Chapter 1 The Song Emperor Walks the Walk

After Zhao Guan Jia said he would do it, Li Qiong, Wu Lin, and others led the prisoners and some soldiers to retreat in great strides. After Li Yanxian also turned back to Taiyuan, this Guan Jia started the Xingzai (temporary imperial residence) and accompanying soldiers and horses down the Hutuo River towards Hejian Prefecture.

Along the way, they went to Dingzhou, Qizhou, and Shenzhou to appease the local people, inspect spring plowing, bury corpses, and appoint and dismiss officials.

It was also during this Zhao Guan Jia's eastward advance that, as the prisoners went south one after another, a large number of troops were withdrawn, and Yue Fei's troops advanced to the old Song-Liao border, the impact of this battle finally broke out completely without hindrance.

The most obvious manifestation of the feedback to Zhao Jiu was that he kept receiving congratulatory messages along the way.

"One battle destroys the great enemy, instantly bringing peace to the universe!"

This was the statement presented by Mao Shuo, the newly surrendered governor of Dingzhou, when he paid homage to the imperial carriage. His desire for advancement was vividly displayed through the words "universe."

"Slaughtering millions in an instant, a joy that transcends thousands of years."

This was a sentence in a memorial presented by a certain famous scholar from Qizhou. It was the original text of the great scholar Su Shi's evaluation of the Battle of Kunyang, both quoting classics and alluding to Zhao Guan Jia as Guangwu, to serve as a model for the restoration, which can be called a good standard.

However, Zhao Jiu was really ignorant and shallow. Among the seven or eight people who handled the memorials, only he and Han Shizhong didn't know that this sentence was a double allusion. As a result, not only did they not understand the deep meaning of the person, but they also pointed out very sincerely that only thirty to forty thousand people were killed and seventy to eighty thousand were captured in the Battle of Huolu, obviously to maintain the realistic persona.

Wan Qixie, on the other hand, probably understood Zhao Guan Jia's character, so the memorial received when he arrived in Hejian seemed a little simple and unadorned, and Zhao Jiu especially liked one sentence.

As the saying goes:

"In the Battle of Huolu, our Emperor's might shook the world, and the cause of the restoration is established from this point!"

Of course, these things, as well as the overwhelming gratitude of Tian Shizhong, the Prince of Fengxiang, could not conceal Zhao Guan Jia's increasingly embarrassing and uneasy posture... The reason was very simple. Zhao Jiu traveled all the way, and everything was in order in the rear. The people, especially in the Central Plains and the larger cities in the south, gradually abandoned their skeptical hearts and showed a state of encouragement. Cities of the level of Tokyo were gradually boiling. But at the same time, Zhao Guan Jia's previously pretended clever tricks had not appeared. Facing Yanjing, the Jin State was stepping up its deployment, and the stationed troops outside the fortress and the local conscripts were gathering non-stop. The chaos was chaotic, and even rebellious incidents occurred, but there was never a feeling of collapse beyond control.

Left with no choice, when they arrived at Hejian Prefecture, in order not to delay the military progress, Zhao Guan Jia had to abandon that persona of insight into everything and directly issued an order.

"In principle, I shouldn't interfere with your use of troops." Zhao Jiu pointed at Han Shizhong like this. "But this time is really different... This time you go over, if the Jin army shows a flaw, it's okay to eat up these new Jin troops, but there's no need to rush to take Yanjing. And if the Jin army doesn't show any big flaws, although you have the right to deploy the various Hebei troops north of Hejian, you should be more cautious in your advance, press on from three sides, and advance step by step... Yanjing will be taken sooner or later, but there's no need to rush it... Do you understand what I mean?"

How could he not understand?

Surround but not attack, exert full pressure, and cooperate with whatever tricks the Guan Jia had up his sleeve to take the land outside the fortress. When the enemy was in a dilemma, it would collapse on its own... The only serious problem was that after Huolu, the arrogance in the army would inevitably be even greater. In addition, there were a few senior generals such as Wang Sheng who missed the opportunity to fight and be rewarded, so he, the number one person in the army, needed to come out to strictly restrain them and avoid reckless battles, lest they capsize in the gutter in the end.

