People in the Song Dynasty were lawless

Chapter 363 The Song Dynasty Navy
At the end of September in the fifteenth year of Chongxi reign of the Liao Dynasty, Yelu Zongzhen returned from Liaoyang Prefecture in Tokyo and went to Xijin Prefecture in Nanjing.

Attacking Goryeo was just a pretense, and the Liao Kingdom's real target was the Song Dynasty.

If the Song Dynasty rushes to aid Goryeo, the Hebei Road will inevitably be empty. He can assess the situation and choose to take the initiative to attack or harass and contain it from the side.

If the Song Dynasty went north to attack the Liao Kingdom and surrounded Wei to rescue Zhao, he could also resist with heavy troops and fight a defensive counterattack.

The Liao Kingdom and Xixia attacked the allies of the Song Dynasty in order to mobilize the army of the Song Dynasty. It also echoed the sentence in "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu, "Those who are good at fighting first make themselves invincible, and then wait for the enemy to become victorious."

This strategy can also be understood as a type of mobile warfare in our time. Shooting here and there makes the enemy exhausted, and finally reveals a flaw and is killed by a single blow.

I have to say that this strategy is relatively clever.

After all, the Liao and Xixia armies were still more mobile than the Song Dynasty. Even though the Song Dynasty bought a lot of horses over the years to make up for certain shortcomings, it was not a horse-producing country after all, and the quantity and quality of horses still could not be compared with those of the two countries.

Therefore, the two countries still have certain advantages in mobility.

At the same time, this is also why the Liao Kingdom and Xixia were afraid of the steam trains of the Song Dynasty.

At this moment, in the Liao Palace of Xijin Mansion, Yelu Zongzhen and several of his close ministers were discussing important matters.

"I can still vividly remember the time when the Song Dynasty's artillery bombarded our sons. At that time, I could only feel despair. Fortunately, His Majesty fought against all opinions and vigorously developed firearms. Now it is time for them to feel such despair. "

Most of these clans are the descendants of Liao Shengzong or the sons of brothers. Historically, they have mainly served as generals in Beijing and were responsible for the core security issues of the Liao Kingdom. But dispatching them at this moment basically means that the life and death of the Liao Kingdom has arrived.

The other generals also said: "This is indeed the truth. Nanjing is a vast plain with no obstacles from Yanshan Mountain. The Song Dynasty also has many cavalry."

In early October, Yelu Zongzhen arrived at Xijin Prefecture from Shenyang Mansion. At the same time, the Liao State's internal intelligence in the Song State also grasped certain military trends.

Therefore, they were forced to start the Three Kingdoms War.

Yelu Zongzhen still had some self-awareness. Although they had caught up with the artillery, the enemy had muskets and small steel cannons. When fighting in the field, their cannons weighed more than 2,000 kilograms, while the enemy's muskets weighed a few kilograms, and the small steel cannons weighed more than 200 kilograms, so their flexibility was far inferior.

After all, being invincible in the field is truly invincible, while defending an invincible city is actually a helpless move. As long as one besieges the city and runs out of food, it will be nothing more than a broken city.

"For the current plan, we can only choose to deploy defenses around Xijin Mansion."

Although historical records record that Yelvzong is really the eldest son, he should actually be the legitimate eldest son. Only those whose mothers are descendants of the Xiao family can be considered biological sons of the Yelu family. The rest have neither the qualifications to inherit nor much power.

"Compared to us taking the initiative to attack the Song State, it is natural that the Song State takes the initiative to attack us and has a better chance of winning. Your Majesty will easily give us the advantage in this way."

For example, because they lost the land south of Zhuozhou in the last Liao-Song War, the Song Army highlighted a piece of their territory. However, the area of ​​Yuzhou and Wuqing was still in the hands of the Liao State, so the terrain became a concave shape, which was quite similar to attacking Zhuozhou of the Song State from both sides.

"Well"

Therefore, these generals of the Liao Kingdom also felt a long-lost depression, far from the way they felt before, feeling invincible and happy.

The emperor of the Liao Kingdom belonged to the type where the civil and military officials would follow wherever the emperor went. There will not be the kind of emperor who personally conducts military campaigns, and all civil and military officials will stay in the capital to handle state affairs.

"Your Majesty's clever plan. At this time, the Chen Bing border of the Song Dynasty is bound to force us to retreat from Goryeo. But they don't know that we have already set up an ambush in Nanjing, waiting for them to fall into the trap."

Fan Zhongyan took away 30,000 imperial troops from Bianliang and headed for Hebei Road with great fanfare.

Now he is the king of Raole County and the king of Beiyuan. He stayed in Shangjing and was the military commander of the Liao Kingdom stationed in Shangjing. This time, the most elite 30,000 Pishi troops from the Liao Kingdom have been brought here for this decisive battle with the Song Dynasty.

There are some maps on his desk, which are topographic maps of Yanyun and Hebei. The border situations between Liao and Song are intertwined and embedded in each other.

"They not only have cavalry, but they also have small artillery in the field. We in Daliao have always wanted to imitate this kind of small artillery, but when we cast it, the barrels often exploded. I heard that the iron they used was Baidu Steel. Where in Daliao?" Come and make steel."

