The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 379 Attack on Haozhou
Yue Wenxuan was not in a hurry to attack. He lingered in Sizhou City for two whole months. Several other thousand-man teams also sent back good news one after another. Qingyang, Anhe, Zhaoxin, Xuyi and other places were successively recovered by the Northern Song army. In just two months, the entire territory of Sizhou was liberated by the Northern Song.

After eliminating the puppet Qi army and regaining control of a region, the Northern Song army would immediately begin suppressing bandits and ensuring public order as quickly as possible.

The next step was to immediately encourage agriculture, handicrafts, and merchants to become active.

The local farmers were overjoyed. They were more eager than anyone to start farming, something they hadn't dared to do before. Now that a responsible big boss had finally arrived, why not get their fields ready as soon as possible?

In just two months, agricultural production began to resume in most parts of Sizhou.

The farmers not only dug up their own fields, but they even dug up their neighbors' fields as well... Well, since that neighbor's entire family had died, their fields were just lying fallow anyway, so they might as well let me plant some there and not waste them.

Under the influence of this mentality, although the population of Sizhou decreased by at least half, the rate of farmland abandonment was less than a quarter.

In this atmosphere...

The year 1132 AD had quietly arrived...

In the first month of the lunar calendar, Fu Songqing was busy with his work in the Department of Agriculture when a soldier came to his door: "Young Master Yue requests your presence."

At first, Fu Songqing was tormented by Yue Wenxuan, forced to join the army and fight, which made him quite annoyed with Yue Wenxuan. However, after several months of training, he found that he had learned a lot and was no longer so angry with Yue Wenxuan. He even felt a little respect for him. When he heard Yue Wenxuan's summons, he immediately put down his work and followed the messenger to the prefectural government office in Sizhou.

As soon as he entered the government office, he sensed that something was amiss.

The hall was filled with military officers, including all the mid- to high-ranking officers, and even several important lower-ranking officers.

Fu Songqing saw his former captain of the musket team and quickly greeted him.

The captain smiled and waved to him.

Yue Wenxuan didn't waste any words and said directly to Fu Songqing, "Lord Fu, it's good that you've come! I've called you here this time because I have an important task for you."

Fu Songqing clasped his hands in a fist salute, remaining silent. Although his attitude towards Yue Wenxuan had changed, he still considered himself a minister of the Southern Song Dynasty, and naturally maintained a minimum distance from ministers of the Northern Song Dynasty.

Yue Wenxuan said, "You can tell from the number of military officers in the room that we are about to set off. I won't hide it from you, Sizhou has been pacified, and we are preparing to send troops to Haozhou."

Fu Songqing raised his eyebrows slightly; he was aware of the situation in Haozhou.

Haozhou is located southwest of Sizhou.

It's a place with a very complex situation. The puppet Qi dynasty and the Southern Song dynasty have been vying for control of Haozhou, and in recent years, they've fought countless battles, large and small, there. Of course, the Southern Song is at a disadvantage...

Just last year, in 1131, while the Northern Song Dynasty was managing Chuzhou, the puppet Qi and the Southern Song Dynasty fought a major battle in Haozhou.

The puppet Qi dynasty dispatched a general named Ding Shun, who clashed with Liu Guangshi of the Southern Song dynasty in Haozhou.

A smart person can basically guess the outcome just by seeing the name Liu Guangshi.

As the undisputed king of avoiding battle among the four generals who revived the Southern Song Dynasty, Liu Guangshi also demonstrated his consistent level of skill in this battle.

Liu Guangshi: "Move, move, move! Once Ghost Blade is activated, you won't be able to see me!"

Thus, Liu Guangshi and Ding Shun didn't even get to see each other before the battle was over. Both sides withdrew their troops, and Haozhou remained in chaos, continuing to hold the title of "contested territory."

Fu Songqing frowned and said, "The situation in Haozhou is already chaotic. Both the puppet Qi and Song have intervened. If the Northern Song also intervenes, wouldn't it become even more chaotic?"

