Zheng Yunming nodded and said: "This is very true, I will send another 300 sergeants from my subordinates to you, and all firearms, armor, knives and guns, bows and crossbows and ships will be supplied." From then on, until the enemy retreated and Xiangyang was relieved, there was no need to discuss Xiangyang as a supply location, the imperial court recently reopened the Huguang Consulate General in Yingzhou, with Yao Zhiyuan as the new Huguang Commander-in-Chief, in charge of the money and grain of Jinghu Zhulu and the materials of the army in front. ”

Chen Jiao had some gratitude, after following his uncle to the grass in the mountains, all the food and grass, supplements, and the treatment of the wounded relied on the cottage to take care of themselves, and there was never a so-called superior or rear that could provide them with perfect support and let them fight with confidence. It was at this time that he understood what his uncle often lamented that "a thousand miles of thieves are not as good as ten miles of soldiers" meant.

He said to Zheng Yunming again: "There is one more thing that I can't help but report to the general, this may be the worst news in the north during this period of time." ”

Zheng Yunming's heart moved, it was already the time when the army was coming, what bad news would come to Jinghu?

When Zheng Yunming angrily broke into the main hall of the envoy, Zhao Kui and more than a dozen staff members in the shogunate were discussing the military situation ahead. Seeing Zheng Yunming coming to the front of the hall with an angry face under the guidance of the guards, Zhao Kui was a little surprised, Zheng Yunming rarely showed joy or sorrow in front of him, let alone anger.

Seeing that it was over, Zheng Yunming raised his head and asked loudly: "Who is in charge of Qingye in Junzhou?" The boat gangs and fishermen north to the west of Wudang have not been relocated! ”

Junzhou is Bai Yijie's hometown, because of the fear of the Mongol strategy, Baijiazhai has long moved the whole village to the south of Fuzhou, Junzhou residents have been driven to the north by the Mongols last year, at this time Junzhou City except for a Song army of 2,000 troops stationed, almost no residents exist. However, there are still many boat gangs and fishermen in the upper reaches of the Han River and the Xichuan River that flows into the Han River, and like Baijiazhai, they are also independent of the government, neither relying on the north nor the south, and living leisurely in the blank space between the two countries.

After Zheng Yunming surrendered Baijiazhai, he sent several people to contact the boat and fishermen in Junzhou, hoping that they would be able to relocate to the south to escape the Mongol invasion. But to no avail several times, the leaders of the boat people just lied and blamed themselves, and did not take the documents of the Song Dynasty seriously at all.

The envoy had also used the idea of using a large army to crusade against these scattered fishermen several times, but first launched a large-scale operation against thieves in Jinghu, and then nervously prepared for autumn, and had no time to take into account these independent forces that posed no threat to the Song army in the blank space.

It wasn't until the Mongol army was approaching the south and the whole Jinghu was preparing to implement the plan to clear the wilderness, that Zhao Kui insisted that these people who had jumped out of the Three Realms must make a choice, and the leaders of the boat people also vowed that they would all move to Ezhou and Jiangling in the near future, so as not to be slaughtered by the Mongols who went south.

As soon as Zhao Kui heard the word Wudang, he immediately stood up and asked loudly: "What's wrong with Junzhou!" ”

Zheng Yunming patted the table in front of Zhao Kui with annoyance: "The day before yesterday, Liu Heima led the cavalry of his headquarters to cooperate with the Mongolian army to suddenly attack the fishermen and boat owners in Junzhou, and captured thousands of large and small ships, and they will be able to use these ships to attack Xiangyang in a few days!" ”

As soon as he said this, everyone in the audience was surprised, they only knew that Junzhou on the west side of the road had a lot of catches, and there had always been many fishermen fishing here for a living, and in addition, the timber, minerals and native products transported from Shangluo Mountain also needed to be transported by boats from Hanshui and Xichuan down the river to all parts of Jinghu, but they did not expect that there were thousands of civilian boats gathered in Junzhou at this moment.

With these ships present, the enemy would have crossed the Han River and marched towards Xiangyang, unless they could encounter a strong volley on the Han River.

Zheng Yunming said to Zhao Kui: "Without further ado, why don't you transfer the Ezhou Navy and our Jingchu Navy to Xiangyang to help defend the Hanshui River, if the Mongols are allowed to come and go freely on the Han River, the situation in Xiangyang will be very critical!" ”

Zhao Kui waved his hand: "Uncle Mou only knows one thing, but he doesn't know the other." At that time, if the enemy used small boats to carry ignition objects for fire attack, it was the best target for our warships to be crowded together. Now the enemy has possessed several thousand civilian ships, and it is impossible to stop the few warships of Ezhou and your subordinates alone, not to mention that the Hanshui River is not wide, even if the enemy's more than 100,000 troops stand on the shore and shoot with bows and arrows, it is enough to repel this ship. ”

Zheng Yunming said anxiously: "But if we let all the more than 100,000 troops cross the Han River and enter the city, the pressure we face will be too great. ”

