Chapter 544
Because the goal of attacking Quanzhou has been set, the withdrawal of the officials was not surprised or opposed. ΩΔbi 『Quge Ww W.
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CN The most difficult thing is how to arrange for the withdrawal of troops. If the withdrawal is fast, abandoning the fortifications outside the city will increase the pressure on the city defense and cause unnecessary panic. If the withdrawal is slow, it may be taken by the enemy, turning the retreat into a storm, making it a terrible end, and affecting the immigration plan. Therefore, the rhythm of withdrawal is not easy to grasp, and giving up for no reason will also affect the morale of the military and civilians and their confidence in the dynasty.
After several discussions, everyone set a rough schedule. The ships returning in four days will arrive at the port. Therefore, during this period, the camera evacuated the first line of defense, thinking that the first group of soldiers would evacuate, and completed the mobilization within two days, and went to Qiong at the same time as the next group of returning ships came back. Then enter the next cycle and evacuated the craftsmen. Finally, the entire army retreated into the city and completed the final withdrawal task based on the city wall. During this period, it would be an important task to defend Jinjiang and sea routes and keep the waterways unobstructed.
On the night of the second day after the court meeting, the Yuan army took advantage of Wuyue to launch a large-scale night attack. The Song army fought hard until dawn and finally retreated to the second line of defense outside the city. Originally, this battle was the first victory of the Yuan army, but Suodu was not happy. After they rushed in, they found that the Song army not only took away all the weapons and equipment and wounded people, but did not even leave any bodies, but even blew up the built platform with gunpowder, leaving them with only a death zone that they dared not stop.
However, the first failure of the Song army caused a great shock in Quanzhou. The military families stationed in the city began to purchase daily necessities, as if they were preparing for evacuation. These military families came from various counties and townships in Quanzhou, and they were inevitably involved in the people fleeing into the city, making it easy for them to get the truth. It turned out that there was news in the army that the Yuan army had transferred reinforcements from Jiangxi Road and Guangnan Road. In order to prevent the enemy from cutting off the rear route, the court had ordered all the military families in the city to Qiongzhou to avoid being poisoned by the enemy.
The people also found out that in order to resettle these military families, the court also made great efforts. Not only did they promise each household to give a settlement fee of 20 yuan first, but they gave priority to allocating fertile land according to the mouth after arriving in Qiong, and exempting labor and reducing taxes. According to well-informed people, Qiongzhou was no longer a barbaric land like the past after being opened by the young emperor. Now, the post road around the island has been built, and a large number of fertile land has been reclaimed, and the grain can be cooked three times a year. The supply of goods is also very rich, and the prices are stable, and a stone of white rice is only 900 cents. What is even more enviable is that Qiongzhou is clear and has good public security, and there are no heavy taxes. It is indeed a place to live and work in peace.
Some people envy these rumors, some are jealous, and more people do not believe them. They feel that the court cannot spend so much money to settle them, because this is something that has never happened before, and the court has done a lot of things that have abandoned them, so everyone is waiting and watching, hoping that the court can defend Quanzhou and stay in Quanzhou. To be honest, everyone still hopes that the emperor can stay in Quanzhou. At least for the past few days, the army has not violated any crimes, and the business has been fair, and all those who commit crimes have been punished, and the people’s demands are just that!
But rumors soon became a reality. Some people who had newly entered the city said that a large number of Yuan troops were coming to Quanzhou. They collected food and grass along the way, captured Ding Zhengfu, and often had robbed soldiers. Women, they all fled into the city to avoid chaos. However, the military members in the city began to leave the city, boarded the ship at the port outside the city, and went to Qiongzhou, fled the dangerous city. The Song army also began to strengthen the city defense, collect rolling wood and stones, build war sheds, and put all the crossbows on the top of the city. The garrisons outside the city also entered the city one after another, replaced the naval army that had previously maintained public order. It is said that the enemy naval army also came to assist in the war, and they all got on the ship again and participated in the cruise protection waterway.
In the next few days, although the city was not lost, the situation became more and more tense. The Yuan army outside the city gathered more and more, with more and more camps covering the sun for more than ten miles, with flags covering the sun and swords and guns. They relied on their strong troops to attack the city for days, forcing all the Song army to retreat to the city, and demolished the floating bridge built on Jinjiang, and the grain also began to be rationed, from three days of food each time to one day. The court issued another announcement at this time, saying that Qiongzhou now lacked craftsmen, and those with skilled seniors could bring their families to the place. The treatment was carried out according to the military families who went to Qiongzhou in advance, but the land was no longer given priority, and only housing was provided to ensure resettlement.
