Chapter 197: The army has already been raised, what is there to tell? (6k)

"If your uncle had revealed his identity, we would have certainly treated him as a distinguished guest, and Yang Guancha would not have done that."

"Are you teaching me what to do?"

Nianhan stood up in anger, interrupted Ma Kuo and reminded him in a deep voice: "It's just a head, what impact will it have on the Song Dynasty? Zhang Jue's head can be sent, but Yang Chang's head cannot? Or do you want war?"

"How can Zhang Jue and Yang Chang be confused? Yang Chang is not at fault in this matter, and he is a fifth-rank inspector. The Marshal's request is a bit unreasonable. Why not change to someone who is easier to achieve?"

Ma Kuo was experienced in negotiations and had a preconceived notion that this was not Nianhan's bottom line, so he asked for a high price and had to pay a low price.

Just as he was bargaining, a roasted lamb was brought in from outside the tent.

Nianhanshe walked to the table, picked up a knife and pointed it at the lamb leg, muttering to himself: "The lamb on the table, why should it bargain? I am holding a sharp knife, and I am afraid that I can't eat meat?"

"hiss"

Ma Kuo took a deep breath. He actually felt that the sheep was Da Song. He calmed down and responded with a salute: "This matter is very serious. Even Tong Xuanfu can't decide. Besides, Yang Guancha's martial arts are outstanding."

"If Tong Guan can't make the decision, then go find someone who can. As for how to take Yang Chang's head, do you still need me to teach you?"

Nianhan said this bluntly, opened his mouth and bit off the piece of meat on the tip of the knife, chewing until his mouth was full of oil.

"Ah this."

"Ma Lianfang, since the Marshal's request is not to be changed, let's go back and report first."

Xin Xingzong saw that the situation was not good, so he grabbed Ma Kuo and wanted to leave, but was stopped by Nianhan: "You must leave one person as a hostage, Yelimali, you go back and pass the message for Tong Guan, and General Xin stays in Yunzhong!"

"no."

"Marshal, you can't."

Ma Kuo saw Xin Xingzong's frightened expression and was just about to speak up to help him when suddenly a dozen Jin soldiers rushed into the tent.

"I just told you, don't try to teach me how to do things. Send Yelimali to the border!"

"Yes!"

At Nianhan's command, the four guards took Ma Kuo away.

Xin Xingzong stood there in a daze. Nianhan looked at him with contempt, pointed at the table and said leisurely: "General Xin, this roasted lamb tastes good. Come and share it with me, and tell me about Yang Chang."

"what?"

"Don't blame me for not giving you a chance."

Nianhan had learned about Yang Chang's personal bravery from Tian Bao.

Tian Bao and Chen Xuan wandered to Western Xia, which was still a vassal state of Liao at that time. When they heard that someone had ambushed and killed Jin warriors, it naturally attracted the attention of the Western Xia border troops.

Relying on the relics of Wanyan Jiemu and others, the two Song Dynasty bandits actually became small captains in Western Xia.

Of course, because they were good at bragging, their "glorious deeds" were eventually known to the Xixia high-level officials. Xixia had just pledged allegiance to the Jin Dynasty and soon sent Tian Bao and Chen Xuan to Yunzhong.

It is true that Yang Chang is a fierce general and is stationed in the important place of Shangdang, but the lives of Wanyan Jiemu and Wanyan Wulu are enough to make Nianhan determined to attack Song.

Not only did the Yisheng Army in Luzhou surrender to the Jin, but the Yisheng Army in Wuzhou and Shuozhou were also surrendered. The Yanmen Pass defense line was useless against the Jin soldiers. In addition, Han Minyi, a junior lieutenant of the Changsheng Army, also led 500 people to surrender to the Jin not long ago. These news were all catalysts for the war.

Regardless of whether the Song Dynasty killed Yang Chang or not, Nianhan would still send troops as planned.

