"I heard that in the early years of the Yuan Dynasty, they attacked Japan once, but failed to land successfully. Did they learn any experience this time? Is there anything special about Japan's ports?" John Pedica, Grand Duke of the Navy Si seems interested in these technical issues.
"Actually, I don't have much experience." Zhao Liang said honestly: "I have a relative who joined the army at that time. According to him, the Japanese port defense is very ordinary, and they can be defeated if they are serious. In fact, if they couldn't defeat it before, they just didn't care. That’s all.”
"Is that so..." Perdiccas looked a little disappointed.
"That's true." Shi Ke replied: "We still have records from the Yuan Dynasty here, which can tell us about the situation at that time. Later, I will ask the clerk to transfer a volume to your department, and we will know after taking a look."
"Okay, thank you." Perdiccas was still a little confused, but he still responded.
"When you get the book, count how many Hebei people were dispatched in each military operation, and you will know how much the central government of the Yuan Dynasty paid attention to it." Seeing this, Guo Kang reminded: "Of course, this is only for the early Yuan Dynasty. Later. You have to count the people from Henan.”
This is also an experience confirmed by Guo Kang himself.
The areas under the jurisdiction of Zhongshu Province, that is, the "Hebei people" in the broad sense at that time, were the core force of the Yuan Dynasty. The number of people participating in the battle directly reflects the amount of force the Yuan Dynasty invested in the battlefield.
"Let me give you an example." He thought for a while and said: "When the Yuan Dynasty first attacked Japan, the Mongolian Xindu was the marshal of the Eastern Campaign, Hebei Liu Fuheng was the left deputy marshal, and the Korean Hong Chaqiu was the right deputy. Marshal, leading more than 10,000 Mongolian and Han troops. In addition, more than 5,000 Korean troops led by General Jin Fangqing followed."
"This Liu Fuheng is from Dongping Road, Zhongshu Province, and is a disciple of the famous minister Yelu Chucai. He once followed Kublai Khan in his campaign against Ali Buge, and fought all the way to Helin. He has a history of military exploits."
"You see, you can tell by counting them like this. It seems that there are so many listed, but in fact this one is serious about fighting." He concluded.
"Does this mean that the Yuan Dynasty did not pay attention to this?" someone asked.
"Maybe there is a little emphasis on it." Guo Kang hesitated: "But not completely..."
"The war progressed very smoothly in the early stage. Although the Yuan army did not have many effective troops, it still crushed the resistance of the locals and successfully landed." He tried his best to use a way that is easy for everyone to understand: "Japan... Sudan, mobilize the nearby emirs. Support. As a result, when the two sides were fighting, Liu Fuheng was too close to the front line for the convenience of command, and was shot by a Mamluk. After the war, he had to return to the ship to recuperate. "
"He was the only one who was fighting seriously. After he was injured, the others lost their will to fight. Xin Du and others neither took over the command nor arranged the pursuit. Seeing Liu Fuheng returning to the ship to repair, they also took the opportunity to return to the ship and then directly It was announced that the troops were withdrawing and going home. This is how the war ended."
"So careless?" Papadopoulos said in surprise.
"I wasn't serious in the first place." Guo Kang spread his hands and said: "A few years later, the envoy sent by Kublai Khan, the founder of the throne, was killed by the Japanese Sultan. Kublai Khan was very angry, and then he thought of fighting again."
"Of course, at this time, not only the Japanese caliphate, but also the Japanese sultan was ignored. The person in power is Japan's Atabok Hojo clan."
"This is normal." Perdiccas pointed out: "Unlike Persian civilian officials, warlords have always been bad at diplomacy and can mess up anything. Please continue talking, we can understand it. Have you sent the main army this time? "
"No." Guo Kang said: "Because at this time, there was a great rebellion launched by the Mongols. Haidu, the descendant of Wokuotai in the northwest, Xiliji, the son of Mengge in Mobei, Hongji Labu, the queen family in western Liaoning, etc., They all rebelled."
He pointed at the map and said: "From Liaoyang Province to Beslopali, the entire Northern Territory of the Yuan Dynasty was attacked."
"So, there were no more troops available at that time?" Papadopoulos asked.
"Yes. The war to destroy the Song Dynasty was not over yet, and the Yuan Dynasty was fighting on both sides and had too much time to take care of itself." Guo Kang continued to explain: "All the Han army guards who were still idle went north to suppress the Mongols. Kublai Khan even had to rush from On the southern front, if we mobilize people back, there will be no extra troops to manage places like Japan."
"Why does the Great Khan suppress the Mongols every day..." Otrifus muttered.
"In short, the second crusade against Japan started in such a hurry." Guo Kang ignored his questions and continued to introduce: "The generals in charge of the army are still the same as last time, but Liu Fuheng's army was in Huaixi at this time. Guard. That place is much more important than Japan, and I can’t get away, so this time there is no one from Hebei who is at the level of a general."
"Isn't this even worse?" Perdiccas asked: "Without a reliable backbone force, how are they going to land?"
"Yes, there are. Kublai Khan assigned them nearly 10,000 people under Zhang Xi's command of ten thousand households in the navy. These are considered Hebei soldiers. But the quality of other troops is even worse." Guo Kang said: "In the North Route Army, Xindu The Mongolian soldiers under my command were caught in a storm when they were running home, and the damage should not be too great, but it caused everyone to break up. So this time, we can only temporarily recruit more than 10,000 prisoners to join the army."
"The Koreans also increased their strength a lot, bringing at least 10,000 soldiers. But these people... to be honest, they lowered the average combat effectiveness of the entire army."
"As compensation, Kublai Khan asked Fan Wenhu, a general of the Southern Song Dynasty, to recruit Zhang Shijie's defeated army and Jiangnan people who volunteered to join the army to form the South Route Army. This army assembled in Ningbo, preparing to cross the East China Sea and meet directly with the previous North Route Army. and."
"How effective is this army?" Perdiccas asked.
"Almost like Persians." Li Xuanying muttered.
Guo Kang quickly signaled him not to interrupt and continued: "The training and armament level of soldiers in the Southern Song Dynasty is very worrying. This has also been the national policy of the Southern Song Dynasty court."
"In the early Southern Song Dynasty, the ruling Qin Hui began to deliberately reduce the combat effectiveness of the army. When appointing generals, he deliberately selected dull people and encouraged everyone to manage wealth instead of military affairs. The military camp was full of businessmen and businessmen, and no one conducted training."
"Later, the Southern Song Dynasty court sent people to inspect the army and found that among the 20,000-strong army, only more than 600 people could wear movable armor. The number of armors on paper had lost its meaning. At this point, it is considered complete. Target."
"What kind of strange idea is this..." Borjan, an old academic engaged in water conservancy engineering, said he couldn't understand it.
"The foundation of the Southern Song Dynasty was the international order that coexisted with the Jin Kingdom. This order was most beneficial to the rulers of the Southern Song Dynasty." Guo Kang explained: "If the army's combat effectiveness is too strong, it will break this order, so it must be weakened a little .”
"Of course, it won't work if it's too weak. Fortunately, the Jin Kingdom's combat effectiveness is just that, so the pressure is actually not very great." He thought for a while and added: "In short, for the court, winning or losing , it’s all very embarrassing. So it’s better to just give him some coins and just not fight.”
"I don't know how this kind of country can be maintained." Borjan was speechless.
"Look, isn't this the end?" Guo Kang didn't want to get entangled and quickly ended the topic.
