Chapter 141 Song Gongming: Jiangzhou is the place where I turn into a dragon
The development of weapons has always been from restraint to being restrained and then to restraint.

When it comes to insufficient firepower, there is no such thing as the most perfect cold weapon.

The Song Dynasty's infantry armor had reached its peak of development. It was made up of more than a thousand iron plates connected together, with a total weight of sixty kilograms. They held long weapons weighing more than ten kilograms in their hands, which could easily restrain the long-range shots of light cavalry.

Even if it was a charge by heavy cavalry, as long as they formed a battle formation, they would be like a turtle shell, making it impossible for foreign enemies to attack.

The only drawback is that it is too heavy and has almost no maneuverability.

Therefore, the Song Dynasty could not fight a war of annihilation, and it was even more difficult to expand its territory.

When the orcs went south, they obtained the armor and equipment of the Liao Dynasty and evolved from naked cavalry to heavy armored iron pagodas. When facing the tortoise shells of the Song Dynasty, they chose to use heavy weapons such as iron bones and maces to restrain them, and then cooperated with light cavalry such as crooked horses to provide flank cover.

As a result, the heavy infantry regiment of the Song Dynasty had no place to use its skills, and half of its territory was lost overnight.

When Prince Yue is regaining control of the old country, he will be facing heavy cavalry like Tiefutu. The saber will be useless because it is used to defeat unarmored cavalry.

Therefore, Yue Fei chose to use blunt weapons to attack with horse hooves. He himself used the "Eight-sided Bright Silver Hammer", and then used the Shenbi Crossbow to deal with the archery of the Crooked Horse.

The Song Dynasty not only saved Jiangnan, but even launched a counterattack.

In the future, when firearms really appeared, traditional heavy armor became vulnerable. Starting from the Yuan Dynasty, cloth armor with iron plates installed in key places appeared, which was the predecessor of cotton armor.

In order to resist firearms, the cotton armor of the Ming Dynasty began to be lined with iron sheets and fixed with copper nails (foam nails) on the outside. In addition to resisting firearms, as long as the density meets the requirements, it can also provide good protection against cold weapons.

But cotton armor is still just armor, not bulletproof vest. During the Opium War, the cotton armor of the Qing Dynasty became a burden for soldiers, which could not stop bullets and increased the burden. The cotton armor of the Qing Dynasty gradually withdrew from the battlefield and eventually disappeared with the demise of the Qing Dynasty.

The saber is indeed very powerful, but it is restrained by the Song Dynasty infantry.

However, if the Song Dynasty mobilized the infantry phalanx of the Northwest Frontier Army to suppress the bandits, wouldn't that be like using a butcher knife to kill a chicken? Would the Song-Xia border still be defendable?

Unless Liangshan had conquered most of Shandong, just like Fang La conquered Lin'an in history and began to call himself a country, it would have completely threatened the rule of Zhao Song.

Only then can we dispatch elite troops to conquer.

Being a bandit like Chen Xizhen is now is just a minor illness.

If the provincial troops are defeated, the provincial troops will be sent in; if the provincial troops are defeated again, the two imperial guards will be sent in; if the imperial guards are defeated again, then try to obtain peace from the edict; if they are still stubborn and determined to rebel, then draw generals from the border troops to suppress them.

In addition, the court had too many officials, too many soldiers, and too much expenditure. It would take at least three to five years to complete this process.

Autumn of the sixth year of Zhenghe period of the Song Dynasty.

Kongjiazhuang, Qingzhou.

Hua Rong strode into the manor, grabbed Song Jiang's hand, and complained, "Last year, I heard that my brother was framed by that short-legged tiger. I really wanted to slap myself. If I had killed Wang Ying that day, my brother would not have been in such trouble."

Song Jiang gave a bitter smile and held Hua Rong's hands tightly: "Brother, this is my brother's fate. You can't blame me, brother Hua Rong!"

During this year, he really did not leave his house. He spent the whole day in the farm teaching martial arts to the two brothers Kong Ming and Kong Liang. He also made great progress in the art of nurturing spirits.

"I just blame my brother for not going to my Qingfeng Village, but you don't trust me?"

