Chapter 1 The Walls Close In

Thanks to the long winter nights, the Song army's plan had ample time to be completed.

After Bei Yan sacrificed two of his only three hot air balloons, the Song army had roughly completed one of its two most crucial tactical steps that night... Dozens of large and small paddle-wheel boats, carrying small cannons and ballistae, had successfully crossed the narrow strip of land, entering the eastern fork of the Northern Yellow River Route from the northern fork of the Eastern Yellow River Route, and were still arriving in a steady stream.

Of course, there were still many losses. At least one-seventh to one-eighth of the ships had inexplicably run aground on land, and it was unknown when they could be repaired. Moreover, one paddle-wheel boat capsized directly at the entrance of the Eastern Yellow River Route, causing one of the four docks to cease operating.

But this was enough.

In fact, as early as when the first balloon was lit, and more than a dozen paddle-wheel boats had successfully entered the eastern fork of the Northern Yellow River Route, the Song army had no turning back. At that time, Tian Shizhong initiated the Song army's second crucial step—in the twilight and a common winter mist, tens of thousands of Song army main forces began to cross the river simultaneously from the south and north of the city. The scale was especially large in the north, because along with the combat troops crossing the river, there were countless Song laborers and construction planks.

As soon as they crossed the river, except for a small number of elite troops who were required to rest and be on guard, everyone else, regardless of whether they were soldiers or civilians, immediately began to build fortifications on the spot.

The winter ground was a bit stiff, but it wasn't frozen solid, not to the point of being impossible to work with. A swing of a long iron chisel would dig out a shallow pit. Twenty swings would dig a shallow, long pit large enough for three wooden stakes to stand together. And if one could swing two or three hundred times and have someone help clear the soil from the pit, it would be enough to dig a deep pit that could successfully erect the planks Tian Shizhong had brought.

But that wasn't enough. Almost every such plank had to be connected to other planks with rawhide ropes. Other shallow pits on both sides were used to insert single pieces of wood for auxiliary fixation, and the connected planks had to be nailed together to form a whole. Only then could a plank be completely fixed, successfully buried, and become part of a traditional camp fence.

Compared to this slightly complicated and experienced work, digging trenches in front of the fence seemed simpler... Just dig pits. Everyone could dig, not too deep, two and a half chi deep, three chi wide, following the fence, digging along a line from east to west. Then the excavated soil could be piled up in front of the fence. While piling it up, they had to fetch water from the river to pour on it... At this time, pouring river water on it would definitely have miraculous effects.

Of course, there were also difficulties. The most critical was lighting. Considering the scale of the operation here, for the sake of caution, even miles away, the Song army had to strictly control the light sources. On the planned defense line, there was only one torch every twenty paces, and there were also light-blocking objects such as wooden boards added to the south side. On the transport roads, there was only one torch every forty paces, and there were also light-blocking arrangements on the south side.

But even so, it still looked a bit strange from a distance.

Moreover, as more and more soldiers and civilians crossed the river, and the scale of the operation grew larger, not only the light, but also the noise became increasingly difficult to suppress. This situation became particularly obvious in the second half of the day, after the battle at the river junction between the two cities came to an end.

There was no way around it; there were too many people.

"What's this? Is it people's breath? Or sweat?"

After visiting Xiao En and a group of old brothers, Zhang Rong, who had casually thrown on a jacket, hurried to the northern city of Daming to meet Yue Fei, but as soon as he ascended the city, he noticed a strange visual phenomenon.

It turned out that, looking north from the brightly lit Daming and Yuancheng, there was a strange mist clearly dancing between the light and darkness, as if some kind of living thing was baring its fangs and claws at the bright city in the darkness.

"Probably both,"

Yue Fei, fully armored, had a calm expression. The momentary shock and panic that had unexpectedly appeared in the first half of the night had long since disappeared. "It should be heat... Interacting with the cold air, so it's visible... There are too many people."

"In other words, this heat is so clearly displayed here; I'm afraid it can't be concealed from the people in the city?" Zhang Rong frowned tightly.

"Even without this heat, this much activity can't be concealed now," Yue Fei sighed in response. "However, Gao Jingshan doesn't know that we have warships controlling the river, nor does he know that we are building a fort. With Commander Xiao's desperate delay, he shouldn't risk anything in the dark... Given his personality, he probably thinks we are setting an ambush in the north of the city to lure him in."

