Subotai dismounted, looked Zhang Han up and down and said, "Not bad, his physique is stronger. It shows that you are living a good life after marrying Her Highness the Princess."
Zhang Han nodded with a smile.
"The princess is indeed a good girl. Zhang Han has really taken care of the princess during this period. You can see that her complexion has improved a lot!" Zhang Han pointed to his rosy face and said.
"As long as you know it! The princess is the apple of Xianhan's eye. You must treat her well. Otherwise, let alone the Great Khan and the other princes, even I, the brother-in-law, will not be able to spare you." Subotai warned in a stern tone. road.
"Don't worry! Zhang Han knows the importance of good and bad, and he will definitely live up to her." Zhang Han quickly made some assurances to make Subotai slightly satisfied.
"Okay. Let's not talk about the art of war today. You come with me for a walk." After hearing Zhang Han's promise, Subotai changed the topic.
"But depending on the master's arrangements, Han can follow everything."
Subotai handed the horse rein to Zhang Han, and Zhang Han quickly took it.
A few white clouds in the lake-blue sky are constantly changing into various shapes as the wind blows. The dazzling red sun also makes the clouds slightly red. Of course, not only the clouds turned red, but also all objects in the world that were illuminated by the sun were dyed red, including the young and old who were walking on the school grounds.
"The report below said that the young emperor of the Song Dynasty was restless again and frequently sent troops to Henan. Yesterday, the Great Khan held a meeting overnight. All the princes and ministers expressed their opinions, but the Great Khan still did not make up his mind." Subotai looked at him. Zhang Han, who was holding the horse beside him, said to him;
""You have been with me for so long, and you usually have some unexpected views, and you grew up in Han. Let’s talk about your thoughts on this matter! "
Zhang Han heard this and thought to himself: During this period of time, he was so focused on improving his skills that he even forgot about "Duan Ping's entry into Luo", a major event in the history of the Southern Song Dynasty.
For the Mongolian high-level officials, the Song Dynasty's intentions may not be clear for the time being, but Zhang Han, who knows the cause and effect of this matter, is obviously not among them.
So Zhang Han thought about it and began to organize his words.
He knew very well that Subotai's questioning was not just a simple inquiry, but also a test for him by Subotai. Therefore, Zhang Han seemed very cautious and must give the other party a satisfactory answer sheet.
a long time! Zhang Han then raised his head and said to Subotai
"In Zhang Han's humble opinion, this incident is nothing more than the subsequent impact of the destruction of the Jin Kingdom.
Since the end of the Battle of Caizhou, both our Mongolian and Song armies have returned to the areas under their respective control. Although before the war, our two parties had agreed to use Caizhou as the boundary to divide our respective spheres of influence. However, the Central Plains was empty, which gave the Song Dynasty an opportunity to regain their old capital. "
Subotai also recognized Zhang Han's view, and this view was generally recognized by the upper echelons of Mongolia at yesterday's conference. So he nodded slightly and said to Zhang Han: "Not bad! Keep talking."
Seeing that Subotai recognized his point of view, Zhang Han began to continue speaking according to his own ideas.
"In Han Qian's opinion, the emperor of the Song Dynasty had a good idea, and this matter was feasible to a certain extent, but the chance of the Song Dynasty achieving its goal was quite slim."
"Oh? Why do you say that? According to the news from the frontline generals, the Song army's combat effectiveness is not as weak as the previous rumors, but rather powerful. Even if it is not as good as our army, the Song people are good at defending the city, and we are Han has very few soldiers and horses, so it seems there is still a good chance. Tell me the reason for your objection." Subotai asked.
"It must be the report from General Tachar!" Zhang Han looked confident.
"Not bad!" Subotai nodded.
"That's no wonder! General Meng is indeed a good leader of troops. Zhang Han does not deny this, and the troops under his command can be considered the elite of the Song Dynasty.
Marshal Tachar had seen the combat power of this army in the Battle of Caizhou, so it was not surprising to have this idea.
But we have to see clearly that the army of the Song Dynasty is more uneven than ours. This is also related to the policy of emphasizing culture and restraining military force implemented by Zhao Kuangyin when he founded the country.
Let's ignore the issue of the Song army's combat power. According to Zhang Han's judgment, the key to the success of Song's operation is not at all whether the army is strong, but whether the Song court can reach an agreement. "
At this point, Zhang Han was directly interrupted by Subotai and asked doubtfully;
"Please tell me specifically why the resistance to this military operation was not the army, but the emperor and ministers of the Song Dynasty. Wasn't it the emperor and ministers of the Song Dynasty who took the lead in promoting this operation?"
Zhang Han heard this and thought to himself; Sure enough! Even if there were some factional disputes among the upper echelons of the Mongols, compared with the battles between the Han dynasties, they were insignificant and not worth mentioning.
Due to institutional issues, most of the current conflicts in Mongolia are over the succession of the Khan, while the Han monarchs and ministers are over ideological differences.
Isn’t there such a classic saying;
His hero is my enemy! These eight characters are basically the epitome of the party struggle in the late Han Dynasty. This was true in the Han and Tang Dynasties, and it was also true in the Ming and Qing Dynasties!
Therefore, Zhang Han began to explain to Subotai: "It's very simple! A struggle for interests.
The Emperor of the Song Dynasty had been constrained by the powerful minister Shi Miyuan before. After so many years of hard work, he finally removed the mountain that was weighing on him. At this time, Emperor Zhao Ma of the Song Dynasty was quite energetic.
