Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

"Xixia sent troops to help Song suppress thieves." Wang Jun smiled.

"That's nonsense," Zhang Shuye yelled angrily, "Since you were helping the Song Dynasty to suppress thieves, why didn't you contact us in advance and instead took advantage of the situation and captured the border areas of the Song Dynasty?"

Zhang Shuye was really angry. Xi'an Prefecture, which was captured by Xixia, was the one he established with his own hands. It was his most proud political achievement in his life.

Wang Jun explained: "It may be a misunderstanding. If the second prince writes to me, Xixia will definitely not be rude again."

Geng Nanzhong asked: "Can Xixia be returned to various states and counties?"

"It must be returned." Wang Jun said.

Geng Nanzhong said: "The Song Dynasty has sent envoys to order the Taiyuan garrison to hand over the city. The second prince of the Jin Kingdom should also let Xixia return to the border areas of the Song Dynasty. Only when both sides treat each other sincerely can they work hard to suppress the thieves!"

Wang Jun said: "The second prince has already written a letter, but it will take some time."

The envoy made various promises to somewhat alleviate the anger of the Song Dynasty monarchs and ministers, and was taken back to the Sifang Pavilion to wait for news.

After Wang Jun left, Nie Shan couldn't help but speak: "Your Majesty, Xixia and the Song Dynasty are feuding and have been coveting the border of the Song Dynasty for hundreds of years. How can they spit out the meat they eat?"

Qin Hui also said: "Xixia cannot be trusted."

Zhao Huan began to complain about Geng Nanzhong: "Master Geng advocated joining forces with the Jin to suppress the bandits. Why did Taiyuan and Zhongshan have to be ceded to the Jin Kingdom before the Zhu bandits were suppressed? Now even the northwest border is occupied by Xixia?"

Geng Nanzhong received a secret letter from Wanyan Zongwang, explaining: "The two armies of the Jin Kingdom went south. The Western Route Army did not know about the alliance between the Song and Jin Dynasties. They failed to attack Taiyuan for a long time before contacting the Xixia border. Since Taiyuan will be ceded to the Jin people, If the Western Route Army gets Taiyuan, they will definitely order Xixia to withdraw."

Zhang Shuye asked: "If the Jin people say to withdraw, will Xixia withdraw?"

Geng Nanzhong said: "Xixia has surrendered to the Jin people and will withdraw its troops according to the order."

"If Xixia does not withdraw its troops, how should Dazai respond?" Zhang Shuye stared at Geng Nanzhong angrily with his eyes wide.

"This... Xixia will withdraw its troops on its own."

Geng Nanzhong didn't know how to answer, and he didn't dare to make any promises. He could only avoid the important points and stay vague.

At this moment, a eunuch brought an urgent document.

After Zhao Huan read it, he said to the ministers: "Zhong Shizhong said that the troops in Tokyo are sufficient. He wants to lead troops to defend Xijing (Luoyang) and refuses to follow the imperial edict and go to Beijing to serve the king."

Zhang Shuye said: "Luoyang is empty of troops and should be garrisoned by the army."

But Bai Shizhong said: "The red thieves besieged the city with heavy troops, and they will definitely attack Tokyo with all their strength. How can there be enough troops in Tokyo? The officials must ask the Zhongshi to serve the king immediately, and just leave some rural soldiers to garrison in Luoyang."

Geng Nanzhong also said: "What Xiang Bai said is absolutely true."

Zhao Ye directly blamed him: "The Zhong family has lived in Luoyang for a long time, and the daughter of the Zhong family has married a Zhu Thief. Now instead of coming to King Qin, he is stationing troops in Luoyang. I am afraid he wants to dedicate Luoyang to the Zhu Thief!"

Zhang Shuye said angrily: "If the Zhong family wanted to surrender to the bandits, the bandits would have occupied Chang'an and killed them from Tongguan! If Zhong Shidao hadn't defended Chang'an and Xianyang, how could you and the others be talking nonsense here?"

"Don't talk about the Zhong family surrendering to thieves again!" the emperor said decisively.

Zhao Huan also felt that the Zhong family was loyal to the court. He had to think so, otherwise Guanzhong would be lost.

Zhao Ye said: "No matter what, we should call the Seed Division to Beijing. Firstly, we can prevent the Seed Division from dedicating Luoyang to the red thieves, and secondly, we can also increase the strength of Tokyo."

Zhao Huan was now scared to death. Although the Jin Kingdom was willing to help suppress the bandits, Wanyan Zongwang refused to cross the river until Taiyuan and Zhongshan were obtained, and remained stationed on the north bank of the Yellow River.

After thinking about it, Zhao Huan always felt that there were too few defenders in Tokyo: "Draw up a decree and order the army to go to the capital to be King Qin!"

