Chapter 261: Strong and Weak

Yue Fei was true to his word, and it seemed the camp had indeed been prepared for some time. That afternoon, he made his promise to Zhang Jun, and the very next morning, he set out with his troops directly in the rain.

The main army split in two. One force, two thousand men under Li Kui, struck straight at Gulou Stockade—yes, that Yang Guang had indeed rebelled for the fourth time. Meanwhile, amidst the ceaseless drizzle, the Commander-in-Chief of the Forward Army of the Imperial Camp, Yue Fei himself, personally led the main force of over ten thousand men from the Huarong camp, along with several generals, on a forced march westward through the rain.

Almost the entire army was left behind except for the accompanying scholars and logistics personnel.

Zhang Jun, in a certain sense, was also true to his word. He really did go along, only he didn't ride a horse—the rain was too heavy, the roads were a muddy mess, and riding would have been a joke.

And so it was that both the Privy Councilor Zhang Jun and the Military Governor Yue Fei, each wearing a bamboo hat, a straw rain cape, and straw sandals, trudged through the muddy roads of Jiangnan. They led the army in a counterclockwise direction along Lake Dongting, advancing westward, and successfully reached Anxiang in Lizhou, over sixty li away, that same day. But instead of entering the city, they crossed the Li River directly and arrived at a large camp on the opposite bank.

This was another core camp established by the Song army on the northern shore of Lake Dongting. Vice Commander-in-Chief Ma Gao and several Commanders, leading another ten thousand men, had been waiting here long in advance.

The two forces merged, bringing the troops here to twenty-five thousand. Yue Fei's Forward Army of the Imperial Camp had completed its assembly in the rain, and due to the weather, the enemy was completely unaware.

Considering that during the night, Li Kui delivered the head of the rebel general who shared his name with Emperor Yang of Sui, then on this first day, the Forward Army of the Imperial Camp had finally broken its zero-battle-achievement streak. At the very least, one stockade out of the forty stockades, four prefectures, and seven counties had been eliminated.

The next morning, ignoring the significant troop attrition caused by the previous day's sixty-li forced march in the rain, Yue Fei again ordered the selection of twenty thousand battle-ready troops from the entire army to set out. Taking advantage of the slightly diminished rain, they advanced westward and southward respectively.

Among them, the troops from the original Anxiang camp split off directly to the west. Wang Shan and Zhang Yong each led two thousand men to take the inland stockade towns of Qinghua and Aoshan, respectively. Meanwhile, Ma Gao himself, along with his wife Yi Zhangqing, supervised five thousand men in a direct assault on Wuling County, one of the so-called seven counties, which was the prefectural seat of Dingzhou that had previously fallen.

As for the troops from the original Huarong camp, they once again began a grueling march. Still advancing counterclockwise along Lake Dongting, they crossed the border of Lizhou in the afternoon when the rain eased slightly, entered Dingzhou territory, and then arrived at Chongxiao Town. There, they semi-encircled a large rebel water stockade located at this place.

The reason it was called a semi-encirclement was that this stockade had a waterway leading to Lake Dongting and a small harbor, which the Song army had no way to deal with.

Of course, it wasn't necessary anymore... After all, Yue Fei's force, using the rain as cover, had completed a cumulative forced march of nearly one hundred twenty to thirty li over two days. Although it was far inferior in every aspect to Li Su's snow-night march on Caizhou back in the day, it was still commendable. Faced with such a sudden attack by a large army, the reaction of the rebels in the Chongxiao Water Stockade was no better than that of the Caizhou defenders.

Over ten thousand troops of the Forward Army of the Imperial Camp descended like divine soldiers from heaven. Suddenly appearing in the rain, they semi-encircled the large Chongxiao Stockade, which held only three thousand rebels. Chaos was visibly breaking out inside the stockade. But Yue Pengju only ordered the entire army to secure their positions. He himself, leading a small number of central army infantry, settled on a small slope by the lakeside next to the water stockade, and did not order an attack... Sure enough, soon an envoy came out trembling, seeking an audience with Yue Fei.

"So it's Han Xiao'er. If it's you, then things can be simpler." Seeing the newcomer thud directly to his knees in the mud before him, Yue Fei, who had just removed his bamboo hat, stared at him through the fine drizzle with a disdainful gaze.

