Chapter 81 one

The Mongolia-Song War, which lasted eight years, came to an end after a grand surrender ceremony was held for members of the Song royal family.Wen Tianxiang and Zhang Shijie, the survivors of the Song Dynasty, fled to Guangdong and Fujian, cruising the sea, trying to recruit troops and restore the Song Dynasty.Kublai Khan has been paying close attention to this information. After the Dragon Boat Festival in the fifteenth year of Zhiyuan (1278), Kublai Khan summoned Zhang Hongfan in the Daming Hall.Zhang Hongfan had just returned from the front line, and saw that the real gold was there, and the two were very happy to meet each other.

"I have received information that Song Prime Minister Wen Tianxiang, Song generals Zhang Shijie and Lu Xiufu somehow managed to find two descendants of the surname Zhao, who supported them as emperors and attempted to restore the Song Dynasty to the southern coast. Fujian and Guangxi have responded in groups, reaching ten. Five counties and counties. I appointed you as the Marshal of the Mongol and Han Army, and went to hunt down the remnants of King Wei of the Song Dynasty. Zhang Shijie is an ambitious general. Pity these two five or six-year-old children who don't understand anything and will become His victim! You must wipe out this force as soon as possible, lest these mobs affect the unification situation." Kublai Khan rubbed his swollen ankle and said straight to the point.

Zhang Hongfan obviously hesitated. "how?" Zhang Hongfan tactfully declined and said: "Chen Hongfan is not talented, please take the trustworthy Mongolian minister as the commander-in-chief, and I would like to be his deputy." "What's the meaning?" "The imperial court has never had a precedent for Han generals commanding the Mongolian army. The ministers are worried that it will be difficult to command, and they are even more afraid of failing the emperor's trust." "You worry too much. Since I ordered you to be commander in chief, I will grant you full authority."

"Hongfan, I wonder if your father, Marshal Zhang, has told you about the Battle of Anfeng that he personally experienced?" "The Battle of Anfeng? I haven't heard about it from my father." "Back then, the great-grandfather Genghis Khan took his adopted son Chahan as the commander-in-chief and your father Zhang Rou as the deputy commander-in-chief to attack Anfeng, an important military town of the Jin Dynasty. Following the old Marshal Zhang’s advice, the generals fell out of harmony, which eventually caused Anfeng’s battle to advance and retreat. The failure that could have been avoided was deeply hated, and it was the first time in his life that he cried bitterly in front of his great-grandfather. After the great-grandfather learned about the whole battle, he did not blame Cha Han and Zhang Rou, but blamed himself for not being professional in his appointment. Anfeng's defeat. Father Khan regards you as handsome, and it is precisely because he does not want you to have your father's hatred again!" Zhen Jin finished in one breath.

Zhang Hongfan wanted to say something else, but Kublai Khan waved his hand to stop him: "This Dali sword is my beloved, and I give it to you today. Take it with you. Seeing the sword is like seeing me. Anyone who refuses to obey his orders, use the sword here , Immediately beheaded!" Zhang Hongfan was very grateful and bowed to accept. Zhenjin helped Zhang Hongfan up on behalf of his father: "Hongfan, I will buy wine for you to celebrate your achievements." "Prince, don't worry. Dahan, Chen Hongfan will definitely fulfill his mission. I will resign." Zhen Jin held Zhang Hongfan's arm: "I'll see you off."

Soon, Zhang Hongfan was ordered to go to Yangzhou to select and transfer 20,000 soldiers to prepare for a large-scale southern expedition.In order to approve the long-planned combat deployment for the last time, Zhang Hongfan convened a short meeting with the generals of the various armies.When everyone rushed to the commander's tent, they suddenly discovered that among the generals attending the meeting, there was a young general who was fifteen or sixteen years old, tall and handsome.A general who often came and went to the palace recognized him. It turned out that the young man was the second son of Zhenjin Dalamabala. For the convenience of the Han generals, they usually called him Prince Bala.Zhenjin has three sons under his knees. The second child, Bachi, has been with the ministers to Champa, Annan, and Java since he was 14 years old.This time Zhang Hongfan led the army to Pingnan, Baci took the initiative to invite Ying, and was granted by Zuhan.Kublai Khan made a special decree to incorporate Ai Sun and Hong Fan's younger brother Hong Zheng into the vanguard army, and appointed Hong Zheng as the main vanguard and Baci as the deputy vanguard.

