Chapter 1 Outstanding Commanders

Excellent commanders and military staff officers could smell changes in the situation.

Hu Hongxiu further completed his reconnaissance mission, ensuring that the Khitans had turned back and were not returning. He faintly felt that without a national mobilization, the Western Xia, with its current troop deployment, would inevitably reveal certain flaws after the full-scale outbreak of the war. Then, he wisely chose the crucial location of the Yellow River Gorge as an observation point, and ultimately found the fatal flaw of the Western Xia that might flash by.

It was conceivable that, once this window of opportunity was missed, with the establishment posture of Western Xia, in as little as three to five days, or as long as ten to fifteen days, there would inevitably be military deployments and desperate supplements to complete the defense of the Xinglei area (Yinchuan Plain) where their capital was located.

Similarly, after Yue Fei retreated to Haoshuichuan, he was ordered to seek an opportunity to fight. Although rationally, he chose Zhuoluo City in the direction of Lanzhou, intending to join forces with the Khitans to open up the Hexi Corridor, he still maintained his focus on the direction of Xingqing Prefecture, so he chose to take the prepared move of going from Quwu Mountain to Huizhou before making a decision, which allowed him to successfully meet with Hu Hongxiu.

And just as the entire Western Xia was facing attacks from three sides, having completely entered a state of total war, on the easternmost front, across the Puzin Ferry, Wanyan Wushu and Wanyan Balisu also faintly sensed a trace of something wrong.

But they didn't know where this wrongness was leaking from.

Was it Li Yanxian's outstanding performance behind Zhongtiao Mountain that freed up the Song army, or was it the slow march of reinforcements in the Taihang Mountains due to the rebel harassment, which gave the opposing Song army the courage to stop the reinforcement plan?

Or was it that in Hengshan and Yan'an, the Zhao Song Emperor finally made up his mind to achieve some results at all costs? After all, the slogans were loud, but if they couldn't achieve results, how could they appease the country?

However, in any case, at this moment, Wanyan Wushu and Wanyan Balisu never thought about the other side of Western Xia, and didn't even slightly express this doubt… until the fifth day of the fourth lunar month, Wanyan Elu Guan, stationed in the north of Xijing (Datong), who had direct channels of communication with Western Xia, informed his elder brother of the information from Yinshan that had stirred up the hearts of the Western Xia people, at a slightly slower pace, with a slightly suspicious mindset, and a slightly disdainful attitude, but ultimately through military channels.

"It's true!"

Wushu made a judgment immediately. "Absolutely true! Yelu Yanshan and those Mongolians are not bluffing, Yelu Dashi has definitely come from the farther west! The Song army must have left a large force in the west to flank him! The bluffing is here! It's on the other side!"

In the Stork Tower, which had long become the Jin army's forward command post, the surrounding Jin generals looked at each other in dismay. Among them, another main general, Balisu, was silent for a moment, then looked at the military camp across the river with the bright morning sunlight, and nodded heavily.

Obviously, Balisu also agreed with Wushu's judgment.

"Then what should we do now?" Wanhu (commander of ten thousand households) Sali He woke up and immediately asked.

Dozens of Wanhu, Meng'an (commander of a thousand households), and a small number of Mouke (commander of a hundred households) looked at the Prince of Wei and the Taiyuan Lieutenant… the former certainly had the highest authority, but the latter was also the front-line commander and had considerable authority on military matters.

Sure enough, Prince of Wei, Wushu, with a pale face, looked directly at the commander of the West Route Army beside him upon hearing this: "My heart is in chaos, Balisu, you tell me, what should we do now?"

"That depends on what His Highness the Prince of Wei wants to do." Balisu, with a grim face, thought for a moment and was honest. "Is it to preserve the overall situation, or to save the overall situation? Or is it to not give an inch, so that the Song people's plan fails?"

"Can we still make the Song people's plan fail?!" Wushu perked up.

