After reading the latest secret letter from the north, Zhao Huan couldn't help but sigh at how unpredictable things can be.
If the human world is a game of chess, and God is the player, then the player's strategy is entirely random.
Who would have thought that Wanyan Zongwang would suddenly kick the bucket?
It should be noted that Wanyan Zongwang is currently the only person capable of keeping the situation under control.
Originally, Zhao Huan had already psychologically accepted Wanyan Zongwang's surrender, and things continued in this manner.
After all, rather than letting Wanyan Zongwang escape after defeat and leaving another threat, it is better to win him over and then kill him.
To reward Wanyan Zongwang for abandoning darkness and embracing light, Zhao Huan even reserved a noble title for him.
Of course, Zhao Huan also devised more than a hundred ways for Wanyan Zongwang to die.
Incidentally, he also left over a hundred ways for the Shi and Han families to die.
But now it seems that the method used to kill Wanyan Zongwang is no longer needed.
For Zhao Huan, Wanyan Zongwang's death was not a bad thing, but a great thing.
When dealing with nomadic tribes, Zhao Huan's biggest concern was not the inability to win battles, but the inability to eradicate them completely, or rather, to destroy their core strength.
For example, if Wanyan Zongwang were still alive and Zhao Huan had not accepted his surrender, the two sides might have fought a battle.
However, when the war reaches a certain point, Wanyan Zongwang will weigh the pros and cons and, like Wanyan Zonghan, flee to the grasslands.
Once nomadic tribes retreat to the grasslands, their overall strength may weaken, but their mobility and flexibility will greatly increase.
Eliminating their remaining forces would be extremely difficult.
But things are different now; Wanyan Zongwang is dead.
A brain-dead person rose to power.
Now Zhao Huan was no longer worried that the Jin army would flee far away.
Seeing Wanyan Chamu lead an army of 150,000 men to rush towards Shenzhou in a great whirlwind, Zhao Huan would be laughing in his dreams.
These 150,000 were the last elite troops of the Jin Dynasty, and many of them were old, weak, sick, or disabled.
Zhao Huan had no interest in dealing with the old, weak, sick, or disabled; he was only focused on crushing the last elite forces of the Jin Dynasty into scrap metal in one fell swoop.
From now on, only one powerful army will be allowed in Liaodong, and this army must be a Han Chinese army loyal to the imperial court.
Other powerful forces should not, and are not allowed to, exist!
Anyone who dares to defy the law should have their entire family executed!
On this day, many military leaders from the Northwest Army, the Central Army, and the Yanyun Army gathered at the Emperor's palace.
Yue Fei, the governor of the Northwest War Zone, Han Shizhong, a lieutenant general of the Central Army, and Zhong Shizhong, the military commissioner and governor of Yanyun, were also present.
A huge military strategic topographic map was placed in the center.
Sima Junru of the Imperial City Guard recounted the latest intelligence gathered from the north, and the generals exchanged bewildered glances, their faces showing surprise.
The emperor sat firmly in the middle, already having made his decision, but instead asked, "Gentlemen, what do you suggest I do?"
Tang Ke was the first to step forward and said, “Your Majesty, military strategists say that the best strategy is to subdue the enemy without fighting. Not long ago, Wanyan Zongwang wrote to Your Majesty, expressing his intention to surrender to our Celestial Dynasty. Now he has raised an army to invade, which is a breach of his promise and is not legitimate. I think Your Majesty should first send an envoy to question him. The Jin invaders will be afraid of Your Majesty’s power and will be wary.”
Zhao Huan immediately rejected Tang Ke's idea. Tang Ke's idea wasn't entirely wrong, but it was just too troublesome.
When dealing with barbarians, Zhao Huan himself did not want to use the strategy of subduing the enemy without fighting.
The most direct and effective method is to annihilate the enemy's manpower.
Now that the enemy has finally thrown away their brains and is rushing up to their deaths, you expect me to use intimidation to win them over?
What a rare opportunity!
