After the Song Dynasty crossed south, it was able to coexist with the powerful Jin Kingdom for decades, not just by groveling and paying annual coins. For example, some of the rebellions and restlessness in the southern part of the Jin Kingdom had the looming tactics of the Song people behind them.
Zhao Fang had been an official in Jinghu and Western Beijing for many years, and he had been paying attention to the movements of his powerful neighbors in the north. When King Sui settled in Nanjing, he seemed to be at odds with the Zhongdu court. He also participated in private contacts between the Song Dynasty and Kaifeng.
The reason why he passed through the west of Beijing instead of Huainan was naturally because Shi Xiang was cautious and wanted to avoid leaking the news. Moreover, during the negotiations, the Song Dynasty was frightened by the fierce power of the Jurchens for hundreds of years. They went back and forth twice and only made a fuss about the annual coins. They had the courage to make some small requests, but they were all rejected by the ambitious Kaifeng court.
After that, the Prime Minister's attention turned to cooperation with Ding Haijun. When an agreement was reached with Ding Haijun, the income from the reopening of the Huainan Money Prison could be used to offset the annual currency, and there was also huge income from maritime trade; but the Kaifeng court went south to plunder regardless...
Comparing the two sides, the difference in sincerity was too great. This really made Xiang Shi anxious, so he responded to the action of Ding Haijun and ordered Zhao Fang to lead Jinghu soldiers and horses northward.
However, although the Lin'an and Kaifeng families fell out, their channels of communication were still maintained.
When Zhao Fang sent his troops to advance rapidly, he was notified by Hou Zhi's secret envoy. The secret envoy conveyed the message that the Han officials in the Kaifeng court knew that the destiny of Jin Dynasty had been exhausted, and they intended to use Kaifeng as a gift to the Song Dynasty. Therefore, Zhao Fang was asked to slow down the advance to allow Hou Zhi and others to proceed calmly. Bu, deal with the Jurchens in Kaifeng City who hate the Song Dynasty.
Zhao Fang was cautious by nature and did not believe in this delaying strategy, so he still marched quickly. But he did know that in the past year or so, because of the large number of Jurchens moving south, the Han officials who originally held power in Kaifeng City had been squeezed out and had quite a lot of complaints. So he kept in touch with Hou Zhi with a little doubt.
To a certain extent, this is also related to the fact that the deeper Zhao Fang understands the inside story of the Jin Kingdom, the more he feels the huge military advantage of the Ding Navy.
Things on the battlefield cannot be faked. Zhao Fang himself had a vision. Meng Zongzheng, Hu Zaixing, Liu Shixing and others under his command were rare and brave generals in the Song Dynasty. They all admitted that the Ding Navy was indeed as powerful as the rumors, and it was probably not something that ordinary soldiers and horses could resist. .
Under this situation, Zhao Fang will naturally focus on maintaining contact with Kaifeng, and explore whether it is really possible to collude with internal and external forces to seize Kaifeng first. After all, no matter how you look at it, it is not detrimental to the overall situation; but if you have this possibility in hand, it will be a trump card for our army to deal with the power of Ding Haijun and seize benefits for the Song Dynasty.
When the contact between Zhao Fang and Hou Zhi was about to come to an end, Xuan Zhen rushed from Ding Haijun and conveyed to him what he had seen and heard in the north, as well as the secret order and authorization of the Prime Minister.
The situation in which the navy gradually suppressed the Jin army's final counterattack at Lincaiguan convinced both Xuanzhen and Zhao Fang that the Jurchen court in Kaifeng was at the end of its rope, and the Han officials, including Hou Zhi, were really fighting for I'm looking for a way out.
In this case, Zhao Fang made a decisive decision and led his troops to rush towards Kaifeng in accordance with the previously agreed content.
Sure enough, he saw Jincheng Tangchi open without a fight, and Hou Zhi, a powerful Han minister in the Kaifeng court, knelt down to greet him inside the gate.
And in just half a moment, he saw that Ding Haijun noticed his intention, and rushed to Kaifeng with a considerable force to fight for it. Then, in front of thousands of his own soldiers, the Jin people let go A fire captured thousands of the navy's elite and a handful of important generals!
Now it seems that Song Jun's trip was actually a trick of the Jin people, and he was also miserably fooled. The Jin people had no intention of surrendering at all. Instead, they fought hard despite being trapped, using all possible means to weaken the powerful enemy, and the Song army became an accomplice!
Zhao Fang asked himself, if he were Guo Ning outside the city, how would he see Xuan Zhen leaving without saying goodbye? Why do you think the gate of Kaifeng City suddenly opened for the Song Army? How do you think that Ding Haijun was burned after rushing into the city, but the Song Army who was also in the city was unscathed?
