The gods began by supporting Guo Jing to become emperor

Chapter 238: Failed to surrender, talking about firearms

Three days later, Zhao Hong was made the crown prince and took over the government from Emperor Zhao.

At this time, envoys from the Song Dynasty arrived in the desert and met Genghis Khan.

In the golden tent, several civil officials of the Song Dynasty were dressed in scarlet official robes. They were very polite and courteous. "Greetings to the Khan."

"Just state your intentions directly."

On the way here, the Song envoys had heard the news that the Zhou Kingdom had sent troops, and they were very anxious, "Great Khan, our Song Dynasty is willing to pay tribute to Mongolia and will always be a vassal state. We will never betray it."

Genghis Khan stroked his chin, slightly interested, "How much tribute can you offer?"

The envoy immediately replied, "We are willing to send 600,000 taels of silver, 700,000 rolls of silk, and 30,000 pieces of fine porcelain every year."

Genghis Khan closed his eyes slightly and sneered, "Not enough. I have robbed countless gold and silver treasures in the Western Expedition of Mongolia. It is far from enough for me to protect your country with just these few things."

"How much does the Khan want?"

"Gold, silver and treasures are all dead things. How could my Mongolia lack these things? If you can send troops to join me in the expedition to the Western Regions, I can consider accepting you as an ally."

In his heart, Guo Jing's value is far greater than that of the Song Dynasty. The amount of porcelain, tea, cloth, pig iron, etc. that Zhou traded with Mongolia every year was a huge amount and could not be simply measured by money.

It is true that Mongolia is rich, but what is the use of having money alone? Money is money that can be spent. However, the productivity of both the Western Regions and the grasslands is seriously insufficient, and only the north can supply the consumption of the grasslands.

Moreover, the soldiers under Guo Jing's command were also elite. If they could join him in the Western Expedition, it would certainly be a great help to him.

In his eyes, money was just like dirt. What he wanted was to conquer distant enemies and territories and let the Mongolian cavalry gallop across the land. What did a little money mean to him?
The perspectives of the two have long been different.

Hearing this, the envoys from the Song Dynasty were dumbfounded. If the Song Dynasty army could fight, would they still need to pay tribute to Mongolia? Moreover, now that the Zhou Dynasty and the Song Dynasty were at war, they could not spare any troops at all.

The Song Dynasty envoy immediately bowed down and said, "Great Khan, the Zhou Kingdom is leading its army to attack our Great Song Dynasty. The situation is critical. If the Zhou Kingdom unifies the north and the south, it will not be a good thing for Mongolia. Keeping our Great Song Dynasty can also help you keep an eye on the Zhou Kingdom. Please think twice, Great Khan!"

Genghis Khan sat up, like a tiger, ready to bite anyone he could. "Why? Do you want me, the Mongols, to send troops to rescue you?"

"I dare not. Zhou is a Khanate appointed by Mongolia. As long as the Khan gives an order, how dare the King of Zhou disobey your will? At that time, my Song Dynasty will definitely reward you generously."

"Since you can't come up with bargaining chips that will impress me, the matter of submission and tribute ends here. Come, send them away!" Genghis Khan gave a direct order.

Then, a group of soldiers walked into the Golden Tent and stood beside the messenger. Although they did not speak, their meaning was self-evident.

Upon seeing this, the Song envoy let out a long sigh, saluted to Genghis Khan, and turned away.

After they left, Genghis Khan sat on the throne, suddenly smiled, and murmured to himself, "Guo Jing's movements are not slow."

……

At the same time, changes also took place in the Xixia court.

As early as 20 years ago, Xixia was defeated by Genghis Khan and his men and asked the Jin Dynasty for help, but the Jin Dynasty stood by and ignored them. They had no choice but to rely on Mongolia, pay tribute, and join Mongolia in attacking the Jin Dynasty.

