For the officers and soldiers of Dinghai Navy, this situation of fighting for a sphere of influence, or even for a single lush pasture, is both familiar and strange.
What is familiar is that many soldiers once witnessed the prosperous age of the Jin Kingdom in their childhood or youth. At that time, the Jurchens' iron cavalry rumbled into the depths of the grassland at intervals, either to massacre or plunder a disobedient tribe. Bring back thousands of horses or tens of thousands of sheep from a certain pasture.
However, as the Great Jin Kingdom continues to weaken, most of the cavalry who charge into the grassland with great arrogance will lose their armor and even come back defeated. This scene becomes more and more unfamiliar. As the battles along the northern border trench It was becoming more and more difficult, and the Jurchens tried various ways to relocate them. Their number was getting smaller and smaller, and only Han'er was left to hold on to the scene and fight fiercely with the Mongolian cavalry who were determined to take revenge.
The battle after that was a scene that Zhang Qian had witnessed and participated in countless times. It was a bloody road full of despair and sacrifice, escape and betrayal.
But who would have thought that after only three or four years, the Northern Xinjiang warriors who fled in embarrassment that day would come back to fight?
When our own side used strong forces to regain the Qijinshan grassland, and when Huihe and Wu Pingping reviewed the boundaries bit by bit with that Jurchen girl Aruzhen in the northeast, Zhang Qian always felt that something was missing, that something was wrong. . He was vigilant for several days, and even forced his subordinates to maintain the highest state of state. Only then did he realize that he was too nervous. In fact, there was nothing wrong, but there were fewer Mongolians on the pasture.
Not the chaotic Mongolian tribes that escaped from the Qijin Mountain pastures, but the Mongolians who gathered under the white blanket, as hard as steel, and as ferocious as wolves.
Hearing that the Mongolian headquarters was about to follow Genghis Khan and launch a western expedition, Zhang Qian could guess without using his brain that they would fight in the west for a few years and come back with a lot of men and animals. He hoped that The Mongols should come back soon and have another serious fight to avoid future troubles.
However, these are not things that a mere governor should worry about.
Previously, Zhang Qian's troops, as the flanks of Shi Tianying and Xuetala Hai's armies, set out from Qijin Mountain and continued deep into the grassland, passing through Anfeng and Luchuan and other places, passing through eight hundred miles of pine forests, and almost reached Linhuang Mansion. .
But Shi Tianying and others immediately faced off against the Jin army that poured out from Taizhou, Zhaozhou and even Huining Prefecture in Shangjing. The two sides said it was a confrontation, but in fact the grassland was vast and sparsely populated, and the number of times the sentries and cavalry fought after they collided There were quite a few. Only subordinates of the Black Army, more than a dozen people died before and after, and the Jurchens' casualties were not less than this number.
Anyway, human life is cheap in troubled times, and the death of a few people will not affect the meeting and negotiation between the two parties, and they can drink and eat meat to bond and bond.
In the end, the two parties reached several temporary agreements and roughly divided up the pastures suitable for overwintering. Zhang Qian took his headquarters back to Daxing Prefecture in Zhongdu and sent the soldiers to the camp in Wuqing County. He himself took his subordinates with him. , turned around and rushed to Zhongdu.
It is common for tribes on the grassland to have conflicts over the distribution of pasture and water sources. But the confrontation between the forces of the Ding Navy and the warlords in the northeastern hinterland is no small matter.
Regardless of the need to maintain trade economically or to stabilize the court politically, the Du Marshal's Office has always attached great importance to the connection with the northeastern hinterland. In the past few months, the reason why the Du Marshal's Office has driven troops to surrender on Beijing Road as the main force is because Expanding power to the north of Dading Prefecture also implies the intention of avoiding conflicts with those Jurchen forces.
After all, even if the surrender of troops is done exceedingly well in many matters, the Marshal's Office still has room to evade mediation.
As for what happened during the several confrontations during this period, Zhang Qian, who is in charge of the Dinghai Navy Headquarters, has the most say. Therefore, as early as half a month ago, the assassination of Chu Cai was made as a Privy Envoy He wrote a letter in his name, asking him to go to Zhongdu with his troops when he led his army back, so as to carefully examine the reasons.
Zhang Qian was an officer trained at the Haicang Town Military Academy in Laizhou. He was able to read and write thanks to the teachings of Yi La Chu Cai, so his group of officers had an attitude of awe towards Yi La Chu Cai.
When they met, Yi La Chucai asked casually, and Zhang Qian answered respectfully and in detail. When talking about the specific locations, reasons and processes of several confrontations, Yi La Chucai asked the officials to spread out the map on the table, and Zhang Qian stretched out his hand to point. , not only explained the situation clearly, but also used a writing brush to mark the names of several inconspicuous pastures and streams on the map.
After repeated questions several times, Yizai Chucai stood up and nodded: "In other words, this is indeed not an intentional arrangement. It is completely out of... the desire of the people below for pasture? You have dozens of people scattered out to grab the land, just How many times have there been such small conflicts, and then dozens of people died?"
