Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

The Qinzhou, Gongzhou, Chengzhou, Fengzhou, and Deshun armies of the old Song Dynasty were merged into one Gongqin Mansion by the Ming Dynasty.

The state-level administrative divisions of Qinzhou, Chengzhou, and Fengzhou were cancelled, and Qinzhou City was directly upgraded to Gongqin Fucheng.

Since most of Huizhou and all of Xi'an fell, the Gongzhou and Deshun armies close to these two places were able to retain the state military division. Moreover, the magistrates of the state and the army were directly responsible to the magistrate of Gong Qin, and could quickly obtain grain and grass transportation from the whole government, and could quickly recruit militiamen and civilians throughout the government.

To put it bluntly, Gong Qin Mansion is a small war zone, specially designed to deal with the Xixia Xishou Army.

Lanzhou and Hehuang further west are another small war zones, specially designed to deal with the Xixia and Nanjun Divisions.

Such divisions allow for faster wartime response, clearer civilian responsibilities, and closer integration between military and government.

Moreover, the risk of warlordization of frontier generals and frontier armies is greatly reduced!

In order to prevent the civilian prefects from suppressing military commanders too much, the imperial court increased the autonomy of military commanders (the power to mobilize troops and command during wartime).

Qinzhou (Tianshui), Longcheng (Maiji District, Tianshui City).

A speedboat sailed down the Weishui River. Before it reached the delivery shop outside the city, it blew its horn frantically to warn.

The soldiers saw clearly the flag of the incoming ship, and quickly reported it to the commander of the store, and hurriedly prepared another fast ship - this was a four-hundred-mile rush!

When the two boats met, the chief of the delivery shop hurriedly asked: "What's the big deal?"

On the express ship coming from the west, there was a courier standing on the bow. He said with a smile: "Happy event, great victory on the front line."

A large roll of cloth was handed over, each piece of cloth was made into a small flag, and the flags were filled with words.

This kind is called Lubu, which is specially used to report victory, tell the general results of the battle, and publicize it to the people along the way.

The real report of victory is written in more detail and will not be made public.

The courier soldier handed over several more official documents and warned: "This is a document reporting victory. It is top secret and urgent. It must be kept properly."

The two parties signed and handed over, and the express ship from the west was left behind. The express soldiers disembarked and went to the delivery shop to eat, drink and rest.

The courier troops outside Longcheng boarded the speedboat and headed east.

Lubu also left a copy to be sent to Gongqin Fucheng next door, and the prefect will send the content of the good news to the states and counties within his jurisdiction.

The post delivery system of the Ming Dynasty followed the old Song Dynasty and was divided into two types: post stations and delivery stores. The former is more civil affairs and is managed by local civilian officials; the latter is more military and is managed by local military attachés.

In the Song Dynasty, patrol soldiers and Dipu soldiers were both subordinate to the Xiang army.

After the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the reorganization of the Xiang army across the country has not yet been completed, but the post delivery system from various places has been urgently taken over. These delivery soldiers go directly to the local government to receive their wages, which are temporarily paid by the central government.

Ju Ming is very busy now. One of his tasks is to reorganize the Xiang army system.

It is time to disband and disband, it is time to change jobs, and some Xiang troops need to be regularized.

Hearing that it was the good news of Lu Bu, the merchants near the dock were the first to gather around.

The courier who brought the good news had already gone to eat, and the delivery manager began to read:

"The soldiers of the Ming Dynasty conquered Xixia, and the cabinet minister Zhong Shidao formulated a combat strategy. Liang Marquis Yang Zhi led the army to conquer Xixia and the Nanjun Division, and captured 20,000 Xixia soldiers. The city of the Nanjun Division was renamed Dingxi Fort."

"Liang Hou Yang Zhi met with 100,000 reinforcements from the Xixia Gansu Army and defeated them. He killed and captured more than 50,000 Xixia soldiers."

"The cabinet minister Zhong Shidao and Liang Hou Yang Zhi led Gong Xiu, Li Jinyi, Li Yanxian, Liu Xi, Liu Qi, Yao Pingzhong and other generals to besiege the 100,000-strong army of King Richard of the Western Xia Dynasty on three sides. Richard escaped with 10,000 remaining soldiers. They fled, and the rest were captured by the Great Tomorrow Soldiers."

