"Thousands of households, officers and soldiers guard the city gates and don't allow people to leave the city!"
Hu Zhen just raised the curtain of the sedan chair and wanted to ask, when his subordinate reported it.
This made Hu Zhen's heart tremble. She could only get out of the car and saw that the streets were crowded with carriages and people preparing to leave the city.
The Song Dynasty had average military ethics, but its economy and culture were extremely prosperous, forming a relatively wealthy citizen class.
In the prosperous land south of the Yangtze River, the urban residential population reaches more than 20%, which is the highest in the world and rare in the past.
The urbanization rate of the Han and Tang Dynasties was not as good as that of the Song Dynasty, and the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, and the Republic of China were also far behind.
Although Chuzhou is not located in the south of the Yangtze River, it is relatively wealthy. There are many people in the city who are divorced from agricultural production.
In December, there were rumors in various parts of Huainan that the Mongol Khan had gathered an army in Luoyang and might go south to attack the Song Dynasty at any time.
Less than a year after the fall of the Jin Kingdom, Mongolia, which had already occupied the north, was very likely to send troops to invade the south, targeting the peaceful Southern Song Dynasty.
When the Jin Dynasty destroyed the Liao Dynasty, it turned around and destroyed the Northern Song Dynasty.
This moment is just like that moment, which undoubtedly colludes with the horrific memories of the people of the Southern Song Dynasty.
Furthermore, during the process of Mongolia's extermination of gold, many northern people fled into the Southern Song Dynasty. They reported to the people in Jianghuai that the Mongolian army took pleasure in beheading people and raping their wives and daughters. Their behavior was extremely cruel and heinous.
According to their personal accounts, an atmosphere of fear, despair, and uneasiness spread south of the Huaihe River.
Now rumors are spreading outside and people are in turmoil. The dignitaries in the city have already left, and now it is the residents of the city who are leaving.
Because the journey south is long and expensive along the way, and you need to settle in a new home when you reach Jiangnan, the poor people simply cannot afford it. Unless the situation worsens, they will not leave their hometown.
At this time, the war had not started yet, and the rich man had already left first and had already arrived in the south of the Yangtze River.
Their family has a big business and they won't put themselves in danger. If something goes wrong, they will be the first to benefit.
Now that the situation has worsened, it is only the residents of the city who are leaving, including some poor people.
However, most of them will not reach Jiangnan, and most of them will die on the way south.
Yes, no matter when faced with a crisis, the people at the bottom will suffer the most.
At this time, Hu Zhen got off the carriage and saw a long line of vehicles blocking the street, making the road completely impassable.
When Hu Zhen came to the city gate, she saw that the people were arguing with the soldiers, saying good things, hoping that the officers and soldiers would let them go.
The officers and soldiers guarding the gate stood behind the horse-rejection posts with expressionless faces, allowing the people to plead, but only holding spears on guard.
When Hu Zhen saw this scene, her heart tightened, and she probably couldn't leave the city.
So many people gathered in front of the city gate, including many prominent figures in the city. Even if they bribed the gatekeeper officers, they probably would not dare to let people out of the city blatantly.
Sure enough, seeing that the people were unwilling to disperse, the officer guarding the gate shouted: "Everyone, Xuanfu Yamen has issued an order that no one is allowed to leave the city! Don't embarrass us! If you want to leave the city, you have to go to the Yamen to get approval!"
Hu Zhen saw that the speaker was Liu Boxian, so she walked over.
At this time, Liu Boxian also saw Hu Zhen, walked over and pulled Hu Zhen aside, "Brother Hu, why haven't you left yet?"
When Zhao Tai came to the Southern Song Dynasty for the first time, he met Liu Boxian, a capital official, at Chuzhou Wharf. Later, he opened Manchun Tower in the city and gave Liu Boxian some benefits, asking Liu Boxian, a local snake, to help take care of the place.
In the past two years, Zhao Tai's business has grown bigger and bigger. Hu Zhen has made friends with higher-level Southern Song officials, and her interactions with Liu Boxian have become less.
