Of course Qiu Yizi agreed to this and ordered the golden bell to be rung in the army, signaling the entire army to retreat slowly.
Zheng Xin heaved a sigh of relief when he heard the sound of retreating troops from the opposite side. He also gave the order to retreat. Except for leaving heavy troops to defend against the enemy's sneak attack, the rest of the troops chose a suitable location to build a camp. He also ordered half of the boats and rafts docked in the north of the river to stay where they were and the other half to return to the south of the river to continue transporting food and supplies across the river.
When Qiu Yizhi returned to his headquarters, he was already sweating profusely from the hot summer air. After taking a few breaths, he said to his personal counselor Lin Shuhan: "Zheng Xin is indeed difficult to deal with. He actually mobilized all his troops to Jiangbei at once. Zheng Xin has too much advantage over our army now. I'm afraid it will be difficult to win..."
Lin Shuhan was also sweating profusely, and kept fanning himself with a paper fan. He replied, "Of course, Zheng Xin was once ordered to lead the military and political affairs of Shanxi and Shaanxi Province. Although he was no match for the old Lingnan prince, he was still a talented general who could stand on his own. It's not surprising that he can perform like this today."
Qiu Yizhi carefully savored Lin Shuhan's words, and sighed: "Mr. Lin's words are to the point. I think in my half-life, I have met people with mediocre talents, such as Zheng Yao, Wen Honghui, etc., and I can usually defeat them. But when I meet those who are superior in martial arts and wisdom, such as the Prince of Lingnan and Marshal Dai, I have never won. Alas! It seems that this Zheng Xin also has some real talents and knowledge. It seems that I rashly brought him to Jiangbei, maybe I was too arrogant..."
"Mr. Bansong" Lin Shuhan is usually a proud and arrogant person. The word "lose" or "fear" has never entered his mind. That is why he regards Qiu Yizi, a equally proud and arrogant person, as a close friend.
But today, he heard his confidant seemed to be a little shaken in his words, and Lin Shuhan realized what a tough opponent he was facing.
But Lin Shuhan, as Qiu Yizhi's military advisor, had to cheer Qiu Yizhi up and support him. He just smiled and said, "When has your Excellency ever been so discouraged? In my opinion, Zheng Xin may not have any great talent. If he really had real talent, the late emperor would have passed the throne to him. I think Zheng Xin is just a useless person..."
Before Lin Shuhan finished speaking, he heard Qiu Yizhi sigh and say, "I know Zheng Xin. The late emperor has criticized him in front of me more than once. He always said that Zheng Xin learned everything from the late emperor, but he only learned the basics... But the late emperor was such a great man in both civil and military strategies. It is very rare to be able to learn even a little bit of his skills..."
Lin Shuhan said, "My lord, why do you need to boost others' morale and destroy your own prestige? According to what you said, seeing Zheng Xin's army approaching, why do we need to fight? We might as well surrender. It's really a waste of trouble. My lord, don't forget that for a scholar like me, even if I surrender to Zheng Xin, it's not difficult to save my life by asking for mercy. Zhao Chengxiao can just become a bandit, and Yuchi Jiming is a martial artist who can protect himself. But my lord, and Miss Wen behind you, if you make a wrong step, there will be a cliff behind you. The so-called death without a burial place is what your lord is in now."
Qiu Yizhi listened to Lin Shuhan's words and nodded: "I understand what Mr. Lin said..."
"Oh? Do you really understand?" Lin Shuhan said, "If you really understand, facing a strong enemy like Zheng Xin, you should be extremely brave and fight him. 'Knowing it is impossible but still doing it', this is what a real man does. Moreover, Zheng Xin's every move was within your expectations, it's just that he moved a little faster and with a little more fanfare. In fact, the change is not very big. I really don't know why you are discouraged."
Lin Shuhan's words really woke Qiu Yizhi up. He slapped the table and said, "Mr. Lin is right. Zheng Xin's actions were indeed quick and generous, but he just got into my pocket quickly and generously. In this case, I must take action and cannot let Zheng Xin do whatever he wants."
After saying that, Qiu Yizhi slammed the table and called out loudly: "Someone come! I need to pass on the message!"
Qiu Yizhi and Zheng Xin's army of nearly 500,000 men confronted each other for five days in this small open space along the river in Xuzhou, Shandong. During this period, both sides were on guard against sneak attacks from their opponents, but neither dared to attack them rashly. The battlefield that was about to turn into a sea of blood turned into the core of a storm during these five days, and it seemed unusually calm.
Finally, the day of "Grain Full" arrived. A round, bright moon slowly sank into the western horizon, and a red sun rose from the east impatiently, as if it wanted to see the desperate struggle for fleeting fame and fortune in the world.
The anxious hearts of both armies calmed down before the final battle. After eating a breakfast with a few meat dishes, countless soldiers, urged by their generals, dressed up, prepared their weapons, and began to form battle formations, waiting for the judgment of fate in a calm and numb manner.
The armies and generals of both sides had practiced this formation countless times, and although mistakes were unavoidable, the formation was still relatively stable. After about an hour, the two armies were arranged face to face in a very tight and neat formation, but neither dared to act rashly. They tried hard to suppress their murderous aura and excitement, and did their best to maintain a formation that was ready to explode at any time.
Qiu Yizi's side has less than 100,000 infantrymen, and compared with Zheng Xin's army of more than 200,000, the formation seems much smaller.
