"Your Majesty, the little one is fine. He is fine."
"That's good. I will lead the generals to welcome our hero home."
Wei Guohu's eyes were filled with tears and he said: "Your Majesty, how can such a young man be so virtuous? He actually asked the Emperor to come out to welcome you."
"Haha." I smiled and said loudly. "General Wei, in order to defend Fancheng, you did not care about your own safety. You are actually a hero of our army. Such a spirit of treating death as a homecoming and serving the country and the people is a great achievement. This is That is virtue, that is ability. General Wei, please live a good life and rest for a few days. I will discuss your merits and reward you."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
At the gate to welcome Wei Guohu's return, in addition to a group of generals, there were also representatives of various armies and reporters accompanying the army. The purpose of this was very simple. It was to set an example and establish a heroic image in the army.
Times create heroes. Once you have a hero, you can bring out more heroes. History is created by all mankind. Even I, a half-human and half-god emperor, need a lot of green leaves to contrast.
At the end of the afternoon (five o'clock), the scouts reported that a fire suddenly broke out in the Yuan Army Shipyard located west of Baihe City and by the Han River. The fire was getting bigger and bigger. Strangely, the Mongols seemed to have no signs of putting out the fire. The specific reason Unable to detect.
In the evening, the scouts continued to send back news. As they all said, the Mongolian army gradually left the Baihe City fortress and headed north.
"Is Kublai Khan going to withdraw his troops?" Fang Ling asked.
"It's very possible." Yuan Ji smiled. "Kublai Khan must have thought that the earthen walls of Baihe City still cannot block the bombardment of our army's artillery. If we persist, it will be a replica of the Lumen Mountain Camp at most. It is better to withdraw our troops. never mind."
Fang Ling nodded and said, "Brother, are our troops going to take advantage of the situation and pursue us?"
"Pursuit is impossible. Our army does not have a large number of cavalry. What's more, even if there are enough cavalry, they are no match for the Yuan army in a horse battle."
"That's true."
At noon on July 7, the fifth year of Xianchun, all the scouts sent out returned the same news. The Mongolian army had all evacuated Beihe City. The other fortresses were also empty. The fire yesterday was caused by Yuan Dynasty. The army surrendered and burned all the warships.
In the evening, Lu Wende, the organizational envoy of the Xiangyang Military Region, also sent someone to report to me that the Mongols had withdrawn.
When this news came, the entire Guanzitan Camp was in a state of excitement. It was like celebrating the New Year, with endless cheers and laughter.
I was also very excited. The northern retreat of the Yuan army marked the early end of the Xiangyang War that lasted for six or seven years in history. It also ended with Kublai Khan's complete defeat. However, I also admire Kublai Khan's decisiveness. Even the fortresses that took several years of hard work and the shipyards that consumed manpower and material resources were abandoned without hesitation.
On the afternoon of July 8th, I led the main generals in the army, and under the protection of two hundred personal guards, entered Xiangyang City from the east gate. As soon as I entered the city, I saw a sea of people lining both sides of the street. It seemed that all the people in Xiangyang City had gathered. In this area, these people came to celebrate the victory of Xiangyang and took to the streets spontaneously. Secondly, they wanted to see me, the emperor. Most of them would never have the chance to see the emperor in their lives.
Lu Wende was originally worried about my safety and wanted to order the clearance. However, I stopped him without hesitation: "The great victory of Xiangfan is a victory for our army. It is also a victory for the people of Xiangyang. I should rejoice with the people. You just need to Just ask the soldiers to maintain order."
I rode on the royal horse Feiyan and slowly entered the main street of Xiangyang City. Lu Wende greeted me outside the city gate, and Lu Wenhuan personally opened the way. Zhang Quanyi and Shen Mo walked in front of me. On the left was Yuan Ji and on the right was Fang Ling. Hu Yande and Meng Tianxiang followed closely behind them. Behind them were a group of generals and personal guards. With so many masters guarding them, even if two Yin Tianya wanted to attack me, they would definitely not be able to get me.
"Long live the Emperor."
"Long live the Song Dynasty."
I told Lu Wende in advance that today is the day of the great victory in Xiangyang. All the people do not have to kneel down. When the people along the street saw me passing by, they shouted slogans in unison. Along the way, there were excited cheers and slogans everywhere. I don’t know whether it was the spontaneous shouting of the people or the organization of Xiangyang Prefecture. However, it can be seen from their faces that this is the voice from the heart. I wave my hands from time to time to greet my people.
More than a hundred years ago, the famous general Yue Fei led his army to regain Xiangyang City. Since then, the city has been an important gateway to the Southern Song Dynasty. It is also a strategic military location that must be fought between Song, Jin, Song and Mongolia. After the rise of Mongolia, In the more than thirty years since 1235 AD, Xiangyang City has experienced the arduous process of being lost and recovered, and then lost and recovered again. The people of Xiangyang City have always shared the same fate and suffering with the city. This time, the victory is undoubtedly They were very excited, elated and excited. Compared with the past, this victory was achieved under the personal command of me, the emperor. The Xiangfan Battle severely damaged the arrogance of the Yuan army and made them arrogant. The losses of the Yuan army at the foot of Xiangfan City exceeded at least 80,000 people. This was the most glorious victory achieved by the Song army among all the battles that took place in the Xiangfan area in more than 30 years.
