Lu Xiufu said: "Your Majesty, the Military Affairs Council has just received this battle report and has not had time to discuss it. I think there are two possibilities. One is that the Mongols are testing our country's defense capabilities and resistance. After all, there are six sides between Song and Mongolia. , there has not been a formal war in seven years, and they are not very clear about the changes in our military strength; second, the Mongols are provoking conflicts between the Han people in the north and the south. At present, the number of Han soldiers in the Mongolian army has exceeded that of Mongolia People of our own clan, when Kublai Khan was about to move south in a big way, he naturally did not want to see any contact between the Han people on both sides."
"Well, that makes sense. My dear friends, what do you think?"
Fan Wenhuan, Secretary of the Ministry of War, said: "Your Majesty, the two points mentioned by Master Lu are very possible. In addition, I would like to add two more possibilities. That is, the Mongols are deliberately paralyzing our army and making everyone in our government feel contemptuous. I think they are just like that, and they are misleading us, making our army think that the Mongols will launch attacks from Sichuan, Xiangyang, and even the Jianghuai area, in order to distract our army's defense forces,"
"Yes, these are all possible. Lu Aiqing, please pass on my order and order Lu Wende to question the Mongolian side through the interrogation forum and lodge a strong protest against the Mongolian army's attack on our Fangzhou."
Lu Xiufu hesitated and said, "Your Majesty, is this useful?"
I said without thinking: "It's useless, Lu Aiqing, just execute it."
"Yes, Your Majesty,"
Protest, protest again, is the diplomatic rhetoric and technique of later generations. No matter whether it is useful or not, it will be protested seriously. Of course, since the dispute exists, it should naturally be used to deal with the hostility between Song and Mongolia. Judging from the relationship, Guanchang is the only channel for dialogue. Fangzhou is under the rule of Xiangyang. As the establishment envoy of Xiangyang Military Region, Lu Wende would not be able to justify it if he kept silent about this.
"Lu Aiqing, in accordance with the established policy, order all military regions to strengthen their vigilance without making any mistakes,"
"Yes, I obey your order,"
At the end of March, Xiaoqi reported to me the investigation status of Yanfu Temple.
"Yanfu Temple is a small temple. It was founded during the period of Xiaozong (the second emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty and the most outstanding emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty). It has remained unknown for nearly a hundred years. The contemporary abbot's common name is Wang Yonghe, and his Buddhist name is Yunze. This monk Yunze He is a local. His parents died when he was young. Due to neglect of discipline, he was prone to fights and mischievous behavior when he was young. He was missing for about three years. Ten years ago, Yunze was ordained as a monk at Yanfu Temple. , and gained the favor of the previous abbot. In the second year after Yunze became a monk, the old abbot died of serious illness. Before his death, he designated Yunze as his successor. After Yunze took office, the temple's incense did not improve, and Yunze He often went out alone. There were originally only twelve monks in Yanfu Temple. After Lian Zhen came here to hang out, the number of monks increased to thirty-four in more than a year. In the past year or two, it may be because of Lian Zhen's Perhaps it was because he was a member of the Fuji Temple that Yunze rarely went out. Judging from the reactions of surrounding villagers and local residents, it seems that Yunze rarely interacted with people since he became a monk."
I said: "On the surface, this Yunze has no bad deeds."
Xiao Qi nodded: "That's right,"
"Xiao Qi, what's going on with Lian these days?"
Xiao Qi said in shame: "The officials, Xiao Qi sent people to keep an eye on him. That Lianzhen went down the mountain once, but the people sent lost him."
"Really?" I frowned and said to Yuan Ji, "Sir, you once said that this person possesses martial arts. Do you know the depth of his martial arts?"
Yuan Ji said: "I can't be sure for the time being. The person Xiao Qi sent to follow him is a tracking expert in the Jinyi Guards. His body lightening skills should not be inferior to Yun Zhongfei's. Based on this, it can be inferred that Monk Lian Zhen's martial arts is very good." Probably still above Yun Zhongfei,"
"Yun Zhongfei is above, which means that Lian Zhen's martial arts may be higher than Wen Zhang's,"
"Well, Your Majesty, that masked man's martial arts skills were superior to Wen Zhang or Lan Yu. Your Majesty, would you like me to give it a try?"
"No, sir, there is no need to alert the snake. This Lian Zhen must not be simple. He may be a reclusive master, or maybe, forget it, we don't need to guess. Xiaoqi, just send someone to keep an eye on Yanfu Temple. For Lian Really, if you can keep an eye on me, keep an eye on me. It doesn't matter if you can't. It only takes more than half a month to go back and forth from Lin'an to Miao Village. We can discuss it after the confirmation of Tian Jingtou's people comes back. You should first check the case of Yunze's disappearance. What have you been doing in the past three years?"
"Yes, official family,"
Mongolia, in the study room of Kublai Khan's palace, Ah Shu and Boyan walked in respectfully.
"Your Majesty A'shu, your Majesty Boyan saw the Great Khan,"
"Fair body, no courtesy,"
"Thank you Khan,"
Kublai Khan got straight to the point: "You two, I asked you to come here today because I want to talk to you about the Southern Expedition."
Boyan said excitedly: "Khan, I have made up my mind,"
Kublai Khan nodded and said: "Based on the intelligence coming from the Southern Dynasties, I believe that the atmosphere in the Southern Dynasties is getting more and more wrong. The domestic economy is developing rapidly. The longer it goes, the more unfavorable it will be to our country. According to the emperor's estimate, "This winter, my military preparations for the southern expedition will be basically completed. Therefore, I intend to start the southern expedition in late September this year."