"What if he insists on taking the risk?" Zhang Rong frowned in response. "Or do others in the city, people with suspicious minds, advise him?"

"Then we fight!" Yue Fei looked back. "If he dares to leave the city, we'll take advantage of the situation to attack! We'll press his troops back into the city! If he goes around the city to call for reinforcements overnight, we'll wait for the reinforcements to come and meet them head-on! Anyway, the reinforcements will be back by dawn, and Commander Xiao has bought a lot of time. At the fastest, it'll only be an hour earlier... Now that there are ships in the river and forts are being built on the shore, and the entire army has crossed over, is there still anything to worry about?!"

"That's right!"

Zhang Rong sighed. "Now, I don't feel any burden in my heart! We'll meet soldiers with generals and water with earth!"

"We still need to make some decisions," Yue Fei said solemnly. "Brother Zhang, do you know how I came up with this plan?"

"This…"

"This is actually a common operation, sieging a city... Building a fort to lock down the city. Starting with Nianhan locking down Taiyuan, it's a common trick in the world. The only thing worth mentioning is preparing the rammed earth walls in advance, crossing the river one night, and building the fort the next. It's like snatching food from a tiger's mouth, but opening the mouth to face each other." Yue Fei's tone softened slightly, and the white air he exhaled continued to dissipate in the night sky. "But it's just the old trick that Wei Rui used in the Zhongli battle..."

"What story?"

"An old trick is also a kind of story. It's something someone else has done and recorded in a book."

"If there's such a story... Why didn't Gao Jingshan think of it?"

"Because there are too many such stories. This idea isn't actually that eye-catching. The key is to have decisiveness and prepare early... I said before that I had this idea on the first day I arrived."

"You continue."

"As for why I had this idea that day, it was because after arriving in Daming City on the first day, I was worried that the Jin army might attack from the north, and our army was too numerous, with so many laborers coming and going. Daming and Gucheng couldn't accommodate them, and there would be flaws. So, I prepared a huge fort ten li long, connecting the rivers east and west, tightly sealing off the area, protecting the 40,000 to 50,000 soldiers of the Imperial Vanguard Army and the navy, plus 50,000 laborers, and even the ships in the river." Yue Fei continued, "At that time, I also realized that Daming Prefecture was heavily defended, and the Jin army's main force might gather in the winter, wanting to use this to get through the winter and endure the possible siege by the Jin army's main force..."

"I understand!" Zhang Rong suddenly interrupted him. "You must have been standing in the hot air balloon, looking at the terrain on both sides, thinking about building a fort, and also thinking about attacking the city. Suddenly, you thought, since you can build a huge fort on this side of the river, why not build such a huge fort on the other side of the river? It can isolate the Jin army and take advantage of the situation to attack the city?"

"Yes!" Yue Fei looked at him seriously, seemingly with something left unsaid.

"I know what decision you still need to make," Zhang Rong took off his new jacket and put it on, shaking his head repeatedly. "I also know what you mean by having me drag the ships overland... But if we do this, will the food and supplies be sufficient?!"

"Brother Zhang, you are the most familiar with the Yellow River. You tell me, including the ice floes, how long can the freezing period last?" Yue Fei asked in return.

"The freezing can start as early as the beginning of next month, and the thawing and passage can be as late as after the Lantern Festival next year, at most forty days... But in reality, it hasn't exceeded thirty days in recent years." Zhang Rong couldn't help but feel a little nervous again.

"Let's calculate forty days!" Yue Fei continued solemnly. "The strength of the troops we have gathered here is slightly less than 70,000 combat troops and 50,000 laborers... We already have cotton clothes, food, military equipment, and fuel... Do you think we can save enough before the freeze?"

"It's the middle of the month now. Let me calculate." Zhang Rong thought for a moment, then gritted his teeth and replied. "It's only 300 li by waterway from here to Dongjing, and only 200 li by waterway from here to the Wushan camp, and it's mostly downstream, but the river mouth itself still can't be entered. We still have to go through Gucheng to transfer... Let's put it this way, there will definitely be enough food and military equipment. For heating in the winter, I'm really not sure about the coal and firewood!"

"You don't necessarily have to go through Gucheng again," Yue Fei reminded him slightly. "And the ships may not be just these."

