Chapter 1 The Stalemate

Gao Jingshan’s response was very appropriate, and Gao Qingyi’s initial advice was also correct. As independent commanding generals and military adjutants, these two had experienced too many military campaigns. Almost instinctively, they grasped the most crucial issue: the Song army's overnight move, transferring the main body of their forces to this side of the river, was indeed a military miracle and a feat that could shake the Jin army's morale. However, it must have been hasty and full of flaws, appearing strong on the outside but fatigued within.

Therefore, at this moment, the Jin army didn't need to consider too much. They should first suppress their fear and shock, focus on the gaps in the defensive line, and attack with all their might.

If they couldn't break through, they would return to a hard life.

But if the Song army couldn't resist, allowing the Jin army to connect from inside and outside, then the Song army's efforts overnight would not only be wasted but would also put them in a dilemma.

At that time, Yue Fei would truly be outsmarting himself and falling into danger.

Correspondingly, Yue Fei was also well aware that things were not over yet. The majority of soldiers and civilians were already very tired, but the things that needed to be done were still numerous. Narrow terrain and solid fortifications were undoubtedly the best way to negate the Jin cavalry's combat advantages, but the premise was that the construction and reinforcement of the defensive line had to be completed.

The defensive line must be completed!

The Jurchens must be held back!

However, war is not a dinner party where you can set the table, count the guests, arrange the corresponding food and tableware, and then the guests arrive on time as scheduled. At that time, everyone will clasp their hands and bow before taking their seats. Several weeks of confrontation, suddenly changing the military situation, will inevitably lead to fierce and lightning-fast military clashes. The scale of last night's battle was at most just an appetizer, and the unfolding of battles and events will never develop as the commander expects.

The first surprise occurred inside the city.

"What is it now?"

Having just descended from the city, Gao Jingshan saw a familiar Bohai Puli Yan (fifty-man commander, deputy Mouke) galloping along the base of the wall from the west. He was momentarily exasperated.

"Commander!" The Puli Yan called out, quickly dismounting. However, because the horse was moving too fast, he stumbled after dismounting, almost rolling on the ground before steadying himself against the base of the city wall. "The Bingzi watchtower in the northwest has suddenly blocked the passage along the city wall with debris and thrown down flags from the tower! It must be Liu An's gang. Seeing the large Song army besieging the city, he directly wavered and decided to rebel!"

Gao Jingshan was momentarily stunned but quickly understood. He immediately turned around and pointed to a Meng'an who had followed from the city center: "Quickly take people to retake it! If you can't retake it quickly, set it on fire! The city wall is several feet thick, made of rammed earth, flagstones, and bricks, so it's not afraid of burning! Don't give the Song army outside the city a chance to climb the wall and support them! If the Song army hasn't noticed, don't make any extra moves. But if the Song army notices, strip those rebels naked and hang them from the tower, dead or alive!"

The Meng'an suddenly understood and immediately turned back to call out the names of several Moukes and Puli Yans. Then, he hurried towards the west, the northwest corner of the city, with the messenger Puli Yan.

After they left, Gao Jingshan thought for a moment and then urgently pointed to Gao Qingyi: "Officer Gao, go to the military camp in the city and summon Wang Dang. He is the most reliable Han general. Have him lead a team to inspect the Han army. If anything is amiss, kill them on the spot... Then, you yourself open the treasury and take out silk, wine, and meat to inspect and reassure the Han army again!"

Gao Qingyi understood and hurried away.

However, this first surprise was alarming but not dangerous, because the Han army's uprising in the watchtower was hasty and internally disorganized. As a result, only a quarter of an hour later, accompanied by the rumbling of siege engines in the east of the city, the Jin army, both inside and outside, retook the Bingzi watchtower in the row of diagonal watchtowers in the southwest of the city and slaughtered all the Han army officers who had rebelled.

The Song army outside the city, from beginning to end, didn't even notice this small ripple that could have directly changed the fate of the entire world.

But in any case, now that this matter had passed, the Jin army in the city knew about it, whether it was the river-based catapults smashing the city or the threat from within. Everything had come to the fore, and there was no need to be surprised by what happened next.

"Can't get through!"

Just as Gao Jingshan turned back to the front of the Cuiyun Tower near the north of the city, before he even had time to go up the tower, he was issuing additional city defense orders on the spot. Unlike the officers who had quickly dealt with the rebellion, another officer who had been given orders was reporting back with a completely dejected face. "To let the commander know, Song cavalry is blocking the bridgehead on the opposite side of the Yongji Canal. The messengers we want to send to the north can't get through at all. However, the south of the city is not so tightly sealed off. The messengers ordered to burn the ships don't need to cross the Yongji Canal and have probably broken through."

