In the past few years, every time the Mongolian army went south, it was in autumn. This was not only to avoid the scorching heat of the Central Plains in summer, but also because the wheat in the Central Plains was ripe in autumn, which made it easier for the cavalry to herd horses and plunder in separate groups.
Since ancient times, the nomadic peoples have been fighting for power in the Central Plains, and they have always behaved like this. When the Khitan and the Song Dynasty fought, they often extended their troops thousands of miles deep, relying on the advantage of the enemy in autumn.
Therefore, after autumn this year, Hedong, Hebei, Zhongdu, Northeast and other places urged the people to harvest wheat and grain in advance, and be prepared to strengthen the walls and clear the fields.
But to the surprise of many, the Mongolian army took no action.
This situation aroused the surprise of many people in Zhongdu City. Wang Shouxin, the commander of the marching capital who claimed to have Zhuge Liang's military talent and was good at the "Ancient and Modern Relative" formation, even went to the table again and again, claiming that there must be civil strife on the grassland.
. He also cited the words of some people who claimed to have escaped from the grasslands, saying that the Black Tartar chieftain Temujin and another chieftain named Jamukh were in conflict over matters, so they drew their swords and cut each other on the spot, killing one and seriously injuring the other.
All the ministers thought this statement was ridiculous, but the emperor believed it and even sent men from the Ministry of Internal Affairs to cross the pass and go to the northern grassland to investigate.
As a result, the spies had not yet turned back. In the early winter of November, the Mongolian army moved. In the winter of the second year of Zhenyou, in November, Genghis Khan marched south with tens of thousands of troops. He first stopped at the Beijing Road that had been taken away.
He threatened Zhongdu.
Many high-ranking officials and nobles were secretly lucky, but now they were terrified. Among other things, countless people first impeached Wang Shouxin and tried to prove that they had foresight.
Wang Shouxin himself was just a favorite of the emperor, with no real talent at all. The emperor only kept him because of some lucky thoughts in his heart. At this time, he just took advantage of the situation and dumped a lot of charges on him, making this sudden loss.
The high-ranking charlatan was killed.
Wang Shouxin died, and powerful enemies were still outside. Everyone had to discuss bitterly how to resist the Mongols.
Although there were tens of thousands of people in Zhongdu, no one wanted to leave the city to fight with the Mongols. The generals who led the troops were making troubles. They only said that the city was under curfew and martial law, the police inspectors were conducting strict inspections, and the front office was suppressing the restlessness, and the guards were guarding the troops.
, the Wuwei Army, the Weijie Army, and the Zhameng'an and Yi Army all joined forces, immediately inspected the troops and horses, and issued rewards to boost morale.
These are necessary to defend the city, but not enough to defeat the enemy.
Xu Ding and other ministers thought more carefully and pointed out that the grain transportation in Caohe River was insufficient and urgent urging was needed. In addition, the decree of conferring nobility could be re-issued in Zhongdu, and all officials above the level of Jingfu, as well as monks and Taoists, could be ordered to do so.
Even though the emperor has appointed so many Meng'an, Dutong, Tikong and other officials in the past few months, he still has to spend seventy stones to serve the court.
The emperor obeyed the good deeds and immediately issued an edict. As a result, there was some food, which caused a huge commotion in the city. Hundreds of Jurchens who were equipped with gold and silver medals and talismans rushed to defeat them. They could neither bring out corn nor give up their official positions. They all gathered around
They made a noise in front of Xu Ding's house, saying that Xu Ding would be killed so that the country could be at peace, but Xu Ding's servants dispersed them with wooden sticks.
Another imperial officer, Li Ying, reported that he had recently built more city walls and built towers and oars, which were quite effective, but the troops in the central capital were weak. This can be seen from the facts. Let’s not talk about him on the other side of Nanjing Road. If Shandong, Hebei
, without strong support from Hedong and even the hinterland of Northeast China, the capital will be an isolated city and will be destroyed sooner or later.
It sounds like a curse, but the truth is correct.
The reason why the emperor appointed these envoys was originally to suppress King Sui with his senior ministers. Therefore, although he had high expectations, he also had considerable doubts.
The performance of these xuanfu envoys after they were appointed also proved that the emperor's doubts were correct.
One by one, they began to exercise power, showing a tendency to break away from the imperial court and control local military affairs. Guo Ning was a genuine rebel, not to mention Pu Xianwannu's rebellion. Even the emperor
His relative, Daijin's official servant San Anzhen, has also become less reliable recently.
