One Piece of Song Dynasty

On December , the Jin Army from the East Route arrived in Handan. Then Guo Yaoshi led two thousand cavalrymen from Handan, galloping day and night, rushing all the way, and fiercely rushed towards the Junzhou Yellow River Bridge.

It is nearly three hundred miles from Handan to Junzhou, passing through Xiangzhou. On the first day of the first lunar month of the first year of Jingkang, the Jin army captured Xiangzhou. Guo Yaoshi led two thousand cavalry and rode non-stop from Xiangzhou towards the Junzhou Yellow River Bridge. On the same day, Emperor Taizong of the Jin Dynasty issued an edict in Shangjing, granting the surname Wanyan to his ministers Guo Yaoshi and Dong Cai.

In the early morning of the second day of the first lunar month, Guo Yaoshi led his army quietly to the outside of Junzhou City. Guo Yaoshi was very good at running long distances, which was also the case when he led his army to surprise Yanjing. The most important thing in using troops is speed. Speed ​​can create an unexpected situation and attack the opponent unprepared, which is the magic weapon for victory.

Liang Fangping, who was responsible for the defense of the Junzhou Yellow River Bridge, did not expect that the Jin army would attack for a long distance. He was completely unaware of the Jin Army's movements and was unprepared for the Jin Army's surprise attack, causing the Song Army to suddenly fall into a passive situation. Moreover, Liang Fangping continued to reward the sergeants since arriving in Junzhou. Because it was during the Spring Festival, as usual, the troops had to hold some celebrations and other activities. Therefore, Liang Fangping was busy drinking and carousing with the officers and soldiers every day.

Just after dawn on the second day of the first lunar month, the sleepy Song army fell into panic when they heard that Jin soldiers suddenly descended from the sky. When Liang Fangping climbed to the city and took a look, he saw the flags of the Jin soldiers flapping in the morning wind. He was so frightened that he broke into a cold sweat, so he hurried out of the city and "ran in a hurry." When Liang Fangping's officers and soldiers of the Song Dynasty saw that their commander had fled, they dispersed and fled to the south of the Yellow River Bridge.

Pharmacist Guo was very familiar with the conditions of the Junzhou Yellow River Bridge. He had walked across it before when he went to Tokyo to meet Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty. He sent soldiers to quickly seize the south end of Tiancheng Bridge and intercept the defeated Song army fleeing south along the bridge. At this time, the Song army guarding the south of Shenggong Bridge saw that the situation was not good, so they set fire to the pontoon bridge, hoping to use the natural dangers of the Yellow River to stop the Jin soldiers. However, thousands of Song troops who had retreated from the north bank were crowding on the Shenggong Bridge, and they were badly burned by the fire. Amidst the wailing, the billowing smoke and the sky-high firelight, they fell into the water one after another, and were instantly buried in the waves of the Yellow River. Of the twenty soldiers of the Jin Army, only three were injured.

When two armies meet, the brave one wins. Sun Tzu's Art of War said, "The victory or defeat of a soldier depends entirely on courage and cowardice." This is indeed a wise saying. War practice has proved that bravery can often turn danger into danger and defeat into victory, while cowardice can only lead to failure.

He Guan's troops, who were responsible for guarding the south bank of the Yellow River, saw Liang Fangping leading the remaining troops to flee towards the capital, so they also abandoned the bank and fled, looking for the wind. At this time, from Heyang in the west to Damingfu in Beijing, there was no longer a guard in the Song Dynasty on this hundreds of miles long Yellow River moat. The Yellow River defense line, which the imperial court had placed high hopes on, collapsed without attack.

On the morning of the third day of the first lunar month of the first year of Jingkang, Song Qinzong summoned ministers to discuss the situation and countermeasures in Yanhe Hall. At that time, the imperial court did not know the actual situation of Junzhou's Yellow River defense line. Facing a formidable enemy, the ministers all had different opinions and different suggestions on what the emperor should do. Some advocated that the emperor should avoid the enemy's edge and leave the capital; some advocated that the emperor should stick to the capital and wait for the troops of King Qin. Song Qinzong swayed from side to side, hesitant, and couldn't make up his mind for a while.