Gao Jingshan, who had only slept for two hours last night, reined in his horse under the Cuiyun Tower. Hearing this, he couldn't help but exhale a long breath, revealing his exhaustion. However, he forced himself to cheer up and headed towards the west city, ignoring the rumbling sounds from the east.

Arriving at the west city and hurriedly climbing the city wall, Gao Jingshan simply glanced at it and took another long breath, then simply felt a headache coming on.

Earlier, when accepting the report, this Jin Dynasty Grand Commander of Daming Prefecture knew that a well-organized Song army cavalry unit had been stationed in advance on the west side of the Yongji Canal, and he also knew that it must be Yue Fei's Beiwei Army. But to be honest, the Song army's cavalry had never been highly regarded by the Jin army.

It's not surprising that the Jurchens looked down on them. In the Battle of Yaoshan, Yue Fei's Beiwei Army actually participated, but their performance was not good.

Of course, among the hundreds of thousands of Song troops and tens of thousands of cavalry, the only exception was Han Shizhong's Copper-Faced Beiwei Army. From fleeing Hebei to driving away Wushu on the Huai River, to the battles of Yanling and Yaoshan, including the previous battle in Hedong, their performance was truly amazing.

However, when Gao Jingshan personally climbed the city wall at this moment, a glance was enough for him, as a general who had led troops for many years, to realize that he shouldn't use old accounts to write new books. It had been five or six years since Yaoshan. Times had changed. The Jin army hadn't fought for five years, and the Song army hadn't wielded weapons for three years. At this moment, while the Jin cavalry was becoming increasingly ordinary, the Song cavalry, fully supported, especially units with years of experience and combat, had probably gradually honed their skills.

In other words, this well-equipped Beiwei Army was indeed a strong force comparable to the elite of the Jurchens.

And facing this elite heavy cavalry with excellent discipline, it was indeed difficult to achieve any individual breakthroughs.

In addition to the assessment of this cavalry's combat power, Gao Jingshan also thought a little further... He was not just a simple warrior, but a marshal with political acumen and a sense of the overall situation, even the kind who grasped both military and political power.

"Commander, do you want me to lead my six Moukes down for a charge to provide cover?" Just as Gao Jingshan was feeling a strange ripple in his heart, Pusu Yue, the eldest son of the dead Da Tu, who had taken several military sticks last night and was still defending the west city, couldn't help but hobble over to suggest.

Gao Jingshan turned his head and looked at the other party with a complicated expression, slightly hesitant.

"Commander!" Pusu Yue clearly misunderstood when he saw this. "Twenty military sticks aren't enough to stop me from riding a horse or using a spear..."

"It's not the time yet." Gao Jingshan shook his head repeatedly, his tone somewhat scattered. "And it's too late... Now, we can only rely on Ali and Shao He to be resourceful. I estimate they'll be here soon... Go gather your troops, not just your own six Moukes. I'll give you fourteen more Moukes... That's the limit. Later, when the front engages, if the reinforcements come from the east of the canal, you don't need to cross the Yongji Canal. Immediately harass the main force in front of Yue Fei's banner; but if the reinforcements come from the west of the canal, you don't need to worry about casualties. You must try to break through the canal to create a diversion for the reinforcements!"

Pusu Yue was overjoyed, bowed, and hobbled down to prepare the cavalry. Gao Jingshan instructed the officers who took over the west city to be careful with the city defenses, then stared at the elite heavy cavalry outside the city... After a long while, he set off for the northwest watchtower, which was best for observing the situation.

The northwest side of Yuancheng was shaped into a wavy slope due to the turn of the Yongji Canal. Each protrusion had a watchtower. The previous Han army rebellion occurred in the Bingzi tower here, and Gao Jingshan climbed the blood-stained Bingzi tower, then looked out from the flat top floor.

Just as he said before, it was too late.

No more than a moment after this Jin commander climbed the watchtower, smoke and dust rose on the horizon to the north of the Song army's defensive line... Obviously, the Jin army's field force stationed in Guantao, the army of two Wanhu, completely followed the previous agreement, cooked meals at the fourth watch (2-4 AM), and headed south to sweep this夾地 (narrow strip of land) directly at dawn.

They were not late at all.

The Jin army's vanguard cavalry arrived especially quickly.

