[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-shao-song":3,"chapter-shao-song-shao-song-chapter-398":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Shao Song",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1558564,2024,"Chapter 398: Rising Together in the North and South","shao-song-chapter-398",398,"\u003Cp>At noon, beside the western fork of the Yellow River's northern channel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A sturdy warhorse, covered in a layer of leather armor and fitted with a leather face mask, labored to carry its master out from a gap in the north. There, men and horses were already packed so tightly together, armor so dense, that banners could not be unfurled, and the gleam of weapon blades, under the midday sun, nearly merged into a single sheet of light.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Song Jun's heavy-armored long-axe infantry and Jin Jun's heavy-armored cavalry swarmed the front line, hacking at each other without regard for casualties. Slightly further out, heavy arrows and powerful crossbows from both sides, despite appalling rates of friendly fire, dared not pause for even a moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This gap, barely over two li wide, had truly become a meat grinder—a test of who would break first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It could only be said that this warhorse and its master escaping the melee, especially as a heavy-armored knight on the Jin Jun side whose objective was precisely to breach this gap, was a stroke of luck.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, not long after the warhorse broke free from the battle, it soon slowed down by the Yellow River's bank, snorting repeatedly, and instinctively drew its hind legs together. It turned out that on the warhorse's right hind leg, at some unknown time and place, someone had cut a gash. The skin had also been torn during the run, now hanging loose on the leg, so that bright red blood continuously oozed from the exposed wound and dripped down to the ground along the torn hide.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even more, when it left the abnormally hot core of the battlefield and reached the riverbank, the area around the wound even gave off a thin white mist in the winter chill.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Jurchen knight on the horse turned his head to look back, clearly noticing this as well. But the adrenaline from the earlier fighting at the heart of the melee was still working. Without a moment's hesitation, he swung the broken shaft of his lance, striking the horse's rump hard, while simultaneously digging in his spurs. The horse, stung by the pain, spun in place before galloping off again, heading straight for a group of laborers a few dozen paces away, as its master directed. The knight immediately dropped the lance shaft and pulled a fist-sized cavalry hammer from his waist, raising it high.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These laborers, under the orders and haste of a few soldiers, were digging a new trench... There was no help for it—the front-line fighting was fierce, casualties were mounting, and as more and more wounded and dead were carried to the rear, the laborers had grown visibly afraid of the front. Added to a night's exhaustion, many refused to work any longer, forcing the Song Jun to resort to something like a provost guard to drive these laborers to the rear of the gap to continue building a second line of defense, in an attempt to further hinder the Jin Jun cavalry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for the front line, the provost guard had already been deployed there long ago.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But regardless, at this moment, these laborers suddenly saw a Jurchen heavy-armored knight break through the lines, sitting on a sturdy warhorse like an iron tower, swinging a hammer as he came. They were instantly terrified and fled in panic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The few soldiers, however, could only hurriedly grab their weapons and try to block him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An arrow was shot first, striking the leather armor on the horse's neck.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This arrow didn't actually cause any real damage to the warhorse, but the arrowhead piercing the leather armor, and at the neck at that, had an unexpected effect... The horse's charge momentum directly decreased, and it kept twisting its long neck, turning in place to avoid the stinging pain on its neck. In this opening, two Song soldiers wielding long spears had already seized the chance to rush up, trying to spear the Jurchen knight, who had clearly lost his long weapon, off his horse from left and right.