Chapter 304: The Emperor Guards the Country's Gates, the King Dies for the Country

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After crossing the Lugou River, the Liangshan Left and Right Army quickly captured Wanping County, and then the Right Army captured Daxing County.

Wanping County and Daxing County were attached counties of Yanjing, built specifically to protect Yanjing.

In Jiang Hongfei's previous life, these two counties were finally annexed by Beijing, covering all or most of Beijing's Xicheng District, Fengtai District, Shijingshan District, Haidian District, Mentougou District and the entire Daxing.

Then, Jiang Hongfei led the Central Army to cross the Lugou River and set up camp in the Zhai Palace, which was only fifteen miles away from Yanjing City and located between Wanping and Daxing.

This Zhai Palace was the place where the Liao Empire held suburban sacrifices, and it was also the place where the Liao emperor held four seasons of Nabo in Yanjing.

The Liao emperor practiced four seasons of Nabo, which means that the emperor and his tent toured back and forth between the five capitals all year round.

"Nabo" means "traveling palace". The four seasons of hunting are the emperor's tours and hunting in various places in four seasons.

The four seasons of hunting are in different places and do different things. For example, in the spring, people will go fishing and swans, and hold the first fish banquet and the first goose banquet.

However, the hunting is not just a simple tour of the mountains and rivers. The two annual huntings in summer and winter are the most important. The emperor and court officials of the Liao Dynasty will discuss and decide on military and national affairs at this time.

This also reflects the nomadic nature of the Khitan people.

The living environment of the Zhai Palace in Yanjing is very good. The key is that the terrain here is steep, surrounded by water on three sides, like a sandbar, and backed by a large earthen dam as a barrier. Occupying this place is easy to defend and difficult to attack.

It is obvious that it was suggested and guided by Pharmacist Guo to seize this Zhai Palace.

A few years ago, when the national strength of the Liao Kingdom had not yet declined, Pharmacist Guo had participated in the four seasons of hunting here, so he was more familiar with the situation here.

Pharmacist Guo told Jiang Hongfei that there was a piece of water grass here. If you occupy this place, you don’t need to provide fodder for the war horses.

Therefore, the Liangshan Central Route Army occupied this place, which was a two-pronged strategy. One was the geographical advantage, and the other was the military supplies, which laid a good material foundation for the upcoming war against Liao.

On this day, all the gates in Yanjing were closed, the whole city was under martial law, and the soldiers guarding the city were on high alert at their respective positions. Outside the city, within a radius of hundreds of miles, people fled their homes. Some lawless people took advantage of the chaos to form gangs and rob people on the road. Some even pretended to be Liangshan heroes and burned, killed and looted near Yanjing.

However, it must be said that Xiao Puxian was indeed a swift and decisive ruler. She immediately ordered Yelu Dashi to lead troops out of the city, kill all the robbers on the spot, and then cut off their heads and hang them on the top of Yanjing City to maintain public order.

After Xiao Puxian's iron-blooded suppression, no one dared to make trouble again.

Later, Xiao Puxian accepted Li Chuwen's suggestion to open two city gates every day to stabilize the people's hearts.

At the same time, Jiang Hongfei went up to the tent and gathered all the generals, leaders, civil and military officials to discuss military affairs.

Jiang Hongfei said: "This time I have troops at the gates of the city, how should we capture Yanjing?"

Li Kui shouted: "What's new about attacking the city? As usual, our army will rush to the gates of Yanjing, build a flying bridge, and directly rush into the city, chopping and killing anyone we meet."

Jiang Hongfei ignored Li Kui.

Li Ying stood up and objected: "This method is absolutely not allowed. We want Yanjing to be the core of Liangshan. If we kill people in Yanjing and create hatred, how can we focus on this place?"

It is said to be the core place. In fact, the heroes of Liangshan are preparing to make Yanjing the capital.

This must be what Jiang Hongfei meant.

Why did Zhu Di move the capital of the Ming Dynasty from Nanjing to Beijing?

Many people take it for granted that Zhu Di seized the throne from his nephew, and he felt uneasy staying in Nanjing, so he thought it would be better to return to his own fiefdom, Beijing, after all, it was his own territory, and he felt at ease.

If this is the only reason, then you underestimate Zhu Di, the second most accomplished emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

I have taken over the country, so why would I be afraid of you stubborn people making trouble for me?

So this reason is untenable.

As a horse emperor who has been in the army for half his life, Zhu Di knew best that the biggest hidden danger of the Ming Dynasty at that time was the Mongolian Yuan regime north of the Great Wall, that is, those grassland nomads.

Zhu Di set the capital of the Ming Dynasty in Beijing, and the main purpose was to resist the invasion of those grassland nomads.

You must know that since ancient times, due to objective factors, any ancient feudal dynasty would concentrate all resources, politics, economy, military, population, etc., in its capital area, because this would facilitate the emperor's management.

