Chapter 94
Chapter 94
[Li Erfeng Becomes Wanyan Gou – 14]
Snow had already begun falling in the Supreme Capital by the tenth month. The wind was bitterly cold, and standing outside for even a short while made one’s ears feel ready to freeze off.
Emperors Qinzong and Huizong could not endure the frigid weather. Like two quails, they sat indoors with their hands tucked into their sleeves, drinking tea. Suddenly, chaotic footsteps sounded beyond the window, mingled with the Jin’s overbearing shouts. Their hearts abruptly trembled, and fear appeared upon their faces.
“What happened?”
Huizong looked outside uneasily. Qinzong forced himself to stand and was about to open the door when someone slammed it inward. With a bang, it struck him directly against the wall.
Qinzong’s mantis-like face smashed into the wall. A crack sounded as the bridge of his nose broke, and two streams of blood slowly ran down either side of his philtrum.
Qinzong reacted a beat too late. He raised a hand and touched his face. Only after seeing his palm covered in blood did the excruciating pain arrive.
Seeing his son injured like this, Huizong’s expression instantly darkened. Forcing himself to display the majesty of a Great Song Son of Heaven, he stood with his hands behind his back. “What do you intend? Though we were abducted north, we remain Sons of Heaven of the Central Plains. You first barged into our residence and then injured my son. Today, you must give us an explanation!”
The leading Jin sneered and punched him to the ground.
“Sons of Heaven? Bullshit!”
Caught unprepared, Huizong felt violent pain erupt in his jaw. He stumbled several steps and fell upon the tea table he had shared with Qinzong. Coughing hard, he spat out saliva streaked with blood.
The Jin ordered his men to seize Qinzong, then came forward for Huizong.
Huizong no longer cared about the dignity of a Central Plains Son of Heaven. Trembling, he said in a quavering voice, “There must be some misunderstanding…”
The Jin scoffed and spat in his face. Then he seized Huizong by the collar and dragged him straight outside.
Heavy snow had fallen the previous day, leaving drifts a foot deep. Anyone walking through them sank past the ankles. As Huizong was forcibly dragged outside, snow scraped down his collar and into his clothes, wet and freezing beyond description.
He coughed several times. Before he could beg for mercy again, he and Qinzong were escorted into the torture chamber.
Qinzong clutched his nose and frantically wiped the continuous blood with a handkerchief. Huizong held his jaw and felt that the Jin punch had loosened even his rear molars.
At that moment, they heard the door close. The torture chamber instantly darkened, making the Jin men’s malicious gazes and the cold instruments hanging inside even more distinct.
“Where should we begin?”
“Their Majesties are so noble. When have they ever entered a place like this?”
The Jin laughed. “Let us begin by pulling out their fingernails and wake them up properly!”
The others laughed too. Their smiles resembled the foot-deep snow outside-cold, frigid, and utterly without warmth.
A shadow seemed to fall across the Two Sovereigns’ hearts.
The north wind swept past with howling grains of snow. Invisible demons seemed to lurk within the torture chamber, crouched in the corners and watching the two visitors with malicious intent.
Huizong’s legs trembled. Fine beads of sweat had already formed upon Qinzong’s forehead. Forcing out a smile, he said, “We are both Sons of Heaven…”
The Jin sneered without answering. He ordered their heavy winter outer robes stripped away, then lashed them with a whip that carried a fierce wind. Blood instantly stained their inner garments. Emperors Qinzong and Huizong screamed together, their cries traveling far through the northern wind. And this was only the beginning.
…
In the tenth month of that year, Zong Ze and Yue Fei led troops toward Shandong to confront Zongbi. Han Shizhong, Meng Gong, Wang Jian, and the others went to Taiyuan to face Wanyan Loushi. Li Shimin personally took command of the main Song army against Zonghan.
Their previous battle had been enough for Zonghan to understand the Song emperor’s foundations. He was young and impetuous, brave and skilled in battle. At the same time, his temperament possessed a fierce integrity utterly different from his father and elder brother. He was arrogant and unafraid of risk.
Zonghan did not consider himself timid. But if their positions were reversed, he would never personally command the campaign and wager the nation’s fate upon a single battle.
But that made sense. He smiled contemptuously.
The man was only twenty, far too young. He believed he alone could change the world. Zonghan hardly knew whether to call that innocence or stupidity.
Zonghan summoned his attendants to deliberate. Once everyone had taken their seats, he declared in a resounding voice, “It is time to teach the Song emperor a lesson! Since he prides himself upon his valor, we may set a trap specifically for him. The Song have already lost two emperors to captivity in the Supreme Capital. If this boy is captured as well, their morale will suffer a devastating blow. Then we can send Zhao Ji south to reclaim the throne, and every inch of Song territory will fall into Great Jin’s hands!”
Everyone answered and agreed.
…
At the end of the tenth month, Zong Ze and Yue Fei reached Shandong. Soon after their arrival, Wanyan Zongbi challenged them outside the city. Neither man was impetuous or easily provoked. They merely hung a placard refusing battle above the city and ordered the army to rest and recover its strength.