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing this, the Jurchen knight cursed, reined in his horse again, and prepared to abandon the mount if necessary. But unexpectedly, a thick arrow suddenly shot from behind, grazing the armor of the still-turning Jurchen knight and striking one of the Song spearmen in the face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The knight looked back and saw a fellow Jin Jun heavy-armored soldier who had lost his horse. Overjoyed for a moment, he had no time to thank him or anything else. He just called out, urging the heavy-armored soldier to advance with him, then, ignoring the horse's whinny, he yanked the arrow from the horse's neck with force, forcibly reined the horse in, and prepared to charge again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing this, the other Song spearman was disheartened and simply dragged his spear and fled. The knight was even more delighted, but battlefield experience told him that the spearman hadn't let go of his weapon—he might be feigning retreat, and it would be better to leave him to the comrade behind who had a strong bow. So the knight ignored the spearman and instead turned directly toward the Song archer who had shot earlier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The warhorse galloped, passing by the archer's side. The Jurchen knight swung his hammer just once, knocking the archer, who was clearly panicked and about to flee, to the ground from behind with a blow to the head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But after the knight landed his blow, reined in his horse, and turned around, he was stunned to find that the comrade who had shot to help him earlier had vanished without a trace. He had no idea when or how he had died, and couldn't even find his corpse in his confusion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, this Jurchen knight wasn't being sentimental. Rather, having charged over here alone, the role of his comrade was undeniable—the other had just saved his life, clear proof. Suddenly losing his only comrade, he couldn't help but feel a pang of panic. And with that panic, coupled with the cold wind from the riverbank, the fierce energy he had brought from the main battlefield abruptly drained away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The knight began to have doubts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In truth, his worry was not unfounded. The surrounding Song soldiers came to their senses and, seeing only a single rider, the knight having lost his long weapon, and the horse's leg half-shredded and bloody, someone immediately shouted and called out from the position. Then the knight watched as seven or eight Song soldiers gathered, some with bows, some with crossbows, some with spears, some with shields, and headed his way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, the knight dared neither to engage the enemy nor to return to the meat-grinder gap. Hesitating for a moment, he turned his horse's head, preparing to gallop again toward the scattered laborers from before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But just as he was about to catch up to a more obvious group of laborers, the warhorse suddenly stumbled, its front hooves flipping over, and it knelt down in a small, already-dug trench... The reason this group of laborers had managed to stay together while fleeing was precisely because someone had called and led them to take cover behind this newly dug trench.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That wasn't all. After the stumble, because the horse's speed wasn't high, the knight wasn't thrown off. He only felt his chest tighten and his vision go dark, and with both feet caught in the stirrups, he momentarily lost control.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Knowing this was a life-or-death moment, the knight, not even having the strength to open his eyes, desperately squeezed the horse's flanks and pulled on the reins, trying to get the warhorse back on its feet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And this sturdy warhorse did not disappoint its master. Its powerful vitality and years of trained obedience made it use all its strength to prop up one front hoof, preparing to save its master.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But at that very moment, an axe—clearly not standard-issue, looking more like a lumberjack's tool—suddenly appeared, swinging almost horizontally at the horse's raised front hoof. The axe blade lodged below the horse's knee, blood gushed out, and the horse could no longer support itself. It let out another mournful whinny and knelt down again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Grab his hammer!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Jin Jun knight was in agony, but he could still hear someone panting and shouting beside him. Hearing this, he quickly swung his cavalry hammer, trying to fend them off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But as soon as he swung it with force, the war hammer flew out of his hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The laborer who had chopped the horse's hoof, none other than Zhou Bin, was now utterly disheveled, his eyes bloodshot. Almost instinctively, he lunged to pick up the hammer, while shouting to his fellow laborers:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Drag him down! Pin him down! I'll finish him!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The laborers weren't fools. Seeing that reinforcements were about to arrive and that this Jin Jun armored knight was immobilized, they swarmed him. Seven or eight of them grabbed his arms, seized his helmet, and indeed managed to drag him off the horse and pin his limbs down with force.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Poor Jurchen Poliyan—a veteran of a hundred battles—now that his horse had stumbled and he was surrounded, how could he resist, no matter how hard he struggled?