Water Margin 014

With the secret cooperation and propaganda of the Imperial City Command, even in this era of poor communication, the common people came to realize the terror of the Jin invaders. Under his intentional and unintentional promotion, everyone across the nation, even children just a few years old, understood the significance of resisting the Jin.

"Reclaim the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun!"

"Slay the Jin dogs!"

As the incorporated bandit armies cooperated with the Imperial City Command to eliminate numerous local tyrants one after another, the internal structure of the Song Dynasty gradually unified. The previous phenomenon of orders from above failing to reach the lower levels vanished. For the newly appointed officials filling the vacancies, their first lesson was a guided tour of the Imperial City Guards' dungeons, serving as a stark reminder to keep them in line.

Such massive changes eventually reached the ears of Emperor Huizong of Song, brought to him through the painstaking efforts of marginalized civil officials.

"Nonsense! What war are we fighting? The Great Song is doing perfectly fine, why should we go to war? I was wondering why Fang Zhiyi hasn't been coming around lately. How dare he mobilize the army behind my back?"

However, he only now realized that aside from throwing tantrums at his concubines, he was practically useless.

His orders could not even leave the imperial palace.

Emperor Huizong finally realized, albeit too late, that he had been entirely stripped of his power.

But it was already too late. To his horror, he discovered that the current Great Song could operate smoothly even without him. The Directorate of Ceremonial, which he had nodded in approval to establish, now completely represented the imperial power. Any civil official who voiced dissent was either imprisoned or met a violent end. Over time, almost no one mentioned the Emperor, who was now nothing more than a mascot.

Fang Zhiyi's power had reached its absolute zenith.

Yet, even someone like Fang Zhiyi was currently facing trouble.

"I've always been the one bullying others. Damn it, now I'm the one getting bullied?"

"Major worlds are just like this... The system wouldn't dare act recklessly in the open. After all, the Heavenly Dao can watch the trajectory change, but it won't allow extraneous forces to intervene in its own world."

"Damn it, they actually pulled out guns!!!" Fang Zhiyi jumped straight up. "Chong Shidao even wrote to me saying the spear is the king of all weapons, but damn it, he didn't say it was this kind of gun!" He shook the crude matchlock gun in his hand.

"Now look what's happened. The grand army is blocked at Juyong Pass, and they say the vanguard battalion under Song Jiang has suffered heavy casualties!"

Fang Zhiyi paced back and forth. "I'm always the one shooting others, and now I'm getting shot at?"

Little Hei didn't quite know how to console him and could only remain silent.

On his third lap, Fang Zhiyi suddenly stopped, his eyes locked onto the map.

"Men! Summon Tang Long and the others! No! Summon all the craftsmen!"

"Yes, sir!"

Little Hei asked cautiously, "Have you figured out a solution?"

Fang Zhiyi's gaze remained fixed on the map. "A mere Jin State dares to play technological suppression with me? I've studied the technology of advanced civilizations! I'd like to see what's faster: their production of those crappy guns, or my technological development! Every single mineral vein on this land is memorized right here in my head..."

"Song Jiang! If you can't handle it, step down, I can take them!" The bare-chested burly monk glared with wide, bull-like eyes.

Song Jiang's face was dark. "Juyong Pass is already treacherous. Now that they have this thing called a firearm defending the city, no one can break through."

Wu Song grabbed his twin blades. "I don't believe these Jin dogs have three heads and six arms! Let me go and face them..."

"Halt!" Chong Shidao also frowned. "I have already sent the captured firearm to the Lord. I am sure he will have a countermeasure."

"Just waiting around like this isn't a solution either!" Wang Bing was impatient. "When we marched out, the common people lined the streets to cheer us on, and now we can't even conquer a single Juyong Pass? Isn't this... sigh!"

As they were speaking, someone else hurried into the tent.

"We've investigated it clearly!"

Seeing the newcomer flash the waist tag of the Imperial City Command, Chong Shidao immediately stood up and asked, "What is it?"

"The person providing firearms to the Jin dogs..." He cast an unfriendly glance at the former Liangshan forces. "His name is Shao Jiang! He is currently treated as an honored guest by the Jin marshal!"

The Liangshan men all gasped in shock. This Shao Jiang was actually still alive? And he really defected to the Jin State?

Seeing everyone looking at him, Lu Zhishen quickly clarified, "I knew nothing of this. That night, when he proposed defecting to the Jin State, I knew his mind was crooked. But considering we were brothers after all, I merely parted ways with him..."

