The Song army on the front line of Xiaoting remained vigilant, did not panic when encountering the enemy, and quickly launched an attack.
Rockets were fired from the warships, and artillery stones were fired from both sides of the bank.
"ignition!"
The driftwood blocking the river surface was poured with oil, and it ignited at a moment's notice. The fire started, which immediately greatly increased the momentum of the Song army.
After all, there is an army of 200,000, and as long as half of them are doing what they need to do, I'm afraid no army can defeat them.
Seeing this situation, Jiang Cai couldn't help but wonder, secretly wondering if the information was wrong?
When he thought of Qin Jiushao's careless attitude in doing things, he felt even more uneasy...
On the Song Army's side, the battle situation has been communicated to the rear in a timely manner.
"Quick! Report to the Chinese army, the rebels are coming!"
Immediately, Song soldiers jumped out of the boat and sailed downstream.
The waterway from Xiaoting to Jiangling winds for more than 200 miles. Ships can be seen on the river at any time, which shows the strength of the Song army.
At this time, the commander-in-chief of the Song Army was not in the military camp.
Today Zhu Xusun specially hosted a banquet in Jiangling City for Jia Sidao, Xia Gui, Xie Yiming, Liu Shiyong, Su Liuyi and other army lieutenant generals.
Some people think that eating is a trivial matter, and a steamed bun can handle a meal. But a meal is different, and its impact is as great as a small battle.
Even if a war kills people, a banquet can solve problems that would otherwise require a big fight.
Therefore, it is said that a reckless man likes to use his hands, while a gentleman likes to use his mouth.
Not three minutes later, Liu Shiyong and several soldiers were preparing to go to the banquet.
After leaving the camp, there was a little boy wearing a sedan waiting outside.
Liu Shiyong was a martial artist. It was his first time riding a sedan in his life. At first, he was afraid that the four sedan bearers would not be able to lift his burly and heavy body. But after he got used to the slight shaking, he found that riding in a sedan was much more comfortable than riding a horse and riding a boat. .
He heard that the place where he was eating was called Chun Yuexuan. He originally thought it was a restaurant, but after walking through the busiest street in Jiangling City, the sedan still didn't stop.
It wasn't until the surrounding area became quiet that the sedan was put down. When I came out, I saw a small lake in front of me, and I could vaguely see the courtyard wall on the other side hidden among the lush vegetation.
"This place used to be a swamp, and my master turned it into a garden. General, please come this way."
The little boy said, leading them to take a boat ride on the small lake.
"Your master?" Liu Shiyong asked, "Is it the family of Ambassador Zhu Anfu? Or is it the owner of some restaurant?"
"General, you have misunderstood. My master's surname is Yang, and he is the queen of Yongyang County. He does not run a restaurant. He just lent his residence to Ambassador Zhu today."
"The prince of Yongyang County? His surname is Yang? Could it be that he is the natal family of Empress Dowager Gongsheng Renlie Yang?"
"Exactly."
Empress Dowager Yang was the nominal mother of Emperor Lizong. She was the one who made the decision to kill Han Wanzhou and establish Lizong, which shows her status.
Although she passed away more than thirty years ago, the wealth of the Yang family is still the first in the Song Dynasty.
When Liu Shiyong heard this, he immediately looked at the little boy in front of him with admiration, and secretly cursed himself for being too crazy for making the other boy the current one.
"I see, that's disrespectful, disrespectful."
While they were talking, the child had already led them into the boat. The boatman took a punt and quickly rowed to the other side of the lake.
The scent of plum blossoms hits your nose, not strong, but refreshing.
The elegant scenery on the shore made Liu Shiyong feel ashamed that he was a rough man and not worthy of such a place.
"I've seen the general."
Two dignified and beautiful women came up to him and said a blessing.
They neither looked like maids nor musicians, nor could they be ladies here. However, they all looked beautiful and spoke elegantly. In addition, their masters had extraordinary status, and they seemed to be like gods in the eyes of Liu Shiyong and the other soldiers.
They all bowed their heads and did not dare to be too offended.
"General, please forgive me, today is a private banquet. Therefore, we have prepared a separate private room for several functions. Please come here."
A woman stepped forward with a smile, raised her wrist and invited the soldiers to go to the right.
Before Liu Shiyong spoke, another woman invited him to go to the left.
"General, please come this way."
Liu Shiyong was a little embarrassed and felt something was wrong, but thinking that it was the garden of Empress Dowager Yang's natal family, he still followed her subconsciously.
The woman in front walked slowly and led him around a path lined with flowers and trees to a wooden house. When he opened the door, there was a steaming pool inside.
"General, please take a bath here, and I will play a song for the general."
Liu Shiyong looked around and saw the woman sitting behind the screen and picking up the pipa, while two more maids came over carrying clothes and bath towels.
He looked at the muddy armor and sword on his body, and found that they did not match such an environment.
While listening to the music, he took a hot bath under the service of his maids and changed into clean clothes. Liu Shiyong felt refreshed.
After that, he didn't even need to wear shoes and walked through the long corridor from the other end of the house. The sound of silk and bamboo came from the front, which was a wide hall.
Several people were already sitting at the small table, talking.
"General Su, what you are saying is that my second uncle and Envoy Zhu are inviting you here to remove your armor?"
"I don't dare. I'm just used to wearing this armor."
Liu Shiyong entered the hall and saw one person among the guests who was very eye-catching, but it was Su Liuyi who was still wearing a dirty armor and had four soldiers standing behind him. He looked out of place with the others.
