The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 276 Proclaiming Emperor
When Qi Chongli received the news that he had been appointed as an official in the "pseudo-Qi state," he was so angry that he jumped up a meter high on the spot.

"Fuck you, Liu Yu! I am the Marquis of Gaomi of the Great Song Dynasty. When did it become your place, a lowly dog ​​raised by the Jurchen traitors, to bestow an official title upon me?"

The old man jumped up and down on the city wall of Mizhou, cursing loudly: "You son of a bitch, you fake Jin traitor, wash your neck clean and wait for me to chop it off with my knife... Fuck you, you dog..."

As he was cursing, the old man suddenly woke up and realized something.

His mouth was wide open, and he couldn't close it for a long time.

In that instant, he finally understood what Yue Wenxuan had said a few months ago: "As long as giant eels appear in Jinan, we can send troops to recapture Mizhou and Weizhou."

The giant eel is an auspicious omen. With this auspicious omen, Liu Yu will declare himself emperor. Liu Yu's ascension to the throne means that the Jin bandits will not attack in the short term. He is probably tired, which is why he supports a false emperor to help them manage the Jiangbei region.

Qi Chongli froze on the city wall of Mizhou: "Just who is Young Master Yue? How could he have foreseen such a thing? This... this can't be called foresight! This... this is called prophecy!"

And at the same time...

In Jiaoshui County, Gong Erniangzi held a “royal decree” from the pseudo-Qi Kingdom in her hand, her face beaming with smiles: “My Lord, look, the pseudo-Qi Kingdom has appointed me as the Supreme Protector General, which is a high-ranking military officer of the third rank, hahaha.”

Yue Wenxuan laughed: "He has to give you this official position because you are now effectively controlling the Jiaodong Peninsula, and in Liu Yu's view, this land belongs to his puppet Qi state. If he doesn't give you an official position and can't take back the Jiaodong Peninsula, then nominally the puppet Qi state will lose a piece of land. But if he gives you an official position, whether you accept it or not, he can claim to the outside world that this land belongs to the puppet Qi state, and you are just a rebel in his country."

Gong Erniangzi had studied warfare with Qi Jixue for several years, and her combat skills were getting better and better, but her political acumen was about the same as that of an elementary school student. Hearing this, she couldn't help but be astonished: "There is such a logic to this?"

Yue Wenxuan spread his hands: "That's how things are in the country. First of all, you have to be in the right. Once you're in the right, everything will be easier. If you can't stand on the moral high ground, you'll find it difficult to do anything."

Gong Erniangzi said, "Isn't it just a matter of having the biggest fist?"

Yue Wenxuan laughed: "This is a misconception caused by reading too many wish-fulfillment novels! No matter how big your fist is, it won't work if you don't have a legitimate reason to fight."

Gong Erniangzi didn't quite understand what "爽文" meant. She ignored the part she didn't understand and asked, "The Jin Kingdom came to attack the Song Dynasty and took half of the country without any reason. They didn't seem to have any justification for it."

Yue Wenxuan shook his head and laughed, "It is precisely because they have no reason that you stood up to resist. If the Jin Kingdom had attacked the Song Dynasty, it would have been justified. Why would you have raised the banner of rebellion? Why would so many rebel armies have appeared in Shandong? Why would the Jin Kingdom have supported the false emperor Liu Yu? All of this is because the Jin Kingdom has lost its sense of righteousness."

Upon hearing this, Gong Er Niangzi seemed to understand something.

She immediately realized something and whispered, "My Lord, according to you, Liu Yu must grant us official positions in order to have the righteousness to attack us. So if we want to get rid of Liu Yu, wouldn't we also need to have the righteousness to do so? Our righteousness... could it be the Great Song Dynasty?"

Yue Wenxuan sighed softly, “Yes, if the Song Dynasty were to issue an imperial edict ordering you to kill Liu Yu and reclaim Jiangbei, you would have a righteous cause in your hands, and the Han people of Jiangbei would cooperate with you. The resistance you would encounter during your counterattack would also be much smaller.”