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In a moment, he was pinned down by these laborers in the trench, in the red mud stained with horse blood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Xiao Yi, you lift his visor. Don't let him bite you!\" Zhou Bin picked up the cavalry hammer, came to the side of the man's head, gripped it with both hands, and shouted an order to a slightly younger laborer beside him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Trembling and flustered, Xiao Yi quickly straddled the knight, then fumbled with the visor. He tried pulling it down first, and when that didn't work, he quickly pushed it up. He managed to push the visor open, revealing a face about forty years old, rough-featured, but not fundamentally different from the laborers around him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That face stared at the man sitting on top of him, clearly showing a look of panic and pleading. But Xiao Yi was just bewildered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Bin, crouching beside the knight, saw this expression and paused for a moment. But it was only a pause. The next moment, the village chief, who had been through too much, did not hesitate. He raised the fist-sized cavalry hammer high with all his strength, then brought it down with force onto the area just below the man's eyes!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One blow, and it was a bloody mess!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After two blows, the laborers around felt the knight's entire body go limp, his whole frame relaxing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After three blows, the face of this Jurchen knight, who had come from Guantao, was no longer just red. It was black, white, red, and yellow, all churned together.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having killed the man, Zhou Bin did not stop at all. He simply stood up, cavalry hammer in hand, and quickly gave orders: \"Old Zhang, you take them and keep digging the trench. Dabao, Erbao, you two brothers, strip his armor quickly and hand it over to the Imperial Camp officer. Xiao Yi, you come with me to report the merit to our village!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The seven or eight Song soldiers who had been preparing to surround and kill this Jin Jun knight had already arrived a few dozen paces away. But seeing the village chief lure the enemy first, kill him afterward, and then, after three hammer blows, not pause for a moment, but give orders so calmly, they were already awestruck. How could they have any thought of stealing the credit?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the end, they were dazedly led by the village chief to the nearest banner to find an officer and report the merit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The nearest banner was two hundred paces away. The officer under the banner was a Commander named Zhang Kui, a veteran of the Red Heart Squad. After accumulating merit at Yaoshan, he was transferred to the Imperial Guard, then served in the Imperial Camp Right Army, quickly rising to Commander. But having not fought for a long time, and lacking the battle merits of commanding troops in formation, he had been unable to cross that biggest threshold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enough digression. Zhang Kui had actually long noticed the commotion caused by this gap further west. He had coldly watched the entire scene, then listened as the slightly nervous army-attached scholar and the village chief recorded the merit. After everything was settled, he mounted his horse and headed east from there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To the east were several thousand Song soldiers arrayed in neat ranks. Though not a heavy-axe infantry formation, they were bristling with long spears and large crossbows, and lacked neither sword-shield nor bow-arrow units.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Kui went straight to the largest Zhang banner among these ranks, cupped his hands, and made a suggestion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Open a gap slightly along the river in the west, and have your unit set a net in the rear to catch them?\" Tian Shizhong, who had just returned from the front line, frowned slightly upon hearing this. \"Is the position by the river in the west about to collapse?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No, it's just that I saw the front line locked in a stalemate, with heavy casualties, and we are arrayed in the rear but cannot go forward to help. It pains my heart,\" Zhang Kui replied with a cupped fist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And also the worry that you won't get any merit, and will end up not even making Controller by the time the Northern Expedition is over, right?\" Tian Shizhong said coldly. \"Zhang Kui, do you think this is still peacetime, and this place is still the garrison in Jingdong? Do you think that if the Red Heart Squad loses one Commander, Controller Liu will cut off the ten secret dispatch boxes of the Imperial Camp Right Army?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I dare not!\" Zhang Kui quickly bowed his head. \"I have no such selfish motives. I am only considering the battle.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Consider my ass!