The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 375 even began to question the meaning of life.

Fu Songqing was completely bewildered, not understanding what had happened.

Then he heard the captain's order: "Archery squad, advance!"

A rectangular formation of one hundred musketeers began to advance.

Fu Songqing quickly cheered himself up and followed the group forward.

Although he had only been in the army for a short time, marching in formation was too easy for an intellectual like him; he could easily find his place.

A huge commotion came from ahead, and the front row of cars suddenly withdrew.

The massive door panel split open to the sides, no longer blocking the enemy's arrows.

Fu Songqing finally looked out from his teammate's shoulder and saw the situation on the other side.

The enemy forces appeared somewhat disorganized, but had not yet collapsed.

At this moment, the two musket teams of the Northern Song army had advanced to the gap created by the separation of the door carts.

Fu Songqing heard the captain's loud shout: "First row, light the match with the match rope!"

Fu Songqing was about to light the fire when he remembered that he was in the second row, so he quickly held back.

The first row in front of me consisted mostly of experienced veterans. They lit the matchlocks, letting them burn, and held their muskets out to the side, aiming forward...

The captain yelled, "Fire!"

The veterans pulled the trigger in unison, the mechanism spun, and the burning matchlock was pulled inward and pressed against the ignition. The ignition sizzled and burned, and the next instant, with a "bang," the musket fired, and the smoke billowed, instantly turning Fu Songqing's vision into a white blur.

He didn't even know what his teammates in the front row were doing.

Fortunately, the smoke dissipated very quickly, and he was soon able to see clearly ahead. He saw that a large number of the enemies opposite him had inexplicably fallen, and the remaining enemies were screaming in terror.

The captain's roar reached my ears: "First row, back up! Second row, forward..."

Fu Songqing knew it was his turn, so he quickly stepped forward.

He slipped through the gap between the two teammates who were retreating from the front row and switched positions with the teammates in the first row.

Now that he's at the very front, he's feeling really anxious.

"Ignition rope!"

"Raise the muskets! Aim!"

"Fire!"

The captain's roar echoed.

Fu Songqing quickly followed the procedure. He didn't really aim, but simply raised his hand and pointed at an enemy soldier opposite him...

"boom!"

A loud bang exploded right in front of him. The immense recoil of the musket jolted him backward, almost causing him to fall to the ground. Smoke billowed in front of him, but before it obscured his vision, he saw the enemy soldiers on the other side fall.

Fu Songqing thought to himself: Amazing, really amazing! This weapon in my hand is damn powerful.

"Second row, move back!"

"Third row, forward!"

The captain's roar rang in his ears...

Fu Songqing quickly stepped back, and his teammates in the third row passed by him and moved to the front.

He finally stepped down from the front row, his heart pounding wildly.

For a moment, his overwhelming emotions left him unsure of what to do.

Looking around, he noticed his teammates in the second rank loading ammunition. He suddenly remembered that the captain had taught him to immediately retreat and reload after firing one shot. He hurriedly and frantically began loading…

The captain's roar could be heard: "Third row, back up! First row, forward!"

"Oh no, it's the first row's turn again?" Fu Songqing exclaimed in alarm. He knew that after the first row finished, it would be the second row's turn, but he hadn't finished loading yet.

He panicked and, in his haste, dropped the paper package he was holding to the ground. He bent down to pick it up.

Before he could even pick up the bullets and reload them, he heard the captain yell, "First platoon, retreat! Second platoon, advance!"

"Oh no, it's my turn again, and I haven't loaded the bullet yet."

Fu Songqing didn't have time to reload, so he had to follow his teammates forward. His teammates were all lighting the fuses and raising their guns... but he was still loading bullets...

"Fire!"

The captain roared.

Fu Songqing couldn't fire the gun, so he could only pretend to raise his arm.

The sound of "bang bang bang" was ringing out in my ears...

He could only pretend, feeling incredibly ashamed inside, thinking: When it's my turn again in the next round, I must play my best.

But there won't be a next round!

The opposing pseudo-Qi army has collapsed.

Two musket squads of 100 men each, divided into three ranks, fired one and a half rounds in succession, and the game was over.

The opposing Qi army, crying and shouting, began to retreat hastily towards the city gate.

But after they retreated into the city gate, the gate could not be closed...

It turns out that the local people have rebelled. These people are all citizens of the Song Dynasty. They could only live a life of equanimity under the control of the puppet state. But now that the Song army has arrived and defeated the puppet Qi, when else would the people in the city not rebel?
At the city gate winch, local gentry-led militia were engaged in a fierce battle with soldiers from the puppet Qi state, making it impossible to close the city gate.

Yue Wenxuan waved his hand and shouted, "Trap Camp, charge!"

A strange unit armed with cold weapons suddenly emerged from the flank of the battlefield and stormed into the city.

This army was extremely fierce, with each soldier possessing exceptional martial arts skills and fearlessness. The defeated troops of the puppet Qi state were no match for them. This group rushed into the city, immediately stormed the city walls, and in no time helped the local gentry clear out the puppet Qi state's city gate guards.

With this, the city gates were completely captured, and the Northern Song army poured into the city.

Fu Songqing wanted to charge as well, but then he heard the captain shout, "Archers, halt!"

Neither of the two hundred-man musket squads was responsible for attacking cities or fighting in urban areas; that was a task for cold weapon troops.

Fu Songqing weighed the weapon in his hand and understood how to use it.

With friendly forces engaged in hand-to-hand combat ahead, his weapon is too likely to cause friendly fire, making him unsuitable for combat.

Moreover, this weapon seems to be at a disadvantage in complex terrain such as streets and alleys.

This is a special weapon used to deploy troops on a plain and break through the enemy's formation with continuous fire.

Standing in the army, he dared not disobey orders, but thought to himself: The thousand defenders of the puppet Qi state were wiped out so easily? A dignified prefecture city was taken down just like that? If the troops defending the city were not the puppet Qi state army, but the Southern Song army, could they have stopped the Northern Song army's attack?

The answer is yes: if you can't stop them, you're doomed!
He suddenly realized: The Northern Song Dynasty is so powerful, yet I still urged Zhang Jun and Liu Guangshi to attack Chuzhou. Isn't that forcing the army to their deaths? I, a proponent of war, was indeed foolish.

Young Master Yue said that without going down to the grassroots level, one cannot understand the true strength of the army and will make wrong judgments. I didn't understand at the time, but now I completely understand.

He specifically asked me to speak!

Am I wrong to advocate for war?
Those ministers who advocated peace were right?

Something's not right! Those peacemakers are trash, cowards, scum! Why do I now think they're right? What went wrong?
Fu Songqing was confused, perplexed, and felt extremely distressed, even beginning to doubt the meaning of life.

(End of this chapter)