Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

Knowing that the main force of the Jin soldiers was defeated and that Zhending Mansion was gone, the magistrate of Luancheng contacted the Han troops defending the city and launched a surprise attack on the Jin soldiers in the city.

More than 3,000 Han troops from Hebei attacked 200 Jin soldiers, but were defeated and fled.

Even the magistrate of Luancheng County, who planned the uprising, fled to Zhaozhou with the defeated troops. All the family members who stayed in the city were massacred by the Jin soldiers.

Those Jin soldiers also robbed the wealthy households in Luan City, obtained some money and food, and rushed to Huolu County in the northwest, trying to join the Jin soldiers in Jingxing.

Zongze took the opportunity to lead his troops to regain Luan City and went to Zhending Mansion to take charge of the overall situation.

However, Zhu Ming was dispatching troops and generals in Gaocheng. He didn't care where the main force of the Jin army fled, but only focused on the key node of Hebei West Road to advance troops.

The main force of the Ming army set out from Gaocheng and headed north to take Dingzhou.

Guan Sheng, Yue Fei and others first garrisoned Zhending and joined the follow-up troops brought by Zongze. Then they went west to capture Pingshan County and blocked the Jin soldiers in Jingxing and Chengtian Village.

Outside the city of Zhending Mansion.

As the prince came with his own troops, many officials from the puppet court, led by Zongze, went out of the city to greet him.

Zongze just bowed, but a large group of people knelt behind him.

"The guilty minister Dong Ti, pays homage to His Highness the Crown Prince of Ming Dynasty!"

Dong Ti knelt beside Zong Ze, raised his head to peek at Prince Zhu, and then quickly lowered his head and knelt down to obey the order.

Now that the battle was won, Ju Ming ignored these guys, smiled and took Zongze's hand and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Zong."

"I don't dare," Zongze was quite excited. "Fortunately, His Highness the Crown Prince can sweep away the smelly smell in Hebei."

Ju Ming asked: "Did the puppet royal family escape?"

"The fake prime minister Liu Yu had soldiers in his hands and fled with the fake queen mother, emperor, and officials. The traitors Huang Qianshan, Zhang Bangchang, and a group of old Song clan members failed to escape as they wished, and were captured by the Ming Dynasty soldiers." Zongze turned his head Shouting, "Bring it up!"

A group of prisoners were tied up and dragged over.

Ju Ming glanced around and found that there was no old acquaintance: "Where is Huang Qianshan?"

Zongze explained: "Huang Qianshan was criticized by Liu Yu and beaten half to death in prison. He is still seriously injured and bedridden."

Ju Ming said: "This guy helped the Jin people to establish the false emperor. Since he has been seriously injured, I will not torture him anymore. I will drag him outside Zhending City and give him a good time. The charge is treason."

"Yes!" Zongze accepted the order.

Treason, that is, treason, is one of the ten heinous crimes.

When Zhang Bangchang heard the word "treason", he was so frightened that he became weak. He knelt down and cried and shouted: "Prince, spare your life, Prince, spare your life..."

Ju Ming looked at Zhang Bangchang and the other clan members: "Men over the age of fifteen are escorted to Cizhou to dig mines until they die. The female family members can reconcile and remarry with their children."

As soon as these words came out, several people were immediately frightened and fainted.

Anger appeared on Ju Ming's face, and he said to those clans: "Even if the clans in Songcheng (Shangqiu) fled to Hangzhou and joined the evil emperor, I would at most confiscate their property and allocate wasteland to them for cultivation. You clansmen in Luoyang , actually took refuge in the Jin people and supported the false emperor, but do you still remember what the Huayi debate is?"

"Your Highness, please spare your life!" Many clan members cried and howled.

Ju Ming said: "They were all imprisoned. After they reconciled with their wives and concubines, they were immediately taken to Cizhou to mine and atone for their sins."

Zhang Bangchang shouted: "Your Highness, I also want to defect to the Ming Dynasty, but the traitor Liu Yu sent people to monitor him and was unable to send the secret message out of the city!"

Ju Ming sneered: "If you want to change your plan to commit treason, just keep crying, I'm afraid the chance of mining will be gone."

