At the end of Song Dynasty: I want to be the master of ZTE

Chapter 247 Preparation
"... Naiyan delivered all the mounts under his command, including 12 fine war horses and [-] slave horses, in exchange for the war horses and oxen, and the sheep were delivered after they were turned around...

I will select two thousand fine war horses and transport them back to the imperial army, and also to train the guards in equestrian skills..."

After hearing the report, Zhao smiled and said, "Very good. Now we can form a large number of cavalry to plunder Liaodong!"

"Your Majesty." Chen Yizhong said, "Do you want to allocate a horse to Shandong for attacking Mizhou?"

"Yes." Zhao nodded in agreement, and added: "Korea is just a casual chess game, and it has nothing to do with the overall situation for the time being. I have recently been thinking about whether to interfere with Yuanlu's Western Expedition."

"It's too late, Your Majesty will learn from you." Li Tingzhi persuaded.

Needless to say, he believed that the emperor knew his affairs and could not send troops.

Zhao Shidao: "I have thought about it and sold the gunpowder formula to Naiyan, and then spread it to the west from Naiyan. If there are good generals in the west, it is impossible to use this to create a clever plan to annihilate the Yuanlu's Western Expeditionary Army."

"The Yuanlu expedition to the west is just around the corner. What if the king's army marches west in the future? I think it is a long-term plan, which is not appropriate." Lu Xiufu said.

Normally, if Li Tingzhi and Lu Xiufu expressed their objections one after another, the emperor would not insist on his opinion, but this matter is indeed worthy of consideration.

“Gunpowder is sharp, but it is replaced by something sharper, and the same is true for muskets and artillery.

I think it will take at least ten years before the imperial dynasty goes north to the grasslands to conquer the Western Regions. What do you think? "Zhao Shi asked rhetorically.

There's nothing wrong with that.

The Song army did win consecutive battles, but the current situation is becoming more and more stalemate. No one can calculate how long it will take to restore the homeland of the Northern Song Dynasty.

"At that time, the country must have had new gunpowder and new guns made based on it. Today's gunpowder has no bearing on the overall situation.

Moreover, with gunpowder, the ambitions of various tribes in the grassland will grow, and they will inevitably raise troops one after another. Even if they cannot threaten the Yuanlu, they can still make them take care of themselves.

If Yuanlu ignores it, his strength can be weakened, which is equally good.

The most important thing is, it’s not a gift, it’s a sale!

Naiyan is willing to buy a road with [-] war horses, why wouldn't he be willing to pay a higher price for the throne? " Zhao Shi said.

"I'm just afraid that because of his wild ambitions, he will invade Korea again after occupying Liaodong." Chen Yizhong said.

"There is no need to worry." Li Tingzhi said: "Those who bully the weak and fear the strong, how can they dare to attack again after seeing the power of the country? Moreover, if Yan wants to be the Great Khan, he must defeat the Yuanlu, so he has not offended the country. It’s necessary.”

If Naiyan dared to sweat, Kublai Khan could not even pretend not to see it.

There are no two masters in the country, just like Zhao Shi has never officially recognized Yuanting.

Moreover, for Yuan Ting, the north is too vast and there are too many ambitious people. If those who call themselves Khans are not wiped out, there will be countless big and small sweats overnight, and Yuanting's control area may be reduced to the Great Wall.

Of course, with Kublai Khan's talent and strategy, there is no way to solve it.

After discussing for a while, everyone felt that what the emperor said was correct, that the gunpowder formula could indeed be sold, but the price needed to be carefully considered.

As for the new gunpowder mentioned by the emperor, although everyone does not know the details, they know that it is being developed, and they believe that with the emperor's ability, it will be a matter of time before it is developed.

While everyone was discussing, Zhang Shijie of Shandong led his troops out of Jiaoxi County.

The preparation time lasted for half a year. He ordered [-] cavalry and infantry troops, claiming to be [-], to attack Mizhou. After capturing Mizhou, they jointly attacked Xuzhou, and then conquered the west of the Yellow River.

