"Your Majesty, please see the situation of this battle that the old minister speculated based on the current situation between Mongolia and Song dynasties..."

Wu Qian took out the second picture and spread it in front of Zhao Yun.

"In order to conquer our Song Dynasty, the Mongols have always regarded Sichuan as their primary goal. They believed that as long as they conquer Sichuan, it would be equivalent to opening the door to the south of our Yangtze River. Therefore, the two armies invaded at the same time. Mongolia decided to capture Sichuan for one battle, and Mengge personally led 100,000 elite troops into Sichuan..."

"The first attack on Chengdu, the second attack on Tongchuan, and the third attack on Kuizhou, Mengge's purpose is very clear, that is, to quickly capture Sichuan, and then join forces to capture Chongqing, so that he can advance to Xiangyang and Jingzhou in water and land. Jingxiang has been a must-fight for military strategists since ancient times, and it is the gateway to the south. If Jingxiang is lost, the Mongolian army can advance to Ezhou..."

"At present, we can confirm that the intention of the Mongolian army on the western route is like this. The 50,000 army led by Tachar on the eastern route attacked the Jingshan line, with the purpose of restraining our troops from Huaihe and not being able to assist Jingxiang in time. However, this was the old minister's last speculation, but recently, the old minister carefully considered the situation around our Song Dynasty and the movements of the Mongols, and speculated that the intention of the Mongols was not so simple..."

"Please also ask Duke Chong to explain in detail!" Zhao Yun urged.

"Your Majesty, please see, this is Dali, which has fallen into the hands of the Mongols four years ago. We used to think that the Mongols were trying to capture Dali in order to attack Sichuan from both sides of the north and south. But it seems that it is not the case now, because Mengge personally conquered Sichuan this time, but the Mongolian army in Dali did not hear any signs of attacking Sichuan, but what was the purpose of their hard work to expedition to Dali?"

Wu Qian pointed his finger at Changsha with his hand along a huge arc that Zhao Qi once drew with charcoal. "Your Majesty, the old minister thinks that the intention of this Mongolian army in Dali is here!"

"Hiss~" Zhao Yun trembled his hand and pulled off a few beards.

"If the old minister did not make a mistake in speculation, then the ambitions of the Mongolians this time will be far greater than we thought. The old minister also guessed that the Mongolian army on the front line of Jingshan is not a miscellaneous soldier from Jin and Liao countries, but should also be a main force of the Mongolian army!"

"You are right. The Mongolian army on the front line of Jingshan is not old, weak, sick and disabled, but young and strong soldiers. There was news that the day before yesterday that the Mongolians had attacked the Jingshan city wall twice. The battle was very fierce, and the soldiers on the front line suffered great casualties. I have sent Jia Sidao, the pacifier of Lianghuai, to urgently dispatch troops to aid Jingshan!" Zhao Yun nodded quickly.

"Then the old minister's inference will be even more reliable... Your Majesty, I believe that the Mongols attacked our Song Dynasty from the north and southwest at the same time. The goal is not just to disrupt our deployment and take down Jingxiang, but to have greater ambitions and want to break through Ezhou in one go!" Wu Qian's fingers were heavily pointed at Ezhou.

"Ezhou~" Zhao Yun's eyes fell along Wu Qian's fingers on the word Ezhou, and exclaimed, his face was pale and bloodless in an instant.

"Yes, it's Ezhou. Mengge planned to lead a large army to capture Sichuan, then go down the river to capture Jingxiang, and finally join the Eastern Army of Tachar and the Mongolian Army stationed in Dali. They divided into three groups to trap Ezhou. Once Ezhou was lost, the natural danger of the Yangtze River could no longer stop the Mongols' attack. They must have swept across Jinghu and Jiangdong and Jiangxi like a gust of wind, and they are in danger!" Wu Qian sighed and turned his head to look at the heavy rain outside the hall.

One by one, one lightning flash illuminates the entire hall.

The two of them quietly pose in their respective positions without any sound.

"Your describing this so much, how old is it?" Zhao Yun finally slowly came to his senses and asked with a pale face.

"At least 80% sure!" Wu Qian turned around and nodded seriously.

"80%...80%..." Zhao Yun sat down without any hesitation.

"Your Majesty, the old minister requests to be transferred to the garrison of Ezhou. At that time, he will fight to the death with the Mongolian army and swear to block the Mongol attack in Ezhou!" Wu Qian knelt down and bowed.

