Northern Song Dynasty: Starting from the son of Song Renzong

Chapter 327: Defeat Ghazni

The fiftieth year of Li Yuan.

With the influx of a large number of scholars, Zhao Xin finally no longer had to be so stretched when it came to hiring people.

Based on the principle of giving birth to as many children as possible, Zhao Xin also gave some of the relatively good-looking palace maids and slaves captured from northern India as rewards to his meritorious soldiers.

As for the others that didn’t look so good, they were given as rewards to Zhu Luo’s soldiers, and they were also allowed to drink the soup together.

This year...

Solange's rule is essentially secure.

therefore……

After a few months, we can try to bring Li Shishi over from Thanjavur.

At least six or seven years have passed since they set out for the expedition to northern India.

To use the words of later generations, the children born to Li Shishi are now old enough to help with cooking.

But there is nothing we can do about it.

after all……

Firstly, once the war starts, this place may not be safe.

Secondly, the journey is too far. It is impossible to go back and forth within a year.

of course!

Now facing Solangi is the Ghaznavid Empire.

Now that this big cow in northern India has been stolen by Zhao Xin, the financial situation of the Ghaznavid Empire has become even worse.

Zhao Xin had a hunch.

Perhaps, after this year's rainy season, the Ghaznavid Empire will launch the most comprehensive attack on them.

If the Ghaznavid Empire launched a general offensive.

Then it is possible to gather 30,000 to 50,000 cavalry.

to this end……

After returning to Solange, Zhao Xin also strengthened his attention to the western region.

There will definitely be a war between them and the Ghaznavid Empire.

……

And this year.

The capital of the Ghaznavid Empire.

Ghazni.

Although Masood III didn't want to make trouble, Zhao Xin was now bullying them.

At this moment, they have no choice but to take action.

Masood III believed that after so many battles, Zhao Xin's army should be extremely tired.

And the damage will definitely not be small.

This year is the time for them to invade India on a large scale, and if things go smoothly, they can also plunder northern India again.

Of course!
That depends on whether Zhao Xin left them some valuables.

……

really!

Just after the rainy season this year.

Zhao Xin soon learned the news that Ghazni was heading towards him.

Moreover, along the way, they also plundered many Indian villages and captured all the Indian men, making them serve as their temporary soldiers and act as human walls.

As for the women...

Some were raped, and some were killed directly.

You have to ask him why he killed people.

Anyway...

I can't tell the reason.

Just play.

Military discipline is extremely poor.

He is not like Zhao Xin at all. He would not rob the local people if he could avoid it.

of course!

Zhao Xin also had to admit that he was actually happy to see such a phenomenon.

Because only in this way can the local Indian people, as well as the nobles and businessmen ruled by him, understand that it is really their luck to be ruled by the officials of the Song Dynasty.

After all, is there anyone in the world as civilized as the officials of the Song Dynasty?

……

Masood III brought with him a total of 50,000 troops this time.

Moreover, he personally led the army to fight.

Add to that the villagers from northern India whom he captured to serve as a human wall.

The number of troops commanded by Masood III this time is at least 80,000.

Many villagers in northern India were only equipped with some simple weapons.

Some even tied a knife to a wooden stick and came out.

If he holds a shield in his hand, he will be a Ghaznavid soldier.

There were also a large number of slaves and mercenaries in Ghaznavid's regular army.

Why did the Ghaznavid Empire gradually decline in recent years?
In fact, it was because the Seljuk Dynasty blocked their channels to obtain slaves and mercenaries from Central Asia.

It was difficult to replenish their soldiers, and naturally, their military strength also declined.

and so……

Outside the capital of the Johannine Empire, one can see Ghaznavid soldiers dressed in various styles.

Some of the better ones can wear zebra armor, or even mix zebra armor with chain mail.

As for the bad ones, like some archers, you can hardly see any armor on them.

but……

Even though it's already so miserable.