There was no way around it. Guantao was east of the Yongji Canal, and the Jin army's main camp was only twenty or thirty miles from Yuancheng. The vanguard camp closer to this side was only ten miles away from the Song army's "camp." They came in a hurry at dawn today, and as a result, they arrived as soon as they were spoken of.

And these Jin army vanguards, like the Jin army on the city, were also obviously bewildered by the Song army's huge formation.

However, behind them were two full Wanhu, and after all, they didn't have the psychological shock of the overnight city. After hesitating slightly, they immediately launched an attack on the Song army's position.

The answer was self-evident. The small Jin cavalry was helpless in front of the dense deer antlers and could only retreat in embarrassment after encountering the Song army's bow and crossbow attacks.

For a time, the Song army breathed a slight sigh of relief, and cheers resounded throughout the northern 夾地.

However, before the cheers had completely stopped, Yue Fei, sitting silently under the banner, heard a strange sound and instinctively looked towards the river channel. Not only him, but many officers around him also instinctively looked in that direction. Because this sound was very similar to the sound of stone bullets砸 (smashing) on Yuancheng's thick city walls after a salvo from the navy's crossbow catapults, like muffled thunder on a clear day.

However, there was no sign of the waterway accelerating to launch projectile stones. They were still uniformly aiming in place, waiting for the signal from behind the flag of "Acting on behalf of Heaven."

Yue Fei immediately reacted, then stood up, mounted his horse, and turned north, standing still. Many officers around him also suddenly understood and turned around solemnly.

Sure enough, the thunder was getting louder and louder, and closer and closer, bringing a cloud of dust that blotted out the sky, appearing in the due north. The smoke spread like dark clouds but quickly stopped in front of the northern defense line, and the thunder on the battlefield soon only remained in the area of the river channel and the eastern city of Yuancheng.

Obviously, the main force of the Jin army had arrived.

The Song army's scouts immediately reported that they had seen the flag of Ali, a veteran general of the Jin army.

However, in the time it took for the Song army's scouts to travel back and forth two miles in their own formation, without hesitation, without consultation, and without even a gap, the Jin army in the north unhesitatingly chose to dismount and fight on foot, using heavy-armored infantry to move the deer antlers and fight for the northern fence!

This time, there was no need for scouts to report. The shouts of killing and the sound of arrows piercing the air could be heard from afar. The flags were waving to give orders, and the deployment of troops could be seen from afar.

On the hastily erected defense line to the north, the battle was particularly fierce from the start. The well-prepared Song army fired crossbow bolts from the shooting platform behind the fence, but the heavily armored Jin army was not afraid and directly withstood the crossbow bolts and casualties to move the deer antlers layer by layer.

That's not all. As the deer antlers were partially moved, the Jin army immediately changed their tactics. On one side, they continued to expand the front, and on the other side, they began to dismantle and chop up the deer antlers on the spot, wrap them in their own flags and even military uniforms, and then set them on fire, forming a temporary and strange torch to throw back and forth under the fence.

This trick worked wonders. Soon, part of the fence was ignited, forcing the front-line Song army commanders to panic and quickly fetch water to put out the fire.

On the watchtower of Yuancheng, Gao Jingshan, who was watching this scene and the direction of the smoke and dust behind him from afar, was excited... He had to admit the determination and appropriateness of Ali and Shao He, two veteran generals.

Yue Fei, seeing the smoke and fire in the north from afar, also became somewhat serious.

"Commander!"

A Jin soldier hurriedly climbed the watchtower to relay the message. "General Pusu Yue is ready and requests to go out from the west gate,繞 (go around) to the north, and harass the Song army from behind to assist Generals Ali and Shao He!"

Gao Jingshan turned around to face him, hesitated slightly, and then reluctantly waved his hand: "Not yet!"

"Marshal!"

A staff officer in leather armor carefully stepped forward from the Song army's side. "The Jin army's offensive is quite urgent. Should we send reinforcements? Sending them from here would be appropriate, and sending them from the east of the Yongji Canal would be fast enough."

Yue Fei didn't hesitate and didn't even look at the other party before raising his hand: "Don't move!"

The staff officer retreated helplessly.

Although the commanders of both sides were temporarily unmoved by Ali's offensive, the direction of the battle really exceeded everyone's expectations. Or rather, the strength of Ali, a veteran Jin general who had worked his way up from a lowly soldier to Wanhu, and his troops, exceeded everyone's expectations.

Almost as soon as he arrived at the front line, he issued the order to dismount and fight to compete for the defense line, and then recklessly used his own flags and military uniforms to burn the fence, and it worked wonders. That's not all... Obviously, as his Han army troops arrived from the rear, the Jin army's bow and crossbow assistance quickly took shape, and true arrow交加 (fighting) began on the battlefield.

