Lin'an Never Night

Chapter 917
Yang Yuan brought a large team of advisors with him to Xuzhou, which could be called his headquarters.

Before arriving here, Yang Yuan had already issued an order prohibiting the generals of all combat units from going to Xuzhou to pay their respects.

It is dangerous for the head coach to leave the base, but sometimes it is necessary.

However, Yang Yuan doesn't need to.

Through the military intelligence system, the generals' reporting system, and the increasingly powerful Tongzhouhui and Jisufang, he can simultaneously obtain intelligence from four different systems, allowing him to fully understand the situation by listening to all sides.

Such a massive amount of information could not possibly be digested, absorbed, analyzed, and understood by him alone.

That's what his vast staff of general staff did.

After combining intelligence from various sources, analyzing, comparing, and repeatedly verifying it, a panoramic war table can dynamically and in real-time present the latest situation of both sides.

Most of these advisors came from local academies.

Originally, they were just Yang Yuan's advisors, but after learning that Yang Yuan was actually Master Mu, they now address him respectfully as "Master Mu" whenever they see him.

This is a title unique to them. Those who haven't learned it at the academy and listened to Mr. Muyi's lectures are not qualified to call Yang Yuan this.

Therefore, if you see someone addressing Yang Yuan as "Master" instead of "Prime Minister" or "Your Majesty," you will know that this person is Yang Yuan's student.

With such a massive "computer" at his disposal, Yang Yuan only stayed in Xuchang for a few days before coming up with a plan for a full-scale attack.

On the Central Plains battlefield, Yang Yuan assigned troops from various routes to the three commanders.

Wu Ting was in charge of advancing northeastward from the directions of Yuzhou, Chuqiu, and Caozhou (Caoxian). This move was mainly to prevent the Jin army in Shandong's western route from coming to the aid of Nanjing.

Although the new Jindu is currently fighting along the Shandong East Coast, and it is unlikely that Shandong West Coast will be able to divide its forces again, such a major military and national matter must be taken into account even if there is a possibility of something going wrong.

Yu Yunwen led the Imperial Guards, with Xin Qiji as the vanguard, to attack the Guide Prefecture and Suizhou line, heading straight for Bianliang City.

Shao Hongyuan moved from Junzhou to Xinzheng, Xingyang, and Heyin, severing the connection between Bianliang and Luoyang.

On the Shaanxi battlefield, the Western Xia army and the Lizhou army coordinated from the north and south to cut off the communication between the various Jin armies in Shaanxi and defeat them one by one.

Li Dao, the sixth brother, continued to attack Yaoguan. If he could break through it, he would pass through Lantian and head straight for Chang'an.

If they still cannot capture Yaoguan, they will march north and make a show of attacking the Tongguan line.

Whether he attacks Tongguan or turns around to attack Luoyang is a question that will keep the Jin army guessing.

After the military orders were issued, Yang Yuan led Yang Shou and Gan Quan, following behind Shao Hongyuan's troops, and headed towards Xinzheng.

His move forward meant that the entire command center had moved forward.
The Jin Dynasty is now truly in a precarious state.

Even though Wanyan Liang was confined within the high walls of Yanjing, he had already felt the chill of winter early on.

The Jin people had lost their fighting spirit, and the entry of the New Jin Empire into the war dealt them a fatal blow.

If surrender is the only option, should it be to surrender to the Song Dynasty or to the Xin Jin Dynasty?
Do we even need to choose?

Many officials of the Jin Dynasty, especially those of Jurchen origin, had intricate connections with many high-ranking officials of the new Jin Dynasty.

At this point, they would naturally be more inclined to surrender to the new Jin dynasty.

Wanyan Liang originally had considerable confidence when he was only resisting the Song army.

He was confident that with its layers of defenses, it would take the Song Dynasty at least several years to completely occupy the entire Nanjing Road.

However, in that case, the Song Dynasty would not be able to occupy Nanjing Road.

Even the State of Song could not withstand the enormous losses incurred during such a long campaign.

