Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

On the bank of the Wuna River, the city of Ketun can be seen in front of you with the naked eye.

Yelu Yujian, Shi Jianu, and Ba Lisu led more than 10,000 cavalry to conquer Yelu Dashi.

Why let Yelu Yujian be the coach?

Because the Jin Kingdom sent troops in a hurry, there were not enough troops and insufficient military rations. It is necessary to use Yelu Yujian's fame and connections to get the grassland tribes to send troops to cooperate and provide food and grass along the way.

Several cavalrymen rushed back, knelt in front of Shi Jianu and said, "Marshal, Kedun City is empty, and there is no one in the nearby pastures."

"I know." Shi Jianu's face was expressionless.

Yelu Dashi has escaped. Where can I find him in the vast desert?

Because they contacted the Ming Dynasty and sent troops together, Yelu Dashi launched his attack earlier than in history and attacked the Jin Kingdom's Northern Second Battalion.

That was the stronghold of the Jin Kingdom that controlled the Hulunbuir Grassland. After it was pulled out by the Yelu Stone, it could no longer actually control the place and could only indirectly control it by bribing the grassland tribes.

The current situation in the Jin Kingdom is that Wu Qimai and the court in Harbin control the entire northeastern region.

Wanyan Zonghan's Yunzhong Privy Council controlled the grasslands of Inner Mongolia and northern Shanxi.

Wanyan Zongwang's Yanshan Privy Council controlled the Yanshan area and northern Hebei, and had access to grain supplies from the Northeast.

When Yelu Dashi pulled out the Second Battalion in the North, it was not the Jin court that was angered, but Wanyan Zonghan who was entrenched in Datong, Shanxi!

Wanyan Zonghan was angry and raised troops. He sent a message to the court in Harbin and immediately sent elite cavalry to Mobei to conquer.

The elite Jurchen cavalry are indeed invincible, and they are invincible all the way north.

However, the enemy cannot be found...

Yelu Dashi did not fight with the Jin soldiers at all, and even gave up the city of Kedun, the capital of Xiliao.

"Da da da da..."

The rumble of horse hooves sounded, and Yelu Yujian led more than a thousand cavalry, running quickly from the southeast.

When he saw the deputy marshal Shi Jianu, he, the marshal of the Liao Dynasty, knelt down on one knee and said, "Consort, all the grassland ministries are willing to send troops, but they say there is insufficient food and ask the court to allocate military rations first."

"Bang!"

The slave of the Shi family kicked over the table, and the anger he had accumulated for more than two months couldn't stop venting out: "I asked them to give me food, but they asked me to allocate food. I really don't dare to lead my troops to crush them." tribe?"

Yelu Yu saw and advised: "Suddenly attacking and killing the already attached tribes may cause chaos in the grassland again."

"Is that what they call surrender? During the war, if they don't send troops or provide food, what's the use of them?" Shi Jianu became more and more angry as he thought about it, and even kicked Yelu Yujian, "And you, you keep saying that you are You can subdue all the tribes, but you can't even bring a tribe to fight. What a waste!"

Yelu Yujian was kneeling on the ground and was almost knocked down by the kick. He was filled with aggrievedness and anger and did not dare to show it. Instead, he kowtowed to the slaves of the Shi family: "Consort, please calm down."

This consort is the son-in-law of Wanyan Aguda.

"Withdraw troops tomorrow!" Shi's slaves walked away with a puff of sleeves.

If we don't withdraw our troops, we won't have enough food to return to Datong.

A few days after the Jin cavalry withdrew, Yelu Dashi personally led his troops back to Kedun City.

Ma Kuo and Yu Yunwen also followed him on horseback.

Ma Kuo said flatteringly: "The gold thief returns without success, and the reputation of the Khan will resound throughout the grassland."

Yelu Dashi shook his head and said: "We have to fight a few more battles to win. A khan who can only run away will not be able to convince the people on the grassland."

Yelu Dashi's situation is far from being as good as it seems.

The Western Liao Kingdom he established now has seven states and eighteen tribes, but it is actually more like a loose tribal alliance.

The various tribes in the northwest of the Liao Kingdom rebelled for ten years, and the Liao Kingdom's century-old operation here was ruined. Although the Liao Kingdom successfully suppressed the rebellion, it fought for ten years and only killed Marcus, who led the rebellion. Even Marcus's children and grandchildren were not affected.

