In the Southern Song Dynasty, I competed with Mongolia for the world

Chapter 486 Leading the Song Dynasty?

Except for a few towns such as Sarai City and Lai City in Batu, the Mongolian army now has no important and large towns to defend. In their view, this is normal, but in the eyes of the Song army, it lacks a basic base and base area. .

Kublai Khan did not dare to say which one was better, the Mongol army's eastward expedition or the Song army's westward expedition.

But after seeing Peace City, he became more determined. After returning, he would definitely rebuild Rai City and strengthen Rai City's defense.

The Mongolian army now has few strong cities, and the city of Rai where Meng Ge is stationed has become even more important.

Kublai Khan looked at Heping City outside for a while, and then tried to go in, but was immediately stopped by the Song army guarding the city.

Song Jun asked him if he was a supplier?
Kublai Khan was stunned for a moment. At this moment, he didn't know what supplier meant.

Song Jun asked him again if he was a civilian who built the city. Do you have a pass?

Is he a businessman in the city? Do you have a shop license?
Kublai Khan had no choice but to say, I am a Mongolian businessman from Lai City, and I want to come and do business with your Song Army generals.

Of course, Song Jun had already noticed that he was a Mongolian, so he looked him up and down after hearing this: "What's your name? I have to go back and report to the general."

Zhang Hui was a surrendered general of the Jin Kingdom, and he was also a Jin person, but he took a Han name.

Because if you don’t occupy it, the British and Spanish will come and occupy it in the 16th century, not to mention the local oil production.

But Liu Zheng was away from the city most of the time. After Liu Zheng came, he patrolled around and made arrangements to prepare for the invasion of Mongolia in several years.

Liu Zheng was not in the city. Zhang Hui, the commander of the infantry and cavalry, originally wanted to have Kublai Khan brought in. After thinking about it, Zhang Hui went out of the city by himself and went to the outer city to see Kublai Khan and also saw Brother Mo.

The original commander of Heping City was Zhang Hui, but later Liu Zheng came and was taken over by Liu Zheng.

The defenders quickly entered the city to report.

So Kublai Khan could tell at a glance that Zhang Hui was not Han.

Liu Zheng was not in the city today and went to Dubai across the sea.

Kublai Khan and Brother Mo were also stunned when they saw Zhang Hui.

Across the Persian Gulf is Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Zhao Yurui said that there is a lot of oil on the opposite side. After Liu Zheng arrived, he immediately sent people to Dubai to establish a stronghold first.

If it weren't for the Mongolian clan king, the Song army on the opposite side might not be interested in dealing with him.

These people are now similar to barbaric and uncivilized people. They are relatively backward anyway.

Heping City was mainly a military town at that time, and the inner city architecture was completely different from other cities. Zhang Hui did not want the Mongols to learn from it.

This time Liu Zheng went to the opposite side to find a port and prepare to build a port to facilitate the relocation of people and garrison in the future.

After the Song army arrived, they were immediately attacked by the local Omanis. Liu Zheng was not polite and ordered the attack, killing and arresting many Omanis. Many Omanis were captured by the Song army and used as civilian husbands.

Now the Song army needed Lai City as a passage to do business with Batu, so Kublai Khan thought he was relatively safe.

The Song Army now occupies the northern part of the Persian Gulf, and if it occupies Dubai, it will be equivalent to occupying both the north and south sides of the Persian Gulf. In the future, it can further attack Oman.

Dubai originally belonged to the Abbasid dynasty, but because it was too far away, and the Abbasid dynasty is now in its final stage, its dominance has been greatly reduced. A few years ago, the Omanis in the south rose up in rebellion, and then succeeded in independence, including Dubai, United Arab Emirates. , all belong to Omanis.

"Kublai Khan." After thinking for a while, Kublai Khan reported his real name.

Last month, Song Jun sent several ships of people, more than 200 people from both cities, to find a place to stay in Dubai first.

The Abbasid dynasty was really weak in national power and too far away, so they didn't care about them.

Of course, there were various ethnic groups on the Mongolian side, and Kublai Khan didn't care. After the two sides introduced each other, Zhang Hui found out that Kublai Khan and Mo Ge were Tuo Lei's sons.

But Kublai Khan was not famous at this time, and Zhang Hui didn't even know that he was the emperor of the Yuan Dynasty in history.

The two sides exchanged a few pleasantries. Kublai Khan said that he wanted to open a shop in Heping City and do business with the Song Army to see what the Song Army needed. They could provide it. The Mongolian Army did not want money and only wanted the Song Army’s sugar and sugar. wok.

Kublai Khan believed that silk, ceramics, tea and other items, like luxury goods, would only make people addicted to this luxurious life. Only sugar and iron pots had practical value.

Zhang Hui laughed when he heard this and said: "It seems that Rai City doesn't have what we want. The Persians also have the goods we need."

"..." Kublai Khan.

Indeed, the Mongols don't have any specialties here. The things in Rai city are found in other parts of Persia.

The most famous specialty of the Mongols is war horses, and the Song army is not short of war horses now, and the local Persian war horses can also be used.

