Chapter 383: Swift Horses and Speedy Men

Since the Great Song's Han, Commandery Prince, had spoken thus, as the main commander of the Jin forces on the Hedong front, and having brought the Five-Colored Sun-Praising Banner with him, Bolisu naturally could not simply retreat. If he truly withdrew like that, he would lose all military morale and spirit.

And so, from the evening of the sixth day of the tenth month to the afternoon of the eighth day of the tenth month, in the short span of two days and nights, the Jin army and the Song army engaged in continuous, intense combat within the narrow area north of Tieling Pass and south of the Hui River.

Among these, there were a full fourteen frontal battles where both sides committed over a thousand troops each, which could be fully counted.

Aside from the demonstrative small-scale cavalry clash on the evening of the sixth, from the second day onward, the two main commanders almost tacitly chose similar strategies: they dispatched troops in a dispersed yet organized, targeted manner... When the Jurchens took the initiative to attack, they generally did so in units of a *meng'an*, sending out at least five or six hundred cavalry. By the afternoon of that day, as their auxiliary troops gradually arrived, they began deploying organized thousand-man units, half cavalry and half infantry—this was the Jin army's traditional tactic. When the Song army took the initiative, they typically selected a *Vice Prefect* officer, who would lead a varying number of his own troops into battle, ranging from as few as one or two thousand to as many as four or five thousand.

Regardless of which side attacked, the other would dispatch a force of equivalent strength to respond, or rather, they basically matched combat power according to a cavalry-to-infantry ratio of one to two or one to three.

As for the criteria for selecting personnel, both sides were still in sync. Bolisu followed the marching *wanhu* sequence, taking turns in battle—whoever's turn it was, they went. Guanshang had three *Military Governor* sitting motionless. On the first day of battle, Wang Shixiong, who had cut down a Jin *puliyan* (deputy *mouke*, commander of fifty cavalry) and returned, held a bamboo slip container. When someone needed to go into battle, Grand Marshal Han would casually draw a slip without even looking, hand it to Vice Commander Xie Yuan, and whoever was drawn would unconditionally lead their troops into battle.

Apart from this, both sides also did not forget to tighten their own defenses. In front of and behind Tieling Pass, the army camps grew increasingly sturdy. Bolisu also moved his entire army camp to the north bank of the Hui River, and sent the slightly wounded Wanyan Zhehe to command the troops that had returned that day, stationed in Quwo City behind them.

Battle was such a strange thing.

Calling it fierce combat—it was absolutely fierce combat. The frequency of battles was right there, and it was impossible to fake fighting once on the field. The number of casualties was also right there—how could it not be intense?

But calling it a tacit understanding—there was also some tacit understanding.

It was as if, after the initial surprise attack phase of the war, both sides found the chaos and uncontrollability somewhat unbearable, and both intentionally took the opportunity to adjust, stabilize the front line, to facilitate building strong fortifications and fighting a war of attrition, forming a stalemate, as if preparing for a decisive battle.

The subsequent development of the battle situation indeed seemed to be heading in this direction.

At dusk on the eighth day of the tenth month, Fan Yihong, a *Vice Prefect* officer under Li Qiong's command, led his troops, reorganized from the Eight-Character Army, to arrive first at Tieling Pass.

That night, a messenger from Liang Xing's unit, the most combat-effective among the Taihang volunteer armies, rushed out from the Zhiguan Pass defile, bringing news that Liang Xing's unit had failed to block the main army from Longde Prefecture on the other side of the Zhiguan Pass defile.

However, the Jin army from Longde Prefecture could not do much more, because the Song army had long established a camp at the Xileng Mountain Pass, the exit of the Zhiguan Pass defile. The Eight-Character Army reinforcements, who were extremely familiar with the Taihang Mountains, from Fan Yihong to the Meng De unit arriving the next day, all moved directly into the already-built stockades upon arrival.

