Chapter 241: On meritorious deeds
Gao Chong urged the war horses to catch up with his team. He was not very happy to see Yang Zaixing and Luo Yanqing, and there was no trace of Yao Pingzhong in the team. He asked curiously: "Why, can there be an accident when dealing with thousands of Song soldiers?"
Yang Zaixing said unhappily: "Shaojun, this Yao Pingzhong is really not good enough. We rescued him, but he actually ran away without saying a word. Why do you say that we have died so many brothers? Is this worth it?"
Gao Chong also said a little lonely: "Forget it, God is so will. We can't stop it even if we want to stop it. Let's not worry about him, hurry up and leave!"
Yang Zaixing and others were also very angry. They waved their hands and led their troops back to Moutuogang.
This time, Yao Pingzhong not only failed to make a contribution, but instead suffered a defeat. So he rode a blue-black mule and ran 750 miles a day and night before he arrived in Dengzhou, he dared to stop and eat.
He entered Wuguan and arrived in Chang'an. He planned to live in seclusion in Huashan. He was worried that he would be too close to the court, so he ran to Shu and arrived at Shangqing Palace in Qingcheng Mountain. No one here knew him.
After staying for a day, I arrived at Damian Mountain again. After walking for more than 270 miles, I guess no one who collected herbs could come here, so I let go of the mule I rode away and found a stone cave to live in. The court issued several edicts to search for him, but they could not find him.
When Yao Pingzhong ran away, Kaifeng City was in chaos. Zhao Huan, who had been waiting for his good news, finally got the news of the destruction of the entire army. Moreover, the Jin soldiers were at the city, which almost fainted.
Zhong Shidao and Li Gang did not dare to neglect, so they quickly led their troops to the city wall to defend, and finally saved Kaifeng and repelled the Jin people.
This time, a group of surrendered ministers gloated and spread rumors that the reinforcements had been wiped out and attacked Li Gang for causing a disaster.
Zhong Shidao and Li Gang struggled to no avail. The Jin people sent envoys to question Zhao Huan. Zhao Huan was very panicked and sent Yuwen Xuzhong, a grandson of the Zizheng Hall, to the Jin camp to argue: The emperor does not know about this, and he will punish Yao Pingzhong for his crime now."
The Jin soldiers stopped attacking, but demanded that the negotiations must be restarted, and the removal of Zong Shidao, Li Gang and others were also asked to withdraw from Moutuogang and use this place as their garrison, and the war horses and food in it were also used as compensation.
The surrender faction also attributed the reason for this failure to Li Gang and Yao Pingzhong, so Zhao Huan dismissed Li Gang, deprived Zhong Shidao of military power, and left him idle at home.
This incident caused a stir in Kaifeng as soon as it came out. Chen Dong and Li Gangsu knew each other, but Li Gang's resolute resistance against the war made him very admire him.
When Chen Dong heard that the court wanted to remove Li Gang from his post and compromise and surrender, he was very angry. On the fifth day of the second month, he led hundreds of Tai students to the Xuande Gate in the palace and wrote a petition, demanding that the court restore Li Gang and Zhong Shidao's original position and punish Li Bangyan and Bai Shi's middle-aged traitors.
"Li Gang is the minister in the court who is brave and does not care about his duties and responsibilities to the world. He is the so-called minister of the country. He is mediocre, not talented, and he is afraid of being virtuous and capable, and does not care about national affairs. Li Bangyan, Bai Shizhong, Zhang Bangchang, Zhao Ye, Wang Xiaodi, Cai Mao, and Li Qi are the so-called thieves of the country.
When the military and civilians in Tokyo heard that the Tai students were petitioning, they came to Xuande Gate at the same time and gathered tens of thousands of people. At this time, Li Bangyan happened to retreat from the palace. When the people saw such traitors, their eyes turned red and pointed at Li Bangyan's nose and cursed. Some even picked up tiles and stones from the ground and threw them at Li Bangyan. Li Bangyan was so scared that he ran away with his head and fled into the palace quickly.
When Zhao Huan heard the crowds quarrel in the palace, he was very scared and quickly sent an official to pass the imperial edict, saying, "Li Gang failed in his military service, so he had to dismiss him. Wait until the Jin people retreated and ordered him to be reinstated."
The masses were not willing to agree to such a reply. Many people rushed into the court angrily, beating the "Dengwen Drum" there desperately, breaking the drum face. The protests were shaking the earth.
The magistrate of Kaifeng Prefecture, King Shiyong, came and threatened the Tai student and said, "Is it okay to threaten the emperor? Hu Bulu?"
The Tai student replied loudly: "Will you threaten the emperor with loyalty and righteousness be more likely to threaten him with treacherous and slander?" While speaking, he wanted to grab the prefect, which scared Wang Shiyong so much that he ran away in shame.
When the Imperial Guard General Wang Zongyi saw that the matter was so big that he could not be dealt with, he went to the palace to persuade Zhao Huan to agree to everyone's request. Zhao Huan had no choice but to send someone to summon Li Gang into the palace and sent Geng Nanzhong to announce in public: "The order has been announced." The eunuch Zhu Gongzhixuan Li Gang did not arrive on time, "the crowd was entrusted and the eunuchs were killed."
Seeing that the situation was serious, the court quickly restored Li Gang and Zhong Shidao's position. The masses were not at ease, so Zhong Shidao was coming by car.
