Han Mo handed the blood letter written by Ping Zheng Sheng directly to Li Gang as he spoke.
"How is this a blood letter? This fellow has probably sold his ancestors..."
After reading the contents of the blood letter, even an layman like Li Gang couldn't help but laugh.
Allowing another country to station troops on one's own territory and providing them with provisions – Li Gang didn't know about others, but if his descendants dared to sign such terms, he would crawl out of his coffin even after death and strangle them alive!
"Zong'er, go back to the temple and fetch the tea and tea set I brought from Xishu!"
Although his face was smiling, after smiling for a while, Li Gang directly turned and ordered his son.
"Yes!"
Although he didn't know what his father meant, Li Zong obediently responded and turned towards the temple.
"You go and guard over there, and don't let any idle people come and disturb us!"
With Li Zong sent away, Han Mo also sent Jiang Yan away.
"You boy, you've released these two pieces of news. It looks like you have something to say to me, don't you?"
Seeing Jiang Yan walk away, Li Gang smiled and looked at Han Mo.
"Nothing can escape Uncle's eyes. There are indeed some things I want to discuss with Uncle!"
Han Mo held genuine respect for Li Gang from the bottom of his heart.
When a dynasty is on the verge of collapse, not everyone has the courage to withstand the pressure and bear everything!
And Li Gang was such a person. In the original history, the Jin people pushed south with unstoppable force. The entire court was filled with those who advocated surrender. If it weren't for Li Gang's strong arguments, the Jin forces would have broken through Bianliang City on their first southward campaign.
What would have happened afterwards was unthinkable...
In the past, when reading the Song History, Han Mo felt that Li Gang indeed possessed talent and sufficient prestige, but he lacked a bit of flexibility.
However, after actually interacting with Li Gang, Han Mo realized that Li Gang actually understood the darkness of the officialdom; he simply disdained to conform.
He gambled everything he had simply to ensure the continuation of this vast empire. As for himself, he never considered doing anything for his own benefit...
"This place is beautiful with its mountains and clear waters, truly a good place for a talk. Say whatever you want to say. Considering how vibrant Mingzhou City is, even if there are rebellious words, I will just take them as a gust of mountain wind!"
Picking up a wine cup and pouring himself a drink, Li Gang said with a smile.
"Thank you, Uncle. Your nephew has no rebellious words, only a few matters for which I wish to hear your opinion!"
"Oh? Since you have questions, just ask away!"
Li Gang said, looking at Han Mo with a smile.
"The first matter, Uncle, I would like to ask your opinion on the situation in Hebei?"
Although Li Gang was smiling, Han Mo carefully observed the expression on his face as he spoke.
After all, from the day he fell out with Zhao Zhen, it was already destined that Han Mo could not remain just an ordinary minister.
In the current Song Dynasty, the only way to become a powerful minister was to form factions!
He did not dare to hope to win Li Gang's support, but at least he needed Li Gang to tolerate him more.
Otherwise, with his fiery temperament, by the time he took power, Han Mo's hard-won influence might be shattered by him in a few moves.
"A commander's incompetence exhausts a thousand soldiers. Even with more troops, with Tong Guan in charge, victory is impossible!"
After a brief moment of thought, Li Gang directly stated his opinion.
"Then, Uncle, have you considered how the Jin people would react if Tong Guan were to fail?"
After Han Mo finished speaking, Li Gang fell silent.
This was a question he had considered, but he hadn't expected Han Mo to ask it so abruptly.
"The Jin people are like wolves and tigers! If they suffer repeated defeats, it will be difficult to reclaim the old lands of the Song Dynasty, and that treaty will be nothing but a piece of waste paper!"
After a long period of contemplation, Li Gang finally spoke.
"Then, Uncle, do you think the Song Dynasty can resist if the Jin people march south?"
Looking at Han Mo's overly young face, Li Gang once again felt the pressure.
At least when he was Han Mo's age, he certainly wouldn't have been thinking about these issues.
Looking at Han Mo, and then thinking of his own foolish son, even if Li Gang had to praise Han Mo in his heart, he couldn't help but think, "This kid is truly a monster!"
"They can definitely resist, but it might come at a price..."
Although Li Gang tried his best to speak casually, Han Mo was not prepared to let him off.
"Uncle, it's not that your nephew is alarmist, but the current situation is that our Song Dynasty has long been on the brink of collapse, yet not a single person in the court seems to take it seriously..."
Han Mo let out a bitter smile as he said this.
"If you were a Jin person, how would you deploy your troops?"
Seeing the bitter smile on Han Mo's face, Li Gang finally became serious again.
Hearing his words, Han Mo immediately understood. It seemed Li Gang was testing him and probing him.
Composing himself, Han Mo bent down, picked up a few pebbles from the ground, and placed them on the surface of the smooth large rock.
"Uncle, please look. Here are the Taihang Mountains, here is Yunzhong, here is Yanjing, and here is the coast of Bohai Sea. If I were a Jin person, I would deploy three armies. One route would take the waterway, directly from the Bohai Sea to Dengzhou and Laizhou."
"One route would go out from Yunzhong, pass through Taiyuan, head south to Luoyang, and block the gates of Longxi and Shuzhong. Another route, setting out from Pingzhou, would pass through Yanjing directly to the gates of Kaifeng. The Taiyuan route might be a difficult fight, but along the Yanjing route, after Yanjing is breached, Zhuozhou, Baozhou, Jizhou, and Cizhou are all plains. How can they resist the enemy's cavalry?"
Although Li Gang had been demoted to a mere tax collector at this time, the maps of the land were still imprinted in his mind.
Seeing Han Mo lay out a fatal route in a few words, Li Gang fell silent.
"Yanjing is now in the hands of the Jin people. If Yanjing is lost, Zhuozhou cannot be held. The only potential fighting force along this route might be Guo Yaoshi's Ever-Victorious Army..."
As he said this, Li Gang's breathing began to quicken.
The Hedong region still had Taiyuan to defend. Even after passing Taiyuan, there were the North and South Passes. However, the situation in Hebei was completely different.
If they could not hold Yanjing and the three prefectures of Ying, Ping, and Luan, then once the Jin forces marched south, the Song army would have no ability to fight back...
At that point, it wouldn't just be a matter of paying a small price; it could easily lead to the ruin of the nation!