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

The news of Xiangzhou's fall quickly reached Shangjing, causing widespread panic throughout the city as people feared the Song army would storm the city.

Upon hearing this news, Wanyan Lie miraculously recovered from his illness overnight and returned to power in the court with renewed vigor.

It was at this moment that Wanyan Zongbi returned to Shangjing with his personal guards and was immediately summoned to a side hall by Wanyan Lie.

"Father, I am truly sorry. Xiangzhou Prefecture has fallen. After the Song army was equipped with Chu's firearms, no matter how strong the city walls were, they could not withstand such a barrage of bombardment."

Wanyan Zongbi knelt before Wanyan Lie, looking utterly dejected, no longer displaying the demeanor of a renowned general.

At that moment, Wanyan Lie was enjoying his lunch.

He grabbed a handful of shredded mutton and ordered the maid beside him to bring some jujubes. He put them all on a plate and began to eat them heartily.

The maidservant beside him carefully poured the mare's milk wine she was holding into a golden bowl on the table.

After hearing Wanyan Zongbi's words, Wanyan Lie's face remained completely expressionless, as calm as still water.

After he finished the mutton scraps on his plate and drank a sip of mare's milk wine, he picked up the golden bowl and said, "I feel we cannot so easily lose the gateway to Xiangzhou."

Without the barriers, Yue Fei's army would advance without any obstacles. What do you think?

Wanyan Zongbi: "But Father, we have already lost Xiangzhou Prefecture, that is a fact."

Wanyan Lie put down the golden bowl and glanced at his fourth son.

This glance sent a chill down Wanyan Zongbi's spine; his eyes were filled with distrust and deep disappointment.

"The fall of Xiangzhou was entirely your fault. If you had been able to continue commanding the army to hold out,..."

How could someone so determined to fight the enemy to the death have fallen to this state?

Wanyan Zongbi was taken aback: "Father, I really did my best."

"What I want is not whether someone tries their best or not, but the ability to make decisions independently!" Wanyan Lie interrupted Wanyan Zongbi without any attempt to hide his feelings.

"The complete annihilation of Wanyan Loushi's army on the banks of the Bian River was also due to your fear of battle and reluctance to advance."

If your army had reached the Bian River on time and joined Wanyan Loushi, Wanyan Loushi wouldn't have died, and my battle-hardened army wouldn't have been sunk in one battle.

The situation wouldn't have deteriorated to this point of no return, so it's all your responsibility.

Wanyan Zongbi clenched his fists, extremely dissatisfied that Wanyan Lie had pinned the blame for Wanyan Loushi's death on him.

"What, you don't accept it?"

Wanyan Lie snorted coldly and continued to eat the minced mutton.

"I don't dare."

Wanyan Zongbi could only suppress his anger.

After finishing his meal, Wanyan Lie wiped his mouth with a handkerchief and then asked a maid to pour him another half bowl of mare's milk wine.

"As I just said, we cannot lose Xiangzhou Prefecture like this; we must find a way to take it back."

Wanyan Zongbi's eyes widened immediately: "Father, Xiangzhou has fallen, and Yue Fei has obtained a lot of military supplies. We have no way to recapture Xiangzhou now."

"That's your problem."

"Father, what does this mean?"

Wanyan Lie stood up and patted him on the shoulder.

“As the fourth prince of my Great Jin, you should not have returned in such a sorry state. You should have led your troops to retake Xiangzhou.”

Wanyan Zongbi was taken aback, but after meeting Wanyan Lie's gaze for a moment, he immediately understood his intention.

"Father, are you planning to send your son to his death?"

"What nonsense are you spouting? You are my son, the pride of my Wanyan family! I'd rather send anyone else to their death than let you die!"

Wanyan Lie loudly stopped Wanyan Zongbi from speaking.

"I trust you because among my many sons, you are the most capable fighter!"

"I believe that you will be able to retake Xiangzhou Prefecture with your wisdom."

