In the ebb and flow of chaotic times, people moved in different directions. Although most drifted along, muddled and ignorant, there were always those who went against the tide, drawing their swords and moving forward.

After the Jurchen Western Route Army breached Xiangfan, the gates of the Wu Dynasty were thrown open, and a thousand *li* of land from Xiangfan to Jianmen Pass rapidly fell. Many people and armies knelt before the Jurchens, and in less than half a year, the cities large and small throughout this vast territory opened their gates to the Jurchens.

Some resistors died at the time. Armies willing to surrender to the Jurchens offered a *tou ming zhuang* (certificate of allegiance) in various ways, but there were always some who genuinely chose to feign compliance, quietly awaiting the arrival of a turning point.

Returning north from the southwest, crossing the Yangtze River wasn't limited to the Xiangyang and Fancheng route alone, but geographically, Xiangfan's location was crucial. The Jurchen forces, never considering failure, consistently concentrated their fleet at the Xiangfan crossing. Therefore, when some of the most improbable situations arose, the plan to launch a surprise attack on Xiangfan and cut off the Jurchens' retreat had been swirling in the minds of some daring individuals since last year.

The Jurchens' defeat at Wangyuan Bridge stirred the nerves of Liu Guangshi, Xia Zhongxin, and Xiao Zheng, prompting them to quickly make their own choices. At the same time, others began to contact and implement their own plans.

On the seventh day of the third month, after coordinating with each other, Qi Xinhan led a regiment of troops, setting out along a carefully scouted route. On the twenty-seventh of the third month, they arrived at the foot of Fancheng, attempting to launch a surprise attack from within and without.

If the surprise attack succeeded, it would deal a heavy blow to the Jurchen Western Route Army attempting to retreat. But the subsequent progress was not smooth.

Three thousand men rushing nearly a thousand *li*, taking a route roughly equal to the enemy's rear, was an extremely risky endeavor. But considering the estrangement between the Jurchen army and the Han army, and the significance of this action, Qin Shaoqian ultimately approved the operation. He selected the most elite troops in the army and made several contingency plans—although the Han army, secretly in contact with the Huaxia Army, had devised an elaborate plan, the Huaxia Army ultimately did not follow it.

It turned out that such psychology was extremely necessary. Approaching the territory of Fancheng, Qi Xinhan deployed his scouts extensively and observed the situation in advance at the foot of Fancheng. The army did not enter the agreed location at the agreed time.

The contact person inside Fancheng was a no-show. As the scouting party actively sent signals south of the city, someone jumped down from the city walls of Fancheng.

The personnel arranged inside Fancheng to try to open the gates was originally a junior officer of the Central Plains Han army. However, it was clear that the Jurchens had seen through the entire plan. They押 (yā - press, detain) this junior officer onto the city walls, ordering him to deceive the Huaxia Army, but this man's leap completely erased that possibility.

The Jurchen army and elite puppet army stationed in the Xiangfan area had not initially confirmed the Huaxia Army's whereabouts. After capturing the inside contact, they carried out a large-scale mobilization. Tens of thousands of troops, including three thousand Tushan Guards, quickly surrounded the city. Qi Xinhan did not panic. The three thousand men quickly retreated to the vicinity of Danyang Town southwest of Fancheng, setting up an ambush under the cover of night, taking advantage of the terrain.

Seeing that the Jurchens had seen through the Black Flag Army's plan to seize the city, the Han army began to flee, and their fighting spirit turned resolute. Several thousand people quickly chased to Danyang, seeing a Black Flag troop retreating into the mountains. They surged forward, attempting to seize favorable terrain. Before they could climb the mountain, the Huaxia Army launched an attack from the middle of their formation, cutting it in two. Then, another ambushing force charged in from the rear, first seizing the gunpowder, carts, and iron cannons carried by the army.

When the Tushan Guards arrived, the first six thousand Han soldiers were fleeing across the mountains. The Huaxia Army split into two groups, setting up a V-shaped artillery formation in the mountains, waiting for the Tushan Guards' frontal attack.

Although the Tushan Guards were Jurchen elites, the number controlled by Xi Yin outside Jiange Pass would not exceed thirty thousand. The number that could be arranged in Fancheng and mobilized to pursue would be even smaller. In comparison, Qi Xinhan had just defeated a Han army twice his size and directly provoked the approaching Tushan Guards.

The commander leading this Tushan Guard was also a fierce general. Seeing the Huaxia Army's contemptuous attitude, he immediately launched an attack.

The battle was extremely fierce from the very beginning of the night. Although the Huaxia Army had just fought a battle, taking advantage of the terrain and setting up a formation was extremely advantageous. This was why Qi Xinhan directly provoked the enemy. But the Jurchen commander was not a fool. In the latter half of the first wave of attacks, he realized the problem, ordering a large number of troops to attempt a roundabout encirclement while dispatching more Han troops from the south of Fancheng to block the road. Before his encirclement was complete, Qi Xinhan, taking advantage of the favorable terrain he had already selected, quickly began to move before dawn.

The Tushan Guards bit down and followed.

