Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

Xiangyang.

Wang Zhen and Wang Xun, father and son, were invited to camp at the Generalissimo's Mansion.

Because the Generalissimo's Mansion was in Hanzhong, Xiangyang was called Xingying, which was renamed from the Jingxi South Road to the Criminal Division Yamen.

"snort!"

Wang Zhen snorted coldly when he saw Ju Ming. He had been a prisoner for more than half a year and he still refused to return.

Wang Xun was afraid that his father would anger him, so he bowed and said, "Wang Xun, the guilty general, has met the Grand Marshal."

Wang Zhen scolded his son: "How can a rebel be called a generalissimo? Since the Tang Dynasty, according to the system, non-princes and princes are not allowed to hold the position of generalissimo!"

Ju Ming was not angry, but smiled and said: "I negotiated peace with the Song Dynasty court, and the seal was sealed by the generalissimo. Zhao Ji has admitted it, why don't you admit it? Do you still want to disobey the emperor's order?"

"That faint..."

Wang Zhen wanted to scold the foolish king, but he stopped when he cursed, and his momentum weakened by three points: "That can't be counted."

Ju Ming asked: "Zhao Ji didn't count what he said, so who had the final say in the Song Dynasty court? Cai Jing? Cai You? Wang Fu? Or Tong Guan and Liang Shicheng?"

Wang Zhen was speechless and simply shut up.

Ju Ming did not pursue him relentlessly and said to his left and right: "Invite people in."

Seven or eight people came in at once, most of them were the wives and concubines of the father and son, as well as two little babies of a few years old.

Wang Xun asked his wife: "Where is Brother Hang?"

His wife took out an unsealed letter and said: "Brother Hang wrote a letter to sever the relationship between ancestors and grandchildren, and father and son. This is a close letter and has been read to the imperial envoy."

"good!"

Wang Zhen, who had been severed from the relationship, praised: "He is indeed my good grandson!"

Wang Hang is fourteen years old this year. He is at an age where he is half-informed. Someone must have helped him come up with ideas.

Wang Zhen's old wife also took out several letters, but they were written by his brother, second son, and third son, declaring that they were severing the relationship between brothers and father and son.

Wang Zhen's eldest brother is called Wang Dan, a civil servant, and his current position is Taipusi Qing.

The two couples communicated in low voices and told about the situation in Tokyo.

First, Tong Guan impeached Wang Zhen for disobeying military orders. After the army was defeated, he was attacked by surprise. Then Zhong Xiang rebelled and proclaimed himself emperor, and Zhong Xiang was an officer of the rural army recruited by Wang Zhen in Jinghu. Ju Ming negotiated peace with the court and asked for the family members of Wang Zhen and his son, confirming that the two of them were thieves.

Three major crimes, with no chance of recovery.

The monarchs and ministers of the Song Dynasty also wanted to save face and could not openly "collaborate with thieves". The families of Wang Zhen and his son were all sentenced to two thousand miles of exile.

It flowed and flowed, and it came to Xiangyang.

After listening to his old wife's story, Wang Zhen's face turned pale. He had been removed from the imperial court and was now just a bandit.

His grandfather Wang Gui, known as "Wang Tiebian", was brave and loyal to the country and died in Haoshui River.

His father, Wang Guangzu, followed Kumamoto to conquer the Southern Barbarians and was ranked first in merit.

He himself had been loyal to the imperial court for most of his life, but in the end he actually became a thief.

Wang Xun sighed and advised: "Sir, surrender, there is no way you can go back."

Wang Zhen stood there in despair, his head full of white hair looking particularly haggard.

Ju Ming said: "The former Chang Ping envoy on South Jing Road has a private mansion in Xiangyang City. No one lives in this mansion now, so your family can move in."

"Thank you, Marshal, for the reward." Wang Xun bowed.

Ju Ming added: "Today my family is reunited, let's go back and reminisce about the past."

Wang Xun took his mother, wife, children and children to leave, and pulled his silent father away.

A few days later, Wang Zhen finally figured it out and came to report in front of Ju Ming.

Wang Zhen was left to serve in the Marshal's Mansion, while his son Wang Xun was thrown into the militia.

