Chapter 160: The Deceived Gentry

"According to secret reports, the Jin Kingdom has already produced firearms—about two or three hundred. Although they are low-end matchlock muskets with a range of only one or two hundred paces, Temujin has already devised a three-rank volley formation."

Zhang Xiaofan read aloud as the characters gradually appeared on the paper.

"It seems we must postpone our founding ceremony. Once the Song Kingdom, with its wealth and skilled craftsmen, obtains these technologies, they will undoubtedly manufacture many firearms. This poses a threat to us. Moreover, with a genius commander like Temujin, we cannot give them any time."

Guo Jing's resolute tone made the other three exchange uneasy glances. How to put it? No wonder he was the one who wanted to gang up on Li Mochou with Huang Laoxie. The Southern Song had only two hundred matchlock muskets and hadn't even started mass production, yet you want to destroy them? The problem is, you possess one million Wu Liu Ban rifles.

Seeing the looks of the other three, Guo Jing pondered for a moment and said, "Indeed, that is unwise. Since they possess the production technology for firearms, it proves that the remnants of the Jin Kingdom have production lines in the Northeast. Xiaofan, take three hundred thousand troops north to attack the Jurchens' Huanglong Prefecture. You must raze their homes and root them out completely."

"I will first lead the cavalry units to strike straight at the Jin capital of Bianliang. The infantry must follow as quickly as possible to prevent the Song Kingdom from sending reinforcements."

Having spoken, he immediately wrote down the battle orders on the letter and rushed out in a hurry.

That night, Guo Jing urgently mobilized five cavalry divisions to strike straight at Bianliang.

"What? You say the Revolutionary Army is coming? When?" Upon hearing that the Revolutionary Army was attacking.

Temujin was terrified. He could not understand why Guo Jing's movements were so fast. Wasn't he supposed to be preparing for the founding ceremony in Zhongdu? How could he arrive so quickly?

Even postponing the founding ceremony, he personally led troops to destroy him. Did he really think he could ally with the Song Kingdom to resist them?

"What shall we do, my lord Temujin? Although there are many large ships in the Song capital of Bianliang, the skilled craftsmen and supplies the Song Kingdom is sponsoring for us are still being gathered. Should we hold this position for a while to secure their supplies and craftsmen before returning to the Jin Kingdom?" Wanyan Gang asked anxiously.

"We cannot wait for their supplies; there is no time. You have never fought the Revolutionary Army. Even if they send cavalry units unskilled in siege warfare, we cannot hold out until the Song Kingdom's supplies and supporting craftsmen arrive. We might very well perish here."

When Temujin learned that Guo Jing was leading four cavalry divisions, he involuntarily recalled the battle where Guo Jing led forty thousand cavalry to annihilate his Kiyat tribe.

That battle was the nightmare of his life. In any case, with his current strength, there was no possibility of victory no matter how he calculated.

Moreover, in the battle on the steppe, the forty thousand cavalry were new recruits. These four cavalry divisions now were veterans, better equipped, and more experienced. Most importantly, he had a premonition: Guo Jing was likely even stronger now.

So fleeing immediately was the best choice. In any case, Temujin no longer intended to stay in the east. He planned to take his people and supplies west to try his luck, only hoping that the Revolutionary Army was not there in the west.

Sometimes he even wondered if he was too incompetent; otherwise, why had he only won against the Tatars since he began leading armies?

But upon careful thought, all the crushing defeats he had suffered were inflicted by the Revolutionary Army. He was, after all, the one who had fought the entire Revolutionary Army from start to finish and survived.

His good brother Jamukha was blown up by the Revolutionary Army in the first battle. His adopted father Wang Han was defeated by the Revolutionary Army, subjected to criticism sessions, and then executed.

As for the Great Jin Kingdom, if he hadn't gone there, they probably would have been played to death by Zhang Chu'an before even engaging the Revolutionary Army.

My military strength shouldn't be incompetent, right? It's just that those people are too fierce, right?

Although Guo Jing arrived very quickly, the local craftsmen had already been assembled. Without lifting a finger, they extorted a huge sum of money from the local gentry—three million taels of silver in total.

This made them sigh that, indeed, as the former capital of the Song Kingdom, even after being abandoned for so many years, it could still be stripped of so much silver.

As for why the gentry, who were usually as stingy as an iron rooster, were so generous, it was because the words of the landlords and gentry fleeing from the north had terrified them.

Even landlords and gentry with good reputations who had never committed illegal acts had to donate all their land to cooperate with land reform. As for the rich tyrants and evil gentry, their only fate was criticism sessions and execution by firing squad.

Asking them to divide the family fortune accumulated over ten or more generations among those poor wretches was no different from asking for the lives of their entire families. Moreover, those holding the lives of the poor wretches in their hands would be directly shot. Which master hasn't beaten a few poor wretches to death? Does this mean ninety-nine percent of masters must pay with their lives to the poor wretches? Does this not respect the hierarchy of nobility and baseness?

Since the Revolutionary Army would not let them live, they would not let the Revolutionary Army have a good time either. So when the Jin army said they needed to raise money to forge firearms to fight the Revolutionary Army, they generously contributed: those with money gave money, those with people gave people.

After all, they had witnessed the power of those muskets; if more were forged, it would surely make life difficult for the Revolutionary Army. Most importantly, the people they sent were to learn how to forge firearms and train new-style troops.

Upon their return, these people would help them forge firearms and train elite local militia.

They never expected that these barbarians, after taking their money and people, would immediately board ships and flee.

They were families of scholars, well-read in poetry and books, masters of manipulating human hearts, and yet a group of masters was deceived. Worse still, they were deceived by the very barbarians they most despised on the intellectual high ground. Was there anything more insulting than this?

Where is the simplicity that your grassland nomadic tribes are supposed to have?

By the time they learned of Temujin's plan to flee, those people had already boarded the ships. When they led the local militia to the port, they could only vaguely see a few sparse black dots on the horizon.

"No, you cannot abandon us!" The head elder gentry cried out in agony, collapsing to the ground. To resist the Revolutionary Army, he had contributed forty thousand taels of silver. Forty thousand taels in total!

As the old gentry cried, the gentry behind him also began to weep. It was not just that their money had been swindled, but also the fear of the Revolutionary Army's arrival. According to the gentry fleeing from the north, the Revolutionary Army would kill even their minions. They, the gentry, would first be paraded through the streets, then subjected to criticism sessions, and finally executed.

Truly, since the founding of the Great Song, who had ever treated the gentry so undignifiedly?

Even if the gentry committed the gravest offenses, they would not face the death penalty. Who could have imagined a force that would treat them like dogs?

"Given this situation, what is to be done?" the head elder gentry wept bitterly.

His Liu family was also a family of scholars. Since the founding of the Great Song, several generations of Jinshi degrees had emerged from the household. Every successive government had treated them with courtesy. Then came the Jingkang period, when the Jin Kingdom invaded from the south. Although their status was not as prominent as before, the Jin tax system was chaotic. Seizing this opportunity, his family's assets expanded to unprecedented levels.

The land was so vast that no one knew how much there was. By his generation, he had become the largest landlord near Bianliang. Just thinking that the Revolutionary Army wanted not only all his family's money and land but also the lives of his entire family made him want to collapse.