The first year of the celebration, October 22. Autumn rain fell in the sky, and the sky and the earth looked gray.

"Soldiers into Niutou Mountain?" Kublai Khan frowned and looked at Hao Jing's suggestion. The suggestion was short, and Kublai Khan was puzzled by Hao Jing's plan that he had come up with after thinking about it all night.

Hao Jing replied without hesitation: "Niutou Mountain is at the junction of Jinghu South Road and Liangzhexi Road, even if we send troops to Niutou Mountain, we will not be able to hit Lin'an." If it really enters the Liangzhejiang West Road, it will probably be defeated by the Song Kingdom. ”

Kublai Khan was also relieved when he heard this, and he could see that Hao Jing did not come up with an unexpected plan as soon as his brain was hot. Sure enough, Hao Jing continued: "What Jia Rudao is afraid of now is only the Song State Zhao Guan's family who thinks he is incompetent. If we can send troops to Niutou Mountain, the people in Lin'an City who want to dismiss Jia Nidao will have an excuse. If Jia Rudao wants to protect himself, let's allow him to sign the contract as soon as possible, and he may be willing to cede the land, call the minister, and go to the New Year's coin. ”

"Hmm!" Kublai Khan nodded slightly, and this wonderful internal struggle in the Song Kingdom made Kublai Khan feel very interesting. This is also the reason why he is wary of Confucianism. When it comes to big things, the people who hide in the court are far more powerful than those on the front line. For example, Kublai Khan could not defeat Jia Yidao, and those in Lin'an who did not dare to go to war at all could easily depose him.

"Can this Zhao Jiaren on the river use such a method?" Kublai Khan asked Hao Jing. Although Jia Yidao was very capable, he only resisted Kublai Khan's attack. Zhao Jiaren, who was on the river, was tightly stuck in Kublai Khan's throat. If there was no Zhao Jiaren, Kublai Khan could have appreciated Jia Yidao's actions with a more calm attitude.

"This ...... Not now. Hao Jing replied regretfully. However, he quickly replied: "If the lord wants to try it, tell Jia Yidao and tell the generals in Ezhou City." If Jia Rudao is willing to kill Zhao Jiaren and give us his head, we will immediately withdraw our troops. This doesn't work, but you can try to make some gaps between those Song generals and Jia Yidao. ”

Kublai Khan, as an attacking party, could not grasp this defensive mentality well. But he asked Hao Jing to give it a try. As soon as Hao Jing went out, Zhang Rou came in nervously and sent some paper to Kublai Khan.

Kublai Khan opened it and saw that a few paragraphs were written on the paper in white script. This level of Chinese is not a problem for Kublai Khan, and he doesn't need to look for Confucian scholars such as Hao Jing, so he can read it himself. The content on the paper is very real, telling the story of the Mongolian naval army being defeated by the powerful Song naval army. In such a situation, sooner or later the Mongol army had to retreat. When the time comes, someone must be covering on the river.

'Ladies and gentlemen of the Han army, who of you is willing to use your own life as a stepping stone for others. Ladies and gentlemen of the Han army, who among you are willing to exchange their wealth for the benefits of others? After Kublai Khan retreated, he must leave someone to meet the Wuliang Hetai on Jinghu South Road, which of you is willing to retreat to Dali with Wuliang Hetai? Retreat to Dali, if you want to go home, you have to go for a few years. Finally, I would like to ask all the Han military princes, do you know that the Great Khan Meng Ge is dead? Abuligo's people are about to go to Yandi and Yidu, and your family is about to fall into the hands of Abuligo, who wants to be the Great Khan......

The previous content is good to say, seeing the death of the Great Khan Möngke, Abuligo wants to seize the position of the Great Khan. Kublai stood up abruptly. The news of Meng Ge's death is known to thousands of households like Zhang Rou. But those ordinary Han army princes don't know that now in Kublai Khan's army, the Han army is the main force. Once the gang learned that their families in Yandi (Hebei) and Yidu (Shandong) had fallen under the control of Abuligo, who was hostile to Kublai Khan, Kublai Khan felt that these people were afraid and were confused.

