Chapter 32 5. Split up and advance together, will attack Lin'an

In the twelfth year of the Yuan Dynasty (1275), after the Yuan army captured Jiankang (now Nanjing) and Zhenjiang (now part of Jiangsu), Kublai Khan, the ancestor of the Yuan Dynasty, summoned Boyan in person to discuss with him the strategy of destroying the Song Dynasty. Shangdu Da'an Pavilion. Kublai Khan sat on the imperial couch, and Boyan sat on a mahogany and golden chair next to Kublai Khan. "I called you here because I want to hear how the frontline war is going?" "At present, our army is progressing smoothly. The main force of the Song army has been wiped out. Our troops are rapidly advancing towards Yuhang."

"Although the main force of the Song army in the Jinghu area has been severely damaged, the strength of the Song army in Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, and Sichuan is still there, so we must not be paralyzed." "Yes, Your Majesty." "What are your plans for the next step?" "This time, I was ordered to take up my duties in the north, and all the generals unanimously asked me to greet His Majesty on their behalf, and to ask Your Majesty to fight." "Please fight?" "Yes! They request an attack on Lin'an as soon as possible." "This matter needs to be slowed down for a while, and it needs to be discussed in the long run. Midsummer is coming, and our army needs to recuperate. On the other hand, although Song's hundreds of thousands of elites in the Jinghu area have been lost, Emperor Song will never be willing to fail. He must Assemble the troops from Hunan, Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Sichuan and Shu, and put all your eggs in one basket to fight a decisive battle with me." Kublai Khan paused, and then said, "I summoned you to go north this time to discuss this issue with you. .”

"The people of the Song Dynasty ruled the rivers and seas like a beast's insurance. Now they have choked their throats, and they will die if they are not allowed to. The ministers think that war should be the first." "Go on." Kublai Khan stared at Boyan's thin and dark face, expecting him to continue to answer. "On the one hand, the morale of our army is booming. Since our army began to attack the Song Dynasty in the fifth year of the Yuan Dynasty, our army has been invincible all the way, and has won many times. So far, we have occupied half of the Song Dynasty. As long as we work harder, we can accomplish great success. However, the morale of the soldiers of the Song Dynasty is low. Civil servants If they don't serve the country, the military generals only care about saving their lives, and the border defense is like a fake. Once our army reaches the city, they will be intimidated by our army's momentum. Collapse, the people are poor and the country is poor, the court has come to a point of disintegration. Loyal ministers will be kicked out of the court, and those who are incapable of enjoying themselves will be reused. They only care about enjoying themselves, so they don't know how to fight. Even if they have to fight, it is just for making peace In the end, when they went to war, their strategy was wrong and they lost troops and land. This is a great opportunity for Changshengtian to wish me to destroy the Song Dynasty. Once the Song court wakes up and uses good officials and generals, then our army will spend even more money to destroy the Song Dynasty. The price. Third, the current military strength of our army is not as good as before. At present, our army has 300,000 Mongolian troops and 800,000 Han troops. The ratio between the two is three to eight. The Han army is already significantly larger than our Mongolian army. It overcomes the weakness that our Mongolian army needs to rest every summer. Moreover, the Han army has exerted advantages that our Mongolian army does not have in terms of siege, fortification, and water warfare. The most important thing is that our army attaches great importance to differentiation Disintegrate the policy. Corrupt politics made many generals of the Han army unable to see the future. In addition, I was wise to the emperor, and my kindness spread all over the world, so many Han generals surrendered. And I used these Han people to persuade them to surrender before the war, and to assist them. It used military strikes, but in exchange for soldiers without bloodshed, they were able to occupy customs and land."

Boyan said so much in one breath, seeing that Kublai Khan was listening carefully and nodding constantly, so he continued: "Now that our country's internal politics have been straightened out, and the war in the north is no longer a serious problem, it is time to take advantage of the victory." Master, take down Song State in one go, one is to comfort the spirit of Genghis Khan in the sky, and the other is to fulfill your great wish, the emperor. More importantly, you can free up your hands to deal with those rebels who dare not listen to the will of our heaven and dare to be arrogant Therefore, my subordinates believe that our army should work together and work together to destroy the Southern Song Dynasty.

