to report.

The Jin people were barbarians and could not communicate with each other, but the Korean thieves were Han people, and there had been precedents of successful peace talks before.

So the Zhuhe faction, headed by Li Bangyan and Bai Shizhong, began to emerge.

In the main hall, Cai You was the first to speak: "Your Majesty, now that the Jin people have withdrawn their troops, it is better to negotiate peace with the Korean thieves."

"inappropriate!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he was interrupted by Sun Fu, who said in a deep voice: "Han Thief has a huge appetite and is a tiger that cannot be fed enough. During the peace talks last year, I, the Song Dynasty, once again lost money and food. As a result, only one year later, the Jin people went south to tear up the alliance. How is continuing the peace talks any different from drinking poison to quench thirst?"

Li Gang spoke up: "I don't agree with the peace talks either. The Jin people have already evacuated. The Korean thieves have been unable to attack for a long time and will eventually retreat to Shandong. It won't take long before the danger in the capital will be lifted."

Thanks to the withdrawal of the Jin army, Zhao Huan and his ministers gained a lot of confidence.

As the main war faction gained the upper hand, Zhao Huan nodded and said: "Don't mention the peace talks anymore. We are facing a powerful enemy. We need to work together to defend the capital!"

"Your Majesty is wise!"

Li Gang looked pleased, feeling that the official family was becoming more mature and steady, and the image of a wise king gradually appeared.

Just wait until the Korean thieves fade away, and then we will eradicate the traitors in the court one by one.

Thinking of this, Li Gang looked at Bai Shizhong, Cai You and others with a hint of killing intent in his eyes.

……

……

The first day of June.

Han Zhen led the army to Chenqiaoyi.

At this time, Chenqiaoyi looked extremely depressed after being looted by the Jin people, with not a single person in sight.

The huge inn was completely burned by fire, leaving only large areas of ruins.

The shops on both sides of the street were also heavily looted, and corpses could be seen everywhere. Under the high temperature, they emitted waves of stench.

Several wild dogs gathered together and gnawed on a corpse.

Hearing the footsteps, the wild dogs immediately dispersed and disappeared without a trace.

Seeing the sun setting in the west, Han Zhen ordered the camp to be set up.

Suddenly, the 80,000-strong army became busy.

Han Zhen rode his horse to the stone bridge, feeling a sense of emotion about revisiting his old place.

The boundary monument beside the stone bridge was broken, and the words originally inscribed on it have long since disappeared.

Zhao Ting was riding on his horse, looking in the direction of Tokyo City from a distance, with a complex expression on his face and said: "I often dream of Tokyo City in my dreams, but I never thought that one day it would actually come back!"

Shi Wenhui laughed at himself: "To tell you the truth, when I came to Beijing to take the exam, my biggest wish was to taste the pear blossoms in Fanlou. But I was short of money, which has always been a regret. This time I conquered the capital, and I fell. I want to taste the pear blossom white to see if it is really as delicious as the rumors say."

"Hahaha!"

These words made everyone smile knowingly.

At this time, Huang Kai seemed to have said unintentionally: "The Emperor Zhao Song is fatuous and immoral. When he enters the city, I will pull the bird emperor off the throne and let the county magistrate sit on it."

Hearing this, everyone changed slightly and quietly looked at Han Zhen's expression.

Han Zhen's expression was calm, as if he didn't hear anything.

(End of this chapter)