There is no need to rush, as the war continues, such opportunities will always be found.

However, there is another thing that will be carried out soon, and there is not much time left for the Jinghu Envoy.

"If you want to block the Tartar attack in the autumn, you must comprehensively transform the city defense of Xiangyang." Zheng Yunming said to Zhao Kui.

Zhao Kui was a little surprised by this proposal, and his surprise was justified, the city of Xiangyang was tall and the ditches were deep, and it was second to none in the entire western defense area. Is there still a need for remodeling?

"I think the last will think." Zheng Yunming took two steps closer to Zhao Kui on the seat, but the guards and staff in the hall did not stop him. Zheng Yunming, who is both the son of the prime minister and the general of Jing'e, is obviously not something that they can stop at will.

"To deal with the Mongol attack, the general thinks that there are three strategies available." Zheng Yunming arched his hand and said: "It's nothing more than nine words: 'build a high wall, accumulate grain, and train elite soldiers'." ”

Zhao Kui sat on his back on the chair, gently supported his chin with his left hand, and said indifferently: "This is just a cliché." ”

Zheng Yunming's eyelids drooped, slightly unhappy. He used the experience of later generations to assist Zhao Kui, but he only got a cliché evaluation. Zhao Kui could not have predicted what people would say two hundred years from now, and he certainly wouldn't be interested in such generalizations.

Zheng Yunming must come up with more convincing arguments.

"The greatest strength of the Mongols is their strong will to fight and their tactical flexibility." Zheng Yunming planned in his heart and said: "Among the barbarians in Mobei in ancient times, there are those who have a strong will to fight, and there are also those who are weak. Similar to the Jurchens, who don't fight for a hundred rounds, they are even more outstanding. But the will of the Mongols was stronger than that of the Zhijin, and once it was decided to attack a certain place or annihilate a certain army. It must have been an indomitable and bloody battle for many years, and when the two armies were fighting in the field, they fought fiercely for several days without stopping, until the enemy army was completely wiped out. Last year's strategy was just a way for the enemy, and this year, when the enemy comes to attack again, it must be a long-term battle, comprehensively encircling Xiangyang City, and vowing not to give up until Xiangyang is conquered. Therefore, the war of resistance in the coming autumn will inevitably be a long and cruel battle between the siege and the anti-siege. The walls could not but continue to be heightened, and only a higher wall could guarantee a delay in the enemy's assault in exchange for time for our army to carry out a counteroffensive. ”

"The same is true for grain, although Xiangyang is known as the crown of grain storage in Jinghu, but we have to take into account the situation of the long-term war of resistance. In order to defend Xiangyang, the number of soldiers and civilians in the city must at least exceed 100,000, and the grain in the city must be supported by the soldiers and civilians in the city for at least more than a year. In this year, you can slowly find a strategy to retreat from the enemy. ”

"You're worrying too much." Zhao Kui waved his hand and said: "If there is something in Xiangyang, the entire Jinghu 200,000 people and horses will go all out to rescue, how can they sit idly by?" ”

Zheng Yunming shook his head: "Cowardice and fear of war is our biggest weakness. ”

"You participated in the battle to rescue Yangzhou, when Yangzhou was besieged by Li Quan, the imperial court sent 150,000 horses to rescue. Tell me, how many generals rushed to the rescue without stopping after receiving the order? ”

Zhao Kui naturally knew in his heart that Li Quan rebelled and besieged Yangzhou, and the imperial court used almost all of Huaishang's troops to rescue. But Li Quan was known for his courage in Jiangnan, and all the generals were afraid, and it was almost he and his brother Zhao Fan who forced these generals to lead their troops forward with swords in order to reach Yangzhou smoothly. The combat power of the Mongols was many times higher than that of Li Quan, and once Xiangyang was surrounded, he could think of what kind of attitude these generals of Jinghu would have towards the orders of the imperial court.

"If the generals really sit back and watch Xiangyang live or die, then even if the city is a hundred feet high, what is the use of food that can support it for ten years?" Zhao Kui just shook his head: "There will be a day when the city will be broken." ”

"So we can't just trust outside rescue, but also rely on ourselves." Zheng Yunming said: "We will train a capable army from the tens of thousands of troops defending the city, at least to ensure that we can open an exit to the outside while guarding the city, and if we have this way out, the troops and food aid from outside will be continuously transported in." ”

"It's less than a year until next fall." Even if Zhao Kui himself is a famous general, he knows much more about how to train than the fledgling Zheng Yunming: "Starting military training now can be described as a temporary cram." ”

Zheng Yunming's face was solemn, he took two steps back and bowed his hand, and said: "This is a matter related to the life and death of tens of millions of people in the Great Song Dynasty. ”

Zhao Kui suddenly smiled, and he said to Zheng Yunming: "When my eldest brother was sitting in this position, did you talk to him like this?" ”

Zheng Yunming said proudly: "If ordinary things dare not violate the order of the envoy, the affairs of Xiangyang Fangcheng are not only related to the survival of the country, but also related to the survival of me and the envoy himself, how can I ignore it?" ”

Zhao Kui nodded: "That's right, but do you know that there are three difficulties in rebuilding a city and training elite soldiers?" ”

"I want to hear about it."