Although the Jurchen side had the advantage in numbers, the three thousand men led by Qi Xinhan had trained in the highlands for a long time, and long-distance raids on rugged terrain were commonplace. They interspersed through the mountains, occasionally encountering Han troops, but shattering them with a single blow. This situation made it impossible for the Jurchen side to seize the opportunity in the first two days. People could only know that a lively battle had broken out near Fancheng.

The events on the battlefield had ignited the flames. Outside the battlefield, the situation was particularly complicated.

…

March 29th, north of Zhaohua, the sky was gloomy, in the rear camp of the Jin Kingdom's Western Route Army.

Forty-three-year-old Jin general Wanyan Yuchi lifted the curtain of the large tent and paid respects to the commander-in-chief sitting within: "Teacher."

Lights illuminated the tent. In the center was a huge sand table, with various small flags planted in corresponding positions. The flags bore the names of different forces and armies, and they were adjusted and updated daily as intelligence arrived.

Wanyan Xiyin, with half of his hair white, appeared thinner recently but was still energetic. He sat in a chair in front of the sand table. Wanyan Yuchi noticed that he was holding two flags in his hand, looking at them somewhat absentmindedly.

"Teacher," Wanyan Yuchi had followed Xiyin for many years. Compared to the unremarkable little prince Qingjue, Wanyan Yuchi's family background was not prominent, but he had risen through the ranks through genuine achievements. He was considered Xiyin's trusted disciple and right-hand man. Seeing Xiyin's actions, he could roughly guess what had happened: "... Have you identified the people?"

"Yes," Wanyan Xiyin nodded, turning the small flags with names written on them in his hand. After a moment, he sighed slightly, but also revealed a hint of a smile, "Dai Mengwei, Wang Zhai'nan, do you remember these two people?"

Wanyan Yuchi thought for a moment: "Dai Mengwei is a great scholar from Xicheng County, Wang Zhai'nan is also a Confucian general. The things they sent a year ago, the teacher liked very much, and talked with them for a long time... Have they betrayed us?"

"They never truly surrendered, so what betrayal is there to speak of? Yuchi, your teacher has said before that Confucianism is profound, and these scholars in the south are not all kneeling. Knowing it's them, your teacher is somewhat gratified."

"Yes," Wanyan Yuchi nodded. Although Xiyin was learned in Chinese studies, his disciples were not all fond of reading.

"Go handle it."

Xiyin's simple sentence was followed by countless more storms of blood and violence.

…

As Wanyan Yuchi led his troops out, members of the Huaxia Army's intelligence department, who had been lurking in the thousand *li* of land between the Yangtze River and Jiange Pass, were also rapidly reacting and taking action.

After the Jurchens occupied this area, they killed and slaughtered, and those who resisted died or surrendered. But there were always some who either went up the mountains and became bandits or hid among the refugees, constantly carrying out their own resistance. Among the Han army and aristocratic families, there were also those who favored the Huaxia Army. It was Dai Mengwei and Wang Zhai'nan, who controlled several places, who contacted the Huaxia Army and proposed the plan to seize Fancheng.

But it was clear that Wanyan Xiyin had foreseen the importance of Xiangfan, and even anticipated that the Han army that had previously submitted to his side would collude with the Black Flag Army. With the appearance of the Wangyuan Bridge Incident, Qi Xinhan approached Fancheng. Xiyin's prepared countermeasures were deployed. After forcing Qi Xinhan back, after a slight review of the earlier information, the figures of Dai Mengwei and Wang Zhai'nan also entered Xiyin's field of vision.

At the same time, the Huaxia Army's intelligence department had to begin considering the possibility that Dai Mengwei, Wang Zhai'nan, and others were actually true traitors. After preliminarily ruling out this possibility, the message of the action spread in all directions.

Many Robin Hood-esque heroes and resistance forces, led by Fulu, who had been lurking in various cities and among the refugees, began to act. The purpose of their actions was to unite various forces and begin rescuing Dai, Wang, and the relatives and clansmen of these two resistors. One riot after another unfolded amidst cries of support. At the same time, the Huaxia Army began to lobby all the remaining Han army troops in the thousand *li* area that could be won over.

The two sides' chess pieces were still falling. Wanyan Xiyin waited for the appearance of the rebels, attempting to suppress them in one fell swoop, to kill the chicken to scare the monkeys, preemptively detonating and clearing possible hidden dangers on the way back north. And for the Huaxia Army, with the dangerous gamble of three thousand men as the beginning, Qin Shaoqian wanted to remind everyone: the hour of the decisive battle was approaching.

…

The moment the fuse was lit outside Jianmen Pass, the fierce fighting inside Jianmen Pass continued.

South of Huangming County, the air was humid and gloomy. Gunsmoke filled the sky, and the penetrating stench of blood permeated people's nostrils.

Wanyan Sheyema waved his long saber and shouted loudly, actively fighting on the front lines. His constant activity boosted the morale of the Jin army.

Rockets called "Dijiang" were launched from I-beams on a small hill, whistling with terrifying tail flames, falling and exploding in the stream not far away. Wanyan Sheyema led his troops to charge towards the small hill occupied by a small number of Huaxia troops.

