Outside the upper east gate, Wang Xiaolie and Dong Xian stood side by side on the street, looking at the two Beijing Post Roads. Flags were flying on both sides, but no one spoke.
After more than ten days, Lu Qing was about to arrive in Luoyang. As summer is coming to an end and autumn is approaching, the Song Army's defense can no longer be taken lightly.
At this time, the internal integration of the Song Army has not been completed, and the Jin Army's offensive is still sharp. This autumn will be difficult. Based on the memories of his previous life, Wang Xiaolie understood that there should have been no wars in the Central Plains in the past few years. In the past few months of summer, Jin Jun figured out Zhao Gou's position, and it was time to chase him.
Sometimes Wang Xiaolie couldn't understand why the Jurchens were not that powerful, so they destroyed the Liao Dynasty and then the Northern Song Dynasty in just a few decades. For more than ten years, the Song Army had no power to fight back against the Jin Army. With the place now occupied by the Song Dynasty, this should not be the case. Now I understand a little bit that the places that the Jin army did not occupy may not necessarily belong to the Song Dynasty. For example, if the Jin army abandoned the city of Luoyang, the Song Dynasty could not occupy it.
Seeing the Lu Qing tribe approaching in front, Wang Xiaolie sighed softly. Without an army, or an army capable of fighting, everything is just a mirror image. As for the fortified city, it will be destroyed by the Jin army in one attack. What's the use? The current Song Army is somewhat useless.
When Lu Qing arrived outside the city gate, Wang Xiaolie and Dong Xian greeted him with courtesy and welcomed him into the city. When they arrived at Liushou Mansion, the three of them sat down separately.
Be polite and courteous. Lu Qing said: "In April, the Jin army retreated across the Yellow River, and I'm afraid it will come again in autumn. The emperor is in the Yong'an Imperial Tomb, and the imperial court specially sent me to take Yue Fei and others to guard. You each use your life, don't be careless."
Wang Xiaolie and Dong Xian said yes together.
Lu Qing said again: "Dong Tongzhi is under the prefect Zhai. I want to use your army to guard the imperial mausoleum. After Yue Fei's army arrives, they will guard Fanshui Pass. If the Jin army wants to cross the river, it must come from Mengzhou, and Fanshui Pass It is an important place. Commander Wang, you are originally from Ruzhou. There are so many bandits there now and the road to the south is not smooth. How about your army going to Ruzhou to pacify the place?"
Wang Xiaolie was surprised, not expecting Lu Qing to arrange it like this. After thinking about it, I realized that the imperial court was probably going to give up on Luoyang, at least that was the thought. Under the current situation, Luoyang is really not a good place. The Song Dynasty had insufficient troops, so the Jin army crossed the river from Mengzhou and could reach the city in no time. The city wall of Luoyang City was originally not high, and after being destroyed by the Jin army, it was difficult to defend. When Zongze was alive, he really wanted to defend this place, but that may not be the case now. During Lu Qing's ten days in Kaifeng, many things changed.
The crossed hands say yes. Wang Xiaoxing said: "The last few days, the last general sent Shao Ling with a hundred soldiers to Ruzhou. According to his report, there is Wang Jun from this state who has gathered tens of thousands of troops and is interested in Ruzhou city. Ruzhou is the fortress south of Luoyang. Tao, don’t make any mistakes.”
Lu Qing said: "There is more than one Wang Jun. There are countless strong men in Wanluo now! This is the road to the south, there is no room for error!"
Wang Xiaolie knew that the court was arguing about where Zhao Gou should be stationed. Some of them suggested that they should be stationed in Dengzhou. Using Nanyang and Xiangyang as bases, they competed with the Jin army for the Central Plains. Nanyang is the place where Liu Xiu started his career in the Eastern Han Dynasty, so the geographical location is of course important. However, Zhao Gou did not have such ambitions and was just perfunctory. He only wanted to be in the southeast region.
If the imperial court was stationed in Dengzhou, the ancient road between Wanluo and Luo would be particularly important. It's a mess now and needs to be cleaned up.
After saying a few words, Lu Qing said: "The first priority now is to keep the emperor's mausoleum safe. For other matters, we can only wait and see what happens to the Jin army. If the Jin army is heading towards Luoyang, there is nothing we can do."
Wang Xiaolie said: "The Jin people are good at wealth. Not only Luoyang, but also the counties in western Beijing were plundered by the Jin army last year. I'm afraid the Jin people are not interested."
Dong Xian said: "The army is here this year, so there is no need to be afraid of the Jin people."
