Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

Not only has the snow stopped, but there is also sun.

Ju Ming got up a little later than usual. As soon as he made any movement in the room, two maids knocked on the door and came in. They dressed quickly.

Before she had even put on her clothes, another palace maid came in carrying toiletries.

The toothbrush was brought from Ju Ming's room. Of course, the palace maid could not enter, and the whole process was supervised by guards.

These palace maids all like him, because it was cold last night, and the generalissimo knew how to be considerate, so that they didn't have to wait at the door and could go back to their rooms early to warm themselves by the fire and rest.

A small gesture won the favor of the ladies in court, because the Generalissimo treated them as human beings.

At this moment, serving Ju Ming to dress and wash, he seemed particularly attentive and hardworking.

However, Ju Ming was not used to it. Just when the palace maid was about to wipe his face, Ju Ming grabbed the hot towel and did it himself.

Zhao Fujin was awakened by the movement and still hid in the bed pretending to be asleep. After Ju Ming left the room, she blushed and got up to get dressed.

Not long after, another guard knocked on the door.

The palace maid went out to chat for a few words, then came in with a tray and said with a smile: "The general sent it to you. You are really considerate of me."

It’s not just delicacies from mountains and seas, millet porridge and meat buns.

"I can't eat so much, so please call Sister Fourteen here." Zhao Fujin ordered.

Zhao Fujin stayed up most of the night, yawned and came from next door, and was brought to dinner by the palace maid with sleepy eyes.

Just as she sat down, she suddenly remembered something. She walked to Zhao Fujin again and touched her whole body: "Sister, does it hurt somewhere? Did he hit you again when I left last night? I heard my sister crying for a long time."

Zhao Fujin's cheeks turned red with embarrassment and he scolded: "Don't talk nonsense!"

The maids all turned sideways to avoid the two empresses covering their mouths and snickering.

At the age when he was growing up, Zhao Fujin was really hungry, so he picked up the steamed buns and ate them.

Zhao Fujin swallowed a few mouthfuls and sat there in a daze. She thought of the people and things in Tokyo and wondered when she could go back to see it. Suddenly she thought of Marshal Zhu, but she wasn't as resistant as she was at first.

It was snowing and clearing today, and Marshal Zhu went to the school grounds.

More than a hundred children, both boys and girls, but mostly boys, are lining up in the school field for training.

The oldest one is twelve or thirteen years old, and the youngest one is only six or seven years old. They are all Shaanxi orphans brought back by various ministries when they withdrew their troops.

At that time, many hungry people were brought back. They have already gone to Hanzhong with the large army and will migrate to Nanxiang Basin in the spring of next year.

The orphans were left alone. They had spent the past few days recuperating and looked much better after being fed and clothed with warmth.

Ju Ming even asked a down-and-out scholar to teach them how to read and write every day.

After the armistice, many Shaanxi scholars came to seek refuge. They were all in bad shape, some came with their whole families, some came alone, but they provided Ju Ming with many middle- and low-level officials.

"marshal!"

The children stopped and looked up at Ju Ming with admiring eyes.

The task of that down-and-out scholar is not only to educate cultural knowledge, but also to instill certain ideas in children. That is to say, Ju Ming is the reborn parent of these children. Without Ju Ming's help, the children would have died of cold, starvation and illness.

"Father!"

A boy of twelve or thirteen years old walked up to Ju Ming and bowed.

Ju Ming does not have a strong family power and must cultivate his own hardcore team. Every year, one or two outstanding orphans are selected and adopted as adopted sons or daughters, which can not only bring them closer to each other, but also encourage children to learn and improve.

At present, this is the only adopted son he has adopted, and his surname was changed to Zhu Xiaozhong.

Ju Ming patted his shoulder and said with a smile: "My face has gained weight again, and I am much more handsome than before. In two years, I will be a handsome young man."

Zhu Xiaozhong was very happy to receive the compliment: "The food here is delicious and I feel full every time I eat it."

