Five Dynasties River Mountains Fengyue

Everyone looked around each other, not knowing what happened, and it was hard to say, so they could only turn their faces away and pretended not to see.

.......

An hour later, the small town was completely covered by the billowing smoke and dust, surrounded by hundreds of Qin army flags, looming and gathering in the middle of the town.

After a while, the flag stopped moving, and an orderly from the town rushed out of the town gate on horseback, and hurried through the crowd to report to the royal driver.

"Officials, the Liao army didn't fight at all. Our three armies all went in and joined in the town. The remaining Khitan people didn't fight, they all surrendered and surrounded them. To kill or not to kill?"

Shi Congyun laughed loudly, "How many people surrendered?"

"Let's say two or three thousand, there are all of them in the town, and some of them have been eaten by them."

"Have you caught any high-ranking officials?" Shi Congyun asked immediately. He had waited for this day a long time ago. Such a large army going south must be led by a high-ranking official from the Liao Kingdom. Last time he killed hundreds of Liao generals.

If we catch a bunch of them this time, it will definitely be difficult for the talents of the Liao Kingdom to continue.

"There are quite a few who are high officials at first glance, but they can't understand their bird language, and they can't ask. General Wang asked, and some of them can speak a few words of Chinese. Most of them are high officials. The biggest one seems to be a senior official. What is Yelusha, Prime Minister of the Southern Academy of Liao Kingdom?"

"Prime Minister of the Southern Courtyard, yes! What a big fish." Shi Congyun patted his thigh: "I will trade him for Xiao Yanyan! Let's see what Xiao Siwen says..."

351 Chapter [-], The Soldier Is Bloodless

In the afternoon, Shi Congyun entered the town under the guard of many cavalry. All the sights along the way were broken. plane.

Only a huge old tree that hugged each other escaped the catastrophe, but the leaves and twigs were almost squeezed out.

People who are extremely hungry are more terrifying than beasts, because beasts have the intelligence and methods of no one.

Along the way, a large number of corpses were being dragged out one by one and piled up together, ready to be set on fire. This was Shi Congyun's order, fearing that the accumulated corpses would cause plague.

In the middle of the town, a large number of skinny Liao soldiers with slack eyes were surrounded by a well, surrounded by Qin troops on all sides, and densely packed people were squeezed into a small open space in the center, almost overlapping people, the unlucky one in the middle It is estimated that he will not be able to breathe, and will be squeezed to death by his own people.

Seeing Shi Congyun's arrival, the Qin army on the periphery gave way one after another. The besieged Liao army looked over in confusion at first, their eyes full of bewilderment, but they quickly realized something, and changed from bewilderment to fear.

Because they saw those generals of the Qin State going over to salute and defend him, and he was wearing a yellow cloak.

Qin Emperor Shi Congyun!The emperor who defeated them two years ago captured their Nanyuan King and brutally murdered tens of thousands of young adults. Now Yu Weiyou is here, near Youzhou, talking about his reputation can make children stop crying.

Now that the killing god came in person, there was no way for them to survive, their hearts were ashamed, their faces turned pale, and some were so frightened that they began to cry loudly.

Shi Congyun was condescending, watching a large group of people huddled together, his eyes dull, and the Liao soldiers everywhere.

A man wearing a purple robe official uniform similar to that of the Han people, but with a disheveled bun and unkempt face was pushed up.

"Officials, he is Yelusha, Prime Minister of the Southern Court of Liao Kingdom." Someone reported.

Shi Congyun looked at Yelusha, who was as thin as a stick, and didn't look at his people, but looked at his official uniform curiously, thinking that the Sinicization of the Liao Kingdom seemed to be quite effective.

Speaking of the Sinicization of the Liao Kingdom, most people only remember Yeluxian, Empress Dowager Xiao, Han Derang and others, but in fact, the Liao Kingdom began the reform of the Sinicization long before. After all, their emperors always wanted to be the emperor of the Han Dynasty. The Confucius Temple was built.

