Chapter 1 The Shady Battlefield

The sky was gloomy, obscuring the moonlight. Although there wasn't an excessive chill, it was still a winter night, and the biting cold was undeniable. It was in this very situation that a battle was taking place on both sides of the Huanghe North Road's south fork, with the number of combatants on both sides nearing a hundred thousand.

However, the entire battlefield presented an eerie state in the dim and obscure night.

Daming City to the east of the river and Yuancheng to the west were undoubtedly the core focus of the battlefield. The commanders of both sides, along with their respective command headquarters and central army camps, were facing each other across the river. The straight-line distance between the front lines of both sides might have only been six or seven hundred paces, but they were forced to maintain a standoff due to the presence of the river.

What was even more unsettling was that, although the river channel would not easily shrink, the water within it was becoming shallower and shallower, and it was increasingly likely to freeze over completely. This would turn it into a smooth thoroughfare, which could reverse the situation on the battlefield at any time.

South of the two cities, more than ten thousand Song soldiers, led by several commanders under the overall command of Tang Huai, suddenly crossed the river, creating a lively and grand spectacle. The sounds of drums and battle cries, combined with the large and small fires that stretched for more than ten miles, formed the loudest and most chaotic scene on the entire battlefield, second only to the brightness of Yuancheng.

However, the commanders on both sides knew very well that this was the least important area. Tang Huai's crossing was, for the time being, mainly to create a commotion.

To the north, although there were scattered fires like stars, the overall situation was one of quiet and silence.

The commanders on both sides also knew that this was the ultimate foundation of the battle, a place where killing intent was hidden. Further north, within Guantao County, a huge main force of the Jin army was stationed, holding back and ready to sweep through the area to the south at any time and support Yuancheng. If the Song army wanted to attack the city, they had to take the initiative in this open area and block the Jin reinforcements.

This gap was itself a kind of trap and bait.

To the west, the fires in the Jin-occupied areas further west of Yuancheng gradually dimmed. By the time one reached the Yongji Canal, or rather the western fork of the Huanghe North Road, there was no movement or light at all, as if it were a thick, dark backdrop.

One could imagine how cautious the originally dense towns there were, facing the flames of war to the east, after most of the able-bodied men had been conscripted into the army.

However, perhaps in the near future, a massive main force that would be recorded in history in any era would appear there. An unprecedented cavalry and infantry army would gather.

To the east, the overall area where the main force of the Song army behind Daming City was stationed, although there was no deliberate noise or recklessness, the lights of various strongholds and the constant movement of soldiers and people made it impossible to conceal the commotion and the overall light.

Here, the ultimate success or failure of tonight's operation was brewing. Ships were traversing the land, laborers were doing their best to prepare the construction materials and haul the transport, and even cooking was being done. A huge elite main force was also waiting for orders.

However, the strangest place was still the central node of the battlefield. The huge Yuancheng, where Gao Jingshan, the Grand Commander of the Jin army's Daming Prefecture Military Command, resided, was brightly lit, with strict orders and orderly discipline inside and outside the city. At the same time, Daming City, where Yue Fei, the Marshal of the Hebei Front Army of the Song army, was located, was dark and gloomy, frighteningly silent except for the necessary lights.

There was no other way. This was a 'sneak crossing'. It should have been launched in the first ten days of the month when there was no moonlight. Now that it was the middle of the month, they had to specifically choose a night when the sky was overcast and the moon was obscured. Under these circumstances, Daming City 'had to' reduce the light as much as possible.

It was precisely because of this that the light above the increasingly narrow river channel between the two cities appeared particularly obscure and difficult to discern.

However, there were some things on the river channel, where light and darkness intersected, whose strong presence could not be easily ignored just because there was not enough light.

Tian Shizhong was waiting for orders north of the city, Wang Gui was commanding the land-based ships in Gucheng Town, Zhang Rong was nowhere to be seen, and the other generals had also received their tasks and gone elsewhere early on. At this time, in Daming City, near the west water gate, by the high platform specifically used for launching hot air balloons, Yue Fei was sitting alone on a chair. Even within a few dozen steps around him, there was only You Xuejiu, an advisor from the Imperial Guards Navy, and Bei Yan, a commander specifically responsible for hot air balloons, attending him.

