In the early morning, I mounted my mount Feiyan and led two hundred personal guards and the ministers Jia Sidao, Lu Xiufu, Jiang Wanzai and Zhao Shunsun who accompanied me on the expedition. Yuan Ji, Gongsun Xiaochen, Zhang Quanyi and Shen Mo were waiting for me. , Hu Yande, Fang Ling's close escort. Left Lin'an City.
Although Jia Sidao is quite obedient to me now and has lost his real power, I am not very relieved to put him in Lin'an. After all, he once had many party members. As the nominal head of a hundred officials, he will accompany him on the expedition. .It is also taken for granted.
I did not deliberately conceal this personal expedition. On the fourth day after I left, the Song Dynasty Royal News published the news that the Emperor of the Song Dynasty personally went to Xiangyang to conquer the Yuan Dynasty invaders. As soon as this news was published, it immediately attracted The people in Lin'an City expressed their support for this. In the next few days, the number of people who signed up to join the army and the number of people who went to Da Song Bank to buy war bonds reached the extreme. Of course, I only learned about all this after the fact.
After leaving the city gate, I led everyone to worship in front of Zhao Kui's tomb. Standing in front of the tomb, I said to myself: "Zhao Aiqing, I will set off to the north today. I will definitely defeat the Mongolian army in Xiangfan and take advantage of the opportunity to make the Northern Expedition." Central Plains. On the day of victory, I will burn the victory report in front of Aiqing's tomb to tell the spirit of Aiqing. I will definitely take back the country of the Song Dynasty. Zhao Aiqing, rest in peace."
Fang Ling lit three sticks of incense and inserted them into the stone incense burner in front of Zhao Kui's grave. With the light smoke lingering, I stood silently for a while and whispered: "Get on the horse and set off."
I walked west for a quarter of an hour. In an open space about 20 miles away from the west gate of Lin'an City, Wen Zhang led a battalion of imperial guards waiting for my arrival. As soon as Wen Zhang saw me arriving, he hurriedly dismounted and stepped forward. He came and said, "General Wen Zhang is here to see Your Majesty. Please give His Majesty's instructions."
"Well, Wen Zhang, you lead one company of troops to clear the way in front. After the other two companies are broken up, just follow the established route and go west."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Hundreds of people marched westward. More than ten days later, at 3:00 noon, I led everyone to Ezhou Prefecture in the southeast of Hubei Province. The rapid march along the way made Jia Sidao exhausted, and he complained secretly. Despite this, Jia Sidao Dao didn't dare to complain at all. He had no choice but to grit his teeth and persevere.
Ezhou has a long history. It was called Wuchang in ancient times (not Wuchang in later generations). According to archaeological discoveries of later generations, humans have been living and thriving in Ezhou around 3000 BC. The earliest records about Ezhou can be traced back to 2550 BC - 2070 BC. The Fan State during the Emperor Yao's time. Luo Mi's "History of the Country? Records of the Names of the Country" records: "In the time of Emperor Yao, there was Fan Zhongwen. Today there is Fanshan in Wuchang."
As soon as I entered Ezhou City, I received an urgent report from Xia Gui of Suizhou. The Polu Army had left Suizhou on May 13th and was expected to arrive in Yingzhou on the evening of the 14th. After reading it, I laughed and said, "The action is still good." It's so fast. It seems that the Polu army arrived one step ahead of me."
Jia Sidao smiled: "Your Majesty, the Polu military officials have seen this before. They are worthy of being the elite of our army. This journey is nothing to them."
"Well, my dear teacher, Jiang Aiqing. Our army has been marching in a hurry for days. Can you two dear friends still hold on?"
Neither of the two old men wanted to be outdone. They said at the same time: "Your Majesty, don't worry."
I asked casually: "I think both my dear friends still remember Ezhou very well. If I remember it well, the great victory in Ezhou ten years ago was one of the masterpieces of these two dear ladies."
Jia Sidao said with a smile: "The victory that day was purely coincidental. If it weren't for the battle for the throne in Mongolia, the outcome would have been difficult to predict."
