I traveled with them to the Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 321 Tong Guan Presents Captives to Radiate Imperial Power
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In its early period, the Jin dynasty retained many characteristics of nomadic tribes and implemented the "Meng'an Mouke" system. When going on expeditions, families often remained in their tribe's base areas, which were usually relatively safe grasslands, valleys, or river basins. Some of the elderly, weak, and women were responsible for guarding these areas and managing production (such as animal husbandry and farming) to ensure the supply of materials to the rear.

However, with the establishment of the Jin Dynasty, during some large-scale military operations or migrations and conquests, family members began to accompany the army, but they were usually in the safe area behind the army, forming "old and young camps". This situation was common in the early expansion stage of the Jin Dynasty. At that time, a stable ruling center had not yet been established, and families and military groups were closely connected. Accompanying the army with family members could avoid separation, and at the same time, it could enhance the cohesion of the army through family ties.

When the Jin dynasty successfully destroyed the Liao dynasty, its territory expanded. By this time, the families of those who had been fighting had already been settled in cities and fortresses under its control, guarded by the army or local officials. In particular, the families of nobles and high-ranking generals mostly lived in major cities such as Liao Shangjing, Liao Dongjing, and Liao Zhongjing, relying on the city's defenses for their safety.

Overall, the resettlement of the Jin dynasty's national families followed the principle of "safety first," and, in conjunction with changes in their own modes of production and stages of rule, gradually transitioned from early tribal bases to fixed cities, reflecting the evolution from nomadic to settled life.

It is worth mentioning that the reason why the Jin people brought their families with them when they went to war was also related to their small population and the need to quickly increase their population in order to strengthen the Jin state.

It was precisely for this reason that Wanyan Aguda took the lead in bringing his family along when he went to war, settling them nearby so that the Jurchens could quickly multiply and thrive.

This time, Wanyan Aguda led most of the Jin army on his southern expedition, vowing to completely annihilate the Liao Kingdom, intimidate the Song Dynasty, and force the Song Dynasty to sign a peace treaty with the Jin Dynasty, requiring the Song Dynasty to provide the Jin Dynasty with food and other necessities.

This resulted in a large number of Jin women living in Liaozhongjing and Liaodongjing, while the families of Jin nobles and high-ranking generals mostly lived in the closer Liaozhongjing.

This was also a privilege exercised by Jin nobles and high-ranking generals because of their high status.

Such an important place, Wanyan Aguda would definitely send a general to lead troops to guard it.

After careful selection, Wanyan Aguda chose his half-brother, Wanyan Jamu, to guard the capital of Liaozhong. He also left Wanyan Jamu with 5,000 elite troops.

Wanyan Zhamu was a general of the Jin Dynasty. It was he who conquered the Liao capital, Shangjing, in just half a day.

Over the years, Wanyan Zhamu had followed Wanyan Aguda in his campaigns across the north and south, making numerous contributions.

Unfortunately, Wanyan Zhamu suffered a minor injury some time ago. Wanyan Aguda wanted Wanyan Zhamu to rest for a few days, so he sent him to guard the capital of Liaozhong.

In Wanyan Aguda's mind, with Wanyan Jamu's abilities, defending a city would be an easy and pleasant task.
The key is that with Wanyan Aguda leading an army of over 400,000 men in front of them, who could possibly launch a surprise attack on their stronghold?

Unexpectedly, Wanyan Aguda was defeated, and the blockade by his more than 400,000-strong army became a joke.

What Wanyan Aguda didn't expect was that while Wanyan Jamu was in the rear, she spent her days indulging in pleasure and neglecting the defense of Liaozhongjing.

Most importantly, Zhao Yu's son, Zhao Di, was both courageous and meticulous. When he followed Tong Guan in pursuit of the Jin army to the territory of Liaozhongjing, he discovered that there wasn't a single Jin soldier there.

Zhao Di reported the matter to Tong Guan and others immediately.

After discussing it, Tong Guan and the others concluded that they must have gone too far in their pursuit, otherwise it wouldn't make sense.

At that time, some suggested going back to continue pursuing the Jin army, while others suggested launching a surprise attack on Liaozhongjing.

Tong Guan felt that no matter how many Jin soldiers they chased and killed, the credit would not go to them, so he favored the latter.

However, Tong Guan was unsure how to launch a surprise attack to capture this crucial city.

Just then, Zhao Di stepped forward again and said that he was willing to lead a group of people to disguise themselves as Jurchens and try to trick them into opening the city gates of Liaozhongjing.

