Volume 1 Chapter 12: Boundary Ditch (Part 1)
In the winter of the first year of Jianyan, with the Yellow River as the dividing line, people were everywhere on both sides of the river heading south, as if they were trying to follow the footsteps of migratory birds.
It’s just that some of them are active, some are passive, some are initiators, some are followers, and some are expelled. Then some are high-spirited, some are embarrassed, some are sad, and some are numb.
On this day in mid-October, just as Zhang Xian, who was crying like a raging dog, was tied to a horse by Tang Huai and then personally pushed onto the ferry, almost on the same day, hundreds of miles away, our Emperor Zhao also began his numb migration like a thinking Psyduck.
Zhao Jiu and the entire Song Dynasty were not scared away by the Jin army.
In fact, at this time, at least the Eastern Route Army of Jin Wushu and Wanyan Talan was still in Hebei. Their first phase of attack targets were also the two routes in the east of the Song Dynasty (Shandong area) and the isolated city of Damingfu in Hebei that had not yet fallen. Correspondingly, Emperor Zhao and his men had not really seen any trace of the Eastern Route Army of the Jin Army.
The only sign was that the Tokyo garrison had received a letter from the Prime Minister Zong Ze, saying that the situation in Tokyo was serious, especially with more and more Jin troops on the western flank of Tokyo. It was likely that the Jin army's western route was about to launch a new offensive. But at this time, except for Zhao Jiu, even Li Gang did not believe him.
That’s right, Li Gang is finally back.
This leading figure of the pro-war faction experienced three ups and downs within a year and a half starting from the first year of the Jing Kang period. He was demoted and summoned to be prime minister for nearly half of the time. He was a weather vane for the court's pro-war or pro-peace stance.
Once such a person arrived, there would be one less person, Emperor Zhao, who was intent on competing with him for power. With his prestige and ability, as well as his stubborn character that had even caused Emperor Zhao to have calluses on his ears, or his "appearance that would shock the ruler", he naturally took the initiative in major policies as soon as he arrived at the imperial court.
He was the one who presided over this migration - don't say anything, since you want to use me, I have to go to Nanyang!
Of course there are many opponents. There are too many supporters of the Yangzhou faction here, and Yangzhou is too attractive... But the Deputy Prime Minister Lu Haowen is a good man; Wang Boyan, the co-director of the Privy Council, now wishes Li Gang couldn't see him; although the new Chief Censor hates Li Gang very much, he coincides with Li Gang on the plan of choosing a secondary capital... Because going to Nanyang is not the ultimate goal, but to observe the situation in Nanyang and see if they can contact the Western Army and eventually enter Luoyang or Chang'an.
Even Zhao Jiu knew that, rationally speaking, this plan was as feasible a transitional plan as going to Yangzhou, the only difference being that one was based on the financial resources of Jiangnan, while the other was based on the military potential of the Northwest.
Thus, the migration began immediately without any obstacles. Zhao Jiu set off with the large army without saying a word. With a complex feeling of shame, fear, confusion, curiosity and excitement, Emperor Zhao left Mingdao Palace and Bozhou for the first time.
However, the large group of troops left Bozhou and traveled southwest for only a hundred miles. As soon as they entered the territory of the northwest road of Beijing, which was somewhere between Xiangcheng and Wanshou, they stopped again at the bank of Yingshui River because there were rebels blocking the way ahead.
There are rebels everywhere in the Central Plains now, so it is not surprising that such a thing happened. The rebel leader named Ding Jin, known as the Huaixi bandit, Zhao Jiu and others are also well aware of it, because he has developed almost under the noses of Emperor Zhao and Li Gang, and he just gained momentum a while ago, and was already included in the plan to be wiped out.
Only this rebel army developed rapidly. In just over a month, it controlled a large number of towns along the upper tributaries of the Huai River. At this time, it was approaching the Yingshui River, blocking the way to Nanyang, forcing the Xinghe Army to adjust the original military plan, recruit troops, and suppress them first.
