Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

He Ji's cries and roars alerted nearby officers and soldiers, who came over to check on the situation.

The officers and soldiers felt strange when they saw the noose used for hanging.

No one rebelled to force him. He could surrender at any time and survive. Why did he suddenly feel like committing suicide?

A few officers were literate. When they saw the message on the tree trunk, they hurriedly told the message to the people next to them.

Soldiers from Tokyo also said that this old general was the emperor's personal guard general.

Some people were disdainful, and some were respectful, but no one said anything.

He Ji tied his father's belt again, tidied up his appearance, carried the body on his back, and led thousands of officers and soldiers to surrender. There were originally more than 10,000 people, but most of them had already escaped, and he surrendered in groups. .

Zhang Guangdao personally received the prisoners and when he saw the marks on He Guan's neck, he thought he had been strangled to death by soldiers.

Hearing that He Ji was the son of the deceased, he became more confused and asked other soldiers to find out what happened.

Xu Ning whispered: "This old general He has a great reputation in Tokyo. It is said that Wu Jinshi once shot an arrow through the armor of the Xixia cavalry, from the chest to the cavalry behind. It shocked the three armies back then. , everyone in Tokyo knows about it, and the emperor personally received him."

The stories will always become more and more outrageous as they spread, and there are many legends about He Guan Shenshe.

He Guan did not participate in the conquest of Liao at all, but it is said that he shot three arrows and rocks to scare away the Liao army, which placed a kind of expectation on the people of Tokyo.

Zhang Guangdao asked: "Have you ever done anything evil for the imperial court?"

Xu Ning shook his head and said: "I haven't heard of it, I don't know very well. All his men are imperial guards and they don't deal with us common people."

Zhang Guangdao was surprised: "The emperor also sent the head of the bodyguard to lead the troops?"

"I guess the Hunjun doesn't trust Tong Guan because he suffered too many defeats." Xu Ning guessed.

Zhang Guangdao sighed: "It's pitiful for this old hero. He insists on dying for that foolish king. It would be great if he could seek refuge with our eldest son."

He Ji put his father's body away, took off his saber, took off his armor, knelt down and said: "General, please treat the surrendered soldiers kindly. Most of them are rural soldiers and civilian husbands from Deng and Xiangzhou. The temporary recruitment has not caused any harm to your army." What killing."

Zhang Guangdao said: "You don't need to worry about this. The rebel army will definitely not kill good people and take credit for it. Do you know Tong Guan's arrangement?"

He Ji remained silent, he did not want to betray his friendly forces.

Zhang Guangdao didn't bother to ask anymore, because He Ji didn't tell and the other prisoners were willing to tell.

Sure enough, when Zhang Guangdao identified the officers among the prisoners and asked them for information, they spit out the bamboo tubes one by one like beans.

"Tong Guan is in charge of Xiangyang, where there are three thousand victorious troops."

"Xin Xingzong and Xin Qizong each brought some Shengjie troops to attack Xunyang and Pingli respectively."

"From Yunxiang to here, there are four food stations set up along the way. General, please send people to kill them quickly!"

"There is a large grain station at the mouth of the Wuling River (the mouth of the river). All the grain and grass transported from the South Beijing Road are piled there and then transferred out."

"..."

Zhang Guangdao smiled when he heard this, and asked the military commander to write down the records, and then summarized them himself.

These prisoners cannot be kept in vain, and they are temporarily escorted to various counties in Jinzhou to let them cut trees, mine, build roads, and dredge rivers.

After the war is over, they will be released after screening.

It cannot be released directly, which would require the use of a large number of ships.

Of course, they would not intentionally torture them to death, because the South Beijing Road was vast and sparsely populated, and it would have to be developed after the rebels captured it. Most of the prisoners in front of me are from Jingnan Road, and they will have to be released home to farm next year.

He Ji had a special status and was specially escorted to Jinzhou City for custody.

He requested that his father's body be burned and his ashes left behind. Zhang Guangdao agreed and even gave help to several prisoners.

Group after group of prisoners were taken away and the officers kicked them out so that the prisoners would lose their organization.

