The Jin army conquered Zhongjing, the Liao lord didn't know where to flee, Yeluchun was proclaimed emperor in Yanjing, and the three major events that happened in the Liao country one after another, Zhao Ji Junchen had actually been informed.

Faced with this situation, Zhao Ji repeatedly discussed with ministers such as Wang Hao, Zheng Juzhong, Cai You, and Li Bangyan.

Combined with Cai's "ease", Yunnan was defeated.

Zhao Jijunchen came to a conclusion - the Liao State was doomed and was already vulnerable.

At the same time, this also gave Zhao Jijunchen an illusion that Cai may still not be so able to fight, and the reason why he was able to defeat Yunnan so quickly was not because he could fight, but because the current Liao State was too weak.

At this time, he reported that the two envoys sent by Yeluchun had arrived in Xiongzhou, and asked for instructions on how to deal with it?

Wang Hao believed that Yeluchun's claim to be emperor was a usurpation, and the Great Song Dynasty could never admit it, and the two so-called envoys should be expelled from the country.

Cai You, Zheng Juzhong, and Li Bangyan all supported Wang Hao's view.

So, Zhao Ji wrote a codex to He Xu, which read: "The Lord of Liao is still there, and the King of Yan has to stand without permission?" This was an unjust act, and the Great Song refused to accept it, and immediately let the two so-called Liao envoys return. ”

Faced with the situation of the Liao Kingdom being torn apart, Zhao Ji couldn't wait any longer, and he was ready to let Tong Guan, who had already prepared seventy-seven eighty-eight, immediately lead his army north.

Wang Hao had insight into Zhao Ji's thoughts through Liang Shicheng, so he suggested to Zhao Ji: "Your Majesty, according to the spy report, now the Jurchen offensive in the Liao State is very fierce and invincible, and the offensive of the champion Hou in Yundi is also very smooth, and it is imminent to be able to contain the Liao army in Yundi and recover Yanjing. ”

Zhao Ji suppressed the true emotions in his heart and deliberately asked, "Is the time ripe now?" ”

Wang Hao replied: "The minister thinks that the time is ripe, and if he doesn't make a move, I'm afraid that Yanjing will also be occupied by the Jurchens." ”

Zhao Ji slapped the table and said: "He Shu sent back the news that Yanjing is now in chaos, the people of Yanjing are panicking, and the army is going north to press the border, maybe the people of Yanjing will really eat pot pulp, and greet each other in the middle of the road, I have decided, Tong Guan is in charge, and the army will patrol the border in the north!" ”

Wang Hao's eyes moved, and he reminded: "Your Majesty, Master Tong will bring most of our soldiers of the Great Song Dynasty to the north this time, and there are some things that you have to guard against." ”

Regarding Wang Hao's words, Zhao Ji didn't say anything, but thanked Wang Hao for his reminder in his heart.

After a little silence, Zhao Ji said: "I am still at ease with Master Tong, as the so-called employment is not suspicious and suspicious people are not used." However, after all, Master Tong is sixty-eight years old, and he should indeed be assigned a deputy, huh...... Aiqing sees who is more suitable? ”

Wang Hao had already thought about it, and blurted out: "In the minister's opinion, Cai Jiedu is the most suitable to serve as the deputy envoy of Xuanfu. ”

Wang Hao knew that Cai You was Zhao Ji's most trusted person, so he deeply figured out Zhao Ji's heart and made suggestions in time.

By the way, this is a secret to Wang Hao's rapid improvement.

The so-called wealth has a financial road, and officials have an official way, which has been the case since ancient times.

Song Zhezong died, and soon after Zhao Ji succeeded to the throne, he gave Cai Yu the birth of Jinshi and worshiped as a secretary.

Since then, Cai You has been in good fortune, and his official position has continued to rise, and Zhao Ji has favored him.

In fact, Zhao Ji and Cai You are not only the relationship between the monarch and the minister, but also the personal relationship between the two is also very good.

Even, even Cai You's wife, Song, followed the light - she entered and exited the palace as if she was in her own home, very casually.

Now, Wang Hao proposed to let Cai You serve as a deputy to Tong Guan, and Zhao Ji felt that it was very appropriate, so he issued an edict appointing Shaobao, Zhenhai Jiedu Envoy, Kaifu Yi and the three divisions Cai You as the deputy envoy of Hedong and Hebei Xuanfu.

