Pingjiang Mansion.

As the saying goes, "There is heaven above, and there are Suzhou and Hangzhou below." Nowadays, Suzhou, Pingjiang Prefecture, serves as the companion and auxiliary capital, and its prosperity is not inferior to Hangzhou, Lin'an Prefecture.

The location of Suzhou City has not changed since the city was built in the Spring and Autumn Period. Even after thousands of years, it still stands on the shore of Taihu Lake and the Grand Canal.

Suzhou was originally a metropolis in the southeast, with well-developed handicraft industries such as silk weaving, papermaking, and shipbuilding. After Song Jianyan moved south, he originally intended to build his capital here and planned to change the inner city into a palace, but he chose Hangzhou soon after.

Therefore, the scale of the government office in Pingjiang Prefecture is very large.

The government office has a palace-city layout and is divided into four parts: the hall, the official office, the back house, and the county garden.

A few days after Wen Yunsun arrived, he couldn't even visit the lobby.

After the Tang army broke through Zhang Shijie's defense line in Lushan, they quickly counterattacked Zhenjiang. On the day Wen Yunsun arrived in Suzhou, Danyang County south of Zhenjiang fell into disgrace.

There was only Changzhou between the Tang army and Suzhou.

Hearing that Sun Sun urgently ordered the generals of the Pingjiang Army to support Changzhou, Zhu Hua, Yin Yu, and Zhang Quan led the troops up the canal.

Unexpectedly, the army here just left Suzhou and headed north, and received Lin'an's order the next day.

"In addition to hearing that Yun Sun knew the affairs of Pingjiang Prefecture and was promoted to know the affairs of Lin'an Prefecture, he immediately led the Pingjiang Army to retreat to Hangzhou. I'm so impressed."

"I thank your Majesty for your kindness." After hearing the decree, Sun Yun asked, "But I don't know who will guard Pingjiang Mansion next?"

"I'm just a messenger, how do I know this? Can I ask Mr. Wen to set out?"

"Now that I have ordered all the ministries to assist Changzhou, why not wait to defend Changzhou first..."

"I heard that your Majesty, the court has ordered you to retreat immediately."

Hearing Yun Sun only felt bitter.

He didn't even scold the court for changing the order at night, because he knew that the situation was deteriorating too quickly, and the court was helpless about many things.

But now that he had sent his generals out, he did not intend to let them down, so he disobeyed the imperial court's will for the first time in his life.

"I will not leave until the soldiers enter Changzhou."

After hearing what Yun Sun said, he bowed and went to the hall to supervise the transportation of grain and grass.

He did not have to wait too long for news from the soldiers. Only two days later, the battle report came.

"Report!"

The soldiers covered in blood hurried into the Pingjiang government office and prostrated themselves before Wen Yunsun.

"Report..."

When Wen Yunsun saw that he was speechless, his expression turned sad and asked: "Failed?"

"We were defeated. We had just passed Wuxi County, and Changzhou City had already been captured by the Tang army. General Zhu marched to Yuqiao and was defeated by the Tang army. The defeated army disrupted our fleet, and the general ordered a retreat. We retreated outside Wuxi County.

, encountered Zhang Quan’s ferry. Some soldiers wanted to seize the ferry, Zhang Quan ordered their fingers to be cut off, and they all drowned..."

At this point, the soldier burst into tears.

Upon hearing Yun Sun, he knew that this was a soldier under Yin Yu's command. He helped him up with his own hands and asked, "What happens next?"

"The general had no choice but to organize the remaining soldiers to resist the Tang army, but Zhang Quan ran away without firing an arrow. The general then ordered me to come back and report, asking the prefect to severely punish Zhang Quan!"

Wen Yunsun had not yet received Zhang Quan's battle report, so he probably led his men to escape to Taihu Lake.

Not long after, another soldier came to report that Zhu Hua and Yin Yu had surrendered to the Tang army one after another...

~~

Lin'an.

When Chen Yizhong no longer mentioned the matter of moving the capital, Xie Daoqing finally summoned the ministers to introduce the matter.

"The Queen Mother, Zhang Shijie, heard that Yun Sun has returned to Lin'an."

"well."

Xie Daoqing murmured twice.

The ministers in the palace couldn't help but look at each other in confusion, wondering why the Queen Mother still praised her. Since Suzhou was lost, there was almost no barrier north of Lin'an.

