Chapter 156: Merging Banners

"What the hell is that?" From the observation platform at the Jin army camp northeast of Changshe, Wanyan Dalai turned to look at the Song defector official behind him, his face full of disbelief. "A 'Jin' what banner?"

"The Golden Halberd Imperial Banner..." The middle-aged defector who had earlier guessed that Hu Yin was leading the campaign now sounded noticeably flustered. "Anyone with even basic knowledge knows that wherever this banner appears, the imperial presence is surely there!"

"So you mean that young Zhao Song ruler is over there?" Dalai still wore that incredulous expression. "But how could the Zhao Song ruler be here? Did he fly here? Didn't you just say yourself that it must be that Hu Yin? Couldn't Hu Yin have borrowed this Golden Halberd banner or something?"

"Perhaps so?" Seeing Wanyan Dalai pressing him relentlessly, the defector grew even more flustered. "Given that ruler's character, it's possible he bestowed this banner on Hu Mingzhong before departing..."

"Have you seen the Zhao Song ruler?" Dalai suddenly fixed his gaze on the man. "And do you know this 'Half-Premier Hu'?"

"Yes..." The man became increasingly panicked. "Most of the newly appointed officials here in Jingxi were granted their posts at last year's palace examination, so not only I, but half the officials here have seen the ruler and Hu Mingzhong..."

"I recall you're called Hong Ya, a man from Jinan?" Dalai suddenly interrupted him.

The defector was utterly helpless at this, and could only steel himself to reply: "That is correct."

"Jinan is a fine place. That old scoundrel Liu Yu is quite filial." Dalai's expression suddenly changed as he spoke. "Go ahead and take a look, see if it really is the Zhao Song ruler, then come back and report to me!"

The middle-aged defector, namely Hong Ya of Jinan who had participated in last year's palace examination and received an official post, was dumbfounded at these words. But seeing Dalai's face darken, he truly dared not refuse.

And so, utterly helpless, under the gleeful gazes of his other colleagues, he led his horse down from the observation platform with a face nearly in tears, then mounted and, looking back with every step, headed toward the most fiercely contested battle group... And when he looked back for the third time, he met Dalai's motion of drawing his blade, so he could only grit his teeth and spur his horse forward with all his might.

There was no help for it—who told him he was from Jinan?

Last year, when the Jin army had come and gone in Jingdong, he had been fleeing near Xuzhou, naturally believing that everything south of the Yellow River would return to the Great Song. Moreover, having reached middle age without obtaining a proper official post, he was unwilling to miss the opportunity. Using his former status as a provincial graduate and county school instructor, he had easily gotten Zhang Jun's recommendation to go to Nanyang, where he passed the palace examination and received a proper county magistrate post here in Jingxi.

But no one had expected that, though he got the post, throughout all of Jingdong, only Jinan had clung tightly to the Jin army's coattails, and the Jin army alone had not abandoned its support for Jinan. Then, when autumn came, even Jingxi was largely lost again.

At that time, with his city besieged and his hometown a staunch traitor stronghold, Hong Ya thought it over a few times and simply gritted his teeth and surrendered to the Jin. Later, in the Jin camp, when he heard that Prefect Liu Yu was about to become emperor, he developed other ideas. He actively flattered himself before the Jin Right Vice-Marshal Dalai, hinting that as a man from Jinan, he could serve as a Minister or the like, and even took the initiative to send a letter telling his family in Xuzhou to return to Jinan... Who would have thought he wouldn't become a Minister, and instead, because he had revealed his family's location, he had no choice but to go forward as a scout to observe the military situation.

Yet now, with the battlefield in utter chaos, how could he, a scholar, even if he could ride a horse and wore a decent set of leather armor, safely pass through the midst of ten thousand troops?

Especially given the location of that dragon banner...

