Song Mojie gently exhaled a breath and replied in a deep voice: "Although Li Yuan is famous, our Zhennan Army is not easy to deal with. Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Zhennan Army has been the largest military force in the Tang Dynasty. We have good soldiers and brave generals, many people and ample supplies, and in addition——"
"Stop." Zhang Zi obviously couldn't hear such frivolous rhetoric, and interrupted impatiently: "Just tell me, can this battle be won? Who in the country knows about the situation of the Zhennan Army? But at this moment At that time, you, Song Mojie, and one hundred thousand soldiers are not in Hongzhou, but in this wasteland where there is a dilemma."
Song Mojie frowned, and finally revealed the reality very reluctantly: "Zhang Sheren is right. Regardless of the combat strength of Li Yuan's army, now our Zhennan Army does not have the advantage of time and place. I'm afraid it will be extremely difficult. win."
Zhang Zizi took a sip of warm wine, and then said coldly: "I don't think it's extremely difficult to win, but it's just a sure loss. You don't want to mention Li Yuan, so I have to mention something to you. Let me tell you. , even if your Zhennan Army now occupies the so-called right time and place, Li Yuan's commanding ability can still kill you to pieces. Is it possible that the young commander doesn't know about this man's past achievements? "
Song Mojie ignored his ridicule and asked in a deep voice: "So what? Even if Li Yuan is a god descending to earth, I will never let a hundred thousand soldiers sit idle and wait to die."
"Oh?" Zhang Zi said disdainfully: "I heard from the young commander that he is preparing to confront Li Yuan's army head-on? You are so brave. I admire you very much. In this case, why should the dying man keep me for questioning?"
"Otherwise, what else can we do?" Song Mojie's face was slightly red, and he seemed to be a little sulky. In fact, how could he not know that if this battle really happened, it would definitely end with the annihilation of the entire army? Today, he discussed with a group of counselors and generals several times, racking his brains to find a way to win, and the result is self-evident. Everyone remained silent. This situation of being helpless and waiting for death made Song Mojie, who had a strong self-esteem, extremely angry.
But Song Mojie also understood that he would be facing a desperate situation within two or three days, and it was absolutely impossible to hide. Therefore, when Zhang Zi revealed this, although he did not lose his mind, he could not suppress the panic in his heart.
"Why fight a losing battle? It is true that if you, Marshal Song, are really determined, I, Mr. Zhang, have to admire your backbone, but this is just the courage of an ordinary man and will not help. After you have given away yourself and 100,000 Zhennan in vain Have you ever thought about the lives of military officers and soldiers? Have you ever thought about Duke Wei on Jiuhua Mountain?
If you resist stubbornly, the name of treason will definitely be confirmed. If you lose these 100,000 troops to suppress the south, your Song family will be like cattle and sheep waiting to be slaughtered, and will soon be easily wiped out by the court and disappear completely. "
Song Mojie seemed to be touched by the pain in his heart. He sighed heavily and said: "But in the current situation, do I still have a choice? The imperial army will arrive immediately. Our army has no way to advance or retreat. Whether to fight or not is a matter of course." Death is not as good as a violent death, and I will never be willing to be a humiliated prisoner."
Zhang Zi smiled calmly and said: "Actually, the matter has not reached the point of irreversibility. I have a clever plan that can save the lives of Marshal Song and the lives of one hundred thousand Zhennan Army officers, and you don't have to be a prisoner."
As if he was caught in the darkness and grasped a weak ray of light, Song Mojie stood up suddenly and respectfully saluted: "What's the plan? If Zhang Sheren really has a way to save my 100,000-strong army, I, the Song family, will do it." I will never forget Zhang Sheren’s great kindness!”
Zhang Zi said expressionlessly: "If you want to express your gratitude for your great kindness, you should not thank me, but thank His Highness the other day. If it were not for His Highness's order, you would never be alive to see me."
Song Mojie thought about it calmly, then changed his arrogance and gritted his teeth in a low voice: "Yes, yes! We will bear in mind the kindness of His Highness King Zheng! If we can really escape this time, Zhennan Army can only Your Highness is following your lead!"
"Yes." Zhang Zi nodded with satisfaction, and then said: "Since you have this sincerity, I will tell you what to do."
Song Mojie hurriedly replied: "I am all ears!"
"It's very simple. After the imperial army arrives, you lead one hundred thousand Zhennan troops out of camp to ask for surrender..."
Before he finished speaking, he saw Song Mojie raising his head fiercely, with veins popping out, as if he was extremely angry. He stood up and shouted: "Surrender?! Is this your so-called clever plan? You, Zhang Sheren, are here to play tricks on me." No?! Now our Zhennan Army has become a rebel army. If we surrender like this, wouldn't we be bound to death? Can the Emperor let me go? The Song family will be able to let me go. How can I have the face to meet the Song family's troops under Jiuquan in the future? Ancestors?"
