Traveling back to the Northern Song Dynasty: Picking up a princess as my wife

Chapter 152 Prince Wanyan Ping of Zhennan is stripped of his military power

Springtime on the grasslands brings a sweet fragrance. Six-year-old Tuya was chasing her dog, running happily across the pasture, when suddenly the sound of horses' hooves echoed in the distance. Upon hearing this, the entire tribe erupted in excitement, and countless Mongolian men put down their work, picked up their weapons, and mounted their horses.

Tuya watched her elders mount their horses with solemn expressions, and then she never returned. When she finally went home, she found many unfamiliar faces in the once-familiar tribe.

Tuya stepped forward innocently and asked, "Uncle, what brings you here? Why are you in our tribe? Where are my dad and mom?"

Danshir, the chieftain of the Eastern Mongol tribe, witnessed this scene and stopped two of his men who were about to draw their swords: "We Mongols do not have the custom of slaughtering children. Bring her here."

Dansil looked at Tuya with incredibly bright eyes, as if his own childhood was being recalled.

"Keep the child in my tent. You all continue to hunt down those enemies of the Ongud tribe."

A medium-sized Mongol tribe fell completely in less than half an hour under a combined attack from the Jin and Mongol armies. Apart from the men who died in battle, the remaining tribe population was enslaved.

With the aid of the Jin army, the Hongjila tribe in eastern Mongolia carried out a brutal massacre of their former neighbors. It was as if friends who were drinking together yesterday had become mortal enemies overnight, and all of this happened so casually.

Upon receiving the news, Naza, who was in Hohhot, asked anxiously, "Mr. Wan, our rear is destroyed. We can't get back to the grasslands!"

Wan Hanzhong: "We now occupy the Western Capital Road of the Jin Kingdom, which means the entire area outside the Great Wall is our territory. What is a little grassland? We want the entire Jin Kingdom!"

Naza: "But my wives and children are all on the grasslands!"

Upon hearing this, Wan Hanzhong rolled his eyes at Naza: "Are you still lacking wives and children? You snatched quite a few women this time you went south. I heard that several of them are already pregnant."

Naza: "This is different. The women on the grassland were given to me by my father, and they are meant to inherit my legacy. But these women who were taken from us are different. No matter how many children they have, they are secondary."

Wan Hanzhong sighed: "Chief, if you return to the grasslands with the remaining troops at this time, the soldiers of these tribes will still obey the orders of those old guys from the Wanggu tribe. But if you successfully defend against the Jin army's attack here, the entire Xijing Road will be yours."

Ultimately, Naza heeded Wan Hanzhong's advice and gathered the fleeing Mongol soldiers in Xijing Road. Wan Hanzhong also recruited many Han Chinese youths to form a new army. However, this "recruitment" was really just sending troops around to capture people and then throwing them directly into military camps for training.

In the summer of 1153 AD, the armies of Western Xia, Western Liao and Jin took advantage of the chaos on the Mongolian steppe and launched invasions to occupy Mongolian territory. They seized their cattle, sheep and people and established their own power on the Mongolian steppe.

In July of the same year, the former Northern Song emperor, Zhao Heng, allied with the Dali Kingdom's army to attack the Southern Song armies in Chengdu and Tongchuan prefectures. Zhao Heng established his capital in Jianning Prefecture, restoring the court system of the Northern Song Dynasty. At this time, both the Song and Mongol empires were embroiled in endless civil wars, and their populations and economies began to decline sharply.

Inside the imperial palace of Zhongdu, the capital of the Jin Dynasty, Emperor Wanyan Liang, after listening to the advice of his other princes and ministers, recalled Wanyan Ping, who was still fighting against the Mongol army, from the front line and directly replaced the front-line commander with someone from his own faction.

Before returning to Zhongdu, Wanyan Ping summoned Yelü Sheng to his tent.

"General Yelü, you must have heard that I've been transferred back to the capital. After I leave, there will likely be significant personnel changes in the army. You'll probably be targeted because you've been getting too close to me lately, so you'd better be careful."

At this moment, Yelü Sheng was also in a dilemma. Through his interactions with the young prince, he had discovered that Wanyan Ping was a person with exceptional organizational and leadership skills. If things progressed normally, Wanyan Ping could potentially become the new ruler of the Jin Dynasty. If he could cultivate a good relationship with him now and demonstrate his military capabilities to Wanyan Ping, wouldn't Wanyan Ping rely heavily on him once he came to power?

Unexpectedly, internal problems arose within the Jin state. The Jin emperor, who had always trusted Wanyan Ping, inexplicably began to suspect his son of plotting a rebellion. Wanyan Ping's recall to Zhongdu was a very dangerous sign. It was possible that Wanyan Ping would be placed under house arrest upon arrival in Zhongdu and stripped of his military power. As the Jin general closest to Wanyan Ping, it would be strange if he weren't targeted.

Yelü Sheng knelt down before Wanyan Ping: "Your Highness, rest assured, I am originally a surrendered general, and it is only because you can use me that I can do this. No matter how they target me this time, I will not make any moves. Because I believe that you will one day ascend the throne, and at that time I will be willing to serve you."

Then Wanyan Ping made some more arrangements. He sent one hundred of his Golden Feather Guards to Yelü Sheng's side, not only to protect him from harm, but also to use them as a secret agent in the army.

Having finished explaining everything, Wanyan Ping walked outside the main tent with his hands behind his back. Looking at the silver moon hanging high in the night sky, he sighed, "The Song and the Mongols are currently in a state of turmoil and conflict. I didn't expect that the ministers in Zhongdu wouldn't be thinking about expanding the territory of the Jin Dynasty, but instead only know how to fight for power and profit. Fine, you doubt me? Hahaha... Then I'll return to Zhongdu and confront you face to face. Did you really think I've been idle all these years? This time, I'll show you the might of Wanyan Ping!"

After Wanyan Ping returned to Zhongdu and was stripped of his military power, various factions within the Jin state began vying for control of the southern regions. Li Zhen's forces, who had always been on good terms with Wanyan Ping, were labeled as rebels. Li Zhen, the prefect, was directly dismissed and summoned to Handan for questioning and accountability. However, Li Zhen was not foolish enough to go to Handan. Moreover, the newly appointed prefect of the Jin state didn't even get through the city gates before being beaten black and blue by the city's guards and fleeing in disarray.

Bu Liang presented the latest intelligence to Li Zhen and said, "My lord, according to our intelligence agents, 30,000 Jin troops have gathered in Cixian County, north of Anyang City. They say they are coming to attack our Anyang Prefecture."

Standing under the map, Li Zhen looked at the location of Cixian County and said with a smile to Bu Liang, "The storm is brewing. Actually, the Jin army's actions this time may not be a bad thing for us. I've been eyeing the copper mine west of Cixian for a long time. If we can take over this copper mine, we can greatly reduce our financial strain. Besides, it's time for us to extend our reach outwards."

Just a few days ago, Li Zhen secretly placed the steel spears and custom-made armor from the future into the military camp's warehouse. The rifles and machine guns could only be equipped by his elite troops; large-scale battles still had to be fought by these ordinary soldiers.