Kuo Duan frowned after listening to Li Zhixiao's words, "You mean to say that the alliance between Mongolia and Song Dynasty is no longer possible!"
Li Zhixiao said: "It's not impossible, but as long as Zheng Qingzhi serves as prime minister and the war faction controls the government, it will be impossible. If the prince can cooperate with the Prime Minister and help him return to Zhongshu, then the Mongolian-Song Alliance can once again raise the On the agenda.”
Kuo Duan asked: "How can the Prime Minister ask me to help him?"
Although the Mongols are powerful, this is Lin'an, and they cannot affect the political situation of the Southern Song Dynasty for the time being, especially the appointment of the prime minister of the Southern Song Dynasty.
Li Zhixiao said: "Xiang Shi hopes that the prince can mobilize troops to the border to put pressure on the officials.
If Zheng Qingzhi cannot solve the crisis, the officials will let Shi Xiang come back. "
As a minister of the Southern Song Dynasty, he naturally knew the characteristics of his own family. The Zhao family had always been weak. As long as they faced pressure and setbacks, the officials would compromise.
When the time comes, it will be a matter of course for Zheng Qing to step down as prime minister and Shi Miyuan to return to power.
Kuo Duan understood what Li Zhixiao meant. Shi Miyuan was using the power of Mongolia to achieve his goal.
This is like Qin Hui, who was released by the Jin Kingdom, and took the power of the Jin Kingdom to sit firmly as the prime minister of the Southern Song Dynasty. If the Mongols only talked with Shi Miyuan, then the Southern Song Dynasty would only be able to support Shi Miyuan, and Shi Miyuan would also become the Mongolian leader in the Southern Song Dynasty. representative of interests.
Kuo Duan was more interested in this proposal. If a person supported by the Mongols could be supported to the position of prime minister of the Southern Song Dynasty, it would undoubtedly be more reliable than a treaty.
Li Zhixiao looked at Kuoduan's expression and said solemnly: "We, Shi Xiang, would like to meet with the prince to discuss the details."
Kuo Duan smiled and nodded, "I also want to see Shi Xiang again."
~~~~~~
Lin'an City, Zheng Qing's residence, in the study.
Zhao Taizheng discussed with Zheng Qingzhi the details of the Song Dynasty's support to the Jin Kingdom.
Zhao Tai said: "Enxiang, the purpose of supporting the Jin Kingdom is not to make the Jin Kingdom stronger, but to let it hold Mongolia back and buy time for the Song Dynasty to prepare for war."
Zheng Qingzhi nodded, "Guorui, your reminder is very necessary. I have written to ask Zhao Fan, the envoy of the Lianghuai system, and Meng Gong, the commander of the Western Jingxi soldiers and horses. They think that the Song Dynasty should be prepared to go to war with Mongolia. Preparation will take at least three to five years.”
In three to five years, a lot of things can indeed be done. If the Southern Song Dynasty made up its mind and prepared the whole country for war, Zhao Tai believed that there was much to be done.
However, Zhao Tai believed that Zheng Qingzhi was a bit too optimistic when he became prime minister.
Based on the national conditions of the Southern Song Dynasty, Zhao Tai felt that it was unrealistic for the gentry and common people in Jiangnan to give up their comfort and enjoyment, live a hard life, and prepare for war.
In actual implementation, the effect will definitely be greatly reduced, and although Shi Miyuan stepped down, the peace faction still controlled the court.
Shi Miyuan had been the prime minister for more than 20 years, and the national conditions of the Song Dynasty made it impossible to carry out a large-scale purge of Shi Miyuan and the Zhuhe faction, so Zhao Tai felt that Zheng Qingzhi would definitely be restrained.
"Eun Xiang, if you want to prepare for the Northern Expedition, you need to further control the court." Zhao Tai suddenly said.
Zheng Qingzhi couldn't help but nodded slightly after hearing Zhao Tai's words. Although he was the prime minister now, most of the key departments within the imperial court were controlled by the peace faction.
Over the years, Shi Miyuan excluded dissidents and planted party members in the court, so that except for the support of Zhao Yun, Zheng Qingzhi now had almost no officials available in the court.
