The Northwest, where the flames of war reignited, entered an unprecedentedly tense phase.
In these turbulent times, the men of Tokyo are constantly bickering over logistics and internal affairs.
After the rebellions in Hebei and Hedong were coming to an end, there was no atmosphere of the approaching New Year in the entire city of Tokyo. Countless new officials braved the cold to go north to take up their posts and clean up the mess there.
The challenges facing the Song Dynasty this year were even more severe than those of the previous two years.
Internal strife and external threats are testing this empire, which is attempting to rise from the ashes, during this harsh winter.
Not only are the soldiers on the front lines suffering from the cold, but the men in the capital city of Tokyo are also not getting a good night's sleep.
On the evening of the 20th day of the twelfth lunar month, the thing the husbands had feared most happened.
This event, which occurred on the northern border of the Yan-Yun war zone, which was covered in snow, added insult to injury for the entire Song Dynasty.
A 500-strong Jin cavalry unit "accidentally" entered Song territory while hunting, leading to a conflict. The Song army killed nearly 100 Jin cavalrymen and forced the remaining 400 cavalrymen to approach Yanshan, where they were surrounded.
When the news reached the Youzhou Commander's Mansion, Zhong Shizhong and Yao Gu, who were having dinner, quickly changed into their armor, took their personal guards, and rushed to Tanzhou in the north overnight.
It seemed that tensions were rising in the North, with war clouds gathering.
The 300,000-strong army in the Yanyun War Zone made preparations for war at the fastest speed.
When the news reached Tokyo, Xu Churen angrily denounced the Jin Kingdom for being shameless, trying to break the treaty between the two countries and provoke trouble while the Song Dynasty was at war with the Xia rebels.
On this day, Zhang Shuye, as an envoy, rushed to Yanyun overnight.
He was to be sent as an envoy to the Jin Kingdom to ascertain its true strength and weaknesses.
Meanwhile, the emperor in the northwest also received news from the Yan-Yun war zone, a situation that Zhao Huan had anticipated.
Regardless of how many benefits Zhao Huan gave Wanyan Zongpan, and regardless of whether Wanyan Zongpan was the future crown prince of the Jin Dynasty, given the current situation, the Jin Dynasty could not possibly miss this opportunity.
Such an opportunity was presented to him, and Wanyan Zongpan had no control over it.
North of the Yanshan Mountains, the intention to move to the capital seems quite clear.
All that was missing was a reason to send troops, and the conflict in Yanshan was that reason!
The Jin state intended to extend its military might southward, and Zhao Huan seemed to see King Li Ganshun of Xia displaying a contemptuous and smug smile on the distant battlefield.
This greatly displeased Zhao Huan, who vowed to beat Li Ganshun until he passed out.
As for Wanyan Sheng, you must perfect the way of checks and balances, you must achieve a balance of power, and let you know what constraints are!
While Zhao Huan had amassed hundreds of thousands of troops south of Hengshan, far away in the snow-covered southern desert, a middle-aged man had just finished another round of mobilization.
For the past three years, Zhao Huan has never stopped supporting Yelü Dashi.
Yelü Dashi was like a high-ranking official under Zhao Huan in the southern desert, regularly sending him money, food, and even weapons.
Yelü Dashi was no ordinary military general; he was a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) from the Liao Dynasty, and could be described as both a scholar and a warrior.
As the saying goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
As the saying goes, "He who takes a man's money is bound to be grateful."
Having received so many benefits from Zhao Huan, Yelü Dashi, who had studied the classics, was still somewhat grateful to the Song emperor.
Of course, this gratitude only remains superficial.
They were not like Zhao Huan's true subjects, willing to go through fire and water for him.
Although he was unwilling to go through fire and water, he was even more unwilling to see the Song Dynasty collapse at the hands of the Jin Dynasty.
Because Yelü Dashi still hoped for Zhao Huan's support in order to restore his kingdom.
At this critical juncture, launching an attack on the western border of the Jin Dynasty was nothing to Yelü Dashi; he could simply treat it as military training.
Over the past three years, Yelü Dashi has been working diligently to govern the grasslands south of the Gobi Desert.
With the financial support from Zhao Huan, he quickly grew stronger and, in addition to the Dilie and Wugu tribes who had migrated westward with him, he also conquered the grassland tribes that had previously submitted to the Liao Dynasty but then betrayed him.
For example, the Zubu tribe (Tatars) and the Kereit tribe in northern Mongolia.
How many people did Yelü Dashi bring this time?
Sixty thousand troops!
Some suggested that Yelü Dashi should not act rashly, but wait until the Jin and Song dynasties were truly at war and both sides were exhausted before advancing eastward to deal with the Jin dynasty.
This proposal was categorically rejected by Yelü Dashi.
Leaving aside whether the Jin and Song dynasties would actually engage in a large-scale war, even if they did, it would be absolutely impossible for him to fight the Jin dynasty and restore the Liao dynasty with only 60,000 men.
He still needs more financial support from the Song emperor.
If we don't restrain the Jin state now, the Song emperor will surely cut off all funding.
Without the Song Dynasty's financial support, Yelü Dashi would face immense pressure in maintaining such a large army.
The Jin state relentlessly pursued him, eager to eliminate him as soon as possible.
Therefore, he cannot do without Zhao Huan's financial support in the coming years.
In fact, even Yelü Dashi himself did not realize that he had become addicted to taking money from Zhao Huan.
It's like a very independent adult suddenly having someone give him 100,000 yuan every month to live a carefree life. Over time, this person will lose his independence.
Or rather, Yelü Dashi had already realized it, but was unwilling to admit it.
He had been waiting, waiting to become strong enough to reclaim his homeland.
He was unwilling to continue migrating westward because he wanted to return to his hometown.
Without Zhao Huan's financial support, he might have migrated west, but now someone has given him hope.
Just as Wanyan Sheng was about to mobilize a large army and appoint Wanyan Zongwang as the vanguard, and the army was advancing into Yanyun to question the Song state about why they had killed their cavalry, an urgent report suddenly came from the western border, which had been peaceful for almost a year.
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