Of course, in addition to this, there was also the meaning of fulfilling the previous promise and definitely giving the honor of capturing Yanjing to Han Liangchen and other generals of the Hedong area.

Therefore, Han Shizhong didn't say anything extra and left almost with his hands clasped.

After Han Shizhong left with the generals of the army, Zhao Guan Jia continued to assign tasks, but he officially established the Xingzai in Hejian Prefecture, leaving Lu Yihao and Wu Jie in Hejian City to take over the civil and military affairs behind the Hebei front line, with Tian Shizhong's troops leading the defense around Hejian, and then he actually took a few close ministers and half of the Banzhi (imperial guards), plus Hu Yin, the Minister of Works, to the Yellow River.

And on the twenty-seventh day of February, they arrived in Jingcheng and also met Prince Lu Zhang Rong.

The monarch and his subjects had not seen each other for a long time, and they talked by the river, and the atmosphere was much more relaxed than before, but even Zhang Rong could not avoid being vulgar, and was quite uneasy and grateful for the matter of being granted the title of prince, and Zhao Jiu spent a lot of effort to appease him properly.

And Zhang Rong was not idle either. He was here to wait for Zhao Guan Jia. After meeting the Holy One, he set off again the next day to urge the navy to continue downstream, advance into Cangzhou, and participate in the Yanjing campaign.

That said, Zhao Jiu's survey of the Yellow River's hydrology was inevitably ridiculous, and even if he wanted to repair the Yellow River now, it wouldn't be his turn as a layman to survey it... The essence of the trip to Hejian was to meet the Hebei front army and then supervise the generals' advance into Yanjing.

Therefore, as soon as Zhang Rong left, this Guan Jia became completely idle.

However, it may be precisely because he had just met Zhang Rong that this Guan Jia, out of extreme boredom, suddenly remembered that he seemed to have been dragging on for a long time, and then actually began to write by the river.

"Your Majesty, I take the liberty... but why not *Water Margin*?"

On the last day of February, by the Yellow River, the spring breeze stirred people's hearts. In the evening, Hu Yin, who came out of Jingcheng to welcome the emperor, took the manuscript handed over by Zhao Guan Jia from the table in front of him. He was a little strange when he saw it. "*Journey to the West: Taming Demons* is also acceptable?"

"What does *Water Margin* and *Journey to the West: Taming Demons* have to do with me?" Zhao Jiu said with certainty. "A short story written at random. Minister Hu has knowledge, why not take a look?"

Hu Yin reluctantly frowned and looked at it seriously, but after reading it, he didn't know where to complain. Only when he saw the end did he finally sigh with emotion and probably understood Zhao Guan Jia's meaning.

It turned out that this short story was called *Jade Guanyin*, which was a popular novel genre recently. The so-called upper part was connected to the Tang Dynasty legends, and the lower part was learning the vernacular of *Water Margin* and *Journey to the West: Taming Demons* that a certain Guan Jia refused to admit. In reality, it conformed to the increasingly prosperous and complex zaju performances of today.

Nowadays, the students in Tokyo like to write this kind of script and exchange it with monks and Taoists for pocket money.

The plot is also very popular.

It's nothing more than a little girl from a mounting craftsman's family, who is smart, beautiful, and unusual, but because of poverty, she was sold to a prince in Chang'an as a maid early on.

This can be regarded as a standard popular opening.

But who knew that this Guan Jia would come up with an anti-routine. Next, he wrote that the prince was vulgar and bold. Just because the little girl did things properly and cleanly, and it happened that there was a jade craftsman in the mansion who had good craftsmanship and was honest, he wanted to grant her marriage. Who would have thought that the little girl was stubborn by nature and wanted a good marriage. Just because she didn't know the jade craftsman's character at first, and there was a pro-military leader under the prince who took a fancy to the little girl and interfered, slandering the jade craftsman, the little girl actually refused to die, and the prince simply abandoned the matter and was too lazy to ask.

