Chapter 722 0717 [Xixia Offers Land? ]
Compared to the battle on Zhang Guangdao's side, Han Shizhong's side was just a minor fight.
The Zhe family army had been crippled by Yin Shuke, and the Liu family army also fled in large numbers due to lack of food and rations.
Han Shizhong was appointed as the deputy general, and took over the remnants of the Zhe family army and the Liu family army. He only brought 3,000 Shaanxi soldiers with him, and reorganized the local remnants, eliminating the old and weak and leaving the young and strong, with a total of only 8,000 soldiers in his hands.
Moreover, most of the soldiers were beaten so hard that they dared not fight against the Jin soldiers.
Han Shizhong could only let the local soldiers guard the city, and each time he took 3,000 elite soldiers out, and let 1,000 weak soldiers follow, looking for puppet troops or small groups of Jin soldiers to fight.
Not to achieve much results, but to restore morale, so that the newly reorganized Zhe family army and Liu family army's original soldiers dared to face the Jin soldiers in the wild without fleeing.
Yin Shuke was very cooperative, often 30 to 50 cavalry to harass, and 100 to 200 cavalry was considered a large group of troops.
This was because Wanyan Zonghan had transferred too many troops there. Last year, Yin Shuke captured several state armies and had to divide his troops to garrison. He had too few mobile troops to mobilize.
Han Shizhong led 3,000 elite troops and 1,000 weak troops and won seven or eight battles in a row, killing and capturing only dozens of enemy soldiers each time.
The 1,000 weak soldiers were rotated to fight. After two months of continuous small victories, the thousands of weak soldiers finally regained some confidence. Even with the cooperation of the insider, they followed Han Shizhong to attack and successfully recaptured Liangu County, which was only guarded by hundreds of Khitan soldiers and northern Han troops.
"General, the villagers in Fuzhou reported that the Jin soldiers there had withdrawn!"
"I haven't fought yet, why did they withdraw?"
Han Shizhong had too few soldiers available. He was afraid of being tricked by the Jin people and dared not send a large number of troops to take over Fuzhou City. He only sent a small group of soldiers to inquire about the situation.
Half a month later, information came from various places one after another.
Not only did the Jin soldiers withdraw from Fuzhou, but the Jin soldiers in Fengzhou and Huoshan Army also withdrew completely.
But before leaving, the Jin soldiers set fire and looted everywhere. They robbed the people's food, burned the people's houses, left the people homeless and lacking food, and threw them to the Ming Dynasty to spend money and food to provide relief, slowing down the pace of the Ming army's attack to the north.
Except for the military city of Kelan, the rest of the territory was voluntarily abandoned by the Jin soldiers.
It was impossible not to give up. Wanyan Zonghan suffered a series of disastrous defeats and lost too many troops to effectively control the newly occupied land.
The reason why the Jin soldiers still occupied the military city of Kelan (later Kelan County) was because it was located at a strategic point and controlled the three passages for the Ming army to go north.
In any case, except for the military city of Kelan, the old land of the Northern Song Dynasty was recovered by the Ming Dynasty!
…
In the early tenth month of the lunar calendar, a Jin envoy came to Fuzhou and sent a letter to Han Shizhong, asking Han Shizhong to pass it on to the Ming court.
The content of the letter was very simple. The Western Xia sent troops to the north to show its expansionist ambitions. Wanyan Zonghan reminded the Ming Dynasty to be vigilant.
"This is a plot to sow discord!"
The letter was sent back to Kaifeng, and Zhai Ruwen said at the imperial meeting: "Now that Ming and Xia are on good terms, Shaanxi soldiers can be transferred to Hebei and Shanxi at will without worrying about a large-scale invasion by Xixia. The Jin people want to sow discord between Ming and Xia and let Xixia contain the military strength of our Ming Dynasty. We must not fall into the Jin people's trick."
The central government officials discussed and quickly made a decision to allow Xixia to expand northward without any interference.
This expansion of Xixia was carried out around Fengzhou and Fuzhou of the Ming Dynasty.
