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On the sixteenth day of the first month, Yue Fei consolidated his troops, received his armaments, and set off with Ma Kuo. After leaving the territory of Dongjing (Kaifeng), they naturally headed southeast along the Bian River Avenue, vaguely advancing towards Nanjing (present-day Shangqiu).

However, after traveling for only three days and just entering the Nanjing territory, he suddenly received a military order that was neither from Shouzhou nor Dongjing. Yet, the order was undeniably legitimate, directing him northward and slightly eastward towards Guangji Army (near later-day Dingtao). Even Ma Kuo, who eagerly wanted to see Zhao Guan Jia (Emperor Zhao), didn't complain. The reason being, the one who issued this military order was no mere nobody, but Yang Weizhong, who had withdrawn from Hebei!

So, who was Yang Weizhong?

This man was the patriarch of the Western Army of this era... or, to put it more elegantly, he was the oldest, highest-ranking, and most famous figure currently in the Western Army system, a veritable living legend.

Sometimes, Yang Weizhong's ancestors were mistakenly rumored to be the Kang family, a family of meritorious officials who founded the Song Dynasty. There were even rumors that this was a descendant of General Kang, who was captured by the Liao Dynasty and had offspring with a Liao princess. But in reality, that was just because he was from Huanqing Road, and was likely some *fanren* (non-Han people)… either Tangut or Tibetan… So, most people knew that his name was an alias. Once his official position rose, there were bound to be more and more rumors.

But in any case, he changed his name to Yang Weizhong, joined the army to serve the country, and spent his entire life in the Western Army. As early as the reign of Emperor Zhezong of Song, he was a general second only to the Grand Commandant. He became Deputy Pacification Commissioner. However, when Emperor Huizong ascended the throne, he submitted a memorial suggesting that Emperor Zhezong's son should be enthroned instead of that frivolous person, which caused him great trouble, so he never had the chance to rise to prominence during Tong Guan's era. But even so, he was influential enough to dominate the Western Army system. At this time, among the three generals stationed near Zhao Jiu, Zhang Jun need not be mentioned. Han Shizhong was personally promoted by Yang Weizhong, and even Liu Zhengyan, as the son of Liu Fa, had always been stuck, partly because Liu Fa's faction was squeezed out by him.

So, back to the present. After the Jingkang Incident, Yang Weizhong quickly found Zhao Lao Jiu (Zhao Jiu, referring to Emperor Gaozong of Song). He immediately became the Commander-in-Chief of the Yuan Shuai Fu (Marshal's Office). Later, after Zhao Lao Jiu ascended the throne and became Emperor, he left him in Hebei as the Northern Route Chief Commander… However, hadn’t the Jin Dynasty decided to sweep through Hebei?

When Wanyan Wushu, the fourth prince of the Jin Dynasty, went south, he didn't forget to have General Han Chang lead 20,000 troops to complete the task of swallowing Daming Prefecture. Furthermore, Wanyan Eliduo, the third prince of the Jin Dynasty, personally led the central army south from Yanyun to mop up after his younger brother's rampage.

In contrast, Du Chong, the garrison commander of Daming Prefecture, abandoned the city and fled from the beginning. Under great pressure, there was no longer a direct battlefield in Hebei. Yang Weizhong, who had retreated, could only try to gather the defeated soldiers while crossing the river south through the gaps of Han Chang and Eliduo. It was just when he arrived at the Guangji Army territory that he received those imperial decrees from Zhao Jiu. However, after this veteran general learned about the general military situation in the Central Plains, he had other ideas.

"Does Grand Commandant mean that instead of going to Shouzhou, we should first break the enemy in Jizhou to cut off Wushu's rear?"

"Jizhou only has 5,000 Jin soldiers, and they are isolated on all sides?"

In Dingtao City, Guangji Army, defeated soldiers, righteous armies, and bandits gathered. After Yue Fei led his troops to arrive, he and Ma Kuo went to the official hall in the city to pay respects to Yang Weizhong. As soon as they entered the hall, before even seeing Yang Weizhong himself, they learned Yang Weizhong's intentions from the leaders of the various righteous armies. They were also deeply moved and looked at each other with the same idea!