Zhang Rong was stunned, then immediately realized, but nodded heavily again, then lowered his voice and said, "One is that it's not stable to say this now. We have to take it one step at a time, but I think it's feasible... But even so, another thing is that we have to get the cooperation of the ministers in Dongjing..."

Yue Fei was silent for a moment, then said solemnly, "The ministers in Dongjing may be angry, and there will be arguments in the Secretarial Pavilion, but Zhao, Zhang, Hu, and Lin will never defy the emperor, and the emperor gave me full authority over military matters before he left... These four, plus Lord Lu, will never make a mistake."

"The other three are fine, but the one named Zhang, I heard my son-in-law say in private, is a good-hearted but bad-tempered person who is very likely to mess things up," Zhang Rong continued to remind him. "I'm just afraid that he'll interfere randomly, trying to help but instead creating mistakes..."

In the darkness of the night, there was suddenly some commotion in Yuancheng, which was across the river. Obviously, the activity in the north of the city had caused unease in the city.

Yue Fei and Zhang Rong stopped talking at the same time, looked at the opposite side together, then turned around. Yue Fei, holding the steel saber at his waist, continued to discuss with Zhang Rong, "What does Brother Zhang mean?"

"Write a letter to your patron, Vice Minister Hu. Don't talk about official matters, let public affairs be judged publicly. Just make your attitude clear and say that you are worried about Zhang Jun. He's an iron-faced man who can restrain Minister Zhang for you... If you ask Minister Zhao to come forward, it will be easier for things to go wrong."

Yue Fei thought for a moment, then nodded heavily, but turned around and went down the steps.

Zhang Rong didn't pay attention at first, just put on his cotton jacket again, but immediately realized what was happening and turned around to shout, "Pengju, what are you doing?"

"Since there's activity in Yuancheng, I'm going to cross the river to supervise the battle, just in case!" Yue Fei, who was descending the stairs, didn't turn his head. "I also want to urge the entire army to speed up the construction of the fort, cross the Yongji Canal, and continue to build it westward."

Zhang Rong wanted to persuade him, but after thinking about it, he felt helpless, so he felt a little frustrated and turned around to look at the heat again, but soon thought of something and turned around to ask again, "Where's Yue Yun?! Where's your son-in-law, the Imperial Son-in-Law?!"

"He and the Beiwei Army went to cross the river from the south of the city with Tang Huai. They should be west of the Yongji Canal now..." Yue Fei, who had already reached the ground, still didn't turn his head.

Zhang Rong was stunned for a moment before realizing that the position of Yue Yun and the Imperial Vanguard Army's Beiwei Army was truly isolated and vulnerable, bearing the brunt of the attack.

This was because, in the area between the two rivers, twelve or thirteen li north of Yuancheng, the Yongji Canal first ran east and west, then north and south, first passing through the western fork of the Northern Yellow River Route from the west, then circling around the city walls to the north under Yuancheng, running parallel to the eastern and western forks of the Northern Yellow River Route, directly dividing the area north of Yuancheng into two... In this terrain, if the two Jin Wanhu from Guantao came together, the several li of land east of the canal would definitely already have fortified walls and defenses, and the flaw would inevitably be west of the Yongji Canal.

Although Yue Fei didn't say anything, he had thrown a branch of his own roots and his son into the most dangerous place on land, just as Zhang Rong had thrown his most trusted brother Xiao En into that river full of shipwrecks.

"There's a large army, but don't worry about it!"

On the city wall of northern Yuancheng, Gao Jingshan, who had lost his composure due to the burning hot air balloon, finally came to the city wall wearing a fox fur coat, and then calmly gave his judgment. "Since the Song army prepared to sneak across the river earlier, they must have prepared enough support in the rear..."

"That's right," Gao Qingyi, the Gao Translator who came with him, also agreed with a serious expression. "I just went to look at the river. The Song army's navy is going forward without hesitation. All twenty ships are left in the river. It's certainly a sneak crossing, but they also absolutely have the intention of forcing their way across at all costs once they are discovered... In that case, it's reasonable to concentrate a large army to set up an ambush on the north bank to guard against the reinforcements from Guantao and to act as a backup."

"Commander, Translator, that's how it is..." The Jurchen Mouke who was responsible for the northern city pointed to the tumbling mist in front of him and said earnestly, "But this movement is too big."

