Chapter 52 Wu

During the Song Dynasty, Lin'an Fu City was expanded several times and became a famous city spanning Wushan Mountain in the south, Wulin Gate in the north, Qiantang River on the left, and West Lake waters on the right. It is magnificent and unique in shape. Walking into Lizhengmen, you will find the largest Daqing Hall in the imperial palace. The foundation of the hall is about two feet high, and it is all made of white marble.The hall is about 100 feet high.There are east and west rooms and east and west pavilions in the hall.In the middle is a platform about six or seven feet high, on which there is a golden lacquered and carved dragon throne, and there are golden dragon pillars on both sides. In the middle of the top of the seat, there is a golden dragon caisson carved on the ceiling, and a spherical Xuanyuan mirror hangs upside down, showing the supremacy of the emperor of the Song Dynasty. power and majesty.This is the "Golden Palace" in folklore.Every year, New Year's Day, Winter Solstice, Longevity Festival (the emperor's birthday), or the emperor's ascension to the throne, promulgation of imperial edicts, announcement of the yellow list of Jinshi, internal banquets for officials, reception of foreign envoys, and appointment of generals to expeditions are all held in this hall.

Behind the Daqing Hall is the Chuigong Hall where the emperor usually works and summons civil and military officials four times a month to discuss political affairs.Behind the Chuigong Hall is the inner court where the concubine and the prince lived.After the inner court is the back garden for the emperor, prince and concubine to visit.The back garden is full of green pines and cypresses that never wither in severe winter, exquisite rockery built with beautiful stones, and a large palace pool covering an area of ​​more than ten acres, known as "Little West Lake".Xiaoxi Lake imitates the landscape of West Lake, stacking Feilai peaks and building cold spring pavilions, with numerous pavilions in between.According to the court system of the Song Dynasty, Cuihan Hall was used to escape the summer heat in summer, Mingyuan Tower built of nanmu was used to appreciate snow in winter, Yigui Pavilion was used to appreciate the moon in Mid-Autumn Festival, and Zhongmei Hall was used to enjoy flowers in spring.There is also a special device in Zhongmeitang - the blower wheel. When the flowers bloom, the wind wheel turns and the fragrance floats all over the garden.

Next to the palace is the central government office, where the highest administrative organization, the three provinces and six ministries, are located.From the imperial palace and Ningmen to the Zhongzheng Bridge in the north of the city, there is a royal street exclusively for the emperor, running through the north and south of the capital, with a length of 2,400 steps, dividing the city of Lin'an into two parts.The center of Yujie is Yudao, which is paved with more than 30,000 huge stone slabs.On both sides of the royal road are rivers made of bricks and stones. Lotus is planted in the river, and peaches and plums are planted all over the river bank. In spring and summer, it looks like embroidery.

Daqing Palace. The morning time has passed, and Jia Sidao, the power minister, came late. The eunuch Dong Songchen sang loudly: "Great Master of the Great Song Dynasty, Jia Sidao, a political officer of Pingzhang, see you!" Under the eyes of everyone with different meanings, Jia Sidao, who Song Duzong called "teacher" and civil and military courtiers called "Zhou Gong", appeared majestically in Daqing surrounded by dozens of guards. palace. After Song Lizong's death, Duzong came to the throne.It is entirely due to Jia Sidao that Du Zong was established as the prince and ascended the throne. Jia Sidao relied on his "determined strategy" and became more domineering and reckless.Under the permission of the current emperor, Jia Sidao built a luxurious pavilion in Geling, West Lake, comparable to the imperial palace.Jia Sidao did not have to be a director of the government office, but officials from the three provinces and six ministries sent various documents to his library for review and instruction.Jia Sidao entered the court once every five days, and later changed it to once every six days. When he entered the court, he did not worship the emperor, and when he left the court, the emperor had to stand up and watch him go out of the palace.Jia Sidao usually lived in seclusion and indulged in pleasure, but the government had to report to him no matter how big or small it was.

When the Song army was fighting fiercely with the Mongolian army in Xiangyang, Jia Sidao turned a deaf ear and was still indulging in sensuality. Every day he either fought crickets with his wives and concubines for fun, or had a big banquet with guests and friends, and played songs every night.Under Jia Sidao's despotic power, court officials either flattered or kept silent.All officials who have actions and remarks that are not conducive to Jia Sidao will be dismissed from office and expelled from the court, and those who are serious will be beheaded and convicted, have no family assets, and their wives will be exiled.As a result, the emperor's speech was cut off, and his ears were full of praises, and the border war reports and border crisis memorials were all hidden.Only a very few "ignorant of current affairs" dare to offend Jia Sidao's "Tiger Might".Wang Lixin, the brave and upright envoy of the Beijing-Huzhou system, once wrote to Jia Sidao, reprimanding him for inverting priorities and not focusing on the great plan of the country. He also pointed out that the country is currently facing a strategic choice. The middle strategy is to release Hao Jing and return to the country, to facilitate the peace talks between Mongolia and Song Dynasty as soon as possible, to suspend the offensive of the Mongolian army, and buy time to revive the border defense;After Jia Sidao read the book, he became furious and furious. He scolded Wang Lixin for "talking like a blind thief" (Wang Lixin suffers from eye diseases), and immediately drafted an order to dismiss Wang Lixin.

