The Villain's Counterattack

Chapter 289 Sun Yuankai: My death was so unjust

The Mongol Empire expanded at a very fast speed, but its invasion of the Central Plains was repeatedly hindered by the army of King Qi, and it was helpless against the tough nut to crack Shandong. It was not that it was really impossible to conquer it, but the cost of trying to conquer this quagmire was too high, and the gains did not outweigh the losses.

However, if they did not take over Shandong, they would not be able to march south with all their strength to take over the entire Central Plains. Often, as soon as they took over Shanxi and Henan, the army would turn around and be beaten back by the Jin soldiers in Guanzhong and Shandong.

The Mongols were frustrated by their attempts to conquer the land without taking it, but they were not greedy for more territory, always taking advantage and then running away, leaving them helpless. The Mongol army invested a lot of manpower and material resources in the battles, but ultimately gained nothing. The people of Shaanxi and Henan were left destitute, bandits were rampant, and ordinary people were displaced and almost nowhere to be seen (most of them were relocated overseas). Other achievements were almost zero.

Such a large territory could not be occupied by the Jin Dynasty, the Mongols could not occupy it, and the Song Dynasty did not dare to cross it, so it became a paradise for bandits and robbers, attracting many people from the underworld to roam around. It was quite lively for a time, but the order was completely different from other places, and the underworld forces were respected.

For example, the Shaolin Temple, which closed its mountains, was the boss of the Songshan area. Although it was closed, it expanded its territory by more than double. The situation in Shaanxi was much better. After all, it was the territory of the Jin Dynasty. Wanyan Honglie was a little bit mean to them, but he also relied on them a lot, so it was almost okay.

But Yang Shoucheng carried the bridal sedan to Chongyang Palace, paid homage to his master Qiu Chuji, and with his blessing, he went down the mountain with dozens or even hundreds of Quanzhen disciples and headed straight for Huayin County, preparing to cross the Yellow River from there and take a boat to Shandong.

Huo Du, Sun Yuankai and others traveled overnight. They ordered people to closely monitor the whereabouts of the group of more than 200 people, and at the same time rushed to the Yellow River in advance to contact the Mongolian army stationed there, preparing to intercept and kill the son of the King of Qi.

The Mongolian soldiers were deeply afraid of the King of Qi, but they also knew that if they could really capture the little prince, it would be a great opportunity to rise to the top. They could even break the myth of his invincibility and become a hero of the entire Mongolian Empire, respected by the Khan.

After descending Mount Zhongnan and traveling over a hundred miles, night fell and a troop suddenly appeared ahead. A general rode up on horseback and shouted from afar, "By order of the Emperor of the Great Jin, we respectfully welcome the King of Song. Upon hearing of the King of Song's wedding, His Majesty has granted..."

Yang Shoucheng accepted the pile of treasures, mostly various books, and eighteen carefully selected maids, with a smile, and wrote a letter to the general with a wave of his hand. The letter promised to double the transaction volume this year, which made the general smile and congratulate him repeatedly.

Yang Shoucheng bowed and said, "Congratulations!"

"TOEFL, TOEFL!" The general knew that he had only made a trip but had completed the majesty's instructions without any effort. How could he not be happy? You must know that the Jin Kingdom in Guanzhong was surrounded by enemies, and only the Qi Wang Mansion could develop steadily by transporting resources through the Yangtze River. If this lifeline was lost, it would probably decline.

However, for many years, the King of Qi lived in seclusion and rarely went out. He was always engaged in war. Although he paid tribute every year, he gradually became estranged from the Jin Kingdom in Guanzhong. Of the four parts of the Jin Kingdom, Liaodong was occupied by the Mongols and Daliang was defeated. Only Shandong remained strong, and together with Guanzhong, it was the last hope of the Jin Kingdom.

However, Shandong has the boundless sea as a retreat route, Luzon is even further away, and Guanzhong is like a bird in a cage with nowhere to escape. Therefore, the Jin Emperor Wanyan Honglie became more and more dependent on the Qi Palace. After his conspiracies were shattered time and time again, he gradually recognized the facts and turned to simple wooing.

They entered the city to rest. The entire inn was booked early, and there were thousands of Jin soldiers guarding outside, making everyone in the entire small town silent and afraid to make any unusual movements. The next day, officials came to the door to kneel and see them off. The scene was really shocking.

A few days later, they arrived at Huayin and entered the Yellow River. Just a hundred miles downstream, they saw iron chains straddling the river ahead, and several large ships with flags and drums blaring. A ferocious-looking man shouted, "Happy wedding, young prince! I wish you many sons and grandsons, and a long and prosperous life! I, Hou Tonghai, am sending you three gifts on orders from my senior brother. Please accept them, young prince!"

The first gift was a large flag of the Mongolian army, representing the loss of a thousand-man team. The second gift was more than thirty human heads, representing a group of water spies who were trying to make trouble in the water. The third gift was much more serious, and it was various treasures.

Hou Tonghai boarded Yang Shoucheng's ship. With a chuckle, his expression grew even more ferocious. His tall body was slightly hunched, and his posture was unusually respectful. "Your Highness, you don't know how much hardship I've endured these years. Without the Prince of Qi's protection, even the most insignificant people would dare to bully our Yellow River Gang. Both the Jin and Mongolian armies look down on us. Please, Your Highness, speak well of us in front of His Highness the Prince of Qi and give us a good future."

Yang Shoucheng couldn't help but frown when he heard this. "You are really arrogant! How can the Jin army and the Mongolian army be compared to you? But I seem to remember that they are all officials, right?"

"There is no big river in Guanzhong. We brothers are nothing if we are away from the Yellow River. The position of general commander is just a decoration in Guanzhong. We have no choice but to go back to our old job. Fortunately, His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi is able to contain the Mongolian army and prevent them from completely occupying Shanxi and Henan. This is how we brothers were able to survive in that crack." Hou Tonghai seemed to have forgotten his words and scratched his head, which made Yang Shoucheng frown.

"The young prince really does resemble His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi. He is majestic and powerful. Back when His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi was still the young prince, he personally led a huge army and defeated the Mongolian army. The Song court knelt and kowtowed wherever his spear pointed. He is the Emperor of Jin. Ah, this cannot be said."

"Oh, my Lord, you may not know this, but when I was delivering this second gift, I encountered a strange thing. There were clearly thirty-six bastards, but after beheading them, one was suddenly missing. The guy in charge of the beheading said he had seen a ghost, and with one strike of the knife, the heads fell to the ground and turned to ashes and disappeared. I slapped him directly. He must have taken advantage of others and let the bald thief escape."

A hundred miles away, Sun Yuankai touched his neck with a bitter look on his face. He had led a group of evil heretics to lure the pirates to ambush King Song, but he never expected to be drugged and beheaded by a group of uneducated pirates. It was really an unfair death. If a fight really broke out, his group of people on land were not afraid of them at all, but they could not use any strength after drinking the anesthetic.

"Nemesis, it's really impossible to get close to such a person. His death was so unjust! This guy is even more evil than the flying knife of the last world. He didn't even need to make a move, and he killed me three times. There is really no way to reason with him."

But should he really quit? Although he came from the Vajra Sect of Mongolian Esoteric Buddhism, his status was not high. He had come to the Central Plains to help Huo Du, not without the intention of joining him. If he quit now, all his previous efforts would be in vain.

Alas, it is so difficult for me!