The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 426 is an attack on the Southern Song Dynasty.

While the soldiers and generals were cleaning up the battlefield, Yue Wenxuan and Gong Erniangzi were quietly discussing what to do next under the central command flag.

Gong Erniangzi whispered, "The Jin army has just suffered a defeat, and the puppet Qi army has also been scattered by us. Should we take advantage of this momentum and head straight for Kaifeng?"

Yue Wenxuan is actually also considering this issue...

After considering for a while, Yue Wenxuan nodded: "We need to open the seal, but we don't necessarily have to take it out."

Gong Erniangzi: "Oh? To test Kaifeng's defenses?"

“Yes!” Yue Wenxuan said, “If Kaifeng surrenders without a fight, we will take it. If Kaifeng defends the city to the death and fights a stalemate, we will withdraw.”

Despite the resounding victory, Yue Wenxuan has no intention of letting things slide.

Let's stick to the strategy we initially decided on!

Kaifeng is not a city suitable for a strong attack. If it cannot be "locked down", it is better to give up.

“But we must attack Kaifeng.” Yue Wenxuan smiled and said, “Not only will we attack, but we will also raise the banner of King Zhao Shi and attack under the slogan of ‘recovering the capital for the country’.”

Gong Erniangzi's eyes lit up: "I understand! It's for the people of the Southern Song Dynasty to see."

“That’s right!” Yue Wenxuan chuckled mischievously. “Let’s show the civil and military officials of the Southern Song Dynasty, especially the pro-war faction, and let them see who is more suitable to inherit the throne, the Ninth Prince Zhao Gou or the Seventeenth Prince Zhao Shi.”

After saying that, Yue Wenxuan's consciousness shifted back to Jiaoshui County and returned to the Zhao Shi figurine.

The moment he came to life, the thirty-two eunuchs serving him immediately perked up: "What are your orders, Your Majesty?"

Yue Wenxuan: "Write a proclamation to announce to the world! List the ten major crimes of the pseudo-Qi state, and then say that I, Zhao Shi, have been appointed by Heaven and am leading the heavenly army of the Northern Song Dynasty to reclaim Kaifeng, the capital of my Great Song Dynasty. Call on all righteous armies in the world to lend me a hand and restore the prestige of my Great Song Dynasty."
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The post stations of the Northern Song Dynasty maximized their "express delivery capacity," and in a short time, "proclamations demanding the surrender of Qi" flew throughout the world like scraps of paper.

Not only the common people of the Northern Song Dynasty knew that the emperor was going to recapture the capital of the Great Song Dynasty.

Even the Southern Song Dynasty, the puppet state of Qi, and the Jin Dynasty received the news immediately.

Jin Wuzhu and Li Cheng, who had fled back to Kaifeng and were temporarily stationed there, examined the proclamation of war from all angles. After reading it, Jin Wuzhu was furious: "You think you can look down on my Great Jin just because you won a battle? If my Great Jin were to mobilize its full strength, it could field an army of 300,000! What are your Northern Song's little firearms compared to an army of 300,000? Even if you fired your cannons until they were red-hot, you still wouldn't be able to fire them all. Who gave you the confidence to be so arrogant?"

Li Cheng chimed in, "That's right! Kaifeng is not a dilapidated city like Shouchun. No matter how much their cannons bombard it, they can't possibly collapse the walls of Kaifeng."

Jin Wuzhu turned to his confidant and said, "Go back to Yanjing immediately to ask for reinforcements. Bring more cavalry, more Iron Pagodas, and also Khitan, Tieli, and Han infantry from Hebei to reinforce Kaifeng. I will personally defend Kaifeng here until the reinforcements arrive. I want to see what the Northern Song Dynasty can do to open Kaifeng."

He thought the Northern Song Dynasty was really going to launch a full-scale attack on Kaifeng...

Little did they know that this move by the Northern Song Dynasty was actually aimed at the Southern Song Dynasty!
At this time, Lin'an was the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty.

