In the next two days, Zhao Yang ordered Feng Wenjun, the Zhenrong Army, to send more cavalry to closely monitor the movements of the Ama tribe.
On May 28, the second day of the "three-day period", it was reported that the cavalry monitoring the Ama tribe frequently came to report.
In fact, strictly speaking, the name Huaide Army does not exist at this time, and even its administrative city, Pingxia City, has not yet been built. Before the Qingli peace negotiation, this land changed hands many times. It was once captured by Xixia, but was recaptured by the Song army until Qingli. During the peace talks between the two countries, Xixia withdrew its troops from Huaide Army to the adjacent border city of Weizhou to show its sincerity. It temporarily put aside the issue of ownership of the land owned by Huaide Army, making Huaide Army a strategic buffer between the two countries.
However, the Song State always believed that the Huaide Army was a lost territory. For example, the Zhenrong Army sent cavalry to patrol from time to time. However, since it did not build a city or garrison in the area, the control was quite limited, so it did not arouse the vigilance of Xixia.
The actual naming of Huaide's army and the construction of the local city Pingxia City did not occur until the Zhezong period of the Song Dynasty. It was known at that time that Zhang Kai of Weizhou took advantage of Xixia's unawareness and launched an attack on March 22 to build Pingxia City and Lingping Village. A few years later, Zhezong of the Song Dynasty also officially named this place Huaide Army, which posed a great threat to Xixia, so the two countries resumed war. Until the first year of Jingkang, Huaide Army was captured by Xixia. Five years later, it was occupied by the Jin people. .
At present, Huaide Army still belongs to the buffer zone of the disputed border between Song and Xia. Han, Qiang, and Tibetan people live in the territory in a mixed manner. Most of the nearby pastures are grazing lands for Qiang on the border between Song and Xia. Since the peace talks between the two countries in the fourth year of Qingli, It's been five years.
According to frequent reports from the Tibetan cavalry monitoring the Ama tribe, the old and weak women and children of the Ama tribe are gradually beginning to move to the Xia Kingdom via the Huaide Army. However, at the same time, young and strong men from other nearby Qiang tribes are coming to the Ama tribe's garrison. Zhao Yang didn't look into it carefully after hearing this.
After all, he, Gao Ruona, and Zhang Kang had already expected that the other Qiang tribes would secretly help the Ama tribe, the "leading bird". Otherwise, the Ama tribe alone might not have three thousand young men. , it is estimated that the troops stationed in the Zhenrong Army alone are enough to destroy them. Don't look at the Song Dynasty's imperial army's repeated defeats against Xixia and Liao Kingdom. There were many battles, but the more famous ones all resulted in tragic defeats, such as the Battle of Gaoliang River during the Zhenzong period of the Song Dynasty, and the Battle of Mihaochuan a few years ago.
Or it should be said conversely, it was precisely because of the tragic defeat that the Battle of Gaoliang River and the Battle of Miyoshi River left a mark in the history books. On the contrary, if it was a victory, it is estimated that most historians would simply write the word "victory" in their name. Lost.
This is also a characteristic of Confucian culture.
On May 29th, the last day of the three-day period, the cavalry monitoring the Ama tribe came to report again, saying that almost no old, weak, women and children could be seen near the Ama tribe’s headquarters, and most of them had moved to Song Dynasty. summer border. In addition, during these two days, the Ama tribe slaughtered sheep every day and held a banquet.
Zhao Yang knew in his heart that the other party was ready for a battle.
In fact, it's not just the Ama tribe. Zhao Yang has ordered Feng Wenjun to kill sheep and cook meat to reward the soldiers in the past few days. In fact, he is also preparing for this war.
However, what surprised Zhao Yang was that apart from gathering warriors, the Ama tribe took no other action.
He privately told Feng Wenjun, Guo Kui and others: "The opposite side did not send Qiang cavalry to harass and cause chaos. This is beyond my expectation. ... If I were the Ama opposite, I would have sent dozens of Qiang cavalry at this time. A cavalry team of ten people caused chaos on Jingyuan Road and even the entire Shaanxi Fourth Road, intruding, looting, and creating chaos."
