Chapter 94: The Approaching Army

Hu Yantong could not help but panic.

Although he was born into a military family, he was a descendant of the Hu Yan clan, and as the saying goes, he inherited a family trait of being a few bricks short of a load, utterly lacking in cunning. Back then, it was only by chance that Han Shizhong casually pointed him out to follow His Majesty, so he had never quite adapted to working at the core of the temporary court.

He was completely different from the slick and polished Yang Yizhong. He neither knew how to fathom His Majesty's thoughts nor how to get along properly with civil officials and eunuchs. In fact, some ill-timed remarks he made had even led to censure from the Imperial Censors... From this perspective, this Commander Hu was even inferior to Liu Yan, who knew to keep silent.

However, he was, after all, from a military family of the Western Army and knew the gravity of the situation. So, understanding the weight on his shoulders yet being unsuited for this kind of work, it was understandable that he was a bit flustered.

Besides, no matter what, the enemy had come too fast—Academician Xiao Lin arrived in the morning, and by noon the enemy appeared west of Ruyang City. At this speed, even considering Academician Xiao Lin's terrible horsemanship, it was enough to show that the Jin forces had likely set out from Dengzhou immediately after defeating Monk Zongyin.

Such reaction and decisiveness—how could it not be shocking?

But none of that mattered now. Since the enemy had arrived, all previous concealment and appeasement were meaningless... For a moment, not to mention Hu Yantong reporting to His Majesty while showing his veteran mettle by ordering the withdrawal of scattered personnel outside the city, hastily cutting the pontoon bridge outside the city, and closing the city gates, even the four lords who had just left received orders to take up positions in various parts of the city to calm the people. His Majesty himself also ascended the western city wall.

Of course, this time he did not don armor.

"The enemy only has five hundred cavalry," Hu Yantong said, having regained his composure under the afternoon sun, pointing toward the shimmering Rushi River to brief His Majesty. "This is a common Jin tactic. Whenever they launch a surprise attack, they always send a small elite force ahead at top speed. If they can cause panic or seize the city gates by surprise, they can easily succeed... Back then, outside Xiacai City, it was the fallen Pulu Hun who led the vanguard and arrived at the city walls first."

Seated atop the city wall, Zhao Jiu looked at the banners across the Rushi River and recalled the scene by the Huaihe River that day. He nodded slightly. "So, this should be the most battle-hardened *meng'an* (a thousand-man unit, a thousand-man commander) under Yinshu Ke?"

"In theory, it should be," Hu Yantong shook his head, looking somewhat puzzled. "But the scout cavalry reported back that the banner actually bore the characters 'Yelu' and flew a white horse flag..."

Yelu plus a white horse—it had to be Khitans. As for Hu Yantong's reaction, Zhao Jiu understood but said nothing.

You see, the Jin army's military myth from the past decade or so was so strong that many Song officials, generals, and even the common people believed that the Jurchens were simply better at fighting than Han, Khitan, or Xi people, as if Jurchens had two extra arms.

Following this line of thought, for traditional Song generals, it was often very hard to understand a phenomenon: why did the Khitans, Xi, and Han from the Liao territories—who had once been on the same level as them, and were even remnants of a fallen state—suddenly transform and display such formidable combat prowess once they surrendered to the Jin?

The answer to this question was, of course, very simple for His Majesty Zhao Jiu—from the very founding of the Jin state, there were high-ranking Han, Xi, Khitan, and Bohai officers. What maintained the ferocity of the Jurchen army was always strict military discipline, the morale from continuous victories, and an emphasis on military technology. It had nothing to do with race or ethnicity.

But this was hardly the time to say such things, and even if he did, it wouldn't mean much.

"It should be Yelu Ma Wu," Liu Ziyu, standing behind His Majesty, thought for a moment and directly guessed the likely answer. "A surrendered Liao general, once served as a Recruiting Supervisor. During the Taiyuan campaign, he was a general under the brothers Yinshu Ke and Balisu... This man had no reputation before surrendering to the Jin, but after surrendering, it is said he always personally fought in the vanguard of every battle, fearless of death. Given his current appearance, he probably earned many merits, formally entered the *meng'an* and *mouke* system, and became a proper *meng'an* commander."

"If that's the case, I beg to lead troops down and have a go at him!" Hu Yantong could not restrain himself and actively requested battle from His Majesty.

After all, His Majesty's earlier reprimand had made him quite ashamed, and now seeing it was just a Khitan, he felt even more indignant.

