Chapter 316: The Steed

An excellent commander and military staff officer can sniff out changes in the situation.

After completing further reconnaissance and ensuring that the Khitans had turned back and started moving without doubling back, Hu Hongxiu vaguely sensed that the Western Xia, without a full national mobilization, would inevitably expose certain weaknesses in their current troop deployment once the war fully erupted. He then wisely chose the Yellow River Gorge—a critical chokepoint—as an observation post, and ultimately spotted a fatal flaw that the Western Xia might have only briefly revealed.

It was conceivable that if this window of opportunity were missed, given the Western Xia's established posture, within as few as three to five days, or at most ten or so, they would make military adjustments and throw in everything they had to complete the defense of their capital region in Xingling (the Yinchuan Plain).

By the same logic, after Yue Fei withdrew to Haoshuichuan and was ordered to seek an opportunity to engage, he rationally chose to head toward Zhuoluo City in the direction of Lanzhou, intending to coordinate with the Khitans in a pincer attack to open up the Hexi Corridor. Yet he still kept an eye on the Xingqing Prefecture direction, so he opted for a preparatory move of going through Quwu Mountain to Huizhou before making a final decision. This was how he managed to rendezvous with Hu Hongxiu.

And just as the Western Xia, under attack from three sides, had fully entered a state of total war, on the far eastern front, across from Pujin, Wanyan Wushu and Wanyan Balisu also vaguely sensed something amiss.

But they had no idea where this unease was leaking from.

Was it Li Yanxian's outstanding performance behind Mount Zhongtiao that gave the Song army room to maneuver, or was it the slow march of reinforcements due to harassment by rebel forces in the Taihang Mountains, which emboldened the Song army across from them to halt their reinforcement plans?

Or could it be that in Hengshan and Yan'an, the Zhao Song emperor had finally made up his mind to achieve some results at all costs? After all, with all that bluster, if no results were achieved, how could he appease his own country?

But no matter what, at this very moment, Wanyan Wushu and Wanyan Balisu never once thought about the other side of the Western Xia, nor did they even slightly show this suspicion... until the fourth day of the fourth month, when Wanyan Eluguan, the Defender of the Western Capital (Datong) in the north, who had direct communication channels with the Western Xia, informed his elder brother through military channels—albeit with a slightly slower pace, a somewhat doubtful mindset, and a slightly dismissive attitude—of the news from the Yin Mountains that had stirred up turmoil among the Western Xia people.

"It's true!"

Wushu made the judgment immediately. "It's absolutely true! Yelu Yanshan and those Mongols aren't bluffing. Yelu Dashi has definitely come over from further west! The Song army must have left a large force in the west to pincer him! The bluff is here! It's across from us!"

On the Guanque Tower, which had long become the Jin army's frontline command post, the surrounding Jin generals exchanged glances. Among them, the other main commander, Balisu, was silent for a moment, then took another look at the military camp across the river under the bright morning sun, and directly nodded heavily.

Clearly, Balisu also agreed with Wushu's judgment.

"So what do we do now?" Wanhu Salihe came to his senses and immediately pressed for an answer.

The dozens of Wanhu, Meng'an, and a few Mouke present all looked toward the Prince of Wei and the Defender of Taiyuan... the former naturally held supreme authority, but the latter was also the frontline commander, possessing considerable authority on military matters.

Sure enough, the pale-faced Prince of Wei, Wushu, upon hearing this, directly looked at the commander of the Western Route Army beside him: "My mind is in chaos. Balisu, you tell me, what should we do now?"

"That depends on what His Highness the Prince of Wei truly wants to do," Balisu said, his face ashen, after a moment's thought, speaking frankly. "Do you want to preserve the overall situation, or salvage it? Or do you want to yield not an inch and let the Song people's plans come to nothing?"

"Can we still make the Song people's plans come to nothing?!" Wushu's spirits lifted.

