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In the 13th year of Jinghan, late November, Bianliang was covered in heavy snow.

Compared to the snow, the Jurchen's siege was the greatest disaster facing Bianliang, and even the entire Wu Dynasty. In recent months, the Jurchens' sudden southward advance was like a catastrophic flood for the Wu people. Zongwang's blitzkrieg with less than 100,000 men, culminating in a resounding defeat of hundreds of thousands of troops outside Bianliang, was, in a sense, a brutal and sharp lesson for the aging Wu Dynasty.

For a long time, beneath the surface of peace and prosperity, the Wu Dynasty did not neglect military affairs. However, the emphasis on scholarly governance and massive financial investment yielded mostly military theories. How to fight battles, how to ensure logistics, how to use schemes and strategies – many people actually understood these things. Hence, they could buy victories against the Liao people, or sow discord and use one barbarian tribe to fight another when they couldn't defeat the Jurchens. However, at this point, none of that mattered.

Wanyan Zongwang's actions in the past few months shattered all the fantasies of the military theorists. Every one of his deployments was decisive and resolute. The boldness and bloodthirstiness of a newly established kingdom's army were enough to overwhelm almost all conspiracies and tricks, especially after the general offensive against Bianliang on the 22nd of November. The Jurchen army swept in like a blazing fire. Each strike from Zongwang was like a sharp knife cutting into the vital organs of the Wu Dynasty, with almost no feigned moves.

What Bianliang could use to resist was the true accumulation of the last two hundred years at the national level.

With scholars governing the country, the Wu Dynasty had accumulated over two centuries, some things could truly be called national treasures. Fueled by loyalty to the emperor, love for the country, and self-sacrifice, coupled with tangible personal interests, Bianliang was finally able to mobilize large numbers of people to join the city's defense forces like moths to a flame in a short period.

If Zongwang's every strike targeted Bianliang's vital points, then Bianliang, as a bloated and militarily weak behemoth that could hardly evade, could only respond by filling the gaps with countless lives. From the 22nd to the nightfall of the 25th, when Zongwang made his heaviest cut into Bianliang, the night when several hundred Jurchens broke into the city saw more than six thousand soldiers and civilians sacrificed near the New Suanzao Gate to recapture the wall and eliminate the Jurchen soldiers who had entered the city. The city walls were piled high with corpses, a sea of blood.

There was no time to ponder the meaning of life and death. In such battles, soldiers and mobilized masses were thrown into the abyss of death one after another. Whether people should be moved, reflect, or feel sorrow was hard to say. At least at that moment, the elderly officials responsible for defending the city were fulfilling their duties with the attitude of overdrawing their lives. Li Gang once charged onto the city wall with a steel blade, leading troops, while Qin Si-yuan, after learning about the massive casualties, sat in his chair holding the numbers, his hands trembling for a long time, unable to even speak.

When a country lacks strength, it can only expend lives.

While the massive consumption of lives on the Bianliang line held off the Jurchens, the various troops outside the city, having been battered and frightened, had little ability to relieve the siege and lacked the courage to face the Jurchen army. However, at dusk on the 25th, the sudden battle that erupted in the Jurchen Mutuogang camp was resolute and fierce. In a sense, after more than 300,000 royalist troops had been crushed by the Jurchens, the sudden offensive launched by these four thousand-odd men was surprisingly resolute and fierce.

As Zongwang led his army to strike heavily at Bianliang, a hidden observer finally struck, delivering an equally resolute blow to the Jurchens' vital point in the rear!

From the appearance of these four thousand men and the initial charge of the heavy cavalry, the Jurchens guarding Mutuogang were caught completely off guard. This style, completely different from ordinary Wu Dynasty armies, surprised the Jurchen army, but did not frighten them. Even after suffering some casualties, the Jurchen army, under the excellent command of their generals, engaged the attacking Wu Dynasty troops outside Mutuogang.

The attacking Wu Dynasty troops launched a swift attack on the outer walls of the Mutuogang camp with the same resolute stance. After a brief period of maneuvering, the two light cavalry units outside the camp clashed again.

At the same time, the heavy cavalry and infantry, which had briefly paused in front of Mutuogang, launched a charge towards the Jurchen camp, instantly pushing the entire battle to its climax.

