I traveled with them to the Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 384 The Old Servant Volunteers
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Over the years, Tong Guan has been very "loyal" to Zhao Yu.

Emperor Zhao Yu loved beautiful women, so Tong Guan searched far and wide for them for him. Many ministers presented beautiful women to Zhao Yu, but no one could compare to Tong Guan in terms of either quality or quantity. Even Cai Jing, who frequently advised Zhao Yu to hold a beauty pageant, had to give way.

Zhao Yu was eager to expand his territory and achieve great feats, so Tong Guan catered to his interests by helping him command the Western Army in the Northwest, suppress the Fang La Rebellion, and even kill the gentry and landlords in Jiangnan.

Zhao Yu was well aware that Tong Guan's "paying as needed" was a veiled act of loyalty, but in reality, it was an attempt to use the desires of an emperor to gain power and wealth for himself.

But it is not important.

The way of an emperor is never to seek out ministers who are pure and without fault, but to make them serve him. Tong Guan's offering of beauties, expansion of territory, and suppression of rebellions—every action precisely met Zhao Yu's needs. This "loyalty" may have been mixed with personal desires, but for Zhao Yu, it was enough.

"If we recognize strengths and make up for weaknesses, then there will be no one in the world who is not useful; if we criticize weaknesses and discard strengths, then there will be no one in the world who will not be abandoned."

It is rare for a person to have both talent and virtue. If we can make use of strengths and make up for weaknesses, there will be no one in the world who cannot be employed. But if we insist on demanding weaknesses and abandoning strengths, there will be no talented people in the world who can be retained.

Cai Jing was greedy, yet capable of managing state affairs; Li Gang was upright, but inflexible. If we keep focusing on the power-hungry and profit-seeking nature of people like Tong Guan, then there will likely be no one left to rely on in the court.

Moreover, Tong Guan's desires were precisely the "shackles" that Zhao Yu trusted most. The power, wealth, and status he sought were all bestowed upon him by Zhao Yu himself. As long as Zhao Yu firmly controlled the imperial power, Tong Guan could only depend on him, and the loyalty of "paying only as needed" would be etched into his very bones.

To put it more vividly, Tong Guan was like a vicious dog, and his desires were the leash. This leash was always in Zhao Yu's hands. If Zhao Yu wanted him to bite someone, he would bite someone; if Zhao Yu wanted him to bite someone, he would bite them.

that's enough.

So loyalty goes without saying.

Let's just talk about ability.

Zhao Yu always believed that Tong Guan still possessed some military talent and the courage to lead.

Historically, he served as a military supervisor accompanying Wang Hou on a campaign against Huangchuan. Coincidentally, the imperial palace caught fire, and Emperor Huizong (Zhao Ji) ordered a halt to the campaign. Judging that the opportunity was too great to miss, he concealed the contents of the imperial edict, falsely claiming that Emperor Huizong had ordered an advance, and ultimately recovered four lost prefectures. Afterwards, he showed the true edict to the generals and declared, "I am willing to bear the blame alone for the defeat," demonstrating both his military courage in defying orders and his willingness to take responsibility to win over the army.

That's very clever, very extraordinary.

In terms of military administration, he adopted a "pragmatic" strategy: on the one hand, he falsely reported the number of soldiers (applying for rations and pay with a quota of 100,000 soldiers, but actually only supporting 80,000 troops) and embezzled the difference; on the other hand, he paid the full amount of military pay and rewarded the soldiers with the spoils of war.

This practice of "embezzling public funds while treating subordinates well" not only exposed his greedy nature but also consolidated his prestige in the Western Army by binding him with shared interests. Ultimately, it created a situation where "some troops could not be commanded by anyone other than Tong Guan," which allowed him to secure his position as the commander-in-chief of the Western Army.

However, because Zhao Yu traveled back in time and reorganized the Song army, creating the Shenji Army and the Four Auxiliary Armies, these two armies, equipped with advanced firearms, became the main force of the Song army.

Crucially, Zhao Yu transferred all the famous generals from the Western Army to the Shenji Army and the Four Auxiliary Armies, and also separated some of the Western Army and transferred them to various battlefields, which greatly reduced the combat strength of the Western Army.

