Water Margin: The opening scene involves assassinating Emperor Huizong of Song and forcibly taking L

In many Khitan tribes, women and children make up more than 80% of the population, while the number of adult men is pitifully small.

After learning about the situation in each region, Liu Qi said to Guan Sheng, "It is indeed a mutually beneficial arrangement with Youzhou."

"The first batch of southern immigrants to Youzhou were mostly adult men. We can find some grassland women to marry them."

Wu Jie said, "We cannot force it; we must discuss it with the leaders of each department."

Yao Pingzhong scoffed, "What's there to discuss?"

“The Khitans of Huanzhou have already submitted to the Ming Dynasty. If we send them some grain and cloth, they will naturally agree to marry women to them.”

Guan Sheng said, "Let's submit a memorial to the court first, and the ministers will handle this matter."

Guo Yaoshi asked, "I have already inquired with various departments in Huanzhou, and they all say they have not seen any Jin soldiers."

Should we continue eastward?

Guan Sheng shook his head: "We're not going anymore; the supply route is too long."

The large army from Shanxi and the western army from Hebei came to an end on the Huanzhou grassland.

If they continue eastward, their next target will only be Fengzhoupu (Wengniute Banner), and the grain route will be stretched to more than a thousand li.

If you're not careful, you could crash and end up running out of food somewhere.

Even without encountering the enemy, the consumption of food supplies was too great.

Yao Pingzhong said, "We can take this opportunity to govern the southern grasslands and eliminate all the tribes that are unwilling to submit!"

Guan Sheng nodded and said, "That is also a merit."

Most of these famous generals were unable to fight against the Jin army and could only go to conquer those grassland tribes.

As long as a token force is sent to attack two disobedient tribes, the rest will surely surrender, because the tribes are too weak at this time.

……

The other two armies from Hebei set off from Gubeikou and Xifengkou respectively, and had already joined forces in Xinghua (near Chengde).

Chapter 3448 Rebellion

Continue onward; it's all mountainous terrain, so there's no fear of being ambushed.

Li Bao, along with Yue Fei, Wang Yan, and others, quickly occupied Zezhou and Hezhong.

Then a detachment was sent to capture Lizhou (left wing of Kharachin), Longshan, Fushu and Jianzhou, but still no sign of the Jin army was seen.

Li Bao simply led his troops personally to attack the Jin Dynasty's Zhongjing Dading Prefecture (west of Ningcheng County).

There was still no one there. Wanyan Zonghan burned down the city of Dading and even tore down a large section of the city wall!

Li Bao left some troops to guard the city and then headed towards Jianzhou and Xingzhong Prefecture (Chaoyang City).

Xingzhong Prefecture has Jin soldiers, and they are skilled in using silver techniques to garrison it.

As for Wanyan Zonghan, he was in the direction of Jinyuan.

"Marshal, the Southern bandits have already marched towards Xingzhong Prefecture!"

"understood."

Just as Wanyan Zonghan was slowly making his plans, another rider arrived on horseback, carrying a letter from Wanyan Zongfu requesting assistance.

After reading the letter, Wanyan Zonghan stood there dumbfounded.

With the various ethnic groups of Bohai plotting a rebellion, is Liaoyang likely to fall?

Did Wanyan Zongfu lure and kill the various ethnic generals of Hesuguan?

Before Wanyan Zonghan could recover, another letter requesting help arrived, sent by Wanyan Xiyin from Jinzhou.

Could various ethnic groups rebel, and Jinzhou be lost?

One urgent military report after another seemed to slam a heavy hammer into Wanyan Zonghan's head.

In their original plan, the Liaodong battlefield had only just begun at this point.

Once Liaodong is lost, what good will it do even if Wanyan Zonghan wins a great victory here?

Moreover, we can't blame Wanyan Zongfu; the various tribal chiefs are just too despicable.

They were already thinking of rebellion as soon as the fighting started; they're just opportunists.

If it were Wanyan Zonghan himself, he probably wouldn't have had a better choice.

Now, he has to make a choice.

Should we immediately lead our troops back to rescue Liaodong, or launch a preemptive attack on Li Bao?

Choosing the former option might mean making a wasted trip. By the time he led his troops to the battlefield, cities like Liaoyang and Jinzhou would already be gone.

Moreover, on the way back, with men and horses exhausted, there was a high possibility that the entire army would be wiped out.

Choose the latter?

The timing isn't right yet; the plan isn't finished.

If you choose to start the engine at this point, even after opening the lid, the rice is still undercooked.

For a fleeting moment, Wanyan Zonghan longed to emulate Yelü Dashi.

Ignoring everything else, they headed straight for the northern desert, seized a large piece of grassland, and declared themselves king.

But I can't take my soldiers with me!

Wanyan Zonghan didn't even dare to make these urgent military reports public.

His troops were all elites from various Jurchen tribes. Once they learned that Liaodong might fall, the generals would definitely clamor to return.

How to do?

"All troops, listen to my command! Charge back to Dading Prefecture!" Wanyan Zonghan finally snapped.

The Ming army's supply route had been extended to 600 li (approximately 300 kilometers), and the entire route consisted of rugged mountain roads.

The Ming army also had to divide its forces to occupy cities, with one part advancing on Xingzhong Prefecture, making the forces even more dispersed.

When the Jin army withdrew from Dading Prefecture, a long section of the city wall was torn down to make it easier for Wanyan Zonghan to lead his troops back.

Half-cooked rice is fine.

Wanyan Zonghan planned to first eliminate the Ming army in Dading Prefecture, while simultaneously dispatching a detachment to harass the grain supply route towards Xingzhong Prefecture.

If Li Bao returns to reinforce the supply lines, Wanyan Zongfu can join forces with Yin Shuke of Xingzhong Prefecture to launch a pincer attack.

