January 28th. The weather was already warming up. Even in the war-torn regions north and south of the Yellow River, the common people were beginning to risk cultivating their fields.

What else could they do? With the ongoing battles across the entire north-south front, not only the poor but even wealthy families with some savings couldn't hold out.

If rice from the south couldn't get through, wouldn't the whole family starve?

However, for the five thousand Jin soldiers in Jinan City, Jinan Prefecture, the sudden and dense appearance of Han Chinese peasants in the fields outside the city undoubtedly became a new source of amusement in their extreme boredom... Perhaps this was due to the Jin Dynasty's rapid transition from a tribal alliance to an empire, retaining strong elements of a slave society, or perhaps it was simply the unbridled bestiality that naturally emerges when armies are stationed abroad... In any case, for the past ten days or so, the Jin soldiers' favorite pastime had been to shoot and kill Han Chinese civilians in the fields around Jinan City for their own amusement.

This was akin to the local Han Chinese, around the New Year, going to the edge of Liangshan Marsh to catch wild ducks for food.

But unlike ducks, which could escape into the depths of the marsh when startled, the common people couldn't abandon their fields... The timing was critical. One day, Aunt Wang from next door died on the ridge of the field, terrifying the entire village and preventing anyone from farming. The next day, they cautiously tried again, only for their own father to die in the field. The day after that, wiping away their tears, they went back again, only to find their wife had been abducted. At this point, they could only head to Liangshan Marsh with a few companions, begging Chief Zhang for a bite to eat. The villagers who remained had to carefully try to work the fields.

The Jin soldiers' amusement continued unabated.

However, in the past two days, this amusement had suddenly become extremely dangerous for the Jin soldiers within Jinan City... The reason was simple and direct. Starting on January 26th, several small detachments of Song Dynasty cavalry, whose numbers were uncertain, had appeared around Jinan City. They were surprisingly fierce. Groups of three to five Jin soldiers were wiped out instantly, and even those who escaped, numbering seven or eight, had to be among the most skilled horsemen in the army.

By yesterday afternoon, a detachment of fifty Jin soldiers, half a mouke, were patrolling outside the city when they were surrounded by two to three hundred Song cavalry in broad daylight... Initially, the Jin soldiers tried to fight, but unexpectedly, the junior officers in this Song army were far more skilled than anyone imagined, and the impact of a few exceptionally brave officers in small-scale engagements was undeniable.

In the end, only eighteen of the fifty returned, and all of them had their noses and ears cut off.

As a result, twenty-two of them were executed that evening according to Jin Dynasty military law... This was because the mouke of that unit, the commander of the hundred-man team, had his head hung around the neck of his own warhorse, which knew the way home, and sent back to the city. Therefore, according to Jin Dynasty military law, the several ten-man squad leaders who hadn't gone out 'hunting' were also executed and displayed to the public in a confused manner.

But compared to all of this, the most devastating thing was that the leader of this five-thousand-strong force, a young nobleman from the Wanyan tribe, Wanyan Seli, who was taking command of a ten-thousand-household unit for the first time in this southern campaign, actually issued a public order: except for small scouting parties, no one was allowed to venture more than three miles outside Jinan City to cause trouble, under penalty of death!

It should be said that Jin Dynasty military law was extremely strict, and Wanyan Seli, although slightly young and fond of reading Southern books, had joined the army from a young age, and his experiences during the conquest of Liao and Song were enough to command respect.

Therefore, although the Jin soldiers were restless, no one dared to question the order easily.

However, that was as far as it went... It should be known that at this very moment, it hadn't even been a year since the Jin Dynasty destroyed the Northern Song Dynasty. And on the surface, this second southern campaign, whose primary goal was to completely digest and annex Hebei, showed no signs of setbacks:

Li Yanxian's recapture of Shanzhou was, after all, just the strength of one prefecture, a local battlefield. Moreover, the remnants of the Western Army, numbering over a hundred thousand, were the main force of the Song army, and the Jin Dynasty's Western Route Army seemed to have held back;

The Tokyo Garrison Command's resistance in Huazhou could only be considered a stalemate. Furthermore, the Third Prince, Eliduo, led the Central Army from Yanjing to sweep through Hebei but never intended to cross the river and confront the Tokyo Garrison Command head-on;

And wasn't the Fourth Prince, Wanyan Wushu, heading south further proof of the Jin army's strength...? They had easily completed their assigned tasks and were chasing after the Song emperor with a force of twenty thousand.

