The next morning, Emperor Zhao Gou held a debriefing meeting in the side hall of Ziwei Palace for Han Shizhong, who came to Beijing to report on his work. Yue Fei was arrested and placed under house arrest because he failed to pass the debriefing meeting, so to a certain extent, the debriefing meeting
It's like a hearing. If you pass, nothing will happen. If you fail, you'll be in trouble.
In addition to the emperor Zhao Gou, there were more than a dozen important officials at the hearing. Due to Han Shizhong's higher status, the chief questioner was still Qin Hui, the right minister.
"Dang!" A crisp cloud sound sounded, and the debriefing meeting kicked off.
Qin Hui first brought out an appetizer and asked aggressively: "Why did Han Dutong send troops north without permission on the tenth day of the first lunar month without reporting it to the court or informing the commander in chief? How can Han Dutong explain it?"
Han Shizhong had a way to answer this question. He was fully prepared. He said calmly: "Beizhi is the deputy commander of the Northern Expedition. When the commander is not in the camp, he can act as the commander. When he got the news, the defender of Pizhou is not here. Suzhou
The defenders were extremely disorganized, so I wanted to seize this opportunity and exercise my authority as commander.
Secondly, the humble post is the Huaidong Xuanfu Envoy, which has the power to send troops. Moreover, the humble post also reported to the court after the incident. It is not a concealment, but just wanted to seize the opportunity and failed to report to the court in time. "
Han Shizhong answered this question very well. Qin Hui accused him of sending troops without authorization. Han Shizhong changed the situation by changing the situation to failure to report the troops to the court in time, and the nature was completely different.
"This question passes!"
Zhao Gou has spoken, and the issue is considered passed.
"I would like to ask Han Dutong a second question. Why did you disobey the Holy Will and send troops to intercept the Western Army from crossing the Yellow River? There was a conflict with the Western Army. Please answer Han Dutong!"
Qin Hui's tone became more aggressive, and even the air in the hall became a little tense.
Qin Hui was referring to the first conflict with the Western Army. The two sides fought fiercely and the Western Army lost more than 2,000 people.
Han Shizhong said calmly: "Our army was originally stationed in Xiao County. Their 20,000 troops came to kill, less than three miles away from my army. In terms of military, this is a serious provocation. If my army does not take countermeasures
, it is easy for the opponent to sneak attack and annihilate the entire army. In this fierce battle, the opponent provoked us first, and we were actually defending. As a result, the opponent thought we were going to attack, so they launched a bow and arrow attack first."
Xu Xiantu explained on the side: "It's like two conflicting strong men living in a small room. It is inevitable that they will bump into each other. I don't think there is any need to over-interpret it."
Qin Hui looked at the emperor, and Zhao Gou waved his hand to indicate that the problem was over.
These two questions were just asking for directions. Qin Hui's real trump card was the third question. The third question he originally planned was to ask Han Shizhong why he had not returned to Lin'an to report on his duties for four consecutive years. However, he received urgent military information from Zhu Shengfei last night.
Han Shizhong actually led an army of 50,000 people to fight against Chen Qing's army, but was defeated miserably. Qin Hui immediately replaced the third question.
Qin Hui saluted the emperor and said: "Your Majesty, for the third question, I would like to change the minister. I beg your Majesty to agree?"
Zhao Gou was unambiguous and asked: "What problem does Mr. Qin want to change?"
"Your Majesty, I have just received an express message from Xianggong Zhu from Chuzhou. The 80,000-strong army led by Han Dutong and the 80,000-strong army led by Chen Qing faced off in Xiao County. The result was a disastrous defeat and almost the entire army was destroyed."
When these words came out, there was an uproar. Xu Xiantu sighed, but Qin Hui knew it. Zhao Gou's face suddenly became very ugly, and he nodded, "Yes!"
Qin Hui couldn't hide his inner pride and asked with a sneer: "Excuse me, Han Dutong, is what I just said true?"
Han Shizhong said calmly: "It is true!"
Qin Hui finally grasped the handle and immediately asked: "How many troops were lost?"
"We had 60,000 infantry and 20,000 cavalry, but the opponent had 70,000 cavalry and 10,000 infantry. We were quickly defeated. About 10,000 people were killed and 50,000 were captured. We took back the 20,000 troops, and even the eldest son of a lowly official was captured.
They were also captured, but Chen Qing quickly released all the prisoners of war. The problem was that only dozens of generals and 3,000 soldiers returned to the camp, while the other nearly 50,000 soldiers went home."
Qin Hui continued to ask: "Why did Chen Qing release your eldest son or 50,000 soldiers? Did you and Chen Qing reach some compromise?"
