Chapter 468: Bad News One After Another

After a long silence, Li Jing collected himself and spoke again, his voice already hoarse, asking: "How are the defenses along the river, and how are the relief forces preparing?"

Feng Yansi quickly rose to report: "Your Majesty, Huangfu Hui, the Relief Commissioner north of the Yangtze, has already led twenty thousand troops to station at Chuzhou, strengthening the defenses at Qingliu Pass. Governor Huangfu was formerly a seasoned general of the Central Plains, familiar with northern soldiers, prudent and steady, with rich combat experience—he can hold the Han army north of Chu."

"Xu Wenzhen, the Deputy Relief Commissioner, has led twenty thousand troops and is already stationed at Hefei. Yao Feng, the Army Supervisor for relief, has led twenty thousand land and naval troops stationed at Gaoyou, ready to move north to support Si and Chu at any time. With these three routes of troops, we can fully protect our prefectures and counties north of the Yangtze, consolidate the river defense line, and threaten the Han army!"

"Additionally, there are twenty thousand naval troops patrolling along the river to guard the river defenses!"

Li Zhenggu, the Deputy Commissioner of Military Affairs, also rose to report: "The court has recruited thirty thousand able-bodied men from Jiangnan and the Min region, stationed at Dangtu, issued weapons and armor, and after three months of training, they can fight! The troops at Chang and Run must guard against Wuyue, and the imperial army at Jinling must secure the capital—neither can be lightly moved. If the army that pacified Chu returns, combined with the various prefectural troops and militia, our dynasty will have a full hundred thousand troops to oppose them!"

Hearing the reports from Feng and Li, Li Jing finally breathed a sigh of relief—a hundred thousand troops somewhat put his mind at ease.

In fact, the Southern Tang was already mobilizing troops on a massive scale, the first time in over a decade that it had so recklessly expended national and popular strength—one could call it militarism. But to protect Huainan and resist foreign aggression, it was all worth it.

After all the turmoil the Southern Tang's ruler and ministers had caused, at a time of national crisis it still possessed such strength and could unleash such energy—the prosperity of its national power was evident. From this, one could see that in the original history, Guo Rong's three campaigns against Huainan, taking three years to seize it, was not without reason.

"Your Majesty, though our troops are numerous, compared to the Han army, their combat effectiveness is truly worrying. Though we claim a hundred thousand, those with actual combat experience are few indeed—especially in the battle at Xiacai, where that fool Liu Yanzhen lost thirty thousand elite imperial troops in a single day!" Song Qiqiu stepped forward to expose the unfavorable situation of the Southern Tang.

"What does the Grand Tutor suggest?" Li Jing, having lost the composure of a sovereign, showed his anxiety plainly on his face as he looked at Song Qiqiu.

Song Qiqiu said directly: "The northern soldiers have always been fierce. The Northern Han has been established for five years, and there has hardly been a year without campaigns. Moreover, those who marched south with the Han emperor are mainly the Northern Han imperial army—that is the absolute force with which the Han court suppresses the realm. Their combat effectiveness goes without saying."

"Therefore, from now on, we must not seek a decisive land battle with the Han army through fools like Liu Yanzhen—that is the path to defeat. We must strictly order the troops defending north of the Yangtze to forbid any proactive attacks. Defend from weakness, then overcome strength!"

Song Qiqiu kept calling Liu Yanzhen a "fool" to disparage him, making Feng Yansi beside him somewhat embarrassed, for it was he who had originally instructed Wei Cen to recommend their own man.

At this moment, Song Qiqiu naturally would not care about the feelings of his partisans, and still methodically emphasized his strategy for resisting the enemy to Li Jing: "For many years, the Central Plains has been plagued by war and disaster, and suffered the Khitan's devastation. The state was pacified not long ago, the population is insufficient, and the granaries are hard to fill."

"That Son of Heaven of the Northern Han, ascending the throne as a youth, has in a few years gathered the realm and sought good governance with excellent results—he can be called a hegemon. The reason he attacks us is that he covets our dynasty's prosperous people and wealthy state, wishing to strengthen his national power."

