Fearing being killed for his overwhelming merits, the empress decided to marry him.

As the war between the Song and Jin dynasties raged, the garrison in Bianjing was thrown into chaos upon learning of the fall of the Bianhe camp and the annihilation of the entire martial arts force.

The day after Ye Fan returned to the capital, the Jin army crossed the river and launched an offensive against Bianjing.

As soon as the battle began, the Song army commander gradually came to his senses from the chaos and unease, and began to resist in an orderly manner.

With the command of the military commanders, the defending soldiers finally rekindled their fighting spirit, abandoned all illusions, and devoted themselves wholeheartedly to the battle.

Thanks to the astonishing perseverance and orderly command of the defending soldiers, they repelled six waves of Jin army attacks in just one day.

This surprised Wanyan Zongbi, who had been confident of victory, so he decided to temporarily abandon the attack on Bianjing and wait for Wanyan Loushi's army to join him before launching the attack.

Two days later, Wanyan Loushi's army successfully joined forces with Wanyan Zongbi's troops and launched a joint attack on the walls of Bianjing.

As a result, for five consecutive days, the Jin army was unable to breach the city wall, which was four zhang thick, except for leaving behind a pile of corpses of their comrades at the foot of the wall.

The war has once again reached a stalemate.

Little did they know that while the Jin army was troubled about how to conquer Bianjing, the emperor and his ministers in the Bianliang Palace were also worried about the current war.

Upon learning of the Jin army's fierce attack on Bianjing, the young Zhao Huan once again revealed the bewilderment he had shown when he first ascended the throne.

Even though the defending soldiers are fighting hard to kill the enemy and defend this city, which symbolizes the center of the Song Dynasty, with their own flesh and blood, they cannot soothe the fear in the hearts of Zhao Huan and the court officials.

They unanimously agreed that Bianjing was definitely not going to hold out, and the most urgent task was to find a way to meet all the Jurchens' demands.

Upon hearing the news of the Jin army's fierce attack, Zhao Ji, who was living in the Eastern Palace, immediately ordered his men to pack their belongings overnight, intending to flee to Jinghe Prefecture for refuge. Fortunately, Zhao Huan insisted on keeping him there.

However, the military officers within the palace were determined to carry out the policy of resistance to the end.

"Your Majesty, the most urgent task is to encourage our soldiers to fight bravely and hold out until the reinforcements arrive. Then we should take the initiative to strike and completely thwart the Jin army's plot."

The military officer who spoke was named Guo Huang, Vice Minister of War and Commander of the Left Gate of the Capital, a staunch advocate of war.

When Bianjing was plunged into confusion and despair, he was the first to step forward to stabilize morale and lead the Song army to defend against the Jin army's offensive.

His proposed strategy was to rely on the strong defenses within Bianjing (Kaifeng) and at least three years' worth of supplies until the Jurchens withdrew.

However, Jiang Yuhan and other pro-peace figures raised objections: "Your Majesty, the Jurchens are fierce, and this offensive shows no sign of stopping until the capital is captured."

With the current grain reserves in our capital, I fear it will be insufficient to sustain us until the reinforcements arrive. In my humble opinion, we should negotiate with the Jurchens as soon as possible.

The Jurchens only want gold, silver, and land. We can cede to them the counties north of the Bian River that we have already abandoned.

In this way, the Jurchens will have gained an advantage and will surely leave satisfied.

Upon hearing this, Guo Huang frowned: "Is this something that an official of our Great Song Dynasty should say?"

The territory of the Great Song Dynasty was all won by Emperor Taizu through countless battles. Now, Minister Jiang is so easily surrendering it out of fear of the Jurchens—what a joke!

Jiang Yuhan frowned: "General Guo, this is a compromise I had to make given the current situation."

The Jurchens are undeniably powerful; only by surviving this calamity can we discuss anything else!

"The Jurchens have been attacking for days without success, and their morale is low. As long as the soldiers and civilians of Bianzhou are united, I do not believe that the Jurchens can enter Bianjing City!"

"General Guo, do you dare to take responsibility for your words and actions? My actions are to prevent bloodshed. If we fail to hold the line, can you bear the responsibility?"

