Chapter 319

…

This crucial battle was won; key to it, Zhao Yu eliminated at least half of the Jin army’s elite forces, most of whom were Jurchens.

According to the “Compendium of the Three Dynasties’ Northern Alliance,” there were about one hundred thousand households of raw Jurchens during the Liao era, and by the late Liao, the tamed Jurchens increased to over ten thousand households, totaling no more than two hundred thousand households combined.

If each household averaged three to five people, the total population was roughly six to seven hundred thousand.

Additionally, the “Liao-linked Jurchens,” represented by the tamed Jurchens of the former Bohai Kingdom, numbered over one hundred thousand households just in Bohai alone.

Overall, the total Jurchen population is estimated at around seven to eight hundred thousand.

Furthermore, some argue that in the late Liao and early Jin, the Jurchens in the Heilongjiang region numbered about eight to nine hundred thousand.

Regardless of which estimate is correct, among these nearly one million Jurchens, there were the elderly, the weak, women, and children; the actual number capable of military service may have been only two to three hundred thousand.

In a single battle, Zhao Yu destroyed nearly one hundred thousand Jurchen able-bodied men.

For the Jin state, which had only just been founded, this was an unbearable blow—a catastrophe capable of shaking its foundations and bringing its nascent regime to the brink of collapse.

Moreover, Jin still faced the remnants of the Liao as an enemy, along with challenges from numerous tribes on the steppe.

To put it bluntly, even if the Song no longer continued to strike Jin, Jin would struggle immensely to maintain its dominance over the steppe.

The Kerulen, a powerful steppe tribe occupying the Orkhon and Tula river basins, composed of multiple tribal alliances, with extensive territory and formidable military strength.

The Naiman, active around the Altai Mountains, “numerous and populous,” with developed economy and military, closely linked to neighboring tribes, one of the core powers of the western steppe.

The Tatar, nomadic across the Hulun Buir steppe and the Kherlen River basin, a coalition of multiple tribes, extremely powerful, one of the principal forces of the eastern steppe.

The Merkit, distributed along the Orkhon and Selenga river basins, nomadic, fierce and warlike, frequently clashing with neighboring tribes such as the Kerulen and Mongols, possessing considerable strength.

The Wanggu, located north of the Yin Mountains; though smaller in scale than the preceding tribes, its strategic location made it a vital link between the steppe and the Central Plains, serving the Liao dynasty in guarding its frontier walls with special strategic importance.

Also, the Qiyin tribe, not yet unified and containing multiple sub-tribes—the precursor to the Mongols.

These tribes each occupied different regions, engaging in both conflict and alliance, collectively shaping the political landscape of the steppe.

Will they allow the Jin, reeling from the Song’s crushing blow, to become the steppe’s dominant power?

Judging by the current situation, even if Jin suffers no further annihilation of its manpower, it will take twenty years to recover its national strength.

And with these twenty years, the Song’s industrial revolution will be fully completed.

By then—or even before then—the Song could sweep across the steppe and permanently eliminate the threat posed by nomadic peoples to the Central Plains.

In fact, Zhao Yu could now attempt to destroy Jin outright, but transportation remains inconvenient; the cost of conquering Jin would be immense, the gains minimal, and crucially, the cost of governance would be enormous.

But if he waits a few years, until the Song’s trains and automobiles are fully developed, these problems will vanish entirely.

Thus, having fought this far, Zhao Yu can now cease hostilities.

Yet, on the other hand, since the Song has already won this battle, if it does not extract some benefit, won’t Zhao Yu merely be losing?

That is not what Zhao Yu wants, even if he does not lack the Jin’s meager wealth.

So, after giving the Song army one day to rest, Zhao Yu appointed Liu Fa as Commander-in-Chief, Tong Guan as Army Supervisor, Song Jiang as Deputy Commander-in-Chief, Zong Ze as Deputy Army Supervisor, and ordered the Beifu Army, Hu Ben Army, Western Army, and Divine Mechanism Central Army to launch a northern expedition to pursue Tong Guan and his five thousand light cavalry, aiming to force Jin to seek peace, pay war reparations, and compensate the Song for its losses.

