The legend of the king of crossing

Chapter 415 The Southern Expedition Plan

Lu Xiufu said: "Your Majesty, the Military Affairs Council has just received this battle report, and there is no time to discuss it. I think there are two possibilities. One is that the Mongols are testing our dynasty's defense capabilities and strength of resistance. After all, there are six battles between Song and Mongolia. , There has been no formal war in seven years, and they are not very clear about the changes in our military strength; second, the Mongols are provoking conflicts between the Han people in the north and the south. At present, the number of Han soldiers in the Mongolian army has exceeded that of Mongolia People of this clan, when Kublai Khan is about to go south in a big way, he naturally does not want to see the Han people on both sides of the two sides have contact, "

"Well, it makes sense, dear friends, what do you think?"

Fan Wenhuan, Shangshu of the Ministry of War, said: "Your Majesty, the two points that Master Lu said are very possible. In addition, I will add two more possibilities, that is, the Mongols are deliberately paralyzing our army, making me feel contemptuous from all sides. I think they are nothing more than that, and they are misleading us, making our army think that the Mongols will launch attacks from Sichuan, Xiangyang, and even the Jianghuai area, so as to disperse our army's defense force."

"Yes, these are all possible. Lu Aiqing, pass on my will to order Lu Wende to raise questions to the Mongolian side through discussion, and to lodge a strong protest against the Mongolian army's attack on our Fangzhou,"

Lu Xiufu hesitated, "Your Majesty, is this useful?"

Without even thinking about it, I said, "It's useless, Lu Aiqing, just execute it."

"Yes, Your Majesty,"

Protesting, protesting again, is the diplomatic rhetoric and tactics of later generations. No matter whether it is useful or justified, they will seriously protest. Of course, since there is a debate, it should be used. The hostility between Song and Mongolia From the perspective of relationship, the forum is the only channel for dialogue. Fangzhou is under the rule of Xiangyang.

"Lu Aiqing, in accordance with the established policy, order the military regions to strengthen their vigilance, and there must be no mistakes,"

"Yes, I obey the order,"

At the end of March, Xiao Qi reported to me the investigation of Yanfu Temple.

"Yanfu Temple is a small temple. It was founded in the period of Emperor Xiaozong (the second and most outstanding emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty). For nearly a hundred years, it has been unknown. He is a local, his parents died since he was a child, due to neglect of discipline, he was prone to fights and brawls when he was young, and he was full of naughty behavior, and he disappeared for about three years. Ten years ago, Yun Ze became a monk in Yanfu Temple , and got the favor of the previous abbot. In the second year after Yunze became a monk, the old abbot died of a serious illness. Before he died, he appointed Yunze as his successor. He often went out alone. Originally there were only twelve monks in Yanfu Temple. Since Lian Zhen came here to register, the number of monks has increased to 34 within a year or so. In the past one or two years, it may be because Lian Zhen Yunze seldom goes out because of the Fuku Temple's order, judging from the reactions of the surrounding villagers and the local Lizheng, since Yunze became a monk, he rarely interacts with people,"

I said: "From the surface, this Yunze has no bad deeds,"

Xiao Qi nodded: "That's right,"

"Xiao Qi, what's Lian really doing these days?"

Xiao Qi said in shame: "Officials, I sent someone to follow, Na Lian really went down the mountain once, but the person sent followed him and lost him."

"Really," I frowned, and said to Yuan Ji, "Sir, you once said that this person possesses martial arts, do you know the depth of his martial arts?"

Yuan Ji said: "This minister can't be sure for the time being, the person Xiao Qi sent out to follow is a good tracker in Jin Yiwei, and his lightness skills are not inferior to Yun Zhongfei's. Based on this, it can be inferred that Monk Lian Zhen's martial arts are very good. Maybe still above Yun Zhongfei, "

"Above Yun Zhongfei, that is to say, Lian Zhen's martial arts might be higher than Wen Zhang's."

"Well, Your Majesty, the martial arts of that masked man was higher than that of Wen Zhang or Lan Yu. Your Majesty, do you want me to try it?"

"No, sir, there is no need to scare the snake. This Lian is definitely not simple. He may be a reclusive master, or it may be. Forget it, we don't have to guess. Xiao Qi, just send someone to watch Yanfu Temple. For Lian Really, if you can keep an eye on it, it doesn't matter if you can't. It takes more than half a month to go back and forth from Lin'an to Miao Village. We can discuss it after Tian Jingtou confirms it. You should check Yunze's disappearance first. What have you been doing for the past three years?"

"Yes, official,"

In Mongolia, in the study room of Kublai Khan's palace, Ashu and Boyan walked in respectfully.

"Chen Ashu, minister Boyan sees the Great Khan,"

"Plain body, no courtesy,"

"Thank you profusely,"

Kublai Khan cut to the chase and said, "You two, I asked you to come here today because I want to talk to you about the Southern Expedition."

Boyan excitedly said, "Khan, I've made up my mind."

