The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 403 Niu Gao Blocks the Way
The news that Ma Sheng, Zhang Wei, and Li Bao had captured Tonghai Town and killed Kong Yanzhou reached Suzhou two hours later.

Without a second's hesitation, the prefect of Suzhou in the pseudo-Qi state abandoned the city and fled.

When the Northern Song army received news that Suzhou had fallen without a fight, they were also greatly surprised.

Although the Northern Song army was formidable, it had very high requirements for logistical supplies. After Ma Sheng and Zhang Wei defeated Kong Yanzhou, they needed to replenish a large amount of gunpowder and bullets, and they also had to wait for the Ministry of Works to transport a large number of long bamboo firearms. Therefore, they simply did not have the ability to continue their advance.

Unexpectedly, the enemy didn't care about any of that and just ran away!

Zhang Wei was a little confused: "What should we do?"

Li Bao: "Who cares? Let's take Suzhou first! Suzhou is also a city along the river. I'll set off now and take over the city first."

Ma Sheng said, with a mixture of laughter and tears, "We haven't even resolved the issues with the people of Tonghai Town yet, and now we're taking Suzhou? Won't that just cause us even more trouble?"

Li Bao said, "Just have them hang a piece of cloth at the door as a curtain, and that'll be fine."

Zhang Wei: "If we don't appease the people before moving forward, then... Young Master Yue will be angry! Young Master Yue often taught us that every time we occupy a place, we must be responsible for the local people. This is called 'laying a solid foundation of internal strength,' while conquering cities and seizing land is 'external strength.' If we only practice external strength and not internal strength, our foundation will be unstable, and we will only face certain death."

After he said that, Li Bao understood!

Yue Wenxuan deliberately used terms like "internal strength" and "external strength" to make sure the rough-around-the-edges military generals could understand.

Li Bao scratched his head: "That makes sense! But we have Fu Songqing behind us, don't we? He's a capable minister of the Southern Song Dynasty, and the former Imperial Envoy of Huainan East Circuit. He managed all eight or nine prefectures in the entire Huainan East Circuit. Are we afraid he can't handle a mere Suzhou?"

“That makes sense!” Ma Sheng and Zhang Wei nodded in unison: “With Suzhou added, Lord Fu can definitely handle it. Alright, let’s go and take back Suzhou.”

The three generals chuckled and happily marched towards Suzhou, leaving the problem of the missing gatekeeper in Tonghai Town directly to Fu Songqing.

Two days later...

Fu Songqing personally led a large logistics force, transporting grain, gunpowder, lead bullets, and long bamboo muskets.

As you walk, you'll reach Tonghai Town ahead.

The junior officer Ma Sheng had left in Tonghai Town came forward and gave Fu Songqing a deep bow: "It's good that Lord Fu has arrived."

Fu Songqing was greatly surprised: "Why are you so happy to see me? Could it be that the main army is running out of food? Don't worry, the food is coming."

"No, no, no, it's not a food shortage problem." The junior officer pointed to Tonghai Town: "Kong Yanzhou is ruthless. In order to deal with our army, he demolished many people's houses... Now the houses in the town have no doors, and even many wooden walls have been torn off. The people are in urgent need of help."

Fu Songqing: "!!!"

This is very infuriating.

He was a traditional scholar who spent all his time chanting slogans like "love the people like your own children." Upon hearing that even the people's doors and walls had been torn down, he was bound to give Kong Yanzhou a good scolding. After his outburst, he said, "Don't worry, I'll take care of this. Men, immediately go to the woods outside the city to cut down trees and help the people repair their houses."

Junior Sergeant: "Sir, there are no trees for miles around."

Fu Songqing: "?"

The junior officer said, "This place is flat as a pan, with only one Zhu Mountain slightly higher, but it has been cut down into bare hills by the local residents." Fu Songqing understood immediately!

Suzhou has been a "strong agricultural region" since ancient times. In such regions, almost all the land has been developed into farmland by the people, and the few trees that are available have been cut down for firewood.

This is quite awkward; no wonder Kong Yanzhou wanted to demolish people's houses.

Fu Songqing's mind raced: "Where is the nearest forest?"

A merchant approached and said, "Suqian, Santai Mountain, is about a hundred li away from here."

Fu Songqing: "Send a carriage to Mount Santai to cut down trees and transport them here."

Everyone was sweating profusely; how huge a project must this be?

Fine, let's do it for the sake of the "internal strength" that Young Master Yue mentioned.
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Meanwhile, Yue Wenxuan and Gong Erniangzi led the main force from Shouchun, heading northeast and arriving in Haozhou.

Haozhou, located in the heart of the Central Plains, is a place with many historical cities. The tomb of Cheng Tang, the founding emperor of the Shang Dynasty, is located in Haozhou. In addition, the cemetery of the famous Cao clan from the Three Kingdoms period is also located in Haozhou.

The seat of government of Haozhou was in Qiao County.

This is where Cao Cao was born.

The Northern Song army was advancing towards Qiao County when a scout escorting a merchant caravan arrived before Yue Wenxuan and Gong Erniangzi.

"Report! We caught a caravan on the road; it came from Qiao County."

The caravan was small, consisting of only a dozen or so people: a middle-aged merchant, four swordsmen, eight laborers, and two carriages.

The small caravan was captured by the army and dared not even think of resisting. The whole caravan was trembling with fear.

The merchant was trembling uncontrollably. As soon as he saw Yue Wenxuan, he cried out, "General, spare my life! You can take the goods, I only beg to keep my head."

Yue Wenxuan softened his tone: "Don't be afraid, we are not the kind of army that the Jin invaders are. Tell me about the situation of the puppet Qi army in Qiao County, and I will let you go."

The merchant quickly recounted everything he had seen and heard in Qiao County: "The current garrison commander of Qiao County is named Niu Gao. He has three thousand soldiers under his command. They are highly skilled in martial arts, fierce and brave, and are considered famous generals in the puppet Qi army."

"Huh? Niu Gao?"

Yue Wenxuan was slightly taken aback when he heard the name.

Niu Gao actually stood in front of me? Ha! How interesting!
Niu Gao was a famous general in Yue Fei's army, but he only joined the army in 1133. Before that, records about him are very scarce. The embellishments told in storytelling are not to be believed, and historical records only mention him briefly, saying that he once rebelled against the Jin dynasty and surrendered to the puppet Qi regime after the fall of the north. There is a blank for the next few years until Li Heng's Northern Expedition, when he reappeared in historical records, "turning his back on the puppet regime and joining Li Heng's army."

Later, he was incorporated into Yue Fei's army by the Southern Song court and became one of its fierce generals. Under Yue Fei's command, Niu Gao led his troops to victory after victory, reaching the banks of the Yellow River. In the numerous battles to attack Xuchang and Bianjing, he risked his life and won many victories, making great contributions to the recovery of the lost territories in the Central Plains. Because of his greatest merit, he was promoted to Commander of the Four Wings of the Pengri Tianwu Army and Commissioner of Chengde Army.

After Qin Hui murdered Yue Fei, he was terrified of Niu Gao and poisoned him to death.

After Niu Gao's death, his remains were buried at the entrance of Ziyun Cave in Jianmen Pass, Qixia Ridge, West Lake, Hangzhou, facing the tomb of Yue Fei across the distance. A stele stands in front of the tomb, with the inscription "Tomb of Niu Gao, Marquis of Fuwen of the Song Dynasty". Out of admiration for Niu Gao's illustrious name, for nearly a thousand years, people have come to his tomb to pay their respects.

(End of this chapter)