Usurpation of Mongolia: My father-in-law is Genghis Khan

Chapter 235 The Ten Wins and Ten Losses Theory? Bullshit! They all voted!

Southern Song Dynasty, Lin'an, Imperial Palace.

"Tell me, what do you think of Zhao Shuo's 'Decree to Annihilate the Song Dynasty'?"

Emperor Zhao Yun of the Song Dynasty looked solemnly at his five prime ministers.

Zheng Qingzhi was the Right Chancellor and concurrently the Privy Councilor.

Shi Songzhi was the Left Chancellor and Deputy Privy Councilor, and Commander-in-Chief of the military forces in Lianghuai, Sichuan, Jingxi, and Hubei.

Qiao Xingjian was appointed to manage important military and national affairs.

Wei Liaoweng served as Vice Chancellor and concurrently as Associate Privy Councilor.

Zhen Dexiu was appointed as the Privy Councilor and concurrently as the Vice Minister of State Affairs.

To be honest, the past three years since Xuan Zeng was beheaded at the Meridian Gate by Zhao Shuo have been the most comfortable period of Zhao Yun's life.

Although Ögedei Khan issued an edict ordering the eldest sons of the various khans to launch a western expedition and Zhao Shuo to attack the Song Dynasty, Zhao Shuo's campaign against the Song Dynasty had not yet begun.

After Shi Miyuan's death, Zheng Qingzhi was appointed Right Chancellor and Privy Councilor, becoming the Prime Minister of the Song Dynasty. He was an upright and honest man, not one who coveted power.

In order to appease Shi Miyuan's faction, Zhao Yun promoted Shi Miyuan's nephew, Shi Songzhi, to the position of prime minister, second only to Zheng Qingzhi.

However, how could Shi Songzhi's prestige compare to that of Shi Miyuan?

Despite having the official title of "Commander-in-Chief of the Military Forces of Lianghuai, Sichuan, Jingxi and Hubei," it seemed as if the elite troops of the Song Dynasty were all under his control.

However, the Song Dynasty had its own established system. Without the approval of Zheng Qingzhi, the Privy Councilor, Shi Songzhi could not mobilize a single soldier to issue orders to the front lines. Besides, wasn't Shi Songzhi himself and his family in Lin'an? Shi Songzhi couldn't even exert any influence over the troops in the capital.

Shi Miyuan's henchman Liang Chengda was sent by Zhao Yun to oversee the Qianqiu Hongxi Temple.

Furthermore, Zhao Yun promoted two prominent Neo-Confucian scholars, Zhen Dexiu and Wei Liaoweng, to the position of prime minister. He finally gained control of the vast territory and more than 80 million people of the Southern Song Dynasty. He could make decisions on national affairs with a single word, and his life couldn't be more comfortable.

However, with Zhao Shuo's "Decree to Annihilate the Song Dynasty" issued, Zhao Yun's good days were about to come to an end.

"Don't worry, Your Majesty!"

Although Wei Liaoweng was nearly sixty years old, his voice was as loud as a bell. He said, "Although the Mongol army is powerful, I believe that our Great Song has ten advantages and Zhao Shuo has ten disadvantages. The victor of this war will surely be our Great Song!"

Zhao Yun's eyes lit up, and he said, "Oh? Why do you say that, Minister Wei? Tell me quickly, what are Zhao Shuo's ten defeats and what are the ten victories of our Great Song?"

"Firstly, Zhao Shuo entrusted his elite troops and generals to his eldest son, Zhao He, for the western expedition. Our Great Song, however, united the nation's elite troops and generals to fight against Zhao Shuo. This is one victory and one defeat."

"Secondly, our Great Song Dynasty has the natural defenses of the Yangtze and Huai Rivers, and the Jiangnan region is also covered by a dense network of waterways, making it difficult for cavalry to move freely. As the saying goes, northerners are skilled with horses, and southerners are skilled with boats. Zhao Shuo's advantage lies in his cavalry, while our Great Song Dynasty's advantage lies in its navy. Zhao Shuo is using his weakness to attack our strength, which is a double victory and a double defeat!"

"Thirdly, Zhao Shuo is still under the Mongol Great Khan Ögedei! If the people of our Great Song surrender to Zhao Shuo, wouldn't that be pledging allegiance to a barbarian court? Although Zhao Shuo has the desire to unify the Han people, he has not yet ascended the throne as emperor. Without a proper name, words cannot be accepted, and without accepted words, things cannot be accomplished. This is the third victory and the third defeat!"

"Fourthly, our Great Song Dynasty shares the world with the scholar-officials, while Zhao Shuo claims to share the world with the Han and Mongols, but in reality, it is nothing more than a world shared by military men. Military men are shameless and treacherous; how can they be entrusted with important responsibilities? This is the fourth victory and the fourth defeat!"