Rereading these things a hundred times, it turns out that the Song people were so stupid that they conspired with the Jurchens to kill the important general of the Ding Navy in order to seize Kaifeng!
Zhao Fang wanted to explain to Guo Ning that Mr. Shi Miyuan of the Song Dynasty valued the benefits of the two companies' partnership in business and was unwilling to break up with you. Everyone should use their own methods to fight without breaking up.
But once a fight breaks out, does one family have the final say on whether it can be broken? Ding Haijun suddenly suffered such a big loss, who can guarantee that they are willing to fight without defeat? Who can guarantee that they believe the explanation given by the Song people?
What's more, how can Zhao Fang explain this situation?
Even if there are thousands of words to explain, we have to capture Kaifeng first; but if we want to capture Kaifeng, we have to stand up for the Jurchens and face the raging anger of Zhou Guogong Guo Ning, and we may even have to face it directly. Determine the might of the navy!
"You Han ministers have never meant to betray King Sui, right? You are determined to protect the small court of the Jin Kingdom in Kaifeng City!"
Under the firelight, Zhao Fang's face suddenly turned red, and then turned livid: "You, Hou Xinqing, must be a Han'er, so what face do you have to do such a sinister thing? Why did you bother to harm the Song Dynasty like this?"
Hou Zhi stood up straight and said Ling Ran: "I was born in Daijin and worked in Daijin, so I am loyal to Daijin. I will do whatever is beneficial to Daijin, and there is no need to consider other things."
These words were righteous, but they made the Song people present furious.
Zhao Fan couldn't help but reached for his knife and said, "I'll kill you! I'll take your head and explain it to Ding Haijun!"
Hou Zhi didn't even turn his eyes, always looking directly at Zhao Fang and Xuan Zhen. Zhao Fan took two steps forward, but he was grabbed by many soldiers.
"Ding Haijun has fallen into such a bad trap. He must have escaped from Lincaiguan in a hurry, and then mobilized elite troops to rush to Kaifeng. If your army really wants to win the trust of Guo Ning, it should use all its manpower to put out the fire now and see if it can be Find a few living people in the fire scene. Then... open the Nanxun Gate and welcome the main force of Ding Haijun."
Hou Zhi said a few words, and the flames behind him seemed to be spreading. People couldn't help but retreat, and the screams one after another in the flames made people feel chilled all over.
While everyone was talking, several more soldiers from the Ding Navy rushed out of the fire scene. Unexpectedly, the armor and stomach on their bodies had been burned by the fire, and they were stuck to the skin and flesh, and they could not be taken off. Tens of steps away from the fire scene, they were still wailing in pain. After a few breaths, they suddenly fell silent. It was obvious that they had been burned to death.
Xuan Zhen suddenly shouted: "Tell people to wait close to the fire scene! If you see anyone escaping, water them quickly to save them! Watch and do whatever you want!"
Zhao Fang woke up from his dream and said, "Did you hear that? Just do what Mr. Xuan wants!"
After thinking for a while, he pointed at Zhao Fan again: "Go to the rear team and collect the water bags and water bags that the soldiers carry! If you ask someone to go to Cai River to get water again, do it quickly!"
The two of them issued the order, and a large team of people took care of it. But even if we do this, will we be able to satisfy Ding Haijun and convince the evil tiger of our sincerity?
The situation has developed to this extent in a short period of time, and we are carrying the blood debt and suspicion of thousands of lives. To be honest, Zhao Fang feels a little ashamed when he thinks of the word sincerity, let alone regaining Guo Ning's trust. .
Precisely because the two sides have no trust in each other, once the navy enters the city, the two families will definitely be at war with each other. Ding Haijun must also use this as an excuse to forcefully seize key strongholds and even squeeze the Song army out of the city. If the Song army resists, there is no guarantee that a fierce battle will follow!
Zhao Fang led 20,000 troops and marched far away from his hometown. Once he lost on the battlefield, the consequences would be disastrous. He did not feel that it was necessary for him to fight with Ding Haijun, and he also doubted how much victory he would have after the war broke out.
But Hou Zhi seemed to have taken all his thoughts into consideration, and said leisurely from the side: "Although the Jin Dynasty died, the Great Zhou Dynasty rose up. People inside and outside the Song Dynasty should be very familiar with Guo Zhou in his early years. ? I think the princes must be very happy to see this situation. Prime Minister Shi must also appreciate the two of them for their unselfish and sincere cooperation with Ding Haijun."
