Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

The emperor and his ministers of the Great Song Dynasty almost missed Ju Ming's waist with their coquettish maneuvers.

But when thinking of Zhao Huan in the history books, everything seems to be reasonable again.

At the military meeting, Wang Yuan spoke first: "According to the news from Mr. Shi, if the Song and Jin Dynasties join forces, Kaifeng's military strength will exceed 100,000, which is more than twice our army's strength. And relying on the strong city and the Yellow River, the enemy can attack It can be defended, but the situation is really unfavorable to our army."

Wang Zhen, however, was not very worried, but said with a smile: "The Song army alone can fight among themselves, but now that the Jin soldiers are added to the mix, it will be crazy if they can work together."

Li Bao had already brought troops to join forces and asked, "Where are Yang Zhi's Hanzhong troops?"

Wang Yuan pointed to the map and said: "Song's King Qin's Western Army has blocked the passage, and they can only rely on careful and adventurous information to spread the news. The last time the Hanzhong soldiers sent military information was half a month ago. They had occupied Fengzhou. (Fengxian), Baoji, Xixian and Yuxi..."

Wang Yuan took a small stick and drew a few circles on the map: "Yao Gu's Qin Wang's Western Army, which consisted of about 20,000 to 30,000 people, had already entered Guo County by land and water. When he heard that Xi County had been captured by our army, he was so frightened that he immediately retreated. Baoji. Hearing that Baoji was gone, he went north along Qianshui (Qianhe) to stay away from the battlefield. He first stationed himself in Qianyang (Qianyang), and then withdrew to Longzhou (Long County)."

"Liu Yanqing's army, about 20,000 to 30,000 strong, marched southward along the Yanqing and Jinghe Rivers. When he learned that our army had occupied Xuxi, Liu Yanqing immediately stopped his march and stationed the entire army in Jingyang. He neither occupied Chang'an nor entered the army. By blocking Xianyang, it seems that our army is allowed to seize these two important places."

"About 40,000 to 50,000 vanguards of Zhongshidao's army have arrived at Tongguan, and the main force is still in Huayin. When they heard that Hanzhong soldiers were marching north, they immediately stopped advancing eastward."

"Yang Zhi's side is very difficult. He only has more than 20,000 soldiers at his disposal, including less than 30,000 patrol troops, but he has to face more than 100,000 Western troops. Fortunately, the Western troops are divided into three places and fight separately. They do not belong to each other, otherwise Yang Zhi will have to retreat to Wuzhangyuan and Monk Plains."

Li Bao asked in confusion: "Where did the Tundoxi army come from?"

Han Shizhong said: "They must have been recruited in the past two years. They are mainly Shaanxi rural soldiers. There are not many Imperial Army and Xiang Army left. Almost all the people in Shaanxi are soldiers, and they can be recruited to form an army. But at this time, the Western Army must be short of armor. , combat effectiveness and morale are far worse than before."

"The Zhong Family Army suffered heavy losses. It is estimated that many of the soldiers under Zhong Jinglue can no longer be called the Zhong Family Army." Zhong Yanchong explained his own situation. "It is okay to let them defend the city and suppress the bandits, but in the wild If you fight against Hanzhong soldiers, you will definitely lose!"

Han Shizhong said: "The Western Army was frightened by our army last time, and they also released a large number of prisoners of war. They all know that our army is benevolent and will not kill prisoners. Once the situation is not right, countless people will definitely surrender or escape."

Zhu Ming asked Han Shizhong and Zhong Yanchong: "You are both from the Western Army. Can you guess what the generals of the Western Army think? Is it possible that the entire army will switch sides?"

Zhong Yanchong shook his head: "It is impossible for the Zhong family to surrender."

Han Shizhong said: "Liu Yanqing must prioritize preserving his strength. The reason why he did not seize Chang'an and Xianyang is to avoid a fierce battle with the Hanzhong soldiers. Once he captures these two cities, he will definitely become the main target of the Hanzhong soldiers. As a last resort, Liu will Yanqing will not fight with the Hanzhong soldiers, nor will he bring troops to defect to him. He just wants to maintain the status quo and be the leader of the soldiers. It is best for the Song Dynasty not to be destroyed and our army to always exist. This is in his best interest."

In fact, the situation on the West Road battlefield is extremely strange.

Yang Zhi's more than 20,000 troops occupied the city along the Wei River, like a long snake spread out.

Yao Gu of the Third Route Western Army was at the tail of the snake, Liu Yanqing was in the northeast of the snake's head, and Zhong Shidao was in the east of the snake's head.

This will put Yang Zhi in trouble. No matter where he attacks, he will be exposed and be attacked by the Western Army. If they run to occupy Xianyang and Chang'an, they will be caught by Liu Yanqing and Zhong Shidao.