"Why not?" Balisu drew his saber directly from his waist, and the white blade pointed to the opposite bank of the river. "If the Song people have left a large army on the western front to join forces with the Khitans, and they also want to seize Hengshan and Yan'an, and they also have to withstand Zhongtiao Mountain... then may I ask Your Highness, how many combat troops are there on the opposite bank at this moment? How credible is the previous statement by that Goryeo mallet that Yue Fei's troops are behind Puzin as reinforcements?"

Wushu's breathing became heavy.

Balisu ignored it, just kept pointing his saber at the opposite bank and continued to speak passionately: "The water at Puzin is gentle, although the central island in the river has been submerged, it can be roughly seen. Now that the summer flood season has not arrived, with some manpower, multiple pontoons can be forcibly erected, enough for a large army to pass through. Then, imitating the story of Han Xin, send a detachment from Longmen Ferry to attack the enemy's rear... Your Highness, give the order now, leave only one Wanhu to guard Hezhong Prefecture, and then let the rest of the army go out, regardless of casualties, and forcibly attack the positions on the opposite bank! As long as we defeat this so-called Zhao Song Emperor's directly subordinate elite army before Li Yanxian and Han Shizhong can provide support, I guarantee that the Song army will abandon that damned Western Xia and return to defend with all their strength!"

Wushu's breathing became heavier and heavier, but he still didn't speak.

Balisu finally turned around, but he directly inserted the white blade in his hand onto the map on the table in front of Wushu, his face ferocious: "Send troops, Your Highness! The West Route Army has as many as fifty to sixty thousand troops here. As long as Your Highness says a word, they will cross the Yellow River for the Wanyan clan! Avenge our past humiliation!"

Wushu stared at Balisu, and Balisu was not afraid at all, staring coldly at the other party.

The two faced each other across a table, a map, and a knife for who knows how long, but in the end, their breathing gradually calmed down. At this time, several of the West Route Army officers who were truly observant gradually understood Balisu's meaning.

"Are you so afraid that I will use the West Route Army to fight to the death?" Wushu asked with a sneer, a few touches of red finally appearing on his pale face, showing a bit of vividness. "Do you think that if I send two more Wanhu to their deaths at Puzin, the West Route Army will be devastated?"

At this moment, everyone understood Balisu's position.

"I'm not just afraid that the West Route Army will send two more Wanhu to their deaths and be devastated from now on, I'm even more afraid that Your Highness will be defeated here, and won't even have a position to speak in when you return to Yanjing." Balisu took a few deep breaths and said solemnly. "Fourth Prince, we fought together in Nanyang. At that time, I seemed dissatisfied with you, but that was because my superiors at that time were Nianhan, my colleagues were Loushi, my elder brother was Yinshuke, and my competitors were Huonv. Plus, you had a Second Prince brother who had only passed away two years earlier but was the best at military strategy for comparison, how could I possibly look up to you?"

Wushu snorted coldly.

"But in recent years, I have gradually realized that the world is not just about fighting wars? And how can every battle be as victorious as the first ten years or so of the Taizu era? Great generals are gradually withering, soldiers are gradually becoming dull, and food and wealth are also becoming tight. There are military disasters everywhere. This is the kind of complex things that a normal country should have... And at this time, the Jin Dynasty not only needs people who can fight, but also people who understand national policies, people who know how to coordinate the various tribes and armies, and people who dare to deter those old fogeys in the central government... In the past, to put it bluntly, only Nianhan alone had the talent and courage to do this. Your brothers and the Supreme Emperor were not enough. But now that Nianhan has been killed by you, you are the only one who still seems like something!" Balisu spoke earnestly. "If you want to fight, it's not impossible, but just look at the pits and fortresses they've dug and built these days. You must be prepared to suffer a defeat, lose two Wanhu, and lose power in the court."

Wushu pursed his lips and didn't speak, but after a moment, he almost burst into tears, but eventually laughed.

