Chapter 28 1. If there is no Xiang, there will be no Huai. Yuan Shizu's strategy to attack the Song Dynasty

In late autumn, the bleak autumn wind once again aroused Cui's longing for her husband. I haven't heard from her husband for fifteen years. Are you dead, or are you staying in that luxurious world?Hao Jing's wife was very sad. Suddenly, family members came to report, and people in Bianzhong asked to see him. Cui didn't know what happened, and he didn't have any relatives in Bianzhong?Since Hao Jing's envoy to the Southern Song Dynasty did not return in the past few years, the Hao Mansion has become deserted.Some said that he had been killed by Jia Sidao, and some said that he had turned to the Southern Song dynasty.But Cui did not believe these rumors, he knew what kind of person his husband was, he would not seek refuge in the Southern Song Dynasty, nor would he abandon her.For fifteen years, she had firmly believed that he was still alive in this world.Just wait!

A healthy young man came in. After seeing the ceremony, he handed Cui an oil-paper bag and said, "I shot geese in Jinming Pond. I found this from the feet of geese. I heard that it was related to your family's husband, so I sent it to you." This is delivered." Spreading out the oiled paper bag, Cui's tears welled up, "Yes, it's his handwriting, it's his... Hurry up and reward me..." The oil-paper package was delivered to Kublai Khan, and Kublai Khan repeatedly said: "The frost falls and the wind is high, and the return date is the beginning of spring. The emperor of Shanglin paid the bow, and the ministers of the poor sea have silk books."

Yes, it was him. In the past fifteen years, Kublai Khan has not forgotten him for a single day: he was the one who persuaded himself to "resolutely teach and make a big plan"; Suspend the use of troops, appease the people, govern all industries, create laws and regulations, and promulgate regulations to make the country orderly, and then conquer the Southern Song Dynasty when it is orderly; The strategy should be "From the East China Sea to Xiangyang and Dengzhou, send several armies as the main force to attack the front of the Southern Song Dynasty, from Hanzhong to Dali, the light troops will emerge quickly, and the cavalry will surround the enemy's rear... After that, we should start with Jingxiang and then Huaihe, First the two Huaihe Rivers and then the Jiangnan, step by step, steadily and steadily..." Some of these goals have been achieved, and some are being achieved in an orderly manner...

What an excellent minister, but the Southern Song Dynasty detained him for fifteen years.Kublai Khan was furious, and he immediately ordered a court meeting to discuss the strategic plan for conquering the Song Dynasty. Speaking of conquering the Song Dynasty, in fact, Kublai Khan never gave up for a day.However, since Meng Ge's death, Kublai Khan was busy seizing the Khan throne.After Khan won the position, he was busy chasing Brother Alibu again.Brother Ali hadn't completely surrendered yet, and he was busy putting down Li Fen's rebellion.Li Fen was in chaos, and he was busy organizing the government affairs, dealing with Han Confucianism and Han princes... He was so busy that he couldn't draw his hand for a while.

That's all right now, he's going to attack Southern Song Dynasty.He said at the military meeting: "I am courteous to the Southern Song Dynasty. More than ten years ago, when I came back from the Yangtze River and became the Great Khan, I was forced by the situation and signed a contract with them. As a result, they broke their promise and took my The emissary Hao Jing has been detained for fifteen years! Is it tolerable or unbearable! I am determined to be the king's teacher, conquer the Southern Song Dynasty, and let the little emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty understand that our Great Yuan is not easy to bully!"

Hearing that Kublai Khan was going to attack the Song Dynasty, all the Mongolian generals were gearing up, and the Han ministers were also very supportive. They all actively expressed themselves, intending to show their loyalty to Kublai Khan and restore their respect for the Song Dynasty through this war of destroying the Song Dynasty. their trust. The most active one is Liu Zheng. Liu Zheng, courtesy name Wu Zhong, was born in Dengzhou, Henan. He was originally a general of the Jin Kingdom, but after the death of the Jin Dynasty, he voted for the Southern Song Dynasty.Because of being excluded by Jia Sidao, he was angry and surrendered. He was born in 15 counties of Luzhou and had 300,000 households.Kublai Khan was overjoyed, and appointed him as the governor of Kuifu and the pacifying ambassador, bestowed a gold tiger amulet, and awarded the Xingzhong Secretary to Chengdu and Tongchuan.

Where to attack Song State first has always been controversial within Mongolia.In the past, Meng Ge's opinion was to take Sichuan first, and then go from west to east; another opinion was to take Jiankang (now Nanjing) first, and then go down the river to conquer Jiangnan; Shi Tianze suggested that Xiangfan should be taken first, and Yangzhou , Luzhou can ignore it, and go straight to Lin'an.If Lin'an is destroyed, the land of Bashu will be destroyed without attack.However, due to the incident of Shi Tianze killing Li Fen just now, Kublai Khan had not fully restored his trust in Shi Tianze at this time, and most of the Mongols opposed it, so he did not adopt it.