The Jin army could break through the Taihang volunteer armies, but it was unlikely to break through the Eight-Character Army troops at the mountain pass, who were once Taihang volunteers but were now a solid main force of the Imperial Guard.

In fact, the great battle that erupted on the ninth day of the tenth month fully confirmed this.

On this day, at least one *wanhu* of the main Jin army surged out from the Zhiguan Pass defile, directly charging the Song army camp at Xileng Mountain Pass. At the same time, Bolisu also mobilized his army from the Hui River, but took the Jiangxian County route that Wanyan Zhehe had used for his night raid, attempting to open up Jiangxian County and link up with the Jin reinforcements from Longde Prefecture.

This was a very serious military situation. Han Shizhong dared not be negligent. Although he himself remained steadily at the pass, he sent Ma Kuo to garrison Jiangxian County and ordered Li Yanxian to immediately lead his troops out of the pass to launch a fierce attack in the direction of the Hui River, trying to bite onto Bolisu's tail from north of the pass and force him to turn back.

The battle situation was dangerous but without incident. Separated by the Jiangshan Mountains, which stretched for dozens of *li*, the Jin army simply could not organize assault troops to reach the city walls. Not to mention Jiangxian County town, they could hardly break through the Song army's increasingly large and mutually supporting camps. And the Song army was not unprepared. In this small area, dozens of veteran generals who had long experience in warfare came to their senses and had already taken precautions—while battles raged north of the pass these days, they had also mobilized local laborers and volunteer reinforcements south of the pass to urgently dig several simple trenches, supplemented by simple palisades, forming several military connecting lines similar to corridors to link Tieling Pass, Jiangxian County town, and Xileng Mountain Pass. This also had the ancillary effect of securing logistics and hindering Jin cavalry.

Under these circumstances, after a full day of fierce fighting, both sides could only withdraw their troops.

But interestingly, the reinforcements from Longde Prefecture did not directly retreat. Instead, they set up camp on the spot. Bolisu's army also did not directly shrink back north of the Hui River. Instead, he dispatched *wanhu* Tuhesu to set up a camp on the south bank of the upper reaches of the Hui River, near the Jiangxian County passage. The two sides echoed each other from afar, presenting a posture of clamping the Song army from north and south, maintaining military pressure, and then waiting for reinforcements to arrive in this stalemate, preparing for a decisive battle.

But this very posture made someone suspicious.

"I naturally know the situation is somewhat unfavorable."

Early on the morning of the tenth day of the tenth month, Han Shizhong felt the weather had turned colder as soon as he got up. After hastily drinking a bowl of mutton soup and eating a hot baked cake, he went directly up to the pass. There, he saw the two large banners on the pass swaying slightly, and many Song armored soldiers also seemed somewhat cowering. His frown deepened. As soon as he sat down, Li Yanxian, who had been waiting there early, spoke frankly, saying the situation was somewhat unfavorable.

But clearly, the Commandery Prince Han also knew it was unfavorable, yet he obviously did not take it seriously. He did not even look at the other person, but answered directly from his seat, facing north: "But some things are beyond human power... we can only stand ready in strict formation."

Li Yanxian was startled for a moment, then realized the other had misunderstood his meaning. His expression unchanged, he looked up at the swaying banners: "Does Commandery Prince Han think I am talking about the weather turning cold, which is unfavorable for the stalemate?"

"Li *Military Governor*, don't put on airs," Han Shizhong said seriously in return. "Others may not know, but don't you? The military reports from behind are very clear... The river in Shanzhou is swift, and the 'Midstream Pillar' rock obstructs it. Logistics are difficult. If the temperature suddenly drops now but the river doesn't freeze quickly, is that favorable for the stalemate?"

Li Yanxian ignored the other's sarcastic tone and continued seriously: "Commandery Prince, this stalemate is strange."

