The gods began by supporting Guo Jing to become emperor

Chapter 159 Hua Zheng takes a concubine for her husband, expands the palace soldiers and passes on internal skills

Many things cannot be said smoothly without the right name. Now Guo Jing has occupied several states, has more than ten thousand soldiers and all kinds of heroes joining him. No matter what, he has to give others some sweetness and hope.

Not counting the soldiers who came from the south and brought their own food to fight the Jin people, he also had to appease the Han warlords in the north who surrendered to him. The same went for the appointments of local officials. Before, he only led troops to capture cities and territories, and these government affairs should not have been his responsibility. However, Mongolia did not have so many people or officials, so he could only take over temporarily.

Now that Genghis Khan has issued a military order, he can openly expand his power, which is exactly what he has been looking for. Maybe this is nothing in the Mongolian system, but in Guo Jing's eyes, this military order is very important, and it represents the legality of his behavior.

After taking Taiyuan, Guo Jing moved the government seat here. Compared with Xijing, Taiyuan is the center of Hedong. Even though Zhao Guangyi sent people to destroy Jinyang hundreds of years ago, this place still has unique geographical advantages. Later generations also built Taiyuan not far from the old site of Jinyang City.

Immediately afterwards, he formally established a shogunate in Taiyuan, summoned the Han people who had come to join him, appointed subordinates according to old rules, granted them official positions, and incorporated them into his own political system.

Among them, there are both powerful people from Shanxi and Hebei. If all his subordinates are powerful people from Shanxi, he will inevitably be marginalized. In addition, his initial base was not far from Hebei, and the Shi father and son were also powerful people from Hebei. Power needs to be checked and balanced. Guo Jing does not want his subordinates to collude with each other and deceive him as the chief officer.

Of course, the appointment of officials from all regions still followed the principle of proximity, allowing powerful people from all regions to hold official positions. He had too few people available, so he had to rely on those who came to him for help.

These Han Chinese tyrants not only have strong martial virtues, but also have scholars in their families who can serve as local bureaucrats. Guo Jing has to use them. Of course, the most core army is naturally firmly in his own hands.

After several months of hard work, officials from all over the country were finally arranged and a preliminary political system was formed. Once this structure was on track, Guo Jing would be able to let go and concentrate on military affairs.

The Marshal's Mansion.

Hua Zheng put her hands on her waist, her eyebrows raised, "Guo Jing, are you going or not?"

Guo Jing led Guo Chengping and Guo Chengan by the hand, with a frown on his face, "Hua Zheng, why do you always stuff those women into my room? I have no interest in them."

Hua Zheng's face was tense and she looked angry. "If you don't go tonight, don't come into my room. Look at my father Khan and my brother. They all have wives and concubines. My yard is almost full. They are not ordinary women. If you don't go, don't blame me for sending them to the military camp. If something unexpected happens, I won't be responsible."

When Guo Jing heard that Hua Zheng wanted to send those women to the military camp, he was dumbfounded. Those women were sent by powerful people from all sides, and Guo Jing had to accept them and settle them in his mansion. In the past two years, he had not touched any of them.

Unexpectedly, he didn't say anything, but Hua Zheng found him again and forced him to take a concubine.

Guo Jing frowned and sighed, "Hua Zheng, having you in my life is enough for me. I don't care about others. Keeping them in the mansion will only cost a little more food, which is nothing."

Seeing him frown, Hua Zheng's heart softened, and she stepped forward and said, "Guo Jing, we grew up together, and I understand your thoughts, but I am also doing this for your own good. You are not only my husband now, but also a general who commands the army. Although we have conquered this land, we cannot rely on the army alone to rule it. If you don't take them in, how can those who have come to surrender feel at ease?"

"I've heard people say that those who achieve great things don't care about small details. My husband is not an ordinary person. You are a person who can achieve great things. Why do you always care about your children's personal affairs? I have always supported you in this matter, but you just don't want to. Today, you must give me a definite answer. Are you going to accept those women? If not, I will send them away. If others send women to you in the future, don't even think about forcing them on me."

During these days, Hua Zheng was in charge of the inner house and often sent people to visit the families of Guo Jing's generals to show her closeness and win them over. When he went out to fight, she would stay in the rear on his behalf to stabilize people's hearts. She can be said to be a virtuous wife.

Seeing that there were more and more women in the house, but Guo Jing didn't touch any of them, she finally became anxious.

After hearing these words, Guo Jing fell silent. All along, he had been concerned about Hua Zheng's thoughts and had not taken a concubine. Apart from her, he had never been interested in women. He never expected that Hua Zheng would do this to him and force him to take a concubine.

