A thousand-year-old family that began with the Battle of Makino

Chapter 992: Dispatching troops to conquer Nanping and shocking Jiangling

August 11, the fifth year of Xia Chengqian

The Nanping Army stabilized the battlefield on the western front, repelled the invasion of the State of Chu, and the situation improved slightly.

News came from the north that Emperor Baijian of the Great Xia Dynasty raised an army to attack the south on the grounds that Gao Jixing of Nanping refused to pay tribute, refused to submit, maintained his own separatist regime, and blocked the tribute route.

Daxia appointed Bai Shijin, the Right Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Commandery, concurrently the Commander-in-Chief of Xiangyang, the Auxiliary General, and the Supreme Pillar of the State, as the Recruiting Envoy of the Southern Camp.

Tong Ce, who was the deputy governor-general of the Grand Marshal's Office (official title), the champion general (military official of the Marshal's Office), the senior guard general (military honor rank), and the founding county earl (title), was appointed as the left deputy recruiting envoy of the field camp.

Lian Shiqing, who was the Acting Shizhong (a second-rank official), the Governor of Xiangzhou (a third-rank official), the Ronglu Doctor (a second-rank civil official), and the Zhengzhi Qing (a second-rank civil official), was appointed as the right deputy commander of the field camp.

Wu Hua, Assistant Secretary of the Privy Council, Sima of Xiangzhou, Senior Official of the Council, and Senior Commandant of the Light Cavalry.

Zhu Lingxi was the Secretary of the Central Secretariat, the Doctor of the Central Secretariat, the Commandant of the Imperial Concubine's Wife, and the Earl of Kaiguo County.

Kang Changming, the Minister of Works, Taizhong Daifu, and Zanzhi Shaoyin.

All three of them served as military counselors in the field camp.

The army to conquer Nanping totaled 50,000 people. It set out from Kaifeng and headed straight for Jiangling via Xiangzhou.

September

The Xia army arrived at the north of Jiangling.

At this time, Gao Jixing had only 20,000 troops left after removing the Tang garrison defending Kuizhou, so he had to send people to Southern Wu for help.

Bai Shijin had a head full of white hair. His decades of military career had enabled him to see at a glance that Jiangling City could not be attacked quickly and could only be taken slowly.

Jiangling City, as the seat of Jingzhou and the capital of Nanping State, is a famous town in northern Jiangsu, second only to Xiangyang.

With its back against the Yangtze River, it can only be attacked from the north, west and east.

Moreover, there were dense water networks outside the city, making it impossible for the army to deploy. Every step forward required the capture of a bridge, which was not conducive to the galloping of war horses.

The Nanping army also built a large number of forts between the rivers. If the Xia army wanted to get close to the Jiangling city wall, they had to clear out the forts scattered across the vast river network one by one.

After everything was cleared, there was a moat outside Jiangling City, and the height of the city wall was at the same level as Xiangyang, Yedu, and Jicheng.

Not to mention that there are Nanping navy cruising in the Yangtze River, ready to provide support to the shore at any time.

According to Bai Shijin's estimation, it would take at least a year or two for Jiangling to be captured.

Thinking of this, Bai Shijin gave up the idea of ​​a quick attack, and immediately ordered to set up camp and prepare writing materials. He wanted to write a letter and send it to Kaifeng to inform the emperor of the true situation here.

September 21

Bai Jian saw Bai Shijin's letter, and he summoned military leaders such as Cui Shaojie, Bai Xiaoqiang, and Zhu Lingde to discuss countermeasures together.

Cui Shaojie believes that Jiangling is very important to Daxia's strategy and must be taken down no matter how long it takes.

Bai Xiaoqiang proposed to hold drills on the Jianghuai front to frighten the enemy and make the King of Wu afraid to send troops to support Nanping.

Zhu Lingde suggested that he could order King Qian Liu of Yue to cooperate with Daxia to make a big move in western Zhejiang.

We can even use the newly trained Dengzhou Navy to transport a batch of military supplies to Yue State, strengthen Yue State's strength, and increase the pressure on Wu State on the southern front.

Bai Jian readily followed the advice and ordered people to prepare a recruitment on the spot.

