Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

Forty percent of the soldiers under Xin Xingzong were imperial troops, and sixty percent were Xiang troops and rural soldiers.

Not all of the Forbidden Army is in Tokyo. Since the reform of the military system in the mid-Northern Song Dynasty, the largest Forbidden Army is the Xuanyi Army, with more than 170 battalions, stationed across the country, and soldiers recruited from local areas.

It's just that, only a few years after its establishment, the Xuan Yi Army encountered collective resistance from civilians and military generals, and now it has become no different from an ordinary Xiang army.

The imperial army in Xin Xingzong's hands mainly came from Gyeonggi Road.

The Tokyo Forbidden Army is naturally the big one. Ever since Gao Taiwei took charge of the Dianqian Division, he has made the capital's Forbidden Army impressive.

Faced with the financial dilemma of the Forbidden Army, Gao Qiu developed a new idea: real estate!

He used the land near the military camp, and even part of the military camp and school grounds, to build high-end villa communities.

It is backed by the capital, has convenient transportation, beautiful scenery, and military protection. It is a top-notch real estate project. Part of it is lived in by himself, part is given away to others, and part is sold to external parties. Gao Qiu, a real estate tycoon, is thriving.

Even when building a house, there is no need to hire a construction company, because there are many professionals in the Forbidden Army.

If you need a carpenter, you need a carpenter, if you need a mason, you need a mason, and there is no shortage of masons and decorators.

Gao Qiu can also know how to make good use of the Imperial Army who really don't understand architecture. He opened a dyeing workshop, a slaughterhouse, and a blacksmith shop, established various private enterprises, and assigned the imperial soldiers to work, which not only increased production and income for himself, but also provided a living for the soldiers.

The Imperial Guards in Tokyo have turned into a comprehensive diversified business group company.

Naturally, the entertainment industry cannot let it go. In addition to making money from daily performances, the emperor can also use it when he comes to inspect. In the military camp, colorful flags were fluttering, gongs and drums were loud, and various entertainment programs were performed in turn, which made Song Huizong give a thumbs up.

At this moment, there is a group of such things in Xin Xingzong's camp.

As for the Shengjie Army formed by Tong Guan himself, it is still stationed in Xiangyang. If the battle on the front line goes unfavorably, Tong Guancai will bring the elite of the Victory Army to personally supervise and direct the battle.

Of course, Xin Xingzong's personal soldiers also belong to the Shengjie army, and their combat effectiveness is still "very strong".

"Capital, the navy was attacked at night."

"I know. I'll report it at any time. Send an order to all battalions to strengthen their vigilance and keep their spirits up!"

After eating too much and losing the battle, Xin Xingzong also made progress and knew what his subordinates were.

Therefore, outside the camp, earth was dug to build a barrier, the outside was sprinkled with caltrops, and alarm bells were hung everywhere. There are sentries patrolling two miles away from the camp to guard against night attacks by bandits.

Zhang Guangdao personally led 3,000 elite troops and cooperated with the navy to attack at night.

Two groups of sentries were killed quietly, but it turned out that there were still hidden sentries hidden behind the rocks. While banging the gong to call the police, he ran away like crazy.

In fact, due to the night attack on the Navy, the camp had already been alerted, and torches and braziers were lit one after another in the officers and soldiers' camps.

Zhang Guangdao was delayed in handling the sentry post, and the night attack was no longer possible.

"Hold more torches, beat the drums and shout!"

The torches prepared by the rebels were inserted into the ground and lit. When they were still more than a mile away from the official camp, they started beating gongs and drums and shouting wildly.

Although there were many officers and soldiers, they could not figure out the details and were so frightened that they hid in the camp and did not dare to come out.

Unlike He Guan's imagination, Xin Xingzong did not suffer a big loss. He relied on the camps and barriers to barely control the army from falling into chaos.

The commotion continued until dawn, and the burning warship had drifted away.

Qu Fangping led the rebel navy and captured more than 50 enemy warships, large and small, and burned more than 20 ships. It's not that they don't want to continue the pursuit, but the rebel navy is also blocked from the passage and has to accept prisoners and warships. They can only watch the remaining enemy ships escape.

Those officers, soldiers and warships escaped too fast!

When counting the losses on our side, a small warship of 50 tons sank. According to the report of the soldiers who jumped into the water to escape, it was hit and sunk by a large enemy ship.

Among the rebel sailors, 14 were killed, 75 were injured, and 229 were missing.

Until noon, some missing people came back one after another. Most of them were warriors who drove fire ships to attack the enemy. After jumping off the ship, they swam ashore along the rapids and walked back by themselves over the mountains and ridges from the lower reaches.

Including the warriors who jumped into gangs to seize the boat, if they were injured and fainted and fell into the river, they would probably never come back, or even float downstream and their bodies would not be found.

"General, I sold grain to Mr. Zhu last winter and I still sold grain last winter," Tao Desheng knelt on the ground and shouted, "I still have a share of the credit for the military rations that the general eats!"

This guy was blocked by a friendly warship and unable to escape, he quickly surrendered with the entire ship.

Qu Fangping didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so he took the warship and prisoners back.

Prisoners need to be carefully screened, and those from Nanxiang Basin can be kept.

As for the sailors from other places of origin, they were all stripped naked and put back, wasting the enemy's rations and weakening the enemy's fighting spirit.

But it was said that Zhang Guangdao led 3,000 people, and they called for formation from dawn to dawn, and even retreated a certain distance after dawn.

Seeing the officers and soldiers opening the gate of the camp and seeming to want to come out to fight, Zhang Guangdao immediately led his troops to flee.

Xin Xingzong ordered a pursuit, but the officers and soldiers left the camp too slowly, and the rebels had long since fled.

Knowing that the navy army was defeated and fled, the infantry army quickly fell into panic.

