Chapter 162: Chapter Seventy-Five: Caught Between Advance and Retreat (Part 2)

The spring rains had not yet arrived, but the Jin army had already sunk into the mire.

After crossing the Li River, Jin Wushu sent men to scout the surroundings, and as expected, they discovered across the river that Yancheng, a key point downstream, had received city wall repairs and troop reinforcements—so-called strong walls and sharp soldiers—and he reluctantly abandoned the idea of returning north through this strategic chokepoint, angrily heading straight north toward the Ru River.

To be honest, the Ru River was far more famous than the Li River, and also much wider. This time, just to build a pontoon bridge, the Jin army clashed no fewer than seven or eight times in the river with the suddenly appearing banners of Niu, Tang, Li, and others, beneath which were no less than five or six thousand elite Song troops. Fire ships, swimming crossings, even a small-scale naval force—the Song harassment was effective... the pontoon bridge was never completed.

In the end, the Jin army had no choice but to resort to an old trick. From a shallow branching point of the Ru River's upper tributaries, they forcibly detached a cavalry force of four thousand men, taking advantage of the many river forks and shoals upstream to ride a hundred li around before finally charging to the opposite bank. Seeing such a large cavalry force, the opposing troops showed no desire for a prolonged fight. They burned their own riverside positions early and withdrew north to a prepared camp twenty li from the river, where they properly set up their defenses.

The Jin army dared not pursue recklessly, nor did they hastily build a bridge. Instead, following the orders Balisu had given before their departure, they established a stockade on the spot.

After all, the lesson they had learned from the Li River incident told them that even if they succeeded in building a bridge now, they could not expand the crossing scale, and they would be vulnerable to attack at night, potentially losing the pontoon bridge.

And sure enough, whether it was within Jin expectations or not, by nightfall, the Song army launched another night raid.

Logically, this time the Jin army was well prepared, even having a stockade, so they should have handled it properly.

But in reality, the exhaustion from the long detour had still cost them considerable combat effectiveness. Relatively speaking, the Song army, using the cover of night and their familiarity with the terrain, still managed to achieve surprise in the battle.

Of course, an even more important matter was that, according to the Jin army's own later account, the Song night raid had brought a full ten thousand troops!

The Jin army had no choice but to rely on their hastily erected stockade to fight desperately. This battle lasted from midnight until dawn... Poor Jin Wushu and the others, leading tens of thousands of troops, listening to the commotion across the river—how could they sleep? In the end, nearly all the Jin troops on the south bank rose, holding torches and facing each other across the wide Ru River, trying to make sense of the battle.

The south bank blazed with torchlight, turning the Ru River in between into a river of fire, yet the battle situation remained completely unclear.

At dawn, the Song army dispersed on their own. At that time, someone swam across from the battered stockade on the opposite side to report to Jin Wushu that the four thousand troops had suffered over a thousand casualties and had lost or abandoned more than half their warhorses.

A loss of just over a thousand men was, of course, only a flesh wound for Jin Wushu's forces, and it matched their estimation of Song combat capability. So that day, the pontoon bridge was raised again, and it took another two and a half days for the forty thousand Jin troops to fully cross the river.

But it was precisely after the entire army had crossed the Ru River that a fierce argument broke out among the highest ranks of the Jin army that very evening!

The cause of the matter was actually quite simple. After crossing the Ru River, the Jin army found themselves in a new, small strategic dilemma. You see, at this point, the Ru River behind them and the Ying River ahead were both major tributaries of the Huai River, both relatively large rivers. The previous battles had shown that such large rivers posed a significant obstacle to Jin cavalry. And unfortunately, downstream to the southeast of their current position lay the fortified city of Yancheng, while upstream to the northwest lay the fortified city of Xiangcheng.

The defender of Yancheng was Xu Shian, the most reliable of Han Shizhong's subordinates. The defender of Xiangcheng was of even greater stature—Lu Qing, the surviving infantry commander of the Three Bureaus from the Jingkang era, a veteran who had persisted in resisting the Jin along the Yellow River for many years. Regardless, these two cities had been the main defensive strongholds the Song army had held from the start. Now, Jin scout cavalry had repeatedly confirmed that both cities had received timely resupply and repairs after the Battle of Yanling, rendering their previous sieges a wasted effort.

So the question arose: In this position, effectively constrained on left and right, blocked front and rear—a veritable death trap for cavalry—should they continue north to cross the Ying River?

If Balisu and the others could still endure and persist before, after these days of continuous attrition, these battle-hardened veterans had all begun to sense something ominous.