In the current numerical comparison, one hundred-plus heavy cavalry was definitely a huge strategic advantage. They were not invincible, but this type of troop, built with massive strategic resources, could only be countered in a head-on confrontation with a large amount of resources and lives. Jurchen cavalry were mostly light cavalry, because heavy cavalry was used to attack what the enemy must save. In the open field, light cavalry could easily exhaust heavy cavalry to death, but at the moment, Pulu's thousand-plus infantry became the first sacrifice.

Support from the rear camp was possible with bows and arrows, but the threat of arrows to heavy cavalry was minimal, and even to infantry, if the opponent began to disregard casualties, the casualties caused by arrows would not be unbearable in a short time.

In front of Mutuogang, iron hooves lined up in a row, like thunder, rolling in. Behind them, nearly two thousand infantry began to charge, shouting. In the front ranks of the camp, Pulu turned to look at Shuliesu on the camp wall, but the order he received was almost hopeless. He turned back and shouted in a deep voice, "Hold the line!" The faces of the Jurchen infantry under his command, watching the black heavy cavalry rolling in like a giant wall, turned paler than the snow at night. At the same time, the rear gate of the camp began to open, and the last five hundred light cavalry in the camp charged out fiercely. They were going to bypass the heavy cavalry and launch a surprise attack on the rear of the infantry!

On the other side, nearly four thousand cavalry were entangled in a fierce battle, sweeping the battle line towards this side!

In the swirling snow, the battle lines crashed together like ocean waves. Blood surged out. The equally powerful Jurchen cavalry tried to avoid the heavy cavalry and tear apart the opponent's weak points, but at that moment, even the relatively weak light cavalry and infantry possessed a considerable fighting spirit. The young general Yue Fei led 1,800 infantrymen, using spears, sabers, and shields to meet the charging Jurchen light cavalry, while trying to converge with their own cavalry, squeezing the space for the Jurchen cavalry. In front, Han Jing and others led the heavy cavalry, already crushing Pulu's infantry formation in the sea of blood. At one point, he looked up at the sky behind the Mutuogang camp wall.

Shuliesu turned his head.

There seemed to be noise and fighting sounds coming.

Behind the camp, flames and pillars of smoke rose.

"Brothers—" In the wind and snow in front of the camp, someone shouted excitedly and hysterically, with a heart-pounding madness, "Follow me—follow me to kill—"

"Wah—ah—"

At this moment, it was like a pot of old soup finally boiled through. The frenzied atmosphere that usually belonged to the Jurchen army when defeating the enemy was reappearing in this boiling and bloody melee.

The light cavalry, which had been resolute in its fighting spirit but not experienced enough, pounced like a pack of wolves at this moment. In the infantry formation, Yue Fei, originally a young but calm general, had also become excited, as if he had drunk alcohol, his eyes showing a reddish color. He held a spear and laughed loudly, "Follow me to kill—" Organizing the spear forest to push fiercely towards the cavalry formation in front. The moment the spear pierced the horse's body, the image of the old man Zhou Tong, who had died assassinating Zonghan, flashed through his mind. His master…

It seemed like flames were exploding in his gnarled muscles. The Jurchen cavalry hesitated slightly, and the entire body of the horse and the man was lifted up by this young general and several others, and crashed down with a roar. The horses neighed, the snow rolled, and sticky blood splashed on the heads and bodies of the soldiers in front. Around, horses fell, or people were knocked away. Countless killings entered a white-hot stage…

Not long before, as darkness descended, more than a hundred figures crossed the frozen lake, heading straight for the rear of the Jurchen camp.

Although the Jurchens were focusing on defending the front of the camp, their defenses on the three sides of the lake were not lax. Even before the lake froze, the Jurchens had strong surveillance in these directions. After the lake froze, they increased patrols. There were also watchtowers inside the high camp walls, responsible for monitoring the nearby lake surface.

However, at this time, when the snow was falling heavily, night had fallen, and the soldiers had become accustomed to several months of peace, there were still blind spots.

Several white-clad men who had dug ice holes in the distance, quietly entered the water, and then silently appeared on the shore, moved quickly, and cut the throats of three patrolling Jurchen soldiers one after another. They put on the Jurchen soldiers' clothes, pushed the bodies into the water, and then took out crossbows and ropes wrapped in oilcloth from their arms, shot and killed the Jurchen soldiers in the watchtowers near the camp walls, and then climbed up to replace them.

