Concubine Yang gave birth to a son. Quan Jiu was also pregnant. It seemed that the Zhao family had begun to prosper. Amid the joy, it took me a while to remember that there was another memorial.
"This is the memorial from the Government Affairs Council. Ling'er read it."
"Yes." Fang Ling took the memorial from me and read: "This is for your Majesty. On July 8, the fifth year of Xianchun's reign, He Jihe, the bachelor of Xianwen Pavilion and the president of Lin'an University, unfortunately passed away due to illness. He was eight years old. Ten to one."
"He Aiqing." I was stunned for a moment and said sadly, "It's only been postponed for half a year."
Historically, He Ji died in December 1268. This is what I mean by the delay of half a year. Of course, Yuan Ji, Fang Ling and others present did not know the truth.
Although Fang Ling had met He Ji, it was before he lost his memory and had no contact with him since. Therefore, he only knew that He Ji was the president of Lin'an University. The rest was not very clear. "Brother, there is also a letter from Mr. He attached to this memorial. A handwritten letter before his death." Fang Ling added.
"Really? Read it."
Fang Ling read in a low voice: "Old Minister He Ji deeply feels that time is running out. Your Majesty is thousands of miles away. It is a pity that I cannot see your holy face again. I am deeply loved by Your Majesty and became the president of Lin'an University when I was old. This new type of university is the first of its kind in history. It is indeed the wave of the future. It should be a model for education in our country and should be promoted. In this way, in less than ten years, the students of the university will be able to shoulder the important task of revitalizing our country. The old minister should have a smile on his face. Vice President Shen Yiqiu of Lin'an University has both political integrity and talent, and his loyalty is a lesson. I propose that he can succeed to the position of president. After my death, I will be buried with scholar's rites and no official ceremony. I only hope that your majesty will regain the Central Plains as soon as possible. .Restore our Great Song Dynasty. Minister He Ji. On the evening of July 3rd, the fifth year of Xianchun."
I haven't had much contact with He Ji, but I admire his character and knowledge very much. He Ji is diligent in his studies. He is like a Han Confucian; he expounds and displays many innovative ideas. What I admire most is He Ji's studies. Since Zhu Xi, he has not been a stickler for the past. He has the courage to explore new things. In his eighties, he accepted the post of president of Lin'an University, which focuses on new education. I thought about it and said: "Gongsun Xiaochen. Biography It is my decree to order Zhao Shun Sun Zhao Aiqing of the Government Council to notify Wen Aiqing of Lin'an to posthumously designate He Aiqing as the Duke of Korea and to establish a temple in his hometown of Jinhua Prefecture for future generations to pay homage to. At the same time, to commemorate He Aiqing's contribution to the education of our dynasty. I It has been decided to set the admission date for Lin'an University and other new universities that will be opened in the future on July 8th every year."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Lu Xiufu said: "Your Majesty, Mr. He is a famous figure in our court and a current official in the court. Should he be buried according to the official rites of the court?"
I shook my head and said, "No need. Just follow He Aiqing's wishes before his death and bury him with the courtesy of a scholar."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Three days later, Tian Xiuyan, Duan Donglou and hundreds of Yunnan revival troops arrived in Xiangyang. I listened carefully to Tian and Duan's report on the entire Yunnan campaign. I also praised Duan Heng's "righteous deed" and the others. The merits of the soldiers of the Southwest Military Region. I naturally understood the intention of the Xingfu Army to go north. So I ordered the Xingfu Army to join the Northern Expedition Middle Road Army. It was still under the command of Duan Donglou. Duan Donglou was granted the title of Captain of Shangqingche, and he was led by four subordinates. Rank. We will wait until the Central Northern Expedition Army is formally established to appoint specific military official positions.
In the evening, at the banquet hosted by Duan Donglou and his entourage, Duan Donglou presented me with a letter from Duan Heng and said, "Your Majesty, this is a personal letter written by Prince Duan to the Emperor."
I took the letter and read it. The content was very simple. The general idea was to thank me for driving the Mongols out of Yunnan. He also expressed his intention to submit to the Song Dynasty. Finally, he mentioned that he hoped to send people to study at two universities in Lin'an to contribute to Yunnan Province.
Reserve talents for future development.
After reading it, I immediately expressed my position: "General Duan, please reply to Prince Duan and order him to send twenty people each to Lin'an University and Lin'an Military University to study. For specific matters, let them contact Tian Zuiyan of the Ethnic Affairs Department after they arrive in Lin'an."
Duan Donglou said happily: "Yes. I will thank the Emperor on behalf of Prince Duan."
"To build Yunnan well, we naturally need a large number of local talents. Yunnan is a remote province with many ethnic groups. Although it is relatively backward, it still has a lot of resources. As long as we find a good way, we should soon become rich. Waiting for these people
After graduating from university, you can prepare a similar university in Yunnan to train local talents."
"It's better this way," Duan Donglou said. "The general will thank the Emperor for his kindness on behalf of the people of all ethnic groups in Yunnan."
I smiled and said to Tian Xiuyan: "Xiuyan, you stay in Xiangyang and serve as military counselors together with Gongsun Xiaochen. Follow me on the Northern Expedition."
"Yes, Your Majesty. The general will obey your order."
"Well, generals, you have worked hard all the way. Eat well today and rest well. From tomorrow on, we will train according to our army's training methods. Revitalize the army. We must not only revive Yunnan, but also revive our Song Dynasty.