After the Song Army gradually deployed all flintlock weapons, and with the upgrade of firearms, the cavalry will definitely gradually withdraw from the stage in the future. For the Song Army, war horses are just a tool for marching, and are no longer a weapon for surprise attacks.

Seeing Kublai Khan's embarrassed expression, Zhang Hui thought that they were going to rely on the deal between Lai City and Batu, so he said nicely: "We Liu Tongzhi and Meng Ge have a good relationship, and we can all be considered friends."

Kublai Khan's expression became even more embarrassed.

Every time Song Jun made a deal with Batu, he would give some goods to Brother Meng, and Brother Meng would sometimes give some items to Song Jun in return. After going back and forth, Liu Zheng and Brother Meng had never met, but they seemed like good friends.

Now that Zhang Hui directly said that everyone was friends, Kublai Khan had mixed feelings and an indescribable feeling in his heart.

Your good friend ransacked the other person's hometown and arrested all his brothers?
Kublai Khan still has several younger brothers in the hands of the Song army.

Zhang Hui ignored his expression and continued: "The shops in the city have been rented and sold out. If you really want to open a shop in Port Commercial Street, we can move one to you and the taxes will be the lowest."

After hearing this, Kublai Khan knew that the Song people did not want them to open a shop in the city and were on guard against them.

He was not polite at that moment and asked Zhang Hui for a shop, planning to establish a base in the port.

The two were talking when suddenly the Song Army came here quickly. They found Zhang Hui, glanced at Kublai Khan, and went directly to report.

"Commander, we caught two Turks on the beach. They look like the work of the Mongolian army?"

Kublai Khan's expression remained unchanged. Zhang Hui turned around in surprise and asked Kublai Khan: "Is he one of yours?"

Kublai Khan shook his head: "No."

"Then cut him off." Zhang Hui said directly: "If he is yours, we will return it to you. Since he is not, let's just cut him down. It may be someone from Kueduan, Tabriz."

"..." Kublai Khan couldn't express his pain. Brother Mo said bravely: "Kuao Duan has always hated the people of Song Dynasty. He is probably the spy sent by him."

Zhang Hui laughed dryly and said nothing more.

Although Song Meng was doing business, Zhao and Rui wanted to appease the Mongolian army so that the Mongolian army would not disturb Liu Zheng. Sooner or later, the two sides would have to start work, and Zhang Hui would naturally not let them eat.

When Kublai Khan saw that the other party had no intention of inviting him to dinner, he immediately left with fists in his hands.

After returning, Song Jun indeed arranged a shop for him. The location was not very good, a bit far from the center of the port, but the area was large enough and the commercial street had a large population. If he really did business, he would definitely be able to make money.

Kublai Khan stayed for a few more days, setting up shop, leaving people behind to do the work, and at the same time trying to recruit local Persians to work for them. On the other hand, he wandered around, wanting to see all the places occupied by the Song Army and estimate the Song Army's Despite the strength and number of soldiers, the Song Army was extremely tightly guarded. There were sentries and cavalry thousands of steps away in many places. In addition, there were various physical obstacles such as the Song Army's sentry towers and horses, making it difficult to enter the core area of ​​the Song Army.

During this period, he could hear explosions every day. Later he learned that the Song Army often used explosives to dig moats and build buildings, which was very efficient.

In mid-April, Kublai Khan returned to Rai City and met his eldest brother Meng Ge.

He gained a lot from his trip to Heping City, and he had a lot to say to his eldest brother Meng.

"The Song Army has been carrying out extensive construction work in Heping City and has occupied this place for more than three years without stopping. This shows that the Song Army has great ambitions. I dare to conclude that the Song Army will definitely move north in the future."

Kublai Khan's first sentence said that the Song army would definitely fight over in the future.

If the Song army only wanted to occupy the Persian Gulf, there would be no need for such large-scale construction. The Heping City was built bigger and bigger, and the port was built bigger and bigger. This was obviously preparation for stationing troops and increasing the population.

Kublai Khan did not have a telescope and could not see deeper into the Song army, but he was sure that the Song army was more than the legendary three thousand troops.

In the commercial street and nearby construction sites alone, Kublai Khan saw at least seven to eight hundred people patrolling the Song army alone.

Therefore, Kublai Khan estimated that the Song army had at least six to seven thousand troops, and it was still increasing.

Think about it, there are tens of thousands of local civilians working for the Song Army. How can we manage without thousands of people?
And with so many ships from the Song Army entering, how many people could fit on one ship?

Brother Meng didn't believe it when he heard this.

The main force of the Song Army's infantry and cavalry is now in Qianzhou, and has already moved to occupy the area near Atai Mountain. It is less than four thousand miles away from the Iximu River where the main force of the Mongolian army, Chagatai, and Wokuotai are located.

Moreover, this road is smooth and smooth, so it is relatively easy to walk. The Mongolian army often walked on it when going back and forth in the Western Expedition.

