Chapter 77: Before the Battle (Part 2)

As it happened, Zhang Boying turned back hastily, wanting to refute, but his mind was in a fog and he didn't know how to begin.

Yet this truly wasn't his fault. Poor man, he had muddled along in the Western Army for twenty years, and what he feared most was dealing with these high officials at the center, let alone the Emperor's trusted soft dagger—the Censor-in-Chief?

So, with no other choice, this Grand Commandant Zhang had no choice but to look at his good comrade who had shared hardships with him, Zhao Ding, Zhao Damu.

But unexpectedly, faced with such a situation, even Zhao Ding, Zhao Yuanzhen, appeared quite hesitant.

On the other side, the Zhao Emperor, who had been sitting motionless all along, was silent for a moment. First he gazed down at the battle situation below the city, which he couldn't understand at all, then turned his head and fixed his gaze on one person among the accompanying seated officials, speaking before Zhao Ding could: "I understand nothing of military affairs, so I have relied on Han and Zhang, my two ministers, throughout this battle. Now that they are arguing at the front, no other civil officials need speak... Only you, Minister Wang, as Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Guard, what do you think?"

"Your subject thinks it can be done!" Wang Yuan, the Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Guard, who had been stared at by the Zhao Emperor until his heart grew uneasy, perked up and quickly rose to speak.

Zhang Jun's heart lurched, and he immediately lost any will to refute.

Now, if it had been anyone else, that would be one thing, but Wang Yuan was special. Back when Wang Yuan had not yet lost his power and was the powerful Commander-in-Chief, Zhang Jun, that old soldier, had outright acknowledged Wang Yuan as his godfather, and in private would even call him 'Godfather Wang'... This was one reason why Liu Guangshi had said the two were colluding when he returned—it wasn't empty talk.

And this messy affair, after Wang Yuan lost power, because countless officials who wanted to drive this man out had submitted memorials impeaching him about it, even the Zhao Emperor had long known of it, and had even recorded it as an odd anecdote in his little notebook, often taking it out to review.

So back to the present. Wang Yuan had lost power, and Zhang Jun, this godson, had not been close to his Godfather Wang for a long time. But no matter what, now that Wang Yuan had spoken, Zhang Jun found it hard to refute, because once he exchanged many words with 'Godfather Wang,' he might end up embarrassing himself in public... Besides, Wang Yuan didn't seem to be a complete waste in military matters; he had only been sidelined for committing a huge political error.

"Commander-in-Chief, which troops do you think should be sent to support?" With this thought, Zhang Boying could only steel himself to accept this account, but he also made up his mind: if Wang Yuan dared to tell the Emperor to send Liu Bao or his own Grand Commandant's personal guards, he would let this Commander-in-Chief know that an out-of-favor godfather was worse than a son!

"The troops on the front (west side) are too mixed and too many." Wang Yuan, having received the Emperor's private hint for the first time in half a year, was already excited beyond measure. Naturally, he was giving it his full effort and had to show his ability. "And the Jin army's main camp has tight defenses on the front, with the most troops deployed, making it hard to break in easily. It would be better to pick one of the five generals on the front to send to Han Shizhong. Your subject thinks..."

"Send Yang Yizhong with the Imperial Guard!" Before Wang Yuan could finish, the Emperor gave the order directly, and this deployment made Grand Commandant Zhang feel somewhat relieved.

And so, Han Shizhong's personal guard hurried off. Flags were waved from the city wall, and messenger riders were dispatched. Yang Yizhong dared not delay and immediately withdrew, leading the Imperial Guard, which had grown to seven or eight hundred men, turning south to support the east side along the river embankment.

It must be known that the true Bianliang Imperial Guard had been completely wiped out in the Jingkang Incident. The current Imperial Guard was hastily rebuilt after Zhao Jiu ascended the throne, basically formed by drawing elites from various armies (for example, Yang Yizhong came to the Imperial Guard from under Zhang Jun's command this way). After Zhao Jiu took over, although his main focus was on expanding his direct troops, the expansion of the Imperial Guard seemed never to stop. This was a unit with the richest rewards and treatment, the best equipment, the most ample weapons, and theoretically the most elite.

Therefore, when Yang Yizhong led seven or eight hundred Imperial Guardsmen from west to east, racing along the river embankment, the eastern sunlight shone on their gleaming armor, instantly capturing the attention of everyone on the battlefield.

On the observation platform in front of the Jin army's central camp, the Jin army lookout naturally saw this clearly and quickly reported back to Jin Wushu.

"Has Han Shizhong seen through General Puluhun's intentions?" Shi Wenbin asked cautiously.

