Chapter 421
The Most Important Winter
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After the Song army defeated the Jin army in the decisive battle,
Liu Zhongwu, Tong Guan, and others led the Western Army to control all the core passages from the Northeast Plain to the Mongolian Plateau, namely the passes and valleys on the west side of the Greater Khingan Mountains and the Hulunbuir Grassland passage.
Emperor Zhao Yu and his ministers had long ago agreed that the Song Dynasty would implement long-term governance of these core passages and build a solid defense line—not just a military defense line, but also an economic defense line.
As long as the Song Dynasty strictly blocks the Great Wall to prevent the defeated nomadic tribes from heading south to hunt for grazing land, cuts off the core passage between the Northeast Plain and the Mongolian Plateau, and issues an edict to the small kingdoms of the Western Regions prohibiting them from trading with the defeated nomadic tribes, those nomadic tribes that fled back to the Mongolian Plateau will be like lone wolves trapped in an ice and snow cage during this cold winter, with no way to even find a way to struggle for survival.
At that time, those remaining nomadic tribes of the grasslands who refused to surrender and insisted on fleeing westward would eventually venture into the extremely cold wilderness of northern Mongolia.
Winter temperatures there drop to minus fifty degrees Celsius. There is neither enough pasture nor a stable water source. The small herds they carry either freeze to death in the snow or die in large numbers due to lack of fodder. Tribal members can only survive by hunting a small number of cold-resistant animals.
Meanwhile, the core passage from Northeast China to the Mongolian Plateau was heavily guarded by the Song army, cutting off the trade and supply lines upon which these nomadic tribes depended for survival. Before long, they would lose their supplies and be forced to rely on eating frozen animal bones or even boiling snow for water to barely survive, finding themselves in dire straits in the icy wilderness.
With scarce food and insufficient fuel to withstand the harsh winter, these grassland tribes must have engaged in fierce infighting over the remaining food and fodder.
The already broken community will fall apart even more.
Those nomadic tribes on the grasslands who refused to surrender to the Song Dynasty either died of famine and internal strife or perished in large numbers due to the harsh cold and famine.
The survivors were either forced to migrate further north to the frigid lands of Kievan Rus' to compete with the Slavs for territory, or they had no choice but to lay down their weapons and surrender to the Song Dynasty.
Leaving aside the nomadic tribes of the steppes who went to Kievan Rus', let's just talk about those nomadic peoples of the steppes who surrendered to the Song Dynasty.
The Song Dynasty would definitely adopt a "divide and rule" strategy, that is, to break up the surrendered tribes into small groups and relocate them to designated areas inside the Great Wall to live among the people of the Central Plains.
At the same time, the "Sinicization and education" policy was promoted, requiring tribal members to learn farming techniques, wear Hanfu (traditional Han clothing), and speak Han language. Nomadic customs were prohibited, young men were incorporated into the Song army to participate in border defense, while the elderly and infirm engaged in agricultural labor.
Over time, these former nomadic groups gradually integrated into the Central Plains civilization, and their original tribal symbols and nomadic traditions slowly disappeared.
Of course, some nomadic tribes of the grasslands may also choose to flee to the Western Regions.
However, they must have suffered heavy losses during their long migration, with their livestock and population drastically reduced. After arriving in the Western Regions, their power weakened, making them unable to compete with the local tribes. They could only wander between the deserts and oases on the edge of the Western Regions, becoming small ethnic groups dependent on other regimes. Their once formidable fighting force that once roamed the northern grasslands was eventually marginalized in a foreign land far from their homeland, and they were no longer able to pose any threat to the Central Plains.
It is worth mentioning that Zhang Chun also gave Zhao Yu a suggestion: "It's better to guide than to block."
That is, taking advantage of the lean season on the grasslands, they should emulate the Qing Dynasty's historical strategy of governing Mongolia and vigorously promote the Yellow Sect.
Specifically:
With the support of the Song Dynasty, hundreds of large-scale Gelugpa temples sprang up in the oases and valleys of southern Mongolia (initially just tents enclosing the land), and a large number of eminent monks from the Western Regions were invited by the Song Dynasty to serve as abbots.
At the same time, the Song Dynasty also stipulated that all monks who entered temples, regardless of race, would receive "ordination certificates and provisions" issued by the Song Dynasty, and would receive grain and vegetables on time every month. Moreover, monks would be exempt from all corvée labor and taxes, and would not be involved in tribal disputes.
When the news spread, the remaining Mongol tribes, who had nowhere to turn in the dead of winter, instantly saw a glimmer of hope in their desperate situation—they no longer had to fight amongst themselves for fodder, no longer had to sit and wait for death in the face of the Song army's scorched earth policy, and no longer had to travel to the frigid lands or the desolate deserts of the Western Regions to eke out a living.
For the Mongols who were unwilling to surrender to the Song Dynasty but longed to survive, the Yellow Sect temples became their safest refuge.
This played right into Zhang Chun's plan: the nomadic strongmen who became monks broke away from their tribal armed forces, effectively dismantling the nomadic group's fighting strength; the tribe members scattered and attached themselves to various temples, and the originally united group naturally disintegrated, no longer able to form a unified resistance force; more importantly, the Yellow Sect's doctrine of "non-killing and abstaining from fighting" would slowly wear down the fierceness in the bones of these grassland people, turning them from "conquerors on horseback" into "temple dependents".
As time went by, the people on the grasslands gradually became accustomed to relying on the temples for supplies and to settling down. Their original nomadic skills gradually became rusty, and the population naturally declined as men became monks.
Ultimately, just like the Mongols during the Qing Dynasty in history, after several generations, it became difficult to find a powerful ethnic group on the grasslands that could shoot eagles with bows and arrows and gather people to rise up in rebellion. Only devout believers and herdsmen who relied on temples remained, posing no threat to the Central Plains dynasties.
