One Piece of Song Dynasty

Zhao Ding stood up and said: "I think that Li Gang once said that if you want to restore the Central Plains, you should start from Guanzhong. This is correct. But running Guanzhong should start from Sichuan and Shu; if you want to prosper Sichuan and Shu, you should start from Jingxiang. Jingxiang left Guchuan Shaanxi, control Hunan on the right, overlooking Jingluo, a must-win area for the three kingdoms. Since your Majesty has arrived in Nanyang, you should immediately cross the new fields, use Jingxiang as your route, and station heavy troops in Xiangyang to revive the great cause. There is no plan to go beyond this."

Zhao Gou thought thoughtfully and said: "I have remembered the battleground between Jing and Xiang strategists. I will promote Zhao Ding to the title of Censor Zhongcheng."

Zhang Jun looked at Zhao Ding enviously and was happy for him. Zhao Ding thanked him and said, "I will draw up a decree and order Jingxiang to reserve grain and grass and build a castle in preparation for the patrol."

"The battleground for military strategists is also the place of the Four Wars, Your Majesty." Huang Qianshan continued to argue, but Zhao Gou stood up and interrupted: "Draw up the decree and be prepared. As for whether to go to Jingxiang, I have to think again.

It is good for Zhao Ding to stick to Jing Xiang's opinion, but Huang Qianshan's analysis is not unreasonable. Stationed in Jingxiang, I am afraid that before the castle repairs are completed, it will be surrounded by two Jin armies. If you look for another way out, where can you stay?

Marching the next day, Zhu Shengfei found that the entire army had crossed the mountain again and returned to the inn where they had settled down yesterday. He didn't understand why Zhao Gou suddenly turned around and returned north. When he heard that the emperor actually wanted to go deep into Huaidian and mobilize Liu Guangshi and Han Shizhong's troops to ambush the Jin army and defend Jiangsu and Zhejiang, he couldn't help but be surprised. He followed Zhao Ding all the way. complain.

"Although Xiangyang is a battleground for the Three Kingdoms, it is also a place for the Four Wars. In addition, due to supply difficulties, His Majesty stayed up all night and finally decided to return north to attack the Jin army head-on and catch him by surprise. Your Majesty formulated a bold military strategy The strategy caught us by surprise." Zhao Ding could only understand Zhao Gou's meaning from an optimistic perspective.

Zhao Gou was forced to lead the army and civilians all the way north, almost exactly following the original route, and walked miles back and forth in vain. On this day, he finally left Henan and arrived at the boundary of Bozhou in the northwest corner of Anhui. Anyone familiar with geography knows that Bozhou is south of Shangqiu, only more than a hundred miles away from Shangqiu, the starting point of this trip, Nanjing. Zhao Gou sat in Bozhou and began to implement his military plan. He commanded the three armies of Wang Yuan, Han Shizhong and Liu Guangshi to quietly lurk in the Xiayi, Huaibei and Suqian areas today, preparing to give the Jin army a head-on attack.

No one knows why Zhao Gou abandoned Xiangyang, which is close to Nanyang, and why he suddenly dared to return to Huaidian to tweeze his tiger beard. We can only imagine how huge the threat Zhao Gou faced from the Jin Army on the West Route at that time.

When it was time to light the lamp, Zhao Gou took a bath in the Bozhou government office. Zhao Gou grew up in a deep palace and developed the habit of being clean. Even if conditions did not allow, he would rather skip meals than take a bath first. Then, while Wu Shaofen combed his hair, he listened to Zhao Ding read memorials from various places. Huang Qianshan was tapping Lao Han's legs, shaking his head and complaining: "Bozhou is more than a hundred miles away from Nanjing. If I had known this, why would I have to go back and forth fifteen hundred miles in vain?"

"Your Majesty has ordered Han Shizhong and Liu Guangshi's troops to lurk in Huaidian to ambush the Jin army. Your Majesty is stationed in Bozhou, and it is also a last-ditch battle." Zhu Shengfei replied.

The various memorials that Zhao Ding read were all reports on the rebellion caused by military thieves in various places. Among them, Gong Yi rebelled against Laizhou, Zhao Wan committed a crime in Zhenjiang, Zhejiang army bandit Chen Tong killed Ti Dian and imprisoned Zhou Ge, etc. Huang Qianshan couldn't control his anger and said: "Wang Yuan, Han Shizhong, and Liu Guangshi are all in Huaidian. Why not send one or two generals to quell the rebellion?"