And his motives are pure.
First, through this military operation to regain the two capitals, it will establish a deeper defense line while strengthening control of the opponent's army, satisfy the domestic people's expectations for regaining their homeland, and strengthen the foundation of imperial power.
The second is to use this operation to win over the scholar-bureaucrat group for the second time and strengthen their control over the court.
The third is to use this action to ease the conflicts between various classes in the country. Because only when the country's territory becomes larger, will it have more chips in its hands to balance the interests of all parties.
Taking these three aspects into consideration, the young emperor of the Song Dynasty should be the most urgent person in the Song Dynasty to complete this trip.
And for such a good thing that kills three birds with one stone, the Emperor of the Song Dynasty must have thought that it was quite worth it even if he had some conflicts with Mongolia. Because since the "Song-Jin Maritime Alliance", we can see how the Jin State treated the Song State. Then in the future, conflicts on the border between Mongolia and Song Dynasty will probably happen.
People in the Southern Song Dynasty knew very well that since we were going to fight sooner or later, it was better to take advantage of the empty military strength of our Han Dynasty and take the initiative. "
At this point, Zhang Han paused and took a breath.
Subotai sighed; "According to your thinking, it is indeed worth doing. It seems that the young emperor of Song Dynasty still has some foresight. Many of us have underestimated each other. But I still have a question?"
After Subotai finished sighing, he glanced at Zhang Han and continued to ask.
"I'm not bragging, I've followed the former Great Khan step by step from the very beginning. And in the past few decades, I have conquered Mongolia in the north and south, and all the parties have been submissive. Even if there are occasional clowns, they are still scabies. The disease of ringworm is harmless. And my Mongolian cavalry is invincible and can conquer all directions." Zhang Han saw Subotai's arrogant face when he talked about these things, and couldn't help but nodded in agreement;
"Master is right. Since Temujin Khan started from Mobei and completed the unification of Mongolia, the combat effectiveness of our Mongolian cavalry in the subsequent expansion is indeed obvious to all. It is not an exaggeration to say that we are invincible in attack and invincible in battle. .”
"That's right! Since you agree, you should know clearly that the Song State has a good understanding of the strength of our army. They should understand that after provoking Mongolia, if we send a large number of troops to go south, the Song State will soon be The result of following in the footsteps of the Kingdom of Jin.
Even if they have some fighting strength, they are just hanging on. Moreover, even the Jin Kingdom, which we repeatedly beat violently, was able to defeat the Song Kingdom repeatedly. Let me talk about Mongolia... The results are self-evident. Is it worth it for the Song Dynasty monarchs and ministers to do this? "
Subotai looked at Zhang Han thoughtfully and reached out to gently stroke his gray beard.
Zhang Han naturally saw such an obvious expression.
Secretly: It seems that the Mongolian high-level officials generally look down on the Song Dynasty's combat power in the south for a long time, and it did not form overnight. Even if Meng Gong had a brilliant record in the Battle of Caizhou, the most Mongolian senior officials thought was that the Song Kingdom might have some strength.
Of course, we can’t blame these people, because Mongolia’s rise was so smooth that it was even more magical than a novel.
Looking at the current world, there is indeed an extreme generation gap between the armies of other countries and the Mongolian cavalry. Unless firearms rise on a large scale, a grouped cavalry empire will be a nightmare for all armies.
This can be seen from the thousands of years of war between the Central Plains Dynasty and the Grassland Empire; in order to overpower the Grassland Empire, the emerging farming dynasty must hide its strength and bide its time in the early stage and secretly accumulate strength. It is not until your own cavalry unit is formed on a large scale that the use of cavalry to control cavalry will be effective.
The successful Central Plains dynasties who followed this path, such as the Han and Tang Dynasties, all reached the pinnacle of the feudal empire. Those who played tricks, such as the Western Jin Dynasty and the Five Dynasties, brought hundreds of years of disaster to the Central Plains. This shows the importance of the powerful cavalry.
But everything must be looked at from both sides.
In Zhang Han's view, the blind arrogance of these high-level officials in Mongolia was a bit shallow. Little did he know that the Central Plains Dynasty and the Grassland Empire had been entangled with each other for thousands of years, and had dominated most of the time. How could they not have two brushes?
Therefore, Zhang Han was unfazed by Subotai's arrogance and asked calmly, "I wonder if master has read "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu?"
Hearing this, Su BuTai said with arrogance and disdain;
"Of course I have read it. But what does this have to do with "Sun Tzu's Art of War"? Do you think that with the little national power of the Song Dynasty, it is possible to make a comeback with a military book?"
After saying that, Subotai glanced sideways at Zhang Han. The expression on his face also became gloomy.
Subotai didn't know why Zhang Han asked. Doesn't he, a disciple, know that the key to winning or losing a war is the combined national strength of both sides? Most of the time, strategies can only serve as the icing on the cake.
If I, a student, really think that the Southern Song Dynasty can resist the Mongolian army with a military book, it only means that I have read the wrong person.
Seeing Subotai's face was gloomy, Zhang Han knew that his statement had misunderstood his master, but he didn't care at all and instead showed a smile.
Then Subotai saw his disciple bending down to grab a handful of young grass, then straightening up and putting the grass in his hand into the horse's mouth. Yun Danfeng softly uttered a sentence that everyone knows.
"He who is good at fighting has no great achievements!"
