Although Yanshan Prefecture in May has just reached early summer, the weather this year is a bit abnormal and the climate is particularly dry and hot. It has not rained for nearly two months. The scorching sun is scorching the earth, and the water levels of large and small rivers have dropped to historical lows. Farmers are worried that if the weather continues like this, most of the rivers will dry up after autumn.

‘There is drought in April, the summer in May, and the disasters in the military.” Some older people said this, which made many people in Yanshan Prefecture lose their minds. Everyone was worried that the Jurchen cavalry who had stationed more than 100,000 troops would suddenly come.

Not only ordinary people were worried, but also Guo Yaoshi was worried. The Jin people controlled Juyongguan, just like a sharp sword above their heads, which could be chopped on their heads at any time.

That morning, the gate of Juyong Pass opened, and a team of female cavalry guarded a Jin official to run out of the pass. They whipped their horses and rushed towards Yanjing City a hundred miles away.

At noon, the cavalry guarded the officials and arrived at the west gate of Yanjing City. The vendors doing business outside the west gate avoided one after another. The outside of the west gate soon became empty. The soldiers guarding the city hurriedly closed the city gate. The Jin Dynasty officials held down their war horses in front of the city gate and shouted loudly to the city in fluent Chinese: "I am on an envoy under the order of the Great Golden Wolf Lord, and ask the Yanshan Palace Lord to come out!"

The soldiers guarding the gate had already rushed to report to the prefect Cai Jing and the co-magistrate Guo Yaoshi. Cai Jing happened to be patrolling near the west gate. After receiving the news, he rushed to the top of the city. The side general of the guarding the city gate hurried forward and said, "It's an envoy of the Jin Kingdom, it seems that he sent some documents!"

Cai Jing became more and more confused. He leaned his head down and saw a team of soldiers guarding a Jin Dynasty official. He asked loudly: "I am the prefect of Yanshan, what's wrong with you?"

"According to the order of the Lord of the Wolf, I will hand over the letter of nationality to your country!" After the Jin Dynasty officials said that, they took out a volume of documents from their backpacks behind them.

Cai Jing looked into the distance for a moment, but did not find the ambushing Jin soldiers, and said, "Please take a hundred steps back and I will send someone to pick it up!"

The official laughed and said a few words to his subordinates with a sarcastic expression. A team of Jin soldiers laughed, but they did not insist and took a hundred steps back. Cai Jing then ordered a crack in the city gate to order a soldier to go out to get the documents.

The Jin Dynasty officials handed a volume of documents to the soldiers, then turned their horses and ran away quickly.

"Please take a look at the magistrate!" The soldier presented the document to Cai Jing.

At this time, Guo Yaoshi arrived hurriedly surrounded by dozens of personal soldiers, "Master Cai, what's going on?"

Cai Jing smiled bitterly and said, "A Jin official sent a letter of nationality just now and he has left."

"Shu of the People's Republic of China?" Guo Yaoshi was stunned, his eyes fell on the scroll in Cai Jing's hand, "Open it and take a look!" Guo Yaoshi suggested.

"This is not right!" Cai Jing hesitated a little. He was just a prefect, so how could he open the letter of state at will? At least he could only see it if the prime minister had a glimpse.

"It shouldn't matter. The Jin Kingdom sent the letter to us, of course, just to allow us to read it, otherwise they would send it directly to the capital."

Cai Jing thought about it and said that the Jin Kingdom gave the letter to him, wasn’t it just for him to read it?

He had just untied the silk ribbon tied to the scroll and slowly unfolded the letter of the country. The first line of words made Cai Jing's face change drastically and his whole body tremble.

"Magistrate, what's going on?"

Guo Yaoshi felt something was wrong, so he hurriedly stepped forward, and his face turned pale. The Chinese Book was written in Chinese and Jurchen at the same time. The first column was made of three big words: ‘Declaration of War!’

In June of the sixth year of Xuanhe, the Jin Dynasty used the excuse of the Song Dynasty's arbitrarily accepting the surrendered general of Pingzhou, Zhang Jue, who violated the Song and Jin alliance, tore up the Song and Jin sea alliance and officially declared war on the Song and the Song dynasty. The Yanshan prefect Cai Jing and the Tongzhi Guo Yaoshi immediately reported this important news to the court in an emergency report of 800 miles.

On the night when the declaration of war was delivered to Yanshan City, ten thousand Jurchen cavalry broke out from Juyong Pass, bypassed Yanshan City, and rushed towards Pingzhou in the east at lightning. Guo Yaoshi, who was deploying defense in Yanjing City overnight, suddenly realized that the main force of the Jin Dynasty was not in Juyong Pass, but in Pingzhou.

Guo Yaoshi was well aware of the serious consequences of the loss of Pingzhou, so he ordered his general Liu Shunren to lead an army of 10,000 to guard Yanjing City, and personally led an army of 50,000 to Pingzhou for rescue.

But Guo Yaoshi was still one step late. When he arrived in Lulong County, Pingzhou, news came that Yuguan was lost.

Yuguan is a pass in the Yanshan Mountains, which guards the road to the south of Liaodong. Its strategic position is extremely important. Before Shanhaiguan was built, Yuguan was the main throat road from Liaodong to Hebei. The importance of Pingzhou lies in Yuguan.

When Guo Yaoshi learned that Yuguan was lost, he immediately made a quick decision and led his army to withdraw back to Yanjing City. However, it was too late to withdraw. Jin army general Yelu Yuji led 20,000 cavalry to move south from Juyong Pass and cut off his retreat. Wanyan Zongwang led a 100,000 army to the south from Yuguan, marched westward all the way to chase Guo Yaoshi's army.

