One Piece of Song Dynasty

This secret letter was written on yellow silk and hidden in a wax pill. Wu Min went to the posthouse again and handed the wax pill to Xiao Zhonggong personally, asking him to hand it over to Yelu Yujian when he returned.

Xiao Zhonggong and Zhao Lun did not expect that the monarchs and ministers of the Song Dynasty would fall into the trap so easily, and they were secretly delighted.

Wu Min felt that instigating rebellion against Yelu Yujian was of great importance and could not be delayed. After breakfast the next day, it was arranged for Xiao Zhonggong and Zhao Lun to leave Tokyo on horseback. As soon as the two golden envoys left the city, they galloped towards Yanjing.

On July , shortly after the Jin envoy Xiao Zhonggong and others left Tokyo, Song Qinzong issued an edict to frontline generals such as Li Gang, Liu Tao, Xie Qian, and Zhang Hao, asking them to send troops immediately to relieve the siege of Taiyuan. The imperial edict said: "The gold thieves besieged Taiyuan for more than days. The situation was in danger, but soldiers and food were the most urgent tasks. However, the court did not deal well with these two matters. Every time the alarm was sounded, it was nothing more than supervision and accountability. The generals were ordered to advance into the army, but they neither benefited the troops nor had any food. If they were able to do so, they would fight. If they were able to do so, they would fight. But if they were able to do so, they would be defeated when they entered the army. This is the root cause of the disadvantage. I feel anxious every time I think about it. I'm sad that I can't sleep well, and I don't know how to eat. Now I heard that the cunning captives have built a fortress on the city to control the key points. The reinforcements cannot enter, the food roads are blocked, and the situation is becoming more and more dangerous. You and others should work hard and consult widely. , strengthen the troops and provide food, do not hesitate to reward them to persuade them to use their lives, and understand that their administration and punishment are not abiding by the power, and the siege of Taiyuan must be solved as soon as possible. If anything goes wrong, not only will you bear my care, but I will bear the heavy burden. , how dare you entrust the law to favor your personal interests?"

At the beginning, the generals held a meeting in Longde Mansion on how to relieve Taiyuan. Strangely, Li Gang, as the Xuanfu envoy, did not attend this meeting. Liu Tao, deputy envoy of Xuanfu in Hedong, led his generals Zhang Jun and Miao Fu to attend the meeting. The generals agreed at the meeting that each group would advance separately in late July.

Now, when the generals saw that the emperor's edict was so severe, no one dared to neglect it. The next day, July , they organized and sent out troops respectively. Liu Ao set out from the Pingding Army, Wang Yuan, the general manager of the Zhending Prefecture and the commander-in-chief of the capital, set out from Liaozhou, Xie Qian and Zhe Yanzhi set out from the Weisheng Army, and Zhang Hao and Zhe Keqiu set out from Fenzhou. The Fourth Route Army marched toward Taiyuan from three directions: east, south, and southwest.

When Lou Shi learned that reinforcements from the Song Dynasty were coming, he sent people back to Yunzhong to report the news to Zong Han. At the same time, he ordered all the troops to pretend to be timid and frightened, so as to lure the enemy to go deep and defeat them one by one.

On the southern front, Lou Shi requested that only light troops be sent to guard Nanguan and the strong troops and horses should be hidden. He also warned the general: "When Jie Qian's Wei Sheng army goes north, it must first go to Nanguan. After he arrives, our army will It’s a false escape.”

Xie Qian led his troops out of Wei Sheng's army and headed north. As expected by Lou Shi, he took the Nanguan Pass and headed straight for Taiyuan. Nanguan is the only way to enter Taiyuan from south to north. Jie Qian's army carried a large amount of food and planned to transport it to Taiyuan City to support the defenders.

Jie Qian first sent people to Nanguan to investigate, and reported that only light troops were guarding the pass. Xie Qian ordered the army to advance and capture Nanguan.

