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

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"At that time, even though Heza Meng'an dismounted and fought on foot to defend the city, he was no match for the eight thousand imperial guards."

The two Khans looked at each other, both of them having witnessed the power of Khaza Meng'an.

A few hundred of those guys charging at once could overwhelm even thousands or tens of thousands of steppe cavalry.

How could the fortified city be breached by eight thousand imperial guards in a direct assault?

Ma Kuo continued to boast: "At that time, there were 20,000 Jin soldiers in the city, but they were all routed by the emperor's personal guards."

"When they reached the riverbank, there was nowhere to escape, so they all put on their armor and jumped into the river, and most of them drowned."

"The Jin soldiers who were besieging His Majesty's camp were so frightened by the breach that they hastily withdrew."

"The Ming cavalry took the opportunity to pursue and kill them. In order to escape, the Jurchen soldiers left behind Khitan soldiers, Xi soldiers, and Han soldiers to cover their retreat."

"The Jin soldiers of all ethnicities were all defeated by the Ming cavalry, and 30,000 were captured on the spot!"

Chapter 3386 Garrisoning Troops in Youyan

The two Khans imagined the scene, feeling both fear and a sense that Ma Kuo's description was an exaggeration.

Ma Kuo laughed and said, "You don't believe me?"

"Given the arrogance and brutality of those Jin soldiers, would the Jin have ceded territory to the Ming Dynasty and sued for peace if they hadn't been beaten so badly?"

Upon hearing this, the two believed it.

Beilu Khan was completely convinced. He stood up, faced south, raised his cup, and said, "This cup is to the Emperor of the Great Ming!"

The atmosphere on the border between the two countries, Ming and Jin, is becoming increasingly tense.

From northern Shanxi in the west to the mouth of the Yalu River in the east, the Jin Dynasty began to gradually increase its troops.

Similarly, the Ming Dynasty was also continuously increasing its troop strength.

The field army that had been transferred back to Kaifeng two years ago was all sent to the frontier.

Even the garrison troops in the northern provinces each dispatched three to five thousand soldiers to move towards the key cities in Shanxi and Hebei.

Although no direct fighting broke out, it caused the Jin Kingdom great distress.

The Jin dynasty suffered heavy losses in its previous major battles. Although it took many Balhae people from Goryeo, and some children had come of age in the past two years, the ongoing famine and rebellions made it impossible to effectively restore the population.

The straight-line distance from northern Shanxi to the mouth of the Yalu River is 1,000 kilometers, and the winding route stretches for thousands of kilometers.

Even if the Jin dynasty only fortified strategic passes, its military strength was stretched thin.

It is true that the Jin Dynasty could muster more than 100,000 soldiers, but that figure was after conscripting militia. In the long run, this would seriously affect agricultural production.

Now, the Ming Dynasty is not taking the initiative to attack, but instead is piling up troops on the border.

The Jin state had two choices: either go to war directly or join forces with the Ming dynasty, thus continuously consuming manpower and supplies.

The Ming Dynasty could easily transport grain to the frontier via official roads, canals, and the sea.

Transportation costs are higher in Shanxi province.

And what about the Jin Dynasty?

The Jin soldiers stationed in various parts of Yanshan had to trek through mountains and rivers to transport grain.

If too many troops are stationed there, the local food supply will be insufficient to support the army.

The Jin Dynasty cannot afford to wait any longer!

“Once they harvest this year’s wheat, sorghum, and beans, the Jin state will definitely launch an attack; otherwise, they will have to wait to die,” Zhang Tang said at a military conference of the Privy Council.

Yang Zhi said, "I'm not very familiar with Hebei and Shanxi."

"But some time ago, after looking at the wooden map of the Shanxi border, if I were Wanyan Zonghan, I definitely wouldn't choose to attack Shanxi."

"Given the terrain of Shanxi, once the passage is blocked, the Jin soldiers will have no way to escape."

