After the morning court the next day, Qin Hui hurried to the imperial study room of Chuigong Hall. After waiting for a moment, a little eunuch led him to the imperial study room. Qin Hui found an opportunity to take out a golden seed and handed it to the little eunuch, "Take it for a cup of tea!"

"Thank you so much for Mr. Qin." The little eunuch happily put away the golden melon seeds. Although it weighs only one ounce, it is equivalent to one tael of silver and five or six ounces of coins!

Qin Hui asked with a smile again: "Who else is there in the Imperial Study?"

The little eunuch looked at both sides and whispered: "Bao Xiangguo and Lu Jinguo are both here, and Huang Shangshu is also here, as if discussing how to deal with Du Chong."

Qin Hui's heart was shocked. Why is it so coincidental? He was discussing Du Chong's matter. Soon, the little eunuch led Qin Hui to the gate of the imperial study room and asked Qin Hui to wait. He went in and reported it himself. After a moment, the little eunuch came out and said, "Mr. Qin, the official will announce you to go in!"

Qin Hui sorted out his clothes and then quickly walked into the imperial study room. As soon as he entered the imperial study room, he felt a stern atmosphere coming towards him. Fan Zhixu said angrily: "It's simply despicable and shameless. He was timid and gave up Bianliang and fled, and wanted to put the blame on General Yue. Could it be that General Yue went to rescue him, Du Chong's son-in-law acted without authorization? It was obvious that he forced General Yue out of the city, which led to the empty troops in the city. He heard that the Jin soldiers were killed and fled in panic. Your Majesty, Du Chong's consequences were extremely serious and the responsibility was heavy. Killing him was not enough to redeem his sins. Please give your Majesty the order to punish him severely."

Lu Yihao next to him advised: "Your Majesty Fan should not be too excited. It is best to wait for the detailed investigation results to make a decision. Although we do not want General Yue to be wronged, we should also give Du Liushou a chance to explain."

Zhao Gou nodded and asked Huang Qianshan again, "What about Secretary Huang's opinion?"

Huang Qianshan laughed dryly and said, "Weichen's idea is consistent with Mr. Lu, so I'll talk about it after the investigation results are released."

Huang Qianshan was not willing to really plead for Du Chong. In his opinion, if delaying it and then dealing with it later, it would be worthy of the heavy gift given to him by the Du family.

"Okay! I'll wait for this matter. I'll give Du Chong a chance to explain. If it's really his responsibility, I'll never let it go."

Seeing that the emperor's will was no longer as firm as it was at first, Fan Zhixu couldn't help but sigh in his heart and stood up to say goodbye. Lu Yihao and Huang Qianshan also said goodbye one after another. At this time, Qin Hui was the only minister left in the imperial study. He kept silent, as if he had no attitude towards the Du Chong incident.

Zhao Gou walked to the window with his hands behind his back and stared out the window. After a long time, he sighed and said, "If my father is in Lin'an, I wonder if he will be disappointed with me?"

Qin Hui smiled and said, "Your Majesty, things are not complicated, they just need to be handled with caution."

Zhao Gou was stunned and turned around and asked, "What does Qin Aiqing mean?"

"Your Majesty, in fact, anyone with a discerning eye can see that Yue Fei led his army to attack must be Du Chong's instructor or even forced. No matter whether the Huazhou defense envoy was Du Chong's son-in-law or not, Du Chong had the responsibility to send troops to rescue. But he later pushed the blame to Yue Fei, obviously it was untenable. He took a step back and said that no matter whether Yue Fei attacked without authorization, as the supreme commander, Du Chong had an unshirkable responsibility."

“It makes sense!”

Zhao Gou nodded and said, "What does it mean to handle it with caution?"

