In October of the fourth year of Xianchun, Zhao Jiaren went to Guangzhou. Xiangyang, which he left a few months ago, was once surrounded by a gap and was restored to its original state. Neither Zhao Jiaren nor Xia Gui wanted to stay in Xiangyang. Zhao Jiaren wanted to go to Lingnan, but Xia Gui got some of the credit that should have been attributed to Zhao Jiaren, and was afraid that Jia Yidao would let him defend Xiangyang, so he left quickly.

The performance of the Song army surprised Marshal Ashu greatly, and also made the marshal more confident in Marshal Boyan's judgment. When Zhao Jiaren's sharp troops easily broke the Mongol army, many people advocated mobilizing superior forces to fight Zhao Jiaren for a decisive battle. Marshal Boyan thought that as long as he avoided Zhao Jiaren's troops, it would be enough.

'His ten thousand men can't do anything.'" Marshal Ah Shu was deeply impressed by Marshal Boyan's evaluation. As expected, Zhao Jiaren just sent supplies to Xiangyang, and then Xiangyang was still easily trapped by the Mongols.

The spies in the Great Song Dynasty sent the news that Zhao Jiaren had gone to Lingnan to become an official, and those who questioned that Zhao Jiaren might come to the rescue every year also kept silent. In a year's time, Zhao Jiaren couldn't run back and forth between Lingnan and Xiangyang. In other words, Zhao Jiaren, who made the Mongol army feel troublesome, was not a threat at all for two years.

"Let's prepare again, we must break Xiangyang within two years!" Boyan briefly and clearly described his ideas at the meeting of the generals, and the generals agreed. At this time, it has been four years since the siege of Xiangyang, and it is really unbearable to drag it on.

Boyan arranged the front-line work, and he himself returned to Dadu. After leaving Dadu for a few years, when he saw the city again, Boyan felt that his eyes lit up. After several years of construction, most of them have taken on a preliminary appearance. From a distance, the high walls are impressive. Entering the city, the wide road is very magnificent.

The capital street system is 24 steps wide on the main street and 12 steps wide on the side street. Three hundred and eighty-four fire alleys, twenty-nine lanes. One step is about 1.5 meters, and 24 steps are 36 meters wide. Although there is still a huge gap with the main road eight motorized lanes plus double non-motorized lanes plus sidewalks that Zhao Jiaren occasionally thought about, it is already a very wide road in this era.

Kublai Khan had already received Boyan's request to return to Dadu for consultation, and it was with Kublai Khan's consent that Boyan was able to return to Dadu. It is a big crime to leave the army behind and return to Beijing without permission.

His love will return to Beijing, and Kublai Khan is in a good mood. When Boyan saw the Great Khan Kublai Khan, he couldn't see whether the Great Khan had come back to life, but the general's belly was eaten. In addition, compared with the previous reckless Mongolian hero, the Great Khan Kublai Khan's eyebrows have a lot of faint but indelible sadness.

The relationship between the two was very harmonious, Kublai Khan's questions were straightforward and simple, and Boyan's answers were clean and clear. After learning about the situation at the front, Kublai Khan was very puzzled by Zhao Jiaren's departure, and he asked Boyan, "If according to what you said, if the Song army had gathered heavy troops to fight a decisive battle with us at that time, wouldn't our army still be in danger of defeat?" ”

Bo Yan's expression was still the signature flat, but there was a strong confidence in his voice, "If the Song army is like Zhao Jiaren's soldiers, it is possible." But I think Zhao Jiaren's soldiers are probably his private army. If the Song army really gathers heavy troops to fight a decisive battle with us, it will definitely be us who wins. ”

Kublai Khan had experienced a hundred battles, and he instantly understood Boyan's train of thought. No matter how fierce Zhao Jiaren was, if the other Song troops were broken one by one in the field battle, they would be surrounded by ten times the Mongol army, and Zhao Jiaren would have only one way to die. Knowing this, Kublai Khan smiled and said, "I didn't expect Zhao Jiaren to be very smart. ”

Boyan didn't smile, he was still so calm and flat, "Great Khan." Zhao Jiaren is not our confidant at this time, but he is only in his twenties this year. If this person is allowed to continue like this, I am afraid that in a few years he will be able to become the prime minister of Song Guozuo. If he is in power, he will be my great enemy of Mongolia. Therefore, it will take three or four years to destroy the Song Dynasty. ”

Kublai Khan himself was a hero, and a member of the Golden Family. At a young age, he made great achievements and was in a high position. Now look at Zhao Jiaren opposite, whether it is bloodline, experience, or achievements, he is actually a Kublai Khan of the Song Kingdom. Before Boyan made such a comparison, Kublai Khan had not considered this direction, and after being reminded of this, Kublai Khan immediately understood this.

"Zhao Jiaren is so young, but it is enviable." The Great Khan of Mongolia laughed. Kublai Khan was born in 1215 and Zhao Jiaren was born in 1240, and in terms of age, Kublai Khan was 15 years older than Zhao Jiaren. At least that's what Kublai Khan thought.

Boyan himself had no particular passion for war per se, but he was by no means a pacifist. When it is time to use the means of war, Boyan will never hesitate in the slightest. And before the final victory, he can be said to be ruthless and has no mercy. Hearing that Kublai Khan had already understood the problem, Boyan said flatly: "So it is even more necessary to destroy the Song Dynasty at this time." If the troops led by Zhao Jiaren were not 10,000 but 50,000, probably our armies outside Xiangyang would have to retreat and avoid it. ”

After moving his ruling center from the Mongolian Plateau to Han China, Kublai Khan had to accept the culture and system of Han China, which does not mean that Han culture itself is Kublai Khan's beliefs. In essence, Kublai Khan was just a very utilitarian and practical monarch, and people like Boyan who were very interested in getting the job done were Kublai Khan's favorite.

