Chapter 1 The Winter of the Ninth Year of Jianyan

In the winter of the ninth year of Jianyan, on the eighteenth day of the tenth month, Zhao Jiu, the Emperor of the Great Song, crossed the Yellow River and landed at Yuanqu in Shanzhou.

It was an ordinary day, and the Emperor Zhao's action was also an ordinary and opportunistic move, but it was this action that officially declared the full-scale and in-depth nature of the Northern Expedition in the ninth year of Jianyan.

Up to this point, the initial surprise attacks had officially ended, and the Northern Expedition had entered a new stage.

That night, Zhao Jiu camped and rested in Yuanqu, which had already caused a shock throughout the Hedong and Henan regions.

After all, where the Emperor of Zhao Song was located was by no means a simple position for those above and below; it was also a coordinate system and a bottom line.

This was actually a very subtle psychology.

Before, when Zhao Jiu stayed in Luoyang, the officials and laborers in the Henan area would feel that they were working on the front line, and they would have a sense of fear and resistance to the more forward lines. The soldiers on the front line also had the mentality that they were on the front line, working for the rear, so they could do whatever they wanted.

However, once the Emperor Zhao crossed the river, it was as if a valve had been opened. The officials in Henan and Guanxi immediately became much more stable and honest, and even the laborers who had been hastily conscripted seemed to have improved their morale and complained less.

As for the front-line troops north of the Yellow River, they felt the pressure immediately.

Overnight, the Emperor Zhao received secret reports from almost all the commanders above the rank of Commandant in the Hedong area. For a time, his understanding of many things on the front line was actually clearer than that of several senior commanders.

This could not help but further strengthen some of his thoughts... but it was still not enough to allow the Emperor to make a decision.

The next day, the sky became slightly gloomy. The Emperor Zhao set off from Yuanqu and, escorted by as many as eight commandants and their subordinates, as well as the Imperial Guards, first headed west. He passed Sanmenxia at noon and arrived in Pinglu in the evening.

Shao Yun, the garrison commander of Pinglu, came out of the city to greet him and was immediately treated to a special banquet by the Emperor Zhao, as well as greatly rewarded.

This was what should be done... As Li Yanxian's actual deputy, Shao Yun had been stationed in Pinglu, the only large stronghold north of the river, while Li Yanxian had been guarding Shanzhou for many years. Li Yanxian had guarded Shanzhou for eight or nine years, and Shao Yun had also guarded Pinglu for eight or nine years.

It could be said that this person had always been on the most dangerous front line of the entire empire. Even before the Battle of Yaoshan, Li Yanxian did not forget to request imperial favor for this person's parents and wife, which was almost a determination to sacrifice himself actively... It was just that this time, Orubu and Ali, the old partners, under the command of the Third Prince Oliduo, chose the road that Zhao Jiu had taken this time, bypassing Pinglu and directly attacking Luoyang to the south. The people who died became Duke Wang and Da Zhai.

On the other hand, Shao Yun, with his good fortune, had been waiting for the Northern Expedition and the Emperor Zhao.

Such a person was simply a model of resistance against the Jin and must be greatly commended... And during the banquet, Duke Lü indeed represented the imperial court in formally adding to Shao Yun's favors and promoting Shao Yun's military rank.

Afterwards, Shao Yun once again took the initiative to express his hope that he could personally lead troops to escort the Emperor north.

Zhao Jiu hesitated again about this, but finally nodded in agreement.

In fact, this matter was of course mostly aboveboard and proper between the monarch and his subjects, but it was not without some other implications.

As everyone knew, Li Yanxian's troops had always been highly independent because their positions could not be easily transferred, which also led to uneven quality and factionalism within his troops... Although it was embarrassing to say, the last time this Shan-Luo Army Group was successfully integrated was actually due to the martyrdom of Da Zhai in the direction of Luoyang.