However, as they got along day by day later, the little girl gradually realized that the jade craftsman not only had real skills, but also had a good temperament, a correct appearance, and was honest, which was exactly the kind of good marriage she wanted. So she finally came back around, and there was a long-term relationship, and the jade craftsman also made a jade Guanyin with jade scraps as a token of love, preparing to elope.

As a result, this matter was discovered by the prince's pro-military leader, and his jealousy broke out, and he directly reported it to the prince.

When the prince heard that his granted marriage was rejected, and the two of them had privately made a marriage agreement and were preparing to elope, he thought he had been stripped of his face, and was furious at the time. After capturing them on the spot, he first exiled the jade craftsman, and then beat the little girl to death and buried her in the harem of the Chang'an Prince's Mansion.

However, after several years, the prince grew older day by day, his temper gradually subsided, and he remembered the events of that year again. He gradually regretted it in his heart, so he sent a platoon army to find the jade craftsman, preparing to compensate him a little. As a result, the platoon army went to look for the official document and was shocked to find the little girl and the jade craftsman in a small town by the Yellow River, and these two were actually married and opened a shop in the town.

The platoon army was panicked and reported to the prince. The prince only thought it was a ghost and went to see it in person. It was indeed so, but he didn't dare to go forward. He turned back to the Prince's Mansion in a daze and asked people to dig up the place where the little girl was buried that day. Sure enough, there was no corpse, only a broken jade Guanyin was found.

Objectively speaking, the plot of this story is not bad. It is also top-notch in the popular novels on the market, especially the character contrast of the four characters is very distinct... The little girl is stubborn and beautiful; the jade craftsman is honest and dutiful; the pro-military leader is talkative and narrow-minded; the prince is fierce and fiery, and regards human life and marriage as grass.

But these are not the reasons why Minister Hu lost his voice. To put it bluntly, Minister Hu has seen a lot of things, so what is this? Before, in order to stabilize the hearts of the people in the rear, he tried his best to go north, and even the son of Zhao Xiang Gong's family was forced to break up his marriage and became a matchmaker... What really made Hu Yin speechless was that the title of this prince in Chang'an was Prince of Yan'an at the beginning, and later when he repented, he simply rose to Prince of Qin because of military merits.

Considering Han Liangchen's usual strong and rude style towards his subordinates, and his previous all-encompassing experience, it can almost be said that this prince is Han Shizhong.

"Your Majesty has worked hard." After a long while, Hu Yin, who thought this matter was really done by Han Shizhong in Chang'an, sighed. "I'm afraid that Prince Qin will not be able to protect himself in the future..."

"Isn't this what Minister Hu reminded me of?" Zhao Jiu didn't take it seriously. "I've already thought about it. If I want to write, I'll write a series, one for each of the Eighteen Kings, and write according to their personalities... Han Shizhong is暴躁强势 (baozhao qiangshi - irritable and strong), Zhang Jun is greedy and insatiable, Zhang Rong is indulgent to his old brothers... Yang Yizhong also has it, but he values his family reputation too much... Anyway, in the end, it will all come down to doing evil unintentionally, but a thought, a negligence, or an exposure of temperament will almost make the people and civilians lose their families and lives, and create a tragic human event."

"Since ancient times, the evil of the powerful has been in this. It is okay for Your Majesty to want to alert his ministers." Hu Yin looked at Yang Yizhong, who was confused and panicked, and asked seriously again. "But how do you write about Yue Fei? Has Yue Fei done this kind of thing too?"

"Being too harsh on family members and descendants, resulting in a tragic human tragedy?" Zhao Jiu, sitting behind the desk, was lost in thought. "Can't you just write about seventeen other people and not write about him? Doesn't this make me, the writer, seem a little unfair? And if they ask privately, it's not good if he doesn't have one either."