\" Tian Shizhong finally erupted in anger. \"Isn't it just that you see we still have surplus troops in this battle and have developed selfish intentions? Open your eyes and go look for me. The fighting at the front is so fierce. If a retreat causes the entire situation to collapse, who will take responsibility? And after this battle, don't we have to attack the city? Such a large Yuancheng, over forty li in circumference, with walls at least three zhang high at the lowest, seventy or eighty towers—it's worth eight Great Ming cities... Who knows how much effort it will take? Get the hell back to me! Guard your own unit and await the order to attack!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Kui retreated in disgrace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once Zhang Kui had left, Tian Shizhong, his face dark, refocused his attention on the front line. But he couldn't help pulling off his leather gloves and clenching them tightly in his hands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, as the actual commander of this battle, Tian Shizhong's perspective was naturally higher. Just as Zhang Kui didn't care about the death of a single soldier, how could he care about the petty schemes of a Commander? What he cared about, from the very beginning, was only one thing: holding the gap and ensuring the Jin Jun could not break through this line.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, from a macro perspective, this strategic objective had actually been achieved the moment the battle began.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When two armies meet on a narrow path, it's all about who has the last breath. Hold, and you hold; fail to hold, and you fail. The Song Jun had clearly held. Not only had they held, but they also had enough surplus troops to set up a second line of defense in the rear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Therefore, under these circumstances, just as Zhang Kui had initially thought of joining the battle to earn merit, Tian Shizhong, who had just returned from the front line, also had some ideas—although he had been mentally prepared, the elite troops of both armies were crowded into a narrow space, unable to advance or retreat, only able to consume each other's lives. This made Tian Shizhong, who hadn't fought a tough battle in years, somewhat panicked. He was now worried that if this battle consumed those three thousand long-axe heavy infantry, the foundation his father-in-law had entrusted to him, what would he do?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In plain terms, he was a bit frightened by the brutality and heavy attrition at the front.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, one had to come back to it—worry was one thing, but in this situation, you couldn't risk collapsing the battle line to make substitutions. You could only wait for the steamships of the navy to pass through, using the eight-ox crossbows and catapults, starting from the Ali tribe, to turn the tide of battle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sun gradually shifted again, time reaching the afternoon, and the battlefield grew even more chaotic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the gap on the front line, fierce fighting continued. On the defensive line east of the Yongji Canal, Jin troops still broke through from time to time. Meanwhile, behind the Song army's second defensive line, no fewer than seven or eight hundred corpses had been laid out, and thousands of wounded had to be placed in the open air, with screams and groans everywhere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ironically, in the morning, the conscripted laborers had been so terrified by the casualties that they needed the supervision squad to maintain order. But now, seeing more and more corpses and wounded, they had instead become much quieter, simply digging ditches under intense fatigue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, even Zhang Kui finally got a chance to go into battle and fill a gap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And it was at this moment that the eastern branch of the Yellow River's northern channel was finally cleared. The steamships of the Song Imperial Guard Navy finally took their positions and soon launched a volley at the Ali tribe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, the eight-ox crossbows on the small steamships, which had almost been phased out, proved remarkably effective. With each shot, three iron-spear-like bolts were fired flat from the height of the steamships, just barely within the extreme range of six to seven hundred paces, dropping to ground level. Combined with the dense Jin army formations, this weapon's lethality reached a certain extreme.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Often, one shot of three bolts could instantly incapacitate dozens of men, with flesh and blood flying, and even limbs being severed on the spot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In comparison, even the combined catapults on the large steamships, which relied on high-arcing trajectories, probably didn't cause as much damage as the eight-ox crossbows on a single small steamship.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Imperial Guard Navy had a total of eight such small steamships equipped with eight-ox crossbows.