In August of the first year of Deyou, outside the gate of Shinshu City, the general judge Kong Su led the state government officials to wait.

Today is the day when Jiangdong was sentenced and Xinzhou Governor Xie Fang took office. The city has also strengthened its vigilance today, and Tong Inspector personally led a cadre of patrol guards to inspect all parts of the city, and there were also two columns of soldiers wearing cotton armor at the city gate, fully armed and under martial law, and the atmosphere was very strict. Some of the people who had entered and left the city did not dare to stop at the gates of the city, and hurried away.

Everyone waited at the gate of the city for nearly half an hour, and it was almost noon, and Xie Fangde and his party had not yet arrived. At noon, the sun shone straight down, and after a while, everyone was sweating. Liu Tongjun asked some of the Xiang soldiers to bring some Hu Ji and put them in the shade of the tree in front of the city gate, so that everyone could sit down.

"Didn't you say that the time had come? At this time, it was almost noon, why hadn't Lord Xie arrived yet? Kong Zhu asked Liu Tongjun beside him.

"According to the report from Yushan, Lord Xie took a boat from Yushan this morning down the river. Yushan to these dozens of miles of waterway, two hours is enough, it should be there. Liu Tongjun said.

"Wait a little longer, and everyone will go back to the city. Business matters. Kong Su said lightly.

The officialdom of the Great Song Dynasty has never ushered in the rule of sending to, and when local officials arrive, they have always gone to the official office to hand over.

Such a big scene at the gate of the city today is due to the urgent situation.

Following the defeat of Dingjiazhou, the imperial court ushered in the defeat of Jiaoshan. At the beginning of July, Zhang Shijie led Liu Shiyong and Sun Huchen to station more than 10,000 warships in Jiaoshan in the middle of the Yangtze River, but unfortunately they were defeated by the Yuan army Ashu with the technique of fire attack and captured more than 700 warships. Most of the warships of the Great Song Dynasty Navy Division were destroyed in the fire, and more than 100,000 people were killed and wounded, and Zhang Shijie fled to Zhenjiang. From then on, the Great Song Dynasty was no longer able to organize a large army to resist the Mongol Yuan.

In the past two months, the information of the imperial court has been cut off, and all kinds of news have come one after another. There are rumors that Mengyuan has sent troops to Lin'an, and there are rumors that the imperial court has been exiled to the sea, so that the officials of Xinzhou are not one.

Compared with Lin'an, which was thousands of miles away, the officials of Xinzhou faced Lu Wenhuan and Lu Shikui, who were close to Jiujiang and Panyang, and the uncles and nephews of Lu Shikui, who were about to wave their troops to settle the counties of Jiangdong in the near future.

These days, there is no decisive conclusion between the officials of Shinshu whether to fight or surrender. I heard that Xie Fang had a very good personal relationship with Lu Shikui, and now Xie Fang has come to take charge of state affairs, which makes everyone have some expectations.

Kong Su picked up the teacup in front of him and took a sip gently. For him, it is acceptable whether it is surrender or war. This time, Xie Fang had to come and entrust Xinzhou, a hot hand of taro, to the door, and he could not get out.

Everyone was resting, and a large group of people came from afar. In front of it is a few columns of ceremonial signs, and the entourage behind them is surrounded by a light sedan chair, and there is a long queue behind, estimated to be nearly a thousand people. There were also people in the team who sounded gongs and shouted, "Jiangdong has sent a sentence to Lord Xie." ”

Everyone was stunned and stood up. Kong Su led the way and stepped forward.

The procession stopped at the city gate, and the palanquin fell gently.

"Xinzhou Tong sentenced Kong Zhu and the officials of Xinjiang to greet Jiangdong and Xie Xie." There are relatives who come forward to report.

As soon as the sedan curtain was lifted, an elegant scribe who was nearly fifty years old, wearing a black crown and civilian clothes, walked out of the sedan chair, walked quickly to Kong Zhu and the others, and arched his hand: "How can Xie Mou, dare to greet the Holy Duke of Laoyan and his colleagues." ”

"Lord Xie has come from afar, and we should welcome each other." Kong Su bowed his hand and saluted back.

"Thank you for your hard work." The crowd also bowed their hands and greeted.

"Thank you, colleagues. Xie was grateful. Everyone, please go into the city. Xie Fang gave up.

"Raise the sentence, please first." Kong Zhu and others also waved their hands.

"I'll have to wait a little longer, gentlemen." Xie Fang stroked his short beard and said, "Which one is Lord Liu Guanjun Liu." ”

"Subordinates exactly." Liu Guanjun stepped forward and answered.

"Xie came to Zhoucheng this time and made a detour to Yongfeng. These are the Xiang troops and township soldiers that I transferred from Yushan and Yongfeng counties, and I also asked Lord Liu to properly resettle them. Xie Fangde pointed to the chaotic team behind him.

