Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

Compared with the fight on Zhang Guangdao's side, Han Shizhong's fight was purely a trivial one.

The Zhe family army has been crippled by Yin Shuke, and the Liu family army has also fled in large numbers due to lack of soldiers and food.

Han Shizhong was appointed deputy commander-in-chief, and took over the remnants of the Zhejia Army and Liu Jiajun. He only brought 3,000 Shaanxi soldiers there, and then gathered and reorganized the local remnants, weeding out the old and weak and leaving the young and strong, leaving a total of only 8,000 soldiers in his hands.

Moreover, most of the soldiers had been beaten to the point where they did not dare to fight against the Jin soldiers.

Han Shizhong could only let local soldiers defend the city. He would take 3,000 elite soldiers out each time, and then let 1,000 weak soldiers follow him, looking for puppet troops or small groups of golden soldiers to fight.

The purpose was not to achieve many results, but to restore morale so that the original soldiers of the newly reorganized Zhejia Army and Liu Jiajun would dare to face the Jin soldiers in the wild without fleeing.

Yin Shu is very cooperative. He often comes to harass with thirty or fifty cavalry, and one or two hundred cavalry is considered a large number of troops.

This was because Wanyan Zonghan had sent too many troops there. However, Yin Shuke captured several state armies last year and had to divide his troops to garrison them. He could mobilize too few mobile troops.

Han Shizhong led 3,000 elite soldiers and 1,000 weak soldiers, and won seven or eight battles in succession, capturing only dozens of enemy soldiers each time.

Those thousand weak soldiers all took turns to fight. After two months of continuous accumulation of small victories, the thousands of weak soldiers finally regained some confidence. Even with the cooperation of internal agents, they followed Han Shizhong and successfully recaptured Liangu County, which was only garrisoned by hundreds of Khitan soldiers and northern Han troops.

"General Soldier, some villagers in Fuzhou came to complain, saying that the Jin soldiers there had withdrawn!"

"Why did they withdraw before I went to fight?"

Han Shizhong had too few available soldiers. He was afraid of falling into the Jin's trick of luring the enemy, so he did not dare to send a large number of troops to take over Fuzhou City. He only sent a small group of soldiers to inquire about the situation.

Half a month later, information came one after another from various places.

Not only did the Jin soldiers evacuate from Fuzhou, but all the Jin soldiers from Fengzhou and Huoshan Army also withdrew completely.

But before leaving, the Jin soldiers set fire to and looted everywhere. They robbed the people of their food, burned their houses, and left the people homeless, lacking food and clothing, and left them to the Ming Dynasty to spend money and food for relief, slowing down the Ming army's northward attack.

Except for Kelan Military City, the rest of the territory was voluntarily abandoned by Jin Bing.

Even if he didn't give up, Wanyan Zonghan suffered successive defeats and lost too many troops, making it impossible to effectively control the newly occupied land.

The reason why the Jin soldiers still occupied Kelan Military City (later Kelan County) was because it was located in a strategic area and controlled the three channels for the Ming army to go north.

No matter how you say it, except for Kelan Military City, all the hometowns of the Northern Song Dynasty were recovered by the Ming Dynasty!

…

At the beginning of the tenth month of the lunar calendar, a Jin envoy came to Fuzhou and sent a letter to Han Shizhong, asking Han Shizhong to deliver it to the Ming Dynasty court.

The content of the letter was very simple. Xixia sent troops northward to demonstrate its expansion ambitions, and Wanyan Zonghan reminded Ming Dynasty to be on guard.

"This is a tactic to alienate people!"

The letter was sent back to Kaifeng, and Zhai Ruwen said at the imperial meeting: "Now that the two countries in Ming and Xia have good relations, Shaanxi soldiers can be transferred to Hebei and Shanxi at will without worrying about a large-scale invasion by Xixia. The Jin people want to drive a wedge between Ming and Xia and let Xixia Contain our Ming forces and be sure not to fall into the Jin man’s tricks.”

After some discussion, the central ministers quickly made a decision to allow Xixia to expand northward without any interference.

This expansion of Xixia was carried out around Fengzhou and Fuzhou in the Ming Dynasty.

