In the blink of an eye, it was late October, and Li Xia was still in Xingzhou.
But the war was not progressing. On the contrary, there was so much news sent to Li Xia that he couldn't handle it.
"Your Majesty, Liu Yuanli's battle report has arrived. He has captured Luzhou."
"Let the messenger come and prepare some food for him."
"According to the decree..."
When Li Xia was reading Liu Yuanli's letter, the messenger from Shanxi was stuffing food into his mouth. He was obviously hungry after coming all the way. Finally, the soldier took a big sip of tea and quickly wiped his mouth.
, he stood up respectfully and waited for Li Xia to ask questions.
"I am full?"
"Go back to your majesty, you are full."
"Don't be nervous. Which way did you come here?"
"Ahhema is very unpopular in Shanxi. Over the years, he has continued to increase taxes on the people of Shanxi and robbed people of their fields, forcing many people to survive. Therefore, as soon as they heard that Master Wang had arrived, they all joined him one after another. Those in Shanxi
Even Shihou can’t suppress it..."
"There is another possibility." Li Xia took a few steps, summoned Zhang Hongdao to his side, lowered his voice and said: "Zhao and Song Dynasty went to war without declaring it, and attacked Kuimen."
"Signals must be verified clearly. This is a military rule."
"yes."
"Maybe Kublai Khan borrowed a little from them too?"
"Don't talk nonsense. I can't recognize your handsome face, Jun Shi. Come here and talk to the tower."
Just like playing chess, there are always exchanges, exchanges, and trade-offs on the chessboard. Sometimes you will inevitably lose something, and sometimes you have to sacrifice something.
"Your Majesty, Zhang Hongdao would like to see you."
Zhang Hongdao wanted to say something else, thought for a while, and finally just bowed his hands and said: "I accept the decree."
"I dare to ask..."
He wrote this letter for a long time. He looked at the map and thought about it while he was writing. He wrote it for two hours.
Li Xia said: "This is also the strategy I thought Kublai Khan would use. This is the Central Plains, and he should take advantage of the speed of the Mongolian cavalry to attack from the inside."
"All right."
"He began to be wary of the Han people and began to reject Han law. But in the end, he still had to use the Han people's strategy and even form an alliance with the Song Dynasty."
Zhang Hongdao thought about it again and said: "What your Majesty said is true. After passing through the Helan Mountains, Kublai Khan probably did not have the confidence to defeat our cavalry in a plain field battle. It is better to change to a more secure strategy."
"Go to Xiayangdu in person and hand the letter into the hands of Zhang Shun and Zhang Gui..."
"What do you mean? When Zhang Shuai captured Zhengzhou, he marched into Kaifeng. With his big ax, he chopped down three of the five chief officials in the city and even scared one of them crazy. It was agreed at that time that I would stay on guard for a few days until your Majesty sends you.
The governor has arrived..."
Zhang Hongdao rushed back from Baixing again, looking dusty again.
After Zhang Hongdao retreated, Li Xia looked at the map alone for a long time, and then thought of the worst outcome he had just mentioned.
"Why are you panicking? Even if we consider the worst and let the Song army occupy all of Sichuan, and wait until the Central Plains is pacified first, won't we still be able to destroy the Song Dynasty?"
"Do you know why Zhao and Song could only retreat to the Huaihe River every time they failed in their Northern Expedition? No matter how many previous victories they had, they could not keep it?"
Thinking about this, and thinking about it until the end, Li Xia picked up a pen and wrote a handwritten letter.
"It's possible." Zhang Hongdao stepped forward, pointed on the map, and said: "Now we don't have to worry about the sneak attack from Shanxi towards Ahema. We can transfer our troops back from the various towns in Taihang and go north to attack Baozhou. But what if
It is the Yuan army that is deceitful... Then Kublai Khan will probably send a cavalry back to the east of us to sneak attack our baggage, so Ahema's current retreat may be to confuse us."
This time, we must first capture this corner of the Central Plains, and perhaps give up this corner of Sichuan and Shu. This may be the fastest way to conquer the world.
"Yes, at the end of the day, I saw a family named Xu living in Zezhou. They came to us because they were really unhappy. They said that the salt tax in Shanxi has been increasing from 20 guan per central banknote in the past two years.
When it reaches fifty thousand dollars, it is said that the salt tax is shared by monks, Taoist priests, sergeants, and craftsmen, and private salt can be bought by the people according to the convenience of the people. In fact, it is all false. Even if they are not craftsmen, they have to buy the official salt of the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty, and rich households
As long as you pay bribes to the Ahema people, you can avoid corvee, and the extra corvee will be added to ordinary people..."
"Ke Chen's family is still in Chengdu, and many of these Northern Expedition soldiers also have family members, and their family businesses are all in Sichuan."
"Yes, it made them all anxious."
"I am from the north, so of course I want to take the Central Plains first..."
Wang Xun looked around and saw the tired Lu Xiufu riding his horse in front of the team, so he decided to catch up himself.
"allow……"
He has governed Chengdu for many years and has a very good understanding of the Sichuan-Sichuan defense line. Not only from Kuimen to Chengdu, but only from Kuimen to Chongqing, there are important towns such as Wanzhou, Zhongzhou, and Fuzhou. The Song army will attack against the current.
, is definitely not something that happens overnight.
Although Li Xia was calm, he was not actually ready to go to war with Meng Yuan and Zhao Song at the same time.
