Water Margin begins as a captain in Yanggu County

Chapter 404 Su Wu has arrived!

The fire is spreading like wildfire, coming from the south and the east...

Within the city walls of Dading Prefecture, ashes and debris drifted everywhere...

The Jurchens, accompanied by numerous slaves, tracked down the culprit across the vast plains.

Millet is very fragrant, and when it is cooked, it emits a wonderful aroma. In terms of taste, many people think that millet, also known as foxtail millet, is far tastier than wheat and rice.

It has always been an extremely important staple food crop in ancient China for thousands of years, but one day it will become very rare.

After being roasted over a fire, the corn becomes exceptionally fragrant!
There would be slave men who, while running after their masters to hunt down the Song people, would casually pluck a handful of millet from the scorched ears of grain, put it in their mouths and chew it, seemingly finding it extremely delicious...

But the fire was still burning on the millet stalks...

The soldiers from the south were fleeing at breakneck speed, heading deep into the Yanshan Mountains, intending to cross the mountain passes and return to Yanyun.

Su Wu wasn't in such a hurry, because the Jurchens' attention had been drawn south, and his fire from the east was spreading slowly, so not many Jurchens came to chase after him...

Even Su Wu's side intercepted and killed some Jurchen people who had come from afar to investigate the situation...

We walked leisurely towards the sea, taking two days to reach it, and then boarded the boat...

As Su Wu returned, news of the raging fires around Dading Prefecture was also spreading westward...

On that day, Wanyan Zongbi ultimately failed to climb the city wall of Linhuang Prefecture. The Khitans had been defeated countless times by the Jurchens, losing countless cities and fortresses.

This time, however, it wasn't lost, or at least not immediately.

Wu Jie, the military commander of Linhuang Prefecture in the Great Yan Dynasty, boasted: "Iron-clad Khitan, this is the name your ancestors gave you. I thought it was no longer worthy of the name, but today, I see the heroic spirit of the Khitan of yesteryear again..."

These words evoked a complex mix of emotions in countless Khitan men, with some even shedding tears on the spot…

Wu Jie then said from the city wall, "Excellent, excellent indeed! You Khitans will be remembered for eternity!"

"Kill the Jurchens!" someone shouted excitedly. He was looking at the Jurchens outside the city, who were receding like a tide. How could he not feel an overwhelming excitement?
Immediately, throughout the entire city, including the walls and inside the city, countless Khitans shouted: "Kill the Jurchens! Kill the Jurchens! Kill the Jurchens!"

Outside the city, Wanyan Zongwang watched from afar, his face expressionless.

Wanyan Zongbi was carried back. He did climb the long ladder a second time, but he couldn't make it because his lower leg was broken. Even so, after he was knocked unconscious, he was able to stand up...

But in the end, he still couldn't climb that city wall!
In the past, when besieging a city, there were many strategies: first, to surround it, then to dig trenches and erect barricades...

Various Khitan and Liao people were captured and gathered beneath the city walls...

Various forms of intimidation and psychological manipulation...

At that time, the Jurchens were calm and composed. As long as they kept winning, no matter who was inside the city, the people inside only felt fear and trembling with apprehension...

Today is different. The people in the city are not afraid. Therefore, climbing the city wall today is much more difficult than before.

Wanyan Zongbi was carried to Wanyan Zongwang's side. He was filled with remorse and began to say, "Brother, it is my incompetence..."

Wanyan Zongwang waved his hand: "You did your best. If you had two or three months, even with only 20,000 people here, you would definitely be able to break through this city!"

Wanyan Zongbi was put on the ground, and he lifted his broken leg to sit up on the withered grass. The wind began to blow fiercely, making Wanyan Zongbi's nose feel cold and his eyes blurry...

He said, "Brother, you mustn't leave me here!"

He said this because he could no longer walk.

“I won’t leave you here…” Wanyan Zongwang replied.

Once Wanyan Zongbi felt reassured, he asked, "Brother, what should we do next? Su Wu definitely won't come. Should we just keep attacking relentlessly for days on end?"

Wanyan Zongwang didn't speak... he just glanced at the dejected Jurchen warriors who had retreated from the city...

When was it ever that Jurchen warriors on the battlefield would be so dejected?

Eating, but actually, I'm not full...

The horses could only eat grass; they hadn't been fed any fine grains for a long time, and many horses had become so thin that their ribs were clearly visible...

