The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 127 Summoning the Righteous Men of the Palace

After the prefect of Laizhou paid a visit to Zhao Shi, he planned to organize a team to escort Zhao Shi back to Yangzhou.

However, before this team could be formed, one of Wu Jialiang's men returned to Jimo County and brought back the news that the "Jin soldiers" were heading south.

When this news came out, the whole Jimo County was in an uproar.

When the common people heard the news, they were terrified and turned pale. Many residents in the county quietly packed up all the gold and silver jewelry in their homes, ready to escape at any time.

The few remaining gentry in Jimo County came to the county government office to discuss the issue of resisting the Jin army with Cui Weihua.

Then the news spread to several surrounding counties...

Jiaoshui County, Laizhou City, Laiyang County, and even the four counties of Dengzhou all became nervous.

The prefect of Laizhou originally planned to send Zhao Zai back to Yangzhou by land, but now the land route has been cut off by the Jin thieves, so they can only go by sea. But as soon as he suggested going by sea, Zhao Zai's eyes lit up and his expression became lively. Yue Wenxuan came.

He shook his head like a drum. "When I escaped from the Jin thieves, I took the sea route. I encountered a storm and nearly lost my life. I will never go to sea again in my life."

The prefectural Khan said, "Your Highness, the land route is blocked. The Jin bandit cavalry has bypassed our city from the prefectures and counties to the west and is heading south. They are probably going to attack Yangzhou. If you are unwilling to take the sea route, you will have no other choice."

Yue Wenxuan: "Since they are going to attack Yangzhou, my royal brother must be going on a hunting expedition to the south. Why are you sending me to Yangzhou now? I finally escaped from the Jin bandits, do you want to send me back to them? What are you thinking?"

The prefect was shocked. "Yes, why should I send him to Yangzhou now? The emperor is definitely going to hunt in the south. We don't know where he's going. If I send He Wang carelessly, I'll really be giving him to the Jin thieves."

This is so awkward!
Yue Wenxuan slammed the table and said, "I've decided not to return to the capital for the time being. There's no capital anymore anyway."

The prefect was dejected. Although what he said was true, it sounded too embarrassing.

Yue Wenxuan: "I want to stay here, organize an army and resist the Jin bandits."

The prefect: “!!!”

Cui Weihua was delighted: Great!

Yue Wenxuan: "How many soldiers and horses are there in Laizhou now? Bring them all and let me review them."

The governor of Laizhou said with a bitter face: "Laizhou has no soldiers, only a few hundred archers."

Yue Wenxuan pretended to be shocked: "What? No soldiers? Only a few hundred militiamen?"

The prefect said: "Last year, when the Jin invaders came, Laizhou's troops were wiped out. This year, the court appointed new officials like us to take charge, but we are new here and have nothing. How can we mobilize troops? Besides, we civil officials don't have the authority to mobilize troops."

Yue Wenxuan: "How many soldiers are there in Dengzhou?"

The prefect said: "I don't know anything about Dengzhou either."

Cui Weihua quickly said, "Ma Yang, the squire of Dengzhou, is waiting outside now. He is quite familiar with the situation in Dengzhou."

Yue Wenxuan: "Huh? The prefect of Dengzhou didn't come to tell me about the Dengzhou situation, but a local squire came instead? What's going on in Dengzhou?"

Cui Weihua whispered, "Ma Yang is a descendant of General Ma Yuan, the Fubo general. The Ma family has deep roots in Dengzhou and is known as Ma Banzhou."

Yue Wenxuan pretended to nod in understanding: "Then ask him to come in for questioning."

Soon, all four Ma brothers came in, and even Ma Congyi followed.

Seeing the prince, Ma Shi dared not neglect it and quickly bowed deeply. Yue Wenxuan asked: "How many troops are there in Dengzhou now?"

Ma Yang replied respectfully, "We don't have a single imperial guard, nor a single garrison. We have a few hundred archers, but they're useless. I, Ma, can help the government gather ten thousand local warriors, but they're even more useless. They can't even defeat five hundred Jin soldiers."

Yue Wenxuan pretended to be shocked: "What? There's nothing in Dengzhou too?"

Ma Yang looked embarrassed and thought: There are still 10,000 militiamen, so we can't say we have nothing.

Yue Wenxuan pretended to be in deep thought, his eyes sweeping over the officials in front of him, looking at them one by one, and shaking his head: "What you said just now is just the same thing, that we can't resist the Jin, right?"

The officials were embarrassed.

Yue Wenxuan: "I understand! Pass on my order to summon the troops of Gong Yi, the righteous man from Jimo County, into the city to assist me in resisting the Jin army."

As soon as these words were spoken, Cui Weihua, Ma and others couldn't help but exchange glances with a tacit smile.

But the Laizhou prefect and the officials he brought with him were horrified: "Your Highness, this cannot be done. This is absolutely unacceptable. Gong Yi is just the daughter of a bandit. How can she be summoned to help you fight against the Jin?"

Yue Wenxuan sneered: "If she can't, who else can? Can you? You, you, you, and you, who among you can do it?"

Whichever official he touched with his finger would have a constipated expression on his face.

Yue Wenxuan snorted and said, "When I was hunting in the north, I heard that there was a rebel army in Wuma Mountain, which was led by my eighteenth brother, Prince Xin Zhao Zhen. If he can do it, why can't I?"

The officials thought carefully: Huh? It seems to be true! Prince Xin Zhao Zhen had raised a rebel army in Wuma Mountain, Hebei, and it was known throughout the country. So it seemed reasonable to follow the example of Prince Zhao Zhen and raise one.

Yue Wenxuan: "Since the Jin bandits have already passed through the western counties, the Jiaodong Peninsula has become an isolated island. If you want to escape back to the south by sea boat, I will not stop you. But if you, like me, dislike taking boats, then you must unite as one and resist the Jin bandits. Otherwise, when the Jin bandits arrive, it will be your death."

That makes sense!

The officials suddenly realized that they were being bullied. They thought, "Right? The Jin bandits are about to slap you in the face, and you're still wondering if you're a thief or not? If you don't make use of your own bandits now, are you waiting for the enemy bandits to come and shave your head with big scissors?"

Cui Weihua understood, stepped forward, and said loudly: "This subordinate will contact Gong Yishi immediately."

Ma Yang laughed inwardly: Yesterday he was called King Gong, but now he has become the Righteous Man Gong.

Well, there's no point in complaining about this.

Ma Yang also stepped out and said, "I will go back immediately to recruit Dengzhou militia."

Yue Wenxuan patted the table and said, "Bring me the map of the Jiaodong region."

Soon, the map arrived.

Yue Wenxuan pretended to glance at the map, then took out a pen and drew a line through Laizhou City, Jiaoshui County, and Jimo County, connecting them. He said, "Use these three cities to form a line of defense to keep the Jin thieves out. Order the officials of the three cities to unconditionally cooperate with the heroes of the palace in the battle! No mistakes are allowed."

The magistrate of Laizhou twitched his lips slightly...

In fact, the princes of the Song Dynasty were not allowed to lead troops or interfere in politics. These orders should have been issued by the prefect of Laizhou.

Wang Zhaoye's orders were simply overstepping one's authority and were a serious violation of taboos.

But with the nation in dire straits, the Laizhou governor knew all the old rules were useless. If Wang Zhaoye didn't step up and issue orders, who would? Would the Dengzhou governor listen to him? Would he listen to the Dengzhou governor?
It would be better to let Zhao Ye be the commander-in-chief! If the higher-ups investigate later, they can just put the blame on Zhao Ye.

(End of this chapter)