Chapter 294 Tong Guan Leads the Army to Attack Liangshan

Shandong is gone, Hebei is gone, and now Shanxi is gone too.

A huge force has been formed.

This is something that Fang La, Tian Hu, Wang Qing and others cannot compare to.

The Song Dynasty was in turmoil and on the brink of national destruction.

When the news that the Western Army was again demanding an increase in food and pay reached Tokyo, this year became truly difficult.

The first grand court meeting in the second year of Xuanhe was filled with a gloomy atmosphere. Seeing that Emperor Zhao, Grand Tutor Cai, and Grand Commandant Gao were already at a loss, Tong Guan, the "old minister" who had returned to the court from the Song-Xia battlefield, lived up to his experience of being on the battlefield for a long time. He remained calm in the face of danger, raised his eyebrows, and shouted:

"Don't worry, Your Majesty. We still have hundreds of thousands of soldiers in the Song Dynasty. I will personally lead the troops to take Liangshan. The bandits only have a few men. We will surround Liangshan and wait for them to tire. We will surely defeat Cao Cao by besieging them and attacking their reinforcements."

Seeing Tong Guan's righteousness and high spirits, Zhao Ji, Cai Jing and Gao Qiu suddenly felt at ease and felt they had a backbone, and they all nodded repeatedly.

Tong Guan, who was later called one of the Six Thieves of the Northern Song Dynasty, actually had many amazing military achievements in his early years.

Although he was a eunuch, he was able to lead troops to fight against Western Xia, quell the Fang La uprising, and make great military achievements for the Northern Song Dynasty. He was eventually promoted to the position of Tai Shi, one of the Three Dukes, and was named Duke of Chu. He was very successful for a time.

If we simply look at Tong Guan's great achievements, we might think that Tong Guan was actually a well-deserved brave general in the Northern Song Dynasty. But why did such a brave general eventually become a traitor in the eyes of later generations and become one of the six thieves of the Northern Song Dynasty, leaving behind a bad reputation for all eternity?
Because of his actions, the demise of the Northern Song Dynasty was exacerbated, causing the Jin army to move south and half of the country to fall.

"Generals, tell us about the troops of Liangshan. As the saying goes, knowing yourself and your enemy will ensure victory in every battle. Please feel free to speak your mind." Tong Guan scolded the generals.

Soon, a general stood up and said with a bitter face: "Your Majesty, the Liangshan rebels are firstly soldiers trained on Liangshan Marsh, secondly bandits from Qingzhou and Yizhou, and thirdly soldiers from the imperial court."

"Liangshan Lake is a large lake, so they have excellent sailors and can even build large ships to sail on the sea. They can come to Japan and Southeast Asia without worrying about food and wages."

"Qingzhou and Yizhou are both places where rebellion has been going on for a long time, and the people there are not afraid of death."

"What do peasants have to fear?" Tong Guan scolded, "I think Cao is using the rebels to capture cities. Please tell me more about this third one."

"The rebel general Wu Song was originally a general of the Xuanyi Army, commanding 3,000 heavy infantry. It was he who contributed to the fall of Cangzhou and Damingfu."

"Why can't the Xuanyi Army, with only 3,000 infantrymen, defeat the tens of thousands of troops of Daming Prefecture?"

"This……"

"After Hu Yanzhuo rebelled, he had 3,000 linked horses, which also belonged to Cao."

"That thief Cao has several rebellious generals under his command. One is Lin Chong, the former instructor of the 800,000 imperial guards. One is Yang Zhi, the commander of the Palace Marshal's Office. One is Qin Ming, the governor of Qingzhou. One is Hua Rong, the governor of Qingzhou..."

Tong Guan decided to personally lead the troops to suppress Liangshan. He would not encourage others to be more ambitious and destroy his own prestige. He sneered and said, "Three thousand heavy infantry, three thousand linked horses, plus Guan Sheng and his ilk, will defeat the imperial guards who have been won over. Even if he has 100,000 troops, scattered in Shandong, Hebei, and Shanxi, Liangshan will be empty."

Tong Guan clasped his fists tightly and said, "Your Majesty, there are hundreds of thousands of imperial guards inside and outside the capital, and they can come at your beck and call. As for those bandits, don't listen to the words of these generals. In my opinion, we can attack Shandong directly. I will lead an army to kill them without leaving a single piece of armor, and relieve your worries."

