I traveled with them to the Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 248 The Beauty Has Been Placed
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Although Fang La did not adopt Lü Jiang's suggestion to blockade the Yangtze River, nor did he adopt Chen Gutong's suggestion to cross the Yangtze River directly to bring the war to the north or even directly attack Bianliang (Kaifeng), this does not mean that Fang La was unaware of the importance of capturing the Yangtze River and keeping the Song army north of it.

However, Fang La was too greedy. He wanted more territory, more rebels, and to accumulate stronger strength to fight against the main force of the Song army.

Furthermore, Fang La still harbored illusions about persuading Song Jiang to share the throne of the Zhao Song Dynasty with him.

In Fang La's view, he and Song Jiang both killed officials, gentry and landlords, and both raised the banner of righteousness to fight for the survival of the people, so they had a natural basis for alliance.

Fang La believed that if they could unite with Song Jiang and combine the two rebel armies into one, they could not only drive the Song army out of Jiangnan, but the downfall of the Zhao Song Dynasty would be just around the corner.

Fang La even considered that after he and Song Jiang destroyed the Zhao Song Dynasty, the land north of the Huai River would belong to Song Jiang, and the land south of the Huai River would belong to him. They would then divide the country into the Northern and Southern Dynasties. When the time was right, he would lead his troops north, defeat Song Jiang, and enjoy the great land for himself.

It was precisely because of this beautiful fantasy that Fang La deliberately let Song Jiang's rebel army stand in front to block the Song army for him, so that he could take this opportunity to first recover the southern region of Jiangnan. When his strength was strong enough, he would turn around and join forces with Song Jiang's rebel army to defeat the Song army, or simply let the two fight and he would reap the benefits. That is, when the Song army and Song Jiang's rebel army fought to the point of exhaustion, he would eliminate the Song army and Song Jiang's rebel army together, occupy Jiangnan alone, and even occupy the entire Zhao Song Dynasty.

Fang La's plans were meticulously crafted, but he never anticipated that Song Jiang, who had killed so many officials, would choose to accept the imperial court's offer of amnesty—a "dead end."

As a result, the situation has now become such that Song Jiang has not only failed to become the ally he expected, but has instead transformed into a sharp blade in the hands of the imperial court, pointing directly at Hangzhou.

Fang La stood atop the city wall of Hangzhou, gazing northwards, his teeth itching with hatred!

He misjudged Song Jiang's ambition and bottom line, and did not expect that Song Jiang would be so eager for fame and fortune.

The key question he couldn't understand was why Song Jiang wasn't afraid of retaliation from the officials in the court and was willing to fight him to the death, letting the court reap the benefits of their conflict.

Song Jiang's choice was like a heavy hammer blow to Fang La's ambitions, forcing him to re-evaluate the current situation.

Some of Fang La's soldiers were filled with rage and advocated for an immediate campaign to fight Song Jiang's rebel army to the death; others were worried about being attacked from both sides and suggested temporarily avoiding the enemy's advance and planning for the future.

As Fang La listened to the impassioned speeches and calm analyses of his generals and strategists, a growing sense of panic began to creep into his heart. He knew that he was now standing at a crossroads in history, where every decision would determine the life and death of countless people, and even the fate of the entire Fang La rebel army.

How to do?
retreat?

Which way should we retreat?

Although Jiangnan is vast, the Song army has already marched south, and Song Jiang's rebel army has surrendered to the imperial court, becoming its sharpest spear. If he dares to retreat, the Song army and Song Jiang's rebel army will relentlessly pursue him and devour his "million-strong army".

There was no way to retreat or avoid it.

Did they also accept the imperial court's offer of amnesty?
However, Fang La was unwilling to give up his dream of becoming emperor.

Secondly, the imperial court has never offered him amnesty, and it seems that it has no intention of offering him amnesty at all. How can he accept the imperial court's offer of amnesty?