"I certainly know it's strange," Han Shizhong still did not look at him. "Longde Prefecture first sent one *wanhu*, but it can still send three more. Taiyuan Prefecture first sent three *wanhu*, and I estimate it can send another two. By then, there will be ninety thousand main Jin troops, over half of them cavalry... But we have advanced too far. In the Hezhong area, there are still two large cities, Hedong City and Anyi City, that have not been taken. Not only can our forces not concentrate, but the Taihang volunteer armies are swarming in, and their numbers are too great... If we're not careful, a major disaster will occur."

Although Han Shizhong did not grasp Li Yanxian's meaning, there was no doubt that Li Yanxian understood Han Shizhong's meaning.

Now, around Tieling Pass, or rather east of Tieling Pass—that is, in the critical area where Wenxi, Jiangxian, and Quwo counties together form the junction of the Hezhong (Yuncheng) Basin, Linfen Basin, and Shangdang Basin, an area of about sixty or seventy *li* in radius—the density of Song and Jin troops had become somewhat terrifying.

The Jin army currently had three *wanhu* to the north and one *wanhu* to the southeast.

As for the Song army, there were Li Yanxian's initial thirty-five thousand troops, Han Shizhong's twelve thousand troops, plus the four *Vice Prefect* officers under Li Qiong's command, totaling twelve thousand reinforcements, making nearly sixty thousand main troops. There were also countless Taihang volunteer armies, estimated to be no fewer than thirty or forty thousand.

As for casualties, to be honest, there were many, but also not many.

Saying there were many casualties—in these short four or five days, from the day the two sides met in chaotic battle, there was hardly a day without fighting. For the main forces of both sides, one of which had not fought for three years and the other for five years, this was undoubtedly somewhat hasty and numbing... It was as if both sides were using their soldiers' lives to restore their condition and warm up.

But at the same time, one had to admit that the times had truly changed.

Although they had not clashed for several years, ten years before that, the two sides had been in a state of total war. Military technology had basically reached the peak of the medieval period. Especially the armor of the main forces—that lamellar armor—had reached a terrifying level. Unless morale collapsed, basically only the Jurchens' close-range heavy arrows and heavy cavalry lance charges, and the Song's long-handled axes and divine-arm crossbows could inflict specific casualties on each other... So, while the fighting these days had been intense and frequent, over half of the casualties on both sides were still caused in the first two days.

All these seemingly shocking casualty figures, when compared to the vast numbers of troops on both sides, became even more insignificant.

However, this balance was only for the moment.

As Han Shizhong said, the Jin army currently only had four *wanhu*, true. But counting the days, in a few days, when the entire Jin army reacted, all their main forces were properly prepared, and then arrived as reinforcements, there would be five *wanhu* to the north and four *wanhu* to the southeast, a total of ninety thousand main troops gathering north and south of Jiangxian County.

At that time, even a slight move could trigger a chain reaction, forming a decisive battle posture.

But at the same time, some problems had arisen on the Song army's side.

This did not refer to the two large cities behind them that Han Shizhong complained had not been taken—this matter indeed severely tied up the energy of the Song main forces. For example, Han Shizhong needed to leave twenty thousand troops to lock down Hedong City. Another example: after Li Qiong crossed the river, he only sent half of his troops here, while he personally went to assist Li Yanxian's original troops in a fierce assault on Anyi City, which had very few defenders.

However, these were all things that had been anticipated long ago. The Song army had also long prepared for siege warfare in Hedong; these were part of the strategic forecast... When Han Shizhong mentioned this, he was essentially still complaining about Li Yanxian's rash advance.

The real problem, or the problem outside the plan, actually lay with Ma Kuo... Ma Kuo and his troops had arrived too quickly and in too great a number.

This sounded unreasonable. Without Ma Kuo's extremely rapid reinforcement, who knows what major trouble might have occurred that night. Even Han Shizhong, who was right behind at the time, still unconditionally praised the timely arrival of Ma Kuo's army.