"That's true." Hu Yin wanted to refute, how could he make something out of nothing, but when he heard that it seemed to be privately issued, he flashed Yue Yun's face in his mind, and then he realized that the Guan Jia felt sorry for his son-in-law, but he still shook his head. "Your Majesty, from the bottom of my heart, I still agree with this meaning, but I don't quite agree with this method, and it's not appropriate to write these things at this time after a great victory. Will someone misunderstand when they receive this thing? Is it because someone has been fighting for merit and fighting for things during the period of being granted the title of prince?"

"That's not the case." Zhao Jiu shook his head in response. "I just think that with this kind of situation in the future, it would be ridiculous for me to endure it as I did in the previous ten years... In order to measure it properly for the monarch and his ministers, it is better to be a villain early and show the dirty words and evil words first... Moreover, I am going to issue them privately to them."

"That's good." Hu Yin originally thought that these stories were all true, and when he heard the words of the previous ten years, he was even more certain. In addition, the theory of private issuance was reiterated, and he finally expressed his agreement.

However, although it was said that it was going to be issued privately, Yang Yizhong, one of the Eighteen Kings beside Zhao Guan Jia, had already become completely uneasy. Seeing that this conversation was about to end, he was almost about to come out and express his guilt.

Unexpectedly, after glancing at Yang Yizhong, Hu Yin couldn't help but continue to ask: "Your Majesty, is there really no competition for merit in this matter? Why do I seem to have vaguely heard some things mentioned? Looking at the final result of the conferment of titles, it seems to confirm some things?"

"Someone was fighting for merit for the throne." Zhao Jiu was silent for a moment, and finally stood up, stroked the beard under his jaw, turned to the river, and admitted this matter with his back to Hu Yin. "But it's not so straightforward. The first few are fighting for the last few... It's still decent."

Hu Mingzhong's face remained unchanged, and he understood in his heart.

It must be known that the one who really greatly increased his prestige after the Battle of Huolu, or the one who seized the greatest reputation and power, was none other than Zhao Guan Jia, who was so bored that he hid by the Yellow River to write novels.

Compared with this one, the other generals are really not worth mentioning. There is no such thing as no merit to reward at all. There is only the reality that the Guan Jia's power is increasing day by day and his authority is his own.

Therefore, it is completely conceivable that before the throne was announced, in the face of this Zhao Guan Jia with a distinct personality, that kind of low-level drama of fighting for merit and position was indeed difficult to appear... No one dared to joke about their future and results. However, people's desires are endless, and it is impossible not to fight for it, so in the end, it is nothing more than changing the way to fight.

For example, fight by relying on the strength of the collective and the mountain, make exchanges, don't fight for yourself, fight for your subordinates, and let your superiors and colleagues fight for you.

This way of fighting for merit effectively avoids Zhao Guan Jia's disgust towards the person concerned, and the main thing is that it can pull a tiger's skin to make a big banner, form cliques, and leave a good reputation for each other.

"Then did Your Majesty let them fight for it?" Hu Yin came back to his senses, thought about the final result, and found it interesting.

"Most of them didn't." Zhao Guan Jia didn't turn his head back, but his laughter came over. "But there are two people that I can't help, and they really got it..."

"One is Prince Qin, and the other is...?" Hu Yin asked with interest.

"One is Qu Duan, the Prince of Zhenrong, and the other is me." Zhao Jiu said something shocking. "It has nothing to do with Han Shizhong."

Hu Yin was stunned for a long time.

"The reason why Qu Duan is like this is because too many people died in this battle of the imperial camp's cavalry. According to me, I'm afraid his temperament has changed a lot... After the war, I looked at the casualties and felt really unbearable. At first, I hesitated whether to give him a prince or not. After all, he is a serious Dutong (supreme commander), and his military merits and qualifications are all there. But he also has some bad past. If I give him a prince, I have to explain it to Wang Shu. So I took the initiative to find him to ask if he wanted a Junwang (second-rank prince) plus a big banner?" Zhao Jiu didn't play charades, but stood there with his hands behind his back and explained calmly. "But Qu Duan took the initiative to say that he didn't want the big banner, but hoped to exchange a Wangwei (royal rank) for Liu Qi."

