As soon as I finished speaking, I heard Han Jing say bluntly: "Your Majesty, ordinary people have not been good at studying since they were young, and they only know a little bit about the art of war." After hearing this, I was stunned for a moment, and then asked Hu Yande: "Hu Yande, what about you?"
Hu Yande said: "Your Majesty, the common people have been forced by their father to learn the art of war since they were young, so they have memorized it by heart and have not forgotten it to this day. However, because the common people have no chance to go to the battlefield, they can only talk about it on paper."
The answers of the two people were beyond my expectation. The seemingly reckless Hu Yande was proficient in the art of war, but the gentle-looking Han Jing was not good at reading. I sighed again, people cannot be judged by their appearance, and one thing applies to everyone.
"Hu Yande, Han Jing,"
"The grassroots are here,"
"Tomorrow afternoon you will report to the Military Academy. The specific duties will be determined after discussion between me and the Military Academy."
"Yes, Your Majesty,"
"Yue Fang, what do you need?"
Yue Fang said: "Your Majesty, the common people don't have any skills. At present, they have enough food and clothing. They don't want anything else."
"Okay, being willing to be ordinary is sometimes a state of mind," I said with a smile, "Yue Fang, if your Yue family has any needs in the future, please let Hu Yande and the others tell them, and I will try my best to meet them."
"The common people thank the Emperor for his grace,"
After Hu Yande and others left, Yuan Ji said: "Congratulations, Your Majesty, for acquiring these two generals."
"Haha, the more the merrier,"
In mid-December, General Wang Anjie, the deputy envoy of the Lin'an Military Region, and General Wu Songhan, the commander of the third regiment, arrived in Yingzhou with more than 12,000 soldiers from the reorganized third regiment. The arrival of the third regiment of the Lin'an Military Region made Mongolia A Shu and others were very excited. Although they only had a limited military strength, it made the Mongols feel that the reinforcements from the Southern Dynasty finally couldn't stand it any longer.
On the day he received the news, Marshal Ashu convened a small military meeting.
"Dear generals, a reorganization unit from the Lin'an Military Region of the Southern Dynasty has arrived in Yingzhou City recently. Including the original thousands of troops, the number has almost reached 20,000. There is no doubt that the 20,000 Southern Dynasty soldiers are coming for Xiangfan, so , our army must be ready to siege the city and call for reinforcements at any time,"
All the generals said in unison: "Yes, Marshal,"
Ah Shu whispered "Yeah" and continued: "The strategy of siege but not attack formulated by the Great Khan is to eliminate as many Song troops as possible outside Xiangyang City. This opportunity will come soon. Before that, , the oppression of Xiangyang cannot be relaxed, General Achahan, your troops continue to bombard Xiangyang every day,"
"Yes, Commander," Ashahan said, "However, many of our army's trebuchets need to be overhauled after continuous launches."
Like any weapon, the number of times the trebuchet can be used is limited. Even in later generations with advanced technology, maintenance cannot be avoided, let alone in the late Song Dynasty.
"That's a problem," A'shu thought for a while and said, "A'achan, your army launches half of the trebuchets every day, and the remaining half, regardless of whether it is good or bad, will be overhauled and maintained in turn."
"The general will obey his orders,"
"General Liu Zheng, after the first batch of warships are built, you can lead our navy to try to compete with Xiangyang's navy in a small area."
"Yes, Marshal,"
"Everyone, although the land route between Xiangyang and Fan has been blocked by our army, the water route is still passable. Recently, I, General Shi, and General Liu carefully observed the terrain around Xiangyang and decided to take the next step as far as possible. Block the passage of its waterways and block the connection between Xiangyang and Fancheng, that is, the connecting pontoon bridge on the Han River."
Zhang Hongfan said: "Commander, if you want to block Xiangyang's waterway, you must have General Liu Zheng's navy. We don't have this ability for the time being."
Shi Tianze smiled and said: "General Zhang, to completely block the waterway, of course we need General Liu's navy, but before the warships are built, our army is not without other methods. We are all northerners and are not familiar with water warfare, so we still need to Please tell me, General Liu,"
Liu Zheng's words are simple: "Generally, water areas have high tide or low tide. When the tide is low, the water level is relatively low. Fences can be placed on the river to prevent the large warships of the Song Dynasty navy from passing through. Of course, when the tide is high, the water level is relatively low. Not much use anymore,"
Zhang Hongfan nodded and thought to himself. He claimed to be a genius in the world and was familiar with military literature, but he did not expect that water warfare also had many details.
A Shu said: "General Shi, General Liu is right. We cannot wait until the warships are built before blocking the waterway in Xiangyang. All generals must obey the order."
"Yes, please give the order, Commander-in-Chief,"
"General Atahai,"
"The end will be here,"
"You will continue to complete the construction of the fortress in the Wanzhang Mountain area and connect it with the Baihe City fortress,"
"Yes, the general will receive the order at the end,"
"General Liu,"
"The end will be here,"
"You hand over the supervision of the shipyard to General Zhang Xi, the navy chief. You lead your troops to erect a fence at Guanzitan, thirty miles south of Xiangyang City, to block its waterway."
"Yes, I will obey your orders,"
"General Huaidu,"
"The end will be here,"
"Go to Hutou Mountain outside Fancheng and send an order to General Ali Hague and General Kong Yuan to start building a castle on Hutou Mountain. At the same time, build a solid platform in the Han River outside Yingxu Gate of Fancheng."