Notably, after resting, the Liao army, under Yelu Chun’s command, also moved to seize the Liao Central Capital.

After the northern expeditionary Song army departed, the remaining Song troops continued clearing the battlefield.

Meanwhile, Zhao Yu, escorted by his personal guard, the Divine Mechanism Forward Army, Divine Mechanism Left Army, and Divine Mechanism Right Army, returned to Yanjingcheng.

In triumph, Zhao Yu was warmly welcomed by the Liao people of Yan.

Since its rise, the Jurchens had launched successive invasions, capturing cities, burning, killing, and looting without restraint, subjecting the people of Liao lands to unbearable suffering, displacement, and grave calamity.

Now, Zhao Yu’s army had shattered the Jin forces, bringing long-awaited peace and hope to this war-torn land—how could the Liao people of Yan not rejoice, and how could they not regard Zhao Yu as their savior?

Within Yanjingcheng, colorful banners fluttered, drums and gongs thundered. The people spontaneously filled the streets, lining the roads to welcome Zhao Yu’s return.

Riding a towering steed, Zhao Yu gazed at the enthusiastic crowds, his heart filled with profound emotion. He understood that this victory was not merely a temporary military achievement, but a crucial step toward restoring the Song’s prestige and winning the people’s hearts.

At the same time, Zhao Yu knew the road ahead was long: though Jin had been severely wounded, it would not easily submit; the many tribes of the steppe still awaited resolution; and for the Song to truly establish itself firmly on this land, numerous challenges lay ahead.

After returning to the imperial palace in Yanjing, Zhao Yu, without rest, immediately summoned his ministers and strategists to discuss plans for controlling the steppe.

Nomadic peoples were like an untamable wild horse, always a dire threat to the Central Plains dynasties.

There is no need to elaborate on the Song era.

Jin destroyed the Northern Song; the Mongols destroyed the Southern Song. Both Song dynasties fell to northern nomadic peoples.

By the Ming dynasty:

In the early Ming, Zhu Yuanzhang eliminated the remnants of the Northern Yuan with ruthless force, compelling the Yuan emperor to flee to the steppes, yet the Mongols did not disappear—they split into the Tatars, Oirats, and Uryankhay, each faction ruling independently and embroiled in ceaseless conflict.

After Zhu Di ascended the throne, he launched five personal campaigns into the steppe, attempting to bring the Mongols fully under control.

Though Ming military campaigns severely damaged Mongol power, they failed to eliminate the threat; Mongol tribes, like wild grass, burned by fire yet regrew with the spring wind.

The Ming’s governance of the Mongols extended beyond military measures.

The Ming once attempted to cut off Mongol access to grain, iron, and other goods by closing border horse markets, hoping to force submission—but economic blockade only spurred Mongol raids.

Later, the Ming tried to “use barbarians to control barbarians,” dividing the Mongols—for example, supporting the Oirats against the Tatars—but this strategy was like drinking poison to quench thirst.

Under Esen’s leadership, the Oirats rapidly rose in power; the “Tumu Crisis” became a profound humiliation for the Ming—the Ming emperor Zhu Qizhen was captured, Beijing nearly fell, exposing the limitations of this military strategy.

Even later, through the “Longqing Accord,” the Ming opened border trade in an attempt to ease tensions with economic means, yet the Mongol tribes never truly submitted, and border troubles persisted.

Moreover, the Ming’s frontier defense system revealed serious flaws: institutions established early in the Ming, such as the Nuergan Commandery and Hami Guard, proved unsustainable due to distance and supply difficulties.

Coupled with the Ming’s later decline in national strength and fiscal strain, frontier soldiers often went unpaid, and their combat effectiveness plummeted.

Even the Mongol leader Altan Khan reached the outskirts of Beijing in the late Ming, forcing the Ming to compromise.

This military passivity prevented the Ming from ever fully resolving the Mongol problem.