Tong Guan knew that Zhao Di was eager to make meritorious contributions, and he also knew that Zhao Di's mother was Ma Xiaojiao, Zhao Yu's most favored concubine. He was sure that Tong Guan would be willing to create opportunities for Zhao Di to make meritorious contributions.

Therefore, Tong Guan immediately gave orders to select 500 elite soldiers from among the 50,000 light cavalry for Zhao Di, and also found some Song soldiers who understood Khitan and Jurchen languages ​​for Zhao Di.

—In fact, these people were Khitans, or even Jurchens; most of them were "Han Chinese" from Yundi.

Still not entirely at ease, Tong Guan also gave each of Zhao Di and his men dozens of thunderbolts.

Meanwhile, just in case, Tong Guan personally led a group of people up the mountain to keep a close eye on Zhao Di and his men's every move, ready to provide support for Zhao Di at any time.

Halfway there, Zhao Di ordered all his soldiers to change into the clothes he had specially had stripped off from the Jin army during the pursuit.

At dusk, Zhao Di led five hundred elite cavalry to the western gate of Liaozhong Jingcheng. He then ordered those who understood the Jurchen language to shout at the gate tower: "His Majesty has suffered a great defeat at the front. Quickly open the city gate and let us see the Lord!"

When the Jin soldiers guarding the city gate saw a large contingent of Jin cavalry coming from outside the city, they assumed that Wanyan Aguda had been defeated and sent someone back to inform Wanyan Zhamu to evacuate everyone's families. They quickly opened the city gate and lowered the drawbridge.

Zhao Di led five hundred elite cavalrymen in a swarm attack.

As soon as they entered the city gate, Zhao Di ordered each of his five hundred elite cavalrymen to throw a thunderbolt.

After an explosion, Zhao Di charged ahead of the Jin soldiers, killing all two hundred-plus Jin soldiers guarding the gate.

Upon witnessing this scene, Tong Guan, who was not far away, immediately led 50,000 light cavalrymen to attack Liaozhong capital, where they were met by Zhao Di and brought into the city.

Tong Guan ordered that the remaining city gates be seized quickly, and that no one be allowed to escape.

Tong Guan even ordered the drawbridge to be cut down, completely severing the connection between the city and the outside world, and not allowing a single Jurchen to escape from Liaozhong Capital. He wanted to wipe out all the Jurchens in Liaozhong Capital.

Wanyan Zhamu and the other Jin generals were completely unaware that the Song army had entered the city. Having drunk all day, they continued their revelry, their eyes still half-closed with intoxication as they watched the Liao beauties dancing.

As darkness fell, Wanyan Zhamu and the others suddenly heard an explosion.

This startled Wanyan Zhamu, who immediately sent someone to investigate what was going on.

Before long, two Jin soldiers suddenly ran up to Wanyan Zhamu and reported that they had spotted a Song army coming from the northwest. The army was all cavalry and looked very menacing.

Wanyan Zhamu was shocked: "Where did these Song soldiers come from?!"

Wanyan Zhamu's Jin general deduced: "Could it be that Song troops have secretly infiltrated our Dading Prefecture?"

Wanyan Zhamu asked, "Dading Prefecture is entirely under our control. How can he enter the city? Moreover, His Majesty has hundreds of thousands of troops blocking the way at the front. How can he possibly attack?"

The Jin generals under Wanyan Zhamu were also puzzled. Suddenly, one of them thought of a possibility: "Could it be that something happened to His Majesty, and the Song army took advantage of our carelessness to seize the city gate?"

Wanyan Zhamu then suddenly realized that the city gates might have fallen, and he hurriedly sent people to check each city gate.

Only then did someone tell Wanyan Zhamu that the situation was very dangerous and that an army should be dispatched immediately to escort the families of important personnel out of Liaozhong capital.

Even at this point, Wanyan Zhamu still believed that the situation wasn't so bad; even if Song troops entered the city, they would only be sent to their deaths.

Wanyan Zhamu ordered his army to go into battle, determined to show the Song army the most powerful army of the era.

Meanwhile, Wanyan Zhamu was also ready for battle, while Tong Guan had already led his army to attack.

Zhongjing was built in 1007, three years after the Treaty of Chanyuan, when the Liao Dynasty was at its peak of prosperity. Zhongjing was modeled after Bianliang, the capital of the Song Dynasty, and consisted of three concentric cities: an outer city, an inner city, and an imperial city.