Moreover, during these days, Ma Kuo's volunteer army had undertaken a considerable amount of work: building corridors and trenches, establishing camps, serving as guides, and crossing mountain ranges for reconnaissance—they did it all.

But this did not change the fact that the rapid arrival of Ma Kuo and his volunteer troops had indeed created a major problem... Don't forget, this Song northern expedition was fundamentally a hasty, premature one. It was originally planned to take place after the spring plowing next year. This meant that even if the Song court had stored winter military supplies, they needed to temporarily change plans and temporarily adjust and prepare winter materials.

And unfortunately, the troops that came down the mountain with Ma Kuo were too numerous, and they abruptly appeared on the front line. Moreover, they usually had no basic equipment for ease of movement in the mountains, which put even greater temporary pressure on logistics.

What's more, even before the war started, Liu Hongdao, the Vice Minister of War concurrently in charge of the Waterways Bureau, had pointed out that Shanzhou was the weakest point in the Yellow River water transport route, but His Majesty Zhao ignored him.

Therefore, under the combined effect of several factors, the Song army's logistics temporarily encountered certain problems. Even Li Qiong's troops' previous river crossing was clearly affected.

Now, on top of that, it was getting colder.

So Han Shizhong, from an overall perspective, worried that if the current stalemate continued, it was very likely that the Jin main forces would gather first, while the Song army would fall into logistical and troop strength difficulties in a short time, allowing Bolisu to seize the opportunity for a quick decisive battle.

However, Li Yanxian really did not mean to say this, and he was not concerned about it.

"Does Commandery Prince Han mean that if the Jin army gathers its main forces first while our side cannot all arrive, Bolisu will assemble tens of thousands of iron cavalry, imitate King Xiang's 'burning the boats' strategy, forcefully break through the corridors, divide and surround our armies, and settle the battle in one stroke?" Li Yanxian thought for a moment and spoke on Han Shizhong's behalf.

"It really must be guarded against."

Han Shizhong thought for a moment and frankly admitted it.

"I believe it will certainly not come to that," Li Yanxian said seriously in return.

"Are you saying I'm worrying unnecessarily?" Han Liangchen, who had studied in Chang'an for several years and naturally spoke with distinction, still did not look at Li Yanxian. "Or do you want to say that Bolisu does not have King Xiang's courage? You must know, King Xiang fought one against ten, but here, Bolisu might be able to use many to strike at few."

"I'm not saying that Bolisu cannot use his numerical advantage to attack, but Prince of the Commandery Han is indeed worrying about nothing... And in my view, the Prince not only has a narrow field of vision, but also lets a single leaf block his view of Mount Tai." Seeing the other man's continued arrogance, Li Yanxian finally began to lose his temper as well.

It was still early, and few people had arrived at the pass yet.

But beneath the slightly swaying great banner, these two seemed to have no need for those generals to come and set the atmosphere... After a long pause, this Marshal of Hedong finally turned his head to look at the Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Camp Central Army beside him:

"Are you Mount Tai?"

"I am not Mount Tai. I am saying that Bolisu will definitely not give battle here! Even if there should already be someone from the Jin Kingdom who can make decisions behind him, in contact with him." Li Yanxian tried hard to ignore the other's mockery, his words carrying a decisive tone. "And Prince of the Commandery Han must have a military oversight similar to what I had that day—either carelessness, or underestimating the enemy, but in any case, something overlooked!"

Han Shizhong stared blankly at the other man. After confirming the seriousness of his intent, he finally spoke from his seat: "Why do you say Bolisu will not give battle here?"

"The reason couldn't be simpler." Li Yanxian sighed. "Prince of the Commandery Han... here at Tieling Pass, although we have some logistical troubles because of Marshal Ma's sudden arrival and the obstruction of the Shanzhou river channel, doesn't Bolisu's logistics also have to be dispatched from Taiyuan? That's five hundred li... Even if it were all broad highways, how could it be easier for them than for us?"