Three days later, Guo Yaoshi's army retreated to Yuyang County. More than 100,000 Jin soldiers immediately rushed to Yuyang County under the leadership of Wanyan Zongwang, surrounding the small county town.

Late at night, in the dilapidated county yamen in Yuyang County, Guo Yaoshi paced back and forth in the lobby with his hands on his back, his brush-like thick eyebrows frowned into a line, his eyes full of complex expressions, determination, hesitation, regret, expectation, and even a hint of timidity. He was obviously worried about a major decision.

Although the officials treated him extremely generously, they even hinted that if he could defend Yanshan Prefecture for the Song Dynasty, the officials would consider appointing him as King of Yan and allowing him to inherit from generation to generation. Although it was just a hint, it was enough to excite Guo Yaoshi. It was precisely this promise that Guo Yaoshi led his army to rescue Pingzhou without hesitation, but he finally underestimated the war preparations of the Jin Kingdom. Among the three thousand defenders guarding Yu Pass, a thousand people had been rebelled by the Jin Kingdom. In the fierce internal strife, the Jin Kingdom took advantage of the opportunity to seize Yu Pass.

Guo Yaoshi's 50,000 troops did not carry the baggage. Although they received food supplies in Lulong County, there were only six days left for food. It was obviously impossible to stick to Yuyang County for a long time. Guo Yaoshi now has only two choices, either breaking through and withdrawing from Yanjing or surrendering to the Jin Kingdom. Although there were only two choices, Guo Yaoshi was really difficult to make a decision.

Below the lobby was standing his son Guo Zheng and several confidant generals. At this time, Zhang Linghui gave Guo Zheng a wink at Guo Zheng. Guo Zheng understood and said to his father: "Father, our army is basically infantry, with only 3,000 cavalry, and the enemy cavalry is at least 80,000. Even if the entire army breaks through, we will be caught by the enemy and cannot escape the destruction of the entire army. Even if the three thousand cavalry flee back to Yanjing, can we defend Yanjing City with ten thousand defenders? The court will not consider our difficulties. At that time, the father will bear the responsibility for losing Yanshan Prefecture. I hope my father can think clearly."

Guo Yaoshi sighed. He didn't understand what his son said, but he was worried about his reputation. He was a Han Chinese. He surrendered from the Liao Kingdom and became a minister of the Li-rank in the Song Dynasty. Will he be asked to surrender to the Jin Kingdom and become a meritorious minister of the Jin Kingdom? If people in later generations talk about him, Guo Yaoshi, he would be a typical slave of the three surnames!

Zhang Linghui knew the head coach's concerns very well. He spoke carefully: "Yanei is right. We are now in a desperate situation. There is no other way to go except surrender. Moreover, surrendering to the Jin Kingdom can save the lives of 50,000 soldiers. It can be regarded as an explanation for their family. As for how the court evaluates the head coach, I don't think there is any need to worry at all."

"How do you say this?" Guo Yaoshi asked in confusion.

"Master, the 200,000 Jin army will inevitably go south, and there will be unstoppable momentums and counties that will surrender. The Song ministers who surrendered to the Jin Dynasty will also be like crucian carpies crossing the river. The Master is just one of them. Who will pay special attention to the Master?"

Zhang Linghui's words immediately made Yaoshi Guo's heart-pounding. This is a typical mentality of not ruling the public. Although it is very stressful for a person to surrender, dozens or hundreds of people surrender, there is basically no pressure.

"Master, surrender!" All the generals were persuading Yaoshi Guo.

Guo Yaoshi thought for a long time and finally made up his mind. He quickly walked to the hall, knelt down to the south, kowtowed three times, and shouted in tears: "Your Majesty, the situation is not what I wish. I hope Your Majesty forgives me for being unfaithful!"

Guo Yaoshi kowtowed again, and he suddenly stood up and shouted loudly: "Tell me my order, the soldiers of the three armies put down their weapons and prepared to surrender!"

As soon as the sky was dawn, the gate of Yuyang County was wide open. Guo Yaoshi, the co-magistrate of Yanshan Prefecture, led 50,000 troops out of the city to surrender to the Jin Kingdom. Wanyan Zongwang was overjoyed and immediately appointed Guo Yaoshi as the one who stayed in Yanjing, rewarded 50,000 taels of silver, and requested the emperor of the Jin Kingdom to give his surname Wanyan.

After Guo Yaoshi surrendered to the Jin Kingdom, he immediately led more than 100,000 Jin troops to the city of Yanjing. Guo Yaoshi ordered his general Liu Shunchen to open the city to surrender, so that the Jin troops could occupy Yanshan Prefecture without bloodshed. The prefect Cai Jing and the Yanshan Prefecture Transportation Envoy Lu Yihao were unfortunately captured and became the first batch of high-ranking officials of the Song Dynasty who were captured by the Jin Kingdom to attack the Song Dynasty.

The Jin Dynasty immediately changed Yanshan Prefecture to Yanjing Prefecture. Wanyan Zongwang immediately worshiped the fallen soldiers of the Liao Dynasty and ordered the construction of the Liao Dynasty's Martyrs' Temple to win the hearts of the people in Yan. This move indeed won the unanimous support of hundreds of thousands of people in Yanjing Prefecture, and enabled the Jin Dynasty to quickly gain a firm foothold in Yanjing Prefecture.
Chapter completed!