"But his three years of accumulation, unleashed in a single burst, though fierce, ultimately lacks deep foundation and solid roots. With our dynasty's two generations of accumulation, we need only hold our defenses steadily, face him in stalemate, exhaust his sharp edge, drain his money and grain, and when he runs out of steam, we can repel him!"

"Moreover, the Northern Han is situated in the Central Plains, a land of four-front warfare. It will be difficult for them to keep heavy troops in Huainan for long—otherwise, if anything happens in the north, they will face enemies on two sides. Though the Khitan have undergone a change of state, their strength has not been greatly diminished; they need only send one army to make the Han emperor look north."

"Therefore, the Han army is not one that can fight a protracted war. Our army need only respond calmly, fight steadily, and defeat them with national and popular strength. Compared to the northern army, our dynasty is weak in infantry and cavalry but strong in naval forces. After spring begins, we should use our naval advantage to sail north along the canal, relieve Si and Chu, protect the Huai River from falling, and from the flank attack the Han army's rear, destroy their floating bridges, and strike at their supply lines!"

"As for Shouzhou, I know He Jingzhu—he is a general skilled in defense. With his ability, holding a strong city, the Han army cannot easily take it. The troops at Hefei and Chuzhou need only advance slowly to relieve, stationed beside Shouchun, pinning down the Han army so they cannot concentrate on besieging the city!"

"Thus, we need only wait half a year for a good opportunity, and the Han army can be driven back! And by then, midsummer will arrive, the climate hot—how could northern soldiers adapt to southern climes? That will make it even easier for our army to find opportunities to break the enemy!"

Since Song Qiqiu had returned to court, he had synthesized information and analyzed the situation, offering Li Jing no small number of remonstrances and proposals—but this time, it was a strategy he had repeatedly pondered and summarized.

Analyzing Song Qiqiu's strategy, it could be summarized as: first, stability; second, caution; third, delay—humbly and weakly resisting the strong, holding position and awaiting opportunity. Though some aspects were somewhat idealistic, his analysis of both sides' strength and his view of the situation were still very clear. If the Southern Tang's upper and lower ranks and all frontline troops could truly implement this strategy, then it would indeed cause Liu Chengyou considerable trouble.

The Southern Tang's ministers all expressed agreement with his strategy—first, because Song Qiqiu's prestige was there; second, because the Song faction was powerful; third, because his analysis was indeed reasonable. As for Li Jing, having someone to make decisions and tell him what to do was like a drowning man seeing a floating beam and grasping it tightly.

"Grand Tutor Song is truly our dynasty's foremost strategist, the pillar of the state!" Li Jing said, looking at Song Qiqiu's aged face that radiated calm: "We shall respond to the Han army exactly as the Grand Tutor says!"

Though a political rival, Han Xizai had to admit that Song Qiqiu was indeed experienced, and proactively praised: "The Grand Tutor's strategy can truly be called deep and calculating!"

Having said this, Han Xizai also suggested to Li Jing: "Your Majesty, as the Grand Tutor said, our dynasty should also send more envoys to strengthen contact with the Khitan and the Later Shu, inviting them to send troops to attack the Han. Now that the Han army is powerful, I suspect those two states would not completely sit by and do nothing!"

After Han Xizai finished, Song Qiqiu glanced at him and said flatly: "Contacting them is possible, but we cannot place complete hope in them. With the Han emperor's ability, how could he not be prepared? Our army holds position and awaits opportunity—others ultimately cannot be relied upon. Whether we can resist the Han army depends most importantly on the Great Tang itself!"

"The Grand Tutor's words are reasonable!" Seeing Song Qiqiu's cold reaction, Han Xizai also responded blandly.

Under the planning of Song Qiqiu and others, Li Jing was somewhat calmed, his dread and panic slightly reduced. But the court deliberation was not yet over when urgent military news arrived from the north via the Bureau of Military Affairs—from Feng Yanlu, the Militia Commissioner of Sizhou: the Han army had launched a surprise attack on Shanyang, and Chuzhou had fallen.

