Reborn in Liangshan: I built the strongest lineup

Li Gang was demoted.

Not only him, but everyone who knelt at the palace gates and refused to leave in the past few days, hoping to see Zhao Ji, has been demoted.

Those who knelt halfway through the process were instead promoted.

This made everyone's hearts sink even further.

Whether they were pro-war or pro-peace factions, no one dared to persuade Emperor Huizong not to go.

This made Zhao Ji feel very comfortable. Right, he was the emperor, and how could a subject make the emperor feel annoyed?

"Yang Daban, Xiao Gao, how's the troop assembly going?"

Emperor Huizong has been quite busy lately, spending all his time practicing with the guards in the palace.

How to practice?

Thick bedding was laid on the floor of a large hall, and then Emperor Huizong, dressed in short clothes, had his guards practice wrestling with him inside the hall.

Because the ground was covered with thick, soft bedding, falling down didn't hurt at all, so Zhao Ji could move around freely there.

To become a royal guard, these people must be skilled in manual labor, and they can't just be skilled in manual labor; they also need to be observant.

For example, the guards who are currently training Zhao Ji are very perceptive.

Whenever Emperor Huizong (Zhao Ji) wrestled with them, they would take the opportunity to fall at the "appropriate" moment, giving Emperor Huizong a great sense of accomplishment!

After a few days of this constant falling, Zhao Ji's confidence actually grew from the fall.

Emperor Huizong now feels incredibly powerful!

Can't you see that none of the guards around you are a match for you?

Besides wrestling, Zhao Ji has also been practicing swordsmanship these past few days.

He wore golden armor, held his own sword, and fought against the guards who held wooden swords.

What's the point of such sparring? Whenever Zhao Ji felt he might lose, he would use his sword to cut the weapon in the guard's hand and force a victory!

Of course, the guards were very cooperative. Whenever Zhao Ji broke their wooden swords, they would readily admit defeat.

This made Zhao Ji feel even more capable.

In his opinion, apart from his equestrian skills which haven't been trained yet, he seems to be very strong in everything else!

Yang Jian and Gao Kan were always there for him during his training sessions, which made Zhao Ji feel even more affection for them.

"Eunuch Yang, please speak."

Gao Kan would never steal the spotlight, so when Zhao Ji asked a question, he took the initiative to let Yang Jian speak.

“Lord Gao, you are a member of the Privy Council. This matter of troop deployment is something you need to decide.”

Yang Jian still wore a harmless smile, but he didn't say much either. His meaning was clear: he was only responsible for matters within the inner court and would never overstep his bounds.

Old fox.

Gao Kan looked at Yang Jian's smiling face and cursed inwardly, but on the surface, he continued to smile.

"Your Majesty, the Imperial Guards are ready. The ten Imperial Guard units stationed in the capital, including the Pengqi Ri, Tianwu, Longxiang, and Huyi, have each contributed 5,000 men, for a total of 50,000."

"The elite troops from the five routes of Hedong Road, Jingxi North Road, Jingxi South Road, Jingxi East Road, and Huainan East Road have already assembled outside the city, with 20,000 troops from each route, totaling 100,000."

"Only 150,000 people have been gathered?"

Emperor Huizong (Zhao Ji) remarked, "Isn't 150,000 people a bit too few? It doesn't reflect his abilities!"

"Your Majesty, another 50,000 troops from Hebei East Road and Hebei West Road have already been dispatched to the border ahead of schedule."

During this northern tour, Emperor Huizong issued a mobilization order. Although the officials of the Song Dynasty did not understand his thoughts, they still had to obey the orders.

And so, by pooling resources from several sources, they managed to gather an army of 200,000 men for him!

"Two hundred thousand? That's fine."

Zhao Ji said he was satisfied with the 200,000.

“But Xiao Gao, that’s still not enough. Here’s what I’m doing: ask around Liangzhe Road, Jiangnan East Road, and Jiangnan West Road, and get me another 100,000 men.”

"Your Majesty, Lord Zhang Shuye is still fighting in Liangzhe Road."

"Is Uncle Zhang still fighting? Didn't he say he won last time? Who is he fighting now?"

Zhao Ji was somewhat surprised; the battle in Liangzhe Road wasn't over yet.

