Chapter 131

Jin Wushu's strategy appeared to be blinded by hatred, and there were indeed related factors involved, but once it was decided, no one could refute it. This was because his operational thinking actually aligned perfectly with the Jin state's longstanding military traditions.

The Jurchens' simple military doctrine was generally believed to originate from hunting activities, which gave them an absolute calculation and consideration of their desire for plunder versus combat losses... In reality, after the Jin state was established, although war itself was imbued with a great deal of political consideration, a considerable portion still stemmed from the desire for plunder. Even up to the present, the need for looting remained one of the main drivers of Jin Jun military operations.

And among high-level commanders, this desire naturally translated into the thinking of capturing the ringleader to defeat the enemy.

Historically, Jin Wushu's relentless pursuit of the Southern Song court, even chasing them to the southeastern coast and sighing at the sight of islands; and earlier, when Wanyan Wolibu decisively left heavy forces to besiege Taiyuan and risked crossing the Yellow River to encircle Dongjing without first sweeping through major Hebei cities like Damingfu—these were all similar military thinking.

And the facts also proved their choices were correct. With a large number of cavalry and sufficient professional military skills, they could always turn back and withdraw to ensure basic preservation, while if their bold military gambles succeeded, the gains were unprecedentedly abundant... for instance, countless gold and silver, and the entire Hebei plain.

Of course, Huangtiandang might be an exception. Particularly wide rivers were still a unfamiliar domain for the Jin people, but one certain fact was that even though Jin Wushu had suffered similar losses on the Huaihe River, he would not consider the related risks at this time, because the only natural barrier behind him, the Yellow River, was firmly in Jin hands.

For now, Yellow River transport would be personally ensured by Wanyan Zhanhan in Damingfu. As for the future, considering the Yellow River's annual freezing period after winter, it would instead become an unimpeded passage for Jin Jun.

In reality, when Jin Wushu said he wanted Wanyan Dalai to bring reinforcements within ten days, there was only one possible way to actually execute it: have him abandon everything, drop the siege of Huazhou and the invasion of Kaifengfu, and rush here via the Yellow River waterway.

And sure enough, at the end of the tenth month, Wanyan Dalai, who valued political credibility, proactively shifted the battlefield. He left one Wanhu to continue besieging Chenliu, the eastern barrier of Dongjingcheng, and strongly demanded that Damingfu send another Wanhu south to take over the siege of Huazhou. Then he personally led forty thousand troops along the Yellow River to Zhengzhou, and along the way south, took over the cities conquered by Jin Wushu.

At this point, the Central Plains strategy launched by the Jin Jun, numbering as many as one hundred twenty thousand, had rapidly shifted from a pincer attack to a unilateral offensive clearly favoring the western side... Specifically, at this moment, east of Dongjing, there were only four Wanhu of Jin Jun in total. Among them, the two Wanhu from Nanjing had only their elite cavalry, without corresponding supplementary troops, and their supporting defense force was the newly surrendered Kong Yanzhou's unit, effectively committing thirty thousand original Jin troops.

Correspondingly, the reserve forces in Damingfu, north of the Yellow River, were directly reduced to ten thousand.

Calculating this way, south of the Yellow River and west of Dongjing, that is, the traditional Jingxi region, the main force of Jin Jun numbered as many as eighty thousand! Moreover, the two commanders of the Grand Marshal's Office for this Jin Jun advance, Wanyan Dalai and Jin Wushu, both appeared simultaneously in Jingxi.

This number of troops was enough to deprive any Song Jun of military initiative... especially now that the Dongjing Garrison Command troops were beginning to experience widespread disorder, while Han Shizhong's main force had been defeated and its commander besieged.

In a word, whether it was Wanyan Dalai, Wanyan Zhanhan, or Wanyan Balisu, although they all had criticisms of Jin Wushu's strategic choice, these remained only at the level of political language, while their actions were one more honest than the other.

Among them, Wanyan Zhanhan, as a top-ranking politician of the Jin state, how could he not wish to see the destruction of Zhao Song to achieve his own accomplishments?

Wanyan Dalai, as someone who had just obtained the position of Deputy Commander of the Grand Marshal's Office, what reason did he have to refuse his political ally's demand to fulfill a political promise?

Wanyan Balisu, as a general of the imperial clan facing his elder brother's poor health and a lack of future political support, why wouldn't he crave the military merit of breaking through Nanyang and capturing the Song Emperor?