Han Shizhong was silent for a moment, but still shook his head: "How do we know about their logistics? The battle started hastily; no one knows anything about anyone else. For all we know, they might have a large granary in Linfen all along!"

Even so, Han Shizhong was already slightly shaken, because he knew that even if the Jin army to the north might have no logistical worries, what about the southeast?

Even if the Jin army had a large granary in Mengzhou on the other side of the Zhiguan Pass, there was still the one hundred and eighty li narrow road of Zhiguan Pass. Now that the Jin army in the direction of Longdefu was blocked inside Zhiguan Pass, how could they arrange logistics for forty thousand men?

Of course, it wasn't impossible. If the Jin army decided to attack, the Jin army from Longdefu could temporarily come over in full force from Mengzhou.

But doing so would undoubtedly be putting all their eggs in one basket; otherwise, it would be suicide.

However, just as Han Shizhong thought the other was going to talk about Zhiguan Pass and Longdefu, unexpectedly, Li Yanxian directly nodded: "The Prince is right. We all started this great battle hastily. How could we know the Jurchens' logistical situation? We should estimate the enemy generously."

Han Shizhong was momentarily surprised.

But then, Li Yanxian's next words silenced Han Shizhong: "So, why would the Jin army think they would gain an advantage by holding out here? We only realized two days ago that the Shanzhou river channel was restricting our logistics. How could they know our logistics are in trouble?"

The wind howled. Han Shizhong was silent for a long time, while Li Yanxian waited calmly.

Just as the two were at a standoff, hearing several generals laughing and talking as they came up, Han Liangchen could no longer hold back. He turned directly to look at Wang Shixiong: "Block the stairs. Have them wait below."

Wang Shixiong dared not delay and hurried off.

When it grew quiet again below the pass, and only the wind could be heard at the pass, Han Shizhong finally spoke slowly: "Mount Tai has a point."

Li Yanxian was utterly speechless... This fellow was even more petty than himself!

But this was not the time to argue about that.

On the other side, Han Shizhong immediately asked again: "If that's the case, Bolisu is indeed somewhat strange... Perhaps as you say, there is some loophole of ours that he has spotted."

"There can only be one loophole." Li Yanxian blurted out. "The Jin's advantage over us has always been their cavalry... To the left of Tieling Pass is Camel Ridge, to the right is Jiangshan, spanning over two hundred li, a natural divide... He previously circled around from Jiangshan, catching me off guard. Now he must be making a feint in front, shielding his rear, waiting only for reinforcements to arrive, then combining into a ten-thousand-strong cavalry army to repeat the same trick from the west!"

"Does Mount Tai think I am you?" Han Shizhong, hearing this, became disdainful again. "Before I came, I left twenty thousand troops to besiege the city at Hedong City under Wang Sheng, and another eight thousand were sent to various places. With those places taken, Anyi City was also taken over by Li Qiong. They naturally went early to block those gaps on our western side... As long as those passages are guarded, even a little bit of resistance, they won't let the Jin punch through easily. They're useless."

This time it was Li Yanxian's turn to be uneasy: "Even so, the Jin only have this one plan... From a strategic perspective, since Bolisu doesn't know our logistics are in trouble, he wouldn't have the guts to commit a hundred thousand troops to a decisive battle in this mountainous terrain... If he doesn't dare to fight hastily, and still keeps four ten-thousand-man units here to face us, what is he doing?"

"Who knows?" Han Shizhong sneered in response. "Maybe, like you, because of previous losses, he's afraid of being scolded by the Jurchen king behind him, so he's overthinking things, worrying that we can cut through the mountains and sever Zhiguan Pass... He doesn't dare to retreat easily."

Li Yanxian wanted to bite his nails again, but he held back once more: "Prince of the Commandery Han, I have already submitted a memorial confessing my guilt. His Majesty's decision will come within these two days..."