Zhang Bangchang quickly shut up and looked at Prince Zhu stupidly.

He is almost fifty years old. If he is punished to go mining, he may not last for half a year at most, so he might as well be chopped off with a knife.

After Prince Zhu led his troops into the city, the puppet officials who were kneeling on the ground finally dared to stand up tremblingly, thankful that they had written a letter to contact Zongze in advance.

As he walked, Zhu Ming said to Zongze: "I heard that there were righteous people among the officials of the puppet dynasty. One of the foreign ministers was tortured to death, but he never revealed the others. You can go to the court to ask for a posthumous title, and give generous rewards to the families of the dead righteous people. In Zhending Build a temple outside the city to worship the foreigner."

Zhu Ming turned to look at the pseudo-official behind him, and added a few words: "The name is Zhongyi Temple! Eight more martyrs who died fighting against the Jin in Zhending and Gaocheng were selected to accompany the Zhongyi Temple, and the names of the remaining martyrs were engraved on On the stone tablet in front of the temple.”

"This will definitely inspire people and eliminate evil spirits!" Zongze praised.

Not long after, Huang Qianshan, who was covered with bruises and bruises, was carried outside the city by a group of soldiers.

Knowing that Prince Zhu wanted to behead Huang Qianshan, a large number of people came to hear the news. They were fed up with the oppression of the Jin people and hated the exploitation of the puppet dynasty. Now they put all the blame on Huang Qianshan.

Huang Qianshan was forced to kneel on the ground, and the people threw all kinds of filthy objects at him, and the sound of curses could not be heard.

He could still bear the shame, but he couldn't bear the fear of death. He was so frightened that his whole body was as paralyzed as noodles. No matter how much the executioner scolded him, he could not kneel straight.

"This traitor was so scared that he peed his pants," said the soldier assisting the execution.

"unlucky!"

The execution soldier looked disgusted and said to Huang Qianshan: "If you don't kneel straight, I'm afraid you won't be killed with a knife. You will be the one who suffers then."

Huang Qianshan finally knelt down, trembling all over, then closed his eyes and sobbed.

brush!

A flash of sword light flashed, and the head fell down.

As Zhu Ming said, it would be cheaper to just behead him. At least he would not suffer any more, which is why Zhang Bangchang's mining was uncomfortable.

"Good kill!"

The people of Zhending cheered in unison, and many even rushed over to vent their anger at Huang Qianshan's body.

Ju Ming stayed in Zhending Fucheng for a day, handed over all matters to Zongze, and then continued northward without stopping.

When we arrived in Xinle County, it suddenly snowed.

A light cavalryman rushed from Dingzhou: "Your Highness, General Li Yanxian has led the cavalry to capture Dingzhou. But when the Jin people retreated north, thousands of cavalry rushed into Dingzhou City, kidnapped a large number of craftsmen and women, and forced grain Shang handed over all the grain, and finally burned half of the houses in the city. General Li asked for grain and clothing to help the people. Tens of thousands of people inside and outside Dingzhou City were suffering from cold and starvation."

Ju Ming was furious when he heard this and ordered: "Allocate it from military supplies. Don't let the people starve to death and freeze to death."

Ju Ming continued to go north, but before he reached Dingzhou, another Qingqi came back to report.

Wangdu, Beiping (Shunping County), Baozhou, Ansu, Suicheng... wherever the Jin soldiers passed by, they were burned and looted.

The Jin infantry retreated via the nearest route, and the cavalry was divided into several groups and dispersed to plunder the states and counties along the way.

At first, they robbed the craftsmen and women, but later found that the Ming army accelerated their pursuit, so they abandoned most of the craftsmen and women, and only collected livestock and vehicles to carry food. Moreover, fires must be set after looting, resulting in a large number of people without houses to keep out the cold in winter. The Jin people tried to create more trouble for the Ming court.

From Dingzhou to Guangxin, people were dying of hunger everywhere, and it was extremely miserable.

Ju Ming came to Dingzhou with his soldiers and found a large number of temporary shacks outside the city.

More than half of the buildings in the city were burned down, and there was no hope of restoring people's livelihood in a short time.