After Da Zhai (Zhai Xing) passed away, Zhao Jiu specially allowed his son Zhai Cong to take over his father's position, but this did not prevent Zhai Cong from being unable to convince the public due to his prestige being far inferior to that of his father. It was from then on that Li Yanxian completely gained overall control of this army group. In the following years, the central government gradually and thoroughly digested the Zhai family, a typical regional strongman militia group established around Luoyang, by relying on the great influence of the Battle of Yaoshan and the governance and restoration work in the areas surrounding Luoyang.

In the later period, as Niu Gao, Dong Xian, and others successively and completely separated from the Zhai family and took the initiative to become directly under the central government, the three existing commandants and one commander of the Zhai family gradually straightened their positions. On the other hand, Li Yanxian and his Shanzhou troops seemed to be somewhat distant from the central government.

Now that the country's Northern Expedition had actually captured Hezhong, Shanzhou had lost its former strategic importance, and Li Yanxian himself had just lost troops at Tieling Pass. As Li Yanxian's most trusted confidant and the general left to guard, making such a statement was naturally worthy of consideration.

The greatest possibility was that Li Yanxian had instructed him to do so privately, taking the opportunity to admit his mistakes and show his loyalty to the Emperor Zhao.

Zhao Jiu's own hesitation was also because he was afraid that 'swallowing' Shao Yun at this time would cause some rumors in the army.

However, he ultimately chose to agree because, as the saying went... how could an emperor swallow his Imperial Guard troops? Some things, done openly, would naturally become magnanimous, but if one considered them with petty thoughts, it would make things seem strange.

In this way, Zhao Jiu did not even appoint a garrison commander for Pinglu, but only asked Wang Yan to arrange for a commander. The next day, he took Shao Yun's troops as the vanguard and went north from Pinglu, passing through Zhangdian Town and the Zhongtiao Mountains, and then arrived at the city of Anyi on the twenty-second day of the month.

Here, the Emperor Zhao and his close ministers, including the 'Hundred Strong' of the Southeast Imperial Academy, encountered the Northern Expedition-related war for the first time in a real sense.

That's right, just as the capital of Hezhong Prefecture, Hedorng City, had not fallen, Anyi City, located on the bank of the Hedong Salt Pond, had also not been captured by the Song army, which made Li Qiong quite ashamed.

"Your subject is incompetent!"

In the afternoon, on the bank of the salt pond, which was red mixed with white, Li Qiong bowed awkwardly. "With tens of thousands of troops, I have been unable to quickly capture the city and allow the Emperor to enter and be stationed."

"It's okay."

Zhao Jiu immediately comforted him and personally helped him up. "I also decided to cross the river because of Han Liangchen's sudden great victory. It happened suddenly, and Qing Li also took over the siege midway. The equipment is incomplete. If you force the attack and sacrifice the lives of soldiers for this, it would be my fault instead."

Some pleasantries had to be said.

Of course, Zhao Jiu really didn't care about this matter, because he had to respect objective laws... Since ancient times, large-scale field battles often involved days of confrontation, but once the battle was joined, the outcome was decided. But a city, especially Anyi, which was in an important location and had appeared countless times in Chinese history books as a famous city and a large city, would be impossible to break within ten days of Li Qiong taking over, unless special measures were used, if the garrison commander was willing to fight to the death.

However, there were definitely problems, at least one – that is, apart from those specific key large cities that were prepared in advance, people who were determined to defend to the death regardless of the situation were relatively rare.

Why should they defend?

Why should they be loyal to the Great Jin Kingdom?

"However, Qing Li, I remember that Han Liangchen (Han Shizhong's courtesy name) and Li Shaoyan (Li Yanxian's courtesy name) both fought relatively quickly, and the Jin army did not react in time. Then, logically speaking, Hedong City has Wundun Sizhong and his main Jin army, so it is reasonable to defend to the death. But what about this Anyi?" On the way to the camp on horseback, Zhao Jiu withdrew his gaze from the city wall, scanned the conspicuous salt pond next to him again, and then finally landed on Li Qiong, who was leading his horse. "What's the situation in Anyi City?"