"You continue to practice." Ju Ming ordered.

"yes!"

Zhu Xiaozhong retreated and led many children to practice stabbing with wooden spears.

The snow in the school grounds has been cleared, because Zhu Ming was watching from the side. The children practiced extra hard, just to get a word of verbal praise from him.

…

Tong Guan had returned to Tokyo in embarrassment and knelt before Song Huizong to plead guilty.

Song Huizong's face was extremely gloomy, and he laughed angrily: "What did you say when you led the troops out of the capital? Has Haikou achieved anything you boasted about?"

Tong Guan said with a tearful voice: "Your Majesty, this is not a fault of war. The land of Shangyong is very dangerous and difficult to navigate. Even if there are millions of tigers and warriors, they can only fight with the navy. The bandits not only have powerful naval forces, but also have a kind of cannon." , it makes a thunderclap sound when fired, and can throw iron stones ten miles away. If an ordinary shield is hit, it will immediately turn into powder."

"Is it really that magical?" Song Huizong didn't believe it at first, but now he has confirmed it.

Because the two armies of Zhong Shidao and Liu Yanqing also said so in their battle reports, and they all mentioned that the Zhu bandits had strange artillery carriages.

It's just that the range is different. Zhong Shidao said it could hit three miles, Liu Yanqing said it could hit eight miles, but Tong Guan said it could hit ten miles.

Tong Guan cried and said: "It is indeed so miraculous. It may have been taught by overseas immortals and cannot be resisted by human beings."

Song Huizong said: "According to Zhong Shidao, this thing is a weapon made by Zhu Thief. There is also a smaller iron rod that can also shoot projectiles. Zhu Thief has hundreds of soldiers holding this magical weapon. If it was made by an immortal Grant, how can you grant so much?”

Tong Guan changed his words and said: "The immortal must have given me the blueprint of the magical weapon, and Zhu Thief and his son built it themselves."

Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty ordered the eunuch accompanying him: "Call Master Zhong here."

After the war, among all the generals, only Zhong Shidao returned to the capital to be punished.

Yao Gu led his troops back to Hehuang. Before withdrawing his troops, he reported his victory to the court, saying that with less than 30,000 troops, he held off 100,000 bandits at Baoji and Dashan Pass, and captured hundreds of elite red bandits in armor.

This man did not suffer defeat, and was promoted to Xihe Jiedu Envoy (from the second rank) for his meritorious service. His son Yao Pingzhong was promoted to Qinzhou Chengxuan Envoy (fourth rank) due to his meritorious service. Even Wu Jie, who had made meritorious contributions, was promoted to Dun Wu Lang (eighth rank).

At the same time, the imperial court ordered Yao Gu to strengthen his troops and horses, and immediately went to Shandong to suppress the bandits after the snow melted in spring.

Zhe Keqiu, on the other hand, did not blame anyone. He only said that the Zhe family army fled because there was not enough food and grass. As for why there was not enough food and grass, it is left to Song Huizong to guess.

Then he said that the strength of the Zhejia army was not damaged. He had gathered nearly 20,000 defeated soldiers along the way, and he could fight the Zhu thieves again at any time.

But money and food are not enough, so the court must quickly provide food and salary.

"Collect nearly 20,000 defeated soldiers", this sentence is the key!

Song Huizong could only give a superficial rebuke, and then asked the local government to transport grain and grass to appease him, and ordered him to go to Hebei in the spring of next year to suppress the bandits.

As for Liu Yanqing, he first blamed Zhongshi Dao, saying that he was about to break through the bandit stronghold and completely break through the Tangluo Dao to enter Hanzhong. At this time, Zhongshidao was defeated, causing the Zhu thieves to attack Shaanxi and block Liu Yanqing's returning army in Luo Valley. Then he blamed Wang Yuan and Han Shizhong, saying that these two people defected before the battle, causing the morale of the entire army to plummet.

