Chapter 64: Twenty-Eight (Part 2)

Now, the Jurchen commander who had received the order had already lost his composure. He mounted his horse and galloped all the way to the government office at the city center. Relying on his status, he went straight into the rear hall to see Wanyan Sali, then, without any regard for propriety, knelt directly on the ground, recounted the events north of the city, and begged the commanding general to rescind the previous military order.

Now, Wanyan Sali was twenty-six or twenty-seven years old. His life experience was basically similar to that of Wanyan Wushu, who had roamed all the way to the banks of the Huai River this time. But compared to Wanyan Wushu, this man had two major differences:

First, although his surname was Wanyan, his biological father was not named Wanyan Aguda, which determined his status;

Second, this man was of the type who had been more Sinicized. Among the crowd of Jurchen generals, he had read a few books and appeared quite shrewd... But to be honest, this trait might have benefited him in the future, but at this moment it was not necessarily a good thing, because it would incur the disgust of the old-school figures in power, which limited his prospects.

Back to the present, this man, who was having a light drink with a young Han Chinese general, found the report utterly baffling. He set down his wine goblet and frowned slightly: "Did you see clearly? Seven riders truly defeated thirty of our Jurchen cavalry?"

"General! The matter is indeed strange. According to common sense, it shouldn't be like this. But I saw clearly from the city wall—there were only seven riders. Without losing a single man, they scattered thirty of our Jurchen cavalry!" The reporting Jurchen commander found it absurd himself as he spoke, yet he was even more eager to eliminate those seven men, so his plea grew increasingly urgent. "General, quickly lift the restrictions and allow us to lead out the main army to sweep them away! Even if the Song have an ambush, what does an entire *meng'an* of ours have to fear?"

"You don't understand." Wanyan Sali shook his head slightly, then looked toward the young Han general across from him. "Brother Liu, are there truly such valiant men among you Song people?"

That man smiled faintly and answered with some embarrassment: "There are, naturally. Han Shizhong and Wang De, who are currently opposing the Fourth Prince on the Huai River, aren't they just like that?"

"That's it!" Wanyan Sali suddenly understood. He turned his head back to look at the *mouke* on the ground. "It's perfectly ordinary for the Song army to have one or two top-tier heroes. Just treat it as if Han Shizhong has come here. Nothing to make a fuss about... Still no permission to engage!"

The reporting Jurchen commander was deeply disappointed, but constrained by military law and rank, he could only leave helplessly. But no sooner had he left than, before Wanyan Sali and the Han general had even finished one meal, the man returned.

"Why have you come again?"

This time, Wanyan Sali completely lost his temper, because the other party was already challenging his authority. "Is the military order not clear enough?! Tell Datanbuye, if he is dissatisfied, he can seek out the other *meng'an* commanders this evening to hold a military council and debate it. How dare he come again and again?!"

"General, my *meng'an* commander has been captured alive!" The man's face was ashen as he kowtowed in reply. "The Song army placed the heads of our Jurchen soldiers they had previously won in battle beneath their horses, and had their attendants urinate on them. My commander could not bear the Song army's arrogance and rode out to confront them. As a result, the enemy sacrificed the lives of two riders, but that formidable Song *Vice Prefect* found an opportunity to charge forward, then clamped my *meng'an* commander under his arm with one arm and carried him off."

Wanyan Sali was stunned for a long time before he rose. Without a word, he went straight to the rear. The Han general was also awkward for a moment, then could only stand up and wait.

Moments later, when this Jurchen Battalion Commander returned, he was already fully armored. At the same time, the other Jin officers in the city, having heard the news, also rushed to the government office one after another.

When they met in the hall, before the *meng'an* and *mouke* below could speak, Wanyan Sali raised his hand to stop them: "No need for more words... The reason I previously forbade battle was because the Fourth Prince ahead was thwarted on the Huai River, unable to advance or retreat, making the war situation delicate. Generals Ali and Elubu had both sent me private messages beforehand, telling me to be prepared and ensure we did not lose our line of retreat. You didn't know about this, so don't blame me blindly."

Only then did the crowd begin to understand somewhat.

"But today, since a *meng'an* commander has been captured, we can no longer afford to hesitate." Wanyan Sali continued. "I imagine that if I don't take action now, you will no longer be convinced. And even if you were convinced... not to mention anything else, how would we pacify the officers within Datanbuye's *meng'an*? So I have decided to send out troops to swallow up this Song force. But before we march, we must have a plan."

