Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

The Jurchens in the Guanbei of Huosu have fought four battles since they invested money.

The first time was when he fought with Gao Yongchang, the emperor of Bohai Kingdom, and was beaten by Gao Yongchang and fled in panic. He lost too badly and didn't dare to fight, so he hid behind Jin Bing's buttocks and dedicated himself to collecting and transporting grain and grass for Jin Bing.

The second time was to attack Baozhou, which had been reduced to an isolated city. No fierce fighting broke out at all, and the Liao generals were allowed to escape by boat, but the Liao soldiers in the city were finally surrendered.

The third time was to follow A Gu to attack Xianzhou, and achieved the first success in defeating Liang Yuwu.

The fourth time was when he followed Wanyan Zongwang to attack the Song Dynasty. He was beaten by Guo Yaoshi in Yanshan Mansion. He suffered nearly one-third of the casualties and fled back to the camp.

Just how strong their combat effectiveness is can be seen by looking at their records above.

When Zhao Li, Song Jiang, Yelu Yujian, Shi Huan and others crossed the sea and landed outside Jian'an City, Wanyan Goushi was so frightened that he hid in the city and did not dare to go out.

He had only a thousand Jurchen soldiers in total, and nearly half of them were sent to the countryside to recruit soldiers and food.

To be honest, it is difficult to defend the city, let alone fight outside the city.

People of all ethnic groups in the city were organized by Wanyan Goushi to defend the city. These people are mainly Han and Bohai people, and most of them are merchants and craftsmen.

"General Yelu, let's take a look." Zhao Li handed over the telescope.

Yelu Yujian carefully observed the city defense situation and found that there were very few regular troops defending the city, and most of them were temporarily armed civilians. He immediately said happily: "This city can be conquered!"

Zhao Li said: "I will shell the city for two or three days first and build some siege equipment, while the general will recruit strong men from all ethnic groups. By the way, we can also besiege the city and bring reinforcements."

The nearest Jurchen troops are in Fuzhou, where the military commander is called Hu Sha, who is known as "Taiwei Hu Sha".

Ten years ago, the people of Fuzhou and Suzhou (Dalian) rebelled against the Jin Dynasty. The Han, Xi, and Bohai ethnic groups united and claimed to have 100,000 rebels. The Jin soldiers in southern Liaoning were killed and retreated steadily, and finally retreated to Wubao of Hu Sha's family.

The rebels were unable to attack for a long time, and their food supply was cut off until they changed their sons to eat.

The reinforcements from the Kingdom of Jin arrived, and with the help of internal and external cooperation, tens of thousands of rebels were killed and fled.

This great uprising is not over yet, and the anti-Jin war is burning from southern Liaoning to Goryeo. People of all ethnic groups fled to the mountains and islands, and continued to fight against the Jin soldiers. After nearly a hundred battles, they were suppressed by the Jin state.

Even many landowners fled with their families, unwilling to accept the brutal rule of the Jin Kingdom.

The Khitan and Xi people who were forcibly moved here gathered more than a thousand ships and tried to go out to sea. They were blocked by Jin soldiers and hunted for a while. Many people fled to the sea and disappeared without a trace.

This is the Kingdom of Jin, forcing people of all ethnic groups to fight against Jin together!

…

Fuzhou.

Hu Sha, the leader of the Jurchens in southern Liaoning, was already old. When faced with Wanyan Goushi's request for help, he just said casually: "As soon as I gather my troops, I will go to the rescue immediately."

After dismissing the envoy with a few words, Hu Sha immediately consolidated the city's defenses.

He had no intention of sending troops to rescue, but instead prepared to defend his city.

The Liaonan Uprising ten years ago was still fresh in Hu Sha's memory, and Wu Bao was almost captured several times. The rebels of various ethnic groups outside Wubao would rather eat human flesh for a living than kill him.

From that moment on, he knew it was important to save his life.

Whatever the situation, it is better to defend the city and wait for the army to come for reinforcements.

As for the safety of Wanyan's hook room, does it have anything to do with Hu Sha?