Kublai Khan was very satisfied with Boyan's pertinent analysis, and he asked, "Then what strategy and tactics will you adopt?" Boyan replied: "The court of the Southern Song Dynasty established the country with the Yangtze River as the line of defense and the two Huaihe Rivers as the fence. The heavy troops were stationed in Yangzhou, and Lin'an relied on it as the most important thing. Our army adopted the strategy of 'attacking Xiangyang first and withdrawing its shelter', taking control of the two wings, Break through the middle, and then go down the river, straight to the strategic policy of Lin'an. On the one hand, it splits the three major regions of the Southern Song Dynasty, making it impossible to respond from the beginning to the end, and cut off its Yangtze River defense line. At the same time, coordinated operations created the conditions. Today, our army occupies Jiankang, enters Yangzhou, and blocks the two Huaihe Rivers. The Southern Song Dynasty capital Lin’an completely lost its barrier. Our army’s first combat goal has been achieved. The Southern Song Dynasty has no time to adjust. The vast area is empty of troops, so our army should go straight in and head straight for Lin'an." Boyan got up and walked to a map full of arrows hanging on the wall, and explained his plan: "Of course, the Southern Song Dynasty will not stop here. They will definitely try their best to organize rescue. Therefore, in order to prevent the Huaidong Song Army from going south for rescue, we can send Zhongshu Zuo Prime Minister Ashu to continue to besiege Yangzhou, surround the points to fight for aid, destroy the enemy's vital forces, and block the passage of Huaidong Song Army's southern aid; Right Prime Minister Ali Haiya attacked Hunan, Marshal Song Dudai and others took Jiangxi to cut off the connection between the east and the west of the Southern Song Dynasty and prevent the troops from Sichuan and Shu from rushing to help; In the Jiangdong area, establish a solid southward base."

Kublai Khan followed Boyan's finger on the map, secretly admiring this young man in his thirties for having such a miraculous way of using troops.He was glad that he kept him by his side at that time, and he missed Shi Tianze who tried to recommend him even more. At this time, Shi Tianze had just left this world. Looking at the emperor Kublai Khan thoughtful, Boyan hesitated for a moment and asked, "Your Majesty?" "Go on, go on..." Kublai Khan was taken aback for a moment, and then immediately came back to his senses. "In terms of specific tactics, I plan to adopt the combat deployment of 'divide the troops into three routes and meet in Lin'an', that is, our army will divide into three routes and finally join forces under the city of Lin'an. Mainly the Mongolian cavalry, led by Shen Zhizheng Shi Alahan, went out from Jiankang to Piaoshui and Guangde, took Dusong Pass, and attacked Lin'an from the west, cutting off the passage for the Song Dynasty to flee to the interior. The boat division of the Han army was mainly led by Dong Wenbing, the political adviser, from Jiangyin to the Yangtze River Estuary, followed the coastline, entered Hangzhou Bay, and cut off the passage for the Song Dynasty to escape from the sea. Jiang (Suzhou) and Jiaxing will go straight to Lin'an!"

A gratified smile appeared on Kublai Khan's face, and he ordered the guards to bring the wine. "Come, come, come! Prime Minister Boyan You, you are worthy of being my wife Zhang, I offer you a toast!" Seeing Boyan's astonished expression, Kublai laughed out loud. "Before you come back, I have decreed you to be the right prime minister of Zhongshu Province. I didn't let them declare the decree, but I wanted to wait for you to come back and tell you the news face to face. From then on, you will be in charge of the military affairs of the Yuan Dynasty, so you The burden on his shoulders is even heavier." Kublai Khan never used the word "zhen" in front of the Mongols.

"Your Majesty's grace of trust and love, I will definitely repay you with all my heart!" Boyan took a step back, knelt down and saluted. "Haha, get up, get up!" Kublai Khan personally stepped forward to pull Boyan up, holding his sign and said earnestly: "Prime Minister Boyan, as the highest military commander in charge of the two provinces of Jinghu and Huaixi, And Chief Executive, your words and deeds will become the code of conduct that affects and influences other generals at any time. Therefore, I hope you can calmly sum up your experience and organize the army so that you can fight again. I wish you a smooth victory in Lin'an, and by then , I will personally host a banquet for you to celebrate!"