If Yang Chang was killed, Nianhan could get rid of a strong enemy in advance. If Yang Chang was not killed, the news would be passed back to Qinzhou, causing it to become alienated from the court. However, he did not know that Yang Chang was not in the same boat with the court.

Nianhan deliberately detained Xin Xingzong in order to understand the deployment of the Song army in Shanxi and to facilitate his own march south.

Not all the envoys sent out were as lucky as Ma Kuo to return.

At the same time, in Jizhou, the two envoys Fu Cha and Jiang E were waiting for the Jin envoys to enter the country, but they were eventually met by the Jin soldiers led by Wuliebu. Fu Cha was killed for his integrity, while Jiang E chose to surrender. (During the Spring Festival, the two countries would send envoys to congratulate each other, and the envoys were the envoys who received the people.)
Another group of unlucky people were the envoys sent by Huizong to Huiqing to congratulate the Jin Kingdom on the capture of Emperor Tianzuo. They left Beijing on October 8 and eventually ran into the arms of the Jin army. The chief envoy He Yunzhong was imprisoned and the deputy envoy Wuhan Ying surrendered to the Jin Kingdom.

On the fourth day of the twelfth month, Ma Kuo rushed all the way back to Taiyuan and reported Nianhan's rude request to Tong Guan.

After hearing this, Tong Guan's eyes turned black and he fainted immediately in the lobby of the Xuanfu Division. He woke up after taking ginseng soup.

When he opened his eyes, he saw Yuwen Xuzhong, Fan Ne, Wang Yun, Song Yantong and other close aides and confidants were all there.

Tong Guan straightened his body and asked everyone, "Nianhan wants Yang Chang's head to stop the war. Let's not talk about whether Your Majesty will agree. You have been to Hebei with me and you all know Yang Chang's ability. How can he be willing to be killed?"

"Why did your Majesty say this?"

Ma Kuo jumped up anxiously and reminded them sternly: "Who is Nianhan? How can we stop the war because of Yang Chang? We should strengthen the defense now. Yang Chang is just right to defend against the enemy. In addition, the Yisheng Army of Luzhou defected. I am worried that Shuozhou will be affected. We should immediately send more troops to the north. It is most appropriate to transfer troops from Qinzhou now."

"No."

Wang Yun, an aide to the emperor, objected, saying, "Nianhan wants Yang Chang's head. Sooner or later, the news will reach his ears. At this time, whether he is transferred or the Qinzhou troops are sent north, it will easily cause misunderstanding. People will say that the king is killing someone with a borrowed knife."

"But."

"What Wang Yun said is very true. Don't disturb Yang Chang for now. Wait until you ask His Majesty for instructions."

Seeing that Tong Guan had made up his mind, Ma Kuo immediately reminded him: "The road to Hedong is dangerous, and there are mountains and rivers as a barrier. We still have time; but Hebei relies entirely on the Ever-Victorious Army. If the Ever-Victorious Army changes, the Jin army can march straight in. Otherwise, they can go around to support them, and even threaten Tokyo."

"Do you have any idea?"

"Olibu is not as good as Nianhan in using troops. We should hold the Hedong line firmly and then place the main battlefield in Hebei. We must not let the two Jin armies merge. As long as we can repel Olibu's army, the Jin army in Hedong will naturally retreat.
The key is to prevent the two Jin troops from joining together and to defend Zhending Prefecture. However, Song Jiang and Lu Junyi are from humble backgrounds and are too chivalrous. They are likely to be restrained by the Jin troops. Now that General Xin is detained in the Jin camp, there is no one in Hebei to control the Liangshan Army. I would like to volunteer to be the military supervisor in Zhending."

"You want to go to Zhending? That's fine."

Tong Guan immediately said to Yuwen Xuzhong: "Write a memorial for me later to recommend Ma Kuo as the envoy of Zhending, so that he can go to Zhending to do things conveniently. Also, prepare a table of wine for Ma Chengxuan to see him off."

