The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 316 Everyone's Doing Something Amazing

“We are outsiders, and the terrain is unfamiliar to us, so we cannot be reckless,” Yue Wenxuan said. “No need to rush. We will explore the waterways little by little, gradually figure out the surrounding terrain, and then formulate a real battle plan.”

Li Bao nodded in agreement.

The two waited on the flagship, while Taishi Ci and Gan Ning took turns leading the reconnaissance troops into the waterway.

Not in-depth enough!
After exploring a short section, the two would return and describe the terrain they had just discovered.

Yue Wenxuan then took out a large sheet of paper and drew the waterway described by the two men on it.

At first, there was only a small piece on the paper, but it gradually grew larger and larger, and the layout of the waterway network became clearer and clearer.

After dark, the fleet did not linger nearby but headed north back to the Sishui River. Here, the river was wide and flat, with a clear view, and there were no complicated waterways along the banks. The laborers built a simple camp here. They moored the boats to the riverbank, leaving a small number of soldiers to take turns on guard duty, while the rest went ashore to rest in the camp.

"When suppressing bandits in places like this, it's crucial to avoid rushing and reckless attacks." Yue Wenxuan said, "The more anxious you are, the more the bandits can utilize the terrain to launch various brilliant ambushes. The slower you are, the more anxious the bandits become as you gradually advance your position. They will feel fear as they watch you continuously gain control of the terrain and advance, constantly shrinking their living space. Then they will destroy themselves."

Li Bao blushed slightly. He knew nothing about the matter yet dared to ask Gong Er Niangzi for troops and volunteer to fight this battle. Now that he thought about it, it was far too risky. If it weren't for Young Master Yue sending people to help him, he might already be at the bottom of Hongze Lake by the bandits, and he would have also caused the deaths of hundreds of his old brothers.

Thinking of his future, he abandoned all pretense of modesty, clasped his hands in a fist and bowed deeply to Yue Wenxuan: "Zhou Dudu, I... have a favor to ask..."

Yue Wenxuan: "Oh? Tell me about it."

Li Bao: "I want to become your apprentice and learn naval warfare from you."

Yue Wenxuan: "Isn't this teaching you right now? Why do you need to become a disciple again?"

Li Bao's face flushed slightly: "Isn't it only after you become an apprentice that you get some secret techniques? If you don't become an apprentice, you can only learn the superficial stuff."

Yue Wenxuan laughed: "Hahaha, there's no such thing as etiquette, you're just talking nonsense."

He spoke casually, but in his heart, Yue Wenxuan was thinking: The development in the past few years was too rapid; many things hadn't had time to be sorted out. Now it's time to address these issues. Military academies… it seems it's time to put them on the agenda!

In ancient China, military generals passed down their strategies and tactics through family lineage.

The tradition of passing down skills only to sons is hindering the inheritance of technology and the progress of the country in all walks of life.

We need to set up a military academy!
Military academies recruited famous generals to serve as teachers.

Someone like Qi Jiguang would be perfect for a military academy; after all, he's not used for leading troops in battle much lately, so using him to train talent would be excellent. In naval warfare, Zheng Chenggong seems even better than Zhou Yu. For cavalry, let's get Genghis Khan. Oh, and the Northern Song army has already begun using modern firearms tactics, so we should also get Napoleon…

As Yue Wenxuan was lost in thought, it was already late outside.

The moon rose, and its bright light shone on the Si River, causing the water to ripple and create patches of silvery-white shimmer.

When Yue Wenxuan sees such beautiful scenery, he usually just says "Holy crap!" This is the highest praise an uncultured person can give to a beautiful view.

But he is now possessing Zhou Yu's body, and Zhou Yu is not an uncultured, rough man.

Yue Wenxuan felt that his body seemed to be restless.

In a flash, he was already sitting cross-legged by the river, placing the zither across his lap, his hands caressing the strings, and a beautiful melody began to play: "A man should strive to achieve fame and merit in this world, and fame and merit will bring him comfort in his life. To comfort him in his life, I will get drunk, and when I get drunk, I will sing wildly."

