Different from the harsh climate outside where the cold wind is biting, the inside of the side hall is now as warm as spring, which makes several ministers wearing thick clothes start to sweat a little on their foreheads. Of course, the sweating may not necessarily be caused by the temperature in the palace, but may also come from the topic they are discussing.
In front of Zhao Ji and a group of ministers, a map of the military movements of the Song and Liao Dynasties in the north, several feet in length, was hung. The content on the map was much more detailed than the one Sun Tu had. Even in recent months, The progress and retreat of the two armies can be seen at a glance, which makes it easier for people to feel the embarrassment of the Song army's current situation. From the beginning, they took the initiative to attack and occasionally achieved small victories, but now they can only retreat to Baigou River, without any advantage. It can be said.
Zhao Ji's face was quite heavy, and his eyes swept over the faces of the important ministers in front of him one by one, and then he said: "Now the situation on the Northern Expedition front is urgent. I called all the ministers here today to ask you if you have any good strategies to defeat the enemy? "
More than a dozen ministers below were silent again. In fact, since the Song army suffered successive defeats in the winter, the emperor and his ministers had spoken to each other many times like this. They had all come up with the ideas that should be given, but regardless of whether they were adopted or not, the battle on the front line was gone anyway. There has been no improvement at all, but to this day, even though these people are high-ranking officials in the Ministry of War and the Privy Council, they can only pretend to be deaf and mute and remain silent at this time.
The silence of the ministers made Zhao Ji even more annoyed. He snorted and looked at one of the people he trusted most: "Gao Qiu, what do you think?"
A year has passed since his son Gao Duo was killed by Sun Tu. Gao Qiu has recovered from his illness, but he also looks much older and has lost a large amount of weight. He now looks like a bamboo pole. of. As the de facto leader of the generals in Tokyo, since there was a problem on the front line, he, Captain Gao, naturally could not escape, so he could only bite the bullet and said: "Your Majesty, I thought that our army's repeated defeats were just accidents. As long as the imperial court strictly orders the frontline generals to be on guard and boosts the morale of the troops, it will be no problem to defeat the Liao army."
Well, although he did speak, it was all cliche and useless nonsense. Even Zhao Ji, the emperor who didn't actually understand military affairs, frowned with dissatisfaction and disgust. Seeing this, Gao Qiu quickly added: "And in my humble opinion, the defeat during this period must be related to Tong Guan's improper command on the front line. Your Majesty should send good generals and famous ministers to the north to assist, so that it is possible to reverse the situation of the war." .”
As he spoke, Gao Qiu quickly glanced at an official beside him, who immediately understood and stepped forward to help him out: "Your Majesty, I think what Taiwei Gao said is indeed reasonable, and the imperial court ordered Tong Guan this time to The strategy of sending troops as soon as possible to engage in a decisive battle with the Liao army is also extremely correct. If we have this assistance, this battle will be won!"
"Oh? Why do you see it?" Zhao Ji's face finally looked better, and he asked expectantly.
"I have carefully studied the battle reports between the two armies for the whole previous year, and found that our Song Dynasty official army had an absolute advantage at the beginning. It was only after several small-scale battles were fought that the victory turned into defeat, and finally it changed. We have to retreat and defend ourselves. The reason lies in whether to start a full-scale war with the Liao army. Our army's strength is far superior to that of the Liao army, and it is well prepared. The only weakness is that the terrain is unfamiliar. If the entire army is pressed, it will be difficult to fight with the Liao army. If the enemy confronts us head-on, our army will have a great advantage. How can we be invincible
reason? But if a small group advances, the situation will be different. The Liao army can divide its troops to block it. There is no military disadvantage to speak of, and the geographical convenience is convenient. After several defeats of our army, the morale of the army is shaken, so naturally we can only retreat. Withdraw to protect yourself. "
After saying this, many people in the hall actually nodded secretly, feeling that this analysis made sense. Only a few people showed disapproval on their faces, and Sun Tu, who was almost at the bottom of the group of ministers, even showed a disdainful sneer, and almost stepped forward to say nonsense.
Although he has never been to the front line, he can clearly analyze a lot of things just from the inside information of the battle reports. The reason why the Song army was able to achieve successive victories at the beginning was not due to the pressing of the entire army, but because the Liao army was not fully prepared at the time. In addition, Sun Tu might have had some credit for this, because judging from the Song army's marching route, they clearly took advantage of the loopholes in the Liao army's border defense to launch a surprise attack. How could this not lead to victory? The truth
The Song army was able to easily select its weak points to attack because of the guidance of the Liao border defense map that Sun Tu obtained when he and Tong Guan went to Liao as envoys a few years ago. He still remembered clearly that the superiors had marked the specific layout of the Liao border troops and even the internal conditions of the city checkpoints. As long as they were targeted, they would be able to easily break through the Liao army's defense line. The only thing that makes people a little puzzled is, if this is the case, why did the situation of the Song Army suddenly turn negative after achieving several great victories
As for the desperate battle with the Liao army now, even if the Song army has an absolute advantage in strength, it is probably impossible to win, and it may even lead to a strategic defeat. Therefore, if Sun Tulai had been asked to give advice, he would have advised the emperor to withdraw his troops and continue to rely on Yanmen Pass and other powerful passes to fight a war of attrition with the Liao army.