Thinking of this, Shi Congyun suddenly had a good impression of this guy in front of him.

Force cannot solve many problems, such as a sense of belonging. At this time, cultural soft power is needed. In history, China's farming areas did control the grasslands, but most of the time it was very short and unstable.

Because the grassland is not suitable for the survival of farming peoples, and the cost of relocation control is huge, the gain outweighs the loss, and it is difficult to stick to it for a long time.

Mongolia was truly included in the territory of China in the early and middle period of the Qing Dynasty, but that was not a story of conquest and being conquered, but that the Mongols faced a choice at that time. When they were caught between the north and the south, they had to choose to rely on in order to survive.

Whether it was Tsarist Russia in the north, or the Qing Dynasty in the south, in the end the Mongols chose to attach themselves to the south and become a part of China.

This is the power of culture, the result of thousands of years of continuous edification, blending, and subtle influence, and these cannot be solved by war. If you want to completely conquer and control by force, even if you can conquer the vast grasslands and deserts, you will have to pay for long-term control. The unimaginably huge cost made it difficult for the dynasty to support.

Therefore, Shi Congyun also attaches great importance to the control and dissemination of culture. In his opinion, the unification of language and writing is as important as conquering the world and leveling the world.

"Can you speak Chinese?" He asked, speaking standard Hebei dialect.

In fact, many people in later generations do not know that the so-called "Mandarin" is not Beijing dialect, but Hebei dialect, which is further north, and its pronunciation is in Chengde, Hebei;

So at this time, when speaking the Han dialect in Hebei, northerners can understand it better.

Yelusha nodded immediately: "Report to the Emperor of Qin, I will!"

"Hahahaha..." Shi Congyun laughed loudly, feeling very happy in his heart, "How many people in your Liao Kingdom can speak Chinese?"

"Except for the Han people, most of the sons of honor and honor, the sons of the royal family will have some..." Yelusha has a strong desire to survive, and he dare not disobey in the slightest, and he will say whatever he asks.

Shi Congyun felt countless eyes gathered on his body, most of those eyes were fear, fear, and longing for life, and he glanced at the large number of Khitan soldiers who were looking at him eagerly in front of him.

Shi Congyun said: "I am the lord of the world. The lord of your Liao Kingdom dared to call himself emperor, but he didn't take me seriously. Now you find that you can speak Chinese, which is not bad. You are self-motivated. Kong Have you ever studied Meng Dianjing?"

"Is there a man who can live his life by saying something? The Master said: Forgive me! Do not do to others what you do not want to be done to yourself." Yelusha immediately answered the words, and he did not expect him to say such a sentence immediately, even Shi Congyun himself I was a little surprised, and I was even happier.

Putting on airs, he nodded with satisfaction: "I thought that your Liao country was just a land of barbarians and barbarians, and you were an outsider. Now, looking at your speech, behavior, and clothing, it seems that you are quite educated by saints."

"Yes, yes, I have learned a lot about the ways of the sages of Confucius and Mencius, and I inspect them every year in the Liao Kingdom's imperial examination." Yelusha said hastily.

Facing the panic-stricken crowd, Shi Congyun said again: "How many people have you come this time, and are there any defenders behind?"

Yelusha hesitated for a moment, and finally said: "Reporting to the emperor of Qin, the troops who came this time were not the imperial army, but mostly troops from various tribes, about 2 people. If the Son of Heaven is defeated, the people in the north should know the news and dare not go south, probably near Yanmen Pass."

Shi Congyun nodded after listening, but he didn't believe it completely, he just signaled Li Chuyun with his eyes, asking him to send scouts to verify the situation.

Li Chuyun is also a veteran under his command, he understood what the emperor meant with a single look, and immediately began to arrange manpower.

"For the sake of your ability to speak Chinese, I won't kill you today, and I can give you a way out." As soon as the words came out, everyone immediately understood what the Son of Heaven meant, and Yelusha even knelt down and kowtowed to thank .

Shi Congyun raised his hand: "Follow the army to the north, let the Liao army at Yanmen Pass withdraw from Yanmen Pass, and you will live." Yelu Shalian nodded in agreement.

