"What's going on with him? Has he always been like this?"

On the fourteenth day of the first lunar month, only one day before the Shangyuan Festival, in Taiyuan City, Zhao Guanjia, who re-entered the inner city after Wu Jie left, pointed at the people sitting in silence in the hall and asked curious questions.

This person was none other than Wanyan Salihe, Wanhu of the Jin Army who was captured because of the breach of Xihe City the night before yesterday.

"yes."

Dong Xian, the military commander of the imperial camp who was standing aside, looked a little embarrassed and stepped forward to explain. "So that the officials know that this guy has been like this since the city was broken... He will not surrender, he will not die, he will not escape, he will not resist, and he will be given food on the way.

I gave him water, talked to him nicely, and he responded normally, but when it came to political and military intelligence, he was unwilling to say anything, let alone surrender..."

"oh!"

After all, the Zhao Guan family was well-informed, and they immediately realized in their hearts... Isn't this non-violence and non-cooperation?

It is said that it is impossible for the people around to see through Zhao Guanjia's thoughts, but with this "oh", they immediately realized that the official family had given their own judgment on the matter, and since the official family had given their judgment, they

As a minister, naturally you have to try your best to pretend to understand what Zhao Guanjia means.

"What do the officials mean that this person wants to imitate Su Wu?" Fan Zongyin, the chief scholar of Yutang and the most noble and noble official in the army, had something to say when he came out.

"How can it be the same as Su Wu?" Zhao Jiu was almost speechless. "Su Wu was detained as an envoy. He is an envoy. This guy is a general. His mission is to fight and defend the city... The battle was defeated and the city was destroyed. What does he have?

What’s the word for observing the festival?”

Fan Zongyin looked slightly embarrassed.

"Don't worry, officials." Niu Gao stepped out from the side and bowed seriously. "Since this person didn't die at the beginning, he had the intention to survive. He is just pretending at this time, but he has a little bit of the remaining power of the Jin Kingdom in his heart...

Wait for a while and it will naturally drop."

Niu Gao was rough on the outside but delicate on the inside, but after these words, Sa Lihe, who was sitting on the ground and was humiliated, just pretended not to hear, which made Zhao Jiu even more thoughtful.

"Guan family." Dong Xian was also a little impatient. "According to me, it doesn't matter whether he surrenders or not. If the officials don't like him, they can just chop him down. No official wants to obey a prisoner's wishes."

mean……"

"It doesn't matter." Zhao Jiu waved his hand. "The achievements of the two of you are so clear, they will never be lost..."

"I didn't mean that..."

"Let's not talk about this for now." Zhao Jiu finally turned his attention to the people in the hall. "In any case, this Northern Expedition finally has the first ten thousand households in the Jin Kingdom who have abandoned the dark and turned to the light... This is a great good thing.

.”

There was silence in the hall for a moment, even Dong Xian and Niu Gao were stunned. Even Sa Lihe, who had been lowering his head, finally raised his head in confusion, as if he didn't understand what was going on.

"Pass the decree." Zhao Jiu continued to order. "Although Sa Lihe is responsible for the southern invasion and participation in the Jingkang Rebellion, I remember that he is the first member of the Jin Kingdom's clan and a general of ten thousand households, so I should treat him with courtesy as promised...

…Give me a surname…for gold, give me a name without regrets, and return me to the rightful lord, give me a residence in Tokyo, and allow me to attend the official court.”

"I congratulate Your Majesty." Just when Sa Lihe was getting more and more confused and many generals in the hall were still confused, it was Sanzhao Bachelor Fan Zongyin who was the first to wake up and take the initiative to congratulate him. "You think it's such a good thing, of course.

Publish the Di Bao to spread the news to the world. At the same time, we should also take this matter as the criterion and publish articles all over Hebei to urge the recruitment and surrender of Jin Kingdom's counties, divisions and brigade."

"That's good." Zhao Jiu nodded repeatedly, but then turned to look at Dong Xian. "When Xihe was captured, were there any texts by Gui Zhenggong captured in the city?"

Dong Xian was still confused, and it was estimated that no one in Gui Zhenggong could react, but Niu Gao hurriedly reported: "In order to let the officials know, in addition to writing, Gui Zhenggong also wrote a military diary in Khitan.

It should be useful to record his major and minor experiences since joining the army..."

"Then it will be easier. There are Khitan Ban Zhi in my Chixin team. I will ask them to help a group of Gui Zhenggong later to write a few surrender documents in Khitan language and send them out together. Especially don't forget the direction of Jingxing.