"Staff Officer Shi, you have been in the Song state for a long time. Do you know if this Han Shizhong reads books?" Jin Wushu was also a bit flustered, but thinking of his agreement with Puluhun and his recent mockery of Li Guangbi's performance in the history books, he didn't want to show it. After a moment's thought, he asked a seemingly irrelevant question.

"How could Han Shizhong read books?" Shi Wenbin sneered at the question. "Fourth Prince doesn't know. When he was leading troops to suppress rebellions in the Jingdong circuits, whenever he saw a scholar without official rank or with a low official position, he never called them by name, but always called them 'Confucius says' to mock them! When writing documents, he would always say, 'Have those two "Confucius says" come help me write a proclamation,' to the point where the staff in his camp were indignant... How could such a man read books?"

Jin Wushu immediately breathed a sigh of relief: "If he doesn't read books and doesn't know the allusions, then it will be hard for him to understand Puluhun's determination. He will probably only judge by common sense, thinking that a surprise attack should be fast, not slow. Seeing progress on the east side, he must have asked the Song Emperor for some elite reinforcements, wanting to break in urgently."

"But should we appropriately reinforce the east side?" Shi Wenbin continued to ask cautiously.

"Not for now." Jin Wushu thought for a moment, then pointed to the front (west side), his expression gradually turning serious. "A few hundred armored men are no threat... Look at the front. If the Song army dares to transfer troops from the front to support, I might just have to personally lead the two *meng'an* on the front and charge out, rolling straight back into Xiacai!"

"The Fourth Prince is truly one who understands military affairs..." Shi Wenbin quickly flattered him cautiously.

"Commander Han, I have come on orders." In a short while, Yang Yizhong, covered in blood, arrived along the river embankment. He saw Han Shizhong's banner standing on the embankment directly opposite the east gate of the Jin army's main camp, with Han himself reining in his horse under the banner, observing the situation. Yang Yizhong propped his sword and spoke. "Please give the orders."

"Yang Dalang, you've come at a good time. Let me ask you, do you understand flag signals and military orders?" Han Shizhong turned his head on his horse, his gaze sharp as lightning, his expression stern.

"Commander Han, don't joke." Even though Yang Yizhong had just come from the thick of battle, he couldn't help but find this somewhat absurd. "My grandfather and father were in the military for generations, and I grew up in the army. If I didn't understand flags and military orders, wouldn't these twenty-plus years of my life have been wasted?"

"Then good!" Han Shizhong nodded slightly. "The moat on the east side is almost filled. Hand over all your Imperial Guard troops to Wang Sheng to press forward. You stay here to control the army flags and signals!"

Yang Yizhong felt even more confused: "You summoned me here specifically to help you manage the deployment? Then where are you going, Commander?"

"The time hasn't come yet. I'm not going anywhere for now." Han Shizhong shook his head. "I'll just stay here with you and watch."

Yang Yizhong's thoughts were completely muddled, and he had no idea what was going on, but military hierarchy was what it was, so he could only bow and obey. Immediately, the several hundred gleaming Imperial Guardsmen were broken up by Han Shizhong in public, with squad leaders as direct commanders, deployed openly under the eyes of the Jin army, and with a great clatter, they were thrown into the siege sequence on the east side.

"Puluhun!"

On the east side of the main camp, in a wide open space made empty by dismantling army tents, it was utterly silent, in stark contrast to the bustling activity outside. But seeing such an obvious reinforcement by the Song army, an older Xi officer wearing a faceguard couldn't help but speak to Puluhun, who was sitting on the ground nearby, relying on his status and seniority. "The Song have reinforced. Should we ask the Fourth Prince for some reinforcements?"

Puluhun, also wearing a faceguard, turned his head and asked coldly: "Xiao Jiuli, did I not issue a military order earlier that, except for Alibunai's *mouke*, all cavalry are to lead their horses and form ranks, sit silently without moving, and only allow me to speak?"

This didn't sound good. Xiao Jiuli panicked and quickly let go of his horse's reins, prostrating himself to beg forgiveness.

However, this chief *meng'an* under Wanyan Wushu shook his head: "And you even let go of your warhorse? I can't spare you just because you are a noble of the Xi tribe and the Third Prince's father-in-law."

Xiao Jiuli looked up in shock, about to argue, but the Jurchen *mouke* Alibunai had already led several Jurchen armored soldiers forward, personally pinned him down in front of Puluhun and the thousand-plus Jin cavalry, and grabbed his gourd-shaped iron helmet, pulling his head back.