Once the steam trains are built in Shaanxi and Hebei, the remaining advantages of Liao and Xixia will be gone, and they will be completely reduced to targets in the future.

Yelu Zongzhen nodded thoughtfully.

"Alas, times have changed. I didn't expect that we in Daliao would experience what we are experiencing today."

But times have changed, although it can't be said that the offense and defense have changed. But the Liao State also deployed a large number of artillery on the border, even if the price was very heavy. The Liao people sold countless horses, leather goods, medicinal materials, and minerals to the Song State in exchange for so many firearm raw materials.

After pouring cold water on everyone, Yelu Zongzhen did not continue to dwell on this topic for long, but continued: "Now that the Song Dynasty has gained control, it is time to consider the issue of defense and defensive counterattack."

However, Yelu Zong really knew that it was said that it was attacking from both sides, but in fact it was blossoming in the middle. Because Zhuozhou is an extremely important strategic location and is too close to their Xijin mansion. Once a war breaks out, they can directly take Xijin from Fanyang City and seal their throat with a sword.

Xiao Xiaoyou, who stayed behind in Nanjing, said happily.

As he spoke, he looked a little embarrassed, but after a moment he continued: "Now the Song Dynasty has a slight advantage in the field battle, and the surrounding area of ​​Xijin Mansion is too vast, and there is no terrain that can be defended. It is almost all flat plains, and wild encounters , We have little chance of winning, so concentrating our efforts to defend Xijin is the best strategy.”

"Song Kingdom has fallen into a trap. They are definitely going to attack us now. We just need to wait for work and kill him by surprise!"

Who would have thought that the Daliao army, which was once invincible in the field, would now be overtaken by others in the field it was best at, or even left far behind?
This is actually the fundamental factor behind the bipolar reversal in the status of the Liao and Song Dynasties.

However, they all felt that these were all worth it. At least the Liao Kingdom's military force was now extremely powerful, and it was far from the original Liao Kingdom. Even if they faced the Song Dynasty, they were confident that they could defeat them in one fell swoop.

"Well, don't underestimate the Song Dynasty. Not only do they have artillery and grenades, but they also have newly invented muskets, which are sharp weapons in field battles and must be guarded against."

But because he was afraid that the Song Dynasty's spies would discover his traces and become aware of their plans, he came secretly. All civil and military officials are still in Liaoyang Mansion, and there are only some important ministers around him at this time.

In the room, Yelv Zongzhen raised the official document in his hand and said to everyone: "A few days ago, the Song Dynasty sent Fan Zhongyan, a member of the Political Council, as the Hebei Road Manager to coordinate the troops and horses in Hebei. What do you think about this?"

"Okay, so be it."

The following generals who had participated in the Song-Liao War were talking a lot, especially Xiao Hui. He was the one who sent Yelu's enemy Lugu to fight fiercely. As a result, the Song army did not respect martial ethics and killed Yelu's enemy Lugu with one shot. Every time he thinks about it, Dilugu, who turned into minced flesh, gave him a nightmare.

The meeting was not held in the main hall, but in the study room in the backyard. Yelu Zongzhen sat behind the desk, and the others sat in two rows. Zhang Jian was at the front, and opposite him sat Yelu Zongzhen's sixth brother. Zong Yuan.

However, Yelu Zongyuan is an exception. He is forty years old this year and is brave and good at fighting. In the later years of Shengzong of the Liao Dynasty, Yelu Zongyuan, who had just turned twenty, followed the Liao general Yelu Ye to quell the rebellious Jurchens and Zubu, so he was sealed He is General Zuo Xiaowei.

Xiao Xiaoyou, who was left behind in Nanjing and had been around Xijin Mansion for the longest time, naturally knew the situation. He said: "In the past, we were invincible in the field in Daliao, and the forged cities of the Song Dynasty could only shrink into the city. Now."

Looking at the situation of the enemy and ourselves on the map, Yelu Zongzhen pondered for a moment, then looked at the people below and said: "Song's army in Fan Yang is too deadly. What can you do?"

In addition to Xiao Ying, Xiao Hui, Xiao Xiaoyou, Xiao Xiaomu, Zhang Jian, Liu Liufu, Yelv Renxian and others, there were also important clans such as Yelu Zongyuan, Yelu Begute, Yelu Tulukun and others.

Yelu Zongzhen said in a deep voice: "I am personally deploying the defense this time. I must let the Song Kingdom hit a nail when it invades."

"Yes."

Everyone agreed.

The meeting ended immediately, and many generals went to arrange defense arrangements.

Yelu Zongzhen originally planned to get up and leave, but suddenly he saw Zhang Jian still sitting on the chair and didn't move. He knew that he had something to say to him, so he stayed where he was. After everyone left, he said: "Father, is there something wrong with my arrangement?"

"Your Majesty did nothing wrong."

Zhang Jian shook his head slightly.

"That is?"

"It's just that the old minister is always a little uneasy."

"Oh?"

Yelu Zongzhen asked: "What do you think makes you uneasy?"

"Can't tell."

Zhang Jian frowned.

There are basically no problems with this plan.

