Guangxi, Xipingzhou, on the border of Songjiao.
The first general to control the dragon, commanded by Di Yong, has made final preparations for war.
Just waiting for the general order from Zhang Dun, we can cross the border and penetrate directly into the hinterland of Jiaozhi.
First capture Juili Pass, and then occupy Beipian, thereby dividing the entire northern border of Jiaozhi from Taiyuan, the important town in northern Jiaozhi.
This is a task that has been performed countless times and every commander understands it in both head and heart.
"Commander Xu." Di Yong looked back and looked at Xu Kenan, one of the only two cavalry commanders in his hands: "Are your cavalry ready?"
Xu Kenan bowed his hands and said, "Please rest assured, Taiwei. The five hundred cavalry under the general's command are all ready. Once the war begins, the general's command will be fulfilled. The pass will not be broken, and there will be no need for the general to take action." I will take off my head to apologize!"
Xu Kenan's voice was hoarse and low, making it sound like a wild beast roaring in the forest.
His appearance is enough to scare timid children.
He has a pair of fierce eyes like a jackal. The skin on his face is pitted by the wind and sand from the northwest. He has thick beards that grow on both sides. A scar like a centipede extends from the left side of his face to his lower jaw. , people look at it as if they are seeing the life-seeking evil ghost in the Yama Palace.
Coupled with his burly figure, which is almost six feet tall, once he puts on the armor, he is a complete steamroller on the battlefield.
His physical strength alone is enough to intimidate his enemies and make them afraid to fight.
What he is best at is a pair of iron maces weighing dozens of kilograms.
In the five battles of Lanzhou, Xu Kenan's pair of maces cracked the heads of at least dozens of Western thieves.
This gave him a prestigious reputation on Xihe Road, and people praised him as a tiger.
"Good!" Di Yong nodded with satisfaction.
He was assured of the combat effectiveness of Xu Kenan's troops.
This cavalry fought in the five battles of Lanzhou. Their opponents were the Iron Kites, Bu Ba Zi and Po Xi Army of the Western Bandits.
In the five battles, this imperial army from Bianjing suffered heavy losses many times. After the war, it was rebuilt and a large number of elite Western troops were recruited.
Therefore, the current 500 cavalry of Xu Kenan's tribe are actually Bianjing people, and may not even be one hundred. The rest are supplemented by the Western Army. The composition is very complex, including Han, Qiang, The Tubo people are even Dangxiang people.
Needless to say, there is no need to doubt the combat effectiveness of such an army.
All of them are veterans who have experienced frequent wars in the northwest.
The only problem is that the stronger the combat effectiveness of the Song Dynasty's army, the worse its military discipline is.
There is no way, the money given to the Song Dynasty army, even for the Fourth Army, is only two or three times a month.
There are even fewer soldiers.
Two or three times a month? Who is working hard for you?
If you shoot three bows before the enemy, you will be worthy of the military salary given by Zhao Guan's family.
Therefore, almost all the elites of the Song Dynasty went into battle for the reward.
The reward was linked to beheading.
In this situation, almost all the elites of the Song Dynasty were good at killing good people and taking credit for their merits.
Di Yong is self-aware of this.
However, he also knew that the quality of military discipline was crucial to whether the Song Dynasty could truly win the hearts and minds of the people of Cochin in the future.
Therefore, Di Yong stopped Xu Kenan before he left and said: "Commander Xu, when we get to the battlefield, I hope that the commander will restrain the generals and not kill too much!"
Di Yong knew very well that it was impossible for the Song army not to kill the prisoners.
But there must be necessary constraints.
Xu Kenan grinned: "It's just peace of mind, Lieutenant Commander!"
"Master Wang is a teacher of benevolence and righteousness. He may not be able to do it without serious injury or capture, but... no one will kill a good person to take credit, let alone attack the old, weak, women and children!"
For the Imperial Guards, killing was for reward.
