After the imperial meeting on April 3, I held a military affairs meeting in the back hall of Lin'an Palace.
Lu Xiufu first reported: "Your Majesty, yesterday I received a battle report from Mr. Lu Wende, the envoy of the Xiangyang Military Region. He said that the Mongolian army had increased its troops by 30,000 and had arrived outside Xiangyang City in late March. Deputy Commander Boyan and 5,000 Xue troops were accompanying him. And here we come.”
"Well. Basically the main force of Kublai Khan's middle army has arrived in Xiangyang. Ah Shu and Boyan are also here. It seems almost done. Thank you Aiqing."
Xie Daolin stood up and said, "I'm here."
"The establishment of the six brigades and eighteen regiments of the Royal Forest Army has been expanded."
"Yes, Your Majesty. Everything has been completed. Our imperial army currently has a total of 16,250 soldiers."
"Okay. Order the 4th and 5th Brigade of the 2nd Division to proceed to Yingzhou immediately."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Lu Aiqing, have Wanyan Tianlei and Crete arrived?"
"Back to Your Majesty. We've arrived. We're waiting outside."
"Okay. Xiaoqi. After passing the message to Yan Tianlei, Crete enters the palace."
Wanyan Tianlei and Crete, who had been waiting outside the door for a long time, followed Xiaoqi into the apse: "The humble minister Wanyan Tianlei and the humble minister Crete are here to see the emperor."
"My dear Wanyan. My dear Crete, please take a seat."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
I came to the point straight to the point: "Wanyan Aiqing. I plan to let you go to the artillery camp as the commander. I don't know what Aiqing wants."
"Ah." Wanyan Tianlei said in shock. "Your Majesty, I am willing. But I..."
I interrupted with a smile: "Wanyan Aiqing. Do you want to say that you are a golden man? How can you hold such an important responsibility?"
"The Emperor's Holy Ming."
"Wanyan Aiqing. Although you and Crete are not Han people, you have now joined the nationality of our country. In other words, you are both people of our Song Dynasty. You call yourself ministers. This means that you are both our country's nationalities. People of the Song Dynasty, this is an indisputable fact, unless you are duplicitous."
Wanyan Tianlei said in a panic: "Your Majesty, how can a humble minister have such a sincere mind?"
"Since we are my subjects of the Song Dynasty, how can we distinguish between Han people, Jin people or Venetians?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Crete also followed: "The emperor is right. We are all from the Song Dynasty."
"Wanyan Tianlei. Crete received the seal."
"I'm here."
"Wanyan Tianlei. I designate you as the commander of the artillery battalion of our army. You will be promoted to the fourth rank. Crete. I will appoint you the deputy commander of the artillery battalion. You will be promoted to the fifth rank. You will be rewarded based on military merit in the future."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
"The artillery battalion has a tentative establishment of 3,000 people. It consists of ten brigades. Two thousand of them are gunners and one thousand are auxiliaries. They are affiliated to the Imperial Guard Army. These 3,000 soldiers have been trained and are currently at the Imperial Guard camp. Two dear friends. The artillery battalion will be our new type of force to deter Mongolia. It is a force that possesses magical weapons. Artillery will also be the main weapon for siege cities and territories in the future. You are experts. Naturally you know its significance. You go back and talk to Yun Bo Feiyun first. Ai Qing, please hand over. I will report to the Military Academy the day after tomorrow."
"Yes, Your Majesty. I obey your orders."
As for the candidate for the commander of the artillery battalion, I thought about it and felt that Wanyan Tianlei was the most suitable. Firstly, he is an artillery expert himself. Secondly, he has also been on the battlefield. He also has a deep hatred for the Mongols. As for Crete, although he has been exposed to firearms for a long time Not long, but with excellent talent. Most of the mechanical improvement plans for artillery and muskets came from the hands of Crete and Zhao Yuncong. The most important thing is that Crete has a lot of experience in the operation skills of artillery launches.
None of the original generals in the imperial court had ever been exposed to artillery. Although cold weapons and hot weapons are both called weapons, the difference is huge. In contrast, I appointed two experts to serve as commanders of the artillery battalion. .And I gave the two commanders higher military ranks to show the importance I attach to the artillery unit.
"Fan Aiqing."
"I'm here."
"Fan Aiqing, your first priority is to ensure the supply of military supplies. Smooth logistics is also one of the key factors that determine the victory or defeat of the war. As the saying goes, before the troops and horses move, food and grass go first. Their achievements are the same as those of soldiers fighting on the front line. Dear friends, you all know about the Battle of Duanping into Luo launched by our court during the Duanping period. Dear Shiyan, you have experienced it yourself. Naturally, you know that there were many factors for the failure of that battle, but it is undeniable that one of them It's this logistical problem. Although our dynasty's economic strength has completely exceeded that of the past, this time the Song-Mongolia War will take longer, the scope will be wider, and the difficulty will be greater. Therefore, for our dynasty's military supplies and logistics Supplies are also an extremely severe test.”
Jia Sidao agreed: "Your Majesty is wise."
Fan Wenhuan stood up and responded: "Yes, Your Majesty. I understand."
"Well, Fan Aiqing. In addition to ensuring the smooth flow of supplies, the Ministry of War must also strictly control logistics stations at all levels. Anyone who commits corruption and violates the law during the war will be given an additional level of crime. The Independent Commission Against Corruption will be involved in a thorough investigation. No mercy will be given lightly. "
"Yes, Your Majesty. I obey your order."
