Chapter 1
"Stupid!" Zhao Bing threw the translation on the table and said hatefully.
"His Majesty, please calm down!" Wang De, who was beside him, was shocked when he heard this. Who did he have with His Majesty for many years? The emperor rarely commented on a battle with this phrase, which shows how angry he was.
"I'm fine!" Zhao Bing waved his hand and suppressed his anger.
He knew very well that Xiangfan’s strategic value lies in its geographical location as the “bridge of seven provinces”. The reason why it is heavy is that it is the intersection of the three rivers, the Nanyang Basin to the north, and there is no danger to guard until the Yellow River; the Jianghan Plain to the south, the Jianghan Plain to the south, the Nanling Mountains to the east, the end of the Yangtze River in the east, and the Hanzhong to the west into Sichuan and Shaanxi.
For the southern regime, if Xiangfan is lost, Jiangling is in danger. If Jiangling is in danger, the Yangtze River is not worthy of relying on. The natural danger of the Yangtze River is no longer a natural danger. After the door is opened, a large area of land is without danger, which directly threatens the capital Lin'an. Therefore, less than a year after Xiangfan was lost in the Battle of Mongolia and Song, seven prefectures and troops of the eight prefectures on the southwest road of Songjing were all lost.
For the northern regime, if Xiangfan is lost, Nanyang will be in danger. If Nanyang is in danger, the Yellow River will be in the south, and the land in Henan will be lost, and the Central Plains will be at your fingertips. For the Song army, the army can be directly aimed at Dadu, attacked sideways to obtain Shaanxi and Gansu, and blocked Sichuan and Shu. Now, just to avoid floods, Fancheng is easily abandoned and rejected by the enemy again, so that Xiangfan can get reinforcements from the enemy in Henan.
Zhang Bashe's move to station in Dengcheng put himself in a dangerous place where he was attacked from three sides. As for Dengcheng, Zhao Bing did not deny his military value, but his value was only reflected in tactical terms, and his strategic impact on the current Song army's current capture of Xiangfan was limited.
Before the Song Dynasty crossed south, Dengcheng was actually just an ordinary village outside Fancheng. After the transition to the south, Xiang Deng area, which was an important town in the west of the capital, not only became an important military barrier for the Southern Song Dynasty, but also became a border area where the Song and Jin confronted each other. In the third year of Shaoxing, the Xiang Deng area was obtained by the puppet Qi general Li Cheng, where Liu Yu established the "Da Qi" puppet regime. In the fourth year of Shaoxing, Yue Fei led his army to recover the six counties in Xiangyang in one fell swoop.
Because the Southern Song Dynasty adopted the attitude of "peace-making as the main focus" on the invasion of the Jin people, and after the Xiang-Deng area was recovered by the Yue family army, the Jin soldiers could not take over Xiangyang for a while, and Xiang-Deng became a region where the Song-Jin confrontation. Xiang-Yang's political, economic and cultural advantages were gradually emerging, and "surveying Dengcheng into Xiangyang" was a general trend. The Southern Song Dynasty then set up a town for Dengcheng.
However, Dengcheng was ultimately a market for trading materials in Song and Jin dynasties, and was handled by the ministers and ruled to rule the magistrates. In-site trade was presided over by officials, and merchants had to pay taxes, pay tooth money, and receive certificates. Dengcheng has since been densely populated and commerce has flourished. On the one hand, the Song Dynasty facilitated material exchanges between the two sides, and more importantly, for political purposes, it achieved "to seek reconciliation."
After the war broke out in the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty, Xiangyang became the focus of the competition again. The Jinghu pacifier Lu Wende was greedy for money and accepted bribes and wrote a letter to restore the tent. This made a laughable mistake. He actually allowed the Mongolian army to set up a tent outside Fancheng. So the Mongolian army quickly entered and built a fortress, which cut off the food route in Xiangyang in an instant.
At that time, the Mongolian army was in Xiang, and the key areas around Fan were set up. The Han River was covered with Mongolian warships and iron chains. All the connections between Xiangyang and Fancheng and the outside world were cut off. When Lu Wende understood that he had done something extremely stupid, he knew that he had missed a big deal, and was angry and anxious, and he couldn't get sick. It also laid a fatal hidden danger for the fall of Xiangyang. Finally, a few years later, Xiangyang was exhausted from ammunition and food, and his younger brother Lu Wenhuan surrendered to the Yuan Dynasty with the city.
Therefore, Dengcheng is just a forefront position outside Fancheng, and the city defense facilities are naturally not as strong as Fancheng. Now they are divided into troops to help Wu Longqi troops attack Gucheng. If the remaining troops are defeated, they will expose their butts. Moreover, the Meng Yuan only needs to send an elite army to monitor, and the Dengcheng defenders dare not act rashly. The enemy reinforcements in Nanyang only need to bypass Dengcheng and go straight to Fancheng. Therefore, for this deployment of picking up sesame seeds and throwing watermelons, Zhao Bing cannot think of any appropriate words except to evaluate this kind of deployment of picking up sesame seeds and throwing watermelons.
The strategic value of Gucheng lies in the ferry crossing. The purpose of seizing this city is to avoid the inability of the Mongolian and Yuan army to go down the Han River to reinforce Xiangyang after giving up Fancheng. However, the current Mongol Jinghu Navy was many years ago, as the main force of the Jiangnan, Chameng and Japan, and the elite troops were drawn many times, which were greatly damaged. In the battle of attacking Qiongzhou, the main force was crippled by the Xingchao Navy.
