Northern Song Dynasty: Starting from the son of Song Renzong

Chapter 318: Lord of Thanjavur
The thirty-fifth year of the Li Yuan Dynasty.

Zhao Xin sent a letter to Zhao Zhe.

However, Zhao Zhe also needs time to recruit people.

Therefore, by the time Zhao Xin trained a new army of 5,000 people in Srivijaya, it was already two years later.

In the past two years, it is obvious that the construction projects in Srivijaya have become more and more perfect.

Many delicacies from the Central Plains are gradually appearing on the streets.

There are even some people from Guangzhou, Fuzhou and Quanzhou who come here to start some small businesses.

If you want to ask him why he ran away, they naturally didn't dare to say it at first because they knew that Zhao Xin was an official of the Song Dynasty.

However, Zhao Xin let him say whatever he wanted, it was okay and he would not punish him.

The other party’s answer was that the land rent and taxes in the Song Dynasty were too heavy, so they ran away to see if they could get some relief.

You know what, if they run away and become small vendors here, since Zhao Xin doesn't collect taxes from them, they may indeed live a better life.

Others answered that they heard it was easy to marry a woman here.

So I ran over here.

To be honest, it is relatively easy to get married here.

Because how to say it.

People from the Central Plains have fair complexions, just like young handsome boys. Who doesn’t like someone with fair skin and tender flesh?
It’s just that, although it’s easy to get married, there aren’t many good-looking women out there.

Zhao Xin also allowed him to do business here.

Anyway...

It's lively and it looks good.

Even if the other party has no capital, Zhao Xin plans to lend them money.

But to be honest, anyone who runs away for such a reason must be extremely smart.

these people……

Even if I don't give them much help, they will definitely be able to make money with their quick minds.

This year.

Prince Pandya was nine years old and the princess was fifteen.

can only say……

It is also time to advance into the interior of Zhu Luo.

The five thousand new troops were mostly poor people from nomadic tribes.

Before going to Chola, you must first go to Bagan.

We received local war horses from Bagan and then headed towards Chola.

Pagan was required to provide at least two thousand war horses that year.

Since it could not defeat Srivijaya, Pagan had no choice but to comply with such demands.

It was the end of October this year.

Under the leadership of Prince Pandya and his servants, Zhao Xin led a mighty army of more than 20,000 and marched towards Chola.

After more than two years of rest.

Zhu Luo has also rebuilt his navy.

At the beginning of the first stage of the battle, Kurotonga did not let Zhao Xin see their navy right away.

Because they knew very well that if they were fighting on the vast ocean, it would not be much of an advantage for them.

Therefore, they hid their naval vessels in the dock ports of the Eastern Chalukya Empire further north.

Wait for Zhao Xin's army to land, and then order their navy to move south from the north, riding the northeast monsoon that prevails on the east coast of India in winter.

In order to win this battle, Zhu Luo can be said to have made full use of ocean currents, monsoons, and the power of fire.

As long as they can accumulate a lot of fireships in the north, they can then crash into Zhao Xin's navy. No matter how powerful Zhao Xin's artillery is, it will not be able to withstand a sea of ​​fire.

……

Chola capital, Thanjavur.

Kurotunga asked the people who came back to report: "Have all the Srivijaya troops landed?"

The people below also said: "They are all on shore!"

Kurotunga said, "Well, take my ring and go to see Jorapura at night so that Jorapura can act according to the plan!"

……

As for Zhao Xin...

I can only say that it feels a bit strange.

Because since he landed, Zhu Luo has not put up any resistance.

But it can be seen that Zhu Luo's resistance is still relatively weak.

It doesn't seem very resolute.

As the saying goes, when things go wrong, there must be a monster.

Zhao Xin also asked Zhao Mingdao: "Do you think this is a little strange?"

Zhao Ming then asked, "Grandfather, what do you think is the problem?"

Zhao Xin said, "Being careful is a good strategy. Logically speaking, this can be considered a war to destroy a nation, right?"

"But why do I feel that Zhu Luo's resistance is not very strong?"

Zhao Ming then said, "Maybe the other party didn't react?"

