When Li Xia sent out troops, he acted vigorously and resolutely. He did not discuss it in detail with Gao Changshou. He just made a rough plan and immediately led his troops south.
In the end, he only left one sentence: "Organize manpower as soon as possible and transport things to Qujing."
The day after the surprise attack on Momi Qianhu's residence, Gao Changshou arrived with more than 2,000 laborers and began to dismantle houses and carry materials to Weining to build the city...
"I don't know what you think." Gao Changshou said: "Do you really want to lead a surprise attack on Chengdu with such a small number of people?"
"Of course we can't defeat Chengdu with just one person like me." Li Xia said, "It's just a small force of rare soldiers to help Pu Zezhi."
"I don't think this Pu Zezhi can regain Chengdu."
"You don't even know him, so don't jump to conclusions."
Gao Changshou said: "Do you understand?"
"I have a staff member, I think he is a Mu Liao. His name is...Li Xiling."
When Li Xia mentioned this name, his tone was somewhat measured, and he said slowly: "Mr. Li once set up a tent for the envoy Wu Yuan in Jinghu, so he has a strategic vision.
After his analysis, Pu Zezhi's intention was very clear. After the surprise attack on Jianmen, he could stop the Mongolian army in Hanzhong from going south. Blockade Chengdu and form a closed-door attack on the Mongolian army in Chengdu."
Gao Changshou asked: "Do you believe Li Xiling's analysis?"
"Um."
"But you can't be sure when the Battle of Chengdu started."
"Zhu Xusun sent me an order to defend Luzhou at the end of March, indicating that he led his troops north to Jiange. Once the Song army blocks Jiange, they will immediately launch an offensive against Chengdu. I will go north from Lingguan Road, and the time should be just right."
Li Xia pointed at the map and said: "After Pu Zezhi laid down Jianmen, the Mongolian army must have guessed his intentions. Then, the Mongolian army must have taken precautions against the Song army and strengthened Chengdu's defense.
When I come out of Lingguan Road, I may be able to surprise the Mongolian army and change the situation of this battle."
"Too dangerous."
"Ashu is gone, and the country in Dali is empty. When I go to Dali, I face only puppet troops. In comparison, it is more dangerous to go to western Sichuan, where there are tens of thousands of well-prepared Mongolian troops. Moreover, the command system of the Song Dynasty is strict.
When I arrive in Luzhou, I will definitely lose my autonomy."
After saying this, Li Xia smiled bitterly and said: "You also know my temperament and I don't like to be sent by others. If I see a fighter plane and want to send troops from Luzhou, I may have to take action against the Luzhou defenders.
"
Gao Changshou let out a long sigh.
He hoped that Li Xia could stay in Weining, but he knew that it would be useless to say this. Instead, he would look like a little daughter-in-law.
Li Xia patted him on the shoulder and said, "I have thought more about this matter than you. It is not a decision made in a hot head. You don't have to persuade me."
"Even if I don't advise you, I'm still worried about how you will get through Dali to Lingguan Road. First of all, how will you deal with the food, grass and baggage?"
"Rob."
"The country of Dali was plundered by the Mongolian army. Where can there be food and grass..."
In the middle of his words, Gao Changshou was suddenly stunned and asked: "You don't want to rob the temple, do you?"
"I didn't grab it, I grabbed it first."
"You grabbed it first?" Gao Changshou murmured and shook his head, not knowing what to think.
…
Dali State worships Buddhism and is known as the "Miaoxiang State". Since the founding of the country, a large number of temples have been built.
Among the twenty-two emperors of the Duan clan in Dali, 11 of them became monks. Whether they really respected Buddhism or were forced by the powerful officials of the Gao clan, only they knew best.
As for the reasons for worshiping Buddhism, there are probably many reasons, such as being close to Tianzhu and Tubo, using Buddhism to alleviate the conflicts and power struggles among various ethnic groups within the territory, and to avoid the bloody killings between major families after the destruction of Nanzhao.
Kublai Khan also seemed to believe in Buddhism. Before he destroyed Dali, he had to pass through Tubo. When he was stationed in Liupan Mountain, he invited Phagpa, the leader of the Sakya Sect of Tibetan Buddhism, to meet him and received Phagpa's Hevajra initiation. At that time, his princess Cha
During the march, he also received the initiation;
When Dali was destroyed, he split a piece of silk into a flag and wrote a letter with the words "stop killing", saying that he was persuaded by Yao Shu, which may not have taken into account the influence of Buddhism;
After the destruction of Dali, he once stationed himself at Wuwei Temple and prohibited the war from burning into the temple. People at that time said that "the border city is robbed by fire, but the green flowers here".
