Do you have the strength to force me to join the Liangshan bandits?

Chapter 407 Emperor Huizong of Song: I will let the whole world know what the consequences of rebellion are! [1st Update]

Tokyo, Imperial Study.

"waste!"

In a fit of anger, Emperor Huizong overturned the table again:
(ノBenefit)ノ彡┻━┻

"That's an army of 130,000!"

"If each of the 130,000 soldiers urinated, the total amount would be enough to form a lake!"

Emperor Huizong angrily berated Gao Qiu:
"What kind of rebels can't be wiped out? Huh?"

"If an army of 130,000 can't wipe out a bandit, can they still be called a bandit? Huh?"

Gao Qiu knelt on the ground, trembling like a leaf.

Cai Jing, Tong Guan, and Yang Jian stood by speechlessly.
Is Liangshan Marsh really that difficult to deal with?

After Emperor Huizong had vented his anger, Gao Qiu stammered:
"Your Majesty, the Cai bandits have many soldiers and generals, and their men and horses are strong!"
"It's definitely not as simple as we imagined, that a single large army could arrive and break through in one fell swoop..."

Emperor Huizong of Song angrily asked, "How many troops does he have?"

"A mighty army of 100,000, and a thousand fierce generals..."

When Gao Qiu finished speaking, Emperor Huizong seemed not to believe him, so he quickly bared his teeth and said:

"Your Majesty, I would never dare to exaggerate!"

"Your Majesty, please look at my front teeth. They were knocked out by Cai's wife with a missile!"

Upon closer inspection, Emperor Huizong noticed that Gao Qiu's two front teeth were gleaming silver, clearly indicating that he had two silver inlays.

These days, dentures are made, with gold and silver dentures being the most common.

Gao Qiu could certainly afford gold teeth, but that was too extravagant and unsuitable for an honest official like him who kept his hands clean.

Therefore, Gao Qiu had two silver teeth fitted.

Because of the striking visual effect of the silver teeth, Gao Qiu looked like a rabbit when he bared his teeth.

Emperor Huizong of Song took a closer look, found it quite amusing, and couldn't help but burst into laughter:
"Gao Qing, oh Gao Qing, hahaha... You've suffered so much, hahaha..."

When Emperor Huizong smiled, the tense atmosphere in the imperial study changed, and Cai Jing and the others also laughed.

Tong Guan seized the opportunity to say a good word for Gao Qiu:
"It seems that Grand Commandant Gao is leading by example!"
"Luckily, the missile hit my front teeth. If it had been even slightly off..."

"Tsk tsk, I can't even imagine it!"

Upon hearing Tong Guan's words, Gao Qiu broke out in a cold sweat. Fortunately, Qiu Qiongying hadn't hit his eye...

"It's quite an achievement that you managed to bring all the soldiers back."

Emperor Huizong's anger subsided by half, after all, Gao Qiu had told him that he had brought back more than 100,000 troops, and the loss of 10,000 or 20,000 troops was just a number in Emperor Huizong's eyes:
"But the spy you sent defected to the rebels, and the honey trap was a waste of effort. You've lost this battle again..."

"Tell me, what other way is there to deal with this traitor Cai?"

Gao Qiu had already come to a decision on the way: "Your Majesty, why not offer amnesty to the traitor Cai?"

Emperor Huizong snorted coldly: "If we surrender after just suffering a defeat, wouldn't the world think that I'm afraid of him!"

"Your Majesty, please hear what I have to say!"

Gao Qiu recalled the rumors he had heard on the streets of Tokyo before setting off on his campaign:

"Your Majesty may not know this, but the former Later Jin emperor Shi Jingtang ceded the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun to the Liao people."

"Mo Prefecture, one of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, has been taken back by the traitor Cai..."

Don't think I'm illiterate; how could such a thing exist in the world?
Emperor Huizong was greatly surprised: "How did he get it back?"

Because Gao Qiu acted swiftly and Emperor Huizong was incompetent and foolish, the matter did not reach his ears.

Cai Jing and Tong Guan had heard about it, but they both thought it was a rumor, so they didn't tell Emperor Huizong of Song.

Gao Qiu: "It is said that the Liao princess fell in love with the traitor Cai and gave Mozhou to him as her dowry!"

"Is this true?"

