Guo Ning rode his horse down from the high ground and gave a slight shout. The black horse galloped excitedly and accelerated.
Thousands of war horses running head to tail, running rapidly, like a black dragon winding through the white mountain gorge. The hot breath exhaled by the people and horses is like the cloud smoke surrounding the black dragon, which sometimes disappears and sometimes appears. As Guo Ning rejoins the marching army
In line, the attendants held high the red flag.
The flag fluttered in the cold wind like a burning flame.
Monk Wanyan Chen, the commander of the bodyguards, was returning from the front team. While urging action along the way, he also told the leading officers that the front should be clear and the cavalry had to pass through a frozen and solid swamp.
After the swamp freezes, the reed poles and shrub roots exposed on the ground can easily snag the horses' hooves. At this time, there is a lot of falling snow everywhere, and these obstacles are covered by the snow. If the cavalry is not careful, the horses' hooves will be blocked.
When a running horse stumbles, either the knight falls off the horse and is injured, or the horse's leg is broken.
If the horse was injured, there would be a backup horse, and if the knight was injured, it would be difficult to relocate in this environment. As a result, the marching speed of the front team slowed down. Monk Wanyan Chen, who was in charge of the command, hurried back, reminding the soldiers everywhere to be vigilant.
He also brought a few clever soldiers who had walked back and forth in the swamp to act as temporary guides.
After conveying the message all the way back, he passed by the red flag. The sky was a bit dark and the eyes were blurry. He didn't notice Guo Ning at first, so he galloped closer, met Guo Ning directly, and waved to him quickly.
Guo Ning also waved to him, and Monk Wanyan Chen asked his subordinates to continue the announcement, turned around on his horse, and followed Guo Ning.
Among the old generals of the Jurchens, he was regarded as one whom Guo Ning trusted a lot. However, he was quite well-read in history books and was not a reckless warrior, so he was not arrogant because of this. When riding his horse, he was very careful to keep a horse's head behind the emperor.
.
"I once heard someone say a libretto... The libretto said that there has never been a savior, nor a divine emperor. The soldiers and civilians of the Central Plains have been fighting with the Mongols for days, and there must be heavy casualties. I am really worried. But I also feel that,
This kind of tempering is very good. Not only the Central Plains, but also the soldiers and civilians of our Great Zhou Dynasty must have this kind of energy to fight on their own. Only by personally experiencing the fiery tempering can we eliminate impurities and obtain refined steel."
"yes."
The two rode away in silence for a while, and Guo Ning started talking to him again:
"In the past few days, I have received more than a dozen military reports every day, and just now I received one from Henan Province. It can be seen that the war situation in the Central Plains cannot go wrong, and I have fully understood the Mongolian plan."
Many ingenious schemes in the world may seem mysterious, but in fact they are only possible because of the advantage of information or resources.
When the Mongolian army first marched south, one hundred thousand cavalry seemed to come and go without a trace. Each time they hit the weakest point in the northern Xinjiang defense line. They relied on a large number of spies who had defected to Mongolia to continuously leak intelligence, and the Mongolian army traveled long distances.
ability.
The Jin Dynasty court could not come up with any means to deal with these two items, so it was restrained in every aspect, as if it had become a stupid pig played by Genghis Khan from top to bottom.
This time it was different. Although the Mongolian army's intermediary operations were fierce and bold, the things they relied on were also controlled by the Zhou Dynasty.
The Mongols could communicate with the powerful ministers of the Southern Song Dynasty, and so could the Great Zhou; the Mongols had cavalry that could travel hundreds of thousands of miles, and had the ability to launch operations on multiple battlefields over a wide range, and so could the Great Zhou. Even the Mongols had the ability to infiltrate
With his ability to bribe, once Da Zhou raises his vigilance, he can easily find clues.
From then on, with a little extrapolation, we can follow the clues and deduce the Mongols' overall plan.
The Mongolian army has created such a huge momentum in northern Xinjiang. Obviously, it is impossible for a partial division to rush into the Central Plains to burn and kill. Their headquarters must be somewhere, waiting for the real target. This target can only be from northern Xinjiang.
The main force of the Zhou army turned back, and in order to intercept and kill the main force of the Zhou army, they had to obtain a passage for the army to move.