Moreover, the 夾地 east of the Yongji Canal, which was only a few miles wide, was now obstructed by the deer antlers, and the two sides were only fighting along a few temporarily opened narrow fronts.

At this time, in this mode of operation, although the Jin army could not invest a large number of troops, the Song army's numerical advantage was not very obvious, and instead, because of fatigue, it was at a disadvantage against the Jin army's fresh troops.

A quarter of an hour later, some Jin soldiers successfully crossed the moat, pushed down a fence whose pillars and ropes had been burned down, and crossed the defense line.

"Follow me!"

In front of the defense line, Hu Qing, the commander of the Imperial Guards' Right Army responsible for this section of the defense, panicked and shouted in a Shandong accent. He summoned his direct guards and hurriedly put on his helmet, personally stepping forward to try to block the gap.

However, as he led his troops to meet them, a Jurchen heavy-armored soldier who rushed out first saw an opportunity and shot an arrow directly at his face, which was not covered by a mask. Hu Qing, a dignified commander, actually died on the spot in front of the fence.

With Hu Qing dead, his guards were momentarily panicked and confused. They hurriedly snatched their commander's body and retreated in a confused manner, allowing the Jin army to take advantage of the situation to pour into this gap, wantonly chasing and killing, and using weapons to砍斫 (chop) the fence to try to widen the gap.

On the tower, Gao Jingshan, who saw this scene from afar, was breathing heavily.

"Let Zhao Buyou lead a thousand people over to plug the leak!"

A moment later, the news of Hu Qing's death reached the banner, and at this time, the Jin army had obviously expanded the advantage of the breakthrough and even had two other small breakthroughs. Yue Fei had to face this problem squarely. "But if Commander Tian has his own arrangements, don't take the battle line by force. Just maintain it in the rear..."

Zhao Buyou was a student from the Imperial Academy with martial arts skills. He had met Yue Fei in Xiangzhou during the Jingkang era, admired him, and had been his subordinate since Yue Fei was a general under the Tokyo Garrison Command, and now he was a commanding officer.

As Zhao Buyou left, the surrounding staff officers and officers gathered around, all feeling that the situation was somewhat dangerous and that Yue Fei's handling was a bit negligent.

"It's not that I'm negligent." Concerning the lives of more than 100,000 soldiers and civilians, even Yue Fei had to explain to his staff and close officers. "On the contrary, Shao He's troops haven't appeared, and the responding troops in the city haven't come out either! Moreover, the Yongji Canal divides the 夾地 into two. Although the situation on the east side seems dangerous, it's just that the Jin army is relying on their fresh troops and having a burst of energy. Once they are restrained, they will inevitably be discouraged. On the contrary, the gap on the west side of the Yongji Canal, which is only a few hundred steps away, is the real critical place in this battle. We need to leave enough reserve forces to deal with emergencies."

The generals reluctantly suppressed their unease and continued to watch.

However, even so, in the process of Zhao Buyou leading his troops to support forward, the situation on the front line became increasingly worse. Taking advantage of the momentum of breaking through the fence, the Jin army continued to wreak havoc on the front line. A heavy-armored soldier who came to support from the rear broke through the gap and rushed into a team of civilians who were obviously transporting water to put out the fire, wantonly砍杀 (chop and kill), causing even greater chaos.

Seeing this scene from afar, Yue Fei continued to sit still on his horse, while Gao Jingshan on the watchtower completely hesitated before Pusu Yue's fourth request to fight.

As the main general of Daming Prefecture, Gao Jingshan was completely clear about the battle situation and also understood Yue Fei's thoughts of not moving his troops. He was even overlooking the north from a high position, and he could see some things more clearly than Yue Fei.

In the end, he was also waiting for the Jin army to繞 (go around) to the west side of the Yongji Canal and attack the gap that was only a few hundred steps away.

But now, a big problem was that the Song army had built a city overnight and erected countless bridges on the Yongji Canal. Although it was not like walking on flat ground for the Song army to travel back and forth between the east and west sides of the 夾地, they definitely had a tactical advantage. But what about the Jin army? Whether it was the blocked哨骑 (scouts) in the city before, or Shao He's failure to appear, and his own hesitation about Pusu Yue's direction of attack, all clearly showed a huge tactical loophole for the Jin army... Under the Song army's magical operation, the Yongji Canal, which they originally relied on for its geographical advantages, had now become the Jin army's biggest tactical obstacle.