Moreover, half a quarter of an hour earlier, when that Golden Halberd Imperial Banner had crossed the pontoon bridge and arrived at Yue Fei's main camp southeast of Changshe, Han Shizhong, who had been watching for a long time, no longer hesitated. He directly ordered a full-city sortie. The two commanders, Xie Yuan and Wang Shan, charged out from the east and south city gates respectively. And he himself—the dignified Pacification Commissioner of the Four Commanderies of Huaixi, Military Governor of Wucheng Army, and Commander-in-Chief of the Left Army of the Imperial Camp, Han Shizhong—personally led Commander Cheng Min and a mere few hundred personal guards to climb over the collapsed city wall breach and charge out first.

After two or three months of stalemate, plus several street battles, surprise attacks, and other such dramas, Wanyan Dalai had gained ample understanding of the ferocity of the man inside Changshe city. Therefore, when he saw the man's banner surge out, he was nearly frightened to death, terrified that the man would charge straight to him and take his head.

Yet, for better or worse, Han Shizhong led his troops out but completely ignored Wanyan Dalai, who was northeast of Changshe. Instead, without any regard, he directly led his army charging with all his might toward that Golden Halberd Imperial Banner.

At this moment, amidst this startlement, Wanyan Dalai took the initiative to ask about the origin of that Golden Halberd Imperial Banner—this Jin Right Vice-Marshal particularly wanted to know why Han Shizhong felt that his own head was less important than that banner.

Hence the conversation just now, and Staff Officer Hong's battlefield journey.

Returning to the present, Hong Ya, former County Magistrate of Xinzheng, Zhengzhou, Jingxi Circuit of the Great Song, and now staff officer under the Right Vice-Marshal of the Jin Grand Marshal's Office, led seven or eight Han army attendants. After walking a few hundred paces, they were swallowed into the vortex of chaotic battle. He barely dodged one battle group, and when he looked back, only half of his seven or eight attendants remained.

The reason for saying "half" was that one man, struck by an arrow, had slumped motionless over his horse, but was being dragged along by his spirited war steed, still following Staff Officer Hong.

Seeing this, Hong Ya trembled with fear, completely losing the courage to advance toward the core of the battlefield in the southeast. That place had Da Qi, Yue Fei, Han Shizhong, and that Golden Halberd Imperial Banner—was he going there to seek death?

But he also dared not go back!

Not only that, as Song troops continuously, even frantically, crossed the river to join the battle, the battlefield grew larger and larger. Even places that weren't the most critical became exceptionally fierce and frantic. Hong Ya looked around and felt only arrows flying back and forth, blades flashing. Perhaps because their tactical space was compressed, the Jin cavalry could no longer launch charges. The Song and Jin armies were completely locked in hand-to-hand combat... The entire battlefield had become a chaotic mess. Even if he wanted to go back, the risk was hardly low!

At this critical juncture, this Staff Officer Hong—who had fled disaster, held office, served in the military, and specifically learned a few simple Tungusic phrases to curry favor with Wanyan Dalai (though Dalai didn't like it, so he didn't pursue it further)—had a flash of cleverness. He began trying to escape the battlefield by cutting sideways, that is, steeling himself to skirt the main battle area, heading straight east, or even northeast toward the riverbank.

Whenever he encountered a Jin unit pulling out of a battle group, he would shout loudly in Tungusic from afar: "Don't shoot arrows! I am a staff officer under the Right Vice-Marshal!"

Whenever he encountered a Song unit surging forward, he would shout loudly in Central Plains Mandarin: "Don't harm me! I am the Great Song County Magistrate of Xinzheng!"

Perhaps because both sides were locked in bloody combat and no one cared about a single scholar, or perhaps because people in those days generally valued bilingual talent, this fellow actually managed to muddle his way through to the riverbank. Once there, he naturally thought to take the opportunity to cross the river and flee far from this place of life and death. However, when he found a pontoon bridge, he was stunned on the spot, because there were Song troops actively dismantling the bridge before him!

"Who ordered the bridge dismantled?!" Hong Ya mustered his courage and asked from the riverbank. "I am a palace examination appointee, the Great Song County Magistrate of Xinzheng, accompanying the army from Dongjing... Who ordered the bridge dismantled?"

