Chapter 458: No Hu Horses Are Allowed to Peek Into Yinshan

“I didn’t expect there would be an unexpected surprise.”

Seven days later, on June 22, Zhao Jun, who had left Yuzhou and entered Hongzhou, and was about to enter Yunzhong Datong, was quite surprised to see an official document sent from Youyan Road.

He was actually very gentle towards the Youyanlu family, and did not take too rough measures and directly sent troops to kill people.

Instead, those who are willing to cooperate will be given good preferential treatment, and those who are unwilling to cooperate will not be forced.

They will just legitimately investigate the evidence of their crimes and put those people on trial in front of the people who are oppressed by them.

Although this is still very rough for those aristocratic families, after all, they were high-ranking and powerful people in the Liao Kingdom. Isn't it a common thing to kill a few low-level untouchables?

But as Zhao Jun said to Wang Anshi and the others before, the past was before and the present is now.

In the past, they were dignitaries of the Liao Kingdom and from high-ranking families. They were covered up by many levels of officialdom. No one would stand up for the people at the bottom. Even if the emperor of the Liao Kingdom knew about it, he would not do anything to them.

Now that another day has changed, Da Song is in a good mood and can not pursue the things they committed before.

If you are in a bad mood, you can casually investigate the things you did in the past and understand their reputation. You can naturally use this excuse to arrest people.

As for the people at the bottom, seeing the powerful people who once stood above them and oppressed them wantonly being dragged out for interrogation like dead dogs, their face will be ruined and their authority will plummet.

And the government will continue to suppress them, such as canceling the official status previously given to them, taking away the tenant farmers under their rule for various reasons, increasing the tax rate on their field output, etc.

After a series of moves, Zhao Jun believed that in five years, the aristocratic families on Youyan Road would be almost completely eliminated, at least they would no longer be influential.

However, he never expected that a king bomb would be thrown at him just as the action started.

Yang Wei, Wang Shougui and others followed Zhao Jun's order before leaving and planned to arrest some important members of their family using some of the crimes committed by the Han family in the past.

As a result, when the soldiers rushed in, the Han family happened to be holding a clan meeting, and Han Suiyi also talked about internal affairs at the meeting.

So there was no suspense about what happened next. All the participants were captured, interrogated separately, and used a large-scale memory recovery technique. It didn't take long to explain the situation like a bamboo tube, allowing Yang Tian and others to grasp the handle.

"The Han family was taken over in one fell swoop, and it was justified. I think when the other aristocratic families who were unwilling to cooperate with the court saw this, they would probably be frightened and regret it to death."

Zhao Jun put away the official document and smiled.

This is west of Hongzhou, which is later known as Yangyuan County, and is almost 40 kilometers away from Datong County.

However, the transfer envoy from Yunshuo Road had already been waiting at the border with a group of officials to greet them.

After that, the group of people started heading towards Datong County.

In addition to Zhao Jun, Chen Xiliang and Wang Anshi were also on the carriage. After hearing his words, Wang Anshi asked curiously: "Zhiyuan, what happened?"

"The Yutian Han family is actually an internal agent installed by the Liao Kingdom in our country, and Yang Tian got the letters they exchanged. Although I didn't expect this, I didn't find it strange when I saw it."

Zhao Jun put the official document in his hand aside and said: "The Yutian Han family is too close to the royal family of the Liao Kingdom. It is said to be the first family in the Han Dynasty, but it is also the third family in the Liao Kingdom after the Yelu and Xiao families. Many people changed their surname to Yelu, it would be strange if they were not related to the Liao Kingdom."

"The Liao Kingdom actually dares to install internal agents in our country. It is determined to destroy me!"

Chen Xiliang was furious.

"It's normal. Didn't we also deploy a spy horse inside the Liao Kingdom?"

Zhao Jun smiled and said: "And they don't necessarily want to go south to attack the Song Dynasty in the future, but they are afraid that we will mobilize our army for the northern expedition."

"Afraid of our Northern Expedition?"