"Liu Qi's Junwang was asked for by Qu Duan?" Hu Yin became even more strange. He knew that Qu Duan had refused the big banner, but he really didn't know that he had asked for a Wang for Liu Qi. "Aren't these two not very suitable in the imperial camp's cavalry? I thought Liu Qi's Junwang was given by Your Majesty because of Zhang Xiang Gong's sake."

"Actually, I was also very surprised at the time." Zhao Jiu nodded in response. "But I also thought about it for a while and thought it was good... Especially since Qu Duan has always been at odds with his colleagues and has had such a self-centered experience in the past. Now that he can broaden his horizons a little and stand higher and know how to view the cavalry as a whole, it should always be encouraged... It's always better to have harmony between generals than to have some阴私相斗 (yin si xiang dou - secret infighting)."

"That's true." Hu Yin was thoughtful. "But according to Qu Duan's previous temperament, I'm afraid outsiders will still think that Your Majesty is using Liu Qi to restrain him. They didn't expect that he himself asked for it..."

"Fortunately." Zhao Jiu finally smiled and turned back. "I said just now that the other person who fought for merit was me. I also have selfish motives... Therefore, Qu Duan's actions made me suddenly realize that I took the opportunity to use Xie Yuan to block Han Shizhong, use Li Qiong to block Wang Yan with the military merits of the Eight Character Army, and use Tian Shizhong to appease Zhang Jun."

Hu Yin stood with his hands folded, looking at the Zhao Guan Jia who turned back to look at each other and Yang Yizhong with an uneasy expression on the side. His expression remained unchanged, and his heart was subtle.

Of course, he knew where Zhao Guan Jia's selfish motives were, that is, Yang Liu... The fact that these two were able to be ranked as Wangjue (royal rank) was Zhao Guan Jia's selfish motive, and it was no wonder that this Guan Jia would say that only he and Qu Duan had succeeded in fighting for merit.

In this way, the slightly strange arrangement of the last few of the Wangjue can be explained.

Of course, the imperial camp's cavalry is widely used, and it is always a good thing that Qu Duan can make such a contrasting progress. Moreover, this person also vaguely took on the dissatisfaction of the two senior generals Wang Yan and Wang De for Zhao Guan Jia, which can be regarded as killing two birds with one stone.

Or rather, if it weren't for the extra burden of dissatisfaction, I'm afraid a big banner alone wouldn't be able to exchange for a Junwang for Liu Qi.

At this moment, Hu Yin suddenly realized something and quickly asked again: "Your Majesty, I don't know if Your Majesty called me here today, first to read the novel and then to talk about this matter, is there any other idea? Could it be that you are worried that I and Wang Shu are as resentful as Qu Duan, so you are specially explaining?"

"Not so." Zhao Jiu stood sideways and looked at the other party calmly. "Qu Duan's matter is just a casual mention. What I really want to tell Mingzhong is that I participated in the fight for merit..."

Hu Yin didn't say a word and stared at the Guan Jia without speaking.

"People are not sages. It is as common as a knife and armor that has been left for a long time and is naturally blunt and rusty... Mingzhong." Zhao Jiu said seriously. "I want you to come here to organize people and point to my reputation-loving and greedy character and write a story about how after the revival of the Zhao Song Guan Jia, it became prosperous and great in just thirty years. As a result, like Tang Minghuang, the country collapsed and the four fields collapsed... I have written about all the Eighteen Kings, and I am also preparing to write about the stories of Lu Haowen, Hu Yin, and Zhang Jun ruining the country in the future... But I can easily write stories about meritorious officials ruining themselves. Who will write stories about me ruining myself? After thinking about it, not only are you here, but the key is that there are not many people who dare to write my story... So in the future, my story will still have to be entrusted to you."