If you can get rewards without killing people, then few fools will kill people casually.
Di Yong was surprised. In the past, he often emphasized military discipline.
But the generals and colonels below only agreed verbally. In fact, no one knew what they were thinking in their hearts.
But now, Xu Kenan has agreed?
Moreover, it seems that he is really willing to restrain his subordinates.
What's happening here?
This made Di Yong a little confused.
…
Xu Kenan bid farewell to Di Yong and returned to the military camp.
His generals gathered together.
The military system of the Song Dynasty used to be based on the basic structure of Xiang, Jun, Ying, and Du.
To this day, the Imperial Guard in Beijing still maintains this structure.
However, after the reform of the General's Art of War, the troops and horses along the border were reorganized according to the organizational method of the General's Art of War.
General-department-team became the new organizational structure.
The First General of Yulong, because it was established not long ago, still maintains the old organizational structure.
In fact, it can be regarded as the 'Dragon Army'.
But the officers below all grew up in the art of war.
The most important change in the art of war is that soldiers and generals are no longer separated.
A general who can command an army can serve in an army for a long time.
Even if they are transferred, under normal circumstances, they are allowed to take their direct descendants with them.
This led to the emergence of generals in the Song army after Xining.
Zhong'e was on Huanqing Road and once covered the sky with one hand. Liu Changzuo was on Yanyan Road and Jingyuan Road and had great reputation.
Yao Si and his son own a large number of old tribes on Jingyuan Road and Xihe Road.
Wang Wenyu and his son won the hearts of the military in Lanzhou and Xizhou.
As for the Zhe family, which was originally a semi-independent vassal town, in Fuzhou and Linzhou, they were almost the Tu emperor, similar to the Jiedu envoys of the Five Dynasties.
If the people at the top do this, of course the people at the bottom will also learn from it.
Therefore, since Xining, there have been endless ambitions among the generals of the Song Dynasty.
There are also many people who have accumulated meritorious service from small soldiers to remote counties.
Xu Kenan is, of course, one of these ambitious people.
Who wouldn't want to be granted the title of Jiedu during his life, and be the king of the county when he died, his father and ancestors would be granted titles for three generations, his wife and mother would be granted imperial titles, and his descendants would be separated from the country?
Therefore, Xu Kenan has a deep relationship with his army.
He could name almost every soldier.
Will you even remember what achievements someone made in the battle of a certain year and month?
However, he was able to do this because of his family tradition.
His grandfather was Xu Sichun, the top martial scholar in the first year of Renmiao Jingyou's reign.
Xu Sichun once had an official position under the command of the Jingyuan Road troops and had a bright future. Unfortunately, in the second year of Qingli, he died in Dingchuan Village due to Ge Huaimin's blind command and underestimating the enemy's advance.
The Xu family's upward momentum was interrupted.
But the Xu family has since become a family of military generals in the Song Dynasty. Xu Kenan grew up in the army with his father and brother since he was a child.
"I just came back from Lieutenant Di. The Lieutenant said that I should be the vanguard in this crusade against traitors!" Xu Kenan took out the mace from his waist.
The captains under his command were already cheering.
"In the past few months, we have been training, practicing, drinking and eating meat, and everyone has almost faded away!" You Dutou shouted: "Finally we can have a big fight!"
"Command!" The guy asked loudly: "Tell me, what do you want us to do?"
Xu Kenan looked at the man with a smile. It was Akwang, one of the most powerful cavalry generals under his command.
Just by looking at the name, you can tell that he is a party person.
Among the Western Army of the Great Song Dynasty, there were countless Dangxiang people, Tubo people, and Qiang people.
You may have to ask: Aren’t the Dangxiang people the mortal enemies of the Song Dynasty? How could they work for the Song Dynasty?
Answer: The Weiming clan is the mortal enemy!
Long before the founding of Dangxiang, Li Shibin, the iron-clad gentleman who was considered a thorn in Wei Mingjia's side and a thorn in his flesh, was a Dangxiang member.