"With a great enemy before us, and your Li family army of tens of thousands deployed there, how could His Majesty punish you on the battlefield?" Han Shizhong sneered relentlessly. "Would he really have Minister Lu come and behead you?"

Li Yanxian suppressed his anger and forced himself to respond: "Prince of the Commandery, who is guarding the road between Camel Ridge and Jishan to the west?"

"Xu Shian of the Imperial Camp Left Army, the most reliable, is stationed with his troops at Wanquan County." Han Shizhong answered proudly.

"North of Sanysi Mountain, east of Fanjiayu..."

"Chen Jue is encamped there with his men, forming a pincer with Xu Shian."

"There's a small path in the west that can be used for marching..."

"Most of the troops of Imperial Camp Left Army Commander Dong Min are at Hedong City, but he himself is leading a thousand men to block the Hubi Fort at the mouth of that path." Han Shizhong was still composed. "I went there when I was young. The terrain is strategic, and there's an old fort. A thousand men is even too many!"

Li Yanxian's expression grew uneasy, but he still didn't give up: "What about the mouth of the Fenshui River where it enters the Yellow River?"

"You mean Longmen?" Han Shizhong asked with a frown.

"I mean Ronghe." Li Yanxian replied seriously. "Did the Prince specifically station troops and assign a commanding general at Ronghe?"

Han Shizhong shook his head, but still argued confidently: "There must be some garrison troops, but I indeed didn't specifically assign any general or deliberately leave any large, organized unit."

"Why?" Li Yanxian was stunned. "Hedong City hasn't been taken yet. If the Jin army were to lead ten thousand cavalry along the Fenshui to that point and coordinate with Wenshun Sizhong from within, what then?"

Han Shizhong's energy was clearly flagging, but he still shook his head: "Marshal Li is overthinking. I'm not careless or ignorant. Before I came, I had an agreement with Wu Da... Although he is currently waiting for the Dangxiang auxiliary troops and hasn't received orders for a full advance, he will still send an army across Longmen as promised, to hold the Fenshui for me... You're worrying too much."

Li Yanxian nodded, then asked seriously: "So, the Prince had Marshal Wu send an army across Longmen to hold the north bank of the Fenshui? Not personally sending your own troops to hold the south bank of the Fenshui?"

"Marshal Li is really overthinking." Han Shizhong finally began to feel uneasy. "If the Jin army were to come from the south bank, would the army sent by Wu Da just sit still on the north bank?"

Li Yanxian nodded again: "May I ask Prince of the Commandery Han, is that Wu Da, and his subordinates, are they all human?"

Han Shizhong's expression suddenly changed.

After a moment, he wanted to turn back and call for Wang Shixiong, but the words died on his lips. Instead, he stood up himself, then hurried down, holding his jade belt.

"Prince of the Commandery..." Li Yanxian remained seated in his chair the entire time. "Leave the great banner. Leave Wang Shixiong as well. Let him sit here with me."

Han Shizhong nodded and went down the pass without a word.

That day, this Prince of the Commandery of Yan'an hastily mustered three thousand of his own Beiwei Army, plus three thousand of the Cuipian Army, and gathered all the warhorses from Li Yanxian's army, totaling six thousand men all mounted. After a brief preparation, he set off from south of the pass, heading west along Camel Ridge.

By evening, they reached Wanquan.

By noon the next day, they reached Hubi Fort.

Everything was fine.

Another day passed, the twelfth of October. When Prince of the Commandery Han rounded the mountain range south of the Fenshui, bypassed Hedong City to the north without paying it any attention, and arrived at the Ronghe area on the south bank of the Fenshui mouth, he found that there was no problem there either. There were even five hundred of Chen Jue's men left at Ronghe... This greatly relieved Han Shizhong, and he was almost ready to go back and curse Li Yanxian out.

However, to be safe, he still sent out scout cavalry, ordering them north and along the river to investigate.

