I traveled with them to the Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 398 The Mighty Song Dynasty
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Immediately after Yue Fei, Zhang Shuye, and others captured the Jin capital, Zhang Shuye sent the news back to Song Jiang, He Guan, Wu Yong, and others who were there to meet them, and at the same time sent someone to report the victory to the imperial court.

—The day after the Song army captured Yongming City, Yue Fei and Zhang Shuye led 30,000 Song troops to launch a surprise attack on the Jin capital. The next day, Song Jiang and others led 50,000 Song troops to meet them.

When Song Jiang and his men received Zhang Shuye's report of victory and his request for reinforcements, they were only a little over a day's journey from the Jin capital.

Upon learning that Yue Fei and Zhang Shuye had captured the Jin capital, Song Jiang and the others were overjoyed.

Song Jiang quickly consulted with He Guan and Wu Yong, and ordered Guan Sheng, Yang Zhi, and Lu Junyi to each lead 5,000 cavalry to reinforce the area.

After receiving their orders, Guan Sheng and his men rushed straight to the capital of the Jin dynasty without hesitation.

What a coincidence.

Just as Guan Sheng and his men arrived in the Jin capital, Wanyan Loushi and Wanyan Yinshuke led the Jin army under Wanyan Zonghan to rush to the rescue of the Jin capital.

The two cavalry units met unexpectedly.

The cold wind at dawn swept across the wasteland, carrying withered grass, and the Song army cavalry scouts were the first to rein in their horses.

—On the meadow two miles away, a group of dark figures were moving, their hooves crushing the dry grass, the sound rolling in with the wind, as the Jin cavalry approached in scattered formation.

The Song scouts immediately blew their copper whistles, the sharp sound piercing the wind.

The Song cavalry behind quickly formed ranks, and Guan Sheng, Yang Zhi, and Lu Junyi each organized their troops to prepare for this encounter.

Following the orders of Song generals such as Guan Sheng, the Song cavalry quickly formed ranks. The soldiers in the front row gripped their spears firmly with both hands, while the archers, gunners, and musketeers in the back row quickly prepared to fire. Several hundred others took out their thunderbolts and held the fuses between their fingertips.

As the column of dust drew closer, the black armor of the Jin cavalry gradually became clearer. They did not rush to charge, but instead used their horses' hooves to kick up a ring of dust from a mile away, using the wind to obscure their vision.

A moment later, more than ten Jin cavalrymen, carrying scimitars and maces, flew in a fan shape close to the ground, attempting to disrupt the Song army's formation.

The Song archers, archers, and musketeers held their breath, keeping their eyes locked on the moving target. When the enemy entered their range, Yang Zhi at the front gave the order, and a rain of arrows and bullets flew out like locusts. The three Jin cavalrymen at the forefront fell to the ground. The remaining cavalrymen hurriedly turned their horses around and retreated, but two of them were still pierced through the back by the arrows that followed.

The first round of probing had just ended when the main force of the Jin army suddenly moved. Hundreds of heavy cavalrymen, carrying iron shields, charged forward in a wedge formation, attempting to break through the Song army's defenses.

After the Jin cavalry charged through the Song army's rain of arrows and bullets, when they were thirty paces away, Yang Zhi gave another order, and the soldiers in the rear ranks threw the thunderbolts with lit fuses at the front of the formation.

Thunderclaps rained down on the Golden Cavalry like a meteor shower, tracing short arcs in the air before bursting into blinding red light upon impact.

The first two explosions landed right in front of the heavy cavalry, sending rubble and iron filings flying into the air along with the flames. The two leading horses reared up in shock, throwing their armored soldiers to the ground, where they were then trampled into a bloody pulp by the hooves of the following horses.

More thunderclaps exploded in succession, their roars rolling across the wasteland like muffled thunder, and rings of dust were scattered by the shockwaves.

The Golden Cavalry's wedge formation was thrown into disarray instantly. The iron shields of the front-line heavy cavalry were pierced by shrapnel, and blood seeped from the gaps in their armor. Before they could react, they were thrown off their horses by the shockwave.

Several thunderbolts landed in the middle of the herd of horses. The frightened warhorses frantically shook their manes, ignoring the whips of the Jin soldiers, and charged around wildly, causing the light cavalry in the rear to fall over.

