The gods began by supporting Guo Jing to become emperor

Chapter 193 Two Armies, War Begins

It was not that they did not want to expand their cavalry, but that they did not have enough financial resources. The war horses and cavalry on the grassland had to be supplied to Genghis Khan's westward expedition, so there were very few left in their hands.

Compared to the delicate cavalry, infantry is much simpler and cheaper. They can be sent to the battlefield after a few months of training. All they need are swords and guns. They don't need any armor or leather armor. The infantry just have to charge. There are people everywhere, and there are still people left after they die.

Although Mu Huali had only 10,000 cavalrymen, his infantrymen added up to hundreds of thousands, but their forces were scattered and they had to suppress local forces, so they could not form a large-scale force. The composition of these hundreds of thousands of people was very complex, some were Han tyrants, some were surrendered generals and soldiers of the Jin Kingdom, some were Xixia people, and some were refugees and bandits.

In contrast, the quality of the infantry under Guo Jing was much higher. They were not peasant soldiers, but mostly full-time professional soldiers. He spent a lot of effort to establish the system of household soldiers. The spoils of war on the battlefield and the rewards from Guo Jing allowed the household soldiers to support their families and they no longer had to work in the fields, so they could spend their time honing their fighting skills.

It is not impossible for him to increase his military strength like Mu Huali, but whether his combat effectiveness can be improved is another matter. The logistics alone cannot support it. Even if they are not given armor and equipment, at least food must be guaranteed. However, Guanzhong and the Three Jins are no longer as prosperous as they used to be. Today, the world's grain-producing areas still depend on the great plains of the two rivers, as well as Jiangnan and Bashu.

After thousands of years of development, the population in the North has exploded, and it is an indisputable fact that the land is barren and cannot support so many soldiers.

But one thing is that the north has dangerous passes, occupies terrain advantages, and has abundant population resources. The quality of its soldiers is much higher than that of the south. This is also an important reason why whoever controls the north controls the world since ancient times.

Terrain and population are of paramount importance. Without terrain and military strength, having food and grass alone will not be enough to unleash great combat effectiveness, and you will be like the Song Dynasty, being hammered in turn.

Guanzhong had experienced a great war and could not supply much food, and the Three Jins had consumed a lot of their accumulation in the past two years, which was not enough to support a large-scale war involving hundreds of thousands of people. Guo Jing proposed that Mu Huali's side provide food and fodder, and he could provide more troops.

Whether attacking Kaifeng from Guanzhong or from the Three Jins, it is very close and the cavalry can arrive there in a few days.

A few days later, the two decided on a strategy.

Mu Huali did not hesitate much about providing food and fodder. "Okay, let's do as you say. I can provide the food and fodder. When you go back, take the Han soldiers with you. I will send people to lead the surrendered Jin soldiers. They are defeated, but they have a good foundation. The Jurchens are less than 10,000. If they are more than 10,000, they are invincible. I want to see which Jurchens are stronger on the battlefield."

Guo Jing smiled and complimented, "Uncle, this is a great idea. Let the Jin people kill each other while we wait in the wings. It's a rare way to have the best of both worlds."

This was also a good thing for him. He did not have many available Jin army generals under his command, and the surrendered Jin army soldiers were young and strong. If he sent them back, who knew what kind of trouble they would cause. It would be better to throw them onto the battlefield. He would not be able to control them. Mu Huali had many surrendered imperial guards generals under his command, so it was just right for him to hand them over.

For Yu Muhuali, those Han Chinese warlords who occupied the local areas and sent troops and men were much more submissive than the Jin people. He couldn't send them to their deaths openly, and leaving them behind when the army went out would also pose a risk, so it was better to hand them over to Guo Jing.

In this way, we can achieve the best of both worlds and better maintain local stability.

……

Soon, Guo Jing issued an anti-Jin manifesto in Hebei, calling on Han local warlords to attack the Jin Kingdom together.

When the news came out, the heroes of Hebei took action. Guo Jing had rarely set foot in Hebei before. Even if the heroes of Hebei wanted to make contact, it was difficult for them to go beyond Mu Huali. Now that he had published a manifesto, it was a good opportunity for each family to contact him and build closer relations with him.

As for the fact that there were very few powerful people who formally surrendered, the reason was that Mu Huali implemented a tax-farming system locally. Compared with Guo Jing's rule in Jin, the environment in Hebei was undoubtedly much more relaxed.

We cannot expect everyone to be farsighted. Most people are always focusing on the petty gains in front of them and cannot see the big picture. The tax-farming system cannot last long, especially for the powerful people across states and counties. It would be fine if the powerful people in these places do not make trouble. Once they do, it will attract the attention of the Mongolian high-level officials. These places will have to spit out whatever they have swallowed.