Then, that night, he learned a somewhat strange piece of news—around yesterday, a Song army had crossed the river from the north bank of the Fenshui and hastily built a fortification on the south bank road.

To be honest, Han Shizhong was a bit puzzled.

First, if it was purely out of a defensive mindset to send troops, why did this army only come now to build the fortification?

Second, if the Jurchens were really coming from here as Li Yanxian had judged, they should arrive within these few days. That would explain why this Song army crossed the river now to build the fortification... But why, after crossing the river, didn't this army send someone to notify the garrison at Ronghe, to let Wang Sheng and Chen Jue prepare?

But regardless, estimating the enemy generously, Han Shizhong couldn't just ignore this matter now. Though he was extremely puzzled, he still mustered the Beiwei Army and Cuipian Army that very night, not even waiting for breakfast, and hurried north to support. He arrived at this Song army camp by morning.

And by this time, having seen the leader of this Song army with his own eyes, Grand Marshal Han learned two more pieces of news.

First, the Jin army was really coming, and they would arrive very soon.

Secondly, this Song army of only two thousand men, led by a man named Zhang Heng, was not a subordinate unit of Wu Jie… but rather a Taihang volunteer force—specifically, a detachment that Ma Kuo had split off years ago to station at Guji Mountain (Mount Lüliang), dedicated solely to liaising with Wu Jie. In fact, even back when the Imperial Left Army had not yet crossed the river, they had come into contact with this man due to changes in the defense zone.

"Zhang Heng, right? I've seen your name in the documents." The weather was cold and clear. Han Shizhong sat with his hands tucked into his sleeves in the midst of an extremely crude camp stockade. After glancing around, he wore a solemn expression but felt bewildered inside as he questioned the Commander Zhang before him, who couldn't even clearly state his own affiliation. "You came over yesterday, but you only set up the palisade—didn't even have time to pitch tents?"

"Your Highness is wise." Zhang Heng was nearly fifty years old this year. Before Han Shizhong, he was clearly flustered and cowed, and likely hadn't even fully processed the news of the other's sudden arrival.

"The Jin army is almost here?"

"Your Highness is wise."

"How many men?"

"Two original Wanhu units from Shizhou and Xianzhou were scraped together, all cavalry. But neither Wanhu dared to bring their full strength—roughly a little over ten thousand."

"Who's leading them?"

"The Weeping Lord, Salihan…"

"Not surprising." Han Shizhong nodded, then suddenly asked again. "How did you know the Jin army was coming?"

"I have many acquaintances in Taiyuan."

"Ah, I remember now—there was talk of that. His Majesty mentioned it… By the way, did Wu Da send anyone to Longmen?"

"For Your Highness's information, Military Governor Wu sent Commander Guo Zhen across Longmen. I rendezvoused with Commander Guo there." Zhang Heng answered timidly, clearly shrinking back. "The day before yesterday, as soon as I saw him, I told him the news from Taiyuan—that Salihan was leading ten thousand cavalry south along the Fenshui to relieve Hedong… After he heard it, he ordered me to hold Longmen and went straight back across the river himself."

"…"

"…"

Now, it took this Prince of Yan'an a good while to digest this news. For a moment, only one phrase buzzed in his ears—Were that Wu Da and his subordinates even human?

After a moment, Han Shizhong composed himself. He didn't ask why the man hadn't fled back to northern Shaanxi with Commander Guo, nor why he had brought two thousand volunteers across the river. Instead, he shook his head with a smile and said:

"You're a true man!"

Zhang Heng seemed to want to speak but held back.

"What do you want to say?" Han Shizhong caught it at a glance and pressed on. "Say it if you want."

"Your Highness, if I follow you this time, can I count as a proper Commander of the Imperial Camp?" Zhang Heng bowed and asked seriously.

