Chapter 171: Death of King Cheoljong
After Su Shi's death, everything in the Song Dynasty seemed to take a sharp turn for the worse and became unpredictable.

In June of the first year of Jianzhong, Wanyan Aguda, the founder of Jin, launched an uprising against Liao. This was two years earlier than the original historical line.

At the same time, Emperor Zhezong, who was in his prime, could no longer restrain his own ambitions and talents.

He appointed Zhong Shidao, Zhe Kexing, Yang Bangyu and others as generals, and Murong Ji as the military supervisor. He also sent three routes to the north to attack the Khitan Liao.

Murong Ji looked at the imperial edict in his hand and felt a little awkward. He remembered that the post of military supervisor seemed to be held by eunuchs?
When talking about the military supervisor, Murong Ji had a feeling that he was a villain, as if he, Murong Ji, was born to be a villain.

For example, he threatened his brother-in-law to arrange for Murong Loushi and others to control an army alone.

That’s right, the original Wanyan Loushi has become Murong Loushi.

Murong Ji was riding on his horse, sucking his teeth and glancing at Lou Shi, who was sitting in a dignified and respectful manner, as well as the other Jurchen men and women.

He looked at the ten-year-old child Murong Xuan who was protected by them and curled the corners of his mouth.

My brother-in-law is so cruel. He thought it was excessive enough that he arranged for someone to take control of the military power of a thousand people.

Who could have thought that Yang Bangyu would dare to let his young nephew command an army of a thousand men and give him real power.

If something goes wrong...

Murong Ji's face was gloomy, which showed how corrupt the Song Dynasty's military was. He suddenly became pessimistic about this Northern Expedition.

A slap hit Murong Loushi's helmet. "I'm telling you! Although you are Xuan'er's deputy, you can't let him make the decision, okay? You must make good use of the lives of thousands of people!"

Murong Loushi straightened his helmet, nodded, and glanced at the soldiers behind him, "I don't have much prestige to begin with, and you're still attacking us..."

"I don't care. I've given you this opportunity. You must give me a decent result. Otherwise, I can't afford to lose face. I can't afford to pay for so many lives!"

After passing Yanmen Pass, Murong Ji immediately felt that something was wrong with the atmosphere in the army.

He did not understand military strategy and could not figure out the ins and outs of it, so he could only ask Feng Boye to take good care of Murong Xuan.

After the army set up camp, Murong Ji gathered all the members of the Murong family together and looked at them coldly with a pair of eyes.

"I don't care how old you are or how good your martial arts skills are! Since you are on the battlefield, you must obey military orders! If anyone dares to take advantage of his age, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

Seeing that no one was talking, Murong Ji continued, "Xuan'er is young, so this time, the military order of Murong Loushi takes precedence!"

After warning everyone, Murong Ji looked at the army's departing backs, still feeling somewhat uneasy, as everyone's feelings towards their eldest son were different.

The feeling of being a father for the first time is indescribable. It is a feeling that cannot be compared with the second child. Often because of this, expectations for the eldest son are the highest.

Murong Ji felt a little worried. The army was different from the martial arts world. Victory or defeat was not determined by how strong you were, unless you were truly an immortal, a creature at the human level.

Murong Ji didn't know what the duties of the military inspector were in the past. Anyway, as a military inspector, he was always a transparent person and only wrote a letter to Emperor Zhezong every once in a while.

Then I discussed with the camp cook how to eat it.

The war did not go smoothly, not because Zong Shidao was incompetent. As a famous general of the Song Dynasty, he was naturally capable.

At this time, the Liao Kingdom was not so weak that it could be bullied by others. Its national strength was strong and not much worse than that of the Song Dynasty.

Emperor Tianzuo did not take the Jurchens in the northeast seriously at all, and concentrated most of his troops in the south to guard against the Northern Song Dynasty.

Murong Ji didn't care about these things, but he was a little surprised by the news sent by the Murong family.

Zhezong's youngest son died young.

In an age when even a cold can kill people, it’s actually not a big deal, as there are even more children dying young among the people.

Murong Ji threw the message into the brazier, then stood up and stretched.

Walking out of the tent and looking at the weather outside, the weather in September began to become hot and cold.

At the end of September, news came from the front army that Murong Xuan's troops took a detour and attacked Datong.

