The moment both sides deployed their troops, battle became inevitable.

A small detachment of Song soldiers, two thousand strong led by Qiao Ze from the Qin Feng circuit, was sent to Mount Jin Su with orders to feign an attempt to seize it. However, their movement was quickly detected by Jin scouts. Immediately, Wanyan Shensi (originally Yelu Shensi, bestowed the Wanyan surname by Emperor Taizu of Jin), the vanguard of the Wanhu Yelu Mawu's command, was ordered to lead ten Khitan mouke, totaling a thousand riders. They discarded their baggage, left the main force, and rushed towards Qiao Ze's unit.

On this localized battlefield, cavalry proved swift and deadly. As such, in the morning, before the dew had dried, Qiao Ze had led his troops only ten li from the main camp, with five or six li remaining to Mount Jin Su, when they collided head-on with Wanyan Shensi, and battle commenced.

The battle was simple, rapid, and fierce.

While Wanyan Shensi's unit consisted of Khitan cavalry, the troops organized under the Meng'an Mouke system still possessed distinct Jin characteristics. As Wu Jie had summarized, the main Jin force traditionally held advantages in cavalry, heavy arrows, armor, and most importantly, the endurance and discipline of their soldiers.

Conversely, Qiao Ze's troops from the Qin Feng circuit lacked horses and armor, and the soldiers' overall quality was questionable.

Therefore, despite Qiao Ze's best efforts, just two quarters of an hour later, with the Song army suffering nearly a hundred casualties from Jin heavy arrows, they fell into a comprehensive disadvantage. In this situation, to preserve his troops, Qiao Ze immediately chose to fight and retreat. Yelu Shensi, apparently receiving specific instructions, relentlessly pursued without hesitation.

With the Jin cavalry's sustained and effective killing, Qiao Ze's unit soon faltered, rapidly descending into a state of disarray. The unit lost its ability to resist, and large-scale deaths and casualties began to occur. Fortunately, everyone was retreating in the same direction, and the terrain was complex. Even though the Song soldiers were somewhat panicked in their flight, the sudden appearance of a ditch or a patch of muddy swamp left by evaporated water brought great trouble to the heavily armored Jin cavalry, keeping Qiao Ze's unit in a state of disorganized retreat.

Thus, the not-so-effective pursuit and slaughter continued for some time. The Song army continuously shed bodies, but as the remnants of Qiao Ze's force ascended the highland plateau six li east of their main camp, the Jin army finally encountered a major delay. Qiao Ze had not lost his mind; he deliberately chose the steepest section of the ravine for the retreat, and this steep edge of the plateau proved to be a significant problem for the Jin cavalry, forcing them to detour to the sides of the plateau to find gentler slopes.

However, it ended there. When the Jin cavalry finally managed to circle around and ascend the plateau, they discovered no less than five or six thousand Song reinforcements, divided into two groups, had already left the camp to rescue them.

Wanyan Shensi, observing these rapidly moving, well-formed units with a slight glint under the sunlight, chose to retreat without hesitation. His thousand-odd riders had no chance of gaining an advantage against the Song main force of this size and morale.

"What's the point of this battle?"

After receiving Qiao Ze's unit back, Xin Yongzong, the Imperial Guard's Central Army Commander, looking at the losses suffered by Qiao Ze's troops, couldn't help but complain to Li Qiong, who was standing beside him and had come to the rescue along with him, in front of Qiao Ze. "Two thousand isolated troops. Wasn't Wu just sending General Qiao out to die for nothing? Moreover, our camp is so high up that many soldiers witnessed the defeat with their own eyes. Isn't this just a waste of morale?"

Qiao Ze knew that Little Xin was currying favor because of his uncle, Qiao Zhongfu, and as the one who received the order, he knew some of the inside story. But at this moment, having just escaped from the jaws of death, he was inevitably disheveled and in no mood to speak. He simply turned his head to assess the condition of his subordinates.

"That's not how it is."

At this moment, Li Qiong, who had been standing on the plateau, surveying the surroundings, shook his head with a stern expression. "Grand Commandant Wu's action does have some merit. He is looking for, or rather, guessing at a suitable battlefield for a decisive battle! If there are no surprises, we should be fighting on this Dongpo Plateau today! The terrain, size, height, visibility, and distance are all suitable!"