Gao Jingshan stared at the tumbling mist in front of him and the strange light behind the mist, listening to the faint but dense and suppressed noise from across the river and south of the city, and didn't say a word.

Seeing this, Gao Qingyi shook his head repeatedly and took the initiative to analyze the situation for the Jurchen Mouke: "Actually, how can the Commander not know that this situation is not right? But there are two things that need to be explained to the general... First, the key to the Song army tonight is still the sneak crossing of the river. That was so tragic, it can't be fake. Second, even if the Song army has launched another big plan at the same time, what can we do at this time?"

The Mouke wanted to say something but stopped.

"If we go out of the city to sweep..." Gao Qingyi pointed to the dark but starlit twilight in the north and continued to explain, "Sending fewer troops is like giving them away for nothing. But if we send too many, and the Song army has ambushed a large army here, what will happen if we are defeated in one battle and the defeated soldiers are directly rushed into the city by the enemy? Isn't that exactly what the Song army is planning?"

The Mouke smiled noncommittally, but ultimately didn't refute him.

"If we call for reinforcements from Guantao, the Commander has already agreed with Guantao that they will send troops to sweep the area at dawn..." Gao Qingyi pretended not to see the other party's contempt, sighed in his heart, and continued to explain for Gao Jingshan, "It's already the second half of the night now. Let them set off early. Not to mention whether what the Commander guessed is true, whether there is an ambush aimed at the north outside the city, there will be mistakes if the cavalry are dispatched in the dark. Just say that even if they get the news and come early, it will only be an hour faster. Just one hour. What can the Song army do in that time? Shouldn't we wait until dawn?!"

Although this Jurchen Mouke still looked down on the caution of these two Bohai people in his heart, he was completely speechless on the surface and just smiled sarcastically: "Translator Gao is absolutely right... However, don't we still have one big air balloon left? It always likes to catch fire. If we can also learn from the Song people and light one, send it north, wouldn't we be able to see it? It would be good if we could see it."

"There's only one left. If the Song army really wants to attack, we still have to release it to observe the military situation," Gao Qingyi said helplessly. "Besides, does the general think it doesn't take time to pack up that air balloon in a panic in the middle of the night? What's the point of seeing it half an hour earlier? Even if we take a step back and burn it, why should we burn it? Are we in a dangerous situation like the Song army before?! In my opinion, this movement under the city is probably because the Song army is worried that the ambush will be exposed after dawn, and the reinforcements from Guantao will attack us from both inside and outside. That's why they are withdrawing their troops on a large scale, which has caused the movement... It's just that when they came over in the first half of the night, the weather wasn't cold enough, so it wasn't as obvious."

The Jurchen Mouke heard a bit of complaint, and also knew that this verbose Translator Gao had been successful before, and now he was even more valued by Gao Jingshan, so he quickly smiled and said, "It's just a joke. Translator Gao, don't take it to heart."

Gao Qingyi then shook his head.

In fact, to put it bluntly, Xiao En's desperate sneak crossing was too successful. It not only attracted Gao Jingshan's attention, allowing the Song army to successfully transport the fleet out of sight, but also, equally important, they and the two hot air balloons also delayed for a long time, causing the attention of the entire city of Yuancheng to be focused on the river.

It was during this time that the Song army was able to cross the river on a large scale and build rammed earth walls on a large scale in the north of the city, and also allowed the Jin army to realize that something was wrong and then fall into a mental trap:

That is, no matter what the movement is... Anyway, the movement is so big tonight... Why should we let the Jin army from Guantao abandon the daytime, aboveboard cavalry sweep and instead try to seize that mere hour to move out at night at risk?

Even the Jurchen generals who had been dissatisfied with Gao Jingshan's conservative strategy since the beginning of the war were speechless... Even if they weren't afraid, why bother?

What can an hour decide? Besides, tonight's great victory on the river does indeed show that Gao Jingshan's calculations are correct!

"Go back to sleep!"

Gao Jingshan went through all his arrangements in his mind, thought about the great victory on the river and the two fireballs, and finally shook his head and went down the city. "Tomorrow morning, wait for the two Wanhu, Shaohe and Ali, to arrive, then call me!"

Unlike his attitude towards Gao Qingyi, the Jurchen Mouke still maintained sufficient respect for Gao Jingshan and quickly bowed his hands and said yes.

