Usurpation of Mongolia: My father-in-law is Genghis Khan

Chapter 198 Bianliang City Falls, Jin Kingdom Destroyed!
"Your Majesty is wise!"

Zheng Qingzhi was a man of outstanding talent in his time, and he naturally knew that lying in front of someone like Zhao Shuo was pointless.

He bowed slightly and said, "Therefore, our Song Kingdom desperately needs the Mongol army to support us and boost morale. Without the help of the Mongol soldiers, we fear that a single misstep could result in the loss of our elite troops. If Your Majesty agrees to send troops, we are willing to offer all the wealth and women that our Song Kingdom gains from this campaign in Henan to Your Majesty!"

"Keep these riches and women for yourselves! The Song army has been wiped out. Wouldn't it be better if I destroyed both the Jin and Song kingdoms together?"

That's highly unlikely.

The Song army is currently only in a critical situation. If Zhao Shuo refuses to send troops to aid Song, the Song state will have no choice but to retreat. The worst-case scenario is total annihilation. But more likely, a large portion of the army will escape back. After all, Bianliang is near the Yellow River, and the Song state has the support of its navy.

What if Zhao Shuo directly attacked the Song army?
If the Song and Jin states negotiated peace and joined forces to resist Zhao Shuo, then the war would be even more difficult.

If all else fails, the Song state has another powerful weapon: to breach the Yellow River and cause the main Song army, the main Jin army, and Zhao Shuo's main force to perish together.

Throughout history, the tactic of digging up the Yellow River was indispensable when armies besieged Bianliang.

At the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, the Jin army marched south. Du Chong, the commander-in-chief of the Song Dynasty, felt that he could not deal with the Jin army, so he breached the Yellow River, and the Yellow River "diverted into the Huai River and flowed into the sea", which changed the waterway for thousands of years.

Historical records indicate that after the Battle of Sanfeng Mountain, the Jin dynasty planned to use the Yellow River to perish alongside the Mongol army. The Jin dispatched Wanyan Majinchu and Shao Gongmao with ten thousand laborers to dig a ditch in the Yellow River. However, the Mongol cavalry arrived too quickly, slaughtering most of the laborers; only a few hundred escaped. Had the Mongol army arrived any later, their main force would likely have been wiped out at the gates of Bianliang (Kaifeng).

Zhao Shuo was unwilling to attack Bianliang himself because Bianliang was too wretched. It suffered from both a plague caused by a large influx of people and the danger of the Yellow River breaching its banks. These were natural disasters, rendering even the most elite troops useless.

Of course, even if Zheng Qingzhi were scared to death, he wouldn't dare gamble on the fate of the Song state!
He quickly said, "If Your Majesty is willing to send troops to help, the Song Kingdom is willing to offer half of all the cities in Henan, except for Bianliang City, to Your Majesty!"

Zhao Shuo shook his head again and said, "The Song Kingdom's sincerity is insufficient."

"Does Your Majesty still desire Bianliang?"

"I want it all!" Zhao Shuo slammed his hand on the table and said, "All the cities in Henan, as well as the women, wealth, and gold and silk, shall belong to me!"

"Your Majesty, please have mercy!"

Zheng Qingzhi is absolutely fed up with this now.

His proposal of "allying with the Mongols to resist the Jin" is excellent. The Song Dynasty's recovery of Henan and the recapture of the old capital are just around the corner.

As a result of Xue Ji's disastrous command, nearly 100,000 elite Song soldiers were all plunged into an extremely dangerous situation, forcing him to seek help from Zhao Shuo.

Although Zhao Shuo's proposed conditions were somewhat better than the Song army being defeated by the Jin army and forced to retreat in disgrace, the improvement was still limited.

The ordinary soldiers and civilians could not understand the current crisis facing the Song army. They only thought that the court was weak and easily bullied, which was why it had signed such a humiliating and unequal agreement.

Shi Miyuan and Zheng Qingzhi are the biggest sinners!

He took a deep breath and said solemnly, "Your Majesty, I dare not agree to your conditions, not only would I, Zheng, dare not agree to them, but even the Prime Minister Shi would dare not agree to them. Whoever agrees will be regarded as a traitor and everyone has the right to kill him!"

"Oh, so you're being called traitors! That's easy." Zhao Shuo smiled slightly and said, "How about this, I can give up Bianliang and the other half of the cities in Henan. However, the Jin Kingdom has already agreed to pay me four million strings of cash in tribute every year. Now that the Jin Kingdom has been destroyed by your Song Kingdom, who will I ask for this four million strings of cash? How about this, if your Song Kingdom takes half of the cities in Henan, you will increase the annual tribute by two million strings of cash."

