Chapter 528

After crossing the Ju River, the southbound route did not become smooth.

translation

But Shi Dun and the squad led by Ruan Xiaoqi now had a clear goal in mind—heading toward the Jiangyin army to find the commander named Yue Fei.

They no longer completely avoided crowds; instead, they deliberately approached larger groups of defeated soldiers or refugee settlements that seemed likely to have better news, cautiously gathering information.

Several days later, beneath the ruined walls of an abandoned post station, they encountered another group of defeated soldiers taking a rest.

This group numbered about twenty or thirty; compared to the completely senseless ruffians by the Ju River, they showed a bit of order, at least maintaining a basic formation, gathered around a few small fires, silently roasting some tubers obtained from somewhere.

Shi Dun signaled his men to keep their distance, then he himself brought two quick-witted brothers whose accents were close to Zhongyuan, carrying a bag of dry rations, and approached them.

Several military gentlemen, excuse the disturbance.

Shi Dun clasped his fists, squeezed out a somewhat ingratiating smile, and handed over the dry rations.

"We are refugees fleeing from the north, hoping to find a way to survive in the south; may I ask if the road ahead is peaceful?"

Among the defeated soldiers, a bearded leader looked at them warily; seeing their tattered clothes and sallow faces, they did not seem like bandits, and noticing the life-saving bag of rations, his expression eased slightly, and he gestured for them to sit.

"Peaceful?"

The bearded leader snorted, took the dry rations, and distributed them to his men.

"In these times, where is there any peace to be found?"

"Just keep moving, leave it to fate—life or death depends on Heaven's mood."

Shi Dun sat down accordingly and sighed:

"Alas, in this war-torn chaos, I heard the Imperial Court… the Imperial Court has also fled south; what are we to do now?"

When the Imperial Court was mentioned, the bearded leader and the veteran soldiers beside him showed undisguised contempt and resentment.

"Imperial Court? Pah!"

A one-eyed old soldier spat fiercely.

"Pinning hopes on them— their bones have already been chewed to pieces by the Jurchens!"

Shi Dun felt a stir inside, and asked casually:

"We heard on the road that there is a… general surnamed Yue? It seems he didn't flee with the others but is still gathering troops to fight the Jurchens; I don't know if it's true or not…"

"Commander Yue?"

Upon hearing this, the bearded leader lifted his head, a flash of unusual color in his eyes.

"You've also heard of him?"

"Just idle talk on the road; we don't know the details," Shi Dun hurriedly said.

The bearded leader fell silent for a moment, added a stick to the fire, then spoke slowly:

"Yue Fei, courtesy name Yue Pengju, from Xiangzhou."

"I once served under the old commander Zong Ze; I met him then."

"Back then he was still young, merely a militia officer appointed for righteousness, but his spirit was unlike anyone else's."

He seemed to be reminiscing, his tone carrying a hint of sentiment.

"While others pondered how to gain office and wealth, he spent all his time thinking about how to train troops and how to fight the Jurchens."

"He ran the army with deadly strictness—constantly drilling, and if military discipline was broken, even his personal guards received the same bastinado, without any favor."

"Yet he himself was neither greedy nor selfish; whenever there were benefits, he first looked after his subordinates, and in battle he always led from the front."

The one-eyed old soldier interjected, his tone complex:

"He's a ruthless man, and also a hotheaded youth."

"Back at the Pass of Si Shui, he led just a few hundred men, dared to kick the camp of tens of thousands of Jurchen troops, and indeed stirred up heaven and earth, nearly killing a Jurchen commander."

"After the old commander died and the Imperial Court fled south, many followed, but he, leading a group of brothers unwilling to leave, stayed behind."

"What's the point of staying? Just waiting to die?" a young subordinate of Shi Dun couldn't help but interject.

The bearded leader glared at him, offered no rebuttal, merely sighed:

"Who says it isn't so?"

"No provisions, no pay—the Imperial Court treats him as nothing, and the Jurchens see him as a thorn in their eye."

"It's said he is now in the Jiangyin army of the Huainan West Circuit, everywhere gathering up the defeated soldiers and discarded commanders nobody wants."

"The conditions are harsh, the rules are strict, but… at least his place still resembles an army, still intending to fight the Jurchens."

In his tone there was helplessness, incomprehension, but deep down there seemed to be a hint of admiration he himself was unwilling to admit.

"Then… gentlemen, have you not thought of joining him?" Shi Dun probed.

The bearded leader gave a bitter smile and shook his head:

"We old slickers are used to looseness; we can't bear his discipline."

"Moreover, following him brings an uncertain future—ten deaths, no life."

"Better to head south; perhaps… there might still be a way to survive."

Although he said so, the fleeting struggle in his eyes did not escape Shi Dun's notice.

After bidding farewell to that group of defeated soldiers, the squad continued onward.

After traveling another two days, outside a village that had just been looted by a small band of defeated soldiers, they encountered several villagers hiding in the woods, trembling with fear.

Ruan Xiaoqi took out some dry rations to share with them, offered a few comforting words, and incidentally asked about Yue Fei again.

When Yue Fei was mentioned, the eyes of these villagers, who had originally been terrified, actually showed a hint of anger.

"General Yue? General Yue is a good man!"

A bold old man spoke excitedly.

"Not long ago, a band of defeated soldiers tried to come to our village to seize grain; just then General Yue's troops happened to pass by, they soundly defeated that band, and returned all the looted goods to us!"

"General Yue's troops do not harass the populace; when they buy goods they pay! In these days, to see such soldiers—I have lived most of my life and this is the first time!"

Another woman added, her heart still racing:

If it weren't for General Yue, our village would have been doomed long ago……

I heard he's stationed not far to the west, drilling troops all day, saying he's going to fight the golden dogs!

The villagers' descriptions corroborated the image from the defeated soldiers, yet were even more vivid.

He governs the army strictly, his resolve to resist the Jin is firm, and he cherishes the people.

A vague but positive image gradually became clear in the hearts of Shi Dun and Ruan Xiaoqi.

At night, the squad rested in a hidden mountain valley.

Ruan Xiaoqi leaned close to Shi Dun and whispered:

"Shi big brother, after hearing all this, that Yue Fei seems…… to share somewhat the same path as our Northward Aspiration army, right?"

Shi Dun nodded, gazing at the campfire, his eyes deep:

"Strict military discipline, resist the Jin barbarians, protect the people."

"These few points all secretly align with the 'Northward Aspiration' ideal advocated by our lord."

"It seems our lord sending us to find him was not a shot in the dark."

He paused, then his tone grew firm:

"Our direction should be correct, it's somewhere near the Jiangyin Army."

"Quickin our pace, and find his camp as soon as possible!"

Hope, as if a faint glimmer of starlight had appeared in the boundless darkness.

The south‑bound squad's objective became clearer and more urgent.

They wanted to see with their own eyes just what kind of person this Yue Pengju, praised by defeated soldiers and civilians alike, really was.