The assassination of Yesen Timur, the king of Yunnan in the Mongolian Yuan, was a move that Zhao Bing had long set. The purpose was to put Yunnan into turmoil and reduce the pressure on the Western Front. In order to complete this task, the Bureau of Affairs implemented it in such a tragic way. Both groups of people were missing and life and death were unknown. The reserve team was still in Luzhou to spy on the news. Once it was confirmed that they were not dead, they were ready to take action again.

"Master Zheng, withdraw the reserve team. At the same time, mobilize all the forces that can be mobilized in Yunnan to find the whereabouts of the team members. I don't believe that they all died!" Zhao Bing thought for a while.

"Your Majesty, if Yesen Timur did not die, and now he withdrew the contingent, wouldn't all his efforts be wasted!" Zheng Huchen said anxiously.

"There is no point in staying there. The turmoil in Yunnan has begun and our goal has been achieved. Furthermore, if they are not dead, they will definitely strengthen the guards again, and there is no chance." Zhao Bing said.

"Your Majesty, my subordinates have failed to complete the task, so please punish me!" Zheng Huchen felt that what the little emperor said was reasonable, so he nodded and apologized.

"What are you doing!" Zhao Bing waved his hand and asked him to bow to him, "From the reward of the reserve team, I tend to have already succeeded."

"Your Majesty thinks Yesen Timur has died!" Zheng Huchen said in surprise.

"Well. The return said that Yesen Timur was riding a 2,000-stone boat across the river. The one we used to attack it was a 500-stone boat, with 400 kilograms of gunpowder placed on it." Zhao Bing said.

"That's right!" Zheng Huchen nodded.

"When the rainy season is coming, the river water surges, and the water flows very fast. Therefore, under the influence of the water flow, Yesen Timur's boat will not cross directly, but will go downstream and dock at the downstream ferry. Our ships mostly hit the stern of the enemy ship, but not the hull, right?" Zhao Bing said as he dripped his fingers with tea and drew a simple picture on the table.

"Well, what Your Majesty said is right!" Zheng Huchen looked at him.

"People who often take boats know that the bow of the boat is more bumpy, so the stern is much smoother. Everyone knows that the Mongols are not good at water, so the same should be true for Yesen Timur, so he most likely choose to sit on the stern building." Zhao Bing continued to analyze, "The 2,000-stone rudder is set on a virtual boat, but the 500-stone rudder can crash into the rudder building of a large ship. Even without gunpowder, it is enough to break the stern. The power of the explosion of 400-stone rudder is enough to destroy this palace!"

"Your Majesty's intention is that Yesen Timur's ship will definitely be severely damaged!" Zheng Huchen said.

"Not only, the warship was blown up at the tail of the water, the river water poured in quickly, and the ship leaned back, and before the people in the stern escaped, the entire ship had already sunk into the river. Moreover, the river was in a hurry, and the ship had been severely damaged and then it collapsed in an instant. The people on the ship had basically no chance of escaping. Therefore, as long as Yesen Timur was on the ship, it would undoubtedly die on the ship. Unfortunately, our warriors..." Zhao Bing sighed with a sad expression at the end of his speech.

"Your Majesty, don't be sad. The players sent by the operation team this time are all skillful and well-selected. The skill in the water is not bad. As long as they can dive before the ship collided, they may escape from danger." Zheng Huchen hurriedly persuaded.

"I hope God can protect them and make them return safely!" Zhao Bing nodded and said, "You will immediately send people to search along the river and arrange a response point. You must determine their whereabouts. Those who sacrificed will be restrained and buried properly. I will personally pay tribute to you; those who are alive must try to rescue them and return. I will personally hold a banquet to greet you and ask for me!"

"I understand that after receiving the report, I have informed Sichuan Shu Station and Yunnan Station to speed up the search. In addition, I have asked the intelligence officers from the periphery to pay attention to collecting clues. I have also sent a caravan to go up the river and marked along the way to facilitate contact." Zheng Huchen said, "Your Majesty, don't be too anxious. They have been deeply grateful to the emperor and are willing to smash your majesty to pieces!"

"Master Zheng, you cannot yet deeply understand the significance of this action." Zhao Bing said seriously, "Their success can not only stabilize our Western Front and avoid being attacked on both sides, but also free up hands to deal with the frontal enemies. It also saves us a lot of military expenses for people's livelihood and allows Jiangnan to rest and recuperate. Their merits are immeasurable!"

"Well, I have received the teachings. But I think this contribution should belong to Your Majesty!" Zheng Huchen said with politeness, "I know that although our dynasty recovers Jiangnan and returns to Lin'an, there are still many crises and have not fundamentally changed the situation of the enemy being strong and weak. Now the dispute over the throne of the Mongol Khan has subsided. Once they recover their vitality, they will re-purpose Jiangnan. Your Majesty uses a small trick and uses a thousand pounds to make a thousand pounds, which will make the Southwest fall back into civil strife, which is equivalent to cutting off one of the Mongol arms again!"

