The setting sun is shining back, and I feel happy when I sit in the middle. Looking south at Lumen Mountain, I feel as if I have lost my return.
The horses' hooves once again set foot on the land north of the Han River. Ali Hague looked back and saw that another earth wall had been built on the city fortress on Lumen Mountain.
Just downstream of Lumen Mountain, the pontoon bridge rebuilt by the Yuan army is still there, forming a semi-encirclement of Xiangyang.
"Can't blame the Zhao and Song Dynasties."
Ali Hague suddenly said, raising his whip and pointing his finger at the same time, his tone seemed so lonely.
"The imperial court of Zhao and Song Dynasty has done everything they can to help us. We replaced Gao Da, negotiated a peace and became a vassal, forced Li Xia to rebel, and destroyed the three layers of barriers left by Meng Gong. But now, Lu Wenhuan is still stationed in Xiangyang, and Li Xia is arrogant
It's because we didn't seize the opportunity."
When the surrounding Yuan army generals heard this, their expressions showed unwillingness.
Unfortunately, no matter how unwilling they are, they can only head back.
It is hard to imagine that during the Genghis Khan era there would be a Mongolian army in such a sorry state, walking back from defeat in frustration.
The Mongolian army at that time was invincible, with powerful generals like clouds, Borhu, Muhuali, Borshu, Chi Laowen, Subutai, Zhelemi, Zhebie, Kublai, Tuo Lei, Batu...
...To this day, the Uighur Ali Hague, who was specially promoted, has not been able to win even such a simple battle.
The Mongolian iron hoof seemed to be dragged down by something heavy.
It took three days to get from Lumen Mountain to the outside of Luoyang City. Ali Hague immediately sent people to the Henan Economic Strategy Mansion.
"Let me ask, is Marshal Dong in Tongguan? Or has Tongguan already been captured and is attacking Chang'an? Who is in charge of the Jinglue Mansion now?"
When Shi Tianze was appointed as the economic envoy to Henan, he always established the economic affairs office in Kaifeng.
After Dong Wenbing took office, he spent most of his time in Luoyang.
Because the main responsibility of managing Henan has changed from restoring farming to attacking Li Xia. Over the past few years, the Yuan army has attacked Tongguan again and again, causing constant wars in the Central Plains.
Although Ali was defeated in Hague, he expected Dong Wenbing to take advantage of Li Xia's personal expedition to conquer Tongguan and even go straight to Chang'an.
However, the reply I got was, "Dashuai Dong is at Luopu Pier. Let the general go see him now."
"In Luoyang? Didn't you go to Tongguan?"
Ali Hague was a little surprised.
He rode all the way to the pier and strode there. From a distance, he saw Dong Wenbing talking to an old man at the pavilion.
As I walked closer, I could faintly hear their voices.
"Bish wine to the east wind, and let's be calm together. The willows are hanging in the purple road east of Luo City. We always join hands at that time and travel through the fragrant bushes..."
Ali Hague was stunned, and suddenly a ball of anger surged in his heart.
When did this happen, he led his troops into the Song Dynasty, fought bloody battles, and was almost besieged to death in Jiangling City.
But what was Dong Wenbing doing? Instead of attacking Tongguan and attacking Chang'an, he hid in Luoyang City and recited the poetry of the Song Dynasty.
"Dashuai Dong!" Ali Hague shouted, stepped forward, clasped his fists, and shouted: "I'm here to report the results of Jiangling's battle to Marshal Dong!"
His movements seemed respectful, but his voice was loud.
Dong Wenbing turned around and glanced at him lightly, sighing with regret, then turned to the old man beside him and said: "Mr. Dou, please."
The Henan economic envoy actually ignored Ali Hague and put the old man into the carriage himself. He followed behind on horseback. Then he called Ali Hague and rode together, asking about the battle of Jiangling.
Although, the battle report was sent a few days ago.
"You failed to kill Li Xia?"
"No."
Although Ali's official position in Hague was not as high as that of Dong Wenbing, he was bolder. After answering, he asked again: "Why didn't Marshal Dong attack Tongguan?"
"How did you know I didn't?" Dong Wenbing was displeased, with a stern expression on his face, "I shot Liu Yuanzhen with my own hands and almost shot him down under Tongguan City."
