Song Xiu

Chapter 130 Sweeping the Hole Away from the Ground and Providing Timely Assistance
When Pan Mei led his army into Hengzhou, there were already four military forces in Hengzhou.

These four military forces, apart from the Song army, were Wu Yanrou's 20,000 Southern Han troops, Yang Shifan's 10,000-plus Wuping troops, and Zhang Wenbiao's several thousand Hengyang troops.

Upon learning of the Song army's southward advance, Yang Shifan, following the advice of his deputy Wang Duan, ordered his men to seek aid from the Xi Dong Man Liao and other foreign tribes.

The earliest origins of the Xidong Manliao can be traced back to the pre-Qin period. As a foreign ethnic group living in the Hunan region, they submitted to the powerful Chinese regime when it was strong and rebelled when it was weak.

Since the An Lushan Rebellion, the Xidong Man and Liao tribes and other ethnic groups have repeatedly caused trouble in the Hunan and Hubei region, becoming a major destabilizing factor in the area.

After Zhou Xingfeng became the military governor of Wuping, he initially took the force to resolutely strike back against the repeated incursions and raids by the various barbarian tribes of Xidong.

As the crackdown gradually gained momentum, the unstable external situation of Wuping Kingdom forced Zhou Xingfeng to adopt a policy of appeasement towards the barbarian chieftains.

Zhou Xingfeng bestowed official titles such as Grand Protector and Minister of Works upon many of the barbarian chieftains, successfully pacifying relations with the various barbarian tribes of Xidong.

As subjects of the Wuping Kingdom, the various barbarian tribes of Xidong immediately agreed to lead troops into the territory to assist Yang Shifan after receiving his request for help.

With Yang Shifan's actions, it's likely that another military force will soon emerge within Hengzhou.

The various barbarian tribes of Xidong, though nominally subjects of Wuping, actually sent troops to assist him, probably because they saw that the Wuping regime was in dire straits and wanted to plunder Hengzhou territory.

Faced with the complex situation in Hengzhou, Pan Mei remained calm and composed.

Before leaving Tanzhou, Zhao Dexiu gave him the power to make decisions on the spot, which gave Pan Mei enough room to display his talents.

Pan Mei first calmly analyzed the situation in Hengzhou. He believed that Wu Yanrou had no long-term plans, so he first relied on the power of the Song army's great victory at Dongting Lake to deter the Southern Han army's unrest.

After intimidating the Southern Han army, Pan Meiyi led his troops to Hengyang and launched an attack on Yang Shifan's forces.

The Song army consisted entirely of elite infantry, and their morale was high, making it difficult for the Wuping army to resist the Song army's attack.

Under Pan Mei's command, the Song army won three battles in a row, nearly scattering Yang Shifan's troops.

If it weren't for the timely arrival of the Xi Dong tribes, Yang Shifan's forces would have been completely defeated by the Song army long ago.

Pan Mei's strategy of first suppressing Nanhan and then attacking Wuping successfully allowed the Song army to gain a foothold in the southern prefectures of Wuping.

After initially stabilizing the situation in the south, Pan Mei wrote to Zhao Dexiu, asking him what strategy he should adopt towards the various tribes of Xidong.

Since the early Tang Dynasty, how to handle relations with foreign ethnic groups has been a long-standing and difficult problem for the central government.

Let's leave aside the many unpleasant things that happened during the early Tang Dynasty.

After entering the Five Dynasties period, the central government mostly adopted a policy of appeasement and control towards the various ethnic groups in the country.

This policy was partly due to the fact that some of the dynasties during the Five Dynasties period were established by foreign ethnic groups.

Another reason is that after a century of development, various ethnic groups from all over the world have gradually become too powerful to control.

To maintain a semblance of peace, most monarchs chose to exchange "peace" for a policy of appeasement.

This was the usual practice during the Five Dynasties period, and Pan Mei dared not act on his own regarding the invasion of the various barbarian tribes of Xidong.

When Pan Mei's letter was delivered to Zhao Dexiu, Cao Bin, who had just led his troops south, was reporting back to Zhao Dexiu.

And so, Cao Bin met his lord and slammed his hand heavily on the desk:
"How dare this mere mountain village interfere with our dynasty's unification?"

Cao Bin could clearly sense Zhao Dexiu's anger from her tone.