Everyone lifted the curtain of the car and saw that it was indeed a veteran general. A burst of thunderous cheers broke out and then they dispersed one after another. After Li Gang returned, he left Donghua Gate and went to Youye Gate to appease the military and civilians. The movement finally subsided.
When the Jin people saw Li Gang reinstated, they did not dare to go alone and go deeper. They were about to retreat to Moutuogang and quickly negotiate peace with the Song army.
Gao Chong and others did not wait for the attack from the Jin people, but waited for the envoys from the court. They brought several trucks of fine wine to reward the three armies.
The one who came to represent Zhao Huan to reward the three armies was Gao Chong's old superior, Bai E, the young supervisor of the military weapon supervisor, and Zhao Huan's confidant eunuch. He brought two servants and a pair of imperial guards, escorted wine and food to Moutuogang.
Bai E opened the imperial edict, and after a burst of gorgeous rhetoric, he began to praise Gao Chong and others' achievements, and then began to formally reward him. The first one was to add Gao Chong's Yiwei Doctor, replacing the dead Zhang Tiesheng as the commander-in-chief of the Divine Guards.
Everyone was incredible to hear that this Yiwei Doctor was very advanced among the military officer ranks of the Song Dynasty. He was determined to be from the fifth rank, and then to the first rank, which was the highest military officer rank; of course, except for the Taiwei, Jiedu, etc. The commander of the Shenwei Army was also in short supply, and could manage the troops of the 1st 5th rank army, and also from the fifth rank officials. If they were released during the war, they would be the commander.
This was not over yet. Then Yang Zaixing and Luo Yanqing were awarded the title of the Seventh-rank Wugonglang and the Eighth-rank Xiuwulang, respectively, and were appointed as the commander of the Imperial Army. Even Li Hong, who had just followed Gao Chong, was appointed as the commander of the Huayang Army.
The five battalions commanders Gao Shiying, Gao Shiding, Bi Jin, Hu Cheng and Qi Fang, although the positions were not changed, they were also added to the eighth rank of Bingyilang.
If everyone was a little unbelievable, Bai E took out the imperial plate and the seal, and everyone couldn't help but believe it.
Everyone was very excited when they heard this, and kowtowed and thanked each other. There was a hint of hope for the official family. At least this official family still had clear rewards and punishments. As long as the young master became the commander of the Divine Guard Army, he had 10,000 troops under his command, no matter how many Jin soldiers were, it would be useless.
Gao Chong ordered people to hold a banquet to celebrate, and all the officers were invited to taste the imperial wine. Gao Chong, Li Hong, Yang Zaixing, Luo Yanqing and Bai E sat in the first place.
As soon as the imperial wine was opened, a strong fragrance made people's index fingers flutter, and the rich food also made everyone with bland tasteless mouth salivate.
Gao Chong picked up the wine bowl and laughed: "Come on! Today I will offer the Buddha with flowers and toast you with the imperial wine of the official family. I wish you all new achievements and success step by step!"
"Thank you, Commander!" Everyone laughed and raised the wine bowl. The commander of the city was not sure whether it was the commander of the Huayang Army or the commander of the Divine Guard Army.
Gao Chong brought the wine to his mouth and suddenly stopped again. The others saw that Gao Chong was not drinking, and they also stopped to look at him curiously.
"Wait for a moment!" Gao Chong waved his hand, then put down the wine glass and said, "I was so happy just now. How could I do it if I didn't hear clearly the official family of Mou Tuogang clearly?"
Bai E's face changed color, and he said with a slight smile: "Sir Gao, let's drink first, and after the celebration is over, let's talk about how to arrange this matter."
"No, please tell me the arrangements of the official family first, so we know what is going on." Gao Chong insisted on letting Bai E talk about the official family's decision first, and the others put down the wine bowl at a glance.
"Okay!" Bai E gently patted the table and smiled: "Congratulations to Lord Gao, everyone! Now we have peace talks with the Great Jin Kingdom and the war is over. You can go back to Kaifeng City to enjoy your happiness.
Lord Gao rebuilt the Divine Guard Army, Lord Li led everyone to continue to build Huayang Garden. Behind it is another sing and dancing, and our Kaifeng elders can enjoy a peaceful life again."
Gao Chong sneered and said, "I want to ask what to do with this Mou Tuogang?"
"Mutugang is the place of the Mumad Division after all, so Master Gao should not ask about it. Just wait for the Mumad Division to take over!"
"Okay, I'll stay here first, waiting for the people from the Muslim Department to hand over."
Bai E felt sick in his heart. Why is this Gao Chong so aloud! Seeing Gao Chong's tone firmly, he had to say: "Master Gao, please leave as soon as possible from the imperial edict of the official family. As for this Moutuogang, the official family has decided to pass through him as the Jin people's camp."
"What? Give it to the Golden Man? Go and see the big pit behind. There are more than 1,000 of our brothers lying there. If you say you give it to the Golden Man, you will give it to the Golden Man?" Yang Zaixing and others screamed in surprise, almost overturning the table.
Gao Chong waved his hand to calm everyone down and said, "Oh, so that's it. What about the food and war horses here? I hope the government can send more people and horses to carry them, otherwise it will not be completed in the short term."
Bai E smiled and said, "No need! The official family is kind. According to the agreement, these war horses and food are rewarded by the official family to the Jin people."
"Fuck your treacherous deity!" Gao Chong suddenly became furious. He slapped the table suddenly, shocking the wine and dishes.
Chapter completed!