Even if Japan has not yet been included in the rule of the Yuan Dynasty, the political affairs of the Japanese province are also regarded as important ministers. You must know that it was Fan Wenhu, and he had only sealed the Japanese province Zuo Cheng before.

The post of general of the expedition to the east can be regarded as the official recognition of Kublai Khan. In this way, Li Luo became a genuine general of the Eastern Expedition.

As for the background of the guard of the cowardly Xue, it was also a major feature of the Yuan Dynasty, similar to the flag-raising of the Qing Dynasty. Many high-ranking officials and generals in the Yuan Dynasty were born as cowardly guards. This background is very expensive, and the Han people don't have to count on it at all, even if they are the children of the ministers of the color eyes, there are not many people who can get the background of the cowardly Xue guard.

Kublai Khan made an exception to give Li Luo, a "Goryeo" cowardly guard, which was equivalent to opening the door to Li Luo's prosperity in official fortune.

However, none of the above official honors are comparable to the last title: Marquis of Jianghua County.

Don't look at the Yuan Dynasty Junhou is only a third grade, but it is more enviable than the provincial Pingzhang. First, the military title of the Yuan Dynasty is hereditary, and it can be regarded as a real seal!

However, its territory is not called a feudal country, but "cast". The people in the fief belonged to their "private subordinates", but they still had the obligation to pay taxes and send troops to the imperial court, that is, to collect taxes and manage them. The amount of taxes paid to the imperial court was fixed, and the land still nominally belonged to the imperial court, but was only governed on behalf of the imperial court.

In fact, this is only a semi-solid seal. Because not only do you have to pay taxes, but you also have to obey the conscription and send troops. The Yuan Dynasty had an army of 1.2 million troops, not counting the private soldiers thrown by the nobles. If you add the private soldiers of the nobles, the Yuan army will have hundreds of thousands more.

Li Luo was originally a fourth-grade product, but now he has suddenly been promoted to the fifth level, made a provincial level, and has also won the position of a world. Kublai Khan was so generous, not only because his military exploits were big enough and timely, but also because he saved the face of the Great Yuan Dynasty and the Son of Heaven.

Of course, it is also because Li Luo is a "Korean". If he is Han, then don't think about it. The current Kublai Khan is not the previous Kublai Khan, the honeymoon period between him and the Han people has long ended, and the suspicion of the Han people's embankment is getting worse day by day, and he is no longer the "magnanimous and elegant" Sinicized son of heaven in the eyes of the Han officials.

Ahma, the left prime minister of Zhongshu Province, who is in charge of the great policy of wealth and endowment, came out and said: "Great Khan, this Jianghua County is the province (jurisdiction) of the expedition to the east, and it is not under the direct control of my Great Yuan. Although Li Luo was a Goryeo, he could be given Ganghwa Island, and the king of Goryeo (King of Goryeo) would have less taxes. ”

Of course, he didn't dare to object to making Li Luo the Marquis of Jianghua County. With Li Luo's military exploits, it is not too much to be crowned a county marquis. However, Ganghwa Island was not a direct territory of Dayuan after all, and taxes were also paid to the Goryeo royal court. By enclosing Ganghwa Island as a domain of Yi Luo, the king of Goryeo would lose the taxes paid by Ganghwa Island.

Kublai Khan sneered: "Hmph, donkey... On the day of the previous expedition, he supervised the construction of warships, which caused the ships to sink as soon as the gale came. I haven't punished him yet, does he dare to express his displeasure? This Li Luo is also a Korean, why can't he be sealed in Jianghua? Well, for the sake of the princess, let Li Luo hand over the tax to the horse, and don't have to hand it over to the household department. ”

Ahma said: "The slave knows." "Why did Ahmad speak for the king of Goryeo? Because he ate a lot of bribes from the Koreans.

Now that the Central Plains are casting fiefs everywhere, Kublai Khan is no longer willing to cast the Central Plains land as a meritorious hero. It just happened that Li Luo was a Goryeo and sealed him in Jianghua, without spending an inch of land in the Yuan Court.

Kublai Khan's words decided the fate of Ganghwa Island. From then on, Ganghwa Island was semi-independent of the Goryeo royal court. This was also a trick played by Kublai Khan to weaken Goryeo. Of course, this is certainly not something that can be declared.