A minister said: "Now the hearts of the people in the Hebei area have become unstable. If the Jin army crosses the Yellow River, then a battle will be inevitable. At this time, the Jin army is arrogant and cannot withstand the front. If our army goes out, the enemy will be defeated. This military strategist Taboo. I hope that your Majesty will cross the river south or run west to the pass, gather all the soldiers from the world, select generals to send out troops, divide the troops into four groups, surround the Jin army and annihilate it, so that its horses cannot return."

A minister said: "The capital is the foundation of the world. If the foundation is shaken, how can it support the world? There are still hundreds of thousands of troops in the capital. They can strengthen the walls and maintain strict security, collect the people and clear the country, so that the enemy cannot advance and retreat with nothing to plunder. Master and The Qi is depressed. When King Qin's troops arrive, they will form horns inside and outside. At that time, besieging the Jin soldiers will be like driving a herd of dogs and sheep, and the Jin people will definitely bow to Luo for orders."

Li Gang did not agree with the above two views. He said: "Both views are not good strategies. In the past, the Khitan had millions of troops and reached Chanyuan. If they had listened to the advice of avoiding luck and fortifying the wall, they would not have conquered the world. During the more than years of peace, relying on the power of the ancestors and the blessings of the country, Kou Laigong insisted on requesting the emperor to personally lead the expedition. After Luanyu crossed the river, the morale of our army was greatly boosted, and the enemy general Ta Lan was shot and killed. The morale of the Liao army was greatly reduced, so he sent an envoy Please make peace, and Hebei can be recovered. What happened today is the same. Your Majesty, please imitate Emperor Zhenzong and lead the expedition in person. This matter needs to be done quickly and cannot be slowed down."

Prime Minister Bai Shizhong disapproved of Li Gang's suggestion. He sarcastically said: "What Li Gang said is just what a scholar said on paper."

Li Gang responded unceremoniously: "Shi Zhong did not believe and did not adopt Zhu Sheng's words, which resulted in a passive situation. Do you still dare to argue in court today?"

At this time, Zhang Bangchang defended from the side: "The prime ministers have done their best."

Li Gang sneered and said: "Bangchang and others have no talent. Although they try their best, they will not help the situation."

Regarding Li Gang's suggestion, the ministers discussed it one after another, and it was difficult to reach an agreement. But in the end, Song Qinzong decided to accept Li Gang's suggestion and lead the expedition himself. Emperor Qinzong of the Song Dynasty immediately ordered a personal expedition edict to be drawn up, and the edict ordered a department to gather troops and horses in front of the palace to stand by. At the same time, Wu Min was appointed as the deputy envoy for the personal expedition and was allowed to do so at his convenience; Li Gang, the minister of the Ministry of War, and Nie Shan, the magistrate of Kaifeng Prefecture, were appointed as staff officers.

On the same day, Pharmacist Guo began to organize a crossing of the Yellow River to pursue the Song army on the north bank of the Yellow River. Since the Yellow River Bridge had been burned by the Song Army, a ferry must be found to cross the river. Junzhou was originally a ferry, but since the bridge was built, the role of the ferry has gradually weakened, so the number of private boats and boatmen in the city has also decreased. Jin Bing found only a dozen small boats in and around the city, each of which could carry five or seven people. Jin Bing tried to cross the river by floating on water, but suffered a lot of damage due to the strong water and strong waves. Later, several large boats were obtained from the upper and lower reaches, and the cavalry began to be ferried across the river.

At this time, Zong Wang and Yan Mu led the main cavalry force of the Jin Army to the bank of the Yellow River, but the infantry had not yet arrived. Zong Wang was very satisfied with Guo Yaoshi's performance in his raid on Junzhou. At first, when Yaoshi Guo surrendered, Zong Wang was still suspicious of him. From then on, Zong Wang no longer doubted him, and he also attached great importance to his suggestions and adopted them extensively. Later, the Jin people proposed to use the Yellow River as the boundary with the Song Dynasty and asked for a large amount of gold and silk from the Song Dynasty. "This was all the plan of the pharmacists." Because Yaoshi Guo had personally witnessed and experienced the prosperity of Tokyo City and the events during the imperial ban. lv