Chapter 153: Decision

The Song army's movements on the night of the twelfth of the first month, or rather the early morning of the thirteenth, were almost immediately detected by the Jin army, likely due to the growing moon.

There was no helping it; the two sides were too close. A surprise attack would take only about two hours, so even though there had been no fighting between them for the previous half month and a "peaceful atmosphere" prevailed, the Jin army simply could not ignore large-scale troop movements right under their noses.

However, the Jin commander, Wanyan Talan, learned the reason earlier than the others, because that very night someone defected to the Jin camp and, before the Jin scouts could return with a clear picture, informed Talan of the "upheaval" that had occurred in Yancheng.

"So... the one in charge of Yancheng now is no longer your garrison commander?" That morning, north of the ruined Changshe, between the Yi River, Talan, who had come to the central command tent with a hint of morning grumpiness, frowned as he listened to the newcomer's words. Despite his bad mood, he couldn't help but grow serious. "An imperial envoy from Nanyang stripped him of his authority?"

"And it seems he's been placed under house arrest!" A Song general, looking disheveled, stood below the dais, his face full of worry as he carefully clasped his hands. "I came specifically to inform the Marshal of this matter..."

"Tell me in detail." Wanyan Talan frowned even deeper upon hearing this. "Who was the envoy? How could he so easily take away your garrison commander's military authority?"

"It was the Imperial Censor-in-Chief, Hu Yin!"

"What kind of official is that?"

"Second only to the Chancellor, half a rank above all other officials..."

Talan immediately looked at the several surrendered men from Jingxi sitting beside him. These men quickly nodded, and some even seemed eager to stand up and explain... But Talan had no interest in learning. He waved his hand grandly, making the man sit down, and continued his questioning:

"I see. Well, I can't blame him. But when did this Hu fellow arrive in Yancheng?"

"He arrived just yesterday." The man answered every question, even with some eagerness.

Wanyan Talan nodded slightly. This matched the information he had received about the situation in Nanyang just yesterday morning.

However, having said this, Talan still did not ask about military matters. Instead, he suddenly inquired about something else: "You say your name is Li Kui? A commander under the Tokyo Garrison Command?"

"Yes!" The man below, Li Kui, quickly responded.

"Where are you from?"

"From Yishui."

"Jingdong?"

"The Marshal has keen insight..."

"Keen insight my ass. I campaigned in Jingdong myself last year, do you think I wouldn't know?" Talan replied impatiently. "Since you're from Jingdong, why are you serving under the Tokyo Garrison Command? And from what you say, you seem to have gained your garrison commander's trust, which is why you fear Hu Yin will come after you and fled here... How did you climb so high?"

"Let me explain to the Marshal." Li Kui said with a slightly embarrassed look below. "I am originally from Yishui. After the Marshal and the Fourth Prince's campaign last year, I took the opportunity to seize Mizhou with a few brothers..."

"But then I was swallowed up by Li Cheng from neighboring Qingzhou. With no other choice, I led my remaining troops in a chaotic retreat through Mount Tai. First, I sought refuge with Zhang Rong in Dongping Prefecture, but Zhang Rong had his own band of brothers from the marsh and couldn't accommodate me. So I had to go find Yue Fei in Jizhou. But Yue Fei was strict with military discipline, and I couldn't stand it, so I moved on again and went to Tokyo..."

"When I got to Tokyo, I was also ostracized because of my Jingdong background. Having drifted to so many places, I had no face to go back. It wasn't until my current garrison commander rose to power that I gained his trust because I had no other faction to rely on..."

"This time, it's not just fear that the Imperial Censor-in-Chief will come after me, but also fear that Yue Fei will come after me... I once fled from under Yue Fei's command..."

Li Kui rambled on and on, annoying the scholars and generals around him, but Talan listened with great interest. He would occasionally interrupt, summon a few relevant people to verify a few points, and then let the man continue.

This was Talan's strength. Though he was a rough man, he was older and had a certain subtlety. As he listened to the man's words—the pattern, the timing, the cause and effect—all roughly matching what he knew and had heard, he began to relax a little.

