Is this number reliable?
Surely reliable?
After seeing it with his own eyes, the messenger didn't think this number was too high, so he nodded decisively.
"There should be an imaginary number, but it is generally not too different. I once visited the Liberation Army barracks. Not to mention other things, the number of people was indeed large. When I looked at the Liberation Army barracks from the mountain, I couldn't see the end at a glance. Judging from the experience of my subordinates, this statement is not true. Void."
"I don't think they have reached this point? With so many troops, we can even go to the Central Plains in the Northern Expedition!"
Chen Chengzhi took a deep breath and felt that the matter was serious and it was necessary to inform Zhao Gou.
So Chen Chengzhi asked to see the emperor and was summoned. He presented the matter to Zhao Gou and let Zhao Gou know the development status of the Shandong Rebel Army.
Zhao Gou was also very surprised when he learned about it. He never expected that a group of rebel thieves could develop to this point, with an army of 300,000.
The standing army that can be used in the Southern Song Dynasty is only a little over 400,000. Doesn't this mean that the rebels have almost enough troops to challenge him?
So fierce?
"This development is a bit too fast, and...is the golden man really that vulnerable? Isn't the financial owner unresponsive? Isn't this normal?"
"The envoy said that there was no relevant news. The Liberation Army was launching an attack, but there was no news that the funder had launched a counterattack. This is a bit strange. Logically speaking, the funder should have known about the Liberation Army's uprising in April. , will not respond so slowly.”
Chen Chengzhi also found this matter quite strange and couldn't figure out what the financial owner Wan Yanliang was doing at this time and why he didn't send troops.
Zhao Gou frowned and suddenly relaxed.
"Is there a reason why the sponsor cannot send troops? Is there a change in the rear?"
"This...there is indeed no relevant news, but it is certain that the Liberation Army has occupied Shandong with overwhelming force. Your Majesty, I think this is indeed a good opportunity, and maybe something can be done."
"Like Chen Kangbo, do you also hope that I will send troops to the North?"
Zhao Gou didn't speak for a while and looked at Chen Chengzhi for a while before speaking.
Chen Chengzhi slowly shook his head.
"Before the dust settles, I think we should be cautious. The risk of sending troops is still relatively high. The biggest variable at the moment is the reaction of the gold master. Unless the Liberation Army can defeat the main force of the gold army, it will be nothing more than a flash in the pan."
"Well, this is a mature and prudent statement. When Chen Kangbo saw a glimmer of hope, he asked me to send troops to the Northern Expedition without considering the consequences at all. It was too rash. If the sponsors were to move south regardless of the consequences, future generations would accuse me of sabotaging the peace agreement. The people in Huainan and Huaibei were devastated.
After years of war, the people have long been exhausted, and it is time to recuperate. As the emperor, of course I must consider the people of the world and not start the war lightly. Unfortunately, there are always some people who do not understand my painstaking efforts. "
Zhao Gou nodded and expressed his appreciation for Chen Chengzhi's opinion.
Chen Chengzhi breathed a sigh of relief.
"Then Your Majesty thinks these rewards are acceptable?"
"Of course, it's up to you. In short, you can have an official position, and we'll talk about the rest later."
"According to the order."
Chen Chengzhi returned to the Privy Council, called the envoy again, and asked some detailed questions in detail.
For example, the feeling that Zhao Kaishan gave him, the feeling that the Liberation Army gave him, and the feeling that the people around Zhao Kaishan gave him.
"Zhao Kaishan has a majestic appearance, tall stature, and looks like a great man. He is quite bold and generous, and he looks like someone who is doing great things. He has many relatives around him, and he has a complete set of civil servants and military officers. He looks like a talented person. As for the Liberation Army, All my subordinates see are elites with bright armor."
The envoy answered sincerely based on his impression, and then went on to talk about some other details, involving the people he was requesting for a reward.
In this part, Chen Chengzhi grasped a point.
"Butler?"
"Yes, Zhao Kaishan has arranged general manager positions for his subordinates to manage a state or several states. Our government does not have such a permanent position, so his subordinates suggested that he change it."
the messenger replied.
Chen Chengzhi thought for a while.
"No, there is no need to change it. Just tell him to do what he wants, and the general manager will be the general manager. Give it, even if you create an official position temporarily, you will give it."
"ah?"
The envoy didn't understand, but Chen Chengzhi didn't say much and asked the envoy to do what he wanted. The envoy had no choice but to nod and go ahead.
