Kublai Khan thought for a while and said: "There is this possibility. Although the emperors of the Southern Dynasties, except for the founder of the country, Taizu and Taizong, the rest were timid and fearful people. The Zhao family after the southern crossing was even more so. In this way, almost no one dares to lead a personal expedition. But only the current little emperor Zhao Fu is different. We should not be careless. General Boyan sent an order to Ah Shu to be careful. As for their idea of attacking Yingzhou, I will give it to you. You just need to have a good sense of proportion.”
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Bo Yan. Originally, I had been hesitant about whether to let you go to Xiangfan. The khanates in the western part of the country today are very unstable and are very evil. However, now it seems that we should focus on the battle of Xiangyang first. Are you ready? Next. I will set off southward in a few days."
"Yes. I obey your order."
"True gold. Send someone to tell Namuhan. An Tong and Xiliji come to the palace to see me."
"Yes. Father."
Namuhan, the fourth son of Kublai Khan, Zhenjin's mother and brother, good at riding and shooting, brave and good at fighting. He was named King of Beiping. Xiliji. The fourth son of Mengge was named King of Hejian. He is good at strategy. The city is very deep and safe. Tong, the third grandson of Mu Huali, the founding hero of Mongolia. He was the Prime Minister of Zhongshu You at that time. He was both civil and military, but he was very protective of his shortcomings.
About half an hour later, Namuhan and three others arrived at the palace.
"I see you, Your Majesty. Long live my Emperor. Long live your Majesty."
"No gift."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
"Dear dear friends, the situation in the West is becoming increasingly complex today. Many people in the four great khanates are starting to make moves. And the main force of our army is mostly at the junction of our North Korea and the Southern North Korea. Therefore, I plan to dispatch capable people to the west to control the local area. troops to stabilize the situation. Originally, I planned to send General Boyan to the west to take control. However, there have been changes on the Xiangyang front line recently, so I had to let General Boyan go south."
"Please give an order from the emperor. I am willing to go to the west to share the emperor's worries." What Kublai Khan said was very obvious. The three Namuhan people naturally understood his intention and said in unison.
"Okay. Namuhan. I will appoint you as an imperial envoy. You will be sent to the western border areas to prevent the khanates from causing rebellion."
"Yes. I accept the order."
"Ai Qing An Tong. Ai Qing Xiliji. I appoint you two as deputy imperial envoys to assist Namuhan in handling all important military and political affairs in the west."
"Yes. I obey your order."
"Three dear friends, the primary task of our government today is to destroy the Song Dynasty. You will go to the west and adopt a gentle policy as much as possible to stabilize our border areas. After I destroy the Song Dynasty, I will send my troops to the west. At the end of this month, you will Then we set off to the west. I will discuss it with you in detail before departure."
"Yes, Your Majesty. I will take my leave."
On March 3rd, the eighth day after Kublai Khan announced the change of the country's name, I received news from Dadu Longya.
"The Yuan Dynasty is ahead of schedule." I said to myself.
"Guan Jia, what does it mean to be ahead of schedule?" Quan Jiu, who was giving instructions on the memorial, asked.
"Ah. It's nothing. Jiu'er. Kublai Khan changed the name of his country to Dayuan. I think it's a bit sudden."
"Guan family. Why is this?"
"The western part of Mongolia has always been unstable. And the Battle of Xiangyang will not be concluded in a short period of time. Although Kublai Khan's approach has won over the Han people in Mongolia, it will encounter opposition from the Mongolian conservatives. Among them, It’s hard to weigh the gains and losses.”
Quan Jiu said: "Does the official mean that Kublai Khan's actions were too hasty?"
"Maybe. However, in the current situation, both sides will put Xiangyang first. If I were Kublai Khan, I might do the same."
Quan Jiu said "Hmm" as if he didn't understand. He took out a memorial from the table and said: "Guan family. This is a memorial from Yang Fa, deputy commander of the Privy Council. It is about the plan for the second voyage. Guan family. Let’s take a look at home first.”
Compared with Ruan Sicong's first voyage, Yang Fa's plan was much more detailed. The entire fleet consisted of three warships. The flagship was the Shenzhou. The other two ships were also the best in the navy. One was the Fujian. It is Yangzhou. However, Yang Fa also noted it. If Fujian and Yangzhou are not suitable for long-distance navigation, they can return at any time. The sailing route will still follow the last itinerary. The big difference is that the number of sailings this time has increased. attracted many traders.
Since the positions are sufficient, I borrowed the Yuan Dynasty's "official ship" method and rented the positions to merchants who were willing to go overseas for trade. At the same time, Da Song Yin Zhuang could also advance funds to some merchants with insufficient funds to encourage them. Export trade. However, my starting point is different from that of the later Yuan Dynasty. The Yuan Dynasty tried to use this method to monopolize maritime trade and prohibited private free trade. However, I allowed multiple forms of trade to coexist.
"Jiu'er. There's nothing wrong with this memorial. It's accurate."
Quan Jiu put the royal seal on her and said: "Guan family. Why hasn't Concubine Ling come here for a long time?"
"Ling'er. She has recently been training a special guard force of two hundred people with Mr. Yuan and Hu Yande."
"Is it the bodyguard that will accompany the official family on the expedition?"
"Well. These personal guards were selected from the Imperial Guard Battalion, the Jinyi Guards and the Longya Organization. They are all martial arts masters. Ling'er is strengthening their explosive power. Hu Yande is training them in horse fighting skills."