Liu Yanqing claimed that in order to save the army, he negotiated with the Zhu bandits in many ways, and then he was forced to agree to surrender. Most of the prisoners released by the red thieves had fled back to their hometowns. As long as the court gave them enough money and food, he could recruit them again immediately.

Since the army could be recalled, Song Huizong did not want to punish her too much and gave Liu Yanqing's wife a symbolic upgrade.

Even Zhong Shizhong, Liu Xi, and Liu Qi were each promoted to one level of official salary because they saved Xianyang and Chang'an and prevented the red bandits from sweeping Guanzhong.

Shaanxi's three-pronged army has to let Zhongshi Dao take the blame.

This man has been removed from all positions and ordered to promote Liquan Temple.

Zhong Shidao was summoned to the palace to face the emperor. Song Huizong said, "Tell Tong Guan about that weird weapon."

Zhong Shidao said: "After I was captured by the red thieves, I made many insinuations. Although I didn't inquire clearly, I also knew that the two weapons were called muskets and artillery. I thought about it carefully and guessed that it was caused by gunpowder, but I didn't know How to imitate it?”

The gunpowder formula of the Northern Song Dynasty could only burn violently and could not produce an explosive effect because the saltpeter ratio was too low.

Of course, occasionally explosions may occur due to improper deployment.

Zhongshidao added: "After I returned to Tokyo, I asked some puppet masters and pharmacists. They said that gunpowder may indeed explode, and the sound is like thunder. Perhaps this is what the red thieves used. Please give me ten I am a medicine man, and if I give you some money, I am willing to study the making of muskets and artillery for the court."

Song Huizong nodded and said: "You are allowed to do this. If you succeed, you will be reinstated immediately."

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty!" Master Zhong said with tears of gratitude.

Song Huizong also said: "Choose a kind of daughter and send it to the little red thief."

Zhong Shidao quickly expressed his position: "The Zhong family has been loyal to the imperial court for generations and will never marry that bandit!"

Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty asked: "The Zhu thief is asking for a hand in marriage. If your Zhong family doesn't want to marry a daughter, how can you let the Zhe family marry a daughter?"

Zhongshi Dao was speechless. If the Zhe family marries the Zhu Thief, Shaanxi will be in danger in the future. Once the Zhu thieves lead their troops to kill, the Western armies from all directions must not only guard against the thieves, but also be prepared for the sudden defection of the Zhe family.

Thinking of what the red thief said, every word came true.

Zhong Shidao reluctantly accepted the order: "Yes!"

"The official family, the official family... there is good news in Shandong!"

Eunuch Li Yan came with Cai You and stood outside the palace shouting excitedly.

Song Huizong immediately became energetic: "Come in quickly!"

Cai You said: "Zhang Shuye used a divorce plan to cause the bandits Prince Li and his troops to fight internally. The officers and soldiers took the opportunity to rush out and defeated the bandits, beheading more than 3,000 people and capturing more than 10,000 people alive. The officers and soldiers recovered Yunzhou, Dong Ah, in the three cities of Pingyin, the thief chieftain Prince Li has been captured and will be escorted to the capital immediately."

"well!"

In the midst of a series of defeats, Song Huizong finally heard the good news: "Zhang Shuye was promoted to two officials, and was promoted to the director of Jingdong Road and the pacifier of Jingdong Road. He was fully responsible for the suppression of bandits in Shandong."

Tong Guan and Zhong Shidao said quickly: "Congratulations, Your Majesty."

Song Huizong said happily: "Zhang Shuye is the mainstay, he is really the pillar of the country, let me support one of his sons to become an official. Next year the Western Army will be transferred to Shandong, and Zhang Shuye will be the commander-in-chief!"

Tong Guan lowered his head with a sinister look on his face. He seemed to have lost the power to command the troops.

Thinking about the battle against Jinzhou again, Tong Guan felt extremely aggrieved...