Chapter 465 Retreat

Just two days before I arrived in Yingzhou, the Yuan Emperor Kublai Khan received a message from Lin'an that the Emperor of the Southern Dynasty was on a personal expedition. This news that Kublai Khan expected was well known to everyone in Lin'an City, and the Yuan Dynasty's meticulous work did not require half a bit of effort, but just ran more and spread the news to Dadu.

Kublai Khan said at the court meeting: "Ladies and gentlemen, in this issue of the Great Song Dynasty Imperial Newspaper, the official newspaper of Lin'an of the Southern Dynasty, published on the first page of this issue on May 8, the news of the imperial expedition of the emperor of the Southern Dynasty was published, which is a great good thing for our dynasty. Since the outbreak of the Yuan and Song Wars decades ago, the first emperors Ogedai Khan, Meng Ke Khan and I have all taken the lead and gone to the front line, while the emperors of the Southern Dynasty have always hid in Lin'an and did not dare to go out of the city for half a step. This time, Zhao Yu finally walked out of the capital of the Southern Dynasty, although his courage was commendable, but it also saved our army a thousand miles to Lin'an, as long as Zhao Yu was killed or captured in Xiangyang, the battle of the Yuan and Song Dynasty could end in advance. ”

Ahma, the minister who was the minister of Zhongshu Pingzhang at the time and consulted as an envoy (equivalent to the finance minister of later generations), came out and said: "Your Majesty, this is a God-given opportunity, it is really a blessing for the emperor and a blessing for the Great Yuan. As the emperor said, our army only needs to kill this emperor of the Southern Dynasty in Xiangyang, who does not know the height of the sky, to unify the world, so that the time can be at least several years ahead of the expected time. ”

"Haha, Ahma Aiqing, what you said is good. In recent years, you have made great contributions to the finances of our dynasty, and today I will crown you as the secretary of the Pingzhang Shangshu to save trouble, and to assist the emperor in order to ensure the armament expenditure of our dynasty. ”

Ahma was ecstatic in his heart, and he was promoted again, but he still maintained a look of sincerity and fear on his face and said: "Ahma, the minister, thank the emperor for his grace, and the minister promises to complete the important task entrusted by the emperor to the minister." ”

"Okay, Yao Shu Yao Aiqing."

Yao Shu said: "The minister is here." ”

"The prelude to the decisive battle of Xiangfan has been fully opened, and you, as the envoy of the army appointed by me, will go south to Xiangyang the day after tomorrow, cooperate with the two generals A Shu and Boyan to formulate various plans, and be responsible for the correspondence between the Central Route Army and the DPRK and China."

"Yes, Your Majesty, the ministers obey the order."

Yao Shu and Ahma were full of contradictions, and they were excluded by Ahma a few years ago, and it was not until the end of last year that Kublai Khan was re-transferred back to Dadu to serve in the same discussion to save trouble, but this is just an idle position.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the main task of our dynasty today is the battle of Xiangfan, and all departments need to obey the overall situation. Emperor Shi and Wuliang Hetai, the two of you stay, and the rest retreat. ”

In the palace study, Kublai Khan handed a copy of the Great Song Dynasty royal newspaper on the table to Hao Jing, the emperor who had just entered, and Wuliang Hetai, who served as a fellow privy councillor in the Privy Council.

As the patriarch of the five dynasties of the Mongol and Yuan dynasties, the brave and warlike Wuliang Hetai did not get the trust of Kublai Khan, Kublai Khan was suspicious of him, and when Wuliang Hetai returned to Zhongdu in Taipei, he was relieved of his military power, and even when Kublai Khan put down Ali Buge's rebellion, Wuliang Hetai was only given the task of staying in Beijing. The reason for this should be that when there was a conflict between Möngke and Kublai Khan, Wuliang Hetai did not take a stand, so Kublai Khan only gave Wuliang Hetai an idle position, and the Privy Council was in charge of military intelligence and had no actual military power.

