Chapter 128: Learning to Drive Sheep
Gao Jin first drove the Mongolian troops coming from Shunde into the minefield. Amid the rumbling explosions, the remaining Mongolian troops quickly fled northward, trying to rush over and join the Mongolian cavalry from Zhenrong. After rushing out for three miles, they entered the swamp.
The main general Tutunala was in despair. He was at his wit's end and continued to rush into the swamp regardless of the danger. His mount soon sank into the water. The Shenwei Army seized the opportunity to shoot arrows and fire guns. All that was left was to capture prisoners and lead away horses.
After launching the charge, the Shenwei Army cavalry in the city saw that the infantry had completely controlled the battlefield, so they immediately rushed out of the north gate and attacked the Mongolian light cavalry that had not yet escaped. This group of Mongolian troops was destined not to escape.
Due to the lack of food, their horses could only gnaw on dry grass roots, but Gao Jin's horses were fed with fine feed. The fighting power of a thin horse and a strong horse is definitely different.
They were hiding and waiting outside the city, enduring hunger and sleeping in the open, which was already hard enough. After the battle started, they ran thirty miles to join the battlefield, which made them a little tired. After charging into the battle line twice in a row, they had already lost their morale. All that was left was for them to be chased and beaten by the cavalry of the Divine Might Army.
After dark, the battle ended and Zhao Yulin went into the city to visit his injured brothers and inspect this ancient city full of scars.
Gao Jin reported: His Third Corps has set out to take over the city of Shunde.
Zhao Yulin nodded and said that everything was fine here and he would return to Pingliang tomorrow.
This time a large number of horses , which was just enough to establish another cavalry brigade. The remaining horses were sent to Fengxiang Prefecture, and preparations were made to establish the Second Cavalry Column. He asked Gao Jin to raise the officers and soldiers of the Second Cavalry Column.
Gao Jin was very happy. This was the first large-scale expansion of the cavalry.
He said we shouldn't be happy too soon, as the tasks in the future will be heavier and the Khan of the grassland will definitely regard us as a thorn in his side, so we have to train hard.
Zhao Yulin and his brothers discussed matters in the government office. He decided to rename the area around Zhenrong Prefecture as Guyuan Prefecture, and restore the four counties of Zhenrong, Huaide, Deshun and Xi'an from the early Song Dynasty.
Gao Jin was ordered to guard Guyuan and Lu Huacai was ordered to assist in reorganizing the 9th Infantry Column to ensure the safety of Pingliang Prefecture.
Hao Xiaoming was ordered to return to Tianshui immediately to be responsible for guarding Qinzhou, Xihe and Jiezhou. With Feng Guiqi's assistance, the army was expanded by 10,000 and added to each column.
He asked his brothers to carry forward the old tradition and combine farmland construction with city restoration. They should find stones in the fields and ditches to repair and reinforce the city. He also asked the people to carry earth and cement from Baoji to sandwich the original ancient earthen city walls, widen and raise them, and build a brand new and solid new city wall.
A group of brothers began to use their brains to offer suggestions for guarding the border in Guyuan.
Zhao Yulin went out of the city to look for Mount Xumi. When he heard the word "Xumeru", he felt that this place had a connection with Buddha.
The stone carvings here are very rich and have a long history, dating back to the Northern Wei Dynasty. Among them, the most imposing Buddha is the one from the Tang Dynasty, which is more than 20 meters high, with one ear about 2 meters long, and a dignified and majestic demeanor.
It’s just that this Buddha statue has some gentle and feminine features, which makes Zhao Yulin think of the female emperor Wu Zetian. Haha, maybe it really is related to her.
When he came back, he told Gao Jin that Zhenrong County was a Buddhist land and that the cultural relics and historical sites of Mount Xumi should be well protected.
The next day, Zhao Yulin, Miao Gui and Hao Xiaoming returned to Pingliang. Wang Gui reported that the garrison commander of Huaping County had learned that the Mongolian troops in Zhenrong County and Shunde County had been annihilated and became panicked.
The Huaping County here actually had a name as early as the Song Dynasty, called Anhua County, which is Jingyuan in later generations.
Zhao Yulin asked them to change the name of the place back to Anhua County, so that future generations would know: This has long been the land of our Great Song Dynasty, and the people here are the subjects of the Great Song Dynasty.
He asked Wang Gui: Why didn't the garrison commander of Anhua submit to the Song Dynasty?
Wang Gui shook his head blankly.
Zhao Yulin smiled and said that he was a direct descendant of Marshal Wang of Gongchang Prefecture. Marshal Wang was related to the Khan of the grassland by blood. And the general Androider under Subudai's command was a brother of Marshal Wang three hundred years ago.
So, they are walking together, why would they follow us so easily?
After looking at Wang Gui, he said bluntly: We will attack the city in two days. Those who surrender will not be killed, only the main culprit will be executed, and no innocent people are allowed to be harmed.
Miao Gui immediately mobilized troops and deployed for battle.
He told Miao Gui that this time Wang Gui's troops would lead the attack, while the artillery would assist in opening up the battlefield.
Miao Gui understood immediately and took quick action.
Two days later, Wang Gui launched an all-out attack with the support of artillery, and the Shenwei Army liberated Anhua County in one hour. The suicide of the garrison commander was not enough, Zhao Yulin arrested and interrogated the stubborn elements, dragged them to the city gate and beheaded them one by one, completely clearing out the diehard elements who dared to resist to the end.
This was the rule he set to completely eliminate the remaining Jin Dynasty groups in the western part.
At this point, Pingliang Prefecture has basically stabilized.
