Guangling, conquer the governor's mansion.
Although Chu Su could not let go of the failure of the Northern Expedition, he also understood that victory or defeat was just a matter of military strategists, and he was trying to regroup in order to avenge his humiliation in the future.
However, 200,000 Han people greeted the king's army, and the news of the ultimate loss of casualties reached Guangling, which completely defeated him.
"Oh my God! The ancestors of the Jin Dynasty! The old minister is guilty!"
Chu Pei knelt down and cried:
"I am ashamed of my country and the 200,000 people in the north!"
Upon seeing this, all the staff turned their heads away, unable to bear to see this scene.
Chu Pei has always been an honest official with no fault in personal ethics. However, no matter how outstanding his virtues are, if his talents are not matched, he will suffer disaster.
Cai Mo had already asserted before that he almost suffered death due to this.
Chu Su's grief was not fake. After crying, he felt sad and angry, ashamed and self-hatred, and then fell ill.
While he was ill, he petitioned the court to remove his title and depose him as a commoner.
Along with Chu Pei's confession, the report of Huan Xi's victory over Chang'an was also delivered to Jiankang.
"Great victory! Great victory! The Prince of Linhe County will go on an expedition to the north and regain Chang'an!"
Messengers reporting victory shouted along the street, lest the people of Jiankang did not know about this happy event.
For the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Chu Pe's failure was certainly terrible, but Huan Xi's success was even more heart-wrenching.
In the main hall of Taicheng, the atmosphere is very solemn.
Queen Mother Chu sat on the throne with a pale face. Over the past few days, Queen Mother Chu had often been awakened by nightmares.
At night, as soon as she closed her eyes, she could imagine the horrific scene of two hundred thousand innocent people being massacred because of her father's failure in the Northern Expedition.
Empress Dowager Chu glanced at the still ignorant little emperor beside her, and finally cheered up. Holding her father's edict pleading for resignation, she asked the ministers:
"The military governor (Chu Pei) of the expedition was defeated at Daibei (today's Tengzhou, Shandong Province). He submitted a request to me to resign from his official position. The ministers thought that this request should be accepted."
General Jianwu, governor of Yangzhou, and Yin Hao, who was authorized to participate in government affairs, hurriedly came out and said:
"Reporting to your majesty, the fault of Daipi's defeat was not entirely due to the conquest of the Governor, but to the failure of Wang Gong and others in the battle. How can the Governor be held responsible alone?
"I also ask your Majesty to reject Chu Gong's speech and issue an edict to make Wang Ni's sins public."
After hearing this, all the ministers also asked the Queen Mother Chu to retain Chu Su's official position and put the blame on the king's niche.
In the Battle of Daibei, Wangqian was indeed at a disadvantage. There is nothing to say about this.
At that time, more than 500 households in Lu County agreed to submit to the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Chu Su sent his general Wang Gong and 3,000 soldiers to respond.
Wang Kong encountered Li Nong's 20,000 cavalry and was defeated and captured.
However, Chu Pei led an army of 30,000 to the Northern Expedition, and the defeat of only 3,000 men scared him back to Guangling.
The defeat of Daipi was certainly Wang Gong's responsibility, as he was outnumbered.
However, the Northern Expedition failed and 200,000 refugees died. Chu Pei bore the unshirkable responsibility.
It is not that the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty did not understand the truth, but Wang Gong had already become a prisoner, and Chu Su was the father of the Queen Mother, so they could only bully Wang Gong, a prisoner, for not coming to Jiankang to plead his innocence, so he committed all his crimes. Push it on his head.
Of course the Empress Dowager Chu knew the whole story, but in order to preserve her father's reputation and not want him to live in self-blame and regret, she had no choice but to comply with everyone's request and ordered ministers to draft an edict on her behalf, detailing the crimes of the king's niche, and at the same time An envoy was sent to Guangling to express condolences on Chu Su's condition.
After discussing the crime of Wang Ni, it was good news about Huan Xi.
Huan Xi had mentioned in his memorial before leaving the army that he would conquer Chang'an and welcome the Queen Mother back to the old capital.
Now that Huan Xi had indeed captured the city of Chang'an, Empress Dowager Chu was unwilling to rely on anyone else.