"The Song army is delaying us layer by layer, wearing us down..." By the campfire, Wulindai Taiyu grabbed a handful of ash and scattered it in front of him, then used a finger to point at the ash before delivering his verdict.

"I know!" Jin Wushu glanced at the ash in front of the other man, knowing he was reminding him of the Jurchen tradition of military councils, and feeling somewhat powerless, could only respond coldly.

"Our supplies are insufficient." Balisu had clearly coordinated with Wulindai Taiyu beforehand, as he spoke almost immediately after. "Fourth Prince, this time is different from when we came. The towns between the five rivers have been combed back and forth by the army several times. We've been fighting for three or four months. The Song people who could flee have fled; there's no way to forage locally. Besides, the Song army this time seems to be actively adopting a scorched-earth policy..."

"I know that too!" Jin Wushu remained cold.

The three of them reached an impasse and almost instinctively looked together at the last Battalion Commander, Han Chang, who simply kept his head down and said nothing.

Clearly, this great Han general from the Liao region opposed continuing the advance, sharing the same view as Balisu and Wulindai Taiyu. But at the same time, another obvious fact was that this man, as Wushu's trusted general, maintained a political posture of respect toward Wushu.

And with Han Chang taking such a stance, the three men's reactions were identical... They all breathed a half-sigh of relief while inwardly cursing the man for failing to hold his ground.

Of course, it was hard on Han Chang too.

With no other choice, by the fire, Balisu turned back to Wushu: "Fourth Prince, I'll ask you just one more thing. Are you so determined to cross the river because you think the Zhao Song emperor should be in one of the cities ahead, or do you want to chase him down, surround him, and swallow him up?"

Jin Wushu was silent for a moment, then answered with a question instead: "I ask you, Talan is the supreme commander of this campaign. Are we supposed to just abandon him? By normal reasoning, even if he lost, he should be holding out around Zhengzhou or Kaifeng on the other side of the five rivers, right? He might even be heavily surrounded!"

This statement was half nonsense yet still held some logic... The nonsense part was that during the southward advance months ago, Wushu had never treated Talan as the supreme commander; instead, he had forcibly summoned Talan like a subordinate. The logic was that regardless of whether Wushu respected Talan, the Right Vice-Marshal was still the Right Vice-Marshal. Having heard nothing from him after crossing two rivers, he was most likely being pressed hard by the Song army taking advantage of their great victory, so they had to go rescue him.

Thinking this, Balisu shook his head repeatedly. He didn't bother arguing with the other man but instead bluntly stated his real suggestion: "This is what I mean to say, Fourth Prince. If you want to go to Zhengzhou, why not take a detour through Ruzhou, pass through Luoyang, and exit through Sishui Pass to support the Right Vice-Marshal?"

Wushu was slightly startled, clearly caught off guard.

After a long pause, this Fourth Prince of the Jin finally responded slowly: "We've already crossed two of the five rivers. How can we give up halfway?"

Balisu had already fully confirmed the other's intentions and simply sneered in silence.

But Wulindai Taiyu flushed with anger: "In the end, the Fourth Prince is willing to put the entire army in danger just for a personal grudge?"

"Capturing the Song emperor is a personal grudge?!" Wushu also erupted in fury. "Have you considered that the weather is already warming? If we are forced to retreat today without capturing the Song emperor, all these months of hard fighting will have been for nothing! The land south of the Yellow River will return to Song control!"

Wulindai Taiyu wanted to argue but found himself momentarily unable to refute, so he simply slapped the ash in front of him. The ash flew up into the campfire, sending sparks flying, illuminating the stern faces of the four top Jurchen nobles around them.

In short, unless absolutely necessary, who would willingly admit that this southern campaign had already failed?

Of course it had failed. Just think about it—the western army in northern Shaanxi aside, here, one hundred twenty thousand troops had marched south into the already-plundered Henan region. Whatever plunder and spoils there were had been gradually consumed during months of siege warfare. Without enough loot, and having lost battles with organized losses of over a dozen meng'an units...

As for the strategic goal of capturing the Zhao Song emperor and establishing a puppet regime in Henan...

In short, choosing to withdraw directly at this point, considering that the weather could no longer support the Jin army in another months-long siege, would mean a full-scale retreat. And retreating without any strategic gains, having instead lost over a dozen meng'an, this southern campaign would undoubtedly be a complete and utter defeat!

