Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

"The endless columns linger, and the dangerous stacks continue."

"There are thousands of cliffs with twists and turns, but there is no way to find a path... In the deep forest, I am in a daze, and the plank road is empty."

These sentences are all used to describe Tangluo Road.

Before the abandoned plank road was completely repaired, Han Shizhong led his troops and ran away. Such an obvious morale collapse made Yang Zhi no longer so cautious.

Yang Zhi led a thousand soldiers in paper armor to pursue them at full speed, because paper armor was the lightest, and the remaining troops also accelerated their advance.

During his escape, Han Shizhong tried to turn around and strike several times, but his soldiers refused to do so.

There were still several plank roads ahead, and Han Shizhong could only simply remove some planks. Because the tighter Yang Zhi pursued, the faster the soldiers of the Western Army fled, giving Han Shizhong no chance to make arrangements calmly.

The chase stopped, and when the food brought by the Western Army was almost eaten, the soldiers no longer paid attention to any military orders. I just ran frantically northward every day, digging some plant roots along the way, and mixed them with the little food left and cooked them.

Yang Zhi also had to stop and wait for the large troops from the rear to transport food.

Han Shizhong was carried away by the soldiers and fled very fast, and it was impossible for him to be caught by Yang Zhi.

However, the morale of Han Shizhong's troops has fallen to the bottom during the escape, and they will collapse whenever they encounter trouble.

When crossing the Shibapan Mountains, a group of mountain bandits suddenly shot arrows in the dense forest.

These bandits are few in number and can be defeated easily. But the soldiers of the Western Army were already in disgrace. No matter how restrained Han Shizhong was, they were unwilling to stay and resist. They only ran away with their heads in a hurry.

When they only passed Shibapanling, hundreds of people were killed or injured due to excessive panic, stepping on the air or pushing each other.

The reason why they haven't collapsed yet is simply because there is only one way to escape.

After finally arriving at the Blackwater River and at the foot of Laojun Ridge, the soldiers' mood became somewhat stable. The terrain here is no longer so complicated. You can even sail on the Heishui River and then go north past Luogu Pass to return to Shaanxi.

Only then did Han Shizhong have the opportunity to count the number of soldiers, and of the 1,000 soldiers he had left behind, there were only more than 600 left at this time.

Han Shizhong encouraged morale and said: "The front is Luogu Pass, and there is food there. If you work harder, you will be able to go home soon!"

The soldiers cheered up and followed Han Shizhong gritted their teeth and moved forward. After walking for half a day, they finally saw their own troops.

"Here we are, here we are!"

The soldiers cheered, Liu Yanqing's banner was standing on the top of the mountain.

Han Shizhong felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave, standing there stunned for a long time.

Liu Yanqing shouldn't be here. If everything went well, he would have gone to Fengxiang to rescue Gao Qiu.

There is only one possibility: Liu Yanqing's army was blocked by bandits on the Tangluo Road!

Han Shizhong rushed to join the main force and found that all the troops were listless and the soldiers were frightened and desperate.

When asked about the camp where Wang Yuan was, Han Shizhong quickly ran to ask: "But the bandits have occupied Luogu Pass?"

Wang Yuan nodded silently.

"What's going on?" Han Shizhong asked.

Wang Yuan said with a dry mouth: "The bandits in Hanzhong chased and killed the remnants of the Zhongshi Road. After chasing out of Baoxie Road, they did not kill Fengxiang where Captain Gao was, but turned east to surprise Luogu Pass. The defenders of Luogu Pass were nowhere to be found. We were unprepared and collapsed in one battle, and the main force of our army was blocked in Luo Valley."

Han Shizhong asked: "Aren't the bandits afraid of being blocked at Luogu Pass and being attacked from the north and south if they are so dangerous?"

Wang Yuan said: "Of course we are not afraid of the bandits, because Captain Gao didn't even send troops to rescue us, let alone attack the bandits from the north and the south! At this moment, Captain Gao is probably still guarding Fengxiang Mansion, and he doesn't dare to leave those strong cities at all." .”

Han Shizhong was stunned and sat down on the ground.