"This...is not impossible."

Zheng Qingzhi certainly understood that after such an unprecedented calamity, the tax revenue of half of the cities in Henan would definitely not reach two million strings of cash per year within three to five years.

In other words, the Song army gained half of Henan, but not only did they gain nothing economically, they also had to pay Zhao Shuo money.

But isn't this situation the only one that has forced us to this point?

Furthermore, for the Song Dynasty, spending money to buy peace had almost become a basic national policy.

More importantly, what a tremendous political prestige it would be to restore Henan and recover the old capital! We can't just look at the economic benefits.

Zhao Shuo said, "Don't rush. In addition to the annual tribute of two million strings of cash, I also want the Song Kingdom to pay me eight thousand shi of saltpeter and one thousand shi of sulfur every year."

The Song court had been secretly restricting the trade of sulfur and saltpeter between the north and south, resulting in a persistent shortage of gunpowder for Zhao Shuo.

Now things are much better. Zhao Shuo is no longer buying them; he is directly demanding that the Southern Song Dynasty pay tribute with 30% of its saltpeter and sulfur production!

This quantity is by no means small, and combined with the production of sulfur and saltpeter in the north, it can basically meet Zhao Shuo's needs for gunpowder. After all, Zhao Shuo's newly acquired territory in Shaanxi still has several saltpeter mines.

Of course, it wasn't too much; it was just the right amount that the State of Song would find very difficult to accept, but they could grit their teeth and accept it.

After thinking about it for a moment, Zheng Qingzhi decided to agree.

He bowed slightly and said, "But I wonder, Your Majesty, who you intend to appoint as commander and how many troops you will send to assist my Song Kingdom?"

"Of course, I will personally lead 50,000 elite troops to Bianliang. Just remember, I keep my word. I will only be there to support you, not to fight for you."

"If Your Majesty is willing to lead 50,000 troops to reinforce the city, our Song Kingdom will surely be able to conquer Bianliang!"

Upon hearing that Zhao Shuo was personally leading the troops, with a force exceeding 50,000, Zheng Qingzhi was overjoyed.

With so many cavalrymen outside Bianliang, even if they killed the Jin army, they wouldn't dare to break through the siege. This would even save Meng Gong's siege project and conserve a lot of military funds.

In a daze, Zheng Qingzhi felt that Zhao Shuo's conditions were not too unreasonable.

……

……

Zhao Shuo led the main force and stationed it in Ruzhou near Sanfeng Mountain, closely monitoring the war between the Song and Jin dynasties.

After the two had reached an agreement, Zhao Shuo immediately mustered his troops and prepared to depart. Zheng Qingzhi, escorted by five hundred elite cavalry, hurried to the Song army camp outside Bianliang City.

Xue Ji has made such a huge blunder that even Shi Miyuan cannot protect him. The Song Dynasty court has decided to remove Xue Ji from his posts as Privy Councilor and Vice Chancellor, and instead appoint him as Grand Academician of the Guanwen Hall, Prefect of Shaoxing, and Pacification Commissioner of Eastern Zhejiang.

The commander of the nearly 200,000 Song troops outside Bianliang City was changed to Zheng Qingzhi.

That's the good thing about civil officials holding military power. After Zheng Qingzhi summoned the generals and read out the imperial edict, he took office without any fuss.

Then, Zheng Qingzhi announced to the generals that Zhao Shuo's 50,000-strong army would soon arrive to support the Song army.

As the generals relayed the news to their troops, the morale of the Song army immediately soared.

"Wan Sheng! Wan Sheng!"

Three days later, when Zhao Shuo's army of 50,000 arrived at the gates of Bianliang, the morale of the Song army reached its peak.

Banners fluttered, bugle calls rippled, men shouted and horses neighed, helmets gleamed and armor shone. The Song soldiers roared "Victory!" with overwhelming force.

These ordinary soldiers were unaware of the agreement that Zhao Shuo's army would only provide cover and not engage in battle.

Besides, even if we knew, it wouldn't matter.

Are the Song army really incapable of fighting? Not at all! In the Battle of Xianren Pass, with the full support of Gui Ruyuan and the command of Cao Youwen, the Song army still managed to fight Zhao Shuo quite well.
Wasn't the current crisis facing the Song army caused by Xue Ji's reckless actions, resulting in heavy losses and a significant drop in morale?
Now that Zheng Qingzhi has replaced Xue Ji in the Song Dynasty, and Zhao Shuo has 50,000 troops to support them, who are they afraid of?

