Chapter 42: Searching for Liao (Part 1)
Early spring of the second year of Jingkang, Mobei grassland
Lead-gray clouds piled up in the sky, and the north wind howled in the wilderness.
In Wang Qiu's field of vision, the sky is gray and the ground is white. Except for the frozen river in the distance, the dead trees protruding out of the snow stain the sky and earth with some sparse black spots. Apart from this, there is no trace of color in the vast snow-covered fields of the entire Mongolian prairie.
The howling cold wind mixed with large snowflakes, blowing on the face as sharp as a knife, ruined the lives of many people and animals on the grassland.
But a floating castle with bright colors and gorgeous decorations is flying over this snow-capped wilderness against the terrifying biting cold wind.
"...It's already the second month of the lunar calendar, and it's still a land of ice and snow...Is this the 'white disaster' that makes the grassland nomads change their minds when they hear it?"
Standing by the window of the castle tower on the top floor of the castle, Wang Qiu was still shivering from the cold and his hands and feet were cold, even though he was wrapped in a thick down jacket. "...Doraemon, how far are we from Coton City now?" ? Is this the right direction? ”
——The grassland in "White Disaster" was so cold that the hot breath he exhaled when he spoke turned into white frost on his mouth and nose in the blink of an eye.
"...I don't know...The Siberian cold current this season is so violent that we have already deviated from the planned route - I don't know how much the floating city was blown southeast in the snowstorm just now. Far away... There is no GPS satellite positioning these days, and the grassland in winter is also a vast expanse of white. You can't see anything clearly, and you can't find any ground landmarks..."
Doraemon stared at a compass in his hand, pouted and said, "...Anyway, we should still be above the Mongolian Plateau..."
——As for why their floating city appears here, please let us turn the calendar back to two months ago for now...
※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※
On the last day of December in the first year of Jingkang, Huining, the capital of the Jin Kingdom, ushered in its destruction amidst the crazy siege and arson of prisoners of war from all ethnic groups.
Then, stepping on the ruins with lingering smoke and piles of corpses, facing the dawn of the new year, the surviving prisoners of war of all ethnic groups drank the shochu stored by the Jurchens while ravaging the captured enemy women in a unique and special way. , celebrating freedom and the coming of the New Year.
In addition, it was not until the battle was completely over that some Khitan prisoners of war woke up from their violent state and suddenly remembered that their last emperor, Emperor Tianzuo of Liao Dynasty Yelu Yanxi, seemed to be imprisoned in Huining City at this time... After a while After careful searching, they finally found themselves in a certain government office. In the backyard, I found the conquered Khitan king. Unfortunately, the Emperor of Liao Dynasty had been stabbed through the chest by an unknown sword. At this time, even the body was too cold to see the destruction of the Jurchen enemy... As for the murderer Who it is can only become an eternal confusion...
——Hearing this news, thousands of Khitan prisoners of war all cried, but the few time travelers did not feel that there was anything to be sad about: According to official historical records, the subjugated king of the Liao Kingdom would be tortured next year. , will be trampled into flesh by the Jin army with thousands of horses. Now, as history has been changed, he only died a year early and was able to be buried face to face with his whole body. At the same time, he provided 500 reward points to all the time-travelers, which was barely worth it.
However, after the carnival, people from all ethnic groups soon broke out in fierce disputes on the ruins of Huining City over what to do next.
——After a day and night of brutal fighting, except for a few young women, almost all the 30,000 Jurchens in Huining City were killed by swords or buried in the sea of fire. The 30,000 prisoners of war and slaves who were incited by the Song army to rebel also suffered heavy casualties, with only less than 20,000 remaining.
But among the less than 20,000 slaves, there are more than a dozen ethnic groups such as Song people, Liaodong Han people, Bohai people, Khitan people, Koreans, Xi people, Mongolians, etc. Before, everyone was full of anger and grief, focusing on revenge against the Jurchens, but they were able to work together. But after the Jurchens were defeated, Huining City was burned to the ground, and after years of grievances were finally vented, everyone had their own ideas:
The foreign prisoners of war, such as the Song people, Mongolians, and Koreans, who were captured by the Jin soldiers, naturally wanted to leave this strange and cold land as soon as possible and return to their hometown as soon as possible after taking revenge. But the indigenous residents of the black soil in the Northeast, the Bohai and Xi people, were already homeless at this time - the Bohai people mainly lived in Tokyo Road of the old Liao Dynasty (the future Liaoning, Jilin and the Russian Far East), and the Xi people Concentrated in the Zhongjing Road area (the future junction of Inner Mongolia, Liaoning and Hebei provinces), these places have now become the world of Jurchens. If they want to return to their hometown in an upright manner and reunite with their families, wives and children, they must carry out the war to the end and completely defeat the Jurchens!
