Chapter 149: Summoned

Historically, Du Chong held Dongjing for a year, as long as Zong Ze. For this reason, even though he breached the Yellow River dikes and drove more than half his own troops to rebel, Yue Fei remained loyally by his side, and the exiled court kept promoting him and granting him titles.

In a word, failure and incompetence were never crimes in those days—otherwise, the entire court would have to be slaughtered. And for a frontline grandee like Du Chong, defeat was never grounds for punishment; a single retort of "If you're so capable, you do it" was enough to silence everyone at the central authority.

Even after Zhao Jiu arrived and successively dealt with Liu Guangshi, Ding Jin, and Fan Qiong, the official reasons given were not defeat in battle, but rather refusal to fight and avoidance of battle.

Moreover, all three were military men, not civil officials of proper background… Were civil officials and military generals the same thing?

In fact, even for a "model" of absurdity and national ruin like Fan Zhixu, Zhao Jiu did not dare risk a complete break with the civil officials by killing him outright.

Because such a killing would mean that much of what he had painstakingly built up would go to waste.

Now, as Du Chong's memorial arrived, the central authority was first shaken, and after a court discussion, it wasn't that no one thought this might be Du Chong's fear of battle—in fact, many could think of that. There were even a very few individuals, including His Majesty, who considered a possibility—that Du Chong was so terrified of battle that he was openly lying to Nanyang!

However, this was just a conjecture. If it were true, Du Chong would sooner or later end up like Fan Zhixu, because this matter had already thrown Nanyang into full-scale panic, and could very likely lead to even more severe consequences for Han Shizhong's side, worsening the overall situation.

But even so, those few individuals were helpless, because at this moment they had to be cautious… besides, it was only a guess; at present, over eighty percent of people believed Du Chong's report.

No worries in the short term, but soon the battlefield at Yanling-Changshe would face major problems, and then in the long run the whole situation would deteriorate—this had become the consensus of Nanyang's upper and lower ranks.

For a time, not only was Nanyang in a panic, but according to Yang Yizhong's report, that very afternoon, after the court discussion, bad rumors immediately spread… saying that Han Shizhong's earlier defeat and Du Chong's current predicament were both caused by the current administration's rash advance. If they had only held each city from the start, though there would be necessary losses, the overall situation would not have fallen into danger.

Who the current administration was went without saying.

This formed a stark contrast with the near-dreamlike artillery victory half a month earlier, which had greatly boosted the prestige of His Majesty and Lu Yihao.

"Is it absolutely certain?"

On the evening of the day the news arrived, amid the chaos, Zhao Jiu, who had been sitting silently in the old woodland full of wooden stakes between the rear palace and the front hall, suddenly received another piece of news that poured oil on the fire.

"Absolutely certain." Yang Yizhong bowed his head from under the eaves. "Your Majesty can go up to the city wall and see."

Without a word, Zhao Jiu immediately rose from the wooden stake and followed Yang Yizhong out of the palace toward the north city wall, which was less than three li away in a straight line. Countless officials followed along, needless to say.

When they reached the city wall, under the setting sun, everyone could see at a glance what was happening. In the sunset, thousands upon thousands of Jurchen cavalry were openly assembling, then galloping out of camp in a awe-inspiring spectacle, continuously heading northeast.

"Are the Jin people withdrawing?" Hu Yin, who had come along, was baffled.

"No." Liu Ziyu, the chief recipient of the Privy Council, let out a muffled breath and said through gritted teeth. "This is to reinforce Wanyan Talan, or at least to deliberately make it look like they are reinforcing Talan."

"What do you mean?" Hu Yin asked warily.

"Nothing else." Liu Ziyu glanced at Hu Yin and replied seriously. "Even if Talan requested reinforcements, the news couldn't have arrived only today. The news that arrived today can only be that Deputy Commissioner Du Chong at Yanling is holding fast and not coming out. So, this is likely a decoy tactic."

"How can reinforcements be a decoy?" Hu Yin still didn't understand.

"It's to lure the troops from Nanyang! Or to lure His Majesty!" Liu Ziyu said in exasperation. "Not to lure Yanling! If the city truly believes that a Wanhu of the Jin army has left, leaving them thinly manned, and then tries to counterattack here, or takes the opportunity to send His Majesty to Xiangyang, then this ten-thousand-strong cavalry force will surely turn back and crush them!"

