"Yanqing, can you convince the emperor to transfer Du Chong back to Lin'an Mansion? This guy is really not enough to make trouble!"

"What happened? If the old general didn't say it, I couldn't speak to the court!"

"This time I mobilized 20,000 troops to attack Daming Mansion. Six thousand of the 20,000 troops were Hebei rebels. I fought over and actively participated in the anti-Jin resistance. These rebels wrote letters to request food aid. Somehow, all these letters fell into Du Chong's hands. Du Chong not only refused to give a piece of rice, but also wrote back to curse these rebel leaders, calling them thieves unchanged. They were like taking advantage of the court all day. The rebels withdrew all their troops in anger. My logistics lost protection and were attacked by the three thousand Jin soldiers who went south of Hejian Mansion. All the logistics supplies were burned down. I was forced to withdraw. As a result, I was beaten halfway by the Jin soldiers when crossing the river. The five thousand troops that did not have time to cross the river were destroyed. What do you think this is called?"

Li Yanqing understood it clearly. A pig teammate appeared in the anti-Jin team. He thought for a while and laughed: "When talking about this, the old general still has a certain responsibility."

"How do you say this?" Zong Ze looked at Li Yanqing with a little dissatisfaction.

Li Yanqing didn't care and smiled and continued: "The rebels in Hebei are unreliable, and they all have their own selfish intentions. If they don't say anything, they will kill the officers and soldiers. In my opinion, these people can be used, but they must be in their own hands. Before they can tighten them, the heavy weapons of the army, such as logistics and supplies, which are related to success or failure, cannot be handed over to their guards for the time being."

Although Li Yanqing's words were a bit heartbroken, they reached the point. After a while, Zong Ze sighed, "You are right. I was infected by their patriotic enthusiasm and a little unreasonable. I am responsible for defeating this time."

"The old general doesn't have to blame himself too much. It takes a little bit to recover Hebei. You can't be too hasty. I don't expect that it will be difficult to get rid of the Jin soldiers' sharpness in less than ten years. First of all, you have to defend. It is of course good if you can defend the Central Plains. Even if you can't defend the Central Plains, you must keep the Huaihe line. Grind the Jin soldiers' sharpness and then slowly fight back, and regain the Han Dynasty step by step."

"Yue Fei also advised me in this way. He opposed the attack on Daming Prefecture, believing that Bozhou has not yet gained a foothold and cannot be rushing to seek merit. I did not follow his advice, and I still regret it when I think about it." Zong Ze sighed, his eyes full of guilt.

Li Yanqing quickly changed the topic, "What is Brother Yue doing?"

"He is now one of my four deputy commanders, taking over Wang Xiaozhong's position, and there are also Quan Bangyan, Kong Yanwei and Chen Sui. These three are both civil and military, and can stand alone and guard the southern bank of the Yellow River from Yunzhou to Zhengzhou."

"How many troops are there in the old general's hands?"

"There are about 80,000 people, basically all the soldiers who retreated from Hebei were reintegrated by me, and their combat effectiveness was pretty good."

The two of them walked while talking, and soon they arrived at Bianliang City. At this time, a team of cavalry rushed over. The person in charge was Yue Fei, an old friend who had not seen for a long time.

Yue Fei rushed to the front and bowed, "See the Grand Marshal and the Grand Guardian!"

As soon as the official name was released, Li Yanqing couldn't greet him intimately. He smiled slightly and said, "Congratulations to General Yue for being promoted to deputy governor!"

Zong Ze also realized that it was inappropriate to be by the side, so he laughed and said, "You brothers, I'll go back and prepare a few glasses of wine to welcome Yanqing!"

Zong Ze left with his personal soldiers, and then Yue Fei said embarrassedly: "I heard from Agui, are you going to the northwest?"

Li Yanqing nodded, "The situation in the northwest is critical, so I can be considered as being ordered in the face of danger!"

Yue Fei also sighed, "The situation in the northwest is much more complicated than that in the Central Plains. Yanqing must be careful of the joint efforts of Xixia and Jin Kingdom, and the Jin Kingdom seized the opportunity to break into Guanzhong."

"I know!"

Li Yanqing didn't want to mention the Northwest incident more, so he turned the topic back, "Tell me about Hebei! What are you going to do next?"

"The Marshal still hopes to cross the Yellow River and find a place to gain a foothold on the north bank of the Yellow River."

"What about your thoughts?" Li Yanqing asked with a smile: "Tell me your personal thoughts."

Yue Fei pondered for a moment and said, "Actually, I think I still need to reorganize the Hebei Rebel Army. At that time, I was also one of the rebel army. It is difficult to unify opinions when we stand together on the hills. To put it bluntly, it is a mess of sand that is easily defeated by the Jin soldiers. They must be unified with powerful means. It is best for the court to come forward and incorporate the rebel army into the regular army. This is very beneficial to the fight against the Jin."

"This plan is very good, did you propose it to the court?"

Yue Fei shook his head, "Du Chong refused to agree and rejected our proposal."

"Why?"

Yue Fei sighed, "I think he should be because he looked down on the anti-Jin rebel army at heart. When he was in Cangzhou, he slandered the anti-Jin rebel army as a rebellious bandit."

"Is this Du Chong in Bianliang City now?"

"I went out early this morning, and we all said he was avoiding you."

