The legend of the king of crossing

Chapter 557

After Namuhan, the commander-in-chief of the Yuan army stationed in the northwest, made an oath of alliance with the Great Khans of the four Western Khanates on behalf of Kublai Khan, Fang Chenqian and Yang Lian Zhenjia set off immediately and returned to Dadu.The [-] elite cavalry of the Yuan army, led by Namuhan and Xiriji, marched eastward three days later.

In this way, the crisis of the Yuan Dynasty in the northwest was temporarily lifted.However, this is just a drop in the bucket. The [-] elite central army is not the enemy of the Song army's firearms, let alone the Northwest Yuan army, which is slightly inferior in combat effectiveness and numbers?

After listening to Fang Chengan's speech, Kublai Khan pinched his fingers and said: "The army is moving slowly, and it will take at least a month to reach Dadu. Although the Southern Dynasty army conquered Mingzhou, it was very expensive. Our army should have enough Set up your defenses around Dadu during this time."

On the way back, Fang Chenqian heard the news of the fall of Mingzhou. Hearing Kublai Khan's confirmation at this time, he couldn't help secretly panicking. Mingzhou has been lost, can most of them be kept?Although he didn't understand military affairs, Fang Chenqian knew the power of firearms, and immediately felt ominous.

Yin Tianya said: "Mr. Fang, Yang Lian Zhenjia, you are tired all the way, so go down and rest first."

"Yes, my lord." Fang Chenqian withdrew his thoughts, saluted Kublai Khan together with Yang Lian Zhenjia, and left the palace.

In mid-September, under the command of Lu Wenhuan, the Northern Expedition Army on the Dasong Middle Road, which had been repaired, successively recovered the main cities in central and southern Hebei.On September 21, with the support of the Artillery Battalion, Lu Shikui's Department of the No.19 Chamber and Wen Zhang's Department of the First Division of the Yulin Army captured Baozhou (now Baoding), an important town in the south of the capital.So far, there is only one city left in Ba County (now Bazhou City) in the south of Dadu.

Unable to decipher the firearms, Boyan, Ashu and other generals of the Central Route Army of the Yuan Army had to lead the remaining more than 1 soldiers to retreat to Dadu. Almost on the same day, Namuhan arrived with [-] soldiers under his command. Most of them.Including the original garrison in Dadu, the total force reached [-] to [-] at once, equivalent to the total of the Yuan army besieging Xiangfan.

On the surface, the Yuan Dynasty had more troops in Dadu than the Song Dynasty's Central Northern Expeditionary Army, and Kublai Khan seemed to have a lot more confidence, but most of them were new cities, and their walls were not as strong as Mingzhou. Therefore, for firearms Boyan, Ashu and the others, who were quite clear about their power, were still uneasy.

On September 28, I held a military meeting to continue going north in the temporary palace in Mingzhou City.

Gongsun Xiaochen first introduced the situation of the Eastern and Western Northern Expeditionary Army and the Navy.

"Generals, at present, the Eastern and Western Northern Expeditions led by Generals Li Tingzhi and Gao Gao are still intertwined with the Yuan armies in the two places, but as the number of bombs thrown by our army has gradually increased, the As a result, the Yuan army could only hide 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 Xia Gui will launch the Jinan Campaign. Due to the complex terrain in the western region, the pace of our army going northward is relatively slow, but it has also achieved 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 reason, our navy's land combat capability is still far inferior to that of the Yuan Dynasty army. Therefore, after that, I never chose to land and fight again, but kept attacking the navy of the Yuan army in the Bohai Bay. The commander of the navy of the Yuan army, Liu Zheng, took command of the army immediately after his injury improved slightly, but he could only do his best. Defense, for the warships of the Yuan army, as long as they encounter the giant ships of our army, they will have no power to fight back. Even if the power of the artillery on the giant ships of our army is not counted, the super large tonnage alone is not the battle of the Yuan Dynasty. The ship can compete. It can be said that the navy of our army has completely gained the upper hand, and has driven the navy of the Yuan army to death, making it unable to fight back. Generals, the above is the current situation of my army, land and water. As for the situation of the Central Route Army, everyone is very clear about it, so I won’t repeat it here, and I will ask the emperor for instructions.”

Although the two armies of the East and West were not as brilliant as the achievements of the Central Route Army, they also realized the strategic transformation from defense to offense, and held back the two armies of the Yuan Dynasty tightly, creating a great opportunity for the Central Route Army to recover Henan and Hebei. Favorable conditions.

"Generals, today, the outcome of the war will no longer be in suspense. No one would think that the iron cavalry of the Yuan army can stop the firearms of our army, right?" I said with a smile, "In my opinion, even Kublai Khan must also think so in his heart, even though he will still speak hard in public."

Lu Wenhuan said: "Your Majesty, even if Genghis Khan, the ancestor of the Mongols, is resurrected, he is not the enemy of our army's firearms."