After learning that the Jin army was shrinking, Richard led an army of eight thousand to suddenly rush out and occupy the hometown of the Heqing Army and Jin Su Army in the Liao Kingdom.

The Heqing Army and the Jin Su Army, the former is in the large area of ​​​​Ordos, and the latter is in the large area of ​​​​Zhungar Banner.

At the beginning of the founding of Xixia, these places were captured. There is a large desert Gobi in the north. The Liao Kingdom could only send troops from the direction of Piantou Pass. After the Liao Kingdom regained its territory, it placed a large number of slaves to enrich the population. These slave tribes were part of the various tribes of the Tang Dynasty.

In addition to the Tanggu tribes, there are also a large number of Party tribes in the direction of Ordos. They lived under the rule of the Liao Kingdom before, and in recent years they were ruled by the Jin Kingdom.

This time, it was the Dangxiang tribe that conveyed the news to Xixia, so that Brother Richard could quickly send troops northward.

Faced with Xixia's backstabbing, Wanyan Zonghan not only did not retaliate, but instead withdrew his troops from Ningbian Prefecture and reduced all his troops back to Piantou Pass. Because the area occupied by Xixia was too poor, it would be useless for the Jin soldiers to fight back. Instead, it would distract the already insufficient troops.

As soon as the Jin soldiers withdrew, Brother Richard entered again, incorporating Ningbian Prefecture into the Xixia territory, and even occupied the valley in Hequ County.

When the news came back to Xixia, the king and prime minister were shocked and quickly sent envoys to Lanzhou.

The Xixia envoy bowed and said to Li Mida, the governor of Lanzhou: "Heqing and Jinsu are actually my hometown of Great Xia. They were occupied by the Liao Kingdom for more than a hundred years. The many party tribes on the grassland are proof of this. Now the Jin people Tyranny is the common enemy of the Ming Dynasty and the Xia Dynasty. Our country’s dispatch of troops this time is not only to regain its homeland, but also to assist the Ming Dynasty in fighting.”

Li Mi responded with a smile: "The friendship between father and son between the two countries in Ming and Xia is enough to move the world."

The Xixia envoy added: "A gentleman loves money and acquires it in a right way, let alone a country? The king of Jin in our country led his army to pursue him, fought bravely with the Jin soldiers, and captured Ningbian Prefecture. He is willing to share it with his father's country. Ning to the west of the Yellow River The land in Bianzhou will belong to Daxia from now on. And the most fertile meander valley east of the Yellow River, our Majesty is willing to dedicate it to the Ming Dynasty!"

Li Mida was stunned. He was not familiar with the geography there and did not understand why Xixia offered its land.

After chattering for a while, Li Mi extended warm hospitality. After sending the Xixia envoy to rest, he called the Lanzhou military generals to inquire.

It turned out that if Han Shizhong's troops wanted to go north to attack Piantou Pass, the Hequ Valley was not only the only way to go, but also the most important place for garrisoning troops and grain for the Ming army.

Brother Richard took over the place, but the king and the prime minister didn't dare to ask for it.

It was obviously a piece of fat thrown by Wanyan Zonghan, who wanted Ming and Xixia to fight over it. If something goes wrong, the two countries would fight.

After understanding the whole story, Li Mida took the initiative to take over the Hequ Valley and sent a flying horse to Beijing to report to the court.

This excited the civil and military officials so much that the Xixia people, who had always been unjust when they saw benefits, now took the initiative to offer soil as a sign of goodwill. Although it was only a small valley beside the Yellow River, such a good thing would not have been possible in the Song Dynasty.

"Your Majesty's benevolence spreads all over the world, and the Crown Prince is powerful throughout the world. Now he has completely convinced Xixia!"

At the court meeting, Qin Hui took the lead in singing praises and stole many people's lines.

"Long live Long live Long live!"

The ministers immediately shouted long live the mountain, which comes from the allusion of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty who granted Zen, and is a supreme praise for the emperor's martial arts and martial arts.

