How should one depict the beginning of a war?

It's like the ordinary and lengthy life you've always lived, and on one of those days in the almost tedious process, you've almost adapted to enjoying everything. You walk, chat, eat, drink, cultivate, harvest, sleep, repair, speak, play, and brush shoulders with your neighbors, seeing the same scenery day after day, seemingly unchanged for all time...

Someone suddenly yanks you out of this state of normalcy.

Without mental preparation—of course, that's something you almost never have, no matter how much you prepare in advance. You feel anger, rage... and then you see your neighbor's head and the scarlet blood. Your mind and soul cannot yet accept or contain it all. In your long life, which seemed to carry the truth of heaven and earth, the most blood you had ever seen was the result of neighbors brawling or the cheering execution that the county brought for the bandit-killers. Is there really such evil in the world? Why did it come on this day? And why did it let the self born into the world encounter it?

Figuring all this out takes a long time...

…

Zhou Yuanpu was a small local squire living in the suburbs of Qingchuan County, west of Jiange. The Zhou family had lived in Qingchuan for generations, and an ancestor had been a *juren* (successful candidate in the imperial examination). Living in this small place, the family owned hundreds of acres of fertile land, and was considered a family of scholars and officials within a radius of several miles.

Although adjacent to the treacherous Jiange Pass, the southwest had not experienced war for two hundred years. The terrain out of Jiange into Sichuan was rugged, and there were occasional bandit incidents in the mountains, but they were not significant. In recent years, both the interest groups trading with the southwest and Si Zhongxian, who guarded Jiange, had deliberately maintained order on this road, making Qingchuan and other places as peaceful as a paradise.

Zhou Yuanpu, at the age of twenty-four, had inherited a fairly wealthy family business, married a wife and a concubine, and had a son and a daughter. The daughter was six years old and the son was four. He had enjoyed peace and happiness all the way.

All this was not slowly lost.

In the previous few days, people in nearby towns and counties had occasionally talked about the seemingly distant war. Some had mentioned the brutality of the Jurchens, considering whether to leave, while others said that no matter where the Jurchens occupied, wouldn't they have to leave people to grow food?

Such discussions were only sporadic and did not cause most people to overreact. Zhou Yuanpu had only thought about it seriously a few times in his mind.

Late at night on October 17th, he was suddenly dragged out of bed in a daze. Most of the bandits who rushed into the courtyard looked like Han soldiers, but the leaders were wearing strange foreign clothing. At this time, the village outside was already filled with cries. These people seemed to think that Zhou Yuanpu was a wealthy squire and had led the Jurchen "adults" to loot.

Zhou Yuanpu, along with his wife, concubines, children, and servants, was dragged out of the room. The leading Han Chinese asked him where the stored grain was and where the family's money was hidden. Zhou Yuanpu was still in a daze, but the foreigners didn't say much. They dragged one of the servants, hung him on a tree, and directly cut open his stomach with a knife. The bloody smell frightened everyone.

Zhou Yuanpu then confessed the location of the family's stored grain and the place where the calligraphy, paintings, antiques, gold, and silver were stored. He cried and said, "I'll give you everything, don't kill anyone." While the others went to loot, the foreigners dragged his wife, wanting to go into the room.

The wife cried and resisted. The foreigner slapped her on the head, and her head hit the steps, blood gushing from her mouth, and her eyes immediately glazed over. Seeing her mother in trouble, the daughter rushed up, hugged the foreigner's leg, and tried to bite him. The foreigner killed the little girl with a knife, and then dragged his concubine inside.

The concubine did not dare to resist. Several foreigners went in one after another, and then others took turns going in. The wife lay on the ground, her body twitching, her eyes seeming to still react. Zhou Yuanpu wanted to go over, but was knocked to the ground. He held his four-year-old son, completely unresponsive, thinking only: Is this not a nightmare?

The night grew darker and darker, and the cries and wails outside gradually became faint. Zhou Yuanpu never saw the concubine in the room again. The wife with blood on her head lay under the eaves of the courtyard, her eyes seeming to look at him, also looking at the young child. Zhou Yuanpu knelt on the ground, crying and begging. Not long after, he was dragged out of the bloody courtyard. He held his young son tightly in his arms, and the last thing he saw was his wife lying under the cold eaves and the concubine in the room, he never saw them again.

