"The Ever-Victorious Army, also known as the Resentful Army in the old days, was originally created by Dong Xiaoxiu. Most of the soldiers and horses in his army were Han people from the Liao Kingdom and Bohai people..." In the tent, Zhong Shidao was explaining this key battle to Sun Tu. The origin and current situation of the third force, the Victory Army. As veteran and famous generals in the army, he and Zhong Shizhong are obviously much better than Sun Tu in this regard.
It was also through their narration that Sun Tucai further understood the inside story. This army, which was filled with deep hatred when hearing its original name, had indeed been at odds with the Liao Kingdom early on, and the reason for this was naturally due to the Liao Kingdom itself.
Like the Song Dynasty and every dynasty that came to an end, by this time, the Liao Kingdom had long been in decay. Their emperor Yelu Yanxi was a hands-off boss who only liked to hunt around and ignored the government affairs. He favored traitors and sycophants, which made the court Corrupt officials are everywhere in China, and the exploitation of the people will naturally become more severe.
Even in the Song Dynasty, Liang Shanbo, Fang La and others would rebel one after another if something like this happened. The situation within the Liao Kingdom was more complicated, and naturally more people rebelled. The Liao Kingdom was roughly composed of the Khitan people, the Bohai people, and the Han people in the north. It was precisely because of the tolerance of the sea that the Liao Kingdom quickly became stronger. However, the contradictions had already been laid, but they were not exposed at the time. aware.
But over the past hundred years, as the Khitan clan continued to expand, whether it was the Han people or the Bohai people, their situation became more and more difficult. Most of the officials in the court were Khitans, but most of the taxes in the country fell on the Han and Bohai people. In addition, the superior Khitans persecuted the two ethnic groups many times for various reasons, which made the gap between them Conflicts are deepening day by day.
Compared with the Han people who were more tolerant, the Bohai people who had long been annihilated by the Khitan found it harder to accept such unfair treatment, so finally a few years ago, an uprising broke out. The leader of it was the Bohai people. Dong clown. What makes the Liao Kingdom even more troublesome is that this resentful army is not a civilian uprising like Fangla of Song Dynasty, but an entire imperial army, so it can also be called a mutiny. An army composed of Bohai people and An army composed of Han people with vengeful fury!
At that time, the Jurchen Jin people had just risen, and they were more threatening than the resentful army. This left the Liao court unable to do anything and could only send a small number of troops to suppress it. As a result, the Liao army was defeated, and the resentful army was able to expand. Many cities in the central and southern part of the Liao Kingdom fell into its hands, and the damage seemed to be greater than that of the Jin people.
It was only then that the Liao court paid attention to this rebel army and quickly sent Xiao Qian, the most adept at using troops, to lead troops to quell the rebellion. And Xiao Qian really lived up to the great trust of the court. After several battles, he not only won successive victories, but also relied on the strategy of division to defeat the resentful army to pieces. Even the leader Dong Xiaoxiao lost his life in an internal strife. .
Just when the resentful army was about to be completely destroyed, another powerful figure stepped onto the stage - Yaoshi Guo! Different from Dong Xiuo's origin, he was Han Chinese. He was also well versed in the art of war and knew how to assess the situation. Seeing his imminent collapse, he immediately offered to surrender to the Liao Kingdom and promised to follow Xiao Qian north to destroy the Jin Dynasty.
At this time, the Liao Kingdom was being beaten badly by the Jin people and suffered repeated injuries. After saying this, even Xiao Qian did not doubt his presence, nodded and agreed to their surrender, and would not continue to attack fiercely. This naturally gave the resentful army a chance to breathe. Then, after pretending to surrender and walking with the Liao army for a while, Xiao Qian was in a hurry to return to the north.
The Liao army was unprepared, so Pharmacist Guo launched another mutiny and took a group of soldiers and horses with him to flee south.
In fact, he knew one thing very well. If he really wanted to work for the Liao Kingdom as he said, he and his brothers would probably die. Those Jurchens were no match for the Liao army, so how could their resentful army have any chance of winning? If they go to the front line, they might all be cannon fodder. Even if they were lucky enough to survive the battle with the Jin people, with the style of the Liao people, they would probably not be able to let things go by the wayside.
Therefore, as early as when he asked for surrender, Medical Master Guo had made plans to counterattack again. Everything was just a temporary measure. Facts have proved that his approach was quite wise and correct. It was this moment of surrender that gave them room to survive. Because at this time, the Liao Kingdom had placed all its main forces in the north, and the south was naturally empty, allowing the smaller number of resentful troops to seize several cities in succession. Even important military cities such as Zhuozhou City were seized by them.
It was precisely because of this series of victories that Guo Yaoshi truly took full control of the Resentment Army, and thus changed its name to the Ever Victorious Army. After changing its name, the Ever Victorious Army had another bad year. It was defeated by the Liao army who later turned back angrily. It lost its city and lost its territory. In the end, it only had two cities in hand and was barely surviving.
