Chapter 1 The Beginning

On the afternoon of the 28th of June, civil and military officials escorted the imperial carriage back to Dongjing, but by this time, the city was already in an uproar.

This was to be expected. Although official court reports wouldn't be printed so quickly, and hand-copied supplements couldn't circulate on a large scale in such a short time, some basic information about the Shaoxing visit to Baima had already spread by word of mouth through the official reports and the officials who had returned to the capital ahead of the main party... Unexpectedly, for this serious political event that was almost a major upheaval, the most widely discussed and debated topics in the streets were only two things.

The first, of course, was that the peace talks had failed, and it was estimated that there would be more fighting.

The other was that the Emperor had openly satirized the Two Sages at Shaoxingjin, and had sent them and their direct descendants to Shaolin Temple, Dongxiao Palace, and Nanyang, bypassing Dongjing... For the common people, this blatant violation of 'filial piety' was the most shocking, and many found it difficult to understand.

In response, even though everyone knew that the Two Sages were worthless, and even though some people actively defended the Emperor, saying that Heaven, Earth, Ruler, Parents, and Teacher existed in that order, and that Heaven and Earth were above Ruler and Parents, they still couldn't stop the private discussions initiated by the lower classes of society based on filial piety and ethics. It was conceivable that from then on, this young Emperor was destined to have a moral stain that could never be washed away.

Zhao Jiu's cursing of his relatives would probably be on par with Li Shimin's imprisonment of his father.

Not only that, but the seventy or eighty high-ranking officials who had been purged were also crowned as loyal and filial sons who had resigned in anger because they couldn't maintain the righteousness of filial piety. Even, Emperor Zhao encountered the classic scene of blocking the imperial carriage at the XuanDe Gate—several elderly Confucian scholars, in the name of submitting a memorial at the palace gate, requested Emperor Zhao to bring the Supreme Daoist Emperor back to the palace to be cared for.

The reason, of course, was that the Two Sages could not possibly usurp the throne.

However, even though it was somewhat unexpected, Zhao Jiu was too lazy to pay attention to it... What else could he do? The situation was already irreversible, and he had a lot of things to do in the future. Did he have to summon the newly appointed Abbot Fahe of Shaolin Temple because of a few old men blocking the palace gate, and then give him two ounces of arsenic?

Those two would sooner or later be forgotten by everyone, and only be remembered by history.

Therefore, Emperor Zhao simply ignored the elderly Confucian scholars blocking the palace gate, and did not punish them. Instead, he rode his horse directly past them and entered the main entrance of the XuanDe Gate.

However, since Emperor Zhao had adopted a posture of refusing to be influenced by anything, some people began to actively speculate.

The very next day, Wan Qixie, the supervising censor of the palace, submitted another memorial, citing the separation of brothers Taizu and Taizong; the succession of Emperor Yingzong; the separation of brothers Emperor Zhezong and the Supreme Daoist Emperor; and the relationship between Emperor Yuan Sheng and the current Emperor... that is, Emperor Zhao's relationship with his brothers, as reasons to reorganize the ancestral temple and clarify the system of ancestral lineages.

To be honest, with Zhao Jiu's low-level knowledge of clan law, he might not even understand what the ancestral lineage system was, or the rules of the Seven or Nine Temples. It was only because the memorial was submitted by Wan Qixie that he didn't misunderstand it as being the same as the Confucian scholars who blocked the road yesterday. However, it was precisely Wan Qixie who made the Emperor instantly understand that there must be something fishy going on.

Because in any case, with two Shangshu, one Shilang, two Jiuqing, and one Jiancheng vacant, and Wan Qixie having clearly stated his position on that day, it was impossible for this guy to be trying to disgust Zhao Jiu at this time.

Therefore, Zhao Jiu summoned Yang Yizhong, the all-knowing and all-seeing, and after asking a few questions, he immediately realized what was going on.

