"Although Meng Ge's troops are elite, most of them have not participated in the Southern Expedition. Many of their troops have only recently returned to the Central Plains from the Western Regions. They are not as familiar with the battles in the Jiangnan water network as those Han households who have been at war with us. , coupled with their invincibility during the Western Expedition, the soldiers and generals became proud. I even heard that Marshal Niu Phosphorus said to Mongke Khan that as long as 400,000 cavalry gallop together, the sound of horse hooves hitting the earth will be enough. It is enough to make the minister die of fear. For a general to be so arrogant, one can imagine that the whole army is impatient and anxious to defeat our army easily. They will be defeated by the word "arrogant soldiers." "As for the soldiers and horses of the Chagatai faction and the Wo Kuotai faction, they are originally rats who came to take advantage of the situation. If our army is defeated, they will show off their power and be arrogant. If our army wins, they will be defeated." They must be the first to escape from the battlefield. Such soldiers are insignificant." Zheng Yunming said proudly: "Mongolia has expanded its territory for thousands of miles, and its military power has never been seen in the world since ancient times. This decisive battle alone will never be enough. It may shake the national power of Mongolia, but as long as the Mongolian national power is strong, the Song Dynasty will sooner or later be in danger of losing its eggs. Therefore, if after winning this battle, I will retreat, your majesty must appoint a general to lead the entire army and take advantage of the situation to move northward. To restore the ancestral foundation, we must at least occupy the Central Plains and allow the Mongols to retreat to the desert western regions. This is the fundamental way to stabilize the country." The emperor waved his hand in a rare way: "What do you say, I will grow up. In the deep palace, I also know the art of war well. After you defeat the main force of the captive chiefs, you will take charge of the soldiers in the front and swear to the Northern Expedition. I will not control the rear from a distance. If you win, I will provide you with soldiers, horses, food and grass. "Your Majesty, I will resolutely go north to achieve my great goal of entering Luo. If your Majesty suffers a slight delay, I will send my troops to join you and fight to the death with the barbarians." His body was normal, and he shouted loudly: "The country has been humiliated for three hundred years, and it has not reached the exciting situation it is today. The Song Dynasty has a promising future, and it must not be ruined at the hands of the barbarians! I have made up my mind. Only I, Emperor Song, can do this in the world." To curb the growing ferocious flames of Mongolia, the new Shenwu Army of the Yuqian Division was immediately handed over to the command of Zheng Yunming, the ambassador of Jinghu, and immediately set off to the front line to fight against the Hulu army. "There was a shout in the Jinluan Palace: "I am waiting for you! I should risk my life and fortune to fight against the barbarians!" Having said that, Zheng Yunming was the only one who actually went to the front line to fight for his life. That night, the lights in the political hall were brightly lit, and the military situation was urgent. The court worked all night to deploy troops and dispatch matters one by one. What Wu Qian meant was to wait for the armies from Sichuan, Yunnan and Guangxi to arrive at the front line first before Zheng Yunming led his army to set off. As the leader of Zhengyin, he had always lacked confidence in the combat effectiveness of the new army of the Dianqian Division. Zheng Yunming, however, was anxious to prepare for the trip to Jinghu. He explained his reasoning to Wu Qian: "What the Mongols are best at is to defeat them one by one. In the past, the Jin Kingdom often sent tens of thousands of elite troops to rescue besieged cities. As a result, the Mongolian army was annihilated separately, and the millions of troops were wiped out. The fundamental reason was that the Mongolian army was powerful and could deal with the enemies in several directions at an extremely fast speed. To rescue Jinghu, we are already at a disadvantage in terms of strength, so we cannot make the mistake of dividing our forces again. Now I will lead the army first, establish a foothold in Ezhou and Wuchang, cover the arrival of other armies in sequence, and jointly launch a counterattack against the enemy. This is the best strategy. If we wait for the 20,000 to 30,000 reinforcements from various places to rush over, it will just be to provide meat for the Mongols." Wu Qian blinked, turned his head and looked around. At this time, the moon was bright and the stars were sparse, and there were no other people inside or outside the political hall. , is a good opportunity to talk. He asked in a low voice: "Uncle, there is no one here. You might as well give me some real information. How sure are you of conquering the Hu people this time?" Zheng Yunming smiled and asked back: "According to you, how many percent are there? "Are you sure?" Wu Qian glanced at Ma Guangzu, and Ma Guangzu also looked at Zheng Yunming. The survival of the country will be determined in this epic battle. How sure is Zheng Yunming? These people at the core of the power of the Song Dynasty must be aware of it. . Zheng Yunming looked at the nervous look of the two people, and still smiled and said to them: "Before you ask me, why don't you answer a fundamental question first? Why did Meng Ge ascend to Dabao and the political power was not yet stable, so he rushed to launch an expedition to the south? "Wu Qian replied subconsciously: "Do you still need to ask? The Hu people don't know etiquette and only rely on force. Last year, there was a heavy snowfall in Mobei, and many livestock were killed. All the tribes were in trouble, and they were all eager to follow the Khan. Fighting to obtain property and food. Brother Meng is not willing to start a war as soon as he takes office, he has to do it. "Zheng Yunming nodded