Not long ago, Pusan Anzhen suddenly arrested the virtuous and powerful people from all over Hebei Province and divided their land, money and food for Meng An to conquer the army. He killed many people in Hebei, and there was an uproar in Zhongdu.
These days, most of the Jurchens who sign up to fight in Meng'an's army are poor, and most of the people who control large areas of land in Hebei are inextricably linked to the nobles of Zhongdu. Pusan Anzhen suddenly came to do this
Who can bear to rob the rich and give to the poor?
Many high-ranking Jurchen officials suffered losses from this group, so they frantically criticized Pusan Anzhen, saying that he was crazy. Memorials from both sides came and went like a snowstorm, and they fought with words and pens, and the human mind was like a dog brain.
But when the Mongols moved, these disputes came to an abrupt end.
No matter how unreliable the Xuanfu envoys are, they still have force in their hands. The emperor's power can only cover one central capital. At this time, who else can we rely on instead of them?
At present, the emperor successively issued edicts to promote officials in various places, such as Pu San Anzhen in Hebei, Guo Ning in Shandong, Hou Zhi in Hedong, etc., all of whom were given special promotions and were given the titles of loyal ministers of Xuanli and commander-in-chief of the army.
, appoint officials, collect taxes, and order rewards and punishments to be carried out easily.
The Xuanfu envoys from all over the country have all seen the world. To be honest, no one paid much attention to these empty appointments. Guo Ning and his companions were happy for a while, because they no longer had to worry about the imperial court parachuting in a few cats and dogs to cause trouble.
La Chucai drank wine and discussed the appointment of his successor.
However, it is a bit embarrassing to say.
Guo Ning had previously received a secret report from Liaodong, saying that Mu Huali was building ladders, rams, arrow towers and other objects in Dading Prefecture in Beijing, and that he had signed tens of thousands of troops on Beijing Road. This was obviously preparation for storming the fortified city, so
He was also happy to watch the good show first and watch the Mongols hit Zhongdu first.
But they never thought that on the first day of November, the brave general Zhebie of the Mongolian army would lead his army first, leading five thousand elite Mongolians, and Wang Gu's army, more than ten thousand troops, to attack the northeast.
At this time in the Northeast, it was freezing cold, and dripping water turned into ice. The first heavy snowfall a few days ago had covered the area, and roads were blocked in the blink of an eye.
After discussion, the generals all felt that Zhebie's troops were just testing the enemy. Heshi Liehuanduan himself was a veteran general who dared to fight, and his troops were also very tough and brave. He only had to stay in the city and hold on until late winter, and he would be safe.
Moreover, Heshi Liehuanduan was not fighting alone. On his south side, there was Wendihan Qinggu's troops, and on his west side, there was Heshi Liede's troops. The three sides formed horns to cover each other.
After the three parties, the Ding navy was deployed in Fuzhou and Gaizhou. There were deep trenches and high fortresses between the Hesihanguan isthmus, Liaohai defense envoys, and the military commander Han Xuan had 10,000 elite troops.
It's enough to calm the situation.
However, within the next ten days, several copies of military newspapers flew in from Fuzhou every day.
He Shi Liehuanduan was no match for Zhe Bie.
The defenses he deployed around Liaoyang Prefecture and Xianping Prefecture collapsed at the first touch, while the Mongolian army broke through the city and continued to penetrate deep into the interior.
On November 3, Tongchang fell.
On November 4th, Yizhou fell.
On November 5th, Shi Mo also attacked Quang Ninh Prefecture first. He Shi Liehuanduan led his troops south to rescue, but was destroyed in the battle of Zhebie. Thousands of people were killed and injured, and they retreated in embarrassment.
On November 6, Quang Ninh Mansion fell.
On November 7, the Mongolian army forced Liaoyang Prefecture. Although Liaoyang Prefecture was a large city, it had been in decline for a long time and the city defenses had not been restored. Wendy Hanqinggu only held on for half a day and had to abandon the city and flee. Instead, he led his troops to the front.
Xiao Moule, who went to investigate the situation, had a small battle with the Mongolian army. He killed more than a hundred elite knights and retreated to Chengzhou on his own initiative.
On November 8th, it snowed heavily, but the Mongolian army was not afraid of the cold winter at all. They walked through the snow to clear a road and went straight to Xianpingfu!
As a result, the interior of Northeast China was shaken, Liaodong was shaken, and Shandong was shaken.