"The military situation is urgent, how can I have the mood to drink?"

Ma Kuo was speechless, rubbing his hands and responding: "I will set off immediately, and report as soon as possible so that the court can actively prepare for war."

"Well, since you are in a hurry, just go first."

Tong Guan gently waved his hand at Ma Kuo, then summoned his trusted confidant Fan Ne to his side and gently instructed him, "Go and prepare. Send someone back to Tokyo tomorrow to report Yang Chang's incident to Cai You, and have him ask His Majesty for his decision."

"Yes."

Fan Ne bowed and left. Seeing Tong Guan closing his eyes and saying nothing, the others also said goodbye and left.

Tong Guan didn't want to open his eyes because he didn't want to face reality. He didn't want to go to war with the Jin Kingdom and didn't want to lose his existing honor.

Tong Guan, who was pretending to be asleep, could not be woken up by his own people, but the messenger sent by Nianhan could easily wake him up.

On the fifth day of December, the day after Ma Kuo returned to Taiyuan and headed for Zhending, Jin envoy Wang Jieru arrived with a letter from Nianhan.

In his letter, Nianhan used harsh words, saying, "If the two dynasties do not integrate with each other, war will inevitably occur."

Tong Guan accompanied Wang Jieru carefully and said that Nianhan's request was of great importance. He had already written a memorial and would send it to Tokyo immediately. He also hosted a banquet in the Xuanfu Division to entertain Wang Jieru.

During the banquet, another envoy of Nianhan, Salumu, who was also an acquaintance of Tong Guan, arrived on the same day as Wang Jieru. He brought a declaration of war, "A Letter to the Southern Song Dynasty's Xuanfu Division to Question the Crimes."

The manifesto repeated the same old tune, mainly pointing out that the Song Dynasty accepted Zhang Jue and recruited Emperor Tianzuo in order to seize the land of the Jin Dynasty. Now the Jin Dynasty sent troops to attack the Song Dynasty to give the Song Dynasty a taste of its own medicine. The Jin Dynasty seized the edict of Huizong and his handwritten letters, which were all ironclad evidence of the Song Dynasty's betrayal.

Tong Guan read the letter, stared at Salum with dull eyes, and asked: "Why didn't you tell me earlier that the two countries had such a misunderstanding?"

"The army has already been mobilized, what is there to tell?"

Salumu frowned and snorted, his expression was very arrogant. Wang Jieru, who arrived earlier than him, whispered to him: "The reason why the Marshal is angry is because Diebojilie died in Taiyuan. You have to show your sincerity."

Nianhan sent out two people at the same time, one to play the good guy and the other to play the bad guy, mainly to confuse Tong Guan.

On the day the two men left Yunzhong, Nianhan led his troops into Shuozhou.

After hearing what Wang Jieru said, Tong Guan felt that there was still room for negotiation and it was a good opportunity for him to save face. He immediately ordered someone to send the two men to the embassy to rest and said that he would assign an escort to go and talk (to negotiate terms).

Ma Kuo, who was to attend the negotiations at that time, was no longer in Taiyuan, so Tong Guan asked his aide Song Yantong to serve as his companion.

As a result, the conditions proposed by the Jin envoy were even more exaggerated than asking for Yang Chang's head. Nianhan wanted the Song Dynasty to cede Hedong and Hebei, and then the Yellow River would be the boundary between the Song and Jin countries.

No matter how much he bargained, Tong Guan had no say in the matter.

The next day, Tong Guan urgently summoned Yuwen Xuzhong and others to discuss rushing back to Tokyo to report the Jin army's defeat in the alliance.

According to Ma Kuo's previous analysis, once the Song and Jin countries went to war, Hedong would need to continue to withstand the pressure and then wait for the Hebei battlefield to gain momentum. The opponent on the Hedong battlefield was Nianhan, and everyone was unwilling to stay in a dangerous place for a long time, so they all agreed with Tong Guan to return to Beijing.

