Outside Damingfu City
After receiving the order, the east-route army led by Han Shizhong marched for two days and finally arrived at Daming Mansion. Looking from a distance, the flag of the Song Dynasty has been hung on the city. Liu Yu led the officials of the puppet Qi to wait at the city gate.
When Liu Yu saw Han Shizhong's arrival, he led the crowd to kneel in front of Han Shizhong's horse and handed over a letter of surrender with both hands: "The guilty minister Liu Yu is here to kowtow to General Han. The guilty minister knows that his sins are serious, so he has dedicated his property over the years and asks the general to accept it."
Han Shizhong took the letter of surrender and glanced at Liu Yu.
"Liu Yu, since you have surrendered, you should stay on your own terms." Han Shizhong said coldly, "Our Song Dynasty court is lenient and will not hold you accountable. But if you dare to have different intentions again, you will be killed without mercy!"
After hearing this, Liu Yu kowtowed repeatedly: "Thank you, general, for not killing me. The guilty minister will definitely stay safe and keep his peace, and I will never dare to have any different intentions again."
Han Shizhong nodded and waved for Liu Yu to get up. He turned to the soldiers behind him and said: "All the soldiers obey the order and immediately take over the Daming Mansion and prepare defenses to guard against the attack of the Princess."
On the second day after Han Shizhong took over Daming Mansion, the early morning sunshine had not completely dispelled the fog, and the sound of horse hooves and war drums could be heard in the distance. The army led by Zhao Yingluo has arrived at Damingfu City.
On the top of the city, Han Shizhong was wearing armor, with the flag of the Song Dynasty ringing behind him. He stared outside the city and saw Zhao Yingluo riding on the horse. He was deeply moved. In the past battle of Chanzhou, he and she defeated the Jin Kingdom side by side, but now they are in a hostile state. It is really unpredictable.
Zhao Yingluo looked at the city head and found that the flag had been changed to that of the Song Dynasty, and couldn't help but feel a little curious. She shouted loudly: "Please come out and talk to the guard!"
Hearing this, Han Shizhong stood on top of the city and bowed and said, "Your Highness, Han Shizhong is here."
After saying this, Han Shizhong got off the city wall, rode his horse to the outside of the city gate, and stopped ten feet away from Zhao Yingluo.
Zhao Yingluo saw a flash of surprise in her eyes when she saw it was Han Shizhong. She sneered: "General Han, my royal brother is not good at fighting, but he is number one in robbing the city."
After hearing this, Han Shizhong showed some apology on his face: "Your Royal Highness, the general is stationed at Daming Mansion under the orders of the imperial court. It is not his intention to be an enemy of the princess. Although her royal highness the princess is at odds with the Song Dynasty court, Daming Mansion has now been returned to the Song Dynasty. The imperial court hopes that Her Highness the Princess can be considerate of the people and not continue to attack, lest there be bloodshed within the Song Dynasty."
Wang Zaixing was riding on his horse, furious. "Earlier, the Jin army attacked Chanzhou. Why didn't you come to help? Why did you have the shame to stand here and persuade His Highness not to attack the city?"
After hearing this, Han Shizhong looked a little embarrassed. He explained: "General Wang, I didn't mean not to come to my aid when the Jin Army attacked Chanzhou. In fact, it was an order from the imperial court. Not taking the opportunity to attack Chanzhou with the Jin Army was already disobeying the order. I hope Her Royal Highness will be considerate."
Seeing that Zhao Yingluo did not express his position, Yue Fei stepped forward and persuaded: "Your Royal Highness, now that we are facing a powerful enemy, we should unite and fight against the outside world together. Although General Han did not assist us, he was also a minister of the Song Dynasty and could not help himself. , don’t affect the overall situation.”
Zhao Yingluo was silent for a moment, then raised her eyes and said, "General Han, I know you are loyal to the court. Today I will give up attacking Daming Mansion. It's not because I can't defeat it. I also hope that General Han will inform my brother, so that he can take care of himself and never cause Wuming again." Master, otherwise, I will take control of this famous mansion."
