Chapter 511

Wu Yong

The air felt stagnant, like the deathly stillness before a storm.

The news of the northern frontier's successive falls hit like cold boulders, weighing on everyone's heart.

The slight warmth brought by the earlier small victory in Binzhou had long been washed away by this piercing cold.

On the huge map screen, the black arrows representing the Jin army's front were extending southward at a suffocating speed, devouring vast territories that had originally belonged to the False Song.

Zhen Ding, He Jian, Zhong Shan… each once-familiar place name now lay steeped in the colors of blood and fire.

Song Jiang sat upright at the head, his face a calm he struggled to maintain but could not hide its pallor.

He could feel countless gazes from below, like thorns pricking him.

There were Lin Chong and others whose anger and resolve were undisguised;

There was Wu Yong's gaze, appearing calm but unfathomably deep;

Moreover, many originally neutral chieftains showed confusion and wavering in their eyes.

He cleared his throat, and that dry, hoarse sound sounded especially abrupt in the silent hall.

Gongming

Just as he opened his mouth, attempting to regain control of the situation, he reiterated his stance of 'preserving the stronghold while awaiting amnesty.'

Hall of Righteous Gathering

Lin Chong stepped forward violently, his voice like clashing metal, abruptly cutting off Song Jiang's words.

He no longer concealed himself, his gaze like a torch, fixed on Song Jiang, his chest visibly rising and falling with surging emotion.

"The situation has come to this; the land lies shattered before our eyes, and countless compatriots are plunged into dire straits!

"Do you still want us to sit here idly discussing amnesty, waiting for the Imperial Court's so-called 'clear order'?"

His voice grew louder, carrying an irrepressible sorrow and indignation.

"If the Imperial Court were trustworthy, how could Hebei have come to this? How could Zhen Ding have come to this?

If we continue to shrink back here, what difference is there between that and watching our homeland fall?

What face does this 'Heaven's Mandate' apricot-yellow banner still have to stand here!

"Lin Jiaotou is right!"

Ruan Xiaoqi nearly jumped up, his face red and neck thick.

"We Liangshan heroes do nothing but righteous deeds!

"Now that the nation faces crisis, instead of going to kill the Jin dogs, you think about how to kowtow like a dog to that foolish ruler and treacherous minister? I, Ruan Xiaoqi, am the first to refuse!"

"Right! I won't agree!"

"March north to resist the Jin! Fight the Jin dogs to the death!"

Liu Tang, Shi Jin, and the other Northward Aspiration faction leaders were stirred to high emotion; their shouts shook dust from the beams.

Song Jiang's face darkened completely as he slammed his palm hard on the chairback.

"Impudent!"

He shouted sternly, trying to suppress them with his former authority.

"Lin Chong! Ruan Xiaoqi! Do you still see me as your chief in your eyes? Do you still have any regard for the stronghold's rules!"

He pointed at the crowd, speaking with anguish.

"How could I not feel anguish? How could I not want to raise troops immediately and march north to fight the Jin to the death?"

"But then what?"

"To ruin Liangshan's foundation and let thousands of brothers die pointlessly—is that the loyalty you want?"

"Surrender is the proper way; it is the only means to secure the brothers' futures and find a path for the stronghold!"

"With such rashness, you will drag Liangshan into utter ruin!"

"Utter ruin?"

Wu Yong, who had been silent all along, suddenly gave a cold chuckle, lightly swaying his feather fan, yet his tone was ice-cold like a blade.

"Does the 'utter ruin' you speak of mean like the defenders of Zhending, abandoned by the Imperial Court, the city fell and they died?"

"Or like the millions of refugees in Hebei, whose homes were destroyed and who wandered in despair?"

He looked at Song Jiang with sharp eyes, speaking each word clearly.

"To cling to an Imperial Court that cannot even protect itself, foolish and incompetent, is truly to seek one's own death!"

We who banded together ought to uphold justice and save the people.

Now that foreign barbarians have invaded, this is precisely the time for us to step forward; how can we cling to old ways, miss the opportunity, and waste our abilities and fervent passion!

His words completely stripped away Song Jiang's fig leaf of 'considering the big picture,' laying bare the illusion and danger of the surrender path.

"Wu Yong! You……"

Song Jiang trembled with rage, pointing at Wu Yong, momentarily lost for words.

He had not expected that even his most relied-upon strategist would now openly stand against him.

"Chief Zeng," Song Jiang snapped his head toward Zeng Tu, who had been coldly watching the crowd, with a hint of pleading.

"What do you think of this……"

"Zeng Tu" had a blank expression, his eyes beneath the black robe dark and cold.

He merely spoke lightly, his voice not loud, yet it carried a strange penetrative power that overrode the din.

