end song

Chapter 1210

In the blink of an eye, it was late October, and Li Xia was still still in Xingzhou.

But the war is not without progress, on the contrary, the news sent to Li Xia is too much for him to handle.

"Your Majesty, Liu Yuanli's battle report has arrived. He has already attacked Luzhou."

"Let the messenger come to see him, and prepare some food for him."

"According to the purpose..."

When Li Xia was reading Liu Yuanli's letter, the messenger from Shanxi was eating hazelnuts into his mouth. Obviously, he was very hungry after traveling all the way. In the end, the soldier poured a big mouthful of tea into his mouth and wiped his mouth quickly. , stood up respectfully, and waited for Li Xia to ask questions.

"I am full?"

"Go back to Your Majesty, I'm full."

"Don't be nervous, which way did you come from?"

"It's still too late to go."

Li Xia asked again: "Tell me how Liu Yuanli attacked Luzhou?"

"Ahema is very unpopular in Shanxi. Over the years, he has continuously raised taxes on the people in Shanxi and robbed them of their land, making many people unable to survive. Therefore, as soon as they heard that the king's teacher had arrived, they all joined him. Those in Shanxi Shihou couldn't suppress it..."

"Tell me something more specific. For example, Liu Yuanli didn't write it in the battle report, but you saw it with your own eyes."

"Yes, the general saw a family named Xu who lived in Zezhou. They really couldn't go on happy so they defected to us. They said that the salt tax in Shanxi has been increasing from [-] guan in each quotation in the past two years. At fifty Guan, it is said that monks, Taoists, sergeants, and craftsmen will share the salt tax. Private salt can be bought by the people according to the convenience of the people. In fact, they are all fake. As long as you bribe the people of Ahema, you can escape the corvee, and the extra corvee is added to ordinary people..."

Li Xia asked very carefully, because he had always known that Ahema was cunning, and he had to make sure that the war in Shanxi was not the Yuan army pretending to be defeated to lure the enemy.

After asking for a long time tirelessly, he just let the messenger go down to rest, and then he looked at the map and thought for a while, until someone came forward to pass it on.

"Your Majesty, Zhang Hongdao asks to see you."

"allow……"

Zhang Hongdao came back from Baixing again, and he looked like a traveler.

"Your Majesty, Ahema has retreated, and I have captured Mengmen Pass."

"Where did Ahema retreat?"

"He probably walked north along the western foot of Taihang Mountain, retreated directly to Taiyuan, or went to Puyinxing to support Baozhou."

"Will there be fraud?"

"It's possible." Zhang Hongdao stepped forward, pointed on the map, and said, "Now we don't have to worry about the sneak attack from Ahema from Shanxi, we can transfer our troops back from the various Xings in Taihang, and go north to attack Baozhou. But if The Yuan army was deceitful... Then, Kublai Khan would probably send a cavalry back to our east to sneak attack on our luggage, so Ahema's current retreat may be to confuse us."

Li Xia said: "This is also the way I thought Kublai Khan would use it. This is the Central Plains. He should use the speed advantage of the Mongolian cavalry to attack."

"Your Majesty thinks Ahema is feigning defeat?"

"There is another possibility." Li Xia took a few steps, called Zhang Hongdao to his side, lowered his voice, and said, "Zhao Song has fought unannounced and attacked Kuimen."

Zhang Hongdao's face changed immediately, he was very surprised, and said strangely: "Mr. Zhao has such courage?"

"Perhaps Kublai Khan also borrowed them a little?"

"But... Gao Changshou has already led his troops into Tibet. They are the last troops in Sichuan and Sichuan."

"Yeah." Li Xia clicked on the map, still pointing to the north, and said, "Now look at the Yuan army's style of play."

Zhang Hongdao still looks calm on the surface, but his mood has obviously been affected, and it is difficult to think about Yuan army's strategy when looking at the map.

"Your Majesty, Chuanshu..."

"What are you panicking about? Even if you think about the worst, let the Song army occupy the entire territory of Sichuan, and wait for the Central Plains to be pacified first, can't we destroy Song?"

"Kechen's family is still in Chengdu, and many of these Northern Expedition soldiers have family members and family businesses in Sichuan and Sichuan."

"The Song army is not the Mongolian army. The Song army occupied Sichuan and Shu to win the hearts of the people. Don't panic. The more you panic now, the easier it is to make mistakes. Then Kublai Khan's strategy has become half. Calm down."

"Yes."

Zhang Hongdao took a few deep breaths and adjusted his mood.

He has governed Chengdu for many years, and he also knows the Sichuan-Shu defense line very well, not to mention from Kuimen to Chengdu, but from Kuimen to Chongqing, among which there are important towns such as Wanzhou, Zhongzhou, and Fuzhou. The Song army wants to attack against the current , is by no means a matter of overnight.

Looking back to the north of the map, Zhang Hongdao could carefully consider Kublai Khan's strategy.

"Because of cooperating with the Song court, Kublai Khan changed the original plan of the Mongolian cavalry and began to shrink the defense? He took all the troops back to this area, and then waited for us to consume the national power with the Song court?"

"In my opinion, this possibility is more likely."

Zhang Hongdao thought about it again, and said: "Your Majesty's words are true. After passing Helan Mountain all the way, Kublai Khan probably doesn't have the confidence to defeat our cavalry in the field battle on the plain. It's better to change to a more secure strategy."

