Reborn in Liangshan: I built the strongest lineup

"Sir, shall we continue fighting?"

The messenger inquired about Tong Guan's identity.

The Song Dynasty is gone, what are we still fighting for?

"Do the soldiers know about this?"

"Not yet, sir, but we can't rule out the possibility of news getting in. What should we do?"

The messenger was naturally the first to tell Tong Guan the news, but the problem was that almost everyone in the Song Dynasty knew about Cai Jing's rebellion, and there was no guarantee that someone wouldn't rush into the army and spread the news directly.

That could easily lead to a mutiny.

"Pass down the order: have all generals take good care of their soldiers, seal off the barracks, and prevent anyone from the outside from entering!"

Tong Guan planned to suppress the news first.

"But sir, with so many people here... how is it possible to keep the news completely secret?"

The messenger said, "Aren't you making things difficult for me?"

"Go, summon all the generals and commanders to my tent immediately for a meeting!"

"Furthermore, signal to the entire army that we will not fight today, raise the truce sign, and hold our ground!"

"Remember, you mustn't tell a single person about this!"

Tong Guan thought about it and realized that it was indeed unlikely that this news could be kept from the entire army. He decided to quickly gather all the commanders at all levels of the army together first.

"Yes!"

The messenger, knowing the gravity of the situation, quickly went out to inform the generals and commanders of the various armies, while Tong Guan himself plopped back down in his seat, needing to process the current situation first.

What do you do when you go out to fight, only to find your home is gone halfway through the battle?

Whose subordinate am I now? Under what pretext are we fighting the Liao? What will become of all these people after this battle? Has that old dog Cai made things difficult for my family in the capital? ...

"Cai Jing, you old scoundrel, don't let me see you again!"

This series of problems gave Tong Guan a huge headache. He angrily threw his helmet on the ground and slashed at it several times with his sword to vent his dissatisfaction!

If it were anyone else in this situation, they might have declared themselves king. But not Tong Guan. He could have any kind of person—rogues, nobles, or commoners—but not eunuchs.

Unfortunately, Tong Guan was that eunuch.

"How about I switch sides with that guy Ren Yuan right now?"

Tong Guan had originally agreed with Ren Yuan that he would open the city gates for Ren Yuan when Ren Yuan marched south to destroy the Song Dynasty and attack Bianjing.

Now that Cai Jing has rebelled, Ren Yuan doesn't need to lift a finger; this step has been skipped entirely! There's no need to open the gates anymore; the Song Dynasty is gone!

What now?

Or should we take Nanjing first, and then open the gates?

The thought flashed through Tong Guan's mind, but he quickly dismissed it.

Taking Nanjing sounds nice, but it's not.

If it were that easy to take, he would have taken it already!

Otherwise, why don't you take your men and go and join Ren Yuan now?

"Lord Tong, are you worried about where you'll go in the future?"

The only person who would speak to Tong Guan like this in this military tent is Ma Ling.

That's right, Ma Ling was just inside Tong Guan's tent, but he was resting behind a screen.

"Brother Ma! Brother Ma! Can you tell me, how is the Prince doing now?"

Upon hearing Ma Ling's voice, Tong Guan instantly sprang to his senses!

Yeah, he also has Brother Ma!

"Aren't you going to continue fighting for the Song Dynasty?"

When Ma Ling saw Tong Guan's expression, he knew that Tong Guan was probably planning to surrender, but out of professional habit, he still asked him.

"Brother Ma, I can fight for the Song Dynasty, but I have to think about all these brothers!"

Tong Guan shook his head helplessly.

“There are still 200,000 people here. The daily food and supplies for them are not a small amount. Although I had two months' worth of provisions transferred from Tokyo before Zhao Ji went back last time, Cai Jing has now occupied Tokyo and can cut off my supplies at any time.”

"Brother Ma, it's fine if I, Tong Guan, don't eat, but if these 200,000 soldiers don't have food, then the situation will be extremely critical!"

