[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-shao-song":3,"chapter-shao-song-shao-song-chapter-229":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Shao Song",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1558395,2024,"Chapter 229","shao-song-chapter-229",229,"\u003Cp>The hill opposite Fangzhou’s prefectural city was part of the northern mountain range called Qiaoshan, and was known as Little Qiaoshan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the name suggested, the hill had two origins for its name: first, it came from the main Qiaoshan range, and second, because it directly faced the great drawbridge at the north of Fangzhou city. Such terrain, combined with the road and river before the hill, and Fangzhou city on the south bank of the river, naturally formed an ingenious, sturdy, yet integrated defensive system.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That evening, a full day had passed since Wu Jie, after gazing at the hill and weeping, personally ascended the military stockade on Qiaoshan. At this moment, the Grand Coordinator of the Jingyuan Circuit sat upright in the camp on the hill, watching coldly as the soldiers in the stockade celebrated wildly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course they would celebrate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not to mention last night, at noon today, a Jin Jun commander of ten Battalion Commander personally led an attack. His troops were almost entirely Jurchen and Bohai armored soldiers, inspiring fear at first sight and immediately shaking the defenders here. In truth, these Jin Jun were indeed formidable. They first rested in the gullies of the distant plateau to avoid the heat, and after the hottest part of the afternoon passed, having conserved their strength, they dismounted entirely, donned heavy armor, and wielded strong bows. While exchanging fire with the Song Jun on the hill and across the river on the city wall, they ignored the effective casualties from bed crossbows, enemy-defeating bows, and divine-arm bows, and forcibly launched a infantry assault up the hill!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although the Song Jun inflicted effective casualties and the Jin Jun suffered obvious losses, the Jin Jun still fought fiercely to reach the foot of the hill. By the time the Jin armored soldiers reached the mid-slope, the Song Jun arrayed before the stockade on the hill had begun to collapse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the Song Jun still won!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because, as luck would have it, just before the divine-arm bow formation before the stockade collapsed, a divine-arm bowman, panicking, raised his angle and loosed a bolt that actually pinned the enemy commander of ten Battalion Commander’ foot from afar. This startled the Jin Jun, who all rushed to rescue him. Moreover, the Jin Jun had already suffered considerable casualties and dared not leave their wounded commander at the foot of the hill, so they withdrew entirely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this time, scouts clearly reported that the Jin Jun retreated continuously across two plateaus and only stopped to rest after hiding in Flower Gully ten li away… In other words, today’s battle was indeed a victory, and a great one at that! Because the Jin Jun abandoned over a hundred corpses, while the Song Jun suffered almost no casualties.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Who shot that bolt?” The stockade was still mostly unsettled, but as Wang Xi, who had crossed from the city, arrived with his troops at the stockade on orders to help clean the battlefield, several dozen officers gradually gathered before the main commander. Only then did Wu Jie look up and ask.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The generals exchanged glances. It was Yao Ding, the commander in charge of the divine-arm bows and Wu Jie’s favored general, who stepped forward, puffed out his chest, and cupped his hands: “Grand Coordinator, the battlefield was extremely chaotic at the time, and it was truly impossible to see who shot it. But at that distance, since it wasn’t a bed crossbow, it could only have been our divine-arm bow team. The city wall across the river might not have reached either…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Xi, who had come from the city, initially wanted to claim some credit, but first, he had personally seen that the Jin general’s arrow wound was too far north, and second, as a fellow townsman and confidant, he noticed Wu Jie’s expression was off and forcibly suppressed his urge to vie for merit… This was uncommon in the Western Army.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Correct.” Wu Jie sat still, his expression calm. “The logic is sound. Since that’s the case, this great merit will be shared among your entire divine-arm bow team… Everyone in this stockade who fought today will receive one bolt of silk each, and the divine-arm bow team will get an extra bolt. The silk is in the city. Do you trust me?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At these words, the generals couldn’t help but laugh, and the soldiers who heard this burst into uproar, which grew louder as the news spread from mouth to mouth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No question, Wu Jie had considerable credibility in the army.