"For the past month or so, this man has been the one shuttling between Anxiang and Huarong on behalf of the various stockades west of the lake, acting as a liaison."

It should be said that although Zhang Jun claimed he wouldn't ask a single question, that was just the senior official being coy. How could Yue Fei be so clueless as not to leave a professional explainer for the nation's highest military commander? Therefore, Bi Jin, a personal adjutant from Yue Fei's central army, had long been accompanying the Privy Councilor at his side. Seeing this man now, he directly reported in a low voice. "This man is a trusted confidant of Huang Zuo, the leader of this stockade. As for Huang Zuo, he is the leader of the Lizhou area among the rebels, extremely powerful and prestigious. He is one of the few major leaders among the rebels second only to Zhong Xiang and Yang Yao. Previously, he was defeated by our commander in the north, losing all the lakeside lands of Lizhou, and then retreated with the other Lizhou rebels to Dingzhou to establish this stockade... And Dingzhou is Zhong Xiang's hometown."

Zhang Jun, imitating Yue Fei by removing his bamboo hat, remained expressionless, seemingly ignoring Bi Jin's explanation.

"Xiao'er."

Dozens of paces away, just as Han Xiao'er on the ground was about to speak, Yue Fei directly raised his hand to stop him, and then declared sternly, "Now I will speak. You go into the stockade and repeat it word for word to Huang Zuo. There's no need to interrupt."

Han Xiao'er immediately kowtowed repeatedly in the mud.

After a slight pause, Yue Pengju, imitating the method of listing with numbers seen in the official gazette, calmly spoke a few sentences:

"First, I have brought a large army here this time to settle victory and defeat, life and death, with Zhong Xiang and Yang Yao. There will be no more delays, and I will give him no more room to sit on the fence.

"Second, tell Huang Zuo that among the military positions I am offering for surrender this time, there is only one Commander slot. If he surrenders, it will be his.

"Third, whether he surrenders or not, the innocent women and children of Lizhou in the stockade can all return to their homes in Lizhou. I stake my own life and official position as a guarantee that there will be no post-war prosecutions.

"Fourth, as for my character, the combat effectiveness of my subordinates, and my sincerity—if he wanted to know, he should have known in the past few months. Therefore, I give him the time of two incense sticks to come and surrender. If he comes, he will be an officer of my Forward Army of the Imperial Camp. If he doesn't come, I will have no choice but to send the main army to break this stockade, find him, drag him here, and execute him according to the law!

"Finally, there is a head here. Take it and go quickly!"

Han Xiao'er said not a word. He just heavily kowtowed once in the mud, then scrambled to his feet. Bowing his head, he took a wooden bucket from Wang Gui's side, not daring to look at it, and ran like the wind back into the stockade.

Watching this scene, Zhang Jun, standing in the ranks of Yue Fei's central army under the fine rain, remained completely impassive. However, as an elite of the empire who had been famous locally since his youth, passed the imperial examinations as a young man, and become a high-ranking minister at the age of thirty-four, his heart was already fully awakened:

How could he not know by now? This Huang Zuo was likely a major leader of a considerable faction among the rebels, the original leader of the Hubei region that had been recovered by the government forces. Now, having lost his base, he was temporarily holed up west of the lake, unable even to enter Wuling City—clearly a taste of living under someone else's roof. Such a talent was precisely the most suitable target for pacification and recruitment, and should have been Yue Fei's true focus over these past few months. As for that Yang Guang of Gulou Stockade, he was more like a pawn to demonstrate sincerity and deceive the other rebels... Didn't you see that even people like Xi Yi and Ma Shen were fooled?

With such painstaking effort, coupled with the sudden spring rain today, just as these people were completely letting their guard down, the government forces suddenly braved the rain to surround them with a large army. Yue Fei then displayed both grace and authority so clearly. Unless Huang Zuo was a reckless hothead, he should come out and surrender quickly.

Sure enough, just as Zhang Jun understood the situation in his heart, with Han Xiao'er sending Yang Guang's head and Yue Fei's words into the stockade, after only the time it takes to burn one incense stick, a tall, sturdy man wearing leather armor, with one arm bare and carrying a large spear, led several dozen similarly dressed fishermen out of the stockade with their heads bowed. Led by Han Xiao'er, they came directly towards Yue Fei. This should be Huang Zuo.