It only takes less than a quarter of an hour to ride a horse from the east gate to Xiangyang Shuaifu. But we walked for more than half an hour. It can be seen that the people of Xiangyang are excited and enthusiastic.
This is my second time coming to Xiangyang City. But it is my first time to enter Xiangyang Commandery.
The guards of the Commander's Mansion were all replaced by the most elite black charcoal regiment in the Xiangyang Military Region. The leader, Lu Wenxin, was holding a Polu sword and stood guard at the door. Although I have never seen Lu Wenxin, I know this Polu sword. .
"General Lu Wenxin."
Lu Wenxin recognized me as soon as he saw me. He felt a burst of ecstasy in his heart. He quickly knelt down in the tunnel and said: "The last general, Lu Wenxin, is going to meet the emperor."
"Yes. The commander of the Black Tan Regiment. He is known as Dao Lu. He has fought against Ashu twice. There is no winner or lose. He is a good and a good general."
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for the compliment. Thank you, Your Majesty, for the sword."
"A precious sword is given to heroes. General Lu, please use this sword to fight on the battlefield for me."
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. The general will definitely live up to the Emperor's kindness."
"Okay." I laughed and walked into the Xiangyang Commandery.
All the main generals in the Xiangfan area gathered in the meeting hall of the Commander's Mansion. I didn't know most of the generals from the Xiangyang Military Region. After Lu Wende introduced them to me one by one, I smiled and said: "Generals, from the Yuan Army. The troops were sent to Anyang Beach. Today, the Battle of Xiangfan has come to an end. With the brave efforts of our soldiers, the Song Dynasty won a complete victory. The victory of the Battle of Xiangfan is of great significance. This battle was the Great War of the Song and Yuan Dynasties. The turning point marked that our country's war to regain the north has entered a new stage. This battle not only greatly improved the morale of our soldiers, but also proved that our country's firearms will definitely become the mainstream of the war. Firearms will also It has become an important weapon for our army to regain the north. When it comes to firearms, you all know their power. But the number of artillery and projectiles is limited after all. The largest number of our army is muskets. You may ask, in this Xiangfan battle. Our army is facing off against the infantry of the Yuan Army. What if we encounter the opponent's cavalry? In fact, it is the same. The cavalry has a big target. Even the cavalry shield army can only protect people, but cannot protect horses. As long as the sound of gunfire One shot. Although it may not be enough to kill the war horse with one shot, the injured war horse will be out of the control of the cavalry. It will definitely cause chaos in its formation. Coupled with the cooperation of the throwing bombs, as long as the cavalry is not allowed to rush into our fire In front of the gunmen's gun array, the Mongolian cavalry, which claims to be invincible, can only abandon its armor and flee."
After a pause, I continued: "I am very satisfied with the performance of the Xiangyang Military Region, Lin'an Military Region, Jianghuai Military Region, Yulin Army, Zhongshun Army and other departments that participated in this battle. For this reason, I decided to participate in the war.
Rewards will be given to generals who have performed well. Fancheng's defenders, General Fan Tianshun, General Niu Fu, and General Wang Fu."
"The end will be here."
"During the entire Battle of Xiangfan, Fancheng suffered the heaviest pressure and suffered the greatest casualties. For this reason, I have decided to award all the soldiers of the Fancheng garrison a third-class collective merit. Each soldier will be awarded five hundred Chinese coins. All seriously injured soldiers will be awarded.
An additional five hundred yuan of Chinese coins will be added. For those who died in battle, an additional one thousand yuan of Chinese coins will be added. In addition, the three of you will be conferred the title of Captain of the Shang Qing Chao. Each of you will be given a gold belt."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
According to current prices, five hundred Chinese dollars is enough to support a family of four in cities outside Lin'an for a year.
"Commander of the Black Carbon Regiment Lu Wenxin."
"The end will be here."
"General Lu, you have to challenge the commander of the Yuan army, Ashu, and you will not lose the morale of our army. I will make you the captain of the light carriage and give you a gold belt."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
"General Lu Shikui."
"The end will be here."
"In the face of the bombardment of hundreds of dimensional army trebuchets, your troops always stood firm at the east gate and never left a single step without permission. Your contribution is indispensable. I will make you the Captain of Light Vehicles and give you a gold belt."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
In the Battle of Xiangyang, as the top commanders of the two cities of Xiangyang, Lu Wende and Lu Wenhuan commanded well. They certainly made contributions. However, in view of the mistakes of setting up a private inquiry field in the early stage, the two offset each other. I will neither reward nor punish. I just use this method.
Chia
The way of rewarding his son Lu Shikui hints at Lu Wende. I know the contribution of the Lu family. The reward given to Lu Shikui with a golden belt is equivalent to that of Niu Fu and other generals. However, Lu Shikui's contribution is far inferior to that of the three generals who guarded Fancheng.
"The commander of the third compartment is General Wu Songhan. The commander of the sixth compartment is General Zhu Huan. The commander of the Polu Army is General Jiang Cai."
"The end will be here."
"In the crucial battle of Guanzitan, you led your troops to withstand the attack of the Yuan army and bought enough time for the artillery battalion's second launch. I will confer upon you the title of captain of the superior light vehicle. Each of you will be given a gold belt.