Not to mention that he suddenly learned that he had been tricked by the Zhao Song Emperor again, which was no one's fault; not to mention the current predicament, making decisions was always so difficult; the key point was that the Prince of Wei of the Jin Dynasty never expected that the first person to point out that he, Wanyan Wushu, was indispensable to the Jin Dynasty, was actually this remnant of Nianhan, the military leader of the Western Army, Wanyan Balisu, who had had unpleasantness with him on the battlefield.

On the other hand, when he thought about it, with the current state of talent depletion in the Jin Dynasty, he was certainly the "one person" after "Nianhan", but what about Balisu? Wasn't he also one of the few usable national generals?

Woli Bu was dead, Loushi was dead, Nianhan was dead, Huonv had caused such a thing, Yinshuke was old and lacked trust from above and below. If he didn't trust this person in military affairs, who else could he trust?

Talant who had lost his spirit after one battle?

Or his own brothers who had hardly been on the battlefield, like the so-called Sixth Prince Elu Guan?

Or Ali, Elubu, Gao Jingshan, Wulinda Taiyu and the others? These people were certainly still talented generals, but unfortunately, they were not named Wanyan.

After laughing for a long time, until the qi in his chest dissipated, Wushu finally sat back in his seat and continued to speak, looking at the white blade on the table in front of him, but his tone was completely calm: "If we don't cross the river to fight a decisive battle, what should we do?"

"Then naturally, we will sit idly by and watch the Western Xia people lose Hexi... then either take the opportunity to force Huonv to come back and abandon the affairs on the other side of the Yellow River, or send troops from the north to support the Western Xia people in Hengshan." Balisu replied frankly.

"Although we have lost our advantage, we can't let the Song people and the Liao people gain a great advantage... Send troops north. One Wanhu goes out of Suide Army, two go out of Jinning Army, and one goes to Linzhou. We must help Western Xia stabilize the situation in Hengshan. As long as Hengshan is not lost and Xingling is not lost, Western Xia can hold on... This kind of deployment is also a means of receiving Huonv when necessary." Wushu finally gave the order. "Then leave this place to Balisu Dutong (Supreme Commander) for unified command. I will personally take a trip to Yan'an. No matter how the situation develops, Huonv must hand over military power first! I have to tell him clearly that the army belongs to the country, not for him to use for personal revenge... Does anyone have any objections?"

The others looked at each other. This strategy was not rushed and very considerate, so how could there be any objections?

Not only that, after a moment of silence, Wanhu Wanyan Zhehe also reminded: "Your Highness, Dutong, your arrangements are of course appropriate, but I have one thing to remind you. The Khitans have been in the north for a hundred years, and the Song people have been in the south for a hundred years, and they have extremely high prestige... The two families are fighting the Dangxiang people together, and there are Mongolians involved. The various ethnic groups in Western Xia must be restless... This side has to be deployed quickly, otherwise, once something collapses, it will be too late."

Balisu shook his head repeatedly: "No matter how fast, tens of thousands of troops still have to move over honestly."

The surrounding military generals hesitated to speak, and Wushu's face also became a little ugly again.

But Balisu, drew out the knife on the table, and before inserting it back into his waist, he seriously said to Wushu again: "Your Highness... I was indeed advising just now, but I was also telling the truth. If you want to ensure that the overall situation is not lost, the most effective means is to send the entire army to the opposite bank at this time... If you really have this intention, although I disagree in my heart, I will definitely follow orders and be the first to climb the wall!"

Wushu raised his head upon hearing this and looked at the opposite bank again.

In fact, he didn't need to look at all. He knew the situation there very well, because he had seen it more than anyone else these days, and he had seen it more clearly... From a horizontal perspective, the Song army's huge camp had expanded to a range of nearly thirty miles wide, almost blocking all the land suitable for landing in front of them. And from a longitudinal perspective, fences, earthen fortresses, trenches, deer antlers, and pitfalls were layered on top of each other, enough to make any battlefield warrior's heart palpitate.

Those Guanzhong militiamen from the Solidarity Society and Archery Society could rely on these things to exert considerable combat power.

