Zhao Tai punished the traitors and rewarded the soldiers, and the morale of the Qi army was greatly boosted.

However, because of Shi Zhaizhi's provocation, the little tacit understanding between Zhao Tai and the Southern Song Dynasty was completely exhausted.

At present, Shandong has just been stable for more than a year, and Zhao Tai actually does not want to start a war. However, the Southern Song Dynasty is pressing forward step by step, and the cloud of civil war has once again enveloped the Qi army.

Although Zhao Tai captured tens of thousands of Song troops and incorporated them, further strengthening the strength of the Qi army, the information passed back from the Southern Song Dynasty was not optimistic.

It stands to reason that Shi Zhaizhi should be punished for causing such a big thing and suffering a big loss. However, the actual situation was as Zhao Tai expected. Lin'an did not deal with Shi Zhaizhi. Instead, it sent Jiang Waterproof Division and the Forbidden Army.

The elite Chu army entered Huainan.

The elite Song army entered Huainan, which showed that the Southern Song Dynasty had not given up its intention to use force. Zhao Tai's plan to develop Shandong stably may not be realized.

This was a very dangerous signal for Zhao Tai, and the civil and military forces must be summoned to discuss countermeasures.

At the end of May in the fourth year of Duanping, Wangxingyuan, Linyi, Lianshui City.

One month after the Song army's provocation, major civil and military officials in Shandong gathered in Lianshui City to discuss countermeasures.

Inside the office, a meeting was being held. The pressure on Shandong from the south made everyone participating in the meeting feel depressed.

Wu Xian spoke: "Your Majesty, Lin'an has increased its troops in Huainan, and we will have a battle sooner or later. In accordance with my wishes, before Mongolia has recovered, I will support the king, directly attack Lin'an, and proclaim the king as the emperor.

!”

These words made many military generals shine. Tang Liang, Chang Yu, Liu Dun, Li Chunzhu and other generals immediately agreed, and even Li Fen was ready to make a move.

If the brothers help the king to ascend the throne, then everyone will be a hero of Conglong, and maybe they can become a county king.

Zhao Tai waved his hand and looked at several civil servants, "What do you gentlemen think?"

Wang Wentong said: "I think the time is not yet ripe for Qing Jun to side with you!"

Wu Xiandao: "Now that Mongolia's vitality has not recovered, it is unable to attack the south. If we continue to delay, when Mongolia regains its strength, will we still have a chance to go south?"

Zhao Tai raised his hand and pressed it, signaling Wu Xian not to get excited, and then said: "Let the gentlemen finish their words first."

Wang Wentong immediately said: "The soldiers and horses have not yet used food and fodder! The reason why I said that the time is not ripe now is because the vassal government currently does not have sufficient reserves of copper coins, grain, horse feed, weapons, and gunpowder! I thought that even if it was necessary,

Even if we fight, we have to wait until the autumn harvest and until the feudal government reserves enough supplies."

Zhao Tai nodded slightly, looked at Wang Bin and said, "What do you think, sir?"

Wang Bin shook his fan and said calmly: "I don't agree with starting an army immediately!"

Seeing that the two great think tanks disagreed, Zhao Tai couldn't help asking: "Why?"

Wang Bin said: "The Southern Song Dynasty is big and Shandong is small. The king's advantage in launching an army to attack the Song Dynasty is to fight quickly. If we cannot win quickly, the soldiers of the Southern Song Dynasty will continue to come from all directions, and our army will be in a hard fight. And as long as our army cannot win quickly,

If we win, the Mongols will attack the king's back. If the king is unable to advance or retreat, there will be no chance of victory."

Zhao Tai nodded thoughtfully, while Wang Bin shook his feather fan and continued: "This time, the king has recruited nearly ten thousand navy troops, but compared with the Song army's sailors, there is still a long way to go. Now the king's navy does not have an advantage, so only the Huaihe River

, the Yangtze River has two natural cuts,

This will be able to delay our army's attack on Lin'an. In addition, the king also needs to consider the possibility of the officials fleeing Lin'an. If the officials leave Lin'an, then even if the king ignores the Mongolian attack on Shandong and leads the army across the Yangtze River, it will be difficult to control the Jianghuai River!