Hu Sha sat back and watched his friendly troops being surrounded, but Yelu Yujian led his cavalry and headed straight for the Khitan village.

A small group of Jurchen cavalry was recruiting troops and food in the countryside. When they saw the Shandong horse bandit cavalry, they immediately ran away. They did not dare to return to the city, but ran northward, blowing trumpets all the way to try to gather more troops.

"I am Yelu Yujian, where is the Khitan man?" Yelu Yujian stood on horseback in the village.

"Du Tong, it's Du Tong who has led his troops to kill us!"

"We are saved!"

"The Khitans all picked up weapons to kill the Jurchens!"

"..."

The shouts came one after another, and one young man after another rushed to tell each other, and gradually even the old, weak, women and children came.

Yelu Yujian said: "I'll give you twenty horses. Go and gather people from all the villages immediately and ask them to come over with their riches. Don't ask for anything that is too heavy. When you meet Han people and Xi people, tell them that the emperor of China is Come to save them. If you don’t want to be a dog for the Jin people, come and join the army!"

The extra horses were brought with them by horseback, and they were soon handed over to Qidan Qingzhuang and asked them to deliver the news to the four miles and eight villages.

A Khitan young man said: "On the Han'er side, we can use the banners of Hou Gai and Wu Chongtian. These two are heroes of the Han family. They turned Liaonan into chaos back then, and were eventually killed by the Jin people. They can claim that they are missing." This great king has received the imperial decree from the Emperor of the Han Dynasty and has led his troops to fight back to southern Liaoning. Han people from all over the country will definitely join the army enthusiastically!"

"Okay, let's use the banner of these two people." Yelu Yujian praised.

The young and strong Khitans rode on horseback and told each other, spreading the word to ten and hundreds, and people from all ethnic groups came to vote one after another.

They even used their subjective initiative to kill nearby rural landowners (slave owners) and rescued slaves of various ethnic groups to join the army.

The mountains at the junction of Gai and Fu states were originally the territory of the Jurchens.

The Jurchens had come out of the mountains to occupy the fertile soil, but the Han people who did not want to be ruled by the Jin Kingdom secretly hid in the mountains to cultivate.

A Khitan young man rode into the mountains and shouted to the Han people in the mountain village: "The Han brothers, the two great kings Hou Gai and Wu Chongtian are not dead. They crossed the sea and surrendered to the Han emperor. The Han emperor made them generals and already led the troops. We are back from the fight. Also coming back with us is the general of our Khitan people. Pick up your weapons, bring your belongings, and all men, women, and children follow me!"

More and more Han people gathered in the mountains, staring blankly at the Khitan people.

The Khitan youth shouted again: "It's true, Jian'an City has been besieged, and the Jurchen barbarians dare not come out. You hurry up and follow me. As long as you go to China, the Han emperor will provide food and land..."

A young man mixed in the crowd and asked the middle-aged man next to him: "Dad, how come you were named a general?"

"How do I know!"

The middle-aged man was Hou Gai, the anonymous rebel leader. Seeing that the villagers were still hesitating, he did not reveal his identity, but raised his arms and shouted: "Fathers and elders, those Jurchen barbarians are robbing our houses and dominating our property." Land and kill our families. All the fertile land has been taken over by them, and we can only survive in the mountains..."

Hou Gai grabbed someone by the collar and asked, "Li Er, how many people in your family have died?"

Li Er said with red eyes: "My parents and brothers are gone, my house and property are gone, and there are only three people left in the family."

"Do you want to take revenge?" Hou Gai asked.

Li Er wiped his tears with his sleeves: "I want to!"

Hou Gai turned to look at another person: "Yu Zhong, how many people died in your family?"

"Five are dead," Yu Zhong gritted his teeth and said, "Don't ask more questions, I will join the army right now!"

Hou Gai continued to mobilize the people, and soon the whole village was filled with indignation. Then, he organized the villagers to move, and all the young people picked up simple weapons.