In this way, time passed, the east turned slightly white, and in the winter's usual morning mist, the long night finally passed.

However, the messenger who awakened Gao Jingshan was not sent by the Mouke from the north of the city, but by a sudden artillery bombardment!

The sound of artillery stones and bullets whistling through the air came, uniform and consistent, followed by dull but heavy booming sounds. Because the landing points were also very neat, it was as clear as thunder, so that the High Commander, who was resting in the attic, was instantly awakened.

"What happened?" Gao Jingshan didn't even have time to put on his fox fur coat and rolled over in bed and shouted, "Is this an artillery bombardment? Where is the artillery firing from?!"

The attendants inside and outside the building had also just heard this sound, so how could they explain it clearly?

And Gao Jingshan woke up and hurriedly put on his fox fur coat, then slipped on his boots and walked down the stairs. He had just turned to the corridor on the second floor below, where the terrain was slightly wider and the view was slightly clearer, when he heard another burst of uniform whistling sounds, followed by another burst of thunder-like sounds.

This time, he heard it clearly and unmistakably. It was the movement of the eastern wall... And this made Gao Jingshan even more distraught, because the eastern city was facing the Yellow River waterway, with only a water gate and a wharf in the southeastern corner. In other words, whether it was the original city design or the later city defense arrangements, the eastern side was the weakest.

This was also why Gao Jingshan insisted on defending the southeastern water gate and establishing an artillery position to block the waterway.

But after everything that happened last night, why is this happening now?

Did the Song army create artillery vehicles that can fire across the entire Yellow River waterway? If so, what was the purpose of that force on the river last night? And why didn't they directly bombard the water gate in the southeast of the city?

There's no reason for it?

His mind was in turmoil, and he was completely surprised and uncertain, but on the surface, Gao Jingshan had already returned to normal, and then continued to go downstairs, heading straight to the east of the city, while not forgetting to put on his boots, put on his hat, and slow down his pace. Seeing the commander like this, the surrounding guards also calmed down and hurriedly cleaned up the honor guard, took up their spears, and followed him to the east. At the same time, the garrison troops in the city who had been disturbed for a while began to be stopped and restrained by the officers from their chaotic state... Among them, the mobile troops in the center of the city even discovered the existence of Commander Gao Jingshan and his guards, and took the initiative to follow them.

After all this tossing around, it also showed that Gao Jingshan's arrangements were well-organized. In fact, by the time Gao Jingshan rode on his horse and walked along the central avenue of Daming Prefecture to the third street corner to the east of the city, the Song army had only carried out seven rounds of salvo fire.

And at this time, under the gradually dissipating mist as the sun rose in the east, Gao Jingshan keenly noticed that there was also a sudden and obvious commotion in the northern city. Of course... he had to figure out what was going on in the eastern city first!

However, soon a Han army officer came from the eastern city to meet him and told him the situation.

"Small paddle-wheel boats carrying crossbows and large paddle-wheel boats carrying artillery in the river?" Gao Jingshan finally burst into anger. "Did the Song people's ships fly here?! Last night's feigned attack was actually a real attack, but where was the real attack?!"

The Han army officer who came to report was helpless and could only bow his head on the street: "The Commander will know when he sees it himself! The fog is dissipating quickly this morning, so close that it shouldn't be mistaken!"

While scolding, Gao Jingshan was actually flustered in his heart, otherwise he wouldn't have completely lost control of his expression. He just flicked his whip in the air angrily and sped up to the east.

And after only another round of salvo fire, Gao Jingshan had already believed it in his heart, but he just wanted to go to the city to see the situation with his own eyes and think about how these ships had crossed the Chencang.

But at this moment, a rider came from the northern side along the eastern wall. It was none other than Gao Qingyi, who lived in the Cuiyun Building in the northern part of the city. He called out from dozens of steps away: "Commander! Don't go to the eastern city. Quickly follow me to the northern city! Something big has happened in the northern city!"

Gao Jingshan felt a chill in his heart, but he quickly reined in his horse and forced himself to say, "Now, why panic? Translator Gao, they said that there are dozens of paddle-wheel boats in the Song army's river, the kind that carry crossbows and artillery... Let's go and take a look together."