Upon hearing this, the Southern Tang's ruler and ministers were shaken with fear—even Song Qiqiu nearly pulled out his own beard. Chuzhou sat at the confluence of the Si and Huai rivers, and also controlled the canal traffic. Once Chuzhou fell, the western Sizhou would also be hard to hold. Most importantly, the lower reaches of the Huai River had completely fallen into Han army control.

As for Song Qiqiu's proposal to send the Tang navy into the Huai to attack the Han army's flank and threaten its supply lines—it was directly declared no longer feasible. For Song Qiqiu, this slap in the face came too quickly.

And with Chuzhou lost, Sizhou, sandwiched between Hao and Chu, had become an isolated city with nothing to rely on—it would fall sooner or later. Thus, at least in the Huaiyin area, the Tang army had no possibility of contending with the Han army. The loss of one city caused the Tang army's Huai River defense line to completely collapse, directly shifting south to the Lu, He, Chu, and Yang line—which was also the Southern Tang's current troop deployment.

There had been omens of this when Haozhou fell, but the Southern Tang's reaction had ultimately been too slow—their attention fixed on Shouzhou, concentrating heavy troops there, yet never strengthening the defenses of Si and Chu. They had hoped the prefectural troops could, with the aid of weather, survive the winter—never imagining Chuzhou would fall so quickly.

As a result, Shouzhou's position became even more prominent—an isolated city, its situation growing ever more unpredictable.

Analyzed this way by Song Qiqiu and the others, and learning of the dire consequences of Chuzhou's fall, Li Jing was both shocked and enraged, barely able to contain himself, nearly roaring: "What about Wu Shaoting? How could he so easily lose Shanyang! Ruining my great plans, disrupting my military defenses—arrest him and bring him to justice!"

Shou, Hao, Si, and Chu were the foundation for defending the Huai—and now, in just over a month, two had already been lost. Li Jing was not a man of strong willpower, and his ability to withstand pressure was poor; at this moment, his composure nearly collapsed.

Facing Li Jing's questioning, no one in the hall could answer—Feng Yanlu's report had only conveyed the result.

In fact, Guo Rong's taking of Chuzhou repeated his previous strategy—feinting east while attacking west. But a stratagem need not be new; what matters is that it works. Guo Rong personally led the main force eastward, threatening Xuyi, making a great show of force. Meanwhile, Zhao Kuangyin secretly led two thousand Longqi Army soldiers, taking a roundabout route, and struck directly at Shanyang.

Wu Shaoting, the Army Supervisor of Chuzhou's troops, was not entirely without precautions—but his attention was focused on Cheng Deqin, the Deputy Military Governor of Xuzhou to the north, and Guo Rong attacking Sizhou from the west. He never expected the Han army to strike from behind, led by Zhao Kuangyin—a man of great boldness and skill at seizing opportunities. In one blow, the attack succeeded, and Wu Shaoting was captured alive. It was almost a repeat of Chen Sirang's attack on Zhongli earlier.

The Huainan military towns along the Huaiyin line—how vital they were to the Southern Tang—yet the generals sent by the Tang court had far too many problems.

It was Song Qiqiu again, seasoned by much experience, who said calmly: "Things have come to this—panic is useless. Wu Shaoting must certainly be held accountable, but how to respond to the impact of Chuzhou's loss on the overall strategy of resisting the Han is what matters more!"

"What is to be done?" Li Jing asked.

Song Qiqiu said directly: "Send orders to Sizhou—have them gather their troops and defend Xuyi to the death, absolutely not allowing it to fall, awaiting the court's relief! The Han army's main force is at Shouchun; the troops managing Si and Chu are not numerous. Order Yao Feng at Gaoyou to lead troops north to Baoying, carefully seeking battle, and look for an opportunity to retake Shanyang!"

Song Qiqiu said with extreme gravity: "The Huai River defense line absolutely cannot be lost—otherwise, it will inevitably endanger the entire Huainan situation!"

It could be said that the siege of Shouchun and the loss of Haozhou had only shaken the Southern Tang's ruler and ministers. But if the entire Huai River defense line collapsed, that would be terror—without the Huai River, how could they defend the Yangtze?