It's mid-February, and the weather in Yanjing has begun to get warmer.
After Namuhan returned in defeat, when he reported the incident in Baozhou to Kublai Khan, he downplayed his defeat.
"Zhang Hongdao was so despicable that he used some small tricks to rescue Zhang Rou. His son wanted to lead his troops to kill Zhang Hongdao directly, but Li Xia personally led his troops to meet him. His son knew at a glance that Li Xia had arranged it in advance
After clearing the ambush, he led his troops to withdraw. The Tang army pursued for a while and said it was a great victory, but the son was not fooled at all."
"What happened to the military casualties?"
"When his son arrived, Oruchi had already been severely defeated by Zhang Hongdao." Namuhan told the truth, but gently and skillfully placed the blame on Oruchi.
Kublai Khan knew the reasons for these defeats and did not ask any more questions.
His pea-like eyes glanced at Na Muhan coldly and said, "Tell us about Li Xia's ambush. He built many watchtowers and fortresses in Hebei, right?"
"Some were built by the Tang army, and some were rebuilt from the strongholds of the powerful Han people in the past. My son later tried to sneak attack his baggage twice, but he let them hide inside."
After hearing this, Kublai Khan said calmly: "You said you wanted to make a bet with me."
Namuhan was stunned, and then he remembered that he had indeed said this. He had asked Kublai Khan to let him lead 50,000 cavalry south, promising to defeat Li Xia.
But what I didn't expect was that I encountered such a setback.
Not only did he fail to make Kublai Khan trust the Mongolian cavalry again, he was afraid that he would also allow those Han officials who had been suspected to regain some important use.
as expected.
On this day, after Kublai Khan drove away Namuhan, he sat there and thought for a long time with a deep look on his face, and summoned the officials of the Jinlianchuan shogunate.
Some Han officials believed that Kublai Khan's attitude toward Han law was vacillating. They believed that Kublai Khan had also firmly insisted on implementing Han law, but he began to hesitate because of Li Fen's rebellion.
This kind of thinking is wrong. It is too shallow and fails to capture the mentality of Kublai Khan as a grassland hero.
There was no hesitation at all because of Li Fen's rebellion, it was just an excuse. In fact, there was no firmness in practicing Han law at all, it was just a promise.
Whether it is the Chinese method or the old Mongolian system, everything is just a tool to the hero. Use the tool if it is useful, and put it away if it is not useful.
But some people, as tools, have too many ideas and expectations, which makes them look ridiculous.
Some of the officials in the Jinlianchuan shogunate have realized this truth.
"Summoned by the Great Khan? With the fourth prince's defeat, it's time for us to make suggestions again."
In the hall, when Kublai Khan summoned him, someone muttered something like this.
Liu Bingzhong did not look back to see who said it, but he keenly noticed that the speaker said "Great Khan" instead of "Your Majesty".
The ministers walked all the way to Daning Palace and saw Kublai Khan sitting at the top waiting for him.
"Can I still trust you?" After saying this, the ministers were stunned.
Because what Kublai Khan spoke today was Chinese. Although it was very unfamiliar, it was true.
Liu Bingzhong raised his head in astonishment, looked at Kublai Khan for a long time, and suddenly his eyes turned red.
"Why did Your Majesty say this? I am extremely loyal and sincere to Your Majesty, and this can be learned from the sun."
Unfortunately, at this time, Kublai Khan could not understand again. It was not until the interpreter next to him translated it again that he said in Mongolian: "But now that there is a Han in the world who claims to be emperor, I will inevitably worry about you."
My mind has changed."
"Absolutely not, Your Majesty." Liu Bingzhong also said in Mongolian: "There has been a Han emperor Zhao in the world for a long time, and the traitor Li Fen also wanted to be the emperor. But we have never betrayed because of this. This goes against the rules of a monarch and his ministers.
The laws of heaven and earth are constant, and I will never act accordingly."
"I am loyal to Your Majesty and will never change my mind."
"Okay." Kublai Khan said, "Then I believe in you. I believe that 'a gentleman's words are hard to catch up with.'"
He used the last eight words again
Said in Chinese.
Perhaps he had already planned to get all the Han ministers to make a promise, so he had practiced it before.
And all the Han ministers are indeed gentlemen.
In short, now that he felt a little more at ease, Kublai Khan began to talk about the war.
It's been a while since he met with these veterans of the shogunate, and he had to arrange for someone to talk to them about the latest developments in the war.
"Now Li Xia's troops have continued to move northward, pushing towards Yanjing. The Great Khan ordered King Yixiang Ge to station his troops in Wusui City and fight with Li Xia in the Baigou area."
"War?" Liu Bingzhong asked, "No more peace talks?" "Li Xia is cunning and has no sincerity in negotiating peace."
"How was the fighting going?"
"The King of Shifting Brother can still block it now, but he is worried about the Tang army having more troops, transporting firearms to the battlefield and building more fortifications."
After listening for a while, the ministers probably understood that after all, Dayuan's troops had shrunk back and could still hold on, but the Mongolian army did not have the invincible confidence it had in the past.
Kublai Khan asked: "Tell me, what are your methods of defeating Li Xia?"
The ministers then began to express their opinions, until a timid general Xue rushed over and said to Kublai Khan: "Great Khan, the Song Dynasty has sent envoys to contact him."
~~It’s night.
Kublai Khan and Chabi were sitting in the sweat tent talking, and suddenly said: "Secretary Cong didn't give me any advice today."
"Did Khan doubt Secretary Cong?"
"His hometown is in Xingzhou, and his brothers and sons have surrendered to Li Xia." Kublai Khan said.
When he spoke, he was holding a very full cup of milk wine in his hand, which could spill if he shook his hand. However, he was able to hold it steady while thinking about something.
