The spring rain had not yet arrived, but the Jin army was already mired in the mud.

After crossing the Li River, Wanyan Wushu sent men to scout the surrounding area. As expected, they discovered that Yan City, a key point downstream, had been fortified and reinforced with troops. Facing a well-defended city and a prepared army, he reluctantly abandoned the idea of returning north through this vital location, and resentfully headed north towards the Ru River.

Truthfully, the Ru River was much more famous and wider than the Li River. This time, the Jin army faced significant resistance while trying to build a pontoon bridge. Flags bearing the names of Niu, Tang, and Li, along with a force of no less than five or six thousand elite Song soldiers, appeared on the opposite bank, leading to no less than seven or eight clashes on the river. Fire ships, swimming assaults, and even a small-scale naval presence were used by the Song army to effectively harass the Jin forces, making it impossible to complete the bridge.

In the end, the Jin army had no choice but to resort to the same trick they had used before. They forcibly diverted a cavalry force of four thousand men from a shallow tributary branching off the upper reaches of the Ru River. Taking advantage of the numerous forks and shallows upstream, they detoured for a hundred *li* before finally launching a surprise attack on the opposite bank. However, the Song troops, seeing such a large cavalry force, were unwilling to fight. They quickly burned their riverside positions and retreated north to a well-prepared camp twenty *li* away from the river.

The Jin army dared not pursue them rashly, nor did they hastily attempt to build a bridge. Instead, they established a camp on the spot, following the instructions given by Boliessu before the departure.

After all, the lesson they learned at the Li River taught them that even if they managed to build the bridge, they would not be able to expand the crossing scale. At night, they would be vulnerable to attacks, and the pontoon bridge might not be secure.

As expected, and perhaps not beyond the Jin army's expectations, the Song army launched another night raid.

Logically, this time the Jin army was prepared and even had a camp, so they should have been able to handle it properly.

But in reality, the fatigue from the detour had significantly weakened their fighting ability. In contrast, the Song army, taking advantage of the darkness and their familiarity with the terrain, managed to achieve a degree of surprise in the battle.

Of course, an even more important factor was that, according to the Jin army's own account later, the Song army's night raid involved a force of as many as ten thousand troops!

The Jin army had no choice but to rely on their hastily erected camp and fight desperately. This battle lasted from midnight until dawn. How could Wanyan Wushu and others, leading tens of thousands of troops, possibly sleep while listening to the commotion on the other side? In the end, almost all of the Jin soldiers on the south bank rose to their feet, holding torches and facing the opposite bank across the wide Ru River, trying to understand the situation.

The firelight on the south bank illuminated the sky, turning the Ru River in the middle into a river of fire, but it was impossible to see the battle situation clearly.

When dawn broke, the Song army voluntarily dispersed. At this time, someone swam across from the dilapidated camp on the other side to report to Wanyan Wushu that they had lost more than a thousand of the four thousand men, and had also lost or abandoned more than half of their warhorses.

Of course, the loss of a little over a thousand men was just a minor scratch for Wanyan Wushu's troops, and it was in line with their assessment of the Song army's combat strength. So, the pontoon bridge was rebuilt that day, and it took the Jin army of forty thousand men another two and a half days to cross the river completely.

However, on the very evening after the entire army had crossed the Ru River, a fierce argument broke out among the top echelons of the Jin army!

The cause of the matter was actually very simple. After crossing the Ru River, the Jin army found themselves in a new, small strategic dilemma. The Ru River behind them and the Ying River in front of them were both major tributaries of the Huai River and were relatively large rivers. The previous battles had shown that these large rivers were a major obstacle to the Jin army's cavalry. At this time, to make matters worse, there was a strong Yan City to the southeast, downstream, and a strong Xiang City to the northwest, upstream.

The commander of Yan City was Xu Shi'an, Han Shizhong's most reliable general. The commander of Xiang City was an even more important figure, Lu Qin, the surviving infantry commander of the Three Yamen of the Song army during the Jingkang Incident. He could be considered a veteran who had persisted in resisting the Jin army along the Yellow River for many years. In any case, these two cities were the main defensive points that the Song army had initially defended. Now, the Jin army scouts had repeatedly confirmed that both cities had received timely reinforcements and repairs after the Battle of Yanling, making the previous siege a complete failure.

So, the question became: in this situation, where they were almost restricted on all sides and blocked from both front and rear, essentially a death trap for cavalry, should they continue north and cross the Ying River?

If Boliessu and others could still tolerate and persevere before, after the continuous attrition of the past few days, these seasoned veterans had vaguely sensed something ominous.

