Volume 2 Chapter 53: Differences (Part 1)
The fact that Balisu did not speak did not mean that he agreed with Wanyan Wushu and Han Chang's new strategy... In his opinion, this strategy was too wishful thinking, because whether this strategy could work, and in which direction it would work, all depended on the decision of the young Zhao Song Emperor in Nanyang City.
How do you know people will be scared away?
What if they don’t run?
Moreover, the Jin army has suffered a series of setbacks. A considerable part of its 35,000 main forces have been lost, and their morale has been severely damaged. What if one of their carelessness backfires and the Emperor of Song really escapes to Xiangyang? What should they do then?
Whose is it?
Of course, having said that, the sudden death of Chizhanhui made Wanyan Wushu completely uncontrollable in the army. With three people in the military council and a fourth prince, what could Balisu say?
For him, when Wanyan Wushu and Han Chang showed their willingness to fight to the end in Nanyang even if it meant falling out, the military discussion had become meaningless. Now that the other party was willing to come up with a reasonable explanation, a strategy that still seemed feasible, and a plan that had enough room for subsequent adjustments, it was already a courtesy... What else did he want?
Just like that, with the silence of Balisu and the arrival of the twelfth lunar month, of course, it was ultimately because of the powerful artillery combat capability suddenly displayed by Nanyang City that the siege of Nanyang, which had lasted for 20 days, skipped the originally expected stage of flying artillery shells and entered a slightly relaxed stage of stalemate in the city.
The reason why it is called a trapped city rather than a siege is that after that artillery battle, the Jin army not only stopped attacking the city , but also made a certain contraction... The emptiness in the south of the city and the emptiness in the east of the city made the Song army unconsciously try some actions, and finally they were shocked to find that their contact with the outside world had been restored.
This is certainly a good thing, because this is the situation that people in Nanyang City are most looking forward to - the Privy Council has so many soldiers, and there is a comprehensive and complex plan with various backup plans.
In this plan, there is a solution that is generally recognized by the civil service system, or simply the entire central government of the Song Dynasty. That is, when the Jin army suffers a serious setback under the city and the city is about to collapse, Emperor Zhao might as well decisively go south and enter Xiangyang, so that the Jin army will completely lose its target... Maybe it can not only restore vitality to the dying Nanyang, but also make the Jin army completely lose the desire to advance.
However, the problem was that this day came too quickly, so quickly that Nanyang City and even Xiangyang City to the south were caught off guard.
It is completely understandable that the Jin army's desire to fight was crushed by the sharpness of the artillery in Nanyang City, because the artillery in Nanyang City was indeed so sharp that even the Song army itself could not understand it. But conversely, no one can guarantee that the Jin army had also lost a certain amount of combat effectiveness at this time.
If Emperor Zhao went to Xiangyang as planned, and was caught by the Jin cavalry on the way, who would be responsible?
Thus, during the twelfth lunar month, a war mode similar to a sit-in war began inside and outside Nanyang City... There were sporadic conflicts, and the messengers of the Song Army were often blocked by the Jin Army cavalry, and the Jin Army would be suddenly hit by two shots from the Song Army on the city walls if they were not careful... But compared with the first half of the month after the war, it was insignificant.
"Can we take this opportunity to clean up the inner trenches and renovate Yangma City?"
On this day in early December, the whole city was refreshed. Everyone, who had been tired for a long time, changed into official uniforms and came to the palace to meet. After Chen Gui, the Minister of War who was in charge of the city defense, finished his brief report on the city defense, Emperor Zhao who was sitting upstairs suddenly raised a question.
"I think we can give it a try." Chen Gui was slightly startled, then immediately responded. "We can use this to test and lure the Jin army to see if they are really afraid... If they really sit back and watch us repair the inner moat and the sheep and horse wall, it will be confirmed that the Jin army is going to give up the siege."
"Mr. Yan." Zhao Jiu nodded slightly, but didn't care. He just turned his head to look at Yan Xiaozhong and casually said, "You need to allocate civilians to assist Minister Chen in this matter."
Yan Xiaozhong, the acting governor of Nanyang Prefecture, responded immediately.
After these words, for some reason, the hall was actually quiet for a moment. After a while, someone spoke at the right time: "Your Highness Hu Yin, the Chief Censor, asks for your opinion."
"Speak." Zhao Guanjia, who was obviously distracted, stared at Hu Yin and responded casually.
"I think that if the sheep and horse wall and the inner moat are repaired and the Jin people really dare not harass us, it means that our army's artillery is indeed sharp and the Jin people are indeed frightened. In this case, why not let the Privy Council make some plans early..." Hu Yin blurted out.
Upon hearing this, many civil and military officials in the hall breathed a sigh of relief, apparently feeling that Chief Censor Hu Mingzhong had said what everyone wanted to say.
"What plan?" Zhao Jiu's expression remained unchanged.
"Can we imitate the battle of Shangcai in Huaihe River and destroy the enemy camp, leaving the Jin army with no foothold and forcing them to flee north in panic?" Hu Zhongcheng asked seriously.
“…”
“…”
"No." After a while, in the silence of the hall, Emperor Zhao also looked at him seriously.
"Rather than destroying the enemy camp, the previous plan is more stable." As a rare mature man in the palace, and the prime minister after all, Lu Haowen really had no choice but to bite the bullet and speak. "If the Jin army really sits and waits until the sheep and horse wall is repaired, then Nanyang will be safe at least in the short term. Why don't you find an opportunity to go south to Xiangyang?"
This was an established plan, and after Nanyang resumed communication with the outside world, the first communication it received was from Xiangyang. There, Xu Jingheng, Wang Boyan, and Liu Ji sent a letter to Nanyang City together, asking the government to find an opportunity to go to Xiangyang.
In other words, even if only Lu Haowen spoke up, this direction was supported by four important ministers at the level of prime minister, and should not be underestimated.
Moreover, there are indeed certain reasons to go to Xiangyang... First, the original plan is there, so why create unnecessary trouble; second, Xiangyang is different from Nanyang. Although Nanyang is a larger city, it is due to its developed economy and large population. It was not a strong city before the transformation by Liu Ji and Chen Gui. However, Xiangyang is across the Han River, has a natural barrier and has been a strong city since ancient times.
Zhao Jiu said nothing about this... Of course, a good official should fully listen to opinions before making a decision.
However, unexpectedly, although four ministers supported it and it was an established plan, after Lu Haowen finished speaking, no one said a word in agreement. Even Li Guang, the Palace Censor, and Li Ruopu, the Hanlin Academician, who had previously expressed their concern that Emperor Zhao would not go to Xiangyang, turned a deaf ear to it.
This made Mr. Lu a little flustered.