“I am a military officer, and I don’t have as many thoughts as you civil officials. I only know that it is our duty to defend the territory, and no one can slack off. Ceding cities and ceding land to the enemy will only embolden them!”

The two exchanged words, which eventually escalated into a shouting match between the two factions in the main hall.

Zhao Huan, however, was like a helpless child, numbly watching the endless strife within the palace.

As for Ye Fan, Zhao Huan did not reprimand him after he returned from the Jin camp, and he remained the Right Chancellor of the Song Dynasty.

But from then on, Zhao Huan never got close to him again, and Ye Fan himself understood that this was a sign that Zhao Huan was beginning to distance himself from him.

But what can we do?

Ye Fan watched the scene of strife in the hall with the same numbness, but what came to mind was his experience of falling from the highest position to this state in the past few months, which truly felt like a lifetime ago.

The noise inside the main hall continued from daytime until noon, until both sides were hoarse from arguing, and then it gradually quieted down.

Lai Ba, the Minister of Rites, said, "Your Majesty, judging by the time, the envoys sent to Yan should be returning in the next few days. As long as Yan is willing to mediate, Jin will definitely be willing to withdraw its troops."

Zhao Huan's eyes lit up immediately: "That's right, there's also the Yan Kingdom. They won't sit idly by and watch our Great Song be destroyed by the Jin. Yes, as long as the Yan Kingdom sends someone to mediate, our Great Song will be safe!"

Upon hearing this, the courtiers all nodded in agreement.

Only Zhou Xianwu frowned and said, "If the Yan Kingdom is unwilling to mediate, then what should we do?"

Xue Congli immediately retorted, "Absolutely impossible! The Yan Kingdom's greatest fear is the rise of the Jurchens. If the Song Dynasty were to be destroyed by the Jurchens..."

Can the Yan state still suppress the Jin state? I believe the Yan envoy is already on his way to the capital.

However, just as Xue Congli finished speaking, a palace attendant ran into the palace.

"Your Majesty, news has come from Yan that Liang Fang demanded bribes in Yan and even attempted to commit adultery with Consort Murong. He has been beheaded by Yan and his head is displayed outside the palace gates."

Upon hearing this, the entire hall fell silent.

Zhao Huan slumped helplessly on the dragon throne, completely at a loss for what to do.

Zhao Huan and all the officials knew Liang Fang's character perfectly well.

Regardless of whether accepting bribes is true or not, it is absolutely impossible that he engaged in debauchery in the Murong royal harem.

Because Liang Fang was a castrated eunuch.

This action by the Yan state sent an important signal: the relationship between Song and Yan had broken down, and Yan supported the destruction of Song.

"This is how to do ah?"

Zhao Huan immediately burst into tears.

"Why has my fate been so bumpy since I ascended the throne?"

The court was filled with wails, creating a desolate atmosphere as if a storm was brewing but there was nowhere to take shelter from it.

"The Song Dynasty is not yet over! What's there to cry about! Stop crying!"

Guo Huang, unable to bear it any longer, loudly rebuked the officials for their ridiculous behavior.

"Our Song army is still fighting the enemy on the front lines, and Bianjing City still stands. Why do you all show such a pessimistic attitude!"

Even if it really comes to the last step, at worst, I can die for my country and still leave my mark on history!

His words were so impassioned and stirring that they instantly stunned the emperor and his ministers in the hall.

"That's right!" Zhou Xianwu shouted encouragingly, "Since peace talks and mediation are useless, we might as well fight the enemy to the bitter end!"

With the million soldiers and civilians of Bianjing united as one, how could we not stop these wild beasts from the wilderness?

Upon hearing this, Zhao Huan was also filled with fervor. He immediately wiped away the tears on his face and revealed a resolute expression.

"Excellent! Lord Zhou speaks so well. At worst, I will die for my country. As the Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty, even if I fight to the last moment and commit suicide, I will die with the dignity of an emperor!"

"Your Majesty is wise!"

With the emperor having said so, the courtiers were naturally filled with fervor and enthusiasm.

Thus, the previously scattered opinions were once again unified under the leadership of Zhou Xianwu and Guo Huang.