Zhao Fang sighed.
Hou Zhi is absolutely right. If our 20,000 troops were watching the battle from beginning to end and never got a chance to get involved in Kaifeng, then that would be fine. Now that we have entered Kaifeng, is there any reason to withdraw?
Kaifeng, in the hands of the Song army, was the capital of the Song Dynasty. It was a grand restoration event after a hundred years. Kaifeng is in the hands of Ding Haijun, and it was the old capital of Guo Zhou. Guo Ningbao was not allowed to establish the title of emperor at any time. Once he continues to use the word "Zhou", Kaifeng City will become the center of the whirlpool, triggering the collapse of the earth at any time in Lin'an. turmoil!
So the only way is to act according to the secret order of the historian. That is to say, cooperate with the small court of the Jin Kingdom to control Kaifeng and shut out the Ding Navy.
But because Li Ting's troops were destroyed in the city, such an approach would inevitably arouse great hostility from Ding Haijun. Maybe the navy will turn against the city and attack the city, or maybe Zhongdu will break up with the Song Dynasty...
Thinking of this, Zhao Fang and Xuan Zhen both looked extremely ugly.
Originally, the two imperial courts of the Jin Dynasty and the Eastern Dynasty were at a life-and-death struggle, but the Song Dynasty was able to deal with it calmly and profit from it, and was omnipotent. As a result, in just a moment, because of this fire, Song Dynasty was forced to the edge of the cliff of either/or, friend or enemy.
While the Song Dynasty was in a dilemma, the Kaifeng court gained a breath of vitality and was able to persevere in a state of inevitable collapse!
This is really a brilliant plan!
Xuan Zhen took half a step forward: "After all, what do you want? What does King Sui want behind you?"
"Why should Mr. Xuan be so wary?" Hou Zhi laughed.
He said sincerely: "To be honest with you, there are still more than 9,000 elites loyal to Dajin in Kaifeng, and there are no less than tens of thousands of Jurchens who can fight with weapons. But this amount of troops can only control the imperial city of Kaifeng. and the northern part of the inner city, so we want to entrust the outer city and the southern part of the inner city of Kaifeng to your army, and also entrust the future of the Jin Kingdom to the hands of the Song Dynasty."
Xuan Zhen shouted and asked: "What do you mean by entrustment? The Jin Dynasty and the Song Dynasty are feuding. Aren't you afraid that we will take Kaifeng City in our hands and kill the Jurchens and their ancestors?"
"Now that the power of Dajin is exhausted, all we can think about is to rely on the prestige of the Song Dynasty to survive. And your side... haha, you don't have the appeal of the Dajin court, do you really think that you can come from Henan Road? Thousands of miles of mountains and rivers on Taofu Road, can people eat pot pulp with the military flag of the Song Dynasty?"
Hou Zhi bowed deeply again: "When our dynasty was in great power, we could accommodate the Emperor Liu Yu of the Qi Dynasty. If you accommodate the Emperor of the Jin Dynasty in Kaifeng, there will naturally be corresponding benefits. The Jin Dynasty can respect the Song Dynasty as his uncle and uncle. We can respect the orders of the Song Dynasty and even become emperor and become a vassal king! Apart from this, we can talk about anything! Right now we only ask you to do one thing, and that is to help us stabilize Kaifeng and force us to retreat. Decide on the navy!”
"this……"
Thousands of miles of country? Did Da Jin follow the orders of Da Song? Can we talk about anything? Is this true or false?
If it is true, then Hou Zhi has given too much! The Kaifeng court really spent a lot of money in order to survive! For the Song Dynasty, this was too proud, and for the political power of Shi Xiang, it was also too attractive!
Xuan Zhen and Zhao Fang looked at each other, and they both saw movement and hesitation in each other's eyes.
Is it worth it?
Maybe because of the fate of Li Ting's men, Guo Ning himself is hesitant to enter the city. If we are tough, can we really force him back?
What follows is nothing more than a division of interests. If the Kaifeng court of the Jin Dynasty and the Song Dynasty can talk about anything, what can't the Song Dynasty and the Dinghaijun regime not talk about?
In the middle of the day, the flames from the fire brought a huge amount of heat and smoke. Zhao Fang felt a little chest tight and short of breath, so he couldn't help but pull open the front of his robe to make himself more comfortable. He felt that his heart was beating violently, causing the blood vessels on both sides of his forehead to pulsate, almost making a winter sound.
The sound became louder and louder, as if it resonated with the roar of some distant tide.
At the back of the queue, the Meng Communist Party came running in a hurry and loudly reported: "Ding Haijun is coming to kill us!"
