Agente secreto Wind Boy

Capítulo 67

But the next moment, the smile disappeared from his face, and he asked Liang Hongyu, "Is this an excuse she made up? My mother already has an inside agent from the Imperial Guard protecting her, so why would she need to go to rescue her herself?"

Liang Hongyu remained silent, which was taken as tacit agreement. Seeing that she was tight-lipped, Zhao Gou had no choice but to give up, but he still said with concern, "If she is in danger in the palace, you must inform me immediately. The Imperial Guards can be of some use."

"On behalf of Miss Hongyu, I thank Your Highness!"

Volume Two: Eagle Soars Through the Sky 125 A Sudden Change in the Palace

It was still springtime, but Zhao Huan was already drenched in sweat beneath his heavy armor, and he couldn't help but complain again.

"Qin Qing, I really regret it. Why did I have to personally lead the expedition against such a small country as Jin? Alas, it seems that Ninth Brother has had a hard time fighting abroad for many years." He rarely showed any sympathy for Zhao Gou.

While fanning Zhao Huan, Qin Hui, who was accompanying him, said, "Your Majesty, please issue a few more edicts to urge the progress of the battle ahead. Once this battle is over, we can return to the capital."

"Indeed, indeed," Zhao Huan said impatiently, about to write the imperial edict. "Why has there been no progress in these past ten days? If this drags on until summer, what will become of us?"

When Han Shizhong received the emperor's "death warrant" for the fourth time, he couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of phlegm and said, "Here we go again. All he does is keep sending orders. Why doesn't he come and try it himself?"

Yue Fei cautiously said, "Brother Han, don't complain, or you'll bring trouble upon yourself with your words."

Han Shizhong shook his head, picked up the helmet beside him, stood up and said, "He's the one complaining. We've received the order, so we're going to die for him. If this city were so easy to take, would we need him to urge us?"

Tokyo was occupied by the Jurchens and was extremely difficult to attack. Yue Fei frowned and said, "General Zhong must have received the imperial edict as well. Let's go and discuss it. We need to lure them out of the city."

It was another difficult battle. The Jurchens had an inexhaustible supply of arrows and provisions, but Zhong Shidao's hair had turned white with worry again, and they still couldn't take the city of Tokyo.

After this happened several times, Zhao Huan could no longer tolerate it and ordered Zhong Shidao to come before the emperor to question him.

When Zhong Shidao arrived at the imperial camp, fifty kilometers away, Zhao Huan asked, "Our army numbers two hundred thousand. How come we still can't defeat the remaining fifty thousand Jin soldiers?"

Zhong Shidao felt ashamed. He said embarrassedly, "This old minister is incompetent. The Jurchens have been holed up in the city and refuse to come out to fight no matter what. Even though our army has many men, we have no good strategy."

Qin Hui suddenly spoke up and asked, "Does the old general mean that as long as they can leave the city to fight, you are confident that you can eliminate them?"

"That's natural. With 200,000 against 50,000, how could they not win? The problem is how to lure them out of the city!"

Upon hearing the answer, Qin Hui said to Zhao Huan, "Your Majesty, I have a plan. I wonder if it is feasible..."

"Tell me quickly, my dear minister," Zhao Huan said impatiently.

"His Majesty personally led the expedition this time, but the Jurchens did not see His Majesty's face and always thought we were just bluffing them. If His Majesty were to personally lead the troops, the Jurchens would definitely not be able to resist the temptation and would come out of the city to meet us. As soon as they leave the city, just as General Zhong said, they will be doomed."

Zhao Huan asked with some concern, "My dear minister, do you want me to personally lure the Jin soldiers away?"

Seeing Zhao Huan's hesitation, Qin Hui comforted him, saying, "Your Majesty only needs to show your face. Once the Jin troops leave the city, all the generals and my 200,000 soldiers will go to meet them. Your Majesty can either return to the rear or continue to watch the battle, it doesn't matter."

Zhong Shidao remained silent. Although he felt the matter was somewhat dangerous for Zhao Huan, it was also a brilliant plan. Otherwise, continuing the stalemate with the Jin army would be incredibly tedious.

Under Qin Hui's persuasion, Zhao Huan finally agreed to appear at the front lines. However, he immediately retreated to the rear after the war began.

As expected, when Zhao Huan appeared before the army of 100,000, the Jin troops defending Tokyo finally responded, setting up their battle formation in turn...

The tremors coming from the ground made Zhao Huan uneasy. He asked anxiously, "Qin Qing, they've gone out of the city to meet the enemy. When can we leave?"

"Your Majesty, please calm down. If you leave now, wouldn't that discourage the soldiers? Once the war starts, the soldiers won't just watch over Your Majesty. Someone will escort Your Majesty away."

