Chapter 30 four

At night and night, the sound of the Kherlen River remained the same, and the candles in Kublai Khan's tent were lit all night. In the early morning, Prime Minister You and Da Sinonong Yao Shu were ordered to arrive. Before he could see the ceremony, Kublai Khan asked him to sit down: "Let's talk about how to deal with Li Fen, a poisonous snake. There are different opinions about the rebellion of the governor of Yidu and the governor of Jianghuai, and I really want to hear your opinion." He said straight to the point. Yao Shu pondered for a moment, and then talked eloquently: "Li Fen has been rebellious for a long time. This is not a secret among the group of officials. Didn't Your Majesty have been alerted for a long time? It's just because your Majesty was fighting against Brother Ali during the north and south, and there was no time for others. Using high-ranking officials and rich salary to stabilize him and exchange for time, Li Fen is also well aware of this, which is why he can't wait to take advantage of His Majesty's rush to the north and the emptiness of the interior, and hastily declare independence in Shandong reason……"

Yao Shulue paused, and suddenly realized that his use of the word "hasty" was too disrespectful, so he hastily apologized and said: "I made a slip of the tongue, there are some inappropriate words, please forgive me, Your Majesty." Kublai Khan was listening intently to Yao Shu's analysis, when he suddenly saw Yao Shu's expression of panic, he quickly comforted him: "Aiqing's words are precise and her analysis is thorough, what's the crime! Don't be formal, Aiqing, please go on quickly. , go on!" "I think," Yao Shu looked at Kublai Khan with gratitude, "if Li Fen took advantage of the opportunity of His Majesty's all-powerful northern expedition, smashed swallows near the sea, and retreated to Juyong (Juyongguan) to frighten people, this would be the best policy; Form an alliance with the Song Dynasty and fight a protracted war of attrition with us, so that our army will be exhausted to rescue, this is the middle strategy; if a bandit sends troops to Jinan, and waits for the Shandong princes to come to help, this will be a catch." Yao Shu accurately said The countermeasures that Li Fen may take and their results are analyzed.

Kublai Khan asked with great interest: "Then what kind of strategy does Ai Qing think the rebels will adopt?" Yao Shu replied decisively: "If the thief makes a bad move, he will definitely lose!" There was a slight smile on Kublai Khan's serious face: "As you said, I will personally hold the lamp for Yao Dasinong, and thank you for drinking." Yao Shu bowed to the ground again: "Thank you for your majesty's long grace. As your majesty's ministers, you should do your best for your majesty's great cause. In addition, I have another request: I hope your majesty will take down Wang Wentong as soon as possible."

"Forget it, Yi Aiqing." Wang Wentong is the aide and father-in-law of Li Fen, the Marquis of Yidu. He once ascended the throne with classics and righteousness in the Jin Dynasty. For "academic dishonesty".Especially on the issue of governing the country through financial management, he opposed the idea of ​​"relieving people's power and storing wealth in the people" unanimously advocated by the Confucian officials of the Confucianism School and the Confucian School of Confucianism at that time, and focused his policies on managing wealth and increasing national income. It happened to coincide with Kublai Khan's request. Therefore, at the beginning of the Central Committee, the most important court ministers who were favored by Kublai Khan were precisely Wang Wentong who was good at financial management and "applied to Mingmin", not those who were proficient in righteousness and reason. Frugal Confucian officials who love the people.

The family dispute between Yao Shu, Dou Mo and others and Wang Wentong had begun to emerge before the establishment of the Zhongtong Dynasty.The Confucian ministers who were devoted to righteousness and reason impeached Wang Wentong many times. Yao Shu, Dou Mo and others who were upright by nature even publicly accused him in front of Kublai Khan, saying that he could not stay in the position for a long time, which made Wang Wentong embarrassed in the public.The deep friendship formed during the period of seclusion in Sumen made Yao Shu, Dou Mo and others support and support each other. Because of this, Wang Wentong naturally regarded the two of them as political enemies threatening his status and repelled and attacked them.Once, he satirized Yao Shu as the prince's tutor and Dou Mo as the prince's tutor with ulterior motives.The status of the crown prince's master can be described as prominent, but for Yao Shu, who expects himself to be a king who governs the country and the world, this move obviously has a political intention to drive him out of the power center, so Yao Shu said "the crown prince has not Li, Anke first has a grand master" as a resignation and refused.In August of the first year of Zhongtong, Yao Shu, who was originally the envoy of Xuanfu in Dongping, was appointed Da Si Nong, who was in charge of agriculture, mulberry, water conservancy and other affairs of the Zhongtong Dynasty.