I nodded slightly and said to Wen Tianxiang, who was attending the military affairs meeting: "Wen Aiqing, the State Council issued a decree at the same time. Local governments at all levels need to unconditionally support military logistics stations in various places. There must be no mistakes."
Wen Tianxiang replied loudly: "Yes, Your Majesty."
Lu Xiufu continued: "Your Majesty, all the soldiers of the 11th and 12th compartment of General Xia Gui have arrived in Suizhou. Please give your Majesty's instructions on the next battle plan."
"Inform Xia Aiqing and station the troops on the spot. The road from Suizhou to Xiangyang is mostly rugged and mountainous. They need to find out all the roads within a month to facilitate future attacks. I will decide the rest after I arrive in Yingzhou."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Li Beiyang, Yin Yinglei. You two will stay. I have something to discuss with you. The other beloved ministers will retreat first."
Jia Sidao and others said: "Yes, Your Majesty. I will leave."
"My dearest lords, I plan to have the independent carriage depart next month. What do you think?"
Li Beiyang said: "Your Majesty, the navy is ready. It can be done at any time."
Yin Yinglei then said: "Your Majesty, after these few months of training, although the morale of all the soldiers in the Independent Chamber is high, many soldiers cannot meet the requirements. Therefore, I plan to reduce the number of people on this mission."
"Qing Yin Ai, how many people do you plan to bring with you?"
"Your Majesty, the Independent Wing has been reorganized into three corps, plus one corps of Marines. The entire force totals 10,000 people."
"There are nearly 5,000 fewer people than the original plan. Yin Aiqing, this trip to the north is extremely risky. Therefore, we need soldiers with excellent physical and mental qualities. I have no objection to this."
"Your Majesty, I have been studying His Majesty's Sixteen-Character Art and the essence of guerrilla warfare recently. The northern region is vast. As long as our army can successfully enter the Taihang Mountains, the Mongols will be helpless against our army."
"Okay. Yin Ai Qing, I will give you the first batch of 20,000 throwing bombs made by the Gunpowder Supervisor."
Yin Yinglei was overjoyed and said: "This is very good. With these 20,000 projectiles, I have more confidence."
"Qing Yin Ai, after landing, you will have to fight alone. You will have to rely entirely on yourself. It will not be easy."
"Your Majesty, don't worry."
"Okay. I will go to Yingzhou to take charge at the beginning of next month. You can calculate the time to log in. I will inform Li Tingzhi of Yangzhou to send troops to feint attack to contain the Mongolian Eastern Route Army."
"I understand."
"Li Aiqing. Based on the latest information received, the Mongols have dispatched a large number of shipbuilders to Wanshan Fort outside Xiangyang City to prepare warships on site. I have decided to dispatch another batch of warships from the East China Sea Fleet to the Han River. At the same time, "After your army moves north this time and sends Yin Aiqing's independent carriage to land, see if there is any chance to defeat the Mongolian navy stationed on the Shandong Peninsula."
"Yes, Your Majesty, I also have this plan."
"Really? It seems that our monarchs and ministers have come up with something. Liu Zheng is the only one in Mongolia who is proficient in water warfare. Since he is in the Han River, our army will defeat his coastal navy first."
Starting from April, the Mongolian capital commander Ali Hague led an army of 30,000 men and began to storm the outer city of Fan City, commonly known as the outer city. Two hundred trebuchets took turns throwing stones one after another, leaving scars on the outer walls of Fan City. After five days of continuous bombardment, at 4:00 a.m. on April 6, the Mongolian army launched its first formal siege campaign.
After the trebuchet roared for nearly a quarter of an hour, Ali Hague came to the city alone. Pointing his spear in his hand, he shouted at the city: "Nanbarbarians guarding the city. Who dares to come out and fight your grandfather alone."
"Look at the way you are dressed. You are clearly a monster." Fan Tianshun, the commander of the Nineteenth Wing on the city wall, laughed loudly. "This general will not take advantage of the bravery of an ordinary man. Monster. If you have the ability, just come to the city."
Ali Hague is from the Western Regions. His armor and attire are very different from those of ordinary Mongolian generals. In addition, he looks weird. Therefore, he hates being called a monster. Fan Tianshun accidentally poked him in pain, which immediately made him angry. soaring.
"Cowardly Southern Barbarians." Ali Hague cursed. He waved the spear in his hand and ordered, "Cavalry archers, attack."
Three thousand Mongolian cavalry archers first arrived about fifty meters away from the city wall. They raised their bows and nocked arrows. They saw rows of arrows shooting rapidly towards the city head. The Xiangyang army guarding the city also showed no sign of weakness. They faced off against the Mongolian cavalry. After shooting for about ten rounds, the advantage of the Mongolian cavalry archers was highlighted. Both in accuracy and strength, they were superior to the Xiangyang Army. They gradually suppressed the archers defending the city. However, because the Xiangyang Army had a city. It can be said that the number of casualties is far lower than that of the opponent.
The Mongolian cavalry archer shot forward and stopped thirty meters away.
Ali Hague gave the order again. Five thousand infantry troops immediately rushed out from behind the cavalry archers. Under the cover of the cavalry archers' bows and arrows, they rushed towards the city wall. After paying the price of hundreds of casualties, a large charging chariot was launched in front of the shield bearers. Under the protection, they rushed to the city gate. At the same time, dozens of ladders were set up on the city wall outside Fancheng.
As the Mongolian infantry began to attack the city, the horse archers in the distance were worried that their bows and arrows would hit their own people, so they stopped shooting.