Northern Song Dynasty: Starting from the son of Song Renzong

Chapter 350 Defeat
The seventy-eighth year of the Li Yuan Dynasty.

It still takes time to mobilize the army.

only……

Western European countries have gradually reached a consensus.

That is, we must march towards Constantinople and launch the Third Crusade against the Song Dynasty and those Muslims.

Instead of fighting at home, it is better to attack the land in the east and plunder the wealth in the east.

If we are lucky, we might be able to establish a few Crusader states there, just like during the First Crusade.

and……

It is said that Constantinople has fallen. If they are allowed to take it down, how will these ownerless things be distributed?

You know, Constantinople is the most prosperous and active place for business in the East.

Who wouldn't want to control a place like this?
of course!

Say so.

However, in the final analysis, since there are so many countries in the West, even if they agree to send troops together, it is not certain that everyone will gather in front of Constantinople all at once.

Before that, the army of the Song Dynasty had continued to expand westward and northward.

When the Bulgarians in the west and north were attacked by the Song Dynasty.

Further west in Bulgaria, peoples like the Serbs and Hungarians also joined the battle.

only……

It has to be said that the strength of these small countries is still too weak.

Each country can only come up with a few thousand or ten thousand people, which seems to be their limit.

In order to better motivate the morale of his own people, Zhao Xin also hoped to reduce the number of civilian massacres.

A new reward policy was proposed for the military.

For example...

Whoever leads troops to conquer a piece of land can give it to the other party's son.

The upper limit is that each person can get one thousand acres of land and one hundred households.

Although this is not a title conferred on the other party personally.

But no one would complain about the small amount of space they occupy.

Suddenly...

The military leaders immediately fought even harder.

He often led a few hundred cavalrymen and dared to attack the enemy with only one or two thousand men.

So much so that the entire Balkan Peninsula, where Constantinople is located, became their hunting ground.

of course!

Many people do not understand Zhao Xin's decision.

After all…isn’t it better to have centralized power?
In fact...centralization is really good!

But the problem is that centralization also has many unsolvable problems.

and……

The reason for giving these people fiefs was obviously to allow them and their descendants to shed blood and sacrifice more for the Song Dynasty.

When Zhao Xin's edict was issued, it was obvious that the enthusiasm of all Turks, Muslims, and even the soldiers of Khwarezm and the East and West Karakhanid Khanates was greatly improved.

Next, in just half a year, places like Greece and others were quickly taken over by the Song Dynasty.

at this time……

The Crusaders from Western Europe then slowly advanced towards this side.

The first to arrive was not Conrad III, the King of the Roman people who was closer and more powerful on land.

Instead, it was Roger II of Sicily, who had originally opposed the current Pope's accession to the throne.

but……

Roger II actually just sent some ships over to play around and see if he could gain some advantage at sea.

If we really want to ask whether there was a large-scale battle between the two sides, the answer is definitely no.

Until the end of this year.

Han Shizhong and Yue Fei then realized why Zhao Xin wanted to divide the people under his command.

Because if the land is not divided, it will belong to the country, and the soldiers will not get any benefits from defending it seriously.

But once the land was divided, it would belong to the soldiers under their command. At this time, the soldiers would have to fight for them with their lives in order to defend their fiefdoms.

This is of course also because the military forces in Western countries are generally smaller in number.

If you fight against two thousand or three thousand people, and you put all your strength into it, to be honest, you will be exhausted by the opponent.

on the contrary……

In this way, the land was divided.

Even if the soldiers died in battle, the Song Dynasty would still make a profit.

after all……

Those who died in the battle were not our own people, and could not cause any harm to the Song army.

Zhao Xin also roughly revealed their next plan to Han Shizhong, Yue Fei, and his great-grandson Zhao Pei.

Because there are many fortresses in Western Europe.

Moreover, most of them are easy to defend but difficult to attack, and their resources are not abundant.

and so……

If you really want to use an army of 100,000 to attack those fortresses one by one, it will definitely not be worth it.

therefore……

Next, they have to prepare for a protracted war with the principalities and kingdoms in Western Europe.

You can first wait for the enemy to gather all their forces, eliminate a wave of their manpower, and then consider taking down their fortresses one by one.

To be honest, Han Shizhong and Yue Fei had no idea how Zhao Xin, who was thousands of miles away, could know more about the situation in the west than they did.

But after their investigation.

indeed!

After Constantinople, there are rarely any particularly large cities in the west.

There are many more fortresses with only a few hundred people.

These fortresses are often built on mountains, just like some dock forts in the Central Plains.

It is not an easy task to take down these forts one by one.

Even with the assistance of the Li Yuan army, it would not be easy.

Of course, some docks were expanded to a large extent.

Then slowly, it took shape of a city, and they also asked some locals.

Cities like this usually don't have too many people.

If there are 20,000 or 30,000 people, it is considered very large.

However, there are only a handful of people who can reach more than 100,000.

However, the biggest advantage of these cities is that although they are scattered, there are indeed many of them.

This is all caused by the feudal system.

can only say……

Zhao Xin's method not only solved the problems of soldiers' morale and combat enthusiasm, but also solved the tragedy of soldiers massacring civilians. It even allowed the descendants of the Seljuks, Muslims, and descendants of Khwarezm and the Eastern and Western Karakhanid Khanates to become the shield of the empire.

This is really killing three birds with one stone!
The essential!

With land, soldiers will not miss home.

Of course!
He must have also rewarded his own troops, the Liao cavalry, the Zubu tribe, and the Ugundilie tribe with land and slaves.

Anyway...

What follows is obvious.

The land west of Constantinople will be rewarded to whoever conquers it and makes a contribution.

That was until December of that year.

The king of the Roman people, Conrad III, and the Western Roman Pope Innocent II, finally arrived with their troops.

