Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

Huang Gai's retreat was very strange and inconsistent with his cowardice.

First let the civilians transport food and retreat, then let the country soldiers retreat slowly, and finally the Xiang army and the imperial army. It was not a swarm of swarms, but an evacuation divided into three days. It can even be said that the evacuation was orderly.

When Deng Chun and Li Jinyi crossed the river in pursuit, dozens of Forbidden Army soldiers stood on the mountain col, with flags fluttering faintly in the forest behind them.

"Should we pursue him or not?" Even Li Jinyi felt a little guilty.

Deng Chun couldn't understand either: "Go and invite Mr. Shi."

A moment later, Shi Yuangong trotted all the way here. He was also confused about the strength of the officers and soldiers, so he could only suggest: "It is important to occupy Jianzhou City, and then attack Jianmen Pass from the front and back."

Huang Gai stood on the mountain, watching the rebel army retreat to Jianzhou, and sat down as if exhausted.

The entire set of armor of the dozens of Forbidden Army soldiers who blocked the mountain road indeed belonged to the Forbidden Army. But the man in the armor is a warrior recruited with a lot of money, and he is Huang Gai's only trump card.

He dug out hundreds of sets of infantry armor from the arsenal in Chengdu, and they were the kind with helmets.

Many of the armors were in decay, and only a few dozen sets were repaired and repainted.

Regardless of whether he can fight or not, at least he looks pretty bluffing.

Li Shi, the general secretary of the army, stood behind Huang Gai and said: "Zhi Envoy, the traitors have retreated, let's go too."

Huang Gai's legs became weak and he asked his attendants to help him up.

There really was an ambush in the mountains and forests behind him. But everyone's morale was low. When they heard that they could retreat, they all ran away in panic.

Li Shi asked: "The envoy, do you really want to withdraw to Lutou Pass?"

Huang Gai gritted his teeth and said, "If those wealthy families in Chengdu still don't provide money, food, and people, why don't I go all the way back to Lutou Pass? In the worst case, I'll be dismissed from office!"

Huang Gai had probably guessed the trick that Shi Yuangong had done to increase the number of troops.

But ordinary soldiers believed that the credibility of the government was too low. The more seriously Huang Gai explained, the more the soldiers suspected that he was lying.

Most of Huang Gai's soldiers came from lower-class civilians.

He thought that by giving him enough food and salary and encouraging him with words, he could force him to go to war. But all the forts set up along the way fled without fighting, which made Huang Gai feel a chill in his chest.

In fact, it doesn't matter whether Gao Jingshan offered Jianmen Pass or not.

The officers and soldiers lost their forts along the way, the food transportation channel was cut off, the communication between Jianmen and Jianzhou was also cut off, and Jianmen Pass has become an isolated city.

The poor performance of his soldiers made Huang Gai dare not fight out of the city, and he even had no confidence in continuing to defend the city.

The only hope is the wealthy families in the Chengdu Plain!

As the transportation envoy of Sichuan and Chengdu, Huang Gai could not recruit many soldiers or much food in the richest plain of Chengdu.

Those rich families also have good reasons. They have already paid enough rice this year, and even paid for free once, and all kinds of exorbitant taxes and fees are increasing. It is impossible for them to pay the husband-free money a second time, and since they have already paid it once, they cannot be drafted again, because the husband-free money is used to offset military service.

When the big families do this, the various small sects of the same family also follow the same example and fight against the government.

Even the small landowners and peasants who had been separated united to resist.

Huang Gai did not dare to use force to conquer, otherwise the Chengdu Plain would be in chaos until the bandits in Hanzhong were eliminated.

We must force the wealthy clans to take the initiative to recruit troops!

…

"It's not good. Deputy Commander Gao colluded with the bandits and surrendered with Jianmen Pass!"

"Jianzhou has been lost, Huang Zhijiao will retreat to Lutou Pass with his defeated troops!"

"If the red thieves cannot be defended at Lutou Pass, they will enter Chengdu."

"That red thief is very cruel. He kills people every time he takes a city. He wants to kill all the rich people."

"..."

Random rumors spread rapidly in the states and counties in the Chengdu Plain.

It spread so quickly, of course Huang Gai did it on purpose. He sent messengers to various states and counties to warn officials to defend the city. He randomly revealed some information, and the subordinate officials turned around and passed the news to the gentry and merchants.

Those aristocratic families finally became panicked.

A few years ago, 100,000 Lunan Yi rebelled. At the closest point, they had reached 300 miles away from Chengdu.