Feng Wenjun didn't dare to answer, but Guo Kui said with a smile: "Isn't this really a rebellion? I'm sorry that Ama doesn't have the guts. Even if he did, the other dozen tribe leaders would not dare to follow him. . If you dare to act like this, you will be ostracizing yourself from our Song Dynasty. If our Song Dynasty sends troops to conquer them in the future, they will have nothing to say. Apart from Beitou Xixia, there is no other way to survive. ... Even according to Qingli During the four-year peace negotiation between our Song Dynasty and Xixia, if these Qiang tribe leaders cause chaos or even cause casualties in our Song Dynasty, Xixia will not be able to take them in. On the contrary, they will send troops to capture them and hand them over to our Song Dynasty for disposal, and vice versa. Yes. Otherwise, Xixia will betray the alliance. Therefore, these people dare not cause chaos easily, let alone invade and plunder everywhere."
Zhao Yang nodded suddenly and sneered: "It seems like these people really have no choice."
Guo Kui nodded in agreement: "Their only reliance is Xixia's intervention in this matter, but unfortunately, Xixia has too much time to take care of itself right now..."
Several governors and Zhenrong army officials looked at each other and smiled.
Until the sun went down, the cavalry monitoring the Ama tribe came to report on a routine basis, saying that the Ama tribe had not moved out of the camp as agreed.
Zhao Yang was not surprised by this. He invited Feng Wenjun, Guo Kui and several other governors of the Zhenrong Army to hold a small meeting and clarify the regulations for sending troops to expel the Ama tribe the next day: Zhao Yang took the post of commander himself. As the central army, he led the 2,500 forbidden troops of Tianwu's Fifth Army. Feng Wenjun, the commander of the Zhenrong Army, was temporarily appointed as the vanguard. He was in charge of 4,800 cavalry and 2,000 crossbow infantry. Guo Kui led the 1,200 One hundred cavalry and two thousand infantry were used as partial divisions, totaling 12,500 troops.
After the meeting adjourned, Zhao Yang, Feng Wenjun, and Guo Kui each recruited their generals to discuss the war.
The next day, that is, in the early morning of May 30th, at dawn, all the imperial troops stationed in Zhenrong Army bought pots to cook early in preparation for the expedition.
Before setting off for the expedition, as usual, people took oaths to boost morale, and Zhao Yang was no exception. He had people build a temporary high platform outside Gaoping Village early.
When the entire army had finished breakfast and was preparing to go out for battle, Zhao Yang ordered 12,500 forbidden troops to gather outside Gaoping Village, while he climbed onto a high platform, holding a wooden instrument similar to a trumpet, and shouted to the entire army.
In order to make every Forbidden Army hear his shout as much as possible, he took the lead in calling all the Forbidden Army to come forward and not to form a formation.
The Tianwu Fifth Army had long been familiar with Zhao Yang's character, and followed the order to move forward and surround the high platform. Immediately, the Imperial Guards under Feng Wenjun and Guo Kui also followed suit and moved forward to surround the high platform, making it impenetrable.
Looking at the densely packed Forbidden Army around the audience, Zhao Yang couldn't help but feel excited. He raised a wooden trumpet and shouted: "Brothers of the Forbidden Army, I am the deputy envoy sent by the imperial court to recruit and appease, and I am also the fifth in Tianwu. Military commander, Zhao Yang."
As soon as he finished speaking, the forbidden soldiers of Tianwu's Fifth Army around the high platform took the lead in shouting in response.
A governor in the audience was surprised and said: "Deputy Envoy Zhao has a very high prestige in the Tianwu Fifth Army."
Feng Wenjun rolled his eyes and murmured in his mind: If you are willing to spend money and reward the sergeant from time to time, the sergeant will still support you.
Of course, after whispering, he also had a good impression of this young Mr. Zhao.
After all, any civil servant who has served on the Fourth Road in Shaanxi knows how difficult it is for the Forbidden Army stationed there. They spend all day chewing pickles and eating old rice. How can they get any morale for the battle? Therefore, every time there is a war, meat is distributed to reward the soldiers, and even after the war, pensions and rewards are provided to maintain morale.
If the military expenditure is insufficient, then the minister's money will have to be moved. Over time, the minister's money will naturally be depleted.
It's a good thing that the imperial court didn't send anyone to investigate. After all, the four roads in Shaanxi Province are doing this. It is unlikely that the serving magistrates and military magistrates will betray each other. But once the court investigates deeply, this matter is an illegal operation. It is best to move to another place. Otherwise, like Zhang Kang, he would be labeled a "corrupt official" and would be hard to get promoted.