The privy deputy envoy Boyan was more concerned about the military, and said: "Great Khan, although Li Luo occupies Kyushu Island, he has suffered heavy casualties, and he has to face hundreds of thousands of troops of the Hojo clan. The minions thought that if they didn't send reinforcements as soon as possible, they were afraid that Kyushu Island would be lost and all their achievements would be lost. ”

Finally occupied Kyushu Island, and the Yuan court absolutely could not give up. Only with the island of Kyushu in hand can the entire Japanese country be conquered.

Kublai Khan said: "I have made up my mind on this matter. An Tong, how many ships can be requisitioned now? ”

The right prime minister, An Tong, came out and said: "Qi Great Khan, the thousands of warships of Xindu and Fan Wenhu were destroyed in one fell swoop. The Jiangsu-Zhejiang Naval Division, the Fujian Naval Division and the Guangdong Naval Division also lost seventy or eighty percent because of the Quanzhou Rebellion. Even if merchant ships were to be recruited, there would not be many ships available. ”

In recent years, the ships of the Central Plains have suffered great losses. On the first expedition, the Yuan army lost more than 1,000 ships. In the Battle of Yashan, the Song and Yuan sides lost thousands of ships. In the Quanzhou Rebellion, nearly 1,000 ships were lost. On this expedition, several thousand ships were lost.

In total, the Central Plains lost more than 10,000 ships in seven years. Shipbuilding has a cycle, which generally takes at least two or three years. Now the Yuan court is not only in urgent need of warships, but also in short supply of merchant ships.

An Tong continued: "With the requisition of all the merchant ships in the Central Plains and Goryeo, plus some warships, the minions estimate that there will be no more than 1,000 large and small ships in half a month, carrying 30,000 cavalry. If one person has two horses, he can only carry a maximum of 20,000 horses. ”

Boyan smiled: "Great Khan, this matter is not difficult. Even if you can only carry 20,000 cavalry at a time, it's a big deal to make a few more trips. From the sea to Japan, it takes less than half a month to go back and forth. At least twice a month, that's 40,000 cavalry. The minions thought that if these 40,000 cavalry were all elite, it would be enough. ”

Kublai Khan said with a smile: "Or Boyan Badu knows what I mean. That's what I had in mind. Since the ships are not in place for a while, they will be transported back and forth. ”

Boyan said: "The Great Khan is wise, and the minions are never as good as him." Speaking of cavalry, the Great Khan, my Dayuan Iron Cavalry has always been one man with two horses or even one man with three horses. It is a slave who thinks that he would rather transport fewer troops than achieve one person and two horses. ”

Kublai Khan nodded: "Then one person and two horses." Mongolian warriors can't just have one horse. ”

Boyan said again: "As for what troops to send, we still need the Great Khan to come up with an idea." The meaning of the minions is that since there are few soldiers that can be transported, the Mongol warriors are the mainstay. If the Han army and the Goryeo army are the main ones, the minions are worried that it will not help. ”

He also said: "The minions also agree that my Mongolian warriors are the mainstay." With only 20,000 cavalry, what can the Han people do? Needless to say, the Koreans. ”

Kublai Khan smiled and said, "In addition to the Mongol army, the other soldiers and horses are not at ease. This is not hunting, the prey can be caught again after it has run away. Then transfer 5,000 from Jinan, 5,000 from the Shuangcheng Governor's Office, and 10,000 from Liaodong Tanma. Within half a month, be sure to send troops. ”

This is the Mongolian army of 10,000, the Tanma Red army of 10,000, a total of 20,000. It seems that Kublai Khan was still reluctant to send expensive Mongol cavalry.

"Wow! Minions obey! ”

Boyan took the order and said, "Then this will be the handsome candidate?" "The Mongolian army, of course, can't be led by Li Luo, so it needs to be re-elected.

Kublai Khan said conclusively: "It's better to let Xindu go, hang up the marshal of the Japanese capital, and make meritorious contributions." ”

Xindu was defeated twice in the expedition, but the emperor still appointed him as the commander of the expedition, but it was not surprising that the civil and military officials were not surprised. The reason is simple, Xin is the Mongolian general who is most familiar with Japan. If you lose once and lose twice, you won't lose a third time, right? There are always lessons to be learned, right?

