But after trying hard to recall for a long time, I finally remembered this nephew Liu Ling. After thinking about it for a long time, he categorically denied that this man was the most proud son of the Guilin County King. He even told Huang Qiong that this so-called prince's qualifications were mediocre among the princes of Guilin. Compared with several of his brothers who are outstanding in both talent and ability, he is not one who is valued by the King of Guilin.
However, Liu Min didn't know why the Prince of Guilin appointed this relatively mediocre son as his heir apparent. At most, it is a guess that none of his brother's previous sons survived. Because this heir apparent was established when he was older. For Liu Min, she was unwilling to mention herself at all. Now in her mind, she had completely severed all ties.
Apart from being cunning, cunning, ruthless, and resorting to all possible means, I don't have a good impression of my brother. What's more, after she got married, she had a few impressions of the Guilin County Prince's Palace. The brother had always acted unscrupulously, and it was difficult for others to judge his true thoughts. She couldn't guess what the true intentions of such a crown prince were.
After listening to the introductions of the three women, Huang Qiong was even more convinced of the reason why this guy was appointed as the Crown Prince. It was exactly the King of Guilin who used it to fool the court and attract the attention of outsiders. A little trick to protect what he considered the true heir. In order to achieve his own goals, he entered into a marriage alliance with Shanchanhoufu to obtain strong support. He even dared to conceal a real princess without permission.
In order to achieve the same goal, he and his father had the same audacity to report to the court that a legitimate princess had died of a sudden illness. It is not unusual for him to create a fake prince in order to avoid the court's attention in order to marry into Shanchanhoufu of Dali. For such an insignificant guy, keeping him will not only have no effect, but will give the world the impression that the court is weak.
Therefore, Huang Qiong, on the one hand, mobilized his troops to put down the rebellion with all his strength. On the one hand, it was to cut off some people's thoughts that they shouldn't have, and to show some people that the court, or simply himself, had an uncompromising attitude towards the Guilin County Prince. He cleanly killed the crown prince of Guilin County, together with more than thirty people who were arrested together and were sent from Jiangnan to pick up people and protect their absconding people.
And he was killed outside the main gate of the palace in front of the people of the capital and all the civil and military officials. At the same time, he mobilized his own troops and thoroughly inspected all the properties of the Guilin Duke and Prince in the capital. As well as all the officials involved in the rebellion, they have property in the capital and their place of origin. This move expressed to the officials and people all over the world the attitude of the imperial court and the Guilin County King who were now traitors, and that the Han thieves were not at odds with each other.
It's just that the next change in the situation was within Huang Qiong's expectation, but some were unexpected by Huang Qiong. As expected, the prince of Guilin openly rebelled and sent troops and cavalry in three directions to attack Huguang South Road, Jiangnan West Road and Liangzhe West Road Fenshui Pass, as well as Jianning Mansion. Huang Qiong was not surprised by this. If we can't capture Jiangnan in the shortest time, before the autumn grain arrives in Beijing.
The Guangnan East-West Route alone would not be able to provide the rebels with the food and grass they would need for a long-term expedition. Even if the Prince of Guilin is the richest in the world and can buy grain from Annan and Dali, he still cannot withstand long-term consumption. Therefore, his top priority was to capture Jiangnan at all costs to solve the food supply for the rebels and cut off the court's source of wealth and food.
In the north, Beiliao, which had been dormant for several years, suddenly moved south in a big way. Concentrated more than 100,000 infantry and cavalry to launch a fierce attack on Yanshan Prefecture and Yunzhou respectively, and towards the front line of the Outer Great Wall. This time, the Liao army mobilized all its forces to march south to the border with the invaders. It not only mobilized a large number of cavalry, but also concentrated an infantry consisting of 30,000 Han troops and Bohai people, carrying a large number of siege equipment. The battle was personally supervised by the Queen Mother Xiao Chuo and the emperor.