Hu Yin lowered his head to think, then glanced at the expressionless His Majesty, but still couldn't help asking Liu Ziyu again: "Liu Staff Officer still hasn't said why the Jin people aren't withdrawing."

Liu Ziyu was dumbfounded, felt a pain in the back of his head, and simply stopped paying him any attention.

"What do you think?" At that moment, Zhao Jiu suddenly turned to look at Yang Yizhong.

"Your subject believes what Liu Staff Officer said is reasonable." Military matters were within his purview, so Yang Yizhong naturally did not evade but immediately reported. "Entering the first month, the weather is warming, the river ice is gradually melting, and the area around Nanyang happens to be dense with waterways… Among them, large rivers like the Baihe, though the surface ice hasn't cracked, are only passable in a few places, insufficient for large formations of armored cavalry. So the Jin army splitting off a ten-thousand-strong cavalry force to head northeast can both serve as a decoy and also allow them to deploy troops to the outer side of the Baihe in advance, to prevent our army from seizing this opportunity to suddenly cross the river with infantry and use the river barrier to calmly move south."

Zhao Jiu slowly nodded… He understood Yang Yizhong's meaning—the so-called "calmly moving south using the river barrier" was not about "infantry," but about him, His Majesty.

In fact, with Du Chong's memorial arriving, the reason the discussion had dragged on from morning to afternoon was that many civil officials, realizing the overall situation was dire, had once again suggested that Zhao Jiu move south to Xiangyang for safety, sparking fierce debate and confrontation with those who still insisted on staying in Nanyang.

Returning to the present, even Liu Ziyu and Yang Yizhong only said that this force suddenly leaving the Jin camp might be a decoy, but they did not deny the possibility that it might actually be going to reinforce Wanyan Talan.

So it was foreseeable that the Nanyang faction and the Xiangyang faction would inevitably continue to clash over these two main possibilities arising from this incident.

At the same time, the authority of His Majesty and Privy Councilor Lu was already declining.

"Your Majesty."

Sure enough, Li Guang, the imperial censor who had followed, instinctively stepped forward and spoke earnestly. "Your subject does not know about military matters, but your subject believes that for the long term, it is safer to go to Xiangyang… Once at Xiangyang, with Nanyang's fortifications and Xiangyang's necessity to take, the Jin people will be thrown into confusion."

"How can we abandon Nanyang and leave?" Hu Yin was furious.

"Nanyang's city is strong and its artillery sharp—how is that abandoning it?" Li Guang showed no fear toward his nominal superior.

"If we leave Nanyang, who will guarantee His Majesty's safety?" Liu Ziyu now surprisingly stood on the same side as Hu Yin. "With ten thousand cavalry on a raid, who can stop them?"

"Let Wang De, who is already east of the city, escort His Majesty with his troops along with Zhang Jing—that gives us ten thousand elite Imperial Guard troops. Then let Xin Qizong (the two Xins), stationed at Rang County (Dengzhou's former seat), come to meet us—that gives us sixteen to seventeen thousand troops. With such a force, plus Wang Yecha's bravery, and the dense river network slowing the enemy down, His Majesty's safety can be assured." The speaker was Fan Zongyin, a drafter of the Secretariat, who had recently become a comrade-in-arms of Li Guang and Li Ruopu, and was a backbone of the Xiangyang faction in today's court debate.

"Drafter Fan!" Liu Ziyu, already angry, broke protocol. "You are from Xiangyang's Dengcheng! Of course you want His Majesty to go to Xiangyang—you're practically hoping His Majesty will stay in Xiangyang and make it the capital forever, aren't you?!"

"Am I acting out of selfishness?!" Fan Zongyin was also enraged. "When the weather gets hot and the Jin army withdraws, His Majesty can naturally return to Nanyang… But you, Liu Staff Officer—His Majesty entrusted all the Privy Council's military planning to you. With things at this point, what do you have to say? Why did Han Shizhong fall into an ambush? Were there any oversights in the matters of Wang Yan, Ma Gao, and Yue Fei?! And before the war, the entire army wasted nearly a month waiting, then grew overconfident, leading to Councilor Zhang being ambushed and killed—this matter…"

"This matter how?"

"Is this matter unrelated to your deliberate neglect of the Wuma Mountain righteous army?" The thirty-year-old Fan Zongyin was also pushed to the edge. "Do you think we don't know that Ma Kuo, the Chief, was thrown into the Zhending Prefecture prison because of whose stubbornness back then?"