Liu Boxian's current level is no longer able to help Hu Zhen in business, but the dividends originally promised to Liu Boxian are still paid every year.
Hu Zhen nodded, casually took out a handout and stuffed it into Liu Boxian's hand.
Liu Boxian pretended to refuse, accepted it with a smile, and then whispered: "Brother Hu, you can't do it now. You have seen it. With so many pairs of eyes staring at you, I can't let you go out. However, there are few people at night, so I will arrange for you to go out." go out."
After hearing this, Hu Zhen felt relieved and said, "Okay, then Brother Liu will make arrangements."
After finishing speaking, Hu Zhen cupped her hands, turned to her subordinates and said, "We'll leave in the evening!"
At that moment, he got back on the carriage and turned around on the street. But he didn't go far when he heard the sound of hoofbeats behind him. A group of cavalry galloped and roared loudly, causing the people on the street to disperse in shock.
Hu Zhen raised the curtain and watched the cavalry galloping past, rushing towards the Zhizhi Si Yamen, and frowned, "It's Tang Ma from outside the city!"
The cavalry galloped along, leaving the people on both sides of the street talking and speculating about what big thing had happened.
At this time, the pond horse galloped until it was outside the Zhiji Si Yamen, and then it hurriedly reined in the horse.
The leading cavalryman flew off his horse and rushed in, "Urgent news from Tokyo! The Mongolian Khan has commanded 100,000 troops from his lofty position. They came out of Hulao and attacked Bianjing."
In the Yamen of the Zhizhi Envoy Division, Zhao Fan was discussing with his subordinates how to deploy defenses. When he learned the news, he immediately summoned the messenger soldiers to watch the urgent report from Bianjing.
Wokuotai originally wanted to wait for Kublai Khan to capture Pizhou before attacking Kaifeng, but he did not expect that Kublai Khan would be blocked by the small Pizhou City.
After the Southern Song Dynasty sent imperial troops to reinforce the Huaihe River, Wokuotai decided to send troops to attack the Song Dynasty.
The Kaifeng area had been completely destroyed in the Mongolian-Jin war, and the Mongolian army would not gain much benefit from defeating the Song army here.
For the grassland empire that relied on war to maintain its expenses, Wokuotai's target was the prosperous Jianghuai region.
Now the Southern Song Dynasty is increasing its troops, and in more than a month, the Huaihe River will thaw, and it will be difficult for the Mongolian army to open up a situation in Huainan.
Therefore, Wokuotai had no choice but to wait for Kublai Khan, directly send his troops to attack Kaifeng, and blow the horn to destroy the Song Dynasty.
At this time, as the Lianghuai Administration Department received news of the Mongolian army's attack on Bianjing, the entire Yamen immediately exploded, and officials and staff at all levels began to panic.
Zhao Fan looked at the chaotic scene and couldn't help shouting angrily, "Don't panic! Bianjing is only guarded by Quanzi, and Wokuotai can't be defeated for a while."
"Mr. Sir! Kaifeng has less than 20,000 troops, and Wo Kuotai has an army of 100,000. Can we hold it? Should we send troops for reinforcements?" the staff asked.
Zhao Fan shook his head, "Compared to Kaifeng, I am more worried about Pizhou now. The fighting in Kaifeng has just started, but the fighting in Pizhou has lasted for more than a month. If Pizhou falls and the Mongolian army in Shandong rushes across the Huaihe River, the situation will be critical."
After hearing this, everyone became worried, and someone said: "Oh! The Mongols and the Loyalty Army have been fighting for so long, and we have been watching the fire from the other side. I said at the beginning that the Mongols would be defeated one by one. If the Mongolian army enters Shandong, we will To reinforce Pizhou, we won’t be so passive now!”
Zhao Fan frowned, "There is no point in talking about this now! I have written several times, but the court does not allow it, and I have no choice! The top priority right now is how to defend against the Mongolian attack!"
