The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 466 The imperial commander’s personal expedition
Zhao Gou was in a real bind!
One head, two big.

Good news came back: Han Shizhong had blocked the first wave of the Jin army's offensive. This was originally a good thing, but bad news followed one after another.

The first piece of bad news was that Wei Liangchen, a member of the pro-peace faction, was killed by the Jin dynasty.

The saying goes, "When two countries are at war, the envoy shall not be killed."

Although the Jin Dynasty had previously engaged in some questionable practices such as "detaining envoys" and "exiling envoys," they had never actually chopped an envoy into mincemeat.

Is this time they're really going to be this ruthless?

Zhao Gou felt a chill on his neck!
Li Gang, a minister who advocated war, felt a secret sense of satisfaction. He glanced around at the ashen faces of the pro-peace faction in the hall and said coldly, "Gentlemen, is there anyone among you who still wants to negotiate peace?"

The peace-loving ministers fell silent, unable to utter a word.

The Lord's messengers have all been beheaded; who would dare to advocate for peace again?
If they dare to jump out and say "I'm going," then they're truly fearless men.

But even fearless men can't become peacemakers.

Li Gang turned to Zhao Gou and said, “Your Majesty, the Jin invaders have even killed the peace envoys, which shows that there is absolutely no room for negotiation. This time, they are truly determined to destroy our Great Song. There is no longer any room for hesitation. Our Great Song must fight the Jin to the death.”

This time, not a single member of the pro-peace faction objected. Even if Zhao Gou was stupid, he knew by this point that peace talks were hopeless, so he could only mutter an "uh-huh" in a low voice.

The pro-war faction has gained a significant advantage!
Li Gang was also invigorated.

At this moment, a minister named Zhao Ding stepped forward and presented his memorial with a strange expression: "Your Majesty! In recent days, there has been much discussion among the people, and the comments are all unfavorable to Your Majesty. I urge Your Majesty to make a decision on this matter as soon as possible."

His words were cryptic: "unfavorable opinions"—five words that encapsulated public opinion. But every minister in the court was well-informed; they all knew that many people in the city were saying that Zhao Gou was a coward, not as strong as the Seventeenth Prince. The Southern Song Dynasty had been completely outclassed by the Northern Song.

Such remarks cannot be suppressed; they simply cannot be suppressed.

Even with the entire city's police mobilized to arrest people everywhere, they couldn't quell the public outcry.

Zhao Gou couldn't help but roll his eyes: "Make a decision early? How else can I make a decision? Tell me, what should we do in this situation?"

Zhao Dingdao said, "Preventing the people from speaking is more difficult than preventing a river from overflowing. If a river is blocked, it will burst and cause great harm. The same applies to the people. Therefore, those who manage rivers must dredge them to guide their flow; those who govern the people must encourage them to speak freely."
Zhao Gou: "Don't just recite from books, I want practical solutions."

Zhao Ding said, "The only way to clear the way now is for the emperor to show his divine and wise side to the people, and the people will naturally shut up."

Zhao Gou said sarcastically, "How should I behave? Should I go on a hunting expedition to the south to kill the 'pig dragon'?"

Zhao Ding: "Your humble servant dares to request Your Majesty to personally lead the expedition!"

Zhao Gou, who had been sitting limply on the dragon throne, jumped three feet high upon hearing these words.

Imperial! ...
These four words sounded even more fantastical than a celestial book to Zhao Gou.

Zhao Ding: "Your Majesty, you were once the Grand Marshal of the Army. Only your personal command can turn the tide in this unfavorable situation." Zhao Gou thought to himself: I'm fucking terrified!

Zhao Ding knew Zhao Gou was afraid, but his mind was full of thoughts for Zhao Gou's benefit, and he continued, "Your Majesty, this is the best opportunity. If we don't do this, public opinion will be unstoppable. If the people of the entire city are all won over by the pseudo-Song, then in the future... in the future... Your Majesty..."

Zhao Gou suddenly realized, "That's right, my seventeenth brother is now launching a propaganda offensive. If I let it go, he will win over all the people in the world. Will I still be able to sit on the throne then?"
At this moment, Li Gang suddenly stepped forward and said, “Your Majesty, the Jin invaders are not actually that powerful. Han Shizhong has already defeated the Jin army twice, once at Huangtiandang and this time at Tangzhou. The Jin invaders are really not that great. Yue Fei and Han Shizhong have joined forces, with well-trained soldiers and generals. Although the Jin invaders claim to have 500,000 men, in reality, there are only 50,000 real Jin invaders. The rest are all inferior soldiers from the puppet Qi regime, who are not worth using. Our army is not without the ability to fight them.”

Zhao Ding also said, "If we lose, it's not too late to retreat south."

Zhao Gou: Huh? That's right! If I can't win, I can still run away. Although I, Zhao Gou, am not particularly skilled in other areas, if I were to rank second in the art of escaping, no one in the world could claim to be number one. The Jin army once sent a division to capture me, but I still managed to survive, didn't I?

Suddenly, Zhao Gou made a decision.

The throne is as important as life itself!

For the throne, let's give it our all! Maybe, perhaps, possibly, it seems we might not lose this time.

"Very well! The Emperor... the Emperor himself will lead the expedition."

Once Zhao Gou uttered those words, he immediately felt a pang of panic. His thoughts shifted: "I can lead the expedition myself, but I need to be in a safe place. When dealing with the Jin invaders, nothing is safer than the river; after all, cavalry can't rush into the river to kill people." Seeing the situation turning against him, he slammed on the brakes, reversed, and drifted away.

Having considered everything, Zhao Gou immediately adopted the demeanor of a domineering CEO, humming and saying, "I only sought peace because Emperors Huizong and Qinzong were far away in foreign lands and the people had long suffered from the ravages of war. I never expected the Jin to repeatedly thwart my good intentions. Now that the Jin have launched another attack, I shall personally lead the six armies to fight a decisive battle on the Yangtze River!"

"Decisive Battle on the Yangtze River!"

The pro-war faction was overjoyed: Finally, finally, after so many years, the Emperor has been timid for so many years, but finally he's shown some backbone and is willing to lead the army in person! Hahaha, the prestige of our Great Song Dynasty is finally about to be restored.

Zhao Gou: "What are the current positions of each army?"

Li Gang's spirits lifted, and he submitted a memorial stating: "Yue Fei and Han Shizhong are on the front lines in Jingxiang, Liu Guangshi is leading his troops to move towards Jingxiang, and Zhang Jun is monitoring the puppet Song regime in Huaidong."

Zhao Gou thought to himself: It's too dangerous for me to personally lead the expedition. Of course, the more soldiers and generals around me, the better. Zhang Jun is guarding Huaidong to help me block my seventeenth brother in the north. But since I have left Lin'an to personally lead the expedition, there is no need to block the north anymore. It would be better to let Zhang Jun go to the front line as well, so that I will be safer.

Thinking of this, Zhao Gou immediately ordered: "Let Zhang Jun leave Huaidong and go to the Jingxiang front. This time, we will mobilize the entire nation's troops to fight a decisive battle against the Jin army."

The pro-war ministers felt like they were celebrating a festival and were overjoyed.

They were all energized and rushed off to make arrangements.

But Qin Hui, who had remained silent in the crowd, was now feeling uneasy: If Zhao Gou's personal campaign succeeded, the people would be greatly encouraged, and everyone would think that Zhao Gou was better than Zhao Shi. Wouldn't that be detrimental to my plan? No, I have to think of something.

Qin Hui hurried back to his residence to talk to the female knight-errant sent by the Northern Song Dynasty.

(End of this chapter)