A fog rose in the long mountain road. People were bound with ropes and driven together. As they walked forward, more people were killed by the roadside.

All this seemed so unreal.

In the daze of the next few days, Zhou Yuanpu thought more than once, is the daughter dead? Is the wife dead? He flashed through his mind the scenes of people being disemboweled—was that the kind of scene that should exist in the human world?

Wasn't it said that no matter where they occupied, they would have to leave people to grow food?

He gave grain, gave treasures, gave all the savings. Why was it still not enough?

The mountain fog came and went. He carried the child and walked on the slippery mountain road, and was given some swill-like thin porridge in between. The child seemed to be frightened too, and didn't cry too much.

They followed the army all the way forward, and then, at some point, strange things appeared before people's eyes: the low walls of an old county town, rows of ditches on a small mountain outside the county town, and black, continuous military flags. They were surrounded and watched for a day or two, and then someone drove them forward.

…

Huangming County.

Seeing the opposite陣地 (zhèn dì - battle array, battle formation, position) begin to move, Pang Liuan put down his binoculars on the city wall.

The entire Second Division of the Fifth Army of Huaxia, rushed from Zizhou, had now completed its defense here. Over the past few days, large groups of Jurchens had arrived one after another. In the forest of flags opposite, it could be seen that the core team of Jurchen veteran general Balisu was responsible for suppressing the Huangming County battlefield.

The open space and hills in front of Huangming County could not accommodate too many troops. As the Jurchen troops continued to arrive, the trees on the surrounding hills were felled and quickly turned into defensive fortifications and fences. Hot air balloons rose on both sides, observing the movements on the opposite side.

While Pang Liuan watched on the city wall, he could also vaguely see the generals patrolling the opposite slopes. Both sides were mobilizing for the battle. The Chinese army soldiers defending the inner and outer阵地 (zhèn dì) of Huangming County were silently preparing for defense in an orderly manner. In the opposite camp, one could occasionally see teams of brave soldiers gathering and roaring.

Siege equipment and catapults were also being assembled quickly within sight.

The frontal clash with the strongest main force of the armies of this era was officially within sight.

October 25th, morning, Balisu issued an order in the military camp.

"Test them."

The civilians, as cannon fodder, were driven up.

Pang Liuan put down his binoculars and clenched his fist: "Damn."

The cannons on the city wall slightly adjusted their direction, and the war drums sounded.

…

On the battlefield where the two armies faced each other, people began to cry.

Zhou Yuanpu, holding his child, was unknowingly squeezed to the front by the crowded crowd. On both sides of his vision, there were solemn sounds.

Zhou Yuanpu's mind became slightly clearer.

"Let go of my child—"

He raised his four-year-old son and cried out with all his might in front of the two armies. However, countless people were crying, and his voice was immediately drowned out.

Not long after, the four-year-old child was trampled to death in the crowding and running.

In the fleeting short days, life's encounters were as far apart as heaven and earth. In less than half an hour after the start of the Huangming County war on October 25th, the entire family that once had Zhou Yuanpu as its pillar had completely disappeared from this world. There was no stopping at the point, and no preferential treatment for women and children.

This was the epitome of the experiences of thousands of families and people near Jiange. Even if someone survived, this experience would completely change their lives.

However, no matter how great the anger, it would not stir up any ripples in the battlefield before them. People, mixed with the interests, inclinations, and wills of countless families from all over the world, were clashing under this sky.

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

In the winter of the last year of the Jian Shuo reign of the Wu Dynasty, the great battle that broke out in the mountains of the southwest and determined the course of the entire world was like a dirge sung for a great empire that had lasted for more than two hundred years, and like the sound of a new era being conceived and bursting forth. It was like a great river coming from afar, surging and澎湃 (péng pài - exuberant, turbulent), yet稳重厚实 (wěn zhòng hòu shí - steady and solid).

People knew that all the accumulation and silence would be revealed here.

For this battle, the Jurchens had made all the preparations.

With the issuance of Wanyan Zonghan's order, hundreds of thousands of troops began to move forward in an orderly manner. At this time, the first batch of engineering teams had already surveyed and built the roads, and the vanguard troops, mainly composed of Jurchen elites, had already occupied key positions along the way.