It turned out that since ancient times, the number of permanent positions in the ancestral temple had been limited, about seven or nine. Whether it was seven or nine, whether it was the rules of the great Confucian Zheng Xuan or the principles of the famous Confucian Wang Su, in any case, there was only one ancestor... For example, the former Han Dynasty was Han Taizu, Emperor Gao Liu Bang, and the later Han Dynasty was Han Shizu, Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu... As for the Zhao Song Dynasty, there had been a dispute over the temple name of Taizu from the very beginning because of the issue of Taizu and Taizong.

Yang Yizhong said here, and Zhao Jiu already understood.

Although he didn't know the intricate etiquette rules, Wan Qixie's memorial had vaguely pointed out a key point: since he, Emperor Zhao, was trying to establish a 'New Song,' he might as well use legalistic means to make a certain break with the previous Zhao Song, thereby laying the political and legal foundation for him, Zhao Jiu, as the founding Emperor of the 'New Song'... That way, when Zhao Jiu died, he could also learn from Emperor Guangwu and become Emperor Shizu.

But what to say?

Zhao Jiu was moved for a moment, because it seemed like something that had to be done sooner or later, but he also understood that his current achievements probably didn't qualify him to do this... Only when he had directly attacked Huanglong, destroyed Western Xia, pacified Dali, and restored Nanyue, and incidentally planted a flag in the Western Regions, would it be the real time to do such a thing.

Therefore, after hesitating for a moment, Emperor Zhao shelved the memorial.

However, this action immediately caused a misjudgment... and a mutual misjudgment. Next, not only did many of the remaining speculative officials submit memorials requesting the reorganization of the ancestral temple, but even those who were originally planning to leave the capital to return to their hometowns seemed to have been stung by wasps, and immediately submitted memorials with their preserved official status, requesting Emperor Zhao to maintain the unified inheritance of the Zhao Song Dynasty.

Even within the imperial court itself, many high-ranking officials opposed discussing the issue of the ancestral temple at this time.

This pointless matter, coupled with the filling of as many as seventy or eighty key positions, plus the debate in the streets about the Emperor's lack of filial piety, quickly turned the entire city of Dongjing into a mess.

Things were somewhat unexpected again... Zhao Jiu originally wanted to make his intentions clear, but unexpectedly, after discussing it with Lu Haowen and other ministers, he chose to continue to maintain his previous state of hesitation.

The reason was simple. According to Zhao Ding, after the execution of Baima to establish Shaoxing, there would inevitably be a large political aftermath... And at this time, the situation in Qingzhou was unclear. Compared with the current debate, the frontline war was actually the most important thing. Therefore, limiting the political aftermath to some pointless matters, and making everyone focus on these matters, so that the political upheaval would not affect the Qingzhou war, might not be a bad thing.

Of course, there was another layer of meaning in this, which was whether Yue Fei, who had worked hard for more than half a year and had just returned to the north, was about to be thrown into battle again, whether the troops lacked rest, and whether their combat effectiveness would keep up. Moreover, it was a sneak attack from the mountainous area of Yizhou. What if it failed? How would he explain it to the people of the world?

In response, although Zhao Jiu had a blind trust in Yue Fei, he still followed the advice.

Speaking of which, Zhang Boying and Yue Pengju certainly didn't know the Emperor's and the ministers' complex thoughts at this time, nor did they know that Baima had become Shaoxing, let alone that such a big political wave had risen in Dongjing... After all, a simple calculation of the time would reveal that Yue Fei had arrived in Xuzhou in early June, and according to Emperor Zhao's instructions, he and Zhang Jun were to ensure that they occupied one county in the direction of Qingzhou by the end of the month. Even Yidu, the capital of Qingzhou, the nearest strategic target, was six or seven hundred miles away from Xuzhou, and they had to cross the Yimeng Mountains, so he and Zhang Jun could not possibly delay.

