Start with detective Li Yuanfang

Chapter 879

"Follow the king's orders!"

Xu Ning, Commander of the Guangxin Army, and Zhang Qing, Commander of the Zhenrong Army, received the Wang Order after saluting, and looked at each other in surprise.

Facing the herald, they naturally wouldn't talk too much, and they didn't discuss in low voices until they entered the camp.

"To actually attack Jingzhou and capture Xiangyang, is this place so important?"

"Could it be to suppress Fang La in Jinghu Lake, let's go to Xiangyang, the most urgent one must be Fang La!"

"It should be so. I still remember the young master... If Mingzun's sect is full of such frenzied thieves, the harm will be so great that it is unimaginable!"

As early as the two armies were transferred to the border of Jingxibei Road and Jingxixi Road, Xu Ning and Zhang Qing had faintly noticed that the target of the two armies might be Xiangyang, but it was difficult to understand the importance of this city.

Because the courses in the academy didn't describe much about the land of Xiangyang, and Li Yan couldn't say much about some things. After all, in most periods of history, Xiangyang's presence was not particularly strong, and it was just one of the important military towns.

Until the Southern Song Dynasty.

For later generations, Xiangyang became famous because of the six-year tug-of-war in Xiangyang during Mongolia's destruction of the Southern Song Dynasty.

But in fact, the importance of this place has been exaggerated to varying degrees, both in the novel and in the history of impressions.

Needless to say in the novel, Guo Jing and Huang Rong have guarded Xiangyang for more than [-] years, and Meng Ge died under the city of Xiangyang. This has been artistically processed, and everyone knows it well.

Historically, when Mongolia fought against Sichuan, it took Xiangyang with ease, and then the Song army took back Xiangyang. They didn't care too much, and they still went to attack Sichuan and Sichuan, because before that, this place was not critical. To occupy Bashu, you can take advantage of the upper reaches, and go down from a strategic position, directly taking the hinterland of Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

Then when did Xiangyang become important?
It's very simple. Although Sichuan and Shu were not completely lost under the Mongolian attack, even Mengge died under the fishing city of Hezhou, but they were half useless, and they could no longer serve as the northwest barrier leading the overall situation of the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. Transferred to the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, Xiangyang, which has been reinforced and repaired, shouldered the important task of protecting the country and society of the Southern Song Dynasty.

Even at this point, Xiangyang is still not the last line of defense that will surely die if it is lost. The Song army could have relied on Ezhou, which is later known as Wuhan, to prevent Mongolia from entering the Yangtze River.

But Xiangyang was not only lost. After the guard Lu Wenhuan surrendered to the opponent, the brothers and nephews of the Lu family who were stationed in the Jinghu area, the old disciples, surrendered. Mongolia not only took Xiangyang, but also calmed down the Han River Basin with little effort, and arrived in a short time Hanyang, in a sense, this is harder to accept than losing Xiangyang.

The Song army was caught off guard, and after resisting for a while, Hanyang still declared its fall, and Ezhou was unable to support itself, so it had to surrender.

This is too fatal. Compared with Xiangyang, which is more famous, Ezhou is the west gate of the Song Dynasty. Guarding the mouth of the Han River can stop the enemy from the east of Sichuan. The survival of the Southern Song Dynasty center in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River depends entirely on this place. .

Xiangyang is lost, the Southern Song Dynasty is in danger, Ezhou is lost, and the Southern Song Dynasty is lost!
When Xiangyang was not lost before, Kublai Khan’s soldiers surrounded Ezhou. Song Lizong was so frightened that he planned to follow the example of his ancestors and move the capital. , otherwise it would be useless to move anywhere.

So is Xiangyang important?Of course it is important.

But it is so important that its fame completely overwhelms other places, and it shoulders the lifeline of the Southern Song Dynasty. It can only be said that it was so in a certain period of time, and it is far from normal.

The situation in the Southern Song Dynasty is as critical as it is. In the current situation, Xiangyang, which has not yet tapped out the strongest defensive potential, let alone the only target.

After all, not long after Song Ting moved south to Jinling, Jiang’s defensive army system was not perfect at all. Bashu was tossed by the rebellious Yang Tianwang, and it was difficult to send troops downstream to support it.

This is why Fang La initially thought that the Yan army would not go south to attack Xiangyang with all its strength.

If you really have this skill, why not go all out, break the Jianghuai line of defense, and then go to the south of the Yangtze River, why bother to go around in a big circle and make a fuss?

However, compared to Fang La's luck, Xu Ning and Zhang Qing were strange, but they still carried out with all their strength.

The deputy commanders of the two armies, Shi Xiu and Lu Fang, received the order, summoned many generals, and distributed more than a dozen family letters: "This battle of Xiangyang has two steps. The army mainly focuses on persuading surrender, and these family letters are the key."

After the generals read it, they were amazed, Shi Xiu smiled and said: "If I were the generals of the Western Army, reading these sincere letters, I couldn't help but miss my hometown and surrender! Do you want to put this letter away? , what should we do if we see it badly?"

Zhang Qing said with a smile: "Don't worry, these are duplicates. When the time comes, they will be used in the city. For the original letters, monks from the Secret Camp will send them into the city and hand them over to the soldiers in the camp."

