The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 443 Yue Yun's Surprise Attack Force

Has Yue Fei set out with his troops?
Yue Wenxuan was overjoyed: "Great, the opportunity has come, Second Mistress, you know what I mean."

Yue Wenxuan and Gong Erniangzi had been stationed in Shouchun for a long time, waiting for this moment. Gong Erniangzi had already prepared various contingency plans. Upon hearing the news, she immediately understood and stood up, loudly ordering, "Pass on my order: the entire army will attack and capture Chenzhou, Yingzhou, and Caizhou to the west."

Haozhou and Shouzhou had long been under the control of the Northern Song Dynasty.

However, the three neighboring states of Chenzhou, Yingzhou, and Caizhou had always been in the hands of the puppet state of Qi. This terrain made the Northern Song Dynasty very uncomfortable. Yingzhou, in particular, was like a sharp corner protruding between Haozhou and Shouzhou, making the "border" that the Northern Song Dynasty had to defend very long.

The Northern Song Dynasty had long been planning to seize Yingzhou, but it lacked a suitable opportunity.

Now that Jin Wuzhu has just suffered a major defeat in Sichuan, it will probably be difficult for him to recover in the short term.

Most importantly, Yue Fei's capture of Jingzhou and Xiangyang created the best opportunity for the Northern Song army to take action.

Gong Erniangzi immediately set out from Shouchun, leading her main force to attack Yingzhou. At the same time, another army led by Ma Sheng and Zhang Wei also set out from Haozhou and attacked Chenzhou...

Shouchun's movement startled Guangzhou, who was standing nearby.

At this time, Guangzhou was still under the control of the Southern Song Dynasty. Most of the Southern Song officials were cowardly. When Shouchun, which was next door, suddenly mobilized a large army, the prefect of Guangzhou was so frightened that he almost packed his bags and ran away. It wasn't until the scouts reported that the Northern Song army was heading towards the puppet Qi state that the prefect of Guangzhou breathed a sigh of relief: "Phew! Phew, that scared my mother to death."
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December, 1134 AD!
Yue Fei's army first captured Yingzhou, and then split into two routes: Zhang Xian and Xu Qingdong attacked Suizhou, while Yue Fei personally led the main force to take Xiangyang. The Xiangyang garrison commander Li Cheng fled without a fight.

In Suizhou, Yue Fei's son, Yue Yun, was the first to rush onto the city wall, and the Song army breached the city.

In June, the Jin dynasty and the puppet Qi army, claiming 30 troops, attempted a counterattack. Yue Fei first used bait troops to lure the enemy, then led his main force in a flanking maneuver, repelling the enemy. Li Cheng then led 10 troops in a counterattack, but Yue Fei employed tactics of infantry against cavalry and cavalry against infantry, inflicting a major defeat on the puppet Qi army. In July, Yue Fei led his troops to attack Dengzhou, while Wang Gui and Zhang Xian advanced along separate routes, encircling and attacking the Jin-Qi allied forces, defeating them, capturing Jin general Yang Desheng, and others, and subsequently recovering Dengzhou, Tangzhou, and Xinyang. By this time, six prefectures, including Xiangyang, had been recovered by the Song army.

July has arrived, and it's the height of summer. Cicadas are chirping desperately in the trees.

Despite the sweltering heat, the young general Yue Yun wore thick armor, sweat pouring down his temples...

It was incredibly hot, but he dared not take off his armor at all.

Because at this moment he was leading a raiding force, preparing to cross the Tongbai Mountains, enter Caizhou from Tangzhou, and recapture Caizhou City by surprise.

Tongbai Mountain is the dividing line between Caizhou and Tangzhou. Its highest point is only about 800 meters above sea level. Crossing such a mountain range would be child's play for an army with such strong will as Yue Fei's army.

However, there might be ambush troops from the pseudo-Qi regime in the mountains. As the commander, Yue Yun naturally dared not be negligent. His vigilant eyes constantly scanned the surrounding environment. If a pseudo-Qi soldier jumped out of the bushes and shouted for arrows to be fired, he planned to be the first to shoot the guy through the throat.