"If it's only those few hundred cavalry, we can swallow them up no matter what. Why do we need a plan?" Someone immediately responded, still clearly resentful of the military orders from yesterday and today. "If you had let us go out earlier, even Datanbuye's single *meng'an* would have been enough to finish this. How could it have come to this?"

"It won't be just a few hundred riders." Wanyan Sali shook his head repeatedly. "If my guess is correct, there must be an ambush by the lakeshore! Don't you remember before? It was said that a Song *taiwei*, named Yang Weizhong, has now arrived at Guangji Army to the west and is gathering troops. You wanted to launch a surprise attack, but I vetoed it. This man's arrival is strange; it's nine chances out of ten that he has some connection to Yang Weizhong."

"Even if there is an ambush, so what?" Another person complained. "When it comes down to it, if five thousand troops march out together, who are we afraid of? That Yang Weizhong has only gathered a motley crew. Can they withstand a single charge from us?"

"Even if they can withstand it, so what?" Before Wanyan Sali could reply, someone else spoke up indignantly. "If one charge doesn't work, we'll charge twice. If two charges don't work, we'll charge three times. When have we Jurchen cavalry ever feared a hard fight?!"

"I already said, we will definitely march this time!" Wanyan Sali slammed his palm on the table in anger. "But since we are marching, you must obey my orders... First, we must leave a few hundred men, along with those newly surrendered Han, to guard the city. Second, that lake to the north covers a hundred *li* in circumference. I have never seen such a large lake in my life. We are skilled in cavalry and infantry combat, but when have we ever been skilled in water combat? The Fourth Prince suffered a great loss on the Huai River this time precisely because of water combat. The Song Emperor is clearly on the opposite bank, but to this day, he doesn't know how to cross the river..."

"Then we simply won't enter the water!" The officers below, while acknowledging the reasoning, were still impatient and responded directly. "Let's agree here in the hall today: after we march, no one is to dismount and enter the water. We will only pursue on hard ground where horses can gallop and men can fight on foot... How about that?"

"That is my intention. But besides that, we must also forbid approaching the reeds." Wanyan Sali added another condition.

"If there is an ambush, it must be in the reeds. If we are forbidden to approach the reeds, how can we break it? Even if the Song army outside the city wants to flee, they will certainly flee into the reeds... If we are forbidden to approach the reeds, how can we rescue Datanbuye?" This was already the second time someone had actively interrupted the commanding general's speech.

Seeing the surging emotions of the crowd, Wanyan Sali was helpless. But recalling his own responsibilities, he gritted his teeth and shook his head again, refusing.

"Why not prepare plenty of incendiary materials?"

Just as both sides were deadlocked, each finding it extremely difficult, someone suddenly made a suggestion. Everyone followed the sound and saw that it was the Han general who had been accompanying Wanyan Sali all along. Their expressions varied, but no one showed any hostility... because this man's biological father was Liu Yu, the former Grand Prefect of Jinan Prefecture of the Great Song, and this man, named Liu Lin, was Liu Yu's own son.

Now, Liu Yu, since his surrender, knew he could never be tolerated by the south, so he devoted himself wholeheartedly to serving the Jurchens. He himself naturally did his utmost to flatter and serve the Deputy Army Supervisor, Wanyan Dalai, and was quite favored by Dalai. But even so, how could he dare to neglect Wanyan Wushu, the fourth son of Aguda? He simply lacked the ability to be in two places at once.

However, when Wanyan Wushu had previously marched south, he had divided his forces and given a portion to Wanyan Sali, ordering the latter to first suppress the rebellion in Jinan Prefecture with Dalai, and then follow the momentum south to Jizhou, a key transportation hub, to serve as a rear area for support. This gave Liu Yu an opportunity. He sent his own son, Liu Lin, with a few dozen riders to accompany Wanyan Sali as a guide, hoping that if a chance arose, his son could get close to Wanyan Wushu.

And out of consideration for Wanyan Sali and Wanyan Dalai, this group naturally gave some face to this hereditary Song traitor.

"Generals!" Liu Lin, seeing that the crowd in the hall did not reject him, was secretly pleased and quickly cupped his hands in explanation. "Spring has just begun. The reeds are just turning green, and the withered branches and fallen leaves of winter have not yet sunk into the mud. They will still burn easily. We pursue them. If the Song cavalry retreats into the reeds, whether there is an ambush or not, our five thousand riders... no, our four thousand five hundred riders, each throwing one torch, will scatter them. It will make killing them even easier! Wouldn't that be a foolproof plan?"

Everyone shouted their approval in unison. Wanyan Sali pondered for a moment, then finally nodded heavily:

"Like this, it will be foolproof! Follow Young Master Liu's plan. Dispatch the entire army immediately!"