Huang Zuo, leading over a dozen stockade officers and personal guards, stopped a few dozen paces from Yue Fei. Then, in front of everyone, he threw down his large spear and began to unbuckle his armor... Clearly, he intended to lay down his arms and surrender with proper ceremony.

But at that moment, Yue Fei, who had been squinting at Huang Zuo and his group, suddenly spoke out loudly from several dozen paces away: "Don't take off your armor!"

Huang Zuo was slightly startled but immediately stopped what he was doing, intending to come over empty-handed.

"Bring your weapon!" Yue Fei squinted again and spoke.

Huang Zuo was startled again but still chose to obey. He picked up his spear from the mud and came forward. When he was seven or eight paces from Yue Fei, he reversed the spear, holding it by the blade, and was about to kneel and beg for surrender.

"No need to kneel either." Yue Fei interrupted him for the third time. "Commander Huang, since you have come to surrender, you are a Commander of my Forward Army of the Imperial Camp. Why should you remove your armor, discard your weapon, and kneel? There is a distinction between superior and subordinate. Just give me a salute."

Huang Zuo finally relaxed. Leaning on his spear, he made a cupped-fist salute to Yue Fei, then bowed his head and said, "Grand Commandant, I am grateful for your grace and authority and your patience over these past months, so I have come to surrender. I beg the Grand Commandant to forgive my past transgressions."

"I have already forgotten the past." Yue Fei squinted at him from above. "Moreover, the great affairs of the state are before us; we shouldn't be talking about these things... Vice Commander-in-Chief Wang!"

Wang Gui immediately stepped forward and stood shoulder to shoulder with Huang Zuo, making a cupped-fist salute.

"I am giving you five thousand troops. Immediately cross the Yuan River to the south and make a surprise attack on Chenyang!" Yue Fei's expression did not change as he gave the stern order. "You must take that city for me!"

"Understood!" Wang Gui acknowledged and left immediately, followed by several generals, without any pause.

"Commander Huang." Yue Fei continued to issue orders from his commanding position on the small slope.

"Here!" Huang Zuo, who had been unable to resist stealing a glance at Wang Gui, immediately snapped to attention.

"To the east and southeast of here, along the lake, there are two more stockades: Hanwanzi Stockade and Fushui Stockade. Each has no more than four or five hundred troops. I am now giving you a military order. You are to immediately lead your own troops eastward. Whether by pacification or by force, you must take them before nightfall! Otherwise, you will face military discipline!" Yue Fei gave orders as if the man before him was an old subordinate of many years.

As it happened, one of those two stockades was set up by the defeated troops from Lizhou, and the other was sent by Zhong Xiang to monitor and guard against the Lizhou people at the strategic pass of Lake Dongting. How could Huang Zuo not know this? And just a moment ago he was a rebel, and now he was to become a government soldier going on a punitive expedition—how could he adapt to that?

However, just as Huang Zuo raised his head and opened his mouth to make an excuse, he saw Yue Fei standing before him, looking down at him from above. His eyes, one large and one small, were glaring disdainfully in the rain. Startled, the words on the tip of his tongue somehow twisted around, leaving only a single word:

"Understood!"

"Do you need military supplies?" Yue Fei pressed on.

"No."

"Do you need troop assistance?"

"No, I don't!"

"Then go and do it quickly."

Huang Zuo again gave a salute with his spear, then turned and returned to the stockade... By this time, Wang Gui had already begun leading his troops southward, and a clear gap had appeared in the encirclement around Chongxiao Stockade. Soon, Huang Zuo led about two thousand of his own men, splitting them into two groups, one by water and one by land. They passed directly through the ranks of the government army, which had just been their enemy, and headed east along the waterway.

This scene felt strange to both the troops of the Forward Army of the Imperial Camp and Huang Zuo's own men, yet none of them had anything to say.

But regardless, after a short while, watching this force completely leave the stockade, leaving only the elderly, weak, women, and children inside, Yue Fei said nothing. He simply set up his tent and camp outside Chongxiao Stockade, waiting for news.

That evening, Huang Zuo pacified Hanwanzi Stockade and broke Fushui Stockade, bringing back the head of Fushui Stockade's defender. Before this, Ma Gao, Wang Shan, and Zhang Yong had also each reported victories. Qinghua, Aoshan, and even Wuling City had all fallen easily under the surprise attack of the Forward Army of the Imperial Camp.