"Your Majesty, Du Chong is a civil servant and has no experience in leading troops to fight. He heard that 100,000 Jin soldiers came to fight, and it was impossible not to be afraid. Perhaps he thought that Bianliang could not be saved. To preserve his strength, he seemed to be a wise move at that time. It was just that because we and Du Chong were in different positions, we were in the safe rear and were of course very angry at Du Chong's escape from the south of the city. But if it was not Du Chong who guarded the city, but other ministers, the ministers believed that the result would be the same."

"Actually, I understand that the situation must be very chaotic at that time. The troops in the city were empty, Yue Fei's situation was unclear, and there were 100,000 Jin soldiers who arrived. It was understandable that he could not bear the pressure to withdraw his troops. However, Tokyo Bianliang was very small. I entrusted Tokyo to him, but he really disappointed me and angry me too much."

"This is why I advise Your Majesty to be cautious. Everyone knows that the situation could not be maintained by Bianliang at that time, but after withdrawing the troops, they were severely punished by the court. I am worried that there will be no civil servants who will be willing to defend the city for Your Majesty in the future. If you hand over the city to the general, will Your Majesty feel relieved?"

Qin Hui finally found a breakthrough to evade Du Chong. He first acknowledged Du Chong's responsibility, but proved that Du Chong was understandable. Finally, he threw out his trump card. If you dealt with Du Chong today, which civil servant dares to work hard for you in the future.

Zhao Gou obviously didn't think of this problem, so he was stunned for a moment. He pondered for a long time and asked, "Well, how should I deal with this matter?"

Qin Hui waited for the opportunity, and he said carefully: "Your Majesty, we need to commend Yue Fei's loyalty and courage first, and at the same time we must publicly criticize Du Chong's incompetence and cowardice. What I mean is that the board that beats Du Chong should be raised high, but in the end it should be gently dropped. I believe that the civil servants will experience Your Majesty's mercy from the bottom of their hearts."

Zhao Gou was obviously moved. He stroked his hands and pondered for a while, and his brows finally let go. Zhao Gou asked with a smile: "Is there anything wrong with Qin Aiqing seeing me today?"

Of course, Qin Hui would not say that he was just for Du Chong's incident. He bowed slightly and said, "I am here to report to Your Majesty today about the situation of the trials issued in various places."

A few days later, the investigation results came out. The censor Chen Zuo impeached Du Chong for fear of death and abandoned the guards of Tokyo Bianliang, resulting in the defeat of the entire Central Plains army. At the same time, Du Chong was impeached to protect the Hebei rebel army ineffectively, resulting in the suppression of the rebel army in various parts of Hebei by the Jin soldiers, with heavy casualties. It was recommended that the court punish both crimes and severely punish Du Chong.

However, the final conclusion of the punishment was beyond the expectations of most people. Emperor Zhao Gou issued an order to remove Du Chong from his position as a way to judge the enemy situation and make mistakes in decision-making. Although he was timid and timid and abandoned the city and fled south, Du Chong refused to offer the city to seek honor, and did not lose his loyalty to the emperor. He was demoted to the fifth-rank Zhongsan Doctor and served as the shipbuilder of Mingzhou, allowing him to build warships in Mingzhou and redeem his sins.

At the same time, Zhao Gou issued an edict to commend Yue Fei for his loyalty, courage and patriotism, and to uphold his duties. He fought to the death to recover Tokyo. Although he was not successful, his courageous and fierce heart was commended. He specially promoted him to the fourth-rank Zhongwu General and was granted the title of commander-in-chief, and ordered him to lead his army of 30,000 to defend the Jingxiang front line.

Zhao Gou's decree fully accepted Qin Hui's suggestion, commended Yue Fei, and gave Du Chong a heavy responsibility and lenient punishment.

Just when everyone in the court was talking about the biggest beneficiary of this incident, Yue Fei, Qin Hui understood in his heart that he was the biggest beneficiary of this incident. He understood Zhao Gou's heart and finally won his trust directly. He believed that soon, he would be promoted again.

......