Xin Yongzong was stunned and looked down at the plateau again, suddenly realizing something. No matter how lacking he was in talent, now that Li Qiong had spoken so plainly, how could he, as a military leader, not understand? Moreover, Qiao Ze, the person involved, did not refute at all.

The Jin army clearly intended to seize Mount Jin Su to gain a visual advantage and to establish a secondary base from which to launch a general offensive against the Song camp. However, Mount Jin Su was fourteen or fifteen li away from the Song camp. Such a long distance meant that they would certainly not be able to compete with the Jin cavalry. Therefore, as everyone thought, the contention for Mount Jin Su was a false proposition from the beginning, and facing the main Jin force of thirty thousand, a sortie by two thousand isolated troops could not have any substantial outcome.

However, Wu Jie's purpose in sending Qiao Ze out was not this.

The process of the two thousand troops collapsing had naturally highlighted the advantages of the Dongpo area:

First, Dongpo was five or six li from the Song camp and ten or so li from Mount Jin Su. This was an effective distance for the infantry-based Song army to support and sortie from the camp, ensuring that it would not be easily controlled by the Jin army in advance.

Second, since Dongpo was a plateau, and the main slope was on the east side, it was destined that infantry would be able to ascend this battlefield much more easily than the opposing cavalry.

Third, the height of Dongpo did not exceed the foothills where the Song camp was located, providing clear visibility and facilitating command.

Finally, Dongpo was extremely large and long, hundreds of steps wide and more than ten li long, facilitating the deployment of the main force. At the same time, the swamps formed by evaporated water mostly ended here.

However...

"Does the Marshal intend to abandon the camp and engage in battle?" Liu Xi, in the central military camp of the Song army, stared at Dongpo for a long time before turning back to Wu Jie with a look of astonishment.

"It's not that I want to, but once the Jin army occupies Mount Jin Su, they can discern our strengths and weaknesses. Then, if they occupy Dongpo, they can divide and break through the camp." Wu Jie frowned seriously. "Moreover, don't forget that we debated the matter of setting up camp earlier. I said that occupying high ground was more for visibility and command, and I did not refute Commander Liu's argument that the marshland best hindered cavalry. Now that the marshland area is halved, it can still hinder the Jin cavalry. Moreover, even the part of the marshland without water is still muddy, which might have a surprising effect. Are we going to abandon these marshes and swamps, allowing the Jin army to calmly ascend Dongpo and then besiege the camp? And in the heat of summer, if the Jin army approaches the camp, what about fire attacks?"

Liu Xi was stunned for a long time before angrily slamming his armor, "What if we had listened to me earlier and set up camp below the Dongpo Plateau?"

Wu Jie was too lazy to pay attention to such meaningless complaints. In any case, the other party had already agreed with the strategy of engaging in battle.

Liu Qi, the Pacification Commissioner of the Lizhou circuit, stepped forward to persuade his elder brother, "Commander, the Marshal's words are very reasonable. Moreover, even if we had set up camp below the plateau near the marsh, how could we abandon our numerical advantage and confine ourselves to the camp? The camp is so large that it is impossible to provide effective support. If we confine ourselves, we will most likely be defeated one by one. In the end, we still have to take the initiative to engage in battle."

Liu Xi was completely speechless, while Zhao Jiu, the Song Emperor, sitting next to Wu Jie, did not say a word, but glanced at the pair of brothers.

Regardless, it was undeniable that the Song army had suffered an initial defeat, and the Jin army had achieved an initial victory. What followed was an unbearable period of emptiness on the battlefield.

After the Song army retreated, they cautiously defended the camp, which, to put it nicely, was called waiting for the enemy to exhaust themselves, but to put it bluntly, it meant they could not grasp the initiative in battle and could only passively respond. After their victory, the Jin army did not take the opportunity to launch an attack. Under the leadership of Wanyan Loushi's five-colored parasol banner, the thirty thousand troops calmly advanced towards Mount Jin Su. Armor and baggage were piled on large military supply carts, and the warhorses were unburdened, without the slightest hesitation or restlessness.

