In the Southern Song Dynasty, I competed with Mongolia for the world

Chapter 341 The eldest son’s expedition to the west
The letter continues.

We, the Song Dynasty, did not do it kindly when borrowing the road last time.

Wo Kuotai laughed angrily when he heard this. Zhao Yurui was so shameless. He just dismissed such a thing with an unkind word?Think we are all fools?
Our Song Dynasty did this because we wanted to regain our homeland and capture the Kingdom of Jin.

If we don't do this, will you give it to us if Mongolia captures Nanjing?You definitely won't give it, right? I was forced to do it too.

It sounds reasonable. If the Mongolian army captured Nanjing, they would definitely not return it to the Song Dynasty.

The same goes for naming names later. These are our lands before the Song Dynasty. The ministers in the court and the central government are all going to the Northern Expedition to regain the land. Although I, Zhao Yurui, am the emperor of the Song Dynasty, I have a duty to do this. I have to deal with the court and officials. The people should have an explanation.

If it were you, Wo Kuotai, would you like to take back your homeland?

As for helping Goryeo, there is nothing we can do. Goryeo has always regarded us as its suzerain country, and every year we pay tribute to our Song Dynasty and receive many benefits. When people come to us to ask for help, how can we not help them?

If it were you, Wo Kuotai, you would help, right?
Zhao Yurui Xinzhong was helpless. He had no choice but to fight against the famous people, and he was helpless to fight against the Mongolian army. Anyway, he did not intend to go against the Mongols. He just wanted to be a wise king and take back some of his homeland, so that he could account to the courtiers and the people. .

Zhao Yurui also said that the world is very big. The southeast of our Song Dynasty is covered by the sea, and there are countless island countries on the sea. The northwest of you is covered by countries. Together, these places are larger than a thousand and 1 Central Plains.

You are a grassland nation and are suitable for galloping in the northwest. You can continue to fight to the west and north to acquire more land and gain more people.

The barbarians in the northwest are easier to rule, but the Central Plains is different. When you take over the Central Plains, you have to learn Confucian culture, establish official etiquette, and collect taxes. Otherwise, it will be difficult to manage the Central Plains. You have to collect taxes comprehensively. Can the kings be willing?

And our Song Dynasty is planning to attack the southeast coast to seize more islands and more wealth.

Our two families will be brothers from now on, and we can trade the weapons we brought back with each other.

We can provide you with the refined salt and sugar, tea and ceramics you need, and you can provide us with the war horses and plundered slaves we need.

Wouldn't this be mutually beneficial to both parties?
Why give up the entire forest for a small tree?
The world is so big, why are people here fighting over the small Central Plains?

Yelu Chucai read and watched, and then he was surprised to find that Wokuotai and the Mongolian nobles actually showed expressions of emotion on their faces when they heard this.

The Mongols themselves did not like the Central Plains. After the Yuan Dynasty came in, many Mongolians stayed in the northwest and refused to come in. Later, the four major khanates were established.

They just like to roam around in vast places and come and go freely.

The key point is that what Yelu Chucai wanted to do was to impose comprehensive taxation and centralize power. This was something that almost all Mongolian nobles opposed.

Zhao Yurui's words have hit the mark on the minds of many Mongolian nobles. If they are going to enter the Central Plains, what will happen if Wokuotai wants to collect taxes?What should we do if we send officials to various places?You definitely can't do this.

This letter between Zhao and Rui has a subtle effect in driving a wedge between them.

Finally, Zhao told Rui that he hoped to make peace with Mongolia, and that everyone would use Xixia as the border. The two countries would become brotherly countries, exchange what they had, develop commerce, trade, and not fight for a hundred years.

Of course, Xixia also wants to return the war horses to us in the Song Dynasty, because we have to raise war horses there, and we in the Song Dynasty cannot live without war horses, right?

The last words of Zhao Yurui touched the sentiments of many Mongolian nobles, including Bator and Orda, who did not like the Central Plains, but the last sentence about Xixia angered them a bit.

Orchen Nayan said angrily, the Song people want Xixia, let them take it according to their ability.