Now everything is ready, only the east wind is owed, the matter of destroying the Song Dynasty is on the agenda, and the arrow is on the string... Liu Zheng said: "The Southern Song Dynasty was in a corner of peace, lingering, the country was weak and the people were exhausted, treacherous ministers were in power, good ministers fiercely wanted to protect themselves, and wise men thought of a wise emperor; while our dynasty was full of national power, with strong soldiers and strong horses, this was a godsend for our Great Yuan Dynasty to destroy Song Dynasty. What's more, since ancient times, the emperors have been from all over the world and are not orthodox. At present, seven or eight out of ten of the holy dynasties in the world, how can they abandon one corner and abandon the orthodox? The opportunity is not to be missed, and the time will never come. The decision of the Holy One is a wise move .”

Kublai Khan was overjoyed and asked, "The plan will be released?" Liu Zheng said: "I believe that Xiangyang should be attacked first, and its defenses should be withdrawn. The so-called: 'If there is no Xiangyang, there will be no Huai, and if there is no Huai, Jiangnan will be at your fingertips.'" He put forward the same point of view as Hao Jing and Shi Tianze. Tachaer went out to play and said: "I think the time to attack Song Dynasty is not yet ripe." Kublai Khan asked, "How do you see it?" Tachaer said: "Our army is good at land combat, cavalry and archery, but not water warfare. Now attacking Song Dynasty is to use our weaknesses to match the enemy's strengths. It is advisable to attack Song Dynasty after training the navy well."

Mu Ge also said: "Although the Song court was in the south of the Yangtze River, its strength should not be underestimated. Jiangnan is a land of fish and rice, with abundant financial resources and strong cities, which are conducive to long-term wars. The Jin Dynasty failed to attack the Song Dynasty twice. I fought against Wokuotai Khan. He went to Sichuan and returned without success. Mengge Khan even hated Diaoyushanxia. All this reminds us that we must be fully prepared to attack the Song Dynasty, and an easy attack will not be effective.” "I dare not agree with the views of the two lords!" Liu Zheng glanced at the two lords, and then said: "I think that, let alone the Jin Dynasty, only the reason why Emperor Xianzong hated Diaoyushanxia. I think there are four disadvantages: 1. It was the wrong place to attack the Song Dynasty. Our Mongolian army is good at cavalry combat and is invincible. But cavalry combat should choose open and flat land. Sichuan and Shu are deep in the mountains and rivers, with many obstacles and winding mountain roads. It is difficult for our cavalry to fight in such terrain. What's more, the enemy occupies a favorable location and people, and our army is a guest. The people and the land live on both sides. There is no plunder to replenish supplies, and no capture to replenish our troops. We can only use limited strength and take unlimited risks Once the attack is hindered and cannot advance, it is tantamount to the end of the force; the second is that the national power is still very weak. Anyone who seizes the world must accumulate energy and collect taxes to meet his needs. The farmland is sufficient for food and grass, and when the internal order is straightened out, the conditions for annihilating the enemy are ripe. Since the founding of the Mongol Empire, it has been using troops abroad. How can the national power not be weak? Emperor Xianzong sent troops to attack the Song Dynasty shortly after he inherited the Datong According to the art of war, those who use force to seize cannot last long, and for a long time will bruise their vitality and become exhausted, which leads to failure. There are millions of soldiers, thousands of miles from head to tail, the imperial conquest, the whole country is mobilized, and the world is turned upside down. Everyone knows? Such an attack on the Song Dynasty is tantamount to hitting its bell to cover its ears, and eating its navel to cover its eyes. What is the use of this? The strange soldiers are clearly throwing tiles and stones with jade bis worth thousands of gold!"