"Alright, alright..." After listening for a long time and gradually feeling at ease, Talan smiled and said to him. "Tell me about the military situation!"

"Let me explain to the Marshal." Li Kui couldn't help but clasp his hands, lower his head, and take half a step forward, but he stopped mid-motion under the watchful eyes of the armored guards beside Talan. "After Hu Yin arrived with the imperial decree and took command, he ordered all the army controllers and independent commanders to enter the city. Then he pressed for an immediate attack to lift the siege of Changshe..."

"So, the Song army is coming to fight me soon?" Talan frowned slightly, seeming quite worried.

Li Kui shook his head repeatedly: "Hu Yin is indeed pressing hard, but he's a newcomer and young. How could the army's officers dare to engage the Marshal's main force of over twenty thousand Jurchen troops here just because of his words? So, after much discussion yesterday and heated arguments with him, they reached a compromise. They decided to dispatch troops immediately, splitting into two routes. One route will go north along the Wei River to attack Changge first, luring the Marshal's troops to rescue it, but it's just a feint. The other route will cross the Yi River to the south, exploiting a time gap to attack Linying. After taking Linying, they will cross the Ying River again, then find a place to lift the siege of Yancheng or Xiangcheng as a reportable achievement. This second route is the main force, led by Yue Fei, who commands a solid twenty thousand troops!"

Talan pondered and slowly nodded.

One must understand that the situation between the five rivers (Ying, Wei, Yi, Shang, Ru) was already very critical for the Song army. Many key points had already fallen... For instance, Changge, which connected Zhongmu and Changshe and was a vital point for the Jin army's main force to return north, had been lost from the start due to Han Shizhong's defeat. Linying, which faced Changshe across the Yi River and controlled the upper reaches of the Ying River, had been lost due to the surrender of Zhang Yu's "Swarm." And Wuyang, one of the two gateways directly controlling the Nanyang Basin (the other being Xiping), had also fallen. So the remaining Song strongholds in this area were nothing more than Changshe, where Han Shizhong was; Xiangcheng, where Lü Qing was; Yancheng, where Xu Shian was; and Xiping, where Zhai Chong was—a mere four locations.

Correspondingly, Wanyan Talan's forty thousand troops, aside from Yelu Ma Wu's ten-thousand-man unit, the remaining thirty thousand main force were originally mostly deployed around these four cities, maintaining a continuous siege.

This arrangement worked well enough during the winter when the rivers were frozen, allowing cavalry to move easily between them for support. But with the arrival of the first month, the weather warmed slightly, and the ice began to melt in the south, revealing a huge flaw in the Jin army's position—the four cities were far apart, and these five rivers (Ying, Wei, Yi, Shang, Ru) began to severely hamper the Jin army's mobility.

However, Wanyan Talan was not unaware of this. In fact, after the fall of Wuyang, he had adopted and implemented a very cautious tactic—he personally led ten thousand men at Changshe, while only a few thousand men under a few Meng'an commanders besieged the other cities. He then had his son-in-law, Pucha Hubulu, who was now free, personally lead seven or eight thousand elite troops to move between locations for support, while concentrating laborers and equipment to take the cities one by one.

But then, hadn't Du Chong suddenly appeared on the opposite side with seventy or eighty thousand troops?

So, Wanyan Talan stopped this strategy. He had his son-in-law Pucha Hubulu lead his troops to stay with him at Changshe, while reducing forces at the other three locations and at Yelu Ma Wu's position, concentrating support troops there. He also asked Wanyan Wushu for some support, but Wanyan Wushu ignored him... At present, the troops here, including surrendered Han troops and conscripted laborers, numbered a full twenty-five thousand, comprising twenty-five Meng'an units of the Jin main force.

Given the Jin army's combat power, such a force, facing the seventy or eighty thousand troops of the Song Tokyo Garrison Command in open field, would certainly not make a mistake. Besides, Changshe had a special geographical feature that year: the Yi River came from the north, split in two north of Changshe—the left branch clear, the right branch muddy—flowed around the city, and then merged again in the south, forming a large river island.

