One Piece of Song Dynasty

Chapter 382 Wenshui’s defeat (Part )

Liu Fa asked: "If you encounter this situation, how should you solve it?"

Qin Hongwu replied: "Liu Shuai, if the student is an official and cannot defeat the Jin army and cannot relieve Taiyuan, the best way is to abandon Tokyo and withdraw to Jingzhao Prefecture to the west. Jingzhao Prefecture not only has Tongguan natural danger It can be defended, and there are still Western troops around that can fight. After Jingzhao Mansion stabilizes the war situation, they can counterattack the Central Plains in the future. If Jingzhao Mansion cannot hold it, they can retreat to the land of Sichuan and Shu, and use the terrain of Sichuan and Shu to resist the Jin Dynasty. The army will definitely be fine."

Ouyang Rui continued: "In addition to withdrawing from Jingzhao Mansion to the west, we can also go south to Jingxiang or Jianghuai. In short, judging from the current situation, we definitely cannot stay in the capital Tokyo."

Liu Fa continued to ask: "Then Tokyo really can't be defended?"

Zhai Liang shook his head and said: "Liu Shuai, the main reason is that the morale of the Song army is low now and they are a little afraid of the Jin army. Moreover, the current officials are also people without independent opinions. They are always wavering. This can be seen from the last withdrawal of the Jin army. It was originally a good opportunity to annihilate the East Road Jin Army, but due to the vacillation of the officials, the East Road Jin Army was finally let go. If the East Road Jin Army could have been defeated last time, then things would not have happened now, at least not As for being so fast."

Just when Liu Fa was discussing with the students the Jin Army's second attack on the Song Dynasty, Li Gang, who was far away in the north, became disheartened about rescuing Taiyuan. He passively stayed in Huaizhou and stayed put. He talked with his staff Zou Bing and Zhang Mu every day. Talk loudly. If the generals wanted to report things to him, they had to ask Zou Bing and Zhang Mu first. The generals complained about him.

When Liu Ao learned that Jie Qian had been defeated by the Jin army, he hurriedly ordered his generals Zhang Jun and Miao Fu to lead troops to Xinde Mansion to support Jie Qian, while he rushed back to the capital at night to meet the Holy Emperor.

Song Qinzong was very angry with Liu Tao for leaving the front line without permission. He first demoted him eight levels in a row, and then dismissed him on the spot.

At present, the two Song armies that set out to rescue Taiyuan from the Pingding Army and the Weisheng Army as planned were defeated by the Jin Army. Only the Song Army stationed in Fenzhou is still relatively intact.

On August , Zhang Hao, the visiting envoy to Hedong, convened a meeting of generals in Fenzhou. After the meeting, Zhang Hao sent commanders Zhang Sizheng, Zhe Keqiu, and Ji Jing to march towards Guozha Town. At that time, Zhang Sizheng's regular army and militia still numbered , which was known to the outside world as one million. This team had not yet participated in the war.

The generals of the Jin army were not afraid of the Song army in the direction of Fenzhou. They were full of confidence in victory. They believed: "Liu Kai and Jie Qian have been defeated, and Zhang Sizheng has nothing to worry about."

In order to actively fight against the Fenzhou Song Army and effectively seize the initiative in the war, Lou Shi quietly transferred all the main combat forces on the eastern and southern fronts. He judged that the Song army, which had been defeated on the eastern and southern fronts, was unlikely to reorganize its offensive in a short time. He used women and old and weak soldiers to guard the camp, creating the illusion that the camp was not empty, to prevent the Song army from arriving from the direction of the Pingding Army and the Weisheng Army for reinforcements.

Zhang Sizheng and others led the troops to leave Fenzhou and stationed in Guozha Town. They organized soldiers to dig deep trenches and build high fortresses. They thought that the Jin Army would not be able to come to fight soon, and they lacked understanding of the combat characteristics of the Jin Army's cavalry.

On August , when the Song Army was unprepared, the Jin Army cavalry suddenly appeared in Guozha Town and immediately launched an attack. At this time, someone discovered that a green umbrella cover suddenly opened in the Jijing army stronghold. After seeing it, the Jin army stopped attacking it and only launched a fierce attack on the army stronghold of Zhang Sizheng and others.