At this moment, the little Zhao Langjun on the stage, who was deeply trusted by the officials, dared to move the minister's money to reward the army without any scruples to boost morale.
With such a forthright and valuing sergeant officer in Shaanxi, Feng Wenjun had no doubt that the morale and military appearance of his Shaanxi Fourth Route Forbidden Army would undergo earth-shaking changes.
At this time, Zhao Yang, who was on the high platform, was also keenly aware that only the Imperial Guards of the Tianwu Fifth Army supported him. The rest of the Imperial Guards such as the Fanluo Army and the Baojie Army had not yet aroused their morale, so he suppressed his hand. Signaling the Imperial Guards of Tianwu's Fifth Army to be silent, he shouted to the Imperial Guards such as the Fanluo Legion and the Baojie Legion: "You fellow Imperial Guards who are guarding the pro-army Ma Busi, don't you think the mutton these days is not very delicious?"
In fact, the Fanluo Legion, Baojie Legion and other imperial guards who guarded the pro-army also knew that it was because of Zhao Yang that they were able to eat mutton in the past three days. However, most of them had never seen Zhao Yang. Seeing that Zhao Yang's voice was childish, and then taking a closer look, he turned out to be a boy of fifteen or sixteen years old, I was shocked for a moment.
Seeing this, Guo Kui shouted loudly: "I am banning soldiers on behalf of my subordinates. The taste is very delicious, but it is a pity that there is less."
His words resonated with many Imperial Guards present, and many people laughed and agreed.
Zhao Yang smiled and nodded. While secretly praising Guo Kui, he couldn't help but feel a little emotional in his heart.
He must know that according to his understanding, the price of meat on the Fourth Road in Shaanxi is basically one-fifth or even one-sixth of that in Bianjing. Mutton sold in Bianjing costs 100 cents per catty, but in Shaanxi it only costs 20 cents per catty; In Bianjing, the price of a lamb is as high as three thousand yuan, but in Shaanxi, it is less than 500 yuan.
But even with such a low price of meat, the forbidden soldiers stationed in Shaanxi still gnaw pickles and eat old rice every day. Only during wars, the serving magistrates and military magistrates would buy meat to reward the troops to boost morale. Otherwise, the war would not be successful. There is no way to fight.
As for the reason, it is still the "ancestral system". During the reign of Emperor Taizu of the Song Dynasty, it was stipulated that the forbidden soldiers should not be too luxurious. As a result, they went too far and the forbidden soldiers could not even eat meat.
Although many people have always felt that this regulation was too harsh and seriously affected the morale and fighting spirit of the Forbidden Army. However, due to the ancestral system, they did not dare to report to the court to change it. Only the civil servants and military attachés who were actually in charge of the army rewarded the army with meat before battles. , Don’t even think about it on weekdays. The meager military expenses are simply unaffordable. Even for rewards and pensions for pre-war battles, some governors and military commanders have to secretly use the envoy’s money to do so.
Teng Zongliang and Zhang Kang were all like this.
Fortunately, when the Liao envoys took advantage of the diversion of the Yellow River to threaten the Song Dynasty, the central government recognized the need to strengthen national defense. From the officials to the court officials, everyone agreed, or at least acquiesced, to improving the status and treatment of sergeants, and submitted it to the Privy Council to re- The regulations will be formulated and the results will be expected within half a year.
However, given the size of the Forbidden Army, the first increase in treatment may not be too much, but even so, it will be better than the current situation.
Thinking of this, Zhao Yang took a deep breath and said: "The officials are well aware of the sufferings of the Forbidden Army. Before I went to Shaanxi, I had ordered the Privy Council to re-formulate the treatment of the Forbidden Army. Both salary and food have been improved compared to before, but there is still a long way to go. , I’m afraid it will take one to two years…”
The Imperial Guards in the audience were both surprised and disappointed when they heard this. They were surprised that the imperial court actually improved the treatment of their Imperial Guards, but were disappointed that there would still be one to two years before the actual implementation.
