The envoy of the Song Dynasty was brought into the imperial study. After bowing and saluting, he presented his credentials to Duan Zhengyan, "Your Majesty, the Emperor of Dali, I have sent a special minister to your Majesty to request that Dali send troops to help us fight against the rebels." . This is the official letter of credence written by the official. Please read it." Duan Zhengyan took the credentials and slowly opened them. His eyes quickly scanned the credentials, but a huge wave surged in his heart. He knew that this request was undoubtedly a huge challenge for Dali. Although the Dali Kingdom paid tribute to the Song Dynasty court every year with the courtesy of ministers, the two countries were separated by thousands of mountains and rivers. Once they agreed to send troops and labored on expeditions, no one could predict the final results. He thought for a moment, closed the certificate of credence, put it on the imperial desk, looked up at the envoy of the Song Dynasty, "Go back and tell His Majesty that I have received his request. But sending troops is not a trivial matter, and I need time to think about it." The envoy of the Song Dynasty felt nervous, feeling that this matter was going to be dirty. But he couldn't say anything more, he could only say goodbye after thanking him. Duan Zhengyan waved his hand and signaled the chamberlain to take the envoy of the Song Dynasty down. He fell into deep thought again, knowing that this decision was of great significance to Dali Kingdom. He cannot make decisions lightly and must consider them carefully. At this moment, the servant's announcement came from outside the door: "Your Majesty, the Prime Minister has requested to see you."
"Xuan." Duan Zhengyan said in a deep voice. He knew that Gao Liangcheng was one of his most capable assistants and the think tank of Dali Kingdom. He believed that Gao Liangcheng would be able to give him a good suggestion. After a while, Gao Liangcheng walked into the imperial study room. Although he is young, his brows reveal a calmness and wisdom. He saluted Duan Zhengyan and said, "Your Majesty, are you worried about Song Dynasty's request?" Duan Zhengyan nodded: "Exactly. Does Gao Xiangguo have any good suggestions?" Gao Liangcheng smiled slightly: "Your Majesty, Wei Chen thought that we could agree to the request of the Song Dynasty court." "Oh? Why?" Duan Zhengyan looked at Gao Liangcheng in surprise. "Your Majesty, you think that if we reject the Song Dynasty's request, we will lose the Song Dynasty as an ally. And if we agree to send troops, we can take the opportunity to propose some conditions to the Song Dynasty, such as increasing annual tribute, opening up trade, etc. In this way, we can not only get practical benefits, but also take this opportunity to enhance Dali's international status." Gao Liangcheng said slowly. Duan Zhengyan's eyes lit up when he heard this, but he quickly frowned: "Having said that, sending troops is no small matter. We can't guarantee that we can defeat Zhao Yingluo's army." "Your Majesty is very concerned." Gao Liangcheng nodded, "So we can delay the dispatch of troops indefinitely. We can tell the Song Dynasty court that we need time to prepare. After two months, the Song Dynasty court must have reached an agreement with Zhao Yingluo has decided the winner. It won’t be too late for us to make a decision when the time comes.” Duan Zhengyan laughed loudly when he heard this: "Wonderful! Wonderful! Gao Xiangguo is really resourceful!" The troubles in his heart suddenly disappeared, "Just follow what Gao Xiangguo said! You should immediately draft a decree and send it to the envoy of the Song Dynasty!" "Yes!" Gao Liangcheng responded before turning and leaving. Lin'an City, inside the imperial palace. The envoys of the Song Dynasty returned from Dali after a long journey, with unconcealable joy on their faces. After some twists and turns, he finally persuaded Emperor Duan Zhengyan of Dali to send troops to help the Song Dynasty court. This credit was enough to get him promoted to a higher level. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but quicken his pace, eager to tell Zhao Gou the good news. When he walked into the hall, he saw Zhao Gouzheng sitting on the dragon chair with a sad face, obviously troubled by the Jin Kingdom's refusal to send troops. He was secretly proud, knowing that his good news would definitely make Zhao Gou happy. "Officials, I have good news to report!" he said loudly after entering the palace. Zhao Gou raised his head and glanced at him, with hope rising in his heart, "If you have any good news, please tell me!" The envoy took a deep breath and said loudly, "To inform the officials, Dali has agreed to send troops to help me. !” As soon as these words came out, the entire hall fell silent.
Zhao Gou looked at the Song envoy with wide eyes, as if he couldn't believe his ears. After a while, he came back to his senses, with a look of ecstasy on his face: "Is this true?" "It's absolutely true!" The envoy of the Song Dynasty said categorically, "We ministers have seen with their own eyes the emperor of Dali's royal writings, and they are willing to send troops to help our country fight against the rebels!" Zhao Gou burst out laughing after hearing this, "Okay! Okay! Okay! You really didn't disappoint me!" He stood up, walked up to him and patted his shoulder, "You have made a great contribution! I must reward you well!" This man was secretly happy to be praised by an official like this. As he expected, Zhao Goulongyan was overjoyed by his good news and even promoted him to a higher rank. He quickly knelt down and thanked him: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness!" Zhao Gou helped him up and then turned around and sat down on the dragon chair. "Pass on my decree and prepare a decree to reward him immediately!" He paused and continued, "Send someone else to urge Dali to send troops to join us as soon as possible!" "Yes!" The waiter on the side responded and turned to leave. Dali agreed to send troops, which made Zhao Gou deeply moved. He felt that he was really aggrieved as an emperor. Not only was he cornered by the rebels, but he also had to rely on other countries to send troops to help him to barely maintain the situation. But there was finally hope anyway. He believed that as long as he could defeat the traitor Zhao Yingluo, he would be able to regain power. "Congratulations to the official family! With the help of Dali Kingdom, I expect that Zhao Yingluo will retreat despite the difficulties." Qin Hui said with a smile. Zhao Gou glanced at him, and a feeling of disgust suddenly surged in his heart. If Qin Hui hadn't encouraged him to turn against his own sister, I'm afraid she would still be in Kaifeng at this moment, sharing the pressure from the Kingdom of Jin and Daxia for him. "I hope this battle can preserve the country of the Song Dynasty. If we fail to win this battle, I am afraid that Lin'an City will not be able to stay any longer. When I abdicate, your fate will not be much better." After Qin Hui heard this, he shuddered. He felt like he was walking on the edge of a cliff, and there was always a risk of falling and dying. However, two days later, another bad news came. The envoy to Daxia returned to Lin'an in tears and told Zhao Gou that Daxia refused to send troops to help! This news hit Zhao Gou's fragile heart like a bolt from the blue. He originally thought that with the help of Dali and Daxia, he would be able to attack Zhao Yingluo from the north and south and make him retreat. Unexpectedly, Daxia also refused to send troops to help. At this time, news from Yangzhou urging more troops continued to spread, causing the entire Lin'an City to be enveloped in an atmosphere of panic. Yangzhou is the gateway to the south of the Yangtze River. If it falls, the consequences will be disastrous. Troops must be sent to reinforce Yangzhou as soon as possible to stabilize the situation. So Zhao Gou ordered General Guo Wei to lead elite troops and strong generals to quickly reinforce Yangzhou, and on the other hand, he ordered Qin Hui to prepare to flee south just in case.