You have truly caused me great suffering!

The Song Dynasty's military forces had become completely useless, and this wasn't something that happened in just one or two years.

Since the Liao and Song dynasties signed the Treaty of Chanyuan, the pressure from the north has been greatly reduced, and the military administration in Hebei and Hedong has gradually become corrupt.

Conversely, the western army's strength actually increased due to its continuous fighting with the Western Xia.

In the Song Dynasty, there was a very interesting situation: when the ministers in the court discussed reducing the number of soldiers, everyone, from civil officials to military officers, seemed to be in a dilemma, as if they would cause trouble if these soldiers were reduced.

But when it came to actually making up their minds to take action, the soldiers who had been laid off and returned to farming rarely caused trouble.

Because they have no idea how difficult life is for the soldiers at the bottom.

These soldiers weren't fools; in the army, they had to serve the powerful and wealthy while also having their pay severely deducted.

If anything goes wrong, military law will apply. The military law of the Song Dynasty was very strict. When Chen Shao joined the army, he was dizzy just from hearing the military regulations that kept repeating "kill, kill, kill".

Rather than be enslaved in the camp, the soldiers preferred to return to farming or find other ways to make a living.

Therefore, when Cai Jing reorganized the Imperial Guards, everyone was terrified, thinking that it would definitely cause trouble.

As it turned out, after the actual action was taken, the army was reorganized, strong generals were selected, and the old and weak were dismissed. None of the disbanded soldiers caused any trouble.

Those who truly made a big fuss were only the vested interests who had become wealthy from the expenses of supporting the Song Dynasty's army.

Without the support of the military and with little resources, they were all dealt with by Cai Jing.

Later, Gao Qiu worked hard to train troops in the capital, and Zong Ze incorporated the righteous armies that rose up in various parts of Hebei to resist the Jin, which successfully strengthened the Song Dynasty's field army.

The once chaotic military system of the Song Dynasty became, in part, simpler and more efficient.

In particular, the centralized command during wartime eliminated many redundant and cumbersome institutions, allowing soldiers to know their generals and generals to know their soldiers. In addition, the officials temporarily promoted, such as Zong Ze, Wang Bing, Ma Kuo, Zhang Suo, and Zhang Shuye, were all quite capable.

This is how a defensive line emerged in Hebei that could withstand Zong Han's army.

But the Song Dynasty was riddled with problems and could not be saved so easily. Zongwang took a slight detour and immediately ran into Du Chong, the garrison commander of Daming Prefecture, who was a freebie.

The heartland of Daming Prefecture was completely engulfed in panic!
At this moment, outside the city gate of Nanle Town, there was a scene of chaos.

Many weary people were gathered around the four gates of the county town, pleading for the gates to be opened and for them to enter the town.

On the city wall, soldiers in red coats also watched the commotion below with tense expressions.

These people were mostly from the area around Daming Prefecture, and some even came from Jizhou and Mingzhou further north. They had already begun to flee when the Tartars marched south.

After these days, they were exhausted and haggard. Nanle Town was quite large at this time, and its city walls were very complete, even more solid than those of ordinary military camps.

Having fled here, these refugees who had set off early finally felt a little safer.

Once they arrive here, surely the Daming Prefecture will send a large army to guard this strategic location?

All they wanted was a place to stay in the city, and for the government to provide some meager porridge so they could at least survive a few more days.

On ordinary days, the burden of paying taxes, performing corvée labor, and other duties weighed heavily on the people. They toiled tirelessly in the fields to build up the prosperous Song Dynasty.

Now that the Jurchen Tartars have arrived, it's understandable that the defending troops collapsed at the mere sight of them and everyone fled on their own. Now that it's a city of the Great Song Dynasty, shouldn't we be able to let our own people in? Is this request too much?
Thousands of ragged people surrounded the city wall, crying and pleading, their cries shaking the heavens and the earth.

The few soldiers and conscripted civilians guarding the city walls looked down with expressions of pity, leaning against the battlements. They looked at each other, none daring to open the blocked city gate.

They kept sending people to find someone in charge to come to the city as soon as possible, but their word was not enough, and they dared not open the gate rashly.

Otherwise, if the matter is investigated, there is even a risk of being beheaded.

After an unknown amount of time, a burly soldier in his thirties finally climbed onto the city wall.

Several equally fierce bodyguards surrounded him from behind.

Seeing that the general seemed to be someone who could take charge, the cries of the people below the city suddenly rose again.

"General, please let us into the city! We barely escaped with our lives from the Tartars. There are old and weak among us, and we can't go any further. We've also run out of food. Please, General, have some good deeds!"

"We men can sell our strength to build city walls, transport earth, stones, bricks, and tiles—we'll do anything! We just want to get something to eat for our wives and children, and even a dilapidated temple or kiln is a place to rest and catch our breath. General, have mercy!"

