The arrival of Wang Yan's letter asking for help brought a shock to the six-person team that was no less than the impact of Mars hitting the Earth.
The Ming army went south to attack Xiangfan, and the peasant army on Jiangnan West Road, which attacked north, formed a north-south pincer attack to encircle Xiangfan.
At present, the number of peasant troops arriving in Xiangfan is about 20,000 to 30,000, the number of Ming troops is about 40,000 to 50,000, and the 40,000 Song troops in Xiangfan are working hard to defend the two cities of Xiangfan and will never surrender. However, they hope that the imperial court will come to help as soon as possible to lift the siege of Xiangfan. , don’t let the strong man despair.
The Ming army went south?
Does this mean that the Ming Dynasty actually went to war with the Southern Song Dynasty without declaring it?
The six-member team couldn't believe it immediately after the news was sent to Lin'an.
Although Shen Gai had made speculation before and believed that the Ming Dynasty would definitely go south, but now that it has been confirmed, he is the one who is least willing to believe it.
Mr. Ye is a good dragon.
But anyone with a discerning eye can see that there is no need for Wang Yan to tell such a lie.
As the commander-in-chief of Xiangfan, telling such a lie will not do him any good, so this can only be true.
The Ming army moved south, and the Ming Dynasty started an undeclared war against the Southern Song Dynasty. The second Ming-Song war has begun, and this time it is even more dangerous.
Because the Ming army's goal was no longer Jianghuai, but Xiangfan, a crucial strategic location in the middle of the Southern Song Dynasty.
Xiangfan guarded the waist of the Southern Song Dynasty and was the northern barrier of the Zhongjing Lake Theater in the Southern Song Dynasty. It was the top priority in blocking the Ming army from going south. Its strategic significance is equivalent to the Huaihe River to the Jianghuai defense line.
The first Ming-Song war caused the Southern Song Dynasty to lose the Huaihe River defense line. The strategy of defending the Yangtze River must defend the Huaihe River was no longer possible. Jiangnan faced huge war pressure. As long as the Yangtze River defense line was breached, Lin'an would face great danger.
So much so that the Lin'an court had to deploy a large number of troops in Jiangnan to respond.
Now that the Ming army is moving south for the second time and launching the second Ming-Song War, is the Ming army's goal Xiangfan?
Xiangfan is too important. Once Xiangfan is not protected, the entire Jinghu is not protected. If Jinghu is not protected, the central area of the Southern Song Dynasty will be completely exposed to the attack range of the Ming army.
What is even more frightening is that the Jiangnan West Road peasant army and the Ming army engaged in coordinated tactics. This can almost be regarded as the peasant army defecting to the Ming Dynasty. In this way, as long as the Ming Dynasty conquers Xiangfan, it can easily conquer the Jinghu area, and then join forces with the Jiangnan West Road In one piece.
Huguang and Jiangxi were not protected, and a large area of land in the central part of the Southern Song Dynasty was not protected and was directly interrupted by the Ming army. In this way, the Jianghuai land and the Sichuan and Shu land could not communicate with each other and could only fight on their own.
The Southern Song Dynasty was almost the end of the country.
How can we fight this battle?
"How could this happen? It's impossible! How could the Ming army go south? There's no sign at all! This is not normal! This is not normal!!!"
Shen Gai was greatly shocked and couldn't calm down for a while. He sat on the chair with his head in his hands and doubted life.
Ye Yiwen is similar to Zhou Linzhi. He is also sitting on a chair with empty eyes and doubts about life, and he deeply feels the malice of this world.
They cannot accept this situation.
Compared with the three of them, the Privy Council trio is relatively calm, but only relatively.
Hu Quan punched the table with his fist, shouted angrily, and scolded the Ming Dynasty for being unfaithful and treacherous. They clearly signed a peace treaty, but actually attacked the vassal country. Such an unkind and unjust country was actually the strongest country. It was simply old. The sky has no eyes.
Chen Kangbo seemed calm as he sat in his seat, but his hands were tightly twisted together, which showed his extreme uneasiness.
Yu Yunwen took deep breaths several times, thinking over and over again.
After the six-person team experienced a period of downtime, they were summoned by Chen Kangbo to make decisions.
"The current situation no longer allows us to make any wrong decisions, nor does it allow us to have any more hesitation. I suggest that three armies, the elite of the Forbidden Army, the elite of Jianghuai and the elite of Sichuan and Sichuan, be immediately dispatched to support Xiangfan."
Chen Kangbo's suggestion made the other five people frown.
Obviously, Chen Kangbo's suggestion is a suggestion of total war.
What he did was to ask the Southern Song Dynasty to give up all illusions, mobilize all the elites to rush to Xiangfan's aid, break the siege of Xiangfan, fight a decisive battle with the Ming army in Xiangfan, and decide the outcome in one breath.
