Jiaohua

Chapter 1643 Xia Zhaoyi's Unfulfilled Promise
News of Song Zhiyi's death spread throughout the thirty-six states of the land in less than half a month, carried by fast horses and birds.

Subsequently, Hengxiang's group of literati began to play their role, and various sharp commentaries and scathing articles flew out like snowflakes, closely following the news of Song Zhiyi's death and being sent to all corners of the country.

They cursed him, belittled him, rebuked him, and humiliated him.

The storytellers in teahouses and taverns gave vivid performances, and the bookish scholars who loved to discuss politics passionately expounded on the matter, causing a great uproar in public opinion.

He Jing also began to exert his strength, pushing this wave of momentum to an even greater climax.

In the end, even Song Zhiyi's stronghold of Anjiang could not be defended, and more and more voices denounced him as worthless.

Jin Hongkang was furious.

He voluntarily reduced the territory of the Taiping Dynasty by two-thirds and gathered all the troops that could still be mobilized in the shortest possible time.

When these troops retreated, they did not treat the people of the former Taiping Dynasty kindly. They burned, killed, and looted along the way, taking everything they could carry with them and leaving nothing behind.

In mid-July, Jin Hongkang built a high altar in the southeastern suburbs of Guangzhui Prefecture, offering three kinds of sacrificial animals and nine kinds of rites. White banners covered the sky, and mourning was heard for a hundred miles.

Jin Hongkang, dressed in mourning clothes, knelt and kowtowed three times and nine times before Song Zhiyi's memorial tablet, posthumously honoring Song Zhiyi as "Emperor Yiwu Huanjingde" and ordering the construction of a temple in Anjiang to be built according to imperial regulations to eternally worship the spirit of the hero.

Before the coffin, Song Zhiyi's eldest son, Song Xihuai, who was only twelve years old this year, was enthroned as the Crown Prince Regent, temporarily ruling the court. The generals of the three armies shouted and kowtowed, and the ceremony was simple and quick, and the relationship between ruler and subject was established in less than half a day.

The following day, Jin Hongkang mobilized his troops in a grand display to build momentum for his attack on Hejing. That very evening, he received a report from his subordinates that Ali had secretly met with Yun Bozhong and held very intimate talks, forming a secret alliance.

Jin Hongkang summoned all his strategists, advisors, and staff overnight to discuss how to proceed.

Some say that Hebei must be attacked, otherwise it will lose face and be letting down Emperor Tianding.

Some say that if we attack Hejing, we will not only be attacked from both sides. Yan's army has already secured Jiangnan and will not ignore Hejing. To the southwest, there is Nie Huimo of Huazhou, to the northwest, Yun Bozhong, and to the north, Yong'an is also under Yan's army, as well as Zheng Bei's army.

Some say that we should first concentrate our forces and do everything in our power to destroy Huazhou, and then take Tian Dayao's life.

Some say that Yun Bozhong is weak, so they should deal with Yun Bozhong first.

Some say that there are people in the world who hate Ali even more than they do, namely the remnants of the Li clan in the northeast. They should put aside their past grievances and form an alliance with them to resist the powerful enemy.

Everyone had their own opinion, and each person's argument made sense.

Before they could reach a conclusion, a messenger arrived with urgent news that Yun Bozhong had dispatched troops south, and at the same time, Nie Huimo sent a challenge.

Everyone was shocked.

After reading the letter, Jin Hongkang immediately ordered his three generals to lead 70,000 troops to deal with Yun Bozhong and set off immediately.

Then Jin Hongkang slammed the letter on the table and angrily said, "Nie Huimo is here to cause trouble now!"

After saying that, he realized it was inappropriate and added, "Nie Huimo is a piece of shit!"

One of his men said, "Your Highness, it seems our counter-espionage plan failed. Tian Dayao and Nie Huimo show no signs of discord whatsoever."

Another subordinate said, "I think Tian Lingwen was poisoned by Nie Huimo. Since he could bring himself to do such a deadly thing, he must have made the most thorough preparations to exonerate himself. It would be difficult for Tian Dayao to suspect him."