"Master Zheng is too good, but if you have such an understanding of the current situation, it means that you are still clear-headed, a hundred times better than those who shouted to counterattack Jiangbei and recover the Central Plains every day." Zhao Bing said with a smile.

"Therefore, Your Majesty does not object to peace talks with the Mongol Yuan, just to win time to prepare for war!" Zheng Huchen said.

"Actually, I understand you, and think of the real gold, that there will be a war between our two countries. However, due to their current abilities, they are not sure to defeat their opponents, so they all think that peace talks are the last helpless choice, that is, no matter how they talk, they will be just a piece of waste paper." Zhao Bing said, "So don't have any illusions about peace talks. The Affairs Bureau will not only not relax its vigilance because of peace talks, but war may recur at any time, and this battle is life-and-death."

"I will follow the sages!" Zheng Huchen said politely.

"It is precisely because of this that the assassination of Yesen Timur must be kept absolutely confidential, and the search work must be carried out in secret. Those who are informed should not disclose it. The intelligence officers on the outside should not inform them of the internal information. To the outside world, it was said that it was the tyranny of the Mongolian Yuan, which caused dissatisfaction among the Dali Fans and angrily assassination. It could also be called the real gold to kill the donkey, and planned this assassination; it could also frame other Mongolian kings stationed in Dali. Anyway, they had not done it before." Zhao Bing reminded again.

"Your Majesty means to disturb the water in the pond, let Mongolia continue to fight in the internal struggle, attack and kill each other with the various foreign corpses, consume their strength, and then incorporate Dali into the territory of the Song Dynasty without fighting!" Zheng Huchen thought while guessing the meaning of the little emperor.

"Yes, Taizu conquered the Southern Tang Dynasty and Later Shu, but did not conquer Dali. The reason is similar to the current one. Dali is currently occupied by the Mongol Yuan, which is a great threat to our rear. If we use troops, we must listen to others, and I can only make this decision." Zhao Bing said with a wry smile...

There are many statements about why Zhao Kuangyin did not attack and why Dali did not attack. Some people say that Zhao Kuangyin was too conservative and had no enterprising spirit; some said that he was too cowardly; some said that the Song army was not good at fighting power and could not beat Dali at all; some even joked that Zhao Kuangyin was afraid of the Six-Meridian Divine Sword of the Lord of Dali, and was worried about being assassinated by him, etc.

Zhao Bing also told the posts, but now he thinks that he is just a joke, but no one is reliable at all. This is really not in his position and does not know the difficulties. In fact, his ancestors were also suffering. One of the reasons why Zhao Kuangyin was unwilling to send troops was because he learned from history and proposed that "the Tang Dynasty was destroyed in Huang Chao, and the disaster was based on Guilin." He summarized the lessons of the demise of the Tang Dynasty, that is, he believed that although the Tang Dynasty was destroyed due to the Huang Chao Uprising, the cause was to defend against the mutiny of the garrison troops stationed in Guilin in Nanzhao, which caused political deterioration and out of control.

According to literature records, during the Kaiyuan period of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty, Nanzhao Piluoge, among the six Yunnan Zhaozongs, unified Yunnan, established the capital of Dahe City, and sent his grandson Fengjiayi to pay tribute to the Tang Dynasty and remained as a proton. Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty sealed Piluoge as the king of Yunnan and gave the name Meng Guiyi. After his illness, his son Ge Luofeng ascended the throne. After that, the relationship between the Tang Dynasty and Nanzhao gradually deteriorated.

After Zhang Qiantuo, the prefect of Yunnan in the Tang Dynasty, asked for bribes from Geluofeng but was rejected, he held a grudge and said, "Send people to scold and insult him, and still secretly complained about his crimes." Geluofeng was angry and raised anger to rebel against Tang and killed Zhang Qiantuo. At the instigation of Yang Guozhong, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang sent Yang's confidant Xian Yu Zhongtong to lead 100,000 elite troops across the Lushui River and fought fiercely with Geluofeng's troops in Baiji City. As a result, the entire army was conquered, and countless people died in Lushui River. Geluofeng restrained the Tang army's bodies, gathered the enemy's corpse, and the high tomb made of sealed land was shaped like a mountain of corpses.

Yang Guozhong not only concealed the truth, but instead "hidden his defeat and still confessed his military achievements." He once again assembled 100,000 elite soldiers and generals from all over the world, and Li Mi led the expedition to Nanzhao. Due to the hot weather at that time, the army was extremely difficult to supply, and there were too many people along the way. After crossing the Lu River, the dead of miasma belonged to the road. Ge Luofeng lured the enemy deep into the road and waited for his hard work. He defeated the Tang army in a battle on the Xier River. The chief general Li Mi was captured and killed, and all the troops were gone. After that, Nanzhao and Tubo jointly harassed the Tang Dynasty's border, which became a major hidden disaster in the southwest of the Tang Dynasty.