This was natural because Yang Weizhong's strategy was absolutely correct… In fact, after arriving in the Jingdong West Road area, the enemy's situation was basically clear. Wanyan Talan and Wanyan Eliduo's minds were all in Hebei. Wushu's 30,000 soldiers were simply advancing alone. But even so, the 20,000 Jin troops stationed in Shouzhou were not something that any Song army could eliminate in a field battle.

Everyone was someone who had crawled through the military ranks, and those who could persist until now and gather under Yang Weizhong clearly understood the military situation:

In the current situation, if the Jin and Song armies each sent 100 men, the outcome would be hard to say. The Jin army had battle gods like Wanyan Loushi, who was nearly invincible. But the Song army also had the prestige of Han Shizhong, Wang De, and others, which was not exaggerated. Even Yue Fei himself felt that if he led his 100 most fundamental brothers on horseback, he would not be afraid of any 100 Jin soldiers.

Even if you opened it up and said, you can still find some decent heroes everywhere, give them enough rewards, put on armor, dance with a spear, shoot an arrow, you take a life and I take a life, who is afraid of whom?

But what about 1,000 against 1,000?

Objectively speaking, the Song army would be hard to say. Or simply put, the odds of winning were not high… If the Jin army sent out a fully staffed *mouke* (Mongolian term for a military unit) plus supplementary soldiers to make up 1,000 people, the Song army would probably need a general of Zhang Jun, Han Shizhong's level to draw out their core troops and fight desperately.

But at this time, the Song army could still fight. At worst, they could use their numerical advantage and terrain advantage. If you had 1,000 people, I had 10,000. If I blocked you in a mountain nest, I could still pile you to death.

What about 20,000 people?

Everyone knew that when the Jin army reached this level, the Song army basically had no room to solve the opponent in the field. They could only passively defend, because this was not a math game. At this level of combat, the superposition of numbers was no longer meaningful.

This was the consequence of the complete collapse of the army system after the fall of the Great Song, and it had nothing to do with personal bravery or the talent of great generals. An army of ten thousand men couldn't be stopped by a brave individual… In Xiangzhou, Han Shizhong in Baigou, Zhang Jun in Taiyuan, did it work in the army?

And now, more than 20,000 Jin troops were placed on the flat ground in Shouzhou. Not to mention the Zhao Guan Jia's imperial camp troops, even if he doubled them, it wouldn't work. And even if it was doubled, it might not be as effective as the defense system of Xi Cai - Huai River - Bagong Mountain currently displayed by Zhang Jun, Han Shizhong, and Zhao Jiu.

In fact, after Yue Fei and others entered the Jingdong West Road area and learned about the situation in Shouzhou, they discussed with Ma Kuo and others and felt that going to rescue them might not really be effective. Perhaps at most, they could find a temporary Huaicheng city as a fulcrum.

As for the 5,000 Jin troops in Jizhou, Yue Fei had not thought about it, but he did not have enough troops, so he could only think about it. Unexpectedly, Yang Weizhong happened to arrive here, and Zhao Guan Jia's documents aroused countless righteous armies, which was enough to gather strength in this Guangji Army, which naturally made people think a little… Breaking the rear and forcing Wushu to withdraw his troops was the only correct way to resolve this battle!

And this should also be what Zhao Guan Jia was diligently pursuing.

"Does Pengju think it's feasible?"

After discussing for a while, seeing the leaders of the various troops in the hall in a mess, with all kinds of people, and the words they said being more outrageous than the last, Ma Kuo couldn't help but ask Yue Fei privately… In the past few days, he followed Yue Fei's army and saw that this first general under Zong Ze was indeed strict in governing the army and acted according to orders and prohibitions, and he was already convinced.

"If there are 20,000 soldiers willing to listen to dispatch, it will be feasible!" Yue Fei replied directly. "But I don't know how many soldiers there are in Dingtao City at this time…"

"Jingdong is a prosperous place, there must be 20,000 soldiers." Even though Ma Kuo was already convinced by the other party, he shook his head repeatedly. "But Pengju, that's 5,000 Jin soldiers, and they have the support of a city…"

"How can the Jin army abandon field battles and rely on the city?" Yue Fei replied calmly without changing his expression.