The two roads from Jiange to Huangming County and to Yushui Creek were each more than fifty *li* (Chinese mile), neither long nor short. The mountain roads, which had only been responsible for the passage of merchant caravans, immediately seemed fragile under the scale of hundreds of thousands of troops.

Only three days after the army officially broke camp, the vanguard troops led by Balisu and Elili had each arrived at their designated battle positions and began to choose locations to set up camp. And countless troops stretched into long dragons along the mountain roads that stretched for dozens of *li*. The mountains were cold in winter, and the originally sturdy mountain roads soon became muddy. However, generals such as Han Qixian and Gao Qingyi had already prepared for these things.

The engineering team and the Han army elites who had surrendered quickly filled the soil, repaired the roads, and compacted the foundations. At some relatively open nodes extending forward along the dozens of *li* of mountain roads—such as Shili Ji, Canghuo Yi, and Huangtou Yan, where people originally lived—the Jurchen troops set up military camps, and then drove the Han army to cut down trees, level the ground, and set up checkpoints.

Even if the Chinese army was truly fierce and brave and the front line was temporarily defeated, the checkpoints composed of elites at these key nodes would be enough to block the poorly qualified and panicked retreating troops, preventing a collapse. And with the support of these nodes, some relatively elite Han troops could be pushed to the front and exert the strength they could exert.

For more than twenty years since the founding of the Jurchen state, Wanyan Zonghan had countless times achieved victories with fewer troops than the enemy. His generals had also long been accustomed to risking their lives for a fierce attack, with the enemy retreating like a tide. Adopting such a steady attitude in actual combat was perhaps the first time for Zonghan, but considering the encounters of Lou Shi and Ci Bushi, not many people in the Jurchen army felt that this was redundant.

In mountain warfare, not many troops can be deployed at one time. The Chinese army's occupation of several key nodes in the mountains meant that they would not encounter the crushing of disparity of troop numbers in the short term. However, as long as the route was kept open and there were no major problems, the Jurchen elite troops would continue to push forward wave after wave. This was a fierce offensive that no one in the world could withstand—at least for now, this idea was still the consensus of the entire world.

The wheels rumbled, the horses neighed, and the figures of the soldiers stretched like ants along the mountains. All kinds of military flags fluttered like dense forests, and huge hot air balloons occasionally rose into the sky. Above the dense forest, *haidongqing* (goshawks) occasionally circled. The army, numbering in the hundreds of thousands, was like a flood pouring into a narrow channel. As long as they broke through the obstruction points in front, their front would be a vast expanse.

Or, at least half the victory.

At the end of October, the first wave of probing on the front line appeared at the exit of Huangming County on the eastern front. This day was October 25th.

As early as three days before, in the rugged mountains extending from the Huangming County and Yushui Creek confrontation line toward Jiange, an extremely complex spy war had begun to escalate.

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

Throughout history, in any army, those who can serve as scouts are the most trusted confidants and elites of the army.

In an era when modern military consciousness had not yet awakened, this principle was extremely simple: people who eat salaries and sell their lives are humble and lowly. Without subjective initiative, even to drive soldiers forward on the battlefield requires extremely harsh military laws. If you want to let soldiers go out, unmanaged, and still complete the task, such soldiers can only be the most elite group in the army.

The close guards of the generals, the retainers of aristocratic families, or the fierce wolves and tigers they raise, at least those who can benefit from the development of the war situation, can give birth to such a mind to take the initiative to fight.

Zou Hu, thirty-two years old this year, was originally one of the scouts of the Wu Dynasty army, leading a scout squadron of nine people, selling his life to Wu Dynasty general Hou Ji. He had once participated in the resistance on the Xiangfan defense line. Later, Hou Ji's army violated too many military laws and suffered a lot of anger in front of Yue Fei. He claimed to be attacked from both sides and under great pressure, and finally surrendered to the Jurchens.

Zou Hu had no objection to this.

He was born as a hunter in the mountains. He was poor when he was young, but under the careful guidance of his father, he developed the ability to travel through the mountains and ridges. He joined the army at the age of ten. His body was good, and he had seen blood early. He was cultivated as a elite *hǔ bēn* (brave warriors) in Hou Ji's army.

