"Wang Jian." Everyone was shocked when they heard this. Fan Zhishang continued: "The unknown master lived for ninety-eight years. He only had two lay disciples in his life. One was General Wang Jian at that time. The other was My grandson Fan Liang recovered. About a year and a half ago, the master died without any illness. Just before his death, he specially asked the novice monk to recruit his subordinate He Liang back to the temple. He said, 'If you join the army, Liang Fu will definitely make great achievements.' At that time, My subordinates are quite puzzled. Join the army. What kind of army? At that time, Dengzhou was still under the rule of the Mongols. My Fan family is from the Song Dynasty. I would never do anything for the Mongols. Although I have doubts. But before I could ask in detail, the master had already left with a smile on his face after he finished speaking. Now that I think about it, it turns out that it was fulfilled during the Emperor's Northern Expedition."
Everyone knows Wang Jian's achievements. He played the most important role in the Second Song-Mongolia War. In the first year of Kaiqing, Mongolian Khan Meng Ge personally led an army to besiege Hezhou. Wang Jian and his deputy Zhang Jue defended Diaoyu City many times. Defeat the Mongolian army. In desperation, Meng Ge Khan sent Jin Guobao into Diaoyu City to recruit surrender. He was killed by Wang Jian. The Mongolian army continued to attack for nine months. Moreover, the Great Khan Meng Ge was also hit by the cyclone artillery of the Song army defending the city. He died of serious injuries. "One pillar of the fish platform supported half of the wall." This is what people in the Song Dynasty said about Wang Jian.
"So there is such an experience. In other words, Fan Liangfu is the junior brother of General Wang Jian." I nodded and smiled. "Fan Liangfu, then you also go to the county government office with me. I will test you later." "
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The Dengzhou County Government Office is in dilapidated condition. Perhaps it is because it has been at the forefront of war. No matter whether it was the Song, Jin or Mongolian people, they did not repair or rebuild it.
Lu Wenhuan sighed: "Your Majesty, Dengzhou has been restored. Is it necessary to reorganize the county government?"
"The county government can be rebuilt, but it must be after the people live and work in peace and contentment. 'The world will be happy and happy'. This is not a slogan. It is the duty of an official." I suddenly thought of those magnificent government offices in later generations. The building and the contrasting dilapidated and dilapidated school buildings. He said to Fan Zhishang, "Fan Aiqing, one day, when the environment of all schools in Dengzhou County has been improved, you can renovate the county government office. And the county government office must not be more luxurious than School. This is not just a requirement I have for your Dengzhou County government. All local governments under my jurisdiction in the Song Dynasty must achieve this."
"Yes, Your Majesty, the last general (subordinate) is receiving instruction." Lu Wenhuan and Fan Zhishang replied in unison.
About half an hour later, Fan Zhishang and Wang Qian left the Dengzhou County government office. They visited each house one by one to let them open their doors and live in peace. For safety reasons, I specially asked Shen Mo to accompany him with ten personal guards for protection.
In the lobby of the county government office, I said to Fan Liangfu: "Fan Liangfu, you studied under an unknown monk. I don't know what you learned."
Fan Liangfu said quite confidently: "Back to the emperor, the common people have been learning from their masters since they were ten years old. They have learned swords, guns and sticks, swords, halberds and bows and horses, military strategies, strategies, and marching formations."
"Okay then. I will test your martial arts skills first. Quanyi. You go and try it. Until then."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Zhang Quanyi unsheathed his long sword and came to the center of the hall. "I'm Zhang Quanyi. Brother Fan, please."
"Brother Zhang, please give me some advice." Fan Liangfu squeezed his sword skills and returned the greeting.
The lobby of the county government office is not big. The two of them are fighting at close quarters with their long swords intersecting. Fan Liang's moves are calm and steady, with each move becoming thicker and thicker without appearing clumsy. Zhang Quanyi's sword moves are light and agile, alternating between virtual and real. The two are of the same age and are equally matched in skill.
Yuan Ji said to me while watching: "Your Majesty, Fan Liangfu's moves are simple. There are not many fancy tricks. It gives people the feeling of being as wise as a fool. It is indeed Buddhist Kung Fu. And he also has rich experience in facing enemies. Not bad. very nice."
The speed of the two of them is not very fast. With Yuan Ji explaining from the side, I can see some clues.
You come and I go. It’s so lively.
After sixty rounds, Zhang Quanyi's swordsmanship suddenly changed. He used a sword-twisting move in Tai Chi swordsmanship. The force was sent from the waist, and then penetrated from the shoulders to the arms and then to the wrists. He drew several circles in a row. Fan Liangfu leaned forward, and a flaw suddenly appeared in his steps. When Zhang Quan saw this, he did not hesitate. He loosened his waist and used another sword-cutting move. The footwork and technique were coordinated with the rotation of the waist. This The sword-cutting style also uses the strength of the waist to drive the strength of the arm. The wrist exerts force to stab the sword horizontally.
Fan Liangfu's moves were old and he couldn't stop this sword-cutting move. He had to take a step back. Then his face turned slightly red and he said: "Brother Zhang, I lose."
"Concession."
"Haha." Yuan Ji laughed. "Master Fan, with your martial arts, you should be fine within Lily. It's just that you have never seen Jun Bao's Tai Chi sword skills. That's why you were defeated like this."
