The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 275 No Internal Strife
Qi Chongwen's words startled the local gentry.

Yup!

Although the prince had the title of legitimate ruler, he actually didn't have many soldiers under his command.

The real main fighting force was in Gong Yi's hands, and Gong Yi was completely obedient to Young Master Yue.

If the yellow robe is bestowed upon the wrong person, it will be very embarrassing. At that time, Zhao Gou will not even need to deal with them. The infighting among the rebel army will first require killing all the gentry who have randomly given yellow robes to others and chosen the wrong side.

The local gentry looked at each other, at a loss for what to do.

Just as they were at their wits' end, suddenly, a soft "bang" rang out not far away, as if something had fallen from the sky. Everyone quickly turned around to look, and what they saw startled them. Young Master Yue Wenxuan had somehow appeared in an open space next to them.

There were clearly a large number of servants guarding the perimeter, so it was impossible for anyone to suddenly appear here, yet the servants didn't even send out a sound.

Everyone was utterly astonished!

Some people couldn't help but look up at the sky.

Someone even whispered, "Did they use some kind of light-footed skill to fly over here?"

Yue Wenxuan walked up to them with a smile. The gentry felt immense pressure and were speechless, fearing that the actual controller of the rebel army would wave his hand and a large group of soldiers with firearms would rush out and shoot them on the spot.

Yue Wenxuan smiled and said, "Everyone, I'm here to put your minds at ease."

Everyone: "Are you at ease?"

Yue Wenxuan: "I know what you were discussing. I heard every single word you were talking about."

Everyone: "!!!"

My God! Where on earth was this person eavesdropping?

Yue Wenxuan: "Don't worry, what you're worried about is nothing at all. Lady Gong and Prince Zhao Shi will not fight amongst themselves."

His words were so blunt that they made the local gentry pause slightly, their faces showing awkward smiles.

Yue Wenxuan said, “You are all knowledgeable people, not ordinary people who can’t read a single word, so I will speak more directly. Anyway, if I don’t explain it clearly, you will think about it in your hearts, and the things you think about will be wrong and not good. It’s better for everyone to explain it clearly.”

Everyone: "!"

Yue Wenxuan said, "You should know that the real leader of the Wuma Mountain rebels back then was not Prince Xin, Zhao Zhen, but Ma Kuo."

Everyone knows this, of course!
Yue Wenxuan continued, "And the true leader of our Jimo rebels will not be King Zhao Shi, but has always been Lady Gong Er."

Everyone thought to themselves: So, you want us all to support Gong Yi.

Just as they were thinking this, Yue Wenxuan changed the subject: "However, supporting Zhao Shi is a must! Because legitimacy is very important. If the name is not correct, then the words will not be proper, and if the words are not proper, then one cannot stand in the world."

The word "legitimacy" is extremely important to a country.

Back then, the Liao and Song dynasties fought fiercely over who was the rightful "China," because only "China" was the legitimate dynasty.

Yue Wenxuan said, "We must have a legitimate name! So, I urge you all to be decisive and head for Zhao Shi. There won't be any problems with Lady Gong Er." The gentry breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.

Now they finally understood!
Young Master Yue made his point very clear: they must support King He, but the true leader will be Lady Gong.

Especially Qi Chongwen, he was the most knowledgeable one. Among everyone present, only Qi Chongwen knew that the prince was a fake, because his older brother Qi Chongli had seen through the fake prince at a glance and of course he had to tell his younger brother.

Yue Wenxuan: "My strategy was to put Gong Erniangzi in charge of military affairs and He Wang in charge of domestic affairs. I arranged it this way to separate military and political affairs in order to prevent corruption from arising."

His words startled the local gentry: You're openly admitting you're the mastermind behind it all!

Yue Wenxuan continued, "But the separation of military and political affairs is not meant to cause conflicts or infighting between them. We must not bring the style of mutual restraint and hindrance between civil and military officials that existed in the Song Dynasty to our country. Civil officials should wholeheartedly focus on domestic affairs and serve the war effort. Military officials should wholeheartedly focus on fighting well and creating a favorable external environment for domestic affairs. Only by working together can we make the world a better place."

Everyone saluted.

After they finished bowing and looked up, they found that Young Master Yue had disappeared. In the short few seconds it took them to bow, Young Master Yue had vanished into thin air without making a sound, which startled everyone and made them take a few steps back at the same time.

"What...what is the reason behind this?"

Ma Banzhou said, "I have often heard people from Jimo County say that Young Master Yue is a celestial being descended to earth... I have always been skeptical, but after seeing him today... I am afraid the rumors are true."

The head of the Ji family said, "Never mind all that, hurry up and prepare the dragon robe!"

"Yes, yes, now that Young Master Yue has revealed everything to us, what is there to hesitate about? When the imperial decree arrives again, we'll help the Prince don the imperial robe."
-
A month after the thirty-second-year-old man traveled south by boat, September of the fourth year of the Jianyan era arrived.

The people of Jiaodong region have been anxiously awaiting news.

News from both the south and the north made them uneasy.

Not only did they have to worry about Zhao Gou's willful actions in the south, but they also had to worry about the Jin state in the north sending troops to attack the righteous army.

But shortly after September began, shocking news came from the north.

On the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, Liu Yu ascended the throne as emperor, granting a general amnesty and adopting the reign title of the Jin Dynasty, calling it "Tianhui Eight Years". He appointed Zhang Xiaochun as prime minister, Li Xiaoyang as left prime minister, Zhang Jian as right prime minister, Li Chou as censor, Zheng Yinian as vice minister of the Ministry of Works, Wang Qiong as governor of Bianjing, and his son Liu Lin as grand master of the palace, commander of all armies and prefect of Jinan.

Zhang Xiaochun was also shocked to hear this news. He was guarding Taiyuan Prefecture for the Song Dynasty. How could he suddenly be appointed as the prime minister of the pseudo-Qi Kingdom?
I am an official of the Great Song Dynasty. You, the false emperor of the pseudo-Qi Kingdom, what right do you have to bestow titles upon me?

Zhang Xiaochun was furious, because he had no other choice but to get angry.

Soon, Wanyan Zonghan (Nianhan), a famous general of the Jin Dynasty, sent troops to attack Taiyuan Prefecture. The city fell, and Zhang Xiaochun had no choice but to surrender and become the prime minister of the puppet Qi state.

at the same time……

Qi Chongli, who was in Mizhou, also received an imperial edict from Liu Yu, appointing him as the Pacification Commissioner of Jingdong East Circuit.

Liu Yu also simultaneously appointed Gong Erniangzi as a "Shang Hujun" (a high-ranking military officer) of the third rank, Wu Jialiang as a "Zhongwu Lang" (a high-ranking military officer) of the fourth rank, and Zhang Yong as a "Punishing Rebel General" (a high-ranking military officer) of the fourth rank... All the civil and military officials in the four prefectures and sixteen counties that the rebel army had arranged in the Jiaodong Peninsula were promoted accordingly.

In short, Liu Yu doesn't care whether you are one of his people or not. As long as you are in Jiangbei, even if you are his enemy, he will give you an official position in the pseudo-Qi state.

That's how arrogant they are!

(End of this chapter)