The gods began by supporting Guo Jing to become emperor

Chapter 207: The National Defeat Determines the Future

When the Jin army attacked, a court meeting was immediately convened in Nanchang Prefecture.

However, this time, there are still only a few people who can participate in the central decision-making.

Small meetings are held for big events, and big meetings are held for small events. This has been the case since ancient times.

Emperor Zhao Kuo of the Song Dynasty sat on the throne, looking calm and composed, looking down at the court officials below. When everyone arrived, Vice Minister Zhen Dexiu immediately opened fire, "Lord Qiao, I once said that the Jin people are tigers and wolves. Repaying the annual tribute is just repeating the act of giving land to Qin. It has only been two years since the alliance was signed, and the Jin people have started fighting again. How do you explain it?"

"Hmph, this was the Jin people's move. How should I explain it? On the contrary, you, with a powerful enemy at the door, do not think of a strategy to deal with the enemy, but instead attack your colleagues. What is your intention?" Qiao Xingjian is worthy of being a minister with many years of experience. He directly turned the tables.

Zhen Dexiu stared at him coldly. "When the Jin invaded, we naturally had to discuss countermeasures. But the imperial court spent millions of money and grain, and made a sincere alliance, but it was easily torn apart by the Jin. Don't we need to give an explanation to the court and the people? In the past two months, some people have fled to the north. If this continues, the people below will flee before the Jin invaders come."

"Warfare is important, but I hope that there will be only one voice left in the government and the public, to resist the Jin. Don't wait until the war is stalemate before negotiating peace with the Jin. The present is different from the past. The Jin have already crossed the river. If we don't fight the Jin with all our strength, the consequences will be disastrous."

The Song Dynasty, starting from Emperor Zhenzong of Song, maintained the principle of allowing different opinions to interfere with each other. The purpose was naturally to consolidate the imperial power, but it also caused the division of the court, disagreement and extremely serious internal friction.

In the final analysis, Qiao Xingjian still had no ground to stand on. He bowed and saluted, "I will not argue with you. Your Majesty is above me, and I, Qiao Xingjian, beg for your judgment!"

Zhao Kuo still looked absent-minded and did not move. The eunuch beside him carefully reminded him, and he finally came to his senses and said slowly, "Oh, your Majesty is right. I approve it."

Zhen Dexiu and Qiao Xingjian looked at each other and immediately lost the desire to argue. With such an official as this one, who had been in office for a very long time, all the officials in the court were helpless.

The few of them looked at each other, pretending that nothing had been said, saluted towards Zhao Kuo, and then continued to discuss important matters.

A few days later, the imperial edict arrived in Xiangyang. Meng Zongzhen received the order. As expected, the court promoted him again, sent people to deliver food and supplies, and ordered him to defend Xiangyang at all costs.

The same imperial edict was sent to Jinghu South Road, Fujian Road and other places.

This time, the peace faction within the court realized the seriousness of the matter and dared not drag their feet anymore, and fully supported the anti-Jin war. Although the people in the south of the Yangtze River were unwilling to march north, the Jin Kingdom had now reached their doorstep, and if they did not resist, their country would be destroyed.

However, after more than two years of preparation, the Jin Kingdom was well-equipped and had organized a new army. With the help of Wanyan Honglie who led the army in person, they conquered many states and counties in just over ten days. On the other hand, the Song army had chaotic orders and weak imperial guards, which were even weaker than the local militia. Thanks to the help of local villagers and gentry, the Jin army fell into a stalemate.

……

"Teacher, do you think I should send troops?"

Inside the pavilion, Guo Jing and Su Ming sat opposite each other.

Su Ming took the tea from him and said nonchalantly, "Haven't you already made the decision on whether to send troops or not?"

Guo Jing raised his lips slightly and asked, "Teacher, who do you think will win or lose in this battle?"

Su Ming smiled faintly, "No matter who wins or loses, there is only one loser. If you use culture to defeat force, you will be beaten if you fall behind. This has been the case since ancient times. The only difference is how much territory the Song Dynasty can keep this time."

"But you, the Jiaozi decree is refreshing to my teacher. You really remembered what I said back then."

Guo Jing straightened his body and bowed his head slightly. "Teacher's teachings, I will never forget them. There are four professions in the world: scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans. Without agriculture, there will be no stability. Without merchants, there will be no prosperity. Without merchants, goods cannot be transported north and south. Goods cannot be fully utilized and the people cannot benefit from them. Without people's benefits, merchants cannot be prosperous. Without merchants, the country will have no taxes. Without taxes, the country will not be strong. Without a strong country, the world will be in danger. This is your teaching. Since I took office, I have gradually understood what you said."

"If wealth and goods cannot be circulated, they are worthless. But if wealth and goods are to be circulated, there must be an intermediary, and that is money. The teacher once said that Jiaozi is a good policy, but it has drawbacks."

