Zhao Yun was indeed a little panicked when he heard that Mongolia was heading south.
He was in a rather irritable mood and signaled Li Zhixiao to quickly explain to the two of them.
Li Zhixiao had a dark face. He had already had a big quarrel with Zhen Dexiu and others, and Zhen Dexiu was yelling at him for a while, blaming him for being timid and suing for peace and showing weakness to Mongolia, but in the end the Mongols still fought.
Li Zhixiao calmed down and said in a low voice: "An urgent report came from Jiangbei. The Mongolian army invaded south in a large scale. Its partial division has conquered Suzhou and is approaching Chuzhou!"
Zheng Qingzhi's Adam's apple twisted and he swallowed hard. Less than two years after the Mongols destroyed the Jin Dynasty, they marched southward. What is happening now is just like when the Jin Dynasty destroyed the Liao Kingdom and immediately invaded the Song Dynasty.
Last time, the Song Dynasty gave up the north, abandoned Bianjing, and retreated to the south of the Yangtze River.
What else can Da Song give up this time? If he retreats, he will have to jump into the sea.
Zheng Qingzhi was sweating on his forehead and had mixed feelings in his heart.
Now that Mongolia has invaded, the peace faction will definitely be temporarily useless. Zhao Yun can only rely on him again, and his position will not be shaken for the time being.
This is an opportunity for Zheng Qingzhi, but on the other hand, it is also a crisis.
There is no doubt that Mongolia is a powerful mother. If the Song army does not fight well, then he will be second to Han Kanwei.
Zhao Kui also looked solemn. He knew that the Song Dynasty's defense in Jiangbei was very passive, so he asked: "What is the strength of the Mongolian army?"
"It's not clear yet! Judging from the information we learned before, it's mainly Luoyang Road and Shandong Road." Li Zhixiao said: "It's not clear yet Shandong Road, but more than 100,000 northern soldiers along Luoyang Road have all entered our army. In Song Dynasty!"
Zhao Kui frowned. He knew all this information, which meant that the court now only knew that the Mongols were coming, and no more new information came from the front line.
When Zhao Yun saw Li Zhixiao finish speaking, he immediately asked: "Two dear friends, it is said that there are two troops from the north, at least 200,000. With so many troops coming, can Jiangbei withstand it?"
The Mongolian army sent 200,000 troops, not just for plunder, but to seize the territory of the Song Dynasty, and even to destroy the Song Dynasty.
Facing Zhao Yun's expectant gaze, Zheng Qingzhi and Zhao Kui were speechless for a moment. The two looked at each other. Zheng Qingzhi cheered up and saluted: "Don't worry, Your Majesty, the court has already prepared. It will not be a problem to block Mongolia in the north of the Yangtze River. How to implement it specifically?" Please ask Privy Councilor Zhao to explain to His Majesty. After all, he is in charge of the military."
Zheng Qingzhi looked at Zhao Kui for help. This was not to blame him, but because he really didn't know how to fight and could only hope that Zhao Kui could give him a plan.
After hearing Zheng Qingzhi's words, Zhao Kui was a little surprised at first, but when he thought about what happened on the ship, he knew why Zheng Qingzhi had to swear so clearly when he clearly had no confidence.
Now that Mongolia is coming, if Zheng Qingzhi, who is the main combatant, cannot show confidence, it will inevitably panic the officials and make the court dare not fight.
It is not surprising that the officials and the imperial court would cede territories and sue for peace, and dismiss many of the warring factions in order to please the Mongols.
Thinking of this, Zhao Kui knew what he should say.
He pondered for a while, his mind spinning rapidly, and then saluted: "Don't worry, Your Majesty! Two hundred thousand northern soldiers came in two groups, from the south of Shandong to the east of Luoyang to capture Tokyo. Since the capture of Tokyo last year, the imperial court It was convenient for Tokyo to deploy heavy troops and repair Tokyo's city defenses. Although the northern troops were numerous, it was absolutely impossible to easily capture Tokyo. And with Tokyo around, the northern troops from Luoyang would not dare to go south with all their strength."
