At the end of May 1296 in the Western calendar, the temperature in Baghdad had already made ordinary people wear short-sleeved clothes. Inside the palace was cooler, and Timur Khan and Tokhoff were wearing good-looking long-sleeved singles. Tokhtar had rolled up his sleeves and looked at the geographical map of eastern Mongolia on the huge platform with Timur Khan. There have been many delicate dolls on the map, each of which represents a soldier and horse, and the generals of the banner army have gathered around the platform to talk about the dolls on the map.

Tooff wiped the sweat from his forehead, and suddenly lost all interest in the discussion. There was a table full of drinks next to the eldest prince, and he walked over and picked up a cup of lemon tea. The cold tea lifted his spirits, but it didn't make Tokh puff up the slightest desire to discuss it again. He walked out of the chamber with his teacup in hand, and found a place to sit in the shade of the eaves outside the door.

Listen to Timur Khan's exuberant voice, "20,000 cavalry to outflank the back road of the slave dynasty will definitely succeed!" ”

Hearing this, Totoh picked up the lemon tea and drank most of the cup. Then I heard the generals respond to Timur Khan. Totoh lowered his head and swept away casually, only to see a group of ants biting around a green worm. The green worm rolled in pain, struggled, and twitched, but there was no way to escape the fate of being besieged. Tokto's attention was drawn to this tiny war, and the discussions in the room turned out to be somewhat unhearable. Just as he was watching, an attendant came over and called, "Lord Tokhto, the Great Khan has called you." ”

Tokhtar had to turn his attention back to the present, and when he returned to the hall, he heard Timur Khan say, "Tokhtar, how is the grain and grass prepared now?" ”

"Back to the Great Khan, Prime Minister Hao Ren has issued an order to the Yuan State to transport grain and grass to this side." Tokhtok replied.

"You go to the prime minister again and ask if you can transport 500,000 stone of grain in half a month."

Seeing that Timur Khan had a deserved expression, Tokhtar could only leave the hall after agreeing. When he went out of the door, he walked to the position of Fang Cai again, and saw that half of the green worm's body had stiffened, and half of its body was still struggling uselessly. The ants bit around the still struggling part, seeing that the battle was decided. He took off and trampled the insects and ants under his feet, and crushed them the ground, and then strode away.

On the way to Hao Ren's mansion, he thought about the battle situation for a while and Hao Ren for a while, and finally his thoughts fell on the side of the Hao Kang brothers. Under the current situation, the Hao Kang brothers do not need to come to take over the position of prime minister, at least they do not need to consider this possibility before the victory of the war. But no matter how he thought about it, Totoku found that he always felt that Hao Kang was good in the court at this time, and at least someone could talk to Totoku about how to fight.

Tokhtar was a little surprised by his own idea, but he knew in his heart what the reason was. The talk of these generals is not right to hear, at least it is very different from the discussion of Hao Kang when he was cleaning up the Mongol princes in Damascus. Hao Kang is talking about how to schedule, how to set up formations, and how to deal with all kinds of possible situations. When the fight really starts, you don't have to take it off or interfere. Now the Great Khan and the generals in the court discussed very different contents, they talked about how to fight to win, and all they wanted was how to kill with one blow and finally make a decision. The Great Khan happily mingled with the generals, and the discussion was hearty. Tokhtar himself has no experience in war, but he can't listen to anything.

When I arrived at Hao Ren's mansion, I saw Hao Ren's calm expression, and there was no appearance of war breaking out at all. Totoku was very uneasy in his heart, Hao Ren had various opinions on the affairs of the court in the past, which showed that Hao Ren still cared about the court. Now this kind of behavior only proves that Hao Ren wants to stay out of the matter.

Hearing the king's order brought by Tokhtar, Hao Ren replied indifferently, "You go back and tell the Great Khan, and I will do my best to prepare." It's just that half a month is too short, and it will take almost half a month just to send the news back to Kyiv. ”

Tokhta's heart sank, and he felt that he understood the problem. Now the guys in the Mongolian court don't know whether it is sincere or deliberate, and they all ignore those links that are actually implemented. In the past, no matter how perfunctory the imperial court suppressed Hao Ren, Hao Ren provided money, food and materials regularly and quantitatively. Now, from the Great Khan to the general, all ideas are based on Hao Ren's ability to provide supplies on a regular basis as before. Because of the suddenness of the outbreak of the war, these guys even thought that Hao Ren could provide a wartime house sooner.

No matter what these people think, Hao Ren speaks of the reality at the executive level in one sentence. It will take half a month to send the news back to the Yuan Kingdom. So how long does it take to raise food? How long does it take to transport grain? Where does the grain go? How long will it take to get food to the front?

