The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 442 Yue Fei Sends Out Troops

In 1134 AD, the Northern Song Dynasty intensified its naval training.

With Li Bao as the Grand Admiral of the Navy and Yang Tian, ​​Yang Xiao, Xu Wen, and others as generals, a super-large naval force of over ten thousand men was assembled. At the Dafeng Naval Academy, "Marshal Tianpeng" Zheng Chenggong lectured until his voice was hoarse.

At the same time, Yue Wenxuan's Dafeng Shipyard was also desperately throwing ships into the water.

Under the leadership of plastic craftsmen, Manichaean shipwrights diligently followed suit, producing a large number of famous ships such as Spanish galleons, Dutch galleons, Venetian sailboats, Ming Dynasty Fujian ships, Ming Dynasty sand ships, Ming Dynasty Cangshan ships, Ming Dynasty centipede ships, and Ming Dynasty fire dragon ships.

As for the Japanese ironclad warships and the Korean turtle ships that have been touted so highly, they only plan to build one or two for fun.

The Manichaean shipbuilders initially intended to present their "vehicles and boats" as if offering treasures, but after personally experiencing Yue Wenxuan's numerous world-famous warships, they realized that there was no need to present them. How could a ship that Yue Fei could destroy with a handful of waterweeds be worthy of being compared with Yue Gongzi's ships?

May, 1134 AD!

Yue Wenxuan and Gong Erniangzi were sitting in the military camp in Shouchun City, reviewing reports from various places...

Just then, an old soldier ran in from outside and reported with a beaming smile: "Report! Jin Wuzhu suffered a defeat at Xianren Pass. He was blocked by the Southern Song generals Wu Jie and Wu Lin, suffered heavy casualties, and fled overnight, having no choice but to withdraw from Sichuan."

Gong Erniangzi was not surprised at all, and laughed, "The True Lord had already revealed the secret of heaven, saying that Jin Wuzhu would surely be defeated."

It turns out that long before Yang Tian led the Manicheans to join him, in February of 1134, Jin Wuzhu had already started causing trouble. He led the Jin army from Baoji southward to attack Xianren Pass, wanting to seize Sichuan.

At that time, Gong Er Niangzi asked whether the Northern Song Dynasty should send troops.

But Yue Wenxuan remained calm and told her that there was no need to take any action, as the Southern Song Dynasty could withstand the attack this time.

Now, several months have passed, and news has returned that the Southern Song Dynasty has indeed blocked the attack. Naturally, this did not surprise Gong Er Niangzi.

Yue Wenxuan laughed and said, "The Jin Kingdom is too arrogant. Do they really think they are invincible just because they have some powerful cavalry? They can't conquer the water towns of Jiangnan, and they can't take over the mountains of Sichuan either. When will they finally understand that cavalry is only advantageous for fighting on plains?"

Gong Erniangzi: "I've often heard that the terrain in Sichuan is treacherous, but I've never seen it with my own eyes. Is it really that difficult to deal with there?"

Yue Wenxuan nodded and smiled: "You thought it was on the 22nd floor, but it's actually on the 1st floor... cough... Sichuan has always been difficult to subdue by force. Let alone the Jin cavalry, even cavalry that was more powerful than the Jin would be hung up and beaten when they arrived at Diaoyu City."

Gong Erniangzi exclaimed, "Ah! There can be cavalry that are more powerful than those of the Jin Dynasty?"

Yue Wenxuan shrugged: "The vast grasslands will always give birth to powerful cavalry forces. They will learn from the experience of their predecessors and continue to evolve, each generation stronger than the last. Every defeat suffered by the Jin Dynasty will become experience for the northern grassland peoples, helping them to become stronger. When the Jin Dynasty falls, even more powerful cavalry will rise on the grasslands and sweep across the world once again. Do you remember the last time I defeated a thousand cavalrymen with eight hundred light cavalry? Those were not heavenly soldiers, but Mongol cavalry that I brought using my teleportation technique."

Gong Erniangzi: "Huh? I thought they were heavenly soldiers and generals, but they're Mongolians?"

She was genuinely startled: "Since the True Lord could foresee this, he must have a solution."

Yue Wenxuan didn't answer the question directly, but instead asked indirectly, "Second Madam, do you know why almost every dynasty in the Central Plains had to face threats from the grasslands?" Gong Erniangzi thought for a moment, then replied, "Because the grassland people are barbaric and don't submit to the rule of the king!"

Yue Wenxuan smiled and shook his head: "No, no, no, that's because of the way of life of the grassland people, or rather, their productivity, which has led to this situation."

Madam Gong Er: “?”

She was a little confused at first, but after spending many years with Yue Wenxuan, she gradually came to understand some of Zhenjun's ideas. After thinking about it carefully, she seemed to understand: "Does Zhenjun mean that the Mongols' productivity is backward, which is why they are hostile to the Central Plains dynasties?"

“Yes!” Yue Wenxuan: “Their productivity is backward. They have no farmland or industry, only animal husbandry. They are short of resources, which leads them to constantly move south and plunder from the Han people. To solve this problem, it is useless to just build the Great Wall, strengthen border defenses, and fight them to the death... No matter how many people are killed or how much blood is shed, it will not stop their desire to move south.”

"What if we wiped out the entire grassland?"

Gong Er Niangzi knew that Zhenjun would definitely not like these words, but as a "possibility," she still said them anyway.

Yue Wenxuan's expression was serious: "Killing them all won't help."

Gong Erniangzi: "Huh? If we kill everyone on the grassland, there won't be anyone left. How can it be useless?"

Yue Wenxuan: "After you kill all the ethnic minorities on the grasslands, the Han people living on the border will migrate to the grasslands. They will be very happy to graze their livestock on the vast grasslands where no one has been killed. After living happily for decades or hundreds of years, they will become a different ethnic group. Then, due to the shortage of supplies, they will send troops south."

Gong Er Niangzi: "!!!"

So that's how it is. Gong Erniangzi broke out in a cold sweat.

She pondered for a long time, and seemed to understand something: "Does the True Lord mean that only by increasing their productivity can the problem be solved?"

"correct!"

Yue Wenxuan gave a thumbs up: "The real solution to the problem of ethnic minorities in the north is to improve their productivity, change their industrial structure, and at the same time use culture to influence or assimilate them, so that they can become one of us. Only in this way can the problem of ethnic minorities in the north be resolved forever."

Gong Er Niangzi seemed to understand but not quite...

Yue Wenxuan said, “If you think about the Liao Dynasty after it entered the Central Plains, you will understand this principle. The Jin Dynasty is becoming a second Liao Dynasty, and the Mongols will become a second Jin Dynasty after that... If we do not want the Mongols to become as powerful as the Jin Dynasty, and we do not want another country to emerge after the Mongols... then we must take the initiative to take on the responsibility of making the people on the grasslands rich and changing their lives so that the grasslands can be peaceful forever.”

"Of course, it's too far ahead to talk about this now," Yue Wenxuan said with a smile. "We are still separated from the Great Plains by the Jin Kingdom. Let's defeat the Jin Kingdom first, and then we can consider this matter."

As the two were talking, a messenger rushed in, shouting urgently, "The Southern Song court has made a move! General Yue Fei of the Southern Song has led a large army on a northern expedition, vowing to recover the Jingxiang region. The puppet Qi state has sent Li Cheng to garrison Xiangyang, and the two countries are about to start a major war."

(End of this chapter)