"I'm half-sentence, why are you so anxious?" Seeing the furious anger of the person in front of him, Zhang Zirong responded calmly: "Or do you think His Highness and I will harm you? Now His Majesty has determined that your Zhennan Army supports Zheng Zheng If His Highness the King raises an army to rebel, we are all in the same boat, and we will all perish if the boat is destroyed."
Song Mojie closed his eyes and gasped, "Anyway, it's absolutely impossible for me to surrender!"
Zhang Zi lightly snorted and said, "Listen to what I have to say first. It won't be too late for you to make a decision. Before you lead your army to surrender to the court, you need to do two things. First, this is the most important. The crime of conspiracy was all blamed on Li Zhenggu and left prime minister Xu Xuan. It was just that they secretly colluded to forge decrees with the intention of coaxing the Zhennan Army into rebellion and hijacking His Royal Highness Prince Zheng to ascend to power in the future. This matter has nothing to do with you, the Song family. Naturally, His Highness is unaware of this. This is not difficult, just try to create a few letters..."
Song Mojie said coldly: "Do you think the emperor is stupid and the court is stupid? How can they believe this trick to shirk responsibility?"
"So what if they don't believe it?" Zhang Zifan asked: "In other words, even if they don't believe it, this is the result that His Majesty wants most. Let me tell you, before I escaped from Jinling, His Highness Prince Zheng always behaved well. Staying in the palace, although I am suffering mentally, I have not been attacked by the court, what do you think?"
Song Mojie said nothing, and Zhang Zi continued: "That's because His Majesty doesn't want to see his prince plotting rebellion. Everyone knows that His Majesty loves his son very much. Even if His Majesty is really involved this time, as long as there is someone involved, Even if there is even the slightest possibility of exonerating His Highness, even if His Majesty doesn't believe it, he will pretend to be stupid and happily accept it, just to prevent His Highness from going to jail."
Song Mojie swallowed, as if he was a little moved by Zhang Zi's words, and then said in a deep voice: "Even if it is true as you said, the emperor's favorite is his prince, how can he let my Song family go? You know, Our Zhennan Army has been feared by the imperial court for a long time, and the emperor hopes that my uncle will die soon so that he can take over the whole town of Zhennan to the imperial court."
"After all, which envoy is not feared by the emperor? Just like Li Yuan. In the past, the imperial court left him alone in the Chu region where both the north and the south were enemies. The purpose was obvious, but now your majesty still has to use him?"
Song Mojie frowned and said, "Li Yuan is just a man in the mountains and has no roots. How can he compare with me, the Song family? No one knows why my uncle has lived in Jiuhua Mountain for so many years."
"So you have to do the second thing, submit a memorial to the imperial court, and request Your Majesty to remove Duke Wei from his position as the Military Governor of the Zhennan Army on the grounds that he is too old to take care of matters, so that he can take care of himself. You are As the heir of the Duke of Wei, it is in line with the court etiquette to request a memorial on behalf of my father. Your Majesty will definitely be satisfied with this move, and it will protect the lives of your Song family."
"Presumptuous!" Song Mojie suddenly shouted angrily. The second thing Zhang Zi said clearly touched his bottom line.
In Song Mojie's heart, the only person he respected the most in his life was his uncle Song Qiqiu. For many years, Song Qiqiu had always regarded him as his son because he had no offspring, and devoted all his efforts to training him. He also designated him as the heir of Duke Wei. It can be said that the love is deep and righteous. At this time, Zhang Zi asked him to personally hand over the Zhennan Army that Song Qiqiu had worked hard for many years. This was tantamount to taking away the talisman and lifeblood of Song Qiqiu and his Song family. You absolutely don’t dare and you absolutely cannot do it.
"Young Marshal Song, are you thinking at this moment that once the Zhennan Army is lost, your Song family will have no way to survive?"
"Isn't it?"
Zhang Zi shook his head and said: "From the surface, it is true. But how to control the army only depends on the general who leads the army. As long as your own trusted generals are still leading the Zhennan Army, the Zhennan Army will still be your Song Dynasty." From home?"
Song Mojie frowned and said: "That said, it is even more difficult. Once the Zhennan Army returns to the imperial court, the Privy Council will inevitably replace the generals and generals in the army."
Zhang Zixiao smiled and said, "Won't you remove all the generals and replace them before handing over the military power?"
Song Mojie asked doubtfully: "You mean, I should first remove my trusted generals and replace them with some idle people?"
Zhang Zi nodded and said: "That's right. After the new envoy takes office, we will try to get your close generals to take charge of the army again. At most, they will use some money. As long as those generals can be preserved, there is always a way, right? Let's start with that. After we get through the current difficulties, with the years of accumulation of your Song family and the fact that Your Highness is fine, we will definitely be able to make a comeback."
Song Mojie struggled for a long time, and finally gritted his teeth and said helplessly: "Okay, I'll do it this way! This time, the honor, disgrace, life and death of my Song family will all bet on Zhang Sheren..."