The Song army fought back desperately, firing arrows and rocks like a shower. However, the Jin army did not back down, risking their lives to attack quickly, and their horses rushed straight to the army stronghold. Seeing that they could no longer resist, the Song troops fled the camp one after another. There was no time to escape, and countless generals died in the stronghold. Finally, the Jin army broke through Guozha Town, and Zhang Sizheng, Ji Jing and others rushed back to Fenzhou.

What made Zhang Hao and others feel a little strange and puzzled was that among all the generals who participated in the war, only Ji Jing's troops did not suffer any losses and the entire army rushed back to Fenzhou.

Zhang Hao and other Song generals did not know that on this day, August , Jin Taizong had ordered Zong Han and Zong Wang to send troops to attack the Song Dynasty again. That night, a comet suddenly appeared in the beautiful Tokyo night sky. It was several feet long, with its head in the northeast and its tail pointing to the southwest. It passed by the Emperor star and swept across the Wenchang star.

Song Qinzong felt very uneasy after learning about it. Because in the eyes of the ancients, the appearance of comets often heralded the coming of disasters such as wars and plagues. Emperor Qinzong of the Song Dynasty was deeply afraid and ordered his ministers to draft an edict immediately. He wanted to reflect on his mistakes, and ordered the palace maids to be released, the regular meals to be reduced, and to speak out.

However, some ministers disagreed. They comforted Song Qinzong and said: "This is because the Yi and Di are about to decline, and it is not a worry for China."

After Liquan Guantan Shiji heard this statement, he hurriedly entered the palace and reported to Emperor Qinzong of the Song Dynasty: "Comets and likenesses are terrifying. We should cultivate virtue to respond to the sky, and we should not be fooled by flattery."

On August , Song Qinzong said in the edict: Since he succeeded to the throne, he has been cautious day and night. He usually works in the side hall and rarely visits the main hall. He strives to keep personal needs simple, and his daily meals are reduced by seventy from one hundred items. A total of There are more than maids in the palace, staying away from singing and dancing. They prepare platforms to give advice and have a wide range of channels. They read the letters from the officials and the people personally until the second update, hoping to be able to warn themselves. However, astronomical observers reported that the comet appeared in the northeast, which was quite different from previous records. I was afraid of the power of heaven and did not dare to live in peace, so I issued an edict to prevent the suffering of the people, eliminate harshness and relieve poverty, hoping to inspire harmony and auspicious omens.

Indeed, Song Qinzong has always felt overwhelmed since he succeeded to the throne. He is too young and has too little life experience. When he was the prince in the East Palace, apart from studying, he liked to watch the fish playing in black lacquer vessels silently the rest of the time. He paid no attention to other things, and no one could understand his psychology. It is conceivable that a young man with such a personality was suddenly thrust into the position of emperor and had to deal with complicated, unpredictable and important military affairs every day. How could he not be at a loss? What's more, what he took over in a hurry was an empire riddled with holes. .

Also on August , Zhang Hao ordered people to post announcements at important intersections in Fenzhou, calling for soldiers who had been scattered in the name of the Xuanfu Division. The announcement said: In the recent battle of Guozha, the generals were not spared their lives because of the enemy. The front was so strong that it led to defeat. From the top to the control, down to the soldiers, they are all exempted from guilt. If there are generals who have died in the battle or people who have been seriously injured, please look up to them one by one to keep them alive, and we should consider giving them rewards. If you dare not come, we will determine the marching law.

After seeing the announcement, the soldiers returned to Fenzhou one after another, and the team regrouped.

Zhang Hao convened a meeting with the generals to discuss and analyze the reasons for the defeat in the Battle of Guozha. All the generals unanimously pointed the finger at Ji Jing. Someone reported that Ji Jing was timid and afraid of death and would not fight with his life. Some people complained that as soon as the Jin launched their attack, Ji Jing opened a green umbrella in the village to provide a signal to the Jin, who then stopped attacking him. This shows that Ji Jing has different intentions and is probably a Jin spy. Others denounced that Ji Jing had a bad character and did not save him when he saw danger. He took the lead in leading troops to rebel against Fenzhou, causing the entire army to retreat.

After the generals spoke, Ji Jing and others were arrested on the spot and thrown into prison. After further verification, what the generals said was true. Zhang Hao then ordered that fifty-two people including Ji Jing be publicly executed.

Before the execution, Zhang Sizheng specially came to the execution ground, pointed at Ji Jing and introduced to everyone: "This is the man who did not stick to Shiling Pass and abandoned the pass and fled. I will kill him now."