Only then did Puluhun rise himself. He didn't even remove the Xi noble's faceguard, just took his own strong bow, pulled a long Jurchen arrow from the quiver at the man's waist, then smoothly drew the bow and aimed at the man's eye socket... Now, Jurchen arrows were famous for their long, sharp arrowheads, excellent at piercing armor, with arrowheads even five or six inches long. Xiao Jiuli naturally knew how dangerous this was, but no matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't break free... Puluhun casually released the bowstring, and the arrowhead sank entirely into the man's eye. The latter, after being shot, trembled for a moment and then was still.

After killing this man, Puluhun sat back down as if nothing had happened, still holding his horse and sitting motionless. The surrounding iron-armored cavalry of various tribes were all terrified and dared not move a muscle.

And so, after just another moment, the 'Han supplementary troops' in the two *meng'an* that had been ordered to 'resist to the death' saw the 'countless' gleaming Imperial Guardsmen surging forward. Their morale collapsed once more, and after losing the outer palisades and moat, they finally lost another layer of inner wall.

Han Shizhong's central army cheered and, under the command of Wang Sheng, nicknamed the Black Dragon, surged forward, pushing down this low wall of mud and wood, further opening the path for advance!

At the same time, another rider galloped to the foot of Xiacai city, ascended the city wall, and, holding a command flag, bowed his head:

"Grand Commandant Zhang, my Commander Han requests another reinforcement of at least a thousand men! Please, you must dispatch troops from the front (west side of the Jin camp)!"

Zhang Boying was so angry he laughed, but said nothing... He wanted to see just how far this damned Han Wu would go! And who today could persuade him to send troops?!

"Your subject, Censor-in-Chief Zhang Jun..."

"Censor-in-Chief Zhang, stop talking nonsense!" Zhang Jun turned back angrily, his voice harsh. "I don't know what that scoundrel Han Wu is plotting, but I do know that the front of the Jin army's main camp has the tightest defenses, with two *meng'an* and very strong forces. If we withdraw another thousand men now, I'm afraid that once our army is exhausted, Wanyan Wushu will personally lead the central army and these two thousand Jin troops to charge out... It's only a few *li*. If we can't hold them off and collapse into a rout, even Xiacai might be swept away by the routed troops, and this place will be lost! If this place is lost, who can protect it?!"

"Your subject thinks what Commander Zhang says is very true." Zhao Ding no longer hesitated. "The Emperor's safety cannot be risked lightly!"

"Your subject also thinks so." Wang Yuan also rose solemnly and bowed to Zhao Jiu.

Zhang Jun fell silent.

"Minister Zhang... I mean Grand Commandant Zhang. Come closer. I have something to say to you." Zhao Jiu thought for a moment, then finally spoke, gesturing for Zhang Boying to come forward.

"Your Majesty! Your subject..." Zhang Jun quickly stepped forward, bowed his head, and was about to continue his persuasion, but unexpectedly the Zhao Emperor reached out and grasped his hands. Startled, Zhang Jun quickly knelt on both knees.

"Grand Commandant Zhang, have you noticed?" Zhao Jiu sighed, forcing himself to speak in a low voice. But although it was low, with no one else daring to make a sound on the city wall, many could still hear. "If I don't place my hands on my knees in front of me, they will tremble uncontrollably... Because today, seeing the clash of ten thousand troops with my own eyes, the momentum is overwhelming, but to me it's just a cloud of dust. I can't understand a thing about the battle situation. In my confusion, I am truly afraid of losing today and dying here!"

Zhang Jun stammered, not daring to speak. In truth, he didn't know what to say either.

"But although I am afraid, I also understand that with the situation at this point, victory or defeat rests on you and Minister Han. I am useless." The Zhao Emperor continued slowly. "I don't understand your dispute either. And Minister Han is at the front. At this moment, I can only rely on you alone, Grand Commandant Zhang. I hope you still remember our words at the mouth of the Fei River that day, and do your best to maintain things for me no matter what... Grand Commandant Zhang, I am truly afraid of death, but I also truly want to win this battle. So you must tell me the truth: can we really not comply with Minister Han?"

Zhang Jun knelt on the ground, panicked and at a loss, hesitant and uncertain, but finally gritted his teeth and nodded: "Your subject roughly guesses that this scoundrel Han Wu wants to probe the camp's strengths and weaknesses by moving troops, so he has to deploy from the front... I will now have Liu Bao follow the river embankment to find him, and turn the supervisory troops into a suicide squad, pressing them all forward! Please rest assured, Your Majesty. As long as your subject lives today, I will surely ensure Your Majesty's safety!"

PS: Good night.