"Tai Chi swordsmanship." Fan Liangfu secretly thought about the swordsmanship he knew, but he couldn't figure it out.
"Okay. There are not many people who can fight Lily with Quan Yi. I passed the martial arts test. I am very satisfied. Fan Liangfu. Now I will test your military strategy."
Fan Liangfu looked at Zhang Quanyi, who was about the same age as himself. He was slightly discouraged and said, "Yes, Your Majesty."
"Report."
At this time, I heard a rush of footsteps outside the door. Then Wu Songhan and Gongsun Xiaochen came in and reported: "Your Majesty, I just received news from the scouts. The Mongolian cavalry set fire to the area near Wadian Town. The crossing bridge.”
"Burn the bridge." I said after being stunned. "That is to say, if our army wants to attack Nanyang quickly, it can only pass through Lianhe Town in the north."
Gongsun Xiaochen said: "Yes. Your Majesty. That's exactly what it is."
I thought for a while and said: "Ah Shu, Boyan's move is not to give our army a choice. Could it be that Ah Shu has some good ideas to fight our army's firearms in the wild? Lu Aiqing, tell me what I want." .Invite all the generals to come here for a meeting to discuss the next step of action."
Lu Wenhuan said: "Yes. Your Majesty."
"Fan Liangfu, please listen to the current situation. I will test you again after the meeting."
"Yes. Your Majesty. The common people obey your decree."
At the meeting, the generals each expressed their opinions. Most people had the same opinion. Even in the wilderness, our army is not afraid of the Mongolian cavalry. As long as it is fully prepared in advance, artillery bombardment, musketry volleys, and more Throwing bombs upwards can completely kill the Mongolian cavalry before they attack our army's formation.
Jiang Wanzai, who seldom spoke, said after everyone finished speaking: "Your Majesty, generals, what if the Mongolian cavalry besieges and refuses to attack."
I didn't understand for a moment: "Jiang Aiqing. What do you mean?"
"Your Majesty, our army's firearms are suitable for positional warfare. What I mean is that if the Yuan army does not launch an attack, but just surrounds us on the march and forces us to take action first, they will take advantage of our army's weak points. Action. There may be a chance to break through our army's position. Although our army's artillery is sharp, it is limited in number and cannot take into account the surroundings. The number of the Yuan army is roughly the same as our army. Even without its infantry, it only has 60,000 cavalry. "We can achieve a situation of first breaking through a little bit and then breaking through one side." Jiang Wanzai said with some worry. "Your Majesty, our army's plan in advance was to use trenches to gain time for artillery preparations, and then use muskets to throw bombs to eliminate the oncoming troops. The Mongolian cavalry. But if our army takes action first, it will fall into a passive situation."
"I didn't expect this." I nodded. "Jiang Aiqing, you reminded me very well. Generals, if such a situation arises, how should our army respond?"
Gongsun Xiaochen and Tian Xiuyan looked at each other and said, "Your Majesty, the enemy will not move, and neither will our army."
I shook my head and said: "That's not right. Our army is surrounded by enemy troops. If there is a stalemate between the two sides, the Mongolian cavalry archers only need to harass our army with arrows at night, and they will be ordered to order. It is difficult for our army to deal with it. The enemy's cavalry is flexible, but our artillery is relatively heavy. At long distances, archers can shoot at our army in the form of projectiles. Our army is in a fixed location and cannot build fortifications. It is bound to become a Yuan Dynasty. It is the target of the army. However, the Yuan army is mobile and it is at night. It is difficult for our army's musketeers to capture the target."
Time passed little by little. Everyone said something to each other. After repeated discussions, we still could not satisfactorily solve the problem raised by Jiang Wanzai. But this situation is not impossible to happen. A Shu and Boyan are both the best in the world. Once the famous general falls into that stalemate, our army will only have to engage in hand-to-hand combat with the Yuan army. Although our army is not afraid of it based on its current combat effectiveness, the advantage of our army's firearms will be gone. The biggest Maybe it's a lose-lose situation.
Of course I would not accept such a result. "Fan Liangfu." I suddenly shouted.
"Ah, the grassroots are here."
"You are familiar with the terrain in this area. Do you think there is any way for our army to pass smoothly and reach Nanyang directly?"
"This...this..." Fan Liangfu hesitated. He seemed very reserved and didn't know how to answer.
"Fan Liangfu, don't be nervous." I said with a smile. "From today's meeting, you should also be able to see that our army can speak freely when discussing a matter, whether it is right, wrong, useful or useless. You can bring it up."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Fan Liangfu sorted out his thoughts and said, "Your Majesty, the common people have never seen firearms, so we can only speak according to the common people's thinking."
"Say it." I encouraged with a smile.
"In the Battle of Xiangfan, although the Mongols were defeated and returned, the main cavalry force of the Mongolian Middle Route Army did not suffer much loss. Their bravery and bravery are beyond doubt. According to common sense, if they are given time to breathe, they will With the appeasement of A Shu and other generals, it will be even more difficult to conquer. Therefore, marching into Nanyang can be said to be the top priority of our army." Fan Liangfu paused and glanced at me secretly. Then he continued, "But the common people think that Mongolia People have managed the land of the Central Plains for decades. Our army’s victory in the Northern Expedition cannot be achieved in a day. Therefore, the grass-roots people, the grass-roots people..."