Chapter 476: Defeated Without Being Defeated

"The Beidi are attacking Wuguan fiercely; are the Dou Family's troops unable to hold on?"

On this day.

Zhao Heng was taking a walk in the courtyard with Xiao Shishi.

No longer facing the threat of life and death, the two had become inseparable once again.

The unpleasantness from the time in Xian City had vanished like smoke.

But the urgent battle report sent from Wuguan made Zhao Heng feel as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

If Wuguan were breached, the main Beidi army would drive straight in and capture Jingzhou.

What kind of place was this Jingzhou?

It was the thoroughfare of the nine provinces of the Great Song Dynasty; once occupied, it would be equivalent to the Beidi troops stabbing into the heart of the Great Song.

After all, even Ningzhou, where Jinling was located, was only separated from Jingzhou by Fengzhou.

"Immediately, send troops to Wuguan immediately!" Zhao Heng shouted.

Zhao Xu frowned slightly; the cavalryman who had come to deliver the military intelligence was from the Dou Family.

Upon learning this news, he had let the Dou Family cavalry pass through and had followed them over himself.

"Father Emperor need not panic; this is merely a ruse by Mule Hongzhen, intended to bargain with the Great Song," Zhao Xu said slowly.

Mule Hongzhen's movements had indeed exceeded his expectations.

He had originally thought that Mule Hongzhen would lead his troops to reinforce the Ningjin Dusi.

At the same time, he would send an envoy to use the troops in Xian City as hostages to exchange for Wulanba.

This round of warfare would end in a stalemate, and after a brief respite, they would continue to the next contest.

He had not expected that Mule Hongzhen would learn his method of "besieging Wei to save Zhao" this time and attack Wuguan instead.

Firstly, to intimidate the Great Song, and secondly, to force him to withdraw his troops from the Ningjin Dusi to reinforce Wuguan.

In this matter, one could see that this Beidi Khan was indeed resourceful.

If it weren't for the bad luck of encountering him, any one of Mule Hongzhen's ideas for moving south would likely have already cost the Great Song its life.

"How can I not panic? Once the Beidi pass Wuguan, they can go to the gates of Jinling City to plunder." Zhao Heng paced back and forth anxiously, panicking completely just as he had in Xian City.

Zhao Xu looked at Zhao Heng and sighed inwardly.

This Father Emperor of his had small cleverness, but truly lacked the grand strategy a monarch should have; the moment he suffered a setback, he lost all sense of direction.

He was not even as good as the county magistrates under his command.

Just as he was about to explain to Zhao Heng, another cavalryman arrived and presented a battle report: "Your Highness, another royal tent has entered the Ningjin Dusi; currently, the forces in the Ningjin Dusi already consist of three royal tents."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Heng sighed again, "Yan Wang, your strategy of besieging Wei to save Zhao is completely useless. With three royal tents and you having only over a hundred thousand troops, how can you respond? You had better withdraw and head to Wuguan."

Zhao Xu could not help but feel a surge of irritation; if Zhao Heng were not the Emperor of Great Song, he would really want to give him a sound scolding.

But he happened to be the Emperor—he could not be beaten or scolded—and crucially, he was as honest as a pig teammate, always wanting to pull some foolish stunt while nagging in his ear.

"Father Emperor, Mule Hongzhen does not dare to enter Jingzhou at all. Is he not afraid that your son will take the opportunity to exit Qin Pass and cut off his path back to the Grassland?" Zhao Xu continued.

"His deployment this time is just to make us feel that our efforts have fallen short and that we are in a disadvantageous position, but in reality, it is just a bluff."

Finally, he asserted firmly: "If Mule Hongzhen truly wanted to take Jingzhou, he would inevitably occupy Qinzhou first, manage it for a while, and only after being fully prepared would he move south."

In the battle of Xian City, Zhao Heng had already been terrified by the Beidi.

He had witnessed the Beidi's artillery, which was no less powerful than that of the Great Song Imperial Guard.

He had also witnessed the invincible Beidi cavalry.

He said: "The Beidi now have artillery, like a tiger that has grown wings. How can your mere hundred thousand troops block their path back to the Grassland? Furthermore, your words are all guesses; how could you possibly know what Mule Hongzhen is thinking?"