It was absolutely impossible to send those women to the military camp. Would they come out alive? Giving them to other people was not an option either, because they were sent by the powerful to win over me. If I gave them to other people, wouldn't it make those powerful people feel resentful?

Alas, it is so difficult for me!

Guo Jing sighed deeply, and looking at Hua Zheng's determined eyes, he had no choice but to bow his head and give in. "Okay, Hua Zheng, I'll listen to you. Send those women to me."

Hua Zheng immediately smiled, walked up to Guo Jing, and smoothed his frown, "That's how it should be. You should accept the gifts given by others, so that others won't think I'm a jealous woman who can't tolerate them. I'm always worried when you go out to fight, but I can't help you. Accepting these women will be a great help to you."

"My father Khan has set up a big business on the grassland, and his men are not enough, so how can we help you? We can only rely on ourselves. As long as you can return safely, that's enough."

Looking at the lovely woman in front of him, Guo Jing was deeply moved. He let go of his two sons' hands and took her into his arms. Feeling her warm body in his arms, his eyes became slightly moist, "Hua Zheng..."

In the following month, Guo Jing took in concubines one after another and brought the women in his mansion into his room. When the news spread, those local tyrants suddenly became much more stable. In troubled times, giving a woman away was nothing. The key was that this woman was the bond of their interests and a link of mutual trust between the two sides.

Before, they always felt uneasy when Guo Jing refused to accept them. Now that he has accepted them, their relationship has taken a step forward. If those women can get pregnant and give birth to a child, it would be even better.

"Zhang Hu, one hundred acres of grassy and sloping land."

"Wang Damao, seventy acres of land in Xiaoxigou."

……

In the military camp, the quartermaster was holding a roster and calling out names one by one. The soldiers whose names were called came out one after another and took the documents of land award from him. Although they did not recognize the words on the documents, they could still hear the officer's words clearly. Those lands would be theirs from now on.

Today, the army under Guo Jing has expanded rapidly. After several wars, many soldiers have won military merits. Therefore, Guo Jing rewards them with land and houses according to their military merits. Those who have constant property have perseverance. Having land and houses means that they have a foundation and are no longer soldiers with nothing. In addition to giving land, they are also allowed to buy slaves with money.

After conquering Taiyuan, what Guo Jing had to do was to take it step by step, establish an effective administrative system and maintain his rule. This was something that very few Mongolian generals were capable of, except for him and the great general Mu Huali.

Originally, he should have taken advantage of the opportunity to take over the entire Shanxi province in one fell swoop, but after fighting for so long, Guo Jing had consumed a huge amount of food and fodder, which was not enough to support him to continue fighting. In addition, various construction projects in the territory required money and food, so he had to stop temporarily and consolidate his foundation.

At the same time, after half a year of migration, Wanyan Honglie finally completed the relocation of the capital. All civil and military officials in Zhongdu City, as well as a large number of people had moved south, and he, the emperor, stayed until the end.

Before leaving, he ordered the Minister of the Left and Marshal of the Capital Wanyan Fuxing and the Minister of the Left Ma Nian Jinzhong to take charge of the military affairs of Zhongdu and defend against the enemy. Compared with the historical situation where Jin Xuanzong hurriedly went south, Wanyan Honglie was fully prepared. Almost everything that could be moved out of Zhongdu was moved out to preserve its vitality as much as possible.

But even so, the move of the capital still shook people's hearts. There was no other way. The emperor had run away, so how could you expect the officials and people below to take the blame for you?

Soon, the capitulationist generals in the court and the Khitan, Han military officials and landlords who were oppressed by the Jin Dynasty rebelled against the Jin Dynasty and surrendered to the Mongols. Two months later, Genghis Khan learned the news of Wanyan Honglie's escape to the south from the Jin Dynasty soldiers who surrendered to the Mongols.

Genghis Khan sat on the throne, his voice full of anger, "Khan Kuangben thought Wanyan Honglie was our powerful enemy, but he actually moved the capital and fled. It's really shameful!"

According to his idea, he had rested for several months from last year to this year. When autumn comes, he will lead his army south and besiege Zhongdu again. This time he is fully prepared and will not withdraw his troops like last time.

Unexpectedly, Wanyan Honglie didn't give him any chance at all. This guy ran away before he led his troops south.

However, the war must be fought. It doesn't matter if the Jin Kingdom runs away. Can he take all the people in the north away?

Genghis Khan saw it very clearly that wars were fought for population and resources. The relocation of the capital of the Jin Dynasty meant that the door to the north was open to them, and they could easily bring Hebei and Youyan under their rule.

Without the advantages of mountains and rivers and terrain, it would be more difficult for the Jin Kingdom to compete with them.

Fortunately, this anger was only temporary. Genghis Khan soon issued a military order: "Inform all troops to prepare food and military pay, and follow me to the battle next year!"

