Chapter 62: The Battle of Pingzhou (Final)

  A team of nearly a hundred large carts, escorted by Song army cavalry, slowly approached, with dust flying everywhere on the ground. The heavy cart wheels pressed out tracks on the ground, and the shouts and panting of the grain transporters, as well as the neighing of horses, filled the air. In the middle of the team was a grayish-red eight-man sedan chair. Zhao Bian and Liang Fangxu hastily went forward, their hearts full of joy. The grain situation in Taiyuan City was tense; without grain, the people would not be stable, and the army would mutiny.

  If it was unavoidable, he had to kill the horse, but the warhorse was extremely precious, and Zhao Jiong's heart was very reluctant. However, at this time, the situation in Taiyuan City could only be dealt with in this way, and now that the grain and grass had arrived, the urgent need had been resolved. The grain team stopped advancing, and when they saw Zhao Jiong coming forward, the common people who were transporting the grain fell to the ground and kowtowed. Zhao Jiong went forward to help them up, and just as he was about to praise those soldiers, a sedan chair rushed up, came to a stable stop, and tilted forward slightly. A charming woman got out of the sedan chair, walked up to Zhao Jiong, and curtsied slightly, saying in a gentle and seductive tone: "The prince ordered me to collect grain and grass, which I have now transported here. I hope it has arrived in time." This person was none other than Tang Yuwei, who had left without saying goodbye many days ago.

  Zhao Han sighed inwardly, Tang Yuwei was calculating in her heart, with wisdom and intelligence that was unparalleled. If she could truly help herself, it would be great, but now they were enemies, not friends. Tang Yuwei's actions represented the Phoenix Building thinking Zhao Han still had use, value to be exploited. When the day came when he could threaten the Phoenix Building, he would absolutely be strangled in his cradle. Zhao Han had also made arrangements, putting his life in the hands of his enemy, a situation that made one uneasy and unable to eat or sleep.

  "Thank you, Miss Tang Yuwei, for everything you've done for the people of Taiyuan." Zhao Yi said with a bow, his words were indeed sincere, but they sounded very official and cautious, thanking Tang Yuwei from a moral standpoint rather than as an individual. Tang Yuwei walked over, leaned in close and grasped Zhao Yi's arm, saying with a flirtatious tone: "Your Highness, have you missed me?"

  Zhao Yin felt a bit awkward and wanted to sidestep, but Tang Yuwei tightly grasped Zhao Yin's arm, looking at him with playful eyes. Just as Zhao Yin was about to get angry, Tang Yuwei had already dodged away laughing, and Zhao Yin felt an extra box in his hand. Without changing his expression, he put the box into his sleeve.

  Tang Yuwei said to Zhao Jian, "The expenses for these grains and grasses were all covered by the auction of that mirror, so Your Highness doesn't need to thank me. What you've done for the people of Taiyuan is worth 500,000 taels of silver. Remember to come to my room later." As she spoke, she stepped forward and put the silver note into Zhao Jian's hand. Tang Yuwei smiled at him and returned to her sedan chair. Zhao Jian knew that Tang Yuwei had something to say, but he didn't think much of it and let the convoy continue on its way.

  Zhao Kan and Liang Fangxu held a military meeting in the government office of Taiyuan City, Wang Ben originally suffered serious injuries, but heard Zhao Kan hold a military meeting, enduring the pain to participate, Zhao Kan repeatedly persuaded, Wang Ben all replied with the excuse that it was necessary to come because of the importance of the matter, Zhao Kan had no choice but to let Wang Ben take a seat.

  Wang Bin first stepped forward and said, "Your Highness, my Taiyuan garrison is almost annihilated, I hope you will comfort the families of our soldiers and let the dead rest in peace." Wang Bin feared that the officials who came would just pat their backsides and leave, causing the people of Taiyuan to lose heart.

  "Please rest assured, General Wang. As long as I, Zhao Jiong, am here for a day, I will not let the people of Taiyuan go hungry and I will not let the deceased soldiers be unable to rest in peace."

  "Thank you, Your Excellency. I will take the place of the people of Taiyuan to pay my respects to you." He was about to kneel down, but Zhao Jie hastily came forward to support Wang Fen, who was already drenched in sweat: "General Wang is a brave general of our time, why do this? What I have done is all within my duty. General Wang's one bow is heavier than Mount Tai, and I am ashamed to accept it." With Zhao Jie's guarantee, Wang Fen had already felt satisfied and at ease. The intense battles of the past few days had left him exhausted and wounded all over his body. It was only with great effort that he had been able to attend the meeting, so he did not resist as others supported him in leaving the main tent.

  The commander of the Taiyuan city guard excitedly reported to the emperor: "Reporting to Your Majesty, in this battle, more than 30,000 civilians died in Taiyuan City, and only less than 2,000 of the 20,000 imperial guards remained. Judging from the corpses, the Jin army had over 20,000 casualties. This is a great victory for our army." It's no wonder that this commander was so excited. In the late Northern Song Dynasty, there were almost no victories in battles against the Jin, but this time was different. With the arrival of the Ever Victorious Army and the desperate situation in Pingzhou, they defeated the Jin army, breaking the myth that "the Jurchen are invincible if they have less than 10,000 soldiers, and unbeatable if they have more than 10,000".