A task like dismantling a bridge would surely be carried out by a general's trusted subordinates. So, when Hong Ya asked from the riverbank, an officer on the bridge immediately replied: "It is the ruler's personal decree! All units are to cross the river with full force, must all cross within half an hour, then cut the pontoon bridges and fight the Jin to the death! I am Fan Yihong, staff officer under Grand Commandant Wang. I am here on my Grand Commandant's orders specifically for this task. After dismantling this one, I must go upstream to continue dismantling bridges... You, County Magistrate, since you are a civil official and not fit for battle, you must not go back east of the river either! Listen to me: find a shield on the battlefield, dismount over there, and wait for me! Come with me to dismantle bridges, and you'll manage to get through safely!"

Hong Ya was dumbfounded—not by the bridge dismantling, but because the Zhao Song ruler had truly come!

At this thought, the man threw caution to the wind and asked again with effort: "Staff Officer Fan, I was just about to ask—the Golden Halberd Imperial Banner crossed the river. Has the ruler truly crossed the river and come here?"

"It is indeed the ruler himself who has crossed the river!" Fan Yihong called back from afar. "A pity, though—the ruler went to that bastard Yue Fei's formation! He didn't come to our Eight-Character Army's formation!"

Hong Ya suddenly felt the world spin... Even though he recognized that banner, he had instinctively believed it was a token the Zhao ruler had bestowed upon Hu Yin. Because his common sense and experience told him that someone from the Zhao family couldn't possibly be so resolute! But everything before him—from Han Shizhong's sudden, reckless sortie to the entire Song army's exhilaration—all told him that what the man said was true!

And in his daze, this man suddenly realized that the task Wanyan Dalai had assigned him seemed already complete. Moreover, with his escape route from here blocked, he aimlessly reined his horse around and headed west... So much so that on that pontoon bridge, young Staff Officer Fan called out a few times but couldn't stop him. He could only watch this county magistrate, who, upon hearing that the ruler had personally crossed the river, was charging heedlessly and alone into the enemy ranks to repay the imperial grace, and then, with tears in his eyes, continued crossing the river and dismantling bridges.

On the other side, Hong Ya walked into the chaotic battle, instinctively announcing his identity a few times as he went, before suddenly realizing: since the Son of Heaven was leading the campaign in person, the Song army was sure to win this time. He should have just stayed by that naive Fan Yihong's side—clearly an easy man to fool... Why had he come back?

But since he had already entered the battle group, it was hard to turn back. If he went back now, even that naive Staff Officer Fan would grow suspicious. So he could only steel himself and continue relying on his bilingual skills to cross the battlefield.

And would you believe it—whether by sheer dumb luck or because no one really cared about him—this Hong Ya actually managed to make it back across a good portion of the battlefield in one piece!

"Marshal!" Arriving before the observation platform, Hong Ya, having organized his thoughts, dismounted and bowed. "I have investigated clearly. It is indeed the Zhao Song ruler himself leading the campaign in person!"

At these words, Wanyan Dalai and the Jin officers and defector advisors behind him all stirred with agitation.

After the commotion, Wanyan Dalai himself smiled bitterly: "Hard work, Staff Officer Hong... Actually, in the quarter-hour you were gone, I could tell from the battle itself. If it weren't for the Zhao Song ruler's personal arrival, how could the Song army be so valiant? Da Qi has already asked me for reinforcements twice, wanting me to commit my last two elite units as well! I am still hesitating!"

"You cannot!" Hong Ya raised his head and gritted his teeth. "Marshal! Let me inform you, Marshal—I learned clearly along the way just now. The Zhao Song ruler personally decreed that the entire army must cross the river as quickly as possible, no matter what, and then each unit is to actively dismantle all pontoon bridges on the eastern river! If all the pontoon bridges are destroyed, even if Wanhu Pucha returns, he will find it difficult to cross the river in time to rescue us... I urge the Marshal to make a decision early!"

Now, Dalai's position was high, so he had already seen some of the Song army's bridge-dismantling activity. But he couldn't confirm the root of the matter. However, upon hearing Hong Ya's report, he was instantly chilled to the bone...

