Zhao Yu was shocked when he heard the news that the Ming army was moving further south. He immediately sent someone to ask Zhao Mi to rush to Huzhou and guard Huzhou tightly.
Then on April 20th, news came that Lishui County had been lost.
Zhao Min was even more shocked and sent someone to warn Zhao Mi again that Huzhou could not suffer any loss.
On April 22, news came that Yixing County had been lost.
On April 24, the news came that the remnants of the Ming Army and the Song Army fought in Huxi Town, and the Song Army was completely annihilated. About 30,000 Zhenjiang Prefecture defenders and Forbidden Army who had fled fled were annihilated. The main generals Wu Chao and Wei Tang and Guo Ze were all captured. The Ming army won a great victory and took advantage of the victory to move south, threatening the security of Changxing and Huzhou.
Zhao Min was dumbfounded by the continuous bad news. He became more irritable, restless and haggard day by day.
Once the Ming army arrived near Huzhou, it would actually be less than 200 miles away from Lin'an.
If the infantry travels a little faster, it can usually arrive in four days. The cavalry is even faster and can arrive in two or three days. If you completely ignore speed and run all day and night, you can reach Lin'an in one day.
The key point of the current problem is Huzhou. Huzhou must not be lost or lost, otherwise the ministers will really ask him to consider leaving Lin'an for refuge.
Otherwise, the subsequent situation will be the same as that of Kaifeng City. If the Ming army repeats its old tricks, the Song Dynasty will be over.
It's really over.
"There must be no loss in Huzhou! If you send someone to tell Zhao Mi again, if you dare to lose Huzhou, I will kill him!! Also, what on earth is King Quan of Jiankang doing? Liu Qi is defeated, what about him? He still has seven more Thousands of troops! What are you doing for food! Find him! Find him!!!"
Zhao Min roared, and sent people north to Huzhou again to warn Zhao Mi, asking him to weigh carefully, and there was no room for mistakes in Huzhou.
At the same time, Zhao Min wanted to know what went wrong with the royal power of Jiankang Prefecture. Why did the Jiankang Prefecture's army not turn the tide after Liu Qi's defeat?
Zhao Hao knows nothing and wants to know everything.
Shi Hao, who had been standing at the foot of the steps in the palace and looking at Zhao Xin, sighed secretly.
The news coming out these days is getting worse and worse, and Zhao Xin's condition is getting worse day by day.
His complexion was pale, his steps were sluggish, and his eye sockets were sunken. Those who didn't know thought that he had consumed too much by lingering in Wenwen Village. In fact, he was just worried about state affairs and had trouble sleeping and eating. He discussed military matters with ministers day and night, and could not eat and rest well, so I have tormented myself to this point.
It's just that Zhao Xun's worry and fatigue could not solve the problem of the Song army's defeat.
The Ming army won more and more victories. The Song army was defeated like a mountain and continued to retreat. In the end, even the defeated troops were overtaken by the Ming army, eaten up in one bite, and the entire army was annihilated.
So far, the Song Army's Jianghuai War Zone has been penetrated by the Ming Army. Both the land and water armies have retreated across the board. An army of hundreds of thousands was unable to stop a Ming Army of tens of thousands from marching south. It was about to reach Lin'an. All over.
This seems to be the same as the Battle of the Jin and Song Dynasties. A large number of troops could not stop a small number of troops, and they were beaten and humiliated under the capital city, losing all face and dignity.
What's even more ironic is that the de jure capital of the Song Dynasty is still Kaifeng, and Lin'an is just Xingzai. People in the Southern Song Dynasty still call Kaifeng, where the tombs of the emperors of the Northern Song Dynasty are located, the capital, and Lin'an Xingzai.
In order to show their determination to regain their homeland, the officials of the Southern Song Dynasty once hoped that Zhao Gou would establish a foothold in Jiankang Mansion. However, Zhao Gou was not determined to restore the Central Plains, so he retreated to Hangzhou and made Hangzhou his imperial capital.
After the founding of the Ming Dynasty, Zhao Gou even thought about completely abolishing the status of Kaifeng as the capital, and legally determining the spheres of influence of the Southern Song Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty, so as to strive for friendship from then on and no more war.
It is said that the master copy of the treaty signed between Zhao Gou and the Ming Dynasty included the clause that the Southern Song Dynasty formally abandoned Kaifeng as the capital, changed Lin'an Prefecture to Yingtian Prefecture, and officially confirmed it as the capital.
