Water Margin begins as a captain in Yanggu County

Chapter 379 features the character "Yan" (燕), indicating that the King of Yan has personally arrived!
By evening, the news arrived: Old Master Zhong had passed away, and the Emperor had issued an edict ordering Zhong Shizhong to hurry to Hanyang.

The cultivator didn't seem particularly sad...

He stood atop the city wall, watching the afterglow of the setting sun, his face expressionless, as if nothing had happened.

After a long pause, Ma Qin asked, "Although a letter has already been sent to Hanyang saying that the Prince of Yan has besieged the city, if the old general also disobeys the imperial order, won't he become a traitor in the future?"

“The enemy has besieged the city, and I cannot leave. How can this be considered disobeying an imperial order?” Zhong Shizhong said.

“That’s right… I’m just… a little worried…” Ma Qin replied.

"Sigh...you, you're not stupid, why are you saying all this at a time like this?" Zhong Shizhong said.

"What is the old general referring to?" Ma Qin asked.

“You told me before that the army should retreat to Jiangxia on the south bank of the Yangtze River to confront them. Now the imperial edict has come, saying that the entire army has been assembled in Hanyang, and I am to go to Hanyang to lead the troops to a decisive victory. Do you think I can go to Hanyang?”

Zhong Shizhong turned his eyes to Ma Qin.

“Then…then I can’t go…” Ma Qin actually understood.

"Tell me, what will happen to the world if the emperor suffers a major defeat in Hanyang?" Zhong Shizhong asked, staring intently.

"Ah? The Emperor suffered a great defeat in Hanyang, then... then he can only return to Bianjing with the Prince of Yan and the court officials. Haven't they been saying these past few days that the court officials intend for the Emperor to issue an edict of self-reproach to appease the hearts of the many soldiers and soldiers... that's probably it..."

Ma Qin answered seriously.

"Really?" Zhong Shizhong asked immediately.

"Really?" Ma Qin asked earnestly.

"You scoundrel... Hmph!" Zhong Shizhong looked away.

Ma Qin wiped the sweat from his forehead; Xiangyang was indeed very hot.

Suddenly, Zhong Shizhong asked with a sigh, "What do your fellow generals say? What do your soldiers say?"

"What is it that the old general is referring to?" Ma Qin asked.

"Hmph!" Zhong Shizhong snorted coldly and remained silent.

The two stood close together, looking at the surging Han River and the noticeably fewer camps on the opposite bank.

After a long while, Ma Qin spoke up again for some reason: "Old Marshal, they said... if the world changes, it's not necessarily a bad thing. They said it's time to change the dynasty, and they also said... the Prince of Yan is not the kind of person who would abandon his allies after using them. He will surely treat the soldiers well!"

"Sigh..." Zhong Shizhong sighed deeply. After sighing, he asked, "Do you really think this court can be changed? If the emperor is changed, can the court really be changed?"

"I...don't know, but...I've also heard the soldiers gossiping wildly, saying that the Prince of Yan has always been good at recognizing people and has all sorts of tricks up his sleeve, so no one can fool him, which makes him a wise ruler!"

Ma Qinzheng was also making random, nonsensical comments.

Zhong Shizhong still sighed: "Perhaps their nonsense is not wrong, but things throughout history have always come full circle. The King of Yan may be young, but he will eventually grow old, and he will inevitably have sons and grandsons, which is another roundabout process... Just like the waxing and waning of the sun and moon, it is also the rise and fall of life. How could the Han Dynasty not be strong, and how could the Tang Dynasty not be prosperous?"

"Well, that'll still be a few decades, and a few decades is always a good time. If you're lucky, it might even last for a hundred years..." Ma Qin said, but he couldn't solve the age-old question of rise and fall.

"Never mind, never mind..." Zhong Shizhong nodded. Ma Qin's words made sense; a few decades wouldn't be a bad thing.

However, Zhong Shizhong is different from Ma Qin. Although Zhong Shizhong has a bad temper, he grew up in a school, so he can't help but overthink things...

If only things didn't go through all this twists and turns, how wonderful it would be, just like those words about "lasting for thousands of generations." But is there really such a thing as "lasting for thousands of generations" in this world?
Of course, this is just wild speculation and won't really cause any real trouble for Master Zhong.

Then Master Zhong said again: "Perhaps you are right. At least for several decades, our descendants will be strong and prosperous, and the world will be as bright as the sun at its zenith! That would be a wonderful thing."

"The old general is also on the side of the Prince of Yan..." Ma Qin asked.

“Nonsense! My Zhong family are descendants of great Confucian scholars, and have received imperial favor for generations. We have passed down loyalty and righteousness as our family tradition, and we must uphold loyalty and righteousness as our principles, so that we may be remembered in history for generations to come!” Zhong Shizhong’s words were firm and resolute.