Therefore, at this moment, almost all Jin soldiers felt that a force of five thousand was enough to rampage through the Central Plains. So how could the Jin garrison of Jinan, undefeated and full of arrogance, possibly tolerate this provocation?

It was all just a matter of military law!

"General, Song soldiers are provoking us north of the city!"

On the morning of January 28th, Meng'an Da Tabuye, a Balhae native stationed in the north of Jinan City, was shirtless in the courtyard of his residence, cleaning his warhorse, when he suddenly heard this absurd news.

In fact, the Meng'an was stunned for a full three to five breaths before abruptly and silently leading his horse out the door, then, shirtless, mounting it in front of the gate and heading north. When Da Tabuye reached the city wall and looked down, his sense of absurdity only intensified.

Because there were only seven riders below the city!

Two riders were in front, one on the left and one on the right, each holding up a vertical banner. On each banner, words were temporarily affixed with paste and ink. The one on the right read: "Break Jinan City."

The one on the left read: "Capture Wanyan Seli Alive."

Further back was another rider, holding up a proper vertical banner that read: "Grand Song Tokyo Garrison Command, Controller Yue." Behind them were three more escorting knights.

Besides these, there was a general in the center, in front of the proper vertical banner, fully armored, carrying a bow and a spear, sitting still on a large horse!

Da Tabuye was an experienced soldier. After understanding the meaning of the words, although he was amused and angry, he was not in a hurry to go down the city. Instead, he had people help him put on his armor while he gazed into the distance... He first instinctively focused his gaze on the large marsh, just over ten miles to the north, its banks a motley of green and yellow, overgrown with reeds. But then he shook his head. Finally, he fixed his eyes on a forest located halfway between the marsh and Jinan City, but again shook his head repeatedly.

In the plains, there were not many places to hide people, and that forest was not large, capable of hiding at most a thousand people. Recalling the Jin cavalry reports and discussions, the total strength of this Song army was probably less than seven or eight hundred riders, which made the situation even more ridiculous. If that were the case, it could only mean that they had been blinded by their recent gains and believed that a Song army of a thousand riders could still prevail in battle.

But a serious issue was that the forest was five or six miles away. Even if Da Tabuye wanted to annihilate this Song army, he might not dare to do it.

With this in mind, after putting on his armor, the Balhae Meng'an could only gather his troops at the north gate while sending someone back to the city to report and request that Wanyan Seli rescind his previous order and allow him to lead troops away from the city to wipe out this bandit.

However, after waiting for a long time, Da Tabuye only received the word 'forbidden.'

Given the situation, Da Tabuye could not let those seven people below the city go!

"You all know what's happening. Now, look closely with me!"

This Jin Dynasty Meng'an, who was born in Balhae but was known for always being the first to scale walls and cross rivers, sat on the city wall in a fit of anger. He called his dozens of officers, who were a mixed bunch from Jurchen, Xi, Balhae, Goryeo, Han, and Khitan backgrounds, and pointed to the unremarkable Song Dynasty officer below. "Logically speaking, according to our rules of squad executions, I shouldn't let you officers go down there. But this man is a Song Dynasty Controller, not a small official. Judging from his actions in the past two days, he is also a capable man. Today, he has come here, showing he's a brave one... I can't say such a person would be demeaning to you, right? Today, one word: whoever can challenge and defeat this guy below the city, I'll give up my military merits from this southern campaign to recommend him! What do you say? Since he has come to challenge us, who dares to go down and fight this bird?"

Hearing this, the officers were delighted, knowing that Da Tabuye was not bluffing.