On the seventh day of the twelfth month, Tong Guan had just sent away the Jin envoy and immediately had his men pack up their carriages and prepare to return to the capital.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xiaochun, the prefect of Taiyuan, hurriedly brought his son Zhang Jia to the Xuanfu Division and pleaded, "With the enemy at hand, Your Majesty is in charge of Hedong and Hebei. If you stay, it will boost morale and the soldiers will be able to defend the land with peace of mind. If you leave now..."

"I was ordered to pacify the country, and I will not fail those who guard the land. If the Xuanfu Division is to guard the land, what use do you have for me?"

Being interrupted and scolded by Tong Guan, the Zhang father and son both stood there in a daze.

Tong Guan then adjusted his tone, gently patted Zhang Xiaochun's arm, and said earnestly:

"Nianhan's conditions are harsh. First of all, he wants the head of Yang Chang. If I don't come before you in person, how can Your Majesty believe these words? In addition, Wang Bing, the deputy general manager of Taiyuan Army, is a general under Xin Xingzong. With him helping you defend the city, you will be safe. My stay here will not be of much use. When I arrive in the capital, the Privy Council will quickly dispatch troops for reinforcement."

"Your Majesty, the carriage and horses are ready."

Upon hearing the report from his confidant at the door, Tong Guan immediately bowed to Zhang Xiaochun, and then left anxiously without looking back.

"Dad, what should we do?"

"What can we do? Sigh." Zhang Xiaochun sighed and said helplessly: "We, father and son, will defend Taiyuan to the death. We only hope that the border states can hold out a little longer."

The more you expect something, the harder it is to achieve.

Wuzhou and Shuozhou were originally occupied by the Jin Kingdom. In the first half of the year, Nianhan took the initiative to hand them over to Tong Guan. This was his strategy to transfer the garrison troops in Hedong.

Nianhan left a backup plan in the two states in advance, which caused the Yisheng Army in the two states to quickly defect and affected the Yisheng Army in Daizhou.

On the day Tong Guan left Taiyuan, the Jin army marched to the Yanmen City of Daizhou. The defending general Li Siben held on for three days. The Yisheng Army in the city opened the city and surrendered first, so Li Siben was captured and surrendered.

The Jin soldiers then marched south to besiege Gang County. Nianhan sent Li Siben to persuade them to surrender, but he was shot away by the defending general Li Yi.

Of course, Gang County was not defended in the end. Cui Zhong, the leader of the Yisheng Army in the city, rebelled and led the Jin Army into the city and seized the city. Li Yi was captured and died a martyr.

As for Shiling Pass at the junction of Xinzhou and Taiyuan, it was Geng Shouzhong who led the Yisheng Army to "perform meritorious service" and handed over Taiyuan's last barrier to the Jin people.

The Yisheng Army organized by Tan Zhen consumed a large amount of resources from the imperial court and Hedong, and in the end most of them became accomplices of the Jin people. The only two organized troops that did not defect to the Jin people were the Qinzhou and Pingyang Yisheng Armies controlled by Yang Chang.

On the eighth day of the twelfth month, Tong Guan, with his trusted staff of the Xuanfu Division and his two thousand personal soldiers of the Jiesheng Army, marched across the Taigu River Valley, intending to cross the border to Tongdi City via Nanguan Town.

As soon as the group left the valley, they were blocked by the Qinzhou garrison. After a few months, more than a dozen arrow towers and sentry towers suddenly rose from the ground, filled with guards holding bows.

Tong Guan was sitting in the carriage at the time, and Fan Ne, the commander of the Jiesheng Army and his confidant, was guarding in front of the carriage.

When he found that the front army suddenly stopped, Fan Ne rode forward to inquire about the situation. The military school told him that the Qinzhou defenders would not let him pass, even if he reported the name of the Xuanfu Division.

"Is that true? Is Yang Chang's man so arrogant? Let me see who it is!"