Ah Shu hesitated for a moment and said: "This September, Khan, is it too hasty? The naval construction plan of our dynasty will not be completed until three years."
Kublai Khan said: "This Khan has already considered this and told Liu Zheng that he must be asked to build a navy that can compete with the Southern Dynasties before the end of next year, even if it is only in the Han River."
Boyan asked: "Do we have to wait until next year?"
"No, just do it at the same time. The initial plan of this Khan is to divide the Southern Expedition into two stages. The first stage is to focus on the Battle of Xiangyang, trap Xiangyang to death, and eliminate the main force of the Song Army under Xiangyang City. This The stage is expected to last between three and four years; the second stage is a full-scale attack, advancing from Sichuan, Jianghuai, and Xiangyang, taking Lin'an first. Take a look at the map."
Kublai Khan pointed to the map on the wall and said: "This Khan will explain the southern expedition plan in detail. Please see if you have any additions or suggestions."
"Please give instructions from the Great Khan,"
"First of all, A Shu led the vanguard of the Central Route Army to march into the Xiangfan area of the Southern Dynasty in September this year. By August this year, the castle built by our Dynasty at the Lumen Shanqi site southeast of Xiangyang City will be completed. Therefore, our army's The first task is to establish the first stronghold in Lumen Mountain. By the middle of next year, the castle in Baihe City will be completed. The entire Central Route Army will be dispatched to establish a second stronghold in Baihe City and cut off Xiangyang City. The connection with the Handong region has formed a semi-encirclement of Xiangyang. By the end of next year, after the construction of Baizhang Mountain outside Xiangyang City is completed, Xiangyang's grain road can be cut off, making it impossible to connect the north and the south. After that, Xian Mountain in the south, Hutou Fortresses will also be built one after another in the mountains and other places, and the fortresses will be connected. All land transportation in Xiangyang City will be controlled by our army. As long as Liu Zheng's navy can contain the Southern Navy, our army can further shrink, press hard, and build new cities. To trap Xiangyang, build a fort on Wanshan Mountain, cut off the westward traffic of the Han River, and erect a fence on Guanzi Beach to block the eastward flow of the Han River. In this way, Xiangfan will become an isolated city."
Boyan couldn't help but nodded and praised: "The establishment of the market has created extremely favorable conditions for the siege of Xiangyang. I really don't know how the Southern Dynasty allowed Lu Wende to do such a thing. The Great Khan sent an envoy six years ago to The jade belt bribed Lu Wende, the envoy of Jinghu in the Southern Dynasty, to set up a market outside Xiangfan City. Later, in the name of preventing thieves and protecting goods, he built an earthen wall on Lumen Mountain outside Xiangfan. This move was indeed far-sighted and I admired it. ”
Ah Shu said with a smile: "Lu Wende is greedy. If our government successfully captures Xiangyang, Lu Wende will be the 'number one hero' of our government. Back then, if Lu Wende and others were not jealous and excluded Liu Zheng, our government would not be able to obtain Liu Zheng." The division general, the Great Khan, has no objections to the arrangement of this stage."
"Okay, what do you think the Southern Dynasty will do when Xiangyang becomes an isolated city?"
Ah Shu and Boyan said at the same time: "Of course we will send troops to rescue,"
"Yes, this Khan's strategy for Xiangyang is to besiege rather than attack, and Xiangyang is a battleground for military strategists. The Southern Dynasty will definitely send troops to rescue. At this time, our army can rely on the ring of castle walls to lure the enemy in. , forcing the Song army, which is not good at attacking, to attack our fortress. When the morale of the Southern Dynasty army is exhausted and the main force is wiped out, our army can take Fancheng first. Once Fancheng is defeated, Xiangyang can be easily captured," Kublai Khan said with great pride. , "With the bravery of our Mongolian soldiers, this battle will be won. Oh, by the way, one more thing. In two or three years, our dynasty's return artillery can be manufactured in large quantities, which will increase our dynasty's chances of winning."
"Yes, the Great Khan is wise,"
Kublai Khan continued: "After occupying Xiangfan, our army can enter the Yangtze River from the Han River, bypass the heavily defended Diaoyu City of Chongqing in the Southern Dynasty, and go eastward along the Yangtze River. This will soon approach Lin'an, the center of the Southern Dynasty. At the same time, the east The army of the Route Army attacked Jianghuai, and the army of the West Route attacked Sichuan. The Sichuan Military Region, Yangzhou Military Region, and Luzhou Military Region of the Southern Dynasties could only take care of themselves and were unable to divide their troops into Lin'an. Under Lin'an City, our army could go all out and use the attack power of the returning artillery to tear apart Lin'an City Gate wiped out the Southern Dynasty's Lin'an Military Region and the young emperor Zhao Hu's imperial army in one fell swoop. Once Lin'an was lost, the Southern Dynasty would definitely be panicked. Our army took advantage of the trend to attack Li Tingzhi and Xia Gui's Jianghuai Army from north to south, and then went all the way south to capture Fujian and Guangdong and Guangxi. , and finally sent his troops westward to destroy the Sichuan Military Region of the Southern Dynasty,"
Ah Shu said: "After our army captures Xiangfan, it is easy to conquer Lin'an. However, once Lin'an is captured, the Southern Dynasty will be exhausted and will no longer exist. Therefore, as long as our army captures Xiangyang, the war will actually be over." It has ended,"
"Yes, the key battle between Song and Meng was the Battle of Xiangyang," Kublai Khan acknowledged,