"Why not?" Balisu directly drew his saber from his waist, pointing the bare blade at the opposite bank. "If the Song army has left a large force on the western front to join hands with the Khitans, and is also trying to seize Hengshan and Yan'an while holding off Mount Zhongtiao... then may I ask His Highness the Prince of Wei, how many combat troops are actually on the opposite bank right now? And how credible is that claim from the Korean fellow earlier that Yue Fei's forces are right behind Pujin as reinforcements?"

Wushu's breathing grew heavy.

Balisu ignored this, continuing to point his saber at the opposite bank while speaking passionately without pause: "The water at Pujin is slow. The river island in the middle has been submerged, but its general outline is still visible. Now that the summer flood season hasn't arrived, with some extra manpower, we can forcibly build multiple pontoon bridges, enough for a large army to cross. Then, following the example of Han Xin back in the day, we can send a detached force to cross at Longmen and strike the enemy's rear from the flank... If the Prince of Wei gives the order now, leave only one Wanhu to guard Hezhong Prefecture, and send the rest of the entire army forward, regardless of casualties, to storm the positions on the opposite bank! As long as we crush this so-called elite army directly under the Zhao Song emperor before Li Yanxian and Han Shizhong can come to their aid, I guarantee the Song army will abandon whatever damn Western Xia and rush back to defend!"

Wushu's breathing grew even heavier, but he still remained silent.

Then Balisu finally turned around, thrust the bare blade directly into the map on the table in front of Wushu, his face ferocious: "Send out the troops, Prince of Wei! There are a good fifty to sixty thousand men in the Western Route Army here. With just one word from the Prince of Wei, we'll wade across the Yellow River for the Wanyan clan! And wipe away our past shame!"

Wushu stared hard at Balisu, and Balisu, showing no fear, stared coldly back at him.

The two men, separated by a table, a map, and a saber, stared at each other for who knows how long, but finally, both gradually calmed their breathing. By this time, the surrounding Western Route Army officers, those with a bit of sense, had also gradually understood Balisu's meaning.

"Are you that afraid I'll throw the Western Route Army into a desperate fight?" Wushu sneered in reply, his pale face finally gaining a bit of color, showing some signs of life. "Do you think that if I lose another two Wanhu at Pujin, the Western Route Army will never recover?"

And with that, everyone understood Balisu's position.

"I'm not just afraid the Western Route Army will lose another two Wanhu and never recover; I'm even more afraid that the Prince of Wei will be utterly defeated here and won't even have a place to speak when he returns to Yanjing," Balisu said, taking a few deep breaths and speaking solemnly. "Fourth Prince, we've been fighting together since Nanyang. Back then, I seemed not to respect you, but that was because my superior was Zhanian, my colleague was Loushi, my elder brother was Yinshuke, and my rival was Huonü. On top of that, you had your Second Prince brother, who died only two years ago but was the best strategist, to compare with. How could I possibly have thought highly of you?"

Wushu snorted coldly.

"But in these past few years, I've gradually come to understand. How can the affairs of the world only be about fighting? And when fighting, how can it always be like the ten-plus years of a hundred victories under the Grand Ancestor? As great generals gradually wither, soldiers grow dull, grain and wealth become scarce, and military troubles arise all around—this is the normal complexity a proper state should have... And at such a time, the Great Jin needs not only people who can fight, but also those who understand the grand policies of the state, those who know how to coordinate the various tribes and armies, and those who dare to intimidate the old diehards in the central government... In the past, to put it bluntly, only Zhanian had the talent and boldness to do this. None of you brothers or the Retired Emperor were up to it. But now that Zhanian has been done in by you, you're the only one left who still looks the part!" Balisu's words were earnest. "If you want to fight, it's not impossible, but just look at the pits and fortifications they've dug and built on the opposite bank these days. You must be prepared for one unfavorable battle to cost two Wanhu and lose your position in the court."

Wushu pressed his lips together and said nothing, but after a moment, he almost shed tears, but finally let out a bitter laugh.