We can only blame Yang Zhi for sending troops too quickly and heading north before the Western Army left.

Of course, if Yang Zhi does that, the pressure will shift to Ju Ming, and there will be 100,000 more Western troops in Kaifeng!

What is Yang Zhi doing at this time?

Explosive troops!

There were soldiers all over Shaanxi, and there were deserters in almost every village. They couldn't stand the harsh treatment of the officers and fled back to their hometowns. There are also many refugees and runaways, which are ready sources of troops.

The Zhu family and his son had an excellent reputation in the Wei River area, and a large number of merchants brought news about Hanzhong. The common people knew that Hanzhong's taxes were lighter, and many people even looked forward to the Hanzhong soldiers coming to kill them soon.

At present, Yang Zhi has recruited 20,000 troops along the Wei River. He does not even need to provide weapons. The people themselves bring weapons and join the army. It's just that there is a shortage of armor, and two-thirds of the newly formed troops cannot wear armor.

These recruits are of mixed quality, including deserters, gangsters, thieves, farmers, citizens, miners... they come from such diverse sources that it is impossible to effectively screen them, and military discipline is naturally very different.

Yang Zhizheng rectified military discipline through military training, and at the same time asked the patrol officers to be assigned to lead these new soldiers.

After the new recruits were barely trained and allowed to defend the newly occupied city, it was time for more than 20,000 regular troops to go to war.

The first target of attack was neither Liu Yanqing nor Zhong Shidao, but Yao Gu, who was eyeing the snake's tail!

It can only be said that Yang Zhi was too conservative in fighting.

If it were Li Bao who led the army, he would definitely be attacking cities and territories while expanding his army along the way, and military discipline would not be able to control that much. Li Bao will capture Chang'an as quickly as possible, abandoning unimportant cities directly, and only needs to capture the four cities of Chang'an, Xixian, Baoji, and Yusi.

And Yang Zhi was afraid of being attacked from both sides by the Western Army. Not to mention he didn't dare to capture Chang'an, he didn't even dare to attack Xianyang. He had to wait for the new recruits to train before he started.

We can’t say who is right or wrong, it’s just a matter of radical and conservative use of troops.

According to Li Bao's style of play, once the Western Army unites and fights, the situation in Shaanxi is very likely to collapse. According to Yang Zhi's style of play, although the progress is relatively slow, he can advance, attack, retreat and defend, and he can always remain invincible.

Even Han Shizhong, who liked taking risks, felt that Li Bao was a madman when he learned about Li Bao's many battles, especially this time when he exploded troops in Lianghuai.

Well, it suits Han Shizhong’s taste very well!

…

Chang'an.

Zhongshidao couldn't wait for the court's order, he had already brought his troops back.

The Zhong family army was divided into two. Zhong Shizhong led his troops to King Qin of Kaifeng, and Zhong Shidao himself defended Chang'an and strangled Guanzhong.

The gunpowder has been produced by Zhongshi Dao. Although it is not the optimal ratio formula, it can already explode. Zhongshidao even developed a musket, similar to the most primitive fire gate gun, with a short range, poor accuracy, and a rare number of only more than 60.

If he continues to be given time, Zhongshidao will even develop artillery.

"Father, the imperial court is urgent!" Zhong Xi led a messenger in.

Zhong Shidao opened the official document in person and was trembling with anger: "Where did you come from to join forces to suppress thieves? The emperor and ministers in Tokyo have gone crazy, and they don't even care about the Huayi defense!"

"The imperial court wants to borrow gold soldiers to suppress thieves?" Zhong Xi asked in surprise.

Zhong Shidao said: "Just borrowing troops to suppress thieves is nothing, but how can the Jin people be easily dismissed? Although I don't know what the Jin people's conditions are, I will definitely take the opportunity to extort money and even cede the land."

Zhongxi asked: "What military order was issued by the imperial court?"

Zhong Shidao said: "Let the Western Army defend Chang'an. If Chang'an cannot be defended, they will defend Tongguan to defend Heluo. Except for Guanzhong, other cities in Shaanxi can be discarded. Order the Western Army to divide 50,000 troops to serve the king in Tokyo as soon as possible. What does the court mean? , first defeat the Zhu bandits in Kaifeng, and then go back and send troops to recover Shaanxi and Lianghuai."

Zhong Xi was silent for a moment, and after the messenger left, he said, "Has father read the "Essay on the Pursuit of Gold"?"

"I've seen it. Zhu Thief is forging great righteousness in order to prepare for becoming emperor in the future." Zhong Shidao said.

Zhongxi said: "The imperial court borrows troops to suppress the bandits, and the Jin people will surely wreak havoc in Hebei. If the imperial court cedes territory again, the Zhu bandits' righteousness will be confirmed."

…

Longzhou (Long County).

