After sighing with emotion, Zhao Yucheng ordered all the more than 5,000 frozen Song soldiers to be cremated.
Then he decided to erect a monument here to record this tragic event and let future generations remember the cruelty of war, the cold-bloodedness of generals and the hatefulness of bureaucrats.
As for the more than 500 people who were lucky enough to survive, they never wanted to go back. They all knelt in front of Zhao Yucheng and asked to join the peasant army, swearing to fight to the death for him.
"If you decide to change your ways, it means there is still hope. We will not give up on you, but you must remember that you should not fight for me, nor do you need to fight for a certain person. You need to fight for an idea. , this concept will become clear to you later.”
Although Zhao Yucheng's words were a bit like the Riddler's style, there is no doubt that these more than 500 people will never be willing to return to the terrible group of the Song Army.
Nothing is more educational than the sight of hell.
After experiencing cruel abandonment, they have been completely disappointed with Song Jun as a collective.
With Wu Gong's comprehensive retreat, this "bandit suppression operation" on Jiangnan West Road once again ended with the defeat of the Song army and the victory of the peasant army.
Although the previously obtained intelligence also included the appearance of Sichuan and Sichuan general Yao Zhong, according to the information from the intelligence personnel currently scattered, Yao Zhong has arrived at the Jinghu Theater, but has no intention of continuing to march. It is thought that because of Wu Gong's retreat, this time Even if Daluo Jinxian comes, nothing can be changed.
So very simply, Yao Zhong did not move forward.
Zhao Yucheng cleaned up the battlefield after the war, counted the losses and the results of the battle, and learned that his side had suffered casualties of almost 5,000 people, among which there were very many battle dead, which could be said to be heavy casualties.
The combat effectiveness of the elite Song Army can still cause great damage to the peasant army. This must be admitted.
But perhaps God had mercy on them, or perhaps their own bones were too hard, and their lives were too tough. Wu Gong, who had the advantage in combat power, failed to destroy them in the end, and he himself also lost his troops.
This battle was won in the end, and Zhao Yucheng finally defeated Wu Gong.
After the battle situation on his side stabilized, Wu Gong began to pay attention to the battle situation on Xu Tong's side in the south. He was worried that the water was too deep and Xu Tong was too young. He wondered whether he could control the front well.
But this is purely worrying.
Soon, news came from the south.
Qi Fang was captured, and Qi Fang's 40,000-strong army was basically wiped out. Many people died in the battle, and more than 20,000 people were captured. Xu Tong's second division achieved great results.
Zhao Yucheng even got further news that Xu Tong had launched a major counterattack, and learned that Xu Tong had led his troops to Jinhua County. He had won a complete victory with only 4,000 troops and horses along the way. Xu Tong directly penetrated the hinterland of the Southern Song Dynasty. The local government has no ability to resist at all.
Zhao Yucheng was very pleasantly surprised and surprised by this.
Of course, the surprise was that Xu Tong, whom he single-handedly promoted, lived up to his expectations and played even better than him. He was only tied with Wu Gong, and could even be said to be at a disadvantage. God and the cheating Southern Song Dynasty bureaucrats helped. Him, let him win.
Xu Tong actually won a huge victory, and he also took the initiative to fight back, penetrating the hinterland of the Southern Song Dynasty in one go.
He unfolded the map and observed Xu Tong's march. As he looked at it, he suddenly had a very bold idea.
Is this kid going to fight all the way to Lin'an?
Don’t tell me, it’s really possible!
At this time, Zhao Yucheng didn't know that this was not really possible, so he should remove "possible".
Xu Tong had already reached Lin'an, and he circled three times like a demonstration outside Lin'an City, then turned around and left, leaving Zhao Hao with a lot of ruins and a mess.
For a while after Xu Tong left, Ye Yiwen and Zhou Linzhi synthesized all the information and basically deduced the cause and effect of the incident, which was pretty much the same.
They deduced that the peasant army started its counterattack from Guixi County, and penetrated Xinzhou and Quzhou one after another, catching the locals by surprise at an extremely fast speed. The government and armed forces of the two states had no way to react or fight. Overthrown, defeated like a mountain.
Soon, they began to attack Wuzhou again and captured Jinhua County. However, because Jinhua County was prepared in advance, the bandit chief gave up and continued to attack eastward along the route. Instead, he turned north and invaded Yanzhou. The unprepared Jiande County was captured.
Then they attacked northeast along the Zhejiang River, attacking Tonglu and Fuyang one after another. The first people to enter Lin'an City to spread the terrible news were the Fuyang people, and the one who reported the most important news was the Fuyang County Magistrate who fled to Lin'an on foot.
From this, the action trajectory of this 4,000-strong peasant army can be roughly restored. How they acted, how much damage they caused to the Southern Song Dynasty, and how much face they lost to Zhao Hao and Zhao Gou. These things are all There are traces to follow.
There is no doubt that this is a complete adventure. Only 4,000 people galloped across the Southern Song Dynasty, which had a standing army of 400,000. They broke through five states and fought thousands of miles. They arrived at Lin'an City, the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty, and gave Emperor Zhao Hao a huge victory. insult.
As a big country, the Southern Song Dynasty was not only unable to cope with the actions of these four thousand people, but it actually made the country subjugated because of the actions of these four thousand people.
The Supreme Emperor fled, and the Emperor lost ground in advancing and retreating. Such a huge empire could not even defend itself against four thousand bandits, which was a disgrace to the country and the royal family.
Of course, those officials who fled Lin'an City early were completely humiliated, and their political careers might even end prematurely.
How can you not make people feel angry?
After Zhao Xun was extremely frightened, he became extremely annoyed. After being extremely annoyed, he thought of his series of actions, and became extremely angry with shame.
He realized that this time, he needed someone to take the blame again.
A scapegoat who must take full responsibility for him and attract doubts and anger from the court and the people.
This person must have a heavy weight, and he must be the type who has made a big mistake and must be dealt with severely.
Zhao Min is obviously a mature emperor who has learned how to shirk responsibility.
In this matter, he had to shirk the blame cleanly and thoroughly, and not let others think that he was an incompetent king. That's why he allowed the enemy to attack Lin'an City twice in a row within two years.
Someone has to be held accountable.
And who this person is, the answer is obvious.
The last trace of warmth in his heart has been completely wiped out by the cruel current situation and bad situation, and Zhao Yan has no way out.
So he convened a court meeting as quickly as possible, summoned all the ministers who could be present, and got furious in front of them. Before they could point the finger at him, he threw and beat him in anger, and put all the blame on Shi Hao. .
Privy Councilor Shi Hao became the only and necessary scapegoat.
So at the court meeting, the furious Zhao Hao pronounced Shi Hao's death.
Shi Hao was dismissed from his post, lost all status and power, and was sentenced to death. The only consolation was that his family did not have to bear joint liability, it was just him who was going to die.
Even if this is the case, that's enough.
Shi Hao's face was ashen, his eyes were dull, his body was stiff, and he didn't show much.
It seemed that he had realized his fate.
Some people stood up to speak for him, some stood up to add insult to injury, and more people maintained a deadly silence without making any unnecessary noise.
Of course, Shi Hao's ending has not changed.
He must die, in order to bear this huge scapegoat, he must die.
His death was for Zhao Yu, for the court, and for the entire Southern Song Dynasty.
