After Prince Namuhan, the commander-in-chief of the Yuan army stationed in the northwest, reached an alliance with Kublai Khan and the great khans of the four western khanates on behalf of Kublai Khan, Fang Chenqian and Yang Liazhenjia immediately set off and returned to the capital. Fifty thousand elite cavalrymen of the Yuan army were in Under the leadership of Namuhan and Xiliji, they marched eastward three days later.
In this way, the Yuan Dynasty's crisis in the northwest was temporarily relieved. However, this was only a drop in the bucket. The 100,000 elite middle army was not the enemy of the Song Army's firearms, not to mention the northwest Yuan Army, which was slightly inferior in combat effectiveness and numbers. Woolen cloth?
After listening to Fang Chenqian's words, Kublai Khan calculated with his fingers: "The army is moving slowly, and it will take at least a month or so to reach Dadu. Although the Southern Dynasty army conquered Mingzhou, it consumed a lot of money. Our army will There is enough time to set up defenses around Dadu."
Fang Chenqian heard the news of the fall of Mingzhou on the way back. When he heard Kublai Khan's confirmation, he couldn't help but secretly panic. Mingzhou has been lost, can most of the capital be saved? Although he doesn't understand military affairs, he Fang Chenqian knew the power of firearms and suddenly had an ominous premonition.
Yin Tianya said: "Mr. Fang, Yang Lianzhenjia, you are tired from the journey, please go down and rest first."
"Yes, Lord God." Fang Chenqian recovered his thoughts, saluted Kublai Khan together with Yang Lianzhenjia, and left the palace.
In mid-September, the Northern Expeditionary Army of the Song Dynasty, which had completed repairs, under the command of Lu Wenhuan, successively recaptured the major cities in central and southern Hebei. On September 21, the Kui Division of the 19th Wing and the Wen Zhang Division of the First Division of the Royal Forest Army arrived at With the support of the artillery battalion, Baozhou (today's Baoding), an important town in the south of Dadu, was captured. At this point, only Ba County (today's Bazhou City) was left in the south of Dadu.
Due to the inability to crack the firearms, Boyan, A Shu and other generals of the Yuan Army's middle route army had to lead the remaining 10,000 soldiers to retreat to Dadu. Almost on the same day, Namuhan also arrived with 50,000 soldiers under his command. Together with the original garrison in Dadu, the total strength reached 140,000 to 50,000, which was equivalent to the total of the Yuan army that besieged Xiangfan.
On the surface, the Yuan Dynasty's army in Dadu exceeded the Song Dynasty's Central Northern Expedition, and Kublai Khan seemed to have a lot more confidence. However, Dadu is a new city, and its city walls are not as strong as Mingzhou. Therefore, for firearms Boyan, Ah Shu and others, whose power was quite clear, were still uneasy.
On September 28, I held a military meeting in the temporary palace in Mingzhou City to continue our march north.
Gongsun Xiaochen first introduced the situation of the Northern Expeditionary Army and the Navy in the East and West Routes.
"My generals, at present, the Northern Expeditionary Army in the east and west, led by generals Li Tingzhi and Gundam, are still intertwined with the Yuan army in the two places. However, as the number of bombs thrown by our army continues to increase, the number of bombs thrown by our army will gradually increase. The intensity of the attack was reduced, so that the Yuan army could only huddle in the cities and focus on defense. Among them, most of the cities in Shandong have been recovered by our army. When the time is right, Generals Li Tingzhi and General Xia Gui will launch the Jinan Campaign. Due to the complex terrain in the western region, our army's march northward was relatively slow, but it also gained strategic initiative."
Gongsun Xiaochen pointed to the coastal waters on the map and continued: "After the navy failed to land on the Liaodong Peninsula, General Li Beiyang realized that no matter what the special reasons were, the land warfare capabilities of our navy were still far inferior to the Yuan Dynasty's army. Therefore, they no longer chose to engage in landing operations, but continued to launch attacks on the Yuan Navy that was huddled in the Bohai Bay. Liu Zheng, the commander of the Yuan Navy, immediately took command of the army after his injury improved slightly, but he could only use all his strength. Defense, for the warships of the Yuan army, as soon as they encounter our giant ships, they will be unable to fight back. Even if we don’t count the power of the artillery on our giant ships, the super tonnage alone is not enough to defeat the Yuan Dynasty. The ships can compete. It can be said that our navy has completely gained the upper hand and forced the Yuan army's navy to a dead end, making it unable to fight back. My generals, the above is the current situation of our naval and land armies. As for the situation of the Central Route Army, everyone is very clear about it, so I will not repeat it here. Now I ask the emperor for instructions."
Although the Eastern and Western armies were not as brilliant as the results achieved by the Central Route Army, they also achieved a strategic transformation from defense to offense and tightly held back the two armies of the Yuan Dynasty, creating a foundation for the Central Route Army to regain Henan and Hebei.
Favorable conditions.
"Generals, as of today, there will no longer be any suspense about the outcome of the war. No one will think that the Yuan army's cavalry can stop our army's firearms, right?" I smiled and said, "In my opinion, even
Kublai Khan must have thought so in his heart, even though he would still speak harshly in public."
Lu Wenhuan said: "Your Majesty, even if Genghis Khan, the ancestor of the Mongols, comes back to life, he will not be an enemy of our weapons."
"Well, yes, firearms cannot be defeated by manpower. Dear generals, as of today, the soldiers of our army who were injured in the Battle of Mingzhou have basically recovered. In addition, the Bianliang Military Region is growing stronger and has completely replaced the Northern Expeditionary Army in our middle route.