At this moment, Jia Sidao sat next to the emperor - the emperor set up a seat just for Jia Sidao - looking supercilious. "What is the emperor's order to me?" He didn't use "the emperor ordered the ministers to enter the palace, and the ministers seemed to be sincere and frightened, please ask the emperor to issue an order", but he used "what is the emperor's order to me", deliberately pretending to be equal to the emperor, arrogant style of pie. "The difficulties in Xiangyang are still unresolved, so what can I do?" the emperor asked cautiously, watching the words and expressions.

"It will be solved in a short time, what is your majesty's worry?" Jia Sidao turned sideways and ignored the emperor, his eyes condensed two scorching rays of light. The emperor was startled: "It's suitable for a female concubine to say that Xiangyang is in danger." Jia Sidao sneered: "How can His Majesty believe such a demagogic statement? According to the law, it should be punished with capital punishment." "All will be dealt with by teachers and ministers. From now on, anyone who confuses people, regardless of their official position, will be executed. If they have no family assets, their wives will be married." The emperor issued a decree.

Jia Sidao turned his anger into joy, bowed his body and said with a smile: "In March of the sixth year of Xianchun (1270), Kublai Khan, the Mongol emperor, approved the plan of the "Battle of Xiangyang" to build 5,000 warships and train 70,000 sailors. This is all the idea of ​​the traitor Liu Zheng." Jia Sidao was suspicious of Liu Zheng and used it.In the first year of Jingding (1260), when the Mongolian army following Wulianghetai’s southern and northern expeditions withdrew from Hunan and returned northward, Jia Sidao adopted the suggestion of the general Liu Zheng, sent troops to cut off the pontoon bridge, and killed the Mongolian army behind the palace. More than a hundred people.Afterwards, Jia Sidao concealed the truth about the peace and lied to the court about the great victory of the Yangtze River.Lizong was overjoyed and sent an envoy to summon Jia Sidao to Lin'an to take over the government.

"The traitor Liu Zheng worked very hard and trained 70,000 sailors in a few months..." "How is the situation of our navy? If we go to war, what are the odds of winning?" the emperor asked eagerly, interrupting Jia Sidao.Although the emperor indulged in drinking and sex, neglecting government affairs, he would inevitably "inquire" about military and state affairs in his spare time. "To be precise, the prefect of Anqing has more than 6,000 warships and 100,000 sailors; the Huaixi system has more than 10,000 warships and 300,000 sailors; the Jinghu system has more than 4,000 warships and 12 sailors. Ten thousand. Think about it, Your Majesty, with a mere 70,000 northern naval forces, if you want to overwhelm us with 520,000 elite naval forces, is it not like hitting a stone with an egg? Even if Kublai Khan has the ambition to annex the world, how dare he act rashly!" Jia Sidao said more and more proudly , The saliva almost splashed on the emperor's face.The emperor listened blankly, and his heart seemed to relax a lot.

The courtiers, Chinese and military officials have different expressions, and they are silent.Whenever Jia Sidao is present, the entire court becomes a place for him to perform alone. After Jia Sidao finished playing, the emperor announced his withdrawal from the imperial court, and all the officials bowed under the altar, shouting long live. Jia Sidao left without waiting for the officials to get up. child time. At the ferry of the Ci River in the upper reaches of Xiangyang, war horses humming lowly, and people are flocking. On the surface of the river, more than forty warships lined up on the river bank, and a lantern with the words "Ambassador of Jinghu System" hung on the mast, shining faintly in the hazy night.

