"Alright, clean up the battlefield, lop off the heads. All of it counts as military merit!"
The young man beamed, and Yue Fei's face was also full of excitement.
However, he also understood that this was no place to linger; they had to hurry and withdraw as soon as possible.
Two hours later, by the time the Jin forces arrived in full strength, Yue Fei had already returned to the large ship with his spoils of war.
"Hahahaha, Brother Yue, you've earned new merits this time! You've broken through three Jin cities. At your age, to achieve such an extraordinary feat, it's not impossible you'll be enfeoffed as a marquis or appointed as a minister in the future!"
Looking at the heads Yue Fei brought back, Li Bao was completely exhilarated.
These were not ordinary Khitans; these were real Jurchens!
Since the war between the Song and Jin began, this was probably the first time a Song army officer had brought back Jurchen heads to claim a reward!
"General Li, please don't tease me. If it weren't for you all, my men would have long since been surrounded and annihilated by the Jin. If anyone is truly capable, it's our Lord!"
Praise from him made Yue Fei a little embarrassed, so he skillfully shifted the topic to Han Mo.
"That's not the same thing! The Lord's strategic brilliance is, of course, irreplaceable. If the Lord hadn't come up with such a good plan, how would we have had the opportunity to achieve success?"
As Li Bao spoke, a look of envy flashed in his eyes.
They had come together, yet all the credit for conquering cities and seizing fortresses went to Yue Fei. It was impossible for him not to feel envious.
"General Li is right, but now it's up to you. If we can't thoroughly defeat the navy today, all the merits we've gained so far will be in vain!"
After the initial surprise, Yue Fei's assessment of the situation was quite objective.
"That's right, you're correct. It's up to me now!"
As Li Bao said this, he too became excited.
Just as Yue Fei said, if they couldn't defeat the Jin navy, no matter how much merit they gained, they wouldn't be able to bring their spoils back!
Two days after Yingzhou was burned, Wanyan Xuanzong, who had been patrolling near Suzhou, finally received news again.
"Bastard!"
Looking at the red circle drawn by Wanyan Sheng around the word "five" on the flying-eagle dispatch, Wanyan Xuanzong's face was filled with fury.
Wanyan Sheng said nothing, but his circling of the word "five" clearly conveyed that if he didn't achieve victory within five days, they would settle accounts.
"General, we can't go on like this. Those Song people just burned Yingzhou. I suspect they'll prepare to sail back next. They've been out for a long time. If we go to Yingzhou now, we'll definitely miss them!"
Although repeatedly suppressed by Wanyan Xuanzong, Yelü Zhenghuan finally couldn't help but voice his thoughts.
More than anything else, he was worried about his own brothers being implicated unfairly.
"Fine, we'll do as you say. From now on, I'll listen to you about everything, but you must know, you only have five days. If you can't win in five days, you know the consequences!"
"If I cannot win, General may simply take my head!"
Even though he understood that Wanyan Xuanzong was simply shirking responsibility, he still accepted it without hesitation.
"Good, then I'll see what you're capable of!"
Hearing this, Wanyan Xuanzong nodded with satisfaction and walked directly towards the deck.
Under his command, the Jin navy's warships did not pursue towards Yingzhou. Instead, they sailed in a straight line, heading directly for Dengzhou in the Great Song.
"General, are you so sure those Song people will pass this way?"
Although Yelü Zhenghuan had regained command, his subordinates were all jubilant, but at this moment, everyone was sweating for him. What if those Song people continued to play cat and mouse with them at sea? After five days passed, lives would be at stake!
Wanyan Xuanzong would definitely blame everything on Yelü Zhenghuan.
"Don't worry, I trust my judgment! With so many spoils of war, I don't believe they'll dare to linger at sea!"
At Yuguan City, thousands of horses had been lost. This matter had been absolutely confirmed. At Suzhou City, it had been completely looted by those Song troops. The spoils of war combined would require at least forty to fifty large ships to transport them all back.
This was something that a naval commander like Yelü Zhenghuan could deduce with a little calculation.
If the Song army's warships were not carrying so many spoils, they could naturally sail in the deep sea.
However, the deep sea was prone to strong winds and high waves. If they carried so much, a strong gust of wind would be no joke!
Putting himself in their shoes, Yelü Zhenghuan was quite certain that the Song generals would choose the coastal route to return to Dengzhou for resupply.
Two days later, Yelü Zhenghuan led the Jin navy to block the Song army's inevitable path back to Dengzhou.
One day passed. Although he had dispatched fifty to sixty ships to patrol back and forth on the surrounding sea, there was still no sign of them.
Two days passed, and the sea remained calm. With only one day left until the agreed-upon time, even Yelü Zhenghuan began to feel a little uneasy.
Looking at the slowly setting sun on the horizon, Yelü Zhenghuan couldn't help but gaze into the distance.
"General, ten miles ahead, Song warships sighted!"
Just as he was filled with anxiety, a soldier constantly on lookout duty on the mast immediately shouted.
"They're finally here! Assemble the entire army and pursue them!"
Finally having found traces of the Song army, Yelü Zhenghuan immediately became excited.
"Wait a moment!"
Just as Yelü Zhenghuan was about to order a full-scale attack, Wanyan Xuanzong suddenly emerged from the cabin.
"General, what is the meaning of this?"
"What's my meaning? Don't you realize this is a Song ploy to lure us in? It's almost dark now. What if they ambush us from the darkness?"
"General, this is the open sea, where would there be an ambush?"
The situation in the surrounding waters was already etched in Yelü Zhenghuan's mind, so he naturally understood that this man was speaking nonsense with his eyes open.
The sea was wide open with clear visibility; there was simply no such thing as an ambush!
Seeing the enemy so close, yet this man was dawdling, even Yelü Zhenghuan, known for his good temper, was starting to lose patience!
"I don't care about your nonsensical arguments. In short, if we're going to fight, we'll fight tomorrow morning! Relay my orders: the entire army is on high alert. Send people to keep an eye on those Song people, and tomorrow morning, we'll fight them to our heart's content!"
"General, absolutely not! What if the Song army escapes then?"
"Yelü Zhenghuan, are you questioning my decision?"
"You!"