choke element

Chapter 1041 Choice (Part )

Guo Ning rode his horse down from the high ground and gave a slight shout, and the black horse excitedly galloped and accelerated.

Thousands of war horses were running rapidly, one after another, like a black dragon winding through the white mountain gorge. The hot breath of the people and horses was like the smoke surrounding the black dragon, sometimes disappearing and sometimes appearing. As Guo Ning rejoined the marching column, the attendants raised the red flag high.

The flags fluttered in the cold wind like blazing flames.

Wanyan Chen, the commander of the imperial guards, was returning from the front team. He urged the troops to move forward and warned the leading officer that the cavalry would have to cross a frozen swamp a few miles ahead.

After the swamps were frozen, the reeds and shrub roots exposed on the ground could easily trip the horses. At this time, there was snow everywhere, and these obstacles were covered by snow. The cavalrymen were not careful and the horses' hooves were blocked. The horses stumbled while running, and the knights either fell off and got injured or had their legs broken.

If a horse is injured, there are spare horses. If a knight is injured, it is difficult to place him in this environment. The marching speed of the front team slowed down. Wanyan Chen, who was in charge of the command, hurried back and reminded the soldiers to be vigilant. He also brought a few smart soldiers who had walked back and forth in the swamp and asked them to act as temporary guides.

He passed by the red flag all the way back. The sky was a little dark, and everything was bleak. He didn't notice Guo Ning at first, but he rode closer and met Guo Ning face to face, and waved to him.

Guo Ning also waved to him, and Wanyan Chen Heshang asked his subordinates to continue notifying, and he turned his horse around and followed Guo Ning.

Among the old generals of the Jurchens, he was one of the most trusted by Guo Ning. However, he was well-read in history books and was not a rough warrior, so he was not arrogant. When he rode his horse, he was very careful to keep a distance of one horse head behind the emperor.

"I once heard someone sing a line... The line said that there has never been a savior, and we don't need gods or emperors. The Central Plains soldiers and civilians have been fighting with the Mongols for days, and there must be heavy casualties. I am really worried. But I also think that this kind of tempering is good. Not only the Central Plains, but also the soldiers and civilians of my Great Zhou must have this kind of spirit to fight hard on their own. Only by personally experiencing the tempering of the fierce fire can we eliminate impurities and obtain fine steel."

"Yes."

The two rode in silence for a while, and Guo Ning started a new conversation:

"In the past few days, I have received more than a dozen military reports every day, and just now I received one from Henan Prefecture. It can be seen that the war situation in the Central Plains will not go wrong. I have completely understood the Mongolian plan."

Many of the world's brilliant ideas and strategies seem mysterious, but in fact they are only possible because of the advantage in information or resources.

When the Mongol army first marched south, the 100,000 cavalry seemed to come and go without a trace, and each time they hit the weakest point of the northern border's defense line. They relied on a large number of spies who defected to Mongolia and constantly leaked intelligence, as well as the Mongol army's ability to travel long distances.

The Jin court had no way to deal with these two issues, so it was restricted everywhere, as if everyone from top to bottom had become fools being played around by Genghis Khan.

This time it was different. Although the Mongolian army's actions were fierce and bold, the things they relied on were also controlled by the Great Zhou.

The Mongols were able to communicate with the powerful officials of the Southern Song Dynasty, and so was the Great Zhou. The Mongols had cavalry that could travel hundreds or thousands of miles and had the ability to launch operations on multiple battlefields over a wide area, and the Great Zhou also had them. Even the Mongols' ability to infiltrate and bribe, once the Great Zhou was on high alert, it would be easy to discover clues.

From then on, with just a little deduction, we can follow the clues and deduce the Mongols' overall plan.

The Mongolian army made such a huge noise in the northern border, it was obviously impossible for them to rush into the Central Plains to burn and kill just to send a small army. Their main force must be somewhere, waiting for the real target. This target could only be the main force of the Zhou army returning from the northern border, and in order to intercept 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 expression turned heavy and he nodded slowly.