"Yes, think about it. They are currently in civil strife. If we send troops, won't the Liao Kingdom be destined to perish? How can they still have the ability to go south until the civil strife is quelled?"

"Right."

Chen Xiliang suddenly realized that he remembered that engaging in espionage was not only to detect the enemy's reality so that he could attack him, but also to detect whether the enemy had any intention of attacking him.

What is the current situation in Liao Kingdom?

It cannot be said that the country is peaceful and the people are safe, it can also be regarded as being besieged on all sides.

Losing the Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures and Liaodong Shenzhou, Liaoyang and other places seems to have only lost 200,000 to 300,000 square kilometers of land.

But what was lost was the authority of the Liao Kingdom, which allowed the remaining ethnic minorities below who were originally dissatisfied with the Khitan to see an opportunity and rose up one after another, leaving the vast Liao Kingdom with wars and wars everywhere, and the Pishi Army suppressing rebellions everywhere.

Therefore, it can be said that the current Liao Kingdom is almost divided. The actual control area of ​​the more than 4 million square kilometers of land currently remaining may be less than 2 million square kilometers.

Large areas such as the northwest road of Shangjing Road, which later became the Mongolian grassland, from the Altai Mountains to Ulaanbaatar, were no longer controllable by the Liao people.

It's not that they have declined to the point where even the Mongols are bullying them.

Rather, the Liao State's national power declined significantly, and commerce, agriculture, animal husbandry, handicraft manufacturing, etc. all declined severely, so that they gradually lost their ability to control areas far away from the center of power.

In the final analysis, the Song army was defeated because the Song Dynasty had the advantage of firearms, and the Song army was well commanded, so it was naturally no match for the Song Dynasty.

After all, fighting is essentially about long-range sight. Whoever has the farther attack distance will be able to take advantage and win an overwhelming victory.

Now the artillery range of the Liao Kingdom is very different from the artillery range of the Song Dynasty, and there is no comparison at all.

But in the face of the Mongolians' ancestors, the Mongolians, the Jurchens' ancestors, the Nvzhi tribe, and other ethnic minorities such as Bohai, Shiwei, Ugu, Xi people, and Zubu.

The Liao Kingdom still had the advantages of firearms and cavalry and would not be defeated by these backward tribes.

However, it is one thing to be able to defeat these ethnic minorities, and it is another thing to be able to travel long distances to attack the enemy. The test is the overall national strength.

To put it simply, the Liao Kingdom no longer has the ability to attack from a distance.

For example, the Naiman tribe on the farthest northwest road is nearly 2,000 kilometers away from Beijing. With the current declining national power of the Liao Kingdom, it can hardly support their labor expedition.

This resulted in the current area that the Liao Kingdom could control only around Linhuang Mansion, making it difficult to expand outwards.

The approximate location is as far west as Zhenzhou, which is the area around Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia in later generations. As far north as Jingzhou, that is, the Qiqihar area. To the east is Huanglong Mansion, which is the Changchun area.

As for the Xishan (Altai Mountains) further to the west, the Waixingan Mountains further to the north, and large areas such as Vladivostok and Sakhalin to the east, they are basically controlled by the rebellious Mongol, Bohai, Nüzhi, and Shiwei people.

The Khitans are beyond reach.

The Liao Kingdom cannot be said to be in decline at present. It can only be said that the combat effectiveness to defeat these ethnic minorities still exists, but the national strength can no longer support it. Unless it takes some years to recuperate, there is basically no chance.

In this case, the Song Dynasty, which was stronger than it in the south, and the current emperor of the Liao Kingdom, Yelu Chongyuan, would only think of coveting the Central Plains and drinking from the Yangtze River unless he was crazy.

Therefore, the Liao people sent a large number of special forces to detect the movements of the Song army and feared their attack.

"It's unimaginable. The once arrogant Liao people can now only cautiously spy on our movements, fearing that our army will march north. This feeling is really refreshing."

Wang Anshi said with a smile.