Hearing the Jin outside hurl endless vulgar abuse, the subordinate generals repeatedly requested battle. “Has the Marshal forgotten the Humiliation of Jingkang and the insults suffered by the Two Sovereigns?!”
Zong Ze still refused. He ordered the soldiers to return to camp and rest, tend their horses, polish their weapons, and practice formations with their comrades.
Three days passed. Seeing Zong Ze defend without emerging, Wanyan Zongbi’s troops inevitably grew restless. Zongbi personally led men beneath the city and cursed without cease.
The soldiers requested battle again. Zong Ze refused.
Another man, frustrated and resentful, tried to persuade Yue Fei. “Marshal Zong is old and long ago lost the will to fight. Why does the General not lead troops out and crush that villain Zongbi?”
Yue Fei rebuked him and ordered him away.
For half a month, they refused every challenge. The soldiers in the city carried the tragic passion inspired by the Two Sovereigns’ sacrifice for the state, and their rage accumulated to its limit. Zong Ze observed that Zongbi’s army no longer possessed its former spirit and that smoke rose from its cooking fires less often than before. He judged that their supplies had been heavily consumed and were no longer abundant. He immediately selected one thousand elite soldiers, placed them under Yue Fei’s personal command, and ordered them to raid the enemy camp at night and burn Zongbi’s stored grain.
At the same time, he selected another surprise force to ambush the road the Jin would inevitably take from their camp to the river.
Zongbi had challenged them for half a month without receiving an answer and remained on guard day and night against Song attack. Men and horses were already exhausted. Yue Fei set the camp ablaze at night, catching the Jin completely unprepared. Their screams shook Heaven. Zongbi hurriedly sent men to fetch water, only for them to fall into Zong Ze’s ambush and suffer severe losses.
After succeeding with one strike, Yue Fei did not withdraw immediately. Amid the chaos, he burned many Jin encampments. Only after joining the second surprise force did he fight a retreat back to the city.
More than half the Jin army’s grain was destroyed, making its already limited supplies even more precarious. Zongbi flew into a rage and slammed the table. The next day, he personally donned armor, mounted his horse, and sent men outside the city to challenge the Song.
This time, facing the generals’ expectant gazes, Zong Ze drew a deep breath and said heavily, “Open the gates. We fight!”
Before departing, Wanyan Zongbi had boasted to Zonghan that he would seize every part of Shandong within one month. Instead, Zong Ze had delayed him for half that time, and the previous night his grain and supplies had been burned, leaving him covered in soot and disgrace. Without a great victory, how could he wash away the humiliation?
For this battle, he specially deployed the Jin elite: five thousand Iron Pagodas and three thousand Crutched Horses stood ready at the front.
Zong Ze spotted them and marveled. “His Majesty is truly divine! He foresaw this and anticipated the enemy. Back in Dongjing, he taught the soldiers how to defeat these two formations and ordered us to bring those who had mastered the methods to Shandong. Sure enough, today is the day!”
Yue Fei smiled, then arrayed his troops and said solemnly, “Marshal Zong, oversee the whole battle here. Fei will return shortly!”
…
The eastern campaign proceeded smoothly, and Han Shizhong’s western campaign progressed just as well. Neither faced the Jin’s main force. The hardest bone remained Zonghan’s army stationed in Hebei.
Zong Ze had departed. Yue Fei, Han Shizhong, and the others had also left. Only Li Shimin, Wu Jie, and a group of promising young generals remained in the Song camp in Hebei.
Zhu Shengfei worried until he was going bald. Seeing His Majesty relaxed, eating and sleeping as usual, made him lose even more hair. “Does Your Majesty have a good strategy for defeating the enemy?”
Li Shimin looked surprised. “In war, do we not merely charge forward? Why would we need a good strategy?”
Zhu Shengfei: “…”
Damn it, this again!
If you were not the emperor and I were not a Song subject, I would beat you today!
But I am a civil official. I probably could not defeat him. Waaaaah!
Li Shimin: Hehehe.
I love how you cannot stand me but cannot get rid of me!
In Shandong, Zong Ze and Yue Fei held fast for half a month. On the battlefield in Hebei, where the Song and Jin main forces faced each other, the one refusing battle was Zonghan.
Facing the Great Song Son of Heaven personally commanding the campaign, the fierce Jin general seemed apprehensive. No matter how the Song challenged him, he refused to leave camp.
Zhu Shengfei frowned worriedly. “It appears he wishes to imitate our army’s method in Shandong and wear down Your Majesty’s and the soldiers’ fighting spirit…”
Li Shimin: “Mm.”
Zhu Shengfei: “…”
Zhu Shengfei: “What good strategy does Your Majesty have?”
Li Shimin: “None.”
A cross-shaped vein bloomed upon Zhu Shengfei’s forehead. “Then what will we do if Zonghan attacks?”
Li Shimin: “Nothing special. Just fight him.”
Zhu Shengfei: “…”
Another day of wanting to assassinate the emperor!