Kublai Khan not only believed in Buddhism, he also believed in Taoism, and he also accepted the honorific title of Great Master of Confucianism.
In Li Xia's eyes, if a person believes in any religion, it is equivalent to believing in nothing. He is not a religious person, but a politician.
Of course, if it were Li Xia who could conquer Dali one day, he would not dare to openly despise Buddhism. This is the quality a politician should have.
The important thing is that in the Dali Kingdom under Mongolian rule, the temples are still as popular as before. There are no grain and grass supplies elsewhere in Dali Kingdom, but there are some in the temples.
Moreover, there are many temples. The so-called "three thousand halls of Jialan Palace and eight hundred Prajna Palaces" can all be used as supplies along the way.
…
On this day, after Gao Mingyue listened to the conversation between Li Xia and Gao Changshou, although she didn't say much, she couldn't help but have a look of worry in her eyes.
Li Xia saw it, and he knew that she was worried that the Buddha would be blamed.
With Li Xia's emotional intelligence, he wouldn't have said something like, "It was your cousin Gao Qiong who told me there was food in the temple." When the two were alone, he asked, "Are Mingyue worried?"
"Well, I'm very worried about you." Gao Mingyue responded in a low voice, reaching into Li Xia's arms and gently patted his amulet.
This was one of the rare active physical contacts between the two of them besides holding hands.
"You have always experienced dangers. Maybe it was the Buddha's blessing that kept you safe. But now you are so disrespectful. What if you are no longer blessed..."
Li Xia put his hand on hers and patted her gently, saying: "You don't have to worry, I respect Buddha in my heart."
"I don't want to be against you, I just... hope you are safe."
"I know." Li Xia said: "We are pretending to be Mongolian soldiers and going to the temple to grab food. Anyway, it is in our hands first so that the people of Dali will not resent us."
"Then...Buddha will still know."
"We only take food and grass and don't touch the statue of Buddha, even if it is borrowed."
Gao Mingyue was a little helpless and said: "Actually, I didn't believe in Buddhism that much before... I asked for this amulet because I was worried about you."
"Um."
Gao Mingyue turned and glanced at Li Xia, a little worried that he would be unhappy, and asked in a low voice: "Is it better that I don't ask too many questions? Will you bother me?"
"I won't bother you. In fact, several generals are questioning my decision. It's just that I'm too lazy to coax them."
"Um?"
"To penetrate Dali and go north to Lingguan Road, this matter is indeed too crazy, and it is inevitable to feel uneasy." Li Xia said: "In addition, I came out in a hurry this time, so I should explain to you clearly the reason why I did this.
plan."
Gao Mingyue couldn't help but smile, feeling a little satisfied because he only talked about coaxing her.
Then she thought that she was too ungrateful, and thought that she should recite Buddhist sutras more, and beg the Buddha to forgive Li Xia for borrowing some food...
Li Xia said it lightly, but in fact, several of his generals were indeed very opposed to his decision this time.
We could have returned to Qingfu safely, but we had to make a long detour through enemy territory. It was inevitable that we would not be willing to do so.
However, because Li Xia was always quite dignified and had small victories one after another, several generals were still honest and obedient even though they had different opinions.
However, thousands of miles away, Pu Zezhi's decision was truly "against all opinions" and was regarded as "arbitrary" by his subordinates.
This year's situation is that Niulin leads tens of thousands of Mongolian troops to attack Chongqing Prefecture.
But at this critical moment, Pu Zezhi decided not to defend Chongqing and gathered his troops to attack Jianmen Pass.
Almost everyone is opposed, thinking that Pu Zezhi is taking risks, ignoring the defense of Sichuan and Shu, and only focusing on his achievements.
Before the battle even started, Pu Zezhi knew that if he persisted in his own way, if he lost the battle, he would have to bear all the consequences and his career would be ruined.
But he still made a decision.
Let Niulin go to attack Chongqing. He wants to surprise Jianmen Pass and regain Chengdu. Let's see who is faster and more determined between him and Niulin.
It was safe to defend Sichuan and Shu, but step-by-step defense could not save the Song Dynasty.
We must break the common sense of the art of war to find a miracle. Then we must have the courage to face death and dare to do things that ordinary people dare not do. Only then can we have the possibility of breaking the situation...
One south and one north, Li Xia and Pu Zhezhi made similar choices. Maybe it was a coincidence, maybe they were both a little crazy...