"The renovation of the city is a huge undertaking that will inevitably cost a lot of money. Now Jinghu has decided that it will take money to replenish the army, relieve the displaced people, and rebuild the passes, and the envoys still need to leave a part to deal with the invasion of the Qiuhulu. The cost of renovating the city is often millions of dollars and grain, and neither the Xiangyang Mansion nor the Governor's Mansion can afford such a large sum of money, and only by writing official documents and submitting them to the Imperial Court and the Privy Council can they ask for corresponding funds. ”

Zheng Yunming knew that this was indeed the truth, but this fee should be allocated by the imperial court without discount, after all, the consequences of losing Xiangfan could not be borne no matter what.

"Second, it takes at least 100,000 strong men and a lot of grain to rebuild the city. Now is the time when spring ploughing is critical, and it is impossible to draw out so many strong men to build the city. A while ago, the envoy was set up to rescue the ruined cities in various places. With the pacification of the displaced people and the frequent movement of the army, the grain depot in Xiangyang was already very empty, and it was necessary to transfer grain from Jingnan to replenish the treasury, where could new stores be added. If you really want to renovate the city, I'm afraid that the original reserves in the treasury will be reduced. ”

Zheng Yunming also agrees with this very much, compared to increasing the city, ensuring Xiangyang's grain reserves is the first important matter. The farming of Jinghu can not be delayed, and when the next year is not harvested, if there is no food to help, the people of Jinghu will start their journey of wandering and begging without waiting for the enemy to attack.

"Even if you raise enough food and recruit all the men." Zhao Kui sighed: "It is impossible to complete the rebuilding of the city wall without seven or eight months, and if the project is slightly delayed, the Mongols will suddenly go south before they can wait for the completion." At that time, the unfinished city wall became a weak point for Xiangyang. ”

This is the urgency of time, and Zheng Yunming only felt at this time that it was indeed too early to propose to renovate the city at this time.

"But your insights are right in the long run." Zhao Kui said: "The Mongols tried to win a quick victory, which was impossible. It took a lot of time to attack both the Jin Kingdom and the Western Xia, not to mention that we still have a moat to rely on. The war is bound to be protracted and becomes a race that consumes time and money, and your so-called deep ditches and high fortifications, hoarding grain and grass, and training elite soldiers are the most correct strategies for future wars. However, at present, Xiangyang and Jinghu are unable to start such a huge plan. You go back and sort out a detailed note, and I will play it to the imperial court, hoping that the imperial court will use these nine words as the general policy to guide the country's resistance in the future. ”

Zheng Yunming had to secretly smile bitterly in his heart, every year after the country goes through the flames of war, there will always be various officials of different levels to give the court guidance strategies for war, from the small to the army and the general judge, to the big Zaifu and the minister, all kinds of discussions are mixed, and the court has long been numb to this. Most of the notes on how to resist the war were lost, and the Jingshi had its own rhythm, and no one below was allowed to interfere with it.

Even if this rhythm is at its worst and leads the country to its demise, this course will not be easily changed.

But Zheng Yunming also knew that there were many people in the Dao who did not fall into this mud-like rhythm, including Zhao Kui, the top boss here.

Xiao Zhao Zhizhi looked at Zheng Yunming's worried appearance at the bottom of the stairs, and said in a soothing tone: "I know that you must not be willing to sit and wait for the enemy to come again." Well, I'll promise you three things. ”

Zheng Yunming's eyes lit up, and he pricked up his ears to listen to Zhao Kui's next words.

"First, you will be trained in a unified manner by the soldiers and horses of the whole city of Xiangyang." Zheng Yunming's reputation for being good at training soldiers has been broadcast in Jinghu, and even Zhao Kui, who is far away in Huaidong, has heard that there is a Zheng official in Jinghu who loves soldiers like parents and children and trains soldiers like the king of Hades: "These troops composed of cowardly children in Jiangnan (the south of the Yangtze River, not Jiangnan in the usual sense) are not as strong and capable as the northern army, and the reason is that they lack strict training, take out the courage of your Zheng Yan King, and turn the tens of thousands of troops in this Xiangyang city into war-capable troops!" ”

If the spiritual method of warfare is left in the previous life, Zheng Yunming is very despised, the spirit comes from the material foundation, and it is as foolish as cowardice to avoid war in the art of war to fight against an enemy who is far stronger than himself. After his reincarnation, Zheng Yunming's view changed slightly: at least in the post-Nandu era, the need for the revival of the martial spirit throughout the Song Dynasty was far more urgent than the need to solve the poor armament.

All this can be done, and it doesn't take a grain of money to do it. This is also what Zheng Yunming wants to do the most.

"Second, there are still many bandits in the Jinghu area that have not been cleaned up, and after the enemy's invasion last year, many troops have broken up, and many of the defeated soldiers have become bandits. If you are in normal times, you can turn a blind eye to those guys who stay honestly on your own mountain. But from now on, I am afraid that the Tartars will invade every year, and you must take advantage of this gap to exterminate all the bandits in the Jinghu area, and not let them become the scourge of the Hu people when they invade. ”