You must understand, this was a different matter from whether the Zhao Song ruler had come or not!

The Zhao Song ruler's arrival only meant this battle would be hard to fight!

And his son-in-law, along with the ten elite units of fresh troops his son-in-law had carefully selected for this sortie—that was the fundamental backbone that allowed him, Wanyan Dalai, the Jin Right Vice-Marshal, to hold on here under immense pressure!

This Jin Right Vice-Marshal had been standing on horseback here for nearly an hour, watching with his own eyes as more and more Song troops joined the battle in a continuous, storm-like offensive. By now, it had reached the most difficult situation he had anticipated—the Song army had achieved a staggering numerical advantage of five to one on the battlefield!

Throughout this process, as the commander of an army, one needed a strong conviction to hold on here. And the conviction that had been sustaining Dalai was his firm belief that his son-in-law would arrive at any moment to force the Song army to end this battle.

So, when someone now told him in definite terms that those ten units, even if they returned, could not join the battle, this old fellow, whose heart had been shocked enough for one day, naturally became utterly terrified.

However, perhaps because Jin generals hadn't used that particular term in many years, Wanyan Dalai, in his terror, didn't immediately grasp the implication of the defector before him.

But only for a moment.

Shortly after, as Wanyan Dalai, in a strange state, watched from afar as Han Shizhong's battle flag crossed the entire battlefield with an unstoppable momentum and successfully converged with that dragon banner and the Yue banner, he suddenly, for some reason, realized what the defector meant.

Or rather, this defector had reminded Dalai, making him aware of the thought lurking in his own heart—when Han Shizhong had suddenly burst out of the city earlier and charged straight for the dragon banner, also stabbing Da Qi in the back, Dalai had not actively sent out his last two units, which he had been keeping to guard against Han Shizhong. That was because a certain unspeakable thought had already arisen in his heart.

But this thought was too absurd... At this moment, fleeing was not impossible. The Song army was in the east, preparing to dismantle all the pontoon bridges on the Qingyi River to the east. But there were also pontoon bridges on the Zhuo Yi River west of Changshe city. It was only that the east was not the Jin army's supply route, nor the direction from which they had prepared against a Song attack, so there were only one or two ordinary pontoon bridges there!

In other words, Dalai could flee now without issue. But to flee would be a textbook case of abandoning the troops! More than a dozen units would be left behind here!

And after so many years, how long had it been since the Jin army had seen a commander abandon his troops and flee in a battle of this scale? This wasn't a hopeless situation!

Returning to the present, having understood all this, Dalai neither rebuked the defector before him, nor agreed with him, nor sent his last two fresh units to Da Qi as reinforcements. Instead, he met this great battle, now completely under the Song army's control, with a strange silence!

It is said that one day prior, if told the Song army would take the initiative to attack, Talan would certainly not believe it.

Before the morning, if told the Song army would come to Changshe city walls to seek his main force for a field battle, Talan absolutely would not believe it either.

Before noon, if told Yue Fei would lead twenty thousand troops, heedless of consequences, cross the river and attack first, he still would not believe it.

Until half an hour ago, Talan still did not believe that he would lose control of this battle.

And a quarter-hour ago, he still did not believe that the Zhao Song sovereign had truly come to the battlefield.

But by now, after one disbelief after another had been shattered by the Song army with reality, Talan was already somewhat dazed... He no longer dared to think, nor dared to make any move to control the situation.

Indeed, it was precisely at this moment that there was no sufficiently senior Jin veteran general by Wanyan Talan's side; otherwise, someone would have said it outright—after the Song army's series of resolute and fierce attacks, old Talan had been stunned senseless by the Song army!

"Your Majesty!"

Just as Talan was stunned, at the same time, Han Shizhong entered Yue Fei's formation, went straight to the dragon banner, and only after seeing Zhao Jiu himself did he let out a long breath. Then he removed his helmet with its bronze faceplate, fell to his knees, and wept. "Your servant, on the city wall, truly dared not believe it was Your Majesty in person... Your servant deserves ten thousand deaths, for troubling Your Majesty to come to such a perilous place!"