"I will take you there."

In the first half of the year, Fan Ne went to Hebei with Tong Guan. He was received by Yang Chang when he passed by Qinzhou and knew several main military officers in Qinzhou. However, when he saw the "road blocker" while riding his horse, he had no impression of him at all.

"Excuse me, General, what is your name?"

"Don't try to trick us. We are not allowed to pass this road. Go back the way you came!"

Seeing the rude attitude of the general who blocked the road reminded Fan Ne of the envoy from the Jin Kingdom two days ago, who also had a domineering expression. He immediately took out the gold medal from his waist.

"In the Song Dynasty, there are actually places that are inaccessible? Do you know this?"

"Hey, grandpa can't read."

"How dare you block the Xuanfusi carriage from passing through the border? Are you planning to rebel? Is that what Yang Chang taught you?"

"Scare me? Do you think you can scare me?"

It was no use for Fan Ne to bring up Yang Chang. The man pointed at the archers on the tower, looking fearless.

"Are you sure you want to do this? Do you know how serious the consequences will be?"

"How about we practice alone?"

Just when the situation was tense, a familiar figure came into Fan Ne's sight. It was Lu Zhishen who went to Hebei with Yang Chang.

"Master Lu?" Fan Ne hurriedly pushed through the crowd, pointed at the person who was trying to stop him and shouted, "You came at the right time. Who is this person? How dare he stop the carriage of the Xuanfusi?"

"Brother, he is really..."

"Oh, what a misunderstanding, what a misunderstanding."

Lu Zhishen grabbed his companion and pointed at Fan Ne, introducing him: "This is General Fan of the Jiesheng Army. He is really Tong Xuanfu's personal guard. General Fan, he has just arrived in Qinzhou not long ago, please bear with me."

"New here? Why are you so reckless? What's your name?"

"My surname is Shi, and my given name is Jin."

As soon as Shi Jin finished speaking, Fan Ne pointed at him and exclaimed, "Nine-Pattern Dragon Shi Jin?"

"Commander Fan knows me?"

"Yang Observer asked for it by name. I was impressed by you, and even more impressed today."

"I'm really sorry, there were a lot of deserters passing by a few days ago, so Yang Guancha strictly ordered that no one should be allowed to pass."

After hearing this, Fan Ne suddenly realized that most of the Luzhou Yisheng Army surrendered to the Jin people, and the rest fled to the southern prefectures. They were returning to their hometown of Luzhou and had to pass through Qinzhou.

"what's the situation?"

"My king, why are you here?"

"The convoy has stopped, so I naturally have to come and take a look. Hey, isn't this Master Lu?"

"Your Majesty is polite."

Seeing Lu Zhishen salute Tong Guan, Shi Jin followed suit and clasped his fists, while Fan Ne briefly introduced the situation.

When Tong Guan saw the newly built arrow towers around him and listened to Fan Ne's introduction, he was surprised and asked Lu Zhishen the specific reason.

Lu Zhishen scratched his head and smiled foolishly: "I don't know either. This is all arranged by Yang Guancha. Your Majesty can go to Nanguan Town to rest. A fast horse has been sent to Tongdi to deliver a message. Guancha will come to greet you soon. When the time comes, ask him and you will know everything clearly."

"We are in a hurry to get on the road, so we don't need Yang Guancha to come out of the city to greet us. Nanguan Town won't rest for a while. It won't be too late to ask when we get to Tongdi."

"Oh."

"Keep on going."

At this time, Tong Guan asked someone to bring horses, and he and Fan Ne walked in front of the team, watching the new changes in Qinzhou along the way. In order to avoid further misunderstanding, Lu Zhishen took the initiative to ride in front to lead the way.

More than half of the official road from Taigu County to Tongdi runs along the Taigu River, which originates in Qinzhou.

It was midwinter and the temperature was freezing cold.

Many places in the lower reaches of the Taigu River, especially the section that crosses Taiyue Mountain, have long been covered with ice.