"Then why not continue to attack Tongguan? Li Xia hasn't even returned to Chang'an yet."
"Li Xia didn't return to Chang'an? The battle reports of defeating Lu Wende, defeating Jiangling, defeating Ezhou, and forcing the Song Dynasty to surrender were sent back one after another. The morale of the Tang army increased day by day. Tongguan has been a natural danger since ancient times, is it so easy to fight?
!”
Speaking of this matter, Dong Wenbing felt angry.
Due to the danger of Tongguan, it is difficult to conquer simply by attacking from east to west. Especially since this battle started in a hurry, most of Dayuan's troops are still in Mobei, the hometown of Xixia, Hetao and other places, and there are not many troops in the Central Plains.
Moreover, Shandong had not yet fully recovered from Li Shan's rebellion, so soldiers and horses could not be mobilized easily. The only thing Dong Wenbing could mobilize was the support army of Ali Hague.
Under this situation, he tried his best to reach a tacit understanding with Lu Wenhuan. Pushing Ali Hague's surprise army into the Song Dynasty to sneak attack Li Xia was the best way to win a big battle with a small amount.
Therefore, as soon as Ali crossed the Han River from The Hague, Dong Wenbing's soldiers had actually pinned their hopes on the battle of Jiangling, which was a small battle against a big one.
It's like betting in a casino that you can lose tens of millions of chips for one bet. Who has the thought to grow some food in the crop field and sell it for money?
The generals of the Yuan army are all waiting for the news of Li Xia's death to come back. Guanzhong is in chaos. Who is willing to fight to the death to capture Tongguan?
When the news came that Ali Hague had been defeated, Dong Wenbing was extremely disappointed. He knew very well that he could not capture Tongguan before Li Xia returned to Chang'an.
That's a piece of meat on the other side of the cliff. No matter how fragrant it is, if you can't eat it, you can't eat it.
It is a pity to lose this opportunity, but retreat is the most rational decision.
As a result, Ali Hague still had the nerve to ask him why he didn't continue to attack Tongguan?
Dong Wenbing raised his hand and pointed, and shouted: "Don't you know whose hands it failed?!"
"If I lose, I will apologize to Your Majesty!"
Although Ali Hague pleaded guilty, he was very unconvinced.
He only saw that Dong Wenbing did not try his best to seize the opportunity of Li Xia leaving Hanzhong. When the war was raging, he was still leisurely wandering around Luoyang and reciting Han poetry.
That's right, Dong Wenbing is a Han Chinese, and one of his brothers has taken refuge with Li Xia, so how can he do his best?
Returning to the lobby of the Imperial Palace, Dong Wenbing first went to settle the old man, and then continued to discuss the military situation with Ali Hague in the lobby.
He can be called "Brother Dong" because he has a very calm temperament. At this time, he has lost his anger and talks about the overall situation with a stable attitude.
"It is a pity that Li Xia was not eliminated in this battle. But from the perspective of Dayuan's overall strategy, it can be regarded as smooth."
"smoothly?!"
Ali Hague was furious, thinking that these Han people had read some books and were really shameless.
No results have been achieved at all, but it can still be said to be successful?
Dong Wenbing pointed to the two maps placed in the hall.
In one of the pictures, Li Xia's territory was not separated from the Song Kingdom. Although it looked far inferior to the Great Mongolia, it was not too small.
On another map, Li Xia's land of six routes was drawn out, and the Tang and Song states were divided into two parts, thus becoming two small states.
"Li Xia rebelled against the Song Dynasty and proclaimed himself emperor, and went to war with the Song Dynasty. Both sides suffered losses. This is what we all expected. The only thing we did not expect was that Li Xia would go east along the river in person. This opportunity came too suddenly and we did not seize it.
.”
With the words "That's it", Dong Wenbing quickly adjusted his mentality and clicked on the map.
"In the future, Dayuan will not need to station too many troops in Huaidong, Huaixi, and even Jinghu and other places in the Song Dynasty. On the other hand, in the Tang Dynasty, there will be more defense pressure from Hanzhong, Chongqing and other places..."
Ali Hague understood this, but still asked: "Even so, when Li Xia returns to Chang'an, how does Marshal Dong want to attack Guanzhong?"
Dong Wenbing sat back on the main seat and shook his head.