Gong Erniangzi: "Then if... the Emperor is too cowardly to fight the Jin army again, wouldn't he have avoided issuing this order? Wouldn't the land north of the Yangtze River then be...?"

“That’s right!” Yue Wenxuan said in a heavy tone: “Once the Song Dynasty abandons Jiangbei, the Jin Dynasty will gain the moral high ground to occupy Jiangbei. At that time, all the areas north of the Yangtze River will truly belong to the Jin Dynasty.”

Gong Er Niangzi: "!!!"

What to do?
Gong Erniangzi, whose political acumen was at an elementary school level, was completely at a loss at this point.

Yue Wenxuan: "Don't worry, I've already set up the plan. Before long, we'll be able to appoint Liu Yu to an official position..."

Madam Gong Er: “???”
-
In October, the weary old man, aged thirty-two, returned to the Jiaodong Peninsula.

This eunuch has been traveling back and forth between the north and south lately, and he's noticeably gained weight...

Wait a minute, why is it called "getting fat"? Well, it turns out this thing carries a royal decree, which means it's an angel. Every time the ship docks at a port, it's given a grand welcome by local officials, with delicious food and drinks, and served lavishly throughout the journey. It's hard not to gain weight!

Wang Zhaoshi, along with Gong Erniangzi, civil and military officials, local gentry and wealthy families, and the entire city's populace, formed a massive procession to welcome the "angel" at the south gate.

The thirty-second eunuch first gave Yue Wenxuan a wink, then unfolded the imperial edict and began to speak rapidly…

Listen carefully, everyone! You understand!

The Emperor's meaning is: I have read your memorials and I am very moved by your loyalty and patriotism. Why don't you all come to Jiangnan together? I will appoint each of you to a minor official position and allocate some land in Jiangnan for you to live in. That way, you will have no complaints, right?

After reading the imperial edict, the eunuch sensed that something was amiss in the atmosphere around him.

Get out of the way! Get out of the way right now!
Thirty-two eunuchs used the secret imperial manual, the "Sunflower Manual," and with lightning speed, they disappeared into the crowd, trying to minimize their presence.

At this point, the entire town of Jiaoshui was filled with indignation.

"His Majesty still wants the Prince and Gong Yishi to leave!"

"Letting them go means abandoning the people of Jiaodong?"

"That's unreasonable!"

"What exactly is wrong with me? Why did the court sell me out like this?"

"What a joke! Move them all to Jiangnan? Does he even know how many people are here? Can they really move them all?"

"No, no, no, he didn't include us. He only included the wealthy families. Who cares about ordinary people?" Su Qi'er in the crowd seized the opportunity to make a few sarcastic remarks.

Yue Wenxuan feigned a hesitant expression. After a while, he raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet before slowly saying, "It seems that my royal brother is going to give up this land of the Jiaodong Peninsula and hand it over to the Jin people. I cannot agree to this move by my royal brother."

The people were overjoyed: "Your Highness! You mean..."

Yue Wenxuan: "Xiao Wang has decided to disobey the imperial decree and stay on the Jiaodong Peninsula."

The people were overjoyed: "Your Highness is mighty!"

Ma Banzhou, who had been waiting nearby, immediately stepped forward and said, "It's cold, Your Highness, please put on another layer of clothing."

After saying that, a yellow robe was draped over Yue Wenxuan in a flash.

Ji followed up: "The current emperor is weak and incompetent, unable to protect the Song Dynasty, and has even handed over the land north of the Yangtze River to the barbarians. We have served the country and defeated the enemy, but have been abandoned! It would be better to support Prince He as the new emperor."

Qi Chongwen followed up: "That's excellent!"

The people exclaimed, "Huh? Huh? Huh?"

In October of the fourth year of the Jianyan era, he and Prince Zhao Shi proclaimed themselves emperors in Jiaoshui County, still calling their country "Song". To distinguish themselves from Zhao Gou's regime, they called themselves "Northern Song" and referred to Zhao Gou's regime in the south as "Southern Song". Only a time traveler could come up with such a bizarre naming method.

(End of this chapter)