In the meeting hall of the Mongolian Privy Council, Kublai Khan was standing in front of a large military map, studying it carefully. Surrounded by him were many senior Mongolian generals, including generals Shi Tianze, Zhang Hongfan, Boyan, Zhang Rou, Dong Wenbing, and Atta.
Hai, Hu La, Sun Qi and others were among them, while Liu Zheng, who was a little further away, stood alone, looking out of place. Hao Jingze, the civil servant and advisor to the emperor, and Zhongshu Provincial Counselor for Political Affairs Shang Ting, together with
Zhi Tengzhou Guo Kan and others were standing on the other side.
Suddenly, Kublai Khan raised his long stick in his hand, placed it heavily on "Luzhou" on the map, and said: "Everyone, I have decided to attack Luzhou Prefecture and Anqing Prefecture, where the Song Dynasty's Huainan West Road was governed."
Liu Zheng's heart skipped a beat and he thought to himself, "How could it be Luzhou Prefecture? Didn't the Great Khan agree with my proposal to use Xiangfan as a breakthrough point?"
In ancient times, there were many wetlands, water network rice fields, and virgin forests in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. The Xiangyang area had better passing conditions. Xiangyang was the main road, which was very suitable for stationing a large number of troops and was conducive to large-scale field battles of the Mongolian cavalry. If not
When attacking Xiangyang, we can only use a small force of a thousand people by walking through a small road. It cannot carry too much baggage and supplies, and it is easy to be separated and eliminated. Moreover, even the back route can easily be cut off by the Song Dynasty defenders who are familiar with the environment.
Only by occupying Xiangyang can we form a good material shipping point and control the main road sections. We can take the two Huaihe Rivers in the east and go straight to the south of the Yangtze River. If we go west, we can encircle Chengdu Prefecture with the Mongolian troops in western and southern Sichuan (Dali is already a Mongolian territory).
This is the so-called battleground for military strategists.
Liu Zheng believed that "without Xiang, there would be no Huai, and without Huai, Jiangnan would be easy to conquer." Although it cannot be said that Liu Zheng's view is absolutely correct, according to the course of history, Mongolia finally adopted Liu Zheng's suggestions and achieved the victory of Xiangyang.
victory in the war, and took this as an opportunity to level the entire Southern Song Dynasty.
Boyan was eager to give it a try and immediately said: "Great Khan, I am willing to lead the troops there to expand the territory for the Great Khan and test the actual combat capabilities of Qixue's new army."
Both those who were in favor and those who were against knew that Kublai Khan's strategy of killing Kublai Khan was very difficult to change, so they all expressed their willingness to lead troops on the expedition. Only Liu Zheng remained silent and stood alone.
aside.
"My dear friends, there is no need to argue. Marshal A Shu has already set off and will reach the front line in a day or two. Good news will come soon."
"The Great Khan is very clever. The so-called military is valuable and fast. The Great Khan has kept us all in the dark. I think the people of Song Dynasty have no idea about it either." Zhang Rou, a veteran general, praised.
Shi Tianze also said: "The Great Khan, the general of Luzhou in the Song Dynasty controlled Fan Sheng, and the commander Zhang Lin and others were brave and foolhardy, and they were self-righteous. Marshal A Shu was wise and brave, and he was unexpected, so he would definitely win."
Kublai Khan smiled and said: "Well, I have sent the order to Ashu to attack as planned. The Privy Council will follow up on the battle report at any time. My dear friends, the meeting is dismissed. Liu Zheng and Zhang Wenqian."
"I'm here."
"You stay."
"Yes." Liu Zheng was stunned for a moment and said.
Zhang Wenqian, in his fifties, had been classmates with Liu Bingzhong for several years. As an important minister of Kublai Khan's shogunate, he took up the post of Chief Minister of Agriculture at the beginning of the year, in charge of agriculture.
Kublai Khan waited for everyone to leave and said: "Liu Zheng, you must think it is wrong for me to attack Luzhou, right?"
Liu Zheng hurriedly knelt down and said, "I dare not, I'm so sweaty."
"Liu Aiqing, get up. I'm asking you, how long will it take you to build thousands of warships?"
"With adequate funding, it would take about two years."
"Two years? Okay, Liu Zheng, you will build a thousand medium and large warships for this Khan within two years. By then, including the original warships of our dynasty, including large and small, there will be nearly five thousand ships.
.At the same time, the training of our navy must be intensified, and it must reach the same combat strength as the navy of the south in two years. This Khan plans to launch a general offensive southward in two years. By then, we will advance both by water and land, and the breakthrough point will be you.
The chosen Xiangfan.”
"Great Khan Shengming, what about the Battle of Luzhou?"
"Liu Zheng, you don't need to worry about this. Our navy is still inferior to the people of Song Dynasty. You must hurry up. I have ordered the relevant departments to give full support and asked Zhang Wenqian to personally be responsible for allocating manpower, finance and material resources. If the navy's combat strength
If we can be on par with the Southern Dynasty, then our entire military strength will definitely be able to defeat the Song army."