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the third volley, the casualties inflicted on the Ali tribe by the navy's strikes equaled the total casualties from the entire morning's ground combat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>More critically, facing this unexpected and visually shocking assault, the Jin troops of the Ali tribe finally began to waver. They no longer maintained formation or battlefield discipline, and without waiting for Ali's orders, they actively gathered and pressed inward toward the Yongji Canal to avoid the eight-ox crossbow strikes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a moment, on the narrow strip north of the defensive line, the area along the eastern Yellow River channel was left completely empty, a blank zone of seven to eight hundred paces.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Faced with this situation, the veteran Jurchen general, Wanhu Ali, who was already over fifty, hesitated slightly. But when he noticed the two northernmost large steamships abandon their catapult bombardment of the riverbank and turn to sail further north, he finally made up his mind. He rode his horse directly onto the extremely simple pontoon bridge over the Yongji Canal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And soon, he arrived under the Shaohe banner, which was almost level with his own flag.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Withdraw!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ali got straight to the point. \"If you can't do it in half a day, you won't do it in another half day. Don't waste troops here in vain!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shaohe glanced coldly at Ali: \"If cavalry can't charge a hundred or eighty times back and forth, can it still be called cavalry?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"There are steamships of the Imperial Guard Navy on the river to the east, all carrying crossbow catapults... Along the river for seven to eight hundred paces, we can no longer hold our ground.\" Ali replied calmly, without expression. \"I don't know the situation under the city, but it's definitely worse than ours, and they can't hold out many people... If I were Yue Fei, I'd soon send a force along the eastern river channel to encircle us from both sides.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We can withdraw after they come out, it's not too late.\" Shaohe hesitated for a moment, then shook his head. \"There might still be troops at Yuancheng biting Yue Fei hard, waiting for us to arrive.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The Song army already has steamships heading to Guantao.\" Ali finally revealed the last critical piece of intelligence. \"If Guantao is taken by the Song navy along with the Song troops on the other side of the river... and then a force is sent from here along the eastern river channel to encircle and pin us down, then our twenty thousand men will truly be doomed beyond redemption.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shaohe's expression finally changed, but he was puzzled: \"How does the Song army have so many troops?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"They must have redeployed the elite of the Imperial Guard Right Army withdrawn from the three prefectures ahead of time... It's not thirty thousand men in one city against fifty thousand, but thirty thousand in one city against sixty or seventy thousand.\" Ali remained calm. \"We were outmaneuvered in troop numbers from the start.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shaohe was filled with indescribable rage: \"Wang Bolong, clinging to his status, refused to obey the commander's orders, and now his greed for merit has ruined everything!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Listen to me.\" Ali sighed. \"Shaohe, I know you have an old friendship with Commander Gao, and he used to be evasive, hinting that he was a Goryeo man. But in recent years, he's gradually made it clear that he's a Bohai man... After the great brothers left, he's become the backbone of you Bohai people... It's understandable that you're afraid something will happen to him. But things really aren't that bad. Yuancheng is dozens of li in circumference. Inside the city, there's a full wanhu, plus the several thousand Bohai and Goryeo warriors Commander Gao gathered himself, along with the twenty or thirty thousand conscripted laborers later. Supplies are ample, weapons are ample. It can still be defended, especially since our reinforcements should arrive within this month.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shaohe's emotions were still hard to calm, but he glanced left and right from his horse, then coldly replied: \"General Ali, I remember when I was still a marching meng'an, I heard of your reputation. You were always one to openly defy even several crown princes. Why are you being so gentle and persuasive now? Is it really because you've grown old and taken up Buddhism?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ali was silent for a moment, then replied calmly: \"I have taken up Buddhism, but this has nothing to do with it. It's just that I gradually came to understand that when you want to persuade someone, harsh words do no good. It's better to speak kindly and deal honestly.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shaohe let out a long breath, tilting his head back and remaining silent for a time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Your unit has suffered heavy casualties.\" Ali remained calm. \"Withdraw first. I'll cover your retreat... But since we're withdrawing now, they won't be able to outflank us, and they're mostly infantry, so they probably won't pursue relentlessly.