The Mongolian war machine started running again. They had been looking forward to this battle for a long time.

In the spring of 1215, Genghis Khan led Mongolian cavalry to attack again. He ordered his generals Sanmohebatu and Shimo Ming'an to lead the army, under the guidance of the Han general Wang Cai, to enter the Great Wall from Gubeikou and join the Qi army to besiege Zhongdu.

At this time, Wanyan Honglie had already moved into the imperial palace in Kaifeng. Upon learning that Genghis Khan was leading a large army into the palace, he still sent out several armies to deploy defenses along the way and delivered food and wages.

However, the Mongolian general Mu Huali had already taken over Liaodong and Liaoxi, leaving Zhongdu isolated and helpless. After Genghis Khan's army marched south, he not only sent a large army to besiege Zhongdu, but also defeated the Jin soldiers stationed in the north.

One after another, the dangerous passes and cities fell into the hands of the Mongols. Large numbers of Jin generals surrendered. The entire Hebei province fell under the control of the Mongols. Hebei, which had taken a year's respite, was once again facing war.

Fortunately, Guo Jing had previously suggested to Genghis Khan to ban massacres, so the Mongolian soldiers only looted property and did not carry out large-scale massacres. Even so, many people still died, but it was still much better than the previous killing of people in one city after another.

In view of the behavior of the Mongolian army, local powerful people in Hebei changed their allegiance and joined the Mongolian army, becoming their guides. The relocation of the capital had already made the defense line of the Jin Dynasty even worse, and Genghis Khan then adopted a conciliatory policy, and the Jin soldiers could no longer bear it.

Military pay and rations are worth only a few dollars, so why risk your life for them?
Now, even if the Jin generals wanted to fight, their soldiers did not want to fight. As long as they did not fight with the Mongols and were not killed by them, everything would be fine.

With a large number of Jin troops defecting and local powerful people joining them, the Mongolian army became more powerful. General Sanmohebatu and other generals adopted the strategy of besieging the city and attacking the reinforcements and soliciting surrender, forcing Jin's right deputy marshal Puchaqi and others to surrender. At the same time, they sent troops to cut off the canal transportation, annihilate the Jin reinforcements and grain transport teams, and make Zhongdu run out of food and aid.

Most of the supplies in the city were moved away by Wanyan Honglie, and the huge Zhongdu was left with only about 200,000 people, almost becoming a ghost town. It is worth noting that this city accommodated nearly one million people at its peak.

Without reinforcements or food, and trapped both internally and externally, a month later, Zhongdu commander Wanyan Chenghui committed suicide by taking poison, and deputy commander Mo Nian Jinzhong escaped. The remaining soldiers had no choice but to surrender the city.

Afterwards, the Mongolian army occupied Zhongdu. Genghis Khan rode a tall horse into Zhongdu and walked into the Jin Dynasty palace. Looking at this luxurious palace city, a trace of coldness flashed in his eyes. No matter how good a thing is, it is useless if it cannot be defended.
After realizing that the treasury in the city was empty, Genghis Khan was very angry and ordered Mongolian soldiers to enter the city to rob. In the blink of an eye, Zhongdu fell into a devastating disaster. The fire lasted for more than a month, and a prosperous capital city was turned into ruins.

At the same time, after Genghis Khan's army set out, Guo Jing also completed his rest and recuperation, and once again sent troops to capture cities and territories. Before, there was not enough food, so he had to spend money to buy food from Shu and Jiangnan through the Beggars' Gang.

During war, grain is supposed to be a strategic material and is not allowed to leave the country. However, since ancient times, this kind of thing has been repeatedly banned. The Southern Song Dynasty court was highly dependent on commerce, with convenient trade routes and even the army engaged in business. So what was the court's ban?
Therefore, Guo Jing easily purchased a large amount of grain from the south to launch the war. When the summer and autumn grains under his rule were stored in the warehouse, he would no longer worry about food. This time, he dispatched 40,000 troops and 3,000 cavalrymen under his command to prepare to take over the entire Shanxi Province.

However, he himself did not go into battle, but stayed in Taiyuan because he had more important things to do.

When the Mongolian army swept across the north, many martial arts sects were affected. Guo Jing therefore collected many martial arts secrets. He chose the simplest and most peaceful internal skills to teach his soldiers.

Even if these soldiers could generate true qi and temporarily give themselves a boost on the battlefield, they would be able to exert extraordinary effects. As for means of fighting the enemy, that thing is totally unnecessary. What means of fighting the enemy are stronger than those of professional soldiers like them?
Fighting on the battlefield is not one-on-one, everyone fights in a group, and there is no room for those martial arts to be used.

(End of this chapter)