Hou Ji was a general with traditional temperament, and his training emphasized ferocity. He believed that without the nature of tigers and wolves, how could they go to the battlefield to kill the enemy? In the past ten years, the resources of the Wu Dynasty began to tilt towards the army, and Hou Ji and other leaders also gained the support of some officials. Under Hou Ji's command, the soldiers' arrogance and bullying of the villagers were not rare. Zou Hu's temperament was still simple at first, but after spending more than ten years in such an environment, his temperament had long become brutal.

Wolves travel a thousand miles to eat meat, dogs travel a thousand miles to eat shit. This world is inherently a law of the jungle. Those who cannot pick up a knife should have been bullied.

These people who eat salaries risk their lives to fight in the front, while others hide in the back and enjoy the blessings. In this case, if they can't get the benefits, then it's really unjust.

——The elites under Hou Ji have always lived with such voices. In some friction and competition links, his group of fierce and tyrannical tiger and wolf soldiers can also earn some face. This made them increasingly firm in their beliefs.

Later, when the army was transferred to the Xiangfan defense line, Yue Fei straightened out military discipline with a lack of sentimentality, and Hou Ji became one of the key targets. The Xiangfan War was already fierce, and the pressure on the front line was not small. Zou Hu believed that every time he was sent out—although not often—he was putting his head on his belt to survive. How could he bear that someone was still dragging him down from behind?

Later, as the war situation developed, all the camps around Xiangfan were拔 (bá - to pull out, to capture)ed. Hou Ji surrendered on the front line, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Usually, when talking about the fact that his group was risking their lives on the front line, and the court reused Yue Fei, these young officials who were commanding randomly, he even added fuel to the fire, and even said that this Yue Fei was probably in love with the licentious 长公主 (cháng gōng zhǔ - princess) in the court, so he was promoted—or that he had an unclear relationship with that damned prince...

The court is so昏聩 (hūn kuì - fatuous and muddle-headed), how can it not perish!

Participating in the Jurchen army, life was much better. On the way from Xiangfan to Jiange, although the truly wealthy large towns were looted by the Jurchens, as an elite scout force under Hou Ji, everyone could always get some benefits many times—and there were almost no enemies. Facing the advance of the Jurchen veteran commander Wanyan Zonghan, after the collapse of the Xiangfan defense line, what followed was a complete rout. Even if there were occasionally those who dared to resist, the resistance was actually extremely weak.

For a man born in the world, fighting like this is refreshing!

Everyone talked about it every day, saying to each other that this was a good owner to投 (tóu - to surrender to). Hou Ji didn't have much emotion for the Wu Dynasty. He was poor since he was a child, and was always bullied by landlords in the mountains. After becoming a soldier, he bullied others, and had already convinced himself that this was the principle of heaven and earth.

After surrendering to the Jurchens for several months, Hou Ji gradually began to say some more "reasonable" words when talking to the brothers under his command. For example, the Wu Dynasty was corrupt and its demise was the destiny of heaven. The rise of the Great Jin was in line with the rotation of the world. This time with the Great Jin, the descendants would also have two or three hundred years of福 (fú - happiness, good fortune) to enjoy—you can understand it by comparing it to the Wu Dynasty. Everyone timely chose the side, established achievements, and in the future, they would have a place in this world.

In short, after this battle, they would enjoy the福 (fú)!

During August and September, large armies arrived at Jiange one after another, and the Han army naturally had fears in their hearts. The Jiange Pass was easy to defend and difficult to attack. Once the fighting started, his group of surrendered Han troops would probably be used as 先登之士 (xiān dēng zhī shì - vanguard) to attack陣地 (zhèn dì). But soon after, Jiange actually opened its gates and surrendered. Didn't this further prove the天命 (tiān mìng - Mandate of Heaven) of my Great Jin?

Without Jiange, the Southwest War would be half successful.

In October, troops passed through the pass one after another. Hou Ji's main force was arranged behind Jiange to suppress the formation and transport food. Zou Hu and other elite scouts were first sent in. On October 12, military officials registered and reviewed everyone's rosters and information. Zou Hu understood that this was a preparation to prevent them from defecting or surrendering to the enemy before the battle. After that, the scouts of each army were gathered together.

There were as many as 10,000 elite scouts mobilized. The elite veterans among the Jurchens exceeded 2,000. The person responsible for leading the scout troops was Jurchen veteran general Yu Yu.