In comparison, the mixing of soldiers and civilians during the construction process was now irrelevant.

In this situation, Wanyan Wushu and the generals present were very clear that sending the entire army to cross the river at this time would only have two outcomes... One was to overwhelm the opponent in a short period of time, causing the Song army to collapse, but because of the river crossing and the fortifications, it would be impossible to carry out an effective pursuit; the other was to be used by the opponent to cultivate morale and discipline with effective killings, and then truly bury two Wanhu on the river beach.

"It's all because of my ignorance that I was deceived by the Song people." After waiting for a while, Wushu announced loudly. "If I had been determined to cross the river to see Huonv earlier, or if I had used Prime Minister Qin's plan earlier and directly given the Western Xia people those few broken pieces of land on the other side of the river, how would we have today's predicament? Even the ambush of Tu Hesuli and the harassment of the reinforcements were the result of my urging them too hastily."

The generals looked at each other and didn't speak, but instead felt respect in their hearts... Everyone knew that Wushu and Balisu had not actually made a wrong judgment, it was just that the Song people on the opposite bank were too cunning, but Wushu took the initiative to take responsibility, which made the generals of the West Route Army breathe a sigh of relief.

At the moment, the generals were silent again.

Balisu put his saber back and went down to deploy the troops, while Wushu ordered another table of food and ate it in the Stork Tower, facing the Dragon Banner on the opposite side. Then he personally went north, preparing to meet Huonv.

The Jin people went north, and on the opposite bank of Puzin, the Song army not only did not relax, but became even more nervous... No one knew if the Jin army was feigning retreat, and no one knew if they would kill a carbine at night.

However, that night, the Jin army did not come after all, and they did not return the next day. The pre-set beacon fires at Longmen Ferry naturally did not light up.

But at the same time, going upstream along the Yellow River, a full thousand miles away in a straight line, and three thousand miles away in actual Yellow River distance, a crucial location in the heart of Western Xia - the Gorge, which is the later-generation Qingtong Gorge, the beacon fires were successfully lit.

It is said that Western Xia had very few stationed troops. The Song army detoured upstream with Zhang Xian's troops and successfully launched a surprise attack, and then the entire army successfully crossed the river. But after all, human power was limited and they failed to prevent the Western Xia people from lighting the beacon fire.

Therefore, in the afternoon, the beacon fire rose, and the smoke billowed into the sky. For a time, alarms were raised everywhere along the Yellow River in Western Xia.

"Let Jiedu (Military Governor) know, Liu Fa... who is Liu Zhengyan's father, once came here, but at that time he was defeated head-on by Weiming Chage on the way to advance, and finally when he retreated here, he was surrounded by Chage, and then the entire army was wiped out." By the evening of this day, the Song army had crossed the river despite their hardships. Hu Hongxiu, whose head had less of the smell of sheep oil, saw Yue Fei looking at the smoke that had been turned into a large-scale bonfire and said nothing, so he stepped forward and gave a brief explanation. "After that time, the Western Xia people even built beacon towers in this kind of place... In fact, passing this gorge is the real heartland of Western Xia."

Yue Fei shook his head slightly, supported his saber, and said in a deep voice: "I am not concerned about this beacon fire. Reaching the heartland of the Western Xia people, this is unavoidable... How far is this place from Xingqing Prefecture?"

"One hundred and eighty li." Hu Hongxiu blurted out.

"Forced march... three days?" Yue Fei thought for a moment and asked again.

Hu Hongxiu immediately shook his head: "At least six days."

Liu Qi hesitated for a moment and took the initiative to interject to explain: "Yue Jiedu... the Dangxiang people have more tribes than households, and all tribes are soldiers. Even if the core warriors are not in Xingling at this time, with Li Qian Shun's fifty years of authority as the lord of the country, one messenger can summon the men of a nearby tribe to help. They ride a horse, hold a bow, carry a spear, and carry a bag of food and water, enough to form an army. And these barbarian cavalry will inevitably die if they charge our army formation. But if we ignore them and let them advance, letting them harass our march and plunder our logistics, then it will be we who are going to die."