The other subordinates remained silent, all knowing full well that the situation was not optimistic.

Originally, Tian Dayao's confidant Weng Baoshan and Nie Huimo were at odds. With Weng Baoshan causing trouble for Nie Huimo, Yu Daping was in a very good position.

However, Weng Baoshan's eldest son, Weng Enhou, died in Shushui Town during the Da Ping Dynasty, and his head was cut off in full view of the public by a Da Ping general.

Originally, Weng Enhou went to Shushui Town to collude with Zhu Zhe with the intention of killing Nie Huimo. However, he himself died, his head falling into Ali's hands and being given to Nie Huimo by Madam Qu. Nie Huimo did not report Weng Baoshan's treason to Tian Dayao, but instead used this as leverage. For the past few months, Nie Huimo had made things difficult for Weng Baoshan, ensuring he dared not have any conflict with him.

Nie Huimo did this because if one Weng Baoshan fell, Tian Dayao's sons would support another Weng Jinshan or Weng Yinshan to take his place.

Rather than dealing with new enemies, it would be better to let Weng Baoshan, who is already under our control, remain in this position forever.

Nie Huimo's move was truly brilliant.

Inside the main hall, a few advisors were still speaking, while most people remained silent.

The current situation has reached a critical point.

Over the past few months, many people have been kicking themselves for not targeting Jiangnan first.

Who would have thought that Zhuang Mengyao, who commanded an army of 200,000 and lived in the prosperous Jiangnan region, would be such a good-for-nothing?
If Jiangnan were to fall completely under their control, Hejing would now be completely surrounded!

However, no one would have expected that Ali and Shen Lie would dare to raid Yong'an from the start, cutting off its supply lines and taking it by surprise!
As night deepened and dawn approached, no one had yet offered a solution that would satisfy Jin Hongkang.

Seeing that they were all tired, Jin Hongkang finally ended the game, telling them to go back for four hours to rest, eat, and bathe before returning to continue.

On the other side, Xia Zhaoyi, who had been traveling to Guzhou for days, also received a letter stating that Nie Huimo had issued a challenge to Jin Hongkang.

Xia Zhaoyi was somewhat surprised.

Nie Huimo is currently based in Huazhou, occasionally leading his troops to Songzhou to cause trouble and make Jin Hongkang unhappy.

Nie Huimo did not intervene in Tian Dayao's battle at Mouye; it was all Tian Dayao's sons who fought fiercely against Jin Hongkang's troops on the main battlefield.

On the surface, Nie Huimo's power seemed to have been largely stripped away, but Xia Zhaoyi knew that he was keeping a low profile and biding his time, and that he must have been stockpiling troops and supplies in Huazhou.

Now, is Nie Huimo's initiative to challenge Jin Hongkang at Tian Dayao's behest, or is it Nie Huimo's deliberate act?
If it was done intentionally, Xia Zhaoyi would inevitably wonder if Nie Huimo was trying to help her.

She didn't want to owe Nie Huimo anything; the promise You Zhou owed her was still unfulfilled.

However, these things did not cause Xia Zhaoyi much trouble. After a short rest, she continued on her way.

The following day, in Yushuiyuan Town, south of Guzhou, Xia Zhaoyi left her men behind and rented a carriage to go to the post station alone.

She reached the door of a superior room in an inn and knocked.

There was a brief moment of silence inside, then suddenly the sound of hurried footsteps could be heard.

The door creaked open, and Zhili exclaimed with overjoyed delight, "Junior Sister! You've finally come—"

She blinked rapidly, "Why are you so much darker?"

She's not particularly dark-skinned, but compared to her former fair, radiant, and flawless complexion, she looks much worse.

Xia Zhaoyi laughed and said, "I'm going to fight a war, not to drink tea and listen to folk songs. How can I not get a tan?"

Zhi Li closed the door behind her: "I was prepared that Junior Sister would get a tan, but I didn't expect you to get this dark... Did Brother Shen say anything?"

Besides Zhili, there were two other people in the room whom Xia Zhaoyi had never seen before.

The two men were tall and very respectful: "Miss Ali!"