The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 20 Seaside Saltworks
Forget it, I won’t complain anymore.

That Mr. Wang was a guy who contacted the Jin soldiers, collaborated with the enemy and sold out his country, that is, he was a traitor.

Traitors must die!
I thought about it for 0.32 seconds.

Yue Wenxuan waved to the Qi Jiguang figurine in the distance who was still "memorizing the settings" and said, "General Qi, come over here and analyze the situation."

Qi Jiguang came over quickly, and the scout repeated what he had just said to Qi Jiguang.

After hearing this, Qi Jiguang asked, "From what the scouts just said, Master Wang has taken control of the salt fields by the sea? In other words, his men aren't all hiding in their own manor, but some are guarding the salt fields, right?"

The scout quickly saluted and said, "Yes."

Qi Jiguang: "What is the terrain of the salt field like?"

Scout: "It's a flat land with only wooden fences and a bunch of dilapidated salt village huts."

Qi Jiguang smiled. "That means they don't have walls to protect them this time. That makes things easier. We don't need to attack their heavily fortified manor, but instead, we can attack the salt pans, which are vulnerable to attack. We can first consume some of their forces and provoke them. Then, in a rage, Mr. Wang will surely lead his men to recapture the salt pans. Then, we can turn our 'fortress attack' into a 'village defense' or a 'field battle.'"

The Mandarin Duck Formation's ability to fight in the wild is very strong!

Qi Jiguang's face was full of confidence.

Yue Wenxuan smiled and said, "In that case, General Qi, you will lead the rebels in a battle and bring back the traitor's head."

The Qi Jiguang figurine saluted Yue Wenxuan with a fist clasp: "I obey your command!"

He turned around and shouted to the soldiers who were forming up in the distance, "Prepare to attack the enemy camp immediately."

The soldiers had already been taught the rules for going to war during training. Once they received the order, the eight mandarin duck teams immediately took action, returned to their camp as quickly as possible, packed up and prepared. In a short while, everyone came out in high spirits and put on the best equipment in the village.

Yue Wenxuan couldn't help but shake his head. The equipment of these rebel soldiers was extremely messy, and each person was wearing something different.

Some people are wearing "paper armor". As the name suggests, it is made of paper. Paper can provide strong defense if it is thicker. It is also very flexible and lightweight. Wearing this kind of armor not only provides excellent defense but also facilitates movement.

But a big problem with paper armor is that it is "not durable" and is very easy to damage.

According to the design, the paper armor needs to be replaced after being worn a few times, but the rebel soldiers did not have the conditions to replace it. The paper armor on the soldiers who wore it was already tattered and unusable, which looked quite funny.

There were also people wearing animal skins, bamboo armor, and some carrying large iron pots on their backs, with a thin wooden board tied to their chests as armor...

The best protective gear of the rebels was the leather armor that they stripped off the Jin soldiers after Guan Erye killed dozens of them last time. There were more than 30 pieces of leather armor in this batch, which were distributed to more than 30 soldiers.

The armor is a mess, and the weapons are barely passable.

After they practiced the Mandarin Duck Formation, in order to match their own positions, the rebel soldiers had already deployed their weapons in advance. Each of them held a spear, rattan shield, waist knife, javelin that suited their position... These normal weapons were no problem for them.

Replacements have also been found for long swords, wolf-whips, and halberds.

The eight mandarin duck teams were ready to go, not a single detail out of place, and no one was making any noise, it was all quiet.

Madam Gong Er and Qian Zhuoqun looked at each other and felt delighted: We, a group of rabble, are indeed different after being trained by the Heavenly Generals. We have become elite soldiers now.

Madam Gong Er said, "Second Uncle, take a few brothers who are not part of the Mandarin Duck Formation and stay behind to guard the mountain stronghold. General Qi and I will go to the salt fields."

Qian Zhuoqun nodded: "Second Madam, please be careful."

He took out his own treadle crossbow, along with a bag of arrows: "Take this crossbow of mine and use it first." Madam Gong Er took the crossbow, turned to the rebels, and shouted: "Let's go and kill that bastard Wang Daguanren."

Everyone bowed quietly and left.

Only Zhang Dashu roared foolishly: "Kill that bastard Wang Daguanren."

Qi Jiguang: "Talking in the ranks will result in forty beatings."

Zhang Dashu: “…”

Everyone: "..."

Qi Jiguang: "I am about to go to war. I don't have time to fight you now. Please leave it to me first and fight you when I come back."

Zhang Dashu finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The soldiers covered their mouths, wanting to laugh but not daring to.

Seeing that they were about to go to war, Yue Wenxuan thought carefully and raised his hand to the sky...

Twelve soldiers from the Qi Family Army's Yuanyang Team flew down from the sky again, landing next to Qi Jiguang with a "bang bang bang bang". They had left their weapons behind last time and returned empty-handed this time.

Yue Wenxuan ordered, "Go and grab your weapons. From now on, you will follow General Qi's orders."

The soldiers saluted, walked into the ancestral hall, took back the weapons on the table, and then returned to Qi Jiguang without saying a word and stood in formation.

Seeing his arrangement, Madam Gong Er was overjoyed. "True Lord, you... you mean... to have this team of heavenly soldiers personally help us fight this battle?"

Yue Wenxuan said leisurely, "Although your soldiers have been training in the Mandarin Duck Formation for a while, they haven't experienced actual combat. I think they might have panicked and forgotten how to operate the formation when facing the enemy. I've specially assigned a team of heavenly soldiers to lead the charge at the front, and let your soldiers follow behind and learn more. Do you understand?"

Madam Gong Er was overjoyed. In the two previous attacks on Wangjiazhuang, the soldiers at the front couldn't withstand the arrows, their morale collapsed and they fled backwards, causing the entire army to collapse. This time, if there was a team of heavenly soldiers at the front, that situation would naturally not happen again. The True Lord was truly thoughtful.

Madam Gong Er quickly bowed deeply: "Thank you, Master."

This time the soldiers could no longer hold back their words and all cheered: "Heavenly troops help us! We will win! We will win!"

Qi Jiguang was furious: "Anyone who talks in the queue will be tied up and beaten forty times. Send it here first, and I will beat you when I get back."

Everyone: "..."
-
Jimo County has a long history of salt industry. As early as the Xia Dynasty, there were records of sea salt production here.

At the foot of the mountain in the southeast of Laoshan, there is a small bay called "Wanggezhuang Bay".

The coastline here is flat and open, which is conducive to salt production. Therefore, the Song Dynasty court established a salt field here and named it "Guanhai Salt Field".

The Guanhai Salt Field has appeared in Yue Wenxuan's sand table...

Because Gong Er Niangzi, the "sand table vision controller", has led her troops to the hillside west of the salt field, overlooking the salt field on the seaside from a high altitude.

The plastic sea was rippling in the sandbox, which made Yue Wenxuan exclaim that it was outrageous.

Madam Gong Er clasped her fists in greeting towards Qi Jiguang standing beside her and said, "General Qi, I have no talent for a general. In the past, I could only shout, 'Brothers, charge!' But this time, I will rely on you to lead the battle. I will learn from you."

Qi Jiguang was not polite either: "Where are the scouts? What is the current situation in the salt fields?"

(End of this chapter)