In a word, the war is about to start, so the officials should take a break first!
"We must defeat Ding Jin before we can do this! You must know that this bandit not only blocked the road to Nanyang, but also blocked the passage of the troops from the states in Huainan to the imperial court. It is said that the four counties of Luzhou, Chuzhou, Wuweijun, and Hezhou heard that the imperial court was in trouble, so they worked together to collect money, food, and cloth, and sent young men to escort them. They all went to Bagong Mountain, but were stopped by this bandit!"
"These bandits have been taking advantage of the chaos for only two months. They may seem to have a large number of troops and strong morale, but in fact, the people are not loyal to them. As long as we gather our best troops and find an opportunity to defeat them, we can easily subdue them and use them as our own."
"Yes, we still have 4,000 to 5,000 elite soldiers and many veterans here, which is enough to deal with it."
"These are all based on experience. Wang Yuan, you are the commander-in-chief of the Imperial Camp. I want to ask you, who can be the general?"
"Liu Zhengyan, the deputy commander of the Right Battalion, is in the camp. Miao Fu, Yang Yizhong, and Liu Yan are all either military progeny or veterans who have fought for a long time. They can all assist us."
"But if that's the case, then wouldn't there be no soldiers?"
"That's right, a son of a rich family should not sit still. The current situation is chaotic. If all the elite troops are deployed, I'm afraid that hundreds of pirates and bandits can destroy the Song Dynasty! We must be on guard against dangers from both sides!"
"This is also a mature view, but what should we do?"
"In order to protect the two wings, the Imperial Camp Commander Liu Guangshi, the Rear Army Commander Zhang Jun, and the Left Army Commander Han Shizhong were all fighting bandits in the two routes of Jingdong. They are not far from here, and they have captured many captives and surrendered many captives. So, why not stop here and summon one or two of them to come here for protection. First, it can strengthen the Imperial Camp. Second, it can also encourage the accompanying civil and military officials by using the captives. Third, it should also give more rewards to the generals... and when their troops arrive, we can send the elite troops here to fight the bandits, which is also a way to benefit everyone."
“This is also an old-fashioned view.”
Shangshu Zuo Pushe and Menxia Shilang, or as the saying goes, Prime Minister Li Gang, was independent of the other ministers. Hearing this, he only thought for a moment and nodded heavily. "But Jingdong is an important place and must be guarded. I have urgently summoned Zhang Suo to Shandong to set up a garrison, but he was demoted to Guangnan before, and I'm afraid he is still on his way back... Yuwen scholar, you came from Qingzhou, do you know who there is who can be a general?"
The person being asked was Yuwen Xuzhong, the Grand Secretary of the Zizheng Palace. He was responsible for negotiating peace with the Jin people during the Jing Kang period, so he was demoted to Qingzhou when Li Gang first came to power. However, when Huang Qianshan fell from power later, Zhao Jiu urgently needed to establish a secretarial team with political prestige, but he returned to the imperial court because of Zhang Jun's recommendation.
When this person heard Li Gang's question, he thought for a moment, then smiled bitterly and shook his head:
"Mr. Li, you are overthinking. Among all the generals, only Liu Guangshi has such qualifications, rank, and prestige. Although Liu Guangshi is not good at fighting, he is good at recruiting and raising troops. He is the best choice to calm the situation and wait for Zhang to stay."
Li Gang, who was over forty years old and four or five years younger than Yuwen Xuzhong, was slightly plump and energetic. At this moment, he was holding his belt, looking very elegant. When he opened his mouth, his voice was loud and clear, shaking the main hall of the small temple that was used as a meeting hall:
"Yes, I also think that Liu Guangshi can stay in Jingdong temporarily and serve as Zhang's assistant!"
At this point, the man did not ask Wang Boyan, the co-director of the Privy Council, but turned around to look at the other person who had seemed invisible before and asked: "What do you think, Your Majesty?"