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Wave the flags! Sound the horns!\" Shaohe finally stopped being stubborn and gave the order decisively. \"Withdraw cautiously! Make sure to bring the wounded!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The surrounding Jin troops had been waiting for this order. Upon hearing it, they immediately dispersed in a rush, and Ali turned back to deploy his troops.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And so, the battle suddenly ended, with the Jin army being the first to break... This was, of course, no surprise, but it still brought great joy to many Song soldiers fighting on the front line... Many who had been blinded by bloodlust ignored orders and chased the enemy out through the gap, but they were immediately met with a Jin counterattack and even briefly routed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, the Song army's second defensive line was hastily brought up to stabilize the situation, and the Jin army did not linger in the fight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The battle ended very abruptly. Not just at the gap—when the reinforcements' retreat was observed from the city walls, the Jin cavalry below the city also chose to withdraw under the city's signals... And Yue Fei surprisingly did not send his Beiwei Army to risk crossing the Yongji Canal from the rear to block the Jin troops' route back to the city, instead letting them enter the city.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There were, of course, various reasons for this. For example, the northwest area of Great Ming City was lined with watchtowers, making combat near the city walls vulnerable to attacks from above. Another reason was that the Yongji Canal, an artificial river, was neither wide nor narrow, and unlike the northern positions, it wasn't equipped with dense pontoon bridges, so there might not have been time. Also, Gao Jingshan was a clever man; he even had some Jin cavalry take a detour to enter the city through the safest southeastern water gate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But reasons were still reasons. In the end, it wasn't done, even though it could have been.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This left Tian Shizhong, whose unit had suffered heavy losses—especially after discovering that his long-axe heavy infantry had a casualty rate as high as twenty percent—plunged into a state of extreme unease.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That's right, it wasn't anger or dissatisfaction, but unease... After all this time, Tian Shizhong, though not intimately familiar with Yue Fei, had come to understand some of his temperament.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Marshal!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the afternoon, after hastily assigning front-line tasks, Tian Shizhong galloped to beneath Yue Fei's four-character banner. Without even dismounting, he urgently asked: \"The enemy has been routed, the city must be shaken. Besides, such a large city, dozens of li in circumference, there must be weak points to find. Why not use gunpowder to blast the city tonight, then recruit death-defying soldiers to assault? If successful, we can take it and achieve a remarkable feat!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yue Fei indeed shook his head: \"Commander Tian, if that were the plan, I should have just now, regardless of casualties, tried to keep as many of those cavalry inside the city outside the city...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tian Shizhong sighed softly upon hearing this, then stared fixedly at him, almost helplessly: \"Then what do you intend to do?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Commander Tian, this is what I'm thinking.\" Yue Fei suddenly raised his hand, and the surrounding guards and troops scattered like a tide. Even the soldiers holding the banner actively withdrew. Once the surrounding soldiers had moved away, the Marshal of the Great Song Hebei Front calmly reined in his horse and replied: \"As for blasting the city with gunpowder, as long as we store it properly and keep it from getting damp, then whether we blast today, tomorrow, or the day after, the success or failure should, in principle, be the same...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You want to wait, to pin down the main Jin force? Are you afraid that if the Jin reinforcements see Great Ming Prefecture lost, they won't come, and instead turn back to Taiyuan?\" Tian Shizhong blurted out almost involuntarily. \"Am I right? You crossed the river to break the city, yes, but more than that, you want to use breaking the city as a means to hold the main Jin force in check for His Majesty. Isn't that so? From the start, you had grand designs! From the start, you crossed the river aiming for the main Jurchen army! You want to wait until the main Jurchen force arrives before breaking the city! Am I wrong?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yue Fei replied frankly: \"Brother Tian sees clearly!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But you saw today—the Jin army's combat effectiveness hasn't diminished. Two wanhus, and when our army fought them in the open gap, both sides suffered heavy losses. If the main Jin force arrives and we blast the city, will we have enough time?