Do you have the strength to force me to join the Liangshan bandits?

Chapter 541 Wu Yong: Orphans and Widows Are Having a Hard Time! [1st Update]

"Bala, bala, bala..."

The voluptuous young woman began to speak, and tears streamed down her face.
"Fortunately, a servant escaped and told me all this!"
"Otherwise, I wouldn't know who my husband's killer was..."

Chai Jin and Song Jiang looked at each other in disbelief. It turned out that Liang Wang Chai Gui had also died at the hands of someone surnamed Cai.
"Isn't this a coincidence?"

Chai Jin sighed deeply, "We were also harmed by that man surnamed Cai!"

Song Jiang took over the conversation, embellishing the whole story from beginning to end, and told it to Lady Chai.

This voluptuous young woman was none other than Lady Chai, the widow of King Chai Gui of Liang.

The three- or four-year-old child is Chai Gui's son, Chai Paifu.

In the original story, after Yue Fei died, his entire family was exiled to Yunnan.

When they passed through Nanning Prefecture, Chai Paifu had grown up and inherited the title of the Prince of Liang, and was still stationed in Nanning Prefecture.

Chai Paifu wanted to kill the entire Yue family, but Chai Niangniang, being a woman of great righteousness, said that it was all the fault of "Golden Knife King" Wang Shan for instigating the matter, and resolved the feud with the Yue family.

Lady Chai also became sworn sisters with Li, the widow of Yue Fei.

Later, Lady Chai and Chai Paifu protected the Yue family all the way. If it weren't for them, Yue Yun's widow, Lady Gong, would have been slept with by a corrupt official.

Chai Paifu later became a good brother of Yue Fei's young generals...

However, that was a long time later. Right now, Chai Niangniang is still young, and Chai Paifu can't even speak fluently yet.

Since Chai Jin was Chai Gui's uncle and brother, and Chai Gui had passed away, only Lady Chai could personally entertain him.

After hosting a banquet for Chai Jin and Song Jiang, Lady Chai invited them to rest at the inn.

Inside the post station, Song Jiang, Chai Jin, and Wu Yong sat in a row.

Each person had a wooden tub, and they soaked their feet together.

Song Jiang and Wu Yong exchanged a glance, and Wu Yong, waving his feather fan, began to speak:

"Nanning Prefecture is such a difficult place..."

Song Jiang, playing the straight man, said: "Strategist, Nanning Prefecture is far from the emperor's reach, practically a kingdom in itself. What's so difficult about that?"

Although Chai Jin didn't reply, he perked up his ears.

“Nanning Prefecture was located in the southwest corner of the Song Dynasty, bordering both the foreign country of Huaguo and the Dali Kingdom.”

Wu Yong stroked his beard, looking as if he were strategizing with complete control.

"The Dali Kingdom was established earlier than our Great Song Dynasty. Although it was located in a remote corner, it had a strong military."

Wu Yong's words were not an exaggeration.

At that time, the Dali Kingdom encompassed the entire Yunnan Province, most of Guizhou Province, southwestern Sichuan Province, northern Bagan, Luang Prabang in Laos, and part of Annam.

Its territory covers an area of ​​72 square kilometers.

It is slightly smaller than the combined total of Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning provinces, and is roughly equivalent to four Guangdong provinces.

"It might not be a big deal for the Song Dynasty."

"But if war breaks out, Nanning Prefecture will be the first to bear the brunt. How can it withstand the onslaught of the Dali Kingdom's army?"

Wu Yong's words immediately changed Chai Jin's expression. Wu Yong then said:
"The foreign lands were established by the Miao people, and every Miao person is brave and skilled in battle."

"I heard that Li Shufu, the Miao king of Huawai, is twelve feet tall."

"His face was as blue as indigo, his hair as red as cinnabar, and he resembled a yaksha or a fierce demon, possessing the courage of ten thousand men."

"If foreign powers were to wage war against Nanning Prefecture, and Nanning Prefecture were left with only orphans and widows, how would we respond?"

Chai Jin's face turned green. Song Jiang, observing his expression, patted Chai Jin on the shoulder:

“Master Chai, you and Prince Liang are cousins ​​who are still connected by blood!”
"Since we are in Nanning Prefecture, we certainly cannot stand idly by if anything happens there!"