This was understandable. They were also conserving energy and preparing for the upcoming battle.

Moreover, a few Jin high-ranking officials understood that they were also delaying for the reinforcements of the Fourth Prince, Wanyan Wushu, and seeking an opportunity for battle. In short, they could not launch a full-scale attack too early, nor could they launch it too late.

Time passed little by little, until near noon, when the sun was about to reach its zenith. The sunlight gradually dimmed, and the air seemed somewhat heavy.

"Is it going to rain?" In the silence, Emperor Zhao Jiu of the Great Song finally asked his first question of the day.

"It's hard to say." Without waiting for Wu Jie to speak, Wang Yuan, the Imperial Guard's Commander, took the initiative to answer. "The clouds are not heavy. It might rain, or it might not..."

"If it rains, is it good or bad?" Zhao Jiu asked seriously.

"If there is rain, torrential rain, it would naturally be a great benefit." Wang Yuan hesitated before saying, "The Jin army's cavalry, heavy armor, and heavy arrows would all be ineffective. With our army outnumbering them, we could win in close-quarters combat in the rain. But if it doesn't rain soon, this kind of weather would actually be a great benefit to the Jin army, who fear the heat—without direct sunlight, they can directly deploy troops at noon."

Zhao Jiu nodded. The war had one more unstable variable, but it could not be relied upon. On the contrary, any commander should consider these variables from the worst-case scenario, which was why Wu Jie was so restless.

"Order the entire army to halt, don armor, and soothe their horses, preparing for battle."

Tens of thousands of troops stretched for miles. Most of the troops were still trailing behind when Loushi arrived at Mount Jin Su, looking out from the high ground. He retracted his gaze from the five-colored parasol banner above his head and issued a military order decisively from his camp stool.

The order was quickly transmitted, and it took tens of thousands of troops a full quarter of an hour to come to a complete stop. After waiting for a moment, carefully observing the positions of his units and the layout of the enemy camp, Loushi glanced at the sky above his head and issued a second military order without hesitation:

"Order Wanyan Zhehe's unit to be the vanguard, leading fifty mouke from his command, carrying sacks. Immediately depart, using earth sacks to fill in any swamps or marshes, and rush towards the northernmost side camp of the Song army!"

The order was immediately issued. Then, around noon, Wanyan Zhehe's unit of the Jin army began to sortie in force.

Seeing Wanyan Zhehe deploying troops, Loushi did not panic and issued a third military order:

"Order Yelu Mawu's unit to seize the plateau slope on the east side of the Song camp, and order Deputy Commander Balihesu to lead ten thousand Han soldiers as reinforcements. Immediately deploy!"

Balihesu turned and acknowledged the order, but then asked solemnly, "Commander, I will take the Han soldiers, but who should be entrusted with the dozens of mouke besides my Meng'an's command? Should it be Xiebu or Pei Man Tu Nian? Who should be appointed as commander?"

"No need to appoint a commander." Loushi looked at Balihesu calmly and instructed, "I will personally assign them and support you from behind!"

Balihesu did not say anything more and directly turned around to descend the mountain.

In the afternoon, the Song army discovered the movement of Wanyan Zhehe's unit, but the camps were continuous and unbroken. Before they could redeploy their troops, a small camp on the northernmost side was easily attacked and breached by two Jin Meng'an leading more than ten mouke. The defeated soldiers scattered into other camps, causing chaos.

"Liu Qi!"

Wu Jie observed the situation from afar and no longer hesitated, directly ordering a general, "Lead the Lizhou army out of the camp, fully commit to the northern side, and meet this unit. I entrust the left flank (north side) of this battle to you!"

Taking the left flank of the army was a task assigned during the initial deployment. Liu Qi did not hesitate and immediately departed to carry out the order.

With Liu Qi gone, Wu Jie did not pause for a moment and issued another order, "The Imperial Guard's Central Army, Wang De's unit, advance with the entire army to seize Dongpo! Wang Yan's unit and the units from the Qin Feng circuit will serve as reinforcements!"

