Chapter 206: The imperial chariot’s personal expedition.
At night, Quan Jiu asked: "Guan family, is there going to be a war?"
I saw that Quan Jiu was a little nervous, so I comforted her: "Don't worry, Jiu'er, I will handle it."
"Well, Jiu'er believes in the official family. By the way, the Queen Mother will visit Ningqian Palace this afternoon."
"Ah, why didn't you call me?"
"The Queen Mother saw that you were discussing things with Mr. Lu and Mr. Wen, so she didn't disturb you. The Queen Mother asked Jiu'er to tell the officials that if the soldiers come, they will be blocked, and if the water comes, the soil will cover them. There is nothing to be alarmed about in a war."
For more than half a year, I have been acting as the emperor of peace. Xie Daoqing was worried that I had never experienced a war and that I would behave improperly in panic, so he came here to cheer me up. In fact, Xie Daoqing was right, there is nothing to be afraid of in war. I am persistent. Due to the original history, they have forgotten that their own strength is the basis for defeating their opponents. As long as they have a strong soil and a broad base, they will naturally be able to deal with them with ease.
If there was a powerful Song Dynasty, no matter how history changed, it would be invincible.
I nodded and said with a smile: "The Queen Mother is right, there is nothing to be afraid of when the soldiers come to block you."
"Well," Quan Jiu saw my confident smile and relaxed and said, "Guanjia, this is a manuscript from the Royal Newspaper of the Song Dynasty. Guanjia, you asked Huang Yong and Liu Fu to send it for review. The officials will take a look first,"
I took the manuscript and asked: "Jiu'er, have you read it?"
"Well, Jiu'er has read it. Lord Huang Yong and Lord Liu Fu are worthy of coming from Taixue. Their writing style is smooth, focused, well-founded and well-organized. They are indeed great contemporary writers. But Jiu'er has a suggestion. I don't know what to say. It’s inappropriate to talk about it,”
I smiled hoarsely and said, "Jiu'er, why are you so polite all of a sudden? Is there anything we can't talk about between you and me?"
Quan Jiu smiled shyly: "Guan Jia, the name of this newspaper was approved by the officials. Jiu'er thought there was something wrong with it."
"Why,"
"Jiu'er once heard an official say that this newspaper expresses the affairs of our dynasty from a neutral perspective. If it is named after the Song Dynasty Royal Family, it will make people think that it only represents the opinions of the royal family. Will it make people feel that Some, some biased,"
"Well, Jiu'er, I have also considered your concerns, so my plan is to run two newspapers. One is the Song Dynasty Royal Newspaper. It represents what I mean, and it mainly covers government affairs and current affairs, such as , I want everyone in the world to know that I want to rejuvenate our country, oppose corruption, and make the people of the world have enough food and clothing. The purpose is to let officials and people everywhere know my thoughts at any time. At the same time, through the Royal News, I also want to It conveys confidence and hope to the people, while another newspaper comments on the government affairs as a private person. What this newspaper says is truly neutral speech. For example, the Jama lawsuit published in this issue of the Royal News is placed in This newspaper will be much better. I think the effect of this two-pronged approach will be greater,"
Quan Jiu said: "The official has a long-term vision. Jiu'er admires it. The official should read the draft first."
The content of the manuscript was written in accordance with my instructions that day. The first page is all about the government's anti-corruption policies, measures and determination, including the establishment of the Supervisory Office, Nanya and other supervisory agencies, as well as an introduction to the soon-to-be-released "Code of Conduct for Officials", etc. The other pages are about the Royal Bank of the Song Dynasty, the newly established Ministry of Commerce this year, the Ministry of Agriculture and Lin'an University, as well as the introduction of the Ministry of Education that is being prepared. Finally, there is an introduction to the recent hotly discussed topic among Lin'an people, Jia Jia The origin and progress of the lawsuit between the Ma family.
After reading it, I made two changes. First, at the end of the introduction to Lin'an University, I added a short advertisement. Lin'an University recruits all kinds of talents. Anyone with skills can go to the university to register. The selected candidates will be treated favorably. Second, At the end of Jia Ma's lawsuit, a sentence was added that the people of Lin'an were eagerly looking forward to the government's decision.
People in later generations will know that the media will subtly influence people's thinking, and the role of public opinion is considerable at all times. The Imperial Newspaper of the Song Dynasty is similar to the official government newspaper of later generations, and the other is equivalent to the evening news in various places.