At this moment, someone outside the tent reported the news that Liu Bingzhong had come to see him.
Kublai Khan was a little surprised. After raising his eyebrows, he showed joy and allowed Liu Bingzhong to come in.
Chabi poured a glass of wine with her own hands and put it on the table to prepare. If Liu Bingzhong showed enough loyalty, she would give him the wine.
After a while, Liu Bingzhong came in, still wearing the shabby mysterious clothes. When he saw Kublai Khan, he said: "Your Majesty, I have not given you any advice today."
"Yes, Secretary Cong has been advising Ben Khan for almost thirty years. Recently, Ben Khan is not used to it."
Liu Bingzhong bowed and said: "Your Majesty, please trust me. I and Your Majesty are like husband and wife. If I were a Han woman, admiring His Majesty's pride and marrying Your Majesty, how could I fall in love with Li Xia because of his youth and good looks?"
Don’t fall in love?"
It was difficult to say such a metaphor in front of everyone during the day. But now it was said in private, and it was more convincing to Kublai Khan.
"So Secretary Cong is angry and doesn't give Benhan any advice?"
"No." Liu Bingzhong said, "I am suspicious. Some of the ministers have secretly communicated with Li Xia today. Therefore, I dare not say more."
"who?"
The milk wine in Kublai Khan's hand finally shook and spilled a little. Liu Bingzhong said: "I don't know yet, but I have a way to find him."
Chabi smiled and gave Liu Bingzhong the wine glass with good wine. When Liu Bingzhong thanked him, he wiped Kublai Khan's hands with a cloth.
"Secretary Cong, please tell me."
"Today the Song Dynasty sent an envoy to say that Kuizhou City has been captured. Then, those among the ministers who have infiltrated Li Xia will definitely send this news out. Your Majesty only needs to deliberately let Yanjing make a mistake in its defense.
Capture him." Kublai Khan nodded deeply, indicating that this would be the case.
Liu Bingzhong added: "I think the way to defeat Li Xia is also related to this, and it should be 'attacking the heart first'. Li Xia had considered negotiating peace before because the Song army had already invaded Sichuan and Shu. But now he has chosen
Continuing to attack Yanjing shows that he does not think the Song army is a sufficient threat. But now, his Sichuan and Shu soldiers can still fight for him, which shows that he must have concealed the news from his soldiers. Then, we should tell the Tang army
Spread this news to disrupt the morale of the military
Kublai Khan finally laughed.
because
He could almost confirm Liu Bingzhong's loyalty. Many things still depend on these smart people.
Like Brother Yixiang, clan members like Namuhan would not analyze it like this, they would just shout kill, kill, kill.
"I should have asked Secretary Cong earlier. If I had asked Secretary Cong earlier, Li Xia wouldn't be able to survive the New Year."
"It would be better later. Now that Li Xia's military morale is in chaos, he doesn't even have the chance to retreat calmly."
~~
There is a lot of traffic at the gate of Baozhou City, and pedestrians of all kinds come and go.
A group of people rode horses and rushed to the gate of Baozhou City. The leader reined in the horses and looked up at the city, with wonder in his bright eyes. "The scenery in the north is indeed very different."
"Yes, the land is really flat. Look, Mr. Yi, there are still many people wearing trousers."
"It's too late." Yi Shiying said with emotion: "We have reached this point. Yanjing is right in front of us. When we win, what can't we change back?"
First he drove his horse to see Li Xia.
As a result, they learned that Li Xia's barracks was in the north of the city, so Yi Shiying, who entered the city from the south gate, had to pass through the entire Baozhou City.
When he entered the big tent, Li Xia was holding a stack of information and marking something on a large map. When he turned around and saw Yi Shiying coming, he asked, "How is Zhang Jue? Did you defeat Boyan?"
"Bo Yan should not be underestimated. Your Majesty might as well take a look at this first." Yi Shiying took out a letter from his arms and said, "The matter is of great importance. The Public Opinion Department is worried that it will not be handled in time, so I will give it to you first."
"Lv Wenhuan's?"
Li Xia put down the pen and ink in his hand, took the letter from Yi Shiying's hand, glanced at it, shook his head, and casually put it on the candle to burn.
The content of the letter was also simple. Lu Wenhuan said that he did not want to be an enemy of the Tang army, but the government was urging him to do so, so he had to pretend to send troops to attack Mengjindu. In fact, it was just a pretense.
"Do you believe him?" Li Xia waved away the ashes in his hand. Yi Shiying said: "Believe it or not."
"sit."
"The situation on all sides is very delicate at the moment. Our army is heading straight towards Yanjing. Lu Wenhuan must be wary. He does not want to offend His Majesty, so this letter is credible. But what if the situation changes and our army believes him?
If we are not prepared, this feint may become a real attack at any time.”
"Yes." Li Xia said, "Do you know why I called you here?"
"Yenjing is the most critical." Yi Shiying said: "No matter how the situation elsewhere changes, as long as your Majesty captures Yanjing and drives the Mongols out of Yanshan, no one can stop your Majesty's unification."
"That's what I really think, but it's almost March and food and grass are running out."
"Your Majesty has made great progress since the Northern Expedition, but at this last moment there has been no progress."
"Because there are no princes who can look forward to the wind and surrender, because Kublai Khan narrowed the defense line to create this situation. You can't rush at this time. You must know that we swallowed Henan and Hebei in one gulp, and we didn't even have time to digest it, and we could easily choke to death. I
I see you are a little anxious."
"I am indeed eager to regain Yanyun."
"At this time, it is more important to stabilize your mentality." Li Xia said: "The situation is getting worse now. I need you to fight some tough battles and go to places with mountains.