[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-shao-song":3,"chapter-shao-song-shao-song-chapter-57":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},1558223,2024,"Chapter 57: The Outburst","shao-song-chapter-57",57,"\u003Cp>As it was said, Zhang Jun had always believed that he had suffered and toiled while Han Shizhong stole the glory, ate the meat, and seized the military merits. But in reality, although that day's commotion had been immense, neither side had achieved a definite result, and no one had truly eaten any meat!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That's right, not only had the river battle been abruptly halted by Han Shizhong's arrival, leaving the Jin Army with little loss beyond a single pontoon bridge, but even that *meng'an* unit lured over that night—namely, the thousand men under Jin general Shu Lie—had not been immediately annihilated either... In fact, once freed from the excitement of blocking the Jin Army's river crossing, no one was particularly surprised.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, in field battles, the Jin Army was still far stronger than the Song Army!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Song Army here was still a complete mess. So-called \"each unit fights its own battle,\" \"ghost soldiers and embezzled pay,\" \"their morale flags after the initial burst,\" \"they play petty tricks even when sending military dispatches,\" to the point where they submitted dozens of memorials impeaching each other over such trivial matters, causing the Grand Commandant, who should have been reinstated immediately, to lose his position again... Compared to the Jin Army, which could charge dozens of times without tiring and refused to surrender even when trapped in a death ground, they were fundamentally backward in every aspect.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But that was all there was to it. Shu Lie's unit was not divine after all. A thousand-man isolated force, with no internal supplies and no external reinforcements, was firmly blocked by Wang De leading the three units of Fu Qing, Hu Yantong, and Yang Yizhong into a valley in Xiashi Mountain, making a breakout extremely difficult. Once their dry rations were exhausted, they would eventually be destroyed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just like another group of remnants that Han Shizhong had surrounded with his navy on a river islet... Although they were a fishing and hunting people, they couldn't really rely on fishing and hunting to hold out forever, could they?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, Shu Lie's persistence, along with the existence of those remnants on the downstream river islet, gave Jin Wushu a reason to be stubborn. In recent days, just as Ali had guessed, he refused to adjust his strategy. Instead of turning back to seriously fill ditches, set up ladders, and deploy catapults to smash the city, he remained persistently focused on finding a way to break Han Shizhong's large ships right in front of him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And you know what? As the saying goes, \"Within ten steps, there must be fragrant grass.\" Jin Wushu actually found a countermeasure—the staff officer Shi Wenbin was a man of insight. The latter had once been the County Magistrate of Yuncheng, which bordered the current Central Plains' largest lake, Liangshanpo. Liangshanpo had always been rife with water bandits, and being a key transportation hub in the Central Plains, the Zhao Song court had also deployed troops there multiple times, so he understood some differences between ships.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>According to Shi Wenbin, back then, someone had proposed sending large seagoing sailing ships up the Ji River into Liangshanpo to suppress the bandits, but the idea was quickly rejected. Because although seagoing sailing ships were veritable giants on water when entering inland lakes and rivers, they were far inferior to the man-powered paddle-wheel \"steamers\" in maneuverability. Once the wind died, they couldn't move. At that point, one only needed to send small boats swarming in close, shoot fire arrows at the sails, and they could be easily broken!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jin Wushu was naturally overjoyed at this, but then he personally whipped Shi Wenbin... Why? Knowing the method to defeat the enemy was good, but in the current situation, where was he supposed to find small boats? One must know that he had just lost even the few boats he had painstakingly gathered from up and down the river.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Furthermore, this was Jin Wushu's first setback since joining the army. He was worried that people from behind, Wanyan Talan and the Yanjing direction, would send someone to urge him on, yet he was also reluctant to give up on Zhao Jiu, who was right before his eyes. Moreover, he was young and hot-blooded, and could not accept leading tens of thousands of invincible troops here to accomplish nothing... Clearly, in terms of actual combat power, even if all the Song troops were combined, they couldn't withstand a single charge from twenty thousand Jin troops. Yet he was blocked by a great river, a strong city, a fleet, and a single banner!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact, Jin Wushu himself began to gradually suspect whether he had truly fallen for the Song people's scheme, leading a detached force to a battlefield they had preset... But then, thinking of Liu Guangshi's actions, even Ali and Elubu couldn't say such a thing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In short, this Fourth Prince of the Jin state had clearly lost his mental balance, was at a loss for what to do, and became so moody that he delayed for several days without making a decision... Every day, after being angered by Ali and Elubu, he could only vent his frustration by whipping Shi Wenbin and the Khitan, Xi, and Han officers in the army.