After the veteran He Guan committed suicide, his son He Ji has surrendered and is currently serving as the militia commander in Jingmen. Wang Xun can serve as He Ji's deputy general.

After they have made meritorious service in battle, the entire army, from the generals to the militiamen under their command, can become regular members.

"Mr. Zhengchen, long time no see, do you still remember me?" Wang Yuan smiled and clasped his fists.

Wang Zhen was a little embarrassed and returned the greeting with cupped fists: "I don't dare to use the word Zhengchen anymore. I have changed the word to comply with it."

Both of them now serve in the Marshal's Mansion, probably similar to combat staff, and also receive some trivial powers.

Wang Yuan held a pile of military information and said, "I was ordered to explain official duties to the old general."

"Please speak." Wang Zhen didn't think too much now. Since he had chosen another master, he should behave himself and work for the new master.

Wang Yuan asked his attendants to bring boiling water and made tea for Wang Zhen himself: "This is black tea, made by Mr. Jinglue. Has the old general ever heard of it?"

Wang Zhen nodded: "There are also people in Tokyo who drink."

Wang Yuan opened the information and said: "The military structure of the rebel army has been changed again after the reorganization this year. There are about 10,000 people in a division. Each division has three to four brigades, and a brigade has more than 3,000 people. Each brigade has two regiments, There are more than 1,500 people in a regiment. Each regiment has three battalions, and each battalion has more than 500 people..."

"It's also a retro style." Wang Zhen couldn't help but complain. This reminded him of Song Huizong, who was obsessed with retro style.

Divisions, brigades, regiments and battalions all belong to ancient Chinese military units.

For example, during the Sui and Tang Dynasties, there were four levels of government soldiers: government, regiment, brigade and team.

When Ju Ming came up with this military system, knowledgeable people did not think that he was innovating, but thought that he was retrospecting like Song Huizong.

Wang Yuan continued: "The chief and deputy generals of a division are called division commander and division deputy. By analogy, there are brigade commander, brigade deputy, regiment commander, regiment deputy... Today there are only three division commanders, namely Zhang Guangdao, Li Baohe Yang Zhi. Even if the other generals can command enough troops, they are just fake (acting) division commanders..."

Wang Xun nodded to express his understanding. Those three were the real generals under Ju Ming's command.

Wang Yuan said again: "These are just military positions, just like the dispatches of the Song Dynasty. There are also military ranks, similar to the salary officers of the Song Dynasty, which are divided into generals, captains, lieutenants, soldiers, and pawns. Those who join the army for the first time are called pawns. Those with more than 10 years of service are classified as soldiers. Scholars are divided into three grades: upper, middle and lower. Those who have performed meritorious service can be promoted, or they can be promoted by accumulating years and months. The military ranks above are also divided into three categories: upper, middle and lower."

These are terms that have existed in ancient times, and they also use the metaphors of sending and sending officials in the Song Dynasty. Wang Zhen can understand it immediately.

The creation of military positions and ranks is not only to make the army more regular, but also to facilitate the promotion of officers and soldiers.

At present, there are only three major generals who have been awarded the title of general. Zhang Guangdao is granted the title of General Dingyuan, and Li Bao and Yang Zhi are granted the title of General Ningyuan.

These are all casual military officials in the early Northern Song Dynasty. General Dingyuan is the lower rank of the fifth rank, and General Ningyuan is the upper rank of the fifth rank.

The first rank is the hussar general, and the second rank is the general who governs the country and the general who assists the country.

Of course, the third-level champion general sounds the most popular.

Guan Sheng, Sun Lan, Li Jinyi and others belong to the colonel's deputy division, and also have general titles, namely ranger general and guerrilla general.

As for lieutenant colonels at the lower level, they only have the titles of captain, such as Colonel Zhaowu and Deputy Lieutenant Zhaowu.

After talking a lot about the army, Wang Yuan reminded in a low voice: "In addition to the three generals, there is one person who needs attention. Zhang Bor of the Generalissimo's Mansion, this person assisted the Generalissimo in managing the promotion of soldiers, and he even led the army to fight alone last year. "

Wang Zhen asked: "Who is this person from?"