On this day, the Forward Army of the Imperial Camp broke five stockades and took one county, making smooth progress.

The night passed without incident. The next day, the weather cleared. Yue Fei again summoned Huang Zuo and Guo Tai, the leader of Hanwanzi Stockade, ordering them to continue south along Lake Dongting, sweeping, attacking, and pacifying the lakeside water stockades. He then personally supervised five thousand troops following behind them. At the same time, he ordered generals like Ma Gao to immediately march south to the Yuan and Zi Rivers, advancing overland in great strides towards the Hunan region and the Xiang River area, capturing cities and territories.

Within that single day, Huang Zuo and the others managed to persuade two more stockades to surrender and breached two others. Among them, another major stockade leader, Yang Qin, also chose to surrender before he could react. At the same time, Wang Gui had also broken through Chenyang.

By the fourth day, Yue Fei, having crossed the Yuan River, did not head into Chenyang city. Instead, without a moment's pause, he ordered the entire army to be mixed with Huang Zuo, Yang Qin, Guo Tai, and others, simultaneously attacking eight water stockades between the Yuan and Zi Rivers. He again sent Wang Gui ahead to advance on Yiyang County on the banks of the Zi River, while he himself continued to supervise the army from the rear, pressing forward without stopping.

By this time, the Song army could ride horses, and Zhang Jun was able to fulfill his boast, sitting upright on his horse, following Yue Fei's central army as they advanced without pause.

Now, this Grand Councilor had relaxed considerably, but as news of the successful captures of various water stockades came in one after another, Yue Fei once again spoke arrogantly:

"Judging by this, it won't take ten days; seven or eight days will be enough. Tomorrow or the day after, we can have the decisive battle and defeat Zhong Xiang."

Zhang Jun had resolved not to speak first, so upon hearing this, he only frowned from atop his horse.

Yue Fei, of course, had to attend to his superior's mood, so he actively rode up alongside him to offer a brief explanation for Zhang Deyuan: "Zhong Xiang is originally from Dingzhou, and is currently at Yuanjiang (a county name, located at the old mouth of the Yuan River, on the peninsula between Dongting Lake and Chiting Lake, not referring to the river itself). The man moves slowly. If he couldn't detect our movements the day before yesterday, he should have noticed yesterday's actions, yet there has been no reaction at all. This is something I did not anticipate. Therefore, if we can successfully sweep through the eight stockades today, Zhong Xiang will be trapped in a dead end, and we can break him tomorrow!"

Zhang Jun finally showed a look of joy: "If we can capture Zhong Xiang, this battle will be considered a victory!"

Yue Fei shook his head repeatedly and corrected him seriously:

"Your Excellency may not know this, but even counting only the bandit leader, we are only half victorious. We still have to see what Yang Yao does."

Zhang Jun didn't understand again, but found it hard to ask, so he turned his head to look at Bi Jin behind him.

Bi Jin dared not be negligent and immediately stepped forward to act as an explainer.

It turned out that Zhong Xiang was a hereditary shaman from Dingzhou, calling himself the Great Saint Grandfather. He had established a society near Dongting Lake, collecting grain and money in good years and relieving the poor in bad years, wielding immense influence. He was a natural rebel leader, the kind that was unshakable.

But to be honest, such a man could not, in essence, escape the mindset of a local gentry and shamanistic hereditary household... So, when the rebellion was at its peak, its influence once spread over a dozen prefectures and armies in Hunan and Hubei. Yet, under those circumstances, he showed no ambition for further advancement, entrusting all frontline affairs to Yang Yao, while he hastily proclaimed himself king in his hometown of Dingzhou. He built palaces in Yuanjiang County and widely selected a Crown Princess for his son, Zhong Zhiyi, seeking a woman with a specific birth chart to bear heirs, ensuring his Chu king's legacy would be passed down through generations.

Therefore, this Dongting Lake rebellion actually had two de facto leaders: one was Zhong Xiang, and the other was Yang Yao.

