In the golden autumn of October, in the northwest border, Lizhou West Road, Jiangli County.
As the sun rises, countless people of the Song Dynasty, men, women, old and young, are seen on the official roads, on the paths, in the fields and in the wilderness, dragging their families with them, carrying carts on their shoulders, driving cattle and sheep towards Mianzhou.
Along the way, there were constant carriages from the government to meet them, and there were even tough Song Army rangers patrolling around to check for leaks and fill in the gaps to ensure a smooth migration.
In the rolling crowd, Song Er pushed food and his young daughter on the cart and moved forward with the villagers.
Four years ago, in the year of Dinghai, the Mongolian army invaded. He and his daughter escaped death because they were visiting friends in the city for a drink. But most of his parents and relatives in Langao were massacred, leaving only him, his daughter, and his younger brother serving in the army.
Now, Langao Town has just recovered from the trauma of the war and is about to be displaced again.
These Tatar soldiers deserve to be killed!
"Second brother, will you come back after this?"
Song Wu, who looked sad at the side, asked. He is also one of the survivors of Langao Town. Lan Gao finally gathered thousands of people, but they were about to disperse again.
"I don't know either. If you want to ask, you should ask the officers and soldiers."
Song Er shook his head. I heard from the people that the Tatar soldiers were ferocious, coming and going like the wind, like the demons of hell. God knows if the government and army are their opponents.
"General, when the Tatar soldiers come, why are you always on the defensive and don't go out to fight them?"
Song Wu boldly asked the Song Army officer on horseback by the road.
"Go out to fight? I want to go too, but the military orders are like mountains, and I can only obey them!"
Even though it was August and it was morning, the armor was all over his body and the officer's forehead was covered with sweat.
"Then can you defeat the Tatar soldiers?"
Song Wu asked loudly again.
"This is not your concern! Leave quickly, the Tatar soldiers will arrive at any time!"
The officer rode away without answering Song Wu's question.
According to the military order from above, all people outside the city must move to the city, the sooner the better. He had no interest in talking to Song Wu.
"What are you asking blindly? I don't know how good the officers and soldiers are now! If it were before, who would care about us untouchables!"
Song Er wiped the sweat from his head with his clothes and continued to move forward.
"In the year of Dinghai, the officers and soldiers were ordered to hide in the city. Many people hid secretly. What happened was that their families were ruined and their lives were lost in vain."
"Second brother, you are right. We should hide in the city. The government will not ignore us!"
Song Wu nodded repeatedly, then said with a playful smile:
"Second brother, it would be great if your brothers were here. My family is easy to talk to!"
"My brother went to Hexi. Otherwise, he would really be able to help the villagers. He is now the commander-in-chief, with thousands of people under his command. He is so majestic!"
When he mentioned his younger brother who graduated from Jinling Martial Arts Hall, Song Er immediately became energetic and his face glowed.
"Commander, isn't that the same as Brother Yang Daquan? Awesome, awesome!"
Song Wu felt uncomfortable, but still had a friendly smile on his face.
"Second brother, kill all your chickens. When you're done, share some with me."
Song Wu pointed at the two old hens that had been slaughtered in Song Er's car, with a smile on his face.
"I can't do without you! Remember to come and help when the time comes."
Song Er said with a grimace. I don’t know if there is a place to cook in the city.
"Second brother, thank you! But don't look so sad, the government has said that we won't be hungry!"
Song Wu laughed, which was quite cool.
The current government is convincing that people are not afraid of starving to death. Those officers and soldiers are very capable and fierce, but they are definitely not showy, and they will not let the Mongolian army do evil.
"Listen up, all the people must move to the city. Violators will be severely punished!"
Lizhou Road, large and small villages and towns were full of galloping Song Dynasty cavalry. They were running around, working with the government officials to move the people.
"Master Jun, when will we come back?"
Many people have asked the same question.
"I can't keep you hungry, I can't keep you cold! Come back naturally when it's time to come back!"
What they heard was exactly the same truth.
There are still people who don’t want to leave. After three or four years of peace, he suddenly said that he wanted to go to war to strengthen the walls and clear the country. Isn't this a joke?
The result was a violent beating, a bruised nose and a swollen face, and he left obediently.
On the Mianzhou city wall, Lu Wende frowned and looked ugly as he watched countless people entering the city.
The Tatar army has not yet arrived, but people in the territory are already panicking.
It seems that not fighting a major battle for three or four years is also a drain on morale.
"General, will the Tatar army really come?"
Guo Zhengsun, the pacifier of Lizhou West Road, asked suspiciously.
The strong walls and clear fields caused a lot of noise and complaints among the people. I don’t know if the Mongolian army will come?
When Zhao Hong came to Xingyuan Mansion, only Cui Yu and Cao Youwen, the officials in the border areas, knew about it, and they kept it secret. He didn't know that this was Zhao Hong's will, nor did he know that Zhao Hong planned it.
"Xianggong Guo, I would rather believe that he has something than not. Once the Tatar army attacks, the cavalry will come and go like the wind, and the consequences will be disastrous."
Lu Wende was suspicious in his heart, but calm on his face.
The fact that the emperor is personally in charge should not be groundless. The emperor's prediction was quite accurate.
"General, I heard that Xingyuan Mansion is also fortified and clear, and all the people have moved into the city. As a result, there are 80,000 households on both sides of Lizhou and 300,000 soldiers and civilians, but the city is packed. When the war begins, the people suffer, and the mountains and rivers It’s turbulent!”
