Northern Song Dynasty: Starting from the son of Song Renzong

Chapter 348: Clearing Asia Minor
The seventy-sixth year of the Li Yuan Dynasty.

Major earthquakes occurred in some areas of the eastern Mediterranean, causing about hundreds of thousands of Arab deaths and injuries.

Countless houses were damaged.

This earthquake could have happened at any other time, but it chose to happen just after the Song army occupied the area.

of course!

On the Song army side, no one was killed or injured in the earthquake because the Song army had already withdrawn from the area when the earthquake occurred.

only……

This more or less affected the Song Dynasty's rule over the region.

after all……

We didn't have any earthquakes when you weren't here.

After you came, we had an earthquake.

Fortunately, the holy city of Jerusalem in the eastern Mediterranean did not feel any obvious tremors.

otherwise……

The legitimacy of this rule is hard to say.

of course!

Anyway, it's all over.

There is no point in mentioning these now.

By the end of this year, Han Shizhong and Yue Fei completed the extermination of the Assassins and dismantled the Eagle Fort, the Assassins' stronghold in the south of the Caspian Sea.

Then...

Zhao Xin's great-grandson Zhao Pei sent people to Azerbaijan to persuade the forces in Azerbaijan to surrender.

Although nowadays, we are still a long way from truly controlling the entire Seljuk Empire.

But at least in name, almost all the forces around now have to obey Zhao Pei's orders.

They had to pay taxes to Zhao Pei, and at the same time, when Zhao Pei needed it, they had to send troops to fight and provide military support for Zhao Pei.

The seventy-seventh year of the Li Yuan Dynasty.

At this time, Louis VII was still on the way.

And Zhao Xin also gave Zhao Pei a task.

That is to try and find an opportunity to capture Constantinople, which is across the sea from the western part of Asia Minor.

after all……

To be honest, the richest, most populous and even most strategically valuable regions in the Western world are probably Rome and Constantinople.

As for Rome, it is too far away now.

Let’s start with Constantinople.

Anyway...

Now so many people have surrendered, and these people have a large number of soldiers in their hands.

If we don't take these surrendered soldiers as gifts, how can we tell which of them truly want to surrender?

At Zhao Xin's request.

soon……

Zhao Pei also recalled the Seljuk emirs who were far away.

Immediately afterwards...

He discussed the plan to capture Constantinople with Han Shizhong and Yue Fei.

After all, Zhao Pei has no military experience.

only……

When it comes to fighting a war, you don't necessarily need to be very experienced.

Anyway...

Just leave it to Han Shizhong, Yue Fei, and the other emirs.

Then...

Everyone gathered in Isfahan to discuss how to attack.

The topography of Constantinople can only be described as excellent.

To the east is the sea, and to the west is the vast territory in its belly.

and……

At this time, the coastal cities of Asia Minor were basically still under the control of the Byzantine Empire.

therefore……

If Zhao Pei wanted to capture Constantinople, the first prerequisite should be to take down some coastal cities of the Byzantine Empire one by one. Only in this way could they allow the navy to appear in the southeast of Constantinople in a swaggering manner.

to be frank!
This doesn't sound like an easy thing to do.

But there is a good saying!

No matter how difficult things are, as long as they complete them step by step, their goal should be easily achievable.

After understanding the current situation of the Byzantine Empire, they mainly occupied those cities.

Immediately afterwards...

Zhao Pei then began to divide the work among them.

Ask them first who is willing to be the striker.

No one wants to...

Then just arrange the task directly.

The land issue will be resolved by the Sultanate of Rum.

As for the sea route...

It's not too late for them to start building a navy now.

Anyway...

If they looked for it, it would be easy to find the shipbuilding craftsman.

And in fact...

Naval battles are not necessary.

However, if they cannot gain the advantage at sea, then their supply lines may be in trouble.

Let it take at least a year to prepare.

But on the land side, this year can start directly.

Before fighting, you should communicate with the other party first.