Seeing the sighs in the audience, Zhao Yang smiled and said: "Why are you disappointed? Aren't there still me? As long as I am in Shaanxi, even if I cannot make the brothers of the Forbidden Army eat meat every day, at least I can always make the brothers of the Forbidden Army If you taste the fishy smell, and you have a meal of meat at least every seven to ten days, start by suppressing the Rong army..."
Feng Wenjun and other civil and military officers in the audience looked at each other in disbelief, but the Imperial Guards present cheered for joy. Many people asked anxiously: "Are you serious? Commander Zhao?"
"certainly!"
As Zhao Yang opened his mouth to confirm, the imperial guards cheered, because Zhao Yang promised to have a meal every seven to ten days, which made Zhao Yang secretly sigh.
However, this was not the time to express his emotions. Zhao Yang pressed his hands to signal everyone to be silent, and then said seriously: "Today we are sworn to go out for battle. I think most of you Forbidden Army brothers also know the reason. It's okay if you don't know. I will explain it here. . The Tibetan tribes on the Song-Xia border, especially the Qiang tribes, have always been on both sides of the snake and rat sides. They have always defected to the Song Dynasty and sometimes to the Xia Dynasty, and have been a border trouble for a long time. Now the imperial court sent Gao Xianggong and me to Shaanxi to recruit the Qiang and Fan, and ordered them to compile The people of the same household are no longer a border trouble for us in the Song Dynasty. However, the Ama tribe took the lead in resisting. Therefore, after discussion between Gao Xianggong and me, I ordered them to move their tribes out of the Song Dynasty within three days until sunset yesterday. The three-day period has expired. However, the Ama tribe still refuses to obey and wants to lead the tribe to resist, so today I will lead a large army to drive them away myself."
Having said this, he took a deep breath and said solemnly: "This battle is related to whether we can implement the household registration and equalize the people in the Song Dynasty, and whether we can completely eliminate the border troubles. I hope all the brothers in the Forbidden Army will not be stingy with their courage. Of course, I am not Instruct the brothers in the imperial army to risk their lives. All they have to do is obey the order and expel the Amma tribe. If they resist stubbornly, our army is far stronger than them and we will definitely win. Therefore, no one needs to take risks, let alone take risks because of greed for merit. ,Hurt self and others."
"Finally, it is up to me to clarify the rewards and punishments. From today onwards, when all the Qiang tribes surrender, if you kill an enemy, you will be rewarded with one sentence; if you capture someone, you will be rewarded with two sentences; if you save Paoze, you will be rewarded with two sentences! However, you must not kill the good and take credit for it, and you must not Those who lie about their military exploits will be expelled from the Imperial Guards and will never be admitted to the Imperial Guards! ...Do you understand?"
"Understood!" nearly half of the over 10,000 imperial troops said in unison.
Seeing this, Zhao Yang added another fire to ignite morale: "When the Ama tribe's affairs are settled, we will first reward the troops present. Each of the troops present will be given a sheep or lamb, and a corner of wine as a celebration! All gentlemen, Are you satisfied?!”
Originally, the Imperial Guards in the audience were very surprised that Zhao Yang had made clear the rewards and punishments. When they heard this, they were even more excited and cheered, shouting satisfaction.
"In that case, advance the troops!"
"oh!"
As Zhao Yang ordered the dispatch of troops, more than 10,000 forbidden troops shouted in unison, their morale was so high that Feng Wenjun and other civil and military officers were secretly stunned.
A moment later, when Zhao Yang walked off the platform, Feng Wenjun smiled bitterly and said: "In a battle that must be won, why does Deputy Zhao make such promises?"
Looking around at the governors of the Zhenrong Army who also looked puzzled, Zhao Yang said sternly: "This battle is the first battle. Not only must we win, we must also win the victory neatly, knocking the mountain to shock the tiger, and killing the chicken to scare the monkeys!"
Feng Wenjun and others were shocked when they heard this, and then they understood Zhao Yang's intention.
Later, Feng Wenjun led the troops in front, Zhao Yang was behind, Guo Kui was on the side, the cavalry was in front, and the infantry was behind. A total of 12,500 troops marched toward the Ama tribe's garrison. The morale of the forbidden soldiers was high and they were full of fighting spirit.
After a total of about two hours of march, the army finally arrived at the Ama tribe's station. The Ama tribe had already detected the Song army with its cavalry. However, both sides had restrictions, so even if the cavalry of the two sides met, they would not be able to do so. Not fighting.