This was a slap in the face, so Ju Ming had no choice but to order: "Instruct all ministries to stop marching after regaining the territory of the old Song Dynasty. The excess military rations from the middle and east roads will be transferred to help the people."

It is possible to fight all the way to Yanshan, but the supply line is getting longer and longer, and the consumption of military rations will inevitably increase sharply. There will be no spare supplies for relief, and the people in these states and counties will have to fend for themselves.

Moreover, the weather is getting colder and colder, and the main force of the Ming army is mostly from the south. If they continue to fight in the colder north, I am afraid there will be a large number of non-combat attrition.

If Jin Bing seizes the opportunity, he might suffer a big defeat.

…

In Rongcheng (southeast of Dingxing County), heavy snow fell.

This used to be the southern border city of the Liao Kingdom, and the city was built tall and strong.

From here to the east to Tianjin, it is the boundary river between Song and Liao.

The western section is called Juma River, the middle section is called Baigou, and the eastern section is directly called Jiehe River (the eastern section has been taken over by the Yellow River and flows into the sea).

Wanyan Zongwang divided his troops to garrison the city along the river. It was still very difficult for the Ming army to kill them.

Moreover, on the south side of the boundary rivers everywhere, the Great Water Wall was artificially built in the Northern Song Dynasty, and the water system has become a mess. Not only do there exist a large number of river swamps, but the water is also full of hidden piles, and grain transport ships will be hit if they are not careful.

It is not completely frozen yet, with a thin layer of ice floating on the water.

If the Ming army wants to go northward from the central road or the east road, it will face great difficulties in marching and transporting food.

This is also the reason why Wanyan Zongwang led his troops south, and the main force always took the Hebei West Road - the section from Xiongzhou to Tianjin was done too outrageously by the Song Dynasty.

Wanyan Cha's mother and Wanyan Talan have led their troops to the east to defend the city.

Looking at the exhausted and demoralized Jin soldiers, Wanyan Xiyin said: "Please contact the imperial court and Nianhan (Wanyan Zonghan) quickly. Our country of Jin can no longer be at war with us. We should convene a Bojilie meeting to discuss what to do. Let’s unite to deal with the Ming Kingdom… No, it’s not about dealing with the Ming Kingdom, but how to deal with the rebellion next year.”

The war has been fought like this, and too many troops and grains have been drawn before the war. I am afraid there will be rebellions in the Kingdom of Jin next year.

"I don't know how Nianhan fares in Hedong (Shanxi)." Wanyan Zongwang muttered.

Wanyan Xiyin said: "I'm afraid there will be more danger than danger. The terrain in Hedong is more difficult to fight than in Hebei."

Two days later, Wanyan Zonghan's envoy Wen Du Sizhong finally came to meet Wanyan Zongwang.

Wen Du Sizhong came over by Feihuxing. When they met, he quickly talked about the situation in Shanxi and then asked about the situation in Hebei.

After the exchange of information, both parties were speechless for a while.

Wanyan Zongwang said: "Go back and tell Nianhan that I invite him to go to Beijing to attend the Bojilie Conference. I will help him speak during the discussion."

Although the Jin regime was essentially divided into three, there were only two factions in serious calculation.

One is the brother sect of Aguda, and the other is the cousin sect of Aguda.

The brothers' sect is the ancestral lineage. They control the court and the hinterland of the Jin Kingdom. Wu Qimai and Wanyan Zongwang also belong to this sect.

The cousin sect is dominated by Wanyan Zonghan, and there are a large number of elites from hundreds of battles.

The core contradiction between the two factions is that Wu Qimai usurped Wanyan Zonghan's position as emperor, and his descendants usurped the titles and official positions of the meritorious generals.

If these two factions want to unite and deal with the outside world, Wu Qimai must appoint Wanyan Zonghan as Guolunbojilie (prime minister), and also confer higher titles and official positions on meritorious generals.

According to the tradition of the Jin Kingdom, Bo Jilie is the crown prince!

Knowing that Banbo Jilie is equivalent to the prince, this was a small trick that Wu Qimai did when he was compiling history, in order to improve the legitimacy of his throne.

However, the current state power was Wanyan Xieye, so how could he hand over his power?