(Marcus, who was killed in rebellion, later had a grandson named Wang Khan, and Wang Khan had an adopted son named Temujin.)

Since then, the Liao Kingdom could only rule Mobei in name only. In just a few years, how could Yelu Dashi really make these tribes surrender?

Once they suffer a major setback, it is estimated that more than 50% of the eighteen tribes under Yelu Dashi will rebel, and the remaining 20% ​​will listen to the instructions but not the propaganda!

Therefore, Yelu Dashi can only win but not lose. If he loses, he will not be able to stay in Mobei and can only go to bully those countries in the Western Region.

…

However, Yelu Yujian and Shi Jianu returned to Datong and were soon punished by Wanyan Zonghan.

Spending food and fodder, returning without success, and failing to overwhelm the grassland tribes, all these crimes have been proven by Yeluyu. Who made him the coach of this expedition?

Wanyan Zonghan took the opportunity to deprive Yelu Yujian of his military power, and all the Khitan soldiers in his hands were gone.

A polished commander.

"boom!"

The wine glass was placed heavily on the table, and Yelu Yu saw him pouring himself a glass of wine, drinking sip after sip.

He, the uncle of the Liao Dynasty, was forced to defect to the Jin Kingdom due to political struggles. Over the years, he has made many contributions to the Kingdom of Jin, but in exchange he has been suspected again and again.

When Aguda was still alive, he moved all Yelu Yujian's wives, concubines, sons and tribes to the hinterland of the Kingdom of Jin to serve as hostages. This move provoked Yelu Yujian's generals to join forces to rebel against Jin. From then on, he was even more distrusted.

Now, all his military power has been wiped out!

"Father……"

Yelu Dongzhen pushed open the door and entered. He was the only son allowed to follow Yelu Yujian.

"Close the door." Yeluyu said depressedly when he saw his mood.

Yelu Dongzhen first looked out, then closed the doors and windows, and whispered: "Father, Jin Guo cannot stay here, otherwise we will be convicted and killed sooner or later."

Yeluyu sneered when he saw it: "If you can't stay in the Jin Kingdom, where else can you go? To Xixia or to Yelu Dashi?"

Yelu Dongzhen said: "My father and Yelu Dashi are both ferocious tigers. It is difficult to accommodate two tigers on one mountain, and I will never go to Mobei. Xixia is begging for mercy in front of Wanyan Zonghan, and my father and son have no soldiers. If they go there alone, they may not be taken in." .Then only the Ming Dynasty in the south is left!"

"I don't know who the emperor of the Ming Dynasty is, and he has no way to get there." Yeluyu said doubtfully.

Yelu Dongzhen said: "Now only the Ming Dynasty is willing to accept us. Bringing a lot of information about the Jin Kingdom, as long as the emperor of the Ming Kingdom is not stupid, he will definitely grant us official titles."

The father and son discussed it and began to formulate an escape plan.

First, he shaved his head and put on a hat so that no one would notice. Then he got two sets of monk robes.

They lived outside Datong and owned some land, servants and tenants.

The father and son called their concubine (the main wife was a hostage in Liaodong), said they were going to the city, and rode horses halfway towards the south.

Wanyan Zonghan did not send anyone to keep an eye on a surrendered general who lost his army. The concubines and servants of the father and son all thought that they had gone to the city to visit friends. The two of them rode away on horseback for more than ten days, and no one noticed!

They did not dare to enter the city along the way and rode straight to Yanmen Pass. Before entering the mountain, he changed into monk robes, dressed up as two monks, one old and one young, killed the horses and threw them in the ravine, and walked the rest of the way.

Due to last year's shaving and changing of hair regulations, a large number of Han people pretended to be monks and would rather shave their heads than wear the Jin Dynasty hairstyle.

The father and son pretended to be monks and were inconspicuous. They didn't bring any contraband in their bags, so they got through easily.

At this time, Xinzhou was still occupied by the Jin State, and Chitang Pass was also in the hands of the Jin State, but Tianmen Pass had been recovered by Zhang Guangdao.

The two went around to the southwest of Xinzhou, over the mountains and ridges, and headed straight to Tianmen Pass. They were caught as soon as they reached the pass.