"No need to look. Although I don't know where the ships came from, everyone on the eastern wall along the way said so, so it must be true. Right now, the northern side is what you should be looking at." Gao Qingyi had already rushed to the front while speaking and continued to urge him on. "Let them bombard the eastern side. This Yuancheng city is so solid, and the city walls are so thick. How can it collapse if they don't bombard it for ten days? Let them bombard it. There may be a big battle on the northern side!"

"How do you say that?" Gao Jingshan, wearing a proper fox fur coat, barely suppressed his doubts and shock about the artillery vehicles and blurted out on horseback.

And Gao Qingyi, who was dressed untidily, wanted to say something but stopped, and then stopped again, simply grabbed the reins of his horse and shook them repeatedly: "I don't know how to say it... You'll know when you follow me to take a look! Anyway, you must go to the northern city!"

Gao Jingshan was half panicked and half茫然 as he followed Gao Qingyi north. On the way, the fog finally dissipated quickly under the sunlight, and the sunlight shining from the east had cast the shadow of the city wall on the ground. The city gradually recovered from the panic at the beginning of the artillery bombardment, and the army began to be completely and orderly deployed.

But precisely because of this, people from the southern city and the city itself came to report, one saying that the Song army in the southern city hadn't retreated but instead had begun to set up camp outside the city on a large scale, seemingly wanting to lock down the city, and the other saying that the mist had dissipated and a cavalry outline could be seen across the Yongji Canal in the western city.

But Gao Qingyi just scolded these people and told them to go back and guard their positions, and urged Gao Jingshan to go to the northern side quickly. And probably to avoid the artillery boats on the river, they also turned specifically to the northern city gate tower.

When they came to the northern city gate tower, the usual winter mist had completely dissipated, and a red sun had also appeared on the horizon. Calculating the time, the two Wanhu from Guantao should be about to set off.

However, Gao Jingshan, who climbed up the stairs from the east-west side, didn't have the mind to look at the sun, nor did he think about Guantao. The first thing he noticed was the face of the Jurchen Mouke, who had vaguely looked down on the Song army last night... The person's face was pale, and he was waiting anxiously for him on the city. After seeing his arrival, he raised his hand to the north woodenly.

He was completely lacking the agility he had a few hours ago.

On the northern city gate tower of Daming Prefecture's Yuancheng, with a strong sense of unease, Gao Jingshan, who had just climbed the stairs, looked north for the first time and then was stunned at the top of the stairs.

A full ten or so breaths later, he finally lifted his feet and slowly walked to the battlements, taking in the magnificent scene before him with a dazed look.

It turned out that on the area between the two rivers, ten or so li wide, north of Yuancheng from east to west, countless flags, armies, laborers, and fortifications completely covered this area between the rivers.

And these people, these flags, these objects, and even this land, were covered with a layer of golden-red light under the sunlight that had just risen in the winter.

It was completely integrated, but also shone brightly, and it just seemed like a living behemoth.

So, the true form of the fangs and claws of the mist last night was actually so magnificent?!

After feeling dizzy for a while, Gao Jingshan's gaze was instinctively attracted to the four-character flag directly facing the city gate, about two li away. After staring at the four characters on the big flag for a few breaths, he followed the direction of the movement of the people behind the big flag and noticed the defense line located at the northernmost end, which was still under construction and continuing to be extended... This defense line, which clearly had a solid fence and a trench, was obviously a bit skewed, but it had already covered the narrow area east of the Yongji Canal, and a large part of the few li to the west had also been covered, leaving only a two- or three-li gap, and was rapidly filling this gap at a particularly fast speed.

The sun continued to rise in the east, shining on the two Yellow River waterways, the brilliance was even more intense, Gao Jingshan continued to look in front of him, but he saw that between the big flag and the city gate, a part of the Song army was clearly waiting in full battle, small patrols of cavalry were constantly moving, several heavy infantry phalanxes simply lined up in front, facing the city gate, and to the side and behind this army, west of the Yongji Canal, it seemed that there was a reserve army hiding behind the flags, plus the cavalry that had been reported at the west gate before...

Before he had time to think about it, Gao Jingshan continued to look to the east side, only to see that to the north and east of the big flag, behind these armies, another part of the army and laborers were still transporting materials in a continuous stream... The Yongji Canal, which was only a few dozen steps wide, was covered with simple wooden materials acting as pontoon bridges, almost covering the entire canal, forming a flat ground, and on the eastern Yellow River waterway, there were also dozens of pontoon bridges, and even small paddle-wheel boats shuttled back and forth, transporting building materials.

