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As the afternoon wore on, the north gate of Jinan City opened, and those Song soldiers, in reality Yue Fei, Tang Huai, Zhang Xian, and others, immediately discarded the banners proclaiming "Capture Wanyan Li Alive!" and the posing props like heads, including the corpse of Da Tabyeya… Indeed, facing the large contingent of Jin troops pouring out of the city, and realizing this Bohai Meng'an had served his purpose, Yue Fei swiftly killed him... and then immediately galloped north!

They had to leave!

Not only did the north gate swing wide, releasing a swarm of Jin cavalry, but the scouting parties positioned on the east and west sides were also frantically waving flags as they retreated in disarray... Clearly, the Jin army had opened all three gates and was deploying its full force!

Of course, Yue Fei had anticipated this scene after Da Tabyeya, enraged by his provocations, descended from the city... Given the Jin army's arrogance, even the most cautious commander would never allow a Meng'an to be captured.

But, having fought the Jin for years, Yue Fei understood that with the vast disparity in strength between the two armies, coupled with the "squadron beheading" practice—a double-edged sword of military discipline—and the Jin army's willingness, from nobles to common soldiers, to brave blades and arrows, beheading tactics were the riskiest, yet simplest and most effective.

Back to the present, the prelude was over, and the battle had formally begun, but it was exceptionally difficult.

The swarm of Jin soldiers pouring out possessed overwhelming combat power. The previous theatrics and individual bravery, while not meaningless, couldn't bring about a qualitative change on this battlefield.

Even in the midst of their escape, Yue Fei could sense the Jin commander's prudence and steadiness. The five hundred cavalrymen in the forest hadn't shaken the Jin army, and, remarkably, there were no shouts of contempt. This suggested that the officers had briefed their troops thoroughly.

Therefore, under the Jin army's relentless pressure, encirclement, and pursuit, the Song troops had to carefully manage their pace, which resulted in several close calls with pursuing enemies and tangible casualties.

Of course, now that the enemy had been lured in, these setbacks didn't matter. They only needed to stall long enough to bring the Jin soldiers to the ambush point as instructed.

However, thinking of that ambush point, Yue Fei couldn't help but worry about Zhang Rong.

He was confident in Zhang Rong's battle intent and knew that his years of stability in Liangshan Marsh meant he must be capable and calculating, but if Zhang Rong lacked large-scale battle experience, would that lack of experience cause the plan to fall short in the face of the Jin commander's caution?

But this worry was fleeting. The arrow had already been notched, and Yue Fei believed he had executed the plan to its simplest, most effective extent... More importantly, resisting the Jin was an undeniable duty. With the overall situation deteriorating, he could only do his best and leave the rest to fate. Success would be welcome; failure meant escape and a search for future opportunities. Why dwell on doubts?

As the afternoon reached its midpoint, and the sun moved to the southwest, Yue Pengju ceased making any tactical maneuvers against the large contingent of Jurchen cavalry behind him. He led the remaining four hundred-odd riders directly to the edge of Liangshan Marsh. Spotting the signal on the water, he unhesitatingly followed it, veering between two large, separated reed beds and entering a solid path within the marsh.

As soon as he turned, he saw his own troops in an open area of land and water ahead. Surprised, he didn't have time to dwell on it but led his cavalry forward.

Moments later, he was met by Wang Gui, Ma Kuo, Fu Xuan, and other generals rushing forward.

"What is this wild beach called?" Yue Fei dismounted, stepping onto the firm, sandy beach in the shallows, and instinctively began to assess the terrain.

"Chief Zhang calls this place Shrinking Head Beach!" Ma Kuo replied casually.

"Why not Gourd Beach?" Yue Fei blurted out.

"We asked him the same thing, but Chief Zhang just laughed, without explaining much," Wang Gui said, shrugging. "He said the terrain was beautiful but few besides the local fishermen knew its intricacies, making it ideal. We're stuck in his stronghold, so we have to listen to his nonsense!"

Yue Fei and Wang Gui couldn't help but ask because the terrain was a perfect gourd shape!

Two circular, sandy, hard beaches, one large and one small, connected to each other like a large gourd, diagonally positioned in the southern waters of Liangshan Marsh from northwest to southeast... The smaller beach, the northwest gourd head, was connected to the larger round beach, the southeast gourd body where Yue Fei had entered. One side was the depths of Liangshan Marsh, and the other had seven or eight *li* of deep water. Ma Kuo, Wang Gui, and Fu Xuan led five or six thousand Song soldiers, occupying the smaller beach and setting up a forward position at the gourd waist.

