The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 291 Instant Breakthrough
As Yue Wenxuan shifted his perspective back to his life-size figurine, the people of Yizhou City were cheering and celebrating their victory.

This scene is often seen in Jiaoshui County. Every time the rebel army defeats the Jin army, the people of Jiaoshui County celebrate wildly. But this is the first time it has happened in Yizhou.

Large numbers of people flooded the streets. The Yan family, the wealthiest local gentry, even brought out a large float. Yan's steward grabbed handfuls of copper coins from the float and threw them at the crowd to celebrate the return to the Song Kingdom.

He originally dared not undertake such a large-scale operation, fearing that after the Song Dynasty was defeated, the Jin Dynasty would come to settle scores.

However, after watching the firearms demonstration, Yan had already decided to bet on the Northern Song Dynasty. A powerful family like his had access to far more information and insight than ordinary people. He had long foreseen that the Qi Kingdom wouldn't last, and that the Jin Dynasty would eventually annex it. The prospect of everyone shaving their heads and changing their clothes would be unbearable; it was better to cling to the Northern Song's coattails.

Zhang Wazi has once again made great contributions in this battle, and he is riding a tall horse that he just captured from the Jin army through the streets.

People on the street would shout at him from time to time, and even matchmakers would mingle in the crowd and call out to him: "Young general, young general, are you married? I'll introduce you to a young lady from a good family..."

Zhang Wazi's smug face instantly turned red: "Oh dear, this... I... haven't thought about these things yet."

"Hahaha, that guy even got shy." Zhang Yong laughed so hard he bent over.

Gong Erniangzi laughed and said, "What's so funny? Zhangwazi's parents died early, and no one helped him find a wife. As his sworn brother, you should take on more responsibility and go to meet the matchmaker on behalf of his parents to help him find a wife."

As they were talking, Yue Wenxuan walked over from the front.

Gong Erniangzi's face instantly lit up with joy: "True Lord, you've returned from your spiritual journey?"

Yue Wenxuan nodded: "I have good news. We have taken over the three counties under the jurisdiction of Huaiyang Army. Send some people over to take over."

"Huh?" Gong Er Niangzi looked bewildered: "When did you take it?"

Yue Wenxuan laughed: "It was when Yahebojin attacked that I sent scouts to capture them."

Gong Er Niangzi understood immediately; it was the heavenly soldiers and generals who had intervened. She quickly said to Zhang Yong, "Send a team of men to Xiapi."

Zhang Yong nodded and quickly went to make the arrangements.

Yue Wenxuan smiled and asked, "How's things going on your end?"

Gong Erniangzi said, "Thanks to the new firearms, we easily defeated Yahebojin. The local gentry and people were much more relaxed when they saw how easily we won. Those who were originally suspicious of us have now all come to our aid."

As she said this, a smile appeared on her face. "The Yan family, the most powerful local gentry, has sent us a large amount of iron."

Yue Wenxuan: "Oh? A lot of iron?"

Gong Erniangzi nodded: "So, there is a Yimeng Mountain near Yizhou, and there is Shandong's largest iron mine next to the mountain."

Yue Wenxuan immediately remembered that his father had told him that during the Song Dynasty, the most powerful iron ore producing area in Shandong was in the Yimeng Mountains of Yizhou. The area had the largest reserves of limonite ore and the best quality, making it a very important strategic resource.

Yue Wenxuan laughed and said, "The iron mines here haven't adopted the blasting method yet, so their output might not be comparable to the iron mines we built in Dengzhou and Laizhou. However... since there's a major iron-smelting town here, there must be a lot of craftsmen. We must get all of these craftsmen under our control."

For the Northern Song Dynasty, the importance of craftsmen even surpassed that of minerals.

Dengzhou was one of the four major iron ore producing areas in the Northern Song Dynasty, and the mines established in Dengzhou by the Northern Song Dynasty had extremely high output.

The most pressing problem facing the Northern Song Dynasty is the conflict between its vast mineral reserves and its limited number of skilled artisans.

