Chapter 132

War dehumanizes, but it is also the ultimate test of all things.

Since Jin Wushu's southward campaign, although his strategy had not met substantive opposition, he had maintained an aloof, unapproachable demeanor toward everyone throughout the process, and had constantly faced doubts from the entire army regarding his motives for the advance—all because of that defeat eight or nine months ago.

Correspondingly, the Zhao Emperor within Nanyang city was having an even harder time. In recent days, as the supreme commander of the weaker side, he had to receive and digest countless terrible frontline military reports every day... Unlike the course of this battle he had originally envisioned in his mind, the fall of Nanjing, the far-below-expected resistance efficiency of the Eastern Capital Field Headquarters, and Han Shizhong's earlier defeat—each was worse than the last.

In the end, even whether to persist in the established strategy of holding Nanyang became a question.

In fact, in the previous few days, the Zhao Emperor himself had wavered at one point.

However, Zhao Jiu was actually still in a relatively good state, because aside from that one moment of indulgence on the Double Ninth Festival, he had managed to keep such doubts and fears hidden inside without revealing them, so as not to lose composure. The others were not so "calm"... From the moment Lady Liang Hongyu personally rode to Nanyang to report Han Shizhong's defeat and her determination to hold Changshe to the death, large-scale wavering had begun throughout Nanyang city.

Not to mention the inevitable wave of commoners and scholars fleeing south, nor the several hundred deserters killed before and after the Yushan camp, but among those closest to the Zhao Emperor, the central government had gradually begun to lean toward having Zhao Jiu unconditionally withdraw to Xiangyang first.

It cannot be said that withdrawing to Xiangyang first was problematic; this was originally one of the established strategies.

But the problem was that the front line was already so precarious. If the Zhao Emperor took the initiative to go to Xiangyang at this moment, then the Eastern Capital Field Headquarters troops, already showing signs of complete disorder ahead, and the few isolated cities between the Five Rivers would likely collapse instantly... The former would surrender or flee south to become bandit armies; the latter would have virtually no chance of survival.

More importantly, Zhao Jiu could not imagine what he would be able to do in the future if, after Yue Fei had been thrown away like this, with no one even knowing where he had gone, he then lost Han Shizhong as well!

Thus, the Zhao Emperor chose to remain in Nanyang with the strongest possible stance, triggering widespread panic and confusion throughout the central government. The incidents that arose in the process could fill an entire book titled "Records of the Nanyang Temporary Capital in the Second Year of Jianyan."

At this point, another person must be mentioned—the newly appointed Vice Privy Councilor Lü Yihao. Among the seven or eight councilors the Zhao Emperor had experienced over the past year or so, this new Privy Councilor was the most direct and blunt, yet also the only one who actively endorsed the Zhao Emperor's risky style in such matters.

Thanks to this man's presence, and the combination of the Emperor plus a Councilor wielding absolute power, the "Xiangyang faction" within the Central Secretariat, the Privy Council, and the Yushan camp ultimately failed to succeed.

Of course, the Zhao Emperor also did not allow Lü Yihao to impose additional punishments in this matter... With the situation as it was, all disagreements and disputes should not cause further losses to their own side.

However, as Jin Wushu led his main army to arrive beneath Nanyang's walls, the matter came to an end in the manner of "the other shoe finally dropping"—everything had been settled.

At this point, not only were the Zhao Emperor and Jin Wushu trapped with no escape, each resolved to continue their feud in Nanyang, but both sides had also effectively placed the final outcome of the fourth major Song-Jin offensive-defensive campaign as a wager on the city of Nanyang.

On the eleventh day of the eleventh month, the day after the Jin army arrived at Nanyang's walls, fighting quickly erupted between the two sides, but the process and results were unremarkable.

The Jin had not yet completed their siege equipment, so how could they talk about assaulting the city? They merely drove the commoners of Jingxi forward, forcing them to fill the moat and press the walls, thereby intimidating those inside and creating an atmosphere of terror.

But the Song-Jin war had entered its fourth year and was about to step into its fifth. Those on the walls had long been tempered into hearts of iron and stone, with no room for human reflection or struggle. They attacked without cease, sparing no effort to prevent the moat from being filled.

As for Jin Wushu and the Zhao Emperor, neither went to the front line. The former supervised the construction of his camp, while the latter toured the city to reassure the people.

This continued for three straight days.

In fact, it was not until the fourth day that the Jin camp, comprising 35,000 main force troops, six to seven thousand newly surrendered Han soldiers, twenty to thirty thousand laborers and craftsmen—totaling fifty to sixty thousand men—was fully established. And it was not until the morning of the fifth day that the Zhao Emperor first appeared on the city wall.

"Your Majesty, look—over these days, from our high vantage point, we have observed clearly... The Jin army this time has three Wanhu banners. Counting the rebel general Zhang Yu's troops, they have forty thousand combat soldiers, including twenty thousand cavalry," Liu Ziyu said on the morning of the fifteenth, pointing from afar atop the only remaining watchtower on the northern barbican of Nanyang city, explaining to Zhao Jiu and the two accompanying Councilors Lü (Wang Boyan, having supported the withdrawal to Xiangyang, had been sent by the Zhao Emperor to Xiangyang). "And although they could have used their cavalry advantage to surround three sides and leave one open, they have instead forcibly surrounded all four sides—undoubtedly determined to take this city by storm!"