"To let the Emperor know, Anyi City can be defended entirely because of one person." Li Qiong, who was leading the horse, quickly turned his head, retreating non-stop, and hurriedly explained. "It is Shi Gao, the Prefect of Jiezhou of the Jin Kingdom..."

"Is he Han Chinese?" Zhao Jiu frowned slightly.

"Yes."

"Is he from Yanyun or the Han Chinese of the two rivers?" Duke Lü couldn't help but interject.

"He is from Dingzhou... a Han Chinese from Hebei." Li Qiong blurted out. "However, Dingzhou is close to the border and was captured by the Jurchens before the Jingkang Incident. He first worked as a coolie, and then because he was literate, he was changed to a military official. Finally, he was favored by Aguda's half-brother, Wanyan Shamou, and became his subordinate..."

"Oh." Lü Yihai responded and glanced at Li Qiong, not knowing what he meant to express.

"How is this person?" Zhao Jiu also glanced at Li Qiong slightly, and then asked.

"Before the advance of Li Jiedu (Li Yanxian), this person often said that once the Emperor launched the Northern Expedition, Hezhong would bear the brunt, so he usually paid attention to defense." Li Qiong didn't notice that the Emperor and the Duke had both looked at him extra, and quickly said again. "And because Anyi is located on the east side of the salt pond, directly opposite the Zhongtiao Mountain passage, he took even more care to manage it. That day, Li Jiedu advanced in a hurry, and he was here in Anyi. So although the magistrate of Anyi surrendered at the first time, he still gathered the local soldiers and conscripted the laborers to defend this city. That day, Li Jiedu tried to climb the city in one fell swoop, but failed and could not do anything for a while, so he could only leave Niu Gao, Commandant Niu, to besiege the city here."

"I know what happened later. Han Liangchen passed by here, tried it, but failed. Instead, he took Niu Gao to lead the way, so he delayed the siege, until Qing Li crossed the river to take over..."

"Yes..."

"But even if this person is intentionally defending, according to what you mean, there are not many regular troops in the city, but mostly local people and laborers?"

"Yes."

"In the current situation, the city is just struggling to survive. After Han Liangchen's several great victories, haven't you tried to persuade them to surrender? It is difficult to fake flags and armor temporarily, right?"

"To let the Emperor know, your subjects have naturally persuaded them. When King Han and Chief Commander Ma were fighting fiercely with the Jin in Tieling Pass, they did not forget this place. After I took over, I also informed him of the gains from the Battle of the Fen River and the fact that Balisu had withdrawn his entire army across the Huai River." Li Qiong seemed bitter for a moment. "He himself and some knowledgeable people in the city should also know the general situation, but every time I send an envoy, he treats me with courtesy and then sternly refuses..."

"How old is he this year?"

"Thirty-eight or nine, maybe forty."

"How can he control the whole city?" Lü Yihai suddenly interjected again, but his words were much colder.

"To let the Duke know, this person has always been known for his integrity and kindness. He has only been in Jiezhou for two years, but the people have become attached to him, especially here in Anyi..." Li Qiong immediately replied seriously.

"Oh?" Lü Yihai stroked his beard and smiled coldly.

"Since this subordinate is besieging this city, I have inquired about some things..." Li Qiong explained eagerly. "This person has two rather famous things. One was when he followed Aguda's half-brother, Wanyan Shamou, in Hebei in his early years. Wanyan Shamou was preparing to divide the people of the entire prefecture of Hebei among the army as slaves, but he advised against it. The other was a local matter the year before last. A hero from Anyi rose up, preparing to respond to Li Jiedu. The matter was leaked, and the hero was not only killed, but a roster recording his place of origin and name was found in his home. It is said that there were nearly a thousand people in it... Wundun Sizhong sent someone to demand it, but it was burned directly by him, who arrived in advance..."

"..."

