"That……"
"That means you have to relinquish your throne, and you also have to go to Wuguo City with Jin Wuzhu. Oh, and your son too."
Emperor Huizong's face grew increasingly grim, and finally, he flicked his sleeve and said, "Nonsense! If that's the case, why should I help you?"
I retorted sharply, "Because our 8 million-strong army is stationed outside Taiyuan Prefecture, seizing your kingdom would be as easy as turning one's hand!"
Emperor Huizong asked, "Aren't you afraid that I will join forces with Wanyan Wuzhu to deal with you?"
Liu Dongyang shouted, "You dare!"
I smiled slightly and stopped Liu Dongyang, saying, "To be honest, I'm not afraid at all. Not to mention that our 3 million troops are more than enough to deal with you, I can borrow troops from Qin, Chu, and Tang, and I can also borrow from the Three Kingdoms, Jin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties. After you, there will be Yuan, Ming, and Qing. At that time, it won't be just the so-called 8 million!"
Emperor Huizong of Song angrily exclaimed, "I never imagined there could be such a despicable person as you in this world!"
I chuckled and said, "That's because you lack the eye to see things. There are plenty of people like that around you."
Emperor Huizong looked dejected and stammered, "Then tell me, what benefits can I possibly gain?"
I said, “Although you can no longer be emperor, I can guarantee that your people will not suffer. In that case, your crimes will be lessened, and your ancestors won’t beat you every time they see you!” I continued, “Furthermore, based on past developments, after you and your son were captured and taken to Wuguo City, you were given two titles, Duke of Hunde and Marquis of Hunde. You lived worse than prisoners of war. They would throw you some cold rice and spoiled food when they remembered you, and starve you when they forgot. If you cooperate with me, I can apply for political asylum for you two and send you to a beautiful place with clear waters and green mountains. As far as I know, your paintings are very valuable in later generations, so it won’t be difficult for you to live a life of idleness and waiting to die again.”
Emperor Huizong of Song said sadly, "Is there really no hope for my Great Song Dynasty?"
I comforted him, saying, "Try to think positively. Back when your ancestors seized someone else's land, who did the Chai family cry to? Anyway, we'll all be one family in a few years. The most important thing is that the common people don't suffer."
Emperor Huizong, on the verge of tears, said, "Alright. I'll send the provisions over tonight, but please don't abandon me!"
I patted him on the shoulder and said, "Old Zhao, you were just born at the wrong time. If you had been born in a better era, you could have been a professor at an art academy or something, with plenty of pretty girls to be your nude models. You could have painted them all the time until your kidneys gave out!"
After the matter was settled, Liu Dongyang and I got up to leave. I kept looking at the note that Emperor Huizong was clutching tightly, and I couldn't help but ask, "What exactly is written on it? Can I see it?" Anyone would be curious. How could a mere note make someone believe something that might not have been explained in a day and a night? What kind of secret must it be? Could it be a family medical history? Are all members of the Zhao family born with six toes, hemorrhoids, psoriasis on their hands, and colorblindness?
Seeing my intense gaze, Emperor Huizong, fearing he would offend me by directly refusing, pinched off the top line of the slip of paper and gave me the rest. I glanced at the writing; though I only vaguely recognized it, there was nothing earth-shattering about it. The first half was a casual conversation between Zhao Kuangyin and Emperor Huizong, then the tone shifted sharply as Zhao Kuangyin harshly rebuked Emperor Huizong for his incompetence, before concluding with an elder's earnest encouragement to young Huizong not to give up on himself, and to strive to be a useful member of society regardless of his position.
The most crucial part seems to be the section that Emperor Huizong of Song cut out. What could be written in such a small space?
Filled with questions, we left Taiyuan and returned to the Allied Forces' headquarters.
That evening, cartloads of provisions poured into the allied camp from Taiyuan. The Northern Song army had been defeated, and they had planned to fight the Jin army here, so they had stockpiled a large amount. Meanwhile, Wang Yin and Fang Zhenjiang's transportation efforts went smoothly, and the allied forces had an unprecedented abundance of supplies. At 10:30 PM, we began distributing the supplies, distributing them equally to each soldier, regardless of whether they had any surplus rations. In addition to two days' worth of rations, each allied soldier received five bags of instant noodles, two bags of bread, a can of luncheon meat, and a can of sardines. They also received 250 ml of milk and three bottles of mineral water—these bottles were carefully stored for future use. Wang Yin's unreliability was on full display again; he managed to extort half a cartload of chewing gum from the manufacturer under the pretext of ordering a large quantity…
Our allied soldiers chewed gum, cooked instant noodles in luncheon meat tins, and talked about women with their comrades in a rude and nonchalant tone. On the walls of Taiyuan, Emperor Huizong, accompanied by his attendants, gazed at the allied lines, where countless small fires stretched for miles. His eunuch beside him stammered, "Your Majesty, I've never seen so many people in my entire life."
Emperor Huizong, preoccupied with his own thoughts, casually remarked, "What do you know? Below us are troops from multiple countries."
Thus, the term "multinational force" was officially born, and this legend has been remembered by the people of the Northern Song Dynasty ever since.