Cai You has never held a military position, he is a little excited about this appointment, but also a little uneasy, he came to the Chongzheng Palace, said to Zhao Ji: "The minister went to the Hebei frontier, I don't know how to exercise my position, and His Majesty needs to make it clear." ”

Zhao Ji smiled and said: "Master Tong is old and faint, his behavior is sometimes perverse, and the truth is often hidden. Qing is the minister I rely on, no one can compare, therefore, Qing is nominally the deputy Xuanfu envoy, in fact, he can supervise the army, but the military affairs, the secretary does not have to participate, only full-time civilian, and supervise Tong Guan's actions. ”

Cai You suddenly realized, and then said: "Your Majesty, please rest assured, the minister will definitely fulfill his duties." ”

……

Cai Jing heard that his eldest son Cai You was appointed by the emperor as the deputy Xuanfu envoy and was about to go north, so he hurried to the Chongzheng Palace, wept and paused, and said to Zhao Ji: "Your Majesty, the Northern Expedition is a major event, and the ministers dare not be competent, and they are willing to retire idlely. By no means, may Your Majesty protect the old ministers. ”

Zhao Ji smiled slightly and said: "Taishi Cai is too worried, the eldest prince is talented and handsome, and it will be good for him to sharpen it at the border." ”

Cai Jing knelt on the ground and said with tears in his eyes: "Then, please follow the example of the mother and ask the emperor to pardon the minister's innocence." ”

Expand the mother, that is, the mother of Zhao Kuo. During the Spring and Autumn Period, Zhao Kuo's mother heard that King Zhao wanted his son Zhao Kuo to lead troops to fight, and immediately wrote to persuade him that Zhao Kuo could not be allowed to serve as a general. ”

Of course, Zhao Ji understood what Cai Jing meant, and knew that Cai Jing was afraid that Cai You's failure to go on the expedition would affect him.

Zhao Ji also knew that Cai You was not a general, but with Cai You secretly serving as a supervisor, it is estimated that Cai You is still competent.

However, Zhao Ji didn't want to tell Cai Jing the truth of the matter, so he just laughed at what Cai Jing said.

……

Cai You was quickly ready to go on the expedition, and on this day he proudly wore a military uniform and came to Yanfu Palace to bid farewell to Zhao Ji.

Zhao Ji was splashing ink, he looked up at Cai You, and said, "Dressed in military uniform, yes, really like a commander on the march, I am waiting for you to return triumphantly." ”

Cai You smiled and asked, "If the minister is triumphant, what reward does Your Majesty have?" ”

Zhao Ji asked rhetorically: "What does the Qing family want?" ”

Cai You saw that there were two beauties beside Zhao Ji, so he smiled and said, "Your Majesty, if the minister succeeds in courting Yan, reward these two beauties to the minister." ”

Zhao Ji just laughed, neither agreeing nor refusing.

Cai You took out another poem and handed it to Zhao Ji.

The old lazy body and mind are not free, and the book is sent with tears. A hundred years of vows should be deeply remembered, and the dog journey will be less restful. Seeing the flag like yesterday's dream, I have new worries in my heart. The breeze is full of fresh air, and I come back early to get drunk.

Zhao Ji looked at it and asked, "Who wrote this?" ”

Cai You replied, "It was written by my old father." ”

After Cai You left, Zhao Ji stopped writing and repeatedly savored Cai Jing's poem.

After a while, Zhao Ji asked Zhang Di to deliver the decree and invited Cai Jing to come to the Chongzheng Palace.

After Cai Jing received the holy decree, he was very puzzled, he couldn't guess what Zhao Ji was going to say to him, but he understood that it must be related to sending troops north.

Cai Jing used to support and even be very active in sending troops north to recover Yanjing, but later his attitude changed.

As an experienced politician, Cai Jing had already sensed that the military and government of the Great Song Dynasty were corrupt, and if there was a war at this time, the victory or defeat would be unpredictable.

Therefore, Cai still persuaded Zhao Ji to give up Yanyun's dream many times, but Zhao Ji disagreed.

Zhao Ji felt that Cai Jing became less and less bold as he grew older.

Once, Zhao Ji said to Cai Jing: "Back then, Taishi repeatedly persuaded me to recover Qingtang, but as soon as he sent troops, he recovered Qingtang. But now, how did the Taishi become restricted? ”

Cai Jing smiled bitterly and said: "Your Majesty, it's not that the old minister has become timid, but that the situation is different. ”

Hearing this, Zhao Ji's face was a little unbearable.

Since then, Zhao Ji has been reluctant to deal with Cai Jing.