Not many of Mu Huali's powerful men surrendered to him, but Guo Jing attracted Han officials under the rule of the Jin people. These people stayed in the north and were granted official positions by the Jin people. They had always been unwilling to surrender because of the brutality of the Mongols.

With Guo Jing as their banner, many people simply gave up their official positions and came to join them with their families. Among them were Yan Shi and his son from Shandong, Zhang Rou from Yizhou, Wang Shan from Zhongshan Prefecture and others.

These people had no choice before, but now they have a choice. In addition, the situation of the Jin Kingdom is declining, and the war situation in the north is becoming increasingly severe. They have left the Jin Kingdom and joined the Jin Kingdom. Once the war is about to start, these vassal towns that defend the land will be destroyed first, and the situation forces them to make a choice.

Similarly, some Han Chinese literati under Mu Huali took the opportunity to leave the palace and join Guo Jing. In response, Guo Jing did not hesitate to ask Mu Huali for these people in person.

Mu Huali ruled a large territory, and the Han people were not the foundation of his rule. He did not take some civil officials seriously and released them without hesitation. A month later, Guo Jing led 30,000 Han troops out of Damingfu and returned to Chang'an.

It was already May by then. After several months of preparation, the scholars from various states and counties who had passed the preliminary examination also arrived in Chang'an, and Chang'an officially held the second official selection examination.

As soon as he returned to Chang'an, Guo Jing began to prepare for the war. Food, weapons, supplies and other things were transported from all over the place to Guanzhong. The soldiers in the Three Jins were also reorganized and enlisted. The shogunate was like a clockwork machine, preparing in a stumbling manner.

In June, the second official selection examination ended, and more than a thousand scholars passed it. The third examination was about to be held in the Marquis' Mansion.

Guo Jing's requirements for hiring people were not as high as those for the imperial examinations, but were more practical. If it were in the south of the Yangtze River, his selection of officials would be unorthodox, but this was in the north, where there were no clusters of literati, and with the cultural context moving southward, the exam was able to proceed smoothly.

In this exam, the Kong family also sent family members to take the exam, but they just answered whatever questions Lord Guo asked and did not dare to comment at all. There was no other way, as the Kong family was still under the rule of Mu Huali, who was a thorough Mongolian and would not tell you so many sage teachings.

The two families are now going to attack the Jin Kingdom together. How dare the Kong family interfere?

In the morning, the breeze was warm. There was a parade platform in front of the main hall of the marquis's mansion, where many scholars took the exam.

Guo Jing sat on a high platform, with a large flag with the word "Guo" in red on a black background fluttering in the wind behind him. Surrounding him were heavy infantry wearing heavy armor. These people had a similar breathing rhythm, heavy steps, and exuded a cold breath. Many soldiers turned pale instantly after just one look.

There were four subjects in the examination: one was the Song Dynasty Law, one was the agricultural policy, one was the policy questions and poems, and one was mathematics.

At the beginning, officials in the shogunate talked a lot, thinking that this exam was a bit unorthodox and not in line with the essence of the imperial examination, but Guo Jing still forced it to be implemented. The exam content was announced early to leave enough room for buffer. What he wanted was not smart people, but people who could really get things done.

Guanzhong and the Three Jins were in a state of disrepair and needed a large number of officials to fill the positions. Generally speaking, it would be enough for them to be familiar with farming and handle the agricultural and sericulture affairs under their jurisdiction. His requirements were that simple.

As for the newly added questions, they are prepared for true geniuses. There are always some rare talents in this world who cannot be judged by common sense.

Among the officials in the Marquis's mansion, Wang Shan, who had just joined the army, looked at the scholars on the parade platform and could not help but admire them, "Your Majesty is not an ordinary person, but you value practical work more than rhetoric."

This man has practiced martial arts since childhood, is well-read, resourceful, has superb martial arts, and is particularly proficient in riding and shooting. In history, Wang Shan organized a resistance force to resist the rule of the Jin Dynasty, and eventually led all his troops to surrender to the Mongolian army. Mu Huali personally gave him the golden talisman and appointed him as the co-governor of Zhongshan Prefecture to guard it. Wang Shan was later promoted to the Recruiting Envoy of Zhongshan Zhending and other roads, and was also awarded the title of Right Deputy Marshal and General of the Cavalry. In short, Wang Shan was a very talented person. At this time in history, he should have surrendered to Mu Huali, but when Guo Jing went to Hebei, he surrendered to Guo Jing instead. Fate is always so wonderful.

The scholars in the examination hall were not just from the north, there were also scholars from Bashu, Jiangnan and other places. These people were completely disappointed with the Southern Song court after seeing the Southern Song Dynasty suffer defeat after defeat in Jiangnan and eventually move the capital south. That's why they turned to Guo Jing.

Regardless of whether Guo Jing was a Mongolian or not, at least he was fighting the Jin people and he won. That was enough. The Southern Song court seemed to have nothing but righteousness. What was the use of having strong economic strength if they couldn't win on the battlefield.

