The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 109 History Has Not Changed

With the acquisition of a new village, Yue Wenxuan's command ability has been greatly increased, and now he can also place more craftsmen.

He picked out several blacksmiths, gunpowder makers, and carpenters from the Ming Dynasty, placed them on a sand table, and asked them to go to the county town to report to Wu Jialiang.

Wu Jialiang immediately arranged them into the official workshop and asked all the craftsmen to learn from these people.

There are many craftsmen in the county town, and their quality is high.

These people learned new technologies much faster than the apprentices in Dongmiaozi Village. In just a few days, the craftsmen in the county town learned a lot of Ming Dynasty technology.

The furnace was improved, the bellows were improved, and the quality of the smelted iron was improved... In just a few days, they even learned how to make gun barrels.

Two months later, when Yue Wenxuan came to the city for a stroll again.

Wu Jialiang said excitedly, "Mr. Yue, come with me. I'll show you something great."

Yue Wenxuan followed curiously.

I saw a large group of blacksmiths fiddling with a round, fat thing.

Yue Wenxuan recognized it immediately: "Tiger Crouching Cannon!"

Wu Jialiang said proudly, "Yes, it was made by the blacksmith you sent. This thing can be stuffed with a large amount of gunpowder and loaded with a handful of iron bullets. Once fired, it will turn everyone within a few feet into a sieve."

After saying this, he revealed an embarrassed look again: "Although this thing is good, it is very wasteful. One shot uses up a lot of gunpowder and small iron bullets... I think if we can't afford iron bullets, we can only use small stone bullets instead."

When Yue Wenxuan saw this thing, he couldn't help but be overjoyed. There were only a limited number of craftsmen in Dongmiaozi Village, and they were busy making bird guns, so they really didn't have extra manpower to make cannons. Unexpectedly, there was enough manpower in the county town, and under the leadership of the Ming Dynasty blacksmiths, they brought out the tiger squat cannon.

What a surprise!
Yue Wenxuan couldn't help but lower his voice and asked, "How long does it take to build a door?"

Wu Jialiang said proudly, "It took a lot of time and effort. It took two months to create such a door."

Yue Wenxuan counted on his fingers and realized that it was already July. In three or four months, the Jin army would launch its fourth attack on Song. He couldn't help but sigh, "Let's try to gain two or three more points before the end of the year."

Wu Jialiang was surprised: "Before the end of the year? What's wrong with the end of the year?"

Yue Wenxuan: "I observed the sky at night. Sirius is tilted and Ziwei is dim. I am afraid there will be big changes by the end of the year..."

Wu Jialiang: “???”

Is this what astrology is all about? Why didn't I see it?

However, he didn't want to complain about Yue Wenxuan, so he just listened to whatever he said.

Yue Wenxuan asked for a piece of paper and quickly drew a diagram on it. He said, "Although the Tiger Crouching Cannon only weighs about thirty pounds, it's still very inconvenient to carry. I have a small cart specially designed for carrying the Tiger Crouching Cannon. With this cart, even if the Tiger Crouching Cannon's fuse is lit, you can aim the muzzle by rotating the car body. It's very convenient. Take this diagram and have the carpenters build it. Make sure the cart is sturdy, otherwise it will fall apart after a cannon fire."

Wu Jialiang was astonished when he saw the drawing. He thought to himself, "I pulled out this amazing weapon, the Tiger Crouching Cannon, and I thought Master Yue would be shocked. But I didn't expect him to recognize it immediately and even draw a matching transport vehicle? How could he know more than a blacksmith?"
The two were chatting here when Luo Tuimao ran in from outside: "Brother, Ma's people are here and are talking to the county magistrate in the county government office. The county magistrate asked you to come over too... but... but... I'm afraid it's not very convenient."

When Wu Jialiang heard this, his face froze.

This is really inconvenient!

When he went to Ma's place to have an awkward chat, he used the name of "King Gong's subordinate". Now Ma came to Jimo County. If she saw him, the county lieutenant, and recognized him as "King Gong's subordinate" at a glance, how would this end?

Wu Jialiang was embarrassed: "Go and inform the county magistrate, and tell him that I have a cold and cannot see anyone."

Luo Tuimao: "Brother was just jumping around to show the county magistrate the tiger squatting cannon, and now he's saying he caught a cold. I'm afraid it's hard to evade him."

