Chapter 68 Wu

Gaoting Mountain is thirty miles away from Lin'an.After the three-way Yuan army joined forces in Lin'an as scheduled, Boyan continued to send troops to haunt the city of Lin'an.The chaos in the city has become a pot of porridge, and the disputes between Song Tingzhong, war, surrender, and departure are still endless. On the evening of the 19th day of the first lunar month, when the Lin'an neighborhood was falling asleep, the Ciyuan Hall was full of bright lights and loud voices. Wen Tianxiang, who had just been promoted to Prime Minister You by "Xuan Ma", asked politely to Zhang Shijie, who was stationed at Yunhe Tower, "Chief Zhang Jian, I have some ideas and would like to talk to you. I wonder if you would appreciate it?" Listen?"

Zhang Shijie was defeated in Jiaoshan, with more than 10,000 casualties, and the entire navy was wiped out.After returning to Lin'an, Song Ting not only did not hold him accountable for the defeat, but instead promoted him to be the commander of Shenlongwei Sixiangdu.Soon after, he was appointed as envoy along the Yangtze River, deputy envoy of Zhixi Zhizhi and Zhipingjiang Mansion, etc., and he was named the inspector and Shaobao, which was regarded as a military pillar. "The prime minister is too polite, I really don't dare to be an official." Zhang Shijie gave a deep salute, seemingly respectful but disrespectful, and said with a smile.At this time, Zhang Shijie still had 60,000 "regular troops" in his hands, while Wen Tianxiang only had 10,000 stragglers recruited during the Ganzhou uprising. Put it in your eyes.

"The current situation is critical. Instead of sitting still and waiting for death, it is better to fight with your back. Winning by luck is also inspiring. In fact, the enemy is not terrible, but it is because of our weak resistance, and we will take advantage of the victory to drive straight in. If it is blocked a little, I will be the master." , He is a guest, and we will have an absolute advantage. We still have Huaidong firmly defended in our dynasty, and Fujian and Guangxi have not fallen. If we win the bloody battle, we can order the Huai army to cut off the enemy's rear and attack from both sides, or there is hope of defeating the invading enemy. Zhang What do you think of the inspector and less security guard?"

"The prime minister said it easily, what should we use to fight the Yuan army?" "I roughly calculated that there are still 60,000 elite soldiers under Zhang Jian Shaobao's command, plus 50,000 Imperial Forest Army and more than 10,000 militiamen. As long as the command is proper, there is still a slight chance of victory." "No! No! Absolutely no!" Zhang Shijie was emotional and flatly refused. Wen Tianxiang was stunned, and there was a moment of silence in the hall. Zhang Shijie joined the army since he was a child, and rose step by step to the official position of the second rank today, which is already very rare in the Song court, which emphasizes literature over military affairs.For this reason, he especially cherishes everything he has gained today, and the concept of "supporting soldiers and self-respect" is deeply rooted.It's not that he doesn't know that after Jiaoshan's defeat, if he didn't still control more than 68,000 troops, he would have been convicted by the court long ago.Therefore, he can't fight off his army anyway, this is his capital, his trump card!Moreover, since the imperial court Qin Wang issued an edict to send out soldiers from all over the country, if the local forces actively responded to the edict, it would not be a problem to gather 150,000 elite troops. Why has there never been a single soldier rushing to help Lin'an?Since the princes from all walks of life are all holding a wait-and-see attitude, why does he have to show some bravery?

"Oh, Zhang Jianxiao Shaobao, why are you so angry?" Although Xie Daoqing has been feeling physically and mentally exhausted recently, he still has to force himself to discuss matters with the officials. "The country is in crisis, and Chen Yizhong and Liu Mengyan left without saying goodbye. The emperor is young, so he can only rely on Prime Minister Wen and Principal Zhang Jian to protect the prime minister. You must not let down the painstaking efforts of the Ai family." "As a minister of the Great Song Dynasty, I should be loyal to the country. Since Tianxiang entered the court, he has been opposed to negotiating peace with the Yuan army, let alone surrender? I have made up my mind early. I will be a minister of the Great Song Dynasty in life, and a ghost of the Great Song Dynasty in death. I would rather be a broken jade." , not for nothing!"

"Of course Ai's family believes in Prime Minister Wen's character. Although Ai's family is a woman, after all, after going through three dynasties, loyalty and treachery can still be distinguished. It's just that Wen Cheng is opposed to surrender, but where is there an army in my dynasty? Say, what are we going to use to fight the Yuan army? Do you want me, a useless old woman, to take you to fight Boyan and Ashu?" "I have no such intention." "Prime Minister Wen, where were you yesterday?" "The minister is deploying defenses along the Qianjiang River."

"Is it true that there are no soldiers to adjust and no generals to use?" "Yes..." Wen Tianxiang admitted helplessly. "That's enough. Yuan envoy Meng Qi has been waiting in the post for a long time, and Boyan is aggressive again. What do you ask the Ai family to do? If it wasn't for the Ai family to make a decisive decision and send envoys to Gaoting with the twelve jade seals and the surrender form Shan, I'm afraid that Boyan has already entered the Ciyuan Hall at this time. Are you willing to surrender when you are an Aijia? The three-hundred-year-old foundation of the Song Dynasty is so handed over to others. Can the Aijia not worry? But, if the Aijia If you don't surrender, I'm afraid that Zhao's blood will not survive..." Xie Daoqing couldn't help crying when he said that he was sad.

Wen Tianxiang felt miserable, and hurriedly ordered someone to help the Empress Dowager back to the palace to rest. "Li Bangning." Zhang Shijie greeted a handsome young eunuch. "The slave is here!" "Do you know where Chen Yizhong and Liu Mengyan slipped off?" "Chen Yizhong refused to meet Boyan, and fled to Wenzhou with his family in the middle of the night. Liu Mengyan... the slaves don't know." "What a pair of bereaved dogs! If I catch them, I will kill them alive!" "People have their own aspirations, let them go." Wen Tianxiang comforted Zhang Shijie, but his heart felt sore.

"Prime Minister Wen, because you and I have been dating for many years, Mr. Zhang should open the window and tell the truth: this is the end of the matter, we have to make another plan." "how to say?" "As the saying goes: If you keep the green hills, you don't have to worry about no firewood. Now that the court has surrendered, why should we stay? It's better to preserve this strength and avoid Dinghai. To be honest, I don't believe that there will be no chance to kill him in the future. Return the carbine." "No! As a courtier of the Great Song Dynasty, Wen can't help himself now... Forget it, Chief Zhang Jian Shaobao, just as you said, you go to Dinghai to raise military pay, expand the army and prepare for war, and Wen stays with Mrs. The Empress Dowager is dealing with Boyan."

"Prime Minister take care, Shijie bids farewell." Zhang Shijie cupped his hands and hurriedly left the Ciyuan Hall. Wen Tianxiang sat slumped on the chair, heartbroken. Oh my god, do you really have the heart to ruin my three-hundred-year foundation in Song Dynasty?