The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 488 The Gold Medal Arrives
Geng Zhuo arrived three days earlier than Han Shizhong and was already familiar with the basic situation in Chuzhou. He immediately became Han Shizhong's guide, leading him around the city.

The prosperity of Chuzhou dazzled Han Shizhong, leaving him overwhelmed with its sights.

The two strolled to the entrance of the prefectural government office, only to see a man emerge from inside, nearly bumping into Han Shizhong. Upon closer inspection, Han Shizhong was greatly surprised: "Prime Minister Li!"

The man was none other than Li Gang, who was also greatly surprised to see Han Shizhong: "Marshal Han!"

After the initial shock came joy. The two grabbed each other's forearms, their hands trembling, speechless for a long while.

After an unknown amount of time, Li Gang finally said, "I have come north to assist the Seventeenth Prince in eliminating the Jin invaders and restoring the prestige of the Song Dynasty."

Han Shizhong: "This humble general only wishes to wipe out the Jin invaders."

Li Gang understood immediately. Han Shizhong was still the same old Han Shizhong, only concerned with fighting and unwilling to get involved in political struggles. So Han Shizhong didn't mention the Ninth Prince or the Seventeenth Prince at all, lest a word he said now become a reason to kill him in the future.

Li Gang patted Han Shizhong on the shoulder: "Marshal Han, you have always been cautious and careful, never getting involved in political struggles. It is all because of us civil officials that you have been harmed. Alas! I feel deeply ashamed. In the future, you don't need to be so careful in the Northern Song Dynasty. The politics here seem to be much clearer. I just chatted with the local Prefect Yan. He said that there are no factions, no party struggles, and no messy things like succession in the imperial family in the Northern Song Dynasty."

Han Shizhong was greatly surprised: "How could there be no factional strife?"

He lowered his voice and said, "There should be at least three factions: Lady Gong's faction, Young Master Yue's faction, and the Seventeenth Prince's faction, right?"

Li Gang said, "I originally thought the same thing, but Prefect Yan said that when the rebel army first started, there were indeed factions. The literati liked to surround the Seventeenth Prince, while the bandits liked to follow Lady Gong, forming two major factions. However, as time went on... these two factions transformed into two proper categories: civil officials and military generals. In the Northern Song Dynasty, civil and military officials cooperated, rather than the civil officials controlling the military. Civil officials only managed internal affairs, and military officials only managed fighting. They never interfered in other people's territories, so there was no factional strife between the two factions. The strangest thing is that the most powerful and capable young master Yue had no faction at all."

At this point, Li Gang looked puzzled: "I originally thought that Young Master Yue was the mastermind, and the Seventeenth Prince was a puppet he supported and controlled. But I found that he doesn't have any factions, which is very strange. He doesn't even have his own loyal faction. How can he control the Seventeenth Prince?"

Han Shizhong: "Hey, no faction? Maybe all the civil and military officials are his faction, so of course there is no faction."

Li Gang: "How is that possible? Throughout thousands of years of history, even the most brilliant and powerful emperor could not have all his civil and military officials devoted to him. He must have factions, and he must be using those factions to interfere in politics. If I want to protect the Seventeenth Prince, I must find out the truth about this."

Han Shizhong rolled his eyes: "Prime Minister Li, look, you've come to the Northern Song Dynasty, but you still don't have the habits of the Southern Song Dynasty. You come here and immediately start studying factions. Why bother? Why bother? Forget about these troublesome things and just do your job properly. I don't care about any factions. I just need to wipe out the Jin invaders and that's it."

Li Gang sighed deeply: "Ah, you're right."

As the two were talking, Han Sheng, the plastic mannequin who had been following behind Li Gang, suddenly had a bright look in his eyes. Yue Wenxuan had arrived.

He chuckled and said, "Prime Minister Li and Marshal Han have reunited? How does it feel to meet an old friend in a foreign land?"

Li Gang turned around: "Mr. Han, have you come to your senses?"

Yue Wenxuan: "I'm back, I'm back! Ah, this time I really enjoyed daydreaming."

