roccoschili Chapter 362 The right thing to do should be left to the right person.
Chapter 362 The right thing to do should be left to the right person.
Seeing the hopeful look in Lord Wang's eyes, Yue Fei nodded without much hesitation.
"Provided that the news is true."
He gave a few casual instructions, telling his men to take good notes, and then hurriedly left.
Those words just now carried too much weight!
Once it's confirmed to be true, the number of people who will lose their heads won't just be the twenty-odd people arrested tonight!
Under the bright moonlight, Yue Fei hurriedly rushed into the palace.
Fortunately, he had an imperial gold medal, and seeing his solemn expression, a eunuch immediately went to inform him.
A moment later, Zhao Shen arrived, his clothes disheveled, jogging over.
"General Yue, what happened? Did you gain anything tonight?"
"Your Majesty, I have arrested more than twenty officials, including Tang Situi."
Upon hearing Yue Fei's words, Zhao Shen slowly typed out a series of question marks.
"What did you say? Say it again! Who did you arrest? How many people did you arrest?"
He was somewhat bewildered, even doubting whether he had misheard.
Although Yue Fei had said during the day that he would be under a lot of pressure, he didn't say he would do something this outrageous!
If Tang Situi and others could really arrest him like that, then he wouldn't have been forced to abdicate during the morning court session!
"More than 20 people, including Prime Minister Tang Situi, have been arrested."
Zhao Shen: "..."
He's finally fully awake now.
Startled awake.
"General Yue, these twenty-odd people represent more than just themselves!"
He could even roughly guess who they were.
Some were backed by gentry from Jiangnan, while others were representatives of literati. Tang Situi was the head of all officials and the backbone of countless pro-peace factions.
If they were to be arrested one by one, Zhao Shen could still withstand the pressure.
But this time they were all arrested.
He estimated that if he couldn't give a reasonable explanation, the remaining officials would all request to resign and retire when the court convened in the morning, and the reputation of the tyrannical emperor would spread throughout the entire Jiangnan region within a day.
It's obvious what will happen next; soon there will be people denouncing him, saying that Zhao Shende is unworthy of the position and unfit to be the emperor, and demanding that the retired emperor be restored to the throne.
Then he would be able to be compared with the Marquis of Haihun of the Han Dynasty in the history books.
"Is it too late to release them now?"
After a thousand thoughts raced through his mind, Zhao Shen was left with only this one question.
He even wondered if he should have taken on this challenge in the first place.
By following the established procedures, at least a good reputation can be preserved.
Well, now they're going to end up like Liu He!
After all, although the Song Dynasty did not have Huo Guang, it did have the retired emperor Zhao Gou!
"Your Majesty, I have evidence!"
"I am absolutely certain, and there is something even more important that Your Majesty needs to decide now."
Yue Fei had no idea what kind of chaotic thoughts were going through Zhao Shen's mind.
Even if he knew, he had no inclination to explain further at that moment.
The Jin people must have known that Tang Situi had dismantled the military equipment of several cities.
They were also aware of the troop deployments in those cities.
This means that as long as the Jurchens wanted to, they could march south and break through the pass at any time, and those several cities would not be able to stop them in the slightest!
Even the troops stationed near those cities were given away for free!
After hearing Yue Fei recount the story, Zhao Shen's face darkened considerably.
If he was worried about becoming the next Liu He just now, all he wanted to do now was drag Tang Situi over and skin him alive with his own hands!
"General Yue, what do you think I should do now?"
Zhao Shen knew that his strategic vision was lacking, and that he was far inferior to Yue Fei in this regard, so he simply didn't waste his time thinking about it.
"Those cities are probably beyond rescue in time. Your Majesty can issue an edict ordering Yu Yunwen to lead troops to their aid. The cities can be abandoned, but the Song army cannot be abandoned!"
"Order him to gather the remaining troops, and at the same time, I will lead the army to reinforce them. Only after we hold off the Jin army's offensive will we have a chance to discuss future plans!"
Yue Fei believed that if he were a Jurchen, upon learning of Zhao Shen's radical nature and the inevitable war, he would definitely choose to strike first!
In particular, the spies within the Song Dynasty provided them with such an excellent opportunity. The prefectures of Chu, Hao, and Chu were exposed to the Jurchens with almost no defenses. Who would give up such a tempting prize?
"Is there no way to save it?"
Zhao Shen was startled.
“If the Jurchens move fast enough, they will definitely not be able to catch up. Even if your humble servant and Yu Yunwen travel day and night, it will not be enough. On the contrary, it will cause our men and horses to be exhausted, giving the Jurchens more opportunities.”
"On the contrary, even if they don't react that quickly, those cities will still be difficult to defend. After all, the military equipment has been dismantled, and there aren't many supplies in the cities, unless His Majesty is confident in fighting the Jurchens."
Yue Fei laid out all the possibilities to Zhao Shen in detail.
"In my humble opinion, the only option is to temporarily abandon those cities, gather the remaining troops, consolidate the defenses, cut off the Jurchens' hopes of advancing further, and then plan a counterattack!"
The Song Dynasty of today is no longer what it was when it first moved south. After being devoured by a large number of powerful ministers who advocated peace, it is far inferior in both generals and military strength.
In this situation, if the goal of the Northern Expedition is to return to the old capital, or even to advance directly towards Youzhou, then one should not act rashly.
"Then let it be as General Yue says, and I will issue an edict to Director Yu right now!"
"Furthermore, General Yue, please feel free to name your men and request any amount of money and provisions. As long as it is within my power, I will not be stingy!"
After listening to Yue Fei's analysis, Zhao Shen nodded decisively.
The immortal's many assessments taught him a lot, the most important of which was the virtues he saw in many of the wise rulers listed.
Leave the right things to the right people. If you don't understand something, don't ask questions or doubt it.
Give him everything he needs, reward him handsomely if he succeeds, and then figure out how to hold him accountable if he fails.
Among the top four challengers on the list of wise rulers, Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang, did just that.
Now, Zhao Shen is in the same situation.
"I need to get to the local area as soon as possible to organize military preparations and deploy garrisons. Therefore, speed is of the essence, and only two thousand cavalrymen are needed."
Outside the sky, many people were somewhat skeptical of Yue Fei's immediate assessment of the upcoming battle situation based on this mere intelligence report.
"You're so certain, but what if the Jurchens didn't actually march south?"
"At least according to the immortals' inventory, the Jurchens did not move south before the Southern Song Dynasty's Northern Expedition."
"Is it possible that the Jurchens also hoped for peace, as long as the Song Dynasty didn't initiate the war?"
"So Yue Fei was actually working in vain, and Tang Situi was also farsighted. After all, judging from the assessment, it was not the Jurchens who would destroy the Song Dynasty in the future, but rather the Mongol Yuan Dynasty after this barrier disappeared!"
"What kind of people were those who just spoke? Were they idiots or bastards?"
What's that sandwiched between the two shoulders?