Kublai Khan continued: "The Marshal of the Expedition to Japan and the General of the Expedition to the East are not subordinate to each other. However, the political affairs of Japan are decided by Li Luo. ”

The ministers were not surprised. Although Xin Du is a Mongolian general, after all, he is a defeated general who fell twice, let him control Li Luo, who has just made great contributions, not to mention whether Li Luo is convinced, Xin Du's ability alone is not reassuring. The two are not subordinate to each other, even if one loses the battle, at least one person is holding on.

This non-subordinate arrangement seems to be a trick, but in fact it is the most secure.

As for the political affairs of Japan, of course, Li Luo, the Japanese provincial Pingzhang, is best managed. First, political affairs are originally the power and responsibility of Pingzhang, and the name is justified. Second, Li Luo has been a magistrate and has experience in handling political affairs. Not to mention anything else, just looking at his hand in abolishing the country and county on Kyushu Island and eradicating the wealthy family, you can see that Li Luo has quite a means.

And Xin Du is completely a military attache and doesn't know how to govern at all. Leaving the political affairs of Japan to him will inevitably be bad.

However, many Mongolian nobles are not happy in their hearts after all.

An Tong played again: "Great Khan, Li Luo is young after all, and I am afraid that he will not be able to govern the Japanese country. Just like an eagle with plump feathers, it can also be deceived by a cunning weasel. Servants are prudent, during the war, Li Luo can temporarily deal with Japanese political affairs, but in the future, it is better to choose a Mongolian minister to serve as Pingzhang. ”

Everyone tacitly agreed. An Tong only said that he was not worried about the Koreans. Also, Japan is lonely overseas, and the imperial court whip is beyond the reach of the whip, and if they really want a Korean to govern Japan after the war, they are not at ease. Although the Koreans are more reliable than the Nans, they are not Mongolians after all.

Kublai Khan glanced at the young An Tong dissatisfiedly and secretly scolded the fool. Isn't that clear to me? Need you to say it out in one more way? Don't you know that there are some things that can only be done and not said?

This An Tong is too young, far worse than his grandfather Mu Huali.

Li Luo's Japanese Pingzhang official position will definitely be removed by Kublai Khan in the future and replaced by a Mongolian official. But Kublai Khan would not have uttered such words.

Therefore, Kublai Khan ignored An Tong's advice and said: "Li Luo was in a hurry to obey the power and appointed a Mongolian hundred households named Zhezha as the Mongolian army ten thousand households, Li Luo did a very good job and was very measured. I granted his request, and the Privy Council decreed that the valiant Zheza should be appointed to the Ten Thousand Households. ”

"Wow!" Boyan took the order.

"Transcribe a copy of the Li Luo chapter and forward it to the king of Goryeo. Then tell the king of Goryeo that I have sealed Ganghwa Island as Li Luo's cast. ”

"Wow!"

…………

Of course, Li Luo didn't know that he had become the Marquis of Pingzhang and Jianghua County, and he had become a good official.

At this time, he was frowning at the shogunate army several miles away, and for the first time he felt quite troubled.

The shogunate army has been set up, and the formation is a bit strange.

Since the Mongolian cavalry did not understand the military formation, Jiang Jun, the division of the right army, personally rode a horse to check the Japanese army's large array, and when he came back, he told Li Luo that the Japanese should use Zhuge Wuhou's Nine Palace Bagua Array.

The Nine Palaces Bagua Array sounds very mysterious, but there really is this formation in history, and most of it was invented by Zhuge Wuhou.

The biggest feature of the Nine Palaces Bagua Array is that it is tightly defended and is used to defend against attack, so it is also known as the Turtle Array. Its formation is indeed like the armor pattern on the back of a turtle.

It is said that although the Shu Han army was in a weak position, Zhuge Wuhou was able to use this formation to make the Wei army, which had an advantage in strength, helpless.