"We demand to see the county magistrate! He's always been our 'parent official,' and we, the common people, have always respected him like a parent. Now that his subjects are in trouble, are we to abandon him?"

The general, leaning on the battlements, sneered without a trace of pity, and roared at the top of his lungs towards the city below: "Damn it, you still want to see the county magistrate? What kind of county magistrate is that? He said he was going to Daming Prefecture for help, but he packed his bags and left three days ago! Leaving us here to take the fall!"

He was only telling half the truth; the magistrate of Nanle County did indeed flee.

However, he wasn't left behind as a scapegoat.

This general was named Tian Qing. He was originally a local ruffian who was strong, skilled in martial arts, and had made many friends.

Later, due to financial constraints, he found a job in the army.

When the Jurchen Tartars invaded, many officials in other counties packed their belongings and fled overnight.

The county magistrate was also preparing to leave, but fearing he might be harmed on the way, he spent some money to have the county's soldiers escort him.

Who knew they'd run into Tian Qing, a reckless scoundrel? He and his brothers conspired and killed the county magistrate with a single blow.

They seized his money, tortured and killed his wife and daughters, and slaughtered all his entourage.

Then he claimed to be the county magistrate and fled, while he himself took charge of the city's defenses. Everyone else was too busy avoiding him to object, and seeing that he had taken the initiative, they had no objections.

Little did they know, Tian Qing was planning to wait for the Tartars to arrive, then hand over the city in exchange for a position as an official in the Jin Dynasty.

Beside him, several confidants sneered in low voices: "Brother, let these people in. I heard the Tartars are arresting people everywhere. Let's offer up the men and hand over the women when we're done with them. Maybe this will be another great achievement."

Tian Qing nodded. "You're the quickest-witted kid."

Just as they were whispering their plans, a group of cavalry suddenly appeared from the south. The leader looked at the chaotic crowd outside the city and shouted, "Where did you people come from?"

"They fled from the north."

The civilians, unaware of which side's troops they belonged to, were too frightened to move.

Faced with so many cavalry, there was no way to escape.

The man below suddenly pointed his gun at the city wall and shouted, "The Dingnan Army has taken over the defense of the nearby city. Open the gates immediately!"

Upon hearing this, Tian Qing realized that they weren't Jurchens and actually wanted to open the door himself.

But looking at the cavalry, which seemed intimidating in their sheer numbers, he mustered his courage and shouted, "Do you have any official documents from the court?"

"In wartime, everything is subject to expediency. What nonsense are these documents? When the Tartars come, what can you do to defend this town?" The cavalryman shouted from his horse: "When the Tartars come, everyone in this town will become their prisoners, and everything in the town will be plundered and used as supplies."

"You vile thief, how many heads do you have to bear such a terrible crime!"

Tian Qing cursed inwardly, his face turning grim. "Without official documents, the city gates cannot be opened!" Just as he finished speaking, an arrow suddenly whizzed past his ear.

Caught off guard, Tian Qing had a piece shot off his ear, leaving it bloody and horrifying.

Before he could even scream, arrows rained down upon him.

Tian Qing and several of his close associates were immediately riddled with arrows.

Qu Duan had long ago ordered that, in order to stop the Tartars, the nearby city defenses and military camps must be taken over as quickly as possible and integrated into the Baima defense line.

He would spare no expense for this, and if anyone impeached him after the war, he would bear all the consequences.

The military officer below shouted again, "Open the city gates immediately! The Dingnan Army will take over all the city defenses in the vicinity!"

Seeing the terrified locals, the military officer shouted again, "Those who want to enter the city, register in an orderly manner. Those with accents from the Youyan and Liaodong regions are not allowed to enter the city. Continue south; someone will meet you there."

The defenders on the city wall dared not resist any longer and quickly opened the city gates.

Shortly after this group entered, another group arrived and began setting up city defenses, accepting refugees into the city in batches.

In most of the nearby prefectures and counties, it is not very necessary to kill people to enter the city and set up defenses.

The soldiers in the city, who were already terrified, were overjoyed to see that someone was willing to come and defend the city.

If Du Chong had taken the initiative to defend from the beginning, these counties would actually have had some defensive capabilities.

After all, this defensive line of Daming Prefecture has always been the most important defensive line of the Song Dynasty.

After Qu Duan sent people to occupy these county seats and fortresses, he also gathered and trained the troops there as a defensive force.

With a leader to rely on, they naturally wouldn't feel as desperate as before.

One after another, prefectures and counties have begun to engage in battle with the Tartars, and Quduan's defense line is also being moved forward as a whole.
-
After learning that Zongwang had gone south and had already clashed with the Song people.

