Chapter 72: Splitting into Two Routes

Hearing the terrible news of the Great Song's collapse, Li Ping wept. This woman known for her resilience now had tears streaming down her face; her heart was swallowed by endless grief, and her tears slid down like beads from a broken string.

Facing all kinds of hardships and setbacks in life, she had never easily shed a single tear. Yet this time, her tears surged out like a raging river, unstoppable, her wailing tearing at the heart and causing pain.

Her husband Guo Xiaotian was originally a hero from Shandong; why did he run to Niujia Village near Lin'an if not because the Jin people were cruel and tyrannical, treating us Song Ren as less than human?

The Great Song has fallen; is there still any place in this world for us Song Ren to belong?

"Is the fall of the Great Song not an inevitable outcome? This matter was expected all along. Mother, why are you so sorrowful?"

Li Ping looked at Guo Jing in disbelief; these words were coming from the mouth of her son, whom she had raised since childhood to serve the country with loyalty.

Guo Jing ignored his mother's gaze and continued: "I admit we Song Ren are many, and there are many heroes among us, but what use is it to have so many heroes, so many Yue Wu Mu? A foolish ruler and treacherous ministers can kill them with just a few tricks."

"Why is this so? Because the Great Song is not the Great Song of us common people, not the Great Song of heroes like Yue Wu Mu. It is the Great Song of a foolish ruler like Zhao Gou and treacherous ministers like Qin Gui. Everything we do is merely to let Zhao Gou and Qin Gui continue to exploit us. If the Great Song falls, let it fall."

With a slap, a bright red handprint appeared on Guo Jing's face. Li Ping, her eyes bloodshot, looked at Guo Jing and choked out: "How can you be so unfilial and rebellious? You have disappointed Mother so much."

"Unfilial and rebellious? Then that is correct. What I intend to do is unfilial and rebellious. Mother, I did not come to ask for your opinion; I came to inform you. I will now dedicate my limited life to the great cause of serving the people without limit. If you agree, I will do it; if you disagree, I will still do it."

"I will throw those blood-sucking parasites clinging to the people off the people. The slave owners of the Mongol grasslands, the Meng'an and Mouke of the Jin Kingdom, the scholar-officials and bureaucrats of the Great Song must all vanish into the river of history, drowned by the vast ocean of the people."

When Guo Jing spoke these words, his tone was more resolute than ever before, as if every word had been forged in the heart of iron and stone. In his eyes, a fierce fire burned fiercely, as if it would swallow everything around him. That fire was not mere passion, but a firm belief and determination from the depths of his heart, burning like molten lava, unstoppable.

Seeing her son so resolute, Li Ping sighed, said no more, turned around, and searched constantly inside the yurt. Finally, she found a money bag, handed it to Guo Jing, and said heavily: "Since you have made up your mind to do this, then do it. When you are away from home, you must take good care of yourself. Take this money."

Nie Huaishang, standing nearby, smiled and said: "Auntie, you need not be like this. Before coming here, we discussed it and agreed that the four of us will split into two routes. Zhang Chu'an and Zhang Xiaofan will establish revolutionary base areas under Jin rule, while Brother Guo and I will stay together in the great desert to open up a revolutionary base area. You and your son will have plenty of opportunities to meet in the future."

"Then won't I be a burden to you?" Li Ping asked hesitantly.

"How could that be? Brother Guo and I need to learn about the local situation from you well as we establish the revolutionary base area next." Nie Huaishang's words were not without reason; establishing a base area inevitably requires finding locals to understand the situation. When Guo Jing left, he was quite young, so his understanding of the great desert was naturally not as familiar as Li Ping's.

"Sigh, what situation is there here? Every few days, small tribes fight each other over pastures; every ten days or half a month, small tribes must follow large tribes to fight another large tribe." Li Ping spoke of this with some sorrow but held it back and continued:

"When fighting breaks out, those people find ways to confiscate our herders' cattle and sheep. Men in the family are dragged out to fight; the husbands of my sisters have not returned to this day."

"What is even more infuriating is that every year those Jin dogs come to the grassland to burn, kill, and plunder. They kill anyone they see. Those tribal leaders are usually so arrogant, but when they meet the Jin dogs, they dare not even let out a fart."

Speaking of this, Li Ping became so angry that she began to curse loudly. How could there be such a treacherous official as Duan Tiande in the great desert, helping the Jin people bully their own people?

The four said nothing and only began to discuss after Li Ping's emotions stabilized.

"It seems the political system in the desert region is still the most primitive slavery. Compared to feudalism and capitalism, the exploitation of slavery is more brutal, the extraction more thorough, and the class contradictions are also great. I think this place is very suitable for us to establish revolutionary base areas." Nie Huaishang spoke first.

Guo Jing nodded in agreement:

"Besides class contradictions, the rule in this region is also very loose. Small tribes have strong independence; aside from paying tribute regularly, they only fight alongside large tribes during warfare. Thus, when we establish a base area, it will not immediately trigger a siege by others."

"Of course, where there are advantages, there are difficulties. For example, the people here are still ignorant and unconditionally believe in gods and religions. This requires us to expend more effort to awaken the people here."

"Moreover, if we establish a revolutionary base area here, sooner or later we will fight a class war with Temujin. Temujin, this class ruler, will not allow a revolutionary base area to exist. This is a life-and-death struggle, and since Temujin is someone who swept across the Eurasian continent, this war is destined to be difficult."

"But does that mean we won't fight no matter how difficult it is?" Zhang Chu'an retorted and continued: "Since we have embarked on the path of building a new world, we fear no difficulties. I admit Temujin is very powerful, but even the most powerful commander needs soldiers to follow him to exert his strength. His slaughter of other nations and his treatment of the lower-class people of his own nation as slaves inevitably place him on the opposite side of most people. I believe we can definitely defeat him."

Although the Mongol iron cavalry swept across the world, the lower-class Mongols lived terribly. The grain and equipment needed for war had to be prepared by themselves, and the plundered wealth had to be turned over. Thus, it was very common for Mongols in the Yuan Dynasty to become servants of Han scholar-gentry lords.

In short, the glory and power of the Mongols belonged to the Golden Family and the Mongol nobility; it had nothing to do with the Mongol people.

The four held their meeting for a long time, continuing to meet based on the current situation and future trends, and formulated the following measures.

One: Split into two routes to establish base areas separately in the great desert and under Jin rule.

Two: Develop our own comrades from the broad masses of laborers; anyone willing to fight for the poor is our comrade.

Three: Uphold the principle of the united front and unite as much as possible the forces standing on our side, such as the Red Coat Army, the Beggar Sect, and the Quanzhen Sect.

Four: Kill Temujin as much as possible and cripple Temujin's forces as much as possible to prevent them from growing.