Kublai Khan was very interested in Liu Zheng's high-spirited remarks, and asked, "What do Liu Aiqing think is the chance of winning by sending troops to Xiangfan?" Liu Zheng went on to say: "There are three reasons for choosing to use Xiangfan as troops." "First, the conditions for sending troops to the south are ripe. Since the emperor inherited the great rule, he has made great efforts to reform, repair politics internally, and encourage agriculture and mulberry. The economy in the north has recovered, and the people are rich and the country is now prosperous. In addition, the current civil strife has been calmed down, and Mobei is peaceful. All kinds of unstable factors have been eliminated, and the political situation is at its peak. At this time, going south to attack the Song Dynasty can fulfill our emperor's grand wish of unifying the world. Second, Xiangfan is the weakness of the Southern Song Dynasty. According to the art of war, attack the snake seven inches, attack the people and attack the weakness. Thousands of miles away from the Yangtze River, Lianghuai, Lin'an, and Jiankang, if they are regarded as the head of a snake and Bashu as its tail, then Xiangfan is its soft belly. The soft belly restrains the snake's head and tail. If you lose contact, you will have the tendency to follow the river to the east. To the south will open the gate of Huxiang in the south, and the snake head and tail will not be able to look at each other. How can it be invincible if you hit the head hard? Third, our cavalry and infantry are excellent. Invincible, but water warfare is not as good as the Song army. From now on, our army will start to besiege Xiangfan, and then build warships, train water troops, seize the commander of the Song army, and take over the weaknesses of our army. Years of actual combat, he also has considerable experience in siege and fortification, and the artillery imported from the Ilkhanate is even more powerful. It should be said that compared with Song, our army is far superior in combat effectiveness." "You can't underestimate the Southern Song Dynasty!" A Shu led the army to compete with the Southern Song army for many years, and has a detailed study of their combat capabilities and skills. He also knows a thing or two about the politics, economy, and military affairs of the Southern Song Dynasty. He interjected: " Although the small imperial court in the Southern Song Dynasty was peaceful and peaceful, it was full of wealth and wealth, with many soldiers and generals. It was only because the emperor was incompetent and Jia Sidao abused his power that he was dissatisfied and the people's livelihood resented. I think the Southern Song Dynasty should be fought in an evenly matched battle. A protracted war! Breaking through from the center is a good way! However, with our national strength, financial strength, and military strength, it will take time to capture Xiangyang." Liu Zheng said: "In the land of Xiangfan, the Jiahan River is interdependent, 'crossing Jingyu, controlling the north and the south', located at the north-south traffic hub, at the junction of the Huanghuai and Jianghan Plains, and has the dangers of Jingshan and Hanjiang. , has always been a battleground for military strategists. The Southern Song Dynasty has been operating here for many years, and it is solid. Our army should first encircle Xiangyang and then break it. To put it more clearly, it is to adopt the tactics of "siege the city and fight for aid" to gradually consume the Song court's financial resources, The source of soldiers, and finally wiped out the Southern Song Dynasty in one fell swoop, and unified the whole country." A Shu nodded. Kublai Khan saw that everyone stopped talking, so he turned his attention to An Tong, the right middle secretary and the right prime minister.What would this young man who had been promoted by himself as Cowardly Xuechang since the age of thirteen, and became Prime Minister of the Right Middle School at the age of eighteen, think? Seeing Kublai Khan's inquiring gaze, An Tong paused every word and said loudly, "I totally agree with General Liu's opinion!" "Okay!" Kublai Khan put his hands on the armrests of the golden chair and stood up slowly. "Listen to my decree: I have decided to set up the Marshal's Mansion immediately, fully implement the strategy of breaking through the middle road, open a gap in the Jiangbei defense line of the Song people, drive the army straight in, and break through the natural danger of the Yangtze River in one fell swoop! A Shu, Liu Zheng, I order you The two have full authority to command the army attacking the Song Dynasty; Ali Haiya, I order you not to be in charge of the provincial army, garrison, and payment, and at the same time be responsible for entering the military aircraft. Logistics support and troop deployment are negotiated by the Ministry of Education and the Privy Council. Don't delay, otherwise, you will be punished by military law!" "Follow the order!" All the generals left the table and received the order in unison.Kublai Khan had his own reasons for assigning them in this way.Ashu once accompanied Kublai Khan on an expedition to Dali, and for many years commanded the army to confront the Song army between the Yellow River and the Huaihe River. He has rich experience in fighting the Song Dynasty.At the beginning of Liu Zheng's entry into the court, he had a strategy of attacking the Song Dynasty in his mind. Long before the plan was finalized, he had ordered his subordinates to practice day and night to prepare for the army to cross the river.Ali Hague, the senior Uighur general who remained silent throughout the meeting, was good at coordinating the armies and securing supplies... Liu Zheng, who knew the entire strategic deployment of the Southern Song Dynasty well, determined the attacking strategy of the Song Dynasty. It directly pointed out the vital points and biggest weaknesses of the Southern Song defense line, which made the Yuan army change from the original multi-point attack to attacking the enemy's vital points with all its strength. The subsequent battles also showed that Liu Zheng's strategy was very clever.In the third year of Xianchun, that is, at the end of 1267 A.D., the commander-in-chief A Shu and deputy commander Liu Zheng led the army to the south and personally arranged to attack Xiangfan, and the battle to destroy the Song Dynasty began...