In addition, Zhao Yu reorganized the Central Imperial Guard and the Jiangnan Imperial Guard, removing all the artisans from them. Except for a group of military artisans who led engineering troops to assist the army in battle, the rest were incorporated into the Ministry of Works to support technological development and the infrastructure construction of the Song Dynasty. The old and weak were removed and incorporated into the police system. After the downsizing, the army was appropriately expanded and retrained, greatly increasing its combat effectiveness.

In addition, the rebel armies of Song Jiang and Fang La, after removing the old and weak and incorporating them into the police system, were reorganized into the Tiger Army, which also became an important army of the Song Dynasty.

As a result, the Western Army's position in the Song Dynasty was no longer prominent.

Of course, Zhao Yu treated both Tong Guan and the Western Army quite well. When war broke out in the Song Dynasty, Zhao Yu would also call upon the Western Army to fight.

However, over the years, the Western Army has never become a truly dominant force. In recent years, the Western Army's biggest battle was suppressing the rebellions of Fang La and others in Jiangnan. Even then, half of the credit was taken by Song Jiang and his followers.

Tong Guan was actually very unwilling to accept this.

Tong Guan was a very ambitious man with lofty aspirations.

This is evident from his choices and fate throughout history.

Historically, Tong Guan followed Wang Hou on a campaign to Huangchuan in his early years, expanding the territory of the Song Dynasty more than 3,000 li to the west, creating the most brilliant border expansion achievement since the founding of the Northern Song Dynasty.

Later, the Fang La Rebellion swept across Jiangnan, plunging half of the Song Dynasty into war. It was Tong Guan who led the Western Army south, fighting over four hundred battles to quell the rebellion and pull the collapsing Northern Song Dynasty back from the brink of collapse.

At that time, Tong Guan's prestige and power had reached the pinnacle that any eunuch in the Northern Song Dynasty could achieve.

At that time, Tong Guan, who had accomplished the great feats of recovering Qinghai and suppressing Fang La, could have rested on his laurels and enjoyed the rest of his life. After all, he was almost seventy years old, and even if he retired, no one would say anything to him.

He no longer needed to get involved in court intrigues or lead troops into battle. He could simply enjoy wealth and honor in Bianliang, the capital of the Eastern Capital. His historical reputation would at least be that of a meritorious official on par with Wang Shao, Di Qing, and Zhang Jie, rather than one of the "Six Traitors" in later historical records.

But Tong Guan was different. His ambitions had long surpassed those of a meritorious official. He set his sights on the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun, a source of great anxiety for the Northern Song emperor and his ministers.

Since Zhao Kuangyin established the Northern Song Dynasty, the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun have always been a sharp blade hanging over the hearts of the Zhao family and the people of the Song Dynasty.

This land, ceded to the Khitan by Shi Jingtang, was not only a natural barrier for the Central Plains dynasties to defend against northern nomadic peoples, but also a symbol of the Song Dynasty's dream of unification.

Emperor Taizong of Song suffered two defeats in his northern expeditions, and countless Song soldiers were buried on the battlefield. The Yan-Yun region became an indelible pain in the hearts of the people and soldiers of the Northern Song Dynasty.

Emperor Shenzong of Song even left a will stating, "Whoever can recover Yan and Yun, even if he is not of the same surname, may be granted the title of king."

For Tong Guan, recovering the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun would not only complete the great cause that previous emperors of the Song Dynasty had not finished, but also allow him to break the ironclad rule that "eunuchs cannot be granted the title of king" and achieve the highest honor of "being granted the title of king by someone of a different surname".

Driven by this ambition, Tong Guan resolutely advocated the strategic plan of allying with the Jin to destroy the Liao and recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun. Through Tong Guan's efforts and with the support of Emperor Huizong, this strategic plan was finally implemented.

Unfortunately, the Song Dynasty at that time was outwardly strong but inwardly weak. Although it seemed to be at the height of its power, its foundation had already been hollowed out by corrupt officials, excessive bureaucracy, and serious problems such as land annexation.