"Hmm." Li Xia clicked on the map, still pointing to the north, and said, "Now let's see how the Yuan army plays."
"Which one? We are like building a house, only these few beams are put up. Don't forget that Boyan is still in Kaifeng, Meng Yuan is all cavalry, and this is the Central Plains. Just remove one beam.
, they are about to rush forward and knock down this house. Also, how many people can we send back? If we transfer ten thousand, Song Ting can increase its troops by twenty thousand."
"Therefore, I must go east as soon as possible." Wang Xun's big mouth seemed to bite off Lu Xiufu's ear. He smiled mysteriously and said, "This is confidential military information. It is not convenient to tell Junshi."
Lu Xiufu pondered slightly and said: "Zhang Shuai is still confronting Boyan in Kaifeng."
After that, he sealed the envelope and asked Huo Xiaolian.
"Okay, now that we have deduced Kublai Khan's strategy, we should lead the army north to attack Baozhou as soon as possible. Remember, troops are valuable and speed is important."
"In my opinion, this is more likely."
"The Song Army is not the Mongolian Army. The Song Army occupied Sichuan and Shu to win the hearts and minds of the people. Don't panic. The more panic you have now, the easier it will be for you to make mistakes. Then Kublai Khan's strategy will be half of it. Calm down."
"But... Gao Changshou has already led his troops into Tibet. They are the last troops in Sichuan and Shu."
Lu Xiufu was talking to the general guarding the city gate. When he saw Wang Xun, he handed over the military talisman with both hands and said: "Wang Anfu, this is my order, please verify it."
"Your Majesty, Sichuan and Shu..."
"It's better to walk to Taihangxing."
Zhang Hongdao looked at the map and thought for a long time, then considered: "If we send a large army back..."
"Could it be a scam?"
"Don't be bold. What I want to do is to take Yanjing in one go, drive the Mongolian Yuan to the north of the Great Wall, and then turn around and destroy the Song Dynasty. No matter what the enemy does, our own steps cannot be messed up." Li Xia said, "I haven't discussed this matter with others yet.
However, the first thing I asked was your opinion."
"Then if the Northern Expedition is postponed..."
If we go back and recuperate for another fifteen years, we may have the strength to destroy both countries at the same time.
~~
Zhengzhou.
"I don't care about this." Wang Xun suddenly leaned into Lu Xiufu's ear and whispered: "You know, I have to go east. Time does not wait for me."
"Brother Muqiao, what do you mean?"
"Your Majesty thinks Ahema is feigning defeat?"
Zhang Hongdao's expression changed immediately, he was surprised and asked: "Mr. Zhao has such courage?"
"That's because he is anxious."
After asking tirelessly for a long time, he finally asked the messenger to go down and rest. After that, he looked at the map and thought about it alone for a while until someone came forward to pass the message.
Li Xia asked very carefully, because he always knew that Ahema was cunning, and he had to make sure that the war in Shanxi was not a feigned defeat by the Yuan army to lure the enemy.
Wang Xun grinned and chuckled, obviously a little annoyed with Lu Xiufu.
He hurriedly got off the city gate, rushed to the city gate and ordered the soldiers to open the door and lower the drawbridge.
Li Xia asked again: "Tell me how Liu Yuanli captured Luzhou?"
Lu Xiufu was actually very tired, but he still said: "I will take over Zhengzhou expediently..."
With great difficulty, he finally took Lu Xiufu to the tower and immediately started pointing and talking about the city.
At this moment, a soldier ran over and pulled Wang Xun away.
"Because of his cooperation with the Song Dynasty, Kublai Khan changed the original plan of the Mongolian cavalry to serve as a mediator and began to shrink his defense? He took all his troops back to this area, and then waited for us and the Song Dynasty to consume our national power?"
"Guo Hongjing has been appointed as the magistrate of Xingzhou, and the magistrate of Zhengzhou is still..."
"Where did Ahema retreat to?"
"Tell me something more specific. For example, Liu Yuanli didn't write it in the battle report, but you saw it with your own eyes."
After a while, a team of baggage was seen crossing the drawbridge and entering the city gate.
Zhang Hongdao took a few deep breaths and adjusted his emotions.
Wang Zhu stood on the top of the city and looked around for a while, and finally saw the dust and smoke coming from the west.
The only thing he felt about the chess pieces on the chessboard was that it would inevitably make him feel cruel if he thought about it carefully...
"Your Majesty, Ahema has withdrawn his troops and I have captured Mengmen Pass."
His eyes returned to the north of the map, and only then could Zhang Hongdao carefully consider Kublai Khan's strategy.
Zhang Hongdao still looked calm on the surface, but his mood had obviously been affected, and it was difficult to think about the Yuan army's strategy when looking at the map.
"He probably walked north along the western foothills of Taihang Mountain and retreated directly to Taiyuan, or took Puyinxing to support Baozhou."
"That's the granary, that's the arsenal. How much food, grass and weapons there are are recorded in these two books. Junshi, please keep them..."
He did not hide his impatience at all, waved his hand and said: "Check, check, check, quick."
"What's the matter?"
"Wang Fu." The two of them showed their tokens, but it was the spy from the Public Opinion Department who whispered: "This way."
"What?" Wang Xun was pulled aside, turned around and said, "That's Lu Junshi, Mr. Lu, and you can't even listen to him?"
"Confidential military information can only be shared with Wang Anping. Your Majesty ordered Wang Anping not to go east. If there is a temporary change, you must go south..."