Because he saw very clearly that in fact, the biggest advantage of the Song Dynasty over the Liao Dynasty has always been only one thing, and that is strong national power. Especially today, with wars already raging in the rear of the Liao Kingdom, and the Jin people killing all parties within the Liao Kingdom, the Liao army fighting the Song Dynasty on the front line will inevitably be short of logistical supplies. As long as it can be delayed for a while, the entire Liao army can be defeated. Totally ruined. At that time, if we attack the Jin army from the north and the south, we can defeat the Liao army and recapture Youzhou. It will not be difficult.
And in this way, there is another great benefit, that is, it can preserve the absolute combat power of the Song Army and make sufficient preparations to deal with the Jin Army going south in the future. In his eyes, the Liao people were no longer a threat to the Song Dynasty, and the Jin people were the most terrifying enemies.
But it was difficult for Sun Tu to say these words, because he could see that the monarchs and ministers in the court had already made up their minds, and even the decree had been conveyed to the north. How could they change it just because of his own words? He is still self-aware. He is already suspected by the emperor. He is only concerned about the affairs in Jiangnan, so he is allowed to be an idle prince. Now he is singing the opposite tune, except to make the emperor angry and make the officials laugh, but it has no use at all. of.
Sun Tu never thought about being a loyal minister of the Song Dynasty, so he didn't even bother to talk about it. He just watched the ministers from behind as if they were watching a show. Each one seemed reasonable, but in fact it didn't help at all. suggestions are made.
It's just that his state of watching the show could not last to the end, because soon
, Zhao Ji called his name: "Marquis of Yue, do you have any opinions on the matter in the north? I remember clearly that you are a rare famous general in our Song Dynasty in recent years. You have repeatedly made great achievements in Shandong and Jiangnan. His military exploits are almost undefeated."
Unable to hide even if he wanted to, Sun Tu had no choice but to step forward. In fact, he knew very well that since the emperor specifically ordered him to enter the palace today to participate in the court meeting, there must be something he wanted to ask him.
After thinking for a while, he said: "Your Majesty, I believe that the Northern Expedition is indeed very dangerous. Our Song army is not as good as the Liao army in terms of combat strength. In addition, the Liao army has the tendency to mourn its troops. If we fight head-on, our army will be The chance of winning should be less than 30%..."
"Marquis of Yue, are your words too alarmist? You should have heard it just now. At the beginning of the Northern Expedition of the Great Song Dynasty, our Heavenly Soldiers had been suppressing the Liao Army. Why are we inferior to the enemy? Don't let others emulate you. Destroy the majesty of our Song Dynasty." At that moment, some officials spoke in a nonchalant manner.
The emperor's expression was not very good either, and he snorted: "Do you really think that I, the Song Dynasty, cannot recapture the Sixteenth Province of Youyun?"
"Your Majesty, there are still opportunities." Sun Tu prepared his words and said: "But we must not be in a hurry to advance. Instead, we should give full play to the advantages of our Song Dynasty. I believe that retreat is the way to advance, and the enemy is attrition. Fighting is the way to win. Just like the battle between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao at Guandu, if Yuan Shao could make good use of his advantages and slowly consume Cao Cao's food and troops, then with ten times the enemy's strength, it would be very difficult to defeat Cao Cao. It was a difficult task. But in the end, because of the loss of Wuchao, he took a bold step in the decisive battle, which led to... "
"Marquis of Yue, your words are really just talking on paper. How come the Song and Liao Kingdoms have become Yuan Shao and Cao Cao? Do you think justice is on the side of the Liao people?" Someone else jumped out to object at the moment, And he also started to lead the topic to another place very cruelly.
Sun Tu's face also changed: "I'm just making an analogy, how can I say it in a righteous way? Moreover, the battle to conquer the country cannot be decided in one or two battles. Use defense as offense and wait for the opportunity. This is our best strategy for victory." Sun Tu was speechless to be told by a guy who had never led troops on the battlefield that he was just talking on paper.
But it was obvious that neither Zhao Ji nor the ministers would adopt his conservative strategy. Gao Qiu even took the opportunity to say: "Your Majesty, I believe that a decisive battle with the Liao army is the most effective strategy to reverse the current unfavorable war situation. As for what the Marquis of Yue is worried about, , the problem that our army is inferior to the Liao army can be easily solved."
"Oh? How do you say this?" Zhao Ji was really interested in this statement and asked hurriedly.
Gao Qiu glanced at Sun Tu and replied: "Didn't the Marquis of Yue train an elite army for our Song Dynasty over the years? Now that the enemy is ahead, it is the time for the Marquis of Yue to serve the court. Your Majesty can Let him lead this army again and go north to support Tong Guan. If he leads the army himself, the Liao army will be defeated!"
Everyone in the palace was startled at first, and then quickly came to their senses. Even the emperor showed a thoughtful expression, and then looked at Sun Tu: "Marquis of Yue, are you willing to do your best for me?" Will the people of Song Jiangshan go to war again?"
Sun Tu took a deep breath. Only then did he finally understand the true purpose of Gao Qiu and others in today's scene!