[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-shao-song":3,"chapter-shao-song-shao-song-chapter-471":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},1558637,2024,"Chapter 471: Side Story 22: A Conversation Between Jin Wushu and Taishinu — How Many Autumns in This Short Life","shao-song-chapter-471",471,"\u003Cp>Side Story 22: A Conversation Between Jin Wushu and Taishinu — How Many Autumns in This Short Life\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the fifteenth day of the twelfth month in the ninth year of the Jianyan era, on the very evening when Gao Qingyi urged Prince Wei, Jin Wushu, to persist in the fight, Wushu took Taishinu along the river embankment for their daily routine inspection.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wushu looked up at the sky. It was overcast, the moon nowhere to be seen, but his thoughts flew back to the foot of Nanyang in the second year of Jianyan — the first time the counterweight trebuchets had displayed their might, smashing to death Wanhu Chizhan Hui. (Volume 2, Chapter 51: Paradox)\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How similar that time was to now. Back then, one Wanhu, Chizhan Hui, had died; now, one Wanhu, Wang Bolong, was dead. In both cases, the army's debate centered on whether to retreat... Yet back then, it was merely a failed offensive, while now, the failure was utter and irredeemable. How much longer could this vast realm of the Great Jin endure?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How much longer?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the bitter cold of the twelfth month, breath turned to fog along the Yellow River. Beneath that fog lay the weariness and numbness that every soldier could not hide. Many still did not know that the war situation was turning against the Jin Army, but even if they did, what could they do? For the lowly soldiers in such an unprecedented great battle, simply surviving\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>was the greatest fortune. Victory or defeat was not something for commoners to ponder. They only wanted to savor every mouthful of hot soup they could still enjoy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Prince Wei walked with heavy steps, slowly moving along the river embankment, his gaze stretching endlessly across both banks of the river. Suddenly, he raised his hand to signal the guards to fall back slightly, then grabbed Taishinu by the shoulder, making him walk alongside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You came to my side, yet I imposed no punishment on Selaihe. You couldn't avenge your superior. Do you hold any resentment?\" Wushu turned and stared into Taishinu's eyes as he asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Taishinu immediately lowered his head and knelt on the ground. \"How could I? If I had stayed by Selaihe's side, I would surely have died without a burial place. Prince Wei is my lifesaver. I am too grateful to feel anything else — how could I resent Your Highness?\" Taishinu raised his head and looked at the Fourth Prince. \"I know that Your Highness,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Prince Wei, has your difficulties. Selaihe, after all, grew up under the Grand Ancestor's command. Some things simply cannot be helped.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wushu helped Taishinu up, took his hand, and continued the inspection. \"But I regret it. I should have gone myself to enforce military law. Yet where do I have the decisiveness of Prince Wei of Cao? With my irresolution, I am more like Yuan Shao. Isn't Wang Bolong a ready example? Such an incompetent\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>general, ruining my Wanhu. By the same logic, what use is a weeping lord like Selaihe? Keep him around to spoil the overall situation?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"In truth, Wang Bolong's death yesterday gave me a splitting headache,\" Wushu said, a self-deprecating smile on his pale face. \"It felt worse than when I was soaked in the Yellow River's floodwaters, because I truly understood that the Great Jin's catastrophe was right at hand. The foundation laid by the Grand Ancestor\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>might well be ruined in my hands. So I must thank Gao Qingyi. He really did cure my headache.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wushu walked unhurriedly along the embankment. \"Gao Qingyi was right. There are many reasons why Wang Bolong lost a Wanhu — for instance, our Wanyan clan's distrust of the Bohai people, which is why Wang Bolong dared to disobey Gao Jingshan's orders. But the root cause...\" The Fourth Prince let out a long sigh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Our army is no longer the invincible force of ten thousand that could not be matched. Times have changed. The gap between the Song Army and us is actually not that large. The Song Army's three hundred thousand troops are no weaker than our twenty Wanhu of old.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But our army is no longer those twenty invincible Wanhu of the past,\" the Fourth Prince said with deep anguish. \"My greatest mistake in this life was failing to persuade my two elder brothers to fully support General Loushi. If we had not eliminated the Zhao Sovereign back then, there was never another chance later. General Loushi must have\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>foreseen long ago that our army's combat power would inevitably decline day by day, which is why he risked his life to fight the Battle of Yaoshan. Yet the current situation is surely even worse than he imagined. An entire Wanhu — gone in two hours, without even raising a ripple.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Taishinu was silent for a long time before finally responding, \"That is why Your Highness, Prince Wei, trained the new army. Our Great Jin still has some preparations. It is true that Yue Fei's troops far exceed the previous standards of the Song Army, but they are still besieged now. You and the Marshal have roused yourselves. I believe you can certainly fight the next battle well.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wushu gave a bitter laugh and shook his head. \"You didn't speak from the heart... Today, Gao Qingyi was like my old friend Han Chang. Back then, General Han taught me a lesson by the Yellow River, making me understand that in the great affairs of Jin, if not me, then who? Gao Qingyi made me understand that the survival of Jin rests on this one battle. Yue Fei is not\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>so easy to defeat. The hope for Jin's victory does not lie here, but in plain-field cavalry warfare.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Taishinu said cautiously, \"Does Your Highness mean... Yuancheng is truly beyond hope?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yuancheng must still be relieved, and Yue Fei must still be besieged. But rescuing Gao Jingshan is already unlikely. I don't know how long Taiyuan can hold out either. I only hope it can consume a bit more of the Song Army's grain and equipment.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Taishinu was greatly startled. \"Can Taiyuan not be held either?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Whether it can be held or not, the decisive battle will not be in Hedong. Hebei is where the final scene will play out,\" Wushu replied in a low voice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If we win, the Great Jin will still stand. If we lose, the Great Jin will cease to exist.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So I must entrust you with one thing,\" Wushu said, turning to Taishinu with a serious expression. \"That Cangzhou Zhao Jiu and I are lifelong enemies. After the Jingkeng siege, I never saw the Prince of Kang who became emperor again. A while ago, I happened to learn that on the Huai River, I once crossed paths with that Zhao Sovereign\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>again — a chance encounter by boat at night, but I never got a clear look. At Nanyang, needless to say, I was ten li away, only seeing his dragon banner. On Yaoshan, that dragon banner bore down like Mount Tai, but I lacked General Loushi's courage and still did not charge before Zhao Jiu. At Houtao, I only took one look at\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>the Song Army camp before withdrawing...\" Wushu sighed and shook his head. \"But this time, I will definitely see him with my own eyes. I know he and his dragon banner will appear on the battlefield. If there is a chance, I will personally charge and cut him down from his horse!\" Wushu gripped the sword\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>that Yue Fei had given him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But if things truly become hopeless, you must do me a favor.\" Wushu looked at Taishinu, grasped his shoulders, and said calmly, \"At that time, please cut off my head and deliver it before that Cangzhou Zhao Jiu. I must take one more good look at him...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Even if it is after death.\"\u003C\u002Fp>",1310,"2026-06-06T07:46:32.508Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","26b0d7a151d944086f538f79870d99d20335fca664b0b0fbf104144c26fd98f8","shao-song-chapter-472","shao-song-chapter-470",489,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fshao-song-cover.jpg"]