"...There are more than 10,000 scouts alone... This滅國之戰 (miè guó zhī zhàn - war to conquer a nation), this framework is set up..."

When talking to the brothers around him, Zou Hu imitated the tone he usually heard when watching poetry collections and operas, his words were quite frivolous, but he couldn't help but be shocked and honored.

"...That black flag in front is not easy to mess with either."

When someone in the team said this, Zou Hu also nodded and took out his catchphrase: "Wolves travel a thousand miles to eat meat, dogs travel a thousand miles to eat shit. Don't you see enough of the道理 (dào lǐ - reason, truth) in this world? The marshal has raised us for so many years, covering everything. Why? If you are fierce enough, you will have something to eat... The Wu Dynasty has long been hopeless. That surname Ning is really fierce, killing the emperor. Didn't we revolt because we couldn't bear those guys? Around you, they are all the fiercest people in this world... Whether you eat meat or shit in the future, after fighting in this Southwest War, no one can say anything."

"...Why are we the ones who came in, and others were arranged to transport grain outside Jiange? Because... this is a place where only the fiercest people can enter!"

Zou Hu encouraged his soldiers in this way, with both fear and excitement in his heart. After surrendering to the Jurchens, he was still quite concerned about the reputation of a traitor. He was not a traitor, nor a coward, he was a warrior as fierce as the Jurchens. The court was昏聩 (hūn kuì - fatuous and muddle-headed), forcing his group to rebel! Just like that 心魔 (xīn mó - heart demon) Ning Yi!

Now everyone is gathered in the Southwest. This is the battlefield for the most powerful people in the world. After this battle, they will earn great fame, and the world will naturally look at them with admiration. Of course, at that time, they don't need to explain anything, the world belongs to Great Jin, and a wealthy and noble future will naturally be waiting for him.

The moment Jurchen veteran general Yu Yu inspected the scout troops on the high platform, Zou Hu was sure of this. On the school field where they accepted the inspection, there were elite *hǔ bēn* (brave warriors) everywhere, front, back, left, and right. The Jurchen scout teams looked like the most difficult veterans who had come out of a sea of corpses and blood—this was one of the troops most relied upon by Wanyan Zonghan.

In addition, the teams of Bohai people, Liao people, and Liaodong Han people were also the most elite scout members in the world at this time. Even his group, selected from various surrendered armies, which one was not the elite among the elites with countless blood on their hands—those who were slightly worse were only qualified to loot and escort grain in the rear, and could not even enter Jiange, because it was too damn crowded here.

With such a lineup rushing over, how could his side lose?

The Jurchens announced the detailed rules for killing the enemy and making meritorious service to the scouts. Soon after, the scout troops were dispatched in batches. Near the mountain roads that stretched for dozens of *li*, the scouts first had to establish a defense line that was hundreds of *zhang* (Chinese unit of length) long—this was to prevent the Black Flag scout troops from assassinating the Jurchen generals and destroying the roads. The most elite group of people were released to find small paths that could be passed through the rugged mountains.

The area near Jiange is surrounded by mountains, and it is difficult for vehicles and horses to travel. However, after passing the most rugged passes of Big Jiange Mountain and Little Jiange Mountain, although there are also cliffs and precipices, it is not impossible to walk at all. The Jurchen troops have sufficient manpower. If they can find a narrow road, and then let the insignificant Han troops pass—regardless of whether the damage is huge—it will completely break the Black Flag Army's plan to block the lack of manpower.

Because his own strength was not yet trusted, Zou Hu and the people around him were initially arranged in relatively rear fixed posts. They squatted on the high points in the rugged mountains, and there were still plenty of responding personnel. Such an arrangement was not very dangerous. As the friction in front continued to intensify, some people in the team were fortunate, while others were restless—they were all elites in the army, and most of them had unique skills in walking and surviving in the mountains. Many people couldn't wait to show them off and make a brilliant achievement.

Han army troops may be far inferior to the Jurchens on the battlefield. They are a bunch of lazy bums who cannot be supported. However, in terms of individual skills, there are still a large number of ambitious people among the scouts. Some can run in the mountains all day without fatigue, some walk through the mountains and ridges as if walking on flat ground, some are good at hiding, some exude a murderous aura that even fierce beasts tremble at the sight of, some have ingenious trap arrangements that are difficult for ordinary people to avoid. They have also been valued in the past, and now that they have降 (xiáng - to surrender), they naturally want to show off and惊 (jīng - to startle, to surprise) the arrogant Jurchens.