After a barrage of thunderbolts, a gap appeared in the Jin army's wedge formation.

Taking advantage of this lull, Yang Zhi commanded the vanguard to launch a swift counter-charge against the Jin army, and the two sides clashed instantly.

The dull thud of spears piercing armor, the crisp sound of scimitars slicing through armor, the sound of maces smashing human bones, the sounds of arrows, crossbows, and Li Lin guns firing, the roars of soldiers and the mournful cries of warhorses intertwined, and the earth was quickly stained red with blood.

The Jin army attempted to use the mobility of its cavalry to flank the Song army, but the Song army flexibly adjusted its formation and maintained direct confrontation.

Many of the Liangshan generals from the early years have now become core generals of the Song army, and since this battle was led by Song Jiang, they had no choice but to take on the responsibility.

Therefore, Yang Zhi, Guan Sheng, and Lu Junyi all took the lead and fought bravely against the enemy.

Just as Guan Sheng's broadsword severed the head of a Jin soldier, dust billowed like a black dragon in the distance—Wanyan Loushi led his elite Jurchen cavalry in a fierce charge.

Guan Sheng commanded his Song cavalry to immediately rein in their horses and form ranks. The soldiers in the front row quickly took out thunderbolts from the side pockets of their saddles. The crackling sound of the fuses being lit mingled with the vibrations of the bowstrings, and hundreds of thunderbolts, accompanied by sparks, crashed into the Jin army's formation.

A series of loud explosions rang out, sending dry grass and pebbles flying. The Jin army's front-line cavalrymen and their horses were thrown back by the blasts, and their formation instantly fell apart.

But before the Song army could launch a counterattack, Wanyan Yinshuke had already led his light cavalry into small groups, bypassing the smoke screen and flanking from both sides.

Upon seeing this, Lu Junyi brandished his spear and led the Song army's light cavalry to meet them at the front.

Guan Sheng brandished his sword to meet Wanyan Loushi, the crisp sound of the sword clashing with the spear making both of their arms go numb; Lu Junyi's spear was like a venomous snake emerging from its hole, successively knocking down three Jin cavalrymen, and then meeting Wanyan Yinshuke.

Both sides faced off, soldiers against soldiers, generals against generals.

After half an hour of fierce fighting, the Jin army, which was more skilled in open field battles, began to gain the upper hand, and the Song army's formation began to falter.

Just as Guan Sheng sensed the unfavorable situation and was considering whether to retreat, several thousand light cavalrymen flew in from the direction of the Jin capital.

The first to notice the unusual movement was Yang Zhi, who was charging at the forefront. Overjoyed, he raised his arm and his hoarse shout pierced through the sounds of battle: "It's our Great Song reinforcements! Commander Yue has sent a large army to reinforce us!"

Following the sound, everyone looked and saw a gray-yellow cloud of dust rolling in from the horizon in the direction of the capital of Jin. The sunlight slanted onto the tips of the cavalry helmets, reflecting patches of cold silver light.

As the smoke and dust drew closer, the outline of the "Song" banner became increasingly clear. At the corner of the banner, a silver-armored general charged forward with his spear—it was Zhang Xian, a general under Yue Fei.

"Kill with me!"

Zhang Xian's roar carried by the wind across the battlefield. Immediately afterwards, the three thousand light cavalrymen quickly split into two groups. The left wing cavalrymen used the momentum of their horses to charge towards Wanyan Yinshuke's outflanking force; the right wing went straight to the junction between the main Jin army and the flank, tearing a gap in the Jin army's formation that had been connected.

Wanyan Loushi, who was locked in combat with Guan Sheng, caught a glimpse of this scene out of the corner of his eye, and his heart sank. He had already used his numerical superiority to push the Song army's lines back step by step, but the reinforcements' charge was too swift, especially the right-wing cavalry personally led by Zhang Xian. They charged decisively, and each of them was brave and skilled in battle. The young general at the head of the group wielded a long spear as thick as a cup, killing anyone who stood in his way, like a god of war incarnate. Not a single Jin soldier could stop them.

Soon, the Jin army's originally solid flank collapsed.

"My lord! The right flank is overwhelmed!"

A Jin general covered in blood suddenly rushed to Wanyan Loushi's side.

Before he finished speaking, Yang Zaixing, who had been following behind, shot the Jin general away with a single spear thrust and then headed straight for Wanyan Loushi.