"In these three battles, countless supplies and supplies were seized."

"Also, Yao Gu, the commander-in-chief of Xihe, and his son Yao Pingzhong, led the army to capture Zhenwucheng."

Lubu is written specifically for the common people, and achievements are often exaggerated. This Lubu has been written extremely realistically.

After the delivery manager finished reading, the merchants couldn't believe it.

"Really or not? How many soldiers does the Xixia army have?"

"I did some calculations and found out that this time alone we killed 160,000 prisoners. I'm afraid Xixia will have no soldiers left, right?"

"How can Xixia's army of hundreds of thousands be without soldiers? But if hundreds of thousands are suddenly gone, their vitality will definitely be severely damaged."

"I guess Lu Bu is exaggerating the results of the battle."

"Whether he exaggerates or not, it is definitely true to capture Zhenwucheng and Henan Army Division."

"With these two places returned to the imperial court, from Hehuang to Lanzhou, we no longer have to worry about Xixia plunder. It will be safer for us to do business in the future."

"You still have to rely on your father-in-law to come up with a good strategy."

"Then Marquis of Liang, named Yang Zhi, was also a general of the new dynasty. He captured more than 100,000 people in Xixia. He was the leader of the troops in the three battles. He was better at fighting than Liu Jinglue (Liu Fa)."

"But I know that when the Ming Emperor ascended the throne, he granted five marquises, one of whom was Liang Marquis Yang Zhi."

"If the Ming Dynasty's soldiers are so capable of fighting, I'm afraid they will be able to pacify the south within three to five years. When the time comes, we will be free to seize Liangzhou, Guazhou, and Ganzhou, and we people will be able to go to the Western Regions to do business."

"You think of all the good things, but how can you win in Liangzhou?"

"He Nanjunsi and Zhenwucheng have been taken, why can't Liangzhou take it?"

"..."

The merchants chatted lively and went to the tavern to eat and drink together. The conversation became more and more enjoyable as they drank.

The chief of the delivery shop sent another boat to deliver the dew cloth to Magistrate Gong Qin.

Express the boat along the Weishui River to Tongguan, switch to fast horses and ride to Biankou Town, and then take the speed boat straight to Bianliang, Tokyo.

The news of Lubu's success spread quickly in the cities along the way, and countless people cheered when they heard it.

Especially in Shaanxi's prefectures and counties, most places are determined by propaganda, and many gentry are still yearning for the Song Dynasty. With this great victory, they finally recognized the new dynasty from the bottom of their hearts, because if the new dynasty kept winning wars, their future war burden would be greatly reduced.

…

Outside Kaifeng, a passenger ship stopped.

Pan Lianggui and Shen Yuqiu each disembarked with their servants.

"I've been away from Beijing for many years, and finally I'm back." Shen Yuqiu said with emotion.

In the imperial examination that year, He Su was the number one scholar, Zhu Ming was the top scorer, and Pan Lianggui was the second prize.

Shen Yuqiu's imperial examination ranking was also very high, and he was the second-ranked Jinshi in that subject.

When Ju Ming conquered Kaifeng, the two of them were serving as officials in the south.

Song Huizong restored the throne in Hangzhou and proclaimed himself emperor. He pretended to promote talented people, and both of them were promoted to the court.

Pan Lianggui impeached the eunuch Liang Shicheng and accused him of seizing countless lands on Jiangnan East Road. At the same time, he also advised Song Huizong to treat the people well.

Liang Shicheng quickly retaliated, claiming that Pan Lianggui and Zhu Ming were in the same subject as Jinshi, and were the second and third place respectively. They had a close personal relationship for many years. Therefore, Pan Lianggui must be Ju Ming's spy, sent by Ju Ming to alienate the monarchs and ministers of the Song Dynasty.

After some squabbling, Pan Lianggui was demoted by Song Huizong to collect wine taxes.

Shen Yuqiu's hometown was in Huzhou. He thought that Song Huizong really wanted to work hard to govern, so he impeached Zhu Meng and enclosed countless lands in Huzhou.

Unexpectedly, Song Huizong still relied on Zhu Meng to recruit officials. Before it was time to slaughter the fat pigs, he conveniently demoted Shen Yuqiu to be the county magistrate.