After Zhao Yulin finished his explanation, Hao Xiaoming immediately rushed to Qinzhou. He asked Qinzhou to feint to send troops to Gongchang Prefecture immediately to contain Wang Shixian's attempt to invade Jizhou.
Zhao Yulin and Miao Gui returned to Fengxiang Prefecture. He was worried that Cao Youwen would still follow the old tactics and fight to the death to break the city, causing unnecessary sacrifices to his Shenwei Army, so he asked Miao Gui to go first to Chang'an to assist Cao in commanding the battle.
The logistics envoys Yu Fuming and Ma Ling'er came up and brought a batch of supplies and craftsmen from Hanzhong. Zhao Yulin asked them to quickly organize the refugees and start work. The first task was to repair ditches and roads, and restore production and life in Fengxiang Prefecture.
Ma Linger told him that Chen Chen was finally pregnant, and he was so happy.
Zhao Yulin was happy. After the little girl had a baby, she would no longer bother him every day.
However, a letter from Zhu Congwen sent from Yibin made him feel conflicted again. Old Zhu, like a little woman, carefully reviewed his experience in the Southern Song Dynasty, revealing his attachment and reluctance to the better life. He also asked him to take care of his young son and made arrangements for his funeral affairs.
He suspected that there was something wrong with Lao Zhu's health and felt that his time was up.
Zhao Yulin thought that he had not been back to Yibin for some time, so he planned to go back after arranging the things on hand, so as to test the autonomy of managers at all levels.
The next day, he took Wu Yuqi to Chang'an.
All the prefectures and counties along the way have been recovered, and the Shenwei Army has begun to set up checkpoints on the road.
He told Wu Yuqi that there was still a lot to do in order to complete the thorough renovation of Guanzhong. Conquering a place was not as simple as moving into the city and settling down. After the government was established, the people had to make money and solve the problems of food, clothing and housing before they could settle down.
So it is said that it is easy to conquer an empire, but difficult to keep it.
When they entered Chang'an, Lao Cao told him that he had asked Miao Gui to take charge of the task of clearing out the remaining Mongolian troops. The most important thing at the moment was to stabilize the people's hearts in Chang'an, so he was about to send someone to Fengxiang to find him.
Lao Cao said that these Jin people were too shameless. They had to live well-behaved under the whip of the Mongolian army, but when it came to the civil rule of our Song Dynasty, they came to the government office all day to cause trouble, making it difficult for them to get food and clothing.
Only then did Zhao Yulin realize that food was in short supply in the city and the common people had come to the government office to petition and demonstrate.
The officials of the Administration Office of Cao Cao regarded the population of these recovered areas as Jin people, which was wrong. They were all the people of the Song Dynasty. If they really wanted to divide them into different levels, what was the difference between that and the Mongolian army controlling the Central Plains?
Zhao Yulin said that food is the most important thing for the people, and if the people have nothing to eat, they will definitely turn to the government for help, and the problem must be solved.
Lao Cao asked, what good solution can we have? The Zhizhisi had just come in, and they were completely clueless and had no idea where to start. All the captured grain was used to feed the hungry people.
He pointed to Yuqi beside him and told him that the Shenwei Army's favorable forces had been operating in Chang'an City for a long time and were much more familiar with the situation here. He suggested that the city be managed in detail by districts, streets, and lanes. Order cannot be disrupted.
Lao Cao immediately nodded in agreement and asked Wu Yuqi to lead the relevant departments to take action.
Zhao Yulin then told him that although we have no food, the wealthy families in the city have plenty of food. After Wu Yuqi takes control of the city and finds out the situation, he will first carry out the task of eliminating counter-revolutionaries and tyrants. He will arrest the traitors who assisted the enemy and confiscate their property. In the process, he will definitely be able to find a batch of food.
If we supply all this food to the people at a fair price, the food shortage in the city will be alleviated.
Lao Cao still lacked experience in taking over large cities. He told him that when the Printing Office took over, they only brought in nearly two million strings of cash. When they took the stamped paper to the market, the common people did not recognize it, which embarrassed the officials in the Printing Office. They scolded the people for causing unrest, and he had to lead troops to quell the unrest.
Zhao Yulin thought that the people were not to blame for this. How could we force them to do so? We had to take it slow.
The currency of the Song Dynasty must have been circulated and used in the territory of the Song Dynasty, but its value was depreciating too quickly at that time, and the people must have been resistant to it.
Lao Cao spread his hands and said that he had no other choice because this was the only thing the government gave him.
Zhao Yulin told him that there were some solutions. First of all, the government had to pay in association notes when purchasing materials and hiring workers. We also collected association notes when selling grain and other goods to the people. Especially when recruiting civilian workers, we paid high salaries with association notes, and slowly the people came to accept it.
Lao Cao simply asked him to do the job, and said that it was fortunate that the two local tyrants were beaten, otherwise the government would not even have the money to buy oil, salt, sauce, vinegar and tea.
Zhao Yulin laughed after hearing this and asked him if he was really that stupid?
Cao Youwen smiled and said that was about right, and held up the teacup and invited him to have tea.
Under Wu Yuqi's organization, Chang'an quickly completed the control of the most basic level. Shunfengchu immediately took the lead in carrying out the elimination of traitors. Those who had used the power to bully the common people and do evil were beheaded and used as fertilizer. It took the Property Management Department several days to clean up and register the confiscated grain.
The Song army set up ten grain distribution centers in the city and collected money in exchange for food. The common people were delighted, and the grain merchants who hoarded grain in an attempt to make huge profits suddenly lost business.
Immediately, the government recruited and formed a city cleaning team, organizing those idle but willing to work to do cleaning and tidying up, and distributed Huizi as daily wages.
The common people began to slowly accept the Song Dynasty court's huizi.
