After receiving the support of Lu Xiufu, Zhao Bing's proposal also aroused heated discussions among the generals, from the development of the plan to the implementation, and involved specific details. However, when everyone was discussing it enthusiastically, everyone found that the little emperor was silent, and Han Zhen also frowned, as if he had something to say, but he wanted to say but stopped.

"Does General Han have any objections to this?" Zhao Bing discovered Han Zhen's abnormality and asked while discussing.

"Your Majesty, I am worried that once this battle begins, it is likely to repeat the mistake of "Duanping into Luo" to win first and then lose!" Han Zhen hesitated a little, but after smashing his mouth a few times, he still said it.

"Where is General Han saying this?" Lu Xiufu turned his face and looked at the little emperor. His face had not changed at all, and he still looked unhappy and asked instead.

"I think your Majesty has realized that if our army enters Huainan and occupy Shouzhou, it will change the passive situation of our dynasty, but it also ignits a gunpowder barrel. In order to maintain the situation, it will have to launch a series of battles one after another. But I am worried that the court will not be able to support it in terms of financial preparation or... but it is difficult to find a fighter opportunity, and Your Majesty is very reluctant to leave. The most taboo thing during the war is that the commander is hesitant and unstable, and he will give up once there is a slight setback, which will lead to the entire battle becoming a pot of raw rice, which will eventually be unable to eat or spit out!" Han Zhenyan said.

"General Han said it well, and it hit the nail on the head." Zhao Bing said first after hearing this, "Shouchun is not only the first strategic location in the Jianghuai region, but also has important strategic value to both the north and the south, and is a strategic location that concerns the overall situation. Therefore, as General Han said, the Battle of Shouzhou ignited a powder barrel, which moved the ground and held the whole body. However, I feel very guilty at this moment and it is difficult to grasp the situation."

"Your Majesty, now our dynasty has a land of nine twenty-four prefectures, with a water and infantry army of 500,000 people, and the annual tax has reached 60 million jin and a million stones of grain reserves, which is enough to support a war. The situation will improve further in the future, which is many times better than when he was in Qiongzhou. Why does Your Majesty lose confidence?" Lu Xiufu asked in confusion.

"Let General Han talk first!" Zhao Bing did not answer directly, but instead pointed Han Zhen's words.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Han Zhen stood up and said, "The current situation is that our dynasty has recovered the Jiangnan region and relied on the Yangtze River to defend. Although the defense line seems to be stable and can confront the enemy, in fact, our dynasty's defense line has been in a comprehensive passive strategically and tactical manner, and is forced to consume the enemy with high military expenditures. However, the Mongols can cross the Yangtze River to attack the strategic support strongholds on our defense line at any time. This shows that the Yangtze River line is not a considerable strategic stalemate value that the world has!"

"Whether it is the situation in which our dynasty or the ambition of Your Majesty constitutes strategic stalemates, but it is not a wish that the frontier fulcrum cannot be obtained and consolidated, which makes our army completely passive in strategy, forcing our army to choose to establish a strong naval army in order to implement tactical maneuvers for key support. However, the maneuver of the naval army is limited by weather and seasons, and cannot be compared with the strategic and tactical maneuverability of the Mongols and Yuan cavalry. But if it occupied the Huai River, even the Yellow River Basin, and won a major strategic space, our army will have more bargaining chips in the formulation of strategies and tactical choices, avoiding the plunder of Jiangnan, and do not have to do all its strength to the Xiangfan defense line and bet on the national destiny!"

"General Han said it is right. At present, our Song Dynasty water and army of 300,000 troops were deployed on the south bank of the Yangtze River to defend the strongholds, but it still cannot block every leak point. Once the enemy breaks through the defense line, there will be no danger to defend again." Zhao Mengjin nodded and said.

"If you want to turn passive into initiative, you must conquer the two Huaihe Rivers to win strategic space. Everyone thinks that this is clear, but why does General Han think that a series of battles are needed to succeed?" Ni Liang asked in confusion.

"Please look at the Dutong Ni!" Han Zhen pointed to the sand pan, "If our army only captured Shouzhou, the left wing would be empty and still faced side attacks from the enemy. Therefore, only by occupying Xiangfan can the entire defense line be stabilized. On the contrary, if Xiangfan is lost, not only will the defense on the northern foot of the Dabie Mountains no longer exist, but the situation of Dabie Mountain as a dangerous mountain will also be lost. Not only will the Jingxiang army have to retreat to the Ezhou River completely, but the two Huai Rivers also lost the protection on the left, and the necessity of defending north of the Yangtze River will no longer exist; the two Huai Rivers will be forced to abandon the Huai River and its vast areas south of the Yangtze River to gather in the Yangtze River south of Jiankang, preparing to deal with the enemy troops advancing eastward along the Yangtze River and its banks from the Ezhou direction."