It should be said that it is the best solution to the current dilemma of Liao and Xixia.

The dilemma of Liao and Xixia is that their catch-up is far behind the development of Song Dynasty.

When the national power of the Song Dynasty rises to a terrifying level, the destruction of the Liao and Xixia countries will not be far away.

But even now, even if the Liao Kingdom and Xixia State had overwhelming power, facing the Song Dynasty with countless cannon muzzles on the border, their chances of winning were still slim.

That's why they chose to attack the Song's allies first, fully mobilize the Song's army, or let the Song rush to aid their allies, or lure the Song to attack themselves, giving full play to their own strengths and the enemy's weaknesses.

But Zhang Jian didn't think Song Guoguo couldn't see it.

After all, this was actually an open conspiracy. There was no shortage of smart people in the court of Song State, so how could they not notice this?

But Fan Zhongyan is still so open and undisguised, which is too strange.

"I am thinking about how the Song Dynasty will attack us."

Zhang Jian said.

"What kind of way?"

Yelu Zongzhen was a little puzzled by the question and said: "In what other way can we send troops from Zhuozhou?"

"What if the Song Dynasty attacks from the sea?"

Zhang Jian stood up, came to Yelu Zongzhen's desk, pointed to the map and said: "If I were the Song Dynasty, I would send a fleet from Dengzhou to the north. Going north could block Yuguan and cut off the connection between our two southeastern capitals. , we can land in Pingzhou to the west and attack our rear in Xijin."

maritime?

Yelu Zongzhen frowned.

This is really something they didn't take into account.

The reason is that the Liao Kingdom has no idea what the Song army is doing at sea.

After all, the ships sent out were to be sunk one by one, and the internal officials in the Song Dynasty only heard that the Song Dynasty had a naval military base in Hebei, Shandong, and Zhejiang.

As for what was going on inside, how many ships the Song Army had and how many naval soldiers there were, they were completely blind and didn't know anything.

It's not that the internal response is incompetent, but that the Song Army's military bases are all built in safe havens. Safe havens are often concave-shaped ports with hills and mountains on both sides. The Song Army has surrounded the mountains on the outside and no one is allowed to go up.

In this way, it would be difficult for internal agents to judge the strength of the navy by standing on the top of a mountain, overlooking the military base, and counting the ships inside.

However, looking at the Song Dynasty's army, the navy is basically a dispensable thing. The Liao people have never seen what the Song Dynasty's navy is like, so subconsciously they do not take it seriously.

But now that Zhang Jian mentioned it, Yelu Zongzhen started to think about it seriously.

"Even if the Song Army has a navy, if the artillery is placed on the top of the mountain, it can often hit for dozens of miles. The higher the mountain, the farther away it is. Perhaps some artillery can be placed on the top of the seaside to deal with it."

Yelu Zongzhen said.

Zhang Jian smiled bitterly and said: "Laizhou, Pingzhou, and Xijin have a coastline of nearly seven to eight hundred miles. I'm afraid all our artillery may not be enough."

Yelu Zongzhen said with a smile: "These places are often sparsely populated. When the walls are fortified and the wilderness is clear, I don't believe that the Song Dynasty will really send so many people over. At most, it will only be a small group of harassing troops. The Grand Master is too worried."

"I hope I'm worrying too much."

Zhang Jian shook his head.

He always felt that the mysterious Song Dynasty Navy would become a huge hidden danger to them.

But there is nothing we can do now.

After the meeting, Yelu Zongzhen went to set up defenses in person.

He was fully prepared for this trip south. In order to prevent the Song Dynasty from being noticed, a large number of people from the Liao Kingdom went to Liaoyang Prefecture in Tokyo, but in fact it was just a false shot.

The main force quietly moved south in batches. At this time, Nanjing of the Liao Kingdom already had more than 200,000 troops, and the number was even continuing to increase.

And it's not just Nanjing. In the year before last, Yelu Zongzhen established the Xijing Road, Datong Prefecture was the administrative center, and more than 100,000 troops were stationed on the border. It can be said that most of the Liao Kingdom's troops have appeared on the Song-Liao border.

And just when Yelu Zongzhen was arranging his troops and preparing to resist the invading Song army.

At this moment, on the east road of Jingdong in the Song Dynasty, Dengzhou, the roaring sea wind blew, making the flags on the ship's poles rustle.

In the sheltered harbor surrounded by mountains, dozens of huge ships raised their sails.

Countless sailors in the cabin kicked off the iron stirrups, and the iron chains made a clattering sound. Under the force of human power, the wheels on both sides of the ship began to roll slowly, driving the ship forward.

The principle of this boating method is similar to that of a bicycle, but ancient steel technology was not developed, and it was difficult to make an iron chain that could withstand such a large force. And it is not technically easy to implement.

However, the Song Dynasty is now in the initial stage of the first industrial revolution, and steel production has increased dramatically, so it can naturally do this.

In other words, the Liao Kingdom was very lucky. The time node they chose was when steam power was just being used, rather than when it was popularized. Otherwise, instead of dozens of wooden ocean-going sailing ships, the ones going to sea now would be ironclad ships.

(End of this chapter)