"I raised my glass and said, "Come and have a drink. I believe that the Xingfu Army will definitely become an invincible iron army in our army of the Song Dynasty."
On July 23rd and 24th, I received 800-mile urgent reports from Li Tingzhi, the establishment envoy of the Jianghuai Military Region.
The first report was to forward the news from Yin Yinglei. Li Tingzhi said in the report that he had recently received news from Longya, Jinan Prefecture. The Yin Yinglei Department was heading towards Liaocheng at the junction of Shandong, Henan and Hebei provinces.
Sir Ying Lei said, please rest assured, Your Majesty. He will implement Your Majesty's guerrilla spirit.
Although Yin Yinglei said it lightly, I know the difficulty of going deep alone. Later Liu and Deng's armies withstood severe tests in the struggle in the Dabie Mountains and paid a heavy price. Only half of the personnel were lost.
As for Yin Yinglei's headquarters, I can't do anything because I can't get in touch. I can only pray for God's blessing. No matter how difficult it is, at least I know the news that Yin Yinglei is still alive. This report can be considered a good news.
.
The content of the second report was something I had never expected. I was shocked after reading it.
The weapons depot of Luzhou Prefecture was stolen a few days ago. Five muskets and dozens of rounds of ammunition were missing. As a top secret, only Luzhou garrison Miao Zaicheng and the commander of the 14th Wing Shi Yuqi have the right to the secret location where the muskets are placed.
came in and out. Shi Yuqi also disappeared at the same time. According to the weapons depot guard, before the incident
At three quarters of Shen hour on the same day (3:45 p.m.), Shi Yuqi took out the musket from the storehouse. The guard at the north gate of Luzhou also said. Shi Yuqi said that he went out of the city to test the gun. At the end of Shen time (5 p.m.) before the city gate closed
He left the city gate with several people wearing common people's clothes. He never returned after that.
That night, after inspecting the city defenses, General Miao Zaicheng held a nightly parade meeting and found out that Shi Yuqi was missing. After finding out the situation, General Miao Zaicheng immediately reported to Yangzhou and sent people out of the city to search north. Until the early morning of the next day, Shi Yuqi's whereabouts was not found.
Shi Yuqi was an upright man with no bad habits. He always behaved in a low-key manner and had a very harmonious relationship with the lieutenants. He was highly respected by the officers and soldiers of the Fourteenth Wing. Therefore, General Miao Zaicheng ruled out many possibilities. He believed that the most likely possibility was that Shi Yuqi was Mongolia worked carefully because the only one who was most eager to get the musket was Kublai Khan.
I still have a very deep impression of Shi Yuqi. He was born in martial arts. During his martial arts examination, I witnessed his battle with Ouyang Jianqing. Later he joined the Forbidden Army and accompanied Xia Gui on his expedition to Luzhou. He fought in Anfeng. He was neutral and had military exploits. In addition, Shi Yuqi led the army well. Within a few years, he was promoted to the commander of the chamber.
"For a few muskets, he gave up the hard-earned official position of a general at the Xiang level. It seems that Kublai Khan paid great attention to firearms."
"Brother, compared to firearms, the role of a commander is certainly far inferior."
"Oh. Really."
"For Kublai Khan, if he cannot crack the firearms of our dynasty, he will definitely lose. Therefore, it can be said that Shi Yuqi will play an role at most at one point, but firearms are a major event that affects the entire situation."
"Ling'er said it very well. This is the relationship between point and surface. However, firearms are not so easy to crack."
"Brother, we can't underestimate it. The crack may not be possible in the short term. But the Yuan Dynasty had a vast territory. Naturally, there were many talented craftsmen among them. It is still possible to imitate."
"Imitation. This is quite possible." Coming from a later generation, I naturally have no doubt about the ability of Chinese people to imitate. I smiled and said, "Imitation of firearms is not an easy task. It's just the gunpowder formula used in muskets. It was enough to keep Kublai Khan tossing for a while. Gongsun Xiaochen."
"The end will be here."
"Go and call General Xia Gui, General Wang Sheng, General Bian Juyi, General Zhu Huan and General Jiang Cai."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
As Shi Yuqi's superiors and colleagues, Xia Gui, Wang Sheng and Bian Juyi were all shocked when they learned that the musket was stolen. They never thought that this matter would be related to Shi Yuqi. Zhu Huan and Jiang Cai did not know Shi Yuqi. His face looked as usual.
"You really know people but not their hearts." Xia Gui sighed. "Your Majesty, Shi Yuqi is a young hero in our Jianghuai Army. Together with his dog Xia Qing, he is known as the two heroes of Luzhou. He is also someone who is extremely optimistic about the general. It's a pity, it's a pity. .Why."
Wang Shengze said: "Kublai Khan arranged such a chess piece a few years ago. It shows that he had good intentions. Fortunately, the incident happened in advance."
Bian Juyi said: "Your Majesty, General Miao's judgment may be the only reason that can explain Shi Yuqi's theft of firearms. If this is true, it can only mean that Kublai Khan's desire to crack our firearms has reached the point of impatient. .”
"Yes. In the Battle of Xiangyang, our army's firearms showed great power. Artillery, muskets, and projectiles defeated the Yuan army. Their morale was low. If Kublai Khan can't find a way to deal with it, in my opinion, he will Just wait to die."
Jiang Cai, who had seen the power of firearms with his own eyes, said: "Your Majesty, it would be great if all our troops were equipped with firearms."