The Zhe family in Fuzhou and Linzhou are also party members.
Even now, there are still countless party members risking their lives every year to escape from the Western Bandit territory and seek refuge in the Song Dynasty.
Because Wei Mingjia squeezed them so hard, these lower-level Dangxiang herdsmen really couldn't survive. They would rather come to the Song Dynasty to be farmers and pay grain to Zhao Guan's family to guard the border than go back.
The reason is very simple.
Does the famous Dabai Gaoguo have anything to do with the herdsmen at the bottom who will freeze to death and starve to death tomorrow?
In addition, the frequent internal fighting in Dangxiang also caused the losers to flee to the Song Dynasty.
The Wu Zang family in the past, the Renjia family in the present, and the Liang family in the future.
They all fled to Song Dynasty one after another and were protected.
Xu Kenan touched the inscription engraved on the mace he held in his hand.
"Don't forget to overcome difficulties!"
This was his name and what his father expected of him.
Overcome the difficulties, overcome the difficulties, and overcome the rebels like the Difficult Army!
Touching the inscription, Xu Kenan grinned, and the scar on the left cheek became ferocious: "Akwang, have you heard about the promise Gao Zouma and the chieftains made to us?"
All the generals and commanders swallowed their saliva and listened as Xu Kenan stretched out three fingers and said to these people: "Every Jiaozhi person, whether he is a man, a woman, or a child, will be given three ounces of money!"
"Gao Zouma said that if the court won't give you this money, he will give it to you!"
"Even if I sell my ancestral home in Bianjing, I will definitely not owe you anything!"
All the generals' breaths suddenly froze.
Three pieces of money for one?
This is almost as good as the imperial court’s reward for beheading!
only……
Akwang licked his tongue and asked: "Commander, what do Gao Zouma and the chieftains want to capture?"
"Men and women, I can still understand, what do they want children for?"
Xu Kenan glared at Akwang: "What does he care about having so many things?"
"Let's just ask for money!"
Akwang nodded, indeed, what do they care about these many things?
As long as the money is available, that's enough.
San Guan Qian is alone!
Xu Kenan clapped his hands to calm everyone down, and then said: "Go back and let the big guys and the brothers below make it clear."
"In this battle, please don't kill people randomly!"
"It's all money!"
"Promise!" The generals agreed loudly.
Xu Kenan looked at these people and continued: "In addition, remember to make it clear to the brothers below that I don't want any rewards or money from this battle, I will give them all to my brothers!"
"I just want my brothers to fight the enemy bravely, seize the decisive pass for me, and defeat the Jiaozhi bandits!"
Xu Kenan is ambitious.
He pointed to this southern expedition and achieved enough military exploits to raise his rank as a military minister.
He is now the deputy envoy of the supply warehouse from the seventh rank, so it may be difficult to jump to Yaojun all at once.
But it should be conceivable to jump three or five levels and be promoted to the seventh-level warrior level, right?
He is the military minister of Yulong's first general and the emperor's own army.
In this way, once it is released to the outside world, it will have the opportunity to be independent. The Zhizhou dare not think about it, but the position of Zhizhai or Zhijun along the border can be imagined.
In a few years, everything will be available.
Why compete with the big soldiers for such a small profit?
After hearing this, all the generals' eyes lit up and they all bowed to each other: "Commander Renyi! Command Renyi!"
If the conductor voluntarily gives up the money, how much will everyone get?
After they returned, they told the matter to the soldiers below.
After hearing this, all the soldiers' eyes turned red.
"Three Guan Qian for one!" Countless people breathed rapidly.
What's more, the conductor himself promised not to participate in the money sharing.
As a result, morale was greatly shaken and fighting spirit was high.
For the Song Army, just being fully paid was not enough to inspire his will to fight.
Rewards are the key to determining combat effectiveness.