Zhao Dexiu understood that the Khitan, Tangut, Shatuo, and Uyghur peoples, among other ethnic groups, had some influence on the unification of the Song Dynasty.

After all, these alien forces are not to be underestimated.

However, Zhao Dexiu had never heard of the name Xidong before.

The fact that even a small village dared to defy the Song Dynasty is enough to prove one thing—since the An Lushan Rebellion, foreign tribes have long looked down on China.

Is it bearable, what is unbearable?

After Zhao Dexiu put away Pan Mei's letter, he said to Cao Bin:

"You shall immediately lead the Jingnan army south to serve as Zhongxun's deputy."

After the Battle of Dongting Lake, the Wuping Army no longer had a fully-fledged naval force, and Zhao Dexiu kept the Jingnan Army by his side, but it was no longer of much use.

The Jingnan Army was originally the Hunan Army, so it must have had a good understanding of the various ethnic groups in the Xidong region.

After issuing the first military order, Zhao Dexiu continued:

"After you arrive in Hengzhou, convey my message to the various barbarian tribes of Xidong:"

"Fight if you can, defend if you can't, surrender if you can't defend, and choose death if you refuse to surrender!"

After finishing speaking, Zhao Dexiu reiterated:

I only accept the above four outcomes.

"It's not easy for the imperial court to send troops; I don't want to hear of any more rebellions in the mountain villages."

Zhao Dexiu's words made Cao Bin very serious.

Cao Bin realized that Zhao Dexiu wanted to completely resolve the problem of Xidong.

After understanding Zhao Dexiu's intention, Cao Bin quickly got up, accepted the order, and left.

Watching Cao Bin's departing figure, Zhao Dexiu clenched her right hand tightly, holding the tiger tally.

Zhao Dexiu recalled the Khitan delegation's southward journey, and also his recent correspondence with Zhe Deyi.

After the Battle of Chuzhou, Yang Ye suffered many injuries, and Zhao Dexiu originally intended for him to recuperate properly in Yangzhou.

After a period of recuperation, Yang Ye wrote to request to return to his hometown of Linzhou to reunite with his family.

Linzhou, which is probably the area around Yulin in later generations, was an important northwestern town of the Song Dynasty.

Yang Ye had followed Liu Min since he was a young man and had not returned to his hometown for many years. It was only natural for him to feel homesick, and Zhao Dexiu would not refuse him.

After Yang Ye returned to the Northwest, he re-established contact with his father-in-law, Zhe Deyi. Zhe Deyi, who was stationed in Fuzhou, learned that Yang Ye had become a close advisor to Zhao Dexiu and privately wrote a letter to express his gratitude to Zhao Dexiu.

His ostensible intention was gratitude, but in reality, he wanted to find someone to rely on in the imperial court.

The Zhe clan of Fuzhou, nominally Song Chen, was actually a local armed force in Guanzhong.

As the central authority of the Song Dynasty grew stronger, Zhe Deyi was worried about the future. It was a wise choice for him to seek refuge with Zhao Dexiu through his relationship with Yang Ye.

Although the Zhe clan was powerful in the prefecture, they did not exhibit any signs of separatism or arrogance.

Whenever a new dynasty was established in the Central Plains, Zhe Deyu would always respectfully submit a letter of submission and earnestly follow the decrees of the Central Plains dynasty.

Most importantly, with various Hu tribes vying for power in Guanzhong, Zhe Deyi dedicated his life to resisting the invasion of foreign tribes, which made Zhao Kuangyin quite fond of the Zhe family.

After establishing contact with Zhe Deyi, Zhao Dexiu learned about many important matters in the Northwest.

For example, the increasingly rampant Tangut people in recent years.

The Tangut Li clan claimed that "Xia Prefecture is the Li clan's original territory, and the people fear and obey it; it is not something that China can touch."

The Dingnan Army's strategy towards the Central Plains regime was: "To submit to the emperor but not to cede territory, to attach themselves to powerful states but not to appoint anyone," making them essentially an independent kingdom.

Since the late Tang Dynasty, the Central Plains had seen frequent changes of royal power, with countless individuals establishing their own independent regimes. If it were merely a matter of establishing an independent regime in one region, Zhao Dexiu would not have been too wary.

What Zhao Dexiu feared was that the Li family of Dingnan Army vigorously promoted "Dangxiang culture" within their territory.