"He began to be wary of the Han people and began to reject the Han law. But in the end, he still had to use the strategy of the Han people, and even formed an alliance with the Song court."

"That's because he was in a hurry."

"Yeah, it drove them all into a hurry."

Although Li Xia was calm, he was not ready to fight Meng Yuan and Zhao Song at the same time.

If you go back and recuperate for another 15 years, you may have the strength to destroy both countries at the same time.

Zhang Hongdao looked at the map and thought for a long time, and then said: "If we send a large army back..."

"Which branch? We are like building a house, only these few beams are all put up. Don't forget that Boyan is still in Kaifeng, Meng Yuan is full of cavalry, and this is the land of the Central Plains. Just remove a beam , They are about to rush up and knock down this house. Also, how many people can we transfer back? If we transfer [-], Song Ting can increase his troops by [-]."

"Then if the Northern Expedition is suspended..."

"Do you know why every time Zhao Song's Northern Expedition failed, he could only retreat to the Huaihe River, no matter how many victories he had before, he couldn't keep it?"

"I dare to ask..."

"Don't be bold, what I mean is to take Yanjing first, drive Meng Yuan to Saibei, and then turn around and destroy Song. No matter how the enemy moves, our own steps must not be messed up." Li Xia said, "I haven't discussed this matter with others yet. However, the first thing to ask is your opinion."

"I am from the north, so of course I want to take the Central Plains first..."

"Okay, now that we have deduced Kublai Khan's strategy, lead the army northward to attack Baozhou as soon as possible. Remember, speed is the most important thing."

Zhang Hongdao wanted to say something else, thought about it, and finally just clapped his hands and said: "The minister leads the order."

After Zhang Hongdao retreated, Li Xia looked at the map alone for a long time, and then thought of the worst outcome he had just mentioned.

Just like playing chess, there are always exchanges, exchanges, and trade-offs on the chessboard. Sometimes you will inevitably lose the other if you focus on one thing, and sometimes you have to sacrifice something.

This time, if we want to win the corner of the Central Plains first, we may have to give up the corner of Sichuan and Shu. This may be the fastest way to win the world.

The only thing is the feeling of those chess pieces on the chessboard, thinking about it will inevitably make him feel cruel...

Thinking about this, thinking about it until the end, Li Xia wrote a letter in his own hand.

He wrote this letter for a long time. While writing, he looked at the map and thought about it. It took him two hours to write.

After that, he sealed the envelope and recruited Huo Xiaolian.

"Go to Xiayangdu personally, and hand over the letter to Zhang Shun and Zhang Gui..."

~~
Zhengzhou.

Wang Luo stood on the top of the city and watched for a while, and finally saw the dust and smoke coming from the west.

He hurried down from the top of the city, rushed to the city gate and ordered the soldiers to open the gate and put down the drawbridge.

After a while, I saw a group of luggage cross the suspension bridge and enter the city gate.

Wang Luo looked around and saw the dusty Lu Xiufu riding a horse in front of the team, so he went after him himself.

Lu Xiufu was talking to the general guarding the city gate, when he saw Wang Xiao, he handed over the military talisman with both hands, and said, "Wang Anfu, this is my letter, please verify it."

"Don't talk nonsense, I still can't recognize your Junshi's handsome face. Come here and talk to the city tower."

"The signal must be verified clearly, this is the rule in the military."

Wang Xiao grinned and smiled slightly, apparently annoyed by Lu Xiufu.

He didn't hide his impatience at all, waved his hand, and said, "Check, check, quick."

After much difficulty, he finally took Lu Xiufu up to the tower, and immediately pointed to the city and started talking.

"That's the granary, and that's the arsenal. How much food, grass and weapons are in it, are all recorded in these two books, Junshi, you put it away..."

"Brother Mu Qiao, what do you mean?"

"What do you mean? Zhang Shuai captured Zhengzhou, and even if he marched into Kaifeng, his big ax chopped down three of the five chief officials in the city, and frightened one crazy. It was agreed at the time that I would stay there for a few days until His Majesty sent him Zhizhou has arrived..."

"Guo Hongjing has been appointed as the magistrate of Xingzhou, and the magistrate of Zhengzhou is still..."

"I don't care about that." Wang Luo suddenly clung to Lu Xiufu's ear, and said in a low voice, "You know, I have to go to the east, and the clock is ticking."

Lu Xiufu pondered slightly, and said, "Zhang Shuai is still confronting Boyan in Kaifeng."

"Therefore, I must go to the east as soon as possible." Wang Xiao's big mouth seemed to bite off Lu Xiufu's ear, and he smiled mysteriously, and said, "This is a confidential military situation, and it is inconvenient to tell Junshi."

"Ok."

Lu Xiufu was actually very tired, but he still said: "I will take over Zhengzhou..."

At this moment, a soldier ran over and pulled Wang Xiao over.

"What's the matter?"

"Wang Anfu." The two of them flashed their badges, but it was a spy from the Public Opinion Department, and said in a low voice, "Tell me this way."

"What?" Wang Luo was pulled aside, turned his head to look at it, and said, "That's Mr. Lu, Mr. Lu, and you can't even listen to him?"

"Confidential military information can only be disclosed to Wang Anfu. His Majesty ordered Wang Anfu not to go east. There is a temporary change, so you must go south..."

(End of this chapter)