Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

Military rations were transported from the south, followed the Yongji Canal to Guantao, and immediately crossed the Yellow River and entered the Zhang River - the diversion of the Yellow River twenty-eight years ago changed the water system here. The eastern section after the Zhang River bifurcates directly flows into the Yellow River.

The military rations were then loaded onto ships along the eastern section of the Zhanghe River, westward to Cheng'an and then entered the northern section of the Zhanghe River.

Then it turned to the Hulu River to Hengshui, and went north via Wuqiang to Raoyang. This is where Ju Ming sent his troops.

The army's rations were transported all the way by water, so not many civilians were needed.

Among the 30,000 new troops who were mobilized to go north, 20,000 Huainan soldiers followed the military rations. Another 10,000 Zhejiang soldiers came from the northeast of Shandong to join Deng Chun, Han Shizhong and others.

The generals in the south had deep grudges and had to be separated to prevent conflicts from intensifying.

Li Gong, Cao Cheng, Yang Zaixing and others walked with the Huainan soldiers.

Yang Hua, Li Herong, Chen Xin and other pseudo-Chu surrender generals followed the Zhejiang soldiers.

In late September, 20,000 Huainan new troops successfully arrived in Raoyang. They replaced a batch of equipment, and led by Zhang Bor and Zhong Shizhong who were waiting there, they headed straight for Ju Ming's camp forty miles away.

As soon as they arrived at the place, a sergeant came over and issued an order: "Generals, His Highness has asked you not to set up camp anymore. Go to the prince's commander's tent immediately! As for the new Huainan army you brought, rest in place and set up a pot to eat."

Not knowing why, everyone followed the sergeant to see Ju Ming.

The camp was bordered by the Tang River to the north and Mudaogou to the south. Ju Ming set up camp between the two rivers.

The narrowest point between the two rivers was full of Ming army camps, and the river became a natural barrier.

Although there are no rivers on the east and west sides of the camp, a trench four meters wide and three meters deep is dug on each side. The excavated soil was piled behind the trench to form a strong barrier.

With this arrangement, Wanyan Zongwang sent light cavalry across the river to investigate. After learning the situation, he had no desire to attack and could only wait for Zhu Ming to lead his army across the river to fight in the field.

Yang Zaixing followed everyone into the camp and carefully observed the situation along the way.

After a long walk, we arrived at a large tent.

Li Gong took the lead in taking off his weapons, and Yang Zaixing, Cao Cheng and others also quickly took off their weapons and handed them to the guards.

Bai Sheng stood there to greet him. When he saw this, he said: "The long soldiers can be placed outside the tent, and the short soldiers can be brought inside the tent. Your Highness has said that you are all fierce generals, and this is a battlefield. You must not leave your weapons."

"yes!"

The generals accepted the order and were in a happy mood.

Although they haven't met the prince yet, allowing them to bring weapons in has made the generals have a good impression of the prince.

The curtain was opened and the generals walked in.

I saw a man sitting in the main seat, with a sword at his waist, starry eyes and sword eyebrows, showing no anger and self-power.

"Meet His Highness the Crown Prince!"

The generals from the south wanted to kneel down, but they saw that the leaders Zhang Bor and Zhong Shi only performed the new military salute, so they followed suit with uneasiness.

Ju Ming smiled and said: "Everyone, sit down."

In fact, some of the teachers were confused. He had already become a civil servant of the Privy Council, and this time he was transferred to the front line for no reason.

After everyone sat down, Ju Ming said: "We have prepared some food, but we will not drink alcohol today. No one in the army is allowed to drink alcohol until the Jin soldiers are defeated."

"Yes!" all the generals shouted in unison.

"We were chatting while eating," Zhu Ming asked with a smile, "Who is Li Gong?"

Li Gong had just sat down when he heard this and stood up suddenly: "The general is here!"

"Sit down and talk," Zhu Ming nodded in approval, "He has an elegant and majestic demeanor. He is indeed versatile in both civil and military affairs."

"yes!"

Being named by the prince, Li Gong seemed extremely excited and a little guilty at the same time.