But the problem is, relying solely on the thousands of Bohai and Xi people here, a group of armed refugees with no organization, no logistics and no base, wants to defeat the world-famous Jurchen cavalry and take back their respective hometowns. It really makes people feel that No chance of winning. Therefore, they tried their best to persuade the Mongols, Song Dynasty and Koryo people who had fought side by side before, especially the incredibly tough Song Dynasty raiding team, to stay with them and "join the great event" with them.
——Even if you add these allies, you may not be able to win, but at least you can embolden your own people, right?
As for the Han people in Liaodong, some are tired of the endless wars in the north and want to return to the Central Plains to recognize their ancestors; but there are also people who are unwilling to leave their homes and hope to fight to the end on this black land - so some people expect Looking forward to disbanding and going home. Another group of people hoped that everyone would continue their efforts and start a revolution on the spot, so they quarreled with each other in confusion, and no one could convince the other... Fortunately, they all knew that they were in the Jurchen hinterland and were surrounded by enemies on all sides. Whether they are fighting a bloody road to return to their hometown, or taking root in Saibei, they must unite as one, so they do not fight on their own.
Doraemon and other time-travelers were busy checking the loot, and were slightly disappointed to find that although the Jurchen iron cavalry looted the land of Liao and Song Dynasties, blowing the sky three feet high, and should have a lot of property, most of them were taken away by them. After all the land has been enjoyed, the gold and silver goods that have been transported all the way back to Huining are really limited. Coupled with the damage during the battle and the personal collections of the rebellious slaves, the amount of loot further shrunk. In the end, only a "mere" billion yen was exchanged from the [automatic pawn machine], many of which came from piles in the suburbs. of wood and locally grown ginseng…
Next, seeing that there was no result in their quarrels, several leaders of the rebellious slaves finally came to see the "real protector of the country" and begged the imperial government to escort them back to their hometown. They would try their best in the future. Repay; the other side claimed that they were willing to serve Guo Jing and the others as their masters. Saibei has done something great... But as time travellers, Guo Jing, Wang Qiu and Dora Ameng have different thinking perspectives - fundamentally speaking, all their actions must revolve around "obtaining reward points" "Help Guo Jing out of trouble" and "Collect property to repay Doraemon's debt".
But the problem is that with the fire in Huining City, the historical process of the Song-Jin War has been almost distorted and subverted, and not many celebrities of the Jin Kingdom in this era have been killed. Even if we continue to fight in Liaodong, we may not be able to get any reward points. Moreover, in this era, the Northeast region is vast, sparsely populated, wild and backward, so it would be very difficult to find more treasures.
As for returning to the Song Dynasty... who can guarantee that those Song Dynasty scholar-officials who are experts in internal fighting and outsiders in external wars, short-sighted, weird-thinking, arrogant, and have no moral integrity will turn against Guo Zhenren again after the threat of Jurchen foreign enemies has temporarily weakened. What trouble did this "internal trouble" cause?
At this time, the Khitans, the former overlords of the North, put forward the third "new thinking."
"...You said that you want to escort the body of Emperor Tianzuo back to his homeland for burial?" After listening to the story of a Khitan leader, Guo Jing couldn't help but look a little strange, and there was a hint of confusion in his words, "... ...As we all know, the Khitan has been destroyed, and all the territory of the old Liao Kingdom has been captured by the Jurchens. Unless you manage to gain a piece of land in the north of the Great Wall, how can you still have a homeland? "
"...This distinguished national advisor, although Daliao is extremely broken, there are still loyal people in the west. When the late emperor was defeated and captured in the past, Dashi Linya led a number of elite cavalry out of Mobei, Now he has set up tents in Kedun City to gather income and resume his plans.”
The Khitan leader, who claimed to be from the Yelu royal family, bowed slightly and replied neither humble nor arrogantly, "...I heard that your Excellency has a flying magic weapon that can travel thousands of miles in just a few days. Please also help us carry the remains of the late Emperor westward to meet you." If Shi Lin Ya meets up, I, Khitan, will be richly rewarded!
