Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

The barbarians south of the Dadu River are very weak, but that doesn't mean they are small in number.

To describe the administrative divisions of later generations, at its peak, the Lianglin Barbarians owned the southern part of Ganluo County, the eastern part of Yuexi County, and the northern part of Xide County. The tribe has a population of tens of thousands.

Today, there may be only 20,000 to 30,000 people left, and they have been driven to Xide County by Qiongbu Sichuan barbarians, who also control part of the land in Yuexi County.

The reason why Yu Wenchang knew its strength was because Lizhou had information from various ministries dating back decades. At that time, the Song Dynasty's national power was still relatively strong. It would occasionally recruit barbarian soldiers to fight. At most, it could recruit more than 10,000 people. The two forest barbarians often sent out three or four thousand troops.

"If you want to attack the Sichuan barbarians in Qiongbu, just bring these three hundred troops?" Yu Wenchang asked.

Ju Ming said: "Recruit some of the serving Xiang troops, and then recruit the familiar barbarians on the north bank of the Dadu River, and then recruit some civilians to transport grain, and we can claim to the outside world that we have an army of 10,000."

The number of Xiang troops in Lizhou is a full army (2,500 people).

However, the Tea Horse Division took away more than a thousand people, specifically for the purpose of escorting supplies for mutual trade. There are also Xiang troops serving in various yamen at the prefecture and county levels, and they are used purely as servants.

There are only 350 people left who can actually fight (300 infantry and 50 cavalry). The so-called army of ten thousand people is indeed a bit outrageous.

Zhu Ming suddenly asked: "The Xiang Army should have 500 soldiers under the command of a full infantry army. Why are there only 300 people here in Lizhou?"

Yu Wenchang said: "Two years ago, the barbarians in Lunan rebelled, and the envoys recruited Xiang troops from various states. Two hundred Lizhou soldiers were taken away. Then there was another barbarian rebellion in Maozhou, and the 200 Lizhou Xiang troops were never returned. How many casualties were there? Man, I haven’t given an accurate estimate yet.”

Ju Ming was speechless: "..."

This kind of operation is normal. Lizhou is a miasma area. The rule set 110 years ago is that the Xiang army here changes defense every two years.

But there has been no defense change in decades, and most of the Xiang troops are recruited locally.

After the commander transferred the troops away, he randomly threw back some crooked melons and cracked dates. It can be said that he changed his defense in two years. As for the pensions for the dead and wounded soldiers, they probably won't be much, so Lizhou will have to find a way on its own.

Yu Wenchang said: "Most of the remaining 300 infantry troops were recruited by me personally, and they are all good countrymen."

This was a blessing in misfortune. The Xiang army in the Song Dynasty recruited many unemployed vagrants and refugees, and they were not very obedient in training and fighting. Yu Wenchang did a good job in recruiting good people from the countryside.

Ju Ming said: "The Sichuan barbarians of the Qiong tribe are growing day by day. In the past few decades, the population of the territory has nearly doubled, and they have also cut off the channels for mutual trade between the tribes. In the long run, it will be a serious problem. Now we can order the tribes to send troops to besiege, and in another thirty years, the government will still be able to use them. Will the barbarian tribes send troops?"

Yu Wenchang lamented: "Success is still a matter of youthful spirit. Not to mention whether the army can win or not, can you and I deploy our troops privately?"

Ju Ming said: "Everything can be flexible. Recruit some unemployed vagrants to make up the number, and turn all the existing Xiang troops into rural soldiers. As for the officers who are not easy to change, let them temporarily serve as service officers in the Xiang army. The magistrate can be deployed Soldiers do things."

Yuwen Chang was stunned when he heard this: "If you are found out for doing this, you will at least be hanged."

"Scholar-officials generally do not impose the death penalty," Zhu Ming said with a smile, "I am not doing this for meritorious service, but for promotion, but to frighten the barbarians in Lizhou."

Yu Wenchang did not want to take risks with Ju Ming, so he wrote a harsh letter, angrily denounced the Qiongbu Sichuan barbarians for their disobedient behavior, and ordered them to return the people and property plundered from the Lianglin tribe.

Ju Ming volunteered: "I'll deliver the letter."

Yu Wenchang has already figured out Ju Ming's approach: "You want to explore the terrain yourself, right?"

Ju Ming smiled and said nothing.

…

Yu Wenchang finally agreed to let Ju Ming deliver the letter because he also wanted to know the reality of the barbarians.

The next day, Ju Ming set out with more than ten riders.