It is still necessary to brainstorm things with others, and to talk about things with Boyan, Kublai Khan just communicated simply, "Now that Haidu has rebelled, this time the destruction of the Song Dynasty must rely on the Han army." ”

Then let the princes of the Han army recruit men and horses, and their children personally led the team. Tell them that as long as they can destroy the Song Dynasty, let their children be officials in the Song Land forever. ”

"Will this be a problem for tigers?"

"Great Khan, Shi Tianze and Zhang Rou took the lead in handing over military power, and since then the power that the Han army princes once had has been stripped away. It could have been like this before, but after the Song Dynasty was really destroyed, wouldn't it be like this? And as long as they can distribute the land of the Song State to those princes who lead troops, they will be satisfied. As for being an official, there are still so many civil officials in the imperial court, what do they think when they purge the Han army and the marquis? I think the Great Khan knows best. ”

"How many soldiers and horses do you need to destroy the Song Dynasty?"

"Two hundred thousand."

……

After some discussion, Kublai Khan made up his mind. And Boyan temporarily returned home, but Ahmat actually came to visit him like this. Since he is not a Han Chen, but a fellow Mongolian nobleman, he does not have as many courtesies as the Han people. After Ahmat gave the gift, he expressed his opinion bluntly, "Marshal Boyan, because of the war, our monopoly trade with Zhao Jiaren has been interrupted. Now the right prime minister Ahma found that Zhao Jiaren's goods were not interrupted, but continued to enter Mongolia through the people. I'd like to ask Bo Yancheng to give me an idea about this. ”

Boyan had served as the right prime minister, and of course he knew that the so-called idea was to let Boyan talk to Kublai Khan and resume trade with Zhao Jiaren.

On such an issue, Boyan himself was a little hesitant. Overall, Mongolia imports mainly a variety of goods from Zhao Jiaren that Mongolia has no access to on its own. After the death of Genghis Khan, the patriarch of the Golden Family, Mongolia was divided into four khanates. The four khanates were constantly vying for dominance.

Kublai Khan was Torre's fourth son. And the great threat mentioned by Kublai Khan Haidu is the grandson of the Mongol Empire's Ogedai Khan. The Lost Son. He once supported Ali Buge and Kublai Khan in his struggle for the throne. He ruled over the fiefdoms of the former Ögedei and Guiyou in the area of Yemili (southeast of present-day Emin, Xinjiang), and he wanted to establish the Ögedai Khanate and seize control of the Mongol Empire from the Sinicized Kublai Khan.

Because of this, even if he knew that the spices and spices in Zhao Jiaren's goods came from Tianzhu, Kublai Khan had no way to transport the spices back from there through the Silk Road in the Han Dynasty. Not to mention the long distance that leads to high prices, there is also the obstacle of Haidu along the way.

However, the effect of using spices cannot be denied, because he is keen on religion and is very tolerant of all religions, and Kublai Khan has quite a few monks and Brahmins from Tianzhu. In fact, they have mastered a lot of spice use and medicinal techniques, but they don't have these things in their hands. After getting the familiar spices, these people relied on their medical skills to mix well in most of the capitals.

Thinking of this, Boyan asked Ahmat, "In that case, didn't you find Zhao Jiaren to discuss this matter?" ”

Ahmat's face was happy, and he said excitedly: "That side said, as long as it ......"

Halfway through that, Ahmat realized that something was wrong. It was already a private act for him to do so, and the Great Khan Kublai Khan would be unhappy when he found out. If he could really convince the Great Khan, why did Ahmat let the Great Khan's henchman Boyan come forward.

Thinking of this, Ahmat hurriedly forced his words around, "They say they can't be the master at all." So I think if the Great Khan is willing to nod, we'll get in touch again. After all, these goods can't be stopped at all, they start from Haizhou, they can go to Linyi by land, and they can go more by water. Dengzhou's place faces the sea on three sides, where can it be stopped. You don't even need to go to Dengzhou, even in Zhigu Village, there are many Diao people......"

Boyan is very clear about this matter, although he has a cold temperament, he is still a normal person. At this time, he went home to be reunited with his family for a short time, and he knew very well what Ahmat was saying. So Boyan issued an eviction order, "I know. I ask you to go back and wait for news. ”

Ahmat didn't dare to offend Boyan, so he took the lead in leaving. Wait, wait, wait, until Boyan left Dadu, he didn't wait for news. Complaining in his heart that Boyan didn't help, Ahmat was ready to continue his activities. Unexpectedly, on the third day after Boyan left, Kublai Khan called him, "Can you contact Zhao Jiaren, if the price is the same as before, we still want to buy something from him." ”

Now Ahmat was overjoyed. No matter what others think of him, Ahmat's own thoughts are actually quite simple. These spices are highly accepted in Mongolian territory and are even considered miracle medicine on the Mongolian plateau. Monopolized by the Mongol court, it was naturally a great source of profit. With the current state of Mongolia's spending of money, these financial resources must not be let go.

As soon as the negotiations opened, it took Zhao Jiaren half a month to get the flying pigeon message. This speed surprised Zhao Jiaren himself. To the Mongols' request, Zhao Jiaren had only one answer, "Yes." ”