The various commanders accepted their orders and transmitted them layer by layer. Moments later, the main camp opened wide, and tens of thousands of troops surged out of the camp, dividing into two groups. Liu Qi's unit headed towards the left flank to meet the attack of Wanyan Zhehe, while the various units of the Imperial Guard's Central Army poured out, divided into two layers, front and rear, rushing to seize Dongpo.

The two commanders-in-chief had the same idea. By the time the Song army surged onto Dongpo, Yelu Mawu's unit had already taken advantage of the cavalry to seize the plateau slope first. The Song army's vanguard, Fu Qing's three thousand troops, was caught off guard. As soon as they reached the plateau, they were surrounded on three sides by five thousand Jin cavalry.

Heavy arrows rained down continuously, coupled with the cavalry's oblique attacks with cavalry spears from the flanks, weakening Fu Qing's unit layer by layer like peeling skin. Almost instantly, this core main force of the Song army was defeated.

However, soon, Wang De, Zhang Jing, Qiao Zhongfu, and Xin Qizong's three units arrived together, and the wide battle line spread out, rushing back like a large net.

Seeing that they were about to be encircled in reverse and that the Song troops below the plateau were continuously arriving, with an astonishing number that almost covered the sky and earth, Yelu Mawu hurriedly ordered a retreat, but the troops were intertwined with the remnants of Fu Qing's unit, making it impossible to follow the order.

In the midst of panic, at this moment, Jin Deputy Commander Wanyan Balihesu led ten thousand Han soldiers to Dongpo, and the subsequent Jin troops completely took over. Yelu Mawu's unit was able to take advantage of the situation to retreat.

Thus, the Jin army consisted of ten thousand Han soldiers and six or seven thousand cavalry, with Wanyan Balihesu commanding the infantry and Yelu Mawu commanding the cavalry; while the Song army, after Fu Qing's unit collapsed directly, consisted of thirty-five thousand troops, stacked in layers, divided into ten units, with Wang De's six units in the front and Wang Yan's four units in the rear. The two armies, totaling no less than fifty thousand troops, each occupied one side of Dongpo and engaged in a direct battle on the plateau.

The shouts of battle from fifty thousand troops reverberated between Mount Yao and Mount Wu Long, and dust flew on the plateau slopes. The light of armor completely obscured the scene, and the formation was temporarily invisible. It was only possible to observe the battle situation remotely through the flags and the back-and-forth movements of large units.

"A stalemate, but the Royal Army has the upper hand!" After watching for a moment, Wang Yuan couldn't help but report to Zhao, who was in full armor, "The Royal Army has more troops and is pushing the Jin army towards the east!"

Zhao Jiu did not say anything but looked with Wu Jie from the command platform towards a certain point in the left front of the central army camp. While Wang Yuan was observing the battle on the plateau, a drastic change had also occurred in the battle situation there—after Liu Qi led the Lizhou troops to counterattack Wanyan Zhehe, he not only immediately drove the Jin Meng'an who had broken through the Song camp on the left flank out of the camp area, but also actively pursued and achieved a victory!

Taking advantage of the height advantage of the central army camp on the mountain slope and the wide view from the command platform, Zhao Jiu saw a scene that made him feel unprecedentedly shaken without anyone explaining it to him… After successfully traversing the marshland using some kind of sacks, thousands of Jin troops were trapped in mobility difficulties in the muddy swamp area where there was no water. Liu Qi led the Lizhou army to pursue them and, without hesitation, abandoned their horses and entered the swamp, encircling these thousands of immobile Jin cavalry!

"Commander!"

A rider galloped over, shouting loudly from a hundred steps away on the mountainside to Loushi. "The Song army decisively left the camp to seize the plateau, and their troops are very heavy, consisting of the elite of the Imperial Guard's Central Army. The Deputy Commander (Balihesu) requests support! He says that if he does not receive support, he fears that he will not be able to hold that plateau!"

Loushi sat still, about to speak.

"Commander!"

Another rider galloped from the northwest, also shouting from afar, but he was more anxious and irritable than the previous one, even carrying a hint of roaring and crying in his words. "My Wanhu (Wanyan Zhehe) was careless and fell into the mire. Thirty of the fifty mouke have been surrounded by the Lizhou army among the Song people! The Song army abandoned their horses and entered the mud, engaging us in melee combat and shooting at each other. If there are no reinforcements, I fear that there will be countless casualties!"