Later, in 1216, because the Western Xia refused to help Genghis Khan in his westward expedition, Genghis Khan led his army to attack the Western Xia for the fourth time the following year. The Western Xia Emperor Li Zunxu sent his crown prince Li Dewang to guard Zhongxing Prefecture, and he himself fled to Lingzhou, Xijing. Finally, Li Dewang sent envoys to negotiate peace with Mongolia to end the war.

After this incident, Western Xia finally behaved itself and sent its men to join the war. This is why Guo Jing was able to mobilize Western Xia vassal troops when attacking Guanzhong.

This time, when Mongolia was building the royal city, Genghis Khan ordered the conscription of 50,000 able-bodied men from Western Xia to assist. Within a short period of time, there was widespread resentment in Western Xia. In the previous war to destroy the Jin Dynasty, they had sent an army of 20,000, and almost all of them were killed or wounded.

And now, Mongolia wants another 50,000 able-bodied men, which is almost most of the population in Western Xia. If they are all sent to Mongolia, it means that only the old, weak and sick will be left in Western Xia, unable to defend the land.

For a time, the Xixia court was in turmoil.

However, at this moment, the envoys from the Song Dynasty arrived in Zhongxing Prefecture.

After the two sides discussed it, the Song Dynasty said, I will help you with the people. You just need to send troops to contain the Zhou Kingdom. The two families will help each other and fight against the Zhou Kingdom together.

Xixia heard this and said: You want me to fight the Zhou Kingdom? Do you know how the Jin Kingdom fell? Do you want me to die?

On the same day, the envoys from the State of Song were driven out of Zhongxing Prefecture, and the Western Xia drove away the envoys from the State of Song and hurriedly sent people to inform the Great Zhou of the news.

In the warm room of the harem, Guo Jing discussed state affairs with a group of civil officials. After receiving the news, he showed it directly to other officials. Pei Andao, the third official, shook his head and said, "Even Xixia has been visited. The emperor and his officials of the Song Dynasty are thinking very beautifully."

"It's not what they think, but there is a problem within the Song Dynasty. According to the Eagle Guard, Zhao Kuo has been bedridden for a long time, and the Crown Prince Zhao Hong is now in charge of the government of Nanchang Prefecture." In an instant, Guo Jing revealed another piece of information that shocked everyone.

Huang Yaoshi immediately said, "It's so serious, it looks like Emperor Song won't live long."

Other important officials also nodded. Zhao Kuo's role in the Song Dynasty court was just a human-shaped seal, which could not play a big role. However, in the era of imperial power, the role of the emperor was rarely replaced by anyone, not to mention the war between the Song Dynasty and the Zhou Dynasty. The emperor needed to come forward to stabilize the people's hearts. No matter how incompetent Zhao Kuo was, he had been the emperor for more than 30 years.

Anyone with a discerning eye could see that the Song Dynasty was facing internal and external troubles.

"Your Majesty, we must deal with the Shu matter as soon as possible. If we really allow the Song Dynasty to stabilize the situation quickly, something unexpected may happen."

Guo Jing refused directly. "Military and national affairs are handled by the generals at the front. I will not interfere. You should not be anxious. The water conservancy projects in various states and counties, as well as the establishment of official schools and workshops, can only be reviewed and approved by the court. Local officials cannot privately mobilize labor and embezzle taxes. Wait until the beginning of next spring for the court to implement it uniformly."

Liu Run, the Minister of Finance, frowned slightly and said, "Your Majesty, the war is imminent. If we start a large-scale construction and mobilize labor, it will be extremely expensive."

Guo Jing glanced at him and took a step back. "In this case, the water conservancy project will be temporarily suspended. Next year, we must build official schools in various places to train many students. Similarly, the workshop involves the trade between our Great Zhou and Mongolia, and must be led by the court."

"The Ministry of Revenue and the three ministries will handle this together. They should come up with a set of rules first. The bulk items such as grain, tea, salt, porcelain, cloth, pig iron, etc. must be under the unified control of the imperial court. This cannot be changed."

