The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 458 Han Shizhong has also arrived.
The arrival of Han Shizhong's reinforcements brought Yue Fei great joy.

Now Tangzhou has someone to help defend it!

He quickly chatted with Han Shizhong for a few minutes and asked him to help guard Tangzhou.

Han Shizhong, of course, would not refuse and led his army toward Tangzhou.

Hearing that Yue Yun was also in Tangzhou, and was confronting the Northern Song army in Tongbai Mountain, Han Shizhong naturally wanted to come and see for himself.

Just like when Yue Fei came last time, he was dazzled by the fields of corn on the hillside when he reached the foot of the mountain. But unlike Yue Fei's last visit, Yue Fei's men were now frantically picking corn.

The tender corn has reached full maturity for consumption, and some corn has even grown into mature corn, which should also be harvested to feed chickens or grind into cornmeal, both of which are excellent.

As soon as Han Shizhong reached the hillside, he saw two soldiers carrying a large basket full of corn cobs up the mountain.

Han Shizhong chuckled, reached into the basket and grabbed a tender corn cob, eating it raw like fruit. He chuckled as he ate, "So sweet! This corn is really well grown. Fresh corn is so delicious, hahaha. Back in Jiangnan, I could only eat old corn that merchants brought from Chuzhou. This is the first time I've ever eaten such fresh, tender corn."

Yue Yun came down the hillside to greet him, intending to show off a bit, but he was surprised that Han Shizhong recognized corn: "General Han recognizes corn?"

Han Shizhong chuckled: "Your Yue Family Army has been roaming around Huting Lake for many years, but you don't know that corn has long been popular in Jiangnan. Many merchants transport corn cobs from Chuzhou via the Grand Canal."

Yue Yun then understood.

Han Shizhong looked left and right, his nonchalant, roguish air quite incongruous with his status as Grand Marshal. But he didn't care. He munched on a raw corncob as he strolled to the top of the mountain. He twitched his nose and chuckled, "I smell chicken poop. You raise chickens on this mountain? Hehehehe, I'm a guest from afar, you have to kill a couple for me to have with my drinks."

Yue Yun shrugged: "If I eat chicken, Uncle Dong will scold me."

Han Shizhong: "Dong Xian? Oh dear! If Dong Xian scolds you later, just say it was me who ate it. When I, Han Shizhong, visit his house, he can't possibly not afford to treat me to two chickens?"

Yue Yun could only say, "That's true. Last time my father came, Uncle Dong also reluctantly killed two chickens. It'll be no problem for Commander Han to kill two chickens too. I'll instruct the men..."

Before he could finish speaking, Han Shizhong interrupted, "I'll catch them myself; they'll taste better if I catch them myself. Where's the chicken coop?"

Yue Fei could only point to the chicken farm in front of him.

Han Shizhong rushed into the chicken farm, taking three steps at a time. As soon as he entered, he was shocked. He thought it was just an ordinary chicken coop with only a few chickens inside, but when he went in, he found it was densely packed with chicken coops, with hundreds of chickens...

Han Shizhong exclaimed in surprise, "Are your Yue Family Army so rich? Damn, we can't just eat two and be done with it. I have to eat at least ten before I leave."

Yue Yun was both amused and exasperated: "Uncle Dong will cry, he really will cry."

As the two were chatting and laughing, Han Shizhong twitched his nose again and chuckled, "Good lad, you not only have chickens here, but also pigs! I can smell it, I can smell pig manure."

He didn't even ask where Yue Yun Pig was; he just followed the smell and went there himself.

They quickly found a pig farm, but it was newly built and had fewer than ten pigs.

Han Shizhong acted like an unwelcome guest trying to rob his host, casually opening a pigpen and dragging a pig out...

"Huh? How come your pigs are so white? And so big? This one must weigh almost 300 pounds!"

Yue Yun: "This is a white pig from the Western Regions! It comes from the Western Regions!" Han Shizhong: "What the hell? Did the Northern Song Dynasty give it to you again?"

Yue Yun nodded obediently.

Han Shizhong glanced at the opposite mountain peak from afar, somewhat wanting to advise Yue Yun against getting so close to the Northern Song Dynasty, but the words caught in his throat. What harm did it do to get closer? Zhang Jun was clearly letting merchant ships go to Chuzhou and come back at will; who cared?
Yue Yun said, "General Han, I heard that the Emperor never lets you go too far from Lin'an. Why did he send you to Tangzhou this time?"

Han Shizhong chuckled self-deprecatingly: "It's all because the Jin army sent 50 men this time. If the Jin army had sent even a little less, I wouldn't be here."

Yue Yun was a little excited: "Has the Emperor finally made up his mind to fight head-on?"

Han Shizhong shrugged: "You wish! The Emperor still wants to negotiate peace. Shortly after I set off, the peace envoy Wei Liangchen also set off. He is slower than us, and he will pass through Tangzhou in a few days."

Yue Yun's excited expression instantly froze.

Han Shizhong chuckled, then pointed to the mountain peak of the Northern Song Dynasty and whispered, "This time is different from before. The Emperor has written to the people of the pseudo-Song Dynasty, asking the Seventeenth Prince to send troops to help."

Yue Yun: "Huh?"

Han Shizhong said, "50! This time, the Jin bandits number 50. The Emperor is also a bit anxious, so he has to borrow the strength of the puppet Song Dynasty."

Yue Yun: "This..."

Han Shizhong: "I don't know much about the puppet Song Dynasty. Nephew, do you think the puppet Song Dynasty will agree to send troops to help?"

Without hesitation, Yue Yun replied, "Of course I'll agree."

Han Shizhong: "So certain?"

Yue Yun pointed to the large white pig that Han Shizhong was patting, then to the direction of the chicken farm, and then to the cornfield outside: "The Northern Song Dynasty has been very good to us! They will definitely be willing to help us fight the Jin invaders."

Han Shizhong shrugged: "Who knows?"

He was a seasoned veteran who had seen too much deceit and treachery in his life. He wouldn't easily believe that a free lunch would fall from the sky. The Northern Song Dynasty was probably trying to win over the young and inexperienced Yue Yun by sending out these things. But when it came to a real battle with the Jin invaders, the Northern Song Dynasty might not be willing to lend a hand.

They might be happily waiting for the Jin Dynasty to kill Zhao Gou!
Just as Han Shizhong was thinking this, a soldier from Yue Family Army rushed in and said quickly, "Young General, Commander Han, the Northern Song Dynasty across the border has invited you both to the valley to discuss the matter of jointly sending troops to fight the Jin invaders."

"Huh?" Han Shizhong was slightly taken aback: "You're really willing?"

Yue Yun was overjoyed: "See, I told you they could do it."

Han Shizhong: "Hey, okay, let's go hear what they have to say."

Half an hour later, Han Shizhong arrived at the foot of the mountain and sat in the chair that Yue Fei had sat in not long ago. Yue Wenxuan and Guan Erniangzi sat opposite him.

Yue Wenxuan didn't waste a single word and said directly, "I just received news that the emperor of our Northern Song Dynasty has decided to send troops to help the Southern Song Dynasty, so our army will be dispatched soon."

(End of this chapter)