Wang Xiaolie was busy, and the days passed day by day. Autumn passed before I knew it, and winter slowly entered. The Jin army on the east route mobilized all the You, Yan and Heshuo militiamen, with Wanyan Zongbi as marshal, and launched a large-scale invasion southward.
Zhang Yong did not attack Tangzhou a few months ago, but turned to Guangzhou and has been stationed there. Many villages were built along the Huaihe River, and Zhang Yong received all the food from the surrounding areas in the villages. The Jin army invaded south. When they heard that Queen Mother Longyou was in Nanchang, they wanted to cross the river from Huangzhou and attack Nanchang directly. Guangzhou is on the way of the Jin army going south. The Jin sent five hundred Jin soldiers to suddenly attack Guangzhou. Zhang Yong, who claimed to have an army of tens of thousands, dispersed in a hurry, and his savings were burned by the Jin army.
Wang Xiaolie could ignore the matter of the Jin army crossing the river from Huangzhou and attacking Empress Dowager Longyou, but Zhang Yong could not ignore it. Guangzhou and the Xinyang Army were close to each other, and a large number of stragglers entered the Xinyang Army. The situation was tense for a while. Zhang Yongze gathered the remaining troops and went to the Liu'an Army.
At the Yamen of Xinye City, Wang Xiaolie said to Yang Shen: "Yu Huan wrote a letter saying that nearly 10,000 remnant troops had entered the Xinyang Army and caused trouble. He only had 300 soldiers and horses, and he could not suppress them for a while. This way Well, you take five hundred soldiers and horses to Xinyang to calm down the situation. The most important thing for these rebels is to give them food and a place to live. There is no takeout of food and grass in Xinyang this year, so it should be enough. After arriving in Xinyang, you organize these The rebels built villages to settle down. Those among them who meet the qualifications of soldiers can be recruited to the new field."
Yang Shen crossed his hands and said yes.
Wang Xiaolie said: "It has entered winter, and the Jin army invades the south. There will be no less battles in the future. We still have a large army stationed in Xinye and sit back and watch the surrounding situation. After Zhang Yong was dispersed by the Jin army, if we go to Lianghuai, we will Safety."
Yang Shen said: "Zhang Yong visited Queshan a few months ago and did not dare to attack Tangzhou. I think there will be nothing wrong with him."
Wang Xiaoxing said: "This time the Jin army attacked Nanchang in an attempt to defeat the Queen Mother Longyou and defeat many state armies. These defeated state armies will be the place where thieves will be rampant in the future. Zhang Yong has already gone to Lianghuai and heard that Kaifeng Mansion in the north has returned. There are rebels going south, and there will be no peace."
After Du Chong went south, some of the troops in Kaifeng Prefecture were unwilling to follow him and raised their troops one after another. Around Wang Xiaolie, there was Cao Duan, who was running rampant on the northwest road of Beijing. He was called "Cao Mars" and caused chaos in Zhengzhou and Henan Prefecture. There is also Sang Zhong who is stationed in Yingchang Mansion and Caizhou area and is recruiting troops. After Zhang Yong led his troops to Lianghuai, the gap left was just for Sang Zhong.
Wanyan Zongbi invaded the south and led the main force to attack Jiankang Mansion to pinpoint Zhao Gou's whereabouts. In addition, he crossed the river from Huangzhou with his partial division to pursue the Empress Dowager Longyou. The next development of the war was completely beyond Wang Xiaolie's expectation.
The Jin army marched straight in and moved quickly, so the number of troops would not be too large. If the Song Dynasty could make unified arrangements, concentrate its troops, and intercept them step by step, it would not be very difficult to block the Jin army. However, the Song army was in charge of its own affairs and had almost no idea about the situation of the Jin army, and a great rout soon occurred. The Jin army worked together and had an advantage at every point. After crossing the river, it was like entering a deserted land.
By November, Wang Xiaolie was stunned by the development of the war. Although there were officials from the Song Dynasty who lived and died with the city, it was of no avail. There are no soldiers in the city, and the city is often captured after a few days of resistance. After the Jin army crossed the river, Liu Guangshi, who was guarding Jiangzhou, fled without fighting, and the situation worsened. In addition, many Song Dynasty officials surrendered the city when they saw the Jin army arriving, and Jiangnan West Road almost collapsed. It even reached the point where the Jin Army's pursuit speed was faster than Queen Mother Longyou's escape speed. After Wanyan Zongbi's main attack on the Liangzhe Road, Jiankang Prefecture surrendered without a fight, the situation deteriorated rapidly. Zhao Gou fled to Mingzhou, and finally decided to take an army on board a ship to avoid the enemy at sea.
On this day, Wang Xiaolie sat in the yamen, read the official documents, and couldn't help but sigh.
Judging from last year, after Du Chong abandoned Henan Prefecture and led his troops south to defend Jianghuai, the situation seemed to have stabilized. Who would have thought that this year Wanyan Zongbi would lead his army to invade the south, and the situation would worsen. Looking at the Song Dynasty, there were almost no armies that could compete with the Jin Army.
Yang Shen came in from the outside and said to Wang Xiaolie: "Observe, the people in several states have reported that there will be a great harvest this year, and they want to celebrate the New Year. The generals also intend to do the same. We have worked hard for a long time, but this year we will rarely have abundance and happiness. No need to work as hard as in previous years.”