When the news came back that the officers and soldiers were retreating steadily, the aristocratic families still turned a deaf ear to it, as if these matters had nothing to do with them. When collecting rice and free money, they would also deduct some and give it away, but they would ignore the rest, and they would complain all day long about the tax increase this year.

On the outskirts of Huayang County, the ancestral home of the Wang family.

The main seat was occupied by an old man named Wang Zhongao, who by seniority was the nephew of the late Prime Minister Wang Gui.

Wang Zhongao stroked his beard and said: "The Zhu thieves have caused chaos and have trapped Jianmen and Jianzhou. If Wulian and Zitong are lost again, only Lutou Pass will be able to resist the thieves. To prevent the lives of Chengdu from being ruined, we should all work hard to serve the government Send soldiers, money and food, otherwise the lives of all of you here will be in danger."

An old man named Fan Jun said angrily: "We still need to deliver money and grain? Can we pay less for grain this year? Silk and silk are levied randomly for summer grain, and the foot money for a first-class household has risen to 500 Wen. The money for buying and selling is doubled, and The purchase money is doubled. There is no money for the purchase money. The government only collects grain, and additionally collects the money from the land. When the imperial court conquered Liao, the husband's money was collected and exempted, and each of the children of my Fan family allocated 40 guan."

"Over in Guanxian County, the dredging of Dujiangyan Irrigation, the laborers have been collected locally, and the money for exemption from labor was actually received here in Chengdu. There are also other exorbitant levies and miscellaneous taxes, dozens of them, and the government collects money in different ways. This red thief came to kill, and again Let us pay free money. Not only do we pay money, but we also help recruit local soldiers! How can there be such exorbitant levies? By the way, I heard that the government also plans to collect economic money. The Fan family will not pay anything for this economic money! "

"That's right, the government is extorting too much money," said an old man named Liu Keren. "The children of my little sect from the Liu family are already overwhelmed, and they come to the clan every now and then to borrow money. Borrowing is a bottomless pit, and not borrowing means losing benevolence and justice. The clan elders are cursed by their clan members every day!”

Another old man named Wu Yushi said: "Our Wu family is not as prosperous as your family. There have been no Jinshi for many years, and the family's land has been dwindling. If the Zhu thieves come to Chengdu, it won't matter to the Wu family. You big families are watching. Let’s do it.”

"What do you mean we just have to deal with it? Your Wu family still wants to become a thief!" an old man named Liu Ying said angrily.

"Okay, okay, everyone, please be patient," Wang Zhongao quickly smoothed things over, "The red thieves are coming to kill, and no one can be pleased. All tribes must work together."

A group of old men were arguing back and forth, with occasional middle-aged people interjecting, but in the end there was no result.

They want to continue to wait and see.

Huang Gai did not withdraw directly to Lutou Pass. He is still stationed in Wulian County. He is always paying attention to the trends in Chengdu.

Huang Gai was greatly disappointed by the reaction of the wealthy family.

In anger, Huang Gai retreated again and retreated directly to Zitong County.

The aristocratic families are still quarreling, but they basically agree to send money, food and soldiers, but they can't reach a consensus on how much each family should contribute.

There are only three super wealthy families, more than ten ordinary wealthy families, and twenty or thirty medium-sized families. Moreover, people with the same surname are divided into different sects. How can we reconcile the chaos?

Huang Gai was so angry that he withdrew his troops again, and the whole army retreated to Mianzhou (Mianyang).

Now, the aristocratic family couldn't sit still, and held a meeting to discuss the results within a few days.

All ethnic groups and branches mobilized and formed rural soldiers to send to Huang Gai. Money and grain were transported to the front line one by one.

Together with Huang Gai's original troops, the strength instantly reached 30,000!

Moreover, many of the rural soldiers sent by these wealthy families brought their own weapons and were bound by blood and surnames. Their ability to fight in battles was not comparable to that of ordinary rural soldiers.

Huang Gai, who had enough troops and food, instantly became more confident and led his troops to Zitong County. He wanted to continue to move forward to regain the lost ground, but found that the pass in front had been occupied by bandits.

As for Ju Ming, Jianmen Pass has not yet been captured.

Ju Ming stood outside the sword gate, looking at the straight and steep mountain. There was no way he could do it.

Even if he cheats now, temporarily builds ten hot air balloons, launches into the air and drops bombs, it will not help. If it can't be broken, it means it can't be broken. When the People's Liberation Army enters Sichuan, they have to bypass Jianmen Pass before attacking.

