The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 508 is about Li Cheng

Li Gang stared in astonishment at the Northern Song military officers, his expression strange.

He had thought that when the time was right, the military generals of the Northern Song Dynasty would put a yellow robe on Yue Wenxuan, but he never expected that they would believe that Yue Wenxuan had no desire to be emperor.

This is ridiculous!

You don't plan to support him? Then why are you so devoted to him and fighting like this?

Gong Erniangzi and the others did not explain, their faces bearing calm and composed smiles.

"Report! A troop of puppet Qi troops is holed up inside the imperial city, holding out desperately!" a soldier suddenly ran back to report. "Should we use cannons to blast them out?"

"Don't demolish it!" Li Gang shouted urgently. "Don't destroy the palace. It was built by the Supreme Emperor at great expense. Destroying it and rebuilding it would be a waste of manpower and resources, and it would be a loss."

A man exuding the air of a businessman stepped forward: "Why not just not rebuild it? Just demolish all the destroyed parts and restore it to the streets. That would make Kaifeng's economy even more prosperous. Anyway, a large part of the palace was originally built by Emperor Huizong of Tang, who forcibly seized civilian houses and converted them into the palace. It would be good to turn them back into residential areas."

Li Gang turned around and asked, "Who is this?"

The man smiled and said, "Qian Zhuoqun, Minister of Revenue of the Northern Song Dynasty."

Li Gang scoffed, "Were the Minister of Revenue in the Northern Song Dynasty really this pragmatic?"

Yue Wenxuan laughed: "Being pragmatic is good, but I have a more pragmatic view."

Li Gang and Qian Zhuoqun both turned to look at him.

Yue Wenxuan said, "It would be a waste to deliberately destroy palaces that have already been built. We can completely separate them from the palace and turn them into 'luxury shops' that sell luxury goods, thus drawing money out of the hands of the rich and revitalizing the economy."

Qian Zhuoqun said happily, "That's right. These palaces were designed and supervised by Emperor Huizong himself. Although he was not a good emperor, his aesthetic sense was first-rate. The palaces he built are all magnificent. If they were used as shops, they would be luxurious and grand. In addition, they were once imperial palaces, with royal endorsement as a brand. If we put some sky-high priced goods in them, rich people would definitely be happy to buy them."

Yue Wenxuan waved his hand and laughed, "Alright, let's do it that way! Minimize the damage to the palace as much as possible."

Li Gang stiffened upon hearing this.

Yue Wenxuan then smiled and repeated to Li Gang the theory he had told Yan Chengping years ago that "consumption should be encouraged."

After listening, Li Gang muttered to himself, "The poverty of ordinary people is due to problems with the distribution method. Hmm? Hmm? This... makes a lot of sense... Encouraging the rich to spend their money would be better for the economy... Hmm... It sounds like it's true..."

While he was reeling from the shock, the military commanders were already devising plans to attack the imperial city.

Zhang Yong raised his hand: "I'll fight this battle."

Han Shizhong and Yue Fei suddenly stepped forward at the same time: "Let's fight this battle! Close combat is our forte, and we are familiar with the terrain of Kaifeng Imperial City."

Zhang Yong: "You've only been in the Northern Song Dynasty for a short time, and you don't have any soldiers!"

Han Shizhong: "General Zhang, please send us an army that is skilled in hand-to-hand combat. Oh, and we also have some volunteer soldiers available."

Zhang Yong glanced at Yue Wenxuan, who was nodding at him, and smiled, "Alright, then let's see what the two marshals can do."

Han Shizhong and Yue Fei were greatly encouraged. They led a regular Northern Song army unit assigned to them by Zhang Yong, along with a large group of volunteer soldiers, and charged towards the palace.

The regular army goes without saying, but what's interesting are these volunteer soldiers.

After the Northern Song Dynasty announced its "personal expedition" and "recapture of Kaifeng," many righteous people from both the Northern and Southern Song Dynasties spontaneously came to help. Along the way, local gentry donated 32,000 strings of copper coins, while those without money simply donated their own money to join the volunteer army. Most of the volunteer soldiers of the Northern Song Dynasty followed closely behind Emperor Zhao Shi's imperial entourage.

Meanwhile, the volunteer soldiers from the Southern Song Dynasty voluntarily followed Yue Fei.

There were quite a few people, actually a thousand.

Most of these people were outlaws, bandits, highwaymen, or local militias. They weren't very good at forming ranks for hard battles, but they were excellent at maneuvering in narrow spaces and fighting small-scale skirmishes.

Han and Yue led their troops to the front of the imperial city, while Yue Wenxuan led a large group of civil and military officials to watch the battle from behind.

The once magnificent palace is now a scene of chaos and devastation, with a large group of fierce and ruthless remnants of the puppet Qi army guarding the city walls.

Li Gang asked curiously, "The pseudo-Qi soldiers have low morale and most of them surrender at the first sign of trouble. How come the pseudo-Qi soldiers guarding the imperial city seem so formidable?"

Han Shizhong chuckled: "They are Li Cheng's personal guards!"

Yue Fei also said, "They are all ruthless bandits."

Li Gang: "Ah? It's Li Cheng!"

Li Cheng was an old friend of both the Northern and Southern Song dynasties. Back then, he led bandits to sweep across both sides of the Yangtze River, fought against the Northern Song at Hongze Lake, fought against Li Heng of the Southern Song in Xiangyang, and even jumped over the enemy during Yue Fei's Northern Expedition... It's no exaggeration to say that Li Cheng practically supported half of the puppet Qi state.

Li Cheng's face appeared on the city wall, stained with blood, and he roared, "Come on, kill me! I'm not afraid of you!"

Han Shizhong laughed loudly: "Li Cheng, why didn't you run away this time? Didn't you always run away quickly when you lost a battle before?"

Li Cheng snorted but didn't say anything.

But the sharp-eyed Han Shizhong noticed that Li Cheng's shoulders were uneven, and laughed, "I understand, you injured one of your legs and can't even stand up straight, hahahaha!"

Li Cheng roared in fury: "You son of a bitch!"

Han Shizhong, who had been smiling, suddenly lost his smile and became serious and composed. He waved his hand and shouted, "Attack the city!"

At almost the same time, Yue Fei said to several of his generals, "Let the people of the Northern Song Dynasty see how our Southern Song generals fight."

Yue Yun, Zhang Xian, Gao Chong, and Yang Zaixing charged out almost simultaneously.

Arrows immediately rained down from the city walls, but the regular Northern Song troops, temporarily brought in to help, quickly raised their shields, and with a series of thuds, the shield formation easily pressed down on the imperial city...

In this battle, neither side used large siege weapons; this is where individual martial prowess comes into play.

Yang Zaixing was the first to leap up. Taking advantage of a brief lull in the enemy's arrow barrage, he jumped onto the shields of the shield soldiers. Several shield soldiers below pushed him upwards with all their might, and Yang Zaixing suddenly leaped up, using the momentum to jump more than ten feet high. He flipped in mid-air and climbed to the edge of the imperial city.

The bandits above were terrified and quickly tried to stab him with their spears.

But then Zhang Xian drew his bow and shot an arrow, knocking down the bandit soldier with the long spear. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Yang Zaixing flipped over and jumped onto the city wall.

Dozens of bandits charged at him, but Yang Zaixing was not afraid at all. His eyes suddenly turned red, and he roared, "Where is Li Cheng? Where is Li Cheng? Your grandpa Yang Zaixing is here to kill you."

Yue Fei: "This guy's gone crazy again!"

(End of this chapter)