Liu Ziyu's head ached: "So you're saying I have selfish motives?"

Fan Zongyin was about to speak when suddenly, His Majesty, still wearing the morning's red robe, expressionless, spread his elbows and rested his hands on the leather belt at his waist, walked straight between the two of them, and silently went down the city wall.

The two groups on the wall instantly fell silent, then each forced themselves to stop talking and dispersed.

Back at the temporary palace, His Majesty did not hold further discussions but simply ate dinner and then retired to the rear palace to rest.

Only, he was clearly agitated and under immense pressure. Wu Yu, seeing this, wanted to comfort him. But she was young and had no idea of the root of the matter; all she could say was that the ministers in the city were all worthy men, and His Majesty should listen to a wide range of opinions and discuss problems with them…

Little did she know that half of His Majesty's anxiety was over the situation, and the other half was precisely because of these "worthy men."

How could such comfort be of any use?

Still, Wu Yu saw that Zhao Jiu was growing more impatient, so after saying what she had to say, she fell silent…

That night passed without words. At the second watch, someone suddenly knocked on the door, startling His Majesty awake! The last time someone knocked, it was Lu Yihao coming to speak privately.

Zhao Jiu, groggy, got up and allowed Lan Gui and Feng Yi to enter. They said that Yang Yizhong, Chen Gui, and Lu Haoqiu were requesting an audience, which puzzled him.

Now, Yang Yizhong and Liu Yan took turns at night to relieve Liang Hongyu in guarding the temporary palace, while Lu Haoqiu and Lu Yihao took turns resting and standing watch in the side hall of the front hall. Tonight, it was Yang Yizhong and Lu Haoqiu on duty, so no matter what happened, it would have to go through them—so it wasn't really a "request for an audience." But Chen Gui, who was in charge of city defense, arriving at this hour was somewhat strange.

Could it be a night attack by the Jin army outside the city?

No sound was heard?

Or had something gone wrong with the city defenses?

However, this random speculation was soon put to rest. Chen Gui, Yang Yizhong, and Lu Haoqiu were not the real ones seeking an audience. The one truly requesting an audience with His Majesty was a young official who had left Nanyang over ten days ago and then returned—Du Chong's second son, Du Yan.

He had ridden a fast horse all night to get here, which naturally alarmed Chen Gui.

"Your Majesty!"

After requesting that only his personal guards accompany him, on the corridor behind the main hall, Du Yan, disheveled and dazed, knelt and bowed. Under the watchful gaze of Yang Yizhong behind him, he spoke a shocking sentence to the Imperial Majesty. "Your servant, your servant's father is in communication with the Jin Right Vice-Marshal Talan... they have agreed not to fight!"

As soon as these words were spoken, Yang Yizhong, who had been on careful guard, was stunned dumbfounded, while Du Yan, as if deflated, lay prostrate on the cold ground, saying nothing more.

But unexpectedly, the Imperial Majesty showed no change in expression. If one had to describe it precisely, there was even a hint of relief. In truth, at this moment Zhao Jiu suddenly felt a strange, subtle state of mind similar to that period just before the war began, and recalled his own thought from back then—when great waves surge to the sky, mud and sand flow down together.

The weather was still cold, and after the air froze for half a quarter of an hour, Zhao Jiu finally spoke expressionlessly: "So then, there is no matter of Yue Fei, Wang Yan, and Ma Gao slandering and opposing each other?"

"No," Du Yan answered from the ground. "Although Wang Yan and Yue Fei do not even speak privately with each other, the three of them have not caused any trouble in military affairs. Before your servant discovered this matter concerning your servant, your servant's father, after Niu Gao and Li Bao arrived, I also planned together with the three generals and the Shoujiang defender Li Qiong, jointly urging my father to dispatch troops..."

Yang Yizhong focused his attention almost strangely on the Imperial Majesty, because Zhao Jiu still showed no change in expression. Compared to Du Chong's collusion with the enemy, this matter seemed to make him inexplicably more uneasy.

Zhao Jiu nodded and then asked again: "Which route did you take? Did you encounter any Jin troops? How long did the journey take?"