During the battle of the Song army regaining Jiangnan, the two sides fought in Ezhou again, and the Jinghu naval army was almost completely lost, and there was no such prestige as the first thousand sails competing and going straight to Jiangnan. The remaining family background was no longer the united enemy of the Song naval army, so they did nothing in the battle of regaining Jiangling and Yiling. Now they treat a paper tiger as a real tiger to guard against, which makes people laugh.
What made Zhao Bing even more annoyed was that the purpose of the Song army in this battle was Xiangyang, and it should have concentrated its forces to achieve this goal. However, the forces of the three armies and two armies were restrained by Gucheng, which had nothing to do with the overall situation, so that only one army was left in the main attack direction. Wouldn't it be a move to waste the roots and chase the end? Before, Xu Wunan analyzed the situation in Xiangyang, and although he could not make a high-level suggestion, Zhao Bing did not mean to blame him.
That's because Xu Wunan only served as the commander, and his unique vision was limited, and he could not see so far or experience it so deeply. However, Jiang Zheng, the generals of Jingxiang, did not need to say much. Zhang Ba had been in the army for many years and had long been among the senior generals. He was probably a few years older than his age. But they still could not understand it, which made him question their command level...
"Your Majesty, Tian Qi is asking for a meeting!" At this time, the little yellow sect reported.
"Accurate!" Zhao Bing said angrily.
"Zhang Jin, deputy commander of Xiangfan Station of the Third Department of the Affairs Bureau, pays homage to Your Majesty!" The monk who came in with Tian Qi entered the house and bowed.
"Flat!" Zhao Bing raised his hand and asked him to stand up and said.
"You know when you meet me!" Zhang Jin stood up and saluted Wang De.
"Thank you for your hard work, you don't have to do this!" Wang De hurriedly supported him and said with a smile.
"I worked hard all the way, but my body could hold on!" Zhao Bing looked at Zhang Jin. He had changed his body and dried his clothes, and his spirits were much better, but his face was a little pale.
"Your Majesty, I am fine. I have drunk some hot soup and it's much better!" Zhang Jin replied respectfully.
"Then sit down and talk!" Zhao Bing asked Xiaohuangmen to take two soft cushions and put them in front of the desk.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" The two of them sat down after saluting.
"Pour Commander Zhang to warm up your body, and take some food to fill your stomach!" Zhao Bing ordered again, and saw that he wanted to get up and salute again, and said, "No need to be polite, just sit and talk."
"Your Majesty, Commander Zhang is here at all risks. His subordinates also advised him to come again and again to pay homage to His Majesty, but he insisted on not accepting!" Tian Qi said.
"It's not as big as a big stomach, it's easier to talk when you're full!" Zhao Bing said with a smile.
"I am disrespectful. I have been drinking enough water along the way, but I have not finished my rice!" Zhang Jin touched the bald head with a little embarrassed expression.
"Captain Zhang doesn't avoid meat, right?" Wang De asked again.
"I know that although this monk Xiaguan has taken the precepts, it is fake. But he is so greedy when he sees others drinking and eating meat!" Zhang Jin bowed and smiled.
"Let the kitchen get more meat!" Wang De ordered the little yellow door beside him, "You must also burn the wine."
"It's all right!" Zhang Jin bowed his hands again with tears in his eyes. He had been in the affairs bureau for many years, but he had never seen the emperor. He always felt that he was out of sight. He didn't expect that His Majesty was so easy-going to others, which moved him very much.
"Your Majesty and the Master are very kind to us subordinates. Don't be too polite, otherwise your Majesty will not be happy!" Tian Qi saw that he was a little disobedient and quickly comforted him.
"Your Majesty waited for you to do this, how dare you not fail to do anything!" Zhang Jin still bowed deeply.
"Your Majesty, Xiangfan Station has learned about Your Majesty's personal expedition a few days ago, and it is also prepared for it. However, after Fancheng was occupied by the enemy, he was very cautious and could not leave the city. Commander Zhang was concerned about Your Majesty and ventured to swim across the moat at night before he escaped. Then he came as a monk from the side. He found that he had reached the east bank of Baishui and rushed to the scene." Tian Qi took advantage of his time to eat and briefly introduced his origin.
"Although we met our vanguard on the way, we did not dare to expose our identity rashly. The floating bridge was blocked, but there was no boat to cross the river upstream. So we secretly went into the water in the heavy rain and floated across the river. We were washed away by the water for several miles before we could get on the shore. It was a life-threatening death!"
"Why should Commander Zhang take such a risk?" Zhao Bing looked at him and sighed.
"I know that Xingjia is about to arrive in Xiangyang, and the chariot is going to pass through Fancheng, but at this time the city has fallen into the enemy's hands, and our army, who is responding to Your Majesty, cannot arrive as promised. I am worried that Your Majesty will be attacked by the enemy, so I sent people out of the city several times but failed. As time gets closer, I think that I will fight for the life of a villain, and I cannot let Your Majesty cross the river and fall into danger. Fortunately, God blessed our heavenly dynasty and succeeded by luck." Zhang Jin smiled.
"I am really a cadre of the country!" Zhao Bing also sighed.
"Our subordinates entered the Affairs Bureau, and the leader taught us that protecting Your Majesty is our primary task. Even if we do our best to protect Your Majesty, we must protect Your Majesty thoroughly. My subordinates have always kept it in mind and never dared to forget it!" Zhang Jin said seriously.
"That's what you said, if you are all dead, what will happen if I am the only one left?" Zhao Bing shook his head and smiled.
"Your Majesty is the son of God, and is favored by God. When Your Majesty entered Qiongkai Mansion alone, he is now a military general and a counselor, occupying half of the rivers and mountains. Therefore, as long as Your Majesty is here, even if only one soldier is left by his side, he can make a comeback and revive my Song Dynasty!" Zhang Jin said with great faith.
Chapter completed!