"I understand. Although I am not good at writing, I am willing to try my best." Hu Yin first frowned solemnly, as if he felt that something was wrong, but when he heard it later, he couldn't help but smile and show his face, and then became serious again. "But Your Majesty, let's not mention this matter for the time being. Before, Your Majesty vowed that 'the news that should have arrived is moving', and before that, you asked Prince Qin to put pressure on Yanjing but not attack. Are you hoping that Goryeo and the Eastern Mongols will join forces to take the retreat of the Jurchens? The Eastern Mongols should be waiting for the Goryeo people according to Your Majesty's wishes, but when will the Goryeo people move? Do they really dare to move?"

"Uh..." Zhao Jiu was a little dazed, but he still gritted his teeth in the end. "I believe that according to Goryeo's national conditions, they will definitely send troops, but it's only a matter of a few days sooner or later. Minister Hu must know that even without us, the Pyeongyang Two Classes in Goryeo have always strongly advocated war with the Jin State. And the head of the Gaegyeong Two Classes, Kim Busik, although he does not advocate war, he is a knowledgeable and intelligent person. Therefore, after the Battle of Huolu, they definitely did not dare not send troops or were unwilling to send troops... I am afraid that the Pyeongyang Two Classes and the Gaegyeong Two Classes have had a fight, so they have been delayed for a while... Let's wait and see."

Hu Yin did not argue... Because he knew this question well, and he knew that he was not as professional as Zhao Guan Jia.

Let's cut the idle talk and only talk about Goryeo.

In fact, Zhao Jiu's judgment was really not a problem at all.

Whether it was in another time and space or now, Goryeo's diplomatic stance towards the Jin State had always been very split. Not to mention the mainstream adherence to the great power, the fierce attitude of starting a war with the Jurchens had always existed, and the forces holding this attitude were very powerful in Goryeo.

The reason is very simple.

First of all, both sides were neighbors and had a lot of exchanges. They knew each other well. Even earlier, that is, when the Jurchens had not yet risen, the Goryeo people had helped the Japanese defeat and deal with the Jurchen pirates who had fled from the north to Kyushu Island, and took this opportunity to greatly improve the diplomatic relations between Japan and Goryeo.

Therefore, whether from a cultural or military perspective, the Goryeo people had a psychological sense of superiority over the Jurchens.

This made them feel a sense of shame similar to the Jingkang Incident in the Great Song Dynasty after they were defeated in the process of the Jurchens' rise and then became vassals to the Jurchens.

The scholar-bureaucrats, military officers, and even the people all had the desire and emotion to start a war.

Secondly, after the Jurchens rose, in order to stabilize the rear, they had a local war with Goryeo very early and seized part of the territory east of the Yalu River and northwest of Goryeo to establish their advantage.

The so-called part of the territory is of course laughable to the Jurchens who later swallowed thousands of miles, but for Goryeo, especially for the scholar-bureaucrat landlord class of the Seogyeong (Pyeongyang) Two Classes in the northwest, it is undoubtedly a blood feud like cutting flesh... Think about it, for the Pyeongyang Two Classes who have taken up all the wealth in the northern half of the country, losing one-third of the territory is equivalent to cutting off one-third of their own property. How could they not hate it?

In fact, in another time and space, because of these things, coupled with the tradition of infighting, the pro-war Pyeongyang Two Classes simply used 'attacking Jin' as an excuse to directly cause a split and rebellion with the Gaegyeong Two Classes.

Back to the present, on the one hand, this emotion was suppressed by the powerful force displayed by the Jin State. On the other hand, the so-called loss of wealth and interests was also supplemented by the Song-Jin entrepot trade during the Jianyan period. Therefore, Goryeo has been neutral until now.

