On the seventh day of the third month of the third year of Xingqing in the Great Song Dynasty, Chenshi, the city of Chuzhou.

As the west road of Lizhou, Shukou important town, the city of Chuzhou is ten miles in radius, the city wall has been repaired and increased in height and thickness, up to seven meters, five meters wide, garrisoned by five thousand officers and soldiers, the first fortress of Shukou three passes and five states.

As for the defense of the city, in addition to 80 heavy artillery general guns, there are also 120 sub-mother guns, because the western city wall is the most flat, so it is equipped with more artillery, and the firepower is also the most fierce.

In the hall of the Rongsi of Chuzhou, Cao Youwen, the commander of Lizhou West Road, Gao Jia, the governor of Lizhou, Guo Zhengsun, the pacification envoy of Lizhou West Road, and a group of generals and officials sat separately and were deliberating.

The Song army had already engaged the Mongol army, just in case, and Cao Youwen had asked all the states and customs to be ready for the Mongol army to attack. and sent scouts from all walks of life to reconnoiter the movements of the Mongolian army.

In view of the fact that the Mongolian army made a detour to the Song-Tibetan border last time to break through the city, Cao Youwen had already ordered the two roads in Lizhou to strengthen their vigilance. According to the news from the front, the Mongolian army has been building siege equipment such as ladders and stone throwers on Lintao Road. It seems that the Mongolian army is going to attack Sanguan and Wuzhou in a big way.

"General, the Tatar army is wantonly building siege equipment on Lintao Road, and I am afraid that it is going to use troops against my Great Song Dynasty. Generals should be careful! ”

Lu Yuanting clenched his fists and reported. He was ordered to come from Xihe Prefecture to report on the military situation, which bordered Lintao Road, and the Mongolian army was also the most familiar with it.

Xihe Prefecture folded 800 people, and Qifang Pass and Xianren Pass folded 3,000 people. In the first temptation, the Mongolian army did not bring siege equipment and suffered a big loss. If the Mongolian army comes to take revenge, it will definitely be a fierce battle.

Cao Youwen nodded, his brows furrowed slightly.

Jiezhou was broken by the Mongol army, the people were lost nearly 10,000, and the soldiers were killed and wounded 4,000, and they did not know how to explain to the emperor.

"General, what should we do if the Tatar army attacks Xihe Prefecture on a large scale?"

Wang Jian couldn't help but ask.

"As long as the Tatar army dares to come, do you think I have a choice?"

Cao Youwen whispered, self-evident.

The shortage of personnel in Xihe Prefecture has not yet been filled, but there are people who are strong enough to defend the city, and they should be able to hold on for a while. The Qifang Pass and the Immortal Pass have suffered too many losses, and they have already joined forces to be in the Qifang Pass. Xianren Pass was originally an anti-gold person, and there was no need to garrison the army again.

The Tatar army attacked the city and came to the land, burning, killing and looting, and the border army of the Great Song Dynasty did not dare to go out of the city, so what was the use of the imperial court raising them?

"As soon as the Tatar army came, the states were cleared, the houses were burned, the crops were destroyed, the people cried and grabbed the land, and the soldiers were aggrieved!"

Wang Jian looked bitter and angry.

The people went into the city to hide, and when they saw the soldiers, they scolded, saying that the officers and soldiers were useless and useless, so that the soldiers could not raise their heads.

Lizhou West Road, in addition to the 5,000 soldiers stationed in Chuzhou, Dasanguan, Xihezhou, Fengzhou, Tianshui Army, and the Inner Three Passes, each of these seven places stationed 3,000 soldiers.

All told, 26,000 people were stationed on the entire Lizhou West Road.

Coupled with the 20,000 troops on the Lizhou East Road, 46,000 troops have been stationed on the two roads in Lizhou.

But in the first battle alone, nearly 4,000 people were lost.

With 4,000 people and more than 10,000 people, such a big loss is indeed unacceptable.

