Ouyang Shuo's words excited the members of the Grand Council and they all agreed to Jia Xu's plan.
After the meeting, everyone started to work.
In view of Wu Qi's outstanding performance in the battle, Ouyang Shuo suggested that Wu Qi be included in the Grand Council and appointed as the Commander-in-Chief of the Southern Song army.
After Lu Xiufu's death, Ouyang Shuo became the undisputed leader of the Grand Council.
At the same time, he made some adjustments to the deployment of the army.
This time, the city gate opened for the Han people was the North Gate, which faced the Mongolian Northern Camp. If there were no accidents, Khubilai's Golden Tent would also be located in the North.
In Ouyang Shuo's words, he wanted to use the strongest army to fight against the strongest Mongolian army.
Trump card against trump card.
For this, the 150,000 cavalry of the Dissimilated Army was mobilized. In addition, they also deployed 50,000 infantry from the Dissimilated Army. In total, the 200,000 soldiers were led by Guo Ziyi.
There were only 90,000 infantrymen and 50,000 imperial soldiers left to guard Lin 'an. The 140,000 soldiers were far from enough for the huge city of Lin' an.
As soon as the Grand Council finished its meeting, the imperial court sent out the conscription order.
It was a common practice for the Mongolian army to massacre the city. The Southern Song had just won a war and dealt a heavy blow to the Mongolian army. The people of Lin 'an believed the imperial court's words and actively responded to the imperial court's call to participate in the upcoming war.
The young men said goodbye to their parents and children and went to the conscription point in the city to enlist. Then, they left the city under the leadership of an officer and went to the battlefield to pick up weapons and equipment before the Mongolian army reached the frontline.
The Southern Song did not respect military force. Unlike Chang 'an, there were no weapons and equipment in the treasury of the capital. If they wanted to solve the problem of new recruits' equipment, they could only rely on looting.
Fortunately, after the battle, the battlefield was not cleaned up. The bodies of the 200,000 Mongolian soldiers were scattered everywhere. Some of them were equipment and weapons.
Two days had passed, and the corpse that had been exposed to the sun had already become swollen, emitting a foul stench. As soon as a person walked in, they would be startled by countless flies. They were like black clouds, causing one's scalp to go numb.
Because it was a battlefield, they died in different ways. It was normal to lose an arm or a leg. Some were cut in half and their organs were exposed to the air. It was nauseating. Some had their heads smashed and brains spilled everywhere.
The whole battlefield was like hell.
The rookies who had just joined the army fought back their disgust and fear as they walked through the mountain of corpses and the sea of blood with difficulty. They took off the equipment from the corpses one by one, and there was a rough man who didn't care much about the equipment and put it on himself in the blink of an eye.
Most of the new recruits didn't have the guts to do so, nor did they have the nerve to do so. Their faces were pale, and they vomited non-stop. In the end, there was nothing left to vomit, so they could only complain.
Before joining the army, they were just ordinary people. Many of them had never even seen a dead person in their entire lives. Now that they were suddenly faced with such a bloody scene, vomiting was a normal physiological reaction.
Not everyone's nerves were that thick.
This was also a greeting gift for the new recruits, allowing them to truly feel the cruelty of the battlefield. Only by seeing blood would they be able to move forward in future battles to defend the city.
Apart from the young men, the others also started to move.
The woman contributed the vegetable oil that was very precious in her house. She usually couldn't bear to use it and gathered it together in large vats in the neighborhood before transporting it to the city wall.
Under the command of the officials from the Ministry of Works, the craftsmen began to demolish the idle houses, and then transported the lumber and stone carts to the various sections of the city wall for storage.
The temples and Taoist temples were also affected, because most of these buildings were built very majestically, and they were all made of good wood, which was most suitable for defending the city.
Seeing the temples being demolished, the monks and Taoist priests could only sigh silently, "The world has changed!"
There were also some young monks and Taoist priests who simply turned around and ran to the conscription point to join the army. There was no lack of martial monks and chivalrous people among them, and they were all very capable.
The major blacksmiths in the city worked day and night, forging bundles of arrows. Every moment, there were people who voluntarily sent iron pots, iron basins, and other utensils.
Even the royal family moved. Not only did they completely open the palace treasury, but they also actively collected iron weapons. The eight-year-old emperor Zhao Kuang even wanted to demolish the palace to avenge Mister Lu, but he was stopped by the ministers.
One of the ministers could not help but cry, choking and saying, "Your Majesty, no matter how difficult the imperial court is, it is not to the point of demolishing the palace. It is the symbol of the dynasty, it must not be demolished."
"That's right, Your Majesty. Even if we have to demolish it, it should be the mansions of us ministers." Another minister echoed. Without the Ministry of Works' officials taking action, they directly arranged for the servants to demolish the mansions.
This was something unimaginable in the past. It was as if, overnight, people's views had suddenly changed, and they were completely new.
The imperial court was of one mind, and they faced the national crisis together.
It was proven that a nation that was forced into a desperate situation could often burst forth with power that would amaze the world.
The historical Battle of Cliff Mountain, where 100,000 soldiers and civilians were willing to die for their country rather than surrender to the Yuan Dynasty, was the most direct reflection of this power.
Further back in history, during the reign of Duke Xiao of Qin, the people of the Qin Kingdom ceded land and sought peace. The people in the country were in dire straits, and there were internal and external troubles. They were oppressed by the Wei Kingdom to the point where they could no longer live.
