In late November, a chilling air descended, and Nanyang City had been besieged for over half a month.

That evening, Wanqi Xie, also known as Wanqi Yuanzhong, who served as a military advisor to the Privy Council, descended from the city walls. Upon returning to the military compound directly under the Privy Council near the temporary palace, he splashed cold water on his face. He intended to rest briefly before heading to the palace canteen for a meal. However, his neighbor, Li Guang, an Imperial Censor, unexpectedly visited and cordially invited him to join him.

Always amiable, Wanqi Yuanzhong naturally agreed. He mustered his energy and accompanied Li Guang.

As the war progressed, Nanyang City, for which preparations had been underway for a long time, had completely transformed into a massive military camp. The entire urban area was divided into separate military compounds, each walled off and under military control. Passage between compounds required a military pass, except for officers.

Each compound had its specific duties, contributing to the city's defense. They uniformly allocated resources, distributed housing, and even centralized meals, mirroring the structure of a military camp.

Normally, such arrangements would be difficult for some to accept.

However, at present, the elderly, the weak, women, and those hesitant officials who initially opposed a decisive battle in Nanyang had been relocated to Xiangyang early on, minimizing elements of instability.

Furthermore, the Zhao Emperor was somewhat meticulous. Even the temporary palace had been designated as a compound. The left hall served as a canteen, the right as a warehouse. The Privy Council and the Department of State Affairs were concentrated near the palace. Not only did the Emperor himself share the same resources and provisions as everyone else in the compound, but even Lady Wu, a mere seventeen or eighteen years old and in the prime of her youth, had to spend her days with figures like Lan Daguan and Feng Ergong, leading palace maids and eunuchs to wash clothes and cook for the entire palace compound.

Moreover, after the start of the war, the seriously wounded were also housed in the rear palace. She had to lead people in spreading lime, boiling water, and inspecting medicines daily… From dawn till dusk, she was so exhausted that she lacked the strength to speak, unlike Lady Liang, who had taken over the security duties of the palace compound and was much more relaxed!

She was simply being used as livestock by the Emperor!

And with the Emperor and Lady Wu setting such an example, what could others do?

Respecting etiquette, Wanqi Xie and Li Guang, although already accustomed to the situation, still greeted Lady Wu and Supervisor Feng Yi before picking up their trays and sitting down in a corner of the canteen. After sitting down, they didn't speak much, but devoured two mouthfuls and gulped down several mouthfuls of hot water before feeling alive again.

It must be said that the palace compound had special privileges. The food was prepared according to the standards for wounded soldiers, with an extra portion of pickles compared to the outside. Even better, hot water was unlimited, although the amount of ginger-flavored meat jelly, a winter delicacy, wasn't as plentiful as the rewards given on the city walls!

Returning to the present, after regaining their strength with the hot water, Wanqi Xie, under the dim candlelight, was the first to shake his head with a wry smile: "It's a pity that alcohol is now regulated. I can't share a cup with Brother Li to ease our bitterness..."

"A fine 'easing our bitterness'," Li Guang chuckled upon hearing this, but then became serious. "Brother Wanqi, you've come from the city walls. How is the battle situation up there?"

Wanqi Xie's heart stirred, but he slowly sipped from his water bowl.

He had originally thought that his growing usefulness had attracted the attention of his influential neighbor, so he had been casually invited today. However, he didn't expect the other party to have other intentions, so he had to be cautious.

After all, in Wanqi Xie's view, Li Guang was a staunch supporter of Li Gang, Li Boji, from Yangzhou. In the current situation, Li Gang had once again proven his uncanny ability to be the most reliable minister as long as there was no war, but to guarantee a complete mess as soon as a war broke out… Before the siege, Nanyang didn't wait for Zhong Xiang to rebel, but received new information that the troops sent out by Li Gang to lead the suppression of the rebellion had experienced internal strife. Not only had the military unrest not subsided, but it had actually expanded?

So, after this battle, who knew what would become of Li Boji, who had messed up the major event?

It was unlikely that he would be completely ruined, but after the war, Chancellor Lu Yihao would definitely rise to prominence, and the personalities of Lu and Li were so intense that there would inevitably be a fierce struggle... Speaking of which, he, Wanqi Xie, was a member of the Privy Council, theoretically under the direct command of Chancellor Lu?

Of course, upon this thought, Wanqi Xie found it amusing, because he should have been the confidant of Wang Boyan, Privy Councilor Wang, but who asked Councilor Wang to defy the Emperor's will this time and be banished to Xiangyang? However, Councilor Wang was, after all, a veteran of both Hebei and the Eight Public Mountains... It seemed that he might not necessarily lose power because of this, and his capital for staying in Nanyang might be looked upon favorably by Councilor Wang in the future.

