Usurping the Mongols: My Father-in-Law is Genghis Khan

Chapter 103: Following the Mongols – Kill the Jin Dogs, Plunder the Rich, What Bliss!

Zhao Shuo's gains at Huaihe Fort weren't just the three great generals and the spoils of war like armor, gold, and silver.

The biggest gain was still the Balu Battalion.

After the Battle of Huaihe Fort, Zhao Shuo's original Balu Battalion warriors numbered only twelve thousand.

However, seventy percent of the forty-two thousand prisoners from the Battle of Huaihe Fort were assigned to Zhao Shuo, which amounted to twenty-nine thousand four hundred people.

Rounding it off, one thousand four hundred relatively weak Jurchen prisoners became a blood oath for the twenty-eight thousand prisoners. Their heads were made into a forest of skulls.

Now, Zhao Shuo's Balu Battalion had reached a terrifying size of forty thousand men.

Moreover, these forty thousand Balu Battalion warriors were all regular soldiers from the Jin and Xia Dynasties!

Adding Zhao Shuo's main force of over thirteen thousand soldiers, Shi Mo Ming'an's one thousand Khitan households, Guo Baoyu's one thousand Han Chinese households, and Shi Bingzhi's eight hundred soldiers, Zhao Shuo's total force reached fifty-six thousand.

This was already an army capable of destroying a country.

If Wanyan Yongji was reckless enough to use all of the Jin Dynasty's field forces to fight Zhao Shuo, the outcome would be uncertain.

Of course, Wanyan Yongji wasn't that foolish; the Mongol army still had to advance step by step.

After half a month of rest, the Mongol army, with a total force of one hundred and forty thousand, surged into the plains.

They immediately captured the entire Xuande Prefecture.

Behind Xuande Prefecture was Dexing Prefecture.

The prefect of Dexing Prefecture, Wanyan Chaolai, abandoned the city and fled, while the magistrate Huang Bingjiu led eight thousand state and county soldiers in a desperate resistance.

The Jin Dynasty's military system was divided into three types: the native army, other ethnic armies, and state and county soldiers. The first two were regular armies and the main force of the Jin army. The state and county soldiers were the local garrison force and an auxiliary to the Jin army.

This desperate resistance of eight thousand state and county soldiers was, of course, useless.

Seven days later, the Mongol army completely occupied Dexing Prefecture.

Behind Dexing Prefecture was Juyong Pass, located in Changping District of later generations' Beijing.

At this time, the famous Shanhai Pass of later generations had not yet been built; there was only an important pass nearby called Yuguan.

Juyong Pass was the most formidable pass in the world, guarding the safety of Yanjing, with a treacherous terrain that was extremely easy to defend and difficult to attack.

This time, Jebe was the vanguard.

Jebe did not use the Balu Battalion, but led ten thousand Mongol soldiers in a feigned defeat, abandoning a large amount of wealth and fleeing.

Then, one hundred and forty thousand Mongol soldiers all poured into the outside of Yanjing City, and Temujin's golden tent was set up on Longhu Terrace (a high mountain in Nankou, Changping).

At this time, the ten thousand Mongol soldiers led by Jochi, Ogedai, and Chagatai also came from the west and joined forces with Temujin.

The advance of their ten thousand troops was very smooth.

The Jin Dynasty's Xijing (Western Capital) garrison commander, Hushahu, led his seven thousand elite troops and thirty thousand conscripted soldiers to fight Jochi and others north of Anding (Dingxi, Gansu in later generations).

After a day of bloody battle, Hushahu knew he was no match and not only abandoned the Yinshan defense line but also abandoned Xijing (Datong), leading the remaining three thousand elite troops to flee to Zhongdu overnight.

Jochi and others successively broke through Yunnei, Dongsheng, Wu, Shuo, and other prefectures, and after attacking and plundering Datong, they marched east and joined Temujin's army here. It's just that Jochi and the other three have won consecutive battles and do not value the Balu Battalion, and the total number of troops is still only ten thousand.

Now the Mongol army has reached a force of one hundred and fifty thousand.

However, Zhongdu (Central Capital) of the Jin Dynasty was also not easy to attack now.

The Mongols learned about the defense situation of Zhongdu by interrogating the prisoners of Juyong Pass.

After the Battle of Yehuling, Zhongdu was under full martial law, and no man was allowed to leave Zhongdu City.

The Jin Dynasty emperor, Wanyan Yongji, repeatedly issued decrees, mobilizing troops and generals to strengthen the defense of Zhongdu.

The Qin Prefecture prefect, Shuhu Gaoqi, led his three thousand Yan troops to urgently reinforce, stationed outside the Xuanwu Gate of Yanjing. The Yan army was mainly composed of Khitans. Although there were only three thousand people, they were the elite regular army of the Jin Dynasty, all cavalrymen with three horses per person.

