Chapter 206: Troubled Times Create Heroes

In the blink of an eye, it was the seventh year of Zhenghe in the Song Dynasty, 1117 AD.

Cao Jie traveled through time in the autumn of the third year of Zhenghe. More than three years have passed since then, and he has created a huge career.

The ten-year countdown to the Jingkang Incident has completely begun.

Ten years passed in the blink of an eye.

Troubled times have arrived.

Heroes will emerge in large numbers.

The first good news of the new year was brought by "Green-faced Beast" Yang Zhi. He ran around this year and finally found his cousin "Yang Zaixing".

"Brother, I have found Yang Zaixing."

"Found it?! Great!"

The five tiger generals under Yue Fei's command: Yang Zaixing, Yue Yun, Zhang Xian, Wang Gui, and Niu Gao.

The five men followed Yue Fei in his campaigns to the south and the north, fought against the Jin army and served the country, intimidated the enemy, and made outstanding military achievements. They are heroes who will be remembered forever in the hearts of the people of the Song Dynasty.

"Then where is Yang Zaixing?" Cao Jie asked excitedly.

Yang Zhi smiled bitterly: "Brother, Yang Zaixing is a teenager who is not yet an adult. He will only be fourteen years old after the New Year..."

The hero is still young!
The earliest record of Yang Zaixing was in the first year of Shaoxing (1131), when Cao Cheng had an army of more than and occupied Daozhou and Hezhou. At that time, Yang Zaixing was a general under Cao Cheng and followed Cao Cheng south to plunder Lingnan.

That’s right, Yang Zaixing was a rebel general.

Not only did he plunder Lingnan, he also fought several battles with Yue Fei.

In the second year of Shaoxing, Cao Cheng sent troops to guard Moye Pass. Yue Fei sent Zhang Xian to attack. Guo Jin, a subordinate of Zhang Xian, was the first to break through the pass. After Moye Pass fell, Yue Fei's fifth general Han Shunfu saw that Cao Cheng's army had dispersed, so he unsaddled his horse and took off his armor, and used the captured women to cheer him up and drink.

Yang Zaixing led his troops to take advantage of the opportunity to launch a surprise attack on Han Shunfu's camp, cutting off one of Han Shunfu's arms. Han Shunfu was seriously injured and died.

After Yue Fei's army was defeated, he sent Wang Jing, the commander of the grain army, and Zhang Xian, the commander of the vanguard army, to attack Yang Zaixing. Yang Zaixing fought with Wang Jing and others, and killed Yue Fei's brother Yue Fan.

But Yang Zaixing was eventually defeated by Zhang Xian and fled to Guangxi.

Zhang Xian led his troops in pursuit. Yang Zaixing was cornered and jumped into a deep ravine. Zhang Xian was ready to kill him.

Yang Zaixing asked Zhang Xian to tie him up and bring him to see Yue Fei. When Yue Fei saw Yang Zaixing, he was surprised by his appearance and fighting skills, but he did not kill Yang Zaixing and completely subdued him.

In troubled times, even heroes often commit bad deeds.

"His father, Yang Bangyi, was a Jinshi in the fifth year of Zhenghe, and is now a county lieutenant in Wuyuan, Shezhou. If my brother needs them, I will personally go and persuade them to come up the mountain."

"That's it!"

Cao Jie pondered for a moment and said, "Not yet. Wait until Yang Zaixing reaches adulthood before making plans. Just keep a close eye on them over the years."

"Yes, brother!"

Not long after Yang Zhi left, Lin Chong went to Qilin Village in Daming Prefecture to pay a visit to his mentor, and came back with some very bad news.

"Brother, Lin Chong has failed you!"

Lin Chong was actually injured and coughed several times while speaking. It was obvious that his internal injuries were difficult to heal.

"Then Zhou Tong no longer recognizes you as his disciple?" Cao Jie asked.

There are very few people in the world who can hurt Lin Chong. Moreover, he did not go to Daming Prefecture alone, and no one could hurt him except Zhou Tong.

"Ugh!"

Lin Chong sighed, but he couldn't say much because it was about his mentor Zhou Tong. The heroes who accompanied him to Daming Mansion immediately started to shout, "Brother, you don't know. We went to see Zhou Tong and treated him with courtesy, but he drove us out. He even pointed at Brother Lin Chong and scolded him, and even asked us to clear the door. It's unreasonable."

