Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

Two miles north of Jiangling City, six thousand people stood in formation.

During the withdrawal of the army, except for some of the civilian men who retreated to the north to look after the food and grass, the rest came back to clean up the battlefield.

The weapons thrown away by the Chu army were picked up, and the armor of the Chu army's corpse was also stripped off, but the clothes on the corpse were still left. One corpse after another was neatly arranged outside the city, waiting for Zhong Xiang to send someone to receive it.

The moat was also full of corpses, some of which had even drifted into the Yangtze River. There was nothing we could do to help, so Zhong Xiang had to fish them out himself.

Zhong Xiang stood at the top of the city and watched the civilians move the corpses. After a long time, he said to the generals beside him: "You take the soldiers and people and go out from the east and west gates. When the enemy leaves, move the corpses back to the city. In the moat The corpses of the soldiers have also been salvaged. I want to save the souls of the soldiers who died in the battle and let them go to the Kingdom of Great Light cleanly."

The salvation of the souls of the dead is an important ritual of Manichaeism.

Because the doctrine says that human beings are the descendants of the devil, and Mingzun came to the world to save souls.

Manichaeism was greatly influenced by Zoroastrianism, so it stands to reason that it can neither be buried nor cremated. But religion has to follow the local customs. China has a huge population. How can there be so many open spaces and high mountains for sky burials?

With so many corpses in front of them, they must be burned, otherwise a plague is likely to break out.

The military civilian named Cheng Hu came again and brought the body of Xia Cheng, the Holy Duke of the East. He said to the general responsible for moving the body: "Our army is a benevolent and righteous army. We will not abuse prisoners. Even the corpses of our enemies will not be tortured." It will not be insulted. The deceased is great, and I am here to return the body of Duke Dongsheng to your country!"

Although the general of the Chu army hated Ju Ming deeply, he could only clasp his fists when encountering this kind of thing: "Thank you very much!"

Cheng Hu added: "Please tell the emperor of your country that the generalissimo wants to talk to him, and I will be solely responsible for the negotiation."

Not long after, Cheng Hu was invited into the city.

Zhong Xiang was no longer as imposing as before the war, and asked: "Is there anything else to talk about?"

Cheng Hu said: "I'm afraid there aren't many people left in your army. Ten thousand or twenty thousand? Even if you can escape 30,000 people, how many soldiers and armor will you have left? When the troops are defeated and flee, they may not have time to take off their armor, but most of the weapons will Throw it away. I know that there are many warriors in the Chu army, and they are all determined to defend to the end. But can they really hold on? The general is kind-hearted and cannot bear to see more casualties, so I ask you to get out of Jiangling yourself, but you are not allowed to take away Jiangling City. People!"

Population is what Ju Ming wants.

If you push Prime Minister Zhong into a hurry, I'm afraid the people in the city will be driven out to defend the city. Even if Jiangling is captured, the population will wither.

In fact, the Chu army that participated in the previous battle already numbered three to four thousand people, and they were residents recruited in Jiangling City.

Prime Minister Zhong still had doubts. He was afraid that if Jiangling was gone, Zhu Ming would lead his troops across the river.

Cheng Hu said: "Both parties can swear an oath to conclude a treaty. You will swear an oath to the Manichaean god, and the generalissimo will swear an oath to a god three feet above his head. Both parties agree not to fight again within three years. How about that?"

"Will he keep his promise so much?" Zhong Xiang sneered.

Cheng Hu said: "Not to mention after the army was launched, even before the army was launched, the generalissimo never broke his promise. To put it bluntly, the Chu army was not qualified to make the generalissimo break his promise, and even in this war, he did not show his true intentions. I The army's 300,000 soldiers are still in Sichuan and have not yet come over."

"A person who keeps his promise will kill my son's war horse during negotiations?" Zhong Xiang asked.

Cheng Hu smiled and said, "It's just killing an animal, and it didn't hurt anyone."

In fact, Zhong Xiang just wants to get off the stairs. He can no longer fight: "Tell me, what other unreasonable demands does Zhu have?"