Of course, the term "river island" is not scientific, as it wasn't formed by alluvial deposits.

But this area was indeed vast and wide, twenty li long and seven or eight li wide, enclosing both Changshe city and Wanyan Talan's main force. This was a fact... Han Shizhong's ability to hold out this long was partly due to this terrain. And this terrain also naturally provided Wanyan Talan with a layer of natural defense, giving the Jin army a great sense of security.

In summary, the Song army's decision to abandon an attack on Changshe and instead strike at the weaker points upstream and downstream was entirely reasonable, even in line with military strategy, and could be considered an excellent choice.

Therefore, after pondering for a long time and finding no flaws, Wanyan Talan finally nodded heavily and continued with a serious expression: "Who came up with this plan?"

"It was the Jizhou Pacification Commissioner, Yue Fei!" Li Kui, who had been waiting anxiously for half a day, quickly answered again.

"So it was him. No wonder. After all, he's a figure from the Battle of Liangshan Marsh, not to be underestimated!" Talan sighed, shook his head repeatedly, and then looked at the guards before him. "Go to my rear tent, open the innermost box by the bed, and take out ten catties of pearls as a reward for Commander Li!"

The guard said nothing and soon brought a large bag of pearls amidst the sighs and exclamations of many in the tent, handing them directly to Li Kui.

"Thank you for your hard work, Commander Li." Talan reclined on the main seat, squinting at him. "A trifling gift. You deserve it... Take it back!"

Li Kui dared not delay. He immediately hugged the pearls and bowed in thanks. After rising, he turned to leave... But after only two steps, he turned back with a bitter smile and knelt again: "Marshal! I don't want the pearls. I beg the Marshal to give me a way out. Since I'm here, how can I dare to return to Yancheng now? The pearls are fine, but I need to live to enjoy them, right?"

Talan finally pointed at him and laughed heartily: "Now that's the talk of a proper informant... Do you know, if you had dared to walk straight out of the tent just now, I would have had you cut down on the spot... Keep the pearls. Take a position in the laborer camp. When this is over, I'll send you back to Jingdong to enjoy wealth and honor!"

Li Kui broke out in a cold sweat, naturally hurriedly thanked him, and then quickly withdrew.

After Li Kui left, Talan neither had his civil and military officers discuss the matter nor summoned the two Wanhu here—the Bohai clan leader Da Da and his son-in-law Pucha Hubulu. Instead, he calmly ordered breakfast to be prepared.

It wasn't until he was more than halfway through his breakfast, and a scout entered the tent according to protocol, reporting that smoke from cooking fires had been rising from Yancheng since early morning, that he put down his bowl, dismissed the idle personnel from the tent, and summoned only his son-in-law, Pucha Hubulu.

When the father-in-law and son-in-law met, Talan told his son-in-law about Li Kui and the scout report... Clearly, this Jin Right Vice Marshal was even more excessive than Wanyan Wushu, simply ignoring Da Da and making the decision with his son-in-law alone.

Pucha Hubulu was in his thirties, the golden age for a Jurchen noble. Upon hearing his father-in-law's words, he naturally took the lead. After pacing back and forth in the empty tent for a while, this Jurchen Wanhu had a plan in mind, but he didn't state it directly. Instead, he first asked his father-in-law's opinion:

"Father-in-law, do you have a decision?"

Even if the young Qin academician were not present, this son-in-law was the one he trusted most. Talan, of course, had no reservations: "I think, first of all, this matter is genuine. Li Kui wasn't lying..."

"It's certainly genuine." Hubulu quickly stepped closer to his father-in-law, nodding repeatedly. "The military situation and the pattern all match... The key is, what this man said wasn't some top-secret military intelligence. Our scouts could figure it out too, just a little later. So even if he were a spy, he'd be selling this simple information to secure his future."