"They are indeed full of fear of us now, but there is another way to eliminate fear besides facing fear bravely."

Zhao Jun smiled and said.

"Oh? Please ask the Supreme Court to clarify your doubts."

Both were curious.

Zhao Jun said slyly: "That is to add fear and turn the Liao people into people of the Song Dynasty. Will they still be afraid?"

"Hahahahaha."

"What Zhiyuan said makes sense, but I'm speechless."

Both men laughed.

Yes.

The Liao people have become Song people, so isn't the Song's military force the military force used to protect them?

What else do you have to worry about?

It's a pity that for the rulers of the Liao Kingdom, this is probably the most terrifying thing.

A few people chatted and laughed on the carriage, and in the afternoon they arrived in Datong, the most important nine-sided town in the Central Plains Dynasty.

After getting off the carriage, Zhao Jun looked around, and the first thing he saw was a huge city.

The city is three feet high and towering. The city walls are made of stone bricks and are mottled gray and black. The parapets, crenellations and forts on top are complete and full of deterrence.

And the most important thing is that it is not panicked. It is not an isolated village with no human habitation standing in the border area, but a commercial city.

A large number of caravans came in and out of the official roads to the south and east, and there was a constant flow of people coming and going at the city gate.

There were many common people talking a lot when they saw Zhao Jun's troops. They didn't know which big shot was traveling. The honor guard was so large.

Although Datong was established during the Qin Dynasty, its role was not simply to guard against the northern nomads, but it was also an important hub for trade with the northern nomads.

According to the "Datong County Chronicles": "In the Yuan and Wei Dynasties, the capital was established as a palace, and in the Liao and Jin Dynasties, the capital was restored. The people and things became more and more complex, and the regulations became more extensive, making it an important town in the entire Jin Dynasty."

During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, many Shanxi Shanxi merchants, as well as the eight imperial merchants granted by the Manchu Qing Dynasty, were stationed in Datong County and engaged in import and export trade outside the customs.

It can be seen that Datong is very important whether it is political status, military status or economic status.

After the Liao State occupied Datong, it not only promoted it to Xijing, but also deployed heavy troops to confront the Shanxi army of the Song Dynasty all year round.

In the First Battle of Jinjin, Fan Zhongyan regained the sixteen prefectures of Yanyun, cooperated with the Hedong Road army to severely damage the Liao army, drove the Liao army out of the pass in one fell swoop, and regained Datong, which had been lost during the Shi Jingtang period.

The walls where the Song Army flags were flapping in the strong wind seemed to still retain traces of artillery fire.

Under the leadership of Yunshuo Road's appeasement envoy and transfer envoy, Zhao Jun climbed onto the Datong City Wall.

Standing high on the city wall and looking far away.

In the midsummer of June, the sun is scorching, and there are undulating mountains and rivers in the distance. There are not many trees, and most areas are covered with weeds or bushes.

Zhao Jun used his telescope to see a winding rammed earth city wall from west to east among the rolling hills and mountains further to the north.

It was in the morning, and the sun was shining slantly. Under the sunlight, those beacon towers, continuous earth walls, and towering towers were clearly visible, like barriers rising from the top of the mountain, blocking the enemy from outside the pass.

Needless to say, Zhao Jun already knew that this should be the Great Wall.

Although he had only been to the Great Wall at Badaling in Beijing, he naturally knew that as early as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Datong had already built city walls to resist the nomads outside the pass.

After getting off the city wall, Zhao Jun did not go to the local government office, but proposed to go see the Great Wall in the distance.

He who has not been to the Great Wall is not a true man.

There were not that many Great Walls in the Northern Song Dynasty, and large-scale repairs and expansions would not continue until the Ming Dynasty. Now that we have come to the Great Wall built in the Northern Wei and Northern Qi Dynasties, it is natural to take a look.

The steep mountain road was very difficult to walk on. Zhao Jun did not continue riding the carriage, but got off the carriage and walked. Surrounded by people, he arrived at the hills outside Fengyi City in the northwest.

