The rise of the prince

Chapter 518 Jin Guo is Waiting and Watching

In the brightly lit palace, the banquet outside was still lively.

Some people recite poems and compose odes, some make loud noises, group in threes and fours, or talk about retribution, or gossip about family affairs, who died recently, how he died, whose daughter was promised to which son, etc. .
The maidservants of the royal family kept walking around to add food, and the banquet was lively and enjoyable.

The atmosphere in the hall behind the white jade screen was particularly dignified.

Zhong Daoyu's overturned dishes and drinks were replaced, but no one could eat and drink safely, except for Tang Zhou, the heartless fat man.

Li Xingzhou has never experienced such a change that determines the fate of a country, and it is thousands of miles away, beyond his reach.

Almost everyone looked at Zhong Daoyu, and no one said much.

At this moment, the shortcomings of Jingguo are instantly highlighted. If it is an ordinary government affairs, everyone will express their opinions, and they can argue for months or even years. Absolutely.

But at such a critical moment, the only one everyone can count on is the old Zhong Daoyu. What if he disappears in a few years?
Small soldiers and small battles must be another debate, but in this kind of big situation, if you say a wrong word or make a wrong idea, you will become a sinner through the ages.

Now, instead, no one dared to say anything. The candles flickered, illuminating everyone's different and ever-changing faces. After all, everyone had self-knowledge in their hearts. There was no one handsome in Jingguo, except for the aging Zhong Daoyu!

The emperor had just issued an order to let Ji Chunsheng enter the palace quietly, send a popular fast horse overnight, report to Tang Long's military situation in the important town, and ask them to step up their precautions, so maybe they can last for a few more days.

It is also the first time for Li Xingzhou to experience such a major event, and the real decision-making is thousands of miles away.

He is also deeply touched by the difficulties and powerlessness involved, which is why the foresight of the decision-makers is very important.

Because the whole process from gathering the army in the capital to the northwest frontier would take at least a few months, and if the upper-level decision-making was a little slow or slow, it would lead to an irreversible situation.

This is the current situation.

But it was not because the emperor was late.

The main emperors and courtiers were preoccupied with how to send troops to the Liao Kingdom and take back Nanjing, so they did not pay attention to the northwest.

This gave Xixia a chance. Even Li Xingzhou didn't care when he got Xixia to sell a crossbow to the rebels. He didn't think much about it.

In fact, if he hadn't been careless at the beginning, maybe it was too late to increase troops to the northwest 20 days to a month in advance.

Or it should be said that he doesn't have much experience in war, and he doesn't have a keen sense of war like Zhong Daoyu, who can gain insight into the overall situation by looking at the details.

"Tang Long can't be defended, taking Nanjing is the big deal." Zhong Daoyu said slowly, "Furthermore, if we divide our forces to save the northwest, and Nanjing cannot take it, it will be a disadvantage for both sides.

Your majesty, I think it is abominable for Xixia to turn back and back, but in the current situation, the northern expedition to Nanjing, using it as a fulcrum, is a major event to resist the Jin people going south, which is greater than the northwest.

Even if Xixia is an ambitious wolf, he is still a toothless wolf. A piece of meat can make him full, and he will choke to death if he eats too much.

But Jin Guo is different. Jin Guo is not only a wolf, but also has teeth, sharp teeth, no matter how many there are, it can be crushed and swallowed. "

The emperor didn't speak for a long time, and he could see the struggle in his heart. Tang Long's important town was bought by the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers decades ago. It was Jing's first important line of defense against Xixia, so he naturally couldn't give up.

"If you don't save Tang Long, how should you use your troops?" the emperor asked.

Zhong Daoyu thought for a while, then said in a deep voice: "Thunder means, come out in full force, it is best to take Nanjing within a year, before Jin Renping the Xijing Road.