Jiang Wanzai didn't say a word. He just let out a soft "hum". I knew that Jiang Wanzai's dissatisfaction was directed at Jia Sidao. Jiang Wanzai was upright by nature and had outstanding military exploits. He was killed by Song Lizong when he was less than thirty years old. He proposed to appoint Jiang Wanzai as Minister of War. However, he was suppressed by Shi Miyuan, the powerful prime minister at the time. He was later transferred to civil service. In the first year of Emperor Lizong's Kaiqing of the Song Dynasty (1259), Kublai Khan invaded the Song Dynasty on a large scale. Jiang Wanzai was appointed as Jia Sidao's successor. The top military chief of staff returned to the battlefield and assisted Jia in commanding the organization of the Ezhou battle.
Just when the Song and Mongolia were in a stalemate, news came that the Mongolian Khan Meng Ge was shot to death by Sichuan soldiers and civilians. The Mongolian Khan's position was vacant. Kublai Khan was eager to return to the north to compete for the Khan's position. However, he was held back by hundreds of thousands of Song troops. Suddenly, they were caught in a dilemma. As the Chief of Staff of the Song Army, Jiang Wanzai proposed that while the Mongolian and Yuan Dynasties were experiencing civil strife, a small number of Song troops should be left in front to contain the Mongolian Yuan troops. The main force should use roundabout ways to intercept the Mongolian Yuan troops' passage to the north. road. At the same time, he spread the message that the Han people in the north were revolting anyway, forcing Kublai Khan to fight the Song army in the Central Plains. However, Jia Sidao, the commander of the Song army, was timid and asked for peace. On the condition that the Southern Song Dynasty lose 200,000 years old coins to Mongolia every year. He asked Kublai Khan to cease the war and withdraw his troops. Kublai Khan was about to escape and return to the north to fight for the throne, so he agreed to withdraw his troops and return to the north. When reporting to Lizong, Jia Sidao concealed the plot of asking for the loss of Sui coins and lied about winning the great victory in Ezhou. .
Seeing that this golden opportunity of a thousand years was lost in an instant, Jiang Wanzai resigned in anger and returned home to support his loving mother. Later Song Lizong repeatedly asked Jiang Wanzai to reinstate him, but Jiang Wanzai declined them all. It was not until I ascended the throne that I tried my best to persuade Jiang Wanzai. It was only after Jiang Wanzai that he re-entered the court as an official.
Although as Jiang Wanzai said, it was a great opportunity for the Song Dynasty ten years ago. But with the political situation at that time, who dares to say that it would not be another peaceful entry into Luo. It is true that Jiang Wanzai was brave and good at fighting. But even if Meng Gong What can we do? The fundamental reason for the weakness of the Southern Song Dynasty was not the incompetence of the army, but the incompetence of the rulers.
History should not be reviewed based on the dualism of yes or no. Just because Jia Sidao was a traitor, we cannot deny everything about Jia Sidao. Although his starting point is not simple.
I looked at the displeased Jiang Wanzai and the slightly embarrassed Jia Sidao. I smiled and said, "Two dear friends, no matter what, the battle of Ezhou gave our country ten years of rest and recuperation. The past is over. Let it pass. History is the reality of what has happened. No one can go back to the past. As long as everyone learns lessons, there is always a chance. The tomb of the two dear friends, Meng Shuai, is right here in Ezhou."
"Yes, Your Majesty." The two of them rushed to answer.
"I will stay in Ezhou tonight. Time is still there. My two dear friends, follow me to the grave of Meng Shuai."
Almost all scholars who study the history of the Song Dynasty believe that Meng Gong was the most outstanding general in the late Southern Song Dynasty. Whether it was the fight against the Jin or the Mongolia, Meng Gong played an indispensable role. It is no exaggeration to say that without Meng Gong, the Southern Song Dynasty would not be possible. It persisted for decades in the battle between Song and Mongolia.