However, due to Chen Kangbo's strong opposition during the drafting stage and the fact that he revealed this matter, many knowledgeable people in the court protested, and the people also discussed it, forcing Tang Sihui to abandon this clause.
Later, Tang Sidei obviously had a grudge and drove Chen Kangbo out of the Central Committee with a few moves.
However, this is meaningless. Whether it is the city or the capital, wherever the emperor is, that is the actual capital.
Now seeing how sharp the Ming army is, they are just one step away from threatening Lin'an. The Song army is powerless to stop it. What else can be done to have hope of reversing the situation?
The 20,000 forbidden troops sent earlier were destroyed. The 30,000 troops Zhao Mi brought were already Lin'an's only mobile force. Lin'an could no longer send more troops.
Except for the garrison troops that were originally necessary to protect Zhao Xin and those who fought in the war, all other troops have been sent out.
For example, the force to build a land defense line to defend against maritime threats is the force that must be used to guard against the Ming Navy. There are a total of 20,000 people, and there are more than 10,000 elites that Zhao Gou took with him when he escaped.
Lin'an's trained troops have been exhausted. Even if the army were to be expanded at this moment, the expansion would be an untrained mob. They have no advantage except for their large numbers. They are meaningless to this war and will only increase the loss of food and grass.
Now that the matter has come to this, Shi Hao sincerely hopes that Zhao Yu can see the reality clearly, stop the war, and take the initiative to negotiate peace with the Ming army.
Zhao Gou looked around and saw the sad expressions on the faces of the ministers. He thought that these people must have the same idea. They all knew that it was impossible to win this battle and that peace talks were necessary.
But who dares to tell the truth at this time, when Zhao is so irritable and irritable?
In Shi Hao's view, what would happen even if Zhao Mi defended Huzhou?
It is a foregone conclusion that the Song army will lose troops and generals, and that the entire army in the Jianghuai theater will be annihilated. Holding Huzhou just leaves a pair of underwear for the Song Dynasty, and it has no meaning other than that.
If even Huzhou could not be defended and the Ming army came to Lin'an City, then the Song Dynasty would really have no underwear, and everything would be exposed to the world.
Wouldn't it be better to negotiate peace now?
But in this case, Shi Hao would not choose to say it in public. Just as he understood Zhao Gou's early experience, he also understood Zhao Min's current situation and mood.
So after the dynasty dispersed on this day, Shi Hao took the initiative to ask for an audience with Zhao Hao, and was received by Zhao Hao.
When Shi Hao saw Zhao Hao, Zhao Hao was indifferent to the plates of delicacies. He had chopsticks in his hands, but he couldn't start. He wanted to eat every plate. He stretched out his chopsticks, but his appetite disappeared.
He hasn't eaten properly for several days and has no appetite.
The most unappetizing thing was the day before yesterday. In addition to drinking water from morning to night, I ate a bowl of rice, soaked in vegetable soup, stirred it, added three meatballs, swallowed it quickly, and was full.
If he is in a good mood, he can eat no matter how simple the food is in front of him, but if he is in a bad mood, he will not be able to eat it even if there are all delicacies in front of him.
Shi Hao naturally knew the reason, so he stepped forward and bowed respectfully.
"His Majesty."
"Teacher...come and give me a seat."
The little eunuch next to Zhao Min immediately stepped forward to move a brocade pier for Shi Hao, and helped him sit down. Shi Hao sat down, looking at Zhao Min's listless appearance, and sighed helplessly.
"Your Majesty, how long has it been since you had a good meal and sleep?"
Zhao Yan put down his chopsticks and remained silent. The little eunuch next to him looked like he wanted to say something but didn't dare to say it. He was very confused.
After a long time, Zhao Xun forced a smile.
"Teacher, I ate well and slept well, don't worry."
"Your Majesty, although I have passed the age of sixty, my eyes are not blind yet, and I can see things clearly. With your Majesty's look on my face, I can't feel relieved no matter what."
Shi Hao shook his head and said slowly: "Your Majesty, at any time, you have to eat and sleep. You must not make fun of your body. Your Majesty's good health is a blessing to the Song Dynasty. If your Majesty's health is not good, Well, the Song Dynasty will also have problems."
Zhao He hesitated for a moment and nodded helplessly.
"I have remembered everything the teacher said. I will eat on time. Teacher, what do you want to say here?"
Shi Hao looked at Zhao Yan's face, hesitated again and again, and decided to speak out.
"Your Majesty may not be willing to listen to what the veteran said, but the veteran still wants to say, Your Majesty, this battle cannot continue."