The more rewards, the stronger the combat effectiveness. On the contrary, if the rewards are few, combat effectiveness and morale will drop rapidly.
This is a problem left over from the late Tang Dynasty, and there is basically no solution.
…
The army of Song Dynasty was full of soldiers and horses.
On the other side, Jiaozhi was in a strange mood.
This is mainly because Northern Korea has not yet attacked.
Originally, Jiaozhi expected that without any reply, the Northern Dynasty would be unable to hold back and attack immediately.
After all, what era is this?
Does anyone still abide by the rules of war?
Does it really mean when to attack?
However, the fact is that the Northern Dynasty seemed to strictly abide by their edict and remained stationary at the border.
This made the Jiaozhi troops from Taiyuan to Guangyuan City anxious as they waited.
Unease spreads in the hearts of all Cochin people.
As time goes by, the memory of the last war is awakened by more and more people.
For the Cochin people, it was a horrific war.
It was also an almost hopeless war for them.
They suffered terrible and devastating blows on all battlefields.
If it hadn't been for the heavy rain, they knew that Shenglong Mansion would definitely not be able to hold on.
Now, the Northern soldiers came to the city again.
Where will they come from?
Where will they fight first?
But at this time, those Dongxi tribes scattered on the border between Song Dynasty and Song Dynasty were waiting for the arrival of people sent by Nong Zhihui and Nong Shengde.
The Nong family has ruled these places for a long time, and many wealthy families were subordinates and vassals of the Nong family in the past.
Many people are even descendants of the generals who followed Nong Zhigao in the uprising.
After the Nong family came up with the conditions of business as usual and even rewards based on merit, these people immediately defected.
This is normal.
The Nong family was originally among these tribes and had a high reputation and strong appeal.
Now the Nong family, with the order of the Emperor of China, told them that the Bianjing official family had promised to let the Nong family guard Guangyuan Prefecture and Qiyuan Prefecture for generations.
As long as you surrender, everything will remain the same.
We don’t want your tribute either. I won’t even ask for your gold.
Any fool knows how to choose!
After all, are the canonization of Shenglong Mansion and the canonization of Bianjing the same thing?
Many people even said on the spot - If the officials had conferred the title on us earlier, why would we have to serve as ministers to the clown in Jiaozhou in this barbaric land?
This is a fact!
Whenever there is a choice, Bianjing will give them a status.
They had already left Shenglong Mansion!
So, while Li Changjie and Yang Jingtong were still nervously arranging city defenses, preparing for the invasion of northern troops.
From Sumao Prefecture to Guangyuan Prefecture, the border between Song Dynasty and Song Dynasty stretched for hundreds of miles, with open doors.
Almost all the Dongxi tribes on the border have surrendered to the Song army, and then received the empty name Zazi signed by Zhang Dun.
Zhang Dun considered that the chieftains in these places actually did not understand the official ranks of military ministers that developed from the Five Dynasties in the Song Dynasty.
They recognized the official positions of the Tang Dynasty even more.
Therefore, Zhang Dun also followed public opinion and issued a lot of various majestic titles.
What about Yulin Colonel, Huben Colonel, Feiqiwei, Wuqiwei...
Send it down with your eyes closed.
It doesn’t cost any money anyway! (These official positions are now either honorary officers or honorary titles without salary).
The heads of various tribes, chieftains and wealthy families were overjoyed to receive these official positions.
One by one, after receiving the official certificate, they happily ran to open an ancestral hall to worship their ancestors.
O ancestors!
We finally got the canonization from the emperor!
Guangzong Yaozu!
Not to mention, the concept that the Song Dynasty was the Zhengshuo of China was deeply rooted in the hearts of these Dongxi tribes.
For the tribal chieftains in these places, the Tang Dynasty still remains in their memories and the legends of their ancestors.
After all, it was only in the late Five Dynasties that Jiaozhi separated from China.
Moreover, in the past hundred years or so, there have been many noisy commotions at Shenglong Mansion where you sang and we came on stage.