When the Jin people saw the Song army coming to attack, they pretended to run away. Jie Qian didn't know the Jin's many tricks and thought that the Jin had really escaped. So he sent people back and transported food one after another. At this time, the main force of the Jin people was hiding nearby, but they were able to stay calm. They were not in a hurry to attack. They had to wait for the best opportunity to attack.

Soon, most of the food was transported and loaded onto carriages. Xie Qian ordered the soldiers to drive on the road. At this time, Jin Bing suddenly rushed out and caught Song Jun by surprise. The Song army was at a disadvantage in the battle, so they abandoned their food and collapsed.

This rescue operation in Taiyuan started in early June, and it can be said that we have made relatively sufficient preparations. A leadership team of the Xuanfu Division headed by Li Gang was formed, and the commanding generals of various troops were clarified. The armies also carried out military training, and the military was very powerful. The people in Hedong also supported this. They said happily: "If Taiyuan is relieved of the siege, Hedong will be safe."

The Song Dynasty used almost all its mobile troops, and many soldiers came from Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Shu and other places. These soldiers were smaller in stature than the northern warriors and seemed weak and invincible. They had been training in the field all day long, and they were so tired that their waists were bent and their legs were lame. Local people sometimes met them on the road and asked: "What do you do?" They replied: "Rescuing Taiyuan soldiers."

At that time, many people believed that the number of Jin troops under Taiyuan City was not large. They set up camps everywhere, but in fact they were all false and just a bluff. If all the armies advance on the same day, the Jin people will definitely not be able to cope with it, and our army will definitely win. However, if the various forces advance unevenly, it will be difficult to determine the outcome.

Li Gang thought so at first. He asked all armies to set off on time on July to march towards Taiyuan. However, at that time, all generals were directly under the command of the imperial court, and they were specialized in everything and could advance and retreat freely. Li Gang, the apostle of Xuanfu, has his own name. After thinking about it, Li Gang felt that he should explain the situation clearly. This is not to shirk responsibility, but to let the emperor know the truth. Therefore, he said in the memorial: "Although the Xuanfu Division has the reputation of being temperate, it has a special ear for writing. If it is not temperate, it may interfere with state affairs."

After receiving the report from Li Gang, Song Qinzong hesitated. At that time, there had been heavy rain in Tokyo for months. Someone said to Song Qinzong: "It rained heavily because the Yin Qi was too strong." Song Qinzong immediately thought of Li Gang and wondered whether the Yin Qi was too strong because the military power granted to Li Gang was too heavy. He told Xu Churen this idea, and Xu Churen replied: "Li Gang is just a scholar. The barbarians and Di are the shadow of China. Today, the military siege of Taiyuan has not been resolved. Don't worry about this, but worry about Li Gang."

Song Qinzong then issued an edict, requiring all armies and horses to obey the command of Xuanfu Division. However, the generals did not pay attention to Li Gang at all, and all armies were still directly under the command of the imperial court.

On this day, Li Gang was shocked when he learned that Jie Qian's first battle was unfavorable. He was attacked by the Jin and lost all his food. Then, it was learned that Liu Tao encountered the main force of the Jin army in Shouyang, was defeated and retreated. Li Gang had a vague premonition that the hope of success in rescuing Taiyuan this time was very slim.

Although Xie Qian lost military rations in the Nanguan area, fortunately, the loss of soldiers was not too great. He ordered all armies to seize the time to gather the defeated troops. He planned to concentrate his forces to defend Nanguan and compete with the Jin army here.

What worries Xie Qian the most is that officers and soldiers have an old habit of running away from battle. How to solve this old problem? This made Jie Qian a little troublesome. He suddenly remembered that there is a saying in the art of war, which is to risk death and survive. Inspired by this, Jie Qian came up with a strategy, which was to build a defensive fortress in front of a deep ravine. In this way, when the enemy attacks, the officers and soldiers have no way to retreat and can only choose to defend. Jie Qian also imitated Han Xin's formation of a last-ditch battle and built his barracks at his back to encourage the officers and soldiers to fight bravely in order to escape death. Jie Qian knows very well that facing a strong enemy, only by fighting to the death can victory be possible.