The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 461 You can cut off my head
Wei Liangchen trembled and cowered as he entered the Jin army's main tent, where he met the commander-in-chief of this Jin army, the commander of ten thousand men, Nie'erbojin.

Wei Liangchen quickly showered Nie Erbojin with flattery, but the flattery was so boring that I'll omit a hundred million words.

Nie Erbojin knew very well that the Southern Song official flattering him was simply trying to negotiate peace. But the Jin army, with 50 troops marching south and spending countless resources, was unlikely to back down after just a peace negotiation. The Jin's goal was to "cross the Yangtze River, strike Wu and Kuai, and destroy the Southern Song in one fell swoop." Therefore, no matter how many benefits the Southern Song offered, a peace negotiation was impossible.

But you can't just say something like that out loud like that.

Nie Erbojin squinted and asked, "What brings officials from the Southern Song Dynasty here?"

Wei Liangchen quickly said, "Our Great Song Dynasty has always maintained friendly relations with the Jin Dynasty for generations to come..."

Nie Erbojin chuckled inwardly, but said aloud, "To cultivate lasting friendship? But your Great Song has been sending troops to attack our country for years, causing trouble on the Jiaodong Peninsula. Last year, you attacked Kaifeng and seized several prefectures in Jingzhou and Jiangwei. Is this what you call cultivating lasting friendship?"

Wei Liangchen quickly said, "General, you misunderstand. That was not the intention of our Great Song Dynasty. It was the work of a group of traitors. As you know, those people on the Jiaodong Peninsula are not people of our Great Song Dynasty at all. They are all traitors. The people of our Great Song Dynasty wish they could eat their flesh alive."

Nie Erbojin sneered: "Hmph!"

The Jin dynasty was aware of the events between the Northern and Southern Song dynasties and understood how much Zhao Gou hated the Northern Song.

So Nie'erbojin stopped dwelling on the matter and changed the subject, saying, "But those who seized my six prefectures of Jingzhou and Xiangyang weren't those traitors, were they? Don't tell me Yue Fei wasn't one of your men, and Han Shizhong, who is currently stationed in Tangzhou, isn't a traitor either, is he?"

Wei Liangchen: "Therefore, I have come here today to return the six prefectures of Jing and Xiang to the Jin Kingdom."

Nie Erbojin glanced sideways and sneered, "Don't think I don't know the situation in your Southern Song Dynasty. Your officials are divided into factions and two sides. You want to give me the six prefectures of Jingzhou and Xiangyang. Did you ask the pro-war faction for their opinion? You think you can just hand them over like that?"

Wei Liangchen suddenly lowered his voice: "Offering it openly is of course not an option, but we can offer it secretly. General, please hear me out, I have urgent military intelligence to report."

Nie Erbojin: "Oh?"

Wei Liangchen then recounted how Han Shizhong had scolded Yue Fei's army: "Yue Fei's army has chickens to eat, but they don't give Han Shizhong any rations... Han Shizhong got angry and has already withdrawn the garrison of Tangzhou and retreated south."

Nie Erbojin was overjoyed upon hearing this.

But he couldn't just believe everything someone told him about such important military intelligence; he had to be careful. He snorted and said, "What if you're lying to me?"

Wei Liangchen: "General, I am here with you, how could I dare to lie to you? If the military intelligence is false, please cut off my head."

Nie Erbojin thought about it carefully and realized, "That's right. Wei Liangchen is right next to me. If he gives me false information, I'll kill him with one blow. Unless he's suicidal, the information must be true."

This is where the word "gambling" comes into play.

Distrusting him is a prudent and cautious approach, but the consequence of such prudence is a direct confrontation with Han Shizhong.

Nie'erbojin knew how tough it was to deal with this guy. Back then, Jin Wuzhu's 300,000-strong army was utterly defeated by Han Shizhong's 8,000 men at Huangtiandang.

It's not easy to fight someone like Han Shizhong head-on!

Why not... bet that what he said is true? If the bet is successful, then we can easily get rid of Han Shizhong, this tough nut to crack.

Nie Erbojin waved her hand and said to her men, "Keep a close eye on Wei Liangchen. If he is telling the truth, we will hold a banquet for him when we take Tangzhou. If he is lying, we will chop off his dog's head when we return."

Wei Liangchen looked confident; he was certain he wouldn't be beheaded. He even added confidently, "General, if what I say is true, please let us sit down and renegotiate after you've taken back the six prefectures."

Nie Erbojin chuckled inwardly: "Once we've taken six prefectures, my Great Jin Kingdom will sail straight down the Yangtze River, attack Lin'an, and capture Zhao Gou. What are you talking about negotiating peace with? Those spineless civil officials from the south are utterly laughable."

"send troops!"

The Jin army immediately sprang into action, leaving Ye County and heading straight for Fangcheng. At the same time, another small contingent of Jin troops also received the news and set out from Wuyang in Yingchang Prefecture, taking special mountain paths to sneak into Tangzhou and head towards Zhongyang Mountain.
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Yue Yun lay prone on the top of a small hill in Zhongyang Mountain, surrounded by lush green bushes. He wore a grass ring on his helmet, allowing him to blend into the environment.

"The Jurchen thieves are coming!"

"The scout just returned and says the Jin bandits are coming soon!"

"There aren't many people, only about two thousand."

The soldiers of Yue Fei's army were quietly passing on intelligence.

Although their numbers were small, the True Gold Bandits were incredibly fierce and brave; even two thousand of them would be difficult to deal with.

Even the young general Yue Yun is now holding his breath with trepidation.

He reached out and touched his stomach; it was full.

After receiving news that the Jin invaders were coming, he made sure all the soldiers had a good meal, with corn on the cob to eat as much as they wanted, and he even brought out some 40-day-old roosters to give them extra meat, ensuring that everyone would have the strength to fight the enemy.

"coming!"

Someone called out in a low voice, and a large cavalry force was seen running towards them from the mountain path in the distance.

But they didn't run very fast. Warhorses can gallop on the plains, but on the mountain trails, they can only trot slowly, and they have to be careful with every step, otherwise they will fall.

"Prepare for battle!"

Even without Yue Yun giving the order, the soldiers of Yue Family Army whispered among themselves: "Take care of them!"

"Go behind that rock over there."

"This side of the tree is mine."

"They're here, they're getting closer."

"Fire arrows!"

"Kill them!"

"Kill!"

In an instant, shouts of battle shook the heavens on Zhongyang Mountain. Arrows and stones rained down from both sides of the mountain path. The Jin general leading the two thousand cavalry was startled, but the Jin army was always difficult to defeat. Even though they were ambushed, their morale remained high. They took out their bows and arrows and desperately fought back against the hillsides on both sides.

When both sides exchange fire from a distance, the side with the geographical advantage will obviously gain a huge advantage.

Many Jin soldiers were hit by arrows and fell from their horses.

The Jin general knew at a glance that this battle was going to be bad. The enemy was not the kind of trashy Song soldiers who would collapse at the first touch, but a tough character who dared to fight and fight. However, the enemy did not raise any banners, and he could not figure out which unit was coming. He just shouted the order: "Fire arrows, fire arrows, retreat slowly."

The Jin cavalrymen fired arrows at the hillsides on both sides while the rear ranks became the front ranks, slowly retreating.

Even in this unfavorable situation, their retreat remained methodical and orderly.

Just then, a signal cannon suddenly sounded from the mountain path behind them, and three hundred iron-clad warriors, painted entirely in red, surged out from both sides of the path, blocking the Jin army's retreat.

(End of this chapter)