The generals were curious, and a young general named Gong Wang admired Zhang Qing's flying stone skills very much, so he took the opportunity to say, "Commander Zhang, I heard that many temples in Yanjing have sent monks. Aren't these monks practicing Buddhism behind closed doors? Why are you willing to be spies? Will they be seen through?"

"Go down the mountain to collect money in prosperous times, and close the door to enjoy happiness in troubled times. The area of ​​the jungle treasure temple is known as a breeding ground for traitors and traitors. It is time to rectify it!"

Zhang Qing thought of the former Counselor Wu and Wu Youcheng's methods now, sneered in his heart, and said lightly: "Monks do have advantages as spies. When they were studying in the academy, the king taught them. When Song and Liao sent spies to each other, they all It's monks to monks, but the king also said that although the surrounding countries generally believe in Buddhism, they should not be generalized, if you really meet someone who doesn't care about Buddhism, you will suffer a big loss!"

Gong Wang nodded again and again, and another Ding Desun said enviously: "It would be great if I could go to the academy for further study!"

Xu Ning said with a smile: "The teaching purpose of Sui'an Academy is to teach without distinction. As long as you make meritorious service, why can't you enter the academy for further study? But you can hear clearly, capturing Xiangyang is only the first step. Jingxiang Jingxiang, Fangla occupies Jingxiang Hu, how can we sit back and watch us occupy Xiangyang? Once I wait for the city, they will definitely attack with all their strength, how to defend the city is the key to this battle!"

Ding Desun laughed and said, "How is this thief an opponent of our Yan army?"

Zhang Qing's face darkened: "Don't you think that you are invincible? Fang La is by no means comparable to ordinary rebels. Who dares to carelessly underestimate the enemy and put our army in a dangerous situation. Military law will deal with it and severely punish it!"

All the generals were stunned, and they clasped their fists together: "Yes!"

When the generals dispersed and only four commanders and deputy commanders were left, Xu Ning emphasized again: "Our army is powerful, and some arrogance cannot be avoided. As commanders, we must keep calm at all times. Blind impulse."

Shi Xiu knew that she did have a problem with desperate efforts, but now that her status is different, she really had to be patient, and clasped her fists and said, "Take orders!"

Lu Fang thought for a while and suggested: "What our army is not good at is actually the battle of defending the city. If Fang La leads the army to attack, it may be difficult to protect the city. Why not take the initiative to enter Jinghu Lake to eliminate future troubles?"

Xu Ning smiled slightly, and handed over Wang Ling's specific documents.

Lu Fang took it, and couldn't help raising his eyebrows.

Because in addition to the two steps mentioned above, there is a third step.

Capture Xiangyang, militiamen and craftsmen will arrive, and build Xiangyang into an impregnable defensive city.

If necessary, the Guangxin and Zhenrong armies will continue to go south to deter Jinghu!

……

In Xiangyang City.

Liu Fa sat in the main hall of the yamen, holding the family letter in his hand, read it twice, his face was very ugly: "Did the monk explain it?"

The guard said: "I have confessed, it is the spy sent by Yan Guo, but these letters... have already been scattered in the barracks."

Liu Fa closed his eyes.

He was a well-known general in the Song-Xia War, and he stood out for the first time when the Song Army was defeated by Xixia. Three thousand", turned the tide of the battle in one fell swoop. Since then, he has repeatedly fought fiercely in Xixia, beheading more than thousands of people successively.

His famous battle in history did not happen in this world. It was in 1105 AD. He fought against the main force of Xixia in Huizhou. Here, more than [-] Xixia soldiers were captured.

Even so, Liu Fa's fate was still miserable. Not only was he demoted because he was not good at flattering him, but he was later forced to go out by Tong Guan. He was besieged by the Xixia Army and died in a fierce battle.

Now the Western Army will no longer have a rootless eunuch on top of it, but the situation has not improved, or even worsened. Nearly [-]% of the people died due to disobedience. Liu Fa fell ill not long ago. Qi and blood have declined, and the body has become much weaker. At this time, looking at the guards around him who are also depressed, he suddenly said: "Are you homesick?"

All the guards bowed down in unison, crying: "General! We are loyal to the general!"

Liu Fa got up and helped them up one by one, before saying in a deep voice: "We charge forward and share life and death together. How can I be suspicious, just ask!"

The guard stood up, and after a moment of silence, someone lowered his head and said, "How could I not want to, I haven't been home for three years..."

Liu Fa tapped himself on the head: "Yeah, I'm so confused, isn't this nonsense?"

He picked up the letter from his family: "The Yan army is the Yan army after all. In comparison, the morale of the army is slackened, and Xiangyang can't hold it anymore, but why did they want to take Xiangyang?"

After murmuring a few words, Liu Fa shook his head, realizing that it was not important, and squeezed out three words: "Surrender!"

The personal guard was stunned, a little unbelievable, but also a little uncontrollable joy, and said in a low voice: "The general is serious?"

Seeing this reaction, Liu Fa smiled wryly: "I don't want to be a general, but if the official family kills my mother and refuses to admit it, can it really stop the world's mouth? I, Liu, am also an upright seven-foot man. Why bother dragging your brothers in the army to die because of this bastard who even killed his old lady?"

At the end, his tone was firm, and finally he stood up and said firmly: "Surrender! Go back to the northwest! Reunite with your family!!"

"Oh-oh-!!"

(End of this chapter)