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

Chapter 953 The Manifesto is as Sharp as a Knife
"The traitor Zhao Gou, the bastard son of Emperor Huizong and the traitor of Emperor Qinzong! He inherited the throne but did not think about restoring the lost territories. Instead, he engaged in acts of treason and seeking only to maintain his own peace, causing turmoil in the Central Plains and displacement of the people."

"Abandoning the ancestral temple and forgetting the hatred of their fathers and brothers. Twelve gold tablets, destroying the Great Wall in an instant. Three words on fabricated charges, executing loyal and good people in Zhaoqing; the Yellow Dragon has not been destroyed, and the soldiers have lost their ambition."

"Selling out the country and becoming a vassal state disgraces the majesty of China. Paying tribute of silver and silk every year, they willingly become envoys of dogs and sheep; kneeling before the Jin envoy, they destroy the proper etiquette of official robes and hat. In the taverns of Lin'an, songs of northern customs are forbidden; in the Deshou Palace, they still dream of a peaceful world."

“They built palaces and gardens like imperial palaces, plundering the south of the Yangtze River; they indulged in singing and dancing on West Lake, showing no concern for the common people. The warm breeze intoxicated them, turning Hangzhou into Bianzhou; the troops were left idle, leaving the people to weep blood and tears.”

"It is because the peace treaty became a laughing stock that the disaster of rebelling against Liang occurred."

"Fortunately, there were heroes from the north like Liu Gong and heroes from the south like Yu Xiang, who personally braved the arrows and fought across thousands of miles, blocking the enemy army at Caishi and capturing the traitor Zhuge Liang at Chaoxian, thus bringing peace back to the Han dynasty and restoring the sun, moon and stars from obscurity."

"However, Heaven did not destroy the calamity, but Zhao Gou was restored to the throne. He executed Yu Xiang by private punishment and denounced Liu Gong for his wickedness. With the loyal and virtuous gone, treacherous officials filled the court; morale was lost and the country declined day by day."

"Now that this proclamation has been issued, it should provoke thunderous wrath. Slaughter Qin Hui's corpse to appease the world, and punish his treacherous spirit to wipe away the national shame! When this proclamation arrives, heaven and earth will bear witness!"

After reading it, even though it was winter, the two high-ranking officials of the Song state broke out in a cold sweat.

Hu Quan muttered to himself, "This is...this is a manifesto."

Zhou Cong remained calmer and asked directly, "Where...where did this thing come from?"

“They’re everywhere.” The official who came to report also knew the seriousness of the matter and immediately reported the findings in Lin’an Prefecture: “They’re in the West Market, the East Gate, the Dali Temple, and the Xiawali area. And that’s not all; the thieves may have spread out under the cover of night.”

Zhou Cong held the paper close to the fire and squinted, "It's printed using a printing plate. Is there any way to trace it?"

The clerk, an experienced criminal investigator, had already anticipated these events: "Since the memorial mentions...the matter of Lord Yu, it could only have been printed overnight. Such a large document could only have been completed in a few places. Clerk Zhao has already assigned people to investigate. However..."

The clerk bowed and hesitated for a moment before speaking frankly: "However, I still think that these thieves must have made thorough preparations, and they may even have a secret printing workshop. It is very likely that Zhao Kongmu will come up empty-handed."

Zhou Cong nodded: "Is there any way to find out from the ink and paper used?"

The official answered fluently: "There is a way. The processes of each paper mill and ink mill are different. After finding the source, compare it with the invoices, and there will always be clues."

But this will inevitably take time. The key now is that dawn is approaching. During the day, Lin'an City cannot be sealed off, and then the whole city will know. Zhou Longtu should make some preparations.”

Zhou Cong nodded slowly again, then turned to Hu Quan: "Old Hu, have you figured it out?"

Hu Quan nodded: "His writing skills are only above average, but this was all done in one night... no, if you include the printing and distribution time, it might only have been an hour. To be able to curse like this, you can be considered to have some literary talent. And..."

