The real Taiyi came here for a visit

Chapter 63

In the fifth year of Zhenghe, on the fifth day of May, it was sunny!
Along the Bianliang River in Tokyo, there are huge crowds of people, there are cries of small betrayal department stores, there are goulan girls in fancy dresses, shuttling on both sides of the Bianliang River, and there are also parents stopping to watch with beautifully dressed children. Proper literati wrote poems and lyrics about this prosperous day.

In the middle of the river, dozens of dragon boats are competing in the dragon boat competition, and they are going upstream for the bonus, which is rich enough to make them have enough food and clothing for a year!

The men on the dragon boat yelled vigorously, and the oarsmen raised their paddles high and then rowed down neatly, splashing water one after another.

The sound of people cheering and applauding also moved forward with the progress of the dragon boat, from one end of the river to the other end of the river.

A ragged man looked out of place on this festive Dragon Boat Festival. His eyes were blurred, his lips were dry, and his unkempt face was carrying a big cloth bag. riverside.

Almost there, the lantern with the word "Tong" hanging on the vermilion lacquer gate in front is his final destination, looking at the guards in front of him wearing heavy armor who are about to drive towards him.

The corners of the man's mouth curved slightly, revealing the only smile he had had in the past few months. Maybe it was because he hadn't smiled for a long time. Wearing a dirty and blood-stained right hand, he raised something with all his strength so that the guards could see clearly, and then fell down in front of the door of the Datong Mansion, motionless.

He has been sober on the seventh day of the first day, and he has been unconscious for two days and two nights. If he hadn't held tightly to the iron token engraved with the word "Tong", those guards would have done him a favor, or they would have Drop it far away and let it destroy itself, and send him to see the wolf god.

The medical clinics guarding him hurriedly sent their servants to the study room to inform their officials.

In the study, under the picture of the Riverside during the Qingming Festival, the bearded Tong Guan was still holding the iron token engraved with the character "Tong". He was very familiar with this iron token. There are only four iron plates in total, three of which were given to his cronies in Song Dynasty, and one was given to a Liao man four years ago, that is, the sloppy visitor who passed out in front of the door.

There was a thick roll of sheepskin in the scruffy man’s backpack, and Tong Guan recognized it as a battle report from the Liao people at a glance. Tong Guan didn’t open it to read it these two days, because he knew very well that once he opened it, it would herald his dream for many years It is about to be implemented.

And the person who came with the sheepskin battle report was Ma Zhi, who was called the driving force behind the destruction of the Song Dynasty by later generations, and the initiator of the alliance between the Song and Jin Dynasties.

In the first year of Zhenghe (1111), Tong Guan was appointed as the inspector Taiwei and sent to Khitan as an envoy.Passing through Lugou, Ma Zhi met his servant Shi at night, and said that he had a secret matter and asked to see Tong Guan, and Shi Shi took him to see Tong Guan immediately after he handed over a certain amount of money.

When Tong Guanchu saw Ma Zhi at the beginning, he knew that this person was from a rich family in the Liao Kingdom. Be king?"

As soon as this remark came out, Tong Guan was so frightened that he immediately backed away. What kind of king should he be? Be the king of the Song Dynasty or the king of the Liao Kingdom. The dream he was also thinking about might be because he entered the palace as an eunuch. He had no descendants but wanted to be admired by future generations. Tong Guan, a military minister, had always dreamed of recovering the sixteen prefectures of Yanyun.

Song Shenzong Zhao Xu said before his death that whoever can take back Youyun will be the king, Tong Guan has always kept that last call in his heart!
Ma Zhi was born in a rich family in the Liao Kingdom, and was once an official to Guangluqing, but he was also a Han Chinese. He was born in the hometown of Youyan. There are many comments in history that his behavior is contemptible, and the official history commented that he and Tong Guan are the same. A fellow traveler; but since he carried a sheepskin battle report alone, traveled to Liao soil and climbed Yan collar, and escaped death in the Taihang Mountain where beasts were infested, he traveled across mountains and rivers to Bianliang, Tokyo.

This kind of perseverance is not to mention the ancients, who in this era will do it?So history should not look at everyone with a single vision.Except for the exploiters.

"Do you want to be a king?" As soon as these words came out, Tong Guan knew that Ma Zhi in front of him was on the same journey as him. He who wanted to make great achievements to be passed down to future generations should know that he was the only one left in Liao soil. When there are many Han people who can sacrifice their lives for Song Dynasty, they are even more impressed by this person.