There were a lot of curses around him, calling the people of Song Dynasty shameless.

While fighting the Mongolian army, you are suing for peace. How dare you ask Xixia for peace?Everyone has seen how shameless Zhao Yurui is.

Everyone had never dealt with Zhao Yurui before. When they read this letter today, they were all shocked and deeply impressed by his thick skin.

"No more?" Wo Kuotai looked worried after hearing this.

"No more." Yelu Chucai smiled bitterly.

Don’t you have any coins, silk or anything like that?

Wokuotai didn't sound like he was asking for peace, but more like a letter that the Song army had won and wanted them to cede territory.

"Aren't you going to give me coins?" Badar, who had just called for mobilizing an army of 80 to fight the Song Dynasty, said directly.

"?" Yelu Chucai looked at him like an idiot. Do you really believe it?
"Since the Song people are asking for peace, they didn't say how many years of coins they would give?" From what Badar meant, he seemed to be in favor of negotiating peace with the Song people.

That's right, Baitaer doesn't like Zhongyuan. After hearing about Zhao and Rui Xin just now, it makes sense.

There are countless Central Plains waiting for them in the west, and the castles in the west are easier to conquer. Why are they fighting the Song people here?
Or'er replied loudly: "We must be given at least one million catties of sugar every year."

He was not interested in anything else, he just liked the white sugar of the Song Dynasty.

Yelu Chucai was stunned.

Just now, both of them had vowed to go to war with the Song people. Now that Zhao and Rui had read a letter, they immediately changed their minds.

The aristocratic ministers repeatedly said that silk and cotton must be added.

There was laughter.

"Your Majesty, you can't. This is Zhao and Rui's plan to slow down their troops. Xixia cannot be given to the Song people."

"Once the Song people are allowed to own horse-producing land, it will definitely be a big trouble in the future."

Wo Kuotai nodded: "Song people are so whimsical that Xixia cannot give it to them."

"But war is a matter of peace. Let's wait for Batu and my second brother's reply."

Yelu Chucai's heart sank. Hearing this, Wo Kuotai began to change his attitude after hearing the letter.

"Then the Kingdom of Jin must be destroyed, and let the people of Song Dynasty destroy the Jin." He Dan said sternly.

Everyone nodded.

At this time, because of a letter from Zhao Yurui, Wo Kuotai and the Mongolian nobles were already thinking about making peace.

Most nobles don't like the Central Plains.

In particular, the close minister Biedie proposed to Wo Kuotai two years ago that all the Han people north of the Yellow River should be killed, and then they should stop farming and let the grass and trees become lush and become pasture land where cattle, sheep and horses can be grazed in the future.

At that time, Yelu Chucai strongly opposed it and suggested tax collection, which was later approved by Ogedai.

Now Zhao Yurui suggested that they should stop focusing on the small Central Plains and continue fighting in the northwest direction. Biedie actually thought it made sense.

What good things are there in the Central Plains, but they still have to collect taxes.

It's better to grab more happiness.

In addition, the fiefdoms of Orda and their fathers are not in the Central Plains. They will definitely not have fiefdoms in the Central Plains in the future, and they are not willing to imitate the Central Plains emperor in the future and engage in Confucian culture, establish rituals and collect taxes, so they go there They also agreed to fight in the northwest direction.

As for Wokuotai, he didn't care where to fight.

What he cares more about is the stability of his position.

He hated Zhao Yurui and wanted to teach the Song people a lesson.

But if you can't beat it, it will be even more embarrassing, and it may even affect your own ranking.

For such a difficult thing, I definitely can't let myself take the blame.

So Wokuotai asked Batu and Chagatai to give their opinions.

At that time, we will hold a conference to study it. Whether it is war or peace is not decided by ourselves, and it means that we have not made any mistakes.

This group of nobles didn't say anything that day.

Because a large number of nobles were not present, the Mongolian army was swinging between war and peace.

Wokuotai asked people to copy several letters from Zhao and Rui and send them to other noble clans and kings in other places, and invited them to go to Guanshan to discuss matters in September.

