The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 459 Han Shizhong, a Master of Face-Changing
Han Shizhong was secretly puzzled: Even if a letter from our Southern Song emperor were sent to the Jiaodong Peninsula by the fastest courier, it would have only just arrived there by now. How did you, here in the Tongbai Mountains, know that your Northern Song emperor had agreed to send troops to help? What kind of news could travel so fast?
He harbored doubts, always feeling that Yue Wenxuan's deliberate flattery of Yue Yun must be for ill purposes, that he wanted to corrupt and win over the Southern Song military generals by targeting the younger generation. That must be it!
I don't believe you'd seriously discuss military strategy; you're definitely going to use tricks to deceive my nephew.

Just as Han Shizhong was thinking this, he saw Yue Wenxuan take out a map and spread it out on the table in front of him.

Then he pointed to the map: "We are here now, at Tongbai Mountain. To the east is Chuzhou, which is controlled by our Northern Song Dynasty, and to the west is Tangzhou, which is controlled by your Southern Song Dynasty. If the Jin invaders come to attack, they will definitely not come to Chuzhou, but will only go to your Tangzhou."

At this point, Yue Wenxuan's finger slid to Ruzhou and Yingchang Prefecture, which are located north of Tangzhou.

"According to reports from our spies, the Jin bandits have an army stationed in Ye County of Ruzhou and another army stationed in Wuyang of Yingchang Prefecture. It is very likely that they will advance from both directions and attack Tangzhou at the same time."

Han Shizhong: "Your spies are really skilled!"

Yue Wenxuan smiled and said, "They're not that impressive; they're just a group of local beggars."

Han Shizhong: "So, the Beggars' Sect was created by your Northern Song Dynasty. I had a feeling that this sect was not simple. Sure enough, it turned out to be a spy of the Northern Song Dynasty."

Yue Wenxuan: "Huh? Commander Han actually knows about the Beggars' Sect?"

Han Shizhong chuckled. He had grown up from humble beginnings and knew a great deal about the ways of the world, including gangsters and thugs. As the garrison commander, he was certainly aware of the recent gangs of beggars in the Lin'an area.

He couldn't resist teasing Yue Wenxuan: "Now that you know the Beggars' Sect is a spy of your Northern Song Dynasty, when I get back, I will take down all the beggars in Lin'an."

Yue Wenxuan laughed: "Han Shuai was just joking, I know you wouldn't."

Han Shizhong: "Oh? What if I'm not joking? Your spies will be caught in one fell swoop."

Yue Wenxuan chuckled: "Beggars, can you catch them all?"

Han Shizhong: "..."

Yue Wenxuan: "Stop joking, let's get back to strategy! The Jin bandits stationed in Ye County will probably attack Fangcheng in Tangzhou, while the Jin bandits coming from Wuyang will most likely pass by Zhongyang Mountain."

His analysis made Han Shizhong nod repeatedly: "That's right! That's what I think too."

Yue Wenxuan asked, "Commander Han, what do you think our army should do to defend against this?"

Since they were only talking about fighting, nothing else, Han Shizhong perked up.

Han Shizhong thought for a few seconds: "The army attacking Fangcheng will definitely be a large force, because the roads are easy to travel, which is conducive to the movement of the Jin cavalry. And the Jin bandits that came in from the side of Zhongyang Mountain must not be too many."

Yue Yun said, "Because the mountain roads are rugged and difficult to traverse, which is not conducive to the movement of a large cavalry force, right?"

Han Shizhong: "Yes! One orthodox and one unorthodox, it also conforms to military strategy." He estimated his own troops and said: "I should personally lead the army to resist the Jin bandits attacking Fangcheng. As for the Jin bandits attacking Zhongyang Mountain, their numbers are definitely not many, and they are taking mountain roads. Nephew Yue, you can go to Zhongyang Mountain to ambush them."

Yue Yun was overjoyed: "That would be wonderful, of course."

Yue Wenxuan: "What about me? It seems that Commander Han forgot to arrange how our Northern Song reinforcements should proceed."

Han Shizhong's eyes instantly locked onto Yue Wenxuan's, their gazes clashing briefly in mid-air. Han Shizhong said, "Tangzhou is part of our Great Song territory, and it's inconvenient to allow the puppet Song army to enter Tangzhou to assist us in the battle. If the puppet Song truly intends to kill the Jin invaders, they should send troops from Chuzhou into Yingchang Prefecture, strike directly at Wuyang, cut off the retreat route of this Jin bandit group at Zhongyang Mountain, and encircle them like dumplings. What do you say?"

Yue Wenxuan laughed, not at all angry at Han Shizhong's words, but rather laughed very happily: "Commander Han is really a wonderful person. On the surface, he seems to be joking and carefree, but in fact, he has a very firm stance on national affairs."

Han Shizhong's serious expression vanished instantly, replaced by the roguish look of a soldier, as he chuckled, "Oh, no, no, you flatter me. I'm not that particular. If you really insist on leading your troops into Tangzhou..."

As he finished speaking, his expression suddenly turned serious again: "Then I'll have to fight you and the Jin thief together."

Yue Yun: "Huh? Huh? What's going on..."

He was still too young and didn't understand why Han Shizhong's attitude suddenly became so hard as he spoke.

Yue Wenxuan clapped his hands: "Commander Han is indeed a remarkable person! Rest assured, our army will not enter Tangzhou territory by even a step. Moreover, I truly admire Commander Han's character and martial arts skills. Therefore, even if Commander Han is unwilling, I will still provide him with some assistance."

Han Shizhong's eyes turned fierce: "Even if I say I'm going to fight, you still want to force your way into Tangzhou?"

Yue Wenxuan: "I only said I would provide assistance, not that I would bring troops across the border. Don't worry, I'm a very principled person. I won't bring a single soldier with me, but I can provide your army with some material assistance, right?"

Han Shizhong's expression instantly collapsed back to its nonchalant state, his eyes gleaming as he chuckled, "Supplies? What good stuff do you have for me? Oh, that's wonderful. Our army is very poor; we need everything."

His sudden change of expression left Yue Yun somewhat bewildered, thinking: Why is Commander Han like this? He was just being fierce to Young Master Yue a moment ago, but as soon as he heard there were supplies, he immediately became so dismissive. Which Commander Han is the real one?
Yue Wenxuan smiled and waved to the hillside behind him. A small tricycle was pushed out, and on it was a set of incredibly handsome red armor.

Han Shizhong and Yue Yun recognized it almost simultaneously, exclaiming in unison, "The armor of the Iron Pagoda!"

Yue Wenxuan nodded and smiled: "That's right, the Iron Pagoda armor. These were captured by our army during our last battle with Jin Wuzhu. Five hundred sets of Iron Pagoda armor, all repainted red. In addition, there are three hundred sets captured from the Jiaodong Peninsula, making a total of eight hundred sets! I will give these eight hundred sets of armor to you as support. Only allow these things to enter Tangzhou, my troops will not enter, is that alright?"

Han Shizhong laughed three times, then put his arm around Yue Wenxuan's shoulder, looking as close as brothers: "Brother Yue, your reinforcements are excellent! That's wonderful! I was so rude just now, please ignore it! I'm a rough man and don't know any etiquette, please be magnanimous and don't hold it against me. If the two Song dynasties are ever united, we'll definitely have a good drink together."

Yue Yun covered his face: Commander Han! You can't do this!

Three-wheeled vehicles kept pushing down the hillside, delivering red Ironclad Pagoda heavy armor into the valley. Han Shizhong was overjoyed and jumped up and down in front of the armor.

(End of this chapter)