On New Year's Eve, Tokyo Bianliang.

This should have been the most celebrated and gathering of the year. In previous years, even at night, many people could still be seen in Tokyo city celebrating. It was very lively through the streets and alleys, not to mention the fragrance of food, wine and meat that is always filled with the air, as well as the laughter of people.

But today's Bianjing cannot see any festive atmosphere. The streets are empty, and there are only a group of imperial guards patrolling mechanically like walking corpses. In front of the city gate in the south, countless people still stay in front of them until dark. They are reluctant to leave for a long time. They are all holding the elderly and young, holding their own property, but they plan to escape from the most luxurious city in the world.

In fact, as early as a month ago, as the food in Jiangnan suddenly broke down and the price of food in the city suddenly rose, the merchants and civilians who lived here had set out in time to leave, but more people still chose to stay because they believed that the court would solve this problem. You should know that in the eyes of many people, the Song Dynasty is now heading towards Zhongsheng. After defeating powerful northern enemies such as the Liao and Jin, and recapturing the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun, the Song Dynasty has never been as strong as it is today.

But then the situation turned sharply. Even though the government tried its best to control the leak of the news, the changes in the north spread throughout Tokyo like the wind. It turned out that Sun Tu, the Marquis of Yue, who was regarded as a great hero by everyone, suddenly raised the banner of Qingjun and rebelled, and the soldiers and horses from Jiangnan and Shandong quickly followed up and cooperated. This was the key reason for the sudden emergency of food in the city.

What makes people even more panic is that the rebels who went south have won many battles and have occupied all the large cities north of the Yellow River with almost no effort. Now they have even reached the north bank of the Yellow River, and they may cross the natural danger at any time and go straight to the city of Tokyo.

When these bad news finally spread in the city, the people were finally scared and thought of escaping from Tokyo. But it was too late, because Bianjing, which had not closed the city gate for decades, closed more than a dozen city gates at the same time, and no one was allowed to enter and exit. The people who wanted to escape here were trapped in it and could only go to the city gate every day, hoping to give themselves a way out.

But the imperial court had already had strict orders, and even the ships on the Bian River had stopped entering and leaving, so how could the city gates be opened again? So the entire Tokyo city fell into unprecedented fear and anxiety. This year, the real barrier in the eyes of all the people. No one knows what will happen next. How many days can they live, and what will the nobles in the court respond to it.

Of course, people are most concerned about their own survival, but the high prices of grain in the city have made the prices of all items jump to the high places like flowery sesame seeds, making ordinary people almost out of food at home. Therefore, on this New Year's Eve, not only can there be no laughter in Tokyo, but also can always hear sad crying from a certain family.

In Tokyo, both the military and the people's hearts were in chaos and were down to an unprecedented level.

As for the officials in the court, they actually looked almost the same. Everyone looked out of their minds and felt that the sky was about to fall. Because they knew more than ordinary people, just early this morning, a more absurd and terrible news had been returned. The Yellow River defense line was lost two days ago. The imperial army completely collapsed and fled. The rebels had passed by the frozen Yellow River. Zhang Shuye, who was highly anticipated by everyone, committed suicide by committing suicide in the chaos...

Even those who are used to the constant reports of defeat are still in despair when they hear such bad news, because it means that their last bit of expectations and support has been smashed by the rebels. It is only a matter of time before hundreds of thousands of rebels can be killed in Tokyo.

Even though he was as powerful as Cai Jing, was favored by the emperor as Liang Shicheng, or the favorite officials such as Yang Jian, who had been with the emperor, was completely stunned after learning the news and had no idea at all. The only thing he could do was to report this matter to the emperor immediately so that Zhao Ji could prepare early.

"How could this be?" The Song Dynasty's official family no longer had the graceful and elegant style, as if they were as gentle as a Taoist, their whole face wrinkled into a ball, their body was trembling, and their blood-stained eyes were even more staring at the ministers in front of them: "How could this be? Didn't you swear that you could use the Yellow River to block the rebels' offensive, and then slowly drag them down with time to finally let the court win? Why is it like this now? What about Zhang Shuye, who you recommend, why is he so incompetent? And the officials and soldiers of my Song Dynasty? Where did they go? On weekdays, why did they not see any troops coming to serve the king at this time?"

Facing the emperor's hissing, these high-ranking officials of the court were speechless, and all of them were pale and could not say a word. Until the end, Cai Jing said on behalf of everyone: "Your Majesty, the matter is far from despair. My Tokyo City has been expanded for several dynasties and repaired for a hundred years, which is the most solid city in the world. As long as your Majesty ordered the whole city to defend the whole city, the old minister believed that Sun Tu would definitely not be able to break through the capital in a short time.