Li Gang rolled his eyes. He really wanted to complain, but he didn't know where to begin.

He cut to the chase: "I want to see the Seventeenth Prince as soon as possible, and I ask Mr. Han to continue taking me north."

Yue Wenxuan: "No rush. There's still one important person we haven't met yet. Let's head north together once he arrives. In the meantime, Lord Li can explore Chuzhou more and learn more about our Northern Song Dynasty. Marshal Han can also visit the naval camp and the Chuzhou military camp to learn about the military affairs of our Northern Song Dynasty. Once that last person arrives, we'll head north together to see the Emperor."

“There’s another person?” Li Gang was slightly taken aback, but immediately realized, “You mean… Yue Fei?” Han Shizhong shrugged, “Who else could it be but him? Alas! Yue Fei is still too young. His fate will probably be worse than mine. I wonder how Young Master Yue can pull him back.”

Li Gang: "I've been in Chuzhou for many days, and my news is out of touch. How is Yue Fei doing now?"

Han Shizhong: "I do know a little about this. Before I set off, Yue Fei was still stationed in the six prefectures of Jingzhou and had not relinquished his military power. He wrote to the emperor that he could not leave Ruzhou at this time. If he withdrew, the Jin army would immediately counterattack and seize the six prefectures of Jingzhou once again."

Li Gang was shocked: "He won't hand over military power? Does he have a death wish?"

Han Shizhong: "That's why I said he's too young, sigh, too young."

Yue Wenxuan said, "I have the latest intelligence here. Yue Fei not only refuses to retreat, but also wrote a letter to Zhao Gou saying that the Jin army has just suffered a great defeat and its morale is low. Moreover, the Northern Song is watching the Jin state closely and restraining it. Now is the best time for the Southern Song to launch a northern expedition. If we send troops now, we will have the opportunity to take back Kaifeng and restore the prestige of the Song Dynasty. He is currently sending troops to Zhuxian Town."

Li Gang: "!!!"

Han Shizhong: "!!!"

The two men exchanged a glance and sighed simultaneously, "He's finished. This is a classic case of disobeying orders, taking command without permission, and violating every taboo imaginable. Even a god couldn't save him now."

Yue Wenxuan: "Even a god can't save us? That's not necessarily true! Just wait and see what happens."
-
Yue Fei is advancing his troops!

The imperial court appointed him as the Deputy Privy Councilor, intending to transfer him to a civil post and strip him of his military power.

But he is not Han Shizhong; he is not as clever, or rather, not as shrewd.

He believed that now was the best time for a northern expedition, so he refused to back down easily. He was also unaware of the cruelty of political struggle and thought that as long as he fought hard and did a good job for the Song Dynasty, that would be enough.

Yue Fei made arrangements for all the soldiers and generals under his command.

Zhang Xian launched a flanking attack and successfully recaptured Zhengzhou and Luoyang, while he himself led his army to Zhuxian Town, preparing to recapture Kaifeng in one fell swoop.

Jin Wuzhu gathered all the remnants of his previous defeat and organized an army of 50,000, which encountered Yue Fei at Zhuxian Town.

result……

Instead of engaging the Jin army in a direct confrontation, Yue Fei ordered the Beiwei Army to launch a surprise attack on the Jin army's main camp with light cavalry. At the same time, he sent people to spread rumors and create chaos behind the Jin army's lines. The Jin army, having suffered repeated defeats, was demoralized and collapsed at the first sign of trouble.

Seeing that the situation was hopeless, Jin Wuzhu lamented, "Yue Fei defeated my 100,000 troops with only 500 cavalry. The capital cannot be defended!" He then abandoned Kaifeng and fled north.

Yue Fei was overjoyed and led his troops northward to take over Kaifeng.

But at this moment...

A fast horse galloped in from the south, and the rider on horseback shouted from afar, "Golden medal! Golden medal! The Emperor's golden medal has arrived, ordering Marshal Yue to retreat immediately, to retreat immediately..."

(End of this chapter)