Wang Yuan stood up and pointed to the map on the wall: "The coastal road is too narrow, making it inconvenient for the Jurchens to come over, and their military supplies are easily cut off."

"That leaves only the Golden Men of Youyan, who can only come from four directions."

"First is Juyong Pass, second is Gubeikou Pass, third is Xifengkou Pass, and fourth is Feihu Pass."

“We have deployed garrison troops to the neighboring cities in all four directions.”

"Because the population of Youyan is not large, the people in the border counties cultivate the land outside the city walls."

"Once the Jin army is spotted ahead, we can light the beacon fires and have the people clear the fields and quickly enter the city."

“For villages and towns that are a little far from the city, the local scholars should be informed in advance that they must abandon their property when they see the beacon fire.”

"Then the scholars took the lead, with the village head in charge, and rushed to the city to take refuge as quickly as possible."

"Those who fled from the mountains to farm went to the newly built border fortresses."

"Or they could escape back to the mountains, as long as they don't get slaughtered by the Jurchens."

"The entire Youyan region adopted a policy of scorched earth and fortified defenses, focusing primarily on the defense of cities and fortresses."

"Stockpile as much food as possible; each city should have at least three months' worth of military rations."

"The above is the strategy for Youyan that I discussed with His Majesty."

Yang Weizhong then stood up: "Our army has four main attack directions."

"First, stockpile a large number of troops and military supplies in Luanzhou, so that Haiyang (Qinhuangdao) can be besieged immediately once the war starts."

"Second, send elite troops by ship from Shandong to launch a surprise attack on Juehua Island."

"After occupying Juehua Island, we continued to transport troops and supplies to the island."

"Once we have enough food and supplies, we will attack Jinzhou."

"The Battle of Jinzhou was mainly about harassment, but if there was an opportunity, we could also attack the city."

"Third, cross the Yalu River from Baozhou, attack Posu Road, and then threaten Lushun and Huacheng."

"Fourth, send elite troops by ship from Shandong to launch a surprise attack on Changsong Island (Changxing Island)."

"After occupying Nagatsu Island, we continued to transport troops and supplies to the island."

"This route is the main force of the attack, and at least 50,000 troops need to be transported."

"Then they went to attack Hesuguan Road (Gaizhou), while the other three armies were all there to support the fourth."

"If the fourth route can capture Hesuguan, it can then attack Guangning to the north and coordinate with the second route to besiege the enemy forces in Jinzhou and Guangning."

"We can attack Fuzhou, Huacheng, and Lushun to the south, and together with the third route, take southern Liaoning."

"We could also march directly northeast and attack Liaoyang Prefecture of the Jin Kingdom!"

"Where the fourth route will advance depends on how the Jin state deploys its troops."

"It is even possible to switch from the main attack to a supporting attack, to hold back the main force of the Jin army, so that the second and third routes can launch the main attack."

"Then the three armies will join forces to fight a decisive battle against the Jin army."

"If the Jin army withdraws, we will advance from three directions and take Liaoyang directly."

Chapter 3387 Another War Is Coming

Wang Yuan added, "If the main force of the Jin army is drawn to Liaodong, the armies of Youyan will not defend it."

"We will divide our forces into four routes to attack, with the main targets being Juyong Pass and Xifeng Pass."

"If the Jin army fails to plunder Youyan and then launches a large-scale attack on Luanzhou to relieve the siege of Haiyang, then our Youyan army will assemble and advance eastward to encircle and annihilate this Jin army at Luanzhou!"

Shi Yuangong said, "I would also like to add something about the mountain people on both sides of the Yalu River."

"Because they had suffered heavy exploitation and had been constantly conscripted by the Jin state in recent years."

“Not only the Bohai people could not bear it, but even some Jurchens wanted to rebel.”

“Spies can incite the mountain tribes to march along the valleys toward the south of Liaoyang.”

“The Jurchen people would rebel against the Jin dynasty?” Zhang Tang found it very strange.

Shi Yuangong explained: "Many Bohai and Jurchen villages live in the mountains on both sides of the Yalu River."