For example, Jiaxing Prefecture is not a strategic location, and Li Xia was originally from the Li family in Xiuzhou. How many days can Jiaxing be expected to hold off the rebels?

In fact, Xie Daoqing was not thinking about this at all, and said with dull eyes: "Okay, I am really a loyal minister... summon him."

Until now, those who have not escaped are indeed loyal ministers of the Song Dynasty. What's more, at this critical moment, only these two important ministers are willing to defend Lin'an.

When he heard that Yun Sun and Zhang Shijie had entered the palace, Xie Daoqing nodded appreciatively and said: "The two beloved ministers have worked hard and are loyal, so they deserve to be reused... How does the Prime Minister Zuo think the two beloved ministers should be ennobled?"

Unexpectedly, Chen Yizhong did not answer, but took a step forward and said: "I ask the Queen Mother to take the great Song Dynasty into consideration and send generals to escort the prince south. Only in this way can I and others fight against the rebels in Lin'an."

Xie Daoqing was stunned.

She didn't expect that Chen Yizhong would dare not answer her questions and would force her again.

However, at the same time, the ministers in the palace have also requested orders.

"I, my ministers, please ask the Queen Mother to take the country into consideration and send the prince south!"

"you……"

Xie Daoqing looked at the ministers, hoping to find someone who opposed this matter.

Her eyes fell on Xie Tang.

Xie Tang obviously wanted to object, but seeing that the ministers were unanimous, he opened his mouth but did not speak. In the end, he knelt on the ground with the ministers.

After a while, only Wen Yunsun and Zhang Shijie were still standing in the hall, looking a little confused because they had just returned to Lin'an.

Xie Daoqing couldn't help but have high hopes for them.

She wanted to reward them just now...

"I ask the Queen Mother to take the country into consideration and send the prince south."

Zhang Shijie expressed his position first.

Afterwards, Wen Yunsun hesitated slightly and made the same statement.

"Please ask the Queen Mother to send the prince south..."

~~

After an internal introduction, Xie Daoqing stayed in the audience to discuss the matter, and then he scolded: "Didn't you say that all along? We must beware of these ministers deposing and establishing things."

"Queen Mother, calm down. Since the public sentiment is raging, what's the harm in agreeing to them? Otherwise, when the time comes to surrender, someone will jump out to oppose it."

"But what if Li Xia gets angry because of this?"

Xie Tang said: "My nephew just suddenly thought that if there are really a group of ministers supporting the prince to go south, Li Xia will know that the Zhao family still has the support of the people, and he will not dare to harm the Queen Mother."

When Xie Daoqing heard it, he felt it made sense.

She was convinced again.

And there are fewer and fewer state affairs that still require her to decide.

~~

After Gao Changshou took Changzhou, he made some preparations and continued southward. By then, the Song army had abandoned Pingjiang Prefecture, and then Jiaxing Prefecture surrendered.

The marching speed of the Tang army could not even keep up with the speed of the Song army abandoning the city and surrendering.

Therefore, without being able to stay longer in Suzhou, Gao Changshou continued southward. On the third day of August, his troops arrived in Lin'an and stationed troops at Gaoting Mountain, forty miles north of the city.

"The Song Dynasty has not yet moved the capital."

"I must be surrendering."

"That's fine."

Gao Changshou nodded and continued to raise the telescope to look at the city in the distance.

He had been to Lin'an before, when he returned from Kaifeng with Li Xia that year, but after arriving in Lin'an, he had been framed and hunted, and could only hide in a rented house.

Therefore, he had not seen much of the prosperity of Lin'an, but he had a deep understanding of the decadence of the Song Dynasty.

Looking back on the past, who would have thought that the fugitive who almost died in Lin'an could now lead troops to destroy the Song Dynasty?

"Your Majesty does not want the war to drag on for too long." Gao Changshou came to his senses and said: "It is best to accept Song Ting's surrender and unify the whole world from now on... Send a message to Song Ting and order them to send envoys to surrender."

"Here."

This is where the order came from.

Not long after, soldiers came to report.

"The Prime Minister of the Song Dynasty, Chen Yizhong, surrendered on behalf of the Song Dynasty. Please go to the army to meet the commander-in-chief."

"Yun, let him arrive before sunset."

"Here."

Gao Changshou took a few steps and ordered: "Don't be in a hurry to attack the city. Let's wait until I see Chen Yizhong before we can talk."

"Commander, although the Song Dynasty has not moved the capital, it is very likely that the prince's clan will be moved."
To be continued...