Zhao Xin waved his hand and said, "No! It's impossible that the other party didn't react. We have landed now, it has been at least seven or eight days, right?"

"Seven or eight days is more than enough to ride a horse two hundred miles to deliver a letter to the capital."

Zhao Ming also said: "Perhaps the other side thinks that they can no longer defeat us, so they are now hiding in the city behind them, defending their walls and clearing the fields."

Zhao Xin said, "Maybe."

"But the problem is...if you are the emperor of the Chola Kingdom, you Chola have already been defeated by me at sea."

"Then will you completely and utterly give up naval warfare now?"

Zhao Ming thought about it and said, "If it has been proven that we cannot win at sea, then it is normal not to have a navy."

Zhao Xin said, "Is this normal? This is not normal at all!"

"Even if it has been proven before that they have lost, they can't win at all."

"But it's impossible that two years have passed without seeing a single ship."

"The other side must have hidden the navy somewhere."

"Because you can't really not have a single warship on the sea."

Fortunately, Zhao Xin also had the habit of building simple defensive fortifications on the beach.

Zhao Xin raised his hand and felt the wind direction.

Then he said, "Be careful of night attacks at sea."

That night.

really!

I saw some faint lights from the north.

Then these flames rushed towards their ships at a very fast speed.

of course!

Since Zhao Xin had been prepared in advance, the loss this time was not that great.

That night.

Zhao Xin then ordered the two steam warships to go around the enemy's side.

Relying on flexible movements, he counterattacked its navy.

Other warships also arrived one after another.

This battle...lasted until noon the next day.

This slowly came to an end.

A total of more than seven or eight hundred enemy ships of various sizes were destroyed.

in……

There were quite a few enemy ships, which looked like temporarily converted merchant ships.

Zhao Xin said that the number of Arab merchants' merchant ships seemed to have decreased in the past two years.

I guess many of them were forcibly requisitioned by Zhu Luo.

……

When the news reached back to Thanjavur.

Kurotunga's eyes immediately turned dark.

This time they sent out at least 70,000 to 80,000 troops at sea, including those sailing along the coast.

If they lose this battle... then it really is God's will that they, the Zhu Luo, will be destroyed.

As for Zhao Xin...

After resolving the threat at sea.

Zhao Xin still felt uneasy, so he continued to order his men to strengthen the defense and vigilance at sea. Then, he led his men to Thanjavur, the capital of Chola, and killed their way forward.

This Thanjavur was recorded as early as the Tang Dynasty when Xuanzang went to India to seek Buddhist scriptures.

to be frank!
This place is quite excellent.

There is relatively open land all around, suitable for farming, and the capital is next to a big river.

When Kurotunga heard that the Srivijaya army had arrived at the capital, he also ordered his people to defend the city.

then……

Then send envoys to discuss surrender and submission with Zhao Xin.

Zhao Xinbi could not allow Kurotunga to be the emperor of Thanjavur, so he said to the envoy of the other side: "Go back and tell your Chola emperor to depose himself as a commoner as soon as possible, maybe he can get a chance to survive. He can't stay in Thanjavur any longer."

"I will not allow the Chola Kingdom to exist any longer."

After listening to Zhao Xin's words, the other party knew that there was no possibility of peaceful negotiations.

therefore……

Next, they went back and informed their emperor of Zhao Xin's words, and then the two sides began a siege.

Fortunately, the walls of Thanjavur, the Chola capital, were not very high.

It's only about two meters.

Siege warfare has always been the Song army's strong point.

Therefore, the next battle is almost a foregone conclusion.

After conquering Thanjavur, Zhao Xin also asked the prince of Pandya: "Thanjavur seems to be pretty good. Are you willing to become the king here in the future?"

Prince Pandiya was happy at first, but then he saw Zhao Xin's expression.

I had to calm down again.

Then he said to Zhao Xin crisply and childishly: "How can we, as a small country of subjects, enjoy such a good place? I think it should be given to the emperor of Srivijaya to live in."

What Zhao Xin fears most is that the other party will not know what’s tactful and will just say yes.

That would be the end of it.