\" Tian Shizhong said in exasperation. \"If we don't, and our sixty or seventy thousand main force is overturned in the wilderness by fourteen or fifteen Jin wanhus, will that make things easier for His Majesty?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That's why we need to keep building fortifications, leaving no gaps, and avoid reckless field battles!\" Yue Fei remained calm. \"Look at today's battle—if the fortifications were complete and there were no gaps, wouldn't the defense have been secure?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tian Shizhong swayed on his horse, clearly understanding, but shook his head heavily: \"But how extensive would the fortifications need to be?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Simple.\" Yue Fei stood on his horse, pointing at the landscape. \"Yuancheng is at the narrowest point of the Yellow River's two channels, only about thirteen or fourteen li from east to west. We've already built this defensive line to the north. Why not build another to the south? Then build a line along the western river embankment, and another along the eastern river embankment, connecting them to Great Ming City. At the same time, we can move the boats overland again, allowing the navy to operate alongside the river...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tian Shizhong was almost dizzy: \"You might as well say we should build a city here to encircle Yuancheng!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What's wrong with treating it like building a city?\" Yue Fei clearly didn't mind. \"Building another city of the same size, dozens of li in circumference, or even a hundred li...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How can such a large city be defended?\" Tian Shizhong remained uneasy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Why can't it be defended?\" This time it was Yue Fei's turn to frown. \"Before the freeze, if the navy controls the waterways on both sides, even if the main Jin force arrives, they'll be useless. They can only attack from the north and south. But as you saw today, they can't deploy their forces effectively... Defending it would be as stable as Mount Tai.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Of course I know that. The key is what happens after the freeze?\" Tian Shizhong laughed in anger and directly interrupted him. \"How will we resist then? If we can't, then everything rests on blasting the city with gunpowder? Aren't you the one who hates this kind of all-or-nothing gamble? What if the gunpowder fails... An entire army, the fate of a nation, ten years of effort—will they be buried here?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That's the key point.\" Yue Fei pointed at the massive Yuancheng before them. \"I asked Commander Zhang. He told me the freeze lasts at most forty days, probably only thirty. Forget gunpowder for a moment, just consider this: If Gao Jingshan, with one wanhu and over ten thousand able-bodied men, can hold this city of forty li in circumference for fifty or sixty days, why can't we, with sixty or seventy thousand combat troops and seventy or eighty thousand laborers, hold a city of a hundred li in circumference for thirty or forty days? This place isn't even as big as Dongjing City. Are our troops worse than the Imperial Guard of ten years ago? And didn't Dongjing City hold out for months, only falling because the city surrendered from within?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tian Shizhong was stunned into silence, but he kept shaking his head: \"This place has the geographical advantage of the river channels, but hastily built earthworks—how can they compare to Dongjing City?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Build inner earthworks to encircle Yuancheng, preventing the troops inside from breaking out; build outer earthworks as well, along with trenches, caltrops, and palisades; raise earthen mounds in the middle, set up catapults, divide into camp zones, layer upon layer... As for logistics, I've already sent Tang Huai to attack the Jin water fortresses to the rear. With forty days of logistical preparation, it will certainly be accomplished.\" Yue Fei spread his hands. \"Please tell me plainly, Brother Tian, why can't it be defended?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tian Shizhong, his face dark, twisted his horse's mane and remained silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yue Fei, knowing that the other had already submitted, instead narrowed his eyes and glanced around arrogantly: \"To put it plainly, however Taiyuan was defended, however Yuancheng was defended, we can defend it the same way... Just now Gao Jingshan sent someone to tell me that as long as he was in Yuancheng, Yuancheng was not something I could shake... Today I have a word as well—as long as I set up camp here, it is not something even the entire Jin army can shake! Let your kind come! I have been waiting for them for ten years!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tian Shizhong only panted heavily as he looked at the other, but gradually loosened his grip on his warhorse's mane—he had never once succeeded in resisting the other.\u003C\u002Fp>",5461,"2026-06-06T07:46:04.529Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","d85e9085e10dbfa4e1a7674042681f4c699a92161b45dd34a95c45518cccc520","shao-song-chapter-399","shao-song-chapter-397",489,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fshao-song-cover.jpg"]