At that time, the city walls of Datong were not as strong as those in later generations, but it was a border town of the Liao Kingdom, close to Western Xia in the west.

Due to this geographical location, the Song army had never launched a large-scale offensive here. The location was too dangerous and if they were not careful, they would be attacked by the Liao Kingdom and the Western Xia.

In addition, there is the old Great Wall here, which was originally Shanxi’s border to defend against the north, but it was eventually abandoned.

No matter what, this was not a good breakthrough point. Perhaps because of their inertia, Murong Xuan and Murong Loushi took advantage of it.

Murong Ji looked at the letter and could only treat it as a story. He did not understand military strategy and could not figure out what Murong Loushi was thinking, so he could only let it go and do what he wanted.

However, what he didn't expect was that the center of the battlefield gradually shifted, and even the main camp moved with it.

There was a constant stream of good news from the front, it seemed as if Murong Loushi had gained some luck, no one knew how he managed to jump over the old Great Wall and launch a surprise attack on Yunnei Prefecture (near Hohhot).

The Liao Kingdom's Xijing was directly exposed to Yang Bangyu's army. The war situation changed instantly. Even Murong Ji, who had been slacking off, felt the tense atmosphere.

In the third year of Chongning, the Liao Kingdom's Western Capital was broken, and Zhong Shidao gathered three armies to besiege the capital.

Murong Ji sat in the restaurant at the back, eating happily.

It felt like something was lifted from my heart, and for a moment I felt much better and refreshed.

At the beginning of the fourth year of Chongning, Li Qingzhao came hurriedly, without saying a word, and directly handed Murong Ji a letter.

Murong Ji was a little confused. It was really unbearable to look at her like this. The little girl back then had now grown up.

This haggard appearance is obviously the result of working day and night.

Murong Ji took the envelope. There was no signature on it. When he opened the letter, a chill ran down his spine.

Emperor Cheoljong is critically ill!

Murong Ji stood up suddenly and read the contents of the letter carefully. Since the Chongning period, Emperor Zhezong's descendants had died one after another.

As time went on, Emperor Zhezong began to become suspicious, but he could not find out anything. It was not until his own body failed that he was sure that someone had tampered with him.

"Murong Ji, accept the order!" Li Qingzhao took out the imperial edict in a serious manner and looked at Murong Ji with a serious face. Murong Ji didn't think twice and slapped her on the forehead, snatched the imperial edict and started reading it. It was a summons for him to return to the capital.

Murong Ji did not hesitate. He left a letter to several people in the Murong family and rushed back overnight.

Three days and nights later, when Murong Ji rushed back to the capital, he saw the whole city in mourning, and his heart sank instantly.

I felt a little confused. I didn't know what Emperor Zhezong was like, but with his existence, everything seemed to have a purpose.

It seemed like the ending was foreseeable, everything was getting better, but suddenly the other person was gone, all the efforts were about to go to waste, and in the end, there was nothing at all.

Murong Ji stood in front of the city gate and felt cold all over. At this moment, he suddenly felt that the mountain spirits and ghosts were not so scary.

Coming to his senses, he urged his horse towards the palace gate.

Please allow me to see you.

He wants to see what kind of monsters and demons they are!
After waiting outside the door for several hours, a eunuch finally came out of the Daqing Hall and stood at the door of the hall. He shouted, "Summon the former Censor Murong Ji to see you."

Murong Ji was stunned. The word "before" was used very well. We had never met, but he even dismissed me from my official position.

Murong Ji tapped his feet lightly, and the whole person rose from the ground and flew directly to the high platform of Daqing Palace several hundred meters away.

When the eunuch saw him like this, he was so frightened that he fell to his knees.

Murong Ji walked to the door and pushed it open. Not breaking the door was the last respect Murong Ji gave to the Song Dynasty.

Crossing the huge threshold, Murong Ji held high the imperial edict of Emperor Zhezong and walked to the center of the Daqing Hall.

I looked up at the person sitting on the dragon throne, Huizong Zhao Ji.

Murong Ji's face suddenly turned gloomy. He glanced coldly at the court officials around him, but he didn't see any of the familiar New Party members.

He didn't know the person sitting to the upper left of the officials. He was in his forties and had a simple and honest look.

"Haha, may I ask this lord, who are you?"

