In view of the rise of the Mongols and the increasingly obvious decline of the Jin dynasty, the Song people debated the question of whether to make peace with the Jin.

Although Prime Minister Shi Miyuan knew that Jin's national situation was greatly affected by the Mongol invasion, Yin Jian, who was not far away from Kaixi's Northern Expedition, did not dare to accept the opinions of the main fighters, but only stopped paying tribute and sending envoys, and still kept the peace treaty.

However, the armed rebellion against Jin in Shandong was huge, and the Red Turban Army won many battles, occupying several states, and was appreciated and supported by local officials.

Therefore, although the Song court was unwilling to recruit the righteous army openly, it still secretly ordered Li Jue to form a red turban army with Ying Chunzhi and others in Zhichu Prefecture, and secretly gave the name of "loyal and righteous army" and obeyed the moderation of the commanders.

At the same time, the Song Dynasty used the example of the Wuding Army to provide the Red Turban Army with 25,000 people of money and food, called "Loyal and Righteous Grain".

Meng Jiucheng listened to Ji Xian's narration and smiled.

Sure enough, as in history, the Song court began to support the rebel Jin forces in Shandong, although not openly.

The advantages of this are, of course, obvious, that once the situation of the Song and Jin dynasties changes, a single edict can restore the rivers and mountains of the northern land.

Moreover, with the cooperation of the loyal and righteous army, it will also be very difficult for the Jin army to invade Huaidi, which is equivalent to invisibly relieving the danger of the Song realm.

"The system makes Master Li still have a letter to hand over to Meng Shuai." Ji Xian presented Li Yu's letter and said: "Lord Li is full of praise for Meng Shuai, and hopes that Meng Shuai can continue to restore his homeland and make contributions. ”

Li Jue is the envoy of the Jianghuai system, and also knows the Jiankang Mansion, is the chief of border affairs, responsible for the important minister of the barrier Beijing Division, actively fights the main battle, plots to recover, and has the most positive attitude towards the loyal and righteous people.

Ying Chunzhi, who knew Chuzhou, sold grain at a low price before, and secretly supported the Red Turban Army, which was not the intention of accepting Shangguan.

"The imperial court also sent secret envoys to reward military exploits with gold and silver property." Ji Xian continued: "In addition to doubling the amount of grain purchased at parity, Lord Ying of Zhichu Prefecture also agreed to borrow 10,000 stone of rice grain in advance to relieve the hunger of the people in the north. ”

Meng Jiucheng has already read Li Yu's letter, although the money and food given are not free of charge, and the Red Turban Army needs to take action, but the urgent crisis has been solved, and the pace of development can be greatly accelerated.

"I already understand what Master Li means." Meng Jiucheng said to Ji Xian with a smile: "With money and food, the Red Turban Army will soon launch an attack to the west." I wrote a letter here, and asked Brother Ji to make a hard trip and send it to Master Li and Lord Ying. And with some small gifts, I would like to thank the two adults on my behalf. ”

"Meng Shuai is polite, he killed the villain." Ji Xian stood up respectfully and saluted.

Meng Jiucheng looked at Ji Xian and nodded appreciatively.

Ji Xian did not take refuge in himself like Liu You, he had his own ideas and insisted on doing it.

Through constant contact, Ji Xian has gained Ying Chunzhi's trust and has become a petty official under Ying Chunzhi. This laid the foundation for him to recruit rebels in the future and become the commander of the army.

This is a talent, but it is a talent with its own ideals. Meng Jiucheng thought about it, but still dispelled the idea of wooing Ji Xian.

Everyone has their own aspirations, and during this period, Meng Jiucheng did not want to offend the Song officials because of some trivial things, even if it was only a small possibility.

rewarded Ji Xian, Meng Jiucheng wrote another letter, and then got up to send Ji Xian away. When she returned to the house, Yang Miaozhen couldn't wait to come over.

"Meng Lang looks very happy!" Yang Miaozhen saw her husband's joyful appearance, and she was also happy in her heart.

"Haha." Meng Jiucheng was coldly hugged by a bear, kissed his wife on the face, and said with a smile: "Of course I am happy and happy to be with my mother." ”

Yang Miaozhen slapped Meng Jiucheng in shame, even if there were no outsiders, she was still a little uncomfortable with Meng Jiucheng's bold move.

Meng Jiucheng couldn't stop laughing, and walked straight to the back hall with his wife in his arms, "Lady, the difficulties are over, and you don't have to worry anymore." ”

Yang Miaozhen saw her husband's appearance, and it is estimated that Ji Xian brought good news. Although I was happy in my heart, I was still a little uneasy, so I asked what happened.

"This is very good, although it has a name, it is not hindered." Yang Miaozhen asked and understood, and nodded again and again, "The Southern Song Dynasty court is quite generous this time, but after all, it will not get rid of the cowardice." ”

"The lady is talking about being afraid of the golden man!" Meng Jiucheng said with a smile: "Favoring Jiangnan and not wanting to forge ahead has always been Song Ting's problem. Passive defense and lack of the spirit of taking the initiative to attack are the key to its difficulty in achieving great things. Well, let's leave him alone, let's eat people with short mouths, and we'll give Song Ting a help. ”

Meng Jiucheng is right, and it is also the conclusion reached by historians. The Southern Song Dynasty's defense line to the north was mainly along the Huaihai, Huguang, and Sichuan-Shaanxi lines, which was the first line of defense.