"How does he plan to fight?" Temporarily setting aside his geographical confusion, Yue Fei continued to question, now addressing the key issue.

"He only said that if you, Pengju, bring the main Jin force on time, we just need to hold this place for a little over an hour, and then we can achieve a great victory," Ma Kuo said, shrugging. "When we pressed for details, he just laughed. In his stronghold, all transport relies on his ships, and we have no say... Having arrived here, we can only guess he is planning for us to defend for an hour, then he will lead his navy out of the reeds on both sides, flanking them!"

"We were even discussing whether this bandit would betray us!" Fu Xuan couldn't help but complain.

Yue Fei shook his head repeatedly, continuing to observe the terrain.

He had been in Jinan for days, witnessing how the Jin army mistreated the people of Jinan. Yue Pengju didn't believe the Liangshan Marsh, which had a deep-seated hatred for the Jin, would betray them.

But he couldn't stop the officers around him from complaining. Looking at the defensive position and terrain Zhang Rong had arranged, while strategically located and defensible, fell short of Yue Fei's expectation of an outstanding ambush site... More puzzling, given the scale of the ambush, they should seek annihilation. Although the water was deep on both sides, the ground was sandy and hard and connected to the shore on both sides. Given the Jin commander's caution, if Zhang Rong really brought a large naval force to surround them on both sides, wouldn't they just turn around and leave?

The large round beach they had come from was three or four *li* in circumference, and both the base of the gourd and the narrow part of the gourd waist underfoot were estimated to be three or four hundred paces wide!

With such width and sandy ground, cavalry could arrive and leave as they pleased. They could even charge through the line, if they weren't worried about the horses!

After all, Yue Fei and his four hundred-odd riders had directly galloped in.

But before Yue Fei could think too much, as they were talking and observing, the Jin army, after sending out a small group of scouts to confirm the situation inside, unhesitatingly led their main force into the marsh.

Both sides were in plain sight, with nothing to hide.

Even so, Wanyan Seli remained cautious, stopping his horse and looking around to assess the situation.

However, seeing that the large reed beds on both sides were five or six *li* away, and witnessing the scouts galloping back and forth, able to reach the Song army's position swiftly, coupled with the assumption that the Song army had no reinforcements, Wanyan Seli, after a long look and amidst the impatience of his officers, concluded that the Song army had exhausted their tricks and simply wanted to rely on their reinforcements to hold out until nightfall, forcing the Jin army to retreat... Which would have been a passable plan.

Therefore, the ever-cautious *Wanhout* no longer hesitated, and ordered his entire army to advance and pursue, determined to crush the Song army and end the battle before nightfall.

An hour later, under the spring afternoon sun, the battle erupted!

Arrows flew, and blood splattered! At the narrow entrance of the gourd waist, blood stained the water almost instantly, and the bloodshed was constant!

At this moment, the Jin army seemed to receive "fair" treatment, demonstrating their true combat strength... Despite being the long-distance travelers against a rested force, despite not having a numerical advantage, despite not being able to leverage the local mobility of their cavalry, and despite the Song army's superior firing range, the scales of battle were being tilted back by the Jin army's hard-hitting infantry tactics and the armor-piercing power of their Jurchen bows and arrows, and the balance was increasingly shifting.

"The Song army has run out of tricks!"

On the gourd's belly, Wanyan Seli, mounted on horseback in the center of the large round beach, watched the Song army formation to the northwest for a long time, then suddenly smiled.

Liu Lin, on the contrary, had a serious expression, his brow furrowed with worry. Hearing this, he immediately retorted, "Why does General Wanyan say that? This Song army's combat power is far beyond imagination. It has withstood the repeated assaults of our four intact *meng'an* for over half an hour without yielding an inch... They might be able to hold out until nightfall, forcing us to retreat."

"Brother Liu is right, and wrong..." Wanyan Seli shook his head repeatedly.

"Please enlighten me, General Wanyan."