The Mongolian troops were stationed in Guanshan and did not return to their hometown.

Until late April.

Badar, who had been away for more than two months, was back again.

Wo Kuotai heard the shocking news.

At the end of March, the Song army detoured thousands of miles and appeared west of Shazhou, and conquered Shazhou in less than a day.

In early April, the Song army broke through Guazhou again.

At that time, Badar had just arrived in Suzhou, and the forward sentry cavalry of the Song Army had already bypassed Guazhou and arrived outside Suzhou City, wandering around.

At that time, the city gate of Suzhou was tightly closed and blocked with bricks and stones. Baidaer was always hung up in a hanging basket.

Not long after he went up, the Song army's sentries were walking along Suzhou City, shooting arrows into the city.

The Song Army Arrow Book says that many civil and military officials such as Gao Zhiyao of Xixia were still in the Song Dynasty, and they hoped that the soldiers and civilians in Xixia could resist the Mongols and join the Song Dynasty.

I don’t know if this arrow book has any effect. Anyway, cities across Xixia are now more wary of some party members.

After the Song army entered the Xixia territory, they required archery books before every city they attacked to try to drive a wedge between the Xixia people and the Mongols.

Badar did not continue to go west. He sent someone to send Zhao Yurui's letter to Xiliao for his father Chagatai, and he turned back to Guanshan.

When passing through Zhongxing Mansion on the return journey, Wokuotai's son, King Kuoduan of Xiliang, who was stationed in Zhongxing Mansion, was gathering troops and horses to prepare to go west to face the Song army.

After Kuo Duan defeated the Song army, he then invaded Shaanxi and attacked the Song army's key towns of Fengxiang and Jingzhaofu (Xi'an).

Especially in Xi'an Mansion, the Song Army had just taken it from the Jin Bing. Kuo Duan believed that the Song Army did not have time to manage it well, so he could take the opportunity to fight back, and then occupy the west of Tongguan, Shaanxi, including Gonglong and other places.

"How many soldiers and horses are there in Kuotuan?" Wo Kuotai asked urgently. At the same time, he asked Zhao and Rui's family again in his mind. He wrote a letter to make peace, and the nun hit me behind my back?

But Zhao Yurui also said in the letter that if Xixia is used to raise horses, it seems that there is nothing wrong with attacking Xixia.

Baidaer said that there are currently [-] people gathered in Kuoduan. When Baidaer passed by, Lingzhou, Dingzhou, Yinzhou, and Xiazhou were all mobilizing troops to gather at Zhongxing Mansion. Kuoduan expected to gather [-] people. .

This is currently the largest force that the Mongolian army can mobilize in the entire Xixia region. The total remaining troops in other places are less than 1.

Of course, Kuoduan will have to go to Xiliang and Ganzhou later.

After the Song army captured Suzhou, the two sides should have a decisive battle near Ganzhou.

Including the troops from Xiliang and Ganzhou, the Mongolian army can approach about [-].

Among the 4 Mongolian troops, the local Xixia troops accounted for the majority, about 1, as well as the Khitan and Jurchen troops. The real Mongolian army only had [-], and most of them were of the mine-towing type.

Badar added that he had asked the person who was going to Alimari in Western Liao to deliver the message to inform his father Chagatai that tens of thousands of elites should be dispatched from the Western Liao area to attack Shazhou just occupied by the Song Dynasty from west to east.

By then, Chagatai and Kuoduan had more than 10,000 soldiers and horses, which was enough to annihilate the Song army in Xixia.

"This Zhao Yurui is really nothing." Wo Kuotai cursed loudly after hearing this. After scolding, he looked to the west again.

Baitaer has been running for more than half a month since he came back from Suzhou. I wonder where the Song army has already fought?

While the Song court was negotiating peace, it was secretly attacking Mongolia. Wo Kuotai wished he could gather a million troops to fight the Song army now.

He is now very disappointed with the Song people, and he feels that the peace negotiation with the Song people is meaningless, because the Song people will fall out at any time and have no spirit of contract at all.