"Your Excellency may not know, when we first arrived in Hubei, we heard a joke," Bi Jin, being young and increasingly familiar with Zhang Jun, continued talking after roughly explaining Yang Yao's special leadership position. "It was said that Zhong Xiang's family was large, and after becoming king, he insisted the whole family enjoy the good life together. The beds his family slept on had to be inlaid with gold and jade. But even after capturing over a dozen counties, they could never gather enough, so he kept sending people to search among the various rebel groups... Finally, the rebels around Xiangyin were so harassed by him that they had to recruit craftsmen, scrape together gold and jade, and craft a batch of gold-and-jade-inlaid beds for this Chu king, only then did the matter settle."

Bi Jin's words clearly expressed his disdain for Zhong Xiang. However, upon hearing this, Zhang Jun did not show pleasure but instead frowned continuously, leaving Bi Jin feeling awkward.

And so, the Imperial Camp Vanguard Army marched boldly into Yuanjiang County. Good news came almost continuously along the way. First, with the surrendered men like Huang Zuo leading the way and the Imperial Camp Vanguard Army following behind in a mixed attack, the various rebel water stockades along the lake in Dingzhou could not hold out. Three stockades surrendered, and five were breached. Within Dingzhou, only Zhong Xiang's isolated army, isolated city, and isolated stockade remained at Yuanjiang. Yue Fei's military progress had fully met expectations.

But that wasn't all. As Yue Fei's main force entered Yuanjiang County, in the afternoon, Wang Gui suddenly sent an even more exhilarating piece of news:

This Vice Commander of the Imperial Camp Vanguard Army, while attacking Yiyang, suddenly discovered that Yang Yao was leading the main rebel force from the Xiang River basin across the Zi River downstream, apparently coming to reinforce Dingzhou and Yuanjiang. Wang Gui pretended not to know. Although he had already secured one city gate, he continued to feign an assault on the city. When Yang Yao, after crossing the river, hastily led seven or eight thousand troops to reinforce Yiyang, Wang Gui turned around to meet him. A fierce battle erupted in the wilderness. Yang Yao only held out for half an hour before his army collapsed like a landslide. He was driven by Wang Gui towards Yuanjiang.

They had just been saying that both Zhong Xiang and Yang Yao needed to be captured to end this rebellion, and now Yang Yao was walking right into the trap... Naturally, morale was high.

However, Zhang Jun, upon hearing that the battle situation had exceeded expectations, did not show joy but instead grew increasingly grim, clearly harboring other thoughts.

Soon, as Yue Fei made no emergency moves, only sending out orderlies to have the various units properly assemble and encircle, forbidding any unauthorized advance, this Grand Councilor, who had remained silent throughout, finally could not hold back any longer.

Amidst the lush grass and darting orioles, with the gentle waves of Dongting Lake, beside a vast reed marsh of unknown acreage, Zhang Deyuan suddenly reined in his horse and stopped, then called out to the other man on the spot:

"Commander Yue!"

"Your subordinate is here." Yue Fei seemed to have anticipated this, directly reining in his horse, turning around, and cupping his hands.

"Do you know what I want to ask?" Zhang Jun's face was already ashen.

"I can probably guess."

"Let's hear it." Zhang Jun's breath grew uneven.

"Your Excellency has many doubts in his heart, but for the moment, the minor one is probably why we didn't seize Yuanjiang County town, but instead deliberately let Yang Yao move freely within Yuanjiang territory. The major one, which Your Excellency has been enduring, is why, since the rebels are so vulnerable and could be crushed with overwhelming force, the Imperial Camp Vanguard Army has been holding back? Why not pacify this rebellion from the start, instead of futilely focusing on pacification? And in my view, these two..."

"You know that too?!"

Before he could finish, Zhang Jun erupted in fury. "I can see it clearly now. Ten days, five days, what does it matter? Even a month would be the same! The point is, the rebels are so vulnerable, where is the need for pacification? Under a crushing assault, they would just beg for a pardon. Why specially memorialize to change the strategy to pacification? If you had directly advanced into western and southern Hunan back then, this rebellion would have been over before the new year! His Majesty has treated you with immense kindness, promoting you from a criminal soldier to a Military Governor in just a few years. Is this how you repay him? I tell you, if you don't give me a convincing reason today, when I return to the central government, no matter how you use great victories to silence the world, and no matter how His Majesty unilaterally favors you, I, Zhang Jun, will give up my position as Grand Councilor to drive you, this man who toys with the enemy, out of the army!"