"Jiu'er, you go to bed first. I'll think about Luzhou later."
I spread out the military map of Luzhou that I got from the Privy Council and looked at it carefully. To the east of Luzhou was Chaohu Lake, which was blocking it, which was not conducive to cavalry attacks. To the west of Anqing, although there were many mountains, they were where the official roads were. If the army was not a hundred thousand strong, it would be very convenient for thousands of cavalry to pass through.
Based on the premise that Kublai Khan would not invade the south on a large scale, I basically accepted Lu Xiufu's view that the Mongols' invasion of Luzhou might just be a random act. There were more than 20,000 border troops in Luzhou Prefecture, plus the people in the city. , there should be no problem in defending the city, and there are nearly 10,000 soldiers in Anqing Mansion plus the navy, so there should be no problem in defending the city.
If this is the case, then there is no need to dispatch the imperial army.
In the morning of the next day, Jia Sidao took the lead in announcing: "Your Majesty, the Privy Council and the Ministry of War have formulated a plan for the battle of Luzhou last night."
"Master, please speak,"
"First of all, in accordance with His Majesty's instructions, order the troops stationed in various places to assist the government and the people in clearing the country, and organize young and middle-aged men to go to the city to assist in the defense. Second, order Fan Sheng, the commander of Luzhou, to strictly guard Luzhou City, Anhua Town and Anfei Town, and not to send out troops at will. , Third, order the Imperial Guards in Beijing to be ready for expedition at any time, fourth, order Li Tingzhi’s troops from Yangzhou to send troops westward, and respond at any time, and fifth, order Anqing Prefecture to enter a state of emergency alert.”
"Okay, Master, dear friends, thank you for your hard work. Is there any latest news from Luzhou Prefecture?"
"Return to Your Majesty, not yet,"
"Well, the war in Luzhou will be discussed later, Li Beiyang,"
"I am here,"
"How is the naval reorganization going?"
"Back to Your Majesty, we are currently verifying the number of warships and naval personnel in various places. The areas under the jurisdiction of the Coastal Production Department have been verified, and the areas under the jurisdiction of the Coastal Production Department are currently being verified."
"Li Aiqing, judging from the current situation, the riverside is more important than the coast. I would like to appoint someone to inspect the river defense, and at the same time urge the various places along the river to speed up verification. Aiqing, who do you think is suitable?"
Li Beiyang thought for a while and said: "Your Majesty, I thought that the Minister of War and Navy, Wai Lang (in the Song Dynasty, Shangshu was equivalent to the minister of each ministry today, the Vice Minister was equivalent to the deputy minister, the Langzhong was equivalent to the director-general of each ministry, and Yuan Wailang was equivalent to Deputy Director-General Chen Yi is suitable. Chen Yi came from the Department of Construction along the Yangtze River and later served in the Department of Navy. He is very familiar with the situation of our Navy."
"Chen Yi, Fan Wenhuan, as the Minister of War, what do you think?"
"Your Majesty, what Mr. Li said is completely true, and I think it is feasible,"
"Okay, Xiaoqi, I'm sending a decree to order Chen Yi, a member of the Ministry of War, to serve as the patrol envoy along the river. He will conduct military defense inspections along the river and supervise the verification of matters along the river. He will be given two hundred thousand dollars for use."
Xiao Qi said: "Yes, the official family,"
After I made some arrangements for other departments, I received the second battle report from Luzhou.
The battle report was still written by Fan Sheng, the commander of Huainan West Road. It was verified that the Mongolian army had about 40,000 soldiers, including 10,000 Mongolian soldiers and 30,000 Jin-Han mixed soldiers. While Ashu failed to besiege Anhua, he made a sneak attack on Anhua.
Fei, the town of Anfei has been breached by the Mongolian army at present. The ministers and others have reduced the defense line and allowed the soldiers and civilians of Anhua to retreat to Luzhou. Relying on the city wall of Luzhou, they will be able to hold on.
"Anfei was lost," everyone was a little surprised and murmured privately.
I feel that the speed of loss is also a bit fast. After all, Anfei is an important military town outside Luzhou City, but I know that now is not the time to review the gains and losses: "What do the Privy Council and the Ministry of War think?"