He failed the imperial examination in Beijing three times and became a martial arts scholar. He was extremely loyal to the Song Dynasty, and Song Huizong did not treat him badly. Now he has become a military commander of the new dynasty and was praised by the Ming Dynasty prince. He is somewhat sorry for the Song emperor.

Cao Cheng was looking forward to it, hoping that he could also be named by the prince.

As expected, Ju Ming asked: "Who is Cao Cheng?"

"The general is here!" Cao Cheng stood up awkwardly. When he was standing halfway, he found that the prince asked him to sit down, so he squatted down with his hands folded, almost sticking his butt out in response.

Ju Ming nodded and said: "He is also a fierce general. From now on, he will kill the enemy and make meritorious deeds."

Cao Cheng's face turned red with excitement and he shouted: "The last general will definitely fight bravely to kill the enemy and open up territory for our Ming Dynasty!"

"Excellent," Zhu Ming nodded and smiled, then asked, "Who is Yang Zaixing?"

Yang Zaixing cupped his hands and said, "The end will be here."

Ju Ming said: "I have seen the good news. You are also extremely brave. You will continue to work hard in the future."

Yang Zaixing said: "I will die serving the imperial court!"

After chatting for a while, Ju Ming said: "On the battlefield in Hebei, our army is divided into three areas. I personally led the heavy troops on the middle road, intending to quickly conquer the Yongning army. Even if we cannot defeat it for the time being, we must lure the main force of the Jin army to come to the rescue and relieve the pressure on the east and west sides. There was pressure from Lu Youjun. But unexpectedly, the Jin people knew I was here, and Wanyan Zongwang actually led the main force to kill me quickly."

"Now that he's here, he wants to fight me, but I won't let him do what he wants!"

Zhong Shizhong asked: "How does Your Highness plan to use the troops?"

Ju Ming said: "I will lead my troops to march westward and take Gaocheng (Gaocheng) along the Hutuo River. If we capture Gaocheng, the capital of the pseudo-Song Dynasty will surely be right in front of us! And the 20,000 new troops brought by you will be stationed there. Here I build a stronghold."

"If Wanyan Zongwang comes to kill you, you will defend your camp. If Wanyan Zongwang rushes to help the city, you will wait for the opportunity to go north. Fight if you can, and delay if you can't. I don't have to worry about it. If Deng Chun and Han Shizhong's East Route Army needs it, For reinforcements, you can divide your forces to attack Hejian Mansion!"

"The only ones who can fight among the Jin soldiers are the Jurchens, Xi people, Khitan people, Bohai people and the old Liao Han'er. These strong soldiers only have a total of 50,000 or 60,000, and they have to be divided into three groups to deal with our army. My dear Wherever you lead your troops, the main force of the Jin soldiers will follow. Especially in Zhending Mansion, the main force of the Jin soldiers will definitely come to rescue you."

"So you and the Eastern Route Army don't face many Jin Guoqiang soldiers. Most of them are the Hebei Han Army newly recruited last year."

"Many of these Han troops in Hebei are unwilling to fight, so they can use psychological tricks. Those who are willing to surrender will be accepted. They are not allowed to kill prisoners without permission, and are not allowed to plunder the people in enemy territory. The better our military discipline is, the worse the Jin soldiers' military discipline will be. , the more Han troops and people in Hebei are willing to surrender."

"Zhang Boring will stay here as the chief general, and he will be assisted by the deputy generals in Zhongshi. Li Gong, Cao Cheng, and Yang Zaixing will each lead one."

Zhong Shizhong suddenly asked: "Will Wanyan Zongwang leave some elite troops to defend the city? He will only hold on to the west and east roads, but will lead the main force to attack our army's east road?"

"Probably not," Ju Ming said. "As long as I show my flag, he will follow me wherever I go. He has insufficient troops and food and must defeat me as soon as possible. If he dares to lead the main force to the east road, Even if I can completely annihilate the Eastern Route Army, I can still take advantage of the opportunity to capture Zhending Mansion and Yongning Army!"

From Tianjin to Shandong, the land east of Nanpi, Jin Bing had no desire to occupy it.

It is a yellow flood area covered with salt and alkali. There is only Cangzhou in this huge territory, and there are only two counties in the entire state. Even if the Jin soldiers are defeated, they won't be able to grab anything. If they want to continue going south, they must conquer Yongjing Military City.