Within a few days, the reinforcements of Liaoyang Jinbing had just set off, and nearly 10,000 people of all ethnic groups on Hesuguan Road had gathered, dragging their families with them and gathering in the direction of Jian'an City.

There is a landowner named Wang in the southern suburbs of Tangchi County. His family has dozens of slaves, all of whom were converted from former tenants.

He heard that landowners were being killed in the south, and slaves were all joining the army to fight against the Jin. He even took the initiative to summon the slaves at home: "You used to be tenants of my Wang family. I took you as slaves to protect you and prevent you from being exploited by the Jin." The Jin people collect grain every year, and even I can't survive. From now on, the emperor of the Han family will send heavenly soldiers, and we, the Han children, should all rise up!"

"Today I opened a warehouse to store grain and dispersed all the wealth in my family. You will follow me and move your family to the Han Dynasty. The old and the weak, women and children, come over to help me transport grain and livestock. The men all picked up hoes and sticks to join the army. Call me, good man. , kill Jurchen!"

A group of slaves looked at their master blankly, and the atmosphere was quite awkward.

The landowner could only shout: "Give us grain and kill the thieves!"

"Spread the grain and kill the thieves!" the slaves finally shouted.

The city where the Jurchen soldiers were stationed was surrounded, and people of all ethnic groups in the countryside began to revel, and the anger that had been brewing in their hearts for a long time was completely ignited.

…

Outside Jian'an City.

"General, the leader of the Han'er Rebel Army wants to see you."

"Bring him here."

Zhao Li was sitting in the military tent when he saw a man who looked like a farmer coming in. He warmly welcomed him and said, "Anyone who dares to resist gold and kill thieves is a hero. Sit down quickly and talk."

The farmer said: "My name is Hou Gai."

"Well……"

Zhao Li was startled, then laughed: "Hahahaha, Brother Hou has come at the right time, I will give you a suit of armor. The Han people in southern Liaoning all admire the name of Brother Hou. You will command these Han troops to fight for the time being. When you return to Shandong, I will clarify this matter to the court again!"

Hou Gai was overjoyed and quickly knelt down and clasped his fists: "Thank you, General!"

"It's my turn to thank Brother Hou." Zhao Li helped him up.

When Hou Gai stood still, Zhao Li asked again: "Brother Hou, do you know the whereabouts of Wu Chuangtian?"

Hou Gai shook his head: "I don't know, the Jin soldiers hunted me fiercely, and I hid in the mountains and leaked the news, causing two villages to be massacred by the Jin people. Later, I fled with my young son, and I never dared to leak anything again. No matter how good our friendship was, I would not tell anything. Real name. Wu Chuangtian is the same. He was hunted and had to hide everywhere. I heard he escaped into the sea and was stolen."

"It would be even better if we could find this person. They are both upright men." Zhao Li said with emotion.

Hou Gai asked: "After the general captures this city, should he garrison it for a long time, or pillage and return to Shandong?"

Zhao Li said: "His Royal Highness the Prince has instructions. Regardless of whether Jian'an City is captured or not, he must take the people here to Suzhou (Jinzhou, Dalian) in the Liao Dynasty. After capturing it, rely on the Zhenhaikou Great Wall to resist the Jin soldiers' counterattack. The people of the clan are all settled south of the Great Wall and in the city."

"The land there is poor and narrow, and there is not enough food to harvest from the land." Hou Gai reminded.

Zhao Li said: "Shandong will transport grain here."

Hou Gai said: "As long as there is enough food, even if the court does not send troops, I can lead the people of Liaonan to defend the Great Wall!"

Zhao Li smiled and said: "Of course the imperial court must keep troops for garrison. If we leave three thousand people here, we can contain tens of thousands of Jin soldiers. When we attack Suzhou (Jinzhou), the prince will also send troops in Hebei. We can’t care about each other!”

"Your Highness the Crown Prince is wise," Hou Gai said happily but worriedly, "But can the Song soldiers win in Hebei?"

Zhao Li laughed loudly: "Where are the Song soldiers? Now the Zhu family of the Ming Dynasty is under heaven!"