Clearly, Yang Zaixing's target was Wanyan Loushi, the commander of this Jin army.

Wanyan Loushi hurriedly brandished his spear and exchanged a blow with Yang Zaixing.

Unexpectedly, Wanyan Loushi's arms went numb from the shock, and he almost couldn't even hold onto his gun.

Wanyan Loushi was shocked. He never expected that this young general of the Song army would be so powerful!
Wanyan Loushi, worthy of being the Jin Dynasty's foremost general, saw that he was no match for Yang Zaixing in a one-on-one duel. He decisively slipped into his personal guard and turned to flee. Yang Zaixing, determined to kill the enemy commander, pursued Wanyan Loushi while fighting his way through the enemy ranks, vowing to slay the enemy commander amidst the vast army.

At this moment, the Song army's previously loose formation had been stabilized again, and Guan Sheng, Yang Zhi, Lu Junyi and others seemed to have gained new strength, wielding their swords and spears even more rapidly.

Most importantly, dust billowed again from the direction of Jin's capital, indicating that Song cavalry were coming to reinforce them.

Seeing that the situation was hopeless, Wanyan Loushi, who had barely managed to escape Yang Zaixing's pursuit, gritted his teeth and uttered a single word: "Retreat!" He then turned his horse around and fled the battlefield.

At this moment, Wanyan Yinshu was entangled with Lu Junyi. Upon hearing the order to retreat, he made a feint and rode away, with his remaining cavalry following closely behind.

But the Song army was unwilling to let them go. Zhang Xian personally led his troops in pursuit, and arrows rained down on the fleeing Jin army like locusts. Many Jin soldiers were hit in the back by arrows, screamed and fell off their horses, and were then trampled into the mud by the horses' hooves.

Guan Sheng, Yang Zhi, and Lu Junyi also led their troops to follow, their broadswords and spears constantly reaping the last remaining Jin soldiers.

The Song army pursued the Jin army for more than ten miles before sounding the retreat.

With the help of more than 10,000 reinforcements led by Guan Sheng, Yang Zhi, and Lu Junyi, and especially after learning that Song Jiang, He Guan, Wu Yong, and others were leading 35,000 troops toward Jin Shangjing, and given the results achieved by Yue Fei and others, the court would definitely send more troops from Jidi to reinforce them, Yue Fei and his men felt much more at ease.

It is worth mentioning that after this victory, one of the Song Dynasty's alternative strategies was to besiege the city and attack the reinforcements, making the Jin capital, Shangjing, the new main battlefield of the Song-Jin war.

—If Wanyan Aguda chooses to return to aid Jin's capital, the Song army can quickly annex Liaodong from the east and south, or even from the east, south, and west; if Wanyan Aguda chooses not to come to Jin's capital, the Song army can strike directly at Huanglong, the core birthplace of the Jurchens, thus severing the foundation of the Jin dynasty.

In short, from a strategic perspective, the Song Dynasty has already gained an absolute advantage.

Based on this advantage, Yue Fei and others discussed and decided to preserve their troops and minimize losses before a large number of reinforcements arrived.

Therefore, Zhang Shuye said to Wanyan Zongpan and Tudanye: "Heaven cherishes life. The Great Song can accept the surrender of the people in the city. The specific procedures will be discussed when my Song Pacification Commissioner arrives."

Wanyan Zongpan and Tudanye were overjoyed and hurriedly left the Song camp to return to the city.

They held aloft a yellow flag with the four large characters "Two Countries in Harmony" written on it.

Not long after Wanyan Zongpan and Tudanye entered the inner city, they saw one Jin official after another hurrying out of the imperial city. They were ordered to go around conveying Wanyan Wuqimai's decree, ordering the Jin people in the city to immediately rush to the square in front of the imperial palace to ask for armor to save the emperor, that is, to let them collect weapons and prepare for street fighting.

These lone Jin officials rode their horses, galloping and shouting through the streets and alleys. Their mournful voices sounded particularly desolate in the cold morning wind.

The elderly, women, and children in the city were all at a loss after hearing this decree.

When Wanyan Zongpan and Tudanye saw this scene, they thought: We must not resist stubbornly, for this will surely lead to our death.

The two did not linger outside before entering the palace.