"Xiangyang City is in the west." Zhao Kui's tone added a bit of confidence: "What's more, there are many bamboo generals and firecrackers to help defend the city, the situation is stronger than last year, as long as we hold here, the imperial court will definitely send downstream troops to rescue, and when the time comes, we will definitely be able to win a big victory, this is the right way to use troops." “

What he said was the Song Dynasty's traditional tactics of defending the city and reinforcing the city, and attacking inside and outside. When they were in Yangzhou, the brothers Zhao Kui and Zhao Fan used this strategy to break Li Quan's army that invaded Huaixi, and beheaded Li Quan under the city of Yangzhou. Only this time, the enemy who came was not the arrogant but loosely disciplined Li Quanhong army, but the Mongol army that dominated the world. Under the attack of the enemy's artillery, auxiliary troops and powerful cavalry, can Xiangyang City really be as safe as Mount Tai?

Zhao Zhizhi, who was on the seat, obviously had a high degree of confidence in this, and he waved his hand and said: "At the moment of the great enemy, the officials should not mess up their own positions, and after the enemy's troops are defeated under our fortified city, the naval army reinforced in the rear will appear in front of the enemy's hastily formed naval army in the form of a fresh force, and it is not a difficult thing to sweep away these thousands of civilian ships." ”

Zheng Yunming still felt a little frustrated, as long as he paid more attention to the direction of Junzhou when reviewing the Qingye plan, or personally appointed a fine officer to supervise the execution, the Mongols would not have seized the tools for crossing the river so smoothly, you must know that although the fishing boats of the Southern Dynasty in the Southern Dynasty of Langdao were narrow and dilapidated, compared to the embarrassment of last year, when they could only rely on improvised rafts and pontoons made of sheepskin to cross the river, these boats were already very comfortable means of crossing the river.

Wu Qian stood up, but his fat face, which was originally smiling, suddenly became serious, and shouted: "The matter has come to this, what's the point of being depressed and regretful!" If you have this spare time, you might as well take a good look at it, see if there are any places in Xiangyang City that are still overlooked, seize the present, and don't chase the past! ”

Zheng Yunming was stunned, he didn't expect that Wu Qian, who was kind and amused on weekdays, would have such a righteous and strict moment.

However, Wu Qian's seriousness only lasted for a moment, and then he returned to that witty tone, and said with a smile between his eyebrows and eyes: "The most important thing for the deputy capital to do now is to go to the Jade Emperor Temple to pay respects, and let him send Feng Boyu to blow a bad wind in the Han River, and overturn all these Mongolian ships, which is better than the help of 100,000 male soldiers." ”

Zheng Yunming couldn't help but smile, and he said to Zhao Kui: "I don't plan to go to the Jade Emperor Temple, but I want to take my subordinates and clerks to the Martial God Temple before the war. ”

Zhao Kui said: "It's the most appropriate time to go at this time, this is the time to appease people's hearts, tomorrow I will convene the generals above the command to formally worship Lu Gong, you and Ge Lu don't be late." ”

Zheng Yunming bowed to his promise, left the embassy with his own soldiers, and walked along the street towards the Martial God Temple in the south of the city.

Before the war, in addition to facing the tension and anxiety of the enemy, Xiangyang City was more in chaos. The steady flow of grain from outside the city gates, the peasants and manor owners who entered Xiangyang from morning to night, and the officers and soldiers who were nervously preparing for war in various parts of the city turned the entire Xiangyang City into a lively and noisy place.

Zheng Yunming looked at the dense crowd of peasants who had taken refuge in the city on the street, and although the officials and soldiers tried their best to build many thatched huts in the city as temporary shelters for the refugees, the tide of refugees poured into Xiangyang, and how could the extra thatched huts be resettled.

As more and more people moved into the city, there were not enough bamboo and straw to build thatched huts.

Zheng Yunming walked all the way and looked at the people sitting everywhere, the wind and rain in autumn were cold to the bone, and he had to find a place for them to live no matter what.

Of course, he also saw something warm. Some of the people in Xiangyang City, led by monks, are distributing food and hot soup to those who are sleeping outside. The refugees crowded around their robes, hoping to get more food, and the monks patiently persuaded them to distribute the food one by one.

Zheng Yunming saw that these monks were the monks of Baishui Temple, and he thought maliciously that these bald heads were finally worthy of a degree issued by the state, although this degree also needed money to buy. But in such an urgent moment, they can finally show a little compassion of Buddhism.

This was enough, compared to many of the four hundred and eighty temples in the Southern Dynasty at this time, they were already considered true believers.

Zheng Yunming raised his eyes and saw an old monk with a white beard stuffing stuffing (the Song Dynasty's name for vegetarian stuffed buns) stuffed into the hands of an old man on the street, immediately stopped the horse's hooves, rode on the horse and said with a smile: "Abbot Huitong, there are so many people in the city suddenly, and the monks in your temple will increase a lot." ”

Huitong, the abbot of Baishui Temple, raised his head and chanted the Buddha's name to the deputy capital of Jing and Hubei on the horse: "Amitabha, Buddhism is boundless, and the fate of nature belongs to my door. ”