Later, Cai Jing, who understood Zhao Ji's intentions, could only invite himself.

Zhao Ji came to the Chongzheng Hall and said to Cai Jing, who had been waiting for a long time, "Taishi, I have already read the farewell poem you wrote to Deputy Xuanfu Cai. I thought that "Dog Journey" might as well be changed to "June King", what do you think? ”

Cai Jing's face suddenly turned gray for a while, and his expression was very embarrassed.

Cai Jing didn't expect Cai You, a rebel, to hand over this poem to Zhao Ji.

Cai Jing thought to himself: "There is an obvious anti-war sentiment in the poem, but fortunately, the emperor is very generous and does not blame himself." ”

Zhao Ji returned Cai Jing's poem to Cai Jing, and then asked Cai Jing to go back.

Cai Jing returned to the Taishi Mansion sullenly.

Cai Jing's mood was very heavy, and he walked around the courtyard with tears in his eyes.

At this time, Cai Jing's favorite singer named Xiao Taohong ran over, grabbed Cai Jing's arm and asked, "Taishi, what's wrong with you?" ”

Cai Jing stopped, looked up at the sky and said, "I will cry." ”

The allusion of the crying teacher comes from Uncle Jian, an old minister of the Qin State in the Spring and Autumn Period. Qin Mugong did not listen to Uncle Jian's dissuasion, and insisted on sending troops to attack Zheng Guo. Uncle Jian expected that the Qin army would never return, so he cried to see off the Qin army, but the Qin army was indeed ambushed by the Jin army in Kunshan, and the whole army was annihilated.

……

Soon, under the urging of the imperial court over and over again, the seed master Dao resolutely made a decision:

Let Yang Keshi lead the 15,000 main forces of the elite Jingyuan Road of the whole army as the selection of the front army, and set off quickly.

Let Yao Gu, the commander of the Xihe Road, lead a total of 30,000 troops from various military regions to stay in the northwest, take full charge of the defense of the northwest, and at the same time leave some seeds for the western army - after all, this is a national war, who dares to guarantee that these people who go out will definitely come back?

Yao Gu was too lazy to go out, and he was unwilling to be controlled by the Seed Master Dao, this decision was completely in line with his wishes.

However, Yao Gu's adopted son, Yao Pingzhong, has always been brave and resolute in his own responsibility, and he resolutely asked to fight on the front line.

Seed Master Dao met Yao Pingzhong's request and asked him to lead 10,000 people of the Xihe Army to Hebei.

Xihe Road is the farthest away from Hebei, and Seed Master Dao estimated that this group of men and horses would not be able to reach the front line last, so Seed Master Dao took it as a rear army and gave him the task of taking over the whole army, in fact, he wanted the Xihe Army to be the general reserve of the whole army.

In the division of the division, he led the Qin Feng army, and Liu Yanqing led the Huanqing army and the Yan Ting army as the left and right armies respectively, and set off later than Yang Keshi.

He led the headquarters and the remaining Jingyuan Army as the Chinese army.

Considering that after the army set off, the supply and replenishment of grain, grass and other military supplies were bound to deal with the imperial court and local transfer departments, and the planting master specially appointed Tong Guan's relative Wang Yuan and Tong Guan's love general Xin Qizong as the grain protection general-called grain protection, in fact, the planting master Tao was to use their relationship with Tong Guan to ensure the military supply of the whole army.

The rush of the expedition gave rise to a variety of practical difficulties, which led to complaints among the soldiers.

In addition, due to the improper issuance of certain orders, some contradict each other, and some are inconsistent, resulting in constant conflicts between certain people or certain troops.

In short, it is not going well - most soldiers have negative or even resistant emotions.

To put it bluntly, the Western Army has been in the northwest for too long, too long, they have regarded this land as their home, they have multiplied here, there are their families here, there are their attachments, therefore, they can fight here, they can die, as long as they don't go out, plus there are examples of Huanqing Army and Yan Yan Army going out and never coming back (the Huanqing Army and Yan Yan Army who went out were later incorporated into the Shengjie Army), so they were as reluctant to go to Hebei to fight as the commander of this army.

Nevertheless, the disciplined discipline of this army overcame all the negative factors, and after receiving the order of the planter, the troops were ready to go out as quickly as possible, and were generally able to set out on time for the front according to the very hurried schedule laid down in the order.

The 80,000 Western Army, which had been silent for many years, with a deep attachment to the northwest, passed through the vast northwest wilderness, passed through the mountains, and gathered on the Hebei front......

……