At this point, Ma Kuo paused for a moment and concluded, "In other words, the 30,000-strong Ever-Victorious Army was completely taken by the Jurchens. However, this army was completely swallowed up by the Jurchens long ago, and it no longer had an independent army."
When Zhao Jiu heard this, he nodded and couldn't help but glance at Liu Yan who was standing solemnly on the side. Liu Yan also looked obviously gloomy.
"In addition to the Changsheng Army, there are also 50,000 Yisheng Army." Ma Kuo did not notice the little trick of Emperor Zhao, but continued to explain seriously. "Yisheng Army was recruited from the Han people of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun before the Jingkang Incident. After the Song Dynasty obtained the Changsheng Army, in order to contain Guo Yaoshi, they were treated better than the Imperial Army... But the Han people of Yanyun have always been dissatisfied with the Song Dynasty. As a result, after the troops were equipped, the Jurchens went south, and the 50,000 Yisheng Army surrendered, and the Jurchens also properly accepted them and used them directly."
This time, Zhao Jiu didn't react at all.
"Besides the Ever-Victorious Army and the Righteous-Victorious Army, there are also the surrendered soldiers from Taiyuan and Hebei. Adding all these together, I dare to say that the Jurchens had 200,000 Wanhu, although there were only 120,000 men if we count Meng'an and Mouke. But in fact, with the Han surrendered soldiers who assisted in the battle, the number would definitely be much higher than the full 200,000! In addition, the surrendered soldiers from the Liao Kingdom outside the Great Wall at that time could not have disappeared for nothing. When Wanyan Wuqimai released Nianhan and Wuliebu and led the eastern and western armies to the south, it is impossible that there were no countries outside the Great Wall. Therefore, I dare to say that when the Jurchens were in their heyday, there must have been at least 300,000 men." Ma Kuo paused here and looked up at Emperor Zhao.
Before Emperor Zhao could say anything, Lü Benzhong beside him was a little puzzled: "But 300,000 was only when the Jurchens were at their peak. In the six or seven years since then, whenever the Jurchens mobilized troops, they only used 200,000 households in the east and west routes south of Yanyun... Even if there were troops in the rear, they should have been abandoned long ago, right?"
Ma Kuo was furious for a moment.
Seeing that the situation was not good, Zhao Jiu finally nodded and said, "General Manager Ma is afraid of people like you. He wants to warn the court not to only focus on the 200 thousand households in the east and west, but to be clear about one thing. Once we cross the river to attack the north, the offensive and defensive positions will change. We will no longer be facing the 20 thousand households we are familiar with. We can still summon the surrendered soldiers and old soldiers of the Marching Division who have not fought for five or six years outside the pass... We should be lenient with the enemy."
"That's exactly what I meant." Ma Kuo let out a long sigh.
"But Lord Ma, I understand what you mean..." Zhao Jiu replied solemnly. "But raising 300,000 soldiers is not the same as raising 200,000 soldiers, right?! Moreover, when crossing the river, do we have to cross it all at once? Without leaving a rear guard? Moreover, for a 300,000-man army to march north, not to mention post-war appeasement, not to mention rewards, how much money and food should be prepared for 300,000 people for half a year?"
The civil and military officials around were all horrified when they heard this.
"Your Majesty! To cross the river and attack the north, we must have 300,000 soldiers!" Ma Kuo gritted his teeth and said, "However, Your Majesty does not have to support all 300,000 soldiers in the imperial camp. It is also feasible to count 20,000 of us in the Taihang Mountains. Besides..."
The more Ma Kuo spoke, the more excited he became, but the more excited he became, the more difficult it became for him to speak. In the end, he was unable to speak for a while.
"We can also invite the Khitans and Mongols to help... As long as they can hold back one or two of us, it will work?" Zhao Jiu seemed to see through the other party's thoughts and asked tentatively.
"Yes." Ma Kuo's words seemed to lack some strength. It was obvious that the stimulation from the Sea Alliance that day was still there in him.
"Your Majesty." Ren Baozhong mustered up his courage and stood up at the right time. "I'm sorry, but if that's the case, the Tangut soldiers are also good at fighting... Your Majesty doesn't have to recruit them all the time. You can just wait until you need them and temporarily recruit tens of thousands of them from Ningxia Road. If anyone sends a man, you can exempt the family from taxes for ten years! Once these Tangut soldiers cross the Yellow River, they will have no way to retreat. They also have to consider their clan, so they will definitely fight to the death."
Zhao Jiu was stunned for a moment, then actually nodded slightly, apparently moved.
"But sir!" Ma Kuo said again. "Even so, we still have to make sure the troops are real."
Zhao Jiu was stunned again, then nodded again.
Then, just as the tent was silent, Zhao Jiu, who was the first to come to his senses, asked again: "Before, you said that we should conserve our strength and wait for the right time... Conserve our strength means to keep 300,000 soldiers and store the logistical needs of 300,000 soldiers... When is that time? When is it? Is it when Wanyan Wushu's reforms triggered civil unrest?"
Ma Kuo once again carefully sized up the official, then bowed his head and answered earnestly: "Official, when great powers are fighting, it is not right to pin our hopes on the enemy's internal strife... However, the Jurchens themselves are tribal barbarians, and they were lucky enough to destroy a country and swallow up the two rivers in 20 years. They can be said to have expanded to the extreme. No matter how Wanyan Wushu changes, he can't get away from abolishing the old Jurchen barbaric system from top to bottom and implementing the Han royal law... This kind of reform is easy for civil officials but difficult for military officials, and it is easy for the upper officials to change but difficult for the lower officials to change. If the Bogile system is abolished, Nianhan will be killed and the king will be imprisoned. What about Wanhu? If you don't change Wanhu, can you directly change Meng'an Mouke? Therefore, if the official can really conserve his energy, then the so-called time has already begun when Wushu began to touch Wanhu, and there is no need to wait for it!"
Zhao Jiu nodded slowly.
So far, the two of them had spoken properly. Next, it was natural for Emperor Zhao to say some polite words and perform some kind of monarch-subject attitude.
But unexpectedly, just when Emperor Zhao was about to say something, Ma Kuo suddenly stepped back a few steps, knelt down in the naval hall which was actually a bit messy, and then paid homage with great ceremony.
This caught Zhao Jiu and others off guard.
"Whatever you request, I will agree to it." Zhao Jiu stood up immediately.
"I have nothing to ask for. I will return to Hebei and I don't know when we will meet again. This is the proper etiquette." Ma Kuo bowed his head in response, without any of his previous eagerness and anxiety.
But Zhao Jiu was panicked: "We have been apart for several years and have worked hard for more than a month to get here. How can you return in one day? I have already prepared a house for you in Tokyo as a reward."
Ma Kuo raised his head, feeling relieved. "Your Majesty is very kind to me. But I came here in a hurry because I was worried about you... I was worried that the people in power in the central government were frivolous, didn't know how difficult things are, and would throw the overall situation aside. I finally met you today, but I didn't expect that your Majesty already knew the overall situation. Since your Majesty is in charge of the overall situation and knows how difficult things are, why should I stay any longer? It's better for me to return to Hebei early to win the hearts of the people."
After saying this, Ma Kuo bowed again and actually walked out directly.
Zhao Jiu was stunned for a moment. He wanted to stay and chase after him several times, but in the end he just waved his hand and asked Wang Yan to follow and see off the governor of the Northern Road of the Song Dynasty.
PS: I wrote this in the car, and I vomited...
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