In fact, the Imperial Guard's Vanguard Army had only rested for five or six days before selecting 20,000 troops to set out with the Imperial Guard's Right Army, which was already responsible for this area of defense.

It is worth mentioning that this time, Zhang Jun, on the grounds that Yue Fei had worked hard for more than half a year and had traveled north and south, had his own troops serve as the vanguard, and then had Yue Fei lead the Imperial Guard's Vanguard Army as the rearguard.

Although this move was obviously intended to steal credit, Yue Fei had no room for refutation.

Moreover, just as Emperor Zhao was welcoming the Two Sages in Shaoxing, Zhang Jun's troops had already launched a major offensive... As of the last day of June, the last day of the summer of Jianyan's fifth year, not only had Qingzhou fallen into the hands of the Song army, but Weizhou and Laizhou had also chosen to surrender in stunned surprise.

The reason was laughable. Li Cheng and his main force were not in their old nest in Qingzhou at all, but had gone to Jinan Prefecture in the west.

After all, don't forget that before this, everyone thought that the peace talks would succeed, and that the Jin Dynasty was preparing to return the entire area of the puppet Qi to the Great Song. Therefore, Liu Yu, in a somewhat desperate state, used this to persuade Li Cheng, who was actually also a regional warlord, to join forces with him in the west and fight desperately to protect themselves.

Of course, as everyone knows, as soon as Liu Yu made any move, Erlubu, a Jin Dynasty commander, crossed the river directly and took control of him. However, Li Cheng, due to a misinformation, gritted his teeth and emptied his family fortune, and then sent out all the troops from the three counties, leading a large army directly to Jinan... It is not known what the result is now.

This allowed the Imperial Guard's Right Army to stumble upon a dead mouse and take Qingzhou, Weizhou, and half of Laizhou for nothing.

It can be said that Zhang Jun's unit alone had over-completed the task.

"Grand Commandant Zhang is not in Qingzhou?"

On the first day of July, Yue Fei's rearguard troops arrived at Linqu, where they were greeted by Hu Cheng, a familiar commander of the Imperial Guard's Right Army stationed there, and Tian Shizhong, who was a bit unexpected. After listening to a few words, he couldn't help but frown. "Did he go east or west?"

"East." Tian Shizhong bowed and answered immediately.

Yue Fei, who already knew something about the military situation, couldn't help but frown. Even the generals behind Yue Fei showed disdain... The reason was simple. At the moment, Jinan Prefecture, west of Qingzhou, was crowded with the main forces of the Jin army, Liu Yu's troops, and Li Cheng's troops. Therefore, going west was a head-on collision. But going east was different. Dengzhou and Laizhou in the east were the richest prefectures in the world, but they didn't have many defenders at all.

Now that Zhang Jun was leading his troops directly there, it might be that his old habits had returned. He knew that Emperor Zhao was watching this battle closely, but he couldn't help but want to plunder the east.

Seeing Yue Fei's expressionless face and the disdain of the generals behind him, Tian Shizhong did not directly defend himself. Instead, he turned to look at Hu Cheng beside him.

"Commissioner Yue..." Hu Cheng, a local tyrant from Yizhou, saw Tian Shizhong give him a look and quickly defended his superior. "My Grand Commandant went to the east for a reason. He said that the Emperor had told him before that after recovering Jingdong, he would reorganize a navy, first to control the Bohai Sea, which could attack the Jin people from behind; second, to suppress Goryeo and force Goryeo to change its course; third, the country lacked money and food, and the East Sea trade had always been a great source of income... And he had been confronting the puppet Qi in Huai Dong, and he knew that the puppet Qi had a navy in Dengzhou, controlled by the puppet governor Li Qi. This time, he intends to personally lead his troops to launch a surprise attack and capture all the puppet Qi's ships."

Yue Fei's expression did not change when he heard this. He just nodded casually: "If that's the case, that would be great."