Yue Fei immediately nodded: "What you two mean is that we can only march steadily, thirty li a day?"

"Yes." Liu Qi responded.

"How many of those barbarian cavalry will come to help?"

"Hard to say." Liu Qi continued to speak seriously. "It depends on how fast we go... If we can really go thirty or forty li a day, taking five or six days as a calculation, when we arrive under the city of Xingqing Prefecture, I'm afraid there will be at least twenty thousand people."

Hu Hongxiu hesitated and gave a slight reminder: "Jiedu, the more barbarian cavalry gather, the slower we will advance... And it's not just about how many tribal barbarian cavalry the enemy sends, we also have to consider our own strength."

"No need to consider." Yue Fei shook his head. "Let Vice Commander Wang stay forty li behind, one day's journey away, and leave the gorge to him. Let's not delay. Rest well today, and tomorrow morning, the entire army will advance quickly to seize time and distance."

Liu Qi and Hu Hongxiu thought for a while, and then nodded heavily. Even Qu Duan, who had just settled his own cavalry, could only wave his horse whip after hearing the previous few sentences and had nothing to say for a moment.

Thinking about it, now that they had come here, what else could they do?

There was no talk all night. The next morning, as soon as the sky dawned, everyone got up to eat and found that there was actually a Buddhist pagoda forest next to the Yellow River where they had rested yesterday. Many soldiers who believed in Buddhism ran over to worship.

The officers did not stop them. In fact, many officers themselves could not help but go to worship. Only Yue and Qu remained cold and did not express anything.

"Jiedu, the Western Xia people are coming!"

In the morning, after the entire army had been reorganized, with the baggage towed by rafts in the river, and the army lined up along the river according to the commander-in-chief's personal arrangement, just as they were about to set off, Li Shifu, who had been sent out in advance, suddenly returned, went straight to the central army, and then dismounted and reported a military situation to Yue Fei.

"How many people?"

Yue Fei, fully armored, asked solemnly under the banner of "Serve the Country with Utmost Loyalty", his eyes clearly bloodshot.

"Four or five hundred... They must be the surrounding barbarian tribes who came on their own after seeing the beacon fire." Li Shifu said seriously. "These barbarian tribes are all local barbarian tribes of Xingling, and they are the direct descendants of the Weiming clan. This humble general tried to recruit them, but two messengers were killed, so I had to disperse them... And at this rate, I'm afraid they will gather two or three thousand people by tomorrow. At that time, this humble general's troops will not be able to easily disperse these lightly armed barbarian cavalry for the army."

"It doesn't matter." Yue Fei immediately responded on horseback. "Vice Commander Li, it would be a great achievement for you to be a scout here."

Li Shifu nodded immediately, but like the surrounding Guanzhong generals, he could not hide his serious expression.

In this way, the army finally set off and went north along the Yellow River.

However, after walking only ten miles or so, before noon, as the army turned a corner on the Yellow River bend, the terrain suddenly opened up, and Yue Fei naturally noticed a conspicuous thing on the northwest side of the army formation, and turned to look at Hu Hongxiu beside him:

"Attendant Hu, that mountain is continuous and very majestic, like a herd of horses galloping. What kind of mountain is it?"

Although he knew that the road ahead was a journey that would determine life and death, and his personality had always been straightforward, Hu Hongxiu, who was wearing a turban, could not help but feel a sense of ridicule: "Yue Jiedu has said it all, this mountain's peaks are like a herd of horses galloping, so naturally it is Junma Mountain (Galloping Horse Mountain)..."

"It's called Junma Mountain?"

"That's right!" Hu Hongxiu continued to laugh. "However, Junma in the local barbarian language is read as Helan... Therefore, this mountain can also be called Helan Mountain!"

Yue Fei suddenly understood.

ps: Thanks to the 129th moe, student Qian Jianxue.