In short, his mind raced, but nothing fruitful came of it. It was just a matter of two sips of water, so after putting down the bowl, Wanqi Yuanzhong already had a radiant smile: "Brother Li, since you ask, how dare I not answer? But Brother Li is an Imperial Censor, enjoying the power of supervision. You can observe the situation on the city walls yourself, so why ask a subordinate official?"

The opposite Li Guang, a descendant of the former Tang imperial family, a so-called noble family, and a literary official known for his integrity, had no idea that the other party had already made dozens of calculations in the blink of an eye? He leaned forward on the table and said frankly:

"To be honest, brother, I am still worried about the war situation..."

Wanqi Xie found it amusing. Who in this city wasn't worried about the war situation? But now that he had gambled with the Emperor, what was the point of worrying?

It was nothing more than enduring it, or not enduring it.

If he endured it with the Emperor, it would be a profound asset in the future. Drinking an extra bowl of hot water here today would mean endless wealth in the future. If he couldn't endure it, he could only take it one step at a time.

However, while thinking so in his heart, Wanqi Xie didn't delay showing a serious expression on his face: "So that Brother Li may know, the city seems to be safe."

"Oh?"

"Let me tell you slowly, Brother Li." Wanqi Xie continued seriously. "You should know a little about the defense on the city walls these past few days, right?"

"That's natural." Li Guang didn't eat, but folded his sleeves on the table and spoke with great familiarity, as if he had inquired and investigated early on. "For the first four days of the siege, the Jin army only filled the outer moat. On the fifth day, they thought the outer moat was useless after it froze, so they attacked the city with siege ladders, but they were miserably defeated under the sheep-horse wall and in the inner moat; on the sixth day, the Jin army came up with a strange plan, building seven tunnels to attack the city. After being blocked by Commander Fu, they simply used the five tunnels in front as troop transport routes, engaging in hand-to-hand combat with our army under the city, and only withdrew in the evening; on the seventh day of the siege, they still harassed the city with tunnels, but they were easily destroyed by the catapults and pulley hooks on the city; on the eighth day, they built large tunnel vehicles, three zhang long, one zhang high, and one zhang wide, with a solid wood structure, wrapped with leather ropes, covered with moistened felt, and coated with mud. Hooks and arrows could hardly break through them, so that two of the vehicles directly reached the city gate, which was extremely dangerous..."

"Yes," Wanqi Xie couldn't help but sigh. "That day, Minister Chen advised the Emperor to use cannons early on, but the Emperor just didn't agree. Fortunately, there were also mechanisms on the city gate, a double-layered city gate, and there were also exits on the top of the city gate tunnel, pouring oil and dropping stones, and finally stuffing gunpowder packs into the large tunnel vehicles to stop them."

"However, the flying bridges, tower vehicles, and wheeled ladders in the following days were not so dangerous." Li Guang interjected, but it was unclear who was worried about the city's defense and who wasn't. "Most things were stopped between the sheep-horse wall and the city wall, but after so many days, the sheep-horse wall was riddled with holes, and the inner and outer moats were completely lost..."

"That was before today," Wanqi Xie said with a smile. "There was another great danger today, but it wasn't really a danger."

"Oh?"

"Do you remember the large tunnel vehicles you mentioned just now, Brother Li?"

"Of course I remember, the Jin army used large tunnel vehicles again today?" Li Guang was curious for a moment.

"Not large tunnel vehicles, but giant tunnel vehicles!" Wanqi Xie shook his head and laughed. "It must have been built after that day. It was hidden behind the enemy's command platform, and a curtain was added to cover it... The vehicle was four zhang high, ten zhang long, and two zhang wide. There were five of them in total, pushed along the old routes of the five tunnels from that day, and dragged by armored oxen and horses. It was as magnificent as the 'cloud beam vehicle' recorded in historical books."

Li Guang was stunned for a moment, but then he reluctantly asked: "Brother, judging from your attitude, the city still managed to destroy that 'cloud beam' calmly?"

"It was destroyed, but it was destroyed absurdly." Wanqi Xie simply slapped the table and laughed. "The vehicle was pushed halfway, and even the Emperor was shaken. He once prepared to fire the cannons... But that 'cloud beam' was too bulky, and before it reached the outer moat, the armored oxen and horses used to drag it were shot by the city's enemy-killing bows and rockets. They panicked and scattered, and with the dragging in all directions, all the cloud beams were top-heavy and tilted, most of them were directly scrapped and unable to move, and one simply overturned directly. I don't know how many Jin soldiers were hidden in the vehicle, and they were all crushed into meat pies... Today was simply a victory without a fight."