What should we do if the entire navy is wiped out?

If the subsequent military supplies cannot be shipped, they soldiers cannot leave. Even if Zhang Guangdao didn't pursue them when they withdrew, they would still have to cross half of Shennongjia before returning to Yunxiang County (Yunxian County) along the Han River.

Moreover, it is not possible to walk along the river bank all the way. There are many places where we cannot march and we have to go deep into the mountains and old forests.

Xin Xingzong came to the riverside and looked at the empty river. His whole body fell into a sluggish state.

Counting the accompanying soldiers and civilians, he now has more than 40,000 troops, all of which are left here unable to advance or retreat. There is no need for thieves and bandits to fight head on, just wait for them to eat up all the food.

After a long time to recover, Xin Xingzong returned to the camp and immediately ordered: "Use all your strength to build siege equipment and capture the bandits' fortress!"

He was forced to work hard. If he didn't work hard, he would starve to death.

At this moment, more than 800 prisoners were released naked by the rebels. Not to mention the weapons, even the clothes were taken off, leaving only a pair of underpants on the whole body.

Xin Xingzong also had to accept it and consume the already difficult military rations.

Two days later, He Guan gathered the scattered warships and fought back to meet the infantry.

Even though they suffered a defeat, the officers, soldiers and navy still barely had the upper hand!

Xin Xingzong was overjoyed and wished he could hold He Guan in his arms and cry bitterly.

He personally boarded the ship and said to He Guan: "The morale of the army is not available, and the place is dangerous. We must go back by ship and attack with the whole army from Zhushan."

Near Zhushan is where Shangyong City was located during the Three Kingdoms period. You can attack Pingli County over the mountains and ridges.

As long as Pingli is defeated, we can attack Jinzhou City.

At this moment, Xin Xingzong's elder brother Xin Qizong was fighting Guan Sheng in Zhushan.

He Guan said: "The remaining warships cannot transport tens of thousands of troops to leave, and grain ships from the rear must be mobilized. If the troops are evacuated in batches, and the bandits take the opportunity to attack the camp, wouldn't the remaining troops be in danger?"

Xin Xingzong said: "We don't care about those many. The only ones left behind are rural soldiers and civilians. We can't count on them in a real war."

He Guan asked again: "What if the bandit navy comes to kill the infantry when they board the ship?"

Xin Xingzong said: "Get on the boat at night!"

He Guan advised: "Please, Commander-in-Chief, continue to stay and fight. The navy will definitely fight hard."

Xin Xingzong asked: "If the navy is defeated again, how can these tens of thousands of infantry troops go back? If they cannot capture the enemy fort, they will have to wait to starve to death!"

He Guan was speechless.

Xin Xingzong also understood at this time that the improvised navy was unreliable. All it takes is one more water battle defeat, and all the troops in his hands will be ruined.

Neither Tong Guan, Cai You, nor the Xin Xingzong brothers had been to Shennongjia in person before the war.

They don't know how dangerous it is here. They only know that Jinzhou's wealth, tribute, and gold can be transported to Xiangyang through the Han River. So he made a battle plan and led the navy to kill them recklessly.

Some local officials also tried to persuade him, but Tong Guan and Xin Xingzong only thought that he was afraid of the enemy and was timid to fight.

After that, no one tried to persuade them any more, and they all took a chance on the outcome of the battle, believing that the officers and soldiers' warships were large and numerous, and they would definitely be able to suppress the pirate navy, thereby ensuring the safety of waterway transportation.

On a hill on the west bank of the river, Zhang Guangdao was observing the enemy's situation with a telescope, and beside him stood generals Sun Lan, Xu Ning, and Qu Fangping.

Qu Fangping said: "The officers, soldiers and navy have been frightened to death. Do you want to go over there and fight in the daytime?"

Zhang Guangdao shook his head: "Our family background is too poor, and we cannot compare with the wealth of the officers and soldiers. The previous night attack was a last resort, and now there is no need to risk our lives. The navy is always on standby, and more sentries are arranged on the mountains on both sides. We are waiting for the next batch of grain transport ships for the officers and soldiers. Come here, while the enemy is carrying food to the shore, the rebel navy will kill them immediately!"

Xu Ning said: "The enemy general is a tortoise. Tens of thousands of people have been here for more than half a month. They only came out of the camp once to call for battle. They were beaten by several rounds of artillery and dared not come back. I saw the officers and soldiers flying the Xin character flag. I'm afraid it's the brothers from Xin Qizong who are leading the troops."

Xu Ning, the golden gunner, does not have a golden gun, he only uses an ordinary infantry spear.

After living in Tokyo for so many years, Xu Ning has long admired the names of the five Xin brothers.

Xin Xingzong in history can be regarded as having a legendary life. He was a man who was the boss of Han Shizhong and Song Jiang, and took away all the military exploits of Han Shizhong and Song Jiang!

Taking it all away, which means leaving nothing behind and not even bothering to compensate.

Xin Xingzong commanded the most elite imperial army (Shengjie Army), but he never used any decent staff from beginning to end. The only military merit that can be obtained is that Zhao Gou planned to move the capital to Hangzhou, and Xin Xingzong took his elite to Hangzhou to eliminate banditry.

But he rose steadily because he was always by Zhao Gou's side.

Several brothers all held high positions, some were in charge of external conquests, some were in charge of the emperor's personal army, and some went in and out of the inner court to convey secret orders.

That night, Xin Xingzong led the main force out of the camp and asked the rest of the troops to guard the camp, saying that he was leading the troops to attack the enemy fortress at night. Since the troops left behind without any military rations believed the truth, they had no idea that they had been betrayed.

The sentry lying in the mountains on the north bank saw the shadows in the distance and immediately ran back to report the news.