"That's right, that's right!" Ma Qin nodded emphatically.

“Alright, go ahead. You can think your way, and I can think mine… You are a peasant who fought your way to a better future. You even learned a few characters from me. The Emperor’s favor has never truly come to you. You are different from me. Go…” Zhong Shizhong waved his hand and left.

Ma Qin was stunned for a moment. He had a strange feeling in his heart. It wasn't that he didn't understand; he understood, so it was strange, very strange...

"Let's go..." Zhong Shizhong raised his hand to urge people on.

"This subordinate is leaving now..." Ma Qin left in a panic, truly displaying the old marshal's imposing presence, honed over decades, exuding immense power.

Once down from the city wall, Ma Qin suddenly felt a sense of relaxation throughout his body, as if the pressure on his back that had been making it hard to breathe had suddenly disappeared. He felt as light as a swallow, able to leap and fly, and his steps were truly light as a feather.

It is said that around Xiangyang, cavalry from the Jingdong region began to appear, both light and heavy, indicating that they were certain that no cavalry could be sent from within Xiangyang to pursue and attack them.

The soldiers of Jingdong were the easiest to recognize. Their armor was new, heavy, and thick, gleaming brightly. Each of them looked extremely robust, even like a fat man.

The riders from Jingdong were exceptionally unrestrained and daring, even coming as close as two or three hundred paces to the city wall to look around, and some even writing and drawing on horseback.

Zhong Shizhong could see clearly that Ma Qin had returned, shouting as he climbed the city wall, "General, I heard from someone that the enemy cavalry has arrived."

Zhong Shizhong remained completely still, too lazy to pay any attention.

Ma Qin ran to the edge of the wall next to Zhong Shizhong and exclaimed, "They've really come!"

Actually, I was a little nervous. After all, it was infighting among comrades. If they really came to climb over the wall, it would be troublesome. Fighting them wouldn't be good, and not fighting them wouldn't be good either. There were many officials and civilians in Xiangyang City, and I was afraid that it would have a bad impact on Zhong Shizhong.

But then Master Zhong said, "Don't be nervous, they probably won't come to fight."

"How do you know, old general?" Ma Qin asked.

The old general did not answer.

Ma Qin said awkwardly, "The old coach is naturally very insightful. If he says he won't come to fight, then he definitely won't come."

“Let’s go, let’s go…” Zhong Shizhong raised his hand and waved again.

"Alright, alright..." Ma Qin quickly turned around and went back, feeling even more relieved. The old general said he wouldn't fight, so he definitely wouldn't fight. He could sleep well tonight and have a good night's rest.

To the south, at the city of Fuzhou, a battle was truly about to begin.

The JD.com delivery riders were incredibly fast; they covered 300 li in no time. In this land of fish and rice, with villages scattered like stars, they started borrowing things and giving money.

They take timber from everyone's house—for building houses, making furniture, building pigsties, making coffins, and even dismantling door panels. As long as they're willing to exchange it for money, it's somewhat coercive. In the sweltering heat, losing a door panel isn't a big deal.

The so-called requisition.

The axes and knives are chopping, which is how ladders are built.

The Prince of Yan, as before, personally rode his cavalry around the city to get a general idea of ​​its layout.

After the army set up camp, everyone was busy. They didn't bring any skilled craftsmen, but they were all very familiar with making a simple, usable ladder.

The city walls were not high, and the moat was already a muddy ditch. The soldiers on the city walls kept peeking out, looking left and right, looking at the enemy outside the city, looking at their comrades, and looking around for their own generals.

A group of soldiers were all inside the city wall. They were all nameless, but they kept chattering away.

This person said, "We should quickly seek reinforcements from the surrounding areas, and even more so from Hanyang..."

The one said, "By the time reinforcements arrive, it will be too late!"

"Look at those tens of thousands of horses. So what if reinforcements arrive? Do you not know about the surrounding troops, or do I? How are they stronger than us? Is Qianjiang stronger than us? Or Jingshan stronger than us? Or Yingcheng stronger than us?"

"Over in Changshou, they only encountered a few thousand enemies, and they even came to us for help a while ago. But here, it looks like we have tens of thousands..."

"Then... what should we do? I've only heard that the soldiers under the Prince of Yan are like wolves and tigers, and no one in the world can rival them. Even the Jurchens who destroyed the Liao Kingdom were beaten to their knees and begged for mercy by the Prince of Yan..."

"Serving the country with utmost loyalty is our duty; the emperor has decreed it, and we should be ready to die for it!"

"To die for someone and to be sent to your death are two different things!"

"Hey, who is that general running around the city? How dare he! Isn't he afraid I'll shoot him with my crossbow!"

"Then shoot!"

"I was just saying, it's not time for that yet..."

"Enough with this useless talk. I'm afraid the attack will begin this afternoon. What should we do?"

A hush fell over everyone...