After Hushahu led the defeated troops back to Zhongdu, he was not only not punished but was instead promoted to Right Deputy Marshal and granted the title of Shangshu Zuo Cheng (Vice Minister of the Ministry of Appointments). Wanyan Yongji increased his forces by five thousand imperial guards, stationed outside the Xuanwu Gate on the north side of Zhongdu.

The Jin Dynasty's regular army from Hebei, Shandong, and Henan urgently transferred to Zhongdu amounted to thirty thousand.

The original imperial guards of Zhongdu were also thirty thousand (of which five thousand were allocated to Hushahu).

If everything was normal, the garrison of Zhongdu now numbered sixty-six thousand, which was about the same as the Mongols had previously estimated.

However, a major change occurred here.

The Northeast Army went south.

The Jin Dynasty's regular army stationed in the Northeast region was only about thirty thousand.

Now that the Mongols had invaded, the Khitans within the Jin Dynasty were restless, wanting to take the opportunity to restore the Great Liao. The Khitans in the Northeast region were the most troublesome. The Jin Dynasty court specifically ordered that every two Jurchen households should live with one Khitan household to prevent the Khitans from launching a rebellion.

However, after nearly a hundred years of good life, the Jurchens, although more numerous, were not necessarily as combat-effective as these poor Khitans.

The Northeast region had reached a very dangerous moment and had to rely on these thirty thousand troops to suppress it.

In addition, these thirty thousand troops in the Northeast also had the strategic task of guarding against the Goryeo (Korea) kingdom to the east, putting them under great pressure.

In theory, they could not spare a single soldier.

However, after the Battle of Yehuling, the Shangjing (Upper Capital) garrison commander of the Jin Dynasty, Tu Dan Yi, decisively sent Tongzhi (Assistant Administrator) Wugusun Wotun to lead twenty thousand Jin Dynasty regular troops south to protect Zhongdu.

Wanyan Yongji was overjoyed and promoted Tu Dan Yi to Canzhi Zhengshi (Participating in Political Affairs), ordering him to lead another five thousand regular troops to reinforce.

Now, the regular army guarding Zhongdu had reached ninety-one thousand.

In addition, the Jin Dynasty urgently conscripted fifty thousand soldiers near Zhongdu, bringing the total force to one hundred and forty-one thousand!

"Now is definitely not the time to attack Zhongdu!"

This was the first sentence Temujin said after leading his generals around the thirty-six li long moat of Zhongdu and returning to the golden tent.

Muqali immediately agreed, saying, "Zhongdu City is more than thirty-five li long, with thirteen gates alone. After sixty years of management, the city defenses are complete, extremely easy to defend and difficult to attack. There are more than a million soldiers and civilians in the city, including more than ninety thousand regular troops. Even if we exhaust the Balu Battalion, I'm afraid we won't be able to do anything to them."

"If we don't attack Zhongdu, what should we do? We can't retreat now, can we?" Tu Luan said, "Now Zhongdu is not easy to attack. Once the Jin Dynasty recovers, and reinforcements from all over arrive, it will be even more difficult to attack."

After Temujin dealt with Kokoču, Tu Luan was not subjected to any exclusion. Now he was not only a hereditary chiliarch (commander of a thousand households) but also one of the six cherrbies (close advisors/bodyguards) under Temujin, participating in the decision-making of major military and national affairs.

"Hmph, they won't be able to recover."

Temujin smiled coldly and said, "This time, we will not only fight their reinforcements but also plunder the homes of the reinforcements! I have made up my mind to leave a portion of the troops to guard against the enemy troops in Zhongdu. Then, we will divide the majority of the troops and conquer Shandong, Shanxi, Hebei, and the Northeast, leaving the Jin dogs with no troops to mobilize and no taxes to levy!"

"Divide the troops?"

Hunan was a little worried.

Jochi did divide his troops at the beginning, but his task was to prevent Hushahu from causing trouble, and he only broke through some cities in the western mountains. Now, with so few troops divided, he has to control a province, how easy is that?

He said, "In this way, we will only have twenty to thirty thousand troops in one direction, while the population of any one place is almost ten million. Although the regular army of the Jin army has been transferred, there are still many state and county soldiers. If these people resist desperately, I am afraid it will not be easy."

"It doesn't matter."

Temujin looked at Zhao Shuo and said, "During the Battle of Huaihe Fort, in order to boost the morale of the conscripted soldiers, did you give each surviving conscripted soldier a wooden token?"

Zhao Shuo nodded and said, "There is such a wooden token. I wrote clearly on that wooden token that they are considered to have contributed to the Mongols. After returning home, if they encounter Mongol troops looting, as long as they take out the wooden token I gave them, they can protect the lives and property of their families.

