Liaoyang City.
After Meng Ge declared himself Khan, he named Kublai Khan the King of Liao.
In the early days, Kublai Khan fought against Zhao Tai, but was defeated by Zhao Tai several times, and all his plans were lost.
Nowadays, all Mongolian tribes, clan kings and nobles are like carrots and pits. Meng Ge has no tribes and pastures to allocate to Kublai Khan, so he lets him control the Han, Khitan, and Jurchens in Liao.
After acquiring the Liao territory, Kublai Khan worked hard to develop the Liaohe plain using Shi Tianze and other Han people, and incorporated the Khitan and Jurchen tribes, so that the territory could produce high-quality products.
Most of the tribes controlled by Meng Ge were short of food in winter, but Kublai Khan was the only one who could be self-sufficient and provide money and food to Meng Ge.
Of course, only part of this money and food was the vassal surplus, and most of it came from funding from the Southern Song Dynasty.
At five o'clock in the morning, fish white appears in the east, but Liaoyang City has not yet woken up.
There are no businesses in the city, and everything is quiet inside and outside. There are only a few breakfast stalls, which are steaming steamed buns and baking flatbreads, waiting for customers to come.
Outside the city, there was a rapid sound of horse hoofbeats. Several cavalrymen rushed to the city gate. The leading cavalry reined in their horses and shouted loudly, "The military situation is urgent, open the city gate quickly!"
The soldier, who had just woken up early in the morning, leaned out half of his body, took a look at the city, and hurriedly reported to the officer.
When the general guarding the gate saw that there were only three cavalry, he asked someone to lower the bamboo basket, checked the document, and immediately asked someone to open the city gate.
There was a rapid sound of horse hoofbeats. After the cavalry entered the city, they galloped all the way until they dismounted in front of the king. They rushed to the gate of the palace and reported urgently, "The military situation is extremely urgent!"
In the palace, in the bedroom.
Unlike those princes and nobles who like to live in tents, Kublai Khan had enjoyed the experience in the Central Plains, and he preferred to live in palaces made by Han people.
In the palace, Kublai Khan was still sleeping, but he was gently pushed awake by Liu Yun, "Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"
Kublai Khan was a little lost in the lake. He opened half of his eyes slightly and asked, "Where is the daylight?"
In order to govern the Liao vassal, Kublai Khan worked hard and was far more diligent than Zhao Tai.
Of course, the reason why he is so hardworking is because Mongolia retreated outside the customs and did not have enough administrative talents around him. He had to do many things by himself, and no one could help him share the burden.
Li Yun explained: "It is said outside that the military situation is extremely urgent, and I have to wake up the prince!"
Kublai Khan suddenly sat up and was so startled that he suddenly woke up.
"What military situation?" Kublai Khan asked urgently with his eyes widened.
"Your Majesty, Gaizhou was attacked by the Qi army!" A eunuch reported outside.
Kublai Khan was shocked when he heard this and quickly got out of bed. Liu Yun caught up with him and put on his coat. Kublai Khan walked out of the dormitory with windy steps.
Gaizhou was built by Kublai Khan for the purpose of receiving and storing grain and materials shipped from the Southern Song Dynasty.
After the Southern Song Dynasty's fleet arrived at Gaizhou Pier, Kublai Khan couldn't transport the food off the ship for a while, and the food couldn't be piled randomly, so he built cities and warehouses to store food and supplies.
Now that I heard that Gaizhou was attacked by the Qi army, Kublai Khan couldn't be more anxious.
"Come in!" Kublai Khan shouted hurriedly as he walked out of his dormitory.
A man pushed the door open and presented a military report. Kublai Khan tore it open and looked at it, and his head suddenly felt dizzy.
At this time, Liu Yun put on her clothes and came out. Seeing Kublai Khan swaying, she quickly stepped forward to help him, "Your Majesty, what is going on?"
Kublai Khan lacked scholars around him, so many matters would be discussed with Li Yun, who could read and write.
Mongolia had no navy and Gaizhou was built near the sea. Liu Yun had already warned him that Gaizhou was vulnerable to attack.