If we wait for the Jin people to completely flatten Xijing, maybe things will change! "

"This..." Yantie envoy Lu Jie frowned and said: "General, the covenant is in hand, so there is no need to be in such a hurry? If it is won within a year, is it possible that we will send troops in early February? You must know that Nanjing is the most dangerous place in the entire Liao Kingdom." big city."

Some people also echoed. The reason why they think so is not unreasonable. Li Xingzhou also understands that they are not intentionally criticizing, but telling the truth.

Nanjing City of Liao Dynasty is the future Beijing, located at the junction of North China Plain, Taihang Mountains and Yanshan Mountains.It is about three hundred miles east of the Bohai Sea.Its southeastern part is a plain, which belongs to the northwest edge of the North China Plain.

Its west is the northeast residual vein of the Taihang Mountains, and the north and northeast mountains are the western branches of the Yanshan Mountains.

And it goes north to Mongolia, east to northeast and south to North China.There are various dangers around. From a military point of view, this is an excellent location. Such a place is not only valued by the Jing Kingdom, but also by the Liao Kingdom. It is very easy to defend and difficult to attack.

At this moment, the emperor suddenly looked at him, "What do you think?"

Li Xingzhou was taken aback, he didn't expect him to ask him without saying a word, he cupped his hands and said, "I think General Zhong's words are reasonable."

After finishing speaking, he stood aside and didn't say much, because he didn't understand such a thing, and he couldn't understand it better than Zhong Daoyu.

"Is this gone?" the emperor asked.

Li Xingzhou nodded.

The emperor frowned: "Tell me more."

"." Li Xingzhou was speechless. After thinking for a while, he added: "Except for the wolfish ambition of the Jinren mentioned by General Zhong, the Jinren must also be waiting and watching, watching the strength of our country."

The reason why he said this is that he remembered the history and expressed his feelings: "The Jin people originated in the bitter cold land of Liaodong, so they are tough and good at fighting. Must not understand.

Given the current situation, the defeat of the Liao Dynasty by the Jin people is a foregone conclusion, but under such circumstances, the Jin people are willing to form an alliance with us and separate Nanjing and its surrounding cities, which shows that they have long coveted the Central Plains. "

Tang Zhouwei looked confused, and leaned forward: "No, my son, didn't they give up the city? This should be a good thing. They are friendly, so why covet it?"

The fat man's words reminded Li Xingzhou of the situation and attitude of the Song Dynasty.

"The purpose of sending the city is to let us attack by ourselves, so that we can find out the strength of our Jing army. If the Jing army is strong, they will not act rashly, and even form an alliance with us. If the Jing army is weak, they may take advantage of the situation and go south to the Central Plains."

Hearing this, the emperor's expression became more dignified, "You mean?"

"I think this battle is not only for Nanjing, but also for the Jin people; if it is well fought, the Jin people can be suppressed, and Jingguo can be kept peaceful.

If we can't fight well, we must prepare to go to war with Jin Guo, and it is best to fight quickly. If we win Nanjing, the Jin people will take the initiative a lot before they can get the Xijing Road. "Li Xingzhou said.

This can be regarded as a lesson from history. In the Northern Song Dynasty, the Jin people had already defeated the Liao Kingdom, but they kept the covenant and stayed in the north of Shanhaiguan, leaving Nanjing to the Song Dynasty to fight.In fact, the meaning is already obvious.

As the hero of his life, Wanyan Aguda still kept the covenant after defeating the Liao Kingdom, and left Nanjing to the Song Dynasty. He had two intentions.

At first, Song was a big country in the Central Plains, so he was not prepared to offend, and was prepared to wait and see.

The second is to test the fighting power of the Song army. If Song is strong, the alliance will be good, and if Song is weak, he can bully, but at first he should only think of bullying, because Jin Guo just finished fighting Liao and needs to recuperate.

But what Jin Guo never expected was that the legendary great country in the Central Plains, which was at a [-]-[-] split with the Liao Kingdom, performed much weaker than he expected, and was so weak that it hurt his eyes.
(End of this chapter)