We can only wait for the internal strife among the officers and soldiers to surrender!

Of course, Ju Ming couldn't just wait around. He had already divided his forces and sent a partial division down the Jialing River to attack Langzhong and Nanchong.

…

Zhu Ming was impatient waiting at the foot of the mountain, and the defenders at Jianmen Pass were also suffering.

Again, even if Huang Gai did not abandon Jianzhou, Deng Chun and Li Jinyi went around and captured several military strongholds, which had completely cut off the access to Jianmen Pass.

"Starting from tomorrow, we will reduce meals and the military rations can last for another two months." Huang Deyu said.

Gao Jingshan remained silent.

Huang Deyu said: "Why should Deputy Ambassador Gao be discouraged? The red thief came all the way from Hanzhong, and he had to consume countless grains on the way. He may finish his military rations before we do."

Huang Guan's grain collection took time, and it had to be transported slowly to Jianmen Pass. There was not much grain left in the pass.

Gao Jingshan gritted his teeth and said: "Huang Gai is incompetent. Jianmen Pass has been cut off from food for more than a month, and he hasn't even sent troops to break through it. He might have abandoned Jianzhou and fled!"

"That's not the case. He still knows how to fight," Huang Deyu said. "This man was my subordinate when he was an official in Shaanxi. He is not a mediocre official who ignores worldly affairs. He is just... a little timid."

Huang Gai had the highest official position, followed by Gao Jingshan, and Huang Deyu had the smallest official position.

But among the three, Huang Deyu is the oldest, and he has also been a calligraphy and painting teacher to the princes.

Gao Jingshan said: "The morale of the army is already unstable, and we have been deprived of food for a month. If we order a reduction in meals tomorrow, I'm afraid there will be a mutiny. Apart from the two of us, who in Jianmen Pass wants to fight? You and I both eat the king's salary. You should die to serve your country, but the soldiers below are not people who live on salary."

"Try to appease them as much as possible. From tomorrow on, officers and soldiers will be one, and we will eat the same food as the soldiers." Huang Deyu said.

Gao Jingshan looked to the east: "There is more than one way to enter Sichuan. Since the Zhu thieves took the Jinniu way, will he let go of the Micang way? I'm afraid Bazhou is gone by now, and maybe the thieves have already reached the channel. Prefecture (Qu County). If the thieves occupy Hezhou (Hechuan), Shuzhong will be hopeless, and it will be useless for us to guard Jianmen."

The Gao family is a prominent family in Shandong. Gao Jingshan's younger brother Gao Jingyun was promoted to the rank of Shaoqing of Taichang Temple last year.

Do you want to surrender?

Gao Jingshan has been thinking about this issue. He knows what each of his soldiers is thinking. These days, he relies on providing sufficient food and pay to stabilize the morale of the soldiers.

The food route was cut off and enemies were everywhere. In such a difficult situation, if he dared to cut off his meals, the soldiers would dare to rebel!

Although he was old, he still didn't want to die, especially when he was killed inexplicably during the mutiny.

In the evening, Gao Jingshan inspected Guancheng again. The complicated atmosphere permeating the army made him feel that he could not delay it any longer.

Gathering a group of reasonably obedient soldiers, Gao Jingshan went straight to Huang Deyu's residence.

Huang Deyu was eating and came out immediately when he heard the noise.

Seeing the situation outside, Huang Deyu did not curse angrily, but sighed: "You are the deputy envoy who has been transporting you all the way, are you so greedy for life and afraid of death?"

Gao Jingshan said: "I have also thought about committing suicide and dying for my country. I have prepared the rope, but it is a pity that I can't do it to myself. Where is your Excellency? If you want to commit suicide, I will wait for two-quarters of an hour to collect the body. If you want to survive, I will tie up your Excellency." surrender."

Huang Deyu thought about it carefully and said sadly: "My old wife and old servant were killed by thieves in Lizhou City. They have been with me for half my life. If I want to be alone on the road to Huangquan, I might as well go find them. I have been honest and upright all my life. I don’t want to be stigmatized when I grow old. After I die, just bury me and my old wife together at Jianmen.”

"Resign!" Gao Jingshan bowed, turned around, and left silently with his soldiers.

Huang Deyu went back home to finish the meal, slowly took off his belt, and recalled the time when he was twenty years old, when he was a prostitute and paraded through the streets.

At that time, prices in Tokyo were not that high and people lived happier lives. Although the party struggle is fierce, there is no evil king and treacherous ministers to cause trouble, and everything is so beautiful.

At least, that's how it looks on the surface.