Yongjing Military City is also the headquarters of the Eastern Route Army.

The city is high and the pond is deep, and it is heavily defended.

Under such circumstances, Wanyan Zongwang would lead the main force to fight against the East Route Army only if his brain was broken.

Ju Ming asked Zhang Bor: "Can you understand me?"

Zhang Boring replied: "Understood."

Ju Ming said: "You have little battle experience. You have only fought once in Shaanxi and led your troops to quell the Shandong bandits. When fighting, you should listen to the advice of Zhongshi. I called Mr. Zhong from Kaifeng to specially I will serve as your military advisor."

"Yes!" Zhang Bor stood up with his hands raised.

Zhu Ming glanced at Li Gong, Cao Cheng and Yang Zaixing again: "You three have warned me that there is not enough army rations and you are looting along the way. This is excusable. But now there is enough army rations. If you dare to launch troops and plunder again, you will not be spared." !”

"I will obey your orders!"

The three of them stood up quickly, not daring to slack off.

Ju Ming continued: "You and the new Huainan army under your command will not know the soldiers, and the soldiers will not know the generals. This is a taboo for military strategists. I asked you to lead the troops north along the way. I think you already know the officers under your command. But there are officers who will not listen to you. Order?"

"Never." The three responded immediately.

Ju Ming said: "Including Zhang Boring and Zhong Shizhong, you generals must guard the camp for half a month and not send troops. Try to get familiar with the soldiers under your command."

"As you command!"

Five people shouted in unison.

The next day, in front of the Jin soldiers on the north bank, Ju Ming swaggered and left the camp, freeing up the camp for the newly arrived Huainan soldiers.

Then he held high the banner and the handsome flag, and walked slowly towards the west for a while, and then crossed the river and headed south.

This is telling Wanyan Zongwang that the Ming Prince has led his troops to fight Zhending. If you want a decisive battle, you should follow him quickly.

Wanyan Zongwang learned the news and personally brought a group of cavalry to check.

Ju Ming's main force was crossing the Mu Daogou River, but the big banner was always planted between the Tang River and Mu Daogou, as if he was afraid that Wanyan Zongwang wouldn't be able to see it.

Wanyan's mother also came: "Could it be a lie to lure our main force to the west, and Prince Zhu would take the opportunity to attack Yongning Military City?"

"It shouldn't be false," Wanyan Zongwang shook his head, "Our army only needs to leave an elite force to defend the city, and the main force will soon be able to return for reinforcements. Prince Zhu's pretense will not work. Their reinforcements have arrived, and Prince Zhu has more troops available. , so I personally led the troops to attack Zhending Mansion, hoping to destroy the small imperial court there first."

Wanyan Xiyin said: "He wants to fight in Zhending, which is exactly what we want."

Wanyan's mother suggested: "Just transfer all the elites from the east and middle roads to the decisive battle. Ignore the Yongning Army and Hejian Prefecture, and just leave the Han soldiers in Hebei to garrison."

Wanyan Xiyin strongly objected: "The Han soldiers in Hebei cannot fight. If we don't keep some elite troops from Dajin, they may not even be able to defend the city."

"If you can't hold it, you can't hold it. It's all Han people's land anyway," Wanyan's mother said. "We also took away the military rations from the middle and east roads, leaving only one or two months of food for the Han army in Hebei. As long as Zhending Mansion wins the decisive battle, and no matter how many cities it loses, it can be fought back."

Wanyan Xiyin said: "The land that the Jin Kingdom has conquered is the land of the Jin Kingdom! Now support the puppets and wait a few years before they can truly annex it."

The two argued endlessly and continued to argue.

Wanyan Zongwang thought over and over again and made up his mind: "I will lead the main force to Zhending first, and you will go to the middle and east routes respectively. Once I am sure that Prince Zhu is there, you will send troops and food to support, and all the elite will be transferred to Zhending. Mansion, the other two routes are unnecessary. There is no room for failure in this battle, Prince Zhu’s firearms are sharp, I’m afraid it will be difficult to win after dividing the troops."

Wanyan Zongwang was planning to make a desperate move.