Chapter 65: The Watery Lair (Part 1)

As the afternoon arrived, with the north gate of Jizhou opening, those few Song soldiers—actually Yue Fei, Tang Huai, Zhang Xian, and the others—almost immediately threw down the banners about capturing Wanyan Li alive, the display heads, and Da Tabuye's corpse... Indeed, facing the Jin army's large-scale exit from the city, realizing this Bohai Meng'an had served his purpose, Yue Fei casually killed the wretch... then immediately spurred his horse northward!

He had no choice but to flee!

Because not only had the north gate opened wide with Jin cavalry pouring out, but the roving scouts deployed east and west were also frantically waving flags before fleeing in disarray... Clearly, the Jin army had opened all three gates and committed their main force!

Of course, Yue Fei had long anticipated this scene after Da Tabuye was provoked into descending the city wall... With the Jin army so arrogant, even if their commander were cautious, a five-thousand-man force would never allow a Meng'an to be captured alive!

But that said, after years of fighting the Jin army, Yue Fei had also gained enough understanding: given the vast disparity in military strength between the two sides, the existence of the "beheading the squad leader" military discipline that was neither good nor bad, and the fact that Jin officers from nobles down to junior commanders never shied from facing blades and arrows personally, decapitation tactics were the riskiest yet simplest and most effective method of warfare.

Back to the present, the prelude was over, the battle had officially begun, but it was exceptionally difficult.

The large Jin force pouring out brought overwhelming combat power; the earlier tricks and personal bravery were not meaningless on this battlefield, but they could not bring about a qualitative change.

Moreover, even in flight, Yue Fei could detect the caution and steadiness of the opposing Jin commander. The five hundred cavalry in the woods had not shaken the Jin army, and crucially, there was no shouting or jeering from the Jin troops to show contempt. This could only mean the officers had already communicated these matters beforehand.

Thus, under the Jin army's forceful pressure, encirclement, and pursuit, the Song army had to hold back time, resulting in several instances where the pursuers caught their tail and inflicted real casualties.

Of course, since the baiting had succeeded, none of this mattered, as long as they held out and led these men into the ambush site as instructed.

Yet, thinking of this, Yue Fei couldn't help but worry about Zhang Rong.

He knew Zhang Rong's fighting spirit was reliable and that the man had held Mount Shuipo Liang securely for years, indicating he was capable and calculating. But if Zhang Rong lacked experience in large-scale combat and failed before the cautious Jin commander, what then?

However, this worry flashed by, because not only was the arrow already on the string and had to be fired, but Yue Fei also felt he had already done the simplest yet most extreme he could... More importantly, fighting the Jin was an unshirkable duty; with the overall situation collapsing, one could only do one's best and leave the rest to fate. If it succeeded, fine; if not, break out and seek the future—why hesitate?

Thus, as the afternoon reached its midpoint and the sun stood in the southwest, Yue Pengju stopped making tactical maneuvers against the large Jurchen cavalry behind him. Instead, leading only about four hundred remaining riders, he galloped straight to the shore of Mount Shuipo Liang. There, he caught sight of signal markers on the water and, without hesitation, followed them to turn between two vast reed marshes several li apart, entering a solid road within the lake.

As soon as he turned, he spotted his own troops on an open stretch of water and land ahead. Startled, he had no time to think further and led his cavalry straight toward them.

Moments later, he saw Wang Gui, Ma Kuo, Fu Xuan, and other generals hurrying forward to meet him.

"What is this wild beach called?" Yue Fei dismounted, stepped onto the firm sand and gravel under shallow water to reach the front line, then instinctively surveyed the terrain and asked curiously.

"Chief Zhang says this place is called Suotou Beach!" Ma Kuo answered casually.

"Why not call it Gourd Beach?" Yue Fei blurted out.

"We asked the same, but Chief Zhang just laughed with his hands on his hips and said nothing more," Wang Gui shrugged in response. "He said the terrain is beautiful, and few but local fishermen know its secrets, making it most suitable. We're all in his water stronghold, so we have to go along with his nonsense!"

It was no wonder Yue Fei and Wang Gui asked this, because the terrain was truly a standard large gourd!

