Destroy Jin and conquer Song, and carry the Northern Expedition through to the end

Chapter 66: Old Songs and Today's Songs

"Li Sanlang, where are you from?"

"General, I am a native of Qushan County."

"Oh? Then why did you participate in the East China Sea uprising?"

"Chief Zhang and Second Chief Xu are from Donghai, but their subordinates include people from not only Haizhou, but also Dongping Prefecture and Daming Prefecture."

"Oh?"

"Shandong is a chaotic place. It started when the Song emperor was in Bianjing, even before the Liao Dynasty fell. Shandong had to support the Liao-Song front in Hebei, while also providing manpower and resources for the Zhao emperor's enjoyment. The people are having a hard time, and the land is full of bandits."

"When the Jin invaders occupied the north, Shandong was first exploited by Liu Yu, a scoundrel, to serve the Jin and feed the bandits. Later, the Song and Jin fought a stalemate, and the Yellow River changed its course and broke its banks. Every time there was a flood, there was an epidemic and a locust plague. We finally survived, but a few years ago, the Wanyan invaders built the Bianliang Palace. We...we..."

Li Xiu regained his composure and continued, "In this poor place of ours, as long as someone raises the flag, there will definitely be others who will follow suit and rebel. General, I'll tell you the truth. I not only followed Chief Zhang, but I also rebelled with the founder Zhao before. General, in our place, you can't survive by honestly farming. You can only survive by becoming a thief or a bandit, holding a knife tightly."

Liu Huai hung his spear on the victory hook and carried a long ladder on his shoulder. He listened silently and finally sighed: "This world shouldn't be like this."

Li Xiu: "It really shouldn't be like this, but General, you're not the only one who told me this. Kaishan Zhao also said this, but in the end, he was dragged to death by six horses by Wanyan Bendu; Xu Yuan also said that he was cut into pieces by Xu Wen; Zhang Wang also said that his head is still hanging in Yidu Prefecture."

Zhang Baiyu, who was listening in, felt something in his heart and glanced at Liu Huai. He felt that the other party seemed to have some kind of magic that could make others unconsciously reveal their true feelings.

In reality, this wasn't magic, but rather the desire to talk, especially for someone like Li Xiu, who had experienced so much. Naturally, he would have a heart full of bitter stories to tell. As long as he could talk, a heart-to-heart exchange would naturally follow.

"Does Li Sanlang study history?"

"I've read it briefly."

"Do you know about the chaos at the end of the Sui Dynasty?"

"Of course I know."

"Then do you know how many people rose up in rebellion, hoping to change the world, from the three expeditions to Goguryeo, the construction of the Grand Canal, to the unification of the Tang Dynasty by the Emperor Jianye?"

"This……"

"Can't count them, huh? I can't count them either." Liu Huai sighed. "Like Wang Bo, Dou Jiande, and Du Fuwei, when they started their rebellion, were they just thinking about becoming emperor? Didn't they know that rebellion would most likely result in death? The reason they left so much grief and blood all over the city was nothing more than a desire to save the people."

Even though he knew that Liu Dalang in front of him would always say shocking things, when he heard "It's just a thought to save the people", Li Xiu was still stunned for a moment.

After habitually pouring a few bowls of chicken soup into the other party, Liu Huai finally changed the subject: "Since Li Sanlang is a local, does he know the local songs?"

Li Xiu nodded: "Of course I will."

"Sing it twice, and we'll have the whole army join in." Liu Huai said with a smile, "We should let the people of Haizhou know that their own army has fought back."

Li Xiu nodded in confusion, rode his horse forward, and began to sing loudly.

"The moon shines on the nine states
A few happy and a few sad.

Several couples share the same bedchamber.
A few families are drifting outside."

To be honest, the singing is terrible.

This folk song became popular after the Jingkang Incident. It talks about family separation, so it became very popular and is catchy. When it was sung for the second time, many people sang along.

Liu Huai also sang a few lines and pointed to someone behind him: "Guan Qilang, you are also from Haizhou, do you have any other songs?"

Guan Qilang, whose real name was Guan Chongyan, rode his horse forward and sang without any hesitation.

"Zhen Peng Peng,

It looks fancy on the outside but is empty on the inside.

But look at next February,
The master of the city is nowhere to be found."

This song was originally composed by Han'er of Yanyun to satirize the Khitan rulers of the Liao Dynasty. However, as time passed, the ruling class of the Song, Liao, and Jin dynasties became increasingly corrupt, so the song became more and more popular. It was also sung throughout the world as the Jurchens moved south. The two hundred Song cavalrymen sang together again.

At this time, there was finally some movement on the city wall. A few young and strong men who were forcibly conscripted seemed to sing along involuntarily. They were forced out and beheaded by the regular troops of the Jin army, causing a small commotion on the city wall.

Gao Wenfu wiped the sweat from his forehead and forced himself to remain calm: "Song Gou brat, are you playing the game of being surrounded on all sides? Humph, you're just showing off your skills in front of an expert!"