"Brother, that night you should have let Erniang chop him down with one strike!" Zhang Qing gritted his teeth.

"Sigh! How was I supposed to know him, that he could actually create something like this!"

While they were at their wits' end, another person galloped over; it was Dai Zong.

Dai Zong looked around the circle and finally knelt before Chong Shidao, who quickly helped him up.

"Marshal, the western army under Guan Sheng and Li Gang has suddenly begun to retreat!"

"What? The order I gave them was to..." Chong Shidao suddenly paused. "Is there an order from the imperial court?"

Dai Zong nodded, pulling a letter from his chest and handing it to Chong Shidao.

After reading it, Chong Shidao remained silent for a long time before finally ordering, "The entire army will make camp. No one is to go out and engage the enemy!"

Wu Song asked, "Marshal, what is..."

"The Lord has ordered. The lethality of those firearms is limited, and he has countermeasures, but he needs time... And during this period, we only have one mission."

He glanced around at the crowd. "Defend to the death! We absolutely cannot let the Jin invaders advance even an inch!"

"State Preceptor, State Preceptor, you truly are a noble benefactor to our Great Jin!" The ruler of the Jin State walked smilingly into Shao Jiang's mansion. At this moment, Shao Jiang was very relaxed, leaning in the embrace of one beauty while enjoying being fed by another.

"That Song army doesn't dare continue their attack now; they can only halt where they are."

"Hahaha, they were always weak and useless!" Shao Jiang laughed. He had suffered greatly to defect to the Jin State. If not for relying on his system, he probably would have died on the road.

"I wonder if the State Preceptor could speed up the progress of manufacturing the firearms a little." The ruler's face was full of greed, and a flash of disdain crossed his eyes as he looked at Shao Jiang. "Once we have enough firearms, our Jin State can destroy Liao and conquer Song!"

"These are divine artifacts... It's not like they can be produced at a moment's notice. Go back and wait, I will do my best."

The ruler's face twitched, but he still backed out with an apologetic smile. He even sent someone to deliver a few more beauties, making Shao Jiang so delighted that his eyes narrowed into slits.

"Host, your progress toward domination is a bit slow," the system prompted.

Shao Jiang was impatient. "I know, I know. You have to eat a meal one bite at a time. If I hand the technology over to them, these people will definitely kill me. I have to keep this technology firmly in my own hands... When the time is right, I'll make my move, playing the oriole behind the mantis stalking the cicada!"

He thought for a moment. "However... the materials you provided me are all so complicated, like a history book of weapon evolution."

"Host, you need to study more."

"I got it." Although Shao Jiang answered this way, seeing the newly arrived beauties, he immediately became joyful again. Having been miserable for so long, enjoying himself a little wasn't too much to ask, was it?

Unlike Shao Jiang, who guarded his knowledge like a secret treasure, Fang Zhiyi directly imparted the entire process to Tang Long and the others. He then urged them to start working, setting off an industrial trend in the Song Dynasty, an era primarily known for its poetry and literature.

However, not a single piece of information leaked out, because the Imperial City Guards had doubled the number of their patrols! The Jin spies had absolutely no chance to uncover anything before they were suddenly captured and made to completely disappear.

During this time, the previously warring Song and Jin armies fell into a stalemate. The Jin army hurled insults outside the camp every day, making Wu Song and the others struggle to suppress their anger. However, because Chong Shidao kept them in check, they did not cause any major disasters. Just as Fang Zhiyi had predicted, relying on those firearms, the Jin army could do nothing to them for the time being. Following that, Chong Shidao even ordered the entire army to retreat, simply stationing them in a small city not far away to face the Jin army from a distance. Both sides wanted to devour the other, but both were biding their time.

Right after Shao Jiang led some craftsmen to produce another batch of matchlock guns, the ruler of the Jin Kingdom immediately ordered these divine weapons to be sent to the frontline to break through the Song army's defense lines and launch a full-scale offensive!

The Song army was already weak to begin with. With these firearms, the Jin Kingdom would surely beat them into submission once again, perhaps even wiping out their entire nation!

The Imperial City Guards, operating undercover within the Jin Kingdom's sphere of influence, sent back news of the enemy's unusual movements. Fang Zhiyi was not surprised at all. Calculating the time, it was already approaching the historical timeline of the Jin invasion of the Song.

"The grand world is indeed rigorous, tsk," Fang Zhiyi chuckled.

Chong Shidao, standing to the side, looked at him. The other generals were also looking at him. No one spoke; everyone was waiting for Fang Zhiyi's orders.