Two round sand-and-gravel hard beaches, one large and one small, connected to each other like a big gourd, lying diagonally northwest to southeast in the southern waters of Mount Shuipo Liang... The northwest gourd-head direction was a smaller beach; the southeast gourd-body direction, where Yue Fei had entered, was a larger round beach. One side was the deep waters of Mount Shuipo Liang, while the other side had a broad expanse of deep water seven or eight li wide. Ma Kuo, Wang Gui, and Fu Xuan, leading five to six thousand Song troops, occupied the smaller beach and set up a forward position at the gourd's waist.

"How does he plan to fight?" Setting aside the name puzzle for now, Yue Fei continued asking, hitting the key point.

"He only said that if Pengju truly led the Jin main force here on time, we just need to hold this place for a little over an hour, and then we'll win a great victory," Ma Kuo also shrugged. "When we asked for details, he just laughed with his hands on his hips. In his water stronghold, all transport relies on their boats, and we couldn't make a single decision... After arriving here, we could only guess he plans to have us hold for an hour, then lead his naval forces out from the left and right reed marshes for a two-sided pincer!"

"When we came, we were even discussing whether this water bandit might sell us out!" Fu Xuan couldn't help complaining.

Yue Fei shook his head repeatedly, continuing to survey the terrain.

You see, having been active in Jizhou these past few days and witnessing how the Jin army had ravaged the local people, Yue Pengju certainly didn't believe that Mount Shuipo Liang, with its deep hatred for the Jin, would sell them out.

But the complaints from the regular officers beside him were understandable, because looking at the defensive position and terrain Zhang Rong had arranged, it was indeed dangerous enough to hold, but only to hold—far from the outstanding ambush site Yue Fei had envisioned... What was even more puzzling was that for an ambush of this scale, annihilation should be the goal. Yet here, though the water was deep on both sides, the sand and gravel were firm, and both sides connected to the shore. Given the Jin commander's caution, if Zhang Rong truly led a large naval force to surround them from both sides, wouldn't the Jin simply turn around and leave?

You must understand, the large round beach on the approach was three to four li in diameter, and the gourd bottom and the gourd waist here were probably three to four hundred paces wide!

With this width and the hardness of the sand and gravel, not only could cavalry come and go as they pleased, but even charging the formation would be possible if they didn't spare the horses' lives!

In fact, hadn't Yue Fei and his four hundred riders galloped straight in?

But Yue Fei had no time to think further. In the brief moments of this conversation and observation, the Jin army, after sending small scout cavalry to confirm the situation inside, also hesitated no longer and led their main force directly into the lake.

The two sides were in plain sight, with no cover at all.

Yet even so, Wanyan Saili maintained some caution, reining in his horse to stop, looking around, and observing the situation.

However, seeing that the large reed marshes on both sides were a good five or six li away, and witnessing scout cavalry galloping back and forth, even racing right up to the Song army's position, and with the Song army having no reinforcements or support, Wanyan Saili watched for a long time. Amid the impatience of other officers, he concluded that the Song army had exhausted their tricks, merely relying on a large reinforcement force to hold their ground, fighting until dark to force the Jin to retreat on their own... This was already a decent plan.

Thus, this usually cautious Wanhu hesitated no longer. Instead, he ordered the entire army to advance and pursue, determined to crush the Song army and finish the battle before dark.

A quarter of an hour later, under the spring afternoon sun, battle erupted immediately!

Arrows flew wildly, blood splattered everywhere! At the narrow pass of the gourd waist, blood spread instantly and continuously!

At this moment, the Jin army seemed to receive true "fair" treatment and displayed their real combat strength... Though they had come from afar against a rested enemy, though they had no numerical advantage, though they couldn't exploit the cavalry's local mobility, and though the opposing Song army had a range advantage, by dismounting for hard infantry combat and using Jurchen arrows' armor-piercing power, the Jin army steadily tipped the battle's balance back in their favor, and it tilted further and further.

"The Song army is at its wit's end!"

On the gourd belly, Wanyan Saili, mounted at the center of the large round beach, watched the Song army formation to the northwest for a long time, then suddenly laughed.

Beside him, Liu Lin was the opposite—his expression stern, his brows full of worry. Hearing this, he almost immediately retorted, "General Wanyan, why do you say that? This Song force's combat strength is far beyond imagination. They've withstood our four full Meng'an taking turns in hard assaults for nearly an hour without retreating a step... They might just hold out until dark and force us to withdraw."

"Brother Liu is both right and wrong..." Wanyan Saili shook his head repeatedly.

"Please enlighten me, General Wanyan."

