The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 470 Should we join forces?
Only then did Zhao Gou ask, "What is the situation here now?"

Han Shizhong chuckled and said, "Nie Erbojin is still stationed in Ye County, a hundred miles away from here. He has hung Wei Liangchen's body at the city gate, but he is no longer in a hurry to attack."

A hundred miles!

This number startled Zhao Gou.

For the Jin thieves, whose speed is as fast as lightning, a hundred li is truly a distance that can be covered in the blink of an eye.

He felt weak again and wanted to run away.

But with Han Shizhong standing in front of him, Liu Guangshi to his left, and Zhang Jun to his right—three of the four generals who revived the Southern Song Dynasty—he barely managed to muster his courage.

At this moment, Qin Hui suddenly asked, "Where are the people from the pseudo-Song dynasty?"

Han Shizhong lowered his voice: "The puppet Song forces have captured Wuyang County in Yingchang Prefecture. Now our army is stationed in Fangcheng, the Jin bandits are stationed in Ye County, and the puppet Song forces are stationed in Wuyang, forming a triangle."

Zhao Gou followed Han Shizhong's finger and studied the map for a long time before finally understanding the troop deployment of the three sides.

Clearly, the two corners of the triangle are now about to join forces to attack the corner controlled by the Jin army.

Just then, a scout rushed in and quickly reported, "Report! The puppet Song army is making a move. They are preparing to attack. They have also sent a messenger to request an audience with General Han."

Han Shizhong immediately said, "Why do you want to see me? The Emperor is here on a personal expedition. If the messenger from the pseudo-Song Dynasty has anything to say, let him speak to the Emperor. The Emperor will make the decision himself."

Zhao Gou's spirits lifted. A messenger from his seventeenth brother? Hmph! Very well, let's hear what the messenger has to say.

Soon, the messenger was summoned in.

The messenger was momentarily stunned to see the emperor standing beside Han Shizhong. He had no choice but to address Zhao Gou instead of Han Shizhong: "Our Northern Song army is preparing to attack Ye County. I have been sent to inform the Southern Song that if they wish to join forces to attack Ye County, we will do so. If they only wish to defend, they can simply observe from the sidelines. Our army has only one request: that the Southern Song prioritize the overall situation and refrain from stabbing us in the back at this crucial moment."

Upon hearing this, the expressions of the people in the room varied.

Han Shizhong chuckled like a greasy middle-aged man: "Hehehe, that's hard to say. All's fair in war. What if I suddenly decide to stab the pseudo-Song in the back?"

His statement pleased Zhao Gou greatly: That's right! Only those who have the idea of ​​eliminating the pseudo-Song dynasty at any time are my loyal subjects.

However, Zhao Gou himself did not want to stab the Northern Song in the back at this time. Compared with the Northern Song, he was more afraid of the Jin invaders.

Zhao Gou asked, "If we join forces to attack, after we capture Ye County, who will it belong to?"

The messenger laughed and said, "After we take Ye County, the county town will be yours! Our Northern Song emperor said that this time the Northern Song is sending troops only at Ninth Brother's invitation, purely to 'fight for our own people.' We're all family, so we don't need territory. We just need to help Ninth Brother."

Zhao Gou: "Huh?"

He thought they would say whichever side contributed more during the siege would get the prize, but he didn't expect the Northern Song Dynasty to be so generous. Calling him "Ninth Brother" so affectionately, are you trying to claim ancestry?

Although he didn't know what the other party was up to, Zhao Gou had no reason to refuse such a good offer: "Good! I agree to join forces and attack Ye County together."

The messenger clasped his hands in a fist salute and retreated.

The room fell silent!

Han Shizhong muttered, "Actually, this is a good opportunity to stab the Northern Song in the back. We can refuse to join forces and just say we'll watch the battle. We can take advantage of the Jin invaders and the Northern Song being exhausted from fighting each other and then strike out and attack both of them at the same time."

Zhao Gou feigned anger: "The greater good is at stake! Your unjust thoughts damage the reputation of our Great Song Dynasty's benevolence and righteousness. You must not say it again." Having achieved his goal of demonstrating his loyalty, Han Shizhong said no more.

Qin Hui said, "Your Majesty, this battle is very important. We must go and watch it. Let's find a small hill outside the city, get a good vantage point, and use a telescope to get a clear view of the entire battlefield."

Zhao Gou nodded, intending to personally lead the troops into battle. If they could win and recapture a county, he could boast about it for a long time. Then, all the people of the country would know that he was the true Son of Heaven.

but……

Preparations before the battle must be thorough. Fast horses must be prepared at the foot of the mountain. If the situation turns slightly unfavorable, I will immediately spur my horse and flee back to the imperial boat on the Tang River. Then, I will escape into the Han River at top speed and then escape back to the Yangtze River at the speed of a dragon boat. From there, I will travel a thousand miles to Jiangling in a single day!
-
Two days later, on the top of an unnamed hill south of Ye County.

Sunflower seeds, peanuts, and sun umbrellas were all prepared, and the escape route was ensured to be foolproof. At the foot of the hill, ten precious horses were arranged for Zhao Gou to escape, along with ten imperial carriages. When Zhao Gou escaped, he would deliberately raise the ten imperial carriages at the same time and run in ten different directions to confuse the pursuers and make the enemy not know which direction to chase.

Zhang Jun was in charge of the escape route between Xiaoshankou and Tangshui.

The imperial boat fleet on the Tang River had also received orders to be fully focused and ready to set sail immediately if Zhao Gou escaped onto the boats.

With everything in perfect order, Zhao Gou sat down under the parasol, picked up a piece of osmanthus cake, popped it into his mouth, and then took out his binoculars to gaze at the distant town of Ye County...

Outside Ye County, four armies are now lined up.

One was the genuine Jin army led by Commander Nie Erbojin, the other was the cowardly army of the puppet Qi regime, the third was the Northern Song army led by Guan Erniangzi, and the fourth was the Southern Song army led by Han Shizhong.

The Northern Song army was lined up outside the east gate of Ye County.

The Southern Song army, however, lined up outside the south gate of Ye County.

The two armies formed a semi-encirclement, trapping Ye County in the middle.

Nie Erbojin could only divide his army into two groups: one group to the east to face the Northern Song, and the other group to the south to face the Southern Song.

Nie Erbojin's head is a little sore right now.

Both the Northern and Southern Song dynasties were difficult to deal with!

The Northern Song army that came was the main force, personally led by Gong Erniangzi, and its fighting strength was naturally beyond question.

Han Shizhong, who came from the Southern Song Dynasty, was the man most feared by the Jin Dynasty, and at this time his fame was even greater than that of Yue Fei.

Whether Nie Erbojin was cursing in his heart is unknown from historical records, but he was definitely not happy.

At this time, Zhao Gou must have been happy.

He looked around through his binoculars, a look of delight on his face: "Our Song army is clearly more formidable than the puppet Song army. Minister Han is a skilled commander, and his troops are well-disciplined. The puppet Song army, on the other hand, looks cowardly, all hiding behind wooden carts. They're not brave at all. How can they fight while hiding behind wooden carts? Where are the spearmen? Aren't they even fit for spear formations? Without spear formations, they'll all be wiped out if the Jin cavalry charges."

As soon as he finished speaking...

"boom!"

A cannon shot rang out, marking the beginning of the Battle of Ye County.

(End of this chapter)