"And as long as we hold on for a while, all the soldiers and horses in the world who are loyal to the court will come to serve the king at night. At that time, the imperial army with righteousness will surely wipe out all the rebels under Tokyo."

"Really... can Tokyo really be defended?" Zhao Ji still had some trust in Cai Jing. Seeing that he was sure of it, he asked again.

"Of course, there are still hundreds of thousands of imperial guards in my capital. The city is high and the pond is deep, and it is definitely not something that the rebels can easily break. As long as your Majesty issues an order to inspire the military, the old minister can guarantee that they will not defeat me in Tokyo. Your Majesty, I did all this not for selfishness, but for the great Song Dynasty. Sun Tu has already launched a rebellion. Once he enters the city, he will kill the king at all costs. I will not be willing to die. But Your Majesty is the foundation of my Song Dynasty. There must be no trouble..." In the end, Cai Jing was even more in love with his old emotions, kneeling on the ground and kowtowed.

The other ministers also knelt down on the ground and said, "Yes, Your Majesty, there will be a glimmer of hope for the current plan to defend Tokyo to the death. Only when Your Majesty issued an order and made a generous reward can the morale of the army be inspired and the imperial guards in the city fight to the death!"

The fear of death and the trust of these important officials of the court finally made Zhao Ji make the final decision: "Okay, I will issue an order to call on the whole city's military and civilians to defend the city together. As long as you can defend Tokyo this time and quell the rioters, you are all great ministers, and the soldiers below will also receive the most rewards!"

As the standard thin gold characters appeared on the best silk and sealed by one person in the world, this final declaration, which represented the number one person in the Song Dynasty, was presented, and was quickly taken over by Cai Jing and other prime ministers, and then stamped with the seal of the Political Affairs Hall. In this way, this imperial edict became the most legally effective written article in the world, enough to make the soldiers and civilians in the city obey the order and fight to the end.

After making everything ready and comforting Zhao Ji for a while, Cai Jing and others hurriedly left the palace. It was not until this time that their faces changed again, and Cai Jing even looked at Yang Jian who followed him and said, "Yang Shizhong, the next thing in the palace will be entrusted to you, but you and I must not let the official know that Sun Tu was pursuing the banner of clearing the king's side, otherwise, you and I will die without a place to bury."

"Our family understands, don't worry, the Grand Master, the whole palace, especially the people around His Majesty, are already under our control. Your Majesty cannot know that there is such a statement." Yang Jian hurriedly responded in a low voice.

They are both "six thieves", so they naturally know what kind of consequences they will face once Sun Tuzhen enters Tokyo, so even if they are deceiving the emperor, they must go all the way to the dark. Although Yang Jian is not very famous in the court, he is extremely powerful in the palace. He has long surpassed Tong Guan, who always likes to lead troops to war and Liang Shicheng, who handles affairs in the outside world. He is a real person in the palace who is so arrogant. With him in the palace, he can naturally be isolated from the inside and outside, leaving Zhao Ji completely unaware of the truth outside.

Cai Jing nodded with satisfaction, and then hurriedly left the palace with the others. Now that the situation in the city is tense, he dare not slackewer any longer.

After leaving the palace gate, Cai Jing looked at Liang Shicheng again: "Teacher Liang, I heard that you sent someone to surround Sun Tu's Yuehou Mansion early in the morning?"

"That's right. I'm not afraid that they will cause trouble in the city. We are also to ensure their safety and not be harassed by the people." Liang Shicheng quickly explained. Cai Jing did not bother about this matter, but just said: "You did a good job. Next, the Sun family and others, especially Sun Tu's two wives and children, are the most important bargaining chips in our hands. You must take them into your hands."

Cai Jing knew very well that it would be difficult to really defend Tokyo City with the combat power of the imperial guards in the city, otherwise Sun Tu would not have been able to fight from Youzhou to Jingji in just two or three months. So he had to leave a backhand to ensure his own safety. Then, he turned his attention to Shang Zhen, the newly appointed Privy Councilor, who had just taken office: "Master Shang, you are much more familiar with military affairs than me, and you have to entrust all the security matters in the city. As for logistics and food, I can promise you, and there will be no mistakes."

"Secretary, the officials must do their best to ensure that Tokyo City is safe." The veteran who had been unknown in the court before hurriedly responded with his fists, but he didn't have much confidence in his tone. It was really that Sun Tu's reputation was too big, and it came too fast and fiercely.
Chapter completed!