Suddenly, someone asked, "Where is the Prefect?"

"He came to check on things just now, and then he went back to the prefectural office and left in a hurry..."

"or……"

At that sound, everyone turned to look at him, as if they were all waiting for him to speak.

That person wouldn't say...

Then someone urged, "Speak up..."

"Sigh...why don't we surrender? If a real war breaks out and we kill the Prince of Yan's men, what will become of us once the army storms in?" "Nonsense! If we surrender, how will we face the Emperor's wrath if he questions us in the future?"

"Just say that the Prince of Yan has invaded..."

"How many people can you possibly keep this from?"

"Ugh……"

"I think... if all else fails, we can lower the price..."

Someone uttered these words, and everyone fell silent.

The group of soldiers, both high and low, couldn't really come to any conclusions.

We can only gather here, sometimes silent, sometimes talking, one person saying a word, another making a comment, and then falling silent again.

Before they knew it, it was noon. Someone brought them lunch, and everyone ate their fill and then fell silent again.

Soon after, the sound of drums and horns could be heard outside the city.

Everyone rushed to look out from the city wall.

The army outside the city is arrayed, and the great banner is being raised high.

Once the great banner is raised, a group of soldiers and officers will gather at the crenellations, and a chill will be inhaled.

Then someone exclaimed in surprise, "It's the character 'Yan'! The King of Yan has come in person!"

"Is the Prince of Yan really outside the city? What should we do?"

Many soldiers looked around and saw that the city gate tower extended to the left and right. There were quite a few soldiers there, and they suddenly started chattering incessantly, creating a noisy scene.

Obviously, literate people will recognize who has arrived; even on the city walls, everyone knows that the Prince of Yan is personally leading a large army outside!

Among the many military officers, one voice rang out: "Brothers, shall we surrender?"

No one answered.

He continued, "Are we going to surrender or not?"

Looking outside the city, the troops were arrayed extremely quickly, with countless soldiers, moving in an orderly fashion as if they were manipulating a chessboard.

"Say something!"

No one actually answered; they just watched the person speaking.

"Then they surrendered! I went to check the city gate, and it really did surrender! We surrendered together, not just me!"

As he spoke, the man actually moved towards the city steps, turning back every few steps: "But you all agreed... it's not just me!"

Still, no one answered.

Even as everyone else was going down the stairs, he continued, "My brothers watched me open up the city, and not a single one of them tried to stop me. We all surrendered together!"

The conversation continued as people descended the city walls. Upon reaching the gate, they shouted, "Hurry, hurry, anyone who doesn't want to die, quickly open the city gates and welcome the Prince of Yan into the city!"

The Prince of Yan had just taken his seat on the general's platform and was waiting for the final report from his soldiers and for all the troops to be lined up in battle formation.

He had no intention of persuading anyone to surrender; he had a plan, just like when he first entered the grasslands. Without thinking twice, he decided to give the first person to arrive, Hurzahusi, a good beating.

Why? It was because they thought that if the soldiers and men in Fuzhou scattered and fled, they would only spread the word of the fierce power of the Prince of Yan's army to the Hanyang army, causing even more panic among them.

Su Wu knew that this city would not be difficult to capture, and he did not think about how to pursue and kill the enemy. He just wanted to create an atmosphere of panic among the soldiers of Jinghu.

Just as Su Wu was about to give the order to beat the drum, someone suddenly shouted, "Your Majesty, look! The city gates are open!"

"Hmm?" Su Wu got up and looked into the distance. It really had opened.

Su Wu sighed inwardly. "Fine, fine, what else can I say?" He got up, grabbed his horse which was below the platform, mounted it, and gave the order: "Stop beating the drums. One drumbeat at a time, follow me into the city!"

All that could be heard from the left and right was a chorus of helpless sighs. What kind of situation was this for the soldiers?
Even a mosquito is still meat, no matter how small. After conquering a city, the king should at least reward us with some copper coins. That's all!

The king had already spurred his horse forward at breakneck speed, taking the lead. The large shields at the front were being lowered and the long ladders being thrown, but it was all a waste of money and effort.

As the king walked forward and entered the city, a group of soldiers were already lined up on both sides of the city gate, and some people rode forward to greet him.

A general galloped closer, dismounted a short distance away, and rushed over, bowing respectfully: "This humble general, Jiang Bai, greets Your Majesty. I am also a native of Jingdong! My father was transferred here with the army, so we settled down here. Hehe..."

As he spoke, the man stood up, beaming, and clasped his hands in greeting, saying, "Greetings, everyone! Greetings, everyone!"

Even as the words were still being spoken, the man stepped forward again to take Su Wu's reins, but Su Wu's personal guards, being extremely vigilant, dismounted and went to stop him.

Jiang Bai patted his front and back armor: "I have no weapons, I have no weapons."