"

The Qi army's combat power was stronger than that of the Song army, but the Song Dynasty had a vast territory and its national power was stronger than that of the Song army.

With Mongolia on his side, Zhao Tai could not let Mongolia take advantage, so he could only fight quickly.

So the problem now is that Zhao Tai is not sure that if he penetrates the two defense lines of the Huaihe River and the Yangtze River in one go, he may very well end up in the same dilemma as Mustache in Eastern Europe.

Zhao Tai pondered for a while, couldn't help stroking his beard, and asked: "Then when do you gentlemen think the time is ripe?"

Wang Wentong said: "Now the vassal government still has a lot of calligraphy, paintings, and jewelry. I think it is at least necessary to sell all these things and reserve enough money, food and supplies for a year of fighting."

Wang Bin said: "I would like to mention two points. If the king wants to win quickly, first of all, he must have the means to quickly break through the Huaihe River and the Yangtze River. Secondly, the people in the Jianghuai River must generally sympathize with the king and think that the king should raise troops. In this way, the king can enter

After Lin'an, he quickly accepted power and gained recognition from the world."

After listening to what the two said, Zhao Tai already made a decision in his heart.

Soldiers and horses must go ahead with food and fodder before starting the war. Sufficient supplies must be stored before the war begins. We cannot imagine that the problem can be solved solely by relying on battlefield capture.

As for crossing the Yangtze River and Huaihe River, a powerful naval force is needed. With traditional means, even if Zhao Tai was given ten years, the Qi navy might not be able to surpass the Song Dynasty navy.

Zhao Yun would not give orders to the commander not to harm him, and Zhao Tai did not respond to his internal requests to cross the river.

Therefore, Zhao Tai had to find another way, and Zhao Tai already had a way in mind, which was to equip the warships with artillery.

At present, water battles are mainly about crossbows shooting at each other and warships ramming. If the Qi army can equip artillery, it will be a dimensionality-reducing attack on the Song army's navy.

With the help of artillery, the Qi army should be able to reach the gates of Lin'an City with lightning speed, without giving Mongolia a chance to react.

Last but not least, to make the people of Jianghuai sympathize, we have to rely on Shi Zhai to press forward step by step.

Thinking of this, Zhao Tai glanced at everyone and said in a deep voice: "Now the Southern Song Dynasty is increasing its troops in Huainan, and soon they will cross the river to attack. What Mr. Deqing said just now makes sense. If you want to raise troops, you need to gain the sympathy of the people in Jianghuai, so it's best

It is a last resort and forced to raise troops. Then it may be a good idea to let Shi Zhaizhi take the initiative to attack again. At present, the ministries should step up their training, and the vassal government should do three things: store money, store grain, store gunpowder, and prepare for war.

!”

After everyone heard the words, they immediately stood up and saluted, "I obey your orders!"

At this time, Zhao Hu hurried in and saluted: "Your Majesty, Lin'an has sent an envoy over!"

Zhao Tai narrowed his eyes, "Who is the envoy? Do you know the purpose of his visit?"

Zhao Hu said: "It's Jia Sidao again. It should be to ask for the warship and the Song army prisoners!"

Zhao Tai pondered for a while after hearing this. After the peace talks between Mongolia and Song Dynasty, the plan formulated by the vassal government was mainly to restore Shandong and increase taxes.

Now that Shi Zhai is provoking, it will take some time for the vassal government to switch from resuming production to supporting the war.

Zhao Tai pondered for a moment and looked at Wang Wentong, "Sir, please meet with Jia Sidao and try to delay it for some time. In addition, any of our properties in the Southern Song Dynasty that can be discovered by the Southern Song Dynasty must be disposed of before the war begins to avoid being discovered.

Seized in the Southern Song Dynasty."

Wang Wentong saluted and said, "I understand!"
Chapter completed!