The Mongolian official who was ordered to recruit Li Xia to surrender was named Wang Yun.
Wang Yun was thirty and six years old at that time. He came from a family of high-ranking officials in the Jin Kingdom, and he had a reputation for talent at a young age. At that time, Shi Tianze was leading troops to attack the Song Dynasty and passed by Weizhou. When he first saw Wang Yun, he treated him with great courtesy.
Later, Wang Yun studied under famous Confucian scholars from the north, such as Yao Shu, Hao Jing, and Wang Pan. Later, he was promoted to an official position by Zhang Yi, who participated in the politics of Yanjing Province. He was promoted by Prime Minister Ye Luzhu and taught Hanlin to compile and compose.
Editor of the Academy of National History.
From this experience, we can see that he is very popular.
Because of his good popularity, this time Wang Yun was implicated by Li Fen and Wang Wentong and dismissed from office. Fortunately, Shi Tianze defended him and allowed him to work under the curtain.
As a result, the Battle of Hancheng was defeated, the camp was attacked, the commander-in-chief He Bichi was beheaded, the morale of the army was turbulent, and there were heavy casualties... Shi Tianze was in a very bad situation.
It was at this time that Wang Yun stood up and said that he should send envoys to recruit Li Xia to surrender.
This suggestion seems ridiculous.
It is obviously impossible for Li Xia to be surrendered. On the other hand, Shi Tianze's eldest son Shi Gegang died in the hands of Li Xia. He has old and new grudges and is unwilling to surrender the enemy who killed his son and two nephews as ministers in the same court.
But Wang Yun had good reasons for thinking that he should send an envoy.
One, called surrender, is actually a truce, a truce in the name of surrender;
Second, spy on Li Xia's military situation to see if he is still along the Yellow River, whether he has led troops to support elsewhere, and what strength he still has;
Third, prepare for the worst. If all the troops and horses cannot attack the pass, peace talks may not be possible. There will be a huge difference between a good negotiation and a bad negotiation. Although it is helpless, we can still prepare early.
As for whether Li Xia is willing to talk?
Wang Yun could at least be sure that he would not kill the envoy.
As the saying goes, "When two countries are at war, the envoys will not be killed without killing them." As a person who wants to dominate the world, Li Xia must win over the Northerners. Now is the time to establish his reputation and prestige, and he will not do anything to damage his reputation.
As Wang Yun expected, Li Xia was willing to receive the envoy without having to embarrass him.
…
"King Li's style is truly stunning."
"I've heard your words, 'Every time a situation comes up, the final hammer is never easy'."
Wang Yun smiled bitterly and said in surprise: "Prince Li has actually heard of my humble work? He is very flattered."
"Yelu Youshang told me that he is a good friend of you. He also went on a mission like this back then, and now he is working under my tent."
After a few brief exchanges of greetings, Wang Yun felt Li Xia's confidence, which made him feel like his momentum was always being suppressed...
"Now Your Majesty has won the hearts of the Chinese people, and has won the support of the Mongolian kings. Judging from his qi and virtue, he can be called the ancestor of the Han Dynasty, the Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, and the likes of Wei Xiaowen. If the Ming Dynasty reigns, and if King Li surrenders, he will be king for eternity. From now on,
Isn't it beautiful to end the war and stop the army?"
After seeing Li, Li Xia ignored Wang Yun and let Han Qi'an speak instead.
The meaning is also very simple: Mongolia is not qualified to persuade them to surrender.
"After such a disastrous defeat, Zhongmou actually has the courage to speak nonsense? Why should he submit to you? Why should you be so shameless?"
Wang Yun had already prepared and responded: "Although we suffered a small defeat in the battle at Hancheng, victory or defeat is a common matter for military strategists, and victory or defeat can only be determined in the final battle. King Li may win once, twice, or even five times."
Times, ten times, but it only takes one defeat to be in danger of collapse. And with the vast territory of the Great Mongolia and the strength of the country, sooner or later, it will win..."
Han Qi'an interrupted Wang Yun's talk and said, "How about we wait until we can really win a small victory before we talk?"
Wang Yun smiled and said: "I'm afraid Mr. Han doesn't know that in Xingqing Prefecture and Yan'an Prefecture, the Mongolian Kingdom has already gathered heavy troops. If we wait for a small victory, I'm afraid you won't even have the chance to surrender."
"It's okay, we can wait. As long as Kublai Khan can sustain this war, we can fight slowly."
Wang Yun subconsciously raised his hand to twist the beard on his lips, a look of contemplation flashed in his eyes.
He realized that Li Xia had a purpose in meeting him.
In this conversation, neither party thought there was any possibility of surrender, but both were testing the waters.
"Mr. Han is overly worried. With the national strength of Mongolia, it is enough to occupy Chengdu and Chongqing. There is no doubt that it will be unable to survive."
"It's a pity that this 'Great Mongolia' doesn't seem to belong to Kublai Khan alone. The Mongols don't care about the loss of Hara and Lin, but you Han people in the north don't care about the loss of the capital?"
Wang Yun was shocked.
He was very popular, so he heard some rumors in the army, saying that Brother Alibaba had reoccupied Hara and Forest.