Yue Wenxuan laughed and said, "No, no, no, once we get involved, Haozhou will immediately be calm again. After we conquered Sizhou, the people of Haozhou must have been eagerly awaiting our arrival, right? Does Lord Fu agree?"

Fu Songqing was speechless for a moment.

Yue Wenxuan continued, “After our army leaves, Sizhou will be vulnerable and we need to be wary of the pseudo-Qi Kingdom taking the opportunity to attack. Therefore, I would like to appoint Lord Fu as the prefect of Sizhou to be stationed in Zhenyang Town and guard the northern border for Sizhou.”

Upon hearing this, Fu Songqing was stunned for a moment.

To the north of Sizhou lies Suqian, which was under the control of the Northern Song Dynasty. To the east lies Chuzhou, also under the control of the Northern Song Dynasty. There was no need to worry about enemies coming from these two directions.

To the south of Sizhou were Chuzhou and Yangzhou, which were in the hands of the Southern Song Dynasty. Now that the Northern and Southern Song Dynasties had made peace and ceased hostilities, there was naturally no need to worry.

To the west lies Haozhou. When the Northern Song army invaded Haozhou, there was naturally no need to worry about enemies coming from Haozhou.

Therefore, the only place Sizhou needs to worry about is Suzhou in the northwest! This is the only direction from which the pseudo-Qi state might send troops to attack.

There is a town called Qingyang at the border of Suzhou and Sizhou.

Qingyang Town is located on the west bank of Hongze Lake and the banks of the ancient Bian River, 30 kilometers south of the Huai River. The ancient Bian River and Sui River flow through the town. It has become an important node on the north-south transportation line and a necessary passage for the transport of goods and people. Controlling Qingyang Town means being able to control part of the lifeline of north-south transportation to a certain extent.

Fu Songqing never expected that Yue Wenxuan would entrust such an important place to him, a Southern Song official, to oversee.

He couldn't help but point to his own nose: "Me? To be stationed in such an important place? I... am an envoy of the Southern Song Dynasty! I was detained here by you, not an official of your Northern Song Dynasty."

Yue Wenxuan: "So what? You are an official of the Great Song Dynasty, right? The Southern Song and the Northern Song are both Song! Qingyang Town is a city of my Great Song Dynasty, and the people in the town are all people of my Great Song Dynasty. You are an official of the Great Song Dynasty, and an official who claims to be a pro-war official. Shouldn't you protect the people there from being bullied by the army of the pseudo-Qi Kingdom?"

Fu Songqing: "Well, that's true."

Yue Wenxuan continued, "If Qingyang Town is lost, the pseudo-Qi Kingdom can take advantage of our army's attack on Haozhou to reclaim Sizhou, which is equivalent to the Great Song handing over Sizhou to the pseudo-Qi Kingdom again. Tsk tsk, as a Song official, shouldn't you be defending the territory? You served as the Huaidong Propaganda Envoy in the Southern Song Dynasty, and you were in charge of the entire Huainan East Circuit. Now, you can manage a mere Sizhou. There's no reason why you can't do it, right?"

Fu Songqing: "!!!"

Okay, now I'm speechless.

Both the Southern Song and Northern Song dynasties were part of the Song dynasty; it was just that two princes were vying for the throne. However, the puppet Qi dynasty was not part of the Song dynasty; it was an extension of the Jin dynasty!

Fu Songqing was a proponent of war and had no intention of compromising with the Jin Dynasty. He took only 0.32 seconds to choose sides: "Understood, then I'll do it."

Yue Wenxuan's lips curled into a smile: "I will leave behind a thousand men, led by a military general, to assist you in managing Sizhou and resisting the invasion of the pseudo-Qi. But I must make this clear: our Northern Song Dynasty is not like the Southern Song Dynasty, which uses civil officials to control the military. Instead, it is a system of cooperation between civil and military officials. The major strategic directions must be discussed and agreed upon by both civil and military officials."

Fu Songqing: "Understood! Sigh, leave Sizhou to me."

(End of this chapter)