Chapter 166: The True Enemy of Jin Chao

Zhongdu, Daxing Prefecture.

Jin Zhangzong Wanyan Jing has not slept well for three consecutive days.

More precisely, it started three days ago when he received an urgent report from the Shaanxi Circuit. The content of the urgent report was very short: a red flag never seen before was raised on the city walls of Xingqing Prefecture in Western Xia, the iron foundries of the Helan Mountains burned day and night, and a large number of carriages and horses were mobilized on the Xiaoguan Road, with an unknown direction. The signature was He Shi Lie Heshilie Zhizhong, the Commander-in-Chief of the Shaanxi Circuit. This old general had led troops for thirty years and never used exclamatory words in military reports, but in the last sentence of this urgent report, he wrote four characters—'This subordinate is fearful and anxious.'

The only time in the previous thirty years that He Shi Lie Heshilie Zhizhong could have spoken the two words 'fearful and anxious' was when the Song army launched a northern expedition and reached the banks of the Yellow River.

Wanyan Jing pressed the urgent report onto his desk and did not show it to anyone. He needed to digest it himself first. But immediately following that, on the second day, spies from the Southern Song transmitted even more unsettling news—Han Tuozhou in Lin'an City had already obtained the imperial edict for the northern expedition, and the three major armies of Jianghuai, Jinghu, and Sichuan were gathering, with the start of the war possibly brought forward to this winter.

Two fronts. Simultaneously.

Wanyan Jing sat on the dragon throne, feeling as if a layer of cotton had been pulled out from the cushion beneath his buttocks; it was hard and uncomfortable no matter how he sat.

"Summon Wanyan Honglie."

He spoke these four words very softly, but the eunuch standing nearby trembled all over and almost ran out. In the court of Zhongdu, everyone knew exactly what the name Wanyan Honglie meant. This person was a direct descendant of Jin Taizu Wanyan Aguda, inherited the title of Zhao Wang, yet never regarded himself as a prince. He spent his time traveling between the various military garrisons of the northern border, personally surveying the terrain, training the border troops, and gathering intelligence on the steppes; he was the only person in the Great Jin court who truly understood the situation in the north. But he was also the most unpopular person—because every time he opened his mouth, he spoke unpleasant truths.

When Wanyan Honglie entered the hall, the high-ranking ministers of the court had already assembled.

Jia Gu Heng, the Left Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs; Tu Dan Yi, the Vice Director of the Secretariat; Wanyan Anguo, the Vice Director of the Bureau of Military Affairs; Xu Chiguo, the Minister of Revenue; plus several Vice Ministers and staff from the Bureau of the Grand Marshal, more than a dozen people lined up on both sides, and everyone's expression was not very good.

Wanyan Honglie wore his old battle robe, washed until it was faded, with a plain straight sword hanging at his waist, and yellow sand from the northern border still clinging to his boots. When he walked into the great hall, everyone's gaze fell upon him, but he looked at no one, walked straight to within three steps of the throne, knelt on one knee, and performed a crisp military salute.

"Subject Wanyan Honglie pays his respects to Your Majesty."

"No need for ceremony." Wanyan Jing raised his hand, his voice somewhat weary, "Zhao Wang, how much do you know about the situation in the north?"

"Everything." Wanyan Honglie stood up, and without waiting for the Emperor to grant him a seat, walked to the map himself, pointing his finger at the location of Western Xia. "Western Xia is gone. It was not destroyed as a nation; it was swallowed. Worse than destruction."

A deathly silence filled the hall. Tu Dan Yi's expression changed; he had been in charge of intelligence on the Song for many years and had heard rumors of the changes in Western Xia, but he did not expect Wanyan Honglie to describe it as 'worse than destruction.'

"What do you mean?" Wanyan Jing asked.

"Your Majesty, please look." Wanyan Honglie's finger swept eastward from Western Xia. "The army of Western Xia is being reorganized. According to reports from our undercover agents in Xingqing Prefecture, once the reorganization is complete, the army of Western Xia will no longer be an army of Western Xia people, but a puppet army of that organization. Their equipment is being replaced; the iron comes from the He Lanshan iron foundries, the form is uniform, and the craftsmanship is even better than our standard weapons. After the reorganization is complete, whose orders will this army obey? The orders of the puppet king in Xingqing Prefecture? Or the orders of that young man named Zhang Chu'an?"

His finger continued eastward, stopping at the Jin Chao's western line—the position of the Fuyan Circuit in Shaanxi.

"Once Western Xia is lost, our western line is exposed. Originally, Western Xia and we were separated by the Hengshan Mountains; both sides guarded the passes, attacking and defending each other, but neither could devour the other. Now Western Xia has become the other side's passage, and the natural barrier of the Hengshan Mountains has lost its meaning. The other side can depart from Western Xia, take the Xiaoguan Road to enter Shaanxi, or take the Suide and Yan'an line to strike directly at the Fuyan Circuit. Even more terrifying—they have the iron smelting and granaries of Western Xia as a backing, their supply lines are greatly shortened, while our western defense line has a depth of only three hundred li. Three hundred li; cavalry charging at full speed can break through in two days."

He turned around, facing the ministers in the hall; his voice was not loud, but every word was like a nail hammered into the ears of everyone present.

"And our understanding of them is almost zero. We do not know how many troops they have, we do not know how their command system operates, we do not know how strong their logistical capabilities are, and we do not even know where they will strike next. The only thing we know is that this organization swallowed the steppes in less than two years and swallowed Western Xia in less than half a year. What this speed means, I do not need to say; you, my lords, should have a number in your hearts."

Tu Dan Yi could not help but speak up: "Zhao Wang, they swallowed the steppes and Western Xia after all by winning in open warfare and infiltration. Our Great Jin's city defense system has been cultivated for nearly a hundred years; the northern line has border walls and moats, the western line has the passes of the remaining Hengshan ranges, the eastern line has the natural barrier of the Yellow River, and Zhongdu has a complete city defense system—"

"City defense?" Wanyan Honglie interrupted him, his tone suddenly becoming sharp. "Minister Tu Dan, have you been to Western Xia? The Iron Falcons of Western Xia were once hailed as the elite heavy cavalry under heaven. Their city defense system was not weak either; the city walls of Xingqing Prefecture were three zhang and six feet high, and the passes at the He Lanshan pass were built along the mountains, where one man holding the pass could keep ten thousand at bay. And the result? That organization did not besiege the city, did not surround the city, and did not even fight a proper battle. They only sent a 'consulting group' to station in Xingqing Prefecture, and in a few months, they turned Western Xia into a dish served on their own table. Do you think such tactics can be stopped by city walls?"

Tu Dan Yi was speechless.

Wanyan Honglie took a deep breath, turned to Wanyan Jing, clasped his hands in a bow, and said: "Your Majesty, my lords, before I open this meeting, I ask everyone to answer a question first."

He held up two fingers.

"We are currently facing two enemies. To the south is Han Tuozhou's northern expedition; to the north is that new Ming Party. Our troops are only enough to fight one major battle in one direction. If we fight on two fronts simultaneously, our defense line will be like a sheepskin pulled from both ends, and sooner or later it will crack."

"Therefore," he slowly closed his two fingers until only one remained, pointing straight north, "we must make a choice: who is the true enemy?"

The hall was silent for a very long time.