There were only two or three torches around the entire high platform, making it impossible to see Yue Fei's expression clearly. You Xuejiu also no longer had the ease and recklessness he had shown before his own Jiedushi; he was just crouching beside the high platform with his hands clasped, not daring to move. As for Bei Yan, he was clearly flustered to the point of being at a loss, and at the same time, he did not dare to move easily, so he could only stand there and endure this with the two men.

That's right, it was enduring. All three of them were enduring.

Standing in this place, although the sounds of battle cries from the south could be heard clearly, they could not cover up the whistling sounds of the Jin Kingdom's stone catapults firing hundreds of paces away, the dull thud of the projectiles hitting the water, and the crisp sounds of impact when they hit wood... That last sound was the most unbearable, even more unbearable than the occasional screams.

Because no one knew whether this crisp sound meant the Song army was unscathed or meant an even greater loss.

And this was precisely why what Xiao En and his subordinates were doing seemed so unacceptable, why Zhang Rong was so conflicted, and why You Xuejiu was almost collapsing at this moment, yet dared not escape.

This was not a glorious sacrifice on the battlefield, not the indiscriminate nature of swords and spears in a large-scale battle, but rather, from a direct perspective, the lives of such a group of good men were being wasted. This raid, which was destined to involve heavy casualties, was an ethereal feint. No one dared to guarantee that it would be absolutely useful, but from the highest level, strategically speaking, it seemed necessary.

But the problem was that its usefulness seemed to be entirely based on the level and judgment of the opposing commander, Gao Jingshan. At the same time, although everyone might still understand in their hearts, the Song army commander Yue Pengju could not produce clear evidence to say that what these people were doing was critical or necessary.

He couldn't produce it to his superiors, he couldn't produce it to his subordinates, he couldn't produce it to Xiao En and his subordinates, and he couldn't produce it to the other officers and soldiers who might be dissatisfied later because Xiao En and his men had taken the credit. Yet, for the sake of the smooth progress of the overall battle plan, he wanted these many good men to sacrifice their lives for nothing.

There was no way around it. The so-called Imperial Guards were just a force that had been created and integrated from scratch eight years ago. Although it was already a complex system with mature routines, such as the secret decree system, the commander system, and the culture of the personal guard, it had not yet formed a specific military terminology for this particular tactic, so that people could generally recognize the value of this sacrifice, just like everyone would recognize the necessity of scouts without having to be told.

Of course, Yue Fei on the city and Xiao En in the river were undoubtedly establishing this mechanism now... because when Yue Fei issued this military order, Xiao En executed it without hesitation.

Yue Fei sat there, not knowing what Xiao En was thinking or what You Xuejiu was thinking, but for him, who was good at thinking, he couldn't help but feel a little dazed at this moment... A benevolent man does not command troops, a righteous man does not manage wealth. The words could be said lightly, and the military order could be written with gritted teeth, but only when he sat here and forced himself to listen to the sound of those stone projectiles flying through the air and hitting the boats and injuring people did he realize what he had done.

The Northern Expedition was just, the recovery of the Two Rivers was necessary, and the unification of the country was great. No one could deny this, just like what Zhao Guan Jia said in the latest issue of the Dibao (official gazette)... Now, no one can deny that the Great Song Dynasty and this era are jointly writing their own grand chapter... This somewhat convoluted and strange statement made one suspect at first reading that it was written by Zhao Guan Jia after he was overjoyed and drunk after breaking through the Yangliang South Pass at the southern end of Queshu Valley in the Hedong direction.

How does the Great Song Dynasty write articles?

Era is a period, a period of time, so how can it write articles?

And jointly?

However, upon closer reading, it felt particularly meaningful.

The previous issue published the old lyrics recited by Han Junwang when he asked to fight at the front line, which shook the roof tiles of Tieling Pass on the spot, and even more so shocked the world after being published in the newspaper, but he only said 'to complete the monarch's affairs in the world and earn fame before and after death', and what he sought was nothing more than to be recorded in history. But people can be recorded in history, the country is made up of people, and the era is created by people, so the country and the era jointly writing articles makes one feel that the metaphor is wonderful.