Although my Khitan clan is in dire straits now, after all, we once dominated the northern part of the Great Wall for two hundred years. All those who suffered from the Jurchen tyranny took it as their own duty to revive the Liao Dynasty. If the Song Dynasty wanted to destroy the Jurchens, we would definitely be useful. In addition, if I, the Khitan, can wipe out the Jurchens and restore the state of Zuo, then whether it is re-dividing the borders between the two countries, or reducing the Khitan to a foreign vassal, and then becoming vassal to the Song Dynasty, I, the Khitan clan, can agree..."
"... Dashi Linya... Yelu Dashi?!" After a while, Guo Jing suddenly realized, "...Why did I forget this guy!"
※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※
If we say that in the turbulent times when the Jin soldiers went south and the Central Plains fell, the Song Dynasty had the extremely humiliating Jingkang scandal and treacherous ministers like Qin Hui, but it also had a series of national heroes who would be remembered forever, such as Yue Fei and Han Shizhong. So during the Jurchen eradication of the Liao Dynasty, the only Khitan hero worthy of praise in the Khitan camp, which was living in turmoil and experiencing civil strife, was Yelu Dashi.
Yelu Dashi, the eighth grandson of Yelu Abaoji, Taizu of the Liao Dynasty, was eager to learn since childhood and was good at riding and shooting. Proficient in both Chinese and Khitan. In the fifth year of Tianqing's reign (1115), he became a Jinshi in Yelu Dashi, won the first place in the palace examination, entered the Hanlin Academy, and served as a Hanlin imperial scholar. He became the only Khitan Jinshi in the Liao Dynasty recorded in the "History of Liao". Since Hanlin is called Linya in Khitan language, people usually call him Dashi Linya respectfully.
If it were in peacetime, he might just become a literati who was good at poetry. However, the turbulent times of the collapse of the Liao Kingdom turned him into the last Khitan hero. His military ability has always been praised by people. Although he suffered repeated defeats, he was good at seizing the opportunity and adapting to defeats. First, he led a city of mourning troops to defeat 100,000 Song troops in Yanjing, and then led hundreds of cavalry to march across thousands of miles of territory in Central Asia, extending the Yelv clan's empire for nearly another hundred years.
——When Yelu Dashi embarked on his official career, it was when the Liao Kingdom was about to collapse. Emperor Tianzuo was too busy shooting and hunting to pay attention to state affairs. There were many internal conflicts and rebellions in the Khitan ruling group, and the party struggle reached a fever pitch. The Jurchens took advantage of the situation to rise and swept across the Northland like a devastation. In 1122, the Jin army launched a general attack, directing its troops towards the core hinterland of the Liao Kingdom, going up to Linhuang Mansion in Beijing and Dading Mansion in Zhongjing. Emperor Tianzuo of the Liao Dynasty, Yelu Yanxi, abandoned his army and did not dare to fight. He retreated hastily from the front line. He was attacked by the Jin army on the way. He fled in a hurry, "riding into the Jiashan Mountains on a light horse", and was isolated from the outside world.
When Emperor Tianzuo abandoned his army and fled, he issued an edict ordering prime ministers Zhang Lin and Li Chuwen and King Yelu Chun of the Qin and Jin Dynasties to stay in Nanjing (Nanjing of the Liao Kingdom, also known as Yanjing). As a result, due to the lack of news for several days, rumors spread that the emperor had passed away. Li Chuwen conspired with Xiao Qian, the commander of the Nanjing capital, and Yelu Dashi, the military governor of Liao Xingjun, to establish Yelu Chun as emperor and occupy the Yanyun prefectures and Shangjing. , Zhongjing, Western Liaoning and other places, this short-lived regime was called "Northern Liao" in history.
As one of the two major military pillars of the Northern Liao regime, Yelu Dashi had outstanding military talents. He once cooperated closely with Xiao Qian and defeated two attacks by the Northern Song army on the southern front with an absolutely inferior force. This was the "Xuanxuan" that Yue Fei once participated in. and the Northern Expedition", which relieved the threat on the southern front. Helplessly, the building was about to collapse and it was difficult to support a single tree. Although the Song people in the south were repelled, the Jin army in the north was approaching the Great Wall. The situation in Liao Kingdom deteriorated again. In 1123, Yelu Dashi was defeated by the Jin army at the Battle of Juyongguan and became a prisoner. A few months later, Xiao Qian was also defeated and killed, leading to the complete destruction of the Northern Liao regime. But Yelu Dashi miraculously escaped after being captured for several months, and brought an army to the grassland to join Emperor Tianzuo.