In a hurry, it was very difficult for large troops without preparation to seize the time to cross the Yongji Canal, a suspended river on the ground.

This was the case in the city, and it was bound to be the case for reinforcements.

And now, Ali's unhesitating do-or-die突击 (assault) had unexpectedly achieved miraculous results. Therefore, Gao Jingshan himself didn't know whether he should invest the mobile force in his hands in the north of the city or the west of the city.

"Let Pusu Yue out of the city to harass Yue Fei's banner in the north... Remember, let him harass, not let him waste his strength." Finally, after scanning the Song army cavalry silently waiting on the west side of the city again, Gao Jingshan suppressed his unease and gave the order. "Try to hold them back so that they can't fully support the northern defense line."

As soon as he said this, this Jin Dynasty marching commander regretted it, but he didn't change his order after all.

Because he knew that if he continued to let Pusu Yue wait, he would probably be tormented and regret it, and changing orders on the battlefield was probably worse than making a possible wrong decision.

In this way, when the chaos reached its peak at the northern defense line, with a rumble, the Jin army cavalry in Yuancheng finally appeared, but they poured out of the west gate and then gathered north along the city.

Moreover, the Song and Jin cavalry, one on the east side of the canal and one on the west side, with the Yongji Canal in the middle, was a slightly raised artificial canal that could not block the tall cavalry, only a few dozen steps wide. The two sides could see each other's armor from afar, but neither side cared about the other, nor did they make any extra moves.

The Jin army cavalry hurriedly went north along the city, and the Song army cavalry did not risk being attacked from above the city to harass them across the river. They just watched the other party pass by their side.

This scene further confirmed Gao Jingshan's guess on the watchtower that the Song army cavalry's discipline was far beyond his imagination, and it would probably be worse to let the cavalry in the city cross the canal to respond to the west side of the canal.

"Marshal, the Jin army has left the city!"

The generals beside him were overjoyed. "They're coming towards us! Do you want to imitate Prince Han, lure them close, and then let the Beiwei Army risk blocking their retreat in order to wipe them out completely under the city?"

"No need." Yue Fei didn't even bother to look back at the situation behind him, but with an unchanged expression, he quickly ordered on horseback. "Hebei and Hedong are completely different, so don't fight recklessly. Order the three commanders, Yao Zheng, Pang Rong, and Li Shan, to meet them as soon as the enemy cavalry passes the northwest watchtower of Yuancheng and block them in front of the city!"

As soon as the military order was given, after the Jin army turned out of the northwest watchtower, the three units started with a roar in accordance with the military order. At this moment, another series of rumbling thunder resounded on the battlefield, and滾滾 (rolling) smoke and dust once again came from the sky.

This time, the movement came from the northwest of the 夾地, and it didn't gradually subside like the due north before, but kept going straight for the northwest gap of the 夾地.

That's right, without Gao Jingshan's military order, the Jin army's Wanhu, Shao He, under the cover of Ali, crossed the Yongji Canal from the rear and seized the Song army's biggest flaw.

"Let Zhang Zigai get up."

The exhausted Tian Shizhong seemed relieved and loosened the handful of dirt he was holding. The dirt fell and was scattered on his dusty armor. "Meet them! Tell him that success or failure depends on this! Determine the deputy general sequence in advance. Don't be like the idiot Hu Qing, who not only sacrificed his life but also ruined the battle line! Everyone else, don't wait any longer. Rely on your respective defense lines to meet the enemy to the north!"

Since Tian Shizhong gave the order, nearly 10,000 elite Imperial Guards' Right Army soldiers stood up from among the civilians and flags, rushing to the north with a roar. The movement was so great that it was like a rising tide.

On the city wall, Gao Jingshan looked at this spectacular scene and suddenly felt that something was wrong... The Song army's combat strength was somewhat beyond his imagination... Zhang Rong led the navy in the east, Tang Huai in the south, Zhang Xian in the west, and there were also necessary garrison troops on the other side of the river. Where did these more than 10,000 people come from?

And if the Song army's strength was like this from the beginning, then how great was Ali's infantry assault? What was the point of calculating the odds on the east and west sides?

There was no chance of winning on the east side of the Yongji Canal!

War is not a dinner party, so people prepared three tables of dishes in advance to wait for two tables of guests.

"Raise the flag!" Yue Fei finally glanced at Yuancheng but ordered on horseback again. "Let the river dismantle the pontoon bridge. Let Commander Zhang调回 (transfer back) the轮船 (steamships) and砲击 (bombard) Ali along the river! The central army will remain on standby! The Beiwei Army will remain on standby!"

There were four tables of dishes.