The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 451 Do not address each other as father and son in the army.
Time flies by.

Time quickly passed to the end of September in 1134.

After several months without fighting, Yue Fei used this time to thoroughly tidy up the six prefectures of Jingzhou and Xiangyang, pacify the people, quell bandits and highwaymen, encourage production, and vigorously develop military farms.

Everywhere is showing a thriving and prosperous scene, as if it has been reborn.

For the past few months, the puppet Qi regime had not launched a counterattack, and the Jin army had not made any major moves, so Yue Fei could not help but breathe a sigh of relief.

With some free time, Yue Fei had the opportunity to examine the situation of the Northern Song Dynasty.

Taking advantage of Yue Fei's recapture of the six prefectures of Jingzhou and Xiangyang, the Northern Song secretly sent troops to raid three prefectures of the puppet Qi regime and "confronted" the Southern Song in the Tongbai Mountains. Their true intentions remain unknown.

Yue Yun has been volunteering to garrison troops in Tongbai Mountain for several months now. Although the messages Yue Yun sends back keep saying "no problem", "the puppet Song has no intention of attacking us", "the border is peaceful", "the puppet Song is actually teaching us to farm", "the puppet Song is even teaching us to raise chickens", "recently they have started teaching us to raise pigs", "we don't have enough manpower, please transfer Xu Qing's troops and Yao Zheng's troops to raise chickens".

Upon seeing these inexplicable reports, Yue Fei began to worry. His son was young and unaware of the dangers of the world; he might have been deceived by the people of the pseudo-Song dynasty.

No, I have to go and see for myself!

When Yue Fei himself made a move, the generals in the army naturally followed.

Accompanied by renowned generals of Yue Fei's army, including Zhang Xian, Gao Chong, Yang Zaixing, Wang Gui, Xu Qing, and Yao Zheng, they headed towards the small Tongbai Mountain. Of course, in order not to "provoke the puppet Song dynasty and provoke unnecessary war," the generals, though they came, brought only a thousand men, making their way towards the Tongbai Mountain camp as if they were sightseeing.

"Marshal, the Tongbai Mountains are just ahead in the distance."

Even from a great distance, still in the farthest part of the field of vision, the guide reported: "Look, there are two adjacent hills ahead. The one closer to us is where the young general is stationed, and the one farther away is where the puppet Song army is stationed."

Yue Fei nodded, his voice gentle. Even when facing a mere local guide, Yue Fei showed no airs and treated him with kindness: "You've had a hard journey. It's too close to the battlefield ahead and it's not safe. Take your reward and continue on your way."

He took out a string of coins and gave it to the guide.

The guide left, thanking him profusely. As he left, he thought to himself: "The officials of the imperial court have never paid a nobody like me. Marshal Yue is truly a good man."

Yue Fei led his troops forward...

The first thing you can see is the large "Yue" flag fluttering on your own hilltop, with a "Dong" flag flying next to it, indicating that Yue Yun and Dong Xian are stationed here.

Take a few more steps forward and you'll be able to see the situation on the hillside.

Yue Fei took a closer look and was slightly taken aback.

He saw many fields on the hillside, planted with crops he didn't recognize. A large group of Yue Fei's soldiers were working in the fields, wearing only linen short jackets and no armor. Almost at the same time, they saw Yue Fei's troops approaching. Of course, they recognized their commander's banner, so they waved and shouted in their direction.

Then, a large number of Yue Fei's soldiers ran out of the fields, all without armor, and rushed up the mountain to inform Yue Yun. Then Yue Yun came out. This general was also without armor, wearing ordinary cloth clothes, and led a large group of soldiers dressed like farmers down the hillside to welcome Yue Fei.

When Yue Fei saw this situation, he became somewhat angry.

At the front line where the two armies were facing off, the puppet Song army was on the hill next to them. He could clearly see the "Palace" flag flying on the opposite hill from where he stood. In such a dangerous place, the entire army was not wearing armor. How could this be?

Yue Fei thought to himself: I'll have to hang my stupid son up and whip him later.

But Dong Xian is also on the mountain. He's a loyal and valiant veteran general under Yue Fei. He's followed Yue Fei for many years and experienced countless battles, big and small. Why isn't he helping me manage my son? Could it be that Yue Yun is disobeying Dong Xian, putting on airs as a young master, and refusing to submit to his discipline?
This made Yue Fei even angrier. Soon, Yue Yun ran up to him and bowed deeply: "Your son greets Father."

Yue Fei was angry and didn't give him a friendly look: "Do not address each other as father and son in the army."

Yue Yun was startled and quickly corrected himself, saying, "This humble general greets the Marshal."

Yue Fei snorted angrily: "I ordered you to garrison Tongbai Mountain to prevent the pseudo-Song army from crossing the border and launching a surprise attack. What are you doing here? Why is the entire army unarmored? If the enemy suddenly attacks the mountain now, how will you defend yourself?"

Yue Yun: "Ah? Attack the mountain? Father, you are overthinking it. The Northern Song Dynasty would never attack the mountain."

Yue Fei glanced sideways: "Northern Song Dynasty?"

Yue Yun had no choice but to change his tune: "Ahem, the pseudo-Song."

Yue Fei: "How do you know that the pseudo-Song dynasty wouldn't attack the mountain?"

Yue Yun: "Father, look closely. The northern... cough... pseudo-Song soldiers on the opposite mountain are also all unarmored."

Yue Fei looked towards the opposite hillside and, sure enough, there were strange crops growing there, exactly the same as those on the hillside where Yue Fei was stationed. A large group of soldiers were not wearing armor and were busy in the mountains. Some of them were not working and were sitting on the hillside, watching the newly arrived Yue Fei troops from afar, pointing at them from a distance, and then whispering something to each other.

Yue Fei: "When you see a feint, make it real; when you see a real feint, make it a feint. If the enemy shows you some soldiers without armor, they may be hiding thousands of armored soldiers in secret places. They can take you by surprise and attack the mountain in one fell swoop. How will you resist?"

Yue Yun didn't know how to explain, so he could only lower his head and say, "They won't attack... We have a very good relationship."

Yue Fei: "..."

So young! Too young!
Yue Fei was furious. He thought, "Just wait and see how I deal with you. Forget it, I'll go up the mountain and find Dong Xian first. Dong Xian is mature and prudent. If I find him and ask him, I'll know the real situation here."

Back to the point, I brought so many people up the mountain, and Yue Yun came to greet us, so why hasn't Dong Xian shown up yet?

Feeling puzzled, Yue Fei couldn't help but ask, "Where is your Uncle Dong? I haven't seen him."

Yue Yun muttered to himself, "They wouldn't let me address them as father and son just now, but now they're calling General Dong 'Uncle Dong'..."

Yue Fei's voice turned deep: "What are you muttering about?"

Yue Yun quickly replied, "No, no, I didn't say anything. Uncle Dong just went to the chicken farm. He's focused on raising chickens, and the chicken farm is noisy, so he probably didn't notice that Father came."

This time, Yue Fei didn't address him as father and son again: "Chicken farm?"

Yue Yun: "I wrote you a report before. It was a gift from the Northern... puppet Song people. They are chickens that can fatten up in just 40 days. They need to be kept in cages to grow faster, so we built a chicken farm with rows and rows of wooden cages..."

Yue Fei glanced sideways. He had seen the report and found it strange, but since he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he wasn't entirely sure he could believe it.

Now that he's heard that Dong Xian is so good at raising chickens that he doesn't even realize a thousand people have walked to the foot of the mountain, he's getting angry again. He's so careless. What is Dong Xian up to? He angrily said, "Take me to see your Uncle Dong."

(End of this chapter)