It has changed dynasties three times.
Perhaps south of the Fuliang River, Jiaozhi already has some vague concept of independence.
But their grammatical system is still almost the same as that of China.
On the border near the Song Dynasty, there was no concept of ethnicity at all.
Therefore, these Dongxi tribes who were canonized by China naturally regarded the Song Army as their own.
The directions of the roads, rivers, and mountains of the entire Guangyuan and Qiyuan Prefectures were now completely known to Zhang Dun.
Even the true and false status of Guangyuan City, Jueli Pass, and even Beizhang City were all told to Zhang Dun by these people.
Therefore, Zhang Dun suddenly discovered that the entire north of Jiaozhi was now almost one-way transparent to the Song Dynasty, except for a few cities heavily guarded by Jiaozhi troops.
Even in the key cities defended by the Jiaozhi people, there were also a large number of people willing to become internal agents of the Song Dynasty.
This made Zhang Dun deeply moved.
"I just realized today that what the Art of War says: When the husband fights, the temple counts!"
"The strategies given to me by the officials almost allowed me to remove most of the obstacles to the southern expedition."
At the beginning of his march south, Zhang Dun was worried about whether he could successfully complete the task assigned to him by the officials with only the strength of Yulong's first general and the local troops in Guangxi - to incorporate the area north of the Fuliang River into the Song Dynasty. Among the restraints.
But the booklet given to him by the government almost solved these problems for him.
Recruit and surrender, accept rebels, grant officials and land, restrain and confer titles.
After this combination of punches, the magistrates, governors and Dongxi tribes in the north of Jiaozhi almost surrendered after hearing the news.
He didn't even have time to use the trump card given to him by the officials - gold and silver to open the way.
This is a trump card for local chieftains who occupy key positions but refuse to surrender.
The officials authorized him to bribe these people heavily.
Even if you use money to buy a superficial surrender, it will be fine!
Zhang Dun originally thought that he might have to use this method.
But I didn't expect that there was no need for heavy bribes at all.
Giving a promise, canonizing and acknowledging it will make countless people join.
Now, except for a few important Cochin towns such as Taiyuan, Beizhang, Juiliai, Guangyuan City, etc.
In other places, it can almost be described as a matter of legend.
Even in Guangyuan City and Jueli Pass, the Song Dynasty now has internal responses.
There is only one final difficulty left in this battle.
Jiaozhi Taiyuan!
Zhang Dun now knew that the man who led the army in Taiyuan was none other than Li Changjie, the captain of Jiaozhi who wreaked havoc in Guangxi ten years ago and killed countless soldiers and civilians of the Song Dynasty.
This enemy must be lured out.
so……
"Guangyuan City must not be captured too quickly."
"Just surround it without attacking!"
Zhang Dun looked at the sand table in front of him and muttered to himself.
If Guangyuan City was captured quickly, Zhang Dun was worried that Li Changjie of Taiyuan might run away.
He would at least defend the city.
Only by leaving Guangyuan City and deliberately allowing Yang Jingtong from Guangyuan City to constantly ask for help from Taiyuan can he have a chance to attract Li Changjie.
And Li Changjie is the leader of the Jiaozhi bandits that the officials want!
Time, just waiting, passes slowly.
Finally, on March Guiyou (16th), the deadline given by the Song Dynasty to Jiaozhi arrived.
As for Cochin, there was no reply.
Not even an envoy came to Guangxi to explain the situation.
On this day, Zhang Dun opened the White Tiger Festival Hall at the Economic and Strategic Affairs Office in Xiping Prefecture, took out the emperor's edict, and read out the edict from Bianjing to the generals.
The war begins on time!
…
Guangyuan City.
Yang Jingtong woke up from his nightmare.
He dreamed that countless Northern Dynasty troops wearing Fan Yangli rushed into Guangyuan Prefecture. He and his wife and children were dragged like dogs to the city gate.