The surrounding central army soldiers were all startled, but Yue Fei was silent for a moment, then continued to cup his hands and frankly replied: "Your Excellency, I have never toyed with the enemy. As for the reason for the previous halt in Hubei, it exists... It is simply that the imperial army cannot defeat the rebels! And forgive my presumption, it's not just the Imperial Camp Vanguard Army; if it were any other unit of the Imperial Camp, I'm afraid they too would be unable to defeat the rebels on the lake."

Zhang Jun was stunned for a moment, unsure if he hadn't heard clearly or was simply too angry. He gripped his reins and spoke blankly: "What did you say? Say it again."

"We cannot defeat the rebels." Yue Fei reined in his horse and stood still, unmoving, his voice clear and precise. He simply said it twice. "Your Excellency, I just said, we cannot defeat the rebels!"

Zhang Jun was furious and simply raised his horsewhip to rebuke: "Wuling city fell in one battle, Chenyang city fell in one battle, Yiyang city fell in one battle. Seventeen stockades west of the lake were pacified in three days. Yang Yao's main force of eight thousand was routed head-on by your five thousand troops who were halfway through attacking a city. Add to that your previous string of victories since coming south from Xiangyang in Hubei... And now you tell me the imperial army cannot defeat the rebels, so you changed from military attack to pacification... Do you take me for a blind man?!"

"Your Excellency, please do not be angry." Yue Fei remained calm, showing no fear. "Please think carefully, Your Excellency. In all these battles, were the lakeside water stockades truly captured by the imperial army?"

Zhang Jun opened his mouth to retort but suddenly shuddered. He pulled his horse's head around, circled on the spot, and after stopping, his thunderous rage had vanished.

Seeing that the other man had come to his senses, Yue Fei sighed and then spoke earnestly: "Your Excellency, you have seen clearly while accompanying the army. This campaign has been smooth because all the land battles were fought by the imperial army, while all the lakeside water stockades were captured by the local Dongting Lake rebels themselves... Water warfare and land warfare are completely different. On land, whether it's taking cities and stockades or decisive field battles, forgive me for boasting, it's like picking something up with ease. But for the lakeside water stockades, also forgive my incompetence. Since I arrived at the lake last year, no matter how I thought or looked at it, I had no certainty of victory. Even if I could temporarily break a stockade, I couldn't annihilate all the water bandits inside. And if I can't annihilate them, they can move freely across the lake, setting up new stockades endlessly. Isn't that the same as not being able to defeat them? Therefore, I speak plainly: if we can't defeat them, we can't defeat them! It's just that there are too many people in the court and local areas who don't understand military affairs. They only saw how easily I recaptured lost territory in Hubei before and assumed that fighting near the lake would be just as easy. They don't realize that to break these lakeside water stockades, the only way is to use water stockades against water stockades, and lake people against lake people. There is no other method!"

Zhang Jun remained silent, but after turning things over in his mind a few times, he was completely convinced by these words.

Because there were too many intuitive examples.

The Jin army cavalry was invincible on the plains, yet they were rendered helpless by fishermen and merchant ships in the waters of Liangshan Lake and the Huai River. The Western Army was chased like chicks by the Jin army on the open plateaus, but when they turned to hold firm in the mountainous terrain of northern Shaanxi, they could achieve great victories over the Jin.

And in these past few days, he had personally advanced along the lake with Yue Fei, witnessing with his own eyes that Dongting Lake, stretching for hundreds of li, was crisscrossed with countless side channels, mudflats, and ditches as the water rose and fell, making it a truly difficult place to use military force. It was just that the first two days were spent in non-stop marching, leaving him too tired to think, and the last two days were so filled with smooth victories that he had overlooked these things.

"So, you deliberately refrained from taking Yuanjiang city, hoping that Yang Yao would rush headlong into it? And once he is inside the city, it will be easier for your forces to surround and capture him?" After thinking for a moment, Zhang Jun cleared his throat and asked tentatively again.

"Yes." Yue Fei answered sincerely. "If he can enter the city, it would be best if Zhong Xiang doesn't escape either. That would be heaven's help for the imperial army."

"Although there were many battles in the past few days, the only key one was whether we could force Huang Zuo to surrender that day, and then have him lead his own Lizhou rebels to attack the Dingzhou rebels? And whether it was the previous forced march in the rain, the months of hesitation, or driving all the Lizhou rebels to the west of the lake, were all deliberate actions on your part to work on him?" Zhang Jun continued to 'realize', or pretended to realize.