Hu Quan pointed to Liu Huai's name, then to the end of the proclamation: "This article is clearly in Liu Huai's favor, but in the end, although it says it wants to harm the emperor, it doesn't dare to mention becoming king or emperor and unifying the world. Perhaps Liu Huai really has no ulterior motives at this time."

Zhou Cong patted his forehead, looked at the increasingly bright eastern sky, and reached out to scoop up a handful of snowflakes: "In other words, this proclamation was written by the chief of secret agents sent by Liu Huai. This chief of secret agents could only judge that the situation in the world was about to change drastically, so he wanted to give Liu Huai the first move. However, he was not sure whether Liu Huai really intended to declare himself emperor immediately, so he left a loophole."

After Zhou Cong finished speaking, he laughed at himself: "What's the use of saying all this? Given the current situation, Liu Huai has no choice but to rebel!"

After saying this, the two of them, without even a moment to sigh or lament, got up at the same time to stretch their bodies.

The first wave of political turmoil has arrived, and all people can do is struggle through it.

However, no one expected that this first wave of political turmoil was initiated by Liu Huai, who was fighting desperately against the Jin Dynasty in Hebei.

"Send the registrar to find Yang Yizhong, give him this document, and ask him three questions."

Zhou Cong slowly said, his hands clasped together, "First, ask those useless people in the Imperial City Guard what they're good for, how could they be so incompetent?"

"Secondly, ask Yang Yizhong. He did this for the Emperor Emeritus, but now the generals outside disagree and are coming with knives. As the Emperor Emeritus's trusted general, does he have a way to deal with this?"

"Thirdly, when he beat Minister Yu to death, did he ever consider the consequences that have arisen?!"

After asking the question three times, Zhou Cong was filled with resentment.

However, he suppressed his anger, bowed to Hu Quan, then turned and gave the Song general a warning look before leaving.

The Song general was also furious, but he couldn't afford to offend anyone present, so he could only mutter his bad luck to himself while trembling and hiding in the shed.

However, the officials of Lin'an Prefecture were naturally adept at handling people. One of the junior officials greeted them with a smile and placed a heavy little cloth bag on the table in the shed: "Zhou Longtu is just that incorruptible. Brothers, please don't blame him."

Hearing the crisp sound coming from the small cloth bag, the Song general swallowed hard, his eyes widening.

"However," the clerk continued, "for our brothers, it's better to remain still than to act rashly. The situation in the court could easily change. If there's a rebellion now, it could be reinstated tomorrow. In that case, those above will only suffer the consequences, but the brothers below will be the ones facing the consequences. Right now, we have Zhou Longtu and Vice Minister Hu leading the charge, so what are you afraid of?"

Leaving aside the collusion between the minor officials of Lin'an Prefecture and the generals of the Song army, on the other hand, Yang Yizhong, who looked exhausted, also saw the proclamation.

To be honest, even though he was prepared, he was still gripped by deep fear and trembling.

This is to be expected; any military general in the world would behave the same way when faced with a direct threat from Liu Huai, while the civil officials would behave much better.

This is purely due to the crushing effect of being in the same ecological niche.

After a moment, Yang Yizhong came to his senses and looked at the registrar of Lin'an Prefecture, saying, "Alright, tell Zhou Longtu that I know everything." After the registrar left, Yang Yizhong handed the proclamation in his hand to Zhao Huaide: "Go and find out the truth."

Having effectively become the Director of the Imperial City Guard, Zhao Huaide dared not delay and immediately went to the Imperial City Guard's office to personally mobilize manpower to prepare for a decisive battle against the Embroidered Uniform Guard, who had revealed their true colors.

Zeng Di was eating soup noodles at a small stall outside the yamen. He was wearing a hempen coat and had a carrying pole beside him, just like an ordinary porter.

When he saw many people rushing out of the yamen in the snow, his eyes lit up, and he winked at a man dressed as a minor official beside him.

The clerk realized what was happening, immediately got up, and led Zeng Di toward the entrance of the Imperial City Guard.

"...Sigh, it was such a mess yesterday, someone even threw some things into the well..."

"...What if we could even retrieve an inkstone?"