If they can gather their neighbors and join the Mongol army after returning, as long as they provide food and supplies to the Mongol army, even their neighbors will not be looted. If they gather more people, they may be appointed as local officials by the Mongols.

These treatments are not only written on the wooden token but also stamped with my chiliarch's golden seal."

Temujin said, "A-Shuo's method is very good. I think we can completely follow A-Shuo's method. Before each siege, we can conscript the militiamen around the city. Those who do not have men in their families will be excluded. If there are men, let them perform corvée labor and help us siege the city. Regardless of how many men there are in the family, as long as one man comes out, we will give them a wooden token to guarantee the safety of their family's lives and property."

Zhao Shuo added, "If there are too many possessions, you can distribute some to these men. In the future, it will be much easier for us to attack."

The Mongol army had too few numbers and could only capture cities, loot them, and then leave.

The materials they could carry were only some gold, silver, and soft goods.

Other things, including precious food, could only be burned in most cases.

But then again, these things are of great significance to the poor farmers outside the city.

The Jin Dynasty is now in its final years, with a huge gap between the rich and the poor. Even a slight leak would be a year's income for these poor families.

But this time, with the arrival of the Mongol army, those poor farmers not only suffered no losses, but also earned a large sum of money. When the Mongol army comes again, what will they do? Do you even need to ask? I'm afraid they'll be welcoming the King's army with food and drink before the Mongol army even arrives.

Temujin instantly understood and nodded appreciatively at Zhao Shuo, saying, "A-Shuo's method is excellent, let's do it that way."

He didn't even bother to waste words on how to attack the city, but instead said, "Mobilize the civilians, and then we'll attack the city. What should we do exactly? A-Shuo, tell us."

Zhao Shuo actually had a plan ready, saying, "First of all, we should send people to shout a message. If they are willing to surrender the city, we will only confiscate the property in the Jin dogs' treasury, as well as 70% of the property of wealthy households with assets of more than 10,000 strings of cash, and half of the property of wealthy households with less than 10,000 strings of cash.

The so-called wealthy households are those with assets of more than 30 strings of cash.

For households with assets of less than 30 strings of cash, we will not take a single coin. Not only that, but if they report wealthy households for concealing their property, they will receive 10% of the concealed property. Presumably, those wealthy households will be willing to pay money to save their lives."

In fact, the standard of 30 strings of cash was the official standard for conscription in the Jin Dynasty.

The imperial court always needs to maintain appearances.

Families with more than 30 strings of cash have a certain ability to withstand risks. If one male is conscripted into the army, the family can still survive. For families with less than 30 strings of cash, conscripting another male would really be forcing people to their deaths.

However, in actual implementation, these military services were actually borne by people with assets of less than 30 strings of cash.

As a result, almost every large-scale conscription in the Jin Dynasty led to peasant uprisings. The peasant rebel army "Red Turban Army" in Shandong is still engaged in fierce battles with the Jin Dynasty's army.

Zhao Shuo simply set the standard at 30 strings of cash.

For families with assets of less than 30 strings of cash, there is really no oil to squeeze out, so it's better to directly pull them over to the Mongol side.

As for what to do if those wealthy households are reluctant to part with half of their property?

There's no way, good advice is hard to persuade a dying ghost.

If you can't bear to part with your wealth, you can only sacrifice the lives of your entire family.

"This is excellent." Hulan nodded repeatedly, saying, "In this way, the farmers outside the city and the common people inside the city will all become our allies. What if a place has ten million people? I'm afraid there will be more people helping us than helping the Jin dogs."

"Then it's settled."

Temujin's original plan was to treat surrendered cities favorably, and to slaughter cities that did not surrender according to the old rules, with only beautiful women, artisans, and children no taller than a cartwheel being spared.

Now, the detailed rules set by Zhao Shuo are much better than he expected.

After all, the Mongol army's looting was too crude, with great destructive power, but only looting some floating wealth. It was really impossible to find the wealth that the wealthy households had hidden.

Now, with Zhao Shuo's meticulous method, the gains will definitely be much greater than before, and the resistance of the people in the Central Plains will be much smaller than before.

Temujin's expression became solemn, and he said, "Have you all heard clearly? First, the wooden tags that Consort Zhao Shuo issued to nearly 30,000 conscripts back then are all recognized by me. Anyone who does not act according to the methods on the wooden tags is provoking my authority and will be killed without mercy.

Second, when attacking enemy cities, directly give the conscripted men wooden tags to ensure the safety of their families and property.

For cities that surrender voluntarily, only the Jin dogs' treasury will be taken, as well as 70% of the property of wealthy households with more than 10,000 strings of cash, and half of the property of wealthy households with less than 10,000 strings of cash. No money will be taken from households with less than 30 strings of cash.