"So that's the case. Xiangfan and Lianghuai are in the form of cold lips. If the two Huaihei fall, the right wing of Xiangfan will also lose its protection. And it is under the attack of Sichuan, Shaanxi and Lianghuai. Not only can it not return to the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, but it is also in a situation of waiting for death due to the cut-off of the contact with the lower reaches. Thank you for your advice." Ni Liang bowed and looked very educated.

"Your Majesty, this is the only thing that my subordinates know. Please correct the shortcomings of your Majesty." Han Zhen politely said to the young emperor again.

"General Han's military analysis is very clear, and I have nothing to say." Zhao Bing pressed his hand and asked him to sit down, "Although the layout of mountains, rivers and rivers is fixed, the significance of their military geography is due to the differences in the relationship between economic regions, the distribution of north and south boundaries and the advantages and disadvantages of the relationship between regimes. In different periods, mountains, rivers, land and city of Guansai also have different military strategic values..."

Zhao Bing did not talk about the military value of the two Huaihe Rivers, but instead talked about its political and economic strategic value. The Jianghuai region has a developed economy, and the control of this region is not only a change in the size of the region, but also includes changes in important economic forces such as population and taxation. Therefore, when it comes to the competition for important economic zones, the power balance between the two sides of the war is very rapid. Especially when it is evenly matched, when competing for an area with important economic impact.

The military value of Xiangfan also lies in its control over the rich area of ​​the Jianghan Plain. The fall of Ezhou, for the regime in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, lost its economic control from Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Hunan and even Guangdong and Guangxi. On the surface, it was the fall of several cities, but the areas that brought economic losses often exceeded those of simply military-occupied areas. The fall of Ezhou, Jiujiang, which is not far east, has almost no danger to defend, but the loss of Jiujiang means the loss of the Ganjiang River Basin. Therefore, when only the economy and manpower of the Taihu Plain in the delta area south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River are left, it is impossible to recover the defeat.

Zhao Bing's short-term strategic intention was to build a strategic buffer zone and a frontier rigid defensive stronghold for Jiangnan, the hinterland of the Southern Song Dynasty, so as to significantly reduce the loss of his national strength and effectively consume the enemy's vitality. It was not his own proactive and rational choice, but was built by the situation as a result of the situation. Of course, relying on the defense line built by the Yangtze River, in terms of national economy and people's livelihood, strategic and tactical, because Jiangnan itself is the lifeline of the Song court.

As for advancing towards the Yellow River Basin, Zhao Bing has been using the banner of returning to the Central Plains and restoring the old capital, and is also expanding the strategic space to the outside world. He thought that since the Yangtze River can serve as a natural barrier, then the Yellow River is not a natural barrier? As the core of the strategic support of the central and western Yellow River, Luoyang has strong obstacles on both sides of the east and west sides. Economically, the Yellow River Basin has a fertile field of thousands of miles, and its productivity and population are still extremely huge in strategic sense. The Sichuan-Shaanxi region in the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River was once a wealthy area comparable to the south of the Yangtze River, but it was now terrible to be ruined by the Mongols, so naturally he could not be interested for the moment.

Therefore, Zhao Bing's view is that entering Luoyang to build a frontier defense line is a complete and only correct intention in terms of strategic intention, because the court officials cannot understand that neither the Yellow River nor the Yangtze River can never create lasting stalemate. Especially when relying heavily on river water networks as their lifeline, relying on the Yangtze River stalemate is a continuous blood loss and loss of its own national strength! Advancing these strategic buffer zones to strive for rest and recuperation for the Yangtze River Basin is the foundation of the lasting stalemate. If it is shrinking south of the Yangtze River, the Song Dynasty will never be able to complete blood replenishment...

"Your Majesty, since the two Huai Rivers can alleviate the embarrassment of our dynasty's defense and can also obtain a prosperous place in Jianghuai, why are you hesitant? Is Your Majesty still doubting the strength of our army and worried that you will not be able to complete the combat mission!" After hearing the young emperor's analysis of the current situation and strategic deployment, Lu Xiufu thought that what he thought was right and that the fighter opportunity was difficult to find, but the young emperor was worried about gains and losses, which made him very puzzled.

