Destroy Jin and conquer Song, and carry the Northern Expedition through to the end

Chapter 538: My husband is a fool and suspicious

Time quickly came to the afternoon. Tang Shitui looked at Zhao Mi, who was drinking tea beside him, in confusion, wondering what the other party was up to.

Both the imperial edict and the military order clearly stated that Zhao Mi should escort the Jin lord Wanyan Liang to Lin'an today, but why hasn't this guy set off yet? Isn't he afraid of military law?

Looking at the increasingly gloomy sky, Tang Shitui did not ask any questions, but waved to his confidant.

The trusted clerk understood and went out to investigate.

The actions of an army of a thousand men could not be concealed, especially in their own territory. There was no need to conceal them. After a moment, the clerk came back to report.

The large group of people escorting the financier had already set off.

Hearing this, Tang Situi frowned even more and couldn't help but ask, "General Zhao, I'm no longer a husband and can't participate in military affairs. But since the army has already set off, why is General Zhao still lingering here? Is there something else going on?"

This is because Zhao Mi was a general of the Palace Guards and a close minister to Zhao Gou, so Tang Situi had to give him some respect. If it were an ordinary general, Tang Xianggong would have scolded him long ago.

Zhao Mi naturally did not dare to contradict his former husband, Tang Situi. He even knew that his little tricks that were not in public could not be hidden from the other party. It was better to tell the truth and be honest.

However, after hearing this, Tang Situi was immediately shocked by Zhao Mi's bizarre train of thought and said in disbelief, "So, General Zhao, you are saying that you are worried that a force capable of defeating a thousand-man army might appear in Jiangnan without anyone noticing. They evaded all the Song Dynasty's defenses, cleverly calculated the time of the escort, defeated the Palace Guards army, and kidnapped the gold owner.

Then this army could easily cross the river and head north, overcoming the layers of blockades from various troops in Lianghuai and return to the north of the Huai River.

General Zhao, is this what you mean?"

Zhao Mi said stubbornly, "That's exactly what I mean."

Tang Situi picked up the teacup and leaned back slightly, as if he wanted to stay as far away from the stupid aura as possible, as if he was afraid that the other party would infect him.

Seeing Tang Shitui's expression, Zhao Mi continued, "What I'm worried about is not the external enemies, but the internal thieves!"

Tang Shitui suddenly became alert.

"General Zhao, who do you think is the traitor? Who would do such a thing? Could it be me, the garrison commander of Jiankang?"

Zhao Mi was startled, then waved his hands repeatedly: "Not my husband, not my husband."

"Who is that?!" Tang Shitui stared into Zhao Mi's eyes and asked sternly.

Because Tang Situi was a peace advocate, some people suspected that he had connections with the Jin Dynasty, and it was normal for him to release Wanyan Liang secretly.

In fact, during the few months that Zhao Gou stayed in Jiankang, people kept using this reason to impeach Tang Situi, hoping to remove him from his position as the governor of Jiankang.

This made Tang Situ very angry.

I am a prime minister, and I will be opposed when I stay in the local area. Do you really want me to promote a Taoist temple?
At this time, Zhao Mi just hit Tang Shitui's sore spot, so it's no wonder that he was so angry.

If Zhao Mi couldn't come up with an answer today, Tang Situi would probably vent his resentment of the past few months on this guy.

"It was General Liu of the Jingnan Army." Zhao Mi was forced into a corner. Although he had no evidence, he still put the blame on Liu Huai.

Tang Shitui picked up the teacup and drank slowly.

Although he had never thought about it in this direction, with Mr. Tang's intelligence, he sorted out the logic from the perspective of the Shandong rebels in just a cup of tea.

If this can be accomplished and the Jin Dynasty is split, the Shandong rebel army will have a lot of room to play and will gain the greatest benefits.

Lianghuai was devastated and unable to provide quick and effective support to Shandong. If they wanted to survive these two most difficult years on their own, they had to come up with some crooked tricks no matter what.

Although there is no need to look for evidence when searching for criminals in politics, generally whoever gains the most is the one who did it, but Tang Shitui still finds this inference a bit incredible.

It's really too risky.

Liu Huai is unfamiliar with the place, can he really accomplish such a big thing?
Zhao Mi, who was standing by, saw Tang Situi's expression change from realization to hesitation. After thinking for a moment, he finally made up his mind and threw out another important news.