"They make a living by farming, hunting, and fishing, and live scattered in different places."

"Some tribes were conquered by the Jin Dynasty, and some tribes voluntarily surrendered to the Jin Dynasty. It has only been about 20 years since then."

"The leaders of these tribes led their people to fight alongside the Jin Dynasty, and many of them died or were injured in the past few years."

"Moreover, in order to control Liaodong, the Jin dynasty also relocated the Jurchen people there to various parts of Liaodong to cultivate the land."

"Many Jurchen people in the mountains were relocated and only the old, weak, sick, disabled and a small number of young and strong were left. Even their leaders were too lazy to care about them."

"Because these leaders have long since left the mountains, acquired new territories, and brought back their people."

“The Jurchen and Bohai tribes who remained in the mountains were conscripted and their grain was requisitioned whenever there was a war.”

“They would naturally be happy to plunder alongside the army.”

"But in recent years, instead of plundering wealth, they have had to risk their lives and food, so they have long been extremely dissatisfied with the Jin Dynasty."

“Starting last autumn, a few Jurchen people fled to Baozhou with their families to seek refuge with the Ming Dynasty.”

"Let the spies take the Jurchens who have come to join us and go to the mountains to incite a rebellion."

"Leaving aside other places, the mountainous area on the south bank of the Yalu River could very well be taken without bloodshed."

“Those places used to be Liao territory. When the Jin army invaded, the people in the mountains flocked to the Jin state.”

"Now that the Ming Dynasty is in power, they can all flock to the Ming Dynasty."

Then, the group discussed the battlefield in Shanxi and the Western Xia, who might take the opportunity to send troops.

The overall strategic framework has been established; we are simply adding details.

Then they are distributed to the generals of each army, who can make corresponding adjustments based on the actual situation.

"But while adjusting the plan, we must report to the Ministry of War and the Privy Council."

"The most important thing to do is to mobilize more warships and civilian ships to transport soldiers and military supplies from Shandong to Juehua Island and Changsong Island."

"Changsong Island (Changxing Island) is the largest island in China north of the Yangtze River. After the peace treaty between the Ming and Jin dynasties, all the island's residents were relocated to Youzhou by the Ming army."

“It would be easy to station tens of thousands of troops on the island, and it could even serve as a logistical base for attacking Liaodong.”

"Once the several routes converge, all military rations can be transported to the island first. Even if the battle is lost, logistics can be guaranteed, and the defeated troops can be quickly transported back to the island to regroup."

……

As soon as the orders were issued, merchants from Huainan and Zhejiang Province sprang into action.

Merchants began to contact local merchants, who started collecting grain, while local granaries were also being mobilized.

Grain prices in the Jianghuai and Huaihe River provinces have risen slightly, and boatloads of grain are being transported to Yangzhou, Runzhou, Haimen, Hangzhou, Ningbo and other places.

Subsequently, maritime merchants were mobilized and signed grain transport contracts with the imperial court.

Grain from both official and private sources was transported by sea merchants to Shandong for stockpiling.

The transportation costs are quite high, which can make maritime merchants a fortune.

However, there are risks involved; if the boat capsizes in a storm, you'll be liable for compensation!

Phoenix Academy, Hangzhou.

Li Bangyan has already bought the first batch of foreign girls, and even bought musicians, clothing and jewelry from India, Cambodia and Srivijaya.

While studying foreign music, dance, and clothing, he also asked someone to teach the girls to speak Chinese.

Occasionally, I'll also come to Phoenix Academy for a visit.

"The imperial court is going to war again,"

Li Bangyan sipped his black tea.

“Every day, grain ships from Hangzhou would transport grain to the outer port and then wait for trade winds to sail towards Shandong.”

Zhu Yu laughed and said, "The Jin barbarians probably won't last long."

"A new emperor needs both civil and military achievements to gain supreme authority."

"The Jin state is the result of the new emperor's military prowess, and it could be a major battle involving hundreds of thousands of people."