Kublai Khan nodded and said: "Judging from the information from the Southern Dynasty, Ben Khan believes that the atmosphere in the Southern Dynasty is getting worse and worse. The domestic economy is developing rapidly. The longer it takes, the more unfavorable it will be for our dynasty. According to the calculation of the emperor's teacher , this winter, my armaments for the southward expedition will be roughly completed, so this Khan plans to start the southern expedition in late September of this year,"

Ashu hesitated for a moment and said: "This September, Dahan, will it be too hasty? The construction of the navy under our court will not be completed until three years later."

Kublai Khan said: "This Khan has already considered this point and told Liu Zheng that he must be asked to build a navy that can compete with the Southern Dynasties by the end of next year, even if it is only in the Han River."

Boyan asked: "Then we have to wait until next year?"

"No, it can be done at the same time. Ben Khan's initial plan is to divide the Southern Expedition into two stages. The first stage is to focus on the battle of Xiangyang, trap Xiangyang to death, and eliminate the main force of the Song army under the city of Xiangyang. The stage is expected to be between three and four years; the second stage is to attack in an all-round way, from Sichuan, Jianghuai, and Xiangyang, and take Lin'an first, look at the map."

Kublai Khan pointed to the map on the wall and said: "Ben Khan will explain the plan of the Southern Expedition in detail, and you can see if you have any supplements or suggestions."

"Khan please give instructions,"

"First of all, A Shu led the vanguard of the Central Route Army to march into the Xiangfan area of ​​the Southern Dynasty in September this year. By August this year, the castle built by our dynasty at Lumen Mountain in the southeast of Xiangyang City will be completed. Therefore, our army's The first task is to establish the first stronghold in Lumen Mountain. By the middle of next year, the castle of Baihe City will also be completed. The connection with the Handong area forms a semi-encirclement trend for Xiangyang. By the end of next year, after the completion of the Baizhang Mountain outside Xiangyang City, the grain road in Xiangyang will be cut off, making the north and the south disconnected. Mountains and other places will also build forts one after another, and all the forts are connected. All the land traffic in Xiangyang City will be controlled by our army. As long as Liu Zheng's navy can contain the Southern Dynasty navy, our army can further shrink, press, and build a new city. To trap Xiangyang and at the same time build a fort in Wanshan, to cut off the traffic of the Han River to the west, to set up a fence at Guanzitan, to block the passage of the Han River to the east, in this way, Xiangfan will be completely isolated."

Boyan couldn't help nodding, and praised: "The establishment of the questioning field has created extremely favorable conditions for encircling Xiangyang. I really don't know how the Southern Dynasty would allow Lu Wende to do such a thing. The Great Khan sent envoys to him six years ago. The jade belt bribed Lu Wende, the envoy of Jinghu in the Southern Dynasties, to set up a place outside Xiangfan City. Later, in the name of preventing thieves and protecting goods, he built an earthen wall on Lumen Mountain outside Xiangfan. no end, "

Ashu said with a smile: "Lu Wende is greedy, if I take Xiangyang smoothly, this Lu Wende will be my court's 'number one hero'. Back then, if Lu Wende and others were not jealous and rejected Liu Zheng, our court would not have won Liu Zheng. The division general is here, Great Khan, I have no objection to the arrangements for this stage."

"Okay, when Xiangyang becomes an isolated city, what do you think the Southern Dynasty will do?"

Ashu and Boyan said at the same time: "Naturally, troops will be sent to rescue."

"That's right, Ben Khan's strategy for Xiangyang is to encircle and not attack, and Xiangyang is a battleground for military strategists. The Southern Dynasty will definitely send troops to rescue. At this time, our army can rely on the connected castle walls to lure the enemy into deep , forcing the Song army who was not good at attacking to attack our fortress. When the morale of the Southern Dynasty army is exhausted and the main force is wiped out, our army can take Fancheng first. , "With the bravery of our Mongolian soldiers, we will surely win this battle. Oh, by the way, there is another point. After two or three years, we will be able to produce a large number of return artillery, which will increase our chances of winning."

"Yes, Great Khan is wise,"

Kublai Khan continued: "After occupying Xiangfan, our army can enter the Yangtze River from the Han River, bypass the heavily fortified Diaoyu City of Chongqing in the Southern Dynasties, and go all the way eastward along the Yangtze River, which will soon approach Lin'an, the center of the Southern Dynasties. The army of the Lu army attacked Jianghuai, and the army of the west army attacked Sichuan. The Sichuan Military Region, Yangzhou Military Region, and Luzhou Military Region in the Southern Dynasties could only take care of themselves and were unable to divide their troops into Lin'an. Lin'an city gate wiped out the Lin'an military region of the Southern Dynasty and the imperial army of the young emperor Zhao Yu in one fell swoop. Once Lin'an was lost, the Southern Dynasty would be panic-stricken. Our army took advantage of the trend to attack Li Tingzhi and Xia Gui's Jianghuai Army from north to south, and then went all the way south to capture Fujian and Guangdong and Guangxi. , and finally marched westward, destroying the Sichuan Military Region in the Southern Dynasties, "

Ashu said: "After our army captured Xiangfan, it would be no problem to take Lin'an as a whole. Once Lin'an is captured, the Southern Dynasty will be exhausted and will no longer exist. Therefore, as long as our army captures Xiangyang, the war will actually end. It has ended,"

"Yes, the key battle between Song and Mongolia is the battle of Xiangyang," Kublai Khan admitted,