Li Guang was even more stunned, and he didn't know what to say. After a moment of silence, he asked in return: "Is it because the battles these days have been thrilling but not dangerous that you think Nanyang City is thrilling but not dangerous?"

Of course it is!

Wanqi Xie cried out in his heart, but his face was stern: "Not so! I think Nanyang can be defended, not because of these city defense battles, but because the Emperor has been holding back from firing the cannons! What forbearance is this? And what composure is this? The Emperor is so determined, and everyone is united with him. The national fortune of the Great Song will definitely be revived! And no matter how strong the Jin army is, how can they move Nanyang even a bit?"

These words were spoken loudly. Although it was in a corner of the canteen and the light was dim, it still attracted the attention of many officials eating and the palace eunuchs on duty in the canteen.

Li Guang was obviously stunned for a moment. After the people around him stopped looking, he stroked his beard and said softly: "Actually, to be honest, I came to you today not because I was worried about the city's defense, but because I was worried about the Emperor's forbearance... You say, things like tunnels, large tunnel vehicles, and flying bridges could have been destroyed by flying cannon stones. There are many new-style cannon vehicles in the city, large and small, and they are quite complete. But the Emperor would rather send the city's elite to fight hand-to-hand under the city than do so. What is he plotting?"

"There must be a plot, but I really don't know what he's plotting." Wanqi Xie raised his head and shook his head.

"I don't really care what other ideas the Emperor and Minister Chen have." Li Guang sighed quietly, finally saying his real worry. "I'm just worried about the Emperor..."

Wanqi Xie understood in his heart, but his face looked puzzled: "What exactly do you mean, Brother Li?"

"Before, there was a discussion in the palace. First, use the strong city of Nanyang to exhaust the Jin army. When the Jin army is exhausted and the surroundings are relaxed, send Zhang Jing to send reinforcements to support across the Bai River to divide the enemy's forces. Then the Emperor will take the opportunity to go south to Xiangyang, making the Jin army in a dilemma and forcing them to retreat, right?" Li Guang continued to lower his voice, seriously. "But if the Emperor leaves so much room for maneuver, will he lose his temper at that time and be unwilling to leave, only saying that he wants to stay in the city and spend time with Wanyan Wushu to the end?"

Wanqi Xie also had such worries, because the Zhao Emperor's performance on the city wall these past few days really made people unable to help but think so.

However, Wanqi Yuanzhong was, after all, Wanqi Yuanzhong. Upon this thought, he firmly shook his head: "If you are looking for me to worry about this matter, then I will also tell you frankly. I am serving the Emperor on the city wall, and I can see clearly. The Emperor's actions these days are not in vain to be angry with the Jin army commander, but there is a complete consideration and decision behind them. When it comes to the critical moment, I think the Emperor will never act willfully!"

Li Guang was relieved to hear this, so he thanked the other party, and Wanqi Xie quickly declined.

In this way, the two of them finished speaking here, and the food had long been cold, but they took hot water and soaked it open, and after they finished dinner together, they bid farewell to each other.

Not to mention that Wanqi Xie spoke human words to humans and ghost words to ghosts, and easily perfunctorily said a few words, and then went back to rest. On the other side, Imperial Censor Li Guang Li Taifa felt a little refreshed after listening to the other party's words, so he brought his hot water bottle back to his residence, soaked his feet first, and then went to bed early, but after he went to bed, he tossed and turned and couldn't fall asleep. In the middle, he took a book to read, but he only felt a chaotic mess.

After all, Wanqi Xie's attitude just now seemed to be strict, but it was just empty words and perfunctory remarks. Therefore, although Li Guang was temporarily comforted, the doubts in his heart were never dispelled. In fact, now the Imperial Censor's mind is still full of the idea that Nanyang is doing well, but the Zhao Emperor is messing things up, which will lead to the collapse of the overall situation.

This is not a thought that has only emerged in recent days, but a thought that was discussed with friends such as Lin Qi before the siege, and was reminded by a letter from Enxiang Li Gang in the southeast. It's just that now Lin Qi and others have been driven to Xiangyang by the angry Zhao Emperor and Lu Yihao, and then the city was besieged, the letters were cut off, and there was only Li Guang, an important minister of the Li Gang faction, in the city, and seeing that the Zhao Emperor's attitude has been perverse recently, he was really worried, so he had to discuss it with others.