…

"Xizuo sent a message," Zhu Ming said to the generals, "Geng Nanzhong isolated himself from the inside and outside. Not only did our envoys not be able to see the emperor, but even many ministers of the Song Dynasty couldn't see Zhao Huan."

Wang Zhen said with emotion: "When the Emperor of the Song Dynasty was still the crown prince, Geng Nanzhong was extremely humble and observant of etiquette, and carefully taught the prince how to be a king. Everyone thought Geng Nanzhong was a wise minister, but they didn't expect that he would become like this now."

Ju Ming said: "The storming of Gao Chi Shen in Tokyo City will inevitably cause heavy losses. Since Xixia invades, we have greater righteousness. Mr. Shi and Li Bangyan will cooperate in Tokyo City, and we will spread the word throughout the capital, saying that the monarchs and ministers of the Song Dynasty are for To eliminate internal troubles, to seek skin from tigers and betray the country for glory, we must cede Hebei and Hedong to the Jin Kingdom, and then cede Shaanxi to Xixia."

"Public opinion in the world will inevitably boil. I don't know how many people will surrender." Wang Yuan said with a smile.

During these days of siege and confrontation, Ju Ming and Wanyan Zongwang were both busy.

Zhu Ming led the main force to besiege Kaifeng, and sent partial troops to attack the city and capture the territory. He had already captured Zhongmou and Zhengzhou, and even Mi County and Xinzheng were decided upon.

Wanyan Zongwang took the opportunity to plunder the north and ordered officials from Liyang, Gongcheng, Xiuwu and other places to send money and food in the name of helping the court suppress thieves. Wanyan Zongwang would send cavalry to scare anyone who disobeyed and brought food, and the local officials immediately exploited the people for money.

A few days later, Zhongshi led his troops into Beijing.

The number of troops in Tokyo has reached more than 70,000. Among them, Li Gang recruited more than 20,000 troops from the capital, Zhang Shuye brought more than 30,000 Shandong soldiers, and more than 10,000 domestic troops from the division.

Now Zhang Shuye is in charge of Tokyo city defense, and the specific commander in charge is Fan Qiong.

Fan Qiong was born in the Tokyo Forbidden Army and was promoted by suppressing bandits in Shandong. This time he went to Beijing with Zhang Shuye to serve as king and led three thousand Shandong Forbidden Army.

Fan Qiong, who was a candidate officer of the Forbidden Army three years ago, was suddenly appointed as the general in Tokyo, and even the military divisions had to obey his arrangements.

When Zhu Ming heard that King Qin from the Zhong division had entered the capital, he immediately laughed: "Let Han Shizhong and Zhong Yanchong attack Xingze. After capturing the county seat, assign patrol troops to garrison the city. Han Shizhong and Zhong Yanchong marched westward along the Luoshui River. , knock down Luoyang!"

Li Bao reminded: "Although Luoyang is empty and quite wealthy, it is too far away from Tokyo. Will sending troops all the way there distract our army?"

Zhu Ming shook his head and said: "The situation is complicated now. The Song Army and the Jin Army will not take the initiative to start a war. Our army can just capture Luoyang. Taking it there will have little impact on the military, but it will cause a sensation politically!"

Nanjing (Shangqiu) has been captured by Li Bao, if Xijing (Luoyang) is captured by Han Shizhong, and Beijing (Daming) is still blackmailed by the Jin people, what kind of emperor is Zhao Huan guarding Tokyo?

The reason why Han Shizhong was sent to attack Luoyang was because his deputy general Chong Yanchong.

The Zhong clan is in Luoyang!

Chen Yuyi, who was also from Luoyang, also set out with the army this time. He was temporarily appointed as the prefect of Henan.

Under Ju Ming's deliberately distorted propaganda, the monarchs and ministers of the Song Dynasty ceded their territory to the Jin Kingdom and Xixia in order to survive. The news spread rapidly to Shimian prefectures, centered in Tokyo.

Chen Yuyi didn't know the real situation, and was influenced by public opinion and propaganda. He was completely disappointed with the Song Dynasty.

"Both of you are from Luoyang. Is that place easy to fight?" Han Shizhong asked.

Chen Yuyi said: "Luoyang is too rich and noble. There are many famous families in the city. Wen Tian and Wu Xi are already in the war. Once the army comes to the city, Luoyang will definitely surrender."

Zhong Yanchong also said: "The Zhong family still has some influence. If I give my name, some of the defenders should be willing to lay down their weapons."

Wherever Han Shizhong led his army, Xingze, Sishui, Gongxian, and Yanshi were easily captured. Officials either surrendered or fled, and all these cities were left to be garrisoned by the patrol troops who arrived later.

Luoyang, Xijing, is right in front of you.