After walking back and forth a few times anxiously, Kublai Khan suddenly stood up, stared at Zhang Rou and asked, "Where did these come from?" ”

Zhang Rou knew the current situation, and he hurriedly replied: "This is the Song army shooting from outside the camp with bows and arrows. Not only did they shoot into the camp, but they also shot these arrows when they saw us. I also found out when I saw people in the camp start circulating these things. ”

Kublai Khan's gaze seemed to be about to eat people, and after a moment he sneered self-deprecatingly. If Hao Jing was in the big tent at this time, Kublai Khan would be afraid that he would have to laugh at himself. When he was discussing with Hao Jing how to play the tricks, Jia Rudao went to the front, and he was even more ruthless. Kublai Khan and Hao Jing wanted to talk nonsense, but Jia Rudao was telling the truth.

"Zhang Rou, how is the platform in Baihu Mountain repaired?" Stopping to sneer, Kublai Khan still chose to ask about official business. As long as there is a way to return north, the morale of the army will not be turbulent.

Zhang Rou hurriedly replied: "I've already driven piles in shallow water." After the pile is driven, the planks are laid, and the return cannon can be put in. Although the water in the center of the river is a bit deep, it is possible to use the return cannon to stop the Song State water army. ”

Kublai Khan nodded with satisfaction, he was very confident in Zhang Rou's ability to do things. Kublai Khan then ordered: "Pile behind the return cannon and prepare to build a pontoon bridge." At this time, the Song army could only hold Ezhou. If the Song army comes again, our army is afraid that it will be tight. ”

The construction of the pontoon bridge to cross the river is not only about Kublai Khan, but also about Zhang Rou's net worth, and Zhang Rou immediately replied: "Obey!" ”

There is a saying in the Great Song Dynasty, what you are afraid of comes. The day after Kublai Khan gave the order to strengthen the construction of the pontoon bridge, the tanma galloped to the Great Tent. The troops sent by Zhang Rou to the upper reaches of the river were broken by a Song army that was sailing down the river, and that Song army had 20,000 or 30,000 men and horses, and it was about to arrive in Ezhou in about two or three days.

At this time, the Mongol naval army was completely at a disadvantage on the river, and if this Song army of 20,000 or 30,000 people entered Ezhou, the bad situation of Kublai Khan's language would become a reality. This Song army had the courage to launch an attack on the Mongol army, that is, when the Mongol army retreated, the troops behind the palace had to face not only an attack from the river, but also a pursuit from the Song army.

Kublai Khan was known as a man with a heart as big as a steppe, and he could no longer laugh at this time. Kublai Khan even regretted that if he didn't trust himself so much, but chose to build a pontoon bridge when the Mongol naval army was attacked, and the whole army retreated. At that time, the Song army was simply unable to pursue, and it was entirely possible that the Mongol army calmly crossed the river and wreaked havoc north of the Yangtze River.

Seeing that Kublai Khan was no longer smiling, the mood of the generals was naturally greatly affected. Fortunately, Zhang Rou is 69 years old. At this age, the old man can see everything. He urged his generals to desperately carry out Kublai Khan's orders, and even asked Zhu Guobao to send Mongolian military ships to operate on the river. It was not to fight against the Song army, but to cut off the information on the river, so that the Song army did not know the actions of the Mongol army.

Zhang Rou's efforts paid off, and by October 26, two pontoon bridges had been built at the Baihushan ferry port, and a third pontoon bridge was under construction. When Kublai Khan arrived at the river, he saw two long dragon-like buildings spanning the Yangtze River, and seven or eight return cannons had been erected on the river in the upstream direction. The platform where the cannon was put back was close to the river, and it looked like a huge wooden stake had been built in the water.

Hao Jing looked at the two pontoon bridges and couldn't help but say, "Lord, why don't we send someone to talk to Jia Nidao about peace?" ”

"Not necessarily. Wait for Jia Rudao to come to us! Kublai Khan finally had a smile on his face, "When the third pontoon bridge is built, we will immediately cross the river with all our troops." Zhang Jie and Yan Wang bypassed Ezhou and went to Tanzhou to make peace with Wulianghetai. ”

Just hearing these orders, those generals felt that they had a backbone. As long as the Yangtze River was crossed, the Mongol army would no longer have to fear the Song army. No matter how fierce the Song navy is, can it still go ashore to fight?