How did Zhang Hongfan fail to appreciate Kublai Khan's good intentions?The Mongols who rode war horses into the Central Plains did not change their martial habits from beginning to end.Pian Prince Zhenjin has been physically weak since he was a child. Although he has the ability to govern the country, he has not fully demonstrated his military ability.This is a shortcoming for a person who will inherit the Khan throne one day.And Ba La is both intelligent and brave, Kublai Khan deliberately trained him, just so that he can assist his father well in the future. At the meeting, Zhang Hongfan made a decision that the vanguard army would go first by water and go straight to Fujian and Guangzhou.Before setting off, Zhang Hongfan secretly told his younger brother Hongzheng: "Proceed with caution and fight bravely! Take good care of Prince Bachi, and don't let him get into danger easily." Hongzheng agreed.

In mid-June, the vanguard army led by Hongzheng and Bala had just sailed into the Zhoushan Islands, and they fought an encounter with the Song Army navy who was ordered to intercept it.This Song army was also one of the National Defense Army assembled by Wen Tianxiang and Zhang Shijie, with a strength of 30,000, while the vanguard army of Hongzheng and Baci only had 3,000 people. Consumption, after he discussed with Hachi, the two made a division of labor and took actions separately. It was the first time for Hachi to participate in such a large-scale battle. He was both excited and excited, and he looked eager to try, just like a tiger cub who is not afraid of anything.Although Hongzheng is young, he can be said to be experienced in hundreds of battles. He is afraid that Bala will make a mistake, so he repeatedly reminds Bala to be careful and protect himself.

To bid farewell to Baci, Hongzheng divided 1,500 soldiers into groups of 10 each, and approached Song Zhoushi in 150 small boats.The Song side is a regular navy, and the warships on board are huge and majestic compared with small boats.But General Song couldn't figure out the Yuan army's intentions for a while, so he had to order the whole army to stand ready.Seeing the approach twice, Hongzheng suddenly ordered the boats to disperse. The boats cruised on the water surface, as agile as cavalry, and formed a semi-encirclement of Song Zhou's division in an instant.Then, Hongzheng waved the command flag, and the Mongolian soldiers fired all their arrows. The oil-soaked rocket landed on the battle flag, and the cabin immediately burst into flames. The wind helped the fire, and the Song battleship quickly burned into a sea of ​​flames.The Song Zhou division was originally anchored on the shore, and the soldiers were shot by the Yuan army's rockets without any power to fight back. In desperation, they had to abandon the ship and swim to escape.

At this time, another Yuan army led by Baci was waiting on the shore.Eight arrows did not wait for the Song army to approach, and ordered the soldiers to release arrows. The Song army soldiers suffered another fatal blow. Countless people were hit by the arrows and drowned.Bala didn't care to join Hongzheng, and led the army to chase after him. When Hongzheng led his men to arrive, Bala was rushing to kill in the enemy's formation, his body was splattered with blood.Hongzheng was worried that Hachika would make a mistake, so he rushed to the soldiers and shouted: Those who abandon their weapons and surrender will not die!Song Jun heard the call and immediately knelt down and surrendered.