"At that time, Wanyan Shamou had already died, and he actually had no backer." Li Qiong said with emotion. "Because of this, Wundun Sizhong directly tied him and his son to Hedorng City and threw them into prison. Fortunately, he had a registrar who had just passed the Jin Kingdom's civil service examination, who usually admired his character and learning and recognized him as his teacher. He was only twenty years old at the time... He went alone to Taiyuan and asked Balisu to come forward. Balisu then transferred to Jin Wang (Prince of Jin) Oliduo, who was inspecting the south, and only then was he reinstated."

As the words were spoken, the Emperor Zhao and his imperial standard had entered the scope of the military camp, and Li Qiong took the opportunity to release the reins. Zhao Jiu, having arrived here, dismounted but was in no hurry to turn into the spacious central army tent that had been prepared. Instead, he directly led his men to the earthen platform in front of the central army tent.

The view here was wide, and the surroundings were clear at a glance. Zhao Jiu looked around silently. Not to mention that the Hedong Salt Pond, which could almost be called a natural spectacle, appeared more magnificent in the afternoon sun. Even the movements on Anyi City seemed clearer... Although he couldn't see the specific figures clearly, there was no doubt that the arrival of the imperial standard and tens of thousands of the Imperial Guard's main force still shocked this city, which was originally just struggling to survive. On the city wall facing south towards the central army camp, there were many figures swaying for a time.

The Emperor Zhao glanced at the city wall, reached out and gestured, and Yang Yizhong immediately sent up a silver cylindrical object, which was exactly the so-called traditional weapon of transmigrators... a telescope made of polished crystal.

However, somewhat ironically, Zhao Jiu, the shame of transmigrators, only created this thing in the seventh or eighth year after his transmigration.

Moreover, because this thing had obvious military uses and was far less shocking than a hot air balloon, which could be used as a model for original learning, it had not been made public. Upon careful calculation, it had only been given to a group of senior commanders and dozens of outstanding commanding officers.

Back to the present, Zhao Jiu raised the telescope and roughly scanned the movements on the city, then became somewhat bored, but then turned the direction and roughly scanned the camp... from the hot air balloon hanging high for reconnaissance to the dozens of artillery carts that were only half-completed in the labor camp at the rear, and then frowned slightly.

In the end, he couldn't help but go to see the beautiful salt pond – the weather had turned cold these days, and the salt pond had a winter-specific landscape, that is, the mirabilite phenomenon.

However, this mirabilite could not be used to make gunpowder.

The Emperor Zhao behaved somewhat strangely. Apart from Wang De, Zhang Jing, and other veteran military men who were too lazy to think about these things, the rest of the people around Lü Yihai who were slightly attentive could probably guess the Emperor's thoughts... Thinking about it, it was obvious that he was so relaxed and comfortable before entering the camp, but after Li Qiong finished telling the story of this garrison official, he became so uncomfortable. It must be because of the person in Li Qiong's mouth.

Even Li Qiong gradually realized something and became increasingly uneasy.

"Your Majesty."

Lü Yihai, who was originally a little tired from riding a horse for days, didn't want to say much, but at this time, with the Emperor Zhao in this posture, as Prime Minister, it was not good for him not to express his position. "This Shi Gao is just a rebellious thief who deceives the world and steals his name... Why bother caring about him?"

"Is that so?"

Zhao Jiu finally put away the telescope and turned to face him calmly. "How do you know that?"

"It can be seen from the two things he is most famous for." Lü Yihai scoffed and waved his sleeve. "Advising the Jurchens not to buy and sell the people as slaves, and burning the roster to prevent the Jurchens from carrying out large-scale implication, seems to be doing good, but in fact, these good deeds are all to make up for the Jurchens' evil. Can he change the Jurchens' fundamental nature of evil? Can he change the fact that he is attached to the Jurchens, which is a great evil? And now, he is using the reputation he gained from doing good on these evils to deceive the people into maintaining the evil Jurchens... What kind of true Confucian scholar is this?! He is just a corrupt scholar and a rebellious thief who is helping the evildoers for the sake of his own fame!"

As soon as these words came out, the civil and military officials around him echoed them one after another, and Li Qiong also woke up and quickly condemned him.

