The beheading of twelve soldiers, coupled with the expulsion of a ship carrying fifteen people, though a rare victory against the Jin and including five or six confirmed Jurchen soldiers, significantly boosting morale, was still a minor win in the context of tens of thousands of troops facing off across regions, with cities, mountains, and rivers as barriers. It was not worth celebrating enough to be recorded in history books, only to be laughed at.

As for Wang De's promotion to Commandant, it was even less of a cause for celebration. It wasn't even a reward for his combat abilities, but rather something already agreed upon.

After all, with Liu Guangshi's death, Wang De held the highest rank, commanded the strongest troops, possessed the most seniority within that former command. He was also a rare individual with actual combat experience against the Jin. Although Zhao Jiu had officially reclaimed the title of Grand Marshal of the Armed Forces from Chief Councilor Wang Boyan, effectively taking nominal command of Liu Guangshi's former three thousand Western Army soldiers, he couldn't actually lead them in battle.

On the contrary, the Eight-Gong Mountain camp in Huainan was divided into left and right wings, comprised of three thousand Western Army soldiers led by Qiao Zhongfu and Zhang Jing, three thousand soldiers under Fu Qing, one thousand soldiers under Huyan Tong, several hundred Imperial Guards, and two thousand troops under Wang De, along with five or six thousand laborers who were withdrawn from Huaibei but left to construct the camp. Discounting unavoidable ghost soldiers and shortages, there was a total of about fourteen or fifteen thousand men, nearly eight thousand of whom were combat troops, with at least five thousand wearing armor, and the various armies possessed seven or eight hundred warhorses!

These were the figures Zhao Jiu had ascertained through rewards and distributions, which was why he insisted on personally overseeing them. He needed to record these numbers in a small notebook in his imperial tent, and indeed he did...

In short, it would be national suicide to let someone as inexperienced as Zhao Jiu command so many troops! There had to be someone truly in charge! But Zhao Jiu simply couldn't trust Grand Commandant Wang Yuan.

So, as previously stated, Wang De's rise was a matter of course, and there was no reason to celebrate it lavishly.

On the contrary, the arrival of the Jin army's main force, led by the Fourth Prince Wushu, was both a relief and a source of dread. The approximate number of twenty thousand troops was far more reassuring than the previous claim of one hundred thousand, but it was still too overwhelming to face in open battle. The Jin forces still inspired awe in the Song soldiers. Moreover, Liu Guangshi's fire before crossing the river had turned Xia Cai into an isolated city.

Nobody knew if Xia Cai would surrender at any moment, allowing the Jin army to easily cross this important town, gather boats from somewhere in western Huai, cross the Huai River, and then conduct a "search the mountains and comb the seas" operation.

Despite all this, several days after the distribution of rewards, sometime after the arrival of the Jin army, the Eight-Gong Mountain camp in Huainan still held an inappropriate, large-scale banquet, even with decorations… The reason was simple: it was almost Chinese New Year! And the Prefect of Shouzhou, Lin Jingmo, who had been ordered to bring the people of Huaibei south across the river, had just arrived from the south, bringing with him the supplies that Zhao Jiu had been eagerly awaiting from the various southeastern prefectures, including a large amount of wine and meat!

It was freezing cold, the soldiers were far from home, it was the eve of a major holiday, and they were facing a formidable enemy. With readily available wine and meat, there was no reason not to distribute it and boost morale.

"This Emperor of mine is really something..."

Under the high-flying golden Wu banner in front of the imperial tent on the mountaintop, Zhao Jiu, gazing at the 'special diet' that Prefect Lin had specially prepared for him, couldn't help but chuckle.

The senior officials and close aides who were dining with him also offered polite smiles.

Just as on that day in Jiegou, when a palace eunuch had happened to buy a bucket of ginger sauce, and the prefect who sent supplies had prepared several buckets of ginger sauce specifically for the Emperor, this time, probably because Grand Commandant Zhang Jun had prepared dishes at Feikou, and the Emperor had only kept a few types of duck, Lin Jingmo had once again prepared a pile of famous Huai salted ducks for the Emperor!

If this got out, would he be known as the Ginger Sauce Emperor or the Duck Emperor?

Of course, everyone just laughed, because ginger sauce and salted duck were not luxury items. If the story got out, it wouldn't be a big deal; it might even make the Emperor seem approachable. In fact, in recent days, to boost morale, Zhao Jiu had been leading the Imperial Guards and the officers of the two wings of the Western Army out of the camp every day, specifically to shoot wild ducks by the Huai River!

But the more accustomed he became to eating duck, the harder it was to stomach the salted duck on this New Year's Eve.

In reality, after Zhao Jiu made his joke, he only nibbled on a duck leg. He thought it tasted good, but it was too greasy and salty. He couldn't eat much of it, so he left almost the entire duck untouched and instead used some rice porridge and stir-fried pork to accompany his wine, often casting envious glances at the drafter of imperial edicts, Hu Yin... The latter practically devoured the duck in front of him, eating so quickly and with such a good appetite that everyone, including Zhao Jiu, secretly envied him.