Fang La pondered to himself that this world seemed to have shrunk into a cramped cage overnight, trapping him and his rebel army.

Fang La's sharp eyes swept over the shivering rebel soldiers below the city walls, their eyes filled with confusion about the future.

Fang La knew that morale could not be dampened. If he were to retreat, even a million-strong army would be no match for a single brigade. If he chose to retreat, he would be choosing death.

Fang La straightened his back and spoke in a deep and firm voice: "We rose up for the sake of the people, to overthrow tyranny, and to restore a bright and clear world for the people. Although the situation is unfavorable to us now, our will cannot be shaken! Song Jiang betrayed his promise and surrendered to the enemy for personal gain, but how can our beliefs be shaken by the defection of one person?"

At this point, Fang La firmly issued his order: "Pass on my command to instruct Fang Qifo, Fang Baihua, and Chen Shisi to defeat Song Jiang, seize his troops, and await the assembly of my main army to engage in a decisive battle with the Song army!"

Led by the Manicheans, Fang La's rebel army shouted in unison, their voices shaking the heavens, as if pouring out their indomitable spirit and anger. The shouts echoed over Hangzhou, lingering for a long time. Their eyes gleamed with a resolute light, a steadfast commitment to their faith and a thirst for victory, fearless even if the road ahead was full of thorns.

Looking at the righteous soldiers who fought alongside him, Fang La felt a surge of warmth in his heart.

Yes!

He led the uprising, partly because he had ambitions to become emperor, but as a southerner who had suffered oppression and injustice, he also had the idea of ​​overthrowing tyranny and enabling the people to have enough to eat and wear and live in peace and prosperity.

For his dream of becoming emperor, and for every suffering person on this land, Song Jiang's betrayal, though heartbreaking, also strengthened his belief that only by completely defeating the Song army could he become emperor, truly save the people, and bring peace to the world.

Fang La ordered that Lü Shinang of Xianju County, Qiu Daoren of Shan County in Yuezhou, Zheng Mowang of Quzhou, the heroes Li De, Jiang Cai, Dong Ju, and Wang Guo of Yongkang County, Huo Chengfu of Chuzhou, Hong Zai of Chuzhou, as well as Yu Daoan of Xianju in Taizhou, Zhu Yan and Wu Bang of Shouchang County, and the female rebel general Zhu Shi who was active in the Dongyang area, all come to Hangzhou immediately to fight a decisive battle with the Song army.

In fact, Fang La had long been urging these rebel armies, which were developing independently under his name, to come north and accept his unified command.

But in the end, only the foolish girl Chen Miaozhen arrived with eight thousand Yongkang soldiers. Her Yongkang County heroes Li De, Jiang Cai, Dong Ju, and Wang Guo tricked her into coming first, and then they brought their large army.

Even Chen Gutong only brought a dozen or so men with him. His own troops were still observing the situation in Chuzhou with Huo Chengfu.

Chen Miaozhen's response to his call greatly increased Fang La's goodwill towards this famous Chen Sisi Niangniang in Jiangnan. He even considered taking Chen Miaozhen as his imperial concubine.

First of all, Fang La wanted to take Chen Miaozhen as his concubine not only because of her beauty, but more importantly, he wanted to enhance his reputation for good deeds that were known throughout Jiangnan.

However, the uprising has only just begun to succeed, and Chen Miaozhen is the only one who has come to reinforce him. If he were to rush into proposing something like incorporating Chen Miaozhen and her entire rebel army, it would be easy to say but hard to hear.

Therefore, Fang La thought about it and incorporated Chen Miaozhen into Fang Baihua's rebel army, preparing to slowly capture Chen Miaozhen.

Later, the situation took a sharp turn for the worse, and Fang La no longer had such thoughts. He quickly sent Fang Qifo and Fang Baihua north to fight a desperate battle, hoping that Fang Qifo and Fang Baihua could carve out a way for him to survive.

