"I heard that in the early years of the Yuan Dynasty, Japan was attacked once, but the landing was not successful. Did they learn anything this time? Is there anything special about Japan's ports? "Grand Duke John Pedicas of the Navy seemed to be interested in these technical issues.

"Actually, I don't have much experience." Zhao Liang said honestly: "I have relatives who followed the army at that time, and according to him, the port defense of the Japanese is very ordinary, and it can be defeated if it is serious." I couldn't beat it before, in fact, I just didn't care. ”

"Well......" Pedicas looked disappointed.

"That's true." Shi Ke replied: "We still have records of the Yuan Dynasty here, and we can see the situation at that time. I'll ask you to transfer a copy of the clerk to your department, and you'll know by looking at it. ”

"Okay, thanks." Pedicas was still a little confused, but he still answered.

"If you get the book and count how many Hebei people have been dispatched in each military operation, you will know how much attention the central government of the Yuan Dynasty attaches to this." Seeing this, Guo Kang reminded: "Of course, this is only in the early Yuan Dynasty. In the later stage, you have to count the Henan people. ”

This is also an experience that Guo Kang himself has confirmed.

Within the jurisdiction of Zhongshu Province, that is, the "Hebei people" in the broad sense at that time, were the core force of the Yuan Dynasty. The number of people who participated in the war here directly shows how much the Yuan Dynasty invested in the battlefield.

"Let me give you an example." He thought for a while and said: "When the Yuan Dynasty attacked Japan for the first time, it led more than 10,000 Mongol and Han troops with the Mongol Xindu as the marshal of the expedition to the east, Liu Fuheng from Hebei as the left deputy marshal, and Hong Chaqiu from Goryeo as the right deputy marshal. In addition, more than 5,000 Goryeo troops led by the general Kim Fangqing followed. ”

"This Liu Fuheng is a native of Dongping Road, Zhongshu Province, and a protégé of the famous minister Yelu Chucai. He once followed Kublai Khan to conquer Ali Buge, fought all the way to Helin, and has a resume of military exploits. ”

"You see, if you count it like this, it seems that there are so many lists, but in fact, this one is serious about going to war." He concluded.

"Does this mean that the Yuan Dynasty doesn't pay attention to this?" Someone asked.

"Maybe it's a little bit of a thing." Guo Kang hesitated: "But I don't pay attention to ...... completely."

"The early stage of the war went very well, and although the Yuan army did not have many effective troops, it still crushed the resistance of the locals and successfully landed." He said in a way that was easy for everyone to understand: "Japan...... Sultan, mobilize the support of nearby emirs. As a result, when the two sides were fighting, Liu Fuheng was too close to the front line for the convenience of command, and was shot and wounded by a Mamluk. After the war, he had to return to the ship to recuperate from his injuries. ”

"Originally, he was fighting seriously alone, and after he was injured, the others were even more inert to fight. Xin Du and the others neither took over the command nor arranged the pursuit. Seeing Liu Fuheng returning to the ship for repairs, they also took the opportunity to return to the ship, and then directly announced the withdrawal of the army and went home. And so the war ended. ”

"Is it so sloppy?" Papadopoulos said in surprise.

"Not serious in the first place." Guo Kang spread his hands: "A few years later, the envoy sent by the ancestor Kublai Khan was killed by the Japanese sultan. Kublai Khan was very angry, and then he remembered to fight again. ”

"Of course, at this time, not only the Japanese caliphate, but also the Japanese sultan. In power is the Ataboke Hojo clan of Japan. ”

"It's normal." "Unlike the Persian civil servants, the warlords have always been bad at diplomacy and can mess up anything," Pedicas noted. Please go on, we can understand. Did you send the main army this time? ”

"Nope." Guo Kang said: "Because at this time, there was a great rebellion set off by the Mongols. Haidu, the descendant of Wokotai in the northwest, Xiliji, the son of Meng Ge in Mobei, and Hongjirabu, the queen family of Liaoxi, all rebelled. ”

He pointed to the map and said, "From Liaoyang Province to Beishu Bali, the entire northern border of Dayuan has been attacked. ”

"So, there were no troops at that time?" Papadopoulos asked.

"Yes. At that time, the war to destroy the Song Dynasty had not yet ended, and the Yuan Dynasty fought at both ends and was too busy to take care of itself. Guo Kang continued to explain: "The guards of the Han army who were still idle all went north to suppress the Mongols. Kublai Khan even had to urgently transfer manpower back from the southern front, so that there would be no extra troops to manage a place like Japan. ”

"How can this Great Khan suppress the Mongols every day......" Otrifus muttered.

"In short, the second crusade against Japan began in such a hurry." Guo Kang ignored his questions and continued to introduce: "The generals who presided over the army are still the same as last time, but Liu Fuheng's department is guarding in Huaixi at this time. That place is much more important than Japan, and I can't pull away, so this time there is no one from Hebei at the level of a main general. ”

"Isn't it worse?" Pedicas asked: "Without a reliable backbone force, how are they going to land?" ”

"Yes, yes. Kublai Khan assigned them nearly 10,000 people under the command of Zhang Xi, who belonged to the naval army, and these were Hebei soldiers. However, the quality of other units is even worse. Guo Kang said: "In the Northern Route Army, the Mongolian soldiers under Xin Du were caught in a storm when they ran home before, and the loss should not be too big, but it caused everyone to disperse directly." Therefore, this time, more than 10,000 prisoners could only be temporarily conscripted into the army. ”

"The Koreans also increased their strength quite a bit, bringing at least 10,000 soldiers. But these people ...... To tell the truth, it is to reduce the average combat effectiveness of the whole army. ”

As compensation, Kublai Khan asked the Southern Song Dynasty to surrender to Fan Wenhu, recruit Zhang Shijie's defeated army and Jiangnan people who volunteered to join the army, and formed the Southern Route Army. This force assembled in Ningbo and prepared to cross the East China Sea and make direct peace with the previous Northern Route Army. ”

"How is the combat effectiveness of this army?" Pedicas asked.

"It's about the same as the Persians." Li Xuanying muttered.

Guo Kang hurriedly motioned to him not to interject, and continued: "The training and armament level of soldiers in the Southern Song Dynasty are very worrying. This is also the national policy of the Southern Song Dynasty court. ”

"In the early days of the Southern Song Dynasty, the ruling Qin Hui began to deliberately reduce the combat effectiveness of the army, and when appointing generals, he deliberately selected dull people to encourage everyone to manage wealth instead of soldiers. The barracks were full of merchants and no one was training. ”

Later, the Southern Song Dynasty court sent people to inspect the army and found that among the 20,000 people, only more than 600 people could wear armor. The amount of armor on paper has lost its meaning. At this point, the goal is accomplished. ”

"What kind of strange train of thought is this......" Borjan, an old pedant who is engaged in water conservancy engineering, said that he could not understand.

"The foundation of the Southern Song Dynasty was the international order of coexistence with the Jin State, and this order was the most beneficial to the rulers of the Southern Song Dynasty." Guo Kang explained: "If the army is too strong, it will break this order, so it should be weakened a little. ”

"Of course, it's not okay to be too weak. Fortunately, the combat effectiveness of the Jin Kingdom is just like that, and the pressure is actually not very great. He thought for a moment and added: "In short, it is very embarrassing for the imperial court to win and lose. So it's better to give the year's coins and not play directly. ”

"I don't know how to sustain this kind of country." Borjan was speechless.

"Look, isn't this the end of it?" Guo Kang didn't want to get entangled either, so he quickly ended the topic.