"The truth is clear!" Zheng Qingzhi said solemnly: "The truth has been written to the officials, and many war ministers have been recalled and resurrected. The truth is supported by the officials, so you don't need to worry about this. Now let's talk about supporting the financial system. Matters of the country.”
Seeing this, Zhao Tai could only return to the topic of financial aid, "Enxiang, the key to aiding the Kingdom of Jin and cultivating pro-Song forces in the Kingdom of Jin is that the imperial court cannot directly hand over the money, food and materials that are aided every year to the Kingdom of Jin, so that The Jin Kingdom will distribute it. In this way, those armies who receive money, food and supplies will only be grateful to the Jin Kingdom, but will not know the favor of the Song Dynasty."
Zheng Qingzhi nodded. He thought this was also the case. In the past, the Song Dynasty gave the Jin State annual coins every year. The Jin people had no intention of being grateful to the Song Dynasty. Instead, they took it for granted and wanted to beat the Song Dynasty if they didn't give it.
"Guorui, you are right! This time it is support, not coins." Zheng Qingzhi asked: "But how can we, the Song Dynasty, take the lead in the distribution? Will the Emperor of Jin agree?"
Zhao Taidao: "It is actually very simple to achieve this. The current situation of the Jin Kingdom is not qualified to negotiate conditions with the Song Dynasty. Therefore, Enxiang can add a clause in the treaty about how to use the money and food aid from the Song Dynasty. What the Jin Kingdom needs With the consent of the Song Dynasty, the whereabouts must be explained to the Song Dynasty. As for the reason, it can be explained that the Song Dynasty was worried about the corruption of officials in the Jin Kingdom and did not use the assistance of the Song Dynasty to fight against the Mongols, so it had no money, food and supplies. Any use requires Da Song’s consent.”
Zheng Qingzhi's eyes lit up, "Guorui's method is so wonderful!"
He looked at Zhao Tai, the more he looked at him, the more he liked him. Conquered by his talent, he was a little reluctant to let Zhao Tai go, so he said: "Guorui, why don't you stay with me and be the shogunate for me?" The Prime Minister will give you some advice. I will wait until the right time to find a job for you."
Zhao Tai did not want to stay in Lin'an, and did not want to be just a staff member, so he quickly shook his head and said: "Xiang En, the imperial court has the power to distribute the aid money and food, but to whom it will be allocated specifically, it still needs someone who understands the situation in the Jin Kingdom. And this person must be Beizhi. Therefore, Beizhi still wants to return to the Kingdom of Jin to cultivate pro-Song forces for the Song Dynasty, stabilize the court situation for Enxiang, and gain more time to prepare for war."
Zheng Qingzhi was a little reluctant in his heart, because Zhao Tai was indeed a talent. With his advice, Zheng Qingzhi defeated Shi Miyuan and got the position he dreamed of, so it was a pity for him not to keep such a person by his side.
However, Shi Miyuan advocated alliance with Mongolia, and he advocated alliance with China. If his policy of alliance with China against Mongolia could not be implemented properly, or even failed to be implemented, the peace advocates would definitely seize on his decision-making mistakes and launch a fierce attack on him. He was ousted.
At this time, Zheng Qingzhi's political status was not stable. He needed to achieve results in the position of prime minister, and joining forces with the Jin Dynasty to resist Mongolia was the key.
Thinking that there is really no one around him who is more familiar with the Kingdom of Jin than Zhao Tai, Zheng Qingzhi can only sigh, "In this case, Guorui will return to the Kingdom of Jin, and the Prime Minister will give Jin Kingdom the money according to the list you provided. assistance."
Zhao Tai was overjoyed. This meant that he had the power to distribute Song Yuan, and he could be the Yuan Shikai of the Jin Kingdom and use Song Yuan to train his own troops.
Zhao Tai suppressed the joy in his heart, with a sincere look on his face, and clasped his fists solemnly: "Don't worry, Enxiang. I will definitely be an Enxiang in a humble position. I will train 100,000 people in the Jin Kingdom for the Song Dynasty. Finally, an army of Enxiang and officials will come out."
When Zheng Qingzhi heard what he said, he smiled and said: "Guorui, I believe in you, and you will definitely not let me down!"