Seeming to recall something, he said: "Mule Hongzhen is a madman. For the sake of victory, he can do anything; we must absolutely not lower our guard."

Having said this, he once again urged Zhao Xu to withdraw his troops and rush to reinforce Wuguan.

Just at this moment, another cavalryman came to report.

"Your Majesty, the son of Mule Hongzhen has arrived at the gates of Qin Pass and requests to see Your Majesty to negotiate peace with the Great Song," the cavalryman said.

"What!" Zhao Heng was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, then immediately overjoyed.

The cavalryman continued, "Tiemuta also said that as long as the peace negotiations are successful, the Beidi will turn hostility into friendship with the Great Song and will no longer raise troops to invade the south."

"They are also willing to betroth a Beidi Princess to an Imperial Prince of the Great Song to show their sincerity, and they also hope that the Great Song will betroth a Princess to their Great King Wulanba, so that the two sides may cease hostilities from now on."

"However, they stated that the specific details must be discussed with Your Majesty in person at Qin Pass."

In an instant, Zhao Heng seemed to be immersed in a beautiful dream.

His heart almost jumped out of his chest.

Ceasing hostilities with the Beidi was something most of the ministers in the Great Song court dreamed of, including himself.

If it were not for the fact that the Beidi were unwilling to negotiate and repeatedly attacked the Great Song.

There would be no place for the peace faction led by Yang Feng in the court at all.

Moreover, facing life and death in Xian City this time made him feel even more that spending the rest of his life in wealth and stability was more important than anything else.

He wanted to negotiate peace; he dreamed of negotiating peace.

He truly did not want to fight anymore; the Great Song's Imperial Guard was dwindling with every battle, and the national treasury was becoming increasingly empty.

Even if this peace negotiation could last for a year or two, it would be good to let him rest.

It would be much better than the continuous attacks of this period.

Furthermore, what if the Beidi were being sincere this time?

If so, after he returned to Jinling, he could truly live the carefree life of an Emperor.

"Father Emperor, regardless of the outcome of the peace negotiations, your son does not wish to be used as a bargaining chip."

Zhao Heng's almost fanatical gaze was seen by Zhao Xu; he knew that no matter what he said, he could no longer stop this Emperor of Great Song.

He also finally understood Mule Hongzhen's intention.

Attacking Wuguan is not for Yan Wang to see, but for Zhao Heng and the powerful clans of the Great Song to see.

The authority of the Great Song ultimately still rests in the hands of these people.

Thinking of this, he suddenly felt a wave of nausea.

He finally understood the Sino-French War at the end of the Qing Dynasty; even though they clearly defeated France, they still had to cede territory and pay indemnities in the end.

What was the reason for this?

It was because the interests of the powerful officials of the Qing court were actually inconsistent with those of the common people at the bottom.

What the common people wanted was to defend the land and the country, and to expel the barbarians.

But what the powerful wanted was peace, so they could continue their extravagant lives.

Even if it meant exhausting the resources of China to curry favor with foreign nations, they would not hesitate.

The Great Song clearly has this situation at present as well.

Zhao Heng and the powerful clans fear the Northern Di, but are courageous when it comes to internal strife.

As long as the enemies in the North Territory do not make trouble, what does it matter if they are servile and obsequious?

Internally, they remain high and mighty.

It is still better than having the Northern Di break through the empire and ending up as prisoners.

However, having recognized this problem, although he was extremely disappointed.

He also decided that even if it meant offending Zhao Heng, he had to make his bottom line clear.

He does not care what Zhao Heng goes to Qin Pass to discuss with the Northern Di.

But he absolutely cannot betray his interests, or the interests of Yanzhou.

They may want to live on their knees, but he, and the people of Yan Wang, have straight knees.

He understands that being so reckless and outspoken will surely make Zhao Heng unhappy.

But he no longer cares.

He still leaves Zhao Heng some face only because the existence of this emperor allows the Great Song to maintain stability for the time being.

Moreover, Zhao Heng needs him now, so even if he is a little displeased, he must endure it.

Sure enough, upon hearing this, Zhao Heng's expression changed slightly.

But he quickly regained his composure, "Yan Wang is overthinking; I have my own sense of propriety."