"Your servant dared not take the northern route. I took a detour through Caizhou, passed through Xiping, crossed Zhongyang Mountain, went from Qingtai across the Dushui Stone Bridge back to Nanyang... this was the route Yelu Ma Wu used for his swift attack on Ruyang in the past... I encountered no Jin troops along the way. As for the time spent..." Du Yan thought for a moment. "I decided to set out after seeing my father's memorial to Nanyang, claiming the three generals were slandering each other and the three armies were unstable. As for the specific time, your servant did not measure it!"

"So that's two and a half days," Zhao Jiu sighed. "Don't return to your lodgings. I'll have Commander Yang find you a quiet place to stay immediately. Once this matter is settled, I will arrange for you to go to Bashu as a County Magistrate..."

Whether he realized something or not, Du Yan suddenly spoke with a sobbing tone: "Thank you for Your Majesty's grace... your servant's father... your servant's father..."

"Go on down!" Zhao Jiu sighed, a rare occurrence.

Du Yan's heart felt as if twisted with knives, but he kowtowed and followed Yang Yizhong away.

A moment later, watching Yang Yizhong and Du Yan depart, the Imperial Majesty paused for a while before turning back into the hall. But after he took his seat, facing the tense anticipation of Lü Haoqian and Chen Gui, he remained silent for a full quarter of an hour or more.

Just as Chen Gui was beginning to find it unbearable, Yang Yizhong returned, and the Imperial Majesty, who had been thinking for a long time, finally spoke slowly again: "Summon Vice Commissioner of the Bureau of Military Affairs Lü Yihao; summon Director of the Bureau of Military Affairs Liu Ziyu, Compiler of the Bureau of Military Affairs Hu Hongxiu; summon Palace Censor Li Guang, Hanlin Academician Li Ruopu, Secretariat Drafter Fan Zongyin; summon Censor-in-Chief Hu Yin, Hanlin Academician Lin Jingmo, Vice Commander of the Imperial Guard Liu Yan, Vice Director of the Bureau of Military Affairs Mo Qixie; summon Acting Prefect of Nanyang Yan Xiaozhong, Nanyang Four-Walls Defense Commissioner Wang De, Commander Fu Qing, Commander Xin Yongzong... be careful, don't let them alert too many people."

Although the order of the summoned list was very strange, basically a key group of personnel capable of decisively determining military and state affairs was all assembled.

Yang Yizhong, who knew the inside story, dared not be negligent and acted immediately, while Lü Haoqian and Chen Gui became increasingly solemn, because this meant that Du Yan must have brought earth-shattering news.

Now, Yan Xiaozhong, who was in charge of the storehouses, and the three generals lived relatively far away, especially Wang De, who was outside the eastern city wall... but the rest of the main officials were in the palace quarter, so they gathered quickly. While waiting for Yan Xiaozhong and Wang De to arrive, they naturally could not help but discuss and speculate... they did not even know that Du Yan had arrived.

Now, watching these people make such a commotion, the Imperial Majesty felt a sense of weariness and sighed inwardly, while once again recalling a matter that had increasingly puzzled him these days—these people, taken individually, were not all sages, but at least each had their uses. So why, when gathered together, did they always create one kind of disorder or another?

And why, in terms of overall effect, were they not as useful as imagined?

But the closer such a critical moment came, the less one could be held hostage by emotions. Zhao Jiu took a deep breath for a long time, then suddenly stood up, ignored everything, and turned to go to the rear. The hall was momentarily stunned, but gradually became noisy again... no one could control where the Imperial Majesty went; who knew if he was going to the rear palace for a drink of water or to catch up on sleep.

But in reality, Zhao Jiu did not go to the rear palace as these people thought, but came to the area between the rear palace and the front hall.

This place originally had a small grove and a corridor. In the past, the grove was full of wild pigeons, so that when working in the hall, one could always hear their cooing. After Nanyang began preparations for war, the trees here were all cut down for materials and fuel, leaving behind a pile of stumps.

The Imperial Majesty simply turned out of the rear hall and came directly to a stump in the middle of this treeless grove, sat down with his hands tucked in his sleeves. The commotion from the front hall could still be clearly heard.

Lan Gui, Feng Yi, and Liu Yan followed him. Seeing the Imperial Majesty come here again, they exchanged knowing glances—Lan Gui turned back to the front hall, while Feng Yi and Liu Yan stood under the corridor. By the time Yan Xiaozhong and Wang De finally arrived, and Lan Gui turned back to report, the Imperial Majesty had already been sitting there in the cold wind for quite a while.

