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墨書 Inktalez
The Peculiar War God of the Song Dynasty
Several days later, the military situation underwent significant changes, and the crisis deepened.
Due to heeding the advice of the Peace Faction, only troops from nearby provinces were mobilized to resist the Jin Army. As expected, they could not hold out for long and were soon forced to flee in disarray, suffering countless casualties.
The Jin Army was divided into two main forces: the Western Route Army continued its full-scale assault on Taiyuan, while the Eastern Route Army advanced southward, having already crossed the Yellow River with over a hundred thousand troops approaching.
On the surface, they pretended to seek peace, yet their invasion continued unabated.
The defending general of Taiyuan, Wang Bin, proved to be formidable; even with several times the number of Jin soldiers, they could not capture the city and were forced to take a longer route southward after also crossing the Yellow River.
Now, over a hundred civil officials and generals gathered in the main hall for the Morning Court to discuss military affairs.
Everyone was in a state of panic and concern, as the enemy was almost at Tokyo City.
Like ants on a hot pan, they scurried about, especially those from the Peace Faction who feared losing their wealth.
Dressed in a Golden Dragon Robe and wearing a golden dragon hat, Emperor Qin could no longer sit still; he anxiously paced back and forth.
His face showed signs of panic and fear as he stomped his feet in anger, regretting not listening to Your Excellency Li Gang's advice to mobilize troops from near and far to prevent this dire situation.
He finally stopped and faced the civil and military officials below him, glaring fiercely at Bai Shizhong and Li Bangyan.
It was these two incompetent Chancellors who led him to make such decisions that allowed the Jin Kingdom's army to advance southward, now nearly at Tokyo.
He said, "Chancellors Bai and Li, step forward. The Jin Kingdom's tens of thousands of troops are about to reach Tokyo City. What strategies do you have for confronting them?"
Bai Shizhong and Li Bangyan were greatly frightened; usually cunning and shrewd, they now trembled all over, breaking out in cold sweat.
His face was also very pale. In the past, negotiations would always succeed; they had accepted terms before, but this time they really wanted to destroy the Song Dynasty.
He walked out trembling, cold sweat on his face, fearfully looking up at the emperor.
Both of them were over fifty years old, with quite a bit of white hair on their heads, and they exchanged glances.
Bai Shizhong stepped forward a couple of paces, bowed, and spoke.
"Your Majesty, in my opinion, the Jin Kingdom has mobilized over a hundred thousand troops, aggressively marching towards Tokyo City. They seek more silver and beautiful women. As long as we satisfy them, they will surely withdraw their troops."
"We need to select a capable civil official from the court to negotiate with the Jin Kingdom and agree on terms for their withdrawal."
His wrinkled face showed a hint of a smile, though it was forced.
The Qin Emperor glared at him fiercely. Did he think he was a fool? If they wanted to negotiate, they would have done so long ago.
On the surface, he agreed to negotiations but demanded an unreasonable amount of silver while dragging things out and not allowing him to order more troops to be dispatched.
As a result, last night, they had launched a surprise attack on the Song Dynasty's army stationed at the North Bank of the Yellow River under the cover of darkness, killing them all and preparing numerous boats to cross the river at night.
They were likely nearing Huazhou now, just a few miles from Tokyo.
He spat angrily in his direction; it was truly foolish. Feeling unsatisfied, he spat several more times.
He stopped for a moment and stomped his feet in anger above, his dragon countenance filled with rage.
Bai Shizhong felt immense humiliation; being spat upon in front of so many people was even more disgraceful than being slapped in the face.
There was nothing he could do; after all, he was the current emperor, and he was merely a subject. This was considered mild; it was fortunate that he wasn't executed.
The members of the Peace Faction looked on with great concern; this was the first time the Minister of Rites had been humiliated, and he was a veteran of three reigns.
The Emperor was truly furious, and it could lead to bloodshed; no one dared to utter another word.
The warmongers, being among the few in the court, looked at each other and began to smile with delight.
It was quite mild, really; for such treasonous officials who sought glory at the expense of their country, execution would not be excessive, as they had harmed the court for many years.
The Emperor's anger clearly indicated his disapproval of negotiations; he believed they were futile and saw through the reality that a full-scale resistance was the right course of action.
Li Bangyan looked on in fear, his face drenched in cold sweat, not daring to speak.
The Emperor's attention was focused on Bai Shizhong, which allowed him to deflect some of the blame and keep himself safe.