Standing atop this high slope, Wanyan Zongwang gazed upon the withered yellow landscape and felt as if he were at a crossroads, surrounded by paths in all directions, yet utterly unsure which way to go…

But Zongbi still asked, "Brother, how about we launch a fierce attack for a few days first, hmm..."

Wanyan Zongbi looked around and then told everyone around him to spread out.

The people around him understood Wanyan Zongbi's gaze and went their separate ways.

Wanyan Zongbi then spoke again: "Let's launch a fierce attack for a few days and see how the morale of the Khitans inside the city is. If it really doesn't work, we'll go back to Dading Prefecture. Dading Prefecture also has high walls. When we besieged Dading Prefecture before, we fought a tough battle. As long as we hold Dading Prefecture, we'll have another chance in the future..."

Wanyan Zongwang neither shook his head nor nodded, but his lips parted slightly as he spoke: "As long as we return to Dading Prefecture this time, Dading Prefecture will not be able to be defended. We must retreat all the way to Huanglong Prefecture, retreat into the mountains and forests..."

"Why is that? We still have many cities and fortresses, which we seized from the Liao people with our own swords and spears! Are we just going to throw them all away?"

Wanyan Zongbi asked excitedly.

Wanyan Zongwang, however, was very patient and answered earnestly: "The so-called momentum, the so-called general trend, is like when we swept away the Khitan in the past, winning battle after battle, our momentum was earth-shattering. But now... our momentum has dissipated... Never mind, let's not talk about momentum anymore. Let's talk about the current situation. If we can only huddle within the city of Dading, then the Song people, or rather the people of the Great Yan, will only keep besieging Dading. Their supplies will no longer need to travel from Datong to Linhuang Prefecture; they can come directly from Yanyun across the mountain pass, continuously, arriving in five or six hundred li. That would be a drastic change in the situation. The enemy will only get stronger, and we will become weaker the more we defend. We'll only wait until the city falls, and then we won't even have the chance to return to the mountains..."

Wanyan Zongwang spoke softly, but his tone was extremely serious, filled with emotion.

Wanyan Zongbi was too clever; he understood immediately. After understanding, he sat on the ground in a daze, momentarily lost in thought...

Wanyan Zongwang continued, "However... the vast majority of people in Dading Prefecture are unwilling to return to the mountains and forests... even His Majesty would certainly not want to go back..."

Wanyan Zongbi looked up and said, "Brother... if we don't return to the mountains and forests, without their protection, just as you said, the city will eventually fall, and wouldn't the entire Jurchen people perish here?"

“Look, you understand everything…” Wanyan Zongwang looked down at his younger brother and was even able to smile, a smile of relief.

"Then... in Linhuang Prefecture, who among them doesn't understand?" Wanyan Zongbi asked. At this moment, the two brothers dismissed everyone else and, although they didn't say anything, they were already discussing this matter: their way out.

“Things have changed, so many things have changed…” Wanyan Zongwang said with a sigh.

"What has happened?" Wanyan Zongbi asked.

"Our fathers, for the sake of the greater good, passed the throne to whom? This is the ancient custom of our Jurchen people, the law of succession by brother, ensuring that the leader is young and strong. Now, having witnessed the Liao of the Khitan, the Song of the Central Plains, and even the Goryeo, Puluhu, he… hmph…"

During this period, it was clear that Wanyan Zongwang had truly sensed the changes within the Jurchen people.

Who is Pu Luhu?
The current Jin emperor, Wanyan Wugumai's son, is Wanyan Zongpan.

If this were in another country, wouldn't Wanyan Zongpan be the crown prince?
Although the factional struggle has not yet begun or come to the forefront, the trend is already evident...

Even Wanyan Wuqimai now takes his son Puluhu with him in everything he does, subtly and overtly elevating Wanyan Zongpan's status and position...

Such a thing is obvious to someone like Wanyan Zongwang...

How could Wanyan Zongbi be easily manipulated? He simply said, "Puluhu wants to inherit the throne? No way!"

“That’s why they wouldn’t even think about going back to the mountains!” Wanyan Zongwang said.

Wanyan Zongbi immediately understood the logic behind it and only asked who was leading the troops to fight to the death.

It was Wanyan Zongwang, it was Wanyan Zonghan, it was Wanyan Xiyin, and it was also him, Wanyan Zongbi…

If it were inside a city, within its high walls, perhaps Wanyan Wuqimai or Wanyan Zongpan could still find a way to control both inside and outside...

