The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 532 Blossoming on All Sides

Daming Prefecture was successfully recovered; however, the battle to reclaim lost territory had only just begun.

Although most people in the pseudo-Qi state longed for their homeland and wanted to return to the Song Dynasty, there is always a small group of people in this world who like to think outside the box.

At this moment, in Longde Prefecture, the Ma Sheng tribe was blocked by a group of mentally unstable people who were determined to resist to the death.

It turns out that the prefect of Longde in the puppet Qi state was originally just a lowly official who had failed to achieve his ambitions. During the years of the puppet Qi state's rule, this lowly official managed to rise through the ranks by currying favor with the Jurchens and Liu Yu, transforming himself from a nobody into a prefect.

Those who have already benefited will dare to defy public opinion in order to protect their own interests.

The prefect of Longde gathered a large number of soldiers, mountain bandits, and local thugs, and brutally suppressed the pro-Song righteous men in the city. He piled up defensive materials on the city walls, attempting to fight a protracted war and wait for the Jin state to come to the rescue.

Because the Ma Sheng tribe didn't have many cannons, their several strong attacks were blocked by the city walls.

For a while, they couldn't break through.

"Damn it, go and get the artillery!"

A few days later, Zhang Yong's artillery, escorted by his wife Yi Zhangqing's cuirassier cavalry, arrived at Longde Prefecture. They found the prefectural city heavily guarded, with bandits and highwaymen on the city walls poised for a final battle.

Zhang Yong couldn't help but laugh: "General Ma, now that I'm here, there's nothing to worry about. Have your men prepare for a strong attack."

Ma Sheng nodded and quickly went to make the arrangements.

The prefect of Longde in the city also saw that the Song army had come to reinforce them, but he did not know what he was about to face. He was still encouraging the bandits and road tyrants: "Don't be afraid, everyone. As long as we hold on, and delay for another ten days or half a month, the Jin cavalry will come to our aid. When that time comes, we will be rewarded for defending our territory, and you will all become high-ranking officials."

He had barely finished speaking when a deafening roar erupted, and a deluge of shells rained down...
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At Biankou, a naval force from the puppet state of Qi is stirring up trouble on the Yellow River.

This naval force was the strongest of the puppet Qi state on the Yellow River. The naval commander was originally just a small-time pirate, but was later promoted by the Jin state to become the naval commander. He was also a beneficiary of the system, so of course he was determined to serve his Jin state father to the death and refused to surrender to the Song Dynasty.

"Report! Almost the entire Song army has crossed the Yellow River and headed north," a pirate reported upon returning. "Zhengzhou is now extremely vulnerable. We might be able to launch a surprise attack on Zhengzhou and cause some trouble for the Song Dynasty."

The pirate commander was overjoyed and said, "Very good, let's go, let's make a great contribution."

He personally led his fleet out of the bay where they were hiding and rushed towards Zhengzhou...

But before they had sailed far, they encountered a Northern Song fleet patrolling the Yellow River. The general in charge was none other than Zhu Shimin, the former admiral of the Southern Song navy.

Zhu Shimin was not a capable minister or general. He was able to rise to the position of naval commander only because the former naval commander, Xu Wen, was suspected of being sidelined and fled to the Northern Song Dynasty, leaving a vacancy. Zhu Shimin was able to seize the opportunity to take over. To this day, Xu Wen is still in Dalian, working for Li Bao.

After the unification of the two Song dynasties, Zhu Shimin, a general with little ability, was naturally not entrusted with important responsibilities. Wu Jialiang, the Minister of War, ordered Zhu Shimin to lead the former Southern Song navy to patrol the Yellow River.

He could handle dealing with some smugglers, but when faced with the regular navy of the puppet Qi state, he was no match for them. As soon as he saw the puppet Qi navy charging towards him, Zhu Shimin was terrified and screamed, "Run! Run!"

The former troops of the Southern Song Dynasty all shared a common characteristic: they were terrible at fighting tough battles, but their ability to escape was unparalleled.

The speed at which these Southern Song sailors rowed their boats was so great that the puppet Qi navy couldn't even catch a whiff of their exhaust fumes.

Seeing Zhu Shimin fleeing further and further away, the pirate commander of the puppet Qi regime was furious and cursed, "Damn Song soldiers, their only skill is running away!" "Commander, what do we do now? Continue chasing Zhu Shimin, or attack Zhengzhou?"

"Nonsense, of course we'll attack Zhengzhou," said the pirate admiral. "Anyway, we can't catch up with that son of a bitch, Zhu Shimin."

He stopped chasing, but Zhu Shimin was still on the run.

He didn't care whether the enemy was still chasing him or not; he just wanted to escape for hundreds of miles first.

The boat moved swiftly, like an arrow gliding across the water. It was unclear how far it had traveled, but suddenly a fleet of ships appeared ahead. It was the former Northern Song Chuzhou Navy, led by Li Bao's son, Li Cheng.

His original territory was the Grand Canal and the Yangtze River, but after the unification of the two Song dynasties, the strategic importance of the Yangtze River was no longer important, so Li Cheng was transferred north to the Yellow River to guard the more important Yellow River defense line.

Li Cheng's fleet blocked Zhu Shimin's path: "Hey! General Zhu, what are you rowing so frantically for?"

Upon seeing Li Cheng, Zhu Shimin was overjoyed and cried out urgently, "General Li, you've come at the perfect time! Help! Help! The puppet Qi navy is chasing me from behind!"

Li Cheng looked behind him but saw no one. He took out his binoculars and looked again, but still saw no one. He asked in surprise, "Where did this fake Qi navy come from? Nobody is chasing you."

Zhu Shimin breathed a sigh of relief: "So they didn't pursue us, that's great. I encountered the puppet Qi navy at Bianjing Port. They were too ferocious, with many ships and soldiers. I fought them hard, but ultimately had to retreat because I was outnumbered."

Li Cheng glanced sideways. There wasn't even a single arrow to be seen on Zhu Shimin's ship. Where was the sign of battle? They must have fled at the first sign of trouble.

However, this man was never given important responsibilities, and his subordinates were all former Southern Song troops. It was just a river patrol team, good enough to check smuggling, but not to be relied on for fighting tough battles. It's not surprising that he ran away. He could just report to the Ministry of War and let them handle it. This was not his business.

Li Cheng focused his attention on something more important: "The pseudo-Qi navy has appeared at Bianjing Port? Hmm... Damn, they're launching a surprise attack on Zhengzhou."

After saying that, Li Cheng roared, "At maximum speed, advance to Zhengzhou!"

At his command, all of Li Cheng's warships unfurled their sails, and two rows of oars extended from both sides, like dozens of tiny feet of a centipede.

With full speed ahead, the entire fleet sped towards Zhengzhou at an extremely high speed.

Half an hour later, the pirate commander of the puppet Qi regime was preparing to land north of Zhengzhou...

Holding a tattered map with crooked lines, he said, "After we land, we'll first break through Xingze, then turn southeast, and we can break into Zhengzhou, threaten Kaifeng, and throw the Song Dynasty into chaos... The Song Dynasty's northern expeditionary army will have no choice but to turn back to defend the capital, and we will lift the siege of Hebei and achieve a great feat."

He had barely finished speaking when a fleet of ships bearing the flags of the Song Dynasty appeared on the river before his men could even land.

The pirate commander sneered, "Cowardly Song soldiers, they just ran away, and now they dare to come back? Perfect, let's take care of them all at once."

As soon as he finished speaking...

A loud "boom" rang out from the centipede-shaped ship opposite; Li Chengjun had fired the cannon...

(End of this chapter)