As for the other Wanhu who had come south to the Central Plains this time, such as Han Chang, Da?, Wulin Da Taiyu, Yelu Ma Wu, Pucha Hu Balu, Gao Jingshan, Ali, E Lubu, Dang Hai, Chizhan Hui, and other generals, which one wasn't eager to follow the Fourth Prince south to Nanyang to plunder?

At the beginning of the eleventh month, as Wanyan Dalai personally led his troops south to rendezvous with Jin Wushu at Wuhe (between the Yingshui, Weishui, Yishui, Shangshui, and Rushui rivers), Jin Jun once again issued surrender notices to all the cities that were holding out... As soon as the new notice arrived, Zhang Yu, a Commanding Officer under the Dongjing Garrison Command, the defending general of Linying, nicknamed "A Swarm of Bees," eagerly killed the officials and soldiers in the city who insisted on resisting the Jin, then opened the city gates and surrendered.

This move not only instantly opened a gap in the second defensive line painstakingly built by the Zhao Emperor, but also turned Changshe City, which had already begun a grueling artillery battle with the forces outside, into an isolated city. Han Shizhong, the Pacification Commissioner of Huaixi and Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Left Army, was left isolated to the north, losing contact with Huaixi and Nanyang.

However, fortunately, the other cities did not waver. Lu Qing of Xiangcheng, Xu Shian of Yancheng, Zhai Chong of Xiping, and Li Bao of Wuyang (a general under Zong Ze, nicknamed "Sick Guan Suo," not the same person as Li Bao of Puzhou) each killed the second wave of Jin emissaries urging surrender and continued to hold their cities.

In response, Jin Wushu made no superfluous moves. This Fourth Prince of the Jin state, who had entrusted everything to Wanyan Dalai and was completely free of rear concerns, carefully selected four Wanhu—Wanyan Balisu, Chizhan Hui, Han Chang, and Wulin Da Taiyu—took Zhang Yu as a guide, ordered the entire army to concentrate horse armor, iron helmets, craftsmen, and laborers, and then headed directly southwest.

Passing through Fangcheng, the gateway to Nanyang, Wushu still did not launch a strong assault. Instead, he left Wanhu Wulin Da Taiyu with five thousand troops to besiege Hu Yantong inside the city, and continued southwest... Finally, on the last day of the first ten-day period of the eleventh month, this old acquaintance of the Zhao Emperor once again saw the golden yak-tail banners he had longed for day and night.

And perhaps due to the abundant supplies in Nanyang, the golden yak-tail banners here, old and new, numbered no less than several dozen, surrounding the city.

Although he had already judged this in his heart, Jin Wushu couldn't help but send some wine, cloth, and captured banners from Han Shizhong's unit into the city, along with an earnest letter. In it, he recounted how he had seen the Zhao Emperor from afar at the city wall of Xiacaicheng that day, how they had parted for eight months, how he had missed him day and night during that time, and how he had finally traveled ten thousand li to find him here again, only seeking one more meeting with the Zhao Emperor, expressing his sincere intentions.

What completely set his mind at ease was that the messenger soon brought back a brief reply, just as he had anticipated:

"There are still three li. Wait for me to come."

The signature was the familiar "Zhao Jiu of Cangzhou"... which was the Zhao Emperor's personal mark, as the Song people called it.

As for the number "three li," it was even simpler... Compared to Dongjingcheng, which had a circumference of fifty li and three layers inside and out, Nanyang City, even after a full year of expansion and repair, was only a mere twenty-five li in circumference, with two layers inside and out.

Calculating the distance, from the city gate where Jin Wushu halted his horse to watch those dragon banners to the innermost Nanyang Traveling Palace, it was exactly three li.

"Today, setting up camp has been exhausting, so I won't mention it. Starting tomorrow, drive the Han people to scale the walls and fill the moats, while also building siege engines and setting up trebuchets." Inside the main camp of the Jin Jun's central army, Jin Wushu, after reading the letter who knows how many times, finally put it away. Then, expressionless, he looked around and spoke with clear, decisive words, as firm as a military order. "I only want one thing: the entire army takes turns assaulting the city without stop, using every method, not pausing for a moment... until the city falls, or until our entire army is defeated and retreats north... Anyone who disobeys will be beheaded without mercy!"

The three Wanhu below, along with several dozen Meng'an, each straightened their armor, stood up, cupped their fists, and acknowledged the order.

PS: No one was in the car, so I hastily wrote a chapter on the road, making up for yesterday's.