Wu Jialiang: “…”

Yue Wenxuan was watching the fun from the side and almost laughed.

Wu Jialiang had no other choice but to find a large hat, put it on his head, and deliberately pull the brim down before entering the county government office. Yue Wenxuan followed him and went for a stroll. When they entered the reception room, they saw Cui Weihua sitting in the first seat. Several middle-aged men were sitting in the guest seats. Ma Congyi was also there, but he could only stand behind them.

As soon as Wu Jialiang entered, Cui Weihua said with a smile, "County Magistrate Wu, you're here at the right time. Come and meet these famous scholars... This is Ma Yang from Mouping, Ma You from Wendeng, Ma Guang from Huangxian, and Ma Sheng from Laiyang..."

The four heads of the Ma family actually gathered in Jimo County.

Wu Jialiang didn't dare face Ma Sheng, fearing he would be recognized. He lowered his head, half his face hidden by the brim of his hat, and deliberately lowered his voice as he said, "The names of you gentlemen are well-known to me, and I admire you deeply."

Ma Yang spoke up, "County Magistrate Wu, you are truly an extraordinary person. After you arrived in Jimo County, you wiped out all the bandits in the county. We have heard of your great name for a long time."

Wu Jialiang thought to himself: You must know about Prince Gong, but you say that I wiped out the bandits. You are really flattering him without even blushing.

Cui Weihua then introduced Yue Wenxuan: "This is the hermit of Laoshan, Master Yue Wenxuan. Jimo County is peaceful today thanks to Master Yue's help."

Ma Yang clasped his fists towards Yue Wenxuan and said, "I've heard a lot about you."

Yue Wenxuan also clasped his fists in greeting: "I've long admired you."

Ma Yang was just being polite. He had never heard of her for a long time.

But what Yue Wenxuan said was the truth. He had really heard of Ma Banzhou's name for a long time.

Several people sat down!

Ma Yang's expression straightened up, and he said solemnly, "The heads of the four branches of our Ma clan have come to Jimo County today to discuss an important matter."

As soon as they saw their whole family coming out, everyone present knew that it must be a big deal and listened attentively.

Ma Yang said, "General Zong Zezong, who guarded Kaifeng Prefecture, passed away on July 12th."

Cui Weihua and Wu Jialiang were so frightened when these words came out that they almost jumped up. "Is this news true? How come you knew it before the court even heard the news?"

Yue Wenxuan remained calm, only sighing inwardly: "It seems that my little butterfly wings haven't flapped wide enough. History hasn't changed." On July 1128, the second year of Jianyan ( AD), Zong Ze passed away, and the trajectory of history remained unchanged.

Ma Yang's expression was heavy. "Now that General Zong has passed away, there's no one left to deter the Jin bandits. I suspect it won't be long before the Jin bandits attack Song again, probably after the autumn harvest."

Cui Weihua: “Ah?”

He was a civil servant and didn't know much about this. He didn't know why the Jin thieves would attack after Zong Ze died.

But Wu Jialiang suddenly jumped up. He now understood what Yue Wenxuan meant by "Observing the sky at night, there may be major changes by the end of the year." He shouted urgently, "This is not going to be good. Prepare for war. Prepare for war, the whole county. There is no time to lose."

　Zong Ze was the most famous general in the late Northern Song Dynasty.

　　During the Second Song-Jin War, the Jin army surrounded Kaifeng and captured the two emperors. Then they felt good about themselves, believing that they were very strong and could defeat the Song at any time.

　　During the third Song-Jin War, the Jin Kingdom still maintained an extremely arrogant attitude and headed straight for Kaifeng.

　　result……

　　This time, the one in charge of Kaifeng was no longer the useless Song Huizong, but the veteran general Zong Ze.

　　The Jin Kingdom suffered a head-on attack from Zong Ze in Kaifeng. The Kaifeng City, which had been easily intimidated into surrender during the reign of Emperor Huizong of Song, could not be taken this time. The plan of advancing on three fronts could not be implemented at all, and the Jin Kingdom was eventually forced to retreat.

　　Then, the Jin army did not dare to come again and retreated back to Hebei to deal with the rebel army in Hebei.

　　This brought peace to Shandong for nearly a year.

　　In July of the second year of Jianyan, Zong Ze died. Upon hearing this, the Jin Kingdom immediately launched the Fourth Song-Jin War, with its troops heading straight for Yangzhou...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)