Li Tingzhi recruited 7,000 villager death squads with huge sums of money, fully armed, and boarded the ship ready to go.Pear flower guns, sudden fire guns, bow-shot fire arrows, and copper fire guns are neatly arranged on both sides of the ship's side.The team members wore armors and swords on their waists, waiting for the signal to sail. The sea falcon warship has thick iron plates on both sides and sharp iron spikes on the bow. The hull is ten feet long and has eleven cabins. Each ship carries more than 100 sailors and more than 40 sailors. Li Tingzhi, the ambassador of Jinghu Manufacturing, stepped onto the deck, ordered someone to carry a jar of imperial wine, and then filled a row of thick porcelain bowls one by one. "Zhang Gui, Zhang Shun!" "Have!" Zhang Gui and Zhang Shun responded loudly and came out to Li Tingzhi.A few days ago, Li Tingzhi had officially appointed the Zhang brothers as the commanders of this death squad. "Brothers, I have never been willing to enjoy this altar of imperial wine. Today I share it with you brothers, and I will do it for you brave men!" Li Tingzhi raised his neck and drank a bowl of wine, then lit the bottom of the bowl, and threw the wine bowl on the ground. deck. There was a crackling sound, and more than a dozen naval generals also dropped the wine bowls in their hands. "Swear to live and die with Xiangyang! Break through the enemy ships and rush to help Xiangyang!" Zhang Gui and Zhang Shun raised their arms and shouted. "Break through the enemy ships and rush to help Xiangyang!" The death squads burst into thunderous echoes. Li Tingzhi caressed a huge whirlwind cannon lightly, and told Brother Zhang Gui: "The Yuan army lined up the shore, and the firepower is very fierce. Once you fight, don't love to fight, just use artillery, burst guns, pear flower guns, etc. to contain the enemy's firepower That’s enough, the important thing is to break into Xiangyang quickly to break the siege of Xiangyang.” He called the copper fire blunderbuss a cannon. "Yes! Zhang Gui and Zhang Shun understand. When necessary, we will use the 'fire oil tank' to kill and injure the enemy." When metal firecrackers are in combat, the kindling rope is ignited, and the gunpowder is shot out in a ball of fire, which kills a large area.This weapon was widely used in the Song and Yuan armies. The "fire oil tank" is a relatively primitive flamethrower. It uses the principle of air compression to pump the oil out of the oil tank and spray it out through a "screw stick" similar to a piston, which can spray the oil to the predetermined target. Make accurate attacks to avoid waste and achieve the best combat results. Li Tingzhi looked worriedly at the cold river. "The water in the Han River is rising. This is a very favorable timing. If there are no accidents, it will not be a problem to reach the city of Xiangyang within half an hour. However, once you encounter a Yuan army ship, how will you deal with it?" "We are specially equipped with spike rockets, spray cannons, tubular artillery and flying fire grabs to shoot and burn the enemy's sails." Zhang Gui replied. "What is Feihuozhu?" Li Tingzhi had never heard of this kind of firearm. "It is a mallet-shaped firearm, filled with gunpowder in the chamber. There are seven or eight fire holes on the outside of the mallet, as well as spikes. After being thrown, it can be stuck on an enemy ship or person, burning instantly, and cannot be thrown off. , so it is very practical. In addition, we are also equipped with plowshare darts and hook cabinets that are enough to make Yuan army sailors frightened. Plowshare darts weigh two catties. Pushing the enemy ship away can also hook the enemy ship. Several hooks work at the same time to hook the enemy ship." "Good! That's great!" Li Tingzhi praised, but thought in his heart: What are these things?Why hasn't the old man heard of any of them? "It's getting late, let's set sail!" He ordered the accompanying lieutenant general, and hurried off the sea falcon warship. More than forty warships sailed out of the Ci River Ferry in a single file, chasing the waves.Standing on the shore, Li Tingzhi watched Jiang Fan Yuanying, and gradually felt a void in his heart... Neither Li Tingzhi nor Zhang Gui's brothers expected that the Song Army's Navy Death Squadron would sneak attack on Yuanying in the dark and rush to rescue Xiangyang, which had long been carefully detected by the Yuan army.Ashu and Liu Zheng will plan and set up a net, waiting for the Song army to drill. "Boom—boom—" There were several loud noises, and the artillery fire of the Song and Yuan armies fired together. For a while, the surface of the Han River was as bright as day, and the blood was shining into the sky. Unexpectedly, the Yuan army's artillery fire was so fierce, Zhang Shun ordered the sailors to paddle desperately.The sea falcon warship sailed down the river, and finally broke through the heavy blockade of the Yuan army and broke into the city of Xiangyang. Facing each other, the Yuan army is ready to fight.During the fierce battle, Zhang Shun was shot dead.After Zhang Gui got in touch with Li Tingzhi's main force stationed in Yingzhou, he broke out from Xiangyang by boat. Liu Zheng's navy pursued him and surrounded Zhang Gui's army fifty miles downstream of the Han River. The whole army was wiped out at the gate of the state cabinet. A round of red sun gushes out, reflecting on the bright red river surface with the cabinet door closed.The sound of the waves is intermittent, as if it is humming an endless elegy for the warriors who have not returned.