The Mongols were accustomed to living on grass and did not attach much importance to the city, but it was inevitable that people would worry about the outcome of the battle for the throne.
On the other hand, to stabilize the hearts of the Han people in the north, recapturing Sichuan and Shaanxi is faster and more effective than recapturing Haraholin.
Therefore, Yanjing issued an edict to continue attacking Sichuan and Shaanxi.
This matter is very subtle. It does not mean that one place between Harah and Lin and Sichuan and Shaanxi is definitely more important than the other, but it depends on the situation.
The current situation is that Shi Tianze has dragged Li Xia's main force in the Yellow River for a month. He believes that Hedan and Yang Dayuan will win a big victory soon. By then, Li Xia will be attacked from both sides, and Shi Tianze and Dong Wenbing can still enter Guanzhong from the east.
But Wang Yun didn't expect that Li Xia would even know such remote information, so he would definitely continue to resist...
Li Xia didn't know whether Brother Alibu had recaptured Hala and Lin.
He just thought that after dragging down the Mongolian army of nearly 200,000 for so long, Brother Alibu should take action, so he asked Han Qi'an to test it out.
The purpose of meeting Wang Yun was to test...
Wang Yun's surprise was only imperceptible for a moment. Soon, he smiled faintly and said: "Instead of worrying about nonsense, Mr. Han would be better off worrying about the war in Longxi, right?"
Han Qi'an also smiled faintly, not letting Wang Yun see the worry in his eyes.
He and Li Xia carefully analyzed the situation and believed that if this battle continues, even if it can be won, the money and food accumulated will be exhausted if the battle lasts for three months; if the battle lasts for half a year, they can only retreat to Hanzhong; if the battle lasts for a year, they can only retreat to Hanzhong;
Learn from Yu Jie and build a fortress to defend Shu... This is still the most ideal situation, winning continuously and no one defecting, but if there is a small defeat, it is uncertain.
Of course, Kublai Khan would never feel better. It took him a year and a half to fight Li Xia. No one knows how far Ali Bu brother can expand his power. Even if Li Xia is annihilated by then, will he be able to survive?
Better than Brother Ali?
This was something Li Xia couldn't estimate, but he had a word with Han Qi'an.
——"If I were Kublai Khan, even if I fight for one and a half years, three years and five years, until I have my last breath, I will first kill Li Xia, and then try to slow down my breath and slowly deal with Brother Ali."
This sentence made Han Qian very uneasy.
Li Xia knew himself and the direction of history, so he was convinced that Kublai Khan must destroy Li Xia first, but this was a judgment that should not have been made.
I don’t know what Kublai Khan would choose.
…
At this time, both parties in the tent were testing each other, and they were somewhat unsure of each other's thoughts.
But in terms of his attitude, Li Xia was much more determined than Wang Yun.
After seeing Wang Yun's surprise at that moment, he got what he wanted to test and drove Wang Yun out.
"It's useless to talk more. If you have the ability, just call in."
~~
Yanjing.
Kublai Khan has received the battle report of Shi Tianze's battle in Hancheng.
unexpected.
In terms of generals, military strength, and favorable weather and location, there is no possibility of defeat in this battle.
Shi Tianze has been fighting all his life, making steady progress. He can not only fight a safe and low-casualty battle like encircling and annihilating Li Fen, but he can also make a roundabout surprise attack in the battle of Ximutunaoer and win the battle in one fell swoop.
Even if 30,000 of the 100,000-strong army of the Seventeenth Prince were sent to Tongguan, there would still be 70,000 troops in Nanyang. All of them were of extraordinary fighting ability. They were led by famous generals and walked across the Yellow River on ice. How could they attack an enemy with less than 10,000 soldiers?
defeat?
It is said that the ice surface of the Yellow River collapsed.
How could Kublai Khan not be angry?
The way he was angry was very calm, he just sat there with his eyes slightly narrowed, a thoughtful and gloomy light shining through the slits.
His anger was not in a hurry because he could still control these ministers.
The punishment they deserve will not be less, but at the same time, he can also drive them to do their best for his great cause.
For a moment, Kublai Khan first thought about how to deal with the defeated general, then frowned and considered the situation.
The war has been going on for more than a month.
In the first month after Li Fen raised his flag to rebel, the Mongolian army had already besieged Li Fen in Jinan, establishing a victory.
I originally thought that Li Xia could be eliminated quickly, but now a group of trash can't even get into the pass.
Much slower than expected.
However, there is also Hedan, and Yang Dayuan's battle report has not been sent...
It's enough to get all the way into Guanzhong. Li Xia's defense line is full of barriers on the outside and empty on the inside.
Thinking of this, Kublai Khan already made up his mind.
All he needed was a good report. Once he had a good report, he could decide to continue attacking Li Xia.
…
Finally, on February 16, a horse galloped to Yanjing, and a battle report was hurriedly delivered to the palace.
"Great Khan, Longxi battle report has arrived!"
Kublai Khan was not in a hurry, and took the message with a serious expression. He opened it and looked at it. A light seemed to flash in his eyes, and his expression remained calm after that.
He turned back and looked at the map hanging on the wall, and saw that the territory of Great Mongolia was so huge...