In fact, there is also a workaround, that is, Wanyan Xie also joins forces with Wanyan Zonghan, that is, Aguda's brother sect and cousin sect join forces. Because Wu Qimai became emperor, he no longer belonged to any faction and was the enemy of all factions.

In another five years of history, Wanyan Zonghan took sole control of the military, and Wanyan Zongqian (the successor of Guolun Bojilie) was forced to join forces. Together, they forced Wu Qimai to change to the crown prince.

That is, Wanyan Zongqian became the prime minister and Wanyan Zonghan took charge of the military. They jointly launched a prince that was satisfactory to both parties and made Emperor Wu Qimai almost a puppet.

Wanyan Zongwang was psychologically affected by the Ming army, so he decided to hibernate for a while and let Wanyan Zonghan come out to support him. The two are jointly in charge of the Marshal's Mansion, that is, the first and second military leaders.

Next year, the Jin Kingdom will focus on defense, and more troops will have to be used to quell domestic rebellions.

"Marshal, Liu Yu is here with the little emperor!"

However, Liu Yu fled to Yizhou with the puppet emperor, puppet queen mother, puppet officials and puppet troops. Hearing that Wanyan Zongwang was here, he rushed over without stopping.

When Wanyan Zongwang saw this guy, he was immediately furious. He kicked him over and shouted angrily, "How could you lose this perfect Zhending?"

"Marshal, calm down, Marshal, calm down!" Liu Yu knelt in the snow and kowtowed repeatedly.

Shi Liai walked to Wanyan Zongwang and said, "These people may still be of some use if you keep them."

"What's the use?" Wanyan Zongwang asked.

Shi Liai said: "The Han people are righteous. The Song Dynasty has been destroyed. These people can also be regarded as the Song Emperor and Song ministers. When the time comes to go south again, we can bring these people with us. We can always recruit some Han people."

Wanyan Xiyin also said: "Keep it, it will just waste a few more grains of food."

Wanyan Zongwang waved Liu Yu's hand to retreat. Liu Yu was grateful and kowtowed again.

Liu Yanzong, Wanyan Zongwang's deputy, has returned to Yanshan Mansion dragging his illness. Historically, he would die of illness next year, but this time he fell ill early because he traveled through snow and caught wind and cold.

Liu Yanzong called his third son Liu E to the hospital bed: "The Jurchens are barbarians after all. They can only gain power for a while and will not last long. Sooner or later they will be destroyed by the Ming Dynasty. If I die of illness, don't raise an army to rebel next year. The Jurchen soldiers did not die in this battle." How much. Those who rebel next year will be suppressed by Jurchen soldiers."

"Father, I remember." Liu E said.

Liu Yanzong said: "If you are asked to lead troops to counter a rebellion, you can take the opportunity to perform meritorious service and suppress the rebels with all your strength. The higher your official position, the better. If you are fighting against the Ming army, you should stop working hard and find a suitable opportunity before surrendering." . Everything is based on preserving the people of the clan, no matter it is Liao, Jin or Ming, the Liu family's incense must be passed on."

Liu E nodded and said, "Kid, remember this."

Liu Yanzong said: "My Liu family served as the Lulong Festival Envoy in the Tang Dynasty. I was also a prominent figure in the Liao Kingdom for generations, and I was still highly used in the Jin Kingdom. What is the reason for this? One is that poetry and etiquette are passed down to the family, and the other is that we have soldiers. . You want your descendants to study more, and you also want your descendants to take control of the military. You must never let go of these two things."

"Yes!" Liu E said.

Liu Yanzong added: "Look for an opportunity to write to Prince Zhu, saying that the Liu family is willing to surrender and defect in front of the two armies. The matter is important and must not be ignored or leaked. Your brothers, except for the fourth brother, No one else should be informed."

The Liu family has a strong surrender gene. Their ancestors surrendered to the Liao Dynasty, they themselves surrendered gold, and they planned to have their son surrender to the Ming Dynasty.

One of the ancestors even committed the ugly act of killing his father and brother for the sake of Lulong Jiedushi's position.

Dynasties rotate endlessly, and the Liu family will always enjoy wealth.