He had his own calculations in his heart, and his vicious behavior was long enough to scare the Liao Kingdom.

Some people need to go back to spread the word. These people are not the central forbidden army of the Liao Kingdom, but the tribal armies assembled from all directions on the territory of the Liao Kingdom. Even if they are killed, they will not be able to contain the core force of the Liao Kingdom. The last time he killed the Liao Kingdom Central The imperial army, that is the core combat power of the Liao Kingdom.

Let these people go back, and when they return to their tribe, the prestige and terror of Emperor Shi will be spread everywhere in the vast land of the Liao Kingdom and deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.

Furthermore, he really wanted to send a message to the Liao State, learn Chinese well and write Chinese characters, maybe one day he can save his life. Military struggle is a short-term effective means, and cultural invasion is the root of long-term management.

And the most important point is that the Yanmen Pass in the north is still in the hands of the Liao people...

........

In the afternoon, tens of thousands of Qin troops were mighty, crushing more than 3000 prisoners of the Liao army, turned west along the river valley, and then advanced along the mountain road.

These people were left on the side of the road waiting to die, and Shi Congyun did not order them food. They had to climb mountains from Daizhou to Yanmen Pass, and it was difficult to deploy an army on a large section of the mountain road. The half-starved [-] Liao troops were easy to control. , Waiting for them to eat is troublesome.

When we arrived at Yanmen Pass the next day, there were less than [-] of the [-] Liao troops left, and many of them were thrown away on the road.

The rest dare not complain, dare not resist, just hope to escape as soon as possible.

Yanmen is closed on Yanmen Mountain. When he climbed this majestic mountain, Shi Congyun was full of emotions. Yanmen Mountain, Yanmen County, there was too much blood here. The war here decided the situation of the world a few years ago. After crossing the mountain pass, there is Shuozhou behind, and Yunzhou, which my father always misses, Yunzhong County in the Han Dynasty!

This is a place with a long history, even in today's view. During the Warring States Period, Zhao Wuling Wang Hufu rode and shot, defeated Linhu, Loufan and other foreign tribes, expanded the land northward, established Yunzhong, Yanmen, and Daijun. This area, as well as Datong to the north, southern Inner Mongolia and other places were brought under Chinese rule.

After that, Zhao Guo sent general Li Mu to guard Yanmen Pass for a long time, and later defeated the Xiongnu in Yanmen North.

By the time of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the control was further strengthened, and Dai County and Yunzhong County in the north of Yanmen became important frontier bases for the Han Dynasty army to attack the desert and grassland to the north.

As the army of the Han Dynasty galloped across the grasslands of Mobei, these places were different from other dynasties in the Han Dynasty. They gradually changed from the frontier to a stable rear. The vigorous development and the long-term stationing of the army made Yanmen go north, and later Datong, Inner Mongolia The south and other places became more and more prosperous, and there was a situation of "the remote city was shut down, the cattle and horses were in the fields, the third generation had no police barking dogs, and the Li Shu had no battles with wars". However, after the Han Dynasty, the situation changed. These places became the frontiers of war again. deserted.

In the poems of the poets of the Tang Dynasty, the prosperity and prosperity of Yunzhong County in the past can only be regarded as a memory.

During the Tang Dynasty, nomads such as the Turks in the north rose up, and there were frequent internal crimes. The Tang Dynasty stationed troops on the top of Yanmen Mountain, and set up a gate with iron-wrapped gates on the commanding heights. The guards were stationed there, and gradually there was Yanmen Pass, which is today’s Yanmen Pass. Yanmen Pass Guancheng.

In the Northern Song Dynasty, Yanmen Pass became an important pass to fight against and resist the Khitan in the north. The well-known story of Yang Jiajiang is near Yanmen Pass.

Looking up at this time, the city of Guancheng in the distance is long and located on the top of the mountain. The outer city wall is about five miles long. Whether it is on the slope or on the north slope, there is still a long section of narrow mountain road to climb.

