Kuo Duan gritted his teeth, eager to avoid humiliation, and decided to launch an attack on the Southern Song Dynasty, forcing the Southern Song Dynasty's main war faction to step down and win the fight for the Southern Song Dynasty.
Li Fen was shocked after hearing Kuo Duan's words. His father, Li Quan, was killed by brothers Zhao Fan and Zhao Kui when they attacked the Southern Song Dynasty.
Now Zhao Fan is in charge of Lianghuai, which makes Li Fen quite afraid.
After all, it had only been two years since his father died, and the Li Jiajun's strength had not yet recovered, so he did not dare to avenge his father.
"Your Majesty, there are brothers Zhao Fan and Zhao Kui guarding Huainan. They are famous generals in the Southern Song Dynasty. I was killed by them. I'm afraid I am no match for them!" Li Fen knelt on the ground and bravely refused.
Kuo Duan's expression changed, and he cast a sinister gaze on him. Li Fen was so frightened that he immediately lowered his head.
Li Fen was the largest Han warlord in Shandong, with 50,000 or 60,000 troops at his disposal. He was needed in Kuoduan to attack the Song Dynasty, so he did not become furious.
Seeing Li Fen bow his head in submission, Kuo Duan said confidently: "Don't worry, I am sure of success in this battle. Because in addition to your troops, I will also mobilize nearly ten thousand Mongolian cavalry to go south. In addition, there is my internal support in the Southern Song Dynasty. , I have seen the Song army’s defense plan on the south bank of the Huaihe River and know their weaknesses, how can I lose?”
Li Fen was a little surprised, "There were princes in the Southern Song Dynasty who were in charge, and there were also defense plans for the Song army?"
Kuo Duan nodded, "Don't you believe me? I can tell you that Shi Miyuan of the Southern Song Dynasty supports the alliance with Mongolia. I have made an agreement with him to cooperate internally and externally to help him regain the power of the Southern Song Dynasty."
Li Fen didn't dare to doubt Kuo Duan. He thought that Kuo Duan, the dignified Mongolian prince, couldn't possibly be joking, and he couldn't help but feel a little excited.
The combat power of the Mongolian army far exceeded that of the Song army, and nearly 10,000 Mongolian troops participated in the battle, which can embolden him.
The Southern Song Dynasty also had Kuotuan's internal response, and the Song army's defense situation was also clearly understood. The Mongolian army wanted to face the flying dragon, and it was impossible to lose.
Li Fen thought about Li Quan, who was killed by the Song army. He didn't have the courage to avenge his father, but he still had the courage to go to the Southern Song Dynasty to make a fortune under the banner of avenging his father.
The Mongols' attack on the Southern Song Dynasty was also an opportunity for him to make a fortune. He could use the attack on the Southern Song Dynasty to plunder and obtain money and food to strengthen his own strength.
Thinking of this, Li Fen hurriedly kowtowed: "Don't you dare! Beizhi's father died at the hands of the Song army. The prince wants to send troops to attack the Song Dynasty, but it is to avenge the father of the commander-in-chief. Beizhi is willing to work hard for the prince!"
Kuo Duan nodded with satisfaction: "Go back and prepare, mobilize your troops as soon as possible, prepare more war ships, and be ready to cross the river!"
"I humbly obey my orders!" Li Fen kowtowed and accepted the orders.
Kuo Duan then waved his hand, and Li Fen respectfully left the room and hurried back to mobilize his troops.
After he left, Kuoduan called another subordinate and said in a deep voice: "Go to Lin'an, pay a visit to Shi Miyuan, and tell him that the king will send troops as agreed. In addition, ask him to get another copy of the Lianghuai defense map. send over!"
The map given by Shi Miyuan had always been kept by Yeluxuan, but Yeluxuan drowned in the Huaihe River, and the map was lost with Yeluxuan.
Kuoduan is good at riding horses and archery, but not good at reading, writing, and memorizing pictures and texts.
He had indeed seen the map given by Shi Miyuan, but after being frightened by the ambush, he forgot most of the details and needed to get a new map.
At this time, Kuo Duan gave an order, and the Mongolian troops on both sides of Shandong took action.
The soldiers and horses went ahead without using food and grass. Although the Mongols fought and their logistics mainly focused on looting, Li Fen's men and horses needed food supplies.
As time enters the end of May, the land of Shandong begins to get busy.
The food, fodder, and ordnance required by the Mongolian army were transported from various prefectures to the banks of the canal, and then sent to Pi County.
In order to attack the Southern Song Dynasty, the Mongols forced tens of thousands of civilians to work day and night.