When Han Shizhong saw this, he breathed a sigh of relief. He bowed and thanked Zhao Yingluo: "Thank you, Princess, for your magnanimity. I will convey Dingdang's original words to the officials."
Later, Zhao Yingluo ordered the army to return to Wei County.
Zhao Yingluo was sitting in the main tent with a map in front of her. She was thinking about the next defense strategy. The Jin army is newly defeated and is not expected to go south again in the short term. Once they are fully prepared again, they may launch another attack at any time, so they must be fully prepared. "Your Highness, how should we deploy our defenses next?" Yue Fei was the first to ask.
Zhao Yingluo pointed to Xingzhou on the map: "General Yue, I have decided to let you guard Xingzhou. The Zhijin Army will covet Xingzhou again."
After hearing this, Yue Fei said solemnly: "I will definitely live up to the trust of Her Highness the Princess and defend Xingzhou to the death."
Then, Zhao Yingluo turned to Wang Zaixing and Wen Boyuan: "Wang Zaixing, you continue to garrison in Wei County. Wen Boyuan, you go to Chanzhou to garrison. Just in case, I will allocate another [-] troops to you two. I hope not to do it this time. Let’s make the same mistake again.”
After hearing this, Wang Zaixing and Wen Boyuan solemnly accepted the order, saying that they would do their best to defend.
After arranging all this, Zhao Yingluo led the rest of the army and set off back to Kaifeng.
[Kaifeng Imperial Palace, Chui Gong Hall]
As the heat of summer gradually subsides, autumn begins to spread across the land. Although the battle from late August to mid-September lasted for a long time, good news came frequently, making the haze that originally shrouded the palace gradually dissipate.
The Supreme Emperor Zhao Ji has been restless, always paying attention to the progress of the war. Whenever good news comes, the sadness on his face will dissipate a little. During this time, he no longer clamored to go to Jiangnan to escape the military disaster, but began to look forward to Zhao Yingluo's triumphant return.
On this day, the chamberlain Wei Chaoxian hurriedly walked into the palace, with a joyful smile on his face: "Your Majesty, I am so happy! Her Royal Highness the Princess has returned to Kaifeng in triumph and is on her way back to Kaifeng."
Zhao Ji was overjoyed after hearing this. He stood up and grabbed Wei Chaoxian's arm excitedly: "Are you telling the truth? Yingluo has really returned in triumph?"
"It's absolutely true!" Wei Chaoxian nodded and confirmed, "Her Royal Highness the Princess is brave and capable in fighting. She has achieved a complete victory in this expedition and has returned with her army."
After hearing this, Zhao Ji was so excited that tears filled his eyes and he walked up and down the palace, "Okay! Okay! Yingluo has indeed lived up to my expectations. Send me an order that everyone in Kaifeng City will welcome Her Royal Highness when she returns victorious. I will personally go out of the city to welcome her." .”
As Zhao Ji's order was issued, the entire city of Kaifeng was boiling.
People in the streets and alleys of Kaifeng City took to the streets one after another, cheering the name of Her Royal Highness the Princess and discussing this hearty victory.
"Her Royal Highness the Princess is mighty! Her Royal Highness the Princess is a thousand years old!" Such slogans echoed in every corner of Kaifeng City.
For the people of Kaifeng City, the Jin army has always been a shadow in their hearts. The iron hoofs of the Jin people once trampled on the rivers and mountains of the Song Dynasty, bringing severe suffering to the people. However, with Zhao Yingluo's three victories, this shadow was finally swept away.
At night, Kaifeng City is brightly lit. Red lanterns were hung in front of every house, and there was an endless stream of pedestrians on the street. They either gathered in small groups to talk about Zhao Yingluo's achievements, or walked alone in the night, feeling the hard-won of peace and joy.
Zhao Yingluo's three victories not only made the people of Kaifeng City proud, but more importantly, allowed them to regain their confidence and dignity in the Song Dynasty. They knew that with such a brave and brave princess, the Song Dynasty had completely straightened its back.