Guard mission, therefore, our center army is now a strong force
Ma Zhuang, coupled with the sufficient military supplies shipped by the gunpowder supervisor, it is time to attack the heart of the Yuan Dynasty. Currently, our Northern Expedition Army in the middle has a strength of 100,000, including 20,000 musketeers, and the cavalry has expanded to nearly 10,000
Name, 32,000 projectiles, 62 artillery pieces
, although the number of the Yuan army in most of the capital is greater than that of our army, their comprehensive combat strength is inferior to our army. In addition, in recent months, in order to prepare military expenditures, the Yuan Dynasty court has been constantly plundering the people's wealth, which has led to widespread resentment among the people.
It can be seen from the feedback from dragon teeth in various places that the people of the Yuan Dynasty
We have lost our hearts. Therefore, the upcoming battle of Dadu is only a matter of time. Once the battle of Dadu is over, our army will send troops southward to defeat the Yuan Dynasty’s Eastern Route Army and regain Shandong. Then we will march westward to Shanxi, Shaanxi and other places to eliminate them.
The Western Route Army of the Yuan Dynasty regained our lost territory in one fell swoop."
At this point, I took a sip of tea, calmed down my excitement and continued: "Now, I will announce the personnel arrangements for attacking Dadu. General Wu Songhan, General Meng Tianxiang, and General Duan Donglou will follow the order."
"The end will be here."
"Three generals, I order you three to serve as the vanguard, General Wu Songhan will lead the second group of soldiers in the center, General Meng Tianxiang will lead the Zhongshun Army on the left, and General Duan Donglou will lead the Xingfu Army on the right. On October 1st
We set out and rushed to Baozhou, and after joining General Wen Zhang and General Lu Shikui who were stationed in Baozhou, we divided our troops into two groups, one to capture Fanyang County (today's Zhuozhou) and the other to capture Xincheng County (today's Gaobeidian City)."
"Yes, I will obey the order."
"General Yin Yinglei, General Zhao Huai."
"The end will be here."
"You will lead the 3rd Division of the Imperial Guard and the 17th and 18th Infantry Guard Artillery Battalions to set off on October 3rd, destined for Baoding."
"Yes, I will obey the order."
"The remaining generals of the Central Route Army will set out with me on October 4th, and the defense of Mingzhou City will be handed over to the Bianliang Military Region."
Everyone said in unison: "Yes, I will obey the order."
On October 9, when I led the army to Baoding, Fanyang and Xincheng counties had been captured by our army. The defenders of these two counties basically did not resist and evacuated under artillery fire.
Baozhou City was built during the Warring States Period and has a long history. It was the hometown of Emperor Yao in ancient times. During the Northern Song Dynasty, Baozhou became the dividing line between Song and Liao. The two countries fought many wars here. In the late Jin Dynasty,
Baozhou City became a
Ruins. In the 22nd year of Taizu of Mongolia (1227), General Zhang Rou was ordered to rebuild the city of Baozhou, plan the markets, settle residences, build government offices, temples, gardens, build earthen walls, and dredge the moat. Since then, the foundation of Baozhou has been laid.
The foundation of the state city.
After Kublai Khan established his capital in Dadu, Baozhou City became the southern gateway to the capital of the Yuan Dynasty. In the eleventh year of Emperor Taizong of the Yuan Dynasty (1239), Baozhou was used as the seat of Shuntian Road. According to the course of history, from the Yuan Dynasty to the twelfth year of the Yuan Dynasty, Baozhou City
(1275), Shuntian Road was changed to Baoding Road. From then on, the name "Baoding" came to mean "defend the capital and stabilize the world". However, all this changed with my arrival.
In this new city, there is an ancient lotus pond built in the Shangyuan period of the Tang Dynasty. Later expanded by Zhang Rou, it was named Xuexiang Garden and became his private garden. Lu Shikui and Wen Zhang were the first to invade Baozhou.
They all agreed that this garden has Jiangnan characteristics and is somewhat similar to the layout of Lin'an Palace. It can be used as a temporary palace for me during my stay in Baozhou.
As soon as I walked into the Xuexiang Garden, I saw small bridges, flowing water, pavilions and pavilions, which are elegant and unique, with cleverness in the clumsiness and wonder in the simplicity. Although the lotus blooming season has passed, the green leaves in the pond complement the surrounding nature.
It’s a feast for the eyes. Apart from the scenery
In addition to its beauty, the dozen or so stone carvings in Xuexiang Garden are also famous, including the majestic "Autobiography" by Huai Su, a grass sage from the Tang Dynasty; the "Pagoda of Many Treasures" by Yan Zhenqing;
The ink marks of Wang Xizhi of Que.
"Yes, I will live here."
Fang Ling said happily: "I didn't expect to see the scenery of Jiangnan in Baozhou City."
Wen Zhang, who was accompanying him, said: "Your Majesty, Concubine Ling, according to the old man in Xuexiangyuan, the craftsmen who expanded this place are all people from the south of the Yangtze River who were captured by the Mongols."
I nodded and said: "No wonder it is somewhat similar to the scenery in Lin'an Palace. Exchanges between the north and the south are originally a good thing, but they should be done on a voluntary basis. Like the Mongols who forcibly plundered the craftsmen of our dynasty, it is clearly bullying others."
After staying in Baozhou for two days, I led the army to Fanyang County, which is only a hundred miles away from Dadu. Compared with Baozhou, Fanyang County is much smaller, and the army can only camp outside the county.
Speaking of Fan Yang's name, not many people in later generations know it, but when it comes to Fan Yang's original name, many people know it. Zhuoxian County, the hometown of Liu Bei, the founder of the Shu Kingdom during the Three Kingdoms period at the end of the Han Dynasty. More than a thousand years ago, Liu Bei
When he was selling straw sandals in Zhuoxian County, he met Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, and they became sworn brothers in Taoyuan, creating a good story.
However, during the Song Dynasty, Fanyang County occupied a pivotal position.