Therefore, in Wanyan Liang's original plan, he also devised a plan to hold Luoyang, gather the main force in Kaifeng, and wait for an opportunity to counterattack Xuzhou.

On the Shaanxi side, the priority was to protect Chang'an, while simultaneously conscripting troops from the Hedong South Road, Hedong North Road (Shanxi), Hebei East Road, and Hebei West Road (Hebei) to reinforce the Nanjing Road and Shaanxi battlefields.

At the same time, he also sent messengers to contact Tatar and Western Xia generals separately, attempting to win them over and use them for his own purposes.

However, after the Jurchen Empire, whose roots were even more solid than his, joined the war, it completely destroyed Wanyan Liang's spirit and morale.

"If the battle in Jingzhao Prefecture becomes a stalemate, and Nanjing Road can hold Luoyang and Kaifeng, and fight the Song Dynasty in a war of attrition and national strength, then I still have a sliver of hope."

Wanyan Liang wrapped himself in a mink cloak, completely devoid of his former high spirits.

The first peak of Wushan was the place he wanted to stand on all his life.

But that place has now become a hill in Yang Yuan's back garden.

There is a Wushan Academy up there, and next to the academy, there is a newly built, very grand Taoist temple that looks like a wealthy family's villa.

His figure could not be found standing there.

Standing next to Wanyan Liang was Prime Minister Zhang Hao.

The current situation in the Jin Kingdom has caused him to be so worried that his hair and beard have turned completely white, and even his eyebrows have turned frost-colored.

It had already started snowing in Yanjing.

The heavy snowfall made him, with his white hair and beard, look like an old man in the snow.

He exhaled a heavy breath; he understood what Wanyan Liang meant.

In terms of national strength, the Song Dynasty was superior to the Jin Dynasty, but when it came to a war of attrition, the Song Dynasty could not compete with the Jin Dynasty.

Because the Jin state could maximize the depletion of its Han Chinese population, using them as fuel in the war.

The State of Song could not possibly use the same methods to fight him.

However, Shinjin has joined the war. Unlike previous battles, this time, Shinjin seems poised to unleash its full national strength in this conflict.

This was the most fatal blow to the Jin Dynasty.

Zhang Hao already knew that many ministers had begun to secretly contact Xin Jin.

He was absolutely loyal to Wanyan Liang, but he didn't have the courage to expose these things to Wanyan Liang.

Because many of the powerful and influential figures who secretly began to consider their options had intricate connections with his family.

All Zhang Hao could do was repay Wanyan Liang's kindness in recognizing his talent with his own death.

He couldn't bring himself to carry out a massacre-like purge against those powerful figures who were beginning to harbor disloyal intentions.

It wasn't just that he couldn't bear to, but he also didn't think that doing so would change anything, and might even... backfire, forcing more people to flock to New Gold faster.

"Your Majesty, the Song Dynasty was once on the verge of collapse. Emperor Zhao Gou of the Song Dynasty was subjected to a thorough search of the mountains and seas by our Great Jin Dynasty, and lived in constant fear."

But in the end, didn't the Song people re-establish their state in Jiangnan, and only after many years of forbearance did they achieve their current prestige?

Zhang Hao advised, "Our Great Jin is in a much better position than the Song Dynasty was back then. Why should Your Majesty be discouraged?"

Wanyan Liang turned to Zhang Hao, looked at his snow-white beard and hair, sighed softly, brushed the snow off his beard, and asked in a low voice:
"Does the Emperor still have a chance to make a comeback?"

Zhang Hao hesitated for a moment. Although he knew that Wanyan Liang was unpredictable, he still mustered his courage and said:
"Your Majesty, if Kaifeng falls, Luoyang will be difficult to defend; if Nanjing Road falls, Shaanxi will be difficult to defend."

Therefore, this old minister dares to suggest that we should act decisively and send envoys to the Song Dynasty to sue for peace.

Wanyan Liang's gaze suddenly sharpened.