However, Imperial Censor Li lay on the couch, thinking over and over again, on the one hand, he was constantly worried, but on the other hand, he couldn't figure it out... Don't look at what he said to Wanqi Xie today about worrying that the Emperor wouldn't go to Xiangyang, but in fact, if the Emperor really didn't go to Xiangyang and just stayed in Nanyang, in his opinion, it was not impossible.

After all, as the Imperial Censor with the power of supervision, Li Guang was very clear about the current situation in Nanyang. There were sufficient materials, room for defense, and the Zhao Emperor and Chen Gui, the Minister of the Ministry of War, had preparations for things that everyone thought of and didn't think of... For example, Li Guang had also participated in the Jingkang disaster of the siege of Tokyo before, but he really didn't expect the Zhao Emperor to be so properly prepared that he actually dug reservoirs in the city to store coal in advance?

Not to mention this practice of setting aside extra residents early and actually turning the city into a large military camp.

And in the past few days, seeing that the Jin people's ever-changing siege methods were repeatedly restrained, the Imperial Censor sometimes even felt that even if the city walls were all gone, relying on these military workshops in the city, Nanyang seemed to be able to spend time with the Jin army! And the Great Song would never repeat the shame of Jingkang and fall into the crisis of national subjugation again!

That's right, even Li Guang now vaguely felt that as long as it continued like this, even if Tokyo and Changshe were all gone, and the Jin people came with tens of thousands of reinforcements, they would sooner or later be exhausted by the heat, casualties, and would leave in a panic.

Or rather, when he was facing Wanqi Xie just now, of course Li Guang had to express himself according to his political position, but from the bottom of his heart, he had vaguely admired this young Emperor these days, and he was not so pessimistic about the situation... It's just that, as an old minister, and a typical Confucian minister, he was somewhat instinctively afraid of the Zhao Emperor's behavior of breaking away from the bureaucracy.

And it was precisely because of this contradictory psychology that he was easily fooled by Wanqi Xie.

In fact, it was not only Li Guang's mind that was contradictory. In a room opposite Li Guang's residence, the lights had already been turned off. Looking at the dark roof, Wanqi Xie actually agreed with Li Guang after a series of wild thoughts - he now also felt that Nanyang was absolutely defensible compared to Tokyo; and compared to the two saints, the Zhao Emperor was absolutely an Emperor who could be relied upon.

Otherwise, with his personality, he would not have followed this Emperor to stay in Nanyang to gamble on this one before.

Moreover, unlike Li Guang, who had an obvious Confucian minister's demeanor and a clear faction, Wanqi Xie's thoughts were more open. In the eyes of this person, who dared to think about everything, the loss of Tokyo before, which led to the Jingkang disaster, was actually of great concern to the two saints.

Among them, the Supreme Taoist Emperor (Emperor Huizong of Song) was timid and incompetent, and left as soon as he encountered the enemy, first losing the army in Hebei, and then passing on the throne to the south to hunt, shaking the morale of the army and the people; while Yuansheng (Emperor Qinzong of Song) was a typical follower, listening to this person today and that person tomorrow. The Jin army was weak and unbearable when it came to the city, and when the Jin army left, he was lucky and took risks forcibly... In the end, the situation deteriorated greatly!

In any case, although the Emperor in Nanyang City today was obviously panicked at the beginning because he had just ascended the throne, after the Jin people invaded south last year, he still quickly made a decision and effectively learned the lessons of the two saints:

First, he set an example by resolutely resisting the Jin, and never mentioned any peace talks;

Second, he was firm in his position, whether he was using people or doing things, he was considered to have a beginning and an end. He despised his Li Gang Li Boji, obviously did not trust his Zong Ze Zong Rulin, the somewhat incompetent Lu Haowen, and the problematic Han Shizhong. Basically, he could put aside his previous grievances and do it to the end!

As for the previous new and old party politics of Xu Jingheng, although he had not yet entered the officialdom at that time, Wanqi Xie later felt that this Emperor actually had some qualities of a wise ruler after listening to others talk about the whole story.

Even now, it seems that this Emperor has not failed these ministers, and these ministers, when taken out individually, have never failed the Zhao Emperor's intentions, but from the results, it seems that these people have failed the Zhao Emperor in general, and I don't know what is going on.

Is it luck? Or is it the aftermath of the actual destruction of the country after the Jingkang disaster and the actual displacement of the court? Or is it purely that the Jin country is strong at this time?

Speaking of which, Zhong Xiang in Dongting Lake in the south is a recognized rebel. Everyone knows that he wants to rebel, but he actually didn't rebel at this time, which is considered not to have failed the Zhao Emperor, which is quite incredible.