Now the entire Great Zhou has entered the highest state of combat readiness, with all aspects of the army, intelligence, military industry, and transportation going all out. Guo Ning led the light cavalry and continued to receive information from all parties along the way. His grasp of the overall situation must be far better than that of Wanyan Chen Heshang.

But Wanyan Chen Heshang had already anticipated Guo Ning's inquiry.

Because he had foreseen this, he was particularly active and busy during his trip. He wanted to use this busyness to fill his time and not think about too painful problems. Unfortunately, since Guo Ning had chosen him to accompany him to the south, this problem was inevitable.

The passage the Mongols needed could not be in the jurisdiction of the three Recruiting Offices in the north, because the northern border was in the midst of war and the three Recruiting Offices were all on high alert.

The passage could not be on the southern border with the Song Dynasty. Even if the Song Dynasty allowed it, the Lizhou East Road could not support the needs of the army. If the Mongols wanted to attack with all their forces, they would have to rob the entire Sichuan province first... That would be too much of an underestimation of the military power of the Southern Song Dynasty.

According to the intelligence gathered in the past few days, the passage is not in Jingzhao Prefecture and the military states in Longshang controlled by Li Ting. After the collapse of the Kaifeng regime of the Jin Dynasty, all parts of Longshang fell into chaos. Li Ting used Jingzhao Prefecture as a base and gradually expanded his control over the years. Because he was murderous by nature and used cruel methods, his progress was not very fast. But precisely because of his cruel methods, once he controlled it, he held it firmly. The Mongolian army would never be able to break through it in one go.

After excluding these directions, and considering the Mongols' strategy in the Xia Kingdom and the normal route of the main force of the Zhou army to the south for rescue, there is only one channel worth paying attention to: Hedong South Road.

That was where many of Wanyan Chenheshang's former colleagues gathered.

Since the establishment of the Great Zhou Dynasty, because most of the senior military officers were from the Jin Army, the military system was not completely changed, and many old practices of the Jin Dynasty were continued. In order to quickly inherit the territory of the Jin Dynasty and offset the influence of clerks and Confucian officials in the court, the Great Zhou Dynasty also showed some leniency to the surrendered Jin warriors and did not deliberately seek to eradicate them.

When the forces of Wanyan Shouxu were swept away, several Jurchen generals who surrendered in Kaifeng were later promoted to new positions. Wanyan Chenheshang was one of them, as were Wanyan Congtan, Yila Pu'a, Jiagu Ze and other marshals and captains.

Wanyan Congtan was as famous as Wanyan Heda, and was one of the pillars of the Kaifeng regime of King Sui. His talent was extraordinary. When Li Ting was stationed in Guanzhong, Guo Ning sent Wanyan Congtan to serve with the army.

But the two had fought each other a long time ago, and both had blood debts on their hands. Li Ting's mind was not very open, so the two did not get along very well.

Later, the situation in various places gradually stabilized, and Wanyan Congtan left Li Ting's command and went to Hedong South Road, where he was appointed as the governor of the Hezhong Prefecture National Defense Army. The Hedong area was controlled by the Great Zhou for a short time, and it was not a key area on the north and south lines, so it was suitable for settling Jurchen warriors.

The Jiedushi of the National Protection Army had two subordinate counties under its jurisdiction, and governed a large area of ​​land on the east bank of the Yellow River. At the same time, it was also responsible for exchanges with ethnic minorities in areas west of the Yellow River such as Fuyan Road, which were originally part of the Jin Kingdom.

Wanyan Congtan was very good at negotiating with other ethnic groups, and his work was very fruitful. In just two years, he pacified thousands of tribes. If it were not for the limited resources at his disposal, he might have been able to extend his influence to the point of bordering the Xia Kingdom.

It was precisely because of his achievements that Wanyan Congtan repeatedly pleaded with the court to allocate manpower to help, and transferred Yila Pu'a, Jiagu Ze and others to his side to serve as defense envoys and general managers of the army, and the court approved it.