and said: "In addition, there is another factor that makes him have to start a war. Brother is not only facing pressure from the tribe, he is also facing the threat from Kublai Khan. " Ma Guangzu was puzzled and asked: "Kublai Khan is in Dakuli Terrace in Mongolia.? is the biggest pillar of his eldest brother Meng Ge. Because of this, Meng Ge defeated the Wokuotai Department and ascended to Dabao. Why is he said to be a threat to Meng Ge? " "Father, don't jump to conclusions too quickly. Let me ask you, if you were an emperor from the Central Plains, and your younger brother tried to quell the Tubo rebellion in the Qing and Tang Dynasties, and then led an army across the snowy mountains and swamps, captured the entire Dali Kingdom, pacified the Southern Wilderness, and established a Would the emperor not feel threatened by such great achievements? Not to mention that Kublai Khan took advantage of Dali's opportunity to control all the elite soldiers of the Mongolian army in the Central Plains, and Meng Ge could not be suspicious. Today, Kublai Khan helped Meng Ge come to power with his military exploits and military power. Will he not replace them with these two things in the future? " "Therefore, Mengge Khan's southern expedition was, on the one hand, eager to establish greater merits than Kublai Khan to establish his prestige in the Han region. Second, his bigger plot was to reorganize the commanders of the army through the southern expedition. power, marginalized Kublai Khan, and took most of the elite soldiers and generals into his own hands. Didn¡¯t you see that almost none of the old subordinates Kublai Khan brought to Yunnan participated in the southern expedition? Kublai Khan himself was appointed as the commander of the West Route. The army commander only gave him 20,000 troops. Even the 10,000 men originally stationed in Lizhou by Wang Dechen were transferred to 5,000 men for the attack on Jinghu. Meng Ge also gave a special order that Kublai Khan was only responsible for supervising various ministries when he was in the west. He did not need to enter Sichuan in person, but only needed to be stationed in Hanzhong and wait for reports from the front. This is a clear indication to the world that Kublai Khan has changed from the backbone commander of the empire to an insignificant person. " " Internal strife broke out before the war started, which was the Mongols' biggest mistake. Zheng Yunming said categorically: "If the brothers are suspicious of this, I, Zheng Yunming, will never lose to such an opponent." " After a pause, he continued: "But our country is a country of etiquette. We cannot imitate barbarians who come and go and plunder, without even the necessary courtesy. I am going to send a special envoy to Taiyuan to negotiate for peace with Brother Meng. The so-called etiquette before fighting, this kind of etiquette must not be lacking. " Wu Qian could hardly believe his ears. He would never have thought that Zheng Yunming, who had never been at a disadvantage against the Mongols in ten years of battle of wits with the Mongols, would say such pedantic remarks, but then he woke up and said: "This string A plan to reward the master. " Zheng Yunming nodded and said: "This matter must be handled by a bold and careful person." Ma Guangzu smiled on the side and said: "Is there a second candidate besides Gauss? " Zheng Yunming slapped the table: "It's Gausted! There is no more suitable candidate than him. The military situation is urgent and there is no room for hesitation. Let him prepare and leave for the north immediately. " The wind of change in the Song Dynasty can be seen in the transportation conditions. Peng Daya's mission to Mongolia was delayed for several months. This was due to the mountain barrier and the ongoing war. However, the inefficiency of the bureaucracy in the Song Dynasty is also evident. From the time when the official document was sent out to the time when the gifts were prepared and when Gauss set off for the north, it only took three days, and Gauss and his entourage were on the road for several days. Seeing the horse changing at the inn, they rushed all the way to the north. When they arrived at Xiangyang City, it only took ten days. Lu Wenhuan and Gao Gao had been in panic since they took over the city to cause trouble, especially Lu Wenhuan, who was usually greedy for small profits. , had an unclear relationship with the north. Unexpectedly, the Mongols used this excuse to move around Jia Sidao, which made Jia Sidao suspicious of Lu Wenhuan, even though Lu Wende, as his elder brother, was by Jia Sidao's side. The second-in-command still couldn't stop Jia Xianggong from murdering Lu Wenhuan. Unlike Gao Da, who had successfully sent his family to the north, Lu Wenhuan himself was under tremendous pressure, and Lu Wende wrote letters again and again. He scolded him in a very harsh tone for betraying his ancestors and betraying the emperor's favor, and asked him to change his ways within a time limit and return to the Song Dynasty's camp. However, Lu Wenhuan understood that the Song Dynasty had shown an unprecedented toughness since the beginning of the war, and severely punished those who betrayed and surrendered to the enemy. He has no intention of being tolerant, and since he has openly rebelled, he has no reason to retreat. But he is still very polite to Gauss. On the one hand, the clan is a soldier in the south, and there is no need for him to break his face now. He was also really afraid that Jia Sidao would gather the rest of Jinghu's troops to launch a counterattack at Xiangyang at this time. Since the mutiny, the soldiers have been extremely angry. There are only thousands of people who are truly loyal to Gundam and Lu Wenhuan. They fled within a few days. Of course, they did not dare to return to the command of the mean and unkind envoy Jia Zhi. However, Xiangyang's defense was actually extremely weak at this time. If Meng Ge had not been prepared, he would have been killed for the first time after the mutiny. Ten days later, five thousand Mongolian cavalry were sent into Xiangyang to suppress the whole city, fearing that the anger of the people in the city would drive Lu Wenhuan out of the city.