Moreover, Hu Cheng, as an unscheduled frontline strongman, could not say whether he was on the official roster of the Imperial Guard's Right Army. The reason why he was waiting here was that he was a local tyrant in Yizhou and knew the local geography; secondly, it was because Zhang Jun valued his personal relationship with Yue Fei, so he spoke to him and had Tian Shizhong watch him wait here specifically to explain... After all, Yue Pengju was also a dignified general of the Imperial Guard and the Emperor's beloved general. If he really caught a flaw and ended up in a lawsuit before the Emperor, who knew who would suffer!

And sure enough, Hu Cheng glanced at Tian Shizhong and quickly continued:

"Not only the ships, but also the direction of Jinan Prefecture in the west, my Grand Commandant's idea is that now Li Cheng is leading tens of thousands of troops, along with Liu Yu's original subordinates, plus an unknown number of Jin troops are in Jinan. If we force an attack, it may not be useful; but if we can quickly sweep the remaining four counties, then we can't say for sure about other places, but Li Cheng will lose his foundation, and his tens of thousands of troops will inevitably scatter. Then, if we go to Jinan again and meet up with the arrangements on the Emperor's side for a pincer attack, that would be the most appropriate. Therefore, he wants to ask Commissioner Yue to go north to Yidu to rest, and wait for him to lead his troops back from sweeping the east, and then join forces to advance west."

Hearing this, the generals behind Yue Fei, such as Wang Gui and Zhang Xian, laughed even more... It seemed that Zhang Jun was not only seeking wealth, but also wanted to take all the credit. If this arrangement was followed, he was not willing to give the Imperial Guard's Vanguard Army even a sliver of the credit.

However, amidst the laughter, the generals also felt that Zhang Jun was an old soldier after all. Although this arrangement gave his Imperial Guard's Right Army all the advantages, from a overall point of view, it made some sense and did not delay the matter.

It seemed that this Grand Commandant Zhang knew that the Emperor was focused on this battle with all his heart, so he didn't dare to go too far.

Unexpectedly, just when they thought that the matter was settled and the Imperial Guard's Vanguard Army could only go to Yidu according to Zhang Jun's arrangement, Yue Fei, although his expression remained unchanged, openly shook his head: "Commander Hu, you are my friend to whom I entrust the life and death of my old mother and wife, and I will not hide anything from you... Whether Grand Commandant Zhang is doing it for the public or for personal gain, whether he is seeking wealth or taking credit, the Emperor will naturally argue with him after the war. And I led the Imperial Guard's Vanguard Army back from suppressing the rebellion in the south, and I have enough credit this time, and the troops are indeed a bit tired, so I don't care about these arrangements... My only worry is that he is a bit careless."

Hu Cheng was slightly stunned, but obviously puzzled.

Tian Shizhong immediately became solemn, stepped forward, and cupped his hands: "Commissioner Yue, this time, thanks to the Emperor's blessing, Li Cheng has been trapped in Jinan by a stroke of luck, and Jingdong is already a wide open road. Just from a military point of view, my Grand Commandant's arrangement is extremely appropriate, so it shouldn't be considered careless, right?"

Yue Pengju did not look at the other party. Instead, he turned around and pointed to the surrounding hills and plains in front of the city gate of Linqu, and then shook his head: "It only seems like a wide open road, but in fact, it is just like this terrain. Only when you actually walk it will you know that it is still a bit rugged... Not to mention others, just take Li Cheng. This person is strong. According to the surrendering people, he took three or four thousand troops west this time. What if he suddenly returns to his base? Will the Jin people really stop him? Moreover, since we have sent troops, the Jin people will also wake up. They may not only not stop him, but also formally reconcile with him and urge him to come over, right?"

Tian Shizhong was still a bit unconvinced: "Therefore, my Grand Commandant asked Commissioner Yue to go to Yidu and Linzi, north of Qingzhou, precisely to ask Commissioner Yue to lead his troops as a barrier..."