Fan Wenhuan said: "Your Majesty, the Privy Council and the Ministry of War analyzed the situation after receiving the report yesterday. If Anfei Town is lost, there will be no danger to defend the Luzhou frontier. However, our army can defend Luzhou City and wait for reinforcements. Mongolia
First, they can encircle it and attack it; secondly, they can encircle it without attacking it, bypass Luzhou, and go straight to Anqing from the west. If the Mongols want to capture Luzhou by force, they will have to pay a considerable price. Therefore, I thought,
It is more likely that Ah Shu will adopt the second method, which means he will not attack forcefully,"
I nodded, feeling that what Fan Wenhuan said made sense: "So, does Fan Aiqing think our government should send the imperial army north to Luzhou?"
Fan Wenhuan said: "Your Majesty, the imperial army is already preparing. Whether to send troops or not depends entirely on your Majesty's decision."
"Master, what do you think?"
"Your Majesty, our Luzhou garrison currently has more than 20,000 people. If Ashu attacks by force, as long as Fan Sheng can hold out for a few days, Ashu will not be able to attack for a long time and will evacuate. If Ashu goes straight to Anqing, Anqing will have nearly 10,000 soldiers.
The frontier army and the navy can also fight. I think that whether to send troops or not is between two choices, and I would like to ask your majesty to make a decision."
Although Jia Sidao did not say it clearly, his meaning was obviously that it could be defended without sending troops.
At this time, Ma Tingluan suddenly came out and said: "Your Majesty, I think it is time to send troops."
"Oh, Ma Aiqing, tell me your reasons."
"Your Majesty, even if our border troops can defend the city, they are unable to protect the safety of the surrounding people. It takes time to strengthen the walls and clear the country. Therefore, I believe that we should send troops immediately to minimize the losses of the people."
To be fair, if A Shu did not want to capture the Huainan West Road, but just plundered it, then whether to send troops or not was indeed a matter of choice. Jia Sidao and Ma Tingluan had different starting points, but they both made sense.
When I got up today, I decided to send troops.
The reason is quite simple. Last time Xiangfan reported urgently, Xia Jiangang took away a group of forbidden troops. This time I will have someone take away another group. There are 100,000 forbidden troops who are not directly related to me stationed around the capital. I am also a little scared.
A butterfly effect came and Jia Sidao turned the Imperial Army against him out of desperation. I really don’t know how to deal with it.
As for the reason Ma Tingluan said, I really didn't expect it, which actually made me feel a little ashamed.
I pretended to be deep in thought and waited for a while before saying: "I remembered that when General Lu Wende reported the battle to Xiangfan last time, my master and ministers said that Mongolia is the biggest hidden danger to our country. It is better to believe that it is true than not to believe that it is not. When the imperial army is sent to Xiangfan
area, to assist the local defense. Looking back now, I feel that the words of my teachers and ministers are indeed the best advice, so I have decided to send troops to Luzhou."
Ma Tingluan immediately said: "Your Majesty is wise, this can save the people from fire and water, and it can also establish your Majesty's divine power."
I used Jia Sidao's own words to seal his mouth, and he could only reluctantly acquiesce.
"My dear friends, is there anyone who is willing to lead an army on an expedition?" I then asked.
The people in the hall looked at each other, but no one said a word.
I glanced at everyone with some sigh. When I was reading, I often saw the generals rushing to ask for troops to go out, but now they were all silent. I suddenly remembered that Zhao Gou, Emperor Gaozong of the Southern Song Dynasty, once asked Yue Fei: "What do you think?" When will the world be at peace?" Yue Fei replied: "If civil servants do not love money and military generals are not afraid of death, then the world will be at peace."
Are all my generals greedy for life and afraid of death?
It is undeniable that the Mongolian cavalry is indeed powerful, but the Southern Song Dynasty is not incapable of fighting. In the thirty years from 1235 to 1264, the Mongolian Khans Wokuotai, Meng Ge, and Kublai Khan respectively led their armies to attack the Southern Song Dynasty. The last time Kublai Khan took the initiative to retreat due to domestic troubles. The first two wars went through hundreds of battles. Although the Southern Song Dynasty army blindly defended passively, it did not allow the Mongols to take advantage of it.
In the past thirty years, although the territory of the Southern Song Dynasty was defended, its enterprising spirit was dispersed. This was the most fatal. So after the Battle of Xiangyang, although there were three heroes of the late Song Dynasty and other anti-Mongolian heroes, there were no more anti-Mongolian heroes. The odds are good.
I suddenly laughed, stood up and said: "I understand, none of you are willing to lead the army. Your idea is to let me lead the army myself."