The famous book tour starting from the Red House

Chapter 489

There are hundreds of articles in this eloquent essay, and the whole article reveals the confidence of the monarchs and ministers of the Song Dynasty. In their view, this Northern Expedition is a crime against the people. The people of the Han family in the land of Yanyun, don’t they rush to vote first?
But what Zhao Ji and his ministers didn't know was that their good intentions were completely self-indulgent.It's just because the people in the land of Yanyun have long been accustomed to the Sinicized rule of the Liao Kingdom, and they don't have the strong concept of Yixia that the Han people in the Central Plains have.

In addition, the Liao Kingdom has always been orthodox, and has diplomatic relations with the Northern and Southern Dynasties beyond the Song Dynasty.It can be seen from this that the Han people in the north also believe that their own family is the orthodox.

In fact, the attitude of the people of the Youyun Han family is important, but in the final analysis, who owns the territory still needs to be determined by the two countries on the battlefield.

But Zhao Ji, the emperor of art, just pretended to be smart. If he only emphasized the preferential treatment of Liao officials who surrendered in his proclamation, it would be no big deal, but he insisted on superfluous, saying, "Soldiers who have been ordered not to kill a husband, or be unconscious or disrespectful , when there is no other way to deal with it.”

The original meaning of these words is to say that the soldiers of the Song Army are strictly prohibited from killing people, and anyone who violates this order will be subject to military law.But any normal person would not issue such absurd order. Since there is going to be a war, is there any reason not to kill people?

Perhaps Zhao Ji's original intention was not to kill any innocent people, as well as the soldiers of the Liao army who gave up resistance, which is understandable.

However, Tong Guan, who was the envoy of Xuanfu, also lost his head, and even published the words of the emperor on the proclamation.

Perhaps Tong Guan felt too good about himself, and felt that the Northern Expedition was bound to be smooth sailing. There was no need to use swords and guns at all. All he needed to do was send an army of [-] to the border, and Yandi would fall in anticipation.

Let's not talk about whether this proclamation had any impact on the Liao people, but to the soldiers of the Song Army, the impact was extremely far-reaching.On the one hand, the Song army was filled with the idea of ​​underestimating the enemy, and did not take the Liao army seriously.The two, once on the battlefield, how could the Song army let go because of the order of the emperor in the call to action?

At this time, Tong Guan didn't notice anything wrong, he was complacent, and brought a group of cronies to inspect the battle readiness of Hejian Mansion and other places.

Who would have thought that the smile on Tong Guan's face gradually disappeared after visiting a few barracks and treasuries.

Why do you think, it turns out that the land of Hebei has not experienced war for a hundred years, the army here has not undergone rigorous training, not to mention that it cannot even be fully staffed, and many large battalions often only have half the troops, and most of them are old and weak sick and disabled.

This is not the most worrying thing, when he saw that in the treasury, the armored equipment was in disrepair for a long time, and the army rations did not even have one-third of the book, Tong Guan's heart suddenly became cold.

Originally, according to the prior plan, after arriving in Hebei, Tong Guan still needed to recruit another [-] soldiers and horses on the spot, and the military supplies and food should also be supplied from here.

The current situation is like pouring a basin of cold water on Tong Guan's head.Seeing this situation, Zhong Shidao suggested, "Commander, how about stationing troops here for now, and after collecting enough food and grass from other places, how about going north?"

Tong Guan refused without even thinking about it, "That's not right. When I came here, I promised the official that there will be a good report within two months. If there is a long delay here, how can I explain to the official?"

Master Zhong was in a hurry, and hurriedly continued to persuade, "Commander, think twice, food and grass are related to the lifeline of the army. Once the war is delayed for a long time, the consequences will be disastrous!"

Tong Guan said conceitedly, "Hmph, don't panic, Uncle Yi, I have already found out that the Liao people are only [-] in Youzhou, so there is nothing to worry about.

And don't forget, we still have helpers in this battle. When the appointed time comes, Mu Xu, the governor of Dingxiang, will send troops to attack Juyongguan. Just over ten thousand people. "

Speaking of this, Tong Guan thought about it for a moment, but he didn't say the third reason. In his mind, most of the Northern Expedition only needs to be a show, to show the might of the Song Dynasty.Who told the Liao people in Youzhou to be at the end of their ropes, and they are afraid that they will turn the world upside down?
Seeing that Zhong Shidao wanted to say more, he waved his hand and said, "However, what Uncle Yi said reminded me, so I'll tell the official about the current situation in Hebei, so that the official will not be punished." Local officials are blinded!"

Zhong's way of teaching is not stupid, how can he not know what Tong Guan thinks, don't look at what he said is better than singing, he looks like he is thinking about the court and the officials, but in fact he is still trying to sell miserably to the officials, and by the way ask for money Some benefits, not to be cautious about this battle.

The facts are indeed as Mr. Zhong thought. In the memorial, Tong Guan first talked about how his family was exhausted, and then changed the subject, talking about the situation in Hebei like this:
Heshuo's generals are arrogant and lazy, and if they don't train the enemy's army, they will have nothing to do with it.For example, although the army rations are said to be rough and unbearable, only half of them can be obtained by pounding and tossing.And more in the distance, will lose effort.