Wang Yuan asked his soldiers to get some food and said to Han Shizhong: "Eat some first. How far are the bandits' pursuers?"

Han Shizhong said: "It can take as little as one day, or as fast as half a day. There are not many pursuers, and it may take two days for the main force of the bandits to come. The top priority is to return to the army and defeat the vanguard of the bandits, and send troops to occupy Shibapanling. That is such a dangerous place. , why don’t you send troops to garrison it?”

Wang Yuan explained: "The army is disorganized and dare not divide its troops. Even if we divide our troops to garrison at Shibapanling, they will definitely collapse at the first touch."

The more than 20,000 Western troops have actually collapsed. They can still stay together simply because they have no place to escape.

There are high mountains on the left and right, Luogu Pass is blocking the front, and the dangerous Shibapanling Mountains and pursuing troops are behind.

Where can I run?

Even with Liu Yanqing's ability to escape, he really couldn't grow wings and fly away.

Half a day later, the pursuers of the rebel army came. From a distance, they saw countless Western Army flags immediately retreating to Shibapanling and other large forces.

There were thieves in front and behind, so Liu Yanqing called the generals to a meeting: "Surrender."

Yang Weizhong remained silent, neither objecting nor agreeing.

Yang Weizhong claimed that his father was Han, but many people speculated that his father was from the border between Song and Xia, and at most belonged to the Han nationality during the Tang Dynasty.

His father once surrendered to the Liao Kingdom and married a daughter of the Xiao family of the Liao Kingdom.

In any case, Yang Weizhong joined the army as a private soldier. Not only did he change his surname, he also changed his name to "Weizhong" to show his loyalty to the Song Dynasty.

His performance has always been more loyal than many Han generals!

"You guys are talking." Liu Yanqing said angrily.

This guy had been furious for a long time. A few days ago, he killed more than twenty generals to express his anger. They were all officers who escaped from Luogu Pass.

In order to prevent the bandits from moving north, the Shaanxi transit envoy recruited rural soldiers last year and heavily garrisoned various checkpoints.

A full 3,500 people are stationed here at Luogu Pass.

When Liu Yanqing passed by, another 800 people were assigned to stay behind.

With 4,300 troops stationed at the critical juncture, Liu Yanqing felt that everything was safe, so he decided to slowly withdraw his troops and spend his time bringing back all the food and grass.

However, the bandits only had 2,000 elite troops to attack in a surprise attack. They put together the simplest flying ladders and captured Luogu Pass at night. The beacon towers in the north of Guancheng were all turned into decorations, and no enemy was found to be coming.

In a word, the soldiers guarding the gate didn't take it seriously!

Because Luogu Pass belongs to the rear, and Liu Yanqing's 30,000 troops are blocking the front. Who could have expected that the bandits would come from behind?

"After a brief review, Guancheng replaced the flag with the word "zhu" and fired a letter to persuade them to surrender."

A soldier came in holding a letter of persuasion to surrender.

"Zhu Ziqi? It seems that the Zhu thieves came personally. I don't know if it is Old Zhu or Xiao Zhu." Yang Weizhong guessed.

Liu Yanqing opened the letter and read it, his eyes suddenly brightened, and he said to the generals: "This time the surrender letter is different. As long as we surrender and leave all our luggage behind, all generals and soldiers can be released, and each of them will be given a dou of rice." Township."

As soon as these words came out, everyone looked at each other in shock.

Wang Yuan sneered: "This Zhu thief has good tricks. If he doesn't reorganize the surrendered troops into a new army, he must have insufficient food and grass to support so many troops. Killing prisoners is unlucky and has a bad reputation, so he might as well let them all go home. The released surrendered troops Without soldiers and armor, they are no different from ordinary people. After returning home, they will spread the benevolence and righteousness of the bandits. From now on, when the bandits attack Shaanxi, the officers and soldiers will surrender one by one knowing that they will not die if they surrender."

"In other words, Zhu Thief is really willing to let us go?" Liu Guangshi's focus was different.

Every general is full of desire to survive.

Liu Yanqing said: "There are only two of us who cannot leave. We must stay and become thieves."

"Who is it?" All the generals looked at Yang Weizhong.