What did this mean?

The foundation of the Jin Dynasty system was, after all, the Meng'an Mouke system, and this system was integrated in military and political affairs. In other words, Meng'an and Mouke were not only military commanders of a thousand and a hundred men, but also comprehensive nobles in politics and economy. These two levels were the core ruling class of the Jin Dynasty, and their appointments were the most serious.

Therefore, when a Meng'an made a political promise to a group of people whose highest status was only Mouke, that promise would not be empty words.

After giving the order, perhaps because he thought the man below was unremarkable, after some arguing, someone finally got the chance. He couldn't wait to go down the city, and then, in the city gate tunnel, he donned armor, grabbed his weapon, and rode out.

Da Tabuye sat on the city wall, watching his man ride out alone, his warhorse raising a cloud of dust, and felt a surge of emotion. He turned his head and ordered the soldiers to beat the drums to cheer him on... However, as soon as the drums sounded, the Balhae Meng'an turned back and was suddenly stunned, and even the drumming soldiers stopped their actions.

Because the man who had gone out had instantly disappeared!

"What happened?" Da Tabuye was puzzled. "Did he not put on his armor properly and come back to change?"

"He's dead!" A Mouke hesitated for a long time before answering. "Just when the General turned his head, Xie Lu was drawing his bow and preparing to use it for a quick victory, but he was shot directly in the face from over a hundred paces away by the other party. But he didn't fall off his horse... The warhorse knew the way and brought his body back to the city."

Da Tabuye was stunned for a moment, then became completely enraged: "Who will go and take that man's life for me? Must I go myself?"

Perhaps because the previous shot had been too quick, some did not believe it and still went down the city, only to be shot dead under the city gate after a single drumbeat.

The Jin Dynasty generals looked at each other. They all knew that the Song Dynasty Controller below, although unremarkable in appearance, was a skilled warrior, and that his arrival to challenge the city meant that he had something to rely on. But with their morale at its peak, who could tolerate this humiliation?

Therefore, a moment later, someone went out again, but this time wearing heavy armor, with a neck guard and a leather mask, seemingly ready to challenge the other in spear skills.

This time, the drums sounded for a full beat, but that was all. The man was stabbed to death outside the city by the Song general with a spear, and his head was cut off and placed on the ground.

Now, no one dared to go out and fight for Da Tabuye's mere promise... An official position was one thing, but life was their own. Seeing that the man below the city was a first-rate hero, who would be willing to throw their life away for nothing?

Of course, Da Tabuye, although extremely angry, was not a fool. Having witnessed the other's abilities, he no longer asked his subordinates to engage in individual duels. Instead, he simply called a Mouke and ordered him to lead thirty Jurchen knights out in light armor... 'Light armor' was intended to capture or kill the enemy general, preventing him from escaping. Thirty riders were the maximum number that could emerge at once given the size of the city gate.

It was now noon. The drums sounded again. This time, it was particularly exciting. The seven Song soldiers below the city threw down their banners and engaged in a fierce chase with the thirty Jurchen light cavalry on the open ground north of the city.

However, the course of the battle still left Da Tabuye and others on the city wall dumbfounded... As mentioned earlier, the main tactic of the Jurchen cavalry was archery on horseback, but their arrows were strong in power and armor-piercing capabilities, but far inferior to the Song army's arrows in range. The seven Song cavalrymen below the city were not only excellent horsemen and archers, but the leading general was also a rare marksman of divine skill. Not only was his range extremely long, but his power and accuracy were also far beyond imagination. He could easily dodge and return fire even while riding at high speed.

The seven riders led the thirty Jurchen riders back and forth, and the Song general easily shot down a Jurchen rider with each return shot. Over and over, in just a stick of incense's time, the thirty Jurchen riders were reduced to twenty, and their morale had plummeted to the extreme, as most of those lost were officers!

Da Tabuye watched, his eyes bloodshot. He ordered the retreat, while also calling a Jurchen Mouke and telling him to personally see Wanyan Seli to get permission for him to send a large army out of the city!