There is a great shortage of military weapons. Although they were received in Taiyuan, Daming, and Kaide, all the seals were insufficient or inapplicable.

However, the minister shoulders the deep hope of the court, and will do his best to spread the good news to His Majesty as soon as possible, so as to embrace His Majesty's grace!
After another wave of misfortune, Tong Guan resolutely ordered all the troops to gather in Xiongzhou, regardless of his teacher's persuasion.

Xiongzhou, originally Waqiao Pass, was renamed Xiongzhou after Zhou Shizong Chai Rong won the three passes in the past. It was the most critical part of the Hebei defense line in the Song Dynasty. Every time the Liao army went south, they had to attack this place first. place.

Now the situation is reversed. Since Song Taizong Zhao Guangyi failed in the Northern Expedition, the Song Army finally gathered here again, preparing for another Northern Expedition.

When the soldiers and horses from all walks of life arrived, Tong Guan immediately discussed with the generals about entering the army.

At the meeting, Zhongshi did not give up, and said, "Today's affairs, such as stealing into a neighbor's house, can't be saved. And take advantage of it and divide his room. And the teacher comes from no name, nothing will be achieved, and it is better to lose something at the beginning of his disappearance."

But Tong Guan didn't take it seriously at all, instead he replied, "This matter has been settled by the officials, so don't say anything again, Uncle Yi! Besides, this time is already on the line, so we have to say it. The court and Mu Xu made an appointment at the beginning of August. Raising troops together, is it necessary to let the court lose its trust in a single day?"

As Yang Keshi who was promoted by Tong Guan, he also felt that it was inappropriate to rush into the army, so he suggested,
"The cause of the incident was not foreseen, and once the benefits are at stake. If there is a hasty miscalculation, my generation's methods will not be cherished. I am afraid that there will be accidents. The most important thing is to humiliate the country. I hope the commander-in-chief will think twice before acting!"

What he said was reasonable, Tong Guan couldn't help hesitating for a while, but Xiongzhou Zhizhou He Shen, who didn't want to be present, laughed at Yang Ke Shidao,

"I have heard from human beings that General Yang used to boast that he could defeat ten thousand people, that he was extremely courageous, and that he regarded a majestic teacher like a coward.

Now the Privy Councilor is commanding [-] soldiers here under the edict of the official family. How can there be any reason for failure in the face of the Liao people who are at the end of their strength? "

Yang Keshi has always been famous for his bravery, but today he was humiliated in public by He Shen, he couldn't help blushing with anger, and kept silent for a while.

After Tong Guan heard He Shen's words, he was a little hesitant, but he immediately became firm again, and immediately sent an order to divide the whole army into two armies, east and west.

The Eastern Route Army was led by Zhong Shidao, with He Shen as its deputy, and stationed in Baigou.

Xin Xingzong led the soldiers on the West Road and stationed in Fancun.Jiao Anjie led the left army, Liu Guangguo and Ji Jing led the right army, Qu Qi and Wang Yu led the rear army, Wu Zihou and Liu Guangshi led the selection of the front army, and listened to Liu Yanqing's control.

In order to appease Yang Keshi, Tong Guan deliberately took Yang Keshi as the former commander of the army, restrained Song Jiang and Wang Zhi's troops, and put them under Xin Xingzong's account.

He also ordered Yang Keshi to recruit warriors, gallop back and forth across the border, and distribute appeals to surrender, and repeatedly emphasized that the army should not cross the border at will to provoke without his permission.

But what happened in the next few days was really beyond Tong Guan's expectation. After ordering people to distribute the call for surrender for several days, no Liao people came to surrender, which surprised Tong Guan.

Originally, according to his thinking, even if the Khitan people wanted to die and were unwilling to surrender easily, but the Han people here shouldn't be like this. Shouldn't these old Xinjiang subjects eat pots of milk to welcome the king's teacher?
In fact, the reason why Tong Guan has such unrealistic fantasies is that apart from misjudging Yan Yun's situation, he also has another shady intention, that is, he does not want to make a wedding dress for Mu Xu in vain.

Although Mu Xu has now been recruited by the imperial court, and is even about to marry the emperor concubine, but for a long time, out of precautions against warriors, how can the monarchs and officials of the Song Dynasty rest assured of him?
Therefore, before leaving, Zhao Ji specially told Tong Guan that it is best to recover Youji without bloodshed, so as to avoid the conflict between the snipe and the clam, giving Mu Xu an opportunity to make him more difficult to treat.

Seeing that the time to make an appointment with Mu Xu was approaching, Tong Guan became more and more anxious, so he became imaginative and sent envoys to Zhuozhou, Yizhou and other places, trying to persuade the local officials to accept surrender.

But he didn't know that these envoys were murdered one after another before they reached the place, and even their heads were cut off and sent to Youzhou.

It turned out that two months ago, Yeluchun, who was staying in Nanjing in the Liao Kingdom, received a secret report from the spies that the Song Dynasty had frequently mobilized troops and horses recently, and they might have the intention of going north to take advantage of the internal turmoil in the Liao Dynasty.