The property that cannot be taken away will be distributed to those who have contributed.

Allow neighbors to inform on each other and reward them with 10% of the concealed property.

Those who conceal property will be regarded as criminals, and all the men in their families will be executed, and their wives will be taken as slaves.

No innocent person shall be killed!

If anyone does not implement this method, they will also be provoking my authority and will be killed without mercy!

Third, if the city still refuses to surrender, and no one in the city responds to our army's call, after the city is captured, kill all the men in the city taller than a cartwheel, except for artisans. If anyone does not implement this method, they will still be provoking my authority and will be killed without mercy!

We must let everyone know that after encountering my Mongol army, there is no other choice but to surrender."

Speaking of these three "killed without mercy," Temujin's tone was already filled with murderous intent.

As an outstanding politician and military strategist, he of course understood the principle that it is easy to disperse troops but difficult to gather them.

With so many troops scattered thousands of miles away, no amount of emphasis on discipline would be excessive.

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

The generals responded solemnly.

They all understood that these measures would not only greatly reduce the pressure on them to attack cities, but also create a great opportunity to establish credibility among the people of the Central Plains.

The Mongol court keeps its word.

The Jin court's words are not even worth a fart.

Which side do the hearts of most of the people in the Jin Dynasty lean towards, the Mongols or the Jin? Do you even need to ask?

Concerning matters of national importance, they dared not be ambiguous in the slightest.

Zhao Shuo said, "If, during our siege, the city is divided into two factions, one wanting to surrender the city and the other wanting to defend it, will the surrenderers be rewarded and the defenders be executed?"

Temujin said, "That is natural."

Zhao Shuo then asked, "Also, when conquering a place, if someone comes to surrender to us, can we handle it ourselves?"

"Of course you can."

Temujin had been considering this issue for a long time and was already preparing to issue an edict, saying, "In this expedition, be sure to treat the surrendered people well. Whoever accepts the surrendered people will be considered their subordinates. If they want to cross your defense zone and surrender to someone else, then it means you didn't do a good job, and there must be no obstruction in the slightest."

Hulan said, "What if some surrendered people are fickle? Surrendering to one nobleman today and wanting to defect to another nobleman tomorrow?"

Temujin said without hesitation, "The first nobleman they surrendered to will be the standard. For those who are fickle, just kill them."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Finally, Temujin looked at Zhao Shuo again and said, "A-Shuo, the conscripts you released back then were less than 30,000, right? They are all considered your subordinates."

"Thank you, Father Khan!" Zhao Shuo bowed slightly.

Then, Temujin began to deploy his troops.

He said loudly, "Jochi, Ogedai, Chagatai!"

"Here!" Temujin's three sons replied in unison.

Temujin said, "I will increase your troops by 10,000, including 5,000 from the Balu Camp and 5,000 grassland warriors. Together with your original subordinates, the total number is 20,000. Go and sweep through Shanxi again."

"Yes."

That's right, Jochi and the others had already captured many cities in Shanxi, even Datong had been captured.

However, the Mongols fought differently from any other dynasty. They would not leave troops to garrison, but would just loot and leave.

After Jochi and the others left, the entire territory of Shanxi was recovered by the Jin Dynasty and became Jin territory again, able to provide the Jin Dynasty with soldiers and supplies.

Now, Temujin wanted them to lead a large army to sweep through Shanxi again and eliminate Shanxi's war potential.

Temujin then ordered, "Jebe!"

"Here!"

"I will increase your troops by 20,000, including 10,000 from the Balu Camp and 10,000 from the grassland army. Together with your own troops, that's 21,000 men. While the Jin dogs' defenses in the Northeast are weak, you will raze the Jin dogs' Tokyo (later Liaoyang) and Shangjing (Huining Prefecture) to the ground!"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Then, Temujin increased Muqali's troops by 10,000, including 5,000 from the Balu Camp and 5,000 from the grassland army. Together with Muqali's own troops of 11,000 men, the total number is 21,000. Sweep through the Shandong region of the Jin Dynasty.

Finally, Temujin looked at Zhao Shuo again and said, "A-Shuo, leave me 20,000 Balu Camp warriors. I will stay here and watch the Jin dogs in Zhongdu City. Don't let them get out, not even a single soldier. You lead the other troops to sweep through Hebei."

"Yes!"

Now, Temujin's troop deployment was already very clear.

Temujin himself led 52,000 troops to watch Zhongdu City.

Jebe led 21,000 troops to attack the Northeast.

Jochi led 20,000 troops to attack Shanxi.

Muqali led 21,000 troops to attack Shandong.

Zhao Shuo led 36,000 troops to attack Hebei.