Yao Pingzhong hurried into the house: "Father, Li Xiaozhong changed his name to Li Yanxian and gathered troops in Longxi to rebel in response to the red thieves. Longxi Kongkong has been captured by him. If he captures Ningyuan (Wushan) and Qinzhou (Tianshui) again, he will be like Baoji. The thieves are united in a line!"

Yao Gu was stunned when he heard this.

Although the Yao family was originally from Yunyang (Sanyuan), Yao Gu and his son had guarded Xihe Road for many years, and the fundamentals of the Yao family army had long since changed.

Li Yanxian raised troops in Longxi, which completely cut off the father and son's retreat.

Yao Pingzhong said in a low voice: "It's better to rebel and lead the troops to surrender to the Zhu thieves as the founders of the country. Shaanxi is so corrupt that Zhao and Song are hopeless. Why bother to work for the Song Dynasty again?"

Yao Gu walked around anxiously, still unable to make a decision.

"What is father worried about?" Yao Pingzhong asked.

Yao Gu said: "What if the imperial court wins?"

Yao Pingzhong said with a smile: "What can the imperial court use to win? The only ones that can fight are the Western Army and Zhejia went to save Taiyuan. Once we surrender to Hanzhong, Liu Yanqing will be even more frightened. Even if he doesn't surrender, he will lead his troops to escape. Relying on a master's skill Can we still save the situation?"

Yao Gu muttered: "The Zhu family is not the Zhao family. Once you surrender, you will be manipulated by it sooner or later. I am afraid that the soldiers under your command will no longer have the surname Yao."

"Hanzhong has not yet become the king, so if we vote for it, we can barely count the merits." Yao Pingzhong began to think about the future. "Although the child is not talented, he is still powerful in Shaanxi. In terms of martial arts, there is no second person. With the child's talent , I will surely make great achievements again in the new dynasty, and fight for the Yao family to be a prince for generations!"

When later generations talk about Yao Pingzhong, they only say that he failed to lead his troops to attack the Jin people at night and destroyed the last fighting soldiers in Kaifeng City.

He also talked about his driving skills. After the defeat, he rode a green mule and fled for 750 miles day and night. Then he fled thousands of miles to Qingcheng Mountain, and then ran another 270 miles to Damian Mountain to live in seclusion and practice Taoism.

All by mule!

What nonsense, that mule burns 95-octane gasoline?

Yao Pingzhong's reputation at this time was extremely loud. He had made many meritorious deeds in the war with Xixia, and the heroes of Shaanxi respected him as "Little Taiwei". And he was quite arrogant. When he was young and energetic, Tong Guan tried to conquer him, but Yao Pingzhong directly spoke rudely to Tong Guan, causing his achievements to be erased by Tong Guan.

He led troops to attack the Jin camp at night. There must have been a treacherous official who tipped off the news. Otherwise, how could the Jin soldiers know the news in advance and set up an ambush when the camp was completely empty?

Yao Pingzhong deliberately competes with the Zhong family army for credit, which is naturally undesirable. But at that time, when the Jin soldiers were besieging the city, he dared to take the initiative to lead troops to rob the camp and put him among a group of Western generals. He was already considered brave and courageous.

Yao Pingzhong became more and more excited as he spoke: "It doesn't matter if the Song Dynasty is not protected. I made many military exploits in the Xixia War, but because I offended Tong Guan with a few words, all my merits were lost. The Zhu family and his son asked the court for Han Shizhong by name. They must have listened. Talk about Han Shizhong's martial prowess. My martial prowess is much greater than that of Han Shizhong. If the Zhu family is thirsty for talents, they will definitely reuse them, and no one will come back to seek military exploits. If I join him, I will definitely achieve unparalleled feats, and maybe even destroy Xixia! "

Yao Pingzhong is young and energetic, has many fantasies about the future, and is full of ambitions waiting to be realized.

Yao Gu is getting old, and he only thinks about how to maintain the status quo, and his enterprising spirit has long been wiped out by time. It's like a middle-level manager of a large company who knows that the company is about to go bankrupt, but can't make up his mind to change jobs, and still clings to the power of his department.

"Father, it's time to make up your mind!" Yao Pingzhong urged anxiously.

Yao Gu said: "Wait a little longer, wait a little longer."

Yao Pingzhong said: "How long do we have to wait? Only when we lead our troops to surrender will we become of great use!"

"Wait a few more days." Yao Gu planned to continue to wait and see.

Yao Pingzhong felt that his father was too courageous, so he went to the military camp outside the city, ordered thousands of soldiers and horses under his command, and left towards Baoji without telling him.

As long as you commit the crime of surrendering to a thief, your father will definitely follow suit!

After walking near Mianyang, General Wu Jie finally couldn't help but ask: "Young General, are you planning to attack the bandits by surprise?"

"Don't ask too many questions. You will know when the time comes." Yao Pingzhong said.