And continuing to look further, Gao Jingshan saw something that struck him like lightning, but also made him completely understand—it was a Song army paddle-wheel boat, such a big paddle-wheel boat, which was actually overturned on the land on the opposite bank of the river!

However, it was when he saw here that the person who interrupted Gao Jingshan's trance and observation appeared.

A rider came flying on horseback from north to south to the city gate, shouting from afar: "There is something to say! Yue Fei, the Commander of the Hebei Region of the Great Song Dynasty, sent a messenger to inform Gao Jingshan, the Military Commander of the Jin Kingdom's Daming Prefecture... Now Yuancheng has been surrounded on all sides, with no chance of survival. Why doesn't Commander Gao surrender earlier? If you surrender, we will follow the decree of the Great Song Emperor. Even war criminals can be given a reduced sentence! Or be pardoned!"

Gao Jingshan finally came back to his senses and turned his head to stare blankly at the Jurchen Mouke: "Shoot!"

After receiving the order, the Jurchen Mouke, in a hurry, didn't order the archers to gather, but directly picked up the hard bow at his feet, bent the bow and shot an arrow... One arrow missed, and the Song army knight reined in his horse, left a message, and rode back to the formation.

At this time, the Song army in the eastern city was still bombarding non-stop. After another dull thunder sound, countless Jin army officers on the northern city wall stared at Gao Jingshan.

Gao Jingshan tried to smile and raised a finger, but wanted to say something but stopped, and could only put it down and raise it again.

By the time he raised it for the third time, Gao Jingshan knew that he couldn't put it down again, otherwise morale would be lost, but his heart was already in a mess... After waiting for a moment, this Military Commander of the Jin Kingdom's Daming Prefecture, a veteran of the founding of the Jin Kingdom, took the opportunity to point his finger north and laugh loudly.

However, the laughter didn't last long and gradually melted away, replaced by rapid breathing, and the finger that Gao Jingshan stretched out also gradually trembled:

"Everyone, I originally wanted to laugh and say that this Yue Fei child is trapping himself in a dead end... But isn't it self-deception to say that?!"

The generals were silent, and the answer he got was another round of artillery fire from the eastern city hitting the city walls.

Gao Jingshan didn't care at all, and after the sound of this artillery stone subsided, he continued to point to the big flag and said sharply: "Using 3,000 daredevils and twenty small boats as bait, feigning an attack while secretly preparing for a real attack, and building a city overnight with painstaking preparations! What kind of determination is this?! What kind of courage is this?! It's only natural that we are being played by such a person! But Daming Prefecture is the gateway to Hebei, and the country has entrusted such a vital place to us. Are we going to hand over this city without saying a word or shooting an arrow just because the other person has great courage?!"

"We can't..." The Jurchen Mouke who was stationed in the northern city勉力 responded, but his voice was weak.

"Pass down my military order!" Gao Jingshan put away his finger and said coldly with his hands behind his back. "Translator Gao is right, the most important thing today is the northern city, this battle outside the northern city. Send scouts together from the west of the city to spread the order in all directions. As long as there is one who meets Ali and Shaohe, it's enough. Tell them the military situation here, tell them that today is the biggest opportunity to break the siege, and they must try their best to rush in... Rush in from the unfinished gap in the northwest! Cross the Yongji Canal in advance, rush over there, come to the west gate, and we will attack from both inside and outside. As long as we open up the connection between the reinforcements and the city, the Song army will lose its foothold and meaning!"

"Yes!"

The surrounding officers' morale was slightly boosted.

"Secondly, we still have to go out from the west of the city and spread the order in all directions. Go to the riverside strongholds in the western fork of the Yellow River... Order to burn the ships! All the ships that exist in the riverside towns behind Xiao Wu Sao must be burned, and none can be left to the Song army!" Gao Jingshan continued to instruct.

But at this time, Gao Qingyi was a little puzzled: "Commander, why burn the ships? Let the ships go to the west bank and wait for the Fourth Prince's army..."

"You know nothing!" Gao Jingshan yelled at him. "If you transport boats on land once, there will be a second time. As long as the Song army sends ten more ships to the western fork, opens up Xiao Wu Sao, or simply sends land troops to seize Xiao Wu Sao, and directly leads the