Han Shizhong still said calmly: "When Chen Qing released Bei Zhi's eldest son and 50,000 soldiers, Bei Zhi was still fleeing in panic. As for why he released all the prisoners of war, Bei Zhi probably has something to do with the message he asked Quanzi to bring back afterwards."
"What message?"
"He said that this battle was just a discussion between me and him, and there would be no next time. I thought that he didn't want to make things worse and fall out with the court, so he released all the prisoners of war. As for the soldiers, they all went home.
That is a demeaning job and incompetence in leading the troops. It has nothing to do with the soldiers."
Zhao Gou breathed a sigh of relief. Chen Qing didn't want to make the matter a big deal, so it couldn't be better.
Zhao Gou asked: "When Han Aiqing set out, I repeatedly told him not to conflict with the Western Army. Why couldn't Han Aiqing remember my instructions?"
Han Shizhong stood up and bowed to Zhao Gou and said: "Reporting to your majesty, I originally wanted to confront the opponent and prevent the opponent from killing Xuzhou. I thought it was Yang Zaixing's army, but when I arrived on the battlefield, I discovered that the opponent's general was actually Chen Qing himself.
, the blood in my heart boiled, and I wanted to seize Chen Qing and hand it over to Your Majesty. Unfortunately, I was incompetent and did not seize this opportunity to help Your Majesty solve the problem. I am incompetent."
At the end of the sentence, Han Shizhong's voice choked up, his eyes turned red, and he burst into tears.
Zhao Gou was deeply moved and nodded, "Han Aiqing is indeed a loyal minister!"
Qin Hui and Xu Xiantu were both stunned, this turn of events was so incredible.
Zhao Gou immediately met Han Shizhong in the imperial study, which meant that his performance report was completely passed, and the performance report became a bonus item, so the emperor would receive him.
"I brought Aiqing here to ask you something."
Zhao Gou was hesitant to speak, as if he was still in some kind of contemplation. Han Shizhong stood aside quietly, not disturbing the emperor's contemplation.
"You have a fierce battle with Chen Qing's main force. How do you feel about his strength?"
Han Shizhong said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, do you want to hear the truth?"
Zhao Gou nodded, "Of course I want to hear the truth."
"The combat effectiveness of his army is very strong, very powerful. The humble army can be regarded as an elite army. 50,000 troops versus 50,000 troops. The humble army did not last for an hour and was defeated in half an hour."
"Tell me more about it!"
"Your Majesty, all of his 50,000 men are cavalry. First of all, their horses are far stronger than those of the Song Army. Their horses are very tall and majestic. Compared with our horses, they are like a thirty-year-old man and a
Young men of twelve or thirteen years old, and their cavalry are very strong, and the weapons they use are heavier than ours. It was a bit difficult for Wei Chen to fight with three soldiers on the other side, not to mention their excellent horse control skills.
They are skilled in riding and shooting, are brave and strong personally, and have good training skills and tacit cooperation. Wei Chen believes that the current Jurchens are no match for them."
"Is it so powerful?" Zhao Gou asked half-convinced and half-questioned.
"Your Majesty, Wei Chen is not trying to excuse his failure. If he loses, he is defeated. There is nothing wrong with admitting it. Even Wanyan Wushu's Iron Buddha Temple was defeated by the Western Army. Wei Chen doesn't feel any shame, but Wei Chen must tell the truth.
.”
"Keep talking!" Zhao Gou felt a little uncomfortable.
"Your Majesty, I think we should stop training cavalry. There is no point in spending a lot of money and food. We must give full play to our own advantages and cannot be led away by the other party."
Zhao Gou's spirit perked up. He heard these words and said quickly: "Tell me what you think?"
"The humble position suggested that we concentrate our financial resources to develop the navy. On land, our cavalry is far inferior to the Jin soldiers and the Western army, and the infantry is not as good as the Western army. But in the water, that is not necessarily the case. There are many rivers in the south, and there is a powerful naval force.
With the army, we can compete with the North."
Han Shizhong's words made Zhao Gou fall into deep thought. He was the emperor and could not make such a major decision with his head. He needed to think deeply and consult with ministers repeatedly before making a decision.
But there was one thing, Zhao Gou quickly made a decision.
In the evening, Zhao Gou issued an edict, conferring Han Shizhong the title of Prince of Xian'an County, Taifu, and Privy Envoy. At the same time, he also commanded the military governors of Henghai, Wuning, and Anhua towns.
At this point, Han Shizhong no longer led troops and became a high-status idle official.