The Li family of Dingnan Army forced the Han people within their territory to adopt Tangut culture as the main form of their culture in terms of language, clothing, and religious beliefs.

The prototype of the Western Xia Kingdom had quietly emerged in the northwest of the Song Dynasty.

The Khitan delegation's southward journey was clearly intended to probe the enemy's intentions.

The Tanguts in the Northwest held sway, and their ambition to establish a state was secretly growing.

These two points left Zhao Dexiu, who had just pacified Wuping Kingdom, with little satisfaction.

The world is like a shattered jigsaw puzzle; rebuilding the Han dynasty's land is a long and arduous task.

After some thought, Zhao Dexiu picked up his pen, intending to write a letter to his father.

I heard that there is no governor in Xijing? In mid-December of the first year of Jianlong in the Song Dynasty, Cao Bin led the Jingnan army to the outskirts of Hengyang.

Before Cao Bin arrived, Wu Yanrou had already led her troops back into the territory of the Southern Han.

Upon arrival, Cao Bin relayed Zhao Dexiu's orders.

Upon learning that Zhao Dexiu intended to "sweep away the enemy's graves," Pan Mei no longer hesitated.

The next day, Pan Mei joined forces with Cao Bin and launched a general offensive against the combined forces of Yang Shifan and Xi Dong outside Hengyang City.

In the previous battles, Yang Shifan's troops had already suffered heavy losses. Although they had received assistance from the various barbarian tribes of Xidong, the Song army's strength had increased by nearly 10,000.

Under the fierce attack of the Song army, the allied forces of the two armies suffered a great defeat, and the various barbarian tribes of Xidong were killed in battle, with countless others fleeing.

As for Yang Shifan and several generals, they were protecting Zhou Baoquan amidst the chaos of battle, intending to escape to the Southern Han for refuge.

Before even entering the country, Yang Shifan overheard that Wu Yanrou had ordered the checkpoints along the way not to accept the defeated troops from Wuping.

Upon learning this news, Yang Shifan was greatly shocked.

Just as Yang Shifan was considering whether to take Zhou Baoquan with him to the Southern Tang, the accompanying generals realized that there was no hope for the Zhou family of Wuping, so they killed Yang Shifan together.

After killing Yang Shifan, these generals, along with Zhou Baoquan, surrendered to the Song army camp.

Pan Mei and Cao Bin were overjoyed to hear that Zhou Baoquan had arrived, just as they were worried about not being able to find him.

After taking control of Zhou Baoquan, Cao Bin, in accordance with military orders, handed over command of the Jingnan Army to Pan Mei.

He then led the Imperial Guards, taking Zhou Baoquan north back to Tanzhou.

After meeting Zhou Baoquan, Zhao Dexiu did not harm him. He sent messengers to inform the southern prefectures of Wuping about Zhou Baoquan's capture.

Upon learning that Zhou Baoquan had fallen into the hands of the Song army, the southern prefectures of Wuping, which had previously wavered in their stance, immediately sent envoys to Tanzhou to express their submission to Zhao Dexiu.

From then on, the Kingdom of Wuping was destroyed, and Zhao Dexiu recovered the entire territory of Wuping!

In late December of the first year of the Jianlong era of the Song Dynasty, several heavy snowfalls swept through Kaifeng City this winter.

As soon as the heavy snow stopped, Princess Li Duruo of Taiyuan walked out of the palace, got into her carriage, and headed out of the city.

Li Duoruo's destination was the family compound of the Chanzhou army outside the city.

Before marrying Zhao Dexiu, Li Duruo would occasionally visit the family compound to express her condolences to Zhao Dexiu's family in Chanzhou.

After the wedding, Li Duruo visited the family compound twice a month.

On the first and fifteenth of each lunar month, Li Duruo would give grain, meat, and clothing to the families of soldiers in Chanzhou.

The families of soldiers in Chanzhou may not have a deep understanding after only one or two visits.

When care becomes the norm, a concept will naturally emerge in the minds of all family members:

The princess is of a high status. If she did not genuinely care for the prince, why would she come so often despite the cold and heat?
If you have this idea in your heart, it will naturally be reflected in your letters home.

When soldiers are away on expeditions, it is common for them to write letters home to their families because they miss them.

However, the vast majority of the soldiers and their families in Chanzhou were illiterate. Li Duruo had noticed this and advised Zhao Dexiu:
"Family members are the source of a hero's thoughts, and he often seeks solace in letters from home during his leisure time."