Wang Yuan said: "After the famous minister Zhang Yong, he has been following the generalissimo for many years."

"The rebels are the most powerful of the four," Wang Zhen suddenly sighed, "Oh, why should I care about this? I am old and a reduced general, so it is enough if I can die well."

Wang Yuan's meaning was obvious. The surrendered generals should join the group for warmth, otherwise they would be severely suppressed, but Wang Zhen was unwilling to get involved.

Wang Zhen continued to familiarize himself with the situation, and soon discovered that Jingmen had the largest number of troops stationed there, and couldn't help but ask: "Are we going to attack Jiangling next?"

Wang Yuan said: "Jiangling must be captured. It is the hub of Sichuan's export of goods."

"If you want to defeat Zhong Xiang, I can personally go into battle and fight to the death!" Wang Zhen gritted his teeth at Zhong Xiang. If this person hadn't been involved in the rebellion, how could he have ended up like this?

…

Ju Ming has already gone to Jiangling in person and plans to talk to Zhong Xiang face to face.

If Zhong Xiang is willing to give up Jiangling, the two sides can continue to live in peace, otherwise they should prepare for war.

Zhong Xiang has occupied the entire territory of Tanzhou this year and is letting his generals attack Hengyang, Leiyang and Chaling, while he himself returns to Changsha to enjoy himself.

During the first six months of the rebellion, Zhong Xiang was an extremely qualified rebel leader.

At least on the surface, he doesn't indulge in women or pleasure, and he can treat his subordinates kindly.

But recently, he gradually changed his character, consecrating eight concubines at once, and mobilized civilian husbands to build palaces in Changsha. When dealing with officials and military generals, they no longer listen to opinions and become more arbitrary.

These are nothing. The fatal flaw of Prime Minister Zhong is the integration of politics and religion.

The officials under his command also integrated politics and religion, holding both official and teaching positions. People have to pay taxes to the government and donate money to religious societies. The entire tax system is in chaos.

The burden on the people has indeed been reduced, but Prime Minister Zhong cannot collect a few taxes at all, and now he relies entirely on confiscating money and food from wealthy households to make a living.

Moreover, Prime Minister Zhong's land was obviously vast and sparsely populated, but instead of organizing people to reclaim wasteland, he instead took away the cultivated land from the landlords and distributed it to the people.

Now that Prime Minister Zhong is starting to enjoy it again, and so are the officials, it is estimated that within a year at most, the money and food they robbed will be stretched thin.

What to do then?

Exploiting the common people.

Now is the time when Prime Minister Zhong wins the most "popular support", and Ju Ming is unwilling to go to war with this person.

Otherwise, those soldiers who believed in Manichaeism and were assigned fields would be really good at fighting on the battlefield, and would most likely be more difficult to fight than the Western Army.

Even if he defeats Zhong Xiang and seizes the Jinghu Road, Ju Ming will be regarded as an intruder by the people, and the subsequent governance will become extremely difficult.

We must wait for Zhong Xiang to lose the support of the people!

You can also fight a war first to consume Prime Minister Zhong's money and food, forcing him to exploit and rule the people in advance.

"The person surnamed Zhu sent an envoy to Jiangling and invited me to meet him in person?" Zhong Xiang, who was wearing a dragon robe, was surprised by the news.

Zhong Zi'ang, the crown prince of Dachu, said: "This man must have come to claim Jiangling. We must move Jiangling's belongings and move away the population as soon as possible. Jiangling hangs alone on the north bank of the Yangtze River. Once there is a fight, it will be surrounded. It is really unacceptable." Good to keep."

Zhong Xiang was very concerned about face now and said: "If I give up Jiangling without fighting a single battle, wouldn't it appear that I am afraid of people named Zhu?"

Zhong Ziang said: "My father wants the world, so how can he care about the gains and losses of one city or one place?"

"Let's go meet the man named Zhu first." Zhong Xiang didn't want to start a war with Ju Ming. He didn't even fully occupy the Jinghu Road.

And the further south we fight, the more intense the resistance we encounter.

A large number of wealthy households heard about Prime Minister Zhong's policies and would rather spend their entire lives to recruit troops than surrender to Prime Minister Zhong.