In addition, Hebei was closest to Zhongdu, so Zhao Shuo also had the task of supporting Temujin nearby.

But since this task was so obvious, Temujin didn't need to specifically mention it.

Temujin said, "Do you have any other questions?"

"No!"

"Then, tomorrow morning, we will act according to the plan."

"Yes!"

Rumble ~ ~

Early the next morning, nearly 100,000 Mongol troops left Zhongdu City and set off for the Northeast, Shandong, Shanxi, and Hebei.

Jebe first attacked Tokyo (Liaoyang), the wealthiest city in the Northeast. Although this city only had 3,000 regular troops, there were also 10,000 state and county soldiers and 10,000 conscripts, and the city defenses were also very strong. After attacking for two days, Jebe realized that the battle could not be fought like this.

Immediately, Jebe led his army to retreat for seven consecutive days, withdrawing a total of five hundred miles.

Just when the Liaoyang garrison thought they had repelled the Mongol army and relaxed their guard, Jebe led his army on a forced march of five hundred miles in one day and night, arriving at Liaoyang and capturing the city in one fell swoop.

Then, Jebe led his army to besiege the Jin Dynasty's capital, Shangjing Huining Prefecture, and was currently attacking the city.

Mu Huali's campaign in Shandong and Subutai's campaign in Shanxi were also very smooth.

Temujin encountered a small problem. He originally only wanted to keep an eye on the defenders of Zhongdu, preventing them from leaving the city to reinforce other places.

However, as time passed, Temujin became impatient and tentatively attacked Zhongdu City.

At a crucial moment in the battle, Temujin personally went to the battlefield.

As a result, he took an arrow to the leg.

But this was not a major issue, and Temujin recuperated at Longhu Terrace.

Subutai led the main force to continue watching the Jin army in Zhongdu.

Currently, the Jin Dynasty was still engaged in fierce battles with Western Xia in Shaanxi, while the Northeast, Shandong, Shanxi, and Hebei were in complete chaos due to the Mongols. Only Henan remained relatively peaceful, presenting a scene of a dying nation.

Zhao Shuo's campaign in Hebei was also unstoppable.

Today, one of his armies, five thousand strong, arrived outside Dingxing City.

The magistrate of Dingxing County, Nala Erzhen, was a Jurchen. Not only did he refuse to surrender, but he also cursed Temujin and Prince Consort Zhao Shuo from the city walls.

The Mongol army began to sweep through the countryside, conscripting civilians.

Due to the good reputation the Mongol army had built up from capturing cities in Hebei, the conscription of civilians was very smooth this time.

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Even before the army arrived and began conscripting, civilians were already volunteering.

Now, the fifteen thousand civilians had been conscripted and were beginning to build shields, siege ladders, and simple siege equipment like mantlets.

Since they couldn't avoid conscription anyway, why not participate actively?

If they were lucky and the city was captured, they might make a fortune, allowing their wives and children to live well for a year or two.

However, neither these civilians nor the Mongol army outside the city expected that a man named Zhang Rou inside Dingxing City would become the protagonist of this battle.

This Zhang Rou was no ordinary man.

According to historical records, facing the Mongol army's brutal invasion, Zhang Rou gathered his neighbors to build a fort for self-protection. Five years later, he was appointed magistrate of Dingxing County. Later, he was transferred to Zhongdu as the garrison commander and prefect of Daxing. He fought a major battle with the Mongol army at Langya Mountain, but was defeated and captured, forcing him to surrender to the Mongols.

In the end, the Zhang family became one of the most prominent Han military clans, and Zhang Rou was granted the title of Prince of Runan.

Zhang Rou's son, Zhang Hongfan, led the army and destroyed the Southern Song Dynasty.

However, the current Zhang Rou was just a local magnate in Dingxing County.

These local magnates mainly fell into two categories.

The first category was like Shi Bingzhi, with a wealthy family and great courage, possessing hundreds or even two to three thousand private soldiers.

The second category was those whose families were not rich, but who were courageous and righteous, providing relief to the old and weak, resolving civil disputes, and accumulating a great reputation among the people. At their call, hundreds of strong men would gather to follow them.

Zhang Rou belonged to the second type.

This time, the Mongols had turned Hebei upside down, and the magistrate of Dingxing County, Nala Erzhen, panicked.

He not only brought in a thousand soldiers from Yizhou, but also "invited" all the local magnates of Dingxing County into the city, including Zhang Rou.

Now, Zhang Rou was appointed as a "commander" (a military rank at the end of the Jin Dynasty), with five hundred civilians under his command, all of whom were his neighbors.

Zhang Rou was really fed up with the situation.