Be careful the whole way...

The guide whispered, "General Yue, once we cross that small hill, we'll enter Caizhou territory. If the puppet Qi regime has an ambush, that hill is the only possible place for them."

Yue Yun nodded and instructed his men, "Everyone, be alert! This is the last little hill!"

The Yue Family Army remained silent, no one responded, but it was precisely this silence that demonstrated their strict military discipline.

Yue Yun was overjoyed. He had already recaptured the six prefectures of Jing and Xiang. If he could recapture Cai Prefecture as well, the Song Dynasty would be even more... Just as he thought of this, he heard an alarm sound around him, and all the Yue Family Army soldiers simultaneously made a motion to nock an arrow.

Yue Yun suddenly realized what was happening and quickly grabbed his large bow...

But then a young scholar's head popped up on the hilltop ahead, smiling as he looked at the Yue Family Army sneaking out of the valley. He had a strange expression on his face that said, "Ah, I've finally met you all." He continued, "It's the Yue Family Army, isn't it? No need to hide anymore, I've already seen you."

Having his actions exposed, Yue Yun no longer concealed himself. He stood up straight and shouted at the mountaintop, "Who are you? Why are you blocking my army's path?"

The young man smiled and said, "My name is Yue Wenxuan!"

Upon hearing this name, everyone in Yue Family Army was shocked, and they all tightened their grip on their shields.

Yue Yun also tightened his grip on his bow, ready to shoot down any ambushers that might jump out of the bushes at any moment, and said loudly, "You didn't come here just to sightsee, did you?"

Yue Wenxuan: "Of course not. I'm here to inform the Yue Family Army that Caizhou has been captured by our Northern Song army and is now under our control. Please, soldiers of the Southern Song, do not cross the border at will, so as not to disrupt the hard-won peace between our two Song dynasties."

"what?"

Upon hearing this, Yue Yun felt a surge of anxiety. His surprise attack was aimed at capturing Caizhou, but the Northern Song Dynasty had already beaten him to it. How infuriating!

However, there was no proof without evidence, and he couldn't just believe Yue Wenxuan based on a single sentence. What if Yue Wenxuan was just standing there alone to keep him calm, and Caizhou hadn't actually been captured by the Northern Song Dynasty yet?
Just as Yue Yun was about to say a few more words, Yue Wenxuan waved his hand, and heads began to pop up on the mountain in front of him. Soon, a force of up to a thousand men appeared out of thin air on the mountain.

It was obvious that these thousand men had been lying in ambush on the hilltop for a long time.

Yue Wenxuan spread his hands and said, "Look, I have been lying in ambush here for a long time. If I hadn't let them show themselves and had waited until you climbed the mountain to let them out to ambush you, then we would have inevitably fought a big battle. General Yue would not have the advantage of timing and terrain, and there would have been heavy casualties. I let them show themselves in order to avoid damaging our relationship."

He wasn't just talking nonsense!
Yue Yun only needed to look at the surrounding terrain to know that these words were not just polite talk, but the truth.

Although Yue Fei's army was fierce and brave, it would still have to pay a considerable price to attack the mountain from the foot of the mountain to the top.

The fact that the other party did not ambush them but instead appeared and spoke shows goodwill.

Yue Yun could only grunt, "So you don't want me to enter Cai Prefecture?"

Yue Wenxuan revealed a mischievous smile: "You are welcome to come in. On the day the two Song dynasties are unified, the general is welcome to come and play anytime."

Yue Yun was silent for a few seconds, then waved his hand: "Let's retreat!"

The Yue Family Army soldiers behind him remained vigilant and slowly retreated...

As the group turned to leave, Yue Wenxuan, standing atop the mountain, suddenly spoke up: "Wait! General Yue, in this July heat, you are clad in heavy armor, traversing mountains and valleys, your shirts soaked with sweat, all for the sake of recovering our lost territory. You are truly admirable. Since we are all Song people, let us treat you to a good meal before you depart."

(End of this chapter)