After handing the telescope to Yang Yizhong, Zhao Jiu nodded repeatedly:

"Prime Minister Lü's words have hit the nail on the head... These ten years of great disaster, the tax disputes in the south, the displacement of the remnants in the north, the disputes between war and peace in the court, and the tragic events of the righteous armies rising up in swarms at the beginning, but then turning around to rebel and plunder... No matter how much our own people argue, to put it bluntly, it still comes down to the Jurchens' invasion? That's why I have been in power for nine years, and my handling of affairs and appointment of people have all been based on the two words 'anti-Jin'... I allow those people to treat me like a child, to deceive me, and even to be arrogant, greedy for money and lustful, to favor relatives and form factions, to be ambitious but incompetent, and to be stubborn and self-willed... But as long as they are willing to resist the Jin, I will regard them as useful people! Because I have determined from the beginning that the fundamental contradiction in this world, at least from the Jingkang Incident to the present, lies in this Song-Jin war! Everything else has to give way!"

The ministers around Zhao Jiu had long been clear about these principles and attitudes. In fact, if they were not clear or did not agree with them, it would be impossible for them to rise to the position of important officials and close ministers in front of the Emperor... Hearing this now, they felt it was a bit verbose. On the other hand, the words that Zhao Jiu blurted out and the slightly indignant emotions inevitably made them think.

In stark contrast to this were the 'Hundred Strong' of the Southeast Imperial Academy who were accompanying him.

These people had left the southeast this time and came to the north in person. They first saw the clearly visible traces of war in the Central Plains, and then saw the people of the Central Plains conscripted on a large scale in a militarized mobilization. Then, they followed the Emperor Zhao across the river to see the customs and scenery of the two rivers, and heard these deeds and words, which were somewhat refreshing and shocking.

"However." After setting the tone, Zhao Jiu still shook his head. "In addition to these words, there are still some things to say... For example, in this Anyi City, do the people above and below not know that the Jurchens are the most evil? But why are they still willing to respect this prefect and resist the Royal Army with him? I can hardly say the words 'ignorant people' here."

"Please enlighten me, Your Majesty." Lü Yihai frowned slightly.

"Where do I need to enlighten you? It's not a great principle." Zhao Jiu sighed. "It's nothing more than that when the Jurchens wanted to sell them as slaves and carry out large-scale implications, our Royal Army couldn't be seen at all, while Shi Gao, this person who did good on evil, was their only reliance when they struggled to survive... We can accuse this Shi Gao, and we can also punish the soldiers and civilians who defend the city according to military law, but it is difficult to do so frankly... If it weren't for considering the morale of the Northern Expedition, in fact, I should have issued a decree to blame myself first."

Lü Yihai shook his head, clearly opposing the Emperor Zhao's opinion.

However, this Prime Minister Lü was harsh on his subordinates and colleagues, but he was clearly considerate to the Emperor. So, probably to save face for the Emperor Zhao, Lü Yihai shook his head and directly glared at Li Qiong, who had made his position clear earlier, and rebuked him in public:

"Li Qiong, as a commander of one side, a general in charge of tens of thousands of troops, when facing the enemy, are you thinking about how you are also from Hebei and how pitiful the people of Hebei are? Do you want to thank this person on behalf of the remnants of the two rivers? Do you want to send some medicine and soup to the city and add some weapons?! What do you think of the 300,000 military morale, the glorious imperial grace, and the 500,000 manpower of Henan Guanxi in the eyes of you, the Deputy Commander-in-Chief?! If you really care about the people of the two rivers, you should rack your brains and think about how to attack the city, how to tear this Shi Gao into pieces, so as to deter future generations!"

Li Qiong was terrified for a moment, quickly bowed to Prime Minister Lü, and then bowed to the Emperor Zhao to ask for forgiveness.