Talan nodded repeatedly: "I think so too. So we don't need to dwell too much on whether this man is genuine or not. Let's just talk about how to respond now..."

"I have three strategies." Pucha Hubulu immediately responded.

"Speak."

"The best strategy: ignore Changge to the north and Linying to the south. Whether the enemy splits their forces up and down or left and right, Father-in-law should abandon Han Shizhong, raise the entire army here, and charge straight to Yancheng! Then, not only can we achieve a great victory, but Father-in-law can also surpass the Fourth Prince and become the top contributor in this southern campaign!"

"You don't know shit!" Talan shook his head repeatedly after hearing it. "I won't even say your plan is too hasty, whether Yanling can be taken right now, nor that Han Shizhong is a tiger of a man who can't be relaxed about for a moment as long as he's alive... I'll only ask you this: at this point, what military merit does your father-in-law still need? Having reached Deputy Marshal of the Supreme Marshalate, second only to a few Boginles, do you really think I can still step over several of the Grand Ancestor's seeds with any military merit? If I want to advance further from here, I can only rely on the favor of the Lord of the State."

Pucha Hubulu looked slightly startled, but still grasped something, then nodded slightly: "Father-in-law is right... I was young and ignorant... then the middle plan?"

"What does the middle plan entail?"

"Naturally, proceed step by step: summon Yelu Ma Wu south to guard Changge, then notify Linying to prepare, while I myself now take ten elite fierce cavalry across the Turbid Yi River to the west bank... time it right, launch a direct cavalry charge, and crush the most battle-hardened main force of the Song army right beneath Linying's walls! After this battle, though the Song army still has numbers, they will surely lose their nerve and can only watch as we grind down the four cities, and things will return to how they were."

Talan hesitated for a moment, then continued asking: "And the lower plan?"

"The lower plan is actually simpler... ignore Linying. I'll cross the Clear Yi River now and await orders. As soon as the enemy moves, I'll rely on cavalry superiority to race to Changge's walls and set an ambush, then strike the first Song army to set out head-on from the north."

"What's this?" Talan was momentarily puzzled. "What's the reasoning?"

"Think about it, Father-in-law... where is the key to this battle? Is it Xiping, Xiangcheng, or Yancheng? None of them. For us, the key is still Changshe, still Han Shizhong."

"That's quite appropriate." Talan suddenly realized. "I understand your meaning... Changshe is the foundation, Changge is the escape route, so it's also a place that must be rescued. Linying's gain or loss doesn't matter; the key is that the road is still long, there's still a river to cross, and the Song army set out late. So if we can quickly defeat the enemy feinting at Changge, then the Song army might not dare to attack Linying anymore?"

"Father-in-law speaks clearly." Hubulu praised repeatedly, but then turned serious. "So, please make your decision, my lord. Sit here at ease, and I will go defeat the enemy myself!"

Talan hesitated for a moment, then spoke slowly: "I think the lower plan is best!"

Pucha Hubulu immediately nodded... He didn't really think any particular plan was necessarily best; his father-in-law was getting lazier and lazier, and it was good enough that he could make a decision.

However, Talan couldn't help explaining a bit more: "Hubulu, I've already refuted your upper plan, so I won't say more. Honestly, according to my wishes, the safest middle plan would be best... but I've also campaigned and hunted alongside the Grand Ancestor Emperor, and I have some military thoughts in my mind... In military matters, the simpler the better! The more schemes and ideas you have, the more you do, the easier it is for something to go wrong! And never delay! The Song people have a saying: delay breeds change. That's why I chose your lower plan!"

"Father-in-law is absolutely right!" Pucha Hubulu immediately sat up straight and responded. "Then I'll muster the troops now and cross the river first to await orders. As soon as the frontline military intelligence arrives, I'll move out according to the situation?"

"Go!" Talan nodded decisively, but then added a warning. "When you leave, tell the civilian labor camp's Adjutant Wang, who's waiting at the door, to keep an eye on that Li Kui these next few days..."

"Understood!" Hubulu hesitated no longer, stood up directly, acknowledged the order, and left.