After speaking, Wanyan Lie continued to sit at the dining table and slowly began to enjoy his lunch.

"hehe."

Wanyan Zongbi gave a self-deprecating laugh and slowly stood up.

"Since it is Father's request, then I will certainly share Father's burdens. However, before I leave..."

"I have a question that has been troubling me for a long time, and I hope that my father can give me a satisfactory answer."

Wanyan Lie picked up the mare's milk wine without saying a word, seemingly knowing what Wanyan Zongbi wanted to ask.

"Father, in your heart, no matter what I do, I am no match for my elder brother Zongwang, right?"

Wanyan Lie's hand holding the golden bowl trembled slightly. After a long while, he said, "If your elder brother hadn't died, he would have been the most suitable successor for my Great Jin."

"Father truly deserves to be called a great ruler. Even at this point, he is unwilling to say a single word to deceive his son."

Even though he had already guessed the answer, Wanyan Zongbi still felt a sharp pain in his heart when he heard Wanyan Lie say those words with his own ears.

“Father, I will definitely take back Xiangzhou Prefecture and prove it to you with my actions.”

Leaving behind a single sentence, Wanyan Zongbi turned and walked out of the side hall.

"If you reclaim Xiangzhou Prefecture, you will be the Crown Prince of the Great Jin Dynasty!"

Watching his son's departing figure, Wanyan Lie presented his final condition.

Wanyan Zongbi stopped, took a deep breath, and turned his head to reply, "Father, please take care. I have mobilized all the able-bodied men in the four prefectures to gather in Shangjing. If I do not return, Shangjing will depend on you, Father."

After saying that, he strode out of the side hall.

"Cough cough cough..."

No sooner had he left than Wanyan Lie began to cough violently.

After a long while, he unfolded the silk handkerchief, and saw a patch of bright red on it.

……

On both sides of the streets of Shangjing, all the Jin people looked dejected as they watched a cavalry unit, weathered by time, march out of the city.

The cavalrymen on horseback were listless, their faces filled with numbness and despair, and the trembling of their hooves echoed with the slight shaking of their armor plates.

Four hundred iron cavalrymen, having just returned to the capital a day ago, embarked on another journey, heading to a battlefield where there was no hope of victory.

Taking back Xiangzhou is an impossible task.

Wanyan Zongbi pulled on the reins and strolled through the street.

The city gate opened for a moment, but Wanyan Wo stopped him in time: "Fourth brother, this is no different from sending yourself to your death, don't go!"

Wanyan Zongbi gave a bitter smile: "Perhaps this is my destiny. Third brother, after I leave, I entrust the capital and Father to you."

After saying this, he led his troops out of the city and slowly headed towards the unknown battlefield.

……

Inside Xiangzhou Prefecture, after Yue Fei reorganized Zhong Lue's troops into an independent brigade, he began to prepare his army to march towards Beijing.

During this time, he was waiting for the perfect opportunity to fight the Jurchens.

With the fall of Xiangzhou Prefecture, the core areas of the four prefectures of the Jin people will be without fortresses to block their way, and the independent brigade can sweep through the city of Shangjing with overwhelming force.

Yue Fei judged that the capable troops from the four prefectures would surely gather in Shangjing, and that he could take advantage of the situation to directly eradicate the Jurchens in one battle.

Just then, Han Ming reported: "Commander, we have spotted Jurchen cavalry approaching from twenty miles away."

"What did you say?"

Upon hearing this, Yue Fei found it unbelievable. At such a time, how could the Jurchens still have the strength to launch a counterattack?

"Have you ascertained the size of their forces? Who is their commander?"

"Less than five hundred cavalry, and the commander-in-chief was none other than Wanyan Zongbi."

Upon hearing this, Yue Fei paused for a moment, then immediately ordered: "Notify the Second Battalion of the Second Regiment to launch an immediate attack."