"Hide me?" Li Yanqing laughed, "Why should we hide from me?"

"Because you have a good relationship with the Grand Marshal and are also a censor, he is afraid that you will be impeached."

After pausing, Yue Fei said again: "Yanqing, we all hope that you can transfer him away, as they will seriously affect the Song army's northern expedition."

As the Privy Councilor and Censor, Li Yanqing did have the right to impeach Du Chong, but he would not easily agree to the promise of appointing and removal of senior officials because of his personal relationship. In particular, he realized that Zong Ze also bears certain responsibility in this defeat and trusts the righteous army too much. He needs to consider and observe this matter again.

Li Yanqing finally returned to Tokyo Bianliang. At this time, Bianliang was different from when he left. The outer city had almost been completely demolished. Not only the outer city, but also the outer city on the south had disappeared. Zong Ze implemented a solid wall to clear the fields. He cleared all the houses, woods, etc. that the Jin soldiers could use, leaving only an isolated inner city standing on the plain.

Li Yanqing shook his head secretly. The fact that he was able to defend Tokyo was also the result of the combination of time, place, people and various factors. It can be said that he mobilized all the power that could be used, and the military and the people united in unity and finally defeated the Jin soldiers.

Now many important forces have disappeared. If the Jin soldiers attacked Bianliang again, they would probably not be able to defend them for a day.

Li Yanqing entered the inner city. The inner city still looked the same, but it was obviously much deserted than before. Most of the shops were closed, and the signs of several shops fell halfway, covered with dust. Coupled with the gray sky, the entire Bianliang City exuded a decay atmosphere that was difficult to hide.

However, after hearing that Li Dutong returned, the people of Bianliang rushed to the streets to welcome Li Yanqing into the city. The streets were crowded with people, cheers and applause were thunderous. Li Yanqing smiled and waved to the people. An old man with white hair stepped forward and asked, "Donal Li Dutong is back in Bianliang?"

Li Yanqing smiled and said, "The war in the northwest is tense. I am rushing to the northwest according to the emperor's will. If there is an old general in Bianliang guarding it, it will be able to withstand the Jin soldiers' siege. Everyone should believe in the ability of the old general."

"Tong Li, expel the Tartars as soon as possible and restore Hebei!" A group of immigrants from Hebei shouted loudly.

"Sure! Sure! Never let everyone down."

Amid the cheers along the way, Li Yanqing came to the former Kaifeng yamen, which was also a left-behind official in Tokyo. Except for Kaifeng Prefecture Du Chong, the other civil and military officials came out to greet him. Zong Ze had changed his official uniform and welcomed Li Yanqing to the official institution.

Li Yanqing entered the inner hall surrounded by everyone. He smiled and asked, "Why is the Du Fu Yin not here?"

Everyone looked at each other, and the young Yin Yang Nan came forward to report: "The Supreme Court Du is also the Northwest Road Pacifier of Jingxi Road. He went to Yingchuan Prefecture to inspect the epidemic early this morning, and he may not be able to come back a few days later."

"Then forget it, you all go to work on official business! I want to discuss military affairs with Senior General Zong, please, please!"

The officials of the government bowed to Li Yanqing and left the inner hall, where Zong Ze was the only one left in the inner hall.

Li Yanqing said lightly: "The situation in the northwest is tense. After an hour of rest, I will go west. I am afraid I can't drink a drink with the old general. We will drink this glass of wine together in Hebei in the future."

Zong Ze gave a thumbs up, "Just say this to you, I will keep this glass of wine today."

Li Yanqing pondered for a moment and said, "Tell me about Du Chong! He is the prefect, how can he interfere in military affairs?"

"He is a prefect, but he is also a Hebei Transportation Commissioner, with the military rations and military advisors' supplies stuck. If he doesn't send military rations, I really can't do anything."

Li Yanqing walked a few steps behind his hands and asked again: "What other problems do he have besides interfering in military affairs? For example, unclear hands and feet?"

Zong Ze thought for a while and said, "There are rumors that he is not clean in dealing with the old food, but there is no evidence."

Li Yanqing shook his head, "If there is no evidence, let it go temporarily. I need something clear about evidence."

"I'm afraid there is no clear evidence yet. This person is very careful and ambitious, and will not easily let the handle fall into others' hands."

Li Yanqing pondered for a moment and said, "This is how it goes! I wrote a letter to the official, explaining the matter clearly, suggesting that the official transfer Du Chong away, and then the old general also secretly collected evidence of old grain. If the evidence is conclusive, even if he cannot be transferred, I can impeach him directly."

Zong Ze nodded silently, "I understand, I'll start to investigate secretly."

One hour later, Li Yanqing led 5,000 troops to leave Bianliang. Li Yanqing left the city from the west and did not alarm the people in the city. Although the people were extremely expecting him, he could not bear it. If the Jin soldiers marched south to attack and Bianliang was captured by the Jin soldiers, it would be difficult for him to face the elders and villagers who had great expectations for him.

Li Yanqing turned around and looked at the city walls of Bianliang again, sighed softly, and urged the horse to run westward.

Two days later, Li Yanqing led his army to Guancheng County, Zhengzhou, where he met with the main forces of the 25,000 Jingzhao Army led by Wang Gui and Liu Jia.
Chapter completed!