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In truth, it wasn’t just Wu Jie; even Qu Duan before him, and Wu Jie’s younger brother Wu Lin, when they spoke, could generally earn the trust of these soldiers… It could only be said that this army, primarily from the Jingyuan Circuit, had its specific reasons for being able to take charge after Loushi’s sweep of Guanxi, and for briefly annexing the troops of the other two circuits after the great defeat at Yan’an, vaguely dominating Guanxi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the previous few years, Guanxi had been extremely difficult, but this Jingyuan Circuit army, first, had strict military discipline, and second, had clear internal rewards and punishments. This allowed its several main commanders to win both the army’s and the people’s hearts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For example, after Loushi’s first great sweep of Guanxi, Qu Duan recruited defeated soldiers and refugees in the Jingyuan Circuit, claiming that people’s hearts were greatly settled and items left on the road were not picked up. In another timeline, when the Wu brothers defended Dasan Pass and supplies from Shu couldn’t reach them, it was the Guanxi people from the occupied territories who continuously supplied grain to Dasan Pass. These could almost be called ironclad evidence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, the reason for this wasn’t that Qu Da, Wu Da, Wu Er, and other Shaanxi and northern Shaanxi officers had particularly high ideological awareness. The key actually lay in the three words: “local soldier-sons.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In this Western Army system, everyone in the army knew clearly where each person lived, who was poor and who was rich, who could write and who could fight, who was wise and who was brave, whose father died for whose brother, and whose family perished for whose clan. In the past, when the court provided supplies and the nation was at peace, and the Western Army was large, officials naturally padded their payrolls and played tricks. But now, with the nation broken and families lost, the population of Guanxi dwindled, and the Western Army’s numbers sharply decreased. With so few people and resources left, things inevitably became much stricter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, this wasn’t entirely a good thing. At the very least, this close relationship between the army and the locality easily inflated the authority of some military commanders, leading to semi-independent local forces.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Take Qu Duan, for instance. Though he had no rebellious intent, wasn’t his previous arrogance precisely because he believed he had won the hearts of Guanxi’s elders and that his army only listened to him?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It could only be said that fortunately, that fellow couldn’t even manage internal relations well, to the point where the Wu brothers turned against him. Otherwise, he would have smoothly become a Fanzhen warlord.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With the rewards settled, the cheers of the surrounding soldiers gradually subsided. Wu Jie looked at Yao Ding again and then sighed: “As the old saying in Shaanxi goes, the Yang, Yao, Zhong, and She families were the old-generation military clans before the two Lius (Liu Fa and Liu Yanqing) rose to prominence… Among them, the Yang family left Guanxi long ago, but later Old General Yang recognized the clan, and his grandson Yang Yizhong is now a favorite before His Majesty, so it’s somewhat reconnected. The most prominent Zhong family needs no elaboration. During the Jingkang era, Old Zhong, the Grand Coordinator, and Little Zhong, the Grand Coordinator, both died for the country, which was quite spectacular. As for the She family, the entire clan surrendered, leaving only Zhe Yanzhi in Bashu, but as a civil official, it’s essentially extinct… And your Yao family from Shaanxi…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this point, Wu Jie’s speech became halting, and he shook his head repeatedly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yao Ding also looked quite awkward… During the Jingkang era, the Yao family wasn’t actually extinct. Yao Gu died in battle, but Yao Gu’s son, Yao Pingzhong, the former Commander-in-Chief under the walls of Dongjing during the Jingkang era, after a failed strike, galloped away all the way to Bashu, vanishing without a trace, and his fate was unknown from then on.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact, as early as in Nanyang, many had recommended this man to His Majesty Zhao, after all, he had long been a Commander-in-Chief of the Song Army. But Zhao Jiu simply ignored them. When pressed, he would mutter nonsense to those around him, saying things like “Sun Yuanliang,” “Araki Do,” and that he had seen this kind of thing too many times, that this man’s courage was already lost and he could never be useful again… Though no one knew the specific allusions to Sun Yuanliang and Araki Do, the meaning was clear, and the court simply treated this man as dead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alright then.” After sighing, Wu Jie said seriously to Yao Ding. “Since your unit achieved such a great feat, I must reward you specially. As Grand Coordinator, I will promote you to Military Inspector.