Not to mention suddenly realizing he had been fooled again by the Zhao Song emperor across the river—this couldn't really be blamed on anyone; nor the immediate predicament, where making decisions was always this difficult; the key point was that this Prince of Wei of the Great Jin never expected that the first person to point out that he, Wanyan Wushu, was indispensable to the Great Jin would be this very Zhanian remnant, this Western Army chieftain, this Wanyan Balisu, with whom he had clashed on the battlefield.

But on second thought, given the current state of talent withering in the Great Jin, he himself might be the 'one man' after Zhanian, but what about Balisu? Wasn't he also one of the rare, capable national generals?

Wolibu was dead, Loushi was dead, Zhanian was dead, Huonü had caused this mess, Yinshuke was old and decrepit, having lost the trust of superiors and subordinates alike—if they couldn't trust this man militarily, who else could they trust?

Dalan, who had lost all his spirit after one battle?

Or his own brothers, who had hardly ever set foot on a battlefield, like the so-called Sixth Prince, Eluguan, and those people?

Or Ali, Elubu, Gao Jingshan, Wulindai Taiyu, and the like? These men were certainly still capable generals, but unfortunately, they weren't surnamed Wanyan.

After laughing for a long time, until the pent-up feeling in his chest dissipated, Wushu finally sat back down in his seat, looked at the bare blade on the table in front of him, and continued speaking, but his tone had completely calmed down: "If we don't cross the river for a decisive battle, then what?"

"Then naturally, we sit back and watch the Western Xia lose the Hexi region... and then either take the opportunity to force Huonü back, abandoning the affairs across the Yellow River, or send troops from the north to provide some support for the Western Xia in the Hengshan area," Balisu replied frankly.

"We've suffered a loss, but we can't let the Song and Liao gain a great advantage either... Transfer troops northward: one Wanhu out through Suide Army, two out through Jinning Army, and one more through Linzhou, to help the Western Xia stabilize the Hengshan situation. As long as Hengshan is not lost, and Xingling is not lost, the Western Xia can hold on... This deployment is also a necessary measure to support Huonü if needed," Wushu finally gave the order. "Then leave this place under the unified command of Commander-in-Chief Balisu. I'll go to Yan'an myself. No matter how the situation develops, I must first make Huonü hand over military command! I need to make it clear to him that the army belongs to the state, not a tool for him to settle personal scores... Does anyone have any objections?"

The men exchanged glances. This strategy was neither hasty nor slow, and it already took people's feelings into account. How could there be any objections?

Not only that, after a pause, Wanhu Wanyan Zhehe added a reminder: "Prince of Wei, Commander-in-Chief, your arrangements are certainly appropriate, but I have one word of caution. The Khitans have been in the north for a hundred years, and the Song in the south for a hundred years, with extremely high prestige... If the two of them join forces to fight the Tanguts, with the Mongols mixed in, the various barbarian tribes within Western Xia's borders will surely have their minds wandering... You need to move quickly on this side, because once something collapses somewhere, it'll be too late for anything."

Balisu shook his head repeatedly: "Even if we move quickly, it'll still take tens of thousands of troops to slog their way over there."

The surrounding officers seemed to want to speak but held back, and Wushu's expression also turned somewhat grim again.

As for Balisu, he pulled the saber from the table, and before sheathing it back at his waist, he spoke earnestly to Wushu once more: "Prince of Wei... what I said earlier was a remonstrance, but it was also the truth. The most effective way to secure the overall situation without loss is to throw the entire army across the river right now... If you truly intend to do so, I may disagree in my heart, but I will absolutely obey orders and personally lead the vanguard!"

Upon hearing this, Wushu raised his head and looked again at the opposite bank.

In fact, he didn't even need to look; he knew the situation there all too well, because these past days he had looked more than anyone else and seen more clearly than anyone else... Horizontally, the Song army's massive camp had expanded to a width of nearly thirty li, almost covering all the suitable landing zones on the opposite side. Vertically, layers upon layers of palisades, earthen ramparts, ditches, chevaux-de-frise, and pitfalls were enough to daunt any battlefield warrior.

