Jinghu North Road, Anzhou, Dashengguan.

When night falls, looking down from a high place, I see bonfires lit, north and south of Xiongguan, full of black and oppressive Mongolian army camp tents. From time to time, there were heart-rending screams and cries in the night, and the smug laughter of the Mongol warriors. Needless to say, this is the plundered Great Song people, who are suffering from Hu Lu in the camp.

As mentioned above, the Mongols killed so heavily in the capture of the Han land in the north that 90% of the population of the northern Han land turned into a wasteland. A wasteland obviously could not satisfy the needs of these steppe robbers, so the development of production in the north has always been a major consideration for King Kublai Khan, who ruled the northern Han land. And the way that this generation of male lords of the Mongolian nation thought of was to send troops to plunder the population of the land of the Great Song Dynasty.

Therefore, every time the Mongol army went south, in addition to burning, killing and looting, it was to capture the population - this is not to say that the Mongol army did not kill many evils, but only killed the old and weak, and kidnapped young and strong women as slaves. The army passed through it like a locust, leaving only a white field.

At this time, in Kublai Khan's military tent, the lights were dimly lit and the footsteps were mixed. But it was the commander of a thousand commanders and above generals who all rushed to Kublai Khan's tent.

As soon as the Mongolian generals arrived, they saw King Kublai Khan sitting on a bed with a somewhat aggrieved expression. Beside him, there was also a man with an unfamiliar face, a cloth shirt that had been soaked with sweat, and he looked a little tired and stood on the ground. Obviously, this man had come from a long journey.

Seeing that the summoned army was coming, Kublai Khan waved his hand: "Yeluzhu, you say it again." Everyone listened carefully! ”

Hearing Kublai Khan call the unfamiliar man to be Yeluzhu, the generals in the tent were all taken aback. How did they not know that Yelu Zhu was the second son of Yelu Chucai. has been following the Great Khan's side as a secretary of the Chinese province. Now such a wolf bèi is unbearable to run to the big victory pass? Could it be that something happened to the Great Khan?

Yeluzhu agreed, looking a little aggrieved. He ran all the way from Chengdu to Dashengguan, and killed six fast horses along the way.

“…… The Great Khan died in Sichuan! ”

"What!"

"What did you say?"

The Mongol generals in the big tent jumped up at once. He looked at him in disbelief. "The Great Khan is ...... Sick and dead? Someone asked in a trembling voice. Meng Ke Khan was the commander of the army on the front line, and it was better to die of illness, but the Song people took the shit luck and escaped the catastrophe. If it was killed by the Song people, it would be a bit ugly, wouldn't the army of the Western Road also collapse?

"The Great Khan is...... Killed! Ye Luzhu sighed, "It was the Nantuochang on the edge of the Yangtze River that was controlled by the Nanban Thunderbolt Army, and Chen Dexing blew it up with a heavenly thunder arrow......

"Thunder Arrow !!"

The Mongol generals looked at each other, they had heard of the thunder, and they had also encountered it on the battlefield. It was more powerful than the iron cannon, and caused some losses to the infantry siege. But it's not going to go far, and it's not very accurate. What is going on with the thunder arrow this day?

"It is to use a slender iron pipe to fill it with gunpowder, one end is equipped with a spear tip, and the other end is equipped with a wooden pole, and then shoot it out with a three-bow bed crossbow, which can shoot six or seven hundred steps away and then explode, and this is how the Great Khan died!"

That's fine!? The Mongol generals gasped. There were also three-bow bed crossbows in the Mongol army. Everyone knows how far this thing can go. The main role of this weapon on the battlefield is two, one is to snipe the general; The second is to shoot at the city wall - giant arrows can be inserted into the rammed earth and brick city wall, which is convenient for soldiers to climb. However, although the three-bow bed crossbow is more accurate than the hair stone, it is still a matter of character to shoot the enemy general from a few hundred paces away. If it weren't for the Lord that Immortal Heaven particularly disliked. You will not usually be killed by a three-bow bed crossbow at such a long distance.

But if the giant arrow shot by the three-bow bed crossbow will explode, isn't this the killing of a general in a million armies like a bag to get something!? If you start fighting again, who the hell would dare to stand under your own banner? This Lord will all shrink back. What morale does the warrior below have?

“…… In addition to this Heavenly Thunder Arrow, the Southern Barbarian Thunderbolt Navy also has a kind of centipede ship. It is about 20 zhang long, with three layers of oars on both sides. There are always fifteen to two hundred, and they are flying on the water. There are also pig iron ramming horns in the bow of the ship, which will crash into our small boats on the water, and there are also hair stones and bed crossbows on the boat, which will throw thunder and thunder arrows. Our more than 20,000 sailors and more than 100 serial ships have been folded into the hands of 20 centipede boats...... In the end, the Great Khan was gone, the navy was gone, and we had no way to retreat from the Yangtze River, so we could only take a detour to the mountain road, the grain and grass were not enough, and there were epidemics, and there were less than 40,000 people left in Chengdu! The king of Moge contacted Nanban Xuanfu Pu Zhizhi through Brother Wang Tian and wanted to make peace, so he sent me to ask King Kublai Khan to have an idea. ”

Kublai Khan sighed and asked the generals, "What do you think?" ”

At that moment, a military general jumped out and shouted: "How can this be done? We have more than 300,000 troops marching south, fighting for so long, and losing so many generals, even the Great Khan is gone, how can we return in vain? If so, it is not called the West, and the kings of the East will laugh to death! ”

The other generals immediately chimed in: "If you want to negotiate peace, you have to avenge the Great Khan before you discuss it, that Chen Dexing is too hateful, you must not keep him." If the Southern Barbarian Emperor really wants to make peace, let's talk about Chen Dexing's head first! ”

The story of killing and flying can be said to be peaceful, and some people still know it in the Northland. Whether it is a Mongol or a traitor, they all know that the official family of the Great Song Dynasty is not a thing, and they like to kill the generals who are loyal to the country. There was Yue Fei first, then Yu Jue, and there was also Meng Heng who died inexplicably in the middle.