However, Kublai Khan trusted Ashu, the son of Wuliang Hetai, very much, which is also quite strange.

"Two Aiqing, now it is certain that the emperor of the Southern Dynasty wants to fight a decisive battle with our army in Xiangyang, and I also admire Zhao Yu's courage." Kublai Khan smiled, then looked at the map of Xiangfan on the table and said, "Wuliang Hetai, what is the situation of the troops invested by the Southern Dynasty in the Xiangfan area today?" ”

Wuliang Hetai pointed to the map and said one by one: "Your Majesty, the current strength of our army in Xiangfan has 115,000 people in the middle route army and 3,000 in the naval division, while the Southern Dynasty army has more than 50,000 people in the Xiangyang Military Region, 6,000 people in the Zhangshun division of Junzhou, 12,000 people in the Wusonghan division of Yingzhou, 8,000 people in the Imperial Forest Army, about 4,000 people in the naval division, and 25,000 people in the Suizhou Xiagui Division, totaling about 110,000 people. According to the news sent back by Xizuo, the Wenzhang Division of the First Division of the Imperial Forest Army was also on the way to Yingzhou, so the total strength of the Southern Dynasty should be about 120,000. ”

"Well, the strength of the two sides is roughly equal, and since Zhao Yu is going to fight a decisive battle with our army in Xiangyang, I will not disappoint him. Wuliang Hetai, pass on my orders, first, the Xiangyang Ashu Department continued to bombard the two cities of Xiang and Fan with a stone thrower, and gradually narrowed the encirclement, but except for the north gate of Fancheng, which was relatively low on the city wall, other places could not be attacked, and at the same time prepare for the encirclement to send reinforcements, relying on the castle, to eliminate the Yingzhou army and Suizhou army that came to rescue Xiangyang; second, to pass the order to Zhenjin, exhaust the rest of the Middle Route Army, and all go to Xiangfan; Third, Dong Wenbing, Hedan, and reinforcements from the east and west were sent to Xiangyang on the same day, and they were controlled by Ashu and Boyan; Fourth, speed up the training of sailors and soldiers and the construction of warships, and requisition and transfer another 5,000 auxiliary troops from Henan to Wanzhangshan Shipyard; Fifth, I ordered all the detailed work of the Southern Dynasty to be sure to find out the defense situation of Lin'an City; Sixth, 100,000 conscripts were to be conscripted nationwide in case they were needed. ”

"Yes, Your Majesty."

After giving the order, Kublai Khan said: "Wuliang Hetai, you have been fighting on the battlefield for many years and have rich experience, what do you think of the current battle situation?" ”

Although Wuliang Hetai knew very well in his heart that Kublai Khan did not trust him, because of his straightforward nature, he still said: "Your Majesty, please forgive the old minister for saying bluntly, this battle is not easy to fight." ”

Kublai Khan's face was as usual and said: "Aiqing has something to say, although it comes." ”

"Yes, Your Majesty." Wuliang Hetai looked a little nervous, "Your Majesty, although the old minister has not fought with the Nanren for more than ten years, but from the information that our dynasty has mastered, the Southern Dynasty has one of the biggest changes compared with the past, that is, the current Southern Dynasty is fighting against our dynasty with the strength of the whole country, unlike before, the Southern Dynasty is independent, and this change has brought about a great improvement in the morale of the Southern Dynasty army compared with the past, coupled with Zhao Yu's personal conquest, the coordination between its various ministries has been improved, therefore, the emperor must be prepared for the durability of the Xiangyang War." Lao Chen thought that this war might not be about the combat effectiveness of both sides, but about perseverance and endurance. ”

Kublai Khan praised rarely: "Wuliang Hetai Aiqing, he said it very well, Zhao Yu of the Southern Dynasty is much stronger than his Laozi, and he is brave enough to become my Dayuan's opponent." ”