After receiving Fang La's orders, Fang Qifo, Fang Baihua, Chen Miaozhen and others decided to fight a major battle against Song Jiang's rebel army in a field spanning ten miles between Jiaxing, Haining and Chongde.

Therefore, Fang Baihua and Chen Miaozhen quickly led their respective rebel armies to join them here. For Song Jiang's rebel army, which also wanted to fight a major battle, this was definitely good news.

So, after changing clothes in Xiuzhou and resting for a few days, Song Jiang's rebel army headed straight for the battleground.

Although Fang Baihua was a woman and only sixteen years old, she had loved martial arts and was well-versed in military strategy since childhood. In her early years, she also obtained a military book, "Wujing Zongyao", written by Zeng Gongliang and Ding Du by chance. With her innate talent and superb martial arts skills, she was able to become the marshal of a righteous army at a young age.

Upon arriving at the battleground chosen by Fang Qifo, Fang Baihua advised Fang Qifo: "A great reputation is not undeserved. Song Jiang has fought for many years, and the Song army has not been able to eliminate him. He must have something extraordinary about him. Moreover, his troops outnumber ours. Even if we form a grand formation, we may not be able to win. It would be better to be near the water and backed by the mountains, supporting each other from both sides, and then wait for an opportunity to strike."

Fang Baihua's suggestion was actually very insightful.

However, Fang Qifo felt that Fang Baihua was only sixteen years old and a woman. She had become arrogant after winning a few small battles and could not understand the brilliance of his formation that made full use of the human wave tactics that Fang La's rebel army was best at. As a result, he could not listen to Fang Baihua's opinions and stubbornly insisted on his own views.

Soon after, Yang Zhi led the vanguard of Song Jiang's rebel army to the battlefield.

Fang Baihua then suggested to Fang Qifo that they launch an attack immediately while Song Jiang's rebel army had not yet completed its assembly.

However, Fang Qifo feared that if the undisciplined Fang La rebels acted recklessly, they would ruin the invincible formation he had painstakingly set up, thus losing more than he gained. Therefore, he rejected Fang Baihua's correct suggestion.

In this way, Fang La's rebel army adopted a posture of grand and imposing battle.

The location chosen by Fang Qifo was flat, with a swamp in front of it, seemingly easy to defend and difficult to attack, but in reality, it was more conducive to cavalry warfare.

However, if they retreated dozens of miles to the north or east, Fang La's rebel army could form a defensive formation based on the mountains.

After surveying the terrain, Fang Baihua objected to Fang Qifo's formation, saying, "Warfare is based on advantage. The terrain is unfavorable. How can we fight? We should move to higher ground to deploy our troops and block the enemy's cavalry charge."

However, the rebel generals under Fang Qifo were equally short-sighted. They believed that the swamp ahead was enough to contain Song Jiang's small cavalry force, and there was no need to change locations.

Fang Baihua's suggestion was rejected again by Fang Qifo, who listened to his subordinates.

……

After Song Jiang led the main force of his rebel army to the battlefield, he was very fortunate to see that Fang La's rebel army did not intend to launch an attack immediately while he was still establishing a firm foothold. He then quickly made full preparations.

During this process, Wu Yong, who was observing the formation of Fang La's rebel army with a telescope, suddenly nudged Song Jiang and said, "Brother, look at that young lady in the opposing army's formation."

Upon hearing this, Song Jiang also picked up his telescope and looked in the direction Wu Yong was pointing.

Soon, Song Jiang saw a beautiful young woman who looked to be only eighteen or nineteen years old.

This woman wore a plain cloth dress with a faded hemp jacket over it, and a worn leather medicine pouch was wrapped around her waist. Her black hair was casually tied into a bun and hastily secured with a bamboo hairpin, with a few stray strands falling around her ears. Her features were delicate and beautiful, with a gentle curve at the corners of her eyes. Her nose was small and straight, and her lips, though naturally downturned, concealed a calm and resolute air. In her hand, she held a rusty short gun, which, instead of showing any murderous intent, seemed somewhat comical and out of place.