If you, sir, could offer some words of comfort to this brave warrior, why should we worry that he wouldn't be willing to die for you while he's away?

After listening to Li Duruo's suggestion, Zhao Dexiu felt it made a lot of sense.

Thinking of Lü Qiu Zhongqing's preparations for an intelligence organization, Zhao Dexiu entrusted the matter to Lü Qiu Zhongqing.

Regardless of the surrounding armies, within Zhao Dexiu's Chanzhou army, letters home had a two-way communication channel.

When the soldiers of Chanzhou learned that their families were well taken care of by Li Duruo outside Kaifeng, they fought with unwavering courage and selflessness.

When Li Duoruo's car stopped outside the family compound, some children who heard the noise ran out excitedly and surrounded Li Duoruo as she got out of the car.

As a princess, Li Duruo naturally had guards when she traveled.

However, after Li Duoruo entered the family compound, he never had the guards isolate the military families in Chanzhou.

The families of the soldiers in Chanzhou were all from farming backgrounds and had seen the coldness and warmth of human relationships. Through Li Duruo's subtle actions, they could see Li Duruo's true feelings.

At least for now, all the families of the soldiers in Chanzhou can feel that Li Duruo's care for them is genuine.

After the children ran out laughing to welcome her, hundreds of family members, supporting each other, knelt on both sides to respectfully welcome Li Duruo's arrival.

Even though Li Duruo had repeatedly asked not to perform grand ceremonies, the people who were displaced in the chaotic world mostly had simple and honest hearts.

The King and Queen gave them a peaceful life they never dared to dream of before.

The simple and kind women didn't know how to repay them, so they expressed their gratitude with the most sincere gift.

And the families are just a microcosm of the people all over the world.

For ordinary people in chaotic times, they don't understand the big picture or the greater good; they just want to eat.

Whoever feeds them is their ideal ruler, like Yao, Shun, Yu, and Tang.

Seeing the family members bowing in the snow, Li Duruo had his guards help them up while his servants lifted the tarpaulin covering the donkey cart behind him.

When the servants lifted the tarpaulin, pieces of charcoal were revealed on the donkey cart.

"The day before yesterday, heavy snow fell, and I felt very cold in my residence."

"I fear you have nothing to keep warm, so I brought charcoal today for your daily use in keeping warm."

Li Duruo's voice was like a clear spring, and when her words reached the ears of the family members, they immediately elicited cheers and expressions of gratitude.

After distributing the charcoal he had brought reasonably, Li Duruo then got into the carriage and headed back into the city.

On the way back to the city, Li Duruo had been dozing off with his eyes closed in the carriage.

Suddenly, she heard a series of shouts and cries coming from near the carriage.

The sound made Li Duruo lift the carriage curtain and look outside.

A cold wind swept in through the carriage curtain, and fine snowflakes drifted down from the sky outside.

As the snow fell heavier and heavier, Li Duruo saw many more refugees on the road back to the city.

In a time of frequent wars and widespread refugees, these refugees did not dare to approach Kaifeng City rashly.

It is likely that the recent heavy snowfall has left some displaced people with nowhere else to go, and they have no choice but to instinctively head towards Bianjing, the "capital city".

Some refugees accidentally entered the carriage's cordon, which led to the guards driving them away with knives.

Upon seeing this, Li Duruo shouted loudly towards the outside of the carriage:
"We must not wantonly harm the lives of ordinary people."

As soon as Li Duoruo finished speaking, a junior officer outside the carriage received the order.

Under Li Duoruo's orders, the guards became more lenient in their vigilance.

Looking out the window, Li Duruo's face showed reluctance.

She plans to continue setting up soup kitchens outside the city tomorrow, donating charcoal to help disaster victims.

But seeing the ever-growing number of refugees, Li Duruo suddenly realized:

How many refugees could the Prince's mansion possibly provide relief to with its wealth alone?
One hundred, one thousand?
And the number of displaced people in the world is far more than a million!

Her strength was too small.

Millions of refugees, like walking corpses in the world, have no fixed abode, pitiful and tragic.

With a sigh, Li Duruo recalled something, and a glimmer of hope appeared in her eyes.

The master is coming back.

She couldn't save all the people in the world, but he could!
(End of this chapter)