Moreover, everyone has experience now, and with the Mongol army in the lead, the rewards for military merit will be much fairer than before!

With morale high, is it really impossible for an army of nearly 200,000 to break through Bianliang?
Therefore, the Song army's attack on the Jin army today is a completely different story compared to the days before.

"Charge! Kill!"

"Break through Bianliang and slaughter the Wanyan clan!"

"The first to reach the summit will be rewarded with five hundred taels of silver!"

"The restoration of the old capital is just around the corner!"

……

Under the cover of catapults, the Song army, shouting and carrying ladders and siege towers, launched a fierce attack on Bianliang City.

"kill!"

Zhang Jun has been feeling incredibly stifled lately.

When the Zhongshun Army first filled in the moat, they suffered over three thousand casualties. Later, Xue Ji ordered various units to attack Bianliang in rotation, and the Zhongshun Army suffered another two thousand casualties.

On one hand, he hated Xue Ji's disastrous command, and on the other hand, he loathed the Jin army to the core. However, the morale of the Zhongshun army was low, and Zhang Jun, though filled with rage, could only watch helplessly as the Jin army swaggered around on the walls of Bianliang.

With Zhao Shuo personally leading an army of 50,000 to reinforce them today, and Zheng Qingzhi also providing the Zhongshun Army with siege towers, the Zhongshun Army's morale is soaring.

As the suspension bridge of the siege tower descended, Zhang Jun personally led dozens of heavily armored infantrymen dressed in cloth armor to the top of the Bianliang city wall.

Clearly, the Jin army's morale plummeted due to the arrival of Zhao Shuo's army, and they were extremely unaccustomed to the Song army's suddenly boosted morale, retreating steadily.

Just as Zhang Jun had carved out a three-zhang-long clearing near the suspension bridge, the Song army's reinforcements were about to scale the city wall!
If these Song troops were to gain a foothold, Bianliang would be on the verge of falling!

"Stop them, stop them!"

Upon seeing this, a Jin general clad in heavy armor quickly led two hundred Jurchen elites to block Zhang Jun's path.

when!
Zhang Jun's heavy iron spear and the golden general's iron spear clashed heavily together.

"Damn, this golden dog is incredibly strong!"

Zhang Jun knew he had met his match, cursed under his breath, and thrust his spear forward again. However, he hadn't expected that this Jin general was not only strong, but also no less skilled in martial arts!

Dang Dang Dang!
The two exchanged blows for more than ten moves, and were evenly matched, with neither giving an inch.

The heavily armored soldiers fighting beside them had already been replaced three times in the fierce battle, and the area was littered with corpses.

"not good!"

Zhang Jun suddenly felt a tightness under his feet, as a heavily wounded Jin soldier who had fallen to the ground secretly crawled down to his feet and tightly hugged his left leg.

"Death!"

The golden general roared and, taking advantage of Zhang Jun's momentary lapse in concentration, stabbed him while he was distracted.

Pfft!
Helpless, Zhang Jun could only fall to the side with all his might, using his weight to break free from the Jin army soldier's restraints.

The golden general thrust his spear again, aiming at Zhang Jun who was lying on the ground!
Zhang Jun rolled to the side, dodging the shot.

But it was clear that Zhang Jun, clad in heavy armor, was lying on the ground with limited mobility and had no chance of dodging the third shot.

However, at that moment...

"go to hell!"

The Song soldiers behind Zhang Jun wielded heavy axes and slashed down at the Jin general!
when!
The Jin general quickly raised his spear to meet the attack, and then, with lightning speed, the spear thrust straight at the armored soldier's face.

"what!"

"what!"

Almost simultaneously, two screams rang out from the armored soldier and the golden general!
The armored soldier was pierced in the face by the golden general's spear, blood gushing out and flesh becoming a bloody mess. Meanwhile, Zhang Jun seized the opportunity and thrust his spear upwards from the groin of the golden general!
Pfft!
Pfft!
The two bodies fell to the ground almost simultaneously!
"Liu Zi, I'll avenge you!"

Heartbroken at the death of his personal guard who had just saved his life, Zhang Jun drew his spear and charged towards the Jin army in front of him.

However, while he was in pain, the Jin army was in far greater pain!
To put it bluntly, this man named Wang Xiaoliu was just Zhang Jun's personal guard, not even a centurion.

