Li Xia and several subordinate officials took their seats.
He first looked at Han Qi'an for a while and said, "Speaking of which, Wang Wentong is to Li Fen what Mr. Yi Ning is to me."
Thinking about it this way, Kublai Khan's method of dealing with Wang Wentong was very powerful.
If it were Zhao Yun or Zhao Yu, it would be impossible to draw Han Qi'an to the center and betray Li Xia in the end.
When Han Qi'an thought about it, he felt that he was similar to Wang Wentong. First, he assisted his respective lords in their rebellion from the earliest days, and second, they were their lord's father-in-law.
But he still shook his head and said: "The difference is that my talents are far inferior to Wang Wentong. And Li Fen is not worthy to be compared with the prince."
Li Xia ignored this flattery and said: "Kublai Khan spent two years killing a person who was originally going to be killed. Not to mention, he also used him to lure Li Fen into rebellion and lure me out of Guanzhong.
"
"Not only that." Han Qi'an said: "It was also used to quell the dissatisfaction of the Mongolians who opposed Han law and beat the Han officials... Wang Wentong's head can be said to have been used to the extreme by Kublai Khan."
"If you say less, you can still use it to intimidate Li Fen."
"The prince has been paying more and more attention to this matter recently. Has he decided to send troops?"
"It's still in the planning stage, but we have this plan." Li Xia said: "Otherwise, once Li Fen is destroyed and Brother Ali is still hiding in Jilijisi, Kublai Khan will definitely attack Guanzhong. Instead of being passive when the time comes, it is better to
Take initiative now."
"I hope Li Fen can last long enough."
"It's unreliable to place your hopes on others, so be prepared for the worst." Li Xia said, "After I have handed over the government affairs properly in the past few days, I will set off for Chang'an."
Although Han Qi'an didn't want Li Xia to be so busy all the time, he could only listen carefully to his arrangements for government affairs...
Yanjing.
As Yao Shu walked through the palace city, the death of Wang Wentong came to mind again.
After this incident, he had a secret conversation with Liu Bingzhong, and they both believed that this was an adjustment made by His Majesty to the balance between Mongolia and Han after defeating Ali Buge.
This means that Kublai Khan no longer intends to completely trust Han Chen.
There are checks and balances between the monarch and his ministers.
In the past, the Han people played a greater role and relied more heavily on them; now they have to give an explanation to the Mongolian nobles, kill Wang Wentong and sacrifice the flag... The evidence is indeed conclusive.
Wang Wen had always wanted to kill him from the beginning, so in the past two years, he had been entrusted with the most offensive things.
Yao Shu and Liu Bingzhong would not complain like children, but in the end, the two had a very tacit dialogue.
"Your Majesty feels that we are pushing too hard..."
"Don't be resentful, don't bring trouble to King Yan."
King Yan refers to Kublai Khan's eldest son Zhenjin, who carries the deep expectations of Han officials.
As long as he is here, the Han officials can fully withstand this pressure.
The death of a mean-spirited Wang Wentong is far from enough to make them alienated.
On the contrary, Wang Wentong's betrayal will make the uninformed Han officials feel ashamed and dare not say anything more about Kublai Khan's continued use of the Mongols.
Kublai Khan was completely in control of this psychological game...
In today's duel, Yao Shu also had to show some strength.
"I think that Li Fen has three strategies, and Li Xia also has three strategies."
"explain."
"As far as Li Fen is concerned, the best strategy is to use ships and cavalry in parallel to attack Yanjing; truly surrender to the Song Dynasty, move the defense line southward, and connect it with the Song Dynasty, and wait for His Majesty and Ali Buge to start another war.
This is the middle strategy; attacking Jinan, creating momentum, and waiting for the response of various princes, this is the worst strategy."
Kublai Khan asked in Mongolian: "How will he choose?"
Yao Shu asserted: "There must be some strategy."
"Why?"
"Li Fenzhi is a man of great talent and talent. He despises the Song monarchs and ministers for being ignorant and incompetent, and will not sincerely surrender to the Song Dynasty. This is because he has great ambitions. After Wang Wen's death, he will not dare to take Yanjing again. This is because he is lacking in talent."
He may pretend to surrender to the Song Dynasty, but he will not incorporate the areas under his rule into the Song Dynasty, thinking that it is a solid defense. According to his will, he will attack Jinan in order to show his power to the princes. But in fact, if he is crowned like a monkey, he will definitely
I will capture you."
Kublai Khan nodded repeatedly, already thinking about how to put an end to Li Fen's rebellion.
"What about Li Xia?"
"As far as Li Xia is concerned, it is the best strategy to strengthen the walls and clear the country, hold the troops stationary, and defend the four fortresses in Guanzhong, waiting for Alibu Ge to come back. This is the best strategy; sending troops to Heluo to contain Shi Tianze and save Li Fen from being destroyed is the middle strategy; attacking Shanxi,
It is the next best thing to seek a decisive battle with Liu's entire army."