According to the reports sent by various border forces, the intensity of the Liao army's invasion of border areas this time was unprecedented in the past ten years. Originally, there was no Han army in the Liao Kingdom, and the Khitan cavalry was not good at attacking cities. During this march south, there was also a specially formed siege infantry composed mainly of the Han people who had been plundered in the Liao Kingdom in the past dynasties, plus the Bohai people recruited in Liaodong. This trip south can be said to have taken a lot of effort.
Even among the Liao army, for the first time, a large number of Jurchens recruited by them appeared as vanguards. These Jurchens are extremely tough, not afraid of death at all, and their archery skills are extremely accurate. Even if he is good at riding and fighting, he is also good at climbing the city. These were the early winter days when the snow had already begun to fall. They were only wearing animal skins and holding a machete in their mouths. When climbing the city, he didn't even bring a shield.
These Jurchens with pigtails tied behind their heads brought great psychological impact to the defenders of Yanshan Prefecture. If it weren't for these Jurchens, who were more brave and fearless than the Khitans, this would have been the first time they encountered cannons. Facing the earth-shattering sound of cannons, I was somewhat afraid. I am afraid that under the impact of these tough Jurchens, at least half of the passes around Yanshan Mansion will be lost in a short period of time.
Beiliao sent troops south to cooperate with the rebels in the south. This was also not surprising to Huang Qiong. In the past few years, Beiliao has repeatedly gone south but suffered defeats many times, but it has never given up its ambition to herd horses in the Central Plains. Compared with the windy sand of the desert and the coldness of the grasslands, the warmth and wealth of the Central Plains have always been quite attractive to the Northern Liao. Even if Beiliao and Nanfang did not reach a cooperation agreement.
But when civil strife broke out in Daqi, it would be really strange for Beiliao not to take the opportunity to add insult to injury. But this time when Bei Liao went south and rebelled against the Guilin County King, it was only one month apart, which is enough to show that Bei Liao and Guilin County King had joined forces. I just don’t know what price the Guilin County Prince paid. It was a land indemnity, and it was divided into the Yangtze River or the Huaihe River with the Northern Liao Dynasty to rule.
Or did he spend a lot of money and silk, and after seizing the world, surrender to the Northern Liao Dynasty? But one thing that can be proved is that the cost of allowing Northern Liao to send all its troops southward must be quite high. We are all people who can’t afford to be early without any benefit. The businessman of Guilin County was cunning by nature, but Xiao Chuo, the emperor of Northern Liao, who was as good at playing tricks as any other man, would never show mercy.
However, what Huang Qiong didn't expect was that Beiliao not only recruited a large number of Han troops when going south this time, but also recruited Jurchens. The Jurchens are absolutely invincible. Huang Qiong, who heard this Northern Liao proverb for the first time from Ma Rui, couldn't help but think of the dynasty that should have appeared in this era. It perished in this extremely strong and sturdy dynasty that was nourished by white mountains and black waters. A tragic situation in the hands of the nation.
At this time, the Jurchens, in addition to the mature Jurchens who were registered in the Liao Dynasty, lived further north in the Chuhu River Basin and still maintained the custom of fishing and hunting. They were regarded by the Liao State as specially for capturing Haidongqing. A slave nation that collected pearls and ginseng, and paid tribute to valuable furs and deer antlers. They almost never conscripted troops from them, and also set up multiple royal palaces in order to completely divide and disintegrate the Jurchens.
The Jurchens lived in a harsh and cold living environment, and in order to compete for rich lands, products, and even women, the tribes continued to fight among themselves, making them extremely tough and fearless of death. To a certain extent, life became more stable than after the establishment of the Northern Liao Dynasty, and the nobles no longer had to herd cattle and sheep and live in pursuit of water and grass. The Khitan people, whose will had begun to deteriorate, became even more brave.
When Bei Liao went south this time, in addition to the queen mother, the emperor and the kings personally went south to supervise the war. They actually recruited Jurchens to join the army and even used them as vanguards. It is enough to show that Bei Liao attached great importance to this southward movement. During the Northern Liao Dynasty, many emperors personally led the army during the border invasions. But they are mainly Khitan cavalry, with some Bohai people added at most. Not to mention the Jurchens, not even the Han army.