However, now we have to say again, no matter what the matter is, when the result of the Battle of Huolu was transmitted to Goryeo, coupled with Zhao Guan Jia's stern diplomatic attitude before the war, there was already a strong pro-war faction in the country, and Goryeo, whose ruler was the inventor of 'adherence to the great power', had no reason to remain neutral.

So why were the Goryeo people reacting so slowly?

Not to mention anything else, the first thing is that the sea route home was blocked.

The time turned back to the beginning of this month. Huolu was victorious on February 3. On February 5, the imperial camp's cavalry and Tian Shizhong's troops joined forces to pursue and search around Hejian. Before February 10, Yue Fei's troops advanced to Baosai (Baoding). At that time, after receiving Zhao Guan Jia's pile of 'imperial edicts', the so-called 'merchant group' deployed by Goryeo in Cangzhou had no doubts.

However, the Song State's imperial navy and the Jin State's navy had been fighting at sea. No one dared to sail without authorization in the Bohai Bay!

This situation continued until five days ago. Hearing that Zhao Guan Jia was supervising the army's eastward advance, the Song army was likely to pour in from land, and Li Qi, the Jin State's naval vice-dutong, hastily abandoned the Cangzhou navy and went north. The Song State's imperial navy also advanced the battlefield north to the Qingzhou area (southern Tianjin today). The sea route was finally restored.

Therefore, coupled with the wrong wind direction on the road, the Goryeo people did not arrive in Gaegyeong until the morning of the day when Zhao Guan Jia was writing a novel to slander Han Shizhong.

However, as soon as they returned to Gaegyeong, they were immediately summoned by Kim Busik, the Goryeo executive who had personally arranged this matter.

"Thank you for your hard work. Go down and rest!"

Unexpectedly, facing such a shocking news, after reading those imperial edicts and announcements, Kim Busik did not have any intention of questioning or verifying them. He just nodded slightly and let these people rest early, and his expression was calm and his attitude remained unchanged, as if he had expected a similar result.

After the 'merchant group' members went down, Kim Busik did not suddenly lose his composure... This Goryeo Privy Councilor just sat in place and closed his eyes for a moment, then suddenly got up, called his servants, and then immediately set off to enter the palace.

Gaegyeong was the capital that Goryeo carefully built after its founding. It was nearly 30,000 steps around, with 22 gates, about the same area as Japan's Heian-kyo. Judging from the capital's regulations alone, it can also be known that Goryeo and Japan were indeed traditionally strong countries in East Asia. Culture, economy, and military were all typical civilizations outside of China.

But now, this civilization will undoubtedly undergo another severe test.

Speaking of which, the last test was during the Jingkang period. At that time, the King of Goryeo had just come of age. He gathered his strength in the palace to prepare to eliminate the powerful minister Li Ziqian, but Li Ziqian learned about it in advance and sent his cronies to surround the palace. In the end, the entire imperial palace was burned by Li Ziqian's in-laws, leaving only three pavilions. Then this powerful minister ran to the pavilions to find the little king who had just come of age and cried, saying that he was loyal and was suspected by the king.

And the little king who had only three pavilions left could only 'blush in shame and be speechless'.

"Is the news confirmed?"

In the simple palace, the short King of Goryeo was actually only two years younger than Zhao Song Guan Jia. Even his original name was Wang Gou, but later he took the initiative to change his name to Wang Kai. At this time, after hearing the news, he could not believe it and walked directly from his seat, but he was a little shorter than Kim Busik who lowered his head. "Sixteen Wanhus, one hundred and sixty Meng'ans, all gone at once?"

"I believe it is credible." Kim Busik raised his head and said calmly. "Your Majesty, after the news of Taiyuan and Yuancheng being captured at the beginning of the year came, I could probably guess that this Northern Expedition must be a great victory for the Song army. It's just that I never thought that the Song army would win so completely and so quickly."

Wang Kai took two steps back slightly and stood on the steps before nodding: "No wonder Prime Minister Kim gathered troops in Gaegyeong early at the beginning of the year, and then inspected the weapons and food reserves."