"Previously, our troops had a fight with five Mongolian troops outside Dading Mansion, and nearly a hundred people were killed or injured. Shi Tianying and other troops were attacked by the Mongols on the line from Cover Mountain to Luoma River, and even more people died. Later, everyone lost their temper and rushed north in pursuit, killing everyone they saw. They rushed north for more than two hundred miles in one breath, so after they bumped into the Jurchens, they were not polite..."
When Zhang Qian said this, he saw that Yi La Chucai's face was wrong, so he quickly changed the subject: "Actually, the death of so many people is not a big deal. Sir, you don't know. In the early years, we had several soldiers along the boundary trench. The fortresses also had to compete for pasture and water sources. There would be bloody conflicts every three to five years, and the death of a few people was nothing. It was the same this time. Shi Tianying didn't take it seriously at all, and the Jurchens in Taizhou didn't care either. Comparatively.”
Zhang Qian paused and then said:
"This time I had a lot of interactions with ordinary Jurchens and Huli Gai people in the Huihe and Wuping areas. I also got to know a few chiefs who belonged to the Second Division and Wuyi of the Jin Kingdom in the early years, and I had a good time chatting with them. I also understand a little bit about their thoughts.”
"Oh? What do you think?"
"In the eyes of the chiefs of the Jurchens and Huli Gai people in the northeastern hinterland, they are not the same as An Mooke, the many Jurchen warriors who moved into the hinterland. When the Jin Dynasty captured the Central Plains, the Jurchens dispersed in the Han Dynasty, and now they are eighty Years have passed, and the two sides have been isolated for eighty years. How can there be any kindred spirit? Those chiefs are vainly carrying the title of "Zhengwen" or "Mouli", "Tuli", but in fact they have to send out soldiers and grain every now and then; the imperial court is in the Han Dynasty in the Central Plains. The money squeezed out of them did not fall on them. They had no loyalty to Dajin for a long time! They sent out troops to fight so desperately, all they could think about was to grab more pastures, raise more groups of war horses, and then Sell it to us for money!”
When Yi La Chucai was studying in Yizhou when he was young, he had seen a little bit of the style of those Yi people, so he nodded slightly.
He immediately said: "These chiefs have been able to live a better life recently and enjoy a little happiness as masters, thanks to the business of Qunmu Station. I guess they are close to us. However, Wanyan Chengchong, He Shiliehuanduan and others Where are the people?”
Zhang Qian frowned: "What do you mean, sir?"
"Wanyan Chengchong, He Shiliehuanduan and others are after all generals appointed by the Kingdom of Jin, and they are the most capable and loyal among the generals. Otherwise, they would not have been able to persevere in the difficulties of the past few years. That day they and I The army jointly faced the huge pressure from the Mongols, so they stood together hand in hand. Now the Mongols are marching westward, just like the tide suddenly recedes from the grassland. When the tide recedes, they leave behind fish, shrimps, crabs and turtles everywhere. What they will do What choice?”
Yi La Chucai patted Zhang Qian on the shoulder: "Can you guarantee that Wanyan Chengchong and Heshi Liehuanduan were not pushing for these recent conflicts? Can you be sure that they did not take the opportunity to expand their sphere of influence?"
"this……"
Zhang Qian thought for a long time, shook his head and said: "I have never met those people, so I really dare not speak nonsense. However, most of the people below are interested in us. Even if those people have second thoughts, how can they still make trouble?"
And Yi La Chucai laughed: "That's right. In the northeastern hinterland, things are stable below. If the chiefs don't make trouble, the generals above can't make new tricks. When you say it like that, I feel more at ease. ...Don't worry, go and rest. The marshal has been in the mansion these two days and may summon you. Don't rush back to Wuqing County."
Zhang Qian said goodbye and felt a little too nervous when he suddenly asked about the political situation in the northeastern hinterland.
And Yi La Chucai watched Zhang Qian's back disappear outside the courtyard gate, then sat down and flipped through the thick stack of documents at his hand. He was stunned.
The documents placed in this position were all copied by the Recording Department. Recently, the Recording Department and the Metropolitan Inspection Department have cooperated and laid out a lot of secrets, so the scope of reported incidents has become wider and wider, and has begun to involve the Northeast. Mainland and Beijing Road.
The situations mentioned by Zhang Qian just now are clearly recorded in this document, and the statements of both parties are exactly corroborated, making the assassination of Chu materials a little more reassuring.
However, the most detailed record in the document is still in the direction of Zhongdu. This is because as the news of the Mongolian expedition to the west spreads more and more widely, many of the original undercurrents become more and more turbulent, as if the fish, shrimps, crabs and turtles want to escape after the tide ebbs. , the beach was redivided.
Guo Ning has been staying in the mansion for a while, waiting for his wife to give birth, so he has given instructions several times to make sure Zhongdu is safe and not to cause trouble. Yila Chucai has known Guo Ning for three years, and he has rarely seen him so gentle. Attitude.
But some people insist on provoking the evil tiger regardless of life and death...what can they do?