Those Guanxi militia from the Unity Societies and Archery Societies could rely on these fortifications to display considerable combat effectiveness.

Compared to this, the earlier confusion between combat troops and laborers during the construction phase now seemed irrelevant.

In this situation, Wanyan Wushu and the assembled officers knew very well that a full-force crossing at this time would lead to only two outcomes... One was to overwhelm the enemy in one go, crushing the Song army into a rout, but due to the river crossing and fortifications, an effective pursuit would be impossible. The other was to be worn down by the enemy's effective killing, which would build up their morale and discipline, and then truly sacrifice two Wanhu on the riverbank.

"It's all my ignorance, being fooled by the Song people," Wushu announced after a moment. "If I had been determined earlier to cross the river myself to see Huonü, or had used Chancellor Qin's plan earlier and just given those few worthless plots of land across the river to the Western Xia, how could we be in this predicament today? Even the attack on Tusu and the harassment of the reinforcements were the result of my own excessive urging."

The generals exchanged glances, said nothing, but instead felt a surge of respect... By now, everyone knew that Wushu and Balisu had actually made no errors in judgment; it was just that the Song people across the river were too cunning. But Wushu's willingness to take the blame allowed the Western Route Army officers to breathe a collective sigh of relief.

With that, the generals fell silent.

Balisu sheathed his saber and went down to deploy the troops, while Wushu ordered another table of food, ate it on the Guanque Tower facing the dragon banner on the opposite bank, and then headed north himself, ready to meet Huonü.

The Jin forces moved north. On the opposite bank of Pujin, the Song army camp did not relax but instead grew even more tense... No one knew if the Jin army was feigning retreat, and no one knew if they would launch a surprise attack at night.

However, that evening, the Jin army ultimately did not come, nor did they return the next day. The pre-arranged beacon fire at Longmen Ferry naturally did not ignite.

But at the same time, going upstream along the Yellow River, a full thousand li away in a straight line, and three thousand li away by the actual course of the river, at a critical location in the heart of the Western Xia—the Gorge, known in later times as the Qingtong Gorge—the beacon fire was successfully lit.

The Western Xia had very few troops stationed there. The Song army, with Zhang Xian's forces making a detour upstream, launched a successful surprise attack, followed by a full-force river crossing. But ultimately, limited by manpower, they could not prevent the Western Xia from lighting the beacon.

Thus, in the afternoon, once the beacon was lit, wolf smoke soared into the sky, and for a time, warnings were raised all along the Western Xia's Yellow River banks.

"Let the Military Governor know," Hu Hongxiu said, the smell of sheep fat on his head much reduced, as he saw Yue Fei silently gazing at the wolf smoke that had turned into a large-scale bonfire, and stepped forward to explain. "Liu Fa... that is, Liu Zhengyan's father, once came here. But back then, he was defeated in battle by Weiming Chage on the march, and when he withdrew here, he was surrounded by Chage, and his entire army was annihilated." "After that incident, the Western Xia even built beacon towers in places like this... In fact, once you pass this gorge, you enter the true heartland of the Western Xia."

Yue Fei shook his head slightly, resting his hand on his saber as he replied in a low voice: "I'm not concerned about this beacon fire—it's unavoidable this close to the Tangut heartland... How far is it from here to Xingqing Prefecture?"

"One hundred and eighty li." Hu Hongxiu answered without hesitation.

"Forced march... three days?" Yue Fei pondered for a moment, then asked again.

Hu Hongxiu immediately shook his head: "At least six days."

Liu Qi hesitated for a moment, then also interjected to explain: "Military Governor Yue... the Tanguts are a people where tribes outnumber households. Every tribe mobilizes all its men. Even if their core warriors aren't in Xingling right now, with Li Qianshun's fifty years of authority as ruler, a single messenger can summon male reinforcements from a nearby tribe. Those men ride a horse, carry a bow, wield a spear, and bear a sack of rations and water—enough to form an army. If such barbarian cavalry charges our formation, they'd be throwing their lives away. But if we ignore them and press on recklessly, letting them harass our march and plunder our logistics, then we'd be the ones throwing our lives away."