Yeluchun did not dare to be negligent, and made people pay close attention to the movement of the Song Dynasty. At the same time, he sent people to ask for help from Yelu Yanxi, the leader of the Liao Dynasty, hoping that he would put state affairs first, temporarily put aside his personal grievances, and send troops to support.

But Yeluchun was extremely disappointed by the results brought back by the messenger, because Yelu Yanxi, the leader of the Liao Dynasty, not only refused to send troops to help, but also wanted to transfer troops from Nanjing and other places to the outside of the pass to deal with the increasingly fierce Jurchen offensive .

At this time, Yeluchun had no choice but to fight with his back. He first summoned all the civil and military personnel from Nanjing Road, and then told them about the current situation.

The Liao people always looked down on the Song people. Now when they heard that the Song Dynasty was going to break their promise and take advantage of the fire to loot, they were all filled with righteous indignation and expressed their will to fight the Song army to the death.

Seeing that the army's morale was available, Yeluchun couldn't help but feel comforted. After discussing with the ministers, he decided on the following countermeasures.

Abandoning the land of Guizhou, Yelu Foding, who had fled back from Yundi, was in charge of the North Route Army, and led [-] troops to garrison Juyongguan to guard against Mu Xu's invasion.

Then gather all the cavalry on the Nanjing Road, about [-], and hand them over to Yelu Dashi, who will stop the Song army from going north.

Therefore, when Tong Guan and his party were still full of expectations, waiting for the Liao people to come down, Yelu Dashi had already led the army and came under their noses.

Under such circumstances, how could the envoys sent by Tong Guan do anything? As soon as these people entered the territory of the Liao Kingdom, they were caught by Yelu Dashi's scouts. From their mouths, they heard Song Jun's falsehood.

After knowing that the Song army had no fighting spirit, Yelu Dashi was overjoyed, and immediately led the army to the south of Xincheng, ambushing [-] troops near Langoudian, and ordered the deputy general Niulan Supervisor Xiao Helu to lead two thousand Xi The tribal cavalry acted as suspicious soldiers, luring the Song army to take the initiative to attack.

Langoudian is located in the southwest of Xincheng. It used to be a river valley, but now it has dried up into a north-south road. There are long slopes on both sides of the road, and there are large pine forests on the slopes.

And the person stationed not far from Langoudian was none other than Yang Keshi, the pioneer of the Song Army's West Route Army.

Yang Keshi was ridiculed as a coward by He Shen at the Xiongzhou meeting earlier, and he was already suffocating anger in his heart. At this time, seeing that there were only a thousand Liao people, they dared to come to provoke him, so he ignored Tong Guan's order , Brazenly led four thousand Qingqi into the Liao territory, chasing and killing them all the way.

When the army marched to Langoudian, Yang Keshi, who had experienced many battles, immediately calmed down when he saw the surrounding environment, and felt that something was wrong, so he wanted to order the troops to retreat.

It's a pity that it was too late. With the sound of three horns, arrows were fired from the slopes on both sides, and the arrows fell like rain.

Yang Keshi's troops were caught off guard, so that thousands of people crowded into the narrow river valley, unable to advance or retreat, rushing here and there, trampling each other.

And Yelu Dashi, who had been paying attention to the situation on the battlefield, of course would not let go of this good opportunity, and decisively ordered the whole army to attack. Immediately, the dust was flying in Langoudian, the sound of killing was loud, and there were stumps and broken arms everywhere.

In the end, the battle lasted for less than half an hour, and the Song army was almost wiped out. Only Yang Keshi led a thousand remnants to fight a bloody road, and fled towards the Xinxingzong garrison in Fancun.

About two hours after the battle, Tong Guan, who stayed behind in Xiongzhou, received the battle report from the front line. His reaction to this incident was both startled and angry.

Shocked by Yang Keshi's unauthorized entry into the territory of the Liao Kingdom to provoke disputes, Zhao Ji and him were ruined by the major event of regaining Youyun without a single soldier, making the situation unmanageable.

Angry at Yang Keshi's actions this time, he violated the military order. If he is dealt with according to the military law, he should be beheaded and questioned.

But how could Tong Guan be so cruel?Yang Keshi is his trusted confidant who was single-handedly promoted. He is brave in battle on weekdays. He has repeatedly made military exploits in the process of conquering Xixia and Fangla. He is a rare general under his command, so from the bottom of his heart, he does not want to deal with Yang Keshi.

But military orders are like mountains, if they are not dealt with in accordance with the law, what is the power of the army, and how can others be convinced?

Liu Kai, the Xuanfu staff officer at the side, saw Tong Guan's embarrassment, so he said at the right time, "Commander, the humble general heard that General Yang entered the territory of the Liao Kingdom, and in order to meet the surrendered people, he was ambushed by the Liao army. It’s really justifiable, please give me a lighter punishment!”

Tong Guan was relieved when he heard the words, he glanced at Liu Kai approvingly, and said vaguely, "Forget about it, because of his achievements in the past, let's forget the past this time."

(End of this chapter)