The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 167 It’s Not Just for Life
Lu Yuantiao continued, "I sent someone to get information, and it seems that this bandit also has a prince in it."

"Also?" Bali Yuanshan keenly grasped the key point: "Also?"

Lu Yuan jumped: "Have you forgotten? The Five Horse Mountain Bandits claim that they have the support of King Hazel."

Bali Yuanshan laughed in silence. "Oh, you mean that. The Hazel King of Wuma Mountain is a fake. The real one is still in Wuguo City of the Jin Kingdom. Every general of our Jin Kingdom knows that Wuma Mountain is just using a fake Hazel King to fool fools."

Lu Yuan jumped: "Although the Jin people all know that the King of Hazel is a fake, the Song people don't know. They foolishly ran to Wuma Mountain, and now there are 100,000 people gathered at Wuma Mountain. And there is also one in Jiaodong. According to them, it is the Seventeenth Prince and King Zhaoye."

Bali Yuanshan laughed again: "Another fake!"

Lu Yuantiao said, "We don't know whether it's true or not. We should send a messenger to report this matter to A-Mao-Chenggu, who is in charge of Jinan Prefecture, and ask him to make the final decision."

Bali Yuanshan: "I don't know how to write letters, you can handle this matter."

He was a rough man who only knew five more words than an illiterate person, namely "Bali Yuanshan" and "Xiao". He didn't know any other words.

Lu Yuantiao nodded in agreement, then whispered, "By the way, what are you going to do with those thousand plus cowardly Han'er troops?"

Bali Yuanshan snorted, "Those useless guys are useless in battle. They're just good as shields. I'm ordering the craftsmen to make more large shields and long shields. When we attack the city, let Li Cui and Wang Hong's troops push battering rams, ladders, large shields, and long shields in the front to attract the enemy's catapults and crossbows. Once they've fired two rounds, our men can move in. By the way, how many towers have you built?"

Lu Yuantiao said respectfully, "We already have over thirty battering rams. Tower rams are more difficult to build, so we've only built eight so far."

Battering rams and tower cars were the main siege weapons of the Jin army.

(The tower cars in the picture are used for attacking large cities. When attacking small cities, the tower cars will not be built so high, nor will they be made so fine and beautiful. At most, two or three floors will be enough. The production is also very rough. After all, they are for one-time use. The key is to have a lot of them.)
At the time, the Jin army's siege capabilities were very weak, but they were also rapidly learning. Furthermore, they had captured a large number of Liao and Song artisans, which made things even simpler. They could simply have Liao and Song artisans build battering rams and towers before battle. The real problem for the Jin army was their inability to skillfully use these siege weapons and their poor tactics in deploying them.

Bali Yuanshan: "There are not enough tower cars. We need to build a few more."

Lu Yuan jumped: "Yes, sir!"

The two of them were discussing on the high wall of the village, while in the village behind them, the surrendered generals of the Song State, Li Cui and Wang Hong, were also discussing in low voices.

Wang Hong: "If we want to prove our loyalty, the best way to start is with these weapons."

Li Cui: "Brother Wang, teach me."

Wang Hong rubbed his bald forehead and whispered, "When they attack the city, Baliyuanshan will definitely let our people rush in the front. In other words, the battering rams and towers will definitely be used by us first, right?"

Li Cui: "Of course! We will definitely be the first to attack. They just want to use us as a shield."

Wang Hong: "That's easy. When the time comes, we'll pretend to attack the city, push these siege weapons to the city, and then suddenly turn against us and flee to the sides of the battlefield. Bali Yuanshan will definitely not be able to pursue us. He can only watch us escape around the city. The siege weapons we abandoned at the city will all be given to the city defenders."

Li Cui: "Are these siege weapons our token of our loyalty?"

