"Why keep such a distance? Afraid I'll eat you? Fine, this matter doesn't really concern you. You're excused from military service, step aside!"

Unexpectedly, Wuzhu, the Fourth Prince of Jin, who had been swindled out of a pile of gold and silver for nothing, did not fly into a rage and kill anyone, or at least he didn't vent his anger on the poor military advisor, Shi Wenbin. This made the latter temporarily grateful and he hastily left.

However, with Shi Wenbin gone and Grand Commandant Zhang having tricked the Fourth Prince like borrowing arrows with straw boats, followed by a grand reward for the entire city, the determination to defend Xiacai became a foregone conclusion... At this time, in any case, Wuzhu, whose persuasion strategy had failed, had to continue making strategic decisions. Therefore, that evening, Wuzhu quickly closed the military tent with two commanders of ten thousand who had arrived upon hearing the news, and they discussed military strategies again.

"Fourth Prince, now, do we continue to prepare pontoon bridges to cross the Huai River, or do we make up our minds to attack the city instead?"

Of the two commanders of ten thousand, Elubu was a bit more crude and didn't care much about money matters. Moreover, with Wuzhu's previous promise to take over the debts, he became even less responsive to this matter. So, seeing that Wuzhu hadn't spoken for a long time, he simply asked directly. "To let the Fourth Prince know, our forces are limited after all, and the Song people have already pulled away many laborers from Shouzhou and Huaibei. If we want to attack the city, we can't be indecisive!"

Wuzhu, who had been wearing a dark face all along, forced a smile at this time and looked at Ali. "General Ali, what do you think?"

"I haven't changed my mind since the beginning!" Perhaps because of the debt risk, Ali, who was usually a bit petty, couldn't help but stare at the Fourth Prince when he spoke. "We Jurchens have rules for fighting... In this kind of situation, we should have focused on preparing to attack the city from the beginning. It's not a big deal to be tricked after persuasion fails. Next, we prepare to scale the city! If scaling doesn't work, we prepare to use cannons to bombard the city. Once the city walls are breached and the moats are filled, we send in elite troops! After taking this big city right in front of us, we can think about crossing the river!"

Wuzhu shook his head repeatedly. "That was in the past. This time, we're making a deep incursion, and we're only after the Zhao Song Emperor. There's no need to waste our military strength on this kind of city..."

"But this city is so important that we can't ignore it, so we thought of taking shortcuts, which led to us falling for their tricks," Ali said coldly. "When we were outside a few days ago, the Fourth Prince always嫌嫌我啰嗦, but today the three of us are in the command tent for a proper military discussion. According to our Jurchen rules, anything can be said, and we should forget the arguments inside the tent as soon as we leave. Am I allowed to speak frankly?"

Wuzhu took a long breath, but could only reluctantly nod.

Speaking of which, Ali's remarks about the rules had some weight.

According to the Jurchen tradition, whenever military strategies were discussed before a battle, as long as one could enter the command tent to participate in such core military meetings, everyone could speak freely regardless of their status, sitting around and gesticulating on the ash soil that resembled a sand table in front of them. Even the lowest person could argue face-to-face with the commander; of course, the commander still retained the right to make decisions...

None of this was important, but the essence of this rule was actually at the end – according to the rules, after the strategy was finalized, everyone had to smooth out the ash soil in front of them with their hands, meaning that all disputes in the tent were wiped clean, and then everyone would fully implement the military plan according to the final decision!

In the future, no matter how the war turned out, no one would be allowed to hold anyone accountable for anything that happened or was said in the military tent!

This was, of course, a simple style left over from the tribal alliance period of the Jurchens.

Back to the present, Ali, who had obtained the right to speak, was unrestrained:

"Fourth Prince, I'm not trying to specifically mock you, nor am I necessarily demanding that you attack the city. You are the commander, and ultimately you have the final say. Today, I'll just offer two opinions on military strategy and one piece of advice for you!"

"Speak!"

"The first one on military strategy, I just said, is why not fight this battle steadily? Attack the city first, and then talk about the affairs of Huainan. Don't be impatient just because that official sits on a mountain in Henan!"

"Aren't there two on military strategy?" Wuzhu became more and more irritable. "What's the other one?"

