Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

Even though Ma Kuo was under surveillance day and night, he was able to get the news out after all.

Mao Zilian helped to contact Han Qixian first.

During the reign of Wanyan Zonggan, Han Qixian was the head of the Han officials and held the position of prime minister.

The prime minister here was not Bogile.

The Jin Kingdom created two systems, one was the Bogile system and the other was the old Liao system.

In order to digest the newly occupied Liao territory, Aguda established the Zhongshu Province and the Privy Council in Guangning Prefecture, and let Han officials serve as prime ministers and Privy Council officials in Guangning Prefecture.

After Zhang Jue's rebellion, the Jin Kingdom's small court in Guangning Prefecture was disbanded, and then moved to Pingzhou and Yanjing one after another.

The Ming and Jin negotiated peace and planned to move to Liaoyang, which aroused fierce opposition from Han officials - this was the Bohai civil servants trying to seize power!

In other words, at that time, not only were the Jurchen nobles fighting among themselves, but the Han and Bohai civil servants were also fighting.

Wanyan Zonggan and Wanyan Zonghan had both publicly stated that Han Qixian was "a wise minister of the time."

His wise minister is my traitor.

Now Wuqimai is in control of power. If Han Qixian had not had a wide network of contacts and did not have the army in his hands, he would have been confiscated and exterminated.

That morning, Han Qixian went out early with his sons and some servants.

He was going to see off the Ming envoys!

There were also many people who came to see him off, and he met several along the way.

Mao Zilian also took 18 strong servants to the street. When he met Han Qixian, he bowed and made a very brief eye contact.

More and more ministers of various ethnic groups gathered, and they were waiting outside the palace.

Finally, Ma Kuo took Yang Zaixing and Hua Rong out, and his soldiers also went to bring war horses.

"Is the Ming armor good?" Ma Kuo turned over and rode on the horse, asking proudly.

Li Shi exclaimed: "Unparalleled in the world!"

Ma Kuo pointed at his soldiers and said: "Are the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty brave?"

Zhang Hao praised: "Unrivaled in the world!"

"Hahaha!" Ma Kuo laughed loudly.

The brothers Wanyan Zongpan and Wanyan Zonggu also came to see him off at this time. They were very helpless when they heard this.

There were also spies of Wuqimai who were secretly observing and sneaked back to the palace to report the news.

Except for those who knew about it, no one took it seriously.

The Ming envoy was about to leave, and at this moment he was just showing off his military power.

There were a total of 53 people entering the city, including Ma Kuo, Hua Rong, Yang Zaixing, as well as 30 cavalrymen and 20 musketeers.

The musketeers also rode war horses, which were specially used for traveling.

The two brothers Zongpan and Zonggu came together to greet and personally led the Ming envoy out of the city.

When they arrived at a street corner, going west was the imperial city, and going south was out of the city.

"Clang!"

Ma Kuo suddenly drew his sword and killed Wanyan Zonggu, who was holding his horse: "Follow me and kill!"

Fifty-three people turned their horses' heads and rushed towards the imperial city.

Mao Zilian led 18 strong servants and rushed towards Wanyan Zongpan and his followers.

The incident happened suddenly and everyone was stunned.

Wanyan Zongpan was pressed to the ground by Mao Zilian. Looking at his brother who was hacked to death in the street, he shouted in shock and anger: "We have already negotiated, why do you go back on your word?"

Han Qixian said: "Don't panic, eldest prince, and don't be frightened. The Ming envoy has already made it clear that Wuqimai killed countless people in the past, and he must die before peace can be negotiated. The Ming soldiers are a benevolent and righteous army, and they will not kill indiscriminately. You go to appease the officials and civilians in the city."

With the words of Han Qixian, the former chief Han minister, many civil servants calmed down immediately.

They dispersed one after another, doing what they should do, dispatching subordinates and followers to quickly appease the people in the city.

Even Wanyan Zongpan stopped making a fuss and was pressed to the ground. He knew he would not die, otherwise he would have died just now.

Han Qixian squatted beside Wanyan Zongpan and whispered: "Prince, there are still Jurchen soldiers outside the city, and you need to go and appease them in person. Let's say that Wuqimai leaked the entire military strategy of the Jin Dynasty in order to seize power and betrayed the Jin soldiers on the front line. Now for his own selfish reasons, he went back on his word and destroyed the peace talks, trying to drag the remaining soldiers to death together."