This time, Zhao Jiu did not get along with his ministers as well as he did at the gate of the military camp. Instead, he directly nodded with his hands behind his back, which was regarded as acknowledging Lü Yihai's rebuke to Li Qiong, and also to himself: "Li Qiong... Prime Minister Lü's words were a bit excessive, but the meaning is right. The thousands of people in the two rivers can all have grievances, and they can all be bewitched by this kind of person, and even feel grateful for this person's virtue... Only you front-line generals, even if you are from the two rivers and have many feelings, you must bury them in your heart... Just now, you shouldn't have, you shouldn't have said those words in public in that kind of situation as a commander."

"This subordinate is ashamed." Li Qiong became even more embarrassed.

"According to your words and demeanor just now, you have communicated a lot with this Shi Gao, right?" Zhao Jiu finally turned to look at him.

"Yes, yes..."

"Send him my proclamation." Zhao Jiu said calmly. "Also, give him the list of sixty or so war criminals that I drafted on the road. Also send him the words that the Prime Minister Lü and I discussed about him today... Tell him clearly that I have come, but I will never forgive him... Not only that, but by noon tomorrow, those in the city who are serving as pseudo-Jin military officers and officials, if they do not surrender, will no longer be forgiven. The so-called, regardless of Han or Yi, only judge based on obedience or disobedience to the law!"

Li Qiong bowed and said yes, and was relieved for a moment. The Emperor sent the words of the 'decree to blame himself', although he said he would not forgive, it was actually forgiving. Zhao Jiu, having already dealt with it, directly bypassed him and went to the central army tent.

There was no word overnight. The next morning, the role of the Emperor Zhao and the imperial standard finally appeared.

Just when Li Qiong was hesitating whether to attack the city hastily in the case of insufficient artillery carts to prove his and the Eight Character Army's determination, Shi Gao, the Anyi garrison commander and the Jin Kingdom's Jiezhou Prefect, after reading a series of documents and letters that Li Qiong had sent the evening before, plus the imperial standard and the captured black and white banners that he had seen with his own eyes, as well as the countless elite Imperial Guards who had arrived with the imperial standard, finally gave up his intention to resist.

Early in the morning, he summoned his student and registrar, Liang Su, as well as the leaders of the laborers and the officers of the state soldiers in the city, and asked them to give up resistance and surrender, and asked Liang Su to meet with the Emperor Zhao to beg him to pardon the innocent in the city.

In addition, he also asked his son Shi Ju, who had gone to the place with him when he took office, to meet with Li Qiong to express his gratitude.

Seeing that Shi Gao had decided to surrender, the military officers and labor leaders in the city were all relieved... These people were willing to follow Shi Gao not because they were loyal to the Great Jin, but because Shi Gao had always been kind to them, and they were tied down by Shi Gao layer by layer. Even so, they had all been completely shaken yesterday, and there had been collusion and loss of control up and down.

Now that Shi Gao was willing to let go, they naturally felt relaxed all over.

Relatively speaking, Liang Su and Shi Ju had similar thoughts... However, their starting point was entirely on Shi Gao, so they had an extra layer of concern.

"Will the Zhao Song... will the Emperor Zhao pardon the teacher?" Liang Su asked seriously. "Did Commander Li say anything?"

"He didn't mention it." Shi Gao spread his hands and smiled behind the desk in the county office. "I guess he will be spared the death penalty, but it will be difficult to avoid the living one... However, the most embarrassing thing is to work as a coolie in the army. Didn't we also do it when the Great Jin first went south?"

"If that's the case." Liang Su was also relieved. "I will do it with the teacher... After this is over, I will go back to my hometown to study and never serve as an official again."

Shi Gao was thoughtful, then nodded slightly and smiled: "Yes, after returning, you will not serve as an official, nor will your elder brother... Let's study in peace... But we must prevent people from robbing us to be coolies again."

Shi Ju quickly cheered up and nodded: "We are not afraid of being coolies!"

Shi Gao nodded slightly to his son, then turned his head and reminded his student solemnly: "However, Mengrong (Liang Su's courtesy name), if the Emperor Zhao sees that you are young and bestows you with an official position..."