The Jin general standing before them was a renowned figure among the Jurchens!
General Chenglin is dead!

"If General Chenglin dies in battle, we won't survive either!"

"Kill! Kill them all! Avenge General Chenglin!" ...

The Jin general's personal guards, and even the Jin soldiers on the entire city wall, surged wildly toward Zhang Jun!
There was no way around it; this was Wanyan Chenglin!

The foremost general of the Jin Dynasty royal family, and the younger brother of Wanyan Baisa, the Grand Councilor of the Jin Dynasty! In the face of the Jin Dynasty's gradual decline, it would not be an exaggeration to call him the fiercest general of the Jurchens!

Just die?
Wanyan Chenglin's personal guards will all be punished according to military law!

Not to mention, Wanyan Chenglin's easy death instilled despair and resentment in the Jin army. They charged towards Zhang Jun with reckless abandon.

Zhang Jun gradually lost the ability to resist and led his troops through the siege towers back to the Song army camp.

On that day, the Zhongshun Army suffered 762 casualties. The Jin army, due to the large number of conscripted soldiers present, was weak and suffered over 3,000 casualties, including Wanyan Chenglin!
Without a doubt, although the Song army failed to breach the city today, the Jin army did indeed suffer a major defeat.

They certainly understood the root cause of this defeat, and that very night they had the messenger knocked down from the city wall to meet Zhao Shuo.

"To preserve our nation's destiny, our Jin Kingdom offered Your Majesty two provinces, along with valuables and women worth three million taels of gold and thirty million taels of silver. Now that the handover has just been completed, Your Majesty has torn up the treaty and sent troops to aid the Song Dynasty. What will the world think of Your Majesty? We urge Your Majesty to reconsider!"

dong dong dong~~
Inside the central command tent, the Jin envoy, Wanyan Nashen, filled with grief and indignation, and hoping that Zhao Shuo would heed his advice and withdraw his troops, kowtowed repeatedly, earnestly pleading.

However, Zhao Shuo snorted coldly and said, "Wanyan Nashen, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want. What evidence do you have that I sent troops to help Song?"

"Your 50,000 troops are right here. What other proof do you need?"

"They're just here with me to watch the battle between the Song and Jin armies and broaden their horizons. Have you seen any of my troops mobilize to besiege Bianliang?"

"This...this...is..."

Wanyan Nashen was so angry that he trembled all over, but he couldn't utter a complete sentence.

What can I say?

Zhao Shuo's army did not attack Bianliang; only Song troops were dispatched. Therefore, it cannot be said that Zhao Shuo's statement was entirely without merit.

More importantly, what's the point of saying anything now?

Zhao Shuo is currently only holding the line for the Song army. If Zhao Shuo is really provoked and attacks the city together with the Song army, wouldn't the Jin Dynasty perish even faster?

After composing himself for a while, he took a deep breath and said, "Things have come to this point, there's no point in saying more. I hope Your Majesty will keep your promise and only observe the battle without sending troops. I will immediately return to report to the court and vow to fight the Song Kingdom to the bitter end!"

"It's easy to leave without seeing him off!"

Next, the Song army launched several more fierce attacks on Bianliang. Despite the high morale of the Song army, the Jin army, facing imminent national subjugation and annihilation, fought like cornered beasts. The Song army still made no substantial progress and thus changed to a strategy of long-term siege.

While engaging the Jin army in long-range weaponry battles, they continued to order their local troops to fill the moat.

In the blink of an eye, three months have passed.

The moat surrounding Bianliang has been filled in.

Meng Gong also personally led the elite cavalry of the Zhongshun Army to launch an ambush, annihilating the seven hundred Jin Kingdom cavalrymen of Puchaguannu, thus ensuring the army's logistics.

Counting the days, it has been more than eight months since more than two million soldiers, civilians and people were moved to Bianliang.

At this time, Bianliang City had become a living hell.

That massive plague has passed, but it caused the deaths of over 800,000 soldiers and civilians.

The price of rice reached twenty taels of silver per liter, making it difficult even for ordinary officials to make ends meet. All the leather goods and utensils in their homes were boiled and eaten. The so-called noble mansions, market buildings, and shops, which were once worth far more than a thousand strings of cash, were all sold, but they couldn't even be exchanged for ten taels of silver.

Ordinary people in the city had long since run out of food, and cannibalism had gone from being done secretly to being done openly.

