Usurpation of Mongolia: My father-in-law is Genghis Khan

Chapter 181 The most ruthless tribute treaty in history!

Ta-da!
A loud gong sounded from Xianren Pass, signaling the retreat and announcing the Song army's defeat that day.

"We've lost! We've lost!"

"Run!"

"Escape back to Immortal Pass!"

……

The Song army, still putting up resistance, simultaneously sounded gongs to warn their allies to retreat while organizing their own withdrawal. The already collapsing Song army then abandoned their armor and weapons and fled in a frenzy.

However, where can one escape?
At the forefront of the twenty-four camps were two large camps of the Han Army's Plain Yellow Banner. To the left were the brothers Shi Tianni and Shi Tianan, and to the right were the formidable duo Shi Tianze and Shi Tianxiang, each with three thousand troops lined up, completely blocking the road.

Whether the Song army wants to retreat or Xianren Pass sends troops to rescue them, they must first get past them!
Other camps also dispatched troops to cut off roads, and the Song army besieging Zhao Shuo's camp was cut into more than twenty sections.

It was also very difficult for the Song army to escape to the mountaintop.

The mountain is steep and difficult to climb.

If they abandon their armor and climb the mountain, they will face concentrated fire from the Mongol army's powerful bows and crossbows below. A single arrow wound will injure them, and escape today is out of the question.

If you climb the mountain wearing armor, your speed will only be slower, and if you get hit by a crossbow bolt fired by a divine armbow, the consequences will probably be even worse.

And most importantly, the war on the two mountain ridges has already begun!
On the right ridge, leading the 5,000 troops in a fierce charge, was Wang Shixian's army.

"Quick! Quick!"

To ensure sufficient speed, Wang Shixian and his soldiers climbing the mountain wore only a single layer of iron armor.

Each layer of iron armor weighed a full forty-six pounds. How could it be easy to climb a high mountain while wearing such armor? When Wang Shixian reached the ridge, he was fine, but his soldiers were already panting heavily.

But Wang Shixian dared not delay.

time is life!

Time is of the essence!

"Brothers, charge with me! If we're tired, Song Gou will be even more tired! As long as we don't die from running, fight to the death with me!"

"Yes!"

Holding a large iron spear, Wang Shixian charged forward along the rugged, overgrown, and rocky mountain ridge.

The figures of Song soldiers could already be seen not far in front of him.

On the narrow mountain ridge, two Song soldiers dressed in infantry armor held heavy axes, their faces contorted with ferocious smiles, ready for battle.

The State of Song also had elite troops.

The Song Dynasty's heavy infantry, each set of armor weighed seventy catties. Without sufficient physical strength, they couldn't even move while wearing the armor, let alone fight.

The Song soldiers who could fight in infantry armor were all absolutely elite, brave and fierce warriors!
To put it bluntly, what's wrong with southerners or northerners? As long as the selection of soldiers is rigorous and they are given sufficient pay and benefits, there is no Han Chinese, whether from the south or the north, who cannot fight!
The outcome will depend on which side can use its money wisely, gather more elite Han Chinese troops, address their concerns about the rear, and equip them with better gear.

"kill!"

With a shout, two heavy axes swung down at Wang Shixian from the left and right almost simultaneously.

Wang Shixian suddenly took a step back, dodging the heavy blows from the two heavy axes.

Immediately afterwards, the iron spear in his hand shot out like a venomous snake, its Damascus steel tip piercing straight into the neck armor of the soldier on the left!

Blood splattered everywhere!
"what!"

The armored soldier let out a scream and fell to the ground.

At the same time, the armored soldier on the right swept his heavy axe across, less than five feet away from Wang Shixian, intending to cut him in half at the waist!

"Ok?"

What a fine Wang Shixian! He truly deserves to be called a peerless general in historical records, capable of single-handedly charging into Cao Youwen's army and capturing Jiameng Pass with only nine riders.

He suddenly stepped to the left, and in a flash, he swung his thirty-pound iron spear downwards, blocking the heavy axe of the Song soldier.

Then, he roared "Kill!"
Wang Shixian suddenly thrust his iron spear upwards, piercing the abdomen of the armored soldier on the right!

The lower abdomen is the weak point of the armor, but a person stabbed in the lower abdomen will not die immediately.

However, another "Kill" was uttered immediately afterward.

The Wanggu soldiers who followed up swung their iron maces and smashed them heavily into the soldier's helmet.