"I will definitely share the spoils with all of you brothers."

After whispering a few words to the official guarding the gate, the clerk waved to Zeng Di, and the two of them slipped into the Imperial City Guard's office amidst the chaos.

Without stopping, the two walked inside to a small building at the very back of the Imperial City Guard Office.

Seeing that there was only one person guarding the place and no one else around, the junior official, while keeping his sleeves tucked in, exchanged pleasantries and approached the guard.

When they were two or three steps away, the clerk pulled out a sharp knife from his sleeve and plunged it into the gatekeeper's chest.

Zeng Di also rushed forward and stabbed the gatekeeper wildly with his dagger.

After disposing of the gatekeeper's body, the two hurried to the small hut.

Long Dayuan was tightly bound and gagged, tied to a pillar. Upon seeing Zeng Di enter, he immediately made muffled noises, as if he wanted to say something.

After the events in Guanzhong, Zeng Di had become much calmer. He used his blood-stained dagger to cut the rope and whispered, "Keep your voice down!"

The rag was removed from Long Dayuan's mouth. After catching his breath, he said, "Quickly...quickly go and inform His Majesty...inform Prime Minister Yu..."

Zeng Di said quickly, "It's too late. Minister Yu has already been beaten to death by the retired emperor, and the emperor has also abdicated due to illness. We don't know if it's a real illness or a fake one."

Long Dayuan was struck dumb; after the rope was untied, he couldn't stand up and collapsed to the ground.

"How could this happen? How could this happen? I've ruined the Emperor's life!"

Compared to the Imperial Guards, the Imperial City Guard was the last line of defense for the Zhao Song emperors.

Because the Imperial City Guard was not just a group of guards, but also an intelligence agency.

Now, Long Dayuan, as the supervisor of the Imperial City Guard, was easily subdued by Yang Yizhong without even being given a warning. As a result, the Imperial Guards in front of the palace were also easily controlled by Yang Yizhong, allowing Zhao Gou to enter the palace undetected and, with ruthless methods, take control of Zhao Shen.

It can be said that Long Dayuan is the 'ant hole' that caused the thousand-mile dike to collapse.

Zeng Di stepped forward and slapped Long Dayuan across the face. Then he grabbed Long Dayuan's shoulder and said, "The Emperor is still alive, what are you crying about?! The most important thing now is to rescue the Emperor!"
"I am merely a court official with no power, while you are the Director of the Imperial City Guard. Don't tell me you can't even find a loyal and righteous official willing to risk your life."

As she spoke, Zeng Di pointed to the minor official standing behind her: "Even Little Zhao knows to come to me, you can't be any worse than Little Zhao, can you?!"

Long Dayuan wiped the dust off his face, mixed his tears and snot together, and nodded slightly at his subordinate: "Xiao Zhao, you are very good, very good."

"Old Zeng, it's very likely that Lin'an is beyond saving. Go find the foreign minister immediately!"

"Who are you looking for? Liu Dalang? He's already been declared a traitor by the Emperor Emeritus!"

"Old Zeng, how could you be so muddle-headed!" Long Dayuan stamped his foot and said, "The system of the Great Song Dynasty is naturally decided by the Prime Minister! We need to find the most capable Prime Minister!"

Zeng Di immediately realized: "Lord Lu! That's it! In this world, only Lord Lu can turn the tide!"

"Old Dragon, come with me!"

Long Dayuan shook his head sadly: "I am a trusted confidant of the Emperor, entrusted with important responsibilities by him. How can I just leave? I must find an opportunity to rescue the Emperor!"

The two had already left the house while they were talking, but just as they were about to find a way to leave, they heard a loud rumbling sound coming from the direction of Deoksugung Palace to the south.

The others were merely shocked, but even the most incompetent Long Dayuan, who controlled the intelligence agency, could recognize what that sound was.

"It's explosives." Long Dayuan's face turned even paler. "It's the Jingnan army!"

On October 16th, the day after Zhao Gou declared Liu Huai a traitor, the Han army officially engaged in battle.

(End of this chapter)