Chapter 567: The Tough Zhao Xu

"Feng Xian is right; that is exactly what we should do!"

The three nodded in agreement after hearing Lü Bu's words.

"Since that is the case, have Bo Fu and the others reorganize the army; we will set off tomorrow to capture the Song Kingdom as soon as possible."

Subsequently, Lü Bu did not hesitate and said to the three immediately.

"That would be excellent!"

……

Ten days later, the news of Xiangyang City's fall and the deaths of Great Song General Zhong Shidao and many Jianghu warriors spread throughout the remaining parts of the Song Kingdom.

For a time, those Jianghu forces that had sent warriors to participate in resisting the Han army all became panicked.

And the Imperial Court of the Song Kingdom was also shrouded in a depressing atmosphere.

Following the destruction of Zhong Shidao and the 500,000-strong army, Zhao Xu no longer had many usable troops.

Now, he only had 100,000 troops left to garrison the Imperial City.

And these troops were for defending the Imperial Capital; these troops must not be used.

"Damn Zhong Shidao, he disregarded my trust!"

"500,000 sons of the Great Song were buried by him just like that!"

"Someone, I want to execute Zhong Shidao's nine clans!"

"He is a sinner of the Great Song!"

At this time, in the Imperial Court of the Great Song, Zhao Xu no longer had his previous calm expression.

At this moment, he stood up, pointed at the civil and military officials below, and cursed angrily.

"We are incompetent; please forgive us, Your Majesty!"

The officials heard this and all bowed to the ground in panic.

At this time, their hearts were also filled with fear; even Zhong Shidao, leading 500,000 troops, had been defeated by the Han army.

They could not think of anyone else in the Great Song who could resist the Han army's attack.

And if they could not resist the Han army's attack, then the Great Song would be in danger.

"Hmph!"

"Each of you usually has plenty of ideas, don't you?"

"Why are you all mute now when you are needed!"

At this time, Zhao Xu saw the performance of his officials, and the anger in his heart grew even stronger.

These people were all very clever when attacking political rivals, with all kinds of methods emerging one after another.

When it really came to the critical moment, no one was useful.

"Your Majesty, at this time, relying solely on our Great Song, we are no longer a match for the Han army."

"Now, we can only find foreign aid!"

Just then, Lü Gongzhu, as the Left Prime Minister, suddenly said to Zhao Xu.

Hearing Lü Gongzhu's words, everyone raised their heads and looked straight at him.

"Your Majesty, now relying on ourselves is not enough to contend with the Han army; why don't we seek aid from the Liao Kingdom?"

"According to the Han army's methods, if they capture our Great Song, they will definitely use troops against the Liao Kingdom."

"Even if the Han Kingdom does not intend to destroy the Liao Kingdom, they will definitely recover the Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures."

"And the Liao Kingdom, they would not want to give up these Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures just like that, right!"

At this time, Lü Gongzhu saw everyone's gaze on him, and the corners of his mouth could not help but rise, saying with a confident face.

"Prime Minister Lü, what if the Liao Kingdom does not leave after repelling the Han Kingdom!"

"Moreover, the Liao Kingdom has always been a wolf-hearted race; for these years, they have been coveting our Great Song."

At this time, a middle-aged martial general in the martial general column stepped out and questioned Lü Gongzhu loudly.

Hearing his words, many martial generals also nodded; this was exactly what they were worried about.

And Zhao Xu on the high platform also nodded.

At this time, although Zhao Xu was not old and had only recently taken power, he could still see the key issues.

The Liao Kingdom is just a foreign race.

As the saying goes, no matter what the Han Kingdom is, it is a power struggle among the Han people themselves.

However, if they really united with a foreign race, even if they repelled the Han army, the Great Song would lose the hearts of the people.

Moreover, once the Liao Kingdom enters the border, it would be difficult to send them away.

As the saying goes, it is easy to invite a god but difficult to send one away.

Moreover, those who are not of our race must have different hearts!

"General Yang, that is not so!"

Lü Gongzhu heard this and immediately refuted this General Yang loudly:

"As long as we can repel the Han army, the Great Song will still be under our control."

"If we do not seek aid from the Liao Kingdom, who will resist the Han army!"

"May I ask General Yang, can you resist the Han army, which is in high spirits?"

After Lü Gongzhu finished speaking, he looked at Yang Zhong quietly.

"This..."

Yang Zhong heard this and fell silent.

Not to mention that the Great Song did not have enough troops at this time, even if they had troops, if there were no million-strong army, it would be difficult for him to resist the Han army.

"Your Majesty, seeking aid from the Liao Kingdom can still preserve the Great Song."

"At the very least, the Great Song will not perish in our hands!"

"As for the Liao Kingdom, we can just give them some benefits and send them away first."

"We only need to endure humiliation for a period of time, and then we will take back what we lost ourselves!"

Lü Gongzhu bowed to Zhao Xu again, saying with sincerity.

"Your Majesty, we agree with Prime Minister Lü!"

"Let us solve the Han army before us first, and then deal with the Liao Kingdom."

At this time, Sima Guang, as the Right Prime Minister, heard Lü Gongzhu's explanation and also said to Zhao Xu.

"We second the motion!"

Seeing Right Prime Minister Sima Guang and Left Prime Minister Lü Gongzhu both say so, the group of civil officials all bowed to Zhao Xu.

And in the martial general column, most martial generals also followed these civil officials and bowed.

Only a few people like Yang Zhong and Zhang Dun did not express their stance.

However, there was a reason why Zhao Xu could be one of the few iron-blooded Emperors of the Song Dynasty.

He looked at the kneeling officials and scolded angrily:

"Do not mention this matter again!"

"I, as the Emperor of the Great Song, how can I unite with a foreign race!"

"This is an internal struggle among us Han people; no matter what the final result is, this country will always be managed by us Han people."

"If we really seek aid from the Liao Kingdom, and if they turn around to deal with us after repelling the Han Kingdom, we will not have the strength to resist the Liao Kingdom's iron cavalry."

"At that time, we will all be sinners of the Han people and will be nailed to the pillar of shame."

Hearing Zhao Xu's strong and righteous words, Zhang Dun, Yang Zhong, and others all felt their blood boil.

This was the aura an Emperor should have!

This was the responsibility an Emperor should have!

"This subordinate is willing to swear loyalty to Your Majesty to the death, swear loyalty to the Great Song to the death; we are willing to coexist with the Great Song!"

Looking at the excited Zhang Dun and Yang Zhong and other generals, Zhao Xu was also somewhat comforted.

The Great Song still had hot-blooded martial generals.

"Your Majesty! Think twice!"

And Lü Gongzhu, Sima Guang, and others were full of anxiety, kowtowing to Zhao Xu with tears in their eyes.

"Please think twice, Your Majesty!"

Those officials who advocated seeking aid all kowtowed in panic.

They did not want to die defending the Great Song with Zhao Xu.

For them, it was better to live ignobly than to die well. ===== CHAPTER 568 =====