The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 121: Shandong Chaos
Yue Wenxuan didn't hold back and directly told him what his father had told him: "The last time the Jin thieves broke through Kaifeng and captured the two emperors, they originally planned to support a false emperor to rule over the Han people."

Wu Jialiang knew something about this matter: "Zhang Bangchang!"

"Yes, it was Zhang Bangchang." Yue Wenxuan said, "After the Jin people installed Zhang Bangchang as the false emperor, they retreated. After all, Kaifeng Prefecture was too far from the Jin Kingdom's power center. It was very difficult for them to maintain such a long combat distance, so retreat was inevitable."

"After returning, the Jin thieves planned to remotely control Zhang Bangchang to manage the Han people."

At this point, Yue Wenxuan showed a strange smile on his face. "They didn't expect that although Zhang Bangchang was timid and cowardly when facing them, he would immediately harden his heart and grit his teeth when the Jin people came. Even though he knew he would be punished later, he still gave up his status as the false emperor. Then, a group of civil officials of the Song Dynasty re-examined it and put Zhao Gou on the throne again!"

Wu Jialiang heard him speak of the emperor and his ministers with a tone of disdain, and thought to himself: This Ip Man brother seems to be like me, a former bandit, right? He doesn't give the emperor or the officials any face when he speaks. I really like this way of speaking.

Yue Wenxuan said, "The Song Dynasty is a typical example of not giving face to the Jin Kingdom. Re-establishing Zhao Gou means that the Song Dynasty is unwilling to surrender and the country's prosperity still exists. This time, the Jin Kingdom is targeting Zhao Gou."

Wu Jialiang uttered an "Oh," suddenly realizing, "They're going to bypass all the major cities and storm Yangzhou as quickly as possible to capture Zhao Gou? They want to completely subdue the Song Dynasty."

"Exactly!" Yue Wenxuan said, "So whether Jinan is captured or not is unimportant to them. They only want Zhao Gou's head now. They want to once again massacre the power center of the Song Dynasty and then support a new false emperor."

Wu Jialiang: "Doesn't that mean Jinan is safe? My brother Guan Sheng won't be in danger."

Yue Wenxuan shook his head: "Jinan will definitely surrender! Because Jinan's prefect Liu Yu is not a serious man."

Wu Jialiang was a little confused. Why did Master Yue and Ip Man look down on Liu Yu? Did he have a grudge against them? They seemed to know Liu Yu well and said he would surrender.

He didn't understand, but he listened.

It is better to believe it than not to believe it. This is his current attitude towards Master Yue.

Wu Jialiang gritted his teeth and said to an old comrade, "Go back to Jimo County and inform Magistrate Cui, Prince Gong, and Ma that a large force of Jin bandits' cavalry is approaching us. Tell everyone to strengthen their defenses. We never know when a small force could invade the Jiaodong Peninsula."

The old brother responded with a gloomy face and rode back to Jimo.

The remaining people could only wait on the hillside. When the large number of Jin cavalry disappeared on the southern horizon and could no longer be seen, they went down the hillside and continued to advance westward cautiously.

Heading west, the scene we saw was horrific. Wherever the Jin soldiers passed, there were burned villages everywhere.

Bloody corpses could be seen on the roadside, and there was even a person who was still breathing, with his intestines all over the ground, lying on the ground and breathing his last. Wu Jialiang walked over and whispered in his ear, "Rest in peace, brother!" Then he killed him with a knife.

The group soon arrived in Weizhou (now Weifang City).

Weizhou City was still in Song hands, yet the soldiers defending it were terrified, their faces shattered. It was clear that a large force of Jin troops had recently passed through Weizhou, and the Jin army, eager to attack Yangzhou, had no time to spare for Weizhou. The generals and soldiers defending the city were terrified.

Now the city gates are tightly closed and not even a mouse is allowed into the city.

No one planned to go into the city, so they went around it.

A large number of people rushed to the city gates and banged on them, saying, "Open the gates and let us in. There are thieves killing people outside."

The guards on the city walls turned pale: "The prefect has ordered that the gates must not be opened to prevent spies from entering the city."

A kind-hearted defender shouted from the city wall: "Fellow villagers, flee to the mountains and forests. Don't stay in small towns and villages. Hide in the mountains and you will survive. The Jin thieves are all cavalry and will not go up the mountains."

"How can we survive in the mountains?" "There's nothing in the mountains."

"Let's go into town."

The people outside the city roared, but the defenders remained unmoved.

In the end, the arms were no match for the thighs, and the people had no choice but to retreat to the nearby mountains and forests while crying.

Wu Jialiang was furious and cursed, "If I weren't going to Jinan, I would go to those people and yell at them to join me in rebellion, seize this city, kill the officials, and make myself king here."

Yue Wenxuan sighed softly, "Even if we do this, we still can't defend this city. When the Jin army comes again, the soldiers and civilians in the city will die. It's better to hide in the mountains and forests in advance. Maybe we can save our lives later."

Wu Jialiang thought about it carefully and it seemed to be true.

Raising the banner of rebellion to seize the city now would only result in the common people being massacred by the Jin bandits. It would be better to let the defenders drive the common people into the mountains, where their chances of survival would be higher.

This is how things are in this world!
Sometimes you do the right thing but come up with the wrong answer.

Everyone bypassed Weizhou and continued eastward.

Arriving in Qingzhou, he saw that the area was the same as Weizhou. The Jin invaders had already invaded the city, leaving it in ruins. The common people flocked to the city, but the governor dared not open the gates, forcing the people into the mountains and forests.

It's a mess everywhere!
There are many bandits in the countryside. Where there are no officials, the law of the jungle prevails, and whoever has the bigger fist has the final say.

It was as if he had returned to last year, when Yue Wenxuan had just obtained the sand table, and saw what Jimo County looked like.

Now Wu Jialiang was even more anxious to go to Jinan.

Everyone walked during the morning and slept at night, trying their best to hurry on their way.

They were numerous, well-armed, and looked fierce, so they encountered no bandits or thugs along the way who dared to rob them. After several days, they finally arrived at the outskirts of Jinan.

But I saw that there was a war going on outside the city of Jinan.

A Jin army infantry unit, numbering about several thousand people, was inviting a fight outside the city gate.

Wu Jialiang couldn't help but frown when he saw this scene.

Luo Tuimao came over and asked, "Brother, the Jin thieves didn't attack many cities along the way. We passed through Weizhou and Qingzhou, but we didn't see any Jin thieves leaving any troops. Why did they leave an army to attack Jinan?"

Wu Jialiang: "Isn't that simple? There are no soldiers in Weizhou and Qingzhou. The Jin invaders can bypass them without worrying about them sending troops to harass them from behind. But Jinan is a major city in Shandong, with Song troops stationed there. The Jin invaders need to defend this major city, so they left an infantry unit that doesn't participate in the surprise attack to keep an eye on Jinan and prevent the defenders from coming out to cut off the invaders' retreat."

As the two were talking about this, they heard a drum sound in Jinan City. The city gate opened and a strong man about thirty years old, riding a warhorse and holding a ring spear, led a Song army out of the city. With his back to the city, he formed a battle formation and pointed at the Jin thieves and shouted something. It was obvious that he was coming out of the city to fight.

Wu Jialiang was overjoyed: "That's Brother Guan Sheng."

(End of this chapter)