Chapter 1337: Friendly Advice

The Jianzhou Jurchens harassed the fortress camp all night. At first, they organized small squads to infiltrate or launch sudden charges, but these never got past the camp's warning perimeter. Twice they were driven back by gunfire smashing into their faces. The remaining attempts were deliberately let in — the moment they jumped down from the low wall, the able-bodied men of Pi Island inside stabbed them to death with wooden spears.

Anyone who could flee all the way from the Liao garrison region to Pi Island had seen brutal sights and been through blood and fire. They weren't afraid to go into battle and kill, but they couldn't help being flustered and clumsy. The Eight Banners soldiers launching night raids were all elite troops. In such a hasty clash, quite a few of the sheltered able-bodied men were killed or wounded, and the situation nearly spiraled out of control. Yet the Zhao Family Army soldiers never intervened the entire time, simply driving the Pi Island commoners forward.

After all, those charging in were only small squads, and the Pi Island commoners had hatred in their hearts. With overwhelming numbers, they thrust their wooden spears forward, and the Jurchen soldiers who broke in either died or fled. As for the sheltered able-bodied men, they were panicked and flustered the first and second times, but after that they grew considerably calmer. They realized that when they thrust with their long weapons, the enemy often couldn't reach them. After a few rounds, they became much more practiced.

Finding that such stealth raids were useless, the Jianzhou Jurchens ceased their operations. Those daring enough for night assaults were all elite troops — not worth throwing away like this. But on a battlefield, you must wear the enemy down at every moment. The Jianzhou Jurchens began organizing feint attacks around the perimeter and started driving captives forward to wail and plead for help. Even if they inflicted no casualties, just exhausting everyone within the fortress would be enough.

"…They're relying on superior numbers to rotate shifts…" Everyone understood the logic, but they were powerless to do anything about it.

No one could sleep well that night. Even without the harassment, with a major battle looming, the soldiers and able-bodied men in both the inner and outer rings of the fortress were either tense or excited — they couldn't have slept well anyway. Before daybreak, the mess area was already bustling. The steward from Cloud Mountain Trading in charge of provisions and food wore an expression of fury and heartache. Cursing as he went, he directed men to haul out grain and fodder. These supplies were originally meant to last two months — now it was hard to say if they'd even hold out for fifteen days.

Heartache aside, this morning's meal had to be a full one. The first day would surely be the hardest to endure. The sheltered women and children were also organized to help. At a time like this, not a single pair of hands could be wasted. The aroma of cooking food spread through the air, and the soldiers and commoners, both exhausted and hungry, relaxed and steadied somewhat.

Where sea and sky met, light gradually brightened. The field of vision grew clear and open, revealing the situation across the island and the sea's surface. Large contingents of troops were already encamped around the fortress, and now the glow of cookfires and busy figures could be seen — they were apparently lighting fires to prepare food. Not far from the fortress, the Jianzhou Jurchens' ships were setting sail; they too needed to bring supplies from the mainland.

"What's that on the sea?" someone inside the fortress asked in alarm, but after they saw clearly, they quickly fell silent. Those were corpses floating on the sea's surface. The day before, the Jianzhou Jurchens had bloodily massacred the northern shore. Due to the currents, the bodies had only drifted over here during the night. Surely many more corpses had been fed to the fish or drifted even farther away.

The sight of the floating corpses on the sea made hearts pound with terror. Most of the people here had not witnessed the great battle the day before; they had only heard the clamor and shouting from over there. Today, seeing the aftermath of the bloody slaughter, and then reflecting on their own predicament, their spirits sank very low.

Just at that moment, a squad of Jurchen officers and soldiers was spotted approaching. Several shields screened a Jianzhou military officer. They advanced very cautiously, stopping a hundred paces from the outer wall fortifications. From there, they shouted loudly: "We request the person in charge of Cloud Mountain Trading to come and speak!"

"If you have something to say, say it!" On the Zhao Family Army's side, a company commander stepped forward. Zhao Song stood right beside this company commander. At a time like this, there was no need to expose the commanding general to the enemy.

"My Great Jin has the Seven Grievances against the Ming, and your Xuzhou also shares an irreconcilable feud with the Ming. Great Jin and Xuzhou have no enmity between them — why meet with blades? You need only hand over the Han people you've taken in, and my Great Jin army will depart at once, absolutely not touching a single hair of Xuzhou's property." The military officer's voice was full and powerful, his Liaodong-accented military speech perfectly enunciated. This side heard him very clearly.

The Pi Island commoners gathered inside the Cloud Mountain Trading fortress naturally heard it too. They passed the words among themselves, and the atmosphere grew somewhat restless and uneasy. The Tatar army had them besieged — no matter how you looked at it, there was no chance of victory. And their own few thousand people, no matter how you looked at it, were nothing but a burden. If they themselves were from Xuzhou, weighing the pros and cons, they too would hand the people over. Even if the Xuzhou people wanted to fight the Tatars, the most advantageous choice right now would still be to hand the people over.

The company commander glanced at Zhao Song beside him and made no vocal reply. Outside, the Jurchen military officer continued shouting: "Pi Island is remote and desolate. All its goods are obtained from Goryeo, stolen and plundered from my Great Jin. If Xuzhou is willing, the special products beyond the passes can all be entrusted to Xuzhou for exclusive management — mutual benefit for both sides. My Great Jin is willing to allow Xuzhou to establish trading posts in Liaoyang and Shenyang."