This time...

Even Innocent II came.

no way!
After all, it was such a major event as the fall of Constantinople, it was impossible for him not to show up.

This time the two of them brought a total of 50,000 people.

When Han Shizhong and Yue Fei heard the news about each other, they responded immediately.

Immediately afterwards...

By utilizing the cavalry and fully taking advantage of their mobility, they defeated the two men who were marching through the valley and were unable to take care of each other.

Be reasonable!
It seems that the strength of these two people is not as good as Louis VII and John II in Constantinople.

However, the men of Louis VII and John II all knew that they were on the brink of life and death, so of course they burst out with unparalleled courage.

on the contrary……

People like Conrad III and Pope Innocent II of the Western Roman Empire who could find opportunities to escape halfway cannot be compared with the former. They both died before they could achieve their goals.

even……

They didn't know how they lost.

Conrad III's army was mostly composed of infantry.

This resulted in him having to endure the attacks from Han Shizhong and Yue Fei.

On the contrary, Louis VII had more cavalry under his command.

But what's the use?

He used it to defend the city!

Until the second year.

King Stephen of England then arrived in Athens and other places by sea.

however……

Although Stephen brought 5,000 men with him this time, his 5,000 men were useless after Conrad and Pope Innocent II were defeated on land.

Stephen took people on a tour around Constantinople.

Immediately afterwards...

So he went to see if he could find an opportunity to attack the four former Crusader states.

They have already surrounded one of the cities.

only……

After three days of siege, the siege equipment was not yet fully prepared. Because they heard that the enemy had reinforcements and the morale of the army was not very stable, the other side had to retreat early.

The Third Crusade ended in this abrupt manner.

After returning to Rome.

Naturally, everyone had to hold a meeting to learn lessons.

to be honest!
They just aren't united enough.

If they could set out and arrive at the same time, they wouldn't be defeated one by one.

and……

The numbers they have mobilized so far are not enough.

The efficiency can be seen at a glance, it is very low.

For example, some knights, normally, should bring at least dozens of people.

In the end, only five or six followers arrived. Do you want them or not?

Finally, it is the wisdom of fighting.

obviously!
Han Shizhong and Yue Fei have more strategies.

The other party, on the other hand, is somewhat lacking in strategy.

even……

The other side might not even be fully aware of how many troops the Song army had.

I just had a simple idea that I wanted to participate in the holy war and kill the infidels, and then it came.

In this way...

Naturally, it will be difficult to win.

and……

Don’t think that Conrad III and Pope Innocent II brought a total of 50,000 people. After all, they are vassals of vassals, not my vassals.

Under such circumstances, their soldiers naturally cannot have much trust in their teammates.

Fortunately, this time it was just a defeat.

It hasn't been completely destroyed yet.

But even so...

They lost a lot this time.

After returning to Rome, everyone began to blame each other.

It is the people in the front who are responsible for not doing a good job of investigation.

There were also accusations that some people were afraid of the enemy's cavalry and were too afraid to fight before they even encountered them.

What about in the name of God?

It turns out they are all a bunch of cowards!
The best explanation for the Crusades is that there were good and bad people mixed together.

of course!

Having said that, there are still some relatively powerful people among the Crusaders.

And if it weren't for these people, they would have been wiped out by now.

Noisy all night.

Anyway, no conclusion was reached.

Then...

When the King of England returned, there was another quarrel.

to be frank!
These people say they are doing it for God and Christ, but in fact, each of them has his own ulterior motives.

Even if they are in an advantageous position now and are reasonable, it does not mean that they will not quarrel.

Innocent II also slammed the table and shouted: "Be quiet, be quiet! This is the moment of life and death for our Christianity. If we cannot unite at this time, do you want us to be ruled by those pagans?"

"Are you willing to be enslaved by them?"

"In order to better deal with the enemy, I suggest that we should elect a chief general, and then everyone should listen to him."

"At the same time...all kings, dukes, earls, etc. must participate in this war."

"That's Constantinople!"

"A fortress that has not been breached for a thousand years."

"Do you think it's so easy to break through?"

"Now... let's first nominate a marshal who can lead the troops."

Conrad III had just been defeated and his performance on the battlefield was not at all impressive.

natural!

There is no need to consider things like the other party being a marshal.

However, King Stephen of England seemed to have some experience in fighting wars.

only……

Stephen's troops are really too few.

It seems a little unreasonable for you, who has the least number of soldiers, to be the marshal.

At least……

Conrad III's men would definitely not accept this.

As for other competitors, it's not that there aren't any.

But compared with the first two, its reputation is even less prominent.

What made Pope Innocent II even more dissatisfied was that some kingdoms and duchies only sent a small number of people to participate in the battle.

It seems that he is still not very concerned about the threat from the east.

to this end……

Innocent II had to emphasize again that if they were not more nervous and careful, those pagans might invade their territory within two or three years.

And the facts are just as Innocent II said.

The expansion of the Song Dynasty did not stop there. After all... there were still many people who did not have land or people.

If Bulgaria wasn't so huge, it would be impossible to digest all of it in one go.

The Song Dynasty should have already penetrated into their heartland long ago.

Then...

In the following year, the Pope also learned from his mistakes.

We can no longer rush to send troops and take risks!

I might as well propose to everyone...

The important task of leading the troops was handed over to the Holy See.

The Vatican will coordinate and direct.

If we use people from the Holy See, there won't be any problem with command.

However, after solving this problem, a new problem arises.

Because traveling by land is really a waste of energy and time.

I believe it would be much better if we could attack by water.

However, the problems of insufficient ships and insufficient funds troubled everyone.

The key is the unscrupulous merchants in Venice who raise the prices arbitrarily.

(End of this chapter)