"My disciple and my father-in-law thought about it for a long time before coming up with the idea of ​​using salt as the basis. After implementing it, it has been effective."

Su Ming took a sip of tea and praised, "Master Huang, this person has great talent. It is your ability to make him work for you. But, Jing'er, what are you going to do next?"

Guo Jing was stunned for a moment, then fell into deep thought.

The teacher's question was obviously not about the present or the next few years, but about long-term plans for the future.

"Teacher, my priority now is to destroy the Jin Dynasty, but destroying the Jin Dynasty is only a process, not a goal. The Song Dynasty is beyond salvation. I can only rebuild the world and rebuild the Han Dynasty."

"Uncle Mu Huali once said that he would return to the grassland after defeating the Jin Dynasty. The implication seems to be that he wants to hand over the Central Plains to me."

"Oh? In your opinion, is this true?"

Guo Jing smiled, as if he didn't take this to heart. "It doesn't matter whether it's true or not, because it's not something he and I can control. The Khan is still on the Western Expedition and there's no news. If he's still in power when the Jin Dynasty is destroyed, I think it's possible. But if the Khan is ill, or something happens to the Mongolian central government, it's still unknown."

Speaking of Genghis Khan, Su Ming couldn't help but sigh, "Temujin, he is indeed a genius! From ancient times to the present, there has never been a man like him. There has never been one in the grasslands, and there has never been one in the Central Plains!"

In the thousands of years of Chinese history, the dynasty left by Genghis Khan lasted only a hundred years, but it still left a rich legacy for future generations, with far-reaching influence.

Then, he reminded, "Jing'er, you have to hurry up. Letting the Jin Dynasty destroy the Song Dynasty is a good move, but it is not easy to deal with Mongolia. Although the Song Dynasty is a Han dynasty, it is only a small place, and it is struggling to survive. If it really falls into the hands of foreigners, the people in the south will be resentful."

Guo Jing's pupils suddenly shrank, obviously he had not expected this. He certainly did not want to dirty his hands, but he also wanted to nail the Zhao Song Dynasty to the pillar of shame in history once they were destroyed by the Jin Kingdom.

The Song Dynasty was the first dynasty in history to be completely and thoroughly destroyed by a foreign race.

In this way, he could naturally become the orthodox Han people, but it would be too obvious. If the Jin people really destroyed the Song Dynasty, how many people would die and how much blood would be shed in the South? By then, the southerners would definitely resent him.

There are some things that you can't do too deliberately.

After figuring this out, Guo Jing let out a long breath, his eyes full of complicated expressions, "Thank you for your guidance, Teacher. I didn't expect that after so many years, you can still teach me."

Su Ming smiled and could not deny it. Even if he was not there, someone would definitely be able to see this in the future. It was just a matter of time. There were many smart people in the world. He never thought that he was smarter than the ancients in the world of The Legend of the Condor Heroes.

In later generations, there are many people who think that their ancestors were ignorant, and in many cases even stupid to the extreme, but thinking like that is truly stupid. Anyone can say that from God's perspective, but when you put things in the context of the entire historical context, it will seem natural.

Every era has its own limitations, which is inevitable. In other words, the ancients were able to maintain a unified dynasty for hundreds of years despite inconvenient transportation and poor communication. That was their unparalleled wisdom.

Su Ming put down the teacup, his expression solemn, "You are now the master of a region, and there is not much left for me to teach you. The world is full of great momentum, those who follow the trend will prosper, and those who go against the trend will perish, you must remember this."

Hearing this, Guo Jing stood up from his seat and bowed deeply to Su Ming, "Disciple, I will teach you."

……

Back in the study, Guo Jing was still thinking, until Hua Zheng arrived, he woke up from his dream, and finally sighed, "Hua Zheng, today I know what it means to be a counselor and a patriot."

Hua Zheng brought the tea and a smile appeared on her pretty face, "What's wrong? Who did you meet again?"

Guo Jing said with emotion, "Teacher's words just now have enlightened me. It seems that I can no longer stand by and watch the war between Jin and Song."

Hua Zheng was not surprised at all when she heard this. "Your teacher is a person that even my father Khan praised. He gave my father Khan some advice, which is still being implemented in Mongolia today. You should visit your teacher more often when you have time in the future."

"I understand. You go down and rest first. I'll be back later."

The next day, Guo Jing ordered the generals in Guanzhong to come to Luoyang for discussion.

Three days later, Government Hall.

Guo Jing sat at the top, wearing a dark brocade robe, with a short beard and a mature and steady demeanor. He was nearly thirty years old now, which was the prime of life, and also the time when a man was at his youngest and strongest.

Many of the generals under his command were older than him, and many times they were more anxious than the marquis Guo Jing.