Well... let's put it this way. If Yanjing is regarded as the capital, the entire distance from Yanjing to the front line of resistance against the grassland nomads, that is, the Badaling Great Wall, is only 140 miles.

This is a great prerequisite in this era of inconvenient transportation, which is very conducive to the dispatch and logistics supply of the garrison.

——With this distance, whether it is transporting troops or grain, it will take two days to reach it. If you arrive in Changping on the first day, you can leave the pass on the second day. If the cavalry unit gallops, it will arrive in more than half a day.

This is not only a quick response, but also extremely low cost.

In addition, once the grassland nomads invade, places like Badaling and Juyongguan will have beacon towers and smoke, and when the weather is good, you can see the news from the front line standing in Yanjing City.

The news from the front line is almost updated in real time, and then you can mobilize the most resources in the shortest time, organize the army, organize logistics, and counterattack.

The most important thing is that the emperor is in charge of Yanjing City, so close to the front line, which is equivalent to leading the army in person. How dare the soldiers on the front line not work hard?

If Kaifeng, Luoyang, Chang'an, Nanjing and other places are taken as the capital, it will be a little bit worse.

It's not that these places are bad, but they are not short distances from the front line.

After getting the news, responding, mobilizing the army, raising food and grass, mobilizing in various ways, sending troops, and getting the soldiers, horses, food and supplies to the front line, this set of things may take more than a month.

The grassland peoples have fast horses and curved swords. Once they enter the heartland of the Central Plains, they will come and go without a trace.

By then, let alone fighting with them, you have to slowly find where they have gone.

By the time you find them, they may have robbed enough food, property, and women to go back.

So, Zhu Di mobilized a large army and spared no expense to build a larger Beijing city on the basis of Yuan Dadu. In fact, he used this city as an outpost to maximize the advantages of Beijing as the capital of the Ming Dynasty, concentrate on competing with the grassland nomadic peoples, and ensure the eternal stability of the Ming Dynasty.

To use a sentence attributed to Zhu Di in later generations: The emperor guards the country's gates, and the king dies for the country.

Although they belong to different worlds, the principle is the same.

Whether Jiang Hongfei is willing to admit it or not, the Jin army is the most powerful army of this era.

As long as Jiang Hongfei takes over the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, Jiang Hongfei will have to be neighbors with the Jin people.

Unfortunately, the Jin people are cunning, greedy, and fierce.

If Jiang Hongfei wants to defeat the Jin people, he must learn from Zhu Di, the emperor guards the country's gates, the king dies for the country, and fights the Jin people in person.

Moreover, judging from Jiang Hongfei's current territory, there is indeed no place more suitable to be the capital than Yanjing.

Therefore, long before going north, Jiang Hongfei had discussed with his ministers that the capital should be set in Yanjing.

Moreover, as Han Fang said before, the composition of the residents in the Yanyun area is very complex, with many Khitan, Xi, Bohai and others, not all Han people.

The key is that the Han people in the Yanyun area are different from the Han people in the mainland.

The Han people in the Yanyun area have a special name - Haner.

Haner was originally the name of the Han people by the ancient ethnic minorities. For example, there is a poem in the Han Yuefu: "I am a child of the barbarians, and I don't understand the songs of Han children." There is also a poem in the Tang poetry: "Han children speak Hu children's language, but they curse Han children on the city wall."

Initially, the word "Haner" was synonymous with "Han people" and had no praise or criticism.

But after the Liao Kingdom obtained the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, especially during the confrontation between the Liao Empire and the Zhao Song Dynasty, the names of the Han people in the two countries began to change between Liao and Song.

Specifically, the Liao people called the Han people in the Song Dynasty "Southerners", and called the Han people in their own territory (mainly in the Yanyun area) "Han'er".

The Song people also called the Han people in the Liao Dynasty "Han'er", and sometimes called them "Fanren".

The Liao, Song and later Jin all called the Han people in the Yanyun area "Han'er".

This shows that Han'er has evolved into a special name with a contemptuous tone, which also reflects that Liao, Song and Jin all distrust these Han people in the Yanyun area.

This is not a trivial matter.

Historically, the Song people insulted the Han people in the Yanyun area as "Fanren" in person, and because of the inaction of Zhao Ji and his ministers, the Song people and the Han people in the Yanyun area lacked a serious sense of identity, and the Song people had a strong feeling that the Han people were "not my kind". This inevitably made it impossible for the Han people in the Yanyun area to find a sense of belonging with the Song people. As a result, the Han people became more and more rebellious, waiting for provocations and finally led them to rebel against the Song and join the Jin.

The result was that the Jin people did not have the strength to destroy the Song Dynasty, but with the help of Han'er, the Jingkang Shame occurred.