Well, of course he forgot at this time that the Mongolian army had repeatedly promised its opponent not to massacre the city, and then immediately carried out the massacre after the opponent surrendered.

Negotiating peace with the Song people has no credibility at all, but going to full-scale war with the Song people also requires everyone's approval.Zhao Yurui's letter affected the hearts of many Mongolian nobles.

After all, in history, no Song people had such a proposal or such a similar letter.

Now Zhao Yurui's letter has spread among the Mongolian nobles.

Everyone is considering Zhao Yurui's proposal.

The Central Plains is so small and the northwest is so big. Why do we have to compete with the Han people here for the small Central Plains instead of going to a wider world?
"I shouldn't have read Zhao Yurui's letter in the first place. After I got it, I burned it immediately." Wo Kuotai said angrily.

Badar was stunned for a moment. Although he also hurt Zhao Yurui very much, when Wo Kuotai mentioned this letter, he couldn't help but subconsciously said: "If anything happens -"

"I'm saying that if Xixia cannot defeat the Song army, it's better to negotiate a peace and let's go to the west to conquer."

"..." Wo Kuotai looked at Badar with a look of disbelief.

Wokuotai said nothing with a gloomy face. In just two or three months, there were already many different voices within Mongolia. The nobles were afraid that after they aspired to the Central Plains, Wokuotai would centralize power, collect taxes, reform the system, and divide the nobles. The interests of the king.

Most people no longer want to fight with the Song people.

Wokuotai did not scold Badar, but he knew in his heart that the Song people were so unfaithful that if they lost Xixia today, they would lose Shanxi tomorrow, and even Hebei the day after tomorrow.

When the time comes that there is nothing left to lose, we will really have no choice but to return to the grassland.

But if he said this, Baidaer and others would immediately say that the grassland is our home.

"Report——" Just when Wo Kuotai and Baidaer looked at each other and said nothing, the sound of reporting came from outside.

"Come in." Wo Kuotai said with a cold face.

Soon, guards came in to report that Datong Zhongshuling Yelu Chucai wrote to request orders.

After Wokuotai took it and looked at it, his face turned even darker.

Badar's eyes widened as he looked at the secret letter in his hand.

Wokuotai originally didn't want to show it to him, but after thinking about it, he couldn't hide it, so he handed it to Badar.

Yelu Chucai wrote that during this period, people were spreading rumors in various places north of the Yellow River, including Hebei, Shanxi and other states and cities occupied by the Mongolian army.

Rumor has it that many places in the northwest are rich and easy to fight. The Mongolian army conquered thousands of miles of land during its expedition to the west with tens of thousands of soldiers and horses.

But Wokuotai didn't want to conquer the west, he just wanted to fight with the Song people.

Because after Wokuotai entered the Central Plains, he wanted to learn the etiquette of the Central Plains, become the emperor of the Central Plains, change his customs, learn Confucian culture and Sinology, and also cancel the enfeoffment and collect taxes from Zhongyang.

And last year, a large amount of taxes were collected north of the Yellow River, which achieved great results.

Moreover, the Tibetan kings who were enfeoffed are obedient now, but if they are disobedient in the future, Mongolia will be in civil strife, so Ogootai wants to cut down Tibet.

These words were spread everywhere, in every territory and state capital occupied by the Mongolian army.

When Yelu Chucai collected taxes, everyone, including the Mongolian nobles, Jurchen and Khitan senior officials, and tens of thousands of Han households, strongly opposed it.

They didn't pay taxes before, but now they all pay taxes.

Nowadays, this rumor is flying all over the sky, and it is also said that Ogedai wants to cut off Tibet and will not divide the feudal states in the future for fear of civil strife in Mongolia.

The Central Plains Dynasty must be established, because the Central Plains Dynasty does not have a feudal system.

Those that had been enfeoffed before had civil strife later.

This rumor seems to make sense.

After Yelu Chucai heard the rumors, he immediately sent people to investigate and arrested dozens of people in Datong City and then killed them directly.