In this way, Wanqi Xie had strange thoughts and had no position. After drawing a strange conclusion from the perspective of human selfishness, his thinking diverged and did not know when he fell asleep.

The next morning, he was suddenly awakened by a burst of howling, and he quickly got up, put on his clothes in a panic, and went out to investigate the situation.

When he came out, he ran into Li Guang, who was also panicked. The two realized that it was already noon, and there was no one else in the workshop, only the two of them had not yet gotten up, and both of them had bloodshot eyes, apparently the other party and himself had been thinking wildly last night.

The two smiled awkwardly, arched their hands in a hurry, and then went to find their respective donkeys in a panic - this was the standard equipment for civil officials in the city. Horses were to be used by the army, mules were to be used to transport materials, and only donkeys were available for civil officials to ride back and forth.

The two of them rode their donkeys out of the workshop, and before they had taken a few steps, they had already realized what had happened, because as far as the eye could see, hundreds of new-style cannon vehicles that had been prepared in the city had actually started up completely and adjusted their positions.

Obviously, this was because the Jin army's cannon vehicles had formed a formation outside the city, and what they had just heard should have been the Jin army's test firing.

At this point in the battle, the most difficult and crucial stage of the siege, the cannon battle stage, had finally arrived.

"Are you ready?" Still on the north city wall, through the ground that had been smoothed out by the war, the Zhao Emperor squinted at the command platform opposite, and then suddenly turned around and asked.

"We have adjusted the direction and strength according to the observations on the city wall." It was winter, but Chen Gui was covered in sweat. "Your Majesty, please go to the palace to take shelter. I will take care of the city wall myself..."

"It's okay." Zhao Jiu shook his head and smiled. "Didn't you say that your city wall is the most powerful against cannons? I can go down to the city wall to take shelter later."

"Please go down now, Your Majesty!" Chen Gui tried his best to persuade again. "The enemy army has set up a formation overnight, and two hundred cannon vehicles are divided into four camps facing each other. The test firing has been completed, and they can fire together at any time..."

"No need to wait for them!" Zhao Jiu continued to smile, but pointed to the command platform in the north and smiled. "I will be on the city wall, waiting for you to fire this first round of cannon stones, and then I will go down!"

Chen Gui understood what the other party meant, so he stopped persuading and immediately turned around and ordered. In a moment, flags fluttered everywhere on the city wall, signaling to the various cannon vehicles that had been prepared in the city to prepare to fire together according to the prepared trajectory, taking the initiative!

"I don't believe it!" On the Jin army's command platform, Wanyan Wushu finally showed a smile again. "In today's situation, can he still hold back from firing them?"

"That's right!" Chizhan Hui stroked his beard and echoed. "I also want to see what kind of tricks are hidden in the cannon vehicles in Nanyang City? They have been holding back until today!"

"Fire!"

Just as Wanyan Wushu and others were looking forward to it, the Zhao Emperor on the city wall waited for Chen Gui's words, but used an incredible word to issue the final military order.

However, everyone below Chen Gui could understand it.

"Fire!" Chen Gui amplified his voice and ordered to the adjutant next to him.

The adjutant did not speak, but shook a flag that had not been moved for half a month of defending the city. There were countless flags on the city wall, and seeing that this place was shaking, they also shook one after another. The laborers in the Song army's cannon vehicle bases under the city saw the flag, but they did not use a dozen or even dozens of people to pull hard like outside the city. Instead, they only separated a strong laborer, carrying a large wooden hammer and hitting the strange 'crotch' of their respective cannon vehicles with all their strength!

With just one hammer, the crotch mechanism of the cannon vehicle was opened, and the large basket filled with counterweight stones fell straight down, and then the projection module with different 'ammunition' at the rear was raised high.

Next, hundreds of projectiles flew out of Nanyang City together, large and small, some were polished stones, and some were actually mud projectiles, which was spectacular... Li Guang and Wanqi Xie stopped their donkeys to watch.

However, the two of them only felt it was spectacular, but they didn't know that after the projectiles flew out of the city together... the former, that is, the stone projectiles, mostly went straight to the corresponding Jin army cannon vehicle positions, while the latter, that is, the mud projectiles the size of a human head, about only a few dozen, were all shot from the high ground near the city wall, but they crossed the city wall with an incredible range and directly threw them at the Jin army's command platform in the due north.

And there, under the warm winter sun, Jin army veterans and chiliarch Chizhan Hui had just finished speaking, which was attracting countless Meng'an and Mouke's voices of agreement.

ps: Here it comes... Sorry, sorry, good night everyone... The stock market is risky, and you must be cautious when entering the market.