After talking all night, Tong Guan learned that the Liao Kingdom at this time only has a land similar to that of Song and Liao. Erguna River, outer Xing'an Mountains, south to Baigou River in central Hebei.

It is not as good as it used to be. The decline of the Liao specifically reflects its political "government according to the customs". With its prosperity, the emperors of later generations lost their original intention to open up borders and build land, and they always put the Khitan people first, so they couldn't deal with the problems of various ethnic groups in a uniform way, and many contradictions appeared.

Coupled with its many years of internal strife, it is impossible for this dynasty not to decline.

The Liao Kingdom is a grassland nation-state built on horseback.

Ma Zhi’s meeting with Tong Guan has done enough homework. The Liao Kingdom spent nearly a hundred years on wars, the consumption of national power and the impact after the war are all described and analyzed with Tong Guan one by one, which makes Tong Guan recognize this man as a genius. .

Ma Zhi’s analysis of Liao’s wars in the past century is as follows:

In 1029 A.D., the ninth year of Taiping in Khitan; the seventh year of Tiansheng in Northern Song Dynasty; Those sailing on the sea set up ships to transfer the grain from Tokyo to Nanjing to solve the famine.

However, the waterway was dangerous and most of the food ships were killed. Instead of being sympathetic, the government intensified the situation, which aroused strong dissatisfaction among the people in Bohai. He imprisoned Xiao Xiaoxian, the captain-in-law captain, and Princess Nanyang, and proclaimed himself emperor in Liaoyang, with the country name Xingliao.

The Dayan Forest connected the raw Jurchen to the top, the mature Jurchen to the bottom, and Goryeo to the east, so that the raw and mature Jurchen joined the war. Goryeo stopped paying tribute to the Liao Dynasty on the grounds that the passage was blocked by the war.

In August of 1030 A.D., the tenth year of Khitan Taiping; the eighth year of Tiansheng in the Northern Song Dynasty; the second year of Xingliao Tianqing; the defeat of Dayan Forest.

Although the battle between the two Liaos lasted only one year, for the raw and mature Jurchens and Bohai people who participated in the war, the Liao Kingdom carried out brutal rule and exploitation on them, and directly planted inevitable blood feuds for the raw Jurchens against the Liao Dynasty kind of.

In 1026 A.D., the sixth year of Khitan Taiping; the fourth year of Tiansheng in the Northern Song Dynasty; Xiao Hui, the recruiter of the Northwest Road, marched westward to attack the Uighurs in Ganzhou. The brutal rule of the Liao Kingdom has long been dissatisfied. The leader Zhili did not arrive as expected and was killed by Xiao Hui.

In 1027 A.D., the seventh year of Khitan Taiping; the fifth year of Tiansheng in the Northern Song Dynasty; the Liao Kingdom mobilized the whole country to crusade against the Tatars, and the Tatars were forced to surrender.

Unwilling to be enslaved, the Tatars rebelled against Liao in 1092 A.D., the eighth year of Liao Da'an, and the seventh year of Yuanyou in the Northern Song Dynasty. Under the leadership of the leader of the alliance, Mogus, they fought against Liao for eight years.

In the end, it was Liao and Xixia who joined forces to kill Mogus in 1110 AD, the tenth year of Liao Qiantong; the fourth year of Daguan in the Northern Song Dynasty; the tenth year of Zhenguan in Xixia;

Combat on the grasslands is different from the battles in the towns of the Central Plains or the strategic positions or ambush battles. It is basically a war of ten thousand horses facing each other. There can only be victory or pursuit. After eight years of fighting, it is the main battle. The population of both sides is dragging down the situation.

In order to compensate the various ministries involved in the suppression of the chaos after the war, the Liao had to cede a large area of ​​grassland to each ministries; this war greatly reduced the land area of ​​the Liao Kingdom, and greatly reduced the rule over the major tribes, until Ma Zhi came to see him At that time, the remnants of the Tatars were still wandering around on the northern grasslands, and they mostly fought guerrilla warfare in the autumn style against the Liao Kingdom.

So far, the decline of the Liao Kingdom can be dealt with as soon as it is released.That night, Tong Guan realized the importance of Ma Zhi, changed his name to Li Liangsi and became a traitor of the Liao Dynasty, leaving an iron token with the word "Tong" engraved on it, and when the time is right, he will come to Bianliang, Tokyo work together.

(End of this chapter)