Bala urged the horse to run to Hongzheng's side, his still childish face brimming with youthful vigor and enthusiasm.Hongzheng almost felt a little jealous of his vitality and enthusiasm, looked him up and down, and didn't speak for a while. "What's the matter, Uncle Hongzheng?" Hachi asked happily. "You're not hurt, are you?" "Injured?" Hachi was puzzled, his eyes quickly swept over his shirt, and he suddenly realized, "Uncle Hongzheng, did you see that my body is covered in blood? It's not mine, don't worry." "How can I rest assured! You are just a little wild pony that has broken free from the bridle. Even if you are sweating profusely, the harness in your hand won't be able to trap you." "No, Uncle Hongzheng. Before leaving, my father and Zuhan told me to listen to Uncle Hongfan and you in everything. How dare I forget it!" "But, I told you to wait for me to go ashore before chasing after me, why didn't you listen?" "Hey, am I afraid that they will run away? Uncle Hongzheng, please be happy. Think about it, we only have 3,000 people, and we defeated 30,000 of them. The first battle was extremely fun! If I didn't follow Uncle Hongzheng, I wouldn't be so lucky." Hongzheng couldn't hold back, and smiled: "Little slick, you fight well, and you are not bad at flattering people. This doesn't look like your father's son." "I am Zuhan's grandson." "You mean, it was the Great Khan who taught you to say these nice words? Well, it's just a joke, you have to obey military orders from now on." "The final general obeys the order!" "Let's go on board. When we arrive in Quanzhou, I'm afraid there is still a tough battle to be fought. According to the intelligence analysis obtained recently, although the number of Song Dynasty troops deployed by Zhang Shijie in Quanzhou is not as large as that in Zhoushan, they are all his regular troops and well-trained. , and prepare to fight, we must not take it lightly. I intend to conscript 20 giant ships from Lianjiang, and equip each giant ship with a Western Region artillery and a trebuchet. All right. When we are going to fight the fallen Song army, first use artillery and trebuchets to break through its defenses, and then the soldiers board the enemy ship in small boats, and we will have a hand-to-hand encounter with them at sea. What do you think?" "We can't afford it, so we must make a quick decision! When we arrive in Lianjiang, I will handle all the ship transfers. I will definitely transfer some artillery and trebuchets with the best performance and the longest range." "it is good!" In August, Zhang Hongfan led an army of 20,000 yuan to fight Wen Tianxiang's 480,000 Song army in Xingguo, Jiangxi.The Song army feared the enemy like a tiger, and lost ground in advance and retreat. In less than two hours, more than 200,000 soldiers were lost, and the rest all fled.In this campaign, there were very few left of the 170,000 regular troops, 300,000 militiamen, and more than 10,000 Huai soldiers used by the Song army to restore the country.The two kings Yi and Guang were shocked when they heard the news, and fled to sea in a hurry.The young King Guang died of fright, and Zhang Shijie and Lu Xiufu supported the eight-year-old King Yi as emperor. In winter and November, the Mongolian Southern Expeditionary Army gathered in Chaozhou and sent troops to Chaoyang.Hongzheng, who served as the vanguard, cooperated tacitly with Hachi and defeated Wen Tianxiang's Ganzhou Rebel Army who came across the sea in one fell swoop.Not only that, Bala also caught up with and captured Song Prime Minister Wen Tianxiang in Wupoling in Haifeng, making his first contribution. Soon, Zhang Hongfan learned that the hiding place of Emperor Song's monarchs and ministers was in Yashan, Guangdong, and immediately sent his troops to track them down. Yashan is a small offshore island where the East and West peaks face each other.In the past, Song people built palaces at the foot of the island, but now, these disrepaired palaces serve as the "inner palace" that Zhang Shijie "built" for King Yi.The young emperor is just a decoration, and the military and political power is in the hands of the mighty Zhang Shijie. The news of Wen Tianxiang's defeat of Haifeng spread to Yashan. Zhang Shijie scolded "you are a scholar who is useless", and at the same time ordered Lu Xiufu to build thousands of giant ships under the island. The thick cables between the knots are grids.Moreover, in order to prevent fire attack, the hulls of the boats are covered with thick mud, and long logs are tied outside the boats to repel the fire boats. The navy of the Yuan army was rafting across the ocean, and Zhang Hongfan escorted Wen Tianxiang to the ship.The sea boat is full of wind and sails, and it is heading for the cliff like an arrow off the string. At noon, Yashan was in the distance.Zhang Hongfan ordered the army to be divided into four, approaching the enemy ships in three directions from the southeast to the north, while he himself led the main force to launch a strong attack from the southwest.Each warship of the Yuan army has a battle tower built at the stern of the boat, covered with canvas, and equipped with armored soldiers.Zhang Hongfan met with the generals and used the music and gongs on his "flagship" as orders. "Flagship" approached Yashan, and suddenly the music burst out.When Song Jun heard about it at the beginning, he thought Yuan Jun had a banquet, but he didn't take it seriously.It wasn't until the Yuan army abandoned the ship and boarded the boat that they rushed into the ship before they were shocked and shot arrows to resist the enemy.According to the commander's order, the Yuan army all put down their shields and did not move. When the Song and Yuan boat divisions met, they suddenly called gold and withdrew their shields.The officers and soldiers of the Yuan army boarded the ship and fought vigorously without losing the opportunity. At dusk, the last resistance force of the Song army was wiped out. The boat division was broken immediately, and there was no danger to defend the Yashan Mountain. Seeing that there was no hope of restoring the country, Lu Xiufu forced his wife and children to commit suicide by jumping into the sea with a sword.Only Zhang Shijie led more than ten warships to break out of the encirclement and fled to the South China Sea. The