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, leaving aside how Jin Wushu would devise a new strategy, during this period of stalemate, as Zhao Jiu's many previous edicts and documents were dispatched to various places, they indeed stirred up countless waves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the Huainan and Huaibei regions alone, countless volunteer armies sprang up. Groups of three to five hundred, or one to two thousand, all raised by wealthy and powerful families with their own provisions and recruited young men, they converged on Shouzhou... But to tell the truth, those troops coming from south of the Huai River were mostly fine, able to arrive safely around Shouchun and Bagong Mountain, where the newly arrived Zhang Suo, who had unexpectedly not been given any formal post, organized and absorbed them. However, those coming from north of the Huai River were often no match for a single roving *meng'an* unit under Jin Wushu's command. Frequently, several volunteer armies would gather together, making a great show of force, and just after electing a leader and receiving a legitimate appointment certificate from the local authorities, they would be shattered by five or six hundred Jin cavalry who had heard the news, turning into routed soldiers, or even bandits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And on this day, the time came to the Lantern Festival. Zhao Jiu's edicts and documents finally reached the long-lost bustling Dongjing, falling into the hands of the Dongjing Defender, Privy Councilor, and Vice Marshal, Zong Ze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Though Chu has but three clans, the one to destroy Qin will surely be Chu. How can such a great land as China lack men? If sacrifice is needed, let it begin with Us...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Stop reading! All he does is talk big, I haven't seen a single real action!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the Defender's mansion, Zong Ze, barefoot and draped in a fur robe, sat cross-legged on a couch. While flipping through and reviewing documents, he listened to his son Zong Ying standing before the couch reading the Emperor's proclamations, but suddenly grew impatient. \"Just do as he says, have someone copy them out and post them...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Your son understands!\" Zong Ying replied carefully, but was momentarily puzzled. \"Father, the Emperor's transformation—resisting the Jin, reinstating Chancellor Li, and treating you so generously—isn't this exactly what you have always sought? Why are you displeased instead?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zong Ze, nearly seventy years old, was draped in a fur robe, yet still appeared lean, his hair a mass of grey, looking very much the old man. But when he looked up, his eyes were bright and piercing, showing extraordinary vitality, and now under the lamp, they carried a hint of mockery:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Who said I'm displeased? If these documents can be upheld, I might be happy enough to live two more years! But my son, what kind of person do you think this Emperor Zhao is?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Please enlighten me, Father!\" Zong Ying looked back, saw no one around, then bowed to ask.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What's there to be secretive about?\" Zong Ze grew even more impatient. \"I'm an old man about to die, I have the merit of supporting his ascension, and I'm the Dongjing Defender. Even if he flayed my skin, what could he do to me?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Father, speak less of life and death...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Listen carefully.\" Zong Ze threw down his brush, raised his head, and spoke with a disdainful look. \"I saw it clearly in Hebei. This Emperor Zhao's inner worthlessness is no less than his father's and elder brother's... But this man is an excellent pretender, speaking human words to humans and ghost words to ghosts. On the surface, he is proper and dignified, but inside, he is cowardly and incompetent, a weathervane drifting with the current. In officialdom, he is just another Cai Que, a man of fickle and unpredictable nature... In my view, he was already scared witless by the Jin people while in their camp. How could he truly dare to fight them? Even this southern journey, wasn't it a sudden detour to Yangzhou while Chancellor Li was gravely ill? That's how the Jin people caught up to him at Shouzhou!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then what about these edicts and documents...?\" Zong Ying was stunned for a moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I'm afraid he issued these edicts and documents deliberately to show the Jin people and those like Zhang Jun north of the Huai, so he could find a chance to flee!\" Zong Ze, having said this, couldn't help but feel a surge of anger in his chest, panting several times before steadying himself. \"Back in Hebei, wasn't it the same? He abandoned millions of people in the Two Rivers region!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"At that time, the Emperor wasn't yet the Emperor...\" Zong Ying still found it hard to accept. \"Now that he is the Son of Heaven, it shouldn't come to that!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Bullshit Emperor and Son of Heaven!\" Zong Ze retorted coldly. \"Are Emperors and Sons of Heaven not human? Back then, the Two Sages in this Dongjing city were also legitimate Sons of Heaven. Don't you know the ugly spectacle of their broken promises and frantic prayers to the gods? I've seen it clearly. Having these three father-and-son Emperors is a great misfortune for the nation!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even though they were alone as father and son, Zong Ying dared not respond to this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But this edict has come at a good time! And this Emperor has tied the fate of the world to himself. Even if there's only a slim chance, we can't ignore it!\" Zong Ze's expression softened slightly. \"Take these edicts and find Yue Fei, who has just returned to the city. First, go kill the Jin envoy, then bring Ma Kuo here to see me!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"At this hour?\" Zong Ying looked up at the twilight outside the window, startled. \"And he is an envoy...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Isn't this about everyone fighting for their land? Isn't it about not allowing peace negotiations? Killing a Jin envoy, does it need to be scheduled?\" Zong Ze slammed his hand on the table before the couch, his beard and hair flying. \"Kill those Song traitors who are dogs for the Jin right now, and your father might live three more months! I'll write a memorial inviting Emperor Zhao back to Dongjing, proposing to lead the six armies north to recover Yan and Yun. If you haven't brought back their heads by the time I finish writing, then go serve in the army yourself!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zong Ying fled in disarray.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>PS: Have I achieved the milestone of updating for 30 consecutive days and saved everyone's investment? Seriously, the end of the year is so tiring.\u003C\u002Fp>",1961,"2026-06-06T07:45:46.639Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","f3baed4f726efd463ce8154614f8223d124b4ace92ac2fc036bee52b6a0f586e","shao-song-chapter-58","shao-song-chapter-56",489,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fshao-song-cover.jpg"]