Where is this passage?
Guo Ning chuckled twice: "Do you know?"
Monk Wanyan Chen's face became heavy and he nodded slowly.
Now the entire Zhou Dynasty has entered the highest state of combat readiness, and all aspects of the army, intelligence, military industry, and transportation are going all out. Guo Ning leads the Qingqi on the run, constantly receiving information from all parties along the way, and has an understanding of the overall situation.
The certainty is definitely far greater than that of Monk Wanyan Chen.
But Monk Wanyan Chen had already anticipated Guo Ning's inquiry.
Precisely because of his prediction, he was particularly active and busy while running along this journey. He wanted to use this busyness to fill his time and prevent himself from thinking about too painful problems. Unfortunately, since Guo Ning personally appointed
As he traveled south with him, this problem was inevitable.
The passage the Mongols needed could not be found in the three recruiting divisions in the north, because war was raging in northern Xinjiang, and the three recruiting divisions were all ready to prepare.
The passage cannot be on the southern border with the Song Dynasty. Even if the Song Dynasty allows it, the Lizhou East Road cannot support the needs of the army. If the Mongols want to use the whole army to provide support, they must first rob the entire Sichuan to nothing... That's not it.
It also underestimated the military power of the Song Dynasty in the Southern Dynasties.
According to the intelligence compiled in the past few days, the passage is not in Jingzhao Mansion and the military prefectures in Longshang controlled by Li Ting. After the collapse of the Kaifeng regime of the Jin Kingdom, various places in Longshang fell into chaos. Li Ting used Jingzhao Mansion as his base and gradually gradually
Expanding the scope of control is because he is prone to killing and his methods are fierce, so the progress is not very fast. But precisely because of his fierce methods, once he controls it, it is very stable. The Mongolian army will never be able to penetrate it in one go.
After excluding these directions, and then considering the Mongols' strategy in the Xia Kingdom and the normal southward rescue route of the main force of the Zhou army, there is only one passage worth paying attention to: Henan Road.
That is where many of Monk Wanyan Chen's former colleagues gathered.
Since the founding of the Zhou Dynasty, because most of the top military officials were from the Jin Army, the military system has not completely changed, and many of the old practices of the Jin Kingdom have been continued. In addition, in order to quickly inherit the territory of the Jin Kingdom, hedging against the lack of subordinates in the imperial court and
Under the influence of Confucian ministers, the Zhou Dynasty also showed some kindness to the Jin warriors who surrendered, and did not deliberately pursue the eradication of the weeds.
When Wanyan Shouxu's forces were swept away, several Jurchen generals who surrendered in Kaifeng were later promoted by the new dynasty. Monk Wanyan Chen was one of them, as well as Wanyan Congtan, Yili Pu'a, and Jia Guze
Waiting for the marshal and the captain.
Wanyan Congtan was as famous as Wanyan Heda, and he was one of the golden bridges of King Sui's Kaifeng regime. His talents were extraordinary. When Li Ting went out to control Guanshan, Guo Ning sent Wanyan Congtan to serve with the army.
But these two people had fought a long time ago, and each had a blood debt in their hands. Li Ting was not very open-minded, so the two did not get along happily.
Later, the situation in various places gradually stabilized. Wanyan Congtan left Li Ting's command and turned to Hedongnan Road to serve as the military governor of Hezhong Prefecture. The area east of Hedong was controlled by the Zhou Dynasty for a relatively short period of time, and it did not belong to the north and south.
The key areas along the line are suitable for placing Jurchen warriors.
The Protectorate Army Jiedu subordinated two provincial counties, which governed a large area of land on the east bank of the Yellow River. They also shouldered the responsibility of communicating with foreign ethnic groups in the original Jin Kingdom's Yan Road and other places west of the Yellow River.
Wanyan Congtan was very good at fighting against foreign tribes, and his work was very fruitful. In just two years, he recruited thousands of tribes. If not for the limited resources at hand, he might have been able to extend his influence to the border with Xia Kingdom.
extent.
It was precisely because of his achievements that Wanyan Congtan repeatedly requested the imperial court to allocate manpower to help him, and transferred Yi La Pu'a, Jia Guze and others to his subordinates to serve as defense envoys and general managers of troops and horses, and the imperial court agreed.
.