"The Song army is delaying us layer by layer, exhausting us..." Beside the bonfire, Wulindagai grabbed a handful of ashes and sprinkled them in front of him, using a finger to point on the ashes before reaching a conclusion.

"I know!" Wanyan Wushu looked at the ashes in front of the other man, knowing that he was reminding him of the Jurchen's military conference tradition. Feeling rather helpless, he could only respond coldly.

"We don't have enough supplies." Boliessu had obviously discussed this with Wulindagai beforehand, because he spoke almost immediately after. "Fourth Prince, things are different now than when we came. The towns between the Five Rivers have been combed over by the army several times. The war has been going on for three or four months. The Song people who could escape have all fled. There's no way to replenish supplies locally. Moreover, the Song army is clearly adopting a scorched-earth policy..."

"I also know!" Wanyan Wushu still responded coldly.

Having said this much, the three of them fell into a deadlock and almost instinctively looked at the last *mingan* commander, Han Chang, but Han Chang simply lowered his head and said nothing.

It was clear that this Han Chinese general from Liaodong was opposed to continuing the advance and shared the same view as Boliessu and Wulindagai. But at the same time, it was also very clear that, as Wushu's trusted general, he maintained a respectful political stance towards Wushu.

Faced with Han Chang's attitude, the three men reacted in the same way... They all breathed a sigh of relief, but couldn't help cursing him in their hearts for not sticking to his position.

Of course, it was also difficult for Han Chang.

Helpless, Boliessu turned back to Wushu by the fire and asked again: "Fourth Prince, I'll only ask you one more thing. Do you insist on crossing the river because you think the Zhao Song Emperor should be in one of the cities ahead, or do you want to chase after him, surround him, and devour him?"

Wanyan Wushu was silent for a moment, and instead of answering, he asked: "I ask you, Talan is supposed to be our commander-in-chief for this expedition. Are we going to abandon him? According to common sense, even if he was defeated, he should be defending the Zhengzhou and Kaifeng area on the other side of the Five Rivers, right? Maybe he's being heavily besieged!"

These words were partly nonsense but also contained some truth... The nonsense part was that Wushu had never treated Talan as the commander-in-chief when he marched south a few months ago. Instead, he had forcibly summoned Talan like a subordinate. The truth was that, regardless of whether Wushu respected Talan, this Right Deputy Marshal was still the Right Deputy Marshal. After crossing two rivers without any news, it was likely that he had been confronted by the Song army taking advantage of their great victory, so they had to go and rescue him.

Thinking of this, Boliessu repeatedly shook his head, not bothering to argue with him. Instead, he simply stated his true suggestion: "That's what I wanted to say. Fourth Prince, if you want to go to Zhengzhou, why not detour through Ruzhou, pass through Luoyang, and exit the Sisui Pass to support the Right Deputy Marshal?"

Wushu was slightly stunned, clearly checkmated.

After a long while, the Fourth Prince of the Jin Dynasty finally replied slowly: "We've already crossed two of the Five Rivers. What's the point of giving up halfway?"

Boliessu had completely ascertained the other party's intentions and simply sneered without saying a word.

But Wulindagai angrily changed his expression: "In the end, is the Fourth Prince going to put the army in danger for a personal grievance?"

"Is capturing the Song Emperor a personal grievance?!" Wushu also flew into a rage. "Have you thought about it? The weather is already turning warmer, and if we are forced to retreat today without capturing the Song Emperor, all the hard work of this battle for several months will be in vain! The land of Henan will return to the Song people!"

Wulindagai wanted to argue upon hearing this, but he couldn't find a rebuttal for a moment. He simply slammed his palm onto the ashes in front of him. The ashes rose and flew into the bonfire, sending sparks flying, illuminating the stern faces of the four top Jurchen nobles.

In short, unless absolutely necessary, who would be willing to admit that this southern expedition had failed?

Of course it had failed. Just thinking about it made it clear that the Western Route Army in northern Shaanxi was not even worth mentioning. The 120,000-strong army that marched south to Henan, which had already been looted, had gradually depleted whatever spoils and profits they had acquired during the months of siege warfare. Without sufficient spoils, and having suffered a defeat, with over a dozen *mingan* units lost in organized formations.

As for the strategic goal of capturing the Zhao Song Emperor and establishing a puppet regime in Henan...

In short, choosing to retreat directly at this time, considering that the weather could no longer support the Jin army in another months-long siege warfare, would truly mean a complete retreat. And retreating without achieving any strategic results, but instead losing over a dozen *mingan* units, would make this southern expedition an utter defeat!