Several more days passed. Li Shimin again led a light cavalry force to lure the Jin and unintentionally penetrated farther than before. At that moment, the Jin marched out. Their great army pressed forward, intending to settle everything in a single battle by capturing the Song emperor.
The attendants paled. Watching from the distant city walls, Zhu Shengfei screamed like a rooster whose neck had been seized by a butcher.
Only Li Shimin remained calm. He ordered his attendants to withdraw while he covered the rear.
Left Army Supervisor Wanyan Chang led several hundred cavalry in pursuit along both sides of the road. Li Shimin showed not a trace of fear. He drew his bow and fired, and every Jin he targeted fell. When the Jin grew afraid and tried to withdraw, he decisively ordered a countercharge and captured Wanyan Chang alive.
Inside his camp, Wanyan Zonghan could scarcely believe his ears upon receiving the report. “That brat Zhao Gou actually escaped?!”
The subordinate: “…”
How could he tell the Marshal it was not an escape, but a calm departure after victory?
Wanyan Zonghan flew into a rage. “Where is Wanyan Chang? Bring him to me immediately!”
The subordinate: “…”
The subordinate forced himself to say, “The Song emperor captured the Left Army Supervisor.”
Wanyan Zonghan: “…”
Fuck, this made no damned sense!
After capturing Wanyan Chang, Li Shimin immediately drew his saber and beheaded him. He ordered the head displayed to the Three Armies upon a spear. Song morale soared, while gloom settled over the Jin and their will to fight plummeted.
At that moment, Wu Jie led a surprise force against their rear. Attacked from both sides, the Jin looked around and saw Song troops before and behind them. Fear inevitably spread. Then they saw the Song emperor fighting at the very front, his blade chipped and sleeves cupping blood, like a god of war descended to earth. No one could oppose him. They lost all desire to continue and retreated in search of survival.
Once soldiers begin fleeing during battle, the collapse is difficult to stop.
Learning that his men were escaping north in panic, Zonghan immediately took up his saber and mounted his horse. He ordered trusted attendants to kill fleeing troops and stabilize morale, then personally entered battle to confront the Song emperor’s assault.
Li Shimin had previously glimpsed Zonghan in the formation. Seeing him now, he swept aside the nearby Jin with several strokes and urged his horse forward to meet him.
Zonghan wielded a long saber and brought it down like Mount Tai, carrying force far beyond a thousand jin!
Li Shimin shouted, “Well come!” He tilted his long spear upward, deflected the saber’s force, and thrust horizontally with the momentum.
The spear was the thief among weapons, naturally agile, swift, and unpredictable. In Li Shimin’s hands, it seemed alive. It never strayed from Wanyan Zonghan’s vital points and resembled a venomous snake baring its fangs, ready to take his life at any moment.
Wanyan Zonghan initially held some contempt. After exchanging several moves with the Song emperor, his expression changed sharply. He grew solemn and did not dare show the slightest negligence. Seeing the long spear thrust toward his eyes, he instinctively raised his saber to block. Unexpectedly, Li Shimin had feinted. The spearhead dropped. His arm surged with strength, and the weapon pierced straight through Zonghan’s neck!
A wet crunch of bone and flesh sounded. Fragmented noises emerged from Wanyan Zonghan’s throat, and blood spilled from his lips. He was already dead.
Wanyan Zonghan fell heavily from his horse. The surrounding Jin froze. Someone shouted, “The Marshal is dead!” The others fled in panic like sheep pursued by hunting dogs.
Li Shimin checked his spear and did not pursue. At this point, the battle between the Song and Jin main forces had ended.
The soldiers chased the Jin while others obeyed orders to clear the battlefield. Li Shimin lowered his eyes toward Wanyan Zonghan, dead upon the ground with his eyes still open-the chief architect of the Humiliation of Jingkang. He scoffed, then commanded in a resounding voice, “Cut off Wanyan Zonghan’s head and display it to the Three Armies. Mince his corpse into paste to comfort the Great Song soldiers and innocent commoners who died unjustly!”
His subordinates obeyed.
That day, the Song army crushed Wanyan Zonghan’s forces, killed twenty thousand enemies, and captured seventy thousand horses. Zonghan’s son Wanyan Sheyema and more than ten generals were captured alive, along with countless other prisoners.
When Li Shimin led the army back into the city, Zhu Shengfei led the civil officials out to receive him. Seeing the imperial procession approach from afar, they immediately knelt and cried, “Long live Your Majesty!”
Several days later, victory reports arrived from Shandong and Taiyuan. Zong Ze and Yue Fei had recovered Shandong, while Han Shizhong had retaken Taiyuan. The three prefectures once ceded to the Jin again belonged to the Song. Court and country celebrated, and ruler and subjects rejoiced together.
On the ninth day of the eleventh month that year, the Song court composed “Prince Kang’s Song of Breaking the Formation” and spread it throughout the realm. All the people rejoiced.
Receiving the command, he bids the sovereign farewell,
Leading the generals forth to punish the barbarians.
All sing the “Song of Breaking the Formation,”
Together delighting in an age of peace!