Regarding the current situation, Kublai Khan still had some hidden worries: "Leaving aside the matter of Wang Wentong, the battle between me and brother Alibu is currently tense, so how can there be any extra troops to deal with Li Fen?" "Your Majesty can quickly transfer the kings and generals to sit in town, and deploy some troops from the princes of the provinces to deploy defenses in Kaiping and Yanjing." "Your words are exactly what I want. I don't know how many troops are needed?" "More is better, less is better. As far as the current deployment of troops is concerned, more is impossible, but better is still advisable. It is still possible to deploy 50,000 elite soldiers within a month. The specific deployment is 30,000 in Kaiping City and 20,000 in the suburbs of Yanjing. In this way, Li Fen will not dare to attack rashly."

Kublai Khan stood up from the imperial case, walked down the steps slowly, came to Yao Shu, and said firmly: "Li Fen's army has been managed by him and his father Li Quan for nearly fifty years. Although the number is only 50,000, the strength is a bit insufficient, but the equipment is excellent and the soldiers are strong. In addition, Li Fen and his father have been entrenched in the southern Shandong area for a long time, speculating among Jin, Song, and Mongolia, and have long been notorious politically. The people did not support him. It is reported that when Li Fen rebelled and returned from Yidu to the north, people heard of the rebellion and all entered Baocheng Guo, or rushed to the valley. From Yidu to Linzi for hundreds of miles, there was no sound. This is also a clear proof that the people hate him!"

"That's true," Yao Shu felt the same way, "Li Fen's army is full of contradictions, and Li Fen intends to use such an army from Shandong to attack Yanjing far away, and then block our army outside Juyong Pass, leaving the Central Plains without an owner and people's hearts. In the chaotic situation, and then seek change in the chaos, playing the trick of "taking the emperor to make the princes" and establishing himself as a king, this is really wishful thinking and overestimating one's abilities." "Retreating and living in mediocrity, leaving the Central Plains without a master, a mere 50,000 people are not enough anyway. Li Fen is too confident, thinking that as long as he raises his arms and raises the rebellion flag, all parties will respond. In this way, he can take the opportunity to gather a large number of troops. , rushed to Yanjing, and retreated to the mediocre." Kublai Khan rubbed his numb right foot, paced up and down on the carpet, "It is confirmed that Li Fen's staff did plan to go deep into the hinterland and send troops to Yanjing. Beijing, the conspiracy to reject me outside the pass, if it is true, it will be a fatal blow to me. Although we have a large number of troops, we havetily withdrew from Mobei to attack the rebels. Li Fen relied on the danger of the Great Wall to deal with me with 50,000 people A few years will not be a problem. In this way, the troops of the warlords and princes who are on the sidelines in the pass may gather under the banner of Li Fen, and the Song court will also take the opportunity to send heavy troops to attack the city to cooperate with the actions of the rebels. However, we He also knows something about Li Fen. Long-distance raids are very risky, and even if he achieves the goal of temporary chaos, he may not be able to benefit from the chaos. Therefore, I predict that Li Fen will never dare or have the ability The courage and ability to smash swallows by the sea."

The chatter between the emperor and his ministers was intense, and the guards rushed into the account to report: "Qizou is sweating profusely, Shi Tianze, the Prime Minister of Zhongshu You, has ordered to see you." "Biography!" Kublai Khan sat back behind the imperial case. Shi Tianze entered the account and paid homage: "I wish the Great Khan a long and boundless life!" Kublai Khan smiled bitterly and said, "The red tape of you Han people is too hard to bear. For example, 'good health' is acceptable, but 'longevity and boundless' is probably impossible. Life is seventy since ancient times, how can you live to How about ten thousand years? You are all my confidantes, from now on you will be exempted from these vain rituals when you enter the audience by order, wouldn't it be better to be casual?" He made a gesture to ask Shi Tianze to get up, "Ai Qing is flat, I call you I came here to hear your opinion on putting down Li Fen's rebellion, Ai Qing must have a good plan in mind, so you might as well express your opinion directly."

A smile flashed across Shi Tianze's face, but he quickly replied: "Your Majesty, after Li Fen's rebellion, in the entire Han area of ​​the Central Plains, there was no other responder except for the arrest of the chief executive of Taiyuan who failed to act." Therefore, Li Fen pinned his glimmer of hope on Song Ting being able to send troops to support his actions." "Yes, I have learned about this." Shi Tianze asked in fluent Mongolian, "Your Majesty, Aunt Rong Chen is speaking nonsense." Kublai Khan made a joke: "Then, my aunt listened to it in vain." He said with restraint, "Everything Aiqing said hits the point, and I really hope to hear what you say."