Wang Xiaolie shook his head: "How can we be considered a large army now? In April this year, several armies came to attack Luoyang, and they returned with a huge defeat? When we were in Gongxian, if the Jin army hadn't been in a hurry to retreat north, I would have It’s hard to defend. If it were autumn, I wouldn’t dare to think about it!”
A few months later, Wang Xiaolie figured out what had happened. When I was guarding Gong County, I encountered the rear guard of the Jin Army, just waiting for the army to cross the river. If it really comes in autumn, the Jin army will definitely break through Gong County, and it will be difficult for them to defend it. Many things are just a coincidence and cannot be used as subsequent experience.
When mentioning the failure in April, Dong Xian remained silent. The coach at that time was Zhai Jin, what else can I say? Facing the Jin army, who of the Song army dares to say that they will win at this time? Even with superior military strength, no one is full of confidence.
Lu Qing said: "There is no need to say more about this matter. Commander Wang, in the past few months, you have to clear out the thieves in Ruzhou and ensure the safe and smooth passage of Lushanguan south to Dengzhou. Anyone who is willing to obey the imperial order can be given an official position at a low price. , I have room here to report myself to you. If you don’t follow the orders of the court, you will be shot without mercy!"
Seeing Lu Qing's serious attitude, Wang Xiaolie hurriedly stood up and sang the promise.
Lu Qing said: "How many soldiers and horses do you have in your army now?"
Wang Xiaolie said: "Back to the Taiwei, there are a total of 685 people. About a hundred of them are not involved in military affairs and are just doing miscellaneous things in the army."
Lu Qing thought for a while and said: "Let's do this. I will send five hundred people to your army to collect a thousand soldiers. The bandits, such as Wang Jun of Ruzhou and others, said they had tens of thousands of soldiers, but in fact they were just bragging. That’s it. A thousand soldiers should be enough to defeat the thieves.”
Wang Xiaolie was overjoyed and hurriedly thanked him. With a thousand soldiers under his command, things are different from before. Looking around Luoyang, there should be no rival except Zhai Jin. Now that I go to Ruzhou, I will feel more confident.
In this era, the requirements of soldiers are much higher than those in the hot weapons era of later generations. He must be able to wear armor, hold a gun, run, and truly be able to charge into battle. Just relying on a large number of people is not enough, you also need to have good physical fitness.
In the army of the Northern Song Dynasty, most of the soldiers came from Shaanxi and Hebei, followed by Jingxi Road. In addition to habits, it is also related to the tall stature of the people in these places. In the vast area of the South, there is actually very little conscription. Beyond the south of the Yangtze River, there were very few imperial troops.
Later generations can also see the height of Chinese people. Northerners are taller than southerners. This is especially true in this era when the northern population has not yet moved south on a large scale. For the same population, the number of soldiers that can be selected varies greatly. Even in the Southern Song Dynasty, most of the military generals were descendants of people from the north who came south. When the Southern Song Dynasty was founded, most of the troops came from the north. This is an objective condition and there is no way around it.
In the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, due to poor living conditions, Chinese people were shorter in height, especially compared with Western white people. Some people use this to deduce that ancient Chinese people should have been shorter. Even objective evidence such as the Qin Terracotta Warriors and Song Dynasty soldiers are said to be false. Of course this is not the case. Ancient Chinese people were inherently tall. It was just that in the Qing Dynasty, living conditions deteriorated and nutrition became insufficient. The maximum population of the Song Dynasty was just over 100 million. No matter how difficult it was, the living conditions were not comparable to those of the Qing Dynasty.
Finally, Lu Qing said: "The place where the imperial mausoleum of Henan Prefecture is located cannot be compared with other places. This year will not be like last year, and there will be no mistakes. You all must work hard. The Jin soldiers are coming and fight to the death. Okay, I am tired all the way. You guys go first Go down."
Wang Xiaolie and Dong Xian said goodbye.
After leaving the Liushou Mansion, Dong Xian asked Wang Xiaolie: "Commander, based on what the Taiwei just said, what do you think?"
Wang Xiaolie said: "The Taiwei made it clear that there is an imperial mausoleum in Henan Province, which cannot be compared with other places. According to what the Taiwei said, our most important thing is to guard the imperial mausoleum. However, if Luoyang City is destroyed, what will happen to the imperial mausoleum? Shou?"
Dong Xian nodded: "I think so too. It seems that it is not easy to defend Luoyang City."
Wang Xiaolie shook his head slightly: "The Taiwei led less than five thousand soldiers and horses, and the Jin army came to attack in large numbers. How can Luoyang be defended? This matter is not easy, we just try our best. As for the future, we can't think too much."
The two of them said as they went back to the military camp.