From the Rainwater Creek on March 21st to Huangming County on this day, he had fought fiercely for several days, shouting himself hoarse. In fact, the most critical moment for Zonghan's army to withdraw from the southwest had arrived.

This was the most difficult and desperate war he had ever encountered in his life. In the fierce battle at Rainwater Creek for five days, Sheyema once thought he was going to die in that mountain forest. Qu Zhengyan led only four thousand soldiers. Although displaying Ning Yi's flag was just a feint, those who followed him were some of the fiercest troops in the Black Flag Army. The Jin soldiers' morale gradually weakened. On the second day of the frontal battle, they showed signs of decline. On the third day, Sheyema was blocked on a narrow mountain road, almost being surrounded by two Black Flag armies.

But among the Jin people, there were still brave warriors. Ni Sherang, the Xi deputy commander who had fought alongside Sheyema for nearly twenty years, broke through with all his might, carrying Sheyema's battle flag. Eventually, Ni Sherang was shot dead by the Black Flag Army, and Sheyema narrowly escaped, fleeing for his life.

A weak person is unlikely to suddenly become tough, and a proud person will not suddenly become weak. In the continuous battles, brothers died, deputy generals died, and during the breakout, his most beloved warhorse, as close to him as himself, also died. Most of the soldiers around him showed expressions of fear and despair that were absolutely never seen in the past. Sheyema, on the other hand, forgot his fear. Afterwards, he gathered his troops again for two days of fighting, and the Black Flag Army's artillery fire and stray arrows on the battlefield did not hit him in the slightest.

The terrain of Rainwater Creek was complex. Although everyone fought fiercely round after round without a clear victor in five days, for the Jin people, this fierce battle did indeed delay Qu Zhengyan's continued advance. When more Black Flag troops gathered at Rainwater Creek, Sheyema withdrew his army to Huangming County.

At this time, a large number of Jurchen troops were also pouring into the narrow Huangming mountain road, and the Huaxia Army was pursuing closely, causing heavy casualties to the Jin people.

More than a month ago, the army that arrived at the front lines of Shiling and Xiukou consisted of 50,000 Han soldiers and nearly 100,000 main Jin troops. In the mountain roads behind, there were also more than 30,000 wounded soldiers and rear defense troops guarding various places. After the defeat at the Wangyuan Bridge, most of the Han soldiers chose to surrender. Nearly 70,000 Jin troops departed from Shiling and Xiukou, but adding the personnel on the rear roads, the total number reached 100,000.

In half a month, under the Huaxia Army's repeated attacks, the Jin army's casualties and missing persons were close to 20,000, and a small number of wounded who could no longer retreat chose to surrender. By the 25th and 26th, about 50,000 Jurchen troops had successfully passed through the Huangming Pass, and more than 20,000 remained blocked in front of the road to enter the mountains. Because it was difficult to bypass Huangming County via small roads, the Huaxia Army, which had been catching up one after another, launched one charge after another against the fleeing Jurchen troops, defeating them and then capturing them.

The morale of these troops left behind was already low. Although they often occupied the roads and set up defenses, the Huaxia Army's rockets had a longer range than cannons. Often, one round of rockets plus one round of charging would result in the large-scale surrender of the Jurchen troops at the very rear. During this period, the valiant fighting of Bali Su, Sa Ba, and others delayed the speed of the collapse to some extent. Sheyema, who had come from Rainwater Creek, immediately joined them, trying to stabilize the morale of the army.

On the 29th, a small Huaxia Army team that had come from the side seized a hilltop next to the road through a surprise attack, almost cutting off the retreat of several thousand people in the rear. Sheyema led his troops to launch two attacks towards the mountain. The Huaxia Army team, with an extremely inferior number, fired the rockets they were carrying. Seeing the Jurchens surging forward, they finally chose to retreat.

A rocket exploded not far from Sheyema, behind a large rock. Some soldiers next to him were blown away. Sheyema had already shouted himself hoarse. When his guards rushed over, he was still standing in place for a long time, stunned. Afterwards, he understood that he had survived again by luck.

The Huaxia Army on the hilltop retreated in disarray.

--And he was alive.

He thought of the many people in the past who were called heroes by the Jurchens, Aguda, his father, Zongwang, Xiyin, Loushi, Bali Su... At this moment, he suddenly realized where he fell short of them. He had fought with the army for twenty years, and he also claimed to be valiant, but in reality, most of the battles he had fought after adulthood were easy victories.

Unlike Aguda and his father's generation, in the eyes of later generations, they fought bravely and generously all the way, but back then, from Ningjiang Prefecture to Hubudagang, they had walked on the edge of life and death like this, time after time, with a small number of troops against a large number of Liao soldiers.

At this moment, he truly understood how difficult it was to survive.

There was a pale sun in the sky, and the valley was filled with haze, but at the moment in front of him, everything was vividly moving. Soon after, he saw Bali Su coming from the other end of the road. The two men, covered in gunpowder and blood, nodded to each other without saying much.

As long as I can return to the north, I will definitely not let Great Jin perish at the hands of the Black Flag Army.

At this moment, that's what he thought.