Ultimately, the Liao Dynasty fell, but the Jin cavalry seized the opportunity to advance south, besieging Bianjing, the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty. Tong Guan's meticulously cultivated elite Western Army had been decimated in the war against the Liao, leaving it utterly powerless to resist the Jin forces. The Jingkang Incident erupted, the Northern Song Dynasty collapsed, and Tong Guan's dream of becoming a king was shattered. He fled south in panic, only to be executed by order of Emperor Huan of Song. His head was displayed on the gates of Bianjing, his once illustrious military achievements now condemned to infamy and eternal damnation.

Tong Guan could have achieved lasting fame for his merits in the first half of his life, but because of his ambition and greed for credit, he ultimately met a tragic end, being beheaded and infamous for eternity. In this life, Tong Guan was equally ambitious and was also highly valued by Zhao Yu.

However, unlike Emperor Huizong of Song, Zhao Yu did not place all his hopes on Tong Guan. Instead, he promoted many talented generals and commanders at the same time.

This meant that Tong Guan's ambition could never be fully realized.

He wanted to expand the territory of the Song Dynasty and leave a significant mark on history, so that when future generations talked about the generals of the Song Dynasty, in addition to the deceased Wang Yun, Di Qing, and Zhang Jie, they would also mention his name, Tong Guan.

Unfortunately, I've never had that opportunity.

Tong Guan was not one to simply wait patiently for an opportunity.

Taking advantage of his location in the far northwest of the Song Dynasty, Tong Guan had been studying the Western Regions for many years and recruiting talents familiar with the Western Regions. He even personally accompanied merchants from the Western Regions on missions to the Western Regions, all in order to one day recover the Western Regions for the Song Dynasty.

Unfortunately, Zhao Yu believed that the various kingdoms of the Western Regions were leaderless, at odds with each other, and even hostile to one another, posing no threat to the Song Dynasty in the short term. He contrasted this with the Jin Dynasty in the northeast and the Mongols on the steppes, who were the true threats to Song rule. For this reason, Zhao Yu consistently focused his strategic efforts on the northeast and the steppes, remaining noncommittal regarding Tong Guan's plan to reclaim the Western Regions—neither explicitly supporting nor outright rejecting it.

Zhao Yu's ambiguous attitude only fueled Tong Guan's obsession, making him study the Western Regions strategy even more diligently.

Moreover, under Tong Guan's leadership, the Song Dynasty also built a railway that ran through the northwest of the Song Dynasty, through the Hexi Corridor, out of the Jade Gate Pass, and all the way to the Kingdom of Kucha.

In order not to delay his future troop transport, Tong Guan built a railway with ten tracks running in parallel (four of which went through Longyou).

This railway can be considered the origin of the "Belt and Road" initiative, and it has greatly increased trade in the Northwest region.

This is also one of the reasons why Zhao Yu supported Tong Guan in building this railway.

In short, Tong Guan has been busy all these years, actively making various preparations for the recovery of the Western Regions.

At the same time, Tong Guan actively flattered Zhao Yu, was generous and magnanimous, and could benefit from anyone, whether it was concubines, palace maids, eunuchs, or Taoist priests and close ministers. He was never stingy.

Opportunities are for those who are prepared.

Tong Guan's hard work finally paid off.

That day, Tong Guan suddenly received news that Zhao Yu was preparing to send people to Khatun City to retrieve more than 200,000 warhorses from there.

An expedition to the Western Regions requires warhorses, and the number of them is absolutely essential.

Tong Guan felt that the more than 200,000 warhorses in Khatun City were born for his dream. If he could help the Song Dynasty obtain these 200,000 warhorses, he would most likely succeed in helping the Song Dynasty recover the Western Regions.

Therefore, Tong Guan immediately returned to Bianliang (Kaifeng) from the northwest and volunteered to Zhao Yu: "This old servant is willing to lead the Western Army to fetch warhorses for Your Majesty."

Tong Guan's suggestion greatly appealed to Zhao Yu.