To others, this plan was too risky.
Zhou Linzhi strongly opposed it.
"Chen Xianggong, regardless of whether the elites of the Song Dynasty can win the battle against the Ming army, once the elites from various places are mobilized, what will happen once the Ming army they face launches an attack?"
"The Ming Dynasty was still building the Yellow River, so it was not easy to send out an army to attack Xiangfan. They probably did not have the ability to mobilize three armies to go south to invade the Song Dynasty at the same time."
Chen Kangbo said slowly: "And I don't want to mobilize all the troops, just half, just half. If we don't seize the time to rush to Xiangfan, once Xiangfan collapses, what will happen to the Song Dynasty? Don't you know?"
"should?"
Zhou Linzhi shook his head and said: "How can the word "should" convince the public about military and state affairs? Mr. Chen, you are the privy envoy, how can you be so careless?"
Chen Kangbo was silent for a while, and sighed: "Then, what good ideas do you have?"
Good solutions are not always available, and people who raise objections are even less likely to always be there. Anyway, the Song Dynasty did not stipulate that opponents must also submit executable motions. Of course, it is just a casual attack without any sequelae.
But now is not the time to talk, the problem is imminent, the emperor is unconscious, and a charter must be come up to deal with it, otherwise Xiangfan will not be protected and the Southern Song Dynasty will be destroyed.
Shen Gai tentatively spoke.
"Can you send people to discuss with the Ming Dynasty? Can we not fight this war and sign a peace treaty?"
Shen Gai's suggestion was strongly opposed by the other five people as soon as it was put forward.
Chen Kangbo was even more opposed to the vanguard.
"In this current situation, does the Song Dynasty have any bargaining chips that can be used to negotiate? If not, then it is waiting to be slaughtered! The Ming Dynasty has already cut off half of Huainan, do we still have to hand over half of Xiangfan now? Land?"
Shen Gai's suggestion was directly rejected, and even Ye Yiwen, who had always been prudent, could not accept this choice.
Ye Yiwen thought about it again and again and finally spoke.
"Ms. Chen, can you guarantee that our army will not attack in other directions?"
Chen Kangbo smiled bitterly when he heard this.
"Xiangong Ye, I'm afraid even Su Yonglin can't answer your question accurately. He himself may not be able to guarantee that he won't change the battle plan. How can there be any rules for marching and fighting?"
When Ye Yiwen heard this, he was silent for a long time without speaking.
Zhou Linzhi continued to object.
"Xiangfan is an important city in the country. The imperial court invested a lot of military expenditures to repair the city wall and dig a moat to make it extremely strong. The city has provisions for no less than three years. Even if the Ming army wants to capture it, it will take three years. Don't you need to be so nervous?"
Hu Quan immediately retorted.
"Soldiers must be aware of the place of life and death, and the way of survival. How can we rely on such speculation for such a critical matter? The Ming army is good at fighting. We should be prepared for Xiangfan to be breached tomorrow and rush for reinforcements quickly. ! Instead of sitting here and waiting for three years!"
Zhou Linzhi was speechless after being refuted by Hu Quan, and could only blush and look at Ye Yiwen.
"Mr. Ye, what do you think?"
Ye Yiwen looked at him but said nothing.
Hu Quan immediately expressed his support for Chen Kangbo.
"What is certain now is that the Ming army is gathering a large army to capture Xiangfan, and Xiangfan must not be lost. Not to mention gathering all the main support, it is also necessary to send troops to support immediately. Sir, we must do something. "
Chen Kangbo nodded.
"I support the method I proposed."
Hu Quan also expressed his stance.
"I support it too."
Two votes have been cast out of six.
Yu Yunwen, who had been silent and thoughtful, cast his third vote.
"I support it too."
Shen Gai and Zhou Linzhi looked at Ye Yiwen, obviously expecting to wait for Ye Yiwen to express his position. He was Zuo Cheng, the minister, the de facto prime minister of the Song Dynasty, and the de facto head of the government. He approved of this plan, which was very important. of.
His one vote equals the power of three votes.
Ye Yiwen is not good at military affairs and has little research on military affairs. Under the current situation, he originally just wanted to fish in troubled waters and make do without getting too involved in military issues.
But the situation has pushed him into a position where he cannot retreat. His decision will definitely affect the direction of this country.
When will the emperor wake up?
Ye Yiwen missed Zhao Min like never before.
After careful consideration, Ye Yiwen felt that he had been forced into a corner with no way out and had to nod.
So he finally nodded helplessly.
"I understand, the Forbidden Army, the Three Control Departments of Jianghuai and Sichuan and Shu can all send troops. Regarding this plan, I...I support Chen Xianggong's plan. Let's do this. Xiangfan must not be lost."