"Prime Minister, you can't ignore the court!" Tokhtar couldn't help but plead.

"What are you talking about?" Hao Ren responded indifferently.

Tokhtar hesitated for a moment, but decided to speak his mind. "Prime Minister, I learned a lot from Brother Hao Kang when I was dealing with the Mongol prince in Damascus with Brother Hao Kang. Brother Hao Kang has a saying that I am deeply impressed, fighting a war can only discuss the matter of fighting, and you can't go to discuss how to win a war. Prime Minister, I thought that the only one in the court who really understood this was the Prime Minister! ”

"Oh! Hao Kang told you this? Hao Ren got serious.

Totoh was a little surprised by Hao Ren's reaction, but he couldn't care so much at this time, Totoku continued to plead, "Prime Minister! He also invited the prime minister to participate in the discussion of military affairs. ”

"Hehe, Toto, can't a smart person like you see that the Great Khan doesn't want me to participate in the discussion of military affairs at all?"

Tokhtar was immediately speechless. Timur Khan just didn't want Hao Ren to participate in the discussion of military affairs, not only Hao Ren, but also those battle-hardened princes were also excluded. This idea carried out the consistent policy of Timur Khan to establish a banner army to suppress all princes, and he thought it was okay before he took off. Now he suddenly realized that things were not as simple as he had thought. Whether or not there has actually been a war can be told just by listening to the discussion. It's just that I didn't have the opportunity to contact those generals who can fight before Tokhtar, so I don't know.

"Toto, you can go back." Hao Ren gave an eviction order.

Somewhat dejected, Tokhtar returned to the palace, when the military council had ended, and Timur Khan was resting in his bedchamber. After listening to Tokhtar's reply, Timur Khan replied with satisfaction, "Tokhtar, you keep an eye on the prime minister." Urge him to send food as soon as possible. ”

"Great Khan, the minister thinks it is better to let the prime minister control the overall situation." Tokh said.

"No!" There was discontent in the voice of Timur Khan.

"I think Tokhtar is right." Outside the door of the dormitory, a broad voice sounded.

When he turned his head, he saw the Empress Dowager Kuokuozhen walking into the palace with the support of the palace maid, and hurriedly stepped forward to salute. Timur hurriedly caught up, and without waiting for Timur to speak, he heard the Queen Mother say, "Timur, I heard that you didn't discuss with the prime minister this time, is it true?" ”

Timur hurriedly replied, "Queen Mother, the son-in-law has invited the prime minister. It's just that the prime minister said that he was unwell and didn't come to participate. ”

"Since the prime minister is unwell, it is inconvenient to go to court. You will take someone to the prime minister's house to discuss, and the prime minister will listen to it while lying on the sickbed, and he can also give you some advice. ”

Timur replied sullenly, "The queen mother is just a little Tianzhuzi, so why bother to deal with such a big battle." Even the prime minister is not allowed to recuperate. ”

Seeing that his son refused to obey, Kuokuo was also angry, "Since you refuse to go, I will go by myself." ”

Timur was anxious, and hurriedly said, "Queen Mother, I'll go see the prime minister now." ”

Timur sent the Queen Mother back to the dormitory first, and set off by herself. Totoku wanted to follow, but an attendant called Toto, saying that the Queen Mother was looking for Totoku to question. Timur winked at Tokhtar and set off with his guards. Reluctantly went to the Queen Mother's bedroom, and saluted after seeing Kuo Kuozhen. After standing up, he waited for the Queen Mother to ask. Wait, wait, but the Queen Mother didn't speak. Totok was strange in his heart, so he heard the Queen Mother say, "Toto, come close and speak." ”

"Yes." When Tokhtar stepped forward, a maid opened the door curtain, and saw the Empress Dowager Kuokuozhen lying on the couch. When he arrived in front of the Queen Mother, he saluted again, and Tokhtar continued to wait for the Queen Mother to ask questions.

"Toto, you have only done a great job in forming a flag army." Kuo Kuozhen said.

"It was all ordered by the Great Khan, and the prime minister helped the Great Khan. The minister just followed the two of them. ”

"Hehe, if you say that normally, that's fine. Toto, let me ask you, do you think the flag army can fight? ”

Totok's heart tightened, and he couldn't say anything if the flag army couldn't fight at all. After all, it takes so much effort, and the assessment of choosing to become a flag army is also very serious. A war can definitely be fought. It's just that what the Queen Mother asked was not so simple, what the Queen Mother asked was whether she could win this battle. Tokhtar himself was suspicious of this, but as a close retainer of Timur Khan, he could not say that he could not do it in any way. No, Totoku could only reply, "Back to the Queen Mother, the Banner Army selected all of them are capable, well-equipped, and the training is very hard." Fighting will not disappoint the Great Khan. ”

As soon as the words fell, someone shouted loudly outside the door curtain, "Queen Mother, there is the latest military information!" ”

He was stunned, he didn't expect that the Queen Mother's attention to this matter was not limited to asking questions, but was always concerned about the development of the war situation.