Zhao Huan turned his head and looked at the excited faces of the soldiers behind him and the respectful looks they were giving him. He felt embarrassed and had no choice but to persevere a little longer.

-

Inside the Phoenix Palace, a rich fragrance filled the air. Zhu and Qin Zhen sat with their heads bowed in the embroidery room, each working on their own embroidery. Seeing Qin Zhen's skillful embroidery, Zhu sincerely praised, "I never knew my sister had such talent. You embroider better than the palace embroiderers. Who did you learn from?"

Qin Zhen finished her stitches and said without any pretense, "These are things my mother forced me to learn when I was little. I haven't touched them for so many years, and I've forgotten many of the stitches. My mother's Suzhou embroidery is truly excellent. When will you ask my mother to embroider something for my sister? You'll see for yourself then."

Zhu was praising Qin Zhen's acupuncture technique when he suddenly heard a shout from outside the room.

"Your Majesty the Empress... Your Majesty the Empress..." Yuqin rushed in in a panic and knelt down in front of Zhu without saying a word.

Zhu Zhenjing asked, "What happened? Why are you shouting like this?"

Yuqin said tremblingly, "Consort Zhu is gone... and the young prince... is gone too..."

The needle in Zhu's hand fell silently. She could no longer remain calm and asked in a trembling voice, "Find...send someone to search!"

"The Imperial Guards who were guarding Consort Jieyu have already gone to look for her. This servant has come to inform Your Majesty the Empress."

Zhu stood up in a panic, knocking over the embroidery frame and scattering needles and threads all over the floor. Everyone was in a state of utter confusion...

In the middle of the night, Qin Zhen's room was dark, with no lights on. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, and a slender figure slipped in.

Qin Zhen asked in a deep voice, "How is it?"

"It has already been sent out of the palace and handed over to Miss Liang." This was Yuqin's voice.

Qin Zhen breathed a sigh of relief and instructed, "Take good care of him..."

Yuqin then asked, "Where is Consort Zhu?"

“She has never shown any remorse, so… she can’t be kept alive…” Qin Zhen said with his eyes closed.

"yes."

Qin Zhen then asked, "Has any news come back from the front?"

"The last message said that the Emperor was preparing to personally lead troops to lure the enemy out of their hole. The latest news should arrive tomorrow."

"Sigh... there's no turning back now."

Yuqin had already left, but Qin Zhen still hadn't gone to sleep. She sat blankly on the edge of the bed, lost in thought. Only her face, hidden in the darkness, was filled with loneliness.

Volume Two: Eagle Soars Through the Sky 126 Ruthless Determination for the Future

In the recent battle to capture Tokyo, Zhao Huan withdrew to the rear with Qin Hui and his accomplice shortly after the fighting began. Zhong Shidao and Zong Ze, along with young generals such as Yue Fei and Han Shizhong, fought on the front lines. Except for Zhong Shidao, the others were unaware that Zhao Huan would withdraw midway and were all focused on dealing with the Jin army that had come out in full force.

As the battle raged, Zhong Shidao suddenly received a report from his subordinates that a cavalry force of nearly a thousand men had deserted from the battlefield at the western side gate of Dongjing (Kaifeng). At this moment, the Jin army was at a disadvantage; why weren't they supporting the battle? Were they deserters? Everyone was puzzled, but Yue Fei suddenly remembered Qin Zhen and Zhao Gou's instructions from a few days ago and said warily, "This group of men isn't deserters; it's probably a trap!"

Since there was a trap, they couldn't blindly pursue them. Just as they were hesitating, bad news arrived—Zhao Huan had been captured alive!

It turned out that the cavalry bypassed the battlefield and went directly to the rear to block Zhao Huan's retreat route, catching him red-handed. Zhao Huan was only accompanied by Qin Hui and a few hundred infantrymen, how could he possibly be a match for a thousand elite cavalrymen?

The battle came to an abrupt end, and the Jurchens, who were at a disadvantage, turned the tide again, retreating to Bianjing (Kaifeng) with the captured Zhao Huan and Qin Hui. The Song army was thrown into chaos, and urgent reports were quickly sent back to Bianjing.

Like a bolt from the blue, the entire Song court was shocked. When Zhao Gou and his ministers read the urgent report, he slammed his fist on the table and made a gesture as if he wanted to go to the front lines immediately to rescue his brother.

The ministers hurriedly stopped him. It was a fact that the emperor was trapped. The already chaotic court needed someone to calm it down. How could he, as the regent, leave Bianjing to risk his life on the front line at this time?

Therefore, the only option was to send all the capable generals, such as Tong Guan and Wang Jun, to the front lines. Meanwhile, Li Gang and Liang Shicheng were dispatched to Tokyo to negotiate with the Jin. For a time, the entire court and the public were on edge.

