If the Mongolian and Song Dynasties negotiate a peace, the Southern Song Dynasty's main war faction will inevitably be squeezed out. The Zhao brothers are still in their prime and naturally do not want to leave the center of power.
Therefore, neither Zhao Kui nor Zhao Fan wanted to see the peace talks, but as ministers, they could not resist the emperor's order.
Now their only hope is to destroy Kublai Khan before the emperor falls to the peace faction, so that Mongolia and Song Dynasty can continue to maintain a state of war.
This can not only extend their political life, but also conform to their political views and realize the political ideal of regaining the old territory and reviving the Song Dynasty.
At dawn the next day, Zhao Fan's Huai army and Zhao Kui's imperial army went out to camp and set up formation after dinner, preparing to attack Hengjian Mountain. Their enthusiasm was even higher than that of Zhao Tai.
After all, after the peace talks between Meng and Song Dynasty, Lin'an could not deal with Zhao Tai for a while, but all he needed to deal with them was an imperial edict.
When the Huai army and the Forbidden Army were in formation, the Qi army also sent Li Fen with 20,000 troops to attack the mountain.
There were 30,000 people on Hengjian Mountain. If they were to defend the dangerous ground, Kublai Khan would have to fight against the trapped beasts. The Song army would definitely pay heavy casualties if they attacked by force.
Zhao Tai needs two elites, Zhongyi and Wuwei, to maintain the deterrent effect against Mongolia and Lin'an, so he can only let Li Fen go first.
This can not only eliminate Kublai Khan, but also weaken Li Fen's strength, which will help Zhao Tai completely integrate Shandong after the war.
After Ning Haijun came out to form the camp, Shi Songzhi did not dare to directly disobey Zhao Kui's order, so he also sent 20,000 Chu troops to form a formation at the foot of the mountain.
For a time, 80,000 men and horses spread out at the foot of the mountain. It can be said that the spears are like a forest, the military flags are like clouds, the military power is majestic, and it makes people excited.
On Hengjian Mountain, Kublai Khan looked down the mountain and with a serious expression ordered the generals to take advantage of the dangerous positions, so that the Song army would pay a heavy price every time they conquered a hilltop.
Although the Chu army suffered a setback a few days ago, the Song army finally achieved a great victory in eliminating the state, so the morale of the various departments is still high.
At this time, the armies were arrayed at the foot of the mountain, and Zhao Kui, riding a horse, came to inspect the array in person to encourage the soldiers who were attacking the mountain.
"Your Majesty the Privy Council!" Zhao Kui rode around in various formations, constantly raising his whip, responding to the soldiers' shouts, and boosting the morale of the soldiers.
Zhao Tai did not appear in the military formation, but was in the camp, watching the Song army form their formation from a distance.
In the two battles of Chuzhou and Chuzhou, he stole the show and aroused the fear of some people.
This time Shi Songzhi asked for peace because he was afraid that he would get credit again, so Zhao Tai is trying to keep a low profile now.
After all, Zhao Tai's current strength is not enough to fall out with the Southern Song Dynasty, so he should not overly stimulate the Southern Song Dynasty.
If he is too good, not only Shi Songzhi, who is in charge of peace, will be on guard against Zhao Tai, but the main war faction will also have doubts.
Regardless of whether they were in charge of war or peace, they were all ministers of the Song Dynasty, and their allegiance was to Zhao Yun of Lin'an. They all had to consider the stability of the rule of the Southern Song Dynasty.
At this time, Zhao Kui returned to the central army after an inspection. Seeing that it was late, he immediately drew his sword, pointed forward, and shouted loudly: "Attack!"
As soon as the military order was given, the troops in formation below the mountain swarmed toward Hengjian Mountain like a tide.
Thirty thousand Mongolian troops are distributed in Hengjian Mountain. There are many hills guarded by the Mongolian troops. If the Song army wants to attack the main peak, it must first remove the Mongolian troops stationed on the surrounding hills. Therefore, it will not take a day or two to defeat Kublai Khan.
When Zhao Tai saw the various ministries launching an attack, he turned back to the camp and asked Wang Bin, "Military advisor, how is the progress of recruiting the prisoners?"