Zhao Jiu, the official who was sitting under the Buddha statue and installing woodcarvings with the Buddha, finally took action after hearing what he said. He nodded repeatedly and said the most common words he had said recently:
"Just do as Prime Minister Li said!"
Li Gang was extremely satisfied. This time when he came back, the emperor's performance really left him speechless.
However, unlike before, Emperor Zhao, who was supposed to continue to make woodcarvings, asked another question: "So, do you want to transfer Han Shizhong and Zhang Jun here?"
Li Gang was slightly startled, then shook his head: "No need to send them all here... Huaidong is not peaceful right now , why not send a group to Shouzhou as a flank? Even if they come here, they are only temporary protection. When the Imperial Right Army has made merit and has captured some spoils and become stronger, veterans like Zhang and Han will continue to be sent out, either to suppress the rebellion or to station at the key points on the front line."
"Then let Zhang Jun go to Shouchun!" Zhao Jiu suddenly said. "Let Han Shizhong come here."
Li Gang felt puzzled, but such a small matter was not enough to create conflict with such a well-behaved emperor, so he nodded in agreement. This meeting in the imperial court, the Buddhist hall, and the council hall ended successfully.
It can only be said that after Li Gang came, the official's life became so calm and ordinary.
Now that the important matters were settled, Prime Minister Li took care of the minor matters. The idle Emperor Zhao, under the protection of Yang Yizhong and Liu Yan, walked out of the Buddhist temple and strolled around.
When Zhao Jiu found a high place near the temple and looked out into the distance, he wanted to enjoy the scenery of Yingshui River, but unexpectedly he caught a glimpse of a small town seven or eight miles away.
"That is..."
"It's Jiegou Town." Yang Yizhong seemed to know everything. "It got its name because it is located at the junction of Chenzhou and Shunchang Prefecture (formerly Yingzhou, later Fuyang)... It is next to the Yingshui River and has a ferry, so it is quite prosperous."
Zhao Jiu nodded slightly. Although he was extremely curious, he just stood on tiptoe to look and had no intention of going there... There was no other reason. The imperial court had stopped at Mingdao Palace before, and now it was stopped in a temple in the wild. The original intention was to prevent disturbing the people and to prevent the people from hearing rumors, causing riots and attacking the imperial court.
It can only be said that the disturbance caused by thousands of soldiers, hundreds of officials and their families here is inevitable, but it is better than nothing if they are farther away.
In this way, Emperor Zhao stood on the small slope and looked for a long time. He only felt that there were indeed people coming and going there and it was quite lively, but it was still vague and he couldn't help shaking his head.
"Your Majesty, don't worry." Yang Yizhong said with a smile. "If there hadn't been the Jin people, the world would still be prosperous, and this place wouldn't have been attacked by bandits, so it would have been really prosperous and lively... Even if we passed those towns on the way, although your Majesty was in the carriage and couldn't take a closer look, the buildings on the road and the clothes of the pedestrians couldn't be fake."
Emperor Zhao laughed dryly, then nodded and turned to go down. However, just after going down the small slope, Emperor Zhao suddenly turned back:
"Zhengfu (Yang Yizhong), Pingfu (Liu Yan), do you know how many people the Song Dynasty has?"
Yang and Liu looked at each other and blurted out almost at the same time:
"One hundred million and twenty million!"
"So many ?" Zhao Jiu was stunned.
"Your Majesty, this is what was recorded in the household register three years ago." Yang Yizhong bowed his head and replied carefully. "Anyone who is interested can understand."
"What about now?" Zhao Jiu asked in a daze.
Yang and Liu looked at each other again, but there was no definite answer.
"Once the world is settled, how many will there be?" Zhao Jiu asked again.
Yang and Liu could only lower their heads and remain silent.
"Let's go out for a walk. We don't want to cause trouble for Mr. Li, so we won't go to Jiegou Town. We'll just take a look at the surrounding countryside." Zhao Jiu sighed, adjusted his mood, and smiled slightly, as if he finally couldn't bear his curiosity and wanted to learn from the ancient wise kings to inquire about customs.