"Why do you call it the lowest policy?"
"Liu Zheng is good at water warfare, Yang Dayuan is good at guarding mountain cities, and Li Xiaruo dares to go out of Shanxi and use his shortcomings to attack the other's strong points. Guanzhong is better than Heluo, located on the upper reaches of the Yellow River, and Hetao is better than Guanzhong, located on the upper reaches of the Yellow River, and can support Shanxi at any time...
…”
Kublai Khan didn't react much after hearing this.
Yao Shu's views are similar to his...
The strategic goal this time is very simple, to solve the troubles in the Central Plains before Ali Buge comes back.
Li Fen must be destroyed.
To deal with Li Xia, two groups of troops have been arranged. If Li Xia sends troops, he can be wiped out in one fell swoop. But if he sticks to Guanzhong, he will have to wait for the Han army in the Central Plains to destroy Li Fen first and then turn around to attack Zhongzhong.
It's time to march north again.
Therefore, it is said that Li Xia's best policy is not to send troops...
February 20, Lin'an.
In the Privy Council, Jia Sidao looked at the surrender letter in front of him and let out a long sigh.
Li Fen said it nicely, and he was coming to proclaim his vassal status to the Song Dynasty again.
But before he openly rebelled against Mongolia, he never sent anyone to contact Lin'an.
It wasn't until Wang Wentong died that he hurriedly contacted him, saying that he wanted to offer up Lianzhou and Haizhou, which he had taken away before, and ask the Song Dynasty to send troops.
However, according to the information gathered by Jia Sidao's agents, Li Fen clearly did not move his troops southward and relied on the Song Dynasty's troops. Instead, he sent troops to Jinan.
Jia Sidao understood what Li Fen was thinking.
On the one hand, they used the name of the Song Dynasty to bluff and intimidate the princes of Mongolia; on the other hand, attacking Jinan also intimidated the princes of all walks of life.
Li Fen just wants others to obey him.
"More than forty years have passed and we are still so arrogant and stupid!"
Jia Sidao couldn't help but think of the time when he was a classmate with Li Fen when he was a child.
At that time, his father Jia She was in charge of the situation in Huaihai and established the Red Coat Army as the Loyal and Righteous Army. Li Quan and others were all used by him, so the children who followed the army also gathered in the same school.
At that time, Li Fen wanted to convince others all day long, and he was so stupid...
"I'll help you this time."
Jia Sidao murmured something and picked up his pen to draft a memorial.
Should we send troops or not? It is too hasty right now. How can we make it in time in the short term?
At least, let's use Song Ting's name to give Li Fen a little more power before talking about it.
"What?"
"The Song Dynasty granted Li Fen the title of Envoy of Baoxin Ningwu Army, supervising the army and horses on the routes from Jingdong to Hebei, and became the King of Qi."
"ha?"
Zhang Hongfan smiled and got on his horse.
It was already mid-March and he finally got a chance to recover.
Kublai Khan ordered him to lead 2,000 people to Yanjing for personal review.
But in the first month of Li Fen's open rebellion, all he did was invite a reward from the Song court and occupy Jinan.
Zhang Hongfan doesn't quite understand what Li Fen's purpose is for doing this?
If it was to intimidate a prince like him, then obviously, he was not intimidated...
"Come to think of it, Li Xia is twenty-two years old this year, right? He was crowned king last year. He was born in prison. He was crowned king for his military exploits at a young age. I respect him as a king because of his ability. But Zhao Song has something worthy of awe. Where?"
"Back then, Li Quan asked Zhao Song to confer him the title of King of Qi. More than thirty years have passed, and Li Quan's son has really not made any progress at all."
"Hahaha, as long as I can remember, I have heard people say that Shandong Li Fen had rebellious intentions. He was supposed to be such a heroic figure, but he relied on such a falsehood to achieve success."
"..."
Those who were talking astride the horse were young members of the Zhang family who were friends with Zhang Hongfan.
They led the troops from Baozhou to Yanjing in a quick but calm manner. They talked like this, making Li Fen's rebellion look like a joke.
Occasionally when avoiding the crowd, Zhang Hongfan would have a hint of worry in his eyes, which was a kind of uneasiness that "accompanying a king is like accompanying a tiger".
At the same time, Kaifeng.
"Report! Marshal Du, good news for Shandong!"
Shi Tianze received the battle report and saw that Shi Ji had defeated Li Fen's general Li Fan near Gaoyuan County, Shandong, so that Li Fen did not dare to send troops out of Jinan again.
As expected...
"Get ready to go to war."
Shi Tianze gave instructions to his trusted generals.
Afterwards, he murmured to himself: "After beating Li Fen, I still have to beat Li Xia. I'm afraid I'll be busy this year..."