When I was interviewing the Lin'an Military Region's organizational envoy that day, Yin Yinglei and I discussed this matter.
"Your Majesty, of course I remember,"
"Well, Your Majesty Yin Ai, I have expanded the Lin'an Military Region to four compartments this time. One of the purposes is to form a special advance team to advance directly from the sea to the north. Look at the map. From Shandong Landing on the peninsula and traversing its hinterland, it will turn things upside down in Shandong, Hebei, Shanxi and other places. At the same time, the Yangzhou and Luzhou military regions will wait for the opportunity to go north to support and hold back the Mongolian east route army, while the Mongolian middle route army is trapped in Xiangyang area, so I think there is a great chance that such a force will go deep behind enemy lines and leap thousands of miles into the Taihang Mountains, which will definitely speed up the process of the war. If the time is right, it can also directly attack the capital of Mongolia, Dadu."
Li Beiyang said: "Your Majesty, this plan is bold. Although there are certain risks, the probability of success is also very high."
"Yes, but I have never been able to determine the leader of this army."
Yin Ying Lei said: "Your Majesty, I am willing to lead the army."
I was waiting for Yin Yinglei to say this: "Okay, I love you, this matter is quite risky, so I need a resourceful, courageous and knowledgeable general to lead the army. I have looked at all the generals in our dynasty, and I have the only one." Your Majesty Yin Ai can take on this important task,"
Hearing my praise, Yin Yinglei felt very grateful: "Thank you, Your Majesty, I will do my best to live up to the emperor's grace."
"Your Majesty Yin Ai, in terms of martial arts, qualifications, and actual combat experience, you have no advantage over other generals of our dynasty, but there is one thing that I admire very much, and that is your ability to assess the situation and adapt to changes. After entering the north, this independent army The advancing team will not receive any support from our government, and the difficulty is much greater than that of other troops."
Yin Yinglei nodded and said firmly: "Your Majesty, don't worry."
"Your Majesty Yin Ai, regarding the northward crossing, I can only give you a vague task. The specific actions need to be decided by yourself. The most direct point is how to solve the problem of food and grass. Although the majority of Han people in the north have been Under the rule of Jin and Meng, many people have long been numb to their Han identity. I will not blame them for this. After all, the late emperor did not protect them well. After Kublai Khan ascended the throne, he took a series of measures The gentle policy has made the Han people have a stronger and stronger sense of belonging to them. Therefore, after you go, you must try your best to restore their long-lost Chinese heart. Only with their support can you be like a fish in water and gain a firm foothold to the maximum extent. "
"Your Majesty, I understand that when your Majesty mentioned things like food and grass supplies, I will imitate the grass bandits who occupy the mountains as kings and rob, of course only the Mongolians,"
I smiled knowingly and said: "Yes, Mr. Yin Ai, you are the one who understands the guerrilla war I am talking about most thoroughly. I believe that you will be able to complete this arduous task. After you return, you will secretly organize The advancing team, I plan to consist of one unit of the Lin'an Military Region plus two thousand Marines. The total number will be controlled at about fifteen thousand. In the early stage, we will strengthen mountain training, wilderness survival skills and individual combat. Ability, when the Xiangyang war enters a state of interweaving, I estimate that it will take at most one year, which is the day you send troops. As for after you arrive in the north, you can expand your army at will if you have the opportunity. Maybe you will join our main force. At that time, the advancing team was once again organized into a military region,"
"Your Majesty, I accept the decree,"
"As for the number of people in the advancing team, I have thought carefully about it. Few people are useless, but more people are inconvenient. Going deep behind enemy lines requires flexible strategies. Therefore, a team of more than 10,000 people may be the most suitable, or it may be more suitable. Duo, Yin Aiqing, you can also think about this carefully, but only you and Li Aiqing know about the advancing team, so we will keep it a secret for now."
"Yes, Your Majesty,"
In a blink of an eye, it was the end of the year again. Due to the war, I canceled the normal annual military meeting at the end of the year. Instead, I sent five imperial envoys to the five military regions including Sichuan and Guangnan to inspect and express condolences to the local garrison.
When the government affairs meeting for several days ended, it was already the last day of the third year of Xianchun, which was New Year's Eve in 1267. Because the expenses in the palace were reduced a lot, this year's New Year's Eve was relatively deserted. Xie Daoqing and Quan Jiu both expressed strong support for saving costs, so other concubines naturally had no objections.
Of course, there was still a normal New Year's Eve dinner. As in previous years, all the concubines and I gathered at Ningkun Palace, including Fang Ling, to attend the New Year's Eve dinner hosted by the Queen Mother Xie Daoqing and Zhangluo.
On the third day of the Lunar New Year, the South China Sea Fleet Commander Ruan Sicong, Jerry, Polo and others returned to Lin'an after more than half a year's voyage, adding a lot of joy to Xianchun's fourth year of the New Year.