Historically, the Mongols burned, killed, and looted, committing all kinds of evil. Zhang Rou naturally stood up to protect his neighbors. Later, when he was defeated and captured and surrendered to the Mongols, it was out of necessity, and it also carried the meaning of protecting his neighbors.

But what was happening now?

The Mongol army was only confiscating the wealth of the rich and distributing it to the poor. What did it have to do with Zhang Rou!

He had even wanted to do this a long time ago!

Why bother staying in Dingxing City and waiting to die?

Just then, someone came to report that Qiao Weizhong was requesting an audience.

Qiao Weizhong, Zhang Rou's deputy commander in history, also belonged to the second type of local tyrant, not wealthy, but acting on his prestige.

The two of them had a good personal relationship, and now they were both commanders, each with five hundred men under their command.

Immediately, Zhang Rou ordered someone to invite Qiao Weizhong in.

Qiao Weizhong carried a jar of sweet wine in each hand, coming to drink with Zhang Rou.

Coincidentally, a wealthy household in the city had sent two roasted chickens to Zhang Rou.

The two men ate the roasted chicken and drank the sweet wine. In less than an hour, they were both tipsy.

"Brother Zhang Rou," Qiao Weizhong said with a drunken slur, "the wealthy households in the city treat you well, even sending you such good roasted chicken."

"Treat me well, my ass!"

Zhang Rou snorted coldly and said, "When have those rich people ever looked at the poor with respect? It's only because I have five hundred soldiers under my command now that they're scrambling to curry favor. Just yesterday, two of my soldiers stole a sheep from them to eat. As a result, they forced me to beat each of them with thirty military sticks.

Those two brothers are still lying in bed now, and I don't know if they'll make it. Hmph, when it's time for us to risk our lives, they act like this.

When the Mongols retreat, who knows how they'll deal with us?"

Qiao Weizhong said, "That magistrate, Nala Erzhen, treats you well, even giving you an official position."

"Who wants this broken commander position? He's a Jurchen, trying to protect his Great Jin Dynasty. What does it have to do with us Han people?" Zhang Rou said with a face full of indifference.

"Since that's the case..."

Qiao Weizhong stared into Zhang Rou's eyes and said, "Let's rebel!"

"Rebel? Do you want to die!"

Zhang Rou subconsciously looked around and said, "Our Dingxing is a large county, with eight thousand soldiers just from the various local magnates. There are also a thousand soldiers from Yizhou and five hundred yamen runners. What can our thousand men accomplish?"

"How can we not accomplish anything? Among the soldiers of those magnates, how many weren't born into poor families? Do they really want to die with those magnates? When they were eating and drinking well, they didn't think of them."

The magnates Qiao Weizhong was talking about were, of course, the first type of magnates.

Seeing that Zhang Rou was somewhat tempted, Qiao Weizhong continued to persuade, "As long as we lead these thousand men to launch a surprise attack when defending the city, and everyone responds in unison, we'll succeed!"

"Is that so..."

Zhang Rou pondered for a long time, his expression uncertain.

Suddenly, he shook his head slightly and said, "This matter is inappropriate. The people under our command may not all be of one mind with us.

If we inform our subordinates in advance, there will be many unforeseen circumstances, and someone might inform on us. If we don't inform them in advance, there will be too many variables, and things might not go as we wish.

Besides, people will die as soon as the siege begins. So many neighbors will die, and I'll be surrendering to the Mongols. That's not right."

Qiao Weizhong said, "Then what does Brother mean..."

Zhang Rou gritted his teeth slightly and said, "If we're going to do it, let's do something big! Let's gather our two groups of soldiers and attack the county yamen immediately!"

"This... can this be done?"

"You also said that the soldiers of those magnates are unwilling to put in effort. When the enemy attacks during the defense of the city, how can they not resist? Now that we're attacking the county yamen, they can choose not to help either side. There are a total of two thousand Yizhou soldiers and yamen runners. Four hundred men are stationed at each of the four city gates, and the garrison near the county yamen is only four hundred.

If we strike quickly, those Yizhou soldiers may not have time to reinforce us.

Also, when chaos breaks out in the city, the Mongols will definitely take the opportunity to attack the city.

Tell me, do we have a chance?"

"We do!" Qiao Weizhong's eyes lit up.

Zhang Rou said, "Then go quickly and gather your men! The faster we do this, the better, or things will change!"

"Yes!"

Immediately, the two men gathered their respective five hundred civilians, totaling one thousand men, and headed towards the county yamen.

There was no need for any mobilization.

The Great Jin Dynasty's paper money had depreciated a million times, and every commoner suffered greatly.

The Great Jin Dynasty levied exorbitant taxes and conscripted labor and grain. Not only was it difficult for the common people to make ends meet after a year of labor, but they also faced the pain of losing their loved ones at any time.