Zhang Hao remained unfazed and continued, "Yang Yuan clearly harbors ambitions to usurp the throne of the Song Dynasty."

Thus, the immense achievement of restoring the Central Plains was enough for him.

If our Jin state were to submit to the Song dynasty and sue for peace as soon as possible, and spare no expense to win over Yang Yuan, this powerful minister of the Song dynasty, he might very well agree.

We can abandon the Central Plains, as long as our Jin Dynasty retains the former Liao and Yan-Yun regions, we may still have a chance to make a comeback.

Wanyan Liang narrowed his eyes and slowly said, "If I really want to surrender, I might as well surrender the donkey's hoof, since they are all members of my Wanyan family."

Zhang Hao shook his head and said, "Absolutely not! Yang Yuan may not be willing to kill His Majesty, but Donkey Hoof will not let His Majesty off the hook."

Moreover, with much turmoil in the government and the public, and because they shared the same lineage as Shinjin, they were more inclined to side with Shinjin.

Under these circumstances, there is a good chance that Your Majesty will be able to sue for peace with Yang Yuan.

Because only Yang Yuan was worried that if the pressure was too great, Da Jin might simply invest in Xin Jin instead.

In that case, he wouldn't have time to fight back, and Xinjin would reap the benefits.

For Yang Yuan, it would be better to leave behind a weak Jin state that no longer posed much of a threat to him and continue to fight against the new Jin.

This is what's in his best interest.

"Um……"

Upon hearing this, Wanyan Liang was somewhat tempted.

Upon further reflection, I found Zhang Hao's words to be quite reasonable and to be the most likely plan to be implemented.

"What the Prime Minister says makes a lot of sense."

Wanyan Liang shook his cloak, letting the snow fall, and turned to walk towards the main hall.

Amidst the heavy snowfall, his somewhat sorrowful voice rang out:

"I will immediately dispatch an envoy with wealth and women to see Yang Yuan!"

Zhang Hao wept with joy. His usually arrogant emperor had finally been willing to swallow his pride for a moment.

Perhaps, there really is still hope for Dajin.

Wanyan Liang returned to the palace and sat there for a long time before deciding on the envoy: Cai Gui.

Cai Gui's grandfather was the Pacification Commissioner of Yanshan Prefecture and Grand Academician of Baohe Hall during the Northern Song Dynasty. He later surrendered to the Jin Dynasty and was appointed as a clerk by the Jin.

His son, Cai Songnian, served as the Right Chancellor in the Jin Dynasty. He was exceptionally talented in literature and was highly regarded by Wanyan Liang. He passed away a few years ago.

Cai Gui is the son of Cai Songnian. He composed a poem about chrysanthemums at the age of seven, which was surprisingly profound. As an adult, he was known as the best debater in the world. He is currently serving as a Hanlin Compiler in the Jin Dynasty court.

This man's ancestors were Song Dynasty officials. He is also quick-witted, eloquent, and exceptionally talented in literature. He might be evenly matched with Yang Yuan, the top scholar of the Song Dynasty who achieved the highest honors in all three levels of the imperial examinations.

After much deliberation, Wanyan Liang reluctantly ordered, "Someone, tell Shaliguzhen, Tongjia, and Keliyetemeduo to prepare for their upcoming... journey!"

Shaliguzhen, whose full name is Wanyan Shaliguzhen, was Wanyan Liang's cousin. She was forced into the palace by Wanyan Liang because of her exceptional beauty.

Moreover, Wanyan Liang had a perverse sense of humor, and every time he had sex with Shaliguzhen, he would have her original husband stand guard outside the palace.

Chrysethmedo was the most outstanding among the beauties in his harem.

As for Tong Jia, she is his daughter. Although she is young, she has already grown into a very beautiful young woman.

Having reached a dead end, Wanyan Liang decided to sue for peace with the Song Dynasty.

At this time, Yang Yuan's troops had already reached Zhuxian Town!

(End of this chapter)