The second line of defense is based on the Yangtze River and deployed along the river; The third road is along the five ridges, but it has little effect.

The first of these three lines of defense has always been the main battlefield. Once this line of defense is breached, retreat to the second line of defense. If the second line of defense is also breached, the emperor will generally have to flee to the sea to avoid the limelight.

This defense system was also quite effective in the later war against the Mongols. Not only resisted the Mongols for nearly forty years, but also caused Möngke Khan to die under the Diaoyu City.

On the surface, this defense system of the Southern Song Dynasty seems to be perfect. However, such a system was precisely one of the main reasons for the eventual demise of the Southern Song Dynasty.

The ultimate goal of any defense system should not be to defend for the sake of defense, but to consume the enemy's living forces, preserve themselves, increase their strength, and prepare for future counteroffensives.

However, looking at the entire history of the Southern Song Dynasty, it can only be said that passive defense prevailed most of the time. Passive defense, on the other hand, is the most consuming for the defending side.

Therefore, in the early days of the Song-Mongolian War, although the Mongol army could not make a major breakthrough on the frontal battlefield, it turned several defense areas of the Southern Song Dynasty into veritable "meat grinders", which consumed a lot of manpower and material resources of the Southern Song Dynasty, forcing the Southern Song Dynasty to take care of one thing and lose the other, and be exhausted.

Unable to grasp the initiative in the war, even if the Southern Song Dynasty could hold on for more time against the Mongols, it would still lose the war in the end.

In fact, throughout the more than forty years of the Song and Mongolian wars, the Song Dynasty has always had the opportunity to fight back.

The Mongols had always been preoccupied with northern affairs, with the exception of the Western Expedition, the Civil War for the Khan's throne, and the defeat of the first crusade against Japan. But each time, the Southern Song Dynasty missed a good opportunity.

From the perspective of the strength of the troops in the Southern Song Dynasty, whether it is attacking gold or Yuan, the best route to send troops is not on land, but by sea.

The navy of the Southern Song Dynasty was strong, and there was a record of blocking the Jin army fleet in the harbor to make dumplings. But the Southern Song Dynasty never seemed to have thought of sending an army to land in the Bohai Bay or Liaodong by boat, and to raid the Jin Kingdom or the Mongol Yuan's nest.

In this case, the Southern Song Dynasty only knew that it was guarding its own one-third of an acre, and after "Duanping into Luo", it became a shrinking turtle, and he no longer dared to take the initiative to attack, so it can only be said that the Southern Song Dynasty was exhausted.

Another problem in the Southern Song Dynasty was that they did not dare to mobilize the masses. Whether it was against Jin or Mongolia, the Southern Song Dynasty did not lack rebels who spontaneously resisted behind enemy lines.

But how did the Southern Song Dynasty treat these rebels?

On the surface, the Southern Song Dynasty naturally made a high posture and recruited rebels from all over the country. But in fact, once the rebels returned, they used it to attack the enemy, but also worried that it would become bigger.

As a result, they are either shelved or left idle, or even put to death.

For example, Xin gave up his illness, and after returning to the south, he has been idle, and his lifelong ambitions have not been stretched, and he finally died of grief.

Another example is the Red Jacket Army in Shandong, which was originally a righteous army against Jin, but after being incorporated by the Southern Song Dynasty, it was suspicious everywhere. In the end, Li Quan was forced to rebel, and after Li Quan surrendered to Mongolia, Shandong, which was still a tug-of-war region, gradually fell to the side of Mongolia.

In history, Xin Qiji, Li Quan, and Yang Miaozhen should have been the pioneers of the Southern Song Dynasty to recover their homeland, but in the end, they were all jealous and victimized by the Southern Song Dynasty. In this case, wouldn't the world's hot-blooded people be cold? Who wants to die for the Southern Song Dynasty?

That is, they do not have a correct strategy, they only know how to defend passively, they do not dare to mobilize the masses, and they hate the enthusiasm of the masses to resist the enemy, and they are afraid to death.

Such a Southern Song Dynasty government, whether it is Lianjin or Lianmeng, no matter how long it resists, will eventually perish.

Meng Jiucheng naturally knew the tricks of the Southern Song court, which may also be a common problem of the feudal ruling class. Therefore, for the time being, lower your posture and get support, but you still have to be self-reliant as the ultimate goal.

In the back house, a few kinds of wine and food have been placed on the table, and the husband and wife sit down, drinking and talking.

"How many men is Meng Lang going to send to help the Song court remove the threat from Huaixi?" Yang Miaozhen toasted her husband and asked about military operations.

The Red Turban Army occupied Haizhou, so that the Huaidong Song border was free of the harassment of Jin soldiers, and bought time and convenience for Ying Chunzhi and other main battle factions to strengthen border defense.

In view of this, Li Yu hoped that the Red Turban Army could also take action in Huaixi, in order to achieve the same effect.