waves roared, the turbid waves emptied, and the hurricane swept across the sea. The warship was like a piece of broken wood, bumping and sinking between the crests and valleys. Wen Tianxiang witnessed this tragic naval battle, his face was ashen, and all thoughts were lost. Zhang Hongfan calmly persuaded: "Prime Minister Wen, you are familiar with poetry and books, and you are full of economics. You must know the truth of 'the right is more helpful than the unrighteous'. Our army with 20,000 soldiers defeated the hundreds of thousands of you and Zhang Shijie. , don’t you want to think about the reason?” Wen Tianxiang glared at each other angrily: "The reason is very simple, that is, there are too many people like you in this world who are willing to be driven by other races without being ashamed!" "Does Prime Minister Wen mean my subordinates?" Wen Tianxiang didn't answer, just snorted contemptuously. "Understood, I am not qualified to be included in the ranks of 'not to be ashamed', and in fact should not be included in the ranks of 'not to be ashamed'. Because I have been an official in the Kingdom of Jin since my father and grandfather Afterwards, my father served in Mongolia and never had anything to do with the Prime Minister’s Song Dynasty. Then, Prime Minister Wen must be referring to Liu Zheng, Lu Wenhuan, Xia Gui, Li Tingzhi, and Fan Wenhu, who originally belonged to the Song Dynasty’s feudal officials?” "Being traitorous and seeking glory is not as good as pigs and dogs!" Zhang Hongfan smiled: "Is it true that being loyal to a corrupt court to the end is more worthy of future generations' praise than serving a prosperous dynasty? Even if it is. However, in the ancient sayings that people are familiar with, it seems that while admiring 'Jun' The loyal ministers who tell the ministers to die, the ministers have to die', at the same time admire those good ministers who know how to 'choose the master and do things'. I am often confused by this, and I don't know which one should be the model for future generations Standards? I remember once discussing this issue with Marshal Lu. He said that he held on to Xiangyang City for five years. In the later stages of defending the city, facing the dilapidated city walls and dead soldiers, he had conflicts more than once. He was deeply in love with his country, but the representative of his country was a foolish king known as "good insider", a rogue prime minister who relied on the beauty of his sister Jia Concubine to become an excellent minister, He even began to wonder whether it was meaningful for him to sacrifice his life for these people? In all fairness, he had no choice but to drop his yuan later, but he has never regretted his choice to this day. In fact, no matter what dynasty or generation, What the people will really choose is always a stable and prosperous country, and a monarch who can live a good life for them. As for the sentimentality of literati, they don’t have it. Prime Minister Wen, can you deny that if there is no aspiration of the people, Will it create a Great Yuan Empire that spans Eurasia?" Wen Tianxiang confronted him tit for tat: "Don't forget, we restored our country on the sea, and with a wave of our arms, fifteen counties responded. Isn't this what the people want?" "However, hundreds of thousands of people can't bear a light blow from my 20,000 soldiers. Why did this end happen? Prime Minister Wen, have you thought about the reasons? Let me give you a simple example: Song Zibianan Since the south of the Yangtze River, the degree of redundant officials in the court has been the highest in all dynasties. You will not deny this, right? A small official in the Song Dynasty can occupy a hundred hectares of fertile land. Nothing? Moreover, in order to maintain the illusion of peace and prosperity on the surface, your court actually imposed taxes seventy years later. Do you think that the common people will sincerely bleed for such a corrupt dynasty? No, this This is the real reason why the hundreds of thousands of Song troops lost to the 20,000 yuan army! As the saying goes, those who know the current affairs are heroes, Prime Minister Wen, why are you so obsessed with it?" "I'm too lazy to argue with you. However, I can tell you clearly that if someone like me, Wen, bows down to serve the North, I will never think about it in this life. When you and I are dust, let future generations comment, everyone Remember, is it the loyalty of someone Wen, or the courage of someone Zhang?" "There won't be much difference, really. When Prime Minister Wen is recorded in the annals of history as a model of loyal ministers, those of us generals who worked hard for the unification of the country will also be praised by the world." "Is that really the case? Wen will wait and see." Zhang Hongfan didn't say anything more, but just looked at Wen Tianxiang with a look of regret and tolerance. Wen Tianxiang moved his eyes to the distant sky, with a solemn and firm expression.The debate with Zhang Hongfan was like a breeze in his ears, he didn't want to think about it, and he didn't bother to think about it. What he cares about is Zhang Shijie who fled to sea.He didn't really like this headstrong general, but Zhang Shijie was the most determined main fighter.Or maybe, Zhang Shijie is the last ray of hope left by God for the motherland? "Boss and the old man of Song Dynasty, what were you talking about just now?" Ba La lowered his voice and asked Zhang Hongzheng with a puzzled expression on his face.Ever since Wen Tianxiang was arrested, Bala has been referring to Wen Tianxiang as an "old man" in private. In fact, Wen Tianxiang is only forty-three years old.Perhaps it was because Wen Tianxiang was too pedantic and had three long beards, so in Bala's impression, Wen Tianxiang seemed to be an older man than his ancestor Khan. Zhang Hongzheng shook his head slightly, and sent an order on behalf of the commander: Mingjin withdraws troops. On the way to the class, the Yuan army got definite news: Zhang Shijie's fleet encountered a hurricane in the South China Sea, the ship capsized and no one survived. Wen Tianxiang felt that the mountain of will collapsed. In despair, he chose to go on a hunger strike.Zhang Hongfan's persuasive advice was useless, and Wen Tianxiang only wanted to die with his motherland.