Zhao Kui paused and continued: "The same applies to the Northern soldiers from Shandong. Your Majesty, although the Shandong Zhongyi Army was not applauded by the imperial court, Zhao Guorui, the military commander of the Zhongyi Army, had long told the world that he was willing to serve as a vassal for the imperial court. , to resist the Northern troops from going south for Your Majesty. If the Shandong Zhongyi Army can continue to persist, then all the Northern troops from Shandong will not go south."
After hearing Zhao Kui's words, Zhao Yun immediately relaxed a little, and Zheng Qingzhi said in a tone that left no room for doubt, "Yes! There are Quan Zicai in Tokyo and loyal troops in Shandong. If the Northern Army does not deal with them, it will be difficult to attack the Song Dynasty with all its strength. "
As soon as the two people spoke, there was a lot of discussion in the hall. Zhao Yun regained his energy, sat up straight, and confirmed: "What the two dear ladies said is true!"
Zhao Kui bit the bullet and said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, from a military perspective, it is impossible for the Northern troops to march south in large numbers without worries about their future."
Zheng Qingzhi concluded: "Your Majesty, don't worry, the 200,000 Northern soldiers are restrained by Tokyo and Shandong, and no more than 100,000 will be able to enter the Huaihe River."
The Song Dynasty still had more than 100,000 troops in the Huaihe River and nearly 150,000 forbidden troops in the south of the Yangtze River. If only 100,000 Mongolian troops reached the Huaihe River, the situation would not be too bad.
"Both husbands, even if the Beibei soldiers are restrained by Quan Zicai and Zhao Tai, given the situation in Lianghuai, can they resist the incoming Beibei soldiers?" Li Zhixiao questioned.
His original idea was to avoid war with Mongolia, but now that Mongolia has taken the initiative to invade, his idea is to quickly cede territory and seek peace while losing is not ugly, declare vassalage to Mongolia, give annual coins, and spend money to buy peace.
The Liao and Jin people, including the current Mongols, are all vulgar northern barbarians. They live in a bitter cold land, and they fight just to make money.
What a coincidence. What I, the Song Dynasty, have most is money. Why don’t I give them a million and just throw it away?
Zhao Yun had just relaxed, but became nervous again after hearing these words, and asked: "Two dear friends, can the frontline soldiers do it?"
Zhao Kui understood the situation on the front line and was afraid that there was nothing he could do to defeat the Northern troops, including the soldiers in the Huaihe River and the corrupt Forbidden Army. He was worried about Zheng Qingzhi's blind promise, so he stepped forward, stood in front of Zheng Qing, saluted and said: "Your Majesty! Since Mongolia has chosen If a war breaks out, then we must respond with all our strength. Our Song Dynasty does not only have the Huaihe River and Jiangnan. We also ask your majesty to send orders to Jinghu and Sichuan, and order Shi Songzhi, the envoy of Jinghu, and Zhao Yanna, the envoy of Sichuan, to send troops northward. Encircle Wei and rescue Zhao. Then send envoys to Shandong to recruit the Zhongyi Army, and order them to harass the Mongolian Army and hold back the Mongolian Army in Shandong. Finally, I will personally go to Yangzhou to supervise the division, and I will definitely make the Northern Army return without success!"
Zhao Kui is worthy of being a veteran, and he came up with a feasible strategy in a matter of seconds.
Zheng Qingzhi understood that now was the time to make a request to Zhao Yun. He immediately supported Zhao Kui and said: "Your Majesty, what Privy Zhao said makes sense! Please grant your permission!"
The Mongols came to attack, and Zhao Yun could only rely on the main war faction, and Zhao Kui's plan seemed feasible. He stood up and said: "Okay, then according to the wishes of the two beloved ministers, recruit the loyal army, and then order Shi Song He and Zhao Yanna sent troops."
Zheng Qingzhi, Zhao Kui and others quickly saluted, "Your Majesty is wise!"
Zhao Yun came down and helped the two of them up. He still didn't have much confidence in his heart and could only trust the two of them, "Two dear friends, I will leave the country of the Song Dynasty to you. You must resist the Northern soldiers. Don't do anything." Let me down!"