Guo Zhengsun's words contained a lot of helplessness.
At its peak, Lizhou and Lianglu had nearly 370,000 households. After years of wars in the Song and Jin Dynasties, as well as the burning, killing and looting by the Mongolian army in the year of Dinghai, only about 100,000 households and a population of about 300,000 were left in Lizhou and Lianglu. Lizhou Road is also a border area and has never been able to relocate its population, so it has become a veritable military town.
However, with a population of more than 300,000 on both sides of Lizhou, plus an army of 70,000 or 80,000, it could only be accommodated in a dozen large cities, which shows the lack of population in the Shukou border fortress.
"Xiangong Guo, when people enter the city, both good and bad are mixed. Please issue a military order and implement a curfew to avoid riots in the city. From the day they enter the city, all people are strictly prohibited from leaving the city. Anyone who dares to disobey the government and military orders will be punished according to law!"
Lu Wende passed down the military order, and Guo Zhengsun immediately took the order. In wartime situations, military orders are the basis, and government orders are only auxiliary.
Lu Wende looked to the east and didn't know what the situation was like over there in Xingyuan Mansion.
Lu Wende was deep in thought when the sergeant hurriedly climbed up the city wall and stepped forward to salute with clasped fists.
"General, the Tatar cavalry entered Dashan Pass to spy and have reached the boundary of Fengzhou!"
Lu Wende was shocked and said loudly:
"Strictly order the troops of each state to speed up the construction of the wall and clear the country! Let's explore again!"
It seems that this long-awaited fierce battle is really coming.
Outside Xingyuanfu City, beside the official road and the inn, watching the Hanzhong people dragging their families and carts to drive their cattle, they entered Xingyuanfu City in an orderly manner. Lizhou East Road comfort made Chen Longzhi frown, with a dark cloud on his face.
The green wheat seedlings in the fields have just emerged from the ground. If the Mongolian army comes and ravages them with thousands of hooves, next year's harvest may be gone.
Food is the most important thing for the people. This is a harvest of more than 3 million acres! Without food, the people may starve and cause trouble, and the morale of the military will be unstable.
"Ms. Chen, it's a bit too much to stand firm and clear the country just because of the slightest disturbance, isn't it?"
The transshipment envoy Zhao Yanna coughed softly and continued.
"extremely suspicious?"
Chen Longzhi shook his head and glanced at Xingyuan City in the distance.
"Who dares to violate His Majesty's decree? The Tatar army comes and goes like the wind, and it will arrive at dawn and night for hundreds of miles. Besides, if the Tatar army does not come, the people will go back to their homes. A little trouble is better than losing their lives. Be strong."
The emperor is in the city of Xingyuanfu. The emperor is personally sitting in the city and asking questions personally. Do you want to resist the decree?
"What Mr. Chen said is absolutely true."
Zhao Yanna nodded and then pointed to the mountains and forests in the north and south.
"However, the villagers in the mountains are stubborn and cunning. The government has fortified the walls and cleared the country, allowing them to enter the city, and many of them have gone into hiding. If they are caught by the Tatar army, as my husband said, their lives will be lost in vain!"
Hanzhong Plain is bounded by Daba Mountain in the south and Qinling Mountains in the north, separated by the Han River in the middle. South of the Han River, it was okay. It was isolated by the Han River and the mountains and forests were steep, so we might be able to save our lives.
In the Qinling Mountains north of the Han River, if the Mongolian army moves south, it will be the first to bear the brunt. Can those mountain people who are unwilling to enter the city escape the pursuit of the Mongolian army?
"It's your own fault and you won't survive. There's nothing you can do about it. Let them be!"
Chen Longzhi's face was clouded, and he felt helpless.
There are five or six cities in Hanzhong, all of which are large cities. They can barely accommodate one or two hundred thousand people. Being able to keep the walls clear and save the vast majority of the people can be regarded as a complete meritorious deed.
As for those mountain people who are hiding, we can't hide and seek with them in the mountains.
"Ms. Chen, I heard that His Majesty appointed you as the pacifier of Shaanxi. Is this the case?"
Gao Guoxu, the magistrate of Chenggu County, asked with an apologetic smile on his face.
"Your Majesty did say something beforehand. However, I am afraid that your Majesty is just trying to inspire people, so there is no need to take it seriously. We still have to wait and see whether the Tatar army will move south."
Although the emperor's blood was boiling when he was appointed, after he came down, Chen Longzhi also felt a little ridiculous. The Mongol army has not yet arrived, but they are already thinking about Shaanxi affairs. Both the emperor and himself are too optimistic.
"It's best not to come! Otherwise, life will be difficult next year."
Gao Guoxu shook his head and said.
"Xiangong Gao, you don't need to be unfounded. Nowadays, many roads in the Song Dynasty use food from overseas. How can the people of Hanzhong be starved? His Majesty has a far-sighted vision and is meticulous about every detail. Can't he see that?"
Zhao Yanna smiled slightly and remained calm.
The imperial court operates overseas and imports a lot of food. How could Hanzhong be short of food and clothing?
"Having said that, it would be great if we could defend the enemy from outside the country!"
Chen Longzhi felt more at ease and gave Gao Guoxu some advice.
"Xianggong Gao, you and Xianggong Zhao continue to maintain order outside the city. I will go to the eastern front of Yangzhou to have a look."
The emperor summoned his generals and ministers in Xingyuan Fucheng and mobilized his troops with great force. He just wondered, would the Mongolian army really go south and take advantage of the Song Dynasty?
Is the emperor really a prophet?