Liu Yanqing was a famous runaway general, and the red thieves would definitely look down on him, so they would probably ask for Yang Weizhong.

Liu Yanqing said: "One is Wang Yuan, who is praised by the Zhu thieves as a good general of the world who despises wealth and loves righteousness and has no savings at home. If he is a thief, he will be put to good use."

Wang Yuan couldn't laugh or cry after hearing this. Should he be happy or distressed to be praised so much by Zhu Thief?

The generals of the Western Army in the Northern Song Dynasty were very different from the military leaders in the late Ming Dynasty, because the court could transfer them out of the army at will.

If you want to become a military leader who firmly holds military power, you must deeply cultivate the grassroots society in rural areas.

This is because the number of regular troops in the Western Army is not large, and most of them are rural soldiers and fan soldiers.

By the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, it was difficult for the government to recruit soldiers. When recruiting rural soldiers and foreign soldiers to join the army, they had to adopt a reward contract system.

That is, the state and county officials issued a reward order, and the powerful men in the countryside were responsible for recruiting soldiers, and rewards were given according to the number of soldiers recruited. If the powerful men in charge of recruiting soldiers also join the army, they can directly serve as generals of the rural soldiers.

The generals who have been running a certain place for a long time are closely related to the local powerful, and they can control the recruitment process to a limited extent.

If these generals are transferred away from their hometowns for a long time, it will be very difficult for the government to recruit troops.

Ju Ming promised to release all surrendered troops, why was Liu Yanqing so happy? Because after these soldiers returned to their hometowns and were re-recruited, they were still his soldiers, and the Liu family could still retain their military power!

Wang Yuan was also a powerful man. He led many local soldiers to join the army and became an officer when he first joined the army.

Wang Yuan was a local hero, and he was accustomed to making friends with people from all walks of life. People from all over the country respected him. After becoming a general, he did not deduct much food and salary, so the troops under his command were willing to sacrifice their lives, which was very rare in the late Northern Song Dynasty.

In Wang Yuan's original words: "The salary from the court is far better than farming at home. I don't have to worry about food and clothing. Since I choose to be a soldier, it is not for money, nor to become a rich man."

Because of this, Han Shizhong and Wang Yuan hit it off immediately.

Before Ju Ming raised his troops, he often paid attention to the movements of the Western Army. Now based on the general's dispatch location, it can be inferred that Wang Yuan and Han Shizhong are under Liu Yanqing.

Liu Yanqing continued: "The other person is Han Shizhong. The Zhu thieves knew that he captured Fang La and praised him as a great hero of the world. If he is a thief, he should be reused."

In this time and space, Fang La died in the rebellion, but it was said that he was captured and killed by Han Shizhong. After all, it was indeed Han Shizhong who led the troops to defeat him.

Liu Guangguo raised his hand to Wang Yuan and said, "Brother Dao, I have wronged you!"

The other generals also handed over their hands and said goodbye to Wang Yuan, who was about to become a thief.

Wang Yuan said angrily: "I have always been loyal to the emperor and served the country, how can I become a thief and bandit?"

Liu Yanqing said: "For the sake of the lives of more than 20,000 Western soldiers, I ask General Wang not to refuse."

"No!" Wang Yuan stood up angrily.

"Take it!"

Liu Yanqing shouted: "Capture Han Shizhong as well and send them to Luogu Pass! General Wang, don't worry, Zhu Thief said he is willing to negotiate peace with the court. If the peace talks are successful, the government will send your family members to Hanzhong."

Wang Yuan struggled and was tied up, and soon Han Shizhong was tied up too.

Han Shizhong didn't even know what was going on and kept hurling curse words like crazy.

After the two brothers met, Han Shizhong asked: "Why is my brother tied up too?"

Wang Yuan was tired of scolding and said angrily: "Zhu Thief heard that you captured and killed Fang La and praised you as a great hero. He should make good use of you."

"Aren't you going to arrest me and behead me?" Han Shizhong was immediately reassured and laughed in amusement, "That Zhu Thief is a discerning man, he actually knows that I, Han Wu, am a great hero."

Han Shizhong, who had escaped pursuit many times, was tied up by his own people and given to Ju Ming.