In the moments that followed, more than a hundred white-clad men infiltrated the Jurchen camp one after another.

This group of people trained in Lvliang Mountain had undergone extensive training in infiltration, sabotage, concealment, beheading, and other matters. In a sense, many Green Forest experts were originally good at such actions, but most of them were disorganized, undisciplined, and liked to work alone. With Lu Hongti, a grandmaster, as an advisor by Ning Yi's side, and with everything systematized, it became the prototype of special forces at this time. This time, all the elites were dispatched, led by Hongti, and in the blink of an eye, they paralyzed the outer defenses of the Jurchen camp.

If the Jurchen army usually stationed here, such actions would be difficult to achieve. But this time, nearly five thousand Jurchens had left the camp gate and were engaged in a fierce battle with Qin Shaoqian and others outside. The defense of the northern camp wall was of utmost importance. After Qin Shaoqian and others showed a resolute attitude to attack the camp fiercely, Shuliesu and others could not wait to call the craftsmen over to put them to use. The defensive forces that could be allocated to the rear were really not many.

After all, if it were not for Ning Yi, other people would not be able to organize a large group of soldiers to sneak in silently, and even if one or two Green Forest experts could sneak in after racking their brains, it would be of little significance.

They then found the Jurchens' granary warehouse. When Hongti led people to sneak into it, Ning Yi led several people back to find the Jurchens' prison camp for Han Chinese prisoners. The defense here was quite weak. They killed several guards.

Ning Yi cut open the lock of the camp gate and threw the Jurchen corpses and weapons in front of these long-tortured prisoners.

"Listen to the outside, the Jurchens have gone to attack Bianliang, and the imperial army is attacking here. Those who can still move, take up arms and follow me to kill, to take more weapons! Otherwise, just wait to die."

At this time, there were thousands of prisoners held by the Jurchens in the camp. These first batch of prisoners were still hesitant, but Ning Yi ignored them, took out bamboo tubes filled with oil from his clothes and poured them around, and then set fire directly to the camp.

The entire camp was in chaos in an instant. On the other side, a raging fire broke out in the Jurchens' granary. Small-scale killings began to occur. When Wanyan Shamu led a small number of elite soldiers to kill, half of the camp had already exploded. The fires had begun to burn and spread in several granaries, and most of the Han Chinese prisoners had been released, either organizing desperate killings or fleeing in all directions. Many people were afraid to resist and escape, hoping to survive, but the more than one hundred infiltrators were mixed among them. These things were not up to them.

A quarter of an hour later, the front gate of the Mutuogang camp fell, and blood flowed like a river inside and outside the camp…

****************

The night was deep, and Bianliang, New Suanzao Gate, had calmed down slightly.

Shi Shi stood in front of the pile of ruins that had been burned down, and the embers of the firelight floated past her eyes.

Her face was covered with dust, her hair was a little curly from being burned, and there were vague traces of water on her face, it was not clear whether it was snow falling on her face and melting, or because of crying. Her footsteps had also become unsteady.

After half a night of fighting, the Jurchens had temporarily retreated. Under the towering city walls near the New Suanzao Gate, people began to treat the wounded with all their strength and collect the corpses. The surrounding area was filled with a bloody smell, and there was also a burnt smell.

So many people died.

She felt so tired…

Li Yun rushed over from Fanlou and found her sitting in a corner under the city wall, staring blankly at something, her appearance was desolate, her eyes were dull, and one of her shoes was gone. Li Yun was so frightened that she thought she had been assaulted, but fortunately not.

"I can't do it anymore, I'm so tired, I'm so tired…" she sobbed in a low voice, "I want to rest for a while… I'm so tired…"

Li Yun squatted down and hugged her sadly…

……

Mutuogang.

The battle had stopped, and there was blood everywhere, with a lot of traces of being burned by fire.

Shuliesu held a long sword, standing on the high point of the ruins, the long sword was covered with blood. Below, a pile of flames was still burning, illuminating his face dimly.

"Do you know who it was?"

He asked in this way.

The Han Chinese prisoners who were tied up and pushed to the front cried and shook their heads desperately.

"Spare me…"

Shuliesu kicked out fiercely, kicking the man into the burning fire pit, and then, the most tragic screams sounded.