The countryside around Luoyang should be the area with the most serious land annexation in the country, even more than the Chengdu Plain to a certain extent.

Because there are too many aristocratic families, and new big landowners are constantly being born.

There are not only the old and famous families since the Tang Dynasty, but also various academic circles since the founding of the Song Dynasty, as well as more and more clans from the Zhao and Song Dynasties, and an increasing number of retired ministers from the Northern Song Dynasty.

Luoyang was prosperous and prosperous but far away from the whirlpool of the court. Countless ministers and clan members came to Luoyang to settle down and enjoy themselves.

Inside and outside the city, there are famous families everywhere.

The streets and villages are full of powerful people.

The largest clan in Luoyang is not the descendant of Lu Mengzheng, but the descendant of Liu Yuxi in the Tang Dynasty.

The second largest family in Luoyang is the Ning family from Qiantang. After Zhao Song captured Wuyue, the Ning family followed the Qian family into the dynasty, and dozens of their descendants were all famous people in Luoyang.

Shao Yong, Er Cheng, Sima Guang, Lu Mengzheng, Wen Yanbo, Lu Gongzhu... The descendants of these people all settled in Luoyang!

Countless people from the Zhao and Song clans moved to Luoyang.

Han Shizhong was instructed by Ju Ming to promote only eight words in the countryside of Luoyang: tax reduction and rent reduction, food and clothing.

Just these eight words caused a large number of tenants to voluntarily join the army, and some heroic knights even took the opportunity to revolt. Han Shizhong went there with only 3,000 soldiers, quickly recruited tens of thousands of troops, and reorganized the troops outside Luoyang City.

Wang Xiang, the prefect of Henan and the general manager of the remaining Xidaodu, was so frightened that he abandoned the city and left.

Zhang Gao, the deputy general manager, was so worried that he was sweating profusely. He asked his son to break out of the city to see Er Zhai and asked Er Zhai to send troops to rescue Luoyang immediately.

Brothers Zhai Xing and Zhai Jin were both fierce generals in the Western Army. They used to fight with Liu Fa all year round, and then followed Liu Yanqing to conquer the Liao Dynasty. After the defeat, nothing happened to Liu Yanqing, but Er Zhai was held accountable, and they were all demoted and sent to Luoyang.

When Han Shizhong came to kill him, Wang Xiang decided to escape and instead of letting Er Zhai defend the city, he sent them to guard the imperial mausoleum.

Because Wang Xiang knew very well that if Luoyang was lost, he could still find excuses to clear his name. Once the imperial mausoleum was gone, he would die without a burial place.

At this moment, brothers Zhai Xing and Zhai Jin are guarding the imperial mausoleum, as well as their sons Zhai Cong, Zhai Xiang and Zhai Liang.

Historically, the Zhai family was full of loyal and loyal people, and only one Zhai Cong died.

They recaptured Luoyang twice, and even used street fighting to defeat the Jin soldiers. They fought from the Jingkang period to the puppet Qi Dynasty. Moreover, we did not have any decent troops at hand, so we had to rely on the rural soldiers and rebels to support us. Although we finally had a formal establishment, we had to find our own way to get the money, food, and soldiers.

"Father, uncle," Zhai Xiang said angrily, "Wang Xiang asked us to guard the imperial mausoleum, and Zhang Gao asked us to guard Luoyang. We only have a few thousand weak soldiers in our hands. No matter where we lose, we will be punished by the court afterwards. . It’s better to do the opposite!”

Zhai Xing was silent and felt extremely heavy.

Zhai Cong also said: "My father and uncle used to fight with Liu Jinglue (Liu Fa). Liu Jinglue was loyal to the emperor and served the country. What ended up in the end? Later, they followed Liu Yanqing to conquer the Liao Dynasty. It was Liu Yanqing who lost his troops and generals, but it was us who were accused by the court. Now Zhong Yanchong has become a traitor and brought troops back to attack Luoyang. Why should we, the Zhai family, serve the imperial court?"

Zhai Liang continued: "The rulers and ministers of the imperial court were unscrupulous. In order to suppress thieves and betray the country for glory, they ceded the Northern Territory to the Jin Kingdom. They also ceded Shaanxi to Xixia. In those border areas of Shaanxi, my father and uncle shed blood everywhere. Now the whole country I was ceded by the foolish king and traitorous officials!"

Zhai Jin looked at his brother: "If you defend the imperial mausoleum, you can't defend Luoyang, and if you defend Luoyang, you can't defend the imperial mausoleum. Losing any part of it is a serious crime. No matter how hard my brothers and my son fight with their lives, there will be no good result in the end. If my brother As a loyal minister, I will accompany my brother to death. If my brother defectes to the traitors, I will also join him. Please make a quick decision, brother!"