[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-shao-song":3,"chapter-shao-song-shao-song-chapter-50":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},1558216,2024,"Chapter 50: River Battle (Part 2)","shao-song-chapter-50",50,"\u003Cp>Now, the river battlefield was in utter chaos. The area south of the pontoon bridge, after the collision, had hardly anyone on it. The Jin army's attention was all on encircling and forcing the surrender of the remaining small boats that couldn't break out of the encirclement. Even the earlier large ship that had circled around from the river's center and then left went unnoticed... Or rather, they never imagined that at this very moment, Song troops would voluntarily disembark here, giving Zhang Yongzhen a leisurely opportunity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In truth, Zhang Yongzhen, boiling with rage and nearly losing his composure as he came, wasn't planning to simply throw his life away. He had a certain idea in mind. But as a rogue who had spent years in the Western Army, he knew the troops on the ship had no morale to rely on, which was why he acted so recklessly and without restraint.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back to the present. This man, after stepping onto the pontoon bridge, crouched down and moved forward cautiously. Along the way, he killed a few Jin soldiers who had climbed up, bedraggled and weak after falling into the water. He ignored any Han troops, regardless of whether they were Jin or Song. Thus, after creeping forward only a hundred or so paces, to a spot not far ahead where the sound of bowstrings and arrows was constant, Zhang Yongzhen suddenly stopped. Then, with a vigorous leap, he jumped onto a small boat that had no one controlling it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The few soldiers who had mustered the courage to follow behind were overjoyed and, carrying the heads they had just collected along the way, quickly followed suit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I knew Seventh Brother Zhang was a man of skill!\" someone said as they boarded the boat, immediately searching for an oar, preparing to row back to the south bank. \"Those Jurchens who climbed up were all like dead pigs, barely able to move. These are real Tartar heads, practically given away. We've earned a lot of merit this time—no one else got such kills!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You don't know shit!\" Zhang Yongzhen turned around upon hearing this, the veins on his forehead still throbbing. He stripped the man of his helmet right there on the small boat, then, with a single shove, pushed him entirely into the river. \"Swim back yourself! Did I come here today for heads?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leaving aside the man in the river, amid the chaos, the few people on the small boat noticed the items on board—bundles of firewood and grass mixed with oil and sulfur, and discarded fire strikers!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clearly, this was one of the abandoned boats from the first failed attempt at a fire attack!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing this, how could they not understand Seventh Brother Zhang's intentions? Their faces turned pale. But Zhang Yongzhen didn't hesitate, directly drawing his blade and facing them: \"Since you followed me here before, why are you afraid now? If you want to leave, jump now. If not, help me row this boat over there!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The few soldiers from Longxi exchanged glances, then gritted their teeth and agreed. As Zhang Yongzhen said, since they had followed him this far, what would it mean to go back now? Even the man who had been thrown into the river climbed back up, somehow retrieving a shield from somewhere, saying he would raise the shield for Seventh Brother Zhang!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, as Zhang Yongzhen's fire boat began to move, the Jin army was caught off guard. He secretly rowed close and struck successfully. Just by throwing two bundles of firewood mixed with sulfur and oil, he directly set the outermost large ship ablaze! Once the fire started, the southeast wind blew steadily, and the Jin army, having just captured the ships, didn't know how to put it out. They could only watch helplessly as the fire on that large ship became uncontrollable! They had no choice but to abandon the ship and flee!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not only that, but the large ship was entangled with the pontoon bridge and other small boats. The flames licked out and touched many other places, quickly becoming a serious threat!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In short, once the fire started, everyone on both banks and on the river was shocked!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the northern slopes of Bagong Mountain, Zhao Jiu and the others watched in astonishment, hope dawning on their faces. Meanwhile, on the north bank, Jin Wushu made a prompt decision, ordering the immediate cutting of the pontoon bridge and for the captured small boats to quickly leave the chaotic battlefield!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, the battlefield was already very chaotic, and now it was further obscured by thick smoke. The Jin soldiers weren't very skilled at rowing either, so the situation became even more disorderly... In fact, the Jin army's handling of the boats at this moment was exactly like the Song army's earlier retreat—they got tangled up with each other and found it hard to break free.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the other side, Zhang Yongzhen, Seventh Brother Zhang, had come with the determination of a dead man. After succeeding once, he didn't stop. Not only did he have no intention of returning to the south bank of the river, but he urged his brothers behind him to circle around the burning ship and head straight for the core of the battlefield, aiming for the remaining two large ships.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And perhaps because the Jin army was also in chaos, after losing two or three rowing soldiers, he actually managed to break into the heart of the battlefield, surrounded by three large ships and a pontoon bridge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But once there, Seventh Brother Zhang looked around and found himself surrounded by small boats. Both the Jin troops trying to escape the fire and the Song troops trying to break out were running around like headless flies, blocking his way!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With no other choice, Zhang Yongzhen had to order his men to fight as they advanced, setting fire to the Jin small boats that blocked them along the way. When Jin boats scraped against theirs, he personally fought with a blade, winning every engagement and becoming unstoppable... But such actions only served to fully expose his presence. The chaotic Jin troops on the small boats were fine—they blocked each other's view and had no unified command. However, on one of the large ships moored to the pontoon bridge, the Jurchen *meng'an* Pulu Hun had personally captured it and was using its height to command. When Pulu Hun saw the commotion and realized the source of the fire, how could he not be furious?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He immediately ordered any nearby small boats that could move to engage!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Seventh Brother, let's go!