Kublai Khan was proud but not arrogant. Regarding the comparison of military strength between Song and Mongolia, he was able to seek truth from facts and make up for his weaknesses. He was indeed an outstanding military strategist. Liu Zheng was greatly impressed. If the people in power in the Song Dynasty could have Kublai's
If Lie Dahan has half the mind and ability, he will not be reduced to the point where only half of the country is left.
"Don't worry, Great Khan. I will do my best to create an invincible navy for the Great Khan."
"Okay, Liu Aiqing, I look forward to this day coming soon."
Zhang Wenqian finally said: "Mr. Liu, Zhang will definitely help you."
Liu Zheng knew that Zhang Wenqian was a close official of Kublai Khan, so he did not dare to neglect him and hurriedly saluted and said: "Liu would like to thank Mr. Zhang here."
Jia Sidao's mind has calmed down a little recently. Hao Jing's departure does not seem to have caused too much trouble. Judging from the information obtained, the Mongolian court is calm. There is no news of Hao Jing's reinstatement, nor has an envoy been sent to question him.
Song Ting.
It seems that the letter brought by the monk who called himself Yang Lian Zhenjia that day should be authentic.
"Junhan, is Wulihan okay in the manor?"
"My lord, everything is fine."
"Well, remember not to let him escape."
"Don't worry, sir. Junhan understands the seriousness of this. I have arranged for an elder of the Wu family to personally take charge of the matter at the manor."
"Well, I can rest assured that Junhan is doing things. Many years have passed. Since I rescued your father twenty years ago, your Wu family has been following me. You have been loyal to me all these years, and I am grateful."
"My lord, I have followed my father's orders and it is natural for me to do things for you."
"It's a pity that your Wu family's status in the world is gradually fading."
"Sir, the world is dangerous. Although my reputation is no longer good, at least I, the children of the Wu family, are still alive and well all these years. It is also a blessing to you, sir."
"Oh, life is like a dream."
Wu Junhan was silent for a while. In order to respect his father's last wish, he had led the Wu family to guard Jia Sidao for more than ten years. However, Jia Sidao, who followed the command of Marshal Yu Gong back then, seemed to have changed too much, and he was now the Grand Master.
He doesn’t look like a person at all anymore. Back then, Wu Junhan was quite concerned about his father’s last wish.
In order to agree, Jia Sidao at that time still seemed to be an ideal and ambitious person, otherwise Yu Gong would not have recommended him as the Jinghu Zhizhi envoy before his death and regarded him as his successor. However, now
No matter how you look at it, Jia Sidao is a "traitor" who only knows power and enjoyment.
Is it all worth it?
"Prime Minister, Lord Liao, Lord Weng are here." Jia Xuan's voice after entering the room interrupted Wu Junhan's thoughts.
"Let them in, Junhan."
"grown ups."
"Junhan, from now on I will send Nawulihan a divorce letter regularly and I will have him sent to the north."
"Everyone understands."
"See the Grand Master."
"Well, you two, take a seat. Jia Xuan, serve the wine and food."
"Yingzhong, the commercial department is still very busy."
"Sir, it's much easier than before. With the staff in place, Yingzhong doesn't have to worry about everything anymore."
"Well, do your best. I estimate that sooner or later the post of Minister of Commerce will be yours."
Liao Yingzhong said in shock: "Sir, how can I say this? My subordinates' loyalty to you has never changed."
Jia Sidao smiled: "If we don't talk about this today, what do you think of Zhao Yu's provincial system?"
Weng Yinglong said: "Sir, isn't this obvious? Your Majesty took the opportunity to rearrange the duties of officials, but letting the Government Affairs Council take the lead on such an important matter is clearly weakening the authority of the Zhongshu Province."
"Yingzhong, what do you think?"
"Sir, Sir Weng is right. Judging from the series of measures His Majesty has taken, it is clear that His Majesty is purging dissidents."
Jia Sidao nodded slightly: "Well, once the emperor and his courtiers, Zhao Fu wanted to restore the situation to the situation during the period of Taizu Taizong."
Liao Yingzhong knew clearly that during the period of Taizu Taizong, the imperial power was dominant, and the rise of prime ministerial power started from the Zhenzong period. With the weakness of the subsequent emperors, the power of the prime minister became more and more powerful, and it lasted until the Lizong period.
Weng Yinglong and Liao Yingzhong looked at each other, then looked at Wu Junhan who was indifferent. They didn't know what Jia Sidao meant, so they had no choice but to remain silent.
"Compared to the late emperor, Zhao Fu is too powerful. In his arrogance, he seems to regard himself as the ancestor of the Tang Dynasty and Song Dynasty. Faced with such a situation, how should we deal with it?"
"Sir." Liao Yingzhong thought for a while before speaking, "I think that when the provincial system is implemented, we should win over more areas so that your disciples can stay in their posts as much as possible. In addition, we can take advantage of the shortage of manpower when the Government Affairs Council is busy implementing the provincial system.
, strive to let Chen Yizhong and others enter the Government Affairs Council."
Jia Sidao: "Although this method is feasible, can we only continue to be so passive?"