Song Jiang's eyes lit up. "Isn't this the beauty intended for His Majesty?"

Yuwen Xuzhong also picked up his telescope and glanced at the beauty, saying, "This woman should be Chen Shisi from Fangyan Mountain in Yongkang County."

Song Jiang and Wu Yong asked in unison, "Lady Chen the Fourteenth?!"

Yuwen Xuzhong said uncertainly, "Although I have never seen this woman, based on the information and physical characteristics of the main members of Fang La's gang that my men have sent back, it is most likely her."

Song Jiang and Wu Yong were overjoyed to hear this!
Judging solely by appearance, Chen Miaozhen was indeed beautiful, but she could not possibly compare to the thousands of beauties Zhao Yu possessed.

But if this beauty is also the "Chen Shisi Niangniang" who possesses miraculous medical skills, has saved countless lives, and is revered as a living goddess by the people of Jiangnan, then that's a different story.

Putting everything else aside, if Zhao Yu could get Chen Miaozhen and promote her properly, his prestige in Jiangnan would definitely rise significantly.

Song Jiang hurriedly asked, "Brother, are you sure this woman is Lady Chen the Fourteenth?"

Since Yuwen Xuzhong had never actually met Chen Miaozhen, he naturally couldn't confirm whether this woman he had never met was Chen Miaozhen.

No matter, Yuwen Xuzhong sent someone to summon a spy who had gathered information in Hangzhou, and Chen Miaozhen's identity was confirmed.

Upon seeing that the uniquely beautiful woman opposite him was indeed Chen Miaozhen, Song Jiang said to his men, "No one is allowed to harm Lady Chen, the Fourteenth Lady. I want to present her to His Majesty."

Upon hearing Song Jiang's offer of Chen Miaozhen to Zhao Yu, not only the generals of Song Jiang's rebel army, but also Western Army generals like Yao Pingzhong and Liu Guangshi, had to take a good look at Chen Miaozhen, fearing that they might accidentally kill the wrong person and get into serious trouble.

At this moment, the spy summoned by Yuwen Xuzhong pointed to a woman who was eight feet five or six inches tall and riding a tall horse next to Chen Miaozhen, and said, "This woman is Fang Baihua, Fang La's sister, the marshal of the rebel army, who is highly skilled in martial arts and proficient in military strategy."

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at Fang Baihua again.

Fang Baihua appeared, dressed in a faded blue cloth outfit, over which was a worn leather breastplate. A faded red silk sash was wrapped around her waist, from which hung a short knife wrapped with strips of cloth. She wore coarse hemp leggings and thick-soled boots, riding a black steed. Her figure was tall and upright, as straight as a pine tree. Her sword-like eyebrows slanted sharply towards her temples, her phoenix eyes were sharp as an eagle's, and her high nose and tightly pursed thin lips outlined a resolute profile. The wind ruffled her casually tied long hair, stray strands brushing against her wheat-colored face, adding to her untamed air. She gripped a plain wooden spear steadily in her hand, the tip gleaming coldly. Her eyes swept over them like lightning, radiating a chilling aura, displaying the dashing and heroic bearing of a righteous army marshal.

Undoubtedly, Fang Baihua was also extremely beautiful, but her stature, taller than most men, made Song Jiang feel a little regretful: "Fang Baihua is too tall, otherwise we would have presented her to His Majesty as well..."

Before Song Jiang could finish speaking, Yuwen Xuzhong whispered in Song Jiang's ear, "Brother, you are wrong. This tall and beautiful woman is exactly what His Majesty loves. Heaven is looking out for us."

Upon hearing this, Song Jiang's eyes lit up, and he immediately ordered, "Pass on my military order: capture Fang Baihua and Chen Shisi alive..."

……

(End of this chapter)