Now everyone knows that the Tartars are fierce. After breaking through the city, they often massacre the city, but they will pardon the craftsmen. However, although they can save their lives, they are also very miserable. Most people will go on a war with the army and undertake the heavy work of manufacturing weapons and equipment. The treatment is extremely low, no different from slaves. Less than ten people can survive. Although Qiongzhou is also a legendary dangerous place, it is still under the rule of the Song Dynasty. When the dynasty is in danger, it will never lose its life innocently. So many craftsmen signed up to go to Qiong. When their current review is not strict, some people also tried to pretend to be craftsmen and hope to go to Qiong, but they passed easily...
"Your Majesty, let's move to the ship! The city is already within the coverage of the enemy's stone thrower, so it's too dangerous." Ying Jieyan hurried into the mansion and asked for his Majesty to see him, and after a few greetings, he said.
"I can't leave now, so I must persevere until the end, otherwise the morale of the army will be in chaos." Zhao Bing sat by the lake, wearing only a sweatshirt, and kicked his feet in the water.
"Your Majesty, the enemy troops outside the city are no less than 100,000 now. The decisive battle is imminent and cannot be stopped for a long time!" Ying Jieyan saw that His Majesty was not caring at all, so he could only raise his face and said with a stern face.
"The situation is moving too fast. There are still people in the city that have not been able to withdraw. It will take three days for the return ships to arrive. Should we launch a counterattack to delay the enemy's attack?" Zhao Bing stopped and turned his face to ask Xingjieliang.
"Your Majesty, Wen Xiang has been organizing the aftermath. Since the evacuation, he has evacuated more than 70,000 people, and now more than 20,000 people are still asking for evacuation with the army. In addition to the troops and horses and remaining materials, more than 400 large ships are still needed. This is indeed our estimate." Ying Jie Yan Yan said, "But now, I think it is not the time to fight back. First, the enemy's troops are in full swing and it is not easy to fight head-on; second, it is the critical moment for evacuation, so it is better to be strictly guarded and defended properly."
"Well, what sir said is, but letting the enemy act recklessly will also put a lot of pressure on the city defense." Zhao Bing nodded and said, "I have received the news that Suodu secretly asked to build a dam on the Jinjiang River, ten miles away from the city to block the water. It is probably because Kublai Khan was pushing it tightly. He wanted to use the river to flood the city."
"Oh, there is still this matter. But your Majesty, don't worry, it is not a tide or a time of prosperity. Even if the river water they built dams to block the water will leak along the river. If it can't spread over the river bank, it may have an impact on the warships patrolling the river." Ying Jieyan thought for a moment.
"Mr. I have forgotten this section. Only when the tide flows backwards and the river flows downwards, can the city flow in anger. But Suodu is cruel enough. In order to regain Quanzhou, he will destroy the entire city." Zhao Bing patted his forehead and said suddenly.
"Yes, Quanzhou is a treasure pot, but now it has been robbed by His Majesty. How could Kublai Khan swallow this breath? He must have taken back at all costs. He can't capture it for a long time and loses his troops and generals. He can only take this worst strategy!" Ying Jieyan said with a smile.
"Now the court has issued many documents, but there are still a large number of people who do not want to evacuate to Qiongzhou. I am worried that after evacuation, they will slaughter the city. Wouldn't those people suffer?" Zhao Bing sighed and said, "It's all the open and dark things that he has used, but half of the people in the city are still unwilling to leave. Of course, these people are mainly foreign merchants who are stationed in various countries and merchants with a lot of family resources. Their accumulation is in the city, houses, land, and other things, and they can't be left alone, and they can't bear to leave. The other ones are the old people. They are hard to leave their hometowns and do not want to bury their bones in a foreign land, so they stay in the city and suffer hardships, leaving them to fate.
"Your Majesty, I think that although Quanzhou has suffered this military disaster, the city and port have not been seriously damaged, and the conditions for trading are still there. Besides, the foreign merchants in various places will arrive in a few days, and Kublai Khan has already issued a decree to the world to recruit various vassal states to come for trading. No matter how brave the capital is, the people cannot be destroyed, and he cannot arbitrarily slaughter the people and the long-lived foreign merchants. Therefore, Your Majesty does not have to worry too much." Ying Jie said sternly.
"Well, this statement makes sense!" Zhao Bing nodded, feeling like he was putting a stone in his heart, but he felt that this was a kind of psychological self-comfort. The Mongols recorded in history books were extremely cruel, and many historical cities were destroyed under their iron hooves and withered from then on.
