nashuaworldcup Chapter 429 The End of the Fourth Northern Expedition
Chapter 429 The End of the Fourth Northern Expedition
"But in Zhao Gou's eyes, Yue Fei's attitude showed that he was concerned about the amount of reward he would receive."
"As a general, he did not take the great responsibility of the nation as his own, but instead cared about the gains and losses of merit and reward. Zhao Gou was displeased and immediately reprimanded Yue Fei."
"But he doesn't even consider that if Yue Fei were truly a self-serving person, he would have already asked for rewards like Zhang Jun did. How can his thought process be like this?!"
"Thus, one was imagining things, and the other remained silent. The rift between the emperor and his minister grew wider and wider. However, Zhao Gou was a man who, in the early stages, could use Wang Boyan and Huang Qianshan, but disregarded Li Gang's hard work. Later, he heavily relied on Qin Hui."
"Even without these factors, his apprehension and suspicion of Yue Fei would still have begun. It's just that when you dislike someone, you'll misinterpret any of their small actions and even accuse them of wrongdoing!"
"Therefore, the fate of Zhao Gou and Yue Fei as a pair of rulers and ministers may have been predetermined in history."
As soon as Lin Ke's voice fell, it reached everyone's ears, and instantly, they thought of the fates of Zhao Gou and Yue Fei.
Zhao Gou couldn't distinguish between loyal ministers and treacherous ministers, and it's a mystery how he got so many people protecting him.
If he hadn't been the only son left in the Zhao family, wandering outside, perhaps someone else who would have held fast to the belief in resisting the Jin would have become the Song Dynasty emperor.
So, surely the Southern Song Dynasty shouldn't have been so afraid of the Jin Dynasty!
……
Lin Ke's voice followed closely behind, continuing to come:
"On the other hand, the Jin people trampled on the Song Dynasty as much as they could, but that didn't stop Zhao Gou from both loving and fearing the Jin Dynasty. He didn't have the guts to do so."
"Otherwise, when the Song army was in a great position, and the Song soldiers were fighting bloody battles and had reached the city walls, why didn't Zhao Gou expand the war and waste such a good opportunity!"
"After Yue Fei's fourth Northern Expedition, Wanyan Zongbi never expected that the inevitable defeat would be turned around by Qin Hui, and Yue Fei actually retreated!"
"If he doesn't seize this opportunity, how can he face Qin Hui for all the effort he's put into the Great Jin Dynasty?!"
"Therefore, Wanyan Zongbi's mind started to wander again. After meeting with the Jin ruler, he immediately returned to Kaifeng to inventory the grain supplies, planning to launch another attack on the Song Dynasty."
"However, since he began fighting Yue Fei, he has realized that he has suffered repeated defeats against him and has gained no advantage whatsoever!"
"Moreover, it's impossible to destroy the Song Dynasty. With only 90,000 men, there's the problem of food supplies. If they were to face generals like Yue Fei and Liu Qi, they might just have to go find Chenggong's mother again!"
"So the next battle is less about attacking the Song Dynasty and standing on it to give the Jurchens a foothold, and more about taking a beating to make peace with the Song army. It's about using the battle to facilitate the peace talks."
"But there's a saying: escaping is shameful but useful. Wanyan Zongbi decided not to provoke Yue Fei this time. You have to pick the weakest one to squeeze. So Wanyan Zongbi chose the Huaixi battlefield this time."
Wang Anshi of the Northern Song Dynasty said: Any negotiation requires bargaining chips. Once there are no valuable or formidable chips left, what awaits him may truly be a defeat.
Zhu Baba of the Ming Dynasty: Zhao Gou couldn't understand how much the Song army's strength would decrease without Yue Fei! He was digging his own grave!
Zhu Houzhao, the number one brat of the Ming Dynasty: No wonder even a Jin envoy could step on his head and shit on him!
Qin Qiong of the Tang Dynasty: He wasted a great opportunity and still insisted on making peace, little did he know that this was a strategy against him!
Meng Yi of Qin: As an observer, just by listening, I know that there will never be such an opportunity again. It's such a pity!
……
Southern Song Dynasty
At this moment, Qin Hui was kneeling and crying beside Zhao Gou. However, Zhao Gou seemed somewhat disgusted. He didn't know how Qin Hui had gotten into this state, as if he had just been beaten up!
Qin Hui, seemingly oblivious to Zhao Gou's disdain, retorted indignantly, "Your Majesty! Heaven can bear witness to my heart. How can future generations possibly know the events that occurred more than eight hundred years ago?!"
"Besides, Yue Fei held military power. It's only natural for a subject to think of His Majesty's interests. But those unruly people actually regard Yue Fei as a hero who destroyed the Jin dynasty!"
"Do you know what they did on my way here! They dared to swarm me and treat me like a lowly subject!"
"Is this an attack on your subject? This is an attack on His Majesty's dignity! If this is allowed to continue, the world will only know Yue Fei, but what about Your Majesty...?"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Gou became even more agitated. It wasn't that he didn't fear Yue Fei's power and influence, but he also knew that Yue Fei's reputation among the people was already very bad!
At this moment, he also harbored some resentment towards what Lin Ke said during the live stream!
Why do people of later generations say such things? Doesn't Zhao Gou have any dignity?
Then he said, "Alright, stop trying to sow discord here. Go back first. You should use this energy to talk to your family and explain things properly!"
After Zhao Gou finished speaking, he waved his hand, thinking to himself that was enough; he was still feeling annoyed!
Upon hearing this, Qin Hui's eyes flickered slightly, and his heart trembled. The Emperor had abandoned him!
Qin Hui dared not linger and left quickly. However, on his way back, he was stopped and beaten again. He did not believe that his tortuous journey home was unrelated to certain people in the court!
……
On the other side, Lin Ke continued.
"As for the Huaixi region, the Song army's forces are distributed in three groups: one group of 20,000 men led by Liu Qi, another group of 30,000 men led by Yang Yizhong, and the third group of 80,000 men led by Zhang Jun, totaling 130,000 men."
"In addition, there is Han Shizhong's 30,000 troops near Huaidong, which is a very impressive force. The Song Dynasty still has an advantage over the Jin Dynasty."
"However, all of the above is based on the premise that all the forces were in Huaixi, since it was springtime in 1141 AD."
"And Yue Fei's return from the Northern Expedition was only last July or August; Zhao Gou probably didn't expect that!"
"Having suffered repeated defeats, Wanyan Zongbi not only did not let the Song Dynasty off the hook after Yue Fei's withdrawal, but instead intensified his efforts, launching another invasion southward at the beginning of the year."