Gong Erniangzi nodded: "Now that Yizhou City is under control, I will immediately send troops to the iron mining town at the foot of Yimeng Mountain, take control of it first, and seize all the craftsmen."

Speed ​​is of the essence in war, and capturing the enemy was crucial. Lady Gong Er skipped the celebrations and immediately began preparations for the campaign. Leaving Zhang Yong to manage Yizhou and take over Xiapi, she herself led a lightly armed force, marching at top speed towards the foot of the Yimeng Mountains…
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Meanwhile, at the foot of Yimeng Mountain, there is Gaohu Lake.

A large number of puppet troops surrounded Gaohu.

The Jin army numbered only a little over a hundred, less than two hundred, but their leader, Pu Nian, was extremely arrogant. He jumped up and down, shouting at a patch of tall grass in front of him, "Bring out all the thieves inside! I want to tear them to pieces!"

The pseudo-Qi general standing beside him looked embarrassed.

After receiving orders, he led his troops from Mengyin County to reinforce the Jin Dynasty's officials.

He had a thousand soldiers under his command, but he was to be commanded by a man named Pu Nian who could only lead fifty soldiers. How embarrassing!

Their official positions are not even in the same league!

However, no matter how low Pu Nian's official rank was, he was still an official under the Jin Dynasty.

No matter how high his official rank is, he is still an official of the son of the pseudo-Qi state.

Even a single feather on a phoenix's tail is bigger than a chicken's head.

The pseudo-Qi general could only force a smile and say, "General, this lake isn't so easy to conquer."

Pu Nian retorted angrily, "Why is it so hard to fight? You have a thousand men under your command, while the bandits hiding in the lake number at most three hundred. What are you afraid of?"

The pseudo-Qi general: "This isn't a matter of numbers, cough cough... Rivers, lakes, and seas have always been places where filth and evil reside. Since ancient times, there have been bandits hiding in various lakes, opposing government troops, and they have been repeatedly suppressed for thousands of years without success..."

Pu Lian: "Are you all so useless? You haven't been able to deal with a few thieves even after thousands of years?"

The pseudo-Qi general cursed inwardly: "Fuck your mother! Your Jin Wuzhu's 100,000-strong army was still beaten to a pulp by Han Shizhong's 8,000 soldiers at Huangtiandang, and they almost didn't make it back. If you weren't useless, would you have asked me to help you?"
He cursed fiercely in his heart, but on the surface he was very obedient: "General, please calm down, I will talk to the thief."

He stood by the lake and shouted, "What heroes are hiding in this lake? Would you like to come out and have a chat?"

Li Bao's voice drifted from the tall grass: "Li Bao from Chengshi County!"

The fake Qi general said, "So it's the hero Li Bao. Why are you making such a fuss? Why not surrender to our Qi? Qi is in dire need of talent and will surely appoint you as a supreme general, giving you a high-ranking position and generous salary..."

Li Bao laughed: "What's the use of being a general in Qi? Being ordered around by a palanquin that commands fifty men is worse than being a dog."

The pseudo-Qi general immediately lost his composure and roared in fury: "Men, set fire to the grass! I'm going to fight him to the death!"

at the same time……

Gong Erniangzi was heading towards the iron mine at the foot of Yimeng Mountain when suddenly a black column of smoke shot into the sky in the distance. She was greatly surprised and asked the guide, "What is that? Is there a beacon tower in that direction?"

The guide replied, "There are no beacon towers over there, only a large lake called Gaohu Lake, where dozens of families live."

Gong Er Niangzi was very surprised: "Huh? Then why is there such a big cloud of smoke and dust?"

The guide shook his head: "I don't know either. I'm afraid the houses of those dozens of families were burned down."

Upon hearing this, Gong Erniangzi's face darkened: "It's probably the work of Jin soldiers who escaped from Yizhou. The whole army should turn around and go to Gaohu to take a look."

(End of this chapter)