Wang Bin said: "Reporting to your Majesty, I completed the statistics overnight. In the battle of Chuzhou, our army captured more than 23,000 Mongolian troops and more than 12,000 horses. The harvest was extremely rich."
When Zhao Tai heard that there were so many prisoners and horses, a smile appeared on his face, "Not to mention anything else, just twelve thousand horses can greatly increase the strength of our army."
Wang Bindao: "Kublai Khan went south this time and mobilized all the Han troops in Hedong and Hebei. If our cavalry forms a combat force, we can completely seize the land in Hebei in the future!"
Zhao Tai nodded and returned to the topic, "The captured Mongolian troops are willing to surrender!"
"There are many Mongolian infantry following Kublai Khan south this time. Our captive soldiers probably come from three places, Hedong, Hebei, and Shandong. Although most of these captives are willing to surrender, I think that the soldiers from Hedong are not suitable for inclusion in the army. ." Wang Bin said in a deep voice: "Hedong is too far from Shandong, and the captives' families are all in Hedong. If they are forcibly recruited, it will be difficult for them to be truly loyal. I thought that by recruiting them, I would get a quota, so it is better to recruit troops from Shandong!"
Zhao Tai stroked his beard and said, "What the military advisor said makes sense! To recruit prisoners, you need to select them! In addition, you must leave enough staff to recruit children from good families to ensure that direct descendants have the advantage in the army!"
Wang Bin said: "I have made a rough estimate. Based on the prefectures and counties controlled by the king, the size of the Qi army should be controlled within 130,000! Now the Wuwei and Ninghai armies are each given 30,000 troops. The troops directly under the king are loyal and loyal. The army is 30,000, and the naval force is expanded to 10,000. We can form another army and recruit 30,000 soldiers."
Zhao Tai nodded slightly, "How many people can be selected from the prisoners?"
Wang Bin said: "Excluding those from Hedong, as well as the old, weak and disabled, it shouldn't be a problem to select 10,000 people."
Zhao Tai nodded, "Quickly select them and reorganize them on the spot. Officers will be transferred from the loyal army. Captured officers who are willing to surrender can only serve as deputy officers and not chief officers."
Wang Bin saluted, "I understand! By the way, there are several generals of the Han army among the prisoners this time. Do you want to summon them, your Majesty?"
Zhao Tai asked: "Who is there?"
Wang Bin said: "Yan Zhongji, Zhang Rou!"
Zhao Tai raised his eyebrows. There were originally two great princes in Shandong, the Yan family and the Li family. The Yan family was not as powerful as Li Fen, but it was still a big warlord.
The Yan family was originally located in Dongping, Shandong. After Zhao Tai and Wuxian moved to Shandong, the Yan family was driven away by Wuxian and fled to Hebei.
Zhang Rou needs no introduction. He is Zhao Tai's old friend. Unexpectedly, he didn't run away.
Wang Bin said: "Your Majesty, the princes of Hebei have always been wavering. There are not many people who have repeatedly jumped between Mongolia and Jin. This time the Mongolian southern expedition failed, I thought it would definitely shake Mongolia's rule in the two rivers. Those princes Seeing that the Mongols were unable to defeat the great king, but were defeated by the great king, they must have different aspirations!"
Zhao Tai said thoughtfully: "The military advisor's intention is to let Gu recruit and surrender two people to set an example so that he can recruit the princes of Lianghe to surrender in the future!"
Wang Bin saluted, "Your Majesty is wise!"
Zhao Tai asked: "What is the attitude of these two people?"
Wang Bin said: "We all have concerns! After all, our family members are all in Hebei. Once we surrender, I'm afraid they will be massacred by the Mongols!"
Zhao Tai narrowed his eyes and walked a few steps back and forth in the tent, and then ordered: "Feed and drink well first, and I will meet them in a few days! If they are willing to surrender, I will regard them as a model. Put them to good use. If they refuse to surrender, let them know that they intend to surrender, and then give them houses and fields, and let Mongolia conduct detailed exploration, and use Mongolian hands to get rid of their families."