"Well, that's right, firearms are no match for manpower. Generals, to this day, 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 stronger, and it has completely taken over the leadership of our Northern Expeditionary Army in the middle of the road. Guard mission, therefore, our Central Route Army is now strong and strong, coupled with sufficient military supplies from the Gunpowder Supervision, it is time to attack the heart of the Yuan Dynasty. Currently, our Central Route Northern Expedition Army has 3 troops, including musketeers 62, the cavalry expanded to nearly [-], [-] bombs were thrown, and [-] artillery pieces. Although the Yuan army in most of the capital was more than our army, its comprehensive combat power was inferior to our army. Over the past month, the court of the Yuan Dynasty has been plundering the wealth of the people in order to prepare for military expenditures, which has caused public grievances. From the news fed back by Longya from all over the country, it can be seen that the people of the Yuan Dynasty have lost their hearts. Therefore, the upcoming battle of Dadu is only a matter of time The question is, once the Battle of Dadu is over, our army will move south to defeat the Yuan Dynasty’s East Route Army and regain Shandong, and then go west to Shanxi, Shaanxi and other places to destroy the Yuan Dynasty’s West Route Army and regain our lost land in one fell swoop.”

Speaking of which, I took a sip of tea, relieved my excitement and continued: "Next, I will announce the personnel arrangement for the attack on Dadu. General Wu Songhan, General Meng Tianxiang, and General Duan Donglou obey orders."

"The end is here."

"Three generals, I ordered the three of you to serve as the vanguard in the front. General Wu Songhan led the soldiers in the second chamber to the center, General Meng Tianxiang led the Zhongshun Army to the left, and General Duan Donglou led the Xingfu Army to the right. On October [-]st Departure, rush to Baozhou, and join up with generals Wen Zhang and Lu Shikui who were stationed in Baozhou, and divide the troops into two groups, one to capture Fanyang County (now Zhuozhou) and the other to capture Xincheng County (now Gaobeidian City).

"Yes, I will obey the order."

"General Yin Yinglei, General Zhao Huai."

"The end is here."

"You led the Third Division of the Royal Forest Army and No.17, the Eighteenth Guards Guards Artillery Battalion to set off on October [-]rd, and the destination is Baoding."

"Yes, I will obey the order."

"The rest of the Central Route Army will set off with me on October [-]th, and the defense of Mingzhou City will be handed over to the Bianliang Military Region."

Everyone said in unison: "Yes, the last general will obey the order."

On October [-]th, 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 retreated under artillery fire.

Baozhou City was built in the Warring States Period and has a long history. It was the hometown of Emperor Yao in ancient times. In the Northern Song Dynasty, Baozhou became the dividing line between Song and Liao. The two countries fought wars here many times.At the end of the Jin Dynasty, Baozhou City became ruins in the chaos of war.In the 22nd year of the Mongolian Taizu (1227), the general Zhang Rou was ordered to rebuild Baozhou City, planning the market, establishing residential buildings, building government offices, building temples, building gardens, building earthen walls, and dredging the moat. Since then, the foundation of Baozhou City has been laid. .

After Kublai Khan established Dadu as his capital, Baozhou City became the southern gateway of the capital of the Yuan Dynasty.In the 11th year of Emperor Taizong of the Yuan Dynasty (1239), Baozhou was used as the governing place of Shuntian Road.According to the historical process, from the Yuan Dynasty to the 12th year of the Yuan Dynasty (1275), Shuntian Road was changed to Baoding Road. Since then, the name "Baoding" has the meaning of "defending the capital and stabilizing the world".However, all this changed because of my arrival.

In this new city, there is an ancient lotus pond built in the first year of the Tang Dynasty.Later, it was expanded by Zhang Rou, named Xuexiang Garden, and became his private garden.Lu Shikui, Wen Zhang and others who were the first to invade Baozhou agreed that this garden has the characteristics of Jiangnan, which is quite similar to the layout of Lin'an Palace, and it can be used as a temporary palace during my stay in Baozhou.

As soon as you walk into Xuexiang Garden, you can see small bridges and flowing water inside, pavilions and pavilions, which are elegant and unique, clever in the humble, and strange in the simplicity. Although the season of lotus blooming has passed, the green leaves in the pool and the surrounding nature complement each other. It is pleasing to the eye.In addition to the beautiful scenery, more than a dozen side stone carvings in Xuexiang Garden are also famous, including the majestic "Self-narrative Post" by Huai Su, the Tang Dynasty grass saint; the vigorous and vigorous "Duobao Pagoda"; Ink blots of Wang Xizhi lying on the Phoenix Tower.

"Yes, I will live here."

Fang Ling said happily: "I didn't expect to see the scenery of the south of the Yangtze River in Baozhou City."

Wen Zhang, who accompanied him, said: "Your Majesty, Lingfei, according to the old man in Xuexiangyuan, the craftsmen who expanded this place are all Jiangnan people who were captured by the Mongols."

I nodded and said, "No wonder it is somewhat similar to the scenery in Lin'an Palace. North-South exchanges are a good thing, but they should be on a voluntary basis. Like the Mongols who forcibly plundered our craftsmen, 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 seat.

When it comes to 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.Zhuo 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 1000 years ago, Liu Bei met Guan Yu and Zhang Fei when he was selling straw sandals in Zhuo County, and they became friends in Taoyuan.

However, in the Song Dynasty, Fanyang County occupied a pivotal position.