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

Chapter 951 The Embroidered Uniform Guards Urgently Respond to the Battle

Amidst the wind and snow in Lin'an, troops entered the city and imposed martial law throughout.

Of course, in a purely commercial city like Lin'an, it's simply impossible to impose a complete martial law, and some people's business activities simply cannot be stopped.

Who knows which powerful figure is standing behind an ordinary shop?

For example, the biggest wine merchant in Lin'an was Zhao Gou himself. Who would dare to touch his business?

Therefore, the generals who received orders to enter the city only occupied various key transportation routes to blockade them.

Given the Song army's disciplined, bandit-like nature, it was simply impossible for them not to cause trouble when they gathered together.

Soon, sporadic cases of extortion, and even heinous crimes such as murder and rape, began to emerge.

However, this was, after all, under the emperor's nose, and the mid- to high-ranking generals were well-trained. They immediately led their personal guards to enforce military discipline.

After beheading the soldiers who had committed heinous acts and disciplining several others on the spot, the Song army finally managed to quell the potential for major unrest.

But the Song general naturally knew that it was better to guide than to block.

Having finally entered Lin'an City, only to return empty-handed, would not only be a laughing stock among the other soldiers who hadn't yet entered the city, but would also destabilize the morale of the men under their command.

Therefore, several generals of the Song army immediately took action, summoning some wealthy merchants under the guise of providing financial assistance, and explaining the situation clearly:

It's freezing cold and snowy, and it's really not easy for the army to enter the city and maintain order. You have to expend some effort, otherwise, who knows if some soldiers will resort to desperate measures.

Even if the authorities give you an explanation and execute the person, your whole family will never be able to get their lives back.

Those wealthy merchants and tycoons were basically unaware that a coup had taken place in the palace and that even the emperor had been replaced, so they couldn't understand why the army was entering the city.

Therefore, although these wealthy merchants were generally extremely angry, they chose to pay money to avoid further trouble and settle the matter peacefully.

Of course, the more crucial reason was that the Song generals didn't ask for much, and what they said made a lot of sense.

The high-ranking generals feared the people behind the wealthy merchants, but the lowly soldiers below had no idea who these important figures were.

If one or two greedy people do commit murder, even if they are executed afterward, the dead cannot be brought back to life.

In less than two hours, the copper coins collected by these wealthy merchants were brought to the front of the army, and the Song generals immediately distributed them as rewards.

The soldiers who received the reward were all smiles, while those who hadn't yet received their reward were somewhat anxious.

Under these circumstances, the morale of the Song army naturally became somewhat low. In addition, the city of Lin'an was indeed very stable, so they became careless. They even ignored the common people who dared to go out on the streets.

"Grand Commandant, Grand Commandant, please have mercy." Su Kuan smiled broadly and pointed to a large cart behind him: "The cart is full of cabbage, which is a takeout order placed by the Ministry of Justice this afternoon. It really can't be delayed."

"Enough with the nonsense!" A constable waved his hand, about to continue speaking with a stern face, when Su Kuan grabbed his hand and stuffed a string of coins into it: "This business isn't very profitable, but the officials of the Ministry of Justice are not to be trifled with. If you're late, you'll be in trouble. Grand Commandant, please have mercy and let me wait."

The captain nodded and then winked at several Song soldiers.

The lazy soldier, who had been lounging under the eaves of a house by the street, got up and went to the cart. He lifted the straw mat and glanced at it: "Boss, it really is all cabbage!"

The head constable patted Su Kuan on the shoulder: "Let's go today because of the Ministry of Justice!"

Su Kuan quickly bowed and said, "Grand Commandant, you are truly virtuous and kind-hearted. You deserve to have many children and much happiness..."

"Hurry up! The nobles from the Ministry of Justice are still hoping for a hot meal!" Su Kuan scolded the two idle men driving the carriage, then turned to the head constable with a beaming smile: "Grand Commandant, we're leaving right away..."

The captain waved his hand dismissively, then followed his confidant to hide under the eaves of a building on the street, rubbing his hands together to avoid the snowflakes falling from the sky.

After driving the large vehicle away from the intersection, Su Kuan did not go far. After advancing seven or eight hundred steps, he slipped into a residential house.

"Young Master, there's another definite piece of news." Su Kuan patted the snowflakes off his shoulders: "Soldiers have surrounded the Yu residence."

Luo Huaiyan closed his eyes, stroking a token in his hand: "Who is in the Yu residence?"

"Lady Yu, her second son Yu Gongzhu, her eldest grandson Yu Gangjian, and several old servants."

Luo Huaiyan sighed, opened his eyes, and looked at his deputy, saying, "Let's wait and see the final result."

Su Kuan was somewhat dizzy from the series of events that had occurred today. After hesitating for a moment, he asked in a low voice, "Young master, do you know what exactly happened?"

Luo Huaiyan nodded slightly: "I've guessed some of it, but it's a bit too late."

Seeing the questioning looks from his two deputies, Su Kuan and Cheng Tianpeng, one a scholar and the other a warrior, Luo Huaiyan slowly revealed his discovery.

"I first noticed something was wrong when the Imperial City Guard discovered the Third Outpost."

"After investigation, it was found that there was no traitor who betrayed them. It was Sun San, a vagrant in the city, who wanted to earn a reward and accidentally discovered that only people were entering the No. 3 stronghold, but no one was leaving. He then reported this to the Imperial City Guard. This ruled out the possibility of an insider."

"However, I was very curious at the time why it wasn't the Lin'an Prefecture and the Imperial City Guard that came, but a group of armored soldiers."

