At that time, Li Bangyan was encouraging Qinzong to pay compensation to the Jin army as soon as possible and cede land. Li Bangyan said: "The imperial court should raise and pay the gold, silver, silk, satin and horses to the Jin people as soon as possible, and urge the local officials of Taiyuan, Zhongshan and Hejian towns to hand over the land and cities, consolidate the results of the peace talks with the Jin people, and send the gold as soon as possible." People retreat.”
While listening, Qinzong nodded and said, "That's what you said."
On the side, Zhong Shidao couldn't bear it anymore and went out to play: "Your Majesty. I thought that the gold, silver, silk, satin, cattle, horses, etc. that had been negotiated with the Jin people should be delayed and paid. When the Jin people were slack and wanted to return, they would block the gold. When people return, deploy heavy troops in the Yellow River to annihilate them."
Seeing this, Li Bangyan hurriedly said to Zhong Shidao: "Old Zhong, important matters of the imperial court should not be treated as trivial matters! The payment of the agreed compensation must not be delayed, and the safety of the Jin people's retreat must also be ensured. They must not intercept halfway, causing the Song Dynasty to The dispute between the two countries has expanded and triggered a greater war."
"What a foolish statement the prime minister made!" Zhong Shidao replied: "The Jin people have already arrived at Bianjing City. Their intention to invade and occupy the Song Dynasty is clearly exposed. With their eyes fixed on them, is there any way for the imperial court to retreat? Under the current situation, the only way is to In one battle, the Jin people were surrounded and annihilated, and the situation was stabilized; if they just withhold concessions and pay indemnities to cede territory, it will only increase the Jin people's arrogance and make them have an even bigger appetite. Even if they withdraw this time, they will still be there when needed. , invaded the Song Dynasty again."
After saying that, Zhongshi Daowang Qinzong bowed and said: "Your Majesty. In the war between the imperial court and the Jin people, neither Meng Lang can act like a fool, nor can we give in without principle. I request to suspend the payment of compensation and the cession of land, and negotiate with the Jin people. Grind. Anyway, the Jin people are inconvenienced in all aspects in our land of the Song Dynasty. Let’s see how long he can persist.”
Qin Zong was tempted by Zhong Shidao's words. As for compensation and ceding land, Qinzong was reluctant to part with it. After all, it was a great cause founded by his ancestors. How could he bury it so easily? !
After the teacher finished speaking, Qinzong nodded and said: "What you have reported is very much in line with my wishes."
Li Bangyan was anxious when he saw this, and said again: "Your Majesty, the imperial court's request for peace is hard-won. King Kang's Taizai is still in the Jin camp. If the imperial court has other plans, it should carefully evaluate the strength of the Song and Jin Dynasties; there is no guarantee of victory. Be sure and never break the promise, otherwise, the consequences will be disastrous."
Li Gang, who was left behind in Bianjing, had the same views as Zhong Shidao on delaying the payment of indemnity and ceding land, but they had differences on fighting the Jin soldiers. In Li Gang's opinion, the imperial army was already superior to the Jin army in terms of quantity and quality, so he should go to war with the Jin people and expel the Jin people from the Song Dynasty.
After listening to the Li Yan Gang's strength to persuade Qin Zong to consider it carefully, Li Gang came out and said: "Your Majesty. At present, there are more than 100,000 soldiers and horses in Bianjing City, and General Zhong and General Yao have led more than 30,000 Western troops. At present, the imperial troops , both in quantity and quality, are superior to the Jin army. I believe that we can refuse to pay compensation and cede land. In addition, we should use offense as defense and take the initiative to attack the Jin army and force them to withdraw."
Li Gang's memorial was in line with Qin Zong's wishes. If the Jin army can be driven out of the country without paying compensation and ceding land, why not? ! Li Gang's memorial made Qinzong very happy. Qinzong said repeatedly: "Okay! Okay! Your invitation is very good! After you go down, you and General Zhong will plan carefully to start a war against the Jin army as soon as possible."
