The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 206 The enemy will imitate

"We held on, we held on again."

"Will the Golden Thief not come back for a long time this time?"

"Yes! Whether they're the real Jin thieves or the fake ones, they won't be coming for a long time." A scholar stood in the crowd and analyzed the situation for the common people: "The main force of the Jin thieves has returned north with the looted treasure. They just fought a long and sudden attack and are extremely tired. Their fighting spirit has been lost. In addition, a small number of Jin thieves are stationed along the Yangtze River. The real Jin thieves can only mobilize a limited number of troops to Jiaodong. The two thousand men of Guwei are probably the maximum they can mobilize."

The scholar's analysis was clear and logical: "If these two thousand men are defeated, the real Jin bandits will be left without any troops for a short period of time. As for the pseudo-Jin bandits, they are even busier than the real ones. Let me tell you, Shandong is now full of rebel armies. Not long ago, the refugees who fled to our Jiaoshui County said that there are fighting everywhere outside."

When the common people heard this, they became excited and asked: "Where are the fighting going on?"

This scholar was quite the gossipmonger. He knew all the recent gossip circulating in the city, and he immediately began to tell everyone in detail: "I heard from a refugee that in Liangshan Marsh, there's a hero named Zhang Rong who's rallying people to fight against the Jin army. This martial artist is so skilled that he's known as 'Zhang Diwan.' He's gathered tens of thousands of men in Liangshan, and they've moved south along the Qing River, the lower reaches of the Si River, to anchor at Lutan Lake, north of Chengzhou (present-day Gaoyou, Jiangsu). He's built a water fort by stacking water chestnuts and mud into walls, attracting responses from far and wide. He's also contacted Xue Qing, the Chengzhou garrison commander, and his influence is growing. He's been attacking the Jin army from the three lakes of Fanliang, Baima, and Xinkai, stretching over 300 miles between Chengzhou and Chuzhou (present-day Huai'an, Jiangsu), winning numerous victories."

When the people heard this, they couldn't help but cheer: "Amazing! There are actually such heroes."

Yue Wenxuan, who was standing outside the sand table, was also slightly taken aback when he heard this: Huh? So the real Liangshan hero is Zhang Rong?
The scholar continued, "I've also heard that in Puzhou there's a brave man named Li Bao. I heard he came from a farming family, and the villagers called him 'Spoiled Li San.' He's loyal and courageous, and he gathered tens of thousands of people to fight against the Jin..."

Upon hearing this, Yue Wenxuan's heart was stirred. He had heard his father talk about Li Bao, a famous naval commander of the Southern Song Dynasty. In his youth, he was a playboy who gathered people in Puzhou to resist the Jin Dynasty, but was quickly defeated. He had no choice but to flee south and join Yue Fei's army. Later, under Yue Fei's orders, he sailed north to contact the anti-Jin volunteer army and repeatedly engaged in behind-the-scenes operations for the Jin army, making him a "special attack captain behind enemy lines."

Yue Wenxuan thought: If the butterfly's wings hadn't flapped too crookedly, Li Bao in this time and space would most likely come to Denglai Prefecture when he sailed north to contact the anti-Jin army. Then I would have a chance to meet him and contact Yue Fei through him.

The scholar was beaming with joy as he continued to explain to the common people what he had heard from others, including the news brought by the refugees. It was rare for him to summarize all the news, and the common people listened with great interest.

Yue Wenxuan did not listen carefully. Those chaotic rebel armies were insignificant and would eventually be destroyed. Alas!

His eyes turned to the outside of the city.

At this time, a large group of rebel soldiers, as well as civilians and bald men, were carrying supplies outside the city.

As regular troops, the rebel soldiers were mainly responsible for guarding the surroundings to prevent the Jin bandits from launching a surprise attack.

The laborers and bald men were working hard. They happily took over the chariots and catapults abandoned by the fleeing Jin army and moved them into the city. Every face was beaming, especially Wang Hong, the camp commander. He was grinning from ear to ear. As he laughed, he slapped his bald head with his hands, "Hahaha! What a great win! Our catapults are amazing! We pounded the enemy twice, and they collapsed before they even had a chance to attack."

Li Cui, standing beside him, lowered his voice and said, "We were able to crush the enemy with just two rounds of attack this time because we were facing Jinan soldiers, right? When the Real Gold Bandits come again with Khitans and Iron Lis, the trebuchets won't be able to crush them so easily. If they return with their trebuchets, we'll suffer casualties too. Alas, I just hope it's not me who's going to be the casualty."

Wang Hong and Liu Sanlang both backed off...

Everyone is afraid of death!
When Yue Wenxuan saw this scene, he was also thinking about it.

The chariot was so simple that the Jin thieves had already mastered it the moment it was unveiled. The counterweight trebuchet was a little more complicated, but not too difficult. The fleeing Jin soldiers drew up the blueprints and gave them to the craftsmen to refine. It wouldn't take long for the Jin to figure it out.

Even firearms, after suffering losses in this battle, the Jin people began to try to imitate them.

Although the Jurchens gave people a feeling of being barbaric and backward, they were actually very good at learning.

In normal history, the people of the Southern Song Dynasty invented the "long bamboo pole musket", but the Jin Dynasty soon learned it.

The Jin people also made technological innovations based on the long bamboo pole firearm, developing a "flying fire gun." The "Chronicle of Chizhan Hexi" records: "The flying fire gun was filled with powder and ignited with fire. It would burn more than ten steps in front of it, and no one dared to get close."

Later, the Song Dynasty developed the Tuohuqiang based on the Feihuoqiang...

Human technology is spiraling upward in this way.

Just as Yue Wenxuan was thinking this, he saw Wu Jialiang running up to Madam Gong Er. He lowered his voice and said quickly, "Mr. Gong, although our army won a great victory in this battle, our firearms, chariots, and new catapults have all been displayed. The Jin bandits copied them very quickly. In the blink of an eye, they also launched chariots to defend against our firearms... I'm sure they will imitate our new catapults and firearms after they return. I'm afraid they will be even more difficult to deal with next time."

In fact, anyone with a little bit of intelligence can see this.

So while the common people were celebrating their victory, many high-ranking officials frowned and began to worry about the next battle.

Madam Gong Er was also worried about this. When Wu Jialiang said this, her brows frowned even deeper and she didn't know what to do for a moment.

Yue Wenxuan smiled slightly, possessed his own figurine, and walked over.

When Wu Jialiang saw him coming, he quickly saluted: "Master Yue!"

Madam Gong Er: "True Lord."

Yue Wenxuan said, "What you two were worried about just now is probably what all the knowledgeable people in the city are worried about."

Madam Gong Er: "What should I do?"

Yue Wenxuan smiled, "Don't worry! We can't stop them from copying chariots and catapults. The technical requirements of these two things are too low. As long as they know the form, they can make them in a blink of an eye. But firearms, they only see the appearance, which is very difficult to copy. Madam Gong Er, and Mr. Jia Liang, the most important thing you two have to do next is to protect the gunpowder workshop and don't let enemy spies infiltrate. As long as the gunpowder formula is not lost, the Jin thieves will not be able to copy our firearms in a short time."

(End of this chapter)