Wang Hong: "That's not all! After we flee the battlefield, if Bali Yuanshan comes after us, that's fine. But if he doesn't chase us and continues to attack the city, we can run away, regroup, and then return to join the Han army in the city to attack Bali Yuanshan. That would be a true token of loyalty."

Li Cui was delighted: "Then the prince in the city will know that we are truly surrendering, and this token of our surrender will be considered satisfactory. This is a great plan! Let's do it this way."

Wang Hong: "This matter still requires the cooperation of the Song army in the city. Tonight at three o'clock in the morning, I will sneak out of the camp and go to Jiaoshui City to talk to their leading general."

Li Cui: "Brother Wang, you are really getting bolder and bolder. If it were you in the past, you would definitely not dare to take such a risk."

Wang Hong sighed and slapped his forehead with his hand, making a crisp sound. "I don't know why, but I always feel that the young master of the Song army is easy to talk to. With him around, I dare to take such a risk. If it were any other Song general, I would never dare to take the risk of going to Jiaoshui City." Li Cui: "..."
-
It was three o'clock in the night!
Wang Hong asked his trusted personal soldiers to wear his own clothes, sit in the tent with their backs to the door, and drink and have fun with Li Cui.

He himself put on night clothes and quietly slipped to the southern corner of the camp.

This section of the village wall was guarded entirely by Han soldiers, all of whom were his trusted aides, and they could easily climb over the wall.

After leaving the camp, they did not dare to go directly east, but went south first, walked farther away from the camp, and then turned east.

He thought he had walked far enough that no one would notice him. Unexpectedly, just as he breathed a sigh of relief, a head suddenly popped out from the bushes in front of him. In the moonlight, Wang Hong recognized the man at a glance: "Guan Sheng!"

Guan Sheng and Wu Jialiang had been encircling the Jin camp from the south, but the Jin's scouting network had been blocked by Lü Bu, a group of Mongolian light cavalry, and Ming Chao's night guards. They had no idea that Han troops were also stationed to the south.

Guan Sheng, the big knife, used to be a thief and was good at traveling at night. He was bored at night, so he ran here to scout the Jin camp, and ended up meeting Wang Hong there.

He recognized Wang Hong right away: "Bald traitor Wang Hong!"

Wang Hong's words broke through his defense: "Fuck, I admit I'm a traitor. Can you please stop mentioning the bald guy?"

Guan Sheng drew his sword and said, "Traitors must die, and so must bald men."

Wang Hong: "I admit to killing traitors, but why should I kill bald people too? Apologize to all the bald people in the world."

Guan Sheng was just casually making a map cannon. If it was really Han'er's bald head, he would not kill indiscriminately. He would just swing his sword and chop him down.

Wang Hong shouted anxiously: "Slow down, don't fight, I'm here to surrender."

The knife in Guan Sheng's hand stopped in mid-air: "What?"

Wang Hong: "I want to surrender."

Guan Sheng rolled his eyes. "You came to surrender and you call yourself the boss? Even bald men are so arrogant?"

Wang Hong: “…”

Damn it!
Wang Hong gritted his teeth and said with a bitter face: "I am here to surrender."

Guan Sheng looked at him sideways.

Wang Hong: "What?"

Guan Sheng suddenly sighed, "Why are you suddenly thinking of surrendering again? Are you unhappy with your situation in the Jin Kingdom? Or have you suddenly felt guilty and want to give an explanation to your ancestors in the afterlife?"

Wang Hong froze, not knowing what to say for a moment. After a long moment, he sighed and said, "Happiness and ancestors are not a problem. I work so hard just to survive."

"To survive?" Guan Sheng heard the sadness in his voice and slowly put away his knife: "What a fucking mess! This damn world has to fight for its life to survive..."

Wang Hong: "Stop chatting. I don't have much time left. I need to return to the camp as soon as possible, otherwise I will arouse Bali Yuanshan's suspicion. Take me to Jiaoshui City to meet your commander. I have something important to discuss with your commander."

(End of this chapter)