"It's still about Fang La."

"Still with Fang La?"

Emperor Huizong was somewhat surprised.

"Then what was the one that won last time?"

"Your Majesty, we did win the last battle, but Lord Zhang wrote that Fang La has too many followers, so they are still locked in a tug-of-war around Hangzhou. However, the good news is that Lord Zhang now has an absolute advantage and is currently suppressing Fang La."

"Zhang Shuye, he boasts as if he's some great hero, but what's the result? He's been fighting Fang La for so long? And when I needed troops, he couldn't even muster any to support me?"

Zhao Ji shook his head, expressing his dissatisfaction with Zhang Shuye's indecisive behavior.

"Then let Fujian Road send people, I still need 100,000 people anyway."

"Yes, Your Majesty! I will immediately issue an emergency transfer order to Fujian Circuit upon my return!"

Gao Kan said it was no problem, it didn't matter which route sent people.

"Yang Daban, do you think that this time, with my 300,000 troops, we can take advantage of the internal strife in Liao to reclaim Yan and Yun?"

"His Majesty is accomplished in both literature and military affairs, and this time he has personally led the expedition. I believe that soon, the people of our Great Song Dynasty will be singing praises of His Majesty's merits! A great emperor for all ages!"

Yang Jian continued to flatter Zhao Ji with a smile.

"I wouldn't call myself the greatest emperor of all time. First Emperor Qin Shi Huang is first, Emperor Taizong of Tang is second, and I'll just be third."

Emperor Huizong of Song was quite modest.

"The Holy One is wise!"

……

News from the Zhao Song dynasty had not yet reached Ren Yuan.

However, Dayi has now consolidated its territory in Northeast China, with Liaoyang as its center.

Thanks to the presence of many Han Chinese in these areas, and the increasingly corrupt rule of the Liao dynasty in recent years, the Dayi dynasty's takeover of the territory proceeded relatively smoothly.

"Shi Qian, how's the intelligence gathering in the Northeast? My brother needs it."

Xiao Jiasui and Xu Guanzhong entered a large mansion in Liaoyang, which temporarily became the command center of the Tianmu Army, where all intelligence was gathered.

The people Shi Qian trained have become very professional over the years, and even in a new environment, they quickly set up this intelligence center.

“My two advisors, you can tell from how busy everyone here is that we are working hard to finish this project.”

Shi Qian is really working hard, but he's the only one here for now. Ma Ling is still on her way, so all the pressure is on Shi Qian alone.

This reminded Shi Qian of when he first came up the mountain and started from scratch, and now he has to manage a larger territory and handle more things.

"Of course I know you're busy, and your brother knows it too, so I came early today to let you prepare. Your brother will probably ask you for the latest information in two or three days, so don't be unable to say anything then."

They were all good brothers, so they should help each other. Xiao Jiasui was also understanding of Shi Qian. Xu Guanzhong was also looking around the intelligence center and nodded frequently, expressing his approval of Tianmu's professionalism.

"Then I thank you both, strategists. By the way, I now have information about the Jurchen situation."

Shi Qian opened the cabinet, took out a locked box, and used the key hidden in his pocket to open the box and take out a letter.

"Thanks to the brothers who were arranged to lie in wait, we were able to find out some information about the Jurchens. It seems that the Jurchens also know that we have taken Tokyo, and they are now preparing to send someone to negotiate with us."

"The Jurchens want to talk to us?"

Xiao Jiahui raised an eyebrow. Really? The Jurchens are going to negotiate peace?

"Yes, it seems they intend for us to join forces with them and then attack the Liao people from both the north and south!"

"That's a good idea. How will they negotiate? Will both sides bring their troops to the border for a meeting?"

Xu Guanzhong asked.

"No, they sent one of their imperial sons-in-law to meet with us in private."

A meaningful smile appeared on Shi Qian's face.

"Look at that smile of yours... Is there something wrong with this prince consort? Do we know this person?"

Xiao Jiahui and Shi Qian were very familiar with each other, and seeing his expression, Xiao Jiahui roughly guessed what was going on.

"As expected of Military Advisor Xiao, this prince consort is indeed someone we know. Military Advisor Xiao, why don't you guess who he is?"

……