The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 258 I'll Give You Wine

"Guwei is dead!"

The rebel soldiers immediately began to shout in unison.

That roar was truly a top-tier killing blow in shaking the enemy's morale.

The pseudo-gold thieves, who were already on the verge of collapse, have now completely collapsed. They are scattered and fleeing in all directions, no longer even looking to the west, but just running in any direction they can find.

The cavalry, who had just managed to put up a fight, were now incapable. With a shout, they began to retreat westward. However, these cavalry were far more imposing than the puppet troops; although they had been defeated, their retreat was still quite organized.

Even in defeat, they do not disperse; when they retreat, they slowly withdraw in their respective groups!

Yue Wenxuan originally intended to pursue and kill them, but just as he was about to charge, he saw that the retreating cavalry had actually gathered together, with more than two thousand remaining. As long as they didn't panic, Lü Bu wouldn't dare to charge recklessly...

Forget it, these guys are too difficult to deal with. Let's just capture more puppet troops instead.

Yue Wenxuan waved his hand and shouted, "Capture prisoners of war...for mining!"

He had barely finished speaking when he turned around and saw that the spear tip of a Bingzhou wolf cavalryman had already pierced the chest of a puppet soldier. The wolf cavalry of the Three Kingdoms period were too ferocious; they had no concept of capturing prisoners! They treated all enemies as "northern barbarians," and killed them to death as soon as they were captured.

"Damn it." Yue Wenxuan: "My precious ex-convict."

"Withdraw! Withdraw!"

Yue Wenxuan had no choice but to call a retreat. Plastic figures were no good for this situation; it was better to let real soldiers do the work.

The rebel soldiers surged forward and began to pursue the puppet troops.

Yue Wenxuan led three hundred Bingzhou wolf cavalry, keeping an eye on the retreating cavalry.

Although the Guai Zi Ma were retreating, they were constantly looking for an opportunity to counterattack. Their general was dead, and many of the Meng An Mou Ke had also died, but the remaining men still had the will to fight and were looking for an opportunity to launch a counterattack against the rebel army.

If the cricket monster hadn't been watching them so closely, they might have actually turned around and fought back.

But once the crickets spotted them, they dared not harbor any further thoughts and obediently retreated towards Changyi County.

The rebel soldiers pursued desperately and soon caught up with the Jin army's camp ten miles west of the city. They surrounded the camp and captured a large number of puppet soldiers, auxiliary soldiers, artisans, laborers, transport soldiers, and provisions. They also seized a large amount of hay and beans used to feed horses in the camp.

Unfortunately, the Jurchen cavalry were too difficult to capture, so we had to give up.
-
Cheers echoed throughout Jiaoshui County, as countless residents began to revel in the town once again.

In recent years, revelry has almost become the norm. The rebel army has defeated the Jin invaders time and time again, giving the people of Jiaoshui County an excuse to revel every now and then. Today they can have a few drinks without getting scolded by their wives.

Qi Chongli hummed a little tune, but instead of joining the revelers, he ran towards the firearms camp. The heavy muskets of the rebel army today had truly broadened his horizons, and in his joy, he walked with a whirlwind of steps.

As soon as he entered the firearms camp, he ran into Zhang Dashu.

Zhang Dashu and five comrades were about to go out for drinks when an old man suddenly jumped out and grabbed his collar: "Hey, I've been looking for you!"

Zhang Dashu: "Hey? What's wrong, old man?"

Qi Chongli: "Last time you told me how to deal with the Iron Pagoda, but I didn't understand and mistook you for a Manichaean sorcerer. I'm truly sorry. Today's battle was exhilarating to watch, hahaha... Come, come... This money is for you to drink." After saying that, two attendants jumped out from behind Qi Chongli and stuffed several strings of cash into Zhang Dashu's hand.

Zhang Dashu was a little confused after receiving a few strings of cash out of nowhere: "Huh? Our military regulations have strict rules against accepting bribes. If you're caught, you'll be tied up and beaten forty times."

Qi Chongli: "Nonsense! What do you mean by bribery? I, the dignified Marquis of Gaomi, would never bribe a mere soldier. This is simply for you to have some wine."

That makes sense. He's in a high position; why would he bribe a mere soldier? It's more likely that a soldier would bribe him.

Zhang Dashu was overjoyed and grinned, "You're a really nice person."

Qi Chongli rubbed his hands together and chuckled, "You fought very well today. You must fight well next time too. I'm just waiting for you to drive the Jurchens out of Shandong so that the Qi family can return to Gaomi."

Zhang Dashu grinned widely: "Don't worry, sir! I always fight well in every battle."

After saying that, the heavy musketeers put their arms around each other's shoulders and went to celebrate.

Qi Chongli, however, strode briskly towards the temporary palace, skipping and hopping along. Despite being nearly fifty years old, he walked with the joy of a five-year-old.

The two Qi family nephews following behind him couldn't help but shake their heads and laugh: "The patriarch is usually a very composed person, but this time he's shown all sorts of strange behavior."

"You can't blame the patriarch for this. When I saw the heavy muskets being used and the Ironclad Cavalry falling one after another, I was so excited that I shouted. My throat is still a little sore now."

“That was just a normal yell, it’s understandable. The patriarch used a lot more vulgar language back then…”

"Shh! This matter is forbidden to be mentioned within the clan."

Unlike Qi Chongli, the thirty-two eunuchs from the palace did not visit the lower-ranking soldiers. Instead, they were sticking to Prince Zhao Shi like little tails.

Fathers-in-law have their own philosophy of survival.

That is: we must attach ourselves to a royal family!
When the emperor is powerful, people attach themselves to him; when a prince is powerful, people attach themselves to him.

The moment the heavy musket fired, the thirty-second eunuch made up his mind to cling to Zhao Shi's coattails. As for Zhao Gou... well, sorry, I only have two hands, so I can only cling to one person's coattails. If I cling to Zhao Shi now, then I'll be letting Zhao Gou down.

Thirty-two eunuchs followed Zhao Shi back from the battlefield with great enthusiasm, and then waited on him meekly and obediently.

Strange to say!
Ever since the prince said, "Alright, it's time for our decisive battle force to be deployed," he suddenly became dazed. His eyes lost their dynamism, and his reactions became sluggish. Whatever you said, he would only nod and reply with standard royal manners, "I know!", "Understood!", "You may leave!"

If no one initiates a conversation with him, he will remain in a daze.

This made the thirty-second eunuch feel extremely apprehensive. However, having spent half his life in the palace, what strange things hadn't he seen? To be a eunuch, one must know how to play dumb. When the master exhibits strange behavior, the eunuch must pretend that he knows nothing and has not seen anything in order to survive.

So no matter how strange Zhao Shi was, the Thirty-Two Eunuchs didn't say a single word of complaint, but simply stayed quietly by his side.

As darkness fell, Zhao Shi suddenly snapped awake, his eyes brightening. He looked around, surveyed his surroundings, chuckled, and beckoned to the thirty-second eunuch: "Eunuch, come over and have a chat."

(End of this chapter)