"I still know something about Li Cheng... If I were Li Cheng, and I wanted to save my old nest, knowing that tens of thousands of government troops were here, I would not come back along the Ji River to attack Linzi and Yidu." Yue Fei still squinted his eyes at the line where the hills and plains met in the west, and then raised his hand. "I will come from here... to attack Linqu! If Linqu is lost, the passage to Yizhou will be cut off. Not only will I be able to recapture Qingzhou, but I will also be able to turn defeat into victory and lock tens of thousands of Imperial Guard troops on this Jingdong Peninsula. At that time, you will see if the Jin army's main force from Daming Prefecture will come to fight desperately?!"

Tian Shizhong was stunned for a moment, and then stopped talking.

It wasn't that he didn't want to speak, nor that he didn't understand what Yue Fei meant... Yue Fei had already made it clear enough. The key was that after he understood, he instinctively wanted to say "close the door and beat the dog," but he felt a little embarrassed. Then he wanted to change it to "catch a turtle in a jar," but that was even more embarrassing.

It was just that he couldn't find a suitable word for a moment.

"If that's the case, wouldn't it become 'closing the door and beating the dog' if Li Cheng really succeeds?" At this moment, Hu Cheng, who was beside Tian Shizhong and had come to his senses, blurted out.

"It's indeed a situation of 'catching a turtle in a jar'." Zhang Xian, who was behind Yue Fei, also frowned.

Tian Shizhong looked at Zhang Xian, who had fought alongside him several times, and Yue Fei also turned his head to look at Hu Cheng, his close friend. The two of them didn't speak for several breaths.

"Ahem!" At this moment, Wang Gui coughed dryly, stepped past Zhang Xian, and said seriously. "Commissioner, if that's the case, why don't we just stay here and wait for work?"

"We can't." Yue Fei turned back. "If we stay here, what if Li Cheng takes Linzi and Yidu, relying on his many cavalry? In the end, the Qingzhou front line is too long from north to south!"

"Then what should we do?" Tian Shizhong quickly asked.

"Do the opposite and meet him in Zichuan! Only in this way can we be completely safe and live up to the Emperor's trust!" Saying this, Yue Fei looked at Tian Shizhong and frankly stated his plan. "My unit has few soldiers. I don't know if Grand Commandant Zhang had any instructions for General Tian before he left. Can you come with me?"

Tian Shizhong was silent for a moment. He originally wanted to refuse and then move directly to Yidu... After all, if his several thousand heavy infantry followed Yue Fei's main force, according to the old rules of the Western Army, they would be the vanguard to be sacrificed. But for some reason, after glancing at Zhang Xian opposite him, he remembered the experience of Yao Mountain, and he nodded heavily as if possessed:

"I am willing to follow the Commissioner to the west!"

Yue Fei just nodded, didn't say much, and directly ordered the entire army to turn around. He did not enter Linqu at all. Tian Shizhong also left Hu Cheng as the rear guard of Linqu, and led his 3,000 elite troops to follow.

The army of 23,000, plus the 2,000 laborers provided by Hu Cheng, marched west along the road formed by the intersection of the hills and plains... Nothing happened that night. Scouts reached the Zi River and found no sign of the enemy.

The next day, at noon, as the army was crossing the Zi River, the scouts who had crossed the river first suddenly reported that a large number of enemy troops, fully armored and well-organized, had just emerged from the hills beside Zichuan City, twenty miles away. They had obviously just crossed the Long River, bypassed Zichuan City, and wanted to go straight to Yidu or Linqu!

Looking at the flags, it was Li Cheng!

Without a doubt, Yue Fei's judgment was correct.

Afterward, the scouts of both sides came and went continuously, repeatedly engaging in fierce scouting battles on the hills and plains, while conveying the information of both sides to their respective commanders, who were a little caught off guard... Not only did Li Cheng not expect that his decision to launch a reverse ambush on Linqu would be seen through, but even Yue Fei did not expect Li Cheng to come so quickly!

