Chapter 469: Yuan Army Marches South
"Great news!"
"The right army led by the right general Wei Qing has conquered Tangzhou Prefecture!"
"The left general Yang Zhi fought fiercely with the four northern lords in Junzhou three days ago and defeated more than 100,000 Mongolian and Han troops! Beheaded 30,000!"
Since the Tang King led his army to the north, various reports about the northern expedition have been heard by the people of Lin'an like raindrops.
However, the people of Lin'an were initially skeptical about this sudden victory in the northern expedition.
After all, according to past practice, as long as they were not defeated by the Mongolian army, it would be a fluke.
Back then, when Song Lizong was in power, it was considered the last time that the Southern Song Dynasty was at its peak.
But even so, when they joined the Mongols to attack the Jin Dynasty, they still lost three battles in the southwest of Beijing.
As for what Song Lizong called for to recover Kaifeng, it became a joke.
You know, at that time, the Song army did not even fight out of the southwest of Beijing, let alone Kaifeng Prefecture located in the northwest of Beijing.
For the people of Lin'an who were already used to failure, this Northern Expedition would probably be another tragedy of losing soldiers and generals.
I just hope that more soldiers who went out to fight can come back, so that every family will not hang white silk.
But what the people of Lin'an did not expect was that Xiangyang was recovered on the first day of the Northern Expedition.
With such great results, the people of Lin'an began to take it seriously and pay attention to the Northern Expedition.
For a time, whether it was a wine shop, teahouse, or even a place of love, there were shops setting up stages and asking people to read the battle situation in the newspaper every day.
But the content of the following newspaper shocked the people of Lin'an.
On the third day, the left-wing army went out of Junzhou and recovered 17 counties in one fell swoop.
On the fifth day, the right-wing army lured the Mongolian and Han defenders of Tangzhou and annihilated more than 50,000 of them in a field battle.
So far, the entire southwest road of Beijing was under the control of the Tang army.
If this momentum continues, the Tang army will sweep the entire western road of Beijing, and it may take less than a month to complete it!
While the entire south was rejoicing over the successive victories of the Tang army, Kublai Khan, the founder of the Yuan Dynasty, had a gloomy face.
He had never expected that the Tang army would advance so quickly. In less than a month, the entire southwest of Beijing was incorporated into the Tang territory.
For this reason, several court officials were imprisoned for some reason.
Among them, a Mongolian noble was even beheaded for embezzling military pay, but no one dared to plead for him.
Anyone with a discerning eye could see that Kublai Khan attached great importance to this southward expedition to destroy the Tang Dynasty.
But someone still showed up at this critical juncture. Isn't this a perfect excuse for Kublai Khan to take action?
With this killing of the chicken to scare the monkey, the speed of the Yuan army's assembly was obviously much faster.
However,
while Kublai Khan was busy rectifying his internal affairs, the Tang army occupied Yingchang Prefecture at lightning speed.
Now, the right-wing army, led by Wei Qing, is only a few hundred miles away from Kaifeng Prefecture.
If the Tang army successfully recaptured Kaifeng, the old capital of the Song Dynasty, it would undoubtedly cause a huge blow to Kublai Khan's reputation.
The reason is obvious.
The strength shown by the Tang army is enough to compete with the Yuan Dynasty. This will inevitably make the Han people who were originally under the rule of Mongolia shaken and start to think about their belonging and future.
Although the Han people in the north and the Han people in the south have been separated for hundreds of years, they are of the same origin after all.
On the other hand, although Mongolia has improved its treatment policy for the Han people after Kublai Khan ascended the throne, the status of the Han people in the north is still not high.
In addition, the Han princes in the north have long seen through Kublai Khan's intention to consolidate his power.
If it were in the past, they might have obeyed.
But now with Tang Wang Lin Chen, they naturally have more choices.
"It can't be delayed any longer!"
A cold light flashed in Kublai Khan's eyes.
He didn't expect that those southern Han people who had been despised by him could really make such a big noise.
"Hateful!"
Kublai Khan suddenly thought of something, and an indescribable anger surged in his heart, and his face was slightly distorted.
If it weren't for the change in the grassland situation at the time, forcing him to be distracted to suppress it.
Otherwise, he would have led his army south again after the first defeat and wiped out the Tang army that replaced the Southern Song Dynasty in one fell swoop.
It was because of those dissatisfied forces on the grassland that delayed him for a whole year!
It was this year that the situation changed dramatically.
"Tomorrow, this Khan will personally lead the army south!"
Kublai Khan's voice echoed in the hall, sonorous and powerful, and there was no doubt about it.
His Highness and the ministers all lowered their heads and dared not speak.
Obviously, this heroic lord on the grassland still maintained a very high prestige.
"Can't sit still anymore?"
Lin Chen touched the secret report in his hand, but his eyes were full of vigilance.
Because on the secret report, it was written: Kublai Khan led the Qiexue personal army, the Mongolian tribes on the grassland, and the Han army, totaling 400,000 south!
You know, this 400,000 army does not include the accompanying civilians!
In addition, the military force that the Yuan Dynasty can mobilize is far beyond imagination.
If Kublai Khan was determined, he could also draw 200,000 elite cavalry from the grassland to help!
This was due to the rich wealth brought back by Temujin from the Western Expedition, which nourished the land of Mongolia.
At the same time, Mongolia could also draw nutrients from many vassal states in the Western Regions, making its strength grow day by day.
It must be admitted that this moment was the golden age of the most prosperous grassland tribes, with a profound foundation.
Even if they were eventually driven out of the Han area by Zhu Yuanzhang, they still firmly controlled the entire grassland.
It was not until the thrilling Battle of Buir Lake that the Yuan Dynasty really went to extinction.
But the fall of the Yuan Dynasty did not mean the extinction of the grassland tribes.
It was not until Zhu Di's three major expeditions that the backbone of the grassland tribes was completely broken, leaving them no longer able to move south.
Therefore, it was obviously not easy to completely destroy Mongolia during this period of time.
"But..." Lin Chen's eyes flashed with a thoughtful look.
He knew that only the death of Kublai Khan, or a series of defeats by the Tang army, would have a chance to break this deadlock.
By then, there would be no need for Lin Chen to do anything, and the descendants of the Golden Family would start a civil war on their own.
After all, the rules of survival on the grassland are more cruel and direct than those in the Central Plains.
They respect the principle of the strong being respected.
...