Huaidu said: "Solid platform, Commander, I forgive you for your ignorance, why is this?"
Ah Shu smiled and explained: "General Huaidu, you can set up a trebuchet on the solid platform. The distance from Yingxu Gate to the pontoon is not far. You can let the trebuchet directly attack the pontoon bridge connecting Xiangyang and Fancheng. , to cut off their contact,"
"The commander is wise, and the last general respects his orders,"
"The rest of the generals will follow the original plan without any mistakes. Everyone, the Han Chinese New Year is coming soon. I plan to launch one or two siege campaigns at the end of the month to make the Xiangyang army and the people of Xiangfan difficult to spend this New Year. ,"
"Yes, Marshal,"
"After the New Year, I estimate that the Song Army in the Yingzhou area will take action. Please be prepared and do not underestimate it. In addition, I have asked the Great Khan for help and strive to mobilize another batch of stone throwers. machine,"
"The last general honors his command,"
December 27, the fourth year of Xianchun, Xanadu, Mongolia.
At the end of Yin Tianya, Liu Bingzhong came to Kublai Khan's tent happily.
"Great Khan, the main construction of Xanadu's new palace has been completed," Yin Tianya said with a smile as soon as he entered the room.
"I've met the Divine Master," said Imperial Master Hao Jing in the room, "This is half a year ahead of schedule."
Kublai Khan was also quite excited: "Very good, Liu Aiqing, this is a great achievement, and I will reward it."
Liu Bingzhong knelt down and thanked him: "Thank you, Khan."
Yin Tianya said: "Great Khan, you can choose a day to move into the new palace."
"Well, Yin Shen Zun, you choose an auspicious day, I hope to settle in as soon as possible,"
"Great Khan, I have already calculated that February 25 next year will be a very auspicious day."
Kublai Khan said cheerfully: "Okay, it will be scheduled for February next year, Liu Aiqing, and I will leave this matter to you."
"Yes, Great Khan, I obey your order,"
"Liu Aiqing, you go down first. I will discuss the current situation with Shenzun, Emperor Shi, Zhenjin, and Boyan."
"Yes, Khan,"
After Liu Bingzhong left, Kublai Khan said: "From the news sent back by Ashu, the Southern Dynasty has increased its troops to more than 20,000 in the Yingzhou area. New reinforcements should arrive in Xiangfan next year. For Xiangfan this time, What do you think about the battle?"
Boyan first said: "Great Khan, this southern expedition to the Song Dynasty is different from many countries in the past when our army went to the Western Regions. The cities of the Southern Dynasties are strong, the people are numerous, and the grain and grass reserves are sufficient. It is easy to defend but difficult to attack. Our army is in Xiangyang , this is the first time that a castle has been built around Fancheng, and the city has been besieged for a long time. The Great Khan's siege and reinforcement strategy formulated by the Great Khan is fully agreed with. In the future, we can attract reinforcements from the Southern Dynasty, and our army will wait and defeat them one by one. Our military strength is stronger than that of the Southern Dynasty, but this Xiangyang battle is not only a test of our army's patience in long-term operations, but also a test of our army's logistics. This is a test of your ability and internal affairs, so please be patient, don’t be impatient, and work on it slowly.”
Kublai Khan agreed: "Well, Boyan, your opinion is reasonable. I am already prepared for this. Even if this war lasts for ten years, I will persevere. Since the return of the emperor's master, I will continue to fight." The internal affairs of the country have been greatly improved, which is also the prerequisite for Ben Khan to believe that a protracted war can be fought,"
Zhenjin said: "Father, General Boyan is right. Although our soldiers are brave and good at fighting, they always like to adopt quick battle methods. In the protracted battle to besiege Xiangyang, it is inevitable that there will be impatience. This still requires more guidance from Father Khan,”
"This is natural. I will warn Ah Shu repeatedly. Imperial Master, our army's logistics supplies will be fine, right?"
Hao Jingdao: "Last year, I ordered governments at all levels to reward those who open up wasteland and cultivate land. The surplus fertile land in various places can be rented to Han farmers without discrimination. At the same time, I ordered Nanyang and other places near Xiangyang to be used for farming or raising funds." Farming by civilians has also been quite effective. In addition, the weather has been good in the past one or two years, so there is no problem with the supply of food and grass for our army."
"Well, thank you for your hard work, Imperial Master,"
Hao Jing took a breath and said, "Great Khan, this is my duty,"
"Emperor Master, how are you feeling recently?"
"Back to the Great Khan, I'm fine. Lord God's medicine is still very effective."
Kublai Khan nodded and said to Boyan: "Boyan, 30,000 timid Xue troops can go out at any time, right?"
"Return to the Great Khan, the timid Xue has been completed, and it can be done at any time."
"Well, in March next year, the remaining more than 60,000 soldiers of the East Route Army will be reorganized. After the new palace is opened in February, you will first take the 5,000 Xue troops to Nanyang to take charge. According to the reinforcements of the Southern Dynasty, gradually Send more troops to Xiangfan,"
"Yes, Khan,"
Hao Jingdao: "The Great Khan, General A'shu asked the court to increase the number of trebuchets. I have already assembled a hundred small trebuchets, fifty medium trebuchets and twenty large trebuchets. General Boyan Take it with you,"
"Okay, Imperial Master, how is the progress of Hui Hui Pao?"