"Master Lin, I'm not saying bad things about you behind your back, but that Shaanxi hero is just a name that has earned his reputation for nothing. It's fine if you don't recognize him as your master!"

In this era, "loyalty" comes first.

Cao Jie felt Lin Chong's pulse and saw that he was fine, so he said, "How did brother Lin Chong get to Liangshan? Everyone in the martial arts world knows it. He said Zhou Tong should clean up the family? Great, go to Bianjing City and take Gao Qiu's head, then you will have the nerve to clean up brother Lin Chong's family!"

"Brother, you are right. You have never thought about revenge for your disciple, but you have the nerve to say you want to clean up the mess? It's really ridiculous!"

"Brother Lin Chong, take good care of your wounds. When we conquer the Song Dynasty, we will let you sit on the throne. Then we will see how that old man treats you."

Everyone tried to comfort him. Lin Chong made a bitter face and clasped his fists and said, "I know the good intentions of you brothers. Alas! After all, my skills were taught to me by my mentor. My injury is only a minor one. I will be fine in ten days or half a month. Brothers, there is no need to blame my mentor."

"Forget it, after all, this is a grudge between you two, so it's not appropriate for outsiders like me to say more."

It’s a pity that Yue Fei cannot be defeated for the time being, and he might even become a powerful enemy.

But who can predict what will happen ten years from now?

Who knows, before Yue Pengju could soar to the sky, he might have already seized the Song Dynasty and become the master of the nine provinces.

At that time, the one he will be loyal to will be himself.

On this day, a piece of news came from the Liao Kingdom in the north.

"elder brother!"

Lü Fang held the letter and said excitedly, "Brother, I met a good man in the north. His name is Dong Pang'er, and he is from Laishui, Yizhou. He was born in a poor family, but he is brave and courageous. He sent people to Yinmachuan to find me. He has already led more than a thousand people to launch an uprising in Nanjing, Liao."

"He dared to start an uprising in Liaodong. This man is really brave!"

"He is indeed brave and courageous. Brother, if you can subdue him, he will be of great use in the future."

Cao Jie nodded and said, "Heroes emerge in troubled times. With more than a thousand people rebelling with him, he is obviously a hero of the moment. Such a person will naturally be useful to us in the future to govern the north. Lu Fang..."

"Brother is here!"

"Contact Shi Xiu and Deng Fei immediately and do your best to save this man's life."

"Yes!"

During the Tianqing period of the Liao Dynasty, the rule of Emperor Tianzuo was corrupt and dark. After Aguda rebelled against the Liao Dynasty, in order to fight against the Jin army, the Liao government further imposed heavy taxes, conscripted soldiers and collected grain, and exploited the people.

In order to resist the cruel exploitation and oppression of the Liao Dynasty, Dong Pang'er launched an uprising in the seventh year of Zhenghe in the Song Dynasty.

According to historical records, the uprising quickly grew to more than 10,000 people, dealing a heavy blow to the Liao Dynasty. The Liao court immediately sent Xijing garrison commander Xiao Yixue and Nanjing military commander Cha Ci to lead troops to suppress the uprising.

The two sides fought a fierce battle at Yishui.

The rebels were composed of common people from the lower classes, and they dispersed after being defeated.

In March of the same year, the rebel army gathered again in the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, but was defeated by the Liao army in Fengsheng Prefecture (now Zhuolu, Hebei).

After that, Dong Pang'er led the remaining troops to fight in Yunzhou (now Datong, Shanxi), Yingzhou (now Yingxian, Shanxi), Wuzhou (now Wuzhai, Shanxi), Shuozhou (now Shuoxian, Shanxi) and other places.

During this period, they also contacted the Song Dynasty and expressed their willingness to help the Song Dynasty fight against the Liao Dynasty.

Song promised to make him the king of Yan territory and gave him the name Zhao Yi. Dong Pang'er wrote a memorial to the emperor, calling himself "General Dong Cai who helps Song and defeats the invaders."

Unfortunately, the military strength of the Song Dynasty was really weak, and in the end, Dong Pang'er had no choice but to surrender to the Jin Dynasty.

If the Han Chinese can go north to recapture Yanyun, then Dong Panger can become a true hero...

(End of this chapter)