And Wanyan Talan, after watching his son-in-law leave the tent, continued to bow his head and eat breakfast. But after one mouthful of porridge, he found it was already ice-cold. He slapped the table and shouted, startling countless scholars, armored soldiers, and attendants outside the tent, who hurried in and quickly replaced it with hot food for this Jin Right Deputy Marshal.

After breakfast, Talan again summoned the remaining officers of the army and sat quietly in the central army tent. Countless Jin scout riders shuttled back and forth like a revolving lantern, continuously delivering intelligence about the Song army at Yanling.

With fine war horses galloping at full speed without sparing the horseflesh, they could cover several dozen li in an hour in a short time. Therefore, the movements of the Song army were only about half an hour behind for the Jin central army command tent.

Sure enough, in the morning, a single rider galloped straight to the front of the tent, dismounted, and directly brought a key piece of military intelligence: after dawn, a Song army unit had suddenly set out north along the Wei River. Judging by the banner, it seemed to be the unit under the command of Ma Gao, Controller of the Eastern Capital Field Headquarters...

This was the Song army's sudden move after several tens of days of 'peaceful coexistence' between the two sides. Ma Gao was also a famous Controller of the Eastern Capital Field Headquarters. Naturally, many in the tent who were unaware of the situation were shaken by this. But Talan knew the inside story and paid it no mind. He even issued a military order telling his son-in-law, who had already formed up in full array on the east bank of the Clear Yi River, to calm down and wait a little longer.

Next, messages came continuously. After Ma Gao, the Eastern Capital Field Headquarters' Liu Wenshun, Ma You, and Xu Yan units—at least four Controllers in total—all advanced north together. Not only that, but on the opposite bank of the Wei River, units of similar scale, with banners clearly displayed, were also marching north.

Talan hesitated no longer... Not to mention how many Song troops were on the opposite bank of the Wei River, these four Controllers alone were enough to justify the word 'feint'. He immediately issued orders: on one hand, have the scout riders use their numerical advantage to hunt down Song scout riders, ensuring the Song army's field of vision was insufficient to discover his son-in-law; on the other hand, he directly ordered his son-in-law to quickly lead ten thousand cavalry to set an ambush at Changge's walls.

Another hour passed. Estimating that his son-in-law had already gone far, the scout riders reported again: there was suddenly movement at the Song army's position at Yanling. A unit flying a banner with the character 'Yue' had begun to move out, heading diagonally southwest... The reason for saying 'heading' rather than 'going' was that Changshe was directly west of Yanling, and the straight-line distance between the two sides was currently narrowing slightly... The scout riders also said that although this unit was deliberately keeping its banners furled and drums silent, its numbers and quality were clearly no ordinary force.

Talan became even more certain and naturally remained unconcerned.

By the afternoon, scout riders reported that the Song army's Yue Fei unit had reached the lower reaches of the Yi River. They paused briefly, apparently trying to rest and reorganize before crossing the river. At this point, it went without saying that, considering the time difference and the speed of warhorses, Pucha Hubulu should have already neared the farther Changge.

Everything was firmly in hand. The key point was that Talan hadn't encountered anything worthy of alarm on this campaign. So this Right Deputy Marshal couldn't help but feel a bit bored. He was just waiting for Yue Fei to cross the river, then he planned to dismiss the military council and go catch up on sleep.

But the next moment, a single rider galloped to the front of the military tent, drenched in sweat, and barged straight into the central army tent to report one thing: "Marshal! Yue Fei has suddenly changed direction and is leading twenty thousand men straight for us!"

The entire tent fell dead silent. Talan didn't react at first. He lowered his head and took a sip of tea. When he looked up again, he saw that everyone below the tent's entrance was staring at him. He was stunned for a moment before suddenly coming to his senses:

"Oh, Yue Fei is coming for me?"

From his tone, he clearly didn't take it seriously.

PS: Thanks to xuetutu for the 150,000-point tip, also the sixtieth alliance leader of this book!

Last-second achievement!