  But Zhao Jie had no joy in his heart, this was a victory won at the cost of extremely heavy casualties by the military and civilians of Taiyuan City. Many good sons and parents, elderly relatives, were sleeping forever in Taiyuan City, never to see the sun again the next day. This is the price of war, Zhao Jie could not imagine what it would be like if the Jin army had broken into the city without the voluntary sacrifice of the Changsheng Army. He did not want to think about it, but only became more determined in his own thoughts.

  Zhao Yun said: "Everyone retreats, and more scouts are sent to investigate the movements of the Jin army to prevent them from counterattacking."

  "Yes, Your Highness." The generals all took their orders and withdrew.

  Zhao Yan suddenly felt an immense pressure, he couldn't simply die in the midst of history's ebbs and flows. He had to defend the territory of Great Song, protect its borders and people. Zhao Yan gazed in the direction of Bianjing for a long time without speaking, that place was where he would eventually return, but at least not until his hair grew back. Zhao Yan stroked his nearly bald head with a self-mocking smile, unsure what lay ahead.

  At this moment, Li Yue walked in with a cup of tea. Zhao Jin had been accustomed to drinking the tea made by Li Yue for several days, which was very unique and had a clever and lively flavor that left a lingering aftertaste. Zhao Jin smiled and took the tea from Li Yue's hand, saying softly: "Thanks for your hard work, Yue'er."

  "It's my honor to serve Your Highness." Li Yue said with a smile, her youthful face accompanied by an angelic smile made Zhao Chen stunned for a moment, but he quickly reacted. In his heart, only Wu Caiyun could make him feel distracted, looking at the dimming eyes, Li Yue felt full of grievances. A girl's thoughts are always sensitive, and she can sense the other person's mood from one sentence, one glance, and one action.

  Li Yue said sorrowfully, "The sister who came is waiting for you." After finishing speaking, she turned and left. Zhao Jin originally wanted to hold onto Li Yue to explain things to her, but he understood that showing weakness at this time would lead to even greater misunderstandings. The two had only known each other briefly and didn't have much emotional connection, so Zhao Jin didn't want to delay her further. He could only put down the hand he had extended and watch as Li Yue's slender figure disappeared into the distance, letting out a soft sigh in his heart. Perhaps time would change Li Yue's mind, but it was hard to say. Zhao Jin set this matter aside for now and carefully considered how to negotiate with Tang Yuwei. He believed that Feng Huang Lou would start taking advantage of him soon. Now that he held military power and his reputation was at an all-time high, Feng Huang Lou had always been one to not let opportunities slip by without a fight.

  Jin general Wanyan Zonghan's military camp

  Wanyan Zongyao was furious, and the Jin army was defeated by the Song Dynasty. Wanyan Zonghan listened to Wanyan Zongyao's scolding and shouting as if he were an old monk in meditation. The more Wanyan Zongyao spoke, the angrier he became: "Wanyan Zonghan, you are still the commander-in-chief, but you were defeated by the Song Dynasty. What do you think you should do?"

  Wanyan Zongyao had already paid his respects to his ancestors for eighteen generations, but his face remained expressionless as he said calmly: "As a humble minister, I have only seen that if we integrate our troops and launch another attack on Taiyuan City, we can definitely win the war with one battle."

  "General Wanyan Zonghan is so confident, I wonder what his winning strategy is?" Wanyan Zongyao said sarcastically.

  Wanyan Zonghan said: "The city of Taiyuan has been besieged for a long time, and the city walls are broken and defeated. For our army, there is no obstacle to overcome. The Song army in Taiyuan has been surrounded for a long time, and the grain and grass in the city are scarce. If we provide food to the civilians, the combat effectiveness of the army will decrease; if we don't provide it, it will cause chaos and mutiny. Moreover, our army's combat effectiveness is originally higher than that of the Song army, so we can win with one battle."

  Wanyan Zongyao, although self-opinionated and hot-tempered, was not a fool. Upon hearing Wanyan Zonghan's words, he couldn't help but feel some excitement. Just then, one of the Jin soldiers stepped forward and said: "Reporting to Your Highness, Marshal, there is someone outside the gate who claims to be a member of the Marshal's clan and has come to seek relatives."

  Wanyan Zonghan felt somewhat embarrassed, and Wanyan Zongyang noticed his distress and said: "General Wanyan may take your leave."

  Wanyan Zonghan hastily thanked him. When Wanyan Zonghan walked out of the camp and saw a person standing there in a flurry, he immediately knelt down when he saw Wanyan Zonghan. Wanyan Zonghan quickly came forward to support him, and the man secretly handed a letter to Wanyan Zonghan, suddenly bursting into tears, expressing his joy at finding his relatives. Wanyan Zonghan had someone take this person away, found a deserted place, opened the letter, and after reading only two lines, he was furious, gritting his teeth.