I heard that Yelv Mawu is about to retreat, so I don’t expect Yelu Mawu to surrender, but for Ma Wu’s many Khitan-born Meng’an, trying to defeat them may be effective.” Zhao Jiu continued to give instructions as usual. “The letter must be taken seriously.

, the handwriting and tone must match Gui Zhenggong’s military recording habits..."

When everyone heard this, almost everyone woke up and said yes.

And Sa Lihe finally couldn't help but speak: "Why do the officials confuse right and wrong so much? I clearly did not surrender!"

"Whether Duke Gui Zheng surrenders or not is not decided by Duke Gui Zheng himself, but by me." Zhao Jiu said disapprovingly from above. "I tell you clearly, I only need to give an order, and it will not be reported like this by Zhi Di.

, even in the future official history will also record that Duke Gui Zheng has no regrets about surrendering to me today. Even if there are many southeastern princes in the hall today asking for advice, I only need to ask them. When they go back and write their own notes like you write military notes, I am afraid that they will also

Dole wrote that you surrendered to me today... Not only now, but also in the official history and unofficial history in the future, they will all tell the world that I have no regrets about surrendering to me today."

The hall burst into laughter, and many people agreed, but Sa Lihe was already dumbfounded.

The laughter gradually subsided, Zhao Jiu paused, and then continued to say to Sa Lihe, who was already dumbfounded: "Gui Zhenggong... In fact, the root of everything in the world lies in victory or defeat. Since you have lost, you can't be stubborn.

Why do you have the final say in your reputation? I still remember that during the Jingkang Incident, Emperor Taishang Yuansheng entered Jinying for the second time and wanted to return to the city, but Nianhan laughed at him. Since

After losing, how can you expect to be treated with courtesy? Emperor Taishang Yuan Sheng could only remain silent until he was completely captured and was not even allowed to cry during the escort... At this moment, it was exactly like that moment.

…Weren’t you there that day?”

Sa Lihe was dumbfounded, his face gradually turned red, but he said nothing.

Zhao Guanjia also lost interest at this time. He just waved his hand and someone escorted him down, and countless officials followed Zhao Guanjia's words.

However, this matter is just a minor incident and seems not worth mentioning in the great cause of the Northern Expedition.

In fact, Han Shizhong, Prince of Yan'an County, who is also near Taiyuan City, Li Yanxian, Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Camp, Ma Kuo, who is responsible for the supervision of the army's logistics camp, and even President Wang Yanwang, the accompanying chief of staff of Zhao Guan's family, the so-called high-level standards

Almost none of the handsome ministers came to watch the fun... And Zhao Jiu knew what they were busy with.

Let us also say that from the overall situation, Salihe's disposal is not as meaningful as the destruction of Xihe City.

The destruction of Xihe City means that the Song Army, at least the Hedong Front Army, no longer has the large Jin Kingdom strongholds and the established Jin Army to maintain combat effectiveness. Because of this, the logistics line from Henan to Taiyuan is completely worry-free, Hedong

The main force of the Song Army on the other side was also able to calmly gather towards the Taiyuan Basin... Generals Niu Gao and Dong Xian, who gradually rose to prominence during the Northern Expedition, gathered here together with Sa Lihe, which is a clear proof.

At the same time, considering that Datong in the north has been connected, the north and south of Yanmen Mountain, and the front and rear of the Hutuo River have all fallen into the hands of the Song Army, then it can be said that Junduxing, Puyinxing, and Feihuxing are all in the hands of the Song Army.

, even with the advancement of Longde Mansion, Fukouxing should be about to fall into the hands of the Song Army or have already fallen into the hands of the Song Army... The strategic significance of the Jin Army's control of Jingxing is constantly declining.

This seems to have been verified based on the intelligence from the front that Yeluma Wu showed signs of withdrawing troops.

It can only be said that the Black Dragon King was victorious and defeated at Pingxingzhai, but it cannot be said that the military arrangements he made there were worthless.

All in all, the logistics have been cleared, the troops have been regrouped, and the enemy's control of the main military channel in the front has also fallen into a useless situation. At this time, the necessity of the next military action has already become clear.

The only thing to worry about is the decision of Zhao Guan's family.

Many people have guessed that several generals will have to wait until the Shangyuan Festival is over before they join forces to request a war and urge Zhao Guan's family to send troops... In any case, as one of the most important festivals in the Song Dynasty, it can always wait for just one day.