He ordered the deputy governor of the Grand Military Governor's Office, the governor of Suzhou, the general of the Zhenjun Army, and the king of Wuzhu, Cheng, to immediately mobilize the Suzhou Front Army to hold a large-scale exercise on the north bank of the Huai River to cooperate with the battle in Jiangling. He also ordered the admiral of the naval division, the governor of Dengzhou, and the king of Lu, Bailang, to immediately prepare a batch of military supplies and send them south along the coast to the Kingdom of Yue to help the king of Yue fight against Wu.

The Great Xia Naval Division was established by Prince Bailang of Lu. It currently has dozens of large warships, more than 200 small and medium-sized warships, and 9,000 sailors.

Among them were not only Xia people, but also Koreans, and even Japanese people recruited by Bailang in Japan.

The situation in Japan is stable now, and because the capital is in Heian-kyo, it is called the Heian Period by the Japanese.

A branch of the Bai family, the Toso Heian-do, is located in Hizen Province and Kyushu region. It is the second most powerful family in Japanese society after the royal family, and has the power to influence the throne.

When the Bai family decided on the strategy of emulating Korea and gaining deeper control over Japan, they moved some of their clansmen who were willing to settle in Japan to Japan.

When things were basically stable, they opened a hall and established Ping'an Hall, which belonged to the Dongzong.

In order to fully integrate into Japanese society, members of the Heian-do Bai clan would take a Japanese name in addition to their real names.

They took Dongbai as their Japanese surname and called themselves Dongbai clan, but internally they still called themselves Bai clan's sons and Heian hall and accepted the leadership of Bai clan's Dongzong.

Gradually, with the support of the lords in the Central Plains, the Tobai clan (Heian Bai clan) took over all the influence in Japan after the decline of the Tang Dynasty.

Not only did he obtain the key position of governor of Hizen Province, controlling most of the Kyushu region, but he also entered the central government in one fell swoop and became a force that could not be ignored by the Japanese court.

For example, the current Right Minister of Japan, Tohaku Peibun, is actually named Bai Peibun, and is the current head of the Heian Bai family.

In addition to Toshiro Peibun, the core members of the Heian Haku clan include: Kyushu guardian, Hizen no Kami Toshiro Yoshishin; Grand Councilor Toshiro Shoka; Left Guard General Toshiro Nobutada, etc.
It was precisely because of the existence of the Heian Bai family in Japan that they received help from the Joseon Bai family.

Bai Lang was able to recruit many Korean and Japanese sailors who were proficient in maritime affairs, which greatly increased the speed of the formation of the Great Xia Navy.

April 5, the sixth year of Xia Chengqian

It took the Xia army half a year to finally capture all the forts, military camps, and watchtowers outside Jiangling City and arrive at the foot of Jiangling City.

Xia army commander Bai Shijin used courtesy before force, wrote a handwritten letter and sent an envoy to Jiangling to persuade Gao Jixing to surrender. Why must he wait for the city to be destroyed and his family to be ruined? Wouldn't it be better to learn from Liu Shouguang?
"I am a king, how can I live under someone else's roof and depend on him for my livelihood?"

"Don't say too much. Victory or defeat is decided on horseback. How can a monarch surrender without a fight? Go back quickly. If you are really capable, lead your troops to attack us."

"The reinforcements from Lord Wu will arrive soon. If Bai Shijin really listens to me, he should withdraw his troops quickly to avoid a repeat of your predecessor's defeat in Jianghuai."

When the Xia army envoy heard Gao Jixing mention the defeat at the Huai River twenty years ago, his face turned pale and he snorted coldly:

"I hope the King of Nanping will still have such lofty ambitions when the time comes."

After speaking, he walked away.

After the messenger left, Gao Jixing could no longer maintain his dignity and could not help asking the waiter to take off his shoes. The bleeding would not stop and the itching was unbearable. This was because his athlete's foot had come back.

At this time, his son Gao Conghui came in. Gao Jixing watched the doctor treating his feet. He suddenly cried out as he thought of something:
"It's so hard. The Xia army is at the gates of the city, and the Wu army is slow to arrive. I am alone and seriously ill. Is it God's will to destroy my Nanping country?"

Gao Conghui was also filled with grief, and he and Gao Jixing hugged each other and cried bitterly.

Fortunately, Jiangling City was indeed as strong as Bai Shijin had expected.

The Nanping Army evolved from the feudal lords in the late Tang Dynasty. The soldiers were elite and most of them were locals. Their families were all in the city, so they worked very hard to defend the city.

After a tentative attack, the Xia army realized that this fortified city could only be conquered slowly and without haste.

(End of this chapter)