Wu Gudai just sat down and drank a few sips of wine to warm himself up. After a while, he stood up again, opened the curtain and looked outside.
It was already November 16th, and there was still heavy snowfall on the ground in Hebei, which blocked his view of Zhending Mansion and made him feel even more anxious.
After waiting for a long time, a soldier came over and said: "Your Majesty, General Zhang is here."
"Then why don't you invite me over?! What are you asking?!"
Wu Gudai suddenly got angry and hit the timid Xue soldier with the wine bag in his hand, and at the same time, he stepped heavily on the ground with his boots.
Unexpectedly, the timid soldier Xue was also agile. As soon as he bent down, he pocketed the wine bag in his hand, said an apology with a smile, turned around and ran away.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Wu Gudai was so angry that he kicked the snow all over the ground. He stood in the wind and snow and looked around for a while, and finally saw Zhang Hongfan walking towards this side unhurriedly.
"How's it going? Is there any news?"
"Why is your Majesty standing in the snow? I will be ashamed to greet you like this." Zhang Hongfan smiled and saluted.
"I'm not greeting you, I'm waiting for news. Uh-huh, Han people just talk a lot of nonsense."
Wu Gudai cursed to himself, turned back to the tent, and kicked out all his concubines.
Wu Gudai is still very young, only twenty-three years old this year, but he has inherited his father's title and became the King of Hejian in the Yuan Dynasty.
Although his grandfather Kuolejian was the concubine of Genghis Khan, his mother was Hulan, who was famous for her beauty, so she was very popular with Genghis Khan.
Although Kuo Lejian did not make enough meritorious service in his short life, he still made his descendants have a higher status in the Golden Family besides the four direct descendants.
Wu Gudai has been with Kublai Khan since he was a child. He is said to be a cousin, but he is obviously much closer to Kublai Khan than the nephews born to Brother Meng and Ali Bu.
He and Zhang Hongfan have been playmates for a long time, and they talk to each other very familiarly without too much politeness.
"Hao Jing has been gone for four days. Can you convince Li Xia that there is no news about his return?"
"Not urgent."
Zhang Hongfan entered the tent and felt warm as spring. He took off the cloak and put it aside. He took out a small pot of wine from his arms, walked around the tent and started looking for a cup.
"Why are you not in a hurry?" Wu Gu looked very fierce, as if he wanted to beat Zhang Hongfan at any time, but he stood up, picked up two cups from the carpet, and wiped them with his cloak, "Don't
I found it, it’s here.”
"The king has been advised to live in Baozhou City. Why should he sleep here in the open?"
Zhang Hongfan did not forget to instill Sinology into the Mongols at this time.
This is something that the Zhang family and his son have been doing subconsciously. Since the death of Jin Dynasty, Zhang Rou has been committed to protecting northern literati. Zhang Hongfan has received the words and deeds of his father and has taken this as his own responsibility.
"I am a Mongolian and I have to live in a tent." Wu Gu led.
Zhang Hongfan's eyes dimmed for a moment, thinking that Wu Gudai had not been like this before, but since Zhenjin's death, even Kublai Khan no longer lived in a palace in Kaiping City, and Wu Gudai had more Mongolian habits.
He poured a glass of wine and said: "It's a trivial matter not to be able to live in a tent. If there is a war, it would be better to stay in the city."
"I have cavalry under my command." Wu Gu said, "Also, if we really want to start a war, can Hao Jing persuade Li Xia?"
"If it was really the cavalry's style of play, they shouldn't be stationed here for a confrontation. They should have gone around to the rear to sneak attack on Li Xia's baggage."
"Eh Xiute, can you answer the important question?! I'm giving you face, right?"
Wu Gudai reached out and lightly slapped Zhang Hongfan on the face.
This time the force was not heavy, it was more like a joke between friends, but it also showed the status gap between them.
Zhang Hongfanyun smiled softly, picked up the wine glass, took a sip, and said: "Your Majesty, there is no need to rush. The longer time passes, the better it will be for us."