Now that they needed the common people, they wanted the common people to protect their property and official positions with their lives.

How could there be such a cheap thing?

Every commoner harbored a deep hatred for this court!

"Kill the Jin dogs!"

"We've rebelled, we've surrendered to the Mongols!"

"The city has been breached! The city has been breached! Join us and kill the officials to rebel!"

"Those with grievances, seek revenge! Those with hatred, seek revenge!"

"The Mongols keep their word, they really give money!"

...

As Zhang Rou and the others approached the county yamen, they had already clashed with the officers and soldiers loyal to the Great Jin, and shouts rang out everywhere!

The so-called "city has been breached" was, of course, a lie, meant to demoralize the enemy!

At this time, inside the county yamen, Magistrate Nala Erzhen was drinking with the richest man in Dingxing.

"I offer County Magistrate a cup."

The richest man in Dingxing was named Li Yingduo.

The more chaotic the world, the more opportunities these local magnates had to seize wealth by trickery. After forcing countless common people to lose their families and die, Li Yingduo's family property had exceeded two hundred thousand strings of cash, and his land exceeded one hundred thousand mu. He controlled 20% of the land in the entire county.

Li Yingduo said cautiously, "County Magistrate, do you think we can defend Dingxing City?"

"How could we possibly fail to hold it?" Na Lan Ezhen said with great confidence, "Although the Mongol soldiers are fierce, their numbers are too small. They have been rampaging in Hebei for more than half a year, and they must be exhausted. We have 10,000 troops in this Dingxing city, and the city is fortified. How could they possibly take it? It's a complete joke.

Don't laugh at me, Brother Li, I'm already prepared to rise to prominence. At that time, even you, Brother Li, might be able to get an official position, haha."

"Thank you for your cultivation, County Magistrate! Thank you for your cultivation, County Magistrate!"

Li Yingduo's face was full of smiles, and he nodded repeatedly.

In fact, he wasn't so eager to get an official position.

His main concern was that his money must not be taken away by the Mongols.

Li Yingduo thought to himself: If you Mongols don't commit any crimes against surrendered cities, what's wrong with me surrendering to you?

But you have too few people, you can only break the city, not defend it. You must plunder a large amount of money and livestock from the city, so that it will not be used by the Jin Dynasty court in the future.

Then I'm sorry.

Li Yingduo's money was earned by me through hard work.

Although sometimes, in order to collect debts, I also forced a few people to death, but that's their fault. Who told them to owe me money?

If they don't have money, they can use their wives and sisters to pay off the debt. Why did they have to be so stubborn?

My conscience is clear!

You Mongols, don't even think about taking a penny of my money!

If you insist on robbing me, then don't blame me for smashing your teeth!

However, just at this moment, a burst of shouting and killing suddenly arose outside the county office.

"Kill the Jin dogs!"

"Zhang Rou and Qiao Weizhong have rebelled!"

"Brothers, follow us to surrender to the Mongols, and we'll live a life of luxury!"

"The city is broken! The Mongols have entered the city!"

"Ah?"

Plop!

Li Yingduo collapsed directly on his seat upon hearing these shouts. When faced with the reality, he realized that death was so close to him.

He discovered that he didn't actually love money that much.

But it was already too late.

He had just followed Na Lan Ezhen out of the living room in a hurry when he saw Zhang Rou leading dozens of armored soldiers, scattering the dozen or so state and county soldiers guarding the courtyard, and coming straight towards him.

Dang dang dang~~

Zhang Rou was holding an iron mace, his armor was stained red with blood, and even his face was splattered with some red and white matter.

The dozens of strong men behind him were also similar.

The red was blood!

The white was brain matter!

They looked like demon gods walking out of hell, or evil ghosts crawling out of hell to collect debts!

"Ah! Zhang Rou, you really rebelled!"

Na Lan Ezhen said angrily: "I have treated you well, why did you betray me?"

"Hmph, treated me well?" Zhang Rou sneered, "Didn't you just make me a small commander and want me to work for you Jurchens? I am a Han, who I work for is still working! Today, I surrender to the Mongols!"

Then, with a wave of his hand, he said: "Tie him up and offer him to the Mongol army!"

"Yes!"

His subordinates stepped forward, first giving Na Lan Ezhen a few vicious punches, knocking out three of his teeth, and then tying him up securely.

Only now did Zhang Rou breathe a sigh of relief. As long as he had Na Lan Ezhen as a hostage, even if the Mongols did not take advantage of the chaos to attack the city, or even if the state and county troops at the city gate came to attack, he would have the power to protect himself.

"Brother Zhang Rou, no, Brother Zhang Rou!"