Wanyan Zongpan's face was pale. This was a threat to him.

Betraying the soldiers on the front line was exactly what Wanyan Zongpan did. If he did not cooperate with the Ming envoy today, what he did would inevitably be publicized, and he would no longer be tolerated by the Jurchen tribes, and become a traitor that everyone wanted to kill.

Han Qixian asked: "Does the prince understand?"

"I understand, I understand, I will go out of the city immediately to appease the soldiers!" Wanyan Zongpan nodded repeatedly.

...

The palace gate has an opening and closing time just like the city gate.

At this moment, the east gate of the imperial city was open.

The guards were very relaxed because the peace talks had been preliminarily reached. Today, the Ming envoys were leaving, and once the Ming emperor allowed it, the two sides could formally resolve the issue peacefully.

Suddenly, the sound of horse hooves was getting closer.

The guards first frowned, thinking that some noble was riding a horse nearby. Then they realized that the sound of horse hooves was not right, and it was definitely not the sound of a few horses running.

"Dozens of cavalry are rushing in, close the city gate quickly!"

The guards on the city wall shouted in fear.

The guards outside the city gate hurriedly ran in, while the guards inside pushed the city gate with all their strength.

"Charge!"

Yang Zaixing took the lead, sprinting towards the increasingly narrow city gate against the arrows flying from the city wall.

Actually, it doesn't matter if the surprise attack fails.

Because Wanyan Zongpan had been forced to leave the city to appease the army.

As long as the "truth" about Wu Qimai's betrayal of the frontline soldiers is told, the golden soldiers outside the city will inevitably rebel. They were beaten and fled all the way by the Ming army, and then the emperor unjustly killed Jin Wushu. They needed to find an outlet for their grievances, fear and anger.

Wu Junjun, begging for money, is the best target for venting!

All the blame will be placed on Wu Qimai.

It was Wu Qimai who harmed the frontline soldiers, and it was Wu Qimai who unjustly killed loyal ministers and good generals. If it weren't for Wu Qimai's liaison with foreign enemies, the brave and fearless Jurchen soldiers would certainly not have lost!

Now, the envoys of the Ming Dynasty want to kill Wu Qimai, which of course does not constitute reneging on one's word.

The envoys of the Ming Dynasty are avenging the Jurchen warriors!

The envoys of the Ming Dynasty are redressing the injustice of the loyal ministers and generals of the Jin Kingdom!

And Wanyan Zongpan was not an unfaithful or unfilial descendant. The eldest prince is killing his relatives for justice and seeking justice for countless Jurchen soldiers!

Even if Yang Zaixing fails to enter the imperial city, the golden soldiers from outside the city will be transferred in to surround the imperial city where Wu Qimai is.

Civil servants from all ethnic groups also sided with the Ming envoys.

Outside the east gate of the imperial city, arrows rained down.

Although the Ming Dynasty Xiaoqi did not wear strong armor like the heavy cavalry, their horses were also covered with armor. But there are also lightweight vests, especially after the promotion of cotton.

The key parts of the war horse are covered with cotton armor.

A normal pair of cotton armor weighs thirty or forty pounds, but a horse's cotton armor is much lighter. Because it is mainly used to prevent arrows, the compressed cotton pads are not thick, and there are not many riveted iron plates.

At this moment, countless arrows fell on the armor and vest, turning Yang Zaixing into a hedgehog.

It looks scary, but the injury is not serious.

Just when the city gate was about to close, Yang Zaixing rushed in through the gap that was only two people wide. The guards inside were so panicked that they didn't hold their spears against the door.

Taking advantage of the momentum of the charge, Yang Zaixing knocked over two people one after another.

After rushing through the group of guards, Yang Zaixing continued to run forward for more than 20 steps, and finally slowed down his horse and stopped slowly. Then, he reined in his horse, turned around and rushed back, with arrows stuck everywhere in his body. In the eyes of these guards, he looked like a yaksha coming to the world.

"Bang bang bang bang!"

Hua Rong, with twenty musketeers, was already on horseback shooting towards the city.

"The southern thieves have firearms, run away quickly!"

These newly appointed imperial guards are all descendants of nobles. Although he usually practiced martial arts, he spent more time studying. Occasionally he went to the battlefield with the army, and it was just to suppress the rebels - there was no danger, and he could still gain military merit.