Zhong Shidao's intention was to wait for his younger brother Zhong Shizhong to arrive with other Western troops before fighting Jin, which would have a greater chance of winning; but in the palace, Zhong Shidao did not want to reveal the differences between him and Li Gang , so as not to be caught by Li Bangyan and other leaders, so he never invited the Holy One again.
Li Gang and Zhong Shidao left the palace and returned to Li Gang's Bianjing to stay at the Yamen. Zhong Shidao said to Li Gang: "Li stayed behind. The current plan is to stalemate with the Jin army. After my brother Shizhong leads the other Western armies to arrive, we can then fight the Jin army decisively to ensure victory."
Li Gang replied: "Old General Zhong, with the current number of soldiers and horses in the imperial court, can't we guarantee victory? Currently, Li Bangyan, Bai Shizhong, Zhang Bangchang and others are leading the peace talks. If we don't win the war, we will not be able to win in the future. I'm afraid I'll lose to them."
Zhong Shidao replied: "You can't strive for temporary gains, it's better to be safe."
Li Gang finally disagreed with the theory of Zhongshi Dao, but the battle had to be fought by Zhongshi Dao. Since Zhongshi Dao insisted not to start a war with the Jin army immediately, Li Gang could not force it.
After Zhong Shidao returned from Li Gang's left-behind yamen in Bianjing, Li Gang was sitting alone in the hall, thinking about how to fight against Jin. At this time, Yao Zhongping, who was Zhong Shidao's deputy, came to the left-behind yamen and paid a visit to Li Gang.
The reason why Yao Zhongping came to visit Li Gang was because his father Yao Gu had brought Xihe soldiers to the city of Bianjing.
Both Zhongshidao and Yao Pingzhong were from Shanxi's wealthy families. Yao Pingzhong was worried that his fame would be taken away by Zhongshidao, so he came to Li Gang and hoped that he would lead his troops to Moutuogang to fight the Jin army.
After Yao Pingzhong met Li Gang, he said to Li Gang: "Li stayed behind, and my father led Xihe and more than 10,000 soldiers and horses to the city of Bianjing. Now, the soldiers and horses of the imperial court are far superior to the soldiers and horses of the Jin Kingdom. Moreover, the soldiers of the imperial court are gearing up. They urgently need to fight the Jin people. However, according to the observation of the lower officials, Lao Zhong does not seem to be preparing to fight the Jin people. He must be waiting for his younger brother Zhong Shizhong to lead Yanqing Pinggu and other troops to arrive. Stay behind, the Western Army of the imperial court When we arrived, the Jin people were already frightened. If we don't take the opportunity to attack and destroy their majesty, I'm afraid he will slow down and it will be detrimental to our army. Therefore, I request a battle and hope that the Lord who stays behind will approve it."
Li Gang saw that he was very embarrassed.
Seeing this, Yao Pingzhong continued: "The defense of Bianjing is the responsibility of the left-behind adults. The left-behind adults bear full responsibility for the safety of Bianjing. The left-behind adults should make decisive decisions. Don't hesitate and miss the opportunity."
Li Gang said: "The Holy Lord has ordered Old General Zhong to be the Grand Tutor of the School, the Privy Council of Tongzhi, and the Propagator of the two rivers in the capital, and he has ordered the general to serve as his deputy. Now all the troops and horses are under the control of General Zhong, and it is not easy for me to interfere. It’s a matter of mobilizing troops and horses. The general will go back first, and I will make a decision after discussing with General Zhong.”
After Yao Pingzhong left, Li Gang thought about it for a long time and felt that he had to negotiate with Zhongshidao about starting a war with the Jin army, so he rushed to Zhongshidao's Central Army Hall. Li Gang informed Yao Pingzhong of his request. Master Zhong said: "I understand what General Yao means. However, now is not the best time to start a war with the Jin Army. Firstly, the court still needs to gather troops, and secondly, the Jin Army has not yet been exhausted. In my opinion, See, it would be safer to wait for the Spring Equinox to encircle and annihilate the Jin people."
Li Gang saw that he had no choice but to agree.