"This student understands." Liang Su quickly replied with a smile. "It concerns the life and death of the entire city, and whether our teachers and students will be coolies... This student will not be pedantic."

"Then don't delay." Shi Gao nodded and urged the two to hurry up. "The outside world has set a deadline of noon, and I am a person who has committed a crime... You must hurry up, especially since you must also worry that someone in the city saw the arrival of the imperial standard yesterday and couldn't hold back, so they rashly caused a fight, which would be a waste of everyone's lives."

Liang and Shi quickly responded and hurried away.

In this way, before noon, news of the city's request to surrender spread to the camp outside the city, and the people up and down naturally cheered.

However, when they saw that the people who came to surrender were two young men, everyone else was fine, but Lü Yihai's face turned gloomy... Among the several close ministers, such as Yang Yizhong, Ren Baozhong, Yu Yunwen, Mei Yue, etc., also felt a little uneasy, and then secretly looked at the Emperor Zhao.

The Emperor Zhao's face did not change at all, and then he calmly responded, and even appointed the adult Liang Su as a secretary.

According to the rules set before crossing the river, people under the age of thirty could be pardoned and appointed.

Since the army had accepted the surrender, there was naturally no need to mention what followed. The city did indeed open its gates as agreed, and the veteran Zhang Jing personally supervised his subordinates to swarm in, then quickly controlled the city's defenses, cleared the streets, and properly disarmed and resettled the soldiers and civilians in the city... It was very efficient.

Then, the Emperor Zhao set off with his close ministers and civil and military officials and went directly to the city.

Entering the city and arriving at the intersection, Zhang Jing, fully armored, rushed to meet them and bowed in public to ask for forgiveness: "This subordinate is ashamed. Please do not enter the county office, Your Majesty..."

"Is that fellow completely dead?"

Before the Emperor Zhao could speak, Lü Yihai, who was riding a horse behind him, became furious, but he was clearly purely angry and not surprised.

At the same time, the Emperor Zhao and many smart people were all the same, that is, their faces did not change at all, while people such as Li Qiong, Fan Zongyin, and even ordinary members of the Southeast Imperial Academy suddenly understood after a moment.

However, these people from the southeast had never imagined that the Confucian scholars in the occupied areas of the two rivers would be in this kind of state of survival. Even if they woke up, they were still shocked. Li Qiong, Fan Zongyin, and others could not help but feel a little emotional, but because of Prime Minister Lü's outburst yesterday, they did not dare to show it.

Only Wang De and others, who were not concerned, had not paid attention from beginning to end and were still a little dazed at this time.

As for Liang Su, who had just been appointed as a secretary, he swayed on his horse under the gaze of Yu Yunwen and Mei Yue, and then his face changed greatly. He directly rolled off his horse and knelt down behind the Emperor Zhao.

As a result, he was surrounded by several armored soldiers.

Shi Ju almost fell off his horse after his senior brother bowed down, and he was also quickly surrounded by several members of the Loyal Heart Team cavalry.

"He is completely dead." Zhang Jing was a little dazed by this scene, but he still bowed quickly. "He committed suicide by hanging himself... He also left four words, which were written: 'A Clear Conscience'."

"I also have a clear conscience." Zhao Jiu suddenly said coldly before Lü Yihai could explode again. "Mutilate his corpse and display it to the public!"

Zhang Jing, a military man, would not think too much. At this time, seeing that the Emperor and the Prime Minister had the same attitude and had received an order and an explanation, he immediately responded and turned to deal with the corpse.

Liang Su, vaguely separated from the armored soldiers around him, glanced at his junior brother who was surrounded and controlled by the cavalry, and then suddenly kowtowed on the ground non-stop.

"I will not change my order. If you have anything to say, you must say it after the corpse is mutilated." Zhao Jiu did not look back on his horse.

