Chapter 108 The war begins
The facts were just as Zhao Kuangyin expected. When he arrived in Taiyuan, he happened to catch up with the craze of joining the army. With his martial arts skills, he was naturally selected and became a recruit of the Han army. He was not in a hurry to reveal his identity to Liu He, but stayed in the military camp and continued to observe the combat effectiveness of the Han army. He worked from the bottom, eating, living and training with other recruits.
Three months later, in the competition for new recruits, Zhao Kuangyin, who thought he was well-prepared, became an instant success. He defeated fifty opponents in just half an hour, won the first place in the competition, and received an unusual summons from Liu He. . It was not until after meeting Liu He that Zhao Kuangyin revealed his identity as You Longzi's apprentice, which really surprised Liu He. Liu Hezai verified the token on his body and learned about You Longzi's current situation.
Then, the two retreated and had a night of secret talks. The next day, Liu He announced that in view of Zhao Kuangyin's superb martial arts, he had been summoned into the most elite Forbidden Army and promoted to a captain. The Northern Han Dynasty also began to intensify the mobilization of troops and grain and grass unnoticedly, not knowing what actions to take.
Zhao Kuangyin lived up to his expectations. With his years of diligent martial arts training, he defeated all the invincible opponents of the Forbidden Army in just half a year and successfully established his prestige. For a time, everyone knew that there was a young master in the Forbidden Army. In the following years, the Northern Han Dynasty reorganized its armaments and began to expand its territory. The first was to go to war against the Later Jin Dynasty, which had a large territory but was unwilling to make progress and was content with the status quo. The banner of the Qing Dynasty was also very simple, "Drive out the Tartars and restore Han rule."
Hou Jin didn't expect that Bei Han, who had been fighting with them and had no ambitions, would attack so harshly and was caught off guard. As the saying goes, "The upper beam is not straight, the lower beam is crooked." The rulers in the country were corrupt and degenerate, and the defenders on the border were naturally lax in their armaments and lacked the will to fight. Facing the menacing Northern Han army, it can be said that they were defeated at the first touch. In just half a month, a large area of land was lost and countless people were captured.
Faced with such a great victory, some previously slightly dissatisfied voices among the Northern Han army were silenced. The soldiers and civilians across the country unanimously demanded to pursue the victory and expand the results. Liu He also announced that he would temporarily reorganize the army for two weeks to digest the results of the battle, and promoted a large number of generals who fought bravely and made great achievements, including Zhao Kuangyin.
Since there was no emperor in the Northern Han army, the Forbidden Army where Zhao Kuangyin belonged was just a name. In fact, it was the best of the best composed of the most courageous and highly skilled soldiers in the army. It has always been used in the most intense places of war, and The combat power is extremely powerful, and he can often hit the target with one hit and seal the victory.
Moreover, when there is no war, the Forbidden Army is responsible for guarding the capital and other important areas, so it has great power. After Zhao Kuangyin joined the Forbidden Army, he seemed to have unlocked his talent as a human emperor. With his powerful martial arts and superhuman charisma, he quickly attracted some subordinates and cronies. As his achievements in the war increased, so did his rank.
The rule of the Later Jin Dynasty was corrupt, and even the response speed of the military system was very slow. Therefore, it was not until nearly half of the country was lost that the army responded. With the support of the Liao State, the master behind the scenes, the army organized a counterattack.
However, the combat effectiveness of the Later Jin Dynasty was really poor, and most of the military pay went into the pockets of corrupt officials. The soldiers rarely got a bite of meat a year, and even the weapons in their hands and the armor on their bodies were pawned off to replace them. Get money to maintain your life. Even so, they all didn't have enough to eat, and they were all skinny and lacked food. How could such soldiers be a match for the Northern Han Army, which had sufficient food, adequate pay, and high morale? Therefore, when they meet each other, they are often beaten to pieces and defeated.
The Northern Han army was so powerful that it fought from the border to Kaifeng, the capital of the Later Jin Dynasty. Only a month after the war started, troops were brought to the city. Faced with such a bad situation, not only the court of the Later Jin Dynasty was in chaos, but even their master, the Liao Kingdom, panicked and quickly sent people to support them. After all, the Later Jin Dynasty was the buffer between them and the other countries in China. It withstood most of the pressure for them, and it also provided them with a large amount of wealth, population, beauties, food, and many offerings every year. It was a very obedient dog. , can't be killed just like that.
In addition to sending troops to support, the Liao Kingdom also sent many monks to accompany the army on the expedition, because many low-level cultivators needed medicinal materials and refining materials that they did not bother to collect by themselves. They needed to be collected by a large number of mortals, and every year in the Jin Dynasty You can also contribute a large portion of your share to them. If the Later Jin Dynasty is destroyed and these supplies are cut off, then many sects in the Liao Kingdom will be faced with a situation where low-level disciples have no Qi training elixirs to take and no primary magic weapons to use. They will definitely suffer heavy losses, so they are not prepared for this dispatch of troops. Very positive.
Bringing monks with the army during battle has become an open secret among the top leaders of the cultivation world and secular countries. After all, monks can use spells, whether they are used for attack, detection, medical treatment, defense, etc., they all have advantages that are far beyond the reach of ordinary people. The secular world will also provide a lot of training equipment and medicinal materials for the monks who accompany the army. Even some cultivators of evil and demonic ways will collect blood essence, vitality, and ghost ghosts on the battlefield to practice spells and refine magic weapons.
After all, in a larger-scale battle, tens of thousands of people will die, and in a war, hundreds of thousands or even millions of people will die. With so much blood and soul, even if only ten cents are collected, One can also stand up to those who have practiced hard work for decades, and killing people on the battlefield is within the scope permitted by the rules of heaven, and the sins involved will be much less than usual, as long as they do not take the initiative to kill a large number of people. Mortals will not suffer divine punishment; even if the side they support wins the final victory of the war, the monks who support them will receive a lot of merit.
Moreover, war makes people mature, and it is also the place where it is easiest to witness life and death and the changes in the world. Therefore, even those righteous sects will send their disciples to participate in the war when a war occurs as a way to gain experience and earn merit. Therefore, the world of cultivation needs the human and material resources of the secular world to help with cultivation, and the secular world is also happy to accept the joining of cultivators to improve its own strength. It can be said that the two get what they need, and this is the custom that has been formed.
The Later Jin Dynasty received strong support from the Liao State and was pushed to the bottom line, so it had to fight to the death and launched a violent counterattack. The Northern Han Army also fought for a long time and was exhausted, so it did not want to face the dying situation of the Later Jin Dynasty. After counterattack, they retreated for a certain distance and stationed themselves thirty miles outside Kaifeng City. They slowly rested and faced off against the later Jin army.