"Smuggling has continued despite repeated bans over the years and must be strictly investigated!"

A large amount of money from Mongolia has flowed into the treasury, and the court is now extremely well-off in terms of tax revenue. Moreover, attacking the Song State does not necessarily mean a loss of money. He had long heard of the prosperity of the south, but the Song State was exploiting him too harshly.

The ministers present looked at each other and said in unison, "Yes, sir!"...

"The king's mind is really hard to guess. He just moved people in the south not long ago, and now he wants to tighten the opening in the north. I guess those powerful people will definitely be unable to sit still."

"Yes, smuggling is extremely profitable. Your Majesty's move has undoubtedly cut off their source of income. Those people will not give up easily."

"That's wrong. Those tyrants didn't pay taxes for smuggling, so it was the imperial court that suffered the loss. If the imperial court took the lead and officially opened up trade, the taxes collected would not be a small amount."

……

At this moment, the Zhou army was fighting with the Song army in Hanzhong. The Song army commander took the initiative to shrink the defense line and stockpiled heavy troops in Hanzhong. After months of fighting, the Song army was exhausted. In addition, the Zhou army spread the news that the Song emperor had died, which greatly reduced the morale of the Song army.

In the spring of 1227, Zhou general Zhang Rou broke through Hanzhong and marched straight to Chengdu Prefecture. The Shu area was shocked. After three days of siege, Gui Ruyuan, the governor of Shu area of ​​the Song Dynasty, led his troops out of the city to surrender.

Chengdu Prefecture fell, and Shu was conquered by an edict. The news spread back to Nanchang Prefecture, shocking the government and the public.

However, something even more terrible happened next. The official Zhao Kuo died in his sleep at the age of sixty. If Shi Miyuan had not offered him the elixir, Zhao Kuo would have lived three years longer than recorded in history.

The Song Dynasty had been prepared internally. Crown Prince Zhao Hong succeeded to the throne in front of the coffin and took charge of state affairs. The country was in mourning for three months.

At this time, Shuzhong fell and the situation was critical. Emperor Zhao actually went to the imperial army camp in person to reward the three armies and boost morale. Afterwards, the Song State strengthened the defense lines in Jingnan and the important town of Jiujiang to defend against the enemy.

Fortunately, after the Zhou army took over Shu, it did not continue to advance. Lu Guanying continued to stay in Jiankang Prefecture and did not raise any troops.

In the blink of an eye, it was June. The war was over, and Zhao Hong had just ascended the throne. After stabilizing the overall situation, he was determined to reorganize the army and prepare for war. To this end, he took the initiative to reduce palace expenses and abolished the Taoist palace built by the previous emperor Zhao Kuo and other places that consumed money and grain.

However, military training was extremely costly, and the previously imposed taxes had not yet been reduced, causing great suffering to the gentry and common people in the south.

……

In the backyard, Su Ming and Guo Jing sat opposite each other in the pavilion.

Time flies. Guo Jing has a two-inch long beard on his mouth. He looks calm and majestic. "Teacher, Shuzhong has been settled. I plan to recuperate and formally bring the North under my control."

"Shu is the granary. This move can be regarded as cutting off the Song's retreat route. The future battle to destroy the Song will be a major battle. Don't take it lightly and forget the events of Red Cliff."

"The disciple understands."

Su Ming continued, "Also, there is one thing you must keep in mind. Genghis Khan will definitely launch a second westward expedition. When that happens, have you thought about how to respond?"

At this stage, Guo Jing is still the Khan appointed by Mongolia. If Genghis Khan summons him, he must respond. If he agrees, the army will be sent to the Mongols for nothing. If he refuses, there will be a rift between Mongolia and the Great Zhou.