On the Grand Canal, there are shirtless and skinny men stretching along the banks. On the roads in various parts of Shandong, donkey carts, mule carts, and wheelbarrows block the roads all day long.
The Mongols did not hesitate to use their people's strength. Shandong people who died of exhaustion and starvation could be seen everywhere on the roads and along the canals.
The Song Dynasty and the Jin State both had agents in Shandong. The Mongolian troops on both sides of Shandong mobilized massively. Naturally, they were detected by the agents and immediately reported to the two countries.
…
At this time, the Shandong Mongolian army was mobilized in Kuoduan to prepare for the southern expedition. After seeing off Chuzhou's fleet, Zhao Tai entered the city with a large amount of money, food and materials.
With this group of Song Yuans, Zhao Tai's waist straightened up. He immediately changed his attitude of inaction and gathered three thousand soldiers in the city in the name of paying them.
On May 30th, on the large campus outside Suining City, three thousand soldiers stood casually and talked among themselves.
The Jin Dynasty's court was financially bankrupt, and the newly recruited troops not only lacked military pay, but also lacked complete equipment.
At this time, 3,000 men and horses gathered. There was no uniform jacket in the mess, and they were all dressed in a variety of colors. It didn't look like an army, but more like a gathering of bandits.
After Zhao Tai arrived in Suining, he did not give any favor to the army and did not even make up the military pay. Therefore, Zhao Tai did not rectify the chaos in the city.
At that time, if Zhao Tai took action rashly and used harsh punishments to rectify the troops in the city, they might not listen to Zhao Tai, and it might even lead to a mutiny.
Now that Song Yuan has arrived, the situation is different. As soon as Zhao Tai distributes the money and food, he will give him enough. If he dares to irritate the people again, he will punish him severely. Then the soldiers will have nothing to say.
At this time, the soldiers were discussing below. Zhao Tai, who was wearing a red lacquer mountain armor, was surrounded by a group of officers wearing iron armor and climbed onto the makeshift earthen platform in the school field.
Flags were fluttering on both sides of the platform, and one of the large flags read: "Deputy Envoy of Xuanfu on the East and West Road of Shandong, I know that Tengzhou and Pizhou are in trouble with Zhao!"
Under the banner of the great banner, there are many flag-protecting soldiers standing, all wearing infantry armor, hanging horizontal knives on their waists, and holding spears, standing majestic and majestic.
These are Zhao Tai's bodyguards and guards, and they are all equipped with the best equipment.
Zhao Tai was also dressed very stylishly today, wearing a phoenix-winged helmet, an animal head on his shoulders, an animal headband around his waist, and a black cloak. He was so powerful that the soldiers below felt ashamed and thought about when they could There is such a suit of armor.
Zhao Tai's whole body was rewarded by the old iron of the Song Dynasty. He stood in the center of the earth platform and glanced at the people in the audience. The three thousand soldiers slowly fell silent.
Zhao Taisui immediately shouted loudly: "I have kept my promise. I said I will repay you the arrears, and I will repay the arrears!"
After speaking, he waved his hand and said, "Bring it up!"
The soldiers in the audience saw a group of soldiers working in pairs, carrying heavy boxes and sacks onto the stage, and then in the shocked eyes of everyone, they dumped strings of copper coins on the stage. The copper coins immediately piled up like a mountain. .
The Song Dynasty was short of silver, and its currency was mainly copper coins, as well as Jiaozi issued by the Song Dynasty. However, Jiaozi from the Song Dynasty was not very convenient to circulate in the Jin Kingdom. Except for the Jin Kingdom merchants who used it for large-scale trade, the people still only recognized copper coins.
The 3,000 soldiers in the audience had probably never seen so much money before, and their eyes were filled with gleaming eyes.
Zhao Tai didn't keep them waiting for long. He waved his hand and shouted: "Give me money!"
When the three thousand soldiers reacted, they cheered and saluted in unison, "Thank you, Prime Minister Xuanfu, for announcing your pay!"
At that time, Zhou Quan led many officers and petty officials to pay the three thousand soldiers on the spot. Everyone had a few strings of copper coins hanging on their bodies, and they all smiled.
After the military pay was distributed, Xu Erzhu and others immediately took the lead in saluting, "Thank you Xianggong for the money."
At this time, Zhao Tai waved his hand to calm everyone down. He pressed the sword on his waist with one hand, put on a serious expression, and looked at everyone majestically, "Now I have paid you your salary. From now on, your monthly military salary will be paid by me." It will also be distributed on time. If you have money, if there are still people in the city who rob people's houses and eat the king's meal. I will say something ugly ahead of time, so don't blame me for my ruthless military law!"
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