The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 313 Zhou Dudu

Yue Wenxuan nodded: "Well, while he's arranging the ships, I'll also go and invite some heavenly soldiers and generals."

He shifted his consciousness away from the sandbox and back to his body, then began rummaging through his toy cabinet...

Before long, a beautiful set of plastic mannequins was found.

Three Kingdoms Eastern Wu Army Set!
Yue Wenxuan removed all the cavalry, siege weapons, and other equipment, leaving only the infantry of Eastern Wu.

This model only has 30 ordinary soldiers and 8 elite soldiers, which is clearly not enough.

So he made a call to Qiuzhi Shenguang Sculpture Co., Ltd.: "Hey! I need models of ordinary soldiers from Eastern Wu, a lot of them, um... get one or two thousand."

A few days later, Li Bao's ship was ready.

He requisitioned a large number of small sampans from the fishermen of Surabaya and several large boats from the merchants.

Each large ship could carry dozens to a hundred people and was used as the main warship in the army, while each small sampan could only carry a few people.

Of the two hundred or so veteran men he brought, most were not good swimmers, and only a few could swim at all. In the past few months, he had been leading his men in frantic swimming and boat handling training. However, everyone learns at different paces. Although Li Bao himself learned quickly, many of his men were still only barely able to swim.

Yue Wenxuan stood on the dock of Siyang City, watching Li Bao's men clumsily maneuvering the boat. He couldn't help but shake his head and beckoned Li Bao over: "Your men don't seem to be very good swimmers."

Li Bao was a little embarrassed, but he still straightened his chest and said, "Don't worry, they can definitely do it."

Yue Wenxuan: "I can understand your eagerness to make merits, but being too reckless will kill your own subordinates."

Li Bao: "..."

Yue Wenxuan: "Have your men stay on the large merchant ships you've conquered. Large ships are stable and not easy to capsize, so they won't die innocently. As for the small boats, let my men operate them."

Li Bao: "Young Master Yue said he would select another five hundred people to help me. Those five hundred people... have they been selected yet?"

Yue Wenxuan nodded: "They'll be here soon."

As they were talking, a large group of soldiers, in neat rows, came from the direction of the woods outside the city.

Li Bao sensed something was off at first glance. The soldiers' attire was strange; it wasn't the style of Song soldiers, nor Jin soldiers, nor bandits. Their armor had a kind of "retro" aesthetic. He was a roughneck who hadn't studied ancient texts or learned much about history, so he couldn't figure out what style of clothing it was, but something just felt off.

Not only their clothes, but also their height and appearance were very different from those of the Northern Song army.

Gong Erniangzi's main army was mostly composed of Shandong men, who were burly, imposing, and full of chivalrous spirit.

But the soldiers in front of us were generally short, lacking the boldness of Shandong men, but possessing a shrewdness typical of southerners.

Fortunately, these soldiers were all wearing helmets, deliberately covering their faces. Otherwise, Li Bao would have been shocked to find that all of them looked exactly alike, which was terrifying.

Of course, while the soldiers all looked the same, the officers at the very front of the column had very distinctive appearances.

The leader was none other than Zhou Yu, the commander of the Eastern Wu navy.

To his left stood the fierce general Taishi Ci, and to his right stood the fierce general Gan Ning.

Judging from their attire and imposing presence, Li Bao knew they were formidable figures. He quickly stepped forward, bowed, and said, "My name is Li Bao. I've only been serving in the Northern Song Dynasty for a few months, and I don't recognize any of them. May I ask your honorable names, and what your positions are in the Northern Song army?"

Zhou Yu: "Since Heaven gave birth to Yu, why did it also give birth to Liang?"

Li Bao: "???" Yue Wenxuan chuckled inwardly, quickly switched his consciousness, controlled Zhou Yu's body, and answered on his behalf: "General Li, hello. My name is Zhou Dudu. I am a guest in Young Master Yue's household. I have no rank in the Northern Song army and am just a guest general."

Li Bao: "Huh?"

He sized Zhou Yu up from head to toe. From his clothes and demeanor to his bearing, he seemed like a big shot. How could he be just a guest at Young Master Yue's house, without even a rank? This was too outrageous.

Yue Wenxuan pointed to Taishi Ci and Gan Ning beside him and said with a smile, "These two are like me, guests of Young Master Yue's family. We are just here to help out in the fighting, and we will retire after the battle is over."

Taishi Ci: "A true man should carry a three-foot sword and achieve unparalleled feats."

The character "甘" means "to raid camps and fortresses, taking advantage of the night to seize profits."

Li Bao: "..."

These people are weird!
Li Bao couldn't help but glance in the direction they came from, secretly wondering: "They seem to have emerged from that grove of trees where they couldn't finish moving all the grain last time?" It seemed Young Master Yue had hidden a considerable amount of men, horses, and provisions in that grove. These men, horses, and provisions were not combined with the main army led by the Grand Councilor; they were a separate force.

"Let's go, it's time for us to set off."

Yue Wenxuan waved his hand, signaling the Eastern Wu soldiers to board the ship.

The Wu soldiers deliberately didn't board the large ships, but instead went to the small boats that Li Bao had collected, the kind that were easy to capsize.

If Li Bao's soldiers were to ride in such small boats, they would easily be killed by the enemy.

Li Bao was also secretly observing the soldiers. He saw them board the small boat and sit or stand casually on it. The boat started to rock as soon as they got on, but the soldiers stood on the rocking boat as if they were rooted to the spot, without showing any signs of being disheveled.

Several small boats were rocking violently, but when the Wu soldiers boarded them, they shifted their weight and managed to stop the boats from rocking. Soon, the boats stopped rocking.

Li Bao was secretly shocked: This...this group of people has such a stable stance, much stronger than my soldiers.

Oh no, if I let them be the naval commanders, I'm afraid each of them would be more suitable than me.

In an instant, he felt his position in the Northern Song army was in jeopardy! Seriously in jeopardy! His future was bleak. The chances of being ennobled or appointed prime minister were gone.

At this time, Taishi Ci and Gan Ning also boarded the small boat. Only Zhou Yu, controlled by Yue Wenxuan, did not go to the small boat. Instead, he pulled Li Bao along and boarded Li Bao's flagship, following Li Bao's side.

Li Bao was a little surprised by his little action.

Yue Wenxuan smiled and said, "Just by looking at my clothes, you can tell I'm not the type to rush in and chop people up. I'm an advisor."

Li Bao: "Huh?"

Yue Wenxuan said, "Young Master Yue asked me to be General Li Bao's advisor and come up with some ideas."

At first, Li Bao didn't understand, but after a full five seconds, he suddenly realized that "advisor" was just a euphemism. The real reason was that Young Master Yue had sent a skilled person to teach him how to fight in water, because his own mediocre swimming skills weren't trusted!
Li Bao clasped his hands in a fist and palm salute: "Then I'll leave it to Zhou Dudu. By the way... what's your name like..."

Yue Wenxuan: "Don't you think Dudu is cute?"

He suddenly pulled a zither from his back, plucked a string, and beautiful music filled the air. Li Bao then realized that his zither skills were actually top-notch, but the song he sang along with the music was a bit strange: "You say, 'Pout, pout, and you'll come back.'"

Li Bao: "..."

(End of this chapter)