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yao Ding was first stunned, then ecstatic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The surrounding officers all lost color, then fell into gloom… Clearly, this promotion was excessively generous. Especially Wang Xi, who had come from the city to investigate, and who had thought this Inspector position was his for the taking, was particularly resentful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But who could blame them? He was a son of the Yao family. And today, he had such lucky merit!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beyond that, Wu Jie’s behavior yesterday and his demeanor today were somewhat strange, which made Wang Xi, who was clearly dissatisfied, dare not speak up for the moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I will officially send a dispatch to the court and your family in the name of the Grand Coordinator, letting them all know that the Yao family of Sanyuan, Shaanxi, still has merit for the nation. In the future, your son will receive a hereditary privilege.” Wu Jie sat in place and continued slowly, then suddenly asked. “But you did retreat today, didn’t you? I saw with my own eyes that you led several men and fled all the way behind where I was sitting… Am I wrong?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yao Ding’s smile hadn’t faded, and then he was greatly terrified.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Rules must be followed.” Wu Jie remained seated, only slightly pursing his lips. “The rules were just set yesterday. They cannot be broken!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Wu Jie pursed his lips in signal, several dozen armored soldiers suddenly surged forward and seized Yao Ding and several divine-arm bowmen right before the main commander, clearly having long targeted specific individuals… The sudden turn of events directly silenced the stockade, which had just been noisy over rewards. Many had no idea what was happening, but they were all terrified.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the daze, only the faint chirping of cicadas from the distant mountains emerged, mingling with the heat in the air, continuing to stir restlessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Grand Coordinator!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yao Ding’s mind had long gone blank with terror, and he let Wu Jie’s personal guards bind him. Moments later, it was Wang Xi, who had just been jealous, his heart chilled, who steeled himself to step forward and plead. “No matter what, we won today! Why must it be like this?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Won my ass!” Wu Jie hurled the saber at his waist heavily to the ground, finally erupting in fury. “If not for that lucky arrow, everyone on this hill today would already be dead! You, Wang Xi, would probably just cry a bit and then flee from the south of the city!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With Wu Jie’s full outburst, and given the agreement from yesterday, everyone was horrified.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Look at this terrain yourselves!” Wu Jie, now empty-handed, stood up, grabbed Yao Ding, whose hands were already bound behind his back, and dragged him forward a dozen paces before stopping. Then he turned around, pointing at the positions before the hill and the stockade behind him, unable to contain his anger. “This terrain, this stockpile of military supplies… I’ve been preparing since the great defeat after the New Year… Just stand here and shoot arrows. If we grit our teeth and don’t retreat, how could the Jin Jun possibly attack without losing five or six thousand men? Even this time, didn’t they withdraw partly because they couldn’t bear the casualties? Why retreat? I just don’t understand. From Taiyuan to now, from Old Zhong, the Grand Coordinator, to me, Wu Da, time and again, why do you all retreat? Aren’t you human? Aren’t the Jin Jun human? If you didn’t know the consequences of retreating at Taiyuan, don’t you know today? Don’t you know that retreating is the only road to death?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Jie shouted his questions, and the front of the stockade was dead silent. None of the officers, from Wang Xi on down, dared to respond.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for Yao Ding, he opened his mouth several times to defend himself but had no idea how to explain… Yes, that was the logic! Having fought the Jin for so long, it was no longer the situation of the Jingkang era. Now everyone understood that standing here and shooting arrows continuously was the best course of action. The closer the Jin got, the more effective the killing. Turning to flee would only let the Jin climb up and take the entire stockade, making death even more likely!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But logic was logic. When the armored Jin soldiers, enduring casualties, reached the mid-slope, and when the Jin’s heavy arrows began to take effect, they still couldn’t help but feel terror in their hearts, and still couldn’t help but turn and flee… Just like time and time again before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By the Yellow River, ten thousand men were chased like ducks by five hundred Jin cavalry into the river, and it was Wanyan Loushi who, soft-hearted, ordered them rescued!