"I understand! Your majesty's warning is like a refreshing medicine in the heat of summer, making me sober. Don't worry, your majesty, after I return to the army, I will implement your will in the whole army, guard against arrogance and impetuosity, overcome blindness and paralysis, and earnestly sum up experience. Lesson, study strategy and tactics well, use your brain to fight, I believe that the days to wipe out the Southern Song Dynasty will not be too long, your majesty, just wait for my good news!" At this time, the government of the Southern Song Dynasty had a different scene.

The old lady Xie was dressed by several maids, and after washing, she walked slowly to the outside of the bedroom.She is in her sixties, and although she has been carefully maintained, the wars in the past few years have still tortured her to an old age. "Are there any cannons outside?" "No, Empress Dowager. It's quiet outside." The maid replied. Hearing the courtiers mentioned the Mongol cannons many times, the old woman couldn't help but feel lingering fear. She asked it so many times a day, and the maids were tired of hearing it. "Don't worry about the old lady, they are far away from here! General Zhang Shijie has been waiting outside."

"Call him in." Zhang Shijie had just returned from the front line, his face was dark and thin, and his face was full of tiredness. "General Zhang, what's the situation on the front line in the past few days?" "...It's still the same, the empress dowager." Zhang Shijie bowed to the old empress, stood up and said. "Tell me the truth, all these years, I have heard bad news, I am used to it, and I am no longer afraid." "Yuan army is going south in three groups, Yangzhou is besieged, General Li Tingzhi has been besieged for several months; Changzhou city is broken, several generals are dead, and the whole city's soldiers and civilians are killed; Liyang is broken, our army has more than 70 generals, More than 20,000 soldiers died..." "No need to say more..." The old queen sighed helplessly, frowning and asked, "General Zhang, do you have something to say?" "I discussed with Wen Tianxiang and others. If the soldiers from Huaidong, Sichuan and Shu can serve the king, plus our troops from Guangdong and Fujian, the number of our troops will not be small. There should be hope for state affairs. I would like to cooperate with Wen Tianxiang and others." Go ahead and plan..." "The old man is no longer useful, and you can only rely on your officials. Have you discussed it with Prime Minister Chen?" Only then did Zhang Shijie know that Chen Yizhong, who threw off the gauze cap, had returned to be prime minister.Everyone knows that he is timid and afraid of getting into trouble, and he is the same as Jia Sidao, so he feels hopeless: "Not yet..." "Okay, I will reply you after the old man discusses with Chen Xiangguo. Is there anything else?" Zhang Shijie retreated knowingly, he knew that Chen Yizhong was hesitant, hesitant to wait and see, vacillating between peace and war.Once the Empress Dowager discusses with him, she will definitely be hopeless again, she feels sad from her heart, and sighs: "God, why don't you protect my Song Dynasty like this!" As Zhang Shijie expected, the result of the discussion was that Chen Yizhong sent the general supervisor Liu Yue to the Yuan army camp to seek peace.Liu Yue begged the class teacher of the Yuan army to promise to go to the school every year to repair it. Boyan said: "Song used to win the world in the hands of children, but now it is also lost in the hands of children. It is the way of heaven, so there is no need to say more." He was not allowed to make peace.Soon thereafter, Chen Yizhong sent Zheng Shaoqing Lu Xiufu to ask him to be a minister and pay money, but Boyan refused; he also called his grandnephew, but Boyan still refused.The anti-Japanese war was weak, and peace was unsuccessful. Chen Yizhong wanted to move the capital, and he explained his intention to Empress Dowager Xie, but Empress Dowager Xie refused.Chen Yizhong cried and begged in the court, stating the necessity of moving the capital. Empress Dowager Xie had always relied heavily on Chen Yizhong, so she had no choice but to follow.Chen Yizhong and Empress Dowager Xie agreed on the date of fleeing Lin'an, but something went wrong hastily.Empress Dowager Xie was ready to flee. She waited from morning to night and did not see Chen Yizhong. She threw Zan Er on the ground and said angrily, "I didn't want to move at the beginning, but the ministers