"Fifthly, since ancient times, when launching a military campaign, how could one ever truthfully disclose the true strength of their troops to the entire nation? They invariably exaggerate it several times over, to intimidate enemy states externally and to scare disobedient subjects internally. Zhao Shuo's claim of 150,000 Eight Banner troops and 140,000 local militia is already an underestimate. This shows that Zhao Shuo is overconfident and believes victory is assured, so much so that he is unwilling to even engage in bluffing. As history has shown, arrogant armies are destined to fail, just as in the case of Emperor Hailing. This is the fifth victory and the fifth defeat!"

"it is good!"

At this point in Wei Liaoweng's speech, Zhen Dexiu exclaimed in admiration: "Back then, Emperor Hailing of Jin led an army of 600,000 to invade our Great Song Dynasty, claiming to have a million. How imposing they were! In their arrogance and complacency, they even wrote a poem: 'Ten thousand miles of carriages and books are unified, how can there be separate borders in Jiangnan? Leading a million troops to West Lake, they stand atop the first peak of Wu Mountain.' In the end, weren't they still utterly defeated by our Great Song Dynasty at Caishiji? Their efforts were in vain?"

Even Qiao Xingjian nodded slightly, feeling that Zhao Shuo was being a bit arrogant, and said, "Back then, Cao Cao unified the north and was also full of ambition when he launched an attack on the south of the Yangtze River, but he was defeated by Cao Cao and Liu Bei at the Battle of Red Cliffs."

Encouraged by the two, Wei Liaoweng spoke even more eloquently, saying, "Sixthly, Zhao Shuo possesses the bloodline of the Song imperial family, yet to this day, he has not acknowledged his ancestors. Everyone knows that His Majesty reveres Heaven and honors his ancestors. How can such an unfilial person be a match for His Majesty? This is the sixth victory and the sixth defeat!"

"Seventh, according to Zhao Shuo's 'Decree to Destroy the Song Dynasty,' he only left four 10,000-household units in the core territory, and they were all non-Han Chinese 10,000-household units. How could that be enough?"

"The Mongols were already internally divided, and Ögedei Khan was forced by Zhao Shuo, Jochi, and others to issue an edict of self-reproach. After Zhao Shuo destroyed the Song Dynasty, how could Ögedei Khan control him? What if Ögedei Khan took advantage of Zhao Shuo's destruction of the Song Dynasty to suddenly send a large army from the steppes to attack him from behind? Zhao Shuo would probably face the danger of death and the destruction of his country. This is the seven victories and seven defeats!"

"Yes!"

Zhao Yun nodded happily and said, "If Ögedei Khan sends troops and captures Zhao Shuo's Zhongdu, that would be wonderful."

Wei Liaoweng said, "Eighthly, Zhao Shuo's prime minister is Yelü Chucai, a Khitan man. What learning does he have? Zhao Bingwen, the literary emperor of the north, was only given the position of vice minister of the Ministry of Rites by him. It is a waste of his talents."

He paused, then looked at the other prime ministers and said, "Now, the court of our Great Song Dynasty is filled with upright officials. From a strategic perspective, our Great Song Dynasty is destined to win, and Zhao Shuo is destined to lose! This is the eight victoryes and eight defeats!"

"Ah."

These words pleased the prime ministers, and even Zheng Qingzhi nodded slightly in agreement.

Wei Liaoweng continued, "Ninth, Zhao Shuo constantly proclaims that he shares the world with the Han and the Mongols. Yet he claims that in cities defended by our Great Song, all the men of the gentry families are slaughtered, and two out of ten soldiers defending the city are killed. Such brutality is tantamount to leading beasts to devour people! It is easy to imagine whether the people's hearts are with him or not. This is the ninth victory and the ninth defeat!"

"Tenthly, Zhao Shuo wants to abolish the privileges of the gentry and seize the land of the landlords. Tenants depend on the gentry for their food and clothing; why should they be equal? ​​The land of those gentry families was accumulated through generations of hard work by their ancestors. On what grounds does Zhao Shuo forcibly seize it? They will surely resist to the death. The common people are ignorant; the gentry are the foundation of the nation. Zhao Shuo is putting the cart before the horse; this is the tenth advantage and the tenth disadvantage!"

"Well said! The gentry are the foundation of the nation. Even Emperor Guangwu of Han compromised with local powerful families!"

"Zhao Shuo has offended all the gentry in the land, yet he still wants to seize the world? He's simply daydreaming!"

"To seize someone's livelihood is to kill their parents. Victory in this battle will surely belong to our Great Song Dynasty!"