Li Yingduo was already scared silly, kowtowing repeatedly, and said: "Spare my life! I'll give you money, how about 50,000 strings of cash? 100,000 strings is also fine! As long as you don't kill me, just tell the Mongols that I started the rebellion with you!"

"It's too late to regret it now!"

In Dingxing, who doesn't know about Li Yingduo's extortion, coercion, and bullying of men and women? He has forced dozens of people to death!

Zhang Rou had long wanted to kill him, but he didn't have enough strength to do it.

He snorted coldly and said: "Alright, Li, don't waste your energy. Today, not only will your hundreds of thousands of strings of wealth be gone, but the women in your family will become slaves of the Mongols. Maybe the brothers under my command can get a share.

None of the men in your family will be left behind! Your Li family is destined to have a river of blood flowing today!"

In fact, the city was already flowing with blood.

Na Lan Ezhen was loyal to the Great Jin, dreaming of the Mongol army being "exhausted."

Li Yingduo was reluctant to part with the wealth he had plundered, and was blinded by greed, believing Na Lan Ezhen's nonsense.

However, whether it was for those state and county soldiers and yamen servants, or for the subordinates of the eight thousand local tyrants in the city, the Mongol soldiers outside the city brought them tremendous psychological pressure.

If they won, there would be no great benefit.

If they lost, their whole family would die.

Then why fight?

At the moment when the shouts of killing arose in the city, the state and county soldiers panicked and opened the city gate, inviting the Mongol army into the city.

The subordinates of the eight thousand local tyrants knew who had money in their homes, so they killed the wealthy households in the city. Although they definitely had to give half to the Mongol army, it was good to get half themselves. If they didn't rob at this time, when would they?

As for the ordinary men in the city, after instructing their families to close their doors and windows tightly, most of them went to the county office to help fight. The Mongolians' proclamation said that if they fought hard to surrender the city, not only would they not touch any of their family's property, but they would also be rewarded! How could they miss such a good opportunity?

There were also a small number of men who rushed to the homes of the wealthy in the city.

They were not there to rob money, but to avenge their grievances!

Those who had been wronged would avenge their wrongs, and those who had hatred would avenge their hatred!

Some wealthy households usually oppressed the good people, and it was unknown how many blood debts they had on their bodies. Today, it was time for them to bleed!

Someone even set a big fire directly.

The city was in chaos, with flames soaring into the sky and blood flowing like a river!

Fortunately, Zhang Rou was quite talented. After figuring out the situation, he maintained order on the one hand with his prestige, and on the other hand, he asked Qiao Weizhong to meet with the Mongol military officer to explain the situation.

Qiao Weizhong was very lucky. The person he met was Gerile, the first thousand-household commander under Zhao Shuo.

Gerile understood Chinese. After listening to Qiao Weizhong's report, he quickly sent people to put out the fire and sent a thousand Baru camp soldiers to help Zhang Rou maintain order.

An hour later, Dingxing City returned to normal.

However, in this short hour, thirteen of the thirty-eight wealthy households in the city were slaughtered, and no one, male or female, young or old, was spared.

The remaining wealthy households would also face the fate of all their men being beheaded and their wives being reduced to slaves.

However, Zhang Rou did not have any psychological fluctuations about this.

Were there any wealthy households among these who had a good reputation and did not oppress the people? Of course, there were a few.

However, when the Jin Dynasty court signed up for the army, did they bribe officials to avoid military service? One hundred percent yes!

What about taxes? Did they bribe officials to reduce their taxes? One hundred percent yes!

Didn't these military service and taxes eventually fall on the poor people?

How could it be that in such a chaotic world, the poor people were allowed to be forced to ruin their families, but these wealthy households were not allowed? There was no such logic!

The Mongols are here, and the world should be turned upside down!

Afterwards, Zhang Rou helped the Mongols to count the property in the city.

The Mongols would definitely take away the gold, silver, soft goods, and livestock.

Gold, silver, and soft goods were wealth, and everyone liked them. Livestock were strategic materials, which could transport military supplies and soldiers, and definitely could not be left to the Jin Dynasty.

But the Mongols were not interested in other things.

For example, the grain accumulated by these wealthy households was enough for the people of the entire county to eat for two years, but the Mongols only took enough military rations for 5,000 people to eat for a month, and the rest was distributed to the people of the entire city and the conscripted civilians.

Even the furniture, ordinary clothes, pots, bowls, and even bricks and stones in the homes of those wealthy households were of great use to the common people.

The Mongols were not interested at all, but the people came to share these things, supporting the old and carrying the young.

For a time, almost everyone in the city had a joyful smile on their face.

"I've wanted to do this for a long time! It's so satisfying to follow the Mongols!"

Zhang Rou thought to himself, looking at the smiles on the faces of these poor people.

— — — —

It's a bit late, 10,000 words, a five-in-one chapter