"Brother Hua Rong, my brother is guilty of the big case of the birthday gift. If he goes to Qingfeng Village, it will harm my brother. Brother Hua Rong, I haven't congratulated you yet. You have become the chief officer of Wenzhi Village. It is also a great honor for the family!"

"The court sells official positions and titles, and I am a ninth-rank official, and this is the limit of my career. Look, Yizhou is in chaos, and I don't know when Qingzhou will also be in chaos."

"Ugh!"

Song Jiang let out a long sigh. He was now wanted by the imperial court, and the only way out for him was to become a bandit in the mountains.

But he has no one to rely on, no money to pay, and he is unwilling to rely on others to be a younger brother. What can he do?
After drinking with Song Jiang, Hua Rong invited him to visit Qingfengzhai, but he flatly refused.

Two days passed like this, and Hua Rong had no choice but to say goodbye and leave.

But as soon as Hua Rong left, Song Jiang called Kong Ming and Kong Liang over and said in a deep voice, "I am going to Jiangzhou. Would you two brothers like to go with me?"

"Master, we will accompany brother to the ends of the earth, to the mountains of swords and seas of fire!" said the hairy Kong Ming, patting his chest.

"it is good!"

Kong Liang wore a red fishtail turban, a duck-head green battle robe, a pair of boots, and a red waistband. He had a round face, big ears, wide lips and a square mouth. He was more than seven feet tall and looked to be in his early twenties.

The two brothers were born to the same mother. They looked similar, had the same bad temper and simple mind.

"Master and Brother Hua Rong are close friends. Why don't you ask him to resign from his crappy position and help Brother achieve great things?"

"The father and daughter of Chen Xizhen from Yizhou are truly extravagant, making us brothers envious."

Song Jiang was speechless. Now others have been promoted from clerks to officials, they are not oppressed by their superiors, and their families are happy. How can I speak?

If you force yourself, you won’t even have any friends anymore.

"Alas! This time I am going to Jiangzhou to find a group of like-minded brothers. I have received the decree of the Queen Mother of the Nine Heavens, and Jiangzhou is the place where I, Song Jiang, will transform into a dragon."

When Kong Ming and Kong Liang heard such weird remarks, their eyes immediately lit up and they did not doubt whether it was true or not.

The three of them packed their luggage, and Grandpa Kong couldn't stop them. He could only take out some of his savings and watch them go south.

"Song Jiang left Kongjiazhuang?!"

Song Jiang rode at full speed. Before he left Qingzhou, Cao Jie had already received the news. He came to the Juyi Hall and said with a smile, "Liu Tang, call three or five brothers, and we will go south to Jiangzhou."

"Brother, why do you feel like moving when you are so quiet?" Chao Gai asked.

Cao Jie smiled mysteriously: "There should be 108 heroes gathering in Liangshan. Now a group of brothers have landed in Jiangzhou and Longyou shallows. It's time to invite them to the mountain."

Chao Gai was beaming with joy, and said happily, "Then Chao Gai is indispensable to this excitement."

"Of course, I, Ruan Xiaoqi, cannot be left out."

"I, Jiao Ting, also want to join in the fun..."

"Brother, how can you go out without me, Shi Qian?"

Immediately, Cao Jie led Chao Gai, Gongsun Sheng, Ruan Xiaoqi, Liu Tang, Jiao Ting, and Shi Qian, a total of seven people, and went south with the herbal medicine shop's drug collecting team.

Their first stop was Qiao County (Bozhou).

According to records, during the Three Kingdoms period, the legendary doctor Hua Tuo opened up the first medicinal garden in Bozhou. Since then, the cultivation of local Chinese medicinal materials has been passed down from generation to generation and has lasted for a long time.

Bozhou's unique phenological and geographical conditions make it a distribution center for medicinal materials in the Central Plains.

Also, because the legacy of the legendary doctor Hua Tuo has been enduring in Bozhou, many famous doctors and pharmacists have emerged, and the skills of cultivating and preparing Chinese medicinal materials are even more advanced.

A group of the caravan settled in Qiao County to purchase raw medicinal materials, while the rest continued southward, leaving another group to buy medicine in Lu'an.

The remaining group of people walked for less than ten days before they reached the Yangtze River, facing Jiangzhou across the river...

(End of this chapter)