If Wanyan Zhamu had chosen to defend the capital, she might have been able to hold out for a few more days.

However, their repeated victories emboldened Wanyan Zhamu and his arrogant and fierce generals, who actually chose to leave the imperial city, and even the inner city, to fight the Song army in the outer city.

Seeing the Jin army's bravery, the Jin people in the inner city also picked up bows and arrows and followed the Jin army, wanting to help them defend against the enemy. Some Jin women even took up bows and arrows to join the battle.

Tong Guan and his companions, on the other hand, chose to dismount and walk, eating dried meat as they cautiously advanced, staying close to the side of the street.

The streets were wide and deserted.

The doors and windows of the houses facing the street were all tightly closed, not a single ray of light was visible, it was pitch black, and the atmosphere was eerie, as if the Song army had entered a dead city!
Before long, the Song and Jin armies met on the main street of the outer city.

The Jin army took the initiative to launch an attack on the Song army.

Tong Guan commanded his light cavalry to meet the enemy. Zhao Di watched for a while, then led five hundred men to abandon their horses, climb onto the rooftops, and hurl grenades and fire at the Jin army.

The Jin soldiers fought desperately, giving their all to resist the enemy.

Unfortunately, the Song army outnumbered them, possessed powerful thunderbolts, and occupied the high ground.

The Song and Jin armies fought a bloody battle in the three cities for more than an hour.

The Jin army fought and retreated until they reached the foot of the Twin Gate Tower.

Upon arriving at the location, Song general Yao Gu led a Song army force that had been lying in ambush, firing at the remnants of the Jin army as they charged out from two streets.

The Jin soldiers died one after another in battle.

Wanyan Zhamu seemed to have gone mad. He brandished his scimitar and charged through the Song army, causing the Song soldiers to flee in disarray.

Seeing that their commander was fighting desperately, the Jin soldiers also vowed to charge and fight to the death.

After a fierce battle, the Song army retreated, leaving corpses strewn all over the streets, making it impossible to distinguish between Jin and Song soldiers.

The Jin army in the city eventually retreated to a temple.

At this point, Wanyan Zhamu and the others realized that all the city gates had been captured by the Song army, and that they had also cut the drawbridges, making it impossible for the people inside the city to leave.

Some people advised Wanyan Zhamu to charge to the east gate and wait for reinforcements.

But some people said, "The East Gate has already fallen; going there would be suicide!"

The Jurchens gathered in the temple participated in the attack on the Song army. They looked at Wanyan Zhamu in fear and said, "Now there is no way out of the city. We might as well fight the Song army to the death!"

Wanyan Zhamu then organized the Jin people and Jin army to engage in fierce battles with the Song army, but was defeated once again.

At this point, the Song army's encirclement was getting smaller and smaller, and the Jin army was seeing that they had no room to survive.

As a result, many Jin soldiers and civilians abandoned their horses and climbed the city walls.

The Song army amassed more and more troops, surrounding the Jin army and Jin soldiers on the city walls.

Seeing that they had been driven to the brink of despair and were determined to fight to the death, Wanyan Zhamu said to the few remaining Jin soldiers and men, "We are the brave warriors of the Great Jin, and we cannot act like children. The time has come for us to sacrifice ourselves for the Great Jin!"

Wanyan Zhamu commanded the Jin army and the Jin people to fight fiercely against the Song army, ignoring the arrows that struck her.

At this time, someone reported to Wanyan Zhamu that some Jurchen soldiers had been lowered down the city wall.

The crowd persuaded Wanyan Zhamu to also descend the city wall by rope.

But Wanyan Zhamu resolutely refused.

The deputy general provoked Wanyan Zhamu, saying, "Does the young master not wish to seek revenge?"

Wanyan Zhamu thought about it and felt that what the deputy general said made sense, so she lowered herself down the city wall.

After defeating the Jin army and the Jin people, Tong Guan ordered that all Jin men in the city, not just the Jin soldiers, be executed without exception.

This was not only because the Jurchens in Liaozhong capital were cooperating with the Jurchen army to block the Song army, but also because Tong Guan was very clear that he would have to hold Liaozhong capital for a period of time in the future, and leaving these Jurchens behind would definitely cause endless trouble.

Not to mention the men of the Jin Kingdom, Tong Guan also ordered that the women and children of the Jin Kingdom be given two meals every three days, as long as they don't starve to death, so that they would have no power to resist.