The next day, Qinzong went to court early and asked about the expulsion of the Jin army. Li Gang left the mission and reported to Qin Zong: "Your Majesty. The ministers discussed with the old general Zhong. Now is not the best time to attack. When the imperial Western Army and the Southern Army arrive at the Spring Equinox, the battle will begin. The chance of victory will be Bigger.”
Qin Zong heard the report and agreed.
However, after the disbandment of the dynasty, Qinzong summoned Li Gang alone. Qinzong said to Li Gang: "Since the imperial troops and horses are superior to the Jin people in quantity and quality, why don't they start a war immediately?"
Li Gang replied: "Return to your Majesty. Yao Pingzhong's father, Yao Gu, arrived with more than 10,000 Western troops. Yao Pingzhong also requested a battle, but General Zhong insisted that it was not the best time to start a war, and wanted to wait for his younger brother Zhong. After the division leads other Western troops to arrive, the battle will begin again."
Qinzong said displeased: "How long do we have to wait? You will bring Yao Pingzhong, and I will personally ask him about the strategy."
Li Gang bent down and replied: "I will obey the imperial edict."
Li Gang left the palace, found Yao Pingzhong, and took Yao Pingzhong into the palace again to meet Qinzong Zhao Huan.
Yao Pingzhong knelt down and bowed to Qin Zong. Qinzong hurriedly asked Yao Ping to make Zhongping himself. After Yao Pingzhong got up, Qinzong asked: "What do you think of starting a war now?"
Yao Pingzhong said: "Your Majesty, the imperial soldiers and horses have gathered below the city, and they are all gearing up for a fight with the Jin people. The morale must not be let down. In my opinion, the sooner the better!"
Qin Zong was overjoyed. At this time, Qin Zong had changed from not wanting to fight to being eager to fight. Qinzong's eyes shone brightly and he asked Yao Pingzhong: "In your opinion, how should we fight?"
"Your Majesty," Yao Pingzhong said, "I thought that if the Jin army was unprepared, they would rob the camp in the middle of the night, capture Wanyan Zongwang alive, and take back King Kang and Dazai. By then, the Jin army would be defeated!"
Qinzong was overjoyed and said loudly: "Okay! Okay! Just do as you told me."
Immediately, Li Gang and Yao Pingzhong left the palace and went to make plans to rob the camp.
After returning to the left-behind mansion in Bianjing, Li Gang did not tell Zhong Shidao about the incident because he was afraid that Zhong Shidao would oppose Yao Pingzhong's robbery of the camp. Instead, he handed over the more than 30,000 soldiers and horses under the city to Yao Pingzhong's command to be responsible for the robbery of the camp.
This Yao Pingzhong was also a careless man. He actually gathered troops and horses under the city. In broad daylight and in public, without any cover, he mobilized troops and horses and said: "Everyone, be prepared. In these two days, we will hijack Jin Camp in the middle of the night and capture Wanyan Zongwang alive. Get back King Kang and Dazai!"
This situation was immediately reported to Wanyan Zongwang, the commander of the East Route Army of the Jin State, by spies placed in the army of the Jin State. Wanyan Zongwang was greatly shocked when he received this information. He immediately discussed with Wanyan Talan and Liu Yanzong and decided to wait in a virtual camp and deploy heavy troops outside the camp to annihilate the soldiers and horses of the Song Dynasty who robbed the camp.
Wanyan Zongwang immediately arranged for the deployment of soldiers and horses. Kang Wang Zhao Gou and Dazai Zhang Bangchang, who were hostages in the Jin Camp, immediately felt something strange. They discussed: The imperial soldiers and horses must have taken action. The key is, the actions of the imperial soldiers and horses, The Jin people have already found out. How can we report this situation back?
However, the Jin people strengthened their supervision of Zhao Gou and Zhang Bangchang, so that although Zhao Gou and Zhang Bangchang knew that the Jin people were waiting in vain, they could not report this situation to the court.
As a result, after the operation had been leaked and the Jin army was prepared, Yao Pingzhong led 30,000 troops and launched the hijacking of the Jin camp in the middle of the night two days later.
