The Jin Dynasty court allocated a guard army to Zhao Tai, and Zhao Tai also had his own army directly under his command.
This is why in troubled times, when the dynasty was about to perish, Zhao Tai could so easily obtain the position of deputy envoy of Xuanfu.
If there were no shortcuts in peacetime, it would be impossible to rise so quickly without enduring twenty years and making great contributions.
However, this also shows from the side that the Jin Kingdom is in ruins, and it is almost to the point where even two thousand kings cannot be saved.
Therefore, Zhao Tai must think about increasing his strength quickly in order to participate in carving up the Kingdom of Jin.
This is when Zhao Tai heard the announcement, said something nice to the officer, and then told his subordinates: "You guys wait here, I will go to the Marshal's Mansion and come back later!"
Chengde and Chenghu immediately saluted and then stood outside the inn, one on the left and the other on the right.
Zhao Tai got on his horse and said to the visitor: "Please lead the way!"
At that moment, Zhao Tai followed the officer and ran all the way to the Marshal's Mansion.
Wanyan Heda had meritorious service in guarding Bianjing. Wanyan Shouxu did not hold him responsible for the tragic defeat at Sanfeng Mountain. Instead, he was reused and made him the marshal of the capital. He was appointed as the envoy of the two-pronged system of Henan and Shandong. He was regarded as Zhao Tai's superior.
When Zhao Tai arrived outside the Marshal's Mansion, he saw groups of officers coming in and out, seemingly quite busy.
The soldiers standing guard outside the government office saw Zhao Tai arriving, and quickly stepped forward to lead Zhao Tai's horse, "Xuanfu Xianggong, the marshal is waiting inside!"
At that moment, Zhao Tai dismounted, threw the whip to him, then went straight into the Yamen and was taken to the lobby.
In the hall, Heda was discussing something with several generals. When he saw Zhao Tai come in, he tried his best to hide his disgust and forced a smile: "Guorui is here!"
Zhao Tai saluted with neither humility nor arrogance, "For this humble position, please see Marshal!"
Heda waved his hand, "Guorui, there is no need to be polite, I just mentioned you! Come! Come forward and take a look!"
Zhao Tai immediately stepped forward and found Heda and others surrounding a map, and asked, "This is it?"
Heda was quite excited and said: "The land of the Four Wars in the Central Plains cannot be defended for a long time. Before, Dajin was surrounded by enemies from both sides and could only defend Henan. Now that we have formed an alliance with the Southern Song Dynasty, we have no worries about our future. The imperial court decided to manage Xuzhou and Guide and other places. Prepare to regain Shandong!"
This is similar to what Monk Chen said. Zhao Tai said: "If the imperial court can regain Shandong, it will indeed be less passive strategically!"
Heda patted Zhao Tai on the shoulder and said solemnly: "Guorui, I think you should know by now the purpose of the imperial court asking you to announce the east-west road of Fushan. I have called you here today because I have a task to give you. you!"
Zhao Tai saluted immediately and said, "Please give me the Marshal's orders."
Heda said: "It's not a big deal. The imperial court has decided to operate Xuzhou and other places as an outpost to regain Shandong. You are the deputy envoy of Xuanfu on the East and West Road of Shandong. I want you to send a batch of supplies there first."
Zhao Tai didn't want to stay in Bianjing anymore, so he clasped his fists happily and said, "I will accept my order."
Heda immediately said: "Without further delay, you should set off as soon as possible."
After discussing with Wanyan Shouxu, Heda decided to kill Zhao Tai with a borrowed knife, but they did not make up a plan to regain Shandong just to get rid of Zhao Tai.
Henan cannot be defended for a long time. Recovering Shandong is indeed a strategy formulated by the top leaders of the Jin Kingdom.
As the capital marshal, Heda personally handled the plan and tried to get rid of Zhao Tai in the process of implementing the plan.
Zhao Tai came out of the Marshal's Mansion and returned to the post house. He informed everyone that he was going to escort the grain and grass to Xuzhou, and asked everyone to pack up and set off with him tomorrow.
Early the next morning, Zhao Tai received a notice from the Ministry of War and came to the eastern suburbs of Bianjing.
Nearly a hundred baggage vehicles, fully loaded with food and military supplies, were ready to be sent to the Xuzhou front line.
When Zhao Tai came over, the mobilized civilians and the accompanying troops had already lined up. Zhao Tai briefly said a few words, emphasizing the significance of transporting food to the front line and delaying military aircraft. Military law was engaged, and he waved domineeringly. ,"Set off!"
"Obey the order!" Chengde and others saluted, and then ordered the soldiers to escort the cart and go east.
Because Tongguan and the Yellow River were blocking the way, the Mongols could not enter Henan. Zhao Tai and his party were marching in the rear area, so there was no need to worry. Suddenly a group of people came to intercept the grain.
Zhao Tai walked easily along the way, but the scenes along the way made Zhao Tai feel uncomfortable.
The Jin Kingdom was at war with Mongolia. In order to fight against Mongolia, the Jin Kingdom's court could only exploit the people of the Central Plains. The people not only had to support the Jin Kingdom's army, but also had to support more than 100,000 Jurchen nobles who fled to Bianjing from the north. The burden was extremely heavy.
The heavy taxes had already made the people breathless. At the end of last year, the Mongols invaded Henan and burned, killed, and looted the people in the Central Plains, which directly made many people unable to survive and completely bankrupt.
It was now May, but Zhao Tai saw that a lot of land was not cultivated and the villages were empty.
Bianjing is not far from Xuzhou, and it took Zhao Tai and his party ten days to transport the supplies to Xuzhou.
Approaching Xuzhou City, Zhao Tai saw many shanty towns appearing on the outskirts of the city, and a large number of hungry people gathered outside the city, waiting for government relief.
The taxes in the Kingdom of Jin are extremely heavy, and the people don't have much food left in their homes. Last year, they were devastated by the Mongols. The big local households were robbed by the Mongols, and the people had no place to borrow money at usury.
Many people have run out of food at home and have no choice but to flee with their families until the wheat in the fields matures.
These hungry people had no place to go, so they gathered outside big cities such as Xuzhou and Guide, waiting for relief from the government.
At this time, Zhao Tai led the convoy over on horseback. When the hungry people outside the city saw the convoy, they walked out of their shacks one after another and gathered beside the road. They looked at Zhao Tai and his group with cloudy and dull eyes.
Zhao Tai stood high on his horse, looking at these hungry people with sallow faces, thin eyes, and dull eyes, and his heart became even heavier.
The golden soldiers who were escorting the food looked at the hungry people who were surrounding them. They clenched their weapons and became vigilant, fearing that these hungry untouchables would snatch the transported food.
"Master, have mercy on this poor child, give him something to stutter!" Suddenly, a woman knelt down by the roadside, holding her dying big-headed son in her arms.
The hungry people around did not dare to directly rob the food and grass escorted by the army, so they knelt down one after another and begged: "Master, please give me something to eat!"
When the officer escorting the rations saw this, he shouted loudly, "Get out of here, this is military rations. It is for the army to eat and fight the Mongols. You all get out of here."
"Master, please enjoy the porridge and drink it!" But the hungry people were all kneeling on the ground and just kept begging.
When Jin Jun saw this, he immediately raised his whip and said, "You idiot, you are looking for death, right?"
Just as he was about to whip his horse whip down, someone suddenly grabbed his wrist. The officer was about to yell and scold him. When he looked back, it was Zhao Tai who grabbed his hand. He couldn't help but exclaimed, "Xuanfu Xianggong!"
Zhao Tai had a dark face and shouted in a deep voice: "Put away your whips and weapons!"