Even so, if this matter were to be accomplished, Wu Qimai and his son would face numerous difficulties.

If they were to return to the mountains, with Wanyan Zongwang and Wanyan Zongbi surrounded by countless Jurchen warriors, and if they opposed Wanyan Zongpan, Wanyan Zongpan would have no chance of inheriting the throne...

In that forest, isn't it obvious who the ruler of Wanyan is and who truly wins the hearts of the people?
So things are changing.

Therefore, after Wanyan Zongbi realized his mistake, he said, "Xu Xitian should not have established a state so early..."

Wanyan Zongwang said, "Establishing a nation is to make our backward administration and military more advanced, which is not a bad thing. It's just that I didn't expect things to turn out like this..."

Historically, Wanyan Zongpan could die in political struggles...

The truth lies in the words spoken by Wanyan Zongwang and Wanyan Zongbi at this very moment.

Wanyan Zongbi remained silent. Clearly, the situation was becoming increasingly complex, far more complicated than he had initially imagined...

But it was time for Wanyan Zongbi to handle these complicated matters.

Just like at this moment, Wanyan Zongbi, enduring the pain of his broken bones, looked up at his elder brother, who was also looking down at him, his eyes filled with anticipation and expectation...

"Let's go, let's get your leg treated first!" Wanyan Zongwang raised his hand to beckon someone over.

The group slowly made their way back to the camp.

The city of Linhuang Prefecture still stands in the distance, unmoved.

On the city walls, however, lay countless dead and wounded. The Jurchens' courage in scaling the walls never waned; many times, they had already reached the top of the walls, only to be driven back by the Khitans time and time again…

This situation only happened once before, in the past, in Dading Prefecture. Back then, if it weren't for the internal strife of power struggles within the Liao Kingdom, and if Yelü Yudu hadn't been driven to desperation and betrayed the country, Dading Prefecture would never have been so easily captured...

At that time, the Khitans and Liao people fought fiercely in Dading Prefecture.

Nothing more was said that night. The next day, Wanyan Zongwang headed back to the high slope. The Jurchens were still going to attack the city...

Not sure what to do? Let's attack the city...

It's hard to say whether the countless Jurchen warriors, who clung to the city walls like ants and suffered heavy casualties, truly meant anything at this moment...

This was Wanyan Zongwang's absent-minded thought...

That's about enough. Wanyan Zongwang slightly raised his hand, signaling the end of the battle...

And just like that, another day passed...

Sleep again, get up, gather your troops again, and come back again...

Another day has passed...

After sounding the retreat, Wanyan Zongwang did not leave the high slope, but instead looked south...

Continuing like this is pointless...

As the battle dragged on, Su Wu arrived... When Su Wu arrived, his banners must have been like clouds, and his knights must have covered the entire field... As night fell, a secret letter arrived swiftly; it was a secret letter from the Emperor, which went straight into the central army tent.

Wanyan Zongwang unfolded it and looked at it. After reading it, he actually wanted to be shocked and surprised, but he found that he was not so shocked and surprised...

The fire spread rapidly, and the fields surrounding Dading Prefecture were almost completely burned to the ground...

The grain stored in the granary amounted to only about one hundred and twenty-three...

The fire is still burning, spreading south and north, and it just won't stop...

Fire has broken out in Yanshan...

Burning... gone mad!
The burning sensation seemed to suddenly fill Wanyan Zongwang, who was reading the secret letter at that very moment, with the smell of burning in the air, though he didn't know if it was just his imagination...

It was horrifying, but Wanyan Zongwang was not truly horrified. He didn't even sigh, and simply said, "Summon Wuzhu."

Wanyan Zongbi arrived very quickly.

"Look!" Instead of handing over the secret letter, Wanyan Zongwang beckoned Wanyan Zongbi to come to his desk to look at it.

Wanyan Zongbi stepped forward and stared for a moment, then was completely dumbfounded, only able to utter one word: "This...this..."

"Sit down, please sit down and have some tea..." Wanyan Zongwang remained calm and spoke softly, trying to comfort his younger brother...

Wanyan Zongbi sat down blankly, staring at his elder brother...

Actually, his elder brother didn't live long either; he would die within a year or two.

Wanyan Zongbi drank the tea, and after finishing it, he seemed to have calmed down considerably.

Wanyan Zongwang then spoke, "Go back to the mountains and forests..."

"When?" Wanyan Zongbi asked.