She asked the ministers:
"If General Huan Xi petitions to move the capital, how should I respond?"
Staying in Jiankang was in the interests of the ministers, and they were also unwilling to go back to Chang'an, even if it was the nominal old capital of the Jin Kingdom.
Sima Yu, the king of Kuaiji, said:
“Emperor Zhongzong (Sima Rui) initiated the policy of crossing to the south, which has been followed by rise and fall. It has been five generations since the Jin Dynasty moved its capital to Jiankang.
"Now that the people in Jiangdong are at peace, if we rashly move the capital, we might hurt the hearts of all the people, and Guanzhong is in ruins. How can we agree to it? Please refuse, your Majesty."
As soon as he finished speaking, all the ministers came to admonish him:
"I beg your Majesty to abandon the proposal to move the capital."
None of the civil and military ministers of the Manchu Dynasty wanted to leave Jiankang and go to Chang'an to live under the eyes of the Huan family.
Empress Dowager Chu pushed the boat along the current, responded to the invitation of the ministers, and said:
"General Zhenglu has come forward to ask for merit for the general. I still need all the ministers to discuss the reward with me."
Yin Hao came out of the queue after hearing this and said:
"Your Majesty! This must not be done! The conquering generals have few soldiers. The reason why they were able to occupy Chang'an is because the conquering governor (Chu Pei) restrained the Zhao people.
"Now that Duke Chu has retreated to Guangling, the general who conquered the captives is alone in the pass. It is not yet known whether he can hold Chang'an, so how can he rush to reward him.
"Your Majesty, please wait for the situation in Guanzhong to develop. When the overall situation is decided, it is not too late to discuss the reward."
The Empress Dowager Chu was overjoyed when she heard this. In this way, Huan Xi's Northern Expedition also had her father's contribution to containing the Zhao people. She immediately followed Yin Hao's words and suspended the reward for Huan Xi and his generals, waiting for the situation to develop.
Different from the attitude of the ministers, the people in Jiankang all rushed to tell each other when they heard that Huan Xi had regained Chang'an.
Compared with the loss of troops and generals, which caused 200,000 northern Han people to die with hatred, Huan Xi's recovery of Chang'an really boosted people's hearts.
Wuyi Lane, Xie Mansion.
Xie Xuan, who was seven years old at the time, returned home with cheerful steps and went straight to Xie Daoyun's boudoir.
Before he even entered the door, he shouted happily:
"Sister, there are people talking outside, brother Huan..."
The conversation stopped suddenly, and Xie Xuan saw his father Xie Yi as soon as he entered the door.
Since Xie Yi left the Huanwen shogunate, he returned to Jiankang. He felt that he was in an awkward situation with Huanwen as his son and daughter, so he refused to be recruited by the imperial court and stayed at home.
Seeing his father staring at him, Xie Xuan lowered his head.
Xie Yi scolded:
"How unbecoming is it to be so impatient when things happen?"
After that, Xie Yi stood up and left.
Seeing that his father was gone, Xie Xuan breathed a sigh of relief, approached his sister, and told her the good news that Huan Xi had regained Chang'an.
Xie Daoyun had actually learned about this from Xie Yi a long time ago, and Xie Yi had just warned her to break off the relationship and stay behind closed doors.
Now that Huan Xi is in the limelight, don't let her marriage to Huan Xi cause trouble for the clan again.
Unlike the Xie family who are cautious, the Huan Wen couple don't have so many scruples.
Jiangling, Linhe Duke's Mansion.
Huan Wen was receiving a guest. During the dinner, they talked about Huan Xi's Northern Expedition. Huan Wen stroked his beard and pretended to sigh:
"If it weren't for the improper appointment of people by the imperial court, which prevented me from the Northern Expedition, I would have destroyed Jie Zhao and celebrated my victory with a banquet in Yecheng.
"Alas! I failed to send troops, so I made the younger generation famous."
Even though he said this, he couldn't hide the pride in his heart, and a heartfelt smile appeared on his face.
As for Sima Xingnan, she is now on her way to Jiankang. With her son having such achievements, a mother naturally has to go back to visit relatives and friends. Who can she talk to about this matter if she stays in Jiangling?