At this moment, Wanyan Wuqimai and others were in the Daxi Palace, waiting to hear a report on the situation.

The hall was deathly silent. Everyone was wondering what news Wanyan Zongpan and Tudanye might bring back. They all felt the worst, but no one dared to speak out.

Upon learning that Wanyan Zongpan and Tudanye had returned, Wanyan Wuqimai quickly sent someone to summon them in.

Not long after, Wanyan Zongpan and Tudanye entered the hall.

Wanyan Wugumai asked, "How is the important matter progressing?"

Wanyan Zongpan reported to Wanyan Wuqimai:
"Deputy Pacification Commissioner Zhang and Commander Yue said that before the city fell, they had already issued an order: if the city fell, no killing or looting was allowed."

Deputy Governor Zhang also emphasized that Heaven cherishes life, and now that the outcome is decided, further killing is pointless. He said that as long as we surrender, the people in the city will be spared.

As for the details of the surrender, they must be discussed in person between Song Xuanfu and my father.

Upon hearing these words, Wanyan Wuqimai's heart sank. He understood that the Song Dynasty was ordering him out of the city and taking him hostage.

The Jurchens were very good at this game, especially Wanyan Zonghan and Wanyan Zongwang.

Wanyan Zonghan immediately said, "Anbanbo is extremely fierce and cannot be allowed to leave. If we do, we will not return and will become hostages, making us hesitant to act. The only plan now is to concentrate our troops, abandon the old and weak, and fight our way out of the city. Only then will we have a chance to survive."

Wanyan Zongwang echoed, "That's how it should be. If we go out, I'm willing to be the vanguard."

After hearing what Wanyan Zonghan and Wanyan Zongwang said, Wanyan Zongpan gave a cold laugh: "The area within three hundred miles of the capital is full of Song soldiers. If we try to escape, how can we possibly survive?"

After Wanyan Zongpan said this, most of the Jin officials advised Wanyan Wugumai to give up on the idea of ​​escaping the city.

What the Jin people are most worried about now is that Wanyan Wuzhumai and his men will choose to escape from the city, which will anger the Song army and lead to the Song army entering the city and massacring the inhabitants.

Therefore, some people cried out, "If we leave the city, all the lives will be lost. The people in the city are all the parents, wives and children of our Great Jin soldiers. How can we bear to put them to death?!"

Hearing these people say this, Wanyan Wuqimai knew that he definitely couldn't escape. Whether the Song army would stop him from fleeing if he tried to escape secretly was another matter, but these people who didn't want him to escape would certainly try to stop him for their own safety.

Having grasped the key point, Wanyan Wuqimai immediately assured, "I will prioritize the ancestral temple; how could I dare to abandon it?"

After hearing Wanyan Wuqimai's guarantee, these people felt a little relieved.

But they all looked worried and racked their brains for a solution.

Upon seeing this, Wanyan Wuqimai said, "Now that things have come to this, what do the soldiers and civilians want to do? If anyone has a plan, please offer it now, and I will listen to it. I will not ask about the crime of losing the city; I only ask that the lives of the people in the city be saved."

After a moment of silence, Wanyan Zongpan suggested, "Why don't we have the Prime Minister, on behalf of Anban Bojilie, go out of the city to negotiate with the Song envoy?"

Upon hearing this, Wanyan Sagai was filled with fear and turned pale. He hurriedly declined and dared not go.

Wanyan Wuqimai said to Wanyan Sagai, "Among those who remain in the city, only the Prime Minister and I are the most respected. One of us must go out of the city to negotiate with the Song Dynasty. If I go out, our Great Jin will have no room to retreat. Why don't you, Prime Minister, go instead?"

Wanyan Wuqimai insisted that Wanyan Sagai go, but Wanyan Sagai hesitated to agree.

It was obvious that if he went to the Song army camp, he might not be able to come back. Although Wanyan Sagai was not young, he did not want to die in the Song army camp.

Wanyan Zonghan was furious to see Wanyan Wuqimai pressuring his father like this.

On the other hand, Wanyan Zonghan was also furious at his father, Wanyan Sagai, for being so incompetent, exclaiming, "What is there to fear from that fellow?!"

In the end, Wanyan Zonghan stepped forward and said, "I am willing to go through this in place of my father..."

……

(End of this chapter)