Wang Xiaolie shook his head: "No need. This year, the Jin army is attacking the southeast with all its strength, and the situation is more dangerous than in previous years. Although there is no war here, it is not appropriate to celebrate with great fanfare. Go down and order important officials under you to come to Xinye, Let’s get together among ourselves.”
Yang Shen hesitated for a moment and then accepted the order.
Wang Xiaolie looked through the recent official documents and felt really uncomfortable.
If I remember correctly, this time Wanyan Zongbi invaded the south, and he would run into Han Shizhong when he went back. The two sides fought a battle at Huangtiandang, and the Song Dynasty won a great victory at Huangtiandang. It was this great victory that made the Jin army dare not cross the river easily again. I just didn't expect that before Huang Tiandang, the situation in the Song Dynasty would be so bad. It can be said that the Song Dynasty did not have the ability to fight the Jin army at this time. From top to bottom, it's all a mess.
After reading the official document for a while, he felt really bored, so Wang Xiaolie got up and went to the yard.
Niu Gaozheng and Shao Ling were looking at a wintersweet in the yard and arguing about when it would bloom. When they saw Wang Xiaolie coming over, they saluted together.
Wang Xiaolie said: "The Jin army is crossing the river in the southeast this winter. It is like entering uninhabited territory. The situation is really worrying. Tell me, what do you think of the current situation? Is there going to be any war here?"
Niu Gao said: "The Jin army's offensive is fierce, and there are no generals in this dynasty to resist the enemy. It is really embarrassing for a while. However, look at the Chinese New Year, and spring will come soon. The southeast is different from us here, spring comes early , and the weather is hot and humid, so the Jin people will definitely not be able to stay there. As long as it lasts for two or three months, there will be no serious problems. The Jin soldiers will retreat and we will think of a solution."
Shao Ling said: "That's right. Now is the time when the Jin soldiers are at their peak, and it's difficult to resist them head-on. We can only wait until the weather gets hot and the Jin soldiers retreat, then select talents and train them into elite soldiers. It's already the beginning of the twelfth lunar month, and we don't have much time. ”
Wang Xiaolie shook his head: "It seems that we can only rely on time. When the weather gets too hot and the Jin people can no longer live in it, we can then clean up the rivers and mountains."
Speaking of this, Wang Xiaolie sighed: "Such a big country, facing tens of thousands of Jin troops, is unable to fight back. Speaking of which, I am really ashamed of myself! When did this dynasty fall to this point!"
Niu Gao and Shao Ling looked at each other and said nothing. Wang Xiaolie was right. No matter from any aspect, the Song Dynasty was a big country, but it didn't even have the power to fight back against the Jin army. If you don't see it with your own eyes, no one will believe it. Now in the Song Dynasty, regardless of the military or civilians, as long as they knew that the Jin army was coming from the opposite side, many people did not even have the courage to resist. The most outrageous thing is that as soon as the Jin arrows hit the city, the officials took the lead and fled.
Wang Xiaolie looked up at the sky, not knowing what to say for a moment. Wanyan Zongbi's southern attack, in historical terms, was a search for mountains and seas. It was the time when the Jin Dynasty's military power was at its strongest. When the front attacked Kaifeng, the Song army resisted and fought many battles with the Jin army. In this cross-river attack, the Song Dynasty did not even offer any decent resistance. When the Jin army crossed the river, it was like entering an uninhabited land.
After a while, Wang Xiaoxian asked: "Is there any news from the West Jing and Shaanxi Roads? This time the Jin Army went south, they did not mobilize troops from the West Road."
Niu Gao said: "I just got the news that Lou Su and the rebel general Zhe Ke can beg for help. They gathered tens of thousands of troops and headed for Shaanzhou. If Shaanzhou is not defended, the Jin army may attack Shaanxi in a large scale and spy on Shu."
"Shaanzhou?" Wang Xiaolie turned around, looked at Niu Gao, and said nothing for a while.
At this time, Zhai Xing's troops were the only ones who really resisted the Jin on the North Beijing Road. Not far from Henan Prefecture, there is Shaanzhou Li Yanxian belonging to Shaanxi Road. The two were very famous and were the leaders of the Western Route of the Song Dynasty to resist the Jin Dynasty.
Shaanzhou was located approximately in Sanmenxia in later generations. The reputation of this place in later generations was not evident, but not at this time. In addition to the state name, the state capitals of the Song Dynasty also had county names and state grids. The first level of the state grid is the Dudu Prefecture, and Shaanzhou is exactly the Dudu Prefecture. The Dudu Prefecture has an important position and is located in a dangerous location. Shaanzhou is located on the bank of the Yellow River, blocking the traffic link between Jingxi Road and Shaanxi Road. Because Li Yanxian held Shaanzhou, the Jin army could only attack Shaanxi from Hedong Road, and could not attack along the most convenient road along the Yellow River.
After a while, Wang Xiaoxian said: "A large-scale attack on Shaanxi Province. It seems that the Jin army is interested in Guanzhong after the year."
At this time, Zhang Jun had just left for Sichuan and Shaanxi, and the army had not yet been integrated. If the Jin army launches a massive attack, the consequences will be dire.