It should be known that even when Wanyan Wushu suffered setbacks on the Huai River last time, it was only an overreach after completing the Jin army's established goal (sweeping the two wings of Hebei to completely control Hebei)... So, if the Jin army left in such a disgraceful manner this time, it would be the first strategic offensive setback in the history of the Jin army... Who could bear that responsibility?

Back to the present, this conflict on the banks of the Ru River ended in a stalemate. Once a stalemate was reached, they would naturally continue north according to the commander's wishes.

Soon, the Jin army's central army arrived at the third of the Five Rivers, the famous Ying River.

As expected, before the Jin army's main force arrived, the opposite bank was quiet. But as the Jin army's main force arrived, even more Song troops than last time suddenly appeared on the opposite bank. They could even clearly observe a 'Yue' character on the flags, and considering the rarity of this surname, Wanyan Wushu and others immediately understood that this was Yue Fei, the Pacification Commissioner of Jizhou who had once annihilated five thousand Jin cavalry at Liangshanbo.

The appearance of a general of this level undoubtedly signaled that the difficulty of the Jin army crossing the Ying River in front of them would be even greater than crossing the two rivers behind them.

To be honest, that evening, when Wanyan Wushu personally came to the Ying River, gazing at the Song army on the opposite bank, which was neither too many nor too few, and the flag that he had to take seriously... At that moment, the Fourth Prince himself was so exhausted that he felt like giving up.

Standing by the river, slightly arching his hips, he hated Talan for his great defeat and for not giving him accurate information, which had led him to such a confused situation, unable to advance or retreat. He hated even more that the Zhao Song Emperor was not trustworthy,明明说好的在南阳城等自己,明明说好的在南阳城等自己but had suddenly run to Yanling. At the same time, he also hated his own incompetence...

If he had been able to destroy the Song army's incredibly efficient trebuchets in Nanyang earlier, he would have been able to trap the dragon in the well and await victory in peace.

If he had been able to see through the Zhao Song Emperor's trick on the banks of the Bai River and capture that bastard early, this battle would have been over long ago, and everything would have been fine.

If he had advanced immediately without hesitation after Talan's defeat, he would not have been trapped in such a difficult situation at this moment.

"Fourth Prince."

Just as Wushu was sighing at the river, his trusted general Han Chang suddenly reined in his horse and came to his side, standing side by side with him, and then softly said: "It's truly a beautiful scene in the Central Plains, isn't it?"

It was indeed a beautiful scene.

The setting sun cast a golden glow across the river, the iron cavalry stretched endlessly, blood stained the green grass, and a gentle breeze blew from behind, causing the flags of his own army and the opposing Song army to flutter in response. How could it not be a beautiful scene?

Of course, it was somewhat inappropriate.

Therefore, Wanyan Wushu could not help but be confused: "In a place where we can't advance or retreat, you're still in the mood to talk about the scenery?"

"Why can't we talk about the scenery even when we can't advance or retreat?" Han Chang didn't even turn his head, just continued to look at the river and softly replied. "In this humble general's opinion, such a beautiful scene is a fitting place for a hero like the Fourth Prince to be buried..."

Faced with such shocking words, Wushu remained silent. He knew that even his trusted Han Chang was now unwilling to continue pushing forward with him.

"Fourth Prince, don't force your way across the remaining rivers to the northeast anymore." Han Chang said as expected, but he seemed to have other insights. "There's something strange about the northeast, or rather, something strange about the Song army."

"What do you mean?" Perhaps because of the blow to his current situation, or perhaps because he himself understood that his trusted subordinate was his last reliance to maintain his military control and suppress Boliessu and Wulindagai, Wushu was able to remain calm.

"I've thought carefully about our experiences over the past few days... There are at least two things that frighten me." Han Chang said calmly. "First, the Song army is too bold. They are completely different from the previous Song army. Their night attacks, harassment, defense of the river crossings, and retreats are all extremely composed. Their willingness and ability to fight are now evident. It can be seen that the Zhao Song Emperor's victory at Yanling-Changshe has greatly boosted the Song army's morale, and they are no longer as embarrassed as they once were. This is a big thing, and future battles against the Song army will probably be more difficult."

Wanyan Wushu nodded slowly.

"There's another thing. The Song army is so willing to fight and so disciplined in their advance and retreat, so why didn't they take the opportunity to wipe out our four thousand men on the north bank of the Ru River last time?"

Wushu shook his head repeatedly: "How could the Song army wipe out our four *mingan* in one night? A thousand casualties is already their limit."