Zheng Qingzhi, Qiao Xingjian, and Zhen Dexiu all echoed his sentiments.

To be fair, none of these prime ministers of the Song Dynasty were completely incompetent; they could all be considered heroes of the Song Dynasty.

However, they all share a deep-rooted belief: whoever wins the hearts of the people wins the world.

What is public opinion?

Of course, it's the heart of the gentry.

The common people are ignorant and easily swayed; they believe whatever the gentry say. Incited by the gentry, they will surely fight Zhao Shuo to the death.

How did Zhao Shuo conquer the Song Dynasty?
Therefore, the three prime ministers were greatly encouraged.

Wei Liaoweng was even more smug, as if he could "devise strategies within the tent and win battles a thousand miles away," and was already comparable to Guo Jia, who proposed "ten advantages and ten disadvantages" to Cao Cao during the Three Kingdoms period.

It's likely that after this great victory for the Song state, his words will be recorded in great detail in the history books. Only Shi Songzhi did not agree.

Although he was Shi Miyuan's nephew, he was indeed capable in both military and political affairs. Among the five prime ministers of the Song Dynasty, Shi Songzhi could be considered the most capable minister, and by a significant margin.

Most importantly, from a young age, Shi Songzhi held those "masters of Neo-Confucianism" in contempt and valued "practical achievements" above all else.

He utterly despised Wei Liaoweng's theory of ten victories and ten defeats.

Firstly, Zhao Shuo only gave 10% of his troops to Zhao He. How could that affect the combat strength of Zhao Shuo's army? Not to mention that so much time has passed, Zhao Shuo has probably already replenished his troops.

Secondly, who says Zhao Shuo's navy is incapable of fighting? According to the latest intelligence, Zhao Shuo's navy, under the banner of the Red Flag, can not only sail to the southern oceans, but has also caught a large number of whales from somewhere.

Could the Song Dynasty's navy have done that?

Thirdly, what did it matter that Zhao Shuo had Ögedei above him? To put it bluntly, Ögedei should call Zhao Shuo his brother-in-law. Throughout history, Song emperors addressed Jin emperors as brothers, uncles, and subjects, and even sent them vast amounts of wealth and women. What humiliating things hadn't they done? Did this affect the Song emperors' rule over millions of people?

Fourth, what's wrong with Zhao Shuo sharing the world with military men? Genghis Khan shared the world with his steppe warriors, yet he still destroyed countless kingdoms.
Fifth, Zhao Shuo only stated the number of soldiers he had deployed. How could that be considered boastful? This is about seeking truth from exaggeration; what's wrong with that?
The Song state claimed to have an army of over a million, but how much of that was exaggerated? And who did it actually intimidate?

Sixth, Zhao Shuo did not acknowledge his ancestors, which clearly indicates that he did not want to inherit the previous dynasty like Emperor Guangwu of Han.

He wants to establish a brand new dynasty, completely different from the Song Dynasty. Isn't that a grand ambition?

Seventh, if Ögedei Khan were to attack Zhao Shuo at this time, it would lead to a split within the Mongol Empire. The other four factions might immediately join forces to destroy him. Even if Zhao Shuo's army were to turn back, they might not be able to withstand it! This would practically give Zhao Shuo an excuse to seize power!

Did Ögedei feel his position as Khan was too secure?
Eighth, it's completely insignificant. Shi Songzhi believes that among the current prime ministers of the Song Dynasty, let alone Zhen Dexiu and Wei Liaoweng, even Zheng Qingzhi and Qiao Xingjian are not particularly remarkable figures.

In the entire Song Dynasty court, only Shi Songzhi could be considered a prime minister.

Ninth, Zhao Shuo claimed to share the world with the Mongols and Han Chinese, and this campaign against the Song Dynasty was already quite merciful. It should be noted that the Mongols had previously slaughtered all the male Tangut people, regardless of whether they surrendered or not.

Upon arriving in Goryeo, they even laid the wheels flat!
If this is not sharing the world with the Han people, then what is?

The tenth one is the most ridiculous.

Indeed, the implementation of the equal-field system and the militia system during the Sui and Tang dynasties was unimpeded because after the wars, there was a shortage of people and a large amount of land.

Now, the Southern Song Dynasty has a large population but limited land, and it is unknown how many officials will resist to the death.

But is Zhao Shuo afraid of their resistance?

He destroyed so many countries that it was perfect opportunity to wipe out all those who were dissatisfied with him.

Furthermore, while the common people were indeed far more ignorant, the influence of the gentry was not as great as the scholar-officials imagined. Haven't you heard that poem? "The ashes of the pit were not yet cold when Shandong was in chaos; Liu and Xiang, it turns out, were not learned."