The helmet, made of fine iron, was dented by this iron mace, leaving a dent the size of a baby's fist!
Pfft!
The armored soldier fell to the ground without uttering a sound.

"Brothers, follow me! As long as you don't die from running, go all out!"

Wang Shixian led 5,000 soldiers and continued forward.

Looking into the distance, the mountain ridge on the right resembles a black dragon churning or an iron chain rolling, rapidly winding its way towards Xianren Pass.

The banner of the 20,000th household of the Plain Yellow Banner of the Han Army shone brightly in the sunlight.

On the mountains to the left, Zhao Shuo's army was performing no less impressively.

"Shajinping" and "Er'ai" were garrisoned by the 20,000th Household of the Han Army's Zhenglan Banner.

The head of this household was named Peng Yibin.

Peng Yibin, a native of Shandong, was like Zhang Hui, the 20,000th commander of the Plain Red Banner of the Han Army. He was a brave and valiant warrior who rose to prominence through his military achievements.

He was originally under the command of Liu Erzu, a commander of the Han Army's Bordered Black Banner.

Historical records indicate that Peng Yibin first joined Liu Erzu of the Red Turban Army. After Liu Erzu's death, Peng Yibin led his troops to ally with Hao Ding, establishing the Tianqi regime and changing the era name to Shuntian. After Hao Ding's death, Peng Yibin led his troops to surrender to Li Quan and the Song Dynasty, rising to the rank of commander and becoming a general in the Song Dynasty's "Loyal and Righteous Army."

Later, Peng Yibin, dissatisfied with Li Quan's perverse actions, joined forces with the Red Turban Army scattered throughout Shandong to capture Qingzhou, Fuzhou, and other places. He then defeated Li Quan in Enzhou, Hebei, greatly boosting his military strength. He conquered most of Hebei and commanded hundreds of thousands of troops. From then on, he became the top warlord in Hebei and Shandong.

Peng Yibin's imposing presence made Wu Xian, who had already surrendered to the Mongols, uneasy. He then betrayed the Mongols and defected to the Jin, killing Shi Tianni.

Unfortunately, later, under the instigation of the villain Sun Qing, Yan Shi rebelled and attacked Peng Yibin together with the Mongol army and Han Marquis Shi Tianze. In the end, Peng Yibin was defeated and died calmly.

Such a person, in terms of true ability, probably surpasses most of the hereditary marquises of the Han dynasty recorded in history.

When Zhao Shuojun issued the order, Peng Yibin already knew what he had to do.

As soon as the drums of the general offensive sounded, the 20,000th household of the Han Army's Plain Blue Banner under his command launched a full-scale attack to seize the left ridge!
Thus, Peng Yibin positioned himself on the left and Wang Shixian on the right, launching a frenzied attack on the Song army and seizing the mountain ridges on both sides of the canyon.

Half an hour later, Peng Yibin's army had completely occupied the left ridge.

Half an hour later, Wang Shixian's army also occupied the right ridge.

Zhao Shuo's army, positioned on both mountain ridges, held a commanding view and firmly guarded the ridges, making it impossible for the Song army to escape back to Xianren Pass via the ridges.

Next comes the moment of harvest.

The Song army below the mountain had nowhere to escape and was divided by Zhao Shuo's army, leaving them with no hope of survival.

After a day of fierce fighting, the last remnants of the Song army surrendered to Zhao Shuo. That night, inside Zhao Shuo's central command tent...

"The detailed results haven't been tallied yet, but we have a general idea of ​​what happened," Gerile reported to Zhao Shuo.

Zhao Shuo asked, "How many men did the Song army lose in total? How many soldiers are still guarding Xianren Pass?"

"We captured a total of over 96,000 Song soldiers. After a day and night of fierce fighting, we beheaded over 27,000. That is to say, the Song army lost 124,000 men. Roughly estimated, of them, 60,000 were elite troops and 64,000 were local garrison troops."

"According to our interrogation of senior Song prisoners, there were a total of 90,000 elite troops and about 100,000 local troops inside Xianren Pass. That is to say, they only have 30,000 elite troops and less than 40,000 local troops left, with a total strength of less than 70,000."

"Moreover, these people have suffered a major defeat and their morale is low. I'm afraid even elite soldiers can no longer be used as elite soldiers."

Zhao Shuo nodded slightly and said, "Yes, it's about what I estimated. We left behind about 60 to 70% of the Song army."