Emperor Huizong of Song could hardly believe his ears:

I am also quite dashing, why not give me the Liao princess?
Gao Qiu shamelessly said, "This matter was obtained by me through interrogation of the rebels, so it should be true!"

"Now Mozhou is under the jurisdiction of Cai, and the Liao Kingdom has no control over it. It is essentially a country within a country!"

"If Your Majesty were to grant amnesty to the traitor Cai, the Song Dynasty would lose one rebel and gain another prefecture. Wouldn't that be killing two birds with one stone?"

Emperor Huizong's heart raced: Yes! If we grant amnesty to the traitor Cai and plant the Song flag in Mozhou, I will be a wise ruler who expands the territory!
This kills three birds with one stone!

However, Emperor Huizong did not make a decision immediately, but instead looked at Cai Jing and Tong Guan:
"What do you think?"

Cai Jing: "Killing two birds with one stone!"

Tong Guan: "A win-win situation!"

Yang Jian: "...Congratulations, Your Majesty!"

"it is good!"

Emperor Huizong was secretly delighted, but he still maintained his airs:

"In that case, Gao Qiu, you are in charge of offering amnesty!"

it's me again?
Gao Qiu truly didn't want to deal with Cai Fu anymore, but Emperor Huizong's word was law, so he had no choice but to accept it.
"Sir, obey the order!"

……

Seven days later, in the Imperial Study.

"brute!"

In a fit of rage, Emperor Huizong of Song overturned the table once again:
(ノBenefit)ノ彡┻━┻

"How dare this traitor Cai declare himself king?"

Emperor Huizong of Song, enraged, questioned Gao Qiu:
"Didn't I order you to surrender? What kind of surrender did you offer?"

Gao Qiu said with a bitter expression, "Your Majesty, I was still making preparations when the traitor Cai rebelled..."

"Hit him!"

Emperor Huizong was so angry he wanted to slam his fist on the table, but found it had already been overturned. He could only slap his own thigh in frustration.
"Beat him hard!"

"I want the whole world to know what the consequences of rebellion are!"

"Ah this..."

Gao Qiu was almost in tears, and could only look to Cai Jing, Tong Guan, and Yang Jian for help:
My tooth still hurts...

We can't fight, there's no way we can fight!

Cai Jing shook his head helplessly.
The Liao, Jin, and Western Xia dynasties were surrounded by a pack of wolves and tigers!
Although the Song Dynasty boasted an army of 800,000 imperial guards, their numbers were stretched thin when deployed along the borders…

The local garrisons are all incompetent and useless. How could it be so easy to defeat Cai Fu, who has a force of 100,000?

Tong Guan also shook his head: If the border troops are withdrawn, and the foreign powers take advantage of the situation, it will be a disaster that leads to the downfall of the country!
When Emperor Huizong finished speaking and no one responded, he became even angrier:
Why are the four of you silent?

The three treacherous officials exchanged glances, remaining silent. In the end, Gao Qiu had to take the fall himself.

"Your Majesty, the traitor Cai has a mighty army of 100,000 and a thousand fierce generals!"

"To attack the traitor Cai, we need to mobilize at least 200,000 troops!"

"At that time, we don't know how much money and grain will be consumed, how many soldiers will die or be wounded, or how many common people will be harmed..."

"His Majesty cherishes life and cannot bear to see the people suffer!"

"I believe that instead of launching a large-scale attack on the traitor Cai, it would be better to offer him amnesty..."

"Humph!"

Emperor Huizong also realized that he had acted impulsively:
Two hundred thousand troops? Where will I get two hundred thousand troops for you?

Fortunately, Gao Qiu offered him a way out, and Emperor Huizong took a deep breath and put on a mask of compassion:
“Your words are reasonable. This battle will undoubtedly harm countless civilians…”

"I love my people like my own children, how could I bear to do this?"

Upon seeing that Emperor Huizong had changed his tune, Cai Jing quickly changed his mind.

"His Majesty is benevolent and loves his people like his own children!"

"In the next five hundred years, and in the previous five hundred years, there will never be another Daoist emperor like Your Majesty!"

Tong Guan added fuel to the fire: "If the people of the world knew of His Majesty's good intentions, they would surely be moved to tears!"

Emperor Huizong smiled and waved his hand: "Let's accept the amnesty then, but..."

What conditions should be offered for amnesty?

(End of this chapter)