At this moment, the people of the Qin Kingdom shouted, "Valiant Qin, we shall face the national crisis together." They were of one mind, and they worked hard, officially opening the curtains for the Qin Kingdom to unify the world.
There were many similar examples in the vast history of Huaxia in the 5000 years of history.
The city of Lin 'an on the battle map was destined to be a legend.
…
In one night, the entire city of Lin 'an was in motion.
In the face of life and death, the people only felt that there was not enough time, and they wished that the Mongolian army would arrive later.
Of course, this was wishful thinking.
On the 20th day of the battle, scouts from the frontline reported that Khubilai had already set off from Sanhe City, and he was officially leading the army. Based on the speed of the army, Khubilai and his troops would arrive at the frontline by tomorrow morning at the latest.
Once the news came out, the entire city of Lin 'an was instantly in a busy and uneasy mood.
As the saying goes, "When the forest is big, there are all kinds of birds." In the face of a national crisis, there were people who mourned, but there were also people who took advantage of the chaos to cause trouble everywhere.
Everywhere in the city, there were ruffians who took advantage of the chaos to rob people, and there were even people who raped women on the streets. In addition, there were Mongolian spies hidden in the city who took advantage of the situation to spread all kinds of rumors. Lin 'an City was in chaos.
When Ouyang Shuo received the news, he didn't hesitate at all. He immediately arranged for the Divine Martial Guards to patrol the city. If they found people who robbed people, harassed women, or spread rumors, they were executed on the spot without any investigation.
In a chaotic world, severe punishment must be used. Under Ouyang Shuo's iron fist, the Divine Martial Guards killed a few groups of ruffians and finally stabilized the situation in the city.
In the midst of the chaos, it was almost time for the final battle.
…
On the 21st day of the battle, Lin 'an City.
Just after midnight, Lin 'an City, which had just fallen into a deep sleep, quietly woke up.
"Squeak ~ ~ Ga ~ ~"
In the dark night, the drawbridge at the north gate was slowly lowered, and then the city gate opened. On the streets near the city, groups of soldiers had already gathered quietly.
On the two sides of the street and on the top of the city wall, torches were lit. Under Guo Ziyi's command, the troops quickly advanced in the dark with the weak light of the torches, passing through the city gate.
First, it was the cavalry, then the infantry.
The entire process was tense and orderly, and no chaos was caused. By the time the two hundred thousand troops were all in formation outside the city, it was already seven o 'clock in the morning. The sun had just risen, and light shone everywhere.
In the northern suburbs outside the city, the two hundred thousand troops were lined up according to the four major formations, and the military was at its peak.
The sun shone on the soldiers' armor and shoulders, and on the tip of the spears, making it dazzling.
Only from a bird's eye view, could one truly see the formation of the two hundred thousand troops. On the left and right flanks, there were two fierce generals, E Lai and Zhao Zhuang, each leading fifty thousand elite cavalry.
In the rear, there was an old general, Lian Po, who was good at defense, personally leading fifty thousand infantry.
The most peculiar was the middle army.
At the front of the middle army were twenty-five thousand cavalry of Luo Feng City, and in the middle were twenty-five thousand imperial soldiers of Da Xia. Behind them were the three thousand Divine Martial Guards led by Xu Chu.
Ouyang Shuo was dressed in military attire, riding on the quasi-divine beast, Little Green, and stood impressively in the middle of the Divine Martial Guards.
This also meant that Ouyang Shuo had to personally lead the army this time.
In the beginning, whether it was Feng Qiuhuang, E Lai, Jia Xu, or the others, none of them approved of Ouyang Shuo leading the army personally, but Ouyang Shuo had his own insistence.
Ever since the founding of Da Xia, as Emperor Xia, Ouyang Shuo rarely led the army personally. Even when he did, he never really fought on the battlefield.
But this time was different.
For some reason, ever since the start of the battle map, the murderous aura in Ouyang Shuo's body uncontrollably became active. After seeing the cruel methods of the Mongolians, his hatred turned into murderous intent, and it became even more uncontrollable.
Ouyang Shuo had to release this murderous intent on the battlefield.
In the past, Ouyang Shuo's blood was boiling, and he did not want his blood to turn cold after ascending to the throne.
Other than personal reasons, Ouyang Shuo led the army personally to coordinate with Jia Xu's battle plan. As a top tactician, Jia Xu's plan was not as simple as saving the hundred thousand civilians who were being held hostage by the Mongolians.
That would only treat the symptoms and not the root of the problem, and it would not be enough to turn the entire battle around.
To end the battle once and for all, the best way was to kill Khubilai, just like how he killed Boyan. Even if it did not work, he had to severely injure Khubilai and scare him away, so that he would voluntarily retreat.
For this, Jia Xu came up with a whole set of battle plans.
The two hundred thousand soldiers outside the city were the core of this plan, and the entire plan needed a key person to be in charge of the final attack.
No matter how one looked at it, Ouyang Shuo was the best candidate. Other than his personal combat power, Ouyang Shuo also had two secret weapons in his hands.
Even so, Feng Qiuhuang and the others still did not agree. It was only when Ouyang Shuo showed them the substitute doll that they finally convinced Feng Qiuhuang and the others.
In the army, Ouyang Shuo, who was heavily protected by the Divine Martial Guards, looked towards the north and muttered to himself, "Khubilai? Let us have a pinnacle showdown between kings! "
The blood in Ouyang Shuo's body started to boil.
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