"Yes!" Yue Fei cupped his hands in reply. "In fact, after Huang Zuo led his troops to attack the other water stockades that day, I knew this campaign was already won. From then on, it was just a matter of sooner or later. The only concern was whether Yang Yao would escape to a wild island in the lake and re-emerge later."

Zhang Jun nodded repeatedly, then sighed. He opened his mouth to speak again, trying to cover up his awkward expression: "So, Pengju kept delaying, from winter to spring, and then until now, deliberately showing weakness to the enemy, while also preventing Huang Zuo from being alarmed?"

Yue Fei nodded, then shook his head: "Showing weakness to the enemy was necessary, and preventing Huang Zuo from being alarmed was also necessary. But the main reason I held back until today was to avoid delaying the spring plowing..."

"What?" Zhang Jun was once again stunned and found it absurd.

But this time, while feeling that the other's words had reached an extreme of absurdity, he also felt a hint of guilt and shortness of breath.

It should be noted that Zhang Jun had left the capital this time because many local officials had impeached Yue Fei, causing a political storm. The essence, and the biggest problem among these impeachments and objections, was that Yue Fei's military operations had been delayed, hindering the spring plowing... This was an extremely fatal issue, both for public and private reasons, and it was the moral backbone that allowed Zhang Jun to be so confident and repeatedly rebuke a military commander in public.

Just now, Zhang Jun had already realized that Yue Fei's lack of rapid advance was due to genuine military risks, and he no longer held any resentment in his heart. His current rambling was simply to find something to say to avoid being too embarrassed.

However, now the other man was telling him that his delay in advancing was not only due to military necessity but also because he didn't want to disrupt the spring plowing.

What was this?

"To be honest with Your Excellency."

The weather was clear, the lakeside grass was lush and orioles were darting, the blue waves were refreshing. Yue Fei glanced at the full spring scenery before continuing to explain. "With Huang Zuo, I was already confident early this year. From a purely military standpoint, I could have used force at the beginning of the year to finish this campaign. But spring comes very quickly in Jiangnan. That was when, starting from various parts of Hunan, the spring plowing began around Dongting Lake. It was happening in areas under official jurisdiction and also in areas occupied by the rebels. And because the rebels equalized wealth and distributed land, the scale and area of spring plowing in Hunan and western Hunan seemed even more prosperous than in the official territories... This was a rare sight amidst the chaos."

Zhang Jun stood on his horse, turning from the lake to look behind him. It was only then that this Imperial Grand Councilor first noticed the lush crops by the lake, the layered paddy fields stretching endlessly. Although no one was tending them due to the passing army, after the spring rain, it was a naturally magnificent scene.

Looking more closely, he saw that the Imperial Camp Vanguard Army troops were also marching carefully, everyone moving along the lakeshore and field ridges, with no one daring to trample the young seedlings. This moved him even more.

"In truth, how could I not know the difficulties of the local officials? The rebellion has lasted half a year, with severe population flight and land abandonment. Tens of thousands of troops stationed here have made local supplies difficult. It's normal for local officials to have complaints. It's just that I believe the people in the areas under Hubei official jurisdiction are the people, and the people in the rebel-occupied areas of Hunan and western Hunan will sooner or later be people of the Great Song. The spring plowing in the northern official territories cannot be delayed, and the spring plowing within the southern rebel territories should not be delayed either."

Yue Fei had spoken more today than in all his conversations with Zhang Jun over the past several days combined, which showed how much those impeachments and accusations still weighed on his mind.

"If I had used force back then, the central government and local officials, along with the people of Hubei, would likely have been pleased. But what about the people of Hunan and Huxi? Would they truly dare to transplant rice seedlings while two armies were locked in battle? At that time, if I had abandoned this place, taken my military merit, and left, who would have cared whether they ended up as hired laborers or even bandits on the lake again? That is why I delayed slightly, resolved to wait until after the spring plowing and transplanting, and then strike before the spring floodwaters rose to finish the matter. I never expected the Privy Councilor had already come south... I hope the Privy Councilor will forgive me."