"The other one is the same as General Elubu's opinion, please don't be distracted, Fourth Prince!" Ali continued to gesticulate freely. "We only have a little more than 20,000 people this time. After sending out the scouts from the three Meng'an, there are basically 20,000 people left. And now, a Wanhu has a full 10,000 people, which is good, but it's still the same as before. A Meng'an (thousand-man team, thousand-man commander) has only five, six, or seven Mouke (hundred-man team, hundred-man commander), and the remaining vacancies are mostly filled with newly surrendered Han Chinese. And even in the proper Mouke, it's not like before, with Khitans and other peoples added in, so the troop strength and combat power are actually insufficient... Then, in my opinion, since the city is still separated from Henan, then attack the city and don't think about crossing the river! Cross the river and don't think about attacking the city! It's like hunting in Liaodong in the past. If you only have one bow in your hand, but you have both a deer and a fox in front of you, thinking of taking both down, you'll probably end up with none!"

What he said made perfect sense, and even Elubu nodded repeatedly.

Wuzhu frowned slightly and could only reluctantly nod. "Then what is General Ali's advice?"

"I'm afraid that the Fourth Prince is young, and if you suffer repeated defeats, you will lose your composure!" The short Ali continued to speak unrestrainedly. "I know that the Fourth Prince has a noble status, and although it is a military discussion, you are actually the one who makes the decisions. I also know that the Fourth Prince wants to capture the Zhao Song Emperor in Henan on this expedition, and doesn't care about anything else... But even if the Fourth Prince wants to capture the Zhao Song Emperor in Henan wholeheartedly, there is one thing that the Fourth Prince must be careful about. You may decide to capture the Zhao Song Emperor in Henan today, but the Huai River is so wide and the opposite bank is so well-defended. If we cross the river hastily without attacking the city, what should we do if we are blocked from crossing the river in the future?"

"What does General Ali say we should do?" Wuzhu frowned even more.

"Come back and smash the city honestly!" Ali replied seriously. "Don't lose the opportunity because you lost face! In the end, we Jurchens are still invincible with ten thousand men, and the Southern people are still collapsing at the first touch... Fighting hard battles step by step, the Southern people are no match for us. I'm just afraid that the Fourth Prince will get stuck in a rut!"

"So, I was wrong to endure Zhang Jun's provocation and not attack the fortified city?" Wuzhu finally couldn't hold back his impatience. "In my opinion, changing the plan to cross the river and attacking a fortified city like Xiacai today because of this little bit of gold and silver is just a waste of opportunity... Zhang Jun's move is clearly to make us angry, abandon the emperor in Huainan, and turn around to attack him! The more he does this, the more we must not fall for his trick!"

Ali shook his head repeatedly. "I've said what I wanted to say, the Fourth Prince can do as he pleases."

Wuzhu was frustrated for a moment.

Seeing that things were not good, Elubu roughly advised, "Fourth Prince, don't be offended, General Ali's method is old and reliable. Ali, don't deliberately contradict him, the Fourth Prince's composure is still good... Although the opposite military camp is well-defended, our Great Jin is invincible in the field. Whether it's a pontoon bridge or a ferry, as long as we can send three to five thousand over, the situation will be settled!"

Ali and Wuzhu smiled awkwardly at each other, but neither paid attention to Elubu. Seeing this, Elubu had to be more straightforward. "In that case, does the Fourth Prince mean to endure this time and try to seek to cross the river as much as possible?"

"That's right!" Wuzhu replied proudly. "We must not lose sight of the big picture because of small gains! And we must not fall for Zhang Jun's trick to lure us to attack the city because of a mere bit of gold and silver!"

"General Ali means that, regardless of whether or not today's events occurred, we should focus on breaking the city and proceed step by step?" After nodding, Elubu continued to turn his head and ask.

"That's right," Ali also said frankly. "Crossing the river without breaking the city is too risky... Our army has come from afar, making a deep incursion. The Shouzhou and Huaibei areas have been relocated in advance by the Song people. In any case, we should first take a foothold, otherwise, once we delay and consume our resources, lose our composure, and cannot stand on the mere open ground, we will have to retreat. At that time, not only will we not be able to capture the Song Emperor, but we will also be laughed at by everyone!"