But aside from the ducks, it was New Year's Eve, Zhao Jiu's stubbornness had seen them through two major crises, supplies had been replenished, the Jin army had not yet been able to cross the river, and Xia Cai had not yet surrendered... Following the Chinese tradition of enjoying the moment, the atmosphere of the banquet was still quite good.

However, after a few rounds of wine, as drunkenness began to creep in, following Chinese drinking etiquette, some chaotic things inevitably began to happen:

Wang Yecha, who had just been promoted, probably wanted to express his gratitude and insisted on playing the drums and dancing for the Emperor… Drumming in the army was acceptable, but dancing was also permitted;

Then, Wang Yuan and Wang Boyan each 'recalled' their shared hardships with the Emperor in Hebei, one weeping and the other sighing, expressing their loyalty once again;

Then, Qiao Zhongfu and Zhang Jing, after receiving a few words of comfort from Zhao Jiu, suddenly burst into tears, perhaps because as veteran generals of the Western Army, they had never been able to fight under Liu Guangshi, so they had always felt wronged, or perhaps it was because they had been caught in the middle that day, constantly anxious and fearful, and were only releasing their emotions today;

However, the real climax came the moment the sky, which had been clear for several days, began to snow again... Hu Yin, who was particularly good at eating duck, was probably truly drunk. He rose to his feet, regardless of the consequences, and wrote a poem, summarizing the New Year's Eve while simultaneously lamenting the whereabouts of the 'Two Emperors', whose locations were currently unknown. Finally, with tears in his eyes, he urged Emperor Zhao to achieve victory in resisting the Jin as soon as possible, raid the Huanglong Prefecture, and welcome back the Two Emperors!

This was an undeniable political slogan, one that Zhao Jiu could not easily change before establishing absolute authority. Moreover, it was anti-Jin to some extent, and it called for raiding the Huanglong Prefecture, which was definitely the right direction. Even the call to welcome back the Two Emperors could silence many scholar-officials. Of course, Zhao Jiu had to rise to his feet with a solemn expression and lead the civil and military officials of the Huainan camp in respectfully accepting it!

After this event, the snowflakes grew larger. Zhao Jiu specifically ordered the army to be vigilant, requiring them to allocate sufficient manpower to patrol the camps and riverbanks and keep a close watch on supplies.

Having issued this order, he had no intention of returning to the small camp on the mountaintop to continue the banquet. However, since it was New Year's Eve and the camp was open, these civil and military officials could return to their camps and drink privately if they wished, which was not a problem.

Therefore, in the snow, everyone gradually focused their attention on Lu Haowen, the Chief of the Central Secretariat and the head of the imperial court, waiting for this Prime Minister to lead them in taking their leave.

The good-natured Prime Minister Lu did not waste anyone's time. After drinking another round, he rose unsteadily with a seven-tenths level of drunkenness, then slowly came to Zhao Jiu's desk inside the tent and bowed:

"Your Majesty, tonight is New Year's Eve, and we should be feasting until dawn, with the sovereign and his ministers rejoicing together. However, with a formidable enemy at hand and in the midst of a military camp, it is truly inappropriate to indulge in excessive drinking by the Huai... I am old and cannot handle the wine. I ask to return to the camp to rest and play the villain, requesting that everyone end the banquet and return to camp together."

Since the Prime Minister had spoken, all the other civil and military officials also left their desks and followed the Prime Minister, requesting to end the drinking.

Of course, Zhao Jiu had nothing to say, so he also rose from his desk, taking the opportunity to support the slightly staggering Lu Haowen, intending to personally escort the Prime Minister back to the newly built wooden barracks next to the small camp on the mountaintop.

This was a remarkable favor, a harmonious scene between the sovereign and his minister.

However, just as the two men were slowly walking through the snow in front, and the many generals behind them were finally relieved, Prime Minister Lu, about to enter the barracks, suddenly turned back and touched the Emperor's sleeve, then shook his head with emotion:

"Your Majesty, why do you tie your sleeves on your robe? Isn't it too tight?"

Zhao Jiu didn't react immediately and simply replied, "Tying the sleeves is indeed much more convenient."

Lu Haowen was helpless and could only touch the Emperor's waist: "And why haven't I seen Your Majesty wear a futou (headwear) or a jade belt for so long? Have you lost many things?"

Zhao Jiu paused for a moment, finally understanding the other party's meaning, but he smiled slightly and directly retorted, "Prime Minister Lu is drunk. The Emperor is the commander of the world. In times of war, he must always be prepared to wear armor, right? Jade belts and futou are not appropriate at this time."

Hearing this, Lu Haowen finally let go, but he pointed to the futou on his head and smiled awkwardly, "In that case, it seems that my head is inappropriate."

Now, Zhao Jiu was somewhat embarrassed himself, but he could only laugh loudly to cover it up, letting the palace eunuchs take Lu Haowen into the barracks. He then waved his hand, dismissing the officials to disperse on their own, before slowly returning to the imperial tent in front of the northern hill.

ps: Continue to wish everyone a happy New Year... and...