"The Tatar army is coming, and the emperor has not issued an order, whether it is war or peace, do we have to defend the city all the time?"

Lu Yuanting asked unwillingly.

"Didn't the emperor say that he was coming to the northwest, why has there been no news?"

Wang Jian asked anxiously.

It has been more than a year since the emperor left Shukou. The Emperor had said that he would come back during the battle of Monxia, but I don't know if it was true.

"What are you anxious about? If the emperor didn't come, you wouldn't have fought anymore? ”

Cao Youwen glanced at the generals and raised his voice.

"Your Majesty has an edict, if people don't offend me, I won't offend anyone. If anyone offends me, he will be punished, even if he is strong! You know what to do, right? ”

All the generals were stunned, Lu Yuanting smiled happily and blurted out.

"Your Majesty Shengming!"

Since the emperor had issued an order to actively respond to the war, the soldiers also knew how to deal with the attack of the Mongol army.

"Guo Xianggong, Gao Xianggong, there will be no omissions in the matter of clearing the wilderness, right?"

Cao Youwen's eyes looked at the two civil officials on Lizhou West Road.

The last time the wall was cleared, some people were unwilling to move into the cities of Shukou Prefectures, so that they were burned and looted by the Mongolian army, and countless casualties were killed. The emperor trusts him, and he knows the grace of encounter, but he doesn't know how to face the emperor.

This time, this can't happen again.

"General Cao rest assured, this time it was the government that brought the official army to go. The last time they were plagued by the Tatar army, this time the people were obedient. Compared to losing one's life in vain, life is nothing if life is hard! ”

Gao Jia stroked his beard and said calmly.

After the scourge of the last time, who would dare to come back a second time?

Wang Jian held back and remained silent. There are some things that don't happen to you and can never be taken seriously.

"That's good. Your Majesty is coming to Shukou, and we can't make mistakes again. Otherwise, I'm sorry for the Son of Heaven, and I'm sorry for the people of Dawn. ”

Cao You heard that the two of them were worried and remained silent.

"The two ministers don't have to worry, the loss of the state is all due to the wrong arrangement of troops below, and it has nothing to do with the two ministers. When His Majesty arrives, he will plead guilty to the emperor. ”

When the people moved into the city, the poor, the old and the weak had government relief, and the young and strong could help defend the city and transfer supplies. With Guo Zhengsun and Gao Jia here, he doesn't have to worry about it.

"General Cao, you and I are all one, and the affairs of Jiezhou and the government also have shortcomings, which should be borne by you and me."

Gao Jia's face was pale, and he did not shirk his responsibility.

"Gao Xianggong, no wonder Your Majesty favors your Wei Gao family, and the family is full of important ministers of the court. Looking at what you are doing today, you will know that Wei Gao's door style, high wind and bright festival, make people sigh. ”

Guo Zhengsun complimented Gao Jia, turned his head, and said softly:

"General Cao, this official is the pacification envoy of Lizhou West Road, and the official is naturally inseparable from such a big matter in Jiezhou. Let's wait for Your Majesty's fate together. ”

"Then it will drag down the two ministers."

Cao Youwen clasped his fists and saluted, and said softly.

Both of them are capable ministers, and their personal integrity is impeccable. With these two people handling civil affairs and transporting grain and grass, he also has a lot of peace of mind.

"Wang Jian, let the military orders that the Guanzhou governments stick to are all issued."

"The general is relieved, the military orders have been issued. Stick to it in various places, and without the military order of Lizhou Rongsi, you can't have to fight in the city waves! ”

Wang Jian hesitated for a moment and continued.

"General, the Tatar army entered the state from Motianling, will it climb the mountains and cross the mountains and go straight to Lizhou? If that's the case, you'll go straight to Shudi. ”

It is clear from the "Tatar Policy" that the cavalry of the Mongol army is highly mobile, and they like the tactics of big detours the most, and breaking the city of the state is a precedent. From the Motianling on the border of Jiezhou and Tubo all the way to the south, you can go straight to Lizhou behind the Da'an army. If Lizhou is broken, it will be directly inserted into the hinterland of Sichuan in Chengdu.