"All the armies have gathered in Huaidian to ambush the Jin army. How can they tamper with it?" Zhao Gou disagreed with the idea of ​​dispatching the troops to ambush the Jin army to quell the rebellion. He turned to Zhao Ding and asked, "Where is the Jin army now?"

Zhao Ding pointed to the map and said: "The Jin army has passed the Dahuang Mountains and is advancing towards Bozhou."

"It's just the right time." Zhao Gou had just said half a sentence when he suddenly heard people outside the courtyard shouting horses neighing, flames rising to the sky, and the sound of swords clashing. Wu Shaofen immediately drew his sword and rushed to the door. Seeing that the guards outside the courtyard had withdrawn into the courtyard and were waiting, he asked urgently: "What's causing the noise outside?"

Zhang Jun came in with his sword in hand: "The Huainan thief Li Min has come to kill him. Zhang Boying is fighting with the thief in the street. The thief's force is strong. Your Majesty, please leave quickly."

"The tiger and leopard haven't been driven out at the front door, but someone stabbed me in the back." Zhao Ding stamped his feet angrily.

"Rebellion ruined my big job." Zhao Gou raised his head angrily, water flowing down his face.

Wu Shaofen pushed Zhao Gou to stand up: "Your Majesty, hurry up and leave through the back door. Your Majesty, hurry up and leave."

"With this move, the ambush of the Jin army in Huaidian will be in vain." Zhao Gou angrily picked up the bath towel and cursed while wiping his hair.

In late autumn, the autumn rain is continuous. Zhao Gou led the fleeing team all the way east and ran for five days and five nights in heavy rain. They trekked more than miles in the mud and reached the border of Sizhou via Lingbi.

In the evening, Zhao Gou came to Puzhao Temple in Sizhou. The temple is located in the southeast of Sihong, Jiangsu today. Sihong is the collective name of Si County and Hongze Lake. In the Song Dynasty, Sihong in Jiangsu and Si County in Anhui were unified into Sizhou.

When Zhao Gou, Wu Shaofen, and Kang Lu entered Puzhao Temple on horseback wearing raincoats and bamboo hats, it was raining heavily. Zhu Shengfei, the abbot and Lan Gui have been waiting in front of the temple gate for a long time. Zhu Shengfei stepped forward to salute, and excitedly reported to Zhao Gou the good news: Huainan thief Li Min had been recruited by Zhang Jun.

Zhao Gou's face became a little angry. He dismounted with Shaofen and Kang Lu and looked up at the temple. The presiding abbot hurriedly saluted: "Amitabha, your Majesty's presence will make this temple shine."

"I'm sorry for bothering you, Master." Zhao Gou returned the greeting under Kang Lu's umbrella and came to the door eaves to ask Zhu Shengfei, "Is there any news about rebels anywhere?"

"Du Yan of Mizhou killed the prefect Zhao Ye; Zhen Zhaowan attacked Guazhou; Xin Daozong defeated the Hangzhou army thief Chen Tong and suffered a great defeat." Zhu Shengfei had not finished speaking. Zhao Gou gritted his teeth and said, "Damn the army thieves deceived me and dared not divide the troops? Since there is no way to set up an ambush, I ordered Liu Guangshi to attack the Zhenjiang rebels, while Wang Yuan and Zhang Jun went to Hangzhou to quell the rebellion."

It was already midnight, and Zhao Gou, Zhang Jun, and Huang Qianshan were still undecided about tomorrow's itinerary. Wu Shaofen had no choice but to ask Langui and Gillian to prepare supper. Zhang Jun looked at the map and broke the silence: "Our army has entered the boundary of Huainan East Road. May I ask Your Majesty where to go next?"

While everyone was still thinking, Huang Qianshan flipped through the memorials and found one: "Ha Zongze came again to persuade His Majesty to return to Luan. He actually said that Li Cheng, Zhang Yong, Cao Cheng, and Wang Shan were able to rely on the powerful thieves. Your Majesty." If you are returning to Beijing at this time, why should the enemy country worry? This old man is simply crazy."

"Tokyo has become a place of four wars. Why doesn't this Zongze urge me to return to Beijing again and again?" Zhao Gou frowned and pondered while eating. Zhang Jun said: "When Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty jumped to Hebei, he dominated the world just by recruiting bandits from the Yuyang Brigade, so Guangwu was also known as the Bronze Horse Emperor. I believe that Zongze recruited more than one million bandits like Wang Shan , repeatedly urging His Majesty to return to Beijing, is to ask Your Majesty to follow the example of Han Guangwu."