He wrote a letter asking Wo Kuo to order the arrest of such people spreading rumors in all Mongolian territories.

According to Yelu Chucai, these people took money from Song people and spread rumors in the local area, obviously deliberately sowing discord.

Moreover, there is also a part of the rumor that Wokuotai poisoned Tuo Lei and annexed Tuo Lei's men, because Tuo Lei had the largest and strongest elite guard of Genghis Khan.

Hiss, Wokuotai's face turned red when he saw this, he was ashamed and angry.

Originally, Wokuotai had reservations about an all-out war with the Song Dynasty, but after seeing this, he simply couldn't bear it and couldn't immediately launch a war against the Song Dynasty.

This move of the Song Dynasty was quite vicious. As the rumor spread further, many Mongolian nobles would doubt Ogedai's motives.

Everyone will consider whether Ogedai will really do this in the future.

He raised his head and found Badar looking at him too.

Badar's expression seemed to be asking, will I have a fiefdom in the future? Hehan, do you want to imitate the Han people, centralize power, and abolish the vassal king?
A few days after Badar came back, a letter from Batu also came to Guanshan from another place.

Orda didn't come back, so Batu sent a centurion as his bodyguard.

He brought the voice of Batu.

Batu suggested that each of the eldest sons should launch another western expedition to gain more territory and population from the west, and at the same time negotiate peace with Song Dynasty to exchange what they had.

The famous eldest son's Western Expedition was finally proposed by Batu. Although Batu was not the eldest son, he expressed his willingness to serve as the commander.

With Batu's ability, it is true that among the Mongolian ministries, only he can be the head coach, replacing Tuo Lei's position.

"Bang" Wokuotai was furious at that time. Did Batu want military power? ——
Harahe Forest, called "Black Round Stone" in Turkic language, is located at the southern foot of Hangai Mountain in the northwest corner of Qianhangai Province in present-day Mongolia, near Erdenizhao on the right bank of the upper reaches of the Orkhon River, and is far away from Ulaanbaatar City. 365 kilometers southwest.

The area where Harakhor Forest is located is also the center of the Mongolian Plateau. The forest here is dense and the fields bloom in midsummer. There are not only natural pastures with fertile water and grass, but also large fertile fields beside the Orkhon River that can be cultivated.

Because of the unique natural conditions of the Orkhon River Basin, many nomadic peoples have established political powers and capitals here.

Genghis Khan determined this place to be the capital of the Great Mongol Empire in 1220. The capital was expanded on the basis of the ancient Keli tribe and Uighur capitals, and was named Haraholin City.

Since then, Genghis Khan has been fighting in Central Asia and the South Goose area, and Haraholin has become the headquarters and logistics base of Mongolia.

After Genghis Khan's death, this place was theoretically inherited by his youngest son Tolei.

More than [-] war horses are herded here all year round, providing a steady stream of war horse support for Mongolia's eastern and northern campaigns.

Although this place is called a city, there are actually no city walls or palaces so far. The local Mongolians still live in yurts just like they do on the grasslands.

Originally, it was not until 1235 that Wo Kuotai mobilized craftsmen and civilians to build the city wall and the imperial city Wan'an Palace.

There are currently more than 5 herdsmen households in Harahe Forest, mainly Mongolian and Khitan people, with some Jurchens and Han people.

There are many in Mongolia, and the Khitans, Jurchens, and Han people are all craftsmen.

The division of labor in Hara Helin is clear. The Mongols raise war horses here, while the Khitans, Jurchens, and Han people concentrate on building them.

After the Mongols conquered various places, they usually kept only the craftsmen without killing them, so they moved a large number of craftsmen here.

The nearby area is also rich in various minerals, such as the famous Bolu Gold Mine in later generations, which has 150 mineral veins. It is only a few dozen miles away from Harahe Forest. Of course, it has not been discovered yet.

In later generations, 99% of Mongolian coal came from open-pit coal mines, with total reserves of 220 billion tons, accounting for 10% of the world's total.

They are the country with the most concentrated, abundant and shallowest coal resources in the world.

