The video takes us to ancient times; Li Er transforms into the Tongtian Emperor of Shu Han.

Upon hearing Yue Fei's words, Yu Yunwen's first reaction was disbelief.

"Grand Commandant Yue, are you toying with me?"

He was on his way after receiving the imperial edict, and was indeed not very clear about all the events that were happening in the court.

But he knew perfectly well how deeply entrenched the civil officials, led by Tang Situi, had become.

Let alone capturing all twenty-odd of them, even just arresting Tang Situi alone would shake the entire officialdom.

Countless people would petition the emperor to retire, but if His Majesty insisted on not allowing it, then someone would have to organize a plea to the retired emperor to restore the throne.

Even without the Jurchen invasion, the Song Dynasty would still be in great turmoil at that time!

"Just kidding?"

"To tell you the truth, His Majesty bestowed upon me the Imperial Sword, granting me the authority to act as I see fit and to execute first and report later."

"Do you think I would hesitate to act if I had that kind of power in my hands?"

Yue Fei smiled.

"Of course, after taking down those people, I also obtained evidence of their collusion with the Jurchens."

With irrefutable evidence, the court will certainly be shaken, but the officials will have no reason to ask Zhao Shen to release the prisoners, nor will they have any grounds to ask the retired emperor to restore the throne!

"...Was this done somewhat recklessly?"

Although Tang Situi and others met such an end, Yu Yunwen felt extremely relieved.

But while it was satisfying, the method was far too crude.

Tang Situi has been arrested, but what about his cronies, and those he promoted?

If you continue to use it, aren't you afraid they'll harbor resentment and intentionally harm the foundation of the nation?

If not, where will we find so many qualified radishes to fill the gaps in a short period of time?

"Although it's a bit of a headache, these problems are not insurmountable."

"Encourage the soldiers below to exchange enemy heads for military merits, and military merits can be exchanged for official positions, with no upper limit, and everyone can be ennobled and appointed as prime minister."

"Next, I will focus on training troops. As long as we can return the old capital in the upcoming Northern Expedition, the talents promoted through military merit will be able to fill these gaps."

Even though he was talking about solutions, Yu Yunwen felt a chill run down his spine.

what are you saying?

Do you want to listen to what you are saying?

Is this how you solve the problem? You're clearly dragging the Song Dynasty into an abyss!

"Grand Commandant Yue, do you know what this means?!"

From the few words he had just spoken, Yu Yunwen had already figured out what he wanted to do.

Rewarding military merits was a practice in every dynasty, and there was nothing wrong with that.

But if all soldiers could exchange military merits for titles and official positions, wouldn't that be a replica of the old Qin Dynasty's military merit system, or even worse?

Do you know why the Qin Dynasty perished?

"Of course I know."

Yue Fei nodded, but there was no sign of reflection on his face.

"But as you can see, the court is in such a state now. If we don't find a way to change it, the Song Dynasty will perish sooner or later."

"Do you want the Song Dynasty to perish in weakness, or do you want to fight as hard as possible, at least to drag the Jin Dynasty down with it into the abyss, don't you think?"

He knew, of course, that a purely meritocratic system had countless flaws, and many of those flaws could even lead to the downfall of a nation.

However, its boost to the combat effectiveness of the soldiers below is undeniable.

"The officials will not allow you to implement this, and if you do so, you will become a sinner against the Song Dynasty!"

Yu Yunwen considers himself to be a radical.

But now, even he, a radical, feels that Yue Fei's actions were too radical!

"So what? At most, I'll be torn apart by chariots like Shang Yang. I've died once, so I'm not afraid to die again."

"And in my opinion, if it were to happen again and I were to watch the Song Dynasty perish in weakness, then I would be the sinner!"

The principle of using harsh measures in times of chaos is always true!

Yu Yunwen: "..."

He didn't know what to say.

Rationally speaking, he felt he should persuade Yue Fei to abandon such a proposition.

But emotionally, he couldn't bring himself to offer advice.

Now that the immortals have reviewed the records, the Jin people have made changes.

They advanced their southward journey ahead of schedule and are now waiting for the Song Dynasty to come and negotiate and admit defeat, acting as victors.

If things proceed normally, they will take the cities they have captured and the reparations from the Song Dynasty back to further strengthen the Jin Dynasty's military.

This is the vicious cycle that the Song Dynasty is currently experiencing.

Whether they are unable to win or dare not fight, the result is the same: weakening their own national strength to strengthen local forces.

If this continues, history will unfold as the immortals predicted.

The Jin dynasty was plagued by internal strife, its national strength plummeted to its lowest point, and it was then crushed by the Mongol cavalry. Along with it, the Southern Song dynasty, which was confined to a corner of the country, was also destroyed without any power to fight back.

He knew that what Yue Fei wanted to do was break this cycle, starting from this moment!

Even if we lose the Huai River region, we will never negotiate peace.

Even though the Jurchens captured several cities with the help of inside agents like Tang Situi, he did not want the war to end in this manner!

The two looked at each other in silence. After a long while, Yu Yunwen let out a long sigh.

"Fortunately, I won't live much longer either. I'm not even afraid of Yue Taiwei, who died once before. What do I, an old man, have to be afraid of?"

"You're right. If the Song Dynasty is truly going to perish, then it should perish with some dignity!"

"Leave the coastal defenses to me. Go back and prepare. The Jurchens will not be able to break through the defenses for at least six months."

"One year."

Yue Fei raised one finger.

Six months is not enough.

"...One year is fine, as long as I live, I will never let the Jin army march south!"

Yu Yunwen nodded with a wry smile.

Three days later, after confirming that the defenses he had set up relying on the natural barriers were no longer a problem, Yue Fei prepared to return to Lin'an to resolve the issues in the court.

However, on this very day, the Jurchens, who had been waiting for the Song envoy for so long, became restless.

In the past, after they won a series of victories, the envoys of the Song Dynasty would often arrive immediately to admit defeat and then list the compensation.

This time, however, the Song Dynasty envoy seemed to have disappeared and was nowhere to be found.

Among them, the Jin general Pusan ​​Zhongyi and his subordinates discussed the matter and decided to send an envoy across the river to check the situation.

"Why don't you people of your small country send envoys to show your sincerity in submitting?"

"Do you really want my Jin cavalry to cross the Yangtze River and annihilate you all?"

In the military camp, Yue Fei had just finished packing his bags when he heard someone shouting in the Jin language outside the tent.

He stepped out of the tent and was greeted by a large number of soldiers surrounding three golden figures.

Facing these hundreds of Song soldiers, the Jurchens showed no fear whatsoever, instead indulging in sarcastic remarks and mockery.

"what happened?"

Yue Fei casually grabbed a soldier and asked him.

"Grand Commandant, these three are envoys sent by the Jin Dynasty. They are asking why our Song Dynasty's peace envoys have not yet arrived. Is it... is it..."

"Do they want their country to perish?"

Yue Fei added with a cold laugh.

"I thought none of you could understand me."

"Now that you understand what they're yelling about, are you just going to watch and listen like this?"

"Are the knives in your hands just for decoration?!"