He first looked at the civil officials, and then his eyes swept over the military generals. "I summoned you all here today to discuss the war between the Jin Kingdom and the Song Kingdom. Do you have any ideas?"

Seeing that no one spoke, Commander-in-Chief Zhang Rou was the first to speak, "My Lord, if the Jin Kingdom attacks the Song Dynasty, it will definitely have to draw a large number of troops to defend the empty space. Now is a great opportunity for us to attack the Jin Kingdom."

"Yes, Lord, this is a rare opportunity, let's send troops quickly!"

"That's it."

All the generals in the hall maintained a one-sided opinion and supported sending troops.

At this time, the civil official Pei Andao stood up and bowed to Guo Jing, "My Lord, I think the matter of attacking Jin is slow rather than urgent. If Jin dares to send troops, they must have made some preparations. What we can think of, they can definitely think of as well."

"If we attack the Jin at this time, they must have been well prepared. I suggest that we send troops later. First, this will reduce the Jin's vigilance. Second, we will have ample time to mobilize food and supplies. Third, we can unite with the Grand Tutor and the King to send troops together."

At this time, some generals were unhappy, "You are such a scoundrel, we are enough, why do you want to involve the Mongols?"

Pei Andao finished speaking, but he just bowed to Guo Jing and ignored his words, "This is just my humble opinion, please correct me, Lord."

Guo Jing looked at him deeply, but did not speak. Instead, he asked Lu Guanying, "Guanying, what do you think?"

Lu Guanying sat on his right, listening attentively. Seeing Guo Jing asking questions, he answered without thinking, "I think what Lord Pei said makes sense. The Jin people are going to use a large-scale military force, so they must be prepared. Our army has not experienced a major war for two or three years, so we need to prepare early. In addition, we must also inform the Grand Tutor and the King to avoid trouble."

After Lu Guanying spoke, the complaints in the hall became much quieter. He was the general that Guo Jing relied on the most, and in a way, he represented Guo Jing's will.

In fact, Pei Andao's words really touched Guo Jing's heart. From the very beginning, he had no intention of sitting back and watching. His plan was to wait for the Jin people to destroy the Song Dynasty and send troops immediately after they had gained a firm foothold.

But Su Ming's words reminded him that this was not feasible.

For this reason, he decided to send troops earlier and destroy the Jin Dynasty as soon as possible. Since he wanted to destroy the Jin Dynasty, he must inform Mu Huali. Although Genghis Khan did not say it at the beginning, he knew that he must be the leader of such a major event as destroying the Jin Dynasty.

His qualifications and strength are there and should not be underestimated. It is not impossible for him to destroy the Jin Dynasty alone, but doing so will cause too much damage and easily lead to resentment from Mu Huali. He refused to send troops at the beginning, and now he is destroying the Jin Dynasty alone. There is no guarantee that he will not think too much.

Afterwards, the civil and military officials discussed for another hour and finally decided on the rules. The three armies did not move, but the food and supplies had to be mobilized first, spies were sent to spy on the defense of Huaibei, and envoys were sent to contact Mu Huali to discuss sending troops together.

At this time, Yang Kang in Jiankang City was immersed in the joy of holding power.

Wanyan Honglie led the army in person and the crown prince governed the country, which meant that all matters in Jiankang City were decided by him. Although important military and political affairs were still sent to the front line for approval by Wanyan Honglie, there was no one to suppress him. This was the first time that he truly experienced the power of the emperor, although only in part.

In the hall, Yang Kang looked at the secret letter in his hand and couldn't help complaining, "Father is really something. He is already supervising the troops at the front line, and he still issued a strict order for me to be vigilant against the Mongols in the north."

"Your Highness, His Majesty is also worried about state affairs." The waiter at the side said hurriedly.

Yang Kang, wearing a black python robe with golden dragon patterns embroidered on it, stood up from his chair, "I check the military reports of Huaibei every day and strictly order them to inspect. Why doesn't my father believe me? Guo Jing is strong, but in the past few years, he has used the issuance of Jiaozi to build water conservancy projects and roads and mobilize labor. Which is not mobilizing troops? It is impossible for him to mobilize troops so quickly."

"In my opinion, Father is worrying too much. As for Mu Huali, they suffered heavy casualties in the last battle of Kaifeng, and there was also a rebellion. I guess they haven't recovered yet, so it's difficult for them to use troops in a short period of time."

Although the Jin Dynasty had been preparing for war in recent years, it still maintained a close eye on Mongolia and knew a lot about things in the north. After all, they were the Jin Dynasty's biggest enemy.

Suddenly, the eunuch who was sorting out the memorials made a joyful voice, "Your Highness, there is a report from the front line. We have won again, and have captured many big cities. The Song people have suffered heavy losses!"

(End of this chapter)