And it must be known that even Jin Wushu's previous setback on the Huai River had only been a reckless advance after completing the Jin army's established objectives—sweeping the two flanks of Hebei to fully control the region. So if the Jin army slunk away like this now, it would be the first time in Jin history that a strategic offensive had been thwarted... Who could bear that responsibility?

Back to the present, this conflict on the banks of the Ru River ended in a stalemate. And with the stalemate established, they naturally continued north according to the commander's will.

So soon, the Jin central army arrived at the third of the five rivers—the famous Ying River.

As expected, before the main Jin force arrived, the opposite bank was quiet. But with the arrival of the main Jin force, even more Song troops appeared on the opposite bank than last time. From the banners across the river, they could clearly make out the character 'Yue'. Considering the rarity of this surname, Jin Wushu and the others immediately understood that this was Yue Fei, the Pacification Commissioner of Jizhou, who had once annihilated five thousand Jin cavalry at Liangshan Marsh.

The appearance of a general of this caliber was an unmistakable declaration that crossing the Ying River ahead would be even more difficult than crossing the two rivers behind them.

To be honest, that evening, when Jin Wushu personally arrived before the Ying River, looking at the Song troops on the opposite bank—neither too many nor too few—and that banner which forced him to take it seriously... for a moment, this Fourth Prince himself was so weary he felt like giving up.

Reining in his horse by the river, he slightly lifted his hips. He hated Talan for not giving him a definite message after his defeat, leaving him in such a predicament of being caught between advance and retreat. He hated that Zhao Song emperor even more for breaking his word—hadn't he promised to wait in Nanyang City, only to suddenly appear at Yanling? At the same time, he also hated his own incompetence...

If only he had destroyed those terrifyingly efficient Song catapults back in Nanyang, he would have long since trapped the dragon in a well and waited for victory in peace.

If only he had seen through the Zhao Song emperor's trick on the banks of the Bai River and captured that wretch early on, this war would have been over long ago, everything settled.

If only he had not hesitated after Talan's defeat and advanced immediately, at the very least he would not be in such a predicament now.

"Fourth Prince."

Just as Wushu was sighing while gazing at the river, his trusted general Han Chang suddenly reined in his horse and came alongside him, standing shoulder to shoulder, then spoke softly. "Isn't this fine scenery of the Central Plains?"

It truly was fine scenery.

The sun setting over the western plains, the river full of gold, endless iron cavalry, blood nourishing the green grass, and a gentle breeze coming from behind, rolling the banners back and forth in a rustling echo with the Song banners across the river—how could this not be fine scenery?

Of course, it was somewhat untimely.

So, Jin Wushu couldn't help but ask in confusion: "In a place of being caught between advance and retreat, you're in the mood to talk about scenery?"

"Why can't one talk about scenery even when caught between advance and retreat?" Han Chang didn't even turn his head, just continued gazing at the river and speaking softly. "In this general's opinion, such fine scenery is just the right burial place for a hero like the Fourth Prince..."

Faced with such shocking words, Wushu remained silent. He knew that by now, even a trusted confidant like Han Chang was unwilling to continue advancing with him.

"Fourth Prince, don't try to force a crossing of the remaining rivers to the northeast anymore," Han Chang said as expected, yet he seemed to have a different insight. "There's something strange to the northeast, or rather, something strange about the Song army."

"What do you mean?" Perhaps it was the blow of their current predicament, or perhaps he himself understood that this trusted confidant at his side was his last reliance for maintaining his command over the army and suppressing the two men, Bolisu and Wulindai Taiyu. So Jin Wushu rarely managed to stay calm.

"I have thought carefully about the experiences of these past few days... There are at least two things that unsettle me," Han Chang said calmly. "First, the Song army is far too bold, completely different from the Song army before. Night raids, harassment, guarding the ferry crossing, and retreating—all done with great composure. Their willingness to fight and ability to fight are already fully revealed. It shows that the victory at Yanling-Changshe by that Zhao Song sovereign has greatly boosted the Song army's morale, and they are no longer in their former desperate state. This is the major point—in the future, our battles with the Song army will likely be much harder."

Wanyan Wushu slowly nodded.

"The other point is this: if the Song army is so willing to fight and so well-disciplined in advancing and retreating, then why didn't they take the opportunity to swallow up our four thousand men last time on the north bank of the Ru River?"

Wushu shook his head repeatedly: "How could the Song army swallow up four of our *meng'an* in one night? Over a thousand casualties is already their limit."

