The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 269 What kind of wonderful person is this?

Ji Menghan hesitated for a few seconds before saying, "Don't worry, I won't kill you."

The group was overjoyed.

Ji Menghan: "But we won't let you go back to being thieves."

"what?"

Ji Menghan: "Since you have the strength to rob, you must also have the strength to cut down trees, fell timber, and build walls, right?"

In order to save their lives, the group of people quickly replied, "Yes, yes, as long as you don't kill us, we'll do anything you ask."

Ji Menghan: "That's good."

He reached out and pointed at the bandit leader, who had shot an arrow at him, and said, "I'll let you go back alone. After you go back, bring all the hundreds of old men and women hiding in the mountains and have them come out to work for us."

“Those who still have some strength are responsible for cutting down trees and building earthen forts. I give them three catties of grain a day. Those who are old and weak are responsible for cooking and doing odd jobs for the workers. I provide them with a meal, but I don’t pay them any extra wages.”

The bandits were stunned when they heard this.

What kind of wonderful person is this?
It feels like they're trying to scam us.

The bandit leader had a strange expression on his face, thinking to himself: Could this man be trying to lure our wives, children, and elderly parents out of the mountains so he can kill them all and eliminate any future trouble?
Ji Menghan seemed to see through what he was thinking: "It seems you don't quite believe me! That's because you don't know who I am. I am Ji Menghan, the eldest son of the Ji family. After you return to the mountain, ask the elders in your family whether the words of the Ji family can stand the test of time."

The bandit leader was startled: "Huh? The eldest son of the Ji family?"

Ji Menghan reached down and took a sachet from her waist, handing it to the bandit leader: "Take this back and let the elders in your family smell it, then they'll know."

By this time, the bandit leader was already 80% convinced and dared not raise any further objections.

He was released by the rebels and stood there in a daze for a while before running like the wind into the mountains. He entered a small valley and saw hundreds of refugees hiding there, all dressed in rags and with pale faces.

The refugees here were not all elderly or weak; there were actually nearly a hundred able-bodied men. They lied to the rebels in order to survive.

When he returned, the refugees wore pitiful expressions, as if asking, "Did you bring back food?" Just like kittens waiting for their mother cat to bring food home.

The bandit leader said, "We messed with the wrong people. All my brothers were arrested, but I was the only one who was released."

The refugees: "!!!"

The bandit leader then pulled out the sachet that Ji Menghan had given him: "The other party had a young master who gave me this sachet, saying he was the eldest son of the Ji family, and that he wanted us to go out and work for him..."

Several elderly refugees squeezed through the crowd, took the sachet, and their eyes lit up when they smelled it: "This is indeed the scent of Ji family incense! And it's not the ordinary stuff they sell; it's a premium product used only by the Ji family. When I was a long-term worker for the Ji family, I smelled this scent on the Fifth Master."

"I heard that the entire Ji family fled to Jiaoshui County, but now... could it be that the Ji family has returned?"

“I met the eldest son of the Ji family when he was studying in the county town. He is a very good person.”

"What the Ji family says can be trusted!"

“Let’s go out of the mountain. If it’s really Young Master Ji, we can all be saved. If it’s fake, we’ll all be killed anyway. We’re going to die here in the valley anyway.”

"Yeah, staying here means certain death anyway."

"If we can't find food soon, we'll all be eating each other. Let's get out of here."

The refugees mustered their courage... and came out of the mountains...
-
Wu Jialiang soon arrived in Changyi County.

The city was guarded by a Han Chinese puppet army, former subordinates of Yan Gao from Weizhou. After being defeated by the Jin army, Yan Gao fled south and sought refuge with Zhao Gou. His deputy, Zhang Cheng, had surrendered to the Jin army and had recently led Weizhou troops in the battle between the Jin army and the Jiaodong rebels.

At this time, Zhang Cheng was stationed in Weizhou City, while Wang Wen, Zhang Cheng's subordinate, was in charge of stationing troops in Changyi.

When Wang Wen saw the rebel army arrive, his head suddenly felt as big as three.

"Magistrate Wang, what should we do?" The puppet army soldiers panicked and ran around on the city wall.

Wang Wen: "Rely on the city walls to hold out to the death, and send a fast horse to request reinforcements from Prefect Zhang."

Everyone: "Are we going to hold out to the death?"

Wang Wen: "What else?"

Everyone: "..."
-
Wu Jialiang's army formation was deployed outside Changyi City.

Changyi was not a large city. The city wall was only a little over ten feet high and it was made of adobe without bricks. Such walls were actually easy to attack. Soldiers could easily climb up by digging a hole in the adobe wall or by building a human bridge.

However, Wu Jialiang did not intend to attack like that.

He stopped far from the city, pushed out two large cannons, and aimed them at the city walls...

He didn't light it, he just kept aiming at it.

After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, chaos erupted in the city, with shouts of battle filling the air.

Another incense stick's time passed, and the city gates of Changyi County opened wide. A large group of puppet soldiers, carrying Wang Wen's head, came out of the city, knelt down, and kowtowed to the rebel army: "Heavenly soldiers, spare our lives! We have killed the puppet county magistrate Wang Wen. We beg the heavenly soldiers to take us in. We are willing to shave our heads and join the heavenly soldiers' Bald Head Camp."

Wang Hong, who had come to serve as an auxiliary soldier following behind Wu Jialiang, couldn't help but curse, "What 'Bald Head Battalion'? What a load of rubbish! We're a labor camp! A labor camp!"

Wang Hong still doesn't know the true meaning of the words "reform through labor." He still thinks that the reform through labor camp is a formal part of the auxiliary troops. And it's the most powerful camp among the auxiliary troops, yes, that's what he thinks.

Wu Jiabing took over Changyi County without firing a single shot or cannon, saving all the gunpowder. He left behind a small regular army led by Yu Fanwen, along with Wang Hong's labor camp and Ji Menghan to manage civil affairs. He then immediately led his main force straight to Weizhou City.

In Weizhou City, the newly appointed prefect Zhang Cheng soon received news that Wu Jialiang was coming.

He panicked when he heard the news!

He also participated in the battle where the Jin army was taught a lesson by the rebel army's firearms. Moreover, the puppet troops he led were in charge of several catapults. As a result, they were hit all over by the red-coated cannons. He still remembers the embarrassing situation of being hit on the head with large iron balls from less than three miles away.

After the Jin army withdrew, Zhang Cheng lived in constant fear.

His stationing here was too close to Jiaoshui County, and he was at risk of being counterattacked by the rebel army at any time.

This made him live in constant fear.

Now that he heard that the rebel army had arrived, Zhang Cheng's heart finally settled down. Before they came, he was afraid every day, but now that they were really here, he no longer had to worry and was instead at ease.

Zhang Cheng dared not flee north, because abandoning the city and fleeing north would surely mean being killed by his Jin lord.

He dared not surrender to the Protectorate Army, because he had just surrendered to the Jin Dynasty not long ago, and now he was surrendering to the Song Dynasty. The result of being a fence-sitter would definitely be death.

After much deliberation, Zhang Cheng decided to quit.

That night, Zhang Cheng found a rope and, while everyone was asleep, slid down from the city wall. Alone with a knife, he disappeared from the martial world.

(End of this chapter)