Zhang Jun's face flushed red on his horse. Several times he wanted to dismount, grasp this man's hands, and praise him as a 'pillar of the state' and say, 'Having such a commander is truly the Son of Heaven's blessing and the nation's fortune.' But when he thought of how earnestly Ma Shen and Xi Yi had spoken before, and how he himself had sternly rebuked the man before him several times, he wished he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into. How could he possibly put on such a display now?

The army advanced without stopping. That evening, the vanguard reported that someone had escaped from Yuanjiang City, saying that Yang Yao had already entered Yuanjiang County Town and had demanded that Zhong Xiang and his son board a boat with him to take temporary refuge on the lake, but had been refused.

However, this intelligence no longer mattered, because by now, even if Yang Yao and Zhong Xiang and his son tried to leave the city, they would only be intercepted by the Song troops desperately pursuing them to cut off the city from Lake Dongting.

Moreover, Yue Fei had known from the start that, for the rebels, lakeside water stockades and inland cities were two paths of life and death. The water stockades connected to the great lake were what the government troops truly feared; the cities were merely bags in the government's pocket, ready to be taken at any time. He also knew that Yang Yao and Zhong Xiang and his son, as two sets of leaders, represented two paths of life and death for the rebels. Yang Yao was the true leader who had emerged from the rebellion; the latter were merely spiritual leaders.

Yet this commander, who knew everything, pretended to know nothing, simply driving the rebels steadily toward their doom.

In truth, the rebels were not without a way out. If Yang Yao, after his defeat during the day, had ignored Zhong Xiang and his son and the cities and plunged straight into the lake, even the gods could not have captured him. And as long as he remained uncaptured, even if this rebellion were temporarily pacified, with his prestige and ability, he would surely be able to rise again, relying on the strong foundation of shamanic traditions and local support.

But the problem was that the rebels themselves did not know this. They had always believed that cities were strong and water stockades were weak... Even Yang Yao himself, after being defeated by Yue Fei in Hubei, thought that the Great Sage was the most important thing.

This was truly helpless.

Returning to the present: on the fifth day of Yue Fei's campaign, leaving aside the mopping-up operations on the periphery and the elimination of water stockades in the Hunan region, Yang Yao and Zhong Xiang were completely surrounded in Yuanjiang County Town.

Half the troops outside the city were regular government forces, and half were newly surrendered rebels. Zhong Xiang and Yang Yao, up to this point, had no idea why they had suddenly ended up in this situation... Of course, the Prince of Chu facing songs of Chu on all sides was always a classic pairing; the Great Sage must have known that too.

In the morning, Yue Fei declined the various requests from the surrendered troops to fight or to act as negotiators, citing the fatigue from consecutive days of fighting as a reason to let them watch in peace. In the afternoon, the Military Governor deployed all his own regular troops and launched a full-scale assault on the city, equipped with only crude battering rams, scaling ladders, ropes, and a few oilcloth-wrapped gunpowder bundles.

The rebels inside the city were all close confidants of the 'Prince of Chu,' Zhong Xiang, and eighty percent of them had never been on a battlefield. Moreover, the city wall, which was not very tall to begin with, had had much of its building materials dug away when Zhong Xiang constructed his palace inside.

Thus, when the ten thousand men of the Imperial Guard Vanguard Army surged forward, filling ditches with earth, suppressing the defenders with crossbows, and scaling the walls to be the first over, Yuanjiang County Town fell almost at the first assault. The surrendered rebels watching from the sidelines could only marvel at the power of the government troops and feel grateful that they had chosen to surrender.

After all, if even a city like this fell in a single assault, how could their own dilapidated water stockades possibly withstand such a powerful government army?

The distinction between strong and weak was clear at a glance.

PS: Huang Zuo should be the prototype for Wang Zuo in the novel *Shuo Yue*.

'It is difficult to use the imperial army to attack water bandits, but easy to use water bandits to attack water bandits' was Yue Fei's original words to Zhang Jun in history.

Aside from the 'fei' (flying) trope, most people think it refers to Yang Yao on Lake Dongting, but it is actually an allusion from the Five Ridges rebellion and probably has nothing to do with Yang Yao... However, *Shuo Yue* and many literati notes mixed various allusions together, making them impossible to distinguish. In history, Yue Fei faced the Dongting Lake rebel army that had developed for six years; in the book, it has been less than a year, and they haven't even had time to build large ships. The strength is not at all comparable.