Even the later war between Song and Jin was largely a civil war between the Han people.

In the Mongol Yuan Dynasty, the four-class system appeared, which completely divided the Han people.

If it weren't for Zhu Yuanzhang, the Han nationality would have been completely divided into two.

Jiang Hongfei built the capital in Yanjing and implemented appropriate ethnic policies to completely recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun and avoid the division of the Han people.

In short, Yanjing is the capital chosen by Jiang Hongfei for himself, so Li Kui's proposal of hard fighting and then killing is definitely not feasible.

—— Killing is inevitable, the question is, who to kill, this requires a good choice and plan.

After Li Ying helped Jiang Hongfei answer Li Kui, Li Kui muttered: "If we don't fight, can that woman surnamed Xiao give us Yanjing City for nothing?"

Li Kui's words are rough but the logic is not rough.

So, for a moment, everyone fell silent.

Seeing that no one spoke, Guo Yaoshi offered a suggestion: "If my prediction is correct, in a few days, Empress Dowager Xiao will send Wu Yanguang to lead the eleven generals of Liao and the twenty-eight generals to lead the Liao army to fight a decisive battle with our Liangshan army. At that time, the city of Yanjing must be empty, and we can take this opportunity to bypass and attack. I suggest that we select a light cavalry to quietly go east, cross the river from Gu'an to Anci, and then go straight to Yanjing. If the Han people in Yanjing know that the royal army is coming, they will definitely respond from the inside, so that Yanjing can be captured without bloodshed."

Li Kui knew that Jiang Hongfei didn't like Guo Yaoshi, so he cursed: "Bullshit, are the Khitans so stupid that they leave the city undefended and come out to fight a decisive battle with my Liangshan army to die?!"

Jiang Hongfei's face sank, and he said: "Tie Niu, how can you talk to Chief of Staff Guo? Apologize to me quickly!"

Jiang Hongfei spoke, and Li Kui reluctantly hugged Pharmacist Guo and said, "I ate shit this morning and my words are bad. Have you never heard of me?"

Pharmacist Guo quickly apologized and said with a smile: "General Li doesn't know. The Khitan people are not good at defending the city. When they fight with the enemy, most of them use bows and horses to fight the enemy on the battlefield. Only the Han'er army among the Liao people They like to defend the city, but it is difficult for the Han'er army to occupy the dominant position of the Liao army. Furthermore, the Liao generals Eleven Yao and Twenty-eight Su can arrange the Taiyi Huntian Formation. This formation is the most dangerous and complex, and is the most dangerous and complex formation of the Liao State. A killer weapon, but this formation requires a lot. It only requires 200,000 elite soldiers. The key is that this formation needs to be set up in an open area. If he defends the city, how can he use his last and strongest means? "

After Li Kui's doubts were clearly explained, Pharmacist Guo smiled and said, "General Li didn't know the whole story, so he mistakenly blamed the pharmacist. Those who don't know are not to blame."

Li Kui opened his mouth. Facing the good-tempered Pharmacist Guo, he was speechless. In the end, he could only say "hmm" with his nose.

It's no wonder that Li Kui, who has always been very troublesome, stopped talking.

First of all, Pharmacist Guo's attitude is really good. He reaches out and doesn't hit the smiling person. Even if he is as clumsy as Li Kui, seeing that Pharmacist Guo is talking so disrespectfully, it is hard to scold Pharmacist Guo in public.

The key point is that if this is the case, then Pharmacist Guo's idea will work. Although Li Kui is clumsy, he is not stupid. How could he not know that if he continues to make trouble and delay Jiang Hongfei's business, Jiang Hongfei may deal with him.

Jiang Hongfei asked Pharmacist Guo: "Are you familiar with this route?"

Pharmacist Guo hurriedly said: "We are very familiar with this minister and would like to be our guide. Please rest assured."

Jiang Hongfei asked again: "In the Gu'an and Anci areas, can the virtuous daughter Xiao Pu be undefended?"

Pharmacist Guo replied: "Empress Dowager Xiao has limited troops. It would be great if she could gather together the 200,000 elite soldiers to deploy the Taiyi Huntian Xiang Formation. How can we arrange the defense line so long? It is eighty miles east from here to Gu'an, and from Gu'an An will have to travel more than 130 miles to the northeast to reach Anci. At such a distance, he should be able to break out of the Liao army's defense line. "

Jiang Hongfei also asked all the military advisors, generals, and civil and military officials. Everyone thought this was a clever plan to win by surprise.

Therefore, Jiang Hongfei approved the plan to surprise Yanjing.

Then, Jiang Hongfei began to scan the generals one by one, selecting the generals who would carry out this task.

I saw that the generals under Jiang Hongfei's tent were all holding their heads high and chest high at this moment, and they almost said to Jiang Hongfei: "Brother, just let me carry out this glorious mission!!!"

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