One Piece of Song Dynasty

Before nightfall, more than a thousand sea-going ships at the east ferry outside Mingzhou City braved the biting cold wind and heavy rain, carrying the Southern Song Dynasty government-in-exile composed of Zhao Gou, Shao Fen and civil and military ministers, and set sail with the ships. There are also soldiers and ten thousand taels of silver. This is the entire property of the Southern Song Dynasty.

Zhao Gou stood next to the ship's side and witnessed the smoke-filled Mingzhou City in the distance, the roar of cannons, and the raging war. The firelight reflected the hull of the ship and Zhao Gou's solemn face.

On December , the third year of Jianyan's reign, Zhang Jun blocked the elite cavalry of the Jin Army in Mingzhou. He first ordered the commander Liu Bao to lead his troops to block the attack. Liu Bao fought to the death and retreated in defeat. Zhang Jun also ordered Yang Yizhong, Tian Shizhong, and Zhao Mi to fight, but they still failed to win and had no choice but to retreat to the riverside boat. Liu Bao led the army to advance again, but Yang Yizhong also abandoned the boat and landed ashore. All the troops fought to the death. In addition, Liu Hongdao, the defender of Mingzhou, commanded the crossbowmen to shoot hard from the side, defeating the Jin army's elite cavalry.

Although this battle was a small victory, it was recognized as the first major victory of the Southern Song Dynasty in the war against the Jin Dynasty.

Li Qingzhao, Xing'er and a group of five carriages followed the refugee team and followed Zhao Gou's footsteps, arriving at the foot of Siming Mountain in Zhejiang. Among the refugees, there was a mix of men and women, officials and subordinates, all of whom were half-clothed and in a miserable state. Li Qingzhao learned from the refugees that the emperor was in exile at sea and had sailed from Dinghai to Changguo, so he decided to buy a boat and float with the emperor on the sea.

She calculated in her mind that she had already walked several miles from Chizhou to Mingzhou, and Hongzhou was far away from Chiyangli. Zhao Chun should have arrived in Hongzhou by now and buried the car properly. Thinking of this, Li Qingzhao felt much more at ease. Unexpectedly, the carriage she was riding in staggered Aunt Sun and her child who were running tiredly by the roadside. When Li Qingzhao saw Mrs. Song and Fuwa were covered in mud and unkempt, he quickly apologized and said, "I scratched my head and said, "I didn't pick up the child and take him up for a ride. Where did the fight come from?"

"Nothing, thank you eldest sister. We went all the way from Jiankang to Hongzhou, and then from Hongzhou to here." Mrs. Song and Fuwa were not polite and sat in the car. Li Qingzhao wondered: "Did Hongzhou also fall?"

Aunt Sun said: "Yes, Hongzhou asked the Jin soldiers to massacre the city. It was so miserable. I heard that the Queen Mother fled from Qianzhou to Jizhou."

"Hongzhou was massacred, then my brother Zhao Chun," Xing'er couldn't help but screamed. Li Qingzhao held her hand comfortingly and sighed helplessly: "Zhao Chun is in the country, he should be fine."

Aunt Sun looked at Li Qingzhao and said, "Looking at how Madam is dressed, she looks like a well-educated person. I want to ask you something."

Li Qingzhao said: "You're welcome, as long as I know."

Aunt Sun asked: "My Song Dynasty has supported so many troops, where are they going and what are they doing?" This stumped Li Qingzhao. She looked at Aunt Song, speechless.

On New Year's Eve in the fourth year of Jianyan's reign, there was a large market in Junzhong Village, Guangde, Anhui. Villagers from the surrounding areas sold vegetables, cloth and other daily necessities at the market. The peaceful and quiet air was suddenly broken by the scream of an egg-selling girl. Everyone looked up and followed the sound and saw that the defeated troops were swarming in, snatching food and cloth along the way like evil ghosts.

"The thieves are coming, run," the villagers cried and fled in all directions. The egg seller ran in panic, fell down suddenly, and the eggs shattered on the ground. The pursuer smiled lewdly and pounced on the girl, but was suddenly shot by a loud arrow, killing her instantly. Liu Jing and the defeated soldiers who were looting turned around in horror and saw Yue Fei and Zhang Xian coming on horseback with bows and arrows raised.