Hearing this, Guo Jing sighed heavily. The current Great Zhou was not ready for a war with Mongolia. Not only was the Great Zhou not ready, but he was not ready either. The unification of the north was a good thing, but it would bring about a sharp increase in pressure on national defense. The huge border line and key passes needed soldiers to defend.

There are too many people in the north. Any prefecture city has tens of thousands of people. It is impossible to ignore the long border.

In recent years, the Great Zhou has been expanding its military. Now, it has an army of nearly 300,000, but can it withstand the Mongolian cavalry?
"I haven't thought about it yet."

Su Ming smiled slightly, "It is unwise to compete with the grassland people in cavalry. They grew up on horseback and are far from being comparable to the Han people in terms of riding and archery. But there is one thing that can help you turn the situation around."

"What is it?" Guo Jing looked puzzled.

"Gunpowder. Previously, the Jin Dynasty used gunpowder to defend Kaifeng Prefecture. You should have seen the effect of gunpowder."

Guo Jing thought about it and was still confused. "But teacher, the cavalry is too fast. The explosion of gunpowder is powerful, and the cavalry will not wait to be blown up. If this thing is used to defend the city, it will be a sharp weapon!"

Su Ming used something similar to what he had seen before to explain the principle of the firearm. "The State of Song once had a thing called the Tuhuoqiang. If we change the bamboo thing into an iron one and use it to fire projectiles, what do you think will happen? If firearms can be used well, they can definitely restrain cavalry."

Seeing Su Ming's affirmative look, Guo Jing's heart moved, "Teacher, are you serious?"

"When has your master ever lied to you?"

Guo Jing showed a happy expression on his face, and immediately said, "I will find someone to study firearms. If we can really reach the level that teacher said, we may be able to offset the advantages of the nomadic tribes."

Su Ming couldn't help but nod his head. Indeed, the emergence of muskets and artillery wiped out the advantages of the grassland tribal cavalry. The musket was easier to practice than the bow and arrow, but the cost was a bit higher.

Historically, Mongolian cavalry were also equipped with firearms. That was because they discovered the power of firearms in the war against the Jin Dynasty and made use of them. Later, they showed great power in attacking Western countries. Since then, firearms have become popular in the West. Before that, only Arabia knew about gunpowder in the West, and this thing was brought over by the Tang Dynasty army.

However, this world's war to destroy the Jin Dynasty was led by the Han people, and the Mongols had not yet discovered the power of gunpowder, which was something that the Great Zhou could use to enhance the combat effectiveness of its army in a short period of time.

After Guo Jing left, Su Ming's mind sank into the sea of ​​consciousness.

Mirror Owner: Su Ming

World: The Legend of the Condor Heroes
Identity: Guo Jing's teacher

Origin of the World: 978,221
World collapse degree: 97.82 percent.

Number of time and space reflections captured: zero
After taking over Shu, the pace of the world's collapse increased significantly, but it was not yet full. However, he was not in a hurry. Compared to the origin of the world, he wanted to see how far Guo Jing could go.

What kind of attitude would the Han state established after the destruction of the Song Dynasty have when it entered the historical stage, especially at this time when the grassland countries were the strongest. Throughout history, there has never been a country as powerful as Mongolia on the grassland.

How can you allow others to sleep soundly on the side of the couch?
Sooner or later, there will be a war between Mongolia and the Great Zhou. After the death of Genghis Khan, Mongolia will be divided. When Tolui passes away, the next generation will inevitably start a war at the latest.

There cannot be two tigers in one mountain. This is inevitable. For the Central Plains dynasty to be strong, it must sweep away the four barbarians, expand the territory, and establish civil and military governance.

Guo Jing might be able to restrain himself, but could the civil and military officials in the court restrain themselves? To establish meritorious service and leave a name in history is their biggest motivation for launching a war. By then, even Guo Jing would not be able to suppress them. After all, he is just one person, while the officials under him represent large and small interest groups.

When the time comes, even if he doesn't want to fight, someone will push the situation forward.

(End of this chapter)