The story goes that Zhang Jun always thought he was suffering and toiling, only to have Han Shizhong steal the limelight, eat the meat, and seize the credit for the battle. But in reality, although the commotion that day was immense, neither side achieved a definite result, and no one truly got to savor the spoils!
Indeed, not only was the river battle abruptly halted by Han Shizhong's arrival, resulting in minimal losses for the Jin army aside from a floating bridge, but even the Meng'an (commander of a thousand) who had been lured over that night, namely the thousand-strong force under the Jin general Shulie, was not immediately annihilated... In fact, after the excitement of stopping the Jin army from crossing the river subsided, everyone found it to be rather unsurprising.
After all, in open field battles, the Jin army was still far superior to the Song army!
The Song army was still a mess here, with everyone fighting on their own, empty positions and empty salaries, a burst of energy followed by a decline. Sending a letter to report military intelligence required petty tricks, leading to dozens of memorials impeaching each other, which resulted in the expectedly swift removal of the newly reinstated Grand Commandant... This was simply an all-round backwardness compared to the Jin army, which could withstand dozens of charges without faltering and would not surrender even when trapped in a dead end.
However, that was all it amounted to. Shulie's force was not divine after all. A thousand-strong isolated army, without supplies or reinforcements, was pinned down by Wang De, leading Fu Qing, Huyan Tong, and Yang Yizhong's units, in a valley in Mount Xiashi, making it difficult to break through. Once the rations were exhausted, they were bound to be annihilated.
Just like the other remnant force surrounded by Han Shizhong's navy on an island in the middle of the river... Although they were a fishing and hunting people, they couldn't possibly survive by just fishing and hunting, right?
Nevertheless, Shulie's persistence and the existence of that remnant force on the island downstream gave Wanyan Zongbi (Jin Wuzhu) a stubborn reason. These days, he indeed refused to adjust his strategy as Alibu had predicted, and instead seriously filled ditches, built ladders, and bombarded the city, still diligently seeking a way to break Han Shizhong's large ships head-on.
You might say, within ten steps, there must be fragrant grass. Jin Wuzhu really did find a solution—Military Advisor Shi Wenbin was insightful. He had previously served as the Magistrate of Yuncheng County, bordering Liangshanbo, the largest lake in the Central Plains. Liangshanbo had always been rife with bandits, and it was also a key transportation hub in the Central Plains, so the Zhao Song Dynasty had repeatedly used troops to suppress them, and therefore understood some of the differences between ships.
According to Shi Wenbin, it wasn't that no one had suggested letting the large ocean-going sailing ships enter Liangshanbo along the Ji River to suppress the bandits, but it had been rejected early on, because ocean-going sailing ships entering inland rivers, although they were behemoths on the water, were far inferior to the 'paddle wheel boats' that were manpower powered and more 'ingenious'. Once the wind stopped, they couldn't move. At this time, as long as small boats densely approached and fired rockets at the sails, they could be easily destroyed!
Jin Wuzhu was naturally overjoyed at this, but he personally whipped Shi Wenbin... Because, knowing the method to defeat the enemy was certainly a good thing, but in this situation, where was he supposed to find small boats? You should know that even the ships he had painstakingly collected upstream and downstream had just been ruined.
Since Jin Wuzhu had joined the army, this was the first time he had suffered a setback. He was worried that Wanyan Talan and the direction of Yanjing would send people to urge him, and he was reluctant to give up on Zhao Jiu, who was right in front of him. Moreover, he was, after all, young and vigorous, and he couldn't accept that he had led tens of thousands of invincible troops here in vain... Clearly, in terms of combat power, the Song army combined was not enough for twenty thousand Jin soldiers to charge head-on, but he was blocked by a large river, a strong city, a fleet, and a Jin Wu banner!
Jin Wuzhu himself even began to suspect that he had fallen into the Song people's trap, leading a detached force to the enemy's predetermined battlefield... But on second thought, given Liu Guangshi's performance, even Alibu and Elubu couldn't say such a thing.
In short, the Fourth Prince of the Jin Dynasty was clearly somewhat mentally unbalanced, at a loss for what to do, and became moody, delaying a decision for several days... He would even vent his anger on Shi Wenbin and the Khitan, Xi, and Han Chinese officers in the army after being angered by Alibu and Elubu.
However, regardless of how Jin Wuzhu thought of a new strategy, during this period of stalemate, as Zhao Jiu's previous decrees and documents were sent to various places, they did indeed cause countless waves.
In the Lianghuai area alone, countless volunteer armies sprung up, some with three to five hundred men, some with one to two thousand, all with wealthy families bringing their own food and recruiting young men, gathering in Shouzhou... But to be honest, these troops, those coming from Huainan were fine, and could mostly safely arrive in the area of Shouchun and Mount Bagong, where Zhang Suo, who had newly arrived but unexpectedly hadn't been given any official assignment, was organizing and incorporating them; but those coming from Huaibei were mostly no match for even a casual patrolling Meng'an of Jin Wuzhu's army. Often, several volunteer armies would gather together, creating a great momentum, and after they had just elected a leader and obtained a recognized identity from the surrounding government, they would be crushed by five or six hundred Jin cavalry who had come upon hearing the news, turning into routed soldiers and even bandits.