Shi Tianze talked eloquently, his tone became more calm and calm. "During Li Fen's rebellion, the most notable thing is that from the long-term relationship between Li Fen and his son and the Song court, Li Fen was unwilling and impossible to truly surrender to Song. Similarly, Song would not trust him and give him With full support and cooperation. Li Fen's ultimate goal is to rely on Jiaozhou Bay and the Shandong Peninsula to establish himself as a king, so as to realize his political ambition of having one third of the world, and then wait for opportunities to expand and achieve some hegemony." Kublai Khan nodded: "What you say is reasonable and has something to say. I don't know what Yao Aiqing has to say, but it doesn't matter." Shi Tianze smiled and said: "Sir has always been very insightful in this area, no, it should be said that he is a genius, listening to him explain his views will benefit us a lot." Yao Shu said angrily, "Brother Runfu made fun of me! I don't have any insight, let alone a genius." "Mr. is too modest. Young and mature, good at listening and judging, pleading for the people with kindness, who doesn't know, who doesn't know." Shi Tianze laughed loudly, "Could it be that this old man is wrong?" Kublai Khan couldn't help laughing: "We're fighting again! I remember when I was hiding in the mansion, Aiqing would often tell people some witty words to attract people's bait. Now they are all handsome men in their sixties, and they still have a childlike innocence." "Your Majesty, I don't think I'm old, my body is very strong. I can eat, sleep and ride a horse, and I can draw a hard bow of San Song stone (165 kilograms). How can I be old? I still wait for Li Fen to be defeated. The rebellion, the conquest of Brother Ali, the extermination of the Song Dynasty, and the unification of China will be the end of the old age. Does your Majesty think this is right?" Kublai Khan showed approval in his eyes, but he just smiled and didn't answer.He turned to Yao Yu: "You speak your mind directly." "Yes, Your Majesty. As far as I know, the report of Li Fen's subjugation to the Song Dynasty was not delivered to Emperor Song until the first day of February, but he hurriedly returned on the third day of February to declare rebellion without waiting for a clear reply from the Song side. Acting so hastily on an issue that concerns the overall situation not only reflects Li Fen's lack of sincerity in surrendering to the Song Dynasty, but also shows that he does not care about whether he can obtain the cooperation and support of the Song Dynasty, thus ruling out any plans for him to unite the Song Dynasty to fight against Mongolia. Possibly. In this way, for Li Fen, the only way out is to send troops to Jinan, pinning his hopes on the fantasy of getting support from the princes of Shandong." Yao Shu paused for a while, and drank all the horsetail in the golden cup in one go. "To say something that may be inappropriate, the princely warlords in Shandong, Hebei, Henan, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan and other places, although their own strengths and reasons for conquest are different, but one thing is relatively similar, that is They all have political differences, economic disputes and occasional military conflicts with certain Mongolian rulers. Therefore, affected by this state of mind, they are entirely likely to exchange information, support and use each other. Especially in Mengge Khan It is reasonable for these people to analyze the situation through letters and discuss countermeasures. Mr. Hao Jing said that "the sick people and the traitors have two sides ", wait and see what stands, and everyone covets the artifact" refers to the connection and secret activities between warlords and princes. It is precisely these ambiguous behaviors that gave Li Fen the illusion that once he rebelled against the flag, he would He will gain support and response from other warlords and princes, and then dominate one side. However, things have backfired. Now, although Li Fen realizes that he has miscalculated the situation, he has become a horse riding a tiger. He can only go deep alone and capture Jinan, thinking it is expedient plan." Shi Tianze praised from the bottom of his heart: "Incisive, so incisive! Mr.'s talent is beyond the reach of others, how can I miss it!" Yao Shu waved his hand humbly: "Marshal Shi has praised you. This is the great Khan's foresight, and I am just laying it out." Kublai Khan looked at Shi Tianze and Yao Shu silently, thinking about the analysis of the two generals.He sat on a large armchair, rubbing his swollen and painful feet vigorously with both hands.A guard hurried forward, helped him take off his boots, wrapped his feet with two pieces of fresh deerskin, and carefully placed them on a mahogany foot box. The conversation between the monarch and his ministers continued until noon.