Prince Pandiya's servants also saw Zhao Xin's evil ambitions.

He immediately began to look at Zhao Xin with a vigilant look.

I'm probably thinking at this moment, this is not a good person!

After all, what good person would ask this question?

But now that they are living under someone else's roof, this is all they can do for now.

Zhao Xin continued, "Where is the capital of your original country, Pandya?"

The other party said, "In Madurai."

Zhao Xin said, "Then I will give you Madurai."

In fact, Madurai is not far from Thanjavur.

It’s only about 300 miles in a straight line.

of course!

Zhao Xin can't be too greedy.

If you say that you want to bring the entire Chola Empire's territory under your own name, it is obviously difficult to do.

Start with a little bit at first, and slowly make them accept it.

After entering Thanjavur, Zhao Xin did not order a massacre.

after all……

From now on, this will be my next base.

If he kills all the people, who will farm for him?
Next…

After taking control of the entire city.

Zhao Xin also posted notices to reassure the people. At the same time...

The news was sent to all the vassal states of Chola, as well as all the cities and towns, asking the city lords and chiefs to come and meet their new emperor.

After ten or eight days...

Basically, the result of who is in favor and who is against will be decided very quickly.

Those who were intimidated by Zhao Xin's powerful military strength came to surrender early on.

However, there are some members of the Chola royal family who control a city. People like this are basically unlikely to surrender.

after all……

The first thing the other party thought of was to take back Thanjavur.

Zhao Xin then also sent people to carry out the suppression.

This year……

Zhao Xin and his army of more than 20,000 people had to stay in Thanjavur.

Thanks to the rear of Srivijaya, there was basically no threat.

otherwise……

Now that they have brought the entire army out, if someone wants to launch a surprise attack on Srivijaya, it will be extremely easy.

After taking over Thanjavur, Zhao Xin also began to think about how to govern this place.

Thanjavur is also a big city, and because of its convenient water and land transportation, its business is also very prosperous.

As for population, it is estimated to be no less than three to five hundred thousand.

Zhao Xin stood on a high place in the imperial city, looking out at the city below.

If you want to rule a place like this, it's probably impossible without marriage.

therefore……

Zhao Xin also asked Zhao Mingdao: "Do you want more concubines?"

Zhao Ming looked at the appearance of this local person.

to be frank!
This Sanfoqi is still acceptable.

This Zhu Luo's...

It's a bit abstract indeed.

But Zhao Ming couldn't refuse, so he replied to Zhao Xin: "Grandfather, can you find some that are not so ugly?"

Zhao Xin also burst into laughter.

Then he said, "This one from South India really doesn't look that good. The one from North India might be better."

"The ones in the north will be relatively white."

Zhao Ming also said: "My grandson feels that the people here are not very friendly. I always feel that they look at us with some hostility."

Zhao Xin said, "This is normal. After all, we are different from them, even our race and skin color are different. But there is no need to worry too much. After all, ordinary people don't have the courage and ability to hurt us."

"Speaking of which...if I give you a few concubines, will your wife be jealous?"

Zhao Ming did not hide it and said directly: "That's for sure!"

Zhao Xin then asked, "Does that mean... you have to sacrifice your royal grandfather's appearance?"

Zhao Ming, this grandson, was so unfilial that he directly replied to Zhao Xin: "That's the best!"

Zhao Xin said: "I have already told those chiefs to bring their daughters, the pretty ones, here. Let's take a look first."

"I should be able to pick one that I like."

"This is the best way to alienate them."

"If we don't take the step of marriage, then it will be very difficult to rule."

"Besides...it doesn't mean that if you marry someone, you have to have sex with them."

"Take it back and use it as a vase."

"You have to remember that when governing a country, you must have more means."

soon……

Some time passed.

The head of this Chola royal descendant was brought back.

at the same time……

Zhao Xin had also met the daughters of those city lords and chiefs.

I picked two girls who were about twelve or thirteen years old and had hardly ever been exposed to the sun, and asked them to stay.

Because the granddaughter-in-law will be jealous, forget it, let Zhao Xin do it herself.

(End of this chapter)