Chapter Twelve Borrowing Grain from All Sides

  (Thanks to fmsu for casting two evaluation votes again)

  Yue Yun saw a sign from this, his cheap old father must be dissatisfied and headache with Tian Shizhong, otherwise he would not have asked Niu Gao to bring a thousand soldiers.

  Jing Xiang and the surrounding areas were all territories of the Yue Family Army, but Qin Hui arranged for one of Zhang Jun's generals to take up the important post of Governor of Xiangyang. Moreover, at a critical moment, he disobeyed Yue Fei's orders, which made anyone feel uncomfortable.

  "It's possible that Tian Shi will be imprisoned." Yue Yun thought to herself.

  At this time, Li Ruoxu thought for a moment and then said to Yue Fei: "General, letting General Tang and General Niu go back to urge the grain is one way to alleviate the shortage of grain. However, even if the 800,000 stones of grain from Xiangyang arrive, there will still be a deficit of about 150,000 stones. This also depends on the number of civilians not increasing... I'm afraid we need to find another way to ensure that there is no shortage of food!"

  After hearing Li Ruoxu's words, including Yue Fei and other generals, they couldn't help but show a bitter expression. What could they do now? It was also impossible to conjure up food out of thin air.

  "Marshal, why don't we launch an attack on the Jin army? If we can capture Bianjing, we might be able to seize the grain stored within the city." Zhang Xian quickly thought of plundering grain from the enemy.

  Yue Fei's face showed a hint of bitterness, and after a moment's thought, he shook his head: "I'm afraid it won't be easy to succeed! Bianjing is the old capital of our Great Song Dynasty, with high and thick city walls, and inside the city, there are 100,000 Jurchen soldiers led by Wuzhu personally guarding it. To capture the city, it's not something that can be done hastily. Moreover, if the Jurchen army sets fire to the grain and fodder when the city is broken, won't our army be left with nothing? If our army has enough food and fodder, and there are no worries about the rear, we might as well give it a try, but for now, it's not feasible."

  Yue Yun's mind was also racing at this time, thinking that in the future, no matter what disasters they encountered, it would be "one side has difficulty, eight sides support". Now that the Yue family army is short of food, why not ask for help from several friendly armies or neighboring prefectures?

  Yue Yun then couldn't help but propose: "Commander, although our army is currently short of food, the grain supplies of Generals Zhang Jun, Wu Xun and Han Shizhong may not be as scarce as ours. Moreover, they have already retreated back to their respective defense zones, so their demand for food is no longer that urgent. Why don't we send someone to ask them for help and borrow some grain?"

  Yue Yun's words had just come out, and they made everyone's eyes light up for a moment, but soon they all dimmed again, shaking their heads with bitter smiles.

  Zhang Xian glanced at Yue Yun and patiently explained, "Ying Xiang, grain and fodder are the most important things for all the armies. Even if other generals have some left over, they will definitely keep them for future use. The commander-in-chief and they do not belong to each other, except for General Han and the commander-in-chief who have a deeper relationship, the other generals have an ordinary relationship with the commander-in-chief, and even people like Zhang Jun have many conflicts with him. How can they be willing to provide grain and fodder to support our army?"

  Yue Yun only then realized that borrowing grain was not as easy as he had imagined, for in this era, grain and fodder were scarce commodities, just like gold reserves in his past life. Who would lend out such hard currency so casually?

  However, this inspired him. Although borrowing grain was unlikely to succeed, it could be used as a great writing material.

  Then, Yue Yun's eyes rolled over and he said respectfully: "Father Commander, I think it would be better to send someone to borrow grain from the friendly armies on several roads. The purpose is not whether we can borrow food or not, but to let people all over the world know that my Yue family army is rushing around to collect grain for the relief of the people."

  The generals all looked at each other in dismay, thinking that since they knew borrowing grain was unlikely to succeed, why bother sending someone to borrow it? It would be a waste of time and effort, offend people, and let the world know what's going on. Would others spontaneously send food over?

  However, Li Ruoxu immediately reacted and suddenly understood the political significance contained in Yue Yun's proposal.

  He looked at Yue Yun with an approving gaze, thinking that after the young master had this illness, although he had some memory loss, his brain was much more agile.

  Li Rouxu smiled and gently shook his fan, saying to Yue Fei: "General, the young master's plan is excellent. Think about it, if all the people in the world know that we are raising funds for the safety of the Central Plains people to return south, then the court will also be cautious when facing Wang Tong and their delegation who came to petition. General, you as a military general know how to protect the people and raise food for them. Compared to this, the court's officials would not ignore the people in this situation, or they would be scolded by the world and lose the hearts of the people!"

  The best thing about the Song Dynasty is that the atmosphere of discussion and criticism was very open, anyone could comment on government policies or even officials, and would not be punished for it. Compared to the Ming and Qing dynasties' "mosquito cases" (I did this on purpose, otherwise it's **), scholars in the Song Dynasty were probably the happiest.

  In the Song Dynasty, scholars believed in the Confucian theory that "the people are of utmost importance, the country is next, and the ruler is of lesser importance". They thought that the world should be governed jointly by the emperor and the scholar-officials.

