xymnovel Chapter 18 Chenqiao Mutiny
Chapter 18 Chenqiao Mutiny
In late December, the atmosphere of the Lunar New Year had already permeated the streets and alleys of Kaifeng.
The aroma of steamed rice cakes and brewed Tusu wine wafted through the market, and every household hung new peach wood charms and red lanterns at their doors.
In the barracks of the Imperial Guard Command, especially the Tiger Swift Army, which Han Tong treated like his own son, rows of brand-new red brick barracks stood neatly, with Spring Festival couplets written by the soldiers themselves pasted on the door of each barracks.
Family members gathered around the stove to fry pastries and prepare for the New Year, while children, wearing newly made cloth jackets, chased and played in the camp, their laughter echoing from morning till night.
Construction of military camps in other camps has gradually begun. Han Tong comes to patrol the camps every day, still glaring and cursing as before.
The brick and tile workshops in Tongjifang were still working non-stop, with wealthy households placing more and more orders for jade tiles at the end of the year. The finishing work on the remaining barracks of the Imperial Guard was also being rushed, and the kiln fires were burning day and night.
Although it has only been open for a short time, expansion has already been put on the agenda. Han Tong arranged for people to come and build more than a dozen new kilns, which are currently under construction.
Wang Jun uses low-temperature sintering for brick and tile making, so the requirements for the kiln are not high. Han Tong doesn't care about costs, and the people who come to repair the kiln are all soldiers and their families. No one is too embarrassed to ask Wang Jun for wages. It is estimated that the new kiln will be completed in another two or three months.
The people of Tongjifang and even the surrounding area made a lot of money from digging mud, so the atmosphere in the neighborhood was very festive.
The atmosphere in the imperial court was relaxed. Every civil official felt that the burden on their shoulders had been lightened, and with the holiday approaching, they all wanted to take a good rest.
After all, the past six months have truly been an eternity for these civil officials. They were in charge of the country with a twenty-year-old empress dowager and a seven-year-old young emperor. At such a special juncture as the Five Dynasties, who could understand how much pressure they were under?
Everyone knew a change of dynasty was inevitable, yet it dragged on for a full six months without any movement. For the past six months, everyone had been on tenterhooks, afraid to place any bets for fear of making the wrong one.
At the same time, they were also genuinely afraid that a crude and uncouth military man would rise to power and completely destroy the civil administration that Guo Wei and Chai Rong had painstakingly established. They were tacitly choosing a successor for the country.
This is actually why Li Chongjin had no chance from beginning to end. Although he was Guo Wei's nephew and the commander of the Imperial Guard, he was cruel and vulgar by nature and had a very bad relationship with the civil officials. There was no one among the civil officials willing to help him, so he could never hope to be transferred back to Kaifeng in his lifetime.
The civil officials of the Five Dynasties were incapable of accomplishing anything, but they could easily devise evil schemes.
As the New Year arrives, the entire city of Kaifeng is immersed in the peace and joy of the festival. Even the lingering atmosphere of war and violence since the late Tang Dynasty has been somewhat diluted by the festive atmosphere of the city.
"Gentlemen, you have all worked hard for the past six months. The affairs of the country are difficult. After we have held this final grand court assembly, we should take a break. I have prepared a banquet at my residence. Come and have a drink with me later."
At the grand court assembly, Chancellor Fan Zhi, looking delighted and slightly tipsy, spoke with his colleagues.
He was usually a man with a stern face, known as the "cold-faced prime minister." But today, on this joyous occasion of the New Year, he put aside his airs and paid for a banquet out of his own pocket to enhance the friendship among his colleagues. All the civil officials praised him.
"Report! Report! Report! Urgent dispatch from the border of Dingzhou and Zhenzhou, delivered on the 28th of the twelfth lunar month: The Khitan ruler Yelü Jing has personally led the entire army south to join forces with the Northern Han army. Hundreds of thousands of troops have broken through the border defenses and are advancing directly into the heart of Hebei!"
The urgent message arrived at the main hall on the first day of the Lunar New Year, freezing the originally festive Chuigong Hall in an eerie silence.
But no one panicked. Instead, many people had strange expressions on their faces, and some even smiled with relief. Then, many people looked at Zhao Kuangyin and prepared to welcome the new emperor.
"Bullshit!"
After a while, Han Tong, still hot-tempered, couldn't hold back any longer. He first glared at Zhao Kuangyin, then looked at the messenger with a murderous gaze and cursed:
"If the Liao people wanted to fight, they didn't fight when the late emperor had just died, or in early winter. Now it's almost the New Year and spring has arrived. Why would the Liao emperor launch a full-scale invasion of the south? Is he crazy?!"
He was just a foolish ruler, not a simpleton. Even if he was simpleton, were the entire Liao court simpletons?!
After saying that, Han Tong turned to look at Zhao Kuangyin.
The message in his eyes was clear: "We know you're going to rebel, but don't treat us like fools."
Keep in mind that this is the Five Dynasties period, and the civil officials there are practically crawling out of piles of corpses. Unlike the later Northern Song Dynasty, there were no civil officials who were completely ignorant of military affairs.