When the two left Hangzhou, they got together to drink and chat, and they became increasingly angry.

They felt that the Song Dynasty was completely hopeless, and they and Zhu Ming were in the same class as Jinshi, so they simply resigned from their official positions in the southeastern court and quietly came to Kaifeng with them to seek official positions.

Pan Lianggui sighed as he looked at the city gate: "I could not have expected that Zhu Chenggong would be able to change dynasties when he became an official in the same discipline. All the past events are vivid in my mind. I even clearly remember the song that Zhu Chenggong responded to at the wedding banquet. poetry."

Shen Yuqiu said: "At the beginning of the new dynasty, there are enemies on all sides. There is no need to say much about the southeast, but Jinghu Zhongxiang cannot be underestimated. I heard that there have been several battles since the beginning of Xia. There is the Kingdom of Jin in the north and Xixia in the west. They are all fierce. Yi Di, I don’t know if the new dynasty can handle it calmly.”

The two of them took their slaves into the city without renting a donkey cart and strolled through the streets of Bianliang, admiring the city scenery and chatting and reminiscing about the past.

When I was tired from walking, I went to a street shop to rest and eat.

Shen Yuqiu pointed to the signboard and said, "I still remember Li Si's tea shop. Their wax tea is quite good, and their pastries are also very exquisite."

Although the name "Li Si Tea Shop" is very vulgar, the store is not small in size and is located in a prime location.

The shop is located on the side of Royal Street, with Zhouqiao and Daxiangguo Temple to the north.

"Please come in, guest officer!" the store clerk greeted warmly.

Shen Yuqiu glanced at the counter: "Why did the shopkeeper change? I remember that the shopkeeper was the shopkeeper in the past. He had a birthmark on his forehead. He was quite proficient in tea art. He often competed with customers in person for tea."

The store clerk sighed and said, "Oh, you two are old customers. Last year, before the heavenly soldiers entered the city, the city was in chaos. The store was robbed by the insurrectionary soldiers, and I don't know who was beaten to death. Even the Tuancha tea in my family was They were all looted.”

The two were choosing seats in the lobby downstairs and found that in addition to group tea, more customers were drinking black tea and green tea.

Pan Lianggui asked: "Is black and green tea popular?"

The shop assistant said: "Black and green tea was pioneered by today's officials. I heard that everyone in the palace drinks black and green tea. Why don't the officials and the people follow suit? Nowadays, Tuancha tea is not easy to sell, but black and green tea is very new."

Shen Yuqiu said: "Make a pot of the best-selling tea, and have cakes for five people."

"Okay, wait a minute, you two." The store clerk ran away happily.

The two had tea and cakes, and asked the servants to sit down and share. They discussed going to Taiping Xingguo Temple to stay in the monks' dormitory in the evening.

Just when the cakes were about to be finished, the sound of horse hooves suddenly came from the imperial street, and officials shouted along the street: "Great victory, great victory, the heavenly soldiers captured more than ten thousand Xixia people!"

"Go out and take a look!"

The tea guests stood up one after another and ran outside in a swarm.

Some people threw down money for tea and food, and some people shouted about accounting. Others said don’t touch the tea and they would be back soon.

In every city inside and outside the city, officials were dispatched to post the contents of the public notice, and countless people heard the news and came to watch.

When Pan Lianggui and Shen Yuqiu arrived at the scene, many people had gathered there. They couldn't squeeze in and could only listen to the literate people inside reciting.

After reading the Lubu, the people cheered, and they were happy as long as they won the battle.

Shen Yuqiu said excitedly: "It's unbelievable, it's unbelievable that such a great victory happened just after the new dynasty was established."

Pan Lianggui said: "The record may have been exaggerated."

Shen Yuqiu said: "It must be true that Brother Richard's army was besieged on three sides. He broke out and took away 10,000 remaining soldiers. Presumably many more were captured by the Heavenly Soldiers."

"Not sure, maybe the Ming army couldn't stop them and Brother Richard escaped most of them." Pan Lianggui speculated.

Shen Yuqiu said: "No matter what he does, we won the battle anyway. That is the Henan Army Division. The Song Dynasty has been trying to capture it but it is difficult to capture it!"

Pan Lianggui smiled and said: "It is indeed the founding of the People's Republic of China. You and I are just in time for the grand event!"