Not only that, but soon, as the intelligence gathered, another thing that put pressure on Yue Fei and the generals of the Imperial Guard was that Li Cheng's troop numbers seemed to be more than expected.

Here, let me say a few more words. Li Cheng originally occupied the three counties of Qingzhou, Weizhou, and Laizhou in the puppet Qi, which was considered a strong force, but he lacked a political banner, so he bowed to Liu Yu. After the Battle of Dongping Prefecture, Liu Yu's eldest son was captured, and Kong Yanzhou, another general of the puppet Qi nicknamed Little Yue Fei, was killed. Only he preserved his strength and successfully escaped through the battlefield. Afterward, his warlord habits did not change. He actually killed two birds with one stone and incorporated Zizhou, which could still be influenced by Liu Yu, into Qingzhou. He was nominally the master of three counties, but in reality he was four counties, making him more like the master of the puppet Qi than Liu Yu... These three counties, plus Dengzhou and Jinan, are actually the source of the saying of the five counties of Jingdong in the peace talks.

Returning to the present, according to the Qingzhou surrendering people, Li Cheng had been militarizing in these few recognized great counties in the world, and had raised a total of forty to fifty thousand soldiers, including regular and auxiliary soldiers. This time, he also brought 35,000 troops, which was already much more than the 20,000 troops brought by the Imperial Guard's Vanguard Army, so Yue Fei requested Tian Shizhong to send troops to help.

However, according to the scouts, Li Cheng's troops were densely packed at this time, with both cavalry and infantry, actually no less than 40,000! And among them, there were actually thousands of people dressed as Jin cavalry!

"Commissioner Yue, while there's still time, should we retreat behind the Zi River and defend along the river?" Tian Shizhong's expression was not good.

To be honest, Yue Fei wavered for a moment. After all, he had met Li Cheng's Guangji Army once, and he was deeply impressed by this person. He knew that this person had the ability and was capable, at least no worse than Zhang Rong. It was just a pity that his ambition was too great... so one person went from being a government soldier to being a bandit, and one person went from being a bandit to being a government soldier.

And this kind of person, who had been operating in Jingdong for several years, at least the combat effectiveness of the troops was worth seeing... And the scouts' report also confirmed this. An army of tens of thousands, advancing in an orderly manner, was not something that ordinary people could do, nor could ordinary rebels compare to. With such a military force, coming with the intention of returning to their home, and with thousands of cavalry reinforcements who were uncertain whether they were Jin people, it had really reached the limit of the Imperial Guard's Vanguard Army.

"We can't."

But it was only a moment of wavering. Yue Fei made a decision on horseback, and even drew his sword and waved it to give orders. "First, the arrow is on the string, and we have no choice but to launch it; second, when we meet on a narrow road, we are fighting for a breath... To tell you the truth, we may not be able to win if we face them head-on, but if we retreat at this time, we will definitely lose! Pass down my order, after the entire army crosses the river, reorganize and form a formation, and spread out the army and keep moving west!"

"East!"

After hesitating for a moment, Li Cheng, who had lost his double blades for a long time, had already turned red, but he finally slowly drew an ordinary saber from his waist, and then waved it heavily to the east. "The entire army forms a formation and presses forward to the east! We must not retreat at this time!"

ps: Embarrassing... I'm too sleepy. The title is "east and west," but I wrote many things wrong.

A routine sacrifice, 《Weird Flow Cultivation Game》:

The cultivation game 《Blue Sea》 was a huge hit, but it discouraged a large number of players due to its high difficulty. Fang Yue stayed. Three months later, strangeness descended on reality, and the game data was synchronized with reality. When people all over the world were being chased by strangeness, Fang Yue's style was different from theirs.

Fang Yue: Bold strangeness, I can tell at a glance that you are not human!

Fang Yue: Strangeness, I want you to help me cultivate!

Fang Yue: Strangeness, did I allow you to escape? Da Wei Tian Long!