"You can." Han Liangchen stared at him for a moment, unsure what he was thinking, but finally nodded emphatically. "I'll personally recommend you!"

Zhang Heng was overjoyed.

And just as this man from Shaanxi and this man from Shanxi were hitting it off, Cheng Min, a man from Hebei, hurried over from the front of the camp. From a distance, he reported in a Hebei accent that felt oddly out of place: "Prince! Salihan is almost here."

He didn't need Cheng Min's report. Han Shizhong, who had long felt the ground trembling, nodded slightly. Then he continued questioning Zhang Heng seriously, but for some reason, his own accent shifted to something more like proper official speech: "Commander Zhang, you don't have tents here, but you must have something to eat, right?"

"Yes… There's mutton soup in the pot, and ready-made flatbread." Zhang Heng, excited, quickly introduced it. "But the flatbread was brought from Taiyuan half a month ago—it's a bit hard… And I only have two thousand men—not enough pots."

"No matter." Han Shizhong took a deep breath of the early winter air and said solemnly to this fifty-something Shanxi veteran. "I'll give you three orders!"

"Yes, sir!" Zhang Heng quickly clasped his hands and stood at attention.

"My Beiwei Army and Cuipian Army arrived early this morning and haven't eaten yet. Have them drink soup and eat flatbread right away, and get some for me too. But remember: let the Cuipian Army eat first, then the Beiwei Army…" Han Shizhong gave this order amid Cheng Min's stunned expression.

"Yes, sir!" Zhang Heng still stood with clasped hands, solemnly facing him.

"Then, you and your men must prepare defenses immediately. If the Jurchens launch a sudden attack, you need to hold them off for a quarter or half an hour for me—don't let them interrupt us while we finish eating before going into battle."

"Yes, sir!" Zhang Heng's voice seemed to tremble slightly, but it was unclear whether from fear or excitement.

"Finally, as soon as Salihan arrives, find someone bold. Ladle a bowl of mutton soup, take two hot flatbreads, and deliver them to Salihan on my behalf. Say that Han Shizhong, Prince of Yan'an, invites him to have some soup… That's all!"

Zhang Heng nodded hastily and hurried away.

And so, about half an hour later, in front of the Song army's stockade, Jin army Wanhu Wanyan Salihan stared blankly at the tray on the ground before him, bearing steaming mutton soup and hard flatbread. After a long pause, he finally reacted—he grabbed a hammer from his belt and smashed it fiercely into the bowl of mutton soup.

With one blow, the earthenware bowl shattered, and the mutton soup splattered everywhere.

Then, this Wanhu, holding the hammer still glistening with grease and steam, turned to look back at the many Meng'an and Mouke behind him and spoke indignantly:

"The Commander-in-Chief's dispatches keep coming, saying Han Shizhong was still sitting at Tieling Pass yesterday, his banner visible from over ten li away. And today he's already here, waiting for us with soup ready? Over a hundred li—we're all cavalry, fast horses, and we came straight down the river. He had to take a detour in between… Did he fly here?! Do you take me, Salihan, for a fool? Can't I see this is the Empty Fort Strategy from those Song storytellers' tales?!"

With that, Salihan hurled his hammer to the ground before him and waved his hand grandly: "Deploy the troops! Take this stockade quickly! We'll eat dinner in Hedong city tonight!"

The Jin generals roared their assent. For a moment, the clang of arms and the stamp of horses filled the air, a display of might and arrogance.

And at that moment, behind the dense palisade, amid swirling mist, under the eager gaze of the Beiwei Army, the Cuipian Army and Prince Han had only just begun to drink their soup… But to be honest, the flatbread was indeed a bit hard, and the soup was too hot. So Han Shizhong simply broke the bread apart and soaked it in the mutton soup, softening the bread while effectively cooling the soup.

Seeing this, the soldiers of the Cuipian Army around him all followed suit.

PS: A quick note… This book has finally reached the Three-Star Masterpiece Hall.