"Just to let the King know that my actions are not purely prepared for today." Kim Busik smiled bitterly on the steps instead. "After all, the Jin State is a neighboring country, while the Song State is across the sea... Therefore, what I was more afraid of at the time was that the Song army would win but would not be able to seize the situation in one fell swoop. At that time, the Jin State would still have spare power, and Seogyeong (Pyeongyang) would inevitably take advantage of the Song army's great victory to clamor and cause trouble in order to attack Jin... These troops gathered in Gaegyeong to prepare. Only 20% of the intention was for today, and 80% was preparing to send troops to Seogyeong (Pyeongyang) at the fastest speed when necessary to eliminate the internal chaos invisibly."

Wang Kai was even more emotional: "The Prime Minister is really honest."

"It's not honesty. If the country wasn't too small and it was difficult to survive in front of the great powers, I wouldn't want to become a vassal to those barbarians in the Jin State, and I wouldn't want to repeatedly go to the Great Song Tokyo and be humiliated by that Zhao Song Guan Jia. I would be scolded in the Dibao (official gazette) as a反复小人 (fan fu xiao ren - fickle villain)." Kim Busik was still sincere. "But there is no way. Who made Goryeo right next to China? Small countries can only seek survival by serving the great powers... Today, after listening to the news, I came to see Your Majesty to persuade Your Majesty to start a war with the Jin State. When I heard about the Jingkang Incident in Mingzhou that day, I came back directly to persuade Your Majesty to become a vassal to the Jin State. In fact, it is the same thing."

Wang Kai was silent for a moment, obviously also a little helpless, but after a moment, he cheered up and formally asked: "So, the current situation is only to start a war immediately?"

"That's right." Kim Busik also became serious. "If we can't start a war quickly, first of all, the Great Song may be adjacent to Goryeo after the war. At that time, when Zhao Song Guan Jia pursues the matter with 300,000 elite soldiers, no one can withstand this thunderous rage; secondly, once the news spreads, even if Gaegyeong is unwilling to start a war, Seogyeong (Pyeongyang) will not be able to restrain themselves... Who knows what kind of chaos will happen."

Wang Kai nodded: "Internal and external troubles, I... This king still understands."

"That's right." Kim Busik also said in a low voice. "In the next few years, we should still be careful internally. After all, we haven't proclaimed ourselves emperor, so don't overstep the rules."

Wang Kai nodded again, but lowered his voice and asked seriously again: "Let's not talk about this matter. Even if we start a war, Seogyeong is probably unwilling to let it go, right?"

This time, it was Kim Busik's turn to be slightly silent, but after only a few breaths of silence, he raised his head and said sincerely: "Your Majesty, I have three requests for this dispatch of troops."

"Please tell me, Prime Minister." Wang Kai understood and immediately sat back on the throne.

"First, the dispatch of troops should be fast, but it should be kept secret." Kim Busik explained very seriously. "After all, the Jin State is a big country. Even if the main elite troops in front are all wiped out, the tribes in Liaodi and the rear are not something our Goryeo can compete with... Therefore, we must catch them by surprise and try to paralyze them as much as possible. It is best to let the Jin people transfer as many troops as possible to Yanjing."

"I... This king knows!" Wang Kai listened properly and nodded repeatedly.

"Secondly, please bestow upon me the marshal's seal and scepter, and let me, as the Privy Councilor, lead the marshal to supervise this battle." Kim Busik continued to speak seriously.

But Wang Kai remained silent this time.

"Third." Kim Busik continued, as if he hadn't seen his own king's doubts. "Please give me another Mingzhi (imperial decree) allowing me to select people from Seogyeong to send as envoys to other countries."

At this point, seeing that Wang Kai was still silent, Kim Busik explained slightly: "Your Majesty, these last two imperial edicts are not my intention to seize power, but my self-preservation strategy and also to prevent Goryeo from internal chaos when this world-changing opportunity comes..."

"What does the Prime Minister mean by