The two wars in Yunnan cost the Tang Dynasty the price of 200,000 elite troops. Three years later, An Lushan led 150,000 people to raise an army from Fanyang, and easily captured Chang'an and Luoyang, causing the Tang Dynasty to decline. I imagine that if the Li Tang Dynasty had these 200,000 troops, how could it be like this? Therefore, Zhao Kuangyin was worried that the Tianbao disaster would happen again, so he followed their old path and simply stopped at the Dadu River.

Another reason is the objective environment in which the establishment of the country in the early Song Dynasty was not stable. After pacifying Shu, the great cause of unification was not completed. There were powerful enemy Khitan in the north, and the southern Han, Southern Tang, and Wuyue regimes in the south, and they were not allowed to use their limited military and financial resources to subdue the ethnic minority areas in the southwest. This also forced the Song government to adopt a contraction policy in the southwest region in order to concentrate its efforts against the north.

From a strategic perspective, if Zhao Kuangyin had a hot mind at the time and marched into Yunnan with the victory. Although Shu was pacified at that time, there were still more than 100,000 troops in Later Shu and had not been "disarmed", there were very likely turmoil. Facts prove that there was indeed a rebellion in Later Shu and lasted for several years. In addition, it was a dangerous move to advance to Yunnan. If you win by chance, you would inevitably suffer heavy losses and damage your vitality. If you lose, you would threaten the throne that Zhao Kuangyin had just seized by force and the Northern Song Dynasty regime that seemed very immature.

From a tactical perspective, "the inconvenience of the local wind, the trap of the slaughter, the damage of the miasma epidemic, and the lack of salary." Zhao Kuangyin, who was a soldier, saw very keenly that this was the so-called death place of military strategists. The Tang Dynasty in its heyday could not conquer it, not to mention that it was only five years since its establishment. It was hard to say whether it could conquer Dali with only 60,000 troops in the Sichuan-Shu area, and it would even fall into a protracted war.

Therefore, whether to conquer Yunnan is not only a tactical issue, but also a strategic issue that concerns the overall situation. At this time, the sphere of influence of the Song Dynasty was mainly concentrated in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, while Yunnan was located in a corner of the southwest and was far away from the Central Plains. The capture of Yunnan was completely inconsistent with Zhao Kuangyin's unified strategy of combining "south first, then north, first easy, then difficult" and "far from far away and near attack".

The targets Zhao Kuangyin focused on were the traditional "China" areas, namely the Southern Han entrenched in Guangdong, the Southern Tang Dynasty that dominated the Jiangnan region, the Northern Han Dynasty in Shanxi, and the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun in Khitan. After that, Emperor Taizong of Song Dynasty, Zhao Guangyi, eliminated the Northern Han Dynasty, and except for the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, basically completed "unification" and did not use troops to Yunnan. Then the emperors of the two Song dynasties followed Zhao Kuangyin's ancestral teachings, adopted a policy of defending the inside and the outside, and maintained a harmonious diplomatic relationship with the Duan clan of Dali. The king of Dali sent envoys to pay tribute and appointed him as the governor of Yunnan and the king of Dali. Both sides lived in peace and did not have any major wars.

What Zhao Bing does now is equivalent to rebuilding the Song Dynasty, but what he has to do is to fight from south to north, with the main strategic direction on the northern front, but the enemy on the western front still posed a great threat to them and had to deploy a large number of troops to defend. To start a war, he also faced the same dilemma as Taizu. It is important to know that Mongolia attacked Dali three times, and it took more than ten years to completely conquer. He had to face the attacks of the Fan tribes and the Mongols in Dali. Once he was trapped in, it would be difficult to pull out his feet, so the best way was to make them mess up and have no time to look east.

Of course, if Yunnan is a solid piece, Zhao Bing will not be able to make them mess up no matter what method he uses. But Dali has many tribes and has always had a tradition of rebellion. He started fighting whenever he disagrees. Duan Yu, who was able to use the Six-Meridian Divine Sword, was almost driven off the throne. After the Mongols came, they remained unchanged and rebelled at any time.

After conquering Yunnan, Baoheding, the 37th tribes of Yunnan governed for a long time, also developed a betrayal and had the intention of occupying Yunnan to seek independence. Therefore, he was afraid that Hu Gechi would become the king, so he designed to poison him to death. After Kublai Khan killed him, he sent all the kings to guard Yunnan. It was not until many years later that Hu Gechi's son Yesen Timur as a leader. This further aroused the dissatisfaction of the other two sect kings. At the same time, he conquered the local soldiers of various foreign officials to conquer Myanmar and Yunnan. As a result, he suffered heavy casualties and deepened ethnic conflicts.
Chapter completed!