"Brother Liu, look." Wanyan Saili was clearly in a good mood, using his horsewhip to point into the distance and explain to Liu Lin. "You're right that this Song force I see today is the finest I've ever encountered—disciplined, orderly, and unflinching. But you're wrong because among this Song force, those truly capable of such hard fighting don't number five thousand. Including the few hundred cavalry used for baiting, it's only about fourteen or fifteen hundred... They're holding on now entirely because of those fourteen or fifteen hundred troops; the other units are already wavering!"

Liu Lin suddenly understood: "That must be the Yue Controller's own troops!"

"Correct." Wanyan Saili couldn't help sighing. "A controller of an army, surely no nobody, and with the rare surname Yue. Brother Liu, do you recall this man?"

Liu Lin thought for a long time, then finally shook his head: "I truly don't know him!"

Wanyan Saili was slightly disappointed.

Liu Lin read his expression and immediately realized: "General Wanyan, do you wish to recruit him?"

"Talent is rare!" Wanyan Saili sighed. "Among the Han, those in the south like your father, and in the north like General Han Chang, have all been heavily employed by our Great Jin. If he brings his troops over, he'll immediately get a Meng'an treatment, and after a couple of battles, he'll be a solid Wanhu!"

Liu Lin's heart stirred slightly, and he volunteered: "Though I don't know him, since he's at the end of his rope, why not let me call out to him during the next rotation gap for you, General Wanyan?"

"Beware of his archery!" Wanyan Saili nodded in satisfaction and immediately agreed.

Moments later, as one wave of Jin troops withdrew and another prepared to advance, Liu Lin indeed rode forward, stopping about a hundred paces from the Song army position at the gourd waist, and called out across the blood-soaked Song formation, asking the Yue Controller to come out and speak!

Yue Fei, wanting to stall for time and knowing his own troops had reached their limit, naturally had no reason to refuse. He immediately leaped onto his horse, rode out into the blood-soaked water, stopped in the distance, and waited for the other to speak.

"General Yue!" Liu Lin dared not advance further, shouting from behind his men and horses. "Our General Wanyan has already seen through your situation... Only about a thousand of your own troops can fight, and they're exhausted, unable to withstand two more hard assaults! And since you killed a Meng'an, you've angered General Wanyan. So don't think you can hold out until dark today. Even if you muster your remaining strength to last until nightfall, our Jin army has no intention of letting you go! With your many infantry and our all-cavalry force, if you want to flee, you'll have to abandon your men and escape with just a few hundred riders... What kind of conduct is that? Is that what a general should do?"

Yue Fei just looked around at the water surface, having no desire to answer.

"Or are you waiting for reinforcements from the lake?" Liu Lin, seeing no response, continued shouting from afar. "Those bandits in the lake hate you Song officials even more! It's been nearly an hour and they haven't come—they've surely sold you out! And even if they covet your reward money, with our Jin army's might here, how would they dare come to your aid? Listen to me: if you surrender, General Wanyan has promised you a future as a Wanhu!"

Yue Fei found it boring and turned to go back.

Liu Lin, seeing this from afar, grew anxious.

After all, he was genuinely prepared to be a Song traitor, so he truly hoped for a Song traitor who could fight to partner with his father and accomplish something great.

But since the other party was being uncooperative, he didn't want to delay military matters either, so he could only say angrily: "Yue Commander, if you don't know what's good for you, before nightfall, my army will press forward and grind you to dust!"

Yue Fei finally grew angry, but he turned his horse back, raised his spear to point, and spoke his first word of the day loudly:

"Come!"

Then, Yue Fei turned his horse around again, preparing to return to formation.

But his movement was too large; his horse's hooves stomped down, directly kicking up a splash of water. Yue Pengju instinctively looked down, but under the increasingly westward sun, he only saw a ripple of pink, and his heart stirred along with it.

PS: Continuing to sacrifice my new book, the title is super long, "The Overlord Unifies the Myriad Realms Starting from the Chu-Han Contention," everything begins from the Battle of Gaixia in the Chu-Han Contention! Great benevolence and righteousness, iron bones and tender heart, tiger's courage and dragon's might, wisdom and bravery combined, preferring death to surrender, heroic and unmatched... this is the real Overlord Xiang Yu! Xiang Yu was defeated by a group of base villains and traitors who forgot honor for profit, and was deliberately slandered by the victors. Do not judge a hero by success or failure; history will eventually vindicate Xiang Yu!