Departing from Jiange to Huangming County, after walking ten *li*, there is a relatively open settlement called Shili Ji, which has now been expanded into a military camp. Zou Hu's team is guarding in the nearby mountains. Every day, he watched the dense soldiers cut down trees, changing every day, like a power of moving mountains and filling the sea.

Every night, he rests in the military camp near Shili Ji. Not far away is a camp where another group of elites live: it is a gathering place for *jiāng hú* (江湖 - martial arts world) people who have surrendered to the Jurchens, about 800 people. They are all *lǜ lín* (绿林 - outlaws, bandits) experts who have successively surrendered to Zonghan over the years. Some of them have feuds with the Black Flag, and some have even participated in the Xiaocang River War that year. The leaders among them have made great contributions in the war that year.

Most of these *lǜ lín* (绿林) people are also Han Chinese. The personnel on both sides occasionally come into contact with each other. The *lǜ lín* (绿林) people have many unique martial arts skills, and they were originally arrogant. The elite scouts such as Zou Hu also have unique skills, and when they show them to each other, they all have a sense of respect. One of the leaders on the opposite side, a *lǜ lín* (绿林) strongman named Ren Hengchong, nicknamed "Blood-Covered Divine Fist", and Zou Hu met and got along well. When chatting, he talked about the Huaxia Army in front and said: "That Ning Yi is nothing great. He was forced to be like a grandson in Bianliang. Even in Xiaocang River, I killed many of his little cubs."

Zou Hu then knew that the other party had known Ning Yi in Bianliang, and had war exploits in the Xiaocang River War. He immediately asked for advice. Ren Hengchong talked about the operations against the Huaxia Army during the Xiaocang River, and also said that he had结梁子 (jié liáng zi - to create a feud, to become enemies) with Ning Yi in the capital that year, and later swore to kill Ning Yi as his goal.

——Before this, many *lǜ lín* (绿林) people had been 折 (zhé - defeated, killed) by Ning Yi because of this matter. Ren Hengchong summarized the lessons and did not recklessly confront Ning Yi. During the Xiaocang River War, he led a group of his followers into the mountains and killed many Huaxia Army members. His original nickname was "Red Fist", but later it became "Blood-Covered Divine Fist" to show his霸气 (bà qì - domineering, imposing manner).

After the Xiaocang River War, Ren Hengchong was appreciated by the Jurchens and secretly funded to specialize in dealing with the Huaxia Army. After the Huaxia Army transferred to the Southwest, Ren Hengchong also came to sabotage several times, but was not caught. Last year, the Huaxia Army issued a "Extermination of Traitors" order and listed a list, Ren Hengchong was on it, and his value soared. This time, he was brought along as an elite in the Southern Expedition.

Ren Hengchong is a very ambitious person. He has achieved success in martial arts and has been得意 (dé yì - pleased with oneself, proud) for half his life. That year, when the situation in Bianliang was changing rapidly, the leader of the Great Light Sect launched heroes from all over the world to enter the capital. Ren Hengchong went to Beijing as the leader of the Huainan *lǜ lín* (绿林). At that time, he had been famous for more than ten years and was known as a *lǜ lín* (绿林) celebrity, but he was actually only in his early thirties. He can be said to be意气风发 (yì qì fēng fā - high-spirited and vigorous) with a bright future. Some of the people who entered the capital at that time were old, and even if their martial arts were stronger than him, he didn't take them seriously.

In Ren Hengchong's view at that time, he would become a martial arts grandmaster like Zhou Tong, Fang La, and Lin Zongwu in the future. At that time, Qin Si Yuan, who had been powerful for a while, stepped down, and the Jurchens were repelled. Everything was waiting to be兴 (xīng - revived, rebuilt), and the land of the capital can be described as wide and open, just waiting for him to perform on stage. Who knew that a group of people would chase and kill Qin Si Yuan, and everything was buried in that屠杀 (tú shā - massacre).