"I won't go to the front hall. I will receive them here," Zhao Jiu looked up and said. "Convey my decree: while I am receiving officials here, there shall be no loud discussion in the hall."

Lan Gui bowed in acknowledgment, then asked: "May I ask Your Majesty, which ones shall be summoned first?"

"Summon Liu Yan first!" Zhao Jiu answered immediately. "Chief Eunuch Lan, you and Feng Yi go out and wait together."

Lan and Feng exchanged glances, then both lowered their heads and turned to leave, leaving Liu Yan, who was caught off guard.

"Pingfu," Zhao Jiu beckoned to him, hearing the hall fall silent as Lan Gui conveyed the decree. "Come here. I only ask you three questions."

"Yes," Liu Yan quickly stepped forward into the 'grove'.

"Are the Red Heart Company cavalry usable?" Zhao Jiu stared at him calmly and asked.

"Willing to die for Your Majesty!" Liu Yan answered frankly.

"Then let me ask you again: in your personal judgment, did the Jin army sending ten thousand cavalry north today do so more to lure the forces from Nanyang, or more to reinforce Wanyan Talan?"

"More of a lure strategy."

"Are the Jin troops here under Wanyan Wushu stronger, or those under Wanyan Talan?"

"If there is indeed no division of troops for reinforcement, naturally the enemy outside Nanyang city is stronger," Liu Yan answered readily, but immediately corrected himself. "No... even if they did send reinforcements, it doesn't necessarily mean Wanyan Wushu's forces here aren't stronger. Because Talan's troops are too scattered, while Wushu's forces here have a large camp and were carefully selected."

Zhao Jiu nodded: "Go and summon Yang Yizhong. Remember, no matter what I say later when I go out, do not speak a word."

Liu Yan was bewildered and confused, but still followed the order.

In a moment, Yang Yizhong, who had just labored to summon people back, entered. Before he could even perform the formal greeting, Zhao Jiu asked directly: "Zhengfu, no matter what, can you guarantee that there are no spies in the city, and that no one will escape?"

"Your servant can guarantee it!" Yang Yizhong replied solemnly.

"Very well, let me ask you again: today the Jin sent ten thousand cavalry north. Do you think it is more of a lure, or more of a genuine reinforcement? Between Wanyan Wushu here and Wanyan Talan there, whose forces are stronger?"

"More of a lure. Wanyan Wushu is stronger!" Yang Yizhong had already given an answer during the day, so he was naturally decisive now.

"Go out. Summon Hu Hongxiu."

Yang Yizhong, half tense and half hesitant, still cupped his hands and left.

And so, Zhao Jiu chose a bizarre method of receiving officials, seeking accurate judgments from these elites who tended to cause trouble when gathered together:

Liu Yan, Yang Yizhong, Hu Hongxiu, and Liu Ziyu—four men with military staff capabilities—came and went in turn, giving the judgment that the Jin army sending ten thousand cavalry north today was an ambush to lure the Nanyang troops, or rather to lure him, Imperial Majesty Zhao;

Chen Gui, Yan Xiaozhong, Yang Yizhong, Wang De, Fu Qing, and Xin Yongzong gave the judgment and guarantee that Nanyang was absolutely defensible in the short term, even impregnable;

Mo Qixie and Lin Jingmo gave the judgment that Du Chong's prestige in the Eastern Capital Pacification Office was neither high nor low, insufficient to confuse public opinion;

Hu Yin insisted on the strategic requirement of taking a more proactive approach;

While Li Guang, Li Ruopu, and Fan Zongyin all insisted on the position of withdrawing to Xiangyang.

By this time, only the two Grand Councilors in the hall had not yet moved. And sure enough, next came Vice Grand Councilor Lü Yihao, summoned in alone.

Seeing Lü Yihao, before the other could even walk under the corridor and enter the 'grove', Zhao Jiu immediately spoke, but only said one sentence: "Minister Lü, I have just made a firm decision. I will use the advice you gave here that day to deal with the current situation. I must ask you to maintain it for me!"

Lü Yihao nodded slightly, then turned and left the place without looking back. A moment later, Lü Haoqian followed.

"Minister Lü," Zhao Jiu used the same address, but his tone was much gentler. "Since I fell into the well, from Mingdao Palace to here, I have troubled you greatly to mend and patch things up for me..."

