Son of Song Dynasty

Chapter 155 Capturing the Emperor
Pan Mei is not a young man with no political sense at all. He can fully understand what it means for the Holy Majesty to be seriously ill suddenly. It's hard to stay out of it.

He was also very clear about Zhao Dezhao's intention in showing him the letter, it was to force him to stand in line!

This is a big matter, which concerns personal honor and disgrace as well as the future of the whole family. Pan Mei trembled slightly with her hands. After taking a deep breath, she calmed down, returned the letter to Zhao Dezhao, and asked tentatively: "Your Highness, would you What is your plan?"

Zhao Dezhao asked without answering, "General Pan, what do you think?"

Pan Mei gritted her teeth, turned her heart, and said loudly: "Your Highness, I thought you should leave immediately and return to Tokyo, and I wish to do the work of the pioneers!"

As soon as these words came out, Pan Mei made her stand clear and decided to stand on Zhao Dezhao's side. Her usual attitudes and positions were innumerable, but at this critical juncture, her position and standing in line were unreal.

A slight smile appeared on Zhao Dezhao's face, and he was not very surprised.

He knew very well in his heart that although Pan Mei showed some slippery manners on many issues and was afraid of taking responsibility, she was still a very responsible person in her bones.

After Zhao Dezhao's emperor's father launched Chen Qiao's mutiny, the orphans and widows left behind by Zhou Shizong Chai Rong became an extremely sensitive issue. Fortunately, the "widow mother" was nothing more than a woman who was raised as the empress dowager. That's right, but Zhou Shizong's direct lineage is very troublesome, let's just kill him, what's wrong with a yellow-mouthed child?This will make it appear that the new dynasty is too vicious, and it is not good to spread it out; but if you want to keep it like this?Worrying about future troubles.

In the end, it was Pan Mei who took the initiative to stand up and proposed to Zhao Kuangyin to take in Zhou Shizong's blood and raise him as his own son.There is no political benefit for Pan Mei to take the initiative to do this kind of thing. Instead, she has to bear certain political risks. This responsibility is quite remarkable; He is quite trusted by the emperor, otherwise he might not have the courage to stand up and take over this matter.

It was precisely because of this incident more than ten years ago that Zhao Dezhao had always had an extra appreciation for Pan Mei and believed that he was a responsible warrior.

Now Pan Mei's performance did not disappoint him, but Zhao Dezhao did not intend to follow his advice.

"My father is seriously ill, so of course a son should rush back to serve the decoction." Zhao Dezhao deliberately did not mention the looming struggle for the crown prince, but lightly limited the topic to the human relationship between father and son: "Human ethics and righteousness must be taken into consideration, but state affairs Don’t be partial, Lingnan is only tentatively decided, the situation is not completely calm, and we still need troops to stay, so I don’t need you to be my vanguard.”

Hearing that Pan Mei understood Zhao Dezhao's intention to call her here, she couldn't help secretly heaving a sigh of relief. Staying in Lingnan can temporarily stay away from the battles in the court in Tokyo and the dangerous political vortex. It is also a good arrangement for herself, but for Not necessarily Zhao Dezhao.

After thinking about it for a while, Pan Mei was a little worried after all, and asked tentatively: "Your Highness, are you planning to return to Tokyo lightly? If you don't see it beforehand, you should bring as many followers as possible as a precautionary measure."

Zhao Dezhao shook his head, and said lightly: "This king is only returning to Beijing to serve my father, not to return to the army to fight, why do you need many troops? This trip to the north, the whole journey is in the territory of Song Dynasty, why is it dangerous? There are too many soldiers and horses , the journey must be slow, how can this king afford to wait?"

Pan Mei was waiting to persuade her, but she had to shut up when she heard the words.

……

Two hours later, five hundred cavalrymen gathered outside the north gate of Panyu, each carrying ten days' worth of dry food, and three horses for transfer.

This little bit of strength is of course insignificant, but it is already the limit that Pan Mei can gather in a hurry. Every soldier is carefully selected, either from Pan Mei's personal soldiers, or simply It was Zhao Dezhao's own personal guard, and his reliability was far higher than that of ordinary imperial soldiers.

Zhao Dezhao fixed his mount, glanced at the five hundred cavalrymen, and said awe-inspiringly:

"This king has just received urgent rumors from Tokyo that the Khitan invaded and broke our border. The Holy One urgently summons this king to return to the capital to preside over the overall situation!"

"To go to the north and return to the capital, you must travel day and night, and you must march at least 150 miles a day!"

"If you're hungry, eat right away; if you're sleepy, sleep right away; if you don't stop, don't stop!"

"Those who are lazy, beheaded!"

"Those who have resentment, beheaded!"

"Anyone who is impatient and escapes, behead!"

"Whoever returns to Tokyo with me within [-] days will be rewarded!"

After Zhao Dezhao finished speaking, all the sergeants agreed and cheered loudly. They came on horseback day and night. It was extremely hard for people to keep their horses without resting, but it was much better than going into battle and fighting hard. If you work hard for a while, you can get something. A heavy reward is also very cost-effective.

The reason why they did not explain the truth to the sergeants at this time, but lied to them about "Khitan invasion", was that they were worried that if the news spread, it would shake the morale of the Forbidden Army staying in Lingnan, so it was necessary to temporarily conceal it. It was also a suggestion made by Pan Mei, an old soldier.

Zhao Dezhao felt that the morale of the sergeants was quite satisfactory, so he waved his hand and said, "All the troops obey the order: get on your horse!"

The cavalry of the Song Dynasty is still a typical classical cavalry, which is quite different from the modern cavalry in Zhao Dezhao's impression. There is no such thing as "step-by-step training for mounting horses" in this era. The mounting action of five hundred cavalry lasted for a long time After a burst of chaotic sounds of people shouting and neighing, the queue for departure was barely lined up.

Zhao Dezhao raised his whip with his right hand and was about to give the order to start when he suddenly saw someone galloping out from the city gate, shouting repeatedly that it was Pan Mei.

"General Pan, why are you so urgent?" Zhao Dezhao asked with a frown.

"His Royal Highness, I caught...that Liu Xuan was caught." Pan Mei wiped the sweat from her forehead, and respectfully said to Zhao Dezhao: "This matter is of great importance, and the general will not dare to make a claim. Please tell your Highness, how should I deal with it?"

Zhao Dezhao was taken aback when he heard the words. Although he was a little disappointed when he learned that the Southern Han emperor's whereabouts were unknown, he didn't pay much attention to this Liu Xuan after that. How much can the monarch do?Sooner or later, he would not be able to escape the search of the Song army, or be reported by the courtiers around him.

But Zhao Dezhao was still surprised that he was caught so quickly. The emperor was so cowardly that he couldn't even hide for three days?
(End of this chapter)