The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 494 Let's watch a battle first.

Yue Fei's gaze swept across the dockside, where a group of familiar faces appeared.

Li Gang, Han Shizhong, Li Ruopu, He Yanyou, Zhao Shi, Zhi Jia, Liu Yunsheng, Fan Chengzhi... Huh?

Yue Fei was taken aback and turned sharply to look at Yue Wenxuan: "Just how many people did you save? You even rescued righteous men like Li Ruopu, He Yanyou, Zhao Shi, Zhi Jia, Liu Yunsheng, and Fan Chengzhi?"

Yue Wenxuan laughed: "Anyway, the righteous people who have been dealt with by Qin Hui will eventually come to me."

He grinned, revealing a set of perfectly white teeth, and said with a smile, "I just said I wanted them all in my bowl, and Qin Hui worked himself to the bone to collect them for me."

Yue Fei: "..."

At this moment, Qin Hui was in his mansion in Lin'an, drinking and chatting with a large group of henchmen, extremely happy: "Hahaha, right now, those self-proclaimed great guys are being devoured alive by Young Master Yue, hahaha."

"I reckon Young Master Yue will tie them naked to the pillars, cut off a piece of flesh to eat with his wine, then cut off another piece... and torture them to death like that."

"Who told them to be so out of touch with reality, always clamoring to fight this and that?"

"Exactly! I heard that Yue Fei spoke rudely to Young Master Yue at Tongbai Mountain; he deserved it."

"Come on, do it!"

The treacherous officials were drinking themselves into a frenzy, while the righteous men were also partying at the dock.

Han Shizhong strode forward, grabbed Yue Fei's forearm, and laughed, "You rascal! I was really sweating bullets when I heard you advised the Emperor to establish the heir apparent."

Yue Fei smiled wryly: "I was doing this for the Emperor's good, but who knew..."

Han Shizhong: "Alright, let's not talk about the past. From now on, we can finally fight together on the battlefield. I've been wanting to try teaming up with you for a long time."

Yue Fei was also greatly encouraged: "I long to fight alongside Commander Han."

At this point, the two turned to look at Li Gang together: "Prime Minister Li, we're entrusting the logistics to you."

Li Gang laughed heartily: "No! Don't say that. I was full of ambition when I first came here, but after staying in Chuzhou for a while, I lost that confidence. The administration of the Northern Song Dynasty is very different from that of the Southern Song Dynasty. There are many concepts here that I can't even understand, let alone learn."

At this point, Han Shizhong also showed a strange expression, shrugged and said, "That's true. The fighting style of the Northern Song army is very different from that of the Southern Song. I'm no longer a competent general and need to learn it all over again."

He pointed at Yue Fei and said, "Don't try to coax me with nice words; you'll have to start learning all over again."

He then pointed at Yue Yun, Zhang Xian, Gao Chong, and Yang Zaixing one by one: "You all have to start learning again. Don't glare at me, it won't do any good. I'm just stating the facts."

A group of military officers were indeed glaring, but after glaring, they immediately calmed down.

These military officers had all witnessed the firearms of the Northern Song Dynasty.

When Yue Wenxuan met Yue Fei at the foot of Tongbai Mountain, Yue Wenxuan deliberately showed them his firearms, which left a deep impression on them. Yue Fei still remembers the small black ball that could explode and has been racking his brains for a long time but could not come up with a solution.

At this point, all the military officers present couldn't help but look at Yue Wenxuan.

Yue Wenxuan smiled and said, "There are too many people at the dock, and military intelligence might be leaked. Let's find a quiet place to talk again."

Leaving the dock, the group strolled into Chuzhou City at a leisurely pace, once again marveling at the prosperity and bustle of the Northern Song Dynasty. Upon entering the military camp, surrounded by soldiers and leaving only those involved in the war, everyone sat around a large sand table. Only then did Yue Wenxuan speak: "Now that everyone is gathered here, I must explain the upcoming strategic arrangements."

Everyone tensed up and listened intently.

Yue Wenxuan said, "The Southern Song Dynasty has now lost most of its fighting strength. Apart from the Wu brothers, Wu Jie and Wu Lin, who are still guarding the border between Sichuan and Shaanxi, there is not a single one who can fight."

Upon hearing this, the group of generals who had just come from the Southern Song Dynasty looked somewhat embarrassed.

But what Yue Wenxuan said was true, and they couldn't refute it.

We can't exactly say there's another Liu Guangshi, can we?
Does that even count as a person?

Yue Wenxuan said, "Therefore, from this moment on, all our strategic arrangements will no longer consider the Southern Song Dynasty; we should treat it as something insignificant."

"Without the Southern Song Dynasty dragging us down, our army can now really fight the Jin invaders."

Yang Zaixing was the first to jump up: "Are they going to attack Kaifeng?"

Gao Chong: "I am willing to be the vanguard!"

Yue Fei glared at them both, annoyed: "Quiet down, who are you to judge? You can't even understand firearms."

Gao Chong and Yang Zaixing were instantly speechless.

Yue Wenxuan smiled and said, “My valiant generals, I have no doubt about your strategic judgment, tactical execution, and basic skills in setting up camp. However, you are indeed not very familiar with the firearms of my Northern Song Dynasty. Therefore, I think that this battle to recapture Kaifeng should be fought by the soldiers of my Northern Song Dynasty. You generals from the Southern Song Dynasty, please observe a battle first and see how our Northern Song Dynasty fights. After you have seen it, we can then discuss how you can participate. What do you say?”

No one objected to the proposal; everyone agreed that it was reasonable.

Yue Wenxuan laughed and said, "Alright, let's prepare to set off now. The various armies of our Northern Song Dynasty are already gathering near Kaifeng."

He pulled out an "imperial edict," which he had personally written a few days earlier while switching into Zhao Shi's body. The edict demanded that the entire Northern Song Dynasty, regardless of whether they were civil or military officials, fully support the war to recapture Kaifeng, and that no one should shirk their responsibility; otherwise, they would be considered traitors.

Only then did the Southern Song people realize that during the time they were rescued by Yue Wenxuan, which was also the time when the Jin Dynasty was negotiating peace with the Southern Song Dynasty, the Northern Song Dynasty, with the support of the Seventeenth Prince, mobilized troops and generals throughout the country, accumulating strength in preparation to recapture Kaifeng.

Yue Fei couldn't help but sigh, "If our Southern Song emperor had been so supportive... I wouldn't be in this predicament..."

Han Shizhong patted him on the shoulder: "Don't think about this!"

"That's true! We can't think about it anymore, sigh!"

"Alright, let's go!" Yue Wenxuan said, "We're all heroes and heroines, let's stop with the chit-chat and get going."

Just leave!

As everyone walked out of the council hall, they saw a large number of carriages and horses already prepared outside. The Northern Song army stationed in Chuzhou was also going to support the front line and would set off with everyone.

The soldiers brought a batch of fine horses for Yue Fei and his men.

Yue Fei casually picked a white horse, mounted it, and immediately sensed that the horse was extraordinary, definitely a fine steed. He felt a little embarrassed and turned to Yue Wenxuan, saying, "I have just arrived in the Northern Song Dynasty and have not yet achieved any merit, yet I have been given a fine steed. I feel ashamed."

(End of this chapter)