"Just defend the city," Zhao Jiu said helplessly, having to reprimand him again. "You are the sole commander in the city. Most of the garrison troops are your former subordinates. What if something happens to you down there? Besides, there's the Rushi River in between, and the pontoon bridge has been dismantled. Is he waiting for you to cross, or are you waiting for him to come over?"

Hu Yantong was momentarily embarrassed.

"Commander Hu, don't mind it," Liu Ziyu quickly stepped in to persuade. "Being cautious and holding the city tight is a great merit right now... This Yelu Ma Wu didn't cross the river upstream beforehand, and now seeing the pontoon bridge cut and the city well-defended, he's probably already at a loss."

"Exactly. Instead of worrying about these mere five hundred men, we should take advantage of the enemy still looking for a way to cross the river and the main force not yet arrived, and quickly send out more messengers," Zhao Jiu arranged on his own. "Send more messengers to tell the surrounding towns and cities to hold their positions and absolutely not come to Ruyang. Also send formal messengers to Han Shizhong and Wang De, telling them to be careful not to be besieged and ambushed while trying to relieve us."

Hu Yantong, knowing the gravity of the situation, bowed in agreement. After giving his orders, His Majesty Zhao Jiu simply stood up, preparing to return to the city to calm the people as previously discussed... because in just this short time, due to the closed city gates and the withdrawal of personnel from outside, some unrest had already begun in the city.

And so, Zhao Jiu led Academician Xiao Lin and Staff Officer Liu, along with about thirty or forty armored Imperial Guards, down the city wall. On the street, they ran into Imperial Censor-in-Chief Zhang Jun and Imperial Camp Commander-in-Chief Wang Yuan, who had come specifically to find His Majesty. They exchanged a few words, then rode together along the streets to patrol and reassure the people... But they had only gone one street, and His Majesty hadn't even had a good chance to perform, when Hu Yantong suddenly sent another squad of Imperial Guards, reporting urgent military intelligence and requesting His Majesty to ascend the city wall again.

Zhao Jiu had no choice but to let Zhang Jun, in his capacity as Imperial Censor-in-Chief, take half the Imperial Guards to suppress the unrest in various places, while he himself led the rest and immediately turned back.

Unexpectedly, this time he did not return to the western wall. Instead, guided by the Imperial Guards, he directly ascended the northern gate tower, which was not shielded by the Rushi River, and there he met Hu Yantong.

However, as soon as he stepped onto the gate tower, without Hu Yantong saying a word, His Majesty Zhao Jiu understood everything... Because, visible to the naked eye, a great cloud of dust was rising from the northern wilderness, clearly indicating a large military force heading this way. By His Majesty's amateurish judgment, honed at Mount Bagong, it looked to be around four or five thousand men.

"The main Jin force is this fast too?" Zhao Jiu felt as if his opponent had cheated. "And they crossed the river so early?"

"It's not the Jin," Liu Ziyu blurted out. "That's not the kind of commotion cavalry makes..."

Zhao Jiu felt a moment of embarrassment but was also puzzled.

"It's indeed not the Jin," Hu Yantong quickly reported, covering for His Majesty's momentary awkwardness. "To inform Your Majesty, I sent messengers out of the city from this side to deliver messages. But shortly after leaving, they encountered this force on the main road to the north. The leader claimed his surname was Zhai, and that he was from the Xi Ping Volunteer Army. Hearing that the Jin had defeated Zhao Zongyin in Dengzhou, he guessed the Jin army might launch a surprise attack here. So, without waiting to report, he immediately led various units from northwest Caizhou here to rescue and defend His Majesty..."

"Zhai Chong of Xi Ping, as mentioned by Yan Xiaozhong?" Zhao Jiu was suddenly enlightened and overjoyed, almost ordering the force to be let into the city. But just as he was about to speak, he forcibly stopped himself, instead forcing calm and asking further. "Is Yan Xiaozhong among them?"

"I don't know!" Hu Yantong shook his head repeatedly. "The situation is unclear, and the timing is too coincidental, so I dared not act on my own. I only request Your Majesty to come here and make a clear judgment..."

"Send someone to investigate thoroughly. Ask about Yan Xiaozhong's whereabouts. If he is there, have him come to the city wall to see me first!" Zhao Jiu thought for a moment and could only give such an order.

Hu Yantong accepted the order and immediately descended the city wall to make arrangements.

Now, leaving aside how Hu Yantong went to find Yan Xiaozhong, as this army gradually approached Ruyang City and unfurled Song army banners, the atmosphere both on and off the city wall had already changed. Yelu Ma Wu, who had been unwilling to give up and was still searching for a shallow spot to cross the river along the western bank, saw such a large Song force appear on the north bank opposite him. He immediately abandoned his crossing attempt, gathered his men northwest of the city, and merely kept a distant watch from across the Rushi River.