"Can Hao Jing convince Li Xia? Is this war still going to be fought?" Wu Gudai looked more and more fierce, "If there is no peace negotiation, I will simply send troops to destroy him!"
"It's hard to say whether there will be peace talks or not. The important thing is to delay. We are waiting for Lu Wenhuan to attack Mengjindu."
"real?"
"Song Ting has agreed. After the sneak attack across Mengjin Ferry, Jia Sidao's army will enter Shu. At that time, Li Xia must decide whether to withdraw his troops."
Wu Gudai asked: "Then will he retreat?"
"I'm not quite sure yet."
"Why?"
Zhang Hongfan pondered: "As a person in power, you will often receive a lot of news, some are true, some are false, some are timely, and some are not timely. No one can completely predict the direction of the situation based on these messages."
"What's the meaning?"
"For example, Li Xia learned that Jia Sidao led an army to attack Shu. It was impossible for him to judge where Jia Sidao would attack. The situation might be serious and it would be a disaster for him to destroy the country. But it might not be serious. After all, Song Dynasty
The country is very weak, you and I both know this. So, what does it depend on whether Li Xia will withdraw his troops and return to Sichuan?"
This long section of Mongolian language was mixed with a few Chinese words, which even Wu Gudai could understand, but he was still confused.
"Depends on what?"
"It depends on... whether he can withstand the pressure." Zhang Hongfan said: "It is impossible to determine how the war will be in the south in the north. If he wants stability, he will retreat. It is not that he has no choice. Now it is up to him to make the choice.
How can I know for sure?"
"But didn't you analyze a lot and say that he has no food and grass, that he is surrounded by enemies on all sides, and will definitely retreat, so you sent Hao Jing to negotiate for peace."
"The meaning of analyzing these is that if we were to make the decision, we would definitely withdraw our troops."
Wu Gu led the way: "Of course he has to retreat! His rear has been beaten to pieces, so of course he has to retreat!"
This is something he is very sure of.
He imagined that he was in Li Xia's shoes and had heard so much news. How could he not be anxious? How could he not be worried? Then he would definitely have to go back.
"Yes, and His Majesty's conditions have given him a step down." Zhang Hongfan said: "Even if he does not retreat, he will send a heavy force to come back for reinforcements... Then, it will be our opportunity. Therefore, I advise
Your Majesty, there is no need to be anxious, the longer we delay, the better it will be for us."
Wu Gudai asked the question that concerned him most: "The Tang army won't attack us secretly, right?"
"We still can't relax now." Zhang Hongfan said: "Your Majesty, it would be better for you to garrison troops to protect the city."
"But I'm a cavalryman."
"After talking for so long, I just want to tell the king that this battle will be fought differently."
"Okay then." Wu Gudai finally agreed and said with some dissatisfaction: "I can see that you are here today to command me..."
~~
Kuolejian, Ugudai's grandfather, once received 6,000 households from Genghis Khan. This time, he recruited 10,000 people for reinforcements, 2,000 of whom were his cowards. He planned to bring all these cavalry into Baoli.
Zhoucheng.
As for Zheng Yunbiao and Di Bo, they led troops and were stationed in Shunping and Tang counties respectively, as horns.
Now there are two thousand prisoners in Baozhou City, as well as more than 10,000 soldiers and horses brought back by Zhang Hongqing from Hetao. These are mostly the defeated Han troops gathered after the defeat of Helan Mountain.
In addition, the Zhang family has always had its own private soldiers in Baozhou.
These private soldiers were nominally ten thousand, but Wu Gudai knew that they were far more than that.
More private soldiers of the Zhang family may take off their armor and work in the fields during normal times, but once called by someone with enough prestige, they can quickly put on their armor and go into battle.
Kublai Khan had obviously long wanted to reduce the military power of the Zhang family. He first asked Zhang Rou to resign and handed over the military power of the Zhang family to Zhang Honglue. After Li Fen's rebellion, he turned to Zhang Hongfan to take over.