Chapter 165 The Grand Military Parade
The next day, the first thing I heard when I opened my eyes was a resounding military song. The Allied soldiers had provisions, sardines, and milk, and were full of energy. Under the leadership of their respective generals, they began their unique morning exercises. Moreover, you could roughly tell which country's army they were from their slogans.
"Strong wind, strong wind, strong wind—" This is the Qin army.
"The mighty Chu will surely prevail—" This was the Chu army's motto.
"Helping those in distress and bearing the weight of the world on their shoulders, our Emperor is valiant and mighty—" These were the Song soldiers who were helping Zhao Kuangyin to settle scores.
“￥％％——％Y——” Uh, this is the Mongol army.
"Zhen Yuan Yang Wei Lai—"... Whose escort agency has come too? Later we found out that one of the 300 young soldiers was from an escort agency, and they had brought all their relatives with them.
Xu Delong, leading 300 men, ran past our tent shouting, "One, two, one, one, two, one..." Hu Yieryi lifted the tent flap and poked his head out, asking, "Who's calling me?"
During this time, Song and Ming troops continued to arrive intermittently, further tightening the encirclement. Now, if you wanted to leave the encirclement from any point inside, even without anyone stopping you, it would take you an hour or two to walk out.
Three million people—equivalent to the entire population of a medium-sized city—made the scene incredibly vast. The area outside Taiyuan City essentially became a country within a country. Where there are people, there is interaction, especially with so many. Soldiers from different countries had shifts of leave during their training breaks, and these soldiers began visiting each other's camps. It was relatively easy for Tang soldiers to visit the Mongol camp or the Song-Qin allied camp, which bordered the Liangshan army. Of course, Song soldiers in the south generally needed extended leave to visit the Mongol camp. Thus, as contact between the various countries deepened, a small market gradually formed within the allied camp. However, there were no goods of equal value, and since everyone was a friend, there was no need to be too concerned about gains or losses; it was all about having fun. Silk from the Tang and Song dynasties, porcelain from the Ming dynasty, and even miscellaneous ancestral items carried by the soldiers were all exchanged. The most famous items were the Tang army's portable marching rations (generally attributed to Emperor Gaozong of Tang, but this should not be taken too seriously) and the weapons of the Qin army. The Tang army and its successor armies were very willing to exchange their spare weapons for an old iron sword or shield.
Looking at the vibrant coalition base, a sudden thought struck me: why don't we hold a military exercise? We're just idling around anyway. If we keep wandering around aimlessly for a few more days, these guys might forget why they even came here in the first place.
I immediately convened a meeting of the generals, presented my proposal, and everyone looked at each other, silent. Seeing the awkward silence, I said sheepishly, "Does anyone have any objections?"
Qin Qiong said, "We understand military affairs and exercises, but we don't quite understand what it means when they are combined."
It dawned on me. It turned out these people didn't know what a military exercise was.
Actually, I don't know much about it either. I just see it in TV dramas, where they divide the team into blue and red teams. Usually, the red team is the elite force that the commanders are deliberately training, while the blue team is just there to play a supporting role. But often, a rebellious troublemaker pops up in the blue team, sneaking into the unsuspecting red team's command post, and the exercise ends there, officially starting the TV drama...
Another type is unilateral military exercises. A few years ago, our country conducted one in Fujian. These are generally politically motivated and have a deterrent effect. Zhang Wuji's Ming Cult conducted one at Shaolin Temple, and afterwards, no one in the martial arts world dared to challenge the Ming Cult again. That was before Zhu Yuanzhang time-traveled.
After thinking about it, I decided to go with the second option. I said, "Military exercises are like moving the training ground to the enemy's doorstep, letting them see our strength. This can effectively demoralize the enemy and even achieve the goal of winning without bloodshed."
Yuwen Chengdu said, "It's just to scare people. It's best if it works, but if it doesn't, we'll see."
I rested my chin on my hand and said, "You summarized it very well!"
Qin Qiong, Wu Yong, and Wang Ben looked at each other and said, "We think it can work out."
Next, we need to determine the order of appearance. To be fair, I've decided to arrange them chronologically, with Ying Bu's Qin army at the very beginning, followed by the Chu army, the Tang army, the Song army, and so on...
I found Wang Yin and said, "We still need to prepare our exercise properly. Go and buy a batch of radio equipment, as well as loudspeakers and such."
Liu Dongyang said, "Reporting to Duke Anguo, I think we should also temporarily unify our banners. Recently, many of our allied forces have had misunderstandings when they crossed the border in large numbers. If the Jin army takes advantage of this gap to launch a surprise attack, they may very well succeed."
I slapped my forehead and said, "Yes, yes, this problem should have been solved a long time ago." Actually, this issue had been bothering us from the very beginning. The arrival of various new forces often caused chaos, and we had to painstakingly identify their unit numbers. After all, this was a war; what if the Jin army really did send reinforcements?
I turned to the crowd and said, "Whose banner do you think is easier to recognize?"
They looked at each other and fell silent. Of course, it's easiest to recognize one's own flag, but when a multinational force is operating in unison, you can't very well ask everyone else to use your flag, can you? Besides, they might not even agree to it, and that's no small matter.
Wang Yin hesitated and said, "How about I buy a batch of five-star red flags?"