After all, it would take Zhao Shuo's army a considerable amount of time to seize the mountain ridge. Moreover, the army that charged out from Xianren Pass to attack Zhao Shuo's camp head-on could not encircle and annihilate them; it would be good if 70% of the Song army survived this battle.

Gerile asked, "What should we do with those surrendered Song soldiers? The mountain roads here are too difficult to traverse, logistics are a problem, and keeping them around is a waste of food. Guarding them will also tie up a lot of our troops. How about we just do it tonight..."

He swung his right hand down, which meant he was going to behead him.

Zhao Shuo thought for a moment, then shook his head slightly and said, "No need. Grain transportation is difficult, but we can hold out for ten days or half a month, right? They still have a use."

"What is the use?"

Zhao Shuo chuckled and said, "Then we'll see how our negotiations with the Song people go. If the Song people are willing to talk and are willing to pay a sufficient price, the grain we need can be supplied by the Song people."

"When that time comes, we will have the Song people send the families of these prisoners. The brave and fierce surrendered soldiers will be directly added to the Eight Banners Army. Ordinary soldiers will be demoted to slaves for ten years and stationed in Shaanxi and Hanzhong to cultivate land and provide food and supplies for the army."

These are Zhao Shuo's true feelings.

In reality, transporting grain from Shaanxi through Sichuan and Hubei relied entirely on tens of thousands of soldiers. Even with the addition of the 100,000 prisoners, it was unrealistic to simply supply Zhao Shuo's army. Zhao Shuo had long been prepared to extort a hefty sum from the Song Dynasty.

Moreover, although the Song army was defeated, it still had many elite soldiers among its troops.

This perfectly aligns with Zhao Shuo's preconceived notion: the Song army was only incompetent in its leaders and system; the rank-and-file soldiers were capable of fighting.

He could easily select the bravest and most valiant warriors to supplement the Han Chinese Eight Banners and make up for the losses suffered by the Eight Banners army this time.

Gerile asked, "What if the Song people are unwilling to negotiate?"

“We’ll wait three days. If the Song people don’t come to negotiate, then we won’t ask for passage; we’ll attack the Song directly. All prisoners will be incorporated into the Balu Camp. We’ll take Hanzhong first, then occupy Sichuan!” Zhao Shuo sneered. “I don’t mind taking the Song first, then destroying the Jin.”

"Yes!"

In fact, Zhao Shuo didn't even wait three days.

The next day, Cao Youwen raised a white flag and left Xianren Pass, demanding that his representative, Gui Ruyuan, negotiate with Zhao Shuo.

"My General Gui's idea is that as long as His Majesty is willing to make peace with our Great Song Dynasty, he will not only cede Xianren Pass, but also send your country's army out of Raofeng Pass. He may even persuade the generals of Jingxi South Road to allow your country's army to pass through Song territory without firing a single shot."

The so-called Jingxi South Road probably corresponds to what is now Hubei Province. Xiangyang was the capital of Jingxi South Road.

Cao Youwen continued, "Not only that, Commander Gui is also willing to provide 200,000 shi of grain, 10,000 sheep, and 20,000 pigs to reward the King's army for their hardships in battle."

These are the initial conditions for Gui Ruyuan.

If Zhao Shuo agrees, then for Gui Ruyuan, the Battle of Xianren Pass will be nothing more than a "minor setback," and the loss of troops can be completely concealed by the maneuvering on paper.

These reward supplies were a given; Gui Ruyuan could easily prepare them using Sichuan's reserves.

Then, Gui Ruyuan told Shi Miyuan the truth, cleared the way, and asked Zhao Shuo's troops to pass peacefully through Song territory.

In this way, Gui Ruyuan can continue to serve as the Pacification Commissioner of Sichuan without any problems, and Cao Youwen will not be implicated in any way.

However, how could Zhao Shuo possibly let him have his way?

"So these are your conditions?" Zhao Shuo's face showed no emotion as he said, "Ge Rile, tell us your conditions as well."

"Yes."

Gerile said, “Our conditions are mainly five. First, we have registered the names of all Song prisoners. The Song state must hand over the families of these prisoners.”

Cao Youwen didn't care about these prisoners and their families. Besides, since they had fallen into Zhao Shuo's hands, could he expect him to give them back?

He nodded slightly and said, "Yes. I can agree to this on behalf of Marshal Gui."

"Secondly, what is 200,000 shi of grain enough for? The Song Dynasty must deliver 2 million shi of military rations to our army. Moreover, these rations must be delivered to the locations we designate! In other words, from the day the agreement is reached, all the grain needed by our army to conquer the Jin Dynasty will be supplied by the Song Dynasty."