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By the Huai River, another ten thousand men were chased by a few hundred Jin cavalry into the river, enraging Zhao Jiu so much that he killed Liu Guangshi at all costs!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These soldiers were all formally organized Song Army regulars. Not to mention whether their weapons were poor, even if their equipment was terrible, even if these soldiers and officers were utterly stupid, didn’t they understand that if ten thousand men truly fought, they could surely hold off five hundred cavalry?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Han Shizhong once led two hundred cavalry and overturned several times that many Jin cavalry! A living example was right there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But, understanding the logic, when the thought of clinging to life arose at the moment of battle, they disregarded everything… To stop this thought of clinging to life, someone had to stand up and tell them that doing so had a price.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing everyone silent, Wu Jie turned back, picked up the saber he had thrown on the ground, and walked silently behind Yao Ding. Before the other could react, two personal guards stepped forward to hold him down, and another pulled off his helmet. The Grand Coordinator himself acted, driving the blade in one stroke into the back of Yao Ding’s neck, then bringing it out through the front, dripping with blood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Immediately, the surrounding personal guards, ignoring the pleas of the soldiers, also acted, cleanly and swiftly killing over a dozen divine-arm bowmen who had fled past where Wu Jie had sat today.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After this group was killed, Wu Jie, leaning on his saber—now stained with blood but still glinting in the setting sun—turned around and spoke coldly to the generals and soldiers in the stockade, who were already silent as cicadas in winter:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You are all local soldier-sons from Shaanxi, all acquaintances… During today’s battle, I had my guard squad watch you. Besides these dozen or so divine-arm bowmen, there were another seventy or eighty who also fled past my seat, including one commander. Will you step forward yourselves, or should I pick them out one by one, squad by squad?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sun was setting in the west. No one spoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing this, Wu Jie didn’t pretend. He simply waved his hand, and the hundred or so personal guards swarmed out. In order by unit, they dragged out the deserters in batches, and without any leniency, beheaded them one by one before the stockade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for the last one dragged out, Commander Ma Xizhong, no plea for mercy was allowed. Wu Jie personally swung his saber and beheaded him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the hastily fought battle that afternoon, few Song soldiers had died, while the Jin Jun had left over a hundred corpses. But Wu Jie’s subsequent execution of deserters killed over a hundred men outright, nearly ten percent of the thousand-plus in the stockade!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It could only be said that fortunately, this army was essentially Wu Jie’s own local soldier-sons, and he had always balanced kindness with authority and rewards with punishments. Otherwise, with anyone else, a mutiny would have already broken out… In truth, even so, Wu Jie had made preparations. Besides his own personal guards, he had also early on had Wang Xi bring several hundred soldiers from his hometown, Deshun Army, into the stockade from the city, and had first set the rewards before killing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Returning to the present, after killing Ma Xizhong, Wu Jie looked around the stockade and suddenly called out a name: “Wang Xi!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Xi was startled at the words, his legs going weak as he immediately fell to his knees, then hastily defended himself: \"Grand Coordinator, I have been guarding the city all day today... there is absolutely no way I could have retreated from in front of you to behind you!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It's not to kill you.\" Wu Jie threw the knife down in front of him again, then said coldly. \"The Jin have just arrived and don't know the terrain. After sunset, you will lead five hundred men to raid Huagou! Charge once, then set fires! In this battle, no one in the entire army is going to avoid their duty!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Xi felt as if he had received a great pardon, immediately stepping forward to pick up his general's saber.\u003C\u002Fp>",3060,"2026-06-06T07:46:04.529Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","7c5c0dee3da655710b207d4885fc7a9196b9597f14dfb477125cca8a47c2db93","shao-song-chapter-230","shao-song-chapter-228",489,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fshao-song-cover.jpg"]