"This time, we won't go to Dading Prefecture, but straight to Huanglong Prefecture. We'll return to our homeland in the mountains. There are only 20,000 men, scattered in their respective villages. Most of them should be able to survive this winter..."

Wanyan Zongwang clearly had another thing on his mind: living people.

The Greater Khingan Mountains are vast. In winter, wild boars, reindeer, bears, tigers, and even pikas can survive by digging up lichen and moss to eat...

They all possess these survival skills, but the next generation certainly won't.

“But…” Wanyan Zongbi hesitated, then said, “But in the letter, His Majesty ordered us to quickly capture the city…”

"Can we break through?" Wanyan Zongwang asked his younger brother.

"Tomorrow, the entire army will go out and fight to the death on three sides. We will stop when all are wiped out, and we may be able to take it down!" Wanyan Zongbi said, the muscles on his cheeks bulging.

"And then?" Wanyan Zongwang's tone was not sarcastic or mocking; he was gentle, and becoming increasingly gentle.

In fact, he was a gentle person, that much is true. Among all the Jurchens in history, he was the gentlest to the Song people.

and then?
Then, Su Wu arrived, coming in droves...

What's the point of conquering a city if you die a thousand deaths?

Wanyan Zongbi lowered his head...

After a long silence, he suddenly looked up and said, "If we let them return to the mountains with us, the Jurchens are still strong enough. If we unite in the mountains, we can find an opportunity to emerge again in the future. Wouldn't we be many times stronger than when our fathers left the mountains? We have horses, armor, and all kinds of weapons..."

Wanyan Zongwang did not answer him, but only said, "Actually, going back to the forest is not safe either. Su Wu will definitely... come back to burn it again..."

Wanyan Zongwang's gentle nature allowed him to think far ahead. Even his gentleness towards the Song people in history was a result of foresight, as he was thinking about future rule over them.
Thinking too far ahead is actually not good. In times of crisis, it's too easy to imagine the worst possible consequences.

Wanyan Zongbi cursed, "How could Su Wu be so ruthless and vicious? I'll wait for him here. I'm going to fight him to the death. I'll wait for him to come. At worst, I'll let him kill me. That way, he'll be cursed by the mountain spirits. He and I made a vow together in the mountains. If he kills me this time, he'll definitely get his retribution someday!"

Wanyan Zongbi, or rather the entire Jurchen people at this moment, had this primitive belief; they believed in this!
Wanyan Zongwang saw through the situation too easily, and simply said, "He will only kill you if you truly intend to kill him. In that case, he won't have broken his oath, but you will. If you don't genuinely want to kill him, he won't kill you..."

"How did you know?" Wanyan Zongbi was actually a little out of control.

"Because I feel... that he and I are the same kind of people. When I think of him, I always think of myself..."

Wanyan Zongwang's words seemed somewhat nonsensical.

Actually, that's not the case. His "gentleness" has something in common with Su Wu's "gentleness"...

Wanyan Zongwang even subconsciously wanted to think of Su Wu as someone like him.

Wanyan Zongbi looked at his elder brother in front of him, and also thought about the person with whom he had knelt and made a vow in the snowy mountains.

For some inexplicable reason, Wanyan Zongbi suddenly agreed with his brother's words. The two of them seemed to be very similar. He couldn't quite put his finger on how they were similar, but they were just somewhat alike!
Suddenly, Wanyan Zongbi seemed to remember something and exclaimed excitedly, "Brother, since that's the case, then we should go back to Dading Prefecture. Let's go back and take all our clansmen with us, back to the mountains and forests!"

"Huh?" Wanyan Zongwang turned to look at his younger brother, not that he didn't understand, but he was also stunned for a moment.

What does Wanyan Zongbi mean?
It's all too clear. Just like Su Wu, they're going to commit some act of treason. At this point, who cares about the Jin emperor anymore...

Men, women, young and old, everyone in the city, take them all away!
What if the emperor disagrees?
Let's see how sharp the knives in the brothers' hands are. What kind of dog is Wanyan Zongpan?

Wanyan Zongwang suddenly stood up and paced back and forth.

"Brother?" Wanyan Zongbi was waiting anxiously.

“Brother, our mountains and forests are vast. Even if we burned them, it would take years to burn them all down. We could burn them from autumn to winter and still not burn them all down…”

Wanyan Zongbi became even more anxious.