"Left Prime Minister, our army of water and army in the water have been trained and expanded for more than a year, and they have all been replaced with firearms. The morale is strong. As long as your Majesty has his life, we will definitely carry out the task and complete the task to the death." Zhao Mengjin was not very satisfied with Lu Xiufu's statement and stood up and said.

"Left Prime Minister, the army has already completed its combat preparations and has replenished the baggage. It can be ordered to go out to fight at any time to defeat the current enemy." Jiang Jin felt angry and stood up and saluted.

"The Left Prime Minister has no malice, so don't misunderstand it. I also believe that each army can resolutely execute orders and complete their respective combat missions." Zhao Bing saw the generals dissatisfied, hurriedly stopped him, "Don't blame Lu Prime Minister. They are in the army all year round, with a straightforward personality and no restraint. Please forgive me if they offend them."

"Your Majesty is so serious. I have been hanging with you in the army for many years. How could I not know?" Lu Xiufu waved his hand and smiled.

"The reason why I can't make up my mind is that I don't want to repeat the mistake of "Duanping and Lu Luo". " Zhao Bing sighed and said the reason.

Duanping entered Luo, which refers to the military operations of the Southern Song Dynasty after joining forces with Mongolia to destroy the Jin Dynasty, the military operations of the former Northern Song Dynasty, Tokyo Kaifeng Prefecture, Xijing Henan Prefecture and Nanjing Yingtian Prefecture, were eventually defeated by the Mongolian army and retreated back to the original defense line after the Southern Song Dynasty. This operation also marked the full outbreak of the Song-Mongol War.

"Your Majesty, although we lack cavalry at present, we have artillery, muskets, and sufficient food and supplies. We will never be at a disadvantage when facing the Mongolian cavalry. Moreover, the rivers in the two Huaihe areas are densely populated, so it is difficult for the enemy cavalry to play their advantages and will never repeat them again." Liu Zhixue said confidently.

"If we only use the lack of cavalry and shortage of food to explain the great defeat in this battle, it may be convincing. What do Prime Minister Lu think?" Zhao Bing turned his face and asked with a smile.

"As for the failure of Duanping to Luo, people at that time thought that Emperor Lizong was eager to achieve success, and rashly sent troops under the opposition of the ministers, which destroyed the agreement with the Mongol Yuan, leading to the Mongol Yuan invasion of the south and left disasters to future generations. This was the main reason. Emperor Lizong also issued a self-criticism to admit this mistake." Lu Xiufu replied.

"Does Lu also think this is accurate? I'm afraid I won't believe it!" Zhao Bing chuckled after hearing this, "At the beginning of the first year of Duanping, the ministers almost agreed that the demise of the Jin Kingdom was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our dynasty to restore the Central Plains. The differences between Emperor Lizong and some ministers who opposed sending troops were that Lizong believed that domestic rebellions were resolved during the Shaoding period and Li Quan was also wiped out. This was a good opportunity to send troops. Many ministers led by Qiao Xingjian believed that this dynasty was not able to send troops to restore the Central Plains. Even if it was restored, it would not have the strength to defend the Central Plains."

"The reason why later generations think that the blame is the emperor comes from this. Seeing so many opinions against Emperor Lizong's sending troops, they finally came true and felt that they were correct. But I think that the unfavorable factors are known to everyone, and supporting adventure is only because this is the only way to survive. As long as people with a little strategic vision, they can naturally understand that even if the road from Jianghuai Jinghu to Advance Central Plains is not smooth, as long as they can stabilize the frontier fulcrum and ensure military reserves, they can also cover the Yangtze River Basin after they can maintain their frontier fulcrum and ensure military reserves. Therefore, this risk is worth taking. Moreover, even if the risk fails, as long as they can resist in an orderly manner under effective command, and the retreat of the preservation force will not be able to exceed the expected losses."

"From the current analysis, if we had not chosen to march Kaifeng and Luoyang at that time, it would be no different from the failure, because our dynasty had no second way. We had a dispersed defensive strongholds along the river and mobilized comprehensively. The strategic mobile defense of military forces was stalemate with the consumption of the Mongol army across the river. In addition to retaining materials and the army to give us some bargaining chips when passive defense, it would not affect the fate of the defeat during the Chunyou period. As for the defeat of the alliance, the Mongol Yuan invasion of the south, I think it was even more aligned. At that time, the Mongol Yuan was at its peak and was determined to unify the world; but our dynasty was unforgettable to the hometown and was determined to recover the Central Plains. The two countries would definitely fight, and I am afraid everyone knew it well."

"Why does Your Majesty think the main reason for failure?" The young emperor's new theory can be said to have subverted the views of many years, and Lu Xiufu asked with a frown.
Chapter completed!