"Tell me, how am I supposed to fight in this situation?"

"Tong Guan, you are indeed a decent commander."

Ma Ling affirmed Tong Guan's words. During Zhao Ji's absence, although Tong Guan hadn't shown any particularly outstanding abilities, he hadn't made any major mistakes either. He did have some ideas about military strategy, and at least he could hold his own in Liangshan.

"Brother Ma, don't flatter me yet. I'll be frank. If I were to lead these soldiers to surrender to the Prince now, would he accept them?"

Tong Guan went straight to the core question.

"Old Tong."

Upon hearing that Tong Guan was bringing so many people to join him, Ma Ling narrowed his eyes and changed how he addressed Tong Guan.

"If you're really serious about coming, then I'll definitely welcome you. But the problem is, with so many people here, do you really think they'll all listen to you?"

"Are you confident you can persuade everyone to surrender with you? Many of these people are from Tokyo. If they learn that Tokyo has fallen, their first reaction will probably be to return to the capital. It's unlikely they will surrender together."

"How many people do you think you can recruit?"

Tong Guan fell silent, because what Ma Ling said made sense, and he did need to consider this issue.

“Brother Ma, although this is indeed a problem I need to consider, I have no other choice now. Emperor Huizong has abandoned me, and Cai Jing and I are at odds. If I don’t seek refuge with the Prince, where else can I go?”

"Brother Ma, please tell the Prince that I, Tong, will henceforth be the Annam General of Dayi!"

Seeing Tong Guan's earnest words, Ma Ling didn't know what to say. However, regarding Ma Ling's self-appointment as General of Annam, Ma Ling silently thought to himself:

Old Tong, you're already thinking about getting an official position before you've even arrived!

But considering you brought so many people, I guess it'll be fine.

"Old Tong, someone's here. I'll go back to the back first. How many people you can recruit depends on your abilities."

Just as Ma Ling and Tong Guan were talking, a flurry of footsteps suddenly sounded outside the tent. Ma Ling immediately slipped back behind the screen.

"Sir! Why did you suddenly summon us here?"

"Yes, sir, what do you mean we're going to hang up a truce? Weren't we fighting quite well?"

"My lord, let me charge one more time! I'm sure I can break Yelü Zongyun's army this time!"

……

More and more people came to Tong Guan's tent, all talking about the war, but Tong Guan remained silent. The crowd realized something was wrong and gradually quieted down.

Once all the commanders and above had arrived, Tong Guan stood up from his seat and looked everyone in the tent over.

"Sir, what's wrong? Please say something!"

Some people couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong with Lord Tong today?"

"Colleagues, some very bad news has come from the capital."

Tong Guan paused for a moment, then continued:

"I hope that after I speak, everyone will be able to keep their composure and not lose their composure."

"My lord, just tell me! The Emperor has already gone back, what bad news could there be?"

"Exactly, all they can do is send a few more supervisors, or a few more people to seize our military power. What else can they do?"

……

"That's right, isn't this how the imperial court operates? What else can they do? Are they going to abolish the imperial court? Hahaha!"

The group of soldiers really did talk about everything, and they even started laughing at each other as they talked.

To everyone's surprise, after the last person finished speaking, Tong Guan actually spoke up in agreement.

"You guessed right, the imperial court is gone."

quiet--

Tong Guan's words silenced everyone who had been laughing just moments before, like ducks being choked.

"Cough, cough, sir, I was just talking nonsense... I didn't mean it, I didn't mean it."

The commander who spoke last choked on his own saliva.

No, what did Lord Tong just say?

"Yes, but I'm not just making this up."

Tong Guan looked at everyone and repeated:

"The imperial court is gone."

“Cai Jing has rebelled and occupied the capital. Now there is no more Song Dynasty, only his Great Lai Kingdom.”

"In other words, gentlemen, our army of 200,000 has lost its roots..."