Li Jien, the son of the leader of the Lianglin tribe, served as the guide and crossed the river more than ten miles downstream where the Han River merged into the Dadu River.

After crossing the river, there is a river valley in front of you, with mountains towering on both sides.

Li Jien said: "This place used to be owned by the Lianglin tribe, and there are villages in the mountains. Those villages now obey the orders of the Qiongbu Sichuan barbarians. But as long as the government defeats the Qiongbu Sichuan barbarians, the villages in the mountains will definitely no longer obey them."

Ju Ming asked: "Is this the only passage to the north?"

Li Jien pointed to the east: "There is a passage far away there that can go north. It must pass through the edge of the Xuhen Department's territory."

The Xuhen Department was located in Ebian County in later generations. It no longer belonged to Lizhou and was nominally under the jurisdiction of Jiazhou.

Li Jien pointed to the west again: "Far away there, there is a passage to the north. After crossing the river, you have to pass through five tribes of barbarians."

Ju Ming asked again: "Besides the Lianglin Barbarians, which tribe in the south has enmity with the Qionbu Sichuan Barbarians?"

Li Jien said: "To protect the barbarians, they may send troops to help."

South of the Dadu River is the territory of the Wuman.

Regardless of whether they are Qiongbu Sichuan barbarians, Baozhai barbarians, or Lianglin barbarians, they all belong to the Wuman tribal alliance.

One or several villages form a small tribe, and the leader is called the "Ghost Lord".

Several small tribes unite to form a big tribe, and the leader is called "Big Ghost Lord".

The overlord-level leader is called the "Great Ghost Lord of Hundred Barbarians"!

Various barbarians fought back and forth, not only to expand their territory and population, but also to compete for the title of "the Great Ghost Lord of the Hundred Barbarians".

During the Tang Dynasty, the leader of the Sichuan barbarians in Qiongbu was the Du Dagui Lord.

During the Fifth Dynasty, this title was snatched away by two Lin barbarians.

In the Northern Song Dynasty, the Qiongbu Sichuan Barbarians and the Lianglin Barbarians fought back and forth, and in the end the Qiongbu Sichuan Barbarians won.

It is rumored that the "Great Ghost Lord of Baimandu" can communicate with ghosts and gods and obtain help from ghosts and gods.

After walking for two days, Zhu Ming suddenly saw a village with two stone watchtowers.

"Do all the ministries have bunkers?" Zhu Ming asked.

Li Jien said: "This is called a cage house."

Cage houses are also called Qiong cages. In modern times, they have even evolved into Qiang residences. Generally there are three floors, the upper floor is for food, the middle floor is for people, and the lower floor is for raising livestock.

But in ancient times, it was a dual-purpose building for both military and civilian use. Only tribal nobles could live in it, and soldiers were summoned for defense during war.

The Wedeng tribe of the Qiongbu Sichuan Barbarians (the tribe where the Great Ghost Lord of Baimandu belongs) is based. The name of the village is "Pugu Cong", named after the tallest and largest cage house in the village.

After walking for several days, we came to the intersection of two rivers and saw a large village.

The village faces the river on three sides and is backed by a mountain on one side. There are actually five bunkers built in the village.

"Where is this place?" Zhu Ming asked.

Li Jien had mixed emotions. He looked at the village and said, "My grandfather once lived here. The highest cage house used to be the home of the great ghost master of the Lianglin Barbarians, but it is now occupied by the Qionbu Sichuan Barbarians."

In fact, it was the location of Ganluo County in later generations.

Zhu Ming took the initiative to go to the village to rest. When he learned that he was the magistrate of Hanyuan County, the village leader personally led the crowd to welcome him.

The barbarians here all dress up in the same way, with men wearing buns and women with disheveled hair. In the etiquette of the Han people, the bun is a mourning bun or a shamanic bun. I don’t know how it became the daily hairstyle of the barbarians.

The leader of the village is the younger brother of the Great Ghost Lord of Baimandu, named Buyu.

Several nearby villages are the territory of Busu, a subordinate tribe of the Qiongbu Sichuan Manwu Deng tribe. Busu himself also has the title of Ghost Lord.

This guy couldn't speak Chinese, so he called in a Han Chinese to translate.

"Qiao Huan pays homage to the county magistrate!" the Han man said with cupped hands.

Ju Ming asked: "If you are a Han citizen, why do you work for the barbarians?"

Qiao Huan replied: "I can't live in the Han Dynasty, I can only live in the barbarian land."

Ju Ming asked: "If you can survive, would you like to go back?"