Li Luo and other generals boarded the horse-drawn cart and looked at the formation of the shogunate army several miles away. The large array composed of 1560,000 people, vertical and horizontal for three miles, the banner is like a forest, a solemn and rigorous majestic momentum soars to the sky, the abyss and the mountains are incomparably majestic.

It's an awe-inspiring momentum. It seems that no matter which direction you attack, it is difficult to swallow.

"Lord, this Nine Palaces Bagua Array, although it is a defensive array where the weak defeat the strong, it is very powerful." There were no Mongolian Goryeo generals on the side, Jiang Jun directly called Li Luo the lord, and he drew a formation on the ground, "Lord, please see, this array is composed of nine sub-arrays." There are eight sub-formations outside, surrounding the middle of the formation, that is, the center of the formation. ”

"The heads of the sub-arrays are all separated from each other, but the tails of the arrays are all connected by the center of the array, making the arrays independent and connected. It can be expanded, and it can be retracted, which can be described as free. The general is in the heart of the formation, and it is like an arm. ”

"No matter from which direction the enemy attacks this formation, he will be hit by three sub-formations. Moreover, the attacked sub-array can also be replaced by the soldiers of other sub-formations, and it is difficult for the sergeant to get tired in wheel battles with the enemy. ”

"Even if the enemy army breaks through the formation, this formation is not easy to collapse, but it will make the enemy army fall into the formation and be besieged from all sides!"

"Moreover, since the eight sub-arrays of this array are all connected to the center of the formation, they can move flexibly with the center of the formation. In addition, this array can easily become a fully attacking fish scale array, and the change of hundreds of thousands of troops only takes half an hour of effort! ”

Li Luo looked at the array diagram drawn by Jiang Jun, listened to Jiang Jun's explanation, and immediately understood the difficulty of the Nine Palaces Bagua Array.

Jiang Jun continued: "Although the Nine Palace Bagua Array is a defensive military formation, it can also attack without changing formations. The attack method of this formation is to press, which can force the enemy to retreat step by step, and when the enemy formation is chaotic, it will become a fish scale array, and a thunderous blow! ”

"The outermost part of each sub-array of this array is the Great Shield Soldier. After the large shieldmen, there were pikemen, then archers, then stone cannons, and in the middle were cavalry. The offense and defense are tight and impeccable. The left and right formations are connected from end to end. Even if the cavalry of the brigade charged into battle, it would be difficult to make an effect. Even if the heavy cavalry breaks the formation, the left and right sub-formations are surrounded, and the enemy's heavy cavalry will be finished. ”

"The cavalry in the formation, when not in use, hide inside, once you want to use it, you can attack quickly, and the reaction is very sensitive."

Li Luo was puzzled: "This formation is so well defended, it should be often used by the side that lacks cavalry." But why is it rarely used by the Song army? "With his understanding of the ancient battle formation, of course he is not as good as Jiang Jun.

Yang Qingque, the left army division on the side, answered: "The Song army is in the south, and there are many rivers and ditches, so it is difficult to launch this formation. And the Song army rarely took the initiative to cross the Huai River, so it was not needed. ”

Li Luo understood. This formation has great requirements for the terrain, and it is difficult to use the Jiangnan water network area.

Jiang Jun said with a smile: "This array is not really unbreakable, the best way is Tiefutu!" At that time, the Song army repeatedly used this formation, and the Jin army used Tiefu Tu to break the formation. Otherwise, it would be difficult for Daikin to occupy the Central Plains. ”

Li Luo suddenly realized, and suddenly understood why the Jin Army was so strong back then, but it still had to spend some effort to engage in the Iron Floating Massacre. It turned out that it was right to deal with the Nine Palace Bagua Array.

This can also explain why the same cavalry, the Liao army and the Western Xia army can never help the Song army, while the Jin army can destroy the Northern Song Dynasty. Because Jin Jun found a way to crack the Nine Palaces Bagua Array.

Li Luo knew that the Iron Floating Massacre was not just as simple as equipping heavy cavalry, it was said that it connected several heavy cavalry to form a wall.

Li Luo said: "Our army still has two thousand heavy cavalry, and there are no three horses connected together, isn't it Tiefutu?" ”

Jiang Jun was stunned for a moment and said: "Lord, our army does not have iron pulleys, only heavy horses, how can there be iron floating slaughter?" ”

What the?