However, Zheng Xin did not dare to be careless at all. He had already received intelligence that Qiu Yizi had mobilized 20,000 cavalry from the Bohai Kingdom to help in the battle, but they were obviously not in the battle today. He would undoubtedly use them as a surprise force and a trump card to kill himself at the most critical moment.
Suddenly, a burst of war drums were heard in Qiu Yi's formation, as if there was thunder rolling in the sky. As the sound of the war drums gradually subsided, a bright yellow clawless golden dragon flag was raised on the flagpole in the formation, and a bright yellow umbrella cover was vaguely seen appearing in the center of the formation.
Under the umbrella, a man sat on a dragon chariot, and his clothes were also bright yellow, shining like the sun. It was the current emperor Zheng Qi. Ironically, the man standing in front of the emperor was actually the emperor's biological father, Zheng Xin.
When Zheng Xin saw the scene on the opposite side, his heart tightened. Just as he was about to observe further, he heard a loud shout from the front: "Long live the emperor!" With the thunderous shouts of "Long live the emperor", the soldiers on the opposite side all knelt down and kowtowed to the emperor.
After the ceremony, a general from the Qiuyi formation rode out and shouted, "Are you all going to rebel? The emperor is here, how dare you not kneel?" This general was the "Black Neck Toad" who had come out to make a speech a few days ago. The "Black Neck Toad" had a very loud voice. Although his shout could not be heard clearly by all the soldiers of Zheng Xin's army, it was at least heard clearly by the tens of thousands of soldiers in front, and the formation was a little panicked for a while.
Zheng Xin quickly ordered his men to pass on the message that the person in the opposite formation was the fake emperor established by Qiu Yizhi in disobeying orders, and there was no need to kneel down and salute him. His orders were carried out, and the team instantly regained stability.
When Qiu Yizhi heard the situation, he said to Emperor Zheng Qi: "Your Majesty, it seems that the enemy is in full swing and we have to go over and suppress them. Please go to the front of the battle and show the rebels what a true dragon emperor is!"
Zheng Qi was less than ten years old and was timid by nature. He quickly refused and said, "Everything is up to my uncle. I am just here to watch the fun. I don't need to go to the battlefield, right?"
Qiu Yizi narrowed his eyes and said, "Your Majesty is wrong. Although I led the late emperor to the grasslands, I fought a bloody battle with the Turkic Chanyu Bishimi at Mantou Mountain. At that time, I was only eight years old, and I was able to make suggestions for the late emperor's reference. Now that Your Majesty is ten years old and a genius, how can you just stand by and watch this great battle?"
Although Zheng Qi was the emperor, he was criticized in public by Qiu Yizi, a minister. He was so ashamed that his face turned red and he lowered his head, unable to speak.
But Qiu Yizhi said, "Your Majesty, don't worry about the danger on the battlefield. Not to mention that Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven, he is naturally protected by God. I have sent so many elite soldiers to guard you, there is absolutely no danger."
As he spoke, Qiu Yizi's face darkened and he ordered, "What? Why don't you escort the emperor to the front to scout the battle?"
In this way, Zheng Qi, the emperor of a country, was escorted and coerced by Qiu Yizi to the front line of the battle between the two armies.
So Qiu Yizhi asked the loud-voiced "Black-necked Toad" beside him to shout to the enemy: "The emperor has arrived, why doesn't Zheng Xin come out to greet him?"
When Zheng Xin heard the news, he wanted to see with his own eyes the true strength of Qiu Yizi, so he came to the front of the battle under the protection of the soldiers. He saw that the man sitting on the imperial chariot, under the canopy, and wearing a dragon robe was none other than his youngest son, Zheng Chao, who was very familiar to him. Suddenly, his heart was filled with mixed emotions, with relief, resentment, regret, etc.
Qiu Yizi saw from afar that Zheng Xin's expression seemed a little ambiguous. Knowing that the strategy he had used to disrupt Zheng Xin's mind had played a role, he smiled triumphantly and said loudly: "Zheng Xin, the emperor is here. If you still think of yourself as a descendant of the Zheng family and a citizen of the Han Dynasty, kneel down and beg for mercy. The emperor may be able to show leniency!"
After all, Zheng Xin was not an ordinary person. He immediately calmed down and shouted, "Zheng Qi, what are you doing? Why don't you return to the capital Luoyang?"
Zheng Xin has always been strict in educating his son. Zheng Qi was quite scared and quickly agreed: "Father..."
But he only said half of the word "relative" when Qiu Yizi interrupted him and said, "Your Majesty, please be careful with your words. The man in front of you is your sworn enemy, not your father. Your father is the Third Prince Zheng Miao. Don't forget it!"
Zheng Qi was a cowardly boy. After hearing what Qiu Yizi said, he neither dared to agree nor to disagree. He lowered his head with the crown on it again.
Seeing this, Zheng Xin immediately rebuked: "Qiu Yizi, how do you talk to the emperor? Are you still acting like a subject?"
Qiu Yizhi immediately caught Zheng Xin's words and said, "You said it well. Zheng Qi is the emperor. He is the emperor who will ascend the throne after the late emperor's funeral ceremony! He is the emperor supported by the Empress Dowager and the Empress! He is the emperor who rules the world! He is the emperor by right! Now the emperor is personally leading the army to fight against you, the traitor who killed the emperor, killed his teacher and slaughtered his brother. Why don't you kneel down and beg for mercy immediately?"
Zheng Xin was speechless by Qiu Yizi's series of questions. It happened that he had just said the word "emperor", so he really couldn't refute a single word.