Li Bao listened secretly from a distance, filled with admiration: This Zhou Dudu, aside from her unusual name, was incredibly talented in everything else—both scholarly and martial arts-related, able to play the zither and recite poetry. She was truly amazing! Oh, how envious I was! I wanted to be like her. Just as this thought crossed his mind…

Yue Wenxuan's zither music changed: "I am a pickled fish, sour, bland, and superfluous... I am a braised chicken, yellow, stale, and garbage..."

Li Bao: "Pfft!"
-
Zhou Yu's use of troops was truly unhurried.

Every morning, Taishi Ci and Gan Ning would get up and lead a group of Eastern Wu sailors, along with a group of Li Bao's men. The veterans would lead the new recruits to explore the various waterways. Each time, they would only explore the waterways briefly before retreating.

Although he didn't explore much each time, the map in Yue Wenxuan's hand became clearer and clearer.

The day the map is completed will be the day of the final battle against the river bandits.

He knew this, Li Bao knew this, and of course, Zhao Qi, the leader of the bandits and the Dragon King of the Lake, also knew this.

Zhao Qi was in a hurry!
He knew that if things continued like this, he would surely die.

But he was helpless; his small force could not stop the small reconnaissance fleet led by Taishi Ci and Gan Ning.

If a large force is deployed, the enemy will be even more pleased, as it will force him to fight a decisive battle.

How could river bandits possibly have the resources to fight a decisive battle against a regular army?

Zhao Qi panicked and didn't even know what to do.

After much deliberation, he finally had only one option left: to send someone to find the notorious bandit Li Cheng and ask for help.

And at the same time...

Li Cheng is pulling off some crazy moves.

He stood proudly atop a small hill outside Chuzhou, looking down at the two armies at the foot of the mountain. One was his own small cavalry force, numbering only a hundred or two. This small force was all he had, as horses were not easy to obtain in Huainan. The other was the vanguard of Zhang Jun, one of the four generals who revived the Northern Song Dynasty.

A few days ago, he sent two groups of men to harass Gong Erniangzi of the Northern Song Dynasty and Zhang Jun of the Southern Song Dynasty, respectively.

Once both armies sent men to pursue him, he ordered both forces to move simultaneously towards Chuzhou, drawing both the Northern and Southern Song armies towards Chuzhou...

Chuzhou is a very tragic place!

In February of the third year of the Jianyan era, during the fourth Song-Jin War, the Jin army marched south to capture Zhao Gou, and they captured Chuzhou.

Later, when the Jin army returned north, the Southern Song Dynasty sent Zhao Li to guard Chuzhou.

In the fourth year of the Jianyan era, during the fifth Song-Jin War, Wanyan Wuzhu of Jin attacked again. The Song court dispatched Zhang Jun to relieve Chuzhou, but Zhang Jun refused to obey. Later, Liu Guangshi was appointed instead, and Yue Fei, Guo Zhongwei, and Li Yanxian, the military commissioner of Haizhou and Huaiyang, were placed under his command. However, Liu Guangshi himself was stationed in Zhenjiang Prefecture. After sending his generals Wang De and Li Qiong with light troops across the river, they instead detoured northwest to Tianchang Army, which was separated from Chengzhou by Chonghu Lake, showing no sincerity in helping Chuzhou.

Only Yue Fei's army genuinely came to the rescue. On August 15, Yue Fei returned to Yixing, set off on the 18th, and on September 9, he stationed himself at Sandun, a few dozen miles east of Chengzhou. However, Yue Fei was not yet a general at this time, but only a small guerrilla force. He was isolated and exhausted, and the rescue was ineffective.

In September, Zhao Li, the garrison commander of Chuzhou, was killed when a large rock struck his head while supervising the defense. Even after Zhao Li's death, the soldiers and civilians of Chuzhou continued their resistance. In late September, the Jin army breached the city walls and stormed into Chuzhou. Following Zhao Li's instructions, the soldiers and civilians of Chuzhou erected brick fortifications at every alleyway entrance and fought a fierce street battle, inflicting thousands of casualties on the Jin army. The city was ablaze with fire, and some women even clung to Jin soldiers, drowning themselves in the river.

After such a battle, it's easy to guess how many people were still alive in Chuzhou City.

(End of this chapter)