With the speed of the Song Army's cavalry, even if they only walked 150 miles a day, it would take at most a month to arrive. Counting the Song Army's carriage, it would take two months.

But how long do you have to walk across the sea?
The Song army traveled nearly 20,000 miles from Fujian and Guangdong. It was not easy to transport 3,000 troops and horses, because the army and business are different.

You can hold a lot of goods in a ship, and you can't hold much in a ship of soldiers and horses plus equipment, and even more if you have war horses.

Meng Ge has been on the grassland all year round, and has no major experience except the last western expedition with Batu, so he believes that it is impossible for the Song army to transport troops in large numbers from the sea, let alone send troops from south to north of Persia.

The Mongolian army now has 50,000 troops in Rai city, and tens of thousands more can be gathered from various parts of Persia, plus tens of thousands in Tabriz, north of Tabriz, and the main force of Batu is elite. The Song army is full and full. Will we use thousands of troops to fight north in the future?

After Meng Ge thought for a while, he asked a Persian next to him: "How many days does it take for a ship from the Song Dynasty to reach the Persian Gulf?"

The Persian was stunned for a moment, and his tone was a little hesitant: "It mainly depends on the season of tailwind and headwind. Under normal circumstances, it will take at least four or five months."

"However." The Persian said again: "The Song people's ships are different from ours. They seem to be faster than us. It is estimated that it will take about four months."

Brother Meng glanced at Kublai Khan, meaning that it only took the Song army two months to travel by land and four months to travel by sea. Why did they choose the distance instead of the near?
And how risky is it on the sea?
Kublai Khan's face turned red and he said in a deep voice: "Didn't it say that the Song Army occupied places such as Boluo (Feilubin)? They can supply supplies along the way and they are very safe."

Seeing this, Meng Ge asked again: "How many soldiers and horses can a ship with two thousand materials carry?"

The Persian thought for a while: "If we don't bring food, supplies and equipment, there will be about two hundred people at most. If we bring war horses, we won't even be able to hold half of them."

"If we want to transport 20,000 people, we need 200 big ships?" Meng Ge said.

"More than that, 20,000 people are at sea with fresh water, food, and equipment. If the Song army wants to bring cannons and war horses, thousands of ships will not be enough." The Persian said.

"Did you hear that? If the Song Army transports a large number of troops, we will definitely find out." Meng Ge believes that if the Song Army sends a large number of troops to the Persian Gulf, we will definitely find clues.

Hundreds of large warships cannot be hidden, and merchant ships come and go on this line every day.

Kublai Khan was speechless now, but he subconsciously believed that the Song army could transport them in batches, in small quantities and multiple times, making it difficult to detect.

So he had to change the topic: "Lai City still needs to recruit some more civilians and increase the construction of fortifications. I saw the Heping City of the Song Army. It has a strange shape, but it is easy to defend and difficult to attack. The Song Army's artillery is sharp. We must Be on guard."

After Kublai Khan finished speaking, he took out a picture, which he drew roughly after seeing the bastion of the Song Army. He indicated that such bastions could be built at the four corners of Rai City outside the city, in line with the main city. Support each other.

Meng Ge did not refute this time. He had always believed that the city of Rai was one of the few important towns of the Mongolian army, and it was also the center of Persian rule, so it must be reinforced.

Because Meng Ge hopes that his future fiefdom will be in Persia, and this will become his territory in the future.

This time he supported the Song army and Batu in doing business because Batu promised him that he would ask Wokuotai to let Meng Ge's future fiefdom be in Persia.

Although they are facing the Song Army here, Brother Meng is not worried.

The thousands of Song troops in the Persian Gulf will certainly not be taken seriously by him.

After Kublai Khan returned, the Mongolian army once again forcibly recruited Persian people and craftsmen nearby to strengthen the fortifications of Rai City.

At the same time, Kublai Khan also suggested that Mengge build a warship.

To the north of Rai City is the Caspian Sea. With warships, you can contact Batu and Kueduan at any time from the Caspian Sea. It is very convenient to transport troops and food. You can also do maritime business and make money to support your troops.

After thinking about it, Meng Ge agreed to Kublai Khan's suggestion, but the Mongols were not experts in this area and relied entirely on the local Persians.

Meng Ge forcibly commandeered a local shipyard and craftsmen, and then built warships for him to prepare a fleet.

At this time, Kublai Khan had begun to gradually show his overall view and strategic level. Unfortunately, his status was too low now. He had his eldest brother Meng Ge at home and countless clan kings outside, so it was not his turn to participate in the decision-making center.

His only role may be to help Brother Meng improve his strength a little, but that's it.

Kublai Khan's trip to Heping City was a great benefit, and Luo Lei's reply to Baghdad reached Lin'an, which also taught Zhao Yurui something.

In August of the tenth year of Yuanzhen, Zhao Yurui got a letter written by Luo Lei after he went to Baghdad. The letter described what he saw and heard in Baghdad. Zhao Yurui suddenly felt that in some places, Abbas in Baghdad Dynasty, still ahead of his Song Dynasty.

(End of this chapter)