The place was in an uproar! Countless people were spreading the word in the streets and alleys: "Have you heard? The Northern Song army defeated Jin Wuzhu in Taikang County, and they are going to recapture Kaifeng next."

"My goodness, the Northern Song Dynasty was amazing."

“I escaped from Kaifeng.” A man with a Henan accent said with longing on his face, “If the Northern Song Dynasty could recover Kaifeng, I would like to go home.”

At this time, many places south of the Yangtze River had Henan people fleeing to war.

Before and after the fall of Kaifeng, countless people left their homes and migrated south. Many of them followed the emperor, so after Zhao Gou established his capital in Lin'an, these people came to Lin'an.

Now that we hear there's hope of recovering our lost territories, who wouldn't yearn for it?
The officials in the imperial court were also deeply shaken!

The officials weren't stupid; they wouldn't go directly to Zhao Gou to discuss this matter. Instead, they first found an excuse to invite a group of officials on an outing to the suburbs. When they arrived at Xixi Wetland and sat among the pavilions and flower terraces, pretending to admire the flowers, one of the officials suddenly spoke up: "Brother Qin, what do you think about the recent news that the Northern Song Dynasty wants to recapture Kaifeng?"

The man addressed as Brother Qin was none other than Qin Hui, who said mysteriously, "Since there are no outsiders here, I'll speak frankly with you. The Northern Song Dynasty played this move brilliantly. Their emperor is much more assertive and acts like a wise ruler than ours."

These words signified that Qin Hui had officially begun organizing his own faction, aiming to unify the two Song dynasties and get everyone to follow the Northern Song.

Those he invited today were all officials with whom he had close ties.

Among them are many hardline advocates of war!

Indeed, Qin Hui realized that if he wanted to unify the two Song dynasties and bring the Southern Song under the Northern Song's control, the best course of action was to infiltrate the pro-war faction and avoid associating with the pro-peace faction. This was because the pro-peace faction was aligned with the Jurchens, and Qin Hui's goal was to deal with the Jurchens in the same way the Northern Song did; therefore, he naturally needed to align himself with the pro-war faction.

Li Gang, a Grand Academician of the Guanwen Hall and one of the leading figures of the pro-war faction, was present at the meeting. He frowned slightly when he heard Qin Hui's words, but did not immediately refute them, because he actually thought that Qin Hui's words made sense. The emperor of the Northern Song Dynasty was indeed more hardline than the emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty, and there was no denying that.

But Li Gang couldn't help but speak up: "Lord Qin, I can't pretend I didn't hear what you said. Are you trying to rebel?"

Qin Hui: "Hey? Lord Li, you're mistaken. I was just stating the facts. How did that become treason? Lord Li, please tell me, wasn't it exhilarating to see the Northern Song Dynasty defeat the Jin army and attack Kaifeng?"

Li Gang really wanted to refute him, but he couldn't bring himself to say anything against his conscience, because it felt really good!
He could only grunt and say, "Watch your words. The current emperor is a legitimate ruler, while Zhao Shi is a self-proclaimed false emperor. They are not comparable."

Qin Hui knew it was a bit early and there was no rush, so he went along with him and said, "Yes, yes! I was being presumptuous. There are indeed some things that are not appropriate to say."

Li Gang's expression softened slightly.

Qin Hui: "Then let's discuss something else. Since the Northern Song Dynasty is preparing to attack Kaifeng and has called on all righteous armies in the land to assist, should our Southern Song Dynasty send troops?"

Without a second thought, Li Gang roared, "Send troops! Of course we must send troops! Even the false emperor is planning to retake the capital. How can we, the legitimate ruler of the Great Song Dynasty, not send troops? We should take Kaifeng before the false emperor's army does, restore the prestige of the Great Song Dynasty, and then Your Majesty can use your unparalleled military prowess to demand that the false emperor lead his army to surrender, reunify the two Song Dynasties, and usher in a new era of prosperity for the Great Song Dynasty."

Qin Hui: "Lord Li's words are truly brilliant, they resonate deeply with me! The two Song dynasties must be unified! Come, let's drink this cup first."

(End of this chapter)