Cheng Hushi said loudly: "Changyang, Yidu, Songzi, Ezhou (Wuchang), and Wuchang (Ezhou), these five cities must be ceded to us."

"Don't even think about it!"

Zhong Xiang was furious: "My dear, Zhu Ming, you have bullied me too much. If you want to fight, then fight. Even if I die here, I will not agree!"

Cheng Hu said: "Your Excellency is defeated, so you have to come up with something to make a truce. If you don't agree with this proposal, please give me an explanation."

Zhong Xiang said: "Only for Jiangling and Zhijiang."

Cheng Hu shook his head: "Our army has already defeated Zhijiang, and Jiangling has also arrived at the city. These two cities belong to our army, and you are too insincere. You really want to fight again, and our army will accompany you to the end. I know that you are here There is still a large army in Jinghu, but the 300,000 troops in Sichuan are not just for show!"

"I'm afraid an army of three hundred thousand can only coax children." Of course Zhong Xiang didn't believe it.

Cheng Hu said: "Jinghu Road is vast and sparsely populated, and you can have more than 100,000 troops. Sichuan is densely populated, why can't you have 300,000 troops? The regular soldiers fighting today are similar to the Forbidden Army of the Song Dynasty. We still have a few more There are tens of thousands of inspection troops, similar to the Xiang army of the Song Dynasty. There are also countless peasant soldiers who train after farming, similar to the rural soldiers of the Song Dynasty, with more than 200,000 in number."

After such an analysis, Zhong Xiang actually believed it. Perhaps there were really 300,000 troops in Sichuan that had not left.

Cheng Hu continued: "The barbarians in southern Sichuan are in trouble, so the Dali Kingdom will also come to harass them, and they have to guard against the officers and soldiers going south. The Generalissimo really doesn't want to fight with your country anymore. Why don't the two sides shake hands and make peace, and our army will do its best to deal with the southern barbarians and Dali, and then Go north to attack Shaanxi and Henan. Your country will use all its strength to capture the entire Jinghu Road. You can attack Jiangxi to the east or Guangxi to the south. You and I are both rebels. The Song Dynasty has not yet been destroyed. How can we conquer it? Kill each other?"

Of course, Prime Minister Zhong wanted to expand east and south, but Ju Ming was just north of the Yangtze River, so he divided his troops to defend the city along the river.

Cheng Hu suggested: "How about this, both sides send envoys to visit the cities along the river. Each riverside city should not have more than a thousand troops stationed, so that both sides can rest assured and mobilize more troops to fight against the officers and soldiers. After the truce, both sides If we resume exchanges, we can do business in each other’s territories.”

This proposal made Zhong Xiang extremely excited.

If he didn't deploy heavy troops along the river, he could take a large number of elites south and definitely capture several silver mines in the south. The industry and commerce on Jinghu Road are underdeveloped. After occupying a large number of silver mines, you can still use the silver to buy supplies from Ju Ming.

After thinking about it, Zhong Xiang said: "Only give it to Yidu and Changyang, and forget about the other cities."

"Then give me some more money and food." Cheng Hu said.

"No!" Zhong Xiang refused.

Cheng Hu had completed his task, but he still pretended: "I want to go back and ask the Generalissimo for instructions, and I will give you an answer tomorrow."

Zhong Xiang shouted: "See off the guests!"

…

Ju Ming said: "I have a detailed work on Jinghu Road. Although it is not easy to send back the news, I can still send back a few secret letters. The Chu State replaced the rural Baojia with a ritual altar similar to a club. But those rural altar owners are slowly Slowly becoming a new squire. Moreover, merchants have fled to various places and trade has almost stagnated. Many cities need to organize civilians to transport food supplies. Do you still think Prime Minister Zhong can succeed?"

Yingxuan sighed: "Some of his actions are indeed open to question."

"My detailed work can only explore the countryside and cities, and I don't know much about the powerful people in Chu State," Zhu Ming asked, "Can you tell me what those powerful people think?"