On the 20th day of the first lunar month, the fifth day of the end of the Central Plains War, Wanyan Xie, the Marshal of the Southern Expedition of the Jin Kingdom, led an army of 100,000 to Taiyuan. For Wanyan Xie, no matter how exciting the battle in the Central Plains was, no matter how brilliant the battle achieved by the Jin soldiers was, it was not as strong as the pressure and anxiety brought to him by the fall of Taiyuan.

The Song army in Taiyuan was like a poisonous sting, inserted into his back, making him restless and unable to sleep or eat day and night. So as soon as the Battle of Zhongyuan ended, Wanyan Xie personally led the army to Taiyuan Prefecture.

At this time, the Taiyuan Prefecture army gathered. In addition to the 60,000 Jin soldiers who were originally confronting the Song army in Taiyuan Prefecture, another 100,000 army came, which made the total strength of the Jin Kingdom in Taiyuan Prefecture reach as many as 160,000. Wanyan Xie also decided to take down Taiyuan City at all costs.

The civil war in Taiyuan City was flooded with clouds. Li Yanqing issued two mobilization orders to mobilize all young men and women in the city to participate in the defense of the city. For a time, there were many responders. Among the 200,000 people in the city, 80,000 young and weak were eliminated. The rest, as far as fifty-year-olds and fifteen-year-olds, nearly 100,000 men and women were incorporated into the wartime militia, responsible for logistics, food, transportation of supplies, and taking care of the wounded soldiers. All craftsmen were also incorporated into the craftsman camp and participated in the production of various weapons to defend the city.

Li Yanqing knew better than anyone about the importance of Taiyuan City in the entire battle situation. It can be said that as long as Taiyuan City is firmly controlled, the Jin soldiers will not be able to continue to invade the Jianghuai River. The war between Song and Jin will only be concentrated in the Central Plains, Hebei and Shandong, and the south will be preserved.

It was precisely with the determination to defend Taiyuan that Li Yanqing also took a gamble and mobilized the military and civilians to jointly defend Taiyuan.

In the early morning, Li Yanqing, wearing mountain-patterned armor and phoenix winged wings, was standing in front of the battlements and staring at the north. After a long time, he said to Liu Qi, the deputy general beside him: "I want to give up Loufan Pass and Yanmen Pass, what do you think?"

Of course, Liu Qi knew that Li Yanqing was not talking nonsense. He had this idea carefully and thought about it. Liu Qi pondered for a while and said: "In fact, after the Jin army opened up Jingxing, Datong's reinforcements were of little significance. Loufan Pass and Yanmen Pass also lost their strategic significance. It is indeed necessary to consider the whereabouts of these two Song troops."

Li Yanqing sighed, "I'm afraid that in half a month, the Yellow River will begin to thaw. It will no longer be easy for them to retreat to Shaanxi Road. I am worried that Wanyanxi will also concentrate their troops to wipe out them all to boost the morale of the Jin soldiers in Taiyuan. I decided to let them give up Yanmen Pass and Loufan Pass and retreat to Shaanxi Road to guard Yan'an Prefecture."

"I understand, so I will arrange the eagle letter and inform them to retreat immediately."

Liu Qi bowed and left in a hurry. Liu Qi mentioned the eagle letter just now, which reminded Li Yanqing of something. He immediately ordered his side, "Let Zhang Shun come to see me!"

Soon, Zhang Shun hurriedly ran up to the city, stepped forward and knelt down on one knee to salute, "See the commander-in-chief!"

"How did you investigate the pigeon?"

The incident of the pigeon may involve a spy in the city. At present, the Song army used a letter eagle to communicate with the outside world, but no longer used a pigeon. However, the afternoon before yesterday, a soldier found a pigeon flying into the city on the top of the city. This incident attracted the attention of Li Yanqing, and he ordered Zhang Shun to fully investigate the matter.

Zhang Shun clasped his fists and said, "I have already made some initial mistakes. Please give me some time to the Dutong University before noon today."
Chapter completed!