"Mr. Murong has not even greeted Your Majesty, but has asked who I am first. How rude!" He then stood up and saluted Huizong, "Your Majesty, I, your humble servant, am reporting this to you! Mr. Murong has no respect for His Majesty and has disregarded the royal dignity..."

Murong Ji sneered. He had never been a kind person. He took out the water bag from his waist and took a sip.

"How dare you! Someone come! Someone come! Capture this lunatic! The criminal!" Huizong Zhao Ji stood up instantly and pointed at Murong Ji with an angry face.

Murong Ji raised his eyes slightly, and slapped out with his palm, and the palm seal of great compassion was directly imprinted on the side of Huizong Zhao Ji.

Huizong Zhao Ji was startled. Before he felt anything unusual, he saw a gust of wind blowing by. He felt a little disapproving and was about to scold a few words to show his majesty.

The next moment, Murong Ji's second palm arrived, directly smashing the solid wood table in front of him into pieces.

Zhao Ji shuddered all over and looked at Murong Ji but couldn't say a word.

The sound of armor clanging was heard, and Murong Ji turned his head to look. There were twenty or thirty soldiers standing guard, fully armored.

There were still traces of blood on the armor.

Murong Ji's expression gradually turned cold. He slapped out with one palm, and the power of the Palm of Great Compassion penetrated through layer by layer. More than twenty people died instantly.

Murong Ji poured the water into the air and slapped his palms. Endless cold air instantly invaded the bodies of everyone in the Daqing Hall.

Emperor Huizong Zhao Ji, who was sitting on the dragon throne, was the person that Murong Ji paid special attention to. Endless life and death talismans were injected into his body.

Murong Ji shook off the ice chips in his hands.

"You can feel the abnormality in your body now. As for me, I just want to live a good life now. I will send you anti-itch pills every month. If something happens to my Murong family, we will die together."

"Do you understand?"

Seeing Huizong Zhao Ji nod, Murong Ji's hatred surged. Emperor Zhezong was also a wise ruler! How could he fall into the hands of such a bastard!

"I want to see Queen Meng (Zhezong's first wife), where is she?" He looked at Huizong Zhao Ji coldly.

Seeing him pointing tremblingly at the harem, Murong Ji nodded. It seemed that they had not had time to deal with Queen Meng yet.

Turning around and going to the harem, Murong Ji grabbed a carriage and headed straight for Funing Palace.

Now Huizong Zhao Ji cannot die, otherwise his reputation will be ruined, although his reputation itself is not that good either.

There is no need for him to take any action, he will naturally destroy himself.

He welcomed Queen Meng and her daughter into the carriage and drove the horses slowly back to Gusu.

In the following months, the Zhezong family was dismissed one after another. Zhong Shidao, Zhe Kexing and Yang Bangyu were replaced at the last minute.

In the first year of the Daguan period, the Liao army that was besieged in Shangjing City broke through the siege and fled to the north with Emperor Tianzuo, but was later captured by Murong Loushi.

In the same year, Murong Xuan, Murong Loushi and others were dismissed from office.

The Murong family returned to Gusu in disgrace.

In the second year of Zhenghe, the Jin army captured Dading Prefecture and Shangjing City. Since then, the border of the Northern Song Dynasty was once again pushed back to the Yanmen Pass line, and Emperor Zhezong's efforts were wasted.

In the third year of Zhenghe, Zhong Shidao defended Yanmen Pass to the death. Due to the depletion of food and grass, he and his eldest son died in battle.

In the fourth year of Zhenghe, Murong Ji raised his army in Gusu to rebel. He also gathered Suzhou and Hangzhou and defended the natural barrier of the Yangtze River.

Before the Song Dynasty could react, they marched southwards and captured Liangzhe Road, Fujian Road and other places. From then on, the coastal areas of Jiangnan all belonged to Murong Ji.

In the sixth year of Zhenghe, Murong Ji took over most of the areas south of the Yangtze River.

In the same year, Tong Guan led the Western Army southward to quell the rebellion, but was annihilated by Murong Loushi on the shore of Dongting Lake in Yuezhou.

At this time, Han Shizhong was still a small captain in the Western Army of the Great Song Dynasty. He fought his way out of the siege of Murong Loushi.

(End of this chapter)