"not me."
"What?"
"I am not Li Xia's opponent." Dong Wenbing said, "Even Shi Tianze's command failed to cross the Yellow River. Without His Majesty's personal expedition, who can regain Guanzhong?"
"What does Dashuai Dong mean?"
Dong Wenbing stared at Ali Hague for a while with burning eyes, and said, "It shows that you still underestimate Li Xia. You missed the opportunity in the battle of Jiangling, but you expect that my commander can regain Guanzhong by attacking Tongguan? This is a battle to destroy the country.
Your Majesty, please be careful."
Ali Hague was stunned.
He had never regarded Li Xia as an emperor, so he was a little startled.
Dong Wenbing waved his hand and said: "We will only be able to strengthen our troops in these two years. We will go back and wait for His Majesty's orders."
Seeing Ali Hague, Dong Wenbing let out a long sigh and called for someone to ask: "Has Mr. Dou taken a nap?"
"Yes, Mr. Dou invites the commander to speak."
Dong Wenbing then changed his clothes and went to see Dou Mo again.
Dou Mo was a highly virtuous and respected scholar in the north of the world. He was appointed as a Hanlin scholar in the Yuan Dynasty. More importantly, he was the eldest son of the emperor and the current teacher of King Yan Zhenjin.
Zhenjin once studied with Yao Shu. Later, Yao Shu followed Kublai Khan in his southern expedition and ordered Dou Mo to take over the post of teacher, which he has done until now.
Dong Wenbing respected Dou Mo, and in fact, he respected King Yan Zhenjin even more.
Dou Mo just arrived in Luoyang today. He was old and was a little seasick on the way. After getting off the boat, he chatted with Dong Wenbing about Luoyang scenery in the pavilion. He went to Jinglue Mansion to take a rest and regain his energy before talking about it.
Business.
"Ali Hague really failed to annihilate Li Xia, right?"
"Yes, it's a pity that we missed it."
"It's a pity." Dou Mo shook his head and said: "There are no navy in Dayuan. Ali Hague wants to annihilate Li Xia in the Yangtze River. It's difficult. He should have been mobilized to attack Tongguan with all his strength at the beginning... That's all. It's useless to talk about it afterwards."
"Mr. Dou is here because of Li Xia's affairs?"
"It's true that it's true, and it's not true that it's not." Dou Mo stroked his long beard and glanced around.
Dong Wenbing understood and stepped back.
Dou Mo then said: "King Yan has left Dadu."
"Where have you gone?" Dong Wenbing asked in shock: "Your Majesty still hasn't made King Yan the crown prince? But ordered him to lead the expedition against Li Xia?"
Although in private many Han officials had called Zhenjin the "Prince Zhenjin", in fact, after Kublai Khan ascended the throne, he only consecrated Zhenjin as King of Yan and did not create a prince.
The establishment of a prince is simple to say, but it is the biggest reform of the old system of the Great Mongolia and a complete negation of the Kuriltai Assembly system.
The Golden Family would definitely not accept the idea that the title of Great Khan, or the throne, would be passed down in Kublai Khan's line, and would only be passed on to his son.
"The time is far from mature now, and it is absolutely impossible for Your Majesty to establish a crown prince." Dou Mo said, "King Yan has other important responsibilities before he leaves."
"Important responsibility?"
Dong Wenbing couldn't help but worry, thinking that it would be too dangerous for real gold to go south.
Perhaps the Mongol Khans and princes such as Wokuotai, Tuo Lei, and Meng Ge had the habit of going to the battlefield in person, but the real gold of being regarded as a prince was obviously different, and the Han officials all wanted to protect him.
Dou Mo waved his hand and asked Dong Wenbing to come over, and then he whispered: "The purpose of King Yan's departure from Beijing is to escort the imperial master back to Tubo."
"No!"
Dong Wenbing stood up suddenly, took two steps and sat down again, saying in a low voice: "Sichuan, Shu, Hexi and other places have been lost, and the entire territory of Tubo has been surrounded by the Tang Dynasty. How can the King of Yan take such a risk with his rich body?"
"There is news that Li Xia has sent Taoist priest Hao Xiuyang to Tubo to persuade King Bailan to submit. Therefore, the national teacher must be sent back..."