Yingxuan said: "Although the Holy Dukes, Holy Kings, and Holy Lords began to enjoy it, they did not go too far. If they were placed in the Song Dynasty, all of them would be upright officials. Even the emperor of Chu would not be as powerful as Dona. A few concubines, better dressed, better fed, built palaces without wantonly killing the people."

Ju Ming smiled and said, "Is that because the goods they grabbed have not been used up yet? What do those dignitaries of Chu think of Manichaeism?"

Yingxuan said: "Few of those who raised troops to respond believed in Manichaeism."

This is very similar to the Fang La Uprising. There are always some heroes who respond to the uprising and are willing to follow Fang La as their leader, but they do not believe in Manichaeism at all.

However, Zhu Ming helped withstand the officers and soldiers. In the early stages of the uprising, Zhong Xiang had enough time and energy to integrate his forces, and his control over those who responded to the uprising was far greater than Fang La's.

Ju Ming asked about the situation in detail and learned more information from Ying Xuan.

Perhaps because time is still short, although Prime Minister Zhong and his generals are beginning to enjoy themselves, compared with the leaders of the peasant army in previous dynasties, they are now very able to stick to their original aspirations.

There is no big problem with the upper class of Chu State, but the real problem is with the middle and lower classes!

Especially in the newly occupied territory this year, it can be described as a mixed bag of good and bad. Countless speculators have joined in, making it impossible to distinguish them.

Nan Shenggong of Chu State led troops to attack Guiyang Prison, and asked Hengzhou officials to recruit troops and transport food to join the war. As a result, the war finally broke out. The soldiers brought by the opportunists were paddling for fish all the time. They collapsed when faced with the officers and soldiers. Only Nan Shenggong's headquarters was willing to fight.

…

A few days later, the peace treaty was signed.

Chu State was willing to sell Yidu and Changyang, two small towns close to Yiling, to Ju Ming, and recognized Jiangling and Zhijiang as Ju Ming's territory.

It's not a cession, but a sale, and Prime Minister Zhong also wants to save face.

Yidu is worth 3,000 guan and grain is worth 1,000 shi; Changyang is worth 2,000 guan and grain is 800 shi. Although it is nothing, money and food must be given, and Zhong Xiang promises not to take away too many people (he will take away the craftsmen).

Jiangling does not need to pay, but Jiangling's soldiers and craftsmen, as well as Prime Minister Zhong, will also be taken away.

The two sides sent envoys to each other and lived in the cities along the river to keep an eye on their respective garrison situations. The garrison in each city, including the suburbs, could not exceed 2,000 people.

Comprehensively resume non-governmental trade and exchange what is needed.

The peace treaty lasted for three years.

This war cost Ju Ming a lot of money and food, but he captured the four cities of Jiangling, Zhijiang, Changyang, and Yidu, three of which were strategic locations.

At the same time, avoid falling into a long-term battle and gain stable development time for Xiangyang Prefecture and Nanyang Prefecture.

Without the threat from the south, officials can be dispatched to manage the Sangui area around Honghu Lake to end the anarchy there.

Although Zhong Xiang suffered heavy losses, he also gained valuable development time and could mobilize an army south to attack the city and seize territory. As long as his main force goes south, the remaining prefectures and counties on Jinghu Road should be able to occupy all within a year.

Yingxuan, who surrendered to Ju Ming, did not marry a wife and have children. He only had an old mother at home, and Zhong Xiang agreed to send her here quietly.

The Song Dynasty court heard that Zhu Ming and Zhong Xiang were at war, and the emperor and his ministers were very happy about it. Who knew that the battle would be over after the war, and they planned to come over next year to clean up the mess.

The various rebel armies in Shandong were almost wiped out by the imperial court, but Tong Guan's victorious army had outstanding military exploits.

However, there are a large number of remaining peasant armies hidden in various mountainous areas in Shandong.

The Hebei peasant army was also beaten to a small extent by the Western Army, but tens of thousands of peasant troops penetrated into the Taihang Mountains.