They heard Li Bangyan's screams outside the hall.
The ministers in the hall whispered to each other and looked at each other.
Zhao Huan looked coldly at the officials in the hall and scolded sternly,
"Do you really think that the Jin people are going south just for the silver and women of the Great Song? I'm telling you, what the golden men want is the entire Great Song Dynasty. They want to destroy the Great Song Dynasty in one fell swoop!”
"Instead of thinking of a good way to repel the enemy, all of you are thinking of how to cede land and pay compensation, send silver and women to sue for peace in order to seek temporary stability. Such a humiliating idea of servility is actually said in such a grand manner.”
Zhao Huan berated sternly, and the ministers in the hall lowered their heads. Some were ashamed, some were excited, and some had an attitude that did not concern them.
"Listen to Li Bangyan's screams, don't you think he's miserable? But I'm telling you, if Tokyo falls, the next ones to scream will be yourselves. Your families, children, and grandchildren will become slaves of the golden men. The men will become slaves, and the women will become prostitutes.”
Zhao Huan's berating had truly frightened some people in the hall. Images of cities being destroyed and families being destroyed surfaced in their minds, and their entire bodies trembled.
Zhao Huan had no intention of stopping. Since he had already started scolding, he might as well scold all of these people to his heart's content.
" Of course, some of you might have already colluded with the Jin people in secret and were waiting for the Jin people to arrive at the city. Then, you would open the city gates and surrender so that you could continue enjoying your wealth!”
Zhao Huan's label was a little too heavy. This was a typical act of betraying the country and betraying the enemy. This would cause his entire family to be executed.
"Your Majesty, please calm down. We are guilty!"”
"Guilty? Hmph, Great Song is vast and has millions of soldiers, but we have been defeated by the golden men time and time again. Who is to blame for this? Is it my responsibility? Or is it the responsibility of you bunch of cynical scholars who want to sue for peace every day, cede territory and pay compensation, and don't think of resisting?”
Zhao Huan's powerful and painful scolding made some of the old officials cry.
Even though there were many treacherous and fatuous officials in the court, there were also many loyal officials. They also had the heart to restore the dignity of the Great Song, but the court's shortcomings were too many to reverse, and they were powerless.
Especially Li Gang and the others. They had always insisted on using force to defend the dignity of Great Song. After hearing Zhao Huan's words, their fighting spirit was ignited.
Li Gang immediately stood up and bowed."Your Majesty, I, Li Gang, have a memorial!”
Seeing Li Gang step forward, Zhao Huan calmed down and nodded."Correct!"
Seeing that Li Gang had stepped forward, Bai Shizhong and the other peace-loving people frowned slightly, feeling very unhappy.
"Your Majesty, although the Jin soldiers are coming aggressively, they definitely don't have much food. This humble subject suggests that we can rely on the strength of Dongjing City to defend the city and order the troops to quickly rush to the capital. When the army arrives, it will be time to defeat the enemy!”
"I, Zhao Ding, support Lord Li!”
"I, Li Guang, also support Lord Li!”
"I, Hu Quan, also support Lord Li!”
"I am He Li…!"
As soon as Li Gang finished speaking, people like Zhao Ding, who was a pro-war faction, stood on Li Gang's side.
Seeing this, Bai Shizhong frowned and stood up.
"Li Shaoqing, there are only 30,000 Imperial Army soldiers in Dongjing City. According to the reports of the spies, there are more than 50,000 to 60,000 Jin soldiers. Even if we hold the city, it is still a problem whether we can hold on until the arrival of the reinforcements. If the city falls, are you putting the safety of His Majesty and the officials of the court at risk?”
"Yeah, what Tai Zai said is right. What if the city falls?”
"That's right. The city is short of soldiers. How can we defend it?”
"It's better to move the capital, or His Majesty and the important officials of the Imperial Court can patrol the south, and let Li Gang stay in Tokyo to resist the Jin people!”
When Bai Shizhong, the peace-loving party, spoke, the ministers of the peace-loving party echoed and began to besiege Li Gang, saying that Tokyo could not be defended and that they had to retreat quickly.
Li Gang immediately retorted.
"Bai Taizai, the capital city is tall and deep, and there are hundreds of thousands of people in the city. We can gather brave people to form a volunteer camp to cooperate with the Imperial Army and use the city defense equipment.”
"What a joke. They're just a bunch of untrained commoners. If they could defend the city, why would they need the Imperial Army? Ridiculous!"
"That's right. How can the commoners defend the city? They're completely blind!”
"Hmph, absurd. Why can't the commoners defend the city? In the past dynasties, have there been fewer examples of commoners defending the city? Why, can't you do it in Great Song?”
“……！”
For a moment, the entire hall was in an argument because of Li Gang's suggestion.
Zhao Huan looked down at the noisy Daqing Hall, which was like a wet market, and then looked at Cai Jing, Tong Guan, and the other powerful officials who were standing at the head of the table.
To Zhao Huan's surprise, these few fellows had not said a word since the court session. It was as if they did not care if Tokyo should be defended or not.
Zhao Huan saw that they had been arguing for a long time, but there was no result. He shouted coldly,"That's enough. What's with the noise?”
"Your Majesty, please calm down!"
Zhao Huan looked at Li Gang." Li Gang, let me ask you. Are you confident that you can guard this city for me?"”
Seeing this, Li Gang replied firmly,"Your Majesty, I am confident that I can defend the city well. If anything happens, I will bring my head to see you!”
Zhao Huan nodded and gave the order,""Li Gang, listen up!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Li Gang's expression turned serious.”
"Taichang Shaoqing Li Gang, from today onwards, you will be the commander of Tokyo's defense. You will lead all of Tokyo's Imperial Army and oversee all of Tokyo's defenses. If you do not cooperate, you can act first and report later. I give you the power to make arbitrary decisions without going through the Bureau of Military Affairs.”
Li Gang didn't expect Zhao Huan to give him so much power. This power was equivalent to the highest military commander in Tokyo.
He did not expect that the new ruler who had just ascended the throne would trust him so much. He was filled with emotions and almost cried.
"Li Gang will not let down His Majesty's trust and will not let the Jin people enter Tokyo!”
"Li Gang, I believe you have the ability!”
Then, Zhao Huan looked at Zhao Ding and the others.
"Zhao Ding, Li Guang, Hu Quan, He Li, listen up!”
The four of them bowed and accepted the order.
"Your subject is here!"
"I appoint the four of you as the deputy commanders of Tokyo's defense. You will assist Li Gang in reorganizing the defense, arrest the criminals, and secretly investigate the spies of the Jin people in the city.”
"We obey your orders!"
“……”
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