Loushi paused. The battle was taking place near the side of the Song army's camp. Although Mount Jin Su was a high ground, it could barely observe the battle on the Dongpo Plateau and barely see the distribution of the Song army's camp, but some places were simply invisible.

He did not expect that so many of his main forces would be in danger so quickly.

However, after a moment's thought, Loushi regained his composure and immediately ordered, "Pei Man Tu Nian, Wanyan Xiebu!"

The two generals stepped forward and bowed to receive the order.

"You two were formerly Yin Shuke's old subordinates, which is most appropriate. I originally intended to keep you by my side for protection, but the battle is tense, and I cannot worry about so many things." Loushi calmly said, "Take all forty mouke that Balihesu left behind and go to the plateau from both sides, either attacking or breaking into the gaps between the Song army units, or if Balihesu has other orders at the time, I don't care. I only want you to protect Balihesu and Yelu Mawu and maintain the plateau position with the main force… Do you understand? I just want that plateau!"

The two generals were somewhat surprised, but how could they not understand the military order, especially to rescue their own leaders?

Therefore, the two generals immediately accepted the order and quickly began to muster their troops, preparing to support the plateau. The messenger of Balihesu was overjoyed and directly turned around to report.

"Commander..." Seeing this, Wanyan Zhehe's messenger showed a few signs of hope, but he was somewhat flustered. The Jin army only had thirty thousand troops, and twenty thousand had already been deployed. Now that he had directly sent forty mouke to support the Dongpo Plateau, was Loushi going to personally rescue his own Wanhu?

"You can rest here." Loushi glanced at Zhehe's messenger, recognizing that the other party was Pu Liyan, a rather brave figure beside Zhehe, and slowly called out another person, "Pou Shu!"

Wanyan Pou Shu, Loushi's Meng'an in his own command, immediately stepped forward, "Commander!"

Wanyan Zhehe's envoy was overjoyed to see this person step forward.

"Go yourself and tell Wanyan Zhehe." Loushi looked at his confidant and said calmly, "Tell him that I do not hold him accountable for his negligence in falling into the mire, but since things have come to this, I ask him to be sure to defend that place. Even if he attracts Song reinforcements and the troops and time are all spent on him, even if the entire army is wiped out, I think it is worth it!"

Wanyan Pou Shu was Loushi's confidant, so he naturally knew about the Fourth Prince's reinforcements, so he instantly realized Loushi's intention. However, the man was clearly still somewhat uneasy: "Commander, what if General Zhehe is dissatisfied?"

"Then issue a formal military order!" Loushi still had a calm expression. "Tell him that Wanyan Loushi, the commander of the Shanxi military march, has ordered Wanyan Zhehe, a military Wanhu holding a golden tablet, and his thirty mouke to die in the mire beside the Song army camp!"

Wanyan Pou Shu understood and was about to get on his horse to deliver the order in person, but before he could turn around, the messenger of Zhehe's unit on the mountain slope had turned pale and turned his horse towards the northwest.

Just as the man ran down the mountain slope, he reined in his horse and turned back, shouting loudly from afar in Loushi's emotionless gaze, "Commander! I know that you must have a plan! And such a military order does not need Pou Shu Meng'an to deliver it in person. I will explain it clearly to my Wanhu! Let Pou Shu Meng'an rest here to conserve his strength, in preparation for your plan!"

After saying that, the man did not look back and directly rode his horse towards the northwest.

A lone rider rode off, kicking up a cloud of yellow dust, which quickly subsided. Then, Pei Man Tu Nian and Wanyan Xiebu each led twenty mouke, breaking out from the left and right, heading straight for the north and south ends of Dongpo, stirring up dust, rolling on like two long dragons.

Throughout the entire process, Wanyan Loushi remained silent, only his eyes were bright, never avoiding anything in front of him from beginning to end.

ps: Thanks to classmate Xiaoyu of the Eighty-Second Moe and classmate Chang Lian of the Eighty-Third Moe… To tell the truth, the number of leaders of this book surprised me somewhat.