As a close official of the emperor, Monk Wanyan Chen had heard rumors about this. It was said that the central government had discussed this. Some people felt that people who were not of my race must have different minds. Even if the Hedong area was not considered a critical area, it was not appropriate to indulge the old officials of the previous dynasty and unify them.
Department, given military power.
But some people retort that there are millions of Jurchens, and it cannot be done overnight to disintegrate and integrate them into the nation. The output of the Northeast is related to the lifeline of the country, but there are more foreign races. If you don’t believe in the Jurchens, how can you let them
Are Huli changed people or other alien races at ease?
On the other hand, if the Jurchens really have different intentions, they can also use Yan Congtan and others as bait to lure the killable people out of their holes. Only when the court takes action can they avoid future troubles forever.
When the news reached Monk Wanyan Chen's ears, he could only smile bitterly.
Monk Wanyan Chen knew very well that as more and more Jurchens in the northeastern mainland abandoned their original ethnic identity, he, the leader of the bodyguards and pro-army soldiers, gradually became an important figure among the Jurchens in the Central Plains. Confidential discussions about the Jurchens could be passed down.
Coming out is a test for him in itself.
The ups and downs of his life experience in the past few years have made him grow a lot, and he is no longer the reckless young man he used to be. So he completely ignored it and did not convey it to anyone. He only occasionally thought about it and hoped that Wanyan Congtan and others could do it.
Make the right choice.
Monk Wanyan Chen was a Jurchen who was deeply Sinicized. He was fond of Han literature and history when he was young. In recent years, he specially invited famous Han Confucians to teach classics such as the Classic of Filial Piety, The Analects of Confucius, and the Chunqiu Zuozhuan. To a certain extent, women
Zhenren was his mother's family by blood, but the Han people were his father culturally. He knew that Wanyan Congtan was the same, and his literary talent was even better than that of himself who was studying halfway.
Monk Wanyan Chen hoped that the Jurchens could pass the test and eventually become equal members of a new dynasty. He hoped that Wanyan Congtan would also agree with this and not be deceived by dreams and become pawns of some barbaric nation.
Unfortunately, this hope was mostly in vain. Judging from Guo Ning's half-smiling look when asking questions, it was obvious that there were a lot of news about Hedong in the emergency reports along the way, and Wanyan Congtan and others had already made the wrong choice.
Guo Ning patted Monk Wanyan Chen's arm, and said in a tone like an elder brother telling a younger brother at home: "It's good to have you here. Let's solve those small problems together, and then gather people from all walks of life to attack the Mongols head-on."
Monk Wanyan Chen almost didn't listen to the last half of the sentence.
He opened his mouth, wanting to defend his fellow clan members, angrily denounce their stupidity, and beg the emperor to give them more opportunities. He also wanted to ask Guo Ning what the so-called "solution" was.
But he didn't dare.
After following Guo Ning for a long time, Monk Wanyan Chen became more and more aware of the vitality of the seemingly reckless dynasty of Zhou Dynasty. He also gradually understood that Guo Ning was above the crowd and could calmly balance various interests.
A powerful force with a single head can freely control countless wolves and tigers. What kind of employment methods are needed?
Guo Ning himself is always modest, saying that he is just a soldier on the sidelines. In fact, some things are almost given by God, and outsiders know it well.
Monk Wanyan Chen, a Jurchen and a non-Northern Xinjiang soldier, was able to gain Guo Ning's trust and occupy an extremely important position, not only because of his bravery and proficiency in fighting, but also because the emperor balanced the military.
Power, the intention not to allow one faction to become dominant.
The emperor is a member of the army, and he is most considerate of the mood of the soldiers and is willing to meet their requests. However, if any faction in the army goes out of line, they will inevitably be severely suppressed, just like Yin Changji who was thrown across the sea.
His comrades were like that. This was all thanks to the fact that Yin Chang was the first among the Red Coat Army to defect to him. He was also a famous hero in Shandong and had friendship with many generals.
What will happen if the Jurchens collude with Mongolia?
Monk Wanyan Chen shuddered violently.
What he has to do now is to follow Guo Ning's instructions, solve the "problems" among those Jurchens as soon as possible, and eliminate any signs of their wrong choices. Apart from this, there is absolutely nothing else.