Huang Qiong put down the memorial in his hand and pinched the bridge of his nose. Facing Yu Mingyuan, he said: "Fortunately, I have made some preparations in advance. Otherwise, under the all-out attack from Bei Liao this time, even if Yanshan Mansion can hold on, Yunzhou may be lost. If Yunzhou is lost, the entire The north side of Shanxi Road can be said to be an open door. The Liao army can even attack Taiyuan Prefecture directly with one go."
"The Jurchens are invincible, but they are very powerful, aren't they? Mr. Yu, in your opinion, how should the Liao army in the north deal with it? Just guard the line of the Great Wall like this. Even if they defend it, I'm afraid they won't be able to defeat the Liao army in the north. Losing the ability to go south. Even if the Northern Liao border troops are repulsed this time, I am afraid that the entire northern front will not stop in the future. If during this counter-insurgency process, the Northern Liao troops go south to harass them every year."
"Even if it doesn't cause too much damage, it's clear that a toad jumps on the feet, and it doesn't bite people, but it can't bite them. It also restrains the court and cannot send all the elites south to suppress the rebellion. What's more, fighting on two fronts consumes military expenditures and food every year. , it is even more difficult for the court to support it. How should we deal with such a situation? Should we go from south to north, or from north to south? You need to have a good talk with me."
Huang Qiong looked very tired. After pondering for a long time, Yu Mingyuan still said: "Your Highness, in my opinion, we should go north first and then south. Although Jiangnan is the richest place for the imperial court, now in Jiangnan, the imperial court The advance deployment still worked. Just as His Highness said, it is simply impossible to say that Beiliao's entire army went south this time and it has nothing to do with the King of Guilin. "
"This time the Guilin County Prince and Bei Liao are obviously cooperating from the north to the south. Even if they are defeated this time, if they are not injured, I am afraid that during the next period of the imperial court's suppression of rebellion, Bei Liao will go south every year. Kou Bian. Not only will a large number of our elite troops be restrained from going south to suppress the rebellion, but a large amount of food and wages will also be consumed. After all, in this world, you can only be a thief one day, but there is no reason to guard against thieves for a thousand days."
Speaking of this, Yu Mingyuan pondered for a while and then said: "I believe that His Highness needs to immediately reinforce Yanshan Mansion. At least to ensure that the Yanshan Mansion's military morale is stable. From the Xijing camp, 20,000 elite troops will be drawn out of Yunzhou. If it is here If we mobilize a large force out of Dingyuan Prefecture and raid the hinterland of Khitan with a surprise force, if the three armies cooperate with each other and use the golden iron cavalry tactics again, we can definitely get twice the result with half the effort."
"The reason why the Liao army dared to go south this time was because it believed that our elite army was restrained by the southern rebels and could not go north to deal with them with all its strength. Therefore, it dared to draw away almost all the troops in the country, and even did not hesitate to recruit Han people and Jurchens. And went out with the army. Nowadays, most of the military forces in Northern Liao are concentrated on the line from Yanshan Prefecture to Yunzhou. It is a time of extreme emptiness inside and outside the capital city."
"Even if there are troops left behind, they won't be too many. If our army sends out a surprise force and breaks into the grasslands in its hinterland. If the Liao army goes south, it will inevitably be in chaos because our army breaks into its home base. Wait for it to retreat in a hurry. When our army goes north to reinforce the elite, we launch counterattacks from Yanshan Prefecture and Yunzhou at the same time. Even if we cannot completely defeat the Liao army, we will at least make it difficult for them to recover for three to five years."
"The only problem now is that in order to attract the Liao army on the Yanshan Prefecture and Yunzhou lines, at least 50,000 troops and horses are needed. In addition to the 10,000 troops and horses that detour to the hinterland of Northern Liao, at least 60,000 troops and horses are needed. In addition to Xijing University The battalion can draw out 20,000 troops and horses, but the rest of the troops and horses are now nowhere to be mobilized. Now the Ruijian Battalion and the Forward Battalion among the four major battalions have already headed to Lianghuai."