Although Tong Guan was already in his sixties, he was unlike the effeminate eunuchs of the time. He was broad-shouldered and burly, with shoulders almost as wide as his height. The brocade robes he wore year-round were stretched taut by his arm muscles, and he walked with an upright posture like a pine tree, without the slightest hunchback. His hands had large knuckles and thick calluses on his palms, marks left by years of practicing archery. When he spoke, his voice was loud and clear like a bell, unlike the high-pitched voices of eunuchs. When arguing with someone, he could press one hand on the table and make the solid wood tabletop sink slightly, revealing his brute strength.

Historically, when he was over seventy years old, he was still able to ride a horse and travel back and forth throughout the Song Dynasty. If he hadn't been executed by Zhao Huan, given his physical strength, he could have easily lived to be eighty or ninety years old.

Crucially, Tong Guan had been fighting in the Northwest for many years. Since the Battle of Huangchuan, he had become accustomed to sandstorms, severe cold, and long-distance raids. He was tall and strong and could survey the terrain against the wind and snow. Even if he did not sleep for several days, he could still stabilize the morale of the army with his strong physique.

Tong Guan's Western Army, having been tempered by the flames of war in the Western Frontier, consisted mostly of soldiers from the harsh and cold Northwest. They had endured the trials of wind and sand since childhood, not only maintaining their fighting strength in harsh environments but also excelling in coordinated infantry and cavalry operations. They also had mature tactics to deal with the Liao Kingdom's elite cavalry.

To put it bluntly, this trip to Khatun City was a double battle against natural barriers and a powerful, elite enemy. Before the Song Dynasty could send troops, they had to traverse thousands of miles of grasslands. There were no fixed routes; during the rainy season, the muddy swamps could sink the horses' hooves, and the rotting grass and miasma could easily cause disease outbreaks in the army. Once in the desert, the temperature difference between day and night could reach tens of degrees Celsius. The scorching sun during the day would bake their armor, making it too hot for soldiers to touch, while the cold wind at night would be like a knife, penetrating the cotton armor and piercing to the bone. Water was scarce, and soldiers often had to carry water bags and search for hidden springs in the desert.

Along the way, we must be wary of raids by grassland tribes. These tribes are familiar with the terrain and often send small groups of cavalry to raid supply routes. If we cannot respond in time, we will lose our supplies at best, and at worst, our morale will be shaken.

Upon arriving at Khatun City, they faced 20,000 elite Liao cavalrymen. Each of them was equipped with multiple horses, making them extremely mobile. They could launch charges to break through enemy lines and retreat quickly to avoid losses. Moreover, the city was well-stocked with food and supplies, and they were fortified and steadfast, making them formidable opponents.

Such a arduous expedition places extremely high demands on the physical fitness, endurance, and combat experience of the troops.

Looking at all the armies of the Song Dynasty, perhaps only the Western Army was most suitable for this task.

Other Song armies, though well-equipped, rarely experienced long-distance expeditions and were even less suited to the extreme environments of grasslands and deserts. Therefore, the Western Army was the most suitable choice for this expedition, whether to deal with the natural obstacles along the way or to counter the Liao army at Khatun City.

Although Zhao Yu was already somewhat tempted, he still asked Tong Guan, "Are you confident, my dear minister?"

Tong Guan said in a deep voice, "If I cannot succeed, I am willing to die."

Zhao Yu asked, "How many troops do you plan to lead?"

Tong Guan answered fluently: "Thirty thousand elite troops, fifty thousand warhorses, five thousand mules and camels, and plenty of tiger-squatting cannons and thunderclap bombs, to ensure victory in this battle..."

Bringing too many men would be too costly, and if they failed, the Song Dynasty would inevitably suffer a severe blow; while bringing too few men would be useless if they couldn't defeat the 20,000 elite Liao cavalrymen with more than one horse each when they reached Khatun City.

Tong Guan's choice to lead 30,000 elite Song troops to Khatun City was a safe and controllable number. Moreover, Tong Guan's plan to use tiger-squatting cannons and thunderclap bombs to defeat the 20,000 elite Liao cavalry was also quite feasible.

At this point, Zhao Yu had essentially decided to send Tong Guan and the Western Army to carry out this mission.

Of course, there are still some details that need to be discussed and decided...

……

(End of this chapter)