The famous large coal mines in Mongolia in later generations are all not far from Harahe Forest.

Among them are the Baganol mine, the largest open-pit coal mine in Mongolia, with an annual output of 400 million tons of lignite, and an annual output of 150 million tons of coal. The Shalin solid mine that can be mined in the open pit is all within [-] miles of Harahe Forest, and they are all open-pit. Mines that can be mined.

Among them, the Shalingu coal mine is of good quality and can be mined in the open pit. It was already in use before the Mongolian army occupied it.

At this time, Hara Helin was still the rear area and the base camp of the Mongol Empire.

There are more than 2 households of craftsmen of various ethnic groups here alone.

In April, the grass and trees in Hara Harin revived, and the ground was green.

"Driving" a young man galloping ahead on a nearby wilderness.

Behind him were a dozen elite Mongolian cavalry.

They were going very fast, and the young man looked at the ground in front of him from time to time.

Suddenly, he raised his bow and drew an arrow.

Whoosh, an arrow flew.

"Okay." There were cheers from all around.

Waiting for a fine knight to run over, he quickly picked up a gray-antlered deer.

Because of its abundant water and grass, this land attracts a large number of wild animals, including wild horses, wild goats, horned deer and antelopes. Further south, there are also wild camels and wild wolves.

"That Yan is really amazing, he can hit it with one arrow."

"That Yan Yingwu is also a guest of that Yan's style."

When all the followers saw that the young man had hit the target with his arrow, they all flattered him, but after he said the last sentence, everything fell silent.

A trace of unwillingness flashed across the young man's face.

This man's name is Meng Ge, and he is Tuo Lei's eldest son.

Meng Ge is only 23 years old this year. He was born in the Mobei grassland. He is the eldest son born to Tuo Lei's wife Zhuo Luhe Tini. At that time, there was a man in Huanghuda (Huanghuotan) tribe who was knowledgeable about astronomical phenomena, who predicted the future of this son. He must be very expensive, so he was named "Meng Ge" (meaning "immortality" in Mongolian).

But for some unknown reason, when he was six years old, he was considered an adopted son by Wo Kuotai and was raised by Wo Kuotai's wife, Ang Hui. Since then, Meng Ge has been staying in Wo Kuotai's fiefdom.

When he grew up, Meng Ge took Huolichai, a woman from the Huolulu tribe, as his concubine and was assigned some tribesmen.

It wasn't until Tuo Lei died last year that Wokuotai allowed him to come back and inherit Tuo Lei's fiefdom, and he was temporarily named Qianhu Nayan.

But although Wokuotai allowed him to inherit the Tuo Lei fiefdom, he distributed Tuo Lei's remaining troops everywhere to weaken the power of the Tuo Lei Department, and only gave Meng Ge the military position of Qianhu, which meant that he weakened the Tuo Lei Department. very obvious.

Brother Meng was left in Hara Helin, and he couldn't go there. Nothing happened.

Seeing that the strength of the drag thunder system is getting weaker and weaker, and he has achieved nothing, Brother Meng is actually quite depressed.

Meng Ge is a man of few words and doesn't like to be extravagant. He usually likes hunting because he really has nothing to do.

"Drive." Just when Meng Ge's face was gloomy, another fast horse galloped not far away.

"Report——" The fast rider quickly arrived in front of Meng Ge and said loudly: "Batu Tiji (Tiji is equivalent to the prince of the Central Plains) sent a letter, and Biji (similar to the princess of the Central Plains Dynasty, here refers to them The tribe’s respectful name for Mengge’s mother Luheteni) asked Nayan to go back immediately to discuss matters.”

Brother Meng did not dare to neglect and took the people back immediately. On the way back, he asked the messenger if he knew what Batu came to do.

The subordinate said: "Batu proposed to negotiate peace with Song Dynasty and march westward again, with the eldest son of each clan king as the main general."

"This is a good thing." Before Meng Ge could say anything, his subordinates all around him exclaimed: "We should give our full support."

Brother Meng didn't say anything, but excitement flashed faintly on his face.

(End of this chapter)