"Mr. Tang, Liu Dalang, the commander of the Jingnan Army, once met the Crown Prince and they had a very pleasant conversation."

Tang Shitui stood up suddenly, his eyes widening to the extreme: "When did this happen? How could the prince meet with a foreign general?!"

Zhao Mi didn't know why Tang Shitui had such a big reaction, so he also stood up and said, "It was a while ago when the Crown Prince came to the Palace Front Division camp to entertain the troops on behalf of the emperor."

"Have you reported this to the authorities?"

“Nothing…nothing…”

"You...you are confused!" Tang Situi was very anxious and paced back and forth. "If you had reported this to the authorities, this matter would have caused a lot of uproar. I would have known about it a long time ago and would have made corresponding preparations. However, now...now...is not right!"

With that, Tang Situi turned around and shouted, "Where is the sponsor?! Tell me!"

Zhao Mi said tremblingly: "It's in the duty room of the Infantry Division Office in the south of the city. All the nobles of the Jin Kingdom are there!"

Tang Situi pulled the jade pendant from his waist and shouted, "A'er, take my token and mobilize three hundred of the city's delinquents, yamen runners, and archers to go to the Infantry Division's office and surround it. No one is allowed to enter or leave. If anyone asks, just say you're following my orders!"

The clerk did not dare to delay, took the jade pendant and left quickly.

Zhao Mi hesitated and said, "Mr. Tang, why is it so..."

Tang Situi said with a look of disappointment, "Don't you understand yet? How did the Crown Prince and Liu Huai get involved? How did they, a Shandong barbarian and a prince from the inner palace, know each other? Who was the middleman? What forces are behind that person? Have you figured it out?" Zhao Mi was stunned for a moment, then shuddered. "It was Yu Yunwen, the Prime Minister... the group that advocated war."

Tang Situi said bitterly, "Liu Huai is a typical example of someone who rose from humble beginnings. He has nothing but soldiers and horses, so he's not a concern. But those who advocate war are different. They have official positions, clans, and influence, and can accomplish things without resorting to violence. Even within Jiankang City, they have many of their people."

Zhao Mi murmured, "Mr. Tang, you mean..."

Tang Situi strode out, "If we had been slower, the financier might have been stolen! General Zhao, if you had used a thousand soldiers to escort the financier, it would have been foolproof. No one in the world could have stolen someone from under the noses of a thousand soldiers. But in a certain government office in the city, there are too many ways to do it!"

By the end of his speech, Tang Shitui had already crossed the courtyard gate. Turning back, he saw Zhao Mi still looking shocked by the news. He couldn't help but shout, "General Zhao, what are you waiting for? Come with me!"

Zhao Mi shuddered again, then ran forward hurriedly.

Tang Situi couldn't help but feel anxious.

This is a struggle between the peace faction and the war faction, and it is a life-and-death fight for various official positions.

Putting aside other things, if the Jin Kingdom really started a civil war and the Song Kingdom gained a strategic advantage, then when would Tang Shitui, the leader of the peace faction, be able to return to the position of prime minister?
The two men, accompanied by several attendants and guards, rode at full speed to the Infantry Division Yamen. At this time, the yamen runners and archers had surrounded the place, and the officers of the Infantry Division did not know what was going on and were arguing with the leading clerk, and it seemed that they were about to take action.

"Stop!" Zhao Mi shouted repeatedly, then took Tang Situi out of the crowd and came to the gate of the yamen.

"Where are the group of people I sent?" Zhao Mi asked loudly as he walked.

The officer was a little confused: "We are providing support, dozens of brothers are there."

Zhao Mi heaved a long sigh of relief upon hearing this. He then, without regard for formalities, strode towards the rear guard. After inspecting each prisoner car and carriage one by one, he felt somewhat relieved and turned back to Tang Shitui, saying, "Mr. Tang, please take a look. There is nothing wrong."

Seeing this, Tang Shitui also felt relieved. He sat down on a chair beside him and gasped for breath as if he was exhausted.

After a moment of silence, Tang Situi and Zhao Mi went to another side room. After waving the others away, Tang Situi said to Zhao Mi in a serious tone, "We are leaving today. This is the emperor's order. It is irresistible now. We must leave."