"Subordinates receive orders." Liu Tongjun answered and hurriedly took people to settle down.

"Oh, Lord Xie is coming by land?" Kong so on the side.

"Exactly. Now that the situation is urgent, Xie has abused his power and mobilized thousands of troops and township soldiers from Yushan and Guangfeng counties to come to the state city. I also hope that Master Kong will not blame Xie. Xie Fang said.

"How can I be? From the beginning of his tenure, the adults were in charge of state affairs, and they worked hard. Kong Zhu arched his hand and said, "It was almost noon, and the lower officials prepared some drinks in the city, and together with their colleagues, they washed the dust for the adults. ”

"It's so hard. Kong-sama, please. Xie Fang did not shirk and entered the city with Kong Zhu and others.

After a short reception banquet, Xie Fangde went to the state government surrounded by all officials. Kong Zhu let people hold the state seal, and Xie Fang had to walk out a young gentleman next to him to take it. It's a simple handover of state affairs. Xie Fang had to sit down, and everyone took their seats in turn.

"Colleagues, when times of crisis, Xie is not allowed to be calm. I hope that you will support all things in the state. Xie Fang said.

"That's our duty." Kong Su and everyone bowed up.

"Xie came all the way to see the counties of Xinzhou, the people are safe and secure, the officials are dutiful, and the state city is in order. This is the work of the monarchs to govern the people. Xie is very Xinwei. Xie Fang said.

"Your Excellency is overblowing." Kong Su stood up and said.

"Master Kong, please be seated." Xie Fang waved his hand, nodded and said with relief: "Xie didn't praise anything. Since Mengyuan went south, the officials fled, and the states and counties where the people were displaced abounded, to be honest, Xie was very nervous when he came from Lin'an, and today he got Xinzhou City, and he began to put his mind at ease. ”

"We are the ones who eat the king, and we should be loyal to the king, which is our duty." Kong Su and a group of officials all bowed their hands.

"What a ready-to-eat gentleman, a matter of loyalty. Xie was very relieved. Xie Fang stroked the beard under his chin and praised.

The newly arrived Zhizhou was very lifted, and all the officials in the hall felt that their bodies were light, and their faces were happy.

There is a way to be a new official to take office with three fires. It is not uncommon for the fire of this new official to burn on his colleagues. But according to the current situation, it is very likely that the fire of this Xie Fang will not burn. The officials became active, and the hall was suddenly peaceful.

"My lord is from Lin'an, I don't know what the situation is in Lin'an?" Kong so asked. This is what everyone is most concerned about at the moment, and the hall fell silent for a while.

"Well, the situation is very important." Xie Fang sighed, "When Xie left Lin'an, Meng Yuan had already divided his troops into several ways, attacking Jinghu Zhuzhou County with the right Cheng Ali Hague, and the other was without the handsome Song Du, the left deputy was without the handsome Li Heng, and the Han army was Wanhu Wuxiu Zhang Rongshi Jiangnan West Road; The provincial left prime minister Asshu attacked Jianghuai, and led the main force of the Yuan army to take Lin'an, and now the troops are stationed outside the city of Changzhou. In the middle of the road, it was reported that Meng Wu was like a broken bamboo on the west road in the south of the Yangtze River, and the terrorist attack disturbed the land of my Shinshu, so he came with a group of relatives all the way day and night. ”

"Thank you, Lord for your hard work." Kong Su arched his hand.

Although it had long been rumored that the generals of the Mengyuan army were coming to Xinzhou, when Xie Fang heard what Xie Fang said, the officials in the hall could not help but panic, and the hall was noisy for a while.

"Everyone, please be quiet." Xie Fang shouted loudly, and everyone looked back.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the situation is either not corrupted or out of control." Xie Fang said calmly: "The imperial court has collected the soldiers of King Qin from all over the country, as well as hundreds of thousands of soldiers who can fight, and if it is not good, it can float on the sea." Now that Meng Yuan is menacing, there are still several ways for the imperial court. Jianghuai and Jingxiang still have most of the prefectures and counties in the hands of the imperial court, which is enough to smash the back of the Mengyuan army, and hundreds of thousands of forbidden troops in the two Zhejiang, if the soldiers are used properly, it is enough to frustrate the edge of the Yuan soldiers. In case of repeated defeats, the imperial court can also retreat to the land of Fujian and Guangdong. ”

"Lord Xie, if you don't keep it, it will probably be very difficult for the imperial court to go to the land of Fujian and Guangdong. The lower officials heard that Meng Yuan had captured a number of ships from Jiaoshan, and the left army of Dong Wenshan, the governor of Zhongshu, Zhang Hongfan, and Fan Wenhu, the governor of the two Zhejiang provinces, led the boat division down the river. Liu Tongjun got up and said.