In the afternoon of the same day, I summoned the main personnel who had returned from the voyage at the Yanhe Hall, including Jerry, more than 20 talents recruited by Polo, and more than a dozen businessmen from Venice and the area along the way. Accompanied by Grand Master Jia Sidao , President of the Government Affairs Council Wen Tianxiang and Navy Commander Li Beiyang, this lineup is large enough to show that I attach great importance to this voyage.
"See Your Majesty," Ruan Sicong, Jerry and others knelt down first.
"No formalities, stay on your own terms,"
"Thank you, Your Majesty,"
Immediately, under the leadership of Jerry Polo, a group of foreign friends knelt down in accordance with the rules of the Song Dynasty and said: "See His Majesty the Emperor of the Song Dynasty and wish the emperor a happy New Year." On the way to Lin'an, Jerry Polo Luo not only introduced the customs and customs of the Song Dynasty, but also told these Westerners the rules and etiquette for meeting the emperor.
"Everyone, please excuse me. Dear friends and friends who have come from afar, please take a seat."
There are dozens of seats placed in Jiying Hall, which is the first time in the history of Jiying Hall.
"Thank you, Your Majesty," everyone finished saluting and sat on the chairs one by one.
Ruan Sicong first narrated the process of this voyage and handed me the logbook: "Your Majesty, I have learned a lot from this long journey. I have recorded all the detailed experiences for your Majesty to read."
"Okay, I will read it slowly," I motioned to Xiao Qi and took four thick logbooks from Ruan Sicong.
Ruan Sicong continued: "Most of the world maps drawn by His Majesty have been verified, but there are many discrepancies in the names of the places marked by His Majesty on the map."
I smiled and said: "Haha, of course, the world is constantly changing. Lin'an University also has scholars and experts accompanying us this time. Let them make corrections based on the actual inspection results."
History changes frequently. Although there was only a short period of more than 700 years from the Song Dynasty to later generations, the development speed of these 700 years far exceeded that of the previous thousands of years. Especially the rise of Western Europe has changed the world. How huge.
It was during these hundreds of years that our great China began to decline, becoming insular and self-righteous. When the world was changing rapidly, our emperors still regarded themselves as the celestial dynasty, until foreigners used foreign guns and cannons to force open our country. At the gate of our country, only a few knowledgeable people were the first to wake up.
The experts from Lin'an University present responded: "Yes, Your Majesty, I obey your order,"
"Ruan Sicong, this voyage lasted for more than half a year. Although it only ended, it has set a precedent in our country, no, in the world's maritime history. On this voyage, you not only conducted overseas trade, but also spread the word It has demonstrated the advanced culture of our dynasty, and most importantly, it has demonstrated the value trend of our Chinese nation to brave hardships and conquer nature. I believe that your voyage will be recorded in the annals of human history and will be remembered for generations. He will surely be admired by future generations,"
Ruan Sicong and others were very excited when they heard that I spoke so highly of this voyage: "Your Majesty, I am willing to continue the voyage for Your Majesty,"
"Well, this is inevitable. I have said that the water area on the earth is far more than the land area. With the use of compasses and the development of navigation technology, voyages will become more and more frequent in the future. I plan to do it in the near future. Another voyage will be carried out within two years. The next voyage will consist of several ships and form a fleet for the voyage. Its scale, personnel, time, etc. will be far greater than this first one."
More than a hundred years later, Zheng He of the Ming Dynasty made seven voyages to the Western Seas, creating many masterpieces in the history of ancient Chinese navigation.
"Your Majesty, my subordinates are also interested in participating," Jerry Polo said.
"Of course," I said with a smile, "Wen Aiqing, please erect a stone monument at the departure point of the Shenzhou to commemorate this voyage."
"Yes, Your Majesty,"
"Mr. Jerry, please introduce these friends from the West to me,"
"Okay, Your Majesty, I would like to introduce you and your lords to these more than ten businessmen from Venice and other places. Your Majesty knows that our business in Venice is quite developed, and the goods I brought back this time won their favor. Their love was basically wiped out, so they all hoped to come to the east to negotiate business with our country. My subordinates selected these more than ten powerful businessmen to come to our country for inspection in advance," Jerry pointed to the right An older man said: "Your Majesty, this is Mr. Broscia, the vice president of our Venice Chamber of Commerce, and also the veteran of our Venice business community,"
"Mr. Brocia, welcome to the Song Dynasty. I hope you can find your favorite items here,"
"Thank you, His Majesty the Emperor,"
Later, Jerry introduced more than ten businessmen to me one by one.
I clapped my hands and said, "Welcome to our court. I hope your business will prosper."
Jerry pointed at the twenty people on the left and said: "Your Majesty, these twenty people are all kinds of talents recruited by your subordinates for the Emperor. The first one on the left is called Crete, and he is the chief engineer of the Venice Arsenal. He is very knowledgeable about machinery. The production has a lot of experience, and it took a lot of efforts for my subordinate to convince me. For this reason, I was delayed for three more days in Venice."