Yue Fei immediately nodded: "You two mean we can only march steadily, thirty li per day?"

"Yes." Liu Qi replied.

"How many of those barbarian cavalry will come to reinforce them?"

"Hard to say." Liu Qi continued seriously. "It depends on how fast we march... If we truly manage thirty or forty li per day, counting five or six days, by the time we reach the walls of Xingqing Prefecture, there might be as many as twenty thousand."

Hu Hongxiu hesitated for a moment, then also offered a reminder: "Military Governor, the more barbarian cavalry gather, the slower our advance... And it's not just about how many tribal horsemen they bring—we also need to consider our own strength."

"No need to consider it." Yue Fei shook his head in response. "Deputy Commander Wang is forty li behind us, a day's march away. Leave the gorge to him. Let's not delay—rest well today, and at dawn tomorrow, the entire army will advance at full speed, racing against time and distance."

Liu Qi and Hu Hongxiu thought it over, then each nodded heavily. Even Qu Duan, who had just settled his own cavalry unit and overheard the previous exchanges, merely flicked his horsewhip and said nothing for the moment.

Come to think of it, having come this far, what else could be done?

The night passed without a word. The next morning, just as the sky began to lighten, everyone rose for breakfast. They discovered that the place where they had rested the previous night, beside the Yellow River, contained a Buddhist pagoda grove. Many soldiers who believed in Buddhism ran over to pay their respects.

The officers did not stop them—in fact, many officers themselves could not resist going to bow. Only Yue Fei and Qu Duan stood coldly apart, neither making any gesture.

"Military Governor, the Tanguts are coming!"

By mid-morning, the entire army had finished preparations. The baggage train, lashed to wooden rafts, moved along the river, while the main army formed up along the riverbank according to the commander's personal deployment. Just as they were about to set out, Li Master, who had been sent ahead as a scout, suddenly returned, rode straight to the central command, dismounted, and reported a military situation to Yue Fei.

"How many men?"

Yue Fei, fully armored, asked solemnly beneath the "Serve the Country with Utmost Loyalty" command banner. His eyes were noticeably bloodshot.

"Four or five hundred... They must be nearby tribes who saw the beacon fire and came on their own." Li Master replied gravely. "These tribes are local to Xingling, the direct subordinates of the Weiming clan. I tried to recruit them, but both my messengers were killed, so I had to disperse them... At this rate, by tomorrow they'll likely gather two to three thousand men. By then, my troops won't be able to easily drive off these light barbarian cavalry for the main army."

"No matter." Yue Fei immediately responded from his horse. "Deputy Commander Li, if you simply perform scouting duties well, that will be a great merit."

Li Master nodded at once, but like the Guanxi officers around him, he could not hide his grave expression.

And so, the army finally set out, heading north along the Yellow River.

However, after marching barely ten li, before noon had even arrived, as the army rounded a bend in the Yellow River, the terrain suddenly opened up. Yue Fei naturally noticed a conspicuous feature on the northwest flank of the army's column. He turned his head to look at Hu Hongxiu beside him:

"Vice Minister Hu, that mountain range stretches on and on, so majestic, like a herd of galloping horses—what mountain is it?"

Although he knew full well that the road ahead would determine life or death on this campaign, and despite his naturally blunt and straightforward character, Hu Hongxiu, wearing his headcloth, could not resist a teasing tone: "Military Governor Yue said it yourself—the peaks are like a herd of galloping horses. Naturally, it's Steed Mountain..."

"It's called Steed Mountain?"

"Indeed!" Hu Hongxiu continued with a smile. "However, 'steed' in the local barbarian tongue is pronounced Helan... So this mountain can also be called Helan Mountain!"

Yue Fei suddenly understood.

PS: Thanks to the 129th patron, classmate Qian Jianxue.