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Several small boats came at them from the front. The man holding the shield for Zhang Yongzhen pleaded again. \"We only have two bundles of flammable material left! We've already done a monumental deed. We're spent. If we go back now, we've done enough to face even the Emperor, let alone the Daoist Patriarch or the Buddha!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But for some reason, by this point in the fight, Zhang Yongzhen seemed to have lost all reason. He snatched a fire striker from the man behind him, lit the flammable material at the stern of the boat, then turned and grabbed the shield from the man who had just spoken. He ordered the men on the boat to keep rowing and ram directly into the large ship ahead!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once the fire started, the surrounding small boats scattered on their own. The Jin troops on the few small boats coming to engage were dumbfounded. But because military law was strict, they dared not refuse to advance. Yet, afraid of getting caught by the fire, they could only approach at an angle, shooting arrows as they came!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Yongzhen stood alone at the bow, brandishing his shield, fearless. His leather armor was stuck with fifteen or sixteen arrows, yet he still raised his blade and shouted for them to advance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The boats drew closer and closer. Pulu Hun, now utterly enraged and even a little frightened, ordered the Han troops on his ship with the longest range to shoot volleys without regard for the Jin boats below. He also ordered the Jin boats below to close in and shoot, on pain of being beheaded if they failed!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing the order, none of the Jin troops dared to be slow... And Zhang Yongzhen remained unafraid, pressing ever closer to the large ship.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When this Seventh Brother Zhang of Longxi, after killing a Jurchen at the bow, took a heavy arrow to the thigh, he heard the people on a nearby shooting boat speaking with a Longxi accent. They were discussing moving closer to shoot him dead together. Leaning on his shield, he couldn't help but roar in fury: \"Are men of Longxi going to shoot me, Zhang the Seventh?!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At these words, the many Han troops on that nearest Jin boat were so terrified that not a single arrow was loosed! And because of this hesitation, the fire boat, now half its stern ablaze, broke free from the encirclement and headed straight for the large ship.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But even more bizarrely, at this point, Pulu Hun on the large ship suddenly ordered a ceasefire. He leaned on the ship's railing, watching silently as the fire boat wobbled its way toward him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By now, Zhang Yongzhen had taken countless arrows, bleeding profusely. His mind was blank, and he didn't quite understand. It was only when the boat wobbled so badly that it finally drifted with the current toward the pontoon bridge that he came to his senses and turned back. He found that only the fellow villager who had been holding the shield for him was still alive, but he too had taken countless arrows and had no strength left.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When this man saw Zhang Yongzhen turn around, as if receiving some kind of confirmation, his whole body relaxed, and he slumped over the oar, motionless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Yongzhen stared blankly for a moment, then tried to move toward the stern, which was slowly sinking from the fire, intending to row himself. But as soon as he took a step, he felt a piercing pain in his internal organs, as if stabbed by needles. He collapsed at the bow, barely propping himself up with his shield.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, the small fire boat drifted with the current, slowly coming to rest against the pontoon bridge. Zhang Yongzhen could no longer get up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"First, have all the boats, large and small, leave this place immediately. Then, cut that section of the pontoon bridge loose!\" Pulu Hun ordered expressionlessly. \"If that man hasn't been burned to death by then, cut off his head and bring it to me. I want to keep it as a trophy from this southern campaign!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But before he finished speaking, everyone on the boat clearly heard the sound of gongs suddenly ringing from the north bank. Following the sound, many Jin troops saw the military flags beside the Fourth Prince's banner waving—an unmistakable order to abandon everything and retreat immediately. At that moment, even the Fourth Prince himself seemed to have disappeared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pulu Hun, not knowing the reason, was naturally furious and frustrated, but he dared not disobey the military order and had to move quickly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, just as he left the large ship and boarded a small boat, he heard a loud crash behind him. Turning back, he saw that a Song large ship had somehow turned downstream toward the open water to the east. Using the open space, it rowed desperately and rammed straight into a section of the dried-out pontoon bridge, shattering it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And that wasn't all. Several Song soldiers leaped down from the large ship, desperately trying to move the people—both living and dead—from the half-burned fire boat onto other small boats, as if specifically targeting the men from that boat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing this, Pulu Hun was even more puzzled... The place was already in such chaos. Wouldn't the Song troops coming here be like lambs walking into the tiger's mouth, handing him military merit on a silver platter? Why were they retreating instead?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But a few breaths later, when the small boat carrying Pulu Hun turned into the shallows, avoiding the towering smoke, this chief *meng'an* under the Fourth Prince of the Jin Kingdom suddenly understood, and was left dumbfounded—downstream on the Huai River, at the bend where Bagong Mountain turns south from the east, a fleet of awe-inspiring giant ships had appeared from somewhere!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Truly giant ships!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Compared to the small and medium boats converted from local fishing boats, passenger boats, and cargo boats from Shouzhou that had been used in the river battle for most of the day, the ships appearing downstream were enormous. Almost every one had tall masts and sails. With the southeast wind gently filling the sails, they were truly unstoppable, bearing down on this place like Mount Tai crushing an egg!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That goddamn scoundrel Han the Fifth!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the city wall of Xia Cai, Zhang Jun, Grand Defender Zhang, who had been watching the river battle from afar all day without seeing anything, finally saw through the trick and cursed angrily as he descended the wall. \"All he knows is putting on a show! What else can he do?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>PS: Shaosong reader group,\u003C\u002Fp>",2209,"2026-06-06T07:45:46.639Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","6aae19e1fe781df703edf60d524034f2a74c1d0ec2adac54c3f0794800c14245","shao-song-chapter-51","shao-song-chapter-49",489,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fshao-song-cover.jpg"]