But now the Jin leaders were in high spirits, so Song Qingshu had to wait until the Jin suffered a setback and then propose peace talks. He believed in the strength of the Southern Song Dynasty. The Southern Song Dynasty was not good at attacking, but it was good at defending. It took the Mongols decades to conquer the Southern Song Dynasty. It was impossible for the Jin to destroy the Southern Song Dynasty.
Of course, he could enforce military discipline on the way to the south and forbid looting of women and children. But he also objected to it. After all, the Jin soldiers fought for the spoils of war. If it was forbidden, it would hurt morale and cause dissatisfaction among the soldiers.
Song Qingshu explained that the purpose of attacking the Southern Song Dynasty was to destroy the country. If they killed and looted along the way, it would arouse the hatred of the people in the south, which would be a problem for the southern expedition.
As for the morale, the Southern Song Dynasty had a large treasury, which was enough to reward the soldiers. In addition, the imperial court would open the treasury to reward the soldiers.
Hearing this, the servant felt that he was being too soft-hearted, but he didn't say anything. After all, he was not only the most powerful man in the military, but also the most powerful man in the government. Since he had spoken, the imperial court would reward him.
In the next few days, news came from the south. Han Xingzhou dismissed Su Shidan and Deng Youlong because of the failure of the army. He appointed Qiu Pi as the Governor of the Two Huai Provinces and Ye Shizhi as the Governor of Jiankang Prefecture and the Governor of the Yangtze River. After Qiu Pi was appointed, he gave up Sizhou and retreated to Xuyi, saying that he could save the troops in Huaidong. The Song army retreated, and the Jin army advanced in nine directions. The situation changed from the northern expedition of the Song army to the southern expedition of the Jin army.
Taj-kis sneered when she heard this news. "Han Xingzhou is crazy. Qiu Pi was the one who strongly opposed his northern expedition. Now he has been replaced. Isn't he destroying his own reputation?" Because her husband, Han Qianye, died indirectly because of Han Xingzhou's northern expedition, she didn't like him.
Song Qingshu explained, "Do you think Han Xingzhou wants to replace him? Someone must be responsible for the failure of the northern expedition. How could Jia Shidao and Shi Miyuan let go of such a good opportunity? Han Xingzhou could only sacrifice the rook to save the king. He used Su Shidan and Deng Youlong as scapegoats. Of course, he wanted to replace his trusted subordinates, but what about the others? The appointment of Qiu Ming and the others is most likely the result of the Lin 'an court's game. "
Taj-tish frowned and said, "Chen Xiaoqing, who abandoned Guo Jing's troops and deserted in the face of battle, only received a superficial demotion. Wang Ziteng, who gave the order, received nothing at all. Qian Ye must have been blind to have worked for such an imperial court."
Song Qingshu smiled bitterly. "Although Chen Xiaoqing has been demoted, he has completed the task assigned to him by his superiors. It won't be long before he rises up the ranks like a rocket. Wang Ziteng is the clan leader of the Lin Chuan Wang Family. Now that someone is in charge of this matter, why would they investigate him? This is politics. "
Taj-kis snorted. "I can't be bothered with the internal strife of the Southern Song's officialdom. I'm only concerned about how to clean up the mess. Were they just going to let the Jin and Song Kingdoms continue fighting like this? You should know that I'm still waiting to deal with Mongolia. I don't want to waste the Jin Kingdom's strength in the south. "
She had been Tang Kuo Bian for a long time and had a lot of intelligence. Naturally, she knew that the Southern Song Dynasty was still powerful. How could the Jin Kingdom take it all at once? If the war really broke out, it would take at least ten years. This was the last thing she wanted to see.
"Don't worry. It won't be long before there's an opportunity to stop the war and negotiate." Looking at the mountains and rivers in the south, Song Qingshu's eyes were deep and profound.
Wanyan Gang led his army and captured Guanghua, Zaoyang, and Jiangling. Then he broke through Xinyang, Xiangyang, and Suizhou. Finally he besieged De 'an.
Fu San Feihan led his army to cross the Huai River. The Song army was defeated and the Jin army surrounded Hezhou.
Heshi and Lie Ziren captured Chuzhou and Zhenzhou. Huaixi County was occupied by the Jin army.
However, the Southern Song Dynasty finally reacted and began to gather troops from all over the country. The Jin army's offensive was finally stopped and the two sides began to fight at De 'an.
Song Qingshu sighed for a long time when he heard that Xiangyang had been conquered. When Guo Jing was guarding this place, the Mongolians had failed to conquer it for a long time. Now it had fallen. On the one hand, the Song army was defeated, and on the other hand, the soldiers and civilians of Xiangyang had probably lost their morale when they heard about Guo Jing's death.
As for the news of Guo Jing's death, Song QingShu knew what was going on. He was afraid that someone in the Southern Song Dynasty didn't want him to come back alive. Han Xingzhou couldn't even protect himself now, so it was obviously impossible. So, it was most likely Jia Shidao and Shi Miyuan.
Shouldn't Guo Jing be on Jia Shidao's side? Song Qingshu couldn't figure it out. However, he was more concerned about how sad Huang Rong would be when she heard the news. It was a pity that he couldn't explain it to her.
I can only hope that Peach Blossom Island is isolated from the world, and Huang Yaoshi won't tell his daughter about it. Song Qingshu could only think that way.
In the past few days, the Southern Song Dynasty was also in turmoil. Han Xingzhou took the opportunity to impeach Jia Shidao's officials and put his own people back in power. He tried to send people to negotiate. Soon, Qiu Ming was dismissed and Zhang Yan was appointed to supervise the Jianghuai army. Han Xingzhou donated 200,000 yuan of his own money to subsidize the army. He also sent Fang Xinru to Kaifeng to negotiate with the Jin.
Song Qingshu couldn't help but sigh with relief when he heard the news. This was the opportunity he had been waiting for. After all, the Jin Kingdom was the victor of the war. It was impossible for the Southern Song Dynasty to propose peace. If the Southern Song Dynasty proposed peace, it would mean that they would be taken advantage of. As long as the Southern Song Dynasty was ruthless enough, they would most likely be satisfied. Given the Southern Song Dynasty's character, it was exactly what they wanted to buy peace with money. They lacked everything but money.
In fact, the generals in the army had been discussing this topic for a long time. Although they had been unstoppable for a while, they were now in a predicament of being alone. The recent attacks had been thwarted, and the increasing number of soldiers of the Southern Song Dynasty had calmed down the generals who had been blinded by victory. Song QingShu hinted from time to time, and they realized that they had already gotten enough spoils of war. Why should they continue to fight at the risk of death? Therefore, the peace talks became a matter of course. What was left was how to get the most benefits.
One day, while Song Qingshu was chatting with Taj-kis in the tent, a soldier suddenly came to report that a fairy-like girl outside the camp wanted to see him.
"A fairy-like girl?" Hearing the soldier's description, Song Qingshu was confused for a moment. Who would want to see him at this time? The key was that he was Tang Kuo Bian, and the girl had asked to see Tang Kuo Bian.
"Is it one of Tang Kuo Bian's former girlfriends?" Song Qingshu shook his head to dispel the idea. If that was the case, Tang Kuo Bian's luck with women was too exaggerated.
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