"There are nearly 40,000 soldiers in the Lizhou battalion, 50,000 troops in Chengdu Prefecture, and there are two ministers, Cui He and Fan Zhong, the commander-in-chief of Sichuan, who are in charge, and they are afraid that he will only have a few thousand Tatar cavalry?"

Cao Youwen sneered and shook his head slightly.

This is the era of firearms, and no matter how fierce the cavalry is, I am afraid it will not go smoothly.

Shukou is so lively, the emperor should have already left.

"General Cao, do you think this Tatar army will really come?"

Gao Jia, the governor of Chuzhou, stroked his beard and asked.

He is the boss of the Wei Gao clan in Pujiang, over fifty years old, still fiery as a fire, and also a Qing official.

"Gao Xianggong, the Tatar army is invincible, and the army is in full swing. Lu Wende annihilated more than a thousand Tatar cavalry in Xihe Prefecture, will they suffer this loss? In my opinion, I'm afraid we will have to send troops to reinforce Xihe Prefecture. ”

Cao You said quietly, but his heart was looking forward to it.

With many casualties, he couldn't wait to fight the Mongol army.

"General Cao, but the old man thinks that if the Tatar army comes back to attack, I am afraid that it will go straight to the city of Chuzhou. They have suffered a big loss, and they should not only focus on Xihe Prefecture. ”

Gao Jia's words made Cao Youwen slightly stunned and blurted out.

"Gao Xianggong means ......"

"General Cao, you are a fan of the authorities. The Tatar army suffered a loss of firearms, and if they came again, I am afraid it would be for the firearms of the city, not just for the capture of the city! ”

Guo Zhengsun probably understood what Gao Jia meant, and thought about it and said it.

The city of Chuzhou is an important town in the border area, and there is a gunpowder bureau in the city, which specializes in the manufacture of gunpowder. If he were the commander of the Mongolian army, he would also go straight to the city of Chuzhou, once and for all.

"Firearms?"

Cao Youwen suddenly realized, smiled slightly, and his heart was even more stable.

Originally, he still wanted to worry about going out of the city and fighting in the field with the Mongol army, after all, the border army lacked cavalry and the number was limited. If the Mongolian army took the initiative to attack, he would have a lot of peace of mind.

"Gao Xianggong, the people in the city are settled, and I hope you and Guo Xianggong will take a lot of trouble."

Cao Youwen did not forget to tell Guo Zhengsun and Gao Jia.

"It's nature."

Guo Zhengsun solemnly replied, and suddenly the conversation changed.

"General Cao, do you have any news?"

Yu Jue and Cao Youwan led their troops to Western Xia, but they have not been heard from so far. He, the pacification envoy of Lizhou West Road, is also worried.

Gao Jia also raised his head and stared at Cao Youwen.

"The Tatar army cut off the communication between Song and Xia, even if there is military information from Western Xia, I am afraid it will not be able to reach here. His Majesty asked Yu Jue and them to stay until the end of June, and then they will naturally see. As for Your Majesty......"

Cao Youwen was about to speak, when suddenly the "all-open" artillery warning sound sounded outside the lobby, and it was a series of cannons, obviously there were a large number of attackers, at least tens of thousands.

There was an instant silence in the lobby.

"If the old man's expectation is good, it is the Tatar army that has arrived."

Gao Jia stroked his beard and whispered.

"All generals, go to the city immediately!"

Cao Youwen perked up, stood up and strode out, and the generals followed one after another, and walked out of the lobby quickly.

The emperor is unpredictable and prescient, but he is really a god!

Since the Mongol army is here, let's actively respond to the battle.

Tens of thousands of Mongolian soldiers are coming to the city, and this will definitely be a vicious battle that will go down in history!

"Happy National Day to all people!"