Over the years, the Han troops in Baozhou were nominally under the command of Zhang Hongfan, but Zhang Hongfan was never there. Sometimes he was training Li Fen's soldiers and horses in Daming Mansion, and sometimes he was accompanying Kublai Khan.
If Zhang Hongfan had been leading veterans of the Zhang family during the Battle of Helan Mountain, the battle might have had a different outcome.
Maybe. In short, Kublai Khan was suspicious of Shihou, but it was far from as serious as the Song Dynasty. With Li Xia's Northern Expedition, Zhang Hongfan, who was loyal and capable, had regained more military power.
.
He could not actually command the 10,000 Mongolian cavalry led by Wu Gu, but all the Han troops on Shuntian Road, including Zheng Yunbiao and Di Pei, were under his command.
After planning to kill Zhang Hongdao and allowing the Yuan army to gain a small victory, he officially showed up and began to deploy defenses.
It was going well for the time being. He at least persuaded Wu Gu to return to the city, avoiding the risk of being attacked.
Many old members of the Zhang family were very dissatisfied with this.
These generals stood on the top of the city and looked at the cavalry entering the city. They all crossed their arms and looked ugly.
"Why did Jiulang invite these Mongols in?"
Zhang Hongfan said cheerfully: "We must take a long-term view. Now that your Majesty has appointed me as the marshal of the Mongolian and Han armies, I am no longer the chief official of a government. I must take a comprehensive consideration."
"Does Jiulang treat them all as his own soldiers? Can he command them?"
The speaker was Jia Wenbei, the left deputy marshal of Shuntian Road. When he spoke, he pointed to the Mongolian cavalry under the city with his chin.
Zhang Hongfan patted him on the shoulder and said sincerely: "Brother, trust me. I will restrain these soldiers and horses and will not cause trouble to Baozhou City."
Jia Wenbei's father, Jia Fu, had always been Zhang Rou's deputy, and the two families were also related by marriage. This closeness can be seen from their names: Zhang Hongfan was named Zhongchou, Zhang Honglue was named Zhongjie, and Jia Wenbei was named Zhongwu.
Therefore, Zhang Hongfan respected Jia Wenbei very much and treated him as a brother.
"I hope so." Jia Wenbei was also greatly favored by Kublai Khan, and after reminding Zhang Hongfan, he said no more.
Soldiers and horses entered the city, and everyone was busy. Finally, it was evening.
The city gate was closed, and Zhang Hongfan stood there alone, sighing silently.
"Brother Ninth." Zhang Hongqing, who had been busy all day, came over and said, "The arrangements have been made."
"The troops of the Great Yuan Dynasty are in too much chaos."
"Of course it's chaos. There are Mongols, Hans, and Semu people. There are a lot of hereditary families, and they don't belong to each other."
"So, it can't be suppressed without the Zong Wang in charge." Zhang Hongfan said: "I have my own helplessness."
Zhang Hongqing lowered his voice and said in Mongolian: "I heard that Jia Wenbei is causing trouble for you."
"No, I just asked a few more questions." Zhang Hongfan frowned and said, "But there is another matter."
"What?"
"I didn't find the Golden Talisman Tiger."
"I saw you deploying troops this afternoon."
"Not this one." Zhang Hongfan said: "This one was given by Your Majesty, but my father never gave me the one."
"Are you talking about my golden tiger talisman that shuns the sky and declares power to thousands of households?"
"no."
Zhang Hongfan pressed Zhang Hongqing's hand and did not let him take out the new talisman. Zhang Hongqing's talisman was already a new talisman that was used to divide military and civilian power after the Li Fen Rebellion. It did not even have the words "General Manager of Military and Civilian Affairs".
"I'm talking about my father's own one. Before he met Wokuotai, he had been using it to command the old Zhang family."
"Is there such a thing? Is it still useful?"
"Hard to say."
"Where is that?"
"I asked my second brother before I came here, and he said it was in the hands of Jia Wenbei." Zhang Hongfan whispered to himself: "But Jia Wenbei has always refused to give it to me, and he pretended to be confused with me..."