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

Chapter 956 Fishing in Troubled Waters

As snowflakes fluttered down, the rebel army was defeated and surrendered, laying down their weapons.

Meanwhile, the rebel masterminds, Long Dayuan, Zhang Shuo, and Tao Zhu, had been tightly bound and pinned to the ground.

As for Zhang Qi, the commander of the Youyi Army, he was also beheaded at this time, and his head was placed next to Zhang Shuo.

"Traitors! You traitors! Give me back the Emperor! Give me back the Emperor!"

Long Dayuan had half of his teeth knocked out, and black blood mixed with saliva flowed from the corner of his mouth, but he seemed oblivious, cursing incessantly.

Tao Zhu, standing to the side, was in an even more pitiful state. His arm had been severed, and blood had flowed into a pool of red on the snow. Although he was unable to speak, his face remained mocking, and his eyes kept darting between the faces of the surrounding generals.

The generals who were being stared at by him all awkwardly looked away.

Only Zhang Shuo fared relatively well. As a scholar, he wasn't even wearing armor, so after being dragged off his horse, he only received a beating. At this moment, whether from fear or cold, he was trembling all over, his face pale and bloodless.

Yang Yizhong brushed aside the snowflakes, walked slowly out, and came to the three people.

Long Dayuan continued his tirade: "Yang Yizhong, you treacherous traitor who flatters the emperor! The nation and its people are ruined by you! And the emperor? You have actually harmed the emperor?!"

Yang Yizhong originally didn't want to answer, but after seeing the strange looks in the eyes of those generals, he felt a chill.

This is a political occasion; if an official response isn't given immediately, who knows what kind of rumors will spread!

"His Majesty is seriously ill and is currently recuperating in the inner palace. Moreover, the country is without a senator, so the Emperor Emeritus has had to step in and take charge of the government. You, scoundrel, listened to rumors from the streets and attacked the imperial city. What is your crime?!"

Long Dayuan laughed loudly: "Yang Yizhong, you can try to fool me here, but do you think you can silence the gossip of the world and the sharp pens of history for generations to come?!"

Yang Yizhong was somewhat embarrassed, seeing that his words had not only failed to have any effect, but had also made the generals' expressions even more strange. He immediately asked, "Then are you willing to serve His Majesty with medicine?!"

Long Dayuan was stunned for a moment, then suddenly spat out a mouthful of bloody phlegm: "Pah! You traitor, do you think you can expect loyal people to surrender to you?! Dream on!"

Yang Yizhong looked at the bloodstain on the armor and shook his head, saying, "Then kill them all!"

Zhang Quwei, the chief clerk of the Inner Court who had been hiding at the back, hurriedly stepped forward and asked in a high-pitched voice, "Shouldn't we report this to the Emperor and hand it over to the relevant authorities for trial?"

Yang Yizhong understood Zhang Quwei's meaning: to openly and legitimately charge these people with treason, and then execute their entire families to vent Zhao Gou's anger.

However, Yang Yizhong paused only briefly before pointing towards the Hall of State Affairs: "Now is the time to act swiftly and decisively to quell the chaos. If we delay because of this trivial matter and cause chaos in Lin'an, that would be a grave crime that no one can bear!"

Zhang Quwei looked through the wind and snow at the few plumes of smoke and could only nod repeatedly.

"Drag them all down, along with those rebel soldiers, and execute them!"

Cries of agony immediately filled the air, and with the thud of knives piercing flesh, the large-scale executions finally began.

Despite having his head pressed down, Long Dayuan still forced himself to turn around and shouted to Zhang Shuo, "Zhang Shuo, a true man is willing to die, but he cannot submit to injustice!"

Then, Long Dayuan's head fell to the ground.

Even at the very end, Tao Zhu could only mutter to himself, "How hateful, how hateful..."

Zhang opened his mouth as if to respond to Long Dayuan, but his teeth trembled and he couldn't utter a word. He looked up at Yang Yizhong, and after hesitating for a moment, he still straightened his neck.

As the three heads fell to the ground, the rebellion vanished without a trace. However, Yang Yizhong clutched his chest, breathing rapidly, and for a moment he could not even stand steadily.

Zhang Quwei quickly helped him up: "Your Highness is the pillar of the Song Dynasty, please take good care of yourself."

Long Dayuan and Zhang Shuo are just two high-ranking hangers-on, yet they've caused such a huge mess. Who knows what kind of chaos will ensue once the news gets out!

At this time, Yang Yizhong could be considered the only general Zhao Gou trusted, and he absolutely could not afford to have anything happen to him.

Yang Yizhong naturally knew this, otherwise he wouldn't have taken such good care of his health according to the prescription sent by his second son, Yang Tan.

At that moment, he didn't even dare to die.

"I'm fine, Sun Yong!"

"The general is here!"

"You shall immediately lead your troops to the Hall of State Affairs to annihilate the bandits and extinguish the fire! Then find Minister Shi and listen to his command!"

"Li Long! Go and seal off the Nine Gates."

"Deng Ziyun! You are here to protect the imperial city!"

"Liu Bi! Go to Lin'an Prefecture and tell them to cooperate immediately in restoring order!"

Several military orders were issued in an orderly manner. After a short while, Yang Yizhong finally had a chance to catch his breath. Then, looking at the direction of the Political Affairs Hall where the smoke was getting thicker and thicker, he muttered to himself, "I hope it's not too late."