Although the Qin Emperor was extremely angry, he still thought of his Excellency Li Gang, who must be a person of both literary and martial prowess.
He said, "Your Excellency Li Gang, come forth. What good strategy do you have? Speak quickly; this concerns the rise and fall of our nation."
Li Gang, dressed in a red official robe, slowly stepped forward as expected.
He said, "Although the Jin Army is aggressive, we hold the advantage of terrain. Tokyo City is the strongest fortress of the Great Song. As long as we hold our ground and resist, we can definitely force them to retreat."
"The Jin Army will need time to reach Tokyo City. We can quickly complete our preparations and deploy a large number of troops to the city; supplies are also fully prepared."
"As long as we send a highly respected High Official to oversee the battle from atop Tokyo City, all Imperial Guards will fight with their lives. We can surely repel the Jin forces and ensure peace for our Great Song."
The Qin Emperor listened carefully, as if he had grasped onto a large piece of wood in a flood that could save his life.
He clapped his hands together and exclaimed, "Wonderful! I should have listened to your advice earlier."
Bai Shizhong felt uneasy, realizing that Li Gang indeed had the talent for governance. With this thought, War Faction was bound to gain the upper hand.
Qin Feng and those from the War Faction were very pleased, dancing with joy. With such a good strategy, they would surely be able to repel the Jin people.
In fact, the Jin people were not that formidable; they merely relied on brute strength. It was only because the Song People had been seeking peace that they had become so arrogant. They could be defeated; they were just a bunch of commoners!
After feeling happy, Qin Emperor, dressed in the Golden Dragon Robe, also thought of something and said, “Li Gang Your Excellency needs a highly esteemed High Official to supervise the battle at the City Wall. Is there anyone suitable? Step forward, and I will certainly agree.”
Li Gang smiled and looked towards Bai Shizhong and the others on his right, revealing an angry yet strange smile.
He said, “I think Minister of Rites Bai Shizhong would be perfect. He has been in the court for decades and has great prestige. With him supervising the battle from the tower in Tokyo City, we will surely be able to repel Jin Bing.”
Qin Emperor was somewhat surprised. Did these incompetent old officials dare to supervise the battle? He hoped they wouldn’t be scared to death.
Upon hearing this, Bai Shizhong was also taken aback. Wasn’t this asking for his life?
The Jin people were notoriously cruel, and on the City Wall, arrows and fireballs rained down. There was a real chance he could be hit by a fireball, blown to pieces in a horrific manner!
Slowly turning his body, he trembled even more, nearly frightened to death by those words.
He stammered, “Li Gang, didn’t you always boast about your talent for governance? Supervising the battle at the City Wall is dangerous. You won’t go yourself but want me, this old bone, to go? What are your intentions?”
Li Gang still wore a smile on his face, but it revealed more disdain and mockery.
“The Chancellor is indeed the highest Civil Official in the court. As you are the Chancellor, if you do not supervise the battle yourself, how can I have any face to command those hundred thousand Tokyo Imperial Guards?”
Bai Shizhong was left speechless; this was pushing him onto a path of death! This Li Gang was truly a difficult character.
Qin Emperor understood now; Li Gang felt that his position was too low to command nearly one hundred thousand Tokyo Imperial Guards, making them obey his orders.
Bai Shizhong is indeed a useless old fool, so cowardly and incompetent, afraid to fight against the Jurchens. It would be better to just withdraw; he is simply unpleasant to look at.
He said, "Li Gang, listen to the decree. I appoint you as the Minister of Rites and concurrently as the Grand Commandant Before the Hall. You have the authority to command nearly one hundred thousand Imperial Guards stationed in the city, responsible for defending Tokyo City."
A joyful smile appeared on Li Gang's face; this time it was heartfelt. He had finally become the Chancellor of the court, with the opportunity to serve the country. He was determined to stop those Jurchens from stepping into Tokyo City.
He immediately bent down and knelt on the red mat, bowing his head in gratitude to the emperor.
He shouted loudly, "Your Majesty is wise! Long live Your Majesty!"
Bai Shizhong turned around in despair; that was his position as Chancellor. How could it be given to him?
The Qin Emperor also noticed and sighed twice, truly tired of seeing such a useless Civil Official.
"Bai Shizhong, I see you are getting old. I will relieve you of your Chancellor position; go home and enjoy your retirement! You need not worry about state affairs anymore, and you do not need to come to Morning Court in the future."
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