To put it bluntly, Zhang Chun's strategy of "preferring guidance to suppression" was essentially a fusion of the Qing court's approach of combining the "hard pressure" of military blockade with the "soft constraints" of religious guidance.
Military blockade cut off the resources that these nomadic tribes of the grasslands had to rebel, while the spread of the Yellow Sect (Yellow Sect) diminished their will to rebel. This combination of force and diplomacy avoided a bloody, life-or-death struggle while addressing the threat posed by the nomadic tribes at its root. This approach was far more effective in ensuring long-term stability than simple killing or expulsion. Zhao Yu knew that Zhang Chun's thinking was correct, so he dispatched Lü Yihao, Liu Yanzong, Chen Kangbo, and others to implement this plan for governing the grasslands.
At the same time, Zhao Yu sent Liu Fa and Song Jiang to lead 100,000 Song troops to attack Huanglong, a vital city of the Jin Dynasty.
—His vanguard general Yue Fei captured Huanglongfu in a single battle.
Zhao Yu then dispatched Zhong Shizhong and Chen Gou to lead 100,000 Song troops to meet Liu Fa and Song Jiang. At the same time, they drove the defeated Jin army northward. Of course, the Song Dynasty was also trying to persuade the defeated Jin army to surrender.
Zhao Yu also dispatched Zhong Shidao and Zhang Shuye with 100,000 troops to capture all the prefectures and counties near Jin Shangjing and to persuade the defeated Jin army to surrender.
After entering October, it got colder day by day.
At this point, on a military level, the Song Dynasty was no longer seeking greater victories; they were simply trying to preserve their gains and prevent the defeated Jin army from surviving the harsh winter.
Thus, the Song Dynasty conscripted laborers with money and grain to set up obstacles and deploy heavy troops on the river and valley routes where the remnants of the Jin army might move south in search of food.
At the same time, they burned down the remaining villages and granaries in the north, and transported all the unharvested crops to the south to feed the horses of the Song Dynasty. If they could not be transported, they burned them on the spot. They even cut down all the firewood in the wild and transported it to the various camps of the Song army. Anything that could not be transported was also burned, leaving the Jin army with neither grain to plunder nor firewood to burn.
For the scattered fortresses held by the Jin army, there is no need to rush to attack them; instead, it is sufficient to send heavy troops to "keep an eye on" them.
The notices stated that all Jin soldiers (regardless of ethnicity) who surrendered voluntarily would be pardoned and would receive food and warm clothing; those who surrendered after killing a general would be rewarded with at least 50 strings of cash and granted a Song military rank; and those who surrendered with their troops could continue to serve as generals in the Song army.
The various intelligence agencies of the Song Dynasty also sent spies to infiltrate the remnants of the Jin army and spread the message that "the Song army has warm tents and cold clothes, and those who surrender can be saved," so as to incite internal conflicts and make the starving and cold Jin army surrender or even kill each other.
Most importantly, multiple checkpoints were set up to strictly prohibit the northward flow of any supplies such as grain, cloth, and medicine, and even small amounts of fish and animal hides were not allowed to be smuggled across.
Furthermore, troops were dispatched to hunt and kill Jin soldiers who attempted to hunt or fish, cutting off their last source of survival resources and preventing the Jin army from raiding southwards.
In addition, Zhao Yu issued an edict for the newly recovered areas, exempting the people from land tax and poll tax for three years. Those who were displaced by the war were resettled by the government in fertile land on the south bank, and each household was given oxen, seeds and winter food. "Warm sheds" and "porridge distribution points" were set up in cities and towns in various prefectures and counties to help the hungry and cold people in the northeast get through the winter.
It was clearly stated that people of all ethnic groups, including the Khitan, Bohai, and Jurchen, should be treated equally with the Han people and should not be discriminated against.
Northeasterners who actively assisted the Song Dynasty in persuading the Jin army to surrender and provided intelligence were granted the title of gentry or the position of local minor official based on their merits.
Incorporate insightful individuals from all ethnic groups into the local governance system, encourage intermarriage among different ethnic groups, and resolve ethnic barriers.
Merchants are encouraged to do business and set up factories in Northeast China, and are given preferential policies such as a three-year tax reduction or exemption.
The promise was made to indicate that when spring came next year, the imperial court would allocate funds to repair the cities, villages, and farmland irrigation systems damaged in the war, and would provide subsidies to the locals who rebuild their houses.
Furthermore, schools were established in various prefectures to enroll children of all ethnic groups free of charge, teaching them Confucian culture and production skills; the original beliefs of all ethnic groups were respected, temples and ancestral halls were repaired, and soldiers were strictly prohibited from disturbing the normal worship of the people; pacification envoys were dispatched to inspect various places, listen to the demands of the people, and severely punish Song soldiers and local officials who oppressed the people in order to appease the people.
As the snowstorm intensified, the remnants of the Jin army in the north suffered continuous losses due to hunger and cold, with countless soldiers dying from cold and starvation or killing each other. Meanwhile, in the northeastern region to the south, under the Song Dynasty's appeasement policy, the people gradually became more stable and actively assisted the Song army in patrolling and transporting supplies. The former war-torn land was gradually emerging from the flames of war.
Standing in the imperial palace of Jin's capital, Shangjing, Zhao Yu gazed at the snowstorm to the north and thought, 'As long as we can safely get through this most important winter, the remnants of the Jin dynasty will have no chance of rising again, and the Heilongjiang River basin will be completely incorporated into the territory of my Great Song; the ancestors of the Mongols will also be mostly wiped out, and in a few years, the grasslands will also be incorporated into the territory of my Great Song…'
...(End of chapter)