Guanchengli has a wide field of vision, overlooking the north and south, and it can also provide a large number of people for living and production.

It's a headache to look at here. This kind of Guancheng must be very difficult to fight. First of all, the view is too good, overlooking the north and south foothills from a condescending height.

The second is that the pass city is very large, and a large number of people can be stationed for a long time. This is different from many dangerous passes in the south, such as Jianmen pass, Jiameng pass, Qingliu pass, etc. It is completely different.

Those checkpoints are dangerous, but they are hard to call a grand pass. Dangerous checkpoints cannot be defended by a large number of people for a long time, and they are not suitable for high-intensity war confrontation.

Risks to the enemy are also risks to oneself. If there is no way to garrison a large number of troops, it is doomed to have limited war potential and cannot support high-intensity wars.Just like Jianmen Pass, there are many cases of entering Shu from the north road in history, but Jianmen Pass, known as the most dangerous pass in the world, rarely plays a key role and cannot prevent the northern army from entering Shu.

A majestic pass like Yanmen Pass is different. The majestic pass city with a circumference of more than five miles is built on the top of the mountain, and the cultivated land on the surrounding hillsides is just one of the dangers. Can increase troops.

Being able to garrison a large number of troops for a long time will be able to deal with high-intensity wars and long-term confrontations, and thus can change the strategic structure of the entire country.

If the line of defense is pushed from the south-central of Hedong to the outside of Yanmen Pass, he can achieve better results in defending the Khitans with only one-tenth of the previous troops. The key is to save money!

So he wanted to win Yanmenguan a long time ago.

But now, Yanmen Pass is still in the hands of the Liao army, and there are Liao soldiers everywhere on the top of the city. They are the troops left behind by Yelusha's former army when they passed Yanmen Pass. Liao Tribal Army.

According to Yelusha, these people add up to about five or six thousand people. If they really defend Yanmenguan City on the top of the mountain desperately, it will be difficult for an army of [-] to fight up.

Shi Congyun escorted Yelusha and others, and asked Yelusha to choose a confidant to contact the Liao soldiers at the top of the city.

Yelusha did so, and then found three personal soldiers, and approached the city wall with their hands raised to talk to the Liao army at the head of the city.

The two sides chatted for a long time with a height difference of about five zhang. After talking for about two quarters of an hour, the three soldiers came back and told Yelusha.

The defenders at the top of the city said they wanted to see Yelusha to confirm the situation.

Jing Si took the initiative to ask for orders, wearing heavy armor, and brought a few soldiers, and escorted Yelusha to the city to talk to the Khitan people at the top of the city. hour.

After a long time, Jing Si escorted Yelusha down, and Yelusha came over and told Shi Congyun: "They said they dare not confront the emperor of Qin, and they will leave tomorrow, but please keep their promise and don't chase them down."

Then he added another sentence: "Please let us go too..." But the last sentence was obviously added by himself.

Shi Congyun was too lazy to argue with him, he only had Yanmen Pass in his heart, so he said: "I am the Son of Heaven, so I will keep my word!"

.......

That night, the army camped on the mountain road, but they did not relax their guard all night. Many prisoners of the Liao army were so hungry that they ate the bark and grass roots on the roadside, but Shi Congyun still refused to give them food.

At dawn the next day, there was no one on the top of Yanmenguan City. Shi Congyun sent more than a dozen brave soldiers up the mountain to have a look, but the city gate was pushed open by them!There was no one there, and the Khitans really ran away.

Then the soldiers cheered, Shi Congyun ordered Jing Si to be the vanguard, and led the troops to enter Yanmenguan City first. Soon the majestic mountain fortress built in the Tang Dynasty on the top of the mountain, the gate was covered with iron, and the city wall was more than five miles long fell to the Qin army. hands.

The three armies cheered. They thought that it would take a lot of time to fight such a city, and many people would die.

Shi Congyun was also very excited. He entered Guancheng and climbed to the top of the city overlooking the vast land in the north. Unfortunately, he didn't see Shuozhou or Yunzhou, and he felt a little regretful.

