Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

Yan'an Prefecture.

Liu Guangguo rushed to the back house and said to Liu Yanqing who was about to go to bed: "Father, the Hebei Ming Army has won!"

"Did you really win?" Liu Yanqing suddenly lost all sleep.

Liu Guangguo said: "It's absolutely true! The messenger I stayed in Tokyo came on horseback to report the news. The snow was too deep to travel on the way, so he walked back day and night. The Ming army has recovered the entire territory of Hebei Province."

Liu Yanqing immediately yelled: "What Ming army? That's Master Wang!"

"Yes, yes, it's Master Wang." Liu Guangguo said quickly.

Liu Yanqing thought for a moment and said: "When the snow melts in spring, my father and son will go to Tokyo and leave your brother here to continue leading the army. If the court transfers your brother too, our Liu family will have no choice but to admit it."

Liu Guangguo was shocked: "Father is going to..."

Liu Yanqing sighed and said, "Oh, Miao Liu next door has already surrendered to the imperial court. If a daughter of the Zhe family marries the prince, she will probably join the family. The Liu family is alone and cannot support itself. How can we not hand over military power?"

Miao Fu and Liu Zhengyan gave up being warlords more than half a year ago because of Wang Yuan's letter of advice.

They asked the imperial court to send civil servants and were willing to accept the imperial court's dispatch.

As early as before Zhong Xiang was exterminated, the imperial court had sent officials to take over the territory. He also asked Miao Fu and Liu Zhengyan to continue to command the troops, and only sent military judges and grain and grass officers to supervise them, ordering them to disarm and reorganize to 6,000 men.

This move shocked Liu Yanqing, Liu Guangguo, and Liu Guangshi. They were afraid of the imperial court's attack, but they were unwilling to give up military power.

To be honest, the Liu family can hardly hold on any longer.

The main reason is lack of money and food!

Their territory in Yan'an and Suide was originally a barren land, and they were plundered by Xixia.

In the past, the Song Dynasty court transferred money and food to support the army, but now the Ming Dynasty court let them fend for themselves. How can the Liu family afford to raise soldiers by relying on local taxes?

Mizhi Village, Kaiguang Fort, Kerong Village, Linxia City and other places, even their populations were taken away by Xixia.

With the various resources in Liu Yanqing's hands, he could not even move people to farm. Troops could only be sent to guard various fortresses. All military supplies had to be transported from Suide and Yan'an, and the garrison stations did not receive any local supplies.

The soldiers under his command fled one after another due to lack of food and clothing.

In such an embarrassing situation, and the imperial court defeated the Jin soldiers, how could Liu Yanqing dare to continue to be a warlord?

During the winter solstice festival, Liu Yanqing went to the imperial court and asked to take his son back to Tokyo to report on his duties.

As long as the court approves, they will set off immediately.

…

Linzhou.

This year, the Zhe family suffered a loss of soldiers and generals, and was defeated by more than 10,000 partial troops led by Yin Shuke.

The Huoshan Army, Baode Army, Fengzhou and Fuzhou, and more than ten forts in the Second Army and Two States all fell to the hands of the Jin people.

The Zhe family lost all their hometown in Fuzhou and fled to Linzhou with their remaining soldiers.

Even Liangu County and Zhenchuan Fort in Linzhou were successively defeated by Yin Shuke, and the Zhe family could only lead their troops to defend the city.

With heavy snow falling from the sky, Yin Shu was forced to withdraw his troops, and then he had a chance to breathe.

You've lost most of your territory, and you're still a warlord!

There is no need to worry about insufficient military rations, because the Zhe family only has more than 4,000 remaining soldiers.

A group of people came walking through knee-deep snow.

"Who is coming?" The soldiers guarding the city looked like they were facing a powerful enemy.

The leader shouted: "I am Li Ruoshui, the prefect of Linfu appointed by the imperial court. Please come out of the city quickly to greet me!"

When Zhe Keqiu got the news, he felt relieved.

This year, he continued to retreat after defeats and asked the court for help, but the court ignored him. Moreover, the Ming Dynasty had a strong army, but he did not dare to drop gold like in history, so he could only hold on to the city and delay it.

Calling Zhe Kecun and other generals, Zhe Keqiu rushed out of the city: "Greetings to Governor Li!"

"Let's go into the city, it's quite cold outside." Li Ruoshui said.

Zhe Keqiu quickly invited Li Ruoshui into the city and asked impatiently: "May I ask the prefect, what are the plans of the court?"