Just as everything was arranged, another piece of bad news reached the court: the young prince Zhao Yi had been murdered by Consort Zhu and his whereabouts were unknown. Zhu Xuan's body was retrieved from the back lake, the clues went cold, and the prince was nowhere to be found!

Zhu had already been crippled by these successive blows and was bedridden, his illness incurable. The ministers sensed something was amiss, and their gazes towards Zhao Gou held a hint of unease. But who dared to utter a word of doubt about the Regent during this crisis? They would likely be the first to be beheaded as wicked individuals plotting against the Regent and sowing discord!

Zhao Gou was unaware of what was happening in the palace beforehand. Upon hearing the news, his first thought was of Qin Zhen, so that evening he arranged to meet Qin Zhen in a secluded corner of the palace.

Qin Zhen didn't try to hide anything and directly told Zhao Gou that she had used Zhu Xuan to send the prince out of the palace. After listening, Zhao Gou frowned and said, "There are many ways to get out of their obstacle in the future. It's too early for you to act now. It will only arouse suspicion."

"If we take action later... that child won't survive."

Zhao Gou asked in surprise, "You don't intend to get rid of him?"

“I will give him a new identity, and he will live like an ordinary person, without getting in your way in the slightest.”

Qin Zhen's eyes turned cold, and Zhao Gou knew he couldn't force her to do anything more ruthless. He only asked, "Who knows about this? Is it safe to do it?"

"Yuqin handled everything in the palace. The others didn't know. When they arrived outside the palace, they were handed over to the Flower Blowing Society without being told about the child's identity. There's no need to worry."

Zhao Gou nodded, then added with concern, "I don't know if this matter will implicate you, so you must be careful."

Qin Zhen nodded in response and then asked him, "What do you plan to do about the Emperor?"

After a moment of silence, Zhao Gou said, "You know, I have no other way to go."

With a sigh, Qin Zhen said, "I hope we've done the right thing. I just hope that at the end of the road, we can see a prosperous Song Dynasty."

"Rest assured, I will definitely build a prosperous Song Dynasty for you!" Zhao Gou was in high spirits and full of confidence. The moonlight shone between the two of them, making him look as holy as if he were draped in radiance.

Qin Zhen gradually became immersed in his confidence and thought to herself, "Let me believe him for a while!"

On the fourth day of the seventh lunar month in the height of summer, Zhao Gou stood atop the city wall and held a rally to send off the soldiers and ministers who were supporting the front lines. In this perilous situation, the people were already filled with grief, and Zhao Gou's impassioned speech won them over, bringing tears to the eyes of countless brave men.

Amidst the soldiers' roars, Zhao Gou stood on the city tower, gazing far to the north, silently saying in his heart: "Brother, when we reach the Yellow Springs, I will atone for my sins to you..."

By the end of July, a total of 300,000 troops were arrayed outside the city of Tokyo, surrounding it like an iron barrel, preventing even a mosquito from escaping. Li Gang, as the envoy for negotiations, repeatedly requested to enter the city for talks, but was refused each time by the Jin people. Until one day in August, Qin Hui was suddenly hoisted down from the city wall. Everyone rushed to rescue him and carried him back to the camp.

Qin Hui, breathing weakly, said, "Generals, sirs, please save the Emperor... These are the conditions proposed by the Jurchens, you must carry them out quickly..."

Qin Hui pulled a letter from his chest. Everyone unfolded it and read it, but then looked at each other in disbelief. The Jin people's offer was that the Song people conquer the Liao dynasty for them, and then hand it over to them. This was truly…

Li Gang responded quickly, promising that the two capitals, Zhong and Shang, currently controlled by the Song army, could be handed over to the Jin people, and the capital, Dongjing, which the Jin people currently occupied, could also be given to them. However, the two capitals, Xi and Nan, which belonged to the Liao people, were beyond their control, and he hoped to have face-to-face negotiations with the Jin people.

The reply was sent out, but there was no response for several days. Just as everyone was anxiously waiting for a reply, Tokyo was suddenly engulfed in flames and the sound of cannons boomed one night. The Song army watched from outside the city, wondering what had happened inside. Until the next day, the city walls of Tokyo were covered with mourning clothes. Emperor Taizu of Jin, Wanyan Aguda, had been assassinated the night before!

The Jin people directly accused the Song people of sending troops to launch a sneak attack and showing no sincerity. In retaliation, Emperor Qinzong of Song would become a martyr for Wanyan Aguda!

The veteran officials were all terrified. They had done nothing wrong, so how could they let the emperor die in vain? How could they explain this to the court?