There was even a Jurchen named Ukuli who took the opportunity to stir up trouble, claiming that he had invented a kind of elixir that would allow soldiers to consume no food.

Wanyan Shouxu almost believed it, but after being earnestly advised by Zhang Tiangang, the Minister of Rites, he finally realized his mistake and executed Wukuli.

In short, by now, Bianliang City, which originally had a population of 2.3 million, has only 1.2 million left.

Moreover, the population is decreasing by 10,000 people per day. Even the Jin Dynasty's conscripted soldiers cannot guarantee supplies, only able to provide half of the normal daily demand.
The Jin dynasty was at its end, and its demise was imminent.

However, the Jin court remained stubborn and continued to defend Bianliang to the death.

Of course, not everyone was willing to be buried with the Jin dynasty.

For example, Cui Li, the Commandant of Anping.

If history had unfolded normally, the Mongol army, having suffered setbacks in its prolonged siege of Bianliang, would have temporarily negotiated peace with the Jin dynasty and withdrawn its troops.

Seeing that Bianliang was truly indefensible, Wanyan Shouxu fled to Caizhou.

Because he commanded 3,000 elite troops, Cui Li was appointed as the Western Marshal of Bianliang, giving him control of a quarter of the city's military power. Taking advantage of this, he launched a coup under the pretext of finding a way for the people of Bianliang to survive, seized the city, and handed it over to the Mongols.

With the Song army and Zhao Shuo's troops now besieging Bianliang, Wanyan Shouxu has no chance to escape.

With all the high-ranking officials of the Jin Dynasty present, Cui Li naturally had no chance to take the position of Western Marshal.

Not only that, Cui Li's elite troops were mainly Han Chinese, which made the Jin court very wary. They were only used as reserves, and were not allowed to approach the city walls.

That night, Cui Li summoned his two brothers, Cui Yi and Cui Kan, as well as his three trusted generals, Zhang Xinzhi, Han Duo, and Yao Anguo.

"The situation is very bad now!"

Cui Lidao said, "The imperial court clearly doesn't trust us and has consistently prevented us from participating in the defense of the city. Now the situation is becoming increasingly critical, the food rations for the conscripted soldiers have been halved, and cannibalism is rampant within the city. What if one day the imperial court decides we are unreliable and simply eliminates us?"

"Brother, whatever you say, we'll do!" Cui Kan gritted his teeth and said, "If all else fails, we'll just send troops to attack one of the city gates of Bianliang and let the Song and Mongol armies into the city!"

"Yes! Let's fight the Jurchens!"

"We are Han Chinese, why should we be buried with the Jin dynasty?"

"Having rendered such a great service by surrendering the city, our official positions might even be promoted further!"

……

Everyone responded.

Cui Li shook his head slightly and said, "The Jin army has stationed heavy troops at the city gates and is very wary of us. The idea of ​​attacking the city gates and surrendering the city is probably not very reliable."

"Then what do you think we should do?"

“I’ll introduce you to someone, and then you’ll understand.”

clap clap clap!
As Cui Li clapped his hands three times, a person emerged from behind the screen.

"Brother Boshulu?" Yao Anguo exclaimed in surprise, then his face lit up with joy. "Does the Commandant mean to attack the palace directly?"

Boshulu Changge, a Jurchen, guarded the Zhaoqing Gate of the imperial palace.

Cui Li nodded and said, "The Song people have always been shouting to kill all the Wanyan clan, but they have never said to kill all the Jurchens. King Zhao Shuo captured so many Jurchen soldiers in the Battle of Sanfeng Mountain, but he didn't kill them all! Bo Shulu Changge has now agreed to work with us on a big plan."

Boshulu Changge repeatedly cupped his hands and said, "After the fall of Bianliang, I would like to ask you all to say a few good words for me, a Jurchen."

"Easy to say, easy to say."

Seeing that his elder brother had quietly turned Bo Shulu Changge to the side, Cui Kan was even more confident about this operation.

He asked impatiently, "What is the current situation of the troops stationed in various parts of Bianliang?"

As a noblewoman of the Jurchen people, Boshulu Changge was quite clear about the city's defenses. He said, "The conscripted soldiers have only been eating half the usual amount of food each day for more than half a month now. Their fighting strength is very insufficient. They can still defend the city, but they are completely useless for attacking. Originally, the court had 20,000 elite troops stationed in Bianliang, but now there are only 15,000 left, including your 3,000 troops."