At this point, Wuzhu and Ali both looked at Elubu again, and Elubu sighed slightly, but also raised a concern to ask Wuzhu:

"I only know how to fight and charge, and I didn't get involved in this kind of thing in the past, but today I also have a concern to ask the Fourth Prince... What if, when we plan to cross the river, the Song people repair the inner ferry in Xiacai City that we have been talking about all along?"

Wuzhu immediately stroked his beard and sneered, "Since we are focused on planning to cross the river, we only need to keep an eye on Xiacai City. What does it matter to the overall situation whether the inner ferry is repaired or not? I don't believe that the Song people dare to come out of the city to fight in the field?!"

Elubu then realized, "I was confused! Then I have nothing to say! I don't actually think that we will end up in a situation where we can't stand on the open ground like Ali said... We're not afraid of anyone in the field! With these 20,000 troops we have now, we're not afraid of 100,000 Song people!"

"So, you don't want to express your opinion?" Wuzhu smiled back.

"That's right," Elubu spread his hands in response. "You two decide! Just call me when it's time to fight!"

Ali shook his head repeatedly, but Wuzhu breathed a sigh of relief... After all, it was said to be a self-decision, but Wuzhu must be the commander, wouldn't it still be according to the Fourth Prince's wishes?

Since the three had agreed to focus on crossing the river, they still had to prepare pontoon bridges to cross the Huai River, so there was nothing more to say. They had to leave, and the preparations before the pontoon bridge could only be done at Wuzhu's whim.

After sending away the two commanders of ten thousand and smoothing out the soil in the tent, it was difficult to smooth out the depression in Wuzhu's heart... Any young commander would find it difficult to calm down after being mocked by the enemy and lectured face-to-face by a veteran general.

In addition, it seemed that it would still take several days for the pontoon bridge to be prepared, so the Fourth Prince couldn't help but think wildly. At one moment, he worried that the Zhao Emperor on the opposite bank would run away because Xiacai City became secure; at another moment, he thought that the other party might simply run away, leaving the opposite bank empty, and he could directly abandon Xiacai and recklessly pursue them; then, turning around, he suddenly felt that the Zhao Emperor on the other side dared to cross the river to reassure the people, actually suppressing his courage to enter the Huai River at night, and his heart became even more indignant, giving rise to a sense of impulse.

In short, in the lull of the war, Wuzhu, who forcibly suppressed his intention to attack the city, couldn't help but want to do something after suffering an obvious setback... And suddenly, the Fourth Prince did have an idea, but he sent someone to summon Shi Wenbin again.

"Don't be afraid!" Wuzhu, standing with his hands behind his back in the tent, saw the trembling man on the ground and felt helpless. "I've already said that this matter has nothing to do with you, and the only one to blame is Zhao Qiu, who deserves to die... And he's already dead!"

Shi Wenbin had no choice but to kowtow and express his gratitude.

"I now have a favor to grant you," Wuzhu turned around and said solemnly. "Once you've done it well, I'll immediately restore your position as a military advisor..."

What else could Shi Wenbin say? Could he refuse? He could only say yes repeatedly.

"It's like this, the Zhao Song Emperor on the opposite side probably doesn't know yet that our Great Jin has recently gained two new subjects, one called Duke Hundegong and the other called Marquis Chonghunhou. You write a document describing this matter and persuade him to surrender as well, saying that I, Wuzhu, will recommend him for a title of Prince... Then you will be the envoy and I will send you across the river!" Speaking of this, Wuzhu couldn't help but regain his momentum, and couldn't help but puff out his chest. "I want to see the reply from that bold Zhao Song Emperor with my own eyes!"

Shi Wenbin raised his head, not daring to refuse at all, but couldn't help but feel complicated, and even shed tears.

"Why are you crying?" Wuzhu, who was in a good mood, sat back in his seat, but urged repeatedly, "Come and write quickly!"

ps: Continue to sacrifice the boss's new book, "I Have Survived 999 Tribulations": After surviving 999 tribulations, starting from scratch, rebuilding the immortal gate... Today's two updates are completed, take a breath, good night everyone.