Zhao Huan was not very satisfied.
Li Chongguang immediately stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the barbarians have gone back on their word. If we do not take the head of the rebel chief and hang it on the city wall of the capital, where will the prestige of our Heavenly Dynasty be? Where will Your Majesty's divine authority be?"
"What strategies do you have for defeating the enemy?"
The emperor's voice rose noticeably, clearly showing great interest in what Li Chongguang was saying.
Furthermore, the emperor's intention was already quite clear: he was using a "strategy to kill the enemy" rather than a "strategy to repel the enemy."
It means: I don't want them to escape, they must all be killed.
Li Chongguang said, "Your Majesty, since the Jin invaders think we don't have enough supplies, then we should act as if we do. Please give the order for our army to withdraw from Shenzhou immediately."
Tang Ke quickly stepped forward and said, "No! We have already occupied Shenzhou for several months. How can we just give it up like that? Even if we were to fight the Jin invaders head-on, there is no need for this."
The emperor frowned slightly and asked, "Zhong Qing, what do you think?"
Zhong Shizhong said, “Your Majesty, I also think it would be a pity to abandon Chenzhou. Now that the enemy is weak and we are strong, there is no need to use the strategy of luring the enemy. We only need to fight the Jin bandits head-on. The Jin bandits will be exhausted after a long siege of Chenzhou. When our army strikes again, defeating the Jin bandits will be as easy as turning our hand.”
Zhao Huan thought for a moment and said, "How can we completely annihilate the Jin bandits and achieve victory in one battle?"
None of the generals agreed at that time.
After a moment of silence, Yue Fei stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, if we want to achieve victory in one battle, abandoning Shenzhou is the best strategy."
"Yue Fei, please tell me in detail."
"Your Majesty, if our army retreats, the Jin invaders will surely advance. We will retreat to the south, a hundred miles away. I will lead the left flank, and Minister Zhong will lead the right flank. We will begin to encircle the Jin invaders from both flanks, forming a siege around their main force. At that time, we will be surrounded on all sides, with no way out."
Zhong Shizhong asked, "What if the Jin invaders do not pursue but instead defend Shenzhou?"
"Lord Zhong, if the Jin invaders do not pursue us but instead defend Shenzhou, our army can bombard Shenzhou again. Taking Shenzhou will not be difficult, nor will defeating the Jin invaders."
Yue Fei's voice was powerful and resonant, echoing the sentiments of the other generals.
Each of them was clad in armor and looked proud.
Ten years ago, they would never have had the confidence to say such a thing.
However, the current overall strength of the Song Dynasty gives each of them the confidence to say what Yue Fei just said.
It was not difficult for the Song army to defeat the Jin army head-on on the battlefield.
However, this was in the vast, open border region, and eliminating the Jin army's manpower was no easy task.
The Jin army was mostly composed of cavalry, which was highly flexible and could retreat at any time if they couldn't win a battle.
The reason why Yue Fei's Northwest Army was able to completely annihilate the Iron Pagoda was entirely due to the cumbersome nature of the Iron Pagoda troops.
For example, many of Wanyan Zongbi's light cavalrymen took advantage of the chaos to escape and are still scattered on the northwestern grasslands. They may even regroup into an army and make a comeback.
Why did it take the once mighty Han Dynasty a century to defeat the Xiongnu?
Because nomadic peoples are highly flexible, they do not have to rely on cities, local systems, and economies for survival like the Han people.
Zhao Huan wanted not just a temporary victory in the war, but an absolute victory.
Yue Fei's eyes flashed with a sharp light: "The difficulty lies in gathering the Jin bandits and encircling and annihilating them."
Before anyone could speak, the emperor exclaimed, "Excellent! Yue Fei is right! I think it's feasible, so let's do as Yue Fei says!"
The generals all exclaimed in unison, "Your Majesty is wise!"
The emperor added meaningfully, "Li Chongguang, you will assist Prime Minister Zhong in attacking the right flank. I will ensure that the Jin invaders never return!"
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