The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 271 I Can't Leave
A few minutes later, the thirty-second-old man came in.

He looked much more dashing than when he last visited Jiaoshui County.

Last time, he carried a box of imperial edicts arranged by Zhao Gou and visited every rebel army. He traveled all over Shandong and was humiliated by local bandits like Li Kui who "did not submit to the king's rule." By the time he arrived in Jiaoshui County, he was already travel-worn and looked very miserable.

But this time was different. This time he came by sea, aboard a large ship arranged by Zhao Gou. Accompanying him was a very impressive honor guard, along with various "rewards" from Zhao Gou to the Prince. The whole procession was accompanied by gongs and drums, looking quite impressive.

Yue Wenxuan saw through Zhao Gou's little scheme at a glance!
Last time, Zhao Gou treated all the Shandong rebels as local bandits, and sent a eunuch to each household to issue an imperial edict, thus getting away with it without any investment.

This time, however, the Shandong rebels supported a fake Zhao Shi and easily defeated the Jin army. Zhao Gou could no longer treat these people as bandits. Of course, he had to make a grand show to demonstrate Zhao Gou's "imperial majesty" so that these rebels would be shocked by the imperial power and quickly submit.

The procession carrying the imperial edict entered through the south gate of Jiaoshui County, stretching for several hundred meters. Each of the eunuchs and guards in the procession carried a brocade box. Although the contents of the boxes were unknown, the boxes themselves exuded an air of wealth.

Jiaoshui County is now experiencing a population explosion, with crowds of onlookers craning their necks to see the honor guard.

Many people cheered: "The government has finally sent people to our Jiaodong Peninsula!"

"The imperial court still remembers us."

"The Emperor wanted to reward Prince He handsomely to encourage him for his achievement in preserving the Jiaodong Peninsula."

"Haha! As long as Wang and I can hold this place, it won't be long before the Song army returns and we no longer need to fear the Jin invaders."

The people cheered and shouted wildly at the honor guard.

But the thirty-second eunuch, leading the procession, secretly sneered: What are you all so happy about? You don't know yet that this imperial edict orders you and Wang Zhaoshi to abandon the Jiaodong Peninsula and lead your army back to Jiangnan. I wonder if you'll still be laughing when you find out.

The people living near Suotou Lake have long since stopped laughing!

The young general Yue Fei, who was playing video games on the north bank of the Yangtze River, was recalled to the south. Zhang Rong, a hero of Liangshan, was also recalled to the south after his great victory over the Jin army at Suotou Lake. As for the people of Suotou Lake, who cared about them anymore? The government had long since treated all the people north of the Yangtze River as disposable pawns.

Just as Thirty-two was thinking about this, he saw a small group coming towards them. The leader was none other than King Zhao Shi, with Gong Er Niangzi and a large group of civil and military officials from the righteous army standing beside him.

The two sides happened to meet at "Caishikou" right in the middle of Jiaoshui County.

This is a crossroads, the most bustling and lively place in Jiaoshui County, and also the place that can accommodate the largest number of "onlookers". Yue Wenxuan deliberately slowed down the pace of the "welcoming" and deliberately ran into the imperial decree-issuing team of the Thirty-Two Eunuchs here.

The thirty-second eunuch's eyes darted around, and he immediately understood: the prince deliberately greeted us here so that we could read the imperial edict in front of the most common people. It seems the prince has already guessed what the edict says.

The prince is such a rascal!

Our family will certainly cooperate.

Thirty-two eunuchs perked up, deliberately adopting an arrogant posture, perfectly portraying the image of "the Emperor looks down on you," and loudly proclaimed: "Prince Zhao Shi, righteous man Gong Yi, why don't you quickly accept the imperial decree?"

Gong Er Niangzi was stunned for a moment, somewhat reluctant to obediently accept the imperial decree.

But Yue Wenxuan's voice immediately rang out behind her: "Playing along is one thing, but I have my own plans."

Gong Erniangzi: "Yes, ma'am!"

Having received the True Lord's order, she naturally obeyed and respectfully accepted the decree.

Prince Zhao Shi, on the other hand, adopted the etiquette expected of a prince, straightening his posture and listening attentively. The common people gathered at the four intersections of Caishikou Street held their breath, quietly awaiting the imperial decree.

For a moment, the huge town of Jiaoshui was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

The thirty-second eunuch then produced the imperial edict, and, shaking his head, read it aloud: "I hereby order Zhao Shi, Guan Yi, and others: I have witnessed the barbarians' arrogance and the disturbances in Jiaodong. You generals have devoted yourselves to fighting to the death, and have decisively defeated the Jin army with firearms..."

This imperial edict has such a long prelude!

The first few hundred words were all praising the rebel army for fighting well, fighting brilliantly, and fighting spectacularly.

Although the common people were illiterate and couldn't understand much, there were always some well-meaning scholars in the crowd who would quietly explain to them, and so everyone understood. The emperor was currently praising Zhao Kuang and Gong Yi to the skies.

It seems that the emperor is a reasonable and fair ruler who rewards and punishes fairly!

However, after praising the region for the first few hundred words, Zhao Gou suddenly changed his tone. He said that the Jiangnan region was exhausted and that a wicked man named Zhong Xiang was causing trouble. Zhong Xiang had declared himself emperor and established the false name of Chu. He urgently needed capable people to suppress the rebellion. After much deliberation, he felt that Zhao Shi and Gong Yi were the most trustworthy people and that the two of them should immediately raise an army and go to Hunan to quell Zhong Xiang's rebellion.

Upon hearing this, Yue Wenxuan chuckled inwardly: Sure enough! Zhao Gou's behavior pattern is so easy to guess. I guessed it right. It was worth sending the Thirty-Two Eunuchs back to Jiangnan to explain the details to Zhao Gou. This guy fell for it as soon as he heard it.

Gong Er Niangzi was a little confused: "The Emperor... he's transferring... transferring us to Hunan?"

The onlookers were even more confused: "Hunan? Why? If King He and Gong Yishi went to Hunan, who will guard Jiaodong?"

"Not only Jiaodong, but we have also just taken over Weizhou and Mizhou. We now have territory in four prefectures and sixteen counties."

“That’s right. If we leave with Wang and Gong Yishi at this time, wouldn’t we be handing over these four prefectures and sixteen counties to the Jurchen invaders again?”

The onlookers erupted in an uproar...

Many people's faces contorted into ferocious expressions, looking as if they were about to rush down and fight.

Thirty-two-year-old eunuch felt a little flustered, thinking to himself: "I'm just cooperating with the prince in this charade. I hope the prince won't use me as a sacrifice."
fuck!

Oh no! I almost forgot about the filth of politics, and on top of that, Shandong is a place with "simple and honest people." If the prince were to point at our house right now and say, "Kill him!", these people would definitely trample our house into mincemeat.

The thirty-two-year-old was terrified.

Fortunately, Yue Wenxuan is not a corrupt person and will not sacrifice his "meritorious officials".

He even winked at the thirty-second-old eunuch, giving him a reassuring look.

Then he raised his hand and made a downward pressing motion: "Everyone, quiet down!"

The crowd fell silent instantly, everyone listening intently.

Yue Wenxuan then spoke, saying, "Your Excellency, please forgive me for being unable to accept the decree! I cannot abandon the people of these four prefectures and sixteen counties."

Gong Yi chimed in, "I can't leave either!"

(End of this chapter)