In the upper reaches of Qinzhou, not only is there no ice, but there are also a large number of fishing boats, and there are post stations every few miles on the official road.

This kind of scene was not seen when Tong Guan passed by in March.

He walked to Xitang Town with these questions in mind and they were not resolved until he reached Xitang Town.

Yang Chang rushed over on horseback after receiving the news. After exchanging a few pleasantries with Tong Guan, he took the initiative to explain:

"I followed the king to Hebei. Ma Lianfang mentioned that the Jin people were very powerful and that both Hedong and Hebei needed to strengthen their defenses. When I returned to Qinzhou, I set up a post station on the official road to facilitate the delivery of military intelligence in future battles. I also set up a checkpoint at the entrance of the valley to check on spies. A while ago, many deserters crossed the border, so I added two battalions of garrisons and issued a strict order not to allow any troops to pass through. But I didn't expect that they would stop the king."

"It's okay. It's good that you can draw inferences from this."

Tong Guan waved his hand gently and continued, "Shi Jin is actually quite good. He is impartial and selfless in carrying out military orders. No wonder he came from Zhending. By the way, I found that many boats have stopped at Taigu River and Nie River. Do the people of Qinzhou like fishing in winter?"

"no."

Yang Chang shook his head and replied, "I learned from the deserters in Luzhou that the situation on the border may not be good. I am afraid that the Jin soldiers will invade by surprise. Qinzhou is also an important road to Bianliang in the south, so I deployed fishing boats to transport supplies to the valley mouth. Now if there is nothing to do, I will move the boats to prevent the river from freezing."

"Oh, not bad."

Tong Guan nodded affirmatively to Yang Chang, but thought in his heart that this man was not only an extraordinary martial artist, but also had such great strategic foresight. It would be a pity to use his head to stop the war.

When I return to Tokyo later, I will advise Your Majesty to think carefully about this.

Yang Chang accompanied Tong Guan southward. As he was accompanied by more than 2,000 people, it was not convenient to settle them all in Tongdi to rest. Tong Guan was also afraid that he would overhear and reveal the Jin people's demands. Finally, he used the excuse of rushing back to Tokyo in a hurry and left Qinzhou without stopping.

When they parted at Luzhou's Feiting, Tong Guan looked at Yang Chang and said seriously: "I think you are quite capable of commanding troops. If Taiyuan has difficulty defending, I hope you can lead troops to rescue it."

"Qinzhou has few soldiers. If we go to reinforce Taiyuan, we may be afraid that the Jin army will circumvent us."

Yang Chang answered with difficulty, and immediately added: "If the Jin people are just looting, they may go through Fenzhou and Pingyang. I can reinforce Pingyang nearby."

"That's fine, see you later!"

"Slow down, my king."

Tong Guan actually imitated him and performed the fist-clasping salute, and then parted ways with Yang Chang, whom he admired. In the end, they never had the chance to see each other again until their death.

Considering that Zhang Xiaochun was in charge of Taiyuan and Yang Chang was in charge of Qinzhou, the Hedong route should not be lost. With the Ever-Victorious Army in Hebei in the front and Ma Kuo's Liangshan Army in the back.

Even if the Jin people are aggressive, the war is unlikely to expand in the short term.

After Tong Guan passed Qinzhou, the tension was relieved somewhat and he believed that the conflict was currently under control.

However, the more beautiful the idea is, the more cruel the reality is.

Cai Jing, the co-magistrate of Yanshan Road, wrote more than 170 letters to the court from the beginning of the abnormal military situation in Pingzhou in October and January to the final fall of Yanjing into the hands of the Jin people. Seeing that his previous reports were withheld by Wang Fu and he had not received any feedback from the court, he later passed the reports to Zhao Ji through other channels.