Hearing these words, the Pi Island commoners' reaction wasn't as strong as before, but the faces of those who truly understood the situation all changed color. The very foundation of Pi Island's Dongjiang Garrison was the special products from beyond the passes. It was by relying on the enormous profits from selling these that they obtained military funds and even attracted a powerful force like Xuzhou. And the conditions the Jianzhou Jurchens were now offering were clearly even more generous. This was truly wealth of mountains of gold and seas of silver. The Xuzhou merchants were all the type to crawl into the eye of a coin — they probably wouldn't refuse terms like these.

Zhao Song, crouching to one side, cursed and muttered: "This Dongjiang Garrison is nothing but a sieve. The Tatars have figured out everything."

The words the Jurchen military officer was shouting proved he was very familiar with Xuzhou. Or rather, through Pi Island's Dongjiang Garrison, he could learn everything there was to know about Xuzhou, and the Jianzhou Jurchens knew it all. Counting this two-pronged pincer attack by the Jianzhou Jurchens and the guides on the island, it all showed that the Jianzhou Jurchens' infiltration of this Dongjiang Garrison was very thorough. But then, the Zhao Family Army was doing the exact same thing — they had no grounds to criticize.

"We are all veterans of many wars. If your esteemed side releases these Han commoners, that fortress will be all the easier to defend and harder to assault. With the huge operation you've set up, there are far too many gaps to exploit. These conditions from our Great Jin army are all offered in full sincerity — your esteemed side should consider them carefully!" The Jianzhou military officer's words from outside carried in.

This wasn't a deceitful trap either. If the Zhao Family Army were only defending the fortress, not only would their supplies be ample, but the fire net formed by cannons and Nest-of-Bees could also cover the vicinity of the fortress. Coupled with support from the seagoing ships, taking it would be extremely difficult. But in the current situation, though the available manpower seemed to have multiplied tenfold, in reality, the usefulness of this motley crowd was not great — in fact, they even created many vulnerabilities. This was also the plain truth.

Zhao Song fell silent. The company commanders and squad commanders under him also fell silent. The sheltered able-bodied men of Pi Island grew anxious and uneasy. Some even sat down on the ground in despair, certain that this time it was all over. Luo Chen, who was supervising the mess area's delivery of food, had also heard these words from the side. A look of being swayed appeared on his face, but after thinking it over, he said nothing.

After a moment, the company commander cupped his hands around his mouth and roared: "You release all the people you've captured, leave Pi Island just like that, and we'll meet again on the battlefield another day — there'd still be room to talk. If you don't listen, when our Xuzhou's great army arrives, from then on we will accept no surrender, and we will not leave even a chicken or a dog alive!"

Whether in the inner or outer ring of the fortress, or among the Jurchen shouting party outside, everyone fell utterly silent upon hearing this. The faces of the Zhao Family Army soldiers showed excitement. Luo Chen shook his head and gave a bitter smile. The sheltered Pi Island commoners first looked at each other in bewilderment, then revealed expressions of incomprehension. Some even whispered among themselves, wondering if these Xuzhou people were recklessly bold or simply insane. At such a moment of life and death, they actually spoke such arrogant words.

The Jianzhou Jurchens who had come to shout were also stunned for a moment, then erupted in fury. The military officer, who had originally kept his composure, now tore at his throat and cursed: "You death-defying Han dogs! When we men take this little stockade of yours, not a chicken or dog will be left, high or low! Don't come crying and begging then!"

After this outburst of rage, the military officer turned and led his men away. Zhao Song paid no attention to the outside. He found a slightly elevated spot on his own and raised his voice: "Fellow villagers of Pi Island, I have a few words to say. If you can't hear, pass them along. When the fighting starts soon, people will die. If our luck is bad and we're overrun, then even more of us will die. It's not that there's no path to survival right now. You can walk out and surrender. The Tatars will still make you farm and labor, still make you work like oxen and horses — there's still a way to live. If you stay and fight to the death, then we can only fight to the very end. Those who want to leave can leave right now. We won't stop you, and we won't raise a hand against you. But once breakfast is eaten, anyone who tries to leave will be executed under military law. Think it over — breakfast is about to be served, and after breakfast, we fight the Tatars to the death!"

No one had expected Zhao Song to speak so bluntly. On the faces of the Zhao Family Army soldiers, there was some bewilderment, but they still ate their meals and stood guard at their posts. The sheltered Pi Island commoners fell silent again, looking at one another. Hesitation showed on many faces. After finishing his speech, Zhao Song went down to eat, paying no further attention to their reaction.

Before long, cursing voices began to rise: "…Do you have any shame left? Your whole family was killed by the Tatars, and instead of wanting revenge, you want to surrender…" "…Your two older brothers died on the northern shore, and instead of fighting to the death, you're thinking of tucking your tail and running?" "…But I don't want to die! Better to be worked like an ox or horse than to throw my life away!" "…Didn't we flee for so long just to stay alive?" "…These Xuzhou people can't be relied on. They're only a few hundred — the Tatars have come with tens of thousands. Even the government troops couldn't hold them off. You trust the Xuzhou militia?"

Curses, weeping, and arguments rang out continuously. Some people had already begun fleeing outward in panic. But there weren't many like this — only a few hundred or so. Because when they had been taken in yesterday, they had actually already made their choice. Those who had brought womenfolk and children were even less likely to leave. They knew full well what fate awaited their families if they fell into the hands of the Jianzhou Jurchens.

"Those who fled are gone — the ones who remain are all committed to the death!" Zhao Song said in a muffled voice.

He had barely finished speaking when he saw those few hundred people halt in their tracks. Because from the Jurchen camp outside the fortifications, large numbers of Pi Island captives were being driven forward. These people stumbled and staggered, their weeping shaking the heavens. Seeing this, what was there left not to understand?

Thank you, everyone.