The firearms of the Ming army were like thunder to their ears, and this was the deliberate propaganda of the Jin court.

Jin soldiers continue to lose battles on the front line and always need to find reasonable excuses.

So gradually a consensus was formed that the Jurchen soldiers were still very brave. The reason why they were often defeated was because the Ming army did not respect martial ethics and relied entirely on firearms to turn the tide of the battle.

It was passed down that the Ming Dynasty firearms were invincible, and this truth was deeply rooted in the hearts of the people in Shangjing.

Therefore, Yang Zaixing rushed into the city gate single-handedly, and the Jurchen guards did not flee on the spot. But as soon as the muskets were fired outside the imperial city, the Jurchen guards on the city immediately ran away, and the Jurchen guards at the city gate also fled.

Yang Zaixing chased and chased him all the way, and Ma Kuo also rushed in with the rest of the soldiers.

The imperial city was successfully captured by the Ming army, but there was still a palace city inside.

When Ma Kuo led his troops to the palace gate, Wu Qimai had already come in person wearing armor.

Wu Qimai stood on the tower, followed by several sons.

The leaders of the imperial and palace guards he appointed were Po Luhuo's clan nephew Bai Yangong (renamed Bai Yanjing in history due to taboos), and Wanyan Talan's youngest son Udabu.

Bai Yangong's real name is Wanyan Yaoshi. Just looking at the Chinese name he gave himself, you can tell that he is a Jurchen noble who actively pursues Chineseization.

Wu Qimai was so angry that he no longer wanted to speak, leaving the more educated Bai Yangong in charge of the negotiations.

Bai Yangong angrily rebuked: "My dear Ma Kuo, you have read the books of sages in vain. Have you ever known what faith is? When the two countries are at war, they fight. Even if you lead an army to attack by surprise, we think that your tactics are inferior to others. But you lied about peace talks. , everything was settled, but you betrayed your promise and raided the palace. Did Taizu and your Majesty ever treat you badly? "

"It is disloyal for you to perform meritorious service for yourself and damage the reputation of the Ming Dynasty. It is rude for you to attack the imperial city of another country as an envoy. If you fail to keep your promise, it is untrustworthy. For you to repay kindness with enmity is unjust. How can you, a disloyal, dishonest, dishonest person, still have the dignity to live in this world? Isn’t it true that the great Ming Dynasty doesn’t have the talent to allow someone like you to serve as an envoy?”

Ma Kuo was scolded and scolded, and he suddenly felt relieved and laughed loudly: "I call this disloyalty, disrespect, and untrustworthiness. That Wu Qimai, as the emperor of the Jin Kingdom, leaked military information and betrayed the frontline soldiers. He What kind of?"

The emperor betrayed the frontline soldiers?

All the guards turned to look at Wu Qimai.

Wu Qimai finally couldn't stand it any longer: "You are spitting blood. Shoot him to death!"

Ma Kuo quickly retreated on horseback, and when the arrow rain stopped, he asked the cavalry with loud voices to shout: "Emperor Wu Qimai of the Jin Kingdom, in order to regain power, leaked the entire military strategy to the Ming Dynasty. Even before the war started, he Send someone to deliver a message to Changsong Island, and write clearly in the secret letter that the Jin Kingdom’s West Route Army will withdraw across the entire line, luring our troops to go deep and wait for an opportunity to encircle and annihilate them.”

"So what if Nianhan can fight again? His battle plan has been known to our army for a long time. No matter how he fights, the Jin soldiers will definitely be defeated!"

"Your emperor Wu Qimai betrayed all the frontline soldiers! Otherwise, how could our army have fought so smoothly?"

While the cavalry was shouting, Wu Qimai kept yelling angrily.

But all the guards were listening to what Ming Jun said, and most of them chose to believe it.

Because of this war, the Ming army won too quickly on every battlefield.

If it was the emperor who leaked military information, then everything would make sense.

What's more, as soon as the front line was defeated, Wu Qimai immediately took action and slaughtered Wanyan Zongqian, Wanyan Zongwang, Wanyan Xiyin and others. One look at it and you can tell it was planned!

Bai Yangong looked at Wu Qimai in disbelief: "Your Majesty... Your Majesty, is this true?"

Wu Qimai said angrily: "Of course it's fake, he's slandering me!"

After saying that, Wu Qimai turned around and ordered: "Wudabu, you quickly go out of the city to mobilize troops and annihilate all these southern thieves!"