Tangli Fried Snow

Five days ago.

Jin Yan and his deputy were holding a war meeting. They concluded that Duan Jingyu was just a greenhorn who had just crossed the Yangtze River after a long march. The army was exhausted and had not rested before hastily engaging in a counterattack against the Northern Army. They were worried that he was too inexperienced.

Jin Yan said, "Guan Hai, you take three thousand men to test the waters first. It would be best to lure them to the soft wetlands so that their cavalry cannot be effective. Then I will lead men to flank them from behind and cut off their path."

Lin Guanhai accepted the order and went to deploy troops.

The Jin family army lured the enemy into a trap, penetrating deep into enemy territory and winning a brilliant surprise attack.

The enemy was exhausted and demoralized. Scouts reported that there were 20,000 troops on the other side, which they easily routed. However, after the victory, they discovered that the numbers and the number of warhorses were incorrect.

A messenger came to report: "General, the headcount is complete. Our army suffered 1,800 casualties, while the enemy annihilated 2,800."

Captain Liu interjected, "We didn't find a single hair on Duan Jingyu's head."

Lin Guanhai asked, "Where is that kid and the rest of the army?"

No one answered him.

He didn't receive the message until the next morning. Duan Jingyu had led 5,000 men in a midnight raid on the Tiger Head Army's headquarters and kidnapped his precious son.

Jin Yan stood in the main tent, his face ashen, staring at the military report in his hand, and lashed out at several of his subordinates.

He's been playing with eagles all his life, yet he got his eye pecked by a little sparrow.

He was restless. The eldest son of the Jin family was in poor health and had to take medicine all year round. He loved this youngest son the most, but now he had been captured by the enemy and he didn't know if he was still alive.

Seeing that General Jin was in a state of panic, Lin Guanhai immediately said to him, "General, Duan Jingyu must have captured Jin Cheng to hinder our main force and get his father and sister back. You should quickly report to the Empress in the palace and ask her to send someone to the prison to find Duan Yuanshan and make him write a letter of divorce to his son. You must save the young master's life."

After pondering for a moment, Jin Yan immediately picked up his pen and wrote a letter to his daughter, which he then had Lin Guanhai tie to the leg of a carrier pigeon and send back to the palace.

He then sent several trusted confidants to Duan Jingyu's camp to negotiate, striving to protect his son at all costs.

The battle reached a stalemate.

. . .

The Imperial Palace of the Capital.

A magnificent sedan chair stopped at the Tingying Hall, where the prime minister and six ministers were waiting for the empress to hold a meeting.

There were more than twenty people serving behind them, and six or seven eunuchs and palace maids serving in front.

Empress Jin wore a magnificent bright red palace dress, adorned with a phoenix and auspicious cloud hairpin, and a kingfisher feather nine-tailed phoenix hairpin hanging on both sides. Her makeup and styling were exquisite and showed her refined taste.

No amount of pomp and circumstance could conceal her unique beauty. She wasn't the kind of exquisitely beautiful woman; her face was slightly long, her nose slightly curved, and her lips full. Individually, each feature had a minor flaw. However, combined with her charming eyes and special demeanor, she possessed an irresistible allure. Furthermore, her current high status, wealthy family, and the emperor's favoritism and reliance on her gave her an even more powerful and distinctive aura.

The personal maid, Yuanyang, stepped forward and helped the Empress Jin. The tinkling of her jade pendants rang out as she gracefully rose and stepped down from the sedan chair. A sharp glance swept across the room, and several eunuchs came to report to her on the day's major events.

The old eunuch first recounted the minutes of the basic national policies discussed by the six ministries that day, then the minutes of major military and national affairs, and finally lowered his voice to say, "Your Majesty, a personal letter from General Jin Yan has arrived from the south today. Would you like to read it now?"

Empress Jin frowned slightly, raised her hand to tidy her temples, and said, "Give it to me."

The old eunuch hurriedly presented the note. After reading it, Empress Jin stopped, closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and handed the note back to the old eunuch, saying, "Take this to Lord Shen to see first."

"Yes, Your Majesty." The old eunuch accepted the order and hurriedly ran to the main hall.

Empress Jin slowed her pace, instructing her personal maid on her left as she walked, "Lily."

"Yes, Your Majesty," the clever palace maid replied.

“Go and invite Princess Yaoguang to the Peony Pavilion. Tell her that I miss her and want to see her.”

"Yes, Your Majesty." Lily accepted the order and turned to leave.

Wherever she went, whether they were palace maids or concubines, they all stood on both sides to pay their respects. Officials who had just finished court would also bow and pay their respects, not daring to raise their heads.

Empress Jin slowly walked into Tingying Palace.

A eunuch's high-pitched voice announced, "Her Majesty the Empress has arrived!"

All the ministers stood up and bowed respectfully.

Empress Jin took her seat, and then everyone else sat down. The vast palace was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. All eyes were on the beautiful empress, and everyone held their breath, waiting for her to speak.

Empress Jin glanced around, carefully observing the expressions of the assembled officials, and then softly spoke: "Our Great Song Dynasty rose to power through military prowess, producing numerous renowned generals. Zhao Yun, Zhao Dun, Li Mu, and other virtuous ancestors all achieved unparalleled military exploits. After the founding of the nation, no one without military merit could be granted a title. Without this martial spirit, the Song Dynasty would likely have long since vanished. Our soldiers on the front lines fight bravely against the enemy, and we are their strong support."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Her gaze fell on Shen Shibai: "I didn't expect that the rebels would produce a military genius?"

Shen Shibai quickly replied, "It was just a little trick; it won't affect the battle."

The old prime minister snorted coldly, clearly disagreeing with Shen Shibai's words.

"What does Your Excellency think?" Empress Jin stared at the old prime minister with her phoenix eyes.

The old prime minister pondered for a moment and then said, "I wonder if Duan Mubai has put forward any conditions?"

Shen Shibai replied, "There is no letter from the Duan family's military camp."

The old prime minister said, "Our northern army has always had 20,000 soldiers. In order to resist the harassment of the barbarians, we have been stationed on the northwestern frontier for many years, which has cost a lot of manpower and money. This time, the southern rebellion has caused us to go on a long expedition, which has greatly depleted our national strength. The best strategy is to surrender the enemy's troops without fighting."

He insisted, "Why not send Princess Yaoguang back and exchange her for Jin Cheng?"

Everyone had different expressions, and they all held their breath, no one daring to speak.

Empress Jin snorted coldly: "Yaoguang is the Crown Prince's fiancée. The wedding hasn't even been held yet. How can we send the bride back for my good-for-nothing brother? Where will that leave the Princess's face? What will happen to the Crown Prince's fine marriage? Would the Prime Minister be willing to marry his precious granddaughter to the Crown Prince?" She paused and then said, "Why not send the one in the prison back and make the Southern Army withdraw and stop fighting?"

Shen Shibai immediately said, "Duan Yuanshan poisoned the Emperor. We absolutely cannot let him go like this. Where is the law? Where is the face of the imperial family?"

Lu Tingwei stood up and said, "Prince Duan has been in prison for more than twenty days and has not admitted to poisoning His Majesty. There must be something fishy about this."

Empress Jin snorted coldly, "Hmph! It's all because the Ministry of Justice is incompetent. Torture him for a few days, and he'll confess!"