thought I would please you. Gu deceived me." ?” So the matter of moving the capital had to be abandoned. Let’s talk about the Yuan army, the army was all in one place, and the coach of the West Route Army, Arahhan, led his troops to the south, even conquering Liyang and Jianping. The whole journey was like a broken bamboo, but he was stubbornly resisted by the guard Zhang Ru at Dusong Pass (southeast of Anji County, Zhejiang today). .They used infantry to fight against cavalry. Although they risked their lives, they were outnumbered and eventually all died in battle. Therefore, the army of Yuanxi Road took control of the north gate of Lin'an. With Fan Wenhu as the vanguard, the Yuandong Road Navy marched eastward along the Yangtze River. Since there were no Song troops guarding both sides of the Yangtze River, the Yuan army marched smoothly.At that time, a water army composed of poor fishermen was active at the mouth of the Yangtze River, led by Zhu Qing and Zhang Xuan, and was not under the jurisdiction of the Song Dynasty.Dong Wenbing, the coach of the Yuan army, thought that this force could be used, so he recruited and surrendered this maritime force. Zhu and Zhang led the troops and ships to go south with the Yuan army to capture Lin'an, which enhanced the Yuan army's naval combat capabilities.After leaving the Yangtze River Estuary, the Eastern Route Army followed the coastline, approached the Qiantang River Estuary in December, and surrounded Lin'an by sea. The Yuanzhong Route Army was led by Boyan to attack Changzhou. Changzhou was the frontier of defending Lin'an and the key to the Yuan army's entire plan to capture Lin'an. Boyan personally commanded the attack.The Yuan army built a high platform in the south of the city, put cannons on the platform to bombard the city, and fired rockets into the city, causing a sea of ​​flames in the city of Changzhou.Changzhou defender Yao Yan led his soldiers to fight bloody battles, but finally failed due to being outnumbered and without foreign aid.Yao Yan, Wang Anjie and others were killed in battle. Monks Wan An and Mo Qianzhi led monk soldiers to help, and all 500 monk soldiers died in battle. After Boyan broke through Changzhou, he sent Marshal Jari Timur and Wanhu Huaidu to lead troops to attack Wuxi and Pingjiang. In December of the twelfth year of Zhiyuan (1275), the three armies of the Yuan Dynasty approached Lin'an and stationed in Jieting Mountain (northeast suburb of Hangzhou, Zhejiang), ready to capture Lin'an at any time. Under the pressure of the army, the court of the Southern Song Dynasty was in chaos. The Song court had no troops to resist, and the Yuan army refused to seek peace. Chen Yizhong and the Chinese, Chinese and military officials fled Lin'an one after another.Empress Dowager Xie had no choice but to send Jia Yuqing, the magistrate of Lin'an, to proclaim the imperial seal and surrender table in the name of Emperor Gong, and go to Neiting Mountain to ask Boyan to surrender.Boyan sent Dong Wenbing, Lu Wenhuan, and Fan Wenhu into the city to appease the people, prohibited killing and looting, closed warehouses, confiscated Song Tinggun's crown, Guibi, guard of honor, books, and a large number of treasures and utensils, and shipped them to Dadu.Boyan personally went to Lin'an City to resettle the Song court personnel, escorted Song Emperor Zhao Xian, the whole family of the Empress Dowager, and other court officials and court personnel, and set off to the north in a mighty way.At this point, Lin'an was captured by the Yuan army, and the Southern Song court perished. The Battle of Lin'an ended here, and it only took one year from the establishment of the Jiankang base to the capture of Lin'an.From a strategic point of view, the Yuan Dynasty adopted the strategy of attacking and forcing surrender. In order to cooperate with the front line, Kublai Khan sent Lian Xisheng, Minister of Rites, and Yan Zhongfan, Minister of Industry, to the Song Dynasty to persuade the Song Dynasty to surrender. Boyan also sent Zhang Yu and others to surrender. The monarchs and ministers lived in the Song Dynasty and gained the initiative in the entire battle situation; in terms of tactics, they used the method of splitting and attacking together. The three-way army was three-pronged. breakthrough.Due to the passive defense strategy adopted by the Southern Song Dynasty, the war was uncertain, and finally lost the favorable situation to fight against the Yuan army, and ended with the subjugation of the country.