After the army was defeated at Majiadu, Chen Que died in battle, and Du Chong surrendered to the enemy in front of the battle line, the troops left behind in Tokyo were defeated like a mountain, and they all went south and became military thieves. Yue Fei and Liu Jing had always gotten along very well, and they restrained each other's troops all the way south, retreating in embarrassment from Jiangshan to Maoshan. On the way, military discipline deteriorated and robberies occurred from time to time.

At this time, Yue Fei had just arrived at Zhongcun, Guangde Army, Anhui Province. Hearing noise from the front, he rushed over on horseback. He saw Liu Jing's soldiers looting, and then he shot an arrow and saved the woman's life. Yue Fei shouted to Liu Jing loudly: "The people are my food, clothing and parents. How could Liu Tongzhi encourage his soldiers to rob the people?"

"Since the Majiadu army was defeated until now, where is the food and salary? If we don't grab food, let the soldiers drink from the northwest wind," Liu Jing said dissatisfied. Yue Fei frowned and advised him: "They are half beggars and half bandits. If we continue like this, won't we also become rogue bandits?"

"Military discipline can no longer be restrained. What are the opinions of Yue Zongzhi?" Liu Jing asked him helplessly. Yue Fei was scratching his head. Li Ruoxu ran all the way and told him good news, saying that he had found out about his mother-in-law's whereabouts in Fengyang. He didn't know if it was true or not. He asked Yue Fei to go and have a look.

Yue Fei is conflicted in his heart. It has been three years since his mother disappeared. Her life and death are unknown. Even if she is alive, she doesn't know what she is like. When she goes to see it in person, the team cannot leave her. Zhang Xian saw that Yue Fei was in a dilemma and was willing to help him. After saying this, he immediately rode off.

Seeing that military discipline could no longer restrain the soldiers, the army was facing a big problem of where to go. It happened that Yue Fei met Zhao Jiuling at this time, the old friend who led him to join the Zhang Institute. Zhao Jiuling told him that Zhangzhu Town in Yixing, Jiangsu Province is surrounded by lakes on three sides, with only a small intestine trail connecting it to the outside. When we station troops there, we only need one small colonel to guard the intersection, and the soldiers cannot go out to plunder.

After Yue Fei negotiated with Liu Jing, he immediately pretended that Zhang Zhu had food, and then led his defeated troops straight to Zhang Zhu to garrison troops.

Zhao Gou and his party were on the vast sea, and they arrived at the New Year's Eve of the fourth year of Jianyan's reign. Three years after ascending the throne, not only did the Central Plains not recover at all, the Jin army broke through the Yangtze River defense line in one fell swoop and introduced the war to the south of the Yangtze River. Zhao Gou retreated again and again. It could be said that he had no way to go to heaven and no way to enter the earth. He was on the run, his life hanging by a thread, until he was forced to live in exile at sea. These days, Zhao Gou was always alone on the deck, hunching his head and shrugging his shoulders, looking up to the sky with his sleeves wrapped around his sleeves and watching the soaring waterbirds.

In the evening of New Year's Eve, the sky was dark and the water and sky were the same color. Zhao Gou watched the seabirds flying in from a distance on the deck, and then gradually disappeared into the mist. He was just watching the birds fly away blankly when Wu Shaofen came up and called him to come down for the New Year's Eve dinner. The situation is so dilapidated, how can there be any joy for the Spring Festival? Zhao Gou went down to the dark and damp cabin and saw everyone sitting around the lone lamp, their bodies shrouded in the shadow of despair and depression.

Zhao Gou sat down speechlessly, and the monarchs and ministers crowded around him. In silence, he watched the big oil lamp on the dining table flickering on and off, and in the silence, he listened to the biting cold wind surrounding him like a ghost. The cabin circled and roared, and then looked at each other. Someone was the first to cry, and was immediately stopped. Then more people looked at the oil lamps and wept silently, crying repressedly. The desolate scene was roughly like this.

But Zhao Gou and others still don't know that danger is approaching them, and tonight may be their last New Year's Eve.