Datong City in ancient times was actually Yunzhou District of Datong City in later generations. It used to have many names, such as Wannian County, Taiping County, Yunzhong County, Yunnei County, etc. It was not until the Liao Dynasty that it was changed to Datong County, and later the urban area of ​​Datong City was called Yunzhou City at that time.

Now that the old system of the pre-Tang Dynasty has been restored, Datong urban area is still the administrative seat of Yunzhou, and Datong County has become an important hub.

To the north there are some remains of the Great Wall built during the Northern Qi Dynasty. Standing on the mountains, you can clearly overlook Changqing County in the distance, which later became Yanggao County, Shanxi Province.

"Zhiyuan, that mountain is Hakusanden."

In the afternoon, Zhao Jun climbed the Great Wall outside Fenyi City, which was the mountains west of Julebao Station in Jule Township, Datong City.

Fourteen kilometers away due west, there is a high mountain standing, which was called Cailiang Mountain in later generations and Baideng Mountain in ancient times.

To the north is a stretch of continuous Yinshan Mountains. To the northeast, beyond Changqing County is Guanwai. You can see the vast plains and steep Yinshan Mountains standing among the clouds and mist.

There was a Great Wall here during the Northern Wei Dynasty and the Northern Qi Dynasty, and it was rebuilt during the Ming Dynasty. Many Ming Great Wall ruins have been left in later generations.

Zhao Jun stood on the top of the mountain, overlooking the vast plains to the west. With his telescope, he could see the urban area of ​​Yunzhou, the mountains further to the north, countless small black dot-like villages, fields, and grazing cattle and sheep.

Especially there are herds of cattle and sheep. During the Han Dynasty, these places were the habitat of the Southern Xiongnu who surrendered to the Han Dynasty. The vegetation is so lush that at first glance, it feels like you are in the Monan grassland.

The mountains are filled with mist and cold wind blows. Even though the sun is blazing, it still makes people feel a bit chilly.

Yunshuo Road comfort envoy Gao Ruona said: "Liu Bang was besieged here back then."

"Well, it's indeed majestic."

Zhao Jun nodded, looked into the distance and asked, "How many troops and horses are there in Datong now?"

"Twenty-three thousand people."

“Where is the northernmost one?”

"In Baishuilu!"

Gao Ruonei pointed to the north and said.

Baishui Lake is the lake Huangqihai in the right front banner of Chahar in later generations, and it belongs to the jurisdiction of Fengsheng Prefecture, Xijing Road, former Liao Kingdom.

Naturally, the Song army did not just conquer the Liao Kingdom and stop when they reached the Great Wall, but occupied many important passes outside the Great Wall, including Zhangbei County, which was called Yanzi City in ancient times and later became the jurisdiction of Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province.

After leaving Yanzi City, there is a vast grassland.

"Have the Liao people ever come to the border to conduct reconnaissance?"

Zhao Jun asked.

"came."

Gao Ruonei replied: "They have fortresses and border villages on the border, and they come to peek outside the pass from time to time."

"Did our troops shoot?"

"They were very far away and just watched from a distance, so we ignored them."

"hehe."

Zhao Jun sneered, looked into the distance, and said calmly: "The sky is blue, the fields are vast, and the wind blows the grass and you can see the cattle and sheep. The Liao is immortal today, not that I am immortal, but temporarily. But the Hu people dare to peek south, from Starting today, all the border guards will go out for patrols from time to time, but any barbarians who dare to peep will be killed without mercy. Their border strongholds can be eradicated. I want to make sure that within a hundred miles of the border, there is no one except the barbarian caravans. Any barbarian troops dare to come!"

"yes!"

Gao Ruona responded.

Zhao Jun put his hands behind his back and looked into the distance.

But the flying generals of Longcheng did not teach Huma how to cross the Yinshan Mountains.

Although there are no flying generals today.

But there are muskets. If the Liao people dare to come, muskets and cannons will be stuffed into their mouths!