Gao Anren struggled to gather some saliva from his mouth and swallowed it with difficulty.

He had already recognized that the Song leader was the cavalry general who had beaten him and forced him to flee in embarrassment the day before.

The speed at which the fear rose in his heart was beyond imagination, causing Gao Anren to involuntarily continue to gather soldiers on the city wall to give himself courage.

It seemed as if the next moment, the Song army would use simple flying ladders to rush up regardless of life and death.

However, the two hundred riders just continued to sing.

Beneath the city wall, Liu Huai still shook his head: "It's still a little too gentle, Zhang Silang. Your grandfather made such a big name in the rivers and lakes, so he should have a more passionate tone."

Zhang Baiyu didn't know why a faint blush appeared on his handsome face, but he knew that this was a serious military order and he couldn't refuse. He immediately drove his horse forward and sang the fisherman's song that once belonged to Liangshanpo.

"Grandpa was born between heaven and earth. He is not afraid of the court or officials. He cast a net over the water, and the turtles and tortoises were caught. Grandpa was born between heaven and earth. He did not seek wealth or officialdom. He lived his life in Liangshan Lake, eating and drinking as well as being a god."

After singing these lines, Zhang Baiyu felt relieved to see that none of the Song cavalrymen around him were laughing, but were just listening quietly. He began to sing passionately, and his fifty cavalrymen followed suit.

"Grandpa was born in Liangshanpo! He was born to kill! He'd first kill the cruel officials of the King of Hell! Then he'd kill the bird official in Tokyo! Heroes don't read poetry! He only lives in Liangshanpo! Even though he was born a scoundrel, he kills bandits without killing people!"

After singing a few times, Zhang Baiyu did not stop, but sang the new lyrics added after Zhang Rong retreated from Dongping Prefecture to Suotou Beach.

"Suddenly one day, the Jin thieves came! They killed my fellow villagers and seized my land! My children were scattered in the smoke and dust! My husband and wife were separated in the blood! The hero died on the sword! My husband was like mud before the horse's hoof! Now he is trapped in the water! How can I let him escape?"

The song bears distinct traces of fishing chants, with the word "that" added in the middle after three or four words to serve as a spur of the boat trackers or fishermen. But this didn't detract from the powerful, simple, and singable tune. After Zhang Baiyu sang it three times, almost the entire army had instantly learned it and joined in the singing.

Gao Wenfu and his son on the city wall became more and more uneasy, wondering what the Song people were up to.

"Could it be that they have an insider in the city, and this is to send a signal to the insider?" Gao Anren asked his grandfather cautiously.

Gao Wenfu shook his head. "That's unnecessary. If it's just a signal, which one wouldn't be faster than singing, firecrackers, fireworks, drums, or horns?"

"That means there is no insider support, but you use songs to incite the men to cause trouble!" Although Gao Anren's tone was firm, he was still hesitant in his heart.

The Song general was obviously a methodical man, so why would he do things based on luck?
So what if the men in Qushan County don't dare rebel? Are you going to sing until dark? No need to set up camp? No need to eat? No need to water the horses?

Just when the atmosphere on the city wall was tense to the point of freezing, Gao Wenfu suddenly said, "Erlang, my ears aren't working well. Do you think someone in the city is starting to sing along?"

Gao Anren listened carefully and found that there was indeed singing coming from the east, but it was very ethereal and did not seem to be sung by people in the city.

Just as he was wondering, a horseman came galloping from the east of the city. He did not dismount when he arrived at the city and shouted, "Zhizhou, General, ships! There are many ships coming from the east sea!"

Gao Anren's head was buzzing. Looking at the elite troops gathered on the south wall, he was speechless and couldn't even utter the word "lure the tiger away from the mountain".

"You are trying to lure the tiger away from the mountain, what a villain!" Gao Wenfu shouted angrily and hurriedly ordered his generals to lead the elite troops to defend in the direction of Shuimen.

Inside the city gate, Shi Qilang, who had been sitting under the city gate with a broadsword in his arms, suddenly felt that the footsteps on the city wall above his head became more frequent. He raised his head, and his one eye seemed to be able to penetrate the wall to stare at the increasingly panicked Jin army. Then he tilted his head, listened to the fisherman's song that was becoming clearer and clearer with the waves, and grinned.

In just a few moments, the singing from the sea became clearer and clearer, and gradually the whole city could hear it clearly.

It is:

"Grandpa was born between heaven and earth! How could I bear to see my parents separated! My husband enjoys peace and prosperity! The villagers shed tears and blood beside the fields! Today I will kill the leader of the Gao family! Then I will kill Wanyan and pacify Youyan! Let's all go to the dust of the barbarians! Grandpa will restore peace and prosperity!"

Twenty steamships and forty boats, flying Zhang Diwan's banner, approached Qushan County.

(End of this chapter)