"Prime Minister Boyan is a minister who can truly relieve His Majesty's worries."
On the outskirts of Luoyang, Dong Wenzhong heard a few young officials gathering together to discuss Boyan, and gave him this reminder with a stern face.
His son Dong Shifan dared to continue to speak up.
"Who is not? Uncle, can't you share your Majesty's worries? How many meritorious officials have worked tirelessly for Your Majesty in the Yuan Dynasty? Why is it that only Boyan can be directly promoted to the prime minister?"
Dong Wen A spring rain brought great inconvenience to the soldiers marching outside.
In a forest by the Han River, a small group of soldiers and horses had to set up tents to take shelter from the rain.
In the wet weather, they rarely moved more carefully to avoid getting the map wet.
"According to reliable information, Li Xia set out from Ezhou and returned along the Yangtze River instead of taking the Han River. He should be here now."
"This is where?"
A dirty finger traced a circle on the map. General Liu Guojie, who looked like a Jurchen and a Han, and dressed like a Mongolian, explained: "These are all lakes."
"What lake?"
"Yunmengze."
Several generals cursed a few times.
Yunmengze used to be a large swamp, but since the Tang Dynasty, it has become a lake dotted all over the place. It is impossible for locals not to know what each lake is called.
"Damn, this sticky ghost place is killing me!"
"How can I fight if I don't know where I am?"
"I know there is a Mianyang here."
"Li Xia captured Mianyang City?"
"No. He didn't attack any of the cities along the way, just the rivers, rivers, lakes, etc. Where can he attack with his little navy? He occupied Ezhou, which Jiangling attacked directly."
"That's it, Song is still suing for peace? Is it really suing for peace?"
"spit!"
Liu Guojie spat on the grass and tapped on the map with his dirty fingers.
"Damn, I have already thought about how to fight this battle for the Song Dynasty. Who knows what happened to this messed up situation."
What he said was not a lie.
On his map, Lu Wenhuan, Gao Da, Xia Gui, Ma Guangzu, Li Tingzhi...the distribution of the Song army's troops were all marked. With a few messy lines drawn, he thought Li Xia must be dead.
It's a pity that the Song Dynasty failed to live up to expectations.
"So, the Song Kingdom is not stupid. If their army moves to fight with Li Xia, we will definitely have to take back Guanlong and Sichuan."
"Not stupid?" Liu Guojie sneered, having nothing to say about this.
He had to admit that with Song's request for peace, many of Yuan's wishful thinking had come to nothing.
Of course, the Song people did not dare to continue fighting, but the Yuan Dynasty did.
Ali Hague, the general manager of ten thousand households, led his army to Xiangyang. There was no reason to retreat so easily. He could go south by pursuing Lu Wenhuan for the crime of sneak attack on the Yuan army.
It is not that the Mongolian army has never conquered places like Jinghu North Road before.
As early as thirty years ago, Wokuotai ordered Prince Kuo to attack the Jingxiang area of the Song Dynasty. The Mongolian army attacked nine counties all the way to Jiangling. However, they were all taken back by Meng Gong.
After that, Meng Gong proposed a three-layer barrier strategy and built a complete defense system, which made it difficult for the Mongolian army to achieve results in Jinghu.
But now, the "three-layered barrier" of the Song Dynasty suddenly broke down.
First of all, Li Xia rebelled, and Sichuan, Shu and Jinghu were officially separated and could no longer support each other. Secondly, Li Xia personally inflicted heavy damage on Song's Jinghu defense line. Lu Wende died, and Lu Wenhuan could only shrink in the short term.
; Furthermore, Li Xia seized the Lujiazhuang in Xisai Mountain, which angered Lu Wenhuan. Lu Wenhuan may not be willing to let the Yuan army go south to attack Li Xia.
It was on the orders of Ali Hague that Liu Guojie led a thousand-man probing Red Army to go south first to inquire about the military situation, while the army was preparing to go south.
"Let's go to Jiangling, hold Li Xia, and wait for the general to lead the army."
The big ship cut through the waves, and Li Xia in the cabin was also looking at the map and asked: "What is the situation on the battlefield of Jinghu Lake in Zhaosong now? Dao."
Shi Jun glanced at the information on the table and complained endlessly. Who made Zhao Song's Jinghu battlefield look like this, but he still wanted to ask what the situation was.
"Your Majesty, since we captured Ezhou, Lu Wenhuan has lost support in Xiangyang, and his communication with the Song Dynasty can only be achieved by land. In other words, Xiangyang has become an isolated city, and it is difficult to stop the Yuan army."
"So I have returned Ezhou to Song Ting."
This matter is said lightly, but there are too many reasons for Li Xia to return to Ezhou.
In short, since all the other cities on both sides of the Yangtze River had not been obtained, and the baggage line was extremely long, it was absolutely impossible for him to hold Ezhou; and Ezhou was too important to the Song Dynasty, and it was a must-have condition for peace talks. If the Song Dynasty had not
Without support from Xiangyang in Ezhou, the Yuan army could wander around the plains of Jingxiang at any time, posing a threat to Jiangling.