Li Ruoshui said: "Fengzhou, Fuzhou, Linzhou, Lanzhou, Huoshan Army, Baode Army, Kelan Army, Jinning Army, these state armies will be merged into Linfu in the future, and I will be the first president of Linfu." Magistrate. Do you have any objections?"

"Don't dare!" Everyone in the Zhe family replied quickly.

Zheke appealed and said: "The Jin soldiers here are powerful and have occupied the land of the two armies of the two states. I wonder when the imperial court will send reinforcements?"

Li Ruoshui said: "There will be reinforcements next year. But if you lose the city and the land, don't command the troops anymore. Give the troops to Zhekecuo, and take your wife and children to Hunan as an inspector."

"Yes... the guilty general will receive his order!"

Zhe Keqiu was extremely unwilling, but the situation forced him to obey. At least the court continued to let his younger brother command the troops.

Li Ruoshui asked: "Did you know that Wang Shi was victorious?"

Zhe Keqiu nodded and said, "I heard that Zhang Hou defeated the Jin soldiers in pacification."

Li Ruoshui smiled and said: "Not only did Shanxi win great, the prince also won great victory in Hebei, and he has recovered all of Hebei. Your son Zhe Yanzhao followed Han Shizhong to fight, and led the new Shandong army to conquer more than ten cities of the puppet dynasty."

"Really?" Zhe Keqiu was startled when he heard this. He was both shocked by the great victory in Hebei and happy with Zhe Yan's meritorious service.

In fact, they did not achieve any great achievements. Deng Chun, Han Shizhong, Li Cheng, Zhe Yanzhi and others all encountered puppets of the imperial court and puppet troops. They often surrendered as soon as they approached the city, or even surrendered against the wind, without even knowing how to write a battle report.

Li Ruoshui said: "Zhe Yanzhi will take over Han Shizhong's command next year and will be promoted from deputy general to full general. As for Han Shizhong, he will be transferred to Linfu and serve as the deputy commander-in-chief of Shanxi Province, fully responsible for the military affairs of Linfu."

Han Shizhong came not only to fight, but also to train troops. All the troops here had to be reorganized.

Hearing that Zhe Yanzhi had been promoted due to meritorious service, he still stayed in Shandong and instead sent Han Shizhong to lead the army. How could Zhe Keqiu still not understand the court's intention?

This is the Ming Dynasty court taking over the military power of Lin Mansion. The warlord who has been in power for two hundred years has come to an end.

Fortunately, the daughter of the Zhe family has become the crown prince's concubine, and the sons of the Zhe family have made contributions to the new dynasty, so they will continue to enjoy wealth and honor in the future.

Linzhou Prefectural Government Office was asked to be vacated after being folded, and Li Ruoshui was invited to move in that afternoon.

…

When the monarchs and ministers of Xixia learned the news, it was already the first month of the third year of Hongwu.

Last year, Brother Richard led eight thousand elites to secretly spy on the eight pavilions of the Kingdom of Jin.

However, he discovered that Yin Shu could defeat the Zhe Family Army one after another. More than 10,000 golden soldiers were not far from the Eight Halls. Brother Richard did not dare to act rashly and had no choice but to withdraw his troops and go back.

"Your Majesty, the Jin army was defeated and lost tens of thousands of soldiers and horses!" Li Renzhong rushed to the palace to report the news.

Li Qianshun was extremely shocked: "Really defeated? The Ming army is invincible!"

The news that Xixia received had passed through many hands, and it had spread extremely far.

Li Renzhong recounted the information he sent to find out: "Wanyan Zongwang was in Hebei. He had 80,000 Jin soldiers and more than 100,000 puppet Song soldiers. Prince Zhu personally led 300,000 troops and captured more than 30,000 Jin soldiers, and defeated them. There are more than 100,000 soldiers of the Puppet Song Dynasty, and the two roads of Hebei Province of the Song Kingdom have been recovered! There is also the Ming Dynasty general Zhang Guangdao, who killed 20,000 Jin soldiers under Yan Zonghan and captured 80,000 soldiers of the Puppet Song Dynasty!"

Li Renli also followed and encouraged: "Your Majesty, please immediately send an envoy to the Ming Dynasty to reiterate the righteousness between father and son between the two countries. Then please marry the eldest daughter to Prince Zhu, and your Majesty can also ask to marry the princess of the Ming Dynasty."

"This is what it should be." Li Qianshun followed Shan Ruliu.

Li Qianshun was by no means a weak and incompetent leader. He was simply frightened by the Ming Dynasty's firearms and wanted to gain a few years of peaceful development.