Yelu Yujian was half exhausted from climbing the mountain and allowed the soldiers to tie him up. He said calmly: "My father and my son are not craftsmen. I am Yelu Yujian, the general of the Liao Kingdom. I have come to join the Ming Dynasty this time with important military information. Take me there quickly." Taiyuan, I want to see your high official!"

Several guards looked at each other, let the father and son have a good meal, and then arranged to set off on horseback.

Two days later, they met Zhang Guangdao.

"Are you Yelu Yujian?" Zhang Guangdao looked at him carefully.

Yelu Yujian hurriedly recounted his experience, and added: "Wanyan Zonghan established the Yunzhong Privy Council in Datong, and its jurisdiction only included Xijing Road in the Liao Kingdom, Daizhou, Xinzhou, and Ninghua Army in the Song Kingdom, as well as the large grasslands in the north. In these places, the food production is insufficient and it is difficult to feed Wanyan Zonghan’s army.”

"The imperial court of the Kingdom of Jin was afraid of Wanyan Zonghan's military strength, and did not dare not to provide military rations, nor did it dare to provide too much military rations. Therefore, Wanyan Zonghan's military rations were never enough, and the powerful gentry and the common people could not bear his exploitation. Once the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty went north, the people everywhere would inevitably Tao eats a pot of slurry to welcome the king's master!"

Zhang Guangdao asked: "Will Wanyan Zonghan go south this year?"

Yelu Yujian said: "He has always wanted to invade the south, but the military rations are insufficient. He has repeatedly urged the Jin court to provide food, but the Jin court has been delaying."

"Do you think the Jin Dynasty court will give it?" Zhang Guangdao asked.

"I will definitely give it," Yelu Yujian said. "Wanyan Zongwang also wanted to invade the south and sent people to Datong to contact Wanyan Zonghan. The two of them have heavy troops. If they join forces to put pressure, the Jin Dynasty court can only agree. But It won’t be too early to send out troops. If we drag them here and there, by the time the military rations arrive in Datong, I’m afraid it will already be autumn.”

This information was so important that Zhang Guangdao was very satisfied and said to Yelu Yujian: "The Jin people are all barbarians and do not know how to reuse talented people. They even betrayed their promises and treated the generals poorly. I immediately sent someone to escort the general and his son to Kaifeng. With the two of them Your talent will definitely be relied upon by our Ming Dynasty!"

"Thank you, general!" Yeluyu was overjoyed.

The father and son were rushed to Tokyo. After Zhu Guoxiang personally received them, they were sent to Shandong to meet the prince.

Ju Ming patrolled all the way west from Dengzhou. Before he arrived at Jinan Prefecture, he received the news that Yelu Yujian had come to surrender, and also the detailed military information they brought.

"Congratulations, Your Highness, the Kingdom of Jin will definitely be defeated!" Fu Zhirou flattered him.

Ju Ming smiled and asked, "How did you know that the Kingdom of Jin would be defeated?"

Fu Zhirou said: "The powerful ministers in the Jin Dynasty are in charge of the government, and the military generals outside the country are self-reliant. The power is divided into three, and the country is already in ruins. Now they dare to go south, but they are just relying on their vigor. Our army does not need it. When going out to fight in the field, you only need to hold on to the various cities and prevent the Jin Kingdom from looting too much money and food. When the Jin soldiers return without success, there will be a severe shortage of food in the country, and civil strife will inevitably occur."

"It makes sense." Zhu Ming nodded.

Historically, the Jin Kingdom was able to survive the crisis smoothly because Wanyan Zongwang's death was a coincidence.

He died sooner or later, but he died suddenly after the Northern Song Dynasty was destroyed.

This broke the tripartite balance of the Jin Kingdom and allowed Wanyan Zonghan's family to dominate. They were so powerful that they dared to accuse the Jin Kingdom's emperor, and the hidden danger of civil strife was solved in one fell swoop.

When Ju Ming was studying history books, he even suspected that Wanyan Zongwang was poisoned to death. The time of his sudden death was so damn perfect.

Not only Wanyan Zongwang's death was a coincidence, but his deputy Liu Yanzong also died a coincidence.

Wanyan Zonghan quickly annexed the troops under the two men without any effort.