The so-called "ten victories and ten defeats" is completely illogical and nothing more than self-comfort for the Song Dynasty's rulers and ministers.

Of course, this was what Shi Songzhi thought, but he wouldn't say it aloud.

He simply nodded slightly to Wei Liaoweng and said, "Minister Wei, your eloquence is admirable. However, it's a pity that no matter how well you speak here, you can't stop Zhao Shuo's army, can you? Why don't you go to Mongolia, meet with the Great Khan Ögedei, and explain the principles of these ten advantages and ten disadvantages to him? Persuade him to send troops to attack Zhao Shuo from behind?"

"Uh……"

Wei Liaoweng hesitated for a moment, saying, "The journey to Mongolia is long, and most of the places we'll be passing through are Zhao Shuo's territory. Even if I brave the dangers and disguise myself, I'm afraid my body won't be able to handle it!"

"Oh, I'm afraid your health won't be able to handle it. Then let me tell you something closer to home. Minister Wei can go to Zhongdu as an envoy. He can explain to Zhao Shuo the reasons behind the ten victories and ten defeats, and persuade him to stop the war. This would save the people of the world from a calamity of war, which would be a great deed."

"That's even worse. Although Zhao Shuo has royal blood, his family has lived on the grasslands for generations, and the customs of the nomadic tribes are very strong. He is unreasonable. When Prime Minister Xuan advised him to ascend the throne, he was cut in half at the waist outside the Meridian Gate. The lesson of history is still fresh in our minds!"

"If this won't work, and that won't work, then this is going to be difficult."

Shi Songzhi then revealed his true intentions, saying, "Then, Prime Minister Wei, go to Bianliang in Henan. There, General Quan Zicai leads an army of 50,000. Explain the principles of these ten victories and ten defeats to my soldiers, and inspire them to fight bravely to defend the old capital of our Great Song Dynasty. Surely that's achievable?"

"Uh……"

Having put it this far, Wei Liaoweng had no choice but to agree.

After all, after the Jingkang Incident, the famous Song Dynasty prime minister Zong Ze rallied a righteous army to defend Bianliang without soldiers or funds.

They were both prime ministers, and Zong Ze was even older than him.

What? Zong Ze can go, but Wei Liaoweng can't?
"That makes sense!"

Now that things have come to this, Zhao Yun also feels that he should send Wei Liaoweng to Bianliang.

After all, it was the former capital of the Song Dynasty, and its political significance was extremely important. It couldn't be easily fallen into Zhao Shuo's hands, could it?
If Wei Liaoweng successfully defended Bianliang, that would be ideal. If he failed, the Song Dynasty would have lost a prime minister for the sake of Bianliang, which would boost the morale of the people and the military, and would be a way for the Song court to give an explanation to the people and the military.

He said, “What Prime Minister Shi says makes sense. Prime Minister Wei, you should go to Bianliang! You don’t need to hold out for a year or two, just three months. After three months, you can lead your troops to break out, and Meng Gong will send troops from Xiangyang to meet you. If things don’t go well, I will naturally bestow upon Prime Minister Wei the title of a king, allowing you to enjoy the highest honors!”

"Uh... In that case, this old minister will obey!" Wei Liaoweng hesitated for a moment before bowing and agreeing.

He truly believed in his "ten wins and ten losses" theory.

In his view, with 50,000 troops stationed in Bianliang, how could it not hold out for three months? Even if he failed to break through by then, he would still be rewarded with the title of king at his age, which would be enough.

In fact, Shi Songzhi wanted Wei Liaoweng to go to Bianliang for two reasons. On the one hand, he looked down on Wei Liaoweng and wanted to kick him out of the court. On the other hand, he also felt that with Wei Liaoweng in Bianliang, the morale of the army could be boosted and the city could hold out for a few months, thus winning more time and prestige for the Song Dynasty.

Don't you remember how it took the Song state more than a year to conquer Bianliang?

Could it be that with Wei Liaoweng in charge, Bianliang couldn't even hold out for a few months?
However, at this moment—

Deng Deng Deng~~
With a series of hurried footsteps, the eunuch Dong Songchen rushed into the palace.

"It's terrible! Something terrible has happened! Zhao Shuo has divided his troops into three routes and attacked Henan, the capital of our Great Song Dynasty! The garrison troops of each city have surrendered without a fight, and the entire Henan, including Bianliang, has fallen into Zhao Shuo's hands."

"This...how is this possible? Say it again!"

Zhao Yun stood up straight from the dragon throne, barely able to believe his ears.

"Yes, say it again... say it again!"

Wei Liaoweng, who had just put forward the theory of ten wins and ten losses, felt his face burning and was completely dumbfounded!
(End of this chapter)