If the Song Dynasty had not suddenly sent troops to attack Liao last year, I am afraid that this ever-victorious army would have been completely destroyed. It was at this critical moment of life and death that Medicine Master Guo sent someone to contact the Song Army, hoping to gain asylum by seeking refuge in the Song State. After all, unlike the original Dong Xiu Shi, Guo Yaoshi was a Han Chinese, so he was naturally closer to the Song Dynasty, right
Although Tong Guan was moved at that time, he did not make any further in-depth expressions. He only planned to temper the other party's temperament, so as to control the other party more easily. But he didn't expect that the smug Tong Shuai would go wrong in the ensuing battle, causing the army to be defeated. He retreated again and again, and the matter of recruiting the victorious army could only be put aside for now. This shelving lasted for several months, but it gave the Chang Sheng Army a real chance to breathe and became the third force in the Song-Liao War!
After Sun Tu listened to Zhongshi Dao's introduction, he couldn't help but admire him repeatedly: "This Guo Yaoshi is really a figure, and he should even be called a hero. He can actually endure in such an environment and never collapse." Next." At the same time, I was complaining in my heart, this person's name is really good, it is Guo and Yaoshi. Is it a combination of Guo Jing and Huang Yaoshi, or is Jin Yong two separate characters based on this person
"It's not wrong to call him a generational hero, but it's only because of this that the matter becomes more and more difficult." Zhongshi frowned and said: "Just from his previous methods, we can see that this is a repetition. Impermanence, a villain with little faith at all, who only cares about immediate interests. This was one of the reasons why Tong Guan did not want to send troops to rescue him immediately and included him in the army. After all, they are not my race. Once they are in battle, If there is a sudden defection, our army will be in danger."
Sun Tu also nodded with deep understanding: "Senior said, we really have to guard against it. Just from the fact that the Liao army can cross the border from another place and enter the rear of our army, we can know that this person is not trustworthy and is a complete rat." Both ends of the spectrum.”
"But now the force of the Ever Victorious Army has to be roped in and borrowed, so this matter is really difficult to handle." Master Zhongdao was also a little confused: "What is the attitude of Pharmacist Guo now? We really don't know. It's a good guess." Master Zhong also followed suit.
Sun
Tu's eyes scanned the map in front of him, and he said after a long while: "If I were Guo Yaoshi, and I wanted to make a difference in this situation, I would sell it for a price, and try to make every effort to see if I could use this to win the victory between Song and Liao. The opportunity to score points creates better opportunities for yourself and gets more benefits.”
"For example?"
"For example, we can ask for money and food from our two countries, ask for legitimate official positions and rewards, and gain the rights of a general to accept orders from foreign kings, to obey orders but not to obey orders, etc."
After listening to Sun Tu's words, the two types snorted together: "He has such a big appetite. Are he really not afraid of offending both countries and ending up in a dismal ending?"
"As a tycoon, he is always greedy and will take action if he has the opportunity! What's more, it seems that he does have the capital at present. The current war situation is delicate, and no one can afford his sudden troops." Sun Tu squinted his eyes and looked at the location of Zhuozhou drawn on the map, and a smile slowly appeared on his face: "Interesting. It is said that mortals suffer when gods fight, but at this moment, he, a mortal, has become the one who can influence the victory or defeat of the two gods. An important bargaining chip... Regardless of his vision and boldness, this person is considered to be outstanding and a good opponent!"
"Huh?" Hearing the meaning of Sun Tu's words, Zhong Shidao's expression changed slightly: "Qianli, do you have any plans?"
"I dare not hide it from you two. I plan to go to Zhuozhou, have a fight with him, and bring him to my side in the Song Dynasty." Sun Tu answered quite calmly.
"No!" The two of them immediately became anxious upon hearing this, and stopped them almost in unison: "The situation is chaotic right now, and the situation in Zhuozhou is even more unclear. How can you take such a risk?"
"Yes Qianli, this is not a wise move. You have a high status in our army, how can you risk going into that muddy water? Even if Zhuozhou is indeed related to the success or failure of the entire battle, it is better to do this..."
"Of course I understand how much you care for Sun Tu, but I have to explain a few words clearly. In fact, it is not that I, Sun Tu, belittle myself. When it comes to using troops to fight, I, Sun Tu, can't even compare with the two of you. , Even compared with other generals of the Western Army, they are far inferior. So in the military camp, they actually don't have much effect." Sun Tu said unhurriedly. After this battle, he did understand that he was not For any famous general, his past victories were either due to surprise or luck, and the enemies were generally not too strong. But now, facing a powerful enemy like the Liao Army, his military qualities were obviously not enough.
After a pause, he continued: "In this case, my presence or absence has nothing to do with the overall situation here. On the other hand, Zhuozhou needs me, Da Song, to show enough sincerity now. Compared with others, I believe that I His identity is more convincing, and he can also act according to the situation, at least to prevent the situation from getting worse. This may be the biggest use of my grandson's trip to the north!"
Having said this, he stood up and saluted solemnly: "It concerns the life and death of the Song Dynasty and even the entire Central Plains inheritance. I hope that the two seniors can understand my intentions and let me do my best."
Seeing his frank and pleading look, Zhong Shidao and the two were really moved: "Sun Qianli, you are a true hero! We are really convinced this time! As long as you can return safely, the whole Western Army will I will obey your orders!" After saying that, the two of them stood up quickly and bowed respectfully to Sun Tu, which was exactly how a subordinate would pay respect to his superior.