Seeing Zhao Mi hesitate to speak, Tang Situi continued, "I understand your dilemma, but we should send the thousand soldiers back to reunite with you. Since they haven't been attacked, your assumptions are flawed. It would be safest to keep our gold master within the army."

Zhao Mi smiled bitterly and nodded, feeling somewhat disapproving of Tang Shitui.

Tang Situi was not a warrior and knew nothing about military affairs. He always thought that if he wanted to fight against an army of a thousand men, he had to find another army of a thousand men.

His logic was that it was impossible for the entire Jiangnan region to gather another army of a thousand men without anyone noticing, so it was impossible for them to kidnap Wanyan Liang.

But Zhao Mi knew that this was not the way to calculate it.

What can fight against an army of a thousand men is not another army of a thousand men, but another army with the fighting power of an army of a thousand men.

The arrogant and brave generals of the Jingnan Army were real warriors who had fought strategic decisive battles with the Jin Army on the battlefield. How could the troops of the Palace Front Division resist them?
How could the imperial guards without the system of fighting be able to defeat the border troops?
It is very likely that Liu Huai would gather two hundred armored cavalry and trample upon these one thousand people!
However, Tang Shitui said something that made a lot of sense.

The official order issued by the emperor through the prime minister is to set off today. So even if it can be delayed, we must set off today, otherwise it will be considered as disobeying the order, and Tang Situi will be the first to disagree!

"Don't worry, Mr. Tang. I've already given orders to my confidant to stop and set up camp in the afternoon and wait for me near Shuangqiao Town."

"And if you are attacked, report it quickly."

"Since there is no report yet, it means nothing has happened."

Zhao Mi couldn't explain his feelings at this moment.

He was afraid that troops would suddenly attack and kidnap Wanyan Liang, but he was also worried that his plan would fail. It would be a small matter to waste his energy, but if he couldn't find any evidence to bite Yang Yizhong, he would really go to the Lianghuai front to die!
Tang Situi was also a little angry when he heard this, thinking that this loss of composure was all due to this guy's suspicion. He immediately said with a wave of his sleeves: "Since General Zhao is worrying about nothing, then quickly escort the gold master on his way."

Zhao Mi shook his head: "I hope you can give me another hour. I will definitely set off today."

Tang Shitui was about to explode in anger, but remembering that this was Jiankang City and he was involved, he suppressed his anger and said coldly, "I have three hundred archers and yamen runners here, all with you. They will escort you to Shuangqiao Town and return after you reunite with your army. General Zhao, you can contact the prefectures and counties for support, but please make sure nothing goes wrong."

After saying that, Tang Shitui sat directly on the chair, as if he was determined to send Zhao Mi away personally today.

Zhao Mi heaved a long sigh of relief and shamelessly sat down beside Tang Shitui. "Don't worry, Prime Minister. As long as we reach Danyang, we can board the entire army. Then, we can sail south along the canal and reach Lin'an directly. Everything will be safe."

Tang Situi's expression softened slightly: "I hope so."

At the same time, Tian Zhuo, deputy general of the Infantry Department, had led the army to Shuangqiao Town, but did not stop to set up camp as Zhao Mi ordered. He just took a short rest and continued to lead the army towards Danyang.

"Didn't the Grand Marshal order us to camp in Shuangqiao Town?"

Zhao Mi's confidant asked about it.

Tian Zhuo immediately rebuked him: "Since the Grand Marshal has asked me to lead the army, he must have some considerations. Let's continue to move forward!"

Faced with this most trusted confidant of Zhao Mi, the others did not dare to say anything and could only bow their hands and obey his orders.

The thousand soldiers continued to roll eastward, and after Tian Zhuo sternly reprimanded several officers to maintain the army's movement, he looked at Yang Tan, who was dressed as a personal soldier beside him, with a flattering face: "Second Brother Yang, this is enough, right?"

Yang Dan nodded reservedly: "Azhuo, don't worry, as long as you can stand on my father's side and get rid of Zhao Mi, not only will you be safe and sound, but you will also be able to enjoy high official positions and noble titles."

Tian Zhuo was immediately overjoyed and felt that all his bones felt lighter.

(End of this chapter)