The man who was talking to Su Liuyi was in his late twenties, handsome, with powder on his face. Although his clothes were not gorgeous, they were obviously made of high quality materials, and he wore a jade pendant around his waist.
"That is the grand-nephew of Empress Dowager Yang. Hubei is recruiting deputy envoys, Zuo Xiaoqi Zhonglang General Yang Zhen." When a general saw Liu Shiyong's arrival, he immediately came over and whispered, "He used to serve as the Right Guards Lieutenant in the Forbidden Army.
If you take the initiative to come to the front line, you will be considered a progressive person among the nobles."
Liu Shiyong looked over and saw that Yang Zhen was still talking to Su Liuyi. He didn't pay attention to this, so he started talking in a low voice with his colleagues.
After a while, he got to know these dignitaries better.
Yang Zhen's grandfather Yang Cishan was the eldest brother of Empress Dowager Yang and was granted the title of Yongyang County Prince. His father Yang Gu was granted the title of Xin'an County Prince and his uncle Yang Shi was granted the title of Yongning County Prince.
This is one of Yang Shi's villas.
Liu Shiyong was secretly stunned, feeling that Su Liuyi was so bold that he didn't even give up the prince's face.
However, this stubbornness seemed to be unnecessary. When Xia Gui and Jia Sidao came to the table one after another, they were also wearing clean robes from here, without any guards or weapons.
"Hahaha, Ren Zhong is indeed too serious."
After Jia Sidao sat down, he looked contented, but he laughed and scolded Su Liuyi.
"They are all ministers of the Song Dynasty, and they are in the residence of the royal family, so you can relax a little. You don't suspect that Zhu Yasuo secretly communicated with Li Ni and organized the Hongmen Banquet, right?"
After all, the situation was critical. Jia Sidao did not waste any time and started to be weird right from the beginning.
Liu Shiyong had just picked up a piece of lotus root and took a bite. He was surprised to find that it was wrapped in glutinous rice and had a perfect combination of honey and osmanthus. Just as he was about to taste the second dish, he felt the atmosphere in the hall change.
Zhu Xusun had just raised his glass to everyone, but before he put down the wine glass in his hand, his face froze when he heard this.
Others were afraid of Jia Sidao, but he was not. At this time, he was even more surprised that Jia Sidao was so devoid of grace and dignity that he actually spoke out in person.
Zhu Xusun then joked: "If there is someone here who is secretly collaborating with Li Ni, Li Ni gave Jia Gong an official position a few months ago."
In the seat, Liao Yingzhong was worried that Jia Sidao would lose face by arguing with others in person, so she spoke quickly.
"It's just Li Ni's plan to alienate people. How can anyone fall for it? On the contrary, I heard that when envoy Zhu Fu was in Luzhou, he had a close relationship with Li Ni."
"That's ridiculous." Zhu Husun Zhengse said: "Back in Sichuan and Shu, Li Ni showed his disobedience in his actions. In the battle of Luzhou, he stole my military talisman, falsely passed on military orders, and took away my military power. At that time, Ding Daquan controlled the government.
Not only did they ignore my memorial, but they moved me to Guangnan West Road. If not for this, Li Ni would never be where he is today."
Liao Yingzhong said: "Did the student remember it wrong? I thought Zhu Fuzu was promoted because of Li Ni."
"Everyone!"
Yang Zhen stood up with the wine glass in his hand, raised his voice, and said, "If you say that having friendship with Li Xia makes you a rebel, then I dare to say that among everyone here, I am the most like a rebel."
He looked the most magnanimous.
Although the Song Dynasty Sheji is said to belong to the Zhao family, it can also be said to be part of the Yang family.
If others rebelled against the Song Dynasty, they would only lose their reputation, reputation, and money. If Yang Zhen rebelled, he would lose the wealth that the entire family shared with the Zhao family.
"General Yang is joking. How can General Yang be a rebel?"
Yang Zhendao said: "When we were in Lin'an, Li Xia and I hung out every day, played Cuju, and listened to music. We shared blessings and faced difficulties together, just like brothers with different surnames."
Jia Sidao sneered slightly, thinking that it was Yang Zhen himself who thought that Li Xia might not even remember who Yang Zhen was.
"You don't doubt me, but you doubt Ping Zhanggong, and you doubt Zhu Pingshi. What's the reason?"
When Yang Zhen said this, his tone gradually became more generous.
"I invite you all to come today just to make things clear and clear up the past suspicions. In the future, the army will no longer doubt this or that."
Su Liuyi asked: "What if someone here really surrenders to Li Xia?"
"who?"
Yang Zhendao: "If you must provide evidence to accuse, otherwise it will only affect the morale of the military."
Zhu Xusun actually has evidence.
Hidden in his sleeve was the edict to remove Jia Sidao.
Even the imperial court has found Jia Sidao guilty, so the evidence is certainly conclusive.
The reason why Zhu Xusun didn't take it out yet was because he was waiting for his people to take control of the army first.
Today's plan is very simple. In the name of a banquet, these generals will be transferred out of the army. First, they will seize Jia Sidao's military power, and then capture or even kill him.
Although neither he nor Jia Sidao brought any warriors into Chun Yuexuan, they only needed to take out the imperial edict, and Yang Zhen and all the Song ministers present would naturally listen to it.
Finally, when the fifth course of tea was served, Zhu Xusun looked intently and saw two words written with wine on the tray - It's done.
He couldn't help but feel reassured.
"When General Yang talks about evidence, I have it right here."
As he spoke, Zhu Susun slowly stretched out his hand into his arms.