Hearing these words, Lü Haoqian was not pleased but alarmed. His hair stood on end, clearly realizing something.

But before he could speak, the Imperial Majesty continued: "If you trust me, please do not ask too many questions, and do your best to help me accomplish a great task."

Lü Haoqian was in a complete quandary, flustered for a long time, and thought for a good while. But under the silent gaze of the young Imperial Majesty sitting upright on the stump across from him, he chose to sigh: "I will do as Your Majesty commands. Since Vice Grand Councilor Lü has surely already discussed it with Your Majesty... I only beg Your Majesty to take good care of yourself!"

Zhao Jiu was slightly startled, but quickly regained his composure. He nodded again, gave some instructions, and then set off with Lü Haoqian back to the hall.

No one in the hall spoke, and there were no wild pigeons to provide accompaniment, so the silence was more aptly described as deathly still.

Just as the assembled civil and military officials were all thinking various thoughts, the Imperial Majesty finally spoke and revealed the answer: "Just now, another messenger arrived from Yanyan, saying that Yue Fei and Wang Yan have openly clashed, and then Wang Yan was defeated and privately withdrew to the Eastern Capital. Coupled with the Jurchen sending ten thousand cavalry north today to reinforce Talan, it is clear that the overall situation at Wuhe is hopeless... I have made up my mind. I will go to Xiangyang to divide the enemy's forces!"

A slight stir ran through the assembly. Hu Yin, Liu Ziyu, and Hu Hongxiu almost instinctively wanted to step forward and sternly remonstrate, but like everyone else, when summoned privately they had all received Zhao Jiu's earnest—whether stern or sincere—admonition: no matter what, say nothing today.

Objections were, of course, also words.

Hu Yin should have been the most vehemently opposed to this decision, but when Zhao Jiu had summoned him earlier, he had specifically begged him to emulate Zhang Jun for one day. Now, thinking of Zhang Jun and recalling Zhao Jiu's various past actions, Hu Mingzhong found it so difficult that he bit his own tongue.

The hall was utterly silent, but Chief Minister Lü Haowen and Privy Council Chief Lü Yihao voluntarily stepped forward to express their agreement.

It seemed the two of them had also been persuaded in turn.

And since the two ministers agreed, this matter—the so-called deliberation of the Eastern and Western Bureaus before the sovereign—became a naturally legitimate major policy.

Immediately, Zhao Jiu and Lü Haowen conversed fluently, while Lü Yihao repeatedly clasped his hands and nodded, and a series of specific measures were passed:

Among them, Chen Gui, Yan Xiaozhong, Fu Qing, and Xin Yongzong left first, ensuring the city's defenses were secured without alarming anyone;

Yang Yizhong and Liu Yan were ordered to prepare an elite force to escort Zhao Jiu out of the city;

Wang De was to leave the city immediately for the eastern camp to see Zhang Jing, and then together prepare everything in the camp, departing as soon as possible that night to avoid the Jin Army's sight;

Meanwhile, Hanlin Academician Lin Jingmo, Censor-in-Chief Hu Yin, Vice Director of the Privy Council Mo Qixie, and Chief Eunuch Lan Gui were ordered to accompany him to Xiangyang. The two ministers and the rest were ordered to remain behind... As for Lady Wu, Zhao Jiu did not mention her, so she was naturally to be abandoned in her sleep and exhaustion.

Thanks to Zhao Jiu's private summons, inquiries, and even pleas or commands, the matter unfolded with near-miraculous speed, without any debate. And thanks to Yang Yizhong leading numerous Imperial Guard officers to personally execute the arrangements, the entire process produced almost no extra incidents.

The reason for saying "almost" was that when Zhao Jiu was about to leave the palace gate, he suddenly stopped and had someone take down the Golden Wu Banner in front of the temporary palace—which was noticeably dimmer than its many counterparts on the city wall—and made Mo Qixie carry it on his back... This took quite some time.

But regardless, around the fourth watch, Zhao Jiu finally led the main force of the Imperial Guard out of Nanyang City through a hidden gate on the east side, entered the eastern camp, and saw Wang De and Zhang Jing in the darkness.