"So that's it." Quan Jiu seemed worried and said, "Guan family, do you really want to lead the expedition in person this time?"
"That's right. Jiu'er. The battle of Xiangyang is related to the life and death of our Song Dynasty. We can't be careless in the slightest."
"Then, officials must pay attention to safety."
I smiled and said comfortingly: "Don't worry, Jiu'er. I won't go to the battlefield to kill the enemy myself. I'm just giving instructions."
"Well, official. When do you plan to leave?"
"This is not certain yet. It depends on the development of the war situation. It will probably take a few months."
Quan Jiu said: "The Guan family. Concubine Yang's child will be born in about July. It is best for the Guan family to wait until they see the child before setting off."
"Jiu'er, this is not what I have the final say. However, it should be about the same. Okay. It's very late. We should work hard."
Quan Jiu asked deliberately: "Why work hard?"
I smiled and said nothing. I picked up the shy Quan Jiu and walked straight to the bedroom.
Xiangyang Shuai Mansion.
"Longweizhou." Lu Wende said after receiving the news that Ashahan sent troops to Longweizhou. "What does Ashahan mean?"
"Commander, there are three possibilities." Lu Wenhuan looked at the sand table on the table and said.
"Second brother, tell me."
"Commander, a while ago, Liu Zheng led his army to set up a fence in the Han River in Guanzitan, but was driven away by our navy. This time, Arakhan sent a thousand men to station in the Longweizhou area. They continued to The possibility of setting up a fence in the Han River is one; the second possibility is that the Mongols are eyeing Yicheng County between Xiangyang and Yingzhou; the third possibility is that they want to lure Yingzhou to send troops."
Lu Wende thought for a while and said: "I think the second possibility can be ruled out first. Yicheng County is extremely small and has no city walls to defend. If they are surrounded by our Yingzhou Army and Navy, the Mongols will only die. The city is not a place contested by military strategists. The first situation is possible. As for the third situation, by the way, could it be related to the arrival of the Imperial Guards?"
Lu Wenhuan said: "The appearance of the Royal Forest Army will definitely make Mongolian Ah Shu speculate. The commander-in-chief is right. It is possible that they want to test whether His Majesty will be in Yingzhou."
"Well, Master Meng. Report this news to His Majesty and inform General Wang Anjie of Yingzhou."
"Yes. Father, handsome."
Yingzhou City was built on the mountain. The city was built with stones. Arrows and stones could not get close to it. Although it was not as strong as Xiangyang City, it was easy to defend and difficult to attack. When he received a letter from Lu Wende, Wang Anjie also learned that the Mongolian pioneer Ashahan had sent thousands of his troops to attack. Hu Suodu led a thousand troops to station in Longweizhou, and had the tendency to continue to move south.
At present, Yingzhou has nearly 20,000 troops. They are mainly Wu Songhan's troops stationed in the east and west battalions in the north of the city. Zhang Shijie's troops stationed in the city and the navy in the west of the city.
"General, why don't you eat these thousand Mongolian troops?" Wu Songhan, who rushed back from outside the city, suggested as soon as he entered the house.
Wang Anjie looked at the map on the wall. Without looking back, he said: "We will discuss it together when General Li Zengbo and General Zhang Shijie arrive. This Akhan is too bold. He dared to leave Lumen with only a thousand people. Mountain Camp.”
"Yes. General. So I suggested to take it down to destroy its prestige."
"But what is Arakhan's purpose?"
"General, no matter what its purpose is, our army only needs to attack it with several times its strength."
Wang An nodded and said: "Yes. If that doesn't work, retreat immediately. I'm very familiar with the terrain in that area. It's impossible for the Mongols to set up an ambush in the Longweizhou area."
In terms of positions, among the generals of Yingzhou, Li Zengbo should be the most important. However, the status of the navy has always been inferior to that of the army. Moreover, Zhang Shijie, as the commander of the Royal Forest Army, although his military rank is not high, is the emperor's personal soldier. Therefore, Wang Anjie also hopes to and Everyone discussed together. After all, the court had not appointed the supreme commander of the Yingzhou Army.
A quarter of an hour later, Li Zengbo and Zhang Shijie arrived at Wang Anjie's temporary command post one after another. The four of them exchanged greetings. Wang Anjie said: "General Li, General Zhang. We have just received the news from the front. Mongolian Qianhu Suodu led A thousand men and horses are stationed in Longweizhou. The purpose is unknown. Mr. Lu Wende, the organizational envoy of the Xiangyang Military Region, also wrote a letter to confirm this. When you came, I discussed with General Wu Songhan whether our army should send troops to destroy this Mongolian thousand. Team of people.”
Li Zengbo first said: "Although Longweizhou is still far away from here, for the cavalry, it is more than 300 miles away in one day. I agree with General Wang's proposal. Let's give the Mongols a show of strength first. Strengthen our army."
"General Wang, the last general also agrees." Zhang Shijie said.
Wang Anjie said: "Okay. Since you two have no objections, let's make this decision. General Wu, please tell me the specific plan."
Wu Songhan stood up and said: "Fellow generals, our Lin'an Military Region has the largest number of cavalry troops in the second and third compartments. Each has two armies of cavalry. Therefore, our army will dispatch the third compartment in this battle. The 17th Army and the 19th Army under his jurisdiction, with a total of 5,000 cavalry troops, went to Longweizhou. According to His Majesty's instructions, our army is not allowed to fight in the field with the enemy. In this battle, our army will attack by sneak attack. One blow. Come on. Regardless of success or failure, we will withdraw our troops immediately."