Chapter 299 The military situation in the north is coming In the Song Dynasty, the bells celebrating New Year's Day are still echoing, but thousands of miles away in the Kingdom of Jin, it is a different scene. The atmosphere in the palace of the Kingdom of Jin was solemn, in sharp contrast to the joy of the court and the public in the Song Dynasty. Emperor Wanyan Zonghan of the Kingdom of Jin sat at the main seat at the palace dinner with his brows furrowed. The wine glass in his hand has been empty several times, but the annoyance in his heart has not diminished at all. The news coming from Shangjing made it impossible for him to enjoy this supposedly festive festival with peace of mind: his mortal enemy Wanyan Zongyi had contacted the tribes there and planned to attack the imperial court in the spring. Wanyan Zonghan drank all the wine in the glass, and then slammed the glass on the table with a loud noise. The ministers were frightened into silence and did not dare to express their anger. Wanyan Zonghan glared at them and asked angrily: "Why was Wanyan Zongyi able to sneak from the Song Dynasty to Shangjing City secretly, and none of you knew about it?" The ministers looked at each other, no one dared to answer. Seeing this, Wanyan Zongfu stood up and consoled him: "Your Majesty, please calm down. Wanyan Zongyi has the support of the Song Dynasty and the support of the tribes in Shangjing. The court is indeed very defenseless." Wanyan Zonghan snorted coldly, obviously not satisfied with this explanation.
He looked around and asked again: "Now that Wanyan Zongyi has become so powerful, what can you do to destroy him?" The courtiers whispered among themselves, but no one dared to speak easily. At this time, an old minister stood up tremblingly and said, "Your Majesty, I have something I don't know whether to say or not." "Speak!" Wanyan Zonghan said impatiently. The old minister took a deep breath and said slowly: "Your Majesty killed Wanyan Zongyi's father before ascending to the throne. This has always been a thorn in Wanyan Zongyi's heart. If Wanyan Zongyi is not eliminated, I am afraid there will be endless troubles." Wanyan Zonghan was furious when he heard this: "You still need to remind me of this?" He slammed the table, stood up, and left the banquet hall angrily. The ministers were left looking at each other in bewilderment. Wanyan Zongfu sighed and said to everyone: "The situation is serious now. We must unite as one to resist Wanyan Zongyi's offensive. Let's go back and think about countermeasures." With Wanyan Zonghan's departure, the palace dinner also came to an end. But this dinner became an important turning point in the history of the Jin Kingdom, marking that the Jin Kingdom was about to usher in an unprecedented civil war. However, people celebrating New Year's Day in the Song Dynasty did not know that a storm was brewing in their neighboring countries. This storm will sweep across the entire Jin Kingdom and even affect the future destiny of the Song Dynasty. The atmosphere in Shangjing City is becoming increasingly tense. Wanyan Zongyi was sitting in the study room of his mansion, his eyes firm and deep. It has been two full years since he returned from the Song Dynasty. In the past two years, he was like a lurking cheetah, quietly gathering strength and quietly contacting the tribes that were loyal to his father in the past. Now, he finally won the support of 100,000 troops. Although this power was not enough to confront Wanyan Zonghan's imperial army, it gave him enough confidence to dare to disclose his whereabouts in Shangjing. "The Crown Prince Wanyan Zongyi is here!" With a loud shout, Wanyan Zongyi issued a call in the name of the Crown Prince to attack Wanyan Zonghan, who had killed the king and usurped the throne. His voice spread throughout the streets and alleys of the capital city, arousing the resonance of many people in the Jin Dynasty, both in the government and in the public. In a short period of time, Wanyan Zongyi's men quickly grew from 100,000 a year ago to nearly 200,000.
However, compared with the imperial court's hundreds of thousands of troops, he was still at a disadvantage. Wanyan Zongyi knew very well that his current strength alone was not enough to defeat Wanyan Zonghan. So, he decided to seek foreign aid. He set his sights on the Song Dynasty in the south. "Where is the envoy?" Wanyan Zongyi asked in a deep voice. A messenger dressed in black walked out of the darkness and knelt in front of Wanyan Zongyi: "Your Highness, what are your orders?" "You immediately go to the Song Dynasty and deliver my autographed letter to Her Royal Highness the Princess of the Song Dynasty." Wanyan Zongyi handed over a sealed letter, "Be sure to ask him to send troops to help us to jointly defeat Wanyan Zonghan." The messenger took the letter and nodded solemnly: "Yes!" As night fell, the messenger quietly left Shangjing and ran towards the south. In the second month of spring, the Imperial Palace of the Song Dynasty and the Chaohui Hall "Report——!" A guard hurriedly ran into the hall and knelt down in front of the throne. "The envoy from the Kingdom of Jin has arrived!" On the throne, Zhao Yingluo raised her brows and asked in a deep voice: "Messenger from the Kingdom of Jin? What's the matter?" The guard stood up and presented a letter with both hands: "The Crown Prince Wanyan Zongyi of the Kingdom of Jin sent an envoy to send a personal letter, requesting the Song Dynasty to send troops to help us to jointly attack the Emperor Wanyan Zonghan of the Kingdom of Jin." Zhao Yingluo took the letter and read it quickly. A complicated expression flashed across her face, and then she handed the letter to the chamberlain beside her, indicating that he would pass it on to the ministers for viewing. In the court hall, the ministers circulated the letters one after another, and there was a lot of discussion. "This Wanyan Zongyi has a good plan and wants to use my help from the Song Dynasty to quell his internal strife." An old minister sneered and said disdainfully. "Yes, what does the civil strife in Jin have to do with me, the Song Dynasty? Why should we get involved?" Another minister also agreed. Zhao Yingluo listened quietly to the discussions of the ministers without saying a word. She knew the argument had just begun. Sure enough, soon a young and energetic general stood up and said: "I think we should send troops to help! Since Wanyan Zongyi called for the crusade against Wanyan Zonghan in the name of the crown prince, it means that he has certain influence within the Jin Kingdom. If we Sending troops to help at this time can not only weaken the strength of the Jin Kingdom, but also occupy a favorable position in future diplomacy. " "Nonsense! You are causing trouble!" A mature and prudent minister retorted, "The civil strife in Jin is their own business. Why should we, the Song Dynasty, get involved? What if it triggers a bigger war?" "However, if we don't send troops to help now, after Wanyan Zongyi is defeated by Wanyan Zonghan, he will definitely regret that our Song Dynasty did not lend a helping hand. By then, won't our relationship with the Jin Kingdom become even more tense?" The young general was unwilling to give up. He defended weakly. In the court, the two groups had tit-for-tat opinions and argued endlessly. Zhao Yingluo remained silent, just quietly observing the expressions and reactions of each minister. "Enough!" Suddenly, left prime minister Lu Yihao thundered, shocking the ministers, "You are all thinking about your own interests. Have you ever thought about the interests of the country? There are risks in sending troops to help, but there is no point in sitting back and watching. It may cost us an ally. We should consider the pros and cons before making a decision." As soon as these words came out, the court suddenly became quiet. Everyone's eyes turned to Zhao Yingluo, waiting for her final decision. Zhao Yingluo took a deep breath and slowly stood up. Her eyes swept over the ministers one by one, and finally settled on Left Prime Minister Lu Yihao: "What Mr. Lu said is absolutely true. We cannot make decisions that are detrimental to national interests because of impulse. Pass on the order and strengthen border defenses. , Pay close attention to the dynamics of the civil strife in Jin. As for whether to send troops to help, we will discuss it later.”
