As for the very few who were in Cao's camp but their hearts were with Han, most of them could only play the roles of Fa Zheng and Zhang Song, Geng Ji and Jin Yi. Even Fa Zheng and Zhang Song could only play a role after Liu Yuzhou entered Shu, which required the corresponding military and political atmosphere... And now the Song and Jin countries were facing each other along the Yellow River, with their political bases separated by thousands of miles, which basically suppressed pure espionage activities to a very low level.
Zheng Yinian must have accepted a so-called standard spy mission before he left, but he became a loyal minister of Emperor Zhao when he returned, including Gao Qingyi who followed him and did nothing but went back obediently. Before his brother Zheng Xiunian came from the south, he even registered with the Imperial City Department, and now he is also considered a high-ranking official of the Jin Dynasty. Another registered person, Hong Ya, even sits in this Shangshutai, but are they really considered spies?
It's just like storing a seed and waiting for the right time to bring it into being.
Let’s get back to the current situation of the confrontation between Song and Jin... low-intensity military reconnaissance on the front line has definitely never stopped, and small-scale infiltrations have definitely occurred, but as long as the Northern Expedition is not suddenly launched, most of the military intelligence along the river will be of no use... because it will soon expire.
As the saying goes, big things cannot be kept secret, and small things are worthless.
As for wanting to get some high-level political information about the other side, the Song Dynasty can't even count on the Taihang Volunteer Army, so it's better to count on the Koreans. The Jin Dynasty is even worse, so they might as well read the other side's official bulletins.
But now the court bulletins can no longer be trusted, because the Zhao Song government has seen that the court bulletins have already gained credibility and public opinion power, so they have begun to use this to deceive people.
In fact, this deception may not be entirely directed at the Jurchens, but may also be directed at the Song people themselves.
When the common people in the south saw such detailed military deployment, the deployment of hundreds of thousands of troops, and the military reserves of tens of millions of strings of cash...including the armor rate of less than 100%, it was hard to say whether it was a self-exposure or bragging.
Of course, having said this, the people in the Shangshutai still have not solved the most direct problem.
"Then let's not worry about it." Wanyan Wuben felt a little unhappy when he saw Qin Hui fooling around with a question, so he continued to ask. "Prime Minister Qin, just tell me whether the Zhao Song will cross the river to attack the north this time!"
Qin Hui was silent again for a moment, and then answered simply with one word: "Yes."
Inside the main hall of the Secretariat, the cicadas chirped non-stop. All of Wanyan Wuben and his subordinates lost their voices, except for Wanyan Wushu, who remained expressionless.
"What do you mean?" After a while, Han Fang couldn't help but ask, "Didn't Mr. Qin say that the news in the court newspaper was not certain to be true or false?"
"It's the content that's uncertain, but no matter if it's true or not, it shows that this Zhao official has made a gesture both internally and externally... Why did he do those things? Isn't it to intimidate you and me? Isn't it to cheer up his own family?"
"Since it's just a threat..."
"Mr. Han didn't understand what I meant... This matter has nothing to do with whether he was intimidating or showing weakness, nor does it have anything to do with whether the contents of the report are true or false. The key is that this Emperor Zhao has never hesitated in his actions since the first year of Jianyan!" Qin Hui suddenly raised his voice, shocking the Jin dignitaries in the hall. "He blocked Bagong Mountain on the Huai River and rejected the Fourth Prince in order to survive! He escaped from Nanyang, seized the army from Yanling, and defeated the King of Lu (Wanyan Talan) in order to gain a foothold! He fought a decisive battle at Yaoshan and personally welcomed the King of Yue (Wanyan Loushi) in order to compete for luck! He destroyed Xixia and made Liao and Mongolia his vassal in order to seize power... Step by step, layer by layer, no matter what he thought in his heart, and we don't know what he thought, we can only say that when things came to an end, did this person have any hesitation?! Did he ever dare not gamble?! Did he ever pretend to be mysterious but did nothing?!"
The whole hall was silent, even the cicadas outside the hall seemed frightened. Only Qin Hui kept shouting:
"If you count carefully, it has been three years since the last Xixia war, and more than eight years since this man ascended the throne. If you count the war between Song and Jin, it has been a full ten years... Everyone, even if the contents of the court reports cannot be trusted, in these three years, has he expanded his army and stored food? Did he go to the south to pacify the southeast for a whole year? Did he accumulate eight years of merit and ten years of shame, and then just wait for the Northern Expedition? If he only waits for the Northern Expedition, then we should ask why he doesn't come to attack, not why he wants to attack! I dare to ask you, he has already accumulated troops and the rear is settled, why doesn't he come to attack?"
At this point, Qin Huizhi's face was serious. He looked around at everyone and made a conclusion: "I am the only one here with my wife. Let's stake our lives on this... The Zhao Song officials are just making false threats, but they are just making false threats in order to cross the river to attack the north!"
"If they are coming to attack, when will it be?" After a while, the Fourth Prince and King of Wei Wushu skipped this question and broke the silence.
"Maybe tomorrow, maybe next spring..." Qin Hui remained unequivocal. "But if there is no current situation, it should be later next spring."
"What do you mean?" Wuzhu's expression remained unchanged.
"Although the imperial reports are not trustworthy, there are some things that must be believed... For example, the decree to fully staff the 300,000 troops in the southern imperial camp was only decided in the first half of this year, so if we want to accomplish it, we have to wait until autumn or early winter. Also, if we transport this year's autumn grain to the warehouse during the winter, the people will feel at ease." Qin Hui answered fluently. "These two things cannot be concealed by the Zhao Song Dynasty, and there is no need to conceal them."
"That's true...but why not send out the troops in winter when the troops are fully staffed and stored in warehouses, but in spring?" King Wanyan Oben of Liao, who was sitting at the top, frowned.
"The most important thing is the Yellow River." Before Qin Hui could speak, Wuzhu beside him explained directly. "The Yellow River has two old courses and four branches that go deep into Hebei. Daming Prefecture is sandwiched between two old courses. If the Song army wants to go all out to fight the Northern Expedition, it is impossible to give up the advantage on the water. The Yellow River generally has two dry seasons, which prevent large ships from entering the old Yellow River courses... One is midsummer, when there is often little rain in the upper reaches, but whether it will dry up depends on luck; the other is naturally midwinter, not only because of the deep water, but also because of ice. In addition, the spring plowing in the south is earlier than in the north, and they come after spring, which can also create a time difference."
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