"Where are Zhang Yu's troops?" Before Zhao Jiu could speak, Lü Yihao frowned and asked.

"On the eastern side. The craftsmen and the captured laborers are also on the eastern side, all under Zhang Yu's unified command," Liu Ziyu immediately raised his hand and pointed.

"So, the eastern side is the weakest?" Lü Haowen stroked his beard and said, seeming to grasp Lü Yihao's intent.

"Not only that," Liu Ziyu paused briefly before continuing. "Let the two Councilors know—the Intelligence Bureau has discussed that since the Yushan camp on the eastern bank of the Baihe River is vacant, the Jin army could not possibly abandon such a good stronghold. They have likely set up their logistics camp there. Moreover, Minister Chen previously noted that although the moat water comes from many sources, it is mainly diverted from the Baihe. In recent days, the moat's water level has dropped significantly, not due to filling, but most likely because the Jin army has done something like cutting off the supply from the eastern side. But if so..."

"If so, it seems too obvious," Zhao Jiu, now "experienced in military affairs," sighed with his hands behind his back. "As if they are deliberately luring us to attack."

"Correct," Liu Ziyu frowned in response. "The eastern side is blocked by the Baihe. Even if we could launch a sortie and win a battle, the Jin cavalry would immediately encircle us from left and right."

Hearing this, Lü Yihao clasped his hands and sighed, abandoning any further thoughts, though still somewhat unwilling: "But what about the moat?"

"We don't need to worry about the moat either," Zhao Jiu said, looking far to the side due to his line of sight, finally spotting a section of the moat in his field of vision. There, because it was clogged with corpses, debris, and ice ridges, the color was unusually strange, faintly reflecting the morning sunlight. He paused before responding. "The ice in the palace water vats has been getting thicker these days; it won't hold for many more days anyway. And with Jin Wushu's posture like this, he's clearly set his mind on it. We'll likely see a proper assault in another two days..."

Liu Ziyu seemed about to speak but stopped.

"What is it?" Amid the spreading white mist, Lü Yihao frowned at him. "Speak if you have something to say."

"We should see proper siege equipment today," Liu Ziyu said in a low voice. "East of the city, it was observed yesterday that countless scaling ladders and several goose-neck carts were delivered toward Jin Wushu's main camp to the north. And today, the moat has already frozen thick..."

Zhao Jiu slowly nodded.

"Also," Liu Ziyu added, "Minister Chen has requested that starting today, we dismantle these last few watchtowers..."

"What nonsense is this?" Lü Yihao, bewildered, changed his expression.

"It's to guard against artillery," Zhao Jiu replied calmly before Liu Ziyu could speak. "In a few days, once the Jin trebuchets start up, tall walls and high towers will only become targets. If they get smashed, they'll cause casualties instead."

"Minister Chen indeed said so," Liu Yanxiu nodded in agreement.

"Your Majesty," Lü Yihao finally couldn't hold back, "I have only been here a few months, and before this, I was mostly at Yushan, so I haven't examined this city closely. Seeing it today, I feel uneasy... Forgive my bluntness, but Chen Gui's methods of city defense are unheard of, and this city's design is also..."

"What you say is unheard of—I decided on most of it with him," Zhao Jiu directly interrupted him. "His methods and approach are absolutely sound. And with things as they are, Councilor Lü, even if you have words to say, please hold them for now... Do not hinder the defense of the city."

Lü Yihao was immediately stifled.

Moments later, as sunlight spread and the cooking smoke inside and outside the city dissipated, the Zhao Emperor and his party, who had seated the two Councilors and several high officials on the barbican watchtower, saw the Jin army's siege formation for the first time.

Correspondingly, the Jin army also made its first close contact with this oddly shaped city.

There were bound to be artillery positions inside the city, so the Jin army had built a tall earthen platform a full three hundred paces from the city wall. Jin Wushu, appearing for the first time today, had seats arranged for three Wanhu and several dozen Meng'an commanders to watch leisurely.

Logically, no one should have expected to breach a national secondary capital that had been under construction for over half a year before large-scale artillery was deployed. In fact, the Jin army's assault this day still relied mainly on Zhang Yu's troops driving laborers forward, with only two Meng'an of core armored soldiers committed, targeting only one spot on the northern wall—clearly a probing action.

But the problem was, for some reason, whether from the perspective of the Song high officials or the Jin generals, this city still gave the impression that it could be taken in one fell swoop...

"Doesn't this Nanyang city wall look a bit short?" Wanyan Balisu moved back and forth behind the platform, hopping up and down, gesturing with his hands for a long time before finally coming up. As soon as he opened his mouth, he voiced his doubt. "Our platform is one zhang and five chi high. Measuring it this way, this so-called Song secondary capital's wall looks less than four zhang! Forget Taiyuan or the Eastern Capital—even ordinary large border prefectural cities of the Song are taller, aren't they?"

The surrounding Jin generals immediately began using their fingers to measure, but Jin Wushu, seated at the head, frowned slightly, as if putting on a sour face again... There was no help for it—his geometry was a bit poor. Not to mention comparing with the Zhao Emperor and Chen Gui across the way, he was even behind his own subordinates. He really didn't know how to measure.