The Mongolian cavalry rushed into the town and massacred the people. The men, women, and children in the village were chopped down with scimitars. Blood flowed across the town, and corpses were everywhere. It was too horrible to see.
Not long after, all the living people in the town were killed. The leader of the Mongolian army centurion said cruelly: "Burn this place, and then go to the next place."
The Mongolian cavalry ran out of the town, with thick smoke rising behind them. The cavalry galloped and continued eastward, slaughtering the people of the Central Plains and prohibiting them from producing.
Regarding the harassment by the Mongolian army, the Jin court had no response plan at all.
In early March, the Mongolian army's harassment in the plains of eastern Henan made it impossible for the people to farm with peace of mind, and the fields would definitely fail.
The people of the Central Plains did not have much food in their hands, and they were all waiting for the wheat in the fields to mature. However, the Mongolian cavalry refused to allow them to produce it, and almost everyone faced a desperate situation.
Under this situation, the people in the counties in eastern Henan were worried that their villages would be massacred by the Mongolian cavalry and feared that famine would occur, so they began to flee for their lives.
For a time, people pushing wheelbarrows and carrying burdens were walking on the official road, supporting the old and the young, and tens of thousands of people left their homes to find a way out.
There are three main directions for people to escape. One is Kaifeng.
This is the capital of the Jin Kingdom. The people thought that if they fled to Kaifeng, the Emperor of the Jin Kingdom would not care about their lives or lives at all while he was in the city.
In the other direction is Xuzhou, but not many people fled.
Now the Mongolian army is roaming across the Central Plains, burning, killing and looting everywhere. The people can also feel that the Jin Kingdom can no longer protect them, so most of the people are fleeing towards the Southern Song Dynasty.
Zhao Tai's territory was on the only way for refugees to go to the Southern Song Dynasty, so in just half a month, the number of refugees who poured into the feudal town reached 100,000.
Lingbi County in Suzhou, which is close to Sizhou, which was not destroyed by the war, and is located on the Suishui River, became the main place where the loyal army's military governors came to relieve the people.
At this time, outside Lingbi County, the wilderness on both sides of the Suishui River was covered with endless tents, stretching for more than ten miles. There were 10,000 tents, and 100,000 refugees gathered.
After Zhao Tai returned to Suining, before he could take a breath, he came to Lingbi to help the refugees. His men were also pulled over to build a refugee camp and maintain order.
Zhao Tai stood on horseback in the distance, looking at the large tents and the refugees walking inside, feeling very melancholy.
Wang Wentong said: "My lord, the Mongols sent cavalry to plunder the counties in eastern Henan. Now the people in eastern Henan are unable to produce and are fleeing. Kaifeng City has no people to provide food and supplies. I'm afraid it won't last long."
Zhao Tai nodded slightly, "Once the people leave, the isolated city of Kaifeng will definitely not be able to hold on. If the Mongols occupy Kaifeng, they will definitely go south, and we will be in danger by then."
Wang Wentong said with a serious expression: "My lord, time is urgent. We should seize Shandong as soon as possible."
Zhao Tai said in a deep voice: "The time to seize Shandong is not yet ripe, but we must make preparations in advance."
At this time, Zhao Tai's thoughts were pulled back by the noise in the refugee camp. He suddenly asked, "Is there enough food?"
Now Zhao Tai wanted to prepare for the capture of Shandong, but more than 100,000 refugees suddenly poured into his territory, so he had to deal with the refugee problem first.
Zhao Tai knew that his situation was not rich, and the daily consumption of more than 100,000 refugees was staggering, making him worry that the feudal government might not be able to survive.
Wang Wentong said: "Reporting to my husband, now I am just giving out porridge to ensure that people do not starve to death and barely maintain the survival of the refugees. But even so, the food consumption is very alarming. This time the refugees are coming in a fierce and large number, I think that the feudal government must If we can’t afford it, the refugees must be evacuated as soon as possible, or we must find relief food.”
Zhao Tai mused: "This time the people of Suzhou were massacred by the Mongolian army, we lost a lot of people. What I mean is that I hope to keep these refugees as much as possible and place them in the prefectures and counties under my administration."
Wang Wentong immediately shook his head, "Ms. sir, after winter last year, after the Mongols invaded the Central Plains, we implemented the policy of fortifying the walls and clearing the country. Suining's workshop stopped working for three months, and the vassal government had no income throughout the winter. Now the vassal government's finances can only barely It simply cannot maintain its own operations and resettle more than 100,000 refugees.”
Zhao Tai stroked his beard and squinted his eyes and thought for a while, "These refugees originally wanted to flee to the Southern Song Dynasty, but now I am helping the Southern Song Dynasty to stop them. The Southern Song Dynasty has to pay for it."
"Will the Southern Song Dynasty be willing to pay?" Wang Wentong was a little surprised. Zhao Xianggong regarded the Southern Song Dynasty as a big grievance.
Zhao Tai said in a deep voice: "Sir, write a letter for me and tell the truth about the situation here. First, ask for it from the Southern Song Dynasty. If they don't give it to you, then I will have no choice but to let the refugees go to the Southern Song Dynasty!"
At this time, Zhao Tai and Wang Wentong were talking, and a group of cavalry came galloping over. Sanyu dismounted, clasped his fists and reported, "My lord, Li Xizhu from Suzhou has arrived."
"Oh?" Zhao Tai looked happy when he heard this, "Where is the other person? Bring him over."
"He has just arrived in Lingbi County. I will bring him here right away." Chang Yu saluted quickly.
Not long after Zhao Tai returned to Suining, he ordered people to post a recruitment order and offer generous conditions to recruit talents. He also asked Wang Wentong to write a letter for him, inviting local celebrities such as Wang Bin and Li Xizhu to come and work for him.
This time the Mongols invaded Suzhou and the city and counties were captured. However, Li Xizhu defended his family's earthen fort, which made Zhao Tai very interested in this person.
During this period, Zhao Tai made adjustments to the organization of his army.
Zhao Tai stipulated that there should be a team of ten people, one person for the team leader, one person for the capital, one person for the capital, one person for the capital, one person for the five hundred people, one person for the general, one person for the battalion of three thousand people, one person for the commander, and one person for the commander. An army of 10,000 people is under one person's command. A town of 30,000 people is under one person's command.
In order to facilitate future expansion of the army, each principal position has at least two deputy positions.
Now Zhongyi Town has exactly 30,000 troops. As the military envoy, Zhao Tai has appointed himself the commander-in-chief of the entire army. Among the remaining subordinates, except Chen Zhong, who is the commander-in-chief, the other two commanders are temporarily vacant. There are also five out of ten battalion commanders. vacancy.
Therefore, Zhao Tai was short of military talents. After listening to Wang Wentong's introduction, Zhao Tai wanted to recruit Li Xizhu.
Not long after, Li Xizhu was brought to Zhao Tai. He knelt down on one knee and saluted: "Li Xizhu, a common man, pays homage to your husband."
Zhao Tai took a look at him. He was in his thirties, with a strong body, and he was very happy, so he smiled and said: "Li Zhuang, please get up. I heard someone said that you and your tribe repelled the Mongolian attack. Is there anything like this?" ?”
Li Xizhu said in a deep voice: "Reporting to my husband, this is just a fluke."
Zhao Tai stroked his beard and asked again: "Before the Mongols invaded, I ordered that all states and counties should be fortified and the people should go into the city to escape. Why did you stay in the family earthen fort instead of entering the city?"
Li Xizhu said: "Because a small chaos invades the city, and a big chaos invades the countryside. The common people think that there is a big chaos now, and it is safer to force it into the countryside."
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