Cao Youwen gritted his teeth slightly and said, "It's not impossible. Please give me a third option."

"The third condition is that the entire Hanzhong region, namely the Lizhou East Circuit and Lizhou West Circuit of the Song Dynasty, be ceded to our country! Not only that, we also want Jianmen Pass in Sichuan!"

Zhao Shuo currently only occupies Fengzhou. He is also unaware whether Guo Baoyu has taken Xihezhou.

The land offered under these conditions included more than a dozen prefectures, including five states and three passes, encompassing the entire Hanzhong region!
Not only that, further south of Hanzhong lies Jianmen Pass in Sichuan.

The roads to Shu are said to be harder than ascending to heaven, and Jianmen Pass is one of them. This pass is so difficult that one man can hold it against ten thousand, making it much harder to conquer than the Immortal Pass.

"No! Never!"

Cao Youwen immediately became anxious and said, "Gui Shuai is merely a Sichuan Pacification Commissioner and has absolutely no power to cede an inch of land to the Song Dynasty."

"Moreover, aren't you asking for too much? There are more than a dozen prefectures in the east and west of Lizhou, and you haven't even taken two of them, yet you want them all! You even want Jianmen Pass! If Jianmen Pass is lost, won't the Sichuan region of my Song Kingdom be at your mercy?"

Gerile smiled coldly and said, "What we want is the land of Sichuan, where we can roam freely. Don't rush, let me tell you my fourth point. Sichuan's annual tax revenue is over 30 million strings of cash, right? We want half of Sichuan's annual revenue."

"In other words, from the day the agreement is reached, the State of Song will pay tribute to my king every year with goods worth 17 million strings of cash. If the State of Song breaks the agreement in the future, we will take it back ourselves!"

Seventeen million strings of cash, which would be equivalent to seventeen million taels of silver in the early Northern Song Dynasty!
By the Southern Song Dynasty, due to the large-scale promotion of wet copper smelting, copper production had increased significantly, and the payment of tribute in silver had led to a situation where copper was cheap and silver was expensive. However, this amount was equivalent to nearly seven million taels of silver.

The humiliating "Jiading Agreement" that the Song Dynasty signed with the Jin Dynasty only stipulated an annual tribute of 350,000 taels of silver, 300,000 bolts of silk, and 3 million taels of silver as a reward for the army.

It can be said that this agreement was the one with the largest indemnity ever paid by the Song Dynasty since the founding of the Song Dynasty by Emperor Taizu!
Moreover, it's ten times higher than the previous agreement!
"Do you really think that my Song Kingdom is powerless to fight back?" Cao You was furious upon hearing this. He said, "Although my main force in Sichuan suffered heavy losses at Xianren Pass, we can still transfer troops from the Yangtze River and enter Sichuan through the Kuimen Pass! Sichuan is a strategically important and dangerous place. If you want half of Sichuan, you'll be in for a world of trouble!"

Gerile said, “You are welcome to try. It always takes time to move troops from the Yangtze River, right? I really want to see whether your Song Dynasty can move troops faster, or whether we can take over half of Sichuan with 100,000 Song prisoners as the Balu Camp! I really want to see which of the two emperors, the North and the South, has more popular support among the people of Sichuan!”

"This this……"

Gerile's words truly struck Cao Youwen's weak spot.

Yes, the Song Dynasty could urgently transfer troops from the Yangtze River to Sichuan. Sichuan had numerous strategic passes and ample reserves. If it were a Mongol army attacking, they might not necessarily gain much advantage.

But isn't this "the Zhao Emperor from the North" coming?

Whether Sichuan can be mobilized to resist Zhao Shuo's advance is hard to say.

Cao Youwen broke out in a cold sweat and stammered, "No... no matter what, this... this matter is too important, and Commander Gui really can't make the decision!"

"I never expected him to make the decision."

Zhao Shuo suddenly spoke up: "Let me state the fifth point. Emperor Zhao Yun of the Song Dynasty issued an edict of self-reproach, declaring to all his subjects that he should not have forgotten his ancestors and allied with the Jin against the Mongols. From the day the agreement was reached, he should change course and unite with the Mongols to destroy the Jin!"

"What? He... he's going to issue an edict of self-reproach?" Cao Youwen's expression changed drastically, and he exclaimed in surprise.

(End of this chapter)