At that time, after reading it, Yue Fei did indeed feel a sense of 'a great man should be like this' - I, Yue Fei, also want to write a grand chapter of my own.

Moreover, combined with the previous ten years of hard work and experience, Yue Fei had enough confidence and courage to say to everyone, just like what the official family said in the article, this chapter is just, necessary, great, and beyond doubt, belonging to the clear distinction between the enemy and us.

However, in the light and shadow, in the darkness and light, while listening to the sounds in the river in front, Yue Fei had to admit that this chapter was too big, so big that it could crush anyone.

The emptiness of the people of the Two Rivers looking forward to it for ten years, the emptiness of the Central Plains for several years, and the heavy taxes on the people of the Southeast that have continued for many years are all footnotes to this chapter.

This is not helplessness or selfishness, nor is it a complete lack of awareness of sacrifice and greatness, but simply the pure insignificance of the individual, the insignificance in the tide of the times.

It's just like at this moment, I don't know how many good men's lives are being easily melted away by the darkness with those sounds.

"Marshal."

It was Bei Yan who broke the silence, who had been in a state of panic. He suddenly stepped forward and shouted hastily.

"What is it?"

Yue Fei replied in a deep voice.

"The sound of stone projectiles falling into the water has increased by half." Bei Yan explained hurriedly. "Either half of the boats are lost, or half have broken through, or the boats are broken and cannot move, and are crowded together..."

Yue Fei glanced at this acquaintance and immediately realized that the other party was reminding him that, whether it was a real surprise attack across the river or a feint, the operation had either succeeded or failed at this time, and there was no need to continue.

He just didn't know if Bei Yan, as a low-level officer, could guess that it was a feint.

Of course, this thought was only fleeting, and Yue Fei immediately forced himself to calm down and listen carefully to the unbearable sounds of stone projectiles. Sure enough, as the careful and prudent Bei Yan had said, the dull thud of Jin's stone projectiles hitting the water had obviously increased a lot.

However, Yue Fei was still reluctant to give the order, because he only knew that a dozen boats had landed before the war, and Wang Gui had not yet told him how many ships had successfully arrived in the river behind Yuancheng.

What's more, tonight was not just about crossing the river.

As if seeing through Yue Fei's thoughts, Bei Yan quickly said carefully: "Marshal, if it is a feint, to make the Jin army not pay attention to other places, our large-scale rescue itself can actually delay time... If we lose so much and don't retreat, I'm afraid it will make the other side suspicious."

Yue Fei finally paused, and then looked up and down at this old friend who was less than two or three steps away from him, as if he was meeting him for the first time... But only a moment later, he put away his extra thoughts and made a decision on the spot:

"In that case, light the fire immediately and launch a large-scale rescue across the river!"

As soon as the military order was issued, You Xuejiu and Bei Yan breathed a sigh of relief together, and rushed to deliver the order. After a while, the soldiers waiting in the city swarmed up, instantly illuminating the entire Daming City as brightly as Yuancheng on the other side. The entire city seemed to suddenly come alive.

Then, Song soldiers went down the river embankment, shouting loudly, telling the navy brothers in the river to abandon their boats and armor and escape directly back to this shore.

Seeing this scene and hearing the sound of abandoning ship, the Jin army on the other side cheered and rejoiced, feeling that they had won a great victory, and the Imperial Guards Navy, who were suffering in the river but did not even know the extent of the casualties, were also relieved.

But soon, a new problem arose.

"Marshal, there are many sunken ships in the river, but the light is not enough, and many of my wounded soldiers can't find their way." You Xuejiu was sweating profusely and rushed to report again. "It's fatal to stay in the river for a moment, whether you bump into something, get hit, or freeze."

It turned out that this was a different situation from before. Originally, the Song army's 'surprise attack on the river' should have avoided lights as much as possible, but now that they were going to retreat, and the Jin army's artillery were all in fixed positions, no matter what, this kind of 'firepower' was fixed. At this time, enough light was needed.

The brighter the river was, the greater the probability that Xiao En and his subordinates would survive after abandoning their ships, and the greater the possibility that the wounded would be rescued.

Since he had decided to abandon the battle and rescue them, how could Yue Fei not agree? He quickly issued another military order to collect torches and fire basins from the surrounding areas, and pile up fuel on the river embankment to start a fire.