Kublai Khan turned his head to look at a few Han staff members wearing Confucian shirts, Yang Weizhong, Yao Shu, Liu Bingzhong, Xu Heng, Dou Mo, Yang Guo, Hao Jing, except for Yang Weizhong, the Jianghuai and Jinghu Xuanfu envoys who were taken captive by the Mongols since childhood and served as a slave next to the Great Khan of Ogedei, the rest are all Confucians in the north. Unlike the high-ranking Confucians in the south, the status of the Han Confucians in the north is not as noble as the Han army, and there is no channel for the imperial examination to enter the ranks, and the only way out is to be a staff member. At first, he was a staff member for the Han Marquis in the north, and later Kublai Khan presided over the military affairs of the Han and attached great importance to wooing the Confucian students, so they had the opportunity to join the Jinlianchuan shogunate.

"King, Chen Dexing, this thief is the sworn enemy of our Great Mongolia, and he should do everything possible to eradicate it. It's just that this discussion and the same killing should not be mentioned side by side, so as not to delay the peace for a long time and the army will be in Jianghuai for a long time. ”

It was Liu Bingzhong who spoke, and his subordinate Liu Xiaoyuan had infiltrated Jiangnan and contacted the fanshang Pu Shougeng. The mission of liaising with Liu Xiaoyuan is now in his charge. Therefore, he also knew some things about the Chen family's father and son colluding with Jia Nidao and being favored by Emperor Lizong.

Liu Bingzhong paused, and said after consideration: "It has been twenty-five years since the Great Mongolia conquered the Southern Barbarians, and Sichuan, Jinghu, and Jianghuai have almost become white land. Nowadays, there are many people in the Southern Barbarian Kingdom who hate Mongolia so much that even those who are willing to make peace may not believe me. If he asks for murder, he will be suspicious. I thought I wanted to kill his general, and then break the contract and go south to slaughter Jiangnan. In the past, although the golden vulture mentioned killing Fei before it could be said to be peaceful, it was before killing Fei.

The Shaoxing Peace Conference was completed on the seventh day of November in the 11th year of Shaoxing, and Yue Fei was killed on December 29 of the 11th year of Shaoxing. Moreover, before the Shaoxing Peace Conference, there had been a truce between Song and Jin. In this way, the Song court can first remove Yue Fei, Han Shizhong and other important generals from military power. And then to stay and kill, it is a matter of the Song lord's words. Now that the war between Mongolia and Song is in full swing, and Chen Dexing has heavy troops, the Song Lord will not be murderous even if he is mediocre. ”

Killing a warlord who has a heavy army and can fight well is not a will to be brought down. Even if he killed Chen Dexing with any strategy, his more than 10,000 troops would have to send a large army to solve it. With the combat effectiveness displayed by the Thunderbolt Water Army, I am afraid that the 100,000 Song Army will not be able to defeat them! And now that the Mengsong War is in full swing, where can Emperor Lizong draw out 100,000 soldiers to deal with the Thunderbolt Army?

"If there is a truce, Lord Song will eradicate Chen Dexing?" Kublai Khan touched his beard and asked with some uncertainty.

The armistice seemed certain, not because of the death of Möngke Khan. It's because the Thunderbolt Army is sharp! With them, it would have been impossible for the Mongol army to cross the river. If the Yangtze River cannot be crossed, it will not be meaningful for the Mongol army to go south.

"Then it depends on whether Chen Dexing is a loyal minister." Zhang Hongfan's teacher, Hao Jing, a great Confucian in the Northland, took over the topic and frowned, "Yue Fei, Meng Hui, and Yu Yu are all good courtiers who are loyal to the country, so they will be killed and reprimanded." If Chen Dexing is also a loyal minister, of course some tactics can be eliminated. But if he is a treacherous man with evil intentions...... You'll have to find another way to eradicate it. The king, it is better to send his subordinates to the Song military camp to make peace, and by the way, find out the truth of Chen Dexing. ”

Kublai Khan nodded and said, "According to what Hao Jing said, but it is not easy to use a plan to eradicate the Southern Barbarian generals, if it doesn't work, don't force it, it is the most important thing to ask for more coins." This time, more than 300,000 troops were dispatched, and the attack lasted for several years, not only suffering heavy losses, but also not much plunder. If you can't get a million-year-old coin, you don't know how long it will take for the vitality of this northern land to recover. ”

"The subordinates will not be dishonored!" Hao Jing bowed and answered. As Kublai Khan's aide, he knew best what the other party was planning. As soon as Möngke Khan died, the throne of the Mongol Great Khan was vacant, and whoever became the new Great Khan was to be elected by the Kuritai Assembly according to the rules. In order to win the support of the Mongol kings attending the meeting, it is naturally indispensable to buy them with money. And Kublai Khan's Jinlianchuan shogunate and the Han army princes under its jurisdiction have huge expenses and no income from this southern expedition, so what will they use to buy the kings of the east and west provinces at that time? Compared with the election of the Great Khan, killing Chen Dexing is really a small matter. (To be continued......)