..."It's mostly done."

Outside Lin'an City, Luo Huaiyan removed his iron mask and let out a long sigh of relief.

Cheng Tianpeng looked at the two carriages beside him and said with a smile, "It wasn't easy. We've finally accomplished something big. What's next?"

Luo Huaiyan laughed in response: "Of course I disguised myself and took advantage of the chaos in Lin'an to go home!"

Upon hearing the word "go home," the Flying Tigers knights around them immediately perked up, and some even defied orders and cheered loudly.

"Silence! Get out of here!"

At the command, more than a hundred riders left the area of ​​Lin'an City intact, raised the flag of the Song Dynasty, and headed north.

By this time, the chaos had spread to the surrounding areas, and not only were the common people in a state of panic, but the officials and generals were also at a loss.

Luo Huaiyan led his large cavalry force along the official road in a grand procession. Along the way, these elite Flying Tiger armored cavalry remained vigilant, ready to engage in battle at any moment. However, not only did no one dare to stop them, but not even a single person inquired about their movements.

In the latter half of the night, when the group arrived in Huating County, they finally took off their armor and found a safe house that had been prepared in advance to rest peacefully.

At this moment, Luo Huaiyan arrived in front of the two carriages, holding a bowl of food and water, and said with a smile, "Madam Yu, we have been very presumptuous today. I apologize to Madam Yu."

The curtain of a carriage was lifted, and the first person to step out was Yu Gangjian.

After he came out, he was unsteady on his feet and it took him a long time to straighten up while holding onto the carriage shaft.

Today, after a long march of over a hundred li, the Flying Tiger Army's knights had only just warmed up, but Yu Gangjian and the others, sitting in the carriage, were suffering terribly.

"I...my grandmother has already rested. You can tell me what's wrong, uh..."

He had only spoken half a sentence when Yu Gangjian abruptly vomited.

"Never mind, I'll do it." Yu Gongzhu also stepped down from the carriage. His expression wasn't good either, but he was much calmer than Yu Gangjian. "Are you Liu Dalang's soldiers from Shandong?"

Just as Luo Huaiyan was about to answer, he heard a thumping sound coming from the second carriage. He put down his food and water and patted his head, saying, "I almost forgot someone."

After saying this, Luo Huaiyan quickly found a few sticks of incense, lit them, and placed them in the incense burner next to the second carriage. Only after doing all this did he lift the carriage curtain to reveal a coffin.

And Hu Quan, who was sitting next to the coffin, bound hand and foot, making whimpering noises.

Luo Huaiyan bowed to the coffin before pulling Hu Quan out, cutting the ropes, and taking out the handkerchief stuffed in his mouth.

"This is outrageous! This is utterly uncivilized!" Hu Quan shouted, jumping up and down. "Is this how you people in the North behave?!"

Luo Huaiyan shrugged and said, "Old man, don't blame us. Who told you to block the Yu residence and not let us in?"
Given the circumstances, there was no time for argument; we had no choice but to tie you up first. So, who are you?

Before Hu Quan could speak, Yu Gongzhu said, "This is Hu Quan, the Vice Minister of War of the current dynasty... This... this coffin contains..."

He had barely finished speaking when Yu Gongzhu stared intently at the coffin in the second carriage, his eyes wide with astonishment.

Luo Huaiyan took two steps back: "It is indeed the body of Prime Minister Yu. You may come and pay your respects... However... however, Prime Minister Yu was beaten to death by that scoundrel Zhao Gou and then hung in the West Market for a day. He is already in a terrible state. It is best not to open the coffin..."

Yu Gongzhu burst into tears instantly and pulled Yu Gangjian to kowtow to Luo Huaiyan.

Luo Huaiyan tried to stop him, but couldn't hold him back at all.

“Young man, you have done my Yu family a great favor by saving our lives.” Madam Yu, who had just rested according to Yu Gangjian, also got off the carriage, bowed to Luo Huaiyan, and said in a deep voice, “It is only right that they pay their respects.”

"However, I would like to trouble you, young man, to prepare some clean water, linen, and a set of clean clothes. My husband has devoted his life to the country, and we cannot let him leave with such filth."

Luo Huaiyan sighed, then gave his personal guard a look, signaling him to go and make the preparations.

Hu Quan, who had been angry just moments before, shook his head and sighed as he sat back down by the campfire. "Young man, come and sit with me. Let them have some time alone with Master Yu."

Luo Huaiyan understood and sat down by the campfire.

"Are you really Liu Dalang's spies?"

Looking at the campfire, Luo Huaiyan nodded frankly: "Of course, and I might as well tell Lord Hu that we have been lurking in Lin'an for several years. We originally wanted to do something bigger, but we never expected that such a dirty thing would happen. Alas... life is truly unpredictable."

Hu Quan is over sixty years old. In his youth, he even personally experienced the Jingkang Incident. He was also among the first batch of Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) promoted by Zhao Gou. He was also once demoted by Qin Hui to Hainan Island to eat coconuts. He has truly seen a lot of storms.

Even so, he remained silent when faced with Luo Huaiyan's exclamation.

The snow and wind gradually subsided, but the cold wind still howled. Hu Quan seemed to have returned to the day of the Shaoxing Peace Treaty, feeling the same despair and grief.

After a moment, Hu Quan turned around, sighed and said, "Since we have nothing to do all night, tell me what you've all been up to."

(End of this chapter)