The problem now is that before Song Ting’s defense line has been restored, the Yuan army has arrived...
"Fortunately, we negotiated peace with the Song Dynasty in time. But it has only been a few days, and the Song Dynasty has not restored the communication between Ezhou and Xiangyang at all. It is not surprising that the Yuan army went south."
"The Yuan army has no navy." Li Xia muttered.
"I can't say there isn't, but there really aren't many." Shi Jun seemed to be recalling and said, "But we can't take it lightly. Back then, Wulianghetai had no navy, but they still defeated Zhang Shi."
Fang Yankai stepped forward, pointed to Jiangling on the map, and said: "If the Yuan army captures Jiangling City and Jiangling Pier from land, it will be difficult for our navy to attack Jiangling against the current."
"At least this boat full of loot can't be taken away."
"If Your Majesty allows the Yuan army to block the Yangtze River and prevent them from returning to Chongqing, it may not be without danger."
The two people's words to each other roughly outlined the current situation in Jiangling.
Li Xia walked to the window, looked at the rolling water of the Yangtze River, and said: "It's useless for you to be anxious, the boat can't go faster."
Shi Jun and Fang Yankai looked at each other, not expecting to receive such an answer.
But after thinking about it, they could only respond: "What your Majesty said is true."
Not long after, Fang Yankai retreated first, but Shi Jun did not leave.
Li Xia glanced at him and said, "Shi Qing, do you want to say something?"
"I...have something to report."
"The Battle of Gangneung?"
"It's not about Jiangling, it's about status. This forced the Zhao family to recognize His Majesty's imperial title, which can silence the mouths of everyone in the world. No one will openly accuse Your Majesty of being a traitor. But there are still some people who still have feelings in their hearts.
I think, I’m afraid it’s not up to Your Majesty. After all, the three hundred years of the Zhao family’s reign have been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people..."
Li Xia just listened to what Shi Jun was saying. At the end of the sentence, he asked, "What is Shi Qing's advice?"
"Zhao Chun is not a matter of the bloodline of Emperor Lizong of the Song Dynasty. Why doesn't Your Majesty take advantage of it?"
Li Xia pointed to the Yangtze River and said: "Ezhou has been conquered and credentials have been exchanged. Why is this little conspiracy necessary? Can it change the minds of those people?"
Shi Jun nodded, agreeing with this, but after a slight hesitation, he added: "But, it depends on who says it."
"Concubine Ning?" Li Xia waved his hand, smiled casually, and said, "No, if she comes forward and says something, it will only cause countless infamy. Shi Qing just pretends not to know about this matter."
Shi Jun was stunned for a moment, wondering if Li Xia was making a pun.
Just pretending not to know?
However, after all, Shi Jun was related to Li Yong and was Li Xia's superior officer, so he still dared to say some things.
"I dare you to ask your Majesty if there is any more loot in the cabin?"
Li Xia shook his head.
"His Majesty."
"It's not a trophy." Li Xia shook his head again and said, "Back off."
With a calm tone, Shi Jun, who was once a Shangguan, felt a little frightened, bowed, and retreated.
Shi Jun occasionally felt that the emperor was a bit unhuman.
In the cabin, only Li Xia was left alone.
After a while, there was a slight sigh.
Li Xia is a determined, self-disciplined person who seldom sighs, but recently he also feels that it is difficult to be an emperor.
It's much more difficult than being a fencing champion.
Of course, he never showed this kind of embarrassment in front of others, it was almost his own secret.
After the fleet learned that there were Yuan troops entering and exiting ahead, they changed their marching formation.
The eighth day of February, Xiangyang.
Only then did the detailed information after the peace negotiation reach Lu Wenhuan.
"The rebels... The Tang army has returned Ezhou and released the three generals. The imperial court ordered the generals to quickly restore the Han River defense line... Dao."
Lu Wenhuan breathed a sigh of relief and immediately began to mobilize his troops.
He was obviously well prepared, and immediately sent people to notify the defenders in Yicheng, Qianjiang, Jingmen and other places to change their defense strategy.
After a series of orders, a general came forward and asked in a low voice: "General, didn't you just let Ali Hague go south to Jiangling a few days ago? In this way, wouldn't the Yuan army be blocked inside? Knife."
"So? Isn't it good to block the Yuan army?"
"Can you just negotiate peace with the New Tang Dynasty, and start provoking a border conflict with the Yuan Dynasty?"
"Are you still afraid of provocation?" Lu Wenhuan sighed: "If Ali Hague can defeat Li Xia, it will be too late to seize Sichuan and Shu; if he cannot, he will ask for it."
In this way, he felt that the court's strategy was correct.
As soon as the peace was negotiated, the two powerful countries immediately started fighting. From now on, it will become more and more fierce as the princes in the court expected.
However, yes, yes, Lu Wenhuan still unconsciously felt a sense of powerlessness, as if he had lost all his energy.