  The imperial power of the Song Dynasty was relatively weak compared to other dynasties, which is why many emperors did not reign until their death and instead abdicated to become Taishang Huang. This was especially true for the first three emperors of Southern Song, who all abdicated prematurely, making it a remarkable event in Chinese history.

  Emperor Gaozong of Song, Zhao Gou, abdicated in 1161 during the invasion by Jin Emperor Wanyan Liang and passed the throne to his adopted son Zhao Shen, who later became Emperor Xiaozong of Song and rehabilitated Yue Fei.

  However, he did not finish his work and abdicated in 1190 to his son Zhao Dun, also known as Emperor Guangzong of Song.

  Then Song Guangzong also felt that being an emperor was not fun, and he abdicated in 1194 to his son Zhao Kuang, who later became Emperor Ningzong of Song.

  These emperors were not uninterested in power, but as the emperor of Southern Song, they could not wield absolute power like those in other dynasties. They couldn't kill whoever they wanted or do whatever they pleased, for they faced many constraints.

  Yue Fei, although a military general by origin, was well-read in various poetry and military books since childhood, making him a versatile talent in both literature and martial arts. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to create the poem "Man Jiang Hong" that has been passed down for centuries. He also had a clear understanding of the current social atmosphere, quickly reacting and nodding his head with a smile: "Unexpectedly, Yun'er actually saw through this layer first, it seems she's made great progress."

  His eyes gazed at Yue Yun with even more affection and love.

  Yue Yun and Yue Fei made eye contact, feeling the concern and filial piety conveyed through his gaze, and a wave of emotion arose in her heart.

  Although he had contacted Yue Fei twice before, he regarded him more as a great hero in history rather than his own father. Just now, he deeply felt the love of Yue Fei for himself. He began to slowly accept this father.

  He also made up his mind to change the tragic fate of Yue Fei's death at the Wind and Cloud Pavilion in history, allowing this national hero to continue playing his role on the battlefield against the Jin Dynasty.

  At this time, Yue Fei slowly withdrew his gaze and restored the majestic image of a great general. He stood up and said: "Zhang Xian, listen to my orders!"

  "The General is arriving!" Zhang Xian hastily stood up from his chair and bowed.

  "Take 500 soldiers to Daxianguan, borrow grain from General Wu Xiang, and if necessary, go to Chengdu to explain the situation to Yang Shijie, the Pacification Commissioner of Sichuan and Shaanxi." Yue Fei said in a measured tone.

  Zhang Xian could hardly understand that this was letting him spread the word about this matter within Sichuan province.

  "Zhang Xian must inform all the elders and fellow villagers of Sichuan about this matter!" Zhang Xian received the order with a delighted face.

  "King Gui listen to orders!" Yue Fei immediately issued a second command.

  "The last one is here!" A white-faced military general in his forties hastily stepped forward and bowed.

  "You lead five hundred soldiers to go to Haozhou and borrow grain from General Zhang Jun!" Yue Fei ordered.

  "I will obey orders!" Wang Gui replied, his face calm and unruffled.

  "Zhang Xian listen to orders!" Yue Fei gave his third command.

  "The end will be there!" A 38 or 39-year-old military general with a full beard also stepped out and slightly bowed.

  "You lead five hundred soldiers to Shouchun and borrow grain from General Liu Qi," said Yue Fei.

  "I will obey orders!" Zhang Xian solemnly accepted the command and sat down.

  At this moment, Yue Fei paused for a moment, then glanced at Yue Yun with his eyes, smiled slightly and said: "Yue Yun, listen to the order!"

  Yue Yun was somewhat flustered, he really hadn't expected Yue Fei to call on him; logically speaking, it should be a mature and experienced general or strategist who would be more suitable for borrowing grain.

  However, having heard Yue Fei call out to him, he could not but emerge from the ranks. Yue Yun had no choice but to walk to the middle of the camp and bow his head in greeting, saying: "Your son is here!"

  "Yun'er, you also lead 500 soldiers to go to Chu State to borrow grain from your uncle Han Shizhong. I don't know if you still remember now? In the past, you often practiced martial arts with his son Han Yanzheng. Among all the generals of the Song Dynasty, he is the one who has the deepest relationship with me, and should be the only person who can lend us grain!" Yue Fei said with a deeply moved expression.

  Yue Yun's heart was slightly relieved at this moment. As someone who is familiar with the history of the Song Dynasty, he naturally knew that Yue Fei and Han Shizhong had a very deep friendship. Years ago, when Zhang Jun attempted to annex Han Shizhong's troops, it was Yue Fei who sent someone to inform Han Shizhong in time, which prevented Zhang Jun's plot from succeeding. This was also one of the reasons why Zhang Jun and Yue Fei had a very awkward relationship.

  In history, after Yue Fei was wrongly killed, all the civil and military officials in the court did not dare to speak out, only Han Shizhong dared to ask Qin Hui at the risk of being implicated. It can be seen that he had a deep affection for Yue Fei. When Yue Fei asked him to go find Han Shizhong to borrow grain, it also meant taking care of himself.

  "Yes, sir! I'll do my best to borrow grain from Uncle Han!" Yue Yun bowed and took the token, but he didn't dare to promise too much. What if General Han refused?

  "Hum, you hand over the affairs of the Northern Expedition Army to Le'er, and take Guan Ling and Niu Tong with you to Chu State!" Yue Fei instructed.