"The Mongols relied on the advantage of bows and horses, and fought fiercely on the land, which is the opponent of our Song people on the water. Blocking the imperial court's retreat at sea is just a delusion after all. Xie Fang said lightly.

The sailors led by Dong Wenshan and Zhang Hongfan have defeated our Great Song Dynasty sailors many times, Fan Wenhu is our Great Song Dynasty people, and the Mongolian sailors have a large number of Song people, not only those Mongolians who know how to ride horses and shoot arrows. Liu Tongjun's fat face trembled, and he hesitated in his heart, but finally didn't say anything more and returned to his seat.

Xie Fangde continued to be angry and said, "Everyone, you must not be discouraged at this time of crisis. The northerners are not accustomed to the water and soil of the south, and they will soon retreat. Quite a year, the Jin soldiers went south, Gaozong Shengjia also floated on the sea, after the Jin soldiers were frustrated and returned to the north, the Great Song Dynasty after more than 100 years of life, finally had to recover Bianjing. How similar it is today. Now it is necessary for all the monarchs to work together and work hard to save the country and the people. If Meng Yuan is frustrated in the south of the Yangtze River, and Jianghuai Li Tingzhi's department intercepts it again, the situation is promising. At that time, the court society will be preserved, and our Han people's clothes will be continued, and we will die without regret. ”

"That's what my lord said." Many people were suspicious in their hearts, but they still gave it up. But when I heard it, I couldn't help but feel a little reluctant.

"My lord, it is reported that Meng Yuan has ordered Lu Shikui and Wanhu Wuxiu to lead troops to attack Jiangnan East Road, and they may invade the realm of our Xinzhou in the near future. Adults should also take precautions as soon as possible. Kong so reminded.

"Don't worry. I know that. Xie Fang smiled and said, "I summoned the Xiang army and township soldiers from Yushan and Yongfeng counties today for this purpose. Xie went to Anren a few days later, gathered all the troops, and fortified along the Xinjiang River. Lu Shikui is not worried. ”

"My lord, Lu Shikui is the proud son of Lu Wende, who has grown up with the army, learned the art of war, and is well versed in the way of leading troops to fight. Adults should not be taken lightly. Liu Tongjun couldn't help but get up and said.

"Master Lu, Lu Yuqing's ability, I don't know." Xie Fang smiled and said, "Xie and Lu Shikui are old friends, and when I hear that Xie is here, I will retreat." Lu Yuqing was confused for a while, and actually surrendered to the enemy. Last year, the imperial court had posthumously crowned his father as the king of Heyi County, and issued an edict to recruit all those who surrendered to the Yuan to return anyway. After the surrender of the Yuan is anyway, the court will not pursue it, and still entrust it with important tasks. Xie was about to meet Lu Yuqing. If Lu Yuqing is grateful for the sincerity of the imperial court and leads his troops to vote, attracting all the ministers to vote for the Yuan anyway, the major event will be decided. ”

"My lord, I heard that the Yuan Lord treats the Lu family very well, and now that the court is in danger, how can he lead his troops to vote. Adults should also be prepared. Liu Tongjun said worriedly.

"I've been prepared for this. If he doesn't plead to do so, it's better to meet with swords. Xie Fang waved his hand and said, "Xie is ready to recruit soldiers from all counties, and then go to Anren." I hope that you will work together to overcome the difficulties. ”

"Your Excellency has everything you can command." Everyone answered.

"Liu Tongjun, how much can the state army and township soldiers draw out now?" Xie Fangde nodded and asked.

"Returning to my lordship, there are now 1,000 people in the state city, but most of them are old and weak, and there are only more than 300 people who can fight young and strong; As for the village soldiers. As long as the grain and grass equipment are sufficient, a thousand people can be recruited. Liu Tongjun hurriedly got up and replied.

"Why is this the only one, is there any border in the surrounding counties?" Xie Defang frowned.

"The situation of Yushan and Yongfeng is already known to adults, there are only lead mountain, Yiyang, and Guixi counties around, and the number of troops in each county is not more than 100, and it is unbearable to fight, and the township soldiers can collect some." Liu Tongjun replied.

Xie Daofang thought for a while and said, "Then let Leadshan recruit 500 township soldiers to come to the state city, and Shangrao will recruit another 500 people, and they will arrive within five days." Yiyang and Guixi counties will wait for their officials to go to Anren. 5 days later, the official general led 3,000 elites to Anren. ”

"Yes." Liu Tongjun surrendered his order.

"This official has been purging the township soldiers in the state in the past few days, and the troops have been sent to Anren five days later. The military situation is urgent, and you must do your best to fulfill your responsibilities. Those who delay fighter planes will be severely punished. Xie Fang said solemnly.

"Dare not obey the orders of adults." Kong Zhu and the others all got up and arched their hands.