.

"Are you going to make dumplings?"

On the day of the Lantern Festival, Zhao Guan's family did not stay in the city, nor did they go to the Fen River to read newspapers and fish for escape. Instead, they rarely became interested in inspecting the military camp, and after walking around for a while, they set the main destination of the trip.

Went to the cooking camp.

You should lift the lid off the pot first when you enter the house. I have never eaten pork and I have seen pigs running away. When Zhao Guan’s family performs, it always makes the elites of this era extremely ashamed. What’s more, to be honest, those political elites who are really well-informed should stay more at this time.

In Tokyo, with the warriors like Han Shizhong following Zhao Guan's family at the moment, and those "preparing for consultation" from the southeast, it was really unbearable in some aspects.

As for Li Yanxian and Ma Kuo, their relevant ranks may be higher, but they can't bear to say that their time with Zhao Guan's family in private is limited, and to some extent they are quite shameful, so at this time they are also numb and their faces are stiff.

"So that the officials will know."

Poor the hundreds of cooks and thousands of auxiliary civilians in the cooking camp. As early as when Zhao Guan's family was wearing plain robes but leading hundreds of richly dressed and armored civil and military dignitaries, they were stunned. At this time, several

The cooks who were watching the stuffing being chopped were questioned in person, and they were stunned and speechless. The flat-headed monk Dahui who was helping to catch the pig blood had to come over quickly and pick up the conversation. "Isn't this the Lantern Festival?"

? With the military order, General Manager Ma released some meat in the warehouse and made some extra meals... This is exactly what he is doing to make dumplings."

Zhao Jiu didn't recognize the other party at all, he just thought he was a smart and responsible person in the cook camp, so he nodded slightly, but soon shook his head again and again.

Monk Dahui is quite well-informed. He was chatting and laughing with officials as early as in Fenghuang Mountain in Hangzhou. Seeing such a reaction, he just did nothing. On the contrary, Ma Kuo was a little panicked for a moment and hurriedly said: "How dare you

I asked the officials, but what’s wrong?”

"It's really inappropriate."

Zhao Jiu was a little helpless. "How can anyone eat dumplings during the Lantern Festival? During the Chinese New Year, aren't northern dumplings and southern rice cakes distributed together?"

"What the officials said is absolutely true." Ma Kuo was half relieved, half helpless. "But in a hurry, and in a military camp, I really don't know how to comply with the customs..."

"How about setting off a hot air balloon?" Han Shizhong, who was extremely bored, suddenly interrupted from behind, patting his belt.

Everyone was speechless and turned around to look.

But even though it was Po Han Wu who was Po Han Wu decades ago, he was a little embarrassed at this time and could only talk about it.

However, Zhao Guanjia, who was standing in front of a large pile of stuffing, thought for a moment and nodded: "Yes, and you can also hang some big characters under the hot air balloon... Liangchen will do it himself!"

Han Shizhong was stunned on the spot. After a while, he woke up and asked again: "Do you want me to write poems and make lantern riddles?"

"How can I write poems and lantern riddles?" Zhao Jiu turned around and was speechless. "There are so many words in poems and lantern riddles. If they are written small, they cannot be read clearly, and if they are written large, they will not hang securely... I remember that there are eight hot air balloons in the camp, and they all flew today.

, just go and write eight big characters... May the Yuan Dynasty be healthy, and the world be prosperous... Use a big wooden board to write it, it must be straight and steady, and it must be bigger than the others!"

Po Hanwu traveled all over the world, conquering the world, claiming to be the first in the world, but at this time he could only nod his head blankly, and then turned around and left to work as a laborer.

The Zhao Guan family also turned back to talk to the cooks and cooks again: "Let's go on, I'm not saying that dumplings are bad, I mean mainly about customs... How do I remember that we always eat dumplings and noodles during the Lantern Festival?"

"So that the officials will know." At this time, Ma Kuo had no choice but to appear again. "According to custom, this is indeed the case, but today the army cannot do this, because the rewards in the army must be based on reality. If you have meat, you must give meat.

And it can’t be spread apart, you must see it and believe it... The dumplings are sweet fillings, so it’s not easy to put meat... Put meat in the noodles, and the sergeant can’t see how much meat is in other people’s bowls, so they will be suspicious.”

Zhao Jiu nodded: "This principle is correct, just like the principle that eggs must be placed neatly... But if you put it this way, wouldn't it be impossible to tell the amount of filling in the dumplings?"
To be continued...