However, it is naturally difficult for others to accept someone like Zhao Xin who demands that others surrender, acknowledge him as a vassal, and pay tribute right from the start.

The current emperor of the Eastern Roman Byzantine Empire is John II.

This was not an emperor who liked to sit comfortably in Constantinople and wait for news from the front.

While Zhao Pei was discussing how to capture Constantinople, John II and his generals were also planning how to retake the land lost by the Crusaders.

to be frank!
They had agreed with the Crusaders that all the lands conquered by the Crusaders and close to them would belong to them.

As a result, after conquering the cities, those despicable and greedy Crusaders took all the cities along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean for themselves, and proclaimed themselves kings and divided up the lands in the local areas.

He was really angry at that time.

It's so shameless!
So instead of relying on those crusaders, this time, it is better to rely on himself.

of course!

It is impossible to say that he has no fear of the Song Dynasty soldiers.

only……

How powerful is the Song Dynasty? How strong is the Peach Blossom Stone mentioned by the Seljuks? Isn't it necessary to see it with one's own eyes first?

then……

In the second year.

When Zhao Pei asked the Zengid Dynasty and the Sultanate of Rum to eliminate the Byzantine forces in Asia Minor, the two sides came face to face.

The battle took place in the coastal area of ​​the northern Mediterranean Sea.

can only say……

John II was a capable monarch. His biggest goal was to rebuild the Eastern Roman Empire and make the Byzantine Empire great again.

This time, he found an opportunity.

He actually ran behind the Zengid Dynasty and the Rum Sultanate, and successfully launched an attack on the armies of the Zengid Dynasty and the Rum Sultanate.

Before Li Yuan's army arrived, the enemy unexpectedly won a victory.

This made John II so proud that the corners of his mouth almost curled up to the sky.

Of course! John II's good luck did not last the second time.

When John II led his troops eastward again, preparing to retake the castles captured in the First Crusade, this time he encountered Han Shizhong, the Li Yuan army led by Yue Fei, the Eastern and Western Karakhanid Khanates, and the coalition forces of Khwarezm and Kerman Sultanate.

John II's men had the previous experience, so they felt that they did not need to worry about these enemies either.

result……

After a fierce battle, in less than half a day, the 40,000 troops under John II were defeated.

You have to know that Constantinople now has only 60,000 troops at most.

Among this army of 60,000, a large number of people are mercenaries.

of course!

You can't say that mercenaries are bad.

Because mercenaries also need to receive professional training before being sent to the battlefield to fight.

But what John II did is now a big deal!

The 60,000 people who were trained with great effort may now have to return to the situation before liberation.

But the good news is...

Once the mercenaries die, there is no need to pay them wages anymore.

As for pensions and the like, of course, they are not required.

Only after escaping did John II breathe a sigh of relief.

Han Shizhong and Yue Fei had no idea that the other party was the emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire. If they knew, they would not let him get away at all.

It was not until the battlefield was cleaned up and the prisoners were captured and interrogated that they learned that this time it was the emperor who led the army in person.

Han Shizhong immediately patted his thigh and said regretfully: "He got away!"

Then...

Arrived at the nearest coastal city of the Byzantine Empire.

Attack the city directly and fight your way through.

The Zengid Dynasty and the Rum Sultanate also had to make amends for their crimes during the siege.

Go and be the first to climb the mountain.

So, after a year of sweeping.

The remaining Byzantine forces in Asia Minor were also eliminated.

can only say……

Even Han Shizhong and Yue Fei did not expect that the rule here was that after capturing the enemy's general, they could ask the other party to pay a ransom to release him.

But you have to admit that this is indeed a good idea to some extent.

After all, war is not just about money.

only……

Those who cannot pay the ransom or are unwilling to pay the ransom are very likely to be beheaded.

of course!

Now these captives are actually still useful to them.

For example, you can get a lot of information about the other side's camp and the inside of the city from the other side's mouth.

therefore……

As of now, Han Shizhong and Yue Fei rarely directly ask the other party to release people in exchange for paying a ransom.