"Chief Song, heaven's mandate is constant; do not delude yourself."

His words were vague, yet carried a clear warning, implying Song Jiang must adhere to the Iron Crow Army's set 'script'.

But this warning, at this moment, was like throwing ice water into boiling oil, instead provoking an even fiercer reaction.

"Screw heaven's mandate!"

Lin Chong burst out in a furious roar, the anger pent up for long finally exploded completely.

He turned abruptly, no longer looking at Song Jiang and Zeng Tu, facing all the chieftains in the hall, his voice shaking the rafters.

"If this heavenly decree is to have us idly watch our homeland perish and kneel to serve the rebels, then to hell with it!"

With a "swish", he pulled a neatly folded flag from his chest and unfurled it sharply.

A battle flag with a black base, embroidered in scarlet gold thread with the two vigorous characters "Northward Aspiration", blazing like fire, suddenly unfurled before everyone's eyes.

"Brothers!"

Lin Chong raised the battle flag, his gaze sweeping over faces that were excited, shocked, or hesitant.

"Today, I, Lin Chong, together with Military Advisor Wu Yong, the Ruan brothers, Liu Tang, Shi Jin, and others, swear here!"

"Effective immediately, we break from Song Jiang's Liangshan forces, raise our own banner under the name 'Northward Aspiration', vowing to fight the Jin invaders to the death, to recover our lands and save our people!"

"Those who wish to follow me, pack up at once, raise the 'Northward Aspiration' banner, and march north with me to resist the Jin!"

"Those who do not, to each his own; I will not force you, but please do not block my path to save the nation!"

This earth-shattering declaration was like splashing a ladle of cold water into a boiling oil pot, the entire hall of sworn brotherhood exploded!

"I'll follow Chief Lin!"

"Me too!"

"It's about time!"

The Ruan trio, Liu Tang, Shi Jin, Bai Sheng, and other former troops of Chao Gai, along with leaders already leaning toward Northward Aspiration, without hesitation flocked to stand behind Lin Chong.

What was even more shocking, some neutral leaders who had been noncommittal or even leaning toward Song Jiang, after seeing his retreat and the resolve of Northward Aspiration, also made up their minds and joined Lin Chong's camp.

In the blink of an eye, nearly forty percent of the leaders in the hall openly declared their support for Northward Aspiration.

Song Jiang stared dumbfounded at all this, his body swaying, nearly unable to stand.

He pointed a trembling finger at Lin Chong, his lips quivering, yet unable to utter a word.

The delicate balance he had painstakingly maintained, the grand plan of amnesty he had high hopes for, was shattered to pieces at this moment by the sudden raising of the Northward Aspiration flag.

"You... you... this is rebellion!" Song Jiang finally squeezed out a few words through clenched teeth, his voice hoarse.

"It is not rebellion, but choosing a path!"

Wu Yong lightly pointed with his feather fan, his tone firm and unyielding.

"Different paths, no joint plans."

"From now on, you take your Yangguan Road, I will cross my single-log bridge."

"We will not take more than our share of Liangshan's resources, but what is ours must be taken!"

He had long calculated that this was the best moment to split forces and vie for resources.

In the chaos, no one noticed Shi Dun slip quietly to a corner, slipping a tiny note reading "The flag is raised, the matter is accomplished" into the leg band of an inconspicuous carrier pigeon.

The pigeon fluttered out of the hall with a soft whir and vanished into the overcast sky.

That night, the shores of Liangshanpo blazed with lights, shouts and neighing horses, chaos everywhere.

Vessels belonging to the Northward Aspiration faction, loaded with personnel, provisions, and as much armament as possible, set sail one after another from the water stronghold, gathering on the north bank.

Brand-new Northward Aspiration battle flags snapped at the bows, forming a stark and decisive contrast with the apricot-yellow flag of the Liangshan main stronghold.

Shandong, secret base.

Chen Wen received the secret message sent by Shi Dun.

After reading it, his face showed no surprise; he simply lit the note over the candle and watched it turn to ash.

"Brother Chao Gai," he turned to the agitated Chao Gai pacing back and forth beside him.

"The moment has come."

"Immediately raise the 'Northward Aspiration Army' banner and issue proclamations to all anti-Jin forces in Hebei and Shandong, announcing our existence and conviction."

"At the same time, respond to Chief Lin's troops, integrating them with the base forces."

"The true war begins now."

Chao Gai slammed his fist hard into his palm, his voice like a great bell:

"Good! I, your father, have waited for this day far too long!"

"Let the world see what truly is the backbone of China!"

The banner of Northward Aspiration, at last, in this darkest hour of national calamity, was raised resolutely, like a lightning bolt cleaving the darkness, heralding an entirely different path of resistance.