Chen Chengzhi also arranged for officials to assist the envoys in handling matters related to official uniforms and seals and ribbons, which had to be made temporarily and no files could be kept.
Are you kidding? They just need to give them official positions that Song Ting does not have so that they will not expose the fact that Song Ting was instigating behind the scenes. In this way, even if the Liberation Army collapses in the future, Song Ting will not be held accountable by the Jin people.
The work must be done carefully and deeply enough to minimize the possibility of damage. This is what the Southern Song Dynasty needs most, and the premise of all actions is this.
Chen Chengzhi understands this.
The Song Dynasty is unwilling to take risks for any possibility of restoring the Central Plains. Even when the Central Plains is within easy reach, whether to raise that hand is debatable. You must be careful and careful.
As long as Zhao Gou is the emperor for one day, this will be the reality.
It's a pity that Chen Chengzhi understood such a simple truth, but Chen Kangbo couldn't understand it.
Putting all this aside, the Liberation Army described by the envoy was too powerful, and Jin Ting's response was too slow. This gave Chen Chengzhi a bad sense of déjà vu and felt that it was not realistic enough.
He always felt that Jin Ting was accumulating strength and was preparing to choose the right moment to deliver a thunderous blow to the Liberation Army, a big one.
If it can survive, the Liberation Army will be the Phoenix Nirvana. Only when it can truly challenge the Jin Kingdom will it be truly valuable to support.
If they can't survive, the Liberation Army will be like a pile of damp and moldy smelly salted fish. The stench will be unbearable even if you get even remotely close to it.
So, it’s far from time for the dust to settle...
Chen Chengzhi was sitting in his office with such emotion.
As if to confirm the foresight of this mature bureaucrat, the Western Expedition and the Northern Expedition of the Liberation Army were severely tested in late October.
In the direction of the westward expedition, Zhao Kaishan divided his troops into two groups after taking down Puzhou and Kaizhou, which were laxly defended.
Along the way, with Zhao Zuoliang as the commander and Zhao Kaihe as the commander-in-chief, about 20,000 troops attacked in the direction of Huazhou.
As the main force along the way, Zhao Kaishan personally led the attack on Daming Mansion, preparing to break through Daming Mansion in one fell swoop and pull out this nail.
However, the main force of the Liberation Army, which had been going smoothly before, encountered strong resistance from the main force of the Jin Army on Damingfu Road in Nanle County, Damingfu, and the attack momentum was suddenly frustrated.
The Daming Prefecture mobilized more than 10,000 female real soldiers and more than 20,000 strong men who were forcibly issued to set up defense lines near Nanle County, heighten the city towers, widen the moats, build weapons and defensive ordnance, and dispatched sentinels extensively to track the movements of the Liberation Army. .
From this, the Jin Army learned the action route of the Liberation Army in time, concentrated its main force in Nanle County to wait for work, and prepared to use strong defense to delay the actions of the Liberation Army and protect the more important city behind it.
Originally, Zhao Kaishan wanted to appoint Li Xiao as the pioneer officer, but considering that Li Xiao's contribution was already great, if he continued to do so, there would be unforeseen risks, which was not a good thing for him.
Therefore, in order to suppress Li Xiao and cultivate the Zhao family's own God of War figure, Zhao Kaishan decided to give his family more opportunities to gain experience and give them the opportunity to become famous generals and trusted confidants.
So he appointed the commander of the left army Zhao Yi and the supervisor Zhao Yicheng to lead the left army's 5,000-man vanguard army, galloping all the way into Nanle County.
Originally, Zhao Kaishan wanted to imitate Su Yonglin in fighting a surprise attack, but he did not learn the essence behind Su Yonglin's surprise attack. He only saw Su Yonglin's results, so not surprisingly, one-third of his troops were left behind during the surprise attack. ,escaped.
When Zhao Yi and Zhao Yicheng arrived in Nanle County with the remaining vanguard troops, not only were the remaining troops very tired, but their numbers were not large enough, and they were ambushed by the well-prepared Jin army.
The vanguard army was already very tired, but it was suddenly attacked by the Jin army. Without timely command, the whole army suddenly collapsed.
Zhao Yi and Zhao Yicheng escaped desperately under the protection of their own soldiers and finally escaped with their lives. However, the army only brought back a few hundred people, and the others were either killed or dispersed.
The Liberation Army failed in its first battle at Daming Mansion.