Chai Jin glanced gratefully at Song Jiang, and was about to say something when Wu Yong interrupted:

"But in what capacity do we intervene?"
“We are just guests now. With the death of King Liang, Lady Chai, a mere woman, has no authority to make decisions.”

"I don't know if you noticed when you came, but the discipline of the troops in Nanning Prefecture is lax, even the servants..."

At this point, Wu Yong shook his head:

"We're outsiders, so it's not appropriate for us to comment. Only Master Chai can truly intervene." Although Wu Yong didn't finish his sentence, Chai Jin understood his meaning:
The orphan and widow couldn't control the situation.

When they entered the city, the city gate guards demanded money from them.

That was bad enough, but even the servants in the Prince's mansion were somewhat negligent in obeying Lady Chai's orders.

To put it bluntly, if anyone in the army were to harbor disloyal thoughts, Chai Niangniang and Chai Paifu would be in danger.

Chai Jin said with concern, "It is indeed difficult for orphans and widows, but I cannot interfere..."

Song Jiang and Wu Yong exchanged a glance, and Song Jiang spoke frankly to Chai Jin:
"My lord, please forgive my bluntness!"

"Without a man in the family, it's incredibly difficult for a widow and her children to maintain such a large business!"

"The master is a member of the Chai family. Although he is qualified to interfere, people will gossip if he does!"
“If we don’t intervene, and if Lady Chai and her son are framed, how can you face our ancestors?”

Chai Jin sighed deeply and remained silent.

While rubbing his toes, Wu Yong offered a suggestion:

"My lord, there is something I'm not sure if I should say."

Chai Jin: "Strategist, please speak freely."

Wu Yong then spoke frankly:
“Nanning Prefecture belongs to the Chai family. Even though the big official has intervened, it still belongs to the Chai family.”

"If someone else were to harm Lady Chai and her son, we wouldn't know who it was."

"In addition, the intervention of the high-ranking official can also ensure that Lady Chai and her son will live a life of wealth and honor."

"If the high official hadn't intervened, not only would Lady Chai and her son have lost their family business, but they might not even have been able to save their lives."

"So, the Lord's intervention did not harm Lady Chai and her child, but rather saved them."

Song Jiang provided an assist:

"The strategist is right!"

"My lord, you wouldn't want the Chai family's business to fall into the hands of outsiders, would you?"

Chai Jin was completely fooled by them: "Then... how should I get involved?"

Song Jiang and Wu Yong exchanged a quick glance, and Wu Yong, waving his feather fan, said:

"I have three strategies: superior, middle, and inferior..."

……

The next day, Chai Jin bid farewell to Lady Chai:
"Sister-in-law, we're going to join the Dali Kingdom. Farewell!"

Seeing that Chai Jin and the others had all left, Chai Niangniang breathed a sigh of relief.

Chai Paifu asked curiously, "Mother, why didn't Uncle stay at home? Why did he go to the Dali Kingdom instead?"

Lady Chai waved her hand: "You're still young, you don't understand."

"Your uncle is gone, that's why he was a good uncle."

Chai Paifu was completely bewildered.

After all, he was only three or four years old, and Chai Niangniang's words were unclear.

Lady Chai enjoyed a few more days of peace, until one day, a guard rushed in with a panicked report:
"Your Majesty, something terrible has happened—"

Lady Chai was about to change her clothes, thankfully she hadn't taken them off yet. Her face darkened, and she sternly questioned:

"What's wrong?"

The guard was sweating profusely with anxiety: "Your Majesty, the Miao King Li Shufu from Huaguo has attacked!"

"what?"

Lady Chai was taken aback: "The King and he kept to themselves during his lifetime, so why has he come to attack Nanning Prefecture?"

The guard said with a miserable expression, "I don't know, Your Highness, please make a decision quickly, he has already stormed into the city!"

"They've already stormed into the city?"

Lady Chai's face turned green. What decisions could a woman like her make?
Left with no other choice, Lady Chai could only say, "Quickly, order General Zhang to stop him!"

(End of this chapter)