At this time, Emperor Tianzuo, who was exiled in the grasslands, gathered the remnants of the Liao Kingdom. He also received support from the nomadic tribes in the Yin Mountains and actually collected a lot of soldiers and horses. So he claimed that he had received God's help and planned to send troops to regain Yanyun. Dashi believed that it was not appropriate to counterattack rashly at this time, but Emperor Tianzuo refused to accept it and insisted on sending troops.
Yelu Dashi saw that this faint king was determined to destroy himself, so he led two hundred cavalry and left Emperor Tianzuo's camp at night to find another way out. After he left, Emperor Tianzuo sent troops to Xijing Road, and achieved some small victories at first, but was quickly defeated by the Jin army. In the spring of 1125, Emperor Tianzuo was captured by the Jin army on his way to flee Xixia, and the Liao Kingdom was officially destroyed... At this time, it was only half a year since Yelu Dashi left.
On the other side, after Yelu Dashi left Emperor Tianzuo, he went north across the desert to Kedun City, garrisoned the Beiting Protectorate, and took over the last territory of the Liao Kingdom. At the same time, he summoned Weiwu, Chongde, Huifan, and Xin , Dalin, Zihe, Tuo and other seven states, as well as Dahuang Shiwei, Di La, Wang Ji La, Cha Chi La, Ye Xi, Bi Gude, Ni La, Dalai Guai, Damili, Milji, Hezhu, Wuguli, Zubu, Pusuwan, Tanggu , Hu Mu thought and ridiculed the crowd of eighteen kings and told them: "My ancestors have experienced It took nine generations and two hundred years to create great achievements. As vassals, the Jin people persecuted our country, massacred our people, massacred and destroyed our cities, and made our Emperor Tianzuo flee. Thinking of this makes me sad day and night. Now I am traveling westward for justice and want to help With the power of all the Tibetan tribes, destroy our enemies and restore our country's territory. Are there any of you who care about our country, worry about our country, and think about working together to rescue your father and help the people in suffering? ?”
Relying on the propaganda of rebuilding the Liao Dynasty, Yelu Dashi successfully won the support of various grassland ministries and obtained 10,000 soldiers and horses from these leaders. He then set up officials in Kedun City, arranged armor, prepared ceremonial instruments, and established the "Liao Dynasty". government-in-exile".
Soon after the Jin soldiers captured Emperor Tianzuo, they also learned about Yelu Dashi's reorganization in Kedun City. But the problem is that Kedun City is far away in Mobei, separated from the area controlled by the Jurchens by a vast desert. If you want to send troops to pursue it, it is really difficult to guarantee logistical supplies. In addition, the Jin army had decided to go to war with the Song Dynasty at this time, and they were all bent on going south to plunder the rich Song Dynasty. No one wanted to go to the bitter cold Mobei to eat sand and freeze, so they had to temporarily allow Yelu Dashi to linger in the north and prepare for it. Leave it to later to find a solution.
According to the original history, Yelv Dashi would lie dormant in Kedun City in Mobei for several years, watching as the Jin soldiers swept across the Central Plains. As the country's power grew stronger, there was no hope of restoring the Liao Dynasty. As a result, he turned around and conquered the west. Through a series of arduous expeditions and surprise attacks, he regained a piece of territory for the Khitans in the Western Regions, proclaimed himself emperor, established the so-called "Western Liao Empire", and continued the national destiny for a hundred years. After that, until the Mongol Western Expedition.
Regrettably, although the state of Daliao was continued, the birthplace of the Khitan people in the Huangshui River Basin was lost forever.
Therefore, after the Western Liao Dynasty was destroyed by the Mongolian cavalry, the Khitan as a nation disappeared forever in the long river of history.
But in this time and space, the development of everything is completely different... - After learning about the remnants of the Khitan and the Yelu Dashi, the time-travelers who were struggling with how to continue collecting reward points immediately made the decision to take the The floating city "Third New Tokyo" goes to Colton City to try its luck!