"This subordinate... this subordinate asks to collect the corpse afterwards." Liang Su raised his head, his forehead was bruised and purple, and his face was pale. He tried hard to think for a moment before saying with difficulty, "And please allow me to resign from my official position... This subordinate's junior brother is young. Since the two countries are at war, I am afraid that it will be difficult to travel. This subordinate... wants to escort his teacher's coffin back to Dingzhou for burial in plain clothes."

Zhao Jiu looked back at this person, only feeling a ball of sullen fire in his heart, which had been suppressed for a long time, and was now gradually burning up.

The people around him did not look good, especially the Imperial Guards who had been accompanying him for a long time, but simply each held their knives in case of emergency. Even Yang Yizhong, Ren Baozhong, Yu Yunwen, Mei Yue, and others became nervous and prepared to deal with Zhao Jiu's possible outburst.

However, Zhao Jiu stared at this person, and although his anger was gradually rising, it was always difficult to unleash... because he had realized that the object of his anger was not this person, nor was it that Han Chinese prefect Shi Gao who had been loyal to the Great Jin and still boasted of 'a clear conscience'.

Including yesterday's dissatisfaction, it was not aimed at Li Qiong.

Moreover, he knew that there would definitely still be some people who did not speak, who would be moved by that Shi Gao and this young man in their hearts, who thought that 'Confucian scholars use their bodies to teach others', and thought that no matter whether Shi Gao violated the law or not, he was a 'good Confucian' with a clear conscience.

And this anger was not directed at these silent people.

It was a large and complex emotion, which might have some elements of pitying their misfortune and angering their lack of ambition, but it was definitely not just that. It was also mixed with a sense of grievance and a sense of anger and shame because of his own incompetence.

It was as if he had clearly done so much and had worked so hard to launch the Northern Expedition, but there were still so many people who followed that confused logic to think and act, as if his efforts were not worth it, or as if his efforts were not enough.

This was an emotion with a self-reflection mentality.

But no matter what, to everyone's surprise, Zhao Jiu actually gradually calmed down this time. He did not issue any proclamations of rebuke, nor did he take the opportunity to say any bold words to scold anyone or express any state of mind... He endured it.

The only reason he could endure it was not because of the complexity of these complex emotions themselves, but because he realized that, in the final analysis, just as all kinds of contradictions were triggered by the Song-Jin War, these emotions and incidents, numbness and ignorance, excitement and silence, and even justice and evil, would ultimately need the success of the Northern Expedition to serve as the foundation and the decision.

Everything was for the military victory itself, everything was for the success of the Northern Expedition.

Before that, saying anything was meaningless.

And this battle that took place in people's hearts was itself a part of the Northern Expedition. And since it was a war, did he have to rely on talking to win?

"Let's just leave it at that."

To the surprise of many close ministers, Zhao Jiu, who did not know that he had missed two famous prime ministers of the Jin Dynasty in history, or rather, would not care at this time even if he knew, calmly threw out these words, then spurred his horse forward and passed the intersection under the protection of densely packed soldiers on the street.

After Zhao Jiu left, the two young men, who also did not know that they would become famous prime ministers of the Great Jin Dynasty in another time and space, also escaped from that fear, and then could not help but burst into tears in the street under the gaze of the soldiers in the city.

Confucian scholars use their bodies to teach others.

Regardless of how the Zhao Song Dynasty evaluated Shi Gao, in the eyes of these two people, he had conveyed his ideas to them.

A clear conscience!

In the afternoon, in the Anyi County Office, where people had just been hanged, Zhao Jiu, who had just arrived here, unhesitatingly released the shackles and issued an order on the spot, requesting the Henan craftsmen to rush to make the large banner of 'Prairie Fire', preparing to bestow it on Ma Kuo. At the same time, he sent a letter to Tieling Pass, requesting Han, Li, and Ma to strictly enforce military discipline and strictly investigate the incidents of disobedience to orders, looting, and riots since the beginning of the war, and directly named Liang Xing, the little brother Liang, and Zhao Cheng, who was being wounded.

Finally, Zhao Jiu did not forget to directly question Wu Jie in Shaanxi, asking if he