The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 427 Court Struggle
Zhao Ding, the Vice Chancellor, also spoke up: "Lord Li, Lord Qin, since you both feel that war is the right thing to do now, why don't you submit a joint petition to His Majesty to send troops?"

Li Guang, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, also said, "Let's submit a memorial together."

A group of pro-war ministers were all indignant and wished they could immediately send troops to recapture Kaifeng.

Seeing that they had all fallen for his trick, Qin Hui couldn't help but chuckle to himself: You are all too young and don't know what kind of person Zhao Gou is. The more excited you are now, the more disappointed you will be when Zhao Gou throws a bucket of cold water on you. Then you will realize how good the Seventeenth Prince is.

Hey!
I, Qin, have once again rendered a great service to the Northern Song Dynasty, hahahahaha.

Qin Hui didn't need to lift a finger. The next morning at court, Li Gang, a Grand Academician of the Guanwen Hall, spoke first: "Your Majesty, the pseudo-Song has just defeated Jin Wuzhu and is sending troops to recapture Kaifeng. If the pseudo-Song takes Kaifeng, our legitimate Song Dynasty will be in an awkward position. We should immediately send troops to capture Kaifeng before the pseudo-Song can act, and restore the prestige of our Song Dynasty."

Zhao Ding: "I second that!"

Li Guang: "Your subject submits!"

All three of them felt that their petition was reasonable, but Zhao Gou did not think so. He frowned and turned his gaze to the pro-peace ministers beside him.

Right Grand Counselor Fan Zongyin immediately stood up and said, "I think this is unacceptable."

Zhao Gou was overjoyed: You understand me best.

He immediately feigned a humble listening posture: "Minister Fan, please tell me, why do you think this is unacceptable?"

Fan Zongyin said, "Although the pseudo-Song defeated the Jin army, it was only a small reinforcement squad of 5,000 men, not the main force of the Jin army. Jin Wuzhu is also a mediocre talent. He led an army of 300,000 men and was defeated by Han Shizhong with only 8,000 men at Huangtiandang. This shows how useless Jin Wuzhu is. The pseudo-Song has only defeated a useless man and yet it has the audacity to claim that it can take back Kaifeng. In my opinion, the pseudo-Song will suffer greatly in the next battle."

Li Gang roared, "What nonsense are you spouting!"

Fan Zongyin: "Nonsense? Does Lord Li know why His Majesty abandoned Kaifeng back then? It was because the area around Kaifeng was all flat land, allowing the Jin cavalry to travel a thousand miles a day, moving freely and impossible to defend against. If the puppet Song attacked Kaifeng, even if Jin Wuzhu defended the city to the death, once a large number of Jin cavalry reinforcements arrived outside the city, the puppet Song would not even have a chance to escape unscathed. Do you want us to get involved in such a battle? Do you want to send all our soldiers to their deaths?"

Li Gang was speechless for a moment.

Fan Zongyin continued, "Besides, even if you take back Kaifeng, can you hold it? The terrain around Kaifeng is just a playground for the Jin cavalry. Even when our Song Dynasty was at its peak, we couldn't hold it. Now that you've taken back Kaifeng, what will you use to defend it?"

Li Gang didn't know what to say.

But Zhao Ding stepped forward to chime in, "Our Great Song also has powerful generals, such as Yue Fei and Han Shizhong. With these two as generals, even if we encounter the Jin army on the plains, we will certainly have the strength to fight them."

Lou Zhao, the Privy Councilor in charge of signing documents, stepped forward: "Yue Fei cannot be transferred to the Northern Expedition!"

Zhao Ding: "Why not?"

Lou Zhao said, "Yue Fei is currently dealing with the treacherous people of the pseudo-Chu Kingdom in Dongting Lake and has achieved some success. If Yue Fei is transferred away, the situation that Hunan region has managed to salvage will be lost again, and the pseudo-Chu Kingdom will become even more arrogant and out of control. At this time, we must rely on Yue Fei to deal with the pseudo-Chu Kingdom and we must not transfer him away."

Zhao Ding: "The pseudo-Chu is nothing more than a minor ailment; the Jin state is the real threat."

Lou Zhao: "Lord Zhao, you must have said the opposite. The pseudo-Chu Kingdom is causing trouble in Huting Lake, which is the heartland of our Great Song Dynasty. The pseudo-Chu Kingdom is the real threat."

Zhao Ding: "..."

Li Guang: "What about Han Shizhong? Surely Han Shizhong can be transferred to the Northern Expedition?" The remonstrating minister Chang Tong said: "The nation relies solely on Han Shizhong's troops. If Han Shizhong is transferred to the Northern Expedition, who will protect the Emperor?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Gou's expression changed!

He was terrified that he wouldn't have any soldiers around him.

When the Miao-Liu rebellion forced him to step down, it was because he lacked a loyal army. It was only thanks to Han Shizhong leading troops to his aid that he defeated Miao and Liu and restored him to the throne. In the fifth Song-Jin war, when the Jin army of 300,000 searched the mountains and seas to capture Zhao Gou, it was entirely due to Han Shizhong's decisive victory over Jin Wuzhu at Huangtiandang, driving the Jin army back to the north bank of the Yangtze River.

Han Shizhong was Zhao Gou's lifeline; he held onto him every day, trying to help him secure his throne within his sight and reach.

If Han Shizhong is sent on a northern expedition, traveling all the way to Kaifeng, what if there's a mutiny in Lin'an that forces me to step down? No, no! We absolutely cannot let that happen again.

Zhao Gou said, "Han Shizhong cannot leave."

Okay, Han Shizhong can't go, Yue Fei can't go, so who else is there? Liu Guangshi and Zhang Jun, those two scoundrels?
Zhao Gou: "Since Li Heng has already attacked Kaifeng once, let him go and attack Kaifeng again."

The pro-war ministers were immediately annoyed: "Li Heng is nothing but a bandit, he's useless."

Zhao Gou: "Only Li Heng is usable; no one else can be sent."

The pro-war faction: "..."

So annoying! Why is the court full of traitors and cowards? Why does the emperor favor these scumbags?

Why has my Great Song Dynasty become such a wretched state? Ah! Heavens above!

After the court assembly that day, Li Gang, Zhao Ding, Li Guang, and others went to the small pavilion in Xixi and sat down to drink in silence. Qin Hui walked over from the side, sighed deeply, and poured a cup for the ministers: "Drink! Alas! The court is in the hands of treacherous officials, and the emperor is biased. What should we do?"

Li Gang said blankly, "Yes, what should we do?"

Qin Hui: "Let's spend more time advising the Emperor. There will come a day when he will listen to us."

Zhao Ding: "Sigh! I hope so..."

Qin Hui: "Let's see what the seventeenth prince of the pseudo-Song dynasty will do. Gentlemen, there are no outsiders here. Tell me honestly, do you hope the seventeenth prince will successfully retake Kaifeng or not?"

As soon as he asked that question, everyone present showed a strange expression...

I dare not say what's on my mind.

Li Gang could only grunt and say, "Although Li Heng is a thief, he is still the Xiangyang Garrison Commander of our Great Song Dynasty. I still hope that Li Heng can take Kaifeng before the pseudo-Song Dynasty."

Zhao Ding, Li Guang, and the others also said, "We can only hope for Li Heng. Alas! Li Heng, you must live up to his expectations!"

(End of this chapter)