Countless corpses were hung under the city gate.
Countless heads rolled around him.
Even after waking up, Yang Jingtong was still breathing heavily.
The concubine who was serving beside his bed saw him waking up and quickly stepped forward and asked, "Master, what's the matter?"
"Nothing." Yang Jingtong barely maintained his composure. He knew that he must not show any panic now.
Once he shows his cowardice and is seen as false, his nightmare will definitely become a reality.
"What time is it?" Yang Jingtong asked.
"It's already noon." The concubine replied softly.
"Why don't you wake me up?" Yang Jingtong immediately got out of bed.
The concubine said: "The princess said that the officials have been working too hard recently. They should be allowed to rest for a while. I ordered you not to disturb me."
Last year, because of his loyalty to Shenglong Palace, Yang Jingtong was named Prince Consort by the emperor of Shenglong Palace and married his own sister to him.
It was precisely for this reason that Yang Jingtong led his army to attack Guihua Prefecture last year.
To repay the emperor's kindness.
But he never imagined that within a few months, the situation would be completely reversed.
The Northern troops marched southward in large numbers, and he, the chief culprit, became the target of public criticism.
When Yang Jingtong heard this, he was immediately dissatisfied: "When is it already!"
"If I don't patrol the army, how can the army be stable?"
"If the Northern invaders invade and the army becomes unstable, the century-old foundation of our Yang family will be destroyed!"
"Change my clothes quickly!"
As he was talking, there were sudden rapid footsteps outside.
A Yang family retainer ran in in a panic and knelt down in front of him: "Prefect, something serious has happened!"
"Beibei soldiers appeared outside the city!"
Yang Jingtong trembled: "How did it come so fast? Why didn't the checkpoints and fortresses on the border stop us?"
too fast!
Nothing happened yesterday!
The retainer cried and kowtowed and said, "All the leaders on the border have surrendered!"
"All the checkpoints and fortresses were captured by them and dedicated to the Beibei soldiers."
Yang Jingtong staggered and almost fell to the ground.
"These damn bitches!"
"The remnants of the Nong family!"
"Why didn't I kill them all?"
It's too late to regret.
Yang Jingtong could only ask: "How many soldiers from the North came?"
The retainer shook his head.
"Where are they?"
The retainer said: "Outside the city, their people are everywhere in the mountains and plains!"
"At least twenty to thirty thousand!"
Yang Jingtong took a breath: "Why are there so many here at once?"
"Quick, quick, quick, I want to go to the city to detect the bandits myself!"
When Yang Jingtong, wearing armor, boarded Guangyuan City, he saw flags fluttering outside Guangyuan City.
This frightened him.
Fortunately, after careful observation, he found that there did not seem to be many Western troops coming.
Most of them seemed to be Xiang troops and Tusi soldiers.
This can be seen from their armor.
The Western Army of the Northern Dynasties, even the light infantry, was equipped with Fan Yangli, leather armor, holding bows and crossbows, and the lineup was neat.
The soldiers and horses in front of them are a little more fierce.
However, the military formation was loose and uneven.
Moreover, they did not have time to completely surround Guangyuan City.
Yang Jingtong saw that there were still many gaps outside the city.
This made him feel relieved again, so he relaxed and took time to observe the enemies surrounding him.
He guessed that these soldiers and horses should be chieftain soldiers and side soldiers who came from the Northern Dynasty.
Although there are many people, it is a dream to conquer a strong city like Guangyuan!
So, Yang Jingtong immediately laughed and said to his surroundings: "If all the people coming from the Northern Dynasty are this kind of rabble, when Taiyuan Lieutenant Li's army comes to help, they can all be wiped out under Guangyuan City!"
But he had no idea that the chieftains opposite him, whom he looked down upon, were all looking at Guangyuan City with red eyes.
Chieftains, full of fighting spirit.
Because they know that they are fighting for the future of their descendants!
(End of chapter)
