In the Battle of Hetao two years ago, Yuanmeng was defeated miserably by the Qin army. Not only did they lose nearly a million soldiers and civilians, but their backbones were also broken. Facing the Qin army, they began to grovel and gradually no longer stood up.
The trend of not getting up.
Since then, two major factions have emerged in the Yuan-Meng Empire, the doves and the hawks.
The dove faction advocates recuperation, restoration of strength, and peaceful coexistence with the Qin army.
The hawks advocate not forgetting the national humiliation and waiting for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to avenge the late emperor and wash away the shame after the strength is restored.
The doves and hawks of Yuanmeng look at each other, check and balance each other, and promote each other. Generally speaking, they are in a relatively balanced state.
However, after the signing of the "Treaty of Jinyang", Yuan and Meng were invaded by the Manchus. Although they used all their national power to repel the Manchus, they also emptied the remaining wealth.
Even after two years of repairs.
At this point, Yuanmeng was completely defeated. Even after two years of recuperation, the national strength has not recovered much, and it has barely reached one-half of the level before the Battle of Hetao.
In contrast, after two years of recuperation, the Qin army not only recovered from the trauma of the Battle of Hetao, but its strength also improved.
Kublai Khan, the prince of Yuan Meng, had witnessed the rapid development of Qin with his own eyes during the two years he had been a hostage in Qin, and told Longcheng everything he saw and heard in Qin in letters.
Of course, Qin Hao also knew about this, but he did not stop it. What he did was to use Kublai Khan's head to defeat the hawks in Yuanmeng who hated the Qin army.
As Qin Hao expected, the Yuanmeng court was horrified when they learned about it. After all, when Yuanmeng's national power was at its peak, it was no match for the Qin army. Now that the Qin army has become stronger, how can this possibly wash away the national humiliation?
ah?
The strength and power of the Qin army allowed the doves of Yuan and Meng to defeat the hawks and live in peace with Qin, which became the mainstream will of the Yuan and Meng courts.
The hawks headed by Maodun were mostly important ministers during Temujin's period. They were influenced by Temujin's thoughts and despised the Han people from the bottom of their hearts.
Therefore, although the hawks were defeated by the doves this time, they were not willing to accept defeat, so they all hunkered down and waited for the opportunity.
Finally, 500,000 Qin troops fought in Hebei, and 450,000 Southern Han troops divided into five groups to attack Qin. The hawks in Yuan Mengzhong saw the opportunity to defeat the Qin army and bring national humiliation.
Grassland, Dragon City, inside the main hall of Yuanmeng Palace.
"Your Majesty, the main force of the Qin army of 500,000 is now trapped in Hebei and cannot be transferred back in a short time. However, the 450,000 troops of the Southern Han Dynasty have attacked."
Mo Dun's eyes were full of excitement and he said excitedly: "Now is my great opportunity to raise my troops to the south to defeat the Qin army and wash away the national humiliation."
The Qin army started war with the Northern and Southern Han Dynasties at the same time, which not only made the Yuanmeng hawks intend to move, but even the various factions were a little ready to make moves. However, the people in the dove faction were frightened by the Qin army, not to mention that the Qin army was not in decline now, even if
They were really in danger, and they did not have the courage to show their swords to the Qin army.
Mao Dun's remarks of "harming the country" were naturally opposed by various factions, but Mao Dun didn't care about it. In his eyes, the opinions of these people were not important, as long as Emperor Yuan Tuo Lei supported him
That’s it.
Tuo Lei was extremely conflicted in his heart. As the Emperor of the Yuan Dynasty, of course he also wanted to defeat the Qin army and wash away the national humiliation of the defeat of Hetao, but in his current position, he had many issues to consider.
It is impossible for Tuo Lei to rashly step on Qin just because Qin is locked in a two-front war and the defeat has not yet appeared.
In this case, it would be good to win, but if we lose again, after Qin recovers its anger, Yuanmeng will really be destroyed.
In addition, what makes it most difficult for Tuo Lei to make up his mind is his son, Kublai Khan, whom he regards as Yuan Meng's hope and who is still a hostage in Luoyang.
If Yuan Meng breaks the contract, Kublai Khan will definitely be killed by the Qin army and sacrificed to the flag. However, he is Tuo Lei's only son and the next Emperor Yuan Meng, Tuo Lei will naturally be reluctant to part with him.
Therefore, before Kublai Khan returned home, Tuo Lei decided not to start the war against Qin lightly.
"What Brother Wang said is reasonable, and now is a great opportunity, but..."
Hearing Tuo Lei say this, Mao Dun immediately smiled, but Tuo Lei's 'but' immediately gave him some bad premonitions.
"After all, the Qin army has not been defeated, and its strength has not been reduced much. If the Northern Han Dynasty cannot hold it, but our army sends troops, wouldn't we completely offend the Qin army?"
As he spoke, a gleam flashed in Tuo Lei's eyes, and he smiled lightly and said: "It is not safe to send troops at this time. In my opinion, we might as well sit on the mountain and watch the tiger fight.
In this battle between the Qin Army and the Han Dynasty, if the Qin Army wins, we, Yuan Meng, will continue to lie dormant and accumulate strength. If the Qin Army loses, then we, Yuan Meng, will be able to attack again and wash away the national humiliation. This is the best of both worlds.
Policy."
"This, but..."
Mao Dun wanted to refute, but before he could say anything, all the civil and military officials in the court said in unison: "Your Majesty is wise."
Seeing this scene, Mao Dun also knew that he couldn't do anything at this time, so he could only calm down and wait for the opportunity.
Seeing this, Tuo Lei winked at Murong Ke below. Murong Ke immediately understood and stood up and said: "Your Majesty, in order to prevent the Qin army from using the prince as a hostage to threaten Dayuan after the war begins, the general proposed to immediately
Bring back Prince Kublai Khan."
Tuo Lei nodded with satisfaction and said with a smile: "What the general said is reasonable. In this case, Yelu Chucai, I will send you as envoy to Luoyang to state your interests to the Luoyang court.
Just say that I, the Empress of the Yuan Dynasty, is critically ill and asked Kublai Khan to return to the country to visit her and fulfill her filial piety. The Han Dynasty governs the country with benevolence and filial piety and should never refuse."
"No." Yelu Chucai responded.
Because the Qin army went to war with the two Han Dynasties at the same time, Yuan Meng was ready to take action. On one side, he actively prepared for the war, and on the other side, he sent envoys to take back the prince Kublai Khan. However, the final result was beyond the expectations of everyone in Yuan and Meng.
.
"Report...to report to Your Majesty that Qin general Li Jing defeated Wang Mang's coalition of six princes in Beihai."
"Report... Li Jing and Qingbei have wiped out more than 150,000 enemies. After the great victory, they have now sent out huge troops. Zhao is in danger."
"Oh, there are so many famous generals in Qin."
Tuo Lei sighed helplessly. He also wanted to attack Qin and wash away the country's humiliation, but Yuanmeng really couldn't stand the trouble. He really didn't dare to send troops until the Qin army was defeated.
However, in the face of the flanking attack by the two Han Dynasties, the Qin army not only did not fall into decline at all, but instead slaughtered all parties on the battlefield in Hebei. Seeing that the Northern Han Dynasty was about to be defeated, how could Tuo Lei dare to send troops to attack Qin?
"Report...your majesty, Lord Yelu has returned."
Hearing this, Tuo Lei suddenly showed joy: "Please come soon."