"Come in and report it." The Queen Mother said.

The people outside strode in, saluted, and said, "Report to the Queen Mother, the King of Ilkhanate has fallen!" ”

Tokhtay was shocked, a few days ago I just heard that the slave dynasty was besieging the royal capital of the Ilkhanate, how could it fall so quickly!

Kuo Kuo was really shocked, and hurriedly asked, "Does the Great Khan know?" ”

"Someone has been sent to inform the Great Khan."

"I already know!"

The voice of the messenger sounded almost at the same time as the voice of the Great Khan of Timur, but the Great Khan of Timur, who had already set out to meet Hao Ren, appeared at the door. Tokhtar couldn't help but ask, "Great Khan, is this true?" ”

Timur ordered, "You don't have to ask, now come with me." ”

After leaving the Queen Mother's dormitory, Timur stopped, "Tokhtar, you go and ask the imperial envoy to go back to Baghdad immediately!" ”

A few days ago, Tokhto's father, Yuxi Timur, went to Damascus and other western cities, because Hao Ren suggested that Yuxi Timur come forward to inspect it, and Timur was very unhappy. Now that Timur has taken the initiative to ask Yuxi Timur to return to the court, it seems that the Great Khan is really in a hurry.

Although Constantinople was more than a thousand miles west of Baghdad, Shezon received the report at the same time as Timur. After reading the news from Athens, Xie Song was extremely happy. Because he was in such a happy mood, Xie Song was a little skeptical that he was too emotional. Xie Song had to reflect on himself.

Imagine a slave dynasty defeating the Mongols, and Xie Song found himself in a good mood. Assuming that the Mongols defeated the slave dynasty, Xie Song felt that he was not sad. Thinking about it again, Xie Songle was happy. He found that what he most hoped for was not the victory of one side, but the death of both sides in the war. There is nothing more joyful than a war that consumes two barbarian nations.

After determining his position, Xie Song convened an office meeting to inform the upper echelons of the latest news. Everyone's reaction was as happy as Xie Song's, which made Xie Song feel very kind. He laughed and said, "Athens told us this news so that we should pay more attention to the attitude of the Eastern Rome on this matter. Don't worry about being happy, you can't relax in gathering information. ”

"Director rest assured, of course we will not let go of this kind of information." The cadres responded happily, with unquestionable sincerity in their expressions.

Xie Song began to assign tasks, "Not only the intelligence about the Mongols and the slave dynasty, but also the reaction of the upper echelons of Eastern Rome, but also the representatives of the Yuan State and the Western Rome have to go and inquire about it. ”

After the cadre was assigned the task, he asked, "Director, what should Hao Kang do over there?" ”

This question made Xie Song hesitate a little, and he didn't think about how to deal with Hao Kang himself. Including the news from Athens, it is very ambiguous, everyone does want to take advantage of Hao Kang, but there is no clear purpose. After all, the benefits brought by the Quadripartite Alliance are too great, and one of the pillars in this is the grain of the Yuan Kingdom. Although he did not get a clear statement from Athens, Xie Song himself felt a strong uneasiness in his heart when he thought that the war might make the Yuan Kingdom not export grain.

Without the silk of the Great Song Dynasty, the Eastern Romans could wear local linen cloth. Without the candles and lamp oil of the Great Song Dynasty, Eastern Rome could be smeared at night. But without the grain of the Yuan Kingdom, if the Eastern Rome could not be hungry immediately, at least the price of food would skyrocket. From this point of view, the impact of this war is not so positive. Regardless of who the victor was, the Great Song Dynasty, who did not participate in the war, would face losses. Perhaps the Athenian side is hesitant to deal with Hao Kang, and there is also a consideration of hoping to reduce the loss as much as possible.

"We'll talk about that later." Xie Song ordered. If Athens really wanted to reduce its losses, or even find a way to make up for them from the changes, it had to know where the losses would be. If so, Hao Kang would have to remain in Constantinople.

Fortunately, Hao Ren has not heard from him until now. Constantinople, on the other hand, had good reason to keep Hao Kang in his hands. It seems that Constantinople has its own ideas.