Two hours later, the soldiers came forward to collect the papers and the scholars left the venue one after another. Guo Jing had already prepared meals for them.

He planned to grant official positions to all those who came here to take the exam, as long as they were not too bad, and send them to local officials, and keep those top talents by his side to slowly cultivate them. As long as the government structure was established and on the right track, his shogunate would be completely stable.

In June, these scholars were granted official positions and sent to serve in local areas. The shogunate was also enriched with many officials and was no longer the private domain of the powerful.

……

In late autumn of 1218, in October, Guo Jing, the Marquis of Han, led an army of infantry and cavalry from Tongguan to attack Luoyang, while Mu Huali, the Grand Tutor of the Kingdom, led an army of to attack Zhending Prefecture. Guo Jing had fewer soldiers, but more than half of his men were elite, while Mu Huali had less than elite soldiers, so the strength of both sides was about the same.

The news spread like wildfire. The Southern Song Dynasty was overjoyed when it heard it and sent envoys to contact both sides, attempting to form an alliance again and counterattack the Jin Dynasty.

Wanyan Honglie, who was in Jiankang City, had anticipated this. After the anti-Jin manifesto was issued in April, he began to prepare to move the capital. All the officials in the court knew this, but no one was willing to break this window.

The Mongols ran away before they even attacked. Where was the face of the Great Jin Dynasty?

Now, Guo Jing and Mu Huali are attacking Jin at the same time, with a total force of 350,000. If they want to escape now, no one in the court or the public can say anything. It is an indisputable fact that Kaifeng has no strategic location to defend.

It was enough for the capital to be besieged once, and they did not want to repeat the mistake of Emperor Qinzong of Song.

So, after the war broke out, all officials requested to move the capital in the court. Wanyan Honglie hesitated for a long time and had to agree. Then, outside the city of Kaifeng, ships were loaded with goods and ready to set off to the south of the Yangtze River.

However, the relocation of the capital by the Jin Kingdom did not mean that they gave up Henan. They quickly stopped fighting with the Song army, mobilized the army northward by water, and deployed defenses along the Yellow River. The remaining Jin army forces in Hebei were completely withdrawn and tightly guarded the pass.

The war is raging.

……

Snow Mountain, Tantric Buddhism.

The old monk twisted his Buddhist beads in his hands and bowed his head. "My friend, please wait for a moment. I will call the monks in the temple to discuss the matter before continuing."

Su Ming agreed, "Yes, please."

Then, the old monk wearing a tall red hat rang the bronze bell outside the hall, "Dong, Dong, Dong!"

The sound of the melodious and solemn bell echoed in the mountains. The monks who were meditating and chanting in the temple stopped chanting and looked towards the direction of the main hall. Then one monk stood up and put his hands together, "You continue!"

After saying that, he walked towards the backyard of the temple.

Soon, more than ten monks arrived outside the hall. Among them were young men, middle-aged men, and haggard old men. When they saw Su Ming standing in the hall, their faces changed immediately.

The old monk chanted a Buddhist name silently and walked in front of everyone. "This layman came from the Central Plains and wanted to exchange the martial arts of the Nine Yin Manual for my supreme secret skills. I decided to send three monks to learn from him. This matter concerns the inheritance of my secret sect. Everyone, be careful."

After hearing this, their expressions changed again. Some of them had heard of the Nine Yin Scriptures, some of them were a little angry when they heard that Su Ming wanted to learn the secret skills of Tantric Buddhism.

The old monk was so old that his say in Tantric Buddhism was self-evident. Since he had made up his mind, the monks did not object. After discussion, three of them stepped forward and decided to compete with Su Ming.

These three monks were a young man, a middle-aged man, and an old man. They all had calm expressions and their auras were in harmony, forming a seamless whole.

Su Ming took a few looks and had an idea in his mind. These three monks practiced the same martial arts and had the same internal strength characteristics. It seemed that they were passed down from the same lineage.

"Little friend, please!"

"Everyone, please."

A competition began in front of the Buddha statue hall.

Su Ming stood in front of the hall, with his hands behind his back, looking relaxed and having a carefree demeanor. In contrast, the three monks were on high alert, with a heavy aura as if they were facing a powerful enemy.

"drink!"

The youngest monk among the three took the first step. He paused, the bricks under his feet shattered, and the whole person was ejected. He threw a punch fiercely, and there was only the sound of bones exploding, and the fist wind came towards him.

Su Ming tilted his head slightly, and his fist just brushed his face and missed. At the same time, he pointed his hand with lightning speed, and the young monk's body paused as if struck by lightning, and he took several steps back.

"Such a strong and vigorous Qi and blood. The strength is strong but not light enough. This should be the Dragon Elephant Prajna Technique, right?"

(End of this chapter)