At least, Xixia's national strength must be restored to some extent, otherwise how will it face the Ming army in the future?

He called Brother Richard over again and asked, "Can the King of Jin send troops to attack the Kingdom of Jin next year and seize the land of the Eight Pavilions?"

Brother Richard shook his head and said: "The general of the Jin Kingdom has great silver skills and is in Fuzhou with more than 10,000 troops. If our army attacks the Eighth Pavilion, he can lead his troops to kill him at any time. Your Majesty, don't be impatient. There will definitely be another war between the two countries. When the Jin soldiers are completely disabled, it won’t be too late for Daxia to send troops to seize the Eighth Hall."

Li Renzhong also advised: "What the King of Jin said makes sense. Although the Jin Kingdom was defeated, its military strength is still strong. You must not provoke it easily."

Li Qianshun thought: "Keep an eye on the Kingdom of Jin at all times. Once the Jin soldiers suffer heavy losses, they will immediately send troops to seize its territory!"

…

Xixia still wanted to continue to wait and see, but Gao Li couldn't wait any longer.

The two envoys, Monk Miaoqing and Zheng Zhichang, celebrated New Year's Day and Lantern Festival with Zhu Guoxiang, and immediately took a boat to Shandong after the river thawed, and then crossed the sea by boat back to Goryeo.

In order to balance the power of the two factions, the king moved back and forth between Xijing and Kaijing, staying for two or three months at a time.

But obviously, he lived in Xijing and Pyongyang longer!

"Your Majesty, China has won a great victory and the Jin army has been defeated. It is a good time for us to expand our territory in Goryeo!" Monk Miaoqing shouted excitedly.

Wang Gou asked: "How many casualties did the Jin soldiers have?"

Monk Miaoqing added more jealously: "The Jin soldiers in Hebei and Shanxi have lost nearly 100,000 troops, and there are not many elites left."

"Is that true?" Wang Gou also started to get excited.

The king was eager to get rid of the nobles who opened the capital, and was eager to do something to enhance his prestige. He had already killed one grandfather and father-in-law, but now he was hindered by another father-in-law. Those nobles who opened the capital always wanted to control the king.

Zheng Zhichang said: "Your Majesty, this is absolutely true. I heard that the second prince of Jin Kingdom and Prince Zhu of Ming Dynasty fought against each other on the battlefield. Prince Zhu severely wounded the prince of Jin Kingdom with his own hands!"

Wang Gou became very interested in Zhu Ming and asked, "Have you ever seen Prince Zhu with your own eyes?"

Zheng Zhichang said: "Although I have not seen it with my own eyes, I have heard many people talk about it. Prince Zhu is nine feet tall, can eat two kilograms of meat in one meal, and can lift a five-stone cauldron. He is also good at both civil and military affairs. He is proficient in the Six Classics at a young age. It is said in the Ming Dynasty that he was a saint who came to this world. Since he raised his army, he has never suffered a single defeat."

Monk Miaoqing continued: "Prince Zhu raised troops in Sichuan, China. Eight hundred men conquered a state, and five thousand men conquered a government. The Emperor of the Song Dynasty sent 200,000 troops, divided into six groups to encircle and suppress. Prince Zhu's 60,000 troops The Song Dynasty was defeated. In just a few years, Prince Zhu already had 500,000 troops!"

"What a wonderful man in the world, I wish I could meet him face to face." Wang Gou was fascinated when he heard this. He had eradicated powerful ministers when he was only ten years old and wanted to make a career. "Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, please canonize me as the King of Goryeo." ?”

Monk Miaoqing said: "The emperor of the Ming Dynasty said that one minister should not serve two masters. Goryeo has professed its vassalage to the Jin Kingdom. It must openly break with the Jin Kingdom before the Ming Kingdom will send envoys to enshrine it."

Wang Gou slapped his thigh: "Immediately recruit food and soldiers. I will personally conquer the Jin Kingdom and expand the territory of Goryeo!"

What to do if you lose?

Hurry up and recognize Dad, and then ask Dad Ming to send troops to help.

On the one hand, he was eager to expand his territory. Wang Gou's real intention was to consolidate his position and use his military exploits to completely get rid of the nobles who founded the capital.

Even if he loses, as long as he can be canonized by the Ming Dynasty, the nobles in the capital will not dare to mess with him casually.

Xixia looked around and still waited and did not dare to send troops. The Great Goryeo Kingdom still had the momentum to move forward!