The Ghaznavid Empire still had a heavy cavalry of no less than two thousand people and hundreds of elephant troops.

This heavy cavalry unit of no less than two thousand people can be regarded as the opponent's last trump card.

The war is about to start.

If Masood III wanted to reach Solangi, he had to first eliminate strongholds like Ajmer, the capital of the Chauhan dynasty.

then……

Immediately afterwards, the siege began.

Since they had been fully prepared, the siege equipment could be used right away.

only……

Those siege weapons were like paper in front of Zhao Xin's artillery.

The siege equipment had just been set up when it was destroyed by a single shot from the enemy.

It's over. The next step is to find someone to repair it.

As a result, on the first day of the siege, Ghaznavid side gained nothing.

Masood III was in the main tent, looking at the big iron ball he had picked up, with a worried look on his face.

How to fight this?
The nobles under his command also began to fight among themselves.

I feel that this is not a solution.

Because they couldn't even touch the opponent's city walls.

"This city is so strong that I'm afraid it won't be taken unless we besiege it for more than half a year."

"I think it will take at least a year or so. Maybe we have to wait until the enemy has eaten up all the food before they can surrender."

"So if you ask me, why not just go to Gahadavala and plunder it."

"According to intelligence, the defenses in Gahadavala are very weak. It can even be said that most of the cities are completely disorganized."

Masood III immediately rebuked them, saying, "You only know how to plunder. What else do you know? If everyone were like you, killing all the people and looting all the temples, who would pay tribute to us in the future?"

The people below were somewhat skeptical of Masood III's words.

after all……

The tribute is paid to you, Masood III, and we can only rely on looting to barely get enough food and clothing.

Of course you can talk without any pain in your waist.

but……

After all, he was their emperor and their sultan. They could only suppress their complaints temporarily.

the next day.

Masood III sent people to investigate whether any reinforcements had arrived for the Song army.

If there is a chance to fight on the road, then fight.

However, in Masood III's opinion, the other party will definitely come to support.

then……

On the second day, scouts from both sides began to become active on the battlefield.

But soon...

Masood III received news that seven out of every ten scouts they sent out had died.

Because the opponent's weapons are too advanced.

When they draw their bows and shoot arrows, they still need to be at a very close distance to cause casualties to the opponent.

But the other side is different. They can shoot and kill their people even from a long distance.

Although the reconnaissance failed, the good news is that at least they can speculate that the enemy army should be arriving soon.

really!

The Song army arrived as soon as they said they would.

Local night.

In the southwest of Ajmir City, a siege camp of Masood III was attacked by the Song army at night.

The flames broke out instantly in the night.

Masood III immediately asked people from other battalions to provide support.

The result is that it is better not to provide support.

They were ambushed on the way. It was night and their firepower was not as strong as that of the Song Dynasty, so...

If the battle could be fought during the day, now at night, at the slightest disturbance, the soldiers of the Ghaznavid Empire would be even more unable to fight.

The Ghaznavid Empire's reinforcements had only lost less than a hundred men, and many soldiers were already in turmoil because they had been ambushed.

So that their own people trample on their own people.

This in turn triggered a wider rout.

The key point is that some people, in order to evade responsibility, went back and told Masood III that the enemies had come and were everywhere in the mountains and plains.

Yes!

You know what, there are quite a lot of mountains around Ajmer.

There should be at least seven or eight.

Moreover, the city of Ajmir was built using these mountains as cover.

But the other party is saying that it is everywhere in the mountains and plains, which is a bit of bragging.

after all……

Zhao Xin only sent out an advance team of 5,000 people.

In fact...

This number is not too large at all.

however……

People scare themselves like this sometimes.

After hearing such boasting from his own people, Masood III couldn't help but feel a little panicked.

The main reason was that they didn't gain much during the daytime reconnaissance.

So how many enemies are there?
Masood III had no idea what was going on.

Under the persuasion of the nobles and generals below, the army, which originally numbered at least 80,000 people, suddenly and completely lost its composure.