Li Luo was stunned. According to historical records, isn't the so-called Tiefutu just a few heavy cavalry connected together? Isn't it?

Jiang Jun explained: "It is true that several heavy horses need to be connected, and then a cart is pulled, and a piece of wood is placed on the car, and there are iron nails on the wood. The Iron Float mainly relies on horse-drawn sassals to break through the large array, just like knocking open the city gate. Moreover, there is also a heavy infantry on the car, and once it breaks into the formation, it will get out of the car and fight. ”

Li Luo couldn't help but be speechless. The military recorded by the Song people is really unreliable. It turns out that the truth of the so-called Tiefu Tu turned out to be like this. Of course, the record of the Tiefutu is vague, and there is no official historical record, and even the Qianlong Emperor, who is proficient in history, once said that the record of the Tiefutu is not true.

Also, if several heavy cavalry are connected together to form an iron floating slaughter, it is too simple and untechnical.

Jiang Jun said again: "Even if we have an iron pulley, but there are only two thousand heavy horses, we can't break the Nine Palace Bagua Array of more than 100,000 people." From the perspective of subordinates, to break this formation, at least 6,000 heavy horses and 2,000 iron pulleys are needed. ”

Six thousand heavy horses, two thousand iron carriages? Li Luo shook his head, he didn't.

With a stone cannon? But now the Japanese army also has stone artillery. The Japanese army captured the Yuan army's return cannon a few years ago, and it would have been copied a long time ago. With a bed crossbow? The giant arrows of the bed crossbow are limited and cannot be wasted.

Fortunately, he didn't have a decisive battle with the shogunate army, as long as he dragged the shogunate army here and let Luo Yu and Zheng He kill the Japanese ships in Edo Bay.

Therefore, there is no need for him to break the Japanese army's Nine Palace Bagua Array.

The Mongolian cavalry, which had been arrogant before, also quieted down. Because they found that since the Japanese army arranged this large array, it was difficult to take advantage.

If they rode over to harass them again, they would be greeted with a dense rain of arrows. And their arrows were also blocked by dense shields, and it was difficult to work.

The Mongolian cavalry circled the Japanese army's Jiugong Bagua Array, but they couldn't find a weak point to attack at all, so they had to retreat in a huff.

However, in the large formation of the Japanese army, the morale was high again.

The Japanese people will never let go of the good things of the Central Plains, and they can be said to be extremely serious about learning. Among them, it includes the art of war in military formations. There were many nobles and samurai in Japan who studied the military formation, and raised the military formation to the height of the formation. Moreover, the Japanese people respect Zhuge Wuhou, and they also have a lot of research on the Nine Palace Bagua Array left by Wuhou. In many military formations, it is not an exaggeration for the Japanese to say that the blue is better than the blue.

It's just that the scale of the war in Japan has always been very small, and it is difficult for the military formation to have practical opportunities, which is why the "one-horse fight" of fighting generals is popular, but it does not mean that the Japanese do not like the military formation.

"Gentlemen, it seems that Yuan Kou can't help Mr. Kong Ming's Nine Palace Bagua Array." Hojo Tokimune smiled and slowly got off the horse-drawn high car. "Order, play marching music, activate the big formation, and force Yuan Kou."

Soon, there was a strange scene on the battlefield, the Japanese army's huge Jiugong Bagua Array slowly moved forward, forcing the Eastern Expeditionary Army to form a large array.

And Li Luo's Eastern Expeditionary Army could only retreat slowly.

Li Luo had to retreat.

The Nine Palaces Bagua Array was originally a perfectly defended turtle formation, and the opponent's strength was more than twice that of him, so he was stupid if he didn't retreat.

PS: Don't be surprised about the Iron Float. Because the exact situation of Tiefutu has not yet been determined, and the official history has not recorded it in detail. Some people say that it is connected by heavy horses, some say it is a chariot, and some people say that the iron pulley in the commentary is part of the iron float. I combined these statements and did an artistic process. In the end, I still ask for support. Xiao Hunt has been running naked, and he has been running naked for a long time, so he can only rely on everyone.

Qingyi literature