Chapter 158

"My lord Wang, you just said that the Western Xia, the Mongols, and the Great Jin have been merged into a single nation—there must be deep ethnic tensions between them. Did you observe any large-scale uprisings in the north during your journey?" Shi Miyuan asked quickly, recovering from his shock and anger.

"There have indeed been large-scale military operations in the north this year—they deployed seventy thousand regular troops, countless local guerrilla units, and regional police forces," Wang Dan said thoughtfully.

Shi Miyuan heard this and confirmed his suspicions, but then Wang Dan changed the subject.

"Actually, the common people in every region strongly support the People's Government—there's not a single sign of opposition. The military campaigns were entirely for cracking down on crime and eliminating bandits: clearing out the black gloves of past gentry, hunting down wandering heroes who extorted protection money, usurers, gamblers, and brothel owners—all of them were taken out and executed."

"The bandits are the same—during this period, the Revolutionary Army has been busy wiping out local bandits. Those driven by desperation who never harmed the poor peasants may come down, surrender, and receive land according to their numbers; but anyone who has harmed the common people must die."

"As for the martial sects, all their land and assets have been confiscated, weapons and controlled blades seized. Most martial sects have been eradicated; only a few small remnants have abandoned violence and now pursue legitimate livelihoods."

After hearing Wang Dan's account, they realized this group was even more terrifying than they'd imagined. Banditry had existed since ancient times—but had anyone ever truly eradicated it? No.

Because as long as there was a Shenshan, bandits could hide inside; villagers within ten li or more served as their eyes; even landlords and powerful elites had ties to them.

When the government sent troops to suppress them, they knew in advance and fled into the mountains before the troops arrived. Moreover, bandits existed everywhere across the land—too widespread to ever fully eliminate.

Whenever someone could no longer survive, they would harden their hearts, kill, and flee into the mountains. The Song's main policy toward rebels and bandits had always been amnesty—recruiting them into the imperial army.

To uproot all bandits across the entire north, the People's Government in the north must have exerted tremendous effort—its level of organization was undoubtedly terrifying.

While eliminating bandits, they also brought the entire martial world under complete control—those who understood knew how difficult that was.

"My lord Wang, I just heard you say the Revolutionary Army distributed land to bandits—isn't land an extremely valuable resource? How could they afford to give it away?" Shi Miyuan asked.

"Oh, they don't just give it to bandits—they give it to all landless poor peasants nationwide, with priority given to families enlisting in the army. This is because they've launched a policy in the north called 'Smash the Local Tyrants and Distribute the Land'—in simple terms, they seize landlords' land and distribute it to landless farmers." When Wang Dan finished speaking, the entire court fell silent.

They were all landlords themselves—how could they allow their land to be given to those beggars?

"If they do this, will the landlords in the north agree?" Emperor Ningzong asked in disbelief.

Since the Qin Dynasty, this land had seen many classes that co-ruled with the emperor: military aristocracies like the Guanlong Group, Han-era aristocratic clans, and our own dynasty's scholar-officials.

But they all shared one common name: landlords. Landowning landlords were the true ruling class—the entire realm was governed by landlords, and even this emperor was merely the largest landlord of all.

To offend the landlords was to offend the gentry and military generals—even this emperor, if he offended them, would be overthrown.

"The landlords in the north naturally disagree—but what of it? A single soldier of the Revolutionary Army can easily kill a Tie Futu; a single battalion can annihilate three or four thousand Tie Futu. I assume you are all somewhat familiar with the Tie Futu?"

Tie Futu is a Sanskrit term meaning "tall tower"—the Jin army's heavy cavalry wore full armor on both man and horse, leaving only their eyes exposed. When advancing, they resembled moving iron towers.

Once infantry formations were shattered by Tie Futu, soldiers became lambs awaiting slaughter.

A few hundred Revolutionary Army soldiers could annihilate three or four thousand Tie Futu—this suggests their elite troops must rival the famed Bei Zai Corps of Yue's army.

"Don't assume this force is their elite. These are their ordinary infantry. They have one million such troops—no, they have cavalry too. They control the crucial horse-producing regions of Western Xia and the Mongols—they have at least two hundred thousand cavalry. And they have artillery—I saw them use it during bandit suppression. These cannons can fire beyond eight thousand five hundred steps, and fire sixteen rounds in rapid succession. Remember: these cannons are nothing like our own Hōngtiān Léi."

"One shell from this cannon would shatter an entire pavilion. It can fire twelve rounds in moments. I'm told each regiment has twelve of these cannons. Let me clarify: a regiment is roughly one or two thousand men. They have seven or eight hundred regiments—that's over a thousand of these cannons." When Wang Dan finished, the entire palace fell utterly silent—no one spoke.

This is too absurdly powerful. They have over a million infantry who can kill Tie Futu, over twenty thousand elite cavalry far superior to infantry, and over a thousand cannons capable of shattering mountains and splitting earth—how could you possibly fight them? Even if you dug up Wu Mu and the Taizu from their graves, you couldn't defeat them.

Wu Mu could at best defeat five thousand Tie Futu—but if a million troops capable of killing Tie Futu arrived, Wu Mu could only return to his grave.

At this moment, Emperor Ningzong understood why the Revolutionary Army's leader was so arrogant.

"Your Majesty, please summon all generals for consultation, and My Lord Wang, please describe this force capable of killing Tie Futu," Shi Miyuan said, jolting the court awake. Yes—they hadn't even explained what this force was like! Just saying it could kill Tie Futu alone—who knew if you weren't boasting?

Seeing the expressions around him, Wang Dan snorted coldly. "Very well. When I traveled north, after seeing the weapons they used, I paid heavily to bribe their personnel and smuggled back three of them. Their control is too strict—I could only get these three."

Soon, the entire Song court understood why this force could kill Tie Futu single-handedly.

"This device can pierce iron armor at four hundred paces without effort. After firing ten rounds, you replace the magazine and continue firing. To Tie Futu heavy cavalry, it's no different than shooting at targets—but it's much harder to use against light cavalry." As the Song generals studied the device and began formulating countermeasures, they froze.

If this was correct, the Revolutionary Army's cavalry must vastly outnumber theirs.

"I observe this device is made of iron, crafted by artisans. Could our own craftsmen replicate it? Even if they cannot fully reproduce it, they could greatly enhance our military strength."

At these words, the court officials turned to the speaker—a young general behind Meng Zongzheng of Jingxi Road, seemingly under twenty.

"Good, good, good! All the officials and generals here remain silent, yet you alone speak up with strategy. What is your name?" Emperor Ningzong regarded the young general with approval.

The young general bowed respectfully. "Your servant, Meng Gong."