But once again, soon, after only a moment of illuminating the devastated river, the Jin army on the other side also realized the problem. While continuing to bombard the river, they gradually extinguished all unnecessary light sources except for the artillery positions.

The river above once again became a state of one side bright and one side dark. Coupled with the light fog that had been drifting in from somewhere at night, the river once again became dim and obscure.

And this time, Yue Fei, You Xuejiu, and even the Song army who had started in a hurry, were really powerless... They could only control the light and darkness on one side, how could they control the light source of the Jin army on the other side?

At the same time, the artillery on the other side continued to fire.

Under this situation, even Yue Fei was a little flustered inside, just pretending to be calm... This was really an unpredictable sudden demand and sudden event.

"Marshal, I have an idea!"

At this moment, it was Bei Yan again who suddenly rushed in front of Yue Fei. "It can both light up the river and show that we have really lost, not pretending, to let the other side continue to be paralyzed..."

"What idea?" You Xuejiu grabbed the other party, his hands were shaking.

"It depends on whether the marshal is willing to give it up!" Bei Yan dragged You Xuejiu and tried hard to look at Yue Fei. "There is no wind tonight."

Yue Fei wanted to scold him, but he realized the other party's idea almost instantly, and then sighed: "You are willing to give it up, how can I be unwilling? Go and do it quickly!"

Although You Xuejiu didn't understand what riddle the two of them were playing, he immediately let go. After only an incense stick of time, he also knew what the idea was... In the dark night, the stone projectiles in the river continued to fall, and the Song army was still trying to rescue and save themselves. At the same time, a huge hot air balloon was carefully and quickly arranged on the launch platform. Then, the fire was lit and the furnace was stoked, and wax oil was stuffed into the furnace at all costs, and the bellows were inflated with unprecedented effort.

Under this effort, coupled with the fact that the cold winter night was suitable for the use of hot air balloons, the balloon slowly bulged up after about a quarter of an hour, and then drove the surrounding ropes and roughly revealed a tiger pattern... However, at this time, this tiger was a little weak, like a sleepyhead, which also made Yue Fei and You Xuejiu feel a little unreliable, just treating it as a dead horse.

As for Bei Yan, he was sweating profusely, holding the basket, estimating the strength, giving orders non-stop, and asking people to pour charcoal and firewood into the four sides of the basket, while constantly reducing the sandbags on the outside, and also paying attention to the fire and the degree of bulging of the balloon to maintain balance.

Gradually, the tiger finally opened its eyes. At this time, the hot air balloon was still unstable and had not completely bulged up, but for the purpose of this operation, it seemed to be enough.

Estimating that it was almost done, Bei Yan issued the last order, which was to pour some lard into the four corners of the frame, and finally asked someone to throw in four torches at the same time. After doing all this, he quickly left the vicinity of the basket, shouted orders, and cut off all the ropes on all sides, leaving only an exceptionally long tow rope, and dragged it with dozens of soldiers.

Then, the hot air balloon, which had lost its restraints but was able to maintain its stability at the beginning, floated into the air at a slow but firm speed. At the same time, under the efforts of Bei Yan and dozens of soldiers, it slowly but firmly changed a trace of direction and floated towards the river.

During this period, the fire in the basket grew bigger and bigger, and even the long rope soon reached the end and was released, but this did not prevent it from attracting the attention of everyone in the two cities and the two armies from the beginning. In the end, when it turned into a raging torch in the stunned eyes of everyone on both sides of the river and in the two armies, burning itself in the sky above the river like a burning moon, I am afraid that tens of thousands of people on both sides were attracted by its splendor and heat.

Obviously, even the rhythm of the Jin army's artillery became chaotic. At the same time, the river was as bright as day for a while, clearly illuminating a dozen ships or wreckage of ships in the river. Many Imperial Guards Front Army soldiers, after a moment of trance at the beginning, began to rush into the river regardless of everything to compete to save people.

Many Imperial Guards Navy soldiers also regained their courage and either shouted loudly or tried to move eastward.

Xiao En, whose leg was clamped by a piece of wood and who had failed several times to struggle, stared at the fireball above his head and suddenly smiled. He also regained his courage in the midst of a noise and shouted for help.