Seeing Tong Guan's heroic loyalty and courage, Zhao Ji became more excited and nodded repeatedly: "Grand Tutor is truly the pillar of the country! The Xixia bandits are brave and valiant, yet they still fear the name of Grand Tutor, let alone the bandits?"

Tong Guan knelt down and bowed: "The ancients said: Filial piety should be done with all one's strength, and loyalty should be done with one's life. I am willing to serve you like a dog or a horse to eliminate the dangers in your heart."

Cai Jing and Gao Qiu also recommended him.

The emperor immediately issued an imperial decree, bestowing the golden seal and military token, and appointed Tong Guan, the Privy Councilor of the East Hall, as the Grand Marshal, allowing him to select troops and horses from all over the place to go and wipe out the bandits in Liangshan, and set out on a chosen day. Tong Guan led the army, and as soon as the court took action, Liangshan soon got the news, and there were divisions:

Thousands of iron cavalrymen cover the mountains and rivers; tens of thousands of warships cover the green waters.

Shandong is our old base and will be empty.

It is said that the Privy Councilor Tong Guan, who had received the appointment as the Grand Marshal of the Army from the Emperor, went straight to the Privy Council and issued a troop mobilization order, ordering the eight military prefectures under the jurisdiction of Tokyo to raise an army of 10,000 each, and to send the local military commander to lead them.

He also selected 20,000 men from the imperial guards in the capital to guard the central army.

All matters under the Privy Council were entrusted to the Deputy Privy Councilor. Two good generals were selected from the imperial camp to serve as the Left Wing and the Right Wing. The order was given, and everything was ready within ten days. All the military rations were transported by the people sent by General Gao.

The Eighth Route Army Horse:
Duan Pengju, the military commander of Suizhou, Chen Zhu, the military commander of Zhengzhou, Wu Bingyi, the military commander of Chenzhou, Han Tianlin, the military commander of Tangzhou, Li Ming, the military commander of Xuzhou, Wang Yi, the military commander of Dengzhou, Ma Wanli, the military commander of Luzhou, and Zhou Xin, the military commander of Songzhou.

Two good generals, Zuo Yu and You Yi, were selected from the imperial camp to form the central army.

The two men: the Imperial Flying Dragon General Feng Mei and the Imperial Flying Tiger General Bi Sheng.

Tong Guan took command of the central army and made the three armies ready. He allocated weapons from the armory and selected an auspicious day to set out on the expedition.

On that day, Tong Guan left Tokyo and set out with his army. It was a time when spears and swords were flying like water, and men and horses were moving like the wind.

The troops marched fifty miles and then camped. The next day they set out again, advancing in a winding manner.

Within a day or two, they arrived at the city of Puyang. The prefect went out of the city to welcome them, and the army camped outside the city.

As the frontline position against Shandong rebels, Puyang City stored many elite troops.

Tong Guan was seen leading the cavalry into the city and dismounting in front of the provincial government office.

The governor invited him to the hall, and after he bowed, he stood in front of him.

Tong Shumi said: "The thief Cao from Shandong has led his troops to commit evil in Shanxi. I am now in command of an army of 100,000 and a hundred generals. We must clear Liangshan and the lake within a short period of time, encircle the points, attack the reinforcements and capture all the thieves to bring peace to the people."

The governor replied, "Your Excellency, although Liangshan Lake has only one natural barrier, the great lake, the bandits lurking in the lake are wise and brave among them. Your Excellency, do not let your anger get in the way and lead the army far away; you must use good strategies to achieve success."

Tong Guan was furious when he heard this and cursed: "You are a cowardly man like you, afraid of swords and arrows, afraid of death, and you have ruined the country's affairs and helped the bandits. Now that I am here, what do I have to fear?"

The prefect dared not say anything more and just prepared wine and food for them.

Tong Shumi immediately left the city and led a large army the next day, marching straight into Shandong and setting up camp near Liangshan Lake.

Huang Wenbing, Li Ying and others who were guarding Liangshan had been informed by their spies for many days. They had already discussed the strategy and were just waiting for the arrival of the imperial army.

He then informed all the generals to follow the orders without any mistakes.

There were also heroes guarding Xuzhou and Damingfu who led their troops to hide during the day and travel at night, waiting to deal a fatal blow to Tong Guan.

(End of this chapter)