"Do you know! Those people killed you! You are looking for death—"

His appearance originally looked handsome and masculine, but at this time it had become twisted and fierce. This voice sounded above the camp, and then, someone else was pushed down.

In the previous battle, as the rear of the camp was burned, the more than 4,000 Wu Dynasty soldiers in front broke out with the most amazing fighting power, directly defeating the Jurchen warriors outside the camp, and even taking back the camp gate. However, if you really measure the strength in hand, Shuliesu's side still had tens of thousands of people after all. The other side defeated the Jurchen cavalry, but it was impossible to achieve a complete annihilation effect. It was just a temporary morale boost, and they had the upper hand for the moment. In a real comparison, the strength in Shuliesu's hands was still dominant.

But this time, it was not a duel on the battlefield.

The moment he saw the flames rising from the granary, Shuliesu knew that he had lost.

The camp became chaotic in the fierce fighting. All the prisoners who were originally held in the camp were released. The Wu Dynasty people who sneaked into the camp were mixed among them. In the end, those Wu Dynasty soldiers held on at the camp gate for a long time, rescuing about one-third of the Han Chinese prisoners. Most of these Han Chinese prisoners were weak, and many were women. After they left, Talai gathered all the cavalry—excluding the wounded, there were about 1,200 who could fight—and suggested to Shuliesu to follow behind them, to pursue and kill them. But Shuliesu knew that this was meaningless. If the other party had arranged an ambush, maybe the more than 1,200 people in his hand would have to be lost among them.

"Send scouts to follow them, to see who they are," he ordered.

Many of the remaining Han Chinese prisoners in the camp had been killed in the chaos. About one-third of those who survived were left. In the current state of mind, Shuliesu did not want to keep any of them, and prepared to kill them all.

"You won't die if you don't resist. You are all harmed by those Wu Dynasty people."

He said this, and then killed them all.

At the same time, in the Jurchen camp outside Bianliang, Zongwang, who had failed to attack the city, had listened to the entire process of the attack on Mutuogang. He sat in his seat, terribly quiet.

At this moment, someone had finally stabbed him in his vital point.

"How much grain is left?"

"I...I don't know the exact number. The camp is still counting. It hasn't been completely burned. There...there is still a part..." The person who came to report was frightened by the marshal's appearance.

"Who did it?"

"I don't know. They are already following behind them."

"What about Guo Yaoshi?"

"Uh... General Guo has gone to find the Western Army..." Zongwang was clear about this matter. The scout didn't know if he was asking him.

"I mean, why hasn't he taken action yet? Someone, order Guo Yaoshi to quickly defeat the Western Army! Seize their grain. And find those people for me, I want to tear him into pieces." He took a breath, "Strengthen the walls and clear the fields, burn grain, breach the Yellow River... I think I know who he is..."

In the high-level confrontation and game, the emperor of the Wu Dynasty was an idiot. The old men in Bianliang who were confronting him could only be said to be desperately blocking his attack. This was not easy, but they could not put pressure on him. Only this time, he felt a little pain.

Four thousand people...

Defeated Shuliesu...

Thinking of this, he punched the table in front of him.

"...Continue to attack the city tomorrow!"

……

Black night, long line in the wind and snow.

There were many wounded soldiers, and there were also many ragged and shivering civilians following behind, all of whom were rescued prisoners. But in terms of the whole, the morale of this team was still extremely high, because they had just defeated the strongest army in the world - well, that's how you could say it.

There was a cavalry scout chasing from behind. The scout was injured and rolled off his horse, holding a head in his hand. The martial artists in the team who were proficient in knife wounds and bruises quickly came over to help him bandage.

"Jurchen scouts have been following behind. I killed one, but for a while, cough... I'm afraid I can't drive them away..."

"They won't let us go..." Ning Yi looked back at the distance in the wind and snow. In fact, it was all dark, "Notify Wen Ren'er, we will not return to Xia Village first, and settle down in the previous town. Send out all those who can scout. On the one hand, practice with them, on the other hand, keep an eye on Guo Yaoshi and the situation in Bianliang. When they come to attack us, we will run again."

He paused, and after a while, he asked, "Has the news been sent to Bianliang?"

……

The next morning, Shi Shi heard the news…
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