"Therefore, the imperial court only has 12,000 elite troops left. Most of these elite troops are stationed near the city gates and walls, serving as the backbone of the city's defense. The elite troops in the palace number only about 1,500. This includes my 150 men. Of these 150 men, I can absolutely control 50, so opening the Zhaoqing Gate for you is no problem at all."

"Okay! Done!"

Zhang Xinzhi's eyes lit up, and he said, "Three thousand troops are less than fifteen hundred. We can use speed to capture Wanyan Shouxu alive and take control of the palace. Then, the city will be ablaze and in chaos. The army outside the city can take the opportunity to attack, and Bianliang will fall!"

"That's right, that's exactly the point!" Han Duo nodded in agreement. "Even if the Song army's siege is unsuccessful and they can't capture Bianliang for the time being, as long as we control the palace and the emperor, our lives will be safe. This is a worthwhile deal!"

After discussion, everyone agreed to launch the operation the following evening.

First, Cui Li held a banquet and killed Wanyan Su, the military supervisor sent to him by the Jin state.

Then, Cui Li sent a hundred of his trusted men to set fires all over Bianliang City around midnight that night, creating chaos.

Finally, Zhaoqing Gate opened.

"Bianliang City has fallen!"

"The Song army has entered the city!"

"The Mongol army has entered the city!"

"Capture Wanyan Shouxu alive!"

"Don't resist! We just want to capture Wanyan Shouxu alive and find a way to survive for the people of the city!"

"Those who resist will die, those who kneel and surrender will live!"

……

Cui Li, leading Zhang Xinzhi, Han Duo, Yao Anguo, and others, stormed into the palace, shouting various incitement slogans.

Shouts and flames filled the city of Bianliang, alarming Zheng Qingzhi, who immediately ordered the main force of the Song army to launch a fierce attack on Bianliang from four directions.

Zhao Shuo also woke up, stepped out of the tent, and looked towards Bianliang City with binoculars in hand.

"Your Majesty, do you think we can break through the city tonight?" Lu Zibu asked with some worry.

There's a story behind his presence here.

With the fall of the Jin Dynasty imminent, Lu Zibu was filled with excitement and longed to travel south to the Central Plains to witness the moment of the Jin Dynasty's demise. Therefore, Lu Zibu wrote to Zhao Shuo, requesting permission.

Zhao Shuo felt that Lu Zibu had worked diligently and conscientiously for his "Mongolian-Han unity" plan over the years, so he agreed.

"Even if we can't break through tonight, we can fight for another day tomorrow and that should be enough."

Zhao Shuo said, "It has always been easy to die a heroic death, but difficult to die a martyr with composure. After such a long siege, the Jin army's fighting spirit has long been exhausted. Now they are just gritting their teeth and holding on. Moreover, I estimate that their conscripted soldiers' food supply should have been insufficient long ago. Even without this chaos in the city, if the Song army had attacked for a few more days, Bianliang would have fallen."

"That's wonderful! Emperor Wanyan Shouxu is in the city, as are the main civil and military officials of the Jin Kingdom. Once Bianliang falls, the Jin Kingdom is finished!"

Lu Zibu was extremely excited.

Twenty years ago, he entered the grasslands at the tender age of twenty; how could he have imagined what would happen today?
Now, the task his father entrusted to him was about to be accomplished. Zhao Shuo had indeed become a very important figure in Mongolia, and he was implementing a policy of unity between the Mongols and the Han Chinese. Furthermore, his army was mainly composed of Han Chinese Eight Banners soldiers, who even addressed the emperor as "The Northern Emperor Zhao" and "Long Live the King." It probably wouldn't be long before he was crowned emperor!
Furthermore, his father, Lu You, passed away two years after he set off for the grasslands.

The second elder brother arrived at the grasslands to deliver the news of the death and gave him a poem by their father, "To My Son": "I know that all things are empty after death, but I grieve that I cannot see the unification of the nine provinces. When the royal army has pacified the Central Plains, remember to tell your grandfather at the family sacrifice."

"Father, may your spirit look down from heaven, for your wish will soon be fulfilled! Bianliang City will soon return to the hands of the Han people!"

"The day when the royal army pacifies the Central Plains is not far off! When Your Majesty dons the yellow robe, marches north to seal the wolf's lair, and south to capture the dragon, what you will rule will be far more than just the land of the Nine Provinces! Son, although I did not have the chance to care for you in your old age and see you off in your final days, I have fulfilled your deepest wish!"

Lu Zibu thought to himself, his eyes getting a little moist.

(End of this chapter)