After dealing with most of the prisoners, Zhang Guangdao was finally relieved.

Among the captured soldiers and armor, the good ones were put on by the soldiers, and the bad ones were used to arm the civilians.

Zhang Guangdao left a small number of soldiers behind to garrison the town of Juiyang with the civilians, and continued to escort the prisoners in batches. He personally led the main force to the east by boat.

Since Xin Xingzong does not dare to come again, Zhang Guangdao will of course kill him!

The riverside grain stations along the way were all empty, and even the soldiers and grain were transported away by Xin Xingzong.

Zhang Guangdao docked in Wufeng Township, Yunyang District in later generations, where there was a large area of ​​riverside flat land suitable for military and grain depots.

According to the prisoners' confessions, the Wuling River mouth further forward is the military supplies transfer hub for officers and soldiers.

Wulingshui is Duhe River, the largest tributary of the Han River.

Following this river to the south, you can go directly to Zhushan County, which was Shangyong City during the Three Kingdoms period.

But it was said that He Ji took his father's ashes and was taken to Jinzhou together with many officers. The people responsible for escorting them were all temporarily armed civilians.

His attitude was definitely not very good, and he couldn't take a boat. He had to carry his own rations. He was often beaten with sticks along the way, and was beaten if he walked slowly.

He Ji received better treatment because Zhang Guangdao ordered him to be taken care of and even chatted with the escort officer during his break.

"I heard that Jinzhou is barren and mountainous and can support many soldiers?" He Ji asked.

The escort officer smiled and said: "There is not much food in Jinzhou, but there is a lot of gold. We have all taken it to Xiangyang to buy food. From last autumn to spring, food has been shipped here."

He Ji was quite speechless, and at the same time he felt angry. He was working hard to fight, but some officials sold food to the thieves.

In fact, in the continuous mountainous area, Jinzhou is not too poor, but rather a prosperous place. This is called the Ankang Basin, and its grain output is second only to the Hanzhong Basin, although this "second largest" place is a bit...

He Ji asked again: "Mr. Zhu really doesn't charge excessive taxes?"

The escort officer replied: "Collect some too. I heard from the old people at home that the taxes are similar to those during Zhezong's reign."

"That's good too." He Ji sighed.

He studied at the Imperial College, and his father planned to train him to take the imperial examination.

He Ji prefers bows, horses, guns and sticks. Although he studies hard, he is still far from being a Jinshi.

Even so, it can be said to be both civil and military.

His father used to be in charge of the Infantry Department, which was a lucrative position with many distinguished sons and daughters coming to curry favor with him.

He Ji was often invited by nobles, not only to spend money in romantic places, but also to attend some cultural gatherings in an elegant manner.

He Ji has read all of Ju Ming's poems.

He liked Ju Ming's writings very much. "Public Security Shu" was full of scolding, and "Song of Righteousness" was very exciting. He even secretly collected the banned book "The Abridged Meanings of University Chapters and Sentences" and also read Ju Ming's "Discussing the Dufu Zhao Jixi".

Who doesn’t hate foolish kings and traitorous ministers?

In the past two years, Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty reused the eunuch Li Yan to set up the Xicheng Office to cause trouble in the area. Even some middle- and low-level officers of the Forbidden Army had their family properties targeted by eunuchs. They had to pay both taxes and land rent, which was equivalent to double tax payment to the court.

One of his subordinate officers once ran to He Guan and cried.

He Guan went to Li Yan to ask for an explanation, and the two parties broke up unhappy.

At that time, He Ji thought, if the officers of the Forbidden Army were exploited in this way, how could ordinary people endure it?

Sure enough, when he led his troops on an expedition this year, he saw so much devastation along the way that He Ji once again thought of Ju Ming's slogan.

He Ji asked his father privately: "Thieves and bandits are rising everywhere, and it is difficult for the court to exterminate them. Can the Song Dynasty be saved?"

He Guan only said: "Eating the emperor's salary is a matter of loyalty to the emperor."

