The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 404 Persuasion
After Yue Wenxuan released the merchant, he began to study how to deal with Niu Gao.

Historically, it was during this battle that Niu Gao surrendered to Li Heng.

But Yue Wenxuan had no intention of letting such a big fish as Niu Gao go.

In short, let's talk to him before we start the fight.

Beggar Su is on the move!
three days later.

In Qiao County, Yue Wenxuan, possessing Su Qier's body, slowly walked to the main gate of Qiao County.

Although Qiao County is a county seat, it was the seat of a prefecture. Its city walls were of the scale of a prefecture city. Moreover, as the place where Cao Cao made his fortune, it was well managed and developed, with a large population and a developed economy. Naturally, the city walls were built to be taller and more imposing than those of ordinary prefecture cities.

From afar, one could see that the county town gate was only slightly ajar, and many archers stood on the city wall. Under the watchful eyes of the gate guards, civilians squeezed out through the crack in the gate and quickly moved away from the town.

But no one went inside.

As Yue Wenxuan approached the city gate, he tried to squeeze through the crack in the gate, but the archers on the city wall immediately stopped him: "You beggar, what are you trying to do? There's going to be a war in Qiao County. Now you can only leave, not enter."

Yue Wenxuan looked up: "I know there's going to be a war, but even if I know, I still have to get into the city."

Archer: "You know that, yet you still went into the city? Once the war starts and the city falls, you're doomed."

Yue Wenxuan: "I'm just a beggar. I can only beg for food in the city. Outside the city, I'm doomed anyway."

Archer: “…”

That actually makes some sense!

“Your words are sharp; you don’t seem like a beggar at all.” Archer: “Stop right there! If you move, I’ll shoot you dead. Brothers, take this guy down.”

"Oh dear, you've found out." Yue Wenxuan raised his hand frankly: "That's right, I'm a spy. I'm here to deliver a message to General Niu Gao."

Everyone: "..."

The city guards tensed up instantly, aiming at Yue Wenxuan with at least ten bows. A large group of soldiers pushed open the city gate and ran out, surrounding him. They only breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that Yue Wenxuan showed no sign of resistance.

The captain of the city guards stepped forward and looked Yue Wenxuan up and down with a strange expression: "A person from the Northern Song Dynasty?"

Yue Wenxuan: "Yes! Please take me to see General Niu. I have important matters to discuss with him."

Captain: "You disguised yourself as a beggar to try and sneak into the city, but we saw through your disguise. Then you said you had something to ask us to see. Who would believe you? What kind of envoy would dress up like that on a mission?"

Yue Wenxuan: "I dressed up like this for General Niu's safety. If word gets to Liu Yu that I had contact with General Niu, it might not be good for the general."

The guards: "..."

An eerie silence fell over the room for a few seconds.

The garrison captain waved his hand: "Take him to see the general."

A large group of soldiers escorted Yue Wenxuan into the city.

As Yue Wenxuan walked through the city streets, he noticed that the local people seemed to have been largely unaffected by the war. It appeared that Qiao County had not been burned, killed, or looted by the Jin cavalry during the last Song-Jin war.

The houses in the city were mostly intact, and there were no burnt ruins. However, due to the impending war, the city's commerce had declined, and almost all the shops were closed. Many houses also seemed to be uninhabited, as everyone had fled the city to avoid the war.

If troops are led to capture people in valleys or river bends outside the city at this time, they might end up capturing thousands of civilians.

Before long, they arrived at the prefectural government office of Qiao County. This office had been converted into a temporary command post, with soldiers coming and going, and no yamen runners or clerks in sight.

Yue Wenxuan had assumed Niu Gao would be a valiant general in his prime, but to his surprise, he was a middle-aged man nearing fifty...

The soldiers reported: "General, this man claims to be from the Northern Song Dynasty and says he has something to say to you."

Niu Gao carefully examined Yue Wenxuan, and Yue Wenxuan was also examining him.

The two stared at each other intently for a long time...

After a long while, Niu Gao finally spoke: "Are you here to persuade me to surrender?"

Yue Wenxuan laughed: "General, you have keen insight."

Niu Gao smiled, a strange and bittersweet smile: "I originally intended to surrender to the Song Dynasty. In fact, I had already made up my mind that as long as the Song Dynasty came to persuade me, I would surrender immediately."

His opening remarks did not surprise Yue Wenxuan.

However, Niu Gao immediately changed his tone: "But what does it mean that both the Southern Song and the Northern Song have come to persuade me to surrender? Just now, Li Heng's envoy from the Southern Song arrived, and I was just about to surrender to Li Heng when I heard that an envoy from the Northern Song had arrived. What exactly are you playing at?"

Yue Wenxuan: "Huh? Have Li Heng's men been here?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a man standing in the corner stepped to the side and gave Yue Wenxuan a disapproving look: "That's me!"

Yue Wenxuan turned his head and saw a burly man: "Oh, who are you?"

The man snorted and said, "Peng Qi, Prefect of Ruzhou, is under the command of General Li, the Garrison Commander of Xiangyang."

Yue Wenxuan laughed and said, "Prefect? ​​That should be a civil official position, but you look more like a military general to me."

Peng Qi grinned and chuckled, "What kind of world is this? How can a civil official be a prefect? ​​Of course, it has to be a military general."

While he was rambling on, Yue Wenxuan had already switched his consciousness out of the sand table and quickly searched on the computer. He found that this man named Peng Qi was also a local warlord. After Zhao Gou fled to Jiangnan, Peng Qi seized control of Ruzhou.

At that time, Xiangyang was short of food, and Li Heng attacked everywhere. He attacked De'an Prefecture but was stopped by Chen Gui. Then he went north to attack Ruzhou.

Unlike Chen Gui, Peng Qi did not possess high-tech weapons such as long bamboo poles and firearms, and thus could not defeat Li Heng. Therefore, he surrendered the city and became Li Heng's subordinate.

It seems that he was also acting on Li Heng's orders to persuade Niu Gao to join the group.

This is going to be really interesting!

Envoys from both the Northern and Southern Song dynasties came to persuade Niu Gao. The two sides met in the hall. It was like two salesmen eyeing the same customer, each wanting to sell their own product. Wouldn't they fight?

Peng Qi's eyes widened, and he waved his fist at Yue Wenxuan, saying, "I was here first today, what are you Northern Song doing causing trouble? General Niu has already decided to join our ranks."

Yue Wenxuan shrugged: "First come, first served doesn't matter! What matters is which side is more suitable for General Niu."

Peng Qi: "Oh?"

Yue Wenxuan said, "Although Li Heng is nominally the Xiangyang Garrison Commander of the Southern Song Dynasty, he is actually a bandit warlord. Not long ago, he attacked De'an Prefecture and fought with Chen Gui. General Peng, you only joined Li Heng's cause because he attacked your Ruzhou City, right? He didn't play this trick very well."

Peng Qi was a little embarrassed, but he immediately perked up: "You guys aren't exactly saints either. Aren't you just the men of Gong Yi, the bandit leader from Shandong? You later seized control of Jiaodong and rose to power. How are you any different from Li Heng?"

(End of this chapter)