And on this day, as the Lantern Festival arrived, Zhao Jiu's decrees and documents finally reached Tokyo, which had long lost its former prosperity, and fell into the hands of Zong Ze, the Tokyo Regional Commander, Privy Councilor, and Deputy Commander.
"Though Chu has only three households, it will surely be Chu that destroys Qin. Can it be that the glorious China is devoid of talent? If sacrifice is needed, let Me be the first..."
"Stop reciting! All you know is to say such grandiose words, but I have not seen any action!"
In the Regional Commander's mansion, Zong Ze, barefoot and draped in a fur robe, sat cross-legged on a couch, reviewing documents while listening to his son, Zong Ying, standing before the couch reading the Emperor's pile of documents, but then suddenly became impatient. "According to his intention, have someone copy them and post them..."
"Your son understands!" Zong Ying replied carefully, but was puzzled for a moment. "But Father, the Emperor has changed so much, wanting to resist the Jin, and also appointing Minister Li, and treating Father so generously, isn't this exactly what Father has been asking for? Why are you not happy instead?"
It is said that Zong Ze, nearly seventy years old, still appeared lean and wiry even draped in a fur robe, and his hair was mostly white, appearing decrepit, but when he raised his head, his eyes were bright and piercing, showing extraordinary energy, now with a hint of irony under the lamp:
"Who said I am not happy? If these documents can be maintained, I am afraid I will happily extend my life by two years! But my son, what kind of person do you think Emperor Zhao is?"
"Please Father enlighten me!" Zong Ying looked back and saw that there was no one around before lowering his head to ask.
"What is there to avoid?" Zong Ze became more impatient at the sight. "I am an old man who is about to die, and I have the merit of supporting him, and I am also the Tokyo Regional Commander, what can he do to me if he tears off my skin?"
"Father, say less about matters of life and death..."
"Listen carefully." Zong Ze threw down the pen in his hand, looked up and said. "I saw clearly in Hebei that this Emperor Zhao's inner incompetence is no less than that of his father and brothers... But this person is extremely good at pretending, speaking human words to people and ghost words to ghosts. On the surface, he is dignified, but inside he is cowardly and incompetent, going with the wind and drifting with the tide. Placing him in the officialdom, he is exactly like a Cai Que, a person who is capricious and unreliable... In my opinion, he has already been frightened by the Jin people in the Jin camp, how can he really dare to fight the Jin people? Even this southward journey, isn't it because he took advantage of Minister Li's serious illness and suddenly changed his route to Yangzhou? That's why he was chased to Shouzhou by the Jin people!"
"Then these decrees and documents... what about them?" Zong Ying was stunned for a moment.
"I fear that he issued these decrees and documents deliberately for the Jin people and those people in Huaibei like Zhang Jun to see, so that he could take the opportunity to escape!" Zong Ze said to this point, unable to stop the anger rising in his chest, and he gasped several times before stabilizing himself. "Back in Hebei, wasn't that how he abandoned millions of people in the two rivers?"
"At that time, the Emperor was not yet the Emperor after all..." Zong Ying still found it difficult to accept. "Now the Emperor is already the Son of Heaven, he shouldn't be like this!"
"Bullshit Emperor Son of Heaven!" Zong Ze retorted coldly. "Isn't the Emperor Son of Heaven a person? Back then, the two Emperors were also proper Emperors in this Tokyo city, don't you know the ugly state of going back on their word and using all sorts of tricks? I understand now, to be stuck with these three Emperors, father and sons, is the great misfortune of the nation!"
Even when father and son were alone, Zong Ying did not dare to answer this.
"But the arrival of this decree is also a good opportunity! And this Emperor is, after all, tied to the safety of the world, and even if it is possible, he cannot be ignored!" Zong Ze regained his composure slightly. "Take these decrees and go find Yue Fei, who has just returned to the city. First, kill the Jin messenger, and then bring Ma Kuo to see me!"
"Now?" Zong Ying raised his head and looked at the twilight outside the window, and couldn't help but be stunned for a moment. "And he is a messenger..."
"Isn't everyone fighting for their land? Isn't it forbidden to negotiate peace? Killing a Jin envoy, do we need to pick a time?" Zong Ze slapped the low table in front of the couch, his beard and hair fluttering. "Kill those Song traitors who are dogs for the Jin people now, and your father might be able to live three months longer! I will write another memorial asking Emperor Zhao to return to Tokyo and propose to move the six armies north to recover Yanyun. If you still can't bring back their heads after I finish writing, then go to the army to serve!"
Zong Ying left in a disheveled state.
ps: Have I completed the achievement of continuous updates for 30 days, protecting everyone's investment? To be honest, the end of the year is so tiring.