Yelusha came up and repeatedly asked him to keep his promise.

Shi Congyun ordered people to escort the remaining 900 captives to the north slope of Yanmen Pass, and then distributed five grain cakes to each of the Liao soldiers who were still alive, and kept their promise to let them go.

Before leaving, he also told Yelusha, "Go back and tell your countrymen that one day I will lead my army to visit the capital and meet your lord."

Regardless of Yelusha's frightened face, he patted him on the shoulder and said, "When the time comes, you can speak Chinese well and write Chinese characters well, maybe you can save your life."

"Yes yes yes, I will definitely remember the teachings of the emperor!" Yelu Salian bowed his head and agreed.

"By the way, Xiao Siwen, who stayed behind in Nanjing, also sent troops this time. I just spared his life and let him go back the year before last, but now he doesn't know what to do and dares to send people south.

You go back and tell him that I am very angry, and I am going to send [-] troops to flatten his Youzhou City, and if you don’t want to die, send his daughter Xiao Chuo to warm my bed, hahahaha! "Emperor Shi laughed arrogantly as he spoke.

Yelusha only dared to say yes, but didn't dare to answer, until Shi Congyun gave him a bag of grain cakes and let him go down the mountain.

Chapter 352, Yanmen Looking Northward

For the next two days, Shi Congyun stayed at Yanmen Pass, not because the scenery here was good, but because there were many things that needed to be settled.

For this place, he had a lot of expectations and reluctance in his heart, but it was not the right time.

There were not many troops left on the mountain, and the main force had retreated down the mountain. Guo Jin led the troops to the northeast to control Fanzhi County.

If you go further north, you have to cross the mountain road to Lingqiu County, which is already under the jurisdiction of Yuzhou, one of the sixteen prefectures of Yanyun, and it is now in the hands of the Liao Kingdom.

At this point in the war, the logistics supply line stretching more than 1000 miles began to become increasingly tense. With such a long supply line, it would be considered efficient if two points of the food could be delivered to the frontline army. consume.

He originally thought that defeating the Northern Han Dynasty would shorten the supply line and build a new logistics channel starting from near Taiyuan and supplying the army to the north, shortening the supply distance, supporting him to cross the Yanmen Pass, and attack Shuozhou and Huanzhou in the rear. State, Yunzhou and other places.

But after taking down Taiyuan City, he discovered that the Northern Han Dynasty had been in constant wars over the years, supporting a large army with its narrow land and poor production, and continuously paying tribute to the Liao Kingdom, fighting with Li Yun, and Li Jixun and Zhede in the west. Ji and others harassed and attacked, and the military expenditure was huge. They were already strong on the outside and dry on the inside.

Such Hedong is completely unable to support an army of more than 5 people, plus more than [-] logistics personnel.

And his supply line has been extended all the way from the Yellow River, Luzhou to Yanmenguan, the farthest is more than 1000 miles away, and it is even more difficult to continue with the need to climb mountains.

Moreover, at the end of March, there was a loophole in Ludoxun's work.

He couldn't restrain the auxiliary soldiers from the various states under his command. At first, small-scale looting of people's property and occupation of other people's wives and daughters occurred. , Delayed grain transportation.

Shi Congyun was furious when he learned about it, and ordered his judges to conduct a thorough investigation, and then executed all 26 state soldiers involved in the incident without mercy, and informed the entire army and the people of the states and counties along the way.

At the same time, Ludoxun was also taken down directly.

He had selfish reasons for using Ludosun at the beginning. First, he wanted to give young people a chance; Lu Duoxun took the initiative to write the edict of the Zen throne, and he was very sensible, so he had a good impression of him, but he did not expect to overturn the car.People often say that there is no hair on the mouth, and the work is not fast, and it seems to be true.

Afterwards, Shi Congyun was recommended by Cao Bin, and he served as a transfer envoy to the Eastern Army during the expedition to Shu, and Shen Yilun served as a transfer envoy.