On the first day of the Lunar New Year and the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, it was impossible for the Khitans to wage a major war, let alone have their ruler personally lead an expedition and join forces with the Northern Han to send hundreds of thousands of troops south.
Because at this time, the Liao Kingdom had almost no professional soldiers. The Liao soldiers were basically herders in peacetime and soldiers in wartime. And right now it is the first day of the Lunar New Year, the Spring Festival, the Spring Festival, which means spring is just around the corner!
Let alone ancient times, even in modern society a thousand years from now, anyone who has raised sheep knows that sheep are the kind of animals that survive the winter but die in the spring. No matter how cold it is in winter, sheep won't freeze to death, but as soon as the snow melts in spring, sheep will freeze to death in large numbers.
This is called a late spring cold snap.
Right now, it is the most critical time for the Khitan people of the Liao Kingdom to experience the late spring cold. All the Khitan people are busy with lambing and raising, reinforcing the pens and stockpiling fodder. Moreover, every year from January to March is the most important event for the Liao court, the Spring Hunting Camp.
It's no exaggeration to say that this was the busiest time of the year for the Liao Dynasty, from the Liao emperor himself to the lowest-ranking herdsmen. How well they did during these three months directly determined the life and death of their families and even the entire nation for the next year.
Is Yelü Jing crazy? Why is he personally leading the entire nation's army to invade the south at this time?
Throughout history, no nomadic people has ever been known to wage war in the spring. The Liao Dynasty's military system clearly stated, "Advance in the ninth month, retreat in the twelfth month."
That is, they can only go out to fight after September, and they have to withdraw their troops in December. There are exceptions, but at most they are small-scale troops.
It's already the first day of the Lunar New Year, and you're telling me the Liao emperor is personally leading an expedition, and the entire Liao army is marching south?
Such fake military intelligence is so convincing that it would hardly have fooled anyone even in the late Northern Song Dynasty, let alone in the present Five Dynasties period, where everyone is knowledgeable about military affairs and there are no truly civil officials.
What's even stranger and more puzzling is that, apart from Han Tong, not a single official in the entire court stepped forward to verify the authenticity of this outrageous military intelligence report.
Moreover, even though Han Tong raised questions, it seemed like no one heard him.
Some people lowered their heads and remained silent.
Some people have already started shouting: "The Liao emperor has invaded the south, and the Great Zhou dynasty is in grave danger. We beg the Empress Dowager to immediately send troops north and select a valiant general to repel the enemy. Your Majesty, I recommend the Inspector General."
"Indeed, at this critical juncture for the nation, only the Inspectorate can turn the tide."
"The Inspector is a divine general; he will surely defeat the Liao bandits."
"Please, Your Majesty, appoint the Inspector General as commander to repel the Liao."
"Please, Your Majesty, appoint the Inspector General as commander to repel the Liao."
"Please, Your Majesty, appoint the Inspector General as commander to repel the Liao."
"Please, Your Majesty, appoint the Inspector General as commander to repel the Liao."
The shouts grew louder and louder, almost reaching the point of a unified chant. Han Tong could only endure, endure, endure.
Finally, unable to contain himself, he said to the Empress Dowager with some grief and indignation, "Empress Dowager! This matter is strange! Even if the Liao army really went against the will of Heaven and marched south, our Great Zhou has five garrisons of troops in Hebei: Chengde, Yiwu, Henghai, Xiongzhou, and Bazhou!"
"With at least 60,000 troops, there's no reason for these five border garrisons to request reinforcements from the central government without first engaging the Liao army. Besides, even if they were requesting reinforcements, they should have first sought help from the Prince of Wei's Tianxiong Army! In the Hebei campaign, how could they mobilize the imperial guards from the capital region before even deploying the Tianxiong Army?!"
Empress Dowager Fu nodded to Han Tong, then turned to Fan Zhi: "The nation is in peril, on the verge of collapse. Prime Minister Fan, who do you think should lead the army north to resist the Liao, and how should we deploy the troops?"
Han Tong: "Prime Minister Fan, the fate of the Great Zhou Dynasty rests on this single word. Do you still remember the kindness and favor shown to you by the founding emperor and the late emperor?!"
Fan Xiang didn't even look at Han Tong. After bowing, he said, "I believe that Commander Zhao should lead 130,000 troops north to resist the Liao. The military situation is urgent and cannot be delayed for even a moment. Let the Commander set off tomorrow."
Han Tong couldn't help but complain: "Kaifeng only has 140,000 soldiers. If we take them all away, we won't have any left. Besides, if 130,000 troops are going to war, and we receive the news today, they'll leave tomorrow. What about the food and supplies?"
Does an army of 130,000 need to prepare provisions for a long expedition? If not, are they planning to return after reaching Chenqiao Post Station?
Empress Dowager Fu seemed not to hear Han Tong's complaints: "Since that's the case, tomorrow, Commander, please lead the army out to war. I am just a woman and know nothing. I entrust the entire Zhou dynasty to you, Commander. I hope you will put the world first and please do not refuse again."
"That's it~"
Han Tong couldn't help but make a sarcastic remark, clapping his hands and exclaiming, "The Great Zhou is finished!"
Having said that, he turned and left to go home for the New Year, leaving his ministers with only a desolate silhouette.