As a close minister to the emperor, Wanyan Chen Heshang had heard about this. It was said that there was discussion in the central government about this, and some people felt that those who were not of our race must have different hearts. Even if the Hedong area was no longer a strategic point, it was not appropriate to allow the former ministers to unite and give them military and political power.

But some people also refuted that the Jurchens numbered in the millions, and it would be impossible to divide and disintegrate them and integrate them into the nation overnight. The output of the Northeast was related to the lifeblood of the country, but there were more foreigners. If the Jurchens were not trusted, how could the Huligai people or other foreigners feel at ease?
On the other hand, if the Jurchens really had ulterior motives, they could use Wanyan Congtan and others as bait to lure out the murderous people. The imperial court could then take action to eliminate the trouble forever.

When this news reached Monk Wanyan Chen, he could only smile bitterly.

Wanyan Chen Heshang knew very well that as more and more Jurchens in the northeastern inland areas abandoned their original ethnic identity, he, the leader of the imperial guards, gradually became an important figure in the Central Plains Jurchens. The fact that confidential discussions about the Jurchens could be leaked was a test for him.

The ups and downs of life in the past few years have made him grow up a lot, and he is no longer the reckless young man he used to be. So he turned a deaf ear to it and did not convey it to anyone. He only hoped that Wanyan Congtan and others could make the right choice when he occasionally thought of it.

Wanyan Chen Heshang was a Jurchen who was deeply influenced by Han culture. He liked Han literature and history since he was young. In recent years, he specially invited famous Han scholars to teach him classics such as The Book of Filial Piety, The Analects of Confucius, and Zuo Zhuan. To some extent, the Jurchens were his mother in terms of blood, but the Han were his father in terms of culture. He knew that Wanyan Congtan was the same, and his literary talent was even better than that of himself who had studied halfway.

Wanyan Chenheshang hoped that the Jurchens would pass the test and eventually become equal members of a new dynasty. He hoped that Wanyan Congtan would agree with this and not be deceived by the dream and become a pawn of a barbaric nation.

Unfortunately, this hope was largely dashed. Looking at Guo Ning's half-smiled expression as he asked the question, it was obvious that there were many reports about the situation in Hedong along the way, and Wanyan Congtan and others had made the wrong choice.

Guo Ning patted Wanyan Chen Heshang's arm, and said in a tone like an elder brother to his younger brother: "It's good to have you here. Let's solve those small problems together, and then gather all the troops to fight the Mongols head-on."

Monk Wanyan Chen hardly heard the second half of the sentence.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say a few words in defense of his fellow tribesmen, wanting to denounce their stupidity, wanting to beg the emperor to give them more chances, and also wanting to ask Guo Ning what the so-called "solution" was.

But he didn't dare.

After following Guo Ning for a long time, Wanyan Chen Heshang became more and more clear about the vitality of the Great Zhou Dynasty, which seemed to have a wild atmosphere. He also gradually understood what kind of personnel Guo Ning needed to calmly balance various profit-oriented forces and freely drive countless wolves and tigers.

Guo Ning often modestly said that he was just a small soldier in the border area. In fact, some things were innate, and outsiders knew it well.

Wanyan Chen Heshang, a Jurchen, a foreigner who was not born in the Northern Frontier, was able to gain Guo Ning's trust and occupy an extremely important position, not only because of his bravery and fighting skills, but more because of the emperor's intention to balance the military power and not allow a faction to dominate.

The emperor was a member of the army, and he could understand the soldiers' feelings the most and was willing to meet their demands. However, if any faction in the army went beyond the rules, it would inevitably be severely suppressed, just like Yin Chang and his accomplices who were thrown across the sea. Even so, it was thanks to the fact that Yin Chang was the first one to surrender to the Red Coat Army, and he himself was a famous hero in Shandong, and had friendships with many generals.

What will be the outcome if the Jurchens collude with the Mongols?
Monk Wanyan Chen shuddered suddenly.

What he had to do now was to follow Guo Ning's instructions, solve the "problems" among the Jurchens as soon as possible, and nip in the bud any signs of their wrong choices. Apart from this, there was absolutely no other way.