(Because of the disagreement between Guo Yaoshi and Zhan Du, Huizong transferred Zhan Du to Hejian Prefecture and exchanged his post with Cai Jing, the governor of Hejian Prefecture.)
Although Zhao Ji received an urgent report from Yanjing, it did not affect his holding of the Southern Suburbs sacrifice ceremony at all.

After all, the Ever-Victorious Army was originally named the Resentful Army and was formed to deal with the Jurchens. It can be said that they had a grudge against the Jin people. Even though Guo Yaoshi had shown that he was disobedient, he would never betray the Song Dynasty.

With Guo Yaoshi guarding the Yanshan route, Zhao Ji believed that he could defend against Wuliebu.

Less than ten days after the southern suburbs sacrifice ended, Olibu from the east deliberately took action ahead of Nianhan and captured Jizhou on November 28, capturing the two unfortunate envoys. On December 1, he captured Danzhou again. The Jin army appeared near Yanjing.

The emperor and his senior officials kept it a secret, but sporadic news had already spread among the official circles and the people in Tokyo.

In order to divert attention, Zhao Ji used Prime Minister Wang Fu as a scapegoat. He was dismissed from his post before he was fifty and retired. Li Bangyan was promoted to prime minister.

However, changing perspective cannot solve the problem, and the situation in Hebei is taking a sharp turn for the worse.

Zhao Ji still did not dare to announce it until the ninth day of the first lunar month, when Prime Minister Li Bangyan and Deputy Prime Minister Bai Shizhong came to him and requested that the military reports withheld by the inner court be handed over to the outer court for discussion.

After reading the secret military report, both of them took a deep breath and agreed that it should not be passed on to others.

After that, the two prime ministers went to the palace every day to discuss new military intelligence and countermeasures with Zhao Ji, but they delayed making it public to the other court officials.

On December 16, Tong Guan returned to Beijing from Taiyuan, and the issue of the Jin invasion was finally brought to the table.

The ministers discussed for several days but failed to come up with a decent solution. Even when the news from Guo Yaoshi was returned, no one from Huizong down believed it.

Because the situation in Hebei was more critical, Tong Guan did not report to Nianhan that he was demanding the head.

The only targeted idea in the court meeting was proposed by Zhao Ji's favorite minister Cai You. He proposed to make Guo Yaoshi the King of Yan and hereditary, so as to stop the Jin army from advancing southward.

Zhao Ji was the emperor for twenty-five years, and he was surrounded by many flattering ministers, who all agreed with Cai You's suggestion of covering his ears and stealing the bell.

And the Pharmacist Guo, whom they had placed high hopes on, had now become Wuliebu's guide on his journey south.

On the ninth day of the twelfth month, Olib led his army into Yanjing. During the battle with Guo Yaoshi, he saw that the Ever-Victorious Army fought fiercely, so he became hesitant.

The next day, Pharmacist Guo took the initiative to come to the door and volunteered: "The civil and military officials of the Song Dynasty are in conflict and selfish. The Marshal should lead the army south decisively, accept surrenders if there are any, bypass them if there are any obstacles, and go directly to the city of Bianliang. The Emperor of the Song Dynasty can meet all your requirements. I would like to lead my troops as the vanguard."

"A thousand-mile raid?"

Wulibu frowned and said, "I remember that there seems to be a fierce general like Yang Chang in the Song army? If these people attack us halfway, none of us will be able to return."

"Marshal, don't worry. There are very few people like Yang Chang, and we will not pass through Qinzhou, which is Marshal Nianhan's opponent. Besides."

Pharmacist Guo suddenly changed the subject and reminded meaningfully: "It is said that the fifth princess of the Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty has a heavenly appearance and a rare face. Moreover, because of her piety to Taoism, she has not married in her early twenties."

"Oh?"

Wulibu instantly became interested. He had always been obsessed with women. He immediately stroked his beard and smiled, "I cannot bear to see such a waste of natural resources. I must save this woman. Pass on my order and send troops to Bianliang!"

(End of this chapter)