After this was said, Yuwen Xuzhong aside, many ministers in the hall also swallowed their words, because they finally confirmed that it was impossible for the emperor to abandon his pro-war thinking for the time being... Of course, if the Jin soldiers really came to the city, it would be hard to say, after all, there was a precedent... Let's wait and see.
It was a rare occasion for Zhao Jiu to lose his temper. Seeing that Li Gang, the Prime Minister, was staring at him in surprise, he quickly calmed down and continued to sit under the lotus throne of the Buddha statue to install the wood carving.
Li Gang was silent for a moment, then turned around, and when he opened his mouth his voice was no longer as loud as before... It turned out that in order to calm people's hearts, he slept here last night, but left the door open and lit the brazier. As a result, a cold wind blew all night and he caught a cold, and even his throat became hoarse.
"I have made a decision on this matter!"
Li Gang's eyes were full of bloodshot, and his voice was low, but as soon as he opened his mouth, everyone in the hall immediately became serious, vaguely more serious than when he spoke to Emperor Zhao before. "Yesterday, there was a series of fast horse military reports. There is no doubt that the main force of the Jin army is heading south, with at least 50,000 or 60,000 troops... However, judging from the standing of the Jin army's east and west routes, there must be a follow-up, and the final 100,000 main forces should be undoubtedly, and this time they should be heading towards the two routes of Jingdong (now Shandong Province), so they will not threaten the emperor... We don't need to worry too much."
"I have objections to this matter."
At this moment, someone suddenly interrupted Mr. Li's calm arrangements, causing everyone to glare at him angrily. After realizing that it was the emperor who interrupted, they simply adjusted their expressions and looked expectant.
"Your Majesty, does your Majesty have any objections?" Li Gang frowned even more. Although the emperor had been obedient in recent days, he had to learn from past experience. In addition, in the past month or two, he had seen that the emperor was very good at winning people's hearts and had a large group of close attendants and military officials gathered around him, so he had to be on guard.
"It is impossible for the Jin people to take only the two routes to Jingdong."
The matter was of great importance, so Zhao Jiu didn't bother to worry about the old minister's heart or whether the old minister was ill, and directly expressed his concerns. "Before, Zong Liushou said that the situation at Sishui Pass was tight, which might not be false. It seems that Nianhan may also send troops south!"
Li Gang was silent for a moment again, then he coughed, and after a while he managed to respond: "Your Majesty, what you said makes sense, and if Nianhan sends the Western Route Army south, he will definitely take Luoyang, Shanzhou, and even Guanzhong..."
Everyone was instantly horrified... If this was the case, not to mention that the 200,000 Jin troops would march south again, the key point was that if they followed the original arrangement and went through Nanyang and then to Luoyang or Chang'an, wouldn't that be like a sheep walking into a tiger's mouth?
Then the Jingkang Incident will happen again?!
"How about we stay in Nanyang for the time being and wait and see?" someone suggested.
"This is the only way... If something really goes wrong, why not go south from Nanyang and enter Xiangyang?" Someone was more conservative.
"Can't we just fight a battle?" Zhao Jiu was obviously talkative today.
As soon as these words were spoken, the Buddhist hall fell silent.
Without anyone else saying anything, Li Gang, the number one advocate of war, sighed softly, and then used a rare hoarse voice to persuade the Emperor Zhao:
"Your Majesty, everyone in the world knows that I have always advocated war. So if there were really one or two people in the Central Plains who could fight, how could I let Your Majesty go to Nanyang? Even now, not to mention Guanzhong, there are only Liu Guangshi's 10,000 people in Jingdong, and the rest are bandits and newly recruited archers from local state armies. Based on my guess about the combat power of the Jin army, I am afraid that the entire area north of Mount Tai will fall before the end of the year."
"If that's the case, then there's no need to think about where to go." Zhao Jiu also sighed. "Since the Jin army can immediately break through the two routes in Jingdong, they will immediately know the strength and position of the enemy. Then why wouldn't they chase us?"
Li Gang was about to comfort Zhao Jiu, but unexpectedly, the Emperor Zhao continued to speak:
"Mr. Li, I said before that the Jin people are like wild beasts. You said that when a wild beast sees its prey turning its back on it and fleeing, how can it endure it? The current situation has nothing to do with your decision. It was destined when the emperor moved camp from Nanjing (Shangqiu) to the south. Since the Jin people have broken through the defense line of Jingdong and know the strength of the Central Plains, and seeing the emperor fleeing south, and Jin Wushu is young and energetic and has just taken charge of the army, he will definitely look down on me. He also wants to create unprecedented achievements and compete with Nianhan for supremacy. I am afraid that he will abandon everything and come directly to chase me."
"Then what does Your Majesty think?" Li Gang frowned even more. He didn't know if it was an illusion, but he seemed to be in low spirits and needed to frown and exert himself to refresh himself, because the hard wings on both sides of his fu hat were obviously trembling slightly.
"I have been thinking about this for a long time these days, and this is the only solution... If we can fight, then fight. We don't seek a big victory, but a small victory to boost the morale of the people will be enough to comfort the world; if we can't fight, then defend. We should deploy troops as much as possible to resist the enemy in the Yangtze and Huaihe River networks and ensure the safety of the rear; as for not being able to defend..." Zhao Jiu, who was wearing a round-necked red robe, said this but did not continue.
However, everyone in the hall was well-read, and they understood what he meant when they heard it. They knew that this was what Sima Yi said about the army that day, that is, if you can win, then fight; if you can't fight, then defend; if you can't defend, then run away; but if you can't escape, you can only die or surrender.
Li Gang thought about it for a moment, then shook his head: "Your Majesty, I understand what you mean, but I also said that the Central Plains cannot be fought! However, Zong Ze is in Tokyo and Liu Guangshi is in Mount Tai, so maybe we can still defend it."
"Whether we can fight or not is not up to Li Xianggong to decide." Zhao Jiu seemed to be showing some signs of being at odds with Li Gang today, which made many people in the hall excited. "That day, Li Xianggong himself wrote a letter saying that he didn't know how to fight..."
Maybe it was because of the powerful enemy, or maybe it was because Zhao Jiu's position was good after all, or maybe it was because he was sick, so Li Gang was not angry, nor did he lose his temper. He just said to him earnestly: "If I don't know military affairs, my words don't count. Who can have the final say? Your Majesty, you don't know military affairs, and you have never been on the battlefield..."
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