"At first, I thought that Long Dayuan was worried that the Embroidered Uniform Guard had infiltrated the Imperial City Guard, so he was mobilizing foreign troops."

"This flawed line of thinking delayed me for two days before I finally found out about it in a previous book."

"The general who led the troops into the city is named Tian Zhuo. He was once a commander of the Palace Guard and is a confidant of Yang Yizhong!"

Luo Huaiyan's cheek twitched, then he quickly covered up his embarrassment: "Then, I turned to investigate whether Yang Yizhong was planning something?" "Whatever Yang Yizhong wants to do means that Zhao Gou is going to do something."

"But it was too late to start the investigation from the bottom up, so I sent secret agents to keep a close eye on the various princes' residences and report any clues immediately."

"According to the Song Dynasty's system, Zhao Gou, as the retired emperor, would definitely need the cooperation of the prime minister if he wanted to do something big. For the next two days, I was searching for the prime minister who wanted to cause trouble."

"But there was no gain; the residences of the Song Dynasty's prime ministers remained completely calm."

"Then it happened this morning." Luo Huaiyan sighed and looked up at the sky: "Shi Hao came to Lin'an from Jiankang overnight and entered the palace incognito. Only then did I realize that I had missed a prime minister."

“I wanted to inform Prime Minister Yu immediately, but it was too late; he had already entered the palace.”

Cheng Tianpeng had also participated in the Battle of Chaoxian and had some connection with the Song army. Upon hearing this, he frowned and asked, "Young master, will Master Yu be in trouble?"

Luo Huaiyan looked up at the roof beam and said, "Something must have happened, but we'll have to wait for more information to find out the extent of the damage."

"However, now is not the time to discuss the safety of Prime Minister Yu. Even if Zhao Gou is targeting Prime Minister Yu, his goal is not merely to eliminate Prime Minister Yu alone..."

Su Kuan asked in surprise and doubt: "You mean... that bastard Zhao Gou wants to deal with the Prince of Han?"

Luo Huaiyan remained calm: "I don't know... As I just said, we can't be sure of the result right now, we can only wait!"

Su Kuan calmed himself down and nodded emphatically.

The waiting time was always long. Although the three of them were all high-ranking officials of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and controlled the intelligence network of the entire Jiangnan region, they were still somewhat restless.

Luo Huaiyan, who had always been calm and composed, kept rubbing the small token in his hand, his expression changing as if he were making some kind of decision.

The other two also stared quietly at the token.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard not only planted a large number of spies in Lin'an, but also sent nearly two hundred armored cavalrymen.

Most of these soldiers were former Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) transferred from the Flying Tiger Army. They were skilled in archery and horsemanship, armed with three weapons, and ruthless in their methods. They were also the only military force Luo Huaiyan could rely on.

Liu Huai never expected this army to be the decisive factor in the war against the Song Kingdom, because in a large commercial city like Lin'an, as long as the Han army could reach the city walls, even the most foolish commander would have a thousand ways to kill the Lin'an defenders.

It can be said that this armored cavalry force of less than two hundred men was at Luo Huaiyan's disposal, used to overturn the table.

The Tiger Tally is the small token in Luo Huaiyan's hand.

But one thing is very clear: the armored cavalry is different from the secret agents. Secret agents can act in secret, and even if they commit murder or arson, they can use the excuse of bandits to cover it up.

However, once heavily armored cavalry appear, there is no turning back.

It's obvious to anyone with a brain how much political turmoil the organized presence of the Han army in Lin'an would cause. Could such a decision really be made by a mere Jinyiwei (Imperial Guard) officer?

Time passed like this minute by minute.

By evening, someone finally risked their life to bring back news.

“Someone from the palace posted a notice saying that the Emperor Zhao was seriously ill and unable to attend to state affairs. The country relies on a long-term ruler, and the retired emperor should take charge of the overall situation.”

"Prime Minister Yu was beaten to death! His body was hung in the West Market! There were more than a hundred charges against him, sixty of which were related to the King of Han."

"Report! The State of Song has declared the King of Han a traitor and is calling upon righteous men throughout the land to join in the campaign against this disloyal subject!"

Several messages, each more shocking than the last.

The three members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard were initially somewhat surprised, but in the end they didn't even show any expression, only nodding numbly.

"This message needs to be sent out immediately."

After a moment of stunned silence, Luo Huaiyan was the first to calm down: "Mobilize all manpower and make sure to spread this crucial news as quickly as possible."

Su Kuan, however, remained distraught and at a loss: "To whom should I pass it?"

Luo Huaiyan said sternly, "Naturally, we must inform the Prince of Han, Brother Xin Wu of Xuzhou, Minister Li of Bianliang, and... and Mr. Lu!"
Su Kuan, I know you're panicking, but it's precisely at times like these that we mustn't lose our composure!

Su Kuan slapped himself twice, and after barely calming down, he immediately got up to prepare the documents.

Seeing Cheng Tianpeng standing silently to the side, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back, Luo Huaiyan immediately asked, "Old Cheng! The situation is so urgent, just say what you want to say!"

Cheng Tianpeng took a deep breath, nodded first, and then simply stood up and said, "Did that scoundrel Zhao Gou just now accuse the eldest son of rebellion?"

Luo Huaiyan seemed to realize something and nodded emphatically: "Exactly."

"Is the State of Song going to declare war on Shandong?!"

"Exactly!"

Cheng Tianpeng revealed a sinister smile: "Since that's the case, shouldn't we, as the frontline troops attacking Song, immediately accept the challenge?"

Luo Huaiyan's breathing became very heavy, and his gaze involuntarily fell on the token in his hand.

(End of this chapter)