In Meng Jiucheng's view, there is no need to dispatch too many men and horses for this operation, two battalions and more than 6,000 people are enough.

Because he wanted to fight jointly with Peng Yibin's troops, the Red Turban Army mainly dispatched artillery support to strike at the Jin army in Suzhou and Pizhou.

If the operation goes smoothly, it will not only meet Li Yu's requirements, but also threaten Xuzhou and support Liu Erzu's resistance from the side.

"Peng Yibin has tens of thousands of horses, plus the artillery of our army, and there are not many Jin troops in Su and Pizhou, so he is still very sure of victory." Meng Jiucheng carried the dishes for his wife and said slowly: "In this way, it is reasonable for all parties." ”

"To whom will the land be conquered?" When Yang Miaozhen heard that it was a joint operation, he naturally thought of the distribution of the results.

"It doesn't matter to anyone." Meng Jiucheng patted his wife's hand with a smile and said, "It's fragrant far away, but it's smelly close." Being next to Song Di is not necessarily a good thing. The direction in which we continue to expand the land and siege the city is in the north, in the west, not in the south. ”

The north refers to Qingzhou and Zizhou, and the west is Laiwu, Yiyuan and other Yimeng mountain towns. Once Liu Erzu's army was defeated, the Red Turban Army was to immediately enter this area, deploy defenses to resist, and protect the west of the base area from threats.

Yang Miaozhen pondered for a moment, nodded slightly, and said, "It turns out that Meng Lang has a plan, and the slave family thinks it makes sense. Stay away, so as not to find fault with the Song family. ”

Meng Jiucheng smiled, and this was exactly what he planned in his heart.

Historically, there were many rebels who defected to the Southern Song Dynasty, but they were stationed in Chuzhou, Lianshui and other Song lands, or those close to Song land, but there were no good results.

It may be the reason that it is too close, the Southern Song Dynasty court either sent officials to supervise and control, or used money and grain as a coercion, or divided and collapsed, or instigated each other to attack, so that the various rebel armies were full of contradictions and constantly had accidents.

And Peng Yibin led the army to fight in Shandong, which was far away, so it did not make the Song family suspicious. In the end, he was defeated by the Mongol army, but he was a hero, better than the rebel leaders who rebelled in infighting.

Therefore, Meng Jiucheng had such an idea and established his own base, just because he was worried that the Song Dynasty would also take chaotic measures against the Red Turban Army.

For military generals, the Song court really did not have any commendable treatment and practices.

King Yue, loyal to the country, but was killed by Gaozong by Qin Hui in the Wind Pavilion;

Meng Gong, the master of mobile defense in the Southern Song Dynasty, was also afraid of death because of the suspicion of the imperial court;

And the most tragic is probably Han Yanxuan, who advocated the Northern Expedition of Kaixi.

Not to mention anything else, just look at the three major things that Han Yanxuan has done in his life, one is to attack science, the second is to Chongyue and degrade Qin, and the third is to open the Northern Expedition. Meng Jiu's achievements are quite admirable.

Although the Kaixi Northern Expedition ended in failure due to inadequate preparations, such as the lack of preparation of the generals, the negligence of the soldiers in training, and the betrayal of the Song Dynasty by Wu Xi, the deputy envoy of Xuanfu in Sichuan.

But this should be attributed to Han Yanxuan's personal ability, and it cannot be said that he is a disaster to the country and the people.

And what did the capitulation faction of the Southern Song Dynasty do? Assassinate Han Yanxuan and send his head to the Kingdom of Jin for peace talks.

Since ancient times, Herong has great power, and he has not heard of the letter to be able to settle down. Such a despicable and humiliating practice is enough to chill people's hearts.

As for the history of the Song Dynasty listing him as a traitorous minister, along with Qin Hui and Jia Yidao, Meng Jiucheng seriously suspected that it was the result of whitewashing and modification by the scholars of science and the capitulation faction in order to cover it up.

For example, Li Zong, recognized as the king of the fallen country, the Southern Song Dynasty was unlucky from that time. And Shi Miyuan illegally assassinated Han Yanxuan, and then abolished the edict, the real traitor, but he didn't see how the people of science and later generations criticized it, and he didn't list the legend of the traitor!

From the death of Han Yanxuan, it profoundly reflects the cowardice, despicability and evil of the Southern Song court. A few decades later, it is not surprising that the Southern Song Dynasty fell.

And those culprits who murdered Han Yanxuan, in order to cover up their despicable deeds, wantonly tampered with the "actual records" of the historians at that time, and made them heinous traitors to find excuses for the murder.

In contrast, the attitude of the Jin people towards Han Yanxuan at that time was quite respectful. After receiving Han Yanxuan's head, they specially gave him a generous burial and gave him the nickname "Loyalty", saying that he was "loyal to the country and wrong to seek his life". It means that you think too much about your country and too little about yourself.

With so many Yin Jian, even if Meng Jiucheng wants to serve the country loyally, he must keep the strength in his hands. Give it to Song Ting, and sooner or later let these bastards be defeated.

Then, like Xin Qiji, Lu You and others, he can only express the regret of unpaid ambition through poetry.