"Your Majesty is benevolence and righteousness, and now it is the end of benevolence and righteousness. These people who stay in the city insist on not leaving, and we cannot use force, so we can only rest assured!" Ying Jieyan saw that the little emperor was still worried, and knew that he was still worried, so he could only comfort him.
"Sir, you think it's so good." Zhao Bing suddenly stopped playing in the water. "Nancheng and Dongcheng are still in our control. Can we open the city and let the people in the city go out to take refuge? When the situation is stable, they will be willing to return to the city and follow them. If the Yuan army massacred the city, they can avoid it for a while."
"I think it is feasible, so we say that the city is short of food and grass. People in the city can go out of the city to avoid the countryside, or visit relatives or rely on friends, so that they can let them do whatever they want!" Ying Jieyan pondered for a moment.
"Oh, do your best and know your destiny!" Zhao Bing thought it was difficult to be a good person. It was obviously for everyone's good things, but someone didn't appreciate it. If he tied them all to Qiongzhou, it would have a bad impact on the dynasty, and it would be difficult to recruit people to go there in the future. So he felt that it was difficult to be a good person, and sometimes it was better to be a bad person than to be a bad person.
"Your Majesty does not have to be so depressed. In any case, the gains from this battle have exceeded the pre-war forecast and can support the Xingchao to overcome difficulties. And the population has increased by 100,000, of which nearly 30,000 can be used. Unfortunately, the slaughtered by the Pu thieves, the soldiers in the city either died or fled, and there were almost no remaining ones." Ying Jieyan said.
"It has finally been relieved, but if you want to restore the country and rely on these people, it is far from enough." Zhao Bing smiled bitterly after hearing this. In modern society, only one county in the mainland has a population of hundreds of thousands, while Qiongzhou is now less than 600,000. According to the 30% of the population, it is only about 200,000. Among them, the army accounts for nearly half, and the population engaged in production is still relatively small, and it is still difficult to support large-scale wars.
"Your Majesty's intention is clear, but you can't be too hasty. As long as you establish a stable position in Qiongzhou and accumulate energy, you can find an opportunity to recover lost territory and expand your territory. You will eventually be able to compete with the Tatars for a day." Ying Jieyan's most feared was that the young emperor was discouraged and lost his fighting spirit, which would be a heavy blow to the court.
"Haha, I know that one bite can never be fat, but this battle is like breaking the sky. Kublai Khan will not give up easily. He will definitely attack heavily and don't have much time for us to recuperate." Zhao Bing actually understood that monkeys were eating mohua - Mantou. He thought about how to use the limited population to create miracles. Thinking about the modern Israel with only one million people, but it won three Middle East wars, which depended not only on the belief in restoring the country, high morale, strict organization, but also on the modern weapons of the enemy. The situation he faced was the same. When the population and land area were both weak, he could only use advanced equipment and reasonable strategies and tactical arrangements than the enemy.
"Oh, it turns out that Your Majesty is worrying about this!" Ying Jieyan felt relieved after hearing this, and he admired this child even more. When everyone was still immersed in the joy of winning the Eastern Expedition, the little emperor had already begun to consider how to deal with the enemy's revenge. It was no wonder that he was a master of chess. He did not take a single step and laid the groundwork for the next step, or even more than a dozen steps, and would never waste every opportunity.
"If a person has no future, he will have immediate worries. Now that I have ascended the throne, I cannot only consider the gains and losses of a city and a place to seek immediate benefits. However, the journey to Chaoqiong has broken our previous plan, and there are many bonds, so it is difficult to do it freely. This is really a headache for me." Zhao Bing shook his head and smiled bitterly.
"Your Majesty is the lord of the world. Every word and action is a role model for all people. Naturally, you must pay attention to your words and deeds and abide by etiquette and law." Ying Jieyan heard that His Majesty regarded this emperor's hat as a burden, which forced him to have more concerns in doing things. It was Wen Tianxiang's public accusation of Xiaohuangmen that day that aroused his alertness. He knew that if it was put in the past, Wen Tianxiang would definitely make Wen Tianxiang look good on the spot, but for the sake of the overall situation, it could only endure it. However, it is gratifying that this also shows that the little emperor has gradually matured. However, he also realized that the little emperor's concept of governing the country and military had already had differences with the old ministers in the court. Once the conflict between the two sides intensified, it would lead to confrontation and division.
Chapter completed!