That day on the wild land outside Bianliang City, Ren Hengchong and others saw that 心魔 (xīn mó) Ning Yi standing on the distant土坡 (tǔ pō - earthen slope), looking at them with a pale and resentful face. Lin Zongwu and others walked up and laughed at him. Ren Hengchong thought about going over to challenge this rumored “Grandmaster” level Demon King. All he thought about was being in the limelight, but the next moment countless cavalry jumped out from behind.

Even Lin Zongwu, the best in the world, turned around and ran away at that time. Ren Hengchong's nickname was "Red Fist", but in the face of the impact of the cavalry,拳法 (quán fǎ - fist techniques, boxing) was really useless. He was撞 (zhuàng - collided) by the warhorse, fell to the ground and broke a tooth, his mouth was full of blood, and later he was dragged and rubbed on the ground, his pants were worn away, and he was injured all over. A group of *lǜ lín* (绿林) people were chased by the cavalry until the evening. He pretended to be dead in the pile of corpses with his buttocks exposed. He was shot in the buttocks and didn't dare to move, and that's how he saved his life.

For Ren Hengchong, who had been raised in luxury since he was a child, this was the most humiliating moment in his life. No one knew, but since then, he became more and more尊 (zūn - respected, self-esteem). He tried his best to deal with the Huaxia Army—unlike the reckless *lǜ lín* (绿林) people, after that massacre, Ren Hengchong understood the importance of the army and the organization. He trained his disciples and grandchildren to cooperate with each other, and secretly waited for opportunities to kill people, using this method to weaken the power of the Huaxia Army. Because of this, he was once received by Wanyan Xiyin.

Even when facing the arrogant Jurchens, Ren Hengchong considered himself not inferior. The army finally killed the southwest, and his heart was holding back, wanting to kill a batch of Huaxia Army members like in the Xiaocang River to establish威 (wēi - prestige). His heart was already boiling. When talking about this matter with Zou Hu and others, he encouraged them to show those Jurchens "what is called killing people".

In the past few days, the elite Jurchen scouts who went to探路 (tàn lù - to scout the way) were陆续 (lù xù - one after another) carried back injured. Some were injured by landmines, and some fell into the coordinated ambush of the Huaxia Army. Some people had already felt the fierceness of the Huaxia Army.

Soon after, they got the opportunity to advance.

On October 19, the vanguard troops had already set up camps on the confrontation line and built fortifications. Yu Yu issued orders to more scouts, ordering them to start advancing towards the交界线 (jiāo jiè xiàn - border, boundary line), striving to use the advantage of numbers to kill the Huaxia Army's scout forces and break through the Huaxia Army's mountain defense line with brute force.

Ren Hengchong led his hundred-odd followers and set off that day.

Zou Hu was in the subsequent batch. At this time, he had not felt too much. As a scout team that has been滞后 (zhì hòu - to lag behind, to be overdue), theoretically speaking, even if they rushed to the front, there would not be many opportunities left for them. The mountains in Sichuan are complex, and there are only so many roads that can be taken. Thousands of people plow towards the front in hundreds of batches, and there is not much left for the rear.

The mountain roads were difficult to travel, and the pressure of the elite scouts pushing forward was not transmitted to the front line until two days later.

At this time, the person in charge of the Huaxia Army's scout troops was Fang Shuchang, who came from the霸刀 (bà dāo - Tyrant Blade) sect. When he met with Chen Tian, the chief of staff of the Fourth Division, on the afternoon of the 20th, he received the offensive order brought by the other party. Ning Yi and Qu Zhengyan said: "The fight is about to begin, blind their eyes."

At this time, there were more than 4,000 scout troops allocated to Fang Shuchang for unified deployment, half of which were special operations teams from the Fourth Division under Qu Zhengyan, trained specifically for infiltration, hunting, and beheading. The mountain roads and terrain near Jiange had been repeatedly surveyed half a year ago, and the Fourth Division's staff had planned the operations and cooperation plans for almost every key location. By the 20th, everything was completely determined.

The departure arrangements and mobilization meeting were organized on the afternoon and evening of that day. On the 21st, in addition to the 1,500-odd people who were originally operating in the mountains and the 500 reserves retained by Fang Shuchang, a total of 200 basic special operations units, scaled by class, were投入 (tóu rù -投入) into the mountains in front from different directions.