"Look, Brother Liu," Wanyan Seli, now in a good mood, pointed with his riding crop, explaining to Liu Lin. "You are right in that this Song army is the most formidable I have ever seen, disciplined, well-organized, and relentless; but you are wrong in thinking that all these Song troops can fight so hard, there are not five thousand of them, including the few hundred cavalry who lured us here, there are only around fourteen or fifteen hundred... Those are the troops holding the line. The rest of the troops are wavering!"

Liu Lin realized, "It must be that Yue commander's main force!"

"Indeed." Wanyan Seli couldn't help but sigh. "A commander of an army, surely not an unknown figure, and with the rare surname Yue, do you recognize him, Brother Liu?"

Liu Lin looked up and thought for a long time, finally shaking his head. "I really don't recognize him!"

Wanyan Seli was slightly disappointed.

Liu Lin, sensing his mood, immediately understood, "Does General Wanyan want to recruit him?"

"Talent is hard to come by!" Wanyan Seli sighed. "And among the Han Chinese, the southerners like your father, and the northerners like General Han Chang, weren't they all valued by our Great Jin Kingdom? If he brings his troops over, he will immediately receive a *meng'an* ranking. After two battles, he'll be a full-fledged *wanhout*!"

Liu Lin was slightly tempted, and volunteered, "Although I don't know him, now that he is in dire straits, why don't I seize the gap during the next wave of rotation attack to call out a word for General Wanyan?"

"Be careful of his archery!" Wanyan Seli nodded in satisfaction and immediately agreed.

A moment later, as one group of Jin soldiers retreated and another prepared to attack, Liu Lin indeed rode forward, stopping a hundred paces in front of the Song army position at the gourd waist. He called out loudly to the Song army position, soaked in blood, asking Commander Yue to come out and speak!

Yue Fei wanted to stall for time. He also knew that his own forces had reached their limit. Therefore, he had no reason to refuse, so he immediately rode out of the formation, came to the bloody water, stopped, and waited for the other side to speak.

"General Yue!" Liu Lin didn't dare to go forward but shouted loudly from behind the soldiers, "My General Wanyan has already seen through your forces... The only ones who can fight are your one thousand or so main force soldiers, and they are already exhausted and cannot withstand another two hard attacks! And you killed a *meng'an*, which has angered General Wanyan, so today, let alone not being able to hold out until dark, even if you rally your remaining courage and hold out until dark, our Jin army has no intention of letting you go! At that time, you have more infantry, and we are all cavalry. If you want to run, you can only abandon your troops and run with a few hundred cavalry... Is that what a general should do?"

Yue Fei simply looked around at the water, with no desire to answer.

"Are you waiting for reinforcements from the marsh?" Seeing that the other side didn't answer, Liu Lin continued to shout loudly from afar. "Those bandits in the marsh hate you Song government soldiers even more! They haven't come after almost an hour, which means they have already betrayed you! And even if they want to covet your reward money, how dare they come to meet you with the military might of my Jin Kingdom here? Listen to my advice, if you can come over to surrender, General Wanyan said, he will guarantee you a *wanhout* future!"

Yue Fei found it boring and prepared to turn back.

Liu Lin saw this from afar and became anxious.

After all, he was prepared to be a serious Song traitor and sincerely hoped to have a warlike Song traitor to partner with his father, so as to make a career.

But since the other party was unappreciative, he was unwilling to delay military affairs, so he could only say angrily, "Commander Yue, if you don't appreciate the offer, before dark, our army will crush you and destroy you all!"

Yue Fei finally became angry, turning his horse around, raised his spear, and shouted the first word he had said today:

"Come!"

Then, Yue Fei turned his horse back again, preparing to return to the formation.

Only the movement was too big. The horse's hoof stepped down, directly causing a splash of water. Yue Pengju instinctively looked down, but in the light of the increasingly setting sun, he only saw a burst of pink ripples, and his heart followed suit.

ps: Continue to sacrifice a new book, the title is super long "Hegemon Overlord Unifies the Heavens and Worlds Starting from the Chu-Han Contention" Everything starts from the Chu-Han Contention, the Battle of Gaixia! Great benevolence and righteousness, unyielding spirit, tiger courage and dragon prestige, wisdom and courage, die-hard, heroic and unparalleled... This is the true Hegemon Overlord Xiang Yu! Xiang Yu was defeated by a group of despicable villains and traitors who saw profit and forgot righteousness, and was deliberately smeared by the victor. Do not judge heroes by success or failure, and history will eventually give Xiang Yu justice!