After receiving the information that the Song army was sending troops, Hu Duhu did not hesitate and led the three thousand horse troops in Mizhou City out of the city.

The winter before last year, in order to consume Zhang Shijie, he moved most of the people in Mizhou. Last year, the project still continued, and now Mizhou is no longer inhabited.Zhang Shijie said worriedly: "The Yuan captives immigrated to Sichuan in large numbers, and they are afraid that it will be difficult to leave Sichuan and Shu."

"Before the world is in chaos, Sichuan and Shu will be in chaos first. The world will be settled first and Sichuan and Shu will be settled later. As long as Yuanlu is killed, Sichuan and Shu will be in the bag sooner or later." Yang Zhenlong said.

"That's not true." Zhang Shijie shook his head and said, "There are countless people in the world. Sichuan is recovering but Mizhou is empty. It also takes a lot of effort to manage."

"We have no choice but to capture Xuzhou as soon as possible so that we can move up the Yellow River." Yang Zhenlong said.

The key to going up the Yellow River is to sink the Yellow River Navy of the Yuan Army. Last time Guan Da avoided its edge and retreated to Suqian. Now he has received support and returned to Pizhou.

At this time, Chen Wei was on the Pizhou city wall, watching the warships untie their cables and swim upstream.

Guan laughed and said: "Chen Dutong, a certain family is here to kill a thief, so you have to watch your lair."

Chen Wei smiled and said: "Don't worry, if Pizhou makes a mistake, I will definitely die. You will take revenge for me when the time comes."

"Impossible." Guan laughed and said, "A thousand musketeers are not many, but they are enough to defend the city, unless the Yuan Dynasty comes with the whole country."

"You know that, so why worry about it? Let's go, I'll prepare wine for the sailor brothers to return in triumph." Chen Wei also smiled.

"Waiting to be sent to Xuzhou to drink. I won't come back until I'm drunk." Guan Dagong handed over his hand and went down to the city to get on the boat.

Outside Xuzhou City, the Yuan army was busy reinforcing the fortifications.

Practice has proved that trenches can effectively ensure the safety of soldiers, so Ashu dug three circles outside the city. Now that the decisive battle is approaching, of course, he must ensure that nothing goes wrong.

A military stronghold was also built on Jiuning Mountain, more than two miles away from the east city wall, and twenty artillery pieces were deployed.

Drawing on the experience of Pizhou, the artillery built a strong fortress, even if it was bombarded by the Song army, it was not afraid.

In fact, the Yuan army was very suspicious of the fall of Fenghuang Mountain in Zhongli County, because according to the intelligence sent back from the detailed work, the Song army would cause a landslide.

Incredible.

Doubts are doubts, but you have to keep them.

If the commanding heights were occupied by the Song army, Xuzhou City's defense would not only be visible to everyone, but would also be under bombardment.

Although you can squat in a trench, who wants to be a mouse that never sees the light of day?
The shore is busy and busy, and the water is also busy.

Nowadays, Xuzhou's naval vessels have reached as many as three thousand. Regardless of their quality, the number is indeed several times that of the Song army. As long as the tactics are proper, the ants may kill the elephant.

As the saying goes, consider defeat before victory. In order to ensure their retreat, Zhang Yu and Liu Guojie dug wooden piles in the shallows to build a water fortress. Although there were not many artillery, they had enough return barrels to effectively defend the Song army from moving up the river.

Not only those near Xuzhou, but also troops and generals further away.

The Song army along the Huaihe River moved north in large numbers, while the Yuan army's cavalry moved south in groups.

They all have their own plans for tit-for-tat against Maimang.

Therefore, whether in Chengtian Mansion or Dadu, fast horses kept coming, telling people that another war was coming.

The outcome of the Battle of Xuzhou was related to the ownership of a large area between the Yellow and Huaihe Rivers.

This area belongs to the central Jianghuai and Huanghuai areas, which is recognized as the Central Plains region. Although there are frequent floods due to the diversion of the Yellow River, it is still an important grain-producing area and is densely populated. Neither side can give up.

(End of this chapter)