"Your dear, please get up!" Zhao Yun quickly helped Wu Qian up with both hands, shook his head with a very ugly expression, "It's not that I don't believe you, but that you are old this year and may not be able to withstand this bumpy and fatigue. Besides, you can calculate the intentions of the Mongols so clearly, so you naturally have to sit in the capital to give me advice. The war on the front line is fierce, and I will send young and strong officials to preside over military affairs!"

"Your Majesty, every sentence in the old minister just now is heartfelt. Mongolia's intention to besiege Ezhou is not obvious at the moment. If it is proposed in the court, there will definitely be many colleagues who will object, believing that strengthening Ezhou's defense will inevitably lead to insufficient support from Sichuan and Jingshan fronts. Therefore, even if officials are sent, they may not realize the seriousness and slack military affairs. If the preparations are insufficient, once the Mongolian soldiers suddenly arrive, Ezhou will be very dangerous. If the old minister goes there, he will definitely step up the city defense and military preparation. If the Mongolians really attack Ezhou, the old minister will fight to the death to resist and leave time for the reinforcements of the court, so that they will not be in a panic at that time. The old minister was already a man of old bones. If he could still do his last part for the Song Dynasty and the country, he would die with peace of mind..."

Wu Qian said sincerely, but Zhao Yun still had doubts. After pondering for a long time, he said: "This matter is still early. Now the military situation in Sichuan is unclear, but Jingxiang I have increased my defense and the Jingshan front line is still stable. If the Mongols plan to siege Ezhou in three directions, they must take down Jingzhou and break through the Jingshan defense line at the same time. And we stationed more than 300,000 troops in both Huaihe Rivers. I think the Mongols will not succeed easily..."

"Your Majesty, you must not be careless!" Wu Qian's anxious face changed.

"I am not worried. It's not that I am not anxious, but that the situation is now chaotic and some things need to be arranged slowly. The most urgent thing at the moment is to assist Sichuan and stabilize Jingshan. Mysterious guess just now made me suddenly enlightened. I will take it to the court to discuss with the prime ministers later. Duke Chong will also follow me to discuss and explain it to see what Prime Minister Ding and others think!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Wu Qian had no choice but to nod and agree.

A heavy rain fell for half an hour. It was around Si Shi, and it gradually went northwest with the thunder. In the blink of an eye, the clouds dissipated and the rain closed. The sky was blue as clear as a shining sun, and the air was clear and clean like crystals.

Although the weather was good, water was everywhere in the city, several ditches soared, and the blue and calm West Lake had risen several feet, causing many houses to be soaked in water. Some houses outside the city were damaged, so there were also chaos inside the city. With the sound of several bells in the palace, countless civil and military ministers staying at home also took cars and sedan chairs to go to court.

When Wu Qian followed Zhao Yun to the court, all the civil and military officials had basically arrived. The civil and military officials were ranked in two squads. The court was full of officials wearing round necklines, long sleeves, red purple official robes, and rows of black gauze hats, shaking two long wings that were dazzling.

On the left head of the imperial throne is an old man about 70 years old. His beard is white and sparse, his face is blue and blue, and he is wearing a deep purple court robes embroidered with cloud patterns and flowers and birds. He is wearing a purple goldfish bag hanging on his jade belt around his waist. He holds the tablet in his hand and looks a little gloomy.

This person is the left prime minister Ding Daquan, who is in charge of the Secretary of the Central Committee. He was appointed as a Privy Councilor not long ago. He is the most popular figure in the capital.

The right head of the imperial throne was also a gray-bearded old man, a few years younger, and had the same clothes, but his face was full of worry.

This person is the right prime minister Cheng Yuanfeng, who is in charge of the six departments of the Shangshu Province. Although he is upright and diligent in his work, he actually has a low voice in the court and is relatively low-key in daily life.

Behind the two, the train was followed by the provincial government, the three provinces and six ministries, the censors and other ministers, and many of them were still chatting and waiting.

"Your Majesty is here~"

With the sound of the little yellow gate, the slightly noisy court suddenly became quiet. After a moment, the emperor was surrounded by several eunuchs and saw everyone enter the back hall. What surprised everyone was an old man in public uniform followed behind the emperor's butt.

"Duke Chongguo?" The court was slightly shocked and exclaimed.

"Duke Chongguo will be in the position of Prime Minister Ding for the time being!" Zhao Yun sat down on the dragon throne with big sleeves.
Chapter completed!