Empress Qinxian of the Jin Dynasty, Heshilie, seeing how ruthless the Song army was, did not dare to lead the old, weak, women and children of the Jin Dynasty to resist stubbornly, but instead decisively opened the city and surrendered.

Of course, this is also because the Jurchens had a tradition of bride kidnapping. If they allowed their men to kidnap other men's women, then they were naturally allowed other men to kidnap them.

In addition to capturing over 100,000 women and children from the Jin Kingdom, Tong Guan also seized a large amount of gold, silver, jewelry, grain, supplies, warhorses, cattle, sheep, camels, mules, and donkeys.

After Zhao Yu agreed to let him return to the capital to present the captives, apart from the grain and supplies, all the other captured Tong Guan was to be escorted back to Yanjing City and presented to Zhao Yu.

After receiving the news, the Jin state also attempted to send troops to stop it.

However, the Song-Liao allied forces stood silently in front of the Jin army, with more than a thousand "Li Lin cannons" lined up in a row, preventing the Jin army from crossing the line.

Wanyan Aguda sent a Jin envoy to the Liao capital, hoping to return the families of the Jin people through peace negotiations.

Liu Fa stated that he was merely the frontline commander, responsible for fighting, and had no say in peace negotiations. He suggested that if the Jin Dynasty wanted to negotiate peace, they should send an envoy to Yanjing (Beijing) to meet with their Emperor of the Song Dynasty.

In the end, the Jurchens could only watch helplessly as Tong Guan and his entourage carried the countless spoils of war back to Yanjing and presented them to Zhao Yu.

When the Liao people in Yan learned that the Song army had won another great victory at the front and had captured the Jin empress as well as a large number of Jin royal women, imperial family women, noblewomen, and women of officials and commoners.

The streets and alleys of Yan were instantly abuzz with excitement, and the people spread the news far and wide.

At the market, the vendors who were originally busy making a living were now forgetting about their business and gathered together to discuss the war on the front lines.

An old Khitan man selling cloth was so excited that his hands were trembling. He shouted at the people next to him in broken Chinese: "The Jurchen traitors enslaved the men of my Great Liao, robbed the women of my Great Liao, and desecrated the tombs of my Great Liao. They deserve this retribution!"

The vegetable vendor next to him nodded repeatedly, his eyes gleaming with excitement, and echoed, "In that case, our Yanjing will be safe. No one will dare to invade again. Just as His Majesty said, those who offend our Great Song, no matter how far away, will be punished!"

The tavern was bustling with activity. The patrons sat together, drinking cup after cup of fine wine, and their conversation flowed freely. They expressed their delight, raising their glasses and shouting "Long live the Great Song Dynasty!" Their impassioned voices seemed to pierce the roof of the tavern.

Not long after, Tong Guan led his army back in triumph.

Emperor Zhao Yu personally went to the Victory Gate to watch the triumphant ceremony.

The welcoming ceremony was a grand affair, with drums and flutes playing, cannons booming, and the imperial guards welcoming them in.

Tong Guan was good at putting on a show. As soon as he entered Desheng Gate, he dismounted, bowed deeply to Zhao Yu, and announced the victory:
Your subject, Tong Guan, respectfully reports:

Thanks to Your Majesty's divine might and the soldiers' valiant efforts, I personally led the royal army to strike directly at Liaozhongjing. The Jin invaders held out, but our army fought valiantly and eventually captured the city.

We have captured Empress Heshilie of the Jin Dynasty, along with several thousand members of the imperial family and nobles, and taken over 100,000 women and children captive. We have also seized countless grain, horses, cattle, and mules.

The Jin invaders were terrified. The Jin emperor sent envoys to sue for peace, but we politely rebuked them and ordered them to come to the capital to ask for permission themselves.

Now that the triumphant song has entered Yan, the people of Liaodong are overjoyed and all praise Your Majesty's holy virtue.

This is not my achievement, but Heaven's assistance to the Great Song Dynasty, which has gained power throughout the world.

May Your Majesty's reign be forever secure, may the world submit to you, and may all nations pay homage!
Your Majesty, I have been fortunate enough to fulfill my mission and respectfully present this victory at the palace gates!

Those who reacted quickly immediately followed Tong Guan's words and bowed, saying, "Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"

Under the leadership of these people, more and more people are shouting "Long live!"
Finally, it seemed as if everyone in the entire city of Yanjing was shouting "Long live the Emperor!"
Emperor Zhao Yu was overjoyed...

……

(End of this chapter)