On the other side, the Song troops on the city wall, seeing reinforcements arrive, were naturally invigorated. Furthermore, as many undisciplined officials of the temporary court came up the wall to see for themselves and then spread the news, the streets, which had been restless, gradually quieted down.

After a long while, as the sun began to sink westward and Yelu Ma Wu on the opposite bank was already setting up camp, this volunteer army, which had been visible from the plain all along, finally arrived at the city walls. Yan Xiaozhong, with his unforgettable stature and appearance, riding a donkey, once again appeared in Zhao Jiu's field of vision.

"Minister Yan, how did you come to be here?" Zhao Jiu, seeing this man, also breathed a sigh of relief.

"Your Majesty!" Yan Xiaozhong, drenched in sweat, dismounted from his donkey, grabbed the donkey's rope, and bowed with clasped hands below the city wall, speaking loudly. "Your servant, when I was a laborer in the Jin army, learned some of their tactics. Then, in Xi Ping to the west, I heard of the great defeat at Wuguan, so I immediately urged Zhai Chong to move here... Besides Zhai Chong's unit, we also gathered various volunteer forces from northwest Caizhou along the way, totaling no less than five thousand men, and we arrived just in time! With these five thousand, we can fully man the city walls, and Ruyang City will be as solid as iron!"

Zhao Jiu nodded repeatedly and was about to order the city gates opened to let them in.

But just then, Liu Ziyu, who had been silent all along, suddenly tugged at His Majesty's sleeve from behind and whispered, "Your Majesty, even with Yan Xiaozhong here, we cannot open the gates! This man was once captured by the Jin army!"

Zhao Jiu's expression did not change, but his heart was startled. After a moment's thought, he was about to refute this.

At that moment, Wang Yuan on the other side also lowered his voice and spoke seriously, "Your Majesty, I also believe Prefect Yan is reliable, but what about Zhai Chong?"

Zhao Jiu remained unconvinced: "Yan Xiaozhong's resistance in Tangzhou was no fabrication. And Zhai Chong allied with Yan Xiaozhong before the Jin even arrived. My temporary court only decided to come here after the battle of Shouzhou. Could they have been spies since before Yinshu Ke came to Jingxi, and calculated all of this?"

"We are not doubting Prefect Yan," Liu Ziyu sighed helplessly. "The key point is what Commander Hu said earlier... Your Majesty, the timing is too coincidental! Setting aside Prefect Yan or Zhai Chong, there are others in Zhai Chong's army. Are they all reliable? If even one or two hundred of them are Yinshu Ke's plants, can the Great Song afford that? Stepping back, even if they are all reliable now, once they enter the city, see how few troops Your Majesty has, and are then besieged by the Jin outside, will they still all be reliable then?"

Zhao Jiu was momentarily speechless. But after only a short pause, he slowly shook his head again: "Still not right... If we don't let them in, and they become angry and disperse because they think I don't trust them, what then? What if they defect to the Jin? And when the main Jin force arrives at the city and crushes them, what will happen to the morale inside the city?"

Liu Ziyu and Wang Yuan both lost color and were also speechless. But clearly, neither of them wavered in their insistence that the volunteer army should not be allowed into the city.

Again, reinforcements arriving was a good thing, but the problem was twofold: first, the timing was too coincidental, forcing suspicion; second, with His Majesty and four lords in the city, the proper course was to defend cautiously and conservatively, not to invite complications. In fact, His Majesty had just sent messengers telling these people not to come.

But then again, they had already come, and they hadn't received the order before they set out. Could he scold them for coming to rescue His Majesty?

Amidst the hesitation, Yan Xiaozhong below the gate tower seemed to realize something. He tugged his donkey, stood on tiptoe as best he could, and called out, "Your Majesty, I will go and tell Zhai Chong to set up camp right here north of the city, with his back against the city wall and the river! How about that?"

Zhao Jiu was about to speak when suddenly, someone beside him stepped forward and spoke clearly: "The situation today is partly my fault for being a poor rider and delaying matters. Therefore, I, Lin Jingmo, Academician of the Hanlin Academy, humbly submit this. I request permission to leave the city to pacify the volunteer army and atone for my fault with merit!"

PS: Sacrificing a new book... "I Want to Be a Grand Secretary," a new book by Yixiu Ju. Set in the mid-to-late Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, the most exciting period of Ming civil official politics.

No good, I feel a vicious cycle coming... I'm done for!