However, Liu Yun's reminder was actually useless.
Because Liao was sparsely populated and Mongolia did not have many ships, the Southern Song Dynasty only sent grain to Gaizhou. The Mongolian army knew that Gaizhou was vulnerable to attack and could not transport all the grain in time.
Kublai Khan looked at the military report and felt regretful in his heart, "I regret not listening to my beloved concubine! Gaizhou was attacked by the Qi army."
The Qi army secretly attacked Gaizhou, which shocked Kublai Khan.
He didn't know whether the Qi army's goal was just Gaizhou, or whether they wanted to attack Meng Ge with Guiyou.
Therefore, while writing a letter to Meng Ge, he mobilized his troops and gathered in Liaoyang, preparing to meet the Qi army coming up from the Liao River.
He waited in Liaoyang for half a month, but the Qi army did not go north. They only destroyed Gaizhou and Gaizhou Wharf, and then evacuated Gaizhou.
After Kublai Khan received the news of the retreat of the Qi army, he led his subordinates to retake Gaizhou and built a temporary dock again to prepare for assistance from the Southern Song Dynasty.
However, he waited for two months, but did not wait until a Southern Song Dynasty merchant ship arrived in Gaizhou.
It was not until the end of June 1245 that the Southern Song Dynasty envoys landed from the east coast of the Liaodong Peninsula, crossed the Liaodong Peninsula by land, and arrived in Liaoyang. Only then did Kublai Khan learn of the news that the Qi fleet had blocked the Bohai Strait.
The sea is vast, and the Southern Song Dynasty transported grain to Meng Ge from the sea. It was actually difficult for Qi to block it.
However, the sea area between the Liaodong Peninsula and the Shandong Peninsula is relatively narrow, and Qi State has made careful efforts to ascertain the time when the Southern Song Dynasty fleet leaves port, so it is relatively easy for Qi State Navy to intercept them here.
After the spring plowing, the Qi State sent its navy to attack Gaizhou and strengthened the blockade of the Bohai Strait. After the Southern Song Dynasty fleet was captured by the Qi Navy one after another, the Southern Song Dynasty fleet did not dare to enter the Bohai Sea.
After Kublai Khan met the Southern Song envoy and learned the news of the blockade, he could only follow the Southern Song envoy's advice and set up a temporary dock on the east coast of the Liaodong Peninsula as a new acceptance site.
After changing the receiving location, the Southern Song Dynasty's fleet did not have to enter the Bohai Sea. It was more difficult for the Qi Navy's navy to intercept them on the Yellow River.
Although the assistance to Mongolia from the Southern Song Dynasty was affected by the Qi Navy, the horse grain trade between Mongolia and Song Dynasty was not interrupted.
However, on the east coast of the Liaodong Peninsula, to receive supplies from the Southern Song Dynasty, Kublai Khan had to travel hundreds of miles by land to transport the grain to Liaoyang. Nearly half of the aided grain was consumed on the road.
In addition, under the influence of the Qi Navy, the Southern Song fleet was captured by the Qi Navy from time to time. The support Meng Ge received from the Southern Song Dynasty could be said to be cut in half in an instant.
Mongolian tribes, especially those powerful clan kings, such as the Chagatai family, actually do not want a strong Khan to appear in Mongolia.
As a rebel, Meng Ge was able to gain the support of some clan kings, firstly because he was powerful, and secondly because he had money and food.
Now that Meng Ge has less money and food on hand, he and Guiyou have entered a tug of war.
In Yecheng, Zhao Tai was in his study. After reading the information about Mongolia, he slowly stood up and walked to the map.
At this time, his eyes moved from south to north, and finally moved slowly to the Southern Song Dynasty, and finally landed on Lin'an.
"Since Gu unified the north, he has lived in harmony with the people for more than three years. Now the army is strong, the money and grain are full, and the old enemy Mongolia has fallen into internal disputes. The time for Gu to unify the world has come." Zhao Tai looked at the map and clenched his fists.