Alternatively, they could besiege the city and attack the reinforcements, trapping Dading Prefecture and annihilating the Ming army that came to its aid.

Unaware of the danger, the Jin soldiers followed Wanyan Zonghan straight to Dading Prefecture.

The army stationed in Dading Prefecture was Wang Yan's Eight-Character Army.

The county town of Hezhong, more than a hundred miles to the southeast, was the Ming army's grain transport hub, and Yue Fei led troops to guard it.

Li Yanxian's cavalry was divided into several groups, with the main force in Fushu County, forming a triangular formation with Dading Prefecture and Hezhong County.

The distance between each city is over a hundred li.

However, most of the roads are mountainous, and the actual distance may be two or three hundred miles.

The direction of the Laoha River during the Liao and Jin dynasties was slightly different from that of several hundred years later.

It was then called the Tu River, flowing out from the Yanshan Mountains in the southwest.

Passing south of Qijin Mountain, the Liao Dynasty built a city by the river, naming it Zhongjing Dading Prefecture, located dozens of miles west of the later Ningcheng.

During the Liao Dynasty, the Dading Prefecture and its surrounding areas were mainly inhabited by the Xi people, followed by the Khitan people, and then the Han people.

The Xi people's rebellion against the Jin dynasty caused a great uproar, and it took the Jin dynasty two or three years to quell it.

Then, they disrupted the migration of the Xi people and moved many Han people over.

Many Jurchen people also migrated there at the same time.

In particular, many of the elite troops who followed Wanyan Zonghan in his campaigns in the south and north migrated their clansmen to Dading Prefecture, Lizhou, and Jianzhou.

"The main force of the Jin army is here! The main force of the Jin army is here!"

Eighty li north of Dading Prefecture, Wang Yan built a beacon tower on Yuanbao Mountain.

As soon as Wanyan Zonghan's main force appeared, plumes of smoke rose along the mountains.

Just one hour later, the news reached the city of Dading, and then sent out beacon fire signals to the south and east.

Standing atop the city wall, Wang Yan looked north and asked, "How many Jin soldiers have arrived?"

The Ming light cavalry who escaped said, "There were thousands of cavalrymen clearing the way, and our light cavalry were all driven back."

Wanyan Zongfu was frantically recruiting soldiers in Liaodong, and Wanyan Zonghan naturally did the same.

Chapter 3449 Beheading and Public Display

Moreover, there was also the Tanggu tribe in Linhuang Prefecture, who were descendants of prisoners of war and slaves of the Liao Dynasty.

Among them were a large number of Jurchen people. Although their descendants had long been assimilated into the Khitan culture, they still retained some Jurchen customs and were regarded as Jurchens by the Jin Dynasty.

Linhuang Prefecture refers to the vast area from Keshiketeng Banner to the Horqin Grassland.

The area is primarily grazing, supplemented by agriculture.

Furthermore, they submitted to the Jin Dynasty relatively early, resulting in less population loss, and were considered relatively loyal to the Jin Dynasty.

All the able-bodied herdsmen were conscripted to fight, and Wanyan Zonghan even spread rumors on the grasslands that the Ming emperor planned to slaughter all the tribes.

……

More than 40,000 Jin soldiers arrived at the outskirts of Dading Prefecture at top speed.

One of them crossed the Tu River ahead of schedule and arrived at the north of Dading City.

One unit set up camp on the east side of the Tuhe River.

One force continued south, sending out cavalry to scout for Ming reinforcements.

Wanyan Zonghan used a telescope to observe the city and soon spotted Wang Yan on the city wall.

"Marshal, there are no Ming troops on any side; the Southern bandits have all hidden in the city."

Wanyan Mouyan rushed over to report.

After Wanyan Loushi died of illness, his troops were inherited by his son Wanyan Mouyan.

Wanyan Mouyan is twenty-four years old this year and cannot be entrusted with important responsibilities for the time being. The real command still depends on the generals left by Wanyan Loushi.

Wanyan Zonghan said, "Keep an eye on the south and focus on besieging the city and attacking reinforcements."

"If we encounter Ming army wagon formations, we should fight if we can, and if we can't, we should cut off their supply lines and specifically target and kill those grain transport teams."

Soon, more light cavalry came from the other side of the Tu River: "The section of the city wall we tore down has been filled with earth and stones."

"There's still a section that we don't think we'll fill in yet, and there are a lot of supply wagons parked there."

“Those supply wagons weren’t chained together; they were packed tightly together, blocking the gap in the city wall.”

“Ming soldiers were guarding both inside and behind the vehicle.”

Wanyan Zonghan personally took a small boat, crossed the river northeast of Dading City, and carefully observed with a telescope.

The northern city wall was demolished by the Jin Dynasty long ago, and the soil from the demolished wall was thrown into the moat, completely filling in the northern moat.

Now, Wang Yan has filled two-thirds of the gaps in the city wall, and the remaining third is being blocked by chariots.

"Make the Zhennan Cannon!" Wanyan Zonghan ordered.

Zhao Yuan renamed the Huihui Cannon to Pingyi Cannon, but when it was passed down to the Jin Dynasty, it became Zhennan Cannon.

Both Dading Prefecture and Linhuang Prefecture had countless artisans, and Wanyan Zonghan brought several hundred with him when he joined the army.

The herdsmen of Linhuang Prefecture, though their fighting ability as cavalry was questionable, still played a very important role.

They can be sent out as light cavalry to scout, transport livestock and grain, and even be used as laborers when necessary.

Hundreds of craftsmen and more than two thousand herdsmen went to the mountains in the northwest to cut down trees.

In order to save time, they even worked around the campfire at night to build equipment.