Qiao Huan lowered his head and said no more words.

That night, the ghost master Busu hosted a banquet in honor of the ghosts, and in the evening also presided over the ghost sacrifice ceremony.

This kind of ceremony when entertaining guests is not very formal. When they encounter large-scale sacrifices, they have to use human sacrifices to sacrifice ghosts. The human sacrifices often come from captives of hostile tribes.

Ju Ming did not dare to drink too much and went to rest after eating.

He doesn't live in the bunker provided by the ghost master, but only borrows a wooden house near the bunker. He can escape at any time if he is attacked.

Zhang Boring and Li Bao took turns taking several cavalry on duty.

In the second half of the night, I heard Li Bao yelling in a low voice: "Who is outside?"

Qiao Huan's voice came from the darkness: "It's me, I have something important to tell you!"

Ju Ming had already woken up and asked Li Bao to let the person in.

Everyone went to guard outside. Even Li Jien, the son of the leader of the two forest barbarians, was ordered to stand outside the door and not eavesdrop.

Ju Ming asked: "What's the matter with you?"

Qiao Huan whispered: "In the past two years, the envoys who requested the construction of a city and mutual trade on the south bank of the Dadu River were not from the Sichuan barbarians of Qiongbu, but were ordered by the Gao family of Dali."

Ju Ming asked: "Why do the Qiongbu Sichuan barbarians listen to Dali?"

Qiao Huan explained: "As early as the Tang Dynasty, the Qiongbu Sichuan barbarians were married to the Nanzhao Kingdom, and now they have become the Dali Kingdom and are still marrying. The Dali Kingdom has a strong military, and many barbarians here are controlled by it. I am the Song Dynasty. For decades, military power has not been demonstrated in Lizhou, and the barbarians dare not resist the Dali Kingdom. The leaders of the Qiongbu Sichuan Barbarians also need to rely on the Dali Kingdom to subdue the barbarians."

Ju Ming sneered: "These two sons of the Linman Ghost Lord are not telling the truth, and they are actually unwilling to reveal the truth. I think they must have evil intentions."

Qiao Huan said: "Lianglinman was obviously a vassal of the Song Dynasty, but he secretly became a vassal of the Dali Kingdom. How dare they tell the truth for such a heinous crime?"

After some exchanges with Qiao Huan, Zhu Ming basically understood the situation.

Various tribes of barbarians were sandwiched between the Song Dynasty and Dali, and they accepted the canonization of both countries at the same time. By taking advantage of the mutual fear between Song Dynasty and Dali, the barbarians could survive, and no one dared to annex these barbarians easily.

However, the Song Dynasty did not have troops for a long time, and its prestige among the barbarians was gradually diminished.

The barbarians had no choice but to turn to Dali and obey the orders of Dali. At the same time, they wanted to get rid of the control of Dali State, but they were unable to do so because it was impossible for the Song Dynasty to send troops for them.

Because of the intermarriage with the Dali Kingdom, the Qiongbu Sichuan Barbarians received material support from the Dali Kingdom, so they developed the fastest and continued to expand their territory and population.

The real purpose of Li Jien, the son of the ghost lord of the Two Forest Barbarians, was to provoke a war between the Song Dynasty and the Sichuan Barbarians of Qiongbu!

Moreover, it is very possible for the two Linmans to retain their strength. It seems that they are fighting a life-or-death battle, but they will probably draw water at the critical moment - this is Ju Ming's guess.

Although Yu Wenchang didn't understand the truth, he subconsciously felt that there was something wrong, so he did not want to be used as a weapon by the two forest barbarians.

Only Ju Ming, a foolish young man, wanted to go to war after hearing the news.

Once the government goes to war with the Qiongbu Sichuan barbarians, it goes without saying that they will win. If they were defeated, the two barbarians would immediately turn to Dali and even send money and women like crazy to express their loyalty, and Dali would definitely take the opportunity to strengthen its control over the barbarians.

The relationship is very complex.

There are roughly three forces: Song Dynasty, Dali, and Zhuman.

There are countless subdivided forces: Qiongbu Sichuan Barbarians, Lianglin Barbarians, Baozhai Barbarians, Fengpa Barbarians, etc.

Each barbarian alliance is divided into many tribes.

For example, the Qiongbu Sichuan Barbarians have six large tribes. Five of the big tribes are the Wuman, and one big tribe is the Baiman. Although they are united to the outside world, they also fight with each other. Once the external environment changes dramatically, it is very likely that a fight will begin.

Ju Ming decided to try his best to find out the situation of Zhuman.