"Perhaps that's the case, but I'm always a little worried." Han Chang squinted slightly at the flags on the opposite bank. "Others might be acceptable, but Yue Fei is not a nobody, is he? Not to mention Liangshanbo, but the defeat at Yanling-Changshe, where we lost a dozen *mingan* in an hour, was because he crossed the Qingyi River first..."

"What are you trying to say?" Wushu suddenly interrupted him.

"I always feel that the Song army is deliberately luring us to the northeast." Han Chang said seriously. "These days, there have been casualties, but the casualties are never significant. There has been delay, but we are always able to continue advancing... The military situation ahead is completely unclear. When we come to our senses, we realize that this place is a death trap for cavalry, and we are in a state where we cannot advance or retreat! Fourth Prince, let me ask you one thing: what if Marshal Talan is defeated again in the next few days? Wouldn't there be hundreds of thousands of Song troops ahead waiting to ambush us?"

Wushu instinctively wanted to speak, then choked back the words and broke out in a cold sweat.

At this point, Han Chang finally glanced at the Fourth Prince beside him and then softly revealed a new piece of information: "To let the Fourth Prince know, Wang De and Huyan Tong have caught up from behind, have already broken Wuyang, and have crossed the Li River... Otherwise, if it were only based on Yue Fei's posture in front of us, I wouldn't have made such a guess."

Wanyan Wushu was dumbfounded. After a while, he responded: "Why are you only telling me about such military information now?"

"Because I was afraid that the Fourth Prince would be too eager to capture that Zhao Song Emperor, and would be so eager to cross the river after hearing this news that you would lose your mind." Han Chang coldly replied. "And if that were the case, based on my observations over the past few days, I'm afraid that General Boliessu would directly lead his troops west..."

"He dares?!"

"How would he not dare?!" Han Chang still replied coldly. "The Eastern Route Army was utterly defeated in Henan in this battle. What can the Fourth Prince and Marshal Talan use to restrain the *mingan* of the Western Route Army? Are Marshals Nianhan and Yinshu just decorations?"

Wushu was speechless for a moment, and then became even more fearful in his heart.

"Not only that, but he lost his own nephew in this expedition. If he loses the troops under his command again, how will his brother Yinshu be able to spare him?" Han Chang continued to calmly analyze. "Fourth Prince, logically speaking, he will probably leave... And if he leaves, we will be in a state of disintegration. By then, the Song army will encircle us from the north and south, and this river will be the burial place for the Fourth Prince and me, a fool who would never abandon the Fourth Prince! However, such a beautiful scene is also fitting for the Fourth Prince's status, and I believe that the Fourth Prince, like me, will have no regrets!"

Wushu was completely speechless. It wasn't until after sunset, when the surrounding soldiers began to light fires and set up camp, that he finally managed to stammer: "Yuanji (Han Chang's courtesy name), what do you say we should do?"

Han Chang was still calm, obviously having thought it through: "Feigning to cross the river, gathering and preparing dry rations, and then suddenly abandoning the supplies, the entire cavalry force should head northwest along the Ying River, turn into Luoyang from Goushi, and then plan for other things!"

Just as Wushu was about to say something else, Han Chang finally became impatient: "Fourth Prince... I didn't speak up in the evening military council, but came here privately because there are some things that are not appropriate to say in public—in this battle, the Fourth Prince has once again been defeated by that Zhao Song Emperor! Whether it's courage or decisiveness, you have fallen behind. Only our army still has countless iron cavalry, and there is still initiative to be taken in the future, so I advise you to recognize the situation as soon as possible and not to repeat your mistakes!"

Having said these words, Han Chang said no more. After an unknown amount of time, Wanyan Wushu finally nodded slightly in the dim twilight: "We'll do as General Han says."

Han Chang had successfully persuaded Wushu and breathed a sigh of relief. He was about to turn and leave, but unexpectedly, the Fourth Prince was still standing on his horse, motionless. Helpless, Han Chang was about to persuade him again, but he saw the other party take a Jurchen-specific, thick arrow from his quiver behind him in the faint firelight around him.

Han Chang's heart skipped a beat, and he stood still, reining in his horse and keeping silent.

As expected, Wushu had an arrow in his hand, but he also took a dagger from behind him. Then, he shaved the arrow and dropped it to the ground, swearing by the river: "My ancestor and father are above, if I cannot exterminate the Zhao Song Dynasty and kill that Zhao Jiu of Cangzhou in this life, then may this arrow be broken inch by inch!"

After saying that, he finally reined in his horse, straightened his back, and returned to camp under Han Chang's stunned gaze.