"What peril is this?" The Zhao sovereign, whose face was still somewhat flushed, quickly stepped forward to help Han Shizhong up. He glanced at Yue Fei, who was reining his horse and shouting commands just a few dozen paces away, and spoke a true word from the bottom of his heart. "Liangchen is my backbone and gall; these tens of thousands of troops are my foundation. Since you are all here, then this place is the safest spot under heaven... Let's not speak of other things. Now that the battle has reached this point, what does Liangchen think?"

"This battle was already won the moment Your Majesty led the dragon banner across the river!" Han Shizhong wiped his face, wasted no more words, and quickly rose, holding his helmet upright. "It's just that the generals lack unified command and are short of one final general assault!"

"Then I shall entrust it to Liangchen!" Zhao Jiu immediately instructed.

"Your servant cannot do this either. Although the Kaifeng Prefecture Defense Command and the Eight-Character Army below the walls will certainly recognize your servant, they are not under my jurisdiction. Moreover, the battle is so chaotic that it is no longer something one general or one marshal can manage..." Han Shizhong pointed to the dragon banner above. "Only by asking Your Majesty to move the dragon banner northwest toward Wanyan Talan's command platform, with your servant and this Prefect Yue flanking it with our banners, can everything be settled!"

"Let it be as Liangchen says!" Zhao Jiu glanced at Yue Fei, who had reined in his horse and was listening silently without speaking. He realized in his heart that Yue Fei still did not know him well enough, and moreover, was already satisfied with the battle situation, so he dared not advise him to do this. Or perhaps, in this world at this moment, only Han Shizhong dared to advise the Zhao sovereign to use this move.

To give an inappropriate example, in the terms of certain high-end games, among the top generals of the age, only Han Shizhong had achieved the highest level of bond with him, the Zhao sovereign, enabling him to coordinate with the sovereign and execute this move.

But regardless of who initiated it, after more than an hour and another half-quarter of fighting, the golden imperial banner, which anyone with common sense knew represented the Son of Heaven of Zhao Song, began to move again on the battlefield. Flanked on left and right by a large banner bearing the character "Han" and another bearing the character "Yue," it slowly advanced northwest... Everyone knew those were Yue Fei and Han Shizhong. And the poor officers serving as the Zhao sovereign's central army, Li Qiong and Liu Yan, both at the rank of commander, did not even have the qualification to raise their own banners beside the dragon banner at this time, lest they overshadow the host; they could only follow at a distance on the flanks.

Seeing the dragon banner and the two banners of Han and Yue move together, the nearly seventy thousand Song troops on the battlefield, who had fallen into chaotic fighting due to the hasty river crossing, spontaneously launched a full-scale assault in that direction. The advantage of being five times the enemy's strength was fully revealed. The Song army stirred up rolling dust and surged like a tide, their battle cries shaking the heavens!

Facts proved that once one side in a chaotic battle first concentrated its forces, the other side had no power to resist. Just after the Song army launched its full assault, the most battered of the Jin army's *meng'an* units on the front completely collapsed. Seeing this, the Jin front-line commander, Da? could only let out a long sigh and gallop away.

And at this moment, Talan was still stunned in place, staring at the dragon banner surging toward him and muttering to himself... It is said that even now, this Jin Right Vice-Marshal still had two *meng'an* units clenched in his hand, never committed to the fight!

PS: Thanks to fellow readers adrian_fufu and Sunshine Beef Noodles... This is the sixty-third and sixty-fourth chapter of this book... Continue to bow in thanks for the support of these two fellow readers, deeply grateful.

Then a book recommendation... No... This book doesn't need a recommendation... Sacrificing the number one on the new book list, *Dreaming Back to the Great Ming Spring*.

I just noticed the interface turned black... Let me say one more thing: I think everyone doing their own job well is the best mourning. I hope everyone will not be captured by the hardships of the first half of 2020... We can always get through it. After all, in any era, we are never short of Yue Fei and Han Shizhong.