“Brother, we can go further north down the mountain... We can go down from the northernmost point of the mountain range, which is also grassland, and then we can fight the Menggu tribes!”

Wanyan Zongbi thought about it more and more. What he said was true. Going west down the mountain from the northernmost part of the Greater Khingan Mountains, that was indeed the territory of the Menggu tribes at that time, which was also the grassland.

They were fighting Genghis Khan Temujin's great-grandfather.

"Brother!" Wanyan Zongbi was so anxious that he tried to get up himself, even though his fractured leg was still in a splint.

"Don't move!" Wanyan Zongwang placed his hand on Wanyan Zongbi's shoulder and said, "Let's go back to Dading Prefecture first and try to persuade them, to talk to them kindly..."

"Uh..." Wanyan Zongbi was momentarily speechless, yet a strange feeling stirred within him—it seemed similar, yet not quite, there were aspects that didn't quite match...

If Xu Suwu were his elder brother Zongwang at this moment, he would certainly not hesitate and be so gentle...

Wanyan Zongbi looked down at the short sword at his waist, the knife he used for eating...

Then I looked up at my brother...

My elder brother said, "After we return to Dading Prefecture, don't act rashly. Follow my orders... Don't disrupt the situation. Let me speak to them... If I can't, we'll think of something else..."

“Alright…” Wanyan Zongbi lowered his head.

……

The next morning, as soon as the sky began to lighten, Wu Jie appeared on the city wall.

At a glance, it was clear that the Jurchens were breaking up their camp; several units had already set off eastward, and the rest of the camp was almost completely packed up...

Wu Jie was overjoyed and extremely happy, shouting to his men, "The Jurchens have retreated! The Jurchens have retreated! The city has been defended!"

These past few days, how could Wu Jie not have suffered terribly? On the first day, he didn't move, but on the second and third days, he had already donned his armor and was fighting the fire. The Jurchens were constantly climbing up the city walls, one after another...

How could he remain calm? He had already led the Han army to rescue people everywhere.

After countless brushes with death, this city, though incredibly difficult to defend, has seen its corpses pile up ever higher and higher within its walls…

Wounded people were everywhere...

Most of the houses in the city have been demolished, and the arrows have long since run out...

Wu Jie was even contemplating life and death, truly willing to live and die with the city…

Unexpectedly, as soon as dawn broke today, he came to investigate and witnessed this scene...

He actually couldn't sleep at all last night, no matter what he did, he just kept thinking that today might be an even more violent and sudden day, and that it might really be a time of life and death.

How could one not be overjoyed?
It's only been a few days. His Majesty's initial order was for at least twenty days to a month, but later orders were for ten to fifteen days.

So you just withdrew?
Soldiers on either side excitedly asked, "General Wu, the Jurchens have retreated. Should we go out of the city and chase after them?"

Wu Jie quickly waved his hand: "No, we have too few cavalry and cannot catch up. We must wait for Protector Yue and send someone to report to him!"

The horse galloped away, and on the edge of the territory of the Shiwei people in the northwest, Yue Fei received the news and was greatly alarmed.

Why did such a big change come so early?
Much earlier than His Majesty said...

what happened?

Hurry and ride off to find out what's going on. We must be cautious and careful, lest it be a trap...

To the south, Su Wu had already landed, but was still riding towards Yanjing, galloping along the edge of Yanfangdian, the former royal hunting ground of the Liao Dynasty...

As ordered, the army stationed in Bianjing had already set off and had just crossed the Juma River in Hebei Province into Yanyun.

Yan Yun now had grain, and although less than half of the vast fields had been harvested, it was still enough to feed a large army...

The timing is always meticulously calculated...

The convoy from JD.com was also crowded at the Xiongzhou intersection.

Everything is perfectly prepared; everything is just waiting for this moment.

This campaign to sweep through the north wasn't just about saving Linhuang Prefecture...

No longer will we just take the same route through Datong; we will go wherever the roads in Yanshan are passable, and get across Yanshan as quickly as possible.

How many men?

The Eastern Capital has over 40,000 light and heavy cavalry, over 10,000 Western Army cavalry, 20,000 steppe cavalry, and 30,000 infantry. In addition, there are 60,000 to 70,000 troops stationed in Yanyun, including former Liao and Song forces. Although they may not be fully capable, they can all be sent north to serve as auxiliary troops and laborers.

Su Wu arrived and put all his chips into the gambling pool. This time, there was absolutely no way he would give up halfway!

(End of this chapter)