Chapter 142: Cannot Afford to Lose

In this battle they had mustered every elite force in the nation; if they lost, the revolutionary army in Hebei would sweep down on Zhongdu without the slightest hesitation.

During this period they had seen through the revolutionary army's intent — to besiege Zhongdu so that the garrisons stationed elsewhere in Jin would send reinforcements, allowing the revolutionary armies in other regions to expand their base areas. This strategic objective had already succeeded; the lands of Henan and the entire territory of Qilu were already in their hands.

Just a few days earlier, the border troops in the south had reported that the Song kingdom in the south was stirring restlessly, and the Mongols in the west had already massed troops on the border; even if they won, there would still be several hard battles ahead.

If they lost, the Great Jin would at the least lose all the Central Plains and retreat to the northeast, and at the worst face national destruction and the extermination of their people. They were well aware of what they had done to the Han people over the past century; given the hatred the Han bore toward them, they would not let a single Jin person live.

They could not afford to lose this battle. At this moment, the Wanyan clan, which had been torn by internal strife for a hundred years, achieved an unprecedented unity; every general held the conviction of fighting to the death and never retreating.

It had to be said that the Jurchen people always burst forth with a cohesion and fighting power beyond imagination at moments of national peril.

It was just a pity that whether in the original timeline or the current one, their enemies were terrifyingly strong. In the original timeline, they faced the Mongol cavalry that had swept across Eurasia.

In the current timeline, they faced a bunch of cheaters.

If the Jin generals all believed they could not afford to lose this battle, then the entire two hundred thousand men of the revolutionary army believed they could not afford to lose.

Just a few days earlier they had learned of the Jin army's scorched-earth strategy, and of the horrific scenes in the massacred villages.

"Instructor, I want to kill those reactionaries and avenge my wife and children!" At the mobilization rally, a soldier roared at the top of his lungs.

Just moments ago, when the instructor had described the horrors of the massacred villages, he had frozen on the spot, tears streaming down uncontrollably.

Wasn't that massacred village the one where he was born and raised? Wasn't that woman with her belly cut open his wife?

Just yesterday he had been wondering what name to give his unborn son, and now he had heard such terrible news.

The instructor looked at the soldier, sighed, and said: "Comrade, please calm down first."

"I can't calm down, Instructor. My home is gone. The father and mother who raised me, the wife who shared my life, and my unborn son — they were all killed by those landlord bastards born of dogs!" After saying this, the soldier collapsed helplessly to the ground and wept uncontrollably.

The instructor sighed, then said sternly to the soldier: "Comrade, please stand up. As a soldier, and especially as a revolutionary soldier, you must not be dispirited at this moment. You should stand up, take up your weapon, and overthrow those reactionaries, to let them know that our proletariat cannot be bullied — those who bully us will lose their heads."

"You are not without a home. The People's Revolutionary Army and the People's Government are your home. Every revolutionary comrade-in-arms in the army who trains with you and fights alongside you to overthrow the reactionaries is your family. Your hatred is the hatred of our entire revolutionary army. Ask the comrades behind you — should we avenge the blood feud of the massacred villages?"

"Avenge them!" The entire company roared in unison, their voices brimming with hatred.

Each of them had a family situation much like this soldier's, so they naturally shared his suffering as if it were their own.

If such a thing were to happen to themselves, what pain that would be. They absolutely could not allow such things to happen in their hometowns, or to themselves.

To achieve this, they had to win the battle, wipe out all those Jin troops, and kill the landlord bastards who had proposed "burn the thatch with fire, slash the stones with the blade, swap out the people." They would take the heads of those landlord bastards to sacrifice to their loved ones.

The hatred of two hundred thousand revolutionary soldiers was quickly gathered into one; at this moment, all the revolutionary troops shared a common enemy and a united fury.

Meanwhile, inside the Jin army camp, a group of veterans crowded around a pot, wolfing down their food. They knew they were about to go into battle, and this full meal might well be the last full meal of their lives — yet among the veterans there were a few who were very leisurely and in no particular hurry.

This piqued the curiosity of a comrade eating wolfishly beside them. That comrade, still wolfing down his food, asked: "Wang Dayan, we're about to go to the battlefield. If you don't eat faster, you won't even get your fill at your last meal."

Wang Dayan waved his hand and said: "No rush, no rush. Li Gou'er, you eat faster."

Li Gou'er looked at Wang Dayan — who normally never missed a chance to take advantage — actually acting modest, and figured the kid must have some way to survive on the battlefield. He put down his bowl and chopsticks and gave a look to a few fellow villagers beside him.

The few fellow villagers took the hint and, together with him, surrounded Wang Dayan, looking at him with warm, gentle eyes.

Faced with those kindly, affable gazes, cold sweat streamed down Wang Dayan's face. He hurriedly said: "Brothers, please don't get rough. I'll tell you what I know, just don't spread it around."

"Relax, our mouths have always been very tight." Li Gou'er waved his hand, signaling Wang Dayan to be at ease.

Wang Dayan glanced around, gestured for the men to bring their ears closer, and only then said cautiously: "Let me tell you — the revolutionary army treats prisoners well over there. When the fighting comes, we can just surrender directly."

The men's faces hardened at once, and they were about to teach Wang Dayan a lesson on the spot.

"Brothers, this kid is taking us for fools. We have to teach him a lesson." Li Gou'er rolled up his sleeves, ready to give Wang Dayan a thorough beating.

In these times, what kind of fool would believe the words "prisoners will be treated well"? That line was entirely meant to trick you into laying down your weapons — once you did, wouldn't you be at everyone's mercy?

"I'm not lying, I'm really not lying to you. The revolutionary army really does treat prisoners well. They have rules there: give prisoners clean, spacious quarters, sufficient food and drink, no more than four hours of labor a day, no beating or scolding of prisoners — those are their rules. I'm not lying to you." Wang Dayan was so anxious he was about to cry.

"Then why do they do that?" Li Gou'er asked.

"They say it's because they want to liberate the poor and suffering people of the world. We conscripted soldiers who were captured are all part of the toiling masses, so they don't beat or scold prisoners." Wang Dayan delivered this speech at the fastest speed of his life.

"Li Gou'er, don't you go telling anyone about this. If these words get back to the Jin people, they'll definitely kill me as a sacrificial offering." Wang Dayan said, trembling. But Li Gou'er paid him no heed.