Zhu Guoxiang felt quite relieved and said with a smile: "Compared to the homeland of the Song Dynasty, although the Ming Dynasty has not yet confiscated the Kelan Army, it has an extra river meander valley. In the direction of Xixia, it also occupies the Henan Army Division of Xixia. In There is also a fortified city along the seaside road in western Liaoning. If you look at it in detail, it is larger than the territory of the Song Dynasty."

As the ministers cheered, Xiao Chu said: "Our army should make great efforts and send troops to the Northern Expedition next year to regain the sixteen states of Yanyun!"

The Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun are the obsession of countless people, but in fact only fourteen and a half of them are left.

Yingzhou is Hejian Prefecture and part of Cangzhou. Half of Mozhou is also under the jurisdiction of Hejian Prefecture, which has long been the territory of the Song Dynasty.

Qian Chen quickly jumped out to advise: "Your Majesty, Your Highness the Crown Prince, please be sure to rest your troops for one year. This year's great victory in Shanxi Province, the court must not only reward and subsidize the soldiers, but also provide relief to the people who were robbed when the Jin people evacuated. The Ministry of Household... The Ministry of Revenue really has no money and food, and I really have no way to get more money and food!"

"Why should Qian Shangshu cry about poverty?"

Qin Hui is now a die-hard campaigner because the campaign can cater to his superiors: "The immigrants from Hubei that His Royal Highness the Prince resettled back then, as well as the Huaihe River and Henan areas, have now passed the tax reduction and exemption period, and taxes can be collected in full next year. As soon as the summer grain is harvested and there is no shortage of military rations, His Highness the Prince should personally lead the troops for the Northern Expedition!"

Qian Chen was furious, pointed at Qin Hui and said, "You are not a family member, so you don't know how expensive oil and rice are!"

Qin Hui said: "I am the Minister of Household Affairs and assist Qian Shangshu in running the family. Of course I know that oil and rice are expensive."

Prime Minister Zhai Ruwen said: "Your Majesty, it is better to rest for a year and let the people of the country recuperate and recuperate. The Jin people have suffered successive defeats. If they are pushed too hard, let them unanimously attack the outside world. If there is no war for a year, internal strife may occur in the Jin Kingdom. .”

These words made Zhu Guoxiang a little moved. He looked at his silly son: "What do you think, the prince?"

Ju Ming replied: "Prepare food and grass and wait for the opportunity. You may not fight next year, but you must be prepared for war. You cannot send troops without food when the opportunity comes."

"That makes sense." Zhu Guoxiang nodded in agreement.

The prince's ambiguous attitude immediately settled the argument, and no one could say anything more.

…

Before it snowed in winter, Jin Guoyi and his envoy finally arrived in Kaifeng.

Wanyan Zongfu is the chief envoy, Wanyan Zongjun and Wanyan Xiyin are the deputy envoys. The three represent the Shizu lineage, Wanyan Zongwang and Wanyan Zonghan respectively.

Standing at the ferry in Chenqiao Town, Wanyan Zongfu sighed: "Is this the place where Song Taizu wore the yellow robe?"

Wanyan Xiyin said: "It is here that the former Fandong Route Army crossed the Yellow River from here."

"It will be difficult to bring troops here in the future." Wanyan Zongfu muttered.

The ship arranged by the Ming Dynasty had arrived, and officials from Honglu Temple came to greet them. The Jin envoys boarded the ferry in silence.

The bottom line of this peace negotiation of the Jin Kingdom, if it is based on the administrative divisions of later generations, is to donate all the large areas south of Yanshan, east of Yixian, and west of Shanhaiguan to the Ming Dynasty. In exchange, the Ming Dynasty returned the coastal county and Lushun, and the Ming Dynasty was no longer allowed to plunder across the sea. As for the dangerous passes such as Juyongguan and Lulongsai, they were still controlled by the Jin Kingdom.

The two countries are brothers and will not invade each other from now on.

If the Ming Dynasty violates the peace treaty and plunders the coast of the Jin Kingdom across the sea. Then the Kingdom of Jin would also send troops from Juyongguan, Lulongsai, Gubeikou, Feihuxing and other places to plunder the Ming Dynasty.

This was very humiliating for the Kingdom of Jin.

But it is not unacceptable, because the territory they gave up was not wanted during the Aguda period, and they even packaged it and sold it to Song Huizong.