After learning that the Jin soldiers were shrinking, Richard led 8,000 troops to suddenly attack and occupy the former sites of Heqing Army and Jinsu Army of Liao.
The former of Heqing Army and Jinsu Army was in the large area of Ordos, and the latter was in the large area of Jungar Banner.
At the beginning of the founding of Xixia, these places were once occupied. There was a large area of desert Gobi in the north, and the Liao Kingdom could only send troops from the direction of Piantou Pass. After the Liao Kingdom regained the territory, it settled a large number of slaves to enrich the population. These slave tribes were part of the ancient Tang tribes.
In addition to the Tanggu tribes, there are also a large number of Dangxiang tribes in the direction of Ordos. They lived under the rule of Liao before, and have been ruled by Jin in recent years.
This time, it was the Dangxiang tribe that passed the message to Xixia, so that Richard could quickly send troops to the north.
Facing Xixia's backstab, Wanyan Zonghan not only did not retaliate, but withdrew his troops from Ningbianzhou and withdrew all his troops back to Piantouguan. Because the place occupied by Xixia was too poor, it would be useless for the Jin soldiers to fight back, but it would disperse the already insufficient troops.
As soon as the Jin soldiers withdrew, Richard advanced again, incorporated Ningbianzhou into the territory of Xixia, and even occupied the valley of Hequ County.
When the news was passed back to Xixia, the king and the prime minister were shocked and quickly sent envoys to Lanzhou.
The Xixia envoy bowed and said to Li Mi Da, the governor of Lanzhou: "Heqing and Jinsu are actually the homeland of Daxia. They have been occupied by the Liao Kingdom for more than a hundred years. The many Tangut tribes on the grassland are proof of this. Now the Jin people are tyrannical and are the common enemy of Ming and Daxia. Our country is sending troops this time to recover our homeland and to assist Ming in the war."
Li Mi Da smiled and replied: "The friendship between Ming and Xia is enough to move heaven and earth."
The Xixia envoy said again: "A gentleman loves money and gets it in a proper way, let alone a country? Our King Jin led his army to chase and kill, fought bravely with the Jin soldiers, and seized Ningbianzhou. He is willing to share it with his father country. The land of Ningbianzhou west of the Yellow River will belong to Daxia in the future. And the most fertile Hequ Valley east of the Yellow River, your majesty is willing to give it to Ming!"
Li Mi Da was stunned. He was not familiar with the geography over there and didn't understand why Xixia offered land.
After a chat of this and that, Li Mi treated the Xixia envoys warmly. After sending them to rest, he called the Lanzhou generals to question them.
It turned out that if Han Shizhong's troops wanted to go north to attack Piantou Pass, the Hequ Valley was not only the only way to go, but also the most important place for garrisoning troops and grain for the Ming army.
Brother Richard took over the place, but the king and the prime minister didn't dare to ask for it.
It was obviously a piece of fat thrown by Wanyan Zonghan, who wanted Ming and Xixia to fight over it. If something goes wrong, the two countries would fight.
After understanding the whole story, Li Mida took the initiative to take over the Hequ Valley and sent a flying horse to Beijing to report to the court.
This greatly excited the civil and military officials. The Xixia people, who had always been unjust when they saw benefits, now took the initiative to offer soil as a sign of goodwill. Although it was only a small valley beside the Yellow River, such a good thing would not have been possible in the Song Dynasty.
"Your Majesty's benevolence spreads all over the world, and the Crown Prince is powerful throughout the world. Now he has completely convinced Xixia!"
At the court meeting, Qin Hui took the lead in singing praises and stole many people's lines.
"Long live Long live Long live!"
The ministers immediately shouted long live the mountain, which comes from the allusion of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty who granted Zen, and is a supreme praise for the emperor's martial arts and martial arts.
Zhu Guoxiang felt quite relieved and said with a smile: "Compared to the homeland of the Song Dynasty, although the Ming Dynasty has not yet confiscated the Kelan Army, it has an extra meandering valley. In the direction of Xixia, it also occupies the Henan Military Division of Xixia. In The Liaoxi Sea Road also occupies a fortified city, but in detail, it is larger than the territory of the Song Dynasty. "
As the officials cheered, Xiao Chu said: "Our army should work hard to send troops to the Northern Expedition next year to regain the Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures!"
The Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun are the obsession of countless people, but in fact only fourteen and a half of them are left.
Yingzhou is Hejian Prefecture and part of Cangzhou. Half of Mozhou is also under the jurisdiction of Hejian Prefecture, which has long been the territory of the Song Dynasty.
Qian Chen quickly jumped out to admonish: "Your Majesty, Your Highness the Crown Prince, please be sure to rest your troops for one year. This year's great victory in Shanxi Province, the court must not only reward and subsidize the soldiers, but also provide relief to the people who were robbed when the Jin people evacuated. The Ministry of Household... The Ministry of Revenue really has no money and food, and I really have no way to get more money and food!"
"Why should Qian Shangshu cry about poverty?"
Qin Hui is now a die-hard campaigner, because the campaign can cater to his superiors: "The immigrants from Hubei who were resettled by His Highness the Prince, as well as the Huaihe River and Henan areas have now passed the tax reduction and exemption period, and taxes can be collected in full next year. As soon as the summer grain is harvested and there is no shortage of military rations, His Royal Highness should personally lead the troops for the Northern Expedition!"
Qian Chen was furious, pointed at Qin Hui and said, "If you are not a family member, you don't know how expensive oil and rice are!"
Qin Hui said: "I am the Minister of Household Affairs, assisting Qian Shangshu in running the family. Of course I know that oil and rice are expensive."
Prime Minister Zhai Ruwen said: "Your Majesty, it is better to rest for a year and let the people of the country recuperate and recuperate. The Jin people have suffered successive defeats. If they are pushed too hard, let them unanimously attack the outside world. If there is no war for a year, internal strife may occur in the Jin Kingdom. "
Zhu Guoxiang was a little moved by these words. He looked at his silly son: "What do you think, the prince?"
Ju Ming replied: "Prepare food and grass and wait for the opportunity. You don't have to fight next year, but you must be prepared for war. You cannot send troops without food when the opportunity comes."
"That makes sense." Zhu Guoxiang nodded in agreement.
The prince's ambiguous attitude immediately settled the argument, and no one could say anything more.
…
Before it snowed in winter, Jin Guoyi and his envoy finally arrived in Kaifeng.
Wanyan Zongfu is the chief envoy, Wanyan Zongjun and Wanyan Xiyin are deputy envoys. The three represent the Shizu lineage, Wanyan Zongwang and Wanyan Zonghan respectively.
Standing at the ferry in Chenqiao Town, Wanyan Zongfu sighed: "Is this the place where Song Taizu wore the yellow robe?"
Wanyan Xiyin said: "It is here that the former Fandong Route Army crossed the Yellow River from here."
"It will be difficult to bring troops here in the future." Wanyan Zongfu muttered.
The boat arranged by the Ming Dynasty had arrived, and officials from Honglu Temple came to greet them. The Jin envoys boarded the ferry in silence.
The bottom line of this peace negotiation of the Jin Kingdom, if it is based on the administrative divisions of later generations, is to donate all the large areas south of Yanshan, east of Yixian, and west of Shanhaiguan to the Ming Dynasty. In exchange, the Ming Dynasty returned the coastal county and Lushun, and the Ming Dynasty was no longer allowed to plunder across the sea. As for the dangerous passes such as Juyongguan and Lulongsai, they were still controlled by the Jin Kingdom.
The two countries are brothers and will not invade each other from now on.
If the Ming Dynasty violates the peace treaty and plunders the coast of the Jin Kingdom across the sea. Then the Jin Kingdom would also send troops from Juyongguan, Lulongsai, Gubeikou, Feihuxing and other places to plunder the Ming Dynasty.
This was very humiliating for the Kingdom of Jin.
But it is not unacceptable, because the territory they gave up was not wanted during the Aguda period, and they even directly packaged it and sold it to Song Huizong.