Around 4 o'clock in the morning, Zhao Yang led the Tianwu Fifth Army to the south of the Ama tribe's station, issued orders and arranged troops.
Both the front army and the right wing belong to Feng Wenjun's department: the right wing consists of the 12th battalion of the Fanlu Army of the garrison, with a total of 4,800 cavalry, controlled and dispatched by the garrison governor Gou Bin and Xu Si; Feng Wenjun personally leads the 2nd Battalion of the Baojie Army. , the 1st Battalion of the Dinggong Corps, and the 1st Battalion of the Qingbian Crossbowmen Corps are the front army. Each legion has a civilian officer who serves as the garrison governor as an assistant.
The central army is led by Zhao Yang himself. The fifth Tianwu Army is equipped with infantry armor. Each battalion is divided into spearmen, swordsmen and crossbowmen. In terms of equipment, it is undoubtedly the best among all the Forbidden Army. The quality of the sergeants is the same, but most of them have never seen blood.
On the left wing were the third cavalry battalion of the Fanluo Legion and the fourth battalion of the Baojie Legion led by the governor Guo Kui. They also had 2,000 infantry in front and 1,200 cavalry on the side. In terms of breakthrough capability, they were inferior to the nearly 5,000 cavalry on the right wing. Few, but not negligible.
When these 12,500 troops formed their formation, the Ama tribe was inevitably afraid, especially when they discovered that the Song army today had an astonishingly high morale for some reason. Even from a long distance away, they could feel that the opposite side was like Burning fighting spirit.
"If I were on the opposite side, we should take action while we are setting up our formation... Maybe there was a chance of winning by one or two points before, but now there is no chance of winning at all."
When the army was about to complete its formation, Zhao Yang shook his head and said.
Wen Tong, who served as a military officer accompanying the army, smiled and said: "This should be stopped without interruption, and we will suffer chaos instead."
"Who are you two from?" Fan Chunren, who also served as a military officer, said speechlessly, then looked at the opposite party and said calmly: "The other side only asks me, the Song Dynasty, to take back my order and give up household registration. If you don't really want to rebel, how can you do that? Leading the troops? This battle will be won."
Wen Tong nodded and said: "It depends on whether the resort is neat and tidy, and whether it can deter the Qiang. For this reason, Jing Xing promised tens of thousands of gold in rewards, so it's better not to waste them in vain."
Zhao Yang nodded slightly and said to Wang Zhongzheng and others: "Ask Feng Zhijun to send someone to make an announcement."
"yes!"
A moment later, Feng Wenjun received Zhao Yang's order and sent the governor Gou Bin to lead more than a hundred cavalry to the Ama tribe. He shouted from a distance: "The three-day period has passed, and the Ama tribe still will not move away. Gather the tribesmen here. Do we have to resist in a corner?!"
At that time, Ama, the chief of the Ama tribe, had also gathered the young men of the tribe, including those from other tribes secretly sent to help, to gather outside the station. There were even several chiefs of other tribes hiding in their tribe's station at this moment, waiting. Watch the outcome of the battle between the two sides.
Hearing Gou Bin's shouting, Amma walked to the front of the formation and said loudly: "My clan has lived here for a long time and is in harmony with you Song people. This time it is clearly you Song people who want to murder our clan. I led my clan to resist. It's not my fault." I."
Gou Bin shrugged, turned his horse and turned back. He might not even have heard clearly what Amma was shouting. After all, the matter was already at this point, and the war between the two sides was a foregone conclusion. It was just a routine matter for him to come out and make an announcement, or it could be said that the teacher had a reputation, Ah Ma. Ma's reply or quibbles didn't matter.
No, when Gou Bin returned to the former army Feng Wenjun, he had only one sentence to report to the latter: "The Ama tribe disobeys orders and refuses to move away."
Feng Wenjun nodded slightly, waved his hand and ordered: "Send orders to all commanders, prepare to march!"
Immediately, the sound of horns sounded in the Song army array, announcing the advance of troops.
Seeing this, the leader of the Ama tribe, Ama, no longer had any luck, shouted loudly, and led his infantry and cavalry to take the lead towards the Song army's formation.
Zhao Yang personally took charge of the army's first war, and thus began.