"Perhaps so, but I still have some concerns." Han Chang pointed at the banners on the opposite bank, squinting slightly. "Others are one thing, but this Yue Fei is no man of empty reputation, is he? Not to mention Liangshanbo—at the defeat at Yanling-Changshe, more than ten of our *meng'an* were lost within an hour, and it was he who first crossed the Qingyi River..."

"What are you trying to say?" Wushu suddenly interrupted him.

"I always feel that the Song army is deliberately luring us northeast," Han Chang said seriously. "These past days, while there have been casualties, they haven't been heavy. While there have been delays, they've still allowed us to advance... Yet the military intelligence ahead is completely unclear. Only when I came to my senses did I realize that this area is a death trap for cavalry, and we have already lost our ability to advance or retreat! Fourth Prince, let me ask you this: what if Talan Marshal loses again in the next few days? Wouldn't there be a hundred thousand Song troops lying in wait ahead?"

Wushu instinctively wanted to speak, then instinctively choked, and broke out in a cold sweat.

Having said this, Han Chang finally glanced at the Fourth Prince beside him, then quietly released a new piece of information: "Let the Fourth Prince know, Wang De and Hu Yantong have caught up from behind, already broken through Wuyang, and crossed the Li River... If it were just Yue Fei's posture ahead, I wouldn't have guessed this way."

Wanyan Wushu was dumbfounded, and only responded after a long while: "Why was such military intelligence only reported to me now?"

"Because I feared that the Fourth Prince was too eager to capture that Zhao Song sovereign, and that hearing this news first would make you impatient to cross the river, to the point of losing your senses," Han Chang said coldly. "And if that were the case, based on my observations these past days, I'm afraid General Bolisu would directly lead his own troops west..."

"Would he dare?!"

"How would he not dare?!" Han Chang remained cold. "In this battle, the Eastern Route Army has suffered a great defeat and fled in Henan. What leverage do the Fourth Prince and Marshal Talan have to control the Wanhu of the Western Route Army? Are Marshal Yanhan and Yinshu mere decorations?"

Wushu was momentarily speechless, and then grew increasingly panicked inside.

"Not only that—this time when he set out, he has already lost his own nephew. If he loses the troops under his command again, how could his elder brother Yinshu forgive him?" Han Chang continued his calm analysis. "Fourth Prince, by reason and by sentiment, he will likely leave... And if he leaves, we will be in a state of disintegration. Then, when the Song army surrounds us from north and south, this river will be the burial ground for the Fourth Prince and for me, this fool who will never abandon the Fourth Prince! Still, such a scene would be fitting for the Fourth Prince's status. I imagine the Fourth Prince will have no regrets, just as I do!"

Wushu was completely speechless. It was not until after sunset, when the surrounding soldiers began to light torches and set up camp, that he finally spoke in a low, strained voice: "Yuanji (Han Chang's courtesy name), what do you think we should do?"

Han Chang remained composed, clearly having thought it through: "Fake a river crossing, prepare and gather dry rations, then suddenly abandon the baggage train. All cavalry will follow the Ying River northwest, turn into Luoyang via Goushi, and then plan the next move!"

Wushu was about to speak again when Han Chang finally lost patience: "Fourth Prince... I did not speak up at the evening military council but came here privately because there are some things that are not suitable to say in public—in this battle, the Fourth Prince has lost to that Zhao Song sovereign again! Whether in courage and strategy or in decision-making, you are at a disadvantage. Only because our army still has countless iron cavalry, and there is still some initiative for the future, do I advise you to recognize the situation early and not make mistake after mistake!"

Having said this, Han Chang said no more. And no one knows how long passed before Wanyan Wushu, by the faint twilight, gave a slight nod: "I will do as General Han says."

Having persuaded Wushu, Han Chang breathed a complete sigh of relief and was about to turn and leave. But unexpectedly, the Fourth Prince remained motionless on his horse. Han Chang, helpless, was about to urge him again when, by the faint firelight around them, he saw the other man take a thick, uniquely Jurchen arrow from the quiver at his back.

Han Chang's heart stirred, and he reined in his horse, standing solemnly and falling silent.

And sure enough, arrow in hand, Wushu then took a dagger from behind, cut the arrow, and let it fall to the ground. By the river, he swore an oath: "By our founding father above, if in this life your son cannot annihilate Zhao Song and kill that Zhao Jiu of Cangzhou, may I be like this arrow, broken inch by inch!"

Having spoken, only then, under Han Chang's stunned gaze, did he tighten his seat, straighten his back, and spur his horse back to camp.