"Your Majesty, although the Southern Dynasty has improved, the old minister thinks that the chances of our army are still more than seventy percent. The habits of war cannot be changed in a day or two, and no matter how strong the cities of the Southern Dynasties are, it is the people, not the cities, who determine the outcome of the war. ”

Kublai Khan nodded and said, "Wuliang Hetai, your analysis is very reasonable. Now the Privy Council Privy Envoy Zhenjin went to Xiangfan to sit in the town, and I appointed you as the deputy envoy of the Privy Council, acting as the Privy Council. ”

"Thank you for your grace." Wuliang Hetai doesn't know whether it is happy or sad. He knew that this sealing was largely due to Ah Shu. With the development of the war, Kublai Khan also became more and more aware that the battle of Xiangyang was very difficult, and the role of Ashu would become even greater.

"Report, Your Majesty, the Shaman Supreme Cai Engya, and the Divine Venerable Yin Tianya are asking to see you outside the door."

"Oh? Declare. ”

After Cai Enjiya and Yin Tianya entered the house, they saluted Kublai Khan and said, "I've seen the Great Khan." ”

Hearing the title of "Great Khan", Kublai Khan was displeased, but he said very calmly: "Supreme Lord, I haven't seen you for many days, and you have always been fine?" ”

It can be seen from the names of the two men that the Mongol shamanism was opposed to the renaming of Mongolia to the Great Yuan Dynasty, and although this side was loose, the views of Caiengiya represented the views of the majority of the Mongols, especially the Mongol aristocracy.

"Thanks to the Great Khan." Cai Engya said with a smile, "Great Khan, the deity entered the palace this time and made a special trip to bid farewell to the Great Khan. ”

"How?"

"Great Khan, in the past two years, the deity has gained a new understanding of the Heavenly Dao of the Guardian, so he plans to return to the Horo Village in the extreme north to retreat and cultivate."

No matter what the differences of opinion were, Kublai Khan was also quite happy to hear it: "Congratulations to the Supreme, in this way, the Supreme Lord is about to become a guardian?" ”

Cai Engiya said: "Great Khan, the deity is currently five points sure. ”

"Great, Supreme Lord, I wish you success in advance." Kublai Khan continued, "Your Excellency, before you leave, can you deduce the fate of a Yuan-Song war for our dynasty?" ”

Cai Enjiya smiled indifferently: "Great Khan, since Zhao Yu ascended the throne of the Southern Dynasty, the number of celestial phenomena has always maintained a delicate balance, and in the past four or five years, the balance has never deviated, and the number of the Northern and Southern Emperor Stars has also maintained an almost equal light. For the current celestial phenomena, not only the deity, but also several other famous magicians in the world are also unable to explore the results, which is called 'no trace' in astrology, which means that the heavens have not left the slightest sign, which is equivalent to losing the basis for deducing the celestial phenomena. The deity had seen a document in the Valley of the Kings Library, which stated that if the heavens did not intend to do so, the celestial phenomena would appear to be traceless, and such celestial phenomena could not be deduced by human beings, but only by the guardians. ”

"Really?" Kublai Khan said disappointedly.

"Exactly. However, it is also mentioned in ancient books that whenever such a celestial phenomenon occurs, the one who is in the north often has a better chance of winning. As far as the Southern Dynasty is concerned, I will be in the upper hand if I am facing the north. Speaking of this, Cai Engiya said, "Great Khan, although it is said that 'the people who plan things and the heavens do things', since the heavens do not make any statement, it means that victory or defeat depends on the people who plan the things, which is what the ancients said that people will win the heavens." Great Khan, with your majesty and strategy, and with the invincible iron cavalry of my dynasty, you won't lose to that Zhao Yu boy of the Southern Dynasty, right? ”

Whenever the emperor of the Southern Dynasty was mentioned, the figure of a young man would appear in Caiengya's mind.