"That's true." Ma Kuo nodded, but then shook his head again. "But it's still not right… As you said, the Jin army is naturally good at field battles. 5,000 cavalry will never defend the city, but where will our 20,000 troops be enough for them to charge in the open field?"

"Why fight in the open field?" Yue Fei was still calm. "Down the Jishui River from Dingtao, there is a battlefield within Jizhou that can restrain cavalry. Send a troop to lure the enemy, and with the Jin army's current arrogance, they will definitely follow. Just ambush them there…"

Ma Kuo was slightly moved. Just as he was about to say something more, he heard a commotion in the hall. After a while, an old general with a flushed face, gray hair, and about fifty or sixty years old turned into the hall with seven or eight fully armed military officers. It was Yang Weizhong. And a red-robed civil official next to Yang Ta Wei (Grand Commandant Yang), although walking in a level position, was just wimping out… It turned out that the officials up and down Guangji Army had already escaped when the Jin army occupied Jizhou before. At this time, the person who came with him was a judge from Hebei, who was conveniently picked up by Yang Weizhong. At this time, he was temporarily pretending, so naturally, he had no shape.

But no matter what, a civil and a military official sat down first, representing the authority of the Great Song for a century or two, and the leaders of the various righteous armies, bandits, and defeated soldiers in the hall became somewhat solemn.

"You all know about the Guan Jia's (Emperor's) decree."

After Yang Weizhong sat down, he didn't say any nonsense, but rolled up his sleeves and slapped the table, directly scaring the judge beside him. "You should all understand my intentions. And I also understand your intentions… Those of you who have been soldiers should recognize me, Yang Weizhong, and know that I am the Guan Jia's appointed Chief Commander of the Northern Route. Even the locals should recognize me, because at this time last year, before the Guan Jia ascended the throne, I led troops here to garrison… So, let's not talk about idle talk, I'll tell you straight. If this matter is successful, those without a background will naturally have a good background, and those with a background will also have a good future! If you want to stay at home, I can immediately give you a real commander position, so that you can stay at home and have a real official position to protect your home and defend your country; If you want to bring glory to your ancestors, it's not a problem for me to take you to the Imperial Presence to meet the Guan Jia afterwards! What do you say?!"

The heroes in the hall looked at each other, moved by what he said, but reluctant to be the first to stick their necks out. But since everyone had come this far, who wasn't here for the background and future that Old Yang Ta Wei mentioned?

As a result, a superficial person stood up and sang a big *nuo* (ancient salute) in the hall and started talking.

And since someone had spoken, the scene became chaotic. One said that he had fought with the Jin people and needed so and so troops; another said that they must first decide on the ranks, who was above and who was below, before they could send troops; others volunteered to say that they would give him so and so troops; and others were indignant and argued on the spot to be Yang Ta Wei's deputy, to take overall charge of this battle… A good Dingtao government hall had become a gathering hall for green forest heroes!

Yang Weizhong did not stop or advocate this, but just watched coldly.

However, after talking for a long time, two people finally took the upper hand in the hall. One was Zhang Rong, a hero from Liangshan Marsh, whose strength lay in the tens of thousands of fishermen who were half-bandits and half-civilians in the eight hundred miles of water; the other was Li Cheng, a bandit leader who escaped from the battle of Zichuan that day. This person was originally from Hebei. After the Jin army occupied Hebei, he fled to Shandong and occupied Zichuan as a bandit. A few months ago, he had also fought a battle with Wushu's main force, so he was greatly respected by the Shandong heroes.

One was a local tyrant, and the other was a strong outsider. Their strengths were similar, and their prestige was almost the same. They both wanted to be the leader of this righteous army and Yang Ta Wei's deputy, and they were almost about to draw their swords against each other.

After arguing for a long time, Li Cheng looked back and saw Yue Fei and Ma Kuo sitting at the table closest to Yang Weizhong, looking at him. He couldn't help but become furious. He drew his knife in public and pointed at Yue Fei, shouting:

"What do you mean, how dare you roll your eyes at me? Are you looking down on me, Li Cheng from Xiongzhou?"

ps: Sorry everyone, I really didn't notice the time. When I looked up, it was 0:00. My heart suddenly cooled down… It's also my fault, I couldn't help but touch Romance of the Three Kingdoms 14 when I came back at night.

I bow to you all! Luckily, I invested…