Wanyan Zonghan finally stopped pretending. He stopped fighting Yue Fei in Zhen Ding Prefecture and instead chose to bypass him and head south from Qizhou.

No matter how capable Yue Fei was, he was only able to hold off the Jurchen warriors thanks to the defenses he painstakingly built.

He had very few soldiers under his command, and most of them were newly recruited Hebei militia members who had only been in service for six months.

Wanyan Zonghan's men were veterans of ten years, elite troops who had conquered the country.

In the field, they were not afraid of Yue Fei, and even somewhat looked down on him.

Yue Fei's defense line requires the cooperation of the Daming Prefecture defense line, as well as the support of Zong Ze in Xiangzhou and Cizhou.

In their plan, only if every line of defense was flawless could they barely stop the eastern route army of the Jurchen Tartars from advancing south again.

But now, not to mention that Daming Prefecture has failed first, the enemy that has come is not the Eastern Route Army that was expected.

Instead, two armies marched south simultaneously.

After seeing Zongwang march south and sweep across Daming Prefecture once again, Zonghan no longer worried about being attacked from the flanks and also began to lead his troops south.

He left Lou Shi behind to cover the rear, completely unafraid of the Zhen Ding Prefecture garrison pursuing him.

The large contingent marched south from Gucheng, passed through Zhaozhou, and once again entered the heart of Hebei.

For a time, Hebei West Road was also engulfed in war. It is conceivable that without the defense of military camps, the Song army on the plains was no match for the Jurchen armored soldiers.

In Zhen Ding Prefecture, on the eastern mountain stronghold, Yue Fei held his horse spear, but it no longer felt as easy to handle as before; it felt as heavy as a mountain in his hand.

With his eyes closed, he could picture large groups of people running frantically down the roads in terror.

Meanwhile, the skirmish lines of Tatar cavalry behind them drove these Han Chinese civilians like dogs and sheep.

He had witnessed it before; the devastation of his hometown, Hebei West Road, during the last Tartar attack was still vivid in his mind.

The Tartar cavalry would occasionally burst in, slashing and hacking through the crowd, splattering blood everywhere. The people were even more terrified, pushing and shoving each other, trampling the old and weak underfoot, and the men calling out for their wives and children.

Yue Fei never forgot these scenes!
The people of their hometown, Hebei, paid taxes and performed corvée labor to support such a vast empire.

It supported countless poets and scholars who indulged in poetry and wine, countless military families who boasted of their martial prowess, and countless officials who lived in luxury.

But where were they at this time?

Why is it only me and my miserable subordinates fighting?

"Commander, let's go down the mountain and chase after them!" Zhang Xian said through gritted teeth.

He and Yue Fei were from the same hometown. When the Tartars marched south, they would soon reach their hometown of Xiangzhou.

Because they all knew very well that Zhen Ding Prefecture was the only line of defense that could stop the Tartars.

It is said that Commander Zong personally led his troops to Daming Prefecture, but suffered a crushing defeat and returned defeated. The situation in Daming Prefecture had deteriorated to the point of collapse.

Zhang Xian also didn't understand. Not to mention why the people didn't rise up in resistance, these people had no organization or encouragement.

All they saw were the officials and soldiers of the Song Dynasty fleeing in terror; no one shot an arrow or swung a sword at them.

No wonder the people fled, no longer heading towards the heartland of the Song Dynasty, the capital region, but instead choosing to flee to Hedong!

Because on the road to Bianliang, no one protected them along the way during their escape, not even the high-ranking officials who fled with these people!
What's wrong with the Song Dynasty? Why isn't anyone standing up? Why isn't anyone there to stand up for them and protect these barbarian cavalry?
On the contrary, it is those who are capable and willing to fight.

He was feared by the Song Dynasty, guarded against by the Song Dynasty, and hated to death by the Song Dynasty's rulers and ministers.

On the contrary, people like Du Chong are protected so well that no matter how serious the crime they commit, they are not willing to lay a finger on him.

How many people died because of withholding military pay?
But he was still the garrison commander of Daming Prefecture!

Even Yue Fei couldn't help but recall the scene he and Zhang Xian witnessed when they went to Yunnei to gather information.

The soldiers of Yinzhou descended from the sky and drove away the Tartars who were besieging the city.

That moment, with its magnificent display of countless cavalry coming to the rescue, was truly unforgettable.

At this moment, Yue Fei felt a surge of blood rising in his chest.

I can't just sit here in this mountain stronghold and wait!
In an instant, his strength seemed to return to his body, and propelled by this surge of energy, Yue Fei couldn't help but roar out!

"Down the mountain! Chase them!"

"Kill! Kill our way back to Xiangzhou!" (End of Chapter)