Meng Gong's tomb is located at the foot of Zijin Mountain to the west of Xianyu Township (today's Xiayang Village, Tujianao Town), five or sixty miles southwest of Ezhou. After leaving the west gate of Ezhou, under the protection of fifty personal guards, he passed through half a mile After running for more than an hour, we arrived at the foot of Purple Mountain.
As I approached Meng Gong's tomb, I slowed down my horse and sighed, "Shuai Meng died young. It is really a great loss to our dynasty."
Jia Sidao, who respected and was very familiar with Meng Gong, continued my topic and said: "Yes. Your Majesty, the commander-in-chief was only fifty-one when he died of illness. He indeed died young."
Jiang Wanzai, who was also familiar with Meng Gong, said: "Your Majesty, Meng Shuai's illness is actually caused by internal fire attacking his heart."
"Really?" I said in shock.
Jia Sidao, who had nothing to say to Jiang Wanzai along the way, also echoed: "Your Majesty, what Mr. Jiang said is true."
Jiang Wanzai saw Jia Sidao echoing his words. His face brightened slightly and he said: "Your Majesty, Meng Shuai is not much older than I am. In addition, he has been practicing martial arts since he was a child. He has always been in good health. In the summer of 1246, I went to the former Zhenbei Army general. Fan Yongji, who was then the governor of Henan Province in Mongolia, did not want to continue serving as an official in Mongolia, so he secretly asked Meng Shuai to surrender. Meng Shuai was overjoyed and hurriedly wrote to the court for approval. Fan Yongji was the military and political officer of Henan Province in Mongolia. Once he surrendered, Coming over would obviously be of great benefit to our dynasty militarily. However, the government at that time was controlled by the four treacherous ministers Yan, Ma, Ding, and Dong. They actually refused to surrender and accept rebels on the grounds that Fan Yongji was untrustworthy and his rebellion was not common. When he received the reply from the court, Meng Shuai, who was just slightly cold at first, suddenly became furious and vomited blood. He sighed to the sky and said, "It took thirty years to clean up the hearts of the Central Plains, but today's ambition cannot be extended." After finishing speaking. He passed out and passed away. Although he was treated by a doctor in time, his condition worsened from then on. He died in Jiangling on the night of the third day of September that year."
Later historians have another explanation for the reason why the imperial court refused Fan Yongji's surrender. That is, Lizong of the Song Dynasty was afraid that Fan Yongji's surrender would increase Meng Gong's power, so he became suspicious and committed the same crime as Gaozong of the Southern Song Dynasty. Problem. Rejected Meng Gong’s request.
At that time, Meng Gong had the "Zhongshun Army", "Ningwu Army" and the "Flying Falcon Army" composed of Uighurs. They were all the most combat-effective troops in the Song Army. This was quite similar to the Yuejia Army back then. However, .It was this so-called "private army" that caused Song Lizong's fear, so he refused to surrender.
I also tend to this view. In the notes of Lizong of Xianwen Pavilion, there was a vague record of this. In this unpublished record, Lizong of the Song Dynasty once scrawled: Meng today. Nian Yue.
Meng Gong's ancestor was Yue Fei's general. He knew very well about the Feng Bo Pavilion back then. Therefore, he roughly guessed the imperial court's intention to reject it. Meng Gong's ambition in this life was to realize Yue Fei's dream and regain the mountains and rivers. When I replied like this, I felt that all my ambitions were gone. I was so anxious that I died.
After listening to what Jiang Wanzai said, I roughly understood the whole story. Maybe Jiang Wanzai was right. But I couldn't expose the shortcomings of the late emperor. I said vaguely: "Shuai Meng's wish is between me and him." Let’s make it perfect together.”
At this time, it was late in the afternoon (1 to 3 pm). The weather in May (the ancient calendar was lunar) was already very hot, and today the sun was shining brightly. When I came to Meng Gong's tomb, I never expected it. In front of Meng Gong's tomb, there was a bare-chested young man in his early twenties brandishing a spear. Apparently he was practicing his marksmanship.