As for the soldiers on Zhao Xin's side, they of course pretended that they had an army of one million.

The defenders in the city also heard the shouting outside the city and gave directions to the soldiers outside the city.

Masood III's camp was in the northeast corner of the city.

At first, Masood III was thinking that he had to stay calm. The more chaotic the situation was, the more calmly he had to analyze the situation.

After all, I have 80,000 people!

What are you afraid of the other person doing?
however……

The fact is that there are 80,000 of them, but...

Among these 80,000 people, who is really motivated to fight?

If they were really that motivated, things wouldn't have developed to what they are now.

I saw that one of the camps surrounding the city was blown up, and then the next camp followed suit.

When the bombing reached Masood III, even if the military supervisor wanted to kill those who escaped, he didn't know who to kill.

Because there were too many people running away.

The people in northern India who were forced to join the Ghaznavid Empire took this opportunity to flee.

This makes the entire battlefield even more chaotic.

Zhao Xin had not arrived at Ajmir at this time. He thought that there might be a fierce battle next. However, when he arrived at Ajmir with his men the next day, he saw that many enemy tents outside the city had been burned and destroyed.

At this time, the enemy troops had completely disappeared.

"Where are the enemies?"

Zhao Xin asked the officers in the city.

The officers in the city also had a joking expression on their faces and replied, "The Ghazni soldiers scared themselves last night and all ran away."

Zhao Xin did not seem to be very satisfied with the result, because compared with complete annihilation, the result of escape naturally could not satisfy him.

He also said: "We didn't inflict any damage on Ghazni, and we let them run away like this?"

The officer said, "Reporting to the emperor, we fought some tough battles last night, killing about 4,000 people. In addition, a lot of the enemy's supplies were left behind."

After hearing what the other party said, Zhao Xin felt a little regretful and let the vanguard go first.

but……

It’s okay!

At least they weakened Ghazni's national strength without bloodshed.

afterwards……

Zhao Xin also said to the third brother: "This Ghazni is like the Liao Kingdom. If you fight with them, you will suffer. If you don't fight them, they will invade again. It's really difficult to deal with."

But Zhao Xin immediately remembered that there was something called a mountain pass in India.

To be honest, many people in later generations asked why Indians did not build the Great Wall there.

Zhao Xin thought that he could go and take a look.

See if it is feasible to build the Great Wall there.

Of course!
In addition to these, Zhao Xin also saw some human wall soldiers from northern India who were originally captured by the Ghaznavid Empire. Some of them who ran slowly were detained by Ajmir's officers.

Zhao Xin then met with these people and asked them if they were willing to stay and serve in the army. Those who were willing to stay and serve in the army were allowed to do so.

Those who don’t want to stay and serve in the army can go back and continue farming.

Some people's wives and children had already been raped and killed by the Ghazni soldiers. At this time, if you ask them to go home and farm, it would not make any sense.

therefore……

Although the number is small, you have to admit that there are actually some people who are willing to stay.

Zhao Xin asked people to keep all these people.

Now the Ghazni have withdrawn.

Zhao Xin is having a headache about how to find Masood III and fight him again.

After all, there is always such a powerful nomadic neighbor in your northwest corner, always staring at you like a piece of fat meat, which is not a good thing.

So next...

Zhao Xin also went north to Delhi.

While restoring order in Delhi and leaving troops to garrison, head west.

See if he can use his reputation over the years to conquer some of the cities and forces that were originally in the Indus River Basin and had already submitted to Ghazni.

Even if he has no plans to attack the Ghaznavid Empire for the time being, Zhao Xin must at least establish a minimum buffer zone within his sphere of influence.

and……

In this process, it is inevitable that some local people will be needed to serve as soldiers.

Just when Zhao Xin was thinking about how to build this defense line.

soon……

The letter of surrender and submission from Ghazni was also sent over.

(End of this chapter)