Su Wu spoke first: "Let's go, let's go..."

The guards on either side stepped aside, but still kept their eyes fixed on Jiang Bai.

Jiang Bai then took the reins from the Prince of Yan, turned around and walked forward, beaming with joy as he said, "Your Majesty, rest assured, everyone in the city admires you and is eagerly awaiting your arrival..."

Li Cheng muttered to himself, "Then why did you only open the city gates after we were already lined up for battle?"

Jiang Bai wasn't embarrassed. He simply said, "We didn't see His Majesty's banner before, so we all thought the city would open when His Majesty arrived. Since His Majesty didn't come, we thought we should raise the price for us Fuzhou soldiers, right..."

It's not that there's no reason behind it.

Li Cheng went to see Su Wu, who smiled bitterly and said, "So be it, let's stop here. I won't enter the city. You go and do something quickly!"

Jiang Bai stopped in his tracks, turned around and cupped his hands in a gesture of respect: "Your Majesty's orders are all that is required!"

"Quickly gather all the carts and livestock in the city, open all the granaries, large and small, and load them onto the carts. Also, send people to seize the boats. All the tribes of Fuzhou, get moving and come with me across the river!"

Su Wu's military order was issued immediately, and time was of the essence. Entering the city would only mean that all sorts of people would come to pay their respects, and there would be no banquet or anything like that...

No need, we don't have the time.

"This humble general Jiang Bai obeys the order!" Jiang Bai wanted to shout his name out loud, but he was afraid that the Prince of Yan would not remember it.

"Get it done quickly! After crossing the river, each person will be rewarded with three strings of cash, and someone will bring the money..." Su Wu said. Since the plan had backfired, the soldiers from Fuzhou should also play a role. It would be best if they could serve as auxiliary soldiers. There should be quite a few people in Fuzhou who know how to navigate boats.

This saves time and effort; otherwise, we would have to spend money to recruit boatmen and laborers from the villages along the Han River.

"How could we not trust the King? Others may not know, but it has already spread throughout the army that the King's rewards are never false! We will certainly serve him to the death!" Jiang Bai stepped forward and mounted his horse.

Jiang Baizhen also rushed off to work, and Su Wu stopped riding and began to proceed in an orderly manner, with the various units gradually turning back to their camp.

Sitting on his horse, Su Wu recalled a question he had pondered many times: What to do with all these soldiers of the Song Dynasty? There were 1.2 million registered soldiers across the land.

These soldiers were of little use to Su Wu.

But if it were to disband easily, society would inevitably be in turmoil.

If we don't disband them and keep them around, it will become a bottomless pit, a bottomless pit that will be useless year after year.

Therefore, disbanding is necessary. A new country must have a new army. This new army can no longer consist entirely of lifelong professional soldiers. Instead, it should consist of a portion of professional officers leading the majority of soldiers recruited on a regular and quantitative basis.

Furthermore, the military also conducts large-scale cultural education as well as political and ideological education.

How do we deal with the old army?
This was a problem that had troubled Su Wu for a long time.

One solution is clearly not enough to solve this problem; a multi-pronged approach and a combination of many methods are needed to address it.

For example, they might still select the best from among the best, or maintain a portion of the personnel as a second-tier military force, a regular local security force.

For example, a construction corps could be established under the Construction Bureau to generate income, which must far exceed the previous military pay. This income could be used for road and bridge construction, shipbuilding, or even mining...

It is also based on the principle of voluntariness, so more opportunities should be provided. Taxation is one way. Under Su Wu's rule, collecting taxes is the top priority, especially commercial taxes. Su Wu also plans to introduce an asset tax, which means that people whose industries reach a certain scale will have to pay taxes according to a tiered tax rate.

Or perhaps a miner...

We can also establish overseas expansion plans, which won't be too far off; the nearest destinations are Hainan Island and Taiwan Island.

Mainland expansion, Liaodong, the Greater and Lesser Khingan Mountains, Yunnan and Guizhou, the western part of Guangnan...

We still need to figure out how to accommodate these more than one million people, based on the principle of voluntariness and by providing various methods.

As he pondered this, in the late afternoon, Su Wu rode his horse to the banks of the Han River, ready to cross. Once across, Hanyang would be not far away…

Su Wu faced the Han River and pondered for a long time. Then he sent someone to summon Jiang Bai and said, "I have an important matter to entrust to you. If you do it well, you will be the one to make the greatest contribution in this battle!"

How could Jiang Bai not be overjoyed? He immediately bowed and said, "I am willing to die for Your Majesty!"

"You cross the river first, and select three to five hundred soldiers from your ranks to cross the river and go to Hanyang!" Su Wu said.

"What will I do after crossing the river?" Jiang Bai's heart tightened. Surely it couldn't be something like assassinating the king? That would be...

(Guys, it's the last day of the month...)
(End of this chapter)