He Ji asked again: "The imperial army is being exploited, how can we make them loyal to the emperor?"

He Guan could not answer, so he could only lament.

He Ji wanted to ask again, but He Guan suddenly told him: "I have received too much favor from you, so I should fulfill my duties faithfully. But you got this military position based on your ability and took the martial arts examination. If..."

If anything, He Guan didn't tell it, but He Ji knew it.

The boat of the Song Dynasty was about to sink, and his father wanted him to find an opportunity to change it.

The premise is that the father must die!

A few days later, entering the Ankang Basin, He Ji carefully observed the countryside.

Although the countryside was inevitably depressed due to the impact of the war, the basic order of agricultural production remained.

Jinzhou also belongs to the South Beijing Road, and is even more barren than the Nanxiang Basin. However, under the governance of the Zhu family and his sons, the land here was full of crops, while the fertile Nanxiang Basin was abandoned everywhere.

Not to mention the Nanxiang Basin, Kaifeng Prefecture has begun to abandon it!

The farmers in Xicheng were squeezed so hard that no matter how much grain they collected, they couldn't pay the taxes. Wealthy households can still rely on years of savings to survive, while small landowners and farmers can only abandon their fields and run away.

In Xiangyi (Suixian) and Taikang under the jurisdiction of Kaifeng Prefecture, sporadic bandits appeared last year, and they have become stronger this year.

When He Ji went out with the army, Tong Guan sent a partial army to Taikang to suppress the bandits in order to ensure the rear. The thieves did not dare to fight, and Sayazi fled to Qiao County, and Tong Guan was too lazy to take care of it anymore.

Encountering a large group of refugees on the way, Tong Guan selected the young and strong to serve as soldiers, gave them some simple weapons at will, and dispersed the remaining old, weak, women and children.

He Ji still remembers the scene of those refugees crying and wailing.

Comparing the two, the Jinzhou in front of us seems like a paradise.

Even the Zhu family and his son are also collecting heavy taxes. The tax amount is similar to that of Zhe Zong Dynasty, but it can indeed be called a paradise!

Alas, this Song Dynasty is probably hopeless.

…

"Grand Master, please send the victorious army, otherwise the Jinzhou battlefield will be hopeless!" Xin Xingzong left his troops at the mouth of the Wuling River and took a boat straight to Xiangyang to ask for help.

Tong Guan said angrily: "How could your army of tens of thousands be defeated?"

Xin Xingzong made an excuse and said: "It is said that there are 50,000 troops, but the civilians and the navy are only 20,000. The remaining more than 30,000 troops cannot be used by the imperial army, nor can the Xiang army be used, and the rural soldiers do not even have armor." Qi. The bandits have a magical weapon like a cannon that can throw iron balls five miles away. I also led troops to attack the thief fort, and hundreds of people fled after being hit a few times by the iron balls of the magical weapon."

"That's nonsense. Where did Hao Duandui get the magic weapon?" Tong Guan didn't believe it at all.

Xin Xingzong said: "There is really a magic weapon. All the soldiers in the army can testify. I alone cannot make up such a story."

Tong Guan asked: "Where is the irrigation?"

Xin Xingzong said: "He Guan blamed me for not knowing how to fight. He insisted on seizing military power and taking away all the village soldiers. When the troops were withdrawn, he did not come to rescue him and just sat back and watched me being defeated by the bandits. At this time, he was still in Tuoyang Town. , I don’t know if he has surrendered to the enemy.”

"This He Guan is disobedient in the capital, and he is still disobedient on the battlefield. We will definitely impeach him when we return to the capital!"

Tong Guan knew that Xin Xingzong was lying, but gave him an excuse to impeach He Guan.

The emperor no longer trusted him and was afraid that he would lose the battle again, so he sent He Guan to accompany the army.

In Tong Guan's view, He Guan had taken away his military power, and this kind of person must be dealt with severely!

Xin Xingzong cried and begged: "Please allow the Grand Master to let Shengjie's army join the battle, otherwise I will really have no usable soldiers."

"Let's go there in person!"

Tong Guan could not sit still in Xiangyang.