"Not enough! Far from enough!" she said decisively, "I want to see the foundry build a hundred artillery pieces and ten thousand muskets before the spring war comes!" Feng Jing looked troubled. He knew this was a difficult task, but seeing Zhao Yingluo's firm eyes and unquestionable tone, he knew he had no way out. "Your Highness, the number of craftsmen may not be enough to support such a large output." He said tentatively. Zhao Yingluo nodded slightly, indicating that she understood Feng Jing's concerns, but she had no intention of backing down: "You can continue to recruit people, but you must strictly screen them and never allow spies from the Kingdom of Jin to sneak into our foundry." "Please rest assured, Your Highness, I will do my best to complete the tasks you have assigned me!" …… As soon as he received the order, Zhao Zhen led the 150,000 elite troops from Wuma Village and rushed to Zhengzhou non-stop. The two generals, Ma Guang and Zhao Bangjie, also followed closely behind. In order to prevent Zhu Zhenhai and Guo Yan from making a sudden attack, Zhao Yingluo generously sent Zhao Zhen fifty artillery pieces and five hundred firecrackers. This was really a timely help!
As soon as she arrived in Zhengzhou, Zhao Zhen was very busy. While he was busy preparing for the defense of the city, he was also thinking about the next step. Zhengzhou is a strategic location and must be defended. Ma Guang spent a few days in Zhengzhou, and it was so boring. He couldn't help but run to ask Zhao Zhen: "When are we going to attack Hulao Pass?" Zhao Zhen smiled mysteriously and said, "If we can do something to disintegrate the enemy from within, why bother to mobilize troops?"
Ma Guang was confused, but Zhao Bangjie was full of curiosity and kept asking questions. Zhao Zhen just smiled mysteriously and said, "There will be good news after the New Year." Let’s talk about Zhao Gou in Lin’an City. He was not idle after the New Year. While sending envoys to get closer to the Kingdom of Jin and Xixia and discussing the time to raise troops, he was recruiting troops crazily in the country and seizing the strong people. He sent a message to Liu Guangshi on the middle road and Han Shizhong on the east road. A lot of "new blood". The common people will suffer. They were conscripted into the army, fought in wars, and died, and all of them were full of resentment. Let them go to the Kingdom of Jin? no problem! Can you let them beat Her Highness the Princess? That is simply wishful thinking! Who doesn't know that Her Highness the Princess is the savior of our Song Dynasty?
Liu Guangshi, who was stationed in Tangzhou, watched his army soar from 100,000 to 200,000, his eyes turned into crescent moons with smiles. He felt happy in his heart: "Haha! With these new troops, if we have a fight with that old boy Zongze, we will definitely beat him to pieces!" Zhu Zhenhai believed that his surrender was meritorious, and he always believed that the position of commander-in-chief of the Western Route Army belonged to him. However, the court's decision surprised him. Guo Yan was appointed as the coach, and he could only resign himself to the position of deputy coach. Zhu Zhenhai was dissatisfied and complained to his subordinates: "That kid Guo Yan has no virtue and incompetence, why should he be the coach?" His subordinates naturally agreed with him, and each one of them praised him eloquently that he was unparalleled and loyal to the emperor and the country. Hearing these words in Zhu Zhenhai's ears made his arrogance even more inflated. Among them, the one who praised him the most was Xue Mang. Xue Mang kept urging Zhu Zhenhai to evacuate the imperial court, and would not give up until the imperial court appointed him as the commander-in-chief. He even encouraged Zhu Zhenhai and said: "General, you surrendered to the imperial court, but you gave the imperial court the city of Xijing and Luoyang and hundreds of thousands of horses for nothing! Who can compare with this achievement? Why should that kid Guo Yan take advantage?" Zhu Zhenhai was praised by Xue Mang, and he felt this was the truth in his heart. He thought: "Yes, I, Zhu Zhenhai, have made such great contributions, how can the court treat me like this?" So, he ordered Xue Mang to draft a letter. In this letter, Zhu Zhenhai asked Zhao Gou to re-appoint him as the commander-in-chief, otherwise he would threaten to surrender to Zhao Yingluo. Although Zhu Zhenhai didn't know a few big characters, he knew the importance of this letter. He believes that as long as the court sees his contribution and determination, it will definitely reconsider the choice of coach. And he, Zhu Zhenhai, will definitely become the commander-in-chief of the West Route Army, leading the army eastward from Luoyang, stationed at Hulao Pass, and making great achievements!
Zhu Zhenhai, this general known for his bravery, although majestic on the battlefield, when it comes to strategy, he is no match for Guo Yan, who has been in the officialdom for more than ten years, and the man who has been on the throne for a long time. What about Zhao Gou who is competing for the test? When Zhao Gou saw the letter sent by Zhu Zhenhai, a sneer appeared at the corner of his mouth. He raised his head to face the civil and military ministers of the dynasty, and there was a trace of disdain in his voice: "Zhu Zhenhai, the surrendered general, I thought that because of his meritorious surrender, I did not kill him, which is already his good fortune. Not only that, I He was also allowed to continue to control the hundreds of thousands of troops, hoping that he could serve the imperial court. But I didn't expect that Zhu Zhenhai was so dissatisfied that he wanted to be the head coach of the Western Route Army." The West Route Army is a huge army with 250,000 troops! If Zhu Zhenhai was made the coach of the West Route Army, wouldn't it be more difficult to control him? Zhao Gou frowned, knowing the seriousness of this appointment.
At this moment, Qin Hui stood up. He echoed Zhao Gou's words and said, "What the emperor said is absolutely true. Zhu Zhenhai is very ambitious. If he is really allowed to be the coach of the West Route Army, if Guo Yan is dissatisfied, he will It would be bad if we surrender to Zhao Yingluo." Zhao Gou nodded when he heard this. He looked at Qin Hui and asked: "In your opinion, how should we approve this letter? We should not only make Zhu Zhenhai give up the fight for the position of coach, but also make him obey the imperial court's orders and Zhao Yingluo fights to the death." Qin Hui smiled slightly, he had already made a calculation in his heart. He suggested: "The emperor can give Zhu Zhenhai a verbal promise. For example, if he can capture Zhengzhou, he can be named the head coach of the Western Route Army and given the title of Prince Taibao. This will stabilize him. His heart can make him work hard for the court." Zhao Gou's eyes lit up after hearing this. He thought this suggestion was good. So he ordered people to draft an approval immediately and sent people back to Luoyang quickly along with the letter to give it to Zhu Zhenhai. Zhu Zhenhai, who was in Luoyang, was overjoyed after receiving the approval from the court. He thought that he had finally been recognized by the court and was expected to become the coach of the West Route Army. So he worked harder to rectify his armaments and train his soldiers in preparation for the upcoming war. However, Zhu Zhenhai didn't know that this was just a delaying tactic by the court. The purpose was to allow him to continue serving the court, and also to prevent him from turning against Zhao Yingluo. In this battle for the throne, it is still unclear who will have the last laugh.