As it happened, Zhang Jing had come on this mission under orders from Xu Jingheng, Wang Boyan, Liu Ji, and others to rendezvous with Zhao Jiu and escort him south to Xiangyang. Even further back, this was fundamentally the Privy Council's original plan. Moreover, since he had not been exposed to the disputes within the city, he had no superfluous words.

Even his preparations here were quite thorough.

But unfortunately, Zhang Jing had no superfluous words, while Zhao Jiu did:

"Today, the ones who have worked the hardest are Minister Wang and Minister Zhang."

Wang De and Zhang Jing quickly knelt together, saying they dared not accept such praise.

"Are the pontoon bridges ready?" Zhao Jiu continued.

"On the Baihe River due south, taking advantage of the recent ice floes, three large pontoon bridges were built early on. They will absolutely not fail due to melting ice and snow..." Zhang Jing replied solemnly.

"What about the east? You advanced from the southeast and moved your camp from there—surely you have corresponding preparations there too?" In the darkness, Zhao Jiu stared at Zhang Jing and asked seriously, his breath forming white mist in the night air.

"There is also a pontoon bridge, but it is smaller. It was built only to facilitate the transport of leftover timber from the old camp, since the ice layer was about to melt—a crude pontoon bridge." Zhang Jing quickly answered.

"That will be enough."

"But Your Majesty, if I may speak frankly, taking the eastern route would waste time. Moreover, if the Jin Army has an ambush, it must be the unit from this evening, and it must be waiting northeast of here... Perhaps Your Majesty intends to send a decoy force?" Zhang Jing initially wanted to object but caught himself midway.

"Correct." Zhao Jiu sighed softly, stepped forward, and reached out to help Wang De and Zhang Jing, who were still waiting, to their feet. "Two generals, I just said that today the hardest-working are the two of you... because I want you to first join forces and lead the main army south at top speed... And after your entire army has crossed the Baihe River, the ten thousand Jin cavalry left on the outer bank of the Baihe will surely attack with full force. At that time, I ask you to retreat back here as quickly as possible. If you cannot hold this position, then enter the city directly."

Wang De and Zhang Jing were momentarily dazed and confused, while Mo Qixie, carrying the bundle on his back, was greatly disturbed, to the point of involuntarily adjusting the bundle... This formed a stark contrast with the silence of Yang Yizhong, Hu Yin, Lin Jingmo, Lan Gui, and Liu Yan.

Of course, the silence of these five was entirely different. Yang Yizhong seemed to have known from the start what the Emperor would do and what he himself would have to do, executing silently. Beyond that, there was also a hint of supervision and scrutiny toward the two generals and those beside him.

Liu Yan was quite simple. He had made up his mind long ago, when he parted ways with Guo Yaoshi before the Jingkang Incident, and never wavered. After Jingkang, his resolve was even firmer—even facing death, he had no hesitation.

Lin Jingmo, having received relatively little information today, instinctively began his usual random thoughts, analyzing the situation.

Lan Gui, as a eunuch, was destined only to follow Zhao Jiu, so there was nothing for him to think about.

As for Hu Yin, he was still finding it difficult to understand and was angry about Zhao Jiu's sudden decision to go south.

"Your Majesty intends to lure the enemy?" After a moment, Zhang Jing asked blankly.

"Your Majesty is not going to Xiangyang?" Wang De was also momentarily at a loss.

"Going to Xiangyang, but also luring the enemy." Zhao Jiu replied calmly. "However, it is you who will be the decoy. I want you to use this force of over ten thousand men to act as a decoy for me, drawing out the Jin Army's ambush on the opposite bank of the river, to cover the eight hundred Red Heart Guards escorting me across the river from the east, and then... go south! In short, today I trouble the two of you, and Commander Yang as well. He will lead the Imperial Guard and accompany you as the decoy!"

Under the campfire light, Yang Yizhong remained silent, merely staring at Wang De and Zhang Jing without speaking, his expression unreadable. Wang De and Zhang Jing, whose hands were being held by Zhao Jiu, exchanged a glance. With no time to think further, they could only grit their teeth and bow their heads together: "As you command!"

Behind them, Hu Yin, who had momentarily thought the Emperor might change his mind, was once again disappointed. But Mo Qixie had already fallen silent along with the others—as a bold conjecture emerged in his mind, his heart beat even faster.

At the fourth watch, in the late winter and early spring, the sun had not yet risen, and the sky remained dark, but the Song Army had already begun to move.

PS: Still 25k short.