Outside the river, I don't know how many people were also stunned and lost in thought.

Yue Pengju stared at this big fireball that was constantly burning itself. He never thought that this military tool that he was so familiar with could actually achieve such a powerful self-value in such a way.

Even when the flames rose into the air, the tiger head on the hot air balloon, which had been completely swollen and was believed to disappear soon, seemed to be baring its fangs and claws, as if it was responding to Yue Pengju, who looked down on him.

In the pavilion of Yuancheng, Gao Jingshan, who had personally ordered the lights to be turned off in the southeast of the city and the artillery to fire non-stop, also completely lost his composure. He was no longer sitting there eating fish, drinking wine, chatting, and reading newspapers. The fish soup was overturned on the ground the moment the fireball rose, and the Dibao (official gazette) was also soaked in fish soup. The wine was knocked over, and the servants were busy trying to deal with the remaining charcoal in the stove.

At this time, Gao Jingshan was just supporting the window in astonishment, with the same expression as Gao Qingyi next to him, staring at the fireball and losing his mind.

There was no way around it. This scene was too spectacular and too bizarre.

Zhang Rong also noticed the fireball, of course, and his reaction was the most straightforward - he threw down the tow rope, not even caring about finding his cotton-padded jacket. He immediately turned over and mounted his horse, and galloped towards Daming City.

The fireball attracted everyone's attention, but it did not last long, and it could not pierce the increasingly thick fog to spread its light over the entire battlefield. After only two quarters of an hour, the flames burned from the outer layer to the tiger's claws. Then, the entire balloon twisted and swayed, and crashed to the ground in the southwest direction.

Then, as if afraid that it was not safe enough, the second hot air balloon followed closely into the air, continuing the former's journey, and continuing to attract everyone's attention.

This was a good opportunity.

"How many have passed?"

At the time of the third watch, as the fireball in the field of vision gradually disappeared, Tian Shizhong, who was squatting by the river south of the city eating cakes and drinking soup, looked back at each other.

"Seventeen small paddle wheel boats and eight large paddle wheel boats before the fireball rose." Zhang Zigai blurted out. "There are also two damaged ones, placed on the shore."

"Then now it is estimated that there are twenty small paddle wheel boats and ten large paddle wheel boats... Right?" Tian Shizhong pinched the cake in his hand tightly and said calmly.

"Yes." Zhang Zigai gritted his teeth and answered.

"Is the pontoon bridge ready?" Tian Shizhong ignored the dense pontoon bridge that had been built in front of him and asked again in a deep voice.

This time, Zhang Zigai did not reply.

"Then let's go!" Tian Shizhong stuffed the crushed cake into his mouth, swallowed it in one gulp, then got up and said in a slightly bulging tone. "After crossing the river, you will lead the Beiwei Army to continue to rest, recharge your batteries, you don't have to work, and you don't have to carry boards!"

Zhang Zigai nodded heavily, then got up with the other party and bowed to say goodbye.

After Zhang Zigai left, he saw Tian Shizhong and one of his personal guards lift up an object from the ground where they had been sitting, which looked like a shield, but was much larger and longer than a shield, and then they struggled to carry it and took the lead in carefully walking onto the pontoon bridge and heading to the other side.

When the surrounding soldiers saw this, from the commander down, they followed suit. Then there were countless soldiers of the Imperial Guards Front Army waiting here, and the civilians who were conscripted with the army also acted together. Soon, a tide surged from the east bank of the river to the west bank in the dark night - the Song army began to cross the river on a large scale in the south of Daming City and marched towards the narrow area south of Yuancheng, which was almost equivalent to a death trap for the Jin army's cavalry sweeping area.

As for what Tian Shizhong was carrying, it was actually a thing composed of three pieces of wood, fixed with ropes and horizontal boards, and sharpened at both ends.

This was one of the most common things in the army, used for setting up camps. Whenever they arrived at a place, the civilians would first go to cut down trees, and then make these things. Finally, they would dig holes and gather them together, and it would be a village.

These planks, which were only missing the final step of digging holes to bury them, were piled up like mountains on the east bank of the river.

ps: I don't expect everyone to forgive me, I just hope to write well as much as possible and strive to be a good person.