Chapter 21 one

Ezhou Jiangbei, the flag of the army is flying. The Han River flows into the Yangtze River from west to east.Kublai Khan's East Route Army camp was located at the confluence of the Han River and the Yangtze River. Immediately on the Yangtze River, Kublai Khan felt a lot of emotion.He said to a group of senior staff gathered around him, including Hao Jing, Lian Xixian, and Zicong monk: "In the past, Wei Gong Cao Cao sent his troops to the south, aiming to unify the whole country. He didn't want to dream of breaking the Red Cliff and defeating the Yangtze River; Haikou threw a whip and broke the river, and finally fled in embarrassment; only Emperor Taizong Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty took over the south of the Yangtze River like a broken bamboo. And I will follow the example of Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin again, surrendering the people of Song Dynasty with virtue without bloodshed."

"Report!" Before everyone could answer, two messengers galloped by the river and got off their horses: "His Royal Highness: I have ordered you to report the situation of the Eastern Shu Army!" The messenger took out the letter from his rucksack and presented it with both hands. Kublai Khan knew something was wrong, so he hurriedly took it and read it.The letter is written by Brother Mo himself: After Kublai Khan finished reading the letter, his heart tossed violently. In it, there was not only sadness for his elder brother who had always respected him, but he died young, and he was also worried about the future situation.He had a strong premonition that bad luck was coming.Even though he is a vassal king who is under one person and over ten thousand people, with friends everywhere and staffs in groups, it is inevitable that he feels alone and alone at this moment.Xu Liewu, who was in love with him and had a close relationship with him, did not return from his expedition to West Asia. His loyal half-brother, the last brother, was on his way back from the southern expedition again, and he did not hold any heavy soldiers in his hands.

"Your Highness, what the letter says is..." Lian Xixian asked inquiringly as he stared at Kublai Khan in a daze. "Look." Kublai Khan handed the letter to Lian Xixian with a heavy heart, and raised his hand to look at the shadowy figure of Ezhou City in the evening mist. Lian Xixian glanced at the ten lines, and after reading the letter, out of the corner of his eye, he lingered twice on the words "the army in the middle has no leader, and there are dramas in the army". Hao Jing and Zicong read Brother Mo's letter together in Lian Xixian's hands, and then the four of them fell silent, thinking about their own thoughts.Regarding this unexpected incident, everyone was making various judgments and inferences in their hearts, and repeatedly weighed the impact it would have on the current situation and the contingency measures that should be taken.

In the end, it was Hao Jing who broke the silence: "The situation has changed suddenly, Your Highness must make plans early. Now that the Central Route Army has withdrawn to the north, the Song Army will inevitably withdraw to the east and gather troops to consolidate the Ezhou and Xiangyang areas. What should our army do next? , I don’t know what you guys have to say?” Lian Xixian said: "I think that in this troubled time, His Highness will now decree to redeem all the Confucian scholars captured by the Mongolian army in the north and south of the Yangtze River with official money, and let them return home for future use."

Kublai Khan nodded silently, looking up at the sky, his mood was like the water of the Yangtze River rolling eastward. "What Lian Mencius said is very true. Lian Mencius's heart is always as vast and boundless as the blue sky, as gentle and affectionate as the grassland. The king agrees with your suggestion, and immediately uses the gold and silver of the palace to kill all the more than 500 Confucian scholars captured this time. Redeem and return home." "Your Highness, I watched the sky yesterday, but I saw the thin moon eclipse. I was worried about the heroine. The minister lost his mind and concealed the sign of retreat. "Zhi" says: "When an army is marching and the sun and the moon are thin, it is time to withdraw the army. Er, there is a rebellion." In fact, Zi Cong predicted the news of Mengge Khan's death on the night of Mengge Khan's death, and whispered to Kublai Khan, who was shocked and covered his mouth with his hands.

"In your opinion, this king should withdraw his troops and return to the north?" "Exactly." "No way. Thinking that the king commanded the 300,000 soldiers of the Eastern Route Army, but did not capture Ezhou, and did not make half an inch of military achievements, and spread them out, wouldn't it be ridiculed by the government and the public? This king does not doubt your divination, but it is human-made and cannot be generalized. .” Kublai Khan urged his mount to move away, Xinma reined in, Lian Xixian and the other three followed immediately. "Lian Mencius, pass down the decree of the king: Zong Wang Tachaer and others each led an army of 50,000 from Yangzhou, Anqing, and Qizhou to Ezhou. Along the way, pay attention to collecting fishing boats across the river, waiting for opportunities to cross the river to fight, and at the same time contain Song Jiankang's mansion and Lin'an. The Fushui Army; the other kings stick to their positions and obey orders at any time to attack Ezhou; the general Zhang Rou leads a boat force of 30,000 to Yuezhou to meet General Wulianghetai who is coming north from Dali."

Lian Xixian immediately finished the notes, and Kublai Khan signed his name like a flying phoenix.The messenger galloped to each battalion to convey Kublai Khan's combat orders.