As for the captured low-level mercenaries...

In their opinion, this thing cannot be put back.

After all, according to the previous thinking, that would be like letting a tiger return to the mountains.

But now that I've lived here for a long time, I've gradually begun to feel that this method is actually feasible.

But if the two men wanted to exchange the captives for money, it would depend on whether John II was willing.

The result is……

Of course John II was unwilling to do that!
After all, these are just lowly mercenaries. Would you pay ransom for them?
Han Shizhong and Yue Fei thought this could be exchanged for money.

But in the end I realized that I was overthinking.

Those valuable items were sent back to Isfahan and Solangi by Han Shizhong and Yue Fei.

And John II didn't want those that were worthless at all.

no way!

Since no one wants them, we can either chop them off or find a place for them to farm.

Han Shizhong and Yue Fei had a slight disagreement on how to deal with these people.

Han Shizhong advocated just chopping him off.

After all, these people who can come here as mercenaries and now have mastered a set of killing skills, to be honest, are not good people.

If you ask him to go back to farming now, I guess he won't be willing to do so.

After all, he was hoping to get rich overnight on the battlefield.

Yue Fei's opinion was that killing them would be too detrimental to the harmony of nature, so it would be better to incorporate them into the army.

Han Shizhong could only say that Yue Fei was too soft-hearted.

Write a letter back to ask the commander of Li Yuan army and Zhao Pei what to do?
The two of them were actually quite conflicted when they were talking about reason.

of course!

Considering that now is the time to use people.

Just let Yue Fei take it alone.

The two separated.

After receiving the order, Yue Fei brainwashed the thousands of captured mercenaries from different parts of Europe.

They are willing to follow you until you have washed them through mountains of swords and seas of fire.

This matter has finally come to an end.

But to be honest, some religious fanatics have clearly stated that they are unwilling to work for the Song Dynasty.

However, there are relatively few such people.

These people were beheaded directly.

Beheading them in front of those who were willing to surrender might have intimidated them a little.

In fact...

Yue Fei found out that many of the mercenaries they captured were farmers, and that they were trained in a very short period of time and then directly sent to the battlefield.

As for what you said...

Why would you stop being a farmer and become a mercenary?

All I can say is that there is never a shortage of bankrupt and landless poor people in this world. Of course, there are some who have completely personal problems, such as losing a gambling game, and then fantasizing that if they can win a war, they can collect valuable property from the enemy.

Be reasonable!
When Yue Fei heard what these people said, he really felt a little regretful and wondered why he didn't kill the other party at the beginning.

But now that things have come to this, he can only set rules for them and hope that they will be good people in the future.

Place all these people in the front line towards Constantinople.

after……

We will use them as vanguards and meat shields.

This year.

The Song Dynasty is across the sea from Constantinople.

The narrowest distance between the two sides was less than a thousand steps.

Naturally, John II wrote another letter for help to the Western Roman Catholic Church in Italy.

The end of this year.

John II was slightly relieved when he learned that the King of France had responded to the call and was on the way.

Moreover, it is said that King Louis VII of France brought as many as 100,000 people this time, although this is definitely a claim.

But I guess it won’t be much less.

No matter what, there should be at least 10,000 to 20,000 regular troops, plus 20,000 to 30,000 vassal troops.

Moreover, there must be no shortage of heavy cavalry and the like.

So much so that while John II was bathing in the big bath, he could not help but say to the nobles in the country and